Chapter 12: Bitter
Boone hit the floor hard enough to shake the pictures that still hung from the walls. He still couldn't believe he'd agreed to this. He was a sniper. He shouldn't need to know this.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Boone had asked.
"Yes." Ker had responded.
"We don't have to do this."
"Yes we do."
"I'm a sniper."
"And I trust you implicitly to watch my back at range. But what happens if a legionary gets by me? I need to know for certain you can handle at least one legionary in close quarters. You don't have to be better than them; you just need to be prepared." And so Boone found himself on the floor of the Lucky 38's casino, staring up into the overhead lights.
"I'm so glad you asked me to help you with this." Veronica laughed from where she stood over Boone.
"Size-wise, you're a better match for him as a sparring partner than I am." Ker answered from nearby.
"I don't think he's getting up." Veronica laughed again.
"That's probably enough for today anyways." Ker said as she approached the two. "At least he's getting it."
"Slowly, but I guess he is." Veronica agreed.
"Thanks for the help, Veronica."
"Done with me already? Alright, time for a hot shower. See ya later!" Veronica waved and headed up the elevator to the presidential suite.
"That one looked like it hurt." Ker said as she walked over to Boone and held out a hand to help him up. He took her hand and she managed to haul him to his feet. Ker handed Boone his beret as he got to his feet.
"Thanks." He mumbled, then tried not to limp as he made his way to a nearby booth and collapsed onto the seat.
Ker sat down across from him. She checked to make sure Veronica was actually gone. "When we were near the Deathclaws to the east, you said you wanted to make up for some of your mistakes. Is one of those mistakes Bitter Springs?"
"Yeah."
"What happened there?"
"There was a... miscommunication."
"A miscommunication?"
"Yeah, well. That's how they wrote it up in the report." Boone sighed. "We did what we were there to do. Lot of people got killed. That's war. Maybe looking back you'd do things differently, but that's not how it works. In the field, you hesitate; you or someone you care about will die. They teach that from day one."
"You wish you'd done things differently?" Ker asked.
"I only would've needed one bullet to do things right that day." Ker was quiet. She didn't know what to say. Eventually, Boone spoke again. "I think…" Ker looked up at him, trying to reassure him. "I think maybe I should go to Bitter Springs. I don't know what I'm hoping to find there."
"Are you sure?" Ker asked carefully.
"I don't know. Just tired of thinking about it."
"Alright. We can head out tomorrow."
They geared up that day and left the next morning. The days walking were quiet. When they stopped for the night, Ker demanded Boone practice the close quarter tactics she had been teaching him. Boone grumbled a bit but did so.
"Christ. They put the graveyard here." Boone broke the long silence late on the second day.
"We're here?" Ker asked to be sure.
"This way." Boone walked off through the graveyard. Ker followed close behind. They went through the twisting canyon until it veered sharply right and let out on a much larger canyon filled with makeshift shelters. Two sides were steep rock walls. To the north was a slowly sloping mountainside and the south was open to the desert.
"This is the place." Boone began. Ker just listened. "We got sent from Camp Golf, looking for some Khans who'd been making trouble with one of our settlements. I guess one of the settlers was connected, because we sent everything we had. We figured this was a gang hideout, but... they'd led us to their home. There's a ridge called Coyote Tail on the south side. That's where we set up."
Ker followed Boone back through the twisting canyon and back out through the graveyard. They headed to nearby ridge and they climbed to the top.
"Canyon 37. That's what the NCR calls the pass down there. It was the Khans' only escape, so we set up here to guard it while the main force attacked from the front. Standing orders were to shoot on sight." Boone sighed deeply.
"What happened?" Ker prompted gently.
"Main force got spotted too soon. We heard shooting. Then Khans started coming through Canyon 37 in bunches. It was all wrong, though. Women, kids, elderly. Wounded started coming through, too. We radioed to confirm our orders but command didn't get what we were seeing. They told us to shoot till we were out of ammo. So that's what we did."
"You were just following orders." Ker tried to console him.
"Yeah, well. I'm not a soldier anymore. Those rules don't seem like much of an excuse now. Anyway... I don't know why we're here. Thought maybe it'd help me see things better. I'd like to stay here for the night. Think some things over."
Ker looked around. It wasn't the best place to camp. It was pretty exposed but Boone wanted to stay here. Ker sighed and started gathering firewood.
It was after midnight but Ker couldn't sleep, she felt too exposed in their current campsite. She was also worried about her partner. Ker was lying back in the dirt, watching the shooting stars and chewing on some leftover dinner when she heard Boone stand up suddenly. At first she thought nothing of it; simply nature calling. Then she heard him draw his rifle. Ker was on her feet, standing beside him in a second.
"There." Boone said looking down his scope. "Group coming our way. Looks like a Legion raiding party. It's big. Might be too big. Even for us. If you want out I won't blame you. But I'm going to stay. See if I can hold them off."
"At least it saves us the trouble of finding them." Ker smirked.
"Ha! If only it was this easy all the time."
"What are we waiting for?"
"Tell the truth... I think this is exactly what I've been waiting for."
Assessing situation. No high vantage points. No long lines of sight. Quickly advancing Legion. Move out in front; cover the mouth of the canyon.
Ker ran full out to get to the mouth of the canyon with Boone right behind her. He took up a position deeper in the canyon while Ker stayed toward the mouth. He started shooting practically over her shoulder. Ker drew dual pistols. The legionaries weren't likely expecting much in resistance, they charged toward the mouth of the canyon, giving both defenders clear shots. Ker emptied her guns into mongrels and men then dropped the offhand pistol to reload the other. Just as she finished reloading she heard running from behind.
"More legionaries from behind!" Boone shouted, leaving his relative cover to get closer to Ker.
"Shit!" Ker charged at the closest legionary toward the mouth of the canyon. As she got further out she saw there were more legionaries then she had expected. And they were smart. Half were in cover. The other half started advancing on the canyon using cover. Ker intercepted the one leading the charge. Two bullets slowed him down and a knife strike killed him. She charged to the next legionary. As she killed him, Ker saw the other legionaries break cover and charge forward.
"What the…?" Ker started. She glanced over her shoulder to see Boone charging toward her; he must have been overwhelmed. Ker could keep pushing forward or go back and cover Boone. In the split second it took her to decide, a legionary circled past her and rushed the sniper. Boone's rifle sounded but the others had the same idea; the sniper was the bigger threat. Ker slid to a stop and charged back toward Boone. A legionary reached him first. Boone managed to block the first strike using his rifle. Ker charged and tackled the legionary to the ground before he could make a second attack. She slit his throat before getting to her feet. They were surrounded: eight legionaries circled around them with machetes and other bladed weapons drawn. Ker and Boone were back to back in the middle.
"It's our lucky day!" One of the veteran legionaries began. "We came to gather a few slaves and instead found a First Recon sniper to take home with us."
"Die! You bastard!" Ker heard Boone and immediately knew he'd go for the shot. But at this range she would bet the veteran legionary could slip by the rifle barrel. She turned in time to catch his incoming machete on her knife as Boone repositioned and shot the veteran at point blank range. Ker got her Pip-Boy up in time to block the strike she was expecting to follow from another legionary.
Seven legionaries. Ker could deal with that; mainly since legionaries always underestimated her. But could she keep Boone safe while she did it? Ker managed to disarm a legionary and shoot another in the face. Six. She had little choice; she pushed Boone out of the circle in the direction of the legionary she had shot. When another went for the killing blow on the unstable Boone, Ker emptied the last three bullets in her clip into him then dropped the pistol. Five. The searing pain high on her back indicated to Ker she had been stabbed. Using the knowledge of where the legionary's hand was, since he was likely still gripping the knife, Ker spun quickly and gutted him. Four. Ker heard a rifle shot. Three. Ker staggered back to avoid a high swipe with a machete. As she staggered she was tackled to the ground. Rifle shot. Two. Ker saw the switchblade come down. Knowing she couldn't beat the legionary in a battle of strength, she redirected the blade. He countered and the blade came down below her right collarbone. She pinned the blade in place with her empty hand and stabbed her knife into the side of the legionary's neck. One. Ker used all the strength she could muster to heave the dying legionary off her. She needed to get up. There was still one left. She wrenched the knife out of her right shoulder, then she pulled herself to her feet.
"Boone!" Ker called. Things were getting blurry and the features of the desert were hard to make out.
"K-!" The strangled noise came from her left. She turned to see Boone struggling against a very familiar chokehold; his rifle was in the dirt beside his feet. Ker cursed silently to herself. There were still more legionaries. Around Boone were four legionaries and a centurion. The legionary who had Boone adjusted his grip to expose Boone's neck. The centurion raised his machete and rested the edge of the blade against Boone's throat.
"That's quite enough of that. Drop the knife." The centurion began in a silky smooth voice. Ker stopped. She couldn't cover the distance fast enough. She looked into Boone's eyes. She knew what he'd say if he could: "Forget about me. Kill them." She dropped the knife. "I wasn't aware this camp had such capable defenders. As it stands, you've killed my entire century save these four. I must say, your fighting style intrigues me. Hmm…"
"Sir! She's the courier!" One of the legionaries provided.
"The courier? Ah and the washed up sniper. Yes, that makes sense. As much as I would like to take you both back with me, I believe you have proven you're effectiveness." The centurion lowered his machete from Boone's neck and placed it back on his belt. He nodded to another legionary who took his own machete and placed it against Boone's throat. "If she moves even an inch, kill him." He ordered his subordinate then returned his attention to the courier. "Caesar has decreed that you are both to die; by any means necessary." The centurion reached down to Boone's 9mm pistol and removed it from its holster. Boone tried to struggle against the legionary who held him to no avail. The centurion aimed at the courier. "Any last words?"
Sacrifice the sniper. Make your move.
"Liberty or death." Ker spat at the centurion with a sadistic smile.
"Goodbye courier." The centurion pulled the trigger three times before Ker collapsed.
"Ker!" Boone managed to choke out as he almost broke free from the legionary. The centurion turned and pistol whipped Boone, dazing him.
"A Ker?" The centurion laughed. "That's just perfect! Caspian, bring her head." A chorus of gunfire broke out in the night. "Dammit! We don't have the numbers anymore. Let's go!"
Ker lay in the dirt, staring up at the shooting stars and listening to the retreating legionaries. She took stock of her injuries: stab wounds; high front right shoulder and low back left shoulder, gunshot wounds; right lung and right side. She was grateful the centurion was a shit shot. When she could no longer hear the legionaries she tried to sit up. When she failed at that, she rolled over and pushed herself up.
"She's still alive!" Ker heard when she finally got seated. She heard running and franticly searched for her knife. "Easy, miss! I'm NCR!" Ker blinked blurry eyes to focus on the NCR medic standing over her. Behind him two more soldiers were running to join him.
"Super Stimpak, Med-x, Hydra and Buffout." Ker listed off. "And Steady if you have it."
"What?" The medic asked in confusion.
"Give them to me." Ker urged.
"You can't take all those chems at once! It'll kill you!" The medic protested. The other two soldiers arrived, a male and a female.
"The Legion just took my partner." Ker spat. "Are you going to go after him?! He's one of yours after all; a First Recon sniper." Ker asked.
The soldiers shifted uncomfortably. "We couldn't even defend this place. We don't have the troops for a rescue mission." The female soldier said sadly.
"Then give me what I asked for so I can go after him!"
"Captain?" The medic asked hesitantly.
"We might be able to scrounge together those chems from the refugees here. But taking all that at once could give you a heart attack." The woman said.
"I know." Ker said plainly.
"Alright. Markland, patch her up as best you can. Brix, let's see what we can find."
Markland demanded to remove the bullets before he patched her up and Ker couldn't really argue. Eventually the captain returned.
"One Super Stimpak and two doses of Med-X care of the NCR. Buffout, Hydra and Steady care of the refugees." The captain laid out the drugs before Ker. While she waited for the stim Markland applied to finish, she downed the Buffout and Hydra. When the stim finished, he applied one of the doses of Med-X. Ker quickly stowed the other does of Med-x and the Steady. With the pain numbed, her shoulder working properly and her body running in overdrive, Ker pulled herself to her feet.
"I can't believe you can still stand." The captain whispered as she held out Ker's pistols to her.
"I have no choice. I made a promise and I intent to keep it." Ker explained as she reloaded and stowed her weapons. She also grabbed Boone's rifle and hung it over her shoulder beside her own.
"Good luck!" Ker heard as she started following the trail south.