Now, you may recall that some time ago, a Russian super agent flew in via the North Pole to determine the state of America. You may
also recall that when he landed, he was greeted not only by Sara Lyons and a small group of Brotherhood of Steal knights and paladins...but also Number One, the current head man [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yC4gm_vN3s] of the Enclave. Thirdly, you may recall that there was a BoS mission to unit local groups against the Enclave, and that Morgan Bloom had been approached
by the Enclave. And finally, you must remember that the Enclave Remnants on the West Coast were heroes in the NCR and retired, but that they'd escorted an Eyebot from Number One into their meeting room. There has not been much report in the exchanges of bigger powers behind the scenes, but now...you're getting the inside scoop. The following groups had gathered in one place - a meeting room in Rivet City - with one representative, either physically or via eyebots projecting holograms:
Number One - The Enclave
Sara Lyons - Brotherhood of Steel
Aaron Kimball - New California Republic
Mr. House - New Vegas and RobCo Industries
Morgan Bloom - Bloom City and Bloom Industries
Demetri Radanov - Russian Metro Government
The three major military powers in the former United States were, of course, paramount in this discussion. Mr. House and Mr. Bloom were included on the grounds that they were perhaps the two most powerful industrialists alive today. However, there was a small problem... Everybody at this table - barring possibly Radanov, who was neutral to their personal affairs - hated each other. NCR had grown to hate most of the Enclave and BoS for their well-known practices, and only
tolerated the industrialists because they simply wanted to do things their way, not blatantly take over the country. The Enclave did not like NCR or BoS, of course, because of past defeats resulting in reduced numbers and effectiveness. The BoS, of course, had a similar problem with NCR and the Enclave, though the latter two were perfectly fine with Mr. House and Mr. Bloom. They basically didn't care. Neither of the industrialists really cared much for the politics at all. They were more concerned with what they could accomplish, whether the endeavour made them any money, and how well they could expand their ventures.
The one saving grace about all of this was that Number One was - bizarrely - allowing bygones to be bygones...except of course that he didn't like ghouls because many of them became feral monsters. Still, this was rather surprising and therefore was immediately suspect. He had, naturally, explained that the current Enclave was new and more realistic about itself and how things should be done...because he'd killed nearly everybody in there who was against changing venues. This sounded a bit more Enclave-y, so they believed him...and then immediately distrusted him because he'd admitted to both that and causing a dramatic reduction in Caesar's Legion via the ever-increasing group of cyberzombies he'd sent west and had to be killed at the Hoover Dam to protect NCR territory. He was technically a better leader, but he was a
terrible person. Strangely, Radaov liked his candor, and even chuckled when the Enclave leader explained that the man called Dr. Evil had been thwarted by his agent on the moon. However, there was
another problem...
Kimball: I must insist that you hand over control of Dr. Evil's weapon of mass destruction for the safety of all people of the Earth.
"I'm afraid I can't do that."
Kimball: Number One, we are attending this meeting in good faith. We were under the impression you would at least
attempt the same.
"That may be so, but the weapon is no longer in my control."
Sara: Likely story. You said you've got a man up there and that the moonbase was practically undefended. You even boasted that he blew up an alien spacecraft with it, meaning you even know how to use it.
"All true, but that doesn't account for the unexpected."
Kimball: Did your man go rogue?"
"No...he went missing, and the base was destroyed."
Kimball: How?
"You are, perhaps, aware of the Archimedes II Orbital Laser Satellite?"
Mr. House: Oh dear. Did it go off?
It did. Of course, if anybody knew who was in control of it, they weren't saying, but the fact of the matter was that the satellite was slaved to the control of a device that looked...kind of like a kid's toy, and that a man who delivered people's mail had decided to point that device at the moon one day, and the rest...as they say...was history. No more moonbase. Arguments regarding the actions of certain groups moved on to problems with the Brotherhood of Steel, which Sara explained that the East Coast didn't operate like the West, though she resented that NCR had treated them no better than the Enclave, and over the solar station which powered the Archimedes satellite, of all things!
Sara: My father did alot to protect the Capital Wastelands, not lord over it. The Outcasts still preferred it the other way, but I've reached out to them. There's still hope of reconciliation.
Number One cleared his throat...apparently. Sara glared at him.
Sara: What did you do?
"Well...remember when you decided to hand over FalloutScott to the Outcasts and we just laughed?"
Sara: I remember it distinctly.
"My men had, by this time, already
replaced the Outcasts."
Sara: You
what?
"Killed a patrol or two, stepped into their suits, and then coordinated with FalloutJohn and FalloutDavid to take Fort Independence during a frontal assault. It is an Enclave outpost now, much the same way the former Republic of Dave is now the 'Empire of David' Vertibird Airfield."
Sara: Do I
really need any more proof that this man is a monster, and that his entire organization should be put down for good?
Kimball: Unfortunately, we cannot - at this time - commit to that, for the very reasons of this meeting. The Enclave has proven itself to be a tremendous threat. However, it is with due consideration to NCR's heroes that we also take into the account that it is a viable asset. We despised Caesar's Legion, we were relieved that Dr. Evil was thwarted, and they have come to us all with information regarding the current crisis, the threat hence forth to be known as Red Ghoul China.
Mr. House: Am I to understand that we're still at war?
Mr. Bloom: Apparently, the Chinese think so. You have all, at times, seen remnant soldiers ghoulified by war and still very much hostile. The Enclave's satellites have shown that China is still very active.
Radioactive, and glowing. Further, using the facilities at Rivet City, we have seen an actual warship...shortly before it was destroyed by a nuclear missle. This has been revealed to be - once again - the Enclave's doing.
Kimball: Number One, just how are you achieving these results?
Mr. House: I can tell you. By the same token that leaves me in control of New Vegas. You have a facility which creates weaponry en masse. This includes your troops, your vehicles, and your giant deadly robot.
"How do you know that?"
Mr. House: I have satellites too.
Finally, after all this, Radanov sat up and broke his silence.
Radanov: Alright, Demetri has heard enough, except maybe about squid in photograph. The Russian Metro Government-
Kimball: Excuse me, Mr. Radanov, but why is it called-
THUNK! Down went the combat knife into the table.
Radanov: Be letting Demetri have the floor. Russian Metro Government has empowered this agent to make field decisions recommended to government and act as need-be. You are all petty, squabbling children to the point where crazy psychopath be taking most action.
That is being Demetri's job!
Radanov was part soldier and part secret police. He was a super agent who tended to kill alot and never flinch about it. He was finding the Enclave's acttions to be, by his standard, most effective. Nobody liked it, but it was done and he simply moved onto the next thing.
Radanov: You are all having enough power to handle threat once and for all. Russia would prefer its ally make recovery, having been through strange times itself. Is being Russian
Metro Government due to all survivors living underground. If China returns, whole world could be glowing by next year. Is most unacceptable.
And naturally, despite his weird english, he had a
point.
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Meanwhile, in another part of Rivet City, Tracy would hear the scuttlebutt about Arizona. It'd been circulating on the rumor mill for quite some time. She'd taken a job for Morgan Bloom - The Gentleman Ghoul - to investigate the area of The Dunwich Building, because of all the rumors about ghouls going crazy and transforming into a
cult of all things. He'd hear about the crazy ghouls, her job, and the fact that she'd hired a weird drunkard who swore and muttered about 'Lord Walt' during some of his binges. So, in short, he'd managed to find out everything he needed to track down Arizona.
That'd be a long trip... A long trip...to be
without a trip. Might have to go up to that junkyard that one of the known dealers lived out of with that pet robot of his. Now, what was his name? It was
Abe or something, right? Yeah, that rung a bell. Abe the chem-maker.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Yes, it was a junkyard. Nobody's perfect. In fact, after a great many trials, Abe was happy to have it. It was his own piece of territory and plenty of people - mainly raiders - bought from him. Furthermore, he had the companionship of a ummm...'special' Securitron. He was a dubiously-programmed - or rather, malfunctioning - sort of thing. It didn't know much and it rolled around with a most unusual smile. [http://vignette1.wikia.nocookie.net/villains/images/c/cc/Evil_Otto.jpg] Well, he could manage, mostly. Errrm...he sometimes had to duck-and-cover because there would be like a twitch and its active combat programming would go off, and then it'd go back to normal. Such is life.
A curious thing - no,
two curious things - that he had noticed, though... It had to do with his drugs. Nothing wrong with them, but he had noticed that some of the raiders were all seeing the same things during their trips. One was the curious vision of a walking squid-monster, and the other was that of some random wandering blue-haired females that went 'Sylphy-Sylphy!'. The thing is...he knew that the latter were no hallucination. He'd seen them too, and when he wasn't on a high! Just who or what
were these people?
Maybe he should find out...
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Malkos' Perspective
Malkos had needed to take a little time on the way back to tear apart some feral ghouls in his way before heading back to Springvale. He was aware that he had been gone a while and that that sort of made it hard to fulfill his promise to keep an eye on the strange cat-eared girl. However, it was on the way back that he picked up a fresh
Deathclaw scent. Oh hell, that wasn't good... At first, he thought he'd walk into a bloodbath, but then he got an even
worse thought, that those continually-cloning Sylphys would overpower and kill the Deathclaw! Either way, he was going to get a move on, easily doubling his speed through the use of lunging forearms in the mix. Given that Deathclaws were rather
loud when approaching at full speed, they'd hear and probably
feel this coming. It was likely to put everybody on guard. However, when Malkos got in...well, he wasn't expecting
that. Straightening up, he placed his hands on his heips and said...
"I turn my back for a little while, and you go and get a new Deathclaw. How did it ever come to this?"
Rath's Perspective
Rath watched with fascination as Dr. Jenna began to work on the annoying little bot he'd brought her. Watching intently from a ways a way so to not crowd her, he'd managed to distract himself enough that he didn't consciously realize what the approaching noise was until it was
very close. Once he realized, his head snapped up and he wheeled to face the door in a low attack stance. [
] He 'barked' to his new companions. The fact that this new arrival
stopped and adopted a rather 'human' posture, did manage to throw Rath for a bit of a loop.
"I turn my back for a little while, and you go and get a new Deathclaw. How did it ever come to this?"
Still in a crouch, he relaxed a tiny amount and sniffed the newcomer.
Code:
Same scent as the one that was here before me, and he talks...they said they knew another Deathclaw...
Straightening a bit, Rath eyed the other Deathclaw. [
Code:
Would you be this 'Malkos' that I was told about?
] He asked. [
Code:
And mistaken for...though I don't see how.
]
Aaand back to normal now.
Malkos' head flinched as he did sort of a double-take and adopted a more classical Deathclaw posture.
"My head? But why...?"
This was possibly a new one on Rath. He was making human-like vocalizations with his mouth and throat. Malkos' confusion subsided for a moment.
"Yes, I am he, but why would they think you're ME?"
Big emphatic shrug here.
"We're nothing alike!"
Well, humans think Deathclaws are all alike, so...
[
] There was a rumble of 'dry gravel' laughter from Rath. [
Code:
I don't know but I'm pretty sure it was an accident; but you...you [i]speak,[/i] that's amazing.
]
As Rath's weight shifted, there was a small noise as the mangled remains of a bullet worked its way free of his hide. [
Code:
That happens sometimes...
]
He noted the bullet with a nod.
"Same."
Now, he shrugged.
"You could learn to talk with your mouth. Any Deathclaw can. It takes time, however."
Even then, you're gonna sound evil, no matter what. Remember that mutants like Fawkes are intelligent, but their vocal cords make them sound the way they do. Only some, like Marcus, speak in a normal voice. Now, a curious thought crossed Malkos' mind.
"So, where is your pack, then? I left mine to establish one for myself. It is...tradition."
[
] Rath replied, the mental 'rasp' of his voice softening. [
Code:
I tried plenty after I first woke up; the best I can figure is that my vocal cords are too different to create a 'voice'.
]
Malkos was seeming friendly enough that Rath's posture began to relax until he was down on his haunches, using his stubbier tail as a support to stop from falling backward.
[
Code:
As for a pack? I have none. I was created in a pre-war lab; woke up in a large tube. Apparently I was an experiment to make the Army's new weapon more...controllable; something about using stuff called F.E.V...I don't have many details, the system wasn't in the best shape
]
Malkos let out a long snort of irritation.
"All Deathclaws came from the FEV. Some were tampered with more than others. That's why they began to learn to talk and read and teach others. The mind thing, though... That's different."
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As for Andale...Fiona Callahan would have sort of a weird moment to witness, a
Sylphee sort of moment. You see, she had been having her Deathclaws play around, as you recall, showing her skills off as The Deathclaw Whisperer. She had also shown off her skills as a medic by treating wounds that the people may've incurred during the cyborg incident. All of this was well-received. And
then, it happened. Sylphy had walked up to Moe, Larry, and Curly...and then declared that the Lizzie Bordens were talking funny. It all happened after she had drank some of that strange 'tea'. Oh dear, better keep away from
that. Well, Sylphee had apparently had a 'conversation' with the three Deathclaws...and then ran off somewhere.
Well, the
narrator knows where Sylphee went...
What she had done - on the 'instructions' of the Deathclaw droogs - was walk into everyone's houses and execute some precise tamperings with their hot water heaters. Now, as you may know...and as has been indeed
confirmed [http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m315/MagnusReaper/myth-confirmed.jpg] that hot water heaters will - if they are jammed while in operation - eventually
blast off. It's only a matter of time... So, what better way to time this Clockwork Timebomb...than with some appropriate music?
No sooner had Arizona spoken that it was time to pull out...than the first heater blew through the first roof, followed by others! Yes, it was time to go, alright! Time to go in a hurry! Will everybody please evacuate the town and in a bloody hurry?! THANK YOU!!