"Or you could just have enough bullets to pepper them full of holes before they get close." Niza said quickly and just loud for the group to her before letting a few coughs. She looked over to see Forge cleaning his gun. "Quite the peashooter you there. Scope, mag, and all. Spared no expense?"
Forge looked at the woman and smiled, "I waste my money on what I want. Food, water, your regular day supplies, and nothing but ammunition. I've used this weapon more than I used my other two." Forge said pointing at the rifles on his back, "I have all of the attachments to my varmint rifle, but as for my single shotgun it doesn't have any. But still, I use them often." Forge got up, putting his pistol in his side holster. "With this little thing, I pull off head shots left and right." Forge leaned against the wall, bored out of his mind.
John nodded at Forge's statement, "Yup, as long as you know how to use your weapon, it's just as dangerous as any other." He said as he stood up, just in case Damien made any moves, because he could pull out Lucky faster than any man he knew, "Now, lemme introduce myself, I'm Lucas Fullman." He lied smoothly, "How about y'all?"
"Niza Hellinsen, NCR acolyte and automatic weapon enthusiast." Niza said proudly, her head held high. "And may I say you two look like you have a lovely collection modified pieces that I'm sure will get pointed toward the Legion." She sighed. "Regardless on your stance with the NCR."
"Nice to meet you to John." Damien replied nicely, having a slight smile amongst his face. "I know who you are, and I'm not going to cause any problems, I'm not with the NCR anymore, so you should put your weapon away slowly." Damien said, leaning on the back of a wall. "Unless....you're looking to start something right now and kill me because of what 'they' did to your family." Damien looked at the others. "Damien Winter's, nice to meet all of you."
"And you all know my name, John Forge. And thank you for the compliment Niza." Forge said with a smirk across his face. He took a look at his pip-boy, seeing that there was nothing to do. "So, what brings you guys, and gal, to these parts? I was sent here by my chief, who was mutilated by none other than the legion, to take out a man who "walks the shadows"."
"That's all they've done to you?" Damien remarked. "Carve in another man's face and dismember a limb or two? I spent six months out there, inside Arizona and New Mexico, during the last summer. Supposed to be a two-week personal mission of mine. I heard a rumor that the Legion was planning to attack a small isolated town in Arizona, nearby the Colorado actually, so I went out to look for some of these men, capture or kill them, gather some knowledge if possible. The Legion who fought for this certain centurion were hard men... harder than you'll likely ever be. They know their country better than we do. They knew there was a town nearby. So they hid in the valleys and waited for the right time to strike... and I got caught in the open in the middle of the town. Legion was so strong, they could have wiped this town out in seconds. Then there was the sandstorm. If you hesitated for a single millisecond, you would have had you head cut off by a Gladius. And this entire siege was in complete darkness." He looked at Forge directly in the eye from where he was standing. "The majority townspeople died first. Didn't have enough to feed them, to keep them warm. Eating the Brahmin was easy... but later, when we started to fall... that wasn't easy." He looked at the locals nearby him, one of them shuttering. "In the end, there were five left. Then the Legion attacked in their hundreds." "You don't know Legion. You fight them for fun. I fight them for something I will never get back."
"Looks like we're both here to strike the Legion." Niza said, trying to lighten the mood somewhat. "I'm mostly here to to join up with the NCR atCamp McCarran, hoping to bag a few Legionaries and gain a bit more training while taking the long way around." She pulled out her 9mm SMG, checking the clip's ammo. "Haven't got to bag anything but some varmint and a couple of Powder Gangers so far..." She slapped it back in before concealing her SMG. "Other than that, I've been spreading the glorious word of the NCR from town to town when I can. You might've noticed one of my posters out front..."
John slowly slowly placed Lucky back into her holster, pretty much backed into a wall already, "Fine...And sorry, I just figured the NCR had enough of fruitlessly sending Rangers after me, so they sent you." He said simply, "All because I have the misfortune of being raised for 13 years to destroy them..." He muttered as Damien and Niza came to a pause, then he turned to face Niza, "I would suggest ya check yourself with your devoutness to NCR; you seem to only see the lighter side of them, I've had the misfortune of seeing the worst of them...Usually with my own eyes..." He sighed again, "Seems like NCR and I have inter-twined destinies though, no matter how much I run, we always seem to bump into each other." He chuckled, "You'ld never believe it, but just last year on my way up for a trip to New Vegas, some Veteran Rangers from Camp Golf as I passed by found out about me and tried to pin me down. Let's say there's Veteran Ranger somewhere in California put out of service by a .357 magnum round in the leg, and another who is probably still mad at the man who W.P.O.A. his comrade." He said with a slight smile.
"I should have given you more detail of this man. The man they mutilated then killed was my uncle," Forge felt slightly uncomfortable, but felt as if he needed to tell them what had happened, "My uncle, Richard Lonas, he was the only family I had. We escaped vault 11 together, he was the only family I truly had. After several months of wandering around the desert, we found some abandon tent in the middle of the Mojave, we decided to settle down for a bit. He taught me how to shoot and kill. Taught me how to read, write, and care for myself. It was night, and we could tell someone was outside the tent. We both went out with our guns at hand, and like that I was knocked out, feeling a large hit on my head. I woke up right in front of my uncle, I was terrified. " "Then, these strange people wearing these strange roman costumes came out of the shadows. They spoke to each other, not knowing what was going to happen. They grabbed my uncle, some rope, a bottle of venom, and some knives and oil. They tortured him, while I was tied up, and one of these strange men held my head still, and another held my eyes open. I sat there and watched as they started to decapitate him. They pulled his arms and legs off slowly, making him scream in pain. After that, they had built a large crucifix, and nailed him through the chest." "They untied me, as I was paralyzed from horror. Before they could leave though, the leader went up to uncle and slit his throat and had gut him, letting his organs and god knows what else hang from the body. An appraiser of some sort, preached to me about how they were this mighty Legion, and how they will cleanse the whole Mojave. They left me there, alone. I had processed every moment of the torture. And so, I promised myself, that I will kill them not just from the vengeance, but make them scream as I tear them from the inside out slowly." Forge didn't know how long he was talking for, but this was his side of the story, "I want to hear their screams, I want videos of them dying slowly, so I can fall asleep to it. They will not only pay for what they did, but will also simply scream as I continue to tear them from limb, to limb, till there is nothing else for me to tear."
John chuckled as Forge finished his story, "Oh, how I wish that I had half as much mislead belief in the ability to single handed bring down an entire nation, simply by killing some raider parties here and there." John took a seat, looking at the group, "Let me tell you something, all three of y'all combined doesn't make a spit bit of difference in this. The way I see it, NCR is still losing ground here in the Mojave, Legion's stronger than ever east the Colorado, Caesar is still on the throne, Legate Lanius is still alive, Vulpes is still alive, everyone in the Legion's command structure is still. Alive. You all lack direction, like most young folk you're age. You're essentially just mindless killing replaceable slaves. Think about that. Until you destroy the entire head of the Bull, the Bull will still charge at you. Caesar at this point is more just a rallying point, even he's replaceable by now. And you don't have very long before the Legion tries to bust the Dam again, and at the current rate, they will. Think about it, First Battle of Hoover Dam, it was a head on, everyone's fresh and ready to go, brawl that was only won by ingenuity on the NCR Ranger's part. However, this time, the NCR is fighting on all fronts across the Mojave with mainly inexperienced, badly equipped, drafted, and tired soldiers, while the Legion is numberless, well supplied, fresh, exprienced, and determined. Considering we're so close to Vegas, I'll just say this, how the odds stack up right now, I'm betting Legion." He says to them, "However..." He slowly stood up and slid out his silenced Sniper Rifle to show them a small, but familiar symbol on it, the symbol of the Enclave next to the flag of the Commonwealth, "You happen to be talking to a man who was trained from birth by the most advanced and fearsome military in the Post-War world to kill nations. Yes, I may have been 13 when Navarro was sacked, but I was originally dragged towards the East, going all the way to the Capital Wasteland where I trained for 5 more years before being sent back here. If you want to take down Legion, you have just the guy to talk to for a plan. I may not have a cozy relationship with NCR, but I'ld rather not spend my life enslaved."
Damien looked at Forge, slightly saddened in the tone of his voice but still appearing with an emotionless face. "I'm sorry for your loss, you have my condolences. I can relate to that. The one they killed was the love of my life, her chest being impaled through the wall by a large spear after she put up a fight against not being a slave. Being a female slave in the legion is a fate worse then death, it's not surprising about the suicides of female slaves being so high, especially across the Colorado where Vegas is just a heartbeat away. We both lost our family's to the raging bull. luckily for you, your not alone for vengeance." Damien said, turning around to face John. "Over the past five years, I've already advanced on this "plan". Roughly 90 Centurion leaders, Half of Caesar's original Inner Circle, 25,000 Legionaries killed by my hand alone and at least 50 separate camps ranging to a small camp similar to Cottonwood Cove to the largest one in Arizona housing thousands upon thousands of Legion, burnt to the ground. I've waged a one-man crusade against them since she died, and the Legion is terrified of me. I have been aiming at the command structure, more specifically against the Inner Circle and the Centurion commanders of camps and occupied towns, so that eliminates half of the problem." Damien begun. "Lanius is an enormous problem, but he is not in the Mojave yet but is expected to arrive at Hoover Dam. Then there is Vulpes and Lucius, their deaths should mean the collapse of both of their entire divisions. Caesars death basically cements the death of the legion as a whole. The Legion follows Caesar, not his ideals. This collapse could take a week...could take a few decades, but it would happen." "So now that we've gotten to know each other a little better, it's possibly the best to destroy the Legion entirely. An attack on the fort might be a suicide mission, but they are dealing with the deadliest men and women alive. And if all four of us decide to attack the Fort, I want to be the one that kills Caesar. No questions asked."
John shook his head, "Sorry, I ain't interested in dying today. I don't want to have my 40 years of life running from NCR wasted by some suicide charge of some Legion Fort whose impact of our attack likely won't even make the Legion falter. Besides, how the hell are you planning on getting there? If I recall correctly, only those with Legion guides know the way to the Fort itself. If you attack the encampments around it, good luck fighting several thousand Legion soldiers swarming you all at once." He said, "Now if you'll excuse me, I am gonna go get some shut eye." And with that, John left them.
"Unlike that guy, i'm in." Forge said with smirk on his face, thinking all of the things he could do to Legion troops. "I'm after ALL of the legion, Caesar's just ghost to me. I'm after a "special" legion troop. He was the leader of the group. He wore this robe made of death claw scales and skulls, he wore a death claw skull over his head. But other than i'm most definitely in." Forge looked over to Niva with a smile, having a women around him made him feel a little sane, "So Niza, you in? Or will you walk away like that one guy?"
Niza thought for a moment. "While heading straight for the Legion is basically suicide with only the three of us, I really really want to go!" She reflected back on her goal. While attacking the Legion would perfect training and a way to gain glory within the NCR, the guarantee of success, let alone surviving, was nigh impossible. She then remembered a little manual she swiped from a NCR Regular. "The smart soldier is a living soldier." was the one of the first rules. "I'll help, but I but there's no point going in head first. I suggest we do some guerrilla warfare against them. Raid some parties, spread some more propaganda against, send a message... Not like you guys were doing a poor job at that or anything..."
"Hm," Forge thought for a moment. "I know i've seen some legionary camps near boulder city, but thats too far, and the size of those camps would rip us into pieces." He tried to think his best A glass from the counter fell onto the floor, and thats when he remembered a legionary traveling group. "Come to think of it, there is a legion group that travels around the mojave, they aren't tough, but they have the man power to over throw two towns at the same time. I've killed a few of those guys, but never finished the other 80 percent of the job. Last I saw or fought them rather, it was 10 miles from Boulder City." Forge knew that he was right, he was always right. Even when he someone would die, it happened in some of the most jacked up ways.
"There is one place that we could wipe out, i've been studying it for quite a while." Damien replied, pulling up a map on his pip-boy. He was given his fathers old pip-body after it was passed down to him when he was very young before he was born. Damien zoomed in on one specific location, Cottonwood Cove. "The largest single encampment of Legion forces on the western side of the Colorado River, and possibly the largest in the Mojave other than The Fort itself. It's a Legion Slave camp, and the Legion numbers there in the hundreds. I've been there before just for scouting out the situation, and there appears to be truck full of Nuclear waste that would permanently take down the camp for good, rendering it impossible to inhabit. I would follow up with this plan, except that there are Slaves inside the camp and I don't want them to suffer." Damien replied. "So Guerrilla warfare can only last us so long for this attack. If we take this camp down, NCR would be calling us heroes, would take an enormous load of their shoulders and can focus on taking back Nelson. This is what we are going to do. We go in, wipe out everything wearing Crimson, escort the Slaves out of their pens, dump this waste onto the camp, leave." Damien took a nearby pen and wrote a message for John, telling him where his location would be. After that, he looked at Niza and Forge. "I'll meet you at the front, I have an entire armory at my house outside of Vegas, so we can stock up there before we decide to go through with this attack."
Niza's eyes lit up after hearing "heroes". She gave a quick drum roll on the counter out of excitement. "I am so in! I'm going to bag myself like 50 legionaries!" she said, giddily. Her smiles faded a little as she saw both Forge and Damien have Pip-boys with them." I'm uh... I'm going need a map of some sort first..."
Unbeknowst to the three, John was already past Primm, moving like a ghost across the Wastes. Just before the hill to Mojave Outpost, he turned towards Nelson. By the time he arrived, it seemed like some Powder Gangers surrounding a small group of NCR troopers. John quietly stuck to the shadows and watched, slowly sliding out his Cowboy Repeater, watching carefully. Then, it seemed as if a swarm of at least 20 Legion and 20 more of their mongrels flooded out from behind the buildings, and John watched with amazement as within seconds the entire town was rounded up, he himself just barely evading capture from his hidy-hole. Then, the man with the fox helmet, Vulpes Incognito stepped up and began a speech, telling them how they had been sinful and disloyal to their nation, and that when Legionaires were disloyal and sinful, they were punished. Not all, but some, and the rest made to watch or even participate. Then he drew out a bunch of tickets, and announced the lottery. That's when he heard footsteps behind him, quickly turning on his heels, he instinctly used the butt of his gun as a club and slammed the head of a Legion soldier, instantly rendering him unconscious, then give more Legion grabbed him and forcable disarmed him as he screamed curses at them and struggled in vain. He was a sniper, not a unarmed fighter. Before it, he was forced to kneel before Vulpes as two Legion soldiers held his arms above him while another stood on his shin, immobilizing him. "Great, so I'm guessing you're gonna kill me now then, huh? Enslave me? If so, go ahead and string me up." He said venomously at Vulpes. "Fiesty, even when faced with death or worse. I like that." He said cooly, clearly unaffected, "No...We know about you and your...origins, Mr Trueman. You could be of great use to us." "Looks like you're SOL then there, Mr Vulpes. I ain't interested." John replied, staring daggers at Vulpes. "I wouldn't quite say that. I think we know something of interest to you." "Oh? And what do you have that you could possibly offer me?" He asked sarcastically. "Power, money, immortalizes toon in the annals of history, the list goes on and on quite frankly. But what I think is most of interest to you; Peace." Vulpes studied John, and saw a slight softening of John's face, a good sign, "You know that NCR is terribly overstretched. Caesar may wish to destroy the NCR, but the NCR's fall will come in time as long as they continue this path. And honestly, beyond the Mojave, the lands NCR holds are not that interesting to Caesar beyond the slaves. No, he wants NCR to let itself weaken while his Legion goes stronger after he takes New Vegas." "Peace..." John muttered, then a small idea crossed his mind, if he managed to get close enough to Caesar...He could possibly take over the Legion entirely...an entertaining idea, "And if I accept this, will I be in a position close to Caesar?" "Yes, as long as you prove your loyalty." Vulpes replied. "Then sign me up." John said with a grin, his mind already formulating the coup of the century.
"I'm in, I've killing nothing but recruits and assassins that have been hunting me down." Forge took his pip-boy off, and had set it from advanced to simple mode, "Niza, you can borrow my pip-boy. I want it back after the mission, and afterwards i'll make you one. One of the things I know is engineering, and trust me, if you met my uncle a LONG time ago, he would have upgraded your weapons and given you a pip-boy 420. It was the limited edition to it's relative." Forge cleaned all of the sweat out of it, and had put a camouflage cover on it, just to make it look interesting. Forge explained how the pip-boy works. He even tinkered with it to where he can have a small blade inserted into the cover.
