#should I tag Boone and Manny?

[delafiseaseses]

You've really gotta respect Daisy Whitman's hiding in plain sight. The woman lives in the same Motel as two ex-NCR First Recon Snipers (Boone's room is underneath hers) and accross fron an ex-NCR Ranger's bungalow (an ex-Ranger who is in contact with NCR constantly).

And unlike, say Judah or Orion who only bring up their pasts during the quest, she openly admits to previously being a Vertibird Pilot who went on 71 missions and was active near Klamath at least once. While she doesn't outright state she was Enclave if you ask if she was a Pilot for the NCR she literally says ""For?" No, not exactly. It was a long time ago. Things are a lot different these days, and those days are way behind me." and, like, the only person more open about their Enclave past who lives in a populated area is Henry and he's living with Super Mutants far away from NCR territory.

But no, she's just there in Novac, she helps dismantle engines and stuff. Daisy Whitman is a valuable member of her community who also just happens to constantly make it very clear that she's got a very questionable past.

[nightingaelic]

Fnv Companions react to Fem Courier being trans girl (sorry feel abit of self projection today hahah)

Don't feel sorry for wanting to see yourself reflected in the world around you, we all want to know that we belong.

The Forecaster frowned, and his eyes moved rapidly from left to right as if scanning some hidden radar. "Your face does the thinking... two to the skull, yet one gets up," he said.

The courier who stood before the boy nodded and touched her fingers to her temple, almost reflexively. "That's me."

"Odds are against you," the Forecaster went on, squinting. "But they're just numbers after the two-to-one. You've changed suits once, clubs to diamonds, and now you're playing the hand you've been dealt."

At this, the courier stiffened suddenly. "Um..."

The Forecaster went on, unaware of his customer's discomfort. "But you don't let it rest, you shuffle and stack, and a gamble... a gamble that may pay off? But how? Forecast: Rapidly changing conditions."

"Um... thanks." The courier counted out the caps and handed them over to the boy, then beat a hasty retreat from beneath the overpass.

Once back atop Highway 95, she took her traveling companion aside. "Before you think I worked for some Mojave faction and deserted, that thing he said about changing suits... I didn't think he'd... what he meant was... I wasn't always..."

She sighed and ran a hand over her head. "Hell, it's about time I told you anyway. I'm trans."

Arcade Gannon: Arcade stopped her before she could stumble into an over-explanation. "It's, uh, it's okay. I... may have already known."

"You..." The courier's eyes widened. "You did? But who told you?"

"I, um..." Arcade straightened his glasses and looked up at the sky, avoiding eye contact. "Oh boy. Doctor Usanagi..."

Immediately, the courier's eyes narrowed. "... doesn't betray doctor-patient confidentiality, but I was in one of her medical clinics that day you came in for the NEMEAN sub-dermal armor," Arcade finished hastily. "She, uh, asked me and a couple of the others to help her close you up."

"Oh." The courier relaxed her stance a bit. "Oh yeah, I remember. I mean, I don't remember you, but I do remember signing the form that said I was okay with med student assistance. Why didn't you say anything, when I first asked you to tag along?"

Arcade shrugged. "I don't betray doctor-patient confidentiality either. Usanagi hammers that into you pretty hard on day one. Besides, something like that doesn't matter much outside of a doctor's office."

Craig Boone: Boone shrugged. "Okay."

The courier's eyes darted around his countenance, looking for some kind of stronger reaction. "Nothing? Not even a 'congratulations' or a disapproving grimace? Who are you, Boone?"

"Unconcerned," he shot back testily. "Unless it affects your aim somehow, it's not a problem. If that's what you're asking."

The courier sighed. "No, it's... you're fine. I guess I'm still pretty defensive about it. Especially around NCR types."

Boone nodded. "There were a few officers that Manny and I operated under who weren't the open-minded sort. They didn't last long."

Lily Bowen: Lily looked positively stormy. "Did that young man just air your personal business for the whole trading post to hear without a care in the world?" she thundered, with all her grandmotherly might. "Let's go back, dearie, I need to give him a piece of my mind."

"Lily, no," the courier protested, grabbing the nightkin's arm before she could stomp off toward the overpass again. "He probably doesn't even know what he said, it's just part of his gift. And no one's going to put two and two together unless I tell them outright, like I did you."

"If you say so, pumpkin." Lily smiled and settled herself. "But I can always ask Leo for a little help if anyone has cross words for you about this."

The courier sighed and patted her companion's arm. "No need for that, Lily. That reminds me, you should take your medication today."

Lily wrapped her up in a hug. "You take such good care of Grandma, my sweet girl."

Raul Alfonso Tejada: "Mija." Raul smiled. "How long you been holding onto that for?"

The courier let out the breath she'd taken, and her shoulders sank back to a normal level. "Well not everyone takes news like that too well. I didn't know if you would... mind."

"Mind?" Raul shook his head. "Oye. I've lived a long time, out here in the desert. It's a lonely place, even if you're surrounded by a crowd on the Strip. You can lose yourself pretty easily, lose sight of what you want, what you are. I'd know better than most. If you held onto who you want to be, then that's a victory, in the Mojave."

"Um..." The courier's eyes were shiny with tears, but before Raul could comment or pull out a handkerchief, she'd enveloped him in an unexpected hug. "Thanks, viejo."

Rose of Sharon Cassidy: "Well, I'll be a gecko's uncle." Cass grinned. "You're serious? All this time on the road together, and you didn't think you could tell me that? I'm wounded, Six."

"Hey now, you were slow to trust me, too," the courier pointed out with a growing smirk. "I was gonna tell you after the Silver Rush situation, if we made it out alive, but then we did and you were riding so high at the Atomic Wrangler that I didn't want to dampen your memory of that day."

"Dampen my..." Cass chuckled and clapped the courier on the shoulder. "Better fix your metaphor there, Six. Rain in the desert is a good thing. And trust between friends would never dampen my day."

She held up a hand before the courier could protest. "I know, I know what you were worried about. Trust me, I'm not the type to froth at the mouth over propriety or 'family values.' Thought you'd've picked up on that, with my smart mouth and wanderin' eyes."

"Wandering..." The courier ducked out from under her arm and danced away, laughing. "Uh-uh. I helped you with your vendetta, now you help me with mine. Then we'll buy a drink at the Tops and talk, whiskey rose."

Veronica Santangelo: "You..." Veronica's eyes went as wide as the Mojave's full moon. "Oh. Oh."

Slowly, the Scribe sank into a sitting position on the cracked asphalt. "That explains a few things, I suppose."

The courier sat down next to her. "Like what?"

Veronica started ticking things off on her fingers. "Both that guy in Primm and the bartender in Goodsprings called you by a different name, but they were the same name and it sounded kind of like yours so I wrote it off as a coincidence. Benny didn't recognize you right away, even though he shot you in the head. And Arcade locked us all out of your room that time you took some shrapnel to the torso and were laid up in the Lucky 38 until you weren't covered in bandages."

"Oh yeah." The courier grinned. "Surprised you didn't piece it together sooner, then."

"I sometimes forget that's something people can do," Veronica admitted. "Remember when I said that some in the Brotherhood don't look too kindly on those who choose relationships that don't produce new children? Well, ditto and worse for those who want to transition. Most of the ones brave enough to do it anyway don't stay Brotherhood for long."

ED-E: The eyebot beeped in mock surprise, then whizzed around the courier three times playing triumphant music. She giggled and swatted the bot away playfully. "Go on then. I have no idea how you could've known, but there it is."

ED-E beeped quizzically once it came to a stop.

"Why hide it?" the courier responded. "Well, unlike robots, some people think it's strange to change your... parts. Or even just your classification. Honestly, it's old-world thinking, no clue."

The eyebot beeped long and low, almost like a coo of affection and reassurance.

"Thanks, ED-E," the courier said with a smile. "I'll try to remember that."

Rex: Rex cocked his head to the side. The courier knelt down to his level and scratched his ears, inspecting his new brain and cybernetic limbs as she did.

"I don't know why I'm telling you this," she murmured, increasing her attentions as Rex leaned into her. "You probably already knew, with that amazing nose of yours. I think your owner knows, otherwise why keep spouting that line of his whenever I come around?"

Rex whined, and the courier smiled. "You know. 'Do what's right for you, so long as it don't hurt no one.' Got that seared into my brain as surely as that bullet, thanks to him. I bet that king he's worshipping never even said that."

[believerindaydreams]

I've realised there is a perfectly good tag for my continuing Fallout TTW nonsense that I shall be using henceforth, feel free to block

Also @me-fish you're a dear, thanks

Veronica

Honestly, it makes her mad.

Hopeful, friendly, personable Carla Boone, who'd just danced into her life out of nowhere, trailing passion in her wake; and all that's gone now.

I rebuilt the Green Line so we could visit, Veronica wants to say: made your baby's crib, a recharger gun, the glass for your post-birth toast.

"Do you remember me at all?"

"...it's confused," Carla confesses, rocking her daughter in her arms. "I seem- I seem to remember being with you before I met Boone, but Manny says that can't be right."

She can't help a smile at that. "You might be conflating me with one of your Vault girlfriends. I got the impression you might have broken a few hearts on the Strip."

"The Strip?"

Oh, this will not stand. "Home for you...or it was, before Mr House destroyed Vault 21. You don't remember any of that, how much you loved New Vegas?"

Carla frowns; the baby squalls in her arms, has to be soothed and coaxed back to peace. "It tastes like anger, if I don't think about it too much. If I try to remember it goes blank."

"...I don't know how to fix this. Not yet. But I haven't yet met a problem I couldn't either fix or punch."

"I'll skip the punch, thanks all the same."

Now that sounds so much like Carla of old, it hurts more than all the rest.

***

But it's Manny who remembers, the things his lovers would have said; and therefore Manny who has to take the lead in the conversation that night. They eat imported gecko steak in the Flyer's dining car, washed down with Sarsaparilla.

"Arcade's agreeing with Hannibal- reconcile the two sides by making them target a common foe. If we can defuse the situation at the Jefferson Memorial, draw attention north and away from Project Purity..."

"That'll economically cripple Nacochtank, won't it? Cactus water won't go for anything if the Tidal Basin is running clean."

"Yes and no. We have a head start on water caravans, it'll take some heavy pressure on Canterbury to make them give up dealing with us- not that either the Enclave or the Brotherhood couldn't do distribution themselves, but they'd be wiser to coordinate with us."

"If wisdom has anything to do with what's going to happen."

"A big if. But a common effort might bring both sides together- and uniting the two largest factions in the wasteland, even temporarily, would be nothing to sneeze at. This isn't the Mojave, where legitimate debate about the operation of the state can be had; we're just not at that level of socioeconomic coherency yet."

"Are you sure you aren't Gannon in a chunky sweater?"

Manny cracks a tired edition of his usual smile. "It isn't easy, trying to fill all their shoes by myself."

"Is this what brought you here? Someone to talk it over with you?"

"Partly. Partly because after all this time, we still don't have an in at the Citadel, so you're all I have by way of a Brotherhood invitee."

"...uh. Last time Sarah Lyons dropped by, I threatened to have her father thrown off the roof of his own Citadel, you know? We're not exactly on speaking terms."

"You could be," Manny says, finishing his soda. "If you wanted to, they would eat out of your hand."

"...you ask a lot."

"I have to try," Manny says quietly. "What they would have wanted- sweet rads, I know they've come back to me but they're like ghosts. I have to guess, protect them as best I can, because who else can?"

"There will always be a place for them on the Flyer," Veronica returns. "And you."

He heaves a sigh. "They had bigger ambitions, and I'm trying like hell to live up to them- but I appreciate that. Thanks."

"But I still can't do what you're hinting at. Right now, I'm so notoriously aloof that people think Union Station is just a place where you dump glowing mushrooms and get steaks. If I start taking sides...it is just me, you know. I'd sooner shut her down than let Capitol factions loose in the Mojave, but that whittles down my leverage to nonexistent."

"You fixed up the Anacostia-Metro subway line."

"It wasn't in bad shape and your settlers had cleaned out the critters. Doing that for the system at large would take years."

"All our plans should be couched in those terms," Manny muses. "We can't afford just to live day by day, we need to plan for the future as communities."

"Which brings us back to the Jefferson rendezvous. Look- if nothing else, I'll accompany you. At the very least you might want my help if you have to punch your way out of there."

"What makes you think I'm going?"

"Because otherwise, I won't."

"...fair point."

[literaryspinster]

Please support Turingville, my original work

Plot description: In the years following a brutal AI uprising, in which the human race was only narrowly victorious, technology has been outlawed and millions struggle to survive in underground cities across the world. Cassius, a sensitive AI with no knowledge of his purpose, hides out in a Turingville, a safe haven for droids hunted by the government. But when the only home he’s ever known is raided by dangerous mercenaries, he is faced with a decision that will change the course of his artificial life.

Characters

Cassius- An AI trying to evade a government that wants him deprogrammed while grappling with his growing feelings for the human woman protecting him.

Faceclaim: Manny Jacinto although like the other prominent AI characters, he doesn’t have a human appearance, so picture Manny Jacinto as a robot. 

*why yes, I did quietly change the faceclaim from Steven Yeun because that man disappointed the hell out of me. Also, Manny Jacinto is a better choice anyway since he has a dance background and Cassius is a dancer*

Mary- A clever, tech-savvy archivist tasked with hiding Cassius after he saves the life of her brother.

Faceclaim: Kiki Layne

Ral- Mary’s brother, a robot hunting mercenary who makes a deal with Cassius after a raid goes awry

Faceclaim: Trevante Rhodes

Sunny- Cassius’s sister, a Droid freedom fighter searching for him. Constantly grapples with her unwanted ability to feel human emotions.

Faceclaim: Robot Lana Condor.

Morgan- The leader of the team of Droid freedom fighters Sunny and Cassius belongs to. Has undefined feelings for Sunny that drive her to help rescue Cassius. Faceclaim: Robot Tiffany Boone

Ben- Ral’s partner and on/off boyfriend. A tech-hating merc who is initially against protecting Cassius

Faceclaim: Theo James

If this sounds like something you’d be interested in reading, please either like or reblog this post so I can tag you when I post the first chapter, which should go up on Wattpad and Ao3 sometime tomorrow, followed shortly by the new update of Forever Yours, Iris West. If this flops, I’m deleting this and pretending it never happened.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/25361137/chapters/61492363

[jacksonsdead]

FALLOUT OC INTERVIEW

Tagged by both @robobrainmurdermysterytheatre​ and @ticktockthem​ Thank you!  Rules:

1. Choose an OC. 

2. Answer them as that OC.

3. Tag 5 people to do the same. I’m choosing my courier!

(Also some of the answers feature Jack, who belongs to @robobrainmurdermysterytheatre​ ) Callie and Desmond are my other OCs ;) 

What is your name? Haley

How old are you? Late twenties? Hard to keep track out here

What do you look like? Blonde, been told by plenty of people that I’m pretty, unfortunately...that’s not always an advantage.

Where are you from? Where do you live now? I’m from Nevada, lived in a little community just outside of West Vegas when I was a kid. Now I mostly still travel but the boyfriend has a house just outside of Freeside so I guess that’s what I’d consider home.

What was your childhood like? Not...great...Don’t really remember much of my parents, just flashes. They were apparently pretty famous singers/performers but they died when I was still really young. I was raised by my older sister and most of my memories of her are good, which... makes dealing with things harder considering how she died. And after she died? Well...I was 17 and stupid and I’m not getting into the rest. 

What groups are you friendly with? Are you allied with any factions? I don’t consider myself ‘aligned’ with any factions but there are some I’m on good terms with, honestly I try to keep my nose out of things entirely but...well you have to draw a line sometimes. I respect the hell out of the Followers of the Apocalypse, one of the few factions I’d go out of my way to help out. And the Kings? I like their leader a lot, seems level-headed and pragmatic. And have you seen the way they dress? Every member of the Kings is attractive as hell. 

Tell me about your best friend. Don’t have that many but my closest are probably Callista, Cass and Jack. Callie’s running New Vegas now, was always ambitious as hell, no one I’d trust more to get shit done and done right. Plus we’ve been looking out for each other since we were kids. 

Cass is the type of friend who is going to tell it to you straight--she doesn’t mince words, doesn’t bother with niceties, and honestly, there’s something refreshing about that. Really fun to drink with too.

And Jack? Jack is...well he’s way more than just my best friend, more on that later.

Do you have a family? Tell me about them! I have a daughter, didn’t know about her until a few months ago. Basically one day this 12-year-old kid shows up and introduces herself. We’re still getting to know each other at this point, but she’s sharp; really clever and funny. 

What about a partner or partners? ...I could have you sitting here all day but I’ll only mention the ones that matter. There’s Manny, Desmond and Jack. 

Manny is an ex but when we were together? He was just, such a genuine person; authentic and honest. I knew pretty much *right* away that he was way too good for me, but it was hard to not want that, to not want someone just...nice? But he was still so obviously in love with someone else so I ended things and maybe that wasn’t fair; I honestly hope him and Boone work out. 

Desmond...well the way we met isn’t exactly the type of story you tell the family. Thought he’d just be another in the line of feeling-sorry-for-myself-late-night-mistakes. But he ended up being one of the most decent people I’ve ever met, quit the raiders for me and buy a house kind of decent--didn’t think I’d ever find something like that. He’s also really good with the kid so, think I’ll stick around. 

And finally, Jack. 

(screenshot courtesy of @robobrainmurdermysterytheatre​ )

I met Jack when I left Nevada for a while--took the first caravan I could find going the furthest away and eventually made it to Boston. I was...not ok. I’d had one foot off the edge of a cliff for a while at that point, ready to fall, just waiting for a push. Turns out Jack was too--and I think we both felt that instinctually, that connection. We had a lot in common, that disregard for our own lives, that recklessness born of misery and through it all, somehow, we each became the one thing keeping the other from drowning.  And man, we had fun too. I can honestly say there’s no one that *gets* me like Jack, knows how to have a good time. Some of my fondest memories are my time with him; Sometimes I wonder why I even left Boston at all. We still talk, and he visits in the winter, wish he could visit more though, I miss him all the time.  Who are your enemies, and why? The Omertas and I have history and no, I don’t want to talk about it. All I’ll say is that if you go into Gomorrah knowing that they get teenagers hooked on chems and then force them into prostitution to pay back their debt, then fuck you. 

Have you ever heard of The Brotherhood of Steel? What do you think about them? They’re kind of assholes right? I mean, you fly around on airships with prewar tech that could be used to help, I don’t know, the world, but instead you use it to grind people under your heel, to “civilize” and then you take any prewar tech they may have away for yourselves. Not a huge fan of them honestly, don’t trust them...but the power armor and airships are pretty cool, I’ll admit. And to be fair, there are a few individuals in the brotherhood that seem pretty decent, I’m just not a real fan of organized militaristic factions as a whole.

What about The Enclave? Don’t really know very much about them but the propaganda spewing fascist patriotism is annoying as hell. 

How do you feel about Super Mutants? Hate fighting them, try to keep my distance; there’s just something viscerally terrifying about mutated GIANT used-to-be-people that turns my stomach and gets the fight-or-flight response going.  Granted, the friendly ones are fine, but there’s also something so sad about them too, makes you sick to your stomach knowing that they used to...not be that way.

What’s the craziest fight you’ve ever been in? The entirety of my time in the Sierra Madre Casino was just one awful clusterfuck that’d I’d rather forget. 

Have you ever fought a Deathclaw? Unfortunately, and I have the scars to prove it. I typically try to avoid them or snipe them from a distance. Better make your shots count though, cause once they see you, it’s over. 

Do you like fighting? To be honest, most times I try to talk my way out of it, but sometimes there’s nothing that you can do to avoid them. And then? Well sometimes there’s stress that nothing but a good fight can ease. What’s your weapon of choice? Prefer to keep things at a distance, typically use a Anti-Material rifle. But if things get close a .45 pistol or That Gun is my next choice.

How do you survive? Your wits, your charm, your skills, brute force, some combination? (a.k.a. what’s your S.P.E.C.I.A.L?) Half the time? Spite. Spite and instinct. Charm can usually get me out of most situations, or into them depending. And usually if you’re stuck, hacking a terminal or two can get you all the information you need. 

Have you ever been in a vault? What do you think about them? 

👏I👏Hate👏Vaults👏

How do you beat all the radiation around here? Has it affected you? I carry a lot of Rad-X and try to filter my own water whenever I can. I have no issue with ghouls but I don’t want to be one. 

What’s your favorite wasteland critter? I know that they’re dangerous but NightStalkers are just cool.

What’s your least favorite wasteland critter? MOTHERFUCKING CAZADORS. You see one set of wings? Don’t worry there’s 50 more nearby AT LEAST.  How do you feel about robots? Robots are honestly fascinating, Jack taught me a lot about programming them. And I’d do anything for ED-E, they’re my favorite to travel with. 

How many caps do you have on you right now? Doesn’t matter how many I have, if I need more I’ll just play a few hands of Caravan or Black Jack. 

Nuka Cola or Sunset Sarsaparilla? I like both honestly (especially Quantums) but out of the two I’d take a Sunset Sarsaparilla, way more refreshing in the desert heat. 

Do you do chems? Used to be a Med-X junkie when I was a teenager, try to stay away from it now but it’s hard not to use when they’re such a tactical advantage. I keep chems on me for battles and occasionally for recreation even though it’s probably not a great idea. Used to do drug runs for the Great Khans too. 

Do you ever think about the Pre-War world? I hack a lot of terminals and read a lot of emails and it really does get me curious. Trying to imagine a world that I only have the skeletons of to use as a frame of reference? A lot of the stories Jack tells me seem impossible, but the evidence is all around us if you know where to look. It’s honestly fascinating to learn about. 

What’s your deepest regret? What would you do differently? My sister shouldn’t have died, I should have stopped them or, hell, I should have been the one to...It just shouldn’t have happened.

What’s your biggest achievement? Or what do you hope to achieve? I’d say that being a courier and going to all these places that most people have never seen or heard of or imagined is definitely a big accomplishment. I’d like to see more.

What do you want for the future? For yourself? Your friends? The world? I could try and say I have lofty, big goals for the world, that I look at the big picture but honestly? I just want to find peace for myself. To not wake up already tired. I want my kid to be happy and provided for and never go through anything I went through. I want to see Jack. 

I TAG: @undeadcourier and @courierspikeee

[believerindaydreams]

Okay I gotta bite the bullet and try an everybody Pov it's only fair

(It turns out Carla is as traumatized by what happened to her as Boone was. Surprise. Tagged for violence, etc

Might change a lot before ao3, depending

Into the fire part 6

"-goddamn Legion!"

And you wake even though he's trying to keep his voice down because it's your husband, it's Boone, and he's terrified and thinks he's failing you and you can't bear to hear him this upset.

"I'm sure of it." The new voice, Arcade voice, wavering into familiarity as you shake off sleep. "Can't mistake those uniforms."

"We should move out," Manny's saying. "Last thing they'll never see-"

"I'll go with you. Let Boone look after Carla."

Manny's a cheerful spirit, but you know if it had been anyone else, any other threat, he would have sooner gone out alone than take Arcade. Too many variables. They haven't even drilled together yet.

But nobody in this tent will allow this night to be like that one, when Jeannie invited you for tea and wrapped duct tape around your wrists and ankles, with you holding yourself still and defenceless for the baby, the baby you wanted so much-

Boone hugs you close as the other two disappear out the tent flap, takes a weapon from the sheath he's never without. It's not the old machete, though; it's a knife, glimmering in the half-light.

It glimmers a lot more when he holds the blade flat on the stove and turns up the heat; the redness doesn't go away even when he holds it up. As though the knife itself was burning, flickering red flame.

"I'll protect you. I swear I will."

He's said that before- and the baby kicks inside you, distressed by your anxiety- but you have to believe him, because it's either him or the smell of tape and tea and the Legionaries carrying you away, every step farther away-

"Hey. Hey, I'm here for you."

- travelling at night having been your suggestion, because it's when you don't feel safe and can't sleep, and being able to look at your husband every moment is what eases that-

there's firing outside. The crack of Manny's rifle.

"I don't want to lose you again," you say.

"Not going anywhere."

He sounds so sure of himself, but- but-

the thing festering between you, secrets he won't share, whatever it is that takes him sometimes and makes him think nothing lasts.

And you have to be stronger than that. Stronger than him, for the baby. "I want a weapon too."

His mouth twists into that little wry smile you love. "Gun, knife, brass knuckles- wait. Try this."

It looks like a gun.

"No ammo. They call it a recharger rifle...just point and shoot."

It weighs a ton, but you balance it on a chair, watching the tent flap.

This time, nobody's taking you.

*****

Time.

Time doesn't work quite right for me, these days. It jams up like a broken gun, leaves me looking and breathing at a scene that's stopped dead except for me.

(Don't overdose on Turbo, kids. That's why I quit with my old gang.)

Can't deny it comes in dead useful on a battlefield, though. Like now, a Legion assassin with blood in his eyes advancing on Boone's squeeze. Won't end well for the doc. He's grappling with his holorifle when he should be switching to melee.

No problem. I line up shots, one two three, they'll all go right into our assassin's head. Easy as that.

Ask myself, sometimes, where all these stolen moments are coming from. Boone said maybe it's stealing from the lives I'm taking.

Makes sense.

I let the world start again, one two three- and Arcade gasps as his enemy just explodes, head pulped.

Keep 'em coming. I can do this all day.

*****

They're winning anyway; but Arcade feels a rush of relief when he sees the Brotherhood scribe, her scarred head unmistakable in any conflict.

It's easier than getting to grips with what he's seeing, which is someone even better with a hunting rifle than Boone doing trick shots. It's only now occurring to him that maybe he hasn't heard the whole truth about First Recon, maybe only scratched the surface, and given his own hesitancy he can't even blame Boone for reticence.

Whereas the Brotherhood member wiping out the rest of the Legion forces in no time is just taken as read. The NCR guards grunt in relief and start back to their assigned locations, while Christine starts stripping her prizes.

"Hey. This one's definitely mine," Manny says, jamming antivenom into his uniform pockets.

"Christine," Arcade says. "Good to see you."

"Same." She removes armor and weaponry with a strict efficiency. "Veronica's gone ahead- you'll understand when you see it. Any problems?"

He puts the thought of the Gannon family armor away for good. "No. We did pick up a few more people though, Boone's wife-"

"And his First Recon partner," Manny says, extending his hand. "Interesting to be on the same side as one of you for a change."

Christine shakes it, briefly. "I dislike being indebted. Getting you out of the Mojave wipes the slate clean as far as I'm concerned, then we can go our separate ways."

Arcade isn't sure he likes the sound of that. Running off into the blue.

"You look like a woman who'll do as she thinks best," Manny says. "But- you know, thanks. For getting my buddy out of there, it'd be such a pain to train another one."

Christine's eyes flicker with amusement. "I know what you mean."

*****

Every time. Every time, I think it'll be the last.

Carla's hugging me, recharger rifle cast aside, because it's over and we're safe, neither of us even fired a shot. NCR doing what it's supposed to, out there. Keeping my baby safe.

I'm crazy for thinking about taking her east. Best thing we could do is head back to the NCR, heart of civilisation, and she'd never be at risk like this again.

But there's Manny, who served but wouldn't ever find peace there with his background; and Arcade, who I bet hasn't stopped running since Navarro fell. Being pulled too many ways at once- I owe her, I owe them.

Doesn't do any good asking her, she'd follow me into hell, but- "I need to know. If you're sure about this, if you wouldn't rather go to the NCR."

She screws her face up, starts pinning her hair back into place. "Honestly? You really want to know?"

"Yeah. I do."

"Hell no. Let a girl have some pride, Boone, I'm New Vegas bred and proud of it. Wouldn't live there if you paid me..." she scratches a mark up my arm with a bobby pin, playfully. "But I thought it'd hurt your feelings to say it."

Well.

That settles that. DC it is.