Author's Note: Thank you HumaneDarkness for clicking "favorite" on my story! It means a lot!
Chapter 4: Differences in Opinion
Rho stared up at the sky as she thought about what time it was. There were times where she would forget what day it was, what year, what month, not that it mattered anymore. She didn't need to keep a calendar, nor keep a watch for time. Everything she knew got destroyed when the bombs fell. All order seemed to go out the window, and now she was travelling in dirt with her best friends. Sam wasn't really a best friend, but Alex was. She stared at the dirt road before her, kicking a large rock before sighing. They were on their way to the supposed abandoned NCR Correctional Facility. Unfortunately, there had been reports that squatters in there had taken up arms and began causing trouble. Veronica had pushed them back with her forces, but she had a suspicion that there was going to be an even bigger shootout, and more forces than they were sending. She had volunteered herself to go once Sam said that he would go check out the problem. Then, Alex volunteered to watch Sam's ass, literally, which mean Rho had to go in order to keep Alex out of trouble, and Boone went because he wasn't being left alone with Trudy, whose stares made him feel uncomfortable. "Why does every jackass have to hide in an obvious place?" asked Boone
"You missed the part about them being moronic." Answered Sam, "They're probably addicts looking for a good time."
"This seems more like strategized attacks than just a bunch of Fiends." Said Veronica, "Besides, their attack patterns were more organized than just screaming and running after you."
The group laid down on the ground as they watched the groups of men guarding around the gate. They weren't dressed as Powder Gangers, just as regular wastelanders. "Eight around the ground," said Boone, "four around the towers. They're not carrying standard guns."
"Plasma or Laser?" asked Sam
"Looks like laser."
"Ok, so that means they're energy specialists. Great, they always seem to piss me off worse."
"That's because they're smug bastards."
"Don't worry handsome." Said Alex, "I'll make sure they don't burn you cute ass."
"Alex," ground out Sam, "I swear to everything that I'm not-"
Gunshots rang out and the three men saw Rho and Veronica on the attack. "Lets kick some ass!" yelled Rho
The enemy wasted no time opening fire, with Veronica having some protection with her power suit and Rho taking cover behind rocks while making distance shots. "Your sister is nuts." Said Boone
"I'm a sadist!" yelled Rho, "There's a difference!"
Boone bit his lip before shooting. There wasn't much he could say to that statement, but he wished his mind didn't go to a dirty place. Sam didn't waste any time getting up close and personal, killing with his machete, with Alex on his tail. Rho hit one with the butt of her gun in the face, knocking out a few teeth. Veronica made a few heads fly. The interior of the prison looked similar to the last time he was here, except there were more beds, and chems all over the place. Boone kicked over a beer bottle and looked around. "It's always chem addicts." He said
"Chems are all good until you get that horrible crash." Said Rho
"How do you know?"
"My father was a doctor. He used to deal with chem addicts all the time. Plus, he didn't use fixer, just his mind and tough talk."
Someone cocked a gun and the four of them looked at a disheveled woman who had a shotgun in her hands. "The fuck you assholes doing here?!" she said, "This is my home!"
"Honey," started Rho, "this isn't anybody's home."
"Get the fuck out!"
"If you don't put the goddamn shotgun down you're not going to have to worry about not having a home!"
The two women stared, neither willing to back down. Boone was sure that one of them was going to be shot, but then Rho lowered her weapon, sighing. "You're not even worth the bullets." She said, "Where's the rest of your chem addict group?"
"L-left…" she answered
"Bullshit."
"Th..they did!"
"Lie to me again, and I'll consider wasting my bullets!"
"Guard towers! They go up in the guard towers, and in Cell Block D."
Rho quickly went into her bag and tossed a fixer to Alex. "Administer her treatment and send her to Goodsprings." She said
"Why there?" asked Veronica, "Don't we have enough problems without a chem addict around?"
"She's a new addict. A fixer and a few days talking to the doctor will do her some therapeutic good. Not everything needs to be solved with violence."
"Wait…" started Alex, "Does this mean I have to go back?"
"Yup."
"Why me?"
"You're the fastest, and I don't feel like patching you up because you go head-first in a gunfight."
"Veronica goes head first in a gunfight."
"I've got power armor on." Said Veronica
Boone growled and stomped ahead, opening the door and began firing. "What's his problem?" asked Alex
"He's got a stick up his ass." Answered Sam
"I could always replace that stick with-"
"Alex!" yelled Rho, "Go!"
Alex pouted at the group and left with the woman. Rho unholstered her gun and loaded it. "I'm pissed!" she yelled, "I just got these pants and there's a hole in them! Someone's gonna pay!"
Rho took cover behind a bloody couch, which made her wince, and began popping off heads in multiples. She had no idea where Boone was, and she really didn't care. Her legs were glued to one place as she took out far targets, and Veronica took out the ones closest to them. Sam was bolder, going out into the open to take care of some of the people. Rho winced as a bullet grazed her wrist, and she was forced to drop her weapon. "Damn!" she swore
She stuck behind the couch, trying to tend to her wound.
The aftermath of the battle was less to be desirable. Over a dozen chem addicts with laser weapons, lying dead in a pool of their own blood. Rho made quick work of taking some of the chems, talking about selling them in a nearby town. Boon, who was up in a guard tower, took a quick glance at her wrist. Blood dripped from the wound, and she didn't even seem to notice. "Hey." He called out
"Hay is for horses." She said
"You're bleeding."
Rho winced as she picked up a Med-X. Boone sighed and pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket, tying it around her wrist. He felt the smooth skin of her arm as he injected her with Med-X. Rho merely hissed in pain and the two locked eyes briefly before Rho looked away. "Thanks…" She said
Boone looked closer to find a surgical scar going up her arm. "We should head back." Said Veronica, walking up
Boone jumped and gave a glare at Veronica. "Loosing your touch, grandpa?" asked Rho
"I'm 26." Said Boone, flatly, "How old are you? 17?"
"Heh…close…I'm 227 years old come last week…"
"That's not true. You'd be an old lady."
"Then maybe you shouldn't ask a woman her age. It's rude to ask, you know."
Boone huffed off, and Veronica laughed after him. Rho looked down at her hand, and at the handkerchief. Licking her lips, she finished the rest of her scavenging from the table. "Operation…Anchorage…" she muttered
Sam studied her movement as she pulled out one of her holodisks. Leaning against the tables, she began playing. "September 29, 2076…I miss Terry. Today's my 16th birthday and he stuck in Alaska! cough cough I can't even leave my room today because I'm so weak. Sometimes, I wish the doctors here at this stupid school were a bit nicer. Cough I mean…I'm really sick today. I think that Dr. Boeman said that my body was responding better to the treatments. Cough The therapy used to make me throw up, but now it just makes me weak. I'm gonna go back to bed. I'm waiting for my present fromTerry. He's gonna give me some stuff from Alaska. I hope the war ends soon so that we can get married."
She then pulled out another tape. "October 14, 2076…One of the doctors finally explained what Operation Anchorage was….I don't think I'm getting married anymore. I finally got some holotapes and presents from Terry, but I don't know if he'll come home. I guess I'm happy the United States took back Alaska, but how many lives were taken from it?"
Rho put her holodisks back in her bag and looked over at Sam, who had his arms folded. "Something wrong?" he asked
"Just some nostalgic crap." She answered, "We should get back. You haven't told the people of Goodsprings about the weather."
"Do you think they'll listen?"
"The people of Goodsprings? They love you."
"I mean, all the people. Nobody feels very happy about the NCR in control."
"Sam, from living and observing, all I can say is this…everybody thinks thye know what they want for everybody. You can't save the entire wasteland, but you can help the ones who listen."