"All right... we'll interview these people tonight, then we'll sleep in the barracks and head out to get the boat in the morning. Sound good?"

Arcade and Vulpes stared at her, then traded glances.

"You sure you want to spend the night here?" Arcade asked warily. "The NCR is after us..."

"So far, only the rangers have come after us," Sandra replied. "It's gonna take some time before the entire NCR knows that we're wanted. Besides, I've done a lot for the people here. They're my friends. We're safe for just one night."

So, Sandra led the two of them around the corner, finding the first person Gretchen described to her. Behind the main building, a young man was sitting at a picnic table. He was skinny with deep, sandy hair and a baggy hoodie tenting over his body, fiddling with a Pip-Boy on his arm. This was the repairman, Jerry.

Sandra sat across from him. "Hey, Gretchen said you were interested in that boat job?"

Jerry blinked, looking up from his device. "Oh yeah, I was wondering when I'd hear from her."

"She sent me to ask you a few things. What kind of experience do you have?"

"Um..." Jerry shifted in his seat. "With traveling? None, really... but I'm pretty good at fixing things. My mom always said it was a useless skill."

"It's not a useless skill, not when you're stuck on a boat. It might need fixing."

"Yeah, true..."

"Any good at fighting?"

"Not really, but I can if I have to."

"All right," Sandra concluded, reaching her feet. "Thanks."

Next, they entered the bar and searched for the man named Cooper. It was late at night, so late that the bar was nearly empty, apart from a single guy sitting at the corner. He was a middle-aged balding man with a hardened scowl on his face, chasing whiskey with moonshine and grunting after every swig.

Sandra sat beside him. "Are you Cooper?"

"Yeah," Cooper grumbled, his voice a deep rasp. "And?"

"And... Gretchen sent me to ask you a few things about the job."

"Well. Ask."

"Okay... do you have any experience?"

"Yes."

"Can you... elaborate?"

"I kill shit. I used to work for the Omertas, but they didn't like my methods, so now I'm just a merc for hire."

"The... the Omertas didn't like you?"

"Nope. They didn't. But I know how to kill, and that should be all you need."

"Okay... thanks."

Sandra left the bar and went back outside, Arcade and Vulpes tailing her. When she stepped into the night, she found an old man standing against the wall, flipping through an old, tattered book. He had a white, scraggly beard and a pair of camo pants, a wife beater draped over his torso, an eye patch covering his right eye.

"And you..." Sandra said. "You're Harrison, right?"

"Mhm." The old man, Harrison, gave a slight nod, barely acknowledging her.

"Gretchen asked me to interview you. Do you have any experience?"

"Mhm. Been killin' all my life," Harrison replied, looking up from his book. "Ain't got no one, so I just keep on killin'. This here rifle..." He stroked the rifle by his side. "She gets me by. Best company I got. She knows not to talk back."

"Where'd you get your combat experience?"

"Military."

"Yeah? What outfit?"

"You ask a lot of questions." Harrison turned away, spitting a thick wad of saliva in the sand.

"All right... thanks."

Sandra walked away, her eyes scanning the outpost, searching for the final gun for hire. She spotted a dark-haired girl in the road, using a combat knife to clean her nails.

"So..." Sandra approached her. "Are you Emily?"

"Yeah." Emily didn't look up, digging the tip of her blade under her fingernails.

"Gretchen asked me to interview you. You got any experience?"

"Yeah, I'm with the Khans. I can fight melee, ranged, and everything in between. As long as I get paid, you'll get the job done."

"You're a Khan? How come you're not wearing the outfit?"

Emily's eyes shot up, narrowing at Sandra. "Uh... because we're surrounded by NCR here, and I don't wanna get shot? What are you, retarded?"

Sandra gaped at her. Vulpes almost laughed.

Without replying, Sandra marched away. she didn't speak until the three of them were safe from anyone eavesdropping.

"Well... we've got a girl from the Khans, a grumpy merc, an old military veteran, and a mechanic," Sandra synopsized. "Who should we hire for the boat trip?"

"None of them," Vulpes huffed. "I could fight better than any of them combined. They aren't needed."

"But Gretchen wants more people, and it's her trip. What she says goes," Sandra replied. "We have to pick someone. Which one?" She looked to Arcade for an answer.

Arcade drew a blank. "Um... the mechanic would be useful if we have problems with the boat, but... it would be nice if we had a little extra manpower, just in case... I'm really not sure..."

Sandra sighed. Arcade was undecided as well, and Vulpes didn't care for any of them.

She turned, seeing Gretchen sitting against the fence near the long 15 alongside her brother.

"Hey," Sandra said, getting her attention. "Gretchen, I talked to all of them."

"Yeah?" Gretchen replied. "Who should I pick?"

"All of them," Sandra answered.

Gretchen blinked. "All of them?"

"Sure," Sandra said simply. "It's a long trip, and believe me, I've taken trips like that. The last thing you wanna do is travel across the country without numbers. The last time I tried to make a trip like that alone, I almost died a number of times. It's best if we have as much manpower as possible."

"Well... all right, if you say so," Gretchen shrugged. "I hope my grandmaw still has my piggy bank. But the boat's more than big enough to house them. It should be fine."

"All right. When we get the boat back, we're gonna sail it a little ways down the Colorado. Go to the mine and follow the hill downward, and we'll meet at the riverside right outside of the Legion turf."

"Gotcha. Be careful out there."

Sandra nodded. Now, only one problem remained; getting the boat from the Legion.

After a restless few hours of sleep, Sandra, Arcade, and Vulpes left the Mojave Outpost and made their way to Nipton, which was, thankfully, a relatively short walk.

Joshua Graham and his tribals had built a massive junk wall around the town, the entrance now equipped with a ten-foot gate. Most of the town's inhabitants were asleep, aside from the two Dead Horses guarding the entrance, who greeted Sandra politely. Sandra didn't bother asking about Joshua or Follows-Chalk; she didn't have time to chat, and she didn't want to tell them that she planned to abandon the Mojave.

The three of them entered the town hall, and unlike the rest of the town, the tribals left it mostly untouched. After scavenging some Legion clothes from the inside, Vulpes fitted himself with a coyote headdress, his personal favorite. he handed Sandra a recruit helmet, which was just a football helmet painted red and fitted with a pair of dark goggles and a mouth guard.

"This is ridiculous," Arcade sighed as the three of them redressed in the town hall. "I can't believe I'm putting these damn clothes on..."

"Silence, profligate," Vulpes sneered, patting his chest proudly. Wearing the Legion armor and the coyote headdress, he looked exactly the way he had back when Sandra first met him.

After Sandra dressed in the crimson-clad armor, she giggled, watching Arcade uncomfortably squirm beneath the Legion skirt.

"God... it's so breezy on my legs," Arcade moaned. "I feel... exposed."

"Be quiet." Vulpes handed him another recruit helmet. "And take off your eyeglasses. Legionaries don't wear those."

"Oh, come on... I can barely see without them," Arcade grumbled, slipping off his glasses and pocketing them.

Sandra dug around until she found an old smelly backpack on a corpse behind the counter, gently removing the backpack and wiping the residue off on the wall. She stuffed her clothes, Vulpes's suit, and Arcade's lab coat inside and slid the backpack on.

Afterward, Vulpes approached her and gave her a surveying examination.

Sandra gulped. "What?"

"It's not enough," Vulpes stated. "You still look like a woman. You need to cover your face."

Without warning, Vulpes snapped the goggles around her head and covered her eyes, then snatched the bandana out of her pocket and tied it firmly around her mouth.

"Better," Vulpes said. "So long as you don't talk, you won't get found out."

"I can't breathe," Sandra mumbled, her voice completely muffled as her mouth filled with cloth.

Vulpes then faced Arcade, who looked downright miserable, trapped in Legion attire with the recruit helmet smushing his hair over his forehead.

"Without the glasses, you look passable... but that's not enough," Vulpes told him. "You need to speak with authority. Stop using your sarcastic little wimpy voice. Use a man's voice. Speak with power."

"This is my hell," Arcade said, deadpan.

"Speak with passion. Ad victorium. Retribution. Ad victorium. Retribution!" Vulpes ordered. "Do it! Say it!"

Arcade glared at him, looking to Sandra for help. But Sandra was lost amidst laughter.

"Ad victorium," Arcade said, clearing his throat. "Retribution. Ave, true to Caesar, hail Satan and all that..."

"You're hilarious," Vulpes griped. "Just carry yourself like a warrior, and we'll get to the vessel. You won't have to present the facade for very long, thankfully. Off we go."

The three of them slipped out of the back of the building, avoiding the eyes of the tribals in town. As the sun rose, they headed toward Cottonwood Cove, Arcade leading the way unwittingly.

After they passed Searchlight, the sun was blazing, and they approached the hill leading to the Legion encampment.

Arcade gulped. "I... don't know if I can..."

"It's okay," Sandra whispered, patting him on the back. "You've got this. It won't take long. Let's just get it over with."

Arcade nodded, marching down the hill with Sandra and Vulpes close behind.

All of them felt incredibly tense, but it seemed to be going well thus far; the nearby Legionaries were tending to their daily tasks, transporting crop slaves, sharpening weapons, and stoking campfires. None of them seemed to notice their arrival.

A Legion veteran was leading a scouting party toward the road to Searchlight, and they walked past Sandra and her friends. The veteran nodded at Arcade in passing.

"Ave," the veteran said.

"Ave, true to Caesar," Arcade replied in a forcibly masculine voice. When the veteran left his eyeshot, Arcade gave him a Nazi salute from behind. Sandra nearly exploded with laughter.

"Stop it," Vulpes hissed under his breath. "Any hint of unusual behavior will give you away. Stop acting like reprobates, you idiots."

"Jawohl, mein Führer," Arcade snarked in response.

The three of them marched past the main building and approached the river. They stood at the top of the hill, marveling at the magnificent vessel in the water; it sat at the end of the dock, a spectacular three-story ship with white painted walls, interior rooms, windows, and Legion flags hanging from every balcony.

"Wow..." Sandra whispered. "I never saw this last time I came here."

"It comes and goes quite frequently in order to transport crops and slaves," Vulpes explained. "You're lucky it happened to be here when we showed up today. Let's get this over with. Gannon, you can't afford to slip up now. When we get on board, you have to do the talking."

"Don't remind me," Arcade sighed. "Let's go."

They walked down the dock and stepped onto the boat, nodding at the nearby Legionaries as they marched past. They searched around for a few minutes until they reached the top floor, where the steering mechanism resided, and the man in charge was another Legion veteran, standing at the wheel with his arms crossed and looking out at the river.

"Erm... excuse me," Arcade said. "I've been ordered to take the boat upriver."

The veteran slowly turned, squinting pensively at Arcade. "Is that so? By whom?"

Arcade gulped. "Lucius gave me the order. I was instructed to retrieve a new group of slaves and escort them to the Fort."

The veteran gave him a suspicious glare. "Ubi sunt servorum?"

"Sursum flumine," Arcade answered. "Inter Fort huc. It will be a fairly short trip."

"Really..." the veteran murmured. "I was unaware of any slaves coming in today."

"It's a fresh stock," Arcade lied. "Just a few travelers that were venturing past Nelson."

The veteran was silent for a moment, then nodded. "Very well. You can take my crew to complete the expedition."

"Oh... that's really not necessary," Arcade said. "The three of us can handle it. It's a rather small group of slaves. Nothing we can't handle."

"The three of you..." the veteran glared intensely at the disguised Sandra and Vulpes. "I don't believe I've met you three before. Whereabouts are you from?"

"We came from the east rather recently, Lanius's orders," Arcade told him. "My name is Arcadiae, and these two are Occisor Rubrum and Callidus Stultus."

"Stultus?" the veteran laughed, glancing at Vulpes. "What on earth did he do to earn that name?"

"He's clever, but he's too proud for his own good," Arcade smirked, gesturing to Vulpes. "Often acts on impulse despite his devout planning skills. He blew up half his foot placing a landmine in a profligate dwelling once when he was a teenager. Poor thing. He was dropped on his head as a baby. Lanius thought it would be funny to incorporate his slight retardation into his name."

The veteran let out a barking laugh. "Quite right. It's nice to keep fools around for sheer entertainment, if nothing else."

"Lanius's thoughts exactly," Arcade nodded.

Vulpes was fuming, hands balling into fists, but he couldn't outwardly speak as of now.

"Well... if you're taking the vessel, what of me and my crew?" the veteran asked. "Where does Lucius wish us to go? Did he send any orders for us?"

"Oh, um... he wants you to accompany the scouting crew leaving Cottonwood Cove," Arcade replied wittily. "You'd better hurry, though. They're already on their way out of town."

"Damn. I hate these last-minute orders," the veteran sighed. "All right. Give us a moment to get on land, then you can be on your way. Vale."

Arcade nodded. The three of them watched as the veteran gathered his comrades and began leading them off the ship.

After the Legionaries left the ship, Vulpes planted a hard kick into Arcade's shin, making him collapse against the wall.

"Retardation, indeed," Vulpes hissed. "Wait until we're out of this blasted camp. I'll castrate you and throw you overboard."

Arcade didn't seem to mind the thumping pain in his leg. He sat hunched against the wall, exhaling a series of breathless laughs.

Sandra took the wheel and spun it around, slowly guiding the ship away from Cottonwood Cove. It took a moment for her to adjust to the controls, but once she did, she sailed away from the Legion camp, easefully coasting the magnificent ship up the river, into a crevice of mountains and out of all the Legionaries' sight. Once they were far enough from Cottonwood Cove, Sandra peeled off the helmet and the bandana, taking in a massive inhalation of fresh air and grinning at the sparkling river water.

"I can't believe we just did that," Sandra giggled. "We're home-free now. Say goodbye to the Mojave, guys. We're free!"

"Well... I suppose we'd better pick our bedroom," Arcade said, sliding off his helmet and ruffling up his hair. "We'll get first dibs on the rooms before we pick up the others. I think we earned that right, since we had to get the boat back for them."

At that, Arcade ventured down the stairs and disappeared.

Sandra beamed at the idea, excited to pick a bedroom for their oncoming cruise. She wheeled around, ready to follow Arcade, but she spotted Vulpes standing at the edge of the balcony, staring behind the ship where Cottonwood Cove was moments ago.

"What's wrong with you?" Sandra asked him.

Vulpes frowned at the river. "You wouldn't understand it, woman."

"Yeah?" Sandra asked. "Try me."

Vulpes turned, staring intently at her. "Being here, I might've won my Legion back from the Monster of the East. But if we're leaving, that can never happen."

Sandra frowned. "Why would you want to? You already tried to save the Legion once, and it didn't work. Just let it go."

"Just let it go..." Vulpes scoffed. "Like I said. You don't understand it. You're asking me to relinquish the only thing that ever gave me purpose. It can't be done."

Sandra leaned on the balcony, gazing out at the river thoughtfully. "I don't see why not. I had to let go of everything in my old life, and now I'm doing it all over again. If I can do it, then so can you."

"I don't believe you ever let go of anything," Vulpes stated.

Sandra blinked. "What do you mean?"

Vulpes's blue gaze burned into hers. "It's obvious. The way you talk about your old life, and the quickness you expressed at leaving the Mojave behind... you're not letting go of anything. You're simply running away from it."

Sandra took back. "No I'm not."

"Back on the east coast... you fought the Enclave, and you won that war, did you not?" Vulpes asked. "Yet, for some reason, you left that place behind. You had no reason to leave; you won your homeland. You won the battle. Yet, you still ran. Why?"

"Because..." Sandra thought on this, finding it difficult to answer. "It... it was too hard to stay. I lost my father and my best friend there. It hurt too much to be there."

"So, you ran away," Vulpes determined. "And here, in the Mojave... despite the threat of the Republic targeting you, you have numerous forces on your side. Freeside citizens, the bots on the strip, the Great Khans, the burned man and his army... you stood a formidable chance at winning the oncoming war, and you gained incredible wealth and notoriety, yet still, you chose to run away again. Why?"

"Because of you and Arcade, stupid," Sandra snapped. "They put bounties on your heads. I don't want either one of you to die. That's why we're leaving."

"That's a weak answer," Vulpes glowered. "We've faced threats that put the Republic's toy soldiers to shame. We could survive their petty bounty hunters. In fact, we did once already. You had every possible mean to win the war against them. We don't have to run. You simply want to."

"Yeah, because I wanna live to see tomorrow," Sandra quipped irritably. "But if you wanna stay here and die, be my guest."

At that, she whirled around and left the top floor of the ship.

When they stopped the ship, they waited for a few hours until Gretchen and her hired guns finally arrived. They showed up downhill from the nearby mine, just as Sandra had instructed.

Emily was wearing her Great Khan leather vest now, carrying a super sledge over her shoulder. Cooper and old man Harrison had picked up a few extra guns, and Jerry was now wearing a repairman's jumpsuit and carrying a toolbox. All of them had overstuffed backpacks full of food and personal belongings, ready to make a long journey.

Grady trailed along behind his older sister, followed by a small gray dog with two differently-colored eyes, one yellow, one blue. The three of them boarded the ship first, followed by the hired help.

Once everyone was on board, Sandra carefully guided the ship away from the water's edge, setting course upriver.

"I'm almost afraid to ask, but... how did you get my boat back?" Gretchen questioned.

"We dressed up as Legionaries and walk right on board," Sandra chuckled. "It was easy."

"Wow... if I would've known that would work, I would've hired someone to do it sooner," Gretchen muttered.

"Hey, Arcade picked out a room for us before you guys got on. I hope that's okay."

"Oh, that's no problem. There's plenty of room on board this thing."

"Cool."

The two of them were standing alone on the top floor, as everyone else was somewhere downstairs, finding their sleeping quarters and making themselves at home.

"So..." Sandra mumbled. "If you wanna go home so badly, why did you leave in the first place? I'm just curious. It's a long trip to make, so... you must've had a good reason."

Gretchen leaned on the balcony and sighed. "I met a guy. It always starts that way, doesn't it? With stupid puppy love. Anyway... we came to New Vegas because everyone told us it was different here, that we could live the way we wanted with no judgment. I don't know. I guess I was a bit ignorant back then."

"Weren't we all," Sandra mused.

"Yeah..." Gretchen murmured. "Grady snuck on board with our family dog. By the time we realized it, it was too late to turn back. Little troublemaker..."

"What's the deal with Grady, anyway?" Sandra asked. "How come he never talks to anyone?"

"He's been through a lot," Gretchen said distantly. "Don't take it personally. He's wary of strangers."

"Well, I guess that makes sense..."

They were quiet for a moment. The brisk breeze swept their bangs aside, carrying the scent of fresh water.

"What was his name?" Sandra wondered. "Your boyfriend."

Gretchen's stare softened a bit. "His name was Darren."

"What happened to him?"

"He died."

Sandra felt an uncomfortable knot form in her stomach, and suddenly, she regretted asking. "Sorry..."

"Nah, don't be," Gretchen mumbled. "That kind'a shit happens all the time in the wasteland. Nothing I can do about it now."

Sandra gave her an empathetic look. "Is that... is that why you're leaving the Mojave?"

"Yeah... I guess so," Gretchen exhaled. "I left a family behind, and I shouldn't have. Now that Darren's gone, there's nothing keeping me here. It just..."

She sighed, pausing for a moment.

"It hurts too much to be here anymore," Gretchen said.

Sandra stared sadly into the river. "I know how you feel."

As time passed, the ship carried them further and further from any recognizable territory, and Sandra found herself reflecting on the past once again. It felt the same way it had the first time, as if she was drifting away from everything that had caused her pain or sorrow... though she wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. Only time would tell.

She couldn't have known that this would be the longest journey she'd endure since leaving the Capital Wasteland.