Rex exited the Lucky 38 and walked out into the unforgiving Mojave sun. He'd slipped on his reinforced leather duster over his plain white shirt and slightly loose jeans. After lighting another cigarette Rex looked at the main Strip. This early in the morning, the Strip was abuzz with people entering and exiting the casinos or the Mojave government building.
Shortly after the second battle of Hoover Dam Rex converted Gomorrah into a kind of town hall by renovating several floors of the old hotel into office space and meeting rooms. The Omertas had to be convinced to give the property up, but in the end, they left peacefully. Of course, they'd left with Rex's boot marks on their throats, but no one died from that deal.
Any citizen of the Mojave, or anyone seeking citizenship, went to the Mojave government building for any dispute or business deemed too small to go directly to Rex. He watched as several people came out of the building carrying new Pip-boys on their left wrists and green citizenship papers in their hands as they made their way to the trucks heading for the Mojave community they had applied for.
The path to becoming a Mojave citizen was a bit strenuous considering the applicant had to be accepted by the community in which they wanted to live before even being considered. Most new citizens worked for the farmers or ranchers in the area or one of the many factories being reopened across the Mojave until they could afford to move out of community housing into homes of their own. Many of the more down trodden complained that certain people gained citizenship faster than others; which was partly true, anyone with special skills or a trade were almost immediately granted citizenship.
Citizenship meant two things in the Mojave; number one, as a citizen, a person would be protected and relatively safe so long as they did not break any laws. Two every citizen was required to serve the Mojave in some form or another whether it be through taxes or military service. That had been an uphill battle from the start.
The very independent and hard-headed people of the Mojave objected to the taxes, at first. Soon after the roads were repaired and people started to benefit from the work Rex and his construction bots, did people relent. Even then, most only agreed after Rex agreed to a tax policy that while being strict allowed the people of the wastes ample freedoms when it came to their income.
The government building also housed the Mojave's Trader's Authority, the organization that distributed trading permits for the Strip and Freeside as well as oversaw the trade between the Mojave's neighbors like the NCR. Something Rex always found humorous.
It had only been a year since the NCR officially declared a peace treaty after months of threats, so long as the Mojave supplied the NCR with materials and goods they couldn't produce themselves. The NCR wasn't exactly thrilled about the prospect of relying on the Mojave for goods, but their uneasy peace had lasted for a year.
The Ultra Luxe and the Top's remained casinos but both were now owned and operated directly by the Mojave government with all profits going to the small nation's coffers. The chairmen and the white glove society still operated the casinos, but the Mojave government oversaw their business decisions. Rex had taken a hands off approach to the casinos, only intervening when absolutely necessary.
Rex took one last drag and threw his depleted cigarette onto the ground before stomping it out. He withdrew another from his pocket and lit it with a lighter in one of his metal fingers. He looked around at the hulking Securitrons standing guard at either side of the Lucky 38's entrance; their cartoonish soldier faces flickered between annoyance and fury every few seconds on a repeating loop.
The Securitrons truly were a marvel; armored like a tank with pulse shielding on all their circuits coupled with a variety of weapons and gadgets made the machines one of the deadliest weapons in the Mojave's arsenal. Whatever House had paid for them before the war was worth it. The mechs saluted when they noticed his gaze before returning to their silent vigil and Rex smiled slightly before returning to his usual aloof expression.
Rex took a puff of his cigarette and was about to go back into the Lucky 38 to look for Veronica when he felt the ground beneath his feet vibrate slightly before going still. Rex drew his gun and turned around yelling "Attention". The Securitrons in the area came to life summoning their brothers from around the square. A vibration rocked the ground again with greater intensity before once again going still.
Veronica exited the Lucky 38 with ED-E hovering close behind, she wore light leather armor and a saturnite fist whirred slightly on her arm. She shielded her face for a moment before looking to Rex; his normally distant expression was replaced with an expression of intense concentration. His greys eyes focused and intensely scanned the ground beneath them before falling on a small crack in the middle of the street.
The ground shook again and the pavement around the crack exploded into a maelstrom of rubble and debris. The explosion threw several bystanders flying into bushes and walls. Rex twisted around and shielded Veronica from the blast and the Securitrons flew forward taking the brunt of the blast. From the rising cloud of dust bullets flew out towards Rex and Veronica who barely had the time to take shelter behind on of the fallen Securitrons.
As the dust cleared six forms rose from the newly created hole swathed in red body armor and feathers. The Legion. Rex peeked from the small amount of cover before three of the soldiers started firing assault rifles at their position while their comrades began firing into the crowd.
"Shit, where did these guys come from?" Veronica yelled over the sound of gun fire.
"The sewers beneath the street probably" Rex replied popping open an access hatch on the fallen Securitron "I thought House had 'em sealed years ago".
"What did I say about double checking these types of things?" She replied huddling closer against the fire.
"Hey, I did check them two years ago, now quiet down and wait" Rex said as he drew out one of the Securitron's missiles and armed it.
"Wait for what?" She yelled back.
The answer came about three seconds later when the assassin's guns ran out of ammo and the fire from the three assailants stopped. In the two seconds it took to switch mags, Rex stood up and threw the armed missile towards the trio before aiming his pistol and yelling "Welcome to New Vegas". He fired and the bullet struck the missile just as it arced over the attacker's heads.
The missile exploded sending the trio flying in all directions and staggering their comrades. Rex steadied himself and focused on the three attackers. His breathing slowed and time seemed to do the same, and Rex fired three shots in a swift motion hitting each of the would-be assassins piercing their armor with each shot. He hit one in the heart, another in the head, and one in the spine.
"Oh, baby I've still got it" Rex yelled triumphantly.
When the last one fell he ran forward and flipped the screaming soldier over before ripping of the man's helmet and placing the butt of his gun to his temple.
"Who sent you?" He yelled smelling the hot metal burning the man's skin.
The man writhing in pain looked up at Rex and spat out:
"The legion remembers you Courier 6, remember that".
The man smashed his head back and Rex could hear an audible crunch before white foam spewed out of the legionnaire's mouth. Rex let the corpse fall to the ground and stood up to look at the destruction around him. The explosion had been contained to the center of the street, but had wounded several people waiting outside the government building. Soldiers and more Securitrons had already begun to arrive and were loading the wounded into trucks heading to the Mojave's Central Hospital to the north of New Vegas. Veronica was directing traffic as ED-E flew about Blaring the emergency alert:
"PLEASE STAY CALM AND FOLLOW ALL DIRECIONS FROM THE AUTHORITIES, THANK YOU FOR YOUR COOPERATION"
Rex joined the fray performing first aid on several of the less severely wounded and giving orders to the arriving soldiers. After about an hour most of the civilians had been evacuated and the debris brushed to the side. Rex had sent a unit of soldiers into the hole shortly after the attack was over and they were only just now returning. One of them approached Rex and saluted sloppily before handing Rex a crank drill.
"Sir, we found this and several other tools in the sewers where the sewers run alongside the tunnels under the strip; they must have been quietly tunneling for days to get through the concrete" The soldier explained.
"Good work, I want increased patrols in those old tunnels and make sure the Thorn's collection is secured" Rex ordered before turning around and heading back into the Lucky 38 with Veronica and ED-E following close behind.
They rode the elevator to the command center in silence. When they arrived in the command center Rex began barking orders at the assembled men and women of the Mojave's communication corps. The command center used to be the lucky 38's cocktail lounge, but Rex had it outfitted with radio equipment and linked it to the Lucky 38's computer mainframe and network allowing him to get reports from across the Mojave as well as keep in contact with his forces across the wastes.
"Alright everyone I want reports from every outpost and community in five minutes and a report from the dam in one; I want to know if this an assassination attempt or the beginnings of an invasion" Rex yelled before lighting a new cigarette "I want Boon on the radio ASAP, put Camp McCarran on alert now, and someone get a hold of Cass and Lilly"
The collected personnel jumped into action; Veronica went to work as well directing the general chaos of the room. Rex stood there waiting for the different comm lines to open, when Boone's frequency appeared he picked up the transceiver and spoke;
"Boone I need an immediate status report of the Eastern border"
"All's quit here Rex; we haven't seen anything but travelers in months" The soldier replied glumly "What the hell is going on?"
Boone and Rex (the cyber dog) led the eastern border patrol.
"The strip was attacked by a Legion team nothing too serious just a six-man team" Rex explained exhaling grey smoke "I'm sending another dozen Securitrons out to you just to be safe."
"Roger"
Rex disconnected before switching to the other line
"Raul, status of the dam now"
"She's working fine boss, what the fuck is going on out there?" Raul questioned
"There was an attack; we're just making sure everything is secure" Rex explained "make sure everything is secure and functioning"
"Can do boss; I want nothing more than to serve your will" The ghoul said with a little more than a hint of sarcasm
Rex picked up the third line and said:
"Cass are you there I need a status report now"
"Oh, hi dearie this is Grandma, Lil' Cassy is away right now"
"Oh Lilly, have there been any attacks at the Outpost?" Rex asked as sweetly as he could. Lilly and Cass led the forces at the old Mojave outpost; an odd pair to be certain but they got things done.
"Oh, everything's fine down here, but you could visit more often your grandma misses you"
"When all this is over I'll come down and we can have some tea" Rex said looking over the status reports from the other parts of the Mojave.
"Be sure to keep your Promises young man" Lilly said cutting the transmission. Soon after, the entire Mojave checked in; safe and sound.
Rex sighed audibly and rubbed his temples.
"What do you think is going to happen next?" Veronica asked exhausted.
"I don't know, this certainly isn't the first time the Legion tried to kill me" Rex said lighting another cigarette "and it probably won't be the last"
Veronica only nodded remembering the Legion's several failed attempts at taking Rex's life. Rex took a long drag of his cigarette and stared out the window and beyond. He had always wanted to hunt the rest of the legion down and end it, but since most of the leadership died in the second battle for hoover dam it was never really a priority.
The previous attempts at his life had been perpetrated by men and women who called themselves the Legion but represented one piece of a now broken empire with no real leadership or vision. This time was different though, Rex saw something in that man's eyes he hadn't seen in a legionary for a long time, Belief. The unthinking resolve to serve the legion and take your own life rather than be captured and that was scary.
He hadn't seen that since the day he beat Caesar and the NCR. Whatever came next wouldn't be good for the Mojave, but Rex stood with his army and companions ready to face whatever threat jeopardized the safety of the Mojave. He was lost in this thought when suddenly a bright flash of silver fell from the sky and seemed to sail across the horizon towards the Lucky 38. Rex barely had time to wince before the falling object turned sharply just before hitting the tower and crashed just outside of New Vegas.
"What the hell is it now?" Rex asked reloading his gun.
"Maybe it's a crashed alien ship; like in those old comics" Veronica suggested.
"Oh, come on Veronica Aliens, Really?" Rex said entering the elevator.