Chapter 1- The Attack on the Lucky 38
Twilight eclipsed the desert landscape of the Mojave Wasteland, an up wash of sand fluttering across the barren desert. The craft descended towards the beacon of light which grew high above the desolate terrain, the virgin metropolis of New Vegas. The dropships stealth systems operated tirelessly to conceal the ships energy signatures against the backdrop of the frozen night air, the task becoming ever more vital as they came within visual range of the dropzone.
The craft finally came to a halt, idling fifty feet above the cracked and broken surface of the wasteland. The cargo door slipped silently open, a flood of shimmering figures leapt out of the rear of the craft, each rolling to break their rate of descent before rising to their feet. The team, numbering ten, dressed in advanced stealth suits capable of concealing themselves to any but the most observant enemy. The soldiers raised their energy weapons in unison, scanning the terrain surrounding them for any signs of potential ambush.
The leader of the team stepped forward to face his soldiers; with a set of crisp, precise hand gestures he motioned his soldiers forward. The team charged through the desert wasteland, clasping their weapons tightly to their chests as they advanced towards the target.
The team came to a halt at the southern wall which marked the perimeter of New Vegas, the team once more moving into defensive positions in anticipation of a looming ambush. When no threat dared to present itself the leader holstered their laser pistol at their belt, drawing a refitted grapple gun from their combat belt, aiming the sight over the wall they fired. The harpoon projectile caught on a solid piece of masonry; the attached cable trailing down the face of the wall, the soldier yanked the cable to ensure it remained secure.
Confident that the device was secure the team leader motioned his soldiers forward. One by one each of the soldiers broke away from their assigned positions and began to ascend the face of the wall, dropping down onto the opposite side of the wall within the city. The team leader following as the last reached the peak of the wall, clambering over the top of the wall they lingered atop the defensive wall to sever the cable, this final act both ensuring they could not be pursued as well as committing the team to the path they had set before them.
The leader leapt down onto the other side of the wall, landing flawlessly in the centre of the formation his team had formed. The stealth team now stood in the centre of the New Vegas strip, from here the team could see the sin and debauchery of this city; they would savour the sight of seeing this den of evil burning to the ground before them. The team moved silently through the streets, the cold touch of the night air ensuring that the majority of this cities career gamblers and alcoholics had sought shelter within the Strips array of Casinos and adjoining hotels. The few people remaining on the Strip were the on-duty NCR guards, far too uninterested to be concerned with actually observing their post and the privileged citizen population who if they dared to report their sighting of invisible figures would likely be thrown in the drunk tank by the Securitrons.
Moving silently from shadow to shadow the covert operatives moved seamlessly through the neon draped streets of New Vegas. Finally the team reached the objective, the dark citadel of the Lucky 38. The team leader motioned to the rooftop of the opposite casino, the name Gomorrah scorched in burning letters across the overhanging canopy. One of the operatives nodded and quickly moved to establish the snipers perch across from the target.
The remainder of the team slowly began to advance towards the main door guarded by two Securitron robots. "Halt!" the guards rolled forward to confront the advancing soldiers, their stealth systems unable to mask their heat signatures at such short range. "You are not authorized-" in one fluid motion the two operatives leading the charge simultaneously drew EMP pistols from their belts, firing two shots the concentrated balls of energy struck their targets directly and instantly overloaded the Securitrons systems and silently disabling the units.
The team continued past the minor inconvenience without hindrance, the team forming upon either side of the entry door. The teams' technology expert stepped forward; pulling back an access panel they began accessing the doors control mechanism which would allow them access into the heart of the Lucky 38.
Veronica Santangelo groaned beneath her breath, awakening her from her delicate slumber, rolling over in her sleep to clasp her partners' warmth against her. Veronica nuzzled her nose into Briannas long brown hair, savouring the silky sweet smell of spices and luxury living combined with the musky hint of the Mojave wasteland. The delectable scent wafting through her system revitalised Veronica, inspiring a devious idea in her imaginative mind. Veronica scurried down her partners curvaceous torso, carefully manouvouring herself like a looming predator so as not to disturb her slumbering prey. Veronica trailed her lips down Briannas front, nuzzling her nose into the lip of Briannas T-shirt, the intensity of the delectable scent intensifying as she crept closer to the source. Veronica slipped the tip of her nose beneath the lip of Briannas jet black T-shirt, pressing her lips to Briannas stomach.
Unknown to the adventurous Scribe girl her partner in wasteland excursion was already stirring from her slumber, seeing the mound rising and falling beneath the sheets stirred her interests. "Veronica?"
The mass beneath the sheets suddenly froze, the gentle caresses against her stomach ceased. "Yes?" came the muffled reply.
"What are you doing?" Brianna asked.
No response returned. The mound of fabric moved once again and Veronicas head suddenly emerged from beneath the sheets to greet her. "Well good morning merry sunshine"
Brianna glanced at the bedside clock sitting on the table, noting the time as well into the looming twilight of the next morning. "You do know what time it is"
"I was just thinking I would get a head start on you. But since you're awake I was thinking maybe we could, you know..." Veronica trailed her finger down Briannas stomach.
"Well" Brianna replied, wrapping her arms around Veronicas thin and shapely form, holding her tightly to her chest. "I did promise that when I was rested I would ravish you completely" Brianna caressed her fingers across Veronicas exposed arms. "So I guess we could-"
The tranquil silence was suddenly broken by the piercing wail of the terminal on the desk across the room coming alive, crying out for attention of its master. Brianna begrudgingly had to concede, rolling off of the bed in a tangle of arms and sheets, leaving behind both her partner and the scattered remnants of the fantasy they had once entertained laying cold on the bed.
Brianna typed a series of keys into the keypad, unlocking the terminal and silencing the grating alarm which resonated through the room and Briannas skull simultaneously. The sobering effect of the revelation presented on the terminal quickly snapped Brianna awake, removing any lingering trace of early morning daze cast over her. "Someone is hacking into the Lucky 38 mainframe. All Securitrons within the perimeter have been neutralized. Reinforcements are en-route" Veronica leapt sharply from the bed, kneeling over one of the weapon lockers in search of her equipment. "ETA for Securitrons... 3 hours"
Veronica rose to her feet to face her companion. "Well I count that to be on the far side of useless"
A sound beyond the door stirred them from their tasks; they stood frozen in place, listening intently to the world around them. The sound of the elevator doors opening startled Brianna from the terminal, reaching down she lifted the combat knife from beside the terminal, Brianna leapt to her feet and pressed herself against the wall behind the sole door into the master bedroom, Veronica crouching behind the sofas on the far side of the room.
Above the sound of their raging hearts and laboured breathing they could hear the soft patter of footsteps sweeping out across the apartment. The footsteps began to grow louder as they came closer. Brianna gripped the combat blade tightly in her hand, the cold metal biting against her bare skin remained strangely reassuring. The door creaked open silently on its well-maintained hinges, obscuring Briannas view as she listened to the soft patter of the footsteps deepen. Brianna saw the barrel of a weapon emerging from behind the door and she knew that the person wielding weapon could not be far behind.
Brianna steeled herself, she lunged forward with primal fury, her right hand clasping the handle of the combat knife whilst her left hand reached for the barrel of the weapon. Brianna clasped her left hand across the barrel of the weapon, pushing the weapon down, neutralizing the threat. At the same time Brianna thrust her combat blade into the centre of the dark mass before her, feeling the building resistance as the blade dug deeper into the centre of the persons' torso. Brianna withdrew the blade sharply from her attackers torso, sinking the weapon into the exposed lip covering their neck. Brianna harshly yanked the blade free, hoping the sharp movement had severed something of importance in the process. Brianna could feel the body falling limp, unsupported the remains fell silently to the floor.
Neither Veronica nor Brianna could sacrifice the time to redress or gather weapons; they had to escape now before the inevitable rush of reinforcements locked down the Lucky 38. They had to escape the citadel of New Vegas before this spire became their tomb.
Just beyond the open doorway of the master bedroom, on the far side of the corridor, they could see the doors of the elevator yawning openly widely, waiting vacantly for someone to request its services, it appeared their only avenue of escape from the tightening noose. Although neither of them dared exposing themselves to check the remainder of the corridor they could hear the soft patter of footsteps wafting across the rest of the apartment. It appeared they would have to take the risk and trust their lives in the swiftness of their feet.
Brianna indicated the elevator across the corridor with a sharp hand gesture, Veronica nodded in acknowledgement. Brianna began to count down with her fingers, finally clasping her fingers into a tight fist. In perfect unison Brianna and Veronica charged out into the corridor, their tunnel vision rendering them blind to the world around them, their minds focussed solely on the target ahead. Even as they heard the booming call of 'Stop' accompanied by the metallic clicks of readying weapons they were not deterred. Veronica and Brianna leapt into the safety of the elevator, feeling the burning static of energy rounds passing centimetres in their wake. Veronica struck the elevator control, the doors closing silently to muffle the sound of gunfire in the corridor.
The elevator began to rumble beneath their feet, the sudden feeling of unease as they began to descend sobering the both of them from their adrenaline collapse induced daze. "You know..." Veronica said breathlessly, bracing herself against the wall in an effort to regain her composure after such an intense wake up call. "They will be waiting for us on the Casino floor"
Brianna stepped into the centre of the elevator, turning on her heel Brianna passed her gaze across the small space. "I know" Brianna raised her arm from her side, caressing her finger tips across the roof of the elevator. "Give me a hand"
With Veronicas' assistance Brianna raised up high enough to reach the roof of the elevator, opening the hatch she clambered through onto the roof of the elevator. Leaning down she held out her hand to help pull her companion up after her. Brianna felt the sudden jolt of deceleration as the elevator reached the ground floor of the tower.
The elevator doors yawned open of their own accord, the flashing neon light of the Casino beyond spilled out into the confined space. The dark shadows of the two figures were suddenly cast over the floor of the elevator, swiftly followed by two soldiers dressed in the same jet black armour as the one they had ambushed, their weapons drawn and scanning for potential threats. Brianna and Veronica lay crouched atop the elevators roof, silent and unwavering lest they drew the attention of the soldiers less than a metre away from them.
Secure in the fantasy that the elevator was clear one of the soldiers activated the elevator controls to take them back up to the Presidential Suite of the Lucky 38. The elevator began to vibrate beneath their feet as it began its ascent back up the dark Citadel, they did not have much time before the attackers learned of their survival and their latest hiding place.
Veronica made several sharp downward jabs of her clenched fist into thin air, silently passing her intentions to her companion. Brianna glanced back down at the unaware soldiers beneath her, contemplating the likelihood of being able to disable the guards simultaneously against the likelihood of them simply glancing up and blasting them at point blank range. Brianna looked back up to find her companion clasping a live pulse grenade in her hand, Brianna was unsure whether she was more shocked that Veronica was holding a live grenade or more bemused about where in her rather revealing outfit she had been concealing it all this time.
Veronica simply dropped the device through the open hatch and slammed it closed just as the shockwave of the explosion thumped, the metal straining to contain the blast. Once the dust had settled Veronica prised open the hatch to observe the true extent of the damage. Considering the force of the explosion, and the tight confines within which it was triggered, there was surprisingly few scorch marks or other damage to the elevator walls.
Veronica dropped down into the elevator car, quickly followed by her companion. The soldiers were splayed unceremoniously against the walls of the elevator, unmoving and silent, killed quickly by the sheer intensity of the blast. This moment of silence allowed Brianna a clearer view of their attackers; their armour and weapons had no insignias or other markings and appeared to be carrying no personal effects, they clearly did not want to be identified. Brianna reached forward to graze her fingers against the soldiers chest plate, the design of their armour was similar to the Chinese Stealth Suits she had seen in a few heavily protected military facilities, though it had clearly been modified. Brianna suddenly noticed the dry blood of the soldier she had killed staining across her shirt, in her adrenaline fuelled daze the thought had not even passed her mind.
"We need to get out of here now" Veronicas voice released Brianna from her trance. "And I think I have an idea of how we are going to do it"
The elevator settled to a halt at the appropriate floor, the brakes engaging to hold the elevator car in place against gravities unrelenting pull. Within the corridor of the Presidential Suite the remains of the infiltration team, confident that their prey would not elude them again, began to form up before the elevator doors, their weapons raised to deliver the killing shot. The doors began to slide open, the soldiers grip on their weapons tightening in anticipation. All they found were the broken bodies of their fallen comrades, looted of their weapons and armour and discarded where they fell. The first two of the squad dared to step inside, their weapons scanning for looming targets. They glanced up to see that the emergency hatch had been prised open, the cowards had fled, a final dishonour to the memory of their comrades. They would see that swift retribution was done.
Brianna and Veronica, dressed in the stolen stealth armour, snuck out into the warm glow of the flames billowing from the Gomorrah Casino across the New Vegas Strip. Beneath the cover of darkness the escapees quickly made their escape towards the borders of the city they had briefly named their own and once more out into the harsh wasteland where their lives had been forged.
Beneath the shadow of the Lucky 38 stood several NCR soldiers, their Sergeant questioning one of the Strips many career alcoholics/gamblers found standing over the broken remains of a Securitron. "I'm telling you someone else did this" the man indicated the broken security robot beside him; his voice slurred by a mix of animal fear and Gomorrah brand 'Mind Blower' cocktails. "There was a whole bunch of them that went inside the Lucky 38, but they looked invisible to me"
"Ok" the NCR Sergeant pondered the response. "May I ask how much you've had to drink tonight sir?"