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Rake1810

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edboy4926

A G.E.C.K would be very valuable if one could be found.

Rogue Trader CYOA Story 2

"A fortress is built with blood and toil. Only by blood and toil may it be taken"

- Primarch Leman Russ.

Part 3

The Citadel. The Capital Wasteland.

After claiming enough gold to cover expenses for a good long while I'd started to focus on the three main objectives I had during this expedition and they were.

1. Claim any valuable technology that we can find.

2. Assist the human population.

3. Cleanse this world of threats.

Since I had only had a few months in this universe, assuming that I didn't decide to come back, matters were progressing quickly. The Ad-Mech were doing their best to fortify the Brotherhood of Steel's bases in the Capital Wasteland while squads of guardsmen and women attempted to clear out what remained of the city building by building. This was slow work with acceptable losses, and it kept the soldiers under my command busy, and helped me to carry out my 3rd objective. It also helped with the 2nd objective as every ghoul, raider, feral animal, slaver and super-mutant gunned down by the guard would cease to be a threat to the human population of this world.

To really make an impact here the Imperial Guard regiment that was under my command via the Colonel needed a base of operations to call its own and I had hoped that Raven Rock would serve that role. While Gwynenya Ionael had failed in taking Raven Rock from the Enclave, not that it was her fault by any means, I knew that it wasn't the only military base that Enclave group controlled and if one had been destroyed then we would simply claim another. Likely we would need more than one before long.

Actually finding these bases wasn't as hard as it might seem since I ordered the only still active satellites in orbit to be destroyed this meant I'd not only limited the Enclaves ability to communicate with its different branches it meant that my group had held the high ground and could look down upon everyone else. While orbital bombardment was not an option it was good to control the skies, and we did because the Enclave wasn't risking its air support going against us.

I'd shared information gathered on the Enclave with the Brotherhood Chapter who'd we'd allied with and while they'd made room for is in what use to be the Pentagon we really needed our base of operations and it was just a lot easier to steal one from the Enclave then to build our own. Hence why I'd turned my eye to Adams Air Force Base.

This was a heavily fortified Enclave compound outside the Capital Wasteland over in Maryland which was not far from the Citadel if you had the proper transport, something we had. In the game the base must be accessed by taking the metro train in the Presidential metro and if I recalled correctly it was infested with killer robots and ghouls. Not this was a problem for me as I had thousands of soldiers at my command in just the Imperial Guard regiment. As such it wasn't a complex task for the metro tunnels to be cleared.

On one of the many screens that could be seen here in the command centre I was able to see reports on display as people worked to enter information into the set up cogitators, or computers as I thought of them, there was a holomap set up in the centre of the room that showed the ruins of the city, or holo-lithic projector to use its proper name.

The holographic landscape was different colours depending on how firmly it was under Imperial control. Green bits were safe zones, heavily guarded and the blue parts were held by the Brotherhood. Orange parts were dangerous areas with conflicts on going and anything on the map in red were the enemy held parts.

As I moved around the room which had been taken over by the support staff of the 2nd Thrax regiment I could hear vox chatter as men and women in the field sent us their reports. There were dozens of firefights going on right now and efforts were being made to send reinforcements to those in need. This was a big advantage that we had over the enemy, not only did we have well trained soldiers with laser weapons, we had the ability to coordinate them. Every super-mutant hunting pack and raider gang worked alone, and they wasted their resources fighting each other were as Imperial efforts in this world were united, well supplied and guided by experienced officers.

"We're really taking this city" commented Sarah Lyons.

Officially it was being claimed for Imperium, only since we wouldn't be sticking around the actually management of this area would be left to the Brotherhood of Steel and whoever I left behind. The few buildings still intact enough to safely house people had been given over to the clergy who took up too much space on my cruiser. I'd allowed the Emperor's fan club to set up in the more stable buildings and they'd put together places that were a mix of shelters, soup kitchens, hospitals, and churches, mixed in with survivalist compounds. Anyone willing to listen to the priests got a hot meal, a roof over their head, and those that stayed were being used a labour force or to provide protection. I'd end up leaving quite a few of God Emperor's most faithful. The Church would be happy to hear that the worship of the Emperor had been spread to yet another world.

As for the Brotherhood they'd been fighting over the DC ruins for years. When the Brotherhood arrived in 2255, they began a long crusade against the super mutant menace and while they managed to stop the mutants from taking over the city they never had the numbers or the weapons to actually defeat the mutants until I turned up with an entire regiment of Imperial Guard and lots of lasguns.

The super mutant enemy that we faced now came from Vault 87, and like the other vaults it had a special project as its true purpose for existing, and this one involved a Evolutionary Experimentation Program. This had meant subjecting inhabitants to the Forced Evolutionary Virus which result in the creation of super mutants. They were generally less intelligent and more aggressive than their West Coast counterparts according to what the Brotherhood files told me. Unlike their distant cousins over on the other side of the country, they retained less of their humanity after transformation.

Despite their apparent lack of intelligence, the mutants were able to organize themselves as a fighting force as was evident from their numerous raids. They have also managed procured large amounts of weapons, ammunition, and other equipment as well as to maintain the infrastructure necessary to transform humans to increase their numbers.

Their base of operations, a place called Vault 87, was the list of targets to be cleansed and that was best handled by the right kind of red robed cyborgs as they could handle the FEV safely. Assuming that the Enclave didn't take all that virus away when they met the Lone Wander. From that encounter we knew that the super mutants are running out of FEV, if they have lost their headquarters and breeding ground of Vault 87 then there days are numbers as they don't bred they convert humans into more of their own kind, something they can't do with the FEV.

"It's slow going, but it will happen" I said to the important Brotherhood of Steel member "Once the ruins are cleared we can start to bulldoze the more ruined buildings so as to make way for new constructions".

The Ad-Mech group that worked closely with me had the means to build what was needed to make a whole new city if needs be and do so quickly thanks to some STC lore.

A full STC system was possessed by every group of Human interstellar colonists before the Age of Strife, allowing them to build all of the equipment necessary for survival on an untamed colony planet. During the Age of Strife the systems fell into disuse, were damaged or destroyed, and so became increasingly rare, until they were lost entirely with only fragments remaining.

Their prime function was to enable the colonists to construct any buildings, vehicle or other necessary tools and technologies they required to survive without prior knowledge or expertise. What STC fragments the Ad-Mech still had access to did allow for easy construction of many kinds of buildings which could be built from recycled materials. Such as buildings that could easily put together once the parts were brought down from orbit.

"It's a good thing that we're setting up a PDF regiment because once this city is in human hands someone will need to keep it that way" I was now saying "Once we have a regiment in place The Brotherhood can focus more on its original mission and worry less about defence".

While I couldn't bring this world into the Imperium like I had done with Planetos, I wasn't going to leave it a mess, and it would be better to train the natives to defending themselves than to leave the 2nd Thrax regiment here.

As I looked over the holomap I saw a green section with a cog over it. The Ad-Mech had claimed that part of the city for their own and considering that it contain the Museum of Technology this was no surprise. Despite having to divide their efforts between here and Mars the cogboys were not holding back when it came to supporting my efforts to tame this world as much as possible. Not when they can claim so much interesting technology.

I'd read the reports sent to me by the Archmagos who had dealt with the alien base on Mars easily enough since it hadn't been defended by any sort of anti-aircraft weapons being little more than a relay station meant to send information gathered by the Motherships to their home world or perhaps another relay station. The Ad-Mech knew where the signal was being sent as it was radio signal of some kind it would be many years before the aliens on their home world found out that something had happened to their ships. By the time they sent more ships to this system to find out what had happened the planet would have defences in place.

For now I was more interested in recovering technology and this was partly why I was so interested in the Enclave base. I wanted their technology in my hands and stored safely away so that I could barter with it when my cruiser returned to the forge-world. They considered all the tech of this world to be extremely valuable Archeotech since it predated the STCs.

I remembered hearing about how a STC for a combat knife was discovered by two Imperial Guard Scouts that was sharper and lighter and tougher than existing combat knives. They were hailed as heroes for this discovery, and received a planet each or maybe it was a moon. The knife was adopted by 30 chapters of the Adeptus Astartes.

While I wasn't recovering any STC as in the actual plans that allowed for easy production of technology the Ad-Mech would reward me greatly for bringing back so many cool bits of tech. I should be able to get myself a bigger and better ship at the very least, and maybe some other rewards.

Then I'd have to find ways of paying for that vessel's upkeep, but I had some ideas about that, and there were plenty of other universes out there for me to exploit. I could travel to Stargate and fill my holds with naquadah, I could well imagine the Ad-Mech loving that stuff. The same was true for element zero over in the Mass Effect universe or Quantum 40 from Babylon 5. Although having a monopoly on the strange materials would create a supply problem since I would only be able to transport so much.

"My lord the scouts have reached the enemy base" reported one of the Guard's supporting officers.

Before the regiment was sent in to claim Adams Air Force Base it needed to be scouted out. Hence why I'd sent men into the Presidential metro. Now that the scouts were there they could feed us more intelligence and we could compare that info to what the Brotherhood had in their files as well as scans from orbit.

"That must be the Adams storage facility" said Sarah.

To me it looked like a large warehouse, one that the Enclave could use to store surplus supplies, if we got out hands on these goods then I'd share a little of it with the Brotherhood, but most of it would be used to support the expedition's efforts. The warehouse was situated in the south-eastern portion of the base and didn't look to be well defended.

There was an air control tower is in the far northcentral area of the base. I imagined that it was responsible for aiding vertibird pilots with landing and taking off. There were also hangers for the storage of the aircraft.

"The Brotherhood has a veritbird, but we could do with some more" commented Sarah Lyons.

While I liked that my forces had air superiority it would be good if the Brotherhood had more vertibirds as they would need to keep the capital wasteland safe after my forces were gone.

"If they survive the attack intact you can send in some people to pick them up" I offered.

What I cared most about was the mobile base crawler, as it was by far the main attraction of the base. From playing the game I knew that it held held within it a lot of troops as well as many scientists who conducted experiments and research on wasteland creatures. A mobile base like this would aid the expedition greatly.

There were also some barracks, a fenced-in area with evenly spaced residences for soldiers. Once cleared out the 2nd Thrax regiment would be able to house many soldiers at the base freeing up room elsewhere.

"Tell the Colonel that I am looking forward to touring her new base" I said to a man on the vox.

The high ranking Guard officer didn't need me getting in the way while she did her job so I focused my attention elsewhere.

"You're not going to keep an eye on the battle?" asked Sarah.

I had my reasons.

"While I can hold my own in a fight I'm not a military man" I explained "A Rogue Trader such as myself knows when to delegate and the Colonel knows what she is doing".

She was a veteran officer with many years of experience long before she'd ended up on my cruiser.

"I'm a merchant, a diplomat and a leader" I went to say "My efforts are best spent elsewhere".

As I viewed some more reports I was pleased to read that the Battle Sisters had not been lazy even if their leader's desire to hold onto what strength they had. The sisters had attacked the slaver base called Paradise Falls and liberated those captured. I knew that the senior battle sister would be out looking for new recruits as she planned to return to her order with trainees who could serve in support roles during our time in this part of the multiverse.

"Will you want to come with me when I head to New Vegas?" I asked.

According to my intelligence the first battle for the hoover dam between the NCR and The Legion had already taken place and the second wouldn't happen for a few years if I recalled events correctly so the NCR should already have an embassy in Vegas which should make things easier for me as I could contact the NCR soon after meeting with Mr House.

"Are you going to call him like you did with us?" Sarah asked.

That was the idea.

"Mr House is a business man" I said "So he should be easy enough to deal with".

I wanted advanced tech and information, he wanted to turn New Vegas to some of independent city-state if I understood matters correctly, so we should be able to make a good deal as his vision for New Vegas would be easier to bring about with Imperial support.

The NCR didn't use energy weapons and power armour, or at least not much of it, but that didn't mean they didn't have such things stored away, and I didn't mind arming them with cheaply made laser weapons that could be produced onboard my cruiser for whatever tech they were willing to share. The Legion didn't have anything I wanted since I didn't think taking people from a version of Earth and transporting them somewhere so they could serve as serfs would sit well with everyone back in the Imperium as such I'd decided against it. Besides it hadn't been that profitable the last time. Best to stick with the technology.

"There are many different ways to make alliances" I mentioned to Sarah "I ended up with a wife during my last expedition as arranged marriages are a good way to tie powerful families together. I might pick up another wife from this world".

Sarah was shocked.

"You want more than one wife?" she asked.

I saw no reason why not and the Imperium didn't have laws against it due to how many different planets it contained. Besides as a Rogue Trader I could bend and breaks lots of rules.

"Yes" I answered "A Rogue Dynasty such as mine needs lots of members".

I was considering offering the role of wife to Sarah, and I could place her charge of her own fighting force if that was what she wanted, only I doubted she'd leave the Brotherhood behind. Perhaps I could tempt her by telling her how she could do more for the Brotherhood by working closely with me than here on Earth, and there was time for me to do that. If I could get enough suits of power armour together and find suitable recruits I could give her own Brotherhood Chapter.

"So Vegas?" I asked "We could gamble and have fun before we come back".

Sarah considered my words.

"I think some one needs to keep you out of trouble" she decided.

A good a reason as any.

"The attacks seems to be going well" I was now saying.

After going through the motions, and acting as if I cared about machine spirits, I manged to get the holomap to show us Adams Air Force Base. Despite the guard forces and Enclave troops only appearing as blips of colours, many of which vanished as the battle progressed. The Colonel had planned her assault well ensuring that the support craft didn't land to close to the enemy base and when they did land the base was already under attack from members of the group who'd come out of the metro line.

"The Enclave isn't use to facing people who can fight on their level" commented Sarah.

While they had power armour and energy weapons the Enclave troopers wouldn't be used to fighting a well-armed and organised enemy that had overwhelming numbers. They did put a good fighting judging by how many blips my side lost, but the casualties weren't more than I could afford. I made a mental note to increase the rations and pay of those squads involved in this mission as their efforts would profit me greatly.

"Would you like to inspect the base with me?" I asked Sarah Lyons.

Given my plans for her it made sense to keep her with me and to show off a little of what the IOM could do.

"Sure" was all she had to say in reply.

Before we could head out a vox operator let me know that we'd made contact with Mr House. It was about time.

(Line Break)

Adams Air Force Base. Outside of the Capital Wasteland.

Getting an appointment with Mr House hadn't been that difficult, but he'd decided to make me wait before meeting him, no doubt he wanted time to try to figure out what he could about me, and to prepare his defences in case I planned to attack. I would do the same if I were in his place so I wasn't offended.

Since I didn't need to fly off to New Vegas any time soon I'd decided to take Sarah Lyons, who was never far my side these days, to the former Enclave base that the guard regiment had taken just as I had offered to do. The Colonel was already working hard to bring the base under her command so that it could be used as a centre for operations in this world. Once fully set up here she'd be able to send out troopers on a variety of combat mission while I handled the diplomatic stuff as well as the trading required to acquire us the technology the Ad-Mech wanted to inspect.

I wasn't the only one visiting. The Archmagos Arx Del had come here personally, taking a break from overseeing the construction of the base the cogboys were building on Mars, bringing with him a few of his fellows to check out the technology here. The base's tech needed to be consecrated and examined to unsure that it would all work properly. Also the Enclave had some neat toys that the Ad-Mech people wanted to inspect right away.

"The value of these spoils can not be underestimated" informed the high ranking member of the Machine Cult once he'd recognised my presence "The Fabricator-General will be most pleased that we have recovered so much of the Ommisah's bounty".

If this technology benefited the Imperium then that was a good thing. However I cared more about the Ad-Mech paying me well for what I brought back with me as I wanted a small fleet of ships not just one cruiser. It was possible for a ship that used my vessel's advanced warp drive to drag smaller ships into its wake so I should be able to take escorts with me when I went to more advanced universes in search of bigger prey.

There was also the fact that the Chaos forces were planning on ripping the galaxy in half with a massive warp storm and when that happened I intended to abandon the Imperium for greener pastures. For that to work I would need the support of my crew, my allies and the resources of other organisations such as the Brotherhood of Steel to call upon. This was partly why I wanted to strengthen the Brotherhood before I left this world.

"I trust that the Fabricator-General will express his pleasure by offering me greater support" I said.

As the red robed cyborg confirmed this to be the case I looked around some more to see what Del and his fellow cogboys were working on.

There was a mini nuke lying in pieces at work station and some microfusion cells taken from the Enclave soldiers resting on another. I saw in the corner a red robed figure removing the optics from a helmet while his partner did something to mouth piece that I felt sure had to do with filtering out harmful gases. The prayers, burning incense and the anointing of bits of tech with oils seemed out of place given the complex work they were performing. Watching the cogboys trying to appease the machine spirt of a A scoped .44 magnum was amusing. They believed that even simple weapons could have a machine spirit.

The Archmagos was working on a Ripper, which was a small, handheld, militarized chainsaw that saw extensive use in the armed conflicts before the Great War, or so the red robed cyborg told me. He was anointing it with special oils as he tenderly cleaned the old weapon.

"If we were in our home universe I would say that this weapon was an early version of the chainsword that we produce in great amounts for the Imperium's armed forces" Del Arx was now saying "These Rippers could see use alongside the chainswords, as a weapon used in smaller confines".

I could imagine that while in a trench or a narrow corridor how a full sized chain weapon could prove to be limited in use.

"Here with have the real prize" said Del Arx.

The high ranking cogboy began to explain about how plasma rifles or plasma casters are high tech weapons firing superheated bolts of plasma, powered by either micro fusion cells, heavy energy cells, plasma cartridges, or plasma cores which find numerous applications in military and industrial fields. The bolts form into toroids while in the plasma chamber, which are then sent down a superconducting barrel, propelled by electromagnetic forces.

"Over here with have a power fist" the red robed cyborg told Sarah and I as we followed Del Arx.

In this world a power fist was a type of glove or armoured gauntlet, with a powered ram or similar device. In the 40k universe a Power Fist (also known as a Power Glove) is essentially an over-sized, armoured gauntlet that generates an energy field around it, one that is capable of violently disrupting any solid matter it touches. It is a favoured close combat weapon of many a Space Marine.

"Here we have a mostly undamaged set of Enclave power armour" the Archmagos was now saying "It is composed entirely of lightweight composites rather than the usual combination of metal and composite plates found in the models favoured by the Brotherhood. This model of armour features a large profile, and more effective, segmented armour plates in order to achieve a superior degree of protection. It is more difficult to produce and sets will likely to be limited to Imperial Stormtroopers and other elite units".

While these weapons were inferior to their 40k counterparts we were informed by the Archmagos that they would be much simpler to produce. The Space Marine Chapters wouldn't benefit from this stuff, however the Imperial Guard wouldn't mind have squads within their regiments who were armed with easily produced plasma weapons and who wore power armour. It could make a real difference in some battles and perhaps aid the Imperium in the long run.

(Line Break)

Freeside. New Vegas.

Sarah Lyons had travelled quite far due to her duties and she'd seen a lot of the freaky stuff that the wasteland had to offer, but nothing had compared her for what she'd been through recently. As if making contact with humans from outer space wasn't wild enough she'd gotten to travel into space and to spend time on an actual space ship before coming back down to Earth.

The Rogue Traders cruiser had been nothing like what she'd imagined, it been less a ship and more a space fortress with engines with the population to rival any city. Sarah had seen much of the cruiser, and while she was grateful for this she knew that Lord Thrax had reasons for showing off the way he did. He'd not actually made the request in a direct manner, but Sarah had been paying attention when he talked about wives and alliances.

At first she found the idea to be silly, however now that she'd seen the might of the Imperium she couldn't help wondering what she could do as part of a Rogue Trader dynasty. How much in the way of resources and aid would the Lord Captain give to her family if she married him as a way to cement the alliance between the House Thrax and the East Coast Chapter of the Brotherhood? Would it be worth it? She wasn't an object to be traded for, yet she wish to help the Brotherhood as much as possible.

It wouldn't be a terrible sacrifice if it meant she got to travel like this and got access to all the Imperial technology. Thrax had mentioned that he had enough resources to start his own Brotherhood Chapter if he saw fit, and the idea of leading more than a handful of troopers was a little tempting, it was just that she didn't wish to leave her squad or her family.

This was something she could dwell more on later, for now she needed to focus on where she was and what she was doing as this was not a safe place to be. Not that she was safe anywhere it was just that this Freeside place held some dangers that she wasn't used to. Hostile people she could deal with, she had a laser rifle for that, what she needed to be wary of were people trying to rip her off, to trick of her all she owned.

She and the Rogue Trader's party were currently heading towards a building with a large sign that appeared to have crashed into the partially collapsed upper floor. From that outside this location didn't seem like much, but Lord Thrax had insisted that they, meaning both the Imperials and the Brotherhood of Steel would profit from a trip to this business. He claimed that the Van Graff organisation had access to plenty of advanced weapons that both their organisations could use.

A white spray of graffiti - WE SELL WEAPONS FULLY CHARGED WITH NO EXTRA CHARGE - was enough to tell passers-by that they'd find more than just slot machines inside this building. Sarah saw that there were a couple of guards positioned at the front door, the fact that they were wielding huge plasma rifles meant that they'd come to the right place.

It wasn't the guards that made Sarah feel a little on edge. Thrax, and his escort they stood out, being all clean, and very heavily armed, which meant that they got a lot of attention. Thankfully no one had tried to mess with this group, if only because they were so heavily armed. Sarah got some looks too, and she didn't think the local Brotherhood Chapter had made a good impression on the locals judging by those glances.

"Woah there," one of the man at the door said, "I'm afraid I can't let you in. No weapons allowed in here but the ones we're selling. You'd best hand 'em over".

This had been expected.

"Sure, no problem," Lord Thrax agreed.

Sarah Lyons didn't like having to disarm, but she was hardly helpless as long as she had on her power armour and she knew a lot about hand to hand combat. Normally being able to throw a punch or land a good kick didn't help when facing super mutants and dangerous creatures, however against humans such skills would be useful.

"Thank you, Sir and Ma'ams" the guard said as he took our weapons.

He placed the weapons into a large metal container to his right.

"Trust me, your weapons are as safe as kittens in there" he assured us.

When they got inside we found that the locals were already doing some business.

"You're interrupting here," the mercenary warned. "Keep your mouth shut and let the Van Graffs take care of things".

Lord Thrax turned to the group.

"We shouldn't get involved in their affairs unless we really have to" I advised "We're just here to buy weapons and then we can leave. There are other places we can go, and a lot more tech for us to gather".

Thankfully no one argued with him.

"Please get to the point," a woman urged, her voice smooth and sultry. "Your payment is late and I want to know why".

Sarah could see that there was a man down on his knees. She didn't need to see his face to know that he was in trouble.

"Miss Van Graff, my associates and I have decided that we would like to renegotiate the terms of our deal" said the kneeling person.

That man's voice was calm, all business. Unless he was acting then he really had no idea how much danger he was in. Even Sarah, who knew nothing of the Van Graffs could tell these weren't decent people, nor were they the kind of people you wanted to piss off as arms dealers were very dangerous. They tended to have a lot of weapons.

"Might I ask for what reason?" enquired the woman, who must be a leader here "The shipment was delivered in perfect condition. The guns were tested before leaving this facility".

"Regardless, we feel that the quality of the weapons is far below expectation" said the kneeling man "We hoped to adjust the price accordingly"

"Ah. I believe I understand what the issue here is. Would you excuse me for a moment?" she asked.

The woman remained still for a moment before speaking.

"Do it" said the lady.

A flash of neon green came out of one of the rifles a guard was holding hitting the body of a man who should have been begging for his life. He died without making a sound as it happened so fast. Soon the business man's bodyguard who hadn't been kneeling also got shot and lit up in a brilliant display of light, then he was nothing more than ashes.

"Alright everyone, show's over," the woman announced. "Let the customers in".

Sarah very felt glad that the Rogue Trader intended to pay well for the weapons. He wasn't going to pay in caps, rather he planned to exchange laser weapons and other manufactured goods in great amounts for as many plasma weapons as the Van Graffs were willing to sell.

"Sorry about the wait," said one of the Van Graffs as she leaned over the desk. "We had some business to take care of. It wasn't our intention to let you through the door before that matter was settled, but don't worry. I'll be having a long talk with our guard".

With that the bartering began and the Lord-Captain began buying as many advanced weapons as they could. Nothing would be taken now they'd have to come back with the goods later and Sarah decided that she'd rather miss out on that meeting. She didn't think of these Van Graffs and wanted nothing more to do with them.

(Line Break)

Lucky 38 Casino. New Vegas.

While being a diplomat was a requirement of a Rogue Trader it was far from my favourite part of the job. I'd much rather be trading cheaply manufactured goods made from recycled metals with the natives of this world for their advanced technology that most of them had no use for. Or maybe I could be sending members of battle harem into some old vault so a treasure of the past could be recovered. I could even be directing operations against the the disruptive elements of this world such as the raiders or the super mutants.

Actually I really would like to be doing was to be exploring some part of a galaxy that contain nothing that could threaten an Imperil built cruiser so that I could take what I wanted from anyone I wanted. I could carve out my own domain if I went to the right universe, but that would have to wait as the Imperium's leadership would need to support me more for such an endeavour. The only way to get that kind of support was to prove that I was a valuable ally and this would proven by bringing back lots of cool tech.

So instead of getting out there and crushing foul aliens, pirates and raiders, I was now riding up in a elevator, or a lift as it was called back in my homeland, up to a meeting with Mr House, who I knew to be down somewhere in the basement, however if I wanted to talk to him I had to do via a big screen in the penthouse. It was somewhat tempting to go down into the basement and kill Mr House so that I could have someone loyal to me take over operations here in Vegas, and if I'd been planning a take over of the planet I would do just that, it was just that the Imperium's normally method of operations weren't suitable for this expedition I would have to handle Mr House carefully.

When the doors opened I stepped into a penthouse that had been set up as place to live as best as someone could manage in the wasteland, only there were just some robots here. As for the screen that showed a static image of what I assumed to be a younger Mr House that was angled in such a way that anyone wishing to speak with him had to crane their neck and there was no where to sit in this part of the room. I understood the idea of looking down at someone during talks so as to make yourself seem important I just didn't like being the one who had to stand in such a way.

"Mr Thrax I believe that we have much to discuss" said my host.

I could be petty and demand that he refer to me as Lord Thrax or at least Captain, yet I decided against it, I didn't wish to argue with a man who wasn't even in the room, and I had many demands on my time so it would best to get this over with.

"Yes, Mr House" I replied "By now I'm sure you have some idea of what is happening in the rest of this country".

I'd decided to focus our operations in what used be the USA as that was the part of the Fallout World seen in the games, and the USA had been the most advanced nation in the world before the bombs dropped so logical it would have the most worth while stuff to obtain. Judging by the scans from up in orbit the whole planet was a radioactive hellhole so it wasn't as if there were lands out there that were safer for our operations to take place in.

"I have been able to gather some information" said Mr House.

Taking this a que that I should supply more I began to talk. There was no reason for me to hide the truth because I had all the advantages. I didn't really need Mr House it would just be nice to have him as an ally and be able to send at least some of my crew on shore leave here. My cruiser had it own means of keeping the crew entertained as it wasn't all hard toil while onboard, it was just that it was working well to reward those crew members who worked hardest for me with a chance to see an alien world.

"Do you expect me to take what you have just told me at face value?" asked Mr House.

He didn't actually accuse me of lying he just needed more evidence.

"You must have seen the craft I landed in and the weapons carried by my guards" I said "I'd be happy to take you up into orbit so you can see my cruiser with your own eyes".

Of course he couldn't take me up on that offer.

"I'll have to decline" said Mr House "Instead I have a test in mind. Should you be able to find something for me, I will exchange allow your people to visit Vegas in limited numbers. I can even share certain information with you that could benefit the both of us. There are places of interest around Vegas that your people can explore".

Already I knew where this was going, it seemed clear to me what Mr House would want most of all.

"In Sunnyvale on October 22, 2077, a day before the Great War I had a special chip created, one made of platinum, but it became lost in the following nuclear holocaust" Mr House told me "I've been trying to recover it for years. If your Imperium is as powerful as you claim then you should have no trouble locating the chip and bringing it to me".

It made perfect sense to me that Mr House would want to make sure that his robot army was better prepared to fight off possibly hostile invaders before inviting any of them into his city

"I'll need some information on this Sunnyvale" I said.

Very soon a crude was printed off by the machine in front of me and I discovered that Sunnyvale is one of the cities that comprise the Silicon Valley, in the San Francisco Bay Area. As such it might contain much more of value that Mr House's chip.

It should be simple enough for me to get enough people together to comb through the ruins for a bit of platinum. The Ad-Mech could detect metal deposits from orbit so they should have something that detect even a small amount of platinum if they got close enough.

"I'll be back with you chip" I assured Mr House.

Before leaving an idea struck me.

"You wouldn't happen to have a list of Legion officers and images of them would you?" I asked "They need to be dealt with if this world is to be put into any kind of order".

Soon I had another print out, a list of target for Black Widow to handle for me.