I Am Number Six

The sun was just beginning to rise over the Mojave when Marcus and his companions arrived in Goodsprings. At first glance the small town reminded the Lone Wanderer of some of the old western movies he and his father used to watch.

"Wow." Sarah commented. "I thought Megaton was a small settlement. There can't be more than a few dozen people living here." She turned to Marcus. "What's the name of this doctor we're supposed to see?"

Marcus removed the paper Dr. Henry had given to him. "Mitchell."

The group began walking down the main road into town, and it didn't take them long to discover a house with the word 'Medical' written on a sign above the front door. Marcus knocked and slowly opened it. "Hello? Dr. Mitchell."

A faint voice from the other end of the house answered. "Back here."

The group made their way inside and it didn't take them long to find Dr. Mitchell standing in a makeshift operating room. He looked to be about as old as Dr. Henry, and was balding and had a white mustache. He was wearing a white aprine that had specs of blood on it, and only then did Marcus and his companions realize Dr. Mitchell was operating on someone.

"Excuse us, Doc." Marcus began, "we didn't mean to interrupt…."

"It's okay." Dr. Mitchell said as he removed his surgical mask. "I'm afraid I've done all I can for this fellow." He pulled a white sheet over the patient's head and removed his bloodied gloves. "Poor soul. Was brought in late last night with a single gunshot to the head. I worked on him for hours….but the damage was too much."

Marcus walked over to the operating table. "I'm sorry, Doc. Was he a resident here?"

Mitchell shook his head. "No. He's….or he was, a courier for the Mojave Express." He reached over and picked up a small satchel. "This is everything that was on'em. No identification….nothing. Just a contract from the company designating him as courier six, and he was to deliver something called a platinum chip to Mr. House."

That last part got everyone's attention.

"Wait," Sarah began, "you mean the Mr. House who runs New Vegas?"

The doctor shrugged. "Well, I don't know of any other Mr. House around here."

Marcus read the contract and then searched through the satchel. "There's no platinum chip," he removed a hand full of what looked like paper money. ",but he still had NCR credits on him."

"Doesn't sound like it was a robbery." Sarah surmised.

Marcus agreed. "Whoever killed him was after that chip." He placed the satchel down and looked to the doctor. "Do you mind if I take a look, doctor?"

Mitchell looked the Wanderer up and down for a moment before cautiously agreeing. "Sure." He slowly pulled the sheet down to the dead courier's chest. He was a young man, not much older than Marcus. The Wanderer stood over the body and raised his PIPBOY. "Moira, you ready to try out that medical scanner Valencourt installed last month?"

The avatar on the screen practically screeched with joy. "You bet!"

Marcus placed his gauntlet about six inches above the body, and when he opened his palm a red light emanated from it. He slowly ran the light up and down the courier's head and upper torso.

"Hmmmmm," Moira said, "looks like a single gunshot wound to the head. My guess is he was shot with a 9mm round."

Marcus removed the sheet, exposing the rest of the courier's body.

"Multiple brushes on the arms, especially around his wrists."

Marcus reached down and examined one of the wrists. "He was restrained….which means he was executed." Marcus placed the arm down and continued with his scan.

"I'm picking up high traces of dirt and other foreign matter inside of his lungs."

A chill went up Marcus' spine. "He was buried alive."

Dr. Mitchell nodded. "Makes sense. Victor told me he dug the poor fellow up."

Marcus stopped scanning and turned toward him. "Who's Victor?"

"Well, Victor's not so much a who but a what. He's an old securitron that's been hanging around town for a few years now."

A growl escaped from Lily. "Very bad men did this!"

Dr. Mitchell stared at Marcus' PIPBOY with awe. "Say, you must've been a Vault Dweller."

The Wanderer nodded. "That's right….though none of the Vaults from around here."

"That's pretty obvious with that PIPBOY of yours. Wish we had one that fancy back in Vault 21. Listen um, this is all fascinating but, is there a reason you folks stopped by?"

"Actually, Dr. Henry said you could help us." Marcus answered.

Mitchell's eyes seemed to light up. "Henry! Hu, how is that old bugger doing?"

"He's doing well. He's up in Jacobstown trying to help the Nightkin."

Mitchell looked at Lily. "That would explain why she's following you around. So I guess that means you need help disappearing for awhile, so to speak."

Sarah stepped forward. "He told us you could help change our appearance and get new identities." She presented a small satchel. "We have caps to cover any expenses."

The doctor opened the satchel and examined the contents. "Well, looks like you have enough here for just about anything."

"What exactly can you do for us?" Marcus asked.

"I can do everything from change you hair and eye color, to even plastic and reconstructive surgery. It all depends on just how far you're willing to go with this."

Both Marcus and Sarah shared a weary look. "We….kinda like our faces the way they are." The Sentinel said.

Dr. Mitchell shrugged. "That's okay, like I said I can do simple things like….remove any scars, birthmarks or tattoos you have….and I can even add a few if you'd like. Even the smallest details can throw off whoever's looking for you."

Marcus' eyes fell on the body of the dead courier….and an idea began to form in his mind. "You said that no one knows who this courier is, Doc?"

Mitchell seemed taken aback by the question. "That's right, and only myself and Victor knows he's here."

Marcus studied the courier's face. "Could you make me look like him?"

That caught everyone by surprise, but soon Dr. Mitchell approached the courier's body and began to consider it. "Well….let me see." He began to examine the body again. "It's possible. You both seem to be about the same age, height and build." He placed his hand on the courier's chin and began to look closely at his face. "Cheek bones are about the same height." The doctor stood up straight and looked Marcus up and down. "Yes….I think if I changed your hair from black to brown and your eyes to blue….and got rid of those scars on your face…..and add one indicating a headshot wound….yes! I think we can pull it off!"

Sarah placed both her hands up. "Hold on! Back up a minute. Assuming it's even a good idea to assume this courier's identity, how is anyone going to believe that you survived being shot in the head?"

"It's very rare, but there have been cases of people surviving such wounds."

"Okay, but why this courier, Marcus?"

"Two reasons. One, a courier is a perfect cover for us traveling through the Mojave. Two, whoever killed him did it to get this platinum chip, and I'm willing to bet that if it's important enough to kill for, then it is very important to House. If we can find that chip, it could be our ticket into New Vegas and to seeing Mr. House himself. And if we get in good with him, then maybe he'll help us with our mission."

Sarah was still skeptical. "But….we don't even know this courier's name."

Marcus thought about it and shrugged. "I'll….fake amnesia from the gunshot wound."

After thinking about the scheme for several moments, Sarah finally let out a sigh. "Well, I guess it's not the craziest idea you've ever come up with it."

"Alright." Dr. Mitchell said. "We can get started. What about you, young lady?"

Sarah took a deep breath. "Well….I've always wanted to see how I'd look as a redhead."

Mitchell nodded. "We can do that. We'd better change your eye color too just to make sure." He looked into her eyes and placed his hand on his chin. "Hmmmm, hazel green! That should do it." He turned to Follows-Chalk. "What would you like, friend?"

The young tribal shifted uncomfortably. "I ummm….don't want to change my face or hair. I just think a change of clothes will do."

"No problem. We have a general store in the center of town, and I'm sure Chet has some decent leather armor for sale. Just give me sometime to clean up and get everything ready.

Three hours later….

Marcus studied himself in the mirror, and he was in awe at what he saw. The three scars he'd received from Crimson during his captivity in Paradise Falls were completely gone, as was the scar on his left cheek he'd received during his final battle with Colonel Autumn. His brown eyes were now a shade of pale blue, and his hair was light brown. A patch on the right side of his head had been shaven and a surgical scar was put in its place. Dr. Mitchell topped it off with a convincing dressing over the fake wound. "There you go. To the average person you are a lucky courier who survived a shot to the head." The Doctor handed Marcus a tan cowboy hat. "Here you go….this belonged to our friend there. He has no use for it anymore."

Marcus placed the hat on his head, and it was a perfect fit.

"Look at you all dressed up, Jimmy." Lily said with pride. "It reminds me of when I used to take you trick or treating for Halloween."

Marcus stepped back and stared at himself in the mirror. He had to admit, with the cowboy hat, Regulator duster and combat armor underneath, it was a pretty good look.

"Hey there, cowboy!"

Marcus turned, and when he saw Sarah standing in the doorway his jaw dropped open. Until now he wasn't sure how he'd feel about her dying the blonde hair that he'd loved for so long, but seeing how stunning she looked as a redhead all of those doubts were gone.

"What do you think?" She asked as she whipped her hair around. "Is it alright?"

Marcus managed to find his voice. "You look great."

Sarah smiled. "Yeah? You're not so bad yourself. All though….I think I liked you better with the scars."

Marcus grinned. "Well Clover said girls dig them."

Dr. Mitchell chuckled. "It would be tricky, but I could always put them back."

"In all seriousness Doc," Marcus said, "do you think I'll be able to convince people that I'm this courier?"

The doctor pondered that for a moment. "Well there' only one way to find out, and that's to convince Victor that you are the courier. If you can fool that machine, then I think you can fool just about anyone. Now, changing your appearance is only one part of changing your identity. If you're going to travel to New Vegas and through NCR territory, you'll need papers. I can't help you with that, but I know someone who can. His name is Johnson Nash - a merchant in the town of Primm. Just tell him I sent ya, and he'll hook you right up."

Marcus took deep breath. Once they walked out that door, he'd be playing the part of this courier. "Well….I guess that's it. Thanks for helping us, Doc."

Mitchell shook his hand. "Anytime. If your looking to stick around, you should stop by Trudy's Saloon. Someone there might have information on the guys you're looking for."

After thanking doctor Mitchell, Marcus and his companions headed out and began walking down the main road of Goodsprings. Marcus was conscious of the fact that he might run into this Victor at any moment, and this plan hinged on fooling the machine. As it turned out, Marcus would not have to wait for very long as a securitron seemed to appear from out of nowhere, and was standing in front of him.

"Howdy, pardner! Might I say, you're looking fit as a fiddle."

For a second Marcus froze as he stared at the strange machine. It looked like a huge square box with two arms, and it rolled around on a single tire instead of walking on legs. On the front chest plate was a screen with the picture of a cowboy, smoking a cigarette. Finally, Marcus managed to find his voice and spoke. "You must be Victor. Thanks for digging me out of that grave."

"Don't mention it! I'm always ready to lean a helping hand to a stranger in need. I must say you look a little different from the last time I saw ya….but I guess almost dying can change a man."

A wave of relief washed over Marcus. His disguise seemed to be working, and he chuckled as he pointed to the bandage on his head. "You could say that. How did you happen to find me?"

"I was out for a stroll that night when I heard the commotion up at the old bone orchard. Saw what looked like a bunch of bad eggs so I laid low. Once they'd run off, I dug you up to see if you were still kicking. Turns out, you were, so I hauled you off to the Doc right quick."

"Do you know anything about the men that attacked me?"

The machine paused for a moment as if it were deep in thought. "Can't say that I'm familiar with the rascals. There were three of them, that much I can tell ya. Some of the fine folks in town might be able to help you out with that."

Marcus decided to press for more information. "I've never seen a robot like you before. What are you doing here in Goodsprings?"
"I'm a securitron model number 2060-B. I moseyed into Goodsprings….about fifteen years ago. Before that I….I don't remember."

Marcus nodded. "Well, thank you again, Victor."

"Happy trails!" The robot turned and continued on its way. Once Victor was out of ear shot, Marcus spoke into his PIPBOY. "Moira, were you able to get a scan on him?"

The avatar appeared on the screen. "Only an external one. He's got military grade hacking protection. But from what I was able to see, that Victor is armed to the teeth."

Marcus considered the AI's revelation. "Sounds pretty advanced for a robot who just wandered into town fifteen years ago."

A frightening hypothesis came to Sarah's mind. "Lenny told us that House has an army of these things. Could Victor be a spy?"

Marcus lowered his arm. "It's possible. But why have a spy in such a small town like this? Unless….House knew the courier would pass through here."

"That would explain why it dug the courier up and tried to save him." Follows-Chalk said. "But if it was waiting for the courier, they why has it been here for fifteen years?"

Marcus shrugged. "Maybe it's a really slow courier service."

A sideways glance from Sarah was the only response to his quib.

"Anyway," Marcus continued, "we won't know for sure until we find this chip and bring it to House."

"Well I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm starving." Sarah said. "I say we get something to eat….right after we buy some new clothes for Follows-Chalk."

The mere mention of food made the young tribal's stomach growl. "I agree. New clothes and food sounds good."

Marcus (who's own stomach was growling), reluctantly agreed. "Okay. Lily, Dogmeat and I will head for the saloon. They should have some food, and someone in there might know something about these three attackers."

Sarah nodded. "We'll meet you there after we check out the general store."

The companions split up and as Sarah and Follows-Chalk entered the general store, Marcus, Lily and Dogmeat approached the entrance to the saloon. Sitting in a rocking chair near the entrance was on older, African-American man with a white beard and smoking a long pipe. He tipped his hat and greeted as they approached. "Howdy there, stanger. Don't mean to offend but you might want to consider leaving your large friend outside. Folks in there are a bit skittish around their kind."

Marcus stared at Lily and sighed in frustration. He had to remember that unlike back home, Meta-humans were not always welcome out here. "I'm sorry, Lily, but you should probably stay out here. We don't want to cause any trouble."

"Oh, that's okay, deary. I'll stay here and keep an eye out for trouble."

"Okay….but if you see trouble, no chopping. Come and find me first, okay?"

The Nightkin seemed disappointed. "Well, if you insist."

Marcus nodded to the old man and both he and Dogmeat walked through the saloons double doors. Almost immediately they were greeted by a young woman with brown hair, wearing leather armor and with a bolt action rifle slung on her back. At her feet was a beautiful grey dog which resembled Dogmeat.

"Cheyenne, stay!" The you woman commanded. She looked up at Marcus and flashed him a smile. "Don't worry, she won't bite….unless I tell her to."

While he was relieved, Marcus' attention was on Dogmeat, whose tail was wagging as he slowly approached Cheyenne. The two dogs began sniffing each other, and for a moment all seemed to be going well. But when Dogmeat tried to mount the female canine, Cheyenne responded by snapping at him and showing her teeth.

"Dogmeat, down!" Marcus snapped.

The canine whimpered and backed away with his head down.

Marcus, who was blushing slightly, shrugged his shoulders. "Sorry about that."

The young woman chuckled. "That's okay….can't blame him for trying." Both she and Cheyenne left the bar, and Marcus and Dogmeat entered the main part of the saloon. The Wanderer stared down at his rejected companion. "I know boy….women, right?"

The canine responded with a bark.

Marcus sat down on an empty stool at the bar and looked around. There were only a few people inside at the moment, and he hoped someone could give him information. He decided to start with the bar keep, whom he surmised was the owner, Trudy. "Excuse me, ma'am."

Trudy was busy whipping down glasses when she stepped over to him. "What'll it be, stranger?"

"I'll have a beer….and some information."

Trudy reached for a beer bottle from underneath the bar and popped off the cap. "The beer's three caps, or two NCR credits if you got'em. As for information well….that depends."

Marcus took a swig from his beer. "On what?"

"The kind of information you're looking for, and what you intend to do with it. If someone in this town owes you money, or if you're looking for a girl that's run off….you best go somewhere else."

"Three men attacked me last night and took something that belongs to me. I aim to get it back."

Trudy sighed and shook her head. "I just knew those three were looking for trouble. They were hanging around here for over a week as if they were waiting for something. Picking fights with my customers….wanting drinks on the house. One of them even broke my radio and didn't bother to pay for it or nothing."

"Can you tell me what they looked like?"

"Well two of them were Khans for sure, and the other was a city boy in a fancy checkered suit."

"Any idea where they were headed?"

Trudy thought for a moment. "I didn't hear them say, but the guy in the suit kept talking about the Strip."

Marcus cocked his head to the side. "The Strip?"

"You know….the New Vegas Strip. Man, they must've really done a number on you."

The Wanderer took another drink from his bottle. "Thank you, Trudy. Any chance I can order something from the kitchen?"

"Sure, we have the best…."

Trudy stopped mid sentence as a shadow fell on them, and when she realized it's source, Marcus could see the concern in her eyes. Five rough looking men, three African-Americans, one Hispanic and one Caucasian, had entered the saloon and were standing at the end of the bar. All five of them were wearing similar light blue dungaree shirts, dark blue pants and black boots. Two of them wore a dark blue jacket with numbers above the left breast pocket, and the other three wore a black riot gear vest.

Almost immediately the rest of the patrons scurried out of the saloon, until only Trudy, Marcus and Dogmeat remained. One of the African-Americans walked over to where Trudy was standing. "Where is he, Trudy?"

The young woman crossed her arms. "For the last time, Cobb, I'm not say'in."

Cobb placed his hands on the bar and leaned forward. "I'm done being nice! You either hand over Ringo right now, or we're gonna burn this town to the ground….starting with your bar!"

Trudy stood her ground. "We'll keep that in mind. Now, unless you and your friends are going to order something, get out!"

Trudy turned her back to Cobb….and that's when he reached over the bar and grabbed her by the hair. "Don't you turn your back on…."

Before he knew what had happened, Cobb was thrown halfway across the saloon and smack into one of his men. Marcus stepped away from the bar and stood in the middle of the saloon, while Dogmeat was just to his left, growling and showing his teeth. "I believe the lady asked you to leave."

Cobb straightened himself up and began to crack his knuckles. "Whoever you are….you just seriously fucked up!"

As they began to move in, Marcus crossed his arms and presented them a smug grin. "Actually, you fucked up."

Not a second later a low growl from behind caused the five men to freeze. They slowly turned….and the sight of a snarling Nightkin sent fear up their spines.

"Gentlemen, meet Lily."

The Nightkin roared as she picked up two of the gang members by their shirts and tossed them over the bar like rag dolls. Marcus grabbed a hold of Cobb, spun him around and delivered a mean right hook to his face.

Sarah and Follows-Chalk were just leaving the general store after having just purchased a set of leather armor for the tribal.

"So how does it feel?" Sarah asked.

"It's….a little stiff….but it will do."

They both stopped when they heard a loud commotion coming from inside the saloon. It was a combination of shouting, breaking furniture, shattered glasses….and roaring.

"What is that?" Follows-Chalk asked.

It didn't take long for Sarah to come up with the answer. "Marcus!" She took off running towards the saloon, with the tribal right behind her. Just as they'd come around the side of the building, a man literally came flying out of the saloon doors head first and landed with a thud. He was followed by another, and then another. As Sarah watched the scene unfold with her jaw open, her eyes fell on an old man sitting in a rocking chair calmly smoking a pipe. "Afternoon, ma'am." He said with the tip of his hat.

The doors opened again, and this time Lily stepped outside caring two barely conscious men. The Nightkin tossed them into the pile containing the other three; all of them bruised and bleeding. A moment later Marcus and Dogmeat exited the saloon, and Sarah immediately noticed his black eye and bloody bottom lip. When Marcus noticed her staring at him, his expression turned to that of a little kid being caught doing something wrong red handed.

Sarah strolled up to her fiancee and shook her head. "I can't leave you alone for five minutes."

Marcus pointed to the beaten group of men. "They started it!"

Sarah placed her hands on her hips. "Ah, hu."

Lily turned towards them. "Lily followed bad men inside. Bad men attacked a nice lady, and Jimmy protected her. He was always my little hero."

Marcus grinned. "See….I told ya."

The five gang members slowly picked themselves up, and Marcus took a few steps towards them and pushed back his duster - revealing his side arm. "Had enough?"

Cobb stared daggers at him and whipped blood from his mouth. "This isn't over! I'm coming back with all my boys….and all of you are dead!"

The five men made a hasty exit, and once they were down the road and out of town, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Trudy had made her way outside, and Marcus turned to her. "Sorry about all the damage. I'll pay for it."

Trudy waved her hand dismissively. "Don't worry about it. Thank you for your help with those idiots."

"Who were they, anyway?" The Wanderer asked.

"They call themselves the Powder Gangers. Most of them are convicts who the NCR brought over from California to work on the rail lines. Unfortunately as it turns out, giving convicts access to high explosives is not a good idea. A bunch of them escaped and have been causing problems all over the Mojave."

"He mentioned someone named Ringo?"

Trudy nodded. "He's a caravan driver who ran into town a couple of days ago saying his caravan had been ambushed. We figured he was in shock and let him lay low for a while. I never thought someone would come after him."

Marcus and Sarah both shared a wearly glance, and the Sentinel was the first to say out loud what they were both thinking. "If we offer to help, will enough of your people fight back?"

Trudy was clearly surprised by the offer. "Sure….I guess if you can convince enough of them to."

"I don't need any convincing." said a familiar female voice. The young woman who Marcus had first met inside the saloon walked over to them with Cheyenne. "If you're willing to stand up to those Powder Gangers you can count me in." She extended her hand. "Name's Sunny Smiles."

Marcus accepted her hand and shook it. "Thank you, Sunny."

"What's your name, stranger?"

Marcus froze. He hadn't given his alias much thought, and so he blurted out the first thing that came to mind. "Six. They call me Six."

Angel Cave….

The vision began as it always had: a lone figure wearing silver armor on a white horse. In one hand was a flaming sword with six blades, and in the other were six silver coins. The rider approached the bull, two headed bear and metal man, but instead of battling them the rider stopped. After sheathing his sword, the rider removed his silver helmet….revealing the face of Marcus Lincoln.

Joshua Graham awoke from his meditation, and his eyes stared into the campfire. "So….it has begun."

Note: Okay, I know some of you might be disappointed that there will not be a Courier/Lone Wanderer team up. The truth is since NV came out I wished there was a way to transfer your character from F3 to NV. ( I think there's a computer mod for that now). I hope you will still enjoy this story.

On a personal note, the wife and I are back together! It took time, a lot of work and counselling, but she moved back in a few months ago and things have been going great. Thank you all for your support.