The Purifier Conflict

The Purifier Conflict refers to a major confrontation between the Brotherhood of Steel and the Enclave who had reappeared and liberated the Capital Wasteland. The conflict eventually culminated in a pitched battle at Project Purity and subsequent clashes that led to the defeat of the Enclave and the Brotherhood taking control of the Capital Wasteland.

Background

 * ''Main articles: Enclave, Lyons' Brotherhood of Steel

The roots of the conflict lie in the confrontations between the Enclave and the Brotherhood of Steel in New California. Technologically inferior, the Brotherhood resigned itself to observation and monitoring of Enclave activities in the region, identifying its involvement in a variety of crime activities, such as the Northern California drug trade, slavery, and more. The eventual realization of its genocidal plans has resulted in the Brotherhood openly confronting and pursuing Enclave remnants alongside the New California Republic with the elimination of the oil rig by the Chosen One.

The Purifier Conflict was steeped in the prejudices that developed during this time. For over twenty years since the Brotherhood's arrival in the Capital Wasteland, Elder Owyn Lyons was unaware of the Enclave's presence in the Capital Wasteland, with the Enclave radio dismissed as a pre-War broadcast, despite the insistence of Three Dog. Lyons' hostility to the Enclave would persist and inform his decision to openly engage the Enclave.

As Lyons' chapter weakened, the Enclave gradually prepared for emergence, recovering from the tremendous casualties incurred by the loss of Control station Enclave, Navarro, and pursuit by the Republic and Brotherhood forces. Despite internal disagreements over ultimate strategic objectives, the new leadership (President John Henry Eden and Colonel Augustus Autumn) concluded that a major asset was required for the Enclave to use as leverage against the wastelanders.

Events
The reactivation of Project Purity by James in 2277 provided this asset. Immediately after the facility was brought online, Enclave verti-assault teams led by Colonel Autumn descended upon it. Encountering no resistance, the troops soon cornered James at the rotunda, the facility's nexus. Unwilling to comply with the Colonel's request to turn control over to the Enclave and spurred on by his execution of Janice Kaplinski, James flooded the rotunda with radiation, attempting to take the Colonel with him. His suicidal attack was in vain, however, as the Colonel was able to evade death with quick reflexes and a shot of experimental anti-radiation serum. The witnesses, Madison Li, her team, and the Lone Wanderer, evacuated to the Citadel through tunnels under the Potomac. Their report, particularly bringing Project Purity online, prompted Lyons to immediately declare war on the Enclave.

Lyons rallied his troops and attempted to bring Liberty Prime online, to provide his forces with an edge over the technologically superior Enclave (outdated suits of T-45 power armor and last-generation AER9 laser rifles could not stand to third generation advanced power armor and mass-produced urban plasma rifles, even with modifications introduced by Lyons' scribes). The Enclave operated largely uncontested in the Capital Wasteland, setting up a network of constituency enforcement points and running research and recovery operations in various points of interest. Their campaign included an attempt to induct Vault 101 into its ranks, but efforts were unsuccessful due to Overseer Almodovar's resistance.

Observation
The Enclave also closely monitored the efforts of the Lone Wanderer, who attempted to recover the Garden of Eden Creation Kit from Vault 87. Without it, the Enclave would be unable to activate Project Purity. In anticipation of this move, Colonel Autumn had his personal guard ambush the Lone Wanderer as they exited the Vault's containment cell, capturing them easily and procuring the GECK for his organization.

For reasons unknown, the Enclave was unable to devise a way to crack the simple three digit code controlling Project Purity and Autumn attempted to extract the combination from the Lone Wanderer. Unsuccessful, he was called away by President Eden, who shortly invited the Wanderer to his office. Furious, the Colonel countermanded the President's orders, ordering his troops to gun down the Wanderer on sight. However, they were unsuccessful, allowing the Wanderer to reach the President's office, where they learned that the President was actually a sentient ZAX unit posing as a human President. Eden attempted to recruit the Wanderer and have them carry out his genocidal plan by contaminating the Purifier with a self-replicating modified FEV toxin derived from Lt. Col. Charles Curling's research. Accepting the sample, the Wanderer left Raven Rock for the Citadel, bringing evidence of the Enclave's plans to Elder Owyn Lyons.

Confrontation

 * Main articles: Battle of Project Purity, Battle of Rockland, Assault on Adams Air Force Base

The revelation coincided with the activation of Liberty Prime thanks to Madison Li's contributions. Lyons ordered an immediate attack on Project Purity via the Arlington Bridge, spearheaded by Liberty Prime and Lyons' Pride. The Enclave prepared for conventional attacks by land forces ever since its initial occupation, establishing strongpoints and providing stationed troops with artillery and gunship support. However, all planning hinged on the assumption that the worst case scenario was an attack by Lyons' troops, equipped with inferior armor and weapons. Liberty Prime proved these assumptions wrong. Designed to destroy Chinese regular army units supported by fighting vehicles, artillery, and anti-tank weapons, it carved a swath through the Enclave's defenses, allowing the strike team under Sarah Lyons to penetrate into the Jefferson Memorial and confront Colonel Autumn. Although his ultimate fate remains unknown, the rout at Project Purity paved the way for future victories against the Enclave.

Although both Sarah Lyons and the Lone Wanderer were put in a comatose state by the energetic discharge accompanying the activation of Project Purity in the wake of their victory, Elder Lyons continued offensive operations against the Enclave. The destruction of Raven Rock eliminated another stronghold of the Enclave in the Capital Wastes, forcing them on the defensive. The advantage provided by Liberty Prime lulled Elder Lyons into complacency: He diverted a portion of his troops on charity runs, distributing free, pure water to wasteland settlements. The expense and attrition suffered on these water runs would result in the Brotherhood's inability to pursue the Enclave after the loss of Liberty Prime during the battle for Rockland, when the robot was lured into a box canyon and annihilated with an orbital mini-nuclear strike.

With the balance of power returning to where it was at the outset of the conflict, Elder Lyons decided to negate the Enclave's technological advantage by investing in the recreation of pre-War Tesla cannons with technology recovered from Old Olney. The cannons were rapidly manufactured by Scribes for use in a direct assault on Adams Air Force Base, the sole remaining Enclave stronghold. As the Brotherhood launched diversionary attacks on the base, the Lone Wanderer sneaked in through the ancient Presidential metro, punching through the rear echelons of Enclave infantry. Confusion among Enclave ranks prevented the Enclave from using the Bradley-Hercules nuclear satellite or mounting an effective defense, allowing the Lone Wanderer to reach the control center in the mobile base crawler and destroy it using the same weapon it once used against Liberty Prime.

Aftermath
The destruction of the crawler effectively ended the Enclave as an effective fighting force or organized entity. With no chain command in place, the surviving soldiers dispersed into the wasteland. With time, all that would remain of the Enclave were memories of its defeat at Adams and the casualties sustained by Lyons' forces (including several distinguished members, like Paladin Krieg).The Sole Survivor: "Does it have anything to do with the Brotherhood?" Danse: "I wouldn't necessarily say that. This isn't a formal meeting. I... simply want to clear the air. I think we may have gotten off on the wrong foot when we first met and I feel like I owe you an apology. Expecting you to embrace the standards of the Brotherhood without having a history with us was unfair. And given that you've adjusted so well to our beliefs, I don't think I needed to push so hard." The Sole Survivor: "So there is a human being under all of that power armor after all." Danse: ''"Sometimes I need a reminder, but yes... there is. When I was an Initiate, my sponsor was Paladin Krieg. Toughest squad leader I ever served with. He was a model soldier, embodying the values every trainee was striving to achieve. Fiercely loyal, secure in his beliefs and brave to a fault. From the moment I was assigned to his squad I was singled out... it felt like he was pushing me harder than the rest of the team. I fought by his side for years and we had some seriously close calls, but he never explained to me why I was treated that way." The Sole Survivor: "It sounds like he was trying to motivate you." Danse: "If he was, I never got a chance to ask. After I was promoted to Paladin and I had moved on to my own squad, I received word that Krieg was killed at Adams Air Force Base. The news was like being kicked in the stomach. I mean, I'd lost some of my brothers and sisters before, but his death... well, it really got to me. It's taken me a long time to realize it, but the reason Krieg was so tough on me is the same reason I'm so tough on you. It's because I believe in you and I don't want to see any of your potential go to waste." The Sole Survivor: "Well, it took you long enough to notice." Danse: "What can I say? Maybe I'm becoming more like Krieg than I realized. Well, I've said what I had to say and I hope that it meant something to you. I... trust you'll keep this in confidence of course. Some of that information was of a personal nature, and well, I'd like to keep it that way."'' (Danse's dialogue)