New Vegas: Sheason's Story

Chapter 76: Change in Management

[[ERROR::Program-RadioNV::Status:OffAir]]

[[STRING Not Found!]]

[[ACTOR RefID:MrNVai-001264c5 Not Found!]]

[[nv1-sys - Address F00023943 base at F0002248b, DateStamp 1110.2281]]

[[Beginning dump of physical memory...]]

[[Physical memory dump complete.]]

[[Contact SysAdmin-HOUSE for further assistance]]

"This is big, huh?" Yes Man said while I was working behind him. "A very big moment!" I locked the massive conduit of wires into the exposed circuitry on his back and stepped back, patting the dust off my hands.

The two of us were standing in the Penthouse, in front of House's giant monitor, and all around us were the disabled remains of the Securitrons that I'd cannibalized for parts. I didn't quite understand the specifics of it, but apparently Yes Man needed a physical hardline connection as well as the Platinum Chip if he wanted to take over the 38's mainframe.

But even with Yes Man's direction, I'm more suited to mechanical repairs, not electrical engineering, so the whole setup looked incredibly slap-dash. There were dozens of wires all surrounding the giant conduit connecting Yes Man to the console, and over two-dozen other wires spliced into the system.

"Are you sure this is gonna work?" I asked, looking over everything we'd done.

"I have no idea!" Yes Man was as cheerful as ever. "But Benny seemed to think it was a good plan, and I am physically incapable of saying otherwise!" I sighed heavily, shaking my head.

"You're not filling me with an overabundance of confidence here."

"Oh, I am sorry about that!" Yes Man said, his voice never really losing that tone of excited exuberance. "Here, let me try and make it up to you! I'll just take that Platinum Chip off your hands, and upload myself to the mainframe!" He held out a claw in an almost pleading gesture. I reached into one of my pockets with a sigh, pulling out the Platinum Chip. I stared at it, twirling it around my fingers...

"I hope you know what you're doing." I said, handing over the Platinum Chip. I hope I know what I'm doing, too.

"Thanks!" Yes Man clutched it between two of his claw fingers, and rolled over to the console under the massive monitors. "Here goes! Wish me luck!" The robot slipped the chip into one of the slots on the console; all the monitors, which had been completely black, started to boot up. Lines of code appeared on every one of the monitors except the big one in the middle.

A loud mechanical hum reverberated throughout the whole penthouse. It grew and grew in volume and intensity... and then the lights began to dim and flicker. The console - and the port where I'd connected the conduit to Yes Man's internals - sparked like mad.

"Gosh darn it!" Yes Man said seconds before another burst of sparks exploded off his back. The robot wobbled unsteadily on the single wheel... and then collapsed, crashing to the floor. Involuntarily, I backed up. There was a series of loud pops from the ceiling, a massive clunk, and the lights seemingly burnt out.

Silence reigned for several minutes.

"Yes Man?" I asked, walking slowly to the collapsed robot. I rapped the metal casing several times, to see if I could get a response. And, as it happened, I did... just not where I was expecting.

"Wow!" I heard Yes Man's voice coming through the speakers. As he spoke, the lights started to slowly turn back on. "Mr. House certainly had quite a set-up here!" Yes Man's smiling face winked into life on the large main monitor. The other monitors and all the consoles surrounding it also turned on, humming into life with row after row of glowing lights. There was a whirring sound from the main central console, and the Platinum Chip ejected itself from the slot. I took it almost without thinking.

"So, it worked, then?" I asked, looking up at the giant smiling face.

"It certainly did!" Yes Man sounded pleased... then again, he always sounded pleased. "From here, I can access Mr. House's databanks and view telemetry on every Securitron on the network! Let's see... according to this status log, all the Securitrons under Caesar's Fort are on standby, and the Mark II OS upgrade has been installed correctly! They're all set to go once we boost my transmitting power and bring them online with the network! That's pretty nifty, isn't it?"

"Yeah, that's great," I sighed again, rubbing my forehead. The helmet may have stopped the bullet that tried to take my head off, but there was still a massive ringing in my skull. Not the worst hangover I've ever had, but... "Look, you have fun in there. I know there's still work to be done, but right now... I'm not interested in any of it. So, you go over House's data, or... whatever it is you need to do in there. Get comfy, make yourself at home, whatever. I'm gonna get some rest."

"Don't hurry on my account!" Yes Man said from the big monitor as I walked up the stairs and back to the elevator. "I'm the one with the flexible schedule!"

"Right, I'll talk to you later." I waved over my shoulder, and then scrolled through the functions on my Pip Boy. By the time I stepped into the elevator, I found what I was looking for: ED-E's radio frequency.

"Hey, buddy? Can you hear me?" I said into the wrist computer. There was a series of happy sounding beeps from the other end. "Excellent! I'm sounding the all clear. I don't know if you can transmit what I'm saying to everyone else - I mean, I think you can, since you're able to play back those recordings of Whitley - but let them know it's safe to come back to the 38." ED-E beeped in the affirmative over the Pip Boy's radio.

"Great," I stepped out of the elevator and back into the suite; after barely a single step, I started unbuckling the straps on my armor. "Now... where the fuck's the ice?"

"Sheason?" I heard a voice from the hallway, seconds after the elevator dinged. "You in here?" It sounded like Veronica.

"In here!" I called out from my spot on the couch. One by one, everyone filed into the room - except for ED-E. The robot buzzed into the room through the window I'd left open, beeping happily.

"Shea, wha-" Cass was the first in the room, and the first to talk, but as soon as she saw me, sprawled out on the couch (holding a bag full of ice to my head in one hand and a bottle of beer in the other) she seemed at a loss for words. She just stood there for a minute, looking at me with a head turned sideways, trying to work out what I was doing - and why all my gear was discarded and scattered all over the room.

"You alright, man?" Boone said, raising an eyebrow behind his sunglasses. I nodded, giving a thumbs up with the hand holding the beer.

"Oh, yeah, I'm fine! Had a great Friday afternoon, really exciting! Just got... a little..." I grimaced, sitting up and adjusting the ice pack. "You know, shot in the head." I set the beer on the floor, reached into my back pocket, and pulled out the smashed bullet, tossing it Boone's way.

"What, again?" Veronica asked incredulously, sitting down on one of the half-dozen easy chairs opposite the couch. I shrugged.

"What can I say, shit finds my face," I chuckled, grabbing the beer again.

"Alright Boss, I got a question." Raul said, leaning in behind me on the back of the couch. "If you were gonna go after House, why did you send us all away?"

"Yeah," Cass found her voice, sitting on the arm of Veronica's chair. "I mean, c'mon man! Y'know we've got yer back, an' we're all plenty good inna firefight! Y'should've told us what y'were doin, we could've helped. Like th' Silver Rush, remember?" I just shook my head.

"There was no time, sorry." Everyone except Veronica looked confused. Well... I suppose ED-E didn't look confused either, but that's likely because he didn't have a face. I guess Veronica must not have explained things to them as thoroughly as I'd expected.

"What do you mean, there was no time?" Arcade asked.

"Do you know how many security cameras and microphones are in this place? House has been recording everything we've done since arriving here," I said, looking around at everyone; I made a conscious effort not to stare at Cass, but even so... I'm sure my eyes darted in her direction briefly. "The only way my assault on House was even going to have a slim chance of succeeding was if I took him by surprise." I took another swig of beer, emptying the bottle. "If I took too long trying to plan the thing with all of you, House would've caught on. Besides," I shrugged. "There was hardly any room to maneuver upstairs. If you guys came along, we'd have been tripping over each other before even getting out of the elevator."

"You still haven't answered my question, Boss," Raul said, finally settling down on the other end of the couch. I shrugged.

"Just wanted to make sure you guys had a head start, just in case things went sideways." I tried to sound as nonchalant as possible.

"You mean in case you fucked up," Boone said, leaning up against the wall.

"Exactly," I leaned back in the sofa, adjusting my grip on the ice pack against the top of my skull. "House wasn't exactly the forgiving sort. I'm sure he would've sent Securitrons to try and kill all of you if I died trying to kill him, just to spite me. I wanted to make sure you guys had plenty of time to get out of town in case that happened. But!" I smiled broadly. "Thankfully, it didn't have to come to that!"

"Yer a moron!" Cass blurted out; everyone seemed to turn and look at her. "What? He is! We've all got armor-"

"I don't," Arcade chimed in, absentmindedly tugging at his lab coat.

"Me neither," Raul spoke up as well. "I don't think my old bones could stand the weight."

"Alright, most've us have armor," Cass rolled her eyes. "An' I know we all have weapon's fer dealin' with robots - 'specially with that pile've weapons we swiped from th' Silver Rush. If you'd let us in on yer harebrained scheme, we could've stormed the place, easy as lyin'!"

"Well, I, for one, am glad you got out in one piece," Arcade said with a smile. "And I'm especially glad we won't have to deal with House anymore. From everything you've told us about him, he would've only cared just so long as you remained useful. As soon as he had what he wanted, we probably would all have been for the axe. He was a relic that should've died with the rest of the Old World."

"Easy there, pendejo," Raul leaned toward Arcade from his spot on the couch. "Me veo como una reliquia para usted?" Arcade just smiled and shook his head.

"Absolutely not, Raul. Are you kidding? You're a 23rd century chap. You're just as much a part of this world as any one of us. Por no hablar, eres tan guapo!" After an extended silence where the two of them stared at one another, and nobody - not even ED-E - made any noise, Raul and Arcade both started laughing. I, on the other hand, just had to shake my head.

"I really gotta learn Spanish one of these days..." I sighed.

Ding.

My mind started racing in the split second between hearing the sound and my reaction. That was definitely the elevator, but everyone was here - Cass, Veronica, Boone, Arcade, Raul, even ED-E. So... who else was arriving? Was it another Securitron? One that was off the network, and unaffected by House's death? I couldn't take the chance.

In a flash, I tossed the ice pack behind me, practically leapt up, and grabbed the Holorifle leaning against the couch as I ran for the door. I pressed my shoulder into the doorframe, using it for cover, and aimed the holorifle squarely at the opening elevator doors. Sure enough, a Securitron rolled out... but it wasn't the kind of Securitron I was expecting.

"Hi there!" Yes Man said, waving one of his claw arms as he rolled into the suite. "Nice to see you again! It's so good to see you up and on your feet!" Honestly, I was surprised. I couldn't help but lower the rifle and step out of cover to meet him.

"Yes Man?" I asked, almost unnecessarily. "But I thought... aren't you supposed to be up in the mainframe?" Behind me, I could hear everyone getting up to see what was going on.

"Oh, but I am, of course!" The Securitron seemed completely unperturbed that I'd been pointing a gun at him seconds ago. "Now that my neuro-computational matrix has been uploaded into Mr. House's databanks, I can take direct tactical control of any Securitron on the network, remember? I just came down to let you know that I've finished going over all of Mr. House's files!"

"That was fast," I said, looking at the clock on my Pip Boy. "Did you find anything useful?"

"Oh boy, did I ever! All of Mr. House's plans and projections for the next 100 years, in fact! Did you know he had schematics for several different types of spacecraft in his computer system?"

"Yeah, I think he mentioned something about that..." I said, trying to remember one of my conversations with House. I did vaguely recall him mentioning something about building rockets to leave Earth. It all seemed so long ago, even now...

"Spacecraft?" Cass asked as she stuck her head out the door. "Th' fuck? What d'ya mean? Like, those rockets th' ghouls used at Repconn?"

"Oh, wow!" Yes Man said, turning to Cass. "New people! Hi! How are you today?" Cass tipped her hat back, looking at the Securitron curiously, and then to me, her expression practically saying 'what the fuck is going on?' without actually saying anything. When he didn't get a response, Yes Man spoke up again. "I'm not sure about any ghouls, but I do know that the schematics come from a number of sources - mostly subsidiaries of RobCo industries, like Repconn Aerospace!"

"Who's this?" Boone asked. I glanced over my shoulder at him; I guess Veronica must not have explained everything as well as I'd thought.

"Hi!" Yes Man waved again. "Allow me to introduce myself! I'm a PDQ-88b Securitron, but you can call me Yes Man!" A flash of dj vu flashed in my head. If this kept up, he'd probably replay everything he told me in the workshop behind Benny's suite weeks ago, so I decided to just cut him off while I still could.

"Look, I'm sure this is all fascinating," I said, shouldering the Holorifle. "But is there a reason you're down here? I thought I told you I didn't want to deal with any business until tomorrow."

"Oh, I'm sorry!" The robot said, programmed sincerity oozing out his speakers. "I just wanted to let you know that whenever you're ready to decide how you feel about the various tribes surrounding Vegas, I'll be ready! That's what Mr. House was having you do - at least, according to the status logs I've read! So I'm just working off that!"

"How I feel about them?" I asked; that certainly didn't seem like what House was having me do. "What, are you talking about figuring out if they'll support an independent Vegas?"

"Oh, no, I didn't mean that!" Yes Man's screen flickered slightly. "Who needs their support? The Securitrons will be all the support you need! What I meant is, you should get to know the different tribes and decide which ones you like and which you don't! You know - shape the future of Vegas! Choose your neighbors! House had already made up his mind about the various tribes, but you're the one in charge now! It's whatever you want to do!"

"Yes, you're right. I am in charge now." I said with as much emphasis as my tired frame could muster. "And right now, I want you to leave. We can talk business tomorrow until my ears bleed - though, I'd take it as a kindness if it didn't come to that."

"Absolutely! I just wanted to let you know about your options!" Yes Man said as he rolled backward, pressing the elevator call button. "This is going to be great! I'm going to help you accomplish so much, whether I want to or not!" And with that, the robot rolled back into the open elevator.

"So," Veronica said as she grabbed a Nuka Cola from the fridge a few minutes later. "That was Yes Man, huh? He wasn't exactly what I was expecting." She handed me a beer.

"And what, pray tell, were you expecting with a name like Yes Man?" I cracked open the beer and leaned against the countertop. Veronica opened her mouth like she was about to speak... and then quickly shut it again, shrugging

"Good point," she said with a smile, knocking back the soda. "So... what's next for the man in charge?"

"Oh, don't start with that," I sighed. "I just know Cass is gonna needle me about that until the end of time, I don't need it from you as well."

"Alright, fair enough," Veronica shook her head. "Seriously though. What have you got planned?"

"Thought I might make good on my promise, for a start." Veronica looked confused.

"What promise?"

"The other day," I motioned to her with my beer. "When we were at Nellis, remember? You were talking about the Brotherhood, how you thought you needed to go home? Well... how about tomorrow? My schedule is plenty free, now I'm not under House's thumb anymore."

"Is that the only reason you want to visit the Brotherhood?" Veronica asked, staring at her bottle of soda. "Because you made a promise?" She stared at me from under her hood for a long time while I drank my beer, trying to figure out the best way to answer.

"No," I said eventually. "You're right, that's not the only reason." I took one last drink, and set the beer bottle aside. "Before we go any further, I want to ask you a question."

"Alright, shoot."

"How do you think the Brotherhood is going to react to an army of robots defending Vegas?" I asked, folding my arms across my chest. Veronica's silence was really all the answer I needed. "Exactly. Much as I didn't like him or his methods, House was right about one thing - and I think you can agree. I don't think the Brotherhood is going to be too keen on that army of Securitrons. Only difference is, diplomacy wasn't even a potential option for House. He wasn't even willing to talk to them. But I am."

"I..." Veronica seemed very nervous; she was fiddling with the mostly empty soda bottle. "I'm not... I don't know. I just..."

"I'm not stupid, Veronica. I'm gonna have to talk to them eventually, with or without you. You know that. They may be in hiding, but they're still too big a player here in the Mojave to just up and ignore them. I mean, hell... I offed House because I don't want that first conversation to happen down the barrel of a gun..." Well... one of the reasons. "I just think, if you're the one introducing me, things will go a lot smoother."

"And... if things don't go smooth?" Veronica asked softly. "What happens if you aren't able to pull off the same thing you did with the Boomers?"

"Hey, we had to dodge artillery fire just to get into Nellis, and I was able to convince them to play ball," I said with a smirk. "Compared to that, anything else is gonna be a walk in the park." Veronica just sighed and shook her head.

"Spoken like a man who's never had to fight someone in Powered Armor..." She muttered. Veronica knocked back the last of the soda and tossed the empty bottle into the sink. "All right. You made your case." She chuckled and rubbed her temple. "You know, it's funny. I honestly thought you were going to take much longer, getting around to driving me back home."

"Really?" I asked, genuinely surprised. Veronica nodded.

"Yeah. I was kind of..." Veronica paused, grimacing and tilting her head to the side. "...counting on it, actually. You know. So I could mentally prepare for the trip."

"Mentally prepare?" I asked. "What do you mean? Do I even want to know?" Veronica shrugged.

"There's a reason I haven't been back to the Hidden Valley bunker complex in a while. As much as I love them, and as much as I want to make sure they stay safe, they're still my family... And it's a very rare family indeed that's able to get along with one another."

"Well, hell, we're not going now," I said. "If tomorrow is too soon, and you really do need time to prepare, we -" Veronica held up her hand, shaking her head.

"No, no, it's fine. It's... fine. I just..." Veronica sighed again. "This has been a weird couple of weeks, you know?" I smiled at that, chuckling to myself.

"Sister, you don't know the half of it. I know exactly what that feels like. Hell, for a while there I kept asking myself 'when the fuck did my life get so weird?' But the more I think about it, I know exactly when my life got so weird." Veronica raised an eyebrow.

"And when was that?" She asked. I reached into my back pocket, and pulled out the Platinum Chip.

"When I got shot in the head - the first time - because of this fuckin' weirdness magnet." I smirked, rolling the Chip around my fingers a few times before putting it away. "Getting shot in the head is turning into a hobby of mine. I don't like it."

"So, that seriously happened?" Veronica asked. "You seriously got shot in the head again?" I shook my head. "How are you not dead?" I shrugged.

"Well, I was wearing a helmet this time. Might have something to do with it..."

A couple hours later, I was up in the Lucky 38's revolving restaurant, just below House's penthouse. Wait, no. It wasn't House's anymore. It was mine. I'd been so busy earlier that I suppose the situation hadn't really sunk in until now: with House out of the way and Yes Man installed in the Lucky 38's mainframe... that meant this whole casino was mine.

As nice as the view from the presidential suite's balcony was, this was better - and I didn't even have to move to change the scenery, the floor rotated on it's own. I was sitting in one of the booths, my feet propped up on the table, and my hands laced behind my head as I watched the scenery roll below me. The sun was hanging low on the horizon, but wasn't going to sink completely for another half hour or so. For the moment, it was merely turning the sky into a dazzling mixture of brilliant hues, the orange and purple lights reflecting off the scattered clouds in the sky.

This felt like the perfect place to relax... and to be alone with my thoughts. Because that's what I really needed right now: some time alone to collect myself.

"Was wonderin' where you'd snuck off too."

Of course.

I turned to the sound and saw Cass looking over at me. Her hat was nowhere to be found, and her hair was untied, hanging loose around her smiling face. She was behind the bar, almost like she was ready to tend it; her elbows were resting against the countertop, her fingers were laced together, and her chin was resting on her fingers.

"Hey, Cass," I said, getting up from my seat and making my way toward her. "You looking for a drink?" I asked as I sat down on one of the stools across the bar from her. She chuckled, reached beneath the counter, and set down a pair of glasses next to a bottle of Irish whiskey so old, the label had faded away completely.

"You know me, I'm always lookin' fer a drink," She smirked, pouring the glasses for us both. "What 'bout you? You lookin' t'wet yer whistle too?"

"Actually, no," I said, taking hold of one of the glasses. "I came up here for some peace and quiet. Get some time alone, just me and my thoughts, you know?"

"Oh, go- sorry." Cass blushed (or had she already had something to drink?) and looked rather sheepish. She downed her entire glass of whiskey in one gulp and poured herself another. "Y'know, I can leave -" I held up a hand and shook my head.

"Don't worry about it, you're fine. It's just been... bit of a day. You know?" Cass nodded.

"Yeah, I'll bet. One helluva Friday." She knocked back another gulp - much more reserved this time. "So, how'd the gatling laser work out for ya?" I started to take a drink, but stopped midway, looking at Cass with a furrowed brow.

"How'd you know I used the 9700?" I asked. Cass smiled wide.

"Cuz, I saw it in the common room, discarded on th' pool table. Looked pretty spent, too," She finished off her glass, but didn't pour herself another.

"Shit, I completely forgot I'd left it there," I said honestly. I'd just dumped all my armor, weapons and ammo the first chance I'd gotten, not really caring where I left them. "I should probably move it later, I don't want it to scratch the cloth."

"Yeah, good pool table like that's hard t'come by. It work, though?" I shrugged, sipping my glass of whiskey, trying to make the burn last as long as possible.

"Ehh... s'alright. Seemed more powerful than a standard gatling laser, but the charge on it is pitiful. I probably only got 90 shots out of it, at most. Maybe it had something to do with the beams being green or something, I dunno. Whatever the case, it ripped through the Securitrons like they were made out of tinfoil." Cass shrugged, leaning further against the bar.

"Sounds like t'worked well 'nuff. Yer still here." She held her glass aloft, in front of my face; I got the message, and toasted her glass with my own. "I still say yer a moron fer sendin' us all away. I bet we could've helped keep y'from gettin' shot in th' head again," As if to illustrate her point, Cass poked me hard, pressing her finger deep into the middle of my forehead. I just sighed, staring into my nearly empty glass.

"Cass, you know why I sent you away, don't you?" I looked up at her, making sure to look her straight in the eyes. "The penthouse was way too narrow and enclosed. There was hardly any room for me to maneuver up there, much less half-a-dozen armed and armored people. I just... Somebody would've gotten hurt."

"Well, you got hurt your own self. Don't think I haven't noticed that laser burn on yer leg," She pointed down, smirking at me all the while. Damn, I was rather hoping she had missed that.

"One of you guys could've gotten hurt, smartass," I sighed, and shook my head, downing the last of my drink. "You're my friends... there's absolutely no sense taking any unnecessary risks. And I'm certainly not going to ask any of you to do anything I wouldn't do myself."

"Well, that's very noble've you, Shea," Cass said. "S'also really really stupid."

"Yeah, well..." I reached for the bottle. "I tend to do stupid things when I put..." The people I love, I didn't say. "...the people I care about in danger." Comprehension finally dawned on Cass' face. She cleared her throat, and quickly tried to change the subject.

"So... uh... what..." Cass coughed again. "What exactly were you thinkin' about? You know, b'fore I came up here with the hooch?"

"Stuff... still trying to chew over the events of today in my head. Thinking about the future. Like... what we can do with the 38, now House is gone." Cass raised an eyebrow.

"What we can do with th' 38?" She repeated. "What're you talkin' 'bout?"

"Well... look around," I said, motioning with my hands to our surroundings. "This place still has a casino. The restaurant still revolves, and it's still mostly stocked. It still has rooms. Who knows what else is downstairs - I'm sure I'll find out, next time I talk to Yes Man. Hell, there's even robotic housekeeping, if the bathrooms are any indication."

"What're you gettin' at, man?" Cass asked, sounding genuinely curious.

"I think... with a bit of work, we could re-open the Lucky 38 for business. Make it an actual casino again, make it like it was before the bombs - no, wait:" I snapped my fingers. "Better. Definitely not soon, and probably not for a couple months... I mean, there's other things to worry about in the immediate future."

"Like Hoover Dam?" Cass asked, completely deadpan. I nodded.

"Exactly. But once all that is sorted..." I smirked, grabbing the bottle of whiskey. "What do you say? Think we can do it?"

"Honestly? I think ye've completely lost yer marbles." Cass grabbed me by the hands with both of hers and flashed me the biggest, widest grin I've ever seen. "Count me in."