Ashes of war:The Mojave wasteland

Freeside

Before the battle of Hoover dam, everyone in freeside thought that an independent vegas would really benefit the residents. They would no longer be shunned and cast aside by the likes of the NCR and Mr. House. When the news spread across the Mojave of the courier's victory at Hoover dam, and the banishment of the forces of the NCR and the Legion from the Mojave, an air of hope spread across the slums of freeside. The followers of the apocalypse, who had their main "base" in freeside, were also overjoyed about this, as they thought they would no longer be troubled by the likes of Mr. House and the NCR.

But it seemed that the independence was not as good a thing as they thought. The number of injured people doubled after the battle, and all of them flooded the Mormon fort. The followers struggled to help each and every one of the injured. Many of them were NCR soldiers, who retreated here seeking help. Some residents of freeside forgave them and welcomed them. Others were less than happy to hear about their alignment with the NCR.

But they weren't the only problem of freeside, the members of Caesar's legion also started flooding the fort. Most of them didn't wear the legion armor, so it was hard to be certain, but their way of speaking and their attitude quickly gave away their origins. They were admitted in the Mormon fort under false pretense, saying they were just the workers of the dam who were injured in the battle. They were taken care of along with the NCR soldiers. Days went well, all the injured people started healing, and some even started leaving the fort.

But the facade of the legionnaires was soon broken. The NCR soldiers were the ones to find out. A fight broke out between the two factions. But in their half-healed condition, none of them were successful in hurting the others. Days went by, both the NCR soldiers and the legionnaires were healing slowly but steadily, though the tensions between them were still present.

But this was the least of freeside's worries. From some days, freeside was regularly attacked by a small group of fiends. The fiends were a faction of junkie raiders who resided in vault 13. They attacked anyone and everyone who came in their way. They usually didn't bother freeside, but the sudden attacks were alarming. The kings' numbers were dwindling due to the regular attacks. They weren't dying mind you, just being constantly injured. If this continued, they would lose numbers fast. To remedy this, a temporary solution was made. The NCR soldiers and legionnaires were almost healed up, they were in good enough shape to fight now. So, to repay their debt to the followers, they were made to fight the fiend attacks.

The followers were against this at first, but when some of the fiends got inside the fort, they knew their passiveness wouldn't work, and with the kings' numbers dwindling, the decision was finally made. The NCR and legion soldiers were outfitted accordingly, and were set on patrol throughout freeside. But the problem peered it's ugly head. They hated each other's gut, after all they fought on opposite sides in the battle. The only thing keeping them from killing each other was the mutual gratitude towards the followers of the apocalypse. Hence, the NCR patrol and the legion patrol were stationed in such a way that they did not come in contact, well, mostly.

With both of the patrols having actual combat training, unlike the kings, they easily kept the fiends at bay. This continued for some days, until suddenly, the attacks stopped. This should have been a sigh of relief for everyone, but not everyone was convinced that this is the end. And they were right. One day, a whole battalion of fiends attacked on freeside. They were a lot more in numbers than before. They pushed through freeside, looting and pillaging anything they can. First they tried to break into the "Mick and Ralph's", the doors were locked from inside, but their sheer strength in numbers broke the doors. Mick and Ralph tried to defend their shop/home as bravely as they could, but in the end, they died a brutal death. The fiends looted all there was, while the others fought the combined forces of legion and NCR refugees.

A huge fire fight raged on the streets of freeside. The NCR soldiers created a fire line, with their combat discipline, they were able to hold off the fiends. Whereas the legion set up tactical traps on the street and some of the buildings. They piled all the fiend bodies from the last few attacks on the street, making it hard to climb over them. But those fiends who did try to climb them, exploded into miniscule particles. The bodies were rigged with mines and other explosives. With the combined battle might of the NCR and legion refugees, they managed to greatly reduce the fiend numbers. The remaining fiends tried to regroup in the now-abandoned silver rush building.

They got hand on some dusty energy weapons, seeing how the silver rush was a energy weapons store before it's shutdown. The fiends were less in numbers, but also heavily armed. First, some of the kings went inside, the only noise which came from inside was that of incineration. Then some of the refugees went inside, some gunshots were heard, but atlast nobody came back. The fiends had taken tactical positions, they had the high ground and could kill anyone who came through the door in seconds. A different tactic was needed here. Frontal assault was not possible, though the soldiers could possibly lure them out.

"Lay down your arms, the fight is over! " Shouted one of the soldiers. "We-we need all the psycho, jet and whatever you have. And-and we need s-safe passage. And do NOT enter the building, or we will blow your fucking brains" came the voice from inside. The soldiers held their positions till midnight, but the fiends would not budge. Atlast, the decision was made to give them what they want. A single person was sent inside the building, with a box. The fiends fired a warning shot, but they knew that the box contained what they want. They opened the box and saw an assortment of drugs to fuel their addiction for months. "This is en-enough. Now, lay down your weapons, we will come outside, if anyone of you tries to do something fu-funny, rest assured it will result in a bloodbath" cried the fiend. But no answer came from outside. After waiting for hours, one of the fiend was sent outside, but what he saw was not what they were expecting.

The streets were empty. No one could be seen. After searching a lot, the other fiends came out, surprised. Others would have considered this a trap, but the fiend's minds were so filled with drugs, they were incapable of creating a rational thought. They marched onward and onward. Until they reached the gates. Before exiting the town, a sudden, accurate shot burst a hole through 2 of the fiends. Before they could even react, the rest of them were wiped out. The NCR snipers were positioned on the roofs of buildings, they made short work of the fiends. After it was ensured that no fiend remained, the supplies were taken to the Mormon fort.

The refugees surprisingly generated a bond during these days. People who once hated each other and fought against each other, now fought side by side, bringing the best values of the NCR and Legion's training. They finally made peace with each other, and decided to settle in freeside, and watch over the town. After some days, the kings were called down on the strip to manage the gamorrah. With their absence, the refugees were the only protection freeside had. With this, freeside became one of the safest places in the wasteland. And with the courier's promise to develop freeside further, it seemed the dark days of freeside, were finally over.