Author's Note: I hope everyone is enjoying the story thus far. The caravan is growing, with the addition of everyone's favorite drinkin' cowgirl, Cass. Enjoy the chapter, and, as always, please review.

(The next day)

Mark, Amata and ED-E were all ready to leave around 8 am, although it took some prodding to wake Cass up from her stupor. Once she got up (and re-stocked on some whiskey), they started to walk away from the outpost, when they heard a shrill whistle. They looked around, but didn't see anyone. "Up here," came a voice from the roof. Mark looked up, and saw a NCR Ranger up on the roof of the barracks, motioning for him to come up. "Who's that?" Mark whispered to Cass. "They call her 'Ghost.' NCR an' their goddamn nicknames. Like that's gonna stop Caesar from tryin' ta take tha dam again." "All right," said Mark, "gimme a minute, I'll go see what she wants." Mark walked up a makeshift ramp and found himself on the roof of the barracks. There was a sandbag wall, an old lawn chair, and a table with a bottle of water and a ham radio.

The woman who called him up was wearing sunglasses, a cowboy hat and an NCR Ranger uniform. Mark also noticed she had pale white skin, a condition he had read about in the vault called 'albinism.' Mark suspected that this was why they called her 'Ghost.' She was also carrying a high-powered sniper rifle and a pair of binoculars. "Can I, uh, help you with something?" asked Mark. "Hey there," the woman said, sticking out her hand, "name's Ghost." "Mark Franklin," Mark said as he shook her hand. "Well, Mr. Franklin, I was hoping you could help me out with something. You're heading towards Vegas, right?" "Please, just call me Mark. Also, how did you know?" "I overheard you in the bar last night. Anyway, I doubt you're going through Quarry Junction, so you must be going up 95, correct?" Mark nodded. "Well, the route you're taking goes past Nipton, and that's where you come in. There's been no traffic in or out of the town for days. That I can explain away, but now I'm starting to see smoke. Take a look, due east."

Mark took her binoculars and looked in the direction she pointed out. He could see a few buildings, and he could also see the smoke that she had mentioned. He gave Ghost the binoculars, and asked, "Ok, so what do you want me to do?" "I just need to know what happened. Could be Vipers, Jackals, Powder Gangers, or who knows what else. If there are any survivors, they'd be in the town hall. Don't try and be a hero. I don't need you or anyone in your party risking their lives." "Ok, I have a question." said Mark, "Shouldn't this be something that NCR troops should be checking out, instead of some guy you just met?" She sighed. "Normally, yes, but we have to maintain a minimum head count here at the outpost. Orders from the west."

"Look, Ranger, I'm kind of on a time-sensitive mission right now, so I don't have time to go there and back. However," Mark said, looking at the ham radio, "I modified my pip-boy so that I could keep in contact with my girlfriend. If you give me the frequency of your radio, I could just call you and tell you what I see. Would that suffice?" She mulled it over for a few seconds. "Yeah, I suppose that would be fine. Appreciate the help, kid." "What did she want, Mark?" Amata asked as he made his way back towards the group. "She just wants us to see what's going on in Nipton. We'll be heading through there anyway, so it won't be taking us out of our way."

A couple of miles into their journey, they ran into a couple of Vipers, which they were able to dispatch without much trouble. After that, Mark decided that he and ED-E would scout out ahead, just in case. That left Cass and Amata walking about 30 yards behind them. Once they got going again, Cass took out her flask, took a swig, and offered some to Amata, who refused. "Oh come on, ya wouldn't drink with me yesterday, and now yer turnin' me down again. Yer startin' ta hurt my feelings," Cass said jokingly. "Look, it's nothing personal, but like I told you yesterday, I can't drink right now." "What, are ya pregnant or somethin'?" Amata blushed and looked at her feet. "Oh my god, lover boy knocked ya up, didn't he?" Cass said with a grin on her face. "Wait, it is his, right? Does he even know yer pregnant?" "Yes, it is his, and yes, he knows, and we're both very excited." The next few minutes were spent in silence. "So," said Cass, "what's he like in tha sack?"

They arrived at Nipton around one, and Mark could tell that something was wrong. The first thing he noticed was two red flags with a golden bull in the middle flowing on staffs just outside town. The second thing he noticed was a kid wearing a Powder Gangers outfit running straight towards them with his arms raised in the air, screaming in a celebratory fashion. All four of them readied their weapons, but the kid just ran straight past them and into the desert. They all watched him for a minute, looking confused. Cass spoke up. "Um, anyone know what the fuck that was about?" "I think," Amata said, "I think he said something about winning some lottery, maybe?" "It's not important," said Mark. "We just came here to see what's going on."

As they ventured into town, Mark's bad feeling was confirmed. They saw a pile of tires on fire in the center of town, with a couple of severely burned corpses. Mark was examining them when he heard Amata scream. Mark and Cass ran over in her direction, guns at the ready. "Amata, what's the matter?" Mark asked. Amata raised a trembling finger and pointed a few feet in front of her. Mark looked to where she was pointing and saw a Powder Ganger crucified on a cross. They looked around and saw other people who were also crucified, including what looked like regular people. "Mark," Amata said, "should we- should we get them down?" "No point," Cass said. "Look at their wrists." They looked and saw what looked like railroad spikes driven through their wrists. "She's right," Mark said, "we can't do anything for them."

"Well, well, what do we have here?"

Almost instinctively, Mark stepped in front of Amata and pointed his assault rifle in the direction of the voice. Cass stepped beside him, shotgun at the ready, and he could hear ED-E priming his laser. The speaker stood on the steps of the town hall, flanked on either side by dogs and men wearing red and black sports equipment for armor, with leather skirts and sandals. The speaker stepped forward, and Mark noticed that he was wearing sports equipment like the rest, but he was also wearing a red cape, black sunglasses, and was wearing a dog's head like a hat. "There's no need for that now is there," he said in a voice so cold it sent shivers down all of their spines. "My forces outnumber you five to one." He spread his arms, and the three of them looked around, noticing that there were at least two or more soldiers on each of the rooftops, pointing rifles at them. "Lower your weapons," the man continued, "and you will have no reason to worry. I won't have you lashed to a cross like these degenerates."

Mark thought about it, considered his options, then put his assault rifle on the ground. "What the fuck are ya doin'?" Cass hissed at him through her teeth. "I really don't feel like getting shot again, and I definitely don't want her getting shot," he said thumbing towards Amata behind him. "ED-E, stand down." Mark heard disappointed beeps, and a laser powering down. Cass didn't like it, but she put down her shotgun as well. "It is useful that you happened by," the man said. "I want you to witness the fate of the town of Nipton. Memorize every detail. Remember the horrors we have inflicted here. Then, when you move on? I want you three to teach everyone the lessons that Caesar's (he pronounced it Kai-zar) Legion has taught here." Mark spoke. "Who are you exactly?" "I am Vulpes Inculta, commander of Caesar's Frumentarii. We specialize in infiltration, striking out from the shadows against all who oppose Caesar's will."

"What 'lessons' did you teach here?" Amata asked with anger in her voice, stepping out from behind Mark. Mark moved back in front of her. "Where to begin? That they are weak, and we are strong? That much was known already. Nipton was a wicked place, debased and corrupt. It served all comers, as long as they paid. Profligate troops, Powder Gangers, men of the Legion such as myself, the people here didn't care. For a pittance, the town agreed to lead those it sheltered into a trap. Only when I sprang it did they realize they were caught in it, too." "You captured everyone?" Mark asked, his blood beginning to boil. "Yes. Everyone was herded into the center of town, which is where I announced the lottery. Each clutched their ticket, hoping it would set them free. Each did nothing, even as their 'loved ones' were dragged to their fate. They outnumbered us, yet did nothing to resist. Their leader was burned on a pile of tires.

"You know," Mark said with unfiltered rage, "back east, I dealt with another group who murdered people just for the hell of it. You could talk to them about it… oh wait, that's right, they don't exist anymore." The man just stood there and smiled. "If you feel that strongly about it, then attack us, and soon you won't feel anything. Until we meet again, I bid you Vale." The air around the legion troops crackled, and they all disappeared. They were using stealth boys, pre-war devices that made the user practically invisible. After a few minutes of silence, Mark brought his pip-boy up to his mouth and pressed a button. "Ranger Ghost, come in." There was static for a few seconds, then a response: "Ghost here. Go ahead kid. What'd you find?" "Yeah, about that…"

Hope you enjoyed the chapter. I know that the kid running out of Nipton talks to you, but I didn't feel that it really added anything to the story, other than just seeming weird. Until next time.