Nellis

Gringe went and got the rest of our friends and soon our own little tribe stood meandering among the Mini Boomers, Boomer Gaurds and farmers who wore grenade rifles on their backs while they carried watering cans.

Grognog, Spirit Dog, Boxy, Driw and the rest of us looked as strange to them as their wildest imaginations could have predicted outsiders would look. Indeed they stared unashamedly and shocked at our ensemble appearance. Like seven wonders each as wonderful and strange as the next.

We were taken to Mother Pearl. An old woman in a flight suit wearing an ornate tribal headdress which rivaled Cobalt's. She seemed to think that as our tallest and bravest and the one among us so ordained that he was our leader and spoke directly to him in the presence of all of us outsiders.

"You have much to do and to learn about us outsiders. But we have long awaited your coming. Our future depends on your help. You have made it past our weapons but you must still prove yourselves, for it was also said that the world beyond is full of enemies waiting to be discovered."

"What we do?" Cobalt asked, realizing she was addressing him primarily. As a chieftain it was not hard for the godling to assume the role of leader temporarily. Rodeo didn't mind, we all followed him in the end.

"Go among us and see what tasks are needed of you. The Medicine Man needs help as does Loyal and Raquel. Of course Pete must also be consulted. Although young he will shed some light on the role of you outsiders in our saga."

"We shall. We go now and find what needs to be fixed. We help." Cobalt gauranteed. We left Mother Pearl's barracks and went first to the Nellis infirmary.

There were three injured Boomers laying on cots.

"I can help them." Paxton said with enthusiasm. She went to diagnose them and found that they merely needed proper bandages and wound cleaning to cure them. We left her to her healing craft while the Boomer Medicine Man took notes as he observed the procedures of the NCR trained medic Lieutenant Paxton.

Sunshine Boogie

Loyal wanted the solar panels on top of the power station repaired. Beneath we had to flip a couple switches to turn over the power which would get the juice flowing.

I was in the museum with Driw and Rodeo to try and learn a little more about the Boomers. We were told their story by Pete after we got his little friend Lindsay to leave by agreeing to help her find her lost teddy bear. Pete then went to recite their saga. He had apparently inherited his role as the keeper of their stories from Xander who had not even been a Boomer when he arrived but had instead come from Ronto before it had been destroyed. He had been the only other outsider to be adopted by the Boomers besides Loyal. The belief that new outsiders would solve their troubles had started with Loyal I suspected.

"Ages past in the long long ago we left Vault Thirty Four where we were not even allowed to blow up hand grenades. Outside we met savages who we blew up with frag mines, rockets and flamers. But for every forty three point six savages we exploded we lost one of our Boomers so we came to Nellis Air Force Base where we could be safe. Then we started firing our big guns and we kept all the savages away by destroying them. Then Loyal brought us news from Vault Thirty Four. Our Future. The Lady. The Fallen Angel. The Eagle of the Skies. We will go out and bomb more savages...and turn them into craters. Dead craters." Pete finished describing the mural.

Rodeo, Driw and I exchanged looks. These were definetely our best bet as allies. Who else could stand up against Banister's army of evil?

We went back out and met up with Boxy and Cobalt. They were battle fatigued and smelled of burnt powder. Boxy shook her head.

"Ants misbehavin' all right." She said.

"What happened?" Driw asked.

Raquel had walked over to us.

"Sorry I didn't mention that the generator room was full of explosive giant ants." She sounded a little dissapointed that Boxy and Cobalt had won.

"Yeah sure you are, dear." Boxy aimed a glare briefly. Her sassy poise and cute pout made Raquel cringe.

Paxton had finished her work as well and found us waiting for her. "They will all be fine, I am sure. For all their destructive powers these people know nothing of healing."

Loyal met us out there shortly afterward. Spirit Dog had finished and as the sun came out from the clouds the power came back on.

We had become idolized by the people of Nellis. The easy part was done. I wondered what would be next.

Pressure Cooker

After gathering in the hanger we were all lounging around while we waited for Jack and Loyal to finich debating how much of their project they wanted to trust the outsiders with. Driw and Rodeo and myself were especially occupied examining the pieces of the B Twenty Nine Super Fortress layed out beyond the musuem plaque describing its career. It was very love worn and I couldn't read enough of it to make any sense of it.

"Friends." Loyal walked over to us.

pop

Boxy had some gum she had traded the Mini Boomers a teddy bear for. She had a bored look in her heavy eyelids as she batted her lashes at Jack. I knew better. She found this fascinating for some reason.

Cobalt and Grognog were laying on their backs side by side on the wing and sat up as Loyal started addressing us. Gringe made a rude raspberry noise which got a few delighted chuckles from the less mature members of our posse. Only Rodeo seemed to be paying any direct attention so Loyal spoke mostly to him.

"I will cut to the chase. Ever since I was a boy I have known from a magazine article of the Lady in the Water."

"Sounds creepy." Boxy muttered.

"It is a bomber that crashed in Lake Mead not far from here. I want to raise it and combine the good parts of these two planes to make a new plane."

"Sounds impossible." Paxton had her arms crossed standing next to Boxy. I noted that the two of them had gotten pretty close. Again I wondered if it was really true that humans of the same gender mated sometimes. I guess love had less to do with reproduction and more to do with something else entirely.

"Not impossible. I have these two bouyancy charges that, once inflated under the wings will bring her to the surface. The rest of the gear is waiting down there with my men."

"Your men? You mean more Boomers?" Rodeo asked.

"Not exactly. Not everyone left Vault Thirty Four. Several of my friends stayed behind. The Model Airplane Club. A very small tribe, allies of the Boomers through me. They will be waiting with a harpoon to reel her to the launch down there. It should all go smoothely."

"Great. I like it when things go smoothely." Rodeo sounded strangely sarcastic. He must not have thought it would be as easy as planned. Things seldom were.

"How do we get down to it without drowing." Driw asked from her man's side. It was an obvious question and it occured to me that humans did have some fear of water after all. I planned to stay on shore.

"Your best swimmer..." Loyal started in.

"That would be me." Boxy stated. She looked around for any objections but it was obvious that nobody else wanted to claim that role. Only Grognog looked like he had something to say but then reconsidered. They were the two humans with the most endurance but Boxy had the intelligence and agility also which would be needed to complete the underwater task.

"Right while she is down there you need to lock out and tag out the detonator, like this. There is this switch here..." Loyal was showing Rodoe the detonator now. He seemed a little absent minded since he hadn't even given us the floatation devices yet.

"I have something for you..." Jack spoke up. Boxy turned her sultry gaze on him again. He nodded to her and walked over to the little meeting which echoed in the massive hanger among dusty shafts of light.

He lifted something off of a table on his way over which I doubted anyone but he could have found amid all of the clutter.

"This is a rebreather. An invention of mine. But it isn't finished yet. You will need a pressure cooker so that I can fit the seal from it as a failsafe. Otherwise the amount of time you have down there will only buy you a few extra minutes of air." Jack showed Boxy a small mask designed to fit over her nose and mouth. It looked lightweight and well designed. She handled it as she smacked her gum. She handed it back to him.

"Then I guess we will need to go find a pressure cooker for you, dear." Boxy gave him a smile that made Paxton frown.

"Are you sure you don't have one here?" Paxton asked. "Among all this stuff?"

"Quite sure." Jack nodded. "I don't even know where you would find one."

I recalled seeing one on the stove at Doc's house in Goodsprings but that was so far away. And I wasn't certain of its condition. I said nothing then about Doc's pressure cooker. Later I regretted that.

"Well then it seems the fate of the world hangs on a component from a humble pressure cooker." Rodeo said dramatically.

As we all left the hanger heading out of the Nellis AFB I thought miserably that he might actually be right. We couldn't raise the Fallen Angel as the Boomers had called the sunken weapon without the rebreather working and we needed it to defeat Banister's army of machines before they took over the energy sources that would enable a future of warfare that would rival the grand plans of the Calculator.

"Well where to?" Rodeo asked us. We stood in a circle passing the lack of ideas around. Just then a Mister Gutsy with a chef's hat on drifted past. For some reason all of our eyes followed the machine as it headed north out of Nellis.

"Where is that thing going?" Rodeo asked.

"The annual Steel Chef competition. Gonna slice n dice, make a secret ingredient all nice. Gonna be tasty and make meat pasta pasty. Yummy, good fun for the whole family." Spirit Dog spoke up. I wondered if the wild wasteland really offered such a crazed event and decided I had seen stranger things.

"Sounds like a good place to find what we seek." I pointed out. Later I regretted saying that instead of 'let's go to Goodsprings there is one there'.

"Grognog make food from slop." Grognog admitted.

"I am a pretty good cook also." Paxton volunteered.

It was settled. With two of our companions being skilled campfire cooks we had the makings of a Steel Chef team. Or so we thought. None of us realized that Steel Chef was a rather literal title for the annual get together up north.

We followed the Mister Gutsy to a secret location north of Nellis and found an underground entrance leading into a cool cave. The place seemed deserted and we all sighed partially out of relief and partially self-consciously for listening to Spirit Dog's crazed ramblings. But then we arrived at the actual entrance which had a small event sign out front confirming that we were indeed at the "Steel Chef 2282"

"Tickets Please." The Protectron standing among the two colorfully painted Sentry Bots asked politely.

"We are contestants." Rodeo spoke for us.

"Three to a team." The Protectron advised.

"Okay, Paxton, Grognog and I are on the team. How much for tickets?" Rodeo asked.

"Ticket vendor over there. Fifteen caps for humans, ten for meta humans. Robots get in free."

"What about me?" Asked Gringe. The machine ignored the talking white raven. Cobalt hushed his pet and paid his ten caps for a ticket. Driw covered everyone else out of her purse. Me and Spirit Dog got the discount although I wasn't really a meta human the ticket booth robot sensed I wasn't human so offered the discount on my ticket.

Meanwhile our 'team' had already gone inside. Soon we followed them and found some seats. Most of the audience were robots but many were ghouls and super mutants. There were also a number of trogs on the opposite side of the kitchen arena down below who were sealed in the rest of the cave behind the judges table.

Our team was the fourth team. Two other teams were made up entirely of robots while the third had the Mister Gutsy with the chef's hat assisting two Chinese Ghouls in full chef attire. The previous three teams were all set up and ready to start.

Rodeo, Grognog and Paxton were still putting on some cooking garb they had found laying around backstage. Grognog had covered his bare barbarian chest with a frilly pink apron, Rodeo had swapped out his cowboy hat for a chef's hat and an oven mitt covered his pip boy and Paxton had donned a dirty button down kitchen uniform including the checkered pants and a white beret.

Then the judges came out. A transvestite super mutant, a really mean looking ghoul and a trog wearing a powdered wig and lipstick and trousers.

The announcer was an old Robobrain and rolled out last.

"Our fine judges ladies and gentlemen! Ruby from Black Mountain, Tinky the Trog and Simon." The Announcer went off. The audience cheered, especially the trogs who went berserk in their section at the mention of Tinky. Tinky waved at the trog audience.

"And this year's contestants: Team Zero Zero One." The Announcer gestured to the first robot team. There was an applause. The machines in the audience beeped and whistled.

"Team Super Steel, defending their champion title twenty years in a row!" The Announcer made no indication of the second robot team but the audience response was deafening especially from the machines in the audience.

"And back for some more we have our guests Team Iron Chef with their lead chef who died tragically in last year's event replaced by Mister Gutsy Chef all the way from Nellis!" The Announcer named off the third team with the two Chinese Ghouls.

I wondered both at the death of their previous team leader and at Mister Gutsy Chef's moonlighting unbeknownst to the people of Nellis.

"And for the first time we have a team of humans over here in the guest section as a fourth team" The Announcer took notice of our team who were still trying to straiten out their own little exhibition kitchen which was on folding tables off the raised stage the other three permanent kitchens had been built on. A spotlight swung onto them giving them a little light. "Uh Team, Uh, Team, Uh, Um..." The Announcer was about to get stuck in a loop when Rodeo spoke up without the aid of microphone. His voice down there was indiscernable.

"Team Mojave, give a welcoming round of applause for Team Mojave!" The Announcer requested. There was an uninspired cheer from the audience and of course we all cheered for our own team.

"And now for the moment you have all been waiting for! This year's Mystery Ingredient: Mole Rat Meat!"

At the announcement several Mr. Handys emerged from backstage with covered trays which turned out to be heaped in molerat carcasses which still needed butchery. All of the molerats had been killed by decapitation and some blood left a trail of fresh ichor into each kitchen.

"Like always the rules are that all teams will have just one hour to complete as many dishes as they can with the supplied ingredients. They will be judged on originality, quality and of course the efficiency of their preparations!" The Announcer held up a pistol.

"Ready, set Go!" He fired the starting gun and rolled on his treads through the mole rat blood over to the judges table.

The two machine teams began slicing and dicing the split second the starting gun went off. They didn't skip a beat as they butchered the mole rat carcasses and began simmering sauces and preheating their ovens. Team Iron Chef moved a little slower but they had centuries of skill at work and were almost keeping up with their robotic rivals.

I cringed as I watched our team struggling just to get started. Paxton had the most skill but Grognog insisted on butchering the carcasses himself using his razor sharp sword Runding. Rodeo was almost at a loss to come up with recipes and direct the team. Ironically he had the least amount of cooking expertise of the three but they had all decided that with the best communicationand leadership skills he made the best team leader. It was a disaster down there. Paxton dropped a bunch of plates after Rodeo prepared them to have whatever kind of baked mole rat on them. She spent several minutes trying to get new ones ready before Rodeo told her to get back to the sauces she had been working on which were now burnt.

Looking over the progress of the other teams made me realize we didn't stand a chance. The time flew as the audience raged and roared at the bizarre spectacle. The smell of cooked molerat was making everyone hungry. Especially the resident trogs.

Soon the hour was over and the teams presented their dishes to the judges who sampled everything. The Announcer then read off the verdict:

"Team Super Steel has come in first place, once again! Team Zero Zero One has come in second place. A new catagory this year: Honorable mention goes to Team Mojave for completing one dish and participation."

We watched as the scraps and leftover ingredients were tossed to the trogs who had a feeding frenzy that helped everyone else lose their appetite.

"Until next year!" The Announcer dismissed the audience as the lights went out.

We met up with Team Moajave afterwards.

"Did you get a pressure cooker?" Boxy asked.

Rodeo glanced around then revealed that they had indeed stolen a pressure cooker from their kitchen. We left the cleanup crew and the cave back outside where it had grown dark outside. We headed back towards Nellis.

"I vote we keep this particular adventure to ourselves." Paxton spoke while we travelled in silence.

It was unanimous.

Drowned Bird

The bay was calm and reflective at dawn. The Lady In The Water lay out beyond the boat lauch. We had camped near some wrecked trains across from a boathouse filled with empty Cazadore nests. Like giant paper wasp nests.

The air was chill and I felt sluggish as my blood cooled. Driw threw a blanket over me as I sat in lethargy. Cold blood makes us desert creatures conserve our strength while mammals enjoy their fuel driven metabolisms. I coud hear a swarm of cazadore nearby but they sounded busy so I said nothing.

Driw and Rodeo had retreated into their tent to snooze off the morning mists rising from Lake Mead.

Cobalt sat with his silver lance leaning across his shoulders skyward mending his headdress. He was singing a tribal eulogy softly. The waters reminded him of home. His white raven was flying high keeping a look out. Possibly gauging the threat from the cazadore swarm not so far away.

We had not met the Model Airplane enthusiasts from Vault Thirty Four that Loyal had said would be here but evidence of their presious presence was obvious. A robot from Nellis sat idle in our camp in a permanent shut down state. Tents had been left and a camp fire. The harpoon cannon on the launch sat under a tarp.

Grognog sat atop the trains watching the two girls bathing in the chill.

I wondered absently about the barbarian's thoughts. He seemed fascinated by Boxy and Paxton's nudity and their palyful splashing and shrieks from the cold waters they disturbed the mirror surface of. He had a gleam, I noticed, of thoughts of long ago and far away. It seemed to be a common theme among some of us that morning.

Not Paxton and Boxy. Their girlish excitement broke the calm of the chill Mojave morning. Out there beyond lay our goal. Drowned some two hundred years. Was the submerged war machine somehow haunted with memories of battle? Did it wish, in some strange way to rise for more? Or was it content to share the waters in a moment of innocent joy with the two young women who had forgotten for a moment the hardships that had led them to this shore?

Suddenly the echoes and seemingly distant noise of laughter and splashing was joined by the rustle of an intruder. Spirit Dog met him.

"Beg your pardon but my name is Malcom Holmes and I and here to trade. Sorry to suprise you all."

"No suprise. I knew you were all swimmy jigs and late loon to try and call an arrow into a star. Don't mean diddly dog though. If we send it in there aint no prize for any number." Spirit Dog responded. The crazed ghoul had whipped out a shank and made it dance through his bony finger hypnotically.

"Uh yeah you got me. I just wanted to say I have been following you for some time. Gotta be careful though for that other fellow who is on your trail. He is scary. But I have been following you ever since you picked up those blue star caps back at the Bitter Springs Rest Stop a ways back. You don't know what they are good for do you?" Malcom Holmes replied.

"Oh you mean the shadow guy. No he just wanna slit throats in sleep. Aint understand you cannot run I understand you been runnin from the man they called the sandman. He rides the winds too quiet for a sleeper to wool his hourglass of scythes. But you know how many licks it takes to get to the center do you?" Spirit Dog agreed or objected or both. Often it was impossible to really grasp his point.

"How many licks it takes to get to the center? What? I am talking about blue star sunset sasparilla. I just wanted to warm you of all the crazy folks out there trying to get them. But I guess I will just be going now." Malcom Holmes backed away slowly.

"Yep. See you later alligator." Spirit Dog made a strange and elaborate salute as Holmes ran off the way he had come and was soon out of sight.

"What was that all about?" Rodeo asked from his tent.

"Nothing." I summarized for him.

He climbed out of his tent to find the two girls returning in their skimpies dripping wet and shivering. They were intent on sharing the fire I was loving the warmth from. He watched them with a different kind of interest than Grognog, Cobalt or I had noted in them. Driw cleared her throat from the tent and Rodeo suddenly blushed and went back in to share her warmth instead of the morning campfire.

Paxton and Boxy were shivering and huddled together. I realized they felt approximately how I did at that moment. I felt closer to them even if I did not understand their female and female bond.

"Gonna get the feel for the Drowned Bird." Paxton recalled something her lover had said before all the skinny dipping had got their blood flowing and slowing.

"Got it." Boxy giggled but her teeth pvssyred cutting the inside joke short.

Lady In The Water

The discussion about the Bio Diesel made by the Boomers being distilled as fuel for their planes from Maize had worn thin. We each had a different take on whether it was possible, practical or even a new invention or not. Boredom had overcome the camp on the shore.

It was noon the following day when we finally heard the sound of tires on pavement approaching our camp. Rubber wheels had been fitted to their tread and their were half a dozen of them. Their decals and ornamentation bespoke Boomers.

"These must be the Model Airplane Club" Rodeo stood with his hands on his hips chewing a blade of grass.

I examined the six robobrains that composed the Model Airplane Club.

"Your late." Rodeo told them.

"Sorry. We had to prepare the trolley. A jig needed to be fit to it so that when we haul the Lady out of Lake Mead she doesn't sustain any damage. She has been down there for two centuries." The machine voice of the lead robo brain informed us. Two more of their membership arrived guiding the trolley platform for the salvage. A massive jig had been erected on it to lift the plane out of the water onto the trolley and hold it securely in place. I was impressed.

"Yeah sure. We are doing you boys a huge favor. Nice of you to let us know you were around." Rodeo spat. I could tell he was just kidding around but they thought he was being serious and apologized again.

At least now we knew why they couldn't retrieve the war machine themselves. They Lady In The Water had been beyond their reach all this time. Loyal had been carefully groomed for the task but had ended up wasting his years among the proper Boomers and let his dream die. Luckily Jack had taken the mantle and invented the Rebreather. With all the preparations and equipment and endless anticipation the day had finally come.

We sat down to lunch all except Boxy who claimed it was bad to eat before swimming. Grognog abstained as well since he was going out into the water with her as well. He jast wasn't going to dive. Cazadore eggs made into a 'Lake Mead Omelet' by Paxton. We had seen nor heard no further sign of the Cazadore swarm.

"Have you seen the Cazadore who used to infest this region?" I asked the robobrains.

"We exterminated them when they attacked and destroyed one of our members." The robobrain leader claimed.

"Hey thanks for that. And thanks for the camp here." Rodeo chimed in with a mouth full of insect protein.

"We didn't set up the camp here." The robobrain replied. We all exchanged looks at that point. If the Model Airplane Club had not set up this camp then who had?

"I don't like it. Someone was here, most likely for the plane. Who else knows about it?" Driw spoke mostly to Rodeo who seemed the most uneasy about the camp. Boxy was trying on a wet suit and the rebreather down by the shore. Grognog was just gonna tough the icy waters. Indeed frost was still in the shaded parts of the ground. Winter in the Mojave saw some very cold nights and it took all day to begin the thaw out. Sometimes this far north there was even snow flurry. We hadn't seen any yet but the darkening skies threatened us with such.

"We saw nobody camped here. The camp was already abandoned when we arrived." The robobrain said.

"Probably just prospectors. Unless the NCR has some kind of interest here." Rodeo glanced up at Paxton as he finished off the last of his share of brunch.

"Not that I know of." Paxton shook her head and got up to follow Boxy to the shore.

Cobalt was already waiting down there. I knew the water had made him dreamy about his battle with the Mirelurk Catfish. The creature the Lakeland Peoples knew as a god named Soapsud. Did he believe such a creature dwelled in Lake Mead beneath the shadow of Hoover Dam? Perhaps he prayed for it even now.

We all gathered on the launch as Boxy and Grognog waded in. She swam out to where the cold clear waters rested atop the Fallen Angel, The Lady In The Water. Then she dove. We waited in suspense. Seconds became minutes. The minutes ticked on and on. If it were not fo the rebreather she would have to surface.

Suddenly bubbles appeared near the rocky shelf far out where Grognog stood waist deep. Two terrible looking creatures that looked like the Creature From The Black Lagoon fromt he old holo tapes I used to watch in Vault Thirteen as a young Deathclaw emerged on either side of him. He was too far away for any of us to help. But Grognog was not helpless. He unsheathed Runding his razor sharp bumper sword and swung wide scoring a hit on one of them. Greenish blue ichor sprayed out. The unhit one lunged at him and he cleaved it across its torsoe driving it back as well. A third Lakelurk popped up behind him and emitted a blast of visible blue energy which struck Grognog in the head stunning him. All three closed in for the kill.

Grognog had dropped Runding and staggered helplessly for a moment before he drew two hatchets and swung them at the same time, one in each hand at the two injured Lakelurks as they pounced. He drove the blades into their soft skulls at identical angles and they both fell along either side of him with a splash. The third one tackled him and all we could see from the shore was a lot of splashing and then the waters went quiet and the ripples went far from the scene of battle. Then Grognog emerged victorious. He had scratches all over him but he was dragging Runding which was draqed in Lakelurk guts. He began wading back to shore holding his head as if it were still filled with the toxic sound the Lakelurk had blasted him with.

Soon Boxy followed him.

"Are you alright?" She asked catching up to him near the water's edge at the launch.

"Grognog fine. I drank of all their foul smelling blood and saved him." He spoke in his unusual fashion, himself third person and his sword in first.

Driw put a blanket around him and Paxton got to work cleaning and bandaging his wounds and wrapping his head in gauze. Boxy untagged the silly lockout tagout on the detonator. I wondered at the needless ritual and decided that like any ceremony it mattered as much as the practical gestures did to the humans.

Rodeo squeezed the trigger. For a moment nothing happened. Then she rose to the surface and bobbed there before floating calmly. The sun broke out of the clouds for a moment in a beam of sunshaft light directly upon the Fallen Angel, now risen again to the surface. There was a glimmer along her surface and I decided that the machine was indeed posessed of a certain spirit that had eagerly awaited this moment for a long time. As the Model Airplane Club readied the harpoon behind us to reel her in the snow finally began to fall.

"Its like Christmas." Paxton sighed.

McCarren

After becoming idolized allies of the Boomers we decided to go back and check on the situation with the NCR forces on our side of the Colorado. We travelled along the highway for a couple days until we reached Camp McCarren where Lieutenant Paxton claimed the Four Twentieth she had been dispatched from would be camped while Colonel Mabus awaited her report.

"I am nervous about this. We were successful but I have not had to deal with Colonel Mabus personally. I hear he can be really harsh, unlike General Wait And See." Paxton told Boxy on our way past the guards at the entrance.

"You will do fine. Just remember that we have good news. He has no reason to be mean to you." Boxy and Paxton kissed and then Paxton went on without us to give her report to Mabus.

I looked around and observed that this seemed to be the very heart of NCR strength in the region. The outer perimeter was reinforced with barbed wire, machine guns and sniper nests. Most of the airport was intact and planes sat decaying in the cool winds. A light snowfall had blanketed much of the camp in a white shroud making it look pure and holy. For a moment I wondered if helping the NCR when the time came might be the right thing to do. Soppose they really were the 'right' side?

But I could see Rodeo guaging their strength, taking note. Boxy and he had the most experience with the NCR of all of us now that Paxton had left our side. In the center was the massive parking lot structure which had been converted into the head office as an intact concrete structure it made an excellent keep.

With the Four Twentieth here on its way to an offensive against The Legion the camp was more at more than full occupancy. Hundreds of NCR troopers marched the parade grounds and practiced drills. Ten rows of twenty recruits each were near us doing push ups while drill sergeants barked at them making the camp dogs smile as they watched the efforts of their human conrades.

I again looked over at the Concourse and noted a shiny black vertibird partially concealed behind an airport structure. I felt a growl rising in me that Cobalt mirrored with a grunt of displeasure. Gringe, agitated took flight squawking profanity.

"What is wrong?" Rodeo noted his two beastly companions were getting uneasy suddenly.

"Enclave." I snarled.

"We will kill the Enclave. They won't live to return." Cobalt swore.

"That isn't Enclave." Boxy objected. "It is NCR. They have a lot of captured Enclave technology."

"Calm down Yammon. You are drawing attention to us." Driw pled. I then noticed the NCR dogs were barking at us and several troopers had looked our way including snipers. I fought to control my urge for violence and was relieved my beast within wasn't really awake.

"Filthy evil bird. We should destroy it anyway." Cobalt sounded certain. I tended to agree with him

"What is the Enclave?" Rodeo asked.

"Evil men. They ride in the evil birds. They come and kill for no reason. My people were destroyed." Cobalt had not pulled out his weapon despite the anger burning inside him. The godling rarely showed such fury. Normally battle was a joyful experience for him but when it came the the Enclave he had not learned to release his loathing in a healthy way. Niether had I.

"They killed my people as well. And we have suffered defeat at their hands." I managed to say without slipping into beast blather. Another indication I wasn't losing control to the beast within.

We waited and soon Paxton returned to us accompanied by a Colonel and several of his officers.

"Colonel these are the friends I spoke of. Rodeo this is Colonel Hsu. He is in charge here." Paxton made an introduction.

Colonel Hsu shook Rodeo's hand. I noticed another NCR was on his way from the same direction wearing heavy armor and unaccompanied. This must be Colonel Mabus.

"I am Colonel Mabus and while my associate here might congradulate your efforts I question your loyalty." He stood apart from Colonel Hsu who was much more friendly and welcoming to Rodeo and his posse.

"Well we never claimed any loyalty to the NCR. We are here in an effort to stop the Legion, not put you in power." Rodeo spoke with bold honesty. I noticed that this did nothing to upset Hsu who was still eminating a positive aura toward us.

Mabus was even less happy though.

"Your no Thomas Moore, Courier McRode..." He sneered. Paxton looked slightly embarassed by her superior's attitude. She knew the value of our friendship with the NCR but could not make an apology or amends for Mabus.

"I never thought I was. In fact I no longer even work for the Mojave Express."

"So your basically just a bum. Wasteland dredge." Mabus seemed disgusted.

"Look I was only hanging posters and delivering mail as a paycheck. So I have a good work ethic, don't mistake that for a set of loyalties." Rodeo argued.

"You might stand for something or when it is time you will die for nothing." Mabus ended the conversation. He walked away after that.

Forlorn Hope

Rodeo's Posse went ahead of the Four Twentieth who were leaving somewhere in the next few days either for Forlorn Hope or The Dam. The details had been sketchy as only Colonel Mabus knew his exact iteniary. We spotted several NCR patrols on our way to Forlorn Hope to meet up with Lieutenant Paxton's new contact. Apparently he had news for us about Banister and The Platinum Chip. I wondered again why Paxton had been hand picked for these missions and sent out with us instead of NCR Rangers. My suspicions had nothing to do with her personal allegiances but rather the plans of her superiors. Were there other unassuming NCR agents being killed out there who hadn't found such suitable company?

We reached Forlorn Hope near dusk and the thin layer of snow that had melted during the afternoon was being replenished by a new snowfall that was melting as it rested on the warm sands. The temperature fluctuations in the Mojave this time of year could be unpredictable and extreme. Forlorn Hope rested in command over this side of the Colorado nestled atop a solid hill. The place was simple and composed of tents, shacks and scattered truck hulls. Its main wall controlled the only pass from the steep hills and cliffs leading to the Colorado below. Several dead Legion Explorers lay unburied outside, their fresh corpses growing cold.

"Halt. Who goes there?" A guard stood watching us descend and called out. I could feel more eyes and weapons trained on us from the battlements but the rest of the waiting NCR remained hidden behind cover.

"Lieutenant Paxton. I have brought allies with me under orders from Colonel Mabus." Paxton replied.

"Let me see those orders." A gruff sounding Sergeant stepped out from behind the wall along with several veteran troopers who were aiming their service rifles at us still. He held up the papers so that he could make out their writing against the light from a burn barrel. He handed them back to her with a sigh, his breath clearly visible in the gloomy night and light snowfall.

"Proceed." He waved us past.

"Thank you Sergeant." Paxton returned his salute. She led us into camp.

We passed by a medical clinic and on the right was a shack of some kind. Across from it was the Forlorn Hope Jail. That is where Lieutenant Paxton's contact was sopposed to reside. We went inside to find several bored guards suddenly stand in salute when Paxton entered.

"I have orders regarding Vespus Rex. I will need to see him and he will be leaving with me more-than-likely." Lieutenant Paxton instructed.

"I am gonna have to go get Major Polatli then. We can't hand over a Legion prisoner so easily, sir." One of the guards replied.

"Fine. Go get the Major. We won't be waiting until morning. This is kinda urgent." She replied to the guard. He eyed the rest of us nervously, especially noting the Super Mutant in the indian headdress and the chiseled barbarian with the massive bumper sword on his back. If only he knew what I was he might have panicked.

"What are we doing here, exactly? What does a Legionarie have to do with Banister?" Rodeo asked Paxton. Her eyes drifted over all of us and decided to tell us.

"Vespus Rex was suspected of being a Legion spy long before his arrest. But his arrest was deliberate. He allowed himself to be taken in here at Forlorn Hope in order to make arrangements for The NCR to help trap Banister outside his fortified New Vegas position. Banister has grown very strong but not strong enough. The Legion has something he needs for his army and the NCR has something the Legion needs to stop Banister from getting it. Vespus Rex was sopposed to steal the Platinum Chip but when he couldn't he returned with what he learned about MOSES." Paxton briefed us. It was all she had been told. Why Vespus Rex hadn't been left to Major Polatli seemed to be another piece of the puzzle.

Something big was going down and event the commanding officer of Forlorn Hope was not entitle to be trusted with it. As allies we were expendable. Our level of involvement didn't matter, we could be tied off if we became loose ends and nobody would look into it. Suddenly I felt uneasy learning more about what was going on. I could see that Rodeo and Boxy and even Driw had made similar conclusions.

Polatli arrived and greeted Paxton. He read her orders then folded them and kept them. "Alright, release Vespus Rex."

"Sir." The guard fumbled with the keys then went to unlock the door. Vespus Rex was a dark shape huddled in the tiny cell but when the doors opened he stood and walked slowly over to the entrance then stepped out.

"You sure you don't want a couple of Rangers to go with you?" Major Polatli asked the young woman entrusted to look after the prisoner.

"I will be fine." Paxton indicated the Super Mutant and armed warriors with her already. "Besides where we are going it might be best to keep our NCR profile low."

"Are you sure then?" Major Polatli asked again.

"Yes." Paxton determined as she looked over Vespus Rex. He had hardened Legion features and wore a tattered tunic. Paxton went to a trunk and removed his effects including a silenced pistol and machete. She gave him his effects minus the weapons and let him dress."You may have these once we leave camp."

"Ave." He spoke in an unusually sanguine tone. His eyes betrayed his malice, however. At least he was not as evil as the one who followed us or as untrustworthy as Spirit Dog whose capricious lunacy made him a liability. Spirit Dog was standing quietly behind us I noticed as I thought of him and glanced over to the ghoul tourist.

We were dismissed and escorted out of camp by Major Polatli who seemed relieved to have Vespus Rex out of his camp.

The chill night air and cold cliffs waited for us outside of camp.

"So we go now to meet up with your companions where?" Paxton asked him.

"Nelson, it is south of here. We can reach it by morning if we take the highway." Vespus Rex led the way. "I will explain further what you can do to help. You see Banister has made a position for himself that could destroy both the NCR and the Legion. When he is done with one he will annihilate the other. It is in our mutual interest to see that his plans do not come to fruition."

"Now I see why I would support this cause." Rodeo interrupted. "My mission is to stop Banister also."

"Excellent. Since it is just Lieutenant Paxton and myself working outside of regular channels of our own sides we can get things done much smoother." Vespus Rex spoke fluidly and with intelligence. A dangerous enemy. I was glad that he was more concerned with dealing with Banister than us. But it was also true that if he could find a way to turn Banister's forces on the NCR that he would. The trouble was that Banister's forces, once unleashed, could not be stopped.

"So what part of the MOSES do you control that Banister needs?" Paxton demaned to know the vital parts of the plan up front.

"There is an army of Securitrons buried beneath Fortification Hill. If Banister can power them up by routing power from the dam to their resting place and then connect them to control from the MOSES using his Platinum Chip then he will have that army to turn on both the Legion and the NCR." Vespus Rex made the situation clear now.

"So what can the NCR do to help?" Paxton wondered why Vespus Rex didn't simply continue his mission without feeling the need for help for the NCR.

"Banister needs to be lured out into the open. He needs to think that he can get to The Dam and Fortification Hill to complete his own mission to unleash his army. NCR controls The Dam and we control the entrance to the underground stronghold of the MOSES."

"Traitors...double agents. You're talking about double agents." Paxton realized after she considered what he was implying.

"Yes. My companions are actually Scorpio Guards of the Freelancers who are loyal to Banister. They are waiting in Nelson and nearby to make contact. One is wearing an NCR uniform and has forged transfer papers stolen from the Embassy while the other I took care of getting into the Legion. We need to get them out of Nelson and to their respective destinations. There is one slight problem though."

"How is that?" Paxton seemed fascinated with the Legion agent's plans.

"The one going to my side of the water has the Platinum Chip. If it opens the door for the robots they will still be under the control of the MOSES back in New Vegas. Which isn't a problem as long as the power never gets routed to them. With the door open and the robots powered down The Legion will execute the machines in their sleep. Caesar has no interest in a machine army. It will be up to you to make sure the switch doesn't get thrown before that happens. Banister will be looking to be at the head of his army while his lackey in the MOSES relays his commands back home."

"So I need to kill the agent going with me?" Paxton inquired.

"No. If everything is going as planned you need to make sure he gets in and out of The Dam's control room in one piece so that he can go report back to Banister who will be standing by. This is NCR's chance to kill him off and crush the machines already under control of the MOSES." Vespus Rex instructed Paxton. I saw right through this plan but held my tongue. Vespus Rex had planned all of this with no knowledge of our own plans for the battle.

Vespus Rex was now showing a little forthought. With the battle raging on The Dam, Paxton's actions would result in the NCR being attacked on both sides. If the Legion pressed hard enough the NCR would be forced to fight their way through Banister's combined machine and Freelancer army waiting for reinforcements so that they could move in to finish off the NCR and Legion.

He didn't take into account that The Bear, The Bull and The Scorpion would be getting visited by Rodeo's Eagle. I cringed at the thought. It was going to be very messy when it came to pass.

Ahead two camps sat suprisingly close judging by their campfires. Nelson had been an NCR outpost now held by Legion. But NCR stood by trying to win it back. It was nearly dawn and freezing. My body complained of the cold and I felt sluggish. It had taken hours for me to process the conversation between Paxton and Vespus Rex on the way here. At least the snow had stopped and had left a blanket of frost. Not good weather for a Deathclaw. Driw had flung an extra blanket over my back as we marched which had helped maintain my core temperature. I had endured worse, after all. But the cold was always a threat to a cold blooded creature.

"We are here. I will see you again someday, perhaps." Vespus Rex stared at Paxton for a long moment then he left us to head into Nelson. We made our way toward the NCR camped on the opposite side of the battle field.

Been enjoying this story - got up to "Saying a Prayer for" so far - will read the rest very soon, when time permits.

Yammon and Driw were very interesting and developed characters. Rodeo a little less so - thus far I felt like I didn't get to see his personality or inner motivations - he seemed a little one-track-minded on whatever task was at hand. His romance with Driw also seemed a tad rushed - just a quibble - you could have built up a little more sixual tension. Still very well done though, and as I mentioned, I'm not yet finished, so mabye I've prejudged.

Your use of language and the relationchip between Yammon and Driw were very intriguing and kept me engaged. Very well done.

Driw being a witch actually reminded me of the "Daughters of Hecate," which I was dismayed to see were not featured in New Vegas (yet the Vipers were - what gives?). Perhaps there is a tie in to them with the "Sky Queen"? I can't tell - I haven't yet read your other stories - and your knowledge of pre-F03 cannon far, far exceeds my own.

I look forward to reading the rest of this.

Thank you very much.
Rodeo and Driw are in many ways total opposites including depth. I agree with your critique but felt that their romance was in-character, downplayed partly by the narrator's lack of observation. Fear not their Love will be put to the test. Typically I like to make relationships far more complicated.
The Daughters Of Hecate will make a reappearance in this story. Driw's association with them is classified. The Sky Queen was part of my old vision of New Vegas.

Nelson

We were camped at the NCR trenches outside of Nelson. The snowfall had ceased, possibly for the season and within an hour there was little trace of it except a kind of eerie white shimmer on the sands as the clouds cleared and the full moon emerged. I could hear radroaches chirping in some nearby mines that reminded me of more peaceful times. My human companions couldn't hear them though and probably wouldn't associate the sound with saturday mornings with dozens of siblings crowding the Vault Thirteen messhall while Gruther, our father, prepared breakfast by smashing the emerging radroaches one by one to the sound of his cheering brood of baby Deathclaws.

I looked up by the shiny Mojave moon to see the silhoettes of the crosses on the hill. Caesar's warriors, the legionaries of Nelson stood ambling around up there. The moan of one of the dying NCR troopers who had been crucified could be easily heard by all.

Short handed the NCR who were holding the road against further Legion advances gladly accepted the help of Lieutenant Paxton and her NCR allies. It was strange thinking of Rodeo's Posse as allies of NCR. We had no more interest in helping them than we did in helping the Legion. But when it came down to it the Legion had become our enemies, not the NCR.

I watched Rodeo and Driw as they leaned on the sand bags between two boulders overlooking the road. They were talking quietly to each other. Again I considered that their profound love had been won too easily. Driw was actually saying something to that effect.

"We do not have long. I just want you to know that I truely love you. And only you. I have never loved before." Driw said with seriousness.

"Will one of us die?" He asked.

"It is our fate. I don't know who. Only that our bond will be severed by the hand of death. And that the future will spell out our time together."

"The cards say this?" Rodeo whispered. Driw nodded. They were silent for awhile while Rodeo watched the Legion through the low light scope on the service rifle the NCR had given him when he offered to help them hold their position. Driw had a trail carbine she was aiming also. Her skills with firearms were pitiful but she liked being beside her man. "Damn the cards..." Rodeo muttered.

Boxy and Paxton were discussing attacking the town with the leader of these NCR, a Ranger named Able. Ranger Able was reluctant unless Paxton were to assume command. All their officers had been killed by the Legionaries except one Sergeant who had been captured, beaten, tortured and hung on a cross. He may or may not be dead.

"I want to attempt a rescue. They would do the same if it were one of us up there." Paxton spoke up against Ranger Able.

"It won't do any good. We are better off shooting the captives." A voice of a shadowy figure watching all of us spoke from the dark. I glanced over, having not noticed the stealthy human.

"Who are you? I am assuming command here. Identify yourself." Lieutenant Paxton demanded. Boxy had her Winchester bullpup combat shotgun with desert warfare environmental sealant aimed at the intruder. For a second I thought it was Lemure but then the man revealed himself.

"Name is Boone. Was out here helping a friend of mine but when he went into Nelson he told me to wait for him here. Hasn't come back since. I am with the First Recon Sniper Brigade. At your service." Boone introduced himself

"Well are you gonna help or just give advice like that?" Paxton asked. She knew Boone was an ex NCR despite his claim that he was with the First Recon Sniper Battalion. I sensed a hint of madness on the man. Paxton only saw another potential ally.

"It is what I would do. But this is your show, Lieutenant. I can offer some fire support." Boone promised.

"I think we can take them. We will start from here and when they attack we will counter strike. Just don't shoot any of our own men." Paxton ordered. She went over to Rodeo.

"I want to attack Nelson." She told him flatly.

"What about what we came here for?" Rodeo objected. Paxton glanced over at 'Ranger' Able. She was certain he was the mole. Everyone else was traumatized. Ranger Able was a little too convenient.

"I will give orders on positioning. I think we have the strength to defeat them. We start in with rifles and when they get close we unleash Yammon and Cobalt on them. Their warriors will be no match for ours." Paxton devised.

"It seems like an unneccesary risk." Rodeo was reluctant for battle for once.

"Give us a moment." Driw told Paxton. Paxton walked over to where her own skirmishers lounged. The three of us were lounging while Boxy was giving us all a sight by teasing Gringe. The white raven played along pretending it couldn't snatch the meat from her fingertips faster than she could pull it away.

"Who is a good bird?" Boxy asked.

"Gringe good. Good bird Gringe." Gringe talked stupid parrot talk trying to be amusing.

"You guys ready for a fight?" Paxton interrupted.

"Always. We gonna kill the bad humans?" Cobalt stood up.

"Grognog ready to cleave their flesh with my mighty edge." Grognog spoke in his unusual manner.

"If we must." I sighed reluctantly. I envisioned myself dashing away howling after the battle, naked and soaked in blood. The beast within had slept long. Nelson certainly wasn't where I would find my cure.

"Alright fine." Rodeo kissed Driw again for luck and agreed that he and his Posse would help. Paxton and Boxy exchanged a glance.

Dead Sea

"Listen up, troopers." Paxton spoke up fot the half a dozen or so NCR gathered. "We are going to resume this battle and reclaim Nelson tonight. We are going to try to rescue your comrades. These are your orders. Get your weapons ready." Paxton positioned her troops after that with Boone and Ranger Able and the rest lined up along the ridge above Nelson. Below her and Boxy and Spirit Dog waited in front with her skirmishers behind.

Boone popped off a shot and so did Rodeo. They kept shooting until the Legion started flooding out into the hills. The other troopers began firing as the Legion neared. Then they were heading toward us. The NCR and Posse were emptying their weapons dropping Legionaries. The warriors of the Legion were not phased. They charged to their deaths, outnumbering us. We simply didn't have enough bullets to kill them.

Boxy was firing her automatic shotgun. A leg flew off, a Legionarie's head shattered. Another staggered back and collapsed. Spirit Dog and Paxton had service rifles. The crazed ghoul was actually a pretty decent shot. Boxy and Paxton backed away but Spirit Dog didn't have the inclination.

"Retreat!" Paxton ordered him.

The Decanus who had run from the back of his warriors to the front reached Spirit Dog and neatly decapitated him.

I threw off my robes, Grognog roared a battle cry and charged the smaller Legionaries swinging Runding and Cobalt charged with Sicarius the super spear lowered. The Decanus had an axe in each hand and after Runding and Sicarius had each tasted Legion blood the Decanus blocked both weapons at once. With might he swung his weapons at once and drove back the two giant warriors.

"I am Dead Sea. You die by my hands tonight cowardly Dissolutes!" Decanus Dead Sea swore.

The Nelson Centurion charged forward, unwilling to be outdone by a minor leader in battle, his Triarii followed close on his heels. We were battling knee deep in Legionaries. Bullets were still tearing into the warriors but we were being quickly overrun. Warriors were storming up the hills to our troopers. Ranger Able and Boone were higher up having larger rifles and more capable marksmanship and kept shooting. The young inexperienced troopers panicked and tried to retreat. They were quickly annihilated.

The blood of the NCR troopers ran down the hill.

"No!" Paxton shrieked. She tried to run up the hill to help her men but Boxy pulled her back into the trench where they had hid.

I gutted another Legionarie and bit the hand off another who had his machete raised to strike Grognog who was now battling the ferocious Decanus single handedly. I felt another blade bite into my hide but couldn't retaliate. Where was Cobalt? I was shocked to see the powerful super mutant laying face down. Gringe flapped his wings helplessly above his friend. They weren't finished. Several Legionaries were raising pilums to turn him into a pincushion.

"Cobalt!" The contorted voice of the beast within roared. Suprisingly my Deathclaw bellows didn't even make the Legion warriors flinch. I batted them aside left and right trying to fight my way to Cobalt.

On the hill behind me Driw and Rodeo were shooting off the last of their bullets trying to help clear my path. As their weapons ran dry and the guns of a retreating Boon and Able went silent as well I found myself battling alone. The Centurion appeared in front of me. He was about to say something about his valiant upcoming dual with his enemy but I gored him on my talons lifting him the air off of his feet. With some effort I pulled my arms in opposite directions and the meat and bones of his body was devided between them. I tossed the remains into the warriors who were closing in on both sides like parted tides.

Cobalt was climbing back to his feet. Boxy and Paxton had shot the remaining warriors near him and then retreated into hiding. My short fight with the Centurion had drawn much attention. Cobalt limped to his super spear and lifted it ready to fight to the death. He put his back to a rock.

I tore apart more warriors as they charged at me from every direction. I saw in a glimpse that Grognog had slain Dead Sea and was now surrounded as I was. He cut down three in one powerful swing of Runding. But the rest were closing in on him for the kill.

Despite killing their leaders and carpeting the road in their dead bodies. But it was simple. We were outnumbered and we were all going to die.

The Devide

Our eminent defeat was like a raging dancefloor of death. I wondered inwardly at the futility of all of our efforts. One mistake had cost us our lives. Our quest to stop Banister was at an end. The beast within was fighting in full fury.

Then the music stopped.

Grognog had fought his way to Cobalt's side and with their backs to the cliff running with blood from the hill above they fought on. I had cleared a swathe of death around me. The pause in battle had come from a choke in the flow of enemies streaming at us from Nelson. We all stared.

What fought on appeared to be part beast and part man. Its hands were the claws of a Deathclaw and its head was a hideous faced mask and dark crazy plumage. It tore apart the remaining warriors. The Legion, without orders to retreat fought almost to the last. When only a dozen or so remained they finally decided to take their chances with Caesar's wrath and ran away.

"What beast? What beast is this?" I snarled. My beast within thirsted for more blood, but exhaustion helped as I tried to tether it back up inside me.

"You don't remember me? I am Lemure." Lemure turned up his mask to reveal a man in the atrocious costume.

"Glad to see you...even if you are more wicked then these." Cobalt chuckled.

I tried to focus. I looked around at the carnage. there had to be nearly fifty dead Legionaries. Well many were not dead. Their wounded crawled to escape. Lemure wasn't finished. Soon there were fifty dead.

"No mercy, no rest for the wicked." Lemure hissed. His draconian slaying of their wounded helped me supress my beast. It reminded me of the darkness of mankind. Which helped me think my way out. Much of my scholarly studies included trying to grasp this subject.

Lemure had vanished as quickly as he had appeared.

"I need rest." Cobalt admitted. He used Sicarius as a walking support as he limped toward Nelson. He had extensive injuries, the worst of which was his leg. His remaining leg was also badly damaged. I was suprised he could walk. Then I noticed I too had numerous wounds. It was suprising I wasn't dead. Grognog wasn't much better. We reached the barracks of Nelson and plopped down on the steps of the porch.

Of all those who fought on our side who weren't sitting beside me only a mere half dozen remained. I was glad to see all of the women were left as well as Rodeo. Paxton's brief war on the Legion had ended in disaster. I decided not to criticize her when I saw her face.

She was traumatized. Tears ran down from a broken hollow gaze.

"It is my fault. Those boys are dead because of me-ee" She wept.

I concluded that my previous asessment of her, more fit to be a housewife then a Lieutenant on the NCR was definetely correct.

"We did win. What is she crying about?" Cobalt muttered.

"I am sated and Grognog knows not why she mourns our fallen heroes. I slew many enemy warriors and tasted the blood of the mighty Dead Sea. Grognog is proud of my shiny edge." Grognog said in his peculiar form of debriefing.

"Yes but he isn't dead." Rodeo walked up to us.

I noticed Boxy and Boone were dragging the mortally wounded Dead Sea over to us.

"Brilliant." I growled.

They dropped him before us.

"Why is one of the crucified a Legionarie?" Driw interrogated Dead Sea.

I couldn't think of any better questions and niether could Rodeo who shrugged and looked up at us.

"Cease...cease those vile lamentations...and I will tell you...cease those...it was a glorious battle." Dead Sea bargained with some of his last breaths.

"Grognog agrees, even though I failed to end you during it." Grognog leaned, faint with bloodloss upon his sword.

Driw nodded to Boxy who went and consoled Paxton who sat nearby wailing. Soon she had comforted her lover enough to silence her to heavy sobbing. This seemed to satisfy Dead Sea.

"We came here on Lanius's orders. To stop the Bene Volespia. An entire Centuriae he was so furious. Nelson was just a place to wait. Spartacus, the disgusting Profligate was brought to watch his friends...die..." Dead Sea started choking from the strain of telling us all he had to say and then he died.

"Spartacus huh?" Driw frowned.

"What?" Rodeo asked.

"That is the name of the Legionarie they crucified. A traitor." Driw looked up at him.

"What does that mean?" Rodeo still didn't understand.

Driw stood thoughtful then went to embrace him. She kissed him. "Nothing for now. The important thing is that we survived." She whispered softly, her lips inches from his. "Come on. This ghost town has lots of empty beds."

They disappeared into one of the barracks.

Ranger Able and Boone stood watch, they had finished looting the dead for ammo and guns. There wasn't much to find. Nearly the entire Legion force had been armed with spears and knives. Suddenly Boone fired a shot down into The Devide.

"Got one." He said.

"Think they will come up here?"

"No it appears as if they are avoiding this place. They aren't coming for battle. Odd they would send so few."

"They are fleeing downriver. Are you sure they are Legionaries?"

"I dunno. From here they sure look like Legion. But somehow different."

The two snipers patrolled the newly reclaimed Nelson.

I sighed and sloughed over like my two companions, completely exhausted.

Dawn was approaching

Hoover Dam

Recovery in Nipton saw some days go by while Cobalt and I healed up. Both of us had inhuman metabolisms and regenerated flesh at a much faster rate that soft humans did. Grognog had not been so badly injured and for once he was going out and foraging and hunting for food.

I had been given my robed back by Paxton who had sewn them up with patches making htem look far less ragged. She still had a thousand mile stare. The battle had broken her spirit. Non of the hostages were alive when we got to them and six NCR troopers had died during the fighting as well as Spirit Dog.

"Are you alright?" I asked her.

"It is my fault. I ordered the attack." She said to me.

"Paxton, there is something you should know. I have seen plenty of soldiers in my life. You were not meant to be a soldier. Whatever you are, a diplomat, or whatever, that is your calling. Leave the soldiering to others from now on." I told her. There, I had finally said it. I watched her reaction.

Nothing. She didn't react to the news. I guessed she already had come to the same conclusion. I went on:

"The Legion give rank to those who earn it in battle. It is not the same in NCR. Your were givne your rank for other purposes. Stick to those purposes."

"They had to die for me to learn this? What kind of person am I?" She sounded like she was about to cry again. I considered that she still felt enormously guilty.

"You are the kind of person who cares when those under her command perish. Many commanders are not so sympathetic. Would you rather be like Colonel Mabus? Or perhaps like Decanus Dead Sea?" I struggled for words with which to comfort the young woman who had suddenly found herself in a warzone.

"No. We went out and buried them. There were giant ants feeding on the dead Legionaries. They hadn't gotten to our boys yet." Paxton had controlled herself and not started crying again. I could tell she wanted to.

"The Legion killed them, not you. If you hadn't attacked them that Centuraie would have continued marauding. The NCR doesn't have the resources to deal with roving bands of Legion raiders. They would have undermined this area and possibly cost your side the war. You did the right thing. You paid a small price for victory."

"How did we win, Yammon? How? It seemed like a miracle." She sighed. My words had finally hit something inside her to make her remember bravery.

"The bullets killed plenty of them and we took care of the rest." I neglected to tell her that when the fighting had slowed there were still enough left to finish us of but that Lemure had killed most of them and driven the rest away.

"We couldn't have shot more than twenty of them to death. Not even twenty. That means you, Cobalt and Grognog were left fighing ten to one or more. Some of them actually fled according to Boone." Paxton was suspicious. She hadn't seen Lemure but something told her that she should have lost the battle.

"Lemure saved us." I confessed.

"Why?"

"I don't know. I guess he felt he owed us a debt. He has been following us this whole time where we couldn't see him or know he was there for sure. Then when he saw that we would all die he stepped in. Now he is gone I soppose."

"But he is evil. I don't understand."

"I don't either. A caprice of madness perhaps. Obsession. That fits his modus operandi much better."

"You sound like a Legionarie." Paxton smiled. It was the first time in a long time I had seen her smile. It was brief but it confirmed that somewhere under her troubled demeanor her inner child was hiding as the bombs fell all around. She couldn't see it but under my hood I grinned back. Probably better that she didn't see that.

After a moment Rodeo and Ranger Able came into the barracks. "Are we ready to head for Hoover Dam?" He asked.

"Yes. I think we can leave this place behind." Paxton said with meaning. Grognog and Cobalt climbed out of their bunks and we went outside.

Boxy, Driw and Boone had packed up some weapons and supplies from Nelson and had them stowed in duffle bags ready to march.

We headed north towards Hoover Dam. Late that afternoon we beheld the mighty structure built some three centuries ago and still standing. Now it had become the object of contest between possibly the two most powerful nations left in the world.

Its concrete surface hid the massive turbines inside which generated hydro electricity. Two monolithic towers still stood as bastions of strength. Several massive cannons had been erected staring out across the Devide with menacing purpose.

We all halted in awe.

Gringe squawked and broke the silence:

"LEGION GO HOME!" He advertised boldly. His raven's voice seemed to carry into the stillness of the Devide.

There were a few chuckles as we approached our destiny.

A/N Thank You for your contribution http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/user/3105-vagabondangel/

Fear Not Fear

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/05/Adams_Boulder_Dam_1942.jpg

The construction of The Dam had occured long ago in another time. The humans called that age the 'Great Depression'. I wondered what they would call the age we lived in where NCR and Legion were poised for a second battle over the monolithic structure. Millions of tons of concrete had altered the natural landscape of the Blcak Canyon and The Mighty Colorado that brought life to this region. The efforts to build it had cost maybe a hundred lives. Now the efforts to keep it, to say who it belonged to, had cost many more lives than that. If it had never been built would the last two armies of man have anything worth fighting over?

Boulder City and the U.S. Ninety Three both owed their use to the existence the what had once been called Boulder Dam, long before its name had been changed to Hoover Dam and impounded Lake Mead. Then in our age its name had changed again more appropriately to The Dam. Most everyone referred to it as The Dam, but its prewar designation had not been forgotten and was used sometimes for formal indications.

Aaron Kimball had been a NCR general before he became president. He had led the Three Eightieth and the Three Eighty Second as well as several battalions of NCR rangers into the Mojave and fought the original battle against the Caesar's Legion and won a costly victory. But word went home and his fame knew nothing of the losses accrued to achieve victory. His reputation was as the victor. He became elected president and began running the NCR in a shrewd and tyrannical way. Conquest of the eastern wastes effectively locked down the Mojave west of the Colorado.

On one side Caesar commanded and on the other Aaron Kimball. The first battle had been a mere skirmish. An entire war was brewing and the Legion raids had demonstrated his armies were vast. Dozens or possibly scores of Centuraie waited in preparation to seize The Dam. The NCR did not wait unprepared. The Third Regiment had been joined by elements of the Fourth led by the vicious Colonel Mabus, primarily the infamous Four Twentieth Battalion which had won numerous battles against both BOS, Enclave and Super Mutant remnant armies. Although these battles had been against unorganized and crippled enemy forces they had been swift and decisive. The Four Twentieth's Battalion slogan was "Destroy Without Mercy." coined by Mabus who had personally hand picked all of the officers of his special battalion. Colonel Mabus was not in the Mojave to keep the peace in New Vegas or even to protect The Dam. He had been brought to attack Caesar's Legion directly.

Mabus was of course a patriot first and Aaron Kimball knew he had control over commanders such as him through General Lee Oliver who held unquestioning loyalty over the Colonels. Others in the special devisions like the First Battalion, The Mechanized, The NCR or Desert Rangers were not so easily convinced. Aaron Kimball needed this war.

We watched as his Vertibird, the same we had seen getting maintenance on the McCarran Concourse began its dramatic descent onto The Dam. Today he showed the power of the NCR by boldy stepping onto the future battlefield to adress his troops personally. We had been invited by Grant to attend the speech as 'friends of the NCR' a title I both resented and felt we deserved at once. My akward sentiments toward the NCR only precluded what I thought awaited us in the near future if Rodeo's posse helped fight the battle of The Dam, if merely to insure Banister was defeated. Honestly I did not care if the NCR won or lost. Some of my human conpanions would rather the NCR win than Caesar's Legion. Later on my own feelings about the war changed. But at that moment I was still largely nuetral, nearly content being called a 'friend of the NCR'.

"Thank you, Colonel Moore. And thank you, my fellow Californians, who have come so far to answer the call to service put forth by the republic. It is for you that I have come here, and it is because of you that I am able to do so. We enjoy our privileges because you take the greatest of risks and are prepared to make the most noble of sacrifices. It is because of men and women like Private First Class Jeremy Watson that Nevada and the New California Republic remain free and secure.

Born in a tin shack on the outskirts of One Pine, Jeremy Watson never had it easy. His father worked as a caravan guard on the Short Loop, and his mother, like many Californians, braved the ruins of the Old World as a prospector. They suffered through water shortages, raider attacks, and the Brotherhood War. Like our mighty Sierra Nevadas, they endured. But the time came when they could no longer shoulder the burden alone. Twelve years ago, they called out for help, and the republic heard them.

Troopers and rangers, just like you, answered the clarion call. Men and women stepped forward to say, "I will carry the weight." And at Owen's Lake, we made true on our promise, driving out the raider tribes to establish a lasting peace in the eastern Sierra Nevadas. We carried the weight, and though we left behind many of our brothers and sisters on that battlefield, it did not break us.

Ten years ago, Chief Elise met with representatives of the Desert Rangers to discuss terms of what would become the Ranger Unification Treaty. The treaty was more than a resolution to welcome the Desert Rangers into the republic. It was a covenant to protect southern Nevada against Caesar's Legion and the tyranny of his regime.

There are some back home who ask me, "But who are we protecting? What is Nevada to us?" Sometimes we forget that the light of our society shines beyond our borders. Sometimes we take those privileges for granted that our forebears fought so hard to achieve. We must always remember that wherever Californians stand, we carry our principles with us: equal respect, representation, and protection under the laws of a just republic. This was the same fire that burned in the heart of the Old World that preceded us. We are the heirs of that civilization, torchbearers eastward of the Pacific, into the darkness of this wasted land.

When the republic called on the men and women of California to carry that fire across the Mojave, Jeremy Watson answered. You answered. Together, you carried the weight. And when PFC Watson's platoon came under attack at Forlorn Hope, he took the greatest risk, not only for his fellow Californians, but for California itself. He was prepared to make the most noble of sacrifices, to defend the principles of our republic, even here, on Nevada soil."

A sniper on a tower fired a shot which missed Aaron Kimball.
Several shots were fired back at the infiltrated tower from the First Battalion, who were present and easily picked off the would be assassin. The Freelancer fell screaming off the tower above The Dam with three bullets in him. He plummeted to his death far below.

Another assassin, this one holding a detonator, stood up in the audience and threw off his draqed NCR uniform with some bloodstains on it.

"For Caesar!" He shouted and hit the detonator repeatedly.

Two more NCR rangers and a Desert Ranger who were near the President had already found and disabled his explosives. He drew a gladius, probably to die swinging with a weapon in his hand but it was shot free and another bullet shattered the detonator and a third bullet went into his head. Two of the marksmens' bullets were a little slower and snapped into him as his corpse toppled into the audience.

His body was dragged away and tossed over the side of The Dam as well.

"Well with that aside." Aaron Kimball said charismatically. There was a relieved and unnervous chuckle from the audience. "Where was I? He was prepared to make sacrifices..." Aaron Kimball cleared his throat and continued in his impressively authoritative tone.

'Hail To The Chief' resumed.

"His actions are a beacon to all of us who stand here today in tribute to his valor. Private First Class Jeremy Watson, on behalf of the senate and people of the New California Republic, it is my honor to present you with the Star of Sierra Madre.

Not far from this spot, a monument stands as a tribute to the sacrifice made by those who came before us, the men and women who fulfilled the promise we made to the Desert Rangers. Its back is inscribed with the names of the troopers and rangers who carried the weight. And because they made the most noble of sacrifices, it did not break us.

Four years ago, we held this dam. Four years ago, we carried the weight. Four years ago, we drew a line through the Mojave as clear as the Colorado River, a line that Caesar cannot cross. Today, you stand here with our brothers and sisters to hold that line. Today, you honor all Californians by carrying that weight. Today, you are the waves of the Pacific, pushing ever eastward. You are the sequoias rising from the Sierra Nevadas, defiant and enduring. You are the great western light of California, torchbearers in the darkness, living reminders of all that is best in our republic.

Thank you. Thank you."

There was an enthusiastic applause as the President returned to his vertibird and flew away.

Operation Casius

"For Your Countries Sake Today, For Your Own Sake Tomorrow." Colonel Moore continued to address the new recruits who had been sent as reinforcements for The Dam. The Four Twentieth was the real force behind The Dam. Those boys were more like cannon fodder.

Rodeo, Driw, Cobalt and myself had met up with the old man who had asked for those helping Vespus Rex. We represented Paxton who could not get away and risk exposing the plan. Ranger Able had kept his radio on and recieved word from them. Those with the old man and himself had left me feeling rather trepiditious about their exact loyalties. Obviously they were not with the Legion. At least not anymore. Rodeo continued to question them.

"Oh I am not alone. You realize that these young men sought me out and not with knives in the darkness. Their purpose was clear to my rhuemy old glare." Calhoun objected. He gestured for Legionarie Hesrian to speak while he tried to supress a cough. Calhoun was dying. I could smell the blood and bile gurgling in his phlegm each time he coughed.

"Ave, the Pax Romana is not the ideal empire of loyalty and discipline Caesar thinks it is. These two are named Decanus Brutus and Frumentarii Fulgate. They are niether loyal to the Legion nor are they Legionaries any longer. As am I." Legionarie Hesrian introduced the two shadowy figures who stepped into the moonlight wearing a perverse combination of both Legion and NCR armor. "We call ourselves the Bene Volespia. Our founder is Vestal Lisbos but she is not here. There are more of us, there were more of us I mean. Legate Lanius found our little contubernia and killed the others. Not quickly...We fight on in the names of Spartacus, Shadrian and Fakus. My brother Jaculum who died as we made our landing. One bullet from a cowardly NCR. It doesn't matter the enemy of my enemy is my friend. The others died bravely though. Their deaths will be avenged."

"So you see? The Daughters Of Hecate have not forgotten their Sabian origins. Caesar underestimates the potential women have for revenge. All of these men were raised in the Legion, taught by priestesses and here they stand willing to die to prove the rites of Vestal Lisbos and others." Calhoun chuckled but his old voice held a waver of madness. I recognized it for madness often gripped me as well.

"What about the Enclave artifact from Tibbets. Would you destroy it as well?" Cobalt spoke up.

"The autodoc? It is not inherently evil. We have no interest in it you see. It isn't evil just because it was Enclave. They are gone, it remains. It is not evil for that." Legionarie tried again to convince Cobalt that not all things Enclave were universally evil.

"I would destroy it. They used it for evil purposes just as Caesar does. Just as the next owner will." Cobalt volunteered.

"Then come with us. You may do with it as you please if you help us on our mission."

"Then I shall. I will go with them." Cobalt said. He bid us farewell and we had agreed we would tell Paxton of Vespus Rex's treachery before it was too late. Whether she chose to do the right thing or not was her choice.

I watched Cobalt leave with Sicarius and Gringe and the Bene Volespia. I somehow knew I would never see him again. I hoped they were successful.

Double Betrayal

We found Paxton standing outside the entrance to The Dam visitor's center talking with Boxy and Boone.

"Where is Ranger Able?" Rodeo asked as we quickly approached. I feared the worst was about to occur.

"Well he was just here a moment ago." Paxton replied. She suddenly realized what was afoot without needing further advisemant. The look on her face shifted as the realization stole over her.

"We must move quickly!" She said, turning and running inside. The rest of us followed her down the spiral staircase below and through twisting corridors strait to the control room.

NCR scientists and guards were agitated by our rushed passing. Outside the control room two guards stood in heavy armor.

"You can't go in there." They told us.

"Who are you? I am Lieutenant Paxton. I am authorized to go in there. Besides I know that a Ranger has just passed you on his way in!' Paxton accused.

They looked at each other and nodded and lowered their weapons.

"Lookout!" Paxton shouted to us. We were behind her. Rodeo shoved Driw out of the line of fire before taking cover himself. Boxy and Paxton had nowhere to go and pulled their own weapons out. I threw off my robes. Grognog, sensing battle, drew Runding and charged.

The minigun started up and began spitting bullets. Several tore through Boone who stood beside Paxton. He got off one shot which hit the guard on the left in a crack on his worn power helmet and dropped him. His minigun kept firing as he fell raking the wall and ceiling lights as he fell. Bullets richocheted all over. Grognog was grazed but managed to stumble and wasn't killed in the crossfire.

Boxy and Paxton easily drove the remaining guard who hadn't gotten off more than a couple wild shots with his sniper rifle. I rounded the corner into the control room and swatted him into a wall. He fell over with the wind knocked out of him.

Boxy followed me into the room and kicked off his helmet and put her combat shotgun to his face.

"Stop!" Paxton ordered Ranger Able who was caught red handed routing power to Fortification Hill.

"This one is a Scorpio Guard too!" Boxy said identifying the surviving guard. "Bastard!" She growled and shot him.

"Boxy!" Paxton was apalled by the murder. Able ignored her, intent on throwing the switch. As the lights lit up she started shooting Able with her point thirty eight pistol. Boxy added several blasts from her automatic twelve guage and within a moment Able slid to the floor in a puddle of his own blood.

"For Vegas...Forever..." He sighed contently as he died. He considered himself a hero.

"Vespus Rex betrayed us...and Caesar..." Paxton uttered, amazed. A klaxon sounded and we could hear the sound of NCR troopers rushing to the control room.

Bear and Bull

Able's treachery didn't proceed Caesar's attack on Hoover Dam by more than mere hours. Legate Lanius already had the Legion warriors picked for this battle gathered into two Centuraie. A couple of well placed shots from Fortification Hill blasted the crude barricade to smithereens.

"Did you hear that?" General Oliver asked us. We had been detained for his questions for some time in his offices.

"Let us go, we can help fight them!" Rodeo demanded.

"Please no, this is not our fight..." Driw pled with him.

We could hear gunshots in the corridors. I did not want to be trapped below during the fighting in narrow corridors where I could not escape being caught in the NCR and Legion crossfire. I shuffled out past the guards. More were on their way in to protect the general. Grognog followed me out.

"I am going above. If I am drawn into battle I will turn my talons on the Legion. They are my enemies, NCR is not." I told Grognog.

"Grognog will let me taste the blood of Legion warriors. I thirst not for the red stains of NCR essence." Grognog spoke back as he followed me up. The Dam seemed to be shaking with the shelling from Fortification Hill. Suddenly the violence seemed to stop.

"What has happened?" Grognog asked. We had almost reached an exit. NCR troopers flooded past us hurrying to the defenses above.

"Most likely Fortification Hill has been counter attacked according to the backstabbing Vespus Rex's plans within plans."

"Grognog thinks such betrayel unfit even for Caesar's back." Grognog sounded disturbed to hear of the undermining.

"I could be wrong, it is just one possible explaination."

We were under the late noon Mojave sun. Many angry looking dark clouds were drifting overhead and for moments it became overcast and then light would pour down in heavenly shafts. Such beautiful weather only lit and darkened puddles of blood.

Legion warriors had climbed up the back of the Dam and taken over the two towers behind the Dam. They had suffered dreadful losses as NCR machinegun nests cut them to shreds. But they had not stopped to feel their wounds or take cover. They had overrun the NCR battlements one by one. I saw up on one of the towers Desert Rangers fought alongside the First Battalion against climbing warriors. Boone himself fell with a machete in his back. The other tower had part of the wooden battlements leaning on it and burning. Horrible screams came from the snipers up there who leapt burning from the Dam.

"And now battle joins us, talons and I?" Grognog weilded Runding. He found an nearby Legionarie staggering with a bleeding gunshot wound on his face and hacked him apart, answering his own question. I looked around. The NCR could certainly use our help, the ferocious Legion warriors had all but overcome the humble defenders. I threw off my robes and began fighting alongside Grognog into the thick of them beneath the burning tower.

Later I considered how my Beast Within had seduced me into fighting when my chance to flee escaped from me.

Eagle And Scorpion

There was a lull in the fighting as we reached the furthest checkpoint. Both Grognog and I had slain many Legionaries along to way and sustained plenty of superficial wounds on our hardened bodies. We paused and looked back, feral creature and berserk giant both catching their breath but the gleam of war still in our eyes.

It seemed at first glance that the Legion had eradicated the NCR forces and that we had mopped up the Legion in return. But plenty more Legion were spilling onto the causeway like an endless tide of vermin with gnawing upon the fabric of civilization on their minds. We were effectively trapped and would have to fight our way back. We both knew the score. After our last battle with the Legion we knew how many we could each face. These were many times that number and in more open space where they could keep us surrounded.

"For the Glory!" Grognog wasted no time rushing to his warrior's death. He waded into the shorter more clothed lesser barbarians hacking and cleaving and dismembering several of them with each mighty arc of the death-dealing blade Runding. I followed with a Deathclaw bark and roar keeping the tide of enemies from closing behind him.

Suddenly up ahead the Legion's attention was diverted away from us. The Machines led the way for the Freelancers under their scorpion banner. I could see that the Scorpio Guards and plenty of mongrels and Fiend machete-fodder were with them which meant that Banister himself was likely leading this attack. Why not? He knew he had secured the rest of his army at Fortification Hill. He was closing the pincer on his enemies.

Even as I fought on with my bestial mind in command I knew this battle had only just begun. Rodeo was a contender for a victory also. He sought to crush Banister and all the evils he stood for right here and now. Also the NCR had yet to unleash the Four Twentieth which was probably only a short march away and would be arriving the reinforce the Dam completely unaware of the Machine army eradicating the Legion forces and NCR wholesale.

There came a kind of terrible scream in the sky and for an instant all eyes were drawn up.

The Angelic Lady Eagle or whatever they had dubbed the warmachine was above and what appeared to be a heavy rain was falling from it. A string of gutteral profanity was grunted by yours truely as I realized there might not be much of a Dam to fight for in a few moments.

The bombs began to strike on mostly on either side where the bulk of the Scorpion Freelancers and the Legion armies were still funneling into battle. Bodies and their parts flew into the air along with fire, shrapnel and tons of dirt and bits of concrete from the Dam. Many of the bombs also carpeted the surface of the Dam in violent explosions.

I was thrown off my feet and landed face down. I heard a deep groan, rather felt it rumbling under me in the after silence of the world-ending thunder that echoed all around the Devide. I saw a great shadow over me and curiously I looked up by turning my head and peering out the corner of one eye. The checkpoint had been demolished and was topplin in every direction like a burning house of cards. Casually a section collapsed onto my tail and right leg pinning me under nearly a ton of debris.

I was trapped. In shock I stared around the previously vibrant dancefloor now littered with the dead and dying. Everywhere craters had damaged the Dam itself and most of the wooden structures and battlements had been demolished. The Machines seemed to have taken the most losses from the single pass of the Boomers.

This spelled a potential victory for the NCR I guessed. But for me and mine our troubles would not be dispelled so easily. We had yet to feel the Scorpion's sting or the Bull's terrible wrath...

Conclusion

Our quest for equilibrium and justice ended abruptly at that point. Many things happened while I lay there trapped and it felt like an eternity, as if those final moments happened far away, to someone else, in a dream perhaps. I had plenty of time to piece it all together later when the Beast rested and allowed my mind to try and recall how I ended up in these distant lands where men have learned to become more like animals, and animals more like men.

I wonder absently sometimes if I am still there and these events are still occuring.

Perhaps somewhere in my mind this is true.

Hans Horijion stood in front of the machines and Freelancers and Scorpio Guards and raging Fiend warriors who had allied with Banister's ragtag army. They were holding the west side of The Dam. The Boomers had retired the Lady, Angel and Eagle that was their war machine and their god all at once. Fuel or ammo had run low. The causeway was riddled with craters, burning debris and bodies everywhere. Few NCR still stood and one by one they were being rounded up by the Legion.

Rodeo and Driw were trapped over by the Freelancers. Hans had caught Driw and held a gun to her head. Rodeo dropped something. HIs weapon I guess, perhaps more hit the ground. He had surrendered. I felt I had never really got to know him. Then Hans shot him.

I thought I saw Boone nearby get killed by one of the machines. Had he really died more than once today? Twice? It was a trivial detail that lended itself to how surreal those final moments were. I won't bother to go into details about the overlapping memory of defeat against the Enclave. But much of my confusion was the flashacks to those days. Another battle where I had participated for the side I felt was good and another defeat.

Rodeo fell.

Driw had her ornate dagger and while the gun smoked toward her lover she attacked and killed Hans with it. I don't know if I saw her die or not.

The Legion was retreating.

I awoke in a crude cage being pulled by ox-like Brahmin and Bighorn mules. Bramules. One of the many wonders of the east. I guessed vaguely in my riddled consciousness that I was going to get to see more. I was now a captive of the Legion. Two more cages were being pulled with captured NCR. The Legion might have retreated against the Four Twentieth led by Colonel Mabus or perhaps they had been recalled to reinforce Caesar's own battle with the machines unleashed by the treacherous Vespus Rex on Fortification Hill. I was not sure why the Legion suddenly withdrew. Surely only Caesar himself could order his armies to withdraw from battle. It was quite out of character but I was sure a good explanation existed.

Grognog fought Lanius.

I remember once we were clear of the Dam there was a great thunder behind us as if the Dam had been destroyed once and for all with many NCR and Freelancers along with it. Then Grognog.

He and Lanius spoke. Lanius offered him a chance to join the Legion. Then there was a mighty dual where the Blade of the East kissed Runding many times. Grognog was tired and wore many small injuries and unhealed wounds from earlier battles and was eventually defeated by Lanius. Runding lay in two pieces. I could not tell if Grognog had been killed. I saw him slumped over his shattered weapon and Lanius raised his own sword. If he killed him I do not know.

I was taken east into the lands of the Pax Romana as a captive and as a beast...

THE END