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[dx144]

2267, Aurelius Venus was a frontline legionary. Fighting for the Legion against tribes whose names no long exist. While fighting against one of these tribes Aurelius showed himself to be something greater than a Legionary.

Aurelius proved himself when he was within a squad being destroyed by a tribe whose name isn't worth remembering they were taking fire from some riflemen on a ridge which Aurelius had a clear shot on if he switched to his own rifle but the commanding Centurion saw such dishonourable demanding his troops use only their hands in battle. As the battle turned worse for the Legion, Aurelius took it upon himself with a few other legionaries to breaking from the Legion's forces in the battle and to flank around the riflemen then began to attack them from behind, some of the tribesmen died while others fled in a panic towards the bulk of the Legion's forces where they were butchered without firesupport. The Tribe's leader was coordinating these riflemen and was killed by Aurelius's breakaway squad. This ultimately broke the Tribe causing the remaining tribe to surrender within a day.

The Centurion noticed Aurelius breaking away and flanking the Tribe's gunmen the Centurion was enraged by this and demanding for his disobedience he be lashed and crucified it was only Vulpes who was watching who halted this and took Aurelius under his wing. 

2268, Aurelius now serving as a forward scout for the Legion was at the front of the Legion's expansion seeing places that were now all under the banner of the Bull. 

Aurelius showed why he was chosen for this role as he was unconventional within the Legion's eyes. Where the Legion focuses on melee and unarmed weapons with a focus on strength and endurance Aurelius held almost none of those traits and was more skilled in the ways of the Bear which most frowned upon but some saw this a gift rather than a curse. With these traits such as preferring to kill enemies from a distance, convincing enemies to stand down rather than fight and bypassing enemies completely made him a prime candidate for some work the Legion required as undercover agents who wouldn't draw attention from people such as the NCR.

Aurelius a man of 16 years of age when he was first serving in the Legion a year ago he had short shaved black hair, he was smart, charismatic and possibly the most lucky son of a ***** within the Wasteland. It was a miracle he'd survived a few days let alone years as part of the Legion. There were children training in Legion camps who could take more punishment than he could but that was why Aurelius was good at what he did. Most people notice the brick shithouse while not many look for the scrawny guy who'd be beaten within an inch of their life if they were poked with a stick a few times.

Aurelius became a known scout and ambusher, he'd disrupted trade routes, informed the Legion of enemy troop build ups and of areas the enemy had overlooked when preparing for a battle.

It was these traits which led to Aurelius's next job within the Legion.

2273, Aurelius know as a was 22 and chosen to become a member of the Frumentarii serving as an undercover Courier. This allowed Aurelius to go anywhere he was needed or felt like going to. 

He had travels across NCR territory seeing sights which were completely foreign to Aurelius and sometimes travelled across Caesar's territory seeing sights some of the legionaries had talked of. A place that quite interested Aurelius though was the Mojave Wasteland, this was because it was so different to other places which had been obliterated by the Great War whereas New Vegas had signs of war and destruction but nothing on the scale places such as Denver or California had suffered. Eventually when the Legion was preparing to step up to take over the Mojave more Frumentarii were sent to infiltrate the Mojave to ensure the Legion had as much information as possible for their invasion.

2277, Aurelius didn't participate in the actual battle with the NCR at Hoover Dam but he was present in the Mojave disrupting communication between the NCR positions and even ambushing a few small reinforcement groups allowing Aurelius to assist the other Legionaries at Hoover Dam. Ultimately it was in vain though, when news spread that the Legion had been pushed back and the Dam had held Aurelius reported back to the Legion to see receive new orders and see what the Legion's new move was.

Aurelius was informed that he was to carry on posing as a courier and gather as much information as he could and that someday the Legion would return repaying the NCR for their humiliating defeat. 


2281, Aurelius had only a couple of visits to the Legion since the Legion's defeat at Hoover Dam in 2277 but had knowledge of the Mojave few others could claim to have then came a new delivery to the New Vegas Strip. the route was simple, go from Primm following the I-15 all the way to South Vegas, avoiding the Fiends whenever possibly eventually making his way into Freeside then it would be almost clear sailing from there. Provided none of Freesides locals try anything but its nothing a 10mm couldn't fix. Aurelius had a bad feeling about this Platinum Chip but since no knew he had it he'd be fine so long as he didn't tell anyone about it.

The bad feeling Aurelius had turned out to be true as the route was intercepted by what was he assumed Great Khans although they weren't the ring leaders. Turns out it was some power hungry suave rich looking guy who wanted what Aurelius was carrying. If Aurelius had more of a warning he could have escaped or killed a few before being captured. It was as if they were lying in wait for Aurelius to arrive.

An hour or two later Aurelius awoke to fix them digging a grave. His grave. A round fired point blank into Aurelius's head. It was only some days later Aurelius awoke, he was within a doctor's house with almost no recollection of what had happened to him other than the man who fired a 9mm at him, his delivery of a Platinum Chip and that New Vegas was his destination.

The doctor who helped Aurelius was known as Doc Mitchell, he asked for nothing in return told him about what had happened to him and let Aurelius go back on his way. Aurelius knew little about what had happened in the last eight days since he'd been attacked, but none of that mattered as he had his current purpose to recover that chip, punish those responsible for ambushing him.
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October 19th 2281:

Aurelius was told by Doc Mitchell that he should see Sunny Smiles to know about the surrounding area since his injury as the area has gotten worse. Powder Gangers running rampant around the I-15, people have been supposedly disappearing around Hidden Valley and Primm is supposedly under siege by escaped convicts.

Shows how good the NCR's rehabilitation is if an entire prison can break free and not be put down in a few days. Might have to search through that Prison perhaps the Powder Gangers could be assimilated into the Legion. Well those redeemable anyway.

If not they could easily serve as a distraction and nuinscene for the NCR to soften them up for the Legion's next attack. Aurelius should try to save as many towns as possible, well only the ones who are serviable. No point in saving a town that cannot be of service to the Legion.

But before that Goodsprings could be of service to the Legion, protecting it from the Powder Gangers could be more serviceable than the Powder Gangers who'd probably just be wiped away when the Legion take over the Mojave so it would just save the Legion time and resources on killing the Powder Gangers. The Powder Gangers appear to be just as degenerate as the others who've inhabited the Mojave, their only redeeming trait is they're fighting against the NCR.

Looking into the NCR's strength in the area could also show how easy it could be to throw these section of the Mojave into more chaos than it already is.

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October 19th 2281 (Continued):
Goodsprings seems to have more reluctance to save itself than Aurelius had originally thought. Majority of the town needed to be convinced to defend against raiders rather than let them pick apart their town. Although Aurelius did manage to convince most to defend Goodsprings it was much more challenging than he thought it'd be.

Aurelius had managed to get Sunny, Chet, Doc Mitchell and Trudy's support against the Gangers who prove to be indispensable during the battle.

As Aurelius managed to get the townspeople ready to defend Goodsprings and everyone was getting into position to stand against the Powder Gangers, the Powder Gangers arrived early with a firefight starting almost immediately. Aurelius was using a Varmint Rifle with 5.56mm rounds, not quite what he was used to using but Powder Gangers aren't exactly highly equipped either.

As shots rained around the citizens of Goodsprings a few taking some rounds, none looked fatal hits but Aurelius held his breath, exhaling slowly putting the surrounding situation out of his mind and focusing solely on his shots, three of his shots hit one of the Gangers killing him outright, even though a couple of the Gangers had died from the citizens as well but around seven were still standing and fighting back. Behind them was their leader, a man named Joe Cobb who was throwing Dynamite, it was falling short but most of the citizens had never been in a battle before the sounds seemed to terrify them away from the frontline falling back. It wasn't long before the Gangers were making their way ever closer their defensive line.

It was then that Sunny, Ringo and Aurelius opened up fire and the same time stopping the Powder Gangers for a short time unable to move in the rain of gunfire that was upon them. A few shots were true hitting the Powder Gangers then as a few of the citizens saw the Powder Gangers being held back they also fired back at the Powder Gangers giving Sunny, Ringo and Aurelius more than enough time to reload then began their counter offensive.

The Powder Gangers were down to a couple of men with Cobb now starting to consider running. You could see him starting to look around to see any escape routes that wouldn't make him sport. After his last couple of men were fighting he took this last chance to flee, as Sunny and Ringo shot down the other two Aurelius sighted Cobb running for it, Aurelius grasped his rifle tightly and fired a round straight into the back of his left leg sending Cobb crashing down to the ground. Before Aurelius left his sights he saw Cobb crawling away so Aurelius squeezed the trigger again hitting Cobb, still attempting to flee Aurelius fired again, again and again until he need a reload. Cobb continued to crawl a few meters more until he just couldn't, there he was left to bake in the sun.

Aurelius was celebrated but asked for no such recognition, claiming the citizens themselves saved Goodsprings not him, without them fighting Aurelius would have died. With that Aurelius looted the fallen Powder Gangers made what repairs possible and took a Powder Ganger uniform for his next task.
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October 20th 2281:
Aurelius was determined to find out the strength of the Powder Gangers inside the Correctional Facility. Perhaps this was just a breakaway group working on its own or maybe they were all working together planning to expand the Powder Gangers influence around the Mojave.

Regardless Aurelius wanted to see if they had redeemable traits that were only visible within their headquarters and to see if they were powerful enough to challenge the NCR in this area long enough to divert more resources from other regions more vital and if not they could be used to choke the NCR's supply route across the I-15.

The Correctional Facility was quite well armed, watch towers, barbed wire and steel fences surrounded the Correctional Facility. This would prove to be a real difficult position to take and without heavy weapons, casualties would be massive in trying a frontal assault although the Powder Gangers weren't exactly adequate equals for the NCR troopers. It would still prove to be a grueling battle for the NCR to take the Facility back.

The man in charge of the Powder Gangers was a man named Eddie offered Aurelius some work in clearing out a rival leader who was talking of keeping everything they "acquired" for themselves and there was also someone who was acting strangely, dressed as a merchant but had been hanging around a single area not moving waiting for something.

Aurelius more than happy to help keep the NCR weakened in this area agreed to assist the Powder Gangers with these issues.

Chavez was the rival leader who was nothing more than sport fro Aurelius who sighted him and his men firing five rounds, one for each of the four men but fired a second in Chavez ensuring his head had a gaping hole there. With that down he claimed anything worth salvaging then carried on to deal with this "Merchant".

The Merchant was waiting outside of a shack known as Jean Sky Diving. After a few polite words with the man Aurelius quickly found he wasn't a merchant as he claimed to but more a bounty hunter trying to pick off a couple of Powder Gangers at a time. Proved to be rather easy killing him though. Usually Aurelius preferred to stay far out of the firing range but this time he went up close and personal with a Caravan Shotgun he put two 20 Gauge shells into what was his head before it painted the decaying shack.

With this news Aurelius returned to the Correctional Facility to inform Eddie of his travels.
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October 21st 2281:
Aurelius returned to the Correctional Facility with Eddie delighted at the news both Chavez and the "Merchant" had been removed from the area. Although Eddie was paranoid that the NCR was planning something to do with the Correctional Facility and requested Aurelius look into what the NCR was doing at their outpost outside Primm. Eddie also warned Aurelius to look out for escaped convicts who're trying to take Primm for themselves.

The outpost outside Primm was just a few NCR troops lead by Lieutenant Hayes, New California Republic Army, 5th Battalion, 1st Company when asked about Primm Hayes explained he didn't have the manpower to retake the town then when asked about the Correction Facility was reluctant to tell so Aurelius had to take the plans from him, preferably without killing him as then he'd be within an NCR outpost fighting his way out. Aurelius delicately stole the plans from Hayes learning that the NCR was preparing for a surprise attack on the Correctional Facility.

Aurelius saw this as a chance to hinder the NCR's troops and resources in the Mojave. If they're events like this happening all over the Mojave then the NCR would have no chance at standing against the Legion again.
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[dx144]

October 21st 2281 (Continued):
The NCR had amassed a force over thirty strong troopers ready to crush the Powder Gangers at the Correctional Facility.

Aurelius alerted Eddie to this situation arising. The Powder Gangers rushed to prepare for the NCR's attack but it had already started. Mini Nukes broke open the fences to the north-east and north-west of the Correctional Facility.

Powder Gangers fell in scores unable form any sort of defensive line against the more disciplined NCR troops. Aurelius knew he'd have to intervene, grabbing a Grenade Rifle with ten 40mm grenades then climbing into one of the watchtowers Aurelius began his rain of death upon the NCR troopers who formed clusters being thrown in chaos when grenades fell upon them.

Most of the troopers ran for some kind of cover becoming broken apart with troopers cut off from each other allowing the remaining Powder Gangers to form a counter attack against the NCR troopers.

twenty of the original thirty were killed with the last ten separated from each other and starting to run low on ammo, Aurelius switched over to a 10mm pistol shooting at exposed troopers who were either believing they were in cover or running towards other troops pinned down.

It all seemed to calm down with silence falling over the Correctional Facility with only an occasional burst of gunfire crying out being met with the scream of a man dying. Another Mini-Nuke explosion hit on the south fence with another fifteen troopers breaching into the Correctional Facility. The Powder Gangers were crippled with over fifty already dead or wounded.

Leading this squad was Sergeant Lee the overall strikeforce leader. Aurelius couldn't get a good shot onto the breaching troopers, with this Aurelius left the watchtower he was in switched back to the grenade rifle with three 40mm grenades left he sighted four troopers together and fired a grenade into the middle of them. Most of the troopers were blown apart but all were killed or unable to assist in the battle.

A few of the Powder Gangers were surrounding the troopers who were moving to try to gain entry into the Warden's office knowing if the Powder Gangers leadership was taken out the gang would fall to infighting being easy pickings.

Aurelius couldn't allow the NCR to regain some control over this section of the Mojave, with another six troopers falling to the Powder Gangers only five were left but almost made it into the Warden's Office, Aurelius used his second last 40mm grenade blowing two of the troopers away then quickly fired his last 40mm grenade of the other side leaving only Sergeant Lee left.

As Aurelius pulled out his 10mm pistol the Warden's Office door opened with a violent man who'd be watching every move Aurelius made within Eddie's presence as his bodyguard smashed the face of Sergeant Lee with brass knuckles sending him to the floor with a bloodied and bashed face.

What this violent man known only as Scrambler continued to do the battered body of Sergeant Lee was truly brutal. The last sight Aurelius had of Scrambler before reporting the news of the NCR's attack to Eddie was Scrambler pulling out a knife and hearing a final scream.

Eddie was overjoyed with the news that the NCR's attack had been halted. With that Aurelius had moved on, claimed what he could from the fallen troopers then went to deal with those who'd taken the Platinum Chip.

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Edited by dx144, 27 February 2015 - 01:52 PM.

[dx144]

October 22nd 2281:
Aurelius moved into Primm for the first time, escaped convicts littered the place all looking for anything to kill or steal.

Before Aurelius had only been into the NCR outpost around Primm but never entered the town, it was worse than what he'd heard. The citizens of Primm were holed up in an old casino, all were armed although none attempted to keep their town they all hid and awaited salvation.

When Aurelius arrived convicts were around Primm's perimeter, all were lightly armed with only 9mm pistols and varmint rifles. Nothing posed a threat to him, so he walked upon them like a man blessed with shots literally bouncing off his metal armour as he responded with 5.56mm Service Rifle rounds sending the lightly armed convicts down to the ground.

Once the perimeter of Primm was secured all that remained was to cleanse the convicts within the Bison Steve Hotel, it was the only position that could possibly serve as a forward position for the leader of these convicts.

It was a decaying ruin with a few convicts and their leader cowering inside. They were nothing to Aurelius, less than animals even worse than the dirt beneath his feet. Aurelius with a strange sense of confidence strode among them, slaying them when they made themselves known.

As Aurelius searched throughout the ruins there was a safe within the floor of what must have been a pre-war shop within the Hotel. It was difficult to break into but once Aurelius did there it was a 357. Magnum unlike any other Aurelius had seen.

A beautiful black metal coated the barrel, frame and cylinder gold etchings decorated the black metal with a handle of Ivory marked with the symbol of clubs. The word "Lucky" engraved onto a silver plate on the barrel. 

Aurelius thought it seemed fitting knowing how lucky he has been, took the weapon killing the last of the convicts within the Hotel.

Shortly after killing the convict leader Aurelius noticed a man tied in what served as a kitchen in the past. This man was named Deputy Beagle he became quite invaluable to Aurelius for a short time. Being the only man who knew of where the men who attacked him went from.

Once Aurelius learnt this information he escorted Beagle out, leaving Primm then headed for Nipton.

Nipton was a ruin even more than what it was supposedly like according to a Powder Ganger known as Boxcars who had his legs broken by what he claimed was the Legion. Apparently the Legion entrapped NCR troopers, citizens and Powder Gangers killing them all, also something about a lottery deciding how these people would die.

Aurelius warmed at the news the Legion had already begun making their presence known through the Mojave before the Dam had fallen. It was only when Aurelius went to see if any of the Legion were remaining that he saw his commander, Vulpes Inculta, having not reported in for over two months Aurelius had almost no knowledge of the Legion's motives other than they were going to assault the Mojave again.

Vulpes explained why Nipton had been exterminated, there were a town of whores, caring not who came so long as they paid. They had no morals and would serve even the Legion if they paid. With this Vulpes led his Legionaries to begin executing the town, NCR and Powder Gangers and Boxcars was right Vulpes used a lottery system but each of them cared only for themselves. Vulpes followed the same rules that Legionaries followed, if some were disloyal or disobedient some would be punished while the others watched.

Even though they outnumbered the Legionaries considerably they made no attempt of resistance even when their loved ones were taken each clung to their ticket praying it was the one which would ensure their life would be saved. Just being told of these people putting their life above a communities sickened Aurelius.

It was good to see Vulpes hadn't gone soft since Aurelius last saw him. Sharing a conversation about the Legion's progress and some of their plans Aurelius told Vulpes of his current own mission of recovering the Platinum Chip. Vulpes listened and after a short goodbye carried on his way and Aurelius did the same. Although Vulpes asked Aurelius to spread word of the Legions actions to let the rest of the NCR and Mojave know of their actions in Nipton.
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Edited by dx144, 28 February 2015 - 04:39 PM.

[dx144]

October 23rd 2281:

The fate of Nipton's residents and patrons still lingered within Aurelius's mind. It had been a long time since he'd participated in anything along those lines, all Aurelius had done in the last decade was espionage against the NCR then passing that information along to the Legion. No punishment the NCR dished out was anything able to compare to the Legion's retribution.

 

Following Vulpes's request of spreading the word of the Legion's actions Aurelius while in disguise as an NCR Trooper backtracked to a major NCR outpost where he spread the word of the Legion's actions among the troopers. Many shuddered at the knowledge of the Legion not even waiting for the Dam to fall before making their way into the Mojave. The NCR couldn't hide behind the Colorado River, they would have no wall to stop the oncoming storm.

 

Once Aurelius had spread the word there was no reason to stay within this area of the Mojave so Aurelius moved back to Nipton following the passage through to Novac. The NCR hadn't put down all of the Jackals and Vipers who were once strong raiders who'd been beaten down by the NCR but this area of the Mojave wasn't high in the NCR's priorities especially with the Legion taking up the majority of their attention. These Vipers laid traps, mines and ambushes all across the pass.

 

They were used to lightly armed Caravans and travellers but Aurelius changed it around causing the hunters to become the hunted. Sneaking around Aurelius fired shots from his Varmint Rifle shooting from distances they could barely see at night. Soon the Vipers were either dead or scattered, Aurelius made it to Wolfhorn Ranch a stop on the way to Novac. This served as a place to sleep for the night making it easy to travel along the road to Novac.

 

Wolfhorn Ranch served its purpose giving Aurelius refuge for the night, shortly after leaving and heading north following the road Aurelius had come close to a Ranger Station known as Ranger Station Charlie, where a Ranger hit squad had been sent out targeting Aurelius. They gave the ultimatum that Aurelius had three days to either improve his reputation with them or they'd kill him. Aurelius disliked waiting, then pulled out Lucky out of her holster deciding waiting wasn't necessary and shot down the Ranger Leader down with the others running for cover. 

 

As the leader was put down others began firing at Aurelius. A few shots broke part of his metal armour but having a Super Stimpak with him Aurelius quickly used it to numb the pain then returned fire at the three remaining Rangers as the shots were fired at lightning speed two of the Rangers were blown away with only one left. The Ranger broke from cover quickly firing the his clip at Aurelius a few rounds smashed into his chest and left arm. Aurelius's left arm was shattered from the impact but firing one handed after reloading Lucky blowing the last ranger's head apart. Aurelius was in urgent need of a doctor if he was to make it to Novac.

 

Aurelius carried some medical equipment with him such as Doctor's Bags, Stimpaks and some chems designed for medical use. These are frowned upon by the Legion but can be useful to push one's self to beat an opponent so long as they are used responsibly. With the use of a couple of Doctor's Bags Aurelius's arm returned to a serviceable condition. 

 

Feeling an itch for revenge Aurelius moved onto Ranger Station Charlie. It was lightly defended killing the only guard outside with a quick double tap from a 10mm pistol then after entering the Outpost found only the Comm Officer was left with a large amount of medical supplies stockpiled inside the Outpost. Sometimes it did look like Aurelius was the luckiest man in the Wasteland. With the Comm Officer quickly killed Aurelius took what supplies he could and left.

 

Aurelius did wonder why the Outpost had such little defence but didn't really have the time to sit around and wait for more rangers to turn up. He was also closing in on Novac after about an hour Aurelius could see the Dinosaur that stood above Novac. Aurelius finally could take the weight off his shoulders for a short time. 

 

After entering Novac Aurelius had noticed a rifle barrel sticking out of the Dinosaur's mouth. Going into what was a reception it turned out the motel was still open and Aurelius inquired into who was in control here and who was defending the town. Aurelius learnt it was one of the Mojave's independent towns and was protected by two ex-NCR snipers. This could prove to be an issue in taking the town if these ex-NCR snipers were like what the NCR employs today then that means they could be a real trouble for the Legion take the town having to cover a long open expanse where these snipers could treat it as a shooting range.

 

Aurelius decided to remove the ex-NCR snipers leaving the town vulnerable and then ready for the Legion to take. While talking to one of the snipers, known as Manny he asked Aurelius if he could check out the REPCONN Test Site as feral ghouls were making their way close to Novac. Aurelius agreed to remove the Ghoul threat to Novac. After agree to this Aurelius had also found out the sniper took shifts Manny daytime sniper and the other "Boone" being the nighttime sniper. Moving into Boone's room Aurelius killed the sniper Boone as he slept with a machete looking what he could from the room and then left. Manny was also not speaking to Boone something to do with his wife disappearing so no one would really go looking for Boone either so Aurelius had a bit of extra time to kill Manny but first the REPCONN Test Site was the main priority.

 

As Aurelius approached the edge of Novac and closed in towards the path to the REPCONN Test Site he could already smell the stench of rotting flesh and decay.

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Edited by dx144, 01 March 2015 - 08:03 PM.

[dx144]

 

DeathAngelWolf

 

October 23rd, 2281. NCRCF.

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Watching from afar, eyes set on the target in question, a lone man stood perched upon the hill overlooking the NCR Correctional Facility. Despite hearing the reports that an entire Platoon had attempted to retake the facility, this man had no fear of his objective as he took count of the guards that covered the large prison complex. There were more now, at least where the troopers had breached the facility's fencing and walls. A total of about fifteen guards armed to the teeth with the dead troopers weapons now.

 

His eyes shifting, he saw the pile of charred corpses, the only thing telling him they were NCR men was the half melted dog-tags burned into their necks. Whispering a quiet prayer for their souls, the man hoisted his Anti-Material Rifle over his shoulder and got into a laying position with it already aimed at his first target.

 

The echoing sound across the prison likely alerted them all, yet they had no idea where he was as he observed the Powder Ganger toppling back over the railing of the guard tower. He landed on his comrade below, who was pinned beneath his dead weight. He heard shots returning, but they didn't matter as they were wild and inaccurate at the surprise attack. More Gangers dropped, each shot silencing and lessening the return fire. 

 

The man paused as he reloaded the rifle, taking his sweet time as he enjoyed watching the frantic running about the prison as the Gangers sought to take cover or were trying to coordinate to find him. When he finally had reloaded, the man took aim and fired the next shot, blowing the arm off of a Ganger about to throw some dynamite out towards his position. Hearing the bloodcurdling scream as the Ganger clutched at the missing limb made the man smile mentally as he watched the dynamite detonate and kill both the Ganger previously holding it and two others.

 

Finally, there was silence as the man fired the last of his shots at the final outside guards. Rising from his prone position, the man gazed across the compound with a form of satisfaction that he'd taken vengeance upon these criminals that had slain so many good men. Shouldering his rifle, the man drew an immaculate .44 Magnum, etched upon its barrel a few words in Latin

 

"E pluribus unum." (Out of many, one.).

 

Walking almost leisurely down the steep hill, the man paused at the smashed fencing as he looked to the single Ganger still alive underneath his comrade. The Ganger was howling and cursing, trying desperately to get free but was unable due to the weight of the dead man. His weapon lay discarded, kicked away in his struggle for freedom. This made the man laugh, which caught the attention of the Ganger who turned to shout at him to help yet fell silent out of fear at what he saw.

 

As the man stepped closer, he revealed himself to be dressed from head to toe in full riot armor, a thick, desert colored trench-coat covering this. The symbol of the NCR emblazoned upon his shoulders and his face hidden from sight by a heavily armored gas mask with a thick plated helmet connected. The red lenses seemed to glare into the depths of the Ganger's soul as he laid transfixed, pale as a ghost with a look of extreme fear showing.

 

Without any hesitation, the Veteran Ranger aimed his .44 and plastered the Ganger's brains all over the concrete foundation before he could utter a scream. Stepping past the corpses, the Ranger strode over to the door of the warden's office building and stepped inside.

 

Acting quicker than the bodyguards ever could have, the Ranger smashed the handle of his .44 into the face of one and then shot the second in the throat. Watching him fall to his knees, choking on his own blood brought a bone-chilling laugh from the Ranger as he switched targets to the one who'd fallen back from the savage smash of his revolver to his face. Running up to him before he could get up, he leapt over the bodyguard and wrapped his free arm around his throat; positioning his thumb at a pressure point on his neck that could knock him out instantly as he aimed his revolver at the staircase up to the office. Hearing none, he withdrew his revolver and put it under the chin of the bodyguard before blowing his head off.

 

The blood splatted on his helmet and coat, giving him a haunting appearance as he let the body fall to the floor and moved silently up the stairs. When he reached the door, he was met by a spray of gunfire, plasma, and curses from three people. All but the plasma was absorbed by his armor as he continued to step into the room, his skin simmering yet he didn't show any hint of pain as he calmly fired three shots into the third guard's chest and downed him. 

 

When they finally stopped shooting to reload, the Ranger holstered his revolver and in a flash he was among them. The one called Scrambler had drawn a bloodied combat knife and eyed him with an insane grin as he tried to gut him. Moving swiftly, the Ranger slammed his arm away from his stomach and broke his wrist quickly disarming him. As Scrambler drew away clutching his wrist, the Ranger turned and caught another plasma round from Eddie. The result was only enraging him as he moved right up in Eddie's face and headbutted him before ripping the Plasma pistol from him.

 

Watching Eddie fall back and hit the desk, the ranger took the stolen pistol and without having to aim shot Scrambler behind him before he could recover. Hearing him thud as he hit the floor told him he'd shot true as he threw the pistol away and walked to Eddie. Wrapping his hands tightly around his throat, he hauled Eddie off the floor and uttered a single question in a distorted voice.

 

"Who helped you to stop our men?"

 

choking on his own blood, Eddie glared and spit blood on the Ranger's helmet before whispering angrily.

 

"I'm not telling you a d*mn thing you NCR scumbag. Go ahead and kill me"

 

Tightening his grip around his throat, the Ranger's voice grew more serious as he listened to the choking and gurgling coming from Eddie. 

 

"That's fine. That's fine little Powder Ganger. I'll figure out who's been killing my fellow soldiers in due time...But for you little man...time's up."

 

Without letting Eddie make a cutting remark, the Ranger crushed his throat and let him fall to the floor. Wiping his gauntlets on Eddie's shirt, the Ranger exited the building and went toward the hole he'd entered in when he heard a voice he knew well in his communicator unit in his ear.

 

"Ranger Sin....Ranger Sin...please respond."

 

"This is Ranger Sin. Go ahead Ranger Jackson." He replied smoothly.

 

"Ranger, have you found out who's been harassing our operations in the Mojave yet?"

 

"Negative sir, but I am on the trail of the culprit currently."

 

"What about NCRCF?"

 

Sin smiled underneath his helmet as he set off into the desert and moved to Primm. "Exterminated sir."

 

"Excellent news Ranger...I'll have an entire complement of troopers come to reoccupy the facility as soon as possible. We'll keep in touch. Notify me when you find more evidence of the bastard who's been stirring things up here."

 

"Will do Ranger Jackson...Ranger Sin out."

 

 

Edited by dx144, 02 March 2015 - 03:26 PM.

[dx144]

October 23rd 2281 (Continued):
The REPCONN Test Site was thick with Ferals, it had been a long time since Aurelius had fought against Ferals before but their screams, screeches could never be truly forgotten. Striking from afar to halt the Ferals from having any chance of harming him. Ferals might be terrifying but they're not that hard to kill, all they have is their decaying flesh which is rather easy to piece with almost any rifle or pistol. Shooting them down with his Varmint Rifle Aurelius closed in on the Test Site, Aurelius thought the outside was bad but seeing the inside of the Test Site he was mistaken.

From the moment he opened the door there they were Ferals already charging and clawing at him. Pulling out Lucky she slew them one by one as the Ghouls screamed and bashed against Aurelius. Eventually carving a path through Aurelius heard a voice coming from the intercom, it was supposedly a group of Ghouls who were in need of help. Aurelius was curious as to why Ghouls were trapped by Ferals and proceeded to explore. Aurelius was told to go upstairs to meet the owner. 

While Aurelius continued to kill Ferals on his way to the upstairs access he noticed a way down to the basement. This wasn't his given task but since curiosity was getting the better of him Aurelius decided to take a look into the basement. To his surprise the Mutants who were known as Nightkin had taken refuge down there. Perhaps they were invited or not, taking this area of the Test Site by force. Either way they were hostile to Aurelius, appearing out of thin air with the use of their Pre-War technology. The technology they used were known as "Stealth Boys" Aurelius had come across some during his travels and even had used some during his time as a Frumentarii.

Aurelius hadn't faced against many Super Mutants in his travels, the strength of these mutants matched if not surpassed even Caesar's praetorians. Although they lacked the intelligence and weapons that praetorians had to offer. 

Only real advantage was they were almost invisible apart from the Stealth Boy's field would shimmer slightly like moonlight on water. Aurelius had to concentrate to ensure he wasn't going to have a Nightkin he didn't notice hit him with one of their stone weapons. 

Since the Nightkin were stronger and much tougher than the Ferals Aurelius switched over to a Hunting Rifle, shooting the Nightkin had an obvious effect but they were able to take some rounds before falling. 

Several Nightkin had made this their home. Aurelius still had no idea of why the Nightkin entered here but had killed at least four now. Aurelius then found a locked door that was rather easy to open, there stood an Ghoul overwatching the doorway. Harland was his name had a 308. Hunting Rifle and a few Nightkin corpses laid around the doorway.

Harland wondered what Aurelius was doing here, after Aurelius said he was just exploring Harland was shocked questioned if Aurelius hadn't noticed the invisible monster roaming around.

Aurelius then questioned Harland what he was doing here. Apparently the Ghouls who are upstairs are some kind of religious Ghouls and Harland not being very religious stuck with them to get away from prejudice and also something about there being some good looking Ghoulettes.

Aurelius just passed off the comment and asked if Harland would leave, but Harland said he had a friend he wanted to know about saying she was somewhere in the basement.

Aurelius decided to take another look around with the knowledge Harland's friend ran deeper into the basement. While going through the basement Aurelius eventually came upon a Nightkin who said to him something about Antler saying he'd killed his kin and that he must die. Aurelius paid little attention to the insane ramblings of the Nightkin and squeezed the trigger on his Hunting Rifle putting three shots into the Nightkin's chest with another two then blowing his head apart. The Nightkin did manage to hit Aurelius with a sword of some kind though that smashed up right leg. It wasn't hurt too bad and only need minor attention but Aurelius's medical equipment was starting to run a bit low.

Aurelius then continued down into what the Nightkin appeared to turn into a jail Aurelius saw a Nightkin with an incinerator uncloaked, Aurelius slowed his breathing tightened his grip and fired a 308. round into the fuel of the incinerator blowing up the weapon as well as the Nightkin. Aurelius then continued to explore and found a dead ghoul with a locked room.

With this knowledge Aurelius informed Harland of this news and he left the basement and showed Aurelius the way to the group of Ghouls above. After killing a few Ferals on the passage to the way upstairs the Intercom spoke up saying that the door was about to open allowing Aurelius in. As the door opened Harland went back to the basement.

The person who let Aurelius in wasn't a Ghoul though he was a man known as Chris. Aurelius was even more confused by this. After spending some time talking to Chris and trying to convince him he was Human and he was completely opposed to the idea of it Aurelius left to talk to the leader known as Jason Bright.

Jason explained how they're planning on leaving the Wasteland and supposedly go to the "Great Beyond" Aurelius in his head laughed at the idea seeing it as almost impossible to use pre-war tech that had been left for so long to carry them beyond the atmosphere let alone another planet.

Although it dawned on Aurelius even if it failed this would remove the Ghoul threat to Novac as they were going to take the Ferals as well. If this worked the Ghouls wouldn't be here when the Legion made their push into the Mojave so it was a win win.

With this knowledge Aurelius agreed to help and Jason explained that it was the Nightkin who'd driven them up here but as Jason called them "Demons". Aurelius had already wiped out the Nightkin and Jason was overjoyed getting everyone in his flock to carry on with their mission which was supposedly almost completed.

Going deeper into the basement than before the Ghouls had rockets already prepared and only needed a couple of things to complete their preparations, the things they needed were thrust control modules and isotope 239 that is where Aurelius's knowledge of the area came into play.

Aurelius remembered something that a man named Cliff Briscoe talking about some toy rockets which had a fuel source in them. Knowing this Aurelius went back to Novac asking Cliff about these rockets again and asked to buy them. Cliff was more than happy just to be rid of them and happily sold them all to Aurelius.

There was also a scrap deal known as Old Lady Gibson who knew useless scrap from vauble scrap. Aurelius headed north to see if this Old Lady had the thrust modules needed for the Ghouls. Aurelius was in luck she did but want five hundred caps for them. Aurelius waited till it was late evening, sneaking in Aurelius broke into various containers within Old Lady Gibson's home eventually finding the thrust modules. After taking them Aurelius left quickly remaining undetected, then headed back to the Test Site.

Quickly making his way to the overlook of the Launch Pad Aurelius gave Chris the equipment needed to complete the rockets and also tried once more to convince him of being Human. Chris was reluctant at first but shortly after being talked to Aurelius learnt he thought he was a Ghoul because he hair had started falling out.

Chris after learning the Ghouls were using him was enraged, wanting revenge on them. Aurelius calmed him down explaining they needed him and would take him if they could. Aurelius did think about having the rockets malfunction but with radiation falling around here would make it a nightmare for the invasion to use roads and have pockets of irradiated locations. It might be useful short term but would ultimately hinder the Legion's movements overall plans for the Mojave.

Chris was convinced to go to Novac where the Legion may have a purpose for him. After all that was finished Chris told Jason the required equipment was here allowing them to sort everything then he left. Aurelius went to open up the launch bay doors. He noticed a control panel, scanning the panel he saw a way to launch the rockets into each other or their predicted coordinates were off slightly. Aurelius seeing it as a way to have the flight go more smoothly therefore less likely to blow up above the Mojave Aurelius quickly made the adjustments and launched the rockets.

The rockets launched perfectly to Aurelius's surprise with the Test Site cleared of Ghoul infestation and the town of Novac now free from invasion until the Legion arrives.

Aurelius travelled to Novac one more to inform the sniper Manny of the Ghoul's being removed, Manny was happy with Aurelius's work and told him where the men who attacked him went off to which was at the ruins of Boulder City. That stinking place of cowardice where the NCR repelled the Legion, using explosives where their men failed. 

Aurelius saw it as a fitting place to enact vengeance upon those who'd harmed him. Aurelius then grabbed his machete and carved Manny apart in his room, leaving him there making Novac unable to defend from the Legion once they came marching.

Spending one more night in Novac before heading off to Boulder City.
________________________________________________________________________________​____________

[dx144]

October 24th 2281:

 

Aurelius awoke and travelled north to the 188 Trading Post, NCR usually patrol across it but easily enough to evade being detected so long as you don't draw attention to yourself. There are rumours from there that the Legion mounted an attack at Nelson but Aurelius didn't know for sure if the Legion had made attacks close to NCR positions and formed camps of their own.

 

After doing business with the traders at the 188, Aurelius headed off to Boulder City. Most of the buildings were destroyed with others crumbling wrecks. There was only one building serviceable which was a Saloon with an NCR memorial outside. The NCR Memorial was for those who died while fight the Legion in Boulder City when they blew it up.

 

The site of it sickened Aurelius, honouring men who'd fought like cowards fleeing and unable to fight as proper warriors. Overcome with rage Aurelius pulled out Lucky and fired all his rounds in the memorial, Private Kowalski who was the memorial watched Aurelius do this was equally enraged except for with him. Demanding to know what Aurelius was doing as his brother died within the battle at Boulder City.

 

Aurelius explained to Kowalski that the men who thought here were cowards and he's also a coward. Enraged Private Kowalski drew his weapon upon Aurelius, as Kowalski was speaking to Aurelius he didn't notice Aurelius grasp his recently acquired Ripper. The moment Kowalski drew up his Service Rifle and sighted Aurelius the Ripper cut through Kowalski's right arm. Kowalski's blood splattered all over the memorial, Kowalski was still alive as the screams gave away Aurelius thrusted the Ripper into his chest spraying blood everywhere. The memorial was more blood than stone now. Once Kowalski was motionless Aurelius slit Kowalski's throat then left.

 

Moving further up throughout Boulder City, there was an NCR Lieutenant, Lieutenant Monroe. Monroe explained seeing Aurelius as just a traveller, that there were some Great Khans pinned down inside and no one could get through until the situation was resolved. Aurelius offered his assistance when dealing with the Khans. Monroe wanted an alternative to having the hostages killed agreed to let Aurelius in to deal with the Khans but little Monroe knew he'd just let in a Legion operative.

 

Aurelius went to see the leader of the Khans who was known as Jessup, he knew Aurelius the moment he saw him. Jessup explained what had happened the night when they ambushed Aurelius. Didn't know anything about the Platinum Chip though, Jessup did know that the man who hired them was a Chairman named Benny double crossed the Khans leaving them for dead. 

 

Aurelius would have killed the Khans for attacking him but Vulpes Inculta explained that the Legion had a plan ready for the Khans, assisting them could help the Legion integrate those worthy. Aurelius pulled out his grenade rifle and fired 40mm grenades at the NCR troopers from a concealed position killing several of them before they knew what was happening. Aurelius didn't even tell the Khans of his intentions. The Khans for a time wondered if they were the target of these explosions but shortly found it was Aurelius killing the NCR.

 

Monroe hearing the sounds of explosions moved into investigate seeing troops being routed with most dead. Monroe pulled out his 9mm shooting down two Khans Aurelius pulled out his Ripper. As Monroe slid in a new clip he heard the sound of the Ripper activating, a few seconds later a man's screech. The sound alone was terrifying but Monroe couldn't see anyone. His breathing was erratic and was sweating when he heard the Ripper activate from behind he swung around and before he could squeeze the trigger he felt something stab into him Aurelius then activate the Ripper with it inside Monroe's stomach, blood was thrown everywhere with Aurelius's metal armour stained more crimson than the Legion's colours. The Khan who thought they had the most brutal initiations and were the toughest rarely saw brutality on this scale.

 

Jessup was informed that the NCR had been cleared out. He gave Aurelius the information he needed to know where to find Benny within the Tops at the New Vegas Strip. Also gave him Benny's engraved lighter to "Shove it up his ass when you catch up to him". 

 

As the Khans left the area Aurelius looked into who Monroe was communicating with and found there was a Ranger Station close to Hoover Dam. Ranger Station Delta, this location would prove difficult to kill the Rangers but taking care of them would reduce the NCR's effectiveness here. It might have been tempting for Aurelius to launch an assault on the Dam but that would have proved fruitless, perhaps Aurelius could kill a large force of the garrison the NCR's reserves massively outnumbered him with him being able to be more useful elsewhere in the Mojave.

 

As Aurelius moved towards the Ranger Station he sighted a couple of Rangers sat together around a fire, the Communication Officer outside a tent and who Aurelius assumed the leader of the station walking around the outskirts of the Ranger Station. Aurelius looked down the sights of his Hunting Rifle and put down the Comm Officer then targeted the two around the fire who'd just heard a shot ring out. Aurelius fired two shots hitting one of the rangers in the back of his chest he fell to the ground his only movement an occasional twitch in his leg. The other ranger noticed Aurelius pulling out her Magnum firing shots in Aurelius's general direction.

 

Aurelius fire two more shots at this ranger but both shots missed her. Aurelius quickly pulled out Lucky and managed to get a shot into her head where she fell.

 

The Ranger leader who was rushing back to see the commotion found Aurelius inside the Communication Tent looting what was worth taking. He aimed his rifle at Aurelius. Demanding to know who he was and what had happened. Turning around Aurelius looked into the eyes of this Ranger explaining his name and who he was. A Legion operative with the mission of disrupting NCR movements and operations. The Ranger seemed confused thinking Aurelius was some crazy local.

 

Aurelius still covered in the blood of Private Kowalski which had stained his armour did have the look of a crazed Legionary though. As the ranger was contemplating the story he'd been given he didn't realise Aurelius had taken a few steps closer to him until it was too late.

 

Once more Aurelius's Ripper warmed up throwing the last of the blood clinging to it off. The Ranger reacted quickly firing a shot out of his Cowboy Repeater smashing into Aurelius's armour which Aurelius shrugged off and his Ripper dug into the Ranger with more blood flying into the Communication Tent. The Ranger seemed to take a while to die with blood going everywhere and screams of a helpless man who bashed Aurelius a few times with his fists but the Ranger became weaker and weaker with every hit until he fell down. With such a large wound he was bleeding to death and Aurelius left him them in the Communication tent seeing a way down into a Cellar.

 

With the possibility more Rangers were down there Aurelius broke open the lock on it and entered to find two Rangers with 357. Magnums were down there with a large amount of supplies, mainly medical but also some weapons and ammunition. Aurelius took what could be used after slaughtering the two Rangers who were ill prepared to do battle seeing as this was an area for rest and recuperation after time out in the field. 

 

While taken what was useful he saw that the NCR had invested some troops in a location known as "Helios One". Some kind of pre-war power facility. Aurelius knew it would be a secondary objective since Hoover Dam would produce all they'd need but it would still have troops defending it who could be called upon to make a difference when the Legion attacks. 

________________________________________________________________________________​_________

 

October 25th 2281:

After going back through the 188 Trading Post Aurelius saw Helios One in the distance. The Ranger's reports stated it was guarded with about thirty to forty Troopers with Lieutenant Haggerty in command. As Aurelius approached Helios One Haggerty demanding to know what Aurelius business was as this was a restricted area. Aurelius told them he had come to take control of Helios.

 

Many laughed at him until Aurelius fired Lucky killing the Troopers with Haggerty equipped with only a 9mm emptied her clip into Aurelius armour with no effect on him as Aurelius pulled out his Ripper and did a clean swipe beheading her. With no need to stay there Aurelius moved into Helios where most of the Troopers knew of Legion raids around the area but knew they'd never be stupid enough to try a frontal assault. 

 

Most were isolated with no news of an attack on Helios. As Aurelius moved through the facility, he noticed a man who was dressed as a scientist. Aurelius assumed this was the man who'd know all about the facility. He was mistaken. It turns out the NCR had hired an absolute idiot to try and sort out the facility. Fantastic was someone who must have mistakenly been hired as a scientist for the NCR. He was willing to help Aurelius though if he directed the power to the Strip and Mccarran as that is where he would be paid kilowatt/per-hour and with that he gave Aurelius the password to the Eastern Reflector Control Terminal.

 

Luckily there was another man known as Ignacio Rivas. He wondered what Aurelius's allegiance was, Aurelius knew better than telling everyone he met that was a member of the Legion. Aurelius explained that if Aurelius said he a certain group Ignacio could have him killed, agreeing to this Ignacio said he was a member of the Followers of the Apocalypse. Aurelius said he wanted what Ignacio wanted.

 

With this knowledge he gave Aurelius a password to the Western Reflector Control Terminal and that the terminals needed to be reset to the mainframe so the solar panels could be reconfigured.

 

Aurelius left into the mirror yard. While dodging and sneaking past the NCR troopers out there where a lot more than the indicated thirty were station with easily fifty keeping watch of the area. Aurelius sneak into the Western Reflector Terminal area which was rigged with traps which him managed to disarm and reset the terminal then moving off the Eastern Reflector Terminal and managed to dodge NCR troopers except for some feral NCR dogs that were around the Eastern Reflector Terminal. Quickly kill them off with Lucky Aurelius reset the mainframe then quickly made his way into the Solar Collection Tower.

 

After passing through a few tunnels Aurelius had a Protectron and three turrets firing rapidly at him. Opening a door and going into a room with a terminal Aurelius noticed the floor was covered in Frag Mines. Quickly disarming them all Aurelius rushed over to the terminal. Aurelius hacked through it, disabling the turrets and then fired a 308. round through the protection sending it crashing to the ground.

 

A Mister Gutsy came into the area Aurelius was in, armed with Plasma weapon it easily burnt through Aurelius Metal armour leaving his chest burning. Luckily it wasn't a fatal wound but was quite irritating. Switching over to his Grenade Rifle Aurelius fired four 40mm Grenades at the Mister Gutsy before it finally was destroyed. Aurelius knew he'd need more effective weaponry to clear out the Solar Collection Tower as Mister Gutsies could take more punishment than Aurelius could dish out with his current weapons.

 

While looking around Aurelius found some Pulse Grenades. These would prove immensely useful while destroying the robot protectors in the Tower. Aurelius came to a downward descent where a Mister Gutsy was patrolling this area. Aurelius threw a couple of pulse grenades at the Mister Gutsy which fried its circuits and destroyed it much easier than the last Mister Gutsy.

 

Aurelius had only a few a couple of pulse grenades left with him but was through most of the Solar Tower now. As he advanced he noticed a locked door giving him the ability to go past the Protectrons charging in a small room. Aurelius managed to pick the lock and advance through but didn't like the idea of leaving Protectrons waiting for him so he threw a couple of Pulse Grenades into the room destroying the Protectrons and Aurelius with the Tower now clear of robots Aurelius moved to the elevator which would take him to the top of the tower.

 

Once Aurelius arrived at the top he noticed the mainframe computer was lacking required power and had to manually repair the wiring with some scrap metal. It took Aurelius a few minutes but he eventually fixed the wiring, once Aurelius had access to the mainframe he was given options of where to direct the power.

 

The Strip and Mccarran served no purpose, they would already received more than enough from the Dam and there was no need to assist the areas which were going to be attacked anyway, Westside and Fremont were the two poorest areas mostly pointless sending it that way as those areas were going to be taken by the Legion anyway no point in possibly giving them a possible boost to their defences, Full Region would give everyone a little power but again the Dam if left to be repair would provide more than enough and then the main choice that interested Aurelius Archimedes II reports of it being a orbital laser would have passed upon most who were well versed in pre-war technology but Aurelius knew this could have great importance. If it was operational during the attack on Hoover Dam, the NCR's veteran snipers are sighted then this could wipe out the NCR before they could hit the top men of the Legion.

 

Aurelius decided that Archimedes II was of greatest use to the Legion's success in the Mojave. After inputting the power distribution another option appeared "Activate Archimedes I Plant Defence System" Aurelius knowing this would cripple the NCR in and around Helios One he activated it and went flip the switch.

 

Aurelius left to the Observation Deck quickly going towards the control panel and flipped the switch.

 

Troopers at the ground were startled by the Solar Panels moving on their own re-coordinating and reflecting blinding light but before they could respond beams of light started striking NCR Troopers on the ground. Everyone of them was hit they thought they were running for cover grouping up until the main weapon fired upon them in a massive strike. It decimated an area leaving nothing but a smoking hole.

 

Aurelius was amazed at such a power, he then wondered where the Range Finder could be if it wasn't within Helios One.

 

But Aurelius was done with Helios, the NCR were defeated and he had a visit with Benny at the Tops in New Vegas. Aurelius need to head through the 188 Trading Post again. He'd heard reports of expert weapon makers known as Gun Runners who would have an assortment of weaponry for sale which Aurelius knew he could put to good use once he arrived their trading post.

________________________________________________________________________________​_________

[dx144]

October 28th 2281:

Aurelius had followed the path from the 188 to the Grub n' Gulp Rest Stop where Aurelius was told the location of the Gun Runner's trading post. Aurelius noted in on his map and continued north-north-west till he reach the Gun Runners. The Gun Runners had some of the best weaponry in the entire Wasteland. Aurelius was amazed that these people had the knowledge to create such weapons that would have only really been able to be produced before the Great War.

 

Aurelius also noticed they had some armour for sale, Combat Armour even some of the more advanced versions of it. Aurelius had gather quite a few caps while exploring through the Mojave with more than enough for some new armour, especially since his Metal Armour was becoming quite wear and tear with some parts broken off and other burnt through.

 

Once Aurelius had seen some NCR troopers in stripped out T-45d Power Armour that the Brotherhood of Steel had abandoned during their war with each other. Well Aurelius says abandoned more Brotherhood troops died and were unable to recover them before going into hiding. Sometimes Aurelius wondered about having possibly Centurions wearing this armour but knew the Centurion only wore armour of those they'd slain making a mash up of armours such as the T-45d Power Armour shoulders, NCR Ranger arms, Combat Armour legs and few other armours. Seeing Centurion armour is more a rarity and a sign that the Legion is serious about the action they've taken if one or more Centurions have been deployed.

 

The NCR may boast of the Rangers superiority but Centurions are some of the most battle hardened troops within the remains of America.

 

Aurelius would be lying though if he said he didn't want some of the Brotherhood's Power Armour, being that it was possibly the best armour still functioning within the Wasteland, obviously Aurelius would put marks of the Legion onto it. Although within the knowledge of how to wear the armour it was pointless having it.

 

Aurelius remembers shortly after seeing some of the Brotherhood of Steel members being killed by a group of Centurions and one of the Centurions boasting his strength put on some T-51b Power Armour and almost broke his back trying to move in it.

 

Aurelius bought some of the Advanced Combat Armour and moved onwards to New Vegas which required him to go through Freeside. From almost the moment he entered Aurelius was being harassed by locals with switchblades, knives and rolling pins who failed to notice the revolver sitting at his side. These locals weren't worth the bullets put into them, but Aurelius could allow them to hit him so it was a necessity he put them down.

 

The fact that the NCR claimed the Mojave but couldn't put down crime in one of the most prized towns made Aurelius how the NCR even came to be if they couldn't stop locals from rebelling. Still Aurelius carried on towards the gate to the Strip where some Securitrons were guardian the gate, Aurelius saw a local run past him and was gunned down once he got too close to the entrance.

 

As Aurelius closed in on the gate a Securitron rolled up to Aurelius demanding he submit to a credit check before entering New Vegas. After some years of interacting with various robots and terminals Aurelius knew certain codes to use to deactivate or confuse robots. When the Securitron asked for the credit check Aurelius responded with "1C 3C R34 M" causing the Securitron to make a large amount of buzzing and grinding noises before saying "Welcome to New Vegas".

 

No sight Aurelius had before could compare to the Strip it was one of if not the only place where Pre-War "Glory" still stood whereas almost everything else had fallen or crumbled after years of decay.

 

Before Aurelius went to the Tops a Securitron came up to Aurelius known as Victor who'd actually rescued him from his grave in Goodsprings and was following him town to town conveyed a message from the mysterious ruler of New Vegas known as Mr. House. For some reason he wanted to meet with Aurelius of all people.

 

Aurelius also wondered why someone such as Mr. House wanted to see a Courier, perhaps he knew who Aurelius really was and wanted to remove him from the Strip out of fear he'd be causing trouble for the Strip. Aurelius would find out though.

________________________________________________________________________________​​_________

[dx144]

October 28th 2281 (Continued):
Mr. House ruler of the New Vegas Strip, claiming to be the same man as the Mr. House of pre-war. Seemed hard to believe since the only people who would be able to have been alive since before the war were Ghouls while House claimed he wasn't. Did hide behind machines though.

House wanted to see Aurelius about the Platinum Chip as House was the recipient of the Chip. Aurelius had no intention of assisting House with giving him the Chip, if House wanted it so badly he'd have to recover it on his own. Aurelius's main concern was killing Benny, recovering the Chip was a priority only until it was found out he the Chip was being delivered to and House isn't to be assisted unless a superior orders that he should be.

House allowed Aurelius to leave but urged him to return when Aurelius realised that helping House was the right decision. With this Aurelius left the Lucky 38 and made his way into the Casino known as the Tops. Before entering Aurelius made sure his weapons were locked and loaded, once entering the Chairmen greeters and security tried to stop Aurelius who demanded to meet the head of the Chairmen as he had some important business to discuss with them.

The only person they could bring to Aurelius was the second in command, a man named Swank who knew Aurelius meant business. Inquiring into Aurelius's reason for being here Aurelius responded with the claim Benny attacked him and stole a package he was sent to deliver. Naturally Swank wanted proof of this and Aurelius explained everything he could to Swank showing him a note which explained the Khans passing through Novac with Benny, Benny's lighter he was given from Jessup in Boulder City and laid out the story Aurelius that Benny was making his own plans to take over all of New Vegas with that Platinum Chip.

Swank was convinced Benny was working against House and decided to help allowing Aurelius to go past with all his weapons. Swank had asked Aurelius to go search Benny's room as he'd been in there for days before coming out and wondered if he had some plans in there that might explain what he was doing but Aurelius had no intention of learning why Benny had attacked only that he pay for it.

Aurelius explained to Swank that Benny had to taken out immediately. Swank said Benny was still in his suite and would be a perfect place to take Benny out.

Aurelius agreed and grabbed his Hunting Rifle "Paciencia". Aurelius went into Benny's suite, naturally the man he thought he'd killed earlier this month was shocked to see him stood in the doorway with a rifle in hand.

Benny squirmed as he tried to find a way to stop Aurelius as he tried to bribe, convince and then finally attack Aurelius. 

First of all Benny attempted to give Aurelius caps in order to stop Aurelius from killing him and giving him a VIP Suite, when that failed he spilled his plans for New Vegas and how how they be partners in taking New Vegas, then when Aurelius just carried on Benny pulled out the same 9mm pistol that put Aurelius into his grave at Goodsprings.

Aurelius smashed Benny's hand before he could fire with the butt of his rifle, breaking Benny's hand causing him to drop the weapon and then Aurelius smashed Benny's face with his rifle's butt sending Benny to the ground.

Aurelius then picked up Benny's 9mm pistol and fired the entire magazine into Benny's head and chest. After finishing off Benny Aurelius decided to take a look at this 9mm pistol before throwing it away.

This weapon was different to the other 9mm pistols Aurelius had seen. It had pearl grips with ivy and floral patterns covering its body. There also some religious looking woman on the pearl grips. Aurelius didn't know who it was nor did he care. Aurelius only kept it to trade off to someone who'd want a stylish 9mm pistol.

Once Aurelius was finished he left the 13th floor, went to the entrance of the Tops informed Swank of Benny's demise and left.

Aurelius was then contacted by Vulpes who said Caesar had taken an interest in Aurelius's activities. Aurelius knew this was either a great honour or he'd done something terrible on par with the Burned Man.

Although if Caesar demanded Aurelius's presence he would arrive as soon as possible.
_______________________________________________________________________________

Edited by dx144, 04 March 2015 - 02:56 PM.

[dx144]

October 31st 2281:
Aurelius headed with haste towards Cottonwood Cove to see the conqueror of eight-six tribes, Caesar the man who left the land of Profligates and became something new. A man who forged the Legion and raised tribes of degenerates into a society of those committed to a higher goal than their own self interest.

This was truly an honour to meet with Caesar, Aurelius was sceptical of Caesar being descended from Mars but Caesar had accomplished something no one else really could have by turning a harsh wasteland filled with so many different tribes all fighting each other into a single united society known as Caesar's Legion.

Aurelius made it to Cottonwood Cove shortly even with a few Legionaries kneeling before Aurelius as he held the Mark of Caesar. 

Aurelius had done away with the thought Caesar might punish him. If he wanted Aurelius dead Vulpes could have done it at any point with the Legion already infiltrated into almost everywhere in the Mojave.

Castor Lucullus a tall Legionary who was in charge of ferrying Legionaries to and from Caesar's Fort. Aurelius had to talk to Lucullus if he wanted to cross the river. Lucullus was more than willing to take Aurelius across the river to meet Caesar.

It was a long journey taking some hours to reach the Fort. Once arriving Aurelius saw the extent of the Legion's presence, there were thousands of men set up within camps where everyone was preparing for the approaching battle to take Hoover Dam.

Aurelius entered Caesar's tent with every Praetorian watching the slightest movement Aurelius made. Before Caesar even said a word Aurelius bowed down before Caesar. 

Caesar told Aurelius to arise and listen to his orders. Aurelius listened to Caesar's every word, ordering Aurelius to go into a Pre-War Weather Station within the fort which had something underneath. Caesar didn't know what was under there and Caesar didn't like not knowing.

The Weather Station held the symbols of the Lucky 38 with a slot just big enough for the Platinum Chip. Caesar thought it quite the coincidence that the Lucky 38'd symbols would appear on both the Chip and Weather Station and therefore assumed they were connected. Caesar then told Aurelius that whatever was down there Aurelius must destroy it. This is because wars of Men shouldn't be fought with robots.

Caesar would only speak to Aurelius when he had completed the task given to him, Aurelius also noticed that Vulpes was within Caesar's tent and wished to speak with Aurelius about another task Vulpes requested some help with. 

There was a woman named Martina Groesbeck who's an informant for the Legion but was in trouble with some Omertas who wanted her dead. Vulpes asked if Aurelius could stop the Omertas from killing Martina then report back to him. Aurelius agree to look into this issue when he was next going to the Strip.

Aurelius left Caesar's tent heading into the Weather Station. Once Aurelius entered one of Caesar's Praetorians explained Caesar's order to Aurelius again.

Aurelius slid the Platinum Chip into a slot which opened the massive steel doors leading downard. Aurelius walked down the stairs, grabbed Paciencia and loaded some armour piercing rounds. As Aurelius opened the bunker Mr. House had a computer setup to communicate with Aurelius again.

Mr. House still assumed that Aurelius would work for him. Aurelius laughed explaining he was going to carry out Caesar's will and destroy this bunker. Mr. House gave Aurelius another chance to stop and help Mr. House expand his plans for Vegas but Aurelius was unwilling to listen and carried on to destroy the bunker. Mr. House did say his main focus in life would turn to killing Aurelius if he did ruin his plans for Vegas.

Aurelius always had been an unconventional Legionary, placing his trust in firearms and being able to work with technology rather than being a close combat brute who saw punching something as the way to get the best result. As Aurelius explored the bunker there was a protectron stood on guard in a corridor, it took a round which blew apart its head and fell to the floor with its last words being "Error, error, error". Aurelius looked into a couple of the rooms one was broken and the other side had three terminals two of them were locked but rather easy to hack into which had control over the turrets and protectrons within the bunker. Aurelius turned all the turrets and protectrons off from alert mode to standby but the third terminal was a dummy terminal which supposedly controlled sentry bots but as Aurelius explored the bunker couldn't find them anywhere.

Eventually Aurelius found power generators within the bunker and broke them apart with some frag grenades causing the bunker to start to destabilise and radiation to leak within. Aurelius quickly ran out of the bunker towards the entrance as Aurelius passed through the corridors he noticed sentry bots starting to patrol around after a room which was locked before was now open.

Aurelius having no time to fight ran through the corridors and made it out of bunker before it was destroyed.

With his work done in the Weather Station Aurelius then reported back to Caesar who explained his next step which was to remove Mr. House completely. Aurelius would have the honour of going to the Lucky 38 and killing House.

Aurelius was more than happy to remove House and moved back to the Strip to complete this next task given to him by Caesar.
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November 1st 2281:
Aurelius had set off for the Strip to remove House before he could strike against Aurelius or the Legion. 

There was nothing for Aurelius to focus on apart from reaching Mr. House as soon as possible. Securitrons on the Strip weren't hostile as it would hurt House's profits if there was a firefight in the open but the Lucky 38 was being reinforced with every Securitron put into a patrol mode where anyone who'd enter was shot on sight.

Aurelius cared little for the Securitrons and put them down with a couple of shots from Paciencia once the Elevator was secure Aurelius headed for the Penthouse of the Lucky 38 where Aurelius assumed House would be, not just his machines.

Shooting down the Securitrons proved more difficult due to the increased number and some of the Securitrons becoming more and more desperate to protect House accessed their G-28 Grenade Launchers knowing very well they could blow open part of the Lucky 38 as well as Aurelius.

Aurelius had to tread carefully around every corner as the Securitrons could be waiting for Aurelius but there were only about ten in the entire Penthouse with most destroyed from their initial attack on Aurelius where they failed to bring him down.

Soon after Aurelius's last 308. Rounds were used the Securitron were all destroyed and the only thing left to do was kill Mr. House. Aurelius looked into the terminals around the Penthouse and unlocked a secret room with another couple of Securitrons awaiting Aurelius, the Securitrons fell easily to Lucky after a few rounds broke open their casing, exposing their inner components which broke easily as another couple of 357. Rounds hit them.

After the last of the Securitrons were destroyed there was only a single terminal beside an elevator marked with the symbols of the Lucky 38. The terminal unlocked the elevator where Aurelius went to see Mr. House. Turns out he was a man not a machine but Aurelius used the term man loosely. 

Aurelius opened up a chamber where a scrawny weak creature arose which couldn't function on its own without machines and even since leaving his chamber was destined to die within a year. Aurelius was asked by this abomination why he'd done this and responded with the same message as before that it was Caesar's will for House to die.

House then responded with Mankind being given up for slavery now. Aurelius didn't understand that as Caesar was freeing man rather than enslaving it. Aurelius cared little for House's words anyway lifted Lucky then fired away into Mr. House's weak form literally blowing him apart.

Aurelius then left the Lucky 38 and never returned to its halls.

While Aurelius was on the Strip though he thought he could go and complete the task Vulpes asked of him to check up on some informant on the Strip. Martina was supposed in the Vault 21 hotel where Omertas were coming to kill her for listening in on their operations.

Once Aurelius arrived in Vault 21 he rushed off to find Martina who was being threatened by three Omerta thugs with a quick word of how this woman was under the protection of the Legion the Omertas fled not to make themselves enemies of the Legion.

Martina did say though that she wasn't asked by the Legion to work but the NCR, namely a Captain Curtis at Mccarran.

Aurelius now moved back to the Fort to tell Caesar and Vulpes the good news.
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November 3rd 2281:
The trip back to the Fort was quick and easy, the news of House's death had already spread across the wasteland.

Aurelius wasn't known as the killer of House publicly but to the high command of the Legion knew of Aurelius actions.

Caesar was impressed with Aurelius's speed and ability to carry out orders. Aurelius had worked as a Frumentarii for years but that was mainly working as an independently most of the time with an overall objective rather than a prime directive.

Caesar then explained his next stage of his plan was to either take care of loose ends and the various tribes by either removing or enlisting their help. Caesar wanted Aurelius to first of all go to a tribe to the north-east of Vegas known as the Boomers then gain support or destroy them to ensure they don't assist the Legion's enemies.

The Boomers are pretty isolated since they fired high explosive ordnance at anyone who tried to make it close to their base which before the war was known as "Nellis Air Force Base". So they've not had anyone else in contact with them so they must have a ridiculously large stockpile of munitions that would be more than enough to destroy any force that came towards them. The NCR or Legion could destroy them Aurelius guessed but at a horrific cost possibly equalling those who fell in the first battle of Hoover Dam and then some.

Before Aurelius left he informed Vulpes of what had happened with Martina. Vulpes was most pleased with Aurelius actions when dealing with the Omertas going to kill to Martina, Aurelius managed to deal with the situation by telling the Omertas to leave Martina alone rather than killing the Omertas as they'd just send more thugs where as knowing the Legion is protecting Martina would cause the Omertas to stop completely.

Aurelius also told Vulpes about Captain Curtis in Mccarran but to Aurelius's surprised Captain Curtis was actually a Frumentarii who'd spent the last three and half years working his way to up to the rank of Captain. Aurelius was also told if he wanted he could go see Curtis in Mccarran who could use some assistance with something big that would truly disrupt the NCR's operation around the Strip and New Vegas.

With this knowledge Aurelius headed towards Camp Mccarran to see what assistance he could give to disrupt NCR operations.
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November 5th 2281:

Aurelius headed towards Camp Mccarran to see this Frumentarii known as Curtis. He had something big in the works which would really disrupt the NCR's operations with New and Outer Vegas.

As Aurelius moved into Camp Mccarran he was slightly worried the NCR might see him as an enemy but they always seemed to have bigger prodigies and they try not to inform the troops a mass murder who's destroyed some Ranger Stations is coming towards them.

The message of Aurelius being an enemy of the NCR might not have been passed along yet. To Aurelius's surprise the NCR hadn't targeted Aurelius as a terrorist yet.

After entering Mccarran's main terminal building Aurelius came into Captain Curtis's office then closed the door behind him. Aurelius acknowledged Curtis as a member of the Legion as a Frumentarii. Curtis asked how Aurelius obtained this information about him, Aurelius responded that he was also a friend of the Legion offering his assistance with his operations.

Curtis was pleased with this and explained his plan to Aurelius. Curtis's plan was that the NCR used a pre-war monorail to ferry troops to and from Mccarran and the Strip so if the monorail was destroyed somehow it would stop the NCR's ability to safely move troops around.

Curtis had everything planned to destroy the monorail but he didn't have a scapegoat so he'd have to leave once the monorail was destroyed before they pin the terrorist act on him. Although with Aurelius here Curtis could stay within eyes of others allowing him to be blame free.

Aurelius didn't want to be known as an enemy of the NCR yet so Aurelius needed a scapegoat of his own, this is where a Private Davey Crenshaw came into play as he was known as a prankster and problem child within the NCR he'd had several incidents with and even a disciplinary hearing.

Aurelius was also told there were bomb plans and crafting materials to put into Crenshaw's locker to raise more evidence against Private Crenshaw. This evidence was a fission battery, wonderglue, abraxo cleaner, a conductor and plans to sabotage to the monorail.

Aurelius would also have to kill Crenshaw so that he could contest his guilt, just needed to say that Crenshaw pulled a weapon on Aurelius and was left with no choice other than to kill Crenshaw.

Aurelius also had a bomb to place within the monorail to blow up the tracks and stopping the NCR's troop movements.

Before Aurelius could do that he'd have to convince Colonel James Hsu the commanding officer at Mccarran to allowing him to help search for the spy within Mccarran.

There was also another pressing matter. A member of the Legion was captured and this someone just so happened to be a Centurion, Silus who allowed himself to be captured even though Caesar expects us to fight to the death.

Regardless Aurelius saw it more useful that Silus was free and back with the Legion rather than in NCR captivity where he may one day break.

Aurelius had to convince a Lieutenant Boyd that he was trustworthy enough to break Silus, it wasn't easy but Aurelius eventually convinced Boyd to help out in breaking Silus.

After being brought into meet Silus, Boyd left to allow Aurelius to work in breaking him but Aurelius informed Silus of his affiliation and intention to break him out.

Silus wanted Aurelius to beat him till he bled and was taken out the room so Aurelius could grab a silenced .22 pistol which could be sneaked into the prison where Silus would act unconscious then kill a guard take his uniform and leave.

Aurelius was than happy to do this and began hitting Silus causing him to bleed and Boyd came in giving both Aurelius and Silus time to cool off. During this time Aurelius grabbed the pistol in a locker just outside the prison cell. 

Moving back in once Boyd saw Aurelius calmer, she searched him for weapons finding nothing allowed Aurelius in where he gave Silus the weapon and proceeded to act as if he was unconscious.

Aurelius then left and allowed Silus to enact his escape plan. 

Boyd asked a Corporal Walter Hornsby to clean up Silus and his cell. As Boyd and Aurelius left Silus shot dead Corporal Hornsby, took his uniform and left Mccarran without anyone noticing till he had left.

Aurelius then moved to take care of the monorail plot Curtis had put into play.

Curtis had placed the evidence that was going to be used to frame Crenshaw in a rubbish bin within the terminal. This was a rather easy part going into Crenshaw's locker undetected and planting the evidence and killing Crenshaw would be easy but getting onto the Monorail would prove difficult without a pass allowing you onto the Monorail.

Aurelius had learnt of the guard change times being at 0900 and 1800 hours. With this information Aurelius would be able to sneak into the Monorail, plant the bomb and get out before the new guards arrived.

After the bomb was planted on the Monorail Train it left the station and after about twenty seconds the whole train blew up with a massive explosion, destroying the tracks causing them to be unusable for the foreseeable future. After the explosion blew apart the train having shrapnel rained across Mccarren and the surrounding area.

Aurelius quickly sneaked out of the Monorail station and told Colonel Hsu of what happened with the Monorail, framing Private Crenshaw perfectly and also explaining how Aurelius had to kill him before he killed him. Colonel Hsu completely believed Aurelius that it was Crenshaw's fault and leaving the actual Legion agents alone to plan future attacks and events against the NCR.

Once Aurelius's business in Mccarran he left before they grew suspicious of him, then Aurelius headed off to see the Boomers within their secluded Airbase.
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Edited by dx144, 07 March 2015 - 04:41 AM.

[dx144]

November 7th 2281:
Aurelius had headed to the Boomers base known as Nellis Air Force Base, as Aurelius approached the outskirts of Nellis a man named George was outside, called himself a prospector and gambler. George explained how the Boomers killed anyone or anything that entered the range of their Howitzers. George also liked to bet with people who thought they could make a few easy caps by crossing an artillery field with some safe points.

It must have seemed a perfect way to make caps quickly making it to shelter then running to the next shelter and so on until they reached Nellis. None had apparently made it and George must have made a pretty penny from desperate people needing a few extra caps. George also scavenged what he could off corpses that made their way back to him.

Aurelius took his offer and closed in on the outskirts of Nellis. Looking around the area to see if there were any openings to make an easy passage to Nellis. Aurelius had thought about clinging to the wall, it would give him less room to maneuver but it might just give Aurelius a short and quick enough passage to make it close enough to Nellis so they wouldn't risk hitting Nellis with artillery fire.

The area had already become something rarely seen within the wreckage of what was once known as the United States of America, craters littered the passage not some small grenade sized craters but some craters so big that if a man fell into he might never get out of again.

Aurelius spent some time studying the surrounding area noting areas the Boomers might have overlooked with their defences. There wasn't much but Aurelius decided that sticking to wall might be best, he'd hear the artillery before it hit anyway so he'd have enough time to react if the artillery began firing.

The time for thinking was over. Aurelius made himself as light as possible took a drink of water and skulked into the artillery field sticking to the wall. The sound of thunder in the distance alerted Aurelius that the Boomers had noticed his location and began firing.

Aurelius no long tried sneaking and sprinted as his life depended on making it through the field, he'd gone to far to make it back so he'd either make to Nellis or die trying. The shells began falling behind Aurelius, they send shocks through Aurelius's body but Aurelius could see the gates to Nellis. With all of his strength Aurelius ran, a piece of shrapnel hit his left leg sending him crashing to the ground but he was so close, sliding down the side of a hill outside of Nellis. He'd made it close enough to the Boomers that they couldn't risk the artillery being fired.

No one came out to check on Aurelius, so he assumed they had thought him dead. For some hours Aurelius gave stimulants and herbs to heal up his leg even requiring a few doctor's bags to fix up the wound so it could be serviceable.

Eventually Aurelius found himself able to walk and made his way to the gates of Nellis. The guards all stood with Missile Launchers armed and ready to fire. The Boomers love of explosives seemed to know no limits.

Aurelius was noticed by a guard questioned how he'd made it through the artillery field. Aurelius explained he just ran through it, granted he'd been injured but he did run through it. The Boomers have been isolated for so long they didn't know who was Human or if so called Humans were mutants. Some even held the belief that we'd speak different languages.

The guard's leader was a woman known as Raquel who is their "Master-at-Arms" basically meaning she's their military leader. Apparently their leader Pearl who's the eldest member of the Boomers wanted to meet Aurelius. This was a way to ensure Aurelius could complete his orders given by Caesar so he accepted.

Pearl had her own quarters, apparently the howitzers which kept the "Savages" as they called them out of Nellis and protecting themselves. Pearl had noticed a change in the Wasteland though, soldiers moving around, bright lights in the distance and robots around the outskirts of Nellis made Pearl think that the Boomers need to let a little bit of the outside world or be destroyed by it.

Pearl asked Aurelius to prove himself to the Boomers by helping their doctor Argyll with his patients if possible in the Nellis Medical Station, a man named Jack was in need of scrap metal in the Nellis Hangars, Raquel had an ant problem within the Nellis Generators, another elder member known as Loyal needed some help repairing the solar generators and if need be just listening in on the Boomers history from their "Keeper of the Story" Pete.

Aurelius would try to assist everyone but found it almost useless crossing the wasteland searching for scrap when it was everywhere so Aurelius decided to help Argyll with his patients if he could, kill the ants in Nellis Generators, repair the solar generators and listen in on the history of the Boomers 

Aurelius had learnt a thing or two about using medical equipment during his travels across the wastes and was more than willing to take a look the injured Boomers. Argyll was reluctant at first having an outsider come and take a look at his patients but since he'd hit a wall with helping his patients he allowed Aurelius to take a look.

Some of Argyll patients were pretty banged up, some life threatening but easy enough to treat with Aurelius's knowledge. Argyll was shocked at how Aurelius a savage from the wasteland had just saved the men he'd thought were doomed, Argyll said he'd tell Pearl of what Aurelius had done to help his patients.

With that Aurelius moved to see Pete the Keeper of the Story. To Aurelius's surprise it turns out the Pete was only a child, apparently the old Keeper of the Story died because "Whiskey and land mines don't go together."

Pete told Aurelius of where the Boomers originated, it was one of those Vaults which are Pre-War bunkers which have been sealed for years with some opening around a hundred years ago and and some supposedly still sealed. Aurelius hadn't even been to any apart from Vault 21 on the Strip but that doesn't really class as Vault since its now a hotel but Aurelius had heard some pretty disturbing tales from those who'd supposedly been into Vault where experiments had taken place. Vaults such as Vault 19 where people were split into two groups one being red and the other blue then reducing as much contact as possible eventually causing people to resent each other or Vault 27 where they purposely over populated it by double the usual capacity. Aurelius didn't know why they did this but they did.

The Vault the Boomers came from though was Vault 34, they left because according to Pete the Overseer, the leader of the Vault kept all of the good weapons locked away in the armoury until one day a group within Vault 34 decided to raid the armoury took a large amount of weapons then left.

The Boomers killed savages in large numbers but some of their own were falling so they needed a home, Nellis. When the Boomers arrived at Nellis they found it to be empty but they brought along Geiger Counters showing the radiation levels were low enough for them to settle in Nellis.

Nellis proved to be a great place for them to settle as they had complete defence against any savages who'd want to harm them. Nellis also provided greatly for the Boomers giving them power and food from Nellis's solar power generators and fertile land. This gives the Boomers a variety of grown foods allowing them to gain more nutrients and completely self reliant with no need to contact the outside world.

The next part of the Boomers story was their future. To rule the open skies and dropping explosive ordnance on ignorant savages. 

Aurelius asked the Howitzers thinking that they wouldn't originally be at Nellis but Pete told Aurelius that the Boomers had to move them from a location they called Area 2. Apparently it was and probably still is a huge pre-war military installation where the Boomers move the Howitzers towards Nellis as well as a large stockpile of shells and ammunition.

There were also simulators within Nellis that allowed the Boomers to practice for air combat even though they've never been within any aircraft they would already be experienced pilots knowing exactly what to do in the chosen aircraft.

There was also a bomber that had been crashed with Lake Mead since 1948, the Boomers were going to find a way to raise it up with ballasts and bring it to the hangars to repair it.

Pete was pleased Aurelius listened to all of the Boomers story.

Aurelius then left to talk to Loyal about the Solar Generators and Raquel about the Ants. This would ensure the Boomers would be friendlier with Aurelius and therefore assist the Legion when needed.
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November 8th 2281:

Aurelius had met with Raquel again who explained that Ants had overrun the Armoury and generator room, the Boomers which Aurelius treated for their wounds were apparently ones who'd tried to clear out the Armoury. Raquel also explained that the Ants must have eaten gunpowder or somehow got it inside them as when they were killed by energy weapons or explosives the Ants exploded.

There was also rumours that Loyal had been working on something to kill the Ants. It was a frequency that would apparently cause the Ants to die outright or go insane not knowing friend from foe.

Aurelius assumed this would save him time and effort if he could convince Loyal to let him use it.

Loyal was unwilling to let Aurelius use his new device. Aurelius eventually convinced him that it would be worth using if it could help out the Boomers get rid of the Ant infestation quicker.

Loyal also asked if Aurelius could try to fix some of the damaged Solar Generators. They hadn't been attacked by the Ants they'd just decayed over the years without much maintenance.

It was a rather simple task killing the Ants, firing some rounds from Panciencia kill the Ants blocking Aurelius's way to the centre of the Armoury where the device Loyal had given him would be most effective.

There was also a very large stockpile of high explosives, including the shells used by the Howitzers. Aurelius knew he'd have to be careful with his shots not to blow up Nellis Air Base.

Most of the Ants were workers and it wouldn't take much longer for the soldiers to start looking for what is disrupting the workers. 

Shooting down the last of the workers near the centre Aurelius saw a perfect location to set up the device. Loyal did say that it wouldn't have the same effect as it would on the Ants with it probably just making Aurelius feel sick.

Although Loyal saying "probably" did make him question it a little. Although Aurelius didn't have time to doubt, he needed to stop the Ants before more arrived. The device was rather simple to use once Aurelius set it up. Just turn a knob to the frequency required at activate it.

Once Aurelius did this the Ants within the Armoury began having their heads explode. Not explosively but more their heads weren't there any more. With that done Aurelius reactivated the power within the generators and touched up the solar generators with some spare parts from within the generator rooms.

Aurelius then told Raquel and Loyal about how the Ants were gone and the solar generators are repaired. They passed word onto Pearl that Aurelius has assisted the Boomers with almost everything they required.

Aurelius then saw Pearl who asked for Aurelius's help with one final task. It was to raise the bomber from Lake Mead, the B-29 that crashed years ago. Loyal apparently had the ballasts ready to raise the bomber if Aurelius was willing to go out there for the Boomers.

Loyal explained all that Aurelius needed to do, attach the ballasts under the wings and between the engines, this should raise the bomber onto the surface allowing the Boomers to reclaim it.

This would definitely ensure the loyalty and cooperation of the Boomers to the Legion in the coming battle.

There was one problem Aurelius saw with this plan though, he'd have to find a way to the bottom of Lake Mead without drowning. Loyal said that Jack had been working on something to help Aurelius breath underwater. Jack had plans for something he called a "Rebreather" it was able to allow someone to breathe underwater, it didn't filtrate the air though so if an area was toxic in anyway it wouldn't assist.

Jack already had a prototype which needed testing which was better than Aurelius holding his breath. With the "Rebreather" Aurelius headed out to Lake Mead from Boulder Beach campground. it was the quickest and possibly the safest way down to where the bomber's located within Lake Mead. Boulder Beach campground did have a few Lakelurks around there but they weren't of much issue for Aurelius's Paciencia.

With that all taken care of Aurelius left to go towards Boulder Beach campground and to the bomber within Lake Mead.
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[dx144]

November 9th 2281:
Aurelius had been told about the Bomber and shown a picture of what it looked like. Seemed almost unthinkable now that they're could be or ever was a flying machine that would drop high explosive bombs from heights that could be shot at. But if this solidified the loyalty of the Boomers Aurelius was happy to get this bomber.

It wasn't long before Aurelius arrived at Boulder Beach campground and as Aurelius thought the area had several Lakelurks which seemed to have taken this place as their home. This was of little concern, the Lakelurks might look formidable foes but a few .308 rounds and they're put down easily. After Aurelius had cleared the Lakelurks he put on the Rebreather, steadily entered the water with the fear that this rebreather wouldn't a do a thing to stop him drowning but to Aurelius's surprise it did. It worked perfectly and with this Rebreather Aurelius swam around the depths of Lake Mead looking around for the bomber.

It didn't take too long to find the bomber due to it being quite large for something in a lake. Once Aurelius found the bomber he attached the ballasts double checking them to make sure they were fitted properly before inflating them and having them fitted incorrectly causing the bomber to be damaged if not destroyed.

Aurelius checked the ballasts and everything looked like it was in place and moved over to Callville Bay where Loyal wanted Aurelius to activate the ballasts. Aurelius did this all quickly as he'd heard that Cazadors nested around this area and didn't want to have a nest of deadly flying insects attacking him.

As Aurelius used a denator given to him by Loyal which was designed to activate the ballasts it worked with complete success, the bomber floated on the water of the lake awaiting retrieval.

Aurelius headed back to Nellis to let the Boomers know that the bomber was ready to be recovered. Aurelius had told them the bomber was ready to be recovered but Aurelius had already done enough for the Boomers, they'd sent robots to collect the bomber and return it to Nellis for reconstruction. This is something the Boomers hadn't expect for many years to come and were more than willing to assist Aurelius in the coming battle.

Pearl gave her approval to assist Caesar's Legion when the battle of Hoover Dam came and with that Aurelius left Nellis for a time to inform Caesar of the news that Aurelius had gathered an ally for the Legion. 
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November 10th 2281:
Aurelius made it back to the Fort quickly and informed Caesar of the Boomers loyalty, Caesar seemed pleased with this and informed Aurelius his next task was acquiring the help of the White Glove Society, its rumoured they were once cannibals and possibly still are. If an alliance between the Legion and White Glove Society then the NCR on the strip could be seriously hindered. Although while talking about the White Glove Society Caesar seemed to space out and it was like he wasn't within his own body, he then claimed of a headache and said they'd speak tomorrow.

Just before Aurelius left to let Caesar rest Vulpes had another request for Aurelius, this one more serious than any other he'd been given. Vulpes and Aurelius left to a private area of the Fort where no one would hear them. Vulpes had a lead where the Burned Man could be, perhaps this was just someone who happened to be using the same name or just so happened that Joshua Graham had revealed himself once more.

Vulpes wanted Aurelius to join in with a caravan heading into Zion to meet with New Canaan, Vulpes spoke with a laugh about that since New Canaan had already been burnt to the ground sometime after the battle at Hoover Dam by the White Legs, a tribe seeking entry into the Legion who'd only be allowed to join when New Canaan was burnt to the ground and all New Canaanites were dead. 

This caravan was known as Happy Trails Caravan Company who were seeking to go through Zion to find a new way to New Canaan and to find the Mormons that had taken refuge within Zion. Once Aurelius had made it into contact with the supposed Burned Man Aurelius was to ensure it was the Malpais Legate then eliminate any and all New Canaanites. Vulpes also recommended caution with the White Legs, they would shoot at anyone or anything that wasn't part of the Legion or White Legs and since Aurelius was posing as a caravaneer he couldn't exactly walk around in the crimson of the Legion.

Vulpes last bit of information was that Aurelius would meet up with Happy Trails within a canyon passage north of New Vegas and marked it on a map for Aurelius then left.

Aurelius was concerned about Caesar as it isn't natural for someone to space out and get uncontrollable headaches, there must be something wrong with Caesar's mind but Aurelius knew better than to speak of it as speaking ill of Caesar could and probably would be considered treason. With this knowledge of possible treason Aurelius removed the thoughts from his mind blaming Caesar's headache on stress rather than anything medically wrong with him.

Aurelius had an area made for his stay of the night so he could speak with Caesar in the morning nothing much happened in the Fort apart from some changes with the legionaries who'd not seen battle for some days would return to the frontlines and some who were in need of rest returned to the Fort.
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November 11th 2281:
Aurelius returned to speak with Caesar again who remembered they were speaking about the White Glove Society speaking of how Aurelius wanted to forge an alliance between the two. Caesar had also gained the knowledge that Vulpes had asked Aurelius to hunt the Burned Man, Caesar agreed to allow Aurelius time away from forming Legion alliances and hunting a loose end which could prove more harmful in the future.

Although Aurelius had tried to keep his concerns out of his mind he felt compelled to speak to Caesar about them. Aurelius knew it wasn't natural for people to complain of headaches and space out and told Caesar of this but Caesar disregarded these as just he's overworked himself or needing a short break from working.

Aurelius knew better than to keep pestering Caesar with his concerns and left with Caesar giving Aurelius thirty days to find and kill the Burned Man.

With that Aurelius left the Fort and headed for the Canyon Passage to find the so called Burned Man and see if the legends were true.
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November 12th 2281:
Aurelius was moving to leave the Fort when a messenger told Aurelius that some of the Legion's weaponry experts had been working on some weapons and that Caesar had ordered one for Aurelius's latest mission. Caesar must have commissioned the work much earlier, possibly when Aurelius was first found by Vulpes or when Aurelius received the Mark of Caesar. Whenever it was this was another gift from Caesar which shouldn't always be embraced with open arms.

The Legionary weapon experts had been working on a Marksman Carbine. This Carbine had been painted in the crimson of the Legion with the emblem of the Bull painted on the Stock with the words "Nam et Romae Caesar" meaning "For Caesar and Rome" craved across the body of the weapon and highlighted with gold, this Carbine was known as "Triumphator" as it was to be the Conqueror of New Vegas.

Aurelius was honoured to have a weapon made for him by some of the Legion's armourers. Aurelius knew it would serve him well in the coming battles where the NCR was stepping up its game as Aurelius had seen some of the NCR renowned NCR Veterans with their pre-war riot gear. 

Aurelius liked the pre-war riot gear, especially since it was designed to be used by specialist operatives with its red sight vision and it was an armour set that inspired fear in their enemies and courage in their comrades. Made it all so much more important when one of those pre-war riot gear wearers fell upon the battlefield.

Aurelius left the fort armed with Triumphator, two hundred 5mm rounds, Paciencia, one hundred .308 rounds and his Combat Armour Mk.II to join with the Happy Trails Caravan Company on their trip through Zion soon Aurelius arrived at the Canyon Passage and the Happy Trails Caravan Company were expecting if not waiting for Aurelius to arrive, this was obvious as they were more than ready to move out towards Zion. 

There were six of them altogether, they were being led by a man named Jed Masterson who hadn't been into Zion before, been around the outskirts but never inside.
Stella who'd served as a caravan guard for a while but before that was a sheriff for the town of Caliente where a gang known as the 80s liked to raid.

The other was a man named Ricky who seemed to be addicted to psycho by his aggressive nature and talked too much for his own good. Spoke of using weapons like an 11mm Submachine Gun despite no such weapon existing and once Aurelius noticed he was an addict Aurelius told him to get lost as he didn't want to have to deal with someone going through psycho withdrawal. Throughout Aurelius travels he'd seen it from time to time and people become very irritable when they're suffering from withdrawal so it'd be easier if Ricky just left. Aurelius can be quite intimidating when he wants to, it's not usually how he handles situation due to it attracting attention most of the time.

There were also three other caravan guards who were coming along to escort Happy Trails through Zion.

With that done and introductions made the Happy Trails Caravan and Aurelius made their way into Zion.
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November 19th 2281:

The trip into Zion was a week long travel which took Happy Trails through some difficult passes on the way which they'd be unable to go back through. Aurelius did wonder if this was a way Jed used to make sure people stayed committed to staying on the caravan. Nothing much had bothered the Happy Trails Caravan because of the path they'd taken, that was until they arrived at Zion.

The White legs must have been following and planning this ambush on the caravan for some time. The White Legs destroyed the group within minutes, took a few White Legs with them but after a few minutes all except for Aurelius was dead. Aurelius did notice a wooden bridge just below the ridge the White Legs were firing from, if Aurelius was fast enough he could escape from the White Legs and make it into a more defensible position but Aurelius loathed the idea of running, even if it was for a good reason. Aurelius's sense of honour compelled him to stand his ground, gripping Triumphator Aurelius fired a storm of rounds at the White Legs, a couple fell while the others scattered looking for cover. After a few minutes of seeing no movement Aurelius cautiously advance. Still with nothing seen Aurelius inspected a couple of the White Legs weapons, he'd never seen weapons or rounds like the ones they were using, wasn't new weaponry but pre-war.

Taking a couple of these weapons which were machine guns of some kind Aurelius took the remaining rounds as well since he'd burnt through a bit of his 5mm supplies. Aurelius saw no way to advance other than crossing the bridge, looking around Aurelius still saw no movement then decided he couldn't spend all day in the baking heat watching a bridge then began crossing it.

Once Aurelius approached the end of the bridge he noticed a White Leg with the same weapon as the previous White Legs and began firing at Aurelius, if Aurelius didn't find some cover he'd be torn to pieces out there but a tribal of some kind was behind the White Leg suppressing Aurelius then killed the White Leg with a single shot from his pistol.

Aurelius approached slowly with his weapon up not knowing if this was another tribal wanting to know kill Aurelius. Aurelius and the tribal stood there for minutes both with weapons drawn at each other watching the slightest movements of the other before the Tribal lowered his pistol and Aurelius followed lowing his rifle. 

The Tribal spoke first, claiming he was from the Dead Horse Tribe and his name was Follows-Chalk and was surprised that Aurelius had survived the White Leg's ambush as they apparently don't often leave survivors and that Aurelius must be quite lucky. Aurelius then proceeded to speak his name and that he was part of a caravan looking for New Canaanites to trade with.

Chalk told Aurelius the best person to talk to about that would be Joshua as he knew what happened more than what Chalk had heard. Chalk then offered to lead Aurelius to the Dead Horse's camp which was a bit of them where Joshua was in a cave they called Angel Cave. Aurelius agreed to go with Chalk to see Joshua.

Chalk and Aurelius took a scenic route with Chalk showing Aurelius some of the sights of Zion, they also talked about Zion and Chalk seemed quite interested in the "Civilized Lands" as he called them. Aurelius did have a question about who this Joshua was, Chalk explained that Joshua was Joshua Graham who now leads the Dead Horses and has made the Dead Horses stronger than ever before while also keeping the Dead Horses safe from danger, Chalk also explained how Joshua would want to talk to Aurelius anyway since he'd come from the lands south of Zion.

Chalk then asked some questions of his own about the lands outside Zion Valley, where cities hadn't fallen, people didn't have to forage for food and didn't live in tribes any more. Chalk also asked about how the civilized lands weren't a paradise when compared to Zion, as Joshua if Chalk ever asked Joshua about the civilised lands he'd tell Chalk to stay with the Dead Horses and forget about going to the lands outside the Valley.

Aurelius was also curious about the Dead Horse Tribe, Chalk told the history of Dead Horse that they came from Dead Horse Point but why people back then called it that Chalk had no idea. Apparently the Dead Horse tribe had been pushed back to Zion by other tribes until Caesar and Joshua Graham came along teaching the Dead Horse to hold against the other tribes. Aurelius was a little confused now as this was a tribe ready to join the Legion but weren't part of the Legion even though it had been years since contact had been made.

Aurelius continued to question Chalk as they travelled to the Dead Horse camp, Aurelius now asked Chalk about what Joshua had done for the Dead Horses, apparently Joshua changed everything for the Dead Horses changing them from whipping boys of Zion to a strong and proud tribe able to hold its own, use the weapons they had then Joshua protected the Dead Horses from Caesar and showed how Caesar would have destroyed the Dead Horses.

Chalk stopped atop of an overlook known as "The Spine" which atop of Aurelius and Chalk could see all around Zion and Chalk showed Aurelius various locations which Chalk could make out. They spent some minutes overlooking Zion before Aurelius continued with questions for Chalk, Aurelius hadn't met with Joshua Graham before due to not being a major player within the Legion like the Legionary who found Hoover Dam, Vulpes Inculta or the Centurions but a simple courier or relayed information of the west to the east. 

Aurelius asked what Joshua was like before he became their leader, Chalk was only a child when Joshua first visited and that Joshua was very different apparently he was prouder, crueler and more driven, everyone in the Dead Horses was terrified of him. When Joshua returned to the Dead Horses Chalk couldn't believe they were the same person as when Joshua returned to the Dead Horses he was humbler seeming more wanting to protect rather than destroy like when he last visited.

It only then dawned on Aurelius Chalk had spoken of Caesar, Aurelius quickly asked what Chalk meant by Caesar and Chalk explained that Joshua was a servant of Caesar and that the Dead Horses were ready to follow Caesar to war that was until Joshua failed to defeat a tribe called Enseeyar, the Sunset People but when Joshua returned he was broken, burnt and changed. Joshua then led the Dead Horses away from Caesar and into Zion and safety.

Aurelius was confused a little bit about what Chalk had said about Joshua failing to defeat an enemy tribe until it dawned on him that the "Enseeyar" were actually the "NCR" and the battle Joshua failed at was Hoover Dam. Aurelius then asked if Joshua ever talked about the battle at Hoover Dam he lost. Chalk said Joshua rarely spoke of the battle but was confused how people could fight over something as small as a dam. Aurelius forgot most people within Zion have never left the Valley or seen places such as Vegas, Aurelius then explained how Hoover Dam was bigger some of the mountains within Zion. Chalk was shocked at something so big and said it must have been some mighty civilized folks who built Hoover Dam.

As they finished talking they had made it to the entrance of the Dead Horses camp which was within what Chalk called the Eastern Fork of the Virgin River and that there were some traps laid about so they should watch their step. Chalk explained the purpose of the traps was to keep the White Legs out somehow.

As Aurelius and Chalk cautiously approached disarming traps that blocked their passage could just about see the Dead Horses Camp when Aurelius caught sight of a cave and asked Chalk about the cave, Chalk told Aurelius its one of the places the Sorrows and Dead Horses avoid but it was known as Fallen Rock Cave. Chalk also said he was skeptical of the taboo other of his tribe and the Sorrows had, if Aurelius wanted Chalk would explore Fallen Rock Cave with Aurelius.

Aurelius wanted to know more why the Sorrows and Dead Horses held taboos over places that seemed to be just normal caves and with that Aurelius made his way into Fallen Rock Cave. 

It was apparent to Aurelius shortly after entering this hadn't been used by tribals at any point as the traps were more advanced that simple bear traps with frag mines and even some plasma mines around, Aurelius knew from his own personal experience if someone tried to place a mine or remove an active mine they could usual blow themselves up rather than their enemies. Aurelius also figured it stupid for the tribals in the area to use valuable mines and weapons stopping their own people entering caves when enemies were able to make it to their camp.

Shortly after clearing mines and trip wires there was a section to the cave that seemed to have been used by someone more advanced than the tribals, Aurelius noticed a terminal, reloading and workbench, a large stockpile of crates filled with ammunition for various weapons including energy weapons and a modified Laser Pistol Aurelius had no real interest in energy weapons so he left the ammo and laser pistol but the terminal grabbed Aurelius's attention.

Chalk was still following Aurelius but didn't know what to make of most of the energy weapons but was still interested in what had happened in the cave. The Terminal had entries from 2077-2078, the first entry was October 28th 2077 and a lot of it didn't make much sense to Aurelius, abbreviations were used for pre-war services such as "USGS" which Aurelius had no idea what or the USGS was, it must have been some kind of group since it indicates that there was equipment left behind and that the people seemed to have left to try and search for their families. 

Next entry was October 29 2077, the man who typed the entries on this terminal seemed to survive by luck, looking the opposite way to where the nuclear missiles hit. More words in there which didn't make much sense something about a called "Chryslus" that stopped in the other lane of the road. The man who entered these entries said how they knew right away what was happening. The first missile according to this entry hit "SLC" must mean "Salt Lake City" which is now an area within Legion territory and this man was looking south, away from Salt Lake City but an old couple were inside this "Chryslus" who began screaming unable to see as they must have been looking towards the direction of Salt Lake City. There was another twelve flashes within seven minutes and each time the ground shook eighteen seconds after a flash. 

Aurelius had seen Vulpes conduct some punishments that were rather extreme but this was something beyond comprehension, the mere sight of one of these weapons would strike people blind as well as being able to render a once thriving city into nothing but ashes and radioactive dust. Aurelius couldn't look away from the terminal, he'd been told many stories about the Great War and what it was like but everything was second hand while this was someone who'd witnessed it and it was terrifying, sickening and strangely exciting to Aurelius to know what happened.

The man who put these entries in waited thirty minutes without flashes before opening their eyes, what they saw was a world of flames where what Aurelius could only assume was his family once was. This man seemed to have no idea of what to do, who could blame him really but he grabbed his rifle and pack then moved over to this "Chryslus" which Aurelius now assumed was some kind of transport used before the Great War, the old couple within the "Chryslus" were told by the man to hold and comfort each other as he was going to get help. He then sat them up next to each other and put a bullet through their heads killing them both in an instant. 

It was then a five day hike back into Zion but this man was suicidal trying to deal with survivor's guilt seeing as his family all died he probably never even saw another person again was apparently told by what Aurelius could assume was his wife that man belongs with his family not in the wild and it was because he was in the wild he survived and never saw his family before they died. Seemed to believe he deserved to kill himself but just couldn't do it.

Another entry on this terminal from October 31st 2077 where this man said black rain was falling outside this cave with his geiger counter jumping all over, still believed he should die and even said in this entry he should run out into the radiation and let it kill him but couldn't and started bottling water from the back of the cave.

Another entry from November 2nd 2077 explained how everything was silent outside dead silent but couldn't check as the radiation levels were still too high close to the entrance of the cave.

Then no more entries until January 1st 2078 where he'd spent two months in this cave with no one else and radiation was still lethal outside but the army which must have been the old world army of "America" said fallout would clear away after two to four weeks. He was also starting to run low on water with only a months supply left but he was gathering water from anywhere and everywhere even off the cavern walls. Although the food seemed to be holding which he thanked the "USGS" for which Aurelius still didn't know what that was. This man did type here though that if he'd just a chance to see his family again he'd run outside into the lethal radiation.

January 10th 2078 spoke of a windstorm that last a couple of days and radiation dropped massively but he had no idea of what happened.

January 15th 2078 this man took a peek outside and saw that the snow glowed green. Snow wasn't too common for where Aurelius travelled but those snow globes Mr. House was fond of showed snow to be white so the radiation must have caused some issue with the snow somewhere.

January 28th 2078 the radiation dropped to a low enough level that this man could risk exposure outside for a short time but more importantly for this man the stream within the cave became drinkable if he used rad drugs.

January 30th 2078 the final entry just said nothing was alive outside. Aurelius now wondered what happened to this man, perhaps with nothing alive he killed himself or lived out his life in this cave or found something but this thought of Aurelius was only interrupted when Chalk spoke up who Aurelius had forgotten about due to spending so much time alone on his travels.

Chalk said they should really be going to see Joshua now as he didn't like to be kept waiting. Aurelius agreed just after they searched the cave for a man who lived here. Chalk spoke about no man living in these caves as he'd have been seen by the Dead Horses at some point and Aurelius said that this man lived here two-hundred years ago and they be looking for a skeleton.

Chalk agreed to help Aurelius look but after thirty minutes and the cave scoured there was no sight of any skeletons or indication where this man went.

Chalk and Aurelius then left Fallen Rock Cave and made their way into Joshua's cave known as Angel Cave.
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November 19th 2281 (Continued):

As Aurelius walked inside Angel Cave the Dead Horses were uneasy at the presence of an outsider being allowed to get so close to their leader. They knew Joshua could protect himself if a fight started but would be a stain if they allowed someone to get within striking distance of Joshua, the Dead Horses were quite peaceful and open so long as they weren't treated unfairly. 

Joshua's first words to Aurelius were that Aurelius’s group should have had a better welcome than what the White Legs gave them. Joshua found it odd that someone would have come from the Mojave looking for the New Canaanites, it was then that Joshua noticed that Aurelius was a courier, Joshua was expecting a courier but not Aurelius. Joshua then expressed his sympathies for the group Aurelius came with and prayed that all who come to Zion even those who are gentiles but expressed that God couldn't do all the work.

Aurelius was quite confused with this, God was referenced from time to time within the Wasteland but no one really spoke of them as a person who someone who did something. It was a rarity to find anyone who spoke of God, although Aurelius had been told that Mormons worshipped a God of some kind and there was talk of the Burned Man of having strange beliefs. Aurelius did wonder how Joshua knew so much about the events that took place when he arrived in Zion and Joshua explained that the Dead Horses were exceptional scouts and trackers, nothing that passes into Zion escapes the Dead Horses notice. 

Aurelius explained he'd came with a caravan known as Happy Trails looking to re-establish trade links with New Canaan, Joshua remembered Happy Trails they were good friends but he had bad news for Aurelius’s employers New Canaan was destroyed by the White Legs with only a few handfuls of New Canaanites surviving.

The White Legs attacked the Happy Trails Caravan without any word, Aurelius asked Joshua about why the White Legs attacked and responded with that its simple, the White Legs are scavengers, raiders who’re unable to survive on their own so they attack anyone who isn't a White Leg and because of this they target caravans. Joshua knew the White Legs were sent here to destroy him and the other New Canaanites because if Joshua was still living then it proved Caesar made a mistake which to the Legion could never be shown. 

This is when Aurelius’s curiosity got the better of him once again, here he had a chance to learn about the Burned Man, his story, rise and fall and what has happened since he was removed from the Legion. Aurelius knew he'd never make a good servant, asks too many questions and usually asks one too many.

This was Aurelius’s chance to learn of other sides rather than the Legion’s point of view, usually Aurelius wouldn't care for some backward tribe’s views but the Burned Man was a grey area for Aurelius, he had been one of the most powerful men within the Legion and could perhaps show ways for Aurelius and the Legion to improve to learn from the greatest failure within the Legion’s history.

Although Aurelius knew he'd not have to tread onto Joshua’s toes by asking too many personal questions but Aurelius wanted to know more about the Legion’s history. Little did Aurelius know he'd end up stumbling amongst the history of the Legion’s founding and some of its forgotten secrets.

Aurelius couldn't help but ask about whom Caesar was before he forged the Legion, Aurelius had been told about the Blackfoots taking Caesar and the Burned Man hostage with Caesar eventually decided to take charge and showed the Blackfoots how to fight and eventually conquered all seventy-eight tribes until the Legion was created. Although the Burned Man rarely spoke of this but now Aurelius could hear another voice on how the Legion was formed.

Joshua seemed reluctant to speak about his history at first but Aurelius showed a genuine interest in learning about the history of the Legion which Joshua must have seen as some way to show Aurelius how the Legion was wrong in its beliefs. If Joshua could stop another from thinking about assisting the Legion he knew he'd done a little bit more good within his time.

Joshua explained that when he was younger as a Mormon he went out in missionary work as do all the Mormons but once when he was travelling into Arizona through the Long-15 and 89-South Joshua met with two men from a group known as the Followers of the Apocalypse. These two men were Edward Sallow and Bill Calhoun, who had come to meet tribes to teach them knowledge they may not have. Joshua explained that Calhoun was a good man but Edward got them into trouble later down the road. 

Aurelius interrupted questioning if one of those men was Caesar, but Joshua disagreed stating not then back then he was still Edward, a smart man but young as they all were. They believed they could hike through the Grand Canyon and speak to a tribe known as the Blackfoots. The group did with the Blackfoots being friendly at first but then Joshua showed a look of regret thinking that he must have mistranslated what the Blackfoots were saying as they weren't going to let their group leave the Tribe.

The rest of that is history unless Edward hasn't changed that, but Aurelius wondered how Joshua became Caesar’s Legate. Joshua explained that Caesar needed someone to translate which then change to giving orders then to leading in battle which then lead to training and eventually punishing and terrorising a series of small mistakes before a great fall.
Joshua explained after his fall he stayed within the darkness until the battle at Hoover Dam, this is when Joshua was punished for his failure by burning him alive and having Joshua thrown into the Grand Canyon. Aurelius was slightly sceptical of this, someone surviving being burnt and thrown into the Grand Canyon and Aurelius did question Joshua about this and explained how he managed to survive.

Joshua said that the flame that burnt within him burnt brighter than the flames that covered him and as he fell into a dark chasm his flame continued to burn. Then the next morning Joshua woke up and crawled towards to northern edge of the Grand Canyon where it took three months to reach New Canaan. The Mormons there welcomed Joshua back as if he’d never left or done anything to shame them. The fire that kept Joshua alive was love, the love of his tribe and of God which he can never repay the debt he owes but that he must always try to repay.
Aurelius was intrigued by this God Joshua spoke of he spoke of it more than others in the Wasteland who knew of the name but not much about the God and there were the endless cults that worshipped unexploded atomic warheads, radiation and even those who worshipped Caesar. Aurelius asked who this God Joshua spoke of was.

Joshua seemed pleased that Aurelius asked about it explaining that Joshua as a Mormon has a spiritual tradition that was given to their ancestors thousands of years ago and they made and kept convents with their lord and God, to follow his law. In exchange for this they are given an 
eternity of salvation once their life ends. 

Joshua continued to explain his religious beliefs to Aurelius that eventually a day will come when their lord will return and judge them but until that day comes they are to follow his laws and then help others to follow the path of salvation if they can. 

Aurelius tried to hide his amusement at such a notion but it seeped through, Joshua noticed but didn't seem to be too offended. Aurelius assumed Joshua was used to this now since most of the Wasteland had no idea of a god or gods so someone coming along as speaking that they know about God and their teachings must seem to most like they've had too much exposure to radiation or are out of their mind on Med-X.

Joshua spoke of that he knew he was a sinner and that he had been saved and that there is something beyond the rock, water and air around them with something beyond waiting for us. Joshua also spoke of being baptized twice, once within water and once in flames proclaiming he'd carry the flame of the Holy Spirit until he was judge by his God.

Joshua then asked Aurelius for his help, apparently the Dead Horses held taboos about pre-war locations as spirits surrounded them and punish those who’d enter. Joshua has tried to tell them that there are no spirits inside pre-war buildings but it’s hard for them to shake off their taboos. Joshua wanted to some pre-war equipment to assist with fighting the White Legs.

Aurelius felt conflicted at first not knowing if to help would be beneficial or if Aurelius should just destroy Joshua right not.

As Aurelius was thinking about it Joshua continued stating that once Aurelius gathers the items Joshua wanted they were to be taken to the Mormon spiritual leader in Zion, a man known as Daniel who was living with another tribe known as the Sorrows. Joshua then asked if Aurelius would help, Aurelius then decided that if there was another tribe within Zion with a Mormon leader it’d be a necessity to remove them as well.

Aurelius asked Joshua what he needed and where Daniel was located, Joshua saw this as just an act of good faith from one person to another also Daniel had maps which showed ways out of Zion which they'd more than happily trade for Aurelius’s help.

Joshua asked Aurelius to find and deliver a few items from some locations within Zion which were all Pre-War such as a compass within a crashed school bus, a medical supply kit and some Li'l Scout lunchboxes inside a pre-war shop known as a “General Store” and a couple of walkie-talkies from a Fishing Lodge and then take them to a location to the north of Zion known as the Narrows which is where the Sorrows and Daniel where located and that Joshua would go to them shortly after Aurelius collected the items asked of him.

Joshua also said that Follows Chalk had spent enough time with Joshua that he knew how to speak our language and hadn’t developed a taboo of pre-war places like others of the Sorrows and Dead Horses had and if Aurelius wanted could take Follows Chalk along with him to learn more about the world outside of Zion as Chalk had developed a fascination with places he'd heard Joshua talk about from time to time.

Aurelius did wonder if taking Chalk along would make it a more enjoyable time in Zion but he knew it could cause complications when he had to eliminate the Mormon influence within Zion so he decided against it and noted the locations on his map and began to make his way to collect the items so that he could get all the key players in one place making it much easier to eliminate the Mormons rather than wiping out the Dead Horses and having the Sorrows becoming highly guarded and ready for an assault.
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November 20th 2281:

After spending a short time resting within Dead Horse Point Aurelius set off to his first location slightly west, it was there where a bus before the great-war had fallen where it laid undisturbed for years and only now its carcass was picked clean by Aurelius. Only things needed was this compass Joshua spoke of, even if Aurelius could find it he knew it'd be broken or at the least badly damaged but can’t be that complicated to repair and even if Aurelius couldn't repair it he was sure that the Mormons would be more than happy with a broken one they would possess the capability to repair a pre-war tool.

Aurelius made it to the crashed bus rather easily, nothing lived near the bus almost as if the spirits the tribals spoke of actually existed keeping people and animals away from places where horrific incidents happened. The thought only sat within Aurelius’s mind for a couple of seconds, as bad as it sounds he'd found places where worse had happened but felt nothing of spirits within the areas. After approaching the Aurelius sighted four Geckos that were different to the ones within the Mojave. These Geckos had a bright green skin colour and could even spit or spray poison, they were fighting a few wild dogs and Aurelius just watched this new creature, 

Aurelius knew if he approached the bus they'd see or hear him even if they didn't when he was within the bus he'd be trapped.

Shortly after the Geckos killed the wild dogs Aurelius grasped Triumphator tightly and fired seven rounds at the Geckos with four hitting their mark with two of the Geckos dying but another wasn't even scratched the but the other’s left leg was crippled as the creature was in pain the moment pressure was put onto its left leg. As Aurelius tried to get his sights back onto the untouched Gecko it charge at him and began spitting poison luckily Aurelius was just out of range of the Gecko’s poison and Aurelius quickly emptied the last of his magazine into the Gecko which blew it apart with only the crippled Gecko remaining which was struggling to anything apart for writhe in agony. Aurelius reloaded his rifle and fired a final round in the head of the Gecko leaving it dead.
The Crashed School Bus really had been untouched Aurelius could see that clearly as small, child sized skeletons still littered the bus as well as lunch boxes and toys from before the war. Aurelius passed little concern over it knowing the dead couldn't harm the living but being within an area like this made him feel slightly uncomfortable, Aurelius quickly searched the area for a compass where it was within a dead child’s hand but had a burnt out sensor module within, if 

Aurelius could find another within the wreckage he'd be able to replace it nice and easy. Within the wreckage Aurelius found more skeletons and within another dead child’s hand there was a sensor module that looked like it was still in working condition.

Aurelius quickly removed the compass’s burnt out module and replaced it with the one he just found and the compass began to work. As this happened Aurelius knew he wanted to get out of this area as soon as possible as it was still making him feel rather uncomfortable.

So Aurelius planned out his next move and he decided to make it over to the Zion Fishing Lodge by following the river he was in to the Virgin Fork Campground a bit north of where he was then follow a path to a road which then he'd be able to follow to the next path which would take him directly to the Fishing Lodge.

It was a quiet trip with no wildlife bothering Aurelius on his way once inside the Fishing Lodge there were some more of those Gecko creatures which had made their home inside the Fishing Lodge and Aurelius quickly fired several rounds into the three Geckos that he could see dropping them all dead and began his search of the Fishing Lodge for the Walkie-Talkies that Joshua spoke of.

As Aurelius explored around he found a few weapons within most rubbish but there were a couple of Hunting Shotguns that had fallen in a terrible condition in the last two hundred years since their last use but there was a cabinet that was locked up tight and Aurelius knew he could just shoot the lock unless the round when through and hit the Walkie-Talkies or possible having it ricochet and hit him.

Aurelius did a have a few bobby pins on him and decided to have a go at breaking through the lock with them which proved easier than he thought and found a couple of them within the Fishing Lodge, they looked pre-war military grade equipment and more than capable of communicating from one side of Zion to the other if needed.

With Aurelius’s business within the Fishing Lodge done he left and backtracked to the road he passed and followed it to the North Fork Campground, crossed the North Fork Bridge and headed a little further north and made it to the General Store.

Within the General Store there were a few mole rats which proved nothing more than an annoyance to Aurelius who quickly put them down with a couple of rounds from Triumphator. Aurelius found the Lil’ Scout Lunchboxes rather easy to find as they'd be left on the shelves but a few were still within the backroom but Aurelius couldn't find a medical supply kit anywhere within and decided to take a look at the building a little bit north of the general store.

As Aurelius approached this building he noticed it was another pre-war building left alone as there were more strange hand prints that were placed around the entrance to the building which gave Aurelius hope here would be the final piece of this scavenger hunt he'd been sent on. 

Aurelius didn't have much idea of what this place was until he made it into the backroom when he found beds and assumed this must have been the people who were in charge of Zion before the war looked over it from. It was within the backroom there was a medical kit sitting there but Aurelius’s luck seemed to run out there as it wasn't in the condition it had been as most of the bandages had been taken out of their sterile packaging and the bottle of disinfectant was leaking.

Aurelius decided to look around for some alcohol to sterilize the bandages, within a fridge in the building was some scotch, whiskey and vodka which were more than high enough in alcohol volume to sterilize the bandages.

Aurelius quickly sterilized the bandages, returned them to the medical kit and started his journey towards the Narrows where Joshua and this Daniel would be at the same time so he'd be able to quickly remove both of the main targets before either of them have time to react.

Aurelius began by travelling down towards a cave just south of known as Cueva Guarache and then followed the river north until he came to a place known as Caterpillar’s Mound where the Narrows entrance could be seen from. Then it was simple run towards the Daniel and Joshua.

As Aurelius entered into the Narrows he was greeted by a woman known as Waking Cloud, she asked if Aurelius was the one sent to them by Joshua said that Joshua had asked him to come here but that Aurelius wanted to know who she was, Waking Cloud explained she was the midwife for the Sorrows but Aurelius couldn't hear or see any children anywhere.

Waking Cloud explained that the old and youngest had been evacuated to somewhere safe but since they've been gone Waking Cloud sees to treating the sick and injured while also scouting the valley for herbs she uses for her medicines.

Aurelius was curious about who this Daniel was and Waking Cloud explained he was a wise man and good friend to the Sorrows who'd helped them learn about the “Holy Books” and how to speak English. Aurelius was confused about these Holy Books Waking Cloud spoke of and asked her to explain what they were. Waking Cloud explained to Aurelius that English was the holy language as it is within the New Canaanites holy books which were delivered to them by the “Father in the Cave” after judgement but the Sorrows’ ancestors had sinned by turning against him and were denied the holy tongue because of this. 

Aurelius asked how long Waking Cloud had known this Daniel long and she responded with that she'd known him for six years and he helped her give birth to her third child, which was a hard birth nearly killing both Waking Cloud and her child but as she put it the river nearly carried her water to the Father and her child’s with it but Daniel knew the ways of the New Canaan’s medicine then stepped in and save both Waking Cloud and her child’s lives. After that Waking Cloud asked Daniel to teach her of Daniel’s knowledge of childbirth and Daniel agreed to teach Waking Cloud of his knowledge. 

Aurelius then asked who this “Father in the Cave” is or was, Waking Cloud was slightly confused how Aurelius hadn’t heard of the New Canaanites God, but explained that he is their protector and judge who also helped the Sorrows find their place within Zion. Apparently this Father in the Cave gave the Sorrows gifts but didn't want the Sorrows to search for him and forbid them to look for him. Then those who did search for him were taken from the Sorrows.

Aurelius had been told a bit by Joshua but the story Waking Cloud gave was much too different and when Aurelius told Waking Cloud of this she just shrugged it off and said that perhaps Aurelius didn't know the teachings of the New Canaanites that well. The Father in the Cave’s holy bride and son were given unto the world to save it where they dwelt in the mountains and caves which are still visible today but then people began to sin and the world was punished with an end that came with fire. Then the holy tongue was lost and only the New Canaanites were spared. Aurelius didn't know how to respond and carried on with questions he had for Waking Cloud.

Aurelius wanted to know more about the Sorrows tribe and Waking Cloud explained they'd lived in the Narrows ever since the End That Came In Fire when the Father in the Cave punished the world and made them forget the holy tongue and they had a good relationship with the other tribes within Zion well until Salt-Upon Wounds arrived with his White Legs. Apparently the continued existence of the Sorrows is thanks to Daniel who’s managed to advise and help the Sorrows stop the White Legs from overrunning them ever since the White Legs arrived in Zion, but Waking Cloud seemed slightly concerned as she didn't know how long Daniel could protect them.

Aurelius was curious about Salt-Upon-Wounds and who he was, Waking Cloud explained that he was the war chief of the White Legs and he’s the worst butcher of all, he’s crushed many tribes and slain countless warriors.

Aurelius thanked Waking Cloud for telling him about the various questions he asked and carried on his way to talk to this Daniel he'd heard so much about.

Aurelius saw Daniel sat by a campfire near the entrance of the Sorrows camp, just like Joshua, Daniel first words were of sympathy for the Happy Trails Caravan which was hit by the White Legs when Aurelius first arrived in Zion. Daniel said it might not count for much but Aurelius had Daniel’s sympathy and the Sorrows would also mourn Aurelius’s friends as the Sorrows mourned everyone even the White Legs.Apparently the Sorrows have sensitive souls if not innocent souls. Daniel also hoped he could help Aurelius out but admitted he and Joshua needed Aurelius’s help as well.

Aurelius wondered what Daniel did within Zion and explained he used to help the Sorrows with medical issues they were having as well as general issues but now his bishop sent him as a missionary. The New Canaanites believe there is a path of salvation for everyone and it’s important to help others onto this path if they're willing.

Aurelius did still wondered as Daniel said he used to help the Sorrows with problems but still wondered what Daniel did now. Daniel responded with that he was trying to make amends for letting their problems become the Sorrows problems. The New Canaanites Daniel means as they've been fighting the White Legs for some time ever since Joshua returned Caesar has motivated the White Legs to completely eradicate the New Canaanites wherever they are. This includes tribes which the New Canaanites have and are working with but Daniel just wants to stop something horrible from happening to the Sorrows.

Aurelius now was thinking this had happened before and asked Daniel about this, Daniel explained that it had happened before but not just the White Legs caused this, raiders, prospectors and slavers all who think they can exploit the ignorant and innocent. Daniel said that they'd lost the Tar Walkers and Crazy Horns. They did their best to protect them but made mistakes and paid for them but the Tar Walkers and Crazy Horns paid even more for their mistakes. Daniel wants to get out of the debt he owes them someday but until he does it is enough to stop him and others from getting deeper into the hole. 

Aurelius hated to point out the obvious but the White Legs were already here and what was Daniel plan to deal with them. Daniel explained he wanted to remove the Sorrows from harm’s way, Daniel did also give credit to the White Legs that they managed to find their way to Zion since it mustn't have been easy and must have lost many making it into Zion. Daniel was sure the White Legs would be able to follow them east through the Grand Staircase as the White Legs are scavengers unable to live of the land like the New Canaanites can and if the Sorrows head east they can find safety.

Aurelius was slightly confused about why Daniel was so eager to leave Zion since he didn't seem to be a pacifist. Daniel’s response was pretty simple, that there’s an old saying “If you want peace, get ready for war.” Aurelius had Daniel figured half right that he'd shoot any White Legs attempting to make it into the Narrows but only to protect the Sorrows. The Lord helps those who help themselves but the Sorrows can’t but Daniel and Joshua can. Since Daniel got them into this mess it is only right that they help get them out of it.

Aurelius living a life time of war with every action he’s taken is expected to benefit the Legion didn’t make sense as if Daniel was willing to defend the Sorrows why wasn't Daniel pursuing the White Legs. Again Daniel’s response was simple that there is a big difference between killing in defence and waging war, even a gentile like Aurelius should know that. Aurelius would have dropped if Joshua another New Canaanite wasn't willing to fight the White Legs.

Daniel explained that Joshua’s a living bible of all of Mankind’s miseries of war. The debt he’s earned through his actions he repays every single day. Daniel called him a monument to God’s unending forgiveness and to Humanity’s capacity for cruelty as it’s written across every inch of his body. Daniel asked Aurelius if when he looked at Joshua if he only saw a man of God, because beneath those bandages there is burnt flesh and he still burns as well as everything around him. Joshua only wants to fight because the White Legs have stoked the flame within Joshua, Aurelius has seen the light but doesn't feel the burn. Daniel prayed Aurelius never will feel the burn but it isn't up to Daniel or God but Joshua.

Aurelius wanted to know about the White Legs, Daniel explained they were hateful savages who seemed only to live to plunder and destroy under the command of their leader a devil known as Salt-Upon-Wounds with the only thing he knows is war, everything he and his tribe has is taken by force, raiding and scavenging. It has also been said no man is deadly in close combat than Salt-Upon-Wounds, his power fist has smashed hundreds of skulls. Daniel wasn't too impressed, even if that was true it’s a low form of leadership as a tribe that knows only war has no future and because of this he'll lead them straight to Caesar.

Aurelius now wanted to ask about this Father in the Cave he had talked to Waking Cloud about and Daniel explained that it was some kind of spirit the Sorrows used to believe in who watched over them from the caves in the valley. Some of the caves have been marked as they believe if they enter they'll be punished. Daniel hoped that as they learned more of the New Canaanites teachings they'd lose their old superstitions. 

Aurelius then explained that Daniel might want to talk to them as the Sorrows thought their “Father” is the same as their “Lord”. Daniel was confused at first but then shortly realised he’d overlooked how the assumption was made that Mary was the Mother and Jesus the Child. Daniel did wonder how they picked up on the teachings so fast, just goes to show how difficult it can be to communicate sometimes.

Now Aurelius had asked all his questions Aurelius let Daniel know he’d been asked to bring some things here and had them all with him. Daniel seemed quite surprised as he had started to lose hope that they'd be able to get any of this equipment much less all of it. Daniel explained that the tribals are smart but… They’re ignorant and letting go of taboo is difficult for the Sorrows so Daniel knew it would have to be either Joshua or himself but turns out all they needed was a Gentile. These supplies would be a Godsend but if they were going to evacuate Zion without drawing more attention Aurelius would need to go back into Zion Valley.

Specifically Daniel asked if Aurelius could scout some areas for White Legs, A map of the Grand Staircase and clear out the passage of the way east but also need the roads clearing of possible traps. Aurelius agreed so long as it helped get him out of Zion. Daniel seemed slightly annoyed at the statement as Aurelius came to Zion of his own free will and as far as Daniel was concerned Aurelius was an uninvited guest. Apparently in better times Daniel would drop everything to help Aurelius but with the current situation the Sorrows come first in his priorities.

Daniel did explain that Waking Cloud had volunteered to travel with Aurelius back into the Valley if he wished for a companion. Waking Cloud’s an experienced hunter and quite skilled at staying out of sight when needed, she’d apparently make things easier during this trip back into Zion Valley. Once that’s done all that is left is to evacuate the Sorrows then Daniel would give Aurelius some supplies and a map to make it back to the Mojave and anything else needed to return to the Mojave.

Aurelius turned down the offer for help as he preferred to travel alone and took rest for the day as tomorrow he knew he’d finish his affairs within Zion for good.
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November 21st 2281:

After spending the night within the Narrows Aurelius was ready to head back into Zion Valley and finally have Joshua and Daniel in the same location allowing him to destroy the New Canaanites presence and then the White Legs could mop up any of the left overs that remained in Zion.

As Aurelius made his way towards the exit of the Narrows and back into Zion Valley he was greeted by Joshua, who spoke of something that made little sense to Aurelius with the use of some kind of bastardised English By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion. Remember, O Lord, the children of Edom in the day of Jerusalem who said, "Raze it, raze it, even to the foundation." O daughter of Babylon, who art to be destroyed. Happy shall he be, that rewardeth thee as thou hast served us. Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones. Do you know what it means?

Aurelius understood the meaning of Joshua’s words though, Joshua didn't want to run, he wanted to fight and kill the White Legs. Given the two choices Joshua would prefer to fight and beat the White Legs rather than run but if it was possible the White Legs would leave them in peace Joshua would do the same but since the White Legs aren't wanting to leave them in peace so fighting them was the best possible situation. Joshua said he didn't enjoy killing but when it was done righteously it is a chore just like any other and like any other chore practised hands make for short work and the good Lord knows there is a lots of work to be done. 

Aurelius wondered more why Joshua was speaking to Aurelius about this rather than Daniel or the tribes. Joshua explained that he and Daniel don't always agree but they always have the best interests of the Sorrows and Dead Horses at heart. Joshua spoke of Aurelius having seen the White Legs first hand and that Aurelius knew what had to be done so if Daniel heard it from someone else such as Aurelius then he might be more willing to commit the Sorrows to helping the Dead Horses and Joshua defeat the White Legs and so Zion wouldn’t be lost to them after all. 

Aurelius didn't want to side with either but actually assist Caesar’s interests within Zion so he told Joshua he'd think about it.

Joshua understood Aurelius wanting to think about it as this wasn't a decision to be taken lightly as Zion and the tribes would change forever after this but Joshua did ask for Aurelius to think on it and to look into his heart. Joshua then decided to head into the Narrows camp and awaited Aurelius’s answer.

Now was Aurelius’s chance to remove the leadership and spiritual element from the Sorrows and Dead Horses. Aurelius knew the Burned Man would be a challenge to take down as he was a true foe to be feared. 

Aurelius moved back into the Narrows and moved into the cavern area to get a good vantage point which was well hidden from the ground allowing Aurelius to fire several shots before being discovered from below. He sighted Joshua and Daniel is close proximity and grabbed Palencia and aimed at Joshua, Aurelius squeezed the trigger but his sight was slightly off and the .308 round missed Joshua but hit Daniel’s neck causing him to crash to the ground as blood sprayed over everything around Daniel.

Joshua immediately moved to search for where the shot came from and Aurelius’s cover might have been enough to hide him from untrained eyes but Joshua had fought countless battles and was almost unmatched in combat and sighted Aurelius the moment he began to scan for where the shot came from and began suppressing Aurelius’s position as he moved to cover. Aurelius knew he'd have to react quickly as Joshua wasn't a foe to be underestimated as he easily prove a match for Aurelius if not surpass him in terms of his skills of survival since Aurelius was sure if he was set afire and thrown into the grand canyon he probably wouldn't survive.

Aurelius knew Palencia wasn't going to be of much use now since Joshua was too alert and moving too much for Aurelius line up a powerful shot onto him but Triumphator would be able to fire enough bullets that it may give Joshua pause for some time allowing Aurelius to relocate and move into a better position and get that .308 round to blow Joshua away.

Now a few of the Sorrows tribals were investigating what these noises were and began running over to see what was happening but arrived too late to be of any real help as Joshua attempted to reach the high ground Aurelius fired all of Triumphator’s rounds at Joshua pinning him down for a few seconds allowing him to switch back to Palencia, quickly lining up his sights onto Joshua Aurelius squeezed the trigger once more and sent a round flying into Joshua’s right should and sent him crashing to the ground and slid down the ramp he was using to make it up the higher ground but Joshua was still breathing so Aurelius moved closer towards Joshua and fired a round within the centre of his chest and seemed to take Joshua out but Aurelius wasn't taking any chances with Joshua surviving so Aurelius took Joshua’s pistol as evidence he had killed Joshua and then placed a couple of disarmed land mines next to him and pulled back from Joshua, Aurelius then lined up his sights on one of the land mines and blew them all up and Joshua was then blown apart without any chance of survival.

The Sorrows which had come to investigate fled in terror from Aurelius who’d just decapitated the leader of the Dead Horses and Daniel had bled to death on the floor. As the Sorrows ran in fear only a couple had stayed and attempted to fight Aurelius but they were terrified shaking so much they were shooting towards the sky more than Aurelius and were cut down by Triumphator although those who avoid Aurelius were left in peace as Aurelius knew the White Legs would deal with them, as Aurelius made it to the lifeless corpse of Daniel, Aurelius searched for a map back to the Mojave but Daniel didn't seem to have it on him and must have been keeping his maps further within the camp so Aurelius began a search throughout the camp with anyone who was unfortunate to come across him was shot down remorselessly.

Within a few hours of searching Aurelius found the map of Zion Canyon next to a makeshift bed in a pot and then headed towards the Southern Passage of Zion to return to the Mojave. The trip towards the Southern Passage was eerily quiet, the word had spread that Joshua and Daniel were cut down in the comfort of the Narrows and more White Legs began moving around Zion but seemed to avoid Aurelius when he was sighted, perhaps this was respect or fear of the Courier who had just handed the White Legs their assured victory over the tribes of Zion but whatever this was Aurelius cared little apart from Caesar’s will was done and now he could return to serve the Legion again.
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[dx144]

November 28th 2281:

News of the events in Zion had started to spread around to certain people within the Mojave the White Legs had plundered everything within Zion and without Daniel the Sorrows were eradicated with little trace of them ever within Zion remained. 

 

Joshua Graham who was so highly regarded by the Dead Horses couldn't believe his death and found it difficult to come to terms with his death as well. The New Canaanites from outside Zion tried to keep in contact with the Dead Horses but without Joshua’s authority found it difficult to have much of a presence. Although as a sign of respect for their Joshua Graham the Dead Horses continued to help protect the New Canaanites wherever they settled. The Dead Horses eventual began to start worshipping the spirit of the land which was vengeful and divine justice which they called as Joshua. 

 

The Happy Trails Caravan Company was bankrupt with the run into Zion and making contact with the New Canaanites being a make or break trip saw the end of Happy Trails begin dissolve and within a few months they'd be nothing but a memory.

 

Joshua Graham after a trouble life final found rest within Zion, it wasn't NCR Rangers and finest sharpshooters or Legion assassins that brought this but the Courier who finally put Joshua down. The New Canaanites took comfort in the belief that their Brother Joshua’s soul would find peace and walk with their Lord.

 

In the shadow of Daniel’s death those who managed to survive the White Legs assault on the Narrows mourned Daniel’s death as they did for all who fell. Word of Daniel’s death spread to the other New Canaanites some weeks later and prayed that their brother would be well received by their Lord.

 

With that done the Courier who had change Zion walked out of Zion to return to the Mojave for the gathering storms that were approaching.

 

Once back in Mojave Aurelius decided to make his presence known by eradicating the NCR’s hold south of Hoover Dam by taking out Camp Forlorn Hope. Aurelius knew he'd need some heavy weaponry to take out the main targets within Forlorn Hope mainly the command element and the medical personnel would be priorities since medical personnel would be of higher value than other within Forlorn Hope so Aurelius decided to make a stop off at the Gun Runners to get a supply of ammo and possibly some heavier weaponry to destroy the entire camp.

 

Although Aurelius knew he'd be unable to take some of the heavy weaponry without weighing him down so much it'd become so difficult to move. The knockout blow Aurelius would have to deliver would have to be quick and devastating to the camp or Aurelius knew he'd be hunted down and killed by the camp’s occupants if he didn’t eliminate the right personnel.

 

Aurelius thought to himself that a situation such as destroying an entire NCR camp would require something of drastic action.

 

While searching through the Gun Runner’s inventory for a weapon that could deliver such a blow Aurelius saw a pre-war weapon of immense destruction, something he wasn't used to use to using but was a weapon that could turn a fight against almost anyone into a winnable situation, this was weapon was a miniature nuke launcher known as a Fat-Man, it held the capability to level anything that stood before it. 

 

With this weapon Aurelius knew he'd be able to crush the camp much easier than sniping from afar killing the odd troopers when possible and the leadership element but when the first soldier falls the entire camp would become alerted to the presence of an attacker.

 

But this would easily give Aurelius the advantage in this coming battle. Aurelius knew he'd have to make the mini-nukes count as each one was worth its weight in gold when facing the NCR. Aurelius had got eight of them, a couple were just normal, three were tiny-tot versions which separated in small warhead which each one would inflict massive damage, a big-kid version which a higher yield of explosion and a low yield mini-nuke which had a smaller warhead allowing it to do less damage to a large area but there also a timed warhead which wouldn’t explode until a certain time had a passed since it had been fired allowing for it to go unnoticed for a short period or if aimed correctly explode above the enemies heads.

 

With this equipment acquired Aurelius set off to Nelson to search for a vantage position over Forlorn Hope to allow Aurelius’s untrained hands to use the Fat-Man more effectively as each mini-nuke would hit somewhere within Forlorn Hope rather than missing or Caesar-forbid killing Aurelius.

 

As Aurelius entered Nelson he wanted to see the Decanus in charge who was a man who went by the name of Dead Sea. Aurelius wondered why Dead Sea hadn't pressed the attack and massacred Forlorn Hope already but apparently no order had been given to continue the assault but the orders were to hold and demoralise the enemy and so Dead Sea had massacred Nelson and began crucifying those who survived all within the sights of Forlorn Hope and other NCR spotters.

 

Aurelius asked if he'd receive any support in taking Forlorn Hope but Dead Sea was unable to contradict the orders given to him by Caesar and Aurelius would act by himself in destroying Forlorn Hope, Dead Sea did laugh when Aurelius said he'd kill everyone in Forlorn Hope by himself.

 

With this Aurelius advanced up to Forlorn Hope noticing that the to the West there was a cliff that if he was atop of he could rain fire down from above the camp but there was a watchtower with a soldier on lookout. Aurelius decided to wait until nightfall to allow him have a slightly improved chance of making it into his wanted position without being discovered. 

 

The night was rather quite a few shots seemed to ring out occasionally but were clearly far enough away with the shots just echoing throughout Forlorn Hope. Aurelius put his weapons down slightly away from the watchtower allowing Aurelius to make it closer without everything he was carrying clunking and making noise as he tried to approaching the quiet of the night. 

 

The Guard within the watchtower appeared to be tired and not as alert as Aurelius would have expected a soldier on the frontline to be. Aurelius saw this as his chance to make it into Forlorn Hope, quickly make his way just out of the sight of the guard Aurelius began making his way towards to watchtower and had a small knife that in any other fight would be useless but if Aurelius could sneak up on him and stab his exposed neck then Aurelius could kill the Guard without attracting the attention of the entire camp.

 

Aurelius moved slowly and cautiously until he was close enough to the guard that could grab him and pulled him out of the tower on the ramp leading up the tower and before the Guard realised what was happening began thrusting the knife into the Guard’s neck with blood splattering across the place with a few gurgling noises from the doomed man but Aurelius then slit his throat and saw the life drain from his eyes, Aurelius then left the lifeless corpse and moved back to acquire his weaponry to begin the assault upon Forlorn Hope.

 

Aurelius loaded his Fat-Man with the big-kid mini-nuke and sighted the main tent of Forlorn Hope where the command structure would have been and lined up his Fat-Man to hit around the tent which even if it landed a miss the blast radius would cause significant damage to anyone inside and would burn away the tent.

 

The big-kid mini-nuke fell short and hit a building which had some troopers around but Aurelius loaded the one of the tiny-tots mini-nukes and fired again, the first hit the command tent as well as some surrounding tents, then Aurelius launched a second tiny-tots mini-nuke which smashed into some buildings that appeared to be made out of some junk and weren’t stable enough to survive a direct hit from a mini-nuke and crumbled as force of impact sent them crashing down trapping or killing anyone who was inside of them and the third tiny-tots mini-nuke was fired further than the other and hit some trooper’s tents beyond the command tent at the edge of the camp.

 

The camp was engulfed in flames both visible and invisible as the camp was filling up with radiation and fire that spread across from tent to tent with even a few NCR troopers engulfed in flames were laying on the ground motionless.

 

Troopers from the buildings that weren't hit began pouring out to find who'd caused this attack but the flames did nothing to help the NCR see through the darkness but instead blinded and confused them and then another mini-nuke this it was the low-yield and Aurelius could see the troopers as clear as day with them on the ground surrounded by flames.

 

Aurelius only had a single modified mini-nuke left which was the timed and Aurelius fired it at what appeared to be some kind communications centre next to the command tent which appeared to survive the previous mini-nukes as Aurelius knew he didn't want the NCR to know of this attack so soon.  The timed mini-nuke missed but luckily bounced and rolled close enough to the communications centre that it blew the entire structure setup apart.

 

The last two mini-nukes Aurelius had at his disposal were the unmodified ones which Aurelius just fired down onto the camp in the hopes of killing anyone the remaining NCR troopers down there. The night instead of silent was now filled with the screams of men and woman and the crackling of roaring flames. Aurelius now pulled out his rifle and looked around for stragglers who might be trying to leave the camp but nothing seemed able to leave but Aurelius knew he'd have to take a look soon.

 

After a few hours of nothing Aurelius investigated the area of the Camp Forlorn hope where the radiation wasn't that strong and most of it had moved along but most bodies were charred beyond recognition but some dog tags were still readable. Most of them were basic troopers and military police but Aurelius did find a few of winners such as Quartermaster Carl Mayes, Tech Sergeant Reyes and Major Joseph Polatli but other dog tags held no one of real importance to the NCR command structure in Forlorn Hope and Aurelius now searched for any stragglers within Forlorn Hope who might have survived the attack he launched against them.

 

Aurelius found nothing alive and the screams had stopped some time ago, only the flames made a noise within the night now and no one seemed to be able and with the tents and buildings destroyed Aurelius left to find somewhere to rest after this massacre at Forlorn Hope.

 

Aurelius though at some point as he left Forlorn Hope on his way back to Nelson that he saw some shadows escaping from the camp but just assumed it was the fire playing tricks on him and carried on.

 

As Aurelius was making his way to Nelson he noticed a bunker entrance south-east of his way and assumed if the NCR were using this as a temporary resting place. With this thought in mind Aurelius wanted to investigate, perhaps some more of the leadership element escaped but found nothing in there but an odd radio message speaking of some place called the Sierra Madre Casino, Aurelius cared little for Casinos and was still curious about this bunker but found little of who or what stayed here. 

 

The radio there started to annoy Aurelius as it was on repeat so Aurelius decided to turn the radio off and head back to Nelson but as Aurelius passed through a doorway to reach the radio it was rigged with a gas that began to blur Aurelius vision shortly before knocking Aurelius out.

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[dx144]

December 1st 2281:
Aurelius awoke to some kind of hellish landscape where the air was clouded with a blood-red mist that made breathing more difficult. It was then while looking around Aurelius noticed an explosive collar had been put upon his neck by someone, without any real understanding of where Aurelius was, a face of an elderly man appeared in front of Aurelius in what could have been a pre-war fountain which began to speak to Aurelius. 

Aurelius was told by this man that when it speaks Aurelius will listen and follow its instructions. 

Aurelius wanted to know how he came to be in this nightmare, the man spoke with a sense of amusement at Aurelius for his confusion, apparently Aurelius had wandered into one of this man’s traps around the Mojave but none of that really matters as now Aurelius is here with a collar around his neck. If Aurelius does as this man instructs and the collar won't go off but refusing, disobeying, running away then Aurelius will be killed and this man would find someone else instead. So the situation for Aurelius was do as he’s told as there is no escape until this man lets him go, so the sooner Aurelius accepts this the better.

So Aurelius wanted to know why he was brought here then, to which this man replied that the structure above the fountain is the Sierra Madre Casino which this man wanted Aurelius to break into the casino but Aurelius was told to get inside he’d need to avoid traps and to assemble a team as this man had already found that it isn't possible to do this alone.

Aurelius wondered how many others this man had caught and brought here, the man dodged the question explaining there were three other collars which are the same as Aurelius’s spread around the Villa, these were collar 8, 12 and 14. Aurelius objective was to find all three and bring them here to the fountain and then this man will explain more. This man then explained that if Aurelius got any ideas of killing the other and then trying to take the treasure of the Sierra Madre for himself that he'd also die as the collars are linked so if one person dies all will die. Apparently this was a compliance measure to make others work together. 

Aurelius had seen some harsh methods used with Caesar’s Legion but nothing like this and wondered why anyone would use those methods. This man then explained that in some respects breaking into the Sierra Madre was easier than breaking Human instinct, more precisely greed. Apparently the villa is filled with corpses of those who've been killed by dangers within the Villa, some by this man and some turned on each other. When someone realised they could take the Sierra Madre for themselves they turned on each other caring nothing for their freedom, survival or each other. 

Aurelius wondered if everyone apart from the collars he linked with were dead, with answer being yes, only with their markings and graffiti around the Villa remaining as well as their victims they'd killed. Some tried to assist the others by leaving supplies and medical aid for others with their reward being someone tracked them down then killed by those with baser instincts. It didn't stop there though as these murders would leave traps behind to stop anyone following them turning the markers for help into nothing more than death traps. Some of these murderers forgot about these traps and ended up killing themselves or isolated themselves so much that when they needed help there was no one to help them. 

Aurelius wanted to know how many this man had brought to this place but received a disturbing answer of too many with this place being dangerous with its quarantine measures and hazards having claimed many with failure after failure. This man didn't want to have to place collars onto Aurelius’s neck for compliance but he had no choice and he couldn’t use robots to do this. The Sierra Madre’s lock is complicated and requires human hands to open it. 

Strangely enough after all this time Aurelius had only just noticed that he hadn’t got any of his gear he had back in the Mojave. Aurelius wanted to know what his man had done with his gear, but apparently the Sierra Madre has many defences designed to make sure its guests couldn't bring in items that were dangerous or illicit and Aurelius arrival here without his weapons wasn’t this man’s intentions. The Casino will remove anything with even a trace of radiation or traces of unknown substances returns it home to where the guest came from so for Aurelius that meant the bunker he came from. This man said he hadn't left Aurelius defenceless as the Sierra Madre’s automated defences can assist if Aurelius was resourceful and by this the man meant that this place had been preserved ever since the Great War because of the Cloud, as treasures from all around the old world are scattered all around. With this Aurelius could hunt, search and craft as the trash of pre-war era could keep Aurelius alive be this food, knives and more if Aurelius knew how to use them. Even the Cloud itself could be used if its residue was collected could be shaped into tools and weapons. There is also one other thing this man had to offer Aurelius which was a rifle that will help keep Aurelius alive just as the collar will. 

Aurelius wanted to know what was this rifle and was told it was a “Holorifle” which was a weapon this man constructed when he arrived here and since arriving here he’s made superior models of this Holorifle as well as modifications but for now this Holorifle will have to serve until Aurelius could find another weapon which this man suggested Aurelius should do quickly since ammo for the Holorifle is limited but it should still serve good enough with it being fashioned from the holograms of the Villa and used it against the Villa’s…inhabitants.

Aurelius was shocked to learn there were “people” living within the Villa but as the man explained these inhabitants were to be avoided if possible as they can prove difficult to kill as whatever created them bullets, explosions, energy can render them unconscious but not kill them as they will eventually crawl back up and restore themselves. This man seems to think it could be something to do with the Cloud or possibly their physiology.

Aurelius wanted to know about the Cloud as he’d seen nothing like it anywhere before, this man responded that the Cloud blanketed the sky, that it could be smelt within the air with an aroma of sulphur and copper that burns the lungs and seeps into the skin. Although where it came from this man didn't seem to know, possibly a pre-war pollutant or something within the Sierra Madre’s structure but this man didn't know for sure. Although the man knew that the Cloud was unique throughout his travels of the Wasteland but it was also deadly and it is what has kept this place preserved since the Great War.

Aurelius did question how he was to make it throughout the Villa without anything but a weapon, what would he do for aid or protection, the man then spoke of vending machines that were dotted around the Villa which you'd put a coin in and have a “Reward” come out but there were more codes scattered around the Villa allowing more restricted items such as ammunition, weapons or medical supplies to be dispensed so long as the correct 

That was enough, Aurelius tired of talking as he could feel his mouth and throat burning knowing he wanted out of this hellhole before he was consumed by it. Before Aurelius left this man told Aurelius to go for Collar 8 first who was an FEV reject who was loyal even without a collar and would be of great help while completing the required tasks within and around the Villa.

Although this frightened Aurelius more than it gave him hope, anyone who's willing serve this madman wasn't to be trusted but the other collars within the Villa seemed more promising since they sounded just like they were in the same position as Aurelius falling into a trap and being taken here and forced to do this madman’s commands. Aurelius knew one thing though, he'd kill this madman for the situation he put Aurelius in and stop this madman from doing anything like this to anyone else.

Aurelius decided to head towards Collar 12 with its signal coming from within what once was the Medical District for the Sierra Madre, its residents and creators. Who knew what still stood there, perhaps enough medical supplies remained unless previous scavengers had taken them or perhaps these “Ghost People” used them. Who knew what was left there but if there was even a chance Aurelius could get some equipment that would help him survive this nightmare then he’d enter into some of these dangerous areas.

As Aurelius left the fountain and headed west towards the Medical District he noticed a lone creature flailing as it walked back and forth, it hadn’t noticed Aurelius as it was at the end of the street but Aurelius noticed it wasn't equipped with anything high tech but a simple spear and wearing what seemed to be a pre-war safety suit of some kind, the eyes glowed a bright neon green but it's breathing was most terrifying as it was constantly heavy which seemed to be a constant noise that became an ambience of the Sierra Madre but grew louder and louder the closer a Ghost Person became. Aurelius remembered what the old man had said to him “Try to avoid the Ghost People if you can”. Aurelius wanted to test these enemies for himself so he could be the judge but knew better than to go looking for a fight unprepared and while keeping an eye on the Ghost Aurelius moved towards the Medical District.

Once inside the Medical District a voice spoke, it was the old man’s voice again. He spoke of the Villa's pre-war speakers which some where still operational but would interfere with collar’s signal which would eventually cause the collar to explode. Luckily though the collar had a warning where it would begin to beep and beep faster until it eventually explodes.

Moving a little bit forward Aurelius’s collar began beeping, slowly at first but then gradually speeding up, Aurelius moved backwards until his collar stopped beeping. The old man’s spoke up again telling Aurelius that he should survey his surroundings and either turn off or destroy the speakers as they could be destroyed by a strongly thrown spear or by a gunshot except for there are some speakers that are still shielded and need to have their shields or power turned off.

Aurelius looked around and saw that there was a speaker just above the arch way he was going to pass through. Aurelius aimed his Holorifle at the speaker and fired one of his few precious cells. The speaker burst apart and Aurelius entered through without any beeping noises but there was another one of those Ghost People who was wearing the same outfit as the last and breathed just as heavy was walking back and forth but noticed Aurelius and began approaching Aurelius. 

The Ghost Person began throwing spears at Aurelius luckily Aurelius managed to dodge and take cover from them and fired several Microfusion cells at the Ghost Person and it fell down to ground. Aurelius remembered the old man’s words that the Ghost People seemed to regenerate and just get up after being hit but Aurelius had time to take one of the Ghost Person’s spears and while it was getting back up had enough time to rip it limb from limb which seemed to keep the Ghost Person down on the ground and after a few minutes of watching the Ghost Person remaining motionless Aurelius decided to move onwards throughout the Medical District.

Another one of those speakers or a radio must have been through the doorway Aurelius had to take as Aurelius's collar began beeping again. Aurelius couldn't see anything but noticed there was a walkway above the doorway. This posed a dangerous proposition, perhaps Aurelius could run through and be far enough away from the speaker or radio so that it wouldn't set off Aurelius's collar prematurely but what if there was another further ahead or the range on the speaker or radio was long enough that Aurelius had nowhere to hide from the signals. He'd be done for.


Aurelius never did spend his time though living in what ifs, he'd always taken action over waiting. Sometimes this was a curse but it did have its blessings as well as he'd had many a time when fighting against tribal or even NCR forces Aurelius managed to quickly react and charge in or move to the flanks of some tribal or NCR force before Aurelius's enemies could react to take out Aurelius.

It was now or never though Aurelius had to take action or die from waiting in this poisoned air, Aurelius ran through the doorway with his collar beginning to beep. The speaker or radio must have been above the doorway as Aurelius moved to the edge of the street the collar stopped beeping. Aurelius stopped and evaluated his surroundings then noticed an active speaker directly above the doorway.

Aurelius thought it was a waste of a microfusion cell but Aurelius did have a couple of throwing spears from that dead Ghost Person but Aurelius hadn't thrown a spear for some time, Aurelius did have a lot of experience from the Legion though and thought it was a worth a try.

The first spear flew below the doorway and stuck into the decaying wall, the second spear hit and broke through the speaker where it then burst open and sent out sparks and turned off without its power supply. 

Aurelius knew he was making good time towards his objective but Aurelius had no idea how long he could be within this poisoned air for without dying but Aurelius had only just found a concentrated pocket of the cloud which had probably built up over the years but Aurelius had been told by the Old Man that concentrated pockets were dangerous and could kill quickly if someone was exposed to the air. The Old Man also said that areas covered in the cloud were practically untouched, meaning a lot more likely to find something that would be useful but was it really worth the risk though... Perhaps it was but without any medical equipment and no real information on what kind of damage the cloud would do to Aurelius's body.

Aurelius decided against going through the Cloud and decided to avoid the Cloud at all costs unless it was an absolute necessity.

Aurelius then saw another passage Aurelius could use to make it to the Medical District's clinic and was the most direct way to make it to Collar 12 but there were some areas that were open and possibly have weapons or medical supplies lying around which Aurelius could take and put to good use.

After up walking up some stairs and exploring another room Aurelius noticed another Ghost Person flailing around on the ground level, it didn't take long for it to notice Aurelius but Aurelius had already lined up a shot onto the Ghost Person's left leg and blew it apart. The Ghost Person appeared to die, falling to the ground and remained motionless for a minute before Aurelius decided to move on and ascended higher to the highest possible area where Aurelius had an overview of the entire medical district.

It was still rather silent apart from the faint breathing that filled the ambience but Aurelius didn't have time to look down upon the blood red cloud and decaying villa.

Advancing further into the Medical District Aurelius's collar began beeping again, this time from a building which before the Great War would have been a sturdy wall which Aurelius would of had to change around his pathway to the Clinic but there was a smashed open wall which had a clear way down.

Aurelius had no idea where the signal was coming from though, it could have been inside the building somewhere or on an outside wall but Aurelius marked with a few pieces of rubble where he was stood when the beeping started. Aurelius could then enter into building and as the beeping got faster he could make his way back towards the pile of rubble and make sure his collar wouldn't explode as well as his head.

After entering quickly Aurelius searched the inside of the top floor of the building to be greeted by nothing and as Aurelius's collar began beeping faster and faster but Aurelius felt like he ran faster than he ever had before to make his way towards the pile of rubble Aurelius had placed and just made it past the pile of rubble signifying the edge of the speaker or radio signals and in split second the beeping stopped, Aurelius was fine and the collar had stopped.

Aurelius decided to rush into this building, the quicker Aurelius was in the faster he'd make it out and then past the signals interfering with his collar. As Aurelius made it to the stairwell Aurelius noticed his collar stopped beeping, Aurelius waiting and just took a few breaths before rushing down the stair with his collar beginning to beep again and made Aurelius made his was outside and moved away from the building he was in until his collar stopped beeping.

After Aurelius collar stopped beeping he once more surveyed his surroundings and noticed a speaker sitting on the wall blaring out its signals, although without any spears except for one which Aurelius was going to use in case one of the Ghost People got too close Aurelius had to use the Holorifle to destroy the speaker. Aurelius took his time, lined up a shot and blew the speaker apart but was down to only seven microfusion cells left.

Although Aurelius had made it to an entrance to the Clinic, now Aurelius could go find whoever this Collar 12 was and possibly get some nice equipment from within the Clinic but there was only one way for Aurelius to find something and someone in there and that was to enter into the Clinic.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

December 1st 2281 (Continued):
Once inside the Clinic Aurelius noticed the breathing that filled the Villa fell silently, Aurelius was relieved to no long hear the breathing but wondered what had stopped the breathing.

Aurelius heard nothing now actually, nothing at all which made Aurelius even more curious as something different must be inside here to make those mad creatures known as Ghost People out of here but shortly after hearing nothing the sound of electrical tools and an occasional pounding began to ring out. At first this startled Aurelius but eventually eased up to them as it was nothing but sound filling the background and carried on with his objective of finding Collar 12.

Aurelius could see this was once the reception area, where people who needed medical attention would come and wait to be seen. Aurelius didn't see much around though, not much medical equipment or weapons but notice a few holodisks that contained codes for the vending machines which Aurelius if he had the right amount of Sierra Madre chips Aurelius could get some medical equipment, possibly a weapon and ammo if he found the right codes.

Aurelius saw that there were stairs leading up where medical equipment might have been being kept, as Aurelius ascended the stairs there walking back and forth was what looked like so kind of security guard but they weren't there. It was like the hologram that sat above the fountain where the Old Man first spoke to Aurelius.

This hologram was different though it walked back and forth through a hallway. Aurelius had no idea how to make it past this hologram but noticed a blue dot on a wall the Hologram pasted from time to time. Perhaps that is the Hologram's way to project itself or perhaps it was its power supply. Aurelius thought it was a worth a try rather than standing around gathering dust.

With one of his last few Microfusion Cells Aurelius blew the blue dot apart and the Hologram disappeared. Aurelius began to search the rooms that were within the hallway that the Hologram was patrolling. Nothing much is a few but there was a working terminal which hadn't been used since the Villa was inhabited by people who weren't walking corpses. There were also a few more holodisks, with codes for stimpaks, Med-X and Mentats. Aurelius knew the Legion shunned these items but he'd had to use that which the Legion deemed wrong to ensure his survival to return to the Legion.

Aurelius disliked using medical equipment like this but it was a necessity at times like this where without a stimpak or two Aurelius would have died countless times before. Aurelius knew it'd one day get him into some trouble as he was at times lenient with the Legion's teachings but so long as his assignments were completed no one really questioned how Aurelius had gone about completing his assignments but then again perhaps after Aurelius explaining how he'd burnt and massacred entire tribes made even some of the Legionaries walk away from him.

After continued Aurelius found a way downstairs again and since the upper floor was a dead end apart from some rooms which had dispenser codes and some medical equipment such as a couple of Stimpaks, Doctor's Bags and even a Super Stimpak there wasn't much to scavenge.

Aurelius came down the stairs to find at the end of another hallway next to the reception an area with stretchers and two corpses within, both heads were blown off and a mannequin with a collar on but was disarmed. The room puzzled Aurelius quite a bit but after searching the dead mean Aurelius found some drained Microfusion Cells and some Sierra Madre chips but there was also a suit of armour sitting there which looked rather comfortable and more defensible than those rags Aurelius had been wearing since he woke up.

There was a terminal sat there which had reports of a gas leak from before the Great War, apparently this gas caused to the three guys who were exposed major lung and tissue damage but apparently there could be a build-up under the Villa which might explain this gas and then there was a file explaining that some chemical suits had arrived to help protect anyone who’d be working with or near the gas. No sight of those suits though, did kind of resemble the clunky suits of the Ghost People though…

Directly across from that room though there was another hallway but there was a speaker at the end of the hallway but was different instead of a whitish glow below the speaker it was red, still sent Aurelius collar beeping if he got too close but it when Aurelius scored a direct hit on the power supply it didn't do anything. It must have been shielded and the red glow signified it was shielded.

With no way forward Aurelius decided to take a look around and see where the power supply for the building was. It was highly unlikely they'd have it with everything else here and since Aurelius didn't see anything above it must have been below where he was. 

After retracing his steps Aurelius found another stairwell down and this led into the basement. From the moment Aurelius went into the basement all he could hear was a pounding noise and flashes of blue but there wasn't anything really there but there was an incredibly sharp knife sitting on a workbench that was brighter than a steel blade but also lighter then what was impressive about this weapon it was ridiculously sharp to the point it could slice through almost anything given time. The basement seemed to be also used as a storage area Aurelius decided to try out this knife on a few items down there, there were some metal boxes which it sliced through easily. Against the tough hides that the Ghost People had on wouldn't prove that difficult to slice through.

The knife wasn't that clean though and could do with a good clean...

There was also a terminal within the basement which had the ability to deactivate all non-essential power to the clinic and the speakers were non-essential. Other systems like the auto-docs and holograms within had back-up power. Aurelius guessed it was in case the Great War came and the power failed then everyone who was in need of medical attention within the Villa would still be able to receive treatment.

Aurelius headed back upstairs out of the basement to find Collar 12 in the last part of the Clinic that hadn't been searched.

The hallway where the speaker once sat with a bright red light under it now was colourless and dead, Aurelius’ collar didn't begin to beep so Aurelius continued and looked into the room within the hallway, there was a bit of medical equipment if enough was collected but nothing useful on its own. 

The Auto-Docs did gain Aurelius's attention, they had a couple of options but not much, they could heal up any limb damage but also inject adrenaline to remove any sleep deprivation. Nothing useful really for Aurelius so he left them and carried on.

There at the end of the Clinic though there was one Auto-Doc active, it was the one Aurelius had been hearing but it wasn't active it was malfunctioning. The noise was nothing but a distraction for Aurelius so he decided to deactivate it.

But when Aurelius deactivated it what he noticed was someone was inside and they were also wearing a collar. She didn't say a word though...
__________________________________________________________________

[dx144]

December 1st 2281 (Continued... Again):
As the Auto-Doc opened the pounding noise stopped. Aurelius assumed it was some Ghost People bashing something trying to find a way in since the power went out but now Aurelius saw a woman who was inside the malfunctioning Auto-Doc.

As she came out of the Auto-Doc she looked as if she'd been in there a while and when asked if she was alright there was no response. She opened her mouth to speak but no sound came out. This woman then grasped her throat and noticed a scar there which went up to her chin and then she looked very alarmed.

Aurelius knowing his life was tied to this one he offered his help to her since it'd mean she'd be more likely to survive and so would Aurelius. 

This woman still looked shocked since she'd been stuck in that Auto-Doc for who knows how long. She looked at the Auto-Doc again and tried to speak again but no sound came out. Then this woman looked at Aurelius and clenched her fists then began studying Aurelius.

Aurelius spoke up telling her that it isn't what it looks like.

Once again this woman opened up her mouth but again with no sound, it was then that she notice a collar below her neck then began to look more angry than in pain now. This woman then found the edge of her collar and began attempting to remove it until Aurelius spoke up with a outburst telling her not to fiddle with her collar.

The woman was surprised at Aurelius's outburst until she then noticed Aurelius was in the same situation with a collar around his neck and raised an eyebrow at what was going on.

Aurelius could only explain it as we were in this together.

The woman didn't seem to want to be with someone as she frowned then shook her at the notion we'd be working together.

Aurelius was surprised why anyone would want to go through this nightmare landscape alone and asked her what she meant by that. 

This woman then drew a line in the air between Aurelius and herself. 

Aurelius knew he'd need this crew the Old Man wanted to leave and spoke of them needing to work together to make it out alive. 

The woman again shook her head and crossed her arms at the notion of working together.

Aurelius want to let this woman know he had no intention of ordering her around but their lives are tied, so if Aurelius dies then she would die and if she dies then Aurelius would die.

The woman made some more signs in the air and symbolised she was looking for something else. Aurelius understood that but offered to help her if she helped him.

The woman studied Aurelius again and after a while sighed, looked at the door and nodded that they'd work together.

Aurelius did have some questions for this woman though as he wanted to know who he was going to have at his side while exploring. The woman then raised an eyebrow at Aurelius intrigued in her.

Aurelius said he knew the scars on her face weren't done by the Auto-Doc only the Throat Scar was done by the Auto-Doc. This woman began to slowly nod letting Aurelius know that was true. 

Aurelius apologised that he wasn't able to restore her voice as they'd require a more advanced version of an Auto-Doc for that. This woman was slightly shivered by the notion of possibly never having her voice return to her.

But Aurelius did wonder why the Auto-Doc had shaved her bald, it wasn't until she signalled she had done that herself. Aurelius was slightly confused at the notion and asked why she'd shaved her own head bald. 

She gestured that she was bald before she even came to the Sierra Madre Casio's Villa. Aurelius knew he was probably overstepping his boundaries when asking this but he wanted know why she'd shaved herself bald.

The woman then gestured several images as one that kind of resembled the Brotherhood of Steel's emblem and then proceeded to act as if she was writing afterwards. 

Aurelius had seen some of the Brotherhood out east and knew bit about them as well as having passed a couple within the Mojave. Aurelius understood the bits about their order as some Frumentarii were possibly going to infiltrate the surrounding areas under the Brotherhood's protection to try and learn about their order from the inside but since they don't recruit and it is almost impossible for people to join or have access to a Brotherhood of Steel Chapter without an outstanding reason it was decided against throwing Frumentarii away doing little to learn about the Brotherhood, especially since Hoover Dam had been discovered as well as Vegas.

Aurelius understood that this woman was a scribe of the Brotherhood of Steel, not quite sure which Chapter she belonged or had belonged to. 

The woman was impressed and surprised that Aurelius knew about the Brotherhood.

Aurelius did asked a few questions about what she was looking for.

This woman then made the gesture of someone walking with her fingers then raised a finger to say there was one, one person and Aurelius assumed this was a man to which this woman agreed with by nodding and then made another group of symbols indicating an angry bearded man and then pointed to Aurelius's pip-boy.

Aurelius knew she know meant the Old Man who'd gathered them here and she then tapped her head showing he was also a smart man but also began with a finger making circles not her head indicating he was also insane.

This woman then nodded but also frowned. 

Aurelius got the feeling that this Old man or this woman had some deep history for the her to hunt him into a nightmare like this. 

The woman used twice as many fingers as before to show two people walking together until she raised a hand and cut them part and then raised one her fingers to herself indicating this Old Man had cut her off from someone. To which she nodded.

Aurelius assumed it was her family but since she was Brotherhood that was unlikely since most are too busy fighting, training or hoarding to have families but it isn't unknown for them to have them. Perhaps it was her husband then...

She shook her head at the family part but even more at the notion of a husband.

So Aurelius slowly spoke if she had a wife.

She shook her head again but indicated Aurelius was partially right. It was then Aurelius knew she meant her girlfriend. As Aurelius spoke she waved her hand up showing it was quite that but they were more than girlfriends but actually lovers.

The woman nodded and looked surprised at Aurelius, only to be met with Aurelius wondered why she thought he didn't understand love. The woman raised an eye and stared at Aurelius.

Aurelius then responded with he knew how important loved ones could be but Aurelius only really loved the Legion, without it he'd still be in the mud with the rest of his forgotten tribe as they grasp spears being afraid of anything and everything that was even remotely technologically advanced.

Once more she studying Aurelius again trying to discover what kind of person he was. Then made a gesture signifying we should move on but Aurelius still had a couple other questions for her.

Aurelius was wondering if she could communicate through other ways such as writing, but she pointed to one of the scars on her head and made in the air the symbol of picking up a pencil and writing but then shook her head again. 

Aurelius knew this was something to do with the surgery she'd been given. She then made a load more symbols which Aurelius could only assume was a strange pre-war surgery he'd only heard of from estranged scientists and in rarer medical books that talked about brain surgery using electrodes.

The woman then made some more questions showing she could still do numbers and calculations.

Aurelius was also wondering if they could get out of here. She made a few symbols of the fountain and the main gate which was slightly below but showed if they tried to leave their collars would blow up. 

Aurelius did wonder how she'd ended up in the Auto-Doc in the first place and showed with her hands that she was knocked out in a similar fashion to Aurelius, by gas then she was taken to the Auto-Doc but she was also interested in why and how Aurelius came here.

Aurelius explained he was following the radio signal of a woman's voice, the woman then waiting a second then raised an eyebrow again wanting to know more from Aurelius who explained he was just curious to where it lead.

This woman then signalled that if Aurelius could leave some way he should.

Aurelius wasn't too annoyed at this because he knew if he could he would have.

Aurelius was done questioning this woman and they headed out of the now silent Clinic to move over to get the next Collar, Collar 8.

Since the time Aurelius had spent outside more Ghost People had turned up, perhaps the ones he'd blown apart had regenerated. Aurelius didn't really care, all he knew was that he had to make it towards the Police Station. Two of them were outside the reception, the Cosmic Knife that Aurelius had sliced through and decapitated the Ghost People with ease leaving them dead and motionless on the ground.

Aurelius hoped those were the only ones who'd turned up in the Medical District but knew he'd be mistaken.

Surprisingly to Aurelius there was only one other Ghost Person, within their path which fell easily to his blade.

Outside the Medical District there was that Ghost Person Aurelius had originally avoid when he went into the Medical District had moved closer towards the entrance and was waiting for Aurelius. It fell easily but without much medical equipment Aurelius didn't want to waste much so he was holding onto his Stimpaks for emergencies and not minor injuries.

On the way to the Police Station Aurelius and his new companion noticed a small room to the side which lead upstairs nothing of real important there but there was a weapon cabinet. 

Not much in there of use for Aurelius, a laser pistol and energy cells were pretty useless for Aurelius but the thing that caught his attention was a Police Pistol that used .357 rounds. Aurelius knew which that he'd be able to do some real damage from a far especially since he was most experienced with handguns over rifles or close combat weapons.

Only problem was Aurelius only had seventeen .357 rounds on him. Aurelius hoped that he'd have enough ammo to make it into the Police Station and if needed deal with the enemies in there.

As Aurelius made it closer to the Police Station he could hear a bell ringing. Anyone who's attempting to sneak around could do without an alarm telling someone their location.

Luckily there were only a few around the Police Station who were easily killed but Aurelius had used up almost all of his .357 rounds in doing so.

With the outside secure Aurelius headed into the Police Station to look for Collar 8.
___________________________________________________________________

[dx144]

December 2nd 2281:

The Police Station was filled with radios, any that were on would interfere with Aurelius and the Woman's collar, the radios must be deactivated or destroyed for Aurelius to get to Collar 8. It was much to the confusion of Aurelius when he noticed a Super Mutant, a Nightkin sat within a cell in the middle of the room. It seemed to be muttering to itself, must be another one that is insane. Aurelius knew he wasn't supposed to pity but these Mutants from Aurelius understanding of history is they were usually forced into this life unable to change anything about themselves.

Still they were usually hostile to anyone who wasn't mutated, Aurelius just hoped this one wasn't but had his Police Pistol ready at his side just in case. Aurelius saw a radio on a table just in front of the cage entrance which he threw a spear into and it burst with sparks and Aurelius saw its power fade as it stopped sending signals out.

There were a couple more which Aurelius could see but without any spears and ammo being limited, Aurelius took the decision to run and turn off the radios before they set his collar off. It proved easy enough as no Ghost People were around, no pounding as they attempted to gain entrance and the only sound apart from Aurelius running around was the Mutant that appear to be oblivious to Aurelius and just continued to mumble to itself.

Aurelius's collar appeared to be safe no matter where he stood inside the Police Station except for if he went towards a small corridor which had a stairwell Aurelius could just see from the angle he was at but knew the radio or speaker must be close to the entrance of the corridor if it was to affect his collar from so far away. Although a terminal beside him caught his attention, it wasn't too hard to hack and the information on wasn't of much use, just explained the guy who built this place, some man named Sinclair who had a probation list which included anything with even a slight trace of radiation or foreign which would be shipped back to the visitor’s source address. Also something about a friend of Sinclair who seemed to be supplying the police or the chief of the police with something which Aurelius could only assume was something prohibited.

Also a file on the instalment of the security system that checked everyone who came in and out of the Villa. Apparently this Sinclair didn't care much for what people did when they're inside just that anything dangerous or foreign was removed and ensure they know whose left and whose here. Didn't seem to care much for what the construction crews or Villa was doing by saying it wasn't his interest as it was a "Villa Matter". Seems to be that the main thing for this Sinclair was that there were no more accidents which was probably the gas leak as Aurelius had discovered back in the Medical Districts Clinic.

Seemed that the chief also seemed to drink alcohol at work since he'd put in this file that he barely had time to put his flask under his desk as this Sinclair gets a disapproving look when he sees alco-hol. 

The most important thing to Aurelius there was a way to unlock a room known as the "Contraband Room" perhaps there were some goodies in there that would prove invaluable to Aurelius's survival within this hellhole. As Aurelius unlocked the room a door just next to the desk which the terminal sat flung open revealing some alcohol, a set of brass knuckles and some other useless things but the stuff Aurelius really wanted was the Super Stimpaks, a code for .357 rounds and a code for repair-kits which would allow Aurelius to never have to conserve ammo so long as a vending machine was nearby but there was a weapon that was an automatic rifle sat there with about seventy .308 rounds sat opposite the code. Aurelius wondered how much damage he could do with that and picked it up as he searched more of the Police Station.

There was another terminal sat at the side of the cell which didn't have much on it of use, a report on Sinclair's visit to the Police Station and it seems that there are a lot more holograms within the Casino, much more. Seems that people thought Sinclair was building this casino to escape the out-side world. Obviously that's not happened since it looks just as scorched as the rest of the Waste-land.

There was a report which seemed to be the last shift they ever did which was from the report was a quiet night even from some place called Puesta Del Sol which was probably one of the workforce areas that Aurelius assumed had a bad reputation. Aurelius also learnt the reason why radios were set up everywhere within the Police Station, apparently the person who wrote this report set them up so they wouldn't miss the Gala Event and left one for the prisoners. This means that corridor Aurelius saw must have a radio in which he could easily turn off or destroy if he was fast enough.

The only other report seemed to be a bit of an extension to the previous one, something about having a radio room downstairs that would broadcast the Gala Event as the person who set them up didn't want to miss this event either. The radios and speakers down there were stronger then the radios around the Police Station, which gave Aurelius pause for a second but knew he'd find a way to navigate his way through it. Also states that the person set room up also stashed some equipment from the evidence room so they could celebrate once their shift finished. Perhaps there was something of use and not just lots of alcohol...

Aurelius decided to continue looking around before descending to the radio room and found what must have been the Police Station's Armoury. Quite a bit of armour in there which the guards must have worn when they were on duty and some C4 with a detonator for some reason. Aurelius took it all just in case it might come in handy at some point. Aurelius gave some armour to the Woman with him to help protect her if they came into contact with more Ghost People.

There was another terminal in the armoury which just explained that this room at one point having so much military ordnance that if someone wanted to they could turn the Villa into a mine field. Apparently this came to be because Sinclair started taking the world's situation quite seriously, must have been when the Great War started...

Another report on the terminal explained that in emergencies or some kind of attack by something called "Communists" then codes could unlock ammo such as the .357 rounds and repair kits for the vending machines. Apparently the person who wrote this file also left backups within the contra-band room just in case. Since Aurelius was already done with that he left the terminal and continued to indulge his curiosity and explore the areas within the Police Station.

Nothing else caught Aurelius's attention except for in a destroy bathroom was a code for .308 rounds but other than that nothing was of use to Aurelius.

With everyone accessible searched Aurelius hurried over the Radio Room where he quickly deacti-vate the radio that was sat upon a table just around the corner of the corridor and Aurelius heading below the Police Station.

Who knows perhaps there might be something in the Radio Room that might explain why a Nightkin is sat in a cell muttering to itself. 

After making it below Aurelius heard a voice, must have been a recording but explained that this person knew Aurelius would come down below the cell where they were. The voice told Aurelius to follow his voice a little further and that the mutant sat in the cell was called Dog and that this person needed to lock them in there because they kept disobeying him. It concerned Aurelius to put his trust in a stranger but at this point he had no real chance of working alone so he did so.

There some signals interfering with Aurelius's collar as he continued below but without any speakers or radios insight Aurelius knew he'd have to run through the area to find either a zone where he was out of the signal's range or found a speaker or radio which he could destroy. Aurelius made it through, noticed a terminal but didn't have time to read through any of the files as if he stopped it was likely his head would explode.

This area was more just used for storage than anything else but Aurelius did find that stash one of the terminals upstairs spoke of and there wasn't anything of use as Aurelius expected but there was some buffout which who knows could be of use in a certain situation. Wasn't much that happened until Aurelius came to the room where the radio was transmitting from, the voice which spoke to Aurelius when he first entered the radio room which explained that this person's voice was on the table which the radio sat. In there was a holodisk which Aurelius's pip-boy could play. That was the instruction given to Aurelius that he was to play this holodisk outside the Mutant "Dog's” cell so then this person and Aurelius could speak to each other.

Aurelius thought the request odd but was willing to try it since the mutant was unresponsive to other means of communication.

Before ascending Aurelius took a look at the files on the terminal he originally passed which he couldn't access due to the radio signals which would have caused his collar to explode.

The terminal held a few files none of them truly important. As all of them were just explaining how the Vending Machines came to be installed around the Villa. The police seemed to not get paid enough of those chips to really buy anything but weren't to complain unless there was a problem with the Vending Machines.

Another file spoke of a search and seizure, pretty much spoke of a group of workers from Puesta Del Sol who this officer assumed that it would be difficult to enforce their prohibition list with. Alt-hough the Police Chief and that Sinclair guy again both had their minds of other things since the Chief was more focused on the Gala not having anything happen and Sinclair just wanted the construction to happen more than making sure alcohol or chems were searched for.

So long as no one was harmed Sinclair wanted the police to turn a blind eye to the Puesta Del Sol crew's activities. Seems that the officer who wrote this report was rather pissed off with this as did the Chief when he was told about how to handle the Puesta Del Sol crew, they were told to walk it off though.

Seems that some of police here disliked what was happening here since the Chief was swamped with issues to deal with, Sinclair ignoring regulations in the Villa and has his friends running the show in the Villa as well.

The only other file on the terminal was something about parking tickets. Something good out of a bad situation apparently, since the roads here were too narrow cars were impossible to bring to the Villa. Had a few other bright sides to it as well since there was less noise from the traffic and no one was wasting gas since it was a ridiculous pricing before and during the Great War. Chief also told this officer that Sinclair wanted this place to be "Reclusive".

Seems that the officer who wrote up this file was happy now there wasn't any parking tickets to deal as he couldn't care less about people who park incorrectly. The officer did wonder how people would get here and thought it was extreme decided no cars were allowed but this was for an ex-treme privacy...

Aurelius was feeling done with the Police Station, nothing was left for him there apart from to talk to this "Dog" and convince them to help him out in this Old Madman's game.

After returning to the cell the Mutant "Dog" was still sat in the cage muttering to itself, Aurelius remember the voice below that gave the orders which were to play the holodisk he took outside the cage and proceeded to do so.

The moment the holodisk began playing "Dog" seemed to wake up, his voice was changed and he now towered above Aurelius. The mutant was surprised that this wasn't the human he was expecting, and that he was disappointed. The mutant then agreed that Aurelius wasn't his in-tended guest but followed direction well. The mutant also assumed that Aurelius couldn't have been an idiot if he managed to find a way to get this mutant out of his cage. Then again perhaps Aurelius was, with that leash on his arm and neck then spoke of with all of these chains around Aurelius they may as well be kin.

It was now Aurelius could see the mutant more clearly, chains were wrapped around his arms and neck, a bear trap was even biting into left arm under the chains and there were scars all over his body but there was "DOG" scarred into his chest, not written with ink but permanently scarred into his flesh. 

Aurelius was rather confused at the mutants changed voice and this mutant responded by explaining he was the voice of reason and that sometimes he sleeps within the basement or cage but because the voice of reason has awoken now "Dog" sleeps. This Dog knows this other side of him was here but isn't able to do anything with the body or mind, it was more like he was Dog's conscience. Attempting to keep him tame and calm while trying not to harm himself by doing... Foolish things.

Apparently this voice of reason had been within the cage for some time and that Aurelius had awoken him for a reason and the voice of reason wanted to know why. 

Aurelius knew instantly after talking with this mutant that he had multiple personality disorder from some kind of trauma. The mutant agreed yes with the trauma, in a manner of speaker and asked if Aurelius hadn't seen the wounds that scarred his body and the bear trap biting his arm and that this "Dog" placed his own hand into the bear trap, the name DOG he carved into his own chest to remind him who he is. This Dog inflicts pain upon himself to silence this voice of reason, when all he tries is to do... The mutant stopped and grunted in pain, then continued, that this Dog cuts, hurts and tries to murder this voice of reason out of him but he wouldn't succeed as all it does is making the voice of reason angrier.

The mutant then explained that Dog is a beast and they simply change cages like the one here.

Aurelius was more wondering where someone with a collar was like he had as this Mutant though scarred held no collar around his neck. The mutant spoke with a hint of anger that he had one that was close, closer than he'd like and that this Dog eats before he thinks and chew before he swallows as now he'd ended up with a collar within his chest as he's eager that way.

The mutant now explained that the collar is part of him, inside him, as he could now feel its electric heartbeat, every click and it burning down below. Unlike before where it was cold and heavy but now that Aurelius is here it began kicking and pulling the mutant, as if it was a master tugging on a dog's leash which the mutant found interesting.

Aurelius tried to explain that if the collar was now active within the mutant Aurelius didn't switch it on. The mutant didn't sound too convinced since it led Aurelius here and now it’s burning within him like its calling for its owner.

Aurelius was slightly confused at how someone even a mutant could eat a bomb collar to which the mutant explained that when a collar was separated it looked a lot like pieces of a metallic Radscorpion, then if they're attached to neck flesh which is warm and red then Dog doesn't care what's on the body he's crushing with his hands as he'll mangle, twist and eventually make it fit until he's had his fill. 

Apparently Dog cannot help himself when he's hungry, he becomes greedy so now the collar is inside and he's trapped here until it goes cold again.

Aurelius jokily said to the mutant that he shouldn't go around eating pre-war tech, the voice of rea-son wasn't that impressed with Aurelius's attempt at humour and took it seriously stating he had no choice in the matter, the mutant explained that sometimes instincts take over and when they do Dog leaves the cage and take control again. The mutant then spoke of it being like curiosity that way but then spoke of Aurelius being the same, as Aurelius wouldn't have put the collar on by choice and perhaps it was Aurelius's curiosity that caused the collar to be placed upon his neck. 

Aurelius was slightly annoyed at the notion but saw the truth in it, if Aurelius hadn't decided to in-vestigate if he'd just left something alone and carried on he'd be back at the Fort giving his report to Caesar on the Burned Man's death and Camp Forlorn Hope falling but now there was a possibility of that never being reported from Aurelius's lips.

A few moments of silence passed before the mutant spoke up asking if Aurelius had any more questions or if he'd let him out now.

Aurelius quickly asked why did this mutant lock himself in the cage, the mutant's response wasn't that he locked himself in but that he locked in Dog because he could feel Dog's hunger growing again and there wasn't much time and if Dog roams he supposedly gets into trouble by eating things he should such as the separated collar, listens to others he shouldn't so he is much safer in this cage so they're safer in the cage.

The mutant hoped that if he locked Dog in the cage that Dog obeys would come to fetch him but instead Aurelius came. 

Aurelius now wondered if this mutant wasn't expecting Aurelius who was he expecting, the mutant responded by telling if not warning Aurelius not to play stupid since he already has to deal with one child and would prefer not to have another to help and that Aurelius must have figured it out by now. The mutant explained it was the old man who's obsessed with the Sierra Madre Casino, riddled with greed. The mutant hoped Aurelius might have been the Old Man when he woke up but all Aurelius is his hand.

The mutant explained he's the same kind of greed as the old man, as Aurelius followed the radio broadcast, now Aurelius is here confused but the mutant explained Aurelius wouldn't be for long as he'd figure it out soon.

Aurelius wanted to know why the mutant though Aurelius was the same kind of greed as the Old Man to the mutant as Aurelius saw little of himself in common with an insane old man, the mutant explained that Aurelius isn't any more of the old man as he is Dog, but with the collar around Aurelius's neck Aurelius becomes an extension of the Old Man's grasp, perhaps a bit clumsy but still a tool to be used but once Aurelius makes it into the Sierra Madre Casino then Aurelius will feel exactly the same overpowering urges of greed that this Old Man feels. Then Aurelius will become him not his right hand.

Aurelius wanted to know more about this Old Man who'd gathered them here, then the Mutant spoke a name Aurelius would come to despise and hate, Elijah. The Mutant explained that he was weak like all Humans, now that he's aging, fearing death creeping upon him like a pack of blood-thirsty wolves eyeing easy prey. The Mutant spoke of how Elijah stinks of age and failure as well as madness. To the Mutant though he is known as the Old Man but to Dog he is known as Master and his name is meaningless. 

This Old Man Elijah is running out of years, hopes and dreams that are like sand slipping out his hands from the Big Empty and then scorched by the sun. 

Aurelius didn't understand this "scorched by the sun" the Mutant spoke of but explained that Elijah tried to hold the sun within his hands, arrogance was his downfall like Icarius's crime to fly too high but Elijah's crime was he wanted to bring the sun down to him.

Aurelius wondered if this Mutant knew what Elijah was doing now, the Mutant explained that the Old Man heard the Sierra Madre's call just as Aurelius did through a radio signal, then found out it is more than a legend and comes into bright shining poisoned grail within a jeweled desert. The mu-tant then spoke of his other half Dog knowing the Old Man more than he does but Dog is always nodding and obeying the Old Man because he hungers and thirsts for the Master's affection.

Aurelius wondered if it was this Mutant who or his other half anyway that obeyed Elijah perhaps he knew how Aurelius came to be here. The Mutant sounded frustrated stating he knew exactly how Aurelius came to be here with the collar wrapped around his neck. It is simply whenever this Mutant sees anyone who's come here he knew none of them could help themselves any more than Dog could help himself.

Aurelius heard the voice, the promise and then walked right into one of the traps Elijah had placed and then Dog as a good servant did as was told and dragged people from the traps to the Sierra Madre.

Aurelius in his ignorance of the Mutant's condition stated clearly that he must have brought him here then. The Mutant was immediately angered by this statement as he didn't want to be treading across the wastelands carrying bodies like a Brahmin at the whip. No Dog does it because when the Old Man tells Dog to fetch that is what Dog does, he fetches. Aurelius was caught in a mantrap, then when Dog made his round through the traps to look for anyone caught he found Aurelius and brought him here, the Mutant didn't know when but it must have recent before the Mutant locked Dog into this police cell. 

Aurelius wondered why the Mutant would say that it must have been recent but the Mutant re-sponded that he didn't remember Aurelius which he admitted wasn't surprising but what was sur-prising was that it was when Dog was out of his cage where he was free and hungry. Dog knows not to eat anything caught in the traps but after he dragged Aurelius here where Aurelius must have been spared. So Dog must have fled after Aurelius had arrived, once Dog fed it must have allowed this side of the Mutant to come out of the cage and put Dog inside. The Mutant wondered if Aurelius knew how long he'd been knocked out. 

Aurelius explained he didn't remember anything and was only awakened when the Old Man's hologram appeared above the fountain demanding he do his bidding or die. The Mutant guessed he must have been in the cage already, already had the collar inside him and that Aurelius was lucky Dog didn't eat him whole otherwise this Mutant would be much closer now.

Aurelius told the Mutant that he wanted him to go to the fountain with him to continue the plan the Old Man had set up to make him reveal himself. 

The Mutant refused since he wasn't going to leave until the one who controls the collars appeared, not his voice, hand or lackey but the Old Man. So then when the Old Man comes to see the Mutant they'll settle things and then told Aurelius to go on, go back to his "Master" and tell him that he's waiting. Dog might follow but this Mutant doesn't.

Aurelius knew he could try to reason with the Mutant as strange as that sounds but he could also demand if not order this Dog to come out of the cage but Aurelius knew he'd keep that as a precaution something he wouldn't use unless there was no other option. So Aurelius attempted to explain to the Mutant that if he didn't come with Aurelius the Old Man would set off both their collars. 

That seemed to please the Mutant since the Mutant viewed it as he'd win since Dog would no longer follow the Old Man's orders and commands. The freedom of death was better than following the shackles of the Old Man. 

Aurelius tried to explain that if this Mutant and Aurelius worked together they could go after the Old Man together. The Mutant didn't trust Aurelius. Even if Aurelius isn't working with the Old Man he would still fall into the same trap he did. The Mutant also talked also of Aurelius wanting to take his revenge but that it will eventually change, as Aurelius will start thinking about a way to have it all.

Aurelius was starting to think the only way to get this Mutant to help was to attempt to order Dog to come with him but Aurelius would try one more time to have this seemingly more intelligent Mutant side with him over the loyal but dim witted Dog.

Aurelius spoke of wanting his freedom back and not wanting the collar upon his neck, the Mutant said that is what they all wanted at first but after they realised they could get into the Serra Madre they threw away any thoughts of freedom as it was no longer important to them and were unable to let go just like the Old Man. So when Aurelius speaks of wanting freedom the Mutant knew he'd change his mind and throw it away, by forgetting about what freedom was or turn blind by greed then Aurelius will turn. 

Aurelius hated to have to try and get this Dog out of the cell but he had no other options know and explained to the Mutant that Dog would be more willing to come out than him so that is what Aurelius was going to do.

The Mutant chuckled at the notion since right now Aurelius was speaking to the other side of the Mutant not Dog and even if Aurelius could get Dog to awaken he'd still be locked in this cell. If Dog could escape from this cell he would have already and this Mutant put him in here for a reason. 

Aurelius explained he had the Elijah's voice within his Pip-boy which would make Dog return and he'd use it if necessary.

The mutant instantly angered at the notion of losing control of his body to his other mind. The mu-tant raged practically demanding that Aurelius not play Elijah's voice under threat of death by crushing Aurelius and decapitating him and some more would have come if Aurelius didn't interrupt the Mutant by stating that he wouldn't play the Elijah's voice so long as the mutant played nice.

The mutant either just trying to scare Aurelius into not playing Elijah's voice or as he probably was being serious saying that Aurelius wouldn't ever leave this place alive and then he'd shatter all of Aurelius limbs to splinters then leave him here or what was left of him to rot.

Then the mutant continued to explain that he wasn't afraid of the collars exploding as he'd leave Aurelius breathing and then keep walking until his collar went cold and lifeless. Then just before leave he'd prop Aurelius near-death body within view of the Sierra Madre so Aurelius could see what he came to steal but it would be forever out of reach even as Aurelius dies.

Aurelius agreed he couldn't prove to the mutant that he wasn't here for the Sierra Madre or Elijah so he'd prove it to him.

The mutant was confused at how Aurelius would be able to prove it too him since Aurelius words are worthless without actions or deeds.

Aurelius spoke of how he had the power to release Dog but decided that he was going to prove it by not using Elijah's voice.

The mutant judged Aurelius then and decided that Aurelius wasn't going to but did say that Dog would be easier to control since he was more docile and easier to control.

The mutant seemed like he was praising Dog since he spoke of Aurelius possibly regretting not re-leasing Dog since Dog and other creatures like him can survive in a place like this such as those "people" who walk its streets.

Dog is vicious even more so than the Ghost People. It is Dog's hunger that drives him but when this mind of the mutant is in control it is more difficult to win fights with the Ghost People. 

Aurelius didn't truly understand so the mutant explained, the Ghost People or inhabitants of the Villa as the mutant called them are difficult to kill and need to be chopped apart, disintegrated, hacked while on the ground and so on but Dog can and would devour them as Dog is always hungry. So if Dog was with Aurelius and the Ghost People they're fighting fell then Dog would fall upon them feasting but if this mutant was with Aurelius then fighting would be in his words far more difficult.

Aurelius thought that this mutant was more in control, there was no telling if this Dog would lash out in hunger and attack without warning, even attacking his allies. Aurelius said to this mutant he'd prefer him over Dog.

The mutant chuckled once more and was conflicted thinking that Aurelius didn't belong here. Then agreed with himself believing Aurelius didn't belong here. Aurelius had come this far and the mutant was content with staying locked up any longer. 

So the mutant unlocked the cage he'd put himself in and joined in the company. 

Aurelius then spoke up once more and said that since the mutant was almost the complete if not the complete opposite of Dog that he should be known as God. The mutant now known as God laughed about it but didn't question since he didn't seem to care for names.
___________________________________________________________
My apologies for anyone who's been reading this but I've taken a lifetime (Almost two months) writing this... Honestly can say can't wait to be done with Dead Money and also I've been distracted with other stuff playing Destiny with Cypher, reaching Tenth Generation pilot on Titanfall and getting my last few achievements for Fallout 3.

[dx144]

December 2nd 2281 (Continued):

 

With the mutant Dog now with them the only member left of this crew to find was Collar 14 within what was once the "Residential District" of the Villa on the other side of the fountain where Aurelius had originally started.

 

The Police Station had been picked clean, nothing was left to be scavenged for weapons or medical equipment but Aurelius knew that damned bell which had been turned off still might have alerted more Ghost People since Aurelius had arrived within the Police Station.

 

The moment they left the Police Station there they were two more Ghost People but these were different to the previous Ghost People instead of Spears these ones had bear traps that had been turned into a punching style of weapon which did prove quite effective but Aurelius managed to kill them before they reached him by using some of his remaining 357. Rounds.

 

As the group continued moving back to the Fountain more Ghost People could be found, another couple just beyond a Hologram which sat outside of the Police Station. These were a mix of a spearman and bear trap fist wielder. Again these were easy prey for Aurelius and the crew. A few more 357. Rounds and a God's fists they tore the Ghost People apart and continued on.

 

After passing the fountain it was a small walk to the entrance of the Residential District with only a single Ghost Person with a spear walking around, was easily dispatched with a couple of rounds from Aurelius's Police Pistol.

 

Once inside the Residential District Elijah's voice spoke up not in a commanding voice that would have released Dog but in an advising voice speaking of there being detonators and traps within this area so that Aurelius should be careful where he treads.

 

The Residential District looks similarly enough like any other part of the Villa Aurelius had seen, de-cayed and silent. Only change was there was already a dead Ghost Person, legs were blown off and a mine lay close to its corpse.

 

Aurelius knew that whoever this Collar 14 was must have been setting traps around the Residential District to protect themselves from either the Ghost People or people like Aurelius or possibly from both of those kinds of people.

 

The mine was too dangerous to be left there as Aurelius might forget about it or possibly another less observant member of the crew might set it off, along with their collar. So Aurelius pulled away from the mine taking his crew with him to a safe distance and fired a shot from his Police Pistol into the casing of the mine which then exploded.

 

It was only after Aurelius realised that could have alerted more of these Ghost People to his location and ammo was still a scarce even though he could get some out of the vending machines it was still a problem for him if he ran out of chips. 

 

The Ghost People might have just gotten used to explosions in this area since none of them seemed to be drawn to the explosion and so the crew had three paths to choose from go left into a cloud infested route which could prove to be a fast a quick way to bypass the Ghost People within this area or it could prove to be a one way trip to their death.

 

Perhaps the straight forward path which went into one of the buildings within the Residential Dis-trict, perhaps it would allow Aurelius and the crew a heightened view and easy way to navigate around or go left into an open street which had no signs of any of the cloud. 

 

After thinking it over Aurelius decided to go through the straight forward path entering the building. Ascending the stairs that the mine had once sat in front of Aurelius noticed a wooden makeshift bridge that gave the choice of going into the building or going into a different area of the residential district.

 

Aurelius cared little for exploring this place now. The curiosity that had caused him to get drawn into so many different problems seems to have faded away from him in the last couple of days. 

 

Before entering the building Aurelius saw a pressure plate awaiting someone or something to enter into the building. Aurelius was having none of it and decided against entering the building and cross the wooden bridge rather than walk into another trap. Aurelius's mind then began questioning, perhaps that was the trap to make people head onto the wooden bridge and then into a real trip while the pressure plate was a dud to just funnel the more observant into a worse trap.

 

Aurelius cared little for these thoughts and carried on. He'd face Rangers of the NCR, a couple of rouge Legionaries and even some of the Brotherhood in his time. They hadn't managed to kill him and neither would these Ghost People or this hellish Villa.

 

Aurelius's mind was right there was nothing there except for a tripwire and a shotgun pointing at the broken wall turned into an entrance. Aurelius move to the side of the broken wall and cut the tripwire, the shotgun firing slightly past his head and then entered to see if anything had been left by the person who'd set up the trap and there was nothing. One of these traps Aurelius had been told about where some prospectors would leave traps behind them to stop others following them.

 

With that done Aurelius crossed the wooden bridge and side stepped the pressure plate telling the other to do so as well. It was lucky they did as there were two more shotguns aimed at this entrance waiting for someone stupid enough to walk onto the pressure plate. Aurelius removed the shotguns and saw they'd been rigged to fire only a single round then break, no one would want to leave a working shotgun for someone else to find.

 

Then at the other side of the building with another entrance there hung a cluster of frag grenades with a tripwire beneath them. Aurelius cut down the grenades but the pins were pulled out as the wire was cut from them, Aurelius quickly threw the grenades out of the building and the crew took cover.

 

A few seconds later a large bang happened which this time could have got the Ghost People's attention if they were even here. Again nothing came to investigate and no one was outside, this made Aurelius all the more uncomfortable but as he descended outside the building he noticed that he himself had been noticed by a Ghost Person through the Cloud. It was running across the crumbling balcony above the Cloud.

 

Aurelius aimed at the only building's entrance and saw the Ghost Person just about to leave the building but then another large bang happened but the Ghost Person flew out of the building miss-ing its legs and arms. So Aurelius assumed there must have been more frag grenades or mines in there. It was surprising that the walls still held up but Aurelius knew he'd have to pass through there now. At least there weren’t any mines or grenades waiting for him and the crew now.

 

There was a tattered tripwire in the doorway but other than that no indication of other traps but some of the trash left in the room had been blown around nothing else was in the room that gather Aurelius any interest.

 

After passing the decaying balcony Aurelius saw another mine which he shot and set off another explosion within the building it was next which caught him off guard but didn't harm it since the walls of the building still stood.

 

Once approaching the entrance of the building Aurelius quickly found the culprit, a gas canister was next to the door with the remnants of a shotgun aimed at it with a pressure plate at the entrance of the door frame but nothing of interest was within this room either. Aurelius knew he'd even-tually find Collar 14 but the endless traps he was finding were what began to anger him.

 

After reaching the doorway at the end of the building Aurelius noticed the ground was flooded with the Cloud but there was broken wall which led to another rotting balcony. It appeared to be above the Cloud and therefore safe. Aurelius assumed it must be safer than trying to run through the Cloud holding their breath.

 

And it was, leading to a makeshift wood bridge like the one outside the first building the crew en-tered. Although a Ghost Person was wandered around within the Cloud which had noticed Aurelius and the crew moving across the balcony.

 

The Ghost Person with another one of those Bear Trap Fists ran towards Aurelius who was leading the crew was sent crashing down the stairs it was ascending by the muted Woman with the Auto-matic Rifle that had been found within the Police Station contraband room which Aurelius knew he could use but was pointless having him with all the weapons since he could only fire one at a time. The headless Ghost Person lay motionless on the floor and the crew continued advancing forward into the next building.

 

Passing through another building filled with junk was another decaying balcony which this time was clear of mines and enemies and passed over the Cloud allowing for a choke less experience of sightseeing. The Crew dropped off a broken part of the balcony to where the Cloud stopped and continued on towards the final and only place Collar 14 could be.

 

There was Collar 14 atop a three-story building waiting, for who Aurelius could only assumed was him. The way there was easy, no traps lay in wait but Collar 14 wouldn't speak to Aurelius until he sat on the chair next to him.

 

Aurelius agreed and sat there, Collar 14 then started to speak of the Sierra Madre, calling it a beauty. Questioning whether Aurelius was brought here for her or if he had awoken confused like others who'd been brought here. Before Aurelius could answer this Ghoul's question he warned him not to get up no matter what since the cushion isn't just for show.

 

Aurelius wasn't truly following what the Ghoul was saying to him and said it too him plainly. 

 

The Ghoul explained there was a shaped charge within the chair so if Aurelius got up without his permission and he'd blow it or as the Ghoul liked to say "Blow your ass so far through your head, it'll turn the moon cherry pie red." Then spoke of wanting to keep the conversation sweet and polite so they could finish this conversation without any misunderstandings between each other.

 

Aurelius agreed to save his questions until the Ghoul had finished what he had to say.

 

The Ghoul seemed pleased stating he'd missed having a rapt audience. Then went onto explain that he wasn't an idiot even though he worked with the entertainment business. He heard he necktie beeping and knew what it means and that he is part of this arrangement somehow, and he wanted out. Then the Ghoul went onto to explain that if Aurelius was the one who put him in it he wouldn't be too happy. The Ghoul knew though whatever was going on Aurelius was part of it. Finally spoke that Aurelius would be taking orders from him if so.

 

Aurelius agreed that he'd cooperate with the Ghoul and asked what he wanted but taking orders would depend on the orders the Ghoul gave.

 

Again the Ghoul seemed pleased, stating that they were now in business and he was a betting man but preferred the odds to be in his favour. Then explained that if Aurelius is who he thinks he's working for then he'd prefer for Aurelius to be on his side and could be his ace in the hole. Finished by saying that Aurelius wanted to live and he wanted into the Sierra Madre, it is that simple.

 

Aurelius agreed saying he's in and if that is everything they should head out.

 

The next words unnerved him as they seemed like they'd never been spoken by the Ghoul before, partner. The words sound alien coming from his mouth.

 

The crew used a quick shortcut back to the entrance that the Ghoul knew of that went through the Cloud but only for a very short period, no Ghost People were waiting and once we made it outside only a couple of Ghost People had wandered around the Residential District which were easily killed by God's fists, the muted Woman's Automatic Rifle, the Ghouls 9mm pistol and Aurelius's Police Pistol and they quickly moved back to the fountain where Aurelius went to contact Elijah that the crew was assembled and knew he was one step getting his hands around the Old Man's throat.

_________________________________________________________

[dx144]

December 3rd 2281:

 

All four had arrived, the Mute, Ghoul, Mutant and Courier were all awaiting Elijah to speak to them for their task on breaking into the Sierra Madre.

 

It took some minutes before the hologram in the Fountain change from a woman's hologram into Elijah's face who knew immediately that the group was assembled.

 

Elijah then explained how the group was going to break open the Sierra Madre and it required all four members of this group to do something at the exact same time to start the opening ceremony called a "Gala Event" that was going to happen but the bombs fell before the Gala Event could happen.

 

Elijah told the group not to fail now or he'd have to get a new group to do the job instead.

 

Aurelius cared little for talking to Elijah now, he had his orders and Pipboy stated the locations they needed to go to and just told Elijah they were heading out then.

 

Before the group headed out Elijah recommended getting the FEV reject to his point first but did warn there were more Ghost People much more that filled Salida Del Sol and Puesta Del Sol as well the Cloud covered more areas.

 

Elijah's last words before turning off his projection were "You're no use to me dead". The words were easily shrugged off by Aurelius as the vengeance he wanted upon this madman was overpowering at times.

 

Before heading out Aurelius talked with some of the group to find their feelings on where they should go first or their feelings on what to do.

 

First up Aurelius talked to the Ghoul but he didn't know much about him to begin with but felt he should if this Ghoul was to be with us Aurelius wanted to know he could trust him.

 

The Ghoul asked when Aurelius approached asking if that the projection floating above the hologram the "Boss Man" as he put it, the man who put these bowties on us.” The Ghoul seemed irritated by his need for a presentation as if he didn't keep it down he'd possibly attract Ghost People. Even with that Vera Hologram.

 

Aurelius was confused by this Vera Hologram the Ghoul spoke of. The Ghoul was slightly confused that Aurelius didn't know who Vera, Vera Keys was but just assumed she must have been lost along with so many others in the Holo-archives when the bombs hit.

 

Vera Keys was a ghost in image and name now, still quite the looker though according to the Ghoul. Even complimented Sinclair for his ability to choose them or get picked by them.

 

Aurelius was curiosity about who Vera was, his curiosity that had faded while in the Residential District rose again with the hunger for knowledge and understanding.

 

The Ghoul seemed happy enough to explain who Vera Keys was. Apparently she was a big star before the bombs fell. Wasn't the best actress but had many other talents, nice voice and legs.

 

The Ghoul carried on and explained that Sinclair practically built this place for Vera Keys, once he caught her eye he was hooked. Then this Ghoul made introductions between the two and then Sinclair built this place for some kind of Cleopatra obsession and that this place wasn't always a death-trap.

 

Aurelius wanted to know how the Ghoul knew them Vera before since he made the introductions between Vera and Sinclair.

 

The Ghoul seemed slightly irritated by Aurelius question, claiming that of course he knew her and that it wasn't such a surprise he knew people once and he used to have his name in lights at one point.

 

Apparently he even knew a dozen or so women called Vera back then, even forgot which Vera he was talking about for a second. The Ghoul seemed to think he could introduce them as a way to pay Sinclair back. Apparently Sinclair wasn't good at meeting women or as the Ghoul put it, "He was a slouch in the dame department and he help pick up the slack".

 

Aurelius wanted to know who this Ghoul was as he assumed to be a big name before he was a Ghoul since he said he knew people as well as having his name in lights.

 

The Ghoul seemed amazed that Aurelius didn't know who he was, the Ghoul then explained he was none other than Dean Domino the King of Swing. He'd travelled across all of the United States and even into Europe performing in a bygone age. Now though he was stuck within the Sierra Madre.

 

Aurelius wanted to know if Dean knew anything about the Villa and town that Aurelius might have overlooked since his arrival.

 

Dean explained most of which Aurelius already knew that the places of interest were the Medical Clinic, Residential District and Police Station but that the Police Station was to be avoided if possible as it was a "Ghost People hangout".

 

Then there was Salida Del Sol and Puesta Del Sol which are the east and west of the town, Sun rise and sun set. Or at least they had been before the town's street and sky were covered with toxic gas.

 

The Ghost People didn't come into the Villa much and preferred to stay within the east and west towns. So the east and west were thick with Ghost People and the Cloud just as Elijah had said. Dean called them hunting grounds.

                                                              

Aurelius was curious about the Cloud since it didn't look natural and Dean explained that it came here shortly after the Bomb, well at least he thinks. Dean even got used to it in small doses but now it covers the entire city. Apparently it kept climbing and climbing up the Sierra Madre until it became curtains blocking out the sky and Dean hasn't seen the sky since.

 

It doesn't seem to bother the Ghost People though, they cannot see too well through it though which can allow Dean to use it as cover from time to time for short, very short periods and that is only if he's very desperate for somewhere to hide.

 

As Dean had been here since the time the Bombs fell Aurelius wondered if he knew where the Ghost People had come from but just said "There's more mysteries in Heaven and Earth..." No "There is more between Heaven and Earth..." never mind forget it. Dean would rather want an answer to know what make him an undying son of a bitch rather than spend even a few moments wondering why they crawled to life.

 

Dean did count himself lucky though as he still had his faculties as the Ghost People don't. Although Dean admitted they probably didn't have the same focus as him.

 

Aurelius asked if Dean could expand upon this "Focus" he had that the Ghost People didn't have.

 

Dean said that he always had the Sierra Madre on his mind, most people do not have the same level of want or need that Dean has.

 

Aurelius told Dean that the marker he had for him stated that he was to be within the Puesta Del Sol but Dean explained that the marker pointed to the top of a building within Puesta Del Sol which once had a nice view but now it is a place no one wants to be when the Gala Event goes off.

 

Dean explained that area was a prime resort no matter what season for Ghost People so it isn't the best neighbourhood. If Dean was needed to go there then he wasn't going to go alone. So if Aurelius got any bright idea of sending Dean over there by himself or leaves after setting him up there he'd refuse.

 

Aurelius was done with talking Dean for now and moved over to God to talk to him about this Gala Event, God didn't care for it other than he knew it'd draw out the Old Man Elijah.

 

So triggering the Gala Event was the key to getting to Elijah but could the crew trust each other to watch others back, time would tell. Although if the crew does go God made it clear that he was the one to be in control, if Dog was released he'd make sure Aurelius would pay in blood.

 

God didn't seem to have much else he wanted to say and so Aurelius moved on and checked with the Muted Woman to see how she was.

 

The Muted Woman was looking at the fountain with narrowed eyes and then scanned the courtyard's perimeter. She seemed to be checking the distances around the courtyard to the fountain. Then the Woman's eyes turned to Aurelius's Pipboy.

 

Aurelius asked her if she thought that Elijah was using his Pipboy to create a connection with the hologram.

 

The woman nodded in agreement with Aurelius and then raised he hands put them together and then rotated in a one-eighty arc and back.

 

Aurelius assumed that she meant that Elijah must have been nearby to be able to connect but asked if this Woman knew anywhere he might be.

 

The Woman surveyed the area looking east to west then at the casino but then held out her hand and began moving closer Aurelius's Pipboy.

 

Aurelius showed the Woman his Pipboy.

 

She looked over Aurelius's Pipboy but didn't care the screen too much and moved it around looking at the exterior and then the casing checking if it had been damaged and if it was still intact.

 

She then stabs her fingers through several red buttons on Aurelius's Pipboy, shortly after going through some maps she focused on the local map of the Villa and focused on the Sierra Madre casino's main gate then frowns.

 

The Woman then searches through more local maps and goes onto the local map of Puesta Del Sol Switching Station and zooms in on it. Her face seems to drop a bit when she realises where it is but she her face hardened quickly after dropping.

 

She then notices Aurelius's marker west and points for Aurelius to go to his location.

 

Aurelius did question why she was seemed so eager to go. She points to the fountain then Aurelius's Pipboy then stops for a minute then pointed at her collar then at Aurelius's. Seeming she wants these shackles off.

 

Aurelius did also ask if she knew why Elijah wanted her to go into the Switching Station, she makes several motions of typing on a keyboard.

 

Aurelius understood her as Dean and God didn't have the technical skills to properly use computers that would be down in the Switching Station. She nodded in agreement with Aurelius's statement.

 

Everyone seemed ready to head out so they headed towards Puesta Del Sol to start off and then once the Muted Woman and Dean were in their places Aurelius and God would get to their places within Salida Del Sol.

 

They were so close to getting into the Sierra Madre and claiming back their freedom from that mad old man.

______________________________________________________________

[dx144]

December 3rd 2281 (Continued):

 

From the moment the crew entered into Puesta Del Sol the Ghost People were upon them. Only about five in the first street but that wasn't much of a problem as they were easily dispatched with. It didn't take much time before more Ghost People were alerted by the sounds of gunfire and came rushing towards them.

 

It must have been easily another six Ghost People weren't exactly hard to shoot, they ran in straight lines and were nothing but easy pickings.

 

The muted woman noted she was starting to run low on ammo for her Automatic Rifle, Dean still has spare 9mm rounds and God's fists were bloodstained or whatever Ghost People had for blood.

 

Aurelius was still fine for 357. Rounds. The vending machine proved to be lifesaving with the Stimpaks and ammo they dispensed. Without those machines Aurelius was sure he'd have died by now.

 

Dean noted there was a hole in a wall of a building near the entrance could be used to possibly sneak around some of the Ghost People if not get the jump on them. Aurelius agree with Dean on that but told the group wait outside as there was another speaker or radio somewhere that was causing Aurelius's collar to beep.

 

Aurelius moved on through the building but the radio or speaker only seemed to activate the collars if they went into a certain part of the building and so Aurelius gather the crew and quickly rushed through to a blind spot of the speakers. There was a build-up of Gas though just at the exit of this building. Aurelius saw the value noticing it was rather easy to fix by changing the Gas flow. The air was clear of the Gas and no longer had an issue of someone accidently incinerating themselves or one of the other Crew members.

 

Continuing down the street and there was an eerie silence. No more Ghost People just the Cloud covering one pathway and another leading to another building with a smashed wall but this one with a staircase going up to the second floor. Perhaps there were previous people Elijah gathered as markings of arrows were showing that this was either the way to continue or to die but Aurelius always did feel rather trusting of most people so Aurelius followed these markers as a guide. If they led him into trouble he'd fight his way out and then continue onwards. He knew not many things in the Wasteland were a real challenge for him. Perhaps it was arrogance but it wasn't ill placed.

 

The building they entered didn't just go to second floor but up to the third floor, there was another makeshift wooden bridge leading out onto the rooftop of another building. This was how the group was supposed to travel faster around Puesta Del Sol, they could easily see anything below so long as they weren't within the Cloud.

 

But there was nothing below them and nowhere to go from this rooftop. Aurelius's Pipboy just so happened to picked up a new collar frequency once on top of the rooftop.

 

Perhaps someone new had been sent in by Elijah but he'd already stated he only need four and they were all here. Perhaps it was someone who'd been here died but there collar didn't explode but Aurelius decided to listen in on it to see if he could make out if they were alive or not.

 

The moment they spoke Aurelius knew instantly it was Elijah, which means Elijah had put a collar on himself or perhaps this was him being forced by someone else or possibly it was a control method so no one would kill him or they'd kill themselves.

 

Was a bit spotty but Aurelius knew Elijah was talking about killing the Republic, President Kimball and even his former Brotherhood of Steel members or as he put it wipe the slate clean.

 

Aurelius did sometimes have doubts himself why the Legion didn't use powerful technologies to kill those weaker but that showed it, if they're weaker you shouldn't have to rely on technology instead of your human strength. It made Aurelius's blood boil that madmen like this were tolerated if not approved for sometime within Brotherhood, then again the Brotherhood were madmen filled with self-righteous belief they're the only ones who're powerful enough to bear Humanity's pre-war technology.

 

Although Aurelius knew he was lingering too long here and so he and the crew headed back down the stairs to the ground level and passed through an arch way leading west, as they hadn't gone that way yet so they were more likely to find Dean's location for the Gala Event.

 

After passing through this archway two more Ghost People were waiting, one of them had a gas canister with a timer attached to the nozzle. The Ghost Person threw it but Aurelius was quick on the draw shooting it as it was mid-flight causing it to do no harm to the crew and then the Ghost Person that threw it was quickly put down with its head blown apart. The other Ghost Person charged with a spear but God just held the Ghost Person's arms and began to pull, it wasn't long before it was an armless Ghost Person.

 

The commotion had alerted another two Ghost People to their presence that quickly arrived to join their fellow Ghost People in whatever hell they go to once they truly die. These Ghost People armed with spears didn't do much they charged in but were shot down by Dean and the muted Woman so quick they didn't have time to even throw a spear let alone thrust one into someone.

 

They quickly moved through but there weren’t any more targets and so they moved onwards to the south of Puesta Del Sol since the north part of it clearly didn't have Dean's location. It had the Muted Woman's but Aurelius wanted the full crew until they were to pull back with God and Aurelius going into Salida Del Sol.

 

The South of Puesta Del Sol was still crawling with Ghost People, three more Ghost People were throwing spears with another Ghost Person with one of those Beartrap fists charging towards the crew.

 

The muted woman's Automatic Rifle fired a full magazine taking down two of the spear throwing Ghost People but they still had their heads, Dean fired the last of his 9mm clip into the last spear throwing while God ripped the last Ghost Person limb from limb with it ever managed to close that Beartrap on anyone.

 

Aurelius quickly rushed over to the two Ghost People who hadn't been decapitated and fired three 357. Rounds into each of their heads causing them to explode.

 

The crew noticed a still fully standing building that was a "Cafe" before this place was turned into the hellhole it is now.

 

The building was secure without any Cloud seeping through, this place was used by the group for a short time to rest up and eat some of the leftover food. Nothing much just some Cram, InstaMash and Salisbury Steak but it was better than nothing.

 

After the group had eaten it was time to head out, the upstairs of the cafe was still accessible and could possibly give them the ability to be above the ground and more importantly the Ghost People.

 

The cafe had a doorway leading to a rotting balcony that lead towards to some rooftops which the group followed until it lead towards a central structure that was raised even higher than the rest of the buildings. Nothing was in there except for a modification for the Holorifle which Aurelius had pretty much neglected since he arrived in this hellhole as well as about sixty Microfusion cells.

 

There was no way down though, the crew backtracked into the cafe to search for any other exits and there was one. It lead to another rotting balcony but there were three Ghost People below there waiting, all were trying to throw spears but Aurelius quickly drew his pistol, shooting two shots into each of their heads two of them exploded but the third was still standing as well as preparing to throw it's spear.

 

Right next to Aurelius's left ear the Automatic Rifle of the Muted Woman began firing into the last Ghost Person until its head was blown apart. Aurelius wasn't exactly pleased with this but was thankful the Ghost Person was dead.

 

They carried on their mission to get Dean to his location with Puesta Del Sol. The rotting balcony they were stood upon lead onto more rooftops and eventually another rotting balcony but this one allowed them the crew to jump down to the ground level.

 

Once the crew grouped up they dropped down to the ground level passing the dead corpses of the Ghost People they'd just met.

 

There was an archway which the group followed which seemed to lead to the ground level of which they had just been above. There was another archway which they hadn't passed through yet which Aurelius wanted to look into to.

 

There were a couple of Radroaches which Aurelius shot then quickly went through the archway but then wasn't anything in there apart from a computer which was locked with some high security but Aurelius still managed to break through it rather easily.

 

Had a file just named "Chat" which seemed to be about Dean Domino coming over after a Foreman's accident. Seemed to be that Dean wanted to know how this person and the other workers were handling the accident. The file seems to explain that this guy thought that Dean was a "Snake" who lays on fake charm by trying to be one of them, even asked if they were being paid as "Benefits our skills". Seems to be that if they weren't being paid to that standard they were to see Dean and he'd set them up. The person who wrote file then goes onto say they'd seen the percentages so they knew someone was making a killing from the corners they were cutting and assumed that Dean was with construction in cutting these corners. This person didn't seem to care though so long as they got their money every week.

 

After reading the file Aurelius always seemed to forget that Pre-War wasn't a better time when people were just as if not worse than now. The corruption that grips the West was miniscule compared to what America had.

 

The only other option was the ability to "Activate Hologram" Aurelius saw fit to activate it, if there were any more Ghost People this Hologram could frighten them off or possible kill them which would make it easier for the crew to get to Dean's Gala location.

 

Carrying on through this room was another archway which lead to a building with some stairs which lead to a second story floor which had another rotting balcony sat outside which Aurelius follow with metal scaffolding leading to a floor lower. Nothing in there and so the crew backtracked out and eventually passed back to the balcony they dropped from.

 

The only direction left to go was to run through the Cloud. Wasn't possible to see how far the Cloud stretched but they had to. Aurelius told the group to sprint through as fast as they could as that was the only way to get through, holding your breath wouldn't stop it from effecting your skin, weapons or armour.

 

It only took a few seconds to get through but it burnt like hell. They all seemed to be fine though and better there was another building they had entered which had a staircase leading up to the third floor and exactly where Dean was needed.

 

It seems that he would be required to reconnect some wiring to get the speakers around the Villa that have been offline working again.

 

Dean asked if this where he was to put on the show, apparently he's played better venues. Dean knew though that this was where he'd have to reconnect the wiring like tapping two cymbals together like a monkey.

 

Aurelius knew that was the plan and told Dean so, but could he did safely?

 

Dean knew the word safely didn't really exist within the Villa. When Dean strikes up the speakers then this place is going to be crawling with Ghost People since they don't like changing of sound what they do like though is listening, hunting, killing and they're more vicious than critics.

 

Aurelius wondered if he cleared out the Ghost People in this area if it'd change his mind but to no avail.

 

Dean knew that if you killed all of them then more would come from beneath the streets, the buildings and everywhere else. If the Ghost People hear anything, anything at all out of the ordinary especially music screaming through the speakers then they'll be here fast.

 

Aurelius wondered if the Holograms would make Dean feel safer in this area.

 

Dean was in agreement if the Holograms were online and working he'd stay here and so asked Aurelius to get some of those "Old World Stiffs" then that'd be an audience he wouldn't mind having.

 

Aurelius agreed to see if he could reactive more holograms around this area.

 

Dean said that he remembered there were two Holograms you can switch on but couldn't remember how but with the one Aurelius had found earlier it shouldn't be a problem as all we needed to find was a working terminal. So do that and Dean would consider staying up on the rooftop.

 

Aurelius walked slightly across the rooftop to another doorway with stairs going down which lead to another terminal, this one had a Hologram that could be activated but the other one was quite far away from here so Dean might not count it so Aurelius saw another broken down wall on a building directly opposite him with a shingle rooftop bridging the way across.

 

The building held nothing of importance but did have a staircase leading up. But there wasn't anything of importance in there.

 

Leaving the building and following the shingle roof north Aurelius saw a broken down wall next to the cafe they'd came out of about an hour ago.

 

So the group quickly ran towards the cafe entrance they'd originally used since there was no way back up there from the outside.

 

Once Aurelius and the crew made it through the cafe the balcony had another opening leading towards the broken wall. Once inside there was a medical kit on the wall which was salvaged with only a couple of stimpaks and a bottle of purified water but there was a terminal sat there just waiting for the Hologram to be activated.

 

With that Aurelius let Dean know that his Gala position was secured and ready for him.

 

Dean seemed slightly impressed that Aurelius managed to get the Holograms working and agreed they'd provide enough protection since the hologram at the fountain of Vera Keys worked at keeping the Ghost People away. Although how did Dean know the Hologram's power wouldn't die and leave him exposed.

 

Aurelius explained that Vera's hologram has stayed powered since the bombs first fell so these Holograms can stay powered for a while as well.

 

Dean agreed Aurelius had a point and with the holograms to keep him company then he'd willing stay here for a while. But when this goes off and Aurelius tries to get into the Sierra Madre without him then he'll wish he hadn't.

 

With that they pulled back to the North of Puesta Del Sol to get the Muted Woman to her location within the Switching Station.

______________________________________________________________

[dx144]

3rd December 2281 (Continued... Again):

 

The remaining Crew members of God, Aurelius and the Muted Woman were now moving towards the Puesta Del Sol Substation. They did pass several Ghost People they killed earlier on when they first moved through the North of Puesta Del Sol.

 

If there were more Ghost People they were clearly waiting. Perhaps was as a Dean said that when there was music they come out. Maybe when the music begins to play then hundreds of the bastard things would awaken or become alerted to people within the Villa.

 

The Cloud was blocking off certain areas of Puesta Del Sol and Aurelius didn't want to try to get through them unless he had no alternative like before. Who knew how far the Cloud stretched in certain areas? For all Aurelius knew he could be running into an endless stretch of the Cloud and would die before making it even halfway through the Cloud.

 

But Aurelius soon came to the conclusion they'd need to try and rush through one of the Cloud choked locations.

 

While scanning the first passage way Aurelius saw some graffiti sign on a wall next to some ascending steps with arrow pointing to go through, the words were obvious "Gala is the only way IN". Perhaps it was something used to lure people to their deaths but if they were going to lure people to their death they'd try to use something much more appealing such as a safe house or medical supplies rather than the Gala event trigger.

 

Once Aurelius paid more attention to the Cloud blocking their way it appeared to only be a very small pocket which they would only pass through for a second or two.

 

The remaining crew members quickly made it through but had to hold fast once making it through since there was another much larger Cloud pocket beyond the corridor they'd entered. There was a door leading to somewhere which they decided to use instead.

 

From the moment they entered this building it was obvious it was the Substation. There was an electrical hum and mechanical grinding that could be heard all the way back here.

 

Aurelius asked God to stay at the entrance to keep a watch for any Ghost People and he'd be back soon to move into Salida Del Sol shortly.

 

God agreed to hold position and watched the doorway for any movement.

 

The Substation appeared to be lacking power though. Doorways that were obviously electrically powered to open and close were lacking any power. There was an electrical box that had circuit breaker than had been repaired to a degree in the past but had broken since then.

 

Aurelius could back outside or in here searching for various parts to fix the circuit breaker or attempt to jury-rig it. Aurelius knew every moment here he was damaging his body with the Cloud so wanting to get through this hellhole as soon as possible Aurelius jury-rigged the circuit breaker.

 

A few adjustments to the electrical box and power came flowing through the Substation.

 

A couple of terminals on the desk next to the electrical box flared up as well.

 

One of them was used by a "Mr. Ennis" but only had one file which was an e-mail to a "Director Konrad Simmons" was something to do with the ventilation system breaking down again and needing to even out the power distribution manually for the a new generator that is being brought online. Seems to be that the manual option took you in an incredibly hot cramped room and this "Mr. Ennis" would like a password to a terminal which would allow him to do the work remotely.

 

No idea what that password is though as the e-mail didn't have a response.

 

The other terminal had a couple of files one on a status report explaining that the ventilation system had been shot to hell, which is going to be a problem when summer hits. The pipers were apparently backed up and the chambers have started to spew out a red dust cloud like rust. Whatever this cloud was it started to make the guys who were within the cloud start choking and then throwing up. Kind of like the place was being sprayed with roach spray but instead of roaches being the target the guys were. Got the guys to the Clinic and put them out of work but some guy known as "Mr. Yesterday" couldn't justify paying them but would look into seeing what he could do which this person seemed to think it sounded like he was going to get them chems and some green to keep their mouths shut about this... Incident.

 

The other file was about the Gas Leaks.

 

Had reports on the Power Regulation System:

Minimum power level required - 43%

Power currently supplied - 85%

 

Acceptable variation from norm +/- 15%

Largest variation in the past 24 hours 36%

 

Automatic System - Offline

 

Warning Large fluctuations in power detected. Large energy expenditures are to be avoided at all costs under these conditions. Report this to the Foreman in charge at once.

 

All of it was kind of useless information since Aurelius couldn't do anything with it and so moved on.

 

Just before entering into the Substation Aurelius's collar began beeping.

 

Aurelius took a few steps back until his collar stopped them quickly ran into through the doorway then scanned the area looking for a speaker on a wall or a radio on a table.

 

As Aurelius looked at the wall directly in front of him there was some writing saying "Tick-Tick" with an arrow point upwards to a speaker.

 

Aurelius quickly fired a round and blew the speaker apart.

 

With that done Aurelius and the Muted Woman carried on through the corridor. Not even half way through that corridor there was another speaker or radio so Aurelius did the exact same pulled back, the speaker or radio stopped interfering with his collar and then he rushed forward looking everywhere for the speaker or radio.

 

More writing on the wall "Tick, tick, tick" with an arrow pointing to go around the wall.

 

Aurelius raised his pistol and shot the speaker on the wall blowing a second one apart.

 

The corridor lead to a stairwell down but after going down the first set of stairs Aurelius's collar began to get interference again.

 

Aurelius did the exact same pulled back let his collar lie silent for a couple of seconds then rushed down the stairs where more graffiti sat more of that tick, tick, tick with an arrow pointing upwards which Aurelius then blew away a third.

 

Until now most speakers had been random and rarely seen but this place had them around every corner which Aurelius found to be quite tiresome.

 

It was then that Aurelius and the Muted Woman advanced on through the end of the corridor and were greeted by an open chamber where mechanical grinding grew louder but the walkway they now stood upon had been detached from the other side they needed to get across the only way they could see was going down some stairs into the Cloud that had built up and rush across to the other side's stairs.

 

It was damn risky but it was the only chance they had.

 

Aurelius quickly ran down the stairs into the cloud and made it to a spot which was yet to be claimed by the Cloud and caught his breath for a second and waited for the Muted Woman who followed shortly.

 

Aurelius couldn't see anyway past the rubble build up and the only other option was to take a long sprint round the side they were on and make it to the stairs.

 

Both Aurelius and the Muted Woman managed to do so but it was did take their toll both of them were coughing violently.

 

Aurelius took out a bottle of purified water drinking some of it to ease his throat then passed it along to the Muted Woman who finished the bottle and gave a smile as thanks.

 

The two members of the crew made it to the top of the stairs, as they approached a door a screeching from a mechanical origin could be heard and the Muted Woman gave a facial expression of fear and her head began to dart around first to where the sound came from and then the way they came in as if she was thinking of running.

 

Aurelius disregarded it as now wasn't the time to work through her fears, he could do that later as now he had to get through this place.

 

Another arrow was painted this one pointed to go right and as they followed it some more interference with collars happened so they pulled back and let them go silent then Aurelius ran through looking everywhere for the speaker.

 

It was then he noticed it above a little cabin on the same level as them but it was shielded. Aurelius had too little time to pull back so he ran into the cabin seeing a terminal there which must have the capability to turn off the speakers.

 

It was locked though, not difficult so Aurelius managed to break through into it but Aurelius's collar was beeping quite fast now. Aurelius didn't know if he was hearing the collar beeping or if it was his heart beating but after pressing the turn off speaker option and all he heard was his heart he got his answer.

 

Aurelius then gave a massive sigh of relief then but noticed a trip wire behind him he had luckily stepped over. He couldn't find what it was connected to but the headless corpse next to it might have been the fool who it there or an unfortunate in the same position as Aurelius once with his collar exploded when he also tried to turn off the speaker.

 

The headless corpse had a couple of stimpaks which him which Aurelius took, no point in leaving them to waste away when Aurelius could put them to good use.

 

With that Aurelius and the Muted Woman moved back to the stairs then went left instead to where that mechanical screech could be heard before. After opening the door it lead to a room with the only noteworthy features being a medical kit on the wall which had a bottle of purified water and two stimpaks in but there was also a Terminal.

 

Three files sat on the terminal, the first was "In Case of Emergency".

 

The file pretty much explained that when there is an emergency all of the non-essential systems should be shut down immediately to help the automatic systems balance the power distribution. Then if the automatic systems fail the foreman will choose someone to enter the "Manual Override Chamber" which is located right next to the main regulator.

 

The second file was about "Second Shifts", apparently since the guys who were hit by the gas were still out of work everyone had to work that bit more to keep up with the progress required and so grumbling amongst the workforce started. That Mr. Yesterday was sending hard liquor and chems coming under Sinclair's eyes but that wasn't really helping. Apparently they need the guys back because if there happened to be another chemical leak like the one before then there wouldn't be any more construction for the rest of the year.

 

The third and final entry was about "Suits are here" which were some new chemical suits that arrived so these people could check out the ventilation chambers and how the "cloud cocktail" as they seemed to call it formed. The suits were apparently "Creepy looking", were hard to talk in and so they had to use sign language to make sense of each other. This person was just glad they could check out the pipes and ventilation chambers. Seems to be this person was worried by the gas as it really messed up those guys who were exposed to it and if the chambers were to be backed up again they'd hate to see if leak and wipe out the Villa.

 

With the room they were in picked clean Aurelius and the Muted Woman carried onwards.

 

Once opening another door they found another room like one they were in but this one had four lockers and a terminal which was known as the "Ventilation Control System" Aurelius was probably hoping for too much in that he could remove most if not all of the Cloud around the Villa if the ventilation systems were still operational.

 

Activating the terminal was a waring "The ventilation system should only be taken down for routine maintenance" but there was an option to Aurelius to activate the ventilation system which he activated. Then the terminal could only deactivate the ventilation system. Shortly after the activation of the ventilation system a loud noise from a room to the west and sounded like the ventilation systems were powering up and started clearing up the Cloud from the Switching Station's basement and eventually might get to work on clearing up parts of Puesta Del Sol.

 

So with nothing else of importance on the terminal Aurelius moved over to the lockers, noticed some 308. Amour Piercing Rounds twenty four to be exact next to one of the lockers which he gave to the Muted Woman.

 

Most held nothing of importance, one had some of the Cloud residue within and a note from someone who'd been within one of those suit and almost lost a few men with him when he was trying to gather some samples for the eggheads to look at.

 

One of them was locked but Aurelius knew he could pick it with a couple of bobby-pins that he'd found at certain points within the Villa. Once Aurelius did break into the locker there wasn't anything except for a note for a terminal which Aurelius had read about after entering the Switching Station.

 

The note was from that Konrad Simmons who seemed to be annoyed at the amount of times they'd told Ennis the password for the terminal is T7GF0SEW.

 

With the room cleared Aurelius opened the door and pulled back when he noticed not only his collar was beeping but also that a turret was staring at him. Peeking through the doorway Aurelius could see a shielded speaker, grasping his pistol tightly Aurelius moved to get a shot at the turret and fired true with another three shots following until he must have hit the power supply on it when it exploded.

 

With that Aurelius rushed out following the damaged walkway until he was out of the speakers range. Aurelius could see another speaker that was shield at the other side of the room, following the walkway to some stairs down into a damaged cabin he could see a terminal but all the terminal had was the ability to shut off the terminal system that he'd already shot at.

 

After following the stairs past that terminal there was another staircase leading upwards with another terminal which was known as the "Remote Access Terminal". Aurelius activated it to see what his options were after he entered in the password he'd learnt from Ennis's note. Aurelius discovered he could transfer control to this station, wasn't recommended as regular use those but Aurelius didn't care much as he was only going to be using it once and the Muted Woman seemed disturbed from the moment she came into the Switching Station perhaps her time in the Auto-Doc made her have a fear of mechanical grinding noises and enclosed spaces and from what Aurelius read about the cramped room used to restart the power was like it could be quite hard to work down there.

 

Aurelius then transferred the control to the remote access terminal so the Mute Woman didn't have to descend into the burning hot cramped room filled with electrical equipment as well as screeching mechanical noise.

 

The Muted Woman looked at Aurelius and pointed towards the door with her hand shaking a bit and then made a pulling motion with her hand and was quite hesitant to go towards it.

 

Aurelius explained to her that he'd changed it around so the terminal on the desk next to it could do it rather than going down.

 

The Muted Woman nodded with a grateful smile then looked over at the terminal then back to Aurelius giving a thumbs up and a happier smile.

 

Aurelius wondered if she'd be already or if she'd need any help like Dean wanted.

 

She nodded and gestured towards Aurelius's hand while offering hers.

 

Aurelius agreed knowing it would help her nerves calm and ease the situation.

 

The Muted Woman grasps Aurelius's hand and squeezes it a little, meets his gaze and then let’s go of his hand.

 

Aurelius said they'd get through this and the Muted Woman nodded narrowed her eyes as she became more determined and gave a final nod. Then the Muted Woman walked over towards the desk and awaited the time when she'd have to start up the power for the Casino.

 

With that done Aurelius backtracked to the entrance where God was still waiting and so they headed off to move into Salida Del Sol.

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