Did Maximus accidentally start a civil war within the Brotherhood of Steel?
According to season 2, episode 3 of Fallout the answer is yes, but only if he gets caught.
Max is in some serious trouble and he could take the entire Los Angeles faction down with him. First, let’s look back at how he got into this mess.
The Commonwealth Is the Top Dog
The Brotherhood of Steel is a network of factions with different levels of power and influence. At the top sits the Commonwealth Brotherhood.
They are stronger than every other chapter combined. They’re battle-tested, having survived major conflicts like the War of the Commonwealth. They also possess Liberty Prime, a powerful, gigantic battle mech. The western chapters never believed they could win an outright confrontation.
Until now.
Cold Fusion Changed the Balance
At the end of season 1, the Los Angeles chapter got their hands on cold fusion technology. With the power to generate unlimited energy in their hands, Elder Cleric Quintus wanted to unite all the other factions. He genuinely believes that if everyone comes together, they could work together to overthrow the Commonwealth
Quintus began reaching out to other western chapters, San Fernando Grand Canyon Coronado, Yosemite. These meetings deliberately excluded the Commonwealth. For Quintus, he was in no rush toward war.
Xander Was Sent to Stop That
The Commonwealth sent Paladin Xander Harkness to the LA faction as a warning.
His presence signaled that the Commonwealth was aware of dissent and prepared to intervene before it could escalate. Xander’s role as a liaison to remind the western chapters who still held dominance.
Maximus’ Actions Ruined Everything
During a mission investigating unauthorized activity, Maximus and Xander stumble upon Thaddeus’s operation by accident. The now ghoul Thaddeus has been working to collect Nuka-Cola bottle tops (currency in the Fallout universe) with a group of children.
When Xander notices that some of the children are ghouls, he’s prepared to execute the children, acting on Brotherhood doctrine against mutations. Ghouls are considered abominations and mercy is not part of the rulebook.
Horrified by the thought of murdering children, Maximus pleaded with Xander to leave them alone. When Xander ignored him, Maximus killed him by slamming a Super Sledge weapon over Xander’s power armored head.
Running Is the Only Option Left
Right now Maximus doesn’t have a lot of options. It doesn’t help that he suggested killing Xander to Quintus earlier in the episode, which the Elder Cleric reprimanded him for.
Even if Maximus comes up with a convincing lie that fools Quintus, the LA faction will probably still be seen as a suspect. They’re the faction holding secret meetings with other Elder Clerics that exclude the Commonwealth. If the Commonwealth learns the truth, they’ll have justification to crush the western chapters.
What will probably happen is Maximus will go on the run where his path will cross with Lucy and The Ghoul.
Either way, a fuse has been lit, and Maximus is standing right next to it.
