The afternoon sun was turning the dust-hazy sky orange as it sank toward the distant hills while Valeria, Dean and Veronica crouched among the sun-baked rocks of the hills overlooking the ancient ruin of the Furnace Creek Inn. The wind had increased in strength during the day, and the three had tied rags over their mouths and noses to keep out the flying grit. Dean was looking at the buildings below through a pair of binoculars he had salvaged from the Legion camp while Valeria and Veronica crouched beside him.
"It appears to be deserted." Dean finally said as he lowered the binoculars.
"Abandoned?" Valeria asked as she shielded her eyes with her hand.
"No." Dean replied shaking his head. "The colors are still flying in front of the lodge. If the NCR intended to abandon the post they would have taken the flag."
"Are there any signs it was attacked?" Veronica asked as she snatched the binoculars from Dean and peered at the lodge below. Dean smirked beneath his face wrap and folded his arms.
"Not that I could see from here." He answered calmly as Veronica continued to watch. "I wasn't anticipating the outpost to be empty. This could be an excellent opportunity to restock our supplies."
"And what about the garrison?" Veronica snapped as she lowered the binoculars and glared at Dean.
"There's no smoke or visible damage." Dean observed as he looked past Veronica to the Lodge below. "Whatever happened here I think we missed it. I imagine it will only be a matter of time before the NCR arrives to investigate so we'd better take advantage of our good fortune."
"And you're all about taking advantage, aren't you?" Veronica said as she stashed the binoculars.
"I think Dean's right." Valeria interrupted before the ghoul could reply. Veronica's dislike of Dean was increasingly clear as exhaustion took its toll on her temper, and Valeria felt it was time to head off another argument.
"We still have a lot of ground to cover and no idea what's out there." Valeria added. "We need to salvage what we can while we have the chance."
Veronica glared at Valeria, and then put away the binoculars without turning to look at Dean. Valeria sighed as she stood and began to lead the way down the steep hillside.
Dean had made his ruthless opportunism clear when he killed Gaius, and Valeria trusted him as little as Veronica did. However she was very concerned about her friend and how she was holding up under the grueling pace. Valeria and Dean shared an inhuman resilience, which sustained them both as they marched through the searing heat over rocky hillsides. Although tough and determined, Veronica wasn't a mutant and she was looking haggard. The Legion had carried food, water and ammunition, but almost no medical supplies. More than anything Valeria hoped they would find an infirmary of some kind with Stims or Med-X for Veronica and possibly blood packs to stave off her own inevitable hunger.
The unnatural silence grew more intense as they reached the bottom of the hill and slowly approached the rear of the resort. The walls of the ancient structure were orange in the afternoon sun and the clay-tiled roof was the color of rust. The Skeletal remains of palm trees were scattered about the sprawling structure and the empty swimming pool that opened before them.
"This used to be for those who couldn't afford the Sierra Madre." Dean observed as he looked about the desolate ruin. "Rather pleasant stop back in the day."
"There's something…" Valeria mused as she sniffed the air. "It's faint but it smells like…sulfur."
"Indeed?" Dean asked as he turned and pulled the bandanna from his face. "We had better hurry. There are far too many mysteries and we haven't even entered the building yet."
"I saw tents pitched on the other side of the resort." Veronica added as she also removed her bandanna. "The NCR usually reserves the buildings for officers. Whatever happened here took out the Garrison, so we'll know as soon as we see the barracks what happened."
"Let's hurry then." Valeria said as she began to stride toward the side of the hotel. As well as the strange odors, she was getting the feeling they were being watched. She looked up at the empty windows as they walked through the loose shale covering the slope. There was no movement or lights behind the cracked panes of glass, but Valeria couldn't shake a growing feeling of unease. Finally she led them up through the wall of blackened palm trunks to the pitted asphalt of what was once the front parking lot. Once they cleared the trees Valeria tensed and drew her hammer while Dean drew his pistol.
"What the hell?" Veronica exclaimed as she looked past Valeria's shoulder at the tan rows of tents. The outer rows were still standing, but toward the center they lay in heaps with metal poles protruding like ribs. A heaped mound of shattered asphalt and stone ringed a crater with the shattered remains of a finned tail rising from it.
"A…rocket?" Veronica whispered incredulously. "Did that kill everyone?"
"No sign of an explosion." Valeria observed as she stepped forward to a collapsed tent, her nostrils flaring with the smell of sulfur with a tang of something metallic. She knelt beside the canvas and stared at the blotchy red stains on the canvas.
"Blood?" Veronica asked as she knelt beside Valeria.
"No, not blood." Dean answered from where he stood as he stared thoughtfully at the rocket. "I suggest we don't go any closer."
Veronica looked suspiciously at Dean, but the ghouls face was unreadable as Valeria stood and looked at one of the poles jabbed through the canvas mound.
"This doesn't make any sense." Valeria said, as she looked closer at the pitted metal. "The poles look corroded, but they can't have been exposed that long."
"Yes, fascinating." Dean said brusquely as he began to stride toward the hotel. "Unless we intend to welcome an NCR expeditionary force I suggest we get what we can and depart."
"You know what happened, don't you?" Veronica demanded as she hurried to catch up to Dean with Valeria close behind.
"Perhaps." The ghoul replied without turning around. "But it is also irrelevant to our current situation."
"Something wiped out an entire garrison and you're calling it irrelevant?" Veronica shouted as she caught up with the Ghoul who had climbed the stairs to the open wooden doors. Before Dean could answer Valeria leaped forward and knocked Veronica sprawling with a sweep of her arm. Dean whirled to face her but before he could raise his weapon a howl erupted from inside the hotel and a massive blue shape erupted from the darkness. Dean was flung aside as the creature crashed into Valeria, hurling them both down the stairs to smash into the pavement below.
Veronica scrambled to her feet and looked down to see her friend grappling with a snarling Nightkin that was trying to get its hands on her throat. Veronica frantically looked about for some way to help and saw Dean getting to his feet with his pistol in his hand. He leveled it with a snarl before it was slapped aside by Veronica who followed her strike with a leg sweep that knocked Dean on his back.
"You could hit Val you bastard!" Veronica shouted as she stood over the ghoul in a scribe counter stance. Before Dean could snarl a reply there was a howl behind Veronica. Growling as ferociously as the Nightkin, Valeria had muscled the hulking mutant's hands away from her throat and with a heave flung it back against the stairs. The Nightkin twisted to fall on its hands and knees, but before it could turn Valeria leaped on its back and hooked an arm around its thick neck. The Nightkin lurched to its feet with Valeria still holding on, the muscles of her huge arms bulging and writhing with effort. The mutant's mouth gaped as it fought for breath and tried to pull Valeria's arm away from its throat, then it collapsed to the ground.
Valeria jerked her arm free and stood panting as Veronica and Dean joined her.
"Sorry I didn't…warn you." Valeria gasped apologetically to Veronica. "I only heard…movement at the…last second."
"It's okay." Veronica said as she pointed Dean's pistol at the Nightkin's snarling face. "Start talking or I'll let Val break your neck."
"No need for threats." The Nightkin replied as it pushed itself into a crouch. "The beast is in his cage for now."
"Is that a metaphor?" Veronica asked as Valeria stepped to her side.
"No, I share this body with another who calls himself Dog." The mutant growled.
"The name carved on your chest?" Veronica asked indicating the word carved in the Nightkin's flesh, standing out against a network of wounds and scars, some fresh and still oozing dark blood.
"Dog fears me and tries to keep me away with pain." The mutant explained. "He is driven by hunger and fear which is why he attacked you."
"What are you called?" Valeria interrupted as she crossed her arms with a scowl.
"I am Magog." The Nightkin replied, his scarred mouth twisting into a sneer. "The master named me, from an old Biblical reference I believe. I named my…counterpart Gog from the same note, but the beast didn't understand and changed the name to…Dog." The Nightkin growled with disgust but remained still as it watched the barrel of Veronica's pistol.
"The master who sent you to Jacobstown?" Valeria demanded.
"No." Magog replied with a growl. "The first master was destroyed by one called the 'Vault Dweller' many years ago. This master rules from the Sierra Madre and sent me to gather my kind."
"Why?" Veronica snapped.
"He needs an army to take the Casino." Magog snarled in reply. "Only Nightkin can pass the traps, but only with Stealthboys. I was sent to find more, but Dog got…hungry and was taken by soldiers."
"Were the soldiers killed by that rocket?" Veronica asked as she gestured toward the wreck with her pistol. Magog tensed to lunge as the barrel left his face, but looked into Valeria's scowling face and hesitated.
"I don't know." He finally admitted. "Dog was in the basement when the screams began. He was afraid, but hunger gave him the strength to break free."
"Who is your master?" Dean asked as he crossed his arms.
"I don't know." Magog growled. "He speaks through radios and holograms, and has never said his name. He promises us what we want most in return for our service."
"You've seen holograms." Veronica asked. "So you know what the master looks like."
"I only know the image he projects." Magog said with a sneer. "An old man in a robe."
"A…robe?" Veronica asked as her eye narrowed with suspicion.
Before Magog could reply a roar echoed over the moaning of the wind as a Vertibird suddenly swooped over the Inn, its rotors churning billowing clouds of choking dust. Blinded by flying grit, Valeria tried to cover her face while Magog bellowed and the others reeled in surprise. The Vertibird swung around and pointed its weapon pods toward them as it hovered. With a roar, another Vertibird swooped overhead and turned to face them as well. Blinking hard, Valeria cleared her eyes enough to make out the two-headed bear of the NCR painted on the fuselage of the two aircraft.
"This is Colonel Royez of the NCR!" A voice blared from a loudspeaker over the whine of the Vertibird's turbines. "Put your hands on your heads and get on you knees! Try to run and you will be obliterated!"
"So much for that!" Dean shouted with a mirthless grin as he placed his hands on his head and knelt with the others as one of the Vertibirds turned to land on the valley below.