Damien turned around to see John walk into the door. He stopped planing his next target and turned the radio down. Knowing that Novac was already well protected with two former snipers and a ranger, he could rest easier at night. However, he was going to expect a Frumentarii to eventually find him. He was going to answer the first thing on his mind. "Are you Legion?"
John seemed taken aback by that question, "Wha-? Legion? No, nonono, not Legion!" He quickly replied, "I'm simply trying to track down a man named Benny that shot me in the head near Goodsprings." He added, "But I've been through a lot to get here. Was nearly blown up by Powder Gangers on 3 occasions in 3 different places, snuck past 4 Gloriian camps, got caught in the crossfire of a Legion-NCR-Glory skirmish, nearly was captured or killed by Legion at Nelson, and I just had to clear the REPCONN test facility of ghouls and Nightkin, so I'm just trying to get some rest."
Damien appeared impressed that this stranger had survived so much in such a small timespan. He understood that the Mojave was a melting pot of chaos, but the legion always caught his attention. "You're a lucky man. Legion has been wiped out at Nelson and Nipton has been attacked and burnt to the ground. Glad to see you've made it out." Damien then poured a glass of whiskey for John, placing it on a small table nearby. "Legion has made many enemies and they are an enemy of me. Glorians and the NCR are holding them back, but they'll stab each other in the back sooner or later." He then placed his small pencil besides another far larger table full of photos of all high ranking legion members and Caesar's inner circle. "Sorry about the mess."
(2000 posts !) "The Bear, The Eagle, The Bull..." Damien began. "Notice the connection here? These collective powers have used an animal to represent them, such as the Legion's bull to show their strength and the Glorians using an Eagle to represent air superiority and their own power or history. Sometimes, these symbols can make a nation believe in something or make them terrified of them." Damian said, pouring himself a glass of whiskey. "I prefer that Vegas should remain as an independent power in the wastes, but any authority that does a successful job in showing any form of 'peace'. NCR is proof that they are beyond their reach, the Legion itself is about to collapse into a vestigial empire or destroy itself when Casear dies and Mr.House only cares about Society's Elite, not as a whole. I sometimes disagree with the Glorians methods, but they could possibly be the second best option for Vegas. Independence is ideal."
(Woo! Way to go!) John shrugged, "I don't really have an opinion on what would be best, but I don't think an independant Vegas will work out quite as well as you may think. Besides, with NCR, Legion, Glory, and House all vying for control of Vegas, independence simply isn't a realistic option here. Unless someone can get into the Lucky 38, which hasn't happened in God knows how long, and kill Mr. House, there is not a snowball's chance in hell that a truly free New Vegas could be established." John simply shook his head, "But I know I'll have to support one side or the other when the time comes."
"Well. I could always take down House whenever, but considering that the Strip doesn't allow weapons for tourists, Securitrons constantly patrolling and that the Lucky 38 doors themselves have not opened for over 200 years, that's not going to happen anytime soon. And considering House is the only reason the Strip has order and so forth..." Damien spoke before taking another sip. "Guess your right there, it's not impossible but it's difficult for an Independent Vegas. When that time comes, make sure the side you've chosen is the right one. I was once told by an old friend that "Even if it's nothing, stand up for what you believe in." It can make all the difference in the world sometimes." "So this, Benny. Typical Vegas Boy, leader of the Chairmen. Considering the shots at your head, you have more then a grudge towards him i assume?"
(I've actually been kinda thinking about what Ulysses would have had to say about Glory, how he would talk about them and such) John nodded, "Yes. I plan on traveling til I find him and putting a bullet in his brain, like he did with me. Only with him, I'll make sure he is dead." He explained bluntly, "And I plan on doing it by taking his pistol right off him while he sleeps, nudge him awake with it, then the last sight he'll ever see is my face pointing his own gun, the one he tried to take my life with, then put a shot right between his eyes." John then added in his thoughts, And retrieve that Chip he stole from me.
(He would most likely talk about them in a similar manner to the NCR and the Legion. Quite an interesting character, possibly the most underrated character in gaming history. Plus he has the voice of an angel ) "Sounds like a plan." Damien said. "Seems that vengeance is both on our minds then. You want to kill the snake that shot you twice in the head, and I've personally want the ones who caused....her death held responsible for their crimes." He looked at the picture of Caesar once more. "One that he is dead, proper order can return to the wastes. Give me an opportunity and I'll take any chance to kill him."
John nodded, "Makes since, but good luck making it to the Fort, it's pretty much impossible to reach from what I heard. At least from any approach away from Hoover Dam, and you would probably get so swarmed that even if you survived somehow, Caesar would have slipped away." He added, "Well....I'm very tired right now so if you have a bed I can borrow..." (to the morning?) - - Auto Merge - - John nodded, "Makes since, but good luck making it to the Fort, it's pretty much impossible to reach from what I heard. At least from any approach away from Hoover Dam, and you would probably get so swarmed that even if you survived somehow, Caesar would have slipped away." He added, "Well....I'm very tired right now so if you have a bed I can borrow..." (to the morning?)
(Sure.) "Go right ahead. I'm heading towards my home in Outer Vegas, nearby Westside to the north. It has a veranda and a large wooden door, and also sits on a hill that overlooks Vegas. Cant really miss it." Damien said. "Here's the address. See you around." Damian said as he placed his hood back on and put on his authority glasses as he walked out the door once he took his plans of the Legion.
John left quietly in the early morning in Novac, feeling fully rested and reinvigorated enough to make it all the way to Boulder City, added with helping NCR restart the Helios ONE facility, using his sneakiness to slip by Protectrons and Robobrains engaged with turrets he had turned against them. In the end, he decided to send electricity to Freeside, Westside, and Outer Vegas, figuring they needed the power most. Then, at Boulder City, he was told of a hostage situation between NCR and some Great Khans, which he figured out was the group that Benny had used to capture him and had abandoned them without pay. After containing his rage long enough to convince Jessie and the Great Khans to let the hostages go in exchange for their freedom, but he betrayed them, requesting the NCR corporal to kill the Khans. Then, after killing them, he was soon confronted by Victor, the Securitron from Goodsprings. After a brief conversation, he continued on to the 188 Trading Post for the last leg of his journey before New Vegas and Benny... - - Auto Merge - - (Here's an album of John with his three different weapons: Cowboy repeater, Lucky, and the broad machete: http://imgur.com/a/ccwBo )
Damien made it home after traveling into the night. Deciding to plan and rest for the next few days, he remained busy planning Vulpes Inculta's next whereabouts, trace him down and dealing a death blow upon him. After going through dozens of Legion plans, the reports confirmed that his next plan was to travel to the Strip for reasons unknown. Knowing that the Strip had only one exit, he would wait until he makes it halfway into Freeside and kill him there, taking him down from the strip would prove much to dangerous due to the Securitrons quickly taking him down. Deciding to take a stealth approach for this, he dressed up in a grey gamblers suit and hat, while keeping his glasses and only used his 45.auto pistol. Once he caught wind that Vulpes was inside Vegas, he vanished into the city. (I wonder what a Glorian quest line would look like, especially what happens with Kimbell.)
(Glory would definitely want to kill Kimball, as Glory really WANTS to like the NCR, but can't as long as an aggressive government remains in power of the NCR.) John made his way through Freeside, which he found was being fought over by Gloriian guerrilla fighters, harrassing NCR squatters and locals alike, especially with the Kings in north Freeside. He himself was nearly shot by a guerrilla before a single shot from Lucky sent him scurrying, which made it clear to him that the guerrillas in Freeside where NOT of Glorian military, but potentially some militia or even simply hired thugs. John decided to press through to Freeside proper and made his way towards the Strip's gate. - - Auto Merge - - (Would you mind telling me whatcha think about the Gloriian questline?)
(Really....Really like it. Finally, a mission where you actually get to kill Caesar on a questline. ) Damien was stuck in the middle of Freeside during a three-way firefight involving the Kings, NCR locals and Squaters and Glorian fighters. While not turning into full scale gang war, it left quite a mess with several kings dead. Laying low inside Old Mormon Fort while helping the Followers attend to the injured, he decided to wait it out until things were settled.
John submitted the the Gatekeeper Securitron's credit check of 2,000 caps (Almost all he had, leaving him with a mere 50 caps, but plenty of NCR money scavenged off of Powder Gangers) and into the Strip, where the craziness of the outside world did not tread except for in conversations. Almost instantly, he was confronted by Victor once more, who revealed that Mister House of all people wished to see him in the Lucky 38, and as much as he wanted to kill Benny, being the first one to enter the Lucky 38 in over 200 years was too appealing. Upon entering the tall tower, he passed two securitrons with Victor (who apparently could jump his AI from Securitron to Securitron) waiting by the elevator, which Victor used to send him straight up to the Penthouse. Taking in the view through the windows for a second as the sound of wind penetrated the room, he turned left into another section of the room to see a large computer bank with a picture of Mr House's face on its main monitor. Upon talking to him, Mr House instructed him to recover the Platinum Chip by any means necessary from Benny, but not before John managed to convince him to give him 1250 caps instead of 1000 for delivering the Chip. Then, he made his way to the Tops. (and also got an invitation to see Ambassador Crocker from an NCR soldier) After handing over all his weapons (except Lucky, which he managed to sneak past the patdown) to the clerk upon entering the Tops, he looked right to see Benny and 4 bodyguards watching over the casino floor, but he walked past, making sure Benny couldnt get a chance glance at his face as he headed to the elevators and took one straight to the 13th floor, where he quickly found Benny's room and snuck his way inside. Quietly waiting inside Benny's bathroom, he stayed there for nearly 5 hours before he heard Benny come walking in, yawning loudly as John heard the bed groan from taking Benny's weight. Waiting one more hour, John quietly pushed open the bathroom door and snuck up beside Benny, glaring at his face angrily, John looked over to Benny's nightstand to see Benny's 9mm, Maria, laying on it. Quietly grabbing it, he pointed it straight at Benny's face after making sure it was loaded. Poking Benny's forehead with the barrel, he woke Benny up to see his own gun pointed at his face, weilded by the courier he thought he had killed, "Ringa-ding-ding, your luck just ran out." John said coldly as Benny stared at him, paralyzed in fear. Two shots rang out and Benny met the fate he had thought he had handed down to John a week before... (Forgot to put in the quest where Glory has you put Yes Man in charge of Mr House's network so they can have a puppet in charge of the Securitrons)
Damien after a substantial amount of time, his target went past him without noticing. Pleased with these results, he headed towards the Strip and stood outiside once Vulpes was inside. He had no idea what he was doing inside, but he assumed that he was going to meet with somebody. Standing away from the entrance to keep himself hidden from Vulpes but also allowing himself to have visual contact, he waited for the kill.
Upon leaving the Tops, satisfied with himself and feeling the Platinum Chip in his pocket once more, he was about to deliver this long delayed package when a man confronted him, "The eyes of Mighty Caesar are upon you, Courier John. He sees fit to bestow upon you his Mark and complete amnesty for any past deeds against his Legion. Caesar requests your audience at the Fort, know that this is an honor not granted to even the greatest of our allied tribes." Vulpes Inculta told him "Vulpes? And why is Caesar wanting to see me?" John inquired "He shall answer this and more upon your arrival. Seek Caesar by way of the remains of Cottonwood Grove, where Cursor Lucas(forgot his actual name) shall await." Vulpes simply replied before running off, but not for the gate to Freeside, but instead slipped into Camp Mccarren's monorail line... "Hm...Strange..." John muttered as he looked down to the necklace Vulpes had given him, before shrugging and stuffing it in his pocket, "Might as well go see what he has to say." then he barely walked 10 feet before another man approached him, "Glory has been tracking your progress Courier, and just as we predicted, Vulpes lead us to you, and a way to some of our own revenge." a man told John, "I know you are probably tired of being approched by factions, but hear us out, Glory offers the Mojave a true chance to rebuild under stable, non-tyanical and uncorrupted leadership. I'm Magniitium Cesius(pronounced Siisius), one of the Eighth Legion's most respected infiltrators. Please, have a seat." Casius motioned to a bench, "Unlike all the other factions who have approached you, we want to tell you what we need of you right now, and just how much it would benefit everyone." John sighed and nodded, "Sure, why not?" before sitting on the bench, with Cesius sitting next to John. "I'll give it bluntly, we need you to kill Caesar. Yes, we know that killing Caesar will not make a bit of difference when it comes to the coming battle overall, but it will give the Legion something to think about, and without the intelligent, charismatic Caesar at the helm, his Legion will collapse. Lanius may keep it together out of sheer fear, but that can only last so long. By killing Caesar, the Legion's fate in the long run will be sealed, then if we kill Lanius at Hoover Dam, then they are doomed to fall apart quickly. Now, onto just why you should help us. Yes, I know most out there in the Mojave hate us, all of us Gloriians understand that, right up to the Viceroy and Primaperator, but help us take the Mojave, and we shall restore the land to even greater to what it was prior to the "Great War" as you call it. Trust me, we had to do it to our own homeland back on Terra nearly 500 years ago. We know how to restore and govern this land. And if possible, we would like to teach how to do so to NCR once we take the Mojave and a more...friendly government is in place in Shady Sands." Cesius stood up again and shook John's hand, "Please, do it for the benefit of all in this hell of a land. Kill Caesar, then come to Westside, we'll be waiting. The Viceroy would love to talk with you after you kill the Great Tyrant." he finished before walking off, leaving John to his thoughts.
As the sun began to set, Damien understood that Vulpes simpily had fled from the Strip. Assuming that he took the monorail, he was suprised that he could even manage to take the train due to his status in the Legion and it's restriction to NCR VIP's and personnel only.. Nonetheless, he was dealing with the best infiltrator and spy in the legion. Grumbling under his breath, he got back up and decided to leave Freeside back towards his home to the northeast of Vegas, to the house that used to be a safehouse for the Followers. Strangely, the Followers abandoned their safehouse for some unknown reason before Damien called it home. He soon arrived home and decided to rest of the night, he could always continue tomorrow.
John had remembered what Damien said about where he lived, knowing that if he was going to do as Glory asked, he would need the help of an elite Legion fighter, and Damien fit the bill perfectly. He took a deep breath and knocked on the door, hoping that Damien would help him, and more specifically, listen to his plan and not kill everything in sight on a rampage.
Damien heard the knock on the door and opened it after unloosening some locks to find John standing at the door. It appeared that he had something to say, something important. "Morning John, how are you today. What seems to be the problem?"
