Prologue
Dixie Hildebrand
She hated this feeling. Absolutely despised the feeling in her boots. It feels like sand, but she knew that this was a phantom discomfort.
She left sand when she was assigned her recon mission to the Far East. She left it like she left her feelings for her lover before setting off. And here she was, remembering all of those feelings of the Mojave Wasteland.
It wasn't like she hated all of the Mojave, the desert held its own kind of charm. It's nightlife was amazing, bringing a kind of depraved fun to soldiers on leave. The city certainly wasn't short of girls more to her...tastes.
What she hated with certainty was the pests, human and non-human alike. She hated the various tribals constantly invading NCR territory. Hated the fellow officers who made disgusting remarks to her former "bunkmate". Hated the night stalkers, the radscorpions, the geckos and the cazadores. And above all, the sand inside her uniform.
Every time she went out, the sand somehow got in. And she would feel it, every time she walked, when she sat, when she had to eat or drink; it was there.
So she was glad to leave it all behind when her C.O. offered the assignment to engage in long range and long term reconnaissance of the East Coast. It was a simple, but important assignment. Don't engage in any encounters that she observed, Don't allow the locals to discover her identity; and above all, report any threat to the New California Republic's expansion.
It was a tedious assignment, but certainly had its moments. She saw a vault dweller exit Vault 111. And quickly saw that dweller become a force to be reckoned with.
Dixie went in disguise, to Diamond City. She went looking for answers and found that the vault dweller: Nora, was looking for her son Shaun.
Dixie never had children of her own, but felt the loss. She lost her own parents to raiders when she was only 17.
Then Nora continued, finding new loves and new enemies. She joined the Brotherhood of Steel, a decision the ranger found misguided. If only Nora knew of how pigheaded and short sighted the BoS is, she would've avoided them on sight. But she pressed on, quickly coming to contact with the Institute, the Commonwealths personification of the boogeyman. Personally Dixie found Caesars Legion to be a scarier tale. Not that this "Institute" hadn't gotten its own well deserved reputation. From her sources, Dixie found out that the Institute 'replaced' citizens throughout the region with exact replicas. No one could tell if someone was replaced until killed. The thought sent a chill through Dixies body.
They were also the same specters who were believed to have abducted Nora's Shaun. It must've been a cold night because another chill ran through the ranger.
Fortunately, the Institutes threat to the Commonwealth wouldn't last much longer. Nora found where they resided(and hopefully found her son) and used the Brotherhood to launch a massive offensive, ending with a nuclear level explosion. Dixie saw the light of the explosion in the abandoned apartment building she squatted in.
Thus that was the end of the Institute.
Dixie waited, she saw very little physical change from the Commonwealth. But she felt a bigger change. Less suspicion, more warmth.
And then a year in, Dixie left. She went further south, finding that things were more or less the same along the East Coast. Tales of bravery and tales of destruction. Or sometimes, she found nothing. That's what she came upon when saw the former city of New Ark. A hole if there ever was one. A crator the size of all of New Vegas was what occupied it. She moved on.
Then she came upon the Capital Wasteland. It was mostly empty save for several settlements, and the damn Brotherhood of Steel! Apparently over the years they established themselves as the savior of this area. Making a name for themselves by removing the Enclave from the region. Dixie spat on the ground and went back north.
She was gone for four more years before returning to the Commonwealth. She was surprised by what she came to find. The city wasn't just surviving, but thriving under the Brotherhood. Checkpoints were now established throughout all major points in the city. Any and all residents were welcome, as long as they followed Brotherhood law. Settlements were growing crops and providing for all. Dixie visited Sanctuary and left with a full stomach.
She asked around discreetly about Nora. Apparently she lived nearby at an old Red Rocket truck stop. Dixie set up camp nearby and saw...nothing.
Nora lived day to day, looking tired and worn out, and each day a different person that she touched in some way visited her.
Dixie was saddened that Nora looked, almost...defeated. And she knew why, there was no Shaun. He was still missing, or dead. And Nora gave up long ago.
So now it's three weeks later, and still Dixie looks on, the phantom discomfort only growing. She nestled herself on a highway bridge, west of Sanctuary, looking out west today. Then she was distracted by something.
A gang of raiders making its way from the west. It wasn't uncommon nowadays for new troublemakers to stumble their way into the Commonwealth. But these raiders were moving on with purpose. They were dragging a...girl! And by the looks of it, a girl no older than ten or eleven. Dixies mouth went dry, and her eyes went wide. She saw many things in this wasteland that would make many choke. But as she looked on at this poor, defenseless girl, being dragged to her most certain doom.
She raised her anti-materiel rifle, aimed its barrel at the leading raider, and fired.
She unloaded her entire magazine on the alarmed raiders, and only the girl was left alive.
Dixie Hildebrand knew she would catch hell if any of her superiors found out what she did. But she couldn't leave one more poor soul to their fate.
Besides, what change could one girl do?