Arknights X Fallout New Vegas: A Man Chooses, a slave obeys

A Place Where I Belong

Chapter 1:

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Their first encounter with what would become their new boss was nothing short of shocking. To hear his cold and commanding voice, his unwavering sense of business, how he doesn't yield and remains true that the deal was non-negotiable, even though he sounds open to additional rewards; they're so used to working with lenient bosses like the Emperor, and although he showed signs of strictness from time to time, he's never like Mr. House.

What truly surprised them was how he managed to move Nathan's nerves. The same guy who makes his superiors tremble in fear of having him under their employ, turned pale upon being rebuffed by Mr. House, treating him like what he should be, an employee under a fixed contract.

Nathan kept reminding them that this is not an adventure, so much as mere mercenary work, and while they didn't take the role seriously other than Texas in Penguin Logistics in their previous jobs, seeing as they're working for a stricter, mysterious version of the Emperor, this won't be much different from their old line of work.

~~~

"Attention all passengers: the train will be exiting the station in ten seconds. Please wear your seatbelts and hold on for dear life. Take a few deep breaths, hold if needed as we proceed to enter into the Vegas area." A robotic female voice emanates from the intercom of the train's control panel, it fails to sound reassuring. But the group does what they're instructed, and buckle down, holding onto the person next to them, or the armrest of their seats.

Nathan feels a tight hold on his hand, he looks down to see Exusiai's hand clasped firmly into his. He can feel her pulse quickening through her wrist. When Nathan returns the gesture, clasping it tightly as she does, she looks at him, smiling widely, her eyes full of love. Something from her smile resonates within his mind, the first he felt a flicker of recognition; initially, he wasn't able to recover, or reciprocate the love they once had, but falling for her again was an experience he is eager to explore.

No words were shared between them, they couldn't have much time soon as the voice had counted down to the last numbers. "Three... Two... One..." They feel the train starting to move; they look forward towards the vast emptiness of this desert, the desolate ruins of cities long gone, breathing heavily, their heart pounding like it was to jump out of their chests.

This marks the beginning of a grand adventure no one would believe had happened...

"Zero."

~~~

Almost immediately, the train lurched forward, and accelerated at an alarming rate; the others were given ten seconds to prepare, yet how fast the train took off in an instant was still unexpected. The ludicrous speed pushed them hard into their seat, squeezing all the air from their lungs and leaving them gasping for air. Nathan and Exusiai hold onto each other even harder as they took off.

Being used to this before, Nathan kept silent and focused on breathing, feeling all his organs shifting inside him once again-an unpleasant feeling, but on the other hand, his seatmate, Exusiai, can be heard screaming, not in fear but joy like she's in a very fast rollercoaster like Nathan mentioned. One hand is holding onto Nathan's, and the other is flailing about in the air, and although there's no wind flowing through her hair, how she fidgets and shakes in her seat makes it seem like she was. It's like she wasn't bothered at all, but Nathan is happy seeing that one of them is enjoying the ride.