Ch. 18 Rewards and Shock

[ Quest Completed: [Cold, Cold Heart] ]

Colton's anger rises as he realizes what he just did.

Kilborn's face turns grim as he looks to the dirt. The Sergeant mutters to himself. "...we'll never stop them, not at this rate. We're doomed" he then looks up to Colton with the same expression but with a weak smile. "Thanks for bringing the word…even if the news is bad"

The soldiers around start to mutter and freak out.

Colton doesn't know what to say, but he has to say something. "What the hell do you guys think you're doing?!" He shouts.

Everyone is startled and looks at Colton. Cass is wondering what Colton would say next.

"Yes the Legion attacked Nipton! But that's because the mayor of Nipton was doing shady business! He made whored out women to the NCR at night! And during the day he whored out women to the Powder Gangers! And you never knew or chose to ignore it! It doesn't matter. The mayor roped everyone in by their dicks or pussy, people spent their caps in town and he took a percentage from that as well. He was raking in the caps! He was greedy and wanted more! He was approached by the Legion and made a deal with them to take out the NCR and the Powder Gangers! The Legion stabbed them in the back and just captured everyone in the town! It's not hopeless as long as we just don't fall apart! The NCR needs to be smarter than the Legion and not give in to this scare tactic! They want you to get scared and not fight back! That's why they crucify people publicly and tauntingly! Don't let it work! This is what you guys are fighting, this isn't just guard duty! This is war! And war never changes! So get serious and defend your friends and family!"

At this point more and more people were listening. Not just the soldiers on night duty. But people came out of the barracks and HQ.

Everyone was silent. Colton's speech was rocky and shaky, but his point at the end was what struck them the most. They had gotten complacent just sitting at the Outpost, and this was their wake up call. Most would have gotten scared and tried leaving the NCR, but when Colton brought up their family and friends….their drive to protect those close to them kicked in.

"Screw the Legion!" "We can kill those savages!" "We won't let them pillage!" "Hoorah!"

They started chattering and then shouting to mask their fear with confidence. Typical soldier shouts were flying and ringing in the air.

Not even just the soldiers. The caravans also joined in a bit. But most of them were scared shitless, they definitely wanted to have more bodyguards while they were on the road.

Business seemed like it would pick up. And now with the Giant Ants completely not being a problem permanently now, things were looking up. If the supply lines could start moving through the Mojave it would help breath life back into the Mojave. It's just a matter of securing the supply lines which is the hard part.

Even with the crowd trying to pick up morale, there were still a good number of people, soldiers and caravaners alike, that were scared shitless.

Colton sighs heavily. He fucked up, big time. But he was able to salvage it a bit and even somewhat raised morale? He wasn't sure, but it's better than them just waiting to get attacked.

Colton moves past the initial line of soldiers and makes his way towards the barracks. He gets to the ramp and walks up it. "I'll meet you inside Cass, I just gotta let Ghost know and answer any questions she has"

"You can go ahead and take all my caps if she didn't hear you" Cass sarcastically remarks. She would even bet that Ranger Jackson heard about the Nipton event even if they only just told people. A kiss ass always exists in every group, and she would bet Jackson was getting his ass shined as they speak.

Colton heads up the ramp and see's Ghost standing with her cowboy repeater griped tightly in her hands. She looked a little more pale than she would normally. Colton was even shocked by that.

Colton stands up straight and looks dead on into Gjost's sunglasses. "Nipton was attacked by the Legion"

"Nipton wasn't the most friendly town…. Wish this set my mind at ease…now I'm on edge more than ever" Ghost just stood still and responded flatly.

"I know you already heard, but I just wanted to personally let you know. Sorry there isn't any good news to accompany it" Colton just watched as Ghost stands there, slightly more rigid than he had seen her before. "Did you have friends there?"

"In Nipton? Hell no, place was a shithole asking to be burned. Just not by Legion. Nobody deserves that" Ghost changes her tune and picks up a bit. She slings her repeater over her shoulder and puts her hand on her hip as she puts her weight on her back leg. "Well, thanks for hoofing it there and back. Wish we could spare the troops to go hunting, but we have out orders" Ghost then seems to get a bit pissed. "Fucking Mojave is going to hell, and all I can do is sit up here and watch. Thanks again, I'll spread your name around. And here, take this"

[Completed:

- •Return to Ranger Ghost at Mojave Outpost•

- •Recon the Nipton Town Hall for Ranger Ghost•

2/2 Objectives Complete]

[ Quest Completed: [Keep Your Eyes on the Prize] ]

[Level Up!]

Colton was about to respond to Ghost but time slows down and his Pipboy flickers to life as it displays THE screen.

"About time!" He shouts into the timeless surroundings. Colton was wondering why he hadn't leveled up at all. And he's a little salty it was only 1 level, but he would take what he could get.

[ Welcome to level 8!

Barter = 24

Energy Weapons = 31

Explosives = 34

Guns = 100

Lockpick = 31

Medicine = 50

Melee = 32

Repair = 33

Science = 36

Sneak = 24

Speech = 54

Survival = 41

Unarmed = 34

Assign 15 skill points ]

Colton instantly knew which one he would increase.

[Skills Increased:

Speech = 69

Confirm]

"Nice~" Colton didn't even mean for the stars to align like this. But he is absolutely ok with it.

[ Welcome to lvl 8!

[Field Medic] | 6 | 40 Medicine|

-You may attempt to revive a fallen ally with a super stimpack.

[Nikolas Shockwave] | 6 | Read a N.S. Book |

-You take 20% less damage from Energy attacks. Energy bullets, Energy grenades, anything that deals Energy as damage.

[Commando] | 8 |

- You gain +25% accuracy in V.A.T.S. with two-handed weapons.

[Grunt] | 8 | 45 Guns, 20 Explosives |

- You gain 25% more damage with 9mm pistols and SMGs, .45 pistols and SMGs, service rifles, assault and Marksman carbines, light machine guns, frag grenades, grenade rifles and launchers and combat knives.

[Quick Draw] | 8 | 5 Agility |

- Makes weapon equipping and holstering 50% faster.

[Rad Resistance] | 8 | 5 Endurance, 40 Survival |

- You gain +25% radiation resistance permanently.

[Run Like the Wind] | 8 | 6 Agility |

- You gain +10% speed.

[Sneering Imperialist] | 8 |

- You gain +15% Damage and +25% accuracy in V.A.T.S. to various tribal and raider characters.

[Stone Wall] | 8 | 6 Strength and Endurance |

- You gain +5 DT against melee and unarmed attacks and cannot be knocked down during combat.

[Strong Back] | 8 | 5 Strength and Endurance |

- You gain +50 Carry Weight.

[Too Drunk to Die] | 8 | Get Drunk |

-You gain a +5 DT while drunk.

0/1 Perk Selected ]

"I only get one! Shit!" Colton looks at the perks and hates that he can only take one.

Colton calms down and goes through the new perks.

While [Field Medic] could potentially raise the dead, it could have a time limit of like 1 second to do so. And not having specifics of it, Colton just gets rid of the perk for now.

Colton liked the [Nikolas Shockwave] but thought about getting hit by an energy bullet. 20% less burn or disintegration would be good, but that wouldn't stop him from still dying.

There were just better options that [Commando] and [Grunt]. The accuracy didn't really help too much. Now the extra damage? That could be good. But it was more of a specific perk, he'd rather keep choosing perks that help him in general without having to specialize. He ignores his [Run n Gun] perk choice.

[Rad Resistance] would be amazing. But he could hold off on choosing it. Plus 25% less radiation wouldn't necessarily save his life and stop him from mutating.

[Run Like the Wind] giving a +10% speed boost sounded fun. His speed was already fast, and having 10% more? He'd be zooming around like Naruto with his arms behind him.

Colton tossed [Sneering Imperialist] out the window. He didn't care for a bonus to Vats when fighting tribals. He hadn't even met any yet.

[Too Drunk to Die] could be great, but it's only great if he had Cass's companion perk and a large supply of readily available alcohol. So no.

And Colton didn't think [Strong Back] was worth it. Maybe if it raised his Strength as well he would consider it. But since it didn't, and that he would still be limited by space, he decided to not consider it.

Now [Stone Wall] and [Quick Draw] we're his immediate choices. [Stone Wall] since he would essentially never get knocked down, and [Quick Draw] because his draw speed of his weapons would basically be faster than the blink of an eye with a 50% increase.

It was a hard decision. He felt like he had spent hours going between the two. In the end he just selected-

[ [Quick Draw] gained

- Makes weapon equipping and holstering 50% faster ]

He decided that drawing his pistols and Purifier would be best. Mainly because it also doesn't only say guns. It's any weapon. Melee, ballistic, or energy, all can be drawn 50% more.

He got read for time to continue. What had he been doing before?

[Level Up!]

[Level Up!]

Colton was dumbstruck. The system just jabaited him. It held back 2 more levels. But then he though about it.

If he got 5 levels he would get 2-3 perks. But wouldn't he be able to choose higher level perks than what would have been normally available? And he could potentially lose skill points, like if there was another perk like [Educated] that gave bonus skill points.

[Welcome to level 10!

Barter = 24

Energy Weapons = 31

Explosives = 34

Guns = 100

Lockpick = 31

Medicine = 50

Melee = 32

Repair = 33

Science = 36

Sneak = 24

Speech = 69

Survival = 41

Unarmed = 34

Assign 29 skill points]

[Skills Increased:

Repair = 45

Speech = 86

Confirm]

Colton was a little pissed he wouldn't be able to get Speech to 100. If he dumped all 29 points into Speech it would only be 98. So he just made it that his next level up would give him the amount of Skill points to max it.

[ Welcome to level 10!

[Light Touch] | 2 | 6 Agility, 45 Repair |

- While wearing light armor you gain +5% critical hit chance and your enemies suffer a -25% critical hit chance.

[Terrifying Presence] | 8 | 70 Speech |

- Can intimidate foes through dialogue; closing dialogue results in the foe fleeing for 5 seconds.

[And Stay Back] | 10 | 70 Guns |

- Shotguns have a 10% chance, per pellet, of knocking an enemy back.

[Fight the Power] | 10 |

- You gain +2 Damage Threshold and +5% Critical chance against anyone wearing NCR, Legion or Brotherhood of Steel armor.

[Finesse] | 10 |

- you have a higher chance to score a critical hit on an opponent in combat, equivalent to 5 extra points of Luck.

[Here and Now] | 10 |

- Instantly gain another level after taking this perk.

[Night Person] | 10 |

- +2 Intelligence and +2 Perception between 6:00 P.M. and 6:00 A.M.

0/1 Perks Selected ]

Colton facepalms when he realizes he was literally 1 Speech point away from [Terrifying Presence] previously. It was an interesting perk, being able to scare opponents through dialogue. But compared to others it was kinda lackluster.

He doesn't even consider [Light Touch] because when he gets Power Armor he won't need light armor.

He doesn't even have a shotgun to use [And Stay Back]. He'd rather focus on sniper perks than shotgun perks.

[Fight the Power] is too specific for him to choose it.

Now [Finesse] did catch his eye. But when he remembers that it's basically only a +5% increase in his chance to land a critical hit he didn't like it so much.

[Here and Now]? No way. He can just kill things to level up.

And [Night Person] wouldn't be a bad choice… if he didn't have to sleep. Even with the perk, it wasn't worth going Nocturnal. Besides, a +2 to Perception and Intelligence wasn't anything to jump at the chance for when it had a time restraint.

So he was back to some previous perks to choose from. [Stone Wall], [Toughness], and some not so great but decent Perks.

[ [Stone Wall] gained!

- You gain +5 DT against melee and unarmed attacks and cannot be knocked down during combat ]

Not being hit to the ground would be so beneficial. Colton couldn't think less before he chose it. He would probably choose [Toughness] the next chance he got.

Time resumes and Colton can feel a headache starting. His left hand holds the side of his head while he winces. Speech and Repair knowledge move into his brain. And they aren't being polite. They're bumping shoulders and shoving eachother to force their way in.

He shakes his head and opens his eyes after a minute or so. He looks at Ghost as she has a small pouch in her hand. "Sorry, headache"

Ghost raises an eyebrow. "Anyway, take this" She throws the pouch at Colton. It makes a metallic sound when he catches it in his right hand. He opens it and it's 50 caps. His Pipboy counts it for him.

"For the trouble of checking Nipton and for taking care of the ants" Ghost turns around to face the Mojave.

Colton stows the caps with the others he has. "Wasn't a problem" Colton turns around and walks to the ramp with the bags. He was going to say a smartass comment but kept it to himself. His body was feeling a bit weird. Probably from the two perks he acquired.

He went into the barracks and saw Cass at the bar. He greeted her and Lacey as he dropped off the bags he was carrying. He told Cass to sell anything she could and to keep what she wanted. Colton takes the ammo he needs, along with the chems they scavenged. He debates with himself about keeping a melee weapon. He'd love to have a katana or sword, but that's more for coolness factor. If he was thinking practically he should choose the bladed gauntlet. So he does so.

Colton was hoping for something more Assassin Creed like the hidden blade, but unfortunately it was just 3 shards of sharp metal strapped to a wrist guard like type devise in a triangle shape. Crude but effective.

Before he leaves he gives Cass 25 caps, splitting the 50 he just got with her. Then he heads back out the barracks.

But he made sure to pay for her first whisky bottle.

After he left the barrack he went to the HQ. It wasn't very busy. Colton assumes it's because of a few reasons.

One, they are on guard duty.

Two, they are sleeping due to it being decently late now.

Three, they're off duty

Colton shrugs his shoulders. Even Major Knight isn't there. And the soldiers that are, well they're practically buried under paper and don't even notice him.

Colton moves towards Ranger Jackson's room but checks the lounge room before he passes it. Jackson wasn't there so he went to the last room.

He's about to knock when he hears Ranger Jackson's muffled voice.

"What business do two couriers and their bodyguard have at the Mojave Outpost?"

Colton raises an eyebrow. As far as he knew a courier is just a fancier and more private postal service. The courier just takes one letter or package from one person to another person. Colton thinks that it would be a pain in the ass to be one in the apocalypse. Unless they have a Pipboy to mark the location on the map. Even the non-system Pipboys has that function.

A feminine but rough voice speaks. "We came to deliver a message to you Ranger Jackson. Don't know who from, only doing my job"

Jackson's voice gets a bit assertive. "No shit, you don't say?" He sighs and Colton can feel the facepalm. "I meant why there are two of you with a body guard. I thought couriers work solo, rarely picking up a bodyguard"

Colton thinks that her answer was adequate. It was at the very least very amusing. He leans against the opposite wall from the door.

"If that's all then our business is done here" A masculine voice sounds.

Colton can hear footsteps walking towards the door before it swings open to reveal a big dude.

He had dark skin and stood at least around 6'8" and was muscular as hell. He could swear his bicep was bigger than Colton's own head. He wore a sleeveless duster jacket that was closed. A white tshirt underneath. A hat sits atop his head that fits his aesthetic. And he wore gloves that were practically gauntlets. His belt was over his duster and had many pouches like he was Batman with his utility belt. He also seemed to have military pants on with boots. No facial hair, but sharp features. And absolutely packed with muscles. Like he lives at the gym type of build. Colton notices the Pipboy on his left wrist last.

The guy was decently intimidating.

"The fuck do you think you're doing" The mans deep voice reaches. Colton's ears.

"Get a move on Marcus, or do you see something you like?" A sarcastic male voice says behind the big guy apparently named Marcus.

Marcus huffs and moved down the hallway a bit after glaring daggers into Colton who didn't slink away at his hulking figure.

Once Marcus moves Colton can see two people. One male and one female with Ranger Jackson facing his desk in the background.

The male was around 6'0" tall. He had wavy dirty blond hair and black roots that flowed to his left side. His facial hair looked great. Neatly trimmed and everything. It wasn't very long, basically just long stubble. But it fit him and his big smile and handsome features. He was fairly muscular but Colton assumed he probably preferred guns. He wore what looked like military fatigues with metal armor plating. Nothing signified he was part of any faction or group. He also had a Batman utility belt. There was a Pipboy on his left wrist as well.

The female of the trio stood at 6'2". She had a hat on her head, but didn't hide her long blonde hair went to about her shoulder blades. She had a pair of sunglasses on. She was beautiful, if she didn't look like she wanted to gut Colton where he was standing. She looked very pissed, Colton chocked it up to resting bitch face or she wasn't in a happy mood having to come all the way down to the Mojave Outpost. Anyway, she wore a long sleeve duster and a camo shirt. Her pants didn't seem to be military but she also wore a utility belt and had various holsters on her legs. She had fingerless gloves on. She didn't have a Pipboy which surprised Colton a little since her companions had one.

The second guy smiles showing off his pearly whites. "How's it going friend?" He walks forward and pats Colton on his shoulder.

Colton raises an eyebrow.

The guy let's his hands rest on his hip metal plating. "Sorry about my companions here, it's late and we have to hit the road again. We don't mean any harm. The names Alexander, I prefer Alex though. Big guy over there is Marcus if you hadn't picked up on that. And she's Evelyn. You got a name?"

Colton can tell this guy is being overly friendly, but he will play along for now. "Names Colton. Nice to meet you three. And it looks like we're matching" He holds up his Pipboy. They'd already seen it so he wants to see this guys reaction.

Alexander holds his own up. It's slightly different, but still a Pipboy. "More or less. It's kinda rare to see people with one of these. That's how the three of us first met actually, where did you find yours? I got mine from a vault hidden in a mountain just outside the Mojave"

Colton was hesitant for a few seconds. "Dad gave it to me. He had it but lost his arm and couldn't use it anymore"

Alexander loses his smile slightly. "Sorry to hear about that. What do you do here in the Mojave? You're a little to good looking to be living here for a while"

Colton blinks unintentionally at that. "Thanks, I guess? I just arrived a bit ago. Gonna be a mercenary to get some quick and easy caps"

"Ah, that's a dangerous line of work. Courier is easier since you aren't supposed to shoot the messenger you know?" Alexander scratches the back of his head.

"Enough, let's get moving" Evelyn says as she begins walking away. She passes Marcus who was still glaring daggers at Colton but turns around and follows her.

Alex watched them leave. "Well that's my cue. See you around Colton" He waves over his shoulder. "And I'd check your notifications" he quietly says.

Colton gets thrown on high alert. Even more so than he was before. He looks at his Pipboy's settings and notifications. He doesn't see anything out of the ordinary. Except for him earning a title. [Exterminator], and gaining a perk, [Bug Stomper]

[Bug Stomper]

- You've killed tons of mutated insects. You deal +10% damage to mutated insects.

Colton was happy with his title and the free perk. But he didn't see anything about notifications that Alex would have mentioned. Fucking weird.

Alex walks out of Colton's sight towards the doors but his head suddenly pops into view. "And we're you the one to free Cass?"

Colton narrows his eyes at Alex and stands up with his arms crossed. "Yeah, so what?"

Alex raises an eyebrow. "Nothing, just surprised is all. Can't believe it was so easy" Alex looks at the ground and leaves "Normally it's more of a pain in the ass"

Colton is losing his shit. He thought that maybe Alex was just fucking with him or something. Like he was just trying to make him mess with his Pipboy or something. But now he was sure Alex knew more than he should.

Colton's mind was racing with thoughts and ideas. 'Cass is a companion from the games? Or was she just an quest giving NPC? Did he fuck things up already?'

'Are there other people reincarnating here in Fallout?'