Fallout: Wild Horses (Started, Open)

[FalloutJack]

"What kind of an idiot goes looking for Deathclaws?"

Oh, you'd be surprised, though one answer would be those who had the power to, a story carried down through the ages from the first members of the clan, straight from Old Goris himself. It was a tale of the black-armored men who used the green stuff to give Deathclaws a mind and a voice, of how the first colony escaped to create a brood and was massacred by the metal mutant. Only the remnants of that clan and those rescued from the oil island remained from then on, the bitter reminder of hellish masters fresh in their minds, determined to never be taken unawares again. Even still, Malkos let the young man continue speaking.

"Seriously, you're the first one we've seen in these parts ever. As far as we knew, the nests were over in the Rockies. What are you doing out this far east?"

"The Migration was before my time. It is NOT your concern..."

Though, anyone who lived around here knew that it got a bit cold in these here parts. And he being of the apparent lizard persuasion preferred the heat over cold. Fortunately, the Goris Clan had an important advantage over all natural Deathclaws: The use of fire. Now anyway, the human he'd thrown a rock at blasted one of the meats[/i] prisoners, leaving the other one too encumbered to really get out of here. What followed was Ollie proposing a plan that would seem mutually beneficial to them.

"...I can't think of anyone who would want to tangle with a 'Claw, so you wouldn't get anymore trouble from us."

"I have heard tales, but..."

He scanned the area for the other Nightmare carcassses, noting the smell of the one consumed by flame. He snorted.

"...acceptable."

Well, this was a weird day. They had discovered that there are Deathclaws in the area and that they uhhh...talk. More than that, apparently they can be reasoned with. Or...at least Malkos' nature could be appealed to. Little were they aware that he had been hatching plans to destroy them if this hadn't come up. How well that would have worked, it would be hard to say, but he alone could have driven their mounts from them, and then terrorized the whole group, night and day, in a series of cutthroat attacks. As it stood, though, the Deathclaw was curious enough to entertain this idea of Ollie's and- Huh?! What are you doing with those- Okay... The Deathclaw was now rapidly lashing its claws into the ground to heft chunks of dirt at the fire. That was...most uncanny of his species.

 

[EmperorZuma]

Fair Wanderings

Jacob looked past Kaiden for a moment to see if Jose had an answer, but the man merely shook his head. "No, I do believe the rest of the caravan should be able to handle the situation now. Saving this one was enough." A loud popping sound signaled that another bone had been put back in place.

"If you need a doctor..." Jacob continued, his eyes focused on his task. "...I do travel from time to time, in fact that's why I'm here. You could show me where your people are, and I can help when I can. Otherwise, while I can't speak for the people of Cheyton, my hospital there doesn't discriminate."

 

[Souplex]

Goodman Bros.
"Now is there anything else you needed?"
Joe placed his shotgun on the counter.
"Can you fix it?"
"Jesse! Repairs!"
A trapdoor opened behind the counter, and a short, stocky, bearded man in a jumpsuit came out.
The new man examined the shotgun briefly.
"300 caps."
"Too steep for my blood.
Joe picked his shotgun back up.
"Got any beanbags for it?"
Jesse went back down the trapdoor, and Lenny took out his ledger.
"We have 7. They're not that big a seller, so we don't bother stocking many. How does five caps per sound?
[Barter 75/40]"You just said they don't sell well, who knows when your next opportunity to sell them might come along. 3 caps per, and I'll take all of them."
[Success!]"Fair enough."
Joe placed 21 caps on the table. (Caps remaining 472)
"Aaron, bring me item SG-31!"
Aaron came out of the backroom and placed a bag containing the beanbag shells on the table, and went back into the backroom.
Joe looked through the bag to make sure every shell was accounted for, then took the bag. (Current beanbags: 24)
"Pleasure doing business with you. Do you know how to get to the town hall from here?"
"We don't have one. If you're looking for old man Tempson, you can probably find him fishing at the north-eastern part of the lake."
Joe tipped his new hat. (It fit rather comfortably)
"Thank you, have a nice day."
"Come back again soon."
And with that, Joe headed out.

 

[Generic NPC 22]

The Knuckle Draggers' Heads' Hideout

"VERA!" Mercy continued yelling at the top of her lungs as she heard a series of laser blasts which were then followed by beeps and chirps coming from inside the building. If nothing else, there were no longer any other voices coming from inside the building, a sign that the EyeBunny had gotten rid of any of the other Knuckleheads that might be roaming the warehouse.

Hazarding a peek into the building's interior brought clarity as to why the EyeBunny was beeping so frantically as she zoomed back and forth looking for a way to staunch the crimson flow from deep laceration in their Elder Sister's thigh.

"T-T-T-Tessa?!?!" The Littlest Little Rabbit that could screamed in disbelief as she sprinted towards her sisters, both of which were in the air, but only one of which was supposed to be in the air.

"OHMYGOD! OHMYGOD! OHMYGOD!" Mercy yelled as she looked at the sight that was her bloody sister.

"(W-W-W-We have to fix this! I can't let her die! Please, please, please God! Don't let her die! She's the only family I've got left! Please, please, please I can't lose the last person I have left in the world!!)" The Girl prayed as she looked for a way to bring Tessa down without further damaging her already mangled body.

Looking about the warehouse, Mercy could see a few medical items stashed away in a corner in what could have only been described as the worlds least sterile infirmary known to man, not that an infection would have mattered at that point in time with the way Tessa was bleeding.

"Vera! Start cutting at those bindings would you but don't let her fall until I come back!" Mercy said as she started running towards the "infirmary" and started looking around for items of use. No Stimpaks. No Doctor's Bags. No Blood Bags. Nothing that she could immediately identify as useful except for a gurney and a lone body bag that rested on top of the gurney.

"(No! There's got to be something that I can use around here!)" Mercy thought to herself as she started tossing some of the items about and noticed 3 syringes of Med-X but only one was full of the addictive medication. She also found a dirty bit of surgical tubing, a tin can, a bottle of dirty water, a spool of thread, a sewing needle, a bag of RadAway and a roll of duct tape . Last but not least was a battered D.C. Journal of Internal Medicine.

"(That's it?!)" She thought to herself as she brought collected the items and wheeled them over to where Vera was ready to cut Tessa down. Gently, the two sisters lowered the wounded one onto the gurney.

Looking at the wound, Mercy could tell her sister was lucky that the Knucklehead had missed the femoral artery but there was still a great deal of blood and blood loss. But still it would require a series of tiny stitches to close the wound and fine hands and great eyes to be able to see what was going on in order to give Tessa the best chance at surviving.

Given that Mercy's body was so amped up on adrenaline and her glasses were scratched up that only left-

"Vera! I need your help. I need you to close up the wounds Tessa's body using this needle and thread. I can't see through all the blood to do it but the module that I installed on you should let you see through the blood." Mercy said as she started gathering some rocks and throwing them into a pile.

"Vera! While I get everything ready, read this as quick as you can!" The Plasma Bunny said, indicating the D.C. Journal of Internal Medicine, as she poured the dirty water into the tin can and added the RadAway. Pulling her Plasma Pistol from her belt, she fired a couple of glowing green bolts at the pile of rocks, heating them as she placed the tin in the center of the pile, causing the water and RadAway mix to boil.

Satisfied, she pulled the plungers of the empty syringes and placed them in the boiling water as well as the surgical tubing and the sewing needle as she examined Vera's Multitool as the EyeBunny speed read through the magazine.

"Vera. Listen to me. I'm going to give Tessa my blood and while I'm doing that, I need you to close up the wounds as quickly as you can using the sewing needle, the thread and your multitool." The Littlest Bunny said as she pulled out the still hot Syringes and surgical tubing. The tubing's ends were a bit too small to create an airtight seal with the syringes but a bit of duct tape resolved that issue easily enough.

The final bit was making sure that both Rabbits didn't lose too much blood while Vera was operating. That's where the Med-X came in. The Opiate would slow down both the Tessa's heart rate and decrease the blood pressure so that the blood loss would be reduced. The risk would be causing Tessa's blood pressure to decrease so much that her brain wouldn't get enough blood. Looking at the needle of Med-X, Mercy administered half the syringe before she turned to Vera.

"Ready?" The Youngest Rabbit asked Vera as she inserted one end of the needled surgical tubing into her arm and the other end into Tessa's, watched as her blood flowed into Tessa's arm before ripping out the remains of her older sister's Bowie Knife from her older sister's bloody thigh.

 

[TheDoctor455]

Knuckle Fuckers' Heads' Hideout

"Ready?"

Not really... Vera felt she needed a lifetime of experience at this... and different equipment installed on her frame to do this properly. She wasn't a medical eyebot. But Vera had no choice. She had to try. She chirped in an agreeable sort of way, then started carefully, but quickly sewing Tessa's thigh shut. After a few moments it was done, and Vera held the extraneous string for Dr. Plasma Rabbit to cut.


Vera let out one last burst with her sonic emitter to send the dogs away, then shut it off. Vera started pacing back and forth through the room, trying to figure out what else she could do to help.

Only thing she could think of was to play music. Well... something like that anyway.

Spoiler

 

[Rip Van Rabbit]

Flashback. Freeside: Old Mormon Fort

Tessa could barely focus on what was going on around her, her battered and bloodied body had suffered a tremendous beating at the hands of a bunch of corrupt NCR pigs. Then again, when could the NCR ever be trusted in the first place? The battle of Hoover Dam had not been kind to the faction and if corruption was a problem beforehand, then it had only gotten worse.

Since she was young enough to remember, The NCR had effectively muscled in on Freeside from all angles. Basically putting all the residents in a quarantine by charging ridiculous fees in order to even leave the city, shaking them down and even killing some of the street kids for kicks. It was no wonder that many chose to rebel. The smart ones, however, kept their activities more discrete.

The only ones exempt from their abuse seemed to be The Followers of the Apocalypse. Whenever she was able to, Tessa would relieve items from the NCR camps dotted around Freeside and make anonymous donations to the Followers. She assumed that they would not look too kindly on stolen goods, so her identity and where these supply drops had come from was never truly discovered. The Followers had their head on straight and they provided plenty of help to the street rats, Tessa included when she was just a little girl.

"We can't do anything for this one, this is shotgun damage, it's miraculous that she even survived the trip here..."

The voice of what sounded like the lead doctor in a team spoke nearby. Nearby enough for Tessa's mind to snap back to the reality of the situation. Turning her head to face Sonea's mangled body, she winced painfully as her body pleaded for her to rest. Determined to get to Sonea, she collapsed to the ground as if her body was trying to illustrate how unfit she was in her current condition. When she looked back up, she caught a glimpse of Sonea's glazed over eyes as the bodybag closed over her head.

"No no no no no no no NO!" refusing to accept the reality of the situation, Tessa pleaded to wake up, hoping this was some ill-formed nightmare. Yet the dream did not end. "I-..." choking on her own words, the tears welled up and streamed down her bruised cheeks. "I-I'm...sorry. I'm so sorry. Please. I didn't mean to...oh god, I love you. COME BACK!"

"Give me a sedative for the other girl that followed this one, she's hysterical. We can do something about her at the very least...And get her back in bed!"

[hr]
[hr]

Bonerfarts Knuckleheads Safehouse

Her eyes fluttered open just in the slightest, treading the line between consciousness and slipping into unconscious a few times. During those times, she saw brief flashes of what looked like Mercy standing over her, Mercy shouting, Vera hovering over her body.

She felt heavily disorientated and while she willed her arms to move, her body replied sluggishly and only slightly as her fingers lightly scratched at Mercy's wrist while her head turned towards her. "Mer-Ver-...thank y..." Whatever it was that was flowing through her system was slightly beyond her level of drug tolerance, since she felt heavily sedated. She wasn't quite sure if this was due to the blood loss, the chemical in her system or both.

Groggily and tearfully, she had finally attempted to speak. "Doc-...Doctor. Caps. Follow-ers." Tessa croaked.

At this point, she vaguely noticed that Mercy was actually connected to her via an impromptu blood transfusion.

As if that detail was some sort of trigger, pain started to radiate throughout her body, especially her thigh.

So with her free hand clenching her forehead, her face scrunched up in absolute pain. Her hand started clawing into her hair as her body's pain started to override her senses.

Whatever Mercy was doing, it was working, but it came at an agonizing price.

With tears starting to fall down her cheeks, she choked out a few more words. "I'm...-so sorry." she paused only to catch her breath. "I didn't mean to..."

It seemed that Tessa was not completely within the right state of mind. Especially with the combination of med-x, emotional trauma, blood loss and physical damage to her body.

 

[TheDoctor455]

Knucklehead's warehouse
Vera wished she had arms that she could hug Tessa and Mercy with. And never let go. Vera searched her databanks for any way she might be able to express her feelings without having to risk setting the stupid building on fire.

She found one.

Vera adjusted the settings on her multiool's light projector, and sent out an image of the woman she'd been based, and while it was unstable, and kept sputtering at random intervals... it did move as she wanted it to. Being a blue hologram, it was impossible to tell a lot about what this woman had looked like... but she wore a set of leather armor, had a kind of button nose with a bridge that looked like it might snap if you brushed it, a large pair of luminous eyes, overall... a gaunt looking face, and short curly hair. Vera had the hologram slowly approach Tessa, and then... sort of give her a hug. Vera had never tried to use the hologram before, so its head wound up going right through Tessa's head as the faces drew near (to an outsider, it might look as though the hologram were trying to kiss Tessa full on the mouth, until one noticed the clipping), and the hologram's arms embedded themselves into the chair Tessa was sitting on as they tried to wrap around her.

After realizing this, Vera shut the hologram off, and let out a few embarrassed clicks. Then she turned her faceplate towards Mercy, and twirled her frame around, as if to say 'Well... what should I do now?'

 

[RobDaBank]

Kaiden thought about the hospital he had seen in Cheyton, and about how small the world was. It was good to know he and his people would be welcome, especially now they had a trade agreement. There were a few Super Mutants that had sustained injuries when migrating to their new home, nothing life threatening but that required the attention of an expert.

'East of here, a half days walk, is an old campsite, Redstone Camping Ground.' He muttered to the doctor, as if implying only he was allowed this information. 'Tell them that I... Kaiden, said you would be welcome.'

With that he turned around and left the tent, pulling his cloak and hood over his green skin and setting off back home. As he left the smell of embers and smoke still filled the air, but the heat was much less intense. He still felt unnerved when the caravan members gasped at the sight of him and whispered amongst themselves. Humans, they were so unpredictable, so easily scared of the unknown, so ready to destroy the misunderstood. That is what made them so dangerous, and that was also why Kaiden pitied them.

Fair Wanderings was growing smaller behind him now as he found a small road and followed it back West, desperate to make sure his people were safe.

 

[Generic NPC 22]

The Knucklefarts' Warehouse and Kumbaya Campground:

Mercy blinked a few times as she saw the ghostly projection attempt to wrap its arms around her near unconscious sister before disappearing. Looking at her sister, it appeared that she was getting stronger as color was returning to her cheeks and skin. Conversely, Mercy the skinnier of the two was starting to look a tad bit pale and was starting to feel a tad bit light headed.

"Twip! Chirp!" Vera said as she she rotated back and forth on her X axis for a moment, a sign that she was curious as to what would happen next?

"Are you asking what's going to happen next?" Mercy asked the EyeBunny receiving a shake on Vera's Z Axis, indicating a no.

"Are you asking me what you need to do?" The Plasma and Whole Blood Donating Rabbit asked, causing Vera to nod along her Y axis.

"Record: What do you need me to do?" Mercy said as she started feeling a bit more faint from blood loss, as she tried to pull the needle out and toppled over on top of her unconscious sister.

"The Med-X must've spread into my body too." Mercy said with a goofy smile and half open eyes.

"I'm --- going --- to --- take --- a --- [small]na[/small]" The girl trailed off before letting out a light snore.

 

[TheDoctor455]

Kuncklehead's warehouse

As the smaller Rabbit sister started to lose consciousness, Vera let out a series of loud, panicked chirps and whistles in an attempt to wake either of them up. When that didn't seem to be working, Vera activated the magnet on her omnitool on a low power setting, which she then used as carefully and quickly as she could to safely remove the IV running between both Rabbit sisters. Then she primed her laser, waited for it to heat up a bit, then shut it off and gently brushed the edge of it onto the spots where the IV had come out on Mercy and Tessa.

Vera had no idea what to do now. This had been exactly what she had been afraid of if she had simply left on her own. Now she knew she couldn't... what if the rest of the Knuckledraggers came back? Vera knew it was dangerous, but now she had no choice... she activated her distress beacon, which transmitted a general emergency signal that would disrupt radios all over the town.

Not sure if that would be enough... Vera went outside and aimed her laser at the moon, brought it to full power, and fired it as a continuous beam for half an hour before the lens on her precision laser melted and caused the beam to rebound inside itself, forcing Vera to eject the whole device from her frame before the laser blasted into her.

Now all Vera could do was hope that her efforts didn't attract more assholes.

 

[Rip Van Rabbit]

Bonerheads' Warehouse

Tessa had slowed down to focus on stabilizing her breathing and heartbeat. Occasionally biting down on her lip when a new wave of pain radiated throughout her body. The more she stayed conscious, the better she felt. It was a slow process overall.

The Med-X was not helping her emotional state. There was a ghost, apparition, soul, angel, demon-thing floating towards Tessa in what looked like an embrace. An embrace to the afterlife!? Was she going to the big Blamco in the sky!?

No no no, she couldn't be hallucinating, or could she? Whatever, she was going to go with denial and blame the apparent source. "Vera...never do that kind of poopy again!" Ordinarily, she would be taken seriously, but the ludicrous smile on her face contradicted the tone of her statement. Damn Med-X.

"I'm --- going --- to --- take --- a --- na"

Her sister had admirably given her blood to sustain Tessa's life. Mercy had rested her head on her stomach. The weight of such an action will become more apparent to the Elder Rabbit at a later point. When she had all her senses available to her, obviously.

Aww, she had started snoring, that's adora- NO! Focus!

"Mer-Mer, wake up!" with no response, she managed to sit up with considerable effort and cradled her head in her hands. "Get. UP!" Tessa resorted to lightly slapping her cheek, hoping to physically snap her back into consciousness.

No response, that's when she noted that while she felt physically weak, her sister did not appear to be coping very well either. "You can kick my ass later for this, but I need you with me..." She scrounged for the nearby scrap that was her bowie knife and dug the shard into Mercy's shoulder. "...Now!"

Tessa did not have much in the way of reserved energy at this point, however, that was the best that could muster for her sister in this moment.

There was no doubt that they were blood relatives anymore, as far as symbolism goes. That's why she needed her sister. Tessa was going to die alone, she had never counted on a rescue and nobody had put their life on the line as directly as Mercy had just done for her.

Pain was a great motivator in spurring consciousness forward. "Wake up, dammit! I can't lose you too."

Vera had gotten to work with what sounded like firing her laser in extreme bursts. For what purpose, she had no idea. What she did know, is that attracting attention will likely prove to be their demise instead of salvation.

Wide-eyed, she stared at Vera in fear of the potential danger she may have inadvertently summoned, but also in distress over how this could endanger Mercy further. "What did you do!? Th-..." feeling light-headed once more, she brought a hand up to her head and spoke through a glare. "This is the slums! There are no good samaritans here."

Whispering to conserve energy. "The Followers. H-hospital." This time she almost hissed in protective aggression. "Wake.Mercy.up!"

 

[Ruedyn]

Markus wandered the streets, not too many people about, surprisingly. Granted, he was reloading and inspecting his rifle. He thought he saw a flash of someone peeking through their window, but they quickly disappeared. Markus sighed, continuing his march to give away his armor and weaponry, perhaps some of the stimpacks on his person, to some random vendor who would give him bottle caps. A worthless form of currency, if ever he heard one. At least the money could have other purposes...

He looked up from his musings to see a strange thing in the sky. A laser? It reminded him of a comic he read once, one of the kids from the camp had it, although it was a spotlight rather than a tool of death and doom.. He started jogging towards it, looking to perhaps pick up some cash for a job, or from a corpse.

He found the compound quickly, and cautiously made his way inside, searching the place with his rifle out. The backpack and its' contents were a tad loud, but he figured no one would hear it. He saw a rat skitter away from a room, where he could hear faint voices, something about hanging in there. He slowly turned the corner, and saw a robot, and a few injured women.

"Good evening, looks like you need medicine. I have some, but... It'll cost you a story and your promises to not shoot me in the back."

 

[Rip Van Rabbit]

Lucy Liu's House Knucklehead Not-so-safe-house

Lucy couldn't see the stranger that had entered the now recently declared hellhole in which the trio of Rabbits were situated. Yet she could recognise the silhouette of a gun and feared for the worst while grabbing the remains of her blade. It was barely a weapon anymore, a mangled piece of scrap at best, yet it could be thrown as a distraction until Vera got to work.

Calling out to the stranger, Tessa cautiously voiced her concerns. "You're dealing with one unconscious female, one injured female and a floating jukebox which will hopefully be a soon-to-be toaster one day. Nothing here is a threat!" She had opted for honesty.

If she were to die, she would at least do so with the only family she had ever known.

"Good evening, looks like you need medicine. I have some, but... It'll cost you a story and your promises to not shoot me in the back."

So this person wasn't a threat, or it could be another one of those Knucklehead initiates checking up on his buddies. Either way, the odds weren't stacked in her favour and her main concern was Mercy. She'd offer herself as collateral if this all went south.

"I...was ambushed by some assholes who worked the trade supply for the Knuckleheads. Big time gang most likely. I'm guessing chems was their main attraction judging by the style... - " Tessa was getting off topic, it was difficult to suppress her times spent running with all kinds of gangs. Chem runners were the ones she had the least amount of respect for. "Long story short, my sister's followed me, rescued me...but not without taking some damage."

"Look, my little sister here needs a stim or something to get her blood pumping. Medicine is not my area of expertise...My leg is screwed. If you have something to get my sister up...just-please!"

Tessa was growing tearful again, the Med-X had heightened her emotional state to some degree, making her more susceptible to emotional outbursts. Taking a few breaths to calm herself.

"Help us home. I have three stimpacks waiting to be used there. I've got caps to pay you and a meal to say thanks." Well someone was feeling awful generous. Then again, that was her only bargaining chip.

"But one of us needs something to support the other. Preferably my little sister. Will you help us?" Tessa pleaded with a layer of sincerity that was uncharacteristically different from her usual self-assured, cocky tone.

 

[Ruedyn]

"Will you help us?"

Markus sighed, walking over to the gang. An eyebot, a desperate girl, and a smaller girl who was bleeding out. He WAS going to go and unload a lot of stimpacks and drugs, but this was a noble use of them. Still, he needed money for supplies. If this place was a drug factory, there'd be a bounty, and more drugs he could sell. So what if the kids got to them, he'd be long gone.

"Good news for you guys, then. I got a doctors bag, and a few super stimpacks. Also, free time." He strolled over to the group, and got to work on the little sister.

"I propose we end what you started, if they're major they'll hound you. I got a rifle, and you look like you want to fight these men." He handed the conscious girl a super stimpack, trusting she knew how to use a needle, while he began his work on the younger. He'd learned a bit, but his specialty was always inflicting rather than fixing.

"If we can end these... fuckers? Fuckers, we can clean up these damned streets. Also, what's wrong with the robot? I'm not a mechanic, but I got a few energy and MC cells lying in this old pack. You girls could NOT have found a better person for this, I shit you not." He handed some gauze and a stick to the girl, hoping she knew how to tourniquet properly. If not, he'd check up after he was done here.

"Now, I'm almost done. How long have you had that laser up, and how attentive do you think those druggies are?" He flashed his winning smile to the girl, as he hoisted the smaller sister on his shoulder, picking up his rifle with his other hand.

 

[TheDoctor455]

Cheyton Slums. Shitheads' warehouse
Vera lowered her frame's hovering height to something she thought Tessa could lean on, then flew next to Tessa; chirping helpfully.

In response to the newcomer's question about her, Vera pointed her multitool to the broken, overheated laser just outside. That was when Vera realized that she'd just lost her weapon and one of her main methods of communication. Maybe even permanently. Vera didn't whine or whir... instead... she let out the clicking equivalent of a 'grin-and-bear-it' sort of sigh.

Then she refocused on helping Tessa walk.

 

[Rip Van Rabbit]

Rabbit Repair

Tessa smiled in relief as the helpful stranger laid down medical equipment, she scooched over to make way for Mercy while she got to work on herself. She was handed a super-stimpack.

"Thanks. I'll be glad to pay, give you a meal or even a place to crash for the night...shit!..." Her speech was interrupted while fastening and inserting the super-stim's needle into her thigh. It was potent. "Heh, forgot about the kick. Didn't get these on the streets much."

"I propose we end what you started, if they're major they'll hound you. I got a rifle, and you look like you want to fight these men."

This irked Tessa somewhat. "I'm aware of that. But I used to have teams at my disposal for this kind of thing..." she veered off in momentary contemplation before continuing onwards. "There are smarter ways of hitting a gang without marching into battle. Besides, we need intel before we make a move."

"I didn't come here to wage a war. My sister determines what happens..." Stopping to focus on working the tourniquet, she slowly got onto her feet to test her work. She would have another scar. Yay.

Luckily and appreciatively, Vera hovered in to assist her with walking. "Thank you Vera, for everything. I've always got your back..." She nodded at her favourite EyeRabbit.

"What's your name anyway?" Tessa, always the opportunist, picked up the 3 sawn-off shotguns and a repeater rifle from the dead thugs. "The Eyebot's name is Vera, my sister is the resident mechanic and genius with anything sciencey. She'll get her fixed up."

Scrounging for supplies, she emptied a duffel bag full of various chems. "You can take those if you want."

She had no use for the chems, only the bag and what she discovered through her thorough search of chem runner hiding spots. Filling the duffel bag with the guns, 103 caps, switchblade, 10mm pistol and a cleaver. Tessa hoisted the bag on her shoulder and with finesse, twirled an imposing and recently discovered dirty combat knife between her fingers.

She could make a decent amount of cash out of this. Maybe her sisters could use the parts. Either way, always a silver-lining...

The Knuckleheads and their runners weren't going to just forget. No, in time, when they discover what happened, they'll trace it back to this day and that would put Mercy in danger...and make stealing difficult.

"Rabbit." She said, extending her free hand with her characteristic thieving smirk.

There was a fine line between cunning and stupidity on the streets of Cheyton.

"...Let's just regroup, lay low, fully recover and find out what we're up against." she stated more reasonably. "Yet she's my top priority." And there was that aggressive protection layering her voice once more.

Noting her sister's body, she wasted no time exiting the forsaken hell-hole.

It proved rather difficult with her limp and wincing after each major step. She would feel better in the morning.

"...Thank you, really. We appreciate it." She glanced back with an appreciative nod and smile before guiding the group home.

 

[Souplex]

(Elder Tempson's dialog was written by Soviet Heavy. Minor formatting edits have been made along with other very minor edits to make everything flow better.)
Dry Spring's lake

Joe was walking north along the eastern side of the lake when he came across an old man matching descriptions he had heard of Elder Tempson.
Joe approached Elder Tempson.
"Hello sir! I am Ranger Joseph Medina. I am here to act as an ambassador of sorts for the New California Republic."

"Hmph, are you here to steal another generation away from us?"
Tempson spat a wad of tobacco at the ground.
"What do you want son?"

"I have no intention of stealing away any generations. I am simply here to negotiate peace with your settlement, if possible bring your settlement into the NCR. If you prove hostile, I'm to inform my superiors upon my return. I understand anything I say will sound like a hollow salesman's pitch, but I at least hope you'll listen."
Tempson didn't look up.

"NCR, huh? And what good would they do us? Listen to me son, this town? I made it. I built this whole place up from nothing, you hear me? When we first settled, you know what we were after? Oil. Liquid gold, that stuff. But it didn't work, so we tried fishing. Being the number one supplier of fresh fish in all of fucking Wyoming makes you a pretty savvy businessman. So either cut the diplomatic crap and make me an offer, or buy a trout and get moving."

"I'm afraid I probably won't buy a fish. I was born in Arizona, and never got to develop a taste for them."
Joe pondered the situation.
"Since you're so big on fishing, I can help you in that regard. Back during the Mojave campaign the NCR set up the "Thaler Act." We paid farmers to move out to the Mojave, gave them a chunk of land, and used the food they grew to feed our citizens. If you were to join I'm sure that something similar could be set up here with fish. We also have what is probably the largest military in America, so we'd be a good source of protection, could provide employment, provide trade routes, and overall make life easier. We're a democracy, the kind America was before the war, except we don't have any Nukes so there's no danger there."
"Overall, I'd say we're a pretty good lot."

"That isn't what the Khans told me when they came. They said that they were slaughtered by you. I may not like those horse riding hooligans, but they showed me the survivors. You don't make something like that up. And this "Thaler Act" as you call it. What good would that do us out here? We already have a booming economy with the Local Federation and the Caravans. What good are taxes when you've got the sort of deal we do?"

"...Bitter Springs was something of a black eye for us. What people like to forget however, is that Bitter Springs was in response to their constant raids. First Recon was sent in to deal with what they thought was a raider settlement. Miscommunications happen, and they can end badly. The Khans seemed to forgive us though when they fought by our side against the Legion at Hoover Dam."
Joe let out a sigh.
"Seems you doubt the moral fiber of the NCR."
Joe took off the torso-piece of his armor revealing a tattoo of an angry looking gecko swearing in cartoon gibberish. (You know, things like !?*% that you'd see in old comic books to censor swears.)
"I'm not originally from the NCR, I was born a tribal out in Arizona. It's where I got this. The Legion nearly wiped us out, but we fled west. The NCR took us in, and kept us safe. They were strong enough beat the Legion twice. I'm not demanding you join, although I would appreciate that, I just want you to at least sign a peace treaty."

"Son, I don't doubt your moral fiber, if that's what has you coming here. NCR or not, I'd still say no. Like I said, we've already lost too many people in this town to foreigners. However, I am also a businessman. No peace treaty, it's not going to happen. But a caravan route to the NCR.... you said there wasn't a big market for fish down south? Maybe I could cut you a deal, the NCR proprietor of a sales contract. Who knows, it might be a delicacy down in the desert."

Joe armored back up.
"There is fishing in California, just west of where I was. I'm sure there's a market. However, we may not be willing to trade with anyone who isn't willing to sign a peace treaty. It's all very standard stuff, just look it over; you'll find it's all very reasonable."

Spoiler: Joe pulled out a treaty from his bag.

The following parties:
______________________________________________
representing the settlement of:
______________________________________________
(Please mark the location of the settlement on the map on the other side of this treaty)
Do hereby agree to peace with the New California Republic.

NCR trade caravans will be allowed within the territories of the signer, and trade caravans from the signer will be allowed in the NCR. (Either side may temporarily void this section of the treaty during wartime to prevent enemy infiltration, but should if possible send notice to the other party.)

Members of the NCR in the signer's territory are subject to the signer's laws, and the NCR will not be held responsible for their actions.
Members of the signer's settlement in NCR territory will be subject to NCR laws, and the signer's settlement will not be held responsible for their actions.

If citizens of either party in the other party's territory are harmed by the other party's citizens, either party maintains the right to punish the offending citizens accordingly, up to execution.

Neither party may have 20 or more soldiers the other party's territory without their consent. Doing so voids this treaty and may be viewed as an act of war.

Signatures:
______________________________________________
The signing of this treaty was overseen by:
______________________________________________

"I'd say it's all pretty reasonable stuff, and makes life easier on both of us."

Tempson looked over the treaty intently.
"Not a lot of fine print for a political treaty. I suppose if you're illiterate you need to keep things simple. I'm not however, so you better not try and pull anything. I see anymore than what this document describes, and the deal's off. I can make money in Montana just as easily."
Tempson produced an old writing stylus, the one that needed to be dipped in ink. Old fashioned indeed, thought Joe. With a frown on his face, Tempson filled in the treaty, signing away part of his world to yet another group. He handed the paper back to Joe.
"Fine, son, there you go. Anything else, or can I get back to fishing?"

Joe signed at the bottom of the treaty where it asked for who oversaw the signing of this treaty.
"The lack of fine print is for everyone's benefit. Generally speaking you don't want people to distrust you when dealing with peace treaties."
Joe pulled out another copy of the same treaty.
"If you wouldn't mind, could you fill out a duplicate copy for you to keep?"
Joe handed him the duplicate copy.
"I suppose I would like to try a fish, assuming you're willing to cook it up. I'm not familiar with cooking fish myself."

Tempson scribbled his signature over the copy, shoving the piece back into Joe's hands. Joe then signed at the bottom and handed it back to Tempson who placed it in his bag.
"There, signed. Now how about you do something useful? There's been little word from Teton these past few weeks. The radio says its been bad weather, but that has never stopped them before. Maybe you could take a look. It's about three days north of here, way up in the Rockies."
Tempson spat out another mouthful of tobacco.
"Find out what's happening up there and I'll consider it a personal thanks. As for Graham Mackie, he's the rep for the Federation. I'll even cook you up a trout if you succeed."

Spoiler: Joe took out his map.

"Would you mind marking where Teton is roughly?"

Elder Tempson marked Teton on the map.
"Now get going already!"

Joe headed off.
"Nice meeting you."
[Quest complete: Peace With Dry Springs]
Joe felt enriched from the experience, and this new experience allowed something to click in his head.

Spoiler: Level Up!

Level Up!
Skill points were divvied, and a perk was taken.
[Shoot To Wound] You've learned where to shoot opponents so they won't die, but also so they won't be in a position to fight back. You may use this perk to fire shots that deal increased limb damage, but reduced damage to health. (Damage is redistributed after calculating with Damage Threshold.)

 

[Ruedyn]

"What's your name anyway?"

"Markus, Markus Brutus if you want to get fancy..." He shrugged as he kept watching her. She seemed more alive, at least, the stimpacks sure were made well.

"The Eyebot's name is Vera, my sister is the resident mechanic and genius with anything sciencey. She'll get her fixed up."

'Of course they named their robot.' Markus smiled, and nodded towards 'Vera'. She seemed to be making herself a crutch, which was good. Them leaving was bad, however. His plan could wait. Right now, a free home and meal ticket was limping off to loot, which meant his lot was now with the thieves. She went on about regrouping, and recovering. That would be more time for a bunch of crazed addicts to kill him in his sleep. He waitied for her spiel to end before he spoke up again, caring and worried in his tone.

"I'll help you walk, if you don't mind. I'm a bit low on food, but I think I can manage."

"...Thank you, really. We appreciate it."

"No problem, what would any good person do had he stumbled across a laser in the sky." He spoke sarcastically, not really paying attention to his words. The time would come when he'd kill these two, perhaps the robot too if it put up a fight. It was more useful as scrap anyways. He allowed himself his thoughts, staying silent and looking cheery as they went to their home base.

 

[Generic NPC 22]

The Streets of Cheyton:

"[small]...person do had ... stumbled ... laser in the sky.[/small]"

*Thud - Thud - Thud - Thud* Went the youngest Rabbit's head as a combination of two sensations rushed in to greet the girl as she started regaining some semblance of consciousness. The first sensation a tremendous amount of pressure inside her head, as if all of the blood in her body had decided to make a home inside of her head and throw a house warming party to boot. The second sensation was a little more annoying, is was he head being bounced off of someone's back as if she was slung over someone's shoulder.

Actually, it appeared that she was slung over someone's shoulder and in her condition, the kind that resulted from some sort of adrenaline hangover and a fair amount of blood loss, it was pretty easy to see why she acted the way she did: She started pounding on the stranger's (Markus Brutus') back whilst screaming:

"LET ME GO! LEEET ME GO!! HEEEEELLLP!!!" The Panicked Rabbit screamed as she continued to vainly pound on the strange man's back.

"TESSA!? VERA!? HELP!" The youngest Rabbit continued to yell while trying to reach for her Plasma Pistol. Yup, she wasn't much for subtlety was she?

 

[Rip Van Rabbit]

The Streets of Cheyton: A Rabbit's ear twitches attentively

Tessa took her time making her way home and she was not taking the direct route. For two reasons: 1) Every moment was valuable towards improving her physical condition. 2) Something was off about the all-too-helpful Markus.

She could chalk this up to paranoia, some may think it a sixth sense, others may believe she had trust-issues. Yet where she grew up, one thing was always certain when working cons. Concern always came with some kind of angle to exploit.

And it takes a con to know a con.

"LET ME GO! LEEET ME GO!! HEEEEELLLP!!!"

The egg had finally cracked.

Mercy!

Dexterously twirling her blade into a reverse-grip, she spun around and closed the distance between her and Markus with unprecedented speed that had developed from years of experience.

With a blade to his throat and a grip on his free wrist to prevent him from attacking. She hissed with barely contained fury. "Let her go, right now!"

The yolk had been removed.

She couldn't shake the feeling that someone in the slums had selflessly come to her aid.

Concern always came with some kind of angle to exploit. That was it! She wasn't taking any chances. Her sister was the only exception.

"Leave." She hissed coldly. "Take the duffel bag as compensation. I do not appreciate potential traitors in my ranks."

Ranks? Seems that her past could never quite be forgotten.

Now the egg was scrambled.