Chapter 62: Loyalty

Chapter 62: Loyalty

Welcome back to the program, I'm Mr. New Vegas. Got some news from Freeside. Gang violence in the lower east side neighborhoods has been steadily increasing lately. The Kings have been doing their best to do something, but they seem to be stretched entirely too thin. Perhaps that's why the leader of The Kings met with NCR officials earlier today. Could The King be asking for help? Seems unlikely. More classics coming at you over the airwaves. Up next, only on Radio New Vegas.

"Hey, Shea?" Veronica jogged up next to me as we made our way across Nellis to the main hangars. "You got a minute?"

"Sure, of course I do," I said, reaching into my duster and pulling out the packet of cigarettes... that's odd, I thought I had more than that. "What's up?"

"I've just been thinking. I've seen a lot out here, travelling with you. And... it's made me realize something."

"What've you realized?" I asked, flicking open Benny's lighter.

"It's the Brotherhood - it's failing." Veronica said. "I've always known that, but until recently I haven't understood where we went wrong... or how to fix it. Our training is top-notch. Our technology gives us an advantage. But when it all comes down to it... the Brotherhood is losing because we shun the outside world. We always make enemies, never allies."

"Sort of like the Boomers?" I asked, blowing smoke out my nostrils. Veronica shook her head.

"If Nellis had been under Brotherhood control, we wouldn't have even gotten this far. Even the Boomers are more welcoming to outsiders than the Brotherhood! We refuse to recruit outsiders, or see the value in their simpler technologies."

"Hmm..." I said, taking a draw from my smoke. "So, why don't you do something about it?"

"I... I don't know. If the Brotherhood doesn't change course, we're going to fall apart or... fade away. I know the odds aren't good, but I've gotta try. I can't lose them. I think... I think I need to go home."

"Tell you what," I said, dropping the cigarette and snuffing it under the sole of my boot. "I'll take you back there, first chance I get. It might take a while though, seeing as how my car is a wreck, but..." I stopped, realizing that Veronica had halted in her tracks.

"You'd do that for me?" Veronica asked, her eyes wide. "Seriously?"

"Of course," I slapped her on the shoulder; the feeling of metal under burlap was odd, until I remembered the semi-powered armor she wore under the robe. It was strange, how easily I forgot about that. "What are friends for, right?" The next thing I knew, Veronica was wrapping me in a bear-hug, threatening to break my ribs.

"Thanks!" She said, lifting me off my feet. "Thank you! This is great! I'll encourage people to name their non-ugly children after you! Seriously!"

"That-" I grimaced, speaking through gritted teeth. "That's great! Just - let go've me!" Almost immediately, she dropped me from the unbearable vice-like grip.

"Oh! Oops... Sorry. Guess sometimes I just don't know my own strength."

Eventually, we made our way to the two large hangars next to the airfield. The big hangar doors looked way too heavy to even attempt to move, but luckily there were some hatch doors built into the side that were open. Unfortunately, Loyal wasn't the first one I ran into. I barely made it two feet inside the hangar before I (almost literally) bumped into a man with scraggly blonde hair and wearing one of those Boomer outfits - with the Vault Jumpsuit, the leather jackets, and the patches made out of army ribbons and medals.

"Uh, excuse me," I said, stepping back to let him pass. "I'm just trying to find Loyal. Know where he is?" He just sort of started at me, wide eyed.

"You're... you're the outsider, aren't you?" I looked back at my friends; Cass shrugged. "Lived your whole life out there, huh?" I nodded at him. "Wow. I always thought you savages probably spoke a different language, but I hear you sound like us."

"No todo el mundo habla Ingls, Pendejo." Raul chimed in from behind me. I shot him a nasty look, but he just laughed.

"What?" The blonde kid looked terribly confused.

"Don't mind him, Raul just likes to screw with people who don't speak Spanish," I said, waving it off.

"JACK!" A voice echoed out though the hangar. I hadn't gotten a chance to take a look, but when the blonde kid (Jack, presumably) turned around to look at the voice, I finally saw the inside of the hangar. It was full of clutter and machinery - but the focal point of everything was a large tube with wings and propellers, sitting there in a halfway disassembled state. It almost looked like the plane from the mural in Pete's museum, but... quite a lot was missing.

"Yeah boss?" Jack called out after the voice. At that moment, a figure appeared on top of the cylinder.

"Who's that you're talkin' to, boy? You know I don't like visitors in the shop when I'm working!"

"It's the outsider, Loyal! He was asking for you. Didn't Mother Pearl say something about the outsider?" The figure jumped down off the metal cylinder and disappeared.

"Alright, hold him there, I'll be right down!" Loyal's voice echoed.

Next thing I knew, an old man with a heavily wrinkled face and a long white beard was walking toward me. Like Mother Pearl, he was wearing a necklace made of spent shell casings, and a leather jacket that was zipped up halfway over his Vault jumpsuit. There were two bandoliers crossing his chest, but instead of ammo, they contained tools. He had a pair of goggles on his face, which he pulled down as he approached, letting them hang around his neck.

"So, you're the outsider, eh?" Loyal said, finally coming to a stop in front of me. "Funny, I was expecting someone taller. I hope Pearl knows what she's doing, letting you wander around Nellis as you please."

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, I'm not looking to make any trouble," I said. "In fact, I'm actually looking to make myself useful."

"That so?" Loyal asked. "Well, how about you look into repairing the solar arrays on the roof of the main generator building? Nothing too complicated about it, but... eh-heh..." Loyal chuckled to himself, and started rubbing his back. "Well, it's a long ways to walk for my old bones. In all seriousness, though, there are the giant ants that have built a nest over there. It kind of discourages any repairs."

"Got any spare parts? Photovoltaic cells can be pretty fiddly." I heard Raul ask from the back of the group. What was he talking about, photovol- oh, wait. Loyal let out a hearty belly-laugh.

"Ha! If we had spare parts, do you think I'd be asking for help to fix the damn things? That's rich."

"Sounded like the only real problem was the ants," I said. Loyal just shrugged.

"We ran out of spares for the solar panels a while back. Jack and I have been doing our best to patch the arrays with what we have as best we can, but we're at wits end. I'm sure there've got to be spare parts out there somewhere in the wasteland, but I don't know where you might start looking." Loyal smirked. "You may have noticed, we don't get out much."

"I used to repair solar panels on a regular basis, couple decades ago," Raul said. "I'll take a look, see what I can do."

I thought about that idea of spare solar panels... and my first thought was that it would be a good idea to ask Veronica about HELIOS One later. Right now, though, there were other things to ask about.

"I talked to Raquel earlier. She said you were working on some kind of weapon to fight the giant ants, I think?" I asked. Loyal nodded.

"Yeah, I started to build a sonic emitter that might do the trick, but as far as I know it's useless without knowing the exact frequency that would kill the ants."

"Any frequency over 22,000 hertz at 150 decibels should do the trick," Veronica said simply. I did a double take, staring at Veronica with a raised eyebrow. How did she...

"Hot damn, you're right!" Loyal said, snapping his fingers. "It's a matter of boosting across those thresholds, not exact amplitude!"

"Was that English?" I heard Cass ask from somewhere behind me.

"Don't look at me," Boone said.

"As it happens," Loyal continued. "I was testing the thing at 24,000 hertz, so it should be good to go. Follow me, I'll take you to it," Loyal turned around, looked back and forth around the hangar a couple times, before finally snapping his fingers. "Yes, it's this way. When you get down into the generator room, I'll make sure that all you need to do is place it near their nest, push the big red on switch, and cross your fingers."

"So, this thing is gonna kill all the ants, right?" I asked. Loyal nodded. "Is it going to affect us at all?"

"I'll keep that in mind," I said, smirking.

"They don't trade in caps," Boone said simply, offering me the bag.

"They don't?" I unzipped the bag, taking a look inside. "So, what do they use?"

"These weird coins," Boone reached into the pocket of his jacket, and pulled out a small metal disk. It looked like it was made out of brass. "I'm not sure, but I think they're melted down shell casings. We managed to barter for the guns and ammo, though."

"Nice," I whistled, pulling out one of the submachine guns from the sack. It was mostly black, with a metal stock, a flashlight under the barrel, and a red-dot reflex sight mounted on a tactical rail on top.

"Yer gonna owe me fer this'n, Shea," Cass said with a smirk. "Cuz I'm now outta whiskey."

"I'll do my best to make it up to you," I said, checking down the sights. "What is this, an MP5?" Boone nodded.

"Two of them, with about 4 magazines each," Boone said, reaching into the bag, and pulling out some of the ammo. "180 rounds total. We also got some shells for Cass' shotgun: 50 or 60 maybe."

"I hope you're hiding another bag somewhere, because that certainly ain't gonna be enough, the way that thing eats rounds," I said, tossing a smile Cass' way. She just rolled her eyes.

"S'not my fault, this thing is full auto!" She patted her shotgun. "Y'so much as look at th' trigger, it empties th' whole fuckin' drum!"

"So where's Veronica? Anybody seen her around?" Almost as soon as I finished speaking, I heard a buzzing from behind me - and ED-E flew into view, beeping and chirping, and humming as he went, with Veronica close behind. "There you are. So what's the story? You find my car?"

"Not quite," Veronica shrugged, pulling a pump-action shotgun with a matte black finish, no stock, and a pistol grip off her back. "But I did find some weapons. You know these guys use smashed rifle casings as money here?"

"So I keep hearing." I said with a smirk. "It's funny though, I didn't take you for picking up a shotgun."

"Yeah, well..." Veronica slowly started loading the shotgun. "These bugs are supposed to explode, right? So maybe... punching them isn't the best idea." The air was quiet for a minute or two... and then Cass came up to Veronica, putting a hand on her forehead.

"You feelin' alright, V?" Cass asked, apparently checking her temperature. "I'm shocked, such'n uncharacteristic bout've sensibleness." Veronica just rolled her eyes, and pushed Cass' hand away from her forehead.

"Don't start."

"Well, Boss," Raul walked up from behind me. "I got good news, and I got bad news."

"That's a switch," I muttered. "Let's hear the bad news first, get it out of the way."

"Loyal was right, Boss, these panels aren't gonna get fixed without spares. There's no getting around that."

"And the good news?"

"I figured out what the problem is, which means once I get the parts, it should be a quick fix."

"Does that mean you're gonna help on the bug hunt?" I asked. Raul shook his head, and started stroking his mustache with a scabbed, skinless hand.

"Nah. I figure, I'll keep watch up here. Besides, somebody's got to keep ED-E company, right?"

"ED-E?" I asked, casting a glance at the hovering metal ball; he was flying around the solar panels, apparently examining them. At least, that's what it looked like.

"Yeah. Didn't la chica earlier say lasers make those suckers explode?" Raul clicked his tongue and shook his head. "Eso no es bueno, Boss."

"Alright, fair point. You can stay up here with ED-E. Guess it's just the four of us then." I turned back to everyone... and it was in that moment I realized just how... military we all must have looked. Boone was in his full Desert Ranger kit, complete with the helmet that had the gas mask, his rifle slung across his back and an MP5 in hand. Cass was wearing the Riot Gear we'd picked up from the Gun Runners, same as me, and carrying that massive shotgun with the drum magazine, and a bandolier of shotgun shells slung across her chest. Veronica was the odd-one-out, but only because her armor wasn't obvious like the rest of us. And then there was me, wearing the Riot Gear, a pistol, two massive revolvers, two knives, a pair of brass knuckles, and carrying a submachine gun.

It was almost like we did this kind of shit for a living. Which... I suppose we did now.

When the fuck did my life get so weird?

"Alright, while you guys were out fetching the guns and ammo, I was checking out this concrete block that leads to the generators. There are two doors, one on the north side, one on the south. Boone, I want you and Veronica on the north door, Cass and I will take the south. We go in, shoot anything with more than two legs, plant the device, turn the generators back on, and get out. Simple. Good?" I got a trio of nods... and then I looked around, realizing that I was missing something. "Hang on, where'd I put the sonic thing?"

"You set it down, about a half hour ago, Boss," Raul chimed in. "It's over here." He pointed off to the far side of the concrete bunker.

"Thanks," I said, about to make my way over there. Before I got too far though, I was stopped by Boone putting a hand on my shoulder.

"Hey, uh... Fisher. You got a minute?"

"Yeah. Sure, Boone. What's up?" I was getting an unpleasant knot in my stomach. I had a nasty feeling that whatever Boone wanted to talk to me about, it wasn't good.

"Are you sure... uh... you sure about this?"

"About what?" I asked, not really understanding the question. "Killing giant mutant ants?"

"No, not that. Helping the Boomers like this. You sure it's a good idea?" Yep. Not good.

"Don't pussyfoot around the issue, Boone. What's on your mind? Tell me plain."

"Hmph," Boone said, the filter on his voice becoming momentarily noticeable. "A few years ago, before the Legion came to the Mojave, the NCR started creating sharecropper farms, just east of Vegas. They didn't have enough water, though... until they found a pipeline. Ran underground from Lake Mead directly into Nellis. They redirected the flow to the farms... and that's when we found out about the Boomers." The knot in my stomach got tighter.

"They started shelling the farms, didn't they?"

"It didn't take too long for the brass to figure out what happened. But by then... the damage was done. The Boomer artillery killed 40... maybe 50 of the farmers. Men. Women. Children... Families. They were just civilians. They didn't know what to do. Didn't know what was happening."

"That's a bad deal... But once they got the water back, they stopped shelling the place, right?" I felt like a heel the moment the words left my mouth. That was probably the wrong thing to say...

"That's not the point," Boone said, shaking his head. "If that proved anything, it's that it doesn't take much to set the Boomers off. And the firepower they have is immense. One wrong word, I don't doubt they'll start shelling Vegas. Freeside. Camp McCarran. Anywhere their guns can reach."

"Well... that's why we're doing this. Trying to build up a rapport, initiate friendly contact," I smiled, setting a hand on Boone's shoulder in an effort to try and put him at ease. "It's like Pearl said earlier: we've just got to show them that not every outsider needs to be blown the fuck up." Boone continued to stare at me from behind those green lenses on his helmet.

"I hope you're right. Because if you're wrong... then nowhere in the Mojave is going to be safe. At least... not around Vegas." I just tried to keep smiling it off, like this was no big deal.

"Nothing like a little pressure."