There was nothing we could do to stop Vulpes and his men from leaving Nipton, and because of that we just waited for them to leave. Once they're out of sight I let out a sigh, not realizing that the whole time Vulpes was speaking, I was actually intimidated by him. Moreover, his way of speaking and his body language made me realize that this guy was anything but friendly, especially with how nonchalant he was telling us his doings. With the town cleared of any threats, I decided to collect all of the NCR dog tags while Vito went back to Jackson to tell him that the town is now legion free.
It took them half an hour to reach the town and by that time I was already done collecting the dog tags, gathering almost twenty of them. Thought despite the rather big amount of dead troopers there was no legionnaire dead, then again maybe Vulpes burned their bodies not wanting us to find them or they let the dogs eat those bodies for the same reason.
As soon as Jackson saw me he walked towards me, followed closely by Ghost and Vito. When he saw the bundle of dog tags that I had gathered in a small pouch I'd bought for five caps back at the outpost, both rangers threw a grateful look for what I have done.
"Thank you, Dante."
"Even though it wasn't your job or duty to gather the dog tags of our fallen soldiers, you still did it. For that, I want to thank you and give you this as a reward."
Jackson hands me a small radio, making me look at him in confusion not understanding what I should do with this.
"It's a radio and with it, you can call for help. Any of the squad that gets the call will come to your aid from now on."
This wasn't what I expected to gain from doing this. Nevertheless, it was still a good reward, one that I reckon will one day save us a lot of trouble. Surprisingly enough, the first thing Jackson did after he finished his explanation was to order the recruits around, making them dig graves for the dead, that can still be buried, as well as to check each and every building for potential survivors or dead bodies.
It took them half a day to clear the whole town and in the end, the only survivor was a powder ganger that had his legs destroyed, making the poor guy a cripple for life, if he survives the surgery. Even though the legion didn't steal anything, they did burn all of the supplies and weapons thus turning Nipton into a lost cause, after all, one cannot defend the town without supplies, weapons, and able bodies to use them.
Looking at the fifty or so graves that had been dug outside of the town made me realize just how lucky I was to be found by someone that wasn't part of the legion or powder ganger. I was grateful for what Vito had done for me and despite not wanting to admit it, he's the only reason I'm alive right now. He thought me everything I know and I have no doubts that he will teach me more things in the future.
As I was standing outside thinking about all of the things I've been through I felt a hand on my shoulder. When I turned my head, I found Ranger Jackson beside me, looking sad at those graves.
"I take you are feeling bad for not being able to do more, no?"
"I would lie if I were to say that I'm not, but at the same time, I know that neither I nor Vito could have saved those people, no matter what we would have done."
"That's true son, but you must always remember that we are humans and that doesn't make us perfect. We all have flaws and vices. Sadly that's the reason I've lost twenty men in this town, but one day that bastard would meet his maker for what he had done. Anyways, I've rambled enough today, so what's on your mind, son?"
"It's nothing that important now, sir. I was just sad that I couldn't do anything else for those people."
"Please do let me know if it would help us find the reason behind this sudden attack. As for these people… I agree with you, about what you have just said, especially when Vulpes and his goons were here. Maybe if we stormed the town as soon as they attacked, we might have saved the locals, but I doubt we could have reached the town in time for that to happen."
"That might be true sir, especially after knowing who the main culprit behind the death of those troopers was."
Jackson felt that something was wrong with my words and because of that, he raise his eyebrow at me.
"Vulpes Inculta spoke with Vito and me before he left. For some reason that guy wanted us to hear what he had done and spread the story for him. From what he had told us, the mayor and all of the locals were bribed by the legion to turn over both convicts and troopers to the legion. In the end, the very same locals that betrayed the NCR were betrayed by the legion, bringing us to the present."
"DAMN IT! I should have known that Steyn wasn't doing all that just because he was a good citizen of the republic. The bloody traitor got what he deserved in the end. Forget about it, Dante. Once again thank you, both for gathering those dog tags and for telling me this. "
"No problem sir. I just felt that that was the right thing to do."
Jackson didn't waste any more time after that, leaving me once again to stand alone glancing in the distance. Maybe what we had done here was the right thing, or maybe it wasn't, in the end, all I could think about it was how creepily calm that guy was when he talked with us.
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