"You just come in from the north?" A grizzled looking African-American man with a large, bushy beard clad in NCR Mantle Armor stopped Alessa as she entered the Outpost. She nodded in reply, and the man whistled. "Must be crazy to brave those roads. What brings you to the ol' Brahmin pen?" Alessa raised an eyebrow, not catching the man's joke.
"I'm sorry...Brahmin pen?" She repeated for clarification, and the man chuckled.
"This outpost is primarily used for traders coming in and out of California. Due to the roads being so dangerous these days, a lot of the traders from California get stuck here. Thus, the ol' Brahmin pen." He turned to point out a chain-link pen nearly filled to the brim with Brahmin. It looked to have makeshift sleeping bags on the ground, as well. Alessa couldn't help thinking to herself that it couldn't possibly be sanitary, but reminded herself that sleeping on the ground probably wasn't much better.
"I see what you mean. Are you Major Knight?" She asked, and the man shook his head.
"Knight? Nah, name's Sergeant Kilborn. Knight's over in the main building, at the reception desk."
"You mean that one, there?" She pointed to a building that had a wooden ramp leading to the rooftop, where an NCR Ranger stood, staring off in the distance through binoculars. Kilborn shook his head again.
"Nah, that's the barracks and the bar. Knight's in the other building."
"What's that woman looking at?" She asked, and Kilborn looked over towards the Ranger on the roof.
"Ghost, y'mean? She's our sniper. Said somethin' about the town of Nipton maybe being attacked. Orders are to have a standing force here at all times, so we haven't been able to send anybody to check it out." He looked her over, noting that her armored Vault suit looked well-used. "You look like you can handle yourself, so if you wanna make yourself useful, have a chat with Ghost. Jackson might have some work, too, but that'll be more like "pest extermination," catch my drift?" Alessa recalled the radscorpions and giant ants she encountered on her way to the Outpost, as well as various bandits. She reasoned that the insects in particular must've been what kept the traders penned in at the Outpost.
"I think I know what you mean. I assume your bar has a merchant manning it?"
"Yeah, Lacey's got some goods, and she'll buy most food and drink to resell to our boys. Weapons, though, you'd be better heading up to Vegas. Gun Runners will buy just about anything, and they certainly have the caps."
"I'll be heading to Vegas eventually, but I need to discuss some things with Major Knight." Alessa looked off in the direction of Primm, then looked up at the massive iron statues that marked the Outpost. One of them was clad in a long trenchcoat, the other clad in a cowboy-esque outfit similar to what Ranger Ghost was wearing. "May I ask what those statues are?"
"Ah, yes, a magnificent feat of artistry." Alessa read some sarcasm in Kilborn's voice, but allowed him to continue. "Signifies the unification of Nevada's Desert Rangers and the NCR Rangers. Mostly good for shade." He joked, but his tone soon turned serious. "Won't do much when the Legion hits us." Alessa had heard about the Legion, but never actually seen them in action. From what she'd heard, she didn't want to see them.
"What makes you think the Legion will attack here?" Kilborn gave her a look that asked if she'd been born yesterday.
"Well, considering we're on the border between Nevada and California, and most of our troops come through here to get to Vegas or wherever, the Legion will likely attack us once the battle for Hoover Dam starts up in an attempt to cripple our forces."
"I see. That's a troubling thought." Alessa shook her head. "Thank you for your help, sir. I hope the day treats you well." She headed to the main Outpost building, and the man couldn't help but be surprised by her manners. He smiled faintly, and went back to "patrolling."
* . * . * . * . * . *
"Hey, you." Alessa heard a woman's voice call for her as she approached the barracks. Looking up, she'd see Ranger Ghost peering down at her.
"Me?" Alessa asked for clarification, and Ghost nodded.
"You a Courier?" She asked, and Alessa nodded in response. Ghost actually smiled at that. "Then today's your lucky day. Got a job to do, but since we can't leave the Outpost, I need someone with freer feet, so to speak." Alessa nodded, heading up to the rooftop via a makeshift wooden ramp. Once on the roof, she peered off the side, feeling a little uneasy about being so high up.
"Ranger Ghost, is it?" Alessa asked. "Um...Sergeant Kilborn said something about the town of Nipton being attacked." Ghost nodded solemnly, looking off to the distance. Alessa looked, as well, shocked to see so much smoke pouring from the town she assumed was Nipton.
"Dunno how you didn't notice it on your way up here." Ghost said, frowning. "It's obvious the town's been hit. What I need to know is if they survived it. With all that smoke in the air, might be Powder Gangers."
"So you'd like me to check it out." Ghost nodded.
"You got it. If there are any survivors, they'd probably be holed up in the town hall." She looked over to Alessa, her voice serious. "Now, look. I'm looking for eyes and ears, not your life. If things get to be too much to handle, haul ass back here as quick as you can."
"Got it. Do you know if anyone else has work around here?" Ghost pondered for a moment.
"Jackson might have something. Dunno about any caravan work, though."
"I'll check out Nipton for you." She sounded determined, and Ghost seemed surprised to hear the determination in Alessa's voice.
"All right. Look at you, all fired up and ready to go." She chuckled, looking down at the other troopers around the Outpost. "Wish some of the guys here had your attitude."
"I've been hearing that a lot lately." Alessa murmured, looking around the Outpost. "I'd best get going, then. See you later, Ranger Ghost." Ghost nodded a goodbye, and Alessa descended down the ramp, heading for the main building.
* . * . * . * . * . *
"Caravan, Citizen, Pilgrim, or other?" A man in his mid-thirties asked Alessa from behind a reception desk, a pen in his hand as he scribbled names into a log book. He looked tired and bored, as though he'd been there for a while.
"What?" Alessa asked, confused. "Er...I'm a Courier. Alessa Grant." The man nodded, scribbling it down.
"Just need something for the log books. Keeping tabs on traffic through here." The man answered. "Though, mostly in. Not out, these days. Now, what brings you here?"
"Are you Major Knight?" She asked, and he nodded.
"That's me. What do you need?"
"I'd like to talk to you about Primm." She said seriously. Knight nodded, looking solemn.
"Hayes' unit is stationed up there. I know they were having issues with some convicts that broke out of the prison."
"Primm has seen better days." Alessa spoke grimly, and Hayes nodded.
"It has. It was a promising trade town, until the convicts took over. Lost a good bit of money at the Vikki and Vance. Say, you wouldn't happen to be the same Courier that helped Hayes out, would you?"
"I am." Alessa nodded. "Hayes is requesting additional support. He's undermanned and under-supplied." Knight thought about it for a moment.
"Hmm...I'd like to help, but we can't spare any more units. We need to maintain a minimum head count at the Outpost at all times. Orders from the West." Alessa frowned, determined not to let this trek be for nothing.
"You said yourself Primm would be a promising trade town. Having Primm -and- the trade routes under NCR control would help the West in the long run. It would bring in more money, right?" Knight was surprised by her argument.
"Huh...I didn't think of it that way. You got some head for business, Kid." He smiled faintly. "I'll radio for a unit to head to Primm for additional support."
"Thank you, sir." Alessa smiled, relieved that he agreed with her argument. "By the way...What else do you do here, besides keep tabs?"
"Well, I can maintain your equipment. You'll have to sign off on the forms and pay appropriately, of course."
"Do you service robots?" Alessa gestured to ED-E, floating along behind her.
"Well, it's not my area of expertise, but I can see about fixing up its chassis at least."
"That would be wonderful." Alessa smiled, turning to ED-E. "Command Protocol - Sleep Mode." ED-E replied with a series of beeps, and floated over to Knight, landing softly on his desk, and shutting off. "There. That should let you work with her, and not have her trying to float to every corner of the room." Knight nodded, looking ED-E over.
"Huh...Haven't seen one of these babies in a long time. Pretty well maintained. It belong to you?"
"Well, now she does." Alessa nodded. "I found her at the Mojave Express headquarters in Primm. Johnson Nash said another courier just left her there. She wasn't running, and as you can see, her chassis is still pretty badly damaged."
"Yeah, I can see that. Little 'bot must've taken quite a bit of damage, wherever it was going. Well, I'll take a look at it, see if I can't bang out any of these dents. Oh, before I forget, if you'd like to see our C.O., he's in the back offices. Just keep your conversation brief, though. Got a lot on his plate these days."
"I've heard. Thank you again, Major Knight."
"No problem." Knight waved her off, and she headed to the back offices. Seeing a man in a similar cowboy outfit to Ghost's, she reasoned that man must have been the commanding officer, Jackson.
"Excuse me, sir? Are you Ranger Jackson?" Jackson turned to her, nodding.
"Sure am." He chuckled. "Surprised to get a visitor in this ol' Brahmin pen. Usually people are just passing through. And, if you're passing through, you picked a bad time. Can't let the Caravans out on the roads. Too dangerous right now."
"I heard, and I've seen. Is there any way I can help?" She asked. Jackson shook his head.
"Help? Nah, I..." After a moment of thought, he changed his tune. "You know what? Yes, I could use the help. And you look like you can handle yourself." He turned to a map on his desk. It appeared to be a map of the trade routes in the area. "I need to get the Caravans moving again, but there's too much crawling the asphalt to allow it. Ants, Scorps, and bandits. All of 'em mean trouble for caravaneers."
"I could take care of it for you." Jackson smiled.
"I appreciate it. Come back here when you're done. I might accidentally, uh..."lose" some supplies to pay you with."
"Lose?"
"Well, we can't technically pay for merc work, but a requisition form or two can get lost, and nobody'll poke around about it too much. Besides, if it gets the Caravans moving again, I'd be glad to give you some supplies."
"Well, alright then." Alessa turned to head out of the room, leaving the building.
* . * . * . * . * . *
After clearing out the road leading north, and an eventful trip, Alessa finally arrived at Nipton. Along the way, she'd met a trader who told her about the unique bottle cap with the blue star on it, and that if she collected enough of them, she could win a prize from the Sunset Sarsaparilla Headquarters. She also ran into a scheming young woman who killed a man for his star caps, then tried to take Alessa's. Upon entering Nipton, she met a Powder Ganger who kept ranting about some lottery. Once he ran off, she took a good look at the town of Nipton. Fires burned everywhere, houses with skulls in front of their doors, on their mailboxes, and skulls and bones mixed in with burning piles of junk. Alessa shuddered, having never seen such carnage before. She knew, at that moment, that Powder Gangers couldn't have caused this much destruction.
She made her way up the road, and turned in the direction of the Nipton Town Hall, stopping in her tracks at what she saw. At least six Powder Gangers were strung up on crosses, and at the entrance of the Town Hall, a gang of men in crimson armor stood. One of the men had a hood that appeared to be made out of a coyote's head. She shook with fear, walking down the main street, looking around at the carnage. She wanted to vomit. As she approached the men in red armor, the man with the dog hood smirked at her, and she suddenly felt cold all over.
"What have we here?" The man wearing the dog hood spoke with a voice that was smooth, and deceptively sweet, like poisoned chocolate. "A lost lamb...And she looks frightened." He chuckled, and his men laughed at the sight of the shaking Alessa. She swallowed hard, but kept her mouth shut. The man wearing the dog hood descended down the steps of the Town Hall, his cold smirk and his even colder voice making Alessa feel as though she were buried beneath feet of ice. "But don't worry, Lost Lamb. I won't have you strung to a cross like the rest of these...Degenerates." He spoke the last word with disgust, looking to one of the strung-up Powder Gangers. "In fact...Your arrival could prove quite useful to me." Alessa wanted to speak, wanted to ask how they could cause such destruction and live with themselves, but she could not find the words. All her body wanted to do was turn and run, far away from the town of Nipton, but her muscles wouldn't allow her to flee. The man continued to speak, greeted by her silence. "I want you to witness the fate of Nipton. Memorize every detail. And then, when you move on...I want you tell everyone you meet about the lessons that Caesar's Legion taught here." His voice hardened. "Especially any NCR troops you may come across." Alessa finally found her voice, hearing the disgust in his when speaking of the NCR.
"What...What 'lessons'could you have possibly taught here?" She asked, obvious fear and disgust in her own voice. The man in the dog hood grinned, and Alessa felt even colder.
"Where to begin? That we are strong, and they are weak?" He chuckled. "This much was known already." His voice hardened again, and he continued on. "But...The depths of their moral sickness, their...Dissolution. Nipton serves as the perfect object lesson." Alessa clenched her fists, shaking even more...This time with anger.
"I've heard enough." She spat, venom in her voice, and the Legionaries surrounding their commander were surprised by her sudden growth of a spine. "Your crimes are unforgivable." The man merely chuckled.
"As are all crimes." He turned his back to her, waving a hand, and his men turned to exit the town. "If you feel so strongly about it, attack us...And soon, you won't feel a thing." As he turned to walk away from her, she pulled out her Plasma Pistol, cocking it. He stopped, turning to face her, a sneer crossing his features. "Just as foolish as the rest of them...Take care of this upstart." He snapped to two of his men, and they drew machetes, approaching Alessa. She stepped back, hands shaking, aiming at the man with the dog hood.
"I...I can't...I can't allow you to get away with this! You're sick!" She shouted, and the man was suddenly upon her, a blade to her throat. It appeared to have a motor, but he did not flick it on...Yet. Alessa froze, being knocked and pinned to the ground, the blade to her throat, shaking.
"So foolish." The man sneered down at her. "What a shame...You're quite a pretty one. It would be a shame to mar such a lovely face." He chuckled, but was soon interrupted by a sharp kick to the ribs. He grunted in pain, falling off of Alessa, allowing her to scramble to her feet, looking in the direction the kick had come from.
There stood a man who looked to be a few years older than Alessa, likely in his mid to late twenties, clad in a tan duster and riot armor under the duster. The man had a .44 magnum revolver holstered on each hip, and a combat knife strapped to his thigh. His skin was tanned, a few scars littering his face, likely from many battles in the wasteland. He wore a cowboy-esque hat that looked similar to the grayish-brown hat that Ghost had been wearing, green eyes glaring coldly at the man with the dog hood. The strangest part about this man, though, was his hair: It was a cobalt blue color, a color Alessa had not seen on any man she'd met in the wastes so far.
"Pick on someone your own size." The man growled as the man with the dog hood rose, glaring daggers at the other.
"Hn...NCR scum." He spat venomously. "And here I thought we'd gotten them-Argh!" He was interrupted yet again by a swift punch to the nose, stumbling back and holding his now bleeding, probably broken nose. He growled, stumbling back, turning to his men.
"What are you doing standing there?" He spat at his men, enraged. "Get rid of them both!" With that, he and two of his men fled the scene, leaving two dogs and three Legionaries to take out Alessa and the mysterious man. The man simply smirked, removing both revolvers from their holsters.
"Take the dogs. I'll take on the boys." He said to Alessa, and began to open fire, aiming for the Legionaries' heads. He took them down with ease, and the dogs soon charged at them. Alessa's hands were still shaking, and she fired blindly at the dogs. Out of five shots, two of them actually hit their marks, turning each dog into a pile of goo. The man reloaded his revolvers quickly before holstering them again.
"You alright?" He asked, turning to Alessa again. "Didn't hurt you, did he?" She shook her head "no," but the man could still see fear in her eyes. "That's Vulpes Inculta. One of Caesar's best Frumentarii." He growled as he looked in the direction where Vulpes ran off. "I've been wanting to show that bastard what-for for a while now." He removed a pack of cigarettes from a pocket in his duster, along with a lighter, lighting one and taking a long drag. "Finally got a chance to do it." He continued, once he'd puffed the smoke out of his lungs.
"I..." Alessa gulped. "That...That was Caesar's Legion?" The man nodded.
"Sick bastards, aren't they?" He stated coldly, and she nodded.
"...You saved my life." She spoke softly, looking down. "I...I don't know how to repay you." The man shook his head.
"No need. Just doing my job." He began to walk away, in the direction Vulpes and his men had gone.
"W-Wait!" Alessa called out, and he paused, turning to her. "Who...Who are you?" She asked, and he merely smiled at her.
"Consider me your own personal guardian angel." With that, he walked on, following Vulpes and his men. Alessa did not follow. Instead, she turned, getting ready to leave the town and all the carnage behind. Before leaving the town, she put all of the strung-up Powder Gangers out of their misery, with a bullet to the head. They may have been criminals, but they didn't deserve the fate that befell them. Once things were settled, Alessa left the town, eager to get as far away from Nipton as possible.
* . * . * . * . * . *
Author's Note: Well, this was an eventful chapter, wasn't it? Alessa finally got to see what the Legion is capable of. I just want to say, I freaking love Vulpes. His voice gives me the shivers, and I think he's an excellent villain.
Also, Mysterious Stranger! Rather than using the game's Mysterious Stranger, I decided that, as a shoutout to my fiancée, I would use his character. He'll appear again sometime later, and I'll go a little more in-depth with his backstory. For now, though, he's just kind of...There. Hope you enjoyed this chapter, guys. I enjoyed writing it, especially Vulpes' part. He really is a fun character. :)