May 21, 2013

Letter #22: A farewell see you soon

Hey there sweety pie.

When I woke up in the mornin' the smell of death was in the air. My face was numb from the dawn's cold, so I'm not sure if I cried or not.

I crossed the river in the same boat I came in with. Then headed north, to the power station Yes Man wanted me to go.

I was still feelin' sick. Raul told me that probably the bunker where all the 'bots were was irraiated and that was why I was feelin' that way.

We were gettin' hit pretty hard by those damn Legionaries. I guess killin' Caesar wasn't enough. There was still gonna be a battle in the Dam and some other vicious man is commandin' those murderers. I could only hope he wasn't even worst. And right when I was thinkin' this I heard Mr. New Vegas tellin' news about the second in command in the Legion. Legate Lanius. He said he made a whole squad who had failed a mission beat their own commander to death. Sick, sick, honey...

We had to go through El Dorado Lake, or dry lake, which was infested by - I ain't even kiddin' - giant ants that breathe fire! Once we learned this we tried to take out as many as we could by the distance, to avoid gettin' burnt.

When we arrived at the power station we saw the place filled with NCR troopers. They even got one of them to come talk to me and threatin' me that in case I went in the control room there'd be trouble. Well unfortunatly there'd be trouble. I pulled out the grenade launcher and killed 'em with two shots. I was gettin' tired of the killin', but couldn't think about that. Not at that point.



I went in and powered the substation by installin' the override chip, as Yes Man asked me to.

On my way there I restocked in ammo and medicine. If there was gonna be a battle, I'd have to be ready. Also, since I went to a clinic to resupply I asked to check why I was sick. The Doctor told me it was indeed radiation and so I asked her to cure me. Smooth 'n' easy.

I got to Yes Man and I told'im everythin' was ready. And then he told me that The Legion was already movin' troops. Hell, at the time I thought there was still some time left. But hey, if they're ready, I'm ready. Yes Man told me that I had two ways of runnin' things. I could destroy the Dam's generators, makin' it useless and takin' away any reason for the NCR to stay or I could override their station, wakin' up and callin' the robots I made work at The Fort. I wanted the Dam with power, I didn't want New Vegas to end, I just wanted it to be free. And also, gettin' those robots to work was hard, I didn't want it to go to waste! But even first than that I had to intsall Yes Man into the NCR's system. That was the plan.



I told Raul he didn't need to come with me. It was my battle. But he joke, typical of him. Said that I sat through his "boring stories" (his words honey!), so he had to fight this little battle with me. I just smiled. These last days had been dark for me, so a smile was more that I could manage.

We arrived at the Dam by mornin' We were pumped, we were ready. It was not somethin' we wanted to do, but was somethin' that needed to be done. Raul even joked about being there, sayin' he didn't believe he was doin' that and that, if he died, he wanted a twelve men mariachi band (a mexican thingy, he told me eh eh) playin' at his funeral. Yes Man had a robot (those Securitrons) follow me, to guide me.

Fortunatly, the NCR was on my side. Kind of. Let's put it this way: they weren't shootin' at me. That was a plus. The bot led me to a tower that had an elevator to the office area, where I needed to install Yes Man. But hot damn, the damned room was guarded by NCR troopsters in Brotherhood of Steel armor! Gladly I had one of those plasma explosive ordinance stolen from the Brotherhood themsleves and that took care of 'em. That made the NCR clear that I wasn't with 'em and they started shootin' then.

At the control room I installed Yes Man. He appeared on tiny computers and asked me what would I want to do, power the bots at the Fort or blow up them generators. I told him to power the bots. We needed more firepower. He told me he'd do it, but I needed to press a button. The bot I was with would direct me to it.



I killed both legionaries and NCR troopsters on my way to the button. Then pressed it and the Dam got all lit up inside. I guessed the power was already bein' sent.

I got back outside, where most of the fightin' was bein' set. Once I got out I saw the whole Fort burnin' up in flames and bot back up comin' and blowin' up Legion squads.



And then I reached the end of the line. Legate's camp. More legionaries to kill and then only their leader for me to worry about. I killed them, as I said and then walked up some steps to a tent. But once I walked up I saw him. It had to be him, the leader, Legate. There he stood, gigantic, majestic.



I holstered my weapon. I may not be smart, but I ain't dumb too. That armor of his would protect him from any shot I could shoot, while he rampaged against me and cut me in half, with not much effort. So I took a deep breath and walked towards him. I told him the battle was already decided and that was the reason that I went there. He told me that the roads the Legion use to move forward are marked by the bodies and blood of people who tried to do what I was doin' just then. But then I asked him if he really thought he was movin' forward. They have been tryin' to take the Dam for years. But he said that they didn't took it because they didn't have the full power of the East - him and the remainin' legionaries - and that the West would be taken now that he was there. So, what about the East? If they needed all the East to take over the West, the East would have nothin'. He said the East would hold and that the West would be easy to hold, because nothin' was harder than the Dam. But that wasn't right. It would take all the Legion to hold the West. And he knew it. He knew he couldn't hold both East and West, even if he succeeded in the battle. And then he said that Caesar focused too much on the Dam. He would not have that place be the graveyard of the Legion. I tried to be as fancy as I could and told him there was victory in his wisdom. Then he told I, too, was wise. Hum. But also told me that he would return, eventually and test the strength of the West. He hoped that the West would be filled with men like me, so that the fight would be a worthy one. I told him I could only hope that someday his ways would change. He told me there is no changing to us. Told me we were marked by the violence and fortified by it. Told me he was was marked and that so was I, by the two bullet scars on my head. Violence was in us and it made us stronger. But sayin' this, he went back to his tent. I can't stop thinkin' about his words.

So then the Legate was taken care of. But I didn't guess that the NCR would make it's move. They do have a tendency for cowardice. I was walking out the camp and the doors blew up, throwing me back. Then when I got up I saw six of those armored Rangers and one man dressed in military fancy outfit. He came to me with big words, sayin' I did an outstandin' job and that he could he use a hundred like me and that he enjoyed the light show I put on the Fort (he was referrin' to the explosion that made the bots go free and come help me). But then I stopped him. Told him that if he liked that so much, he would LOVE what came next. And that said, almost a hundred of them bots - one of them with Yes Man on the screen - appeared behind the NCR men. The man, General Oliver, asked me, terrified, to tell them to put the weapons down. I told him that if the Hoover Dam was won by anyone, it was for me. Both him and the Legion had lost. But he didn't like that and started talkin' to me like he was mad and could do somethin'. Told me he'd shoot the hell out of me. I asked him if he thought that would be wise. But he kept on and on, sayin' that I wasn't messin' with him right then, I was messin' with the whole NCR. But that did it. I was tired of their superiority. I asked him how would he feel if I asked my bots to fuck him AND his battalions with a rocket barrage. And still the God damn bastard said he came for a fight so he'd fight. Eh eh... I told him I just killed and stood down all of the Legion's toughest. He understood what I meant. Then started talkin' about how hard it is to build a nation. But I don't care. I want the people to be free, not to have a nation. So I told him that worst than the NCR I can't do.



And that was it. I thanked deeply to Raul, cried a little. I loved his company. Told him to give my gun to Rose, because I had to take care of somethin'. He didn't want to let me go, but I told him to return to the New Independent Vegas we had returned. Raul always understood me. My best friend.

I'm wondering if what I'm doin' now, gun to my head, sittin' on the grave that Benny dug for me, is fair. Fair for Raul and for Rose. I know they like me. But I want confort. Warmth. I need you, honey. I need to go meet you. I don't want to leave you all alone in the afterlife. And I'm comin'. Knowin' I made a difference, for the better or for the worst, the people of the Mojave are free, like I wanted.

And that said, it is time to drop my pen and press my pistol against my head.

Farewell sweety pie.

I'll see you soon.

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