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October 23rd, 2281, 8:01 a.m.
"So what're we waiting for?"
Denn glanced over at Veronica and put his finger in front of his rebreather in a shushing motion. Veronica scowled at him, and the action disturbed the bandana covering her mouth, causing her to gag slightly. Shaking his head, Denn turned his attention back to the doorway that separated the tower they were standing in from the top of the Dam.
The sounds of orders being shouted and the clamor of battle could be heard through the metal. The NCR had managed to bar the door and the Legion, having a more easily accessible path to their opponent, had given it no more than a cursory examination when they passed. The screams of the dying and the righteous cries of the living reverberated through the doorway.
"Do you really have to kick me?" Veronica asked.
"Yes." Den answered.
"Why?"
"Believability."
"I'm not that terrible at acting. Why don't I just pretend to be thrown out there?"
"I couldn't throw you that hard."
"Well they don't know that!"
"Stop complaining or I'll use both feet."
"Oh yeah, that would make it so –" Veronica began to quip before Denn held up his hand, causing her complaint to die in her throat.
"It's time," he said, moving over to stand on one side of the piece of metal that barred the door.
Feeling her heart begin to beat faster, Veronica did her best to quiet her nerves as she took her place across from Denn.
"Stay down until the smoke spreads," Denn said calmly. "We have to stay alive until backup arrives. Play on their confusion – cripple, disorient, maim – don't get locked down on one opponent."
Veronica nodded, falling into a practiced calm as she lifted the metal bar slightly, gauging its weight as she prepared to lift and throw it to the side.
Above the cries and shouts of battle, she began to hear a steady and incessant buzz. The shouting outside the door seemed to grow more earnest as the noise drew closer. Sounding much like a swarm of angry Cazadores, the drone passed almost directly overhead as a dull roar. A series of high-pitched whines followed its passing and seemed almost innocent compared to the disturbance that preceded them.
Suddenly, the air was filled with the sounds of tremendous explosions. The reverberations of the bombardment rumbled through the metal of the door and the concrete on which the Courier and Veronica stood.
Denn nodded to Veronica and the two of them lifted the heavy piece of metal and threw it to the side. Veronica shifted to stand in front of the door with her arms held in front of her chest while Denn moved into position and kicked his foot against Veronica's arms.
The Courier's heel released a burst of sound and force and Veronica felt herself lifted bodily off the ground. Crashing through the door, she landed on a group of three Legionaries. The four of them went down in a heap. The Legion soldiers nearby gaped at the jumble of bodies before looking at the now-open door. Two metal canisters sailed through it, spilling forth clouds of white smoke. Following directly after the canisters, the Courier came sprinting through, throwing yet another smoke grenade into the Legion forces. Pip-Boy clicking steadily, his curved machete sliced through the air and any Legionaries unfortunate enough to be in his path.
Veronica found removing herself from the writhing pile of Legion soldiers difficult. Every time she tried to push herself out of the mess of flailing limbs, she was jostled and forced back down. When one of the soldiers accidently smacked her across the face in his attempt to rise, she had had enough. Grabbing his wrist with her left hand, she punched out with her power fist. The Legionary screamed in agony as his elbow hyper-extended and his arm bent seventy degrees in the wrong direction. Forcefully pulling the soldier's arm straight again as he continued to scream, Veronica brought the elbow of her right arm directly into his face. The blow staggered the wounded Legionary, allowing Veronica to roll backwards out of the pile. Pushing off the ground, Veronica turned the roll into a momentary handstand before landing lightly on her feet.
A Legionary roughly bumped into her from the side and Veronica backhanded him bitterly. Composing herself as the soldier fell to the ground, Veronica jabbed out twice with her power fist at the two uninjured Legionaries in the pile she had just recently vacated – striking one in the throat and the other on the bridge of his nose. Satisfied that the two Legionaries were out of the fight, she rose and briefly took in her surroundings.
The smoke obscured everything past a few feet. Legionaries tripped over fallen comrades as they fell back to the eastern side of the dam. Catching one Legionary as he stumbled by her, Veronica brought her power fist into the soldier's gut. The man's breath flew out of his lungs and he rose a few inches into the air before falling in a heap.
Smiling coyly, Veronica began to stagger around, imitating the retreating Legionaries. As Veronica would run into another moving figure, she would dispatch them with a quick punch or kick – even resorting to a headbutt for one opponent. "Glad Ramos didn't see that one," she said quietly as the victim of her helmeted-strike fell to the ground.
A heavy hand fell onto her shoulder and spun her around. A scowling Centurion wielding a thermic lance screamed at her almost incoherently, gesturing angrily at the fallen Legionary. Reflexively, Veronica shrugged at the Centurion. The officer's eyes narrowed and he took a closer look at Veronica's face. Realizing her jig was up, Veronica snapped out with her power fist, aiming for the man's chin.
The Centurion leaned back and only just avoided the vicious strike. Jumping back lightly on the balls of his feet, he readied his weapon and its tip began to spark angrily. Veronica hesitated, unwilling to step within the thermic lance's range. Originally used as industrial tools, thermic lances could cut through steel girders to say nothing of used football pads.
A group of Legionaries noticed the standoff and moved to stand at the Centurion's side. As one, the soldiers stepped forward, pressing Veronica back.
Growing more confident as Veronica continued to retreat, the Centurion smiled widely. "Nowhere left to go, profligate," he said mockingly.
"Salve amicus," Veronica replied gruffly, doing her best to speak as lowly as possible.
The Centurion stared at her confusedly for a moment and in that instant the Courier appeared. Moving as fast as a charging deathclaw, Denn leaped out of the billowing cloud behind Veronica. The Courier seemed to be a crimson extension of the heavy smoke, covered from head to toe in freshly spilled blood. The Centurion's eyes widened as his opponent slipped right past his extended weapon. Before he could react, Denn's machete leapt out, opening the officer's neck all the way to the bone.
The Courier fell on the remaining Legionaries like a crashing wave. Pulling the thermic lance from the dying Centurion's grasp with his left hand, he flipped it in the air and jammed its sparking emitter into the throat of the Legionary to the dying Centurion's right. The soldier screamed and desperately pulled the burning lance away from him, clutching the burnt flesh of his throat. Denn drooped the weapon and flicked his wrist causing a knife to appear seemingly out of nowhere. Sending the blade spinning through the air, the Courier embedded it into another soldier's chest.
As he threw the knife, the Legionary to Denn's right swung his machete at the Courier's extended right arm, hoping to at least disarm his opponent of his curved machete. As the blade fell, Denn's wrist moved impossibly fast, slicing his sharpened weapon completely through the Legionary's forearm. Staring at his bleeding stump, the Legionary fell to his knees in shock – his mind unable to comprehend the massive trauma he had suffered – and had his confusion ended forever as the Courier took his head from his shoulders.
The remaining Legionaries finally registered what had happened and began to flee – tripping over themselves in their desperate attempt to get away from the deadly Courier. Denn watched their retreat for a moment, as if debating whether to pursue them or not. Finally, he reached behind his head and flicked off the radiation generator. His shoulders slumped as his Pip-Boy slowly stopped clicking.
Turning to face Veronica, Denn suddenly doubled over and fell to his knees. Ripping off his rebreather, the Courier's mouth erupted in a cascade of blood. Veronica sprinted over to her crouched companion, confused and terrified at what was going on. Denn looked up towards her and grinned sheepishly, his cracked lips covered with a thin layer of crimson.
"I'm alright," Denn said hoarsely, spitting up the last remnants of blood from his mouth. Reattaching his rebreather, Denn stood uneasily and pulled a small syringe from within his coat. The Courier carefully removed the syringe's cap and stabbed it into the side of his neck, shaking appreciatively as the medicine immediately had an effect.
Shaking his head, Denn did his best to focus through the medically induced haze. "We have to get back to the tower," he said finally. "The NCR is taking their time clearing the Legion from the other side. Hopefully Lanius is hesitant enough that we'll be left alone till the Remnants show up. Move."
As the Courier started to jog back to the tower, he faltered. Veronica caught him just before he fell to his knees. Putting his arm across her shoulder, she began to half carry him across the dam's walkway.
"What was that?" Veronica asked as they moved slowly over the bloodstained concrete. "How did you move so fast?"
"Chems," Denn replied. Veronica turned her head to look at him disbelievingly. She knew the sound of a Geiger counter when she heard one, but refrained from pressing the Courier for the truth. Denn tried once more to walk under his own power, but was unable to.
"Stop that," Veronica chastised, slapping his helmet lightly. Denn shook his head and leaned more heavily on her.
"Oof. You're heavy for a smaller guy, you know?" Veronica quipped, shifting his weight to a more comfortable position.
"It's all those chems," Denn said, almost tripping over a prone Legionary.
"All right, Mr. 'Great Khan," she replied, keeping the Courier from falling to the ground. "Those things will kill you, you know," she said more seriously.
"I'll die from something else long before that happens," Denn replied. Raising his hand to stop her rebuttal, the Courier looked behind him. "They're regrouping. We have to get to the tower." Increasing his own pace, Denn veritably pulled Veronica along until they reached their destination.
Setting the Courier down to rest inside the tower, Veronica looked back to the Legion side of the dam. The smoke was now slightly easier to see through, but Veronica noticed that it seemed to clump together. This made its shape oddly pillow-like, seeming more similar to a feature of the sky than a man-made fogbank.
"I've never seen smoke act like that," she said, tilting her head to the side quizzically. "What keeps it from dissipating like smoke usually does?"
"Variation of pre-war tech," Denn replied, "Smoke didn't do much good with the invention of infrared, so they added different elements to screw with enemies sensors. I figured out a way to make these elements want to stick together, basically. Keeps the smoke from blowing away in all but the strongest winds."
"Those added elements aren't toxic, right?"
"I hope not."
Veronica laughed hollowly. Her body felt heavy now that the adrenaline from the battle had passed. "So what do we do if the Legion gets here before the Remnants?" she asked.
"Lose the battle," Denn replied, clenching his right fist experimentally and shaking his head hazily from side to side.
"No plan B?"
"One plan B."
"What's plan B?"
"You hold them off while I make my daring escape."
"I hate plan B."
"That's what they all say until the morning after."
"What?"
"Never mind," Denn said, looking up to Veronica. "From what E-DE can see, the Legion will reach us soon. Our little display made them cautious, but they've still got the NCR at a disadvantage, especially since Oliver is holding his troops back – pretty sure the bastard wants the Legion to kill us. Cass can't help from where she is."
Veronica nodded, thankful that the little robot was in place to keep watch on the battlefield. Denn had outfitted E-DE with a small pair of boosters from the REPCONN test site that let it fly much higher than it had previously been able to. Almost literally an eye in the sky, E-DE transmitted tactical information directly to the Courier.
Veronica bit her lip as she looked at Denn in his weakened state. "What really happened out there?" she asked pointedly. "There's no way chems made you move that fast."
"I'll tell you after the battle," Denn said, looking back to the ground. "For now, focus. The Remnants are al –" Denn's sentence was interrupted as the air was filled with the angry drone of an aircraft. A Vertibird suddenly appeared, instantly dispersing the heavy smoke as its dual rotors carried it scarcely five feet from the dam's concrete walkway. As the smoke blew away, the approaching Legionaries found themselves dangerously exposed. The soldiers scrambled to find cover behind the overturned NCR fortifications, but the Vertibird's pilot opened fire too quickly.
Bullets capable of puncturing power armor tore though the Legion troops like scythes through wheat. A hatch opened at the back of the Vertibird and four figures rushed out with military precision, pulling a segmented crate along with them. As soon as its payload had been delivered, the Vertibird left, screaming away down the front of the dam. The Legion finally reacted to the aerial attack, and a pair of missiles chased after the fleeing aircraft, but its movement was too unpredictable for them to reach their mark.
Representing the strength of the old world, the Remnants stood tall and proud as they surveyed the battlefield. Two of them wore power armor similar to the kind Veronica had been forced to leave behind – one armed with a heavy mini-gun and the other equipped with a humming Gatling laser cannon. The remaining two figures were substantially less protected, but no less imposing. The shorter of the two was outfitted with what appeared to be an armored radiation suit and carried a laser rifle over one shoulder and a duffle bag over the other. The final Remnant was conspicuously unarmored, wearing only a grey and black officer's uniform. His skin was dark and sun worn and his eyes carried years of experience. Wielding an anti-material rifle, he barked a series of orders to the armored soldiers. The two strode forward and stood at opposite sides of the dam's walkway – daring the Legion to try to move them.
"See what's wrong with the Courier, Henry," the officer ordered, pulling off a section of the crate as he jogged through the tower's opened doors. "I'm going up top to get a vantage point."
The radiation suit armored Remnant moved forward and leaned down to remove Denn's helmet, but the Courier waved him away. "I see the side effects of your little medical-oddity are still in full effect," the doctor said as he held out his hand and helped Denn rise to his feet. "How did my little concoction help? Any mitigation of the internal bleeding or nausea?"
"Significantly, yes. Thank you, Henry," Denn answered. "I was also able to stay under significantly longer without blacking out."
Doctor Henry nodded studiously and seemed to stare off into the middle distance, beginning to talk as if he was the only one present, "That shows a marked increase. Perhaps additional Rad-x would allow even longer utilization without a decrease in–" Denn coughed pointedly, breaking off the doctor's train of thought and the new arrival seemed to notice Veronica for the first time. "Ah! You must be the little Brotherhood scribe we've heard so much about!"
Veronica bristled at the doctor's statement and looked pointedly at the Courier. "Former scribe, actually," she replied shortly, "and oddly enough, I haven't heard anything about you."
Sensing Veronica's anger, the Remnant doctor shifted uncomfortably. "I apologize," he said. "One loses his manners when he spends his time almost solely in the company of super mutants. They find little point in social decorum, and I'm afraid it's a habit that has rubbed off a fair amount on myself."
"Consider your apology accepted, on the condition you tell me what the hell is going on with 'Ranger Reject' over here," Veronica bargained.
"I'm afraid I can't do that, Mam," Henry replied, stiffening and putting on the airs of a pompous physician. "Patient confidentiality is something I cannot forgo, despite the barbaric nature of this wasteland."
"Right…" Veronica said, putting her hands on her hips and staring at the doctor for a moment before turning back to Denn. "So what happens now, boss?"
Her answer came in the form of a loud explosion from the dam walkway followed by a cascade of mini-gun and Gatling laser fire. The Courier knelt down and opened the duffle bag Doctor Henry had delivered. "Veronica, go and see what's holding up Oliver," Denn ordered, pulling a large cylinder from the duffle bag along with a bandolier of heavy looking canisters. "We'll need the NCR to hold the dam if this whole thing is going to work, and they can't do that from where they currently are. Make sure to take off your helmet so Oliver doesn't have an excuse to shoot you." Denn flicked open a hatch on the cylinder and pressed a button, causing the object to begin to hum mechanically. The top and bottom of the device extended and a viewfinder appeared. Two handles popped out from its side and the Courier hefted the weapon experimentally onto his shoulder. Nodding to Veronica, he moved to the staircase leading to the top of the tower.
Grumbling to herself, Veronica crouched and ran out of the room. She cleared the distance between the tower and the fortification that separated the East side of the dam from the West in record time. Pushing its doorway open and slipping inside, she was greeted with a scene of Hell on earth.
Corpses littered the floor of the small room. Facedown Legionaries with their torsos torn open by gunfire surrounded the doorway in a staggered half-circle, machetes soaking in the crimson pools that covered the cold concrete. NCR troopers lay where they had fallen, limbs torn from their bodies and their empty eyes staring unblinkingly up at Veronica.
The world closed in around her. Flashes of an ashen floor and bloodstained hands pulsed across her vision – blue eyes, empty and vacant. She fell back against the door as her chest tightened around her heart like a vice. Her left hand covered her mouth, and for the first time she was glad for the musky odor of the bandana. Her right hand rose to cover her eyes, the cool metal of her power fist a sharp contrast to the blood pumping furiously through her veins. She stood silently – her frame shaking as she breathlessly sobbed into her hand.
She was too young for death – not old enough to be jaded to that terror of reality.
Her right hand closed into a fist and she screamed into the bandana. Ripping off the threadbare fabric and her helmet, she pulled the shoulder pads over her head and threw them aside. Moving towards the doorway at the far side of the room, she stepped quickly across the corpse-covered floor, refusing to look at the scourge of war beneath her feet. Kicking the door open, she leaped through it to a nearby sandbag pile. A short burst of gunfire greeted her arrival before a bellowed order to ceasefire echoed across the concrete. Veronica stood and raised her hands above her head to indicate she was unarmed.
"Veronica!" a female voice shouted. Veronica squinted her eyes to find the source of the cry in the crowd of NCR Desert Rangers that had their guns trained on her. A straw hat ended her search, and the crimson-haired figure wearing it was still shouting at what appeared to be a very weary Ranger. Even though she couldn't distinguish what exactly Cass was saying, Veronica could guess the severity of the Ranger's situation. Rose of Sharon Cassidy carried the decorum of a world-weary wastelander and the vocabulary of an ornery prospector.
Shouting for a few more moments, Cass pointed angrily at Veronica and the Ranger finally relented, ordering his men to lower their weapons. Jogging towards the NCR lines, Veronica was greeted with a bear hug and the heady smell of whiskey. Cass lifted her in the air for a moment before setting her down and holding her at arms length. The redhead stared at Veronica, her eyes seeming troubled as she looked at her companions face. "Where's Denn?" she asked, her eyes hardening as she shook her head slightly.
"Holding off the Legion." Veronica answered. Turning towards the Ranger Cass had been addressing earlier, she continued, "He's wondering where the hell the NCR is. Apparently they're supposed to be defending this dam?"
The Ranger seemed just as frustrated as Veronica and Cass as he replied steadily, "General Oliver ordered us to fortify our position and prepare for the Legion counter attack. We can't –"
"Brahmin shit!" Cass all but screamed at the beleaguered Ranger, tapping his chest roughly as she continued her tirade. "Oliver's using this whole damn battle for political gain and if you don't do something, it's going to end with a Legion machete through the throat of every NCR citizen in the Mojave! The NCR would already be back in Boulder City if the Courier hadn't stopped the Legion assault from inside the dam or given you a chance to deal with the Legionaries in the intake towers. Now he's holding back the entirety of the Legion forces while you all listen to the orders of an asshole!
"Fuck Oliver! If he had his way, you all would've been killed weakening the Legion, allowing him to rush in with his heavy troopers and save the day! Why do you think he put you in the middle of this shit box? At the first battle of Hoover Dam, Hanlon and the Rangers took all the glory, and now Oliver is doing his best to make sure that doesn't happen again!"
The Ranger's fists were clenched tightly and he was visibly shaking in anger. "Don't you think I know that!?" he replied through gritted teeth. "I know what's going on, but I can't do anything about it! If we push forward, we do so alone – without any support!"
"Sounds like you're fucked either way then!" Cass shouted back, rising on the balls of her feet and pushing her face inches from the Ranger's helmet. "Might as well go out pumping as much lead as possible into the assholes who're going to kill you!"
"Give me your helmet," Veronica said to the Ranger.
"What?" the Ranger asked, put off by the sudden change in the conversation. "Why?"
"Just do it so she stops shouting," Veronica quipped, holding out her hand and gesturing for the Ranger to hand over his headgear.
The Ranger seemed to weigh his options for a moment as he looked between the outreached hand and the seething redhead. His shoulders slumped dejectedly and he raised his hands, pulling off the riot helmet customary of veteran NCR Rangers. Handing it to Veronica, he crossed his arms and looked at Cass. The woman just glared at him before turning her attention to her companion.
Veronica fiddled inside the helmet for a moment before yanking out a circular device. The Ranger started and reached out towards Veronica, but Cass's hand leapt out and latched onto his arm. Shaking her head, Cass waited till Veronica had finished before releasing the Ranger.
"There," Veronica said, handing back the Ranger's helmet. "Your radio's busted. Since you can't reach command, I guess you'll have to make a tactical decision on your own, 'frontline battlefield necessities' and all that. Yeah, you won't have backup for a while, but when Oliver finds out that the battle is being won without him, he'll have no choice but to help out. Denn needs help now, not later. So, what're you Rangers going to do?"
The Ranger stared at the inside of his helmet and smiled. "You heard her, men," he said happily, "We've got a friend in need. Let's go save us a Courier."
Almost before their leader had finished his order, the Rangers sprinted towards the fortification in the middle of the dam. From the top of that building, they would have a tactical advantage on the approaching Legionaries, and with the Remnant's firepower backing them up, the Legion would be hard pressed to unseat the NCR a second time.
The lead Ranger nodded to Veronica and Cass appreciatively and followed after his men. Veronica stepped in the same direction but was stopped by a hand on her shoulder. She turned and found Cass staring intently at her. "Hey, you OK?" Cass asked earnestly.
"I will be," Veronica said, squeezing Cass' arm but refusing to meet her eyes. She pulled out of Cass' grasp and jogged to the center of the dam.
Cass watched as Veronica moved away and glanced back towards the ridge on the NCR side of the dam. Pulling her riot shotgun out of its holster on her back, she checked its ammo count before trotting after the silent Veronica.