"That story doesn't seem to make any sense." Spoke an enigmatic armored knight. Certain events were unfolding in the world and she needed to find a way to stop what was going to come. The woman stared at a dwarf who was sitting on a chair before her.
He smiled with his fingertips pressed together. "Don't blame me, it was a story I was told by the Courier. He said that was the reason that brought him into Thedas."
"It's still hard to believe he's from another world. Wouldn't that be the result of magic?"
"That is what I thought as well. Even the Champion agreed, but he was an entirely different matter. He wasn't like Anders, Merrill, or Fenris." The dwarf explained. "He always claimed it was the result of science - which was very different from magic and mages."
"Do you believe him?" The woman asked.
"One can hardly try with someone like him, but he was quite honest with all of us. He just didn't like to talk about what happened to him on his world."
Courier Six - the hero of the New California Republic - was happy to be forgotten, especially after the Battle of Hoover Dam. Just what Ulysses philosophical mind anticipated, perhaps he would be forgotten by history once he played his part. Of course, being a hero had its perks and he brought inspiration to those around him, but his days of traveling in the wasteland were over.
After all, he had hit the jackpot with the casinos of New Vegas before the republic annexed the city under their flag and demanded the three families to file their tax returns - which also included him. Thankfully, also being the resident of the Lucky 38 had made him several exceptions. With the headquarters of Mr. House and his securitrons had become defunct, it allowed the republic to seize the technology it contained and the offline robotics. In return for the courier's assistance to the republic, he was able to retain his ownership of the ancient casino that also served as the NCR's headquarters against the three families.
It was not a bad deal. In fact, it brought life the casino as troopers and the occasional ranger made their way in to gamble off their pay for some of the courier's money or get their hands on his excess of equipment. The deal wasn't bad for the frontline soldiers or former traveler as he could see morale improve whenever someone did win the jackpot or brag to their squadmates how they got a well-maintained assault rifle. As the courier leaned down on the soldiers walking between the elevator and the main entrance, his experience in the wasteland could hear the boots of a soldier approaching him. "What's up?" The courier asked, straightening his back and looking over his shoulder to find a high-ranking major smoking a cigarette.
The officer wore a green beret atop of his shaved hair as he stood beside him in their observation of the young soldiers below them. "Colonel Moore is having a hard time dealing with her new position. You know how much she hates negotiating with the families."
The blonde in the checkered black and white suit could only smile at her suffering of NCR bureaucracy. "Cassandra should have known what she was getting into when I'd offer her a room in my place." He slipped out a chuckle. "Work hard, play hard I say. What do you think, Hsu?"
"Knowing her, I think she might loosen up a bit when she's around you." Major Hsu replied. "You tend to have that effect on people.
"Or so I am told." The courier replied. "Cassandra is somebody who just wants a piece of the action and I just so happen to be the person she should have been. She wants to be a ranger, but she ends up filing paperwork behind a desk. I couldn't blame her for being so bitter against the system."
"Now that you mentioned the rangers, I recall that Chief Hanlon was having a word with you after the Second Battle of Hoover Dam. Do you mind explaining to me what happened back there?" Major Hsu wondered.
The courier slipped his hands into his pocket and lowered his head. "We were just talking about the old times when the Desert Rangers were once independent of the republic. Hanlon was just surprised to find me snooping around in the Mojave all by myself. He said, 'David Campbell, you did your people proud. I order you not to die until then.' Let's just say it's an inside understanding with us desert boys."
Taking the cigarette from his lips, the major released the smoke from within his body. "I see. Well, I wish you the best. I'm being reassigned." He slapped his friend on the back before turning away from the railings.
"Where are you going?" David asked. "I thought you were still being deployed in the Mojave."
As the major approached the stairs on the right, he turned around and slowly walked backwards. "We still are. Thanks to you, the Fiends are gone. Our leftover manpower is being sent to plug in the gaps. It should wake up Caesar's little picnic camp in Cottonwood."
"Long live the bear, old friend." A quick salute was the last of their conversation while the courier remained in his comfortable location, overlooking the gambling below.
This small moment of peace was immediately broken when an angry voice demanded his attention through the speakers. "David Campbell, please come to the penthouse. It's one of your personal items."
"What is it this time?"
When the elevator doors slid open, David was met with an annoyed officer with the chestnut hair approaching him. "One of your personal belongings is blinking and I can't work with it on."
He stared at her with skepticism. "Blinking? None of my stuff ever blinks. What does it look like?"
"It's like one of those weird energy weapons you have lying around here. This one had a weird trigger with some blue tubing. It doesn't look like much of a weapon."
A responsibility from long ago had occurred to him. "That's because it isn't." He replied. "Where is it?"
"Follow me." As the woman led the way, they made their way into the main computer room where it was once occupied by another… now no longer. "I didn't touch it since I'm worried it might fire off. Last thing I wanted to do was end up like paste. What the hell is it?"
The courier immediately walked forward and grabbed the device, recognizing its major importance to him. "It is my Transportalponder. It's a teleportation device." Came his answer. "It normally doesn't do this."
She walked beside him and took a quick inspection of it. "Where does it take you?"
"A place far from New Vegas." He answered. "I wouldn't recommend sending soldiers to go there. That place is too dangerous for anyone to travel in."
"How can you be so sure?" The colonel asked.
"Ever had your brain removed before taking it back?" The courier asked.
Her gaze stared at him with disgust.
"Yeah, not a pleasant experience. I don't know why it's blinking, but I'm going to check what's going on there. Could you still run things in the Strip while I'm away?"
Cassandra Moore looked around to see her subordinates busy with their duties before staring at him with a smile. "Sure… as long as you come back in one piece for dinner."
David leaned towards her and kissed her on the cheek before walking back to the elevator. Their relationship began when an Ambassador Crocker sent him to the Hoover Dam to continue his service with the republic. Originally, Cassandra and him were supposed to be professional about it, but learning about how much disappointment she had trying to become a ranger made him pity her. The only reason she had to be so bitter was that life didn't go her way. A single argument with her about the Brotherhood of Steel had made them show their true colors and they fell for one another soon after. She would never admit it, but he heard from her peers about how much she was acting all worried for his well-being like a knight returning to his maiden. It was an odd to compare his relationship to that of a pre-war fairy tale, but the courier realized he was not the average person who trekked the wastelands.
After returning to the elevator and pushing the buttons, he thought about his history before it led up to this moment. He was a ranger acting as a courier, only to learn how much the Legion were about to make matters worse for his nation. As his home slowly became a battlefield between the NCR garrison and the Legion infiltrators, he recalled how easily the latter was winning. There was no hope in saving the town when the Legion had the potential to fire the nuclear missiles and into the capital of Shady Sands. Those Marked Men, all those people he condemned in the Divide… he just couldn't erase those ghosts of his past. Hopefully, Big Mountain would never be the same, but knowing the Think Tank made him worry.
Upon the doors opening, he stepped out into his personal home and armory to remove what was once Benny's outfit for the equipment and armor that would save him from the horrible situation. David recalled that promise with Doctor Mobius about ensuring the safety of the world if the Think Tank ever got out. Yes, they were excellent minds with contributions to science, but their experiments left much to be desired. After enduring his pain of being a lab rat, he hoped they did keep their promise of doing as they're told. Some of them were just victims of circumstance and it pained him to put a bullet in several of them, like some of the Fiends he spared before their group was wiped out.
The feeling of being teleported back to the tower of Big Mountain had made him worry, but the Think Tank did keep their promise. Being welcomed by the Sink's personalities, he was glad this town of his was doing fine. There were reports about the possibility of putting their personalities into full by going to Boston; however, he had know intention of going there until it was truly important for the world or the republic. Of course, his arrival didn't go unnoticed by the Think Tank as they demanded a specimen for them to test on. Thankfully, he had the occasional mirelurk corpse kept in containment underneath the Lucky 38.
Once the meet and greet was over, he travelled out into the rest of Big Mountain and tried to discover what truly demanded his attention. The more he walked towards Doctor Mobius' place, his Transportalponder seemed to have been blinking faster than before. Perhaps he was sending a message out to him?
Upon bypassing the roboscorpions that recognized his arrival, the courier entered the poorly maintained science center to find a lonely and broken machine floating in the air. The brain jiggled in its gel as the floating robotic machine had revealed two of three working screens, each representing a form of the human face. Two were supposed to be eyes while one screen was the lips. However, one of the 'eyes' seemed to have been destroyed by a previous encounter with another courier. "Ah, it's good to see you again. I see that the Think Tank hasn't decided to break out of the facility. Well, I hope you're okay if I have a word with you. Mentat?"
David graciously accepted the chem and slipped one tablet into his mouth. "You were the one calling me?"
The speakers released a long sigh. "Yes. I took the opportunity to insert an SOS signal into the Transportalponder. That way, the user could understand that something important had happened at the Big Mountain." The scientist quickly explained. "I digress, there seems to be a situation that is… outside of my control and I think you deserve to know a thing or two about it."
"What's going on? Can't you use your roboscorpions."
"No, I'm sure you're familiar with the idea of scaring people away. I don't want that." He said. "Long ago, there was a possibility of finding other worlds and I'm sure you might find it to be a ludicrous notion, but that Transportalponder is the result of this discovery. My discover hasn't been accepted and it's likely that you will not survive the process due to its risky nature."
David crossed his arms. "I took a bullet to the head and had my brain, spine, and heart removed from my body. How are you going to make that worse."
The floating robotic that carried the brain had started blinking. "The issue is this is beyond the realm of science. Some of the things over in this world are unlike any we have discovered and it would be dangerous due to topics such as magic."
He raised his hand. "Hold up, did you say magic?"
"Yes, my good courier. Magic is real, just not in our world." Mobius explained. "I know it's hard for you to believe, but a friend is calling in a favor and I intend to keep my word."
In all the time David had been around this particular scientist, he knew he was an eccentric one compared to the maddening crowd that argued with one-another. Yet, in this moment he could see the tone of care he had for this particular matter. "You're going to send me there?" Came his question. "Do you trust me that much?"
"Very much. Look, you did the world a favor by ensuring the Think Tank from unleashing its horrors on innocents and creating chaos that would destroy what's left of the world. I know it's asking too much to put you in harms way, but you do have a choice. There is no shame in helping me in this endeavor." The scientist explained to him with only his static eyes staring at him. "You're the only one I know who has the heart, mind, and backbone to endure the things the tales say about you."
The courier became silent for a moment as Doctor Mobius waited for his answer. Yet, he didn't do nothing with his actions. David reached for the helmet underneath his arms before slowly slipping it on and activating a shade of red of light. "This should be an interesting one."
Author's Note: Well, I kinda want to get back into making a Dragon Age crossover. Of course, I'm kinda tired using Metro stuff so Fallout: New Vegas is going to get it's time to shine.