Not So Lonesome Road 36 Passwords

"Who the h.e.l.l are you? They bring you in to replace me? They're replacing me aren't they" he panicked!

I rolled my eyes I haven't even said a word yet and he was already jumping to conclusions "Settle down, I'm not here to replace you. I don't feel like having to spend every day stuck in this stupid plant doing nothing."

"d.a.m.n right, you're not. G.o.dd.a.m.n right. Why would they? You can't top me, you can't keep Mr. Fantastic down!"

"Really could have fooled me" Ca.s.s snarked "you seemed pretty worried there for a second."

"Worried? Do I look worried to you? I've got this under control, baby! No one else can do what I do here."

"Okay, first" Ca.s.s continued "if you ever call me baby again I'll castrate you with rusty knife" she glared at Mr. Fantastic who gulped in fear "and second what exactly 'do' you do here?"

He wiped the sweat from his brow "f.u.c.k, man what don't I do. I push b.u.t.tons, turn dials, read numbers. Sometimes I even make up little stories in my head about what the numbers mean!"

"Right" Ca.s.s said stunned that someone could actually be that inept or that the NCR would actually hire them.

"Anyway" I continued try to get my conversation with this guy to be over as fast as possible "we're here to help get the plant get going at 100%."

"Really awesome" he smiled "Those NCR soldiers hanging around have been ha.s.sling me about getting this place up and running for months now, it really harshes my mellow you know. Appearently some of the mirrors outside aren't aimed right and everything is only running at 1% efficiency."

"So why don't you just reposition them" Boone asked?

"That's the problem my man" Mr. Fantastic shot Boone a smile happy to meet another man with good enough fas.h.i.+on sense to wear sungla.s.ses indoors. "The controls to do that are way up at the top of that tower outside and that place has some crazy Pre-war security system that the dumbs.h.i.+t NCR set off when they took this place. Killed two guy before, now they won't go any where near it."

"So how would we go about retargeting those mirrors" I asked?

"There's these two terminals outside, they connect the mirrors to the tower I tried fooling with them but, didn't get very far. You'd have to get htme to talk to the mainframe up on top, then do the rest from there. At least that's what I'm guessing but, it sounds right doesn't it?"

"Got it" I said.

"Wow" he gaped "you're seriously thinking of going up there. Well, if you do somehow find yourself up at the mainframe do yourself a favor and sent the power to the right place. Those NCR guy's can be pretty serious when you mess with something they care about. It needs to go to The Strip and McCarran."

"I'll see what I can do" I smiled at him.

"Fantastic! Here you'll need this, it's tha pa.s.sword to one of the terminals outside. Found it written on one of the bathroom stalls, wonder who wrote it there?"

He took out a crumpled up piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to me.

"Now if you'll excuse me I've got some Mentats to . . . no wait, experiment no yeah I meant I have some experements to do" he nervously laughed as he escaped the room.

"Disgusting" Ca.s.s and Boone said in unison before sharing a look as they bonded slightly over their mutual hatred of chems.

I was leading us down the hallway that led us outside when we came across another man in a white lab coat who was standing over some controls and making adjustments.

"Oh" he looked us over it's unusual to see a new face here. Are you a soldier or a scientist?"

"I guess you could say I'm a bit of both though I'm not actually a member of the NCR."

"I see. Then you must have some special business here, for them to have let you through."

"They're looking for help getting the plant running again."

"Interesting? Forgive me for asking but, are you with any particular groups?"

"Well, I am the leader of a mercenary group but, we're currently only three members-"

ED-D angrily beeped.

"Sorry, four members strong though I doubt that's what your asking about. The NCR hired us to get power back to the strip"

"Hmm" he said "Very well in that case I have some advise for you. This installation carries with it dangers that no one has yet realized. Take of what you do, and who you listen to some things are better left burried in the old world."

"Wait" Ca.s.s wondered "so your telling me that this place isn't just some old power plant?"

"First I've heard of it" Boone grunted.

"I'm not entirely sure but, our records show that Posidon Energy the company that built this place didn't just deal in energy. They also had several contracts with the US government dealing in weapons. Also just from working here I've seen some equipment far more advanced than should be at a simple power plant Targeting computers, Shock sensors, and Energy converters. And a code word comes up repeatedly in the papers I've looked through here, ARCHIMEDES."

"And you think this 'ARCHIMEDES' is some kind of weapon that was being developed here" Boone asked?

"Yes, and the that's here in this facility is like nothing I've every seen. I'd compare it to the Enclave but, some of it is even more advanced than that. A weapon based on it would be catastrophic no matter who claimed it. It's no wonder the Brotherhood fought so hard to keep this place."

"So does the NCR know about this weapon" Ca.s.s asked?
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"Not, yet" he sighed "by some miracle they hired that imbicile Mr. Fantastic to try and decipher the systems here. He's spent months working at one of the consols outside trying to get the solar reflectors to track the sun. What he doesn't know is all that console controls is the plants intercom system. I tried to tell him but, he insisted that the largest consol had to be the most important. Still, it's only a matter of time before the NCR finds out."

"And why exactly are you telling us this" I asked "we could easily go and tell the NCR everything you just told us."

"Because, like I said it's only a matter of time before the NCR finds out and tries to take it for themselves. Which is something I don't want to see happen. You" he pointed at me "are my only chance of keeping it out of thier hands. If the plant is functioning at optimum levels then with the way things are right now there is now way they would ever invest more time and effort into this place, and I can keep the information about the weapon under wraps. Not to mention if the power is restored and going out then it won't be going to the weapon."

"I see" I rubbed my chin.

"Also if you are the ones to restore the power you can send it where you wish and no one will be the wiser. I would request that you sent it to Freeside the people there need it more than the NCR does."

"We'll think about it" I said.

"That is all I ask" he smiled "now I can't get you into the tower but, I can still be of some help. I know Mr. Fantastic must have given you the pa.s.sword he found written on that bathroom stall but, there is still the second terminal. Luckily, I've discovered the pa.s.sword for that terminal you will need it to get the mirrors connected to the mainframe again, here" he said handing me another piece of paper. "I would have done this part myself but, I'm terrified of dogs."

"Thank you" I said shaking his hand "but, I never got your name did I?"

"Oh, my appologies how rude of me. I am Ignacio Rivas a member of the Followers of the Apocalypse."