Today in the CBO
Settlements Today
by Nat Wright-Kowalski
11 May 2297 - Fort Hagen
On certain Tuesdays for the 2297 season, we will feature one of the settlements, teams, and owners of the Commonwealth Baseball Organization. This is meant to tell you more about life in the Commonwealth, as well as give you more information about the teams and their owners. These will be done at Nat Wright-Kowalski's availability
In our twenty-first installment of "Settlements Today," we visited a former military base area, Fort Hagen. The entire area is referred to as the Fort Hagen Township.
There is not a lot known about the township before the war, but it seemed to be a point west of Boston dealing with power armor storage facilities. Nate Howard said that he was not familiar with that base, even though he was a decorated member of the army pre-War. According to Nate, "Judging by the warehouses at the base and the presence of armored vehicles and multiple power armor stations, it seems Fort Hagen was home to units from one of the US Army armored divisions."
Fort Hagen - 2288
Nate first encountered the fort in pursuit of his son. There he confronted the man, Conrad Kellogg, who kidnapped his son and murdered his wife. Nate left the fort after the encounter and did not return before it was suggested as a franchise location for the CBO.
Today, there has not been a lot of progress on updating the lay of the land. Settlers are still giving in conditions similar to what the settlements were like 10 years ago. Fort Hagen is far away from other settlements and there has not been as much interest in settling the areas as some places much closer to Boston and more convenient. On the brightside, Fort Hagen is closer to the transport to Nuka World, so settlers there can travel to Nuka World a bit more easily than they can from Boston.
The one new facility is that Isabel Cruz added a robot production factory attached to the Red Rocket that produces most of the settlement's export revenue. The Red Rocket station also doubles as a robotics service center.
The Fort Hagen Township is made of the fort, which doubles as the main living quarters, a barracks where some have settled, an administration building, a Red Rocket, a bar, a bus station, a mall that has recently been converted into more of a shopping palace than the living quarters it previously was, a swimming pool, a playground, a blood clinic that doubles as a simple hospital, and an armory storage facility. Nearby is the Fort Hagen Satellite Array.
Fort Hagen - 2297. Build found at: https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout4/mods/30131
BosCom has approached Fort Hagen mayor Fred O'Connell about using the Fort Hagen Satellite Array as a broadcast point west of Boston. It would send out a strong signal as far north as Sunshine Tidings Co-op, east to Oberland Station, and south to Lake Cochituate.
Owner - Isabel Cruz, aka the Mechanist
According to a terminal entry, "Always talented with robotics, Isabel Cruz descended from a settlement plagued by raiders and super mutants.
Isabel Cruz as the Mechanist
"Inspired by drawings of the comic books and radio show character, the Mechanist, Isabel decided to use her skills for the betterment of the Commonwealth. Discovering a pre-War factory originally run in a juncture of private industry and the military, she set her plan in motion. Using the factory, she began constructing her robot "allies" to help the people of the Commonwealth, pacifying areas by killing raiders and other hostiles. Due to a logic error made by her robobrain lieutenants, the robots would kill everyone they encountered. This led to an attack on Ada's caravan, resulting in their call for help across the Commonwealth."
Isabel Cruz unmasked
After Isabel Cruz retired from her misled life as the Mechanist, she realized that Nate had given her beyond just the gift of her freedom. Using her knowledge in robot design and radio signals, she returned to her Mechanist past by truly doing good in the Commonwealth. Nate Howard suggested that she move her operations to Fort Hagen, which proved to be a key location in eradicating the Rust Devils gang. Later, after the Commonwealth was won, Nate introduced Isabel to the ghoul Kent Connolly, the man with the foremost knowledge on the Mechanist. Kent was an expert on all of the pre-war comic book characters of the Hubris Comics world, including the Silver Shroud.
A World of Comic Book Characters Coming to Life
Kent Connolly was not only an expert on the Unstoppables line of characters, but a major fan of the Shroud. After making peace in the Commonwealth, Nate Howard personally helped Kent fix up the Hubris Comics shop near the Charles River. There, Kent started his own Unstoppables radio broadcasts through a revamped Galaxy News Radio signal and began producing and selling Unstoppables merchandise to the Commonwealth. He was happy to team up with Isabel Cruz in a hero-villain partnership to push the Hubris Comics brand and bring the Shroud and other Unstoppables mascots to the CBO.
Kent Connolly in front of his radio
That partnership has now expanded to the BosCom TV's HCU multiverse where it has been revealed that the Mechanist will have several storylines, including a featured TV series. Connolly has used some of his original radio broadcasts, as well as some of the pre-War Shroud radio broadcasts, to shape his Shroud-based dramas. It has not been revealed who will play the characters in the series, but the Shroud series is thought to be finished. Witnesses said that they thought Nate Howard himself was playing the Shroud but it was difficult to know for sure. It has also been rumored that Isabel Cruz will be the Mechanist in the TV shows.
In all, the Fort Hagen Silver Shroud probably have the most interesting team mascot and corporate sponsor, which is sure to make the team a lot more popular throughout the Commonwealth. In fact, Super-Duper Mart has announced that its next line of products will be Shroud-based.