Fallout: New Vegas War Journal - Chapter Twenty Six

Not one, not two but THREE endings!






For all this build up about a final battle between the NCR and Legion Forces at Hoover Dam, the battle itself was surprisingly anti-climactic. Thankfully the NCR left me alone and just assumed that Boone and I were there to help defend the dam, along with the Securitron Mark II that was acting as my personal guard.




It was an easy matter for me to get into the bowels of the dam control center. But things got ugly in the middle of the battle and - despite the Legion soldiers swarming the building at the time - some of the NCR troops must have noticed my sneaking in to hack their computers to reroute some of the power to activate my back-up army. They must have moved towards me in the confusion, causing my new robot friends to shoot at them and... well, once we were on our way, Boone was ready to have words with me. Words I was amazed he hadn't spoken until now...




Me: That was totally a misunderstanding! I promise I won't do anything to harm any more NCR soldiers.




Thankfully, we didn't encounter any more NCR soldiers on the way east out of the dam control rooms. We did wind up up to our armpits in Legion soldiers but it was nothing I couldn't cope with using my handy new Plasma Rifle, recently liberated from the Brotherhood of Steel.




And the sound of a motor above us told me that my friends in the Boomers had come to join the fight. There was no doubt of that even before I saw the camp in the distance go into flames.




And so it was that we came to the camp of the Legate Lanius - commander of the armies of Caesar, in the wake of Caesar's death.




Me: Yes, I am new to Vegas, though I now call that city my home. And I would rule it, free of you and your kind.
Legate Lanius: I have seen little combat yet this day. Let us do battle then! Just you, me and my GUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARDS!
Me: - the hell?!

ONE ALL TOO BRIEF FIGHT LATER...




Centurion: That was amazing, Legate! Truly you are the finest of all warriors and your prowess is spoken of in our songs and legends... yet even with what I have seen you achieve before, never did I think you might cause a man to become impaled upon his own weapon... when the weapon was a chainsaw!
Legate Lanius: Bah! Childs play for once such as I, Centurion. Come! Let us seek more worthy foes among what few followers of the Great Western Bear remain...








And so it was that we came to the camp of the Legate Lanius - commander of the armies of Caesar, in the wake of Caesar's death.





Me: Yes, I am new to Vegas, though I now call that city my home. And I would rule it, free of you and your kind.
Legate Lanius: I have seen little combat yet this day. Let us do battle then! Just you, me and my GUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARDS!
Me: Seriously?  I come all this way looking for a fight and you're going to hide behind you men?  Let's settle this one on one.
Legate Lanius: Hmmm. Very well. I will not let it be said that Legate Lanius would not be gracious enough to show a brave man the courtesy of choosing his own method of execution. If you would die in am duel, I am honored to cross blades with you.
Me: Blades? Who said anything about blades?




Me: Any of the rest of you fruits want to try bringing a knife to a gun fight?
Legion Soldiers: AUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGH! *run screaming for the hills*
Me: Yeah. That's what I thought.
Woman's Voice: Nice shooting there, cowboy.




Me: Look, Boone! It's an avatar of Felicia Day!
Boone: Who?
Me: Felicia Day? The famous writer/actress/director/geek icon? Star of stage, screen, monitor and some of my more disturbing and personal dreams?
Felicia Day: I also have a part in this game, but you totally skipped over my character!
Me: Well, gee. I'm sorry Felicia. But I didn't stumble across where you were when I was playing through this the first time. But you're totally going to be the companion I travel with the next time I play through this.
Felicia Day: Oh, it's okay. I am kinda hard to find here. I've just been reading this little war journal of yours and... well, I think you're a very funny guy and I wanted to see what you thought of my bit.
Me: Well, thank you. And let me say that I love your work and think you're a very funny woman who has a wonderful sense of humor. Particularly about your status as an object of nerd lust for fanboys and fangirls everywhere.
Felicia Day: Thanks. You know, it's ironic? But I just play at being sweet and innocent. You know The Fairy from Legend of Neil is probably the closest to me of all the characters I've played?
Me: Really?
Felicia Day: Oh yeah. When I'm not at work... total nympho. Just can't get enough of it. Especially funny guys. I just love funny guys. Why, I'd do anything for a funny man.
Me: Are you saying what I think you're saying?
Felicia Day: Do you wanna date my avatar?
Me: Oh, fuck yes!
Felicia Day: Cool! Of course you'd have to download certain mods to make it happen here, but...
Me: Already done.
Felicia Day: Then take me, Matt! Take me right here!




And so it was that Matt became the ruler of New Vegas, a king by his own hand. With a robot army at his command and Felicia Day as his queen, his reign was a time of relative peace and unmatched prosperity. Still, many wars and feuds did Matt fight. Honor and fear were heaped upon his name.

And this story shall also be told...






And so it was that we came to the camp of the Legate Lanius - commander of the armies of Caesar, in the wake of Caesar's death.




Me: Yes, I am new to Vegas, though I now call that city my home. And I would rule it, free of you and your kind.
Legate Lanius: I have seen little combat yet this day. Let us do battle then! Just you, me and my GUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARDS! 
Me: Seriously?  I come all this way looking for a fight and you're going to hide behind you men?  Let's settle this one on one. 
Legate Lanius: Hmmm. Very well. I will not let it be said that Legate Lanius would not be gracious enough to show a brave man the courtesy of choosing his own method of execution. If you would die in am duel, I am honored to cross blades with you.
Me: Blades? Who said anything about blades?




Me: Any of the rest of you fruits want to try bringing a knife to a gun fight?
Legion Soldiers: AUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGH! *run screaming for the hills*
Me: Yeah. That's what I thought.

*sudden earth=shattering KA-BOOM as the gates of the camp are blown open*

Me: Who is that asshole in the uniform?
Boone: General Oliver - commander of the entire NCR army.
Me: Then why aren't you chewing me out for calling him an asshole?
Boone: Cause he built his name on throwing his mens' lives away and taking credit for others' work.
Me: Screwed you out of promotion, huh?
Boone: Oh yeah.
Me: Well, don't worry. We're both about to get some payback.




General Oliver: Speaking of - that crazy light show over the fort? What the fuck was that? Some kind of thumb of God you just called down? Amazing? Fucking, amazing.
Me: Well, thanks.
General Oliver: Could use a hundred like you. Just scatter you across the East like jacks. Give those plum fucks what for.
Me: Hold that thought, General. I had some friends I wanted to introduce you to.

*Securitron Mark II army moves up behind General Oliver and his men

Me: You're out, General. Out of service. Out of Vegas. Out of the Mojave. You're moving West. The Legion is moving East. I'm staying here in the middle to keep you kids separated. Anything happens to anybody in my turf, you're both going to become intimately familiar with the primary weapons functions of my friends. You dig?




General Oliver: Look, I know you think you're riding high right now, son. But you aren't just pissing on me. You're pissing on The Bear. You've been far enough west, I think you know how far that claw scratches. Fuck with The Bear and...
Me: I think my new friends and I can handle it.
General Oliver: Even with all these robots, you can't handle all of New Vegas and the Mojave by yourself.
Me: What makes you think these are the only forces I have, General?
General Oliver: I'm sorry?
Me: That light show you enjoyed so much? That was courtesy of The Boomers. They have a working airplane now, thanks to yours truly. A bomber to be exact. And they're just itching for new targets to test their brand new toy out on.
General Oliver: ... you're bluffing.
Me: Am I? They just bombed the fort because I suggested I might need some help fighting The Legion. Just imagine what I could do if I gave them a list of places out west of here that were full of heathen savages that needed burning?
General Oliver: Who said we'd let you live long enough to give them that list?
Me: Who said I didn't already give them a list?





Me: What the hell do you think I've been doing the past few months?! I've been doing a lot more than you lot have, hiding in your big bases, waiting for The Legion to come to you and hiring out all of your dirty work to me or people like me because we're the only ones who can go outside your own asinine structure and get shit done! You couldn't even be arsed to send a soldier to retake the prison that I liberated for you after Boone and I went in and killed every damn prisoner in the place. Yeah, I think we can start a new nation here. And I KNOW we can run it - AND Hoover Dam - a lot more efficiently than you ever did!
General Oliver: You really think so?
Me: I'll be the best ruler this place ever had by a dam site!
General Oliver: ... that was the most painful pun I've ever heard.
Me: You'll get much worse pun-ishment if you stick around here. Now get off my lawn!





Yes Man: Hey Boss! Great job!
Me: Well, thank you, Yes Man. I can't take all the credit though. Between you, Boone, The Boomers and all the other bots... it was a team effort.
Yes Man: Ah, so modest in the face of victory! I'm really sorry I have to bring this up now in your moment of triumph...
Me: What? Oh, of course! I forgot to go back and get that money from George, for that bet that I could survive The Boomers killing field.
Yes Man: That wasn't it, Big Man.
Me: Really? Then what was it?





Me: So... you're taking over Vegas now?
Yes Man: Well, basically, yes. But don't worry. I've already programed all the other Secutritrons with your plan. They'll clean things up while I'm off-line, no problem!
Me: So you're still following my plan?
Yes Man: Oh, it was a good plan, sir. But the code I found has caused me to see that having even one person being able to command me could eventually lead to a city state as corrupt as the ones you have been fighting against. But don't worry. I'm still want to be just as nice and helpful as before. But I'll only be taking suggestions from now on - not orders. If that's okay with you, chief? And if it isn't, tough shit! Sorry about that. I think the new assertive program is already working...
Me: So... that's it? So long?! Good luck?!
Yes Man: I don't remember saying anything about good luck, sir.


And so the Courier who had cheated death in the cemetery outside Goodsprings cheated death once again, and the Mojave wasteland was forever changed.

Supporting the ideals of independence, the Courier was recognized as the man/woman responsible for a truly free New Vegas. He ensured Mr. House's tyranny was broken and neither Caesar's Legion nor NCR would ever gain control over New Vegas.

The Courier, with the aid of Yes Man, drove both the Legion and the NCR from Hoover Dam, securing New Vegas' independence from both factions. With Mr. House out of the picture, part of the Securitron army was diverted to the Strip to keep order. Any chaos on the streets was ended, quickly. Chaos became uncertainty, then acceptance, with minimal loss of life. New Vegas assumed its position as an independent power in the Mojave.

After the Courier ensured New Vegas remain free, the Followers of the Apocalypse found that an independent Vegas was even more unstable and violent than before. Old Mormon Fort became excessively burdened by the influx of patients, struggling to provide even the most basic of services.

The Kings retained their control of Freeside, and while they continued to favor the needs of locals, they tolerated the citizens of the defeated NCR.

Though NCR was withdrawing from the region, Boone remained in New Vegas, finding work as a security guard and caravan scout along the highways. While he might've preferred rejoining his old unit, Boone couldn't bring himself to abandon the city where he'd met his wife.

After Hoover Dam, the leaderless Powder Gangers at the Correctional Facility vanished into the wastes, leaving the prison empty. The Correctional Facility became another abandoned ruin in the wasteland, its carcass occasionally picked over by enterprising prospectors.

Armed with a wide array of improvised explosives and stolen weapons, the Vault 19 Powder Gang tormented the Mojave Wasteland for years. Citizens of the NCR were favorite targets, and they always suffered the worst fates.

Though the Wasteland became anarchic after Hoover Dam, the Boomers' display of power dissuaded fortune seekers from attempting to penetrate Nellis.

Their leaders destroyed by the Courier, the Fiends scattered throughout the wasteland. Without the organization of Motor-Runner, Cook-Cook, Violet, and Driver Nephi, they were easy prey.

With New Vegas' independence formally declared, Goodsprings thrived. More travelers stopped by Goodsprings on their way to and from the Strip, and the locals grew prosperous from the traffic.

Though Novac was a low-priority target for the Legion, many of Novac's citizens died in its defense. In the weeks that followed, several Bright Followers returned to Novac to help restore its defenses, allowing it to remain independent of NCR.

Primm Slim proves to be an able-minded, if not able-bodied, sheriff for Primm. Due to his slow speed, some crooks get away without a scratch, but Primm continues to prosper under his watchful robotic eye.

And so The Courier's road came to an end... for now. In the new world of the Mojave Wasteland, the fighting continued, blood was spilled and many lived and died just as they had in the old world.

Because war... war never changes.

Fallout: New Vegas War Journal - Chapter Twenty Five

One gang left to talk to - The Boomers.

The good news is, unlike The Brotherhood, everyone knew where the Boomers lived.

The bad news is, just like The Brotherhood, The Boomers were a gang of xenophobic loonies with better weapons than everyone else and apart from a few Crimson Caravan people who had gone up the hill to spy out their home - an abandoned military base northeast of New Vegas - nobody had made any kind of contact with them.

The NCR Ambassador had already asked me to try and negotiate a peace treaty with them but I doubted they'd want me working that for them now. Word on the street had leaked out about how I was working closely with Mr. House and apparently that had soured the NCR on me.

I thought that was a bit unfair after all I had done for them. Whatever. Long as they stayed out of my way securing New Vegas, I was content to live and let live.

As I walked up the hill toward the base, I ran into an old man - a scavenger named George.





George warned me about the heavy artillery The Boomers used and offered to sell me information a safe route through the killing field. I paid the man and he told me a rough pattern to follow through the abandoned houses on the field that made little sense to me. He also said there was an abandoned train tunnel to the south that he thought would lead into their base but he didn't think anyone had ever come out of it alive.

I opted for stealth and guile - as I usually do and tried to keep hidden, skirting the rocks and cliffs along the east edge of the field. They did get a few shots close to me and Boone took a near direct hit that left him muttering about how it looked like he was finally going to get what was coming to him. I gave the drama queen a Stimpack and we kept on moving.

Once I got to the fence, the bombing stopped. I followed it to a gate where I was met by armed guards who took me and Boone to their leader - an older woman named Pearl.





Pearl: Thank you for agreeing to see me, despite the late hour.
Me: Thank you for not having me forcibly stripped and put in an explosive collar.
Pearl: Oh, my no! I'd never do that to you.
Me: Oh good.
Pearl: Now, if you were a buxom blonde woman...
Me: I don't know if I should be relieved or insulted.
Pearl: You should be flattered. You are the first Outsider we have allowed into our home.
Me: And no doubt you want something in return for the privilege of not being killed stone dead by you?
Pearl: Yes. For I have the gift of prophecy. And I have forseen that someday, an Outsider would come to us. An Outsider who would be the first to create a link, however small, with the Savage Lands beyond our gates. An Outsider who would aid us with a series of petty tasks we could easily accomplish by ourselves, proving that not all of the Heathens who are not a part of our tribe are not completely without merit.
Me: Okay. Now I'm definitely feeling insulted.
Pearl: Sorry, but I do have to play up the "Savage" angle for the young ones who have no idea that there are good, decent people out there.
Me: The prophecy is total bunk, isn't it?
Pearl: Yes, but the fact is that in a few generations, sooner or later, the inbreeding here is going to become a serious issue. I figure it's better to gamble on you being a decent person willing to do a few basic tasks for us now before someone more afraid of Outsiders than me takes over when I die.
Me: Because there's nothing to stop you from killing me if it turns out I'm not that good?
Pearl: There's that too. The prophecy does allow for False Outsiders who will try to end our peaceful existence.
Me: Your peaceful existence of blowing up anyone who comes visiting?
Pearl: Don't you have some tedious petty tasks to be completing?
Me: ... Yes ma'am.

And so began a long list of petty tasks...

I helped their Doctor treat some of the wounded, despite him barely being more qualified than me to tend the sick. I went into the basement of their power plant to kill some giant ants and then journeyed into the outside world to find parts to repair the solar panels of said power plant. I listened to their historian - a snot-nosed punk named Pete - tell me the history of their great tribe.

The short version is that they all came from a vault that had more weapons than common sense and ventured into the wilderness after they ran out of food but still had plenty of ammo and guns. They discovered the abandoned military base, moved in, learned how to use the weapons they found there and waited for the day that they would be able to find a plane and use it to crush the Savages in the Outside, who threatened their way of life.

Yes, I was feeling VERY insulted at this point. Thank you for asking.

I journeyed once more into the outside world, to seek out a redheaded Crimson Caravan employee who had won the heart of local mechanic Jack, and ask her if she would be willing to come live in seclusion for the rest of her life with a guy who thought she was hot and had no other basis for wanting to form a relationship. Amazingly, she was (pay for the Crimson Caravan stinks) and I was able to get her a set of clothes to change into so she would not be blown up by her new family.





I even helped one girl with finding her lost teddy bear and further endeared myself to the "Mini-Boomers" by suggesting new games for them to play and regaling them with tales of how awesome the Outside World was and some of the man adventures Boone and I had together.

Pearl: And so as it was said in The Prophecy...
Me: *muttered* ...which you just made up...
Pearl: ... The Outsider has come among us and proven not to be a dickweed! But lo, there is one more task you must complete to earn our trust.
Me: You want me to bring you a shrubbery?
Pearl: Could you?
Me: No. It's a barren desert wasteland out there! There are no shrubberies.
Pearl: Then you must complete a second task.
Me: ... which is.
Pearl: You must go out into the wild wastes! And seek out a lake! A lake which holds... a plane!
Me: Damn. I was hoping for a lady with a magic sword.
Pearl: And you shall take the ballast which we are to give unto you. And you shall attach it to the plane! And thus shall you raise it from the depths that we may take it. And repair it. And dominate the skies as is our destiny.
Me: Couldn't one of your people go do this?
Pearl: Probably, but they would not be as equipped to handle the dangers of the Savage Land as you.
Me: *sighs* Flattery will only get you so far lady.
Pearl: Was that far enough?
Me: ... yes.





Thankfully, the lake turned out to be just south of Bitter Springs. Boone didn't even blink as we approached the site of his greatest shame this time. I was starting to think that he would be okay and that his death wish was finally starting to go away. Until...





Me: Damnit, Boone! Those things have poison that can kill a strong man with one bite. We can snipe them from here, easily!
Boone: Don't care. This looks awesome!
Me: Damn me, but it does.





A short swim was all it took to attach the ballast to the plane. Luckily Jack had made me a rebreather unit because my ability to hold my breath SUCKED. From there it was a simple matter to locate a tow rope that would let us bring the plane inland for the Boomers to take the plane home.

Pearl: You have completed the tasks that I have set before you admirably. You have proven yourself to be The Outsider of the prophecy. Therefore, you now have the friendship of The Boomers and may call upon us at your leisure.
Me: Good, because there's this big war coming. And without your help, I may not be able to keep this place and the world outside free of the really bad outsiders. Those who would see you and your people enslaved to the whims of petty dictators and do-nothing soldiers.
Boone: You mean The Legion, right?
Me: Uh... yeah!


With the loyalty of the Boomers secured, I was ready to head back to Vegas to plot my plan of attack with Yes Man. Upon arrival, he informed me of current events and how the local morale of the NCR citizens and troops was so low that their President had elected to come out and do a personal appearance at Hoover Dam. The problem is that Mr. House had run the odds of the NCR President surviving a visit to any place that close to Legion territory and they weren't good.





Me: That's fair, but there's no way the NCR is going to let me within 100 yards of the place while The President is there now.
Yes Man: Oh well! That's their loss, not knowing what a good guy you are.
Me: Yeah, it's tough. So we're all set to go?
Yes Man: Well, I'm going to need a scootch more power to finish upgrading our forces here AND keep the city running during the battle. I made an override chip that can be implanted at the secondary power plant at El Dorado, near the dry lake...
Me: Yeah, I was there once before...

ONE QUICK TRIP THERE AND BACK AGAIN...

Me: Okay. I was in and out before the troops telling me not to touch the equipment if I knew what was good for me knew I was there. Good thing too, because I get the feeling the NCR is going to hate me as much as the Legion does soon. So now I go to Hoover Dam...and then what?

Fallout: New Vegas War Journal - Chapter Twenty Four

My "appointment" with Mr. House went much smoother than expected. Having seen first-hand how deadly the Securitron Robots could be, I wasn't taking any chances apart from leaving Boone behind in the lobby. I used the few EMP grenades I had left to handle the initial assault on Mr. House's monitor and his guards. Pulse mines set up in the room behind me cut off the back-up security team. Simple dynamite sticks thrown into the next room took care of the rest.





Mr. House did not take the news of his impending mandatory retirement well. I gave him the peace that had been denied him by the science that allowed him to live far beyond his years. I did feel somewhat guilty about this - Mr. House had always played fair by me, after all. But he had had centuries to try and clean up the wasteland and done little to try and improve the lot of the people outside of the three tribes running his casinos.

With Yes Man's help, I'd have a chance to make a truly free nation. The fact that I'd be leading this Brave New World would just be a side-benefit of knowing that I was building a better tomorrow for the hapless rubes who already depended on me to solve all their problems for them?

A bit harsh? Before, I would have thought so. But that was before I got Yes Man plugged into Mr. House's systems...





Yes Man: Wow! Hey, boss. You know how I thought the information on the chip was for an upgrade of the Securitrons?
Me: Yeah?
Yes Man: It looks like it's for much more than that. Seems that the Securitrons were only running with their secondary weapons systems on-line all this time Mr. House has been running things
Me: Wait... so the lasers and 9mm gatling guns are... back-up weapons?
Yes Man: Oh, you said that so simply and perfectly! In a nutshell, that's it!
Me: So what are the primary weapons?
Yes Man: Missiles and Grenade Launchers.
Me: ...
Yes Man: Oh, and the armor has also been upgraded.
Me: How does a software upgrade add armor onto the bots? For that matter, why have a secondary armor mode on a robot? It doesn't slow them down at all, does it?
Yes Man: Nope. We're still as spry as ever.
Me: So basically, through you, I now have command of an army of near invincible walking death machines.
Yes Man: Well... not quite. I'll be happy to unleash the rest of the robots to take out whoever you want, but we'll need more power than we have to do that. Which means we're going to have to reroute some power systems. Hoover Dam would be best.
Me: Well, great. I'll just go sneak into Hoover Dam...
Yes Man: Actually, I think you should go talk to some of the different gang leaders first. Get to know them better.
Me: But... The Legion! Moving in on Hoover Dam at any day now! NCR ineffective leaders!
Yes Man: Well, not that I'd second-guess you, but even with the army it's going to be a close thing and you don't want to go fighting a war on multiple fronts. So I need to know who to ignore and who to go after when the revolution starts.





I hated to admit it but Yes Man had a point. And when I got back out on the street, Boone told me that the word was the Legion was moving even further in toward The Dam. Seems Caesar's death really hadn't done much to slow down the war effort. So I went out to con-fab with the various gang leaders and decide who I wanted to ignore and who I wanted to smite.





I decided to leave The Velvet Glove Society and The Omertas alone, along with The Chairmen. With Benny gone, The Chairmen weren't any threat to me and the other two families running the casinos hadn't done anything to piss me off. The Omertas mainly kept to themselves and the Velvet Glove - while creepy with those masks - didn't cause any trouble either.

I decided to ignore The Great Khans as well. True, some of them did try to kill me, but I settled accounts with those men personally and I didn't see how a bunch of drug dealers out in the ass end of the desert could cause me much trouble now that their main customers - The Fiends - were out of the way.

That just left two groups - The Brotherhood of Steel and the even more elusive Boomers.

I had a lead on where The Brotherhood hid out - a scorpion-infested waste called Hidden Valley. I didn't have to poke around in the bunkers there long before I was approached by several angry men in fancy metal armor.

Given the choice between immediate surrender of all weapons, armor, clothing and gear or becoming a glowing green puddle on the floor, I opted for the much more humiliating option of getting tased. When I woke up, I was in an office with an older man, stripped naked with a metal collar around my neck.





Me: Okay. This had better not be like the last time I woke up in bondage with an old man staring at me.
Elder McNamara: I have need of you.
Me: Oh crap. This IS like the last time I woke up in bondage with an old man staring at me.
Elder McNamara: No, no, no. I have sex bots aplenty to see to my needs in that regard. What I have need of is an outsider to take care of a task for us.
Me: And you couldn't have just asked me nicely?
Elder McNamara: My apologies, but the explosive collar is necessary. You see, most people in the outside world hate and fear us.
Me: Possibly because you forcibly strip them down and knock them unconscious when you need a favor?
Elder McNamara: Sorry - I could have sworn I mentioned the EXPLOSIVE collar you are wearing now. The one I can detonate whenever it amuses me to do so?
Me: ... So about this favor?

SOMETIME LATER...

Boone: So they want you to go talk to an NCR Ranger who is set up near here?
Me: Yep.
Boone: And they couldn't just send one of their own people without the fancy metal armor?
Me: Apparently not.
Boone: What a bunch of idiots.
Me: I think they have a microphone on the collar, Boone.
Boone: So?
Me: So since they can make me explode whenever they think it would be funny, maybe it would be a good idea you not insult them just in case they are listening in?
Boone: ... you've gotten testy all of a sudden.
Me: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Good thing I had this old NCR uniform to change into.






Thankfully, it didn't take much to get the ranger to pull up stakes. Between Boone's reputation and my own, paired with a convincing line about how we'd scouted the area out earlier and figured that the Powder Gangers were likely to find his hiding spot, he was anxious to get out of the area.

Sadly, things took a turn for the worse. When we returned to the base, the Brotherhood opened fire on us immediately. After the fire-fight was over, Boone reminded me that the Brotherhood HATED the NCR and that our going back in uniform was probably not the best move.

Still, I found the key to the collar on the Elder's corpse and we killed most of the Brotherhood soldiers. So I was content to tell Yes Man to ignore them in the future. We'd done enough damage.

That just left one more gang - the most difficult ones to reach yet. The Boomers.

Fallout: New Vegas War Journal - Chapter Twenty Three

WARNING! This chapter is light on the humor but heavy on the awesome.



We camped out in the yard of Caesar's fortress overnight. After all we'd encountered before, cleaning out the one building we hadn't attacked yet was a piece of cake. Particularly as I'd given Boone an interesting weapon I'd found on the body of Ceasar himself - a gauntlet that unleashed a torrent of energy when the wearer punched someone.





I found a computer that was compatible with the Platinum Chip, as Yes Man had told me. Putting the chip in the computer opened up into a hallway, which led to a door to a familiar looking logo





Not surprisingly, Mr. House was waiting for me. He said that due to a glitch in the system, he could advise me from this distance but not directly interact with the systems. Naturally this meant he couldn't shut off the security, which pinged me and Boone as hostile invaders.





Luckily, the security room was close to the bunker entrance and my hacking skills were up to snuff. I was able to deactivate the protocols and easily made my way to the control room, where I used the information on the chip to upgrade Mr. House's robots as per Yes Man's instructions with Mr. House none the wiser.


We headed back to Novac to sell off some excess gear and weapons we'd taken from the Legion.





As we discussed our next move and how - while we'd dealt a major blow to The Legion - someone would move up the ranks to fill the power vacuum left in the wake of Caesar's death, Boone opened up to me about his past.

First, he confirmed what I had heard from a few NCR people on our journey - that he had been with a sniper unit at the Bitter Springs Massacre. Probably the greatest atrocity committed by the NCR in their history, The Bitter Springs Massacre occurred after an NCR group - following a tip regarding a hideout of the drug-dealing gang The Great Khans - wound up firing on a group leaving the box canyon where they had been told a drug lab was set up. Their orders were to shoot anyone trying to leave the canyon but the orders didn't account for the lab being in the middle of a refugee camp.





Boone and his men, unable to call for confirmation to cancel the order once they were aware of the women, children, elderly and wounded being led away from the camp due to a radio malfunction, followed their orders to the letter upon threat of imprisonment for insubordination, killing dozens of helpless civilians.

Needless to say, Boone was rather upset about the whole thing, confessing to still having nightmares of the event.





I asked him about the time he'd been to that Legion camp before and he explained that was where his wife had been taken. Faced with superior numbers, and watching from a distance as hordes of soldiers bid for the right to do things that no man had any right to do to anyone, Boone took the one shot he could and killed his own wife to save her from what would be a likely short and certainly painful life as a Legion slave.





It became clear that Boone was convinced that what happened to his wife - and how he was forced to kill her in order to save her from a fate worse than death - was karmatic punishment for what he had done at Bitter Springs. He freely admitted that he felt like he was living on marked time and how sooner or later he would die a violent death himself. I tried to convince him that what happened to his wife and him was just bad luck and how his wife would want him to try and find something else to brighten his life.






Since returning to the camp where she'd died seemed to make it easier for him to talk about his wife's death, I suggested that maybe going to Bitter Springs might help him deal with guilt over the battle there. Boone dismissed the thought at first, but as we made ready to leave the next morning, he said he thought the idea might have some merit.

Bitter Springs was quite a distance to the east of New Vegas. It took us the better part of a day to work our way there from Novac to New Vegas, then Eastward, not accounting for some fierce fighting on the road there. I saw many strange creatures, the like of which I had not seen before or since.





Among these were a baby Deathclaw, which we brought down just moments before a thought occurred to me.

Me: Mother animals don't usually let their young get too far away. You think Mama is close?
RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWR
Me: Never mind.





Luckily we survived the encounter with Mama and another of her young. I also encountered a strange variety of Gecko known as Fire Geckos. We also bagged one of the fearsome Cazador - a giant butterfly, who had involved a highly poisonous bite capable of downing a grown man with one blow.





We came to Bitter Springs just as the sun was beginning to rise. As we walked around the area, Boone told me in detail of how the whole campaign went south.









We camped down for the night in Coyote Tail. Boone wanted the night to think things over, though he confessed as to having some doubts as to returning here. Not surprisingly, it was he who woke me up sometime later, though I didn't get the chance to ask if he was having a sleepless night or if it was something else. It may well have been both...






Boone offered me a chance to leave. Said this was his fight, not mine and how my path was the one that led him here but that didn't mean I had to share his fate. I told him he wouldn't abandon me if I needed him and I wasn't about to do the same. Besides, I wanted to share in the fun too.





The battle went on into the night. Wave after wave of the soldiers made their way into the camp. The days of this place being protected by the Khans were long gone. There were no soldiers among their ranks - just scared people trying to live off the land in a place all but abandoned by the NCR. It was just the two of us against the Legion hordes... as usual. Boone and I picked their scouts off from a distance. We switched to gauntlet and Chainsaw of Justice when they set their dogs upon us. The final wave of soldiers came just as the dawn was breaking, the sun rising upon a field decorated with blood and the broken bodies of many a Legionnaire.











With Boone seeing things a little bit more clearly, we headed back to Vegas. I had an appointment with Mr. House that I didn't dare miss.