Chương 10: Ch. 10 First Drink and Bar Fight

[Quest Completed: Lonely Road]

Colton anticipates the Level up as he approaches the metal fence leading to the Mojave Outpost.

But nothing happens.

Colton reached the gate and it's locked. He can see a fair number of people inside the outpost. NCR soldiers and traders. brahmin seem to get their own place to stay while here.

A man wearing a uniform approaches the group on the other side of the fence.

"What are you lot doin here?" Says the man with a longer beard than he has hair atop his head. He's wearing a dirty uniform it looks like.

"We're here to deliver these items" Chloe points towards Lauren and herself. "These two…." She points towards Dan and Hank. "We're going to be here on their NCR vacation, but we got attacked by raiders and they should get checked up on" Then she points towards Colton who takes his goggles off. "This man here saved us 4. There were 3 other NCR soldiers who didn't make it…."

Colton got the hint and showed the dog tags of the fallen soldiers.

"Damn, I wasn't even aware there was an attack. Well I'm glad you're safe. And how many raiders?" The guy asks.

"There was 15, but Colton here took them all down" Chloe says with a smile.

"You took on a raider group of 15?" The man finds it kind of hard to believe.

"I needed both hands so I didn't do it single handedly, but I did fire 16 shots" Colton removes his face mask. "And all shots hit their mark" He smiles as the mans eyebrow goes up.

"Well come on in, I'd like to hear about it. The loss of NCR soldiers and the attack should be logged. We can fill that out while we run your papers. I'm Sargent Kilborn. Welcome to the Mojave outpost" The man, now know as Sgt. kilborn, unlocks the gate and swings it open.

"Ah, erm…. What if I don't have papers?" Colton asks.

"You aren't an NCR citizen?" Kilborn asks.

Colton shakes his head and shrugs. "Been living out in the wild practically all my life. Only just left my parents because now I'm 18"

"Not a problem, not like we force people to be an NCR citizen. We will just need your name and log you in our records is all. Gotta keep track of those that come and go. Thems the rules from the higher ups" Kilborn fully opens that gate and they enter the Outpost.

"We have to get our caravan papers checked in, we can meet up at the bar after right?" Chloe looks at Colton.

"Sure, I'm just gonna have a look around first" Colton looks at the 2 building with lights on. "It's getting dark anyway"

"Me and Dan are going to doc here, or whatever medical services are available" Hank says as he and Dan get off the wagon.

"Alright, see you guys around" Chloe says as she sees a different soldier motion her over and guides her brahmin towards the pens with other brahmin inside.

Hank and Dan walk away, leaving Colton with Kilborn.

"So, 15 raiders huh?" Says the Sargent.

"Yeah, picked 12 off with my gun here and took the last 3 with my magnum" Colton turns to the man as he walks over.

"Must have some skill then" Kilborn folds his arm across his chest.

"I like to think I do. So is there any work that needs to be done around here? I can put this skill to use with the right payment" Colton hints at being a gun for hire.

"Nothing I know of. Might check the Barracks, someone might need you to hoof it somewhere. Just be careful if you go up on the roof - got a sniper watching the road. Since you're going to need to be checked in anyway, HQ's also worth checking out - talk to Major Knight, he can help. Provided you got a pen and plenty of ink" Kilborn flatly says. "Although, anyone that pays you will be from their own pocket. We aren't supposed to hire others technically. Another stupid rule from the higher ups"

"So what's the deal with the statues?" Colton points his thumb over his shoulder at the giant metal statues shaking hands.

"Those two? Represents unification. Mostly good for shade. Won't do much else when the Legion reaches us" Kilborn clearly isn't positive about being able to hold back the Legion.

"Ok….." Colton doesn't exactly know how to follow that one up.

"Sorry, didn't mean to bring the mood down like that. It's just been watching a lot of nothing, feels like a big Brahmin pen for caravans. They've been stopped for a while, waiting for the roads North to clear - or their clearance papers to go through" Kilborn wipes his face and seems to try and act friendlier.

"That does sound boring. But what's wrong with the roads up north?" Colton kicks a rock a few centimeters with his foot.

"If you want to know more about that I'd talk with Ranger Jackson. Anything else I can help you with?" Kilborn moves his hands to his sides.

"Thanks for the info, one last question. I just go to the building right over there, right?" Colton points at the nearest building.

"Yeah. And then the one behind that is the barracks, the bar is in there"

"Cool, see you around Sargent" Colton sends Kilborn a wave and heads towards the HQ.

The outpost doesn't seem like much. But there are lots of defenses. Mostly just sandbags and fences though. But that's enough to keep the Legion from immediately overwhelming the place. But won't stop them for long.

Colton walks towards the building, people are moving about. Some are moving between buildings, and some are just walking around. Some people look at him but then continue on with their business while others don't even spare him a glance.

He has to walk around sandbags and is able to enter the HQ of the Outpost. When he opens the door he sees a dude standing behind a counter in what he assumes is the NCR solider attire since a lot of people are basically wearing them. But he has a beret with a single star and something like a gold nugget next to it.

Colton looks around and sees filing cabinets. NCR propaganda, 3 big posters in clear sight as soon as one enters through the doors. And there's papers strewn about atop the counter. Colton can see Chloe and Lauren's backs as they get taken around a divider. Chloe turns around and sees him. She smiles and waved at him, Colton sends a small smile and a wave back.

"Caravan, citizen, pilgrim, or...?" Asks the guy behind the counter. He looks extremely bored.

"Huh?" Colton looks back at the man who he assumes to be in his early to mid 20s.

"Just need something for the log book, keeping tabs on traffic through the Outpost... although mostly just in, not out these days. If you're looking for the commanding officer, he's in the back. Although... he's got a lot on his plate, so if you speak with him... keep it short. Also, you need any gear checked, we can get you up and running again... once you fill out the work orders, and sign for the parts, of course."

"Anyone can just go meet the commanding officer?" Colton asks.

"Sure, but how he would react is entirely up to him. Again, he is a busy man" The man says cryptically.

"Uhm….ok. I guess I'm a citizen, just not an NCR citizen. Is that good enough for the logs?" Colton isn't sure.

"Sure is. We get lots of people here, can't expect them all to be with the NCR. So what's the name?" The man starts writing in a folder with lots of papers in it.

"Isn't it impolite to ask for a name without giving your own first?" Colton asks with a stupid grin. He's just happy to be talking with someone from the Mojave. If he can get some info from him, why can't they be friends.

The guy looks up from his writing and stands up. He looks at up at Colton since he is a few inches shorter. "Me, I'm Knight - Major Knight. I've been stuck here dealing with these caravans for ages now, but somebody's gotta do it" The guy almost seemed shocked but Colton can pick up a hint of happiness in his tone.

"Nice to meet you, Major Knight. The names Colton Lucky King. I'm more of a field type of guy. Although I can respect someone who works the books. But I prefer action to keep my blood flowing. Is this not exciting enough for you here? You seemed not so happy dealing with the passerby" Colton relaxes his posture. He removes his hat and runs his hand through his hair once and puts it back on. He gives a friendly smile to Knight.

"It ain't so bad. But if Caesars legion pushes through Nipton, ol' Mojave Outpost here will have to be the front line. Which isn't ideal. You don't seem to be from around here so I'll tell you to be careful, citizen" Knight didn't sound to happy but he didn't drop the conversation. He wrote Colton's name in the log and closed it.

"Huh, well. Is there anything this 'citizen' can do to help out around here?" Colton does air quotes and jokes about just being a citizen.

"Help? Oh, well… you can speak with Ranger Jackson. He might have something for you. He sort of runs things around here, mostly ends up sending reports back West that aren't filled with the best news. He would be the one to look for to help out around here. I'm just a guy that fills the reports with them fancy words the higher ups like to use. Not much really happens around here. Jackson can explain that though. But maybe I can help you out with some repairs? Can even get you a slight deal. You'd be hard pressed to find someone with a higher repair skill than me. Very talented with my hands" Knight seems to genuinely smile.

"My gears all set. Although I might pick your brain if I'm ever in need of any tips, I'm actually trying to get better at repairs myself. But something you can help me out with is telling me some info about the Outpost" Colton readjusts the sniper rifle on his shoulder.

"NCR border guard duty mostly. It's our job to make sure the caravans can move safely along I-15 and Highway 95. Not the best posting or assignment, but it beats being sent East, or patrolling the Colorado. Legion's pretty thick there. But that's enough talk of those savages. I heard the ladies say they were attacked on their way here. Said some 'handsome guy' saved them. Took down the entire group of raiders on his own. You wouldn't happen to know that guy would you?" Knight inquires, seemingly putting 1, 2, and 3 together.

"I don't know if I'd call myself handsome, but my mom always said I was. And I think I look better than some of the sour faces I've seen around here. You don't look so weathered yourself Major Knight. And those raiders were so high on whatever they found it was like children waving around guns. They nearly shot eachother in the back. I just expedited the process" Colton smiles at seemingly making a friend out of this guy. He seems friendly enough and sees who comes and goes. He doesn't want to use their friendship for info, but why the hell not.

"Well you certainly do live up to their praise. They seemed pretty fond of you. And you do have a way with your words. I'd like to hear more of your tales when I'm off duty. But that's likely not anytime soon" Knight says with a hint of disappointment at the end after starting off with some decent energy.

"Well I'll be here in the Mojave for quite some time. I'm sure we will be seeing eachother more often than we expect. But I'm afraid I'll have to go have a talk with that Ranger you were talking about earlier. Catch ya later, Major Knight" Colton says as he begins walking around to the side to get towards the rest of the building. This was only the entrance after all.

"See you around, citizen"

Colton sees a almost broken Sunset Sasparilla vending machine that had its light flickering and looked a few days from breaking completely. He moved past the divider and to his right a bunch of desks were against the walls. Each desk had a chair and a divider between the next desk. Papers were disorganized but seemed to be organized enough for a person to find what they need with relative ease. To his left was a hallway. He could see 4 doors down it. Soldiers were moving to and fro. Some giving him a glance but mostly ignoring him.

He begins walking down the hall and the first door was to his right. Just a single bathroom that had paint peeling off of it. And a plunger that looks like it hadn't been cleaned since before the war. But beside it was one that looked relatively new. He didn't want to know why they kept the old one. He went on his way down the hall.

The second door was on his left, it looked like a double office. Two fancier desks along opposite walls, filing cabinets, and when he poked his head in he saw two tool cabinets.

Colton stepped back into the hall and went to the third room. Inside he saw 2 clean couches to the right with a little table that had a cup of something sitting on it. The couches were a little broken. But definitely cleaner than they should have been if not touched for 200 years. To the left seemed to be the makeshift kitchen of sorts. A countertop with storage below it along the wall, a fridge against the back wall. And a big cabinet against the opposite wall from the counter. On the countertop seemed to be a drink dispenser of some sort and cups along with tin cans were neatly set in rows. Nobody was in here but it seemed to be the lounge of the place.

Colton went to the last door down the hall. By process of elimination the Ranger had to be in there.

When he walked in he saw random things on display on metal shelves. A toolbox, turpentine, fire extinguisher, old broken tv, telephones, and other things. There were more filing cabinets and 2 more desks. But these were closer together. Each had a typewriter on them and paper neatly stacked. One had a Ham Radio on it with a globe next to it. The other had a man sitting down writing something on a document. He wasn't wearing the NCR uniform the others had worn. But instead had a cowboy hat, and more of a field sniper attire on. That might be because he had a cowboy repeater leaning against his desk next to him and a radio attached to the back of his right hip.

"You just gonna stare at the back of my head or what?" The guy asks clearly annoyed.

"Sorry, just looking for a guy named Ranger Jackson" Colton fully steps into the room.

The man puts down his pen and turns around in his chair. This reveals his sunglasses and an impressive handlebar mustache. He looks Colton up and down before talking. "Looks like we got a new visitor in the ol' Brahmin pen"

The guy seems to release a heavy sigh. "Not many people coming here in a hurry, only passing through. I'm Ranger Jackson, NCR Ranger and current Commanding Officer here at the Mojave Outpost". The Ranger doesn't sound so enthusiastic.

He looks at Colton's eyes through his glasses and releases another sigh. "And if you're passing through, you picked a bad time. Road north has gone to hell, and if I let a caravan through, they won't make it"

"Sounds like you got your hands full. Any way I can help?" Colton puts his hands on his hips. But his cloak mostly hides them.

"Help? No, look, I apprec..." Jackson starts off but seemingly comes up with a better idea. But he doesn't sound happy about it, he continues in more of a beaten tone. "You know what, yes, I could use the help. And you look like you can handle yourself"

Jackson stands up and walks to Colton. "I need to get the caravans moving again, that means clearing a path north. There's too much crawling the asphalt up the road to allow it"

"Crawling? What kind?" Colton won't just accept a job without knowing what it entails.

"Bunch of giant ants" Ranger Jackson says with some slight anger.

"Hmmm" Colton rubs his chin. He'd killed a few in passing. Hadn't ever found their nest before. "Sounds like a deal. Do I need to take care of their nest?"

Jackson seems to be taken aback. "You will? No, the nest is a bit away. The ants you gotta deal with are just making a new home on the surface. Should be relatively easy, but you'd best be careful and make full use of the distance that gun on your back gives you. I appreciate what you're offering to do. Come back here when you're done, I might accidentally "lose" some supplies to pay you with. What's your name?" Jackson holds out his hand.

Colton grabs Jackson's hand firmly. "The name's Colton"

"If you do end up clearing the pests I'll make sure to spread the name around for you" Jackson says.

They both shake firmly.

"That'd be great, I'll do it early tomorrow mornin" Colton says as they let go.

"Take care, and cool your heels over in the barracks, the bar is also in there" Jackson says to Colton as he goes back to his desk. He also explains more about the task he had given to Colton. Like exactly where the ants were.

[ Quest added [Can You find it in Your Heart] ]

Colton looks at his Pipboy once he exits the room.

[Can You Find it in Your Heart:

- •Clear out the critters on the road to Invanpah Lake•

0/1 Objectives Complete]

Colton has no idea what lake he's talking about. He marks the quest as active and flicks over to the map.

The screen blurs and then showed him the map of the Mojave. Colton can't help but smirk and get giddy. The map was now fixed and looked like an actual Fallout map. It had the Mojave Outpost, his arrow icon representing himself, and a marker showing where his objective was. It wasn't too far. He just needed to exit the Outpost northeast, follow the road until it intersected with another road going east. And that's where about 50 markers were.

Colton's eyes bulged a bit when he saw how many markers there were. There were so many on top of eachother he couldn't exactly count them all. He closed his eyes and sighed. He would need to make an ammo stop after this, or persuade Ranger Jackson to misplace some .308 rounds.

Colton turns the Pipboy off and walks back down the hall. He is about to leave when he hears-

"What do you mean 'It might take a while'?! I can't just sit on my ass when I'm supposed to be delivering and selling the-" A woman shouts in anger

"I'm sorry, but I'm not the one who makes these decisions. And the roads are unsafe North of here anyways. My hands are tied and I'm just the messenger in this" a man says like it's the hundredth time he's had to explain this.

Colton peeked at the conversation and saw Chloe and Lauren arguing with a soldier who was sitting at a desk facing the two frustrated women. He assumes Lauren is pissed because she looks even more displeased than Chloe. Colton can understand. She wants to leave ASAP and this guy is telling her she can't.

"Tough Tits" Colton says as he walks out the HQ, sending a wave at Major Knight as he walked past.

He makes his way over to the bar and sees a ramp leading to the top of the building. He chooses to go up there tomorrow after he's already cleared the giant ants. He continues around the building and sees the entrance to the barracks/bar. Outside and behind the HQ building are a bunch of picnic tables and umbrellas folded down. Seems like a decent place to rest. A few people were sitting and talking while drinking whatever was in their hand. Looked to mostly be beer bottles.

He walks around the sandbags at the entrance and enters through the barracks doors. Once inside he's greeted by the strong scent of alcohol. He's half convinced that that instantly got him tipsy, but he isn't 100% sure. The scent stings his nose but he quickly ignores it and walks in.

He sees a bar in the middle of the room as soon as he enters. People are sitting around it and at the tables along the walls of the room. It's decently packed, he found where everyone was hiding it seems. But he guesses that there isn't much else to do at the Outpost besides drink in here. He sees a large hallway leading to the rest of the building, most likely the actual barracks. There wasn't a door, just like they busted the wall down from floor to ceiling, improving the traffic flow no doubt.

He sees a woman behind the counter with a shelves full of alcohol behind her. Most of the seats are taken and a quick glance around the room let's him know Hank and Dan aren't to be found. He walks towards the hole in the wall and looks through it.

There's a small hall that isn't really a hall. It's just like two rooms on either side dividing the rows of bunk beds and the bar. The open room to his left is the kitchen with various appliances. And to his right seems to be the storage area. A bunch of metal shelves with random things on them, decently organized. Mostly food though.

He looks at the bunk beds and sees a lot of people trying to sleep. He even spots Hank and Dan occupying a bunk. Hanks on the top while Dan was on the bottom.

"Fuckin called it" Colton snaps his fingers and walks back to the bar. It was mostly just a joke, but it was a funny one he wouldn't keep to himself.

He looks for a seat but only sees one at the bar. There were a few seats around the rectangle counter around the shelf. But there was only one currently open. And it was next to a woman with red hair. Colton could have sworn she had grown roots into the stool by the amount of empty whisky bottles she had around her on the counter. The woman had a beaten up hat, brown leather jacket, and ripped jeans. Her arms were crossed over eachother on the counter and her head was hanging down. The caravan shotgun on her back has a bit of duct tape holding the stock and a portion of the barrel together. Or its just for the aesthetic. Either way, it's at least going to keep the weaker minded away from her.

He hears the beaten up radio playing some music statically, while the other patron at the bar chat. But it seems that the red head is alone.

He sits down at the stool next to her but she doesn't even acknowledge that he filled the empty space. So he just leaves her to it and looks at the lady behind the bar. She had a slightly more tanned complexion compared to the red head. This woman had a baseball cap with desert goggles on her head, covering her black hair. She wore a red and white striped shirt with the long sleeves rolled up above her elbows and she tied the shirt up revealing her stomach and lower back. Over the shirt was a small vest. And she left the top open for some extra breathing room. Her pants were the same material and color as her vest. The pants went half down her calf and were stitched together, Colton assumes it's a style choice. Her leather belt holds them up. And she's got some good old fashioned boots. And she had fingerless gloves on.

Seeing her gloves, Colton remembered he still had his on. He takes his pack off and leans it against the bar along with Purifier. He then takes off his gloves and puts them in his pack.

He stretches his fingers and cracks his knuckles. It's been a bit since he let them breathe. Not since the morning at least.

"New face in the Outpost, must've come from the North. So - what'll you have?" The bartender lady asks as she moves to him.

"Oh me?" Colton comes out of his thoughts. "I'm not from the north actually, came west of here actually. Starting my own little adventure in the Mojave" Colton gives her a smile.

She raises an eyebrow. "New face in the Mojave then, well let me welcome you. There isn't much here in the Outpost, and most of everyone is stuck here…"

The redhead mumbles something but is ignored.

"Either it's because of the road north of here or it's the paperwork keeping the caravans here. And these people aren't even drinking my stuff. They're drinking their own fuckin supply. Bunch of stingy folks. Anyway, the names Lacey. You?" The bartender, Lacey, asks.

Colton catches her checking him out. Whether it's for weapons or not he isn't sure. But he just lets her do her. "Nice to meet you Lacey, I'm Colton. I actually plan on helping with the road problem you guys have here. Just talked with Ranger Jackson about that before I entered here. The guns not for show" He smirks and leans his elbows on the counter.

It feels so good to finally get off his feet and sit on something that isn't a rock.

"By yourself? That's a mighty tall order I hear. And I hear a lot. And did you travel here alone?" Lacey moves closer.

"I started out on my own. But I saved a caravan from some raiders. 3 NCR men on holiday didn't make it. But I saved two of em and the two caravan women. Made sure the raiders wouldn't be doing much of anything besides being good for the creatures of the wasteland" Colton kinda went into a sour mood after remembering the event. Thinking about it, he felt nothing when he killed those people.

He shakes his head. Those weren't people. They were filth. And even if he took sentient life, he hadn't and won't lose sleep over the rapists. He'd do it again and again. In fact, he did feel something. He kinda felt good about cleaning them up. The world might still be shit. But it's slightly less shit with them gone. They'd have just attacked more people if he didn't kill them.

"You all there?"

Colton feels a hand on his shoulder. He looks at it and follows the arm and sees Lacey looking at him, she was kinda close. He sits up and backs away. "Yeah, just remembered some memories. All good though. It'll take more than 15 raider pieces of shit to shake my will. I plan on cleaning up the Mojave a bit while I stay here"

"You plan on on leavin?" Lacey asks. She already took her hand off him once he backed away.

"Just to check up on my parents in a year or two, but I'll be coming back after. Gotta see if I'll be big bro Colt or not. I'm surprised I'm not one yet to be honest. For as long as I can remember....." Colton shivers. "….. just, yeah. Surprised I don't have a sibling"

"Rabbits?"

"Huh?" Colton looks at Lacey. Her shirt seems to be showing more skin than he initially thought he saw.

"You know, 'multiply like rabbits' or something. Heard it on the radio before. Sounds tough. Couldn't imagine catching my parents doing that" Lacey closes her eyes and shakes her head.

"Imagine? Please, try hearing….. every…. night…. Luckily I was able to find something to block the noise out and get away from them. Our house had one main room. A bathroom, and a 'super secret room' off to the side. I claimed that room as soon as I could. I was only 14 when we found the place. They didn't even wait a day to rest. Luckily I don't think they got around the bases. But that didn't stop my dad from trying to steal the next one" Colton shudders again.

"Bases? Like military bases?" Lacey looks confused.

"Ah, my bad. No, I meant bases from a game before the war. It's a whole thing. Let's move on… please" Colton doesn't wanna explain what the bases are when it's so a stranger can understand what his parents.

"Alright, then how about a drink. It'll help to dull those memories at least" Lacey turns around and grabs a glass and reaches for a bottle of alcohol. "Any preferences?"

"I haven't drank before. Just turned 18 a few days ago" Colton shrugs.

"Really? You look young, not that young. I'll help you with your decision" Lacey turns back to the shelves.

Colton stretches his arms above his head. He looks to his right and sees the redhead with empty whiskey bottles around her.

"Looking for trouble?" The woman slightly turns her head to face him. He was expecting her to slur her words more. But she just sounded not so happy.

"Only looking around" Colton holds his hands up.

"Well, keep those eyes up and turning, or I'll set 'em spinning. Got no time for gawkers..." She narrows her eyes at Colton. And she continues in a threatening tone. "Or anyone looking for something I ain't selling"

"I don't like buying those types of services. I'd rather spend my caps on a few extra round for Purifier here" Colton pats the barrel of his gun. "You doin alright? Seem a little…. meh"

"Alright?" She looks down at the countertop. "No. I'm not alright"

"Here you go. I'll give a discount on your first few" Lacey hands him a glass with some liquid in it.

Colton looks back to Lacey. "Thanks, appreciate it" Colton grabs the cup and looks back to the not as drunk as he thought woman. "Why so?"

"Because… Drinkin to forget, and it's only making me mad instead. Whiskey always gets my temper up, now more than ever" The redhead grabs a bottle that's half full a sloshes the liquid in circles. She continues on, lost in her thoughts. "Drinking used to cause all sorts of trouble back west. Before I punched enough people, that is, and they learned to lay low when the whiskey hit"

"If you don't mind me askin, what're you trying to forget? But don't feel pressured to tell" Colton is curious, she seems to have been here a while, long enough to amass the many bottles around her and not be drunk from any of them. Not too drunk at least.

"Fuck it, maybe tellin a stranger will help. Never tried that before" The woman looks over at Colton with what he assumes is a regretful look. "Lost my caravan heading North. The driver burned to ash, and they didn't even take the cargo. They just burned that too" She finished with some anger in her tone.

"You owned a caravan?" Colton brings the drink to his mouth and gets a whiff of it. And damn was it strong.

"Yeah. If you couldn't tell, I'm not from around and I'm not NCR. I run a caravan…. or did" She gulps down the contents of her bottle.

"Shit, do you know who burned your caravan? Maybe I could track em down or something for you. Give some closure". Colton offers, and then he takes a small sip, and fuck that burns his throat as it slides down his throat slowly. He thought the stuff was supposed to be watered down, this clearly wasn't. His eyes water up and he looks at Lacey.

She just winks at him and walks away, around the other side of the bar.

"Thanks for the offer. But your words don't mean much to me…" She shakes her head slightly and takes another swig of whiskey. "My guess is the Legion, they're trying to cut NCR's supply line… and the Mojave Outpost is proof. Got us locked up tighter than a New Vegas virgin"

"Do they really lock them up?" Colton asks. He wasn't sure how a gambling city would operate in the apocalypse. But he doubted they could tell who was a virgin or not. And they wouldn't lock them away. Unless they did some terrible things to them.

"Either you are VERY gullible… or you're a virgin yourself" Miss ex-caravan owner teases.

"I'm one of this two. And I can say that I know the chickens from the eggs" Colton takes another sip from his drink. 'What the fuck does telling chickens from eggs mean? Jesus I'm flailing like a fish. Better get my legs back under me'

"Ok smart guy. Some girls see that as a challenge" She sighs heavily after saying that.

"Well they'd fail. As much as I'd like to get my rocks off as the next guy, I won't just stick my dick in anyone" Colton sets his drink down on the counter but doesn't let it go.

"Wish others had that mentality. But unfortunately, people's standards keep dropping. Heard from a few that they've done it with ghouls. Nothing wrong with that, as long as you ignore the rotting flesh falling off of em" She looks at Colton to gauge his reaction.

"Really? That's…. I mean, I guess they're still people, some of em are at least. Id have to love the hell out of her to go that far"

"Love? Almost forgot that word existed" she puts the bottle down. "Let's go back to the caravan thing. That hurts less"

"Sure thing. So even without your caravan you're still stuck here?"

"Wow, expected more of a gentler approach. But yeah. No caravans in, or out". She scoffs at a though. "Tried arguing with Ranger Jackson about it. "Roads aren't safe" he says" She kicks the bar. "No shit! You washed-out old fuckup, I didn't need a brotherhood scribe to tell me that. And even with my caravan gone, *emph*" she hiccups or something. "my caravan papers are keeping me here. Didn't you say something about clearing the roads north of here? That might help… but I'd doubt it'd do anything but take an excuse away from these people to keep us all here"

"Maybe, but at lest the roads would be that much safer. Although. I'll have to take care of the Legion sooner or later. But that'll take more than a year. I'll give I've it a try at least. What are you going to do?"

"Drink. Got a lot of memories to drown. If I die while doing it, so be it. Got nowhere else to go" She moves the whiskey bottle to her lips.

"Fuck that!" Colton wants to smash the counter. This causes the red head to lower the bottle from her lips. "Don't joke about dying. That shit ain't funny. Who will avenge your caravan, huh? Just fuckin ask me to help. Or do you like having your thumbs up your ass! You might be stuck here but I can walk right out! I can understand being sad, and wanting to drink your problems away. I had to watch my dad pretend like losing his left arm was just a flesh wound. And that hurt me, I couldn't imagine what that was doing to him. But that didn't stop him from doing his best. So what if you're stuck here. Ask others to help, what's the worst they'll say? No? Go fuck yourself? Worse case you can say you at least tried" Colton takes his hat off and puts it on the counter and glares at the redhead.

"The fuck do you know?! You don't even know my name! You're still wet behind your ears and you're lecturing me that I haven't done enough? Fuck you! I'm sure you're trying to compensate for something judging by the size of her gun and your words" She looks like she wants to swing at him.

"Fists or drinks"

"What's that supposed to mean?" She looks at Colton with anger still in her eyes.

"Fuckin fight me or have a drinking contest with me. Or are you too drunk to do either?" Colton smugly smirks at her.

"You've got some balls I'll give you that. I'd beat you in a drinking contest and then mop the floor with that smug ass smile of yours. Lacey! Start us up!"

Lacey come around the corner. "I left for not even 5 minutes. How do you even manage Cass" She reaches below the bar and grabs shot glasses and starts filling them. "Good luck Colton, she's drank men twice her size under the table before"

"I'll be fine. And when I win, she will have to ask me to help her" Colton looks at the woman apparently named Cass. "And if she wins she can make me do something. As long as it's equal to swallowing her pride and asking for help"

"My prides worth more than you think. You'll regret those words when you wake up tomorrow from the flag pole" She smirks.

"Funny, mostly because you think you can win" Colton stands up and puts his hat on. "Let's start shall we? Ladies first"

Cass stands up. "Now you're a gentleman" she takes the first shot and downs it. She looks at Colton expecting him to throw it up as soon as it goes down.

Colton grabs the first shot, but puts it back down. "Gotta even the playing field to be fair, right?" He grabs his cup and starts downing it. It stings. But he can't wait to see the look on her face when he still out drinks her.

He puts the empty glass down. "There". He coughs slightly. He reaches for the shot and downs it and looks at Cass.

"At least this won't be boring" She takes the next one and downs it.

Colton does the same, and it goes back and forwards for the next few.

"There!" Cass slams the shot glass back down and stumbles a bit. She looks to Colton and watches him down it. But when he's done he only reacts to the initial burn of it. But after he opens his eyes, she can see the turquoise eyes staring down at her like he's already got her beat. And she can feel it kicking her already.

"The hell are you made of?" Cass continues the challenge.

"I'd say all muscle, but I got some brains too" Colton doesn't fall behind her.

"You both are going to end up on the floor at this rate" Lacey shakes her head. She surprised Colton's kept up with Cass. And she wonders who will come out on top. Some others have gotten invested as well. This is the most interesting thing that's happened in weeks.

"I'll be fine, but thanks for being concerned" Colton sends a smile at Lacey.

"I'll make you drink your words smartass" Cass drinks another.

"And I'll make you spill yours" Colton catches up to Cass with another shot. "But hey, this is fun at least"

Cass narrows her eyes. She can tell the alcohol has gotten to him. His attitude has clearly changed. But his body? His hands are just as steady, and his legs just as firm on the ground. She can't say the same for herself. But she's not done yet.

Colton thanks himself for choosing a 9 Endurance. He can feel the alcohol in his system but it's not too bad yet.

——————

"Fucks sake!" Cass nearly falls backwards but catches herself.

"You… callin quits~?" Colton can't resist the alcohol anymore. And he's barely standing up. But that's him not using the counter or a stool to hold himself up. Cass can't say the same. She has to lean on the counter as she takes her shots now.

"No, just you wait till it hits your pretty face. Then you'll stop laughing" Cass looks at him as she props herself up.

"I ain't laughing, when I told you not to drink yourself to death, I didn't expect to have to follow you on the way down" Colton takes his hat off and puts it on his pack.

"Who said I'm going to hell?"

"Are you saying you're an angel? At least I'm still a virgin"

"Who said I'm not you prick"

"Fair enough. Will you stop if I admit defeat? I'd like to not be completely hung over when I'm taking care of the ants" Colton drinks another shot.

"You finally done? Jesus, I thought I'd actually have to meet my mom to beat you. Now let's take this outside. Lacey doesn't like fighting inside"

"Really? Whatever. Let's get it over with. Haven't fought anyone besides my dad. It'll be weird fighting a person with two arms….. even if they're drunk off their ass"

"Imma still kick your ass"

"Let's find out" Colton drunkenly makes his way to the doors with Cass following behind. Seemingly leaving her drunkenness at the bar.

"At least they're outside" Lacey shakes her head.

Colton is outside next to the picnic tables. He already had Lacey watch his things behind the counter. She'd shoot anyone who reached over the counter to get a freebie, or at least she says so. And this won't take long anyway.

"What's the rules?" Colton asks as he stretches.

"No guns or weapons. Prefer my fists anyway. And first to hit the ground loses" Cass says as she cracks her knuckles.

"Sounds good to me" Colton takes off his cloak. His dusty armor is revealed along with his holstered gun and knife.

"You were packin some heat huh?" Cass says as she raises her fists.

"Gotta be safe out here right?"

Colton leaves his hands at his sides.

Cass clicks her tongue and goes for a hook to his jaw. But Colton just leans back slightly. He watches as the fist goes by. His Unarmed skill might be at 34, but that doesn't mean he hasn't learned from his dad.

He pushes her elbow as it goes past with the back of his hand. But he feels something hit his stomach and slosh around the contents of his stomach. The feeling hurt worse than the punch, which is something to be concerned about later.

Cass backs away and shakes her fist. "Seriously, what are you made of?"

Colton pulls his armor up slightly to reveal his abs to those watching. "Some rather fine material" and puts his shirt down. "Guess you couldn't see it through all your whiskey bottles"

"Save your smooth talk for someone who cares!" Cass charges at him. But instead of trying to punch him, she instead goes to sweep his legs.

Colton just jumps over her sweep and lands back on the ground. Cass stands back up and tries to uppercut his chin. Colton backs up and is mildly shocked to see a leg coming at him. He brings up his left arm to block the leg and feels the hit.

He doesn't let the leg go back to Cass and grabs the ankle with his left hand. He then pulls her leg behind him. He steps on her other foot and grabs her by the collar and rings her to the ground.

*thud*

"Uuughh" Cass groans as she's on the ground. "I know I usually don't care who I do it with, but I rarely end up on the bottom"

"Cowgirl? Nice" Colton still has her ankle in one hand with his other hand next to Cass's head as he is over her body.

"What?" Cass opens her eyes after being thrown to the ground, much gentler than she anticipated after having her leg caught. She sees turquoise eyes looking down at her.

"It's a sex position. Don't worry about it"

"Thought you said you were a virgin"

"Just because I haven't done the act doesn't mean I haven't done my research"

"So are you going to get off of me?"

"Depends on if my world stops spinning or not, guess I was more drunk than I thought" Colton rolls to his side and lays on the ground next to Cass.

Cass rubs her eyes with her right hand. "It's been a while since I've felt like this"

"I know you don't mean drunk. So that means you haven't had your ass kicked in a while?" Colton feels the liquid in his stomach flip over. Tomorrow isn't going to be fun.

"Yeah, let's go with that" Cass puts her arm over her eyes and sighs.

"So are you done with the caravan business?" Colton sits up and leans on his left hand. He grabs his cloak with his right and throws it on.

"Sure am. Burned for the last time, and this time it's for good. What's worse is that it's still not done kicking me, I'm still fucking stuck here" She doesn't move at all.

Colton looks at her and sighs. "After I clear the road tomorrow, Jackson will owe me a bit you know"

Cass lifts her arm and looks at Colton. "Good for you~. Hoping he makes you something pretty?"

The people that watched the fight disperse.

Colton looks at her freckled face. "What I'm saying is, Jackson might expedite your papers processing. And with the roads clear…."

Cass looks up at the starry sky. "I still don't have my caravan. That doesn't change"

"But you could get out of here at least" Colton says.

"And do what? Go back west with my tail between my legs? My ma is already gone. And I don't know where my pa went. Not much else back there for me anyway…. I guess I really did just use this as an excuse to mope around. I've got nothing left besides the name of a burnt caravan…. Fuck…" Cass covers her eyes with the sleeve of her arm again.

"You could tag along with me. Who knows, could be fun"

"Tag along with you? Wandering around the Mojave? Trying to do some good? You'll have to forgive me if I say I have little faith in you even surviving tomorrow and clearing the road"

Colton shrugs his shoulder. "I'll be coming back here to after I'm done in the morning. Probably restock on some ammo as well. I'll ask you again and then I'll take your yes as an answer"

"I didn't even agree in the first place" Cass looks over at Colton.

He smiles, showing his teeth off. "But you didn't say no either. And after I come back without a scratch on me you won't have an excuse to say no when Jackson clears you to leave since I'll cash that favor in" Colton stands up and brushes the dust off his back and hands.

"Your fly is down"

"Shut, really? How was the view?" Colton checks his fly and sees it's not down.

"Haha… got you to check" Cass jokes

Colton rolls his eyes and holds his hand out for Cass to take. "We haven't officially met. The names Colton, you?"

She takes his hand and sits up slightly. "It's Rose of Sharon Cassidy"

"Oh, we're using full names. Im Colton Lucky King" He pulls her to her feet.

"Not many guys help me back to my feet. Most just try and sweep me off them and leave me on the bed" She smirks and brushes the dust off her clothes.

"Well Cass" Colton pints his fingers at her like guns. "This guy has some class"

"That was literally terrible" Cass deadpans. But then she smiles. "But I've hear worse"

"So what, about a 6/10?" Colton moves his head sides to side while he rotates his right hand in the same manner.

"A 6? A high baller aren't you? Or are you just delusional?" Cass walks beside Colton back to the doors of the barracks.

"I like to shoot for the moon. If I miss, at least I'm among the stars" Colton opens the door for them.

"So that wasn't just a one time thing. You really are a gentleman. And you're definitely delusional. If you survive and come back tomorrow, I might just take you up on your offer" She walks in and goes towards her stool.

Colton is moderately surprised. He didn't expect her to actually consider his offer that much. But he won't complain about it. He goes and sits next to Cass again and sees Lacey leaning on the bar and looking at them. As he sits down he spots something behind the counter on the perpendicular counter to his right. "Hey Lacey, is that your book?"

"What was that?" She looks at Colton and he points behind her. She turns around and spit what he's talking about. But decides to tease him a bit. "You're a fast guy huh? First Cass and now me? Look at you go, really trying to see what the Mojave has to offer huh?"

"If it's as beautiful as you two ladies I'll have a grand ol' time. But something tells me that's not the case entirely. But no, I'm just a fan of books" Colton sits down.

Lacey moves his pack and rifle over the counter to him and places his hat on the counter once he grabbed the pack. "Just messing with you". She then moves to the book and bends down at her waist and grabs the book from the bottom shelf.

Colton puts his pack down and when he looks back up he's greeted by a view he hadn't been expecting. But man is he glad to see it.

"You should stand up before something slips out you whore, Lacey" Cass sounds clearly hostile.

Lacey stands up and walks back over to them. "You're one to talk Cass. If you aren't here drinking you're off doing some guy"

"So? Still don't fuck anything that offers caps at least" Cass spits back. Her eyes letting Lacey know 2 can play that game.

"Things have gotten very hostile very quick" Colton notices his pants are tighter than before. He hadn't really noticed in the past years, but that character creation slider was the best choice he had ever made. And probably will ever make.

""And whose fault do you think that is"" Lacey and Cass say together.

"I didn't ask for the view. But I certainly won't forget it. I just asked for a book, didn't know that included a show" Colton holds his hands up in defense.

"What was all that 'love' you talked about earlier? Or was that just talk?" Cass asks while she narrows her eyes.

"I still stand by what I said. Even if I can barely remember it. But that doesn't mean I'll abstain from sex until marriage. I'm not that strong mentally, I'll crack eventually. But I'll make sure I have feeling for that person beforehand"

Lacey places the book on the counter. "Whatever Lover-Boy, you can have the book. Consider it a prize for beating Cass while no other man has been able to"

"Why thank you" Colton takes the book and looks at it. He looks at the title. [Duck and Cover!]

"Hey Colton!"

He turns towards the voice that came from the doors. He sees Chloe and Lauren.

"Whoopsie" Colton suddenly remembers himself promising to drink with Chloe and Lauren. But it was mostly Hank and Dan. "Hey Chloe, Lauren. Finally free?"

"If by 'free' you mean stuck here? Yes, we're free" She slouches her shoulder and spots the two women next to Colton. "Tch, you were right" Chloe hands some bottle caps to Lauren. She bet that Colton would have been getting friendly with other women. They had some girl talks about Colton, and Lauren repeatedly told her that her flirting was subpar at best and to just ask Colton out. Lauren knew Colton would be popular pretty fast with the way he talks, intentional or not.

And intentional it was. Colton didn't ask for his 54 Speech skill to cram his brain full of random lines of dialogue. It was mostly him just subconsciously using it too.

"Friends?" Lacey asks with a raised brow.

"Yeah, I traveled with them and 2 guys after saving them from raiders on the I-15. Took us a while to get here" Colton scratches his head with his right hand and waves them over with his left.

"You really do work fast" Cass comments eyeing the two women walking over.

"Oh please. I haven't actually tried anything yet" Colton rolls his eyes.

"I'd love to see you try then" Lacey says with some seduction in her voice.

"Didn't know Bartenders can get thirsty" Colton looks to Lacey.

"Didnt know Mercenaries run out of bullets" She shoots back with a smile.

"No shit" Colton says under his breath. "Chloe and Lauren, these are Lacey and Cass. Lacey and Cass, these are Chloe and Lauren"

The women start talking and Colton finds himself at the end of the conversation. He also feels his fatigue push his eyelids down. He gets up and grabs his things and moves to the bunk beds.

He moves to one in the corner and gets on the bottom bunk. Not many people were near him but he'd still be careful. He puts his pack in the corner on the mattress that looks reasonably clean. He poops down and lays his head on the pack. That way he'd notice if anyone tried to pull anything funny with his gear. His rifle was behind the bunk against the wall. So a person would have some difficulty getting it out without making any noise.

A few second after putting his head down he was out like a light and was off to dream land.

And halfway through his dream it becomes a little 'wet'.