Brotherhood of Steel

This article is about the history of the Southern Chapter of the Brotherhood of Steel. For information on the wider Brotherhood, see the Fallout wiki.
. "We've fought and we've endured and finally we have a small patch of safety. But having a home isn't enough. We need something more. What we need is... purpose. But we cannot look to the America of old for that purpose. We have to build our own." - Roger Maxson (Aug 29, 2077)
The Southern Chapter of the Brotherhood of Steel is an autonomous chapter of the Brotherhood, originally founded by the progressionist Elder Maximillian Hohenfel. Their headquarters is a multi-storey bunker complex in the Yuma valley, in the contested patch of territory between the New California Republic and Caesar's Legion. It was located and occupied by Lost Hills forces in 2249 when old archives revealed the pass-codes to the mysterious entrance algorithm that once kept the base so impressively secret. This expedition to secure this base was led by a recently promoted Elder Maximillian Hohenfel, and stocked with enough supplies to support itself and operate independently for many years. 
As of 2281, the Southern division is a independent Chapter of the Brotherhood of Steel, led by a council of Elders; those who accompanied the original expedition, those who have been promoted to the high office since the Chapter's foundation, and those who have been evacuated to the Chapter following the NCR-Brotherhood War. As the Brotherhood's position in the West declined, the Sonoran chapter grew and changed, their policies of acceptance and altruism questioned and punished by their progenitors. Due to the small size and far-flung position of the Chapter, they were spared some - but not all - of the devastation of the NCR-Brotherhood War. They chose to cease direct rule by Lost Hills in 2281. 
Due to strong relations between the seceded Elder Council of the Southern Brotherhood and Lost Hills, they were spared the wrath and formal declaration of betrayal from the High Elder. Instead, the subject of their disregard towards the High Elder's whims has earned them a place in the minds of the Western Brotherhood as a derelict, outcast Chapter where the strange and unseemly are sent. Their numbers swelled, perhaps because of this tide of unwanted recruits and refugees from destroyed bunkers, and they now occupy a strong position in the Arizona frontier. 
Though the Southern Chapter no longer receives military aid from Lost Hills, they have managed to maintain friendly relations with most every sect of the Brotherhood save for the far-away Eastern sect, of which remains out of communications range due to distance and hostile faction presence between the two locales.
== Background ==
=== Stagnation, Fall of the West ===
By the year 2240, the Brotherhood of Steel had grown complacent in its status as the sole source of advanced technology left to mankind, and allowed its prominence and influence to wane, growing stagnant. All the same, when the threat of the Enclave arose and Lost Hills lacked the information to coordinate a response, their action came swiftly. A network of reconnaissance outposts was established in Northern California, and a bunker was opened and activated by Brotherhood Scouts in southern Oregon, meant to act as a secret hub to coordinate them. It was equipped with powerful radio boosters meant to send messages back to Lost Hills as the Brotherhood advance force hunted for the Enclave. 
This small northern chapter was led by Elder Jonathan Maxson, the son of the High Elder at the time, Jeremy Maxson. It operated successfully and without interruption for quite some time; but the peace and success could not last. Aided by a disgruntled turncoat named Josef Hohenfel, the brother of Head Scribe Maximillian Hohenfel, the Enclave - remnants, at least, hoping to prevent an open war by annihilating the Brotherhood scouts in one fell swoop - located and fell upon the base in their full strength. Dozens were killed, the central bunker was placed on lockdown, and Elder Jonathan Maxson was critically wounded. It was in the ensuing desperate battle that the seeds of the Sonoran Expedition would be sown: Head Scribe Hohenfel saved the life of his Elder with a hasty field surgery, as the Enclave were thrown into disarray by a small but determined and masterfully executed counterattack on a flank. After heavy fighting, the battle was won, and the Head Scribe had redeemed his family name. He was granted the title 'the Great' by the Elder whose life he had saved, and recognised across the Brotherhood as a war hero. 
 
=== Era of Expansion ===
In 2245, the Brotherhood began work on plans to expand, understanding the encroaching border of the New California Republic as a potential threat, High Elder Jeremy Maxson and Elder Jonathan Maxson led an initiative. Their best Scribes delved deep into the archives to locate and decrypt the entry codes on a great deal of bunkers across North America. With this in mind, they planned four major expeditions. Firstly, they would send Paladin Owyn Lyons to lead an expedition to the East Coast of America to Washington, DC. Otherwise known as the Capital Wasteland. Secondly, Elder Elijah was sent to the Mojave Wasteland to Secure Hoover Dam. Thirdly, they would withdraw all forces from Oregon and Elder Jonathan would return to Lost Hills, to muster his remaining forces to prepare for aggressive expansion. Finally, an expedition was sent east to the prospective Yuma bunker, said to contain a great deal of supplies and equipment capable of keeping their people fed and comfortable for many years. In order to ensure the survival and success of this expedition, it would be led by a proven war hero, a man the Elder had fought alongside. 
Head Scribe Hohenfel - now an Elder, promoted in his fifties - was chosen as the leader, with many of the Brothers and Sisters who fought alongside him in Oregon serving as his support staff. He would build a new Chapter in the Yuma region, and thus - Lost Hills hoped - expand their power across the American west. But the Brotherhood had flown too close to the sun, and ignored the growing power of the New California Republic beneath their feet. Great destruction was to be the reward for their hubris, after a brutal war. A Brotherhood first strike turned into a protracted, attritional war, and the NCR drove them almost to extinction. 
Through all of this, the expedition in Yuma remained loyal, sending aid wherever possible and tying up NCR forces which might otherwise have driven the Brotherhood out of their final strongholds, as well as sending forces to join in the bloodier fighting in California. In the East, Caesar's Legion began to pose a threat as tribe after tribe was subsumed - but minds everywhere were focused on the war which now engulfed California. 
=== The Rogue and The Justiciar ===
After the failures of Operation Sunburst and the loss of HELIOS One, and the death of Jeremy Maxson, High Elder Jonathan Maxson had few options. Even less so when they had found out Elder Lyons had betrayed his goals and their orders; choosing instead to claim overlordship of the Capital Wasteland. One contingent from the grand expansion had remained loyal and intact, far from NCR supply lines and population centres, and that was the Yuma Chapter. Hoping to increase the supply of armaments to Lost Hills in his hour of need, the High Elder decided it best to invest in something more stable. For some time the unwanted and unseemly initiates that joined Lost Hills and the other minor bunkers surrounding it were sent East to Lyons to bolster his forces and assist in his mission, but now they would have a new destination. So too would many Brothers and Sisters who could not be supported in California after the destruction of their bunkers. These ragtag forces were transferred to Yuma, and in 2277 the Chapter began to operate openly on the surface. Elder Hohenfel - now elderly, and unable to continue with the stresses of autocratic leadership - transferred power to the collective wisdom of the Elders, a council which would lead the Chapter. He is now retired. 
The Council, working closely with Hohenfel and the Elders of Lost Hills, acted quickly to avoid being drawn into large-scale conflict with the NCR. Schisms in ideology as a result of this divided the Southern Chapter, but the Council stayed their chosen course and declared full independence from Lost Hills. While this might have been considered treason, Lost Hills had no way of reeling them in; and so a proposal, which would see the Southern Chapter become independent but continue to work closely with Lost Hills, was accepted. 
Now, the Southern Chapter sits on the frontier of two empires, a shadow of the Brotherhood's former strength on the edge of the world. But despite the wounds left by the NCR, and the continuing threat of ideological schism, the Brotherhood is a force to be reckoned with. Experienced, well-trained, and devoted to their cause, the Southern Chapter will continue to uphold the Codex and fight for the ideals of Maxson as long as they draw breath. 
Ad Victoriam. Fortitudo Nostra in Ferro Est.
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