War, war never changes. In 2077 a nuclear fire plunged the earth into darkness. Those who survived did so in vaults built by vault-tec. The vaults re-opened at different times. Some opened with success and others never opened at all. By 2277 most of the vaults were opened and society started to rebuild.
In the Mojave Desert upon a cliff was a solitary man, a messenger of sorts. His name was Danny. He was sent to deliver a package. This was no ordinary package though, it was a bomb destined for Crimson Caravan, the main supply line for the New California Republic (NCR). The NCR believed in reuniting the old world with the new scorched one they know so well.
Danny arrived at the gates of Crimson Caravan around noon. All of the guards were out for their lunch break. He strolled right in and went over to the nearest storehouse. He took off his satchel and opened it. Inside was a c4 charge and a detonator. He took it out and attached it to the side of the storehouse.
As he made his way out, he noticed a squad of NCR
rangers at the gate. "Oh shit." He muttered under his breath. Danny pulled his pre-war hat farther down his face and popped the collar on his trench coat. He ducked into a gap between two buildings and rolled up his sleeve.
The display on his pip-boy said that he getting dehydrated. He searched his backpack for something to drink. Agave fruit… not juicy enough. Sunset Sarsaparilla… he hated the stuff. Ahhh…nuka-cola, his favorite drink. He took a big swig and wiped his mouth with his sleeve.
He then decided that it would be safer to pull out his last stealth-boy rather than take his chances with the squad of rangers. He injected it straight into his jugular vein in his neck. His body began to imitate the color of the background.
Danny stepped out of his hiding spot and walked over to the gate. He was about 10 feet away from it when one of the rangers looked directly at him. He froze in place and held his breath. The ranger stared for a couple seconds and then continued scanning the horizon. Danny walked briskly past them and ducked around the corner of a building. His stealth boy suddenly deactivated. "Whoa! That was close." He thought to himself. He looked at his pip-boy display. 12:34. if he was lucky, he could make it back by dark. When he felt he was far enough away, he pulled the detonator's trigger. "Goodbye Crimson Caravan."
He reached Cottonwood Cove by 7:14. It was starting to get dark. The only thing lighting the way were the smoldering fires burning underneath crosses along the road. Pinned to those crosses were traitors. NCR, Great Khans and small time scum like the powder gangers. He walked down the hill. "Maurice! How's the slave trade going?" He asked enthusiastically. "It's going. We need more women though. Seems to be a shortage." "I'm sure we'll raid somewhere soon enough." "I hope so; Austin's been on my back for a nice blond!" They shared a chuckle and then Danny moved on.
Lambo, the ferry driver was standing on the dock. Danny walked over to him. "I got a meeting with Caesar in an hour. Can you take me down to the fort?" "Can you tell the boss man we're runnin' outa supplies down here?" "Sure thing. I'll be sure to mention it." Lambo paddled down the river towards the fort.
After he got on the shore, he waved to Lambo and hiked up the path towards Caesar's tent. Passing him up and down the path were women, young and old carrying heavy boxes and sacks on their back. One young woman, no more than 5 years old, fell on her way down. Two legionaries ran over to the child and started shouting at her and whipping him till she got up.
Danny didn't agree with slavery but it seemed the only option for the legion. He pushed his thoughts of disgust to the back of his mind and continued up the path. As he approached the gate, a legionary recruit walked up to him. "Hey buddy!" he said with anger. "I don't know how you made it this far bu…" the legionary realized his mistake as Danny pulled his pre-war hat up. " Uh… uh, sorry sir! Go on ahead, in fact, take my Nuka-Cola too! Please don't tell Caesar about this!" Danny looked deep into the recruit's eyes. He saw fear, weakness and un-willingness to serve Caesar till death. "Oh I'll tell him, but you won't be around to take the punishment." He pulled his .44 magnum revolver and put it to the recruits head. There was a loud bang and brain matter flew 360 degrees. He continued through the camp with no further interruptions.
He reached Caesar's tent, positioned in the center of the camp. "Ave, true to Caesar frumentarii. Caesar's been awaiting your arrival. The Praetorian Guard opened the tent flap. As he stepped inside, Caesar looked up. "Danny! Good to see you! My scouts tell me you have done the job!" "Yes, it was actually quite simple! I did have to use my last stealth boy." "Pete! Get this man a trio of stealth boys!" Pete, a small boy, runs over to a crate in the back of the room. He returns with three stealth boys. "Thank you Caesar. Now, what is your next command?"
"Danny, you must travel deep into the Mojave to make contact with the Fiend 'Cook-cook' and strike a deal. If he and his brethren join us in the battle for Hoover Dam, and we will continue to give them a life-time supply of psycho. If they will not co-operate, make use of this." He handed Danny a mini nuke with a detonator. "Plant this inside their vault and detonate it when you are at a safe distance. Oh and before you leave, talk to the kennel master. I've arranged for you to get a dog like you wanted.
Danny left Caesar's tent and walked towards the kennel master. "Ave, true to Caesar! Caesar told me I could pick out a dog from the kennel?" "This is true. Step inside and take anyone you like." Danny walked in the tent and was immediately blasted with the odor of rotting meat and urine. He peered inside of the cages. Most of the dogs were dirty, raggedy and missing spots of fur. The fur they did have was matted and filthy, except for one dog. She was orange and white, a kind of Shetland sheepdog. She was the only of her kind so Danny picked her. He unlocked her cage and picked her up. She immediately took a liking to him. "Your name is… is, Shian!" He put her down and walked out of the tent. She followed close behind, wagging her tail contently
He walked over to the gate, but then stopped. He thought of the issue of food. He hadn't eaten a proper meal in a few days. He stopped off at the kitchen. He grabbed an iguana on a stick for him and a Brahmin steak for Shian. He drank the Nuka-Cola from the pleading recruit earlier and set down a bottle of dirty water in a bowl for Shian.
He rested for a while and then made his way to the barge. Lambo was resting against a pole at the dock. "Danny! How'd it go?". "Fine, fine. I have to go negotiate with Cook-cook and his fiends. Also, I got a dog! Say hello to Shian!" Shian barked and hopped around Lambo playfully. "Ooh, we got a playful one here! So, would you like to cross?". "Why else would I be here?" "To visit your old friend?"
They crossed with no further discussion. As they reached the shore, Danny waved goodbye and moved on. He hiked up the mountain side to get a vantage point. He pulled out binoculars and peered out into the distance. He could see Helios One, Novac and the 188 trading post. He decided to travel to Novac to stock up on supplies.
On his way to Novac, he spotted movement in the distance. Shian started to growl. As he got closer, he pulled out his .44 revolver. As he rose up a ridge, he saw that the movement was a duo of rad-scorpions. He aimed for the eyes. He fired twice, once at one and once at the other. The first got hit straight between the many eyes. The other didn't get a scratch. It turned to face him and scuttled with great speed toward him . Shian ran to meet it and jumped on its back. She bit at the vulnerable part at the base of its tail. The tail fell off. Shian jumped off and Danny lined up another shot. The bullet hit directly in its back. It spasmed and then went limp.
A while after Danny saw more movement, this time faster. He knew what it was. It was a cazador. He snuck up on it but as soon as he got within shooting distance, its antenna perked up. It turned and charged him. He lifted up his .44 and held his breath. "BANG!" It was a direct hit to its head, but it was still coming! "BANG!" Another shot, this time to the right wing. It stopped flying but hopped toward him. Shian ran up to it and ripped its head off.
He arrived at Novac by dawn. He stopped off at the dino-bite gift shop. He bought caravan lunches, stimpacks and .44 rounds. After that, he stopped by the local medic and reduced his radiation counter. He saw an old man babbling to himself at the side of a building. "Damn commie ghosts, always stealing my underwear!" He decided not to talk to him.
He looked at the display on his pip-boy. It said it was going on 9 o'clock. He continued on towards Nipton. He strayed off of the road and arrived at a wind farm. It seemed to be abandoned so Danny didn't think much of it. Suddenly, Shian started growling and furiously barking. She ran into an open door.
Danny rushed in behind her. He looked around the room. The dark space was only broken by the beams of sunlight that poured in through the holes of the tin walls. This farmhouse had been long abandoned. There was dust on all of the surfaces and sand accumulated in the corners of the room. Suddenly, something bursted into the room! A dark figure rushed toward him. It's face was rotted and contorted. It was a feral ghoul.
He grabbed his .44 and aimed at the ghoul's head. He shot once, no hit. By then the ghoul was upon him. It threw itself on top of Danny. It's teeth started ripping into his flesh. He cocked his gun, put it to the ghoul's head and pulled the trigger. "BANG!". The sound rung in his ears. The ghoul laid limp on top of him. He threw it to the side and got up. He looked down. He was missing a chunk of flesh from his arm. "Fuck that hurts!" he exclaimed.
He walked over to the open door. He peered inside. Laying on the floor was a Trail Carbine and some ammo. Lying in the corner, propped up against the wall was an NCR soldier. Just then, Shian rushed out from behind a broken wardrobe with a machete in her mouth. Attached to the machete was a gas tank. Danny put it on. He pulled a lever on the base of the blade and the sword lit up in fire. The writing scribbled on the gas tank said "Shish-kabob". Danny thought that was a creative enough name for a weapon like that. " C'mon Shian, we gotta lot of ground to cover!"
They stayed the night in Nipton. The Legion would be upon the city in a month or two. They gathered supplies and left at first light. Nothing of significance happened untill they reached Goodsprings. By then it was 5:00 pm. He stopped in at the "Goodsprings Saloon". He had a vodka and Nuka-cola.
The trouble started when a Powder Ganger came in and started harassing the barkeep. He asked Danny to join in and Shian started to growl. She jumped on the ganger so fast, he didn't have time to react. She ripped his vocal cords out so quick he couldn't even scream. Danny tryed pulling Shian off but when she was angry, she would finish the job.
After that they made Danny leave. They told him of a small mining town up the road called Sloan. He set off into the night, following the road out of town. It was morning by the time he had got to Sloan, but Danny pressed on down the road. He was determined to make it to Cook-cook's camp by nightfall.
He was mid way to Cook-cook's camp when he happened upon an abandoned train station. He thought nothing of it and carried on. As he passed it a lonesome courier watched from the shadows, not approving Danny's work for the Legion, being a man of the NCR. He followed behind at a distance, always watching and waiting for the right moment.
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