Chapter 8

Nipton

As I walked away from Primm and towards the rising black smoke that was the town of Nipton, I felt a heavy weight drop into my stomach. Something wasn't right. Nipton was known for being a town of corrupt and debauchery, but not chaos. As I got closer, I pulled up my binoculars. It was clear that a few buildings had been set on fire. Whether this was caused by someone or something was not clear. Radioactive storms were rare in the Mojave but the lightning, was always a force to be reckoned with.

As I was about 100 yards from the town entrance, I could see a man running towards me. He was about my height and was wearing a uniform from the NCRCF and a pair of sunglasses. Assuming he was a Powder Ganger and that they were the cause behind the Nipton fires, I pulled out my hunting rifle and readied to take him out. He threw his hands in the air. I slowly moved toward him.

"Whoa buddy easy there, I'm just getting out of town because I just won the lottery! I'm not here to cause any trouble with you.", said the Powder Ganger

"What do you mean the lottery?", I said lowering my rifle

"You know THE lottery! Man I'm really going to turn my life around after this!"

"Aren't you a Powder Ganger?"

"What? Oh yeah that's all in the past baby! No more of that stuff, living the high life now!" After that he continued running past me.

Something was definitely off. I continued cautiously into the town. The first building I came to was the general store. I opened the door and found another Powder Ganger sitting in a chair moaning in pain. He stopped as soon as he saw me enter the store.

"Shit just my luck, first these guys beat the smash my legs in with hammers and after then in walks this grim reaper asshole shit man."

"Calm down what happened to you?"

"The lottery. I was the first runner-up I got to live but they beat my legs in with hammers. Told me I needed to learn a life lesson or some shit. I got off easier than the other guys. Most were either hung on crosses, stoned to death, burned, or shot. Damned Legion"

My eyes grew huge. My heart started to race at the very mention of the Legion. Caesar's Legion was ruthless and had been driven back from the Mojave with the Battle of the Hoover Dam. It was rumored that Caesar was so angry after the loss of the battle, he lit his right hand man Joshua Graham on fire and sent him off a cliff. It was also said that Graham never screamed while burning nor falling from the cliff. It was Caesar's way of making an example of failure. If he has entered the Mojave, the NCR needed to know about it.

"Legion? Are you sure? Caesar's Legion is still east of here in the Colorado."

"Man I'm telling you whoever this guy and his boys were claimed to be apart of the Legion. They said that this town and the Mojave needed to be cleansed. They said this was just the beginning."

"Can you move at all?"

"Man not with my legs all busted in."

I gave him a stimpack and told him to rest a minute and leave when he could.

I walked out the door.

If the Legion was responsible for this, I needed to find out. The NCR needed to find out.

I slowly peaked around the corner of the general store, I saw a few men hanging from crosses on both sides of the street about 50 yards away from me. Along with that there were men down at the end of the road coming out of what must have been the town city hall. As soon as they reached the bottom of the stairs, I saw a door open from a house close to city hall. A man wearing normal clothing stepped out of the door, raised a pistol toward the men coming down the stairs and fired. One of the Legion hit the ground, but before the man could fire again, two Legion mongrels attacked him. As they bit into his legs and arms, another Legion soldier walked over and shot him in the head with what looked like a marksman carbine, a high powered semi-automatic rifle with a scope. I pulled out my binoculars and watched as the Legion was surveying the carnage that they had caused. All men were smiling. I began to sneak back to the outpost. As I turned around, I saw another marksman carbine pointed directly at my face.

"Drop the rifle! Hands up! Stand up!", said the legionnaire pointing the gun at my face.

I stood up with my hands raised and my rifle on the ground. Immediately my NCR Ghost training kicked in. I batted the rifle out of my face, punched the legionnaire in the throat breaking his larynx. As he dropped the rifle in reflex to place his hands over his throat, I grabbed my 9mm from my hip holster and aimed it at his head. Before I could pull the trigger, I felt a sharp blade on my throat.

A slithery voice behind me quietly whispered in my ear, "Pull that trigger, and I will wear your head on my belt, Ghost."

My eyes opened wide when I heard the name. Only one NCR official in the Mojave knew I was here. I dropped the rifle and a few soldiers ran to their comrade to help him. The blade was dropped from my neck. I heard the growl of the angry canines behind me. It sounded like three of them waiting to tear my head off. When I turned to see the face of the man holding me hostage, he wore dark sunglasses, a Legion soldier uniform, and a hat made from the head of a fox. He was holding what looked like a Ripper, a knife with a motorized blade like a chainsaw. I knew who he was immediately as the chill shot down my back. Vulpes Inculta, one of Caesar's most trusted Decanus soldiers. He is the leader of the Frumentarii, a league of Legion spies, but I didn't know that he was in the Mojave.

"Walk around the building onto the main street. Bear witness to the glory that is the cleansing of the corrupt and shameful. You, Ghost of the Mojave, shall bring forth news to those NCR peasants you serve and spread word that Caesar has indeed returned to the Mojave with vengeance. He shall cleanse the Mojave and make it pure. I, Vulpes Inculta, and my men have purified this city. The mayor had a plan to give us the NCR soldiers and its Powder Gangers. I decided that the whole town in its debauchery needed to be taught a lesson. A lesson in Caesar's justice", said Vulpes

"How do you know who I am?", I said

"Caesar has many spies Ghost. You would do well to remember that. We know of the Ghost Unit and its soldiers. We also know you are posing as a courier. But don't worry, Levi Mathis, it would serve no purpose to expose you for what you are, yet. Go forth Ghost of the Mojave and spread great tidings of Caesar's return. I will spare your life this time Ghost Mathis, but rest assured, we will meet again."

He made a hand gesture to his men and they followed along with the mongrels. I walked back to the side of the general store, bent down to pick up my hunting rifle and saw a drop of blood hit the sidewalk. I felt my neck where Inculta had held the Ripper to my throat. I sat down for a moment a thought about what just happened. The NCR needed to be made aware that the Legion had officially made their way back into the Mojave. We were caught completely off-guard. I took a bottle of water out of my backpack and drank a few sips while splashing some onto my small scratch from the ripper. I ate a can of pork n' beans and grew angry. How could the Legion be here and I just now know about it. Caesar knew all about the Ghosts and my cover. Caesar it seemed, is far more powerful and his reach further than we could have imagined. I needed to report to the Outpost immediately.

I ran back as fast as I could to the outpost and delivered my message about the fate of Nipton to Ranger Ghost. She immediately sent me to Ranger Jackson to report the news as well as gave me 300 caps as well as a few stimpacks.

Ranger Jackson was completely stunned at the news. "They are already back inside the Mojave? I thought we drove them back to the Colorados. We need to inform the other camps immediately and have them prepare.", said Ranger Jackson

"It's worse than that sir. Vulpes told me that Caesar has many spies. It's very possible that they may be within the NCR."

"Then we are in deeper shit than I feared. We are already thin in our numbers out here. Help is currently cut-off for now. Thank you Mathis for this information. I will ensure that it gets passed to the other camps and ranger stations."

I walked out of the HQ and back to the barracks. Cass was still there drinking from another bottle of whiskey. I asked the bartender for a bunk. One was available tonight. I had the roughest night of sleep. I remembered the last time I had encountered the Legion.

I was moving silently through interior of Hoover Dam. I had torn my ranger coat to shreds hitting snags inside the ventilation shaft I used to enter the interior of the dam. I had broken my right ankle falling from a drop-off inside of the shaft, but I needed to keep moving. My target was close. I was out of stimpacks and only had a few shots left in my sniper rifle. Joshua Graham had pushed the Legion far into the Dam. I had one job, assassinate Joshua Graham. As I moved further into the Dam I could see the Legion preparing to take the rest of the Dam. They were setting traps along the turbines incase their plan failed. I managed to disarm each explosive after they moved on to the next turbine. As I moved toward the side of the dam closer to what used to be Arizona, I could see a man dressed in non-Legion clothing but barking orders at the Legion soldiers. He wore an old police ammo vest with a long-sleeve white shirt underneath, blue jeans, and a smaller .45 pistol inside of a hip holster. I looked at him through the scope of my silenced sniper rifle, as I aimed at his head it was Joshua Graham. I started to line up the shot. I knew that taking the shot now would give away my position but I would be breaking the back of the entire Legion. Just as I was about to take the shot, Graham walked away and headed towards the surface. I made my way back to the ventilation shaft I had crawled in to make my way down here. There was a legionnaire checking on the shaft as I had left it loose. he was attempting to fix it. I limped over to him silently and snapped his neck. As the legionnaire fell to the ground, another wearing a fox hat spotted me. He threw a Ripper in my direction. It landed in the concrete wall two inches in front of my nose. I could hear him yelling at me, "Caesar will cleanse all of the Mojave!"

I awoke covered in sweat. I checked the time on my Pip-Boy. It was just after 1am. I rubbed my eyes and walked out into the bar area. Cass was still awake drinking.

"Couldn't sleep either huh? You look like hell. Have a drink.", as she poured whiskey into a shot glass and slid it over to me as I sat down on the stool next to her.

"I had a run in with a unit from Caesar's legion today. That alone will make you lose sleep.", I said.

"Never seen any of those boys before but I've heard terrible stories.", she took another shot and refilled her glass.

"Look instead of hanging around here, why not come with me? It will get you out of here and your mind off of your caravan."

"You don't want me around, I have the worst luck when it comes to life."

"Well in my experience luck can always change."

"Fine, but one condition, we need to find the final resting place of my caravan and kill the bastards that killed them."

"You have a deal."

"Where we heading? I assume you will want to leave soon."

"Novac, but we leave in the morning, get some rest."

"Easier said than done. But okay have it your way. Oh and one more thing as far as us traveling together."

"And that would be?"

"We are traveling companions, and nothing else, got it?"

I smiled at her and said, "Yes ma'am. Now get some rest we leave for Novac at dawn."

I drank my shot Cass had poured and headed back to my bunk. Just before I entered the room, I heard Cass open another bottle of whiskey.