Pretense
"Halt!" Several of the guards shouted in unison.
They're vehicles slowed remarkably fast as the breaks were slammed. Screeching tires on dilapidated pavement left rubber residue and a distinct burning odor. Upon completely stopping, the vehicles lurched forward, then rolled back into a rested position.
As the raider killed the engine, the exhaust ceased and dust began to settle. Maybe now things could calm down, they were in NCR territory now. Safety at last.
"Now, you're going to drop your weapons, and climb out of the vehicles. Slowly!" One guard said as he approached them.
They all seemingly complied, though Greg knew most of them would be stowing concealed weapons. After dropping their weapons, they exited their vehicles, one by one and slowly.
The guard pleased by their cooperation continued with his orders "Now, you're going to put your hands on top of your heads and approach us. Slowly."
Nothing but compliance. As they continued slowly approaching, more guards came out with their rifles trained on the guests as well.
"Halt! Now stand still while we restrain you. You're going to be escorted to Shady Sands. You are not being given amnesty, you are not refugees, you are escaped convicts of the Brotherhood at this time." The guard waited a moment before continuing, "and requests or personal statements will be taken in Shady Sands.
"Well this sucks." Greg muttered, before exhaling violently as one of the guards shoved his rifle butt into Greg's stomach.
The guard then proceeded to attach old style handcuffs to Greg's wrists. Though Greg could escape from them, now probably wouldn't be the best time. Might as well get to Shady Sands, and see what happens from there.
"Do not try to escape at this time. It would not be in your best interest to try to escape yet." The guard seemed to emphasize at this time, and yet quite heavily. He also failed to mention that they shouldn't try to escape at all, or if they should when.
The guards let their group towards a train, "Now, when you're in Shady Sands, the Brotherhood will be sending a representative to interview you and decide whether you're guilty or not. Whatever he decides will not matter much in NCR territory. Whether we deport you or not will still be up to us."
By this time they were all seated on the train. The seats were all positioned parallel and facing each other in a way that they could see each other. Gary was sat across from Greg, and they stared at each other a moment as the guards began fastening them into their seats.
"Now, we wont be in this car with you, but all sounds will be recorded. So do not try to discuss anything among yourselves by talking or code." It seemed like this guard was trying to help them in every way possible.
As the door slid shut, the train jerked forward, then slowly began to roll. It would pick up pace over time, Greg assumed. If not, then this was one hell of a waste of transportation.
Greg then looked straight at Gary and began mouthing words immediately. "You can read lips, right?"
Gary began to respond, but Greg realized, he had no lips. "Dammit you lipless bastard. Never mind, just listen to my plan."
A few hundred miles away.
Elizabeth's old military High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV), or Humvee, roared to life. The fuel tank was full, and it had four spare five gallon drums of diesel to get her to the next fuel point.
Her father stood up in the turret hole, with his scoped rifle watching their surroundings for threats. The vehicle wasn't the fastest, but it easily handled the rough to severe terrain at speeds upwards of 45 miles per hour. At this rate, it would only take around four to five hours to reach their next goal. And most likely under ten hours before she reached Shady Sands, her starting point in her search for Greg.
The sun is setting again in Shady Sands.
And the train came to an extremely gradual stop, probably taking over a mile to completely stop. Greg had already explained his plan to Gary, who then tapped the plan in Morse code on Wesley's arm. Wesley then proceeded to mouth the plan to the raider who was sitting next to Greg. Unfortunately, she just shrugged not understanding how to read lips.
Either way, the plan could be carried out by the three of them. All the raider had to do once the plan was initiated was follow their lead. However, the plan was a last resort plan, for if things went south.
As the guards released them from their seats, the guard from before entered. "Did you have a nice ride? We're here, in Shady Sands. Now follow me."
The guard then left through the train doors, and their group followed with guards on both sides. As they emerged, they're eyes widened in bewilderment. Shady Sands had become quite a city. It had working street lights, armed police, running water, and was clean by anyone's standard.
This was the kind of place Greg could start a family. Unfortunately, Shady Sands could only support a certain population density, and new families could only move in as people died or left. There was probably a waiting list too.
They were lead into an official looking building, and then split up into different rooms. Greg's plan had accounted for that. Greg was sat down in a sturdy wooden chair, and restrained to the chair. The chair was seemingly attached by bolts to the ground as well.
"A Brotherhood official will be here shortly to speak with you. You don't have to say anything if you don't want to." The guard seemed to not like the Brotherhood by the tone in his voice.
As the guard was leaving, he pressed a button by the door, then tapped on a speaker in a strange sequence. Greg subsequently memorized the sequence, should it be needed later. A loud buzz came from the speaker. The door creaked a bit, and the guard left, slamming the door shut behind him.
And within moments, the speaker buzzed, and the door opened. A knight of the Brotherhood entered in full power armor with an NCR soldier also in full power armor. The Brotherhood of Steel knight was unarmed, where the NCR soldier was armed with a plasma caster.
The knight walked up to the shoddy looking wooden table in front of Greg and rested his gloved hands on it. "Thank you, for my promotion."
Greg's eyes shot open wide. "Wait, you got promoted for letting us steal your scientist?"
Joe laughed, "You stole our scientist? We'll be taking him with us. What you did was get our scientist back without us having to pay the ridiculous price those slavers were asking."
"Oh, and you think the NCR is just going to hand over this scientist?" Greg smirked, though he wasn't positive this would be the case.
"They already did, in the terms of their agreement that we let you go." Joe stood up straight. If Greg could see under that helmet, he probably had a smug look about him.
"Then why even bother talking to me? So you can show off your knew tin man suit? I bet it has air conditioning? Ooh, can you relieve yourself in it? Hell, it probably wipes your ass for you too." Joe might have gotten promoted and got his scientist back for free, but Greg was still going to get a rise out of him.
As Greg expected, Joe exploded, smashing the shoddy table in front of Greg. The legs burst outwards sending wooden shards flying. Splinters peppered Greg all over, but Greg didn't even flinch. The NCR soldier did though, making his plasma caster beep, indicating it was ready to liquefy Brotherhood.
"Hmph, we may not have had to pay for our scientist, but somebody has to pay for our lost vertibird, and several dead knights. " Joe snarled, even through an electronic voice amplifier.
"So what is that, like three or four caps? I have that in my wallet." Greg was going to try as hard as possible to get Joe to explode.
"You insolent little scavenger. I should just choke you, right now." Joe was getting ridiculously angry.
"Well, you'd have to use your special power armor strength, I doubt you could accomplish much with those puny hands of your own." Greg kept speaking with a vindictive smirk across his face.
Joe raised his hand, poised to strike, then lowered it. "I'm not foolish enough to end up a pile of goo, when that plasma caster behind me goes off. This wont be the last time you hear from the Brotherhood."
Joe didn't wait for a response. He abruptly stood straight up and left through the open door. The NCR soldier followed him, and the door was shut behind them.
"Well, now what?" Greg began to think in his isolation. Of all things, about Elizabeth. Her image peeked into his mind. Her adorable golden hair, lustrous and clean. Her luminous skin, speckled with tiny sweat beads refracting the suns yellow rays. Her perky bosom, heaving with each breath.
Then he began to wonder if she even cared he was gone. She must know by now that thanks to him, at least ten of her townsmen are dead and radioactive dust. Besides, was getting back to Ridgeton really a realistic goal?
He began thinking about the ever expanding NCR territory, and the life he could have as an elite scavenger. Eventually earning the right to live in Shady Sands, starting a family with a beautiful girl. As he was thinking, he didn't even realize the raider was the girl until after a few moments.
"Damn, I've never even seen her face. Well, I don't even know her name." Greg muttered to himself, now deep in thought.
His solitude was interrupted as the speaker buzzed. The door cracked open, and light shimmered through. It must have been dark out already, for the light creeping through was definitely a light created by electricity.
"Okay, at this point, you're going to be free to go." The guard began releasing Greg from his binds. "I thought you should know, that scientist bit his own tongue and bled himself to death on their vertibird."
Greg laughed, though he felt sorry for the scientist. That Joe must be seething with anger now.
"The rest of your party will be waiting outside of this building." The guard continued. "Unfortunately, you cannot have your weapons back. However, you will be awarded a monetary value based on your negotiation skills for them."
The guard led Greg outside. The waning moon was nowhere to be seen. It was a new moon now, and their voyage was starting again. Was it autumn already? There were trees with leaves around Shady Sands, and their leaves were changing color now.
"Greg. I see you're free now too." Greg recognized Gary's voice from anywhere.
"If your skin weren't peeling off and whatnot, I'd probably hug you right now." Gary was probably Greg's first real friend at this point in his life.
"We were only separated for about an hour." Wesley spoke up, and coincidentally was slapped in the back of the head by a raider.
"You guys, you sure are a strange group."
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- Chapter Nine
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They're vehicles slowed remarkably fast as the breaks were slammed. Screeching tires on dilapidated pavement left rubber residue and a distinct burning odor. Upon completely stopping, the vehicles lurched forward, then rolled back into a rested position.
As the raider killed the engine, the exhaust ceased and dust began to settle. Maybe now things could calm down, they were in NCR territory now. Safety at last.
"Now, you're going to drop your weapons, and climb out of the vehicles. Slowly!" One guard said as he approached them.
They all seemingly complied, though Greg knew most of them would be stowing concealed weapons. After dropping their weapons, they exited their vehicles, one by one and slowly.
The guard pleased by their cooperation continued with his orders "Now, you're going to put your hands on top of your heads and approach us. Slowly."
Nothing but compliance. As they continued slowly approaching, more guards came out with their rifles trained on the guests as well.
"Halt! Now stand still while we restrain you. You're going to be escorted to Shady Sands. You are not being given amnesty, you are not refugees, you are escaped convicts of the Brotherhood at this time." The guard waited a moment before continuing, "and requests or personal statements will be taken in Shady Sands.
"Well this sucks." Greg muttered, before exhaling violently as one of the guards shoved his rifle butt into Greg's stomach.
The guard then proceeded to attach old style handcuffs to Greg's wrists. Though Greg could escape from them, now probably wouldn't be the best time. Might as well get to Shady Sands, and see what happens from there.
"Do not try to escape at this time. It would not be in your best interest to try to escape yet." The guard seemed to emphasize at this time, and yet quite heavily. He also failed to mention that they shouldn't try to escape at all, or if they should when.
The guards let their group towards a train, "Now, when you're in Shady Sands, the Brotherhood will be sending a representative to interview you and decide whether you're guilty or not. Whatever he decides will not matter much in NCR territory. Whether we deport you or not will still be up to us."
By this time they were all seated on the train. The seats were all positioned parallel and facing each other in a way that they could see each other. Gary was sat across from Greg, and they stared at each other a moment as the guards began fastening them into their seats.
"Now, we wont be in this car with you, but all sounds will be recorded. So do not try to discuss anything among yourselves by talking or code." It seemed like this guard was trying to help them in every way possible.
As the door slid shut, the train jerked forward, then slowly began to roll. It would pick up pace over time, Greg assumed. If not, then this was one hell of a waste of transportation.
Greg then looked straight at Gary and began mouthing words immediately. "You can read lips, right?"
Gary began to respond, but Greg realized, he had no lips. "Dammit you lipless bastard. Never mind, just listen to my plan."
A few hundred miles away.
Elizabeth's old military High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV), or Humvee, roared to life. The fuel tank was full, and it had four spare five gallon drums of diesel to get her to the next fuel point.
Her father stood up in the turret hole, with his scoped rifle watching their surroundings for threats. The vehicle wasn't the fastest, but it easily handled the rough to severe terrain at speeds upwards of 45 miles per hour. At this rate, it would only take around four to five hours to reach their next goal. And most likely under ten hours before she reached Shady Sands, her starting point in her search for Greg.
The sun is setting again in Shady Sands.
And the train came to an extremely gradual stop, probably taking over a mile to completely stop. Greg had already explained his plan to Gary, who then tapped the plan in Morse code on Wesley's arm. Wesley then proceeded to mouth the plan to the raider who was sitting next to Greg. Unfortunately, she just shrugged not understanding how to read lips.
Either way, the plan could be carried out by the three of them. All the raider had to do once the plan was initiated was follow their lead. However, the plan was a last resort plan, for if things went south.
As the guards released them from their seats, the guard from before entered. "Did you have a nice ride? We're here, in Shady Sands. Now follow me."
The guard then left through the train doors, and their group followed with guards on both sides. As they emerged, they're eyes widened in bewilderment. Shady Sands had become quite a city. It had working street lights, armed police, running water, and was clean by anyone's standard.
This was the kind of place Greg could start a family. Unfortunately, Shady Sands could only support a certain population density, and new families could only move in as people died or left. There was probably a waiting list too.
They were lead into an official looking building, and then split up into different rooms. Greg's plan had accounted for that. Greg was sat down in a sturdy wooden chair, and restrained to the chair. The chair was seemingly attached by bolts to the ground as well.
"A Brotherhood official will be here shortly to speak with you. You don't have to say anything if you don't want to." The guard seemed to not like the Brotherhood by the tone in his voice.
As the guard was leaving, he pressed a button by the door, then tapped on a speaker in a strange sequence. Greg subsequently memorized the sequence, should it be needed later. A loud buzz came from the speaker. The door creaked a bit, and the guard left, slamming the door shut behind him.
And within moments, the speaker buzzed, and the door opened. A knight of the Brotherhood entered in full power armor with an NCR soldier also in full power armor. The Brotherhood of Steel knight was unarmed, where the NCR soldier was armed with a plasma caster.
The knight walked up to the shoddy looking wooden table in front of Greg and rested his gloved hands on it. "Thank you, for my promotion."
Greg's eyes shot open wide. "Wait, you got promoted for letting us steal your scientist?"
Joe laughed, "You stole our scientist? We'll be taking him with us. What you did was get our scientist back without us having to pay the ridiculous price those slavers were asking."
"Oh, and you think the NCR is just going to hand over this scientist?" Greg smirked, though he wasn't positive this would be the case.
"They already did, in the terms of their agreement that we let you go." Joe stood up straight. If Greg could see under that helmet, he probably had a smug look about him.
"Then why even bother talking to me? So you can show off your knew tin man suit? I bet it has air conditioning? Ooh, can you relieve yourself in it? Hell, it probably wipes your ass for you too." Joe might have gotten promoted and got his scientist back for free, but Greg was still going to get a rise out of him.
As Greg expected, Joe exploded, smashing the shoddy table in front of Greg. The legs burst outwards sending wooden shards flying. Splinters peppered Greg all over, but Greg didn't even flinch. The NCR soldier did though, making his plasma caster beep, indicating it was ready to liquefy Brotherhood.
"Hmph, we may not have had to pay for our scientist, but somebody has to pay for our lost vertibird, and several dead knights. " Joe snarled, even through an electronic voice amplifier.
"So what is that, like three or four caps? I have that in my wallet." Greg was going to try as hard as possible to get Joe to explode.
"You insolent little scavenger. I should just choke you, right now." Joe was getting ridiculously angry.
"Well, you'd have to use your special power armor strength, I doubt you could accomplish much with those puny hands of your own." Greg kept speaking with a vindictive smirk across his face.
Joe raised his hand, poised to strike, then lowered it. "I'm not foolish enough to end up a pile of goo, when that plasma caster behind me goes off. This wont be the last time you hear from the Brotherhood."
Joe didn't wait for a response. He abruptly stood straight up and left through the open door. The NCR soldier followed him, and the door was shut behind them.
"Well, now what?" Greg began to think in his isolation. Of all things, about Elizabeth. Her image peeked into his mind. Her adorable golden hair, lustrous and clean. Her luminous skin, speckled with tiny sweat beads refracting the suns yellow rays. Her perky bosom, heaving with each breath.
Then he began to wonder if she even cared he was gone. She must know by now that thanks to him, at least ten of her townsmen are dead and radioactive dust. Besides, was getting back to Ridgeton really a realistic goal?
He began thinking about the ever expanding NCR territory, and the life he could have as an elite scavenger. Eventually earning the right to live in Shady Sands, starting a family with a beautiful girl. As he was thinking, he didn't even realize the raider was the girl until after a few moments.
"Damn, I've never even seen her face. Well, I don't even know her name." Greg muttered to himself, now deep in thought.
His solitude was interrupted as the speaker buzzed. The door cracked open, and light shimmered through. It must have been dark out already, for the light creeping through was definitely a light created by electricity.
"Okay, at this point, you're going to be free to go." The guard began releasing Greg from his binds. "I thought you should know, that scientist bit his own tongue and bled himself to death on their vertibird."
Greg laughed, though he felt sorry for the scientist. That Joe must be seething with anger now.
"The rest of your party will be waiting outside of this building." The guard continued. "Unfortunately, you cannot have your weapons back. However, you will be awarded a monetary value based on your negotiation skills for them."
The guard led Greg outside. The waning moon was nowhere to be seen. It was a new moon now, and their voyage was starting again. Was it autumn already? There were trees with leaves around Shady Sands, and their leaves were changing color now.
"Greg. I see you're free now too." Greg recognized Gary's voice from anywhere.
"If your skin weren't peeling off and whatnot, I'd probably hug you right now." Gary was probably Greg's first real friend at this point in his life.
"We were only separated for about an hour." Wesley spoke up, and coincidentally was slapped in the back of the head by a raider.
"You guys, you sure are a strange group."
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