The Ranger- part 4
By: Jacob Houston
The Man and The Girl sat speechless as The Ranger finished his story.
"That's how I got here, helping you guys." He said.
"So Ranger what's your name?" Asked The Man.
The Ranger sighed.
"I am discharged Ranger Brix James Bale." He said like a confession
The barn fell silent. Brix let out a sigh again. The Girl smiled. The Ranger huffed and continued to eat.
"So what are we going to do?" Asked The Man.
"Well there's an old NCR base to the south and since Caius has all of my gear we stand no chance." Said Brix.
"Yeah he's a very strong man." Said The Man.
"Well that's the thing, he's a man and all men die." Said Brix.
Crack came from the outside.
"What was that?" Asked The Man in a whisper.
Brix got up and took the rifle. A cylinder shaped grenade rolled in. It exploded with a sharp ringing followed by gas. The gas blinded the three of them. They smashed open the barn door to get outside.
"Grab them." Commanded someone.
The three got bags pulled over their heads. After a minuet they passed out. Men tied them to polls outside of the barn. Little while later they came to and the bags were ripped off their heads.
"Isn't this a sight." Said Caius.
He had a bandage on his right leg from where Brix hit him. He gave a chuckle.
"An old man, a tribal whore and a Ranger, you know I don't like being lied to." He said hitting Brix in the face.
Brix tried to work the rope off but it was too tight. Caius eyeballed them one by one. He pulled out Brix's Sequa and shot the girl in the chest. The blast from the 45-70 round splattered blood on to The Man and Brix.
"You bastard!" Screamed The Man.
Caius huffed taking joy in the killing of The Girl. He grabbed The Man by the hair.
"Your death won't be quick." He said.
Caius walked to some of his men. Brix started to move back and forth to loosen up the poll. It started to move. Caius came back with a large knife in his hand.
"We're going to see how much of a spine he has." Said Caius.
A few legionaries took him off the poll and pinned him to the ground. Caius got on to The Mans back. He slowly drove the knife down into the flesh. He didn't go to deep. Caius began to cut around The Man's spine.
The Man screamed in torment as the blade moved. Brix tried to with all his strength pull the poll out of the ground. The screaming stopped. The Man fell unconscious from the pain.
"I was just getting started." Said Caius.
Caius put the knife away. He nudged The Man with his boot. He gave a smirk under his mask. Caius lifted his boot and drove the heel of his boot it the area he cut. The spine popped. He did it again in the upper back of The Man.
The Man gasped. Caius waved a legionary over. The legionary handed Caius a bag. Caius opened it and dumped the bag of salt on to the wound. The Man woke up screaming.
"That's better." Said Caius.
He pulled the knife back out and put it to The Mans forehead. Caius began to scalp him. When it was done he popped the top of The Man's head off. Caius took a knee next to The Man. He was crying in pain.
"It's done." Whispered Caius.
He pulled out the Sequa and blasted The Mans brains out. Caius stood up and walked to Brix. Brix gave Caius a look of hatred.
"You're no ordinary wastelander no you're a Ranger." Said Caius like a snake.
Brix's look of hate turned into a smirk.
"You're right." He said.
He pulled up and the poll came out of the ground. He spun and tripped Caius. Brix let the poll drop and he ran into the barn.
"Go get him!" Yelled Caius as he stood up.
Brix found an old saw blade and cut away the rope. It snapped and he took the blade. As he did three legionaries ran into the barn. Brix hid behind in a stall. A legionary came over and Brix grabbed him and slit the legionary's throat.
He took his machete. Brix rushed another one and slammed the machete into his head. The last legionary came up behind Brix. The legionary had Brix in a head lock. Brix bit his side and tore a chunk of flesh out.
The legionary let him go and grabbed his side. Brix knocked him over and stomped on the legionary's throat. Brix grabbed the machete and went outside. Caius was waiting for him.
"Just you and me." Said Caius.
Caius through Brix his Sequa. Brix dropped the machete and picked it up. He checked the cylinders, they were fully loaded. He knew what was going to happen. Caius drew and so did Brix.
They fired at almost the same time. Caius's 45 shot hit Brix in his arm and Brix's 45-70 skimmed Caius's side. Brix was able to recock his revolver and Caius fell to the ground. Caius however was able to get off two more shots. The two shots missed but stopped Brix from firing again.
Caius limped off. Brix held on to his arm with the revolver still in hand. He went to the side of the barn. The bodies laid there. He sighed.
"Neither of you deserved this." He said.
He looked at his Sequa.
"I'll get that son of a bitch." Said Brix.
He looked up and out of the corner of his eye there was a duffle bag. He walked over to it and opened it. Inside was all of his armor, rifle and ammo. Brix smirked for the first for a good reason. Brix geared up.
He buried the bodies of his friends in the sand. As night fell Brix turned on his night vision and began to track down Caius. Brix tracked for days. He kept north into heavy raider and Legion territory. For days he lived off the land.
Brix entered a small town in the Rockies by the name of Mustang. He stopped in at the town's hotel. He dropped 50 caps on the main desk. The owner handed Brix a key and he went to his room. He set his rifle and duffle bag on the bed.
Brix took off his helmet and sat on the bed with it. He looked into the red eyes of the helmet.
"Time to get to work." He said to himself.
Brix got up and checked the ammo in his Sequa. The pistol had a full 5 rounds. He holstered it and left. He went down the road to the bar. When he walked in everything in the bar stopped.
Everyone watched him as he walked to the bar. He took a seat.
"What will you have?" Asked The Bartender.
"Water." Said Brix.
The Bartender pulled a glass out and went to the sink. He filled up the glass and gave it to Brix.
"Anything else you need?" He asked.
"Yeah I need to find someone." Said Brix.
"Aren't we all, who are you trying to find?" Asked The Bartender.
Brix leaned in.
"I'm looking for a Centurion by the name Caius Drusus." He whispered.
The Bartender put a finger to his mouth.
"Speak that name softly, follow me." He said.
The Bartender led Brix to a back room. There was a hatch that led to the basement. The Bartender opened it and he and Brix went down. The Bartender turned on a light. In the darkness was at least two dozen escaped slaves.
"What are these people doing here?" Asked Brix.
The Bartender waved a man over.
"This is Marko he'll explain everything, I got to get back upstairs." Said The Bartender leaving.
Brix shook Marko's hand.
"So what's the deal?" Asked Brix.
"Well what the 'deal' is that we have a plan of attack." Said Marko.
Marko and Brix walked over to a table.
"Before we all escaped I grabbed some maps from Caius's desk." Said Marko
He pulled the maps out of a pouch and spread them out across the table. The map had a bunch of circled and crossed out locations.
"We believe that all of these locations are old pre-war military insulations and bunkers." Said Marco.
"So what you want to go searching for supplies for the attack." Said Brix.
"Yes but no." Said Marko.
"What do you mean?" Asked Brix.
"Well when ever any Legionaries went out they never came back with anything." Said Marko.
"So they were searching for something." Said Brix.
"Most likely or the crossed off ones had nothing of importance." Said Marko.
"Alright if searching these places is the way to get to Caius then I'm in." Said Brix.
"Fantastic and that means you'll need these." Said Marko giving him the maps.
"I'll get started right away." Said Brix.
Marko nodded and Brix left. He went back to the hotel to rest until dawn. That night Brix didn't rest. He laid on his bed looking at the ceiling. So much was running through his head. The people that had been killed because of him, the mistakes. All of it haunted him.
As the sun rose and lit the sky Brix put the maps into his coat and slung his rifle over his shoulder. He traveled light to make the hike only take a half a day. He went to the location that looked like the next one on the map that the Legion would go to. When he arrived there was nothing but a large mound with a tree on it.
Brix went to it. He looked around the mound. He brushed some snow off an area that looked like a door. Sure enough it was a metal door. He opened the door and went down into the bunker.
It was almost pitch black. The only thing lighting the entry room was one 40 watt light bulb. There was another door. Tried to open it but it was locked and need a password to open it. As Brix was leaving the door opened.
"Put your weapons on the ground and put your hands above your head." Commanded a voice.
Brix did as he was commanded.
"Now turn around." Commanded the voice again.
Brix did and what he saw was three Brotherhood of Steel knights. They had the gun aimed at Brix.
"Look I'm not here to hunt you down, I need help." Said Brix.
"Are you or are you not NCR?" Asked the man in the middle of the three.
"No ex-NCR disavowed." Said Brix.
"Then state why you're here." Commanded The Man.
"I was told that this bunker had old military supplies to fight the Legion garrison around here." Said Brix.
The Man in the middle turned around and started to talk to someone on an intercom. He turned back around.
"Our head paladin would like to talk to you." He Said.
Brix picked up his guns and followed behind the knights. They lead him into a military office.
"Head Paladin Wells this is the ex-NCR troop that found us." Said The Knight.
The Paladin nodded and The Knight left.
"Take a seat." Said Wells.
"I'm an ex-Ranger, not a trooper." Said Brix.
"Ah so your even better than expected." Said Wells.
"Yes." Said Brix.
"So why are you here?" Asked Wells.
"Some refugee slaves from the Legion compound stole some maps that have some old military bunkers marked and this one was next on the list." Said Brix.
"Ah then it's just our luck then huh." Said Wells.
"How so?" Asked Brix.
"The Legion were never looking for supplies, they were looking for us." Said Wells.
"Why's that?" Asked Brix.
"When we first set up in the territory we had 100 men strong and when the Legion found out we became a thorn in their side." Said Wells.
"How many men do you have now?" Asked Brix.
"30." Said Wells.
"Would you be willing to help attack the Legion compound?" Asked Brix.
"Of course, I want to wipe these bastards out." Said Wells.
"Ok fantastic." Said Brix.
"If we're going to have a successful plan you need to get what you can from your refugee friends." Said Wells.
"Understood ill report back tomorrow." Said Brix standing up.
The two shook hands. Brix left the bunker and started to hike back to Mustang. From a distance Brix could see a glow and smoke. He sprinted to the outskirts of town. The town was a blaze. Men and women were crucified, buildings ransacked and burned.
Brix rushed to the bar, it was still standing. He kicked open the door, everybody was dead. He went into the basement and turned on the light. The refugees were still down there cowering. Marko ran to Brix.
"Get everyone up now we need to go." Commanded Brix.
Marko nodded and got all the refugees up. Brix led them out of the bar and out of town. He spent another half day hiking everyone to the bunker. He led them inside.
"Ok stay behind me." Said Brix.
Everyone nodded. Brix got on to the intercom.
"Wells open up this is an emergency." Said Brix.
The door opened and Wells came out with a knight.
"What's going on?" Asked Wells.
"I'll explain inside, for now we just need to get these people settled." Said Brix.
"Ok." Said Wells.
He and the knight led everybody inside. After Wells settled the refugees in, he went to find Brix.
"Ok so what happened?" Asked Wells.
"The Legion attacked the town that the slaves were hiding, they're searching for them." Said Brix.
"Ok so this accelerated really fast." Said Wells.
"We need a plan of attack." Said Brix.
"That we do, grab your man that has the info we need." Said Wells.
"Marko!" Shouted Brix.
Marko ran over.
"What do you need?" Asked Marko.
"Follow us." Said Wells.
Wells led Brix and Marko to a war room.
"Ok Marko what do you know about the Legion base." Said Wells.
"Well it's an old ski lodge, there are Legion troops dug in the hill up to the building." He Said.
"So an uphill attack would be suicide." Said Brix.
"Good thing we have 3 vertibirds." Said Wells.
"What?!" Said Brix in a shocked tone.
"Yeah we had 5 but we lost two in a weather storm." Said Wells.
"Air superiority gives us a huge leap." Said Brix.
"How is the main building set up?" Asked Wells.
"It is barricaded all around with old cars and metal." Said Marko.
"So a mini nuke would get us in." Said Wells.
"I guess so." Said Marko.
"The inside is split into three sections, supply storage, main hall and the barracks." Said Marko.
"Where is Caius?" Asked Brix.
"His office is at the end of the main hall." Said Marko.
"I think we have all we need." Said Wells.
"Thank you Marko." Said Brix.
Marko nodded and left.
"So what's the plan?" Asked Brix.
"How many men do we have?" Asked Wells.
"50." Said Brix.
"Ok we're going to take 10 of the refugees and 20 brotherhood troops; the others will be a standby force." Said Wells.
"Ok what are we going to do?" Asked Brix.
"We're going to land, take out the barricade and enter and wipeout the Legion force." Said Wells.
"What about the dug in troops?" Asked Brix.
"The vertibirds will handle them." Said Wells.
"So a short and quick attack." Said Brix
"Exactly." Said Wells.
"You of course have the supplies to arm everyone." Said Brix.
"Of course and thinking about it I may have something for you." Said Wells.
Wells led Brix to the armory. Wells opened a door; power armor suits lined the walls.
"Pick yours, you'll need it." Said Wells
They we're all the same set but different models. Brix walked up to one and looked at it.
"This one." Said Brix.
Wells walked over.
"What do you know about working and using power armor?" Asked Wells.
"I know how it operates, thanks to the captured suits the NCR has." Said Brix.
"Good here you go." Said Wells handing Brix a fusion core.
Brix walked behind the suit and plugged in the core.
"We do this thing tomorrow so get some rest." Said Wells.
Brix nodded and went to his room. He rested until dawn. When he woke up he sat on his bed. He took off his trench coat and began to take off the rest of the armor. He was down to his fatigues.
Brix walked into the armor room. He turned the valve on his T-60 armor and entered the suit. He reported to the hanger.
"Are you ready?" Asked Wells.
"Let's do this." Said Brix cocking his rifle.
"Load up!" Commanded Wells.
The 30 troops loaded up. The three vertibirds took off.
"ETA three minutes until drop off." Said The Pilot.
As they approached the lodge Legion troops on the ground fired RPG's at the vertibirds. The vertibirds dodged the rockets.
"We're taking too much fire!" Yelled The Pilot.
"Take us all the way to the drop point!" Yelled Wells.
The Pilot increased speed. They arrived under fire.
"Go!" Screamed Wells.
The Brotherhood troops jumped while the refugees had to land. The knight with the Fat man loaded and aimed. He fired and cleared the way.
"Power train in, we are not taking prisoners!" Commanded Wells.
Everyone rushed inside. The refugee fighters went so lucky, all of them were killed.
"Spit up ten on one side and ten on another, me and The Ranger are going down the main hall." Commanded Wells.
Everyone moved out. Wells and Brix rushed for Caius. They got to a stair case that led to the second floor. Caius popped up from behind a railing. He had a RPG, he fired and missed Brix but hit Wells.
"Are you ok?" Asked Brix.
"Yeah I'm good but my suits a bit fucked up." Said Wells.
Caius came back up with another shot but Brix fired first. The bullet hit Caius in the shoulder. He dropped the launcher and ran.
"Go!" Commanded Wells.
Brix chased him up stairs and into a hall. As Brix walked through the hall legionaries ambushed him. The armor took most of the damage as Brix fired off his last 60 rounds, killing all of the ambushers. He dropped his rifle and continued the chase. He caught up with Caius as he was running down a hall.
Brix unholsterd his Sequa. He fired and the first two shots missed, the other two hit Caius in the leg. Caius tried to crawl away but Brix walked up to him. The fusion core in Brix's armor beeped signaling it was empty. Brix got out of the armor.
He grabbed Caius and pinned him to a wall.
"What's the play Ranger?" Asked Caius in a cynical tone.
Brix grabbed Caius's knife, he pointed the Sequa at him but purposely missed. He threw the knife into the floor and holstered the Sequa. Brix pulled his knife out. Caius rushed to his knife; he yanked it out of the floor. Brix blocked Caius's attack.
The two went back and forth. Caius felt week from blood loss. In one final attack, he charged Brix and stabbed him just below the heart. As Caius stabbed him however Brix drove his knife into Caius's stomach.
Caius stepped back and fell over. He lay on the ground, Brix yanked the knife that was in his body and drove it into Caius's chest. Caius let out his last breath. Brix fell back, breathing heavily. Wells came rushing in, still in his power armor. Wells picked him up.
"Come on an army of raiders is attacking we need to leave." Said Wells handing Brix a .45 pistol.
The two walked back through the building. Raiders were already inside. Brix fired taking a couple out. The two moved a little faster. He emptied the rest of his clip as they went down stairs.
Wells put another clip into the pistol. They moved down the main hall and Brix fired all his rounds. Wells reloaded him again. Brix and Wells got outside, it was total chaos. A vertibird had landed and Brix and Wells rushed to it.
Wells loaded Brix in, while he was doing that a raider rushed up and stabbed into Wells's fusion core. Brix shot the raider and the vertibird started to take off.
"What are you doing there's still a man down there!" Screamed Brix.
"We're taking too much fire." Said The Pilot.
Brix looked down and Wells was holding off the raiders. The vertibird wasn't to high up yet. Brix jumped out and went to Wells.
"No man left behind." Said Brix.
The two of them retreated into the front lobby. Wells gave Brix his last two 45 clips. The both of them fought hard against the horde. Brix loaded his last clip but fell over from blood loss. Wells grabbed the pistol and continued to fight.
He got overwhelmed and ran out of ammo. The raiders killed him with a swift bullet to the head. Brix wasn't noticed however. He crawled over to a body that had a shot gun still. It had 5 shots.
Brix used the desk to stand. He fired and killed two raiders. He pumped the gun and fired again. The shot hit a raider in the chest. He pumped and fired again. The shot hit two raiders like the first shot.
Brix tried to do the cycle again but he fell behind the desk feeling week. Raiders came up to him. The only thing Brix did was smirk. They took the shotgun from him.
"Before you kill me can I have a smoke?" Asked Brix.
A raider pulled out a pack and took a smoke out. He put it in Brix's mouth and lit it. The Raider set the shotgun on the desk.
"What are you doing?" Asked Brix.
"There's no need to kill you, your already dead." He said.
Brix chuckled and sat there bleeding out. The cigarette burned down to the butt and he spit it out. He sighed as his vision faded. He smiled at what was happening. His eyes closed slowly as he faded away.