ED-E My Love
The silence in the car was deafening. Four sets of eyes were staring holes through the duraframe Eyebot, and behind all four sets of eyes was the same thought;
"What the fuck?," Cass blurted, "seriously, what the actual fuck was that?"
No one else said a word out of astonishment. Veronica took the opportunity to reach up front and turn on the radio.
"Hey, it's Mr. New Vegas with the news! Today's top story is about a package courier with the Mojave Express found shot in the head near Goodsprings. Reports say that he has made a full recovery! Now THAT is a delivery service you can rely on!"
All eyes shifted their gaze towards Lucas; who just sheepishly slumped in his seat.
"I guess the world knows who I am," he remarked, "well, let's uhhh get a move on."
He started the Highwayman back up and peeled off back towards the 188 trading post and then past it. No one said much of anything as 'Heartache by the Number' by Guy Mitchell started playing on the radio.
Catching a glimpse in the rearview mirror; Lucas could've sworn he saw Boone sobbing, but he chose not to say anything to avoid embarrassing his stoic friend. They drove on and eventually stopped at a little hole-in-the-wall roadside joint to get a quick bite to eat.
"So what'd you say this place was called?," asked the courier.
"The Grub 'n Gulp. It's pretty much the last place between here and McCarran or the Strip where anyone can just stop and grab lunch," Cass explained with her mouth half full of a Brahmin steak.
"I take it you've eaten here before?," asked Lucas before taking a swig from his trusty Vault 13 canteen.
"Countless times as a matter 'o fact. I used to get discounted meals as a caravaneer, but that was when I HAD a caravan," she said remorsefully.
Veronica chimed in at that moment, "You say that you had a caravan. What do you mean by that?"
Cass swallowed her last bite and was reluctant to explain to someone she didn't trust. However, she felt obligated to Lucas as well as Boone amongst her present company.
"A month, no, two months back, my caravan took a financial hit. Numerous trade routes either got cut off by raiders and the Legion or had hefty tariffs placed on them by the NCR to fund the ongoing conflict. My caravan, as well as most of the other small independent caravans, couldn't afford such financial loss."
"That's unfortunate, Cass. Were you forced to sell your caravan, or did you merge with other independent traders?," Veronica inquired.
"No, that's the kicker. The NCR imposed strict anti-trust and anti-monopoly laws. Had an attempt to do so been made; it would've been seen as a violation of those laws. Yet, Crimson Caravan can get away with any crime under the sun as long as they funnel their tax money into the NCR war machine. Besides it's a moot point to bitch about it now. My caravan is nothing more than a pile of ash and cobwebs," Cass elaborated morosely.
Boone loathed hearing the name of the nation he once served, dragged through the mud, and spoke up.
"You can't blame the NCR for your financial wreckage."
The other three swiveled in their seats to face the sniper. Cass was taken aback at his outburst.
"You have zero right to tell me who I can and cannot blame," sternly put by the cowgirl, "you've got no clue what a fucking hole this put me in."
"You're right, I can't tell you who to blame, but the NCR has no choice but to put its resources into combating the legion."
Cass laughed at Boone's response, "really now? Maybe if the NCR focused on protecting its citizens instead of expanding to the point of snapping, then maybe we wouldn't be in this fucking conflict to begin with!"
Both companions stood up and nearly came to blows, until Veronica and Lucas separated them.
"Easy! Easy! Settle down. Alright, let's finsh up and pay so we can head off to Vegas. I understand how tense everything is in the region, but trust me when I say that everything will work out in the end," Lucas said trying to calm the two quarreling travelling buddies down, "I've seen nations rise and fall in my short life. Hell, I was instrumental in erecting one from ruins, and I'll be damned if I see the Mojave fall!"
While everyone felt calmer after his spiel; they also realized he didn't want to see the NCR fall, rather the Mojave. Lucas foot the bill and handed over the caps to Fitz and Lupe and waved them goodbye.
As quick as the group arrived, they were already gone from the Grub 'n Gulp.
Boone and Cass awkwardly apologized to each other to Veronica and Lucas's delight. The drive remained quiet for a couple of minutes before Cass spoke up again.
"Hey, do you mind if we make a slight detour? I wanna stop and pay my respects to my destroyed caravan," Cass pleaded.
"Sure, I don't ser why not. Where about is it?," asked the courier/chauffeur.
Cass couldn't calm herself. Her entire caravan was truly gone. It didn't help that they were within a stones throw from Camp McCarran's walls. Even Boone wasn't going to defend the NCR for letting this atrocity happen.
"It couldn't be legion they don't use energy weapons," Boone put bluntly, "unless they've adapted that is, but I doubt it. This is Brotherhood level destruction."
Veronica and Lucas shared an uneasy glance.
"Cass, did your caravan happen to arm themselves with or transport energy weaponry or any sort of advanced technology?," Veronica asked worriedly.
Cass wiped tears from her eyes as she responded, "No, I couldn't aff-f-ford anything like that." This seemed to ease Veronica's mind. Lucas, on the other hand, was still worried.
"Who could've done this? I don't see why the Brotherhood would have reason to ransack your caravan. Any guesses?," inquired the undercover Paladin.
"The Van Graffs," Boone spoke coldly, "that family has had a tense relationship with the NCR and its caravans for years. They want to become the primary, if not sole, weapons dealer in the region."
Cass cocked an eyebrow at this thought. Privately, she knew he was on to something. Veronica gave both Cass and Boone nods of understanding.
"Tell me more about these Van Graffs," Lucas kindly demanded, as he took a seat next to his distressed friend.
Earlier that day.
Benny was sitting in his private suite. Lighting a cigarette as he turned on the radio. His plan was fully in motion. All he had to do was trick Mr. House into believing that he would do the entrepreneur's bidding, then once House was ready to make his move; BAM! He'd take him out.
Benny put out his cig as 'Johnny Guitar' came to an end. Pouring himself a shot of whiskey, he sat up at the bar and propped his feet up on the counter.
"Cheers to me and to an independent Vegas, baby!"
Mr. New Vegas's voice broke through the radio at the moment Benny went down his shot.
"Hey, it's Mr. New Vegas with the news! Today's top story is about a package courier with the Mojave Express found shot in the head near Goodsprings. Reports say that he has made a full recovery! Now THAT is a delivery service you can rely on!"
Benny did an immediate spit take and hurried into his hidden "supply closet." There he found his personal securitron assistant, Yes Man. He was still shut down as Emily Ortal from the Followers of the Apocalypse was providing further upgrades to him.
"Benny, you look like you've seen a ghost!" exclaimed the Follower, "What's going on?"
"Let's just say, business is about to pick up. And fast. Is he almost ready?"
Emily nodded, "Just about actually," she hit a few buttons on a nearby console, and Yes Man sprung to life.
"Well, now, I feel as spry as the day I was built!," the cheery robot exclaimed, "How long was I out? Not that it matters, because you don't answer to me!"
Both humans exchanged brief glances as their son, for lack of better words, came back "to life."
"Yes Boy, baby, our plan is coming together real soon, dig?," the smooth talker explained to the robotic personality.
"My name is designated as 'Yes Man', but that's okay! Sooooo, where do you want to start, boss?"
Benny took the Platinum Chip out of his coat pocket and examined it.
"First order of business is we get the scoop on the other families. Then, and only then, we will align with outlying factions. That you can leave up to me, ya dig?"
"Wow, those Van Graffs sound like nothing more than lowlife street thugs," Matthews remarked, "maybe we oughta pay em a visit, eh?"
By now, the gang was pulling up to the front gate of Camp McCarran when the courier noticed an old fueling station.
"Poseidon Energy, hmph, I heard they were a proxy corporation for the Enclave."
The car went quiet as they were waiting to be waved through the gate.
"Audio log begin. This is Dr. Whitley presiding. We've boosted signal gain, and... I need to get this down before the entire staff goes troppo. When we plugged in the eyes, well, suffice to say, the machine was... what's the term? "Blinded," by the array. The next thing I know, I'm down on the observation level, and I see a robot that's ended up in the testing area. Its construction was never completed, but it was more along the lines of a "junk-bot." When it began its test routine, it exhibited a curious form of split-attention. It kept trying to complete its construction, even as it was trying to perform the tests we had laid out. It kept making these half-assed attempts to do what we asked, even as it kept trying to solder on extra parts. It did this for nearly an hour. It repeated its tests over and over again, and then, the damnedest thing: it made a leap in its programming. It started using its makeshift arm tools to improve the areas we had identified. It was almost like it was "rewriting" its own code. I'm not given to flights of fancy, but I must admit, I believe there's something special about the machine. I'm going to let it continue. Perhaps the use of the test data will somehow make its exploration more... efficient. Only time will tell."
"Okay, seriously, WHAT the FUCK?," the boisterous cowgirl shouted.
Eventually, the group got waved through the McCarran gate thanks to Boone being recognized as a First Recon veteran. Lucas parked the car in front of the doors to the main building.
"ED-E, how long have you had those audio logs stored in your data banks?," asked the man who salvaged him.
A serious of beeps and boops came from the little guy.
"Huh, they've got more troopers here than I thought. It's no wonder why we lost Helios so easily," muttered Veronica under her breath as she scanned the main courtyard of the NCR installation.
No one else caught what she had said except for Lucas. He nodded.
"Yeah, it's no wonder," he mumbled back, "how can they expend so many troops out here and not exhaust any resources?"
Just then, another voice came out through ED-E;
"Uh, hello, is anyone there? Can you hear me? Oh, right, you can't respond. This is Senior Knight Lorenzo of the Mojave Brotherhood of Steel. I'm using your robot to contact you as I've picked up unusual chatter transmitted from it. I'm hoping that you'd be able to bring it to me so I can extract data from its memory log. We at the Brotherhood could use whatever data it possesses. Uh, thank you."
Lucas went pale as he scanned the area to see if anyone heard that, and fortunately, no one did. He sighed and followed his friends into the main building.
"I swear, ED-E, you're gonna be the death of me."
A/N:
This is not gonna be an NCR wins lol story. In case this chapter didn't insinuate that. Lucas is working with (and I say that loosely) the NCR for his own gain, not theirs. Just let me cook for now.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please leave a follow, review, or a favorite if you're enjoying this so far!