| Olivia Milton | |
| |
| General Information | |
| Date of Birth: | 2238 |
| Age: | 49 |
| Location Information | |
| Status Information | |
| Status: | Active |
| Occupation: | Ambassador |
| Physical Information | |
| Gender: | Female |
| Race: | Human |
| Height: | 5'8" |
The former commander of the Army of Revolution, Olivia Milton came from humble beginnings and worked her way up through the ranks to eventually lead the force. After the disastrous Revolutionary War in which the Revolutionaries were defeated, Milton was forces to step down and effectively exiled for her failure.
History[]
Humble Beginnings[]
Olivia Milton was born in 2238 in a small farming community located in northern Michigan. The younger of two children, she and her brother Kevin had a close bond as they grew up, one reinforced by the harsh conditions in which they lived. While raiders were rarely a problem due to the thin population of the area, the community was still plagued by various wild and mutated creatures from the wastelands. From an early age, Olivia was taught to use a gun so that she could protect herself and her family.
The harsh life took a toll on them. Her father began to drink heavily, and fell into alcoholism after the death of their mother in 2249. An angry drunk, he would take out his aggressions on his children. Rather then being cowed, both Olivia and Kevin learned to stand up for themselves and even fight back against him. Finally in 2253, following a bad winter that wiped out most of their crop, Olivia and Kevin simply left home, taking with them their weapons and the family’s cap stash. They left their father behind to drown in his own impotent rage, and never once looked back.
Travelling across the Michigan wastelands, the pair of them were able to sell themselves as caravan guards, taking advantage of the lessons they’d learned in the name of self-defence against both marauding wildlife and their father. The pair of them proved to be capable, protecting their charges against all manner of threats as they travelled across the wasteland. At the same time, they both had each other’s backs, watching out for each other and ensuring that neither would fall victim to the various threats that might imperil them.
While initially Olivia and Kevin had no fixed destination in mind, as time went on they gravitated towards those caravans headed towards the Detroit Wasteland. All they had learned about the ruined city suggested that, despite the devastation it had suffered and constant state of low-level warfare, it was still an island of civilization in the wilderness. Furthermore, the city offered them opportunities that they would not find out wandering the wastelands, especially given their skillset and the constant need for capable soldiers.
Joining the revolution[]
In 2255, the pair of them arrived in the Detroit Wasteland through the trading hub of Park Lane. At that point, the city was in the middle of a growing conflict between its various organised settlements and a group known as the Army of Revolution, which sought to take control of the city. The latter was quietly snapping up warm bodies as soon as they could to bulk out their forces, often hiring through proxy. Despite the fact that they were often a victim of Revolutionary raids, Park Lane did nothing to stop their recruiters, who in turn ensured a constant flow of caps into the city’s coffers.
The Miltons were approached by one such recruiter, who claimed to be representing an independent outfit that was seeking hires for treasure-hunting duties. Sussing him out, the pair of them got him to admit that he was working for the Army of Revolution; after some discussion, they decided that this would be the best opportunity for them, especially given the ongoing conflict within the city and the clear high turnover rate of independent operators.
After receiving their signing bonus (as well as a little extra as a payment form the recruiter for keeping quiet about what he was doing), the pair of them were sent to an Army of Revolution forward base camp, which was an overly elaborate name for a derelict strip mall that the force was squatting in. While their actual training was minimal, the pair of them were subjected to an indoctrination that was heavy on pre-war imagery and emphasised the Army’s ideals of restoring the ‘real’ America, while also playing on the organisation’s supposed three hundred year history.
Once they were thoroughly tested (more for their loyalty and belief in the cause then any actual competency), the Miltons were thrown into the frontlines of an escalating war of raids and counter-raids against the city’s settlements. Weather working together or separately, the pair of them proved to be far more capable then the average recruit, showing skill and imitative that allowed them to not only survive but actively thrive in the ongoing conflict. Soon both were leading their own squads, having outstripped (and quite often, outlived) their contemporaries.
Olivia Milton’s first action as a sergeant only bought her even more distinction. An attack on a scavenger party, aimed at stealing whatever salvage they had on hand, quickly escalated out of control. The scavengers had been working on a pre-war weapons factory, and were being protected by a pair of Black Skull Company soldiers. Finding herself at a sudden disadvantage against a pair of skilled veterans, Olivia moved quickly and decisively to try and outmanoeuvre her opponents and regain the initiative. Her plan paid off, and while half her squad lay dead, so did the two Black Skull troopers, one of which had been a unit founder. And most importantly, the Revolutionaries not only took the salvage the scavengers had recovered, but also used their information to secure the site for their own.
The counter-revolution[]
As the fighting continued to escalate, Olivia Milton remained at the forefront of the conflict. Following several more victories, she was promoted to lieutenant, in charge of a platoon of soldiers. Milton proved to be a harsh taskmaster, very demanding of her men and expecting nothing but the best from them. At the same time, however, she treated them with far more respect then the average Revolutionary officer usually offered, and treated them as being more then the cannon fodder that many saw them as.
On the personal side of things, Oliva had started as relationship with Alan Wilkins, another revolutionary officer. The pair of them did their best to keep it discrete, as such relationships were officially frowned upon. While affectionate and intimate, their relationship was not without its perils, both from the need to maintain privacy, as well as the pressures of being a part of an active millitary force. The biggest strain on their relationship came when Olivia discovered that she was infertile, something that threw their plans.
Like Olivia, Kevin had found success within the army, with his career paralleling hers in a number of ways. This included in his personal life; Kevin having begun an affair with Wendy Lau, a supporting technician and weapon smith. In 2262, Lau bore him a daughter Lisa whom Olivia couldn’t help but dote on. Behind the scenes, the pair of them continued to watch each other’s backs, ensuring that the other was protected from the Army’s oft vicious internal politics.
But the greatest threat to them would, as allways, come form the outside. In 2264, the Black Skull Company began an organised campaign aimed at driving the Army of Revolution out of the city and ending their threat. After suffering a number of losses, the Army’s leadership stepped up operations in the hope of defeating their enemy. This instead played into the Mercenaries’ hands, as the Revolutionaries overextended themselves while trying to fight back, and only wound up exacerbating their losses.
While she suffered defeats several times during this offensive, Olivia’s worst losses were on a personal level. Both Kevin Milton and Alan Wilkins were killed in action by Black Skull soldiers. Internally devastated, she did her best to maintain a professional demeanour and focus on her duties. Despite her effectiveness on the battlefield, however, she was not able to turn the tide of the conflict on her own, and the Army of Revolution continued to lose ground.
In 2265, faced with what they saw as an untenable situation, the Army of Revolution began to scale back their actions within the Detroit Wasteland and withdraw their forces in order to preserve them. Knowing that they would be vulnerable, the Army assigned a number of units to perform rearguard actions and try to buy time for their forces to withdraw. Olivia’s unit was amongst them, left to do what they could to slow the enemy advance with whatever assets they had at hand. While it cost her unit dearly, Milton was able to buy the time the Revolutionaries needed to make good their escape. The withdrawal was not entirely clean or without casualties, however. Wendy Lau was killed in the process, the victim of a simple attack of opportunity.
The long winter[]
Michigan State Mental Hospital
After months of staggered withdrawal, the Army of Revolution regrouped at its headquarters, the Michigan State Mental Hospital. Well outside of the city proper, the facility gave the force what it needed to rest, reorganise and plan for the future. For her part in their withdrawal, Olivia Milton was rewarded with a promotion to captain, the rank somewhat diminished by the losses the army had suffered.
On a personal level, Olivia finally had time to grieve for both her brother and her lover. In keeping with the Army of Revolution’s culture, she was careful to do such privately and inwardly, as to not show any weakness that could be used against her in future. At the same time, as her only living relative, Olivia took custody of Lisa and raised her as her own. As she grew, the two developed a strong familial bond, with Olivia determined to provide her adoptive daughter with the parental support that she’d never had herself.
Her professional life was largely devoted to rebuilding the Army of Revolution and bringing it back into fighting shape. The losses they had sustained were crippling, and had occurred at all levels of their command structure. Adding to this, low morale meant that desertions were commonplace, resulting in an ongoing drain on manpower. Finally, the army’s financial and technological reserves were largely spent, leaving them with little money to hire new recruits or acquire new equipment.
Against these problems, Milton stepped forward with a plan to hire out Army units as mercenaries, operating under false flags and deliberately avoiding taking jobs within the Detroit Wasteland itself. The plan was approved, with Milton being put in command of one of these fake units. For several years, her Razorclaw company operated in the Michigan wastelands, doing whatever jobs they would take for caps. Some of these, such as fighting for Ghouls in the Flint River region, were seen as distasteful, but also necessary to secure the future. During her travels, Milton also discovered several caches of high-tech equipment that were sent back to the Army of Revolution to help rebuild.
In 2275, she was recalled to the Mental Hospital and promoted again to Major. By this point, the Army of Revolution’s condition had turned the corner; they were now taking in more recruits, had a decent financial reserve and had established new stocks of weapons, ammunition and other equipment. Milton was placed in charge of planning and development, with an eye towards a possible return to Detroit. Her intelligence operations suggested that the city had largely forgotten about the Army of Revolution and the threat they once posed; rather, the individual settlements were divided by their own rivalries, and more focused on gaining any advantage over each other then anything else.
Prelude to War[]
In early 2279, Colonel Ben Perry, the commander of the Army of Revolution, chose to step down from his position. In doing so, he appointed Olivia Milton as his successor. This move was largely well received, but there was some dissent. There were those who had sought the position for themselves, or didn’t like the fact that Milton, despite being with the army for neatly a quarter of a century, had come from outside the unit rather then being connected to one of its founders. And then there were a few that simply couldn’t stand the idea of taking orders from a woman. Despite this, Milton was accepted by the majority of the army, who quickly fell in line behind her.
News from the Detroit Wasteland quickly buoyed her position when it was revealed that their long-time enemies, the Black Skull Company, had suffered considerable losses in battle. Having lost their commander and a good potion of their force, the mercenaries had retreated to rebuild, and were lowering their profile. Some speculated that the unit might not survive at all, which lead to a growing voice within the Army calling for war.
In response, Olivia began to make plans with her inner circle for such a return. Not one to rush into things, she wanted to gather as much intelligence as possible on the state of the city and its inhabitants so that she could plan appropriately. Again, there were those voices that questioned her reluctance, suggesting that she was afraid to act. Milton refused to let them goad her, knowing that to rush in would only lead to the destruction of everything they had struggled to build.
The Foundry
These intelligence missions yielded one surprising result, reporting on the rise of an industrial settlement in the Flint River region. Known as the Foundry, this settlement had begun production of weapons, and were openly trading with others. Seeing the value in this development, Milton put out feelers towards the Foundry, finding that they and the Army of Revolution shared a number of common beliefs. This contact lead to a formal alliance, where the Revolutionaries would provide the Foundry with raw material and food in exchange for weapons. Milton even travelled to the Foundry herself to seal the deal, an act that seemed to impress their enigmatic leader.
This development emboldened a number of the Army’s senior members, who became more hawkish and aggressively pushed for war. One of them, Martin Kruger, came forth with a plan he had codenamed SAVAGE HAMMER, aimed at the conquest of the city. While Milton saw his plan as being ambitious, she also could see that Kruger had considerable support behind him in his push for conquest. Seeing an opportunity to massively advance their cause, Milton approved the plan, and in doing so promoted Kruger to second in command of the army.
The Revolutionary War[]
Major Martin Kruger
While she remained the commander of the Army of Revolution, Olivia Milton left much of the day to day management of the conflict to Kruger and her subordinates. She knew from her own experience in their prior conflicts that overly centralised command would only serve to strangle lines of communication, and slow the advance of their forces by sapping them of their individual initiative. This was especially important in a campaign intended to be as far-reaching and sweeping as SAVAGE HAMMER, where momentum would be key to victory.
Internally, however, Milton had taken precautions to ensure that she was fully in the loop and not being deliberately excluded. Her loyal supporters made sure that she received regular and accurate intelligence updates and reports, and that Kruger was not holding anything back from her. While she had no reason to suspect him of any disloyalty, she also was realist enough to know that he wanted her position, and would try to use this war to claim it. However, she remained unware of just how deeply Kruger had subverted her command structure, most notably Majors Ken Pendleton and Kim Cho, the two main field commanders in the conflict.
At first, Milton was pleased with how the war was unfolding. Both of the initial targets, Baggie High and Scrap Iron City, fell quickly (and faster then her own intelligence had suggested). This put them on track for what she saw as one of their three most important goals, the capture of Chryslus Castle. However, as Army’s forces stalled and failed to take the castle or even penetrate its defences, she became concerned.
Taking this to Kruger, she suggested that he call off the southern advance towards Park Lane in order to concentrate on taking Chryslus. He countered by saying that momentum was key to the campaign, and that holding the southern advance would give Park Lane and Grand Central time to organise their defences to stop their forces. Taking this into consideration, Milton agreed to his plan, albeit with some reservations.
Her concerns proved to be justified. Not only were the forces around Chryslus now bogged down and unable to make any headway, but the southern advance also stalled. Having reached the gates of Park Lane, the task force were unable to capitalise on their success and instead found themselves drawn into a morass of fighting with raiders and other irregular forces in downtown. Milton tried to take control of the campaign and order their forces to consolidate and focus on Chryslus, but Kruger’s loyalists ensured that those orders were either lost in the shuffle or not fully acted upon.
Realising just how bad the situation had become, and the degree to which Kruger was trying to undercut her, Milton took direct action. She sent runners that she knew were personally loyal to her to Pendleton and Cho, ordering them to withdraw back to friendly territory. Those messages also made it clear that failure to act on her orders would be considered an act of treason, and subject to the maximum possible penalty. The pair of them agreed, both retreating in order to salvage what forces they could, in essence abandoning the war.
Lisa Milton
The war had been devastating for the Army of Revolution, costing it massive amounts of manpower and equipment for only relatively small gains. For Olivia, the losses were even more personal, as Lisa Milton was reported killed in the last days of fighting.
Aftermath and Exile[]
However, for Milton, the conflict was not over. Kruger and a group of officers loyal to him stormed her office, taking her prisoner. He presented her with jumped-up charges of incompetence and dereliction of duty, in essence shifting the blame for their defeat from him to her. He demanded that she stand down, and let him take command of the Army of Revolution. Fully realising his motivations behind this move, Milton complied with him, knowing that to try and fight back could trigger a civil war within the Army that would destroy what was left.
She did warn him, however, that she still had plenty of supporters, and that any move by Kruger to eliminate her outright would move them to act. While this did infuriate him, he had no choice but to agree and chose to keep her alive, but under house arrest for the time being. Meanwhile, Kruger engaged in a bloody purge of those that he saw as responsible for his defeat, which included a number of officers that had been loyal to him personally, including Pendleton and Cho.
In early 2285, Kruger announced that Oliva Milton would be the Army of Revolution’s new ambassador to the Foundry, appointed to help increase cooperation between the two groups. Olivia immediately saw this for what it was; an attempt to sideline her and diminish her influence within the Army while keeping her supporters in check. However, she also took it as an opportunity, and seemingly played along with his move.
Arriving in the Foundry, rather then playing the role of the reluctant exile as expected, Milton did her best to engage with the settlement and its leadership. She took an active interest in the functions of the settlement and its people, and especially its leader. At the same time, she ensured that she was kept abreast of all that was happening with the Army of Revolution, for good or for ill, and ensured that the Forgemaster was given an accurate and unbiased appraisal of their ongoing situation.
In the last months of 2286, Milton began another personal project. Using information found in the Foundry as well as some other sources, she had begun to suspect that there was a functional, sealed and populated Vault somewhere in Michigan. Using resources outside of the Army of Revolution and the Foundry, she commenced a search both for more tangible proof of its existence, and, if proven, its location.
Identities[]
The Forgemaster
As the rebellion within the Army of Revolution grew, Olivia Milton began developing a plan to exploit the situation to its fullest. She had no love for Martin Kruger and his followers, and his actions had also done much to burn away her remaining loyalties to the Army of Revolution as a whole. Instead, Milton sought to build something new in its place, a way to unify the Detroit Wasteland through a far less destructive means and creed.
Key to this plan was her erstwhile ally, the Forgemaster. While the Foundry had provided refuge for the rebel faction of the Army of Revolution, Milton felt that they could do much more. Knowing enough about the Forgemaster to understand that their chief priority was the protection of the Foundry, she was able to subtly play to those concerns. She used Kruger’s actions, as well as Sondheim’s attempted power play to suggest that the Revolutionaries were seeking to take the Foundry for their own. From there, it was easy enough to guide the Forgemaster towards the next step of her plan.
Working in concert, the pair of them identified groups that would have no love for the Army of Revolution and would be willing to work against it. She knew that for many, siding with her rebel faction would still be distasteful, which is why she let the Forgemaster take the lead in their outreach efforts towards their potential allies. This approach netted them useful results, with the Forgemaster building an alliance from the Detroit Wasteland’s population.
However, as successful as this step was, Milton could also see a growing threat to her plan. The Forgemaster remained obsessed with Kara Stinson, a mercenary they had captured and attempted to train as a potential heir. Stinson had escaped, but the Forgemaster was determined to bring her back under their sway. Seeing this as being a potential problem, Milton began building a contingency plan against the Forgemaster becoming a liability to their plan. Reaching out through the rebel faction, she found an insurgent who had done much to fuel the Scrap Iron City uprising.
The proposed alliance game together with surprising ease under the Forgemaster’s direction. As suspected, members of the various groups were more inclined to trust them then Milton, given her past. Soon, the Forgemaster had assembled an army from a disparate mass of groups who, while having little in common with each other, we all united in their hatred for the Revolutionaries and, in several cases, the desire to reclaim their homes. However, Olivia remained concerned, given that Stinson was among the members of this new alliance.
The Castle
The Forgemaster played to their collective desires by nominating the Black Skull Company’s former headquarters, known as The Castle, as their first target. Their reasoning was sound, and was based as much on its position, location and value as a staging ground for future operations as it was its symbolic value. Milton was content to let the Forgemaster take the lead in the operation, but was careful to keep an eye on their behaviour to ensure that they didn’t let their obsession get the better of them.
Despite Milton’s fears, the liberation of The Castle went off without a hitch. The alliance forces were able to drive out the Army of Revolution and their followers, who fell back to Park Lane with severe casualties. However, after the battle, the Forgemaster made a move to try and bring Stinson back into the fold. Discretely following the pair of them, Olivia saw a fight break out between the two. Realising that this could quickly escalate and tear their newfound alliance apart, she made a snap judgement call, and activated her contingency. Minutes later, the Forgemaster was dead, and Stinson had retreated back to her mercenary allies.
Having eliminated the threat, Olivia then moved to exploit it as best she could. With the aid of several of her supporters, all of whom were sworn to secrecy, she removed the Forgemaster’s body from their Power Armour and disposed of it. Then she simply boarded the suit herself, heading back to their base at the Castle and assuming the Forgemaster identity for herself. She found that if anyone within the Foundry’s forces had noticed the change, none of them seemed to comment on it.
The Forgemaster’s plan had worked. The identity of the character had outlived the person in the suit. Now Olivia had all that she needed.
A brighter future and a better life[]
Having now taken the identity of the Forgemaster, Milton intended to use it for all it was worth. Isabella Webb stepped up as the field commander of the rebel faction of the Army of Revolution, claiming that she was fully authorised to act on Milton’s behalf. Of course, she was aware of what had happened, and was playing along for the benefit of plans that she and Milton had laid at the start of the conflict, ones that were now reaching fruition.
Her first act was to send out a second round of representatives towards Grand Central and Chryslus Castle, although this time they were not directly aimed at bringing the two communities on board as allies. Rather, they were there to deliver a straightforward message. The liberation of the Castle was held as proof of the Foundry’s commitment towards ridding the Detroit Wasteland of the Army of Revolution, while signalling that Park Lane would be next.
The Forgremaster’s message stated that they recognised both communities as independent entities, and that they had no designs on either. Furthermore, it put forward their plan for the future of the Detroit Wasteland, in which both Park Lane and Scrap Iron City would have their independence and civilian governments restored. However, both would still be protected by the Foundry, even if it would not actually control them.
As expected, the messages were greeted with cautious optimism. Neither community wanted to start a war with the Foundry, as both were more concerned about their own protection. However, at the same time, neither of them fully trusted the Forgemaster or their intentions, or were willing to sign off on any deals or agreements. This suited Milton fine, as it still gave her the leeway to fulfil her plans without their interference. She expected that her next move would also demonstrate her intentions, while also giving them good reason not to provoke her forces.
Having gathered her forces and replenished their supplies, and more importantly, consolidated her position as the Forgemaster, Milton made her next move in early October. As expected, this was an attack on Park Lane, aimed at driving the Army of Revolution from the town all together. She knew that without it and Scrap Iron City, the revolutionaries’ hold on the Detroit Wasteland would be reduced to just a string of outposts used to connect them to their headquarters. More to the point, she knew that such a defeat would severely weaken their leadership, as Marin Kruger would be forced to answer for his apparent failure.
Park Lane
In order to maintain her identity, Milton fought at the front lines of the attack, using her Power Armour to breach the defences around the city. While obviously nowhere as practiced with the suit as Callhoun had been, her own experience and its inherent capabilities were enough to carry her through the battle. In order to further prove her commitment, both to her cause and to her new identity, she stayed on the frontlines throughout the battle. Ultimately, her forces were victorious, driving the army and their allies from Park Lane, although it wasn’t as complete as she had wanted. Maurice Speckler, the commander of the Army’s forces, killed himself rather then risk capture. She had wanted him alive to use as a bargaining chip with the other communities.
Having liberated the community, her first act was to restore its civilian government. Vance Stratton, one of the last survivors of the original Park Lane City Council, was made the interim mayor until a new council could be formed. This did a lot towards proving her intentions and honesty. Using the momentum to her advantage, Milton (as the Forgemaster) called for a summit of the wasteland’s leaders; both those allied with her and those that had, so far, not come on board.
As expected, her actions and the liberation of Park Lane meant that both Grand Central and Chryslus Castle were suddenly a lot more receptive to her approaches and open to her vision for the Detroit Wasteland. While it was clear that Chryslus wanted to regain control of Scrap Iron City, they were willing to accept it’s independence for the moment. In order to sweeten the deal, Milton essentially offered them the northern section of the city, including the remaining Army of Revolution holdings there, to do with as they pleased without interference.
In short order, both communities were on board with her ideas, willing to recognise the new governments of Park Lane and Scrap Iron City, as well as the Foundry’s army. For Milton, this was most of what she had wanted, but there was still one last objective to be met. The Army of Revolution needed to be destroyed.
Salting the Earth[]
Unlike with the Castle or Park Lane, the next stage of Milton’s plan did not represent a single, fixed target. Rather, her goal was to push back the Army of Revolution from the Detroit Wasteland by destroying the assets they had left there. As this amounted to a network of observation posts, waystations, forward operational bases, supply dumps and the like scattered across the north-western part of the city, they could not all be taken out at one time. Rather, they would need to be individually ferreted out.
Milton knew that the Army of Revolution would likely try to hold on to whatever it had left for grim life. Those posts would likely be reinforced with whatever troops headquarters could spare, as well as the survivors from Park Lane and the Castle. For the Army of Revolution, this would be their final hope to hold onto a foothold in the Detroit Wastelands so that they could potentially rebuild their strength and once more move to conquer the fallen city. Driving them out would leave them isolated and powerless.
However, her plans went beyond just a military defeat. Her own experiences told her that the Army’s leadership would not tolerate failure for long. Sooner or later, Martin Kruger would be bought to task for this disaster, and likely be deposed by the same people who had bought her down. From there, her goal was to step in as a saviour of sorts, offering the Army of Revolution a chance to salvage something from the disaster. This would allow her to merge what was left with the Foundry’s forces, giving her a force that would be unmatched within the Detroit Wastelands.
In order to ensure that things went as she had hoped, Milton chose to use only her own forces for this final operation. The Black Skull Company were given a secondary target that, while related to the overall objective, would effectively sideline them and write them out of her final victory. Likewise, most of the mercenaries under her control (such as Xiphos squad) were dismissed altogether after being paid for their services. With the Park Lane Safety Patrol rebuilding their city and the GCPD volunteers returned to their home, only the Foundry’s forces were left to face the Revolutionaries.
While this did reduce the size of her force somewhat, Olivia Milton was confident that what she was left with would still be up to the task. The first wave of attacks did seem to confirm that theory, as her troops hit their targets with overwhelming numbers. In short order, most of the defenders crumbled before either breaking and fleeing or simply surrendering. Those that took the latter option were then given the choice of joining up with the Forgemaster’s army so that it could make good its losses.
Determined to keep the momentum going, Olivia ordered a second wave of attacks. Her forces continued to push north, further reducing the Army of Revolution’s area of control while grinding down their forces. As they did, other threats emerged that would serve to slow their offensive. Encounters with Raiders and even Super Mutants became more common as it became clear that the Army of Revolution was losing control over its territory. Likewise, there were also run-ins with forces from Chryslus Castle who were also preying on the weakened Revolutionaries.
Realising that this could be a threat to her plans, Milton hastily exchanged messages with the leaders of Chryslus Castle. The two worked out an impromptu agreement to leave each other’s forces be, and not to interfere in each other’s operations. None the less, Olivia also assigned scouts to shadow the Castle’s forces in order to keep a better watch on them and to help determine what their goals were. Her chief concern was that they were trying to encircle and isolate Scrap Iron City as a prelude to retaking it.
The interference by Chryslus Castle did have one upside, however. With the additional forces being bought to bear against them, the Army of Revolution’s remaining forces began to crumble faster then Milton had expected. In many ways, the situation came to resemble the last days of the Revolutionary War, with desertions becoming commonplace as the Army of Revolution simply gave up the will to fight. While some of their forces tried to defect to the Foundry’s army, many simply melted away into the Detroit Wasteland, becoming raiders or fleeing the city altogether.
By the 20th of October, organised resistance had effectively ceased. The Army of Revolution had abandoned the city, and were pulling back their remaining forces to their headquarters. Olivia felt that the next stage, a change of leadership, would be inevitable, and as such she had to positon herself to take advantage of it. To do such, she would need to face her greatest challenge yet.
Ascension[]
When she had put in the Forgemaster’s armour and claimed the identity, Olivia Milton had been accepted by those Foundry officers in the field with her. Many there saw her as a sane and balanced alternative to Lisa Callhoun’s leadership, which had become worryingly obsessive and focused on the wrong goals. However, her position as the Forgemaster was still only an acting one, as she still needed to return to the Foundry and claim control of it.
This bought her into direct contact with the Inner Circle, the only group who knew of the Forgemaster’s identity. Revealing herself to them, Milton explained how she had been forced to take over the role after Callhoun had been killed while following her own obsessions. She reasoned that she needed to do such in order to preserve continuity of leadership and ensure that their forces were victorious in the Detroit Wasteland. She then explained how, under her leadership, the Foundry had become the pre-eminent power in the Detroit Wasteland after effectively driving out the Army of Revolution and marginalising any other claimants.
Taking all this on board, the inner circle deliberated over their next move. While few could argue with her reasoning (and most were glad to see Callhoun gone), there were still those who were opposed to an outsider taking over the role. However, there was no arguing with what she had achieved, and all could see the logic of letting her plans for the Detroit Wasteland come to fruition. As such, they agreed that she would continue to remain as the Forgemaster, at least, for the time being. They also agreed to her plans for the Detroit Wasteland, including putting Isabella Webb, one of Milton’s supporters and a former officer in the Army of Revolution, in charge of their forces in the Detroit Wasteland.
On the 22nd of October, the Forgemaster gave a rousing victory speech to the people of the Foundry, explaining how their hard work had allowed them to secure their future. They had not only driven the Exaxes out of the Flint River, but they had also effectively taken control of the Detroit Wasteland. As expected, the crowd ate it up, with nobody able to discern the change in their leader. Instead, to them, it was the same Forgemaster as it had always been and would forever be.
Having solidified her leadership and ensured the support of her people, Olivia began planning her next move. She prepared an offer towards the remnants of the Army of Revolution, offering to integrate them into the Foundry’s forces in exchange for ensuring their survival. This plan, however, was cut short in the early hours of the 23rd of October, 2287 as she received word that the Revolutionaries’ headquarters had been attacked and destroyed. Deprived of their leadership and their last bastion, the army had begun to disintegrate. Olivia’s final stage was no longer needed, as there was now no Army of Revolution to take control of.
There was a second surprise in store for Olivia, however. Isabella Webb presented her with one of their men, the individual who had in essence ensured their victory. As she explained it, they had helped organise the uprising within Scrap Iron City that had created the rebel faction of the Army of Revolution, been responsible for the death of Major Gerald Bunsen and also been the one who killed the Forgemaster. What was even more surprising was that they were Lisa Milton, Olivia’s niece (and only family) whom she thought had been dead for the last three years.
Personality[]
At her heart, Olivia Milton is a results-driven individual who seeks the best possible outcome for herself and her cause. She tends towards more objective thinking, trying to piece together a situation and create the best possible logical plan to deal with it. She lets herself be lead by her head, not her heart, knowing full well from personal experience that letting emotions and personal goals get in the way can only serve to be detrimental.
Despite this, she is not naive or unemotional by any stretch of the imagination. A realist, she fully understood the complex political waters that flooded the upper ranks of the Army of Revolution, and the steps needed to navigate them. Even then, she admits that she was blindsided by Kruger, and underestimated the degree that he had sway over the Army’s command structure and her subordinates. While she knows that the flawed strategy of the Revolutionary War was his fault, she also understands that she has to accept some of the blame for its execution and her failure to reign Kruger in.
Her greatest affection was saved for her niece Lisa, who she raised as a daughter. Her apparent death took a lot out of Olivia, and was a part of why she accepted her forced resignation.
Since being exiled to the Foundry, Olivia has become an avid reader of pre-war texts, especially those concerning history, millitary strategy and philosophy. She has also struck up a somewhat odd friendship with the Forgemaster, despite the fact that the latter seemingly never leaves their power armour. The pair of them like to engage in long conversations on a wide variety of subjects, from the current state of the Detroit Wasteland to Oliva’s latest books. Despite her best efforts, however, Olivia has not been able to learn anything more about the Forgemaster’s past or identity.
Appearance[]
Olivia is a solidly built woman who is in good health, despite her age and circumstances. Not traditionally attractive by any means, her features are more aggressive, with a prominent chin and heavy brows. She has tanned skin that compliments her dark eyes and brown hair, and her fair share of scars bought about a by life as a soldier in the wastelands. Despite her diminished status, Olivia does her best to maintain a millitary demeanour, with as immaculately crisp and clean a uniform as practical realities will allow
Equipment[]
Once, as the leader of the Army of Revolution, Olivia Milton would have been able to draw from her choice of whatever equipment the army had at its disposal. Her diminished circumstances bought an end to that practice, and now her equipment is limited to purely ceremonial roles. Aside form her uniform and cap, her only weapon is a .44 magnum revolver that she has had for much of her life and kept as a personal sidearm even in her role as ambassador, if only for show.
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