Through the dark tunnels he ran every step echoing off the stone walls, and with every step the distance between him and the radiance lessened. He felt the others beside him running in the dark their steps in line with his own, as they ran on the growing light defined them against the solid blackness of the tunnel. Each had his face but some were older, some younger, and some had a dried layer of blood covering their sharp features. His vision returned to the radiant light at the end of the tunnel and through twelve eyes he and the other his saw the figure standing in the light beckoning them onward Her silent words echoing through his brain. What those words were he could not say but with every silent syllable a jolt of energy shot through his synapses and lit every nerve with warming light. Their feet bloody and raw they almost reached the light and just as their hands touched Her outstretched hand the world cracked and as they fell away from the light and back into the suffocating darkness. Before being consumed into the carnivorous darkness they uttered in unison "I'm sorry"

Rex woke from the dream. He sat up in a recliner in the quarters Reximus had given him. He checked a wall clock and saw that it was around nine pm. After spending the entire day with Reximus as he explained in excruciating detail how he would implement policies and rework infrastructure Rex had retreated to his quarters to rest. Lighting a cigarette Rex realized this is why Reximus was an actual threat; he had a clear mapped out goal and knew exactly how to implement it. Most of the ideologues in the wasteland had vague plan for what they'd do after they achieved their revolution. Reximus had a plan for the next century. He heard a knock at the door and made the short walk across the carpet and opened the door. It was Mirada. And she was wearing a set of very revealing Lingerie. Her body had a mature beauty to it and Rex was immediately reacquainted with Mirada's curves and cleavage. She held a harmonic disruptor in one hand and tapped the antenna before placing it on the wall.

"Mirada what…...?" he began as she planted a deep passionate kiss pushing him back into the room. He fought for only a moment before on instinct his hands began desperately clutching her body. She hadn't changed much he discovered as his hands found the suppleness of her flesh under the silk and before he knew it the lingerie was ripped from back and he felt the creamy smoothness of her skin. Her bare breasts were pressed against his chest as she continued to kiss him deeply and they fell back onto the bed. Mirada's hands ran along his stomach and expertly undid his belt. In desperation he pawed at her and pulled her against him as she wrapped her legs against him; he felt the heat in her body and remembered the fiery intimacy of his youth with Mirada. And just as she managed to undo his zipper something else flashed through his mind. Jack.

An icicle stabbed through his heart as he imagined Jack laughing and giving one of her rare real smiles. He stopped his probing explorations and took Mirada by the shoulders and gently pushed her off of him. Sitting up he cursed and stood up fixing his pants and ignored every natural instinct his body was currently assaulting him with. Mirada sat up and looked at him; her scarred face wreathed in disappointment and what looked like relief.

"I'm sorry but I can't do this" Rex said fixing his shirt and handing Mirada a blanket feeling the sliver of ice dissolve in his chest.

"Let me guess you're in love" Mirada asked wrapping the blanket around her body.

Rex looked at her for a moment and saw the knowing look her mother used to give him when she found them sneaking back from a late night "walk".

"Not love, maybe the start of it" Rex said leaning against a dresser and for just a moment he allowed himself to open up "She's crazy, violent, and foul mouthed, but she's nice to talk to and she's more fragile than she lets on…" just like when they were young Rex found it easy to talk to Mirada and soon without realizing it had talked for almost an hour. When he was done he looked to Mirada and found she was crying.

"She's a lucky girl Rex" Mirada said as the tears fell from her cheek.

"What's wrong?" Rex asked moving towards her.

Mirada raised her hand stopping him and wiped the tears away with the edge of the blanket before smiling at him "it's just nice to know that some part of my husband lives on somewhere."

"What do you mean?" Rex asked his eyes narrowing.

"Rex, the way you talk about your Jack is just like how He used to talk to me" Mirada explained as she took a cigarette from Rex's night stand and she let him light it before continuing "That bastard hasn't so much as touched me in over a century"

"What do you mean? How old are you?"

"one hundred thirty-eight give or take a few years of forced comas" Mirada said taking a long drag of her cigarette "He takes some kind of pleasure in keeping me out of stasis. I think it's whatever's left of his attachment to me honestly."

"How have you lived this long? I've heard some crazy things about institute tech, but over a century with little to no aging is a bit much." Rex asked

"Reximus killed some crazy old man and used his helmet, apparently some alien tech, to make himself smarter and extend both of our lives" Mirada said her legs dangling over the edge of the bed "the centuries have eroded what little humanity the procedure left him."

"Why are you telling me this?" Rex asked "If this is a trap Mirada let's skip to the part where you cackle and call me gullible"

Mirada's eyes locked with his and she sighed before putting the cigarette out in her arm. She didn't even wince as the burning red ember sizzled the flesh of her arm all the while staring into Rex's eyes.

"I haven't felt anything real in over a century Rex" Mirada said her eyes steely "the only good thing I've done with my extended life is keep him from doing to our daughter and Rose what he did with me."

"They aren't as old as you two?"

"They are, but the treatment he created to enhance his intelligence and extend our lives is very finite; he only has one dose left and that bastard wouldn't waste it on Penelope or Rose" Mirada explained brushing away the ash from the cigarette; the burn was already healing "He routinely puts them into cryo-stasis whenever he dosent need them. When he does need them he pumps Rose full of a psycho active that activates her killer personality, and Penelope is so groggy from the thaw he convinces her he's the one truth in the world."

"So he activates some kind of alternate personality with a drug?" Rex asked lighting his own cigarette "Is the old Rose still in there? If she is why didn't she surface when we had her locked up?"

"Yes, she is. That little girl is locked away in the heart of that viper, and she's scared" Mirada said "As for your second question he loaded her up with a bigger dose so it'd last as long as the mission took"

"So let me see if I understand all of this, I'm up against an alternate version of myself lacking any and all empathy who isn't above using his own wife, daughter, and little sister as sex incentive, a lackey, and a brain washed assassin respectively, correct?"

"Yeah that about sums up Reximus" Mirada said rising from the bed holding the blanket to her body she walked over to Rex and placed a hand on his face "Rex, you are the only one who can stop him and save Rose and my daughter" She turned away from him and grabbed the lingerie before moving to the resonator on wall.

Before she could deactivate it Rex asked "What about you? I can save you too"

"No you can't Rex" Mirada said looking back at him a profound weariness in her eyes "I learned a long time ago that I don't deserve to be saved" she placed her hand on the tuning fork and raised a finger to her lips before leaving the room shutting the door behind her.

/

Reximus sat alone in his living room waiting. AN untouched glass of scotch sat in front of him and the remains of a cigar smoldered in an ashtray. When the doors of the elevator opened he saw Mirada wrapped in the blanket step into the entryway.

"Is he satisfied?"

"Yes, I made sure he knew about the fringe benefits of your alliance" Mirada said staring blankly ahead.

"Good, sentimentality and lust; such awful things" Reximus said downing the scotch in one gulp "Tomorrow night Make sure he knows he can have Penelope as well as long as he aligns with me"

"Yes, dear" Mirada said walking forward and placing the harmonic resonator on the table "I made sure you wouldn't have to put up with any primitive noises in your recordings"

"Good, You know how I detest these lower urges of yours; go to your rooms and clean yourself up" Reximus said pouring another glass of scotch before tipping in Mirada's direction "To our world built a new"

For a moment she stared blankly at him before turning towards the bedrooms and when she disappeared Reximus allowed himself one moment of pride at how his plans were falling into place.

/

Far to the east in the heart of Vein's camped forces, a figure darted in between tents and vehicles as the Turncoat legionaries slept. The figure quietly walked up the small hill to where Vein's tent sat with six hardened soldiers guarding its perimeter. The shadowed figure stepped into the flickering light of the torches their face hidden beneath a black hood. One of the soldiers saw them and stepped forward and raised his gun.

"State your business"

The figure raised their hands and uttered "I'm here to speak to Vein"

"What business do you have with the Legate?"

"I'm here to discuss his liberation"

"Are you one of the courier's people?" the guard asked "Vein already discussed his terms with your one eyed woman."

"No, but you could say that Rex and I have a deep connection"

"What is happening Verrick?" Vein asked opening the flap to his tent. In the torch light the massive man's scarred face was almost monstrous.

"This one wishes to speak to you"

"who are you? And why have you interrupted my sleep?" Vein asked the hooded figure.

The stranger chuckled a melodic laugh and lowered the hood. A sharp beautiful woman examined them with deep grey eyes; she adjusted her long red hair and smiled at Vein:

"I'm Roxanne Craster" She said putting out a hand "And I'm here to talk to you about my doppelgangers"

/

Veronica sat behind Rex's desk flitting through battle plans and deployment notes. Her depth perception was screwed until a prosthetic eye could be manufactured, but until then she had to read files at a distance. As she worked she occasionally looked up at video feeds of work in big empty and other sites all around the Mojave as they prepared for the assault on the Legion's base. Veronica herself had spent the last three hours negotiating with Vein and going over the battle plans. They were all scrambling to prepare for the battle, mother ship Zeta was already being fitted with supplementary Laser cannons and her death ray was being recalibrated and restored to full functionality.

The attack itself would happen in less than thirty-six hours. The majority of ground forces would be made up from the turncoat Legionaries while the Mojave forces would support from the sky as the main facility was besieged. A strike team had been formed from Rex's companions and Shepard's crew and would assist in securing Rex as well as breaching the facilities walls. From the reports they were getting from Rex's brain it was clear Rex would attempt to take Mirada, Penelope, and Rose. That would complicate things tremendously, but when had Rex ever made a simple plan? Veronica leaned back and rubbed her temples and winced as she rubbed the still red flesh of her still healing face. She got up and turned to look out the window at the glittering lights of New Vegas and placed her hands against the glass of the window. Most of the people in the city were completely unaware that their leader was now a hostage of the Legion and that in less than two days the Mojave Military was going to war.

In a lot of ways, she envied that ignorance. Part of her wished, as she sometimes did when she felt depressed, that she was still just part of the brotherhood securing food. She shook her head dispelling the thought and walked out of the office towards her suite. Normally she'd crawl into to bed with Christine and try to sleep, but her wife was hard at work on Zeta retrofitting the transporters with better control systems. So with instead of going to her empty home she walked to Rex's.

The workshop was quiet and dark, and as she turned on the lights she saw the carcasses of half completed projects strewn about the room. The room was perforated with the smell of engine oil and cigarette smoke, and as she breathed it in Veronica remembered the day she met Rex Craster:

The day was hot and brutal as the Mojave sun hung above the I88 trade post like an angry eye. Veronica sat on one of the picnic tables absent mindedly fiddling with her power fist as the few traders and travelers willing to brave the mid-day sun filed through the trade post. Most were the drab men and women that made up the "esteemed" members of the local scavenger groups or gamblers on their way in or out of New Vegas. A few were fancier merchants with armed guards who barely acknowledged her existence as they resupplied at the trade post. She should be bartering for food and medicine, but the fresh air and open space always made her procrastinate. Besides, that weird kid below the over pass was always fun to talk to.

A small dust storm was kicking up to the south shrouding the roadway in shifting shade as the sands kicked up. The merchants and traders heading in that direction cursed and quietly held up in different corners of the trade post. Veronica tried to strike up conversation with a few of them, but most of them simply wanted to be left alone. She returned to her perch on the picnic table and contemplated buying an iguana on a stick when she heard an explosion followed by several gunshots. The entire trade post tensed and anyone with a firearm raised it in the direction of the dust storm. Several tense moments ticked by as the dust cloud grew and a man screamed as a green explosion briefly lit up the cloud briefly illuminating the silhouette of several robots and two more human. Then the light was gone and only the sound of the wind remained. A single figure emerged from the dust storm; a tall gaunt looking man emerged with an aloof look on his face.

He wore a leather duster, barely visible under a ridiculous assortment of packs, slings, pockets, and bottles, over a plain white shirt and a faded pair of blue jeans. Across his back was slung a large green travel pack that looked like it would burst open any second, and atop his head under a large stockman style hat were a pair of thick glassed goggles over his eyes. As he walked the duster would part and reveal the glint of two pistols on his hips. As he walked towards the outpost a loud clanging could be heard behind him and from the dust a sparking sentry bot rolled out of the dust storm and landed in a roadside ditch with a clanging thud, and as the dust gradually cleared Veronica saw that behind him strewn all about the ground were the remains of several Mr. Gutsys and on the ground the still form of a raider decked out in metal armor still smoking from a green plasma charge. Behind the man a large floating eye droid drifted lazily in circles over the remains of the battle firing a small laser into the metal of the mister Gutsys.

The man walked past the armed guards, who lowered their guns as he approached, and placed a small fusion cell on the counter of the trade booth.

"This a good trade for some road supplies for four and some lunch?" He asked, his tone detached.

Michelle Kerr looked at him a bit dumbfounded before looking at the sell and back to the man "Um, yeah this'll get three days of food and water and I'll throw in some Roasted Iguana as well"

"That'd be great thank you" The man said smiling at her.

As she prepared the goods a caravan guard walked up to the stranger and asked, gun stilled raised:

"What was that all about?"

The stranger turned to the man and regarded him with a look reminiscent of a man looking over a houseplant.

"He was lying in wait a half klick to the south probably setting up an ambush with those robots" The stranger explained as Michelle placed the pack of supplies, which the small floating robot lifted with a claw from its underside and floated away back to the south, and a roasted iguana on the counter "Thank you Miss" The stranger turned to walk away towards the picnic tables when the guard tapped his back with the barrel of his rifle.

"I'm not done talking to you boy"

The stranger placed the iguana back on the counter and slowly turned around to face the man removing his goggles as he turned. Two grey eyes stared at the man with such rage and contempt that made the guard back up a step and loosen the grip on the gun. The stranger stepped forward and let the barrel of the gun touch his chest before smiling a vicious smile.

"Go ahead shoot me" The stranger said raising his hands above his head.

The guard scowled and pulled the trigger and a split second before the gun fire the man's left knee exploded in a mist of blood. He fell to the ground screaming, and as his friends dragged him away making sure their guns were holstered, and the stranger grabbed the rifle and expertly disassembled it before placing the pieces on the counter. The stranger gave a thumbs up towards the south before turning to Michelle and said:

"Sorry Ma'am was he yours?"

"No he wasn't, he drew on you first so don't worry about it" Michelle said taking the gun pieces behind the counter.

The stranger nodded and took his supplies and roasted Iguana and walked over to a picnic table next to Veronica's. He shrugged of his pack and placed it on the picnic table and placed his hat on top of it revealing slicked back red hair and a tightly wrapped head bandage. His goggles were still around his neck and the assortment of extra bobbles were still strapped to him, and they clinked and jingled as the wind blew. Veronica looked at him with look between suspicion and curiosity and was contemplating talking to him when he spoke first:

"Nice power fist; custom job?"

"Oh, yeah I've been fiddling with it for years"

"Nice, more of a gun man myself, but I can see the appeal in being able to punch through steel" The stranger said quietly assessing the power fist before offering his hand "Rex Craster"

Veronica shook his hand and said "Veronica Sant'Angelo"

"It's a pleasure to meet you Veronica"

"Thanks it's always fun meeting someone interesting" Veronica replied before asking "No offense, but you look like you've been walking for a long time, where'd you come from?"

"Oregon" Rex said biting into the crispy flesh of the iguana "you?".

"a hole in the ground" Veronica replied "Well more a bunker than just a hole in the ground, but I think it's a better conversation starter my way."

"A bunker, huh?" The stranger said.

"Yep, but I'm not there much anymore. I'm topside most days gathering food and medicine for my family; Someone has to bring some food home you know?"

"Yeah, I know how that is" Rex said a sad look crossing his face for an instant.

"So, let me ask a question on the level" Veronica said "I ran into this weird group recently, the brotherhood of steel, what do you think of them?"

Rex looked at her for a moment before answering "Considering I'm talking to a member right now your "family" is generally harmless unless you have some advanced tech."

Veronica blinked at him before recoiling "How'd you know I'm brotherhood?"

Rex smiled and said "I didn't, it was a guess and you just confirmed it; not many people have the know how to keep a bunker running and suddenly bringing them up out of blue made it real obvious."

"I'm that easy to read?" Veronica asked.

"Yep, I assume a poker face isn't something your taught as an acolyte?"

"No it isn't" Veronica said frowning.

"Don't worry about it, and I really don't mind the brotherhood though"

"Thank you that's good to hear" Veronica said relieved "So, where you heading?"

"The Strip" Rex answered eating the last bit of meat off the lizard "returning a friends lighter"

"that's a long way to go to return a lighter" Veronica said "You must have a real special relationship to go that far"

"we have some unfinished business" Rex said tossing the remains of the iguana into a trash can before standing to leave "Stay safe out here Veronica"

"Hey, you know you're the first person I've seen who looks like he can handle himself, how about we travel together" Veronica offered "There are places I could never get to on my own, but if we traveled together I can see all kinds of new places. So what do you say?"

Rex looked her up and down quietly sizing her up before looking her straight in the eyes and saying "I'm not exactly on a leisure tour of the Mojave"

"I know, it's just I've never been to the Strip, or half of the Mojave for that matter, and you can always use another set of eyes watching your back"

"Alright you'll fit right in with my merry group of misfits just fine I think" Rex said lighting a cigarette "come on my companions are waiting for me a little to the south."

As she returned from her reminisce Veronica looked up to Rex's bedroom and saw a light shining through the small window and a figure shuffling around inside the room. Veronica grabbed a pistol from one of Rex's many gun caches, and silently crept across the hard concrete floor and up the stairs to the bedroom. The door hung open and through it bathed in the sterile light of a swinging lightbulb stood Jack with her back to Veronica amongst the cluttered mess of Rex's quarters. The place looked trashed, but Veronica didn't know if that was from Rex's general sense of chaotic organization or Jack. She lowered her gun and knocked on the door jam. Jack surprised turned around quickly a surprised look on her face.

"Veronica" she said flustered for only a moment before reassuming her usual stand offish stance "what are you doing here?"

"I'm on a walk decided to check in on Rex's house; make sure no one stole his lunch box collection" Veronica said eyebrow raised "What are you doing here?"

Jack scowled at her apparently trying to come up with a good response before slamming her fist into the wall and sighing "If I tell you, you can never utter a word of this to Rex"

"Alright" Veronica said placing the gun on a counter and sitting down in the only available chair in the room.

"I was in the Big empty, for some reason Shepard's has me monitoring Rex's brain feed" Jack began.

"Did something happen? I haven't been watching the feed" Veronica asked reaching down and fiddling with a floor panel.

"Yeah, the copy of his wife came on to him, and for just a fucking instant I was jealous" Jack explained "You know who wouldn't be, somehow that bastard gotten on my good side, but then you know I was accepting of it; we haven't fucked and it's not liked he's proposed or anything, but then that fucking idiot turned her away and you want to know why?"

"Why?" Veronica asked popping the floor panel out.

"He thought of me while she was pawing all over him" Jack said fuming.

"That's a bad thing?" Veronica asked feeling around for something in the small compartment beneath the panel.

"Yes it fucking is" Jack said scowling at her "Because most men would think of my ass or something, but this mother fucker thinks of my laugh. Then he goes on a tangent about how he might be falling in love with me, can you fucking believe that."

"SO you don't have any feelings for him then?" Veronica asked pulling a big whiskey bottle out of the hole.

Jack looked at her for a moment and then her face softened "It's not that, if I'm honest then yeah I have feelings for the skinny bastard, but that doesn't mean he has the right to love me. He only thinks he's in love; he'll get tired of me soon enough and bug out the moment he can get rid of me."

Veronica fetched two glasses from a cabinet and poured them each a stiff drink "You know Jack you're the first girl I've ever seen Rex actually enjoy being around."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Most women he puts on the mask and smooth talks them or in the case of Shepard negotiates" Veronica takes a drink and looks at Jack "You on the other hand, he actually talks to you as Rex; not the courier, not as the leader of the Mojave, and when he talks about you it's the only time I've ever seen him truly happy."

Jack downed the glass in one gulp and placed the glass back on the counter "Yeah, I got that."

"Jack He's serious about you" Veronica said considering all Jack said "If he turned down Mirada, the woman who has been at the center of his redemption fantasies for the last decade, for you then he may actually be in love."

"God damn it" Jack said pouring another drink and gulping it down.

"So, you trashed his place because he said he might be falling for you?" Veronica asked.

"Yes, if you hadn't guessed I'm kind of a crazy bitch" Jack said flipping her off before eying the tattoo on Veronica's arm "What's with the tat?"

"A reminder; My family, the brother hood attacked a convoy because they were transporting a Pre-war laser weapon to the NCR, and they killed three people two adults and one kid" Veronica explained.

"Oh shit that's serious" Jack said "Uh sorry for bringing it up"

"Don't be it happened a while ago" Veronica said "I'm not the one who has to make peace with their actions. Rex had to prevent an incident with the NCR and ran them out of the Mojave, after that they split up and I barely hear from any of them."

Well, I think we need a fucking toast" Jack said raising her glass "To old baggage and new beginnings"

They clinked their glasses together and gulped down their drinks

/