Rex woke up a few hours later and sat up in his bed. He grabbed a half-smoked cigarette from the ash tray to his right and lit it with the small lighter in his mechanical hand. After fishing his pip boy from the mess of clothing at his bed side Rex stood and crossed the room to where a small safe sat buried under several thick books. He spun the dial and the safe popped open with a hiss as the pneumatic mechanisms released.

Rex grabbed a small roll of leather and unrolled it on his bed. The leather parcel was filled with a neat row of syringes each containing a dose of a different medicine or chem. He took one syringe filled with a deep red liquid and a syringe of med-X out and stripped off his dirty shirt. He injected the med-x into his neck first and then injected the other syringe into the area around his mechanical arm.

Pain spread through his body emanating from his left shoulder as he tensed letting the pain flow. Rex forced himself to take deep breaths as the pain shot through his body, and when it passed Rex wiped the sweat from his forehead. He rolled the leather syringe kit back up and stowed it in the safe before stripping his clothes off and entering his small bathroom.

After washing up and getting dressed Rex left his home and walked out into the now shining Strip as the Ultra-Luxe and the Tops lit their neon. He walked past the big casinos and the lucky 38 to the Freeside section of the city. Rex prided himself in seeing many people walking the strip, he had worked with the kings to make Freeside just a nice as the strip even going as far as demolishing the gates between the two sections of New Vegas.

Connecting the two halves of New Vegas had been harder than anticipated considering the stigma created between those who operated within the inner strip and all those who lived in Freeside. After the construction bots cleared most of the rubble and repaired the roads and buildings people had a new respect for the area. Some of the more predatory business owners had attempted to force Freeside's residents to stake their own claim of the newly prime real estate.

A small-scale street war had erupted when the remains of the Omertas and their allies started trying to run the citizens of Freeside out. Rex and the Kings struck a deal; He would provide extra security for the people of Freeside and help them find jobs if the kings "encouraged" the many chem addicts to attend rehab at the new hospital built just to the south of New Vegas. So far it had worked wonderfully, Freeside's crime and chem addiction was down and the varieties of businesses new and old were flourishing.

Of course, there was still crime and addiction, but New Vegas was growing into one unified city. Commerce and community had done wonders to the city though. What had once been ruin and desolation was slowly being rebuilt into homes and businesses. New Vegas was truly living up to its reputation as the Jewel of the Mojave.

Rex began his usual walk he took when he couldn't sleep watching the variety of people as they walked passed enjoying the lights and sounds of the Strip. Soon he made it into Freeside and entered the Atomic Wrangler where he saw several of the Normandy's crew drinking, gambling, and generally enjoying themselves.

He saw the scarred merc sitting at the bar drinking straight from a bottle of rum, a bald tattooed woman angrily yelling at a slot machine, and the hulking turtle creature was arm wrestling a super mutant on the stage. Rex had allocated each crew member five hundred caps from the high roller budget so they could enjoy New Vegas, and hopefully keep them on the strip.

James Garret sat behind the bar wiping up spilled alcohol generally looking shifty.

"What's been going on with our new arrivals?" Rex asked walking over to the bar.

"Apart from a strange look or two they fit right in"

"Thanks" Rex says before taking a small leather sack from his duster "Make sure the people know that there's nothing to worry about with our special guests".

James opened the sack and stowed it under the bar before nodding and pouring Rex a glass of scotch

"Of course chief; here's a drink on the house". Rex waves the drink away and lit a cigarette before walking over to the cashier's cage and changed out three hundred caps for chips.

He sat down at one of the black jack tables, and as the dealer dealt he examined the tattooed woman as she angrily yelled at a slot machine. A bald woman wasn't exactly rare in the wasteland considering the heat and various parasites like lice; what he found interesting was her multiple tattoos. Tattoos from the wastes tended to be crudely done or asymmetrical; these on the other hand were well done. They covered her mostly exposed upper body with an intricate mosaic that Rex found Interesting.

Rex watched as the woman clinched her fists and punched the machine as if she expected it to break with a single punch. A harsh CLUNK rang out as her fist collided with the machine and she recoiled in obvious pain for a moment before regaining her composure. Rex laughed audibly at the spectacle causing the woman to look toward him with a look of intense anger in her eyes before stomping across the room to where he sat.

"You find something funny fuckwad" The woman said slamming her uninjured hand onto the table sending the cards and chips flying.

"Yes, I find it amusing when people try to punch solid metal" Rex said blowing a puff of smoke into the woman's face unimpressed by her tough façade. In response, she grabbed Rex by the collar and pulled him out of his seat and with her face inches form his she asked in a more of a growl than actual words:

"You lookin to get the shit kicked out of you, carrot top?"

Rex scowled before grabbing the woman's arm with his mechanical one and twists causing her to release her hold before he flung the woman backward. She yells out and rushes again only to meet the barrel of Rex's gun; she straightened and laughed.

"Well what the fuck are ya gonna doe now big boy, shoot me?"

"No, I was thinking of buying you a drink" Rex said putting the gun away before gesturing to a server "Get the lady whatever she's drinking".

The server looked to the woman who threw an empty bottle of vodka over to her before turning back to Rex.

"First you point a fucking gun at me and now you wanna buy me a drink if you wanted to fuck me you should have just asked" The woman said laughing harshly looking Rex up and down "I might have let you after you picked your teeth up off the floor"

"I assure you my intentions are entirely pure" Rex said as his cigarette depletes and he took another from the pack in his breast pocket.

He lit one before offering one to the woman which she took and lit with a small lighter obviously taken from one the wrangler's servers as it bore the Wranglers logo. The server returned and the woman snatched the bottle from the woman before popping the cap of with her finger and taking a deep swig.

"Alright then thanks for the booze" The woman said placing the bottle on the table and sitting down at the blackjack table.

Rex collects his scattered chips and hands to them to a random gambler before leaving the gambling area only to find Veronica entering the building with ED-E floating behind her. Rex walks over to the pair and said:

"I thought you hated the night life, Veronica"

"Not here for the gambling; we have a situation" Veronica replies as she handed him a scorched piece of paper.

Rex examined the paper for a moment before recognition crossed his face.

"Where was this found?"

"It was found in the tunnels on the outskirts of the city; one of the patrols found it amongst other burnt other documents" She replied "What do you want to do?"

"Call the ambassador and get him here ASAP" Rex said as they left the old casino with Veronica and ED-E close behind.

/

Rex sat at his desk sending trails of smoke floating to the ceiling. The charred document sat on his desk alongside fragments of other documents recovered in the tunnels. He looked over the documents checking to make sure that he was correct. Unfortunately, he was.

The NCR maintained an Embassy beyond the Mojave Outpost along with a small garrison of soldiers. After trade resumed between the two nations Rex had been abundantly clear that no NCR soldiers could enter the Mojave unless they were on leave or escorting diplomats. Ambassador Crocker was fired soon after the Hoover dam and the Mojave were lost and he was replaced by a man named William Renly who was appointed by the NCR's president personally.

He was a corporal who served on the Dam who earned honors for fighting off the Legion before Rex forced the NCR to retreat. He had been a tough negotiator for the NCR combining tactical instinct with a silver tongue. Renly had gained a reputation as a hard ass whenever Mojave citizens or policies were involved.

Renly entered the office all bravado and confidence. He was a tall man with a filled-out figure that spoke of years of military service. His walk was one of utter confidence but the way he moved through the dim office reeked of a causal level of preparedness.

"You know I love these late night diplomatic calls, but couldn't this have waited until morning Mr. Craster" Renly said taking a seat in front of Rex's desk.

"Unfortunately, this matter couldn't" Rex said standing up and tossing one of the paper scraps to the diplomat.

He walked over to a cabinet next to his desk and unlocked the largest drawer. Rex drew out a small camera like object and placed it on his desk before sitting down. Watching Renly examine the paper with a stern poker face, as he did Renly eyes would flick between the large scrap in his hand to the others on the desk and then to the device before returning to the paper scrap.

"You know what that is don't you?" Rex asked tapping a few buttons on the device "That is a fragment of a common NCR intel packet with scout notes and movement all over it dating back a few weeks. We found these documents in the tunnels under the city; after a Legion killed squad used said tunnel to stage an almost successful attempt on my life."

"I hadn't heard, but I will make it my priority to discover where this leak of information came from in a quick and efficient manner to help bring this mole to justice" Renly said placing the paper back on Rex's desk and stood up "If that's all then I really should get back to the embassy"

"Sit the fuck down" Rex said with a hint of barely restrained animosity "You're going to tell me why you gave legionaries Intel about the tunnel system beneath New Vegas or you won't be walking out of here alive".

"How dare you, I am an ambassador for the NCR, and I don't have to take your accusations or your threats" He turning to leave just as Rex flicked another piece of paper onto his shoulder. Renly took the paper and the color drained from his face. The paper fragment bore the NCR's diplomatic seal with his insignia underneath "You know I told those legion idiots to burn those documents thoroughly"

He turned and looked Rex in the eye before saying "I will not tell you anything even if you torture me"

"I don't believe in torture personally; if a man's in pain his perception is altered and really at the end of the day they're just gonna tell you what you want to hear" Rex said putting on a thick pair of sunglasses and pressing a button on the device sending a bright flash of green light at Renly "I prefer using this little wonder machine here; you see my friend that flash you just saw was actually a hypnotic suggestion mixed in with some harmless radiation"

Renly stiffened as a green haze fogs his eyes locking his muscles in place. Veronica re-entered the room with ED-E following behind her, and activated her power fist. Rex stood taking the glasses off and walked over to ED-E and patted the over-sized eye-bot.

"ED-E buddy, begin the records keeper subroutine please" Rex said taking a pair of reading glasses from Veronica and putting them on Renly "that should help with the vision distortion; now sit down"

Renly stiffly sat back down his gaze locked in a glare.

"Now I'm going to ask a few questions and you're going to answer me to the best of your knowledge" Rex said sitting down behind his desk before lighting another cigarette "Let's start with who ordered you to give the Intel to the legion?"

Renly visibly struggled to stop the words from leaving his lips but after a moment he spoke "General Voorhees"

"Who is General Voorhees?"

"The greatest man I know, a better man than you" Renly said visibly shaking as he tried to retrain himself "He's the only one who will do what needs to be done to better the NCR"

"Great more fanaticism" Rex said taking a draw off his cigarette "What makes this man so special?"

"The general has always stood for the NCR. Even when the damn softies stationed him on the northern front" Renly replied "If he had been in command two years ago both the legion and your dirty, barely better than a tribal ass would be in chains serving your betters you fu…." Before Renly could finish his sentence, Veronica's fist collided with his face sending the ambassador tumbling to the ground.

Rex looked to Veronica and raised an eyebrow.

"Don't tell me you weren't thinking the same thing" Veronica said wiping her fist on her clothes "Be thankful I didn't use my power fist."

"Stand up" Rex ordered taking a long drag from the cigarette as he rounded the desk as Renly stood "Now are there any other plans on my life or that would cause any trouble in the Mojave?"

"No but once he learns the attack was a failure the general will have to respond" Renly replied as blood flowed from his nose.

"Good, now lie down on your side in front of my desk" Rex ordered pouring a glass of water on the tile before before smearing it with his foot; The ambassador did as he is told and glared up at Rex.

Rex grabbed the device from the table and turned a dial on the side before placing the glasses on again and pressing the trigger. A flash of blue emitted from the device and sent a shock wave through Renly. Rex took the glasses off and placed the device in his desk before crouching down and snapping his fingers in Renly's face and said:

"Ambassador are you alright; I'm so sorry my assistant spilled water in here just before you arrived"

Renly snapped out of his daze as Rex helped him up "Um yes, thank you". Rex handed him a handkerchief and gestured to Veronica to lead him out. Veronica supported the ambassador while apologizing profusely before handing him off to a soldier in the elevator.

"Make sure the ambassador gets back to his own people after you clean him up" Veronica ordered the soldier as she handed off the Ambassador.

"Yes ma'am" the soldier replied supporting the shaken ambassador.

"Thank you Miss Santangelo, Mr. Craster should get back to me about whatever was so urgent" Renly said straightening slightly before going green and slouching again.

"Of course, I'll have someone get back to you as soon as possible" Veronica replied with a warm smile as the doors closed.

She scowled for a moment before returning to Rex's office where Rex sat at his desk staring at an open wooden box with a single syringe of bright blue liquid. Rex nervously flicked a pen between his metal fingers as he stared at the syringe his right arm nervously twitching. His sleeve was rolled up revealing the faded track marks that dotted his arm.

"You know that stuff doesn't go well with your anti-rejection drugs" Veronica said knowing what Rex was thinking "besides you swore off that stuff years ago"

"I know what it does; that's why I'm thinking about taking it again" He replied staring for just a moment longer before placing the lid back on the box and returning it to the small safe beneath his desk.

Thank you, you don't need that stuff. You're more than capable of handling anything the legion or this General Voorhees can throw at you, and besides you've got us right?" Veronica said smiling reassuringly.

Rex had never used that drug in the time she'd had known him, but he carried a dose with him to remind himself of what it made him into and from what he had told her it wasn't pretty.

"Yeah for better or worse we're in this together" Rex said squashing his cigarette in an ash tray as the sun rose behind him "Veronica, get every agent and Newsman we have in the NCR to look into the general and his followers. While you're at it send a communique to our friends to the and east make sure they can keep the territory they took from the Legion."

"I'm already on it" Veronica said. "The Newsmen are digging, and our friends have all out intel on Octavian."

"You complete me." Rex said smirking before frowning "Remember when all we had to worry about were radroaches and the occasional Deathclaw?"

"Those were the days" Veronica said queuing commands into Rex's massive super computer as she does an audio file activates.

"Come gather 'round people

Wherever you roam

And admit that the waters

Around you have grown"

"What's this?" Veronica asked raising an eyebrow.

"One of the files that Shepard woman gave us; I kind of like it" Rex replied sitting back letting the music play as he withdrew his pistol and began to take it apart for its daily cleaning.

"And accept it that soon

You'll be drenched to the bone

If your time to you

Is worth savin'"

"I like it; sounds familiar" Veronica said as the computer hummed "Who's the artist?"

"Some guy named Bob Dylan, apparently in our universe he was never popular" Rex replied as he tenderly handled each piece of the gun, and looked at the pistol's twin hanging on the wall. The barrel was bent by an explosion at the battle for the dam. He remembered the day he got the gun; the surprise and joy and the smell of smoke and ash.

The music played on as the sun rose over the Mojave and Rex not for the first time that day felt the phantom sting of a needle in his arm and the rush that came with it. Pushing that out of his mind he placed his concentration on the task at hand cleaning quickly and efficiently. Whatever the coming days held for the Mojave he would stand and face it with his friends and perhaps the crew of the Normandy if they could be used correctly.

"Then you better start swimmin'

Or you'll sink like a stone

For the times they are a-changin'"

No matter how things changed he would weather on like he always did, and Rex would rather die than let the Legion or the NCR take the Mojave from him or its people.

I do not own "Times they are a changin" by Bob Dylan (though I wish I did)