Rory sat on a log as she continued to listen to Graham's preaching. He had gotten through one story in his religious text. The book of "Genesis" he called it. Now he was on the story of "Exodus" and was going into the moment Moses met with the God of the Hebrews.

The clearing had a bunch of logs that she placed that made rows of seats. There were five rows with two columns on each side. This made a pathway for people to walk in the center and towards the front to where Graham sat. He sat on a small log as he read the passage in their native tongue.

There were about thirty people listening to his preaching. Most where from the village they evacuated, while others were new who were originally saved by the Flame Dragon. They saw the words and teachings as interesting, considering how different it is from their own religion.

"And when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I. And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground. Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God."

"And the Lord said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows; And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey."

"Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come unto me: and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them. Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt."

"It is these words of our father God that came to Moses in order to deliver the Hebrews from the bondage of the kingdom of Egypt." Graham said as he took a moment to stop reading.

"And God does so in order to save them?" One villager asked. "But for what reason does he do so?"

"Tell me what you believe." Graham asked the villager.

"Because he seeks tribute from the Hebrews?" He answered.

"Why else would a being of such magnitude trouble himself with lowly mortals?" A woman asked. Rory couldn't help but agree with her sentiment.

"Is that what your gods believe?" Graham asked the woman.

"Of course." She said. "They stay their hand from smiting us so that we might offer tribute to them."

"I can see why you would feel such a way." Graham said with a sigh. "The gods of your world are selfish and greedy, who have no care for the lives of their people. Such pagan gods are false gods, who are worshipped without deserving of it." Graham said.

Rory couldn't help but smile. They are definitely real. She met with one after all. Perhaps his god is the one who is false.

"But the power give to the apostles..." A man asked.

"I have seen many an odd thing in the wastelands." Graham said. "I have met those who can see events yet to come. I have seen spirits and sights that I cannot explain. Even my own survival is proof of divinity." He pointed to his burned and broken body. "The power of the apostles, whether given by diving means or demonic, pale in comparison to the power of God."

"So then why does God seek to save us?" The woman asked again.

"Because of love." He said. "God loves his creations. He made man in his own image to worship and love him. So to those who he sees as his children, he will always protect and defend."

Rory continued to listen to his sermon. It was odd to hear. A god who loves his creations and actually cares? Gods are above man and beast. Gods are more powerful and eternally lived compared to humans. Why would a god who is so much stronger, according to Graham, care about the day to day lives of mortals?

Rory started to tune out the lecture since she didn't really care about this god. If he was so powerful and cared for people so much, why was he not in this world? Perhaps he is the god of Graham's world, but clearly he did not exist here. The world was far too cruel for a loving god to be present.

There were many gods and goddesses of love in the many religions in Falmart. However, the love they preach is more the love of flesh than of soul or mind.

If nothing else though, the teachings were interesting. She did enjoy listening to the scarred man talk. He had a way of making the stories interesting and his translation abilities were extremely good for someone who recently learned the language.

By the time Graham had gotten to the moment Moses split the sea, it was getting late and the villagers had to continue on with preparing for the night. They all stood up when Graham released them and left the clearing. Graham for his part seemed happy, like he was very accomplished with what he did.

"Interesting lesson." Rory said honestly.

"I greatly appreciate it priestess." He said.

"Your god seems wrathful so far. Sure, he makes it seem like he cares. But that was a lot of killing." She accused.

"God's wrath is one not to be taken lightly." Graham said. "However, it is his love for us and his promise of protection and salvation that we look to. His wrath on me was fire and pain. It was a punishment I deserved, but he did so to get me back on the right path."

"Seems harsh." Rory said with a raised eyebrow.

"It was, however it was needed. Only the harshness of Caesars wrath and by God's eternal grace could I be saved." He answered cryptically.

"But you live your life in pain." Rory pointed out.

"And I will spend my eternity in paradise." He said.

"It's amazing to think you used to be such a bad person." She noticed.

"Even after I was cursed with these burns, I still was a brutal person. The war with the White Legs, a tribe that destroyed my home of New Canaan, rekindled the brutality in me. It would have consumed me, if not for the help of a friend." He said.

"So after this war, you calmed down?" She asked.

"I did. I haven't really fought in the past five years. I lost much of my edge in combat. And I have been living a more peaceful life. So I guess my wrath has been tempered." He shrugged.

Rory could very much see a kind of contentment in the man. Like he has experienced all there is to life and simply seeks to make his last remaining days peaceful. He seemed to be filled with a sense of purpose and longing in his age. Rory had never really met anyone like him and it greatly interested her.

"Do you need help cleaning up?" She asked.

"Thank you." He said. "I will need your strength." He chuckled as she beamed with pride.

Noriko left the room and went out into the hall. It was a few hours since she had her breakdown and she felt good enough to leave and meet up with the others. Noriko felt extremely self-conscious about the event. She was worried what the others might think about her.

Noriko never really considered herself a strong woman. She was raised by her family to be the ideal Japanese woman. Beautiful, kind, caring, and pure. It was a holdover of more traditional Japanese traditions and cultural aspects that her family believed in. She always saw herself as delicate and weak because that's what was considered ideal.

So when she was held captive by the Empire, she immediately submitted in order to avoid pain, fear, and danger. She was terrified and would do anything she was told as best as she could understand. She felt weak during that whole event, and even here, she felt ashamed of her weakness.

The others must have thought she was so pathetic. Maybe they only kept her around out of some form of pity. She wanted to ask them that, but even now she was too afraid to even broach the topic. Perhaps they would get angry and it would terrify her to no end if they did. She was never confrontational, and now it was even worse.

Noriko meekly walked through the door leading into the kitchen, where everyone was eating simple to go plates that they got from the dining facility. Noriko felt so ashamed to not have made them dinner since they always looked forward to it and praised her for giving them some comfort.

"Mochizuki-san, glad to see you." Kurokawa smiled brightly at her.

"Pleased to see you Kurokawa-san." She bowed.

"Come on, no Japanese please." Jason said with a small chuckle.

"Yea, they're totally making fun of us behind our backs." Mat laughed at the joke.

"We only talk about how annoying you men are." Kuribayashi laughed.

"Yes, having other women gives us the chance to gossip." Kurokawa laughed as well.

"And now you sound like my wife." Jason laughed.

Noriko was happy their joking attitude kept her mind off of what happened earlier. Despite what happened, she felt like they were treating her the way they always were. The small smile from Kurokawa told her that the medic may have tried to make sure that they acted the same.

"Glad to see your doing better Noriko." Nathaniel smiled, making her blush a bit. Kurokawa and Kuribayashi's sly smile told her they understood why she blushed.

"I'm so sorry about this morning." She bowed.

"Seriously, don't worry about it." Nathaniel remarked.

"Yea, you apologize too much." Mat chuckled.

"No one here blames you for what happened. So just relax." Jason said.

Noriko still felt self-conscious about the event, but she was glad they were so kind to her. She had a lot of mixed emotions about the event, but she decided to just shelve those thoughts for now.

"Come and take a seat." Nathaniel offered.

"We didn't exactly know what you wanted, but we got you a to go plate." Jason said, handing her a foam plate with a lid over it.

Noriko thanked them and sat down. She opened the lid and raised a brow at the food. It was simple white rice, some seaweed strips, and a plastic bowl filled with Miso soup. This is why she offered to cook for them. The soldiers that cooked for the base had to make a lot of food quickly so it always had such a mass produced feel to it. With the same ingredients, she could make actual good Japanese food.

She got a pair of chopsticks and started eating. Unlike the JSDF in the room, the Americans were eating with a fork and spoon. Noriko tried eating with western utensils before, but she never could get the hand of them. She always just gripped it like a knife when using it. Something some of her western friends at University would tease her for.

As she sat and listened to the group talk about general things, her mind drifted to their most recent mission. She knew next to nothing about it, and knew that it didn't go as well as planned. She knew they were trying to find the man who tortured her and she felt as though she wanted to distance herself from it, but she had a lot of questions plaguing her mind.

"Can I ask something?" She interrupted the conversation.

The group raised their brows at her in question, not expecting her to break the conversations but also curious what she wanted.

"Go ahead." Nathaniel allowed.

"What did you learn...?" She paused. "About the guy who... you know." She asked carefully.

"I don't think it's a good idea for you to talk about it." Kurokawa said caringly, remembering about how upset she got at the mention of it.

"I had a dream earlier." She said. "After the attack. I dreamt that I was back there and the thing I always wondered was who he was. What kind of man would be like that?"

"I don't know Noriko." Nathaniel said.

"Please." She asked. "I need to know."

She noticed Nathaniel looked at Jason, as if asking permission. There was a look shared between them and Jason simply shrugged, as if saying it was ok to talk about it.

"There's not a lot to talk about since a lot of it is classified." Nathaniel said.

"Just who he is." She added. "I need to know."

Nathaniel took a deep breath, clearly worried about upsetting her again. But for the first time, he noticed a look of determination in her eyes. A determination that just wanted answers to questions that plagued her mind.

Nathaniel told her everything he knew about the man. Zorzal El Caesar. She remembered the sounds when some people would mention him. Finally able to put an actual name to his face as opposed to whatever title he was given by the people he was around.

She wasn't surprised to hear he was the prince and heir to the Empire. A society as cruel and brutal as that deserves a man as monstrous as him. Of course he would be a spoiled brat who probably was never told no about anything. She could only imagine what the emperor would be like if his son was so cruel. She met the emperor once or twice, though only when she was forced to follow the monster, Zorzal.

Even now, Noriko had no hate for Zorzal. When she thought of him, there was no feelings of hatred, anger, or anything negative. Not to say there was anything positive either. If she had to describe how she felt about the tyrannical prince, it would be fear and sorrow. No other emotion would come forth.

Noriko didn't even think she could remember a moment she wasn't in tears around him. Even when he was focused on other things, her trembling made her a target to him. He took pride and pleasure in making her cry. So much so that it almost became an instinctual thing to tear up in his presence.

"So that's why?" She asked in a very low voice. "He's just a spoiled prince?"

"Most likely." Nathaniel said.

"So he was just given whatever he wanted... and took it..." She said as she looked down.

"More than likely." Jason said.

"What are you going to do... when you find him?" She asked.

"Officially, your Government wants us to capture him and put him on trial for his crimes." Nathaniel said.

"Officially?" Noriko asked.

"He means that he might not go through with it." Itami answered.

"Why?" She asked.

"They want to kill him when they see him." Kuribayashi said. "Not that I disagree, I think the guy should be shot the moment anyone sees him."

"But if they do that, they'll get in trouble." Kurokawa said.

"You would?" She asked.

"Maybe officially." Nathaniel shrugged. "Worst case scenario is that your Government complains about it, then my leadership chews me out, then I probably get kicked out of Japan." He shrugged. "I call it a win." He laughed as the others agreed.

"Americans can kind of get away with disobeying orders." Kurokawa said in slight annoyance.

"It's not disobeying orders." Jason said. "It's self-defense."

"Is that why you..." She struggled to say. "Urinated on the emperor's throne?" She asked.

Kuribayashi at this moment was finishing up her Miso soup, which immediately was spit out and right into Itami's face. He had a deadpanned expression as he reached for a napkin.

"You did what!?" Kuribayashi screamed as she pointed towards Mat.

"It was funny." He laughed.

"Please don't talk about that." Nathaniel groaned.

"Why, that's awesome!" Kuribayashi laughed even harder.

"You spit in my face you know." Itami tried to say, though no one paid attention to him.

"That's so disgusting." Kurokawa said in disgust.

"If you talk about it and it reaches the Commander, I won't hear the end of it." Nathaniel complained. "We're supposed to be professionals here, the representatives of the United States in the Special Region. We need to give off a professional presence."

"And assholes like you is why we are being mandated to shave." Mat laughed.

Noriko was actually laughing at the whole interaction. She covered her mouth with her hand as she had trouble keeping herself in control. It was amusing to see them all act like this. Nathaniel was so professional and mature that she couldn't help but be attracted to him. Mat was a trouble maker that probably would have been fired if he worked for a company in Japan. Even the JSDF soldiers had their own little quirks. If she didn't get to know Kuribayashi, she'd have thought she was an American herself.

"See, she agrees." Mat said, pointing to Noriko.

"Come on Noriko... don't take his side." Nathaniel said in mocking disappointment, though Noriko did feel a bit bad at not agreeing with Nathaniel.

Mat started going into details at other ideas he had to mess with the royal family. Such things included defecation and vandalism as well. Nathaniel threatened to take their army colored spray paint bottles and lock them in a storage shed, at which point Mat threatened to get his lock picking set.

Despite talking about the people that traumatized her, she figured out that making fun of them helped to relieve a lot of the pain and fear when she thought about them. Imagining that if Zorzal ever took the throne then he'd have to sit in a urine stained throne was enough to relax her.

Even though it probably would be cleaned long before then, she didn't care. For the first time, when she thought of his face, it was filled with humor and mockery. The fear and sadness was still there, but she could now imagine his face in disgust as he sat on the throne. It helped to put her at ease.

She enjoyed hearing how they planned to mess with the Empire, and couldn't help but admire Nathaniel for his professionalism at shooting every idea down. She always admired that quality in people, the ability to stay professional even when others are joking. Though he wasn't completely serious as to not enjoy the jokes.

His professionalism, combined with his western looks and the feeling of being protected by him, made her blush even more. Once again, Kurokawa smiled slyly at her as she noticed Noriko staring at Nathaniel. Noriko met her gaze and looked away in embarrassment, causing Kurokawa to laugh innocently at the display.

The Courier sat in the courtyard of the newly established embassy in the Alnus base that was home to representatives of the NCR. Despite the bad tensions, it was agreed that the embassies would act as means for the Governments to officially communicate as well as provide asylum for NCR individuals who found themselves stuck in Japanese territory. The opposite was true as well.

The Courier was finishing up a cigarette that he managed to stea... borrow from a Japanese soldier. Joshua sat next to him, though he didn't want to smoke.

"So what did you need old friend?" Joshua asked.

"Something isn't right Joshua." The Courier said.

"How so?" He asked.

"I feel... different. I don't know how to explain it." The Courier said.

"Try your best." Joshua encouraged.

"I feel weak, much weaker than normal." The Courier tried to explain.

"How do you feel weak? Physically?" He asked.

"Something like that." The Courier shrugged. "As if I have slowed down. I have trouble getting up in the morning, walking long distances. And even at the village I was slower and weaker than I was before." He explained.

"I was surprised when you received your injuries." Joshua remarked. "With the amount of synthetic enhancements, you shouldn't have taken any damage."

"That's what I mean." He said.

"When did you notice it?" He asked.

"Probably after our trip to Japan. I think I might be sick." He said.

"Was there anything unusual that happened?" Joshua pried.

"Not that I can think of." He thought. "Wait, there was one thing." He said as he recalled something. "I got sick or something when I was with Kurokawa."

"The medic?" Joshua asked.

"Yes, she showed me around." The Courier confirmed.

Joshua smiled under his mask when he noticed his old friend smirk at the memory. Joshua was old enough to notice the signs of someone who cared for another in a romantic way.

"It was a panic attack. Apparently being in a crowd made me freak out." He shrugged.

"I do recall you had something similar after your caravan was attacked when you first entered Zion." Joshua said.

"I remember a lot of cursing and shouting honestly." The Courier recalled. "But this was different. I felt paralyzed. It was terrifying." He said.

"And since then you've felt weaker?" Joshua asked.

"Yes." He said. "I just don't understand."

Joshua started to somewhat understand what was wrong with the Courier. He wasn't sick, at least not physically anyway.

"You're depressed." Joshua diagnosed.

"Depressed...?" The Courier asked in confusion. "Me? How am I depressed?"

"I can't say." Joshua said. "But the same thing happened to me when I crawled out of the Grand Canyon." He said.

"You were lit on fucking fire." The Courier said. "Of course you were weaker."

"It wasn't that." He shook his head.

"Then what was it?" The Courier asked.

"The journey to New Canaan was difficult to be sure. Not I had a lot of time to think to myself. Sure, my wounds slowed me down. I was terrified of how my family would react to me after so long. Even when they welcomed me back, I realized I was tired. I barely moved, barely had any energy to do anything."

"You were recovering." The Courier said.

"I was, yes. But it wasn't until after New Canaan's fall that I changed. The energy I lacked suddenly came back. I felt strong and powerful again. I felt as if I began to look forward to the day again. If only to exact my vengeance."

"So I'm sad?" The Courier asked.

"You're suffering depression." Joshua clarified. "I think your time in Japan made you realize there's something more that you want."

"What more can I want?" The Courier said. "I've seen things few could imagine. Done things that few could say they've done. I defeated Lanius. I survived the Sierra Madre. I walked the Divide and came back stronger than ever. I crossed the Rocky Mountains and past the eastern borders of the Legion. What more can I want?"

"I don't think you know." Joshua said. "Think on it my friend. Try to find what it is you want in life. And then you'll learn how to gain your strength back." He said.

Joshua put a reassuring hand on the Courier's shoulder before standing up and walking away. He guessed that his old friend wanted the same thing the young priestess wanted. Well, young in body and mind anyway, not in soul.

Joshua traveled all over as well. He sought adventure and glory as any young man would. No one knew the Courier's age, not even the man himself. However, he was probably in his early twenties when he took two rounds to the face. Maybe even late teens.

The Courier want's more to life now than adventure and glory. He probably wants peace and stability. Possibly even a family, if his thoughts to the young medic are anything to go by. In his old age, Joshua admired the young woman. She was pure in a way no woman in the wasteland was. Perhaps she can provide a form of stability to the Courier's life if they were to ever be together.

Either way, he knew it was a long journey ahead for his friend, so he decided to go and pray for the young man. Joshua truly hoped he could find stability and peace.

Pina road to up to the former Imperial town of Italic along the Appia Highway. In front of her column of mounted nights was a single En-Sear horseless carriage that granted them an escort to their General. General Howe was currently located in Italica and she was going to attempt to meet with him in order to buy time for her father and brother to consolidate their Legions.

She was glad the En-Sear didn't practice the use of women as bargaining chips, as displayed by their refusal to take her and her knights as either wives or slaves. Though her father did not know that, it gave her a chance to follow her orders without selling the virtue of her knights.

The En-Sear have even had women in positions of authority from what she heard from many of the people that traveled to Italica. It was unheard of in the Empire. While the former countess of Italica officially had authority after her father's death, she was expected to quickly marry in order to solidify her position. Even her own authority was only due to her status as the daughter of the Emperor, which many people followed not out of respect to her, but for fear of disobedience to her father.

She would change that, hopefully.

"Over that hill and we'll be back within Italica, let's hope these savages haven't raised it to the ground yet." Norma said arrogantly.

"I highly doubt that they would do something like that." Pina retorted. "Especially with how hard they fought to take it."

There was a small part of Pina that wished he had died during the fighting... not that their order fought at all considering everything was handled by the En-Sear. However, she buried those thoughts as nothing more than dark humor. Though she was annoyed with Norma's arrogance, she still considered him a valuable member of the Rose Order.

"We'll need to be on guard at all time's princess." Grey said. "Despite their words on not taking slaves, there is always the chance that they can turn back on that deal."

"Of course." She said.

As they crested the hill, Pina was somewhat worried at what she would see. She had no idea if the En-Sear were being kind or cruel to the people of Italica. While the Empire was cruel to their enemies, they were fair to their subjects and did actually try to ensure people were generally protected. As long as you were a citizen.

"What the... hell?" Norma gasped as they saw the town after over a month since being there last.

The engineering marvels of the Empire was unlike any other in the world. If the barbarians on the northern borders looked upon and aqueduct in construction, they would have thought it was the work of the gods. Sadaran engineering far eclipsed their simple minds.

However, as she stared at Italica, she began to feel as if she was the simple minded one. While the inside of the city was largely untouched, she could not say the same for the surrounding farmlands. To the north was machines she could hardly describe. They were building structures of some kind. Large buildings that seemed to only have the skeleton framework prior to their walls being added.

All around were smaller buildings being constructed, very similar in style to personal homes for people and settlers who were making Italica as their home. The farms were covered in strange machines and pipes that she couldn't figure out the purpose of. She had no way of describing what she saw.

As the entered in the front gate, she noticed that there were different kinds of people all around her. Many of the people were clearly the residents of Italica, however, among them were others. It seemed as though the En-Sears has already begun moving people in to claim their territories.

In the main market area was all kinds of venders and shop keepers that were selling unique artifacts, foods, and clothing from the En-Sear's homeland, Local Sadaran shops stood next to newly built En-Sear venders and shopping districts. The entire city was alive with life.

One thing that caught her eye was the fact that every member of the En-Sear was armed with some type of their staff like weapons. That surprised her. The Empire forbid anyone from carrying more than a simple dagger. While simple bows were allowed for personal use in hunting, other weapons such as swords, spears, shields, and other weapons of war were forbidden.

This was to prevent any local towns or villages from rising up against the Empire. After all, a bow can be used to hunt game for food, however a sword has no purpose outside of warfare. Common defensive weapons against animals such as wolves were things like slings or daggers. Mostly as intimidation if nothing else.

"Guess this confirms they are here to stay." Norma said.

"My lady, this is going to a difficult job to defeat the En-Sear in Italica." Bozes said.

"We don't have to worry about hat for now." Pina said. "All we have to concern ourselves with right now is trying to forge an alliance in order to buy my father time."

After reaching the mansion, Pina and her knights placed their horses on the front. She, Grey, and Bozes walked up the steps into the mansion to meet with Howe.

Howe was busy with his plans as she went into his command area. Much of the maps and documents were covered up by the time she arrived, showing that whatever plans they had, they would ensure she wouldn't see.

"Pina, it is an honor to see you again." Howe smiled.

"General Howe, it is an honor as well." She said.

"I'm actually surprised to hear you are trying to get a meeting, but I am unsure what it is about." He remarked.

"We're here to attempt to forge an alliance with your people. The Empire realizes that your army is strong and that war would not be beneficial to both of our nations." She lied.

"Well, I am more than glad to hear that." He smiled. "However you have approached at a relatively bad time. We're getting ready for an event back on our side of the Gate with one of our benefactors." He said.

"Well, if it's all the same to you, I wouldn't mind accompanying your entourage as well as meeting some of your politicians." Pina offered.

"And interesting idea." He considered. "It will be a bit of a trip however. The event will happen in New Vegas, which is still relatively frontier area. It's more of a civil event where we and Japan will share technologies." He said.

"Japan?" Pina asked in confusion.

"Forgive me." He laughed. "The Nation beyond the Alnus Gate is called Japan."

"I see." Pina said. "Then it will be a perfect opportunity to meet with Japan as well, so we can ensure to establish relations with them as well. I hope you understand, the Empire is trying to forge an alliance with you and Japan." She lied again.

"I completely understand. I am glad to hear of the Empires willingness to take responsibility for their actions." He smiled.

Pina continued to discuss some of the basics of the event that would take place. Apparently it was a civil event meant to bring together the brightest minds between the En-Sear and Japan in order to mutually benefit each countries.

"We'll allow you to attend, however due to the last minute addition, I will only allow you and one other member to attend." Howe said.

"I understand." She said. "I'll decide on who will come with me and we'll be able to continue to move forward with negotiations." Pina offered.

Once the discussions were done, Howe ordered some of his men to escort the princess and her knights to one of the guest rooms in the mansion. Pina felt a bit annoyed at that, seeing as how normally she was given the best accommodations, however, she knew not to say anything since the entire city had been taken by the En-Sear.

She thanked Howe and followed the guards who took her to her room.

First Sergeant Hernandez walked up to one of the guard towers that had been established in the de-confliction zone between the boarders of the region of Italica and the region of Koda, which were areas the NCR and JSDF both respectively controlled. After some rest in Italica, his unit was placed right on the border in order to defend against any Japanese aggression.

The guard tower he climbed was a single wooden platform that was held twenty feet up in the air by stilts, with a single wooden staircase leading to the top. The walls of the tower were made from a combination of sand bags and steel plates which had openings for machine gunners to poke out their weapons and a roof made with the same materials.

In front of the guard tower was a large barrier made from dirt, called a Berm. On top of the Berm was three rows of barbed wire that were stacked on top of each other to prevent any mind of movement. In front of the berm transitioned to a ditch, which meant any opposing infantry or vehicles would fall into the ditch and be unable to climb the Berm. All this while under machine gun fire.

The Berm and ditch combo followed the border all the way around NCR territories. Not only was this for defense against the JSDF, but also the Legion as well. Guard towers were spaced ever mile and there were emplaced bunkers every quarter mile in between the guard towers that acted as additional fighting positions. These had platforms that just overlooked the berms and had the same sandbag and steel plated defenses as the towers. This ensured complete defensive capabilities.

Simple roads were still be constructed that followed the border, which would allow NCR troopers to be transported to their assigned guard locations as well as be delivered food, ammo, water, and other supplies while they guarded the border.

Hernandez's Soldiers were complaining about the position the whole time. Each tower and bunker had a squad of men tasked with guarding it. A single NCR squad consisted of nine Soldiers. One was the Squad leader, a mid level NCO responsible for leading the squad. Bellow him were two teams, each led by a newly promoted NCO. Lastly, was the six lower enlisted soldiers, three per team. This system was modeled after the old US Army organization of their units.

At any given time, two soldiers manned the tower, while the others either did details or slept. This made sure each soldier would be on guard for at least four hours a shift. The squad leader was responsible with organizing the shifts and ensuring supplies reached the position.

As the First Sergeant of the Company, Hernandez was responsible for allocating supplies and ensuring the men were disciplined, in good moral, and checking the integrity of the towers.

"First Sergeant." One of the squad leaders greeted.

"How is everything?" He asked.

At the base of the tower were multiple dug fox holes where the Soldiers slept and stored their gear. This kept them protected from any potential artillery attack if the JSDF decided to do a pre-emptive strike. Hernandez walked around the area, checking to ensure everything was good.

"We need to get more food First Sergeant, additionally trash is beginning to pile up." He said as he pointed to the pile of trash bags a few dozen feet from where they slept.

"I understand." Hernandez said. "Your sleeping areas are messy, there's gear all over the place. Tell your soldiers to make sure they stay neat and orderly. I want all your bags dress right dress." Hernandez said, mentioning how some of the men's gear and blankets were unpacked.

"Roger." The squad leader sighed.

Hernandez climbed up the guard tower to check on the two Soldiers on guard. Both of them were lower enlisted and stood looking out the tower with the machine guns in front. All around were additional ammo boxes, first aid kits, and extra canteens with water.

"First Sergeant." One of them greeted. Both Soldiers helmets were unstrapped.

"Did you two take your helmets off during guard?" Hernandez asked threateningly. Both Soldiers stood straight up at the accusation.

"N-no First Sergeant. We didn't." One said, clearly a lie.

"Then buckle the damn straps." He said. "If the enemy attacks and your damn helmet falls off, you're dead." He said.

"Understood." Both said as they hurried to buckle their chin straps.

"Let me see the guns." Hernandez said.

First, he picked up a service rifle that was against the wall to make sure it was clean. Aside from a little bit of dirt on the outside, both were fully cleaned. Even on the inside, as well as properly lubricated.

He went to the machineguns and inspected them even more so. He opened the top and removed the ammo. He inspected the inside to check for any damage, debris, dirt, or rust. When he saw none he nodded in approval.

"Guns are good." He said. "If I catch you without your chinstraps buckled again, I will recommend a demotion to the Commander."

"Roger." Both men acknowledged.

Hernandez looked out to the Japanese side of the border, about one mile from their guard position. They had a very similar set up, and he could barely make out the guards inside their own towers. Aside from their own barriers and berms, the one mile space in between the two borders were completely untouched. There was a tree that was in the way and Hernandez knew they'd need to get rid of it.

Hernandez got out of the guard tower and did one last look around to make sure everything was good. He got into his four wheel truck and continued on to the next position, holding on from how bumpy the unimproved road was. He quickly took notes of this position, noting that they need a trash collection, food delivery, remove a tree outside the tower, and re-enforce with the platoon sergeant about the lack of discipline.

Sorry for the delay lol. Work and the Holidays delayed it quite a bit. Some basic character events and set ups. Going into the New Vegas arc now. This will advance the story and also start adding motivations to some of the characters.

Obviously, the Courier is getting hit with depression, which is why he's struggling. A similar reason to Rory ironically. This next arc will set up the catalyst to the Courier's real involvement in the story, as well as set up some of the more civil developments of the NCR.

This is also going to be an interesting challenge, since now I'll have a lot of characters together in one scene. I've never done that so I'm hoping my skill will be enough to make it believable and satisfying lol. I honestly have no idea how it will come out in practice. Writing multiple characters can be hard, so please let me know if I succeed or not.

Thanks everyone for your continued reviews.