Fallout: New Vegas War Journal - Chapter Twelve

Boone and I went chasing after the NCR Ranger into the dry lake north of the HELIOS Base. The lake was full of giant ants who were easily killed off from a safe distance. Indeed, I feel much more confident of my ability to fight any type of giant insect now.

We eventually picked up the trail and found another NCR base hidden in the hills nearby. One of the smartass grunts asked if we were taking a tour of all the NCR facilities in the area. I decided to let him live - the NCR needs more smartasses. Actually, it just needs more smarts period.





Me: This desert air seems to be agreeing with you, Boone! I've never seen you looking so upbeat.
Boone: Meh.

We headed north, stumbling across a path in the hills. It turned out to lead into an old abandoned Vault-Tec Vault. We poked around for a while, killing giant rats and mantises as we went along. What we found painted an ugly picture as I hacked the computer records. Seems that there had been an election for Overseer and - based on the records of the campaign speeches I found - it was a job nobody wanted.





The offices of the security team and the Overseer were locked beyond my ability to hack or lockpick and the tunnels past that area were flooded. Seeing no profit in continuing on, Boone and I went back into the desert, cutting due east to reach Boulder City.





Turns out there wasn't much to Boulder City besides the local bar and a memorial to the NCR soldiers who died there during the Battle of Boulder City. A soldier on leave told me something of the history, which I already knew. The bartender was a bit more helpful, letting me unload some gear for cheap and letting it slip that nobody lived in Boulder anymore, save for the NCR troops. I asked where the troops were and he said something about some kind of situation in the ruins to the east.

Turned out that a couple of members of the Great Khans - the gang that had a hand in trying to kill me - had taken two of the recruits hostage inside a house they'd set camp in, inside the ruins. I offered my services as a sneaky SOB and set out - once the sun set - to rescue the soldiers before the Great Khans knew what happened.





To make a long story short, I was successful. Thankfully, both soldiers were tied up in a room at the back of the complex, which had an unguarded door that my lockpicks opened easily. They were gone and running before the Khans new what hit them. I personally took out their sniper as the rest of the NCR moved in. I grabbed Boone to swarm the inside of the base.

I found a note on one of the Khans from a guy named Benny, who was in New Vegas. Something about a job opportunity in Goodsprings. Didn't take much to put two and two together that this Benny was the one responsible for my near death or he knew who was. One thing was for certain - Vegas was my next destination.





And for those who care to know just where we're standing stat wise.






Matt - Level 12

STATS

STR: 4
PER: 6 (+1 with Desperado Hat)
END: 4
CHA: 8
INT: 9
AGL: 6
LUC: 3

SKILLS

Barter: 30
Energy Weapons: 13
Explosives: 32
Guns: 60
Lockpick: 57
Medicine: 30
Melee: 7
Repair: 50
Science: 55
Sneak: 50
Speech: 55
Survival: 15
Unarmed: 11

PERKS

Bug Stomper - Damage Bonus vs. All Insects
Comprehension - Double the bonuses from reading books and magazine.
Educated - 2 extra skill points each level.
Good Natured - +5 to Barter, Medicine, Repair, Science and Speech. -5 to Energy Weapons, Explosives, Guns, Melee and Unarmed.
Ranger Takedown - Special attack to down humanoids in close combat.
Sniper - Better chance of hitting an opponent's head using weapons.
Spotter - benefit from partnering with Boone. Can spot targets more easily while aiming.
Swift Learner - 3 Ranks - 30% Bonus to all xp.
Wild Wasteland - magnet for weird things happening.

Arrow News: 'Arrow' Might Turn Oliver Queen's Sister Into Speedy

SOURCE: 'Arrow' Might Turn Oliver Queen's Sister Into Speedy



It seems that the original character of Thea Queen (Oliver Queen's younger sister) on the new Arrow show might not be so original. Indeed, it seems it combines elements of the Roy Harper and Mia Dearden characters and has been planned to do so since the original pilot script...

In the "Arrow" pilot, Queen refers to his younger sister as "Speedy," an Easter egg that could easily get lost in the shuffle of an already jam-packed episode. But executive producers Marc Guggenheim and Andrew Kreisberg didn't make the reference just for the reference's sake. In fact, there's an early version of the pilot that further teased Thea Queen's eventual assumption of the Speedy mantle.

"My favorite moment in the original script, which Andrew wrote, that didn't make it into the pilot is when she's in the room with [her friend] and they're crushing up the pills," Guggenheim told TV Guide. "The original stage direction was she reaches over to the shelf and grabs a junior archery championship trophy to crush the pills. I'm like 'Why didn't we do that? We never should have taken that out!'"

That's the third suggestion of a superheroine being a part of Arrow in as many days. Could this be paving the way to a Birds of Prey spin-off more in line with the original comics? We can only hope.

Fallout: New Vegas War Journal - Chapter Eleven

With a heavy heart (and a heavier wallet thanks to Ringo) I headed north to the town of Sloan. I thought at this point I might be tough enough to handle whatever it was in the north that was cutting off the direct road to New Vegas. After discovering that Sloan was an NRC mining camp and that the thing was virtually abandoned due to a Deathclaw infestation, I decided I was wrong and went back to Novac, to continue my way north. It was walking north that Boone and I saw a strange building off in the distance.





Me: Boone, any idea what that is?
Boone: Helios Base. Power Plant. NCR liberated it from the Brotherhood of Steel a while back.
Me: I didn't think there were any power plants around here besides Hoover Dam.
Boone: Oh, there are. Hoover Damn is the only one that works worth a damn.
Me: ... was that a joke?
Boone: Am I in the habit of telling jokes?
Me: No.
Boone: No.

We get stopped by NCR troops on the way to the front door. Seems they don't trust just anyone to walk into their secure facilities. I decide against pointing out that this doesn't seem to have been a problem before now but do manage to talk my way in after pointing out that the mirrors on their building seemed to be improperly aligned.

Thank you 50 ranks in SCIENCE!

They send me in to talk to their science expert who, I am told, is an idiot who wears sunglasses all the time. If Boone takes offense at this, he says nothing.






Fantastic: Oooooh. What does this button do?
Me: You must be the idiot.
Fantastic: Hey, man. I got this great job without knowing nothing, so tell me... who is the idiot? The idiot? Or the idiot who hired the idiot?
Me: You don't know anything about science, do you?
Fantastic: Hey! I have a theoretical degree in physics.
Me: Theoretical in that it doesn't exist?
Fantastic: Hey, yeah! Pretty clever, huh?
Me: Sometimes... sometimes I really hate having a 9 Intelligence.






Ignacio Rivas: I noticed you talking to the idiot.
Me: And you are the idiot's assistant?
Ignacio Rivas: You seem pretty smart.
Me: Smart enough to know that you're smarter than him and should have gotten this place up and running by now. Even with him randomly flipping switches on the old intercom system instead of playing with the power grid.
Ignacio Rivas: Okay, you got me. I'm secretly part of the Followers of the Apocalypse - a group that seeks to prevent mankind from repeating the mistakes of yesterday.
Me: Getting this power plant up and running would be a mistake?
Ignacio Rivas: Oh, the plant is fine. It's the doomsday weapon in the tower that's the problem. If they get the power working here, there's a chance the NCR might discover the weapon. I'm here making sure that Captain Trips over there doesn't come close to accidentally doing something with the power. Not that it's been much of a challenge.
Me: Yeah, but the troops are getting suspicious and I don't think that will work for much longer.
Ignacio Rivas: True. And sending power to the right regions would be a good thing. But I will leave the choice in your hands. You are clearly an agent of destiny.
Me: The only one who will do anything, in other words.
Ignacio Rivas: Basically.

Getting to the mirror controls proved difficult. Between the traps around one station and the guard dogs around the other, I wound up patching myself up and using a precious Stealth Boy invisibility module to sneak in and out without rousing the guards. Then came the real challenge - storming the building with the main mainframe computer to reactivate the power plant. The problem being that before being run away from the HELIOS base, The Brotherhood of Steel apparently reactivated the old security system. And while most of my weapons were good for blowing apart humans, robots were another thing entirely.

I left Boone behind and opted for a stealthy approach. It was at this point that I learned something very important - robots are pretty good at figuring out where you are - even invisible - if you stand in one place chucking dynamite at them. I wound up jumping from a scaffold, landing two floors below and making a run for what I thought was the way out.

Bad news - a dead end. A room with a safe. In desperation I picked the lock on the safe. Figured I might as well die as I'd lived... hiding and taking everything of dubious value that wasn't nailed down. And that was when I found it... EM Pulse Grenades.

The robots didn't give me much trouble after that. And my SCIENCE! skills were enough to get the mainframe up and running, rerouting the power to the NCR targets. Somehow, I knew this improved my reputation with the NCR. And all things considered Ignacio Rivas was content with this. He'd suggested a few other places that needed the power but agreed that it was probably best not to rouse the NCR's suspicions. Definitely the most reasonable cultist I've ever met.

As Boone and I headed northward, we stumbled across an ambush. Biker gang hiding behind a billboard, ready to swarm the road. They didn't suspect that someone might be traveling just off of it, coming up behind them. Suddenly, as we were setting our shots up...

NCR Ranger: HOWDY!
Me: GAH! *fires shot into billboard, missing the bikers*
Bikers: Hey! It's that courier do-gooder! Get him!





Me: Well, that's just great! Because I need help now! Not that I needed it before you showed up and...





Me: Okay! Fine! We've got three bikers over there and... hey, where did they go?





Me: Gah!
Boone: It's okay. I've got this. *BLAM*
Me: Whew! Hey... where did the Ranger go?
Boone: Over there... running away into the dry lake.
Me: I hate the NCR!
Boone: Ahem.
Me: Well, I don't mean YOU...

Judd Winick Leaves DC Comics

SOURCE: Judd Winick Walks Off Batwing, Leaves DC Comics, For Now

And now, my response to the news that Judd Winick has left DC Comics for the foreseeable future and that he turned down a chance to write Green Arrow again.

Fallout: New Vegas War Journal - Chapter Ten

After reporting in that the NCR prison was safe (for all the good it did me) I headed on back to Goodsprings - where it all began. At least, all that I could remember. Figured Boone and I could do something about the Powder Gangers bird-dogging the township. I headed up to the abandoned gas station to find Ringo - the man the Powder Gangers were looking for.

Ringo: *drawing gun* Hold it right there!
Me: Relax. I'm a friend.
Ringo: You're not with the Powder Gangers?
Me: No. Are you?
Ringo: No. I'm with the Crimson Caravan. So are you going to help me fight them? Or did you come to play Caravan?
Me: ... dwah?
Ringo: Caravan. It's a card game. Everybody plays it. Well, everybody who has scavenged a deck of cards anyway.
Me: Why am I suddenly having Final Fantasy VIII flashbacks?
Ringo: Does that mean you don't want to play?
Me: Is there money involved?
Ringo: Well, we ARE in Nevada.
Me: Groovy.





Several Hands Of Caravan Later...

LEVEL UP

Me: Huh. That's weird.
Ringo: What?
Me: Round about that third hand I won, I suddenly felt like I knew more about Explosives for some reason. Speaking of - shouldn't we do something about the gang members wanting to take over the town?
Boone: I was wondering when we were going to get back to shooting stuff.
Ringo: Right. Go and ask Sunny down at the bar if she'll join us too.






Me: Sunny, will you help us form a posse to retake the town from the forces that threaten it?
Sunnny: I thought you'd never ask. But you might ask Trudy if she'll get the rest of the townsfolk to help too. And you might ask Chet at the general store if he'll give everyone some of that leather armor he just got in. And you might ask Easy Pete the prospector if we can borrow his dynamite. And you might ask the Doctor if he has any spare supplies. We'll all need patching up after this.
Me: Woah! Why me? Wouldn't you, the official protector of this town, have an easier time getting all of this done than some random drifter?
Sunnny: Probably. But you'll do it anyway because I'm a cute redhead.
Me: ... I'll be right back.






Me: Trudy, you townsfolk have got to taken a hand in your own defense!
Trudy: Oh? I suppose you have some brilliant plant that will enable us to stand up to a mob of armed killers?
Me: (Sneak 25) You've got plenty of buildings that can be used for cover. Hide back there and ambush them!
Trudy: ... that's actually a good plan!






Me: Chet, I need you to give me all the ammo and armor you've got hidden in the back.
Chet: And what makes you think I'm going to just give you all of my hard-earned product for nothing?
Me: Because I need it to enable everyone in this town to better protect themselves.
Chet: But I might have a paying customer who will need this.
Me: (Speech 25) You're right. I'm sure the Powder Gangers will just LOVE to pay you fair and square for all of your gear once they finally move and take over the town.
Chet: Well...
Me: And hey - Sunny will probably die in the fighting, which means that you'll probably be their first choice for The Number Six Dance after they take over.
Chet: Okay. You've made your point.
Me: Hell, they've been in prison for so long... some of them may even have come to prefer a nice skinny lad like you. Nicely groomed facial hair, just like Mama used to have...
Chet: Okay! Okay! Take the armor! Just... yeeesh.






Me: Pete! I need your dynamite!
Easy Pete: Now, hold your horses, pilgrim. I don't go giving explosives to anyone until I'm convinced they know what they are doing.
Me: (Explosives 25) You just light the fuse and throw it.
Easy Pete: Well, you've convinced me! Here's my stash.
Me: Um... you keep this much dynamite on yourself at all times? Isn't that a little risky?
Easy Pete: Says the man who is carrying eight different guns in his backpack.
Me: Touche!






Doc Mitchell: Hey there, son. How's the head feeling?
Me: Good. Hey, listen Doc. I need whatever supplies you can spare!
Doc Mitchell: But you bought all my Stimpacks and Doctors bags a few hours ago! I still have all the old bottles and silverwear I took as payment stacked up in my spare bedroom!
Me: (Speech 25) Yeah, but you have a secret stash somewhere, right? Every Doctor in the wasteland has a secret stash they use for treating people who need treating who can't afford to spend 35 bucks a shot on a magical healing stick.
Doc Mitchell: We really need to reform the health care system around here.
Me: Don't talk to me. Talk to the NCR.


One Massively One-Sided Battle Later..

Trudy: We'll never forget what you've done here, Matt. Why don't you stay a spell, here? We could use another good man...
Boone: *clears throat*
Trudy: ... or two!
Me: Well, thank you. But my work here is done. I'm needed elsewhere now. I'm needed wherever outlaws rule the West. Wherever innocent people are afraid to walk the streets. Wherever a man cannot live in simple dignity. Wherever a people cry out for justice!
Everybody: BULL SHIT!
Me: All right, you caught me. Speaking the plain truth it's getting pretty damn dull around here.
Ringo: Does that mean you won't play another game of Caravan with me?
Me: ... well, I COULD use some more spending money on the road.