"Are the Legion and NCR causing trouble for caravans now? Odd, they rely on them most the time so that's an awful lot like shooting themselves in the foot." I said confused.
To explain for those of you not in the know The New California Republic or NCR and Caesars legion or just the Legion are two rather large factions in north America vying for supremacy. The NCR is basically the closet thing to a modern government society structure, taxes included. They could be considered the "good" guys more or less. The legion was definitively on the opposite end of the spectrum. -
The legions way of doing things is basically copying the Roman conquests and taking slaves of their enemies while battling it out. They are led by a man who calls himself Caesar and is the head of that particular serpent. They also more or less reject advanced technology and fight in sports equipment with melee weapons. The only exception is the use of ballistic weapons. All in all not very pleasant people to deal with. -
"Well they aren't causing any more trouble than normal for us caravans but nobody likes taxes or dealing with the legion." the man said clarifying the matter.
"Ah, you thought to bypass them entirely. Bold, probably foolish but definitely bold." I said nodding in understanding.
"Should have sprung for some extra muscle. Thought I could save some caps and make the attempt by ourselves first. Boy was that a mistake." he said regretfully.
"Well the good news is you get to live to regret it. Think you can handle getting back to safer routes by yourself?" I asked.
"We're a bit low on ammo but I think we can manage. By the way how'd you all know we were in trouble to begin with?" he asked curiously.
I thumbed towards the Skirge "I use that thing to scout the surroundings from the sky. It let me know there was something going on over this way." I lied casually.
The girl chimed up finally as she lost patience "Is that a horse?" she asked with barely contained excitement as she pointed at my soldier guy and his horse.
"Marcy!" the man snapped at her.
"It's fine. To answer your question that is indeed a horse." I said calmly.
"Well since my daughter already ripped the bandage off might as well go all the way. Where on Earth did you even find a horse? I thought the things were extinct. Everyone does, it's why we use Brahmin or big Horner." he said and I shrugged.
"Luck of the draw mostly." I said with a chuckle at my inside joke.
"I wish I had your luck. You have a horse and a working prewar bike, plus whatever the hell that monster is." he said with a slight tinge of envy.
"It is what it is. Still I best get back to my place, this sun is killing me." I said as I wheel the bike around to head back to the station.
"Wait!" the girl yelled hurriedly.
"Yeah?" I asked confused.
"Um, could we stay at your place? Just for the night to recover I mean!" she said nervously and the man looked like he wanted to scold her but stopped himself.
I shrugged "I don't mind but try not to get any funny ideas, you won't survive them if you do. Theres a Red rocket station up that way, that's where I'm staying currently." I said before revving the bike and heading back to the station at a more reasonable pace now.
My summons followed me as we left the two of them alone. I ignored the flashing notification from the system at the corner of my vision as I returned to the station. I left the bike in the garage and grabbed one of the bottles of water from the dusty case in the corner. Ignoring the chalky feel on my hands from the dust I twisted off the top and started drinking. In no time flat half the bottle was gone and I stopped myself from drinking it all. Clean water was precious in the wasteland and I needed to ration it.-
I left my soldier guy standing outside the station while the Skirge perched on the roof of the station like a monstrous gargoyle. I knew it would take a while for those two to get here so I finally open the notification. Like I thought it was just the completion of the quest and the distribution of the reward. The familiar set wheel popped up and spun before stopping on my new set, The Doctor who set. This made me pull a funny face because I frankly wasn't familiar with the set at all. I simply never watched the source material and as a result couldn't be bothered to try and see if the card set was any good.-
'I think it was almost entirely commander based?' I thought trying to rattle loose any knowledge on the set I could.
I simply couldn't think of anything and gave up shortly afterwards. I relaxed as I waited for the two I rescued to get here but as I thought it took them over two hours to cover the several mile distance. The speed was to be expected really as they were on foot and had to keep a steady but not exhausting pace lest they strain themselves.-
When they finally arrived though they seemed almost surprised as they looked around. It only took a moment to realize why, the place wasn't fortified at all. They were likely expecting the station to have a fence around it made of scrap at least but it was basically completely undefended. The man settled the two headed Brahmin cow down in the shade before walking over to where I was relaxing.
"You sure this place is safe? Seems an easy target from what I can see." he said worriedly.
I shrugged "Nothing for it. I have only been here for a couple days and theres not exactly a plethora of stuff I could use to put up walls." I said honestly.
"I can see that. You must be planning to set out again soon right?" he asked coming to his own conclusion.
"I'll move on when I feel like it. Not like i've got anywhere to be in a hurry." I said not agreeing or disagreeing.
"Well if you do plan to set down roots here I'd suggest finding a way to put up some walls. Those big bugs might not be your biggest threat otherwise. Legions always making wider movements so some scouts might notice you and come calling." he warned seriously.
"I'll keep that in mind." I say with a nod.
"Now that we are relatively safe I want to thank you for rescuing us. A lot of folks would have left us to die but you didn't and that means something." he said with a genuinely thankful expression but I waved it off.
"It's what any decent person should do." I said and he nodded before leaving back to where his daughter was.