Chapter Text
Ruby took it slow the following day and let her wounds heal fully, only going out to hunt some Geckos, and even that was mostly just to try out her new revolver. She made use of her newly obtained funds to buy some water and preserved meat, as well as other things she might need in the field, like a knife, ammunition for her 357. Magnum, and weapon maintenance equipment for Crescent Rose, which she used to disassemble and deep clean her baby.
By the next day, though, she got tired of waiting around and figured she should follow her attacker’s trail before it got cold. So she said her goodbyes and headed down to Primm. It was the most likely route for them to take, and not only should someone have seen them pass through, but she could also learn more about Jack’s job and the chip if she went to the Mojave Express, which apparently has its headquarters there.
The journey was long and tiring, though at least the road was clear of danger. The only threat she encountered was a small pack of geckos, which she scared off when she sliced through one of them with her scythe.
As the city came into view, she prepared herself to react to any ambush that might come. She wouldn’t be caught off guard again. Especially as she could freely use her semblance now that she had built up decent aura reserves. She felt like she was at about 35-40% now. And she used to consider that low. How times have changed…
She was somewhat relieved of her worries when she saw the flag of the New California Republic waving above a small military outpost just outside the town, which wasn’t there when she first passed by.
But before she could get too close, one of the soldiers who stood watch motioned for her to stop, “Hey, where the hell do you think you’re going? Primm is off limits.”
“What’s going on?”
“Some escaped convicts have taken over the town. Everyone inside is either dead or in hiding. You’d be safer turning back or going around.”
“Huh? Then what are you doing here?” She narrowed her eyes, “You’re supposed to be protecting the city, right?”
“We’d love to, but they don’t fall under NCR jurisdiction. And even if they did, we’re in no shape to protect them. All we can do now is make sure they can’t move out of the settlement. We don’t have enough equipment for an assault, and even if we did we’d need extra backup.”
Again with this? “Okay. I can be the backup, then,” She pulled out Crescent Rose from her back.
“You’d have to talk to Lieutenant Hayes about it, he’s over in the command tent just down the road.”
She made her way to the middle of the small camp that had set itself up there. She found the commander in one of the tents, smoking a cigarette and not doing much else. She was already brimming with confidence.
Once she approached, he calmly stood up and introduced himself, “Lieutenant Hayes of the New California Republic, 5th Battalion, 1st company. What’s your business?”
He didn’t exactly exude the professionalism she came to associate with the military, so she found it somewhat easier to engage with him. “I’ve been told by the guard outside that you might need backup here. I’d like to help, if you’d have me. Erm, Sir.”
“Thanks for the offer, but we don’t exactly have the money to pay for mercenaries.”
“Oh, I’m not a- I’m offering to volunteer for this.”
He blinked. “Volunteer? As in, for free?”
“Yes.”
“Be my guest, but you’ll be waiting here for a while.”
“And why is that? The guard said some nonsense about not having enough equipment to handle them, but how bad can it be? Goodsprings handled a convict gang no problem two days ago.”
“Did they? Some good news for once. But our intel underestimated the number and organization of them here. They sent only 8 of us, and we lost two men the initial clash, so now the soldiers are reluctant to fight.”
Her breath hitched, “I’m sorry to hear that. How many of the convicts are there?”
“Right now? Maybe 10 to 15. They have a lot of dynamite, and they’ve stolen guns from some of the locals they killed. Most of them are holed up in the hotel, but a few are scattered among the buildings, making sure none of the surviving settlers can get out from the casino they’ve retreated to.”
“Can’t you at least set up a rescue operation for them? Or ask the outpost for more supplies?”
“We’ve only just arrived a few days ago. And the process for getting any extra stuff is slow these days.”
“So what, you’re just going to stand by and let innocents die? I’ve seen your soldiers, they have proper guns, almost certainly better than what the criminals have. You can try infiltrating the town at night, or picking them off one by one, or… or something. Anything.”
“Hey, I’m with you on that, miss. But you try getting these guys to move. They’re conscripts, they don’t give a rat’s ass about any of this. They’re here because they have to be, and would rather not risk their lives, especially now that two of their friends have died.”
She sighed, “Can I help at all? In any way?”
“You can go to the Mojave Outpost and try to convince them to send aid, but don’t expect much.”
“I should be going there anyway, in case they passed- Hey, quick question, did you see some guy in a checkered suit pass by a couple days ago? He was escorted by some Khans.”
“Sorry, but if they came through, we must have missed them. You might have better luck asking the townsfolk, but the Powder Gangers are standing in your way.” He pulled out some documents from his breast pocket. “If you’re set on going to the outpost, take this to Major Knight. It may or may not help, but it’s worth trying.”
“Alright, Lieutenant. I’ll do my best.” It was hardly an ideal situation, but at least the officer wasn’t such a cynical jerk. She could do this.
She was given a letter, but also a document saying she was working as a mercenary for the NCR, so the border guards gave her no trouble when she made her way to the outpost.
As for the Major, however… “I’d like to help, but we can’t spare any more units. We have to maintain a minimum headcount at the outpost, orders from the west.”
“Can’t you at least send some supplies down there?”
“Maybe I could spare a little bit, but I can’t exactly entrust some stranger with a whole bunch of ammunition, especially considering that we’re short as is. Hmmm… Are you at least an NCR citizen?”
“N- no.”
He sighed, “You’re making this a lot harder than it needs to be.”
She appreciated that there were people out there doing good, but she was starting to understand the frustrations with the NCR bureaucracy, “Can I at least find someone who is a citizen to accept it?”
“That could work. Really, I just need some kind of justification to fill out the paperwork. I’m sure you understand.”
She did not. How could he not bend the rules to make sure his comrades did not die? Surely his superiors would understand? But she had to accept things for what they were, and went about searching for a volunteer to help her out.
Turns out, the military outpost had few non-soldiers present. And even fewer who wanted to help her go into danger. And once she mentioned there would be no guaranteed pay, there were none. Well, one of the passers-by tried to convince her to steal part of the ammunition, but she politely declined his suggestion. Oh, and nobody saw any trace of her attackers to boot.
So, she was out of options as she sat at the bar, waiting for someone new to arrive. She briefly considered buying the ammunition herself, as she still had some hundred caps to her name. Or maybe she could use them bribe the Major into going through with it? She bet Jack could, but if she tried it she would probably find herself arrested.
And just to add to her set of troubles, a familiar rude woman just sat down next to her, ordering a bottle of whiskey, though Ruby could already smell alcohol in her breath. It took her a few moments to notice her. Once she did, her face turned into an instant scowl.
Ruby looked back, trying to seem defiant.
“What is it now, brat? Looking for more trouble?” She was getting fired up. Ruby had to be careful.
“No.” She replied flatly.
She looked around, “Where’s that tough guy of yours? I’m not lettin’ him bait me into some stupid fight.”
“You were the one looking for a fight. And besides, he’s dead now.”
That shook the woman out of her drunkenness. “Dead?”
“Yeah, we were attacked near Goodsprings. I got hurt pretty bad too,” she pointed at the scar on her forehead.
“I see…” She took several gulps straight from the bottle before offering it to her. “Want some?”
Ruby recalled what Jack said about it being rude to refuse a drink, “Sure.” She took a small swig, trying her best not to cough.
“So, yeah… World’s fucked, huh?” The woman said.
“Yup. I’m trying to track them down, but the trail passes through Primm.”
“I see the problem. NCR’s supposed to be helping, but they’re doing jack shit, right?”
“Yup. They asked me to get some help, but the Major said he needs a citizen to handle the delivery of supplies.”
“So you want my help, is that it?”
“Well, you don’t seem to be busy.”
“Maybe. Think they’ll accept a mercenary contract?”
“It’s not paid. But maybe you can convince them to give you the loot?”
She sighed, “Lord knows I need a distraction after everything that’s- I’ll do it for free, I just need someone to unload my anger at.”
“Okay. I won’t ask any questions. By the way, the name’s Ruby.” She offered a handshake.
She accepted it, “I’m Cassidy. But you can call me Cass.”
Lieutenant Hayes was definitely surprised when he was awoken in the middle of the night by the girl he sent out yesterday, now with a companion in tow and a whole box of munitions. A hundred rounds of 5.56 and 9mm ammo each, several hand grenades, as well as some shells for grenade launchers.
“Wow, you really did get us help. That was fast.”
“I said I would.” Ruby proudly proclaimed. “And… I brought another volunteer.”
The woman looked bored out of her mind, and maybe a little tipsy, but the extra shotgun on her back would be a welcome addition either way.
“Thanks…” He said, “Though I’m not sure if we can still do this.”
“What’s the problem now?” A frustrated Ruby exclaimed.
“I’m just… The morale of the soldiers isn’t good. I know I’ve said that before, but now there’s a sniper set up somewhere on the roller coaster harassing our guys. One of them got wounded badly and… The soldiers don’t even want to get out of cover for a second.”
“Morale my ass, you’re just cowards,” Cass said. “What the fuck are we supposed to do if you don’t wanna fight, give you a corny speech? Cook you a nice meal? Bring you tobacco? Hookers? As if that will make these losers into better soldiers.”
“Cass!” Ruby cringed at her blatant insults. The officer didn’t seem to mind too much, almost as if he was used to blatant disrespect from the locals by now.
“Okay,” Ruby said, taking out Crescent Rose. “I’ll take care of that sniper. It should inspire others and make them see that we can do this. And later, Cass and I can start an attack and have you join in.”
“I don’t think that’s going to work.” He said.
“When the shooting starts for real,” Cass started, “You just tell the soldiers that you’re the ones being attacked. If they’re huddled behind cover, they won’t know any better. A little bit of concentrated fire and those scum will scamper off into the wasteland. Trust me.”
“We’ll see what we can do, but don’t expect us to come to your rescue if you bite off more than you can chew.”
She asked around about the sniper on the roller coaster, determining that he was positioned at a relatively flat section up high that was covered up with some kind of sheet metal. It didn’t seem strong to her, though at such a large distance it might block something like a 9mm.
It was still effective concealment, though, as the covered section was about 50 feet long. The main problem, she was told, was that the NCR guns were simply not accurate enough and they couldn’t justify spraying their whole arsenal into it.
And no wonder they were so inaccurate, it took everything from Ruby to not chastise every single one of the soldiers for their subpar maintenance.
She camped out that night, looking for any movement in the gaps of the sheet metal, while Cass snuck into town to scout it out. She figured the sniper might have been napping, so she fired a single shot into the metal.
That woke him up, alright. She could see shuffling between the sheets and some dust being kicked down below the rail at the same location. So she aimed another shot at where she estimated him to be, and fired.
She didn’t hit, but it was close, as the guy arose from right next to the impact hole, and started frantically shooting at her approximate location with what appeared to be a varmint rifle. She remained calm, and aimed her scope at his head.
Bang. One shot, one kill. Well, it was three shots technically, but you get the point. The man’s body fell out of the rollercoaster, confirming her kill.
She heard some commotion in the town itself, and soon enough, she heard a very clear series of shotgun blasts. That wasn’t supposed to happen. Cass was meant to just scout enemy positions that might have been checking out the fighting. She must have been discovered.
She dashed with her semblance to the approximate location of the fighting, honing in on Cassidy as the blasts continued. When she rounded a corner into an alley between two wrecked houses, she found herself at the wrong end of her shotgun.
“Watch yourself, Ruby.” Cass exhaled, lowering her gun, “I almost turned your brains into paste.”
She saw two bodies on the floor, clearly dead. “What the hell happened?”
“Saw a good opportunity, couldn’t resist.”
“We weren’t supposed to do it now.”
“I don’t care, we caught them off guard and now is our chance to start a full attack. Did you take care of the sniper?”
“Of course.”
“Okay. There’s one more guy I nicked, but he’s fallen back somewhere in this mess of buildings.”
Ruby went out of the alley to look at the main square, where the entrances to the hotel and casino were located, not to mention the Mojave Express right next to them. A shot from one of the hotel windows grazed her aura, and she pulled back, but a few shots did come from the NCR camp, and she could see them impact the hotel windows when she looked out again.
“Wanna try and go in?” Ruby asked.
“Dunno, its likely they’re waiting for us at the entrance.”
The NCR continued to exchange fire with the Powder Gangers for about a minute or so before a fearsome explosion struck the hotel building, shattering many of the windows. They looked to the side, seeing two soldiers who rushed out, one of them was an NCO she saw with the commander, and he was holding a grenade launcher. He shot another round, this time impacting the wide wooden double doors of the hotel, shattering them into a cloud of dust. The soldier following him shot his whole rifle magazine into the lobby before both of them pulled back.
Cass shrugged, readying her shotgun. “It’s the best chance we’ll get.”
Ruby rushed in, with Cass following behind. Once in the cloud of dust and debris, she switched to her semblance, getting behind one of the convicts who was waiting behind an overturned table, and sending two shots into his back. She noticed a second guy was on the floor, wounded but reaching for his gun, so she pulled out her revolver and shot him in the head. She swallowed her feelings, she still didn’t like this. Not by a long shot. But she promised herself that she would stay strong in the heat of battle.
Cass had caught up with her, and they went through the halls of the old hotel, shooting up whoever stood in their way. Ruby only barely helped, as Cass’ shotgun proved to be very effective here. On Remnant, the weapons had to get through aura or tough Grimm hides, so higher calibers were more common, but here, even a single shotgun pellet was enough to incapacitate in many cases, making the optimal weapon types much different.
They had cleaned out three more enemies before reaching the main hotel lounge, only to find it empty. Did they run away, or were they killed by NCR? She noticed the shooting outside had died down as well. There were also ample supplies lying about, and it certainly looked like it was supposed to be inhabited. There was even a prisoner in the corner.
“I don’t suppose you ladies came here to rescue me? I’d cross my fingers, but my hands are numb.” A young guy with blonde hair was tied up and looking up at them expectantly.
“Who the hell are you?” Cass asked.
“Name’s Beagle. I am- was the deputy sheriff of this town. But as you can see, I’m in a bit of a predicament. So I’d appreciate it if you freed me first.”
“Okay,” Ruby went to cut open his bindings, but Cass stopped her. “Now just hold on a moment, the girl here has some questions for you first.”
“Uh-” Ruby looked embarrassed. “I guess we can do that now. So, have you seen a guy in a checkered suit one of these days? He was with some Khans.”
“Oh, yeah, they passed by a few days ago. I shadowed them, but when I heard them say they were going to Nipton, I left them be. Later that day, I got jumped by the convicts and ended up here.”
“You… let them go?” She couldn’t believe him. The Khans were supposed to be an infamous raider group, and he let them go?
“I mean, what else was I supposed to do? They certainly looked like trouble, but I wasn’t going to get involved, especially as they weren’t bothering us.”
These people… The attitude disgusted her, but maybe it wasn’t fair to judge those who lacked auras and would fold to a single bullet. So she tried not to let it get to her.
“Okay, so they headed to Nipton?” Cass asked.
“Yup. Maybe they stayed there, but it’s possible they moved further to Novac and beyond. Now, can you untie me, please?”
Ruby got what she wanted, so after rescuing Beagle and scavenging the place for valuables, she and Cass made their way outside, where they were met by several NCR troopers and a handful of armed civilians near the casino entrance. Many of the convicts surrendered after the soldiers entered the town proper, and they were now being processed by the Lieutenant. Both the soldiers and the townspeople thanked the two of them personally. Cassidy even got them to give everyone free drinks, an offer which Ruby declined.
The celebrations were short-lived, however, as the question arose about what was to be done with the town now. The previous sheriff was dead, and the deputy was, as every townsman agreed, kind of a coward. The Lieutenant made haste to declare the city under the protection of the NCR, a move that dampened the mood of everyone.
Ruby did understand the reluctance to work with the NCR, but the reaction still confused her.
“What’s wrong with the NCR protecting them?” She asked Cass, who was drinking at the casino bar. “Now that they’re under republic jurisdiction, shouldn’t they get more men to protect them?”
“If by ‘men’ you mean taxmen, then yeah.”
“That can’t be right. What kind of country would prioritize taxing devastated communities?”
“This one. Really, it wouldn’t be a big deal if the NCR fulfilled its obligations and kept things safe. Much as I hate to say it, Legion runs their trade routes well. All without the exorbitant taxes and tolls. No reason the NCR couldn’t do the same.”
“The… Legion? As in, the slavers?”
“Who else?” She drank another shot of spirits, “I know we’re all supposed to hate them, and trust me, I do, but I can’t help notice that they killed every single raider there was in Arizona. If the legion guarded the roads, I wouldn’t have ended up a drunk fuckup…” She took another shot.
“Do you… wanna talk about it?”
“Not much to talk about, really. Used to own a caravan company, now it’s ash. Raiders, they say, but I think it was hired guns. It’s a cutthroat business, you know? Point is, none of that crap would be tolerated under Caesar. Though a woman owning such a company wouldn’t be tolerated either, so I don’t know what the hell I’m complaining about.”
She pat Cass on the back. “Sorry to hear that.”
“I don’t need your pity.”
“Okay.” She backed off. “I get it. I’ll be seeing you around. You wanna come over to Nipton?”
“I’ll pass. Still need to sort out some paperwork at the outpost. But this has been a welcome distraction. So thanks, Ruby.” She gave the girl a mock salute before returning to her drinks.
Ruby wasted no time looking for the owner of the Mojave Express, and she found him easily. He was a very old man, but his spirits were high tonight.
“Thanks again for everything you’ve done, miss. How can I help you?”
“There’s some questions I would appreciate if you could answer. Do you remember a certain delivery job that was given out some time ago? It was meant to deliver a platinum chip to Vegas.”
His expression darkened at that, “Oh, that thing. That job had strange written all over it. What’s it to you?”
“The person hired to do the job was killed, and the assailant took the chip,” She showed him the job note she found in Jack’s backpack.
“Of course.” He muttered, “Of course that’s what happens. Listen, I don’t think you should be getting involved in this. The money is good, but not that good.”
“Still, any information would be welcome. Please?”
The man sighed, “Okay, but there isn’t much to say. This weird cowboy robot shows up one day, orders a whole bunch of odd deliveries from The Hub to Vegas. A pair of dice, a chess piece, that sort of stuff. Six deliveries total. I got word that the other five made it, seems only that one got lost. A shame, Jack was damn good at his job.”
“I’m on the hunt for his attacker. If I find the chip, I can take over the job, right?”
“Might as well try, but I doubt you’ll be able to find who you’re looking for in the desert.”
“I can.” She assured him. “Hold on, you knew Jack?”
“Hmmm… Kind of. He was a very secretive guy. But if Jack really is dead, there’s something of his that I’d like to show you.”
“Whoa, what’s that?” She looked upon a table with a spherical robot with a handful of doodads attached to it, and various tools scattered around.
“It’s an Eyebot. Jack brought it one day and went about repairing it. Named it ED-E. Said it was holding something really important inside, but from what I can tell it’s just a flying robot that might be able to shoot. Not sure it would be that effective in a fight, though.”
“Oooh!” She jumped up and down in excitement. “But… You said it was broken?”
“Yup. Jack was really excited about it, kept spending all his money on parts. Said it was almost done, too. So I’m thinking someone ought to take possession of it. Maybe give it to someone who can complete it. Because to me it’s just scrap metal, but it would be a shame to destroy it if there really was something nice inside.”
“I can do repairs. Mind if I take a look at it?”
“Knock yourself out, just try not to break anything.”
It was a hell of a task, but one she went about undertaking bravely. She spent the entire night carefully poking around its internals, trying to figure out its quirks. The old man was correct to say it was almost done, as she could start up a lot of the subsystems, including the laser gun, apparently. She was hoping they don’t mind holes in the wall all that much in the wasteland. Also, she had a laser gun now! How cool was that?
In truth, it was only missing was some finishing touches, like welding the structure shut and finishing some of the wiring.
Said finishing touches took several hours, as it turned out, and Ruby actually fell asleep in the middle of it, waking up the next day to continue her work.
It was past noon when the ED-E finally came to life, beeping at her before hovering into the air. She looked on in amazement at the thing, trying to communicate with it. It understood her commands surprisingly well, responding with cute little beeps of its own, and it could even shoot on command. The second hole in the wall was a lot bigger this time, but she was planning to get out of there soon anyways. (They had plenty of dilapidated buildings for use, right?)
So she stocked up on supplies and headed down the road to Nipton with ED-E. She was, truth be told, quite happy with herself. It was a rocky start, to say the least, but she was finding her footing in this strange new world. She had to manage her expectations, but she did truly feel like she made a positive change in this world. And in the end, that was all that mattered. She may have been separated from Beacon Academy, but she was being a huntress nevertheless. She was sure her friends and family would be proud of her if they could see her now.