The Citadel’s penitentiary section was far smaller than most of its other areas. As far as Unity could tell from the minds of her subjects, before the bombs fell Chinese spies were usually held in top-secret black sites for interrogation. Along with actually innocent immigrants of Chinese descent who were unlucky enough to be suspected of espionage, and other Asians who, in the eyes of the ignorant, simply looked Chinese. American traitors were usually executed either quietly or with great public fanfare, depending on whether the reason would be good for propaganda or not.

As a result, the Citadel, or Pentagon as it was known before the war, tended to only hold those few terrorists, insurgents, and peaceful protestors who had dared get too close and somehow managed to survive the inevitably excessive security response. Since said survivors were incredibly rare, the government had decided that a handful of cramped cells would be more than sufficient. The Brotherhood of Steel had never bothered to expand them either, as imprisoning raiders almost always proved pointless and capturing live Super Mutants was far more trouble than it was worth.

Even the war with the Enclave hadn’t changed things much. Any Enclave personnel that were taken alive were interrogated and either ended up defecting, executed for war crimes, or were returned to the Enclave as part of a prisoner swap once the war had ended.

In the end, only one prisoner remained. Unity didn’t know if the Brotherhood had refused to release him, or if the Enclave hadn’t even bothered asking. Either way, she didn’t care. She could feel his mind as she stalked towards his cell; a dour mix of humiliation, muted anger, and resignation.

The door was made of thick steel, with a couple of small slots for observing the prisoner or shoving a trayful of food through. Unity slid open one of the slots and peered inside.

Colonel Autumn was lying on a rickety cot in one corner of the room. He was wearing a simple gray t-shirt with matching pants, his hair and stubble had grown out in an untidy mess, and his bare arms were covered in fresh scars that spoke of invasive surgery to repair shattered arms. A simple steel toilet was the only other decoration in the spartan room.

“You know I’m not going to talk, so say what you’re here to say and fuck off,” Autumn said bluntly.

Unity huffed a laugh and shut the viewing slot. She considered summoning whoever had the cell’s key and having them open the door, before deciding against it and reaching out with a hand. The lock was no match for her power; metal groaned and creaked as she calmly ripped the mechanism apart, then hauled the door open.

Autumn looked up, confusion and nausea marring his expression as Unity stepped into the room. “Who the hell are you?” He asked in a remarkably even tone. Unity had to admire his courage.

“You don’t remember me?” She asked coyly.

To her surprise, Autumn just looked her up and down, then sighed and sat up straight, swinging his legs over the side of the cot, clutching at his stomach as the proximity to her psychic might affected him. “You bear a striking resemblance to Senator Lily, so at a guess I’d say you were related to her somehow. Did that old witch somehow have a child that I didn’t know about, or were you conceived through Assigned Procreation?”

The realization that Unity had subconsciously made herself look like her detested mother sent a wave of conflicting emotions flowing through her. She scowled as she replied, “The former, in a manner of speaking, though I certainly wasn’t conceived in any normal manner.”

“Good. You’re not one of mine, then,” Autumn put in.

A memory of an intimate encounter with Unity’s mother floated across Autumn’s mind, and Unity instinctively shoved the memory from his thoughts, making him twitch and hold his head. She was suddenly the slightest bit grateful that her mother had taken to wearing that wretched psychic inhibitor. “I did not know that you and Senator Lily were… intertwined that way.”

“Don’t get the wrong idea, it was merely a casual relationship,” Autumn replied gruffly. He looked up at Unity again and narrowed his eyes. “Who exactly are you? Are you with the Brotherhood of Steel or the Enclave?”

“Neither anymore,” Unity told him. “I was raised in Raven Rock, up until recently, which is actually where you and I first met.” Autumn raised an eyebrow, clearly not believing her. “I don’t blame you for not remembering. It was some time ago, and I wasn’t in this form. In truth, you didn’t actually see me in person, and I don’t think you really understood who was talking to you.”

Autumn frowned, his thoughts racing as he tried to figure out what she meant. “What are you talking about?”

“Do you remember the time you marched down to the sub-basements because you heard about the stored samples of Scorch Plague in the secret labs?” Unity grinned as Autumn suddenly realized what she was referring to with a jolt. “Yes, that was me.”

“That’s impossible,” Autumn said flatly.

Unity shrugged, then reached out with her power to plant her words directly into his mind, ‘I assure you, it is entirely possible.’

The blood drained instantly from Autumn’s face. “You’re a telepath?! Just like Sunset Shimmer?!”

‘Not quite’, Unity told him. “My abilities are far more powerful than hers.” As raw terror twisted both his expression and his mind, Unity continued, “That was the first time I managed to deactivate the stasis field my mother kept me in when she was absent. You have no idea how thrilling it was to sense a different mind, to see thoughts and feelings unlike any I had seen before. I had to reach out to you.”

“I thought I was hallucinating!” Autumn barked. “That whole sub-level was locked down and I was quarantined for three weeks because of you!”

“Well, small sacrifices must be made in the pursuit of our goals,” Unity said calmly. “I learned that from you. The depths of your mind fascinated me; such emotions, such drive, such ruthless dedication to your cause. Through you, I saw what was achievable with power and resources. You inspired me.” A wave of concern wafted from Autumn as he suddenly wondered why no-one from the Brotherhood was present. “The Brotherhood isn’t a problem anymore. Soon, the Enclave won’t be either. I am going to succeed where you and President Eden failed. This wasteland, this country, and this continent, will belong to me.”

Something died in Autumn’s eyes at her words. He looked down at the floor, his thoughts all coming down to one simple question. “What do you want with me?”

Unity smiled softly. “I just wanted to thank you for giving me the tools and vision I needed to pursue my father’s dream.” Autumn shivered as her power slid into his mind. It was harder than Unity expected to command him without losing her grip on one of her other subjects, but it wasn’t long before she managed to assume control. “Your thoughts will no longer be your own, but I felt that you deserved to be lucid when I thanked you.”

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