Chapter One
The Courier
Present day 0800 hours, Lucky 38 presidential suite:
A man in an armored vault suit. He's sitting on a rocky outcropping beside a highway. Waiting. A caravan is ambushed. The guards are killed. The caravaneer is captured. She begs for her life.
"Oh hush missy, it'll be alright; I just want a little fun is all. It'll be-"
"The biggest mistake you ever made." The man in the tattered vault suit appeared beside the raider. His voice is familiar. The hammer clicks. The raider's head explodes with a boom.
The Couriers eyes snapped open and he found himself staring at the ceiling of his bedroom, the Lucky 38's presidential suit. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and looked to his right. A wave of emotion flooded his heart. Cass had draped her arm across his stomach and laid her head on his chest. A faint smile and a few locks of her red hair obscuring her beautiful face. The Courier brushed the hair behind her ear and kissed the top of her head. Her smile grew slightly and she mumbled something before rolling over onto her side. He quietly extracted himself from the bed. He snatched up his clothes and his boots. It was still early so, not wanting to wake her, he went to the bathroom to dress.
The near constant fighting for survival and traveling the wastelands had not been kind to the Couriers body. At twenty seven years old he had reached his prime; and now the years of hardship were starting to show. He looked into the mirror at the man that was staring back at him. He stood roughly six feet and some inches tall with sun bleached brown hair, his eyes were a dark brown that almost looked black. He had scars, burns, and bullet wounds all across his broad shoulders and down his back, and each scar told a story.
After pulling on his combat pants he adjusted the knee plates so they fit comfortably. Then came the arduous task of lacing the combat boots. After spending the time to make sure the laces were perfect, he secured one of his bandoliers with the .44 revolver in its holster. He made a note in his Pip-Boy about the dream so that he could visit Dr. Usanagi later. He looked down into the porcelain sink letting his mind wander.
He had asked her about the dreams in the hopes that it would help him remember anything about who he was. He had been going to her for help over the past few weeks and her theory was that the man in his dreams was him. The man certainly fit the bill, but the dreams were brief and unclear. He had seen landmarks of the old world in the dreams and if Usanagi was right, then he had to go find them. The fact that it might trigger something was enough to make him want to pack up and leave. But he couldn't do that. Not now anyway, so he closed his eyes. He concentrated hard on the voice, the people, and the locations…nothing. He was frustrated with himself for not being able to remember despite the fact that it was out of his control.
A pair of arms snaked through his own and around his waist, Cass had woken up to an empty bed. His side of the bed was still warm so she knew he hadn't gone far.
She laid her head on his back, "You had another dream." A statement more than a question. She waited as he stayed silent giving him the time he needed to think. They stood together like that for a long moment.
"I did." He turned to face her and looked into her eyes. "I've been thinking about it a lot, and with Usanagi's help I know the places in my dreams are real," He stood taller, "The landmarks and monuments. If I ever want to remember who I am…I think my best chance is to leave; to go to those places." His eyes searched hers for a reaction. "But I can't just leave you and our-" He hesitated to say the next words aloud, knowing it was a tender subject with the road jockey he now called his wife.
"Those places are on the other side of the country, I doubt I'll make it all the way." Cass said with a downcast gaze. Her voice trailed off to a whisper, like a prisoner condemned forever. It seemed to the Courier that she felt her road jockeying days were over, which was quite possibly the case for the next decade or more. It was not a small thing to bring a child into the world. A world gone mad with compassion and kindness being a liability and violence and cruelty being the safety net for warlords and petty tyrants to seize power from the weak and infirm.
The Courier gave her a somber look, knowing she would have reservations. It would already be a geriatric pregnancy, and the Lucky 38's medical suite would be the safest place to deliver the child. "We wont be making the journey by road".
Cass slipped out of his arms, and looked into his eyes. He saw her confusion and surprise plainly enough. "How then are we going to travel two thousand miles to the area where these monuments are rumored to be?" She asked with not a small amount of skepticism creeping around her words. Possibly seeing a look in his eyes she quickly added that she understood the Brotherhood had pulled monument locations from their record database, however she had reservations when it came to how well the dream world translated into the real world.
"That is why I'm seeing that doctor from the Followers about my dreams, memory, and amnesia," said the Courier, "The descriptions of the buildings and huge things were her idea. She's the one that recognized the description of the ziggurat monument surrounded by white marble buildings fit for giants. As well as the pantheon guarded by the giant man sitting in the chair. Confirmed with pictures provided by the scribes in the Brotherhood's library."
"Finding Ulysses in his fucked up temple is what began this trickle of remembering. The photographs only provoking it more so, it would stand to reason that returning to the locations would help my memory return in full." The old and tired argument had been talked to death for months by the Courier to friends and allies alike, he had exhausted all enthusiasm to argue for his position, the fact of the matter being his resolve to see his new mission to it's conclusion was as sturdy as the bedrock beneath the hard packed soil of a Mojave road.
"I'll take a vertibird with enough supplies to last me a few months. I'll take some of the Guardians too, knowing them Niel would lead a mission to follow me all the way across the country by himself assuming half his squad didn't volunteer themselves just for a bite of the action." The Courier had begun walking towards the kitchen while he talked. Cass used all her willpower to stay silent while his stream of consciousness flowed out like a tornado of possibilities, and not all of them good ideas. This was how his mind worked, he would verbalize all his grand ideas and then Cass and he would sort out the impossible and whatever else was impractical.
"The Guardians…are a loyal bunch if nothing else. They are truely the finest combat troops I have at my command. The UMA Army is good, don't get it twisted, but the Guardians are near fanatics when it comes to operations that require a more delicate touch." He took a cup of coffee while he talked, the pot having been turned on by Yes Man when the penthouse sensors detected his morning wake up routine. Correctly predicting that he would be in the kitchen searching for the beverage within his predictable ten minutes of his awakening.
"They haven't been trained for cross country missions. They've only ever been used for missions against the republic." Cass countered. It wasn't the strongest point but it was the only one she could think to make. It was true that the Guardians, the premiere special operations troops of the UMA military, were masters of covert operations. They had been extensively trained in desert combat and stealth warfare but they hadn't been given training beyond the desert.
"They're incredibly adaptable." The Courier said simply, like a declaration of the most fundamental truth. "They're exactly what I need for a journey like this." Cass could feel the urge to leave for the otherside of the country, she could also see in his face the strong coflict brewing inside her lover. He felt a duty to stay and protect his wife, to raise and protect his child. To not leave.
"You want to leave, to go explore and maybe find some closure in DC," Cass took the Couriers face between her hands and forced him to look into her eyes. "I want you here. I equally don't want this hanging over your head, being so close to an answer that's just out of reach. I understand the hunger for the open road. I do." Before the Courier could protest what she'd said, she could see it in the creases of his weathered face because the road had not been kind to his body. He was large but it was all lean muscle, much like most road jockey's.
"I want you to go and find out. Go search for the answers to who you are. I can't imagine what that's like, the not knowing or understanding who you are or where you've been. I don't know what you'll find, but I need a promise from you. I need you to promise me you'll come home. That you will return."
Cass searched his face for a long time, seeing his expression change with the force of the changing of the seasons. He stayed silent a long time, and then, "I promise I will return to you. I will come back." He made his choice, dice land where they may.
The Guardians
"It's a pretty nice place for a temporary base of operation." Cooper muttered under his breath observing Moore's command tent, it was two in the morning and they had just executed phase one of the extraction. They had Moore, who was unconscious, crammed into one of the two wooden supply boxes. The second box was full of intel they gathered from CO's tent, maps from recon missions, troop strength and disposition, and communications between officers back to NCR HQ.
"Yes sir it is…" Mitch grumbled quietly, wiring the distraction. "Sir, the C4 is hot n' ready." He stated with a slightly proud undertone.
"Alright men, just like we planned." Neil, grinned. "Drinks on me if we pull this off without firing a round." Neil always found light in situations like this. Here the three of them were forty klicks behind enemy lines performing a covert operation and twenty klicks past any hope of reinforcements. Their objective was to extract Brigadier General Cassandra Moore, who had been promoted from colonel, from the middle of the NCR's base of operations. The idea behind the mission was to convince the NCR that it didn't matter where they drew the front lines on their war maps; that nowhere was safe. It weakened the overall morale and at the same time it removed some major commanding officers.
The three of them had collected solid intel that the NCR was preparing shock troopers for an attack on Primm to end a three month siege. They also had intel suggesting that Cassandra Moore was stationed at that very same base. So the Courier opted to send his three most accomplished Guardians to perform an extraction to cripple the chain of command and find a way to stop the shock troopers.
"Alright," Cooper stood straightening his NCR uniform. "Neil you're helping me with Moore's crate," he said as the two lifted the crate with ease. "Mitch you've got the other crate. Remember our alibi; we're just transporting some extra supplies to the vertibirds."
"Roger that, let's get going. I can't stand this NCR outfit; it chafes in all the wrong places." Mitch complained.
"We can get you some baby powder when we get back to friendly territory." Neil grunted.
"Can the chatter you two, we're leaving." Cooper snapped.
"Yes sir," both of them echoed.
They made their way out of the tent and turned left toward the vertibirds that were one hundred yards away from the CO's tent. There were a few guards patrolling the base, however most of them were guarding the outskirts in observation towers. A Captain whose name tag read 'Henderson' came around the corner of a tent suddenly and bumped into Mitch.
"Hey now, what's the hurry men?" The Captain asked with an eyebrow raised. Mitch had to recover quickly or risk compromising phase two of the operation.
"Sorry Captain, we're loading up a few last minute supplies for the heavy troops tomorrow. You can never have too much ammo." Mitch replied confidently.
"I 'ear that." The Captain laughed, "T'mara we gonna give them bastards the what-fer, it'll teach them what'll happens when youns' go'n piss on the Bear." He saluted before walking off. "As yous' was, soldiers."
"Yes sir," Mitch returned the gesture. The three of them continued through the maze of tan tents and fire pits to the landing pads, passing only one other patrol. When they got to the landing pads they loaded Moore and the intel onto the first vertibird. Both crates were strapped into the cargo net so that they wouldn't shift during the flight.
"Alright men, remember your training in the flight simulators and this'll go off without a hitch. Neil go to the vertibird down there," Cooper said pointing at the bird on the opposite end of the pad. "I need Mitch to be able to see the signal."
They had Moore, now they had to extract her. It was time to execute phase two. Mitch got into his vertibird and looked to his left for less than a minute before turning back to Cooper. He gave a thumbs up, the signal that Neil was in his bird ready for lift off. Cooper took one last glance at the base and gave Mitch the signal to blow the charges they'd set.
Reaching into his pocket he retrieved the detonator, he always loved when things went smoothly. Mitch looked out at the camp with his finger on the detonator, "And here, we…go." He pulled the trigger and on the other side of the camp the mess hall exploded in a ball of fire. Mitch had placed it next to the fuel supply for the stoves. Panic. Their engines roared to life as the trigger was pulled again. Fifty yards outside the base three massive explosions shuddered through the camp. Diversion. The vertibirds were in the air, turning to make their getaway, when Mitch pulled the trigger for the third and final time. The CO's tent, in the heart of the base, was blown to kingdom come as the vertibirds made their way back to UMA territory.
"Well done men. Neil, I'm looking forward to that hooch you're buyin' me," laughed Mitch through the squad radio.
"Stay frosty you two, we're still executing phase two." Cooper scolded them through the radio, and then laughed. "But god damn it, I love when a plan comes together like that! Good work, that'll send them all the way back to the planning board."
They flew all night and at five in the morning they could see the UMA border. "Mojave Outpost Bravo, this is Guardian-one actual, how copy over?"
After a few moments of static someone answered, "Solid copy, this is Mojave Outpost Bravo, go ahead."
"Requesting permission to land, we're flying three enemy birds. We've got solid intel and one pissed off NCR officer in custody."
"Roger that, you've been cleared for landing. Welcome home Guardians."
The Courier
"Thank you all for coming on such short notice." The Courier said, all the representatives and his luitenants had been gathered for his announcement. Cass sat to his right side at the head of the table.
All the major players had been gathered without exception. Some had been more than a little surprised but most had come without needing an explanation, the Courier held more than a little sway and could call in the occasional favor such as one like this.
Everyone from Jacobstown to the old air force base, all the way down to Nipton and all the satellite settlements in between, it was a meeting of that kind of magnitude. Everyone present could feel that in the air of the dinning room of the Lucky 38's main floor.
"Let me get right to the point. I will be leaving for an unknown length of time and Cass will be assuming my role on the domestic front, I've appointed General Mark Dawson to be charged with all military matters, I've appointed General Clide Masters for diplomatic matters." The Courier swung his gaze about the room gauging reactions and most of them were taking the news well, or doing a hell of a job hiding how they felt about the news. "I will not be taking questions, I wanted to tell all of you in person so you could hear it first hand. This is not a vacation or a joy ride, this is a deeply personal mission that cannot be avoided. I've made as much preparation as can be made in the time afforded to me."
Plainly to see on his face by the baggage under his eyes and the drooping of his shoulders, the Courier had been awake all through the night and probably not slept for some time. He had the look of a man perpetually plagued by life and death decisions, as he was. I'll see that the patrols are doubled, and teams of Guardians are on twenty four hour standby for immediate deployment to settlements, trade routes, and infrastructure installments. That's the best I can do."
Five men entered the Lucky 38's main door, two were the generals the Courier had mentioned, three waited by the door. The two generals stood on either side of Cass, their stiff backs growing impossibly stiffer under the intense gaze of the Courier.
"You both received the letters I sent to you?" Asked the Courier. The men nodded in unison. "Then you have your orders. The table is yours, and I'm leaving this nation in the care of my most trusted staff." The Courier saluted, when the gesture was returned he dropped his hand and marched off towards the door. He left with the remaining three men.
