Chapter 4: Nuka Break!

Chapter 4 - Nuka Break!

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It was yet another dreadful day in the Mojave Desert, particularly along Interstate 15. Before the Great War, this highway was frequented by both vacationers and commuters, running parallel to Highway 95 and linking bustling centers like Los Angeles and Las Vegas.

The climate was hot and arid. The afternoon sun blazed as fiercely as a kiln, with a stifling heat wafting through the air, unmitigated by the absence of trees to offer a cooling breeze. Even the native animal life of the Mojave limited their time exposed to the elements.

Regrettably, this "invigorating" atmosphere did nothing to soothe the fury that Six was experiencing.

"Damn it, Rebecca! You've squandered all my hard-earned points on your personal shopping spree!"

Six bellowed at Rebecca in anger.

"Oh, stop whining. Anyway, how'd you earn those points anyway, Big guy? Tell me the biz, and I can help you recover them."

He sighed at her nonchalance.

"I've earned most of my points by trading corpses. I get double points if I capture them alive for trade, or for any useful items."

"Ok then! Today's your lucky day, choom. I'm a pro at flatlining gonks. So if you need any dead bodies, then I'm your girl. Pew, pew, pew!"

As their argument unfolded, Betty stood by, relieved her son had taken an interest in a girl, dispelling her fears that he might be gay. Listening to their banter, she hoped for grandchildren soon.

Finally, Six conceded, handing Rebecca her weapons and ammunition.

"Take your damn guns back, but you still owe me an IOU."

Even though he was angry at her, she still flashed him a Cheshire grin.

"You won't regret this."

"I already regret knowing you."

She quickly spray-painted them in her signature style. Six glared at her as if he might strangle her, but a system alert diverted his attention.

Ding!

Rare Silver-Tier Item Dismantler Ability:

Dismantle a targeted item into its original, usable components.

The next day as dawn broke, they disassembled their camp and resumed their trek. Over the past few days, as they journeyed, Six and Rebecca grew closer through their shared experiences of hunting and capturing mutated creatures, and exchanging them for MSP.

Eventually, the Super Soldier succumbed to the little gremlin's persuasive charm, spending all his MSP on acquiring more formidable weaponry, and stopping being stingy with money.

Rebecca acquired an Anzio 20mm Anti-Material Rifle, with ammo. While Six acquired two 50 Cal Desert Eagles, Barrett M82 .50 BMG, and their ammo.

Six's family traveled in the carrier at the back, while he and Rebecca led the way up front, with the Brahmin pulling the wagon. The little gremlin sat with her legs propped up off the seat and her arms supporting her weight, in a pose that resembled an extremely uncomfortable yoga position.

"Ugh, how much longer do we have?"

"How about we play, I Spy?"

"No!"

He'd already gotten tired of her whining and teasing for the past couple of days now, as she always quickly got bored.

"C'mon, big guy let big sis Becca put a smile on your face."

Even though the little gremlin was annoying she still grew on him to make him smile. That is until she opened her mouth again and groaned.

"Hey... Do you even know where we're 'spose to go? Cause' I swear, I've seen that same cactus before. Big guy, I swear we've been drivin' in circles..."

"Hughhhhh. Gimme a sec, I'll check the Pip-boy..."

Six said as he went over his Pip-boy map

"It should be around here..."

His eyes quickly notice that their path intersected in a few miles with the Legion slaver's the guards were going to meet.

"Ooh, look Big guy! I just spotted some wastelanders."

Rebecca gestured toward the location of a derailed train where a chubby man in an Armored Vault Jumpsuit, a girl in a Merc Adventurer Outfit, and a male ghoul in a red button-down shirt, black vest, biker gloves, jeans, and brown boots were standing.

"HEY, YOU FUCKERS! WANT TO TRADE?!"

Rebecca's shout caused the chubby man in the Armored Vault Jumpsuit to panic and start firing his Chinese assault rifle randomly. The gremlin and super soldier took cover in the wagon, while the trio hid behind an empty container, returning fire with bullets and laser blasts.

"We're Merchants!"

The trio ignored the call and kept firing until the assault rifle clicked empty.

"I'm out!"

The chubby man in the Armored Vault Jumpsuit announced.

"Don't tell them that!"

The male ghoul shouted back at him.

"I'm out too."

The female of their group admitted.

"AS I SAID... WE'RE MERCHANTS!"

Six tried again, but Rebecca was not about to let the insult slide.

"Forget 'em,' Big guy! They started this, and I'll finish it."

She declared, taking out her M249 light machine gun and unleashing a barrage at the trio.

BangBangBangBangBangBangBangBangBangBangBangBangBangBangBangBangBangBangBangBangBangBangBangBang!!!

"Ahahahahahahahahahahahaha!

"Oh, God! I'm going to die because of a midget with a machine gun... Just like that old gypsy woman said!"

The male ghoul screamed at the thought that old hag was right.

A minute later, Six managed to get Rebecca to cease fire, and she sulked in the corner. He then attempted to de-escalate the situation.

"Everything's fine now. As I've been saying, we're merchants!"

"What?"

The man in the Armored Vault Jumpsuit asked, still cowering behind the container.

"He's saying they're merchants!"

The male ghoul explained, hoping for a peaceful resolution.

"It's a trick. They'll shoot us if we go out,"

The woman of the group declared, not trusting Six in the slightest.

"We think it's a trick! We think you'll shoot us if we come out there!"

The chubby man yelled.

"Oh, for Fuck's sake! Rebecca, take out your Anzio 20mm Anti-Material Rifle and fire at the empty containers near them."

Six commanded.

"Oh, Big guy~! I can't stay mad at you. You just know what to say to make a girl's heart flutter."

Rebecca cooed, and swiftly set up her Anzio 20mm Anti-Material Rifle and fired at a container behind them, blasting a massive hole for them to see.

"Uhhhhhhhh... Ben. I don't think we're safe behind our cover!"

The chubby man remarked to the ghoul.

"No shit, genius! What gave you that idea, Twig? Was it the baseball-sized hole in the steel container?"

Ben retorted sarcastically.

"Okay, okay, we're going to throw our weapons out and come out slowly. My name's Scarlett. So, don't shoot. That goes for your short friend, too!"

Scarlett negotiated.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah... O-OK! Rebecca, for the love of God, don't shoot the customers."

Six pleaded.

"Hmph!"

Rebecca huffed and stormed off, not going too far as she saw the other woman eyeing Six.

Moments later, Betty was bartering with the trio.

"Step up and feast your eyes! Only the finest items between here and Shady Sands!"

She announced.

The three weren't expecting much, but after perusing the items for sale, they were pleasantly surprised by the VI family's wares.

"Hey! Where is 'here'?"

Ben inquired.

"I have no idea, sir, but try this."

Betty responded, placing a fedora on Ben's head.

"Oh, my. That hat makes you look quite dashing."

She complimented.

"Hey. Hey, hey, hey! This... Do you have any more?!"

Twig interjected, holding a Nuka-Cola bottle.

"Yes, sir. We have a few dozen bottles left. I had more, but sadly, I sold my last cases a few weeks ago."

Betty informed.

"I'll take all you have!"

Twig exclaimed.

"Screw it! I'll take this fancy hat and the hunting rifle. Hehehe."

Ben decided.

"I'm happy doing business with you, gentlemen," Betty concluded, satisfied with the transaction.

"Um, ma'am, what would you like?"

"Oh, uh... I guess I'll take as much ammo for all our weapons as you have," Scarlett said, her thoughts seemingly elsewhere as she looked at Six.

"Well, of course! You can never have too much ammo, can you? Haha."

After gathering all the handles they needed, Scarlett approached Six to strike up a conversation.

"You know, you'd probably get more business if you didn't scare your customers away first."

She attempted to place her hand on his shoulder in a consoling gesture, but Rebecca quickly slapped her hand away, jumping in.

"Watch it, BITCH! I called first dibs."

Not too far off, Betty was struggling to contain her laughter as she watched the two girls squabble over her oblivious son.

"Well, well. I never thought that boy would be such a ladies' man. But Viktor, where did our son get those weapons? And I'm not crazy; we both saw that girl appear out of thin air."

"Don't worry, Betty. Six is probably a Psyker, just like in the stories of the Vault Dweller and the Chosen One."

"Anyway, these folks don't seem dangerous. So, I'm taking the kids and Rebecca to check out the derailed train and see if we find something useful."

Level: 2

NAME: Six XI

GENDER: MALE

STRENGTH: 10

PERCEPTION: 10

ENDURANCE: 10

CHARISMA: 10

INTELLIGENCE: 10

AGILITY: 10

LUCK: 9

BARTER: 41

ENERGY WEAPONS: 26

EXPLOSIVES: 26

GUNS: 56

LOCKPICK: 26

MEDICINE: 26

MELEE WEAPONS: 26

REPAIR: 41

SCIENCE: 26

SNEAK: 26

SPEECH: 26

SURVIVAL: 26

UNARMED: 26