So if you somehow forgot to read the title then this Fan-Fic starts a few days after the end of Fallout NV with the NCR emerging victorious at the second battle of Hoover Dam. This Victory mostly came about thanks to the courier's intervention along with the Rangers getting off their ass and actually doing meaningful things within the Mojave Wastes.
The Main reason why I choose the NCR ending was mostly due to the fact that I wanted to and if you don't like it then you can jump of a cliff, though really the main reason why I chose the NCR victory was mostly just due to the fact that A. Mr House or Yesman would get 10-15 years of breathing room before the NCR or the Legion got its shit together and marched back into the Mojave and B. the Legion would fairly likely overextend themselves like the NCR and considering that the legion is struggling badly against the NCR's forces within the Mojave, with said forces being extremely overextended and under supplied it should be said, then I really do doubt that they could hold off the inevitable NCR counter offensive or March into core NCR territory without being repelled. But in any case lets get this started.
Also I will still be writing up stuff for my other Fan-fic its just that I wanted to write something that was not mass effect. Don't get me wrong I Love the Mass Effect Trilogy (Excluding Andromeda of course, since it's not a real Mass Effect game and anyone who says otherwise should be converted into a Reaper Sex-Toy.) but it can get rather boring writing about the same characters all of the time so I'm writing this to add in a little bit of spice to my Profile, and also because I really wanted to duh.
As another Note this Fic, while Todd Howard's Children (The Brotherhood of Steel) and the Cringeclave (Enclave) will appear at certain points within the story they won't be anywhere near capable of, lets just say, destroying the NCR or the Legion for that matter (Seriously theirs a Fan-Fic out their that kills the NCR off in as little as 5,000 words) This is mostly just due to the fact that Both Factions are far too large for anyone, including the mentioned two, to kill off except for the Big two themselves. Of course that does not mean that they could not die from internal problems though but that's for you to find out within the fan-fic itself.
Chapter 1. The Long March Home.
The Sand Dunes gently glided over the ruined remains of the old world road as the distinctive hammering of feet on the ruined tarmac of the road sounded the return of the broken and bloodied Legionaries.
"Frumentarius Vulpes." The Centurion would say as Vulpes would turn away from the stack of reports filed by his Frumentarii agents before turning his head to face the Centurion before replying.
"Yes?" Vulpes would say is his characteristic cold demeanour as the Centurion would reply in a similar manner saying.
"Lanius Caesar Augustus wishes for your presence immediately, he is currently at the head of the Troop column if you wish to know of his location." Vulpes would nod his head before replying saying.
"I will make my way their immediately, you are dismissed Centurion." The Centurion would nod his head before exiting out of the Hastily put together tent as Vulpes would sigh to himself before gathering up a number of items then leaving a few moments later.
To say that the Legion had bloodied at Hoover dam would be a correct statement. Vulpes thought as he walked past a number of Veteran Legionaries that wide array of wounds ranging from the Painful but not serious to entire legs or limps being little more than bloodied stumps covered in soiled bandages that where either applied by the legionaries themselves the few slaves that remained or by the Sisters of Venus, a religious organization that the previous Caesar had founded in the aftermath of the First Battle of Hoover damn.
While that was bad in and off itself it was not something that was unheard of in the legions campaigns against the Profligates, Tribal Savages, and Degenerate Raiders of the wastes, what made this outcome worse than then that of the previous one was just how badly the legion had lost.
The First omen of the storm that was about to descend upon the legion occurred three nights before the battle itself, as Caesar, Mars chosen hero in the wastes, died in his sleep. Many within the ranks of the legion, especially those of the more religious disposition, took this as a sign that Mars himself had cursed the legion to failure. While those who spoke of such things were brutally punished by the former Legate now Caesar Lanius. Vulpes had to wonder though if such cowards had a point however, had the legion stretched itself too thinly for it to sustain itself and that this defeat was a sign from the gods themselves that the legion had to choose another path, less the legion be destroyed and picked apart by the Carrion eaters of the wastes, Raiders, Tribal Filth, and the Profligates west of the Colorado River.
Vulpes shook his head in order to dispel his thoughts 'I need to concentrate upon the now and not the future, for the moment at the very least' Vulpes thought to himself as Vulpes walked up to the two Praetorian Guards that guarded the entrance to the new Caesars tent.
"Vulpes, you took your time getting here." Lucius would say as Vulpes would respond.
"I had matters to attend to regarding my agents within the Mojave, but now I am here." Vulpes would say as Lucius would nod before responding.
"I'm afraid that you will have to hand over your weapons Vulpes as Caesar has ordained that only his most trusted Praetorians may carry weapons in his presence." Vulpes would nod as he handed over his Machete and Hunting rifle. While making sure to conceal a dagger coated with Mother Darkness under his shoe as he handed over the Two weapons.
After Receiving the weapons Lucius would turn to his fellow Praetorian before gesturing for him to move out of the way before turning back to face Vulpes and saying.
"Follow me, Caesar is waiting for us." Lucius would say as Vulpes would follow the Praetorian inside of the tent.
'Lanius Really does not trust me' Vulpes thought to himself. While he was more than aware that Lanius detested Vulpes and the Frumentarii's methods, however, he was not exactly expecting this level of Hostility from the new Caesar this quickly at the very least. Vulpes himself respected Lanius's brutal cunning and willingness to do whatever it took to win. However Vulpes had to question the Former's Legate's ability to govern and administer to the lands owned by the Legion. While he was a brilliant strategist and tactician his lack of skills when it came to governing and ruling had been exposed during his Legion's campaign into the New Mexican and Denver wastes.
The Campaign into Denver had been exceptionally bloody and costly for the Legion. This was mostly due to a variety of factors such as the lack of tribals to conscript into the ranks of the Legion, along with the vast desert dunes restricting the Legions ability to live of the land the ferocity and cunning of the Hangdogs nearly broke the Legion in that forsaken city with Caesar himself ordering for Aurelius of Phoenix and his Legion to reinforce that of Lanius to the dismay of the latter. If not for those reinforcements then Vulpes was sure that Lanius's Legion would of met a similar fate to that of Paulus's and his ill fated expedition into Northern Mexico.
Vulpes would be pulled out of his thoughts as they neared the tent flap that would take the two of them to meet Lanius. Vulpes would approach the tent's door only hesitating for only a moment then pulling the flaps back to reveal the now Caesar Lanius along with a number of Legion Centurions as well as Aurelius of Phoenix who was seated on one of the Chairs that surrounded the table.
"Ah, Vulpes I wondered when you would arrive, sit, we have a lot to discuss." Lanius would say before gesturing to a seat that sat directly opposite of where Lanius was seated, a sign of disfavour within the Legion.
Taking his seat he and Lucius would sit down as Lanius would speak.
"Now that all of you have arrived I think it is time that we discuss the events that occurred at the Dam." Lanius would say as a Centurion by the Name of Lyro would reply.
"We should regroup and prepare to attack the Dam as soon as possible." Lyro would say before continuing. "The Profligates nearly broke before our blades, if we attack before they are able to recover then I guarantee that we will be victorious." Lyro would finish as silence would dominate the room before another Centurion by the name of Picus would reply.
"That is an unwise course of action you have suggested Lyro, our loses have been enormous, far more than the last battle, and it took us years to fully recover from our loses." Picus would stop for a moment before continuing. "My Lord, I suggest that it would be prudent to develop the lands that we already control before thinking off launching campaigns against the profligates or any other force for that matter." Picus would say as Lanius continued to stare into the stars in the sky before turning to face the assembled Centurions and Frumentarii and saying.
"While I will think about the words that you have said to me we must think of more immediate concerns for the moment." Lanius would say, his voice distorted by the mask he wore, before continuing his sentence.
"The Column will reach Flagstaff tomorrow. Once we get their we get their we will mourn the loss and celebrate the Ascension of my predecessor to godhood, then and only then we will discuss these matters." Lanius would say before turning his head to face Lyro and saying.
"Centurion Lyro, I take it that the body of my predecessor is still in Legion hands?" Lanius would ask as Lyro began to scratch the back of his head before replying.
"I am sorry to say but..." Lyro would stop for a moment before continuing with clear beads of sweat trailing down his face "The Centuria that was carrying the coffin was ambushed by Profligate rangers." Lyro would stop for a moment before continuing "Once I and my Contubernium I was with arrived to Relieve my Centuria it was too late."
Lanius along with the rest of the Centurions within the room would stare shocked at Lyro before Lanius would break the silence saying.
"Do you know where they where heading Centurion Lyro?" Lyro would nod his head before nervously replying.
"Yes, I sent one of my Conturbernium's with my most trusted Decanus's in order to recapture the coffin from the Profligate's, unfortunately the Profligates where able to make their way back to their lines." Lyro would pause for a moment before continuing. "The Decanus had to turn back otherwise their worth to the Legion would have been wasted in a suicidal attack on their camp." Lyro would finish as Vulpes would hear the wood of the current Caesars Throne buckle under his immense grip as Lanius slowly made his way towards Lyro's seat before leaning over the now terrified Legate and saying.
"Failure helps us to improve and to overcome ever greater adversaries." Lanius would say to the surprise of those within the room before continuing. "But Failure must always be tempered with the waters of Victory, and you, Centurion Lyro, have failed too many times, first at Coin-masters landing, second at the Second Battle of Hoover Dam, and now in protecting the body of the son of mars." Lanius would state before pulling slowly unsheathing his enormous blade which had be titled by both NCR troopers and Legionaries as the "Blade of the East" before saying.
"And repeated Failure's, will not go unpunished." Lanius would say before brining the blade down on Lyro's neck instantly decapitating the former Centurion, his body slamming into the desk as Lanius would re-sheave is blade before saying.
"Now since that has been taken care of." Lanius would say before turning his attention towards Vulpes before saying.
"Vulpes, can we expect the Profligates to cross the Colorado river anytime soon?" Vulpes would shake his head before replying.
"No, the Profligate's will likely need time to consolidate their control over their newly won territories before they could consider advancing into the lands of the legion. Which could take some time." Vulpes would say before continuing. "Especially considering that my agents within the Mojave are doing everything within their power to belay the Profligate's consolidation of the region. Arming raider groups and instigating conflicts between local tribes and the such." Vulpes would finish as Lanius would let out a low growl before replying.
"I hate the way that you use treachery and deceit to win your battles Vulpes." Lanius would say pausing for a moment to let his words sink into Vulpes before continuing. "But I have no choice but to let you, and your organization, continue on as they where." Lanius would finish as Vulpes would barely flinch before replying.
"I'm glad you could see the necessity of my methods, my lord Caesar." 'at least for now' Vulpes would say the last to himself as Lanius would grunt loudly before turning to face Lucius and saying.
"Lucius, take this wretch's corpse outside of my tent and burn it with the rest of the dead." Lucius would nod before standing up and moving towards the headless corpse of the former Centurion Lyro as Lanius would turn to face the rest of the Centurions within the room before saying.
"We must arrive at flagstaff as soon as possible in order to prevent our subjects from panicking, for that reason we march at dawn and do not stop until we have reached the City, does everyone understand?" Lanius would say as all of the Centurions within the room would nod their heads in understanding as Lanius would reply saying.
"Good, This meeting is over." Lanius would say before sitting up from his throne and walking back into his private room leaving the Centurions to their own devices as said Centurions and other such Legionaries began to file out of the Tent.
….
The Man known as President Kimball would fold a neat stack of paper's together before filing them into the rest of the stack that had been built up over past few days, a monument to the demands placed upon the leader of the only standing legitimate state within the wastes.
The Past few days had been busy to say the very least.
The First Major event of the past week was the Legions attack on Hoover Dam, while thankfully the tribal ingrates had been repelled it certainly did not come without cost with initial estimates from Oliver egg-heads putting the number of NCR loses at 215 dead and many more wounded, which while certainly a large number, even for a large well organized military such as the NCR was still manageable and could be replaced given enough time.
However it could of proven disastrous if the other threats within the region where not dealt with. House, the Brotherhood and many other factions would of certainly exploited the sudden weakening of the NCR's hold over the Mojave to achieve their own ends, which Kimball had to be somewhat thankful that said issues had been rather definitively resolved by a independent contractor who apparently went by the name of Courier Six if Oliver's report was to be believed.
In any case that did not exactly mean that the NCR was ready to continue expanding its borders as many of the more, nationalistic, members of congress had hoped for, the NCR to put it mildly was bloodied from its campaign within the Mojave and while it had ended up being a success their was no way in hell that Kimball could sell the idea of further military campaigns outside of NCR Territories to the people without meeting fierce pushback from his opponents within congress and the people themselves who already viewed the Mojave campaign as a waste of resources at best or a typical example of how corrupt the NCR had become during Kimball's and Tibbet's Reign as Presidents.
Of course domestic exhaustion was not the only reason for the pause in expansion. The Legion unfortunately did not collapse after their second defeat at Hoover Dam however they were quite possibly even more exhausted than the NCR was and considering that the Legion had a vastly inferior pool of manpower and resources to pull on would most likely mean that the NCR would have more than enough time to recover and consolidate its newly won territories before the Legion attacked again, practically making any form of legion attack on the Mojave a suicide mission for Lanius to pull off.
And in any case if the OBI reports about the Legion where correct then their was a good chance that the Legion would tear itself apart long before they would ever have the chance to attack again.
This certainly did not mean that the NCR sovereignty was uncontested however, that was far from the case. Hostilities Between the NCR and Brotherhood of Steel continued within California itself and while the Brotherhood had mostly been forced to conduct hit and run attacks on small settlements and garrisons after their disastrous defeat at the battle of Dayglow. This did not mean that the Brotherhood threat was not concerning however and to make matters worse recent interrogations conducted on Brotherhood prisoners and Holo-tapes recovered from dead Brotherhood Knights and Paladins pointed towards the fact that the Lost Hills Elders where attempting to re-establish contact with Brotherhood of Steel chapters around the North American wastes, and while thankfully their efforts have failed to bare any fruit this does not mean that they won't continue on with their attempts to do so.
The NCR had actually attempted to negotiate a ceasefire with the Lost Hill Chapter rather recently using the Mojave Chapter, the same one that Courier 6 had managed to Negotiate a ceasefire for the NCR with as middlemen in any negotiations between the NCR and the Lost Hills Brotherhood. Unfortunately or Fortunately from what your personal beliefs where the Lost Hills Brotherhood had taken rather badly to the news that their Mojave cousins had chosen to make peace with the NCR and had exiled them from the Brotherhood as a whole with the Elders of Lost Hills Declaring them as "Traitors" to the Brotherhood and ordering for Elder McNamara removal. While luckily for the Elder the Majority of the Chapter Held their loyalty to McNamara alone which more or less prevented a rather messy civil war from breaking out however to say that peace between the NCR and the Brotherhood (Excluding the Mojave Chapter) was off the table would be an understatement of the century.
Not all threats that faced the NCR where external however. While of course you had the Opposition Parties to that of the Federalist Party (Aka the New World Party and the Internal Reform Bloc) these were more equivalent to "Healthy Competition" rather than a hostile force in all due reality, hell the Brahmin Barons, while despised, where fundamental in feeding the rapidly growing population of the NCR which unlike what some people would say would be impossible to do if the Brahmin Herd restrictions where still in place from the Tandi Administration and reinstating said restrictions would lead to food shortages and starvation for many within the NCR.
No this this threat was far more insidious than Bureaucrats and Barons. The Washington Society, as the group of Scientists, Industrialists, Traders, and Barons went by where a wealthy and powerful group within the NCR that operate behind the scenes ensuring that their chosen candidates ended up in powerful positions within the NCR government, most of the time in any case, during his initial campaign for presidency The Washington Society had offered to support his bid for presidency in exchange for certain favours within the future. At the time Kimball had simply dismissed them as another lobbying group seeking to further their own self interests and considering that Kimball already had the backing of the Stockman's Association in the first place they're was not all that much reason for Kimball to sell his soul further than he already has.
However as time passed it became rather Obvious that the Washington Society was more than just some simple Lobbying group as before long rather unfortunate accidents began to occur to the Kimball family, while these incidents were spaced out over a large period of time it did not exactly take a genius to guess that whoever was organizing these incidents where connected in some way or form.
And Hence the Office of Internal Investigations began to investigate the circumstances around each incident, and while it took years to make any headway the OII did eventually manage to figure out that The Washington Society was connected to most, possibly all of the Incidents in question. Of course the fact that OII had no idea on who was apart of The Washington Society other than that it had members within all of the Major political parties of the NCR.
Kimball shook his head before standing up and checking the time on his watch. "16:20" the watch displayed as Kimball would nod to himself as he made his way out of his office and began the walk to the Podium located within the central square of Shady Sands.
….
The Former NCR General known as Preston Cole looked over the Frozen Ruins of the city of Portland.
The Long march of his Exiles to this Hell-hole had been arduous and costly, but through strength, steel and pure unadulterated determination they, had managed to survive the long trek from Modoc all the way to this hell hole.
"Sir." a worn but still well-kempt trooper would say before saluting the NCR general before saying.
"We've scouted out the local area, seems to be pretty much what we expected, a shit tone of snow with numerous scattered settlements around and within the Portland Ruins." Preston would nod to himself as he looked towards the trooper in question, the man, Thomas Eliat, would at a first glance appear to be a Corporal of the 15th Modoc Guard Platoon, however if someone was to look closer they would see that the Formerly proud two headed bear emblems that represented the rotten, Imperialist, and corrupt Establishment of the New Californian Republic had been systematically covered over with a Five pointed Red star, the symbol of the Peoples Liberation Army of California.
Preston's thoughts would be brought back to why he and his men had defected in the first place, mainly to protect the workers and downtrodden of the NCR.
Preston tried to forget about the screams of men, woman, and children every night, the crimes he and his men where forced to commit in the name of protecting the wealth of the few were many, and he hoped that this, rebellion, would bring some level of peace to the dead.
"Sir?" Eliat would say brining Preston out of his thoughts as the General would reply saying.
"I'm fine corporal just thinking about a few things." Preston would say as the Corporal would nod his head in understanding as Preston would continue saying. "How many people survived the trek to this place Corporal?" Preston would ask as Eliat would respond saying.
"Approximately half survived, there may still be some more stragglers coming but I don't think they'll be to many more coming sir." Eliat would say as Preston would grumble slightly before replying.
"And the Rangers?" Preston would ask as Eliat would respond saying.
"We managed to lose them north of Arroyo, sir." Eliat would say brining some relief to Preston as the General would respond saying.
"Still though we only have 500 Soldiers and 1500 civilians, that gives us 2000 mouths to feed keep sheltered and warm." Preston would think for a second before continuing on saying "Eliat, send out several squads to scavenge nearby ruins you think could house stuff that we could find useful." Preston would say as Eliat would salute before responding.
"Got it sir but, what about the civilians?" Eliat would ask as Preston would respond saying.
"Will have to organize them into labour details based on there prior skills and professions." Preston would say as Eliat would nod his head before replying.
"That's good sir but what will they do?" Eliat would ask as Preston would respond saying.
"First and foremost will need to establish water purification facilities, and will also need to clear out the rubble out of this former U.S. Army base." Preston would say before gesturing to the Nearby river and the Ruins of Fort Michkenly.
"But what about the food situation sir, surely it would be best to sort it out soon considering our, limited, stockpile?" The Corporal would say as the General would nod his head in agreement before saying.
"I agree which is why I'm ordering you to form hunting parties to supplement our limited supplies of food stuffs for the time being, in terms of a long term solution, I think trying to strike an agreement with the, what was its name again?" Preston would ask as Eliat would respond saying.
"Aqueducts, sir, the Settlement is called the Aqueducts." Preston would nod his head before replying.
"Ah yes, that was what its called, any case I need you to go to the Aqueducts to convince them to supply us with regular shipments off food." Preston would say as Eliat would nod his head before replying.
"And what if they refuse to negotiate sir?" Eliat would ask as Preston would respond darkly before saying.
"Then convince them otherwise Corporal." Eliat would gulp slightly before nodding and replying.
"I...get what you mean sir, I promise you that we will get those supplies no matter what." Eliat would say before continuing. "But sir, if I may ask, why did we go north instead of East, surely that would have been a more, reasonable, route to go to escape the NCR?" Eliat would ask as Preston would nod before responding.
"I'm glad you asked Corporal, it is a good question, and there are multiple reasons for why I decided to come here, the first one is that most people within the NCR think that most of the Pacific Northwest is a dead, frozen, wasteland, only populated by mutants and cannibalistic tribal savages." Preston would say before continuing. "And while that's not necessarily false, it would be wrong to suggest that there is nothing valuable buried beneath the ice." Preston would finish as Eliat, his interest piqued would respond saying.
"And what could that be sir?" Eliat would ask, hopeful, as Preston would smile slightly before saying.
"Weapons, Technology, anything you could ever want to wage a large scale military campaign." Preston would pause slightly before continuing. "Or to forge a new Nation." Preston would finish as Eliat would raise an eyebrow at Preston's statement before saying.
"But if that's the case then why haven't the locals tried to form a nation themselves?" Eliat would ask as Preston would respond saying.
"That's a Question that is fairly simple to answer Corporal, look around, does the soil here look amenable to cultivation?" the General would ask as Eliat would proceed to look at the snow covered ground before saying.
"Not exactly sir, but still how are you so sure that we won't become like those cannibalistic tribals sir?" Eliat would ask as Preston would respond saying.
"I'm sure because we have individuals that know how to construct structures to grow crops in such, extreme, conditions, that we find ourselves in, while the locals only have a few settlements that are capable of performing agriculture, and certainly not to the scale that we can pull off given that we have enough time a resources to do so." Preston would finish as Eliat would nod his head in understanding before saying.
"I understand sir, you want me to buy us more time to set up and deal with our immediate problems, then we can think about liberating the workers of California?" Eliat would ask as Preston would nod his head before responding.
"Exactly Corporal, once we have dealt with the immediate concerns of survival we can begin to think about California, but for now we should be focused on the present, so I think you know your order Corporal?" Preston would ask as Eliat would nod his head in understanding before beginning the long walk to where his squad was located, barking out orders as he went along, leaving Preston to his own thoughts.
….
Well um this is the first chapter of this story, now for all those concerned I will still be writing up The Saga of the Eagle chapters but i'll also be writing up stuff for this fan-fic as well.
Now um I am aware of the Fallout TV show in production but for all intense and purpose this fics universe is not set in the same one as the TV shows as I have no idea if it'll be shit or not shit or actually good, so yeah, but besides from that I hope you enjoyed it and all and if you liked this then you may want to go and check out my other stuff.