The Scourge

The ScourgeThe Lone Wanderer: "How did you end up in the Brotherhood?"Kodiak: "Now that's a story... The only reason I'm here is because of Elder Lyons. You see, I grew up in the Pitt. Don't suppose you've ever been there, huh? It's about 500 klicks to the northwest. Place is a nightmare -- three irradiated rivers coming together. People there were... not well. But the Brotherhood of Steel came down on the place with a righteous hammer. They called it 'The Scourge.'"(Kodiak's dialogue) is the term often used by the Pitt's inhabitants to refer to the battle and mop-up operations conducted by the Brotherhood of Steel in the Pitt after their arrival in Washington, D.C.
==Background==
After reaching the Capital Wasteland and establishing a base at the Pentagon, Star Paladin Lyons led an expedition to the ruins of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Over a hundred and fifty years passed since the conflict between the Union and the Fanatics, with the Pitt devolving into a pit of violence and despair within fifty years of the Great War.Fallout 3 Official Game Guide Game of the Year Edition p.43-44:"Pitt RaidersPitt SlavesTrogsWildmenFollowing the Great War, survivors established a settlement on the remains of a city at the confluence of rivers. The rivers seem to provide a clear resource, and enough of the city was cleared by the bombs that a new settlement could be established. However, radioactive material and unidentified mutagens mixed into the groundwater, causing it to become slightly mutagenic and highly carcinogenic. As a result, the people in the new settlement began to change ever so slightly.The changes were subtle, not nearly to the degree of the Super Mutants or the various Wasteland creatures, but over the next 140 years, it became undeniable that something was affecting the people of The Pitt. Starting from the first few years, children were often born with strange growths or extra vestigial limbs. The mutations never went far beyond the occasional hunchback or cleft palate, but it wasn't long before the vast majority of the residents of The Pitt developed some sort of physical deformity in their lifetimes. Although many children were born 'clean,' the older they got, the more likely that a problem would develop.The most disturbing change that the environment caused was not nearly as noticeable as the physical deformities. The infected water and poisoned sky began to cause neurological damage to those exposed to it. People became more hostile, violent, and short-tempered; they became known as 'Wildmen.' Their emotions became out of control, and their actions often teetered on primal. In severe cases, mutated humans devolved into hunched, savage beasts nicknamed 'Trogs.' Over the first 50 years, The Pitt quickly degenerated into a dangerous den of murderers and rapists; even cannibalism was not uncommon. The only loyalty was in strength, and the only organization was between those who were strong enough to control others and those who were controlled."(Fallout 3 Official Game Guide faction profiles) Most of the people suffered from severe mutations and cancers, caused by the confluence of three irradiated rivers and pre-War chemical pollution by Abraxodyne Chemical,The Trench terminal entries as well as the rampant Troglodyte Degeneration Contagion, which the Union only barely started to understood. The sickness consistently caused a non-trivial amount of people to suffer mental degradation. Even if not turning into trogs outright, these wildmen lose all sense of self. All that drives them are basic instincts: sating hunger, having sex, and killing all who would encroach on their territory.The Lone Wanderer: "How did the city get started?"Wernher: "After the war, the place just turns into a shithole. The buildings start falling over and the sickness makes people just turn on each other. Some of them... change. They lose any sense of who they are. They just go around killing and fucking and eating. Like animals, man. Some people are still okay, but just... I don't know. Anyway, about 30 years ago, those Brotherhood guys come in and wipe the place out. They kill all of these sick fucks. Anything that looks like it's going to fight -- Bam! Then they take whatever they were looking for and leave."(Wernher's dialogue)
As a result, the Pitt had a relatively small population of people who could be considered sane or otherwise fit for a normal society. Most of its denizens belong to a variety of rape gangs, torture squads, raider warbands, slavers, and other horrors.The Lone Wanderer: "That's awful! How could the Brotherhood do that?"Kodiak: "Normally, that would get you a crack across the jaw. But since you didn't know what the Pitt was like, I'll let it go. I still have nightmares about the place. Thirty years and how many horrors later, and the Pitt is still the worst thing I've ever seen. It was ugly work, sure. Questionably moral? No doubt. But there was no other choice. That city had to go."(Kodiak's dialogue)The Lone Wanderer: "What was the Scourge?"Kodiak: "It was a Brotherhood operation. They marched in and swept the place clean. Most of the people there were half-mutated, cancerous, vile things. And these people... rape gangs, torture squads... it was pure chaos there. The Scourge is the best thing that could have happened to it. This was way back, before the Citadel was fortified. Part of the early recon after the Brotherhood first arrived in this area. One night, a squad of Brothers led by Paladin Lyons swept into the city from over Mount Wash, tearing apart anyone who stood against them. They were completely outnumbered. And still they razed that place to the ground."(Kodiak's dialogue)
==Events==
After arriving in the Capital Wasteland, Lyons' team performed long-range recon into the Pitt. Owyn Lyons, a star paladin at the time, made the decision to scourge the Pitt and recover technology, as per the Lost Hills elders' mandate. He made the decision despite his squad being completely outnumbered and outgunned.The Lone Wanderer: "That's pretty amazing, Kodiak."Kodiak: "Nah. The amazing thing is Elder Lyons. He risked everything -- went in outmanned and outgunned. I'll never be able to thank him enough. So I do my best to serve the Brotherhood. I know that's what he really wants. In time, I'm sure you'll understand..."(Kodiak's dialogue) His brazen decision earned him the admiration of his fellow brothers, including Henry Casdin.The Lone Wanderer: "How did Lyons change the Brotherhood?"Henry Casdin: "Oh, he used to be as tough as the rest of us. Wasn't so long ago, we fought side-by-side to Scourge the Pitt. But somewhere, he went soft. Stopped looking at the big picture, and started trying to save every tribal and illiterate community he found. When he had us helping those savages instead of recovering tech that could help us all, that's when we objected and became Outcasts."(Henry Casdin's dialogue) The Pitt was to be looted completely and wiped off the map.The Lone Wanderer: "How did The Pitt get started?"Ishmael Ashur: "Believe it or not, it started when the Brotherhood decided to loot this hellhole and wipe it off the map. We called it the Scourge. Back then, I was 'Initiate Ashur.' But that ended when the Brotherhood left me behind, and I came to see The Pitt in a new light. I was found by tribals who thought I was a god. I didn't argue, and with my leadership and their divine dedication, we began rebuilding this city."(Ishmael Ashur's dialogue)
Lyons' forces set up a staging area in western Pitt, at Mount Washington (known to the locals as Mount Wash). The Brotherhood swept from west to east through the ruined city, with the fighting engulfing the old steel production facilities. Although outnumbered, Lyons' soldiers had superior weapons, training, and power armor, which gave them a clear advantage over the disorganized, borderline feral opposition. Lyons apparently issued orders to kill anything and anyone who might fight back, which led to the wholesale slaughter of virtually all of the people suffering from TDC and related degenerative conditions, and other residents who put up a fight.The Lone Wanderer: "Tell me about what the Brotherhood did."Wernher: "Well, as bad as The Pitt is, it used to be worse. Much worse. It was complete chaos. Every man for himself. About the time I was born, those Brotherhood guys swept through the place. Killed anything that put up a fight. More'n half the place was dead by the time they were done. It was a slaughter. But they got the worst of the worst. If it weren't for the Brotherhood sweeping the place, I doubt Ashur would have been able to get control of as much as he has."(Wernher's dialogue)
What the Brotherhood could not take, they destroyed. An explosion during the operation resulted in the only casualty the Brotherhood suffered, Ishmael Ashur, buried under rubble in the mill. Rather than retrieve him, the Brotherhood moved on, assuming he was killed in action.Ashur's Diary 2: The Scourge
==Aftermath==
The operation lasted a single night, and ended with the recovery of unspecified technologies,Fallout 3 Official Game Guide Game of the Year Edition pp.43-44"In 2042, Star Paladin Lyons of the Brotherhood of Steel led the Scourge, a large-scale military action that wiped out nearly the entire population of The Pitt. In a single night, the Brotherhood swept through the city, eliminating any resident who put up a fight. Although the intent of the Scourge remains unclear, several unmutated children were taken from The Pitt by the Brotherhood and placed into initiate training. The motivations for the Scourge are unclear to this day, but many in the Brotherhood note that it was a marked change in the way the Brotherhood operates. Additionally, it is known that something was recovered from The Pitt during the Scourge, although to date it would seem that only Elder Lyons knows what it was.It is said that a Brotherhood of Steel Paladin from the Scourge stayed on in The Pitt, seeking to bring law and order to the unwashed masses and creating an underclass of Pitt Slaves in the process, guarded by Pitt Raiders under his personal command. However, in the decades following the events of the Scourge, nobody has heard anything from The Pitt. Travelers who have gone to investigate have not returned, and no survivors have emerged."(Fallout 3 Official Game Guide faction profiles) and the recovery of approximately 20 unmutated children. Evacuated from the city, they would later be initiated into the Brotherhood.The Lone Wanderer: "How did you escape?"Kodiak: "As they swept through, the Brotherhood policed up every non-mutie child they could find. Turns out, there weren't that many. Me and maybe twenty others. The younger we were, the less of a chance that we were mutated. It was ugly work, no doubt, but it had to be done. I'll never forget the sight of the Brotherhood of Steel breaching the breast of the mountain at dawn."(Kodiak's dialogue) Most completed their initiation and became full members of the Brotherhood, only to die in battle later on. By 2277, only one remains stationed at the Citadel: Greg Bear, nicknamed Kodiak, stationed with Lyons' Pride.The Lone Wanderer: "What happened to the other kids from the Pitt?"Kodiak: "All of 'em became Initiates. Most of them went on to become Brothers. A lot fell in action. I'm the only survivor of the Scourge of the Pitt still stationed at the Citadel."(Kodiak's dialogue) The Pitt was razed to the ground and over half of its population dead by the time the Brotherhood pulled out, in what is described as a calming of the Pitt.The Lone Wanderer: "I remember hearing about The Pitt from a guy in the Citadel."Wernher: "The Citadel, huh? That's the Brotherhood of Steel fortress, right? Yeah, I know about those guys. He must have been part of the attack that cleaned up The Pitt. Well... it didn't so much clean it up as it calmed it down. No way that hellhole could ever be cleaned up without the cure. That's why those guys were after me."(Wernher's dialogue)
This slaughter had other after-effects. Ashur, presumed dead, survived and established himself as the leader of the survivors. Presenting himself as a mere initiate, he rallied the people around him. With most of the trogs and the wildmen dead, they had a rare opportunity to rebuild. The looting by Lyons was severe, but left behind a substantial amount of material and especially people to rebuild with. The Brotherhood left behind whatever it considered "damaged goods." For example, the Brotherhood took Greg Bear, but not his elder brothers, as they were considered too far gone. Ashur had a different idea and took them under his wing and shaped them into some of his finest soldiers.The Lone Wanderer: "How did you rebuild after the Scourge?"Ishmael Ashur: "It wasn't actually that tough. The Scourge had cleared out a lot of Trogs, so we had space to move in. The Brotherhood had looted a lot, but they left even more behind as 'damaged goods.' And you can rebuild a lot out of 'damaged goods.' For example, they took one survivor, a kid the called 'Kodiak'. But they left his big brothers behind, because they were too wild and mean. But as it turns out, the Bear Brothers were some of my finest soldiers. At least, until they went up against you."(Ishmael Ashur's dialogue) 
It was one of the ways Ashur married his Brotherhood education (encompassing both martial and scientific affairs) with pragmatism, transforming the wrecked city into an industrial powerhouse.Diary 3: The Mill He rejected the Brotherhood's ways, believing their approach to be a sign of laziness: rather than restore a dying city, they just loot it and move on, refusing to do the work necessary to restore it.The Lone Wanderer: "Do you ever miss the Brotherhood of Steel?"Ishmael Ashur: "Not in the slightest. During the Scourge, we looted The Pitt and left the rest of it to rot. I was just a dumb convert who got stuck here afterwards. See, beneath it all, the Brotherhood's just lazy. It's easier to loot a dying city than work to bring it back to life, so that's what they did. They're so obsessed with the technology of the past, they don't care what needs to be done for today and tomorrow. It takes real work to rebuild and run a city. But there isn't a machine to do it for them, so the Brotherhood ain't interested. Good riddance."(Ishmael Ashur's dialogue) While his harsh rule eventually led some to resent him, especially those born after the Scourge, like Wernher or Midea, even those opposed to Ashur realize that the Pitt was much, much worse until he came along.The Lone Wanderer: "I want to talk about The Pitt."Midea: "I was born shortly after the Brotherhood Scourge. As bad as it is now, I can't imagine what it was like before Ashur. Some of the stories I heard when I was a little girl... about the Trogs and the Wildmen would scare the hell out of you. I don't care how tough you were. Honestly, I don't know how anything survived, let alone how Ashur managed to control any of those freaks. Sometimes... just sometimes, I think that maybe things are better with him here..."(Midea's dialogue)
==Appearances==
The Scourge is mentioned and its add-on The Pitt.
==References==
Non-game
Note
Category:Brotherhood of Steel conflicts
Category:The Pitt (location)
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