1658/Totally a Date ft. Noble Six and Courier Six

Totally a Date ft. Noble Six and Courier Six
Date of Scene:	24 February 2015
Location:	Mojave Wasteland (NewVegas)
Synopsis:	Johnny and Noble have their RANDOMLY DETERMINED VALENTINES DATE finally, and end up hitting it off. More dates ensue!
Cast of Characters:	32, 38

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Courier Six (32) has posed:
    The place? The Fabulous No Longer Rotating Cocktail Lounge high atop the Lucky 38 Casino in glittering New Vegas. John Tallbranch's seat of operations and the home of Mr. House.

    Tonight the lounge is decked out in string lights, mood lighting and the whole shebang for a 'highly romantic date' with the Fabolous Noble Six. Though Johnny seems a little put out at all the effort.
    Veronica, however, does not. She's the one doing the 'romancy' stuff after all. The spritely Engineer smiles at Johnny who's busy over at one onf the stovetops, finishing up dinner. "I'm teling you, Johnny, this is going to be great. Trust me, I'm an armored lady, she's an armored lady, I know what's going on." Ronnie, of course, isn't in her armor tonight. She's in her traditional robes. Johnny is dressed in a smart looking flannel shirt and jeans, along with an apron that reads 'Master Chef'. The whole area smells like spicy food and wonderful meat.

Noble Six (38) has posed:
    Oddly enough, Noble Six isn't in her armor either. She was a bit surprised when the passport to the Strip arrived in her mail, and she was able to get in easily enough. She was surprised by the amount of security this place had, but she supposes in a frontier-esque setting like this, robotic security was the best way to ensure loyalty.

    After being escorted into the hotel proper, she waited in the elevator until it took her up to the lounge, the blonde super soldier stepping off of the elevator and into the cocktail lounge itself, admiring the view from the windows, "Bet this place was even more amazing in it's heyday." She muses, as she looks for Johnny. She's met him a couple of times, but never outside of the armor.

Courier Six (32) has posed:
    He's... shorter than her, is his first impression, though he was expecting that. Veronica is shorter too, and she laughs and smiles up at Noble, holding out her hand in greeting. "Hi! I'm Veronica and it's nice to meet you! Come on in, Johnny's over there getting dinner ready for you. Gosh you're pretty."
    Maybe a jealous look over at Johnny, before she smiles. "Alright, Johnny's going to take over here, but you have a good night and enjoy yourself!"
    That last bit is directed mosty over Noble's shoulder at the Courier, who grumbles and shakes his head. "You know i know how to loosen up, Sis. Go on, git."
    Veronica sticks out her tongue and then heads down the elevator herself.

Noble Six (38) has posed:
    The SPARTAN is taller than a lot of people, though she doesn't try to use that to her advantage...Most of the time. Shown to the table, she takes a seat, "Thank you Veronica." She replies, giving the girl a smile, before she turns to look over at Johnny, before she sits down at the table she was escorted to.

    "Is she really your sister, or is that some kind of affectionate nickname?" Six wonders, loud enough for Johnny to hopefully hear her over the sound of sizzling dinner, "Also thank you for offering to host. I didn't think you would enjoy the mess deck on the Crimson Dawn that much." She does actually grin faintly though at the mention.

Courier Six (32) has posed:
    Johnny snorts. "Nah, but she's the first person who agreed to wander along with me in my dumb quest to fix the Mojave. So. Sis. Also she bats for the other team so I know I ain't got a chance." A chuckle, and the Courier calls out. "Beer or mixed drinks? I ain't got a good wine for what I'm servin' tonight. Also a mess hall ain't the most romantic place, no."

Noble Six (38) has posed:
"Ah, I gotcha." Six replies to Johnny, as he answers her question, "Mixed drinks would be preferable. Alcohol has a hard time working on me, I need to go for something a little stronger than normal." She offers for an explanation.

"So from what I have seen, you have done an admirable job of trying to fix the Mojave. I know it can't be easy with the world in the condition that it wound up in."

Courier Six (32) has posed:
    Johnny saunters back over to the table with a pair of... well, they're lightly glowing cocktails, with cherry garnish, served in Lucky 38 engraved tumblers. Also a basket of what appear to be tempura jalepeno peppers. Homemade even.
    "Well, yeah. It's the nature of the beast. I mean... I may not remember much of the past or who I was... But a fella can work to make stuff better. And as it turns out I'm pretty good at it, so."
    He grins, and takes a seat, and gestures to the drink. "That there is an Atomic Cocktail. You know the story behind those?"
    He takes a drink of his own and sighs at the burn.

Noble Six (38) has posed:
    "I can't say I know the story, no." She replies, as she takes a look at it, taking a moment to take in the glow before she takes a drink from it, "A lot of people are too focused on their past, instead of their future." She says, in response to him not knowing much about his own past. She feels she knows too much about her past, and honestly there's times where she'd want to forget it.

    Taking another drink from it, she reaches out to grab one of the peppers, and pops it into her mouth, chewing it down and swallowing it quickly.

Courier Six (32) has posed:
    The Cocktail... burns. It's strong, in more ways than one, and only very slightly radioactive. It certainly isn't more than a trip through a long sub-orbital flight, but it's concentrated into the drink itself.
    Johnny's drinking his own though. "Back in the Old Times, when the Nevada Test Range was still active, folks would sit up here in the 38 and the other old Casinos and watch them light off the old fission bombs out in the desert. Every so often they'd go off and the bartenders would mix up a round usin' good old Nuka-Cola and other stuff on hand. Boom, Atomic Cocktail."

    Johnny grins. "And yeah, the past is the past. Future's where its at, and I'm aiming to make it bright."

    The pepper is as hot as you'd expect from a freshly picked jalepeno.

Noble Six (38) has posed:
    Listening to the story, Noble Six hmms a little bit as she looks at the drink for a moment, "I guess most folks then didn't think about the dangers those kinds of weapons pose." She says, "The UNSC uses stuff...Well, to be frank, far more powerful than any of those fission bombs, but they've had several hundred years to develop that sort of technology. Of course we're also fighting things a lot bigger and scarier than the Soviet Union."

    She takes another jalapeno and eats it, actually enjoying the spice, before she takes a long drink from the burning, radioactive cocktail, "So I suppose I should ask, do you have any questions for me? Most folks never get the chance to sit down with me one-on-one, but I figured I would honor the agreement that was made." She says, "Plus I'll admit it's nice to have a night to not worry about Covenent positions and troop movements, or potential Confederate attacks on ship yards."

Courier Six (32) has posed:
    Johnny gets up to start stacking more foood onto a service trolley, calling out from the little kitchen. "I gotta be honest, goin' into this and thinkin' about how I was gonna handle this... first of I didn't figure you was a lady. i mean, we've been in operations together, but I figured you were some sort of super soldier vat grown killer monster person not an attractive lady, so... uh, sorry about the preconcieved notions there."

    He snorts and shuffles back to the table, pushing over the cart. "Honestly, just what sorta things you liked, uh, what you were hopin' out of this, that sort of thing. I mean, I could ask all sortsa questions about the SPARTAN program but... eh, I can hold off on the super science for another night."
    The pots and pans come out and apparently Johnny's serving right out of the cookware. Homestyle. "Okay, I got different choices cause I didn't know if you was vegetarian or not, so I got two sorts of chili, one's molerat and bean chili, the other one's some sorta wacky plant I found in that starship George got me. Boneboo. Tastes like meat, cooks like meat, it is a plant. That's with hot stuff and is a little higher on the Scovilles." A pan next. "That's bell pepper and chicken quesadillas, real cheese too, had that trucked in. I got beakseed popovers. Those taste like nutty stuff so i hadta cook that with plenty of sugar and honey. And i got potato soup. So... Bone appetite." A grin. Yes he mispronounced that on purpose.

Noble Six (38) has posed:
"To be completely honest, I didn't come into this with any sort of...Expectations." She says, "Like you said, we have worked together in the past, but I've never really been much for...Well, romantic entanglements, such as it is." She does offer a smile, "Not to say I don't think we could establish a friendship off of a meeting like this." She considers his second question for a little bit, "To be frank, my...Well, personal time is usually spent still working on things related to being a soldier."

    She pauses for a moment to smell the food as it comes out, and take another drink from her cocktail, which is about finished now. "Growing up in the SPARTAN program didn't really offer a lot of time for hobbies, so a lot of what I do in my off time is still training related. Lots of folks have been trying to get me to go out and do things more often. Which I suppose is part of why I'm here, as this sort of thing is generally outside of what I would usually do."

    "Definitely not a vegetarian, though I would be more than happy to have a little bit of everything. A plant that tastes like meat sounds like either a marvel of evolution or genetic engineering, depending on how it was produced." She hmms as she looks it all over, and then gets her plate and scoops out a little bit of everything for herself, "I had heard you were a good cook, guess I get to see first hand."

Courier Six (32) has posed:
    A grin. Johnny shrugs. "When you've gotta make do for yourself in the Mojave, it's to be expected that you end up makin'... uh. You get lots of practice makin' trail food. So when you come home, you got all these ideas on what there is to eats, you know?"
    The molerat chili, despite the odd choice of meat, tastes pretty good. The meat's had most of the grease cooked out and manages to not taste that gamey. The Boneboo chili is hot, like he's added more than the usual amount of spices to it or else dropped some wicked hot peppers in there. The rest is pretty standard fare.

    Johnny pokes a spoon at Noble, and smiles. "You know i get that a lot myself. Hell, most of my time is spent putting out fires here in the Mojave so... I really don't get a lot of time to myself. And honestly I signed up for this cause it was good marketing."
    A grin. "Well, and Ronnie wanted me to find some nice ladies, but that's selfish on her part, I think."

Noble Six (38) has posed:
    "I understand the need for it." Six replies, as she looks at Johnny between bites of her chili, "But I fully understand where you're coming from. The vast majority of my time, when I'm not doing operations for the Union, is spent doing operations for ONI.." She makes a little bit of a face, "I know a lot of people don't like the way they do things...Even I don't, from time to time, but sometimes someone has to make dificult choices for the betterment of everyone." She takes a quick look around, "I'm sure you had to on your journey to this point."

    She takes another bite of the chili, and then digs into the chicken quesadilla, "Veronica seems nice, but she also seemed to have an air about her. I think she's far more dangerous than her exterior would reveal. But then, I think you are as well."

Courier Six (32) has posed:
    A snort. "Man, you don't even know the half of it. Ronnie is a California chick from the Brotherhood of Steel. Real bunch of zealots, all about securing Old World tech for themselves to keep it out of the hands of savages and all that. When she's out with me in real situations, she wears powered armor, charges people, and punches the hell out of them with a powered pneumatic powerfist. She gets more action than I do. Then again, I ain't much of a fighter. I much prefer words to shootin'. Dead people really can't negotiate and a dead person in the Mojave brings us a little closer to ruin, you know?"

Noble Six (38) has posed:
    "I understand where you're coming from." Noble Six replies, as she looks down at her dinner for a moment, "Unfortunately my enemy doesn't seem to prefer negotiation, decisive action is the only viable course of action when dealing with them." She says, "But that's a different situation entirely. Alien invaders with the intent of wiping out all of humanity to apease their so-called gods aren't really people you would expect to be able to negotiate with."

    She grabs another spoonfull of chili and then hmms for a moment after she swallows, "I'm a bit surprised that Vegas faired as well as it did, from my understanding the majority of the world was wiped out in a nuclear war here...I figured a major US city would be a huge target for their enemies."

Courier Six (32) has posed:
    "Weeeeell for that you gotta thank Mr. House. He had a defense system up and running ahead of the war that stopped all but... I think three or four bombs and ICBMs from droppin' on the Mojave. Apprently he was really keen on not gettin' murdered by the Chicoms and the Ruuskies." A grin, and he chews on some chili for a bit, finding a piece of gristle he missed. "Mmmh, anyways yeah, we just had the fallout for the most part, but there's places up north, Utah in particular, that got missed entirely. Plenty of tribes and such managed to live out the war, for the most part."

    He leans on the table, looking up at Noble. "So did they pick out good lookin' ladies for the SPARTAN program or did the program make you that way?"

Noble Six (38) has posed:
    The explanation makes sense to Six. A defense system would have been feasable, though some part of her wonders why he wouldn't share that technology with the rest of the country. Though as he gets into mentioning the SPARTAN program, she hrms faintly. Well since he's telling her about himself, she figures she'd best return the favor.

    "I was actually recruited into the program when I was six." She replies, "My parents had been killed and my world glassed by the Covenant. An ONI officer found me when my shuttle that I'd escaped on got to a refugee camp...He offered me a chance for revenge, and I took it. I spent the next eight years training with the program, and then was selected for extra duties away from the rest of the SPARTANs that I had been training with."

    She considers the last part of his statement, "The genetic modifications probably did assist, though. They were designed to make the SPARTANs at the peak of human performance, and I would guess that, well, attractiveness would undoubtedly come with that."

Courier Six (32) has posed:
    The Courier snorts, and grumps. "Myself, I got my face put back together by the doc who pulled the lead out of my brain." He taps the scars just over his right eye. Two bullet wounds.
    "Then I had a bunch of crazy scientists rip out my brain, heart and spine and turn my into a damn cyborg. Got my brain back though, so that's natural again." A grin. "So, we're both more than human now. And I'm okay with that. Besides. There's no such thing as a fair fight. There's fights where I'm alive and there's fights where I'm not, and the robo-bits have kept me in good stead this long."
    He drinks more of his Cocktail, and then points with the spoon. "I... I feel for you on the orphan part. Ain't enough people lookin' out for kids here in the mojave. Too many of them grow up too damn fast and I just... well. I want to make this a place where kids can grow up slow again. That's a goal."

Noble Six (38) has posed:
    "That's an admirable goal. A life like this is no life for a child." Noble Six replies, "As far as being more human than human, you'll hear no complaints from me, even if it did mean having scientists muck around with my DNA."

    She laughs a bit and finishes off her drink, "Don't take this the wrong way, I am a bit surprised you survived the shot to the head...I'm sure you're well aware most people aren't that lucky...But then again, luck can be a major factor, can't it? We are sitting in an old world casino, after all."

    She rubs her chin faintly for a second, "Well if you do need any help getting things set up for kids, I'd be happy to help. The UNSC is also doing things to make sure stuff like the SPARTAN program...Which was ncessary at the time, but no longer is, don't happen again."

Courier Six (32) has posed:
    Johnny's smile is infectious, as he nods. "I am blessed by Lady Luck, it seems. I mean, I always have been. But Luck ain't just a forceanature. She's planning, she's execution... but sometimes, yeah, just dumb random happenstance." He leans back in his chair.
    "A seer told me once. 'Your face does the thinking - two to the skull, yet one gets up. Odds are against you... but they're just numbers after the two-to-one. You're playing the hand you've been dealt, but you don't let it rest, you shuffle and stack, and a gamble... a gamble that may pay off? But how?'"
    He gets up and shuffles over to the kitchen again. "'Forecast: Rapidly changing conditions.' And I'd be happy to get that help. I mean, everyone around here offers so much but I don't take help for free. Ain't nothin' for free. And everyone's got a price they want out of help. No 'fennse on that, but I ain't a takin' man."

Noble Six (38) has posed:
    "I understand," Noble Six replies, "And respect that. I respect honesty and transparency." She sets her spoon down and looks across at Johnny as he moves to the kitchen, "I don't know what I want, to be frank. So I would offer an exchange. My help in return for a favor, when something I do need comes to me."

Courier Six (32) has posed:
    And Johnny comes back with... Chocolate mousse. With real whipped cream on top. This is entirely imported. He plants a cup in front of Noble, and bows. "We'll see when we get there. I got some... internal stuff to handle, to be honest, but when it comes back to needin' the help again, I'll let you know. We can negotiate then."
    He settles back in, and spoons a bite of chocolate into his mouth with a happy sigh. "Mmmmmmh... Damn, ain't ever gonna get tired of this stuff. I had to pinch a recipe to get it."

    Like the rest of the food tonight, there's a hint of hot to the chocolate, just a little shaving of pepper in there somewhere to offset the sweet.

Noble Six (38) has posed:
    Mmm, desert. Noble Six would be more than willing to admit that it's her favorite part. Once the mousse has been put down, she takes a new spoon and then smiles to Johnny before she takes a huge bite, "Oooh, this is wonderful." She says, as she takes another bite, "Hmm...I know this has to all be brought in from the Multiverse, but this is incredible. Well done."

She wonders if Johnny has ever considered opening up a resturant out of the Mojave. Or alternately, opening up a Multiversal resturant on the strip..

Courier Six (32) has posed:
    Johnny grins, and picks up his cup. "Come on, lemme show you My Vegas." He smiles and heads on over to one of the couches overlooking the edge of what used to be the Rotating Cocktail Lounge. Beyond, the glittering lights of The Strip flash and shine out in the dark.

    But past that, out in the Mojave... there's lights as well. The glittering glimpse of Primm. Novac. Goodsprings. The 188. Johnny flops down and smiles. "This is my work. But it ain't done yet."

Noble Six (38) has posed:
She moves over to the window and looks out across the Mojave, taking in the view of the towns in the distance, "How far do you intend to take it?" She asks, "Do you want to try to bring back the world that existed before the war? Or just carve out your own version of it?"

She hrms a bit. The view reminds her a little bit of Reach, when the Covenant were unleashing their fury upon it. But then the lights in the distance were fires, not settlements. The destruction of civilization, not the return of it.

Courier Six (32) has posed:
    Johnny's hand moves to fiddle with the Pipboy on his left arm, and he smiles. "The whole place, once we can get this crap with the NCR and the Legion sorted out. But... that'd be ending a war first and... well. The methods of war might change, but War doesn't. For now, I gotta stay neutral in it all and just walk away from the conflicts, but I'm hoping to not have to do that, eventually."

    The Courier smiles, and looks up at Noble. "That's my vision of the future. Maybe not the way things were... but at least a piece ofwhat they ought to be."

Noble Six (38) has posed:
    "The Legion and the NCR...Sound like two sides of the same coin. They both want to control the Mojave, don't they?" She asks, arms folding behind her back as she looks out over it, "Different methods, I'm sure, but the same goal."

    She knows the type, but the UEG, United Earth Government, where she comes from, are they really so different? When colonies didn't want to be a part of the UEG any longer, didn't a civil war break out? She's fought enough insurgents to know.

Courier Six (32) has posed:
    Johnny flops on a couch after getting a beer, and sighs. "Well. The Legion is lead by Caesar," and yes he used their pronunciation, "Who unified a shit ton of tribes out East and rampaged across Texas and New Mexico to get here. The New California Republic held them off at the Hoover Dam a while back, but the big war is brewin' once more and they both want my little slice of heaven here. Along with the Arizon and the Hoover. So. They leave the damn people who live here in the balance over resources. War never changes."
    A very long swig of beer.

Noble Six (38) has posed:
"I see." Six replies, as she gets herself a beer of her own and sits across from him, "So now both sides are taking pot shots at each other...The dam, that's their big objective, and I assume the NCR won't be able to hold it a second time."

She considers for a bit, "How did they hold it the first time? I assume Caesar will be ready for that tactic a second time, so they'll need to come up with something new."

Courier Six (32) has posed:
    "Uh, that's a big story actually. Caesar's Legion had made ist across the damn into Boulder City and were enganging the NCR after they fell back. But as it turns out the NCR Rangers were much better shots and they had both snipers waiting to take out the officers, as well as explosives laid out in the ruins of the city to cut off their escape."
    Johnny grunts. "The Legate in charge of that cot coated in pitch, lit on fire, and was tossed into the Grand Canyon." Siiiiiiip. "Don't fail Caesar."

Noble Six (38) has posed:
    "Come back with your shield or on it, huh?" Six says, musing faintly. She knows that's a Greek thing, not a Roman thing, but it applies here just the same, "If he's gearing up for another attack, Caesar must have found a new Legate. I wonder who was willing to take the job after the way the last one went out."

    She sips her beer, looking down at the bottle for a second and then hmms, "From the sounds of things, the NCR would be the lesser of two evils for this place. You and Mr. House seem to have things well in hand, though."

Courier Six (32) has posed:
    "Man, the NCR's not ready to be this far West. Don't get me wrong the citizens are nice, but the soldiers... they still want to control stuff, put a lockdown on resources. Probably tax us and send the caps West. Who knows. I just want to keep the mojave free. That's going to take doing, you know? Organization. Bringing the rule of law to the people and all that. I dunno. I'm just one cowpoke, and I can't be everywhere."
    He sips his beer and sighs. "Frankly, I'm honored you're still here listenin' to me ramble."

Noble Six (38) has posed:
"I think I understand. Rebuilding a country can't be easy." Six says, as she finishes off her beer and sets it down, and then grins, "Well you haven't kicked me out yet, and I figure it's probably nice to have someone to just /talk/ to, without wanting to get something from them, or vice versa."

She looks back out over the Mojave, "Plus I'm not gonna ask you to go out into the desert to get some random item that I need for some reason."

Courier Six (32) has posed:
    The Courier snorts. "Ain't doin' much of the delivering myself anymore. I got the proper Mojave Express up and running again, bought the place out, and handed the whole shebang back over to the guy who used to run it back in the day." He points out the lights of the Vicki and Vance and the Bison Steve.

    A grin. "Also, I ain't afraid to ask for a second date from a lady who could kick my ass."

Noble Six (38) has posed:
"Well I'm not afraid to accept a second date from someone who I find very intriguing." She says, "Though next time perhaps we can do something, hmm...More my speed."

"Know any good shooting ranges? You know the old saying, I'll show you mine if you show me your's." She turns her head a bit and grins.

Courier Six (32) has posed:
    Johnny grins. "Lady, I got the whole damn Mojave as my shootin' range. And a whole crap ton of Critters what need sniping and exterminatin'. Name a time and place, and I can be there."

Noble Six (38) has posed:
"Same time next week?" She says, "I'll bring some big toys, I think you'll get a kick out of them." Six says, as she stands up, "For now, I should probably make my way back home...But I'll look forward to seeing you out on the range."

Courier Six (32) has posed:
    Johnny grins. "You got it. And... thanks for coming out."