The .45 roared and the khan dropped as the heavy slugs punched clean through his chest. Jessie spun, lining up a shot on the next khan. Something smashed into the back of her head and she went down. She rolled onto her back and fired back, but the khan was still standing, veins on his neck standing out as chems pushed his body beyond it’s normal limits. He raised the shovel high and swung.
………
Suit boy was still talking, rambling on about bad luck and rigged games. Jess wasn’t really listening. Whoever’d tied these knots knew what they were doing, but Jessie could feel the ropes straining. Just a few more seconds, and she’d be free, and she’d have that shiny gun he was waving around in her hands, and then she’d….Suit boy raised the gun.
“I’m sorry it has to be this way, but I think we both know it does.”
She saw something very bright, and then she saw nothing.
……
Jessie’s bloodstained fingers dug into the dirt, muscles burning as she dragged herself forward. She was slowing down, each movement taking longer, hurting more, but she’d make it to….somewhere. She couldn’t remember where she was going, or why, or what those lights in the distance were, but she knew she had to get there.
….
Jessie couldn’t see the lights anymore, could barely see anything through the blackness slowly her eyes. She was supposed to go somewhere, she remembered. But it was so hard, and it hurt so much. She should just rest here. She could get there later.
Something moved in front of her, and then she was being lifted up. The last thing she heard before the blackness took her was a booming, impossibly deep voice.
“This is not your time, courier. Your emperor has need of you.”
Jessie woke up to a throbbing pain in her head, a mattress spring poking into her back, and the disconcerting lack of any memory of falling asleep. She shifted slightly as she moved to sit up, and the motion both made her head swim and attracted the attention of someone else, though she couldn’t tell who through the hazy in her eyes. She felt a hand gently pressing down on her shoulder.
“Hey there, take it easy now. Easy. You’ve been out cold for a couple days now.” Her vision cleared, and she got a good look at the speaker. It was an older man, bald, with large white mustache/ She spotted what looked like a stethoscope around his shoulders.
“Welcome to Goodsprings. I’m Doc Mitchell, I patched you up after your friend brought you in.” said, confirming her guess. “How are you feeling?”
“I feel like I got kicked in the head by a brahim.”
“That’s pretty close it. You were shot in the head a few days ago. Twice. I had to go rooting around there in your noggin to pull all the bits of lead out. You should be ok, but let’s check the damage. How about your name? Can you tell me your name?” He asked.
“Jessie. My name’s Jessie.”
He nodded. “Good, that’s good. What else do you remember? Is there anything you can’t?”
“Uh…My name is Jessie. I was born in 2254, in the NCR. I worked for the Mojave Express. I…” She paused, her voice shaking. “I think something’s wrong. I can remember facts, but just that. I have a sister, and I remember her name, but not her face, or ever talking to her. I know I moved out east in ’71, but not why.” She fought back the rising fear. “What happened to me, is this normal?”
Mitchell shot a glance toward the wall. Jessie followed his gaze, seeing nothing but some X-rays clipped to a lightbox. “Let’s address that in a minute. How else are you feeling? Can you get up, move around at all? Any issues?”
Jessie swung her legs off the mattress, and slowly stood. “I feel a bit dizzy, but nothing else.”
“Well, that’s good news.” Mitchell stood as well, and walked over to the lightbox. “Now regarding that memory problem, do you remember any of your medical history. Anything major, big surgeries, the like?”
Jessie shook her head. “I was afraid of that. Might as well go rip this band aid off now.” He clicked it the lightbox. “Come on over here. Take it slow now. It ain't a race.”
The bones themselves looked fine, outside of a few old breaks, long since healed. But there was something else. Clear, sharp white parts, along the spine, the heart…and in the head. In her head.
“You’ve got a fair bit of metal in you, heavens knows where from. Heart’s purely artificial as far as I can tell, metal bits in the spine. The head stuff, now that don't make a lick of sense. Some of it looks like electronics, computer parts and the like.”
Jessie swallowed heavily, sinking into a nearby chair. “I think I know where you’re going with this. The metal part of my head, that’s what got hit, wasn’t it?”
“Yeap. If these are computers, I reckon that’s the root of your memory problem, bullets might have actually damaged something that was storing some of your memory.”
“Which means it’s not coming back.”
Mitchell shook his head. “Probably not.” He paused. “If it’s any comfort, this should be the end of it. I had to pull out a chip the bullets shattered when I was digging out the lead, but there wasn’t any other damage in there. If you’re not having troubles now, you should be in the clear.”
“And how do I know if I’m having troubles now?” She asked.
“I’ve got a few tests I’d like to run. I don't have nothing to compare it to, so maybe you'd better just have a look at the results. See if it all seems right to you.”
“Sure. How bad can it be?”
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“Ok, next question. While walking along in desert sand, you suddenly look down and see a tortoise crawling toward you. You reach down and...”
“Doc, are we done here?” Jessie interrupted. “This is the fouth set of tests. We did the ink think. We did the word association. We did the GOAT, and while it’s nice to know I have the chops to be a tattoo artist if this whole courier thing doesn’t pan out, I’d like to maybe get out of this house at some point today.”
Mitchell looked up from the complicated machine he’d rolled into the room. “Well, alright. I reckon we’re just spinning our wheels with this one anyway.” He clicked off the machine and got to his feet. “You’ll probably want to put something on, so the locals don't pick on you for lacking modesty. I’m afraid your clothes didn’t quite make it, they were ruined when you got here, but there’s some things in the storage room across the hall, take what you like.” He said as he walked out of the room. “I’ll be back in a minute, need to collect a few thing.”
Most the clothing in Mitchell’s storage room didn’t fit, but Jessie eventually assembled an outfit that mostly worked, compromised of an undershirt and a pair of gray canvas pants underneath a long, brown leather overcoat, boots, and some gloves. She’d found a list of names in one of the overcoat’s pockets. Each name followed by a list of crimes, a description, and a listed reward. Between the list of bounties and the bullet holes in the shirt she’d originally found bundled up with the coat and pants, it wasn’t hard to surmise how the outfit had made it’s way into Mitchell’s closest. A wide brimmed cowboy hat completed the set, which Jessie very careful settled over the bandages on her head.
Stepping out of the room, she walked back into the living room to wait for Mitchell, who arrived a few minutes later.
“Well, that was quick, women usually take a lot longer to pick something to wear…” Jessie shot him a look, and the rest of his comment died unvoiced. He handed Jessie the small, cylindrical device he was carrying. “Well, if you're heading back out there, you ought to have this,” he said. “A portable computer, they call it a Pip-Boy. I grew up in one of them vaults they made before the war. We all got one. Ain't much use to me now, but you might want such a thing, after what you been through.”
“Thanks, I appreciate the gift.” Said Jessie as she donned the Pip-Boy. It beeped quietly, and some text quickly scrolled across the screen.
Compatible System Detected
Syncing With System
Sync Complete
Vault Tech Assisted Targeting System Enabled
“Hey Doc, do you have any idea what this means? I thought these things were just good for maps and notes?”
“It never did that with me, and I’m afraid I lost the manual ages ago. Sarah might know, if you ever make it down to the strip. She’s still running the vault last I knew. What’s left of it.” He also handed her a small pile of various currencies, and a small medical kit. “Here. These are yours. Was all you had on you when you was brought in. I put some med-X in there too, for the pain. Try not to rely on it.”
“Thanks…..so, do you know anything about what happened to me? I don’t really remember much, just the guy who shot me, some guy in a checkered black and white suit.”
Mitchell leaned back against the wall. “I didn't see him or the men with him. You might ask around town, though. Could be someone saw which way they was headed. Your best bet would probably be Trudy, the bartender at the saloon up the road. If anyone saw anything, she'd know about it. Well, her, or that big friend of yours.”
“….Friend? Doc, I was travelling alone.”
“Well, ain’t that the strangest thing. He sure seemed to be a friend of yours, was quite insistent I help you. Massive fellow, in some kinda power armor, calling himself Brother Fullerton. Sure it don’t ring a bell?”
Jessie shook her head. “Normally I’d say I’d probably remember someone like that, but given the circumstance…..still, it can’t hurt to ask, maybe I do know him from somewhere. Is he still in town?”
Mitchell shrugged. “Might be. He’s been wandering about the area, I’ve seen him leave and come back a few times since he dropped you off. There's a general store just up the road. Run by a fella named Chet. The big guy’s talked to him a bit, might be worth a talk. Might be worth a visit just for gear. He don't got nothing fancy, but he's got your basics covered.”
“Hm…probably a good idea. I think those goons stole my gun, I’ll need a new one before I set out.”
“If you’re planning on heading out, you should talk to Sunny Smiles before you leave. She can help you learn to fend for yourself in the desert. She'll likely be at the saloon.”
“This wasn’t my first hike out across the desert, I think I’ll be alright. Never had any really problems with food or critters. ‘Sides, I don’t need a gun for them,” she said as her fingers clenched into a fist. “I need a gun for that guy in the suit and his friends.”
………
Suit boy was still talking, rambling on about bad luck and rigged games. Jess wasn’t really listening. Whoever’d tied these knots knew what they were doing, but Jessie could feel the ropes straining. Just a few more seconds, and she’d be free, and she’d have that shiny gun he was waving around in her hands, and then she’d….Suit boy raised the gun.
“I’m sorry it has to be this way, but I think we both know it does.”
She saw something very bright, and then she saw nothing.
……
Jessie’s bloodstained fingers dug into the dirt, muscles burning as she dragged herself forward. She was slowing down, each movement taking longer, hurting more, but she’d make it to….somewhere. She couldn’t remember where she was going, or why, or what those lights in the distance were, but she knew she had to get there.
….
Jessie couldn’t see the lights anymore, could barely see anything through the blackness slowly her eyes. She was supposed to go somewhere, she remembered. But it was so hard, and it hurt so much. She should just rest here. She could get there later.
Something moved in front of her, and then she was being lifted up. The last thing she heard before the blackness took her was a booming, impossibly deep voice.
“This is not your time, courier. Your emperor has need of you.”
Jessie woke up to a throbbing pain in her head, a mattress spring poking into her back, and the disconcerting lack of any memory of falling asleep. She shifted slightly as she moved to sit up, and the motion both made her head swim and attracted the attention of someone else, though she couldn’t tell who through the hazy in her eyes. She felt a hand gently pressing down on her shoulder.
“Hey there, take it easy now. Easy. You’ve been out cold for a couple days now.” Her vision cleared, and she got a good look at the speaker. It was an older man, bald, with large white mustache/ She spotted what looked like a stethoscope around his shoulders.
“Welcome to Goodsprings. I’m Doc Mitchell, I patched you up after your friend brought you in.” said, confirming her guess. “How are you feeling?”
“I feel like I got kicked in the head by a brahim.”
“That’s pretty close it. You were shot in the head a few days ago. Twice. I had to go rooting around there in your noggin to pull all the bits of lead out. You should be ok, but let’s check the damage. How about your name? Can you tell me your name?” He asked.
“Jessie. My name’s Jessie.”
He nodded. “Good, that’s good. What else do you remember? Is there anything you can’t?”
“Uh…My name is Jessie. I was born in 2254, in the NCR. I worked for the Mojave Express. I…” She paused, her voice shaking. “I think something’s wrong. I can remember facts, but just that. I have a sister, and I remember her name, but not her face, or ever talking to her. I know I moved out east in ’71, but not why.” She fought back the rising fear. “What happened to me, is this normal?”
Mitchell shot a glance toward the wall. Jessie followed his gaze, seeing nothing but some X-rays clipped to a lightbox. “Let’s address that in a minute. How else are you feeling? Can you get up, move around at all? Any issues?”
Jessie swung her legs off the mattress, and slowly stood. “I feel a bit dizzy, but nothing else.”
“Well, that’s good news.” Mitchell stood as well, and walked over to the lightbox. “Now regarding that memory problem, do you remember any of your medical history. Anything major, big surgeries, the like?”
Jessie shook her head. “I was afraid of that. Might as well go rip this band aid off now.” He clicked it the lightbox. “Come on over here. Take it slow now. It ain't a race.”
The bones themselves looked fine, outside of a few old breaks, long since healed. But there was something else. Clear, sharp white parts, along the spine, the heart…and in the head. In her head.
“You’ve got a fair bit of metal in you, heavens knows where from. Heart’s purely artificial as far as I can tell, metal bits in the spine. The head stuff, now that don't make a lick of sense. Some of it looks like electronics, computer parts and the like.”
Jessie swallowed heavily, sinking into a nearby chair. “I think I know where you’re going with this. The metal part of my head, that’s what got hit, wasn’t it?”
“Yeap. If these are computers, I reckon that’s the root of your memory problem, bullets might have actually damaged something that was storing some of your memory.”
“Which means it’s not coming back.”
Mitchell shook his head. “Probably not.” He paused. “If it’s any comfort, this should be the end of it. I had to pull out a chip the bullets shattered when I was digging out the lead, but there wasn’t any other damage in there. If you’re not having troubles now, you should be in the clear.”
“And how do I know if I’m having troubles now?” She asked.
“I’ve got a few tests I’d like to run. I don't have nothing to compare it to, so maybe you'd better just have a look at the results. See if it all seems right to you.”
“Sure. How bad can it be?”
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“Ok, next question. While walking along in desert sand, you suddenly look down and see a tortoise crawling toward you. You reach down and...”
“Doc, are we done here?” Jessie interrupted. “This is the fouth set of tests. We did the ink think. We did the word association. We did the GOAT, and while it’s nice to know I have the chops to be a tattoo artist if this whole courier thing doesn’t pan out, I’d like to maybe get out of this house at some point today.”
Mitchell looked up from the complicated machine he’d rolled into the room. “Well, alright. I reckon we’re just spinning our wheels with this one anyway.” He clicked off the machine and got to his feet. “You’ll probably want to put something on, so the locals don't pick on you for lacking modesty. I’m afraid your clothes didn’t quite make it, they were ruined when you got here, but there’s some things in the storage room across the hall, take what you like.” He said as he walked out of the room. “I’ll be back in a minute, need to collect a few thing.”
Most the clothing in Mitchell’s storage room didn’t fit, but Jessie eventually assembled an outfit that mostly worked, compromised of an undershirt and a pair of gray canvas pants underneath a long, brown leather overcoat, boots, and some gloves. She’d found a list of names in one of the overcoat’s pockets. Each name followed by a list of crimes, a description, and a listed reward. Between the list of bounties and the bullet holes in the shirt she’d originally found bundled up with the coat and pants, it wasn’t hard to surmise how the outfit had made it’s way into Mitchell’s closest. A wide brimmed cowboy hat completed the set, which Jessie very careful settled over the bandages on her head.
Stepping out of the room, she walked back into the living room to wait for Mitchell, who arrived a few minutes later.
“Well, that was quick, women usually take a lot longer to pick something to wear…” Jessie shot him a look, and the rest of his comment died unvoiced. He handed Jessie the small, cylindrical device he was carrying. “Well, if you're heading back out there, you ought to have this,” he said. “A portable computer, they call it a Pip-Boy. I grew up in one of them vaults they made before the war. We all got one. Ain't much use to me now, but you might want such a thing, after what you been through.”
“Thanks, I appreciate the gift.” Said Jessie as she donned the Pip-Boy. It beeped quietly, and some text quickly scrolled across the screen.
Compatible System Detected
Syncing With System
Sync Complete
Vault Tech Assisted Targeting System Enabled
“Hey Doc, do you have any idea what this means? I thought these things were just good for maps and notes?”
“It never did that with me, and I’m afraid I lost the manual ages ago. Sarah might know, if you ever make it down to the strip. She’s still running the vault last I knew. What’s left of it.” He also handed her a small pile of various currencies, and a small medical kit. “Here. These are yours. Was all you had on you when you was brought in. I put some med-X in there too, for the pain. Try not to rely on it.”
“Thanks…..so, do you know anything about what happened to me? I don’t really remember much, just the guy who shot me, some guy in a checkered black and white suit.”
Mitchell leaned back against the wall. “I didn't see him or the men with him. You might ask around town, though. Could be someone saw which way they was headed. Your best bet would probably be Trudy, the bartender at the saloon up the road. If anyone saw anything, she'd know about it. Well, her, or that big friend of yours.”
“….Friend? Doc, I was travelling alone.”
“Well, ain’t that the strangest thing. He sure seemed to be a friend of yours, was quite insistent I help you. Massive fellow, in some kinda power armor, calling himself Brother Fullerton. Sure it don’t ring a bell?”
Jessie shook her head. “Normally I’d say I’d probably remember someone like that, but given the circumstance…..still, it can’t hurt to ask, maybe I do know him from somewhere. Is he still in town?”
Mitchell shrugged. “Might be. He’s been wandering about the area, I’ve seen him leave and come back a few times since he dropped you off. There's a general store just up the road. Run by a fella named Chet. The big guy’s talked to him a bit, might be worth a talk. Might be worth a visit just for gear. He don't got nothing fancy, but he's got your basics covered.”
“Hm…probably a good idea. I think those goons stole my gun, I’ll need a new one before I set out.”
“If you’re planning on heading out, you should talk to Sunny Smiles before you leave. She can help you learn to fend for yourself in the desert. She'll likely be at the saloon.”
“This wasn’t my first hike out across the desert, I think I’ll be alright. Never had any really problems with food or critters. ‘Sides, I don’t need a gun for them,” she said as her fingers clenched into a fist. “I need a gun for that guy in the suit and his friends.”
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