The Courier watched out of the window from the penthouse of the Lucky 38, the highest floor of the building that provided an excellent view of New Vegas and the surrounding Wasteland. It was where he would meet Mr. House before he was overthrown. He was alone except for a few Securitrons that stood around. The Courier wore the checkered suit that formerly belonged to his would-be killer, now deceased, Benny. It was a nice suit. It was the least Benny owed him for putting a bullet in his head and leaving him buried in the desert. He dressed to possibly go out celebrating with his friends over his victory at the Hoover Dam. He just felt bothered by having his face shown around. He was used to obscuring it with helmets and masks. It made him feel exposed without them. Perhaps the whole incident of being shot in the head had affected him in a much deeper way than he thought. Still, he dealt with worse things. He recalled his spine and heart being removed along with his brain back at the Big Mountain Research and Development Center. That was an unusual time. Silly mad scientists.
The Courier brushed through his hair with his right hand and walked away from the window to the area of the floor where there was the large monitor that once displayed the image of Mr. House, which then displayed Yes Man. Now, it is just a message that stated "Offline". Yes Man had been gone for a day and the Courier already missed the sight of his friendly face. Maybe he'll be back today. There's no need to worry. At least it wasn't a month which would be very troubling.
The Courier sighed and went into the elevator to go down to the presidential suite. His companions were there, enjoying the place.
He planned to maybe change his suit for another one. Maybe the checkered suit was too tacky. Cass made that comment earlier and the more he pondered on it he slowly agreed.
He pressed a button in the elevator and it made it's small descent. The presidential suite wasn't far down, it was on the 22nd floor. The elevator stopped and the doors opened apart to allow its occupant out into the floor.
As soon as he stepped out of the elevator, the Courier was greeted by Rex laying on the floor, erecting his head up and wagging his tail. Rex was panting and the glass case that held his brain lightened up.
The Courier smiled at the dog as soon as he saw him, and then he immediately heard the others in the recreational room. Among the sound of the voices of his companions, there was music that was most definitely being played by ED-E. The Courier also heard sounds from the kitchen. He planned to check on them momentarily, and he proceeded to his bedroom.
Once inside, the Courier locked the door and headed toward one of the wardrobe cabinets to the left of the room that is the closest to the bed. He picked out a simple gambler suit. While he changed, he was reminded of his many travels from various items he had around the room. On the desk that was present to the left from the bedroom door, in one of the locked cabinets at the bottom, it had five gold bars from the Sierra Madre casino resort, a desolate nightmare of a place near the Grand Canyon. Next, there was also the broken power fist of Caesar that was placed on the top of one of the clothing cabinets. So many memories were there in that bedroom, the memories of challenges the Courier had overcome.
He finished buttoning up the suit and exited the room. Rex was still laying on the floor near the elevator and raised his head up, panting. Again, the Courier smiled. Next, the Courier entered the recreation room.
Raul Tejada, a ghoul the Courier saved from imprisonment on top of Black Mountain which was ruled over by super mutants, greeted the Courier while playing pool on his own. Raul was at the side of the pool table that allowed him to see the door into the lobby.
"Hola, señor." Said Raul in Spanish while leaning at the side of the pool table looking down his cue stick before hitting the cue ball.
Cass was at the liquor cabinet, pouring herself a glass of scotch since there was no whiskey. She didn't look to acknowledge the Courier's presence and took a seat on the couch. Meanwhile, Veronica and Arcade, who were dressed formally, were at a table left of the room playing a game of chess with ED-E spectating. As soon as Raul previously greeted the Courier, ED-E spun around and produced cheerful beeps. Veronica and Arcade followed by turning their attention away from the chessboard to see the Courier and they greeted him with a smile. The Courier approached them and ED-E quickly moved aside to give him room near the table.
"Who's winning?" Asked the Courier to Veronica and Arcade with a smile while he crossed his arms.
"I am!" Proclaimed Veronica gleefully.
"Yeah," started Arcade to the Courier, "I'm losing. Guess I got dumber or something."
"Ah, don't say things like that, Gannon." Replied Veronica to Arcade as she sat back in her seat. Arcade continued talking to the Courier after giving a glance to Veronica.
"Unlike me, you are great at playing the game of chess as evidenced by what happened at the dam."
"It really wasn't me that was entirely responsible for what happened. It was a group effort." Humbly replied the Courier. He indeed spoke truth. The Courier success was largely thanks to the help of Yes Man, the Boomers at Nellis Air Force Base, the Enclave Remnants, and his friends around him. Otherwise, it would've been a difficult endeavor.
"Whatever it was, I'm happy the Legion is gone. Those damn barbarians. Their defeat is definitely going to be one of my best memories to share." Said Arcade with a smile.
"I definitely agree with that. Those assholes had it coming." Veronica added.
"Don't mention it. I'm happy they scrambled back east. Also, I look forward most to keeping the Mojave free." Replied the Courier.
Meanwhile, as Cass drank her glass of scotch, she glanced at the trio talking. She noticed the Courier changed his suit.
Thank god. Thought Cass. To her, the checkered suit was an eye sore. After the drink, Cass looked down at the glass. It was very close to being empty. She got up from the couch and walked to the liquor cabinet, passing Raul as he looked puzzlingly at the pool table, holding the cue stick like a cane.
Cass grabbed the whole bottle of scotch and she exited the recreation room. As soon as she stepped into the lobby, Rex, in the same spot, started to wag his tail and start patting. She gave an uncomfortable looking smile. She didn't really dislike dogs but she wasn't completely used to the sight of a cybernetic dog. Also, she thought it was depressing someone would do such a thing to an animal. At least Rex looked happy. That gave Cass some comfort.
Cass headed toward the kitchen for she had gotten hungry. Once in the kitchen, Cass found the hulking mutant Lily at the stove steering a boiling pot with a ladle spoon. Lily was in deep concentration for she didn't want to ruin the meal she was preparing, but she did notice Cass.
"Oh. Hello, dear. Grandma's making supper." Lily excitedly said to Cass. Lily then moved away from the pot to the counter, leaving the ladle inside the pot. On the counter were some carrots, potatoes, and bits of brahmin meat on separate cutting boards. Lily gathered them onto one board and took them back to the stove. Then, she slid the food into the pot.
"Smells pretty good." Cass responded.
"Please take a seat at the table, sweetheart. Grandma's almost finished." Said Lily as she continued to stir the pot. Cass complied, taking the closest chair.
Never thought I'd be served food by a nightkin. Thought Cass. Like all people in the Mojave, Cass's encounters with super mutants were mostly hostile, especially with nightkin. That variant of the mutants had a deadly reputation due to their use of stealth, even though super mutants tend to be the less subtle with their methods of approach. Anyway, Cass enjoyed Lily's presence. She liked the maternal attitude Lily has and found her quite interesting.
Back to the Courier in the recreation room, Arcade brought up something.
"By the way, thanks to the new securitrons, Freeside has become more safe and made things easier for the Followers of the Apocalypse but during the battle a high amount of people got hospitalized. They don't have a lot of medical supplies. Also, the lives of the Kings are now easier too thanks to you. The King himself wants you to come down there as a thank you and to celebrate your victory at Hoover Dam." Stated Arcade.
"I'll go meet with the Followers soon. Did you see the King himself?" Asked the Courier.
"No, one of his guys was at the entrance to the Strip and told me while I was going in. After that, that guy quickly ran into the strip into the Gomorrah casino faster than a Freeside junkie after snorting powdered mentats and taking jet at the same time." Replied Arcade.
"You seen that?" Asked Veronica curiously to Arcade.
"The junkie? Maybe. That'll explain some of the highs I seen from people in the past, though they likely have a more creative way to get a boost than what I said." Answered Arcade while leaning back and crossing his arms.
"Later I'll visit the Kings. By the way, have you seen Boone?" The Courier asked.
"Oh, he is sleeping in the guest room." Said Veronica.
"Alright." The Courier simply replied to Veronica.
"Hey, another thing, the Remnants send their greetings. Whitman wanted me tell you if you need the vertibird as a method of transportation, say the word." Arcade further added. Daisy Whitman was a former pilot for the Enclave long ago, and so far the only person the Courier knew that can fly a vertibird.
"That's great. It will surely be handy in the future." Replied the Courier.
"It definitely will. It beats walking all day. Anyway, Veronica and I should finish this game. Maybe my luck will turn around."
"Nope." Shimmed in Veronica.
"Well, I'll leave you guys to it." Said the Courier. ED-E responded with a few beeps at the Courier.
"Of course you can continue watching the game, buddy." Replied the Courier.
ED-E beeped some more, indicating happiness. The Courier patted ED-E and turned toward the exit. He had a glimpse of Raul. He was away from the pool table, instead being at the liquor cabinet. Raul sorted through empty bottles. He finally selected a bottle of beer, and turned around to face the Courier while looking down at the bottle in his hands.
"Boss, it looks like we are going to need a restock of liquor. You know, have more variety to choose from." Raul critiqued to the Courier.
"Noted, Raul."
The Courier left the room and went into the kitchen. As soon as he entered, Lily welcomed him.
"You are just in time, sweetheart. I just finished making grandma's famous soup." Said Lily as she turned off the stove and grabbed a couple of bowls. With the ladle, Lily quickly poured the contents of the pot into the bowls, and she placed them on the table behind. Cass was the first to receive her bowl of soup since she was already first to be seated a few minutes ago.
"Thank you, Lily, but I don't feel very hungry." Said the Courier.
"Aww, that's too bad, dear. You look like you could use some meat on your bones. Are you sure, sweetheart?"
The Courier gave it some thought and decided to indulge Lily.
"Alright then." He replied.
"That's great to hear, dear. Please take a seat and have your supper." Lily said happily. She turned around and attended to the pot to pour herself a bowl, which she drank and placed on the counter.
The Courier took a seat three chairs away from Cass to her left. The two were quiet while Lily sung an old pre-War song to herself as she brought the bowl of soup over to the Courier.
"There you go, sweetie." Said Lily.
"Thanks."
The Courier looked down at the bowl. Bits of carrot, potato, and meat floated in the broth. The Courier quietly ate at it before turning to Cass.
"This is great." He said to Cass.
"Yeah, it is." Cass said without much life while staring at the almost empty bowl of soup. She was deep in thought. The soup brought back a wave of memories from Cass's youth, a more simpler time.
"Are you alright?" The Courier asked. Cass then came out of her thoughts and looked at the Courier.
"It's nothing. It really is good." She said. Cass then got up from her seat and walked away from the table toward the exit of the room while thanking Lily.
The Courier watched Cass leave. He briefly stared at the air before he turned to look back at his soup. He looked at the bowl. Its shape reminded him of the crater Big Mountain. Then, it made him thought of the scientific knowledge there. He occasionally would visit that place from time to time, and he pondered on the potential of it. He'll go one of these days but first he hoped to share his ideas with Yes Man.
Finally, the Courier, after consuming more of the soup, rose from his seat, thanked Lily, and left the kitchen. He wanted to check the Strip. When he arrived back from the battle at the dam, it was the middle of the night. Most people were not out due to being anxious regarding the outcome of the battle. Not everyone knows yet that he defeated the NCR and Caesar's Legion, creating New Vegas into a new independent nation. That would help explain to them why NCR soldiers were no longer at the city, even though they are most likely hiding at Camp McCarren (formerly known as McCarran International Airport), another thing the Courier will need to handle as soon as Yes Man returned. He'll also would have to make some addresses to the public, especially to any NCR citizens that are still around who may be scared. They are to know the Courier welcomes them to be a part of New Vegas, but not the corrupt government of the NCR. In general, he welcomed anybody that yearned to be free.
As he travelled to the elevator, he called for Rex to come with him to the casinos of the Strip. Then, Veronica and Arcade just finished their chess game and also wanted to come along. They were dressed for going out around the Strip anyway. Then there was Cass. She didn't have any plans and there was no whiskey to accompany her at the suite so she joined them. She was willing to try her luck.
The gang made their way out of the Lucky 38 through the elevator and onto the Strip. There was a few people outside. Some avoided making eye contact with the Courier or his associates. There was noticeably a couple more securitrons present, and the day was bright. There was hardly any clouds in the sky. Overall, there was order, no chaos.
The Courier then guided his friends toward the center of the Strip where they would split up. The Courier and Rex were heading to the Tops casino while Veronica, Arcade, and Cass went toward the Ultra-Luxe (it no longer had a cannibal problem). He never really took the time to play before because he was too busy tending to things. Now, he had plenty of free time since Yes Man wasn't around. Also, the Courier won the Second Battle of the Hoover Dam so he deserved time to enjoy himself.
Before he went toward the casino, he made a brief glance at Cass before quickly looking away to go the casino. As he walked, the Courier noticed the quick glances of people. He was well-known but he could tell they are wondering what happened and what is to come. They definitely had burning questions. Is the Courier in charge? What is the current state of New Vegas? Whatever they wondered he'll address them soon enough. He will and they know that due to his good reputation. Although, the NCR would definitely smear his image as a terrorist once they had the full details about what occurred during the madness at Hoover Dam.
The Courier disappeared behind the front doors of the Tops casino. Meanwhile, at Camp McCarren, NCR soldiers observed the massive horde of securitrons that patiently waited outside of the base in a line. They were surrounded and soldiers kept their guns drawn in case of an attack by the machines. Inside the base, various soldiers and rangers that were at the Second Battle of the Hoover Dam were kept waiting in barracks, some were waiting to be debriefed about what happened. Some of them were injured, wearing bandages or arm slings. The soldiers from the dam were ordered not to share the details of the battle with anyone to avoid a panic.
The whole base was mainly quiet. The atmosphere was tense and there was uncertainty in the minds of the soldiers. Rumors and speculation were beginning to circulate around the base regarding what happened at the dam. A sense of despair was growing.
The room used originally for interrogations in the terminal building was where the debriefings occurred and it was performed by Colonel James Hsu, a high-ranking senior officer of the NCR. He largely commanded NCR operations in the Mojave Desert from Camp McCarren.
Colonel Hsu was seated at the end of the table and across from him would be a soldier that was there at the dam.
"What happened at the Hoover Dam?" Colonel Hsu would immediately ask and be met with various answers, though there was consistency in their recollections.
"There was a plane that bombed us."
"An Enclave vertibird appeared in the sky."
"There were explosions at the Legion's camp."
When asked about General Oliver, who oversaw the defense of the dam, none of the troopers could say what happened to him. Orders from him ceased all of a sudden. This left Colonel Hsu the only person officially left in charge of the NCR in the whole region.
Colonel Hsu thanked the soldiers and proceed to interview the next. He wasn't sure what to do. If the NCR had lost the dam, what now? Who are they fighting?
The Enclave. Colonel Hsu thought. They are the only ones known to possess aerial assets other than the NCR who had taken several from them in the past. Colonel Hsu then thought against it being the Enclave for the NCR had wiped them out at Navarro. No one has seen the Enclave in years. Perhaps it was another unknown faction that came for the dam that happened to have a vertibird. Maybe it had something to do with Mr. House. Overall, he could speculate for hours but that wasn't the time. Outside of the base waited deadly robots that threatened the life of every NCR soldier.
Colonel Hsu later left the interrogation room after a while and had another person continue the debriefings. He walked close to the derelict windows of the building which had rays of light pouring in. He peered out and observed his soldiers. They walked around with their weapons but one can see the fear in their faces. Morale has never been so low for the NCR. Then, Colonel Hsu looked up toward the direction of the securitrons.
What are they waiting for? He thought. They had the remaining Mojave forces of the NCR cornered yet they weren't doing anyhting. When they showed up, he gave an order to all personnel at the base to not attack the securitrons or try to approach them.
Colonel Hsu sighed for he'll need to come up with a solution soon. The rest of the NCR back west needed to know of their predicament. They tried radioing for other NCR soldiers out in the Mojave via the emergency radio but there was nothing. They would call the rest of the NCR back west but the broadcast range of the equipment at Camp McCarren didn't reach that far. Hopefully, there silence will get some rangers sent to investigate after a few days if they had that long.
"Sir." Said an NCR soldier who walked up to Colonel Hsu, taking him out of his thoughts.
"Yes, soldier." Colonel Hsu responded. He noticed the soldier was breathing heavily.
"Major Dhatri request your presence. He's down by the tents. Should I bring him to you?"
"No thanks. I'll go see him. You should go rest, soldier."
"Yes, sir!" Said the soldier before he turned around and left.
Colonel Hsu met up with Major Dhatri outside of the terminal building and spoke with him inside a tent.
"What is it Dahtri?" Asked Colonel Hsu as soon as they entered the tent. Dhatri took a seat on a chair and sighed before answering Hsu.
"Some of the troops are getting scared. I heard word that we may not have many medical supplies here to treat all the wounded that came from the dam. Some are getting paranoid, whispering of possible traitors among the NCR that are responsible for the lost of the battle." Said Major Dhatri while he took off his beret and brushed back his long hair. He kept his beret in his hands.
"For the medical supplies, we'll ration them to those that need it the most." Responded Colonel Hsu to Major Dhatri.
"What about the growing paranoia? A bunch of people stuck in one place will surely lead to infighting eventually. People get desperate, Colonel."
"I hope it doesn't come to that. Eventually the rest of the NCR will send someone out here. Also, I think it be too soon for any insanity among our soldiers."
"I hope you are right." Responded Major Dhatri. Colonel Hsu sighed before he responded.
"The NCR faced many challenges. We'll survive this."
"Yeah." Major Dhatri got up from his seat and put on his beret. He walked toward the entrance to the tent but stopped to say one more thing to Hsu.
"I guess the bright side to all this is it is that the Legion is the least of our worries now in the Mojave." Then, Dhatri exited the tent, leaving Colonel Hsu by himself.
We could be dealing with someone worse than the Legion. Thought the Colonel before he exited the tent, too.
Meanwhile, earlier in the day, the forces of Caesar's Legion were travelling further east away from the Colorado River. Dust was kicked up as they sadly marched under the sun deeper into their territory. Occasionally, a wounded legionnarie would drop dead to the side. Fortunately, they didn't have many wounded with them to worry about. They were heading toward a Legion camp that was two miles left to go. Its overall distance from the Colorado River was around 15 miles. It depended overall on the speed one's travelling, but the remaining Legion soldiers, along with their slaves, were in no rush despite resting during the night that followed after the battle at the Hoover Dam.
Leading the group was Lucius, the old leader of the Praetorian Guard, the former bodyguards of Caesar himself, in addition to Legate Lanius. Beside him was Vulpes Inculta, the commander of the Frumentarii, the spies and infiltrators of the Legion. The two said nothing during the journey. Vulpes saw it wise not to say anything for he could see Lucius getting easily upset at him. Many in the Legion disliked Vulpes for his tactics. Also, he didn't have anything to say to the old brute.
Vulpes moved toward the side to allow those moving behind him to go forward freely. He stopped and looked back, seeing what remained of the Legion. A decent amount of warriors survived but it was still devastating.
A dark time for the Legion. Vulpes thought. They had no leader to officially become the new Caesar. Legate Lanius was gone which was more of a relief for Vulpes. Lanius would've likely executed him due to not needing the frumentarii for he preferred brute strength instead. No clever tactics or anything. Overall, Lanius ruling would've been a bigger nightmare. Sadly, once they get to where they going, the question of leadership will come into question. Hopefully, it will go down as smooth as possible. Vulpes certainly knew there will likely be violence.
Vulpes then felt a cool breeze pass by as he looked up at the clear, sunny sky. A single cool drop of sweat trickled down his brow.
Mars... Please give the Legion strength.
Vulpes looked away the sky and turned back around to continue following his fellow legionnaries through the desert.
An hour later, back in the Strip, the Courier left the Tops casino and returned to the Lucky 38 with Rex. He didn't see Cass, Arcade, or Veronica when he made his way back. They likely were already back at the suite. He didn't blame them if they were still at the Ultra-Luxe. That place had the restaurant The Gourmand, which was alright since it was free of human meat. He went into the elevator, dropped off Rex in the suite, and went to the top floor.
The Courier slowly stepped out the elevator and looked upon the large monitor that still displayed the message, "Offline". Yes Man was still gone. The Courier looked down at the floor before looking up at the large screen. He stared at it for a few minutes before finally looking back down. He then slowly turned toward the elevator.
See ya, Yes Man.
Before he took a step toward the elevator, the screen made a sound and was a bit brighter.
"Oh, hey there! Nice to see you again!"
The Courier quickly turned around with a smile on his face.