Fallout New Vegas: A Tale Untold

Prologue

 My name is Desmond Harper. I was born to my parents Kyle and Catherine Harper. My father was killed by a group of Fiends a few years after I was born so I was only raised by my mother. She and I had a strained relationship, but she was all I had and I was all she had so it worked out pretty well. She gave me all that I needed when I was growing up and living in the Hub, that was pretty easy. It had gotten even easier around my 16th birthday, when I joined a gang with a few friends. It was me, Niner, Manny, and Julio. We were a pretty tough bunch, running the streets of the Hub, but Mom never really thought of it as a good idea. I learned how to sneak, fight, pick locks, but I really was never good at talking to people. If somebody gave me a problem I would either beat them senseless or break into their house and steal a lot of their belongings. It didn't really phase me that Mom wanted me to abandon this way of life and get a "legitimate" job. Well I guess she got her way after all. Manny, Julio,and I decided to join the New California Republic. Our own little slice of Pre-war democracy in an oppressive military and government. All they were good for was our protection and taking all of our money with insane taxes. After the three of us joined, we were all split up. In 2279, Manny was sent to Camp Golf in the Northern Mojave Desert with the 1st Recon Snipers, Julio was kept in the Hub as reserves, and I was sent to the front lines in eastern Nevada. Just a normal old grunt sitting on the New Vegas Strip at the NCR Embassy. As fun as it sounds to be on the Strip all day, nothing beats just kicking back and enjoying a few drinks in a casino. It's a shame that I was the one that got their drunk asses and threw them into a cell until they sobered up. My own little piece of heaven in this dry, hot, hellhole. I didn't last long on the strip though. I was shipped off to Camp McCarren in the middle of Fiend territory, which was great and all because I could sit on a wall and get some target practice, but I would also be sent out on scouting missions. These were pretty easy missions and occasionally fun. I had Lt. Gibbons and Pvt. Ackerman on my side, and they were pretty damn fun. Ackerman was always being a smart ass and Gibbons loved to play cards. Ackie would make jokes about how bad Gibby was at poker and blackjack and I always took his money. We were sitting at a small town named Nipton in our plain street clothes, hanging around the little hotel that they had when a few escaped convicts from the NCR Correctional Facility walked in and started harassing the nice young lady behind the counter. Our orders were to just sit there and wait for any suspicious activity by the mayor, but I didn't want to just sit there and let those criminals harass that girl. I walked over to the man at the counter and grabbed him, pushing him against the wall, pushing my combat knife against his neck. The two other convicts walked up behind me but Gibby drew his 9mm and told them to stay still. I let off of the man I had a hold of and they walked out the door. As they walked out, I saw a few unfriendly faces in the street. We all peeked out and there were Caesar's Legion. The wanna-be Romans that are equipped with crimson skirts and machetes. These guys are hardcore killing machines that will chop you up on the spot without giving you a second look . We all looked at each other and tried to slip out without being noticed. Tried. We were caught. I watched their leader Vulpes Inculta decapitate Gibby. I started to run with Ackey but his sneakers caught on a rock and he fell. It still haunts me that I should have stopped and helped him but my selfish mind thought different at the time. I ran away straight to the Mojave Outpost where they ended up sending me back to the Hub. When I got, I found out a few pieces of bad news. Niner has gone to the Mojave in search of his dead brother. What was worse was that I had found that Mom had died. She was so young. 47 is not the age for a woman to die. I was told that it was from the depression of me not being home. The coroner told me that she was murdered by cause of strangulation. After a few months of searching, I discovered that the man that killed her was Captain Riley Cornell. I found his office at Camp Liberty and shot him 5 times in the chest and one in the forehead. You have to make sure, you know. I also cut off the hands that he used to strangle Mom. I still have no idea of his motive but I don't care, all that matters is that he is dead. I was caught by a receptionist in the building but I don't kill innocent people. The Military Police arrested me and I was taken to court in front of President Kimball and General Oliver. I was found guilty of treason and murder, sentenced to life in a high security prison. Security wasn't high enough though. I walked right out the front door. Granted, I had a NCR uniform on but they didn't check for identification or any other sort of proof. You have to love the guards hopped up on Jet. Good stuff. I managed to make it back to the Mojave where nobody knew of my deeds. I made it through the Mojave Outpost with forged papers and no morale patches on my uniform. Idiots. Maybe the Legion will end up wiping us out in the next battle for the Hoover Dam because these guys are hopeless.