Grazie for the favorites! Especially the ones who made me a favorite author despite only putting out one story! This is why I do it~ Because honestly, if this was all for myself, I'd just write it all in my spare time and never put it up. A writer's duty is to his demographic, and I plan to proudly carry out that duty, as is evidenced by my current "Chapter a Day" mentality. Please, keep reading, and don't be afraid to berate me, I know my writing needs work. If I ever hope to be a big-name author, I'll need all the critique I can get!

October 20, 2281
Primm's NCR-held Checkpoint
1300 Hours, Pacific Standard Time

"Woah, hold up! This area's off-limits!" The NCR Trooper holding his Service Rifle at rest said, a gloved hand coming up to stop Elise as she walked.

"Relax, soldier. What's the big deal? I'm a big girl and can take care of myself." Elise said tiredly, obviously not interested in wasting time at a security checkpoint.

"We've got a bunch of escaped convicts up ahead ma'am, the whole town's holed up in the Vikki and Vance. You don't really want to get mixed up with a gang do you?" The trooper asked.

"Already did yesterday. Helped Goodsprings deal with some of our refuse. Mind telling me what the hell happened to our country soldier?" Elise asked with a look of annoyance on her face. Last she had paid attention to the NCR, they had been a great force that no one wanted to mess with.

"Too many of our forces are up at the Dam. General Lee Oliver's orders are stupid, but I can't blame him for wanting to hold one of our most valuable resources." The Trooper answered.

"Look, I'm going in, if you want to stop me, you can, but someone in there knows something about an order that got me this." Elise said, pulling back her black hair to show the bullet-hole over her patched eye, to which the troop's response was gaping awe. "But good luck trooper. Maybe I'll see you again sometime." Elise said as she walked by him, the 357 she'd taken from Cobb in hand as she walked into the actual town of Primm, ignoring the camp of her homeland's troopers.

It wasn't long before a bullet whizzed past her and she dove for cover, long hair whipping in the wind. Ramming her shoulder against a concrete barricade on the NCR side of the bridge, she popped up, taking aim with her revolver, only to notice a series of frag mines on the bridge, which a convict sharpshooter immediately took aim at. Luckily, Elise had ducked back into cover, unluckily, there was a stick of dynamite almost directly above her head, and dropping fast. Immediately, Elise dove from her cover, sliding and scraping against the wood and concrete that made up the bridge into town. As soon as she stopped moving, she could see one of the convicts and shot from her grounded position, firing three shots as quickly as she could pull the trigger and cock the hammer back. The three rounds ripped into the man's chest, blood splattering his outfit, staining it red as he fell to the ground.

Of course, this drew the attention of more convicts, and it wasn't long before Elise was hiding behind a tin shack to avoid catching lead. Taking the opportunity to reload, she fished out three 357 rounds and flipped open the panel, expelling and replacing the three spent casings before popping out from her cover.

However, as she left her cover, she heard her Pip-Boy say something. "Pip-Boy automated V.A.T.S. Program Initiated. Stimulating adrenal response."

As the Pip-Boy was speaking, Elise felt her body accelerate as everything seemed to slow. She could see three immediate threats, and her hands were steadier than she could ever imagine as she aimed the revolver, firing from the hip like a cow-girl, cocking the hammer with her left hand as her right triggered a flurry of three rounds that each found a home in a separate man's head.

With the three most immediate threats gone, Elise decided keeping quiet would be the best thing she could do in this town. Putting her revolver in its holster, she opted for her Varmint Rifle (For which she had bought a suppressor before leaving Goodsprings. Ringo's reward and Chet's appreciative discount had helped ease the bill) and rounded the corner of the Vikki and Vance Casino to spy two more convicts walking about outside. Elise aimed her rifle carefully, but as soon as she pulled the trigger, the bastard changed direction and the opportunity was ruined. Both men turned their guns on her and she felt a cruel nine-millimeter bullet bite into her right shin. Dropping to the ground, she gave a cry of pain.

"Fuckin' sweet! She's hurt but still alive, let's see if we can keep it that way! When's the last time boss had a girl like that? We bring this girl to him, he's sure to give us a reward!" Elise heard one say as she tried to clear her head of the pain in her leg. Taking a deep breath, she tried to focus, and held her rifle up in her left hand, her right finding the nine-millimeter pistol at her side. As soon as the pair rounded the side, Elise had the pistol ready and emptied the entire clip into both of them, roughly expending half on each.

"If you fuckers think I'm going to be fucked just so you get a reward, you're sadly... SADLY mistaken!" Elise said as she reloaded and emptied her clip once more into the nearest one, reducing his groin to a bloody mess. She knew it was a foolish waste of ammo, a foolish display of emotion, but she was NOT to be anyone's toy.

Managing to get to her feet again, she stuck to the side of the casino, limping into the entrance as swiftly as she could. As soon as she was in, she dropped to the ground. "Please... Please tell me that fucking SOMEONE here knows how to get a bullet out of a leg!" Elise shouted, drawing the attention of every refugee.

Almost as soon as she said this, a dark, old man came up to her with a doctor's bag in hand. "I'm Johnson Nash. I run the Mojave Express, but I do some trade on the side. I figure I'll give you one of these free since you obviously got that helping us a little bit. Now just hold still." Nash said, and soon, he was throwing away a blood-covered chunk of lead and wrapping up Elise's leg before popping a stim into the wounded appendage.

After only an hour or so, Elise was walking again, albeit a somewhat pained stride. In this hour, Nash had explained how the Deputy, some poor sap named Beagle, had been kidnapped, and the Sheriff murdered. Apparently, Beagle had good information on the bastard in the checkered suit, so it was now in Elise's best interest to rescue the imbecile. Turned out he was being held in the Bison Steve Hotel.

"And what can I expect of the convict resistance in that place?" Elise asked, testing her still recovering leg.

"A whole lot. They pretty much holed up there." Nash answered, the expression on his old wrinkled face grim.

"If you don't hear back from me today, find someone else to save your deputy." Elise said, her voice now showing weariness with the way this damned world had to be. Everyone wants something for nothing, but more often than not, you give something and get nothing.

Roughly an hour later, Elise had snuck past or killed most of the convicts in her way to get to Deputy Beagle, but right as she was cutting his bonds, she heard the distinct sound of an incinerator lobbing its fiery death in her direction. It was either let Beagle die, or die with him. The wasteland's law was cruel, but in a way, fair. Beagle obviously deserved to be dead if he had been caught in the first place. As she dove away from Beagle, she felt the heat erupt behind her as Beagle exploded into a screaming fireball. The smell of burning hair, flesh, and cloth made Elise sick to her stomach, but she couldn't afford to stop. Immediately, she went through the side hall she'd used to sneak past the incinerator wielding leader of the convicts and as soon as she was on his flank, loaded a clip of armor-piercing rounds she had found on one of his men into her nine-millimeter. As she aimed at the tank on his back, she couldn't help but grin. He and his men had fallen into a trap, being packed so tightly in that small space when she fired would cause a fiery explosion that would kill the whole group.

BANG!

The heat from the blast could be felt all the way at the back of the lobby where the shot had been fired. Bodies were nothing but charred skin over sticky red meat which held no pulse. With the threat gone, Elise took a moment to rest. She'd expected a lot, but not a goddamn incinerator! And Beagle was dead, but that was no matter. She'd talked him into revealing what information he had with a few seductive lines, after all, when a woman was involved, men were very easily manipulated.

Apparently the fucker had gone south through Nipton then north to Elise's childhood home of Novac. But that could probably wait just a little bit. Because of Elise's foolish decision, Primm had no law enforcement at all. At the least, Elise could see about putting the town under NCR jurisdiction.

After leaving the Bison Steve, Elise found her way back to the NCR encampment and walked into the tent of the CO.

Immediately, Hayes' hand went up in a salute. "Lieutenant Hayes, NCR Army, Fifth Battalion, First Company. How can I help you Ma'am?" Hayes said, his hand staying up in a salute.

This made Elise a little suspicious. "Why the big, showy, military formality?" She asked.

"I served with your father. Damn good man. But he never did stop showing us that locket with your picture and saying how proud you made him. Still a damn good Ranger. Can I please be at ease now?" Hayes requested, to which Elise gave a proper salute, allowing him to return to a more comfortable stance. "So then, Elise, what can I help you with?"

"Well, I slipped up and the town's deputy, Beagle, wound up charcoaled. So I was thinking our good nation could help them out. So what's taking you so long to go in?" Elise asked, finding her way to a table in the tent and settling herself comfortably, one leg crossing over the other and her hands resting in her lap.

"Well, we don't have enough men." Hayes said as he joined her at the table. "And the only man who can authorize more troops to this town is Major Knight at the Mojave Outpost Southwest of here. It's one hell of a hike, so you might want to rest up a bit before you go. Hell, we've got a few open bunks, but nothing private. Just pick a bed and no one will bug you." Hayes offered.

"Nothing private? Ah wel, it'll have to do." Elise said before grabbing a bunk, unzipping her vault suit, tying the sleeves around her waist, and going to sleep on a hard mattress.

When she woke up, the sun was down, and what she could read on her Pip-Boy said it was around 0200 hours. As she sat up, she saw the Lieutenant approaching her. "Oh, hey Hayes... What is it?" She yawned tiredly. The man was holding something as he walked up, and he dropped it onto the woman's lap.

"I thought you'd be up about now, so I figured I'd do something nice since you're getting our nation more territory. What's in your lap is a set of our Mantle Armor, and it's only slightly worn, so it can still take a few hits. And this..." Hayes said, pulling out a large pistol, pushing a clip into it and pulling the slide. "Is the N99 ten-millimeter pistol. A very reliable weapon. And this is some ammo." Hayes said, giving the gun and a few clips over to Elise. "Also, you might try a backpack." He suggested, placing one by her bed. The label on the light bag could clearly read: Black Wolf.

"Hmph... Is it my birthday or something?" Elise asked with a smile. Immediately, disregarding Hayes or any other prying eyes, she took off her boots and slipped out of the vault suit, her lower-body completely nude and bare for anyone to see, a tank-top being the only protection to her upper-body. A few men averted their eyes, others stared and blushed, but most housed amorous thoughts of lust within their mind. Soon, the basic, tan fatigues of the NCR's military uniform were on Elise's body, the breastplate soon being slid over her head. Lastly, she pulled the camouflaged mantle over her left shoulder and slipped into her boots, lacing them up good and tight. Next, she put her two pistol holsters on and slipped her backpack onto her shoulders, opting to put the 357 into it. Finally, she slung the rifle she had over her right shoulder, slipping the nine and ten-millimeter pistols into the left and right holster respectively. "Thanks though, honestly, I get the feeling that before this is all over, something with a little more punch will be very helpful. Thanks." Elise said, giving the Lieutenant a grateful hug and a kiss on his cheek.

As she left, Elise couldn't help but grin as she heard many of Hayes' subordinates begin hooting and making cat-calls. No doubt they'd start telling stories about him being a softy for girls, no matter how tough they looked. As Elise began her journey to the Outpost, she sighed. In the distance, she could see two large statues, but they were a long distance away.

A few hours of hiking and many fights and retreats from packs of Radscorpions finally brought Elise to the Outpost, but when she entered the Administrative Building, she wound up being dragged into a long economics argument with Knight. An argument she eventually won, getting Hayes' boys their support and the NCR more land, but getting Elise a major headache. A nap and a return trip later, and Elise was telling Hayes that he was clear to move in on Primm and begin administering justice. Through the power of the NCR, Primm would know safety again.

Woooo! Chapter two complete! If anyone here likes Beagle, sorry, but I thought he was a prick and typically executed him with a pistol round to the back of the head and just stole his journal. Also, I'd like to take this opportunity to mention that Black Wolf backpacks does not belong to me either. Once more people, only not so hintingly, I say, REVIEW AND YE SHALL RECEIVE MORE!