Blue moon
Now I'm no longer alone,
Without a dream in my heart
Without a love of my own
And then there suddenly appeared before me,
The only one my arms will ever hold
I heard somebody whisper please adore me,
And when I looked the moon had turned to gold
.
.
.
Angel jerked awake. The first thing she noticed was her head throbbing as if her brain was trying to claw it's way out of her skull. The second was the figure standing over her, partially disguised by the shining light coming through the broken window.
She panicked, then realized it was Boone, holding out a cup of water.
"It's late, you should get up."
"Shit," Angel groaned as she rolled over, sheets rippling down her bare legs. Boone's face turned away slightly so as to give her privacy but she didn't see nor care. "Sorry I slept in so long… I… I was dreaming," she said, gingerly taking a sip.
"It's alright. I'll be in the common area when you're ready, they're still serving breakfast."
The smell of recently cooked food was the only thing that got her out of bed, five minutes later. It was so… real. Like I was actually there again. Living it. Not even her memories were that strong ten years after the fact; it was as if she'd had a full-on flashback while she was sleeping.
Straggling into the main room, Angel's soiled appetite came back to life when she noticed they'd actually made breakfast. Some of the soldiers were still eating, piling their plates high with brahmin sausages, grilled yucca, and gecko omelettes amongst others while the rest played cards or went about various tasks around the Outpost. Cass was nowhere to be found.
They probably did this because we spent over four thousand caps, between the three of us.
Not that she cared. Going elbow and elbow with the NCR troops she helped herself to multiple servings of sausage, and ladled herself a bowl of brocflower soup. Her eyes lit up when she noticed the self-serve coffee station next to the food- it wasn't going to help her hangover, but it was the one thing Angel had grown to miss more than anything else; a good cup of coffee, two sugars and cream. Except now sugar was in the form of centuries-old sugar bombs, and cream was military-grade powdered milk that tasted like brahmin ass.
"Actual food, and actual coffee... there is a god," Angel mumbled excitedly. She was in better spirits today than last night; her "dream" had reminded her of her true purpose here, of the things she'd almost forgotten about.
"I don't know about that," Boone replied, waiting patiently across the table while she ate.
"Well, I do. Coffee is absolute. Maybe if you get a cup I'll be able to read your fortune in it."
He shifted in his seat. "Used to love coffee, but I don't drink it anymore. Reminds me too much of Carla."
Angel knew she'd gotten close to striking another nerve without meaning to. It seemed to be her talent; digging up his past at the wrong time, making his walls go up even further.
"I'm sorry, Boone. I didn't know."
The ex-Ranger shook his head. "No, no, it's fine. We've talked enough about it… I'm not.. as stubborn as I was before."
Instead, his walls were lowering. "Why does it remind you of her?" She decided to press.
"First few dates all we did was walk and talk, go on little adventures, things like that. She was a sophisticated city girl and I was just an army grunt; I didn't know how to impress a girl like that, so I went with my gut. Showed her all the little places that made the mojave special to me. Drank coffee. Went on hikes in the safer areas. I was so nervous the whole time that I didn't realize how much she loved it. I guess she liked being away from everything she was used to."
"Sounds lovely. Where were some of the places you went?" Angel asked around a mouthful of soup.
"This one time we camped out at the top of the Grand Canyon, tent and all, just the two of us. I'd scared away a raider wandering around by himself and was feeling confident, so as the sun was setting I tried brewing some coffee the way old Bartlett used to."
"Who's Bartlett?"
"My former senior officer. Was a fool to think I could make it like he did, ended up lighting the tent on fire and making a fool of myself. I thought it was over, but she didn't care. We became an item right then and there. Got married two months later."
"Wow, quite the smooth move, Boone," she giggled. "Spontaneity at its finest. But I'm glad you told me that, really."
The side of his mouth twitched microscopically, but to Angel it was as if he'd cracked the biggest smile she'd ever seen. "Yeah. Where's your friend?"
"Oh, Cass? Not sure, she might've gotten drunk enough that sleeping in a brahmin stall sounded appealing. Who knows. We'll find her before we go."
Major Knight greeted them as Angel finished eating, her gauss rifle fully repaired and ready to go.
"Thanks, Major," she said as she shook his hand and pushed in her chair, hefting her weapon like a child that had been away from his mother for too long. "He feels as good as new."
"Not a problem, Angel," he tipped his beret.
Once she finished her food and gulped down two cups of coffee they got up and walked out. The late-morning sun seared her vision, leaving afterimages each time she blinked. Many of the traders left- having done their business they day before, and were moving on through 188. Cass, as Angel suspected, was snoring loudly in a brahmin stall that looked like it hadn't been cleaned out in a solid week.
"Good morning, sunshine," she said, loud enough to carry over the sound of buzzing flies. Cassidy grumbled something profane but didn't wake up, so Angel tapped her side lightly with her boot.
"Who the fuck-" she shouted, grabbing the rifle at her side and aiming up at her with wild tired eyes. "Oh, it's you, Jesus…" lowering the gun, she chuckled cynically. "I guess we're really doing this."
"Only if you want to. We plan on heading back north today, I have a few stops to make."
Cass sat up, head bobbing slightly. Angel smelled whiskey lingering on her breath. "Yeah, sure. Let's get it moving then." She gathered up the few supplies she had.
The odd trio set off up I-95 with the sun in their eyes. Angel explained to Cass what they were doing- how she was trying to unite all of the factions to eventually defeat the Legion and drive them out of the mojave, and that she possessed the keystone to make all of it happen. Mr. House effectively controlled the breadth of the desert by his de-facto ruling of New Vegas, and she had now built enough trust through their partnership to soon usurp his rule and change the face of Nevada forever. Not once did she mention him, or the Greyrunners.
But Cass barely listened; either too hungover or preoccupied with her own worries, she grunted about something or other, lit a cigarette, and kept her eyes on the road in front of her. She eventually said it all seemed a little too ambitious for her, but she liked her attitude.
As they covered mile after mile Angel didn't hold her detachment against her. She kind of liked it. From the very beginning in this strange place she'd picked up and connected with so many other people and their perspectives- it helped her understand the world better after losing so much of her own identity. She found part of herself in each person she met.
The day wore on. Going parallel with the highway they encountered nothing out of the ordinary besides the occasional ragtag group of raiders or a stray radscorpion. The more ground they covered, the more pensive Angel became, memories of last night seeping into her thoughts.
They could be anywhere, watching. But before midday they were already back at the Hidden Valley bunker. Dust swirled in violent cyclones across the barren stretch of badland where the Brotherhood of Steel were, well, hidden, as the name suggested. It would be up to Angel to convince them to give up their reclusive ways and join her.
"All right," she announced, stopping short of the bunker's obscured entrance. "Boone already knows this, but the next major group I'm after is the Brotherhood. With their technology we'll have a better shot at taking down the Legion. Tensions are high in there right now; my friend and companion Veronica is with the Brotherhood, but some of them think I'm trying to divide them and defy their principles. There's a chance something might happen while I'm down there, so-"
Totally ignoring the last part, Cass interjects. "Wait, the Brotherhood actually still exists?"
"Yep," Angel said. "They've been keeping a low profile since they were driven out of Helios by the NCR, but they're still around. And they're unstable in most senses of the word. You guys should probably wait outside." She put out her cigarette and nervously breathed in the dust-coated air.
Boone was watching her from the periphery of her vision. Angel turned-
"What?"
He held her gaze before speaking. "Nothing. It just seems like you're deeply invested in them for reasons that don't have to do with war, or the mojave. Like you're connected to them somehow."
She blinked. "I just want what's best for everyone. And I don't want Veronica to be forced to lead a life she doesn't want to live."
But Boone's look didn't change. He saw right through it, right through her- as if he could see her vulnerability when her guard was up and no one else could. It was a half truth, and he knew it. He had that innate ability to cut through her bullshit, just like someone else she used to know.
Part of her wanted to love him for it.
"I- I'll tell you later… if I come out of there alive, that is."