Railroad Patriot Fallout 4
Janeen Bahrke
A pre-War patriot militia, the Sons of Liberty have adapted well to the world of post-War America, albeit outside the confines of the once welcoming Martha's Gulch. The Sons of Liberty are currently settled in the Willamette Valley with numerous settlements dotted around the region.
The Sons of Liberty is the oldest of the founding groups of Martha's Gulch, founded all the way back in 1970 following the creation of the thirteen commonwealths. They felt that governmental powers had gone amok and had to be checked by "a militia of the people". For more than a century, the Sons of Liberty attempted to be that militia to mixed results.
By 2074, the Sons of Liberty had fallen from its zenith in membership, and their concerns over government were seen as pretty much irrevelant because of the larger war going on. However, their advocacy had attracted the attention of Martha Lore, war profiteer and libertarian billionaire, who offered the Sons a place in her refuge, Martha's Gulch. Their leader then, Iago Windham, heartily accepted Martha's proposal but many of the remaining Sons of Liberty distrusted Windham, and only a few went to Martha's Gulch with Windham. At Martha's Gulch, the Sons of Liberty attempted to cooperate with the other groups and assist Martha Lore in trying to keep everyone together. When the bombs began to fall on October 23, 2077, the Sons of Liberty filed into the fallout shelter of Martha's Gulch.
Soon after going underground, tensions began to flare up once again relating to the New Order. Siding with Atlas Guard and the Watchmen on most issues, the Sons of Liberty saw the New Order's presence as detrimental but not wholly unneeded, hoping their behavior would improve. Eventually, when the New Order became violent, the Sons of Liberty did not stop their expulsion. While underground, the Sons of Liberty became closer to Atlas Guard while also being more alienated towards the paranoid Watchmen.
At the behest of Martha Lore, the Sons of Liberty along with the other groups emerged from their fallout shelter to find the New Order making a hardscrabble existence on the surface. Approving of their drive to survive, most of the Sons of Liberty forgave the New Order of their past ills and focused their dislike on the increasingly troublesome Watchmen.
In late 2080, the Watchmen's paranoia got the better of them, and they left. Everyone was happy because of it. For around the next half a century, the groups continued to live on in Martha's Gulch in an isolated peace with Martha as their nominal ruler. The Sons of the Liberty stayed in Martha's Gulch and tilled the land, not being good farmers but managing to scrape by.
The next century or so was quite tranquil for the Sons of Liberty, keeping to themselves for the most part while observing the New Order, Atlas Guard, and Pantheon Radio going at each others' throats. The Guard at least tried to act as mediators but the Sons of Liberty preferred isolation in their section of Martha's Gulch, only coming out for community events and joint training sessions.
So, it naturally came as a shock to them when the New Order betrayed the other groups in 2211 and attacked Pantheon Radio. The Sons of Liberty, then led by Commander Reese Glover, rushed to the defense of Pantheon Radio and were later horrified by news of the New Order's atrocities in Seattle and other parts of the wasteland. In fact, upon hearing about what the New Order did and feeling extreme guilt, Commander Glover committed suicide. This further confused and saddened the Sons of Liberty.
For the next decade or so, tension between the Sons of Liberty and Atlas Guard grew to increasingly uncomfortable levels. This was primarily fueled by conspiracy theorists on both sides accusing the other of covering up for the New Order and "silencing" PantheonRadio. As Martha's Gulch began to open up, the tensions only grew as the two groups jockeyed for caravans. The situation reached boiling point in 2224 when the favorite pet Apeshit of the Guard's commander George Banner got shot by some drunken Sons of Liberty who claimed it had "gone feral". The situation calmed down after a few weeks but it was clear: someone had to go.
That someone was the Sons of Liberty. The Guard outnumbered them three to two and had better equipment as well. If push came to shove, the Sons of Liberty would lose a war with them. So, in late 2225 the Sons of Liberty decided it was time for them to leave Martha's Gulch after more than a century.
The early years were especially hard on the Sons of Liberty. The group had gotten rather soft from years of farm living, not ready to brave the wasteland and wilderness of Cascadia. Many died in that first winter of 2226, including the current Commander.
As time went on though, the Sons of Liberty managed to effectively survive and looked for a new place to settle. This was harried by homesteaders suspicious of such a large armed group, tribals hostiles hostile to any outsiders, and naturally mutated wildlife. Nonetheless, the Sons of Liberty searched for a new home, free of petty politics and far from the ilk of Ayn Rand. Their commander then, Joe Montana, even went with the scouts to look for new, better lands. They wandered the wilderness for nine years and in that time got used to the land. The Sons of Liberty even heard of a great nation to the south headed by a "Great Mother".
After almost a decade of searching, scouts for the Sons of Liberty finally found a new place to call home: the Willamette Valley in Oregon. The land was fertile and for the most part, peaceful. The Sons of Liberty crossed the Columbia River at Portland to enter Oregon, avoided the Haunted City of Sayland, and quickly settled the northern part of the river valley in 2235. The Oregon tribals of area did not take kindly to the perceived invasion and attacked the Sons of Liberty's new settlements. Though they had better weapons and battle experience, the Sons of Liberty could not overcome the tribals' numbers and the conflict dragged on for eight years, costing many lives.
That was until one Owen Curtis emerged. Seemingly a mercenary traveling north with a travelling congregation, Owen was actually an Enclave deserter looking for something better to fight for. He had first turned to religion and gone north with the congregation on their exodus. However, upon arriving in the Willamette River Valley and witnessing the embattled Sons of Liberty fighting to make a new better America, Owen decided that he was needed there.
In rare early instance of outsiders being allowed to join, Owen's advanced weaponry and battle experience impressed enough people to be allowed to join the Sons of Liberty in 2242. Seeing that many of the Sons of Liberty, though good shots and guerrillas, were amateur tacticians fighting against the tribals, Owen offered to train the Sons using his expertise in strategy learned from time in the Enclave (though he told no one of that). He was rejected by Joe Montana the first time for being "presumptuous" but after a second request, his assistance was accepted.
Owen's experience from the Enclave proved very useful to the Sons of Liberty and through utilization of his battle tactics, the Sons of Liberty finally got the upper-hand on the tribals of the region. A defeat near Salem particularly drained the tribals. The Oregon tribals of the Willamette Valley, pushed to their limits, sued for peace with the Sons of Liberty in mid 2242. Surprised that the cannibalistic tribals would ever offer peace, the Sons of Liberty asked for a meeting to hash out plans for peace. The meeting took place near Oregon City, and the groups tried to hash out some lasting peace between them. The conference was going well and was almost finished when it was instead interrupted by the appearance of the Vault 14 Explorers. The two groups nearly gunned down the excitable vault dwellers on the spot, but cooler heads prevailed within all three groups. Afterwards, the Vault 14 Explorers got to sit on the proceedings, helping here and there but overall having very little effect.
On July 15, 2242, the Sons of Liberty and the Oregon tribals of the Willamette Valley made peace, both in writing and a tribal blood ritual. Land was exchanged, agreements were made, and peace was achieved, for the moment at least. Various skirmishes took place between Sons of Liberty and Oregon tribals afterwards but nothing approaching the devastation of the past war.
After it was apparent peace had been achieved with the tribals, Commander Joe Montana set about rebuilding damaged settlements and expanding existing ones. He also set about creating a concrete entity for the land the Sons of Liberty called home: NAP Territory. Named after the acronym for the titular non-aggression principle, the NAP Territory would be the Sons of Liberty's "Martha's Gulch away from Martha's Gulch", where libertarian ideals would tested (and often pushed to their limits). Also, Joe Montana established the very first iteration of the Sons of Liberty Radio Station in 2245, which was rebuilt in 2249 after being burned down by an electrical fire.
At the same time, the increasingly popular Owen Curtis was leading a patriotic and religious revival within the Sons of Liberty. Using knowledge learned from his time in the Enclave and traveling with holy people, Owen told stories about pre-War events such as the war between the states, the moon landing, the Cold War, and all he knew about the Great War. He also occasionally recited scripture. This interested many people, and Owen gained a substantial following in the years after the end of the war with the tribals. A major milestone in this movement was the building of the Sons' first church in 2248. This new conservative bloc of the Sons of Liberty worried Commander Joe Montana, who feared Owen's growing power, his unclear intentions, and his severe lack of foresight for his actions.
By 2250, the Sons of Liberty had become a real regional power, effectively controlling the northern part of the Willamette Valley. Trade passing through the Sons of Liberty's territory benefited from their presence and at that time, they were well-liked by many caravans and traders for clearing out the troublesome tribals in the area.
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