"CRAZY!" Arcade yelled, "Crazy I tell you! Didn't you hear a single thing I told you back at the bunker?"
"Heh, I'm sorry Arcade. But you got to admit, though, that was pretty fun," chuckled Sol.
"Are you crazy?" Vulpes hissed at the old man, evidently grumpy but still desperately trying to keep calm, "You could've gotten me killed out there you lunatic!"
"Heh, wouldn't that be a shame," Sol cackled.
"I hate to say it Sol," Arcade muttered, "but I'm going to have to agree with Inculta here – but only begrudgingly mind you."
"Hush now," Vulpes snapped, "here they come."
A pair of scrawny looking men wielding massive rocket launchers approached the three of them. The pair wore flight jackets made of black leather, both with various war medals attached. It was genuinely amazing how these small men were just dragging around these massive weapons as if they were just small sacks of potatoes.
"Listen here you lot," one of them said, "how on god's earth did you survive that bombardment?"
"Oh it's all very elementary my friend," Sol smirked, "all we did was run, hide, and run. It's all in the timing see."
"But I had you zeroed in the whole time! Nobody's that fast! Are you even human? Some kind of mutant?"
"Depends on who's askin'."
"Listen here pal, you better stop giving us crap and start answering the damn question," the second man stepped up from behind.
"Quiet down Shawn," said the first one, "Raquel's coming."
A woman then approached from afar with three other big men accompanying her. They all held big bombastic launchers, practically armed to the teeth. The woman, who Sol guessed was Raquel, wore heavy body armor, hefty and black like the night. She had this frowning expression on her face, clearly not joyous in any way, almost as if she was insulted.
"What the bloody hell is going on here?" She cried, "Ken, Shawn, you two mind telling me why the hell are these three savages standing at our gate unscathed?"
"Miss Raquel…"
"Ya know what? Forget it, I'll deal with them myself you worthless worms," the girl approached the gate where Sol could finally see her face clearly, "so… are you going to tell me how you crossed that field or what?"
"Heh," the old ranger sneered, "who, pray tell, are you little girl?"
"My name don't matter to you savages. The only thing that matters is that you're in Boomers territories. So you better start talking soon otherwise…"
"Miss Raquel!" A voice bellowed in the distance.
"What is it now?"
Another man in Boomer uniform rushed from across the field. He seemed somewhat worried judging by the expression on his face. The man leaned close to Raquel, whispering something to her.
"Uh huh… uh huh… what? No kidding? … Hmm… no… no… I suppose…"
"Psst… Arcade," Sol nudged the doctor, "what do you suppose they're talking about?"
"What the… why the hell are you asking me for, you crazy lunatic?"
"Shh," Vulpes snapped, "quiet down you two."
Raquel approached them once more, emerging into the light.
"Right, listen up you lot. So it turns out that Mother Pearl, our Eldest, wishes to speak to you."
"What? But why?" Arcade asked.
"And who on earth is Mother Pearl?"
"Shut your yap yer old geezer," snapped Raquel, "I… don't know why alright? But if the Elder wants to speak with you then it must be important. No idea why I can't just blow you savages to pieces here and now, but orders are orders. So move along!"
"Welcome, children! Took your sweet time getting here didn't you? I've been waiting for a good five years for someone to come along and visit. Come close and let me get a better look at you all."
"Alright, but could you lay off the whole 'children' thing?" Sol said, "I'm probably older than you are… no offense or anything."
"Ha ha, I doubt that, but… alright, I will oblige."
So apparently this old lady was Mother Pearl. Raquel mentioned that she had lived at this place called Nellis since the beginning. She also said that Mother Pearl had the wisdom of her age, a number which probably rounded up to around a bazillion. Raquel sure wasn't kidding. That woman was the definition of ancient.
The old woman's squinting eyes began scanning up and down the physique of the old ranger and the doctor. But when her gaze shifted to the Fox, something seemed to have… changed.
"So… wait a minute, were you expecting us or something?" Sol asked.
"Like… some sort of prophecy?" Arcade eagerly leaned in.
"Prophecy? HA!" Surprisingly she started cackling, "Do we look like a bunch of religious idiots to you? Ha! But in all seriousness, I got to tell ya, those howitzers out there aren't just for entertainment you see. Explosive ordnance is what keeps the savages at a distance. Except you! There's something special about you, and it was the howitzers that gave you a chance to show it!"
"Is that so? Heh, see that Arcade?" Sol nudged the young doctor, "And you called me crazy of all things."
"Oh no, he's right about that," Mother Pearl said, "you are crazy!"
"Wait, what?"
"Oh yes, yes. I heard all about it from my youngers. How you were charging across that field like some sort of crazy Brahmin that lost its herd, crazy high on jet, too. Ha-ha, at least that's what Shawn told me anyway."
"So I take it that you're the tribe they call the Boomers," Arcade said.
"Indeed," the old lady nodded, "oh, but where are my manners? We haven't properly introduced ourselves yet."
"Don't have to," Sol said, "we already know who you are. You're the Boomers. And Raquel over there told us that you're Mother Pearl. Anyway, my name is Solmund, but you can call me Sol. Pleasure to meet you."
"Now isn't that a strange name if I've ever heard one."
"The doctor calls himself Arcade, he's kind of a control freak so don't mind him. And this fella here is Vulpes. He's um… well he's a bit of an oddball."
"I can see that," said Mother Pearl, "but let's get back on track. I have to ask… how did you cross that field? Did you have help from some other outsiders?"
"Nah, like I told your boys, it's all about the timing."
"Well," Mother Pearl started scratching her chin, "to be perfectly frank it doesn't really matter how you crossed the field. What's really important here is that you are here now. You have to keep in mind that you're our first contact with the outside world since I was barely a woman. Seclusion has kept us safe. But the world around us is changing. Neon lights in the distance, patrolling robots, soldiers... My youngers think our guns can keep out the world, but I think we need to let it in, just a little, or become its victim."
"Mother, are you seriously thinking about letting these outsiders stay?" Raquel squealed, "They are savages! We don't even know why they came here in the first place."
Crap, she's right, Sol thought to himself. He was charging into this place head first without actually thinking about how they were going to pull this off. The Boomers were powerful, perhaps even as powerful as either the NCR or the Legion. There was no way that this was going to be a cake walk. A darn xenophobic tribe no less. What the fuck was I thinking? Sol beat himself over his head. The old ranger started biting his lips, trying to come up with something in his exhausted foggy mind… something…
"We came looking for shelter."
That line shot Sol right in his nerves, making him spin his head around to the sight of the Fox faintly smirking at the old man. Vulpes's glare told Sol a message: I just saved your life.
"Please," Vulpes continued, "people of the outside world have been giving your tribe a bad name. Plenty of rumors going about on how you people seclude yourselves in this place like some backward primitive tribal society – savages so to speak. I'd hate it if any of it turns out to be true."
"Heh, smooth…" Raquel muttered under her breath.
"Yes, YES," Arcade sprang from his feet, "all we want is a place to stay… a place safe from the horrors wasteland…"
"I find that a bit hard to believe," Raquel said, "most people who come here are scavengers. They're thieves, scoundrels who just want to make some quick caps. How are you people any different?"
"That's fine," Vulpes said, "Just come up with your own narrative. I don't care. But you want to know who does? The outsiders. You kill us today and the outside world is just going to keep thinking that you're nothing but a bunch of backward savages. It'll just make them want to get rid of you as soon as possible. You may be safe now, but what about ten, twenty, fifty years down the line? Are you going to make it that far? I doubt that your Mother Pearl thinks so."
It was that moment when Sol finally realized what he was up against. What he saw in Vulpes' expression was the darkest grin he had ever seen in his entire life.
