The Mojave Drive-in sat still and silent as it had for two hundred years since America burned in an atomic holocaust. Rusting cars still faced the crumbling projection wall with speaker poles leaning from the cracked earth, tattered cables still dangling from corroded speakers.. Tumbleweeds blown by the morning wind was the only movement until suddenly a woman wearing a leather dress and a gray hood leaped over a pile of rubble and ran for the gutted remains of the concession stand.
With a howl, a huge dog leaped in pursuit, knocking the woman to the ground and lunging for her throat as she rammed her forearm between its jaws. The hound tore at the straps protecting her wrist as the woman wrapped her legs around its body and with a cry slammed her forearm down on its neck. The hound's jaws gaped with soundless agony as its neck snapped and it collapsed twitching in death.
Gritting her teeth with pain, the woman held her arm to her body as she kicked the dog's corpse away and rolled to her feet.
"Don't move profligate!" Shouted a voice from behind her, and the woman stiffened and slowly turned. Three men in red leather tunics covered by pre-war sports gear slowly advanced toward her, their faces impassive behind dark glasses and face wraps.
"What happens if I come quietly?" The woman asked wryly as the leader pointing a revolver at her stomach.
"You won't be lashed to a cross like the others." He replied as the other two soldiers drew crude machetes from their belts.
"You're not curious why I ran here?"
"I am not interested in your tricks profligate. You've defied the Legion and for that your life is forfeit."
"I guess you're too smart for me." The woman replied with a sudden smirk as she glanced over the soldier's heads. "There's no way you'd fall for the old, 'who's that behind you?' trick."
"Words will not save you profligate."
"Too bad, because for once it's true."
A shadow fell over the leader as a huge arm suddenly encircled his throat in a crushing grip. The other soldiers released their prisoner as they saw their leader lifted into the air by a towering figure backlit by the sun. Suddenly their former captive drove her elbow into one soldier's throat before dropping and sweeping her leg sending the other soldier sprawling to the ground. Gagging, the first soldier staggered back but before he could draw a breath the woman launched herself from the ground, driving the heel of her hand into his chin with all the power in her body. The soldier's head snapped back as he crumpled to the ground and the woman whirled to face the one she had tripped.
He was already getting to his feet with his machete raised when a knife whooshed through the air and buried itself in his throat. The soldier fell thrashing to the ground as the woman turned to face her rescuer. Her eyes widened in astonishment as the biggest woman she had ever seen released her hold on the patrol's leader, allowing his corpse to sag to the ground.
"Uh…Thanks for the assist…uh?"
"Valeria." The big woman replied grimly as she looked at the bodies.
"Veronica. The pleasure's all mine." Veronica said with a wry smile as she rubbed her injured arm.
"It looked like they meant to kill you." Valeria observed quietly.
"They were." Veronica said with a grim nod. "I was in Nipton when the Legion decided to make an example of it."
"That's Nipton?" Valeria asked as she looked toward the black smoke billowing over distant rooftops.
"Not anymore. I don't know where you're headed, but I'm not going to be found here with dead Legionaries. You'd better not stick around either."
Valeria nodded as she stepped forward to retrieve her knife. Veronica stared at the giant woman's hugely muscled physique, only partly covered by a leather and steel harness, as she wrenched her knife free and quickly wiped it on the Legionnaire's tunic. Veronica shook her head and stepped over a pile of rubble to a battered metal locker covered by a dirty canvas.
"Are there any other survivors?" Valeria asked she replaced the knife behind her back and adjusted her harness which also held a massive steel sledge.
"Whoever the Legion hasn't beheaded or crucified is probably being rounded up to work in the Searchlight Gold Mines."
"They're taking slaves?" Valeria growled and the look in her strange white eyes told Veronica that for the big woman, slavery was deeply personal. She also couldn't help but notice Valeria's fangs which were exposed when she snarled.
"I don't like it either." Veronica said as she reached into the locker and pulled out a rifle with a bell-shaped muzzle and vacuüm tubes protruding from the barrel. "But there's at least a hundred Legionaries and judging from the shots I heard most are carrying guns."
Valeria stared at the burning town as Veronica strapped the rifle to her back, than stepped cautiously around the shattered wall.
"There's no cover for miles." Veronica observed as she turned back toward Valeria. "If you didn't know that was Nipton, then I'm guessing you're not from around here."
"No. I'm...from the east."
"I don't know what you're planning to do, but if you intend to attack the Legion, could you give me a few minutes head start?"
"Where are you going?"
"The Ivanpah Lakebed. This time of year there's always a dust storm blowing across it. If the Legion spots me I think I can lose them there."
Suddenly there were shouts from Nipton and the sound of barking.
"Time to go." Veronica glanced toward the burning town and then added. "Thanks again for your help. Good luck." With that she sprinted out of the drive in toward a crumbling road. Valeria hesitated, and then heard the crack of a gunshot. She saw Veronica duck before disappearing down a hill as howls erupted from Nipton. With a snarl, Valeria made her decision and with a surge of power, launched herself after Veronica.
Veronica picked herself up after a bruising slide down the steep hillside as a cloud of dust billowed about her. The rolling dunes of the lake stretched before her swept by clouds of windblown grit. A howl echoed from behind her and with a curse she pulled her neck scarf over her face and ran into the blowing dust. She had hoped to have more of a head start, but if the Legion had loosed more hounds she knew she wouldn't get far. She had her LAER rifle but only a few microfusion cells for it, and her left hand was still painful to close. She looking for a place to make a stand when she heard heavy footsteps racing behind her. With an impact that almost knocked the wind out of her, Veronica was swept from the ground and into Valeria's arms. Too startled to struggle Veronica stared in astonishment at Valeria's grimly determined face as the giant woman raced across the lakebed. To her amazement she realized that Valeria was moving faster carrying her than she could run on her own, so she bowed her head and squeezed her eyes shut against the blowing sand.
Valeria ran with no sign of fatigue for a seeming eternity until she finally stopped and set Veronica down as she took in huge gulps of air.
"We lost the dogs." Valeria finally gasped. "And it looks like there's a town up ahead."
"A town?" Veronica asked as she turned and peered into the distance. "That's Primm! I recognize the roller coaster!" She turned and stared up at Valeria in astonishment. "You carried me thirteen miles without stopping at a dead run!"
"We had a pack of hounds after us." Valeria replied with an embarrassed shrug. "I had to make sure we lost them."
Veronica shook her head in wonder before saying with a smile. "Well, thanks to you I'm a lot closer to home than I planned."
"You live in Primm?"
"No. I avoid towns if possible. Prospecting is against Caesar's law and you never know who might be willing to turn you in for a bounty."
"Prospecting?"
"Wow, you're really aren't from around here!" Veronica shook her head. "I'll tell you what. You saved my life and that counts for a lot in my book. We'll head to my safe house while I work on plan B and I'll fill you in there."
"I take it your safe house isn't in Primm?"
"The law there is Sheriff Beagle. Primm was run by Powder Gangers until the Legion cleared them out. Beagle was put in charge and he stays that way as long as he does what the Legion says. The Legion has a garrison in the old NCR correction facility about twelve miles north of Primm. With the Legion that close, Beagle doesn't rock the boat."
"So where is it?"
"About twelve miles from here near Black Mountain. As long as we stick to the hills we should be able to avoid patrols." Valeria nodded than looked back across the lakebed.
"Trust me, there wasn't anything you could do for Nipton." Veronica said as she crossed her arms. "The Mayor of Nipton was a crook named Joseph Steyn and he turned Nipton into a black market hub between Legion and NCR territory. He even got the Legion garrison commander to go along. It was only a matter of time before Caesar got wind of it and cracked down."
"How did you escape?"
"I got lucky. I was in the OK Trailer Park outside of town selling a laser rifle. We were missed when the Legion marched into town. From the sounds of it the garrison commander tried to brass it out, but ended up being crucified while his troops were decimated."
"Decimated?"
"Every ten soldiers draws lots and loser is beaten to death by the other nine. Between that and executing the townspeople the Legion was pretty busy. I was hoping to wait for the sun to go down but some of their dogs caught our scent. The idiot I was trying to sell the rifle to panicked and attacked the patrol. While he was busy getting killed I ran to the Drive In where I stashed my rifle. You know the rest."
"Perhaps Nipton was corrupt, but that didn't mean it deserved to be destroyed."
"I didn't say it did, but Nipton was within sight of an NCR outpost. That and from what I've seen the Legion is spread pretty thin. Caesar needed to send a message to the NCR and the Mojave that you better not mess with the Legion. I guess Nipton just figured it was far enough from New Vegas to get away with it."
"Why didn't you head to the outpost?"
"The NCR and I have …history." Veronica said with a sigh. "Let's just say I'd not be leaving for some time." She glanced at the sun blazing in the afternoon sky and tightened the harness of her rifle, wincing as she flexed her injured hand.
"It's going to be dark soon, and traveling in the high country at night is dangerous. If you want to go back to Nipton, be my guest."
"I made my decision." Valeria said with a scowl. "I just have to live with it."
"Then lets not burn any more daylight." Veronica said as she turned and walked through the blowing sand toward the rugged hills rising to the west. Valeria stared after Veronica for a moment, then set out after her.
The two women traveled into the sun-baked foothills and made their way north. Veronica was accustomed to traveling on foot, but soon found herself trailing behind Valeria. The big woman's stride and tireless stamina allowed her to keep an easy lead. Veronica gritted her teeth and pressed on as the Mojave sun blazed above and the ground shimmered from rising heat waves. Veronica didn't like being uncovered, and the worn hide and cloth dress she wore was both inconspicuous and protected her pale skin from the sun. Valeria on the other hand was nearly naked except for her spiked armor, giving Veronica plenty of opportunity to appraise her companion's bizarre appearance. Where Veronica was pale, Valeria's skin was a light bronze and stretched tightly over her immense body, showing every tendon, vein and striation in bold relief. Valeria seemed to have no body fat except in her mammaries, which were incongruously large and so firm she only needed a leather strap to support them.
Valeria stopped on top of a ridge and turned to wait as Veronica trudged up the slope. Valeria hadn't said anything, but her expression showed her concern. Veronica noted idly that if one looked past the white hair and eyes Valeria actually was rather pretty, as long as Veronica didn't look below her thickly corded neck. There was also something familiar about the big woman, but she couldn't put her finger on it. Veronica wiped her streaming face with her arm and leaned on her knees as she gulped for air. She noticed that Valeria wasn't even breathing hard, and her perspiration only seemed to bead on her skin in tiny droplets while Veronica's dripped from her nose and stung her eyes.
Valeria produced a yellow barrel cactus fruit and quickly sectioned it with her long black nails. She offered the fruit to Veronica who took it from Valeria's broad palm, noticing that her nails were not painted and were naturally dark-colored. Veronica savored the tart relief from the dryness in her mouth as she looked up at the sky. The sun was dropping toward the horizon and the sky was deepening into violet as evening approached. She looked down into the valley below and realized that it would be dark long before they reached their destination.
"Ok Valeria, you win." Veronica said around a mouthful of fruit. "We'll never make it before dark at my pace. I need you to…carry me."
"Are you sure?"
"At this rate, if we run into trouble I won't be in any shape to do anything about it. Goodsprings isn't far from here but the Legion knows how to use radios. I could probably stop there without sending up flags, but you really stand out. We just killed three Legionaries; I'd rather not risk telling them what direction we're heading. Just don't get any funny ideas, okay?" Veronica smiled at what she meant as a joke, but the confused look in Valeria's eyes showed she hadn't gotten it.
"Okay Veronica, but let me know when you need to walk."
"Oh you'll know. And we've traveled together long enough I'd prefer if you called me Ronnie."
"Ok…Ronnie." Valeria replied with a small smile.
"Anything you like to be called?"
"Well…sometimes I'm called Val."
"Ok Val. Let's get this over and watch the hands."
This time Valeria's uncertain smile showed that she understood, although she clearly didn't know how to respond. Veronica finished the fruit and nodded to show she was ready. Valeria lifted her up while Veronica draped her arm around Valeria's neck. Coyotes began to yip and howl in the distance as Valeria began to run down the slope into the valley stretched out below.
As much as it galled Veronica's independent soul to be carried like a child, she had to admit that Valeria could cover a lot of ground in a hurry. The only movement they saw were tumbleweeds rolling across the remains of the I-15 Highway as Valeria sprinted across. It was still evening when Valeria put Veronica down outside a chain-link fence enclosing a barren stretch of blowing sand. Veronica pushed the gate open and led Valeria inside. Although the sand storm made landmarks impossible to make out, Veronica seemed to know exactly where she was going and soon led them to a cylindrical concrete bunker in a bowl of shifting sand. A heavy steel door seemed to be the only entrance and Veronica quickly manipulated the lock and led the way into the dark interior.
The door closed behind them with a clang, shutting the storm outside and leaving them in darkness. Veronica reached for a small light she kept at her belt as she heard Valeria confidently descend the stairs. The small but powerful light filled the chamber below with a faint white glow as Valeria looked back and flinched, shielding her eyes with her hand. Veronica descended the stairs and glanced at her huge companion in continuing wonder.
"You can see in the dark?"
"Sometimes I forget." Valeria apologized as she lowered her hand.
"You're just full of surprises." Veronica observed as she turned and approached a darkened monitor mounted on the wall next to another steel door. Her fingers flew over the keys and the monitor came to life with a dim green glow. Lines of text crawled across the screen as Veronica responded to a series of prompts, than the door opened. A steel-lined corridor ending in a cross-junction was revealed as tubular lights set in the ceiling flickered than burned with a steady yellow tinted glow. Veronica led Valeria to the left tunnel, as Valeria could see the other two were filled with rubble and debris.
The tunnel led to another door behind which was a rectangular room filled with workbenches covered with tools and electronic parts. There were also bookshelves and bunks built into the walls and clear signs of recent habitation. Valeria also saw several wall hangings. Two were pre-war posters of a woman in elegant attire with the title "Sierra Madre" written below. The last was a tattered banner with the insignia of the Brotherhood of Steel emblazoned on it.
"Here we are." Veronica said as she turned to face Valeria. "Home sweet home."