AN: Scroll a bit if'n y'all don't wanna see the data dump
10/19/2281 CE: The Courier wakes up in Goodsprings, age forty-three, lacking his memories post-surgery and begins his hunt for the individual known as 'Benny' upon recovering, simply going by 'Courier' as his name.
11/17/2281 CE: After running several routes and tasks in order to acquire wealth, Courier is forcefully abducted by Big Mountain personnel and experimented upon, receiving several implants which result in overall increased survivability as well as the cooperation of the Think Tank.
12/3/2281 CE: The Courier confronts Benny after presenting hard evidence to The Tops staff, eliminating him. Shortly thereafter, the AI 'Yes Man' is discovered, and through him 'Project Wild Card' is initiated.
12/18/2281 CE: A radio signal is found, advertising the Sierra Madre casino. This results in Courier's capture by the exhiled Elder Elijah. The discovery of the Cloud as well as Matter Reconfigurator vending machines is made, followed by the elimination of Elder Elijah. The Courier leaves the casino with a bag of gold bars in tow to begin funding 'Project Wild Card', acquiring the services of various individuals and equipment.
1/3/2282 CE: President Kimball is assassinated by the Legion. Were it not for the Courier's assistance, bombs on Vegas' monorail system would have completely destroyed its infrastructure.
1/27/2282 CE: The three families have been cleaned and resituated to ensure future cooperation, now under the Courier's influence. Robert House begins to grow suspicious.
1/29/2282 CE: Utilizing a backdoor program developed by Big Mountain, the securitrons within the Lucky 38 are momentarily disabled, allowing the Courier to infiltrate and eliminate House with minimal resistance. His death is kept at first, and will not be announced until the second Battle of Hoover Dam.
2/7/2282 CE: Another radio signal, this one advertising a caravan passing through Zion Valley. Anticipating potential trade routes for Cassidy Caravans, the Courier accepts the advertisement under the guise of working as hired muscle. It is through Zion that pieces of the Courier's past surface, though they never fully recover. His old tribe's techniques for insect consumption come forth, as well as several faint memories of his past. The White Legs are run out of Zion at the Courier's mercy, secured for the Sorrows and Dead Horses. Additionally, volunteers are recruited from the tribes for the coming battle for Hoover Dam.
2/18/2282 CE: Caesar is killed by the Courier, alongside several scores of Legion troops. Eye witness reports lead to the Courier developing the moniker 'Stonewall' among many circles. Shortly thereafter, the Courier acquires several new implants that further improve his abilities and regenerative health.
3/16/2282 CE: The Boomers are recruited for Project Wild Card, while the Brotherhood of Steel chapter in Vegas is eliminated due to their technophobia projected to be a significant threat to Vegas' development down the line. The Khans are freed from the Legion's envoy, and advised to leave the Mojave for greener pastures.
3/24/2282 CE: The Followers of the Apocalypse are recruited to act as medical personnel and given frequent medical shipments via Securitron under shadows. Said supplies come from a Matter Reconfigurator newly installed. Though the flow is stifled, plans are set for Big Mountain to manufacture additional MR venders.
4/2/2282 CE: The Courier travels to The Divide, citing potential memory related reasons. No one is certain what happened afterwards, although one account from a wayward gecko hunter states the Courier is seen speaking with an unknown individual by the Divide's entrance.
4/18/2282 CE: The Enclave Remnants are recruited, encouraged to assault both the NCR and Legion troops. Additionally, The Courier receives power armor training, and uses this knowledge to begin training Zion volunteers. The Zion Marine Corps is formed, acting as the Courier's personal special forces.
5/1/2282 CE: The Battle for Hoover Dam begins, resulting in a resounding clean victory on behalf of the Courier's forces. General Oliver and Legate Lanius die at the Dam, the rest of NCR and Legion forces demoralized and forced to retreat.
5/7/2282 CE: Upon ratifying several documents of legislation, the 'Mojave Dominion' is formed, with the Courier announcing himself the Autocrat until death, systems set in place to create a meritocratic Oligarchy upon his death formed by carefully handpicked individuals vetted for potential corruption and other negative behaviors. A tertiary system is set after that in the event that if they fail to fulfill their duties, in which Yes Man will follow a set of directives to ensure continued handling of Dominion territory until new individuals may be picked.
The majority of the Mojave remains anarchistic in form, with the newly formed Dominion government only acting to assist with circumstances such as war, infrastructure repairs, and the handling of more severe legal cases. Penal labor is instituted for the most severe offenders, though conditions are noticeably improved compared to the NCR thanks to the slow addition of MR vendors taking position in the Vegas proper, providing necessary materials.
Additionally, Chems are now regulated and taxed under observation of Dominion law, tested and adjusted to ensure minimal addiction rates while still permitting proper treatments and highs. The Followers are provided the necessary funds to handle treatment of addicts, though this results in slowly straining relations between the Dominion and the Followers.
6/14/2282 CE: Post war clean up is running slow, several Raider holdouts including Powder Gangers and remaining Fiends causing logistical issues as well as terrorizing the populace. These times are referred to as the 'Ganger Wars', in which various gangs and criminal elements are either eliminated or subjugated. Utilizing Anti-NCR propaganda, the Courier convinces a portion of Powder Gangers and less despicable raider elements to join as citizens provided they follow the minimal laws that exist. The Kings are negotiated with to assist in the formation of a police force for vegas.
9/21/2282 CE: The Ganger Wars are over. The initial hiccups that came from an independent Vegas are being worked over by Yes Man, the Oligarchs, and the Courier. Many problems and projects are personally handled or visited upon by the Courier himself, presenting an appearance of being a 'boots on the ground' type of leader. This births respect into the populace for the Courier, giving him an image as a 'Messiah' to the people.
9/27/2282 CE: The Enclave Remnants are subsumed into the Zion Marines as drill instructors and trainers, and recruitment from various tribes in the Mojave area begins, the Courier stating that tribals provide the most raw form of viciousness needed for the marines.
10/19/2282 CE: The anniversary of the Courier's rise from the grave is made an unofficial holiday by the people of Mojave, and he considers the day his 'birthday' as well, lacking the memory of an actual date of birth.
10/23/2282 CE: Upon receiving a medical check up at Big Mountain, a startling discovery is made. Through a combination of cybernetics, mutations, and lucky genetics, the Courier is discovered to be biologically immortal. Though still killable, the cells in his body under normal circumstances regenerate and maintain a significant rate of growth, additional implants and mutations killing off any rogue cancer cells faster than they can begin. This results in some disagreements between the Oligarchs and the Courier, the former of whom manages to convince them to settle peacefully by relegating a portion of his power to them.
2/10/2283 CE: The West Coast skirmish begins. After reconstruction efforts, the NCR attempts to conquer the Mojave again, believing the lack of governing and primarily robotic military force can allow them to commence slowburn guerilla tactics.
2/15/2283 CE: The NCR is immediately pushed back by surprising forces of supermutants, Zion Marines, and genetically enhanced Deathclaws shipped from Big Mountain. NCR borders are summarily shattered and pushed back to the mountains.
2/18/2283 CE: In a stroke of cowardice and greed, the majority of the NCR government has been bought out by the Mojave Dominion, with stores of gold and various resources produced by MR conversion of raw matter to shortly shatter California's economy. A few holdouts remain, but the NCR is by and large subsumed under the flag of the Dominion as the rest of the resistance is eliminated. An uneasy peace settles over the California territory.
3/2/2283 CE: The Legion, now formed as the 'Legion of the Damned' under the individual Emperor Hadeus, probes Dominion defenses. This is met with heavy resistance, followed by bombing runs from the Boomers' newly built bombardment group of planes. This is followed by the assault of Zion Marines pushing into Legion territory. Thriving off tribal wisdom and fueled by vengeance among many members, the marines thrive in enemy territory subsisting off of the land, pushing enemy forces back.
3/17/2283 CE: The Courier personally pushes into enemy territory upon handling California affairs. Running hellish swathes on his own through Legion forces, some Legion forces develop superstitions towards the Courier and how quickly he marched through their lands with such brutality, calling him the child of Mars and Mercury. This leads to a schism in Legion forces the Courier takes advantage of, taking command of the Legion after killing Hadeus in honorable unarmed combat. Slaves are released and reforms are made, the Legion's men absorbed into the Dominion's military forces or penal camps alongside the acclimating military of California. This leads to several brawls and large scale internal conflicts, though they are eventually redirected into a staunch rivalry between each other that grows into begrudging respect.
5/5/2284 CE: The Mojave region is largely stabilized, and expansion begins. With newly constructed factories and MR vendors, supply chains are as firm as the Old World's, fusion powered vehicles and vertibirds pushing both north and east. Technologies and commodities such as Pip-boys are recovered and sold to the public, as well as low-scale terraforming to enrich the landscape and cleanse low-dose radiation.
5/8/2284 CE: Contact is made with the Great Khans in Montana. Remembering the service the Courier provided them, the Khans ally with the Dominion as a protectorate, their borders and land being guarded as a reserve for tribals to freely live a more quiet life. Additionally, contact is made with the Texas Republic. After tense introductions, a non-aggression pact is signed between the two governments, followed by a trade of resources.
6/11/2284 CE: Contact is made with the east coast chapter of the Brotherhood of Steel. Problems arise due to conflict of interest, the Brotherhood wishing nothing more than to restrict the Dominion's technologies. However, the Elder is summarily usurped by the ghoul Edward Neeson with internal assistance within the brotherhood. Known as the 'Lone Wanderer' in the Capital Wasteland, Edward proceeds to take the reigns of the Brotherhood of Steel in order to prevent a complete massacre of the chapter, a task made difficult by his ghoulified form. The Courier provides assistance however, the two forming a duo which created a running joke lasting throughout the years, as 'the most horrifying team-up in the history of ever' as they proceeded to completely subjugate any and all elements within the Brotherhood under twenty-four hours.
7/5/2284 CE: Utilizing a fusion of western technologies and reclaimed alien tech, satellites are officially launched into the atmosphere, projecting and receiving signals and giving the American wasteland the first interconnected web network to be up and running since 2077. These satellites are also used to proceed to map out the rest of the world and any radio signals, giving both the Courier and the Wanderer key points to contact at a later date.
7/12/2284 CE: Out of respect, the Courier declares the Wander as a dual Autocrat, forming the Diarchy. Members of the Wanderer's own companions and contacts are integrated into the Oligarchy after careful screening. The Capital Wasteland is thus integrated into Dominion territory.
11/22/2287 CE: After cementing infrastructure and repairing much of the wasteland as well as additional expansion north and south respectively, contact is made with the Commonwealth. A small ragtag group of settlers and a faction referred to as the 'Minutemen' is found carving their way through the ruins led by a pre-war soldier named Nathan McLaine, who'd been frozen for over two-hundred years in a vault. Seeing a unique opportunity for themselves, both the Wanderer and Courier make contact, providing personal assistance to the man 'out of time' and gathering information while their forces work from the shadows.
12/5/2287 CE: The Institute attempts to infiltrate the Dominion at various levels, but autodoc check-ups detect the intruders before any significant digging is done. The losses of known individuals however results in the Dominion treating the invaders as a hostile force.
12/8/2287 CE: With the help of the Sole Survivor and the volunteering of the synth known as Harkness, a courser is lured and captured. Using Big Mountain technologies, the Institute is raided by Zion Marines and Super Mutant shock troopers, resulting in minimal loss of organic life. The individual known as 'Father' is captured and questioned, and after shocking revelations and DNA testing, it is revealed that he is in fact the lost child of the Sole Survivor, Shaun McLaine. In an act of preserving his son's legacy, Nathan McLaine overtakes the institute and integrates it with Big Mountain Research against Shaun's wishes. Regardless, he is convinced by both the Wanderer's history with his own father and the Courier's lessons learned from the Mojave.
7/22/2289 CE: The American Railroad, after clearing out mutants and radiation, is officially fully repaired and ready for transportation, allowing civilians the opportunity to traverse coast to coast in a manner of hours. This marks a point in history where hope for the wasteland's reclamation efforts reach an all-time high.
4/13/2291 CE: The Zetan Mothership has been fully reverse engineered, and the first prototype space shuttle has been constructed, dubbed the 'New Testament' by the Wanderer. Zetan Civilians have had their language fully translated, and now Pip-boy translation programs exist, allowing the Zetan's to begin integrating into society on Earth. Though wary, the wastelanders and Zetans do manage to cooperate.
10/30/2291 CE: An accident occurs within a Big Mountain Institution, exposing the Sole Survivor to an experimental FEV strain being developed in an attempt to assist Super Mutant reproduction. Nathan McLaine successfully mutates into a Super Mutant after several hours of medical attempts keeping him stable. Aside from functioning reproductive organs, there is a noticeable increase in mental faculties, as well as a slightly denser skin tissue taking on a deeper green hue. This creates a new generation of Super Mutants, no longer reliant on gene baths and high fatality rates in order to reproduce. Additionally, for his noted efforts and missions undertaken for the Dominion as well as his unique background, Nathan McLaine is inducted as the third ruling member of equal standing to the Courier and the Wanderer. Thus, a new term was coined for rare individuals that meet such a high standard of notable service and biological aging, the Courier dubbing the new term 'Court of Immortals'.
This term was summarily shot down by the other two and replaced with the prior term 'Autocrat' for being a 'Crock of Grognak-grade bullshit' and 'too close to being villains at that point'.
6/16/2292 CE: Upon thorough testing and several reports, the intelligent Deathclaw breed from Big Mountain is found to have key triggers for sapience activated, and have been reclassified to a citizen species after some individuals were found to be fully capable of intelligent communication and complicated mathematics. However, this particular gene trigger seems linked to the Y chromosome, and as such only male Deathclaws are capable of human adult levels of intelligence. Though, females do seem capable of enough intelligence that puts them on par with corvids or swine, making them manageable enough to avoid significant incidents in more domestic living standards.
4/14/2294 CE: Contact is made overseas with several governing bodies. Due to the lack of shelters, most of Eurasia and northern Africa is completely devoid of human life, and much of South America devolved into tribalistic societies with little infrastructure in the face of rapidly mutating wildlife. The Takeda Shogunate, Australian Monarchy, and Chinese Socialist states are all contacted overseas with varying degrees of respect for the Dominion and the Texas Republic's representatives.
The Takeda Shogunate, led by Shogun Takeda Yami, holds a strict code of honor and high emphasis on military doctrine with Shintoism as the state religion. Takeda Yami expresses interest in the American peoples having grown into a more respectable form of military government, as well as a strange sense of childlike awe at the sight of the Zetans in particular. The feeling is mutual, as the Shogunate's caste system is familiar to some of the Zetans having lived in a similar system aboard the Mothership, resulting in a partial diffusion of cultural differences Takeda admires. Many Zetans sign on to the Shogunate military in order to obtain citizenship shortly afterwards.
The Chinese Government, however, is particularly grudge-ridden, more than a large portion of its leadership run by ghouls. Diplomatic efforts are kept at room temperature at the very least, if only thanks to the return of a Chinese nuclear submarine on the Sole Survivor's behalf years prior. Though a non-aggression pact has yet to be signed, resources and technology are both traded and gifted to enable reconstruction efforts.
The Australian Monarchy, despite the name, is surprisingly rugged. Queen Abigail Kelly the Third's first act of diplomacy was to request a wrestling match between herself and one Texan representative. Shortly thereafter, Australia declared itself allies with Texas.
9/2/2297 CE: Increased ocean traffic from rebirthed trade routes riles up the sea life on coasts. A strain of mirelurks crops up on the remnants of Australia's Great Barrier Reef, utilizing tools and scavenged weapons seemingly bolted to their shells. Investigations reveal that the symbiotic relationship of various 'Lurk' species has evolved into a particularly intelligent strain among the Australian coast. Research and capture of mirelurks is underway as they are defended against. Ocean trade slows until further notice, with more reliance upon air transportation. Boomer descendants jump at the opportunity.
3/25/2298 CE: A breakthrough is made in the mirelurk research. It is discovered that a strain of FEV has evolved in the local population, increasing mental capacity. Translators are developed to adapt to the primitive clicking and pheromone production of the various mirelurk breeds. The most success is found in mirelurk kings, and official diplomatic contact is made with the Mirelurk Hierarchies.
It is discovered that the reason for aggressive response against nautical shipments was due to a vibration frequency put off by the engines of the ships that resonated poorly with their carapace, bringing great pain and the crustacean equivalent of nausea. Modifications are made to muffle the engines, and the Australian mirelurks are classified as a new citizen species of Earth.
9/6/2299 CE: The first multispecies, international manned mission to Mars commences for permanent colonization. Bright's Followers are discovered, having taken residence in a cavern and surviving thanks to Prothean hydroponics and infrastructure. The existence of Dark Matter is confirmed in trace elements of the ruins, dubbed 'Element Zero'.
12/24/2300 CE: The first official Martian city is established, dubbed 'Holiday' due to the auspicious nature of the day it was officially completed. Through Holiday, terraforming efforts of Mars begin at a rapid pace thanks to MR technology and synthetic workers.
1/20/2301 CE: Through political maneuvering and alliance, the governments of the world reform into the 'Terran Autocracy' under the guidance of several key individuals with their supporting cast of Oligarchs. The current People's Representative of China, a ghoul named Ai Zhao, is added to the growing list of Autocrats for her commendable service record as a former stealth operative as well as personally deactivating an ancient Prothean defense system and saving Holiday, proving herself as a leader personally willing to step in for the people.
2302 CE: Colonization efforts of the Jovian moons begins, with the most noticeable spearhead being the mirelurks on Europa. Asteroid mining facilities are created, diverting mass to the other worlds.
2305 CE: A strain of FEV influenced lichen is introduced to Mars, marking the beginning of the Martian Biosphere. Years of experience with cleaning radiation on Earth has given Martian colonists the means to reduce surface radiation to acceptable levels. MR factories exist with the sole purpose of thickening the Martian atmosphere.
2310 CE: Mars reaches the point where it's atmosphere is breathable to some citizen species, though radiation and toxin protection is still necessary to explore outside of city limits. The mirelurks begin terraforming efforts of the Jovian moons, flooding them with comets to begin the creation of oceanic paradises.
2311 CE: Inspired by Mars and Jupiter, a coalition of Super Mutants begins to colonize Venus, utilizing a modified Saturnite alloy for protection. They thus attempt to terraform the hellish surface of Venus by converting the surplus atmosphere into the necessary building materials they need with MR technology.
2312 CE: Zetan Hyperlane technology is recreated, and the first probe mission towards Alpha Centauri is a resounding success. An outpost is established to create a foothold and study the hardy microbial life on Proxima Centauri Two.
2315 CE: Charon is discovered to in fact be an ancient Prothean Relay, coated by thousands of years of accretion. Despite the perceived inferiority of Mass Effect compared to the Zetan Hyperlane Drive due to being restricted to one Relay, it is still activated and explored in order to potentially map out old Prothean space for more artifacts using a Mass Effect 'Key' in order to trick the Relay into launching Autocracy ships.
2320 CE: The first true garden world is discovered by Ai Zhao on her personal cruiser. He dubs the world 'Shanxi' and colonization efforts of the world begin, a joint effort made by all species of the Autocracy.
2323 CE: The First Contact War Begins.
Three particular men and one particular woman stand aboard a flagship of the Terran Autocracy, a newly minted one point three kilometer dreadnought on its maiden voyage in Shanxi. The first one, sunbleached and faintly glowing with cybernetic augments in what few spots of his body were visible, sipped a black mug of coffee as he stared out at the visuals on screen. Though his luck allowed him to be immortal, a portion of his short hair still maintained that graying sideburn look he had over forty-two years ago. On one arm, a pip-boy, and on the other a ballistic fist labeled 'Two-Step Goodbye', he smiled warmly at the sight of the alien world before him.
"Mmm… quite a sight, idn't it?" The Courier asked in his countryside drawl.
"God, what I'd give for Nora or Shaun to see this…" Nathan mumbled, his deep baritone voice easily carrying his words. His dark green skin was covered head to toe in experimental X-02 power armor with a collapsible gatling laser at his side.
'I still remember when Marcus first had a shitfit after seeing him, something about old memories' The Courier thought to himself about the west coast mutant, admiring the gleam of his polished armor, painted in the orange and white colors of the Autocracy.
"Heh, I feel that big guy," The third man of the group commented, picking a flake of calloused brown flesh off his cheek before tucking it into a pocket on his father's old labcoat. "I wish Sarah could've seen this too, shame she had to hold back because of the cancer treatments"
The ghoul was surprisingly unassuming for being the Lone Wanderer. He had a simple plasma pistol at his side, preferring to rely upon his words and ways with science to get the job done. Not that he couldn't fight, the Courier had personally seen the ghoul rain hell when he needed to. His rimmed glasses, stubbornly held together with a piece of tape rested warily on his face, only held in place by an almost invisible magnetic strip above each ear hole.
"How good ya think the game is down there?" The Messenger asked, his smile forming into a coy grin. "Cause I dunno about y'all, but ah've been itchin' for a fight again recently"
"Says the man that nearly single handedly rendered the Cazador species extinct," Ai commented through her translator, preferring to speak through it as she'd yet to master English. She stood proudly in Chinese Infiltrator armor and helmet, shimmering and ready to cloak at a moment's notice with the provided Big Mountain AI accompanying her. "I wonder how your 'brains' felt about that, by the way"
"Was jus' doin' the wastelan' a service when ah did it is all. Kinda got repetitive once ya knew how they rolled. Nah, I want somethin' fresh. Geckos, dumb Deathclaws, Radscorpions, s'all gettin' borin' at this point"
"Y'know, I never thought I'd hear someone that punches their enemies to death say that about giant, man eating devil lizards," The supermutant autocrat quipped.
"Jus' sayin'," Courier grumbled.
The four autocrats continue to stand in silence, staring out at the soft yellow-white glow of Shanxi's star. Eventually, the silence is broken by an overhead announcement, the voice of a gurgling, primal clicking being accompanied by translated English.
"Attention all personnel, this is Admiral Snaps-With-Waves of the 'Nevada Sunrise' speaking, our supporting fleet is now in position and we are cleared for the first official expedition flight through the Shanxi Relay. Engines are primed, and shielding systems are prepped in the event of any less than friendly surprises. Please keep your arms and legs inside the ship, try not to kick the Deathclaw in the seat ahead of you too much, and enjoy the ride"
The announcement feed silences, leaving the four back to their own personal conversation.
"Well y'all, looks like we're 'bout to make the leap. How much ya wanna bet there's somethin' nasty on the other end?" The Courier.
"Please don't joke like that, you all know how bad my luck is," The ghoul doctor grumbled.
"I'm going to have to agree with poindexter here, I'm not really in the mood to buff scratches out of my paint job" Nathan groused.
"I'll bet a jar of my Datura Moonshine on it"
"... I counter with a bundle of custom made Nuka-Grenades saying it'll be smooth sailing on the other end if you bump that to two jars" The mutant offered.
"How big a bundle we talking?"
"Big enough that it overflows my arms"
"Fuck it, yer on"
"Men," The Ghost of China grumbled, shaking her head. Though she couldn't help but stop a smile from forming on her face under the helmet.
AN: Hi diddly ho neighbourinoes! Yeah, sorry this ain't an update for my other story, but I've been on one hell of a combination Fallout and space itch, so I figured a Mass Effect Crossover might help that. I'll get back to my other story with another update shortly now that I have both a moment to spare and actually in the mood for it again. Ciao for now y'all!