Volume 2
Jul 21, 2017 12:46:37 GMT -5
Post by OutsidR on Jul 21, 2017 12:46:37 GMT -5
Written by: John Baumgartner (baumgartner@cox.net)
Notice of Copyright 2017
"All Rights Reserved"
{Editing done by OutsidR}
{Editing done by OutsidR}
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'Old Roads' Volume 2: "Hitchhiker's Guide to Armageddon"
('FOR A FEW BOTTLECAPS MORE')
('FOR A FEW BOTTLECAPS MORE')
This fan fiction of (“For A Few Bottle Caps More”) is a written commentary of a game played in Fallout: New Vegas by the author in the summer of 2016. It is written as a hobby with no intent of commercial release. It may be freely used as long as I am given credit as the author and the usage is noncommercial. In other words you can read it, enjoy it, print copies and share with your friends, etc. as long as no money is involved and I am given credit as the author.
The game world of Fallout: New Vegas and its software were created by and owned by Bethesda and subject to the rules of the game license that we all had to agree to in order to play the game.)
(SPOILER ALERT FOR 1ST TIME FALLOUT: NEW VEGAS PLAYERS:)
Although these Spaghetti Western Posts are in no way a Wiki type game walk through, each of Tuco’s adventures is selected at random from an ongoing list of possible actions and destinations. As such he will definitely encounter some of the game’s surprises along his wandering progressions. Be warned!
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('Volume 1'), told the tale of 'Tuco Ramirez', the unfortunate 'Courier Six' assigned to deliver a mysterious 'Platinum Poker Chip' to the city of 'New Vegas' in the Mojave Desert. It began when he awoke in 'Doc Mitchell's' office and left in search of answers and revenge for his 'execution', and the theft of the poker chip. He traveled the old highways guided at first by Lady Luck and later the double edged influence of a (cursed combat knife)called 'The Mongol'. But as he progressed under the haphazard directions of these two, he became an increasingly independent character styling himself on memories of the old prewar cartoons as the Loony Tune 'Wile E. Coyote' in eternal pursuit of his arch 'meal to be' The Road Runner. The dialog and choices began to drive the story forward at an increasingly frantic pace with plenty of 'sass ' about where he's to go and exactly what he's going to do when he gets there.
CHAPTER 25
THE HALLS OF THE GOLDEN ARROW:
('The Long Divide')
A wild wind wracked the ruins
Where the glow and ghoul reside
And the Courier made his passage
Into that long Divide *
THE HALLS OF THE GOLDEN ARROW:
('The Long Divide')
A wild wind wracked the ruins
Where the glow and ghoul reside
And the Courier made his passage
Into that long Divide *
THE STORY SO FAR:
Tuco stood awe-stricken, in the wracked and ruined canyon beyond the wreckage road block. The land – if you could still call it that – beyond and below those wind eroded walls had been ripped apart in radioactive fire and fury by the war hammer of some mushroom clouded Commie War God.
Broken pipes and structures protruded from the walls around him, but in front was an UN-scarred wall of steel and reinforced concrete surrounding an armored door. A highway billboard, ripped from its mooring and flung askew against the canyon wall proclaimed this to be ‘silo ground’, a message amplified in government lingo in an official enameled plaque next to the door.
Maybe ‘road block’ wasn’t the right term for the canyon wreck. The Divide with the wind whipped dust and intermittent exploding piles of radioactive debris, fulfilled his vision of a ghoulish breeding ground. Maybe the feral ghouls haunting the high desert west of 'Primm' had passed through that door. Maybe - a sudden thought broke into his ghoulish reverie.
The 'Ulysses' who sent the map coordinates, was he the same as 'Johnson Nash’s' vanishing desert rat? The fink who stuck him with the mystery poker chip that got him ‘killed’ by 'Benny' up in the 'Goodsprings' graveyard. Is he lurking nearby, waiting for El Coyote, to do the work before pouncing?
Well now, El Coyote is here - and where are you, Senor Desert Rat?
Silence!
Okey Dokie … ready or not … here I come.
The external light illuminating the door is bright, indicating that at least some portion of the silo remains operational. Beyond the door the two century old lights flicker, but still illuminate a long tunnel ending in a wide open portal with a graffiti scrawled sign announcing ‘The Lonesome Road’ (a quest).
Inside, written in archaic English but still legible to a simple old courier like Tuco, is a Maintenance Access and an 'Eyebot', like the one he’d seen on the workbench at the 'Mojave Express' office in 'Primm'. Supposed to be useful they were, but his 'Granny Grudge' had said they were Imps serving a Master. Well - whatever Master this one had, he’s better find himself another Imp. El Coyote was taking over this one.
OOPS - with his greed sparked by a 20th Century Treasure Chest, he lets the Imp open the silo BLAST DOOR! And beyond the tempered, blast proof observation portal stood a Monster like none he’d ever seen, with teams of Imps hovering and ‘servicing’ the tons of high technology that the 'Brotherhood of Steel', would sell their souls to possess. The Golden Arrow - a Cold War think tank product of Guaranteed Mutual Destruction. An American War God, poised on the launch pad to deliver Radioactive Mushroom Clouded Death and Earth Destroying Megaton Violence. Poised and ready - but targeted for where: Africa, Asia, Europe, South America, Mexico, Canada, Washington DC?
He’d seen the terrors that haunted the levels of 'Vault 22', and the fiery rocket blasts at the REPCONN rocket site as 'Jason' left on his one-way trip into 'The Great Beyond', but there was nothing to compare with this sleek giant of mass destruction: designed by long dead engineers for long dead generals to hurl at other long dead enemies.
Now, here his thoughts turned serious - What ever 'Ulysse's' game was, Tuco could simply pack up the loot from that 20th Century Treasure Chest and leave to pack the canyon wreck with enough explosives to seal the passage forever. No - that would still leave 'Ulysses' hiding somewhere and The Golden Arrow cocked and ready.
Why hadn’t 'Ulysses' just sold The Golden Arrow to The 'Brotherhood of Steel', the 'NCR', or maybe even 'Caesar’s' puritanical killers? Any of those, and perhaps even the mysterious 'Mister House', in the Vegas Strip, would pay handsomely to get their hands on a genuine nuclear weapon and the delivery technology to go with it. "OH YEAH AND THEN SOME"!
So maybe find 'Ulysses' and take revenge for that bullet in the 'Goodsprings' graveyard. Then after disposing of him and 'Benny', he could ponder the ways and means of the above options. YEAH! 'Ulysses' was probably here in the silo or lurking somewhere down the Lonesome Road. The Coyote would sniff him out and do what the 'Great Khan' 'Jessup', had suggested for 'Benny', take Benny’s cigarette lighter – cram it up his ♥♥♥ and stuff it with dynamite. Oh he liked that idea.
He grabbed a supply of .44 mag and shotgun ammo from the 20th Century Treasure Chest, along with some interesting looking body armor and headed deeper into the bowels of the silo – giving 'Ulysses', The Golden Arrow and the memories of its creators a middle fingered salute as he left.
The Imp, grew fearful as they progressed through steely hallways and mysterious rooms filled with damaged and roughly handled furniture and equipment. Security terminals, code words and inert sentry robots and turrets became the norm. And then ghoulish bodies of soldiers with flayed, burned skin and ramshackle armor and sentry robots that weren’t inert.
No subtlety this! The action moved quickly from hallway to doorway to stairway and back. Rockets, mini-guns and flamers – ('Chance’s Curse' and 'the Mongol'), the shotgun blast to block a doorway or a ranged Trail Carbine shot down the length of a hallway. The robots were good, tough and well armed but they were stiff and UN-maneuverable on their wheeled legs. Once Tuco established a rhythm, the tide of battle shifted from ‘undecided-issue in doubt’ to 'I’m winning but the ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥s have a lot of bullets left' ** Then silence as the gun and rocket fire died away leaving Tuco staring at the silo exit to the ('Lonesome Road and the Divide').
The ruination, the bodies and The Golden Arrow, left many questions and not enough answers for this chapter. The action was fast and furious and what ever lies along that Lonesome Road, beyond the door, could be just as fast and furious. Stay tuned for the next chapter Buckaroos and make sure you six guns are clean, oiled and loaded.
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*Poetry paraphrased from “Solomon Kane’s Homecoming” by 'Robert E. Howard' the father of Sword and Sorcery literature: Conan, Kull, Solomon Kane. RIP!
** Quotes paraphrased from the 'Battle of Tarawa Atoll' by then Colonel 'David Shoup' during the battle on the beach.
CHAPTER 26
PATH FINDER VS ARMS MERCHANT:
(The Sale of the Golden Arrow)
I’ve not heard your madness nor see your flags unfurled,
But I have seen that Arrow poised, fire-eyed, across the world.
I do not hear your regal drum nor your brazen bugles call,
But once in the din of a sale well done I’ll hear that money fall. *
PATH FINDER VS ARMS MERCHANT:
(The Sale of the Golden Arrow)
I’ve not heard your madness nor see your flags unfurled,
But I have seen that Arrow poised, fire-eyed, across the world.
I do not hear your regal drum nor your brazen bugles call,
But once in the din of a sale well done I’ll hear that money fall. *
THE STORY SO FAR:
Tuco's thoughts:
So if the Imp speaks true, 'Ulysses' talks crazy like we’re old foes with a score to settle, and we do, if he wants me to ignore all the money from The Golden Arrow and any ‘spare’ warheads, that happen to be laying around on what he calls ‘the Long 15’. One thing is clear! 'Ulysses', you sound like a crazy kid having a temper tantrum - wanting a hand grenade to play with in a room full of eggs.
So this is the way it is AMIGO! The 'Hopewell' base is locked up and is going to stay locked up! This coyote ain’t using any detonator on any nuclear bomb like what you want, lessen he’s somewhere far away at the other end of the Mojave, and definitely not if it’s going to explode fragments of radioactive bottle caps all over the desert.
No sir. I think the only real nuke here, is atop that Golden Arrow missile in the silo – and its worth millions. So I’m clearing out your little ghoul friends here ‘n grabbing as many land mines as stored here to keep you from getting anywhere near to the silo ever again. And then I’m a grabbing some more mines and laying another field tween the silo n’ the canyon wreck so’s no one except me ‘n my future customer can get to the silo from the desert.
Oh Yeah! And I’m keeping the Laser Detonator once I find it just to make sure you can’t interfere and mess thing up.
And so the battle is joined only this time instead of turrets and security bots it’s rabid, armed and armored ghouls with wind flayed skins and motivated by irradiated, deathless hatred.
The fighting finally dies on the rooftops of 'Hopeville' Main Street, as the sounds of the last dynamite explosion is ripped away by the scouring winds and Tuco peers over the edge to see a circle of battered ghoulish corpses in ramshackle armor laying motionless on the street: suckers!
Should have known better than to stand in a group beneath a roof top dynamite expert.
And up on the rooftop, where a 'Marked Man' with a Red Glare rocket launcher, had created a Rocketeer’s Nest with a sniper’s view commanding Main Street, Tuco found the Laser Detonator mixed in a crate with scattered rocket ammo. The scene would have been a colorful 4th of July vignette from the mid 20th Century, had it not been for the bloody remains of a recent explosion victim protruding into the scene. The Laser Detonator was there amid the flotsam and jetsam of combat, but unused. Tuco could see at least one unexploded warhead on the bed of an Army truck at the other end of the street.
Tuco made a circuit of 'Hopeville', and confirmed the lack of opposition in the areas not closed off by the ‘supposed nuclear warheads’. As he explored, collecting mines and valuable weaponry to load onto the Imp, for sale at the base Treasure Chest, it became apparent that the chances of a warhead being struck by a bullet, missile, plasma or laser beam were approaching certainty.
So, if they ‘were’ warheads, why hadn’t at least one or more exploded and killed everyone including Tuco in a nuclear blast? 'Ulysses' was lying - no surprise there, but why?
Lady Luck ceased buffing her nails and deftly placed a dab of perfume behind each earlobe. She could see that there were choices to be made and that the apparent duplicity of 'Ulysses' had added several more candidates to her list. Oh, this was going to be a fascinating list of opportunities – and much longer than could fit within the confines of this chapter. Let’s return to 'Trudy’s Saloon' and join 'Cheyenne' and 'Sunny Smiles' at the Jukebox while we wait for the next chapter to roll into town.
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*Poetry paraphrased from “Recompense” by 'Robert E. Howard' the father of Sword and Sorcery literature: 'Conan', 'Kull', 'Solomon Kane'. RIP!
CHAPTER 27
LADY LUCK,
(SPINS THE GAME OF FATE)
Lady Luck
Who is this lovely Sorceress who captivates my mind,
The Lady who reaches out across the sands of time,
Oh my lovely Lady Luck
'Ulysses' plots my doom,
Oh roll your dice and spin my fate,
Upon your astral loom *
LADY LUCK,
(SPINS THE GAME OF FATE)
Lady Luck
Who is this lovely Sorceress who captivates my mind,
The Lady who reaches out across the sands of time,
Oh my lovely Lady Luck
'Ulysses' plots my doom,
Oh roll your dice and spin my fate,
Upon your astral loom *
THE STORY SO FAR:
Tuco, has found to his dismay, that the logistics of looting 'Hopeville', has a major complicating factor. In getting to the main street where the Laser Detonator had been stashed, he had leaped down what turned out to be a one way jumble of broken concrete and re-bar. He is trapped on main street, with no way of reaching the rest of 'Hopeville' and its plunder without using the Detonator on at least one warhead.
Well Heck - Has 'Ulysses', ‘Out Foxed’ The Coyote?
There’s nothing else to do but give it a try. On the plus side, if the so called ‘warhead’ is in fact a warhead and the Detonator does its job Tuco will never know it. Never-the-less, nuclear warhead or not he gets as far away as possible, crouches down behind a pile of brick and rubble, sights along the Detonator and squeezes the trigger. A laser beam shoots out and plays over the ‘warhead’ and ... WHAM! - the warhead explodes in a huge, violent fireball flinging truck parts, rubble, and any nearby flotsam far, wide and high.
Phew! It was not a nuke but it sure as heck was an invitation to 'Chance's Curse'.
Although the ('CURSE') did not immediately go ‘NOVA’ in response to the fireball – Tuco thought he felt 'The Mongol blade' twitch in his inventory and his adrenaline and blood pressure skyrocketed upwards in response.
But then the cheekbone hugging fit of the Authority Glasses he’d liberated from one of the Marked Ghouls and the comforting tint of the lenses told him that he no longer need to fear the consequences of 'The Mongol Blade' taking control after detonating at least the non-nuclear warheads.
YES! Life was Suddenly Good!
“Ahem!” The sensitive hairs in his ears quivered and he felt a faint breath of seductively scented air caress his nostrils. It was Lady Luck and she whispered, “You know there’s going to be 15 miles or so of this tranquility destroying warhead nastiness along this silly old ruined Lonesome Road".
“I have a number of wonderful, gorgeous options to this current boring endeavor that you are undertaking".
“Oh my yes"! His sarcasm responds. “This poor coyote reminds you that he is here in this treasure trove of warheads because of you. Thank you very much my 'Lady'.
(The Lady) - “Sniff! Don’t be SISSY! It’s not my fault that you let that 'Ulysses' outsmart you. Now do you want some options or not?”
“Do I have a choice?”
(The Lady) - “Well there’s an old game called ‘Russian Roulette’ played with a revolver and a single bullet. Now you can stay here in 'Hopeville' and play Russian Roulette with 'Ulysses' and his warheads, or you can try some of your other open quests such as "Ring-a-Ding-Ding", "Nothin’ But A Hound Dog", and "My Kind Of Town.”
She clears her throat and continues.
(The Lady) - “Now "Ring-a-Ding-Ding", may get the NCR to open up about getting rid of 'The Mongol' at 'Bitter Springs' for you, but you will need to start increasing your (Medicine), (Speech), and (Science skills), even with your (Comprehension Perk). But there’s an additional plus of putting you in contact with the other major factions contesting the Mojave in addition to the NCR.”
“Nothin’ But A Hound Dog", will cement your relationship with the 'King' and if you play your cards right, get you to 'Jacobstown'. I can see many wonderful opportunities there for a man with your background and connections with 'The Den' and -”
“Oh sure! And my 'Granny Grudge' too!” Tuco interrupts when he hears about 'The Den'.
“Why yes My Dear. Lady Luck can foresee some very beautiful possibilities with this option.”
“And then lastly of course there’s fulfilling your obligation to 'Johnson Nash' and the town of 'Primm' for shooting their lawman in the Bison Steve Hotel.”
“Hah! That deputy was an idiot who let a gang of spineless, shiftless, worthless convicts capture the town and tie him up, maybe to use later as a Pinata for their pool cues, police batons an what not's. Saved 'Primm' a lot of trouble by pulling the trigger I did.”
“Are you ready?” She asks.
“Do I have a choice?”
Lady Luck says nothing but takes the current novel she’s reading ("Empire of Dust" by 'Jacey Bedford') and using the last two digits of a randomly selected page number, assigns a 40% probability to Tuco proceeding along the Lonesome Road (digits 1 to 40), a 20% probability to "Ring-a-Ding-Ding", (digits 11 to 60), a 15% probability to "Nothin’ but a Hound Dog", (digits 61 to 75), and a 25% probability to "My Kind of Town", (digits 76 to 00). She flips open the book at random and the last two digits of the page number are 86.
Tuco reacts immediately.
“Hey wait a minute! You’re Lady Luck right? Why can’t you just tell me which warheads are loaded? Then maybe I can finish looting this place and fix up the silo with land mines like what I promised.”
(The Lady) - “No! You will set things right with 'Johnson Nash' and 'Primm', and then after you do that, maybe you should talk to 'Old Lady Gibson' about what you just did, and then mention to her about 'Johnson Nash' and the new prospecting opportunities up the canyon, west of 'Primm'.”
Tuco is not happy, but he stomps into the Silo, not checking to see of the Imp is following or not. Through the armored door, past the dead ghoul soldiers and wrecked robots, and through the central shaft, without so much as a second look at the Golden Arrow and out the armored door, to the canyon wreckage, into the world where the only enemies were the ‘usual suspects’ and life was ‘Safe and Sane’.
He unloads the Imp and leaves it at the canyon wreck and heads to the I-15 highway. What to do? No don’t ask …. CARAMBA! …. "SHE" will stick her nose back into things and have me delivering radscorp bits to 'Ruby Nash' for another casserole.
Leemee see - way back in Chapter whatever "SHE", had me headed to the NCR prison to spring an ex-sheriff out for 'Primm'. So what say I jus stop by 'Primm’s' Express Office an send off my excess stuff to 'Novac' afore heading off to the prison. Yeah!
So it’s 'Primm' and north up the I-15 and across the railroad tracks and foothills to the prison gates. The modern day reincarnation of the pre-war "Loony Tuned" superhero, Wiley E. Coyote dressed in 'Powder Ganger' drag, the ("Overconfident-ii Vulgar-is"), is here to restore Law and Order and The American Way to the troubled streets of 'Primm'.
Aside from a brief confrontation with a guard at the door to the Prison Visitors Block Tuco had no trouble and easily found 'Meyers' munching on an iguana snack, and quite agreeable to becoming a sheriff for 'Primm', provided, of course that a full pardon and freedom to interpret justice in his own, unique way was included in the deal.
“But of course senor sheriff - you don’t need no stinking rules for justice - the NCR n’ me are best amigo’s - vamoose to 'Primm' n’ I’ll be back with a new tin badge n’ pardon all official like.”
An now its back down the I-15 and through 'Primm', the ("Overconfident-ii Vulgar-is") having changed back into Tuco, a brief sortie into the Ivanpah Dry Lake and Racetrack and then up the hill where Tuco Ramirez becomes the ("Carnivora Vulgar-is") in U.S. General Drag, to negotiate a pardon and a badge for the now Sheriff Meyers.
Now there is only a trip back down to 'Primm' and a brief confirmation of 'Meyer’s' new status and the job is done.
"BUT WAIT JUST A MINUTE HERE"!
Didn’t Lady Luck say something about "Old Lady Gibson"? Let’s nudge Lady Luck and Tuco, about a jaunt to the 'Gibson Scrap Yard' near 'Novac' and speaking to "Old Lady Gibson" about the new prospecting opportunities west of 'Primm'.
Tuco spouts off immediately..
“WHOA! Are you LOCO mister! I ain’t telling "Old Lady Gibson" nothing ‘bout that canyon! What the heck is the point of blabbing a secret like that for the world and all its brothers to cash in on MY discovery?”
And Lady Luck responds.
“Well then you can go on to do ("Ring-a-Ding-Ding") or ("Nothin’ But A Hound Dog"), if that’s what you want - but I think that you might want to talk to 'Old Lady Gibson' about 'Johnson Nash' and 'Hopeville', if you have any future plans involving missile silos, warheads and 'Ulysses'. There’s a past that the lady has, that’s much, much more than her generous, refilling coin purse and her suspiciously mild mannered pack of junk yard dogs.”
Well, well, well Buckaroos, there certainly seems to be some unfinished business for Tuco to take care of, with the ("My Kind Of Town" quest), and perhaps the ("Lonesome Road") where there’s a potential fortune in bottle caps, guarded by nuclear warheads and perhaps 'Ulysses' with an insane game of Nuclear Russian Roulette. Stay tuned!
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*Poem paraphrased from 'Lady Luck' by the Poet 'Jay Loveless'.
** POSTQUEST NOTE – EYEWEAR, "CHANCE’S CURSE":
It became apparent in opening up this chapter, that the so called ‘warheads’ littering 'Hopeville', are going to be a significant complicating factor, since they explode in a bombardment of flaming agents that can incite the ‘CURSE’ into a berserk and possibly suicidal frenzy for our hero. So what to do to minimize the possibility of an early termination to this Fan Fiction?
The ‘Authority Glasses’ that Tuco picked up in the last chapter, provide a mitigating factor. If Tuco is wearing the glasses, 'The Mongol' will be unable to ‘see’ any Post-Traumatic Incident inducing agents, including the red berets of the First Recon Unit. Of course being ‘flamed’ or in close proximity to an NCR, 'Bitter Springs', ‘War Criminal’, will come to the blade’s attention and risk activating the CURSE: 100 percent chance if Tuco is ‘flamed’, typically 5 or 10% for other situations.
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CHAPTER 28
PLUCKING CAESAR’S FEATHERS, PART 1
(The Coyote and the Rampage)
Give me a taste of winning, a mort of skill and tricks,
And a brush of the tips of Lady Luck’s lips.
If with such store and a loaded gun I might find you in some lonely place.
I would deem myself happier than a man with a fist full of casino chips.*
PLUCKING CAESAR’S FEATHERS, PART 1
(The Coyote and the Rampage)
Give me a taste of winning, a mort of skill and tricks,
And a brush of the tips of Lady Luck’s lips.
If with such store and a loaded gun I might find you in some lonely place.
I would deem myself happier than a man with a fist full of casino chips.*
THE STORY SO FAR:
Tuco has arrived at the 'Gibson Scrap Yard' just north of 'Novac' and the 'Dino Dee-lite Motel'. 'Old Lady Gibson' is responding to Tuco’s statements regarding 'Primm', 'Johnson Nash' and the 'Hopeville' canyon.
“You mentioned an old friend, old friends actually, 'Johnson' and 'Ruby Nash'. Oh yes, my hubby and I knew them well, bought a lot of ‘goods’ from those two when they was prospecting back in that canyon. That was before that crazy bighorn farmer came along with some of his people and built the barrier. Trouble that and make no doubt, except that valley had a reputation as bad news and was ghoul infested. There were a lot of feral ghouls showing up along the highway making travel south from 'Primm' along the I-15, dangerous.”
Tuco surprised at this response asks, "Yeah … what about bombs? Nukes? Hear anything about them?"
“Oh my yes, a big to do over nothing my hubby said. There’s a big missile nuke in a silo there, but it don’t recognize any language but its own – whatever that is. Bigger problem for prospecting was the red skinless ghoul types wearing cobbled together armor and armed to their rotting teeth. 'Johnson' told my hubby, that wasn’t anything in that Divide worth tangling with them, unless you had a full suit of "Legion Centurion Armor". He says that it had to be "Legion Centurion Armor" and no other because some of them recognize it and tend to steer away. Course, the trouble is going to be getting one of them Centurion suits since the only one 'Johnson' ever saw, belonged to that bighorn-er farmer and he vanished years ago after the canyon was walled off. ”
So many choices so little time! But Lady Luck is ever ready to lend her expertise to the enterprising coyote. “I’ve done a Tarot Card Reading of your deck and have seen that you now have four likely paths to choose from now that the 'Widow Gibson' has removed the tarot for Russian Roulette with Warheads from your hand.”
“Now, ("Ring-a-Ding-Ding"), (10% likely) is still a valid path for you as is, ("Nothin’ But A Hound Dog"), (10% likely), but you have two new paths both of which are much more likely and will lead back to 'Hopeville'.
“First, you can take the Widow’s word, that whatever war heads there may be in 'Hopeville', are most certainly dumb and mute in this post-war world and therefore unlikely to explode in a mushroom clouded manner. You can just march back into 'Hopeville' and deal with any leftover ghouls before you consummate your plans for 'Ulysses' (50% likely).
Secondly, you can delay returning to 'Hopeville', while you find and equip yourself with a suit of Legion Centurion armor for an extra edge in any conflict with 'Ulysses' (30% likely).
She takes the current novel she’s reading (still Empire of Dust by 'Jacey Bedford'.) and flips open the book at random. The last two digits of the page number are 86.
Tuco will be stalking a Legion Centurion. But where?
Well, the Ranger Camp at 'Forlorn Hope' would be a good place to start – plenty of Legion pigeons scratching for NCR corn around there - even if he had to avoid entering the camp due to the earlier ‘little moment’ with the 10 of Spades in the camp Mess Hall. Yep – and there’s also Legion pigeons at 'Nelson' that can be plucked without risking another encounter between "The Mongol" and one of the "Bitter Springs War Criminals".
So Camp 'Forlorn Hope' it is, and with his mind made up, he returns to the 'Dino Dee-lite' and puts together his kit and sets out across the 95 highway towards Camp 'Forlorn Hope'.
The first action is at the Southern Nevada Wind Farm, with an infestation of Cazadors. Then at the site of the massacred NCR forage patrol, he turned south and began skirmishing with the legionnaires as he approached 'Nelson' … easily using the (General’s +5 gun perk), he struck at range with his Trail Carbine and managed to keep his reputation with the legion at the ‘Neutral’ level. But soon, at a fortified outpost, he was faced with a decision. Either to become The ("Overconfident-ii Vulgar-is") and get ‘down and dirty’ and engage the garrison or go around what was left of the perimeter defenses and meet up with the NCR and Ranger troops besieging 'Nelson', where he might negotiate an improvement in his ‘Mixed’ reputation with the NCR.
He decides to finish up with clearing the legion's perimeter defenses before contacting the NCR besiegers. Then, after a few more kill shots, Tuco decides to step behind a yucca bush and emerge as the ("Loony Tuned Overconfident-ii Vulgar-is") and do some close in work with ('Sneak') and "Chance’s Combat Knife", and then take care of the remaining outpost garrison at the guard tower with a few well thrown sticks of dynamite.
When the last of the outpost defenders had bled out onto the Mojave sand and the dynamite stench had dissipated it appeared that the 'Nelson' perimeter and roving sentries and guard dogs have been cleared. It was time for the ("Overconfident-ii Vulgar-is") to change back into Tuco ‘the four star US Army General’ and use the ("+10 Speech perk") to negotiate with the NCR and Rangers besieging 'Nelson'.
Tuco and 'Ranger Milo' struck a bargain of sorts although the bandit-o had trouble hiding his contempt for the NCR’s willingness to sacrifice their own people who were being crucified down in the center of 'Nelson'.
And so the ‘General’ departed and the ("Overconfident-ii Vulgar-is") appeared and descended into 'Nelson'.
One guard post and a single roving legionnaire/dog patrol were all that were left on the streets of 'Nelson'. No problems there, but the Legion Commandant, holed up in the barracks was unfortunately for the ("Overconfident-ii Vulgar-is") a mere Recruit Decanus and not a Centurion.
DRAT!
Mission accomplished … well at least the part about the NCR goal of retaking 'Nelson'.
But he still hadn’t gotten his suit of "Legion Centurion Armor". He did reclaim some of his lost reputation with the NCR but not enough to get back in 'Colonel Hsu’s' good graces at 'Camp McCarran' and have a chance to get the armor off the Senior Legion Centurion held prisoner there.
So he could pursue gaining more NCR reputation possibly at 'Helios 1' or chance a return to Camp 'Forlorn Hope' and help the Major sort out the mess, that NCR incompetence had created there. But in many ways the thought of bailing out those bloated, over weight NCR bullies just angered him. Otherwise he could continue following the Colorado River shoreline south. He had managed to keep his reputation in the ‘Neutral’ zone with the 'Legion'. Somewhere down the river was a legion slavers camp. Maybe he could find his Centurion there.
Stay tuned buckaroos. Tuco still has more adventures in store before he returns to the "Lonesome Road and the Long Divide".
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*Poetry badly paraphrased from one of the Rubaiyats of 'Omar Khayyam'.
CHAPTER 29
FLYING FEATHERS …THE TWISTED TRAIL
(The Ballad of the Highwayman)
You trod the road like a God, Highwayman
As the Lord of the Wrong and the Right
But your day is done with the setting sun
And I’ll follow you into the night
I‘ve followed you fast, I’ve followed you far
And where did your wandering lead?
To the Long 15 and the Great Divide
To the day you must pay for your deed *
FLYING FEATHERS …THE TWISTED TRAIL
(The Ballad of the Highwayman)
You trod the road like a God, Highwayman
As the Lord of the Wrong and the Right
But your day is done with the setting sun
And I’ll follow you into the night
I‘ve followed you fast, I’ve followed you far
And where did your wandering lead?
To the Long 15 and the Great Divide
To the day you must pay for your deed *
THE STORY SO FAR:
Tuco has been plucking 'Caesar’s' feathers thus far, but without success at finding a Centurion’s cuirass, to edge the combat odds in his favor when facing 'Ulysses’ burned and flayed army of armed and armored ghouls. He’s gotten tired of the plucking and what he felt was a paltry sense of NCR gratitude. When he was informed that the 'legion' had captured the Techatticup Mine along with NCR prisoners he declined the opportunity to be a hero.
The 'legion' recruits might not have been the brightest light bulbs in the box, but they shined in comparison to the dull and dispirited NCR conscripts they were facing. Shame to keep killing them when all he needed was a @#$%^n piece of Centurion armor. So why not use his ‘Neutral’ reputation to his advantage. The 'legion' recruits were thus surprised when a four star U.S. Army General arrived at the mine’s entrance and requested a visit with their leader.
The mine was a lousy, semi radioactive rats nest of rusting, leaky sludge drums, but the 'legion' occupants and their leader, who turned out to be a Decanus, lacked enough sense to realize that the rads they were accumulating would someday be extracting a terrible payment for their nonchalant carelessness.
Once he had determined that there was no centurion to be had here, Tuco made his exit and proceeded to explore southwards, parallel to the river where he was soon rewarded with the sight of another Decanus helmed legionaire, patrolling in the southerly direction. A simple matter just to follow along behind – after all, the Decanus knew the trail and where ever he was going Tuco would be going too.
The Decanus finally turned away, and Tuco found himself on the outskirts of Ranger Station Echo, and past that, down at the bottom of a steep slope, was a large camp ground with cabins and more importantly 'legion' tents and campfires. It was the 'legion' slavers camp he had been looking for.
There was only one building worth the name and that was where the ‘Neutral’ four star American General went and confirmed that the installation’s commander, 'Aurelius of Phoenix', was indeed a Centurion. A simple matter then to slip into his office/bedroom suite and hide until the Centurion retired for the night. As a precaution and protection for his reputation with the 'Legion', Tuco changed into the ("Overconfident-ii Vulgar-is") to do the deed.
Then the exit in the dead of night. A change back into the General’s coat and a trip skirting 'Searchlight' and its NCR Feral Ghouls, and down the 164 highway, cross country at the 'Wolfhorn Ranch' and then overland to the rail line and the 'Prospector’s Den' and then, at last, 'Primm'.
At 'Primm', vanity demanded that Tuco change into his new (Centurion armor) to see how dashing a figure he would have cut, if he had joined the Legion. He stepped into the 'Vikki and Vance' in his new attire and was accosted by a motley group of NCR deserters demanding money or his life.
Well once again the town of 'Primm', was treated to a virtuoso performance of the Shotgun Fandango and this time Tuco is rewarded via the Level Grind and hits ("Level 20") as the last deserter hits the ground. ** But there’s no time to celebrate. It was high time that Tuco left before Sheriff Meyers arrives to see the carnage.
Time now for Tuco to go to the Canyon Wreckage and saddle up and finish the job at 'Hopeville' and perhaps finish with 'Ulysses', the mysterious message giver and agent who had served him up to 'Benny' and his 'Great Khan' cronies.
The Imp was there where he left it, and it followed Tuco obediently but when they entered the silo it became erratic and hesitant about trailing after. Red hash marks appeared on Tuco’s PIP Boy compass – a visual tocsin telling Tuco, that there was trouble waiting for him ahead. Sentry robots, red ghouls or something new? Whatever they were, either 'Ulysses' or the Silo’s Security Systems had taken steps to discourage any snoopers.
Well so much for all his efforts to get a suit of Centurion Armor. If the red warning hash marks denoted sentry bots, there would be no combat bonus from the armor. In the silo, the combat would be in close with a high likelihood of flamer attacks, along with rocketry and mini-gun fire. He made a split second decision on the assumption that a .44 SWC Hand Loaded ‘quick take down’, was relatively safer than a berserk knife attack by 'The Mongol' and opted for the (+5 gun General’s) perk over the 18DT of the Centurion Armor.
The PIP Boy’s warning was confirmed as he climbed the ladder in the silo core to the next level and a hulking, three legged monster in U.S. Army olive drab green rolled into view spitting laser fire while telling him that law abiding citizens had nothing to fear.
The hand load .44 ammo worked well, too well. And Tuco relaxed as the encounters took on a SNEAK-SCAN-SHOOT rhythm through the silo compartments and passages. Thus when he came to a hard locked desk, he’d been unable to open on his prior visit, he changed into his Vault 3 Utilities for the (+5 lock-pick) perk, read his (‘Locksmith’s Reader’) and prepared to pick the lock.
OH! NO! A Flamer! 'The Mongol' leaped into action …. the serrated steel blade singing a deadly musical cantata with the bot’s armored arms and torso. Cursed steel rang upon armored steel – speed, rage and precision versus strength and power, but hampered by pre-war combat algorithms unsuited to the hand-to-hand melee. No simple cut and thrust here, no bash and slash, 'The Mongol' hit the bot’s articulated joints, exposing the electrics and hydraulics to further damage!
When the duel had ended and there were no further enemies to sustain it 'The Mongol’s' control slowly evaporated. When his hands had stopped shaking Tuco picked the lock and discovered that the most useful content was a package of cigarettes, while the prize would have been the Level 1 Security Codes, incredibly useful on his prior visit but totally useless now. So much for the oncoming post berserk hangover, the loss of a skill magazine and the stim packs it cost to find this out!
Well he was at the terminal point of (Level 1) now. Time to collect his Imp and get back into his Centurion Armor and face the ‘Dear Hearts and Gentle People’ of Hopeville.
Tuco is about to continue retracing his steps in 'Hopeville' and he knows that it will be highly unlikely that he will find many dear hearts and gentle people down there to welcome him. He works the lever on his 20 gauge – for this gun he has new Hand Loaded 3/0 Buck Mag ammo. In addition "Chance’s Combat Knife" has been replaced by a Bowie Knife for those non-berserk knife fights. Oh My Goodness! Best get ready buckaroos for a real Bronc Ride coming up in the next chapter.
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*Poetry paraphrased from ‘The Ballad of the Red Earl’ by 'Rudyard Kipling'.
** For those of you interested, here are Tuco’s credentials at the (20th Level).
• SPECIAL (implants included) – S6, P6, E6, C5, I6, A9, L6
• Key Skills – Barter 50, Explosives 20, Guns 80, Lockpick 62, Melee 75, Repair 85, Sneak 70
• Perks – Action Boy, Agility (implant), And Stay Back, Bug Stomper (3), Built to Destroy -trait, Camarade-E (2) ED-E, Comprehension, Cowboy, Endurance (implant), Enhanced Sensors ED-E, Hand Loader, Kamikaze – trait, Light Touch, Lord Death, Luck (implant), Perception (implant), Rapid Reload, Shotgun Surgeon, Strong Back, Sub-Dermal Armor (implant), Super Slam
CHAPTER 30
"THE BATTLE OF HOPEVILLE"
(The Soldiers of the Crown)
The debris lies thick in the ruined town
There’s blood on the thoroughfare
But the poor ghoul lads of misfortunes’ crown
They neither know nor care *
"THE BATTLE OF HOPEVILLE"
(The Soldiers of the Crown)
The debris lies thick in the ruined town
There’s blood on the thoroughfare
But the poor ghoul lads of misfortunes’ crown
They neither know nor care *
THE STORY SO FAR:
'Hopeville', where ‘the rubber meets the road’. Tuco, armored and armed to the teeth with weaponry and combat enhancing perks, leaves his Imp at the exit to the missile silo, the so called Halls Of The Golden Arrow. He crouches down in the (Stealth) posture and scans the ruined town through the scope of his Trail Carbine, occasionally flicking into VATS, looking for signs of the 'Marked Men', he knows are lurking somewhere in the broken steel and concrete shells of what once were buildings.
His PIP Boy shows two red hash marks to the left, at the Military Head Quarters Building, but directly below either happenstance, 'Ulysses', or the 'Marked Men' has placed a War Head blocking the Women’s Barracks. He makes his decision, takes cover and detonates the 'War Head'!
The so called Women’s Barracks appears empty, except for some ammo and minor loot scattered around. But as Tuco approaches the latrine, he hears the squeal of hinges and the crunch of booted feet behind him. He spins, Trail Carbine at his hip and looking for the red cross hairs as two 'Marked Men' armed with a light machine gun and a rocket launcher storm in. He’s ready, they are not. The cross hairs turn red and he fires from the hip. There’s a hit, but both foes crouch and deploy their weapons … too late! The Carbine is quicker and spits .44 SWC hand loaded death before the pair can unload a return fusillade.
Next up, down the road and past the now empty Armory, the 'Marked Men' have set up a kill zone in front of the Headquarters Building. There’s a sniper on the first floor roof, with elevated backup hidden in the Main Street rubble behind him. To the front, is another lurking in the bastion to the front. The area is littered with the stacked carcasses of old tires and automotive hulks. Tuco cannot approach one without taking fire from the other two. Too much risk for precision shooting here, he’s going to have to jump into the gun-sights of two of them while he targets the other in VATS.
He runs towards the tires, swings his rifle to the Main Street rubble and keys VATS. A sniper in a Decanus helmet is high lit and Tuco squeezes off a series of head shots. A fusillade of gunfire, not all his, erupts, splitting the morning quietude. Tuco is hit several times - leg crippled, but the Decanus helmet erupts in a spray of feathered helm, blood and brains. One down, stim pack and doctor bag time, and two to go! He crouches behind the tires and as the drugs take effect evaluates the tactical situation.
Targeting one’s self to get a shot is not the mark of a skillful hunter such as the Wile E. Coyote. He’s had his lesson in the kill zone. Now he’ll execute a retreat and swing around the sniper in the bastion to take him from behind. Maybe dynamite or a hand grenade could solve this problem. But the 'Marked Men' have other ideas. The rooftop sniper pops up to take a shot and is hit by Tuco with a VATS shot, but two others rush him. He’s crouched behind an over turned army truck, taking 12.7 mm, from the emerging bastion shooter and close in plasma fire from another Decanus helmed assailant. Hot lead and plasma fill the air but the truck deflects and absorbs most of the damage. Tuco takes down the plasma wielding shooter with a VATS snap shot, but his action points are almost expended. He flips to the scope and executes the bastion shooter through the cross hairs. The crisis is over but he is fortunate that neither of his assailants had grenades. He will not be so lucky later when he’s further into the ruins of 'Hopeville'.
The actual HQ Building is anticlimactic, empty, and except for the 20th Century Auto-Doc and an access point to the ancient ‘Commissary ‘ treasure chest unlocked by the Imp on his prior sally into 'Hopeville'.
Tuco uses the Auto-Doc to restore himself to full functionality, has a meal of an MRE and some Purified Water and sets out again to probe the 'Hopeville' ruins. The encounters are similar and their names form a litany of ongoing firefights: the Loading Station, the Basement Cannibal Kitchen, West Entrance, East Entrance, Marked Men Base/Camp/Guard Outpost/Supply Outpost.
It is at the Camp, when Tuco is detonating a 'War Head' from the second story, that a foe charges through the flames and exploding shrapnel and lobs an Incendiary Grenade up into his roost. Too late! No time to run or lob it back!
WOOSH … KERBLAM!
Tuco is ingulfed in flames and instantly 'The Mongol' takes control and all Hell breaks loose! The exploding 'War Head' has stirred the ants nest and suddenly he’s taking fire from six 'Marked Men', one of whom is named Blister and is armed with a Flamer which only incites 'The Mongol' further! Its all Tuco can do is watch his health bar shrink with each slashing and back slashing attack. For 'The Mongol', the infliction of pain and death is the prime imperative and should Tuco perish before the last of the 'Marked Men' falls …. well …. somebody else, either a 'Marked Man' or 'Ulysses' will come along and pick him up so he can continue his vendetta for "Bitter Springs".
When it is over and the last of the 'Marked Men' has found release from his tortured body and peace for his hate afflicted soul Tuco can feel control of his body returning and inhale the breath of life. He’s going to return to the Auto-Doc, summon his Imp, and rest and refurbish. The PIP Boy World Map shows that he’s cleared 'Hopeville', at least for now. He’s already glimpsed another 'War Head' sitting on an army truck at a collapsed overpass tunnel. But the new War Head and the collapsed overpass tunnel are matters for the next chapter.
Thanks for reading buckaroos. Tuco will be back and ready for further action as either the Wile E. Coyote or himself. See you then!
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*Poem paraphrased from “The American Rebellion “ by 'Rudyard Kipling'
CHAPTER 31
THE LAW OF THE PACK
(The Law of the Pack)
Now this is the Law of the Hunting Pack,
as old and true as the sky,
And the One that shall keep it shall prosper,
but the One that shall break it must die.
As the Hunter pursues in the chasing,
The Law runneth forward and back -
For the strength of the Pack is the Hunter,
And the strength of the Hunter the Pack *
THE LAW OF THE PACK
(The Law of the Pack)
Now this is the Law of the Hunting Pack,
as old and true as the sky,
And the One that shall keep it shall prosper,
but the One that shall break it must die.
As the Hunter pursues in the chasing,
The Law runneth forward and back -
For the strength of the Pack is the Hunter,
And the strength of the Hunter the Pack *
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THE STORY SO FAR:
Tuco has cleared 'Hopeville' of the 'Marked Men', and detonated a "War Head", screening what had been a collapsed overpass clogging a highway tunnel heading east. He decides this time to bring the Imp with him, and it is a decision that will nearly cost his life before he leaves that tunnel at the other end.
Inside amid the wrack and ruin, he catches a quick glimpse of a deathclaw scurrying past his field of vision before it disappears behind the hulk of a semi-trailer. Oh Oh! Time to doff his medium weight centurion armor and take advantage of his (Light Touch) Critical Hit perks. This time rather than going for the (General’s Overcoat’s +5 guns) perk, he goes for the Marked Scout Armor for the (+2 Sneak) and (+1 Agility) perk. This will prove to be a decision that will save his life.
As he advances cautiously, the Imp begins emitting scared beeping, and behaving in a tentative and uncertain manner, not a comforting sight but easily explained by the potential presence of a top tier predator like the deathclaw.
Then amid the wreckage of a dumpster, thrown upside down, there’s a flicker of black and glitter motion that vanishes into the tumbled steel and concrete beyond. He looks more closely at the dumpster. There sprawled on the drop leaf door is the body of an NCR trooper. He’d been armed with an H&H Nail-gun – a potent auto fire substitute for a sub-machine gun. There’s mission orders on the body that talk of small, easily overcome bipedal 'Tunnelers'. Oh! Oh Again! He looks inside the dumpster and spies the fresh, still warm corpse of the deathclaw. Its head was missing and there’s no splattering of blood. Whatever had killed and beheaded the deathclaw had drank its blood!
His child of the wild coyote senses go on full alert screaming …. DANGER! His ('Sneak') skills on ‘Full’, the shotgun deployed – no bird shot here, hand load or not, it’s full up 20 gauge magnum for maximum hitting power. The Bowie Knife for ‘last gasp’ slashing if his ammo or action points run dry. The blade glows an evil blue in the twilit tunnel. The coyote is a stalker, a snatcher of easy prey but not a fang, tooth and claw brawler. Let the deathclaw’s killer be! The coyote will just sneak on by, no need to trouble whatever lurks in the tunnel.
Suddenly the Imp beeps in panic, the air is lit by its on-board arc welder. A black, scaled, fanged and clawed humanoid with glowing eyes, is caught in the Imp’s lightning bolt – arcs, sparks and a glowing ash pile. The noise and death throes of the creature flow over, around and through the piles of wrecks and rubble and are heard by other ears … 'hungry ears'.
Slowly, softly … keep your back to the wall … stay high so they can’t mob you. OH, @#$%^! THE IMP GIVES THE GAME AWAY AGAIN!
The battle rages, the Imp is battered into an unrecognizable lump of wreckage and decides to stay hidden there amid the junkyard flotsam and jetsam. Tuco scrambles, turns fights, snatches at stim packs and antivenom, and runs again. Towards the exit, always towards the exit.
And the Pack? The last uninjured hunter corners the desperate, snarling coyote. It’s meat for the Pack back in the den or a long and hungry night! Fang and claw versus the glowing blade of the Bowie Knife! A claw rakes a ‘No Parking’ sign on the ramshackle armor but his blade bites deep across the scaly midriff. Guts spill out … Tuco strikes again … and again … and AGAIN!
As the 'hunter' dies the survivors of the pack shuffle close. There will be meat for the den tonight.
And last, at long last, Tuco stumbles to the exit.
Tuco has cleared ‘The Halls of the Golden Arrow', Hopeville, and this Tunnel of Terrors'. He has to be wondering what is next. And if there isn’t a spot upcoming with an Auto-Doc and Commissary Treasure Chest will the Tunnel and 'Hopeville' still be clear for the way back? Well buckaroos clean your guns and bring in more ammunition. That 'Ulysses' varmint is still lurking about somewhere ahead.
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*Poem paraphrased from “The Law of the Jungle” by 'Rudyard Kipling'.
CHAPTER 32
VISIONS OF OZYMANDIAS AND VERTIGO:
Ozymandias: I met a traveler from an antique land,
Who said—“Two vast and trunk less legs of stone
Stand in the desert. . . . Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed
And on the pedestal, these words appear
My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings
Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away. *
VISIONS OF OZYMANDIAS AND VERTIGO:
Ozymandias: I met a traveler from an antique land,
Who said—“Two vast and trunk less legs of stone
Stand in the desert. . . . Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed
And on the pedestal, these words appear
My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings
Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away. *
THE STORY SO FAR:
As Tuco leaves the collapsed tunnel, he’s once again challenged by the 'Marked Men'. There’s two this time, but it’s the Imp that draws their reaction – an old and hated enemy perhaps buried somewhere in the circuitry housed in a shell of alloyed metal. Easy, too easy the killing when they’re concentrating on the Imp!
And then there’s just the Imp and 'Ulysses' speaking through it.
He’s crazy! Talks in riddles – riddles and roads leading nowhere! What is this poor lil’ coyote doing here? Hell – I’ve got a nuclear weapon ready to sell for millions back in the silo and 'Benny' is somewhere in Vegas doing whatever with that 'chip'. Maybe it’s time to saddle up and head back – all I can see here are ruins, ruins and more ruins. Big city that, skyscrapers n’ freeways turned to trash n’skeletons. Thanks but no thanks 'Ulysses'.
BUT WAIT! … if I hadn’t taken the Lady’s advice and gone through the canyon wreck I wouldn’t have any of it … the missile and such. Plus, there’s the bullet and the grave in 'Goodsprings'. I still owe you for that 'Ulysses'. Maybe those 'Marked Men' owe that loony bastard too! Maybe some allies to help. Sooo … what to do about armor. For 'Marked Men', take the Centurion armor, to drop the difficulty and add to the DT. Later, if there is one, go to the light stuff for the ('Light Touch’) perk.
He’s set, but this time he’s not going to make the mistake of taking the Imp with him … the @##$$%^ little traitor almost got him killed in the tunnel. He thinks about attaching a stick of long fused dynamite to it but he only has 1 stick left and the dynamite is too valuable.
It’s just as well … there’s a Commissary Truck up ahead on the broken freeway. The Imp knows the word ‘SESAME’ to crack it open. Well … okay … he brings the Imp up … to open the old 20th Century treasure chest and make some ammo. That being done he hoists his trail carbine and gives the Imp instructions to stay and heads down the High Road.
Up ahead one demolished building has fallen across the road to rest against another, slightly less demolished remains of what had once probably been an office building. There on the roadway in front of the incongruous drunken pair, sits another of the so called faux nuclear warheads. @#$%^% n 'Ulysses' again! Plus his PIP Boy is showing red hash mark warnings. A 'Marked Man' with an Arc Welder, dashes forward and Tuco nails him through the cross hairs of his carbine mounted scope.
OH NO! Another 'Marked Man' perched up on a girder in the wreckage, nails Tuco with a flamer … ITS "MONGOL" TIME! The Action is about to get very violent and very bloody.
This is bad – he’s injured and the background radiation around the structures has accumulated to a point close to radiation poisoning. It’s the @#$%^# 'warhead'. He’s seen this before. Got to destroy the 'warhead' to knock out the radiation. He starts to climb back down the girder but slips and falls at least two or three stories worth of altitude to the roadway below. His leg is broken – gritting his teeth and fighting to remain conscious he aims the Laser Detonator and squeezes the trigger!
Now it’s the Doctor Bag and Stim Packs. Then back up into the wreckage and along the girder to where the sniper had been perched. Scurrying along the girders and broken concrete slabs he should have made an ideal target for any 'Marked Man' with a weapon, but the wind was a torrent of dust and debris which must have obscured him from any prying eyes. There, overlooking the wrack and ruined city was a well provisioned roost … a sniper’s paradise… a Crow’s Nest of malevolent opportunity.
And the Crow himself, a body in Riot gear draped over a vantage point … dead. A moot point as to who or what had killed him for dead he was.
And well provisioned the nest was. A pair of first aid kits, a sniper’s rifle and the miscellaneous paraphernalia of a well-equipped sniper along with a cleverly hidden satchel charge booby trap rewarded Tuco for his efforts.
He leaned out into the open space, pushing the momentary dizziness and vertigo from his awareness and looked at the ruined thoroughfare, so many stories down and the broken bridge above it littered with truck and automotive wreckage that added a bit of color to the drab and depressing scenery.
The High Road! The Lonesome Road! How many more battles, how many more violent deaths? And he hadn’t yet encountered the deathclaws and hunting 'Tunneler' packs mentioned by 'Ulysses'. Yes, buckaroo’s the forecast is for more excitement and daring-do before Tuco finds 'Ulysses' for the big showdown. Stay tuned!
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*Poem “Ozymandias” by 'Percy Bysshe Shelley'.
CHAPTER 33
LOST IN THE CITY OF GODS AND GIANTS:
(Mirage)
The Courier continues walking, uncertainties grip His mind.
Destiny follows after Him; He’s running out of time.
The ruins have him spellbound, awed and confused.
Might as well go on, what does He have to lose? *
LOST IN THE CITY OF GODS AND GIANTS:
(Mirage)
The Courier continues walking, uncertainties grip His mind.
Destiny follows after Him; He’s running out of time.
The ruins have him spellbound, awed and confused.
Might as well go on, what does He have to lose? *
THE STORY SO FAR:
Tuco clambers down from the Crow’s Nest, to the so-called High Road, and stares in awe at the soaring, looping remnants of sky borne steel and concrete structures that once had borne the life’s blood of commerce for this city, mighty beyond his post-nuclear imagination.
And there on the highway, at perhaps a quarter mile of wrecks and ruination, is the green olive drab of an army truck, and on its bed another missile nose cone. Best to blast it now! Those war heads leak radiation … could complicate matters if there’s another fire fight with the 'Marked Men'.
But it’s not 'Marked Men' aroused by the exploding 'warhead'. As the shrapnel falls and the fireball fades into the weather wracked background, a full-grown death claw emerges and quickly ‘zeroes in’ on the source of the disturbance: the Wile E. Coyote!
Can his Winchester trail carbine stop the charging behemoth even with the .44 SWC Hand Load ammo? It’s an unknown variable and he cannot afford to be wrong. He’s learned to trust his Coyote Cap (‘too cool for school’) lever action 20 gauge Chippa 1887 shot gun knock off backed up by the (‘Shotgun Surgeon’) and the (‘And Stay Back’) perks.
BLAM! … Click-Klack … BLAM! … Click-Klack … BLAM! … Click-Klack … BLAM! … Click-Klack … BLAM!
He sets the red cross hairs on the charging rendition of Death personified and empties the magazine! Three quarters of a ton of charging Death-claw is jerked off its feet and into the air, hurled by a 20 Gauge Magnum fist, over the remains of the concrete guard wall and down two, three or perhaps more stories off of the elevated surface of the High Road to the junkyard surface below.
Reload first then think! A death claw means no 'Marked Men', lest any left alive. Time to shift into light weight armor for the (‘Light Touch’) perk. The only light weight armor in his current inventory are the 'General’s Overcoat' with the ('+5 guns') perk and the Vault 3 Jumpsuit with the ('Repair and Lock-picking') perks. It’s no contest in his current situation – and he quickly dons the general’s coat.
Next up, proceed cautiously down the road. First off, there’s a trailer here just begging to have a ‘look see’ for any valuables. He enters the trailer and …
UH .. OH! OH! The trailer structure shudders and groans as a three quarter ton weight settles on the roof. A brown, leathery form is briefly glimpsed through a grimy opening that once was a window, claws scrabble on the aluminum skin and suddenly a death-claw bursts in through the opening that once held the trailer door.
No time for thought! The ‘claw hurls down the length of the interior, the Chippa 1887 shotgun comes up, swings the red cross hair between the toothy jaws and …
BLAM! … Click-Klack
The fiend’s head dissolves in a splatter of blood and brains as the monster is hurled backwards along the trailer’s length.
And another one down! But his PIP Boy shows another red hash! Is the monster up there on the ruined clover leaf above the trailer? Or is it further down the High Road? Does he dare step out the exit?
Slowly, cautiously he approaches the exit. His PIP Boy says he is hidden. He eases out. The PIP Boy does not flash the red ‘Caution’ or ‘Danger’ warnings. He is safe at least for the minute. He looks up at the clover leaf above the trailer and then swings his gaze down the road. The warning hash indicates that the death-claw is somewhere up ahead. He checks the shotgun load, 5 shells full up. Here on the roadway, the distances are long and the range and scope of his Winchester Model 1873 trail carbine would be better life insurance. After making the switch he advances down the High Road and soon enough he’s at the Ruined Highway Interchange.
Up ahead there’s a dumpster with the drop leaf open … a 'Marked Man' shelter maybe from pre-death-claw days, and a semi-truck trailer. Still the PIP Boy shows the danger hash glowing red straight ahead. It may be further back or close and screened by the trailers. And then – in a lightning rush of clawed feet over pavement the monster closes and then clears the remaining distance in a blinding leap. The trail carbine goes up but there’s no time to aim the cross hairs – its VATS or DIE.
Ker-Wap! … Click-Klack! The first shot connects and bloodies the beast’s head but doesn’t stop the charge!
Ker-Wap! … Click-Klack! … Ker-Wap! … Click-Klack! … Ker-Wap! The ('Action Boy') perk and ('level 9 Agility') enable the extra life-saving shots from the doughty carbine. The death-claw goes down and the Wile E. Coyote lives to tell another tale.
Reload – the Winchester Model 1873 trail carbine has done its job and stopped the death-claw in the nick of time. Now he checks out the dumpster, nothing but a duffel there, but in the semi-trailer he finds a place to sleep, a hoard of skill magazines, and useful survivor loot. There’s no sign of the former occupant, and gets a good nights sleep and restores his health.
He leaves the trailer and the Imp suddenly arrives, playing a recording of a prewar dialog with 'Dr. Whitley', Duraframe assets, and "ED-E instructed to run off and be like Ralphie".
Suddenly Tuco’s PIP Boy flashes another warning. It’s a death-claw silhouette against the shadow of another overturned truck, a distance away. A lucky scoped shot from the trusty Winchester and the death-claw goes down, never to rise again.
The High Road ends ahead in a collapsed tunnel, but the Interchange still has a road peeling off and heading into the hills towards what the PIP Boy maps, indicates is the Ashton Silo Control Station. A billboard proclaiming the area to be ‘On Silo Ground’ confirms the map. Is this the terminus of 'Ulysses’ so-called Lonesome Road? But there are so many pillars supporting sections of roadway arcing off in so many different directions that who’s to say what might be found where?
A few broken buildings, the Junction 7 Rest Stop, beneath the giant concrete toadstools and another of 'Ulysses' toy 'warheads' draws his attention. Intentional? Maybe, but all Tuco finds is an open air ammo bench, a few items and three PIP Boy warning hash markings, indicating a small but hungry pack of 'Tunnelers'. He catches a quick glimpse, they’re looking more lost in the daylight than predatory.
No contest this. He finds a perch on a second store ledge of the remains of the junction rest stop. Ker-Wap! … Click-Klack! A 'Tunneler' dies on the ground below. There’s still two warning hash marks on his PIP Boy. A foot scuffs the warped Junction flooring behind him. Close this, he switches to his Coyote Cap 20 gauge shotgun, manages a silent turn on the narrow ledge, and BLAM! … Click-Klack! Another black clawed monstrosity is hurled across the floor to the opposite wall. It doesn’t move again.
There’s one hash left on his PIP Boy … NO! WAIT! … Two more hash marks appear, but they’re on a different part of his compass. More 'Tunnelers'? Inquisitive death-claws? What to do?
Coyotes do not remain paralyzed by sudden changes in circumstance and Tuco is no exception. The one hash must be a remaining 'Tunneler' hiding on the ground below, the other two change position wildly and erratically. He concludes that they must be somewhere above, perhaps on one of the roadway segments, perched on the forest of cement and re-bar supports, that litter the inappropriately named ‘Ruined Highway Interchange’.
Okay, he’ll drop to the ground with his shotgun, and deal with the lone 'Tunneler' lurking in the Rest Stop ruins. EZEE-PEEZEY, to stalk when there’s only one of … the hash vanishes … and then appears behind him. In the Rest Stop building? He goes back in … nothing. He turns to exit via the doorway and … SLASH … a long, black scaled arm with a huge clawed hand rips through the air just inches from his face!
YEAHHhhh!
BLAM! … Click-Klack … BLAM! …Click-Klack … BLAM! … Click-Klack … BLAM! … Click-Klack
The barrel of the ('Coyote Cap ‘too cool for school’) lever action 20 gauge Chippa 1887 shot gun knock off still smokes, and the magazine is empty. And so too is Tuco Ramirez completely drained and empty – the Wile E. Coyote of pre-war fame and legend is gone - at least until he recovers from this ‘Near Death’ experience.
Somewhere in one of the ruined buildings is a refrigerator stalked with booze and he needs a drink, or two, or maybe three. The other two PIP Boy hash marks point out foes up on the roadways. They can wait! The old coyote knows where they are. Maybe tomorrow he’ll climb up and pay his respects.
Well, well, buckaroos! Those 'Tunneler' varmints have almost done Tuco in twice now. And what about that "ED-E" Imp a playing at being Ralphie, and the two PIP Boy blips up there where the billboard claims ‘Silo Land’. Can’t wait to see what dire things and derring – do’s await in the next chapter. Until then!
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*Poetry paraphrased from the poem “Roads and Paths” by the Poet calling herself ‘Twelve Noon’. The original is moving and inspirational in a very different and positive way then this fan fiction – well worth checking out if the words about the Courier seem to fit your life’s current situation.
**Death Quotes from ”Night Thoughts” by 'Edward Young'.
CHAPTER 34
DEAD MEN’S TALES
(Stories and Epitaphs)
O how you had talked before
Those Marked Men were shot,
But who can talk of give and take,
Of what to be or not
While the dead are a loitering there
To stir the boiling pot?*
DEAD MEN’S TALES
(Stories and Epitaphs)
O how you had talked before
Those Marked Men were shot,
But who can talk of give and take,
Of what to be or not
While the dead are a loitering there
To stir the boiling pot?*
THE STORY SO FAR:
Tuco spends the night at the Junction 7 Rest Stop and the first signs of dawn begins climbing the slope up to the remains of the so-called High Road and the collapsed tunnel. He probes west along the crumbling tarmac, and as the sun begins to rise, spots the silhouettes of two death-claws against the wreckage on either side of the roadway. As he focuses on these, he notes that the red ‘pips’ on his PIP Boy compass line up exactly to the front,
BINGO!
Motionless, unaware targets at a maybe slightly over 100 yard or so range, are easy head shots in the cross hairs of the ancient but still reliable Bushnell scope and the .44 SWC Hand Load cartridge.
Ker-Wap! … Click-Klack! … One goes down! … Ker-Wap! … Click-Klack! … The other one bites the dust!
Two perfect head shots. Tuco congratulates himself, glad that yesterday’s harrowing experience with that 'Tunneler', hadn’t dulled his shooting skills. With these potential threats neutralized, he uses his Bowie knife to collect the right hands (never the left, which would be cheating) and then turns east to probe the canyon road leading into ‘Silo Ground’.
The airborne dust particles reflect the sunlight between the canyon walls making visibility difficult. He walks into a roadside satchel charge near the red hulk of a fire engine, and takes crippling explosive damage for his carelessness. Stim packs and a Doctors bag, restore him to health and lighten his carry weight but he is not happy. Hidden satchel charge traps require a human intelligence … 'Marked Men' or 'Ulysses'! Best to drop the General’s overcoat and go to the medium weight Centurion’s Armor for the Game-play difficulty perk against the 'Marked Men'.
From there forward he is cautious, and decides to leave the road and traverse the canyon via a ledge of rocky outcroppings. A good move that quickly pays off as he spots trap after trap, concealed in the debris littering the road.
He comes to the remains of a wrecked stone block building bearing the curious 'Stars and Stripe’ symbol he’s been encountering since 'Hopeville', painted on a ruined wall. Sometimes they indicated loot or something to see, sometimes their significance eluded him - whatever! He’s got more to think about! He drops down into the ('Sneak') mode and instantly the PIP Boy ‘Caution’ warning appears, mostly yellow but occasionally flashing red. This is not the time to rush into the unknown. He drops back down onto the road’s verge and rubble, and slowly edges forward to get a look at what if anything is going on behind the building’s shell.
He spies an intact looking blue disposal truck with another ‘Stars and Stripes’ symbol on a sign tipped against the back of the bed.
There’s a cross street and looking down it, he spies a death-claw lying in the street and beside it what looks to be the body of a 'Marked Man'. His Pip Boy flashes three red ‘blips’ to emphasize the cautionary warning and …. @#$%^% … an armored figure explodes out of one of the curious beehive concrete structures and charges past the gigantic body of the death-claw, wielding a chainsaw. Tuco swings the shotgun up to bring the red crosshairs to bear.
BLAM! … Click-Klack … BLAM! …Click-Klack … BLAM! … Click-Klack!
At the third shot the figure staggers. Tuco sees that it’s a named character: 'Bonesaw'. Then the fourth pattern of 20 gauge Magnum shot hits home and the figure drops and his PIP Boy tells Tuco that he’s just been awarded the ‘Marked Perk’.
But it’s not over yet! ‘That’s nice’, he thinks of his new perk, just as another 'Marked Man' opens up with a shoulder mounted machine gun. Suddenly he’s taking fire, the PIP Boy warning flashes a belated =‘RED’ DANGER=, as 10mm bullets spray the rubble and ricochet off in all directions. Tuco scans the ruins and leans out to return fire and catches a burst that leaves him crippled and near death even with the auto inject stim pack.
OH NO!
He scrambles back behind the concrete block corner of one of the ruined buildings. His PIP Boy shows two ‘blips’, they are separating going in opposite directions to take him from two sides. There’s nothing for it … Doctor Bag, stim pack, sarsaparilla and more … much more … every Mojave succulent lurking in his inventory awaiting some Survival recipe … anything and then some!
It’s no good! One or the other or both will have him in view and ‘LOCKED AND LOADED’ before he’s healed enough to … Oh YEAH …. STEALTH BOY! … he’s still got two in his inventory. He fumbles around in his inventory as combat boots crunch the cement chips and gravel on the asphalt tarmac roadway. His shaking fingers grab one and he carefully sets the shotgun down to slide the unit onto his right wrist.
The little Stealth Boy hums into life reflecting the dust motes and sunlight from his right side to his left, making him almost an almost invisible shimmering, like sweat does to the human eye in brightly lit conditions. Quickly, quietly he reclaims his shot gun and uses every one of his ('70 skill points') in ('SNEAK[') to slowly and quietly ease out of the danger zone. Later, after the Stealth Boy has served its life saving purpose, he will shift to this trusty scope and trail carbine and even the score.
He carefully extricates himself back towards the highway intersection. And waits until the Stealth Boy shuts down. It’s late afternoon and the light is starting to fade and he carefully makes his way forward to where the death-claw and the 'Marked Men' lay. A 'Marked Man' Scout spots him and opens fire, but he’s standing in the open and Tuco raises his trusty trail carbine and easily centers his head in the cross hairs of the scope.
Ker-Wap! … Click-Klack!
A machine gun opens up from the second ‘floor’, of the leaning concrete walls, that had once framed a large multi story building, one that possibly housed offices and other base facilities. His eyes tracked the tracer bullets back to their source and again the cross hairs of the Bushnel scope center on a 'Marked Man’s' forehead.
Ker-Wap! … Blam ...Click-Klack! And another goes down!
Inside the building shell he collects items of use and also finds an Ammo Bench, which he uses to breakdown unneeded ammo and hand load .44 and 20 gauge replacements. Still, the haul is not that impressive and he leaves to scout for additional opportunities. Following the road to the south, he spots an olive drab army truck and on the ground nearby another of 'Ulysses' war head surprises. All right, based on his past experience it’s either guarding something or there to lure him into a trap. He backs off into a sheltered position and uses the Laser Detonator.
The usual explosion and fireball erupted, kicking up dirt, rock and more dust and exposing the opening of a large hollow in the hillside. AH-HA! THAT”S MORE LIKE IT! A skeleton, human, and three lead lined brief cases filled with high end medical and anti-radiation goodies. Now the only thing left to do before he moves on, is to satisfy his curiosity about the beehive shaped personal concrete block shelters he’s encountered here and at 'Hopeville'.
He stops at a shelter and hears a humming in his ears, tinnitus maybe? He pulls away and it stops. Gets close to the crude concrete block structure and the humming returns. He steps inside and a psychic shock, as a memory not his own, brushes the edge of his consciousness: “Salgado … yes I was ... Jorge … in Flagstaff … before 'Caesar', before the bomb … I remember …"
He steps back, and approaches another – the same thing. The humming different but still the same. Inside, once again the soft psychic shock “ … Cochise … hot … Travis … yes …Travis Stout … 'Caesar’s' decani … before …”
Memories! Memories of men before the horrible skin flaying winds and radiation that tore the Divide. The names and memories of men he had killed … made up close and personal by those simple beehive shelters. Memories and more!
--------------------00--------------------
In this Divide the dry winds blow
And flay our bodies, row on row
What marks our place, and in the sky
The glow still hungry, ignores our cry
Scarce heard upon the ground below
We are the Marked, short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
On the Lonesome Road beneath the sky **
--------------------00--------------------
In this Divide the dry winds blow
And flay our bodies, row on row
What marks our place, and in the sky
The glow still hungry, ignores our cry
Scarce heard upon the ground below
We are the Marked, short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
On the Lonesome Road beneath the sky **
--------------------00--------------------
There’s power in a name. Carried on the winds of fate, a name once used can change the destiny cast by Lady Luck on some future roll of her dice. He makes a note. He knows somehow, that he is entitled to just two names and two chances. The other names and other shelters are not for him. At least not for this time.
Its time to move on. The highway ended in a chain link fence with warning signs about a military installation, and a prohibition about photography. Inside, were the remains of the reinforced concrete walls and ceiling of the silo control room and an armored door giving access to the silo interior. A control console, stood against the remains of the far wall, and an observation window that looked out onto an open area, surrounding a massive bivalve steel door whose purpose, given that this was a silo similar to the one in 'Hopeville', to open and eject another American War God at some unnamed and unknown Communist Foe. Or aimed at what, if not some long dead Commie @#$%^%$ Target?
He catches a swatch of motion in his peripheral vision. It’s the "Imp" suddenly returned from where it had been left on the Lonesome road.
Does the "Imp" ‘bleep’ a word of explanation or an ‘Gee! Am I glad to see you Master’? NO!
Suspicious, given that the console controls were locked – probably had been for more than 200 years - and just now an "Imp" - maybe not even the same one he’d left outside the tunnel - suddenly appears and ‘KER-ZAP’ unlocks it!
'Ulysses', what the @#$%$# have you done? What’s the matter? No guts to throw away thousands of caps worth of a real missile with a nuke warhead?
No! No! Wait!
If you knew the controls you could be King of the Mojave! The 'NCR', 'Caesar', 'Mr. House' – they all would have to bow and kiss your ‘rosy lil’♥♥♥♥♥♥’ or you’d drop … no you’d send … ‘Mister Ashton the Missile’ with a Special Nuclear Delivery.
No! No! Wait Again!
You don’t know the controls or you’d of done it – you murdering @#$%^%$#. And what about the "Imp"? Maybe you kin talk through it, but you can’t control it! Am I right or what? Yeah! So who controls what? Yeah maybe a long dead leader pointing ‘Mister Ashton the Missile’ at some other dead leader, but not really counting on pulling the trigger … HUH? Maybe the whole thing is what Lady Luck called it …. ‘Russian Roulette’ with Missiles and Nukes?
With the words ‘Russian Roulette’ Tuco gets himself caught up in a maelstrom of conflicting emotions: Frustration! Fear! Helplessness! Anger! Culminating in …
RAGE! RED INSENSATE RAGE!
He grabs and yanks the silo’s trigger!
So this here lil’ ole Coyote says ‘LET’S FIND OUT!’
The floor trembles beneath his feet. Gears break their dry, rusty bearings free … and turn, jerky at first but with an increasing determination, as the silo’s murder machine stirs and wakens.
The massive steel flaps of the Silo’s doors, move jerkily but relentlessly open.
And then … 'IGNITION' …. an ungodly eruption of combustion and poisonous smoke past the doors. Earthquake ground and air … 'POWER' and the promise of 'VIOLENT DEATH'!
Too late! ‘Mister Ashton the Missile’, rises from the hellish fiery smoke of the silo. But he loses speed as he gains altitude. Something is wrong! There’s no explosive separation of missile stages or the war head! He tips, the warhead pointed down and 'EXPLODES'. There is an air borne mushroom cloud … a smoke and flaming shock wave and more radiation for the abrasive, soul scouring winds of the Divide.
Tuco exhales his held breath in huge sigh. Just an ‘every day’ explosion of tons of rocket fuel and a nuclear bomb in the sky. The chamber in the Russian Roulette revolver’s cylinder had been loaded.
No sooner than the echoes of that vast sky borne explosion die away then the "Imp" ‘explodes’ with the familiar voice of Dr. Whitley telling the "Imp" to fly far, fly fast to a place called 'Navarro' and a group called the 'Enclave'.
“Hold on there Pardner!” Tuco barks out. “Leave us just unpack your inventory. Some of that stuff you’re carrying is mine.”
Wow! It’s hopeless … too much plunder, too much useful stuff. He stocks up on the essential ingredients and parts for the Ammo Bench, and a couple of damaged spares for the Bowie Knife and Scout Armor. He did add one item of possible extraneous value for the Hardcore Mode, the Roughin’ It! Bedroll Kit.
Now it was time to say ‘Adios Amigo’ to the "Imp", and venture into the silo to see if there was anything further left to accomplish on the "Lonesome Road" and beyond. And that’s all for now buckaroos! This old timer has done tired himself out with the telling.Time to retire to 'Trudy’s Saloon' n’ wet the ole whistle. Also time to clean the guns n’ sharpen 'The Mongol' and Mister Bowie’s knife too. Till next time.
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*Paraphrased from the poem ‘Sixteen Dead Men’ by 'William Butler Yeats'.
** Paraphrased from the poem ‘In Flanders Fields’ by 'John McCrae'.
CHAPTER 35
THE MONGOL’S RAMPAGE
(The Mongol's Recompense)
'The Mongol' felt the sudden blow of the glowing wind’s hot breath
And watched the nameless 'Marked Men' walk the roads of Death
He saw Ashton’s silo’s gape, an abyss in the gloom
And drank the Blood of the Tunnel Folk who guarded the Doors of Doom *
THE MONGOL’S RAMPAGE
(The Mongol's Recompense)
'The Mongol' felt the sudden blow of the glowing wind’s hot breath
And watched the nameless 'Marked Men' walk the roads of Death
He saw Ashton’s silo’s gape, an abyss in the gloom
And drank the Blood of the Tunnel Folk who guarded the Doors of Doom *
THE STORY SO FAR:
Somehow Tuco felt that “Adios Amigo” would not be the end of his relationship with the "Imp" despite its recorded ‘fly far, fly fast … to Navarro’ farewell pep talk with Dr. Whitley. BUT … was it smart to send all that inventory off to Navarro before he knew what he might be up against?
He checked the PIP Boy map. Bad News! It looked like "Mister Ashton the Missile', had detonated himself over the 'Hopeville' Silo Bunker Entrance and the Canyon Wreckage. He was trapped! No way out but forward through that armored door to the Ashton Silo Lift.
The Wile E. Coyote, tells the "Imp" to STAY! Works the release on the silo door and steps inside. Different than 'Hopeville', bigger, radioactive, a tracked personnel lift descending towards a rectangular opening, that is occasionally obscured by fiery explosions. Worse, dropping down from the ceiling are a pair of 'Tunnelers'.
Hey! Those little #$%^^& are fast and tough. The coyote has already had enough of them to last a lifetime. He exits the silo but the 'Tunnelers' follow … @#$%$^ … he deploys his shotgun but the "Imp" shoots first …. electric bolts, arcs and sparks and the 'Tunnelers' lie dead on the silo’s apron.
GOD BLESS ELECTROCUTION!
What to do? Tunnelers, radiation and fiery explosions. How to turn this to his advantage?
Firstly, take the "Imp", an obvious combat asset especially since the word (‘SNEAK’) does not appear to be part of the silo’s vocabulary.
Secondly, fire … if he removes his Authority glasses, he opens himself up to Chance’s Curse. 'The Mongol'. Not as damaging is the Bowie Knife, or guns and stim packs could be hard to access in almost the non-stop combat, BUT 'The Mongol’s' deadly combat efficiency could outweigh the disadvantages.
And third – armor. The 'Marked Men' had (Tribal Armor DT 10, Melee +2 and Strength +10) that would be a definite asset in a brawl with the 'Tunnelers'. The (1st Recon Beret +1 Perception, +5 Critical Chance) was a toss-up with the (Beast Face Helmet DT 3, +3 Melee, +2 Critical Chance). Take both but start with the helmet.
And the Battle of The Lift, was an agonizing saga of 'Tunnelers' climbing the lift sides or dropping down around him, and the lift deck being swept with fire in time with the explosions wracking the silo, but helping to kill the 'Tunnelers'. The armor held and 'The Mongol' reveled in 'Tunneler' blood. And when it was over Tuco stopped to loot the bodies of their valuable hides and the Cave Fungus to augment his healing and radiation removal supply.
Another armored door – to Ashton Silo level 1. A chance to recuperate – an Auto Doc – and refit – another access point to the Commissary – and all guarded by a single sentry robot. Then down to the Launch Deck via Ashton Silo level 2. A secured maintenance closet full of the raw materials for the manufacture of Weapon Repair Kits and then down to Level 3 and then the last descent into the still burning wreckage at the launch pad’s base.
But Tuco and his "Imp" are not the only ones skulking about in the flames and wreckage. They are spotted by two more 'Tunnelers'. The fight is brief, the slashing 'Mongol', still drunk on the heady essence of 'Tunneler' blood and the electric blue sizzling bolts of electricity, make short work of the other intruders. A short distance ahead is a blank concrete wall with a normal, unarmored door that opens into the basement of the Sunstone Tower in Ashton.
And the Sunstone Tower – all in ruin, save for a stairway leading up through brief intersecting hallways as he passed through what had once been a floor. And 'Tunnelers'? Oh my yes – the stairway and its halls a regular infestation. Tuco could have easily shifted to his (‘too cool for school’) shotgun and perhaps the suit of genuine U.S. Army Combat Armor he’s acquired in the Silo, but he stayed with the Tribal armor and only shifted over to the Bowie Knife when it became apparent that there would be no fires here to entice 'The Mongol'.
Again the stairway ended in a normal door that opened onto the tower roof in beautiful downtown Ashton. But that will be a story for another chapter. So take a big breath cowboys and gals and relax … well after you’ve cleaned your revolvers and honed your knives … a circling buzzard looking ahead from his altitude tells me that the next chapter is going to be a real doozy!
Until next time!
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*Poem paraphrased from “Recompense” by 'Robert E. Howard', the father of Sword and Sorcery Literature:R.I.P.
CHAPTER 36
DOWNTOWN GUNFIGHT
(The Gun Fighter)
Gunpowder and cordite hang in the air,
There is no time to whisper a prayer.
Tensions thick, bullets flying,
A time for killing...A time for dying.
Pools of blood flood the ground,
Wounded and dying all around.
Staccato firing deafens the ears,
A state of ultimate exile,
Ultimate fears.
When the gunfights over, the gunman looks around,
He doesn’t speak, head hanging down.
Every day and every night,
That's what it’s like in an old gunfight. *
DOWNTOWN GUNFIGHT
(The Gun Fighter)
Gunpowder and cordite hang in the air,
There is no time to whisper a prayer.
Tensions thick, bullets flying,
A time for killing...A time for dying.
Pools of blood flood the ground,
Wounded and dying all around.
Staccato firing deafens the ears,
A state of ultimate exile,
Ultimate fears.
When the gunfights over, the gunman looks around,
He doesn’t speak, head hanging down.
Every day and every night,
That's what it’s like in an old gunfight. *
THE STORY SO FAR:
It’s night time when Tuco emerges onto the roof of the Sunstone Tower in the ruins of downtown Ashton. He tries to slam the door behind him to keep the "Imp" from following. The "Imp" was a killer, yes, and took out more than his share of 'Tunneler’s' on the lift and in the silo and stairway but still there is an element of a thing called ‘Trust’ that was lacking here.
Just who was his hovering traveling companion working for?
His trust in his hovering companion was further eroded when 'Ulysses' began speaking again through the "Imp".
Riddles, roads to nowhere, the Divide and Blame! Oh yeah tons of Blame. Tuco, bearer of nukes, lord of destruction. @#$%^%$ shut up already 'Ulysses'! I’ll show you Nuclear blame when I get to your doorstep and light the fuse!
Flares suddenly shoot up from the darkness surrounding the tower’s roof into the night sky. A warning to 'Ulysses' and his 'Marked Men' that Tuco had arrived?
Well SCREW that! He unrolls the (Roughin’ It)! Bedroll Kit he acquired from a concrete shelter in the Ashton base ruins. He’ll treat himself to a good night’s sleep and tackle the descent to the Divide in daylight. He tells the "Imp" to ‘Wait Here’ even though he knows it doesn’t guarantee that it won’t suddenly disappear and then reappear at some inopportune moment.
In the morning he changes the (Tribal medium weight armor) for the (Marked Scout Armor) to get the (‘Light Touch’) ('Critical Chance') Perk and the (Marked Scout Armor) for the (6 DT the +2 Sneak and the +1 Agility). And tells the "Imp" again to ‘Wait Here’ for emphasis.
First thing he sees the "Stars n’ Stripes" logo painted on the cliff and grunts in admiration at 'Ulysses’ shameless audacity in painting his "Stars n’ Stripes" insignia to point out the obvious as if the old coyote was some naïve country bumpkin.
He checks his PIP Boy and sees at least six red warning ‘blips’, in the display on his left forearm. Sneaks to the very edge of the rooftop cornice and looks down onto what was left of downtown Ashton. He can’t believe what he sees.
He deploys his binoculars for a closer look to confirm what he thinks he’s seeing. YES! A campfire and three of those beehive concrete block shelters, complete with at least two of the 'Marked Men' lounging around a central campfire next to an un-exploded War Head!
Heh! Heh! He takes the Laser Detonator from his inventory and sights along the muzzle gun sight to the War Head, in the remains and wreckage of the downtown street far below. He’ll give them a wake up call to remember!
KER-BLAM! The war head explodes, scattering fire, smoke and shrapnel loaded debris across the campsite. As the explosion and its aftermath die away, his binoculars disclose at least one broken body sprawled out on the trash and ruins of the pavement.
THANK YOU LADY LUCK! THAT’S ONE LESS BULLET I’LL HAVE TO SPEND!
With that last exclamation he begins his descent, like a cockroach skittering down an old, dented and bent metal garbage can. The struts, spars and braces of a fallen antenna, provide a precarious path while on his left forearm his PIP Boy continues to broadcast more warning blips. He stays in ('Sneak mode'), cautious and alert for the slightest rasp of metal giving way, or sudden motion that could send him tumbling to an eternal rest as an ornament to the foolishness of skyscraping without climbing gear.
He passes graffiti that someone with a brush and buckets of paint had left, probably that braggart 'Ulysses' showing off again. There are empty window frames and holes blown through the thick concrete buttress. They’d probably been blown out by an explosion that had gutted the bowels of the tower’s interior, traveling up a stairwell on its horrific path. He sees another of 'Ulysses' "Stars and Stripes" logos that marks an executive’s status, corner office complete with wall safe and minor stashes of loot and ammo. Somehow 'Ulysses' had even managed to rig a balcony from which to survey the scene below.
Tuco, crawls into one of the blasted holes and scuttles down the stairwell, flight after flight after flight of torn, faded patriotic posters and 'Ulysses’ insane graffiti. He emerges into a gutted office complex, complete with a well-stocked refrigerator and Nuka Cola vending machine. He scores well with skill magazines, pre-war money and liquid refreshments.
CRAP! The "Imp" suddenly appears again, playing some old recording of … what … being found by some kid and adopted … except more garbled messages …. Chicago …. Whitley …. Novarro. !@#%$^, the "Imp's" memory is scrambled. He tells it to ‘Wait Here’ again and climbs out onto the remains of the antenna again and looks back the way he’s come and then hurriedly descends to the ground level.
He slides out of the ruins and onto the roadway, spots and eliminates another satchel charge primed and ready, lying in wait to destroy or cripple an unwary tourist. Still in a crouch, he sidles past the beehive shelters counting three bodies as he does so. Good – there’ll be no cannibal feast tonight! The (War Head) had done its job well! Then, as he nears the hulk of a car lying upended and on fire, with the remains of two century old gasoline fumes, shots ring out and he takes a wound.
He dodges left and breaks into a run, zigging and zagging as bullets, plasma and laser beams rip and play through the air around him. He ducks behind a pile of rubble right next to an un-exploded (War Head), an irony that he notes in passing, as he hears running footsteps approaching nearby and deploys his Coyote Cap (‘too cool for school)’ lever action 20 gauge Chippa 1887 shotgun to deal with his pursuer. He steps from behind his shelter and sees a panic stricken mole rat, blunder into his would be attacker. Then, before he can take advantage of the situation, the mole rat turns and runs and the 'Marked Man' Scout hurls an incendiary grenade that lands at Tuco’s feet and the Scout draws a huge Bumper Sword and closes in for the kill: ‘long pig’ and the grenade is cooking his dinner for him.
WOOSH … KERBLAM! The grenade explodes and Tuco is engulfed in flames!
With the flames, 'Chances Curse' goes active and the 'Mongol' leaps into Tuco’s hand and takes control of both the coyote and the combat. The Scout never has a chance! As he falls, gutted and minus the hand holding the 'Bumper Sword' there is a momentary pause in the action. The other 'Marked Men' are too far away to quickly intervene, a pause which briefly confuses the 'Mongol' and allows Tuco to duck back to where the blade couldn’t ‘see’ the oncoming foes. That was good! The flames sputter and die and Tuco is able to regain control and prepare to greet the new arrivals with a blast of 20 gauge Magnum shot right in the face!
Two snipers on a distant rooftop open fire. He takes another wound and as rock and cement chips fly from near misses. He ducks back into the rubble where he exchanges some long range shots at the roof top. But night is falling and they are shooting with two guns to his one. He’s injured and has got radiation poisoning from the constant background radiation in the area. He retreats further and eventually finds a shelter free of background radiation. Once he’s healed and free of radiation poisoning, he’ll take care of those roof top irritants before settling down for the night.
Later as the night wears on, he sneaks out from behind his shelter. There’s no sign of PIP Boy ‘blips’ other than those two on that roof. He’s near enough to the roof top, to spot man shaped shadows in motion but a genuine night vision scope would have provided a good dose of ‘lethality’ insurance. He looks, there on the edge he sees a silhouette with a rifle – chancy with VATS but well worth a scoped head shot with the Trail Carbine. Ker-Wap! … Click-Klack! The .44 SWC Hand Load bullet connects and the silhouette head flies in one direction while the body falls in another. Another silhouette appears searching for the source of the shot … hold still! Just hold still! Ker-Wap! … Click-Klack! And another one bites the dust.
No further silhouettes appear, so after several minutes he backs up and returns to his lair. Its 9pm – still time for a nocturnal hunt but he’s exhausted. It’s been a long day, and besides, his (Roughin’ It!) Bedroll Kit is as comfortable as all giddyup compared with just a ground blanket.
And so with ‘dawn’s early light’ he rises and surveys the scene from the ‘door’ to his lair. Checks his PIP Boy and sees no tell tale red ‘blips’. He strolls over to the site of his big shootout with the 'Marked Men' for a body count and some selective looting. He looks down at the shot ridden bodies. Cannibals they may have been … but …
--------------------00--------------------
The debris lies thick in the ruined town
There’s blood on the thoroughfare
But the poor ghoul lads of misfortunes’ crown
They neither know nor care **
--------------------00--------------------
The debris lies thick in the ruined town
There’s blood on the thoroughfare
But the poor ghoul lads of misfortunes’ crown
They neither know nor care **
--------------------00--------------------
He cradles his trail carbine, and scans the ruins. The Ashton downtown gunfiight was over.
But there are more unexploded War Heads hiding or obstructing who knows what in the remains of downtown Ashton, and 'Ulysses' is still somewhere out there. Until next time buckaroos. Stay sharp!
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*Poem paraphrased from “A Gunfight” by 'Philip Lore'.
**Poem paraphrased from “The American Rebellion “by 'Rudyard Kipling'.
CHAPTER 37
A COYOTE IN THE CAVE OF THE DESTROYER:
(The Tunneler)
Black horror sprang from the dark
in a violent birth,
and through the cloth of doom and death
he felt the clutch of earth.
O beat the terror into the ground
O strike it till it dies-
Or else his life itself
Drains through those glowing eyes
A COYOTE IN THE CAVE OF THE DESTROYER:
(The Tunneler)
Black horror sprang from the dark
in a violent birth,
and through the cloth of doom and death
he felt the clutch of earth.
O beat the terror into the ground
O strike it till it dies-
Or else his life itself
Drains through those glowing eyes
THE STORY SO FAR:
A time to sow and a time to reap. Tuco Rodriquez 'the Courier', the Tracker, the Gunfighter and now the Delver into ruins better left unexplored, searches for his mysterious nemesis and tormentor, 'Ulysses'. The harvest of parts, and bits and pieces from the Marked cannibal soldiers of Downtown Ashton, the trail of the ‘Stars n’ Stripes’ graffiti; satchel charged explosive man-traps, and unexploded nuclear War Heads, the paths all lead to the 3rd Street Plaza with a Municipal Building on one side, an entry into the Municipal Sewer System, and an apartment complex on the other side.
There are no warning blips on his PIP Boy, and he scans the plaza paying particular attention to the openings in the blown out walls of the Municipal Building, and the apartment complex across the plaza, for signs of life or occupation. Nothing!
Satisfied, he climbs down from his perch and uses the struts and braces of another antenna that had been ripped from its moorings, and flung across the city scape by a nuclear explosion, to enter the Municipal building. Again, nothing other than some minor loot and a computer message boasting of some government perfidy against a band of young protesters, and a site referred to as the 'Big Mountain Research Facility'. There’s another blown out hole in the building with 'Ulysses' cryptic "Star's and Stripes" sigil pointing the way to a sewer grate, protruding from the crater wall: an entrance grate into the Ashton municipal sewers.
What potential dungeon delver, can resist the lure of an opening into darkness and a potential adventure into the unknown? Especially when an elusive opponent has left a sign inviting you to enter! The hinges on the grate are stiff and unyielding with the grit and rust of centuries, but the coyote is persistent, and they eventually yield and he enters into a concrete tunnel, dappled with sunlight and fading into darkness. At the bottom, he rounds a corner and finds himself in a brightly lit chamber, rigged with electric lights and face to face with a pair of black scaly figures with glowing eyes and an arsenal of horns, claws and teeth: 'TUNNELERS!' An unfortunate encounter or a trap set by the wile 'Ulysses'?
Ker-Wap! The Winchester Model 1873 trail carbine spits a .44 SWC Hand Load bullet between the monster’s glowing eyes. Tuco works the lever action. Click-Klack! The spent brass cartridge is ejected and a fresh bullet slides into the firing chamber. Ker-Wap! … Click-Klack! And the second carnivore goes down, this time with a bullet in its evil heart.
Further passage into the depths of the sewer system was clogged with debris, but there was another sewer tunnel with a destroyed Eye Bot lying in the rubble at the base, that led upwards and back in the direction of the Municipal Building. And … Ho! Ho! … another office complex near the sewer entrance, and lying next to a gaping hole in the wall, was the body of dead sniper dressed in full Elite Riot Control regalia.
Ho! Ho! Indeed! (The full Elite Riot regalia topped by the 1st Recon Beret yielded a 19 DT, Critical Chance +10, Perception +3, Guns +10, Speech +5, Charisma +1 and the Sneak Sight Ability).
The coyote was now dressed for a good and proper war! The only thing wrong was that a search of the Municipal Plaza, failed to turn up any foes for him to try his riot control equipped gear on. 'Marked Men' – NOPE! Deathclaws – NOPE! 'Tunnelers' – NOPE! What he did find was more of 'Ulysses' sigils, unexploded War Heads, satchel charge booby traps, and evidence that in the very near past, there had been a number of 'Marked Men' cannibal soldiers living here that weren’t here now!
Where had they gone? He didn’t think there were enough bodies in the downtown ruins, to account for the number of 'Marked Men' that had been living around the Plaza. And then … he’d just blown still another War Head to uncover the remains of another apartment building … there was the sound of music accompanied by gunfire and the "Imp" appeared, sounding frightened and at a loss. No message here … an explosion … falling building … gunfire! It all added to an uneasy feeling about the Plaza and the "Imp's" panic and sudden appearance.
He told the "Imp" to follow and began to explore the building. Uh … OH! OH! Another sigil, this time in "red" and the ambient light is suddenly dimming! He’s getting the feeling that ‘Something Wicked This Way Comes!”. **
The duo enters a rubble filled bedroom. There’s a campfire still lit and burning, a stocked refrigerator and various supplies stockpiled, and in the wreckage of a demolished wall exposing a tunnel, were three ancient skeletons. The exposed tunnel was huge and led to a stupendous cavern, at least the size of the Plaza and lined again with the remains of ruined buildings. He spots a 'Tunneler' scooting about in the distance and knows with a certainty the fate of the Inhabitants of the Municipal Plaza.
A short venture into the cavern grounds confirms that the lone 'Tunneler' was just a straggler from a much larger band. The PIP Boy lights up with numerous warning blips augmented by scared ‘beeps’ from the "Imp". He drops into ('sneak') mode and exits back to the apartment.
Well 'Ulysses' apparently had come this way, and the PIP Boy map shows this as the Cave of the Abaddon.
He takes stock of his situation. It appears to be a major challenge to the Wile E. one. Of course he could simply give up and at least try to slink back to the Mojave, but aside from the grim story laid out by 'Ulysses', about returning through the ground zero created at 'Hopeville' by Ashton the Missile, there is a dimension here in the Divide, a vitality of mysteries to uncover, treasures to find, dangers to outwit and, of course, a foe worthy of his craft in 'Ulysses'.
So what are his assets and liabilities?
First, 'Stealth' – he has a 'Sneak' skill of 80, with a +2 bonus available from the Marked Scout Armor, and a +20 bonus from the 'La Fantoma' skill magazine with the Comprehension perk, but with a limited time window (he wishes he‘d taken the Retention perk … maybe next level up). He also has a ('Stealth Boy'), but he has only one. It might be used to stalk and thin the veritable herd of 'Tunnelers' roaming around this ‘village green’ of subterranean terrors, but once used it wouldn’t be available for some other situation up ahead.
Second, 'Firepower' – he’s carrying some awesome firepower, particularly with the Coyote Cap ('too cool for school')’ lever action 20 gauge Chippa 1887 shotgun firing hand load ammunition. With the Cowboy, ('Shotgun Surgeon'), and ('Stay Back') perks, he has a major big game, deathclaw killing weapon … BUT DOWNSIDE! … it has a five shot magazine and a slow reload time. At best he can easily kill or seriously maim up to five 'Tunnelers' but he’ll never survive long enough to reload and ‘reapply’.
Third, 'Armor' – the Elite Riot Armor with its DT, perks and ('Sneak Sight') looks great on paper but in terms of actual protection against the 'Tunnelers' claws, he might as well just dress to look cool for all the protection it offers. Yeah! Looking COOL triumphs over all! He’s going with the 'Scout Armor, the Riot Helmet' and topping it off with the 1st Recon Beret – the better to 'Sneak' and 'Target' the @#$%$#'s with. Yeah! Screw the DT! That’s for the Prey, not the Predator!
Okay so he’ll scout out a nook where the 'Tunnelers' can only get him one or at most two at a time. He thought briefly about seeding the area with satchel charges and mines but rejected the idea because the 'Tunnelers' were too fast, and in a chase back to his lair would likely be so close, that any explosion would catch him too. So no explosives! What he decided to do was to ('Sneak') forward and use the 'La Fantoma skill' magazine along with VATS, to scan the target rich 'Tunneler' environment, for a prime 'Tunneler' or two, to cull, and to start the chase. Yeah, and station the "Imp" along his path of retreat, where it would hopefully open up on his pursuit with its electric weaponry.
CHECK!
"Time to put the plan into operation".
He locates a nook and 'sneaks' as far ‘forward’ towards the warning blips as he dares, then speedreads a copy of 'La Fantoma' and creeps forward some more. Black 'Tunnelers' with glowing horns and eyes, are moving about in easy VATS shooting distance. He does a quick save and starts cycling through possible targets looking for a 95% head shot. There! He gets one and it’s the 'Tunneler Queen'! Eureka! He quick saves again and squeezes four head shots off in VATS:
Ker-Wap! … Click-Klack! - Ker-Wap! … Click-Klack! - Ker-Wap! … Click-Klack! - Ker-Wap! … Click-Klack!
The Tunneler Queen drops dead! She’ll not have a head for her crown ever again! Tuco turns and stays in the 'sneak' mode as he hurries to his shooter’s nest. The "Imp", God Bless Him, stays in position and opens up on the pursuit. Tuco stops, picks up another target on VATS and nails another, a 'Venomous Tunneler', and turns to continue his retreat. He takes a hit to his back, hits his quick key to deploy his shotgun and turns. The shotgun's red cross hairs glow red on the belly of a 'Hulking Tunneler'. Tuco pulls the trigger …
BAM! … Click-Klack!
The tunneler is hurled backwards onto the ground and does not rise again!
He sees that the "Imp" is down, but there is only one 'Tunneler' still standing and pummeling the Eyebot. It’s a distance shot. He switches back to his trail carbine for a scoped shot this time and pumps off two before the tunneler falls.
Ker-Wap! … Click-Klack! - Ker-Wap! … Click-Klack!
He sneaks forward again and can see another block of building facades in the distance, but only one red blip. A piece of cake now. There’s no contest in a one on one, and soon Tuco is alone … well almost. He remembers the "Imp" and goes back to retrieve his com-padre.
Together, they advance to the end of the cavern, where they find a fully operational 'Auto Doc' lying on its side. And there nearby is another of ('Ulysses' cryptic sigils), next to a building front that is well lit and open to the cavern – the so-called Cave of Abaddon. There’s more of 'Ulysses’ graffiti there and a door leading to ‘The Buried Buildings’.
Well cowboys n’ gals we’ll have to leave ‘The Buried Buildings’ for the next chapter. Tuco needs to heal up in the 'Auto Doc' and get his weapons cleaned and ready for more action. And maybe, just maybe, we’ll learn if 'Ulysses' has a secret code hidden in the various colors he uses to make his (‘Stars n’ Stripes’) sigils. Until next time!
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*Paraphrased from the poem ‘The Killer’ by 'Judith Wright'.
** Title of a novel by 'Ray Bradbury'
CHAPTER 38
THE DIVIDE AND THE DIVISOR
(The Coyote Comes)
The coyote was good at playing the odds
To seize the profits in sight
Every chance had its glittering globe
His job was to make them shine bright.
'Ulysses' thought his revenge would be sweet
When the coyote entered his foyer
His Divide and his traps and his monsters forgot
The coyote was the Divisor *
THE DIVIDE AND THE DIVISOR
(The Coyote Comes)
The coyote was good at playing the odds
To seize the profits in sight
Every chance had its glittering globe
His job was to make them shine bright.
'Ulysses' thought his revenge would be sweet
When the coyote entered his foyer
His Divide and his traps and his monsters forgot
The coyote was the Divisor *
THE STORY SO FAR:
Tuco and the "Imp" passed from the Cave of Abaddon and up another seemingly endless flight of stairs, similar to those in the Sunstone Tower, but lacking in the ravenous presence of the 'Tunnelers'. Then with the exit door to the roof in sight, Vault-Tec Channel 9, snared the "Imp" in endless loops of the Ralphie the Robot TV series from 200 years in the past.
There was no progress to be had until Tuco said the magic words ‘fly far and fly fast’ to break the stasis as they reached the exit door to "The Divide" and made their exit ...
… INTO …
… a trap laid by 'Ulysses', now completely insane but still the master 'Courier of Vengeance and Villainy'!
OH NO!
“Big Mountain Access Code … 'Ulysses' … Command Override … Navarro,” and the sneering revelations and rambling braggadocio from the villain, takes control of the "Imp"! The "Imp", 'Ulysses’ tin-pot carrier of ‘codes’, to stir the ‘Giants’ sleeping under the divide into wreaking the same sort of vengeance in the Mojave, that the ‘Courier’ wreaked in "The Divide".
A genuine for really, real ‘♥♥♥ FOR TAT!’ except HA! HA! The coyote’s home is in Sequoia country not the Mojave! So screw you 'Ulysses' and screw your @#$%$# Divide and a pox on both of you! And with that thought Tuco begins to sort out the equipment dropped by the "Imp" when 'Ulysses' took control and flew the little tin-pot traitor off to his lair.
Thus far the (‘Light Touch’, ‘Cowboy’, and 'Shot Gun') perks have served him well, so he’s tossing all of the other weaponry and medium armor, but keeping the Elite Riot heavy helmet with its (‘too cool for school’) ability to combine with the 1st Recon Beret to provide a total ('Sneak' Sight, Speech +5, Perception +3, Critical Chance +5). He thinks hard and decides to keep his Roughin’ It Bedroll too – it adds 15 pounds and is not particularly useful in the 'Hard Core mode' but if worse comes to worse and he has to drop back into the ‘Normal’ it could be a real life saver.
"The Divide" is 'Ulysses' personal version of an ‘impossible obstacle’. A ‘Gordian Knot’ of obstacles, hazards and a menace: unexploded war heads, radiation, death claws, cannibal ghouls, etc., etc., etc. But the coyote, in particular this Wile E. Coyote, is a master of ‘looped, outside the box’ thinking and he applies himself to this problem with relish!
First off, a "blue sigil". The arrogant ♥♥♥♥ is challenging him. Lots of survival pogie bait, probably intended to be followed by a devastating ambush! But Tuco finds the ancient remains of a Ranger patrol, with a mission description that sheds light on the fauna to be expected in 'Ulysses' little corner of the world.
He’s ready. The old mission report, mentions intelligent 'Marked Men' Ghouls and an apparent attempt to domesticate a deathclaw. So when two blips’ appear on his PIP Boy compass and he spots a large tan shape flickering in and out of view behind a semi-truck trailer, screening a pond, he makes the deathclaw connection. The two blips, may possibly be the descendants of the deathclaw described in the Ranger’s mission report. The only question is will they be domesticated and hungry, or wild and hungry?
Carefully and slowly he eases into a position offering a shelter if things go awry, and a good field of fire for long shots with .44 SWC hand load bullets scoped through the ancient Bushnel scope mounted on his Winchester Model 1873 trail carbine.
Ker-Wap! … Click-Klack! One down.
Uh OH! The other one’s spotted me and coming on FAST!
Switch to the Coyote Cap … BAM! … Click-Klack! BAM! … Click-Klack! BAM! … Click-Klack! It goes down but struggles to get up. Snick, Snick, Snick – Reload!
BAM! … Click-Klack! HAH - two deathclaws down – no sweat!
OH! OH! Three blips on the PIP Boy! 'Marked Men' up on the rubble to the west. Probably alerted by the gunshots. Maybe the deathclaws had been their pets. He sneaks forward using a ruined semi trailer first as a screen, then past it to the remains of a semi horizontal corner of what once been a part of a building. Slowly, carefully he peeks over the edge and once again cannot believe his good fortune. There, practically right in front of the area where the 'Marked Men’s' patrolled among fallen antennas and building fronts, was an un-exploded 'War Head'.
YES! YES! He retrieved the laser detonator, aimed and WHAM! … a huge fireball and debris demolishes the ground and building far to the front. AH! … the blips are gone. Now if only he could find the bodies that went with them.
The exploding war head has opened up a passage underneath a building ripped up by one of 'Ulysses’ giants and slammed down on its side. And over the top of the passage, was another of 'Ulysses’ sigils … (this time in "White"). 'Ulysses' … one arrogant and crazy #)^*($ gringo!
Tuco enters the passage – this time with the Coyote Cap shot gun ready for ‘close up’ work in the confining space. Sure enough, as he passes under the building his health takes a hit and a red blip appears on his PIP Boy. He sees nothing, shifts to VATS and scans ahead and sees a shimmering, translucent outline with a zero probability of hitting and a name: 'Blade'. The @#$%$ is using a ('Stealth Boy')!
He takes another hit – bad this time – and is crippled. There’s nothing for it but to run as best he can up a fallen antenna towards a narrow opening which might have once been a hallway. He gets there turns, backs up and aims for the opening and shifts the shotgun loadout to the Magnum for the larger shot spread.
The entrance shimmers as 'Blade' clears the antenna, Tuco aims for the red cross hairs and fires: BAM! … Click Klack! The Blade goes down, Tuco moves to the entryway and looks down to see the still shimmering air. There’s no hesitation ...
BLAM! …Click-Klack! BLAM!...Click-Klack! …. Reload – Snick!, Snick!, Snick!
But the ghoul is dead, a huge (‘Blade of the West’ Bumper Sword) at his side. Unfortunately his ('Stealth Boy') is gone … used up by the Blade’s demise.
Time to see if the "White" Stars n’ Stripes had any purpose. But first he uses another Doctor Bag and another huge helping from his stash of Stimpaks and healing herbs. Then he continues through to the other end of the hallway and finds a 'Marked Men' camp and three more bodies, casualties of the war head explosion, including two ('Stealth Boy’s'). Ah Yes … 'Ulysses' mad master Divide was beginning to unravel.
So where to next? He could see two more war heads but they were way up on the crater walls surrounding the Divide. If he exploded them from his position on the ground, he might never be able to locate whatever was in their proximity. He shifted back to his Winchester Model 1873 trail carbine scanned the cliffs with VATS and found a sniper painted in highlights as he perched on a ledge on the northwest cliff. The VATS chance was negligible so he took a long shot using the Bushnel scope and made a lucky hit that dropped the sniper out of sight.
Now he shifts his view, scanning more of the crater walls and notices on his PIP Boy Compass a hollow triangle symbol indicating an undiscovered location. That answers his question of “…where to next?”
He turns and faces in that direction. The descending stair way he’s using ends abruptly but there’s a huge rebar concrete corner of what once must have been a building that provides an excellent path to a lower level with a bridge spanning a gap to another building. The other building being little more than a skeleton with its floors and furniture exposed to the Divide and located providentially below, another unexploded war head.
The path is laced with a couple of satchel charge traps and he spies a (red Stars n’ Stripes) sigil painted next to an opening. Does the red sigil mean trouble ahead? He shifts back to the shotgun and climbs into the building. Oh CRAP! Three angry red blips appear on his PIP Boy compass directly ahead. A ghoulish head appears in the opening opposite and an incendiary grenade comes flying in his direction.
WOOSH … KERBLAM!
The flames instantly ignite Chance’s Curse and, 'The Mongol' leaps into Tuco’s hand and takes bloody, berserk charge of the action to wreak utter havoc with blood thirsty, joyous and gleeful abandon!
Two Marked cannibals go down under 'The Mongol’s' assault. There is a brief interlude, 'The Mongol' and the Curse fade and Tuco resumes control … WHEN … a third Marked ghoul with an activated (Stealth Boy) opens fire.
FOOL! 'The Mongol’s' not in charge and having to run around looking for a shimmer - Tuco unlimbers his good old Coyote Cap and racks in a Magnum shell … looking for the shimmer and red cross hairs at the source of the firing.
BAM! … Click-Klack! BAM … Click Klack! Problem solved! Snick, Snick!
Tuco picks up another (Stealth Boy) from the loot and pauses in his plundering to study the armored passageway capped by an even more impressive armored door.
Well! Well! Well! And there are still unexploded war heads lying about here and there and who knows what stores and stockpiles to be stripped of valuables just to %$^^$$& Ulysses off! He was thinking about this when …
AHEM!
A regal feminine voice and a hint of perfume penetrated the rank air of the Divide. Lady Luck had arrived to resolve any indecision he might have had whether to press on or ‘stop and shop’.
Now this is a decision not to be taken lightly, and given the lengthy nature of these chapters it will be discussed and the merits of each carefully weighed in the next chapter. So hang on to your bronco’s for now buckaroos. The Wile E. Coyote may not have 'Ulysses' cornered yet.
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* Paraphrased from the Poem “The journey of a maths teacher” by Lewis Raynes
CHAPTER 39
LOOSE ENDS AND SIGILS
(The End of the Trail)
You've read the story of Jesse James
of how he lived and died.
If you're still in need;
of something to read,
here's a tale of the Great Divide *
LOOSE ENDS AND SIGILS
(The End of the Trail)
You've read the story of Jesse James
of how he lived and died.
If you're still in need;
of something to read,
here's a tale of the Great Divide *
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THE STORY SO FAR:
Tuco had been dazzled by the prospect of caps in the millions by the Golden Arrow ICBM and its nuclear warhead in the 'Hopeville' Silo. Greed, blindsided his caution and the coyote found himself lured step by step into a vendetta planned by 'Ulysses', to avenge the nuclear catastrophe that had destroyed his home in the Divide.
Now 'Ulysses' had the "Imp", the Eyebot with the link he needed to activate his revenge. But getting the link had brought the coyote to his doorsteps. Tuco did not fade away quietly, now that he was no longer needed. Oh No! The ruination of the Divide reeks with a question unasked as of yet. Does Tuco batter down the door to 'Ulysses' retreat, or does he pursue the undiscovered sites and treasures still guarded by unexploded warheads and satchel charges.
Now cue the arrival of Lady Luck never late, not fashionably and not otherwise. There’s a choice to be made and the path destined for Tuco is as yet unresolved. The Lady will roll the dice of destiny using a randomly selected page from the novel she’s been reading, whenever the action slows down on The Strip to set Tuco on his path.
Now first off, is the emotional path: too many unexploded warheads, hiding likely locations for Blue Sigils marking plunder, White Sigils to indicate a path, and Red Sigils for violence and payback! **
Now Tuco is a creature of craft and not given to releasing control of his emotions, so the probability is low at 20% (pages 1 to 20) that he will take this path.
Secondly, and more likely is the path of cold blooded logic: break down 'Ulysses’ Temple Door and run him to ground. Tuco is a creature of risk, versus benefit and this path is inbred in the Wile E. One’s blood and bones. The probability is high at 80% (pages 21 to 00) that he will take this path.
Lady Luck takes up her novel, “Crossways” by 'Jacey Bedford', and flips it open at random. The last two digits of the page number are 20. Tuco will search the ruinations around the Boxwood Hotel, leaving no warhead intact and closing every location triangle on his PIP Boy compass.
His first find, is The Waste Disposal Station. He spots a Ralphie poster and a duffel bag. As he bends over to open the duffel bag there’s a fusillade of 12 gauge buckshot and he’s hit hard and crippled but he ducks behind a pillar, deploys his trail carbine and limps back out in a shooter’s crouch.
He hits the VATS key: Ker_Wap! Click-Klack! … and squeezes four head shots off at the shooter, a 'Marked Scout' with a hunting shotgun.
The scout goes down, but there’s another one, a 'Marked Marauder' with a light machine gun and hidden by a (Stealth Boy).
(Stealth Boys) in a gunfight? No problem! The coyote has learned how to use his Coyote Cap lever action 20 gauge with Magnum shot for good spread. No need to score a kill. A hit by a single stray buckshot pellet and the (‘And Stay Back’) perk will take the translucent shooter down and Tuco can empty the magazine into the red cross hair to finish the job.
With his attackers disposed of, he uses another Doctor’s Bag and healing herbs/Stimpaks to heal up before tackling the Waste Disposal Station. Here the background radiation is a near constant, and rusting, leaking radioactive sludge barrels, are stacked up everywhere. There’s the body of a prospector here and some useful loot, but the stars of this act are the 'Tunnelers' who have squatted here fixing to make the station their new home.
After leaving the Waste Disposal Station, he heads southwest, passing the building with the pathway to the 'Marked Men' camp and the entrance to 'Ulysses' so-called temple. As he heads along the shoreline to the next ruined building a shot rings out high in the cliffside followed by the high pitched whine of a .308 bullet from a sniper’s rifle. A miss! There in the cliffs above the building an unexploded warhead protrudes from the wall, and directly above it he can just make out a 'Marked ghoul' moving about. The @#$%# with this! He crouches down for added stability and centers the trail carbine’s Bushnel scope’s cross hairs focus on the vague form. Ker_Wap! ... Click-Klack! ….. and the form drops out of sight.
Next up, a puzzle – a White Sigil, screened by a satchel charge, half way between a ruined building and an unexploded warhead, blocking a automotive hulk leading up into a jumble of pipes, girders and rubble at a higher level. Which does the Sigil indicate – the warhead or the building?
Tuco chooses the building and is rewarded by finding a workbench, and when his attention is diverted by the find, he’s hit in the back by a bouncing Incendiary grenade. There’s a fiery explosion and once again 'The Mongol' jumps into the driver’s seat for a swift and ugly knife fight - daggers, guns, fists and swords in a swiftly moving melee, up and down, over the ruined carpeting and between the jumbled furniture. Its three against one but 'The Mongol' is a demon in dagger form, drinking and bathing his serrated steel body in the hot blood of his foes – this is no contest, no ruined office this, – it’s a slaughter house of blood and mangled, torn and shredded ghoulish flesh!
And when it is over and Tuco is back in control with his injuries restored, he curses 'Ulysses' and his duplicity with the Sigils. He vows to take the next incendiary grenade he finds, so’s he can set himself on fire to release 'The Mongol' when he meets 'Ulysses'.
Next up is the White Sigil again – no mistake this time and the warhead clears the path upwards leading to the camp used by his assailants, more satchel charges, and another warhead in front of a huge edifice, the PIP Boy Map labels as the Wastewater Treatment Plant. This second warhead clears more of the rubble, exposing survivalist loot in a pair of lead lined cases and more importantly a Red Sigil at the entrance to a Sewer Grate leading to the interior of the water treatment facility.
Red Sigil … more Payback Time! And there is Payback indeed inside the Wastewater Treatment Plant, but this time it’s the 'Tunnelers' versus the 'Marked Men' and Tuco can wait and watch for the winners to be determined.
Swords and a Sishkebab, versus Fang and Claw – two 'Marked Men' left to polish off the remaining 'Tunnelers'. And then when that was done, Tuco opened up with rapid firing and .44 SWC bullets to settle the issue. He almost felt guilty cutting down the 'Marked' cannibal ghouls, almost, but the 'Tunnelers' still had the top spot on his most feared and hated list.
And what next? Another roof top, corrugated steel bridge, and White Sigil leading to the already taken path, to 'Ulysses', and his so-called Temple. A stairwell down, a concrete slab from the side of a demolished building and another corrugated steel bridge ending in the Red Sigil that signals the last 'Marked Men' camp before reaching the Temple. Tuco drops one story down onto the shore of the pond again, and begins to search.
Finally, when his patience was almost exhausted and he was ready to return to the armored door leading to 'Ulysses' and his Temple, he spotted a Red Sigil at the entrance to another cave. As he cautiously entered, the darkness closed in just as it had in the Cave of Abaddon. 'Tunnelers'? He spotted another unexploded warhead in the wall ahead and set it off to find that the explosion had sealed the entrance trapping him.
Now there was bad news and there was good news. The bad news was that he was trapped. The good news was that he had retrieved an NCR Emergency Beacon from a duffel bag belonging to an ancient skeleton that broadcast a message for help about a huge deathclaw. Huge deathclaw not 'Tunnelers' … WHEW!
So what to do? He peeked around a corner to verify that the monster was indeed a much bigger monster than your typical deathclaw, and that it was alive and angry – probably about the closure of the exit. He had no means of fire to scare it off, even if there was an exit. So what did he have? A Winchester Model 1873 Trail Carbine with lots of .44 SWC Hand Load ammo, and a Coyote Cap Chippa 1887 20 gauge lever action knock off shotgun with 3.0 Buck Mag Hand Load ammo, backed up with the (‘And Stay Back’) Perk that might or might not knock the monster off its feet, to allow the administration of the coup de grace.
Okay, so use a (Stealth boy) and (la Fantoma) skill magazine to take in as many .44 SWC Hand Load shots as possible before the monster found him and close in to rip him into a million little coyote bits. He thought about taking leg shots but there was no room here for him to dodge, so head shots it had to be.
Time to do it! The distance and darkness along with the seemingly erratic movements of the beast’s gigantic horned head, made scoped shooting problematical. Best to use VATS and trust his life to the algorithm computing the bullets trajectories and damage correctly with a lot of luck thrown in for (Critical Chance) as well.
Ker-Wap! … Click-Klack! … Ker-Wap! … Click-Klack! … V Ker-Wap! … Click-Klack! … Ker-Wap! … Click-Klack!
The head shots, had taken the monster down to just two hash marks of health remaining, but he was out of Action Points … now grab the shotgun and blast away over the iron sight.
BAM! …Click-Klack! … BAM! …Click-Klack! … BAM! …Click-Klack! … BAM! …Click-Klack! … BAM! …Click-Klack!
The beast goes down. Trophy time! … its name was RAWR … and its CLAW was so large it could be crafted into a major weapon at a work bench. There he found, a second unexploded warhead in the cave which when exploded, strangely enough (wink, wink) reopened the entrance to the cave.
Once again he asked himself ‘what’s next’ and this time there was no answer aside from a few unexploded warheads emerging from the crater sides and perhaps a sniper or two. It’s time to rest, heal up and head back up to knock on 'Ulysses' Door.
So returning to the ‘Temple’ door ,seems to be a natural place to break off for this chapter. There’s no need, Lady Luck, for you to shuffle the tarots or indulge in bibliomancy with your current novel at this point. Me n’ the buckaroos will jus retire to Trudy’s where the juke box is hot n’ the sarsaparilla cold. Until next time.
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*Poetry paraphrased from “The Trail’s End” by 'Bonnie Parker': Bank Robber, Folk Hero of the Great American Depression and Poet. The real life source for the Vikki in the Legend of Vikki and Vance in Primm. RIP!
** Thanks to FNV player and poster Vassago Rain for setting me straight on the significance of sigil colors
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CHAPTER 40
THE FINAL ROUNDUP
(Ulysses)
Now 'Ulysses' was a dreamer
As I’m sure you all have read
The revenge he sought
was dearly bought.
With Tuco dying or dead.
There’s lots of untruths to these write-ups:
Tuco’s not as dying as that.
He’s quick on the draw
and drew the last straw
on 'Ulysses' his ghouls and his traps.
THE FINAL ROUNDUP
(Ulysses)
Now 'Ulysses' was a dreamer
As I’m sure you all have read
The revenge he sought
was dearly bought.
With Tuco dying or dead.
There’s lots of untruths to these write-ups:
Tuco’s not as dying as that.
He’s quick on the draw
and drew the last straw
on 'Ulysses' his ghouls and his traps.
THE STORY SO FAR:
(Cracking the Temple!) The armored door in the Divide, gave way to steel walls un-scarred by bullets or energy burns as in the 'Hopeville' silo, and there was an absence of the lurking 'Tunneler' menace of the silo in 'Ashton' … but still … a dead ghoul hanging from the wall and the heavy monotone robotic voice announcing security sweeps for ‘HOSTILES’, put Tuco’s Winchester Model 1873 Trail Carbine in his arms with a .44 – 40 SWC hand load bullet in the firing chamber and the safety off. It was a precaution that was quickly justified.
But if his welcome was less than enthusiastic from the Mark IV Security Turrets and Sentry Bots, there was a reunion of sorts with the "Imp" freed from the Maintenance Pod where it had been imprisoned by 'Ulysses'.
An Auto Doc and another armored door, and an elevator up into 'Ulysses’ ‘Holy of Holies’ and a sight that was as breathtaking as it was terrifying. 'Ulysses', the Mad Monk of Nuclear Destruction, at the altar summoning the awakening of the sleeping American War Gods!
There is no talk between the contestants. 'Ulysses' is completely insane and irrational. Tuco lacks the Reputation, Speech skills, and any inclination to attempt searching for neutral ground! The Wile E. Coyote seizes the moment and opens up with a fusillade of scoped .44-40 SWC hand loaded head shots directly into in 'Ulysses' face. SCREW FIGHTING FAIR!
'Ulysses' staggers, he’s badly hurt for the moment, but his Medical and Repair Eyebots will soon rectify that once the "Imp" has been knocked to the ground! He grabs Old Glory, his terrible old maple flag pole, melee weapon with a heavy golden eagle mounted on the end to inflict additional crushing trauma.
Tuco, briefly contemplates getting into melee range but without the flames calling up memories of 'Bitter Springs' he lacks the means of summoning 'The Mongol' into the fray. Instead he retreats and heads to a corner where 'Ulysses' would be attacking from a position with an unexploded warhead behind his back. If the coyote can get the precision timing with the laser detonator, 'Ulysses' might just be blasted into oblivion when the warhead ‘brews up’ behind him.
But the crafty old Frumentarius and Courier is too experienced. As Tuco retreats, 'Ulysses' switches from Old Glory to his 12.7mm Sub machine Gun and tracks Tuco’s retreat with a stream of lead, accentuated by electric bolts from his Eyebots. He will summon his Eyebots and 'Marked Men' reinforcements to administer the coup de grace before moving on to the Launch Controls to release Nuclear Armageddon.
Now the action is up close. It’s the Coyote’s Stealth Boy attempting concealment while the Coyote Cap Chippa 1887 model 20 gauge lever action shotgun rips out 3.0 Buc Mag hand loaded shot over iron sights as fast as he can work the lever and reload. The Medical and Repair Eyebots are his first target priority. Without them 'Ulysses' becomes a mere mortal and the coyote will have a reasonable chance of blasting his way to victory.
Combat becomes a Fandango, a Dance of Death, with Tuco shooting, reloading, and quaffing herbs and Stimpaks, while 'Ulysses' dances in and out delivering his gun fire supplement, to the punishment inflicted by his minions. But the 'Marked Men' fall and the Eyebots go down in shot riddled balls of metallic junk before Tuco runs out of Doctor Bags and Stimpaks. It’s just 'Ulysses' now, punching the air with 12.7 mm bullets and screaming his defiance until he too falls and his dreams of nuclear death and rebirth of a new and better nation die with him.
And then, with 'Ulysses' broken body lying there on the concrete, and looking at the various options on the Launch Controls Tuco began to grasp the enormity of the situation. Nuke the Legion, the NCR or both?
NAH – the Mojave already had enough radioactive sand. Do nothing and abort the launch … well then … YEAH … sell the ‘rights’ to this facility and its missiles to the highest bidder and head for faraway places before the buyer exercised his options. Maybe … but he wasn’t sure who all the potential buyers might be or just how ruthless they might be prepared to get.
@#$%^%$ all this thinking was giving him a headache.
Okay –the "Imp" must burn itself out to stop the launch. Then what?
I’ll tell you what. This ole coyote is a packing up n’ a walking outta here.
"Where to?" Asks Lady Luck.
"It’s up to you Lady Luck! He answers. "It’s up to You!"
THE END!
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*Poetry paraphrased from “The Trail’s End” by 'Bonnie Parker': Bank Robber, Folk Hero of the Great American Depression and Poet. The real life source for the Vikki in the Legend of Vikki and Vance in Primm. RIP!
This is the ending of a beautiful fan fiction by John Baumgartner. I appreciate his allowing me to do the editing. If you enjoyed this fan fiction, he continues to do his authoring at this site www.wattpad.com/story/
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