Summer nights in Zion were typically pleasant and jubilant times, where tribes people celebrated the plentiful bounties that the warm weather brought with it, as well as new life…but this summer was not like the ones of the past. The familiar chirp of crickets and the cackles of the coyotes were silent, the pleasant evening breeze that refreshed everything it touched was absent, and the air hung heavily around everyone, carrying with it the faint smell of smoke from the skirmishes between White Legs, Dead Horses and the Sorrows.
Joshua wasted no time when word from the Sorrows scouts came back of the White Leg attacks; with weapons at the ready and ample ammunition stored away in his vest pockets, he and Daniel helped guide the old, frail and young to safer grounds out of the Sorrows camp. Time was running out and he began to feel the familiar impatience to get to the battlefield rise up within him…but first he needed to ensure that his people were safe.
"Quickly now, this way", he ushered the neat line of people making their way down the steep slope from their dwellings in the cliffs, keeping an eye out for Mary who was yet to make her appearance; no doubt she was collecting as many medical supplies as she could carry with her. Just as the last stragglers had been helped down the last stone steps, Mary emerged around the corner, struggling with a large duffle bag slung around her shoulder.
"Here", Joshua quickly took the reasonably heavy bag from her and helped her down from the incline.
"Thank you", she panted, "I'm sorry I took so long, needed to make sure we've got enough supplies".
"That's alright", Joshua replied, watching her warily as she panted up to the foot of the stone steps and had to stop to catch her breath, "Are you okay?"
Mary nodded, hunching over on the support rail as if she had just sprinted a mile, "Yeah…yeah, just…first trimester breathlessness", she added with a smile to alleviate the worry in his eyes.
"Daniel will go with you and make sure you all get out safely", Joshua nodded to Daniel, handing the duffle bag over to him. No sooner than Mary and Daniel had begun to follow the procession of people evacuating the Sorrows camp when Aelius, Six and Waking Cloud came running into the camp and directly up to them. Panting from exhaustion and spattered with dark, drying blood, to anyone else they would have been a frightful sight; anyone except for Joshua.
"Wait!... Wait, we have the map!" Six cried out, stopping Daniel, Mary and some of the Sorrows stragglers who couldn't help but be intrigued with the new events.
Daniel approached them eagerly and accepted the map in the Courier's outstretched arm. Unrolling it, he saw the path they needed to take to reach their safe destination and a glimmer of hope sparkled in his eyes.
"Thank you! I know it wasn't easy for you to find this…we owe you a great debt", Daniel rolled the map back up tightly and secured it in his belt.
"We can't evacuate", Aelius added urgently, "The White Legs have set up traps at every path. We've been disarming as many of them as we could on our way back, but can't say for sure how many are still left".
"What?! But…we can't stay here!" Daniel's voice was brimming with concern.
"We must stop the evacuation", Six spoke determinedly, "Otherwise, many will perish on the way. We have come across a fair share of White Leg attack parties tonight. My only guess is they're amassing for a surprise attack".
Though Daniel and Mary seemed at a loss for words, Joshua knew exactly what he needed to do. He knew the tension building up between the White Legs and the peaceful tribes in Zion would eventually escalate into a war; the longer he and the New Canaanites remained in Zion, the greater the threat grew. Now was the time for him to put his skills to use, and though he was confident of his abilities, he was under no illusion that this would be an easy task. They had to strike before the White Legs launched their attack.
"Then there is only one thing we can do – we must fight! Bring every able-bodied fighters and hunters you can and meet me at the mouth of the exit", he instructed.
"Joshua wait! You cannot just lead these innocent people into a fight they cannot win", Daniel implored.
"A fight they cannot win?" Joshua repeated his words in amusement, "You really do not know me then, do you Daniel?"
"I know that whatever you're planning will mean a lot of innocent lives will be lost", Daniel approached his friend, "It would be best if we stick to our original plan and evacuate everyone".
"No", Joshua shook his head stubbornly, "Don't you see? They attacked us in New Canaan, and we fled. We established a new settlement in Zion, they found us and destroyed that too. Now, they're getting ready to finish us off. Wherever we go, the White Legs will follow. Running away now will only delay the inevitable. We will lose more people if we evacuate now than if we meet the White Legs head on and make them answer for their sins".
Daniel shook his head in disbelief, but before he could make another argument for his case Joshua turned and headed for the mouth of the camp, taking with him several strong Sorrows hunters armed with New Canaanite firearms.
"Courier, please… Speak some sense into him", Daniel implored.
Six almost couldn't bear to meet his gaze, "I'm sorry Daniel, but… I think Joshua's right. We need to fight the White Legs".
A bewildered expression crossed Daniel's face, as though he'd been physically slapped by her response.
"No…Why? Why?! Haven't you seen enough of what's going on here to see that the Sorrows don't need to butcher the White Legs for a piece of land?", Daniel tried to reason with the Courier, "What Joshua wants is more than an attack. He wants a slaughter. And he needs more than you and the Dead Horses to do it. The Sorrows can't be pushed into this. You and Joshua don't have the right to force them into it. Please, consider what I'm saying".
"And you have the right to pull them off their land?" Six countered.
"I've already explained to them that we're leaving! They've accepted it! What is Joshua going to tell them about being a warrior? What are you going to tell them about how to live with themselves after they got lost in the moment, killed someone who didn't deserve to die? Or does that not matter? Is that just an acceptable consequence if it means holding on to this valley? Maybe there is no place left in this world for mercy. But even if it tramples me into the dust, I will never accept it. And I will never condone it", Daniel retorted.
"This is the way the world is Daniel. They're part of it, whether you like it or not".
"No. This is how we made the world, and we brought it to them", Daniel replied, his tone saturated with remorse. He looked behind her shoulder at Joshua rounding up the able bodied hunters and scouts to help bring the fight to the White Legs and caught him occasionally throwing an eager glance at the Courier's way, "Joshua is waiting for you. I'll stay here with the others as I told them I would".
Despite the bitter taste of remorse building up in the back of her throat at the reaction her words had and the undeniable betrayal Daniel must have felt with the lack of support on his side, there was no time to stay and smooth ruffled feathers – the White Legs were burning everything in their wake, and she and the others had to act now to save as many lives as they could. Shifting her gaze away from his, Six gave Daniel a curt nod and jogged to joined up with the others readying themselves for battle.
Although it was early summer, a merciless heat was battering the city of New Vegas with no fresh breeze to offer respite. There was hardly a soul to be found roaming the streets in Freeside or New Vegas, with many of the area's inhabitants opting to stay in the shade of their homes or in the cooled casinos sipping chilled drinks.
It was Olivia's first week back on duty after taking some time off to help her mother, sister, and new-born nephew, and she was glad that on her first day she was given primary tasks inside the shelter of McCarran airport. This was certainly the hottest summer she'd ever experienced in her life and her thoughts sometimes drifted to her mother and sister, wondering how they were coping with the heat. Though her specialty was engineering and carrying out repairs, she was helping the administration team to re-schedule the rotas for training, security and transport and import of goods in the base. With the worst of the day's heat now preventing the soldiers from carrying out their training in the yard until the early evening, the base had to restructure their tasks and responsibilities to ensure productivity would still be maintained and avoid their personnel from experiencing heat exhaustion. Even though Olivia was doing a task she normally would have tried to get out of, she was finding the administrative work a challenge in its own right.
"How about we re-locate the training from the front of the base to the back?" she heard one of her colleagues, a young recruit who looked to be no older than 17, ask their supervisor. She was a tall pale skinned woman and though they were inside the base, she was still wearing her Stetson hat with her aviator sunglasses secured around her neck.
"Hmm…possibly", the supervisor considered his idea, "If we wait until about 5PM, the airport hangar should be better shaded".
"We might have to move dinner service from 1700 hours until about 1830 hours", Olivia mentioned, "To give everyone time to clean up after training".
"Good point, we wouldn't wanna be in the cafeteria with half the squad reeking of dust and sweat", the supervisor grinned and made the necessary change in the roster.
"Not to mention this heat really doesn't do any favours for our appetites", her colleague added with a sigh and entered in the details into the system.
Not long after they completed the changes to the training rosters, the harsh trill of the mid-day bell rang through the cavernous concrete room and Olivia could hear the familiar bustle of other personnel making their way to the cafeteria for lunch.
"Speaking of appetites, today's menu is Bighorner steak with mac and cheese and desert salad in the cafeteria", Olivia added, logging off her system and pushed off from her desk as far as the worn wheels of her office chair would allow.
"Well then, what are we waiting for?" her supervisor chimed enthusiastically, and the three of them made their way up the stairs and through the wide hallways into the open cafeteria on the first floor. As they were making their way to join the line that had started to form in front of the cook's stand with their trays in hand, Olivia felt someone rudely bump into her from behind.
"Hey!" she exclaimed, turning round to face the discourteous individual and give them a stern word of warning, but once she saw the familiar light auburn hair and warm hazel eyes that reminded her of summer, Olivia bit back her retort.
"I'm sorry Olivia", Drew apologised, sharply elbowing his sniggering friend behind him, "Dan here got over excited about getting something to eat that he forgot his manners".
Olivia's gaze flitted to the man trying to hide behind Drew and back; her instinct told her that wasn't the cause of his friend's lack of etiquette. Since she had helped Drew recover from his injuries several weeks ago, they'd not seen or heard from each other. Memories of the last conversation they had before Olivia left to help her sister and mother reared from the depths of her mind – it had been an awkward encounter with Drew admitting that he felt an attraction and affection for her. It wasn't that Olivia was blind to his wistful gazes and subtle advances, but her experience in the Legion had made her ever wary of becoming entangled in the attention men often sought from women. Even so, she offered a friendly smile to Drew and accepted his apology.
An awkward moment of silence passed between them before Drew finally asked if she'd like to join him for lunch. His words were met with barely contained sheepish grins from his friends waiting patiently behind.
"Will your…friends be joi-"
"No!" Drew answered before she could finish her question and shook his head emphatically, eliciting several grumbles of disapproval behind him, "No… they have their own table waiting for them".
Olivia gave his proposition a moment of thought and agreed. It had been a while since they last saw each other and seeing a friendly face, as well as having someone who she could speak freely with, was a welcome respite from the monotony of her day's work.
Loading up their lunch trays with the deliciously smelling food the canteen had to offer, they made their way to a single table in a corner away from the hubbub of the other hungry personnel.
"Ah! I've been waiting for this menu to come back for what feels like forever", Drew said with eyes hungrily examining the tray's contents. They were early enough in the queue that they managed to catch cook giving out the largest slices of bighorner steak smothered in a delicious smelling thick brown gravy. The smell alone was enough to make Olivia's mouth salivate.
"Same here", she smiled, pulling up a chair opposite Drew, "With the Legion and the Fiends now out of the way, supply runs have gotten a lot better around New Vegas".
Both tucked into their lunches, savouring the meaty flavours of their steak and the herbal aroma and flavours of the salad dressing combined with the fresh, crunchy texture of the salad that perfectly complemented each other.
"How are your mother and sister doing?" Drew asked after he had a few mouthfuls enough to satisfy his hunger to begin a dialogue, "Your sister must have had her baby by now?"
"They're doing well, still getting used to the new accommodations", Olivia nodded, "And the new addition to the family too".
"Got them out in the nick of time", Drew added, a slight sombre tone in his words.
"Yes… We did", Olivia replied, her thoughts drifting to all those they couldn't save.
They spent the next few moments in silence while they finished their lunch, both contemplating how and where their conversation would go.
"So… How are you doing?" Drew asked after a brief silence once they'd both polished off their trays.
"Me? Oh…good!" Olivia answered with a little forced enthusiasm in her tone, "Good… Glad to be back and help out here again".
Drew gave a dry laugh and looked around the room at all the NCR personnel, "Yeah… You kinda get used to the whole dull routine that when you're away from it for a while you begin to feel…off".
Olivia reciprocated his response with a nod and a smile, "It gets under your skin a little. I guess you're back on active duty now?"
"Yep!" Drew replied, "Back to the regular patrols outside the base and occasionally the day or night watch up on the towers. I gotta be honest, there are times when I almost miss the action with the Legion".
"Can't be that bored?", Olivia eyed him curiously. She knew that many soldiers often missed being in the field once a skirmish, battle or war was over, but she never would have said that she missed the arduous, drawn out conflict the NCR endured with the Legion. Perhaps it was because she had an entirely different perspective of the Legion compared to Drew.
Drew chuckled awkwardly, "Sometimes…I dunno, maybe it's the camaraderie that I'm craving".
Their hunger sated and feeling somewhat restless being inside the increasingly busy terminal, Drew and Olivia decided to brave the heat outside and spend the rest of their lunch break in the back of the terminal where the vast numbers of aircraft were being stored.
The heavy early afternoon heat beat down on Olivia as if it were a physical force; she tugged on the collar of her NCR uniform that felt like it was getting tighter the longer she remained outside. It was so hot that she noticed if she remained standing in one place for too long, the heat that the ground and concrete underneath her was absorbing was radiating up and into her combat boots.
"Here, there's some shade around the corner", Drew commented, wiping the fine specks of sweat that were already budding on his forehead. Then, a curious thought crossed his features, "I wonder if Vasquez fixed that cooler…", he said absentmindedly and left Olivia, leaning on the side of the cool wall of the terminal, perplexed and curious herself. After a brief moment she heard him exclaim in satisfaction and come back round the corner with two Nuka Colas dangling skilfully between his fingers. He handed her one and she was surprised to feel it was icy cold, a layer of frosty condensation already forming on the smooth surface of the glass.
"This is a treat!", she smiled, breaking the seal with a satisfying hiss and taking a sip of the cold bubbling beverage. Having cooled drinks at the base was not a common occurrence; it was seen as a frivolous use of electricity to keep drinks cold when that power could be used for more productive matters.
"I thought there were no working drink coolers in the base?" she commented, curiously eyeing Drew.
Drew shrugged and took a big swig of his own drink, wincing at the intensity of its iciness, "Not in the base, no. But some of the coolers outside have been repaired to help keep the personnel outside cool and hydrated. With the crazy hot weather we've been having, my buddy Vasquez was able to convince some of the higher ups to get a few of the coolers working."
"Are you sure we can take these then?" Olivia asked hesitantly, feeling somewhat guilty for having the drink.
"What do you mean?"
"Well if they're meant for soldiers working outside all day, we shouldn't be depriving them", Olivia answered.
Drew chuckled and reassured her that the cooler was well stocked and refilled with drinks every few hours, which relieved some of the guilt she had experienced.
"So…Has there been any news about your brother? I remember last time we spoke you were still going over the interrogations of the Legionary POWs".
Drew's question caught her off guard and she found herself taking in a sharp breath.
"No… No news…", she shook her head slowly, taking a slow sip of Nuka Cola.
"I'm sorry", Drew added, leaning next to her on the terminal wall, "Must have been tough going through all that effort and not finding the answers you were looking for".
Olivia pressed her lips tightly together and tried to keep the unpleasant memories of the interrogations flooding back from overwhelming her.
"Yeah, well… I still haven't given up hope", she added, even though a growing part of her was certain she would never get a chance to see her brother again, "There's a good chance he might have been out with a scouting unit and found a way to escape".
Drew gave a solemn nod and didn't prod her any more on the subject. They enjoyed each other's company in silence for a while until they heard the harsh bell ringing in the distance signalling lunch was over.
"Guess I should be heading back", Olivia added, reluctantly pushing off of the terminal wall.
"Err…before you go", Drew began, rubbing an imaginary itch on the back of his neck and looking a little hesitant, "This Friday after day shift, me and a couple of the other 1st Recon guys were thinking about going to some of the casinos. Was wondering if you'd like to join us?"
Olivia gazed at him in surprise, "Oh…I don't know Drew…", she answered truthfully.
"It won't just be us guys, there's a few of the women as well from our unit and the base who will be joining us", Drew added, not wanting Olivia to think that she would be singled out as the only woman in the group.
"Friday, you say?", she asked after giving his request some consideration.
Drew nodded, "'Round 8 in the evening".
There wasn't really anything she had planned to do on the day, apart from helping her sister and new-born nephew.
"I'll have to think about it", Olivia answered, noting the slight drop in his shoulders as she did, "I'm not saying no, though. I've promised my sister I would help out with my nephew, but I'll see if my mother can cover for me for a short while".
"Alright, I understand", Drew added empathetically, "family comes first".
Olivia smiled and nodded, grateful for his understanding, "But I will let you know before Friday".
Drew offered a friendly chuckle in response and thanked her for joining him for lunch before they parted ways, returning to their respective duties at the base.
As Olivia headed back to her post, she couldn't shake the last conversation they shared when she'd helped him recover from his injuries after the final battle at Hoover Dam. Though he wasn't desperate and didn't put any pressure on her to reciprocate the feelings he carried for her, the thought of becoming romantically involved with Drew somehow made her….uncomfortable. It wasn't that she didn't like him or appreciate that he'd saved her life from the frigid Colorado river after Aurelius attempted to drown her, but the years of mistreatment and physical abuse she'd received from men in the Legion had marred her perception of having any form of harmonious, let alone normal intimate relations with anyone of the opposite sex.
Putting the matter aside in her mind as she entered the cool shelter of the Terminal again, she redirected her focus to the tasks that awaited her back at her post.
Wherever the White Legs went, they brought fire and destruction their way. The black, toxic plumes of hungry flames billowed in the clear night sky as they devoured everything flammable in their wake and cut off innocent stragglers who were caught unawares. Being so close to the White Legs encampment, the Dead Horses camp was the first target of the night. Catching the familiar stench of burning human flesh and hair, Six felt a wave of nausea that broke her our in a cold sweat as she, Joshua, Aelius and Waking Cloud ran past the vicinity of the camp; it took all of her willpower to keep herself from stumbling and expelling the contents of her stomach right at her feet. As they drew closer to the entrance of the White Legs camp, Aelius and Waking Cloud split off and joined another group of Sorrows and Dead Horses hunters, moving toward higher ground to provide cover for when Joshua and Six get to the mouth of the camp.
When he and Six reached the Narrows, Joshua slowed to a stop and turned to face her to outline the final plan of attack before they ventured into the mouth of the enemy camp.
"Thank you for this. I know Daniel doesn't approve, but destroying the White Legs is the only way to ensure the Sorrows can remain in Zion. You and I will lead a group of Dead Horse warriors and Sorrows hunters into Three Marys from this position. Our objective is to find the White Legs' leader, Salt-Upon-Wounds, and prevent him from fleeing. Show no quarter to the White Legs we come across. Make no mistake about why we are here. This is an extermination", Joshua advised.
"Let's do it", Six nodded in agreement, her chest heaving with the exertion of having to traverse the long distance between the Sorrows camp to Three Marys hot on Joshua's heels.
"God be with you", Joshua added and Six could have sworn that underneath all those bandages, the corners of Joshua's burned lips were grinning with delight and anticipation.
Like the path to many of the other camps she had visited in Zion, the road leading to the White Legs was a shallow river. They followed the winding waters until they reached an opening with a White Legs totem facing them.
"Yep, we're in the right place alright", Six muttered under her breath, her grasp on her rifle tightening in anticipation. However, despite expecting a brutal attack as soon as they passed through the entrance, the camp seemed unusually still. Sure enough as they pushed forward they could see evidence of a battle that had recently taken place, with bodies of White Legs, Sorrows and Dead Horses strewn on land and in the water as crimson pools of their bloods mixed and were carried down the river by the gently flowing waters. Something that immediately stood out to Six in this camp were the large numbers of old-world artefacts that were haphazardly strewn throughout the area; obviously the White Legs had no qualms about looting the old-world sites that the Sorrows thought as taboo locations.
As they pushed through the camp following the river, they came across one or two White Legs that launched themselves at Six and Joshua, only to be quickly dispatched with one or two well aimed shots with Six's rifle and Joshua's 0.45 pistol. Other than that the camp was ominously empty. Suddenly as they passed underneath a rock bridge, an explosion rocked the ground and sent them sprawling on all fours. A thick cloud of dust and a deafening rumble as large rocks and boulders crumpled to the ground behind and in front of them, blocking off their advance. No doubt they had set off a bomb trap as they passed underneath the rockbridge; thankfully they were far enough ahead of the blast that the tumbling debris didn't get a chance to crush them.
Joshua helped her up on her feet and pulled her aside.
"This is taking too long", he spat in frustration, "We can't let Salt-Upon-Wounds escape! I'm going to find a way around. God willing, we will finish this together".
Before Six could catch her breath to suggest an alternative route, Joshua pushed forward leaving her alone to find another way around herself. Luckily the tall rockbridge that had fallen behind them was still of use, bridging another ledge above her which appeared to have an entrance to a cave. Clambering up the rocky and uneven path, Six crouched and entered the Three Mary's cavern. Inside she found several ammunition caches that the White Legs were storing, along with a few White Legs tribal guards who were easy enough to dispatch. The exit to the cave was easy enough to find and once outside Six realised that cave passage was an easy way to get around their recently blocked path.
With her rifle at the ready, Six pressed forward, wondering where Joshua and the others had gotten to. Despite climbing up the steel hill and now being in the middle of the camp where the White Legs makeshift tents were set up with roughly stitched together tarp cloth and held down using cinder blocks, there was no sign of the enemy anywhere.
'Wonder if the others already got to them', she thought to herself, keeping her eyes and ears peeled for any signs of movement and kept pressing onward.
Following the path of the river, she finally came across several White Legs. They seemed to be stragglers though and Six managed to catch them by surprise before they had a chance to retaliate. Just as she'd dispatched the last enemy tribal, Six heard two gunshots reverberate off the cliff walls around them not far from her location and rushed the final length of the river before reaching an opening. There, standing over the crumpled dead bodies of two White Leg warriors, was Joshua. Wearing the bloodied skull of a youngling Deathclaw and cowering a few paces from Joshua's feet was the White Legs leader himself – Salt-Upon-Wounds.
"We warned you at Syracuse, and you persisted. You took advantage of us at New Canaan to drive us out, and like the dogs off Caesar you are, you followed us to Zion", Joshua listed the grievances made against him and his people, as if he were judge, jury and executioner readying his captor to face his sins, "And now you stand on holy ground, a temple to God's glory on Earth. But the only use for an animal in our temple is sacrifice! Kale watcha nei conserva oh! You understand me, don't you?... Don't you?!"
He spoke in a tone that sent a shudder down Six's spine. This was no longer Joshua Graham she was looking at in front of her…this was the infamous Legate that the Mojave had feared for countless years.
"Outman!" the Chieftain turned to Six, startling her enough to break her horrified gaze away from Joshua, "Kuna-man mad! He kill all White Legs! You talk! You stop!"
"Whoa! This isn't what I signed up for. I'll speak with him", Six replied.
"Him hear you. You talk!"
"Don't listen to this…thing!" Joshua spat back, "His cries are those of a mad beast caught in a thicket! He gave no mercy to my family, and I will give none to his".
Six couldn't believe what she was hearing; this was not the same calm, collected and pious Joshua Graham she'd come to know in the Sorrows and Dead Horses tribe.
"Joshua…you've already won. Look around you! There's no need to kill him", Six gestured at the destruction around them.
"He has a debt to pay for what he's done and I've come to collect. And so he's chosen to cower in the water like a dumb animal", Joshua replied, his tone bereft of any consideration of mercy.
"If what you believe is true, he'll pay for it later. The Sorrows don't need to see you do this", she implored.
"I want to take from them what they took from me, from my family. In this life. I want them to suffer. I want all of them to die in fear and pain", Joshua pushed, but Six could tell that her words had already had the desired effect, "I want to have my revenge. Against him. Against Caesar. I want to call it my own, to make my anger God's anger. To justify the things I've done".
He paused for a moment, looking down at the pathetic sight of Salt-Upon-Wounds cowering at his feet, and in that moment Six could see the spark of mercy spreading through him, "Sometimes I tell myself that these wild fires never stop burning. But I'm the one who starts them. Not God. Not them… I can always see it in my mind. The warmth and the heat. It will always be a part of me… But not today".
Six heaved a sigh of relief.
"Go… Get out of here. Go back…. Back to the Great Salt Lake", Joshua addressed the trembling Chieftain and, without questioning, Salt-Upon-Wounds bolted up and scrambled away from his stayed execution, following the river until he was out of sight.
"That's it… It's finished", Joshua exhaled, taking a few tentative steps towards Six, "Thank you for…staying with me. I couldn't have done this on my own. Let's go find Daniel. Tomorrow will be here soon…and there is much to do".
Six tipped her Stetson hat and slung her rifle over her shoulder, happy to leave the area. As they made their way out of the White Legs camp, Joshua paused briefly at the mouth of the camp's entrance, taking a moment to recognise the dark precipice he'd narrowly avoided… all thanks to a newcomer who helped him find his mercy.