**All characters and places created by Interplay are copyrighted by Interplay and used without permission. I did not create everything of this story, I am merely using it as a base to write from. Don't sue me, I'm poor anyway.**
I am the darkness of the wastelands. No one knows my name. No one remembers my face. Of the few thousands living after the cataclysm, I alone know the Truth.
And no one will get it out of me.
The moon shone. A lone man walked. Sand crunched beneath his boots. The cold wind made its efforts to slow his pace, pushing against his leather jacket. One hand rested on a holstered Desert Eagle. The other swung Brahmin-hide pack. He had no destination but the wastes.
As he walked past a lone bush, a second set of footsteps joined in his crushing of sand. They grizzled man didn't bother to turn his head. The second was silent. A long, black coat flowed about his feet, rustling in the wind. His face was hidden under unkempt raven hair. The darkness of an empty night seemed especially deep near this mystery. They kept walking onward.
The desert man stopped and turned. They had been walking for hours. The dark man stopped his striding and faced him.
"You the one I was sent to meet?" the desert man said. He could almost see a glint of eyes behind the thick black hair obscuring the face in front of him.
The dark head nodded. "I am, ranger." There was an inescapably long pause. "You should have my papers, then?"
The New California Ranger's face suddenly showed all of the suspicions and mistrusts that he had held since he first heard of his assignment. This dark mystery of a man did nothing to subdue his fear. "Am I sure we can trust somebody like you?"
The dark man suddenly drew himself up. "That is no matter!" The ranger could see his eyes flashing behind the veil of dark hair. "Your leaders should consider what I am giving you to be most important!" He shrunk down again into himself. "Now, give me what I want, and you shall not go back empty handed."
The grizzled ranger almost was ready to run now. This man of darkness was not one his honorable associates should be dealing with. Still, he did not move. The dark eyes must have been intently studying him, even though they were hidden from sight. There was surely no good to come of this deal. But the founders had ordered.
The ranger reached into his leather jacket and pulled out a sheet of paper. "Here. An explicit pass to get into NCR, any time, any reason." The dark man took it. The paper was tucked into this coat before the ranger could see it happen. "Now. What am I bringing back?"
The dark man didn't move for many very tense moments. The ranger silently cringed. He did not put murder past this mystery of a wanderer. More minutes passed in silence.
The dark man threw his head back and bellowed. He laughed aloud for an entire minute before lowering his head. He still chuckled as he held out a sleeve-covered hand. It held a folded packet of paper. The ranger reached for it, took it in his hand, and tired to bring it to himself. The dark man would not let go. They both held it. More anxious moments passed.
The dark man laughed again. "Let your fears pass over you, old man. There are worse things in the wastes than mysterious strangers." He let go, and backed away. The darkness of the night enveloped him. The moon had gone beyond the horizon and the inky blackness accepted its own. The ranger shivered, and turned back towards home.
I watch from behind one of the low dunes that cover the vast desert of the world, my black coat making me just another lump of sand. That fool of a ranger still walks towards a dark horizon that hides the bustling capitol city of a newly rising empire. A city that now knows of me. Rumor and legend. My most potent tools. Darkness. My most precious ally. Tomorrow night, the darkness will come again. Then, I will rise again out of the wastes to complete another mission. Another time when the holder of the Truth must correct the wrongs.
This sheet of paper that he gave me. Useless. I don't need a gate guard to admit me past any wall. No, the only thing I got out of this deal was my rumor passing before me. NCR knows of me. They don't know of but the suspicions of an old man. Soon, the shade shall pass into their midst.
Who am I? I am the dream you can't recall. I am the shadow you can't believe. I am the hope you can't trust. I am the holder of the Truth. I am the darkness of the wasteland.
And tomorrow night, I will rise again.