Fallout: Wild Horses (Started, Open)

[RobDaBank]

Redstone Camping Ground

"Caleb, there is a visitor requesting to speak to our leader" Came the voice of a patrol guard as he entered Caleb's shack.

"Thank you, I will deal with this, brother"

Caleb stood up from his chair, grabbing a plain staff he made for the entrance to the camp.

He saw the visitor, dressed in patchwork armour, the majority of which appeared to be Enclave in origin. It was hard to tell this persons gender through the armour, so Caleb left his greeting open, hoping to learn of it when they spoke.

"Greetings friend. Welcome to Redstone Camping Ground" He began, holding his arms in an open, inviting gesture. "I'm afraid our people here have no leaders, but my brothers have long since elected me to represent them, if that would suffice?"

He turned towards his shack, gesturing for the visitor to follow him.

"My name is Caleb, friend. How may I help you?"

-------------------------------------------------------------------

New Wheatland, Southeast Approach

Kaiden had been struggling with the brush, the heat and humidity for what seemed like hours as he looked for a road, but he found himself brought out of his hot and bothered state when...

*Bang!* A gunshot? *Bang bang bang* Lots of gunshots, followed by shouts and blood curling screams. Kaiden lowered himself to avoid any potential stray bullets and to sneak up on the action. At least that was the plan until Abel pushed into his legs, growling harshly. Kaiden looked down to see his companion facing the other way, turning his head from side to side. Danger was coming.

What Kaiden saw next was truly horrifying. Coyotes, or at least they were once coyotes, had them flanked. A strange growth on their backs concerned Kaiden a lot. Was it infectious? How was it transmitted? Focus He thought.

The creatures let out a strange gargling growl before the first pounced, its malformed mouth ready to bite. Kaiden was fast to respond as he caught the creature behind the ears, twisting violently to break its neck as he spun around to fling it as far away as he could. He finished his spin to find another in the air, ready to connect, right when Abel pounced into its side, biting hard into its torso. Not a kill, but damaging enough to debilitate it.

Another two charged, this time not pouncing but heading for his legs. Organised. Kaiden swept his right leg into a kick, aimed at the creature targeting his left leg. A high pitched yelp told him had hit. He reached his hand now to grab the tail of the other that had targeted his right leg. He pulled it into the air with one hand and grabbed the growth on its back with the other. Pulling with all his might he tore the growth from its back, deep rooted into the coyotes spine it was obvious the host would not survive. Thick black blood sprayed to the floor.

The creatures went silent, and began to regroup. Abel made his way to his masters side again, poised for another attack.

"Ready friend?"

 

[Ruedyn]

Recap: Treb

The attack on the Brothel was a bit confusing.

It began easy enough, Mercy and the Legionnaire staying within the crowds, they made Treb take off his cape to fit in better. He was also forced to remove his coat, but at least hew was able to keep his armor and weapons. They moved quickly to set up the bombs, the mission already underway.

*BOOOOOM!!!*

Treb took out his sword, and charged in first, only to find the explosives did his job already. "For fucks sake, it's like working with Cass-"

*BANG!*

Treb heard the noise, Mercy had already on the move towards it. Treb grunted and followed, tripping over a severed arm. He caught up to her as she turned a man into goo, right next to the body of the near dead Tessa. Treb swore, she was supposed to be the one he wouldn't have to worry about. The robot seemed panicked, a worrying thought. Mercy scooped her sister up in her arms, a feat that somewhat surprised Treb, before she ran out, whispering something or other.

The Centurion followed her, his mission was to protect the two. Failure likely meant termination, and he was suddenly thankful they didn't have access to the Grand Canyon. Though they had plenty of fire and crucifixes. He shook the thought, keeping an eye out for enemies.

He stayed with her when they made it to the camp, Vicky caught up to them after a bit. They seemed to wait for at least two eternities before the medic came out, but not before Mercy yelled and attacked the One in Black. She didn't fight back, perhaps she blamed herself as well. Treb simply blamed all of them, they could have just stayed home for the evening, and let the trained professional's take over.

This is what always happened to heroes.

He shook his head as the medic came out, Mercy immediately bombarding her with rapid fire questions. Apparently she was only comatose, and probably unsteady. Treb held in his sigh of relief, and wandered off, hopefully unnoticed. He didn't want to leave Mercy alone with the woman she just punched in the face, but he had to find the junkyard. Dawn had arrived, it was officially the day of the Legion.

But first... Treb heard a man, sounded familiar. Really familiar.

"June, June, open the fucking door! Please... please..."

"Fun night, it seems." Treb said, leaning on his unsheathed bumper sword, and smirking at the injured Khan. He took a stimpack out of his pocket, and tossed it on the ground next to him. His eyes seemed to hold no malice, but one could never be too sure.

Junkyard: 13th Legion

40 strong, the army assembled around a heap of trash. Julian stood on it, wearing her disguise; A black hooded cloak over a merc grunt uniform. She raised her hands in the air, and the junkyard remained silent as she stared over her companions. All wore hooded cloaks like her, as well as merc clothing. She smiled a bit nervously, she wasn't the best at speeches, but she just needed to relay orders for now. Fucking Treb should've been there by now, perhaps something went wrong. She'd have to ignore it for now, Treb could survive a missile to the teeth, he was probably just sleeping late again. She got a legionnaire she didn't know the name of, a surprisingly pretty redhead, to read her speech for her. She knew she wasn't very charismatic, but her replacement hopefully was.

"Brothers, sisters, attention!" She began, all eyes on her now. She cleared her throat, and began her practiced speech.

"We have all seen the horrors of the world; Bandits, beasts, and death around all corners. Some, more than others..." She paused for a moment, looking at the assembled Legion. Julian was... actually mildly impressed, she was selling it quite well.

"That is why we are here today. The city of Cheyton is like any other city in this wasteland; A nightmare. It houses several gangs, our target today the brutal Knuckleheads, ally of Lanius and his Pack of Monsters! Drug running casual murderers, one and all, and it is our solemn duty to remove this cancerous plague, for the good of all!

"Our alae will take to the streets, our Decanus will lead our best units to march in their headquarters, rorarii will set up a position here while our Speculatores scout the rest of the city. Questions?" The silence remained, making Julian smile further.

"Good. May Mars have mercy on our enemies, FOR WE WILL NOT!" She drew her machete, the rest of the Legion doing so as well as they repeated the cheer.

 

[Souplex]

Redstone
The area was full of dogs. Jesse liked dogs. Trouble was; dogs didn't like Jesse.
A large Nightkin came out of a shack.
"Greetings friend. Welcome to Redstone Camping Ground"
He began, holding his arms in an open, inviting gesture.
"I'm afraid our people here have no leaders, but my brothers have long since elected me to represent them, if that would suffice?"
"So long as I can speak to someone."
He turned towards his shack, gesturing for the visitor to follow him.
Jesse followed into the shack. Jesse had always been been a short man, but among all these large mutants he felt even shorter.
"My name is Caleb, friend. How may I help you?"
Jesse removed his helmet to reveal that he was in fact a ghoul.
A ghoul who somehow had a great bushy beard.
Weren't ghouls supposed to lose their hair?
"My name is Jesse Jager-Krieger. I am here on behalf of a group known as the Wight Knights. Perhaps you've heard of us?"
Jesse pulled a cigar out of a compartment in his armor.
"Mind if I smoke?"

 

[RobDaBank]

Redstone Camping Ground, Calebs Shack

The visitor was a ghoul. Good news. Though Super Mutants and ghouls didn't always see eye to eye, they could at least agree that humans were the untrustworthy ones most of the time. A ghoul with a beard though? This was new.

"Go ahead" Caleb replied to the ghouls request to smoke. Then he addressed the previous question, "I'm afraid my people are new to this place and have yet to learn of the various factions" Caleb sat in his large chair, placing his staff against his side, it was always wise to keep a weapon at hand in case any stranger had a hidden motive. Still, this Jesse seemed to be genuine enough.

"Tell me friend, what has brought our humble settlement to the attention of your 'White Knights'?"

 

[EmperorZuma]

Follower's Clinic

The door before Harland open to reveal a distress orderly, suddenly frightened by the sight of the bloody Khan. "Oh my god!" The orderly put Harland over her shoulder and helped carry him into the clinic. At the same time, a nurse had come from the back of the clinic to see what was causing all the ruckus, gasping when see saw Harland. "Get one of the doctors up and into room 8!" The orderly shouted at the nurse, who regained her composure and ran back down the hallway.

Soon, the orderly was able to get Harland into a clinic room and pump some more Med-X into him, alleviating some of the pain. Not long after, a doctor finally arrived and began working on his wound.

Meanwhile, Nurse June had finally entered the scene, with the orderly apparently going to get her after seeing Harland was in good hands. "What the hell happened to you?" A groan in June's voice told that she had to be dragged out of bed to get here.

New Wheatland Woods

The fungus coyotes looked like they were about to foolishly charge Kaiden and Able once again, but another loud bang in the distance came just an instant before one of the coyotes' heads literally exploded. "Get down, Mutant!" Several more bangs, several more squishy explosions, and soon the coast was clear.

From out of the bush came several soldiers, wearing yellow-green armor and carrying what appeared to be highly-modified rifles. "Aren't you lucky we were on patrol..." A soldier wearing a grass-stained beret came forward, apparently the patrol's leader. "I'm surprised you did so well, considering the ambush, but these things don't go down that easily." The soldier pointed to the coyotes that Kaiden thought he had put out of commission, save for the one he ripped the exposed fungus out of. Their positions in the grass showed that they were moving again to attack before their heads were blown off. "Well, you can consider your good fortune on your way out, 'cause this place has really gone to shit."

 

[Souplex]

Redstone
"Go ahead" Caleb replied to the Jesse's request to smoke. Then he addressed the previous question, "I'm afraid my people are new to this place and have yet to learn of the various factions"
Caleb sat in his large chair, placing his staff against his side.
Jesse took out a lighter with the words 'Een draught mackt maght' engraved on the side, and lit up his cigar. (Cigars remaining 20)
"Tell me friend, what has brought our humble settlement to the attention of your 'White Knights'?"
Jesse could tell that Caleb didn't get the pun.
"Not 'White', 'Wight' W-I-G-H-T. It's a pun of sorts. We're not really from Wyoming either. We're a migratory army of ghouls. There's about a hundred and fifty of us not counting the ferals we keep for guard dogs and research. The bulk of us are up in Montanna. I'm here specifically because of you."
Jesse took a puff of his cigar.
"Good stuff, Koak leaf. Only grows in what was Prospect Park back in Brooklyn. Would you like one? You probably won't get another chance to try one."
Jesse grabbed another cigar.

 

[ImSkeletor]

McGrath yelled at the ranger. "Come on! Can you please stop fighting people? I don't want to kill anybody. I have gone through more than enough bullshit the last couple days to last a life time. I don't need to add killing you to the pile. Just stop freaking fighting and leave or stay or do literally anything besides what you are doing right now. I am a freaking doctor not an executioner. See?" He laid down the plasma shotgun and kicked it away.

 

[RobDaBank]

New Wheatland

Kaiden crouched to the ground, hands up in front of the soldiers. He didn't want them to turn on him too, they were obviously more than capable and would have a great knowledge of the land.

"Well, you can consider your good fortune on your way out, 'cause this place has really gone to shit."

"Look, I thank you for your help friend, but I'm afraid I cannot leave. Not until i find my friend. Perhaps you know him, a doctor traveling from Cheyton?"

Kaiden stood up straight now, and Abel relaxed a little, both of them catching their breath. Kaiden looked around at where he thought they had downed the coyotes, then to where the one he ripped apart was, thick blood soaking the ground. "Just what were those things?"

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Redstone Camping Ground

A hundred and fifty strong? These could be powerful allies, provided their views aligned well. Caleb held out his hand in a stop gesture when offered a cigar. "I appreciate the offer friend, but I must decline. As a representative of my people I cannot be seen to give in to any vice." He said, trying to sound as sincere as possible. His curiosity was at its highest by now though, hopefully the ghouls interest was mutually beneficial. Perhaps they needed trade, or shelter.

Not wanting to seem to eager though, in order to get a better foothold in any bartering that may occur, Caleb sat back in his chair, his head rested onto one of his fists. "You were saying?"

 

[Souplex]

Redstone.
Caleb held out his hand in a stop gesture when offered a cigar.
"I appreciate the offer friend, but I must decline. As a representative of my people I cannot be seen to give in to any vice."
Jesse put back the cigar.
"Suit yourself. Don't want to shave any years off your indefinite lifespan after all."
Jesse puffed on his cigar. He was going to be really sad when he ran out of them. The only way to get more would be to hope that by coincidence Oak trees mutated in the exact same way on the west coast. He understood why the Litch was so upset when they finally ran out of Mirelurk meat in Chicago. LakeLurk meat tastes similar, but it's just not the same.
"You were saying?"
"I'll be blunt; the smoothskins will never fully accept us. Sooner or later they'll come marching in here with intent to destroy you. The Wight Knights hope to found our own nation in the radioactive ruins of Seattle. One that's too large and powerful to attack, and too radioactive to be occupied by a smoothskin army."
Jesse took another few puffs on his cigar.
"Normally we would go to whatever local ghoul settlements are in an area, but Wyoming doesn't seem to have one. You're the first Super Mutants we've encountered who aren't hostile to outsiders, so I've been authorized by the Litch to extend an offer to join us. If you do though, the dogs have to stay. Dogs tend not to respond well to the scent of rotting meat that's common to ghouls."

 

[RobDaBank]

Redstone Camping Ground

Caleb leant forward, elbows on his desk, head in his hands. He thought long and hard before speaking. An opportunity like this may not come around again, and it would have been a perfect settlement had the master still been in power, if he wished to hide.

Caleb let out a long sigh, before sitting back and speaking. 

"I'm afraid... That this is an offer I cannot accept. I know that humans can be aggressive toward the abnormal, but they can also be kind. You and I both know there are humans that have done great deeds that have benefited many of us in some way. I can't help but feel that hiding in some radioactive hole and building up huge numbers would be seen as an act of aggression."

Caleb stood from his chair and walked to a corner of the room, looking through the cracked walls to the outside, at his people that he had led so far. "Our people have worked too hard to prove to humanity that we do have a place in this world, after all were we not human ourselves once? We have already taken steps and secured trade agreements with a large nearby settlement, things are finally working in our favour..."

Caleb turned to the Ghoul, he did not want to insult him by keeping his back turned. He could still prove to be a powerful ally.

"I would be happy to form an alliance of sorts though. No matter how well fortified you become you will always need supplies, and we could always use the help of a small army when times get desperate. Though you must understand, we cannot be involved with the killing of any humans unless absolutely necessary." 

Caleb walked over to Jesse now, "Do we have an agreement?"

 

[Soviet Heavy]

Follower's Clinic, Bloody Sunday

"What the hell happened to you?"

Harland coughed, tasting blood on his lips. "Bad night at the Brothel. Does your town usually have bloodbaths for a Sunday Night Special? Thought I saw someone... looked familiar. Maybe it was that big guy with the glasses...."
Harland was falling in and out of consciousness as the Med-X took its toll on his senses. The huge gash on his stomach was still bleeding badly, but at least there were stitches in it now. June stood over the bed, aiding the surgeon between taking notes. "How are the other guys doing? Any of the Khans recover?"

Across the Wastes, three days forward
A cold wind gushed over Ollie as he and Anna galloped further west, sending a shiver down his spine. While summer in the Wasteland could be desert-like, Wyoming's flat plains produced brutal nuclear winters, blowing down from the Rockies and Canada. The Caravans from California often complained about the heat, but Ollie dared them to try and sit through a deep freeze that killed crops and drove animals into Deathclaw territory just to escape the ice storms. The first snows would begin falling in the next month or so, give or take the weather's disposition.

I-80 was a well patrolled stretch of prewar road that spanned the length of southern Wyoming. Trade caravans braving the Utah pass had to deal with the vicious 80's further south, but the Khans had driven the raiders out of their territory during their settlement of the Empire. Still, there were always dangers on the road...

Clang!

Ollie heard the first shot ping off a rusted metal billboard. He and Anna spun around, searching for the source of the shot. After several more shots fired out from the hills, they kicked their 'Mares into a gallop, trying to make a break for it. Up ahead, the half broken remains of an overpass loomed. Before they had a chance to change course, they were underneath the bridge, just as the net was dropped over both of them.

 

[Souplex]

Restone
Caleb let out a long sigh, before sitting back and speaking.
Jesse listened intently, chewing the butt of his cigar.

"I'm afraid... That this is an offer I cannot accept. I know that humans can be aggressive toward the abnormal, but they can also be kind. You and I both know there are humans that have done great deeds that have benefited many of us in some way. I can't help but feel that hiding in some radioactive hole and building up huge numbers would be seen as an act of aggression."
"The individual person is intelligent, kind, and compassionate. People are stupid cruel animals. It doesn't matter if they see us as a threat if we're too powerful to attack. The long term plan is to set up smoothskin settlements in the non-radioactive surrounding settlements, and have them act as trade go-betweens."

Caleb stood from his chair and walked to a corner of the room, looking through the cracked walls to the outside.
"Our people have worked too hard to prove to humanity that we do have a place in this world, after all were we not human ourselves once? We have already taken steps and secured trade agreements with a large nearby settlement, things are finally working in our favor..."
"We're still human, we're just not smoothskins. I was a smoothskin for 21 years. In that time I saw war, famine, civil uprising, oppression, and many other atrocities. They can barely make peace with each other. What makes you think they won't eventually turn on you when it's convenient?"

"I would be happy to form an alliance of sorts though. No matter how well fortified you become you will always need supplies, and we could always use the help of a small army when times get desperate. Though you must understand, we cannot be involved with the killing of any humans unless absolutely necessary."
"I suppose I can agree to that. We'll continue migrating west, stopping in pre-war state capitols until we reach our goal. We should be easy to find."
Jesse put his hand out to shake hands with the super mutant.

 

[EmperorZuma]

New Wheatland

"Look, I thank you for your help friend, but I'm afraid I cannot leave. Not until i find my friend. Perhaps you know him, a doctor traveling from Cheyton?"

"Uh, wasn't Jose's caravan due to show up sometime this week?" One of the younger-looking soldiers in the back spoke up as he looked out into the forest, rifle raised. "They may have not gotten word of our warning before they left Cheyton."

The patrol leader sighed. "That was probably the shooting we heard earlier." Mumbling to himself a bit, the captain thought out their next move. "The commotion died down too far for them to have been overrun. If we move northwest, we should be able to reinforce their rear. If you want to see your friend, you're free to follow." With that, the patrol moved on, giving Kaiden little time to choose.

 

[RobDaBank]

New Wheatland

Kaiden wasted no time in following the rangers through the brush, hoping to be of some use to them and by extension the doctor too. He threw his cloak back so his body could move more freely, this helped him move a little quieter, though a hulking Super Mutant was never going to be a master of stealth. At least his green skin didn't stand out for once.

"Just through this tree line" Whispered the patrol leader.

----------------------------------------------------------

Redstone Camping Ground

Caleb took the hand of the ghoul, his own huge hand dwarfing his in size. He was careful not to grip or shake too hard, some ghouls could be a little too frail for that.

"We are in agreement then. Come friend, would you like to rest, resupply perhaps have a bed for the night? One of our brothers recently left on a personal errand, I am sure he wouldn't mind you using his trailer for as long as you need. It is away from any dogs, should they concern you." Caleb walked toward the door of the sack, ready to show Jesse to wherever he wanted to go.

 

[FalloutJack]

In a way, this was now McGrath's fault. No, not the fighting. That was largely Joe's doing. No, what the good doctor was at fault for was was speaking that famous line. As soon as he did, and in the context of the fight, the music was heard.


Malkos, however, decided that enough was enough. The ranger was now alone, having properly alienated himself among these two, whom he could perhaps find travels with acceptable. Why? It would be interesting, and it would confuse the hell out of people. Ergo, the Deathclaw poked Martin in the shoulder from behind, passing him from one side, after having kicked McGrath's gun back to him.

"This is over. It's over because I SAY it's over. Try to change that now, Ranger, and you'll be very...VERY unhappy."

And yeah, he was going to MAKE it be over if they didn't cut it out.

 

[Souplex]

Wyoming
Marty wasn't launched terribly far, and now was ready to stab Joe.
[Luck]"Typical, really."
"Come on! Can you please stop fighting people? I don't want to kill anybody. I have gone through more than enough bullshit the last couple days to last a life time. I don't need to add killing you to the pile. Just stop freaking fighting and leave or stay or do literally anything besides what you are doing right now. I am a freaking doctor not an executioner. See?"
Doc put down his weapon.
[Survival 90/20]"When you're staring down a vicious animal, running gets you bitten in the ass."
The bite scar on Joe's rear itched slightly from the memories that statement brought back.
"Believe it or not, I'd rather not kill anyone either. It's why I non-lethally disarmed the man who was prepared to murder me in cold-blood. Martin may be a weak cowardly traitorous asshole whose intelligence is comparable to a feral ghoul, but he doesn't deserve death. If I wanted him dead; his skull would have more lead than grey-matter. Now that your gun's down though, I'll leave you to your poor decisions."
"This is over. It's over because I SAY it's over. Try to change that now, Ranger, and you'll be very...VERY unhappy."
"My poor choice in traveling companions and the gullibility of strangers has seen to that."
Joe began backing away, keeping his revolver ready in case anyone tried anything.
"Let's see how long after I'm gone before one of you turns on the others. Five caps says one of you does as soon as I'm out of earshot. My money would be on the Deathclaw, but then again, Martin's here."

 

[Anti-American Eagle]

Wyoming - The middle of nowhere

"Believe it or not, I'd rather not kill anyone either. It's why I non-lethally disarmed the man who was prepared to murder me in cold-blood. Martin may be a weak cowardly traitorous asshole whose intelligence is comparable to a feral ghoul,"

Says the man who picked a fight with a deathclaw.

"But he doesn't deserve death. If I wanted him dead; his skull would have more lead than grey-matter. Now that your gun's down though, I'll leave you to your poor decisions."

"This is over. It's over because I SAY it's over. Try to change that now, Ranger, and you'll be very...VERY unhappy."

"My poor choice in traveling companions and the gullibility of strangers has seen to that."

"Let's see how long after I'm gone before one of you turns on the others. Five caps says one of you does as soon as I'm out of earshot. My money would be on the Deathclaw, but then again, Martin's here."

Martin stood and watched the man back away. He sheathed his knife and picked up his rifle, a bullet lodged in it's stock.
"Goddamned NCR. That man was no Ranger."
He then looked at the doctor and the Deathclaw... The thought hit him again that he had just sided with a talking claw.
He slung his rifle on his back again and looked at the Deathclaw.
He extended his hand towards it unsure of what to do and spoke "My name is Martin and I apologize for shooting you and your Kin."

 

[Souplex]

Redstone
Jesse and Caleb shook hands. Caleb's grip was surprisingly weak.
"We are in agreement then. Come friend, would you like to rest, resupply perhaps have a bed for the night? One of our brothers recently left on a personal errand, I am sure he wouldn't mind you using his trailer for as long as you need. It is away from any dogs, should they concern you." Caleb walked toward the door of the shack.
"All right then." They headed out.
As they walked, Jesse saw many Super Mutants keeping their distance from him. It didn't look to be out of fear, more out of a sense of...
...Political Correctness? Excess Courtesy? If Jesse's conversation with Caleb was any indication, the mutants here were afraid to offend anybody. Political correctness was the only phrase Jesse could think of to describe it, although it wasn't quite right.
A few of the dogs growled at Jesse, but were scolded by their handlers when they did.
Jesse was glad Sullivan wasn't the one sent to deal with the Redstone mutants. Sullivan was a good commander, but not the most diplomatic of the revenants. He would probably come in with a squad of Death Knights. When dealing with a bunch of nervous mutants, that's not the way to go.
Jesse's cigar was about half done. He was really enjoying it. Back in Brooklyn he made his living off Koak leaves. Few people knew how to properly harvest them, and few of those could brave the terrors of Prospect park. Most were devoured by the mutant squirrels, hawks, and bats. Others fell prey to the Kroak trees which were also mutations of oak trees and easily mistaken for Koak that let out a gas that was toxic to humans, and attracted predators. At peak value, he could sell a cigar for 200 caps.
Jesse arrived at the unnamed associate's trailer.
"If you don't mind my asking, what's the owner of this trailer up to?"

 

[TheDoctor455]

In Transit to Vault 74

Ulysses pitched Old Glory up on the hilltop in front of him, surveying the area around him. A few mountains here, a cliff or two there. And of course, the Wastes. Which remained almost immaculately barren, save for the ruined carcasses of a few fallen trees. Not much 'tree' left in those husks at this point though. Mostly rot and ash and vermin these days. One could be forgiven for believing that no plant life had survived the War.

Ulysses dug through his satchel for... a gem. Not just any gem though. This one was a former prize known as The Cyclops' Eye. Why a former prize, you ask?

Well...

around 25 years ago, back when Ulysses was still a loyal Frumentari of Caesar's Legion, he had been tasked to monitor the newly discovered (to the Legion, anyway) New Vegas. In an effort to blend in, the young Ulysses had taken up gambling, and had quickly found himself in debt. Not that any of the collectors they sent were really a threat, but they did make it more difficult to maintain his cover. Since gambling would only get him in deeper, Ulysses decided to track down rumors of an industrial diamond, perhaps the last in existence. Owned of course, by House Industries.

Keep in mind that at the time, Mr. House's... survival still wasn't common knowledge, and was largely kept a secret. Ulysses had stumbled on some very obscure rumors he managed to overhear being spoken behind closed doors at The Tops, but he hadn't given them much credence. Be that as it may, it does not excuse Ulysses' arrogance when he finally tracked the gem down, The Cyclops' Eye. By this point, Ulysses had become very sure of himself, and on a whim, he decided to infiltrate the seemingly abandoned warehouse where the Eye was kept... piss drunk.

Fair enough, he managed to get past the slightly glitchy Securitrons, who, due to an unresolved exploit in their IFF systems, would believe that anyone who, when asked, did not identify themselves with anything their databanks could recognize as a name; wouldn't alert the entire Securitron network, and the local bots would treat the newcomer as a newbie. This was a well-kept secret of Mr. House's, who, lacking the infamous Chip, did not currently have the means to fix these wayward drones. Suited Ulysses just fine. What did he go with when the bots asked him for his name?

"My name is No-One," he told them over and over again. This started to work against him, as his drunken overconfidence made him turn the phrase into more and more of a boast as he continued to delve deeper into the warehouse and crack its more effective security measures one by one.

Oh, he did manage to prize the Eye from its perch inside a massive industrial laser. But just before he left, one last Securitron approached to ask him his name. The Courier of the East cracked a wicked smile, held the gem above his head, and shouted, "My name is... Ulysses!"

Shouting your name out loud to network-connected Securitrons while stealing a treasure of the Old World is not the best of plans. And as you can imagine, the Cyclops' Eye became completely worthless by the time Ulysses managed to slip back into New Vegas, as no fence was stupid enough to take it off his hands. The old standardbearer still has it.

Ulysses shook himself out of his reverie as he placed the gem into his boots, along with a small and battered laser pistol with a good shot or two left in it.

He grunted to himself, his face revealing nothing of what he now thought of his youthful hubris. The only hint of something more, is that just before slipping the Eye into his left boot, he glanced at it one last time and sighed. Make of that what you will.

He hobbled down the hill slope, and continued on his way to the Vault.

 

[Soviet Heavy]

Southwest Wyoming, somewhere along Interstate 80
When Ollie awoke, he was hanging upside down. Straining against the blood rushing to his head, he saw that his feet were tied together, and he was dangling from the ceiling of some old barn, or so it looked like. He swung himself around, trying to get a better glimpse of the place. He couldn't see Anna anywhere, only numerous people wandering around what appeared to be an arena. Then Ollie made the bad decision of looking down. The White Tail looked up at him, drawing back its hackles and snarling hungrily.

"Oh."

A huge man wearing nothing but a ragged pair of pants stepped up onto a a podium overlooking the pit. "Welcome, welcome to Baron Bernie's Battle Royale! Today, we're gonna start things off with a bang: we have in our midst, none other than some Great Khans themselves! First up, the man hanging from the roof. You get to fight Minny here, our favorite pet. I hope you enjoy your throat while it lasts. Cut him loose!"

The line snapped, and Ollie was sent tumbling into the pit with Minny. No hatchet, no gun, just bare hands against a bighorn sized fox/rabbit mutant. The White Tail sprung forward, propelled by it's hind legs like a catapult. Ollie dodged out of the way while the creature crashed into the side of the arena.

"Come on, get him Minny!" shouted Bernie, lording over the stands and egging the crowd of bandits into cheering. Ollie ducked under the White Tail's leap, following up with a roundhouse kick as the beast turned around to jump at him again. The kick landed squarely on Minny's nose, and she backed off, whimpering. Unsatisfied with his cowardly pet, Bernie grabbed a remote and pressed the button.

The shock collar sent a high voltage zap through Minny. The White tail was shrieking and snarling again, charging wildly at Ollie until her master made the pain stop. She dragged Ollie by his pant leg, clambering on top and snapping at his face. Ollie managed to grab onto the monster's lower jaw and hold it open, all the while kicking at Minny. The White tail started to tire as the struggle continued, and finally, Ollie gained the upper hand.

He winced as Minny continued to whimper weakly, but he knew that Bernie would keep sending the mutant after him until one or the other died. Far better to put the beast out of it's misery than to let the sick fuck continue to torture it. Ollie tossed the exhausted White tail off, and swiftly stomped down on the creature's windpipe, killing it instantly.

The crowd went silent. Ollie looked up and threw his arms wide. "Are you entertained yet?" he shouted. "Can I fucking go, or do we need to do this the hard way?"

Bernie slouched over his rolls of fat to look at Ollie. "You just killed Minny..." he said with a fake whimper. "I raised that little furball from a baby, after I killed its mother. Why the hell should I let you go? You're too much fun, and I've only known you for a few minutes!"

Bernie suddenly tensed, as something cold and metal pressed between his neck flaps. "Maybe you should put some better guards in front of that outhouse you call a jail, fatty," hissed a familiar voice. Anna appeared from behind Bernie, battered and bloody. It didn't look like her own, thought Ollie. Anna tossed the sack she was carrying into the pit. It was filled with Ollie's gear.

"So," she continued, "If you don't fancy the idea of being swiss cheese, you let us go, kay?"

Bernie started whimpering for real this time. He nodded feebly, nodding to a pair of raiders. They tossed a rope into the pit, allowing Ollie to climb out. Passing through the barn of thugs, Ollie noticed that few of them actually had weapons, and the ones that did seemed too dumb to use them. He shook his head, wondering how the hell they had gotten caught in the first place.

As the pair of Khans began to ride off down the highway again, Ollie spoke to Anna. "You know, sometimes I don't get it. How do we get dragged into these things? What purpose could any of what happened mean in the long run?"

Anna smiled. "I dunno, it's just one of life's little sidesteps. But I suppose it was worth it."

"Oh really?" scoffed Ollie. "How, exactly?" Anna continued to grin, and revealed a small handle with a switch on the end.

"Because fireworks are pretty." She flipped the switch. The fading sky behind them was lit a brilliant blue red as the tanks of brahmin manure Anna had rigged blew Baron Bernie's Battle Royale into oblivion.

"I suppose that works."