A New Eden

Vegas Protection Endeavour

     I waltzed through the open doors of The Tops casino, the moderate weather complimenting my dirty, brown sleeved duster, pillaged from the outfit of an NCR Veteran Ranger. The T-Shirt and Jeans under it complimented a very casual demeanor. I made my way over the dusty carpet and rickety floors to the blackjack tables. Some high-rollers had staged a little robbery earlier, just wanted to make sure they were okay. As I finished my rounds, I saw a Wastelander watching me from the second floor, I made my way out, watching as he followed me both in eye and in tail.

     Although I harbored no ill-will towards the poorer of the wasteland, usually they didn't set foot into Vegas Actual. As I walked along the road I kept a keen eye on him, and it appeared he did so with me. Finally, he reached into where a gun would be and I reacted, now by the Lucky 38's entrance, I bounded off the stairs of the 38, and upholstered a small .32 Revolver, I shot the emerging 10mm Pistol out of the hands of the Wastelander, and used the trick the old Ranger in Novac had shown me, taking one step back, I then threw my body down and swept right leg under his.

     His head bounced off the pavement as I regained my stability from the impromptu show off force. I knelt down to meet the would-be assassin. I saw him lift his head from the concrete, staring into my unwavering eyes. I saw the fear in his eyes boil over as I unsheathed a Trench Knife from my coat, putting the spikes of the hand-guard to his throat. I hesitated, however. He was young, very young. To put him down at such a young age would just be a waste of life.

     I held my aggressive tone hard and my knife harder as I asked a very simple question.

     "Who are you?"

     The assassin looked me straight in the eyes, and spit in my open mouth, a disgusting taste, no less. I pressed a little harder into his throat, and dug my knee into his sternum. He let out a soft rattle as I leaned my weight into his ribs. His hood finally fell from his forehead and exposed a young man, maybe 23, with a goatee staring back at me.

     "I... Know who... attacked you!" the man said. very quickly I released my weight from his chest and dropped my knife onto the ground. I grabbed him by his cheeks and continued.

     "WHO?" I yelled, drawing a crowd of gamblers and chem dealers from all around Vegas come to see the madman of the Lucky 38 beat up a child. I increased my pressure with the heat rising.

     "I don't know their names! I just know where I found them!" He yelled, "There-there's a big old atomic bomb that didn't go off! They were there!" His voice now a raspy climax of emotion. Clearly this man, this child, was no trained subservient of the two-headed bear. I let his head fall out of my grip as I picked my trench knife back up.

     "What bomb? All of them went off!" I said, nervous fury rising from the dark pits of my stomach.

     "Some of the cultists call it 'The One', it's a big atomic bomb that hasn't gone off yet. The-the people that attacked you were studying it, it's like a relic of the old world!" He said, his voice now quieting to match the dissipating crowd, obviously there would be no betting on this fight. I looked over at my castle, the 38 was a wonder, and I needed to use it. I grabbed him by the rough, dirty collar of his Brahmin skin garb and hoisted him over my shoulder, purposely letting my shoulder dig into his stomach. I hunted down the man that left me for dead, this group was no different.

     I kicked him into the corner of the elevator, letting Victor send us up to the bar and lounge of the 38. It was a sight to see, really, but now was not the time to be gawking at the 38. He backed out of the elevator, small droplets of blood from where I pressed my knife into his throat making a clear outline of his path.

     "I-ugh-I don't know their names! They have high-tech weapons, uh, crap. W-walte-watt-Wattz 2500 laser weaponry, not even used by the army, they made it themselves. They had big metal suits on, and metal gas masks! I don't know!" he said, rapping out details at the speed of light, each new detail coming just as I understood the last. I wrote down what he said. Power Armor, non-mainstream energy weapons. Not usual.

     "Probably not Brotherhood." I remarked. "Did you, by chance, see the color of their lasers? I said, just to make sure I knew that these were the people who attacked me. They didn't use Brotherhood tactics, but these might be separate incidents.

     "Yellow, I ain't never seen anything like it. Tore right through my armor." He said, the fear in his voice finally subsiding. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. 

     "Okay, then one question remains, waster. Why did you try to kill me?" I asked, I allowed the rasp of my voice come to a throttle as I placed by hand on my .32, my unwavering stare clearing the air around his head, with him being at the center of my vision.

     He slowly pulled down the top portion of his outfit, revealing a metal chassis on his spine, slowly, a high-pitch blinking was heard by my ears, prompting my evacuation behind the counter. He whispered two words before a bright green ball of plasma enveloped him and half the wall. I'm sorry.

     I shielded my eyes as pieces of bone and concrete flew from the epicenter of the slave collar. Before I knew it I was across the room. I stood up, wiping the dust and blood off my duster. I observed the damage. This was a wild ride, but I still needed to find these people. I looked around, to the crowd below the 38, and smiled. Vegas lived on.

     I turned around to the elevator, and saw a map, lying sprawled out on the floor. I ran to it, hoping there would be something of use scrawled in it. In hasty black handwriting, four locations were circled. The emergency service railyard, with the note; They're in the boarded-up building. The Smith Mesa Prospector Camp, with the note; Well fortified, lots of weapons. Vault 11; Vertibirds and water pumps? What's going on? And a small circle near The Devil's Throat; Bomb, what are they planning to do with it?

     It seems I have an adventure.

So this is what comes out of two days. Sigh, alright. It's a little longer than the others, but that's okay. I really really really really really hope you like it, I'm finally getting deep into the arc!