"People called me a hero after what happened at HELIOS, but I left that battle scarred by fear, and have allowed that weakness to govern my actions."

Elder McNamara

(A/N: It happened again. As always, reviews allow me to improve and give me a sense of responsibility towards ending chapters, so please leave one,specially if it has (constructive) criticism. Read away!)

After we escaped the prison, Miller took the escapees to a nearby town. He said he would try to find someway to get them from here. He also told them that they were just east of Junktown which was, thankfully for Rob, the settlement in NCR closest to New Vegas.

Until then, Rob and Marshall would have to stay inside Miller's house.

Rob asked for as many newspapers as he could get so he find out what had happened while he was gone.
He learned that only the government had access to printers to prevent people from printing NCR currency, so the only newspapers there were were filled with propaganda. But Rob was able to filter the propaganda from the reality, and was able to learn some stuff.

That's how he came across a headline talking about a successful retaking of of the Hoover Dam, by the NCR.

Could it be true? Could the NCR have really retaken the Dam?

He left the army's leadership up to Arcade Gannon. And he had trained him to be good at it. It was hard to teach a member of the Followers of the Apocalypse that a well planned battle will be a massacre for the opposing side.

But that left him even more worried. If it wasn't tactically they lost the battle, how was it? Did the NCR really have that big an army to overrun them? How many troops were lost with that battle?

Rob just realized he needed to get to New Vegas as soon as possible.

He just tried to stop thinking about it and hope it was propaganda.

He tried.

- A few days ago, when Rob was beginning to grow impatient, Miller returned with the info that he might have found a way to get them to New Vegas.

A trading caravan was looking for guards to do a trading run, and they were going to pass by New Vegas to supply the NCR troops and the resistance fighters. It was the perfect opportunity.

Rob was thankful he had a person like Miller helping them. Its no surprise he was one of the Courier's top spies.

It wasn't being too easy to stay at Miller's, though. After the prison riot, the NCR have been conducting random door-to-door searches and there have been times where they were nearly caught. Miller was also interrogated several times to find out why he was one of the few guards that survived.

The Courier couldn't wait until he could return to his city. He was scared that by the time he arrived to New Vegas the city would no longer be his. Or worse, there could be no city at all, just a bunch of smoking ruins.

Marshall also wanted to return to his land. He was more patient than Rob though, having a almost strange trust that his people were fine. Rob wasn't too sure, the NCR probably weren't going to settle for Vegas once they had it under control.

Miller had been assigned to help with the reconstruction of the prison. After the riot, the place was a complete wreck. Most of the prisoners had escaped, almost all guards were dead and all of the equipment, guns and armor that could be stolen was, and the rest was destroyed.

Rob would have to wait for a week for the caravan to start their journey. They would provide him and Marshall the guns to defend the caravan plus they would also give them the food. They were paid 2000 caps as a starter, and will be payed 2300 more when they reach the border. But if any trader was to die, they would lose 20% of their cut for each trader lost.

It was just fine for Rob. He didn't need the caps too much, and as soon as they reached the border, he would part ways with the caravan and with Marshall and would attempt to get into Vegas.

He just hoped the plan would go better than it went last time he tried to escort a caravan. Happy Trails. Everybody but him ended up dead, and he barely survived the ambushing party.

The Courier stood infront of the window staring outside. Next to him, Marshall was painting. He was able to paint beautifully, and he liked to do it. He was painting a Yao-Guai. It looked similar to the ones Rob saw in Zion. He wondered where Marshall had seen a Yao-Guai, but right now he didn't want to talk. He was just staring at the sandstorm outside, wondering how long it would take for Miller to arrive home.

"So why did you start fighting the NCR?" Marshall asked

"Huh?" Rob asked, surprised by the question

"Well, the only explanation i have ever heard was that you had gone insane and started firing for no reason. Then you got declared a terrorist. But i doubt that's the truth. I have also heard how it was something you had seen in the Divide, or that it was because you saw what happened at Bitter Springs and you realized what the NCR really did. I've heard all kind of explanations from all kinds of people, but i have never heard your explanation." Marshall continued

"Why did i start fighting the NCR? That's a long one..."

"Time is something we currently have to spare." Marshall quickly replied

"Well, there is no one thing that i saw that made me want to fight the NCR, it was a mix of several things. One of them was what i saw in the Divide.

There i saw just how the NCR have no care or respect for other civilizations. How they have forgotten what the things of the Old World can do if you don't handle the properly. I'd rather give the Enclave a nuke than give it to the NCR. The Enclave would know how to handle it, and what it does and how it works. The NCR would just see what it can do with it. Probably give it to an enemy that also knows nothing, so that they see what happens when you mess with it.

One of the biggest ones was related to Bitter Springs. I have travelled through all of it. And anywhere i went, i saw someone hurt by the NCR's politics and way of acting. Raiders, wars, invasions, things like the Powder Gangers.

When i was working with the NCR, they asked me to try to join many factions to help them in overtaking Vegas and winning the 2nd Battle for the Dam, i remember them ordering me to wipe the BoS. Now, i have no special likes for the BoS, they are little more than well armed, armored and trained raiders, the real problem is what their motive was. They might end up being a inconvenience. That's it. They were willing to wipe out a full group, a tribe with nearly 100 members just so that they don't be too much of a bother. The BoS, in that bunker, were harmless. And the NCR knew that, but still, anybody that stands in front of them and their wish for endless conquering is to be smashed.

The people of New Vegas deserve a rest. They deserve some peace. They need it. You don't imagine the things that were about to happen when i killed Ben. 4 Mad men fighting for power and land."

"And what makes you different to those 4 guys?"

"I didn't fight for power. It was thrusted into my hands by a 9mm bullet and a thirst for revenge. One second I was going to to kill the guy who shot me, the next second I have the 3 most powerful factions in the Mojave inviting me to be their errand boy."

"And why do you think you have the right to wield that power?"

"If all it took for me to get it was a wish for revenge, that power wasn't being well used nor kept." The Courier ended.

After that day, most others passed quickly, with Miller making the final preparations for Marshall and Rob's trip.

(A/N: As always, here is my apology for the time that this took to be published, specially for a below 1500 words chapter. Hopefully summer will allow me to start pumping out chapters faster! Also, apologizing for any grammar mistakes, i hate to read them in other stories too, but as a non english native, this is something that i'm afraid i can't prevent. )