Chapter 4 - Reclaiming the Mojave
Gabriela divided the process into three phases, and all went fairly smoothly.
I - Extermination
This was not difficult with the technology from the now-exterminated Brotherhood. The hardest part was the training and building the Vegas Army. Turning hopeless junkies into soldiers was not an easy task, and it took three months rather than the two she had anticipated. But ultimately it was done. And when they had finally been deployed, very few creatures in the Mojave stood a chance to what was essentially a Brotherhood assault on the wasteland without the actual Brotherhood.
There were two exceptions. The first were the Lakelurks. They had been eradicated with some clever audio-based attacks that fried their brainwaves.
The second was Deathclaw promontory. Fortunately, she still had Euclid's C-Finder, and some careful tracking of every single Deathclaw's every move had allowed her to take them out individually over the course of seven weeks. Feeling triumphant, she ordered the construction of a small vacation home in the promontory once the Deathclaw eradication campaign was complete.
Speaking of which...
II - Reconstruction
It was such a beautiful and healing moment to see the Vegas Wall come down. Vegas was still where the rich lived, but the class divisions that dominated Vegas were gone. House didn't seem happy, but he knew better than to question her authority. They agreed on most things, but NOT everything - and she was firmly convinced that social democracy was the way to go. History books had made that clear to her. Capitalism was a known quantity in what would soon be christened the Vegas Empire, but it would be tempered by the welfare state. The Followers had enthusiastically embraced the opportunity and had agreed to rename themselves the Vegas Health Service.
It was all so beautiful.
Of course, not everything was going smoothly. The expulsion of the NCR from Mojave Outpost had caused an international incident, and Ambassador Crocker had been recalled from the Strip in protest. NCR-Vegas relations were in a deep freeze. That did not matter, because she had the Death Note and there was nothing the NCR could do against that.
After all, the Rangers of the Mojave had fallen to the Death Note in all of two days.
III - Expansion
She had decided her first big expansion would be Zion. It would be a test of her abilities to integrate people into the Vegas Empire. She planned to rule the land with as light a hand as possible, and the Vegas Health Service would soon be sending an ambassador to the Mormons to explain their plans. She suspected that they would be cooperative - freedom of religion would be guaranteed, and their biggest task would be preparing the tribals for modern civilization. She had already agreed to recognize all the tribal dialects as official regional languages.
After that? Well, everything else, of course! She suspected the Capital Wasteland would be the toughest nut to crack - but Overseer Amata Almodovar was intelligent and reasonable, and she suspected the woman would make an excellent administrator of the Washington Region of the Empire.
After that? Well, the stars, of course!
She grinned triumphantly as she downed a shot of the finest vodka Vegas had to offer in her suite.
-tcg-
"Ladies and gentlemen, the Mojave Wasteland is no more. I hereby declare the foundation of the Vegas Empire!"
The crowd cheered ecstatically. Their lives had gone from miserable subsistence to comfortable in months! And soon, the prosperity they would encounter would be almost inconceivable: as the Capital Region, the Vegas Empire would be showered in wealth.
It was a glorious day!
-tcg-
"Checkmate!"
Gabriela scowled and took another hit off her joint. "Alright, House, fine, you're better at chess than me!"
House laughed. "Gabriela..." He paused. "Please do not interpret the following in a romantic way: you are the best thing that ever happened to me."
Gabriela smiled. "Back at you, Robert!"
"Your capabilities are simply astounding. Using this Death Note, you have reclaimed and conquered the whole of the Mojave in under four months! Never in my wildest dreams did I anticipate this outcome. Words cannot express how grateful I am for your work."
Gabriela was touched. "You're the best, Robert! And don't forget, we're not done yet!"
She poured a shot of vodka for herself and toasted the securitron with Mr. House's face on it.
"To the stars!"
"To the stars!" Mr. House happily agreed.