The sun bristled hot on her skin, and made her sweat under her leather armor. The desert air wasn't helping either and she licked her dry chapped lips. It's been an hour since she left the compound, and she had already pass the Patrol Station building, taking note of what Tyrone said. She didn't need to go wasting her bullets on thugs. Radscorpions were more of a threat than a few bandits with guns.
She pulled out binoculars from her pouch to see if she could see the statue from here, and from a distance she could see the outline of it faintly. It was about a mile away, and she was relieved. Seriously, just two days ago she'd been shot in the head, and walking for hours in the desert wasn't helping her situation. She drank the last drop of her pop when she reached a rest stop. Too bad it wasn't a good place to rest as she crouched down and sneakily passed five radscorpions patrolling the place. If they spotted her, she would be a goner. She couldn't even face one of these fuckers on her own.
Lady Luck was watching down on her since the deadly scorpions didn't take notice of her. She stood up to walk normally when she was a safe distance away, and hiked up the long hill leading to two large statues made out of rusted metal, one of an desert ranger and a NCR soldier shaking hands. Ghost told her that it was for the Ranger Unification Treaty, or a big fuck you to the Legion as Ghost likes to put it.
Thinking of the ranger she could be watching her right now. She squinted her eyes at the buildings ahead and waved her arm, knowing Ghost saw it and maybe wouldn't shoot at her for fun this time. The first time that happened she booked it and hid, only coming out when Sergeant Kilborn came to get her, and made Ghost apologize for the scare. Ghost's apology was non-heartfelt and said she just got bored. The ranger wanted action, like fighting the Legion but she was stuck at the outpost watching Brahmin.
Without getting shot at, thankfully, the Courier made it inside the perimeter of the outpost, leaving behind the wreckage of pre-war cars that littered the street below.
"Courier." Sgt. Kilborn greeted her as she walked by. She gave the sergeant a nod and continued on her way past the fences and towards the HQ building. She wanted to head to the barracks and get some shut eye but it was business first, pleasure after. She groaned inwardly, that was what Benny told her. She really needed to stop thinking about him.
She entered the building, passing a few soldiers exiting out and walked up to the counter where a bored looking soldier stood reading some papers. Behind him were rows upon rows of file shelves, loose paper sticking out or on the floor.
Without looking up the soldier said, "Caravan, citizen, pilgrim, or...Oh it's you. You have a delivery for me?" He finally looked up, noticing the Courier.
"Message from Lieutenant Hayes stationed at Primm." She handed over the sealed envelope and Knight took it, opening it up and reading it's content. As she waited politely for him to finish, she perked up when Mr. New Vegas started speaking on the radio.
"I'm gonna play a song for you right now. It's for that special someone you find only once, in a blue moon."
You've got to be kiddin me, she thought as Blue Moon started playing on the radio. She stared at the radio incredulously, and wondered how much trouble she would be in if she shot the thing. It seemed like no matter how hard she tried not to think about him, he always had a way of wiggling into her thoughts.
Knight hummed in disapproval, "This is bad. NCRCF taking over Primm? Alright, here-" He handed her some caps, "For the trouble. I'll talk this with Ranger Jackson, and we'll see what we can do." He walked off as she stuffed the caps into her pouch. Her job done, she left, but not without giving the radio a stink eye. When she exited the HQ, someone yelled out her name.
"Hey, Courier!" She looked up at the top of the barracks and saw Ghost waving her over. She glanced at the barracks longingly, but she went up to the Ranger who walked backed to her position, watching the long stretch of road.
"You need something?" she asked.
Ghost leaned back on the sandbag walls, crossing her arms. "I need you to do a little recon scouting. I think there's trouble in Nipton - no traffic from there on the roads, and while I can explain that away, the smoke from the town I can't." The ranger looked out at the direction of said town. "I'm sure it's been hit - what I need to know is if they survived it. Might be Powder Gangers with all that smoke in the air. If there's anybody left, they'd be in the Nipton Town Hall."
"What's the cost for that?" Ghost asked, reaching into her satchel.
"28 caps, since there's no package." She answered. It shouldn't be too bad, go to Nipton, which she would be heading to anyways, take a look around and report back to Ghost. The sniper handed her the caps and she put them away.
"I'm going down to the bunkers to get some rest so in a few hours I'll be leaving." She informed the ranger.
"That's fine with me." Ghost said, "But listen - I don't want you getting killed for this, so if you head there and run into trouble, I'm asking for eyes and ears, not your life. All right?"
Would dying be bad the second time? Ironically, maybe she would get shot in the head. She nodded in understanding and walked back down the plank to the barracks. Inside, music reached her eyes as she took a seat on one of the stools at the bar, soldiers talking and laughing around her. A dark skinned woman came up to her.
"Courier, nice to see a fresh face around here. And not one that's drunk." Lacey, the bartender whispered as she pointed discreetly to a lone woman sitting down nursing a bottle of beer in her hands, three empty bottles surrounding her. "So what'll you have."
"Three purified waters and two Salisbury Steak." She paid the bartender and Lacey left to get the order.
She waited, thinking of nothing when she felt someone staring at her. Out of the corner of her eyes, she spotted the drunk woman looking at her. It was off putting but she ignored it and started to play around with the Pip-Boy. She just discovered the radio station when the drunk woman got up, staggered to her and plopped in the seat next to her.
"I used to look like you when I was your age. Pretty, young, had all the boys chasing after me." The woman hiccupped, "How old are you anyways? 15? 16?"
The Courier tensed at the woman's unreserved manner and wanted to get some distance between them. "I'm 13." She answered, inspecting the drunken woman closely. She dressed different, wearing red flannel under a brown leather jacket paired with dusty jeans and cowboy boots. On her head was a straw cowboy hat, and slung over her shoulder a bandaged caravan shotgun.
The woman waved her hand, "Fuck me. Hey, do you want some?" She swung a half empty beer in her face and the Courier shook her head. The woman shrugged, "All to myself then." She downed it in one go and slammed the bottle on the counter. "Hey Lacey another bottle!" She yelled when Lacey came back with her order. The bartender rolled her eyes, set down the Courier's food, snatched another bottle from the shelf and gave it to the woman.
"You better pay up before you leave, Cass." Lacey warned.
Cass laughed bitterly, "Who say's I'm ever gonna leave? I'm stuck here." She popped open the bottle and gulped it down, wiping her mouth afterwards. The Courier glanced at the woman, who stopped laughing and stared off at nothing, her lips pulled down looking downcast.
Against her better judgment she spoke, "Are you alright?"
Cass blinked out of her thoughts and turned to her. "All right? No, I'm not all right." She motioned to the bottle, "Drinking to forget, and it's only getting me mad instead. Whiskey always gets my temper up - now more than ever. Drinking used to cause all sorts of trouble back West - before a punched enough people, that is, and they learned to lay low when the whiskey hits."
The woman continued, most likely not caring if the girl was listening or not, she just wanted to rant. "I lost my caravan heading north, the driver burned to ash - and they didn't even take the cargo, they just burned that too." Cass shook her head in disgust. "It was probably those Legion dogs, they're trying to cut NCR's supply line... and the Mojave Outpost is proof. Got us locked up tighter than a New Vegas virgin."
If that were true, she would've been locked up in Lucky 38. But no, New Vegas shot their virgins in the head instead.
She tapped her index finger on the counter. "No caravans in, out, and just try arguing with Jackson about it. "Roads aren't safe," he says. No shit, you washed-out old fuckup, I didn't need a Brotherhood scribe to tell me that."
The Courier smiled despite herself, "That's one way of putting it."
Cass smiled back, "Yeah, he's been with NCR so long all he can see is the worst outcome of everything - so he doesn't do anything. Jackson won't let me head north, it's not safe... and even though my caravan's gone, my caravan papers are keeping me here. Fucking bullshit." She took another swig of the whiskey, wincing as the burn traveled down her throat.
"You said you're from the West?" The Courier asked. She never met someone from out of New Vegas, and that far away. It's a wondrous mystery to her, and she sometimes dreamed of heading out there and exploring the remains of the world. Her first destination would be the White House.
"Yeah, got a whole caravan business down there. Mostly water though, not like your Crimson Caravan... fuckers." She spat out as an after thought. Cass turned to the Courier, "What are you doing all the way out here? Are you part of a family caravan?"
She shook her head, "No I'm just a courier. I'm heading down to Nipton for a job."
Cass hummed, "Maybe I should've signed up to be a courier. Would've been a lot easier than running a business all by myself." She smiled but it didn't reach her eyes. "Pa just up and left me. Didn't even say goodbye." She bit her lip, shaking her head, "I was just a girl like you, and all he left me with was his love for drinking." Cass fingered a pendant that rested on her chest. Subconsciously, the Courier reached for her necklace.
"My dad left me too." She whispered, moving her hand away from the bones. "He left and never came back." She didn't know why she was opening up to the woman. Maybe she was just tired from the walk, or her brain got scrambled up by the bullet. Or maybe it was just because Cass seemed just as sad as she was.
The woman chuckled, "Seems like we both got daddy issues." She finished the whiskey and rested her head on the cool counter. The Courier stared off at nothing, thinking of her dad. The agony she felt that day still lingered in her chest. Why did he had to go? Why couldn't he just stayed with her, and they would've been fine and happy and together. It wasn't paradise, but it was perfect, just for her.
Why did he leave her? Why did they leave her?
She shut her eyes, forcing the image of her dad and Benny out of her head.
...they never loved you...
She ignored the voice in her head and opened her eyes. She looked at Cass, and poked her. Nothing.
"I think she's asleep." She said to Lacey who was wiping down the counter.
Lacey put her hands on her hips. "Not again. Hey boys can you take sleeping beauty over here to her bunk." Two soldiers stood up and nodded, helping Cass up and taking her to the bunks. The Courier also got up and followed them. They placed Cass down on her bunk and left back to the bar. She took the bunk next to the woman and settled in herself.
She stared up at the bottom of the top bunk willing herself to go to sleep. Maybe in her dreams things would be better.
0000000000
It was pass mid-day when she got up and got ready to leave for Nipton. She bought a few stimpacks and rad-away from Lucey, got some of her guns repaired from Major Knight and was ready to go. She passed the statues when someone called out to her.
"Hey kid! Hey wait up!" She turned around to see Cass jogging up to her. She slowed down to a stop. "I'm coming with you."
The girl frowned. "To Nipton?"
Cass grinned, "Hell yeah. It's better than being stuck here."
The Courier bit her lip, thinking. It was just recon work. But what if she ran into trouble, or if something really bad happened at the town. She could use the extra help. "Okay."
Cass smiled and they started their way down the hill together...
"Oh, and do you know what a Moonshine is?"
0000000000
"What's your name? I can't just keep calling you kid. It makes me sound like an angry old man."
She reloaded her gun and got up from her cover behind a torn down wall of a house. She was glad she agreed for Cass to come along. Already they encountered 8 fire ants feeding on a huge Radscorpion, and now at the Nipton Road Pitt Stop where some jackals pinned them down. It was a short gun fight, what with Cass's surprisingly accurate aim with her shotgun.
"You can call me Courier." She answered, walking over to the dead bodies and searched for anything useful.
Cass made a face. "Courier? Don't you think you're taking your job a bit to seriously."
All n all she got some more ammo, some guns she could sell later, and five more stimpacks. "I don't remember my old name."
"Oh, well Courier it is then."
She straightened up and they continued down the road.
"Hey did you hear about what happened at the Legion?"
The Courier groaned in the inside. It was a good idea to bring Cass along, but she didn't know the woman like to talk. A lot. It didn't matter where they were at or what was happening, Cass always had time to talk. She was more vocal than a whore at Gomorrah getting paid 200 caps an hour. She didn't dislike Cass, but she was so used to being on her own out in the desert that silence was her only company.
"I heard that Caesar punished one of his precious legates. The guy failed to take over the Hoover Dam, and they said he got burned and tossed into the Grand Canyon. But they say his spirit lived on as a ghost and he haunts the Legion as the Burning Man. Serves those fuckers right."
"That's one hell of a way to go." she commented. Not that getting shot in the head wasn't but being burned alive? She would pick a quick bullet than that.
"Holy shit." Cass muttered.
They stopped, staring at the black smoke rising from the town ahead. They approached the entrance to the town slowly, a wooden sign reading NIPTON on a wagon placed in the front for all visitors.
"Oh shit..." She heard her partner curse under her breath. Before them, stabbed into the ground, were two red banners with a golden bull stitched on it. She'd never seen it before, but she's heard enough about the Legion to know what their flag looked like.
Suddenly a man came out of nowhere, running around, laughing and hollering. Cass whipped out her shotgun but the Courier held up her hand.
"Hold up." The Courier said as they watched the man run up to at them. He didn't look like a Legionnaire, and he was wearing Powder Ganger clothes. He stopped before them a wide, crazy grin on his face.
"Yeah! Who won the lottery? I did!" He exclaimed jamming a thumb to his chest. "Smell that air! Couldn't ya just drink it like booze!" He took in a deep breath and laughed insanely. Now that he mentioned it, she scrunched up her face at the smell. It smelled like something rotten was burning.
"What the fuck." Cass blurted out, disturbed by the man's jolly attitude.
"What sort of lottery did you win?" The Courier asked him calmly.
He lit up at the mention of a lottery and he smiled even wider, jumping up and down. "What lottery? The lottery, that's what lottery! Are you stupid?"
Her hand twitched over her gun.
"Only lottery that matters! Oh my god smell that air!" He breathed in again, spinning around laughing.
"Can I shoot him?" Cass asked, pointing her shotgun at the delusional man.
"No. Hey, can you tell me what happened here?" She asked him.
He stopped and turned to her, "Don't you get it? I won the lottery! I'm a winner! I won the motherfucking lottery!" He laughed again and took off running, exiting the town entrance and into the desert.
"That was pointless." Cass said watching the strange man run off still yelling about winning a lottery. The Courier frowned, and started towards the burning fire pit. It was huge, parts of houses or whatever were burning. As she got closer she realized what the terrible smell was that permeated the air. Mutilated bodies were thrown in. Heads, torsos, legs and arms. Cass gagged and covered her mouth, looking away cursing.
"Hello!"
Both girls looked towards the voice. Cass cursed vehemently and the Courier tensed. From down the road at the end in font of Nipton's Town Hall stood a squadron of red wearing gladiators.
"Shit, shit, shit this is not good." Cass said beside her. What other choice did they have but to head towards them. If they ran, they would surely hunt them down and kill them. There were more of than, at least eight bigger. And if they chose to start shooting, well most likely the result would be the same. They walked past burning houses, and she looked at people staked on electrical poles. They were still conscious.
So these were the legionnaires. Ruthless, cold-hearted murderers.
They stopped before who must be the leader, two skinny vicious looking dogs prowling by his side growling at them. He stood up straighter than the rest, and held an air of authority around him. He was tall, taller than her and Cass and wore gladiator armor. Heavy pads rested on his shoulder and he adorned a fox mask. The only part of his face she could see was below the nose, since his eyes were hidden by a pair of dark glasses. He didn't say anything, and she could feel him inspecting the two. He gave a small smile, as if to reassure them he was friendly.
"Don't look so worried, I won't have you lashed to a cross like the rest of these degenerates. It's useful that you happened by." He spoke calmly, as if discussing the morning weather. "I want you to witness the fate of the town of Nipton, to memorize every detail. And then, when you move on? I want you to teach everyone you meet the lesson that Caesar's Legion taught here, especially any NCR troops you run across." He said directly to Cass and then turned to her.
"And you, I'm afraid we only need one person to spread our lesson." A Legionnaire came up behind the girl and pulled her hands back roughly, tying them together with rope.
Cass whipped out her shotgun, "Get your fucking hands off her. We're not spreading your bullshit and you're going to let us go or else."
The man raised a brow, "Or else what? I suggest you leave when you have the chance woman."
At that Cassidy seethed, her face turning red from anger. Her grip on the gun was so tight she was practically shaking. The woman flickered her eyes to the man and to the Courier.
The Courier shook her head.
After a tense stand off she lowered the gun. The man didn't smile but said, "Good. Now go, I bid you "Vale" - until we meet again." Cass looked like she wanted to shoot his face off. She looked one more time at the girl, worry wrought in her face and turned around, marching back down the street and disappearing behind a building to the right.
When she was gone, the fox man turned to her. "What is your name child."
She stared at him, "Courier."
"A messenger. We should've used you instead. Alas it is far to late for you child." He addressed the legionnaire gripping her arm. "Remove her weapons and take her back to camp." The legionnaire saluted and dragged her aside, taking her rifle and newly acquired pistol and threw them on the floor. He searched through her pouch, taking her supplies. Thank god she always kept her special drug in her shoe. She didn't want them taking that away.
The legionnaire finished and grabbed her arm and started down the road, another legionnaire accompanying them, his gun trained on her.
Cass was coming back, she was sure of it. With a lot of NCR soldiers. They would take back the town.
All she needed to do was escape.
0000000000
Which was easier said than done.
She bit her lip as the warrior shoved her forward. With her hands bound, she had to stumble and catch herself from falling on her face. So far, and she made a mental note, they crossed the rail road, and up a curvy road that she knew lead to the other side of the long, continuous hills that acted like a border. They were on the path to Novac, but she was sure they didn't have control over that town. There was the NCR controlled Ranger Stationed Charlie the legion had to go through first.
The sun was sinking, the sky a dusty red above them and the wind turned chilly. They passed a grazing Bighorner pack, and went under a highway that rose up from the ground. In the middle, the road broke off, leaving a gap so wide it was impossible to cross. They veered off the road, heading towards the hard sandy mounds. They trudged up a big hill, and when they reached the top, she could see the camp the fox man was talking about.
In total, there were three tents, two red ones for sleeping, and a large one that she noticed held supplies when they passed by.
"A new one from Nipton." The man with the gun said to two other legionnaires. The other one pulled her to a fire pit, where two other hostages were kneeling down at. He shoved her to down and she landed hard on her knees.
"Try to run and we'll cut your legs off." He forewarned and left her to join his comrades. Behind her back, she tested the ropes. They were harsh, and dug into her skin unpleasantly, and unfortunately it didn't seem like it was going to loosen anytime soon. She glanced at the other two, whom looked down right hopeless. One was even shirtless.
"Are both of you Powder Gangers?" She asked to the two. One ignored her but the shirtless one looked up.
"Yeah. But I don't think that means jack-shit right now." He said. "To them, we're just their fucking slaves."
So this was a slave camp. That meant they would be transported to across the river and to the heart of the legion itself. No way was she letting that happen. Like she said, she was thankful she hid her special chem in her boot, and in the other one, a small but sharp knife.
"Listen. Both of you." She whispered harshly. "I got a plan, and it may or may not work but I'm not going to sit around waiting to become a slave." To be honest, she thought that would be the last thing that would ever happen to her. Above getting shot by your friend on the list.
"What do you have in mind? Kick them to death?" The clothed Powder Ganger piped up sarcastically. "Because I would like to avoid getting a few holes in my body."
"Shut up Ricky." The shirtless one said and turned to her. "Let's hear it kid."
"I have a knife in my boot. I can cut the ropes bounding my wrists, and then I'll release you two. But we have to wait till it gets dark. If we're making a run for it, it would be easier if they can't see us."
Ricky scooted closer with his knees. "And how do we know you ain't just gunna run off when you cut your ropes, huh? I say you release us first and we'll take on the legion. Grab their guns and shoot up the place."
She glared at him, "We'll all die if we follow your plan."
"No, no he's right. You hand over the knife and once we're free we'll release you and we run." The shirtless one agreed. She glared at the both of them. "Sorry kid, but I can't just trust you not to run away."
She didn't like it, but what other choice did she have? She was actually thinking of using them as a distraction. Three people running would be harder to track down. She was hoping the legionnaires would go after the other two than her. "Fine," she spat out. "But not until it gets dark. How long have you been here." She asked to the shirtless ganger.
"Bought two days." He replied.
"Have you studied their patterns. When do they go to sleep, who patrols day or night. How many stay awake at night."
He scrunched up his face in concentration, "Well, what I saw there's only three of them here. Five now with the two that brought you here. Usually there's only one guard at night, and he takes rounds around the camp."
"Which one is it."
"That one." He motioned with his head to a legionnaire branding two swords on his back. "We can take him on. Two against one, he doesn't stand a chance."
"If you can then do so." she said. "But make sure he doesn't alert the others. We don't want them chasing us when he sees us gone."
"Course. We won't let him have a chance to even scream."
She pursed her lips. Hopefully they won't let him even make a sound. She adjusted herself so that she was sitting crisscross, her knees aching from kneeling for so long. They didn't talk to each other after, not wanting to make the legionnaires suspicious. Soon, the sun disappeared and the red seeped from the sky as dark blue took it's place. Once the stars started shining in the night sky, the other legionnaires went to their cots. The one with the two swords came over to them, looking at them one by one before walking off to start his round.
She made sure he was out of sight, and slipped her hand in her boot, pulling out the knife.
"Give it here." The shirtless one said and she scooted closer to him and handed him the knife. She scooted away, incase the legionnaire came back and catch them. He grunted and there were small scratching sounds but finally the ropes fell loose and he rubbed his free wrists.
"Hey man now me." Ricky hissed.
"Yeah calm your shit, I'm on it." He walked to his buddy and cut his ropes. They both stood up and the shirtless one turned to her, "We'll get rid of the guard. Stay put."
Like I'm going anywhere, she thought. The two gangers crouched and disappeared to where the guard left to. While waiting, she stood up and stretched her legs. She was beginning to worry when a scream pierced the silent night. She froze, eyes wide.
"FAVEO! FAVEO! FAV-" The scream was cut off, but it didn't matter. It was too late. The sleeping legionnaires sprung awake, wielding their swords and spears. She had a split second to realize what was going on before booking it into the desert night.
"Qui illic est!" She heard one yell behind her. With hands still tied, she ran as fast as she could go, jumping over rocks and down a slope. Something whizzed passed her head and a spear struck the ground in front of her. She chanced a glance back and saw two running after her. Adrenaline rushed through her veins and she didn't even register that she jumped off a small cliff, landing on her feet and rolling to absorb the impact. She was up after a second, running to hopefully the right direction to Novac.
She turned around again, to see if they were still in pursuit but she couldn't see them. She whipped her head back to the front and leaped over a blue Radscorpion. She didn't even stop, and she heard the hiss of the predator and the click clack of it chasing after her.
Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuck!
How was this even happening?! A huge stinger struck the air next to her, making her run faster. Her chest ached, and her legs burned like hell but she didn't dare slow down. The scorpion was relentless in it's chase and followed her, lashing out with it's stinger to stab her.
She almost skidded to a halt when she realized she ran across a road. She turned violently, nearly tripping and sprinted down the road to where the town had to be. And thank Vegas she could see the huge dinosaur in the distance. The town guards would shoot down the scorpion when she reaches the perimeter.
A gun shot rang off, and she felt something graze her leg, making her wince but not enough to slow the fuck down. Another shot and she realized someone was shooting at her. Yelling and hollering filled the air as she passed the Viper Encampment she had forgotten was there. They shot at her, catching the attention of the Radscorpion and it turned towards the bandits, preferring the motionless prey than the fast one it was chasing. The Vipers turned their attention to the bigger threat and started pelting the scorpion with bullets.
She didn't care about either one of them. Once she reached the town she was home-free. But that must've been what the Viper's thought as well since three broke off from the group and started chasing after her.
"Get back here girl!"
"I'm gonna rip your pretty face off!"
She heard them holler at her. Fear made her feet fly and she was getting closer and closer to the town. Just a little bit more...just a little...!
A single, ear-splitting bullet rang through the air and she stopped immediately.
Two more ear-shattering cracked in a row not missing a beat. Behind her, she heard two bodies fall down. She held her breath, frozen on the spot.
She knew that type of sound.
It was the powerful reverberation of a sniper rifle crushing through bone with unerring accuracy.
She gazed up at the dinosaur's head and wondered-
When did Novac get a sniper?