fnv timeline
Apr. 7th, 2023 06:25 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sidewaysApparently it being 2023 means it's 10 years since I first played Fallout: New Vegas! Honestly startling to think about, both because this was such a distinct moment in my life and also because it does not feel like it was nearly long enough ago for a decade to have passed between. What a game! What a ride. I still wistfully dream of a remaster that won't crash on me every 15 minutes.
With FNV freshly on my mind, I found myself mocking together a rough timeline of key events for my small collective of Fallout characters, which has been lacking until now. Just a quick and easy project - until I started fleshing out some of the gaps, adding in important canon events, figuring out where things linked together...
The end result is still not a wholly complete timeline, but it's certainly the most comprehensive I've put together in 10 years and, for the first time, documents the story of my Courier 6 from innocuous start to brutal end. If I were a different sort of person, there would be a 100k fanfic in here somewhere. As it is, at least the cliffnotes are finally on paper!
THE PLAYERS
Larkin: Courier 6, wasteland wanderer, Newest Vegas Tyrant. Thoroughly afflicted with Main Protagonist syndrome and it might just be terminal. Her story is closely entangled with that of Veronica Santangelo (canon companion character, lover) and Christine Royce (canon companion character, former ally), for better and worse.
Avery Munir: NCR trooper, professional grump. Very much not a main character, and his personal journey mostly involves wrestling with the legacies and pressures of his family.
THE TIMELINE
2077
• October 23 - The Great War devastates the world.
• Inside Vault 7, the occupants soon realise their supposed sanctuary is instead an experiment to test their response to a looping soundtrack of disruptive sounds and subliminal messages intended to disturb sleep and normal social routines. They are unable to turn it off as it's built into the life support, and people begin to psychologically deteriorate within weeks. They rally to develop solutions to blocking the sound out with the resources available, and one of the occupants who was unaffected due to her natural deafness begins to teach everyone sign language.
2082
• The Brotherhood of Steel is founded.
2138
• House reawakens from his comatose state following the Great War, and proceeds to silently watch the development of the wasteland around Las Vegas.
2162
• The approximate events of Fallout 1 take place, and mutants start to become a widespread problem in the wasteland.
2189
• The New California Republic is founded.
• The Followers of the Apocalypse take up residence in the Boneyard and become increasingly influential.
2198
• The occupants of Vault 7 realise an earthquake has damaged their door and buried their vault deeper under the earth. They form a plan to dig their way to the surface.
2219
• Avery’s mother, Marilyn, is born in Redding to Constance and Holland Bayswater, both involved in the mining business.
2223
• Avery’s father, Ismael Munir, is born inside Vault 7. Like all occupants of the vault by this time, he undergoes a surgical procedure to render him deaf.
2230
• Marilyn's father dies in a mining accident when Marilyn is 11. Her mother moves them from Redding to the Hub soon after and finds whatever work is available. The stressed and grieving Connie develops a drinking problem, leaving a young Marilyn to shoulder much of the burden of caring for herself and their household.
2234
• Connie starts up B&R Repairs with a partner and things start to stabilise, though her relationship with Marilyn remains tense.
2236
• Marilyn (17) enlists in the NCR army.
2241
• Ismael (18) and the rest of Vault 7 finally escape by tunnelling out of their buried home, the work of some 43 years. They emerge near NCR territory and soon strike up warily friendly connections; the nature of their escape and the fact they continue to mostly live and operate out of the underground vault earns them the colloquial title of the Molerats.
2242
• Hostilities start to develop in between the insular Brotherhood and the rapidly expanding NCR.
• The events of Fallout 2 go down and the Enclave is destroyed.
• Marilyn (23) and Ismael (19) meet and begin a relationship soon after.
2247
• Caesar's Legion is founded by Follower of the Apocalypse missionary Ed Sallow.
• Feb 4 - Avery’s sister Holly is born in the Hub.
2250
• July 22 - Avery is born in the Hub.
2253
• 38 NCR civilians are massacred in the Mojave, and 3 battalions are dispatched by new NCR President Wendell Peterson to the region in response.
• Sergeant Marilyn (31) is among the forces sent to the Mojave (Avery is 3, Holly is 6). She performs well and earns the approving eye of her superiors, netting a reputation for running an orderly ship. She is promoted to major as a result.
2254
• Veronica Santangelo and Christine Royce are born to members of the Brotherhood in the west.
2255
• Caesar's Legion capital is established in Flagstaff.
• Major Bayswater returns from being queen of the world on the Mojave tour to find her children have pupated into weird strangers (Avery 5, Holly 8). Everyone hates this.
• A pregnant Reno moll robs and ditches her partner, and moves around the wasteland to avoid reprisal from him and/or his boss. (Unbeknownst to her, her ulterior strategy did in fact play off - he is killed by his boss for failing to prevent the robbery.)
2256
• War breaks out in earnest between the NCR and the Brotherhood.
• Jan 6 - Larkin is born in the middle of nowhere.
2259
• Marilyn is promoted to Colonel on the first of the two major tours of duty she attends during the heat of the Brotherhood conflict.
2260
• Veronica (6) loses her paladin parents to the conflict with the NCR.
2264
• Larkin (8) and her mother settle in Klamath. Dwindling funds and issues with her mother's health turn this into a long-term settlement.
2265
• The Brotherhood attacks and devastates the NCR’s gold reserves at Redding, kickstarting a period of high economic instability for the Republic.
• Holly enlists in the NCR army at 18, full of verve and vinegar; Avery (15) pines over losing her steadying company.
• Larkin (9) meets passing ghoul trader Deniz and his Mr Handy robot Hands-Off, so named for expressing that very sentiment to curious young girls looking to poke about in a caravan when she thinks she’s unobserved. Having gone by a rotating selection of aliases most of her life at her mother’s paranoid insistence, Larkin first uses the name ‘Larkin’ for this meeting, taking it from her latest favourite radio play and its protagonist space captain. Deniz takes pity on the ragamuffin, and tends to encourage her company when he's about, sharing stories of the wasteland, teaching her a little about robotics, and gifting her with an only slightly broken spyglass.
2267
• The war between the NCR and the Brotherhood starts to subside, with it becoming clear the Brotherhood are fading out as the primary power in the region in the face of the NCR's strength of numbers. Meanwhile, the Great Khans leave California and settle in the Mojave.
• Connie has a sudden stroke and dies of the complications. This puts a similarly abrupt end to 17yo’s Avery's informal apprenticeship at her shop; full ownership automatically goes to Connie's business partner who prioritises employing his own family. The economy, y'know.
2269
• General Kimball leads a branch of the army into eastern Sierra Nevada and begins to evict the tribal residents. Brahmin barons rise in power as President Peterson softens regulatory controls.
• Avery (19) enlists for the borderline compulsory period that is expected of any able-bodied young loyalist without other obligations. He receives a 6 month posting at the southern border that's 95% boredom and 5% the briefest taste of combat, and otherwise it's mostly logistics and training around central NCR until he discharges. The experience doesn’t leave him with a particularly positive impression of army life, but it’s nothing scarring.
2270
• Kimball returns home a hero after the ‘Pacification of the Mojave’, having evicted tribal residents around Owen's Lake and Bullhead.
• Tired of Elder Elijah's extremism and obsession with old world weapons, the Brotherhood sends him away east to establish the Mojave chapter. Veronica and Christine are among those who go with him as young scribes.
• Avery (20) joins a work crew expanding an annexed settlement in the south to try and meet the NCR's need for resources and housing. It's hard but enjoyable work; what he'd learned from Connie gets both put to use and built upon. He meets Elke, one of the logistical coordinators, and eventually they start a relationship.
• Larkin's mother dies of the undiagnosed illness that has been affecting her for years (likely Huntington's), and Larkin (14) leaves Klamath.
2271
• The Ranger Unification Treaty is formed between the NCR and Mojave rangers, and the NCR starts establishing their interests in the region at an increased rate.
• The Mojave Brotherhood discovers and occupies the Helios One power plant. Veronica and Christine develop romantic feelings for each other, but their relationship is broken up by the machinations of Elder Elijah, and Christine is sent away to the Circle of Steel. Elijah hides his involvement and remains a mentor to Veronica.
• Larkin (15) finds scrap work in Old Arroyo, where those without better prospects gather to take care of sorting, processing, and chasing off vermin for a pittance. Larkin proves able to tell a working circuit board apart from a scorched toaster coil, which nets her some small status and opportunity, and she's taught the fundamentals of terminal databases by a supervisor. She also puts together her first robot as a side project; it's junky and only lasts a few months, but it works. Unfortunately, the scrapyard is composed of jealous little gangs all fighting for what's available, and Larkin's skills in social politicking are underdeveloped; things grow tense.
2272
• Both the Mojave Outpost and the Mojave Express are established.
• Elke ends her relationship with Avery (22) after it becomes clear he feels much more strongly about her than she can return. Dramatically broken-hearted, Avery quits the settlement and returns home to the Hub to sulk.
• Larkin (16) flees Arroyo when an excess of violence threatens. She finds work for several months in another town at a hostel and bar, mostly cleaning and running errands. A shady trader recruits her from here as an assistant for his travelling street con for a little while, but she ditches him once it's clear he doesn't mean her well either.
2273
• Kimball retires from the military and runs for president at the end of the year, successfully ousting Peterson. The Followers move into the Mojave.
• Avery (23) has spent the better part of 10 months mooching around listlessly doing occasional copy work for his father; when Holly comes home on leave, she figures he needs some structure to move on from all this wallowing and points out he has the makings of a perfectly capable soldier. Without a 'better' life ambition to put forward in counter, Avery concedes, and re-enlists.
• Larkin (17) risks travelling outside the boundaries of safer NCR borders for the first time. It’s rough going and she has several close calls, among them nearly getting her hands cut off for thieving.
2274
• NCR occupies Hoover Dam, and begins hassling Elijah and his Brotherhood forces for control of Helios One.
• House forms the Three Families and the Free Economic Zone of New Vegas in order to consolidate enough power worth leveraging, and the Treaty of New Vegas is subsequently signed between Vegas and the NCR. Many soldiers are moved out to the Mojave at this point.
• Avery (24) isn't one of those sent to the Mojave, but that means he's part of the forces trying to hold down everything at home. He meets Julie Ortega this year, who takes one look at him and decides they will be besties.
• Larkin (18) returns to NCR territory, and recommences doing random jobs wherever work is available.
2275
• After several ideological clashes, the NCR officially disavows the Followers, and sets up their own research division to compensate for losing their aid and knowledge, the Office of Science and Industry (OSI); Ismael is among those recruited to its staff.
• Caesar’s Legion starts warmongering in the Mojave, and Camp McCarran is established near Vegas by the NCR.
• Avery (25) starts down the slope of what will be a succession of long combat tours with little reprieve. At one camp he meets a fellow soldier who takes a shine to him. They have a couple of months together at the camp, then one brief reunion, then Gil's off to the Mojave like so many.
• Larkin (19) hitches on with a caravan company and travels around a decent portion of the region for some 17 months. The work is so-so; she likes moving around, she develops a knack for trader patter, and there's certainly much to be said for a regular paycheck and a steady flow of folk to swap stories or a game of cards with. The downsides are dealing with brahmin, budgets and permits, and caravan hierarchies.
2276
• The NCR and Brotherhood come to blows in the Mojave over control of the Helios One power plant and its secret weapon; the NCR victory sends a furious Elijah off into the wilderness to seek a weapon strong enough to turn the tables on them, while the remainder of the Brotherhood retreats into a bunker in Hidden Valley. The Kings are formed in Freeside.
• Avery (26) is in the thick of battles along the homefront, Protecting The People (™); Gil's unit is in the Mojave and contact is reduced to almost nil as they're both moving around too often.
• In lieu of Honest Hearts, Larkin (20) has a narrow escape when her caravan is forced to detour off their safe route and runs afoul of a minor civil war between two settlements. Larkin spends a week or so scrambling around a canyon and doing a lot of desperate smooth-talking before she and the other survivors are able to get clear.
2277
• Elijah sets up at Little Yangtze, starts abusing Mentats, and experiments on wasteland prisoners with explosive collars with the intention of following up a lead on a lost haven of old world tech: the Sierra Madre Casino.
• The Legion launches an assault in an attempt to claim the dam for themselves. The First Battle of Hoover Dam eventually repels them at the cost of many lives, including Gil's.
• Avery (27) is not at the battle itself, but his battalion is moved down close in reserve during the conflict and, afterwards, is stationed in the Mojave for about 18 months because they're supposedly 'fresher'. He does not feel fresh and the Mojave is a hard place, socially and politically. It doesn't feel much like Protecting The People (™).
• Larkin (21) grows tired of NCR life breathing regulations and taxes down her neck and ventures out of the territory again. Older and cannier, she does much better for herself as something of a travelling mercenary. While working a job in Reno, she picks up a partner with an interest in vaults and similar old world hauls and they do some adventuring together - Larkin knows a few tricks already when it comes to navigating electronic systems, but starts to become quite the dab hand during this period.
• On the other side of the continent, Fallout 3 and JJ’s story goes down. They don’t want to talk about it.
2278
• The Mojave chapter of the Brotherhood starts sending out patrols for the first time since their defeat at Helios One.
• Christine is dispatched from the Circle of Steel to deal with Elijah and his crimes. She and Elijah clash at the Big MT; he escapes and makes his way to the Sierra Madre where he starts trying to lure people in through a broadcast to use as proxies in getting through the deadly security. Christine resumes her pursuit after she heals from her injuries.
• Towards the end of the year Avery (28) finally gets to leave the Mojave, now a Corporal. Whoo yeah doing mom proud he's so tired.
• Larkin splits with her partner after disagreements arise.
2279
• Avery (29) is given a few months leave, then his unit is straight back on tour. His mental health is noticeably suffering but the war machine just keeps grinding.
• Chasing rumours of fortune, Larkin (23) falls into the plot of Dead Money and is captured by Elijah and coerced into breaking into the Sierra Madre by the weight of the explosive collar around her neck. She meets Christine, who had come off worse against Elijah yet again, and the two forge an alliance of necessity in order to finally defeat Elijah. The Sierra Madre is left under Christine's watchful management as Larkin lopes back to the wider wasteland.
2280
• In a conflict with a wasteland gang, Julie is badly injured. In the same conflict, Avery (30) cracks the shits, disobeys orders, and flees the field of battle. He's picked up by another patrol and charged with desertion. Holly pulls some strings and gets him sentenced to drudge duty at the Mojave Outpost rather than incarcerated or outright shot.
• Larkin (24) finds employment with the Mojave Express, and starts to settle comfortably into the courier life, which has many of the advantages of caravanning with fewer disadvantages.
2281
• Senate elections in the NCR commence around October; the Mojave campaign has grown politically toxic and Kimball is not confident of re-election. The Legion is noticeably preparing to try a second assault on the dam, forming allegiances with groups like the embittered Great Khans to bolster their numbers.
• Avery (31) slowly rethinks his life choices while stationed at the Outpost.
• In October, Larkin (25) is shot in the head on a delivery, and befriends Veronica on the way to New Vegas to find out why. At Vegas, Larkin strikes an agreement with House, and begins to act as his agent in the Mojave to fulfil his plans to become a regional power capable of standing against the threat of either annexation or conquest: she murders her would-be murderer, retrieves the platinum chip he stole, and uses it to reactivate a hidden securitron army.
2282
• Larkin undergoes the remainder of her New Vegas adventures, reshuffling the power of the Three Families and forming an alliance with the Boomers. Towards June, however, she ejects House from the systems after an ugly disagreement where he orders her to destroy Veronica's Brotherhood chapter and refuses to take no for an answer.
• Larkin takes control of the Lucky 38 and its attached securitron army and, with the help of Yes Man, starts frantically preparing for the promised war to arrive. She manages to convince the Great Khans to break their allegiance to the Legion and get out of dodge, but alarms the NCR by attacking their forces at a control waystation.
• Fortunately they don't have time to do much about it before President Kimball is assassinated by Legion operatives.
• The Legion invades, kicking off the Second Battle of Hoover Dam, but are defeated for a second time. Larkin's securitron army and alliance with the Boomers enable her to instead claim the dam for herself, push both the NCR and the Legion out of the Mojave altogether (killing both the Legate and General Olivier in the process), and rally the majority of Vegas and Freeside around her.
• In the chaotic wake of the war, the Fiends seize control of the outlands around Vegas for a time; while Larkin is busy dealing with that, the Brotherhood seizes Helios One and starts to reassert themselves in the region.
2283
• Avery (33) returns to the Hub, only to finally quit the NCR army and start his own business as a mechanic.
• Vegas continues to struggle along, with many businesses suffering from the massive upheaval in the economic status quo. Big names like the Gun Runners and Crimson Caravan pull out of the Mojave to protect the majority of their assets in California, leading to a scramble to source other suppliers. Many regional traders and local producers find they have more opportunity than ever before as demand sharply increases, but Vegas itself is feeling an undeniable pinch.
• Cachino's thin grip on the Omertas slips, and he's murdered by a lieutenant who sees an opportunity to replace Larkin as neatly as she replaced House; unlike House, Larkin effects a ruthless curbstomp and dissolves what's left of the gang, giving Gomorrah over to the Garretts.
• Veronica's attempts to talk the Brotherhood down get her officially banished from their number, and they continue to harass tech traders like the Van Graffs, who put pressure on Larkin. The Brotherhood doesn't have the strength to march on Vegas directly but Larkin can only handle so many problems at once; the mutual, seething stalemate continues.
2284
• Larkin (28) returns to the Sierra Madre with Veronica in tow, aiming to strike an alliance of sorts with old acquaintance Christine and retrieve some of the Sierra's security technology to strengthen her position in the Mojave. Unfortunately, Christine turns her down flat, and Veronica supports Christine, tired of the bloodshed and afraid of how the technology might be used. A frustrated Larkin turns on them both in an attempt to take the tech by force and, unable to talk her down, Christine and Veronica work together to destroy the Sierra Madre by igniting the Cloud. Larkin limps bitterly back to Vegas, while Veronica leaves with Christine.
• Still desperate for a way to surely keep enemies at bay, Larkin presents a bold pitch to the Boomers: to together seek to fulfil their ultimate explosive destiny through the power to strike fire down from the stars. She successfully talks them into joining Vegas in full and they begin to move into the city, occupying the old NCR embassy and bolstering Larkin’s personal forces.
2285
• Larkin 'reclaims' Helios One from the Brotherhood by staging a diversion, infiltrating the building, and turning ARCHIMEDES II on the plant itself. This successfully destroys most of their entrenched forces, but also the functionality of Helios One and its satellite weapon.
• Larkin decides to pursue development of her own superweapon, using what remains of Helios One and anything else she can find. Wild dreams even extend to rockets travelling to a safe base on the moon where one could lounge out of reach of all enemies...
2286
• Vegas forces occupy Novac in order to claim the scrapyard and REPCONN test site. Many of the civilians are pushed out, though a handful of Bright Brotherhood cultists join the cause.
• Local dissent by the Kings about the state of Vegas is impatiently and violently put down.
2287
• After two groups of Vegas scouts fail to return from chasing a lead down near Hopeville, Larkin ventures out herself. The discovery of the Big MT is a dangerous boon to current ideals, and Larkin starts talking logistics with the Think Tank.
2288
• Veronica and Christine return to the Mojave to deal with Larkin, unable to ignore the danger she's posing any longer. They begin to organise among the disaffected and unhappy: the Followers, Arcade and his Enclave connections, the surviving Kings, even troubled members among the Vegas elite.
2289
• The rebellion is victorious, if costly, and Larkin is killed.
With FNV freshly on my mind, I found myself mocking together a rough timeline of key events for my small collective of Fallout characters, which has been lacking until now. Just a quick and easy project - until I started fleshing out some of the gaps, adding in important canon events, figuring out where things linked together...
The end result is still not a wholly complete timeline, but it's certainly the most comprehensive I've put together in 10 years and, for the first time, documents the story of my Courier 6 from innocuous start to brutal end. If I were a different sort of person, there would be a 100k fanfic in here somewhere. As it is, at least the cliffnotes are finally on paper!
THE PLAYERS
Larkin: Courier 6, wasteland wanderer, Newest Vegas Tyrant. Thoroughly afflicted with Main Protagonist syndrome and it might just be terminal. Her story is closely entangled with that of Veronica Santangelo (canon companion character, lover) and Christine Royce (canon companion character, former ally), for better and worse.
Avery Munir: NCR trooper, professional grump. Very much not a main character, and his personal journey mostly involves wrestling with the legacies and pressures of his family.
THE TIMELINE
2077
• October 23 - The Great War devastates the world.
• Inside Vault 7, the occupants soon realise their supposed sanctuary is instead an experiment to test their response to a looping soundtrack of disruptive sounds and subliminal messages intended to disturb sleep and normal social routines. They are unable to turn it off as it's built into the life support, and people begin to psychologically deteriorate within weeks. They rally to develop solutions to blocking the sound out with the resources available, and one of the occupants who was unaffected due to her natural deafness begins to teach everyone sign language.
2082
• The Brotherhood of Steel is founded.
2138
• House reawakens from his comatose state following the Great War, and proceeds to silently watch the development of the wasteland around Las Vegas.
2162
• The approximate events of Fallout 1 take place, and mutants start to become a widespread problem in the wasteland.
2189
• The New California Republic is founded.
• The Followers of the Apocalypse take up residence in the Boneyard and become increasingly influential.
2198
• The occupants of Vault 7 realise an earthquake has damaged their door and buried their vault deeper under the earth. They form a plan to dig their way to the surface.
2219
• Avery’s mother, Marilyn, is born in Redding to Constance and Holland Bayswater, both involved in the mining business.
2223
• Avery’s father, Ismael Munir, is born inside Vault 7. Like all occupants of the vault by this time, he undergoes a surgical procedure to render him deaf.
2230
• Marilyn's father dies in a mining accident when Marilyn is 11. Her mother moves them from Redding to the Hub soon after and finds whatever work is available. The stressed and grieving Connie develops a drinking problem, leaving a young Marilyn to shoulder much of the burden of caring for herself and their household.
2234
• Connie starts up B&R Repairs with a partner and things start to stabilise, though her relationship with Marilyn remains tense.
2236
• Marilyn (17) enlists in the NCR army.
2241
• Ismael (18) and the rest of Vault 7 finally escape by tunnelling out of their buried home, the work of some 43 years. They emerge near NCR territory and soon strike up warily friendly connections; the nature of their escape and the fact they continue to mostly live and operate out of the underground vault earns them the colloquial title of the Molerats.
2242
• Hostilities start to develop in between the insular Brotherhood and the rapidly expanding NCR.
• The events of Fallout 2 go down and the Enclave is destroyed.
• Marilyn (23) and Ismael (19) meet and begin a relationship soon after.
2247
• Caesar's Legion is founded by Follower of the Apocalypse missionary Ed Sallow.
• Feb 4 - Avery’s sister Holly is born in the Hub.
2250
• July 22 - Avery is born in the Hub.
2253
• 38 NCR civilians are massacred in the Mojave, and 3 battalions are dispatched by new NCR President Wendell Peterson to the region in response.
• Sergeant Marilyn (31) is among the forces sent to the Mojave (Avery is 3, Holly is 6). She performs well and earns the approving eye of her superiors, netting a reputation for running an orderly ship. She is promoted to major as a result.
2254
• Veronica Santangelo and Christine Royce are born to members of the Brotherhood in the west.
2255
• Caesar's Legion capital is established in Flagstaff.
• Major Bayswater returns from being queen of the world on the Mojave tour to find her children have pupated into weird strangers (Avery 5, Holly 8). Everyone hates this.
• A pregnant Reno moll robs and ditches her partner, and moves around the wasteland to avoid reprisal from him and/or his boss. (Unbeknownst to her, her ulterior strategy did in fact play off - he is killed by his boss for failing to prevent the robbery.)
2256
• War breaks out in earnest between the NCR and the Brotherhood.
• Jan 6 - Larkin is born in the middle of nowhere.
2259
• Marilyn is promoted to Colonel on the first of the two major tours of duty she attends during the heat of the Brotherhood conflict.
2260
• Veronica (6) loses her paladin parents to the conflict with the NCR.
2264
• Larkin (8) and her mother settle in Klamath. Dwindling funds and issues with her mother's health turn this into a long-term settlement.
2265
• The Brotherhood attacks and devastates the NCR’s gold reserves at Redding, kickstarting a period of high economic instability for the Republic.
• Holly enlists in the NCR army at 18, full of verve and vinegar; Avery (15) pines over losing her steadying company.
• Larkin (9) meets passing ghoul trader Deniz and his Mr Handy robot Hands-Off, so named for expressing that very sentiment to curious young girls looking to poke about in a caravan when she thinks she’s unobserved. Having gone by a rotating selection of aliases most of her life at her mother’s paranoid insistence, Larkin first uses the name ‘Larkin’ for this meeting, taking it from her latest favourite radio play and its protagonist space captain. Deniz takes pity on the ragamuffin, and tends to encourage her company when he's about, sharing stories of the wasteland, teaching her a little about robotics, and gifting her with an only slightly broken spyglass.
2267
• The war between the NCR and the Brotherhood starts to subside, with it becoming clear the Brotherhood are fading out as the primary power in the region in the face of the NCR's strength of numbers. Meanwhile, the Great Khans leave California and settle in the Mojave.
• Connie has a sudden stroke and dies of the complications. This puts a similarly abrupt end to 17yo’s Avery's informal apprenticeship at her shop; full ownership automatically goes to Connie's business partner who prioritises employing his own family. The economy, y'know.
2269
• General Kimball leads a branch of the army into eastern Sierra Nevada and begins to evict the tribal residents. Brahmin barons rise in power as President Peterson softens regulatory controls.
• Avery (19) enlists for the borderline compulsory period that is expected of any able-bodied young loyalist without other obligations. He receives a 6 month posting at the southern border that's 95% boredom and 5% the briefest taste of combat, and otherwise it's mostly logistics and training around central NCR until he discharges. The experience doesn’t leave him with a particularly positive impression of army life, but it’s nothing scarring.
2270
• Kimball returns home a hero after the ‘Pacification of the Mojave’, having evicted tribal residents around Owen's Lake and Bullhead.
• Tired of Elder Elijah's extremism and obsession with old world weapons, the Brotherhood sends him away east to establish the Mojave chapter. Veronica and Christine are among those who go with him as young scribes.
• Avery (20) joins a work crew expanding an annexed settlement in the south to try and meet the NCR's need for resources and housing. It's hard but enjoyable work; what he'd learned from Connie gets both put to use and built upon. He meets Elke, one of the logistical coordinators, and eventually they start a relationship.
• Larkin's mother dies of the undiagnosed illness that has been affecting her for years (likely Huntington's), and Larkin (14) leaves Klamath.
2271
• The Ranger Unification Treaty is formed between the NCR and Mojave rangers, and the NCR starts establishing their interests in the region at an increased rate.
• The Mojave Brotherhood discovers and occupies the Helios One power plant. Veronica and Christine develop romantic feelings for each other, but their relationship is broken up by the machinations of Elder Elijah, and Christine is sent away to the Circle of Steel. Elijah hides his involvement and remains a mentor to Veronica.
• Larkin (15) finds scrap work in Old Arroyo, where those without better prospects gather to take care of sorting, processing, and chasing off vermin for a pittance. Larkin proves able to tell a working circuit board apart from a scorched toaster coil, which nets her some small status and opportunity, and she's taught the fundamentals of terminal databases by a supervisor. She also puts together her first robot as a side project; it's junky and only lasts a few months, but it works. Unfortunately, the scrapyard is composed of jealous little gangs all fighting for what's available, and Larkin's skills in social politicking are underdeveloped; things grow tense.
2272
• Both the Mojave Outpost and the Mojave Express are established.
• Elke ends her relationship with Avery (22) after it becomes clear he feels much more strongly about her than she can return. Dramatically broken-hearted, Avery quits the settlement and returns home to the Hub to sulk.
• Larkin (16) flees Arroyo when an excess of violence threatens. She finds work for several months in another town at a hostel and bar, mostly cleaning and running errands. A shady trader recruits her from here as an assistant for his travelling street con for a little while, but she ditches him once it's clear he doesn't mean her well either.
2273
• Kimball retires from the military and runs for president at the end of the year, successfully ousting Peterson. The Followers move into the Mojave.
• Avery (23) has spent the better part of 10 months mooching around listlessly doing occasional copy work for his father; when Holly comes home on leave, she figures he needs some structure to move on from all this wallowing and points out he has the makings of a perfectly capable soldier. Without a 'better' life ambition to put forward in counter, Avery concedes, and re-enlists.
• Larkin (17) risks travelling outside the boundaries of safer NCR borders for the first time. It’s rough going and she has several close calls, among them nearly getting her hands cut off for thieving.
2274
• NCR occupies Hoover Dam, and begins hassling Elijah and his Brotherhood forces for control of Helios One.
• House forms the Three Families and the Free Economic Zone of New Vegas in order to consolidate enough power worth leveraging, and the Treaty of New Vegas is subsequently signed between Vegas and the NCR. Many soldiers are moved out to the Mojave at this point.
• Avery (24) isn't one of those sent to the Mojave, but that means he's part of the forces trying to hold down everything at home. He meets Julie Ortega this year, who takes one look at him and decides they will be besties.
• Larkin (18) returns to NCR territory, and recommences doing random jobs wherever work is available.
2275
• After several ideological clashes, the NCR officially disavows the Followers, and sets up their own research division to compensate for losing their aid and knowledge, the Office of Science and Industry (OSI); Ismael is among those recruited to its staff.
• Caesar’s Legion starts warmongering in the Mojave, and Camp McCarran is established near Vegas by the NCR.
• Avery (25) starts down the slope of what will be a succession of long combat tours with little reprieve. At one camp he meets a fellow soldier who takes a shine to him. They have a couple of months together at the camp, then one brief reunion, then Gil's off to the Mojave like so many.
• Larkin (19) hitches on with a caravan company and travels around a decent portion of the region for some 17 months. The work is so-so; she likes moving around, she develops a knack for trader patter, and there's certainly much to be said for a regular paycheck and a steady flow of folk to swap stories or a game of cards with. The downsides are dealing with brahmin, budgets and permits, and caravan hierarchies.
2276
• The NCR and Brotherhood come to blows in the Mojave over control of the Helios One power plant and its secret weapon; the NCR victory sends a furious Elijah off into the wilderness to seek a weapon strong enough to turn the tables on them, while the remainder of the Brotherhood retreats into a bunker in Hidden Valley. The Kings are formed in Freeside.
• Avery (26) is in the thick of battles along the homefront, Protecting The People (™); Gil's unit is in the Mojave and contact is reduced to almost nil as they're both moving around too often.
• In lieu of Honest Hearts, Larkin (20) has a narrow escape when her caravan is forced to detour off their safe route and runs afoul of a minor civil war between two settlements. Larkin spends a week or so scrambling around a canyon and doing a lot of desperate smooth-talking before she and the other survivors are able to get clear.
2277
• Elijah sets up at Little Yangtze, starts abusing Mentats, and experiments on wasteland prisoners with explosive collars with the intention of following up a lead on a lost haven of old world tech: the Sierra Madre Casino.
• The Legion launches an assault in an attempt to claim the dam for themselves. The First Battle of Hoover Dam eventually repels them at the cost of many lives, including Gil's.
• Avery (27) is not at the battle itself, but his battalion is moved down close in reserve during the conflict and, afterwards, is stationed in the Mojave for about 18 months because they're supposedly 'fresher'. He does not feel fresh and the Mojave is a hard place, socially and politically. It doesn't feel much like Protecting The People (™).
• Larkin (21) grows tired of NCR life breathing regulations and taxes down her neck and ventures out of the territory again. Older and cannier, she does much better for herself as something of a travelling mercenary. While working a job in Reno, she picks up a partner with an interest in vaults and similar old world hauls and they do some adventuring together - Larkin knows a few tricks already when it comes to navigating electronic systems, but starts to become quite the dab hand during this period.
• On the other side of the continent, Fallout 3 and JJ’s story goes down. They don’t want to talk about it.
2278
• The Mojave chapter of the Brotherhood starts sending out patrols for the first time since their defeat at Helios One.
• Christine is dispatched from the Circle of Steel to deal with Elijah and his crimes. She and Elijah clash at the Big MT; he escapes and makes his way to the Sierra Madre where he starts trying to lure people in through a broadcast to use as proxies in getting through the deadly security. Christine resumes her pursuit after she heals from her injuries.
• Towards the end of the year Avery (28) finally gets to leave the Mojave, now a Corporal. Whoo yeah doing mom proud he's so tired.
• Larkin splits with her partner after disagreements arise.
2279
• Avery (29) is given a few months leave, then his unit is straight back on tour. His mental health is noticeably suffering but the war machine just keeps grinding.
• Chasing rumours of fortune, Larkin (23) falls into the plot of Dead Money and is captured by Elijah and coerced into breaking into the Sierra Madre by the weight of the explosive collar around her neck. She meets Christine, who had come off worse against Elijah yet again, and the two forge an alliance of necessity in order to finally defeat Elijah. The Sierra Madre is left under Christine's watchful management as Larkin lopes back to the wider wasteland.
2280
• In a conflict with a wasteland gang, Julie is badly injured. In the same conflict, Avery (30) cracks the shits, disobeys orders, and flees the field of battle. He's picked up by another patrol and charged with desertion. Holly pulls some strings and gets him sentenced to drudge duty at the Mojave Outpost rather than incarcerated or outright shot.
• Larkin (24) finds employment with the Mojave Express, and starts to settle comfortably into the courier life, which has many of the advantages of caravanning with fewer disadvantages.
2281
• Senate elections in the NCR commence around October; the Mojave campaign has grown politically toxic and Kimball is not confident of re-election. The Legion is noticeably preparing to try a second assault on the dam, forming allegiances with groups like the embittered Great Khans to bolster their numbers.
• Avery (31) slowly rethinks his life choices while stationed at the Outpost.
• In October, Larkin (25) is shot in the head on a delivery, and befriends Veronica on the way to New Vegas to find out why. At Vegas, Larkin strikes an agreement with House, and begins to act as his agent in the Mojave to fulfil his plans to become a regional power capable of standing against the threat of either annexation or conquest: she murders her would-be murderer, retrieves the platinum chip he stole, and uses it to reactivate a hidden securitron army.
2282
• Larkin undergoes the remainder of her New Vegas adventures, reshuffling the power of the Three Families and forming an alliance with the Boomers. Towards June, however, she ejects House from the systems after an ugly disagreement where he orders her to destroy Veronica's Brotherhood chapter and refuses to take no for an answer.
• Larkin takes control of the Lucky 38 and its attached securitron army and, with the help of Yes Man, starts frantically preparing for the promised war to arrive. She manages to convince the Great Khans to break their allegiance to the Legion and get out of dodge, but alarms the NCR by attacking their forces at a control waystation.
• Fortunately they don't have time to do much about it before President Kimball is assassinated by Legion operatives.
• The Legion invades, kicking off the Second Battle of Hoover Dam, but are defeated for a second time. Larkin's securitron army and alliance with the Boomers enable her to instead claim the dam for herself, push both the NCR and the Legion out of the Mojave altogether (killing both the Legate and General Olivier in the process), and rally the majority of Vegas and Freeside around her.
• In the chaotic wake of the war, the Fiends seize control of the outlands around Vegas for a time; while Larkin is busy dealing with that, the Brotherhood seizes Helios One and starts to reassert themselves in the region.
2283
• Avery (33) returns to the Hub, only to finally quit the NCR army and start his own business as a mechanic.
• Vegas continues to struggle along, with many businesses suffering from the massive upheaval in the economic status quo. Big names like the Gun Runners and Crimson Caravan pull out of the Mojave to protect the majority of their assets in California, leading to a scramble to source other suppliers. Many regional traders and local producers find they have more opportunity than ever before as demand sharply increases, but Vegas itself is feeling an undeniable pinch.
• Cachino's thin grip on the Omertas slips, and he's murdered by a lieutenant who sees an opportunity to replace Larkin as neatly as she replaced House; unlike House, Larkin effects a ruthless curbstomp and dissolves what's left of the gang, giving Gomorrah over to the Garretts.
• Veronica's attempts to talk the Brotherhood down get her officially banished from their number, and they continue to harass tech traders like the Van Graffs, who put pressure on Larkin. The Brotherhood doesn't have the strength to march on Vegas directly but Larkin can only handle so many problems at once; the mutual, seething stalemate continues.
2284
• Larkin (28) returns to the Sierra Madre with Veronica in tow, aiming to strike an alliance of sorts with old acquaintance Christine and retrieve some of the Sierra's security technology to strengthen her position in the Mojave. Unfortunately, Christine turns her down flat, and Veronica supports Christine, tired of the bloodshed and afraid of how the technology might be used. A frustrated Larkin turns on them both in an attempt to take the tech by force and, unable to talk her down, Christine and Veronica work together to destroy the Sierra Madre by igniting the Cloud. Larkin limps bitterly back to Vegas, while Veronica leaves with Christine.
• Still desperate for a way to surely keep enemies at bay, Larkin presents a bold pitch to the Boomers: to together seek to fulfil their ultimate explosive destiny through the power to strike fire down from the stars. She successfully talks them into joining Vegas in full and they begin to move into the city, occupying the old NCR embassy and bolstering Larkin’s personal forces.
2285
• Larkin 'reclaims' Helios One from the Brotherhood by staging a diversion, infiltrating the building, and turning ARCHIMEDES II on the plant itself. This successfully destroys most of their entrenched forces, but also the functionality of Helios One and its satellite weapon.
• Larkin decides to pursue development of her own superweapon, using what remains of Helios One and anything else she can find. Wild dreams even extend to rockets travelling to a safe base on the moon where one could lounge out of reach of all enemies...
2286
• Vegas forces occupy Novac in order to claim the scrapyard and REPCONN test site. Many of the civilians are pushed out, though a handful of Bright Brotherhood cultists join the cause.
• Local dissent by the Kings about the state of Vegas is impatiently and violently put down.
2287
• After two groups of Vegas scouts fail to return from chasing a lead down near Hopeville, Larkin ventures out herself. The discovery of the Big MT is a dangerous boon to current ideals, and Larkin starts talking logistics with the Think Tank.
2288
• Veronica and Christine return to the Mojave to deal with Larkin, unable to ignore the danger she's posing any longer. They begin to organise among the disaffected and unhappy: the Followers, Arcade and his Enclave connections, the surviving Kings, even troubled members among the Vegas elite.
2289
• The rebellion is victorious, if costly, and Larkin is killed.
