Welcome to my first story here on FFN.
This is a collaboration between me and DevilKing091. I've served as her beta as long as she's been on this site, and I decided it was finally time to get myself an account and put my own work up. Kaiiba bounced me this after we spent a couple days talking about, of all things, Jet. She found it funny that her character in Fallout was addicted to so many things, and caused so much trouble, but still had a "good" alignment. Part of the inspiration also came from Fable: it seems like you can kill untold numbers of citizens and then regain your karma by dancing for them. We wanted to create a hero who is not just a perfect little princess/prince.
I write this with a series of small warnings. First, the story will not be entirely canon. We have added an OC who acts as a bystander and judges Courier Six based on what she sees, not the legends whispered throughout the Mojave Wasteland. This story is mostly planned out, and in parts, it deviates wildly from the actual Fallout: New Vegas storyline. We've tried our hardest not to make it a glorified, prosed-up players' guide.
Second, the updating will be very sporadic. I am a senior in high school and marching band takes up a large amount of time. Kaiiba is always busy writing her other stories, including Eye of the Sun, Silverleaf, and Ride, Midnight Ride. We will attempt to update as often as possible.
As of now, I think those are the only really necessary warnings. There's blood, gore, and swearing. Alcohol use and drugs are fairly common. This is Fallout, and gritty unpleasantries are typical to the game.
If you see any errors or problems feel free to let me know. Thank you, and enjoy the story.
Chapter 1: The Visitor
Tiani Strong was not a woman who complained often. But after her very first encounter with the patron upstairs, she found a little complaining not only necessary, but well-deserved.
Tiani wandered into the little town of Novac, delirious from heat and terrified of her own shadow, a week before the patron's arrival. She had spied the motel from the road, mostly because of the comic-looking dinosaur perched out front like a colossal guardian. She was reluctant to stop even for a few hours, but the motel offered a chance to beg water from the innkeeper and to rest in the shade where the oppressive heat could not find her. She had spent a long, hard month in the Mojave Wasteland, and needed a respite more than anything. She lacked the caps to rent a room for even a single night, but the owner had taken pity on her, and offered a deal. Tiani was loath to stay in one place for long, but the innkeeper's offer was simply too good to refuse.
In exchange for a room free of charge, Tiani maintained the front desk area, bought food from wandering merchants to serve to guests, and cleaned out the motel rooms when occupants finally moved on. It was hard job, but it kept her safe and out of the Wasteland. There wasn't much more she could ask for.
Miss Crawford gave the girl the bottom-floor room closest to the office. It was small and dim, the only furniture being a double bed, an old refrigerator, and a few battered cabinets. The bathroom fixtures were dirty and produced gray, irradiated water. But it was safe, it was hidden, and most of all, it felt like home.
Tiani developed a schedule. Every morning, Miss Crawford woke her at eight AM sharp with a bottle of purified water and some Sugar Bombs. The food was old, but it was nutritional and available. Tiani's workday began at nine. By the end of the day, she was too tired to do much more than pass out in her bed. Maintaining the motel and preparing meals was harder than it looked, and Tiani had never been strong. The first week was all about building up her strength, because God knew she would need it when she, too, moved on.
It only took a week for Tiani to fall in love with the place. Miss Crawford turned out to be a delightful individual, very sweet and personable. She gradually introduced her young employee to the other citizens of Novac: Ranger Andy, the cop with the bum leg; Boone, the sniper who spent all night in the dinosaur's mouth; and many other men and women who all bore similar weaponry along with their hard expressions. They trusted Boone and Manny to keep them safe, but of course, there was no shame in being prepared. Life in the Mojave Wasteland had conditioned them to accept years of fear, intimidation, and heartache.
For all the hardships in the Mojave, Tiani still loved Novac, and could not be more grateful for the Dino Dee-Lite Motel and for Miss Crawford.
At least until the Courier returned.
It was 22:49 when Tiani was jolted out of a sound sleep by the sound of a door slamming closed. Instantly awake, she wrenched the 9mm from under her pillow and pointed it at the front door with a hand that trembled from alarm and adrenaline. The sheets tangled around her slender body, threatening to trip her up if she dared attempt to stand.
Her door had not opened. The sound had come from above.
Warily, Tiani put the 9mm back under the pillow. The damn thing was unloaded anyway. Boone had given it to her as a kind of macabre housewarming gift, mumbling something about "the interest of security." He had included three boxes of ammo, but Tiani refused to load the gun until it was needed. It never occurred to her that, if she ended up in any danger, she would probably be dead by the time she loaded the gun.
Above her head, Tiani heard a series of softer thuds, like boots on carpet. Cold, aware of goose bumps rippling across her skin, she sat very still and listened. There was the sound of a cabinet slamming closed, a bottle shattering, and something heavy being dropped. After that, there was a pause in which the only thing Tiani could hear was her own fast, frightened breathing. Then there was another crash, accompanied by the squeak of springs. It sounded like the occupant, whoever he or she was, had collapsed onto the bed. Then silence.
Tiani's heart beat hard in her chest. She sat bolt upright for a few more minutes, listening hard for any noises. But there was only silence from above and from outside. After awhile, her breathing calmed. She cuddled up to her pillow and closed her eyes, willing sleep to return.
Suddenly a loud, blaring noise filled her room. Tiani shot up, awake again, pressing her palms to her ears. "What the hell?" she wondered aloud. She could hear the Ink Spots beneath the scratchy static. She collapsed back onto her bed, holding her aching head. Could this get any worse?
Of course it could. The occupant started to sing.
The voice was harsh and slurry with too little sleep or too much beer, yet Tiani could understand the words if she listened hard enough. After all, I Don't Want to Set the World on Fire was recognizable enough to residents of the Wastes. Tiani clamped her pillow over her ears. For the love of God, shut up.
Tiani tried her hardest to ignore her mounting desire to go upstairs and brain the drunken moron in the room above. She closed her eyes and prayed for silence.
Some time later, the occupant above started to snore. The radio faded into a wash of static. Tiani found the sound comforting. She released her sadly squashed pillow and laid her head upon it. She slept.
)-(
The next morning she awoke to the sound of light taps on her door. Moaning, Tiani stumbled out of bed and shoved the door open, revealing Miss Crawford. The older woman carried a metal plate piled high with Fancy Lads Snack Cakes. One corner of her mouth twitched upward in a half smirk as she took in Tiani's rumpled nightclothes, puffy face, and messy hair. "Bad night?" she asked.
Tiani groaned and tried to flatten the haystack on top of her head. As much as she pawed at it, the thick gold locks seemed to be unwilling to behave. "I didn't sleep a wink," she confessed. "It was . . . a bad night."
"Well come down in a bit. You need to make some coffee. There's a whole caravan of merchants coming in from Goodsprings today." And with that, Miss Crawford handed Tiani her breakfast and went back downstairs.
Tiani nibbled on a cake as she dressed. As she slipped on her worn boots, she listened hard for the sound of movement upstairs. There was only silence. Shrugging, she made her way downstairs into the lobby and began her workday.
The merchants from Goodsprings kept Tiani busy most of the morning. They were good-natured people who greatly appreciated the coffee she'd made. While Miss Crawford set out buckets of water for the Brahmin, Tiani traded trinkets for Stimpacks and purified water. The merchants were courteous enough to clean up after their Brahmin. Many of them opted to rest for a night in one of the motel rooms. Tiani had to clean out the rooms before they could be inhabited.
Around noon, Tiani and Miss Crawford took a break in the lobby. Tiani was exhausted and dropped into a chair the moment the door closed. Wasteland heat was intense. She was not a very strong girl, never had been, and worried that she wouldn't be able to last the rest of the day.
Miss Crawford laughed when she saw her exhausted assistant. "Tired?" she asked her.
"Extremely," said Tiani, making a face.
"Well, we made quite a few caps' profit," said Miss Crawford, smiling grimly. "It'll see us through a couple weeks. We need some more herbs for the coffee."
Just then, there was a sound of thuds coming from the metal roof above their heads. They were deafening in the small space. Tiani looked up, shocked. "The hell is that?!"
"The Courier," answered Miss Crawford. She seemed unaffected. She scrubbed the rusty Sunset Sarsaparilla machine with a wet rag. "This rust just doesn't want to come off . . . ."
The sound made its way across the roof, and only a moment later, Tiani felt a burst of hot, dry air at her back as the door opened. She stood up. A figure stood in the doorway, wearing in a full-length duster. Tiani couldn't see his face. He closed the door and settled himself at one of the tables. Then he looked over at Miss Crawford. Tiani squeaked. His eyes seemed to flash out at her from the darkness underneath his faded hat, huge and blood-red. Then she recognized the flat, round discs of color as a pair of Pre-War goggles. There was a tattered red bandanna hanging around his neck, obscuring his mouth.
He put his booted feet up on the table and rocked back in his chair. "Jeannie May!" he called, as though he sat on the opposite side of a vast hall rather than a tiny lobby. "Bottle of Scotch, huh?"
Tiani expected Miss Crawford to have harsh words for the Courier. Instead she was shocked to see her laugh and take a dusty bottle from beneath the front desk. "Anything for you." She placed the bottle on the table beside the Courier. "On the house, hon." Eagerly, he yanked it open and began to drink. Miss Crawford went back to scrubbing the Sunset Sarsaparilla machine.
Tiani watched the Courier for a few moments as he pulled out a cigarette, lit it, and took a long drag. His boots twitched, as though in time to music only he could hear. Tiani eyed the gun strapped to his thigh. She wondered if he could use it properly. She wandered over to Miss Crawford, not wanting to look at the Courier any longer. His flat crimson stare unnerved her, and she had a feeling he was watching her every move. She leaned over Miss Crawford's shoulder and whispered, "Who is that guy?"
"A Wasteland wanderer," replied Miss Crawford, squeezing out her wet rag. "He woke up in Goodsprings with no memory of his name, his task, or his location."
"Woke up? What happened to him?"
"He got shot in the head."
Tiani's eyes widened. "Oh my God. By who?"
Miss Crawford shrugged. "I don't know much. He came down here about a month ago, started helping around town. He was the one who let us know about the situation up at Ranger Station Charlie. Now he's cleaning out the REPCONN facility, as a favor to Manny. Guess he's tired of wasting his bullets on monsters." She chuckled softly and dropped her rag in a bucket of Abaxro Cleaner and water. "He's in 107. I gave him the key because he's so helpful."
107. The room upstairs. Tiani clenched her teeth. "He was playing his radio loud last night. I thought I was going to kill him!"
"You wouldn't want to kill him," cautioned Miss Crawford. "Not only is he sort of a local hero, he's got one hell of an eye. Your brains would be drying on the wall before you got halfway into his room!" She chuckled again, then paused. "Try not to get killed, all right? I'd hate to lose my assistant. And if he wants something, give it to him. He's a valuable asset."
Tiani frowned. "All right." She helped Miss Crawford carry the heavy bucket outside, and then began to tidy up the lobby on her own. The Courier did not move. He watched her work with an irritating detachment. He drank and smoked and stared up at the ceiling. Tiani straightened the papers on the front desk and swept the threadbare carpet. The Courier remained still. His mere presence was annoying; he seemed to give off a goading energy like a bad smell. The longer Tiani worked in silence, the madder she felt. His disinterest and unwillingness to help nagged at her.
Finally she could stand it no longer. She turned around and put her hands on her hips. "I don't suppose you can do something to be useful?" she demanded.
His head slowly turned. "I'm on break," he said coolly.
"Breaking from what?"
"My job," he said, shrugging. He took his gun out of his holster and a rag from his pocket. "I'm working."
"Well you could earn your keep around here!" she snapped.
"I'm a guest here at this little hellhole," he grunted. He broke the 9mm down and scattered the parts across the table, then began to clean them individually.
Tiani scowled. "Free of charge. The least you can do is help Miss Crawford clean the other rooms."
"Kid, I'm busy," he said again. His hands never stopped moving; he polished and reconstructed his weapon with an absentminded dexterity she had never seen before. "Can't you see that?"
She rolled her eyes. Anger crackled along her skin. "Well since you're so busy, is there something I can do for you?"
He didn't look up. "Another bottle of Scotch."
Tiani didn't want to give him any more alcohol, but she knew that Miss Crawford would want her to appease him. "Wow," she mumbled. She grabbed a second bottle from the desk and slammed it down on the table, making the gun components rattle. "Be a little more grateful, would you?!" She had decided that he was the biggest pest she'd ever encountered.
The Courier glanced at Tiani. "Kid," he said, "don't bother me."
"How about you not bothering me at night?!"
The Courier chuckled. This prick finding something humorous in her words was enough to make Tiani's blood boil. "Kept you up, did I?"
"You were so damn loud!" Tiani fumed, stamping her foot.
"I was drunk," the Courier admitted. He threw down his rag and sat up straight. "Now if you'll excuse me, I've gotta see a man about a task. Good day." He stood and strode past Tiani without another word.
So the next chapter will be DevilKing091's. I hope you enjoy our little collab.