Chapter Two
Clara was sure that Primm wasn't usually a battlefield occupied by ex convicts but here she was. When she had first entered the town, she was warned by NCR Troopers not to enter the town, citing the presence of the convicts as the reason the town was under lockdown. Clara groaned at this, typical troopers. She knew their type, all too well, they'd always volunteer for the army and get a hard on for the NCR's authority. She should know, she was once a trooper, at least she thought. She wasn't entirely sure, she just knew that her equipment all had NCR bears and serial numbers stamped onto their receivers. She did know for certain the mindset that trooper had, and she knew he would lose it within a few days of bureaucratic red tape. Clara chose to continue into town anyway, immediately being ambushed by the convicts. Clara chuckled, drawing her shotgun, entering a loop of firing and reloading, all to blow chunks of meat out of the convicts. Overall, it was a nice, grand old killing spree she couldn't get into legal trouble for. After that distraction was over, Clara went into the one place she assumed she could find information, a casino. Specifically, the Vikki and Vance Casino, dedicated to two pre war criminals that she never heard of nor cared to learn about. All that mattered was that the local Mojave express manager was hiding there and she needed to talk to him.
"Whew, at least you aren't one of those convicts, welcome to Primm, or what's left of it." A man holsinger a Hi-Power sighed. "I'm Johnson Nash, I run a general store and the Mojave Express office here."
"Actually, I'm a courier for the Mojave express, got shot and lost my package." Clara stated, handing her delivery notice to Nash.
"Ah, it's one of those deliveries, huh?" Nash murmured. "Whole thing had strange written all over it. Six packages, all novelties to be delivered to the strip. Things like oversized dice, a keychain, a chess piece, things like that. The weirdest one was yours, an oversized poker chip. The guy who was originally going to carry it refused, said to 'Let Courier Six carry it' then he ran off. I hope a storm in The Divide storm skins him alive."
"The Divide?" Clara asked.
"Region of Claiforna destroyed by nukes. Was once a prospering community, but someone set off the nukes hidden in military bases there, place a damn deathtrap now." Ed's voice suddenly called out. "Don't know much about it, only the stories."
"What stories?" Clara asked.
"The kind that keeps even the bravest people up at night." Ed answered. "Like, for instance, a unique type of ghoul that lives in constant pain, driven to madness from it."
"Freaky." Clara stated. "Now then, I'm going after the guy that shot me in the head, know anything?"
"Deputy Beagle might, but he's kinda tied up right now, literally. He's being held captive by the convicts in the Bison Steve." Johnson Nash stated.
"Gotcha, cmon Ed, we're killing some convicts." Clara stated.
"Copy that, Eddie from the prison said he'd forgive us for Goodsprings if we clear them anyway, so that's a plus." Ed stated, racking the slide to his handgun as they left the casino.
"Gotta ask, what is that gun?" Clara questioned.
"Glock 18." Ed stated. "Old Austrian automatic handgun, made by the same company that makes plasma pistols. I prefer lasers and ballistic weaponry myself, maybe not as powerful, but power doesn't matter if you can't hit what you're aiming at."
"Gotcha." Clara stated. "I prefer to get up close and personal, which guarantees a kill, but I like to talk my way out of things if possible."
"Not gonna be possible with these guys. They're only after chaos, so talking them down isn't gonna happen." Ed stated. "I'll provide sniper fire, you make a beeline to the hostage."
"Who put you in charge?" Clara asked.
"Do you have a better plan?" Ed asked. Clara pulled several sticks of dynamite out of her duster, giving Ed a grin.
"Martial arts." Clara stated, beaming with excitement.
"That... might actually work." Ed stated. "Just throw lots of explosives into the room with the convicts, and rush for the hostage in the confusion." Ed swapped his handgun's magazine for a larger one. The pair entered the hotel, stalking their way towards the main dining area, where five convicts stood with varying levels of armor and equipment. The best equipped one wore a leather jacket with reinforcements attached to it, carrying a large flame thrower.
"I'll take out the flamethrower's tanks, you do your thing." Ed stated, pulling his rifle off his back. A brief moment passed, and a single gunshot rang out. The flamethrower exploded, and Clara began doing her thing, tossing sticks of dynamite all over the place. Explosions rang out, Ed's Glock spat an unreasonable amount of lead at the convicts, it was a whole mess. Clara rushed to the kitchen, checking for the hostage. Sure enough, he was there, a bag over his head, and his hands bound. Clara ripped the bag off his head, revealing the deputy.
"Oh thank goodness, you gotta help me get out of here." Deputy Beagle pleaded.
"We got backup incoming, go through the maintenance tunnel!" Ed informed Clara, reloading his Glock.
"When we get outside, I need you to tell me about the men who shot me, two Great Khans and a guy in a check suit." Clara stated, cutting the deputy's binds.
"Thank you so much, let's get out of here!" Deputy Beagle exclaimed as he got on his feet. Clara escorted Deputy Beagle out of the kitchen while Ed fiddled with the stoves. Ed eventually entered the tunnel and tossed an old grenade in the kitchen.
"RUN NOW, WE HAVE FIVE SECONDS!" Ed screamed. Clara had never run so fast in her life. Even though she was on jet at the moment, it was still a nightmare getting to the entrance of the hotel. But they made it, diving into the street as the hotel erupted into flames.
"What the hell was that?" Clara gasped.
"I messed with the gas so it would rapidly fill the hotel, then used a grenade to blow it up." Ed stated. Clara gave Ed a look. "It was the best option to take care of the convicts." Clara chuckled.
"It was a good explosion, wouldn't you say, deputy?" Clara asked. No response came from Deputy Beagle. "Deputy?" Clara poked the deputy, with no response. Ed placed two fingers on his throat.
"He's dead, likely from shock, or cervical trauma." Ed stated. Clara began to pat down the corpse. She eventually found what she was looking for, a journal. It stated that the group that attacked Clara came through Primm, heading out of Nipton towards Novac, a good start for her and Ed. Ed sighed as he stepped away from the body.
"I think we better run, no telling how people will react to their deputy being dead." Ed stated. "Let's get the hell out of here."
"Yeah I'd definitely agree there." Clara stated. The two left the road from Primm, headed to Nipton. They'd likely be able to get to Nipton, then they could set up camp for the night before reaching Novac. However, the situation in Nipton was not what they anticipated. Smoke billowed out from the town, thick, black smoke. As they approached the town, they found it to have been destroyed, everyone present dead or dying. Except for one person, a powder ganger celebrating something.
"Yeah-ha! Who won the lottery? I did!" He exclaimed. Confusion wrapped over the pair as they watched this man celebrate in spite of the ruin behind him. A pile of tires burned behind him, and the bodies of powder gangers and citizens were hung from crosses, an obvious sign of what had happened. Approaching the town hall confirmed Clara's suspicions.
"Don't worry, I won't have you two lashed to a cross like the rest of these degenerates. Infact, it's rather useful that you happened by. I want you to memorize the fate of Nipton, remember every detail." A man in crimson clothes wearing a dog's head stated. "Then, I want you to tell everyone you meet what happened here."
"What lessons did you teach here?" Clara asked.
"This town was full of profligates and degenerates, and we taught them what happens when you don't live with morals." the man explained.
"This is unforgivable." Clara spat. Ed reacted differently.
"I admire the purity of the Legion's work." Ed stated coldly.
"Good, then you understand the lessons we taught here." the man responded. "Go now, teach people what happened here." The man and his legionaries left the smoldering town. Clara turned to face Ed.
"Please don't tell me you actually believe in the Legion's teachings." Clara stated.
"I don't, I was just saying what he wanted to hear." Ed stated. "I'd rather kiss ass then end up like one of those poor saps on the cross." There was something wrong about Ed's answer, it was almost disingenuous. Ed was clearly hiding something.
"Report, Vulpes." Caesar stated.
"Mighty Caesar, Nipton has been destroyed. I enlisted the aid of two profligates to inform the rest of the Mojave of what happened." Vulpes began. Most of the report was just details on how Nipton was destroyed, but there was something interesting towards the end of the brief. "One of the profligates, a man my sources tell me is called Morris, told his companion that when he informed me that he admires the purity of the Legion that he was lying. However, I have reason to believe that in itself is a lie. I believe that he truly believes in your teachings."
"Oh? Tell me." Caesar stated.
"The man seems to hold a grudge against the NCR, considering he was imprisoned by them in his time of great need." Vulpes explained. "He had arrived in the Mojave without any memory of who he was, or his origins, and the NCR chose to arrest him for failure to cooperate with authorities."
"How did he arrive in the Mojave?" Caesar asked. "It could be pertinent to his reasoning for hating the NCR."
"He arrived in a vertibird." Vulpes answered. Well, this was certainly interesting. Only two groups possessed vertibirds in this day and age, the NCR, and the Enclave.
A/N: Sorry for not updating in awhile, got writers block. Fortunately, I found a solution, and I should update somewhat regularly. Incase it wasn't obvious, Eddie will be siding with Caesar and Clara someone else, most likely NCR. I'm not sure if I'll have them do a big duel at Hoover Dam, or something else, but I'll get there. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. That's it for now, hope you enjoyed, and have a great day!