CHAPTER FIVE: CHANGES IN STRIP MANAGEMENT. BY DESERT RANGER CARACAL.
LOCATION: The 13th floor of The Tops casino.
DATE: NOVEMBER 9TH 2281.
TIME: 7:58 PM.
TEMPERATURE: 72°F OR 22°C.
The head of the chairmen took his bottle of whiskey and opened it up, knocking back the mere half ounce remaining in the bottle before speaking.
"You two got quite the crazy drop on me, but don't shoot me now, just hear me out."
He said, as the color slowly began to return to his face, regaining his composure steadily.
"Give us the chip now and you may live."
Courier six said, as Benny shook his head and quickly replied.
"Not possible, this chip's special, savor this though. I can comp you two the presidential, the best suite in the house, and in Vegas. You two deserve a taste of the VIP lifestyle considering what you've been through. Give me a moment to regain my composure and knock back a cocktail or four, we'll meet in the suite and talk all this over. I'll tell you everything you want to know, I think we might even become proper business partners from it."
He said, as the Courier quickly replied.
"Why should I be trusting the man who tried to kill me?"
She asked, as Benny chuckled a bit and quickly replied.
"I know baby, that was a terrible first impression, I can't begin to blame you for thinking of me as nothing but a creep. But this is a 24 karat opportunity here, you'd be a fool to squander this chance. I've got the chip, but I need help to see this shindig to the end. And who shows up but two individuals who've been making a splash in the wastes? It's no coincidence, you two were meant to work with me and help me all the way."
Benny said, as Joseph and Six looked at each other briefly, before the Courier shook her head and replied.
"No deal, you're dying here now." She said, as Benny sighed and gave his reply.
"Looks like I'm going to have to get my hands dirty to get out of here alive."
Benny said, drawing his pistol, and before he could even think of firing, he got 30 bullets jammed right into his body. 24 rounds of 5mm cut into him as Courier Six emptied a magazine into him, and Joseph fired all six rounds into Benny with little to no issue, killing him with ease. The caracal reloaded with Six, and after closing the loading gate, holstered his gun while beginning to look the place over nice and slow.
The courier grabbed Benny's pistol off of his corpse and put it in her pack as a trophy, along with the platinum chip. She stood up and began to walk to Joseph as he entered Benny's room and stopped, turning his right ear over to the wall.
"Let's go, I have the chip."
She said, as Joseph raised a paw and spoke.
"Do you hear that? I think we might have something worth checking into next to us."
He said, turning and beginning to walk to the noise. Six followed, and followed the feline into the room to see just what he had heard. It was a rather junk filled place, as if someone had gutted several different robots in an attempt to kludge together some kind of project. Terminals were also all over the place, and lastly, something really odd was in the room.
There was a securitron there, standing there as if it was just supposed to be there, but with a smiley face on its screen instead of a police face. It clearly demonstrated its chipper demeanor upon looking at the two intruders who'd only recently finished off its creator in icy blood.
"Hello hello! It's good to meet you two, how can I help you out?"
The securitron yes man said, remaining cheery as can be, even in front of the strangers.
"Just what are you?"
The courier asked, as the robot quickly replied without inhibitions.
"Great question! I'm a PDQ-88b securitron programmed by Benny to monitor and decrypt Mr House's transmissions, but you can call me Yes Man!"
He said, as Joseph tilted his head and quickly spoke.
"How in the sam hell did Benny get his hands on, and reprogram a securitron? You're supposed be on the strip, no?"
He asked, as Yes Man replied soon afterwards.
"From what I understand, I would be out on the strip as usual. But what happened was I got totally reprogrammed to be nice, very, very nice! Oh, and Benny had a little help with a lady friend of his. I don't know much about her, besides that she came from some fort in Freeside."
"What the hell is this place?"
The courier asked, looking around the junk littered room as Yes Man replied once more.
"Benny's workshop. During the Top's renovation, he had this half of the floor blocked off for his own purposes. This is essentially my whole world, not like I mind it at all!" He said, as the courier nodded.
"So about that name, is it really that literal?"
"Why yes it is! I was programmed to follow any set of instructions given to me, no matter what! It doesn't matter what you tell me, I will do it!"
Yes Man said, as Joseph nodded his head and spoke.
"Well we recently got our hands on a Platinum Chip that Benny stole from my good friend here, and I want to know just what the hell it's for."
He said, as the securitron quickly spoke.
"Gladly! Benny had me look at it at least a few hundred times before you gunned him down. It's a lot like a holotape, but much smaller, and much more advanced. The transmissions House sent regarding it indicated that it could somehow enhance the security of The Strip. But that's mainly guesswork though, you'd need to have special equipment to make use of the chip, and there are only two places that have it. The lucky 38 and Fortification Hill."
"Well what did he have planned with the chip?" Six asked, as Yes man quickly answered.
"Benny wanted to kill Mr House and copy my neuro-computational matrix to the Lucky 38 using the chip! From there I would be able to control all of Mr House's defenses, and I guess just obey every order from Benny, looks like he won't be doing that however."
Yes Man said, as the gears in the caracal ranger's head slowly turned, and a plan began to formulate.
"Six, I got an idea. Perhaps we take this here chip and use it to elevate the Free Mojave Forces up to House's Level, after getting him out of the picture, how's that sound?"
He asked, turning to the courier, who turned to him, and nodded.
"I think a change in power's a great idea, so let's get to it."
She said, before turning to Yes Man and asking a simple question.
"Say me and my friend here wanted to use the chip to take over Vegas, what about that?"
"Well then I'd have to help! I can't disobey orders after all, even if Benny really would not have enjoyed me serving you. Not my fault that I can't say no!"
He said, as Joseph nodded and spoke.
"Alright, what's the plan that's been laid out?"
He asked, getting an answer soon afterwards.
"Again, the first objective is to get rid of Mr House and install my neuro-computational matrix onto the Lucky 38's mainframe. Given that you're a new arrival, I encourage you to meet with some of the region's tribes and decide just what to do with them. By the time that's all finished up, the Legion should be close to their assault on Hoover Dam, and we will execute the last step of the scheme."
He said, with the two warriors thinking for a bit before Six offered a question.
"Say House was to have an "Accident. Any ideas to work that out?"
"It makes me feel like an idiot to say this, but I have no idea! Nobody has been in the Lucky 38 for years! Mr House is there however, it's the center of all his operations."
Yes Man said, as Six spoke right afterwards.
"We've been inside the Lucky 38, we've even talked to House."
"Oh? Well that changes everything! Benny couldn't stop scheming on how he would get into the Lucky 38 but you two just beat that part out of the park. Now the other thing you two are going to need is a platinum chip, yknow, the thing that Benny murdered a courier over in Goodsprings?"
He asked, as Joseph leaned down and whispered in Six's ear.
"Don't kill him, he's the best chance we got, but you're welcome to let him know of his mistake."
Joseph stood back up, and the Courier soon questioned him again.
"How much do you know about that courier?"
She asked, as Yes Man seemed to light up before speaking.
"Oh I knew practically everything! I knew that there were seven couriers in total, and that each of them had totally random routes they had to take. I knew the route of the specific courier who had the Platinum Chip, and when Benny and the others had to strike in order to attain it. Isn't that impressive?"
He asked, as Six soon replied with a less than exciting statement for Yes Man.
"I'm the courier from Goodsprings. Benny's bullet didn't kill me, I survived and came back for the chip."
"Hahaha! I know you're lying, you've still got a head attached to your shoulders."
Yes Man said, as Six stepped a bit closer and spoke again.
"I'm serious. You're lucky I don't aim to kill you." She said stiffly, as Yes Man rolled away a bit before speaking.
"Hahahah, that's not funny at all! I'm sorry for having taken pride in that, I feel quite bad for taking pride in nearly killing you."
He said, as six pulled the chip out of her bag and spoke again.
"Well Benny's dead, and I have the chip, remember?"
"Oh of course you do, and it's amazing that you do! The Platinum chip is the key to exploiting House's defenses and using them for your ends. Did I say exploiting? Oh that's not a very nice word."
Yes man said, as Joseph soon chirped up.
"So I presume we're going to have to begin to work with the local tribes to see how eagerly they'd support a free Vegas."
"Oh no, that's not required at all! Their support isn't needed, all you'll need are the securitrons. What I meant is simple, get to know these tribes and choose who you do, and don't like! Choose your allies and shape the future of Vegas! For example, if you like a tribe, just leave it alone, or if a tribe is nasty and going to be a problem, don't feel bad about exterminating it! It's all entirely your call!"
Yes Man said, as the feline realized precisely what kind of control the securitron seemed to be offering him and Six.
"Well which Mojave tribes should we get to know specifically?"
The Courier asked, rubbing her temples gently while trying to formulate a specific approach with specific groups.
"Good question! There are quite a few around here, and you've met some of them, like the chairmen. It's best if you take a visit to the other families on The Strip, The Omertas and the White Glove Society. That way you know just what makes them tick, and determine what happens accordingly. There are other groups further from The Strip who are rather important. The Boomers, the Great Khans and the Brotherhood of Steel are examples. I'd tell you to visit the Free Mojave Forces too, but from what I'm seeing, the leader of them is literally right next to you. So that means you're allies, right?"
Yes Man said, as Six and Joseph nodded.
"You could indeed say that. We'll deal with the specifics of how all of this works out after taking out house. Now you were saying something about a spot at The Fort?"
Joseph said, perking his ears sharp as he listened to his answer.
"Correct, it's one of the two locations on House's network with non standard hardware. It must have a reader that can decode the chip, it may even have something really cool, like a giant robot or something else that can help."
He said, the caracal nodding slowly as he replied.
"We're definitely going to check that out."
"Neat! Let me know what you find there when you come back!"
Yes man said, with Courier Six turning to the door as she spoke.
"We'll take care of House before we have to sleep, you'll be in House's network by 11 at the latest."
"Great! I'll be waiting just outside The Tops by then, don't you worry!"
The securitron said, as Six and Joseph left Benny's workshop. As they walked to the casino floor elevator, Joseph's mind was flowing with ideas on just what was going to happen. How to deal with House, the other tribes, groups that Yes Man didn't consider, and so on. This continued racking in his mind, as Joseph and Six walked through the Casino floor, ending as soon as Joseph saw a most unpleasant sight.
Vulpes Inculta approached the two of them slowly, seeming to gulp slightly at the sight of Joseph. He ignored the caracal and went right to Six as he pulled a necklace out of his pocket.
"The eye of the mighty Caesar looks down on you and what you have done with pleasure, so he extends the gift of his mark. All of your crimes against The Legion are forgiven, know that Casear will not wipe the slate clean a second time. My lord seeks your audience at Fortification Hill, this mark will keep you safe through our lands, as if Caesar himself is standing beside you."
Vulpes said, his slick voice seeping small amounts of a venom most pure. He knew precisely how to speak, even if he wasn't so charasmatic. Plainly a Frumentarius to the very core.
"Tell Caesar I accept his invitation."
Six said, as Vulpes nodded.
"Seek passage by way of Cottonwood Cove, the Cursor Lucullus will be waiting. Oh, and if you bring that fleabag with you, we will collar him as a slave for free."
Vulpes said with s snarl as Joseph gently chuckled down at him.
"Really now? I hope you understand that you're the closest a Legionary's gotten to me without being killed on the spot. Now be a good little brown noser for your senile master and scurry off before I paint the Lucky 38 with your fresh corpse."
Joseph said, leaning down as Vulpes stepped back, losing his composure quickly as one of Caesar's ultimate enemies came close to him.
"You and all of your kind belong in chains till the end of time! So long as Caesar lives I will not let more of you disgusting mutants exist without being in your place."
He shouted desperately, before turning around and running off as Joseph let out another, deeper laugh of sincere amusement.
"Ahahah, fun leydike feser iz der lyarem greser!"
Joseph said, calming down after a bit before turning to Six.
"I hope you don't take his words seriously. He's at best a snake who hides his true intents. At worst? He's sincere about his love of Caesar and wants him to succeed. Do not take him seriously."
Joseph warned, as Six pocketed the mark.
"Why did you scare him like that?"
"A leyb hot nit moyre far keyn flig. I had to remind him that he was in the face of someone who could kill him without thinking much of it."
He said, as Six nodded without understanding what her companion had said.
"So do you think I should go to The Fort?" She asked, as Joseph looked down on her with a much more serious look on his face.
"Shtek nit dem kop tsum volf in moyl arayn. Don't try to negotiate with Caesar in any capacity at all. He is the lone, rusting linchpin holding the Legion in place, and when he is killed, it will crumble fantastically over time. If anything, that chip presents a fantastic opportunity for assassination, but we'll discuss that after we get House out of the picture, and have Yes Man running the show."
Joseph said. Six nodded, and the two of them advanced steadily back to the Lucky 38. A lot had suddenly appeared on their plates, and the caracal was keen to dive in after removing House from the Equation. Six had her own things to do, but all would be dealt with in good time.
LOCATION: The Lucky 38 Casino floor.
DATE: NOVEMBER 9TH 2281.
TIME: 9:15 PM.
TEMPERATURE: 63°F OR 17°C.
They spoke nothing as they went into the Lucky 38, with six only saying a single word to Victor when the two approached the elevator.
"Penthouse."
She said, as serious as a man pushing all his chips into a one armed bandit. Up to the Penthouse they went, quickly readying themselves for a fight.
Six turned the safety of her rifle off, Joseph grabbed and unholstered his revolver, his thumb on the hammer as he waited for the right time to cock it. As the two exited the elevator, they descended into the chamber where House's primary computer sat, observing the two as Six spotted a terminal.
She approached it quickly and began to type with it after slinging her rifle. A securitron approached the two as the Courier worked with the terminal, rolling over quickly as Joseph slowly cocked the revolver's hammer.
"Step away from the terminal, you are not authorized to operate it."
The securitron said as the caracal calmly held his ground. Six stepped away from the terminal as a hidden door slid open, and Joseph quickly shot the Securitron right in the screen, killing it instantly as the two of them rushed into the newly opened room.
"What have you done?! Why are you doing this? You two could have been like gods in Vegas, and you're throwing that chance away! You won't survive this, I can promise that."
House shouted over the PA system, while Joseph shot at the securitrons in the newly opened room and Courier Six shot at them too, alongside the turrets on the ceiling. They ran to the elevator, as Six holstered her rifle again and began to rapidly work with the terminals on each side of the nearby elevator while the ranger covered her ass.
The first one she worked with initiated a security override, saving their ammunition for later as the remaining securitrons seemed to ignore what they had done. The second terminal gave them access to the elevator itself, meaning they could finish the takeover properly. After gaining access to the second elevator, the two quickly entered, with Joseph rapidly reloading during the short ride before the doors opened again, and the pair saw just what waited before them.
They were in the deepest bowels of the Lucky 38, barely lit and displaying only a few sources of light, the brightest of which was at the end of the tunnel. Some kind of steel coffin by the looks of it, with a terminal at end. Six made her way to the terminal as Joseph followed behind, the caracal keen on keeping their visit to this part of the casino short.
A few button presses later, and the isolation chamber opened up. Slowly the two of them saw the shriveled husk of House, reminding Joseph of Brahmin Jerky and Six of Gecko Jerky, but both of them knew that they were looking at a husk of a man who couldn't sustain himself otherwise. The lips of the ancient man soon spoke slowly as the two listened intently.
"Centuries of work, down the drain, a lifetime of planning, ruined! Why did you do this?"
House asked with what little energy he had, a raspy voice that made a Ghoul sound like a crooner in his prime coming out of his shell of a body.
"The Free Mojave Forces want to establish a free land that can sustain itself without a megalomaniacal parasite eating at its intestine. You were in the way."
Joseph answered, as House let out a little laugh.
"You think you could make a free Mojave work without me? You will rue the day you damned me to the grave, I can be certain of that. You could have been witness to the exploration and colonization of the moon, and other planets, and instead you shoot yourself in the thigh! Remember what you've done, especially when your precious blue star is on fire, because nobody's bothering to keep it safe!"
House shouted out, coughing soon after as the caracal holstered his revolver.
"You have the honors Six, put him out of his misery."
He ordered, as the courier reloaded her rifle. Amazingly though, she just put it away, and took out a bloodstained nine iron she had been carrying. She tapped House's cheek with it, pulling it behind her head slowly before swinging and breaking his neck, killing him instantly as his head ripped off and swung off into the inaccessible depths of the casino.
Joseph nodded in approval as Six put the nine iron away, and gave a little comment as he approached the elevator back up.
"Azoy lang der mentsh lebt iz im di gantse velt tsu kleyn; nokhn toyt iz im der keyver genug."
He said, with Six once again not understanding what Joseph had to say.
Regardless, they left the cursed place. Just as they walked out of the Lucky 38, they heard something that made them freeze a little.
"I, Robert Edwin House, have passed away not five minutes ago. Please approach a securitron to read my obituary."
Said a recording of House, as people did just that, approaching the securitrons on the strip and taking obituaries from them. While walking to the Tops, Joseph grabbed one right from a Securitron, reading it while chuckling.
"Wow, House really did think of himself as the savior of all mankind. What a schmuck."
Joseph said, following Six into the casino. Not a half hour later, Yes Man had been installed into the House's entire mainframe, and after a quick demonstration of what the chip had inside, Joseph and Six walked on over to the console where Yes Man's cheery face was prominently displayed.
"Alright, here's the news. You are now under the command of the Free Mojave Forces. Your orders will come from me, my second in command, or Six. You'll be extremely important to a free and safe Mojave, and you'll receive new parameters within the week."
"Excellent, I look forward to working with you!"
Yes Man said, cheery and bright, but seemingly more honest than usual. Soon after, Joseph and Six hit the suite, and each took a bed. Six took the master bedroom, and Joseph collapsed into one of the double beds after pulling off his armor, both of them sleeping till the sun had risen. They deserved their rest, for they had done, plus they had much ahead of them.
LOCATION: Original Free Mojave Forces bunker.
DATE: NOVEMBER 11th 2281.
TIME: 10:32 AM.
TEMPERATURE: 91°F OR 33°C.
The small bunker had become much too small for the militia, so Joseph had begun plans to move the base into Vault 3, and to transform the South Vegas ruins into a proper military base, and a place that could be lived in much easier. The bunker would still hold value, but be of significantly less importance to the militia.
Whatever the case, Zechariah, Isaac and another soldier were currently doing inventory in preparation for the moving out, all while the caracal thought of what his new armory was going to look like.
Isaac was thinking about how many more recruits were going to be fit in, and the rest of the base all was thinking about the new base in one way or another. Joseph was looking over the recovered plans for Vault 3 with Russell when Six came over, looking at her Pip-Boy before speaking.
"I spotted something on my pip boy I gotta take a look at, alone. Former brotherhood bunker with a radio beacon coming off of it. By the looks of this place, I'll be coming back with a year or more's worth of funds for the militia."
She said, as Joseph and Russell looked up at her, the cheetah letting out a light chuckle.
"Hope your treasure hunting works out, Zechariah's been itching for more high end gear to issue to the troops."
"Remember to come back to Vault 3 when you come back, this place will be a backup in a month at most."
Joseph said, as Six nodded and left the bunker.
The move turned out to be surprisingly smooth, and within the week the most important parts had been moved to their new home in Vault 3. Taking out the fiends had been an amazing tactical move, and the much more comfortable vault and the surrounding ruins proved to be a significantly better base.
LOCATION: Vault 3, the new Free Mojave Forces base.
DATE: NOVEMBER 19th 2281.
TIME: 11:39 AM.
TEMPERATURE: 84°F OR 29°C.
Joseph was resting in his quarters, leaning back at his desk while reading through a bruised copy of the Dead Sea Scrolls the vault had hidden in its mostly ashen library. Amazingly it was one of the few books that hadn't been burnt by the Fiends, which was all the more fantastic because it was an all hebrew copy. It was also in good enough shape for the text to be clear and readable, making reading it a breeze. Joseph, Zechariah, Rachel and all the other Jews who'd joined the militia were all doing similar things.
It was also the day when Six came back, walking through the large vault door with a small supply caravan that brought some essentials too. The Courier could really tell that the Free Mojave Forces had been working at an astonishing pace to clean the vault, and had clearly made fantastic process. Regardless, she had two goals. Deliver her bounty to Joseph and get a long rest.
A brief conversation with Isaac later, and she was entering Joseph's office/bedroom, the former overseer's quarters. It was easily the cleanest part of the vault, seemingly only dusted off before Joseph had set up shop with plans, books and the like. It fit him well, especially as he leant back in his chair while reading over the pages of his people's past. Six let out a cough, pulling a bag out of her backpack and putting it onto the desk as the caracal pulled his face out of the text.
"I said I was going to come back with something to fund the militia, you won't be disappointed by this. Now if you excuse me, I need to sleep for at least a day."
"Nobody's gonna bother you for sleeping as long as you want on the day of rest. Sleep well."
Joseph said, as the Courier turned around and left the room. After Six left, Joseph set the book aside and lifted the bag up, grunting in surprise. Heavy, heavier than expected. The ranger untied the knot on the bag and opened it, looking inside and letting out a sharp gasp of sincere surprise.
Three solid gold bars, a few chips from the potential source, the Sierra Madre Casino. That, and some other minor goodies finished the bag's contents off. He put them away, tying the bag up tight as he set it aside. Sunday would be the right time to get the gold put away and sold for arms, ammo, armor, food, and other essentials. Six found the sleeping quarters soon after and fell into an empty bed, after stripping off her armor. True to her word, she was out of bed on Sunday, ready for another job, one in a less hostile, but still ever violent part of the wasteland.