MOJAVE OUTPOST

JULY 21

NOON

"What kind of twisted asshole would send an albino to the Mojave desert?" Brianna wondered, heading up the wooden ramp to the sniper's nest.

"What kind of ignorant asshole would sneak up behind an elite NCR sniper, loudly mock her and expect to turn around and walk away with their head still intact?"

"Ooooh, apologies, trooper, please don't shoot." She raised her hands in a mocking display of fear before making herself comfortable atop the nearest rickety table.

"Mmm, very funny. What do you want, civilians?"

"That smoke trail, is it coming from Nipton?"

"That's what Jackson seems to think, but I'm not so certain. I've been watching closely for a couple of days and I haven't seen any convicts heading up from the NCRCF. None of 'em could get here through Novac without Ranger Station Charlie doing something about it. Or at least, that's what we thought. That station's been quiet for a while now and we don't have the soldiers or supplies to go out and see what's going on. Wish I could tell you more, but we're dead in the dark here. Seems like all we can do is turn a blind eye to gang territory and wait for the Legion to kill us in our sleep. And all I can do is sit up here and watch."

"You don't think the attackers came from the East, do you?"

"Legion, this far out? Doesn't seem likely, but at this point- hell, I don't know. I don't know a goddamn thing. Look, if you're heading out that way, could you do me a favour? Head back here and let me know what's going on. It's not the easiest journey, I know, but I'll compensate you if I can. If you're right, if it is Legion, we need to know as soon as possible."

"If it's Legion, we might not make it back."

"I'm not asking you to put your lives on the line. If there's trouble, scram. It's in your best interests."

"You don't think it'll be Legion, do you?" Sunny asked as they made their way down the hill.

"No," she replied, wishing she could believe it. "There's gotta be some way those convicts made it this far out."

"Yeah, you're right. God, it's been so long since I've been this far out of Goodsprings. I knew things were bad out here, but hearing news reports on the radio, that's one thing. It's different when you can see it all up close." She puffed out a sigh. "Your friend at the bar, at least that's one thing we can fix, right? If you want to go back for her, I don't mind."

"It's fine," she snapped. "Just fine."

"You don't wanna help her?"

"After everything she said, do you want me to?"

"Well, I wouldn't mind."

"Bullshit. I've never seen you look that angry."

"I didn't like the way she spoke to you."

"Doesn't matter. I've seen her kind before and they don't want help."

"Yeah. I understand." She let the conversation die, brightening up a few minutes later with another cheery topic. "So, what exactly have you been up to around here? You said something about vigilantes back in the NCRCF and now you're telling me you were running a caravan? Not to mention the courier job, obviously. You've been busy."

"I wasn't running the caravan," she corrected, "I was guarding it. Mercenary work, nothing special. It's how I met Cass."

"What was it like?"

"Are you actually interested or are you trying to break the silence?"

"I'm really interested," she assured her. "Seriously. You're strange and I wanna know more about you."

"Like?"

"Well, I don't know. Where are you from?"

She took a moment to answer. "DC. You know, Capital Wasteland?"

She pulled a face. "Yikes. Really? What was that like?"

"Like a fucking war zone. I mean that to the highest degree. You think the Mojave's bad? DC makes the Legion and NCR look like two toddlers fighting over a toy truck. The Brotherhood of Steel are a massive force back there, only thing keeping the people relatively safe. It's got Super Mutants crawling all over the place, ripping people apart, stealing them from their homes. And there were slaver camps further north." She shuddered. "Had a few bad experiences with those scumbags. Not much else apart from that, I guess. A lot of pre-war relics, some settlements here and there."

Sunny frowned. "That's weird. I thought you'd be more of a desert type or something."

"I am. That place was home to me for a long time, but not like the Mojave is. I never loved it like I love this place."

"There's the home you're given and the home you choose, right?"

"You could say that." She pursed her lips. "So what's the deal with you? You gonna tell me anything about where you came from? Who you are?"

"Wasn't planning on it."

"Then don't ask me any more questions."

"Sorry. I mean, I was just curious."

"Well don't expect me to open up when you don't tell me a damn thing about yourself."

"Jesus, I just- I'm sorry. You're right."

"Hey, uh-" She paused for a moment, forcing back the laughter on her lips. God, she loved this question. "What's a Jesus?"

Sunny blinked. "What?"

"No, seriously. The one time people don't take me seriously is when I ask them what a Jesus is. Can't just be a word you moan in bed. What's it mean?"

Sunny looked at her with a mixture of amusement and disbelief. "You've never heard of-? Really? You know what religion is, right?"

"I get the general idea. A man in the sky, a God who lives in a cave. Never actually heard of a religion, though."

"Wow. Well, Jesus comes from Christianity, I think. The son of God or something."

"What God? Seems like there's a different one everywhere you go."

"The God, I guess." She laughed. "Sorry. I've never had to explain this before. So you don't believe in the afterlife or anything like that?"

"Afterlife?"

"Y'know, when you die and come back as something else. Or you go to Heaven?"

"So, you come back as a gecko or something if-?" She shook her head. "You don't believe that crap, right?"

"Well, yeah. I mean, I used to. Sort of."

"Used to? What happened?"

"Stuff. Stuff happened."

"Sounds ridiculous anyway. What kind of fucked up Jesus would let this happen? People before the war, they believed in stuff like that, right?"

Sunny nodded.

"And where are they now? Just skeletons buried in the sand."

WELCOME TO NIPTON - THE HAPPIEST LITTLE TOWN IN THE WORLD.

The town of Nipton was deserted. Mountains of rubber tires towered over the dilapidated buildings, some belching out smoke while others still burned bright. The acrid stench of burning rubber filled the air and two tall flags pierced the sky with flowing crimson, both planted firmly in the dying soil. Two golden bulls stood amongst a field of blood, waving proudly in the sky. Brianna's blood ran cold.

Legion.

"What happened here?"

Her voice was stone as she eyed a twisted mailbox standing crooked outside the nearest building. Human teeth were scattered over the rusted metal. Brianna found somebody's right hand nailed to the front door of another house, middle finger raised. Cheyenne gave a sullen whine as they silently made their way towards the town hall. When they saw what lay ahead, they stopped.

Forced into the ground along both sides of the road were long wooden posts, besting the size of a grown man. Another shorter post was nailed transversely, so the completed design crudely resembled a cross. Streaks of red and brown stained the wood. Fresh blood pooled at their bases, glistening in the sunlight. At first, it seemed as if the world had fallen silent. Every trace of life that had existed outside this town had simply disappeared, leaving only two women to look upon the desolate street as if it was all they had ever known. That was when they heard the moaning. So quiet, so feeble that they could have mistaken it for a breath of wind. But the breeze had a name, and a pallid complexion, and it was repeating the same desperate word over and over again.

"Please... Please..."

"Oh my God," Sunny gasped, moving forward and allowing her eyes to meet those of the dying man mounted on the cross. A Powder Ganger. Brianna could just make out the familiar NCRCF label sewn at his chest, though blood stained the remains of his shredded blue clothing. He was bound by his wrists and torso with hempen rope, forcing his body to slump unnaturally. When Brianna found the woman to his right, she almost sobbed. She was a prostitute. Her leather skirt clung firmly to her blood-slick thighs, but the lacerations across her legs were not enough to distract from the centrepiece of this spectacle. The word whore had been sliced into her chest, the letters bleeding down her torso and dripping on the ground.

"Yahoooooo!"

She spun around, reaching for her pistol as a man skipped past them, a blur of pink and blue.

"I won! I won! I won the fuckin' lottery, man!" He grabbed Brianna by the shoulders, laughing with manic glee from behind a pair of heart-shaped sunglasses and a baseball cap. "Hi there! Good to see ya! God, smell that air! Couldn't ya just drink it like booooze?!" He threw his head back in a wild cackle before Brianna shoved him away, aiming between his eyes.

"What did you win?" She demanded. "What happened here?"

"Man, you are way too serious!"

"I asked you a question, fuckface. What lottery?"

"The lottery, babe! Are you stupid?! Only one that matters! Hell yeah!"

"Just leave him." Sunny's voice barely rose beyond a croak. "He won't help us."

She lowered the gun. "Go. Get outta here before I change my mind."

"Yippppeeeeeee!" He sang, running out of sight.

Sunny looked anxious as they continued down the road. The town hall stood ahead, two Legion banners flying high the air on either side of the large building.

"Looks like the Legion are still celebrating," Sunny remarked, her voice no more than a breath in the wind as Caesar's Legion approached.

They marched in as if from nowhere, three recruits on either side of the town hall moving silently into view, each one flawlessly military in appearance. Their armour consisted of a cuirass and leather skirt - Brianna couldn't think of it as anything else - and each wore their own black helmet, with large sunglasses to conceal the rest of their faces. A perfect imitation of the ancient Roman Empire, the two rows lined up on either side of each other, facing their opposing ally as the doors of the town hall swung open. An alarming figure swooped out into the light. This one was identical to the others, but wore the skin of a dog on his head. He was the only one to speak.

"Ah, finally. This is just what I've been waiting for." His voice was the surface of a frozen pond, smooth and glacial. "A wandering group of degenerates sent here to witness what has happened in this town. How... quaint. I see a cripple before me, with a snarling mongrel at her side. And who is their leader, I wonder? It must be the busty whore who wears that monstrous scar so proudly. Look at you. You both have weapons, and you stand so fearlessly before us. And yet, what do you do? You remain motionless, allowing me to continue on as I please. Just as I would expect."

"What happened here?" Brianna snarled.

"Justice. The town of Nipton you see before you was never anything more than a disgusting cesspit, a lecherous town of whores and profligates. Its dwellers would gladly lead their fellow neighbours into a Legion trap if such a thing promised reasonable pay. And they did, without hesitation. Little did they know that they themselves had been lured into the snare as well."

"What are you talking about? Some kind of lottery?"

"Yes. Some kind of lottery. We herded the residents of Nipton into the centre of town. It was quite simple - most followed without even the slightest restraint, believing no harm would fall upon them, that they would be rewarded for their efforts against the other degenerates in this town. After they realised how mistaken they were, we announced the lottery. Each clutched their ticket, watching as 'loved ones' were dragged away to be slaughtered. None raised a finger against us, nor said a word in protest. The lucky ones were decapitated. Others were crucified, displayed along the streets for all to see. The mayor had the honour of being burned at the stake. Two survived. Only one walked out of this town. The other resides somewhere within, his legs beaten and broken beyond repair."

"Why?" Sunny asked. "Why the does the Legion care about this place? Why bother?"

"The cripple asks the right question. This has been one of many lessons to follow. The Legion punishes the wicked, the cruel, the self-obsessed and the greedy. You see, we were seven people, ushering them into the square and dragging away their families, their lovers, their friends. They were forty, fifty in number, everyone but the children armed with some kind of weapon. And yet they did nothing. The ticket was all that mattered now. They obeyed the rules of the lottery like a herd of brahmin, and each one was given more mercy than they deserved."

"Sick fucks," Brianna spat.

"For that insult I could have both of you rounded up, tied together and sold as slaves. The amputee is useless, so we could sell her as a cheap prostitute for the lonely and desperate. Perhaps we could hold an auction for those who find themselves with a particular fetish for her kind. That hideous scar of yours might be off-putting, however. Maybe we could use your corpse as a training dummy for our newest recruits, or keep you alive in order to allow them a more realistic combat experience. A female gladiator would be the talk of the entire camp. And the canine will be beaten and starved until it is fierce and willing to rip the throats out of whoever stands against us." His mouth flickered with the ghost of a satisfied smirk.

She remained silent after that.

"Does that not sound pleasant? Good. I have a more important use for you degenerates. Take a walk. Memorize every detail of what you see here. Have a talk with some of our displays if you can. Then, I want you to retreat, to scamper back to the hill where the NCR hide behind their monument. Tell them what you saw here today. Make haste, if you would. Filthy creatures such as you do tend to die very quickly."

With a raise of his hand, the Legion troops surrounded him and they marched off as one.

When they were gone out of sight, Sunny produced her knife.

Brianna couldn't steady her voice. "What, you're gonna go after them with a kitchen knife?"

Her gaze was fixated on the crucified Powder Gangers. "We can't just leave them like that, Brianna. We can't."

"Do you remember what they did to you, Sunny?

"I-"

"You lost your hand because of them! Leave them. Let's just go back to the Outpost and let them suffer."

"No. They're bad people, I know that, and maybe they deserve what they got. Maybe they deserve to be crucified. But not by the Legion, Brianna. Not by them."

She moved towards the first Powder Ganger. Brianna's stomach knotted when she saw what was left of the dying man. He was little more than a husk of a person, his ribs visible through cracked and bleeding skin. His head lolled to one side and he seemed to lack the strength to keep his eyes open. He released a feeble groan of agony as Sunny moved to cut the ropes around his waist that bounded him to the cross.

"You'll kill him," Brianna warned. "He's dying from exposure."

"I know," she mumbled, continuing to saw through the ropes. "But it's a stand against the Legion, if nothing else. We're ruining their display."

They spent the following hour cutting the dying people down from their crosses. There was little conversation. Brianna turned the radio on to chase away the ringing in her ears, but the light music only made things worse. They found a few Powder Gangers with their eyes already pecked out by the circling ravens, which finally drove Sunny to break down and vomit between ugly sobs. Brianna gave up when she reached one of the final corpses, torn apart by the birds. That was when they decided to move on, and leave the smoking town of Nipton behind to rot.