~The Scarlet Plus-Fours Fallout: New Vegas Picture Diary~

Starring Gracie Cutesman-Pieworthy

Fallout: New Vegas is one of the Fallout games, set in and around a city called New Vegas, which developed from Las Vegas after much of the surrounding America was destroyed in a nuclear war. It's a special game to a lot of Fallout fans, with characters and stories that feel human, different paths you can take through the main storyline, and a powerful, melancholy, yet beautiful atmosphere.

Since taking screenshots is such fun, I've started a new SSLP, which should eventually cover a whole game of Fallout: New Vegas and some of the expansion packs. I'm playing as a certified Charming Young Lady, complete with silver tongue, plasma weaponry, spiked knuckledusters and many bottles of Sunset Sarsaparilla. I hope you like it.

Chapter 7: Gracie Can't Help but Make New Friends Wherever She May Go

It was a fine day in the city of New Vegas, and Gracie, who couldn't figure out where Fortification Hill was, decided to do some odd jobs to pass the time. She caught the attention of the NCR ambassador, who was in need of a fixer for some annoying, unfixed things.

Ambassador Crocker asked her to make contact with the Boomers, an isolated society which controlled the pre-war airport in the north-east. They were isolated due to their habit of firing on passers-by with heavy artillery. Cass was about to tell Crocker where to shove his Boomers, but Gracie promptly agreed to go and meet them, at which point Cass started wishing she'd stayed in bed.

"Are you sure it's worth getting your head exploded, for the NCR, of all factions? Their greatest strength as a country is finding new ways of disappointing you." --Cass

Gracie laughed and assured her it would be fine. She led Cass to the edge of the Boomers' territory, which featured some lovely decor.

After changing into some more appropriate clothing, Gracie wandered to the front gate, with Cass clinging to her (Gracie's) sleeve and biting her (Cass's) nails. Explosive shells began to rain down around them. Gracie booked it, then screamed in agony, then staggered to the gate. There to meet her, and the unconscious Cass, was the Boomers' master of arms.

"Why, Raquel, you have such lovely taste in armour!" --Gracie
"M-my head..." --Rose of Sharon Cassidy

The Boomers were impressed by Gracie making it past their explosives, and invited her to stay for a while, with Cass as her plus-one. They got to know the Boomers and their explosives-themed culture, which had started in Vault 34, a vault overflowing with weaponry. The first Boomers had resented not being allowed to use said weaponry, so they'd struck out on their own and settled in the Nellis air force base, a promised land full of devastating ordnance.

The long-term goal of the Boomers was to have a bomber plane of their own, but that dream had never been able to get off the ground. Rumours were going around of a B-29 bomber lost under Lake Mead, which the Boomer engineers just might have been able to get working again with their other spare parts, but how would you retrieve such a heavy plane from such a big lake? Why, you'd need an eccentric woman with lots of time on her hands who'd wandered into town for unspecified reasons and was very eager to please...

"If we actually pull this off, I'm going to eat my hat," said Cass.

"Why, Cassidy, I'm surprised you think it's edible! You can afford cake easily enough," cried Gracie. "But if you insist, who am I to waylay you?"

Gracie made her way to Lake Mead and dove underwater, wearing the Rebreather made for her by Jack, the apprentice engineer. Cass sat and watched from the pier. For the first time, she wondered whether she might have a future in salvage. Was there a way she could stop other people from suffering the same kinds of loss?

"I'm surprised none of these have leaked." --Gracie

Gracie swam along the lake bed for a while, finding plenty of sunken relics from the world above, until eventually a plane-shaped one loomed in front of her. It was huge, with four propellors and a lifetime's worth of rust, and banks of Quagga mussels nibbling on the last of its aluminium fuselage. (No, really, look it up.) Now all she had to do was attack the floatation devices.

Gracie suspected this would have been much more stressful without the Rebreather. She spent a minute finding just the right spot under each wing, tied both floatation devices on tightly, then swam to the surface. Triumphant, Gracie swam to the old concrete slipway, where Cass had roasted a mirelurk for afternoon tea.

"Surely you can't mean to eat that hat?!" --Gracie
"Whatever. Where did you leave the extra-long rope?" --Cass