Ch. 11 Ants and Favors

Colton was walking along the road jamming to his radio with some more up beat music than is usually on the radio in Fallout.

He's got Purifier in his hands as he dance walks

The sun is barely at the horizon and Colton is acting like he hadn't just drank heavily the night prior.

He had already used the book and gotten a +3 to his Explosives skill once he left the outpost.

He's been walking for some time and still hasn't reached the bottom of the hill the Mojave Outpost is on. A bunch of broken down prewar cars are lined up as if the people hadn't made it out of the Mojave in time. Cars, motorcycles, busses, semi trucks.

He finally reaches the bottom and see's a fork in the road. To the left a sign says 'Las Vegas, Primm, North. And to the right it says Nipton, Searchlight, East.

The quest markers say North so he continues on the left path. But he quickly realizes that the quest markers aren't that way exactly. He moves off the road and notices that the ants have taken up shop under a bridge a ways away. The path was originally covered with prewar cars.

He moves to a better vantage point and realizes the ants are about as numerous as he expected. He predicts that there is over 50 that he can see. Luckily he should have plenty of .308 rounds and then some.

He sees a lot of giant solider ants. But there's a lot more giant worker ants that are smaller than the soldiers.

He quickly identifies all the soldier ants he can see and gets prepared. He lays out his magazines of .308. He's got his goggles and hat on for the boost to his stats. And takes a deep breath in and let's it out.

He starts taking down the giant soldier ants one after the other. They start scrambling to try and find their attacker but can't seem to pinpoint where he is due to the distance.

He does eventually get spotted. But that's after he reloads a few times.

The giant soldier ants are wiped out. But he is forced to switch to his pistols.

He unloads them and when he hast to reload he holsters the 12.7mm and just focuses on using the .357 revolver. He just enjoys it more than the other at the moment. The reloading is more satisfying.

He blasts the worker ants as he dances between them. They try and bite his shins, ankles, and feet but he's able to either kill them or move out of their way.

He keeps chipping at their numbers and dancing around them. They aren't very coordinated and at one point trampled over eachother to get to him which allowed Colton to shoot off a few legs as he blew the brains out of the one below the legs.

Olson made it looks easy, but if he had to give his two caps on the matter he'd say it was significantly harder than he expected. He had to stay hyper focused and really hoped that this was worth it.

*BANG*

The final bullet leaves his revolver and destroys the head of the last worker ant. And with its death goes the last quest marker.

[Complete:

- <Clear the critters on the road to Ivanpah Lake>

- •Return to Ranger Hackson at the Mojave out post•

1/2 Objectives Complete]

"Yay~" Colton says weakly as he breathes slightly heavily. It was not easy to not get bit by these tiny, slightly bigger than a house cat, critters.

He goes back to his pack and purifier and is about to leave when he remembers that the ants could have something valuable in them. The ant meat was basically useless and more work than it's worth to take.

But the ant eggs and ant nectar could be sold to the caravans, or even Lacey maybe.

He takes out his knife and starts searching the ant corpses. He has a small sack that he will need to throw out afterwards, but it'll do the job to carry the rewards.

Colton smirks at the thought of Jackson's face when he walks in with this. And Cass. And Lacey. Man it'll be funny.

He takes an hour just to reap his minor rewards. He will get the bigger rewards after he returns to the outpost.

He holds the sack of eggs and ant nectar sacs in his left hand. It's heavy but he doesn't want it on his back. The nectar is basically a drug, and the eggs, well, they're just irradiated ant eggs. But surely somebody will want them in the NCR.

As he begins to walk back up the hill he turns his radio on.

"Can't be touched

Can't be stopped

Can't be moved

Can't be rocked

Can't be shook

We hot

When will you fuckers learn"

Can't be touched by Roy Jones Jr. starts playing. But it is slightly altered.

"Oh yeah~" Colton begins his trek moving along with the music. And you know he blasts the music.

He also begins singing along with it. He makes sure to stay vigilant though. But there isn't anything around as far as he can tell.

"Came to get crunk

Came to bring life

Came to get it started

Came to get it right

Turn down the music

Turn up my mic

When will you fuckers learn"

——————

Colton makes it back up the big ass hill. He preferred the walk down. He sees the two metal dudes shaking hands. And not much else along the way.

He reaches the top and drops the sac of 'goodies' next to a plaque below the metal statues.

"In the year 2271, the Desert Rangers of Nevada and rangers of the New California Republic met at this spot to sign the Ranger Unification Treaty. Under this treaty, the Desert Rangers agreed to be absorbed into the NCR in exchange for NCR's protection of Hoover Dam, New Vegas, and southern Nevada against the forces of Caesar's Legion" Colton reads the plaque aloud to himself.

He shrugs his shoulders and picks up the goodies and walks into the Outpost. He sees a lot of people outside looking at him.

"Is this a surprise party? It's not even my birthday, you guys missed it by a couple days" Colton smirks and relaxed his posture.

"You crazy bastard, you really did it"

Colton looks for the woman who said that and sees Cass. He gives her a thumbs up and then turns back to the group of people.

"Can we make room so I can talk with Ranger Jackson? That's be very appreciated" Colton begins walking to the HQ. And the people make a path for him. They whisper various things. Some try to say that he's just bluffing. But the scent from the sack he's holding makes them the minority.

He enters the HQ and sees Major Knight.

"Hey Major, just cleared your small ant problem North of here" Colton holds up the sack and smirks.

"I'll be damned. Good job. Was wondering what all that commotion was outside. Ranger Jackson is as busy as usual in the back, he needed some good news soon…. we all did actually" Major Knight is still holding his pencil, he seems to have been doing whatever paperwork the NCR makes their people do.

"I'll be on my way then" Colton walks past and checks the rooms until he gets to the lounge area and sees the best handlebar mustache he's seen in the wasteland, which doesn't say much but still.

Ranger Jackson had a cup in one hand and a cigarette in the other. He was on a couch and had his feet kicked up on the coffee table.

"Reporting to Ranger Jackson" Colton steps into the room and sarcastically salutes.

"Haha, at ease soldier" Jackson went from hating paperwork to loving it real quick. He had been writing reports about the deaths of soldiers and caravaners. But now he can tell some good news. Based on the sack oozing a weird yellow substance.

"I have a quick question" Colton puts his hand to his side and relaxes.

"Sure, but right after you tell me how it went" Jackson doesn't move. Just looks at Colton through his sunglasses from his seat.

"Why couldn't you just send soldiers down there? Not like it was that far away, and it's not like your lacking soldiers, guns, or ammo" Colton had thought about this and can only assume the stupid NCR heads put restrictions on him for whatever dumb reason.

Jackson takes a long puff from his cigarette and releases it slowly. He turned his head to not blow it in Colton's direction. The Ranger looks at Colton. "Soldiers, no, recruits, yes. And the Mojave Outpost has been ordered to have a standing force at the NCR perimeter at all times. So sending anyone out reduces the Outpost's numbers and would be in direct violation of my orders from back West"

Colton actually facepalms with a loud smack. He wasn't sure what the answer was going to be, but man does he wanna say 'called it' so badly. And it was also partly Jackson's fault too. Sure the ants were decently far away from the outpost. But it's just to do their job and make the roads safer. He wants to smack Jackson for being so literal about his orders. But he hasn't been paid yet so he holds off on that.

"Ok. Well I cleared your infestation problem. But the nest will have to wait until later. Can't exactly shoot through the ground into the nest" Colton puts the sack on the floor with "squish" sounds. And then he goes into detail about how he did and how many he thought there were.

"I mentioned you might accidentally get supplied, and I meant it. Not allowed to contract mercenaries at the Outpost" Jackson opens the bag slightly and then closes it after getting hit by the sweet and sickening scent. He puts out his cigarette in the ash tray and stands up. Drink still in hand. "Follow me"

Jackson moves past Colton and walks into the door farthest down the hall, probably his personal office. Colton grabs the sack and follows the Ranger.

Jackson closes the door after they get into the room. "Still, a requisition form or two can get lost, and they're not going to come check... so here you go, just between us". He shows a box of supplies.

[Complete:

- <Return to Ranger Hackson at the Mojave out post>

2/2 Objectives Complete]

[ Quest Completed: [Can You Find it in Your Heart] ]

[ NCR Fame Gained]

[ Accepted by the NCR ]

[Level Up!]

Colton feels his body want to jump for joy, but he refrains from doing it. Time slows down and Colton looks at his Pipboy.

[Welcome to Level 7!

Barter = 24

Energy Weapons = 31

Explosives = 34

Guns = 89

Lockpick = 31

Medicine = 47

Melee = 32

Repair = 33

Science = 33

Sneak = 24

Speech = 54

Survival = 41

Unarmed = 34

Assign 14 Skill Points]

"I guess it's about time for my first 100" Colton puts his points in the obvious.

[ Skills Increased:

Guns = 100

Medicine = 50

Confirm ]

Colton nods to himself. It took 11 points to max Guns, and so he had 3 left over. He would have increased Speech, but it would have went up to 57. So he just decided to wait and get his Medicine to a nice 50.

[Guns Skill Has Reached 100]

[ [Rambo Style] Has Been Earned]

[ [Rambo Style]

- You laugh while others cower when opposed by many foes. And the more you are out numbered the stronger you are. Your Perception, Agility, and Damage Threshold increase the more enemies you fight. Your gun skills are hard to hold a candle to, especially when you rain bullets upon those who try to match it ]

Colton looks at the Vault Boy that has no shirt and a bandana around his forehead. It's hair if long and curly as it flows behind him. He holds to SMGs and his torso is packed with muscles. And he's got face paint on as well. He stands with his right foot ontop of a rocks.

Time resumes and Colton can feel the knowledge of and obnoxious amount of guns. There's also a hint of medical knowledge sprinkled in. But he's surprised to know he can launch mini-nukes at his enemies and act like it's a casual Friday.

"Are you that speechless? It's not all that much but it's the best I could do"

Colton turns to face Jackson. "Not it's alright. I was just thinking of how I would explain that I got my hands on a NCR service rifle and armor piercing rounds commonly found in the NCR when I have barely stepped into the Mojave" Colton looks back at the supplies he now has to store. "The Caravan lunches would make for a nice picnic at least. Repair kits are great of course. And caps are always welcomed. How about a small favor for you finding the service rifle?"

Jackson does see that being a problem, but only if he starts telling everyone and their family where he got it. But he will hear Colton out. "Depends on what this small favor is"

Colton stands up after checking the supplies. "Some friends of mine really don't want to be stuck here. And I know it's protocol and all that to keep em here. But cmon, do you really need to keep Cass and the 2 new arrivals here? It'll calm the other caravans down too once they realize they have a chance at leaving as well. All you need to do is use some choice words and things will be looking up instead of gloomy here at the Outpost"

Jackson crosses his arms and taps his right foot on the ground as he considers it. "I don't like this, but I do owe you one for what you did. And Cass might drop dead any day now considering how much she drinks… Ah what the hell. Sure, but before you leave you go ask Ranger Ghost up on the roof of the barracks if she needs help with anything. You do what she asks and I'll do it"

Jackson gets to kill a few birds with a single stone here. Gets his favor with Colton done. His favor to Ghost done. And gets to help caravans enter into the Mojave. He can sleep better at night with these things off his shoulders and then some.

"Sounds like we got a deal Ranger Jackson" Colton holds out his hand for Jackson to shake.

"Kid, you got ant guts all over your arms. I'm not about to shake your hand covered with that" Jackson shakes his head.

Colton looks at his hands and then the sack. "Oh, guess I better go sell these before they start going bad. I'll consider this a verbal agreement. I'll let Cass know she's free to walk. I'll be back for the rest of this though" He points at the supplies on the ground.

"Yeah, now get that outta here before it leaks any more. I'll start the necessary paperwork. Your friends should be free to go by this evening" Jackson waves him out.

Colton walks out and it seems like everyone had already forgotten about him. Which makes it easier for him, he didn't want a whole lot of attention right now anyway.

He walks past Major Night and Sgt. Kilborn, giving a brief greeting to both.

He makes his way to the barracks and sees Cass sitting in the same spot as last night. But with notably less bottles of whiskey. Lacey was busy doing nothing, apparently cleaning glasses and listening to the radio.

"Want me to take a look at the radio? Seems like it needs some help" Colton walks to the bar.

"Oh?" Lacey turns around and looks at Colton.

"Looks like we can have story time now"

"Look what the cat dragged in" Cass turns to him as well with a slight smile…. And a whiskey bottle in her hand that's already half empty.

"I hope your sober enough to walk out of here by the evening Cass" Colton shakes his head. "And there isn't much of a story to tell. Just me shooting a metric fuck ton of giant ants. Fuckers tried to get my ankles, but I broke their ankles with my fancy foot work"

"How the hell did you break their ankles with only your foot work? Didn't even know ants had ankles" Cass asked sarcastically.

"It's a figure of speech. I just out maneuvered them. They were surprisingly flexible for being ants. Even crawled over eachother to get to me. You'd have loved it" Colton moves beside Cass again and sits down on the same stool.

"But damn that hill is not something I'll look forward to when I come back here" He drops his pack and gun against the counter.

"Wouldn't know. Been a long while since I've even left the Outpost" Lacey shrugs. "And did you really get Jackson to release Cass here?"

"Yep!" Colton give a thumbs up. "And not just her. Chloe and Lauren should be free to go. All I have to do is just talk with Ranger Ghost on the roof of this place"

"Ranger Ghost? Watch out, she's... well, she's kind of a bitch" Lacey seems to flinch a little and backpedal on what she just said. "Don't tell her I said that, though" She then looks down at the glass in her hand and talks more to herself than Colton. "Might take a bullet some night when I'm going to the latrine"

"I wouldn't sell you out like that. And she probably won't be that bad" Colton smirks and points his thumb at Cass. "I mean, I tamed this wild one right here"

Lacey raises an eyebrow and looks at Cass.

"Tamed? Some big words coming from such a small dicked man. Watch what you say before you regret your words" Cass's eyebrow twitches.

"Jokes aside" Colton looks at Cass. "What do you say to my offer. Wanna roam the Mojave with me?"

"What even is your end goal? There's nobody righteous enough to just clean up the Mojave for shits and giggles. And now that I'm slightly more sober than last night, I hope your not propositioning nothin" Cass asks, she knows there is more to this than what Colton is letting on.

"You caught me" Colton holds his hands up. "I'm just trying to infiltrate the Mojave and destroy it from the inside out. NCR, Legion, and whatever is at New Vegas. All shall crumble down beneath my feet. Mwahahahaha!" Colton laughs evilly. But then stops and gets serious. "But seriously. I'm just looking to have a fun time. I want to improve my skills and survive this wasteland. Who's to say I can't help those that truly need it. And if I kill some scum and make the Mojave slightly safer, who's gonna stop me and tell me what I'm doing is wrong. And Cass, I'm just looking for someone to travel with me. I'm not saying I would accept anyone though. I can tell you've got some skill. Just need to get the rust off your gears and get you at least mildly sober enough not to blow my head off. And It's not where we're going, it's the company we have on the journey there. It won't just be the two of us the entire time. Others will probably join us, if I deem them worthy enough. It'll get tough. Plenty of exciting shoot outs to have"

"That has got to be the biggest load of brahmin shit I've ever heard" She flatly says straight to his face. He can smell the booze in her breath. "So you're looking for someone to help, not just tag along? Hnh. I need a little bit more convincing" Cass puts the bottle down and caps it.

"Do you really want to stay in this shitty place?" Colton looks to Lacey. "No offense"

Lacey just shrugs. "None taken. You aren't exactly wrong either"

Colton looks back to Cass. "Consider this a break before you go back to caravaning. I'll even help you start it up again once you decide to get back in the saddle"

Cass seems to flinch ever so slightly. She wasn't even sure she wanted to start her caravan again. "How about we figure out what exactly happened with my previous caravan before I start another one. And what'll be the relationship between us. Friends? Boss and lackey? Or do you have something kinky in mind? Careful what your answer is"

Colton raised an eyebrow. "Hmm. I guess… since I plan on making a small group I'll be the leader no matter what. But I'd rather not have to be the leader honestly. Although, if I had to choose between following order and giving them I'd much rather do the ladder"

"I'll form a decision. You go talk to the Ranger on the roof. Not like I can stand you up yet, have to wait for my papers" Cass grabs the bottle and looks at it for a few seconds before opening it and downing it. "Just in case it's the last one I'll have in a while" She says to herself.

"Alright" Colton turns to Lacey. "Hand me that radio real quick"

Lacey puts the glass in her hands down and takes the radio off the top shelf and hands it to Colton.

He turns it over and pulls a screw driver from his pack. He unscrews the back panel and sees the insides.

Colton begins whistling a small tune as he looks at the thing. It takes him a few seconds to find the problem. Good old 33 Repair. He should also increase that. But he needs Speech, and Medicine. There's too many good skills he needs to increase. And now that he knows they will give him perks….

He secures the loose wiring and goes over the others so it won't fall apart after he leaves. He closes it and hands it back to Lacey. "Should be as good as when you first found the thing"

Colton stands up and grabs his things. And begins walking out. Lacey turns it on and the static is gone for the most part. It's louder and clearer than it has sounded in years.

"Thanks" Lacey says to Colton's back. He just returns a small wave and a smile as he walks out the door.

He turns right and jumps over the wall of sandbags. They were maybe 3ft tall.

Now he just needs to talk to Ranger Ghost and wait until Cass is ready to leave.

His adventure is about to begin.