"The securitron factory, which was a fantastic idea by the way, has officially completed its first batch of new securitrons! That's fifty additional units added to your army, sir and more on the way!" The cheerful voice of Yes Man announced.

Courier Six, the self-made autocrat of the Mojave Desert, silently listened as his A.I. assistant listed off the monthly reports.

It had been five years since the second battle of Hoover Dam.

In those five years Six had used his power and resources as the Mojave's ruler to turn the barren desert into one of the wastelands biggest power players.

Previously the NCR had held off a annexation of Vegas due to the high number of casualties the Securitrons and three families would have caused.

Now if the NCR wanted to invade the Mojave they would be facing not just the securitrons and three families, but robo-scorpions courtesy of Mobius, kings, and militias from every organized settlement as well.

it would take the entire NCR army and an endless amount of conscripts to face the united might of the Mojave and even if they did succeed there wouldn't be any survivors to celebrate.

Despite the uneasy truce between the NCR and Vegas the Mojave had been doing rather well.

Thanks to the inventions of the think tank, a group of pre-war 'geniuses' preserved in metal bodies, the Mojave now had the means to grow crops even in the harsh environments.

It was also because of the think tank that the aforementioned securitron factory was even a reality.

The overwhelming number of securitrons allowed each town and settlement to have at least one of the robots to assist the local sheriff in keeping the peace.

Thinking of the brains in jars, Six looked down at his pip-boy and focused on the light blue color that emanated from the device rather than the soft green it usually would.

Technically speaking this wasn't a pip-boy anymore, rather it was the 'zip-boy'.

The 'Zero Improved Pip-boy-boy', but there wasn't a force on Earth that would compel Six to call it that. Dr. 0 had upgraded Six's pip-boy with the same technology used by the vending machines from the Sierra Madre and the think tank's sink central intelligence unit and allowed his pip-boy to breakdown matter on the molecular level and reshape it into whatever he wanted. In simple terms Six's arm accessory could turn scrap metal into anything almost anything so long the data for said item was saved to the device.

Unfortunately due to the small size of the pip-boy only so many things could be made due to the smaller processor without having to give up other functions.

Six never had a clear grasp when it came to [science] so he wasn't quite sure how it worked, but that's what he had the think tank for.

In the end Six decided to save the data for Ammo for his preferred guns and basic chems, although he rarely used the latter anymore thanks to his cybernetics.

Dr. Usanagi warned Six that too many implants would damage the body rather than help it. However, thanks to Dr. Dala and Dr. 0 the implants weren't just upgraded but also made to where he could have more than what was previously considered too many to be safe.

The Sub-Dermal Armor Ver. 2.0 and the PHOENIX Monocyte Breeder Ver. 2.0 made it to where Six rarely needed stimpacks anymore. This is because any time something would actually break the Sub-Dermal armor to hurt him the PHOENIX implant would heal his wound within a day leaving nothing but a scar. It didn't mean he was immortal though, he wasn't able to regrow limbs and implants or not nobody could survive decapitation.

Additionally, the think tank provided its own cybernetics. The artificial heart, the reinforced spine, and a kinetic accelerator to help his already impressive [quick draw] skills. One of the only non mechanical parts of the courier was his brain.

With all of that Six was confident he had the rank of 'hardest thing to kill' in the wasteland.

Sure, it was debatable whether he's more machine than man or if he even counts as human anymore, but enough alcohol will drown those thoughts.

"Um, sir?" Yes Man asked.

Six blinked realizing he had gotten lost in thought while staring out the penthouse window.

"What was that again, Yes Man?"

"Your percentage of Omerta's caps this month is the highest it has been in the past year. Good for them! I guess it helps when you have such a wonderful person in charge!"

Ignoring the brow nosing Six hummed in approval.

"Good, anythin' else today?" Six asked as he looked at the smiling screen.

"I know you're very busy sir but one last thing. You received a message from the Think Tank saying that they had made a breakthrough and wanted to show you. That's pretty exciting, right?" Yes Man replied.

Six raised an eyebrow curious about what the breakthrough might be.

The Think Tank strived when given direction and asked for a specific project, the most notable example being the 'zip-boy', but when left to their own devices the results were mixed at best. And as far as Six knew he hadn't assigned any new projects.

"Alright I'll see what those eggheads have, keep an eye on the place." Six said walking toward the balcony door.

"Of course sir! Have a safe trip!"

Stepping out onto the balcony of the Lucky 38 Six took a second to savor the feeling of the Mojave heat washing over his skin. He could hear the noises of the Vegas strip down below.

Leaning over the balcony rails he saw the lively people indulging themselves in what Vegas had to offer.

He saw people so drunk they struggled to walk in a straight line. Every time a casino door was opened, someone would hear both cheers of joy for hitting the jackpot and cries of horror at losing everything they had. NCR tourists that were so enamored by the atmosphere they don't even care that this was the nation that humiliated their army and stole the Hoover Dam out from under them.

This was a city devoted to vice and sin to the extreme. This was his city. His desert. The Courier's Mojave.

And why wouldn't it be? It was his blood that soaked the sands of the desert. He was the one who killed House and Lanius. It was his sacrifices.

No that was a lie, the sacrifices made were his choice but at the cost of other people.

Six shook the thought from head. He had a meeting to get to.

Reaching into his duster, Six pulled out the Big Mountain Transportalponder and pulled the trigger, enveloping the courier in a brilliant blue flash of light.

In the blink of an eye Six was on the balcony of the sink home base in the Big Mountain crater.

Wasting no time Six made his way inside Ignoring the cheers and greetings of the various A.I. inhabitants the sink housed.

The way down to the think tank's lab was eerily quiet. It was only Six's nightstalker skin boots contacting the cold metal floor that made a sound.

The doors slid open and sound was once again heard in the form of the think tank scientists excitingly conversing amongst themselves.

The usual scene Six was met with on these visits was all the brains arguing with each other over the dumbest reasons.

As Six entered the lab Dr. 0 noticed his arrival and instantly his mechanical body jotted up and down with glee.

"Oh he's here guys, the lobotomite is back!"

"THE LOBOTOMITE? HERE NOW? CLEARLY YOUR VISUAL RECEPTORS ARE MALFUNCTION DR. O MY CALCULATIONS ON THE LOBOTOMITE'S ARRIVAL TIME SUGGEST WE HAVE ANOTHER TWELVE MINUTES BEFORE HE IS HERE." Dr. Klien said oblivious to the courier's presence.

Dala was the next to speak. "Dr. Klein I believe must concur with Dr. Zero, I too see our precious lobotomite and the odds of both our visual receptors malfunctioning in the exact same way at the exact time are 2,735,592 to 1."

"#$&*^!) ^_[/]." As usual Dr. 8's speech was distorted and static.

"And with Dr. 8's agreement the odds would now be 4,298-"

"YES DALA I CAN DO BASIC MATH, NOW QUIET ALL OF YOU." Dr. Klein yelled and turned to the courier.

"LOBOTOMITE, WELCOME BACK TO THE MIGHTY THINK TANK! WE HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR YOU."

Six crossed his arms. "Yup, I got your message. Y'all better have a good reason for callin' me here."

"OF COURSE WE DO! WE CALLED YOU TO PERSONALLY WITNESS THE GREAT POWER OF SCIENCE!"

Dr. 0 chimed in next. "In other words we were really excited to show you this little project we've been working on."

This only raised Six's eyebrow more. "Funny, last time we talked I didn't ask for anythin' to be made."

The skepticism and annoyed tone cause the brains to float back a step.

"While it is true you didn't make a request, the power of science does not sleep! Unlike Richie Marcus during math class!." Dr. Borous said.

Rolling his eyes Six suppressed a groan before speaking. "I've told you lot time an' time again no side projects without my approval, y'all should have learned after project goddamn cazaclaw."

That last comment was specifically targeted at Dr. Borous

"Yes, be that as it may we wanted to rectify our, specifically Dr. Borous', past mistakes and restore your faith in our brilliant minds." Dala explained.

"#$&!% *÷" Dr. 8 pleaded.

Six eyed the brains in silence before letting out a sigh and unfolding his arms.

"Let me see what the new toy is, then I'll decide if I'm mad." Six said resting his hands on his holster more out of habit than anything else.

"Well a while back during one of your visits you made an offhand comment about how you were annoyed at how long it took you to walk between settlements and your 'Lucky 38'." Dr. 0 began to explain.

"Yes we despise the thought of you wearing out your precious little teddy bear legs." Dr. Dala continued.

Dr. Borous spoke up next. Did they rehearse the pitch before six showed up?

"While scouring previous files of long forgotten projects we found data for the precise solution for your problem."

"#$%& ^*((!&$." Dr. 8 finished.

Six's eyes actually went wide with shock at the reveal.

"IT IS JUST AS DR. 8 SAYS! WE THE MIGHTY THINK TANK HAVE CREATED A TELEPORTER ABLE TO ANY PLACE YOU HAVE BEEN IN MERE SECONDS!" Dr. Klien said with excitement that was comparable to a child telling his parents waiting for praise.

Skepticism taking over, Six responded. "I thought the teleporter could only bring me here and back to the satellite in the Mojave?"

Gleefully Dr. 0 answered the question. "Normally yes, the transportalponder uses the sink and the satellite as anchors to guide the matter you turn into to, but we managed to, for a lack of better terms, install memories of specific coordinates gathered from the data from your 'ZIP-Boy'"- Smugness radiated from Dr. 0 as he said zip-boy -"And saved the data to our new and improved transportalponder MK 2.0."

As the brain said this a section of the lab's floor opened and from it raised a podium holding a sleek space age looking gun.

The MK 2 looks similar in structure to the normal transportalponder the only difference being the color scheme was a sleek red and white and the back of the device had a small keyboard.

Six walked up to the pedestal and picked up the device without hesitation.

"BEHOLD THE 'FAST TRAVEL BEAM'." Dr. Kilen said as Six looked over the device.

"So you mean to tell me this thing can zap me over ta Goodsprings, the Strip, or Primm from anywhere I'm at?" It was almost too good to be true.

"More than that, by adjusting the area of effect you can transport allies and items along with you!" Dr. 0 eagerly explained.

"How many are we talkin'?"

Dr. Dala was the one to answer. "We predicted you would ask that thus we ran a simulation with a maximum charge you would be able to transport yourself as well as forty of the securitron robots you're oh so fond of."

That thought made Six grow a face splitting smile underneath his gas mask.

With this device he could instantly have a detachment of securitrons surrounding the NCR capital building if they ever threatened to take over the Mojave.

Not to mention any aspiring raider groups would be put down instantly.

"I'll be damned, you lot actually went and redeemed yourselves." Six said as he looked the device over.

The scientists all felt pride swell up inside their mechanical bodies.

"And the best part is the device is programmed to operate only when it detects your biosignature when touching it, that way in the unlikely event it is stolen it will be useless to whomever took it." Dr. Dala said just adding icing to the proverbial cake.

"Ha! You guys really outdid yourselves!" Six said with excitement breaking through his usual laconic personality.

"As much as hearing that warms my heart that I no longer possess I'm sure you wish to use the device for yourself." Dr. Dala said.

And right she was. Six typed the destination to goodsprings. The thoughts of all the doors this device opened had Six almost shaking.

This was going to change everything.

With the pull of the device's trigger everything went white.

For a few brief seconds Six felt as though he was floating in the air. As if he had been sucked into limbo. There were no sounds that reached his ears, nothing to see but inky blackness, nothing to reach out to touch.

Before Six could even think about where he was, an ear splitting bang had gone off as if he had stood next to a nuke as it went off.

That was when Six hit the ground.

In a flash Six was hurled at the ground causing him to skid across the dirt like an asteroid colliding with the earth's surface.

Six's eyes slowly opened and were greeted by the bright light from the sun.

Pain. That was all he felt throughout his body. Slowly shifting his position into an upright posture caused the courier to groan in pain.

His skin felt warm, no scratch that it felt as though his skin was on fire. Six took off one of his gloves and saw that his skin was blistered and beat red.

Second degree burns would be taken care of by the PHOENIX Monocyte Breeder Ver. 2.0 the cracked ribs and God knows what else however would need a stimpack or two.

Ignoring his body's plea to stay still Six stood up and reached into his duster to retrieve one of the stimpacks he keeps on hand.

As he pierced his chest with the needle Six noticed his surroundings.

Green, so much green.

There were trees alive and lush with green leaves, uncontrolled grass laid beneath his feet and foliage was all around him.

Six's first thought went to vault 22 and instinctively reached for his holstered gun. To this day the mere thought of spore carriers made him tense.

Looking around, Six's fears were put to rest due to the lack of metal and concrete walls. Not to mention the blue open sky right above him.

Regardless his hand did not leave the grip of his sidearm, he didn't know where he was. A fact that did not ease his mind.

Six's eyes scanned around taking in his surroundings until the sound of crackling drew his attention. Right where he landed was the fast travel beam, or more accurately what was left of it. Its shell was shattered into pieces as the exposed wires sparked anytime they would come into contact with one another.

Six didn't need to be a genius to tell the device was far beyond fixing.

Six pocketed the broken device and did his best to assess the situation.

He was stranded in unfamiliar territory with no way back. Apparel was his duster marked with the flag of the old world, the very same gift from Ulysses. underneath the duster was the SLCPD SWAT vest that Jashua had given to Six as thanks for his assistance in Zion.

Six put a hand to his face and felt the gas mask he picked up from the divide. It had become a habit to always wear the mask that stemmed from the paranoia from his time dealing with the red cloud from the Sierra Madre. Thinking logically Six knew the chances of encountering the cloud anywhere outside the Sierra Madre was slim to none, and even if he did the cloud would eat through anything, masks and air filters included.

But the memories of suffocating and begging whatever deity that would listen for the slighted breath of air while at the casino of the damned caused Six to carry a phobia of suffocation, a secret very few people knew. Besides, in a radioactive hell hole filled with burning corpses, killer pollen, and so much goddamn dust it could choke someone to death a gas mask was a welcome luxury, claustrophobia or not.

Six froze as he realized he was missing the most important piece of his ensemble.

Looking around Six sighed in relief as he found his hat. Picking up the hat and patting the dirt off Six firmly placed it atop his head.

The hat wasn't anything special, it was just a brown hat with a long flat brim, but it was the same hat Six had worn since the day he woke up on Doc Mitchell's bed. The hat also provided a good way to cover the bullet and lobotomy scars that decorated his head.

Next six checked available supplies. Had he known he would be thrown to God knows where he would have stocked up, but he shouldn't be surprised most of his life was an unexpected event of another.

As far as weapons six had his trusty revolver 'Lucky' and a modified 357. revolver holstered on his sides, Medicine Stick in his back holster, Blood Nap, and an old switch blade hidden in the pockets of his duster.

Aside from his weapons the only other things Six had that could help was three stimpacks, one grenade, a canteen of water, and a single stealth boy with half a charge left.

Not the best situation Six could have been in but at least he wasn't tied up in a shallow grave…again.

Six raised his pip-boy to his face to try to get a vague idea of where he was but was met with an unexpected sight.

'ERROR::/ ROBCO. SATELLITE NOT DETECTED'

"What the fuck?!" Six asked out loud

Robert House, the paranoid megalomaniac he was, had a satellite orbiting every square inch of the planet if the pip-boy wasn't connecting that meant something was very wrong.

Six sucked in a breath and tried to calm himself, panicking wouldn't solve anything. There could be a hundred reasons why the connection wasn't linked. The satellite could be damaged, the area might just be a dead zone, or Dr. 0's zip-boy could just be a metal piece of junk in disguise.

Rather than wasting time coming up with different explanations Six checked the, thankfully, functioning compass and began heading north.

Six spent the next two hours heading in a straight line hoping to eventually stumble upon some kind of settlement. During his trek Six noted that his geiger counter hadn't gone off once, not even the quietest of little chirps.

The Mojve isn't overrun by radiation as much as other places in America but most people would be hard pressed not to come across hotspots on their trips, thus the fact that Six couldn't pick up any trace of radiation coupled with the fact he hadn't run into any giant insects or mutated animals made him all the more confused.

Six knew from travelers that there were places across America that still flourished with forests but outside of vault 22 but never experienced similar places himself.

Eventually Six came across a dirt road that split through the forest.

And much to Six's relief he could spot a town in the distance. The town seemed the size of Goodsprings, if not a bit bigger.

The town was odd to say the least the buildings looked different than what he was used to.

There also weren't a lot of people out and about and the few inhabitants Six did see were only women and a couple of kids. They all had a downcast look to them as if they knew they were heading to the gallows.

Six stopped in his tracks when he heard crying.

There were two women on the steps of what was presumably their home. The younger of the two had her hands cupped around her face loudly sobbing while the older one patted her back in an attempt to console her.

The older woman sensed Six's gaze on them and met his eyes with a glare. The look said it all, 'Go ahead and try to interrupt'.

Six took the message and continued on his way, not that it helped. He still had no idea where he was.

He stopped once again when he found a building sat in the middle of the town. It was larger than the other buildings and had a wooden porch with a sign on a post hanging off the side in a language that Six had never seen before.

There was a woman leaning on the railings of the building's porch, and Six had to stop in his tracks. Six had met a lot of attractive women on his travels Cass, Sarah, Red Lucy, but he had to admit none of them held a candle to the woman in front of him.

She has long black hair past her shoulders, dark blue eyes, and a beauty mark under her right eye. She wore a blue dress that matched the color of her eyes.

What struck Six the most about the woman, other than her beauty, was the look on her face. From the moment he walked into this town he had seen so many looks of anger, sadness, and overall loss of hope but this woman looked somewhere between bored and annoyed. As if the mood of the town was inconveniencing her.

The wood creaked as he walked up the steps. She didn't take her eyes off the village until Six spoke up.

"Howdy missy, got time for a chat?"

The woman turned to look at the courier and as she did her eyes went wide at what she saw. With lighting speed she stood up straight mouth agape and had her hand partially shot forward as if she was having an internal debate to reach out to him.

To Six she was looking at him like he was on fire and didn't notice.

"Sorry I didn't mean to-"

"Are you okay?!" The woman exclaimed.

Six was confused by the amount of concern in the woman's question. His first thought was that she could see the scars peeking out from under his hat but whatever was causing her panic seemed to be coming from all over his body.

Six shrugged and responded. "It's been helluva day but it aint nothin' I can't handle."

The woman stared at Six in confusion and worry before she spoke. "A-are you sure you're alright."

Now Six just raised an eyebrow.

"Well if ya could point me in the direction of somewhere I can wet my whistle I'd be mighty happy." Six said trying his best to lay on the charm.

If the woman was confused before what Six had just said caused any thoughts going through her head to come to a dead stop. "I'm sorry wet your-what?"

Letting out a sigh, Six replied. "Is there anywhere around these parts where I can get a drink?"

The woman nodded in understanding. "Well you just happen to be standing in front of the local tavern." The woman said, extending her arm to the hanging sign.

"Well hot damn Joshua was right, there is a God! Thanks darlin'." With a tip of his hat Six entered the building leaving the woman staring at the door with a mix of confusion and intrigue.

Edwin was a scrawny man. He'd been told that every day since childhood. Too weak to work the fields, too frail to apprentice for the black smith, and too cowardly to join the town watch and every part of it was true as well.

But at his very core Edwenn wanted to give back to his hometown. Thus if he couldn't help the townsfolk he can at least make their days easier by providing alcohol and a welcoming place to drink.

And after he opened the tavern it was the first time in his life Edwin felt important, appreciated, and even essential to the town.

The farmers that called him weak laughed at jokes they made together, the blacksmith that called him frail loved to play darts with him, even members of the town watch that called him cowardly greeted him with warm smiles when they came in after a long shift.

Edwin provided cheer and relaxation to all in the town, every night his tavern was filled with hearty laughs and cheers of hard workers.

Yet now, ever since the raids began, his beloved tavern rang silent. There were no patrons in here to celebrate, instead if anyone came in it was one of the grieving women to drown her sorrows and fears in the bottom of a bottle.

The only exception was the strange woman who appeared three days ago and rented a room upstairs. She said she was a traveling scholar and it was important to her research to be here despite all the warnings Edwin and the townsfolk gave her.

And thus when the door to his establishment opened up Edwin expected to see a local or the scholar but to his shock it was neither.

It was an oddly dressed man with a wide brimmed hat and a coat that covered his unique clothes.

Edwin took note of the staff-like object that was holstered on his back and saw the sheathed knife on his waist.

"Welcome to 'The Hero's Hitch' how can I help you?" Edwin greeted the stranger.

But rather than answer the stranger said nothing and merely looked around. As the stranger did this Edwin noticed the odd symbol on the back of the man's jacket. While it was obscured by the odd staff Edwin could make out the large star surrounded by a circle of smaller stars.

The stranger said nothing as he walked to the bar and took a seat on one of the stools.

"Um, can I help you sir?" Edwin asked again.

Six eyed the bottles behind the bartender. Half of the bottles didn't have labels and the ones that did he was just as unable to read them as the sign outside.

Six removed the gas mask from his face and let it dangle around his neck.

"I'll take whatever can help me forget today." Six said and Edwin gave a nod, that had been a common request lately.

Grabbing a glass and one of the fancier bottles that had a label from the top shelf Edwin poured the amber liquid for the stranger.

Six brought the glass up to his lips and spoke before taking a sip. "Oh and you can tell me where the hell I am."

Edwin raised an eyebrow. "Well this town is called Partluv."

Six waved his hand "Let me rephrase what part of America are we in? Is this NCR turf? Arizona? Actually just tell me how far are we from the Mojave.

Six watched as his bartender's face scrunched up in confusion. "I'm sorry sir but I've never heard of any of those places, could you describe them."

Six ran a hand over his face and took a breath before speaking. "It's hot as hell, lots of sand, and a big city of lights in the middle of it, New Vegas." Six informed.

"For the most part it sounds like you're describing the desert region, but that's a sail across the sea to reach. A month by boat at least."

Six slammed a fist on the bar shaking the class of whisky and startling Edwin. "I'm in another fucking continent?!" Six yelled.

Clenching his fists in an attempt to calm his anger Six knocked back the rest of his drink.

"Another one." Six said.

Edwin wordlessly refilled the glass and Six reached into his duster and produced a handful of caps and spread them out on the bar.

"Let me know if you need more." Six said, taking a sip of his second drink.

Edwin Picked up one of the strange coins and inspected it closely. He had never seen such strange currency; the metal seemed to be of lesser quality compared to the normal coins he's used to as well as the strange ridges around the edge.

"I'm sorry once more sir but I've never seen coins like these before, I'm not sure I can accept these." Edwin said, placing the cap back with the rest.

Six pinched the bridge of his nose and swore under his breath.

Edwin let out a small sigh. "Don't worry about paying, it's not going to matter anyway.

Despite the anger Six was feeling he couldn't help but feel curiosity peek its head through.

"Oh and why's that?"

Edwin let out a sigh "For weeks our town has been terrorized by an orc tribe every day it seems they take more and more first it was the town's men, then it was our crops, then our valuables."

"Ah raider troubles eh? Tale as old as time." Six said, shaking his head.

Edwin was mildly offended by the nonchalant reaction of the stranger.

"Here's a question though, why take it piece by piece? Why haven't they just razed the town yet?" Six asked, acting as if they were talking about a common inconvenience.

"Their leader is a sadistic woman, I believe she gets some sick pleasure at watching us become more desperate with each attack." Edwin explained.

"Can't you just pack up and kick up dirt instead of sitting around." Six asked.

Edwin took a moment to decipher what the stranger meant by 'kick up dirt'. "If you mean why we haven't abandoned the town, well the first night the kidnapped all the towns watch members we'd be easy pickings on the roads without any protection and even if we did all the town's population have been here for generations, they don't want to abandon their home." Then Edwin's demeanor changed to one of frustration.

"And then there are some that are still convinced the church is going to send soldiers to aid us even though it's been weeks with no word."

Six was interested why a town was asking a church for help but pushed it aside.

Six shrugged and finished his second drink beckoning for a third.

Hey, he's the one who offered free drinks.

"I've heard worse reasons for staying, so I have one more question for ya partner." Six said as he finished the rest of his drink. "How much?" Six simply asked.

"I told you the drinks we're-" Six cut Edwin off.

"I ain't talking about the drinks, how much are you offering me ta solve your problem."

Edwin was confused. "I don't believe I was."

"Yes you are." Six said firmly. "You, and the rest of the town, are offerin me a generous reward of whatever the hell y'all use as money, yer also offerin me a map of the area." Six paused. "And a bottle of whatever top shelf liquor you got, and in exchange I'll take care of your raider problem." Six said ending the one sided negotiations.

"S-sir I appreciate you wanting to help but a lone man can't defeat an entire orc tribe!" Edwin exclaimed. Was this man mad?

"What I'm wanting is a fair pay for a fair day's work." Six said as he stood up. "And I'm sure I can make things work, where are they hangin' their hats at?" Six asked.

"Hanging their hats?" Edwin asked.

Six rolled his eyes. "Christ has none of y'all- where's their camp?"

"I believe it's a few hours walk east but-" Six cut the bartender off.

"Alright, might want ta start passing the hat around, I'll be back before too long." Six said as he made way for the tavern door.

"W-wait I need to ask you something?" Edwin called out.

"Well, ask away partner time is burnin'."

Edwin looked at the strangely dressed man. The unfamiliar weapon, the relaxed nature in the face of danger, the confidence he had going up an entire camp of monsters.

"Are you a hero?" Edwin asked in awe.

Silence filled the air. Edwin thought this man might give a cryptic or inspiring answer.

"HA! Fuck no, I'm just a courier passing through." Six said, opening the door and readjusting his gas mask. "Oh forgot ta mention, the name's Six!"

And with a tip of his hat Courier Six had left the tavern just as mysteriously as he entered leaving only one question on Edwin's lips.

"What kind of name is Six?"

Once back outside on the tavern's porch Six rolled his shoulders to loosen and joints and began walking.

"Wait!"

Six, still walking, turned his head to see that the blue dressed woman from earlier was sprinting towards him.

Six slowed his walk to allow the woman to catch up.

"Help ya ma'am?" Six said slowing to a leisurely stroll.

"Did you mean what you said? You're going to free the men from the orc camp?" The woman asked.

"Oh, are they alive? Good to know, and yep that's the plan." Six casually said. "Although eavesdropping ain't a safe hobby little lady." Six said sideying the woman.

"I only eavesdrop when it suits me." The woman said not even attempting to deny the accusation. "What do you plan on doing against an entire orc camp?"

"Why the hell do y'all keep sayin' 'orc' for but if yer so curious I'm goin' to walk into their camp and, well ya know kill everything." Six said as the pair passed more weeping women in the town.

"So you are a hero of the chief god? You lied to the bartender?" The woman asked. "That'd explain the ridiculous name."

Six stopped abruptly and turned to face the woman. "First of all I aint a holy man if that's what you mean, second I didn't lie to the guy my name is Six you can weep if ya want but that's my name." Six paused to fully look the woman up and down.

'Damn, she is a beaut.'

"And thirdly, why do ya care?" Six asked

The woman paused to consider her answer. "There is something very different about you." She said before asking "Are you really from the desert region?"

Six shrugged. "Hell if I know, I'm from New Vegas, that's all you need to know." Six said before continuing his trek.

The woman was left speechless. This man was an enigma to her. He was dressed strangely. Talks strangely. Acts Strangely.

And yet as the woman watched the Courier walk into the wilderness a smile formed across her lips.

'How interesting.'

Six was treading through the forest. His pace had slowed down after catching the sight of smoke in the sky. Assuming the smoke was a fire from the camp he assumed a stealthier approach.

Despite the confidence he showed, Six knew he wasn't used to fighting in this terrain. If he was being honest he was at a disadvantage both from the land and numbers.

But from what he gathered the raiders didn't believe the town folks would fight back, thus they weren't expecting a professional raider killer was on his way to do what he did best.

Unfortunately he wasn't able to rely on his pip-boy to let him know when enemies were near. Because of all the insects, birds and who knows what else the thing was picking up too many life signs.

Thus old fashion scouting was Six's plan. During his trek Six still couldn't help but feel uneasy at the lack of radiation. As weird as it was to hope for something that can peel your skin off the fact that there wasn't any meant six was more lost than he might have believed.

The bartender thought he was from the 'desert region' but Six was skeptical. America was a big palace that was more than just sand and sun. He didn't know what the chances of it being the Majave was but he knew it was low.

Best case scenario he landed somewhere in canada that was still connected to the US, worst case he was on the other side of the planet. But even though he couldn't read signs the locals still spoke English. Maybe that was just his [Luck] kicking in.

His thoughts came to a stop as her heard leaves rustling to his right.

He turned towards the sound and his arm slowly began to reach Lucky's grip.

The wait was short lived as Six's stalker jumped out of the foliage swinging a spiked club overhead.

Six drew his pistol, unfortunately the attacker made short distance between the two preventing Six from having a clear shot, thus Six jumped back avoiding the weapon.

Six got a good look at his attacker. It was a woman that, for a lack of a better term, was barely clothed. Her outfit seemed to be made up of bits and pieces of cloth and leathers, and were those…..

"Kukuku what's this? It seems I managed to find a lonely wanderer." The attacker giggled as she lifted her weapon over her shoulder.

"I wonder what sounds you'll make when I-"

"Holy shit radiation did not hold back on you did it?!" Six yelled.

The sudden reaction caused the girl to pause.

"Um, I'm sorry what?"

"Look at you! Dear god is that a tail? What hell are you?" Six said as he took in all the girl's features. She was attractive for sure, probably more attractive than most of the women he's come across over the years. But the part he was focusing on was the highly pink complexion, the folded ears on her head, and the spiral tail protruding from her backside.

The girl grew a confident smirk and puffed out her chest. "Ah I see, you've never seen an orc before, right? I can understand you being stunned by my beauty."

The word 'orc' rang a bell in Six's head.

"Wait, are you part of the raiders giving the town trouble?" Six inquired.

"Ohohoh yes I am, did the poor pathetic towns folk hire you to come plead with us for mercy?"

"Something like that you could say, I don't suppose you'd be willing to tell me where y'all's camp is?" Six asked. He didn't know why it's not like she'd-

"Oh, are you eager to begin your service? If so then our camp is just a short walk to the north. You follow our camp smoke. In fact why don't I tie you up and drag you their myse-"

The orcs' words were cut short by the bullet entering her skull causing the girl to fall lifelessly to the ground.

Six wordlessly holstered Lucky and brought out Medicine Stick and made way to the raider camp, not giving the girl so much as a second glance.