The capsule bike worked like a charm. He laughed at the looks the raiders trying to ambush him stared at him in shock. The little scene with the Star Cap played out as he passed. He wasn't going to pull the pin on that grenade. The capsule bike returned to its little pill size with a simple touch of a button. He popped the thing in his pocket as he approached Nipton.
He heard the sound of screaming and something hard hitting wood. A glare crossed his face as he strode forward. He hadn't taken the timeline into account. The Legion was still working through the lottery. Hot iron surged through his veins.
Sentries were arranged on top of the buildings around town. They were too busy watching the lottery to bother actually looking for people to approach. He scaled the side of one of the buildings. The Lizardmen template made climbing as easy as walking. He slipped behind the first Legion Sentry and snapped his neck and moved on to the next. One-by-one they fell. Each one had a machete that he tucked in his belt. He didn't bother to hide their bodies or mask the sounds of his progress. The people below were too busy watching the Vexillarius, the one with the wolf-skin helmet, draw tickets.
Ben stopped at the last sentry. He picked up the body, took aim, and tossed it onto the raised platform. The town went silent. Then the Vexillarius began to yell orders to the other Legion. They scanned the rooftops until they found him. It was a little insulting considering he wasn't hiding. Small arms fire smacked the rooftop around where he stood. A couple of spears managed to land nearby as well.
He plucked one of the spears, aimed, and launched it at the Vexillarius. The spike of metal punched through the leather armor and pinned the wolf-helmet wearing man to the stage. That finally spurred the townspeople and Powder Gangers into motion. They ran for the closest houses leaving the injured where they lay.
Ben shouldn't have been surprised. These were the people that happily set a double-cross for the Powder Gangers to ambush the NCR, then went for another double-cross with the Legion to clear out both of them. Something like that. At least the people in charge deserved it. Some of the townsfolk were probably worth saving.
A gunshot snapped over his shoulder. Ben turned toward the shooter and snapped off his own in reply. The Legion fodder went down for good. He plucked one of the machetes from his belt, took aim, and hurled it at the first gunman he saw. It spun as it flew through the air before the grip hit the guy in the cheek. The next one hit its mark, removing another one.
He scanned the rest of the town. The rest of the Legion was trying to find good cover while their hounds were barking like crazy since they couldn't get to him. Most importantly, one of the Legion was making a break for it. He didn't want to have to deal with constant hit squads. Ben took out his rifle and made sure the runner didn't make it to the train tracks on the edge of town. The expanded pockets were amazing.
A shotgun blast brought his attention back to the street. One of the townsfolk decided to fight back. That was the thing that they needed to spur them into action. More gunfire joined in the fight. Soon the Legion forces were handled.
Ben dropped down to the street and waited for the people to eventually come out. An older woman stepped outside. She carried a double-barrel shotgun and had a fresh cut on the side of her face. Age was hard to tell in the desert, a life under the harsh sun could make a person look well beyond their years.
"Are you with the NCR?" Her voice was rough, but higher than he expected.
He shook his head, "Just a traveler."
"Thank you for this," She said. "It's going to bring a lot of trouble, but we're alive."
Ben motioned toward the dry lake, "Drag the bodies toward the edge of the lake. The ants should take care of it." He paused. "Douse a few of them in Abraxo to see if it thins their population too."
"Not a bad idea," She replied. "Why Abraxo?"
Ben pulled the machetes one by one from his belt and tossed them toward the closest Legion goon, "It works on little ones, it might work on the big ones too." He shrugged. "No harm in trying."
"There are little ones?" She scanned the ground like they were going to pop out at any time.
He nodded, "You should leave if you can. The Legion will send a scout sooner or later."
"This is our home," She countered.
He shrugged, "It will be your grave if you stay. I'm moving on."
"Where would we go?" She asked as she took in the scattered corpses of the Legion.
Ben began to walk toward the edge of town, "Primm needs people. Goodsprings doesn't have enough space for more. The road beyond is blocked by Deathclaws. Yeah, Primm is your best bet."
"Where are you going?" She asked.
"Vegas," Ben replied.
He pulled out the capsule then pressed the button to grow the bike. The woman watched in wonder as he drove away. He hadn't really paid attention to the passage of time when he was playing the game. The times he played Survival he would add a camping mod along with it. He would make camp when at sunset and then wake up eight hours later. It wasn't an accurate way to keep track of time.
Ben aimed the bike toward Freeside and let it run. It didn't look like a dirtbike, but it handled the rough terrain with ease. Gunshots smacked against the shell every now and then leaving a string of spider-web cracks. Capsule Corporation made their stuff to last.
It took a couple of hours to get where he was going. Road conditions slowed him down. Otherwise, he probably could have made the trip in about forty-five minutes. The bike stored easily once he reached the gate to Freeside. He didn't want to show it off too much. Some people spouting nonsense about a weird vehicle wouldn't cause too much of an issue. Chem users weren't known for their coherent thought.
He slipped through the gate and ignored the people walking around. Side-quests weren't worth his time. He stayed on task until he reached the gate guarded by a group of Securitron.
"Tell Mister House I have the chip," Ben said before they could check his credit.
He didn't have two-thousand caps on hand. The loot he got from the escaped convicts had netted him a decent amount. Even then he was far off from breaking one-thousand. He had skipped the merchants as well to get to the strip as fast as possible.
The screen on the Securitron swapped over to 'One Moment Please' for a few seconds.
"Proceed to the Lucky 38," The Securitron moved to the side.
Ben inclined his head as he made his way to the Strip. The casinos were tempting, but he didn't have stats to check his luck. Maybe a simple system would help for future dimensional expeditions. People stopped as he stopped in front of the Lucky 38.
"Howdy, stranger," Victor rolled out of the casino. "You're not the Courier we hired."
He shook his head, "No, I am not. Your boy, Benny, decided to ambush them and put a bullet in their head. I killed him, took the chip, and made my way here."
"You made good time, partner," Victor rolled out of the way allowing him to enter.
Ben followed the robot to the elevator and took it up to the top. He ignored the Securitron lady, instead he went straight to the large-screen display in the middle of the main room. Mister House was waiting for him.
"Tell me, Stranger," Mister House said. "Why did you choose to come all the way here to finish a delivery that wasn't your responsibility?"
Ben showed him the Platinum Chip, "It looks expensive and the Courier had a bullet in their skull that needed some treatment. I just didn't feel right expecting them to finish it."
"Indeed," Mister House actually sounded amused. "And what do you want in turn?"
"Simple," Ben replied. "I want you to properly take control of Vegas. Freeside and the connecting area. Open the place up for settlers, take over Hoover Dam, and work to create some outposts in the area as well. I'm going to be settling down in Goodsprings. Patrols along the roads would be nice too. Safer roads mean more merchants, which means more profit coming in."
"Is that all?" Mister House asked.
"Do you agree to these terms?" I asked in reply.
"I wouldn't mind expanding my domain," Mister House stated. "Unfortunately, delivering the chip isn't where the task concludes."
"It's never simple," He muttered. "What's the next part?"
"There is a Weather Monitoring Station near Fortification Hill," Mister House explained. "You will find a computer console with a slot for the Platinum Chip. There is a logo, just in case you miss it."
Ben nodded in understanding, "What is the catch?"
"The Legion, specifically Caesar, has taken over the place," Mister House answered. "You'll need to find a way into the camp and further to the Weather Station."
"You need some gofers," Ben sighed. "Agents to follow your orders and do this sort of thing."
"Benny was supposed to be my agent," Mister House stated. "You can see how that turned out."
"Dead in a ditch," Ben nodded. "Shame you don't have any connections to The Institute in the Boston Commonwealth."
"How would you know about that?" Mister House asked.
Damn. Player knowledge versus character knowledge. He needed to be careful with that.
"I've been around," He replied with a shrug.
"Apparently," Mister House stated.
He let the words hang to see if Ben would fill the silence.
"What direction is the Fort?" Ben asked.
"South-East on the other side of the Hoover Dam," Mister House replied. "The sooner you get this done the better. Hoover Dam will be under my control once you finish your task."
"Do you mind if I get some sleep first?" Ben asked.
"Victor will show you to your room," Mister House replied.
"Come along, partner," Victor spoke up. "We've got running water, clean sheets, and room service."
"You're tempting me to settle down here," Ben chuckled as he went back to the elevator.
"Well, partner," Victor replied. "Get this errand done for Mister House and you'd be welcome."
"I'll think about it," Ben said.
The elevator stopped. Victor rolled into the hallway to allow Ben to pass. It was a penthouse suite frozen in time.
"I'll be waiting for you out here," The cowboy robot said.
"Thanks, Victor," Ben replied as he undressed once the doors were closed.
He wasn’t going to pass up the chance at an actual shower. They were a great place to do some thinking. Moving into the casino sounded like a good idea. He wasn't sure if Sunny would go for it though. She liked Goodsprings and seemed to enjoy her job. It was tempting to ask for a few Securitrons to keep the town safe. Unfortunately, it would also make them a target. Maybe he could convince the town to build a good wall. Goodsprings was a good stop along the way for traveling traders.
Ben didn't want to waste his time in his god form once he was asleep. He knew the location of the Legion camp now and wouldn't need to spend time tracking it down. There was a very good chance that he was going to have to fight his way out. It was a civic service to wipe out as many as he could. He needed to figure out how to balance the odds in his favor. A stealth sniper operation wasn't likely to work once he was in the Legion Camp though he could probably pick off quite a few at a distance. He would need a sniper rifle, which he could do once he was in his Cube.
There wasn't much he could think to do to prepare short of snagging a suit from Iron Man or maybe some Mandalorian armor. He didn't think either option was viable. Mandalorians were very protective of their armor and Stark wasn't the type to share a suit. His best bet was to grab some proper body armor. It was lucky that he had access to a multi-verse of options.
Space Marine from Warhammer was out since he didn't have the augments to make it work. The same with the Mjolnir armor from Halo. Some actual Power Armor could work as it was native to this dimension. Ben never used it in the games unless absolutely necessary. It was too bulky for his liking and made stealth practically impossible. A smile crossed his face as he got out of the shower.
There was one place where he could definitely get some good armor. Ben dried off and got into bed.
- Mass Effect2163 CE – Council SpaceCitadel Station – Human Embassy
The plot didn't kick off for another twenty years. It gave him plenty of time to work in case he decided to come back some other time. He wondered if he was powerful enough to one-v-one a Reaper yet. Gathering some more faith would be a good idea before he tried.
There wasn't an official conflict at the moment which allowed the guards to get bored. They weren't so bad as to fall asleep on duty, but it made them sloppy. A ticket for a malfunctioning door was sent to maintenance. It opened a couple of times for no apparent reason. They checked the room each time, but everything seemed in order. No one noticed that a suit of armor in the back had gone missing.
- Lucky 38 High Roller Suite New Vegas Strip, Mojave Wasteland, USA – 2281
The Alliance Medium Armor was stored in a compressed egg-shaped container. Ben tested taking it out and putting it back into his pocket a couple of times to make sure it would actually fit. His jacket had wide pockets that could fit quite a few things. Barring that, he had his Pack of Cubing as well. He was certain House had this place full of surveillance, so he wasn't going to put it on now. The armor didn't run on Element Zero and it was too complicated to properly reproduce. It would drive a control freak like House mad.
Ben followed Victor out to the street. He didn't make it a few steps until he was approached by a guy in a brown suit. Everything about him was arranged to be as forgettable as possible.
"Caesar invites you to an audience," The man offered him a coin.
Ben looked down at it, "Fine."
"Fine?" The guy sounded amused.
"Yes, fine," He replied. "I'll be there soon."
NoteI realized this isn't the 1st time Ben has visited Mass Effect. His adjustments to his Traveler and godly abilities, namely creating an avatar, unlocked a different sort of connection.