Chapter 619 - End Of The Line

Tamia stands in her scorched, dented, scratched, and worn Power armour just outside of the facility her enemy was supposedly hiding in. She was exhausted, but she'd finally reached the end, where she could put a stop to whatever the man had planned.

By her side, the single remaining Cyberdog that was looking as ragged as she was. It'd somehow survived the trials and tribulations the Divide had thrown at her, though, not completely unscathed.

Those flayed men had been utterly relentless, and their ferocity only seemed to increase in fervour the closer she got to this facility. It was as if they were trying to stop her from reaching her target... That, or they feared what was held behind those doors.

"Come on pup, we're almost at our destination." she mutters as she steps inside, pressing the button that opens the heavy metal doors. Inside, she's greeted with another familiar military base, metal walls, floor, ceiling... It also looked completey desolate and abandoned. Trash was scattered around the place, and she couldn't help but notice the many supplies just sitting there, waiting to be taken... Yet, no one had grabbed them.

The reason for this is quickly found as she steps into the hallway and spots a flayed man wearing NCR armour nailed to the wall. The corpse was fresh, at least, as fresh as skinless ghouls can be. She searches it for anything of use but doesn't find anything, eventually making her way forwards again.

"SOUND DETECTED, SEARCHING." a harsh robotic voice announces from behind a nearby door, causing Tamia to retreat back to the room to observe what it was. The doors open and reveal a heavily armed and armoured Sentrybot rolling down the hallway, straight towards her... Though, it hadn't noticed her or her Cyberdogs presence yet.

...

She waits for a moment, and once it's close enough she springs from cover, stabbing her Proton-Greatsword into its sternum where the power source was likely stored. The blade easily cuts through the robots plating, entering its chest and exiting from its back. "H-O H-O-O-OSTILE DE-TE-TE-TE-TE-TEeeeoo" the malfunctioning robot says in a distorted force before shutting down.

Tamia breathes a sigh of relief at its defeat. She'd seen how powerful Ultimo-Bots were, so the idea of facing a similar kind of robot made her far more fearful than she'd like to admit...

"HOSTILE DETECTED!" another loud voice states from the room where the first had come from. Another quickly rolls out and points its weapons at her, just as the first defeated robot begins to heat up and spark... It looked like it was going to... "Self destruct!?" she mentally exclaims, giving a reactionary kick at the self-destructing robot which sends it careening down the hallway and smashing into its ally.

She picks up the Cyberrdogs and throws herself in the room as the explosion envelopes the hallway, flames lick her armoured feet, but she's sure she managed to escape the explosion unharmed...

She glances down at the Cyberdog in her arms and breathes a sigh of relief at seeing that it was okay... It'd be pretty shit if it died because of her, it was her last companion on this journey, along with her ticket out once she dealt with the mysterious man on the radio.

Tamia steps into the hallway again, ignoring the now scorched walls and floor before entering the next room... It was a control room of sorts, but most of the machinery had been trashed for some reason. The terminals were destroyed and the controls inoperable... She wasn't sure if this was a good thing, to be honest, she had half a mind to make sure the military bases she'd stumbled upon in the Divide were all permanently deactivated... Nothing good could come from keeping them on.

She continues venturing through the facility and eventually finds herself standing before an elevator. Judging by the message 'YOUR LAST CHANCE TO TURN BACK' spray-painted on the wall, this was her last stop.

She pats her Cyberdogs head and presses the button to call the elevator down, "Not long now pup, let's see what this madman wants from me." she mutters and steps into the elevator as the doors open.

Soon enough, the door open again and reveal a massive chamber. Her eyes widen as she observes the place, spotting many large nuclear missiles waiting in their silo's to be launched. At the end, was a man. He wore a sleeveless leather trenchcoat that had the old war flag printed on its back, he had tanned skin and long dreadlocks, but she wasn't yet able to get a good look at his face. The face of the man who'd hunted her, baited her, and trapped her in the Divide, all for revenge for a crime she didn't remember committing.

"Long way from your new home, Vegas lies in the other direction, yet you still came here looking for answers... Well, here I am. My name is Ulysses, former Frumentarii and a Courier like yourself, the one who was originally supposed to be carrying that Chip..." he states as he turns around, revealing a weathered face covered by a gas mask that concealed the lower half of his face.

Tamia tilts her head in confusion, "How do you know about the Chip?"

Ulysses chuckles, "The same way you learned about it. At least, before you got shot... Caesar... I was unavailable at the time, trying to crawl out of the scorched earth you left behind. I wonder, was the destruction of the Divide only to guarantee you got that job? Its completion would grant you Caesar's boon... Maybe even status above your gender." he states.

She shakes her head, "No chance. As far as I remember, I was forced to serve the Legion in the first place. I wouldn't be surprised if I actively sabotaged their efforts while I was working for them." she determines vehemently.