"The point of the combat knife should be directed against the opponent's throat, as the point will enter easily and make a fatal wound on entering a few inches"
-NCR Ranger Training Manual
Courage
The Hub
Training in the NCR armed forces was no cake walk. Standard recruits usually underwent basic training in the desert wasteland, where Rangers would teach them essential skills such as weapon maintenance, survival, and close quarters combat. It took weeks to train a basic grunt, months to prepare a soldier for proper frontline duty. But with the ever ending need for expansion and the demand for more border garrisons, the machine that was the bureaucracy ended up spitting out recruits that often had little more than three weeks training in total before they were sent to the wastes. With quantity, quality suffered, and new troopers often found themselves armed with antiquated pre-war service rifles that frequently jammed, instead of the reliable FN FAL models that fired 7.62 mm rounds or marksmen carbines, usually reserved for Rangers and Heavy Infantry.
That, at least, partially explained why less than fifty Brotherhood Knights were able to easily rout over five hundred NCR infantry.
The police station shook again, and Colonel Ellis watched uneasily as the Brotherhood forces assaulted the defenses outside the walls. Even from his vantage point, the sickening smell of gunpowder, blood, and sweat filled the air, assaulting his senses. The remains of his battalion had managed to garrison the building, throwing up makeshift barricades of metal carts and crates, firing into the smoke while the Steel Knights cautiously probed for weakness.
In the distance, more explosions resounded through the broken city, spires of black smoke rose in the residential neighborhoods as more Brotherhood squads filtered out, destroying any NCR infantry formation and equipment they could find. Camp Zeta was gone, nothing left but burning corpses and ruined shelters, and with it were most of his experienced troops, caught unprepared by the assault. Under his command.
He would kick himself later, Ellis decided, now wasn't the time. He had to get the remaining men and women he had left out.
"Hanlon, what's the situation?" He spoke over the walkie talkie, long range radio had been jammed by the Brotherhood troops, but short range communications were still available, with an effective distance of fifty yards.
"Not good," The Ranger gave a frank assessment. "The Brotherhood are clearing out the rest of the 3rd Battalion from the residential district. They'll have the water tower soon, don't see any meaningful resistance. Looks like we're next on the chopping block."
"And your men?" Ellis asked, referring to the Ranger company that Hanlon had brought with him to the Hub.
A distinct explosion shattered through the static, and Hanlon smiled as he caught another stupid Brotherhood Knight in the chest with his .50 cal. Although they were descended from a military force, a century of operating in the wastelands with impunity gave some in the Brotherhood the impression they were invincible in their power armor. His armor piercing rounds begged to differ.
"I have Echo company making their rounds through the business district, rounding up formations. My men are Rangers, they'll know how to handle themselves, question is. What's our next move?"
"We can't hole up here forever." Ellis replied, "Not when the Brotherhood have control of the water supply. We'll have to withdraw, we have a depot set up outside the city, there's no way the Brotherhood has enough manpower to cover all of the Hub, chances are it's still intact."
Hanlon nodded grimly, spitting out a wad of tobacco as he lined up his next shot. A fighting withdrawal, hardest maneuver in the textbook. He quickly scanned the garrison at the barricades to the police station. The Brotherhood squads had paused, exchanging withering fire with the NCR troopers, as though biding their time. They had perhaps a hundred and fifty men and women left manning the lines, facing a squad of less than a dozen Brotherhood, those odds would increase against them as more Brotherhood squads joined the attack after mopping up the NCR forces.
"When are you moving out?" Hanlon asked gruffly, a cold knot in his stomach, a withdrawal meant that NCR was effectively ceding the Hub to the Brotherhood, not the best way to start the Hub annexation. It also meant he'd have to signal Echo company to rendezvous, lest they got left behind.
"Within the hour, I suggest your men get back before then, otherwise the Brotherhood will have enough time to concentrate their forces and overwhelm us."
"I'll let my company know." Hanlon radioed back.
"How? Long distance comms are jammed." Ellis asked.
"We have our ways." The Ranger smirked, knowing all too well. The Brotherhood had relied on top notch pre-war technology, which gave them the ability to outclass any military they've encountered thus far, Enclave aside. But there was such a thing as being overly reliant on Technology, it seemed that many in the Brotherhood had forgotten how soldiers in the past had communicated, and Hanlon made sure that all his troopers were well versed in signals by flag, smoke or good old fashioned morse code with a flash light.
"I'll recall my company, and any NCR troops they can find along the way." Hanlon replied. "We'll be ready when you are."
"Good," Ellis responded through the static. "Because my men are preparing a nice little surprise for those bastards. Wouldn't want your men to be here while they set it off."
It was easy enough to tell where the Brotherhood forces were through the smoke of battle, the Knights in their shiny T51b suits rarely made a habit of breaking into cover, each man literally a walking tank. The vanguard consisted of six Knights, each armed with a heavy chain gun. Their barrels were still warm, having recently decimated an NCR company of fifty that had tried to impede their progress, now, most of them dead, their broken, shredded bodies littering the streets while the Steel soldiers marched on, daring any of the terrified NCR troopers remaining to take them on.
Corporal Reyner silently thanked them for being so obliging.
"Paladin, fifty metres, by the Brahmind cart." Private Benson said quietly, watching the armored soldiers emerge from the smoke, sidestepping past the charred remains of a Brahmin that was unluckily enough to get caught in the crossfire.
For a second, all was quiet, then suddenly, the three .32 caliber sniping rifles went off, shattering the silence and Reyner felt the stock of his rifle slamming into his already numbed shoulder.
"Target's hit, the rest of the Knights are taking cover, two more pulling back with the Paladin in tow."
Good, Reyner nodded. At this distance, they couldn't hope to completely pierce power armor, but at least they had made the Brotherhood think twice about advancing down this street in the open. Besides, the two more Brotherhood troopers were temporarily pulled out of the fight to drag their wounded friend out. More time for them.
"Got our surprise ready?" Reyner said to PFC Wright, who simply grinned.
"Package is set corporal, want the honors?" He handed Reyner a remote detonator, and the NCR trooper nodded as he took it. The line of Paladins was advancing again, this time negotiating past the Brahmin and the merchant cart. They were doing it properly this time, taking covering positions as each two man team advanced. Not offering the snipers a shot as they negotiated the debris.
"Merry Christmas you Brotherhood bastards." Reyner said silently, then pressed the switch.
The Brahmin corpse suddenly vanished in a cloud of red mist and flame, and the air whistled violently as the claymore mine exploded. Salvaged from a pre-war depot by 1st recon, the claymore mine was a pre-war weapon, and when detonated, fired out steel balls about 100 meters in an arc in front of the explosive, effectively shredding any unfortunate soul in its path into little pieces of meat. Power armor may stop some of them, but he doubted that the armor could withstand a thousand of those little shredders
The two Paladins beside the Brahmin corpse simply vanished in the cloud of steel and flame, while the men beside them were thrown back by the force of the blast. They were clearly unnerved by the explosion, as though the thought of the primitive wastelanders using anything resembling military tactics took them off guard.
That's what you get for being cocky you bastards. Reyner thought.
Reyner turned to Private Benson behind him. "Benson, get ready to move, I want Morales-"
Private Benson's head exploded, shattering bone and bloody grey matter all over the air. The NCR trooper's body barely had time to flop backwards before more accelerated rounds slammed into their position, cutting neat holes through the concrete slabs they were hiding behind.
"SHIT!" PFC Wright swore as one of the gauss rounds skimmed his thigh, tearing a bloody smear through his khaki fatigues.
Snipers! And using high tech Gauss rifles.
"1st Recon, get down!" Reyner shouted, then pointed to Wright. "Take what ammo you can off of Benson, let's get moving!"
Morales and Jenkins quickly crawled to the doorway, starting off to their new sniping position even as Reyner gathered up Benson's carbine, propping up Wright with his arm and dragging him away from the rooftops.
"Attention 5th Battalion, this is Colonel Ellis." The intercom of the Hub police station came to life, and the men and women of the NCR and Hub security forces looked up and listened. Colonel Ellis meanwhile cleared his throat as he thought of the next things to say.
"As you are aware, the Brotherhood of Steel has launched a surprise attack against us." He explained the obvious first. "In addition, communications with the other outposts and cities are jammed, we can only assume this is happening all over the NCR as well and is not isolated just to the Hub." Ellis let this sink in, and knew that this would be a shock to many recruits, who had friends and family inside cities with Brotherhood bunkers. The veterans in the unit nodded grimly, having figured this much out as well.
"We are abandoning the city, standard NCR protocol states that defense of the capital is top priority. We are pulling out of the city, if the Capital is still standing, we will regroup and take part in its defense, otherwise we will have to withdraw as far west as the Boneyard." Ellis continued. "You have your orders, finish your preparations, double time, we've got to get moving within the next half hour!"
"You think that'll be enough?" Councilman Westin asked quietly as he surveyed the chaos in the streets below. The steel paladins were out of sight, hiding in the smoke as they learned to have a healthy respect for the Rangers' deadly anti-material rifles.
"It'll have to be." Ellis said grimly. "We aren't equipped for a siege, and with the Brotherhood controlling the other parts of the town, we don't have the provisions or equipment in this station to hold out. We need to get mobile, and fast while we have daylight."
Westin nodded, and watched warily as the afternoon sun slowly began making its way down to the horizon.
"Then we will all do what we must." The old politician smiled tiredly. "I can only hope the president is safe as well."
The men of 1st recon quietly navigated the alleyways and streets of the Hub, making their way through the smoking remains of Camp Zeta. It was only this morning when the entire camp was alive with hundreds of NCR troopers. Now, only burning corpses and equipment remained, the sweet smell of human flesh burned through the air.
"We're nearly there." Reyner said quietly, his assault rifle at the ready. The four men of 1st recon walked quietly, half crouching as they carefully navigated the ruined camp, careful not to make a sound.
Not that it mattered anyway, since a lone Brotherhood Knight emerged from the smoke.
Both parties stumbled in surprise as they spotted one another. Reyner guessed that this was probably a lower ranking Knight or Initiate, assigned to secure the area while the main attack was gathering for the station. The shock didn't last long though, as the Knight quickly leveled his laser rifle.
"Contact!" Reyner shouted unnecessarily, running to the side while unloading his carbine on the armored assailant. Bullets chipped at the armor, pinging off metal and causing the Knight to stumble back. Corporal Reyner felt a searing heat by his chin as the Knight's laser rifle shot off, the Brotherhood warrior's aim thrown off by the automatic fire.
It didn't take long for Reyner's rifle to click empty, and he cursed as the laser seared through his armor plate, burning his shoulder. The Corporal fell back, just as the Brotherhood Knight advanced, but was quickly checked when Morales and Jenkins threw themselves at the soldier. Morales smashed the stock of his rifle against the Knight's visor, only to have it shatter into pieces. A power armored fist quickly took the private in the jaw, knocking him backwards. Private Jenkins unloaded his rifle at the Knight, which at close range had managed to dent the T45d power armor. The Knight cursed through his mechanical filtered power helmet, using his own laser rifle as a club to knock Private Jenkins onto the ground, blood spewing from his jaw.
More bullets fired at the knight, deflecting off his power armor as Wright and Reyner fired their side arms at the power armored soldier, but they did little to pierce the power armor.
The corporal almost wanted to shout the warning to Wright, as the Knight aimed his laser rifle at his comrade-
An explosion shattered the air, and all of 1st recon watched in shock as two neat holes appeared in the Brotherhood Knight's chest plate, along with a bursting mist of blood that erupted from his chest. The Knight dropped his weapon, running his hands through the holes as though he was trying to stop the blood from flowing out of his suit. It didn't take long before the Knight fell backwards, his last breath choking on blood.
Corporal Reyner stood uneasily, along with the rest of his squad, clinching his shoulder as he nursed the laser burn. If anything, the laser at least cauterized any bleeding.
He watched as more figures emerged from the smoke, the source of the gunshots. Two NCR rangers in composite armor emerged, armed with anti-material rifles.
"NCR rangers, Echo company. Thought you boys at 1st recon could use some help." One of the NCR rangers said, and Corporal Reyner nodded his thanks.
"Well I'll be, the fucking NCR rangers." PFC Wright said, laughing with relief, as he was propped up by Private Jenkins.
"Got orders from Ranger Hanlon and Colonel Ellis, we're moving out of the Hub within the next half hour!"
Reyner nodded, and wasting no more time, the men of the 1st recon and NCR rangers quickly made tracks to the police station, where the NCR would make their last stand in the Hub.
Vault 15
The vault alarms lit up, filling the steel vault in red lights and alarm sounds as the vault doors rolled open. The elevator slowly descending into the chamber as dozens of heavily armed NCR troopers and rangers lined up in the hallways. Armed with combat shotguns and FN FAL assault rifles, they were a mixture of heavy troopers and NCR rangers. The more elite troopers wore heavy composite armor, with brush carbines, their faces covered by pre-war combat gas masks.
As the elevator doors opened, the men and women of the Vault 15 Presidential Vault garrison saluted, watching as Vice President Carlson entered quietly. The explosions of Shady Sands erupted in the distance, and even in the vault, the dull thudding of explosives permeated through the concrete corridors.
"Vice President Carlson, welcome to Vault 15." Commander Brasco, the Vault Garrison leader, saluted, which was promptly returned by the Vice President.
"Thank you commander, have your men set up the defensive measures we've spoke of. I want the command center operational. Until the president reaches the evacuation point, I'll assume overall command."
"Sir."
Frank Carlson quietly nodded to himself as he quickly inspected the Vault. It had previously been inhabited by Squatters and Khans, but Tandi had wisely contracted out a tribal to get rid of both the previous occupants, giving him the opportunity to create the presidential vault for situations such as this.
As he made his way to the former overseer's office, now converted into an NCR command and control center. He watched as the men and women of the garrison began setting up improvised explosives and traps in the hallways, overturning chairs and tables as they set up defense points at every corridor. With the Brotherhood in full force in Shady Sands, it would only be a matter of time before they struck at Vault 15. Carlson vowed that it would cost them dearly. Many in the cabinet thought that he was being overly paranoid with his hawkish stance towards the Brotherhood, he only wished he could see them now to show them how damned wrong they were.
The Brotherhood have attacked our country, trying to overthrow our duly elected government, aiming to turn the wasteland back into some sort of neo-facist state under their power. Not on my watch.
He ran the numbers through his head. For a population of over 700,000, full mobilization of everything meant that the NCR had at least 50,000 troops in regular army and the same number in reservists if it ever came to that.
Yet, none of that would matter unless some form of command structure still survived, which was what he aimed to do in his command center at Vault 15.
He sat in the overseer's chair, turning on the antiquated pre-war terminal as he issued orders to the spread out bases and outposts of the NCR. Thanks to the harsh life of the wastes, a good portion of able bodied men and women had some form of combat experience, whether against raiders or the local wildlife, and President Tandi had been sure to capitalize on that in the past. Carlson would tap that very pool of manpower and talent now.
"Commander Brasco." Carlson gestured to his left, and the adjutant saluted.
"Sir."
"I'll be coordinating what's left of our people while the President makes it to safety. Expect the Brotherhood to intervene. So I want your men and women prepped. Whatever comes through that Vault door next, you will kill it, you will hold your ground!"
Brasco, a veteran of many battles whose face carried the proof in scars, nodded grimly. "Those bastards won't even make it through the front door. I assure you sir."
The L.A Boneyard
Colonel Lee Oliver lifted his binoculars, watching with quiet satisfaction as his heavy troopers began engaging the Brotherhood soldiers in the streets. The heavy snipers he had deployed were performing admirably, forcing the Brotherhood into cover while his men, supported by platoons of heavy machine gunners and grenadiers, stopped the Brotherhood advance cold, fighting house to house. The air was blackened by smoke, and obscuring the red afternoon sun.
"Sir," Lieutenant Cassandra Moore saluted as she held a sheaf of paper in her hand, obviously orders from General Kimball.
"Report, plainly if you please Lieutenant." Oliver had little patience for protocol, not when a battle hinged on his commands.
"Baja has fallen sir," Moore said, her voice shakened. "We've just received a report from our Southern outposts that raiders have overrun our garrison there."
Oliver nodded. Of course the raiders would use this diversion as a chance to attack the NCR border outposts. If anything, the Brotherhood may have had a hand in this. It was too convenient to be a coincidence.
"It's an unfortunate consequence lieutenant, but it means nothing if the Boneyard falls. What is the status on our reinforcements?"
"Sir, General Kimball is advising that he's sent the order out to the mechanized brigades, but they'll need some time to get ready."
That made Oliver's insides boil. Are the mechanized units going to lose us this battle simply because they had to get their damned armor all nice and shiny?
"Kindly tell General Kimball that haste is most advisable, our troopers are holding out toe to toe, but we are still trading casualties at a rate of ten troopers per Brotherhood Knight, it isn't a rate of exchange we can sustain for long without reinforcements!"
Moore nodded uneasily. "Of…of course sir, I'll have it forwarded to the General right away." She then disappeared into the command tent, where several NCR communications officers frantically tried to re-establish radio contact with the remaining NCR formations.
Oliver watched quietly as reports of the casualties kept coming in. His heavy troopers were taking the pressure off the garrison and conscript troops in the North, and so far the losses have been more than acceptable, but once the entire Brotherhood Chapter finishes with the garrisons in the North and turned their attention to Oliver in the south, even he didn't like those odds.
I need those Mechanized Reserves, and I need them now!
The Hub
The men of 1st recon gasped as they made their way past the NCR barricades, supplemented by the ten remaining rangers of Echo company. The NCR soldiers warily lifted their heads from the barricade, letting the comrades pass even as more Brotherhood Knights were massing in the outskirts.
Corporal Reyner grunted as he willed his aching body in the sprint, dodging the Brotherhood as the NCR troopers at the barricade let loose a barrage of supporting fire, throwing up spouts of earth and chunks of concrete. PFC Wright was a harder case, crawling his way to the barricades while the NCR troopers providing heavy cover fire. It didn't take long before the fourteen men and women made it past the barricade, while NCR troopers resumed their suppressing fire.
The men of 1st recon reached the police station hallway, where already PFC Wright, Morales and Jenkins collapsed in the hallway.
"Well I'll be, glad to see you're alive, Corporal." Ranger Hanlon smirked as he extended his hand to the NCR trooper.
"Likewise…sir." Reyner gasped as he took Hanlon's hand. "What's the situation?"
"As worse as you can get." Hanlon smirked, much to the surprise of Reyner. "We've lost control of the Residential and Business districts, along with the Water Tower. We figure the Brotherhood will hit us once they consolidate. So you'll need to get your boys ready."
Corporal Reyner blinked, as if taking this in, the NCR was abandoning the Hub?
Hanlon seemed to sense the Corporal's thoughts as well. "We were completely unprepared for this Corporal, the Brotherhood has already torn most of our formations apart. We save what we can, head west, regroup then come back with a vengeance." He said grimly.
"I'll need your men posted to the rooftops. Colonel Ellis has already set up escape routes in the tunnels below the Hub. We'll make use of the escape tunnels the old Underground had. Make our way to the outskirts and the NCR depot."
"Fighting withdrawal?" The Corporal said.
"Yes," Hanlon murmured. "But we'll make the Brotherhood pay for every inch. They may take the Hub and this station, but it will be the end of them. We'll make sure of it."
Shady Sands
"Bear Force One has lifted off!" The shouts over the short range radio and the roar of the miniguns by the Brotherhood confirmed it, now was the time.
"Rangers, Guards! Fall back!" Elise shouted as removed her combat helmet, pieces of shrapnel embedded into it and her arm. Pain screamed down her sides as she raised her weapon, firing at the Armored husks of the Brotherhood Knights as they took the lobby. The slower Rangers and Guards died screaming, laser rifles lancing up their sides and cutting off precious limbs and arteries.
The fighting had dissolved room to room now. A guard with a riot shotgun emerged from cover, pouring a dozen shells in solid succession into the advancing Brotherhood Knights. To his surprise, the T51Bs, and the more heavy advanced power armored troopers almost seemed to shrug it off, and they advanced regardless. The Presidential guard went down screaming as a plasma bolt reduced him into a radiated puddle of goo.
"Keep firing!" Elise shouted into the dust, not sure how many rangers and guards were left as the Brotherhood soldiers heavy boots thudded to the second floor, devastating the defenders with their flamers and laser weaponry. She uttered a curse as the men and women of the second floor were beyond her help now, and she focused herself on the men in front of her.
Rusty the Ghoul reloaded his carbine with armor piercing rounds, the last few slugs he had before he fired at the Brotherhood Paladin taking cover behind the former NCR's barricade, the slugs tearing neat gashes into the Power Armor, and forcing the Brotherhood troops to think twice before rushing the hallway.
An explosion rumbled on the second floor, followed by a muffled scream through a power helmet. The IEDs that her rangers had set up on the second floor, trip wires, anti personnel mines, were doing their job, and while small range explosives couldn't kill a power armored trooper outright, it at least disabled them, buying the NCR time.
Rusty's radio suddenly came to life, and the Ghoul picked up, conversing quickly above the din of gunfire.
"Ma'am! Chauncey's in the back, our ride's here."
"Fall back!" Elise shouted to the tragically few remaining rangers in the lobby. The Presidential guard captain, whom she had manned the barricades with moments earlier, nodded to her, his face caked with dried blood.
"You rangers fall back. We've done our duty. We'll cover your withdrawal."
Elise was shocked by this, but she already saw that the Guard Captain was leaning against the wall, his leg shot through by a laser blast. It was a cruel reality that she and her men could not get away while tending to the wounded Guard troopers.
"We'll get help." Elise said, though she felt her heart drop with that false promise.
The Guard captain nodded, coughing up some blood. "Get out of here Ma'am." He said, just as he lifted his assault rifle to cover the passageway.
"Move!" Rusty shouted, tugging at Elise's arm while three other rangers followed suit, making their way to the rear of the presidential offices. The Brotherhood of Steel had thrown their forces head on into the building, and the NCR rear was more than secure, since the power armored troops haven't had time to prepare an ambush from the other side.
Rusty kicked the wooden door of the rear entrance open, and already, a humvee and trailer was already waiting for them. Chauncey, the bulky super mutant turned NCR-ranger gave Rusty a friendly wave, while three other troopers, Border garrison troopers, Rusty noted, sat on the trailer, their rifles aimed at the surrounding rooftops in case of any Brotherhood snipers.
"Looking for a lift?" Chauncey shouted at his teammates, above the roar of the cell-powered engines.
"I could kiss your green armored ass ya mutie bastard." Rusty grinned, and Elise nodded as she and the remaining rangers quickly entered the humvee, rifles pointed outward while Chauncey signaled the driver to gun it.
As the NCR troopers sped away, the gunfire from the second floor softened, signaling the fall of the last of the Guard troopers in the Presidential offices. Elise forced the bile in her throat back as she heard the gunfire of the remaining presidential guards in the rear entrance as they gave their lives for her and her Rangers.
They'll pay for this. They'll fucking pay. She swore to herself, biting back the bleeding pain in her arm even as the NCR rangers sped away from Shady Sands, to the unforgiving wasteland.
LordCoake: Indeed, one of the most interesting aspects of the NCR I found in New Vegas was the unspoken rivalry between the Rangers and the Power Armored Heavy Troopers. Expect some of that later on ;) And of course, conventional troopers with LMGs, grenaders, and explosives are more than a match in the right situation for even power armored troops.
Personally, I'm in favour of the BoS, more specifically, the Capital Wasteland, but i have a soft spot for the Midwestern BoS, even if their methods are more Fascist and tyrannical ;)
Agent 94 Glad you're enjoying this ;) as for the Chosen one, he/she may or may not be in a future update...who knows, but i do plan on including some more Fallout 2 characters and elements in. May be a pleasant surprise :D
Ruarok Yep! The NCR isn't without its fair share of corruption either. Oh man, don't get me started on the legion...i tried to side with them i really did, but they just seemed so ridiculous. Ah yes, the turning point. Kimball and Oliver willl have an interesting role to play :)
0117 Thanks! I've essentially raided Vault Wiki for a lot of the Canon stuff, since i'm a fallout 3 player to begin with. I hope to one day get back on the Outcast story, who knows, maybe after this one.
RRRR - Actually, my inclusion of power armored troops for NCR was a literary license on my part, (and i do have a full non-canon backstory to explain this in the works) i had no clue that power armored NCR troopers was even Canon. Do you know where this is stated?
OH yes, there will be more Super Mutant coverage in the foreseeable future :)
Thanks all for your reads and reviews!