AN: Kudos to Joshua Sawyer.

New California
NCR Military Command, 2280

3 years before the nuclear destruction of Shady Sands.

The war room in Shady Sands was filled with the low murmur of aides shuffling papers and the occasional crackle of a radio transmission. Maps of the Mojave Wasteland sprawled across the table, pinned with markers indicating troop positions, supply routes such as the Crimson Caravan and Gun Runners, and potential combat zones. The air was thick with the scent of old parchment and the sharp tang of stale coffee. Today was a debriefing on the situation over the Mojave campaign. Something the New California Republic has been discussing for days on end.

Colonel James Hsu leaned over the table, scanning the latest reports on Caesar's Legion movements near the Colorado, carefully positioned. "They're massing at the river." He mutters, tapping a finger on the map near Cottonwood Cove. "Our scouts say they're using it as a staging ground. We might be looking at a full-scale offensive within months or more." He looks away slightly.

Taking a drag from her cigarette, Colonel Cassandra Moore exhaled slowly and gave a firm glare. "We knew this was coming. The Legion's not in the habit of staying idle. The second we move into the Mojave, they'll test us." She stated, crossing her arms. "They'll want to know how far we're willing to push."

Colonel Hsu frowns, clearly he is in a disagreement with his colleague. "And are we? I'm not just talking about numbers. The Republic's stretched thin, and we're still dealing with the aftermath of the Brotherhood War, the banditry in the Boneyard, and unrest in the northern territories." Referring to the Shi in San Francisco. "And now, we're about to commit ourselves to a full-blown war against an enemy that doesn't play by the same rules."

Unconcerned with indifference, Colonel Moore flicked ashes into the tray beside her and looked at him. "The Republic doesn't get to pick and choose its battles anymore, James." She declares sternly. "We've already signed the treaty with Mr. House. That means securing the Mojave and Hoover Dam. And that means breaking the Legion's grip on the region before they gain too much ground."

Colonel Hsu let out a frustrated sigh. "Damn Treaty... House isn't an ally, he's an opportunist. Do you think he'll hold up his end once we bleed for his city?"

Colonel Moore smirked, and a wave of confidence came in. "Doesn't matter what I think." She said, hands clasped together. "The Senate made the deal and Vegas is a political asset. The Brahmin Barons won't let it slip through their fingers. We push east, secure the Mojave, and make sure the Legion never gets a foothold in New Vegas."

Colonel Hsu didn't look convinced. He shook his head and leaned back. "And who's leading this whole operation?"

Taking one last drag from her cigarette before snuffing it out, she confesses. "General Lee Oliver."

Colonel Hsu froze for a brief, he wasn't sure he heard her right as he stared at her. Then, his expression darkened with fury brewing on his face.

"You're kidding." He said, his voice low and controlled.

Colonel Moore met his stare with an unreadable expression. "It's already been decided."

Outraged, Colonel Hsu's hands balled into fists. "You mean the Brahmin Barons at Congress decided." He breathed. "They put a goddamn desk general in charge of one of the most important military campaigns in NCR history!?" His voice rose, blazed with fury. "Oliver's a bureaucrat, Moore! He's never commanded troops in the field, never fought an enemy like the Legion!" Colonel Hsu stammered. "He's going to sit behind the lines, dig in, and let the Legion pick us apart because he's too damn cautious to act when it matters!"

Colonel Moore sighed, her look expressionless as she rubbed her temples. "I don't like it either, but this isn't a debate, James."

"The hell it isn't!" Colonel Hsu shot back, clearly snapped. "You and I both know what's coming! The Legion doesn't fight conventional wars! They fight to exterminate, to enslave, to break us!" He slammed his hand on the table. "And we're putting a man in charge who doesn't understand that!?"

Colonel Moore's gaze hardened, clearly unyielding. "You think I don't see the cracks? That I don't know what's at stake?" She stood up as she stepped around the table. "But it doesn't matter what you or I think. The Republic is committed to this resolve one way or the other." She declared. "The moment that treaty was signed, this war became inevitable. General Oliver was chosen since he's predictable and that he won't make waves." She turns her head back at him. "The Barons trust him, the Senate trusts him, and that means he's in charge. Period."

Colonel Hsu turned away, shaking his head in frustration. "I fought for the NCR because I believed in it." He clenched his fists. "In what it stood for. But this? This isn't the Republic we bled for. It's a corporate empire run by cattle lords and politicians who have no idea what it means to fight and die on the battlefield."

Moore let out a humorless chuckle. "Maybe it never was, Hsu."

That hit harder than it should have. The Congressional decision to station General Oliver at Hoover Dam to lead the Mojave Campaign was a risky endeavor given his reputation in the NCR's military.

Colonel Moore folds her arms and looks sternly at Hsu. "You want to change things? You want to stop General Oliver from turning this into a disaster?" She asks firmly. "Then stay in the fight. Lead your men. Make sure the boots on the ground are the ones making the real decisions."

Colonel Hsu was silent for a long moment, as his anger hadn't faded, but he knew Colonel Moore wasn't wrong. No matter how much he hated it, the NCR was marching east... whether it was ready or not.

Finally, he exhaled and sighed. "I'll do my job, Colonel Moore. But if General Oliver gets good men killed because he was too blind to see what was coming, I won't just sit back and let it happen."

She smirked, clearly impressed by his judgment. "Then I guess we both have our work cut out for us."

The war in the Mojave hadn't even begun, but already, Colonel Hsu could see the writing on the wall.

He clenched his jaw, staring at the map of the Mojave as if his furious gaze could burn a hole through it. His chest tightened with frustration and anger—anger not just at the decision but at what it meant.

"This isn't about General Oliver." He mutters, even more to himself than to Colonel Moore. "It's about everything we built. Everything we stood for."

Colonel Moore arches an eyebrow, she crosses her arms. "Do you mean Tandi's Republic?"

Colonel Hsu looked up sharply. "Yes. That's correct." His voice was quiet but seething. "President Tandi fought to turn the NCR into something more than another warlord's empire." He explained. "She expanded our borders, but she never did it for profit. She did it because she believed in the people living under our flag. In their right, their freedom." He tightened his fists. "This? This is something else entirely. This is a machine run by men who care more about their stock portfolios than the soldiers dying for them."

Colonel Moore sighed, crossing her arms. "James, I get it. I do." She looks at him dead in the eye. "But Tandi's dead. The world has changed. We're not some idealistic frontier republic anymore."

She continues, her voice firm. "We're an empire in all but name, and like it or not, empires aren't built on good intentions. They're built on power. On control."

"That's exactly the problem!" Colonel Hsu snapped. "Tandi's vision was about building something better. The NCR was supposed to be the answer to the chaos of the wasteland." He explained despite Moore's unwavering expression. "But we're not building anymore, we're conquering. The Brahmin Barons, the Senate, men such as General Oliver... they don't care about the people of the Mojave. They care about what the Mojave can give them."

He sighs as he demonstrates. "Resources, land, trade routes, power. Hoover Dam is nothing more than a bargaining chip to them."

Colonel Moore exhales through her nose, shaking her head. "And what do you want me to say? That you're wrong?" She folded her arms. "You're not. But you're acting like we can turn back the clock like we can decide to be the NCR of old again."

With his voice still tight with frustration, he sighs. "We can still try."

She lets out a dry chuckle. "Try what? You think if we reject Oliver, Congress is suddenly going to hand command over to a general with actual field experience?" She explains, unimpressed. "That they'll suddenly start listening to the officers who know how to win this war?"

She shook her head and burrowed her frow. "It doesn't work that way. The NCR is too big and too entrenched in its corruption. We can complain all we want, but in the end, we're still cogs in the machine."

Sighing, Colonel Hsu ran his right through his hair, exhaling sharply. "Then maybe the machine needs to be broken."

She narrowed her eyes. "Be careful with that kind of talk, James."

He looked at her, jaw tight. "I don't mean rebellion, Cassandra. I mean change. Real change. If we keep marching down this path, we'll turn into another Enclave, another Brotherhood of Steel..." He worries. "Just another power-hungry regime that believes in its propaganda. If we let men like Oliver run the Mojave and the Brahmin Barons dictate the Republic's future, then we are not President Tandi's NCR anymore."

He looks down, clenching his fists. "We're just another empire doomed to collapse under its weight."

Colonel Moore remained silent for a moment, studying him. She shook her head to rebuttal.

"I admire your conviction, Colonel Hsu." She lays her arms on the table. "But conviction doesn't win wars. We have a job to do. Do you want to keep the Republic from eating itself alive? Then do your goddamn job. Lead your men. Win the war." She declared with an iron grip in her voice. "Because if we lose, none of this will matter anyway."

Colonel Hsu exhaled slowly, forcing himself to calm down. He knew that Colonel Moore wasn't wrong, but that didn't make it any easier for him to swallow. The Republic he believed in was slipping through his fingers, and the worst part is, there wasn't a damn thing he could do to stop it.

The wasteland was already a cruel, savage, and ruthless place. Its nature seeps corruption into the NCR day-by-day. He was unable to see this superpower as a force for good, but instead as an imperialist occupying force that wanted to levy the tax on the innocent. He couldn't allow something like that to prosper. He can't risk the Republic using tyrannical methods to maintain control wherever it goes, all in the name of democracy and the rule of law.

But maybe... just maybe... he could still fight for something better.

Suddenly, the tension in the war room was thick enough to choke on. Colonel Hsu stood near the map table, his arms folded tightly as he tried to suppress the lingering frustration ablaze in his chest. Colonel Moore had returned to her chair, calm and composed as she could be, but the conversation still hung in the air like a dark cloud.

A sharp knock on the door broke the silence.

"Enter." Moore called.

The door swung open, revealing an NCR Veteran Ranger in full desert fatigues. His coat bore the marks of years spent on the battlefield. Dirt-streaked and worn, but still carrying the weight of the insignia of the two-headed Bear stitched onto his shoulder. He stepped forward with a crisp salute, his weathered face unreadable beneath the shadow of his helmet.

The soldier must've been through a lot. What had caused him to come all the way here?

"Colonel Moore. Colonel Hsu." He said. His voice was rough from years of barking orders in the wasteland. "Ranger First Class Donovan, reporting in from the eastern territories."

Colonel Moore gestured for him to continue. "What's the situation, Donovan?"

He hesitates for half a second. Just enough for Colonel Hsu to notice.

"Had a skirmish outside of Maxon's Point." Donovan said carefully. "Tribal resistance. Got ugly."

Both Colonel Hsu and Moore exchanged glances. It was another case of tribal refusing to be incorporated into NCR territory to be taxed, let alone be called an indigenous tribe.

"Define ugly." Colonel Hsu said, his tone flat.

Donovan exhaled through his nose. "Our scouts reported a raider warband moving in from the mountains." He explains, putting a hand on his hip. "We mobilized a response unit. First thought it was just gang-stirring trouble. Turns out to be a tribal faction. Armed, organized. Put up one hell of a fight."

He looks down for a moment. "They wouldn't surrender."

Colonel Moore's expression didn't change, but she leaned forward slightly. "And?"

Donovan hesitated again. "They were wiped out."

His words hung in the air, heavier than they should been. Colonel Hsu felt his stomach, pangs of pain coming from the truth unveiled. He had heard reports like this before, one too many times. And he knew that hesitation... He had seen it in the eyes of men who had been at Bitter Springs.

A dark memory that almost shatters the good the NCR can do.

The Bitter Springs Massacre.

Colonel Moore nodded, her tone indifferent. "Casualties?"

"Minimal on our side." Donovan replied voice clipped. "Tribe wasn't as lucky."

"Shit." Colonel Hsu exhaled through his nose, looking away. Another nameless people, another footnote in the Republic's slow, grinding expansion.

He turns back to Donovan. "What do we know about them?"

Donovan shook his head. "No name we could gather. It's just another group trying to stake out their land." He explains, folding his arms closely. "They weren't raiders, though... at least not in the usual sense. More like... refugees that knew how to fight."

Colonel Hsu felt his jaw tighten. Bitter Springs had been full of refugees who knew how to fight. They had all died the same. A sharp pang of guilt came to his chest.

Colonel Moore studies Donovan carefully. "Any chance this comes back to bite us?"

Donovan shifted slightly, just enough to show his discomfort. "We sent a message." He replied. "Made it clear what happens when people fight the Republic."

Colonel Moore nodded. "Then it won't."

Colonel Hsu clenched his fists. "Until it does." He mutters, a sharp fury in his voice. Saddened to hear those people have perished.

She shot him a firm glance. "That's war, James."

He met her gaze, anger simmering just beneath the surface. "Is it?"

Moore didn't answer.

Donovan clears his throat. "That's all from me, ma'am. Sir." He hesitates again momentarily, then delivers a final nod before stepping back. "For what it's worth... some of my men didn't like it either."

Surprised, Colonel Hsu looked at him. "Then why did they follow through?"

His expression didn't change. "Because orders and orders, Colonel."

That was the problem.

With one last salute, the Ranger turned and left the room. The door shut behind him with one final, decisive click.

Colonel Moore leans back in her chair, watching him with a tired expression on her face. "No..." She admitted. "But it's how it is."

General Oliver was leading the Mojave campaign and it was only going to get worse.

Outside Military Command

The sun was beginning its slow descent over the horizon as Hsu and Moore stepped outside the command building. Heat had relented only slightly, casting long shadows across the courtyard. The air smelled of dust and fuel as NCR troopers were preparing for deployment, rangers checking their weapons, and mechanics making last-minute fixes to the convoys that would soon roll across the Mojave. They gather in their respective positions and parade themselves to their destinations.

Standing near the entrance, Chief Hanlon waited for them. The old Ranger had his arms folded, his weathered face set in its unusual expression of quiet contemplation. He appears quite disillusioned about the Mojave but was able to speak to Hsu and Moore. As they approached them, knowing how their previous conversation had gone.

"...Colonels." Hanlon greeted with a nod, his voice carrying the weight of years spent fighting battles most men would not survive.

"Chief." Colonel Moore replied curtly.

He studied them for a moment before exhaling through his nose with a sigh. "Heard Oliver got the job." His tone was flat, but there was a flicker of something in his eyes. It was disapproval, maybe even resentment. Reminding him of his old days not to make sudden judgments during his ranch outside of Redding.

Colonel Moore nodded. "The Senate's made its decision. Whether we agree with it or not, our job is to execute orders."

Sure enough, Hanlon scoffed. He shook his head. "Orders. Right." He turned to Colonel Hsu. "I imagine you had a few choice words about it."

Hsu sighed, turning his head away for a moment. "I did. Didn't change a damn thing."

"It never does." Hanlon said, almost amused. "But it's good that someone's still saying them."

Colonel Moore shot Hanlon a look. "Are you questioning the chain of command, Chief?"

Hanlon smirked, his beard twitching. "Just making an observation, Colonel. We've all been doing this long enough to know how that'll go." He gestured toward the base, toward the countless troops ready for war. "We march east, we take Hoover Dam, and we plant the bear on top of it. That's the plan, right?"

He highlights the interest in making New Vegas the sixth state of the New California Republic. A hallmark of their manifest destiny was in place.

Colonel Moore folded her arms. "That is the plan."

Hanlon sighed. "Then I'll play my part. But let me ask you this, Colonel." He looks at her intently. "Do you think Oliver knows how to win this war?"

She was silent for a beat before answering. "It's not up for debate, Chief."

"Didn't think so." Hanlon said, shaking his head. "We'll see how it plays out."

Colonel Hsu rubbed his temples. "We don't have the luxury of failure. If General Oliver's incompetence costs us the Mojave, it won't just be another loss. It'll be the start of something worse." He burrows his frow. "Former President Tandi built a Republic out of nothing, but she never lived to see what it would become. If we screw this up, her legacy dies with us."

Hanlon gives Hsu a knowing look. "Her legacy's been dying for a while now, James." He explains. "We're just the poor bastards watching it happen."

Colonel Hsu stares at Hanlon for a moment. He didn't respond. He didn't need to.

Colonel Moore straightened her posture firmly. "Deployment begins at dawn. We all have our assignments. Let's not waste any more time."

Hanlon gave her a nod, then turned to Hsu. "See you on the other side."

With that, the Chief of Rangers strode off, leaving the two colonels standing there in the cooling desert air.

Moore glanced at Hsu. "Get your men ready. We leave soon."

Hsu didn't move right away. He looked out at the base, at the NCR troopers standing in formation, at the young recruits checking their service rifles, at the convoys preparing for war. How many of them would come back? How many of them would be sent east to fight for a Republic that had lost sight of what it was supposed to stand for?

He hoped that this journey wasn't a desolate one.

He shook his head, forcing the thought away. There was no time for doubts now.

Without another word, Colonel James Hsu turned and walked toward his men.

Deployment was coming.

And the war for the Mojave was about to begin.

One Year Later
Mojave Express - The Hub

As packages were being delivered across the American Southwest, the Mojave Express had no other deliveries to make.

That is until one package finally arrived for a certain "someone".

"Courier. We got a delivery for you."