Back in the Wasteland 4
A Fantastic Negotiation
The ambassador's office within The Strip's NCR Embassy was a mess. The floor was covered in a thick layer of papers, ranging from important documents that would determine the life and death of dozens and maybe even hundreds of men to invoices regarding the various business meetings the newest ambassador to New Vegas had no plans on attending. The filing cabinets lining the walls were splayed out on top of the swelling piles of paperwork and the picture of the office's previous occupant was likewise thrown haphazardly in a growing mess as its new owner continued making a mess as he searched frantically through the mounting wreck.
The man who had became the NCR's ambassador to New Vegas following Crocker's recall looked like a charming fellow so long as you didn't look beyond the immaculately ironed suit, slicked back mane of red hair, and the sunglasses he never took off which gave him a certain amount of charm and authority to his overall appearance. As many of the various secretaries and MPs had come to learn after his first day on the job however, all you had to do was listen to the man for five minutes to know he had no idea what he was doing but was somehow more competent than the people who hired him into the position in the first place.
Fantastic is what he called himself, and it was also what most people who knew him personally would use to describe his luck in regards to how no one who had more authority than him and took their job seriously figured out he was a complete and utter idiot. The higher ups obviously had never met the man before, because if they did, then they would have been utterly shocked to hear what the reason was for the current state of disarray the ambassador's office was in.
"Goddamnit! Where the hell are my chems?" Fantastic muttered to himself as his cold, clammy hands continued sifting through the mess he had made searching for his stash. "Those shitty soldiers are going to freak if they know the truth. I'll be-"
["Is this a bad time for me to visit?"] A securitron called out as it wheeled its way into the ambassador's office unannounced, a privilege the ambassador had given this particular denizen of New Vegas for its supposed importance in maintaining civil relationships between the NCR and The Strip even before the Courier's disappearance.
Or at least, that is what Fantastic claimed. No one had been able to get a straight answer as to why the only goofy faced securitron amongst the late Mr House's security force was given unrestrained access to the ambassador's quarters, and frankly, no one particularly cared to find out in the fear that the reason was as stupid as they all believed it to be.
"N-no! No, not at all. I always have time to talk to you, Yes Man." Fantastic replied as he straightened himself out in an attempt to look as dignified as possible despite having been searching through an ankle high section of loose papers on his hands and knees. "On a completely unrelated note, do you happen to know what happened to my stash of Jet and Mentats."
["Did you check underneath your bed yet?"] The smiling securitron inquired. ["You mentioned that you would be putting some of your 'valuables' there a few days ago."]
"Oh… shit. No, I didn't." Fantastic sighed with relief. "Probably should have started my search there first. I must really look like an idiot now."
["You can say that again."] Yes Man chimed in.
"Heh heh, right. "I'm glad you're always ready with those jokes of yours to cheer me up. Anyways, enough about me." The ambassador said as the securitron's snide comment went over his head and took a seat by his knocked over desk in a futile attempt to look professional. "What brings you here this time, Yes Man?"
["The Legion has been getting pretty full of itself lately, hasn't it?"] Yes Man started, earning a sigh from the ambassador.
"Tell me about it! Everyone has been up in my ass trying to make me get the securitrons Six has underneath his control to help out the NCR but I keep on telling them we simply can't do that unless we want to have him pissed off when he finally comes back. They expect me to actually be able to do something when all they pay me to do is kiss ass all day." Fantastic lamented.
"Not that I don't mind my new job. It's a whole lot easier than pushing buttons in Helios One all day, pays caps out the ass, and puts me only a few minutes away from the Gomorrah." He continued, letting out a lecherous laugh at the end. "Oh, the things those girls can do with a little bit of leather…"
["Sorry to interrupt your unique fantasies, but I actually wanted to suggest something that can help the both of us out with the Legion problem."] Yes Man interrupted.
"Really?!" Fantastic exclaimed, before remembering his position and taking a more restrained tone. "I mean, you have a solution to our problem?"
["Yes, I've been running some numbers lately, and I now have enough securitrons in the right place to start clearing out all of New Vegas' enemies without fear of losing control of the Mojave."] Yes Man said with the same static smile his screen always displayed.
"Great. How soon can you start putting them to work?" The ambassador eagerly inquired.
["As soon as you do me one small favor so I don't end up ruining Six's plan for dealing with all of the Mojave's enemies."] Yes Man continued.
"Perfect. I can do anything you ask me to." Fantastic said, already feeling another promotion coming his way.
["All I need is an official pardon for Six from the NCR so that the securitrons don't accidentally consider any NCR troopers a threat."] Yes Man explained.
"That… might be a little tricky." Fantastic hesitantly stated. "You do remember how badly he fucked us at the Hoover Dam, don't you? There's a reason he is the NCR's second most wanted man next to Legate Lanius. Are you sure you can't just unleash those robots of yours on the Legion without the pardon and ask for something else?"
["Why else do you think I need that pardon?"] The securitron asked with the same forcefully cheerful tone he always used. ["Right now, most of the securitrons I could use recognize the NCR as an enemy. So if I were to let them start protecting the entire Mojave right now…"]
"We're going to start attacking each other?" Fantastic asked, receiving a rough thumbs up gesture from the securitron's clawed hand.
"Okay… you know what? Fuck it. If these assholes keep on asking me for help, then they better be ready to do whatever it takes to get what they want!" The ambassador shouted. "Yes Man, consider that pardon as good as gold. It'll take me a couple of days to tell the right people the right things to make it happen, but as soon as I get it in my hands and see which extra little requests they will want from this deal, I will personally walk it over to the Lucky 38 for you so we can finalize the details. You have my word, friend."
["Perfect. I'm so glad you're so easy to convince."] Yes Man said.
"Okay, now that that's settled, if you wouldn't mind giving me a little space so I can get back to work…" Fantastic asked as he gestured towards the door.
["Don't worry, I'll let you enjoy your chems in peace. Thanks for being yourself, Ambassador Fantastic."] The securitron said before leaving the office without another word, doing his best not to let out a snarky comment after hearing the squeal of delight that rang out from the office or the disgruntled moans of everyone who had the unfortunate task of working under the current ambassador.
That went easier than Yes Man expected it to go. That plan he had come up while waiting for Six was coming along better than he could have hoped for. It's a good thing the ambassador, never thought to ask who those enemies were or why he couldn't have reprogrammed the other securitron's target recognition system any time he wanted to.
Especially that last one, because it would have been very awkward to explain exactly who he and Six saw as New Vegas' enemies when he couldn't tell the ambassador no.
ED-E Log: 9/23/2282-2
"I wasn't the first person you came to for help, was I niño?" Raul asked the little eyebot as the two former companions headed back to the former's shack.
["No, of course I went to you first after you nearly shot Six."] ED-E beeped angrily.
"Oi, I still can't understand you. I might be able to make something to fix that back in my shack, but until then we've got to keep doing what we've been doing. One beep for yes, two for no." The old ghoul reminded the eyebot.
["You can't understand me and Six can. How the hell does that idiot manage to do things no one else can?"] The young robot lamented.
"What did I just finish telling you!?" Raul yelled back.
ED-E hovered in place, staring at the old ghoul long enough to make his displeasure known before answering. ["...fucker."]
"Okay… I don't really know what the hell you're really saying, but I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt and assume you didn't just call me something stupid like Six would." Raul sighed.
"Anyways, Six didn't uhh… get in over his head again, did he? He's still alive, right? I know you said something happened to him, but I'd like to think you would have come for help a little sooner than this if he did finally kick the bucket." The ghoul hesitantly asked.
"The last few times he disappeared on us, he damn near died. Hell, he probably should have died if half of everything he told us about what happened to him in the Sierra Madre and Zion Valley were true. Crazy bastard probably stayed alive just to spite that Brotherhood nutjob and the old Legate. That certainly sounds like something he would do…" The old ghoul said with a look of resignation believing he would have to endure a similar ordeal.
["I don't know."] The little eyebot beeped.
"One or two beeps not…" Raul angrily started, before putting a hand to what remained of his nose, "...three. Okay, that was on me for asking you two questions at once."
"Let's try this again. Is Six in trouble?" Raul asked the little eyebot.
["I. Don't. Know."] ED-E beeped, hoping his friend would understand what he was trying to convey as he slowly became fed up with the old ghoul.
"Okay, now you're just screwing with me." The vaquero sighed. "Can you just tell me whether or not Six needs my help or not?"
["I DON'T KNOW!"] The eyebot screeched, causing the old ghoul to wince from the sudden noise assaulting his ears.
"Hey, hey! What are you getting angry at me for? I'm not the one who isn't answering the question!" Raul fired back moments before the realization hit him.
"Wait, three beeps… yes and no?" Raul tentatively asked.
["Finally!"] ED-E whirred in exasperation.
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" The ghoul groaned. "Are you telling me you don't know what happened to Six?"
["Yes!"]
"Then why the hell are you coming to me for help when you should be out there looking for that idiot?" Raul questioned the eyebot.
The two of them stared at each other in silence, the eyebot conveying everything he needed to without needing to utter a single noise.
"You've already tried that haven't you? Dios mio, I can't believe I'm actually going along with this…" The old ghoul grumbled.
"You can at least read a map, can't you? I think I should have a spare map tucked away somewhere in storage. If you can mark down the locations you've already checked out, then I think we can start pinpointing the places we're likely going to find Six if he really hasn't just left us all to die." Raul suggested.
"Not that I think that cabrón really would leave us all for dead when he enjoys killing things so much." He continued, shrugging off his previous assumption just as quickly as he had arrived at it. "Pretty sure he would want to settle whatever grudge he has with the NCR and Legion before he finally keels over in a ditch somewhere too, now that I think about it. Six might be a lot of things, but running away with his tail tucked between his legs? No, he'd never do that. Not even to protect the people who loved him."
["Watch it."] ED-E beeped threateningly, activating the cattle prod Six had installed as an emergency melee weapon after repairing the little eyebot following one too many close encounters with the Mojave's Deathclaw population.
"Woah there, no need to get upset." Raul nervously laughed as he backed away from the surging electricity and slowly moved his hand towards one of his revolvers. "Besides, you were there when the Legion kidnapped Veronica and shitstorm Six caused afterwards. You of all people should know how little that man cares about his friends and family if they get in the way of his revenge."
["You're wrong."] ED-E whirred mournfully, deactivating his cattle prod as he did so.
"Yeah, as much as I would like to believe you, I trust Boone's word over yours and he didn't exactly leave much doubt as to what happened when Six was carrying all the proof most people needed to see to know who he really was." Raul bluntly informed him. "No offense niño, but you've been hanging out with that loco a little too long if you ask me. Unless you've got some sort of proof you can show me-"
["Yes."] ED-E interrupted.
"Hold on, you've got proof?" Raul asked, raising an eyebrow at the eyebot's apparent confession.
["Yes."] ED-E confirmed.
"Uh huh, and why didn't you come tell me this earlier, or Lily before she went to confront Six about what happened on the Hoover Damn?" The old ghoul asked, still skeptical of what the eyebot was telling him.
["Oh geez! Why didn't I ever think of that? It's almost like no one but Six has the technology to replay one of my audio logs or can even fucking understand me! And that's including the people who would shoot me on sight just because nobody thinks I ever leave Six's side!"] ED-E ranted in a way that only he and machines far too corrupted by the passage of time could understand.
"...I think I see why you never told anyone now." Raul said as he shot ED-E a remorseful look, oblivious to the other far less flattering things that the little eyebot was adding on to his tirade.
"You know what, if you're willing to wait a few hours before we start searching for Six, I probably have the right tools to hook you up to a terminal so you can show me whatever proof you have that I shouldn't shoot Six the second he fixes the mess he made." Raul offered his former friend, to which the latter fell deathly silent as he processed what he was hearing. "I'm not saying I believe you, but stranger things have happened. Shrugging off two bullets to the head in addition to being burned and buried alive is somehow one of the more normal things that asshole has gotten himself involved in."
"You know, there's a chance that I might be able to make a playable recording of whatever you want to show me too. I can't imagine I'm the only one who trusted Six that wants to know what really happened that day since Boone isn't willing to give us more details than he has to. Maybe we could get a few people to help our search in addition to clearing up his name… maybe use that as an excuse to see how Lily is doing." Raul added on believing ED-E needed some more convincing.
["Yes!"] ED-E beeped ecstatically, pausing for a brief moment to ensure Raul understood his answer. ["I can't believe this is really happening! Six is going to-"]
Before the little eyebot could finish whatever it was he was going to say next, the bark of a high caliber rifle rang out through the air followed shortly afterwards by the sound of a ricochet smacking into ED-E's armored chassis and sending the flying little robot spinning. Raul wasted no time facing the direction the bullet came from, pulling out his revolvers from his mostly repaired vaquero outfit from an era he never thought he'd have a chance to relive. It was then that the old ghoul saw his target standing on a nearby hill, raising the sniper rifle in their hand in triumph after having landed a shot and clad in the repurposed sports equipment that left no illusion as to the assassin's allegiance.
"Death to the disciples of Mors and all profligates who dare oppose us!" The Legion assassin shouted before a well aimed shot from Raul ventilated their skull.
"Another one? I thought I cleared out the last Legionnaires trying to make scout out the Boomers yesterday. How many of these guys do I have to kill before they finally realize they aren't wanted around here?" Raul grumbled as he inspected ED-E once the eyebot finally came to a stop.
Raul gave the little eyebot a quick once-over to make sure he wasn't too damaged by the sneak attack. There was a noticeable dent underneath his exhaust port that hadn't been there previously, nothing that couldn't be flattened out with a little bit of maintenance, but definitely too close for comfort.
"The damage looks superficial, but I'll still patch you up a bit when we get back to my shack." The ghoul said as he finished his diagnosis.
["That guy nearly shot me in the ass!"] ED-E beeped angrily.
"Better you than me, I guess." Raul sighed, looking on the brighter side of things. "At least you can take a couple more hits like that before you start experiencing any problems. I don't exactly have that luxury."
["Wimp."]
"I'm glad you agree with me." Raul said, failing to comprehend what ED-E was really saying before returning his attention to the hill their attacker had came from. "That's strange though. Legion scouts don't usually travel alone-"
"Death to the profligates! Caesar's will is eternal!" Cried out several other Legionaries, their weapons ranging from a couple of battle rifles to one who was armed with a ballistic fist.
"Shit, I knew I should have kept my mouth shut." Raul sighed as he spun the chamber of his revolver and tried to hold back a smile as a familiar tune emanating from ED-E announced the start of what was sure to be a quick fight.
"Didn't think they'd send a Praetorian on a simple scouting mission though." The old vaquero muttered to himself before coming to the obvious conclusion. "Unless you've been looking for Six near Legion territory?"
["Less talking, more shooting."] ED-E beeped as he started to unleash a hail of blue tinged lasers at the rapidly approaching Legionnaires.
"Yeah, yeah. We'll have plenty of time to talk later when people aren't shooting us." Raul said as the two companions fell into a familiar rhythm that their months apart hadn't been able to wear down.
The two of them made short work of their attackers, neither one of them taking so much as a scratch after the sniper had been taken care of. Once Raul was able to convince ED-E that the bodies wouldn't have anything worth looting, or rather, refusing to carry any excess loot that ED-E's already packed compartment space wouldn't fit, the two former friends made their way back to Raul's shack a little quicker than they had before with the reminder as to why they needed to find Six fresh in their minds.
Noblesse Oblige
Life inside of Vegas's walls had been slowly becoming just as perilous as life outside with every day the Courier failed to reappear and put the fear of death back into the forces that had learned to dread his very existence. The Strip remained largely unimpacted thanks to the continued efforts of Yes Man and the AI's ability to handle the new NCR ambassador, whoever they were, with remarkable ease, but they were the exception. As for the rest of Vegas, with their murderous guardian angle abscent without a trace, there was only one man left to pick up the pieces Six left behind.
The King had been formally approached by Six about increasing the effectiveness and range of The King's ability to protect the innocent citizens of the Mojave in the event that something should happen to the Courier before House's demise. While The King was glad that the new dictator of New Vegas seemed to care more for the land he ruled over than his own self-interests which had been proved upon using a favor to negotiate a truce between The Kings and NCR, The King himself was less than pleased with how he had been stuck holding Vegas together in Six's absence so soon.
The two of them had discussed certain contingencies in the past as the war raging across the Mojave seemed increasingly likely to claim yet another autocrat of New Vegas, but The King never believed he would have to go through with his promises so soon. The only saving grace that kept him to uphold his end of the deal was the continued support of Yes Man and the upgraded securitrons that Six had given him limited control of.
"Give it to me straight, how does the situation look in the main Vegas areas?" The King asked the securitron with the goofy smile he had come to trust far more than he would have wanted to in the past several weeks.
["Better than they could be."] Yes Man happily stated.
Or in other words, absolutely terrible. In the relatively brief time The King had been able to learn about the mysterious AI that allowed Six to rule over Vegas more competently as House had done by himself, he had picked up a few of its habits as a natural result. The most obvious and frustrating one of them all was without a doubt its endless optimism and inability to say anything negative towards anyone it was talking to, especially in situations that such a hopeful attitude simply did not belong.
["Northside is still having trouble with the local gangs but aside from some light robbery and mugging, Westside's water crisis should be over as soon as the Followers of the Apocalypse are able to supply the manpower to install that Vault-Tec water chip now that they have the radiation filter already set up in the pumping station, and Freeside has only had a dozen Legionnaire sightings since last week!"] Yes Man said cheerfully.
So, nothing different than the last time he asked. Perfect. At least there were less Legion scouts that needed to be dealt with. A small improvement was better than none… unless it meant the Frumentarii had come up with better disguises and finally learned to stop using their Legion names in public? Maybe it was a little too soon to say things had gotten any better yet.
"What about Outer Vegas?" The King inquired, bracing himself for the worst.
["Terrific news! I've just managed to negotiate an alliance with the NCR in exchange for our help in wiping out the last of the Fiends attacking Camp McCarran and other things you don't need to worry about. With their assistance, we should have no problems preventing any more Legion raiding parties stepping foot on Vegas soil for the near future!"] The AI exclaimed.
"That's great." The King sighed in relief, "But I thought Six wiped out the last of the Fiends before going out to 'clear his head' like he said he would."
["Oh, there's a lot of stuff we know that you don't."] Yes Man informed the leader of The Kings, sending a shiver down the man's spine as he thought about how that statement sounded even more threatening when delivered so gleefully. ["But since it will be safe to tell you now that the Fiends will be no more in a day or two, I've been keeping them contained in the Westside ruins for a long time now and letting out a few dozen of them out of Vault 3 every few days to keep the NCR busy. It's hard to declare war when you are up to your head in bandits."]
"Looks like I'll have to take your word for it." The King sighed as he hoped the other things he didn't know would remain that way for the sake of his sanity and conscience. "Have you heard any word about Six yet?"
["Nope, but don't worry! ED-E and Rex are on a mission to bring him back as we speak."] The securitron announced. ["Oh, and the NCR have also pardoned him too."]
"Oh, so that's where that little rascal ran off to." The King said as he slumped back into his chair. "How much longer do you think it will take before those two can drag Six back here and he ends up making the NCR regret this pardon of theirs?"
["They left over two weeks ago, so he should be back any day now."] Yes Man said, before idly adding. ["If everything goes well and he isn't already dead."]
As much as The King wanted to tell the securitron that everything clearly had not been going well ever since the first week the Courier's disappearance had been noticed by both the Legion and NCR, he decided to remain silent. There were some things that were better left unsaid, especially to a robot packing enough ammunition to kill everyone in the building with him three times over.
With that wonderful thought in mind, The King once again turned his attention to the paperwork on the table in front of him as he tuned back to the singer on stage and used the distraction to forget about how he was the only human being keeping Vegas from falling apart. It was a tough job, keeping the Legion at bay and NCR happy enough to think conquering Vegas themselves was more trouble than it was worth, but he had already been doing a good enough job at it for just short of two months with Yes Man's assistance.
What was a few days more anyways? Six would be back any day now.
Any day now…
Some Assembly Required
If you're going to launch an all assault on who knows how many bandits in the middle of their own base, then you're going to need your best weapons for the job. Since I didn't exactly have those at my disposal, I had to put what I did have to use.
"Hey, pass me another strip of duct tape, will ya?" I asked Julia as I carefully fished out another handful of microfusion cells out of my pocket once they finally rematerialized, careful not to expose how I needed to use my Pip-boy to retrieve them.
Just because I was willing to have her do most of the leg work when dealing with those bandits didn't mean I exactly trusted her knowing where I kept all of my shit stored, after all. Last thing I needed her to do was end up stealing one of my mini-nukes if I ever found the need to sleep.
Speaking of which, I don't think I've really slept since… hell, since waking up in the Big Empty now that I think about it. Haven't really felt thirsty or hungry after then either. Must have something to do with all the shit the Think Tank shoved inside me.
"How are you carrying all of those… whatever those are?" My antlered traveling companion asked me as she tore me away from my thoughts.
It seems her previous reservations towards speaking back to me were gone now that Dawson was a few miles behind us. As tempted as I was to threaten her to shut up, I honestly appreciated a break from the deafening silence that had cropped up as we followed the map that would supposedly lead us to the bandits we were hunting. Sure, hearing the lass whine wasn't exactly my first choice for a distraction from the monotonous duty of trudging across a couple dozen miles of sand while the sun was beating down on us, but at least it was a nice distraction from a few other concerns I was starting to have about my decision to hunt down a bunch of savages without any of my usual gear.
"Same way you were throwing fireballs at me." I retorted without even bothering to look back at her as I started connecting the cells together with practiced precision. "And where's that duct tape I asked for? You really don't want me fucking around with these microfusion cells any longer than I have to after I prime them."
The leading reason behind my worries stemmed from my latest, greatest, and absolutely dumbest decision to deal with the bandits I expected us to encounter. Rigging microfusion cells to detonate was a delicate procedure even with a full tool set and workbench to prevent you from turning yourself into a puddle of molten green goop, to say nothing of rigging together a few on the fly. While I am by no means a mad bomber, I've always had a certain affinity for explosives ever since I crawled out of my grave to put Benny in his.
Sure, I might not have the best track record to using explosives as my companions, my former companions, oh so helpfully pointed out whenever they started running away from me whenever I happened to forget that little fact, but that's not to say I was entirely incompetent in that department either. I'd personally like to blame my own shit luck on how I can somehow throw a perfectly thrown grenade at the feet of a Deathclaw only to have the cold-blooded bastard accidentally kick it back square in my face without meaning to on more than one occasion, to say nothing of all the many, many times the landmines I attempted to dismantle just so happened to have a short circuit and blow up in my face for no goddamn reason other than to fuck with me while I was in the middle of deactivating them. Some people might call me a mad bomber on account of all the times I nearly killed myself with some explosive… and my companions… and anything that wasn't my intended target…
Okay, so maybe some people might have a point. That doesn't mean I still can't lay down a fuckton of homemade mines in a bandit's or Legionnaire hideout and get out of the blast radius just in time to watch my victims experience the most and, more importantly, last surprising thing they will ever experience.
…or dropping a couple down Boone's toilet after he and the rest of Novac managed to run me out of town after that lying sack of shit turned the whole Mojave against me. Oh, I wish I had been around to see that. It would have made the trouble of sneaking back inside town without being noticed worth it. I doubt that was enough to kill that damn backstabber but I'm certain whatever injuries it left him with he would never look at another porcelain throne the same way again.
I snickered to myself at the thought of the explosion that ended up collapsing the northern part of the Dino Dee-lite Motel. That little laugh was somehow able to earn me a smack upside the head courtesy of the roll of duct tape Antlers threw at me.
"Hey! Watch what you're doing! If my fingers slip before I manage to get these wires tied down, then we're both as good as dead." I hollered behind me.
It was shit like this that made me remember why I never tried picking up any more companions after my old ones turned on me after my life went to hell.. well, more so than usual. You help someone out a couple times, spare their life after they try killing you TWICE, and how do they repay you? With petty shit like this. At least she hasn't tried smearing what was left of my tarnished reputation like the others did. Fucking pricks didn't even see what happened but that didn't stop them from taking Boone's side and throw me under the bus after everything I did for them.
Of course, I could have just chucked the impromptu cluster grenade back at my partner for pressing her luck and just been done with her right then and there, but as much as I wanted to, I couldn't afford to get rid of her until after we cleared out the bandits. I could only hope she managed to get herself killed in the process and end up saving me whatever ammo it would take to remove her myself once I wiped them off the face of Europe, or wherever the hell I am.
Thankfully, a little warning was all it took to get the faunus to behave herself. "Sorry, it slipped." She said.
Yeah it 'slipped', just like that one order requesting a new ambassador to the Vegas Strip 'somehow' named Fantastic for that position instead of whoever was really meant to get the job and ended up turning all of New Vegas' dealings with the NCR in my favor. God, I still can't believe they didn't suspect I had anything to do with that even after they hired me to carry the message back to the Mojave Outpost when everyone else refused. They could have easily done it themselves if they weren't so busy sticking their heads up their own asses. No wonder Caesar's boys are still giving those idiots a hard time. I wouldn't be surprised if what's left of the Legion managed to take the Hoover Damn for themselves already.
…I hope Yes Man is handling Fantastic alright. I doubt the idiot could manage to outwit my right hand man, but stranger things have happened. He did somehow manage to fool the NCR into believing he was a theoretical physicist after all.
"You know what, forget it. Just keep the tape coming and I'll handle the rest." I sighed in defeat.
Rather than put up an argument like I expected her to, Julia quietly did as she was asked for once and handed me the strip of tape I asked for without being a dick about it.
"What are you making anyways?" The faunus asked me, her curiosity getting the better of her.
"Oh, you'll see soon enough." I told her as I got back to work.
I didn't know how much longer we had until we reached the bandit camp and didn't particularly care either. There was no way in hell I was going to run up to the gates in broad daylight since that was practically a death sentence. The darkness of night should provide me and Antlers enough cover to sneak up close enough to put the lass to work while I created a distraction for her. But before any of that could happen, I needed to make a lot more MFC grenades, clusters, and whatever else I could think of cooking up with the few resources I had at my disposal.
While I wasn't exactly sure what kind of weapons I was going to need, it couldn't hurt to have as many explosives as I could carry. It would at least give me a way to make Antlers more useful than acting as bait once she was finished checking for any captives. The lass should at least be able to figure out how to booby trap a couple of cars without blowing herself up.
…right?
Special thanks to most good ones were taken for beta-reading this chapter!
Author's Corner:
Here's another little peak at what's been happening in the Mojave while Six has occupied. When the Courier, slayer of Caesar is away, the Legion will play.
Comments:
Rio Skyron: Remember kids, never back sass a murderous mentally unstable pyschopath.
Is it me, or does this seem to be something that happens a bit too commonly in books, movies… hell, fiction in general now that I think about it? Figured I make a slight dig at how so few stories ever go the same route as The Walking Dead. If you know what I'm talking about, then I'm sure you see the point I make and how moments like that can raise a villain from mediocrity.
RedShirtRicky: I'm a newcomer to this piece of work but I absolutely love it. Its a refreshing take to see a well written crossover not colide with the main characters. Always had me question what would Six or the people looking to get back at him would do next.
Considering that the very first story arc in New Vegas can be summed up as 'track down the bastard that shot me in the head for revenge', I'm surprised so many Couriers in other stories are so well adjusted to society. Maybe its just me, but I'd say anyone that doesn't run away from the person who failed to murder them as fast and far as they possibly can have a few screws loose.
As always, thanks for reading and I hope to see you all again in the future!