Chapter 3: Primm

As I walked out of Goodsprings, I had the feeling that someone was watching me. I don't know why, but call it a gut instinct. Rule one of the wastes: trust your guts unless you want them on the floor.

Anyways, I was walking down the road when a guy approached me. I readied myself, just in case he tried anything. "Hello? Can you help me?" He asked in a not too concerned voice.

I waved him off. "Sorry pal, I have my own problems." I said, before walking away. Nope, not today.

"I can pay you!" He called behind me. I stopped, considering it. Ah fuck it, could always use more caps. I turned around, facing him. "What's wrong?" I asked.

"My girl is trapped by geckos on the ridge and I can't get to her. Please, she's going to die!" He said. Man the things I do for money.

"Where is she?" I asked. He pointed to the place past this busted radio tower, and I made my way over. Lo and behold, I could see about six geckos at the ridge. I walked up, taking aim. I pulled out Blackout. Two bursts later, all the geckos were dead. I walked up, looking for anyone. I could see a chair, an ammo box and a crate. Well shit, I just broke my rule. I could see the bastard running up behind me. I still had Blackout in my hand. Come on asshole, give me reason.

"Sorry I tricked you, but thanks for clearing out the Geckos. Now I can get to that stash up there... after I deal with you." He said. Before he could pull out his gun, I had already aimed Blackout. His head exploded, and the body dropped. I quickly moved over to the corpse, inspecting it. Let's see... 9 mil ammo, pistol I can sell later on, stimpacks, caps... sweet a Nuka Cola! I chugged that down, before going over to the stash he mentioned.

After taking care of the two beartraps I found, I walked over to the stash. Let's see... I cracked open the ammo box, and inside I found about forty .308 rounds. Nice. This could be promising if the rounds were anything to go by. I opened the crate next to the ammo box, and inside was a hunting rifle. Yes! I checked it, and damn was this a good rifle. It had a scope, a silencer, the action felt a whole lot smoother, it had a shoulder strap, and had and extended mag. Beside it was three more extended mags, all of which were empty. Shit, looks like my luck's getting better.

After filling up the mags, I realized that I was running out of space on my person. Shit. Okay, where can I put some of this stuff? Wait a minute... I checked my Pip-Boy, realizing something. I pressed the button labeled ITEMS. Suddenly I saw... damn this was a lot of tabs. I selected weapons, and saw all of the stuff I had on me. I selected the 9 mil, not Blackout but the one I just picked up, and it disappeared from my waist.

Holy shit! I stared at the area the pistol was, before checking the Pip Boy again. I clicked the pistol, and it appeared on my waist again. I repeated the process a few more times, before finally stopping. Damn the possibilities with this thing are endless. Awesome. Where was I again? Oh right! I shouldered the hunting rifle, putting an extra mag on the side, and set out once more.


On the way to Primm, I had another run in with some Powder Gangers. I thankfully made short work of them, before looting the makeshift camp they had set up. I walked away from the camp a few caps richer, along with some stuff I could sell later on. I was about to enter Primm when I got stopped by an NCR soldier. Oh hell here we go.

"Hey where the hell do you think you're going? Primm is off limits." He told me. Wait what? Oh hell no.

"Off limits? I thought that Primm didn't fall under NCR influence." I said. I sighed in annoyance. The NCR. They were good back in the day, but they were dying. The people in charge were at best incompetent, and at worst corrupt. Their main problem was they were expanding too far too fast. They wouldn't rest until they conquered... oh excuse me, 'annexed' every settlement they could find.

"Some convicts from the prison up the road have taken over the town. Everyone inside is either dead or in hiding. What's more, there are two tribes of raiders causing trouble in this area as well. You'd be safer heading back up to Goodsprings." The soldier told me. Ha, this guy must be blind if he can't notice how armed I am.

"I can take care of myself." I said, nodding at the guns I had on me. The soldier scoffed. "Normally I would just let you be. Unfortunately I have my orders. You aren't passing this line." He told me. Fuck. Okay, let's try and make this civil shall we?

"Look, get on the radio with your commanding officer, and yes you have a radio I can see it on your shoulder, and tell him that a courier wants to get into Primm, alright? I'll head up and speak with him." I told him, stepping past the soldier.

I grumbled all the way up to the obvious command post, drinking a bottle of whiskey. I saw two NCR troops stationed in front of one tent, so I knew where to go. I walked up to the tent, where the to troops let me in. Good.

I saw a guy in a green beret, looking down at a map. If I remember correctly, the beret means he's an officer. Good. I walked up to him, and he saw me. He moved over to me, and he held out his hand. "I'm Lieutenant Hayes of the New California Republic Army, 5th Battalion, 1st Company. What's your business?" He said.

I shook his hand. If he could be courteous then I can too. "Michael Strife. I'm a courier." I shot back. I explained my situation to the Lt, and thankfully he was listening. As I finished my little tale, he nodded.

"I might be able to help you out Mr. Strife. If you can deliver this to Major Knight in the Mojave Outpost, you can pass into Primm. Agreed?" He asked. I nodded. I am a courier after all. The Lt sighed in relief. "Thank you. Just let us disable the mines and you're home free." He said, motioning to a soldier. Thank god. Something was going right finally.

Five minutes later I was walking into Primm, hunting rifle in hand. I walked down the left of this old building, noticing an old shack in front of me. I noticed about three guys, all wearing armor and armed with shotguns. Shit. I ran into the shack, moving as silently as possible. When I got in, I saw what looked to be the scene of a slaughter. Damn, this was messy. I looked to the right, reading a badge on the desk in front of me. 'Sheriff McBain'. Well shit. Sorry sheriff, but I'm going to have to take some of this stuff if I'm going to survive.

I searched the house, finding a .357 magnum, some ammo for said magnum, and a slightly armored black leather duster. I had a .357 from Cobb, so I scrapped this one, replacing the parts that were too worn out. I grabbed the duster, tossing it on. It was light enough that I could move, but still gave me decent protection. Not bad. I put the .357 in a holster strapped to my chest, and grabbed the hunting rifle. I slowly opened the door of the shack, peeking out.

I saw that two of the guys from before had left, leaving one guy. I aimed the rifle, and fired. The guy dropped dead without a sound. I slowly moved out of the shack, looking around for the others. I saw the other two guys coming from around the building. Shit. I shouldered the rifle, pulling out Blackout. I aimed, and VATS kicked in, letting me get a good view of their heads. Awesome.

Blackout barked twice, and the two of them dropped dead. Alright. Now that that's done, I'm walking over to the Mojave Express. I saw a body leaning against the building. Wait a minute... was that? Ah shit. I dropped to one knee, inspecting the body. Despite the bullet wound where his eye was, I could still see who it was. Daniel. Fuck. I closed his eyes. "Sorry man." I said, patting his shoulder.

Alright Dan, let's see if there was anything you can tell me. I saw he was still clutching a piece of paper. I took it out of his hands, reading it.

INSTRUCTIONS

Deliver the package at the north entrance to the New Vegas Strip, by way of Freeside. An agent of the recipient will meet you at the checkpoint, take possession of the package, and pay for the delivery. Bring the payment to Johnson Nash at the Mojave Express agency in Primm.

Bonus on completion: 250 caps.

MANIFEST

This package contains:

Two (2) Oversized Dice, composed of fuzzy material

CONTRACT PENALTIES

You are an authorized agent of the Mojave Express Package until the delivery is complete and payment has been processed, contractually obligated to complete this transaction and materially responsible for any malfeasance or loss. Failure to deliver to the proper recipient may result in forfeiture of your advance and bonus, criminal charges, and/or pursuit by mercenary reclamation teams. Mojave Express is not responsible for any injury or loss of life you experience as a result of said reclamation efforts.

I read it over a few more times. Man, what the fuck is going on? The exact same wording, the exact same instructions, everything was just like my delivery. It was almost the same except he was carrying dice. What the fuck is it with these packages? Thanks anyways buddy. I sadly had to leave Daniel behind, going into the Mojave Express Office.

I pulled out the .357, cocking the hammer. Time to get some answers. Inside I found no one. On the counter I saw a... weird ball thing. It looked lie a robot, but it wasn't like any I had ever seen. It had an antenna, transmitters, a reinforced speaker grill, and a... laser? Cool. I saw a license plate with worn out words, the only thing left that I could tell was "ED-E." I decided to check inside, to see what was going with this thing. Let's see here... some circuits were fried, some of this stuff could use some calibrations, but it looked fixable. I decided not to mess with it, it wasn't mine. Let's see what else I could find. Nothing much really, but I did find a note. It said something about a Vikki and Vance Casino. I checked the building across from me... yep, that was it alright. Let's see what I can find.


I knocked on the door of the Casino, looking around for more bandits. I didn't get an answer, but I did see a slot in the door open. Immediately after that, I was staring down the barrel of a rifle. Ah shit. I held my hands up in surrender. "Whoa easy there pal, I don't mean any harm." I said.

"Who are you? What do you want?" A voice growled out.

"I'm a courier with the Mojave Express. I'm here to talk to Johnson Nash." I shot back. The gun was pulled back, and the slot closed. I could hear a muffled argument, and the door opened up. I tipped my hat to the man who opened it. "Much obliged buddy. Can you point me to Mr. Nash?" I asked. He nodded towards the back, and I entered the casino.

I saw an older man staring at me. He was smoking a cigarette, and was carrying a .357 in hand. "I don't know what it was brought you to Primm, youngster, but you might want to rethink your plans. Town's gone to hell." He told me.

"You Johnson Nash?" I asked. He nodded.

"Yep. Husband to Ruby Nash. Lived in Primm going on eight years now, thick and thin. I'm a trader primarily, for what it's worth with things like they are. I also run the local Mojave Express outpost." He told me. Alright, now we're getting somewhere.

"Look, I'm a courier with the Mojave Express." I told him. His face didn't change. "Well, I don't got any work right now, sorry to say." He shot back. I shook my head. "No, I'm not here for work. I lost a package I was supposed to deliver, you think you can help me out?" I asked.

He nodded. "I'll tell you whatever I can. Do you have a delivery order you can show me?" I handed him the note I had, and his face darkened. That's never a good sign. "Oh, so you're talking about one of them packages. That job had strange written all over it. But we couldn't turn down the caps." He said. Well this outta be good. "What was so strange about it?" I asked.

"That cowboy robot had us hire six couriers. Each was carrying something a little different. A pair of dice, a chess piece, that kind of stuff. Last word I had from the office, it looked like payment had been received for the other five jobs. Guess it was just your chip that didn't make it. First deadbeat we hired to do the job canceled. Hope a storm from the Divide skins him alive. Well, that's where you came in." He told me.

"Cowboy robot? You mean that one over there?" I asked, pointing to the securitron with the cowboy hat. He shook his head. "Nope. Different fella. Bigger. Had himself a face on a screen, and he talked more like you or me." Wait a minute... he couldn't mean... Victor? The fuck is going on?

"What about that other courier? He canceled?" I asked. Nash nodded, his face gaining a hard look. "Yeah, got this look when he saw you next down on the Courier list. His expression turned right around, asked me if your name was for real. I said, right as rain, you were still kicking. Then he turned down the job, just like that. I asked if he was sure, it was good money. No, let "Courier Six" carry the package, that's what he said - like the Mojave'd sort you out or something. Then he just up and walked out." He told me.

"Do you know where they went? Who they were?" I asked. He shook his head. "No idea. Sounds like you two had a history for him to act like that. And turn down the money, too. Hope he didn't see any trouble in that package of yours. Maybe he thought your name was bad luck. Not for me to say."

Damn. I'll have to look into that later. Well time to see what else I can find out about this place. Let's see if Suit passed by here at all.


Me and my luck man. Nash explained that Primm's deputy was captured earlier, and he was my only hope of finding Suit. I walked into the Bison Steve hotel, Blackout in hand. I looked inside, spotting two convicts. I moved in quietly, letting VATS kick in. As time slowed, I took in their equipment. Not too impressive thankfully, they were armed with only a varmit rifle and a pistol. I fired, hitting one in the head and the other in the heart. Damn that was smooth.

I moved over to them, looting them for anything major they had. Some caps, stimpacks, some 9 mil ammo and...holy shit a frag grenade! Damn I was lucky to get the drop on them. I put the grenade in an easily accessible pocket, searching around for more stuff. I noticed... a store? Hey, might be a safe in here! I walked in, and... yep! I checked the lock... oh. This lock was a bit too complicated for me. Shit.

Ain't no way in hell I'm leaving this behind! Time to improvise. I searched my pockets... I swear I had one around here somewhere... ah there we go! A lock's greatest enemy: The Cherry Bomb! I rigged it to blow, setting it in the lock. I hopped over the counter, waiting for the... I wouldn't say explosion more like the little poof! I checked the safe... holy shit.

Inside was about a thousand caps, some .357 bullets, and this... just beautiful gun. It was a .357, but it was so amazing! It's barrel, frame and cylinder were made of a smooth black metal decorated with ornate gold etchings. I saw the words Lucky engraved on this silver plate on the ejector tube. The handle had the clubs symbol, and was made of... was this ivory? Dear god...

I looked at the rather crappy .357 strapped to my side. I took that one out, unloading it before tossing it aside. With a bit of hesitance, I grabbed Lucky, putting it in my holster. Yeah, no way in hell I'm leaving this for some random scavenger.

Okay, after that little stop, I guess it's time to find the Deputy. I left the store, and I was back in the main hall. I brought up the rifle, making sure it was fully loaded. I saw a door at the end of the hallway. Looks like that might be important. I walked through the door, realizing my mistake. I saw three people, all armed with shotguns. Shit.

I aimed, making sure to target the closest one to me. One head shot later, I was left the rifle hanging, pulling out Blackout. VATS kicked in once more, and I aimed. I fired a few bursts. Unfortunately they weren't headshots, but I'm pretty sure that three bullets to the chest is enough for a few guys. Now that that's done, time to see if the deputy was- oh shit!

I barely moved out of the way of a burst of napalm. Shit! I fell on my ass, trying to crawl away from the flamethrower wielding convict who almost appeared out of nowhere. I fired Blackout frantically, missing every shot. FUCK! I was backed against the wall, and the guy was advancing on my. No room for the rifle... I tore Lucky from it's holster, taking aim. VATS didn't kick in this time, so I took a deep breath and fired.

The bullet struck the gas tank, and the flowing gas caught fire. I did the smart thing and ducked behind some cover. The convict frantically tried to fix the leak, but he wasn't so lucky. He let out a scream of terror, before becoming engulfed by a raging fire. I held a hand to my chest, trying to calm myself. I took a swing of whiskey, hoping it would help. It did thankfully. Now... time to find that damn deputy.


I found him... and was very disappointed at what I found. He was a complete and utter coward, but he at least had info on Suit.

He told me that Suit was going to Novac. That means I have to go through the Mojave Outpost and Nipton. I left Beagle to his own stuff, looking for Nash. "Hey there youngster. Hanging around Primm for a while?" He asked.

I shook my head. "I was going to head out soon. I was just wondering about that robot of yours..." I trailed off. He nodded. "Sure. What do you want to know?"

"Do you think I can take a look at it?" I asked hopefully. Nash nodded again. "You're welcome to try. Its yours if you can get it working." He said. Alright!


Almost... and done! ED-E shot up, a small horn blaring from his radio. I whooped. Man that was a close one. I almost messed up his circuits there. He beeped happily. "Hey there buddy! You wanna head out with me?" I asked. What? I like robots. Besides, that laser looks like it would do some damage. ED-D nodded... I think. Fuck it, I'm taking that!

"Come on then, let's head out." I said, walking out of the Mojave Express, ED-D right behind me. Time to head to the Outpost. What? I had a deal with the Lt. I always keep my word. Of course, nature decided to take it's course. The exhaustion of the last two days finally kicked in. Oh shit. I... need sleep. I walked to one of the abandoned houses, kicking in the door. "ED-D? Can you stay on guard for a few hours?" I asked. I heard a beep in response. "Thanks." I said, dropping onto a bed. I was out before I hit the pillow.

AN: Sup. So yeah, I'll try and keep these chapters at a minimum of a couple thousand words. So now Michael has a bit of ordinance, a new friend, and a new function for the Pip Boy. Don't worry, it won't be able to hold anything bigger than an SMG max, so no lugging around every gun he comes across. So anyways, until next time, Read, Review, and Enjoy!