Brotherhood-Calculator War

The Brotherhood-Calculator War was a military conflict between the Midwestern Brotherhood of Steel and the Calculator's army in 2198.
==Background==
The war with the Calculator was the result of budget cuts and the resulting inflexible automaton being installed in place of a proper artificial intelligence at the heart of Vault 0. Designed to make the surface habitable for humanity once again, the Calculator was unable to recognize humanity's survival or reinterpret its directives: When Gammorin's forces breached the Vault's entrance during a recon mission, it concluded that all of the survivors on the surface are mutants and began sterilization procedures: Complete genocide of humanity, for the sake of that present in the cryonic suspension chambers within the Vault (all of whom suffered severe brain damage in the process of waking up).
==Course of the war==
===Facing the Calculator===
The Brotherhood pushed further west, intent on confronting the robotic menace that terrified the raiders and Gammorin's Army so. The highest concentration of robots was located in Colorado Springs, where the fabled Vault 0 was supposed to lie. More information was needed.Fallout Tactics chapter cutscenes: "The Brotherhood's fears are confirmed: the robots now have multiple production factories around the wasteland. They are concentrated heavily around the great mountains, in a region known as Colorado Springs. This is the fabled location of Vault 0, which houses the mastermind behind the robot menace, the Calculator. Data from the Brotherhood research center dates the origin of the robots before the war that decimated the land, their purpose to help humanity crawl back from the brink of self destruction. But the robots now seem to destroy the very humans they were created to save. They boast great strength and power, and one factor seems certain: all life forms have become their prey.The Brotherhood has adapted to new enemies before however, and with the development of new weapons they will adapt again. Brotherhood tacticians and Generals will not be idle, for new enemies require new tactics; assault squads must be directed at the robot production and command centers that supply the Calculator's metallic ranks. The Brotherhood's predicted losses are staggering, but what is life as a warrior without peril?" After establishing a surface base at Bunker Delta, the Brotherhood's forces moved on Junction City, to investigate reports of a victory over one of the Calculator's robots. Given that Junction City was a staunchly independent settlement that rejected Brotherhood offers of protection and lacked any heavy weapons, this fact intrigued the order. The Brotherhood also wanted to intercept the Reaver Movement, which set its sights on acquiring the devices.Junction City mission briefing: "Greetings, warrior.Your next mission will bring you to Junction City, a mid sized town that has refused to form an alliance with the Brotherhood. Their independent posture has been recently reinforced by their victory over one of the robots late last night. Our Elders are quite curious how such a battle could be won, considering the lack of heavy weaponry involved. This is a riddle whose answer might be paramount for victory. See what you can find out.More important than this riddle is the retrieval of the robotic parts from the scene of the battle. We must understand how our enemy works in order to neutralize it and any robotic remnants might hold the key.Understand that the Reaver Movement has been launching probing attacks against Junction City. Our Elders believe that they are also searching for robotic pieces. Considering the Reavers zealously worship technology, their involvement comes as no surprise. Try forging a deal with the town's mayor - robot parts in exchange for protection from Reavers.We have one last task for you as well. Our senior mechanic, Cooter, died recently when he triggered an explosive booby trap on a retrieved Interceptor vehicle. His apprentice lacks the cognitive ability to fully assume the role, and in times like this, we can't have any malfunctioning vehicles involved during a high-risk mission. Intelligence reports that Junction City's mechanic is top notch, and might be persuaded to join the Brotherhood's cause. Find this mechanic and inform her of the wondrous opportunities the Brotherhood can offer.You have your orders. Dismissed."(MIS 15 Speech.txt) Upon recovering the parts, the Brotherhood learned that the robot was already severely damaged by the time it entered the settlement and exploded due to its power source overloading.Junction City mission debriefing: "Excellent work, warrior.The robot pieces you retrieved match the device recovered from the raider base in Rock Falls. Our scribes are performing tests on them as we speak. Once we understand how they operate, we'll be able to defeat them more efficiently.Initial analysis indicates that the robot was already severely damaged from a previous fight with Super Mutants. This is confirmed by some of the less jubilant villagers description of the battle and the dried mutant blood we found congealed in some of the mechanical joints. Further inspection revealed that it's damaged power supply overloaded causing the explosion. If that class of robot was undamaged, it could easily wipe out ten of those villages without even blowing a gasket."(MIS 15 Speech.txt)
Information recovered from the robot and recon efforts by the rebuilt intelligence wing of the Brotherhood allowed it to track down the source of the robot. It was tracked to the pre-War center of industry known as Great Bend. The ruined city was identified as a potential robot manufacturing plant, in the process of being established. A squad was dispatched under the Warrior's lead to destroy the area and any robots they found.Great Bend mission briefing: "At ease, Brother.The time to take the battle to the robots is now.Intelligence has located the origin of the robot that attacked Junction City and the tracks originated from a pre-war center of industry known as the Great Bend.As our operatives moved closer, they discovered many tracks from different robots all originating from this mass of burnt out factories. Lights were seen at a distance, so it's assumed that some of the old power generators are now back on-line. The Elders believe this location is being transformed into a robot manufacturing facility.You will take a squad to Great Bend immediately. If this is the area where the robots are originating, we must strike quickly and shut them down. If our assumptions are incorrect, you will search and destroy any robots you come across.As always, keep an eye open to any information or technology that you come across.Assemble your strike team and leave immediately.Dismissed."(MIS 16 Speech.txt) The squad managed to infiltrate the city and remove the robot presence. Thanks to the fact that the command robot (a pacification bot) was damaged, the artificial terrors could only offer limited resistance. Brotherhood squads Smear and Falcon booby trapped the area to deny the robots a potential manufacturing plant.Great Bend mission debriefing: "Welcome Warrior.At ease. You have done well clearing the robot infestation from the Great Bend. We don't know how long until the robots attempt to re-establish a manufacturing plant there, but Smear and Falcon Squad will share standing watch in this region until we can heavily trap the area.Data collected from your report indicate a damaged robot in the area might have been the controlling force for the other robots. We believe the robots can act independently, but are more efficient when a governing robot coordinates their actions. This analysis is far from complete, but might be instrumental in defeating this foe when more data is acquired and analyzed.You are dismissed."(MIS 16 Speech.txt)
However, the Brotherhood's offensive was slowed by treason. The Warrior's squad that formed the spearhead of the offensive was recalled from the frontlines to deal with a domestic issue: A group of Quincy inhabitants under Guldo Sciavo's leadership managed to steal equipment, a Brotherhood vehicle, and several suits of power armor from a Brotherhood weapons depot at Quincy, after poisoning the guards. The Elders judged them guilty of high treason and sentenced them to death in absentia. The Warrior was sent to carry out the verdict.Coldwater mission briefing: "At ease, warrior.No matter how long I live, the shock of treachery still cuts deeply. The Brotherhood has been betrayed by a group of criminals from Quincy. Considering our intervention during the Beastlord hostage crisis, this is doubly insulting.The mayor reports that this group of rogues poisoned our warriors as they stood vigil over the town. In their weakened state, the guards could barely defend themselves, and the thieves looted our unconscious Brothers and stole away in a Brotherhood vehicle.The basic equipment is easily replaceable and is of no consequence. The theft of several suits of Power Armor is our major concern here.We have since tracked their progress to the town of Coldwater, where they have used our equipment to exert their dominance over the local populace. This cannot be allowed to continue.You will bring your squad to this "Coldwater" and make inquiries until you locate the thieves. The Elders have judged them guilty of high treason against the Brotherhood and death will be their reward.''
There will be no room for mercy on this mission Brother. Kill the thieves and return the armor to the Auditor General. He will be waiting for you in the town.Dismissed."(MIS 17 Speech.txt) After navigating the independent town, the squad managed to destroy the Red Stingers and their leader. The Brotherhood leaders ordered the bodies of the gang members to be crucified outside Quincy, along with the guards that were supposed to have stood watch. Furthermore, friends and known family members of the Red Stingers were rounded up in an internment camp for interrogation and to suppress any rumors that may spread.Coldwater mission debriefing: "At ease, warrior.The armor is returned and the thieves have committed their last theft.Well done.The scoundrels' bodies will be displayed in proper crucifixion outside the town of Quincy, along with the guards that were on watch. Our Inquisitors have also rounded up known friends and family of the criminals to an internment camp. If they have information about any weak links in our security, we will find out. If they don't, they will be placed in a labour camp to prevent the spread of rumors and ensure proper security.It is time these people take some personal accountability for their actions."(MIS 17 Speech.txt)
In the Warrior's absence, events took a strange turn. The Reaver Movement contacted the Brotherhood with a desperate plea for help. Their war against the Calculator was going poorly, with the only remaining stronghold in Newton under constant assault by the robots. While the Brotherhood would normally allow the robots to wipe out the Reavers, the Movement offered to trade their knowledge of pre-War Yuma Flats Energy Consortium designs, in exchange for the rescue of the main Reaver leaders from Newton. The Warrior's squad was deployed on a search and rescue mission.Newton mission briefing: "At ease , Warrior. I have mixed news to give!A Reaver delegate arrived earlier today bringing news that a large robot force has all but annihilated the main Reaver camp in Newton. The Reaver's numbers have been devastated by relentless attacks and will soon be destroyed unless we intervene. Normally, the Brotherhood would gladly allow one enemy to destroy another, but the Reavers have something to offer.The Reaver Movement has developed a new type of weapon based on robot pieces that they've been able to scavenge. This weapon is called an EMP device and it has a devastating effect on electronics. It is this weapon that is allowing the Reavers to survive a mass robot attack, but for them it is still "too little, too late."They have agreed to give the Brotherhood both a prototype of this weapon and instruction on its workings in exchange for rescue of their four highest-ranking officials in Newton's Junk City.This might be the edge we're looking for against the robots. Bring back that prototype, Brother. You will be supplied with a map to Newton. Rendezvous at the extraction zone with all four Elders and they will be transported via APC and armored escort back here.Dismissed"(MIS 19 Speech.txt) The mission succeeded and the Reaver officials were moved to Brotherhood bases under armed escort, while the surviving members of the Movement were placed in internment camps for interrogation. The Elders eventually allowed them to join the Brotherhood. However, the deployment also highlighted a troubling development: The robots started taking prisoners.Newton mission debriefing: "What's left of the Reaver Movement is now being administered medical attention. They are grateful for their rescue but the Elders are not so quick to invite them into the Brotherhood fold.For the time being they will be kept in one of our many internment camps. This is an excellent time for our interrogators and scribes to pick their brains on any additional technology and their past and future plans.They will be kept there until the Elders decide whether to set them free or restrict them to labor camps.The Menace from the West's taking of prisoners is most curious considering that the robots have slaughtered everything before them until now. We must wait and see."(MIS 19 Speech.txt)
===Man against Machine===
The war with the Calculator entered its final phase with the establishment of Bunker Epsilon. The Warrior and his squad became an integral point of the Brotherhood's strategy. Outmatched severely by the Calculator, the Brotherhood had to carefully plan and structure their attacks to weaken the robotic menace first. The first operation carried out in the new territory was directed at a robot repair station in Canyon City, to destroy a vital piece of the infrastructure.Canyon City mission briefing: "Warrior.Every day brings us closer to the final confrontation with the Calculator. While we do not yet know who or what the Calculator is, we do realize that our forces are still greatly outmatched. We have learned new tactics, increased our arsenal, and strengthened our realm of control, but the robots are still too powerful and too numerous.The old Brotherhood saying, "To kill a snake, cut off its head," does not apply to this mechanical serpent. For this one, we must start with the tip of the tail and progress slowly to its head and vitals. This serpent must be weakened first, for its fangs sink deep and its venom is far more deadly than any poison ever encountered.You are to take your squad to the town of Canyon City where the Calculator has set up a robot repair station. It is in this station that damaged robots are mended and parts of destroyed robots are rebuilt and combined to form a whole. This repair plant must be permanently shut down.This station is too huge to destroy. It would take too much time and resources to reduce this station to rubble, so we will disable it instead on. It is the power-nodes that you should focus your attention. Destroying them all should slow the robots down... in theory at least.We are entering the final phase of our plans. Complete your mission objective above all else, but keep your eyes open for any additional information or weakness that might present itself.Good luck.Dismissed."(MIS 21 Speech.txt) The assault was combined with attacks by Dagger and Tusk squads on smaller repair stations in the area. The success severely reduced the Calculator's ability to project power in that part of the region. The Brotherhood immediately formulated further attack plans, to exploit this opportunity, even as the revelation that the Calculator was an automaton, not artificial intelligence, spread among the command corps.Canyon City mission debriefing: "At ease, Warrior.The Canyon City repair station is now offline. Dagger Squad and Tusk Squad have simultaneously eliminated two smaller repair stations to the Northwest. The Calculator will now be hard pressed to maintain a large attack force in this area.It is now time to step up our attacks and see what effect our actions has on the robot war machine. The Elders believe that the chance of a massive robot attack gets greater with each passing day, so time is running short.There is a Brotherhood saying, "Strike while the iron's hot." I believe it applies here."(MIS 21 Speech.txt)
The next attack focused on a newly discovered nuclear power plant supplying the robotic army with power. As the Brotherhood was far too successful in its war against the robots to be ignored, the assignment given to the Warrior was simple: Search and destroy.Buena Vista mission briefing: "At ease, warrior.It is time to pull the plug on the robots' power source. Reconnaissance has found an operating nuclear reactor located on the outskirts of the town of Buena Vista. We believe that it is this reactor that is supplying the vast majority of power to the robot army.In addition, analysis shows that more robots have exited the facility compared to the number that entered it. You don't have to be a scribe to realize that they have a robot production plant next to, or near, the reactor.We have hit the robots too many times to be ignored and we won't take them by surprise again. We need you to eliminate as many of the robots as you can. Intelligence's observations confirm that straggler robots are programmed to report to an active base for reassignment. Every robot that escapes will only return in greater numbers.Remember, bring the reactor off line... permanently! Disable the robot manufacturing plant and crush as many robots as possible.You have your orders.Dismissed."(MIS 22 Speech.txt) The success of the mission was tremendous. With their power supply cut, the Calculator was only able to leverage Vault 0's own power source for robot manufacturing, slowing its war machine down, while the destruction of the facility's manufacturing facilities scattered its plans. However, the Brotherhood also realized that the ultimate goal of the machine was nothing less than total genocide, the removal of any humans deviating from its programmed definition of one. Worse, as it was not an AI, but simply a machine that ticked off its programmed priorities, reasoning with it was impossible. The Brotherhood was the only thing standing in its way, a small group completely unsuited for a total war with an enemy seemingly without number.Buena Vista mission debriefing: "Excellent work, warrior.With the reactor plant off line, the Calculator will have to rely on Vault 0's internal power supply to fuel its war machine. Disabling the manufacturing plant will force the Calculator to produce its robots somewhere else.Reconnaissance has already witnessed a decline in robot patrols in the surrounding area, so we are assuming our latest attack hit home. "(MIS 22 Speech.txt)
The final assault on Vault 0 and Cheyenne Mountain was delayed to deal with a critical security risk. As the Brotherhood was unable to match the Calculator and his robots in the field, it relied on hit-and-run tactics to retain initiative without sacrificing men or revealing its bases. However, Bartholomew Kerr, a merchant in good standing with the Brotherhood who sold his wares at the organization's primary bunkers, was captured by robots and taken to Scott City. His knowledge of Brotherhood bases and their populations could prove the death of the Brotherhood. The Warrior was dispatched with a grim mission, to neutralize him.Scott City mission briefing: "At ease, warrior.The robots have captured a man known as Bartholomew Kerr. As you may know, Kerr is a merchant that has been using the Brotherhood's network of bunkers as stopping points to peddle his wares. His knack for appropriating hard to find items has helped the Brotherhood in the past, all for a price of course. Unfortunately, this has given him an extensive knowledge of the locations and populations of several Brotherhood bunkers. This knowledge makes Kerr a threat that cannot be ignored.Go to Scott City. That is where Intelligence has located a robot facility where we believe he is being kept. Rescue him, if possible. Our interrogators will find out if any information was leaked to the enemy. If you can't rescue him, he must be neutralized.Understand that if the robots succeed in extracting our positional information, we will soon fall to a concentrated assault. We cannot hope to match them in a stand up fight. If we have to go on the defensive, we are lost.You have your orders.Dismissed."(MIS 23 Speech.txt) The mission was a success, though it left the Brotherhood traumatized. Scott City was the local "interrogation" base. Captives were tortured for information and then their brains were removed for further information retrieval. Apart from a mass grave containing over 300 dead bodies, the Brotherhood located the body of General Barnaky, tortured and lobotomized just hours before the Brotherhood squads hit the city. The potential of the Calculator accessing his knowledge forced the Brotherhood's hand.Scott City mission debriefing: "You better sit down for this, Brother.After you left Scott City, Repo Squad was sent in to insure the facility was rendered useless to the Calculator's forces. I'm sorry to say they have made a grisly discovery.General Barnaky's body was found in one of the robot's operating rooms. He was presumed dead for about twelve hours.That's not all.The top of the General's head was cut off and his brain was removed.We don't know why, but the Calculator is now lobotomizing pure blood humans. Repo Squad found approximately three hundred brainless corpses in a shallow grave outside the compound. Our scribes believe that's how they extract information. This is disturbing news if they have access to General Barnaky's knowledge."(MIS 23 Speech.txt)
The Brotherhood resorted to a desperate, bold plan: A direct attack on Cheyenne Mountain, with the Warrior leading the charge and Dagger squad providing backup. Vault 0 was breached with the Kansas City warhead detonated at point blank range, right in front of the Vault's massive blast door. The squads pushed deep into the Vault, to find and destroy the Calculator.Cheyenne Mountain mission briefing: "This is it Brother, the final push. Your squad's actions will dictate not only the future of the Brotherhood, but of the very wasteland itself. From here on out, you will have to scavenge supplies on your own. If you do set foot in this bunker again, it will be because the Calculator is no more.Our technicians have secured our nuclear warhead to a vehicle for transport, which will be waiting for you on site. This warhead will be needed to crack an entrance into Vault 0. I know it sounds like overkill, but that Vault is designed to take several direct nuclear hits and our only hope is that a precise nuclear blast directed on the door will do the job.We expect the entrance to be heavily protected, so make sure that your squad is ready for some heavy action. You must ensure that the warhead stays safe until detonate. The Calculator will not give us such an opportunity again.Once you activate the bomb, you should immediately seek worthy shelter; "Duck and Cover" isn't going to cut it this time.Power Armour should help to further aid your survival within the bunker. Remember, you will practically be at ground zero of the resulting nuclear explosion. Be sure to take your anti-radiation medication.It was an honour to work with you, Brother.Dismissed."(MIS 24 Speech.txt) As the squads pushed into the Vault, the Calculator mounted the offensive that the Brotherhood feared. A spearhead of six Behemoth-class robots supported by a large number of pacification robots were committed to the assault on Bunker Epsilon, with hundreds of other robots simultaneously engaging survivor communities along the front. The Warrior was facing victory or extinction.Vault 0 mission briefing: "Well done, warrior!!!You have breached Vault 0's outer perimeter. From here you must confront and destroy the Calculator. Dagger Squad was deployed earlier to clear the way for you, but expect heavy resistance from the robots.This is a winner take all situation.(*Boom*)Hold on Brother.Initiate Wells: Sir, six Behemoths and a large number of Pacification robots have slipped in our north perimeter. It looks like the Calculator is going for broke.Very well initiate, bring up the tank to the north side and sound the alarm. Recall all patrols ASAP.Initiate Wells: "Yes sir"We have a situation here, Brother(*Boom*)You eliminate the Calculator and get home. We'll make sure you have a home to come back to. General Dekker out."(MIS 24 Speech.txt) Penetrating the lower levels of the Vault, the Brotherhood squad met the transformed General Barnaky, now bound to the sterile shell of a combat brainbot. After successfully dealing with the once-great General, the squad confronted the Calculator and managed to destroy the brains that formed the organic part of its computational matrix, corrupting 85% of the main protocol programming.Calculator: "Greetings. I am the Calculator, overseer of the Vault Network.You have proven to be a statistical anomaly that crashed my logistics programs time and time again. It is my admiration of your adaptation and ingenuity that brings you to me.I assume that you would agree that ten Behemoth robots would terminate you and your squad? I have the resources to make such an offensive, but it is not in my interest.After all, you are quite the remarkable human and, more importantly, you have something I need.It is the organic portion of my mainframe that has become corrupted. The degeneration of my symbiotic brains has corrupted eighty-five percent of main protocol programming.It would take only one brain to bring my organic subsystems back online, but finding a feasible brain has become a problem.I would use a brain from one of Vault 0's residents, but I compute that my CPU would only become less efficient.However there is another solution.Yours is a brain can bring balance to my organic neuro-network.I am offering you what you humans call a "dream come true."You can shed your mortal shell and join with me. You will share my power and resources to save humanity and restore civilization from the smoking ruins of the wasteland.Your name will never be forgotten and be synonymous with the word "hero."What say you, warrior?Will you continue to fight me?Destroy me and continue to carve some small, insignificant niche for the Brotherhood?While the Brotherhood may tame a region, they will never have the lasting impact I alone can.The machinery you see before you has the capacity to remove your brain from its mortal vessel.It is in this machine that your journey to save mankind will truly begin.You must hurry, human. My systems cannot function long without a symbiotic brain."(MIS 26 Speech.txt) 
The Calculator pleaded with the Warrior to sacrifice themselves and help stabilize the network, in exchange for becoming the leader of the robotic army, but the Warrior refused and destroyed the machine, disabling the entire robotic army in mid-step, preventing the second holocaust of humanity. After the smoke cleared, the Brotherhood devoted time to rebuilding its massive losses. The ruined Vault 0 was claimed as its main base of operations, while the remaining forces rallied. The weak Brotherhood found itself at odds with opportunistic raiders, fighting a guerrilla war against the military order and its realm. The Brotherhood suffers major setbacks, losing outposts and men as it consolidates its power base. Eventually, it manages to prevail and form close bonds with the peoples under its protection, creating a new regime under the command the Warrior, now a General of the Brotherhood. Humanity began to prosper under their care and leadership.Fallout Tactics endings: "When the acrid smoke clearsm nothing remains of the entity known as the Calculator except burnt wires and broken valves. It is a decisive victory for humanity, for at a crucial point in the raging battle the robots were stopped dead in their course of destruction. The Warrior can only ponder on the lost opportunity that the destruction of such a technological marvel represents. History has shown that even the victors of battle have some regrets, but sometimes one must move forward. The Brotherhood is quick to establish Vault 0 as its main base of operations. Although much destruction was wrought here it still represents a massive store house of knowledge and technology. The ancient structure becomes the central hub of operations, coordinating between outposts far and near and reinforcing their supply lines and transport routes across the countryside, ironically mimicking the original purpose of their defeated enemy.Recruitment and education of the local tribal and village populations becomes the all-important mission of the depleted and wounded Brotherhood, but the education is not once sided. After generations of surviving in the harshness of the wastelands the indigenous people are in tune with the land. They have valuable lessons to teach those immersed solely with technology, lessons of nature and balance that the Brotherhood had previously neglected. Not all of the wasteland's inhabitants are sharing the same noble purpose: opportunistic raiders and bandits enjoy the fruits of a recovering war torn Brotherhood. Patrols are scarce and in smaller numbers than the thieves remember encountering in the past, as the Brotherhood focuses on consolidating its power base. Several frontier outposts are lost as the Brotherhood finds they are fighting a guerrilla war without the support of large numbers, but adversity and hardship are as familiar to the Brotherhood as discipline and knowledge and they learn their lessons quickly. With a new power over this region comes a new responsibility. All plans for re-establishing contact with the west are postponed indefinitely.Recruitment begins anew and the initiate ranks swell. All military efforts are then concentrated on uprooting all outlaw predators in the region, finally making it safe for the Brotherhood and its allies. In time the Brotherhood once again rules the land. Resources are then allocated to expansion and development. Technology becomes more widespread; with irrigation systems established to make the nuclear blasted land fertile, humanity once again starts to prosper. The Hero, the warrior of the Brotherhood, now a general, shares the burden and the satisfaction of overseeing civilization's development. The Brotherhood of Steel has come through the trials of this region and emerged scarred but wiser. It will be decades before a reunion is possible between the old Brotherhood and the new Brotherhood regime. In that time there are new alliances to be made, new battles to be fought, new victories to be had, but that is a tale for another day."
==Appearances==
The Brotherhood-Calculator War appears in Fallout Tactics.
==See also==
* Fallout Tactics endings
==References==
Category:Brotherhood of Steel conflicts
ru:Военная кампания Среднезападного Братства Стали против Калькулятора
uk:Військова кампанія Середньозахідного Братства Сталі проти Калькулятора