Once we were good and far away from the prying eyes of Freeside I pulled my bike out of my inventory.
"So that's where you put that. No wonder you weren't afraid it would get stolen." Jess said idly as we loaded up onto it.
I flipped the ignition and peeled off down the worn road rapidly. Now that we weren't walking the distance we covered in the same time was much greater. Jess had to keep her head pressed against my back though so none of the sand or anything flew into her eyes.-
We shot passed the trading post, then Boulder city and then Novac within the span of an hour. Along the way we saw a few Legion and NCR patrols that stared at us but didn't even slow us down. Finally we came to the ruins of a farmstead that was deserted since it was in the direct line of the Legion coming from Cottonwood cove. From there we took the narrower more fucked up road east until crosses started to get more and more frequent and the small docked landing camp on the bank of the Colorado came into sight.-
"Welp this is where we split up. That camp down that way is Cottonwood cove. Just present that writ of passage you got and you'll be taken along the river to Caesars camp. Now I'm off to Boulder city to cross the water and get climbing that cliff." I said as she got off and shook out the numbness in her legs.
"If you leave me high and dry i'll find you and you won't like what I'll do to you." she warned.
"Yes yes, I get it. Now go." I say unconcerned making a shooing motion as I start wheeling the bike around.
Without hesitation I revved the engine of the bike and left her behind as I was on a clock. I had however long it took Jess to reach the camp to arrive there myself and that meant all safeties were off. I fully cranked the bike to max speed and flew across the ruined road at around three hundred miles per hour. Adam was kind enough to zoom in the visuals of the suits visor so I saw any obstacles ahead in enough time to steer around them.-
I made great time though as I shot over the hill that led to Boulder city and put away my bike mid air before tucking and rolling like a shiny egg until I came to a stop.
"I know I told you you'd be fine crashing at that speed but I didn't expect you to actually try it." Adam said as I got up and started patting the dirt off my coat and armor.
"I'm in a hurry okay? Even if the boat heading to Fortification hill is doing so upstream against the current I have maybe three hours before Jess is in that camp. In that time I have to get to the lake behind the dam, cross it and then climb the cliff to enter the camp from that direction. All things that will take me considerable time." I say as I set into a jog.
Which considering the way the suit raised all my attributes through synthetic muscles was more like a full sprint for anyone else. The armor was incredibly intuitive so this feature didn't just automatically happen and need conscious control for unlike with normal power armors. The armor read my body and and the way my muscles tensed and cranked up the outcome as needed.-
I jogged around the ruins of boulder city and ignored the heavily guarded dam off to the distance and headed for the lake behind it. Once I reached the shore I made no attempt to stop and ran straight into it. My movements slowed from the resistance of the water and I sort of bounced on the bottom but my weight and the weight of the armor combined kept me from floating up.-
"This is trippy as hell. My instincts are telling me to hold my breath while under water but theres no need." I said with a slight nervousness.
"Did you not believe me when I said the suit could operate underwater?" Adam asked confused.
"Believing and experiencing are VERY different things. I believed you wouldn't lie about that. But now I am experiencing it." I said seriously as I moved through the surprisingly clear water.
"I see. You understood the information but personal experience is an entirely separate matter." Adam said calmly.
"Yep. What's our current ETA for arrival to the base of the cliff?" I asked since that was still quite a distance to cross and despite how clear the water was it wasn't actually entirely transparent.
"Thirty to forty five minutes at this speed. Perhaps you should move into a quadrupedal position to reduce drag and increase speed?" Adam suggested.
"Alright but I'm going to look ridiculous doing it." I said with a sigh as I leaned forward and let gravity drop me into a pushup position on the lake floor.
I used my arms to pull me forward while my feet pushed. Being horizontal cut my drag considerably and I was MOVING across the lake floor.
"Unknown humanoid approached from the left. Picking up sonar emissions from it." Adam warned.
"Lakelurk, gotta be." I said as I stopped and turned to face the approaching thing.
"What exactly is a Lakelurk?" Adam asked curiously.
"No idea. Well I can tell you what they are now but as for how they came about? That's a matter of a bunch of theories. They have humanoid shapes but that's basically where all comparisons end. They have water resistant blueish grey skin and webbed hands and feet with fins placed to make aquatic movement easier. There are gills on the throats and lungs for breathing air as well letting them exist amphibiously. They additionally have specialized vocal cords capable of sonic attacks. They also have a primitive society and reproduce through eggs." I said seriously.
"Dietary habits?" Adam asked.
"Fish." I say eyeing the approaching Lakelurk that is also realizing I am not one of it's kind.