The scouting trip was nearly cancelled from bad weather but the fog rolled back before dawn and we rode out of town. I'd written a note to the senex and left before he got the chance to look at it. My new eyebot friend was buzzing around with his sensors on high as I followed the lead of Gina and her team. I'd found out that the tribe had wanted to move into the clear lands but had faced heavy opposition from other groups that dotted the large area.
The elite warriors couldn't compete with the numbers these relatively untouched lands could provide. The air as we rode was amazing in its clear and cool touch. We were traveling to the tribe known as the Chey who ruled all the way from the town of Cheyenne to Kansas City. They were allied neutrals to most tribes and traded openly with the midwestern brotherhood of steel.
The large tribe was most well known in the brotherhood for producing lots of knowledgeable recruits. They were also the only known group to work with the Chicago chapter besides the midwestern chapter. Because of their dealings with the brotherhood, Caesar had shunned them and declared them a target for raiding and eventually for conquering.
As the tribe basically controlled the whole of Nebraska they were also a massive food producer. It was their greatest strength as no one wanted to go against the people that sold large quantities of food for cheap. The Lancer tribe as they were known bought large quantities of soybeans as it was known as the soy. The mutated soybeans, soy were a staple for most of the Midwest were worth their weight in caps or purified water.
The far west however was a hold out of multiple factions, mutants, and an old military site that controlled a massive network of old world tech. The network nearly cut off the western coast of America for everything else via jammers, and missile sites. Some idiot had activated an enclave project when the scorchbeasts came around and only the brotherhood and enclave had gotten more than a few people through.
I'd have to get through whatever it was once I finally got to the past the Mississippi. However I wasn't even out of Wyoming yet and the scouting team would be turning back at the town of Rawlins. The people there would provide me shelter before I left for my fake mission up north to buffalo. After that I was on my own all the way to Kansas City as Nebraska and most of Kansas were decently controlled.
Rawlins was a trade town of the Chey and managed the Chey alliances and trading with the tribes and other groups of the eastern Midwest. Cheyenne to Kansas City was like the hub but lawful and decent. From BOS reports the Chey were a large collective of farmers who wielded farming machinery and tools to control their empire. They maintained control over their borders by literally undermining their enemies control over their peoples via lots of or no food.
Reports also stated that the Chey were quite religious and followed old world Christianity decently well with some stark differences in core tenets.
As I went over everything I knew I idly listened to the bickering of Gina's main suitors. Cors and Perrellis were both big but only relative to their people. I was a healthy, unmutated, outsider and stood a few inches above both, a sign of competition to them. For me they had been a constant source of mild annoyance but Gina was heavy handed with them as most of the time I spent with her was when I was learning so that I could continue my important mission.
The two men respected me well enough but constantly argued against most of what I or the other said. They could on occasion be humorous as the two best friends took constant shots at each other. When we finally parted ways outside the town of Rawlins they both gave and took a punch to the shoulder before Gina surprised me with a hug. The only people outside of family that lancer tribesmen touched were those who welcomed it or close friends.
The most physical I'd seen her was a kiss to her father's forehead before we left. The closest I'd seen anybody in the tribe had been when a hunting team had left and a hunter kissed his wife before mounting his Ecus. After breaking the stun Gina had put me in I looked at her questioningly. She snorted and spoke "Your have become something like a friend to me despite your best efforts at keeping things professional. I know my father would prefer to keep you around but he understands that you and I are of a different generation than he. We do not follow the traditions of the tribes from which we hail or the rules of those we follow. It is sad to see you go, but I have hope of seeing you again, right?"
Her words kind of came out of nowhere to me but I understood. "Your hope is not in vain. We may meet again in the future if we both survive till then."
She smiled at my words before turning her Ecus and speaking as the horse started walking away. "I hope that the next time allows for us to spend our time at night together for much longer than previously."
A yah slapped me in the face at her words. She was usually incredibly reserved when speaking to me and we'd only spent a few hours together one night after Elizabeth had cracked my leg in multiple places. The strange and contradictory woman rode off to her team without looking back as Elizabeth turned and marched us into town, my thoughts still running a thousand miles per hour. The old frontier town greeted me with dilapidated modern offices and a few blocks of houses. An old museum sat with collapsing storefronts and a modern prison rested at one end of the town and functioned as the town hall after the actual town hall burned down when the bombs dropped.
The people looked at me wearily as I rode in but most older folk ignored me completely after seeing my Ecus. I figured they had seen plenty lancer tribesmen and knew they were mostly friendly people. When I got near the what seemed to be the bar and inn a rough looking man stepped out. "Well, looks like I got a lancer on my hands today. Best not ta git in no trouble mutee, else I'll be forced to shoot ya." He slurred out. I tilted my helmeted head at him and his thick skull seemed to understand.
"Huhmp, damn savages, listen close mutie, I'm a deputy of this town and if you step outa line I'll kill ya. Understand that frrreek?!"
I nodded at his declaration and he dismissed me with a drunken wave of the hand. I heard one of the old men on a nearby porch scoff at the idiot as I guided Elizabeth to the small stable house signs around the building pointed to. An old scarred black man that resembled Samuel L Jackson was passed out and I poked his knee with my long rifles silencer. He jolted awake with a quick 'damn young motherfuckas' and slowly stood.
I grinned under my helmet as he automatically took a rein and swatted Elizabeth's mouth as she nipped at him. Stunned by his sheer audacity she simply followed his lead. He guided us into a large empty horse stall and I jumped off. He slid a water basin inside and filled it with a water hose before throwing a few lumps of hay in the stall.
I removed Elizabeth's armor and saddle as the old man hooked a bucket to the stalls open wall and filled it with some kind of bean and seed mixture for her to eat. I tossed her armor and saddle onto the same wall and shut the gate behind me as I walked out. "Fifty caps a night kid. And take off that helmet before ya get yourself shot. One o' them deputies has it out for you lancers for some reason. That helmet simply make ya stand out alongside those big ass rifles of yours."
As I dug into my pack for my caps my eyebot made himself known by swooping inside and belting out a long string of beeps. I slowly translated the Morse code into weather conditions that he had observed with his pilon. The mini fog pilon had some kind of meteorology sensor to monitor its surrounding weather to adapt its fields to the conditions. After the eyebot found that it could use the newly connected device to monitor the weather it had constantly gotten as high as its upgraded hover engines allowed and it would report any significant changes in a rushed beeping of Morse code.
No bad weather had struck since it figured out it could do that and continuously tried to prove its abilities. The charming little bot was currently getting verbally hosed down by the old man as I finally pulled out my caps. The old mans attention snapped back to me and he snatched the bag. As he counted I gave my eyebot instructions to stay close and vigilant as I followed the advice I was given and removed my helmet.
The old man spoke the numbers as he counted and pocketed the fifty as he handed the bag back to me. As he got a look at me however his eyes changed. A hand slowly lowered to his hip for a small knife as he spoke. "You ain't a lancer are ya kid? You kill one a'them to get that lancer gear and the Ecus?"
I rose an eyebrow at his question and and gave him an answer "Certainly didn't kill anyone, but their stupid fog killed my old world car. They helped me out and I gave them the car and most of the stuff in it as trade for Elizabeth here." I gestured to my Ecus with a short wave. "And before you ask I ain't legion either. I'm a Brotherhood of Steel associate from out west."
This time it was him that raised an eyebrow. "Well that 'splains the floatin' ball ya got. What's a brotherhood 'associate' and friend of the lancers doin' here?"
"Ain't much your business but I'm not gonna keep it a big secret. Heading east to the Appalachian Chapter to restart my live and build up some actual power before headin' back east. Used to be NCR but their compromised internally by Enclave forces." I answered. Sure I'd only be here for a night but that didn't mean I couldn't be nice to those who were decent to me. The info I gave also wasn't secret and wasn't likely to make it to NCR territory or areas so I had nothing to worry about.
"Well… that's somethin' I'll need to pass to our mayor and sheriff. You just staying the night here?"
"Just the night old man. Now I can assume you know how to take care of my Ecus there right? Make sure she gets a good breakfast and I'll pay ya for it in the morning."
"Mhm, thanks for the info kid. We don't get a lot of news from out west so most of the Chey will know all this by tomorrow afternoon. Someone might want to get more outa ya so be on the lookout."
I nodded to the old man as I walked out, my eyebot following after beeping at the old man and receiving a swat with an old horse whip. The din of the bar quieted a bit and I got a few stink eyes but things picked back up after a moment or two. I shuffled around the small crowd of tables in the center of the room before buying a stew and some kind of plum moonshine. It was nearing fall and the area was getting colder so the warmth of the drink was nice as I listened to the gamblers.
I spent the night in a decently comfortable and warm bed and got a good meal before going to the general store and some small shop stands. To me the shops resembled the river city shops in that they all had a niche to sell in. One man was selling drugs while another sold clothing and armor. The general store functioned as the gun shop and had a bit of everything. The old man that ran the stable behind the inn was there selling some 'fire pear' and apple moonshine with travel amenities. A few people and a small caravan group wandered around buying things. I got some of the old man's alcohols and other items before stocking up on feed and some miscellaneous items. Around half an hour later the old man left with me following him. His main living seemed to be in his difficult to obtain fire pear moonshine that he had saved for me. I tasted the stuff on the way to the stable and found it reminiscent of whiskey but with a strong pear taste and actual heat from what felt like loads of capsicum. The old man was and his brother in Cheyenne were the local experts and only sources for this drink and they had big buyers from all over Chet territory.
What was most interesting to me was the mutation he described in the fire pear. A near immunity to disease that also caused the pear to grow with large amounts of capsicum in its flesh. As I saddled Elizabeth he got me a full fire pear and I froze a sample in my eyebot before eating the rest. It was like a ghost pepper had been drowned in honey and shoved into a cored pear.
The seeds of the pear were practically indescribable as the heat and sweetness overwhelmed my taste buds and simply left me with a stinging tongue. Fortunately these lands had plenty of Brahmin and sold there milk at nearly pre-war levels. The old man was kind enough to give me some to alleviate the pain before I left. He waved me off after I tossed him a decent bag of caps and payment and a tip.
Right before I could get out of town however I had a problem to deal with. It seemed the drunk deputy from before had figured my path out of town and was standing around with a small group of goons to back his drunk ass up. I'd put my helmet back on after leaving the stable and myself on Elizabeth easily caught the drunks eye. My long rifle as I'd been taught was slung on my back with the barrel pointed to the ground. The silencer was just over two feet away from dirt as my fingers wrapped around the barrel for a quick aim.
The clock and hum of my rifle filled the silence as townsfolk gathered in houses and shops. The old Sam L Jackson lookalike stood in the side road I'd left and watched with a scowl. I slowly guided Elizabeth till I was close enough to get a good look down at the man. He visibly bristled as his drunken goons slowly started surrounding me.
"Got off that beast ya savage bitch. I'm gonna give you a beatin that ya in-ces-tors 'll feel. Then imma take that beast of yours and put it down like the mutant monster it is." The said as his hand slid towards his holster. I internally sighed at this old timey cliche and turned Elizabeth slightly. With only one enemy just out of sight I waited for a gun to be raised. "Did ya hear me ya savage bastard! Get off that thing before I just shoot ya. I'm the law in these parts and you'll do as I say!" He waved his hand with a bottle in it before drawing his pistol. A 357 revolver in visibly shitty condition.
"Get of the beast now or I will open fire ya deaf idiot!"
I shook my head at him and his pistol raised. His goons began to draw as I raised my own rifle. My left hand shot to the trigger as I guided my aim with hand-eye coordination. The zip of air being cut through was followed by a splattering thunk as my bullet slammed through his chest. One of the goons shouted "Surrender ya savage, we have you surrounded!"
Under my helmet I smirked. I drew my blaster pistol and responded with the chilling words of a fictional character I would always remember. "All I am surrounded by is fear, and dead men." My smirk became a smile as a drunk idiot pissed himself. Then I nearly pissed myself as multiple people with more than just pistols and drunkenness on their side showed up.