Gate: Nuclear Legion (Rewrite)
Hello everyone. I decided to try and redo my previous story, Gate: Nuclear Legion and hopefully improve on the story. As such there will be a lot of changes but some things will remain the same.
Bit of a warning. There is a graphic depiction of injuries to the feet due to long walking. It's described in detail and can be disgusting. Similar thing happened to me and it also acts as a little PSA on how to care for your feet if you're in a position of wearing boots or walking for long periods of time. Bottom line, take care of your feet.
The Courier was making his way past the no mans land that surrounded the recently taken Camp Aradesh. The Camp was centered on a large hill overlooking a plain all around its perimeter and a large mountain range just north of the area. At the very center of the hill was a large medieval looking magical gate, probably something you'd expect to read out of a bad Grognak spinoff. It was massive, probably the size of a prewar building that has had yet to crumble after two centuries of disrepair. Intricate designs and symbols covered the ominous gate, probably telling of religious beliefs or ceremonies that no one could decipher.
Surrounding the hill, working around the clock like ants building a colony, was the newly minted "NCR 1st Combat Infantry Division (1 CID)". Previously the NCR was unable to field organized units much larger than a few Battalions in a conflict. However, 5 years after what was known as the "War of the Bear and the Bull", the NCR was finally able to organize their forces into the largest army the world had seen in the past two centuries of rebuilding this nation. Word was, the NCR was also in the process of organizing a second infantry division, especially with the prospect of this new region that has been discovered.
The region in question still has yet to have an official name. All anyone knows is just outside the main capital of the NCR, a gate appeared with strange mutants and Legion looking soldiers pouring out. The number of soldiers far surpassed anything the NCR could muster. At first it was believed that this was a counterattack from the now defeated Caesars Legion, however it was quickly discovered that whoever this was, it was far different from the Legion. The metal working was far too advanced for the modified salvaging that comprised the main weapons and equipment of the Legion. Additionally, the first scouts into the area reported a world untouched by radiation. The wealthy and powerful in the NCR were quick to organize and potentially harvest the resources of this new land.
The Courier himself was even called to service. Although officially never a member of the NCR, the war veteran was occasionally requested by the NCR for their more dangerous and difficult missions due to his exploits during the war with the Legion. Although many in the NCR were weary of his allegiance, after all, he played a large part in securing New Vegas for Mr. House and caused a massive blow to the NCRs potential wealth in Nevada. Despite this however, the Courier was seen as a huge asset and was more than willing to work with almost anyone as long as he was paid.
Due to travel times, the Courier missed the initial conflict with the Legion like enemies that now littered the battlefield surrounding the Camp. It was an impressive force, their numbers were ten times greater than the whole of the NCRs military. However there is only so much that can be done when facing prewar howitzers and Vertibirds. From what the Courier was told, the battle was decisive. The few casualties the NCR took was during the initial crossing of the gate, when the enemy was close enough to close the distance with their swords and spears. However, once the enemy took enough casualties they broke and retreated off the hill. They launched a massive counterattack the next morning, but by then the NCR had dug in enough to be immovable. The Courier didn't need to know more then that as the past few days caused the stench of the battlefield to answer any question he had.
The Courier was currently walking south from the Camp along a small dirt road. About a mile or two down the road were already stationed members of the NCR Rangers. Their campaign hats and trademark armor made them very easy to pick out from a distance. While they were masters of camouflage, this form of early recon allowed them to remain in the open. They set up a checkpoint along the road that doubled as an observation post. To his right the Courier could see another outpost made from sandbags just on top of the hill, a single NCR Ranger equipped with a bolt action rifle overlooking the forward area.
One of the Rangers noticed the courier and walked over to him. The Ranger had his rank displayed on the collar of his fatigues, just barely poking out the top of his armor. He had a mustache that connected to his sideburns and left the chin shaven. Outside of the armor he was probably relatively thin, not exactly what you would expect from the elites of the NCR, however physical strength was only a small part that made a soldier great.
"Courier 6, We've been waiting for you to show up." The Ranger said with a slightly displeased tone. The Courier was still a very controversial figure in the NCR. "Captain Jackson, NCR Rangers Detachment 1134."
The Courier knew what that number meant. 1st Ranger Regiment, 1st Battalion, C Company, 4th detachment. 1st Ranger Regiment was where a majority of the Rangers served. Of the two regiments that Rangers served in, the 1st was considered the only one that could fight on par with enemy conventional units. Although, their primary mission was still special operations and long distance recon. The 2nd Ranger Regiment was oddly enough only a third the size of the 1st. While a detachment of Rangers in 1st Regiment made up of 20 NCR Rangers, only 5 made up a detachment in 2nd Regiment. This was due to the 2nd Regiment being comprised entirely of veteran Rangers. Only after 20 years total service in the NCR, with 10 years in the Rangers, could a man expect to serve in the veteran Ranger Regiment. Although the Regiment itself could never fight against a similarly sized unit of conventional forces, they made up for that in being the best at unconventional fighting. Not even the Green Berets or Navy SEALs that stood against the Chinese in Alaska were able to match a veteran Ranger man for man.
"Captain, nice to meet you." The Courier replied. "I'm assuming this is as far as the NCR has explored?" The civilian mercenary asked.
"Yes it is." The Ranger replied. "We have Veteran Rangers on their way from the capitol to relieve us and push forward, but at this time you'll be the only NCR citizen to view beyond the horizon here." He said. The Courier didn't intend to take anymore of the Captains time. Clearly he did not like the idea of a civilian being allowed to do what a Ranger should be doing.
"I'll take my leave then." The Courier said as he readjusted his NCR issued Rucksack.
The Courier normally stayed light when it came to his weapons and equipment. For this he made an exception. He wore simple kaki pants with prewar riot gear that was gifted to him by the Commander of the 2nd Ranger Regiment for his service to the NCR. Outside the Rangers, only the Courier wore prewar riot gear. Overtop of the gear was a simple brown coat that only went just past his hips. The Courier never liked how the classic Ranger Trench Coat impeded his movement so he decided to buy his own that was much shorter. The desert Ranger helmet and gasmask he found during his time with Joshua currently stayed connected to his rucksack and bounced with ever step he took. The rucksack itself was a newly developed piece of gear that was issued to NCR troops. Before this new development, NCR troopers only took what could fit in their pouches or personal bags, but now the NCR had the funding to standardize equipment. It was brown in color and based off of the prewar Alice packs that was issued to the former US Army.
The Couriers weapons were also simple as well. A Marlin Lever action 45-70 repeating rifle along with a simple 357 single action revolver. The Courier was considered to be one of the best marksman's in the wasteland, though you'd never hear it from him.
The Courier marched his way to the east, continuing to follow the dirt road that extended before him like a snake on a grassy field. The air was almost difficult to breathe. For his whole life, the glorified mail-man would walk the lengths of the wasteland, going to areas so irradiated and polluted that most men would suffocate in minutes without protection. Even in areas considered "Clean", the smell of radiation was such a constant that no one even really noticed.
However, the air here burned his hardened lungs for no other reason than for the first time he could breath clean air and his body interpreted it as a poison in itself. The initial push into the gate caused a medical nightmare as a third of the entire NCR force was having difficulty breathing due to the pureness of the air. However, after a few days soldiers were able to fully recover and return to duty.
The Courier banished those thoughts from his mind. He took up his rifle and kept it shouldered, prepared for anything from a wild animal, to a potential enemy. The only times he rested was to take notes of the environment in his journal.
The Couriers legs began to feel the familiar burning sensation of being overused. The half moon light allowed him to travel for most of the night on foot, so as not to impede his progress. He had marched this way for nearly a half a week now, taking only 4-6 hour sleeping cycles during the night. He could already feel the telltale signs of blisters on his feet and knew that his shoulders were red from the wear of carrying a rucksack the entire time. Outside of occasionally having to use his rifle to kill and cook an animal, the Courier did not run into any people or monsters that tried to kill him.
The wide open plains quickly transitioned into a forested area that severely limited his line of sight. He could only see on average about 30-40 meters around him and that was through the vegetation and dense trees. It was something the Courier has never seen before and had no experience navigating. His outfit was dirty after tripping on the sticks and roots that littered the forest floor, making him annoyed on top of his normal fatigue that set in on long journeys like this. But the main problem was he went off the dirt road and could not get back.
The Courier, for the first time in the life he remembered, was completely and utterly lost.
The Courier sat down on the log of a fallen tree and carefully took off his NCR issued boots. While it provided great ankle support, the boots were tough and caused blisters to form on his feet. His socks were covered in holes from the long journey. His big toe poked out from one of the holes, with the outside of it callused from the long journeys he took. Bits of dried blood covered the sock as his blisters began to slightly bleed due to the irritation.
Taking off his socks, he applied a disinfectant cream in order to prevent infection on his feet. After it was covered in the cream he let his feet dry out so as not to get trench foot from keeping moist feet in boots for too long. While they dried he replaced his old socks with a dry pair that he had yet to use since it was issued to him. After his feet were ready he wrapped some bandages around the damaged areas and replaced the socks and boots. Once he felt that the boots were tied tightly, but didn't cut off circulation, he stood up and continued his way.
Suddenly the Courier's excellent sense of smell caught something in the air.
"Human flesh, freshly burned." Suddenly flashbacks of western Vegas hit him hard. He remembered a 9-iron golf club hit his face. He remembered the irritation of ropes on his skin, the screams of women unlikely enough to be captured by the Fiends. Most of all, he remembered the sound of a Brahmin as a flamer cooked some poor person, with him being next...
The Courier shook his head to rid himself of that traumatic memory. The cold sweat on his forehead started to move down into his eyes. He wiped it with the back of his gloved hand so as to not be distracted right now.
After taking a few deep breaths, the Courier started to make his way to the smell. It was maybe 100 meters to the east of his position. He moved slowly, allowing the tan and browns in his uniform to aid in his concealment in case of a potential Legion like enemy showed itself.
The tree line that lead into the open clearing was unnatural. It was created by the burning down of the surrounding trees. Some embers still burned, allowing him to judge that this was a recent disaster. The few man made structures around the clearing informed him this was likely a village before it was destroyed. The occasional burnt corpse surrounding the houses, adopting poses that clearly showed they were alive during whatever killed them. The Courier knew this wasn't a natural fired. The way the people died, even in areas that wouldn't be touched by a natural fire, informed him this was likely from a flamer of some kind. Whether the jet of fire was manmade or beast made, the Courier did not intend to stay and find out what did this.
"We've got a live one here!" Someone screamed in a language the Courier did not recognize. He immediate got behind one of the structures in order to block the line of sight of whatever made that noise. He didn't know if this was the one who caused this devastation or more survivors. He'd have to get closer in order to get a better look.
First Lieutenant Yoji Itami sighed as he sat down near the HMMWV that was currently their makeshift ambulance. Sergeant Fist Class Kurokawa Mari was currently looking after the poor elf girl. She was slightly annoyed with the conversation himself and Private Kurata had about being excited about Elves in the special region. It also didn't help that they talked about beast girls and other Manga inspired fetishes. Although a fan of Manga herself, Kurokawa was not into harem or fan service based Manga like the two men were.
"Sir." Kurokawa called him as she stepped out of the truck.
"Yes?" He asked. She stood tall and straight, he slim figure almost seeming to get crushed under her armor that was probably a size too big for her. Despite this she still carried herself with the grace of a woman and showed an expression that could be considered motherly, despite being prepared for war.
"The girl seems to be fine. She has a minor bump on her head but other than that she's completely fine." She reported with barely a moment of hesitation in her breath. She was considered the best medic in the company, which would explain why she was a Sergeant First Class at the young age of 23. Although she's not a doctor yet, she is nearly done her degree and will soon be able to practice once she leaves the JSDF.
"That's good to hear." He said. Itami, despite being happy about the potential of elf girls, cat girls, or any other kind of fantasy girls in the Special Region, he was grateful the poor girl is ok.
"What should we do now sir?" She asked, hoping that they would return to Alnus. "She'll need proper medical care..." Itami knew what his subordinate was getting at.
"We'll continue with the mission and try and find if there is a village we can leave her at." Itami replied.
Kurokawa smiled slightly. Although she would rather treat the girl at base, she's glad that the Lt. was placing the young girls welfare ahead of the mission by slightly deviating from their goals in order to get her where she needs to be.
"Sir." Sergeant Major Kuwahara called the young Lt. over.
Sergeant Major Kuwahara was a old man who has seen his fair share of military service. Having spent 30 years in the JSDF, he was a rough kind of man. The wrinkles on his face always seemed to make him frown, even when he smiled. Every soldier in the company feared him when he got mad, yet he was also a quiet and humble man.
"What is it Sergeant Major?" Itami asked.
"I've got a feeling... a bad one." He said as he readied his weapon. Most of the other soldiers were lazily walking around, trying not to look at the corpses that littered the small village. The Sergeant Major was the only one who looked like he was ready for a fight.
"What is it?" Itami asked.
"I haven't had this feeling in a while... not since Iraq." He said.
"Wait WHAT?!" Kuribayashi yelled when she heard that. "What do you mean you were at Iraq? No JSDF goes there." Itami knew she was mostly right.
"Not anymore. But we did back in the day." He replied, not keeping his eyes away from right in front of him. "The Japanese Iraq Reconstruction and Support Group back in 2004."
"But weren't you all in non-combat zones?" Itami asked the old man.
"Officially, but reality tends to be different than theory." He replied. Itami saw that the old man started to sweat slightly. The Sergeant Major never got spooked, even during the initial push. With him being the only member in the Division that had combat experience, he was pushed with the front even as the rest of the recon element stayed away. "Last time I felt like this was in Iraq."
"Men, get a perimeter going!" Itami yelled and pointed at all his men.
With barely any real experience, the rest of the soldiers quickly got in a circle around the convoy. Despite their training, they moved with very little purpose of precision. The Sergeant Major noted they looked nothing like the Australians he served with during his time in country. They were probably letting their nerves get the better of them. He remembered how the Americans and Australians moved when they were in combat. They almost flowed along the battlefield. Even when a soldier was hit, their precision made them almost appear as gods of war.
A slight movement caught the Sergeant Majors eye. It was barely visible, but he was sure he saw movement behind the collapsed house in front of him. He motioned to his young Lt. and Itami took notice. Itami decided to move forward with the Sergeant Major at his back. Weapons drawn. Kurokawa and Kuribayashi moved a few meters behind them as well. The Sergeant Major normally would have yelled at the young medic for her decision to put herself in harms way, but any loud or sudden movements could be their deaths.
As Itami rounded the corner, the Sergeant Major tried to inform him of his mistake. Normally when going around a corner you keep yourself away from the edge so as not to be taken surprise by the enemy closing the distance. However the Lt. moved too close. The Sergeant Major would have yelled at the young man for his mistake, but was unable to due to the sudden attack of an enemy combatant.
In moments a brown blur jumped from the corner and grabbed the Lt. He positioned his body in a way that Itami was between himself and the rest of the Recon Team. The older man raised his rifle and was about to shout at the attacker, but was surprised as Itami was pushed into him, causing both soldiers to fall to the ground.
Kuribayashi was quick to react due to her hand to hand training. She charged the assailant and tried to engage him hand to hand. However, despite her aggression the man was able to catch her rifle that was jammed towards him, and spin he around so her back was to him. To her credit, the 24 year old Sergeant managed to elbow his face from behind, dazing him for a moment. However, even as she struggled he tripped her with his leg and slammed her to the ground. The attacker looked around for a moment, likely judging who he could attack next. His eyes landed on Kurokawa, who in the heat of the moment froze and didn't even shoulder her weapon.
Although the entire Recon Team were trained as infantry, Kurokawa never got that kind of training. As a medic she was expected to stay away from combat and only occasionally shot during ranges or qualification. Even with the poor standards of infantry training that the JSDF have compared to other NATO nations, Kurokawa had none of it. The Sergeant Major knew the attacker recognized this and targeted her for that reason.
Kurokawa was easily taken down by the assailant. In a moment she was on her knees with him behind her, and an arm around her neck and a type of old western revolver pointed at the rest of the Team. Everyone froze up, half of the team didn't even have a weapon drawn.
The pregnant silence that followed was unbearable. This man managed to take 4 JSDF soldiers down with hand to hand before they even had a chance to react. Even Kuribayashi, the best Hand to Hand soldier in the unit was taken out. His revolver was pointed at them, with a rifle slung across his back with what appeared to be an old US backpack. He was dressed in a weird kind of armor that was concealed under a coat. A steel helmet on his head with the English words "Forgive Me Mama" on his head and a strange gas mask with green eyes staring right at them.
Kurokawa, despite being a brave and strong woman, was terrified at the moment. She never imagined that she would be in such a compromising position. Nothing about the JSDF was supposed to actually be dangerous. Even in the Special Region, the odds of a soldier getting closer then their effective engagement range with a rifle was almost laughable. She prayed that she would not be dead once all of this was over.
Itami stepped forward, intending to try and diffuse the situation.
"I'm assuming that since you haven't shot us yet you're wanting to talk." Itami tried in English. It was a gamble, but if the helmet did say something in English, hopefully this man would be able to speak it.
"That's a strange accent you got there friend." The man replied in perfect English. Itami was unable to fully tell since his English wasn't the best.
"We're with the JSDF, conducting operations sanctioned by the UN." He recited. "We are not looking for any hostilities with you and request that you release my comrade and let us continue our mission." He tried to plead.
"Can't do that friend." The man said. "Seeing as how i was walking along and see what appears to be a freshly burned down village and a group of armed men and women walking around like they own the place." He gestured the gun around. "Now I don't know what kind of sick raiding outfit you're with in this place, but I'll make sure you meet you're God in the afterlife." He said as he aimed the gun at Itami.
"WAIT!" Kurokawa screamed, finding her voice. The man shifted for a moment to look down at her. "We didn't do this... we swear." She tried to reason with the man.
"Oh?" He replied sarcastically. "So I'm assuming that some other highly equipped group of people did this. This area is freshly burned, and the only ones capable of it would be you. The people here don't look like they used a flamer on themselves."
"Listen, we got here just the same as you." She said. "It was some kind of dragon that could breathe fire. We showed up to render aid to these people. We have an injured woman we're nursing back to health now." She tried in a desperate attempt to plead their case.
The man seemed to consider this. He couldn't tell exactly what the masked man was thinking, but Itami hoped that he would see reason. If he was trying to protect these people then hopefully they can prevent an incident and try and be friendly about this.
"Place your weapons down." The man said. Itami motioned for them to lower their weapons, with the rest of the recon team did with a bit of hesitation. "That's not down." The man said again more aggressively.
"That's as far as I'm willing to trust you, considering you still have a gun pointed at us." Itami said with conviction. The masked man seemed to consider this and nodded.
He released Kurokawa and stood up behind her. The young medic was unable to stand up after her near death experience and sat still for a moment. All parties looked at each other, waiting for something to happen. With a single motion of his arm the man placed his revolver in the holster on his hip. He walked around the frightened woman and offered his hand to her.
"Sorry about the ma'am." He said politely. "Hope you're alright." He offered his hand and with some hesitation she grabbed it. As if she weighed nothing he hoisted her up to her feet, making Kurokawa squeal slightly at the surprised pull on her arm. She was tired, embarrassed and needing a stiff drink after all of this.
"So you're not going to kill us?" Itami joked.
"As long as you lot don't try to kill me." He replied.
"Agreed." Itami, weirding out the rest of the team, walked up to the man and shook his hand. "Mind if I ask, who are you with? We've never seen anyone in the Special Region with guns." Itami noted the mans arms and equipment.
"Courier number 6, New California Republic." He replied. "And you?"
"First Lieutenant Yoji Itami, of the Japanese Self Defense Force." He replied, then quickly added, "New California Republic? Like the state California in the US?"
"Wait a moment." The courier backed off. "You said Japanese, like the old world country of Japan?" This brought a confused look from everyone.
"Old world?" Kurokawa replied.
"Wait a minute, what's an American doing here? NATO didn't send any troops yet." Kuribayashi replied angrily.
"NATO?" The Courier asked. "Weren't they disbanded before the war?" This once again surprised everyone.
"What war?" Itami asked.
"Everyone shut up!" Kuwahara yelled, silencing everyone. "Clearly, we're not going to get anywhere with the questions. I'm assuming this man here is not from the Special Region, so how did you get here?" He asked seriously.
"Men dressed in Legion like armor attacked just outside of the NCR Capital." the man replied. "NCR being the New California Republic. They came through a gate. Long story short, the NCR sent troops through the gate to occupy the other side." He replied.
"You mean there's another gate that you came from?" Kuribayashi asked.
"Guessing you guys came from a different gate." The Courier asked.
"Yes, it opened up in the Ginza district of Tokyo, Japan." Itami replied. "Pretty much the same. Those Roman looking guys attacked and we pushed them back. Now we occupy our gate."
"Fascinating." The courier replied. "So how has Japan survived after the war?"
"What war?" Kurokawa asked.
"The Great War. Did Japan have vaults similar to America?" The Courier inquired.
"There was no war, unless you're talking about World War Two." Kuwahara replied. "What year is it where you're from?"
"2286." The Courier replied, much to the shock of the JSDF.
"It's 2016." Itami replied.
"Interesting, so that would be almost 60 years before the great war." The Courier replied.
"That's the second time you mentioned that. What Great War?" Kurokawa asked.
"Much of what happened was lost after the war." The Courier replied. "But in the year 2077, the Chinese Communists and former United States got into a nuclear conflict after the Chinese defeat at Alaska. The world has been a nuclear wasteland since." The Courier explained.
"What is the NCR?" Itami asked.
"A collection of settlements that originated from Shady Sands. Currently the largest nation known in the wasteland and the best chance for humanities revival... once you get past all the prewar like corruption and bureaucracy." The Courier replied. "Guess it's not all that dissimilar to prewar America in function."
"We'll have to report this to the General sir." Kuwahara told Itami.
"I'm aware." He replied.
"I'm assuming you're a recon element." The Courier guessed.
"Recon Team 3, so you're correct on that." Itami confirmed.
"Excellent, hope you don't mind if I get a ride with you. Vehicles in the NCR is still relatively new." The Courier said.
"Sure, we have no problem with it." Itami said.
"Sir, if I may." The Sergeant Major pulled Itami away, a sour look on his face.
The Courier knew exactly what the conversation was about. As green as these soldiers are, only the old man was able to deduce his plan. The Courier intended to find out as much as he could about this JSDF. If what they said was true, this would complicate a lot of things for the NCR. While the Courier wasn't fully supportive of the old bag of bones that ran the country, he did have some patriotism for the idea of the NCR. While much of his former life was lost, he knew he did at least originate from the NCR. Even if he didn't always act in the best efforts to support the NCR, he'd ensure they were well informed of this potential threat.
The woman who the Courier had at gunpoint stared at him with a cautious look. No doubt terrified of what he was capable of. The other woman looked pissed off and glared at him. Why exactly he could only guess. She did get him good and probably would have knocked him unconscious if he didn't put on his mask. His normal headache returned once again after that blow, though some med-x later on would cure that. He internally laughed as the two women stared at him. He'd always joke he had this effect on woman. He was no lady killer and would always seem to push women away. Although he's dated before and had a few flings, he was never able to pick up any woman he wanted like some men he knew. Especially since they all seemed to flock towards Boon, who had no interest. Maybe he should just brush them off next time he was at a Casino.
The man in charge and older guy came back over. The old man had a sour look on his face. "We'll let you accompany us for the time being." Itami said.
"Sounds good, always wanted to ride one of those trucks." He said.
Itami went over the Convoy brief and made sure all the trucks were ready to continue on with their mission. He had to repeat himself in English for the Courier. He informed the Courier that they would move to a village the passed by earlier, Coda Village, and would inform them of the potential dragon threat. They put the Courier in the truck with the unconscious elf girl, who was also going to be looked after by Kurokawa.
"Damn." The Courier whistled. "She's a looker, strange ears though." He laughed. He also heard Kurokawa huff.
"Let me guess, all your fantasies of Manga come true?" She asked.
"No clue what a Manga is." The Courier smiled. "But I did read a few old Grognak comics back in the day. Not as good as Silver Shroud in my opinion though."
"Grognak?" Kurokawa asked.
"Like I said, old comic from before the war. Though the latest chapter ended on a cliffhanger. Dated to release the next one November of 2077... and then the war happened." The Courier laughed.
Kurokawa sighed and muttered to herself in Japanese. Almost reminded the Courier of Cass when she got irritated. Then again Cass and Kurokawa were nothing alike. Cass would probably call her "The very definition of a New Vegas Virgin".
"What are you looking at me for?" Kurokawa asked.
"Sorry, reminded me of a friend of mine." The Courier replied honestly.
There was a moment of silence before Kurokawa looked at the Couriers legs. She stared at them for a moment longer, making the Courier very uncomfortable.
"Something caught your eye?" He asked.
"Take your boots off." She said as she looked up at his masked face.
"Come again?" He asked, a bit confused at the request.
"I can see you're walking with a slight limp earlier, and they way you sit is favoring your left side." She said. "I want to examine your feet." She said seriously.
"I think I'm good lady, all the walking I did recently would probably smell worse than you can imagine." He said honestly.
"I'm a Medic, I'm used to bad smells. But you need to take care of your feet." She sat straighter than before, daring him to argue.
"Look Doc, I've had worse." He argued.
"I get it." She said. "You're a man and have to be strong in front of us women, but being tough is no excuse for being hurt and not taking care of yourself." She moved in front of him and motioned for him to follow her orders. The Courier glared behind his mask and nodded.
He started with his left boot and unlaced it. He gritted his teeth as he pulled the boot off his foot, feeling his blistered heel rub on the unforgiving leather. After removing his sock he let the Doc take a good look at it.
If she was disgusted by the smell she did a good job of hiding it. Between the cream and days of walking his feet were messed up. Blisters were located everywhere that the leather rubbed on his skin and part of his big toe nail was missing. The Courier never liked people touching his feet, it always grossed people out due to how damaged they got from his life on the road. Especially since for most of his known life he used alcohol as disinfectant.
"You have to stop popping these blisters." The young Medic said. "It'll cause infection and could result in your foot getting amputated." She replied as she checked over his damaged feet. "You've kept them dry as much as possible, that's good. No signs of trench foot as of yet." She said. She pulled out a bag that had medical supplies in it and started to disinfect his feet. She then took a strange kind of sticky bandage and applied it to each blister. "Keep this Moleskin on, it'll help to keep your boots from rubbing on the blisters."
After she was done with that foot, she switched to the other one. She carefully bandaged his foot up with moleskin and set it down just as she did with the last one. The Courier finished lacing up his boots before the Medic started to get closer to his face.
"Remove your helmet and mask." She almost demanded.
"Why?" The Courier asked, slightly confused again by her sudden brashness.
"Kuribayashi is a strong fighter, I need to check to see if you have any injuries." She said with finality. "I can also see your slow responses throughout our conversation, meaning you likely have a headache or concussion." She reached for his mask.
"Listen lady, I'm fine ok. I don't need any kind of check up." Kurokawa shushed him.
"You need to have a full check after what happened." She said again.
"Look, I tried to kill you earlier. Shouldn't you be mad or something?" The Courier asked since he was genuinely confused. While most people didn't hold grudges in the wasteland due to how savage day to day life is, it's very uncommon for two enemies to quickly care about each other, even after hostilities ended.
"I'm a Medic and soon to be certified Doctor." She said. "I can not in good conscious let someone who is injured go without at least a check up. Even if you were an enemy, everyone deserves medical attention." She said with conviction.
"That's a strange way to look at it Doc, not many people in the wastelands are so generous." The Courier said.
"Well, this isn't the wastelands. In my home we have a certain amount of respect and care we give to people. Regardless of who they are." She pointed to his mask again. "Now please remove your mask so I can give you a proper check up."
The Courier decided to relent and take his mask off. He undid the straps around his chin that kept his helmet to his face and let the old desert ranger helmet fall to his side. He then removed the straps around the back of his head and let the mask fall next to his helmet. A slight cough escaped his lips as the fresh air hit his lungs again but other then that he looked the Medic right in the eyes.
Kurokawa, he could tell, was slightly taken aback by his scarred face. Two scars on the top left of his head showed the spot where he took two bullets for his last real delivery job. Although the bruise on his left cheekbone and slightly miss shaped nose was a new addition, thanks to the large chested woman in the other vehicle. Despite her slight hesitation, the doctor got to work fixing his face. She applied some cream to the bruise which he assumed would help to heal the injury.
"I need you to hold still as best you can." She said as she touched his nose.
"Why would I need to AHH!" The Courier pulled away after hearing a large crack on his face. He roughly pushed the Japanese Medic away after the surprised pain. "The Fuck!" He yelled as he felt his now tender nose.
"It's easier if I just reset it." The Doc simply stood up where she was pushed and looked over his face again. Clearly she was unaffected by being roughly shoved. "Looks straight enough now, be careful with touching your face as your broken nose will need time to heal."
"You done?" The Courier asked with a bit of agitation.
"Yes, you can go ahead and brood in the corner now." Kurokawa laughed slightly at her own joke.
The truck was again filled with silence. The headache from earlier was getting worse for the Courier now, especially after having his nose re-adjusted. Truthfully, he was grateful to the Medic, but he didn't really want to express anything towards her. He's normally very untrusting after walking the western wastelands of the US for pretty much most of his life. Taking another look at her, the Courier did admit she was cute. Her oriental features paired nicely with her caring and almost motherly demeanor. He couldn't help but think that she would die quickly if she was in the wasteland, or her personality would change drastically after all the horrors she'd experience.
It made him think, was she really from a world untouched by radiation? Even in this "Special Region" as they called it, he had yet to really meet anyone who was outside their own gate. Truthfully, he didn't know how to react to someone as innocent as her. Especially with how she basically forced him to take her charity.
"I'm curious." She started. "How'd you get those scars." She pointed to his head, indicating that she wanted to know about his bullet wound.
"Guess you could say my last delivery job went bad." The Courier laughed slightly. "Then again, I only really remember what people told me. I don't know much about what happened, or anything before then. My earliest memory was waking up in a doctors bed after the attack." The Courier honestly didn't feel too bad about what happened. How can you be traumatized when you don't even remember what happened?
"Do you get frequent headaches?" The Doctor asked. The Courier was slightly surprised, normally people asked specifics on the event. Not whether or not he had long term effects.
"Sometimes, though Med-X clears it up most of the time." The Courier responded.
"It must have been tough where you're from." Kurokawa remarked.
"You get used to it. Honestly, life on the road is the way to live in my opinion. I don't know who I was before, but I like who I am now." The Courier said honestly.
Kurokawa smiled at that, glad that the Courier at least came to peace with how his situation was. The following silence was somewhat comfortable as the truck made its way to continue the JSDF scouting mission.
Well, after so long away I decided to give this another shot. Hope you guys like it. Obviously there are a lot of differences but I intend to keep the main themes the same. There will still be conflict between the JSDF and NCR, but not as overt as my last story. The world building will also be a little slower as apposed to an info dump at the beginning.
Also, a little PSA. If you're in a position that requires a lot of walking, especially in boots, take care of your feet. The things in this story were medically accurate as long as you follow Kurokawa's advice. Dry your feet often, apply moleskin, do not pop blisters, and change your socks. Otherwise infection, trench foot, or other bad injuries can happen. I've seen it and it's not pretty.
Please review and give criticism. I'll listen to everything lol.