"So, you're the contact the General was talking about?" Charles asked.
"Yup, name's Gerry. I'm a prospector, and since nobody seems to use this place, it's been a little resting spot for me," the man replied.
The shack was surrounded by lockers, ammo pouches, and a bed. Charles glanced around before continuing, "Alright, I trust you know the plan?"
"Yeah, I heard you need a way into Nellis. I'll tell you what I know, but first, I heard something happened to the President?" Gerry asked, raising an eyebrow.
The captain cut in, "He got lucky. Just a few scratches after the vertibird went down in the water—hit his head on the soft side. But we can't say the same for his guards and the pilot."
"Alright, well, might as well tell you how to get into Nellis. They'll be launching mini-nukes at you like crazy since they have a huge stockpile of them and won't trade, so the only way to get past them is for them not to see you. I got Stealth Boys in the locker; you should remain undetected for a few minutes, then get in their base and do whatever. Seems like a suicide mission to me, because if you're there, who knows what happens, but your bosses only told me to help you get in."
"Free of charge?" said Theodore.
"Well, you guys are the authorities here, so always happy to help. Though I do have an excess of Stealth Boys, about 10, so I would prefer you guys to take one each."
"You ain't coming?" said Joseph.
"Why would I? My job is done, sir."
Then Gerry got his four remaining Stealth Boys and left, but then something surprising happened. The captain's radio rang, and he answered it. After listening for a bit, he turned it off and said,
"Bad news—the Mordinos were able to take New Reno. The north's completely exposed, so we need to finish this up fast to deal with the Legion, or else the anti-NCR league might attack us, also Legion's making their moves we just got news that one of the centurions we were interrogating at Mccaren died from cyanide so I assume Curtis gave it to him."
"Alright, well let's hurry this up," said the Lieutenant.
Then they left the shack with the hot desert air on them.
Charles could see Gerry in the distance going back somewhere, and he wondered if he was an idiot, as there might be critters or whatever on his way to the closest town near here, New Vegas.
But then the group was walking up to Nellis and left the Truck in its location because Nellis was pretty close.
Once they were close to Nellis Air Force Base, it was massive.
Charles remembered back in the pre-war days it was filled with military men, planes, and other military equipment.
Now it had lost some of its luster, but the planes seemed untouched, and instead of military men, there were people in vault suits.
"Alright, so the plan is we get the Stealth Boys on so they don't bomb us to smithereens, but after that, what happens?" said Joseph.
"Well, I assume that we threaten them once we get to them because they won't listen to a word we say unless we are next to them. You know how they are with their radios, it's completely off," said Charles.
"Threaten them? Or do you think you're being a little too rough there, Charles? I mean, the general was pretty vague about that, but the best course of action would be to talk to them first before we start making threats," said the Captain.
"Threaten, talk, whatever, all the same to me," said Charles.
"They're pretty different," said Karl, laughing.
With everybody raising their eyes at Charles weirdly, he said, "Alright, enough. Let's get on with it, and since it makes you bastards so goddamn happy, we'll talk to them."
Then, with each of them turning on their Stealth Boys, it concealed them.
Usually, the Stealth Boys lasted for about an hour, so they had more than enough time to get to the base.
"Alright, I think I should lead, but I don't think we should go inside the base. See that guy up there on the tower with the missile launcher? I say we talk with him first since he seems pretty isolated there," said Charles.
"Alright," said everyone.
Then Charles led the group to get near the entrance to where the guy with the missile launcher on the tower was.
The front of the base was quite abandoned as it was getting dark, but the guy with the missile launcher still looked on vigilantly.
Then Charles whispered, "I'll uncloak myself. You guys stay cloaked in case any trouble happens."
Uncloaking himself, the Boomer saw him, but then Charles said, "I'm a representative of New Vegas, and all I want to do is talk."
In an angry voice, the Boomer said, "Talk about what? You were clearly cloaked with a stealth boy; who knows how many of you there are. Now tell me how many are with you, or else we can simply bomb your water pipeline like we did before."
Thinking for a moment, Charles said, "Fuck it, uncloak yourselves, guys."
When they uncloaked themselves, they still had their weapons. Charles added, "But we'll keep our weapons in case things go awry. Anyways, all I want to do is talk."
For a moment, the Boomer didn't respond, but then he said, "Wait a minute, aren't you Charles House, the son of Robert House? Representative of New Vegas, my ass. I heard on that Mr. New Vegas thing you're a ghoul. Didn't you shoot that Followers of the Apocalypse girl in cold blood?"
"That girl—it was a different situation. She was subverting New Vegas and was an enemy. And you guys, well, you aren't exactly an enemy, are you, more of an enigma that's why we're talking with you now." said Charles.
"Alright, this back and forth is meaningless. I'm gonna bring Raquel over here; she'll know what to do with you."
Next, he was on his radio, calling someone to meet the group.
"Stay there. Raquel's gonna be here soon."
After waiting for about a minute, Raquel arrived, and she and the Boomer spoke for a bit.
Then the guard stepped away, and Raquel, now on the tower, said
"You want to talk? Fine, follow me. Mother Pearl would like to speak with you outsiders anyway. Just don't do anything funny—Mother Pearl's waited a long time for outsiders to get here."
Then she opened the gate into the base.
Once they entered, the front area was rather empty. Most people were likely sleeping inside the buildings, but the few who were awake mostly wandered aimlessly. However, they noticed the group, and from their facial expressions, Charles could tell they were surprised.
When they reached the main building, Raquel said, "Well, we're here. If you need to discuss anything amongst yourselves, now's the time. I'll be inside for a few minutes to speak with Mother Pearl."
After Raquel went inside, the Captain said, "Well, that was a close one. Don't rat us out like that again, Charles—I thought they were going to shoot us."
"What reason would they have to shoot you exactly? Anyway, I got us in, so now the plan, I think, should be to ask this Mother Pearl to have her people vote on whether they'd like to trade with outsiders. If we can manage that, we can get those planes. As for what we trade for them, the NCR will decide."
"What happened to threatening, Charles?" said Karl sarcastically.
"That wasn't serious, so shut up, Karl, or Irisi might give you a pay cut," said Charles, equally sarcastic.
"Alright, alright. But anyway, I don't have objections to that—it sounds good." said Karl
"But if we lose the vote, the General won't exactly be happy with us," said the Lieutenant.
"You're part of the NCR, don't you people cherish your democracy?" said Theodore nonchalantly.
"This isn't the NCR, Theodore. We need those planes."
"Do you have an alternative, Lieutenant?" said the Captain.
"No, sir."
"Then it's decided. I like the deal, and if it fails, we notify the General. But let's hope it doesn't come to that," said the Captain.
After an uncomfortable silence, save for the sounds inside the building, the door opened, and Raquel said,
"Come on in."
Once they entered, it felt almost like a one-story house, with couches, closets, and a bed visible in another room.
An older-looking woman, whom Charles assumed was Mother Pearl, was sitting on one of the couches. Raquel urged them to sit, and once they did, Mother Pearl said,
"Welcome, welcome. So, you outsiders managed to get through those howitzers with those stealth boys, huh? Smart, smart. Anyway, we don't get many of you up here, and the howitzers are there for a reason. I'm open to talking, but make it worthwhile—I can't say the others here are as receptive to conversation with outsiders."
"Well ma'am, I'm a captain of the NCR, and I'm sure you know who we are. What we want are your planes, and in return, we'll give you something. We don't have all the details yet, but the NCR can direct you on what it'll be through your Pip-Boys. I know you people aren't fond of outsiders, but there must be some among you open to this idea, so why not hold a vote among your people on this issue?"
"Well, fine. The world is changing, after all. Some people think we've got to stay in our little corner of the Mojave, but with the NCR and New Vegas robots coming in, maybe now's the time to let in that little sliver of the outside world."