>Your target is late and it's really getting on your nerves >The angry and heavy heat of the Mojave is trying to cook your group of raiders as you head into towards where you pathfinder pal should be found >But judging by how the three small safehouse shacks in the hills were all empty, seems his dumb ass was lost >Normally targets appear exactly when they should, or at least where they should when you get a heads up on it beforehand >If this was a hunt instead of a recovery mission you would just shoot the bastard when he finally pops ip, but it isn't your choice to kill him or not >This guy came a long damn way to the Mojave to work with your group and he's going to be worth every cap you burned getting him >That is of course if you can find him before you head through the god damned divide >Stopping to take a moment of rest, you drink from your canteen and try to think of where he could be found >He was supposed to be near the entrance to the fucking rift which he knows so well, so no way in hell did he wander in on accident >He wouldn't have fucked off to Cold creek or Pahrump if he was ready to get payed... >Where in the fuck could he- >A flash in the distance catches your attention and you attempt to figure it out as a wave of air crests the distant mountain >Holy fuck shit that's a warhead cloud some bastard must have fired a silo off- >HOLY FUCKING SHIT A WARHEAD JUST WENT OFF >The divide was full of those bastards, but none of them should have GONE OF >The Silos were locked up tighter than power armor leggings last you checked! >"EVERYONE TAKE SOME FUCKING COVER!" >You waste no time dashing for a nearby destroyed building, taking cover as the shockwave of the blast rips through the sand >As you do a small momentary sandstorm to tear down the abandoned street of the ghost town you had been walking through, flinging sand everywhere and coating the nearby signs >The few remaining windows rattle as the dust slowly comes to settle, the town's formerly clean street now a ocean of sand >You peak out of your hiding spot long enough to watch the very last of the mushroom dissipate as the bomb's powerful blast subsides >Your Geiger isn't going nuts, so you assume that everything's cool for you as you take back to the road and head down main street >Your group splits off every time they see a door, running into the buildings near you wit weapons drawn >Firehouse didn't have shit in it except rats >Old coffee house only had skeletons to take some gold teeth from, and some hot cocoa you were sipping on as your men hunted >Fuck Percy for giving you shit about your taste in drinks, hot cocoa was the official drink of wanton destruction and slavery >Also relaxing days spent in bed with one of the slave girls to read you one of those fancy magazines >Fucking love you some Tæles of Chivalrie, or stories out the fantoma books >God damn it, you need to find this fucking guide so you can get back to base and cuddle up with your favorite coyote again >You ponder about learning to read yourself so you can read her some fashion magazines as you hear one of your men yell out that he found himself a rattler in the Supes mart >Your tour guide can fucking wait, time to get paid! >You slowly walk over towards the super duper mart on the corner of the town, drawing your 10mm carbine's scope up >Standard SMG mags fit right into the magwell like it was it's smaller cousin, but the stock makes it way more stable >Perfect for the Night vision scope sitting pretty on the rails you ripped from some rinky dink varmint rifle, suits your big beefy carbine way better in your mind >You tap the button to turn on the night vision and aim into the store, looking for any sign of the nightstalker as you sweep the first aisle >Canned beans, some delicious "thingies" snacks, and every flavor of nuka cola you could imagine >More gunmen slowly flow in, checking aisle after aisle as you use the scope to hopefully catch a glimpse of your prey >All you see are the idiots you've been traveling for days with aisle after aisle >The appliance aisle doesn't have anything on it but one of your gunmen >The cram isle doesn't have anything but the apex of all canned goods and yet another of your foot soldiers >Not even the soup isle had the snake running down it or hiding in it, and you're starting to get rather fucking mad >You stop on the beef jerky aisle and rip open a big, chewing on a leathery strip of dried meat >"This aint fuckin' workin' guys. Secure the outside of the building, I'm gonna do the rest of this god damned hunt myself. Don't forget to grab some shit while you're walking out, we'll sweep this place good in a sec but that doesn't mean you shouldn't have a snack." >Your men evacuate the aisles and run back into the street, heading to any exits from the building that aren't the front doors >You laugh as Kevin walks out with a toaster in hid hands and some toaster pastries >Damn it Kevin you god damned optimist, you doubt the toaster still worked and even then cooking this old expired junk probably just made it worse >You sweep the buildings aisles one last time as your men leave the building, before walking over to the cash registers >You jump up onto the checkout conveyor while taking a steady stance to glance over the aisles >Nothing lights up for you as you run your eyes over the aisles and scan for movement >You scowl and try to think of some way to get your prey to move out into the open for you, and a eureka moment happens to smack you across the brain >You pull out a 9mm handgun using your left hand, slowly taking aim at one of the sprinklers as you try to steady your carbine to get a solid glimpse over the aisles >The gunshot from the small handgun smashes into the sprinkler and activates the emergency fire system, causing alarms to blare as something down one of the aisles panics and attempts to run into the employees only area >Now the hunt really begins >You put the pistol back in place as you leap down from the counter and run towards the back rooms of the building, hearing someone panicking hard as they try to get past a locked door >You come around the corner of the final aisle and see the nightstalker as she attempts to bash her way into the back of the building >"YO BITCH. STOP RUNNIN' FROM ME OR IT GETS WORSE." >She obviously understand you, but panics even harder and attempts to bash the door open to get away from you >You respond by bringing up your carbine and firing at her legs, hearing a yelp as she finally breaks through the door and stumbles into the back area >"I warned you! You're getting the collar now you fucking idiot." >Slow footsteps lead you towards the small puddle of blood near the door, following the drops and splatters of blood as you move ever closer to your prey >You hear crying, and a scream as she probably just tried to dig a bullet out of her leg >The screaming gets louder and louder as you draw closer, hearing the gentle clink of 10mm bullets tapping tiles as they get dislodged >The screaming stops just before you get to the small closet she'd hiding in at the very back of the store, and you let the barrel of your gun peak the corner before you even look around it >"Alright sweetie. I'm about to grab you and put you in a shock collar. If you're armed I'd drop that shit right now, because as much as I'd love to have a new slave to sell off... I ain't too worried about getting meat for the hounds to eat and a new jacket. Get what I'm sayin'?" >Soft whimpering responds to you as you smile, rounding the corner and aiming into what seems to be an empty supply closet with a single powered light giving you a clear view of nothing >You look around the closet confused for a moment, knowing she couldn't have slipped past you... >Your suspicions are justified as you notice a small amount of blood is on the ground in the back, pooling slightly more and more by the second >You're confused for a second but remember the demon magic of stealth boys, and growl at her to turn off the fucking ghost mode or you'll make some new holes in her >She cries softly as she uncloaks, letting you get a solid look at her in the dim light the single bulb on a string is casting >An Onyx scale pattern leads into supple and rich midnight fur, making her form far more exotic than any night stalker you have ever seen before >Immediately you know who she is, and who probably wants to buy her back again when you have time to return her to him >"Get up desert rose. Vexapill aryan whatever his fucking name is wants you back. He might as well keep the bounty on your head up if you're gonne escape every other god damned week. Don't worry though sweetheart... you'll be staying with me a while." >You crack a vicious smile and drag her out of the store by the nape of her neck >Time to put her in a collar and head out >As soon as you make it outside you notice your men talking with someone in a leather outfit and some authority glasses >He's covered in sand, and your boys tell you he just walked down the side of the mountain that the nuke went off at >He seems pretty fucking razzled by it, but he somehow survived being way closer to a god damned nuke going off otherwise fine >That's not what you care about though, since you suspect this freaky bastard is who you're looking for >"Yo trench man. Dig the coat, dig the glasses, dig your style and all... but where the fuck is your hat and who are you?" >The man looks confused, thinking about exactly what he wants to say >You take the time to pit a collar on your catch of the day as he makes his response >"I don't have a hat. I wasn't told I would need one. I came out here to get to New Vegas to work with House on something important. I need to get my hands on his tech for my boss before I return. Or at least I was supposed to. That blast shaked someting loose and I don't feel like I'm forced to have to follow that order anymore so I'm not s-" >His words are broken as your snake tries to get close enough to whisper to him for help, and you yank her collar hard and back towards you while you have one of your men hand you a slaver's hook and rope >"Mind your fucking manners snakedog. If you keep acting up I'll take this fucking hook and rake you with it. Anyhow glasses, good to know you're the man we're looking for. Last thing I need to know is your name." >He responds curtly with "People usually call me Ray Dan-" as your snake once more tries to interrupt by getting closer to him, making you respond by smacking her in the ribs with the lower half of the metal pole >"Sorry about her manners Ray. Let's get you something to get the sun off your neck and head out of this town towards camp again. We were supposed to head into the divide today to scavenge for gear from the walking corpses, but I don't think that we have the time with having to look for you and having to catch this little slut. W'ere just gonna head to camp and I'm going to get this bitch to speak out about her little outing, and in the morning we'll get you to the strip." >You pat the larger man on the shoulder as you whistle for your mean to hunt down something for his head, snake in tow behind you >The mission may be arriving back late, but the fact you caught the actual fucking desert rose and even found your man after a nuke went off will definitely give you as much time as you need >For now, you all need to head back to camp and get settled >Your walk to camp was as uneventful and boring as it could have possibly been on the worst of days >You got your new buddy a nice cork hat and some goggles from a travelling merchant in perfect condition, which he immediately put on to give himself some shade >The words "MAD CUNT" were written on the hat's front, which you would have laughed at if you could read >Or if any of your men could read either >Turns out he could read though, so this dude was definitely worth the few thousand caps you were paying to have him join up with your crew >The Desert Rose you kept dragging behind you tried so many times to get him to help her out of the collar, or to beg him to let her free >No dice bitch, 'cause he ain't here to save you >Good old Ray was here to help you capture more slaves and head into the divide to get some better armor and guns >For now though, you have a more pressing issue to deal with >Leaving Ray to speak talk with your men about whatever it is people that can read and write talk about, you head into the big ass NCR tent you stole for your personal home away from home >The darkly colored snakedog is chained on one of the reinforced metal bars holding the tent up, arms up and whimpering softly >This bitch was going to learn a lesson about what happens when you run from a slaver after you get the info you want out of her >Smiling and picking up a lead pipe, you smash her solidly in the ribs with it >She cries out in pain, and you smile as you smack her two more times for good measure >Like most of the healthier fanged bitches of the wastes her bones are too tough to crack with a few whacks from your pipe >Good thing too, since this is just the beginning of her punishment >You command your coyote servant Saria to leave the tent as you open up a tool box near the hanging snake >Out comes the wires, clamps, nails, knives, a nice thick expandable dildo, and a claw hammer >A plastic cover comes off from inside of the box and you pull wires from a battery out and connect them into the insulated metal clamps >This stuff was some fun kink gear every once in a while, but that was when you had the limiting device on the battery >You yank the multiple setting safety capacitor chip out of it, letting the battery warm up to full power >With that little piece of shit gone you're free to go wild and make it hurt >So the first and most obvious choice is to stab two nails into her leg and wire them up, flipping the switch on the battery and letting the good vibes flow into her >Her ear splitting scream is like music to your ears as she cries out for what you assume is mercy >This bitch aint much of a talker, as evident by the myriad of scars covering her body randomly >You weren't the first or last person to have to hurt this delicate little flower for info they wanted, and with her lack of words so far you're certain you won't be the last >The battery gets shut off and you rip the nails out of her leg with a yank, pulling a second box out of a hiding spot and sliding it over to her >"Come on now sweetie. If you tell me what I need to know then I'll stop and heal you up. Leave you alone. I mean hell... you tell me now and I'll even let you off the chain as long as you stay in sight and wear the collar. Whatcha say there little flower?" >She shakes and mumbles something under her breathe, looking away from you >"Oh shit. You serious sweetie? You say that a bit louder for me and I'll let you and my favorite gal sleep in her tent. Shit's pretty comfy since she's treated better than the boys. She even has a better one of these and a good bit of lube she likes to use when I tease her too much! I'm sure she'll share if you're nice about it~" >You wiggle the dildo at her and smile as you get closer to her, your face just out of striking distance from her as you hope to hear her words >The words you hear are softer spoken than a cazador crawling over a pile of skulls >"fuck you" >Touche, snake bitch >You open up the second box and start attaching belt secured stimpaks to her legs before throwing the dildo down and picking up the hammer >"Let's play doctor then!" >You smash her knee sideways with the hammer and work up her thighs and legs with blows until you suddenly pull up and crack her ribs again >Her tears stream and she cries again while you push in one of the magical medical syringes to do their work, making her knee slowly go back over into position and heal up as the rest of her body goes back to it's peak >"I hide my super stims as normal stims so the retards outside don't use them all up. Normally works out for later. I love to use them for these kind of sessions. No clean up because these expensive doctor shanks fix it all up nice and fast." >You slam the hammer's claws down into her leg and pull them back out quick, licking the wound as it closes on her leg >"That delicious fucking pain though... unffff. God damn it's great know you feel every moment of our little session. Especially because even the healing part hurts like a bitch. God that makes me so FUCKING HARD." >You give her a devilish smile, your stiffing pushing hard against your leather pants >"That's the thing I save for last though. If you don't wisen up before I go through my tools then I get reallllly fucking nasty with you. You'll be my personal bitch for at least a month or so. I'll have to share you with Saria. She just loves to share so much~" >A few more minutes of hammer time end in failure as she simply takes the beatings with nothing more to say >So you put the wires on in a different way and lay the knife down on top of the wires, heating it as you slap the snake around with the dildo >"Come on bitch! You gonna open up on what I want to know or are you going to hold out on me until you get this dick?" >You lean in close as she cowers from you, licking your lips >"I'm dead serious sweetie. You'de best speak up or I'm going to start getting rowdy and start fucking the holes I make in you." >You pick up the glowing knife from the battery by the plastic handle and twirl it around, giving the floor to the snake so that she has a moment to speak >Minutes pass in deafening silence >She finally goes to seemingly say something, but just spits a bit of her venom at you in a small moment of bravery >"Survey sayyyyyyysss..... Wrong answer." >You ram the knife into her stomach, pulling the smoking blade out as she cries out again and tears stream down her face >You look at the blade in your hand and note the color is only slightly duller now >"Damn it. I was aiming for your bladder. Or your baby tubes. Guess I missed both... oh well. Leaves me more to muck about with as long as you don't play along. So you gonna give me a break, or am I about to let this sucker get smokin' hot and take a jog real fast before we get to cutting off little strips to eat?" >She sits there, horrified but refuses to say anything else >You pick up the knife and slam it into her side, drinking the little bit of blood the runs down the handle towards you >Even that display of hateful erotic torture doesn't shake her enough to get her to talk >Fucking bitch is tougher than she looks, but that blade getting nice and warm while you fuck off should melt her resolve a bit >Time to take a break, and hope when you come back this bitch will understand that you're being dead serious on taking your time about this >You pull the hot knife out of her side and activate one of the stimpaks on her leg, causing the wound to begin to slowly heal up as you decide to take a break >Ray is explaining just how important a gun that Clancy found when you come out and listen in as he explains what it is >"You have in your hands, a veteran Ranger's lever action. A custom 12 gauge lever action shotgun carefully crafted from the finest steel found in the wastes, rather than the potmetal some people settle on their guns using. The wood siding has "against all tyrants" in masterstroke golden letters, since I know you all lack reading skills. The receiver's metal is jet black and reflects like a pool of smooth oil, or tinted glass of churches long since gone. Breaking the calm sea of the fine metal's surface is a a golden rendition of the NCR's favorite animal, the bear. The same image is mirrored on the other side but the words on that side allude to their service years. 30 years of marching in those boots, and they get their hands on this mastercrafted machine of destruction. I know how I'd change the looks a bit, but I'd stil-" >You snap out of listening to the intoxicating details of the levergat and whistle to get Ray's attention >"Hey new guy. Our guest is having a break right now because she's being a bitch about the info I need from her. You can go and do whatever for a few minutes if you want to talk with her. I'm gonna head into Saria's tent and fuck my anger away." >And so you do, grabbing your favorite slave and throwing Saria onto the bed after leaving your men behind >A short vicious fuck session and you leave Saria to lay in her bed and enjoy what you left her with >She may be dull and all that, but at the same time, she's loyal as can be >Loyalty is the best thing a slave can have other than a nice rack >Lucky for you she has both >When you come back the boys are all doing their own thing as Ray gets to work repairing Clancy's NCR 12 gauge, Clancy wearing his shades and looking happy with himself >Stupid asshole traded his gun for some shades, but at least he seemed happy about it >As you enter your tent and look at the trembling bitch before you however... it's clear not everyone's a happy camper >The blade alone won't get her to speak, so you pull out your purest and strongest jet canister >"Blast off" they call this wonderful shit, a brutal mix of the strongest rough chems they could mix into jet with a dash of fix-it to make it non addictive >Fucking amazing high you could keep from enjoying as long as you felt like ignoring it >Snakes loved that shit, and even managed to get addicted to the idea of being given a tiny hit of it... >So it makes sense to give her a reason to cheer up in a minute, if the stupid snake will finally open up and let you give her a few huffs of the magical mix >Stabbing work begins again as you work her up and down with the blade, purposefully missing her lady parts even though you swear to her you're trying to ruin her ability to lay a clutch >The second she saw the jet canister she stopped crying with her mouth open, deciding to instead bite down hard and scream through her teeth >So you decided to make massive ripping cuts into her with your blade, quickly running out of stimpaks as the night goes on >The boys outside keep getting rowdy for a while, and talking with Ray as he bitches about showing them his surprise whenever he fixes the gun >They cheer louder every time another part gets fixed, and you try to hide the lacking medical supplies behind their happy cheers >"Hear that? They know I'm getting testy with you. I might just throw them on you if you don't work with me in a second. They'de love to fuck your tight body loose." >Even that doesn't get her, though you can see the worry in her eyes >This poor little snake is terrified, and you know that the closer you loom to getting your hands on her hips the closer she gets to giving up the info >With an extra loud rowdy set of yells and arguing from outside, you think it's time to make yoru final bluff >"Alright sweetie. Last chance before I forget to take you home. You gonna give me the lowdown on where your rare ass came from? Or where your sister is? The copperhead bitch killed 4 assassins the last time they came near her! She's a risk to everyone around her and you know it. We saw the last bounty posted on her! That shit was talking about a living weapon system that could be unstable. You don't want to let her go out and murder some innocent because she's bloodlusted do ya? Heck... if they find her before I do you may never see her again. They'll just chop her up. Feed her to the hounds." >Her eyes look over you as you step back and let the offer sink in >All you want to know is where she's from, or where her sister is >She can see her sister again, or at least not get bent over by you as long as she tells you either of those things >A muffled fine nearly causes you to faint >Holy shit she's gonna say it >You lean in with a smile as close as you can, asking her to speak her mind and see what you can do for her >She slowly opens her mouth... licks her lips.. and speaks glorious golden truth >"Big MT. THE Big MT. That's where we're from." >Big MT? >The Big MT. >Big old M-T >The big empty >The middle of nowhere >She's just fucking with you still >You unbuckle your belt with seething rage and start to get ready to take this stupid slut's body for yourself >Fuck her snarky attitude! >Fuck her bullshit! >You're gonna fuck her till she screams, empty the inhaler into her, and gunk up her twitchy fucking body then let Ray have the first fucking swing at her >As if they can hear your thoughts out loud, the boys outside are yelling out like a warband >Wait a second... that's not right >You hear the boys outside getting rowdier and rowdier by the second >They go from warband to full on assault party >A few gunshots turns into full auto fire >Yells turn into frenzied screams >You can hear them trying to coordinate to one another as Ray yells out in pain >Jesus fucking christ what's going on?!? >You leave the hot knife on the battery to charge up as you pull your pants back up and fumble with the buckle >God damn it, this better be good or you're gonna gut whomever the hell was starting so much shit >You start walking to the flap of your tent and start to throw it open as Ray barrels in and pushes you back as fast as he can, sending you tumbling backwards almost onto your ass >After looking of his shoulder he turns his attention back to you and twirls the twelve gauge he traded up for in his right hand, sweeping it over your chest and towards your head >"What the fuck Ray? You get fucked up on ps-" >The beginning of the shotgun's blast interrupts you and is the last thing you ever hear >You hope that all of those preachers you've killed were lying about that place shitheads like you are supposed to go >The gunshot spooks the poor tied up snake as you twirl the shotgun to reload it >You of course, aren't that disgusting bastard of a slaver that just ate a shell >You're Ray Dan, the Courser sent to make a deal with house and get his tech >This band of Slavers looked an awful lot like bounty hunters to you at first glance, so you ignored their prisoner and foul language >The rape threat was your pushing point for deciding to come in and save this poor little snake after killing everyone outside >But as the night went on the screams and yelling concerned you enough to hatch a plan to kill them all after repairing the shotgun and getting them angry at each other >Repairs took longer than you thought, and those assholes outside weren't going to give you a weapon unless you traded them something good for it >You got lucky and convinced the gun's former owner that he could be the proud hunter of your bulletproof armored shades if he would just let you fix up the gun and shoot it a bit >As soon as they were all drunk or high and fighting like children you did exactly that, blowing them open with precision rapid fire >If you had paid more attention to their tents however, the crazy coyote bitch with the grenade wouldn't have caught you off guard >Even if she took most of the blast thanks to quick thinking, you were down a hand that slowly kept dripping blood from your now missing hand wound >The tourniquet on your left arm was keeping it stable, but you needed meds that the snakedog was currently strapped up with so you could get yourself together and get her out of here >Slowly taking steps towards her you try to keep her calm and relaxed by explaining how you aren't going to do anything bad, just get the needles on her legs so you can go to work >She looks you up and down in fear after saying that, kicking her legs out and trying to strike you from a distance as syringes tied to her legs either activate with the motion >She looks a bit out of it for a moment as a single syringe fails and jets off with a small amount of liquid dribbling out before it seals up tight >All of the others seem to cause her a moment of overload that allow you to snap her restraints with your hands and get her into your arms >She seems terrified of you as she comes to, and you take a risk in letting her go to show her you aren't going to hurt her >"I'm here to rescue you sweetie. I swear it. I'll give you the shotgun if you don't trust me with it." >you accidentally fumble it as you try to offer it with your left hand, and her eyes dart to your wound with a sad look >The tent's door flaps behind you and she gets a momentary glimpse of the carnage you unleashed before coming in to release her >She seems to ponder what you did to free her and it eats her up inside pretty badly >She begins to tear up, running into your arms and bawling as loudly as she can into your jacket's shoulder >You take her into your arms hugging her tightly as she weeps against you >The shotgun in your hand clatters to the ground as you gently move to pet her back softly >"It's alright sweetie. It will all be alright. The monsters are gone. They won't be able to hurt you again. I'm sorry I didn't act sooner... I should have known." >She tries to form words to speak to you, and you listen intently as she fumbles over them again and again >The recent trauma combined with so many years of pain... it's made her almost mute >Stringing her words together slowly lets you understand she's trying to ask shy you saved her >Why bother rescuing an abomination >Why save the ugly desert weed >Why did you pretend she was a monster >You wipe her tears with your good hand and whisper that she isn't an abomination, or an ugly desert weed, or even a monster >you then carefully tell her the truth of why you saved her, and hope she can understand what you mean >"Because you're a person too, sweetheart." >She looks into your eyes, genuinely shocked by your statement >"Sweetheart..." >She slowly reaches up and grabs onto your face, taking a good look at your features up close >Tears begin to well up in her eyes as she takes in the face of the person who's finally saved her from her hellish existence >Someone who sees her for what she is, not what she can do for them >She repeats what you said word for word softly, before it gets to her so much she has a full on break down >You pull her into your jacket without a word, letting her cry it out again >She's had a long dangerous life up to this point, and it seems that she feels that she's safe in your arms >That's all she needs for an hour or so as she cries all over you, allowing you to very gently rub her back and head >When she's finally calmed down enough to hold herself together you help her up and head out into the camp >The mangled corpses of your other victims are scattered everywhere, a machete from one of them lying half way in the dying fire >But she ignores that, instead looking around for their supplies and pulling out a blueberry flavored nuka cola and trying to bite the cap off >You snatch it from her hand and open it with a flick of your thumb, before tilting it towards her mouth >"You're highly stressed right now. If you chug that you could choke. I'll help you drink so you don't die by trying to breath soda." >She takes the gesture as a bit odd judging by how she looks at you, but takes your act of kindness and lets you hand feed her >Every drop she can have she takes like a glutton, her forked tongue darting into the bottle to take just a bit more than you offered her with every sip >When she finishes up she wipes her mouth on your jacket before looking around for the next object of interest to her >She slowly packs up what she wants from the camp piece by piece, leaving you to go and take your shotgun and the back mounted holster for it from in the tent >You grab the one failed stimpak and find it's only half used, and primed for being finished off >That quickly reminds you that you're down to a single hand, and you walk out and loudly blurt out that you need help with fixing your hand's gaping wound >She uncloaks in front of you, her invisibility so good the targeting systems in your eyes actually missed her, scaring you a bit since you didn't see a single disturbance in the air like with most cloaks >Next time you'll check the air for being too perfect instead of too weird >"Your invisibility is scary good, but that won't help me get this wound closed. We have to think of something so I don't lose too much blood." >The night stalker scans the camp quickly, looking for more meds but finding nothing to help >But then she glances at the fire, and back to you as if she had an epiphany >She runs over towards the machete as soon as she spots it, calling you with a hissing whistle >She pulls your bloody stump out of the sleeve and looks at it, tears welling up as she realizes the entire hand was lost >Before you can console her though, she wiggles the red hot machete and looks from it to your damaged arm >Seems that even with her currently fragile feelings, your continued livelyhood is worth more than mourning your loss of a few digits >After watching her wiggle the blade a bit closer to the wound you nod to her to continue >She bites down on your bicep before forcing the machete's flat side against your bloody wrist, venom that makes your muscles want to seize up quickly pouring into you >She pumps you full of venom as much as she can while she makes sure that the wound is even, hoping that it works in killing the pain as well as it seemed to be freezing your arm >In truth, you were currently in massive pain and also immune to toxins because of your outrageously good build quality and reinforced biosystems >Ignoring that and pretending she did a good job for a few seconds of extra burning, she looks satisfied with her work enough to pull out a stimpak and jam it into your new black nub >You pull it out once it's done all it can and pull out the half remaining disguised super stimpak she shook off, jamming it in to complete the job >A few painful seconds of skin growing, dying, and falling free mark the end of the healing process and your completion of healing up >It takes you a moment to realize that your medical aid not only stopped biting you, but that she also slinked off to grab something >She pulls the slaver's hook pole from under one of the bodies and brings it to you, putting it in your now free hand >It's a hooked pole with a rope attached to it meant to manipulate slaves, tug collars, or just beat them senseless >She points at the grim hook, then to your hand with a disturbing smile >You nod in a moment of confused acceptance, but think about what she means for a moment and frown >"Not going to work as it is now snakedog. But once we get to my safehouse I should be able to help you start working on a new hand replacement." >She goes from a frown to a smile, and nods in agreement as she checks the straps on her bag of pilfered goods and picks up their leader's 10mm carbine from inside of his now dead slave's tent >She seems to like how it handles for her, and gives you a genuine smile as she marches into step behind you >You focus on the Person Internal Multirole Processor in your head, using it like a pipboy stored in your brain and mark up your safehouse as it figures out the quickest and easiest path there >A few miliseconds of calculating and you're both ready to head to the H&H tool factory, supplies already packed away for your long mission there formerly solo >You start marching with her in tow behind you, and quickly make tracks to your hideout under the cover of darkness >It doesn't take long to get inside, tell the robobrain guarding it to go back to his supply closet, and get back to the room your bed is in >A king sized mattress sat with relatively clean sheets and fresh pillows near creates of supplies for the next year and a half it was estimated to make house fold to your will >Of course, since the chip in your head that made you follow orders was fried by the EMP wave of that nuke going off, you were now a free man >Stripping down into your boxers and climbing into bed, you realize the snakedog doesn't have anywhere to stay >Before you can say a word she appears under the covers next to you, and taps you on the shoulder >"H-Heyo." >Her earlier bravery is fading in the moment back to her usual fearful nature, which concerns you that she's probably afraid because she just realized she's all alone out there in the big bad world >It also seems she's made her choice to stay with you, so you scoot over in bed to give her more room, causing her to huff and try to pull you back over towards her >Even if you could spin in bed hard enough to crack her arms and go to bed on your terms, this gentle flower didn't deserve that kind of treatment after the hell she's been through >When you decide to flip around to face her, she smiles at you, and leans in to your ear to say something >"My name is Rosssaaa." >She huffs at her self and tries to say Rosa again, but somehow better >Every time she tries she gets a bit angrier, so you assume her minor speech impediment is mumbling her words >You decide to take the initiate and respond with your name >"My name is Ray Dan. I was a courser from the institute with ID number R4-1D. I am the ruggedized design test model, 1st deployment. Nice to meet your Rose." >She beams with joy as you say this, and gently says she has "one more thing" to say, before moving her face to be even to yours >She surprises you by moving in very gently closer to you, almost wrapping herself entirely around you >"T-Thank you." >To your surprise she then moves in to give you a slow, passionate kiss on the lips before nuzzling her neck into yours >A surprised blush lights your face as you try to understand what just happened, realizing that this is the start of what she assumes is your new life together >And that she seems to want to stay by your side, if not be as close to you as possible, at all times >Though you hadn't meant to do that, you assume that your new mission could easily be made out to be rescuing the various flowers of the wasteland from slaver scum like the men you killed >For now though, you power down auxiliary systems and force yourself into sleep mode >The battle at hoover dam hasn't even happened yet, so you've got plenty of time to plan out your next steps in rescuing the rest of her people >Even if your grim appearance isn't what most would consider when they see what most people see as heroes, that won't stop you >You're going to rescue as many of them as you can, and keep them safe as well as you can >In the long dark lives they're no doubt stuck in, you're going to break them free and give them what they dream for every night >A Ray of hope