Off the coast of the Republic, somewhere in the Atlantic, is an archipelago of man-made islands. Built before the Great War by an incredibly wealthy man whose name has since been lost to time, the Island's name has also been lost to time. The existence of the Island has been a ghost story, passed around campfires by huddled survivors. It is said that the Island holds a treasure greater than the Sierra Madre of the West, but no one has ever returned. 

The General, having just established his Republic and clearing out the last remnants of raiders, gunners and enclave, decided to expand, looking for suitable colonies. The Lost Island, later renamed to Mackenzie Island after the Institute Scientist who suggested to use it as a testing bed for advanced terraforming, was then investigated by the General, who never passed up an opportunity for adventure. 

The adventure was long and arduous, with the General being temporarily separated from his wife deep within the labyrinthine ruins and almost driven to insanity by the endless repeating architecture. In a moment of weakness, he almost considered suicide, but pushed through and managed to conquer his demons and the maze. 

He found traces of a ruined settlement, named "The Depths" and helped restore it, giving a beacon of hope to the others trapped on the Island. After establishing an uplink with the Coalition and being able to triangulate his exact location, allied forces were sent to his location to establish an outpost. Search parties were formed to find the General's wife, and she was eventually found, living with a small group of traders on a small island to the north-west of the archipelago. 

Forward Operating Base Montauk was then founded, to chart and map out the mazes and to terraform the islands into a colony.