Fallout New Vegas: Brave New World (Queen, Natalija & Trill)

[Trill]

Days passed. Jean-Marc, Betsy and Maya remained prisoners of the La Castrata Gang; the soldier and the vault dwellers receiving intermittent sexual abuse from the gang. Saul had been particularly vicious with Betsy; he had smacked her around and snarled threats of mutilation, ranting about the now bandaged wound on the side of his head. Betsy, for her part, simply lay still as a statue, not responding to him in any way. Maya cried herself to sleep each night after each day of rape and torture at the hands of Catalina, the Protectron and her men. Fixer seemed true to her word, even the part about adopting Jean-Marc as a pet; she had even taken to sleeping with him in full view of Maya and Betsy. He let her do it, party because he felt sympathy for her, and partly as a means of staying on her good side and inducing her to keep up her end of the bargain.

It was almost a week before Catalina was ready to walk again. One particularly bright, hot morning, Catalina barged in on Fixer spooning with the Overseer and announced her departure. They were moving their stock of slaves to market, and would be back in a few days. The lack of response from the NCR or Vault 43 to the loss of the rescue party meant that the gang were feeling comfortable about leaving the ranch for a while. Part of the stock were being taken to Red Rock Canyon to be given to the Khans, including Betsy. The vault-dwellers tensed when they heard that bit of news. They realized, though, that there was nothing they could do to help Betsy; their priority was getting their supplies and escorting Fixer to the vault before Catalina had time to prepare.

Catalina unlocked Betsy form her bed and Fixer and Saul dragged her outside to prepare her for transport. After a couple of hours, Fixer came back and tossed some clothes and supplies at Jean-Marc and Maya. As they got dressed, she instructed SADIST to cut their chains. While Saul chugged beer and took potshots at radscorpions, Fixer, Jean-Marc, Maya and SADIST escaped into the Mojave, heading straight for Freeside.

[Natalija]

In the meantime, Catalina and a sizable contingent of 6 other members of her gang, wer on there way to Red Rock canyon. Along vith Betsy, they had 7 more slaves to sell. Not all wuld be sold to the Khans, but Betsy vas marked for them. Ever since Papa Khan learned that she vas captured, he contacted Catalina and let her know he wuld consider it a personal favor, if she wer to prezent the hated 1st Recon member as a tribute to the Khans. Seeing the oportunity to secure a permanent alliance, Catalina akcepted. Not that she culd have sold Betsy aniway, as a normal slave, the soldier woman vas far too willful and unbreakable to ever make a good slave to anyone. But the Khans wanted revenge for Bitter Springs, and anyone from 1st Recon vas at the very top of there shit-list. No doubt they wuld have some... creative... tortures in store for Betsy. And vith all the other meat to sell, all of them a lot more usable as slaves, being broken and obedient, one less sale wuld not hurt her at all.

Despite her-self, Catalina did admire the woman, to a degree. She vas as strong and as rezistant to breaking as herself. Even after all the shit Saul did to her, Betsy stayed strong. If these wer other cirkumstances, she wuld have welcomed someone like that, in her gang. Someone so much like her. But as is was, Betsy was a threat, that had to be eliminated. And securing the Khans' alliance in the process wuld also be a boon, vhen the time wuld finaly come to make a move on that Vault, or if the NCR decided to come after her gang in force.

As they walked, the armed thugs herding the group of slaves in front, the mexican woman steped-up her pace, to come alongsyde Betsy. Glancing at her, she spoke, noncomitally.

"Its nothing personal, you know. Just how shit turned out. If its any conzolation, you and your guys did give me more trouble then most. Nice job. Its just too bad we hapened to be on opozite sides."

[Trill]

The quartet trudged through the hot, windy desert wasteland along the ruined highway. According to Jean-Marc's Pip-Boy, it took them 45 minutes to reach the outer settlements surrounding New Vegas, the wind and dust slowing their progress. However, the dust also provided them with some amount of visual cover. If any raiders spotted them, they were dead meat. Only Fixer and SADIST were armed, and lightly at that. Peering through the dust storm, Jean-Marc could make out the lettering on the side of one building: H&H Tools.

"Let's take shelter in here!" he yelled over the howling wind. "It's a miracle we even got this far in this weather!" To make matters worse, the dust was mildly radioactive. The needle on the Pip-Boy's Geiger counter was flickering up and down and the device itself was clicking softly.
"Lead the way!" Fixer yelled.
The front door of H&H Tools burst open to admit three weary humans and one weather beaten robot. They set up camp in the foyer of the abandoned building among piles of ruined books. Jean-Marc jammed the door shut while Fixer doled out Rad-Away and water.

Night fell, and the humans busied themselves by scavenging whatever they could find in the building. Jean-Marc found a few terminal entries and shook his head at the utter paranoia of pre-war corporations.

From: Cindy-Lou Kreb (Human Resources)
To: All Personnel
Subject: SECURITY UPDATE VERY URGENT

Hello fellow H&H employees!

Mr. H has asked me to pass on the details of our new security systems. This is very important, so please read it and confirm via e-mail that you understand the procedures!

1) Automated heavy turrets have been installed in both cubicle areas, the central catwalk, and outside Mr. H's office. YOU MUST HAVE YOUR ID PASS ON YOU at all times, or the turrets will open fire, and we certainly don't want that, do we? :-) Remember, no sudden movements until you hear the "click!" That means the turret has recognized your ID signature and you're safe to pass!

2) Employees must submit at least one of the following on the first payday of each month: one vial of blood, 20 nail clippings (toenail or fingernail is fine, but *NOT* a mix of both), one lock of hair, or a 5 square centimeter skin sample. These samples will be retained for monitoring purposes.

3) Any employee seen to be cohabitating, colluding, or cogitating with any of the following groups will be terminated immediately: foreigners, Masons, carpenters, Tragic players, illegal aliens, extraterrestrials or the Flemish.

4) If you see Mr. H in the halls, DO NOT make eye contact. Making eye contact with Mr. H will be seen as an attempt to steal his thought energy and will be grounds for immediate dismissal. Yes, even if Mr. H is wearing his special hat.

Thank you all for your patience with our little reorganization. Now, get out there and make the best gosh-darn tools in the West!

Cindy-Lou Kreb
H&H Tools Human Resources Department

Then something caught Jean-Marc's eye: propped up against the upper keys below the terminal screen was a folded piece of what looked like paper. He unfolded it to to discover, to his horror, a photograph of Maya. She was clad in her vault suit, but the zipper was pulled partway down to show off her generous cleavage, and her face showed a flirty smile. How in the wasteland did photos of Maya get outside the vault... No. The Overseer could finally connect the dots now. It explained why Catalina was so interested in Maya, despite being offered caps to simply conduct her to Freeside and back. It explained Maya's eagerness to leave the vault on what was a seemingly simply errand.

Maya, the self-styled 'princess' of Vault 43, wasn't satisfied with her gaggle of adoring boys. She was naive enough to think that she could charm the entire Mojave Wasteland into falling at her feet and making her their queen just by showing some skin. And now, multiple people - including elite NCR military personnel - were dead because of her insatiable narcissism. Jean-Marc's face contorted into a snarl and he shoved the terminal off his desk, where it crashed onto the floor and spat sparks.
"What the...?" Maya could be heard saying from out in the foyer.
Jean-Marc fought down the urge to confront her right then and there. That would only disrupt things and give Catalina time to catch up with them.  He would wait until they returned to the vault, then he would deal with the 'princess'. For now, he simply tucked the photograph inside the pocket of his wastelander's clothes and said nothing.

Dawn brought clear weather, and with it their opportunity to continue on to Freeside. Fixer guided them to the main gate of Freeside, where they entered what was mostly blasted ruins. Proceeding through the streets, though, the vault-dwellers were shown the Atomic Wrangler Casino, the Silver Rush weapons dealership, and tucked away on the far side was a shop called Mick and Ralph's. It was at Mick and Ralph's, Fixer claimed, where they would be most likely to find the parts they needed.

[Natalija]

But they also hapened to catch some un-wanted atention... a pair of Kings, talking near the street corner.

"Hey look... aint that one of Cat's gang? Vhats her name.... Fixer? HEY, GIRL! Long time no see! Hows the boss?" the leather-clad greaser called out, a wide smile on his face.

During her preliminery scouting and information exkursions to Freeside, Catalina did take a number of her people along, diferent ones each time. And Fixer vas one of them. The girl scowled...

"Shit... I told you coming here thru the West entrance vas a bad idea, we shuld have circled around south to avoid the Kings' turf and entered by way of South entrance, next to Gun Runners' shop... too many people around that Catalina's dealed with. And my face is known too." she mutered in Jean-Marc's ear. But there vas no geting out of it now, the two gangers wer aproaching, stil smiling.

"Hows it going, Fixer? Taking your robot out for a walk? Bit of a long way from the camp tho... you escorting this batch of meat or something?" he asked, his voice a litle confused. It vasnt like Catalina, from vhat the Kings known, to send just one of her people, especialy not her mechanic, on a slave-peddling mission vith no backup.

"Ammm... yea. See, Cat sent me ahead vith these slaves, we got jumped by some Fiends on the way in, so she and the guys stayed behind to keep them busy and give me and the slaves time to get in here. No sense leting the merchandise get killed right? No caps for us... She and the rest of the guys wil be along soon I hope." Fixer rushed. 

"Damn... nasty. Not often those psychos crawl this close to Freeside." the man drawled, then smiled... "Wel, no worrys, if they poke there face in here, the Kings wil blow it off. Want to wait at the School for your boss? And we can help you keep a eye on these slaves. That girl there, the tight one... I think the King may want a piece of that actualy. Pay you good caps too." he added, eyeing Maya.

"Wel, you'd... have to check with... the boss vhen she gets here. I... think she is ment for Gommorah, actualy." Fixer replyed, trying to keep inventing. The king just nodded.

"Makes sense... a piece of ass like that wuld go a long way to making there stable of whores that much more enticing. Stil, I bet the King can outbid them, if he maked Cat a offer... we'l see, right? Aniway, come on! You can relax at the crib, get a bite to eat, and watch the show! Some of our guys shuld be giving a King's performance, any time now!" he grinned, motioning Fixer and the rest to folow him.

From the way the other King taken up pozition behind the group, it looked more then a simple invitation. And there wer more Kings on the streets, watching. Fixer culdnt shake the feeling that her litle explanation didnt realy convince them.

"I cant wait!" she forced a smile at the talking King, then maked a show of ordering Sadist: "Ok, get them moving!" to vhich the robot replyed in the affirmative, and shoved Jean-Marc hard forvard.

***

By this time of corse, the situation at the camp vas unraveling. Saul, discovering that the slaves have escaped, including the grand prize, Maya, vas furious. Mostly at him-self, for leting it happen and not paying atention. But he vas also determined to get them back, before Catalina found out. He sent out his few remaining men at the camp in all directions, to scour the sands around the camp for tracks. Since no sandstorms wer going that week, they found them soon enogh, leading south-east tovard New vegas. Four set of tracks, one of them more round and flatened, and deeper... Sadist's metal paws.

"Fuck my life... if they get to the NCR, we'r fucked!" Saul growled, once he vas informed. He wasted no time in organizing a pursuit party; him and 4 other guys. This only left 2 slavers at the camp, watching the remaining slaves and keeping the camp safe, since Catalina's party also numbered a half-dozen people.

At twilight, about the same time as Jean-Marc and the rest reached Freeside, they moved out in pursuit. Not hindered by Sadist's akward slow movement, they maked about twice the speed.

[Queen of Maradonia]

(Apologies in advance if I overlook or misread anything in the previous posts.)

Maya kept quiet so far as Fixer spoke to... whoever these men were. She heard them calling themselves the Kings. Some kind of gang in this part of the wasteland, she assumed, apparently less crazy than Catalina's bunch of thugs, but they all had the same ridiculously greasy hair styled the same way. Inwardly, she would hate it if any of them laid a finger on her. After all, she could look at herself in the mirror and call herself a princess, but none of these idiots even bother trying to look like kings.

And so she stayed close to Jean-Marc as they entered the large, brightly lit building filled with nearly identical looking men. All eyes were on Maya, and though she pretended not to notice by staring forward at Jean-Marc and SADIST, she had a feeling these so-called Kings could easily be recruited into her fan club. Now, if only there was a changing room with an assortment of clothes in this building. The vault suit was fine for showing off her curves, but to enchant these men craving a glance at her bare skin, she would need a more revealing outfit. Or hell, she could improvise with a regular knee-length dress. Why show them everything at once when she could tease them.

In the meantime, she followed the group to wherever Fixer was taking them. A sexy walk, hips wiggling and butt swaying from side to side, ensured that the Kings remained interested.

[Natalija]

// I do love it how totaly un-afekted Maya is after all that shit shes been thru. Shes stil trying to get "fans", even after being sistematicaly sexualy abuzed for over a week? Wow... //

[Queen of Maradonia]

Actually, I took liberties because playing as Maya with mental trauma won't be very fun at all. Most rape roleplays ignore the long-term PTSD that follows the rape.

[Natalija]

// But thats part of it. How wil Maya change as a rezult? It just dont make sense that shes stil the same precocius spoiled self-important brat now, as she vas at the start. Wil she fold and break, and turn to a scared victim, or wil she harden, and turn to a cynical predator? Or some shade in betwen. It is character development. //

[Queen of Maradonia]

Okay, I have an idea. Nat, have you played Far Cry 5? If you haven't, Far Cry 5 is a first person shooter where (like many shooters) your character is capable of singlehandedly wiping out armies of enemies. You may team up with up to two companions, but there are missions where you must fight alone. So basically, the protagonist is a tough guy/girl who kills bad guys at will.

And s/he gets captured like ten times throughout the story. And each time it happens, s/he is helpless enough to sit through another of the bad guy's long monologues. But after that, the protagonist always manages to escape, only to be recaptured later after a few missions. In fact, for someone who can clearly defend him/herself, the protagonist is captured very easily every time.

Here's my idea: Maya can take that route. She toughens, becomes a fighter, but still gets captured repeatedly. Remember that I'm a bondage sub so we can't leave out the capturing. What she is doing in my latest post is not only to acquire fans, but to build an gang of henchmen to help her fight the slavers. How does that sound?

[Natalija]

I watched a few vids of it, but didnt play it. I did see how skripted events make the protagonist get captured often. I dont like games like that, "on rails", so I doubt I'l ever play it.

And yea, Maya culd toughen up. Frankly thats the logical path for her to take, given how strong-wiled she alredy is. She isnt someone to fall in-to a "victim" arhetype. My problem is that she is basicly totaly the same, after vhat hapened.

[Queen of Maradonia]

So we're using the Far Cry idea then. I don't know how regularly I can post here but if you want to make the next post for your characters, go ahead and I'll pick it up from there.

[Natalija]

//il wait for Trill to post first //

[Trill]

Jean-Marc followed Maya and Fixer inside the 'King's School of Impersonation' to find some mostly identically dressed men, some of them sitting around, one singing and gyrating on stage. Their escorts led them up the stairs and through some hallways to a sumptuously appointed room where another man clad in the same outfit was sitting at a terminal, a cybernetically enhanced dog laying on the floor near the desk.

"Hey, boss," one of the men called out, "look who showed up with some quality strange from Catalina!".
The man got up from the terminal and sauntered over to appraise the newcomers. After looking over Jean-Marc and Maya, he spoke in a smooth lilting voice. "Boy, Catalina sure knows where to find good stock. Are these for me?"
"They were going to be sold to..." Fixer was cut off by Jean-Marc nudging her and whispering in her ear.
"Let him bid on Maya. If we can get enough caps for the two of us to hit The Strip, we can get to McCarran from there. Just trust me, I'll explain later."
Fixer looked confused, but nodded almost imperceptibly and continued addressing the King. "The girl was going to be for Gomorrah, but Cat told me if you're willing to offer a better price, she's yours."
Maya said nothing, but looked angry.
"How much?" The King asked silkily.
"3000 caps." Fixer was sweating bullets, hoping the King would refuse so they could depart quickly. Jean-Marc, on the other hand, seemed rather calm.
"For a pretty thing like her? That's a damn lowball! 4000 caps right now!" The King reached into a chest and began scooping caps out of it.
Fixer stammered hopelessly until Jean-Marc flatly spat out "Deal." Maya started to cry. Ignoring her, Jean-Marc asked the King: "Sir, do you mind if Fixer and I have a little talk with the girl in private before we hand her over?"
"Why, sure thing. Use my bathroom." The King pointed the way and Jean-Marc chivvied them in.
"Overseer, what are you doing!?" Maya whimpered. "You're not actually going to leave me with these people, are you?"
Jean-Marc's face was a mask of stone. He pulled the photo out of his pocket and shoved it in her face. "I found this while we were holed up in the tool factory. What the hell is wrong with you, sending photos of yourself across the wasteland? Your narcissistic bullshit has cost us and the NCR the lives of valuable personnel, and caused a massive security breach for Vault 43. As of now, you're expelled from my vault, and I honestly don't give a damn how many times you get sold, or who you're sold to. I should have kicked you out years ago, you self-absorbed little bitch."
"B...bbbut... I'm a..." Maya stammered before the Overseer's expression turned downright homicidal.
"Fuck you and fuck your princess bullshit! I hope you get sold back to Catalina." He stormed out of the bathroom, dragging a stunned Fixer with him, and accepted 4000 caps from The King. Jean-Marc was fully aware that he'd just become a slave trader, if only temporarily, but he had had his fill of Princess Maya and as he and Fixer departed the School he felt like a weight had been lifted. He swore Fixer to secrecy; Dr Evans would be told his daughter had died and her body could not be recovered.

Not wanting to waste any time, the duo found the parts they needed for the vault at Mick and Ralph's, then passed the credit check to enter The Strip. Using his NCR credentials, Jean-Marc got them a monorail ride to Camp McCarran

[Natalija]

Fixer chuckled to her-self, vhile the two wer traveling by monorail. The late-teenage fixer girl turned to Jean Marc, pinning the older man vith a evaluative gaze.

"That vas prety cold, mister Overseer. And here I thoght you wer just a softy vith a nice big cock. I see your more then that. I kind of like that." she purred, cozying agains the older man, her vicious streak showing slightly again, before she leaned back in her seat. Turning more serious, she added.

"And yes, that was royally stupid, of her, to just flash her half-naked pics all over the Wastes. I honestly don't think I ever met someone like her, whos so drunk on her own ego. Wow." shaking her head.

"But you know what? She'l be fine." Fixer finished, her tone turning kontemplative. "She just dont strike me as the kind of chick to just roll over and accept it. That kind of ego just keeps going and going, and this fucked-up wasteland rewards determination. Shes going to find a way to put her looks to work for her, long term. Frankly... I dont think we've seen the last of her. Lets just hope shes not the vengeful type, like Catalina, or that the two of them dont fall back in together, this time on the same side. They could make life really miserable for us."

[Trill]

"You're right, that was pretty cold," Jean-Marc admitted. "But as Overseer, I'm responsible for Vault 43 and everyone in it, which now includes you. Maya's actions threatened the vault, which means she forfeited her place among us."
Maya's Pip-Boy was in his lap, the device powered off and unbuckled. Jean-Marc reached his arm around Fixer, who snuggled back in, and fastened the Pip-Boy to her left wrist, then thumbed the power button. The wrist computer booted up with some whirs and clicks.
Jean-Marc looked into Fixer's eyes and smiled as the monorail pulled into Camp McCarran. "Welcome to Vault 43. Now let's get there before Catalina does."

Some time later, Jean-Marc and Fixer were clinging for dear life aboard an NCR vertibird as it buzzed through the hot desert air, heading due south. The bird roared over Searchlight Airport and made a beeline for the vault outpost, now unoccupied. The bird unfolded its landing gear and touched down neatly at the outpost, allowing the overseer, the mechanic and a squad of NCR Desert Rangers to disembark. Jean-Marc led the group in the direction of the vault's hidden entrance as the vertibird lifted off again. It curved around and began heading north when several shots rang out, peppering the aircraft's hull with lead. The vertibird opened fire on the attackers on the ground, the staccato gunfire echoing off the desert rock. The moment he heard shots, Jean-Marc felt cold dread inside. They're here!

The overseer reached the external door panel, plugged his Pip-Boy in and activated the intercom.
"Mike! Jeff! Is anyone in there? Hello?"
"This is Leisha Booth. Overseer, is that you? Is Maya with you?"
"Maya's dead and so are our guys. I've got the NCR and a friend with me. Open the door, we've got slavers on our tail!"
"Stand by!" Grating alarms and rumbling machinery could be heard behind the door.
"Initiating vault door cycling sequence," the computer announced. "Please stand back."
The gunfire had suddenly stopped, which made the overseer nervous. Just as the door cycled open, he heard Catalina's voice over the outpost's radio.

[Natalija]

"You got no chance, Vaulters! Not even vith your new NCR amigos to bail you. Now, your choise is simple. You can open that door and surender. Then we make a ofer to all of you. Join my gang, or join the Khans, or turn in-to slaves. Or you can hole-up in there like ratas y ratones and make us bust in. And if you make it that hard for us, I promise you, vhat hapened at Vault 3 wil look like a fucking lovers quarel, kompared to vhat we'l do here. You hear me, pendejos?" the slaver woman's Spanish akcented, cold voice come over the radio, folowed by a even darker promise: "And mister Overseer, if your back here... I stil got a skore to settle vith you. I'l cut your fucking balls of. I promise."

The slavers had the outpost, captured. In the past two days and a half, as Fixer and Jean-Marc coluded vith McCarran personel and eventualy traveled back to the Vault, the slavers had not been idle. Saul has informd Catalina of vhat hapened, and she did konekt the dots together. She anticipated them making there way back to the Vault, imediatly.

But it vasnt just the slavers. For all of her bravado and daring, the woman vasnt stupid. She didnt have enogh numbers left in her gang, to do this on her own. And she also anticipated they wuld not be alone, and that they wuld likely get the NCR involved, especialy after vhat hapened to First Recon. The NCR wuldnt just shrug that off. They wuld hunt her and her gang down. This vas now a war. And in a war, she wuld need allies. So she altered the deal vith the Great Khans, ofering them the location of the Vault, forfiting her earlyer plan to use it only as her own gang's base, in exchange for there help in capturing it. 

So no, it vasnt just a hand-ful of slavers, that the Vault wuld be dealing vith. It vas a full Great Khan war party, three dozen hardened, wel-armed warriors strong, AND the slavers. Around 50 combatants, total, vith Catalina, Saul, and Papa Khan him-self, leading them. The chance to capture a intact Vault, vhich wuld serve his people SO wel as a permanent, wel-fortifyed base, vas too good for him not to join in this venture, him-self. Certinly it wuld be a vast improvment over Red Rock Canyon.

Vith the prevalency of automatic weapons, and even a pair of missile launchers, the NCR vertibird vas shot down in short order, tho not before its mini-gunners taken out half a dozen bandits. Those missile launchers wuld not be enogh to get thru the Vault door how-ever... but Catalina had thinked of that too. She back-tracked along the path the Vaulters taken, back vhen they wer tracking Maya, and found the other Vaulter's korpse, that vas with Jean Marc. That guy stil had his Pip Boy on his vrist. Taking it off, Catalina known it vas the key to geting in the Vault. She didnt know how to use it, or how wuld it open the door, but she wuld figure it out, by trial-and-eror, if nothing else.

As she finished speaking, she turned to Papa Khan, a large, ripped man vhose sharp eyes under a bushy beard, evaluated the hardened, muscular, busty woman before him, apraisingly.

"I like your style, Catalina. Vhats with the ball-cutting promise to that guy, tho?" he chuckled. The woman waved her hand, at her left foot, and the boot on it, shot-thru by Jean-Marc's bulet back then. The flesh under vas mostly healed by now, but she stil had a sligt limp.

"He vas the one vho given me this. Aniway, dont worry about it, big guy. Thats just a loose end I plan on tying up." she smiled viciously, then added,  "Now... lets hear there reply, first. If I know that guy, and I do... hes not going to just roll over and open up. Means this wil likely get bloody."

"Cant wait too long, how-ever. That Vertibird has likely reported-in before we shot it down. Means we can expect NCR platoon here before next day. We need to be insyde and fortifyed, by then." Papa Khan warned.

[Trill]

As Catalina ranted and raved and threatened, the group hustled inside and down the metal gangway into the exit zone. The remaining vault security personnel scrambled to arrange metal crates and boxes into a crude fortification, allowing the NCR rangers to direct fire down a narrow funnel towards the door. Meanwhile, Jean-Marc slipped into the security office and grabbed the radio.

"Attention slavers and raiders. This is Overseer Jean-Marc Moreau of Vault 43. Catalina, I know you can hear me, so listen up." He paused for a moment to gather his thoughts, then continued.
"For 210 years, Vault 43 has been a Vault-Tec success story, in contrast to the numerous tragedies and failures littering the wasteland. Since we opened our door to the Mojave Wasteland five years ago, we've seen many different people from different factions come and go via our trade outpost. We've faced down all kinds of threats; from deathclaws to feral ghouls to the failure of our own vault's systems. But we've also made friends in the last five years, from the fine people of the New California Republic to former vault-dwellers and even the occasional Super Mutant. We have endured many things, and those who have stood against us have come off second best every time. Soon Catalina and her allies will join the ranks of those who have fallen to our ingenuity, resourcefulness and determination to keep 43 going long into the future. I think I speak for all the men in this vault when I say we're going to keep our manhood intact today." He coolly extended his arm and dropped the radio mic as the other vault residents laughed and applauded.

"Rangers, take positions!" one of the Rangers ordered, his voice sounding tinny through his mask. The Rangers got behind the barricade and readied their weapons.
The radio crackled to life. "Vault 43, this is Camp Forlorn Hope. Come in, over."
Jean-Marc picked the mic back up. "This is Overseer Moreau, go ahead."
"Be advised we have a report of transport vertibird crashed near your location. Surviving copilot reports seeing Great Khans massing near vault outpost. McCarran advises additional troops en route from Mojave Outpost. Over."
"Understood. We'll hold out for as long as we can; we'll close the door if we have to. Rangers have formed a barricade at the exit zone."
"Copy. Forlorn Hope out."

[Natalija]

"Oh, they wil. If there smart about it. YOU wont, puto." Catalina growled in reply, to Jean-Marc's litle speech. Typical konsolidationist rethoric, that most big-shots liked to spout, to "inspire" the troops. She heared similer stuff back in New Reno, from the mob bosses. Then she shut of the radio.

"He definitly is in love with his own voice." Papa Khan comented vith a contemptus smirk, as he twirled a pair of pistols, around each of his index-fingers. One vas a 12mm pistol, using a shortened .50 cal round, very powerful, very efektive agenst heavy armor. The other, tho, vas even more impresive. It vas a Ranger Sequoia, that the Khan leader taken off the korpse of a veteran Ranger he killed in battle.

"So vhats the plan guys? I dont think just rushing that entrace wuld cut it... if the number of those Ranger freaks we seen geting off that flying thing vas anithing to go by." Saul asked, a bit concerned.

Papa Khan shaked his head. "No way. That wuld be a fucking kill-zone for them, for us just to chanel-in that entrance. And Rangers arent your tipical NCR scrubs. Those guys can shoot, and they can fight in close-up, if they need to. We need to be sneaky about this."

"But how? If thats the only entrance, how do we avoid the kill-zone?" Catalina mutered, frowning. This vasnt realy her thing, military smal-unit tactics. She vas a good fighter, but she vasnt that good a commander. One of the reasons she vas glad they had the Khans along. They fought the NCR for centurys. They known there enemy.

Papa Khan stroked his beard, then adjusted his horned Mongol-style helmet. "I know vhat there thinking. They think if they hold out long enogh for the reinforcements to come, they can just out-last us. And there right about that. But..." his eyes flashed, "...vhat if we turn there litle hidy-hole in that akcess tunnel, agenst them? We got the missile launchers, we can just kolapse the cave entrance. They wuld be traped in there, and we wuld have time to set up and ambush the reinforcemens vhen they come. And time to bring more of my guys in. Then we siege this shithole, until we starve them out."

Catalina thoght about it. "You sure we can take out the reinforcements? Vhat if they just keep sending more?"

But Papa Khan waved his hand, smirking. "I dont think you realyze how thinly-streched the NCR forces are in the Mojave, right now. Vith the Legion breathing down there necks from akros the river, and probing them vith raids evry week or so, they dont have that much man-power to spare. Honestly, I'm suprised they even sent Rangers here. That wuld probably thin them out alot else-where. So no... there wont be alot of reinforcements. At some point, Colonel Hsu wil have to think about the big picture, and how important it is for him to keep wasting troops here, fighting us, insted of them being at the frontline vith the Legion. Guess vhere his prioritys wil be?" winking at her.

"Plus... I sent a few runners to the Fiends, vith instruktions to step up there own raids up North. They wil keep the NCR busy, as wel." the Great Khan leader finished.

"Catalina... this vhole thing prezents the Great Khans vith a oportunity we hav not had for... wel, ever since we wer driven from Vault 15, fifty years ago. I WANT this Vault. It wil be a perfekt base, for us to work from, and vhere the NCR wil think very long and hard, before try to attack us direktly. And we have you to thank for this. You have maked a good choise, deciding to share the spoils vith the Great Khans. All of us wil come out ahead, vhen we seize this Vault." puting a hand on the tough woman's sholder.

She nodded, vith a smile. Not-entirely sincere one, since she originaly planed to take the Vault her-self, for her gang. But... necessitys change plans. And right now, she needed the Khans. Her gang on her own wuld be destroyed, by the NCR.

Sudenly, she remembered Fixer. Vhat hapened to her? Saul had no idea, he just told her that she vas gone as wel, vhen the captives maked there escape from the camp. Did Jean-Marc taken her hostage? Forced her to help him escape?

"I gues I'l find out." the Mexican woman thoght, as the trio walked tovard the cave entrance, careful to keep to cover, and stay out of line-of-sight from anyone inside.

She vas broken-out of her train of thoght, by Papa Khan's orders to his men, armed vith missile launchers.

"Target that cave, just above the entrance! Lets seal them in there like mole-rats! They want to stay in there? Fine... they can stay in there, until they start begging to be let out, or starve to death!"

The two launchers fired in unison, the pair of hi-explosive rockets striking the same spot above the entrance. A cascade of rock and debris broked-off, and buryd it completly, filing it up vith several tons of rubble. The Khan leader rubbed his large hands.

"Good. That shuld keep them on ice in there, vhile we set up to deal vith the reinforcements. Lets make preparations. Guys, spread out, dig up fox-holes, set up sniper nests on both sides of this valley, and camuflage them. I dont want any sign of our prezence! Catalina, you and some of your guys, go out and recon the area, say... 25 klicks in all direktions. You'r less konspicus then we are, in our armor. Vhen you spot the reinforcements, come back in and let us know." he ordered.

Vhile not usualy too happy to take orders from anyone, Catalina realyzed this vas now the Khan's game. They wer used to guerila warfare agenst the NCR. They have been doing it for a very long time. She nodded in agrement, and started giving orders to her gang, vhile keeping Saul vith her, on ther recon.

"Vhat do you think? Can we pull it of?" Saul asked, as they walked.

She shruged, not to happy, passing a hand thru her short hair. "Look man... I'd be lying if I sayed I like just waiting them out, but... hes right. There holed up good in there, and we cant just rush them in. As for the Khans taking charge, wel... agen, not my first choise, but right now, its the only choise we can make. We cant fight the NCR on our own."

"The plan vas never to fight them AT ALL, remember?" Saul accuzed, stoping, pointing a finger at her. She stoped too, and vhile a flash of anger pased over her face, she reluktantly nodded.

"I know, Saul. I know. But... vhats done is done. Theres no going back now." vith a sigh.

Sudenly, out of the korner of her eye, she spoted movement...

"DOWN!" she snarled, shoving Saul as she her-self dived down to the dusty ground, just as the surviving vertibird co-pilot's shots flashed over them both. Roling on her side, she had her .44 out and tracking, and she put a bulet thru the man's chest, before he culd adjust his fire, to track her.

[Trill]

The tense silence was broken by distant shouts, a rushing sound and a sudden deafening roar that shook the vault's exit zone. Part of the cliff face above the vault door sheared off and crashed to the ground, blocking the entrance with a ton of broken rock and filling the exit zone with slightly irradiated orange dust that set everyone's Pip-Boys clicking. Jean-Marc's view through the security office windows was temporarily obscured by a dust cloud.
"What the fuck was that?!" Leisha yelled.
"Stay where you are!" called out one of the Rangers. The vault-dwellers obeyed. Minutes passed as the dust slowly settled and the rad count began to decrease. The lead Ranger gave the all-clear and Jean-Marc and Leisha cautiously left the office. Jean-Marc eyed the blocked entrance warily.
"Wow," a voice behind him said, "you've really pissed her off this time."
Jean-Marc turned around to see Fixer, clad in a brand new vault suit, her short hair brushed and face washed.
"I thought you weren't going to wear one of those?" he asked idly.
"My clothes were ripped and I didn't have any spare." Fixer plucked doubtfully at the unfamiliar material of the suit. "This will have to do for now."
Jean-Marc made the introductions, then gestured towards the vault door. "What's going on, here? I can't say I know the Great Khans very well, but I thought Catalina was trying to capture the vault, not destroy it."
"From the looks of it, she's trying to starve us out. The Khans excel at guerilla warfare, which has made Red Rock Canyon so hard to contain, let alone capture," The lead Ranger had taken of his mask, revealing a rugged young man underneath. He continued, "The Khans are descended from former residents of Vault 15, but if I were a betting man, my money would be on Catalina not knowing a damn thing about vaults or how they operate. Right now, she's just spitballing."
"Either that, or she's just buying time for more reinforcements," Fixer added. "Catalina's ignorant, but she's not stupid. That bitch grew up in New Reno; she knows how to fight and how to use guile. We've definitely thrown a wrech into her plans, but she's coming up with an alternate solution as we speak. We need to stay ahead of her."

"I'll take that bet about Catalina not knowing how vaults work," Jean-Marc replied smugly. "If she did, she'd know we can grow our own food and purify our own water here. We only trade for things like scrap and spare parts; there's not much else that we can't make, grow or salvage on our own. This place was designed to withstand a direct nuclear strike; a raider siege would be nothing." He glanced at the Rangers. "You fellas are stuck with us for the time being, I'm afraid."

[Natalija]

Truth be told, Fixer didnt much like the suit. It feled so sticky and tight agenst her skin, vith a artifisial feel to it. Rubber-y-plastic-like. She vas not used to it, at all. It did akcentuate her figure, but, not being nearly as vain as Maya vas, plus, not haveing the same bounty-ful attributes Maya did, Fixer didnt get much out of wearing it. She looked more or less like any of the other late-teen females in this Vault. Wel, asyde from the scars, and the more mature look in her eyes, betraying alot of expirience and hard-ship in her relativly short life. And that expirience also maked her scowl sligtly, at the Overseer's overkonfidence.

She continued to shift un-komfortably around, as she speaked up. "If I wer you, I'd not get too comfy. This place... yea... it looks nice and secure and all that, but it is also potentialy a sealed death-trap. And I'm sure you guys are prety self-suficient here, but... you dont know these raider and slaver types, like I do. I have lived vith them, for almost 6 years. First vith the Jackals, after they killed my family and taken me in, then the Vipers, before Catalina's gang wiped out there hide-out, and finaly vith Cat's litle gang of slavers." her voice laced vith supresed pain, before she continued, shoving it down. She vas also being VERY careful not to mention exacly vhat she did for those gangs, in the prezence of NCR military people. It culd get her in alot of trouble. "If theres 1 thing I learned, is that they wil stop at nothing to get vhat they want. They are ruthless and determined, smarter then you think, and they adapt fast."

She paused there, looking up at the metal walls and celing. Sudenly she frowned, as a un-komfortable thoght ocured to her. "How do you guys get air down here? I asume you got some kind of ventilation sistem that pumps in fresh air from outsyde? I'd like to see the air-flow chart of the Vault. Especialy vhere the in-take points are. And how wel-hidden they are."

[Trill]

"It doesn't work like that," Leisha explained. "Everything is a closed system in a vault. Our air is all recirculated through a central air scrubber and purifier unit. The only exception to that is our water intake connected to the purifier, but there are no water intakes big enough for even a radroach to squeeze through. The front door is the only way in or out, and Catalina just sealed that off."

Three vertibirds touched down at Searchlight Airport, out of the range of the Khans' anti-aircraft fire. NCR troops piled out and swept the area, looking for the downed bird that had earlier carried the Overseer and company home. Meanwhile, more troops approaching from the northeast bypassed the airport and scouted out a rearguard position behind a rocky outcropping, where they had full view of the Khans milling around the vault outpost.
"Bravo 3 from Echo 7, we have clear visual on the outpost, over."
"Copy, Echo 7. We've found the bird, pilot and co-pilot are dead. We're proceeding towards your location and... SHIT!"
"Bravo team, sitrep!"
"We just found the slavers! One female, one male. We are under fire, taking defensive positions."
"Understood. Pin them down as best as you can. We're setting up on our end, stand by for artillery support at your location."
"Copy."

The NCR fire team from Mojave Outpost worked feverishly, out of sight of the enemy, to unpack and set up their artillery emplacements as gunfire clattered in the distance. The Khans at the outpost become visibly agitated, with Papa Khan barking orders left and right.
Finally, the artillery was ready. It was fairly powerful prewar equipment, but they had otherman-portable weaponry on standby if needed.
"Mortar ready and aimed at target!"
"Engage!"
The shell shot out of the mortar tube, sailed through the air and hit the ground next to the outpost, generating an explosion that killed several Khans instantly.
"Bravo team, this is Echo team," the fire team leader reported. "Bravo Bravo Charlie, the Doctor is coming."

[Natalija]

"If you say so..." Fixer murmurd, not at all konvinced. Especialy the water-intake part, that worryd her. There wer plenty of things smaler then a Radroach, out there. If the Khans or Catalina sukceeded in finding the water sorce that supplyed the vault, they culd simply poison it. Or just seal-off the intake, or re-direkt the flow away from it, cuting-off water supply completly.

One thing that komforted her, vas that Catalina vasnt usualy the type to think things thru, too much. But that didnt mean the thoght culdnt occur to some of the others. Like the Khans. And the thoght that the NCR wuld keep the raiders and slavers busy enogh for them to give up on the Vault, all-together.

* * *

// hehe it is funny how you keep ignoring the pasage of time. by the time the NCR reinforcements wuld get there, the Khans wuld be wel fortifyed and ready. Also, theres no way any large movement of forces, ESPECIALY moving heavy artilery, wuld go un-noticed by Catalina's scouts, so... lets make this a litle more realistic shal we? Also, how the fuck the NCR got there hands on pre-war artilery is anyones guess (unles they konvinced the Boomers to join in) //

A day later...

Or at least, that vas vhat it looked like. By the time the NCR reinforcements started sheling the outpost, there wer in fact no Khans near-by. Just a few decoys, wood logs and rocks covered in Khan clothes and helmets, shaped like humans. And the NCR fell for the bait.

Papa Khan grinned, obzerving the artilery barrage from one of the camuflaged fox-holes. "Predictable. No... evryone stay cool. Let them waste shels on that patch of dirt. Vhen they get closer, we'l open up."

In the meantime, Catalina, Saul, and a couple others that joined them, maked a tactical retreat from direktion of Searchlight, vhere they culd see the Vertibirds in the distance, landing. Also, they spoted the splinter group of NCR troops making a flanking move to the rocky hills behynd the Vault. They sent a runner, back to the Khans in the valley, to inform them of the move.

"I guess they ran out of shells. Good." Papa Khan comented, then puled out a piece of mirored glass out of his tunic pocket, and flashed a intrikate series of sun-reflektion signals, off to one side of the valley, and the camuflaged sniper nests there. The message translated simply to: take them out.

The Khan sniper nests, 4 of them, 2 on each side of the valley, had the NCR artilery pozitions in clyar view. A staccato of hunting rifle shots ringed out, and a half dozen NCR artilery troops vent down in short order. The rest of them imediatly opened fire on the camuflaged pozitions.

"NOW! Evryone, rush the outcroping, vhile there fokused on our snipers!" Papa Khan roared, and sprinted out of the fox-hole, his twin pistols in hands. Behind him, over half of the total Khan force folowed, a good 20 men. Rounding the outcroping, they opened fire on the suprised NCR troops, who wer now advancing slowly on the sniper pozitions. Caugt betwen a anvil and a hammer like that, the NCR regulars wer mowed down, in minutes, The Khans lost a half-dozen men, but the element of suprise vas complete. They have destroyed the NCR artilery unit, and the backup they had vith them.

* * *

Meantime, Catalina's litle group of scouts keped retreating, leading the NCR force from Searchlight, on a wild goose chase, away from the Vault, and in the vague direktion of Cottonwood Cove. The idea vas, to make the Legion fort there aware of vhat vas going on, and hopefuly get them interested in attacking such a large NCR movement.

"How far do we take this? I can alredy see the crosses in the distance. We dont vant to be catched betwen them!" Saul warned, squinting down at the cove.

Catalina smirked. "This is far enogh. Now, we find some place to hide, and watch the show! Good thing these mountains are full of caves and sink-holes. Lets find one."

Down at the Cove, Aurelius Of Phoenix frowned, obzerving the distant NCR force thru a powerful set of binoculars. Vhat wer they up to? They seemed to be pursuing someone, but who? He had sent a number of patrols out, a day before, perhaps it vas one of them that the NCR has found?

It didnt mater. They wer clyarly fokused on who-ever it vas they wer pursuing. And that ment there flank vas open. The Centurion started barking orders, for the camp's legionarys to assemble. This vas a oportunity he wuld not let go to waste. Only minutes later, a Legion raiding force vas ready to go, nearly a 100 men strong, recruits, decanii, and some veterans, hardened in battle.

By the time the NCR unit pursuing Catalina's scouts even become aware of the Legion force on its flank, it vas too late... they wer engaged.

[Trill]

From the control tower at Searchlight Airport, an NCR officer watched in dismay as the Khans overran the artillery emplacements, destroying valuable pre-war weaponry in the process.

"Goddamnit!" he groaned. The error was going to cost them teribly, but fortunately they had a backup plan. By shooting at the regulars and moving from their hidden positions, the Khans have given him a rough idea of where to strike. He spoke into the radio. "Mother Pearl, this is Echo 7, can I give you tasking? Over."
"This is Mother Pearl, ready to commence bombing phase. What are our coordinates? Over."
Echo rattled off the grid squares corresponding to the positions overlooking the vault, and waited. Half an hour later, a deep droning sound could he heard through the dry desert air. It became louder and louder until an enormous aircraft sailed gracefully over the airport tower: a B-29 bomber, painted with the livery and insignia of the Boomers. The Khans saw the oncoming aircraft, and fired their guns and missile launchers. The missiles missed; gunfire peppered the hull. A door opened in the belly of the bomber and ordinance tumbled out, detonating on impact and throwing clouds of dirt into the air. As the bomber finished its bombing run and turned back towards Nellis Air Force Base, the three vertibirds at Searchlight rose into the air and swept the area, shooting at anything that even looked like a target. Some of the Khans lost their nerve and tried to flee, but were cut down by the gunfire from above.

"Echo 7, this is Delta 3. We have a visual on the slavers, but we're down near Cottonwood Cove, and the damn Legion has spotted us! We need reinforcements now!"
"Delta 3, find some cover and hold your position. We're sending help now. Over."