Over the past several months the White Legs were mercilessly attacking other tribes, completely wiping out others in their brutal attempts to conquer Zion for Caesar. It was late morning by the time word got back to Joshua about the attack on the Tar Walkers' camp. Although they didn't have any interaction with the Tar Walkers and none of the New Canaanites knew much about them, except from word of mouth from the other tribes that they were a peaceful people who helped the Dead Horses and the Sorrows many times over the years, Joshua and some of the other men from camp organised a party to help deal with the situation.
"Joshua, wait! You can't just leave without supplies", Mary chased after him with a bag loaded with dried food and emergency med kits.
"Thank you, Mary,", Joshua squeezed her hand and hastily slung the bag over his shoulder.
"I wish I could come with you", she said, a pleading look in her beautiful eyes.
"I couldn't live with myself if anything happened to you", he shook his head and placed his hand lovingly on her cheek, "Promise me you will stay with the rest of the New Canaanites, that you'll stay safe".
Mary nodded, kissing the inside of his palm before wrapping her arms around him in a tight hug, "Only if you promise to come back".
"I always do", he pulled away slightly so he could kiss her, "I'll be back before you know it".
"I'll hold you to that", she nodded, reluctantly releasing her hold of him and watching him join up with the other men. She stood for a few moments, watching the men hastily follow the two Sorrows tribesmen into the distance, feeling a hollow hopelessness spread through her.
'It wasn't supposed to be like this' she thought sorrowfully, making her way back to her duties in the settlement. It felt as if every week they heard about another White Leg attack and listened to new and horrifying details the various peaceful tribes people would recount about the loved ones they lost and dealing with combat injuries that would make the most hardened soldier's stomach uneasy. She walked back into the settlement and sat down at a bench near the main fire pit in the centre, an exhausted sigh escaping her as she placed her head in her hands. She was tired; tired of feeling anxious and stressed all the time, tired of seeing innocent people suffer, and tired of having this fear every time Joshua went out with the men to help the tribespeople out. Last time they lost a man, not during the fighting but on the long trek back to the New Canaanite settlement of all things. What kind of future was this going to be for her and Joshua… for all of them?
"Mary, are you alright?" Dawn's voice called behind her some feet away, making her jump. She was so engrossed in her own thoughts that she didn't hear her mother in law approach.
"I'm fine Dawn… Just worried", Mary answered, bracing herself for the dialogue that was about to unfold. Whenever Dawn noticed something was going on, whether that was drama with the neighbours or a topic she had a strong opinion on, she was prone to begin a mild ramble on the subject; but this time she simply sat down quietly next to Mary and visibly slumped in her seat.
"Are you alright Dawn?" Mary turned to her with concern. It wasn't like her to react this way.
She looked off into the distance where Joshua and his team could now barely be seen making their trek, and shrugged slightly.
"I'm worried too".
Despite their differences, in that moment Mary's heart ached for her mother in law.
"They'll be back", she nodded and put her arm around Dawn's shoulders, "Joshua always does".
"Hmph", Dawn gave Mary a weary but mischievous smile, "You're right. He's a smart man… Smart enough to know what'll happen to him if he doesn't".
"He'll have both of us to answer to", Mary chuckled together with Dawn, happy that at least one of them was feeling a bit more chipper. Both women sat there for a moment appreciating each other's company before getting back to their duties around the settlement; Mary had several patients to tend to with minor ailments and Dawn had her own work to deal with. With much work already piled up for everyone, Mary hoped that keeping busy would help keep her mind off her worries.
It was late evening when the Dead Horses decided to call it a day, but Ash couldn't bring herself to get ready for the evening's rest. She sat in solemn silence on a small bench at the foot of their hut in the Dead Horses camp after tucking Gael into their bed, her eyes fixed on the path Aelius and two of the other tribesmen ran off in. The only thing that brought her some measure of comfort was listening to the soft breathing of her son.
Aelius and the others had been gone for over ten hours. Ash didn't understand how the other members of the Dead Horses were taking this so well when all she wanted to do was pick up her gear and head out to track Aelius down. One of the tribeswomen, Smiling Flower, noticed her tension and came to sit next to Ash.
"Ash, you not sleep?" she asked in her soft voice.
Ash shook her head and gave Smiling Flower a smile, "I can't… Not until he's back".
Smiling Flower's gaze turned to the path, then back to Ash, "Do not worry. It is a long journey… Will take many hours of travel".
"I know, but… it still doesn't help", Ash exhaled and pulled a blanket over her shoulders, "I wonder how you do it".
The woman looked at her quizzically, not knowing what Ash meant.
"Your companion, Walks Without Sound. He left with Aelius as well, didn't he?" Ash asked.
Smiling Flower gave a timid nod and Ash could see a worried longing in her features in the bright light of the moon
"You must be worried about him too".
"Hmm… I worry. But he's safe. Aelius safe too", she gently touched Ash's shoulder, giving her some much needed comfort.
"I wish I was as confident as you", Ash chuckled quietly so as not to wake Gael.
"If you believe, it is true", she answered with a smile.
"I hope you're right", Ash exhaled and sat in silence with her shy visitor for a while longer.
Sometime during the night Ash felt her head nodding off as her drowsiness almost overcame her, but she kept herself awake. It was almost dusk when the noise of gravel stirred under heavy feet some distance away and roused the camp to their feet. Ash held her breath in and her hand on her .45 pistol secured to her belt, listening to the sound of the steps grow nearer. As the footsteps rounded the corner and their frames became illuminated by the light of the torches evenly spaced by the path leading into the camp, Ash felt an immense sense of relief. It was Aelius and the two other tribesmen making their way back, but they brought company with them. When they neared the camp Ash saw the familiar bandaged wrapped figure that was her cousin Joshua Graham, followed by four other New Canaanite men.
'What is he doing here?' she wondered curiously, checking up on her sleeping son before silently walking up to the group that had gathered to welcome the men back.
"Hoi! Welcome brothers. What news do you bring?" Follows Chalk greeted them when they arrived.
Ash saw Aelius's shoulders slump and he shook his head, "We were too late… There are no survivors from the Tar Walkers tribe. We tracked down the White Legs that were responsible and eliminated them. While tracking we ran into Joshua and his men; we joined forces to defeat the enemy", Aelius answered.
All of them looked about ready to collapse with exhaustion and the Chief of the tribe dispersed the group of people that had gathered around to see and hear the news, allowing the men to get back to their camps and rest for the night. Tales of their journey and efforts will have to wait until the morning. Once Aelius thanked the two other tribesmen for accompanying him on the long trek, he turned and caught Ash's concerned gaze
"I'm glad you made it back", Ash said in a hushed tone when Aelius approached, "And you brought company with you".
Aelius's attention turned back to Joshua and his men, who were being given temporary sleeping accommodations for the night at the other end of the camp.
"Yes… I was as surprised as you when I saw them", he exhaled.
"What were they doing there?"
"The Sorrows spread the word about the Tar Walkers to the New Canaanites. I guess Joshua had the same idea I did".
"To go off running into the middle of the canyon lands looking for trouble?" Ash prodded him. He could sense the amused sarcasm in her tone, and a pang of guilt hit him.
"I'm sorry", he placed his arm around her shoulder as they walked back to their hut, "I shouldn't have lost my head like that".
Ash shook her head, "There's nothing to be sorry about. I know you just wanted to go and help the innocent. It's one of your more endearing qualities", she wrapped her arm around his waist.
They quietly entered their hut and to Ash's relief Gael was still asleep. She curled up next to Aelius on their straw and cloth bed, taking comfort in feeling the warmth of his body next to hers.
"You had us pretty worried today", she whispered to him and felt his arm wrap around her back and waist.
"I know… I was worried too", he whispered back.
"Can't believe the Tar Walkers are gone… Were there really no survivors?"
She saw his head shake in the dim light.
"It was a grim sight when we arrived".
A silence spread between them as Aelius' mind drifted to the memories of the gruesome sights he saw that day.
"I'm glad you bumped into Joshua", she sighed and drew closer to him, wrapping one of her legs over his, "Even though we don't see eye to eye".
"Me too", Aelius exhaled, "He and his men will make their way back home in the morning. It's too dangerous to traverse the path with no moon out tonight".
"Mhm", Ash sighed and nodded sleepily, feeling herself drift off into a calm slumber, "That's good". With Aelius back and unharmed, her mind was now at peace and the adrenaline and stress of the day, along with constantly fighting the urge to go out on a wild chase to track him down herself, was a distant memory. Sleep quickly came and Ash surrendered to its warm and tranquil embrace.
Aelius smiled, thankful that he still had her and Gael to come back to. He found himself thinking about the Tar Walkers and how even though they lived in a relatively well protected site, they were all gruesomely butchered in the blink of an eye. Though surrounded by streams, traps and steep rock faces that were impossible to climb over without suffering severe injuries, the Dead Horses camp was in a less protected area than some of the other tribes they encountered. His gaze fell to Ash resting next to him, who was now sound asleep, and Gael tucked under his fluffy Big Horner hide blanket; and he felt a tightness in his throat and chest as his mind went down a dark path imagining a White Leg attack on the camp, butchering everyone he held dear. Hot tears rolled down the side of his face and he clenched his jaw, gulping down the bitterness of that thought and trying to push it out of his thoughts so that he wouldn't wake his family. All he wanted to do was keep them safe, and with the growing attacks from the White Legs tribe he couldn't help but wonder whether moving out of the New Canaanite settlement was the right thing to do…
Morning came swiftly and it was time for Joshua and his men to be on the road again. Sitting up in his sleeping bag with a pained groan, he stretched his back, shoulders and arms, feeling and hearing his joints crack.
'I'm getting too old for this…' he thought sombrely, longing for the days of his youth when he could lay asleep on the hard ground without suffering the next day.
The morning was cool yet pleasant and the early golden light of the sunrise bathed the camp in its glow. Some of the Dead Horses were already awake and preparing the morning meal, silently immersing themselves in their early morning routine.
Joshua was the first to wake from his group, though his companions Hank and Dell soon began to stir. He gracefully freed himself from his sleeping bag, packed it neatly back into his rucksack and dusted himself off. His white shirt had turned to a light dusty beige and his bandages needed changing, but he was no worse for wear from they adventures the other day.
A tribeswoman noticed him fussing over himself and wandered over with a fresh bowl of morning broth for him and his fellow companions. Joshua accepted her kind gesture and thanked her, setting the bowls down on a felled tree that acted like a bench nearby. His gaze wandered over to the hut where he saw Ash and Aelius disappear in the night when they arrived. After the fiasco of a family discussion that spurred their move to the Dead Horses tribe over three months ago, he wasn't surprised that she avoided him. The memory of the events and some of the unkind words he said that day rushed through him making him wince.
"You okay there Joshua?" Hank asked several feet away, almost making Joshua jump in surprise. He was so engrossed in his thoughts that he didn't notice his comrades were already awake and getting ready for their journey back.
"Yes, fine", he answered plainly, not wanting to go into details. He wondered whether Ash was awake and whether he should try to initiate a dialogue with her when he saw her. He decided to wait a little longer to give her time to wake, but by the time he and his group were done with their breakfast broth and finished packing their belongings there was still no sign of Ash. Joshua's shoulders slumped slightly in dejection as he realised he would be leaving without saying his peace.
'Another opportunity will surely arise in the future, when we are both ready', he thought.
Joshua and the men gave their thanks to the tribesmen and women of the Dead Horses for allowing them to stay the night. Before they left, Joshua turned to Smiling Flower, one of the tribeswomen he heard Ash was close with.
"Good morning Smiling Flower", he bowed his head slightly in greeting, "Have you seen my cousin, Ash?"
Smiling Flower's gaze darted from Joshua to Ash's hut and back, "No… She stay late in the night… Must be still sleeping".
Joshua figured as much but he wanted to make certain he didn't miss her by any chance.
"Could you give her a message for me?"
Smiling flower nodded and smiled happily.
"Please tell her that… her mother misses her, and Gael. It would mean lot if she could visit us soon".
"I will give your message Joshua", the woman smiled up at him and bowed her head in respect.
Joshua thanked her and paid his respects to the Chief before he and his men left the camp on their trek back home. At a steady pace it would take them approximately two hours to reach the outskirts of the new New Canaanite settlement, and Joshua couldn't wait to be back. Mary and Dawn were probably worried sick by now, wondering what was taking them so long. It was times like these that Joshua wished he had a portable radio with him. Shortly after they set off, Joshua caught sight of Aelius hunching over something in the rippling stream.
"Carry on, I'll catch up in a moment", he told his companions as he made his way down the precarious slope to the edge of the stream. Aelius didn't seem to notice, or if he did he didn't seem bothered to respond.
Curious to find out what the man was up to, Joshua decided to wade into the knee-deep waters and find out for himself.
"I wouldn't come into the water if I were you", Aelius voiced his warning.
"Why ever not?" Joshua asked curiously and did as Aelius suggested.
When he was done with whatever was keeping his keen attention under the water, Aelius stood back up, stretched and pointed to various locations in the stream, one of which was about a foot away from Joshua.
"I've been setting up traps. I don't want us to be caught off guard should someone decide to surprise us".
"You're referring to the White Legs", Joshua gave a nod of approval, "It's wise to be prepared in times like these. Thank you for sparing me my legs".
Aelius grinned and nodded in appreciation, "I apologise I wasn't at the camp to say my farewells", he said as he made his way carefully towards Joshua, making sure he didn't step into any of his traps.
"No apology necessary, you're doing what I would have. I do have something that I wanted to say…"
"Of course", Aelius answered, folding his arms across his chest.
Joshua hesitated for a moment feeling slightly awkward with having to speak to Aelius without Ash around, a man he didn't know well himself. With everything that had happened, he didn't have much of an opportunity to get to know him, though he hoped that with some time that could change.
"I wanted to speak with you and Ash at the camp before I left, but with Ash still asleep and you out here working there wasn't a chance to speak my peace to the both of you. I just wanted to apologise… for everything. We're sincerely sorry to the both of you for not making you feel welcome… That is not the way family should treat each other. We hope you can forgive us".
Joshua's words were unexpected and it took Aelius slightly aback.
"Oh… Thank you. It means a lot to hear that from you", Aelius answered awkwardly, feeling a weight lift off his chest.
"Good. Well… I hope we get a chance to see you sometime soon. Mary and Dawn have been asking after the both of you… And you and I haven't gotten to know each other in the time you've been with us. I hope to remedy that".
"Of course. We will", Aelius nodded, shifting on his feet from the awkwardness he felt having this conversation. He'd never had a dialogue that lasted this long with Joshua, much less one where he showed interest in interacting with him. Although it was somewhat unexpected to see this side to him, it was a much-needed improvement compared to their past and it gave Aelius optimism for the future. "I will forward your message along to Ash. I'm certain she'll be glad to hear it".
"Thank you, Aelius", Joshua nodded in gratitude, "Stay in touch". With that, Joshua waded back out of the stream and with a final wave goodbye started his trek back home.
A deep rumble emanated through the cavernous high ceiling in the depths of the Dam, making the ceiling lamps shake and flicker. Olivia worked furiously with the other engineers, trying to keep her mind focused on her work and trying not to think about what horrors were unfolding above; she knew if she did it might paralyse her. The war for the Dam had been waging for over a day with no sign of abating; in fact, it sounded as if things were going from bad to worse.
Communication with command was limited as everyone was occupied with their own tasks, and only pertinent information was being relayed between the engineering crews and the soldiers. Right now, there was another problem with one of the turbines.
"God damn it! We've got another turbine locked!" one of the engineers called from the controls on the platform of the upper level.
"We're on it!" Lt. McDermott answered, organising her team to head down to the turbine rooms and deal with the problem. A locked turbine could mean anything, from structural failure to a physical blockage that prevented the machinery from operating; they wouldn't know what they were dealing with until they physically examined the machinery.
Olivia grabbed her tool belt and quickly followed the rest of her team down the stairs to the turbine chambers. With the metal stairs heavily rusted and a couple steps missing, the trek down was treacherous on its own. It was good timing that they managed to install new flood lights down there before the attack commenced.
The team approached the groaning turbine and everyone took their stations.
"What's the problem?" Lt. McDermott called out to her team.
"It's jammed from the inside alright", one of the engineers grunted as he struggled with a stiff valve, "There must be something in the pipes that's wrapped itself around the turbine fans. I won't be able to budge it from here; we need to open it up and extract whatever is blocking it".
"Alright, I'll send message up top for this turbine to be shut off", the Lt. nodded and radioed her orders to the team above them and within a few short moments they could hear the rushing water stop and turn still. Without wasting any time, the same engineer opened up a hatch on the side of the large pipe, releasing a flood of water at their feet.
"Oh! God that's cold", another engineer flinched back as the water splashed on their torso soaking them through.
Olivia took her flashlight out and climbed up inside the large tube to see if she could find what was the problem.
"I think I found something", Olivia called out, "There's some metal wiring wrapped around the turbine blade".
"Wiring?" McDermott asked with a confused expression, "Where the hell did that come from?"
"I don't know, but if we don't get this out, we've effectively lost a turbine", Olivia shook her head and grabbed a pair of wire cutters from another member of the team and shuffled her way deeper into the tube.
"Lt. we got another one down!" she heard a man's voice on her commander's radio echo in the chamber.
"Son of a-" McDermott didn't finish her curse before snapping her radio back up and giving instructions, "Turn it off and send another repair team to deal with it. We're busy down here!"
"Yes ma'am!", the voice responded, and they didn't have any further interruptions.
"Need a hand?" the engineer that opened the hatch asked. Olivia tried to remember his name; there were so many teams and personnel around that it was hard to keep track.
"Sure Thomas, if you could come in a bit further and hold the light"
"It's Theo", he answered.
"Oh…", Olivia felt a wave of embarrassment when he corrected her. She wondered how she could be so bad with names.
"Close enough though, I had someone else today call me John", he smiled at her.
"I'm sorry… usually I'm quite good with names", she blushed as she got back to her task, "Hard to keep up with so many new people around".
"Yeah, know what you mean Olivia", he affirmed, directing the bright light from the torch at the turbine so she could see what she was doing.
"The fact that you've remembered my name makes my excuse moot", Olivia laughed awkwardly.
"Well, I'd say it's more that you're more memorable than other personnel here".
His answer made her pause and she felt her face flush; luckily much of her face was covered by a bandana in an attempt to keep herself from breathing in all the dust and detritus floating in the air. She focused back on her work and within a few moments was able to free up the turbine.
"Done. Close it up", she said as she crawled out of the space.
"Alright, turn it back on guys", Lt. McDermott radioed to the team above them, receiving a confirmation almost immediately. The team stayed for a while listening for any irregularities in the turbines operation before being satisfied with their repair and moving back to the chamber. Soon after they reported back up they received confirmation that the other turbine had been repaired as well; but it didn't take long before two other turbines failed simultaneously with similar issues.
"I wonder if it's the Legion", Theo mused out loud next to Olivia as they rushed back down a level to the tunnels.
"What do you mean?"
"The Legion. I wonder if they're somehow sabotaging our power output?"
"How could they do that though? They would have to know exactly where the intake valves are and, even then, there is grating that acts like a filter over the intake to stop things like this from happening".
"I dunno, but it wouldn't be the first time inside information got out to the Legion", Theo shrugged keeping his voice low so others wouldn't hear.
"You mean… There have been Legion soldiers pretending to be NCR?" Olivia felt the colour drain from her face.
"It's happened before, I wouldn't be surprised if we had a spy somewhere here in the Dam. Probably someone working closely with our engineering team, or worse…in a command position", he whispered.
Olivia felt the hairs all over her body stand on end and her blood run cold. If this was true, someone needed to be notified.
"I suppose it would make sense, especially seeing as we haven't had issues like this before the battle", Olivia mused silently as they started the repairs, glancing suspiciously at the other engineers around her, "We need to tell our C.O.".
"I suspect she already knows by now", Theo looked over his shoulder to where Lt. McDermott stood out of hearing distance away from the engineering crew, her back turned to them but Olivia could see that she was speaking quietly and intensely to someone over the radio.
"I reckon that's command now", Theo grunted as he removed the turbine cover and he and Olivia watched the two other engineers as they quickly got to work.
"We should still tell her", Olivia's eyes narrowed as she tried to think of what they were going to say.
"Not going to change anything, but it's your call", Theo whispered back and resumed helping the other members of their group.
Olivia looked back at the Lt. who seemed to get more agitated with every passing moment. Theo was right, she was their C.O. and she more than likely knew what was going on here; but Olivia couldn't shake the voice in her head telling her to speak up none the less. Once the repairs were complete, she decided that she would approach the Lieutenant and speak with her privately.
Drew tried to blink the tiredness out of his eyes as he looked down his scope. The battle had been raging for two days with little respite to be had. He hated to admit, but from his vantage point it looked as if the NCR's defences were weakening. The sniper battalion had to be even more vigilant in their efforts to keep the Legion at bay, but even they had their breaking point. Command had been all over the place, breaking the sniper battalion into several teams which left between one to two personnel in each team. Although Drew understood the reasoning behind this decision, it left the 1st Recon snipers very exposed as they didn't have additional help to watch their backs. One of the sniper teams facing the main entrance of the Dam was on the brink of being completely taken out by the incessant attacks, and Drew couldn't help but wonder how long it would be until he and his team would have to face that possibility. If it wasn't for William's keen eyes by his side, they most likely would have been in the same position. But time was running out and everyone was exhausted, it was only a matter of time before one section buckled and the whole of the Legion army came pouring in.
"Got two figures coming in from the hills", William's steady voice broke Drew from his dreaded thoughts and he pulled out his binoculars to check out what was going on. Sure enough there were two familiar individuals, one wearing an NCR 1st Recon red beret and the other in full Ranger combat gear making their way to the Dam.
"Don't shoot, they're friendlies", Drew answered, feeling a grin spread on his lips.
"Those two were at Camp Forlorn Hope couple months back, weren't they?" Williams mused.
"Mhm", Drew nodded and put his binoculars to the side, taking out his radio to inform the others of the visitors, "We got two friendlies coming in from the hills. Don't shoot, I repeat, do not shoot. It's the Courier and a 1st Recon Sniper".
"Roger that", a reply came crackling in through the old speaker.
"Hmm… Wonder what the Courier is doing all the way here", Williams thought out loud as she took aim down her scope and took out two Legionary soldiers some 900 feet away with her 50-calibre rifle and watched them slump to the ground like rag dolls.
"Dunno, but last time the Courier came our way things started looking up", Drew answered happily.
"That's great Drew, but I'd appreciate it if you got back to your rifle. We got Legionary soldiers incoming", Williams answered nonchalantly as she fired a couple more shots at incoming enemy soldiers.
Drew hastily picked up his rifle and focused his attention back to defending their position and catching any of the Legionaries Williams wasn't able to pick off.
"Shit, what the…hell?" Williams pulled away from her scope, rubbing her eyes.
"What's wrong?"
"Those Legion scumbags know where we're positioned!" Williams continued rubbing her watering eyes and took a kerchief out of her pocket to wipe away the tears, "They're using focused mirrors to blind us".
Sure enough a flash of light caught Drew off guard and he winced as the bright light hit his right eye through the scope, sending a searing pain that felt like a needle pushing its way through his skull.
"Crap! I can't see a thing", he rubbed his watering eye on the edge of his sleeve.
"Don't worry, I'll get the sons of bitches", Williams replied through gritted teeth, repositioning herself so she could get a better vantage point without being blinded. Pulling her rifle up to her shoulder and looking down her scope, she scanned the area to the East where she first found the enemy. It didn't take her long to home in on her target and shoot one of their mirrors, giving out a satisfied chuckle as she confirmed her hit before proceeding to eliminate the soldiers in that position.
"Nice shot!" Drew complimented her, taking out another mirror and an enemy soldier standing next to it just before another flash of light made him wince and flinch away, "Argh! Damn it!".
"I got him", Williams reassured him, her barrel following the third enemy group and fired a series of shots until she ran out of ammunition, "Reloading".
Both of Drew's eyes were now desperately trying to focus through the haze of tears and dark patches swirling in his vision after being blinded by the mirrors. He squinted through his scope and blinked away the tears, but it was no use… he could barely see what was out there. In the blink of an eye, things went from bad to worse.
"Drew!" William's yelled and he heard her rifle fire just as the sound of a distant whistle rocketed toward them. She launched herself at him to shield him from what was coming and a split second later the walls around them and the concrete ground crumbled beneath their bodies. A suffocating darkness swallowed them both with a spew of dust and debris, and Drew felt his body go weightless temporarily as he and Williams fell two levels down before slamming into the hard ground. The hard impact forced the air out of Drew's lungs leaving him feeling a void in his chest as he tried to gulp vital oxygen back with no success.
'Calm down, calm down', he told himself, desperately blinking the dust out of his eyes so he could assess the damage. He could feel the weight of Williams' body on top of him, but she wasn't moving or saying anything. To make matters worse he couldn't feel his legs. A roaring sound above him from the crumbling concrete floors and roof that started to break away and fall around them. Unable to move or catch his breath, all Drew could do was try to shield himself and Williams with his arms and brace himself for the inevitable.
"Shit", Theo grunted as he felt his grip on the valve falter. Despite their best efforts the turbines were failing at an unprecedented rate. It was no use; the pipe was getting ready to burst. To make matters worse, another rumbling explosion from topside made the whole room shake and shower the team with dusty debris.
"Everyone out!" McDermott hollered her order as a crack in the concrete ceiling above them began to spread, her voice echoing in the dark chamber as the team rushed to the stairs, spurred on by the ominous groans of the metal pipes as the water pressure continued to build inside the pipe. Just as they reached the top of the stairs, they heard a loud explosion.
"I bet that's the panel that just blew out", Olivia exhaled, trying to catch her breath, "The chamber's gonna flood soon if we don't cut power to this turbine".
McDermott was already on it, radioing ahead for the engineers at the controls to divert the pressure to the other turbines before turning to her team to check on them.
"Everyone OK?" McDermott asked the group and received an affirmative nod from everyone in response, "Alright, let's go back up and re-group. We need to notify Command that we lost a turbine".
The team followed their Lt back up to the engineering level and to the power controls station to monitor the damage, where they found Quinn eagerly standing by to offer his assistance. They got to work assessing the damage and collating the data that needed to be reported back to command.
"Alright, it doesn't look that bad. Power output has dropped almost 20%, but we'll still be able to maintain normal operations… Though I will recommend that communication towers have backup generators on standby".
"You think it's gonna get to that point?" Quinn inquired.
"I hope not, but with everything going on it's better to be safe than sorry", she took the report and headed up the metal stairs to the communication room, followed closely by Quinn.
"We should carry on with repairs, maybe go help out the other teams", Olivia suggested to Theo, who seemed to be struggling to stay awake.
"Right", he rubbed his eyes, trying to keep himself awake, "Could sure go for a cup of coffee right about now".
They picked their gear back up and were heading down the stairs when Olivia saw two familiar figures from the corner of her eye walk through the main entrance doors to the engineering floor across the large room. It was the Courier and her sniper companion that she met at Camp Forlorn Hope. The Courier caught sight of Olivia and hurried down the steps to their level.
"Olivia, right?" Six asked excitedly, extending her hand out in a handshake as she examined her and the repair crew standing behind her. Boone stood beside her, silently observing their surroundings.
"Yeah! You remembered", Olivia grinned happily, accepting the handshake.
"Of course. You're kinda hard to forget y'know".
"What brings you to the Dam? And how did you get here in one piece?"
"Easy, we went through the hills. Was a bit of a climb to get down but it meant not going through the horde of Legionary soldiers out there", Six shrugged and placed her hands on her hips, "As for the why, we're here to help. We were told by command to come and lend you and the engineering crew a hand down here".
Olivia felt a wave of relief when she heard Six say she was here to help.
"We gladly accept any help you can offer".
With the Courier now temporarily taking over the repairs, the engineering teams broke up into multiple groups with two members in each one. This meant that instead of having two teams of six, they now had six teams of two who could be stationed at each turbine and tackle the issues as and when they arose instead of lagging behind. This did however make them more vulnerable to an attack if the Legion broke through.
'It won't come to that!' Olivia thought, trying to keep her optimism.
As the teams split up and each went to their stations to carry out their orders to stop the Legion's attempts to sabotage their power output, another wave of Legion attacks was taking place topside, threatening to topple the NCR's hold on the Dam for good.
Up at the overlook station control section in the massive turbine engineering room, away from prying eyes and ears of the profligate NCR personnel, stood a man dressed in NCR bandolier uniform observing the comings and goings of the repair crews and soldiers who were rushing to retrieve more supplies from the armoury… But he was no NCR soldier. Vulpes Inculta's steely blue eyes monitored the movements of the engineering crews like a hawk watching its prey in amusement as they scurried for cover. The information he was providing the Legion was proving effective, and the mole they had in the engineering crews managed to procure some useful intelligence. To him, the NCR was a weak and incompetent foe; the fact that the NCR didn't even catch on to the fact that they had a spy in their midst proved that. They are weak, and the Legion are strong.
A satisfied grin spread on his thin lips as he examined the information gathered. It included troop movements, assault strategies, inventory of stored weapons and their locations, as well as several copies of damning information on NCR's plans for the Mojave. All the intel gathered would be used against the NCR to take control of the Dam, bringing the Legion a significant step closer in providing a swift end to this debased and corrupt government.
"Well done", he whispered his approval of the spy's efforts, carefully folding the paperwork and placing it in the inside pocket of his jacket. The way the battle was going, the Legion was sure to win; nothing was going to stop them now.
He was about to head back to carry on with his mission when a familiar figure caught his eye below, making their way to the engineering crew.
"What do we have here?" he mused, leaning on the metal railing to get a better look at the newcomers. They were dressed in a long dark and tattered trench coat, though even from this distance Vulpes could tell from the strawberry blonde hair who it was.
'Courier… Nice of you to join your degenerate friends. Saves me the trouble of finding you myself', he thought.
Despite Caesar giving the Courier safe passage to travel within Legion territories and entrusting her with some of his plans for conquering the Mojave, Vulpes instinctively knew that she would betray him.
It wasn't a surprise to see the Courier here, in fact he was half expecting her arrival. He would have to keep an eye on her though, and if an opportunity arose for him to eliminate her then the Legion would be all the better for it. For now, he would keep his distance and focus on his duties of sabotaging the Dam's power output and collecting as much intel on NCR troop movements as he could. Once the Legion made its push to gain entrance into the Dam, that would be his opportunity to find the Courier and put her down…once and for all.
Crouching behind a concrete half wall on the Eastern side of the Dam, Aurelius waited for the signal to proceed with his attack. After being stuck at Cottonwood Cove for a few months wasting away his days and cursing himself for allowing his skills to be squandered away on camp supervision duty, he was finally back in the thick of things. Idle jobs drove Aurelius to madness, and despite only being stationed at Cottonwood Cove for a brief three-month period he was nearing the end of his patience. Unlike most men in the Legion, Aurelius was a man who relished being in battle where he could unleash all his rage and fury. The visceral brutality of killing that would normally make a grown man's stomach churn was fuel for Aurelius, and it was a quality that had helped him make a name for himself in Caesar's Legion. Now, with his plan to storm the inside of the Dam approved by Legate Lanius himself, he had the best opportunity for advancement he could have hoped for in his entire life. If he pulled this off, he would receive the title of Legate. He couldn't wait to see the look on Vulpes' face when Caesar hands him his rightly deserved promotion.
The battle had been waging for over two days and the NCR's defensive positions were beginning to falter, so much so that Aurelius could see their window of opportunity opening. The sniper nest at the top of the tower was getting sloppy and with one of the nests already destroyed some Legionary scouts were able to make it all the way to the main entrance of the Dam before being killed. They just needed to pick the right moment to make their charge…
"Stand ready and watch for the scout's signal", Aurelius whispered his order to his men crouched behind him. Knowing that a hard push was ahead of them, they were all equipped with machine guns and rifles to make quick work of any NCR soldiers that stood in their way. Several minutes later they received the signal from the scout they had been eagerly anticipating, giving Aurelius and his men permission to initiate the attack.
With the swift speed of a Nightstalker, Aurelius and his men launched themselves into their enemy with cover fire provided by the Legionary soldiers behind them. Everything around him became a blur, the ferocious killing of any NCR soldiers that got in their way with his machete as they made their advance on the Dam. He felt debris from bullets fired at them by the snipers up in their nests chase his heels, but that didn't frighten him. He pushed forward, slashing through any enemies and pushing them off the side of the Dam.
'Almost there…' he thought with satisfaction as he saw the main entrance to the Dam less than a hundred feet away and pushed his legs as fast as they could sprint. At last, they were through…
A dozen of his men survived, sticking close to their leader and waiting for his signal as they plastered themselves on the wall.
Aurelius took three sticks of dynamite from his weapons belt, lit the strings on fire and quickly tossed them inside the main entrance, listening to the panicked yelling of the enemy seconds before the blast shook the walls and blew the doors off their hinges. Taking advantage of the destruction they just unleashed, Aurelius and his team of Legionary soldiers stormed inside the base and eliminated the remaining soldiers that survived the explosions, including two soldiers in NCR power armour. With all the dust hanging in the air it was a cinch to get around their bulky armour and pull out the power cores, trapping the soldiers inside; their displeased calls for help eliciting amused laughs from the Legionaries.
"Advance!" Aurelius bellowed to his men. If they wanted to succeed, he and his team needed to take advantage of their surprise attack and secure as much ground for the other soldiers waiting behind them. As his men continued their attack inside the Dam, spreading through corridors and the sound of rapid weapons fire and screams of pain echoed through into the main entrance, Aurelius went back outside, loaded up his flare gun and fired the shot high in the sky. This was the signal the waves of Legionary soldiers were waiting for.
Victory for the Legion was now an inescapable fact.
Six and Boone worked furiously with the repair crews to get the turbines up and running. The 20% power drop was steadily increasing as more turbines became affected. If they couldn't keep the power drain from decreasing, the NCR was going to lose this war.
Drenched in water and their bodies steaming from the physical effort of their work, Six was finally able to repair the last of the turbines.
"Right… All done here", she huffed, tossing the tools she used back in their case, "Let's go back up and see where we stand".
"Hmm", Boone grunted in agreement. On their way up they met up with Olivia and Theo, who had also completed repairs.
"We're all done Six! Power output should be back up to normal", Olivia panted as they climbed up the metal staircase with a proud grin.
"Alright, you and Theo check the figures. Boone and I need to get back to the fight outside but radio us if you need any assistance".
Olivia nodded and climbed up to the radio by the controls to report back to her superiors.
"We need to nip this in the bud Boone. They can't keep having their attention drifting from fighting to maintaining power output", Six panted.
"Agreed", Boone gave a curt nod, "We should get topside to where the intake valves are and get rid of the Legionaries trying to sabotage the turbines".
"Alright. You take the left flank I take the right?" Six smiled as they started to jog up the steps taking them two at a time.
"Sure", he replied plainly, but before they had a chance to reach the exit they heard rapid machine gun fire, scuffling and yelling a level above them.
"Oh crap", Six's eyes widened in horror when she realised the Legion had broken through. She quickly turned her attention back to the engineering room floor and called out to the personnel inside.
"Everyone! Arm yourselves! The Legion has broken through, they are inside the base!" she hollered at the top of her voice, the sound echoing through the large room. Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked up at her in a mix of confusion and horrified realisation.
"Lock and barricade the doors, keep them out as long as you can!" Six instructed and the whole room burst into frantic activity, men and women running to the stations, securing the lower doors and progressing their way up.
"Let's hope we're not too late to stop the Legion", Six panted as they sprinted up the steps, drawing closer to the battle that had forced itself inside the Dam.