So, this is my second shot at this story; no more leather power armor, Gary Stu moments, or horrible crimes against lore. I don't own any characters or names except for my OC. Enjoy

Rex sat alone in his office at the top of the Lucky 38 looking out over the grey expanse of the Mojave as the sun slowly rose over the mountains. Quietly and with purpose he gently disassembled his 10mm pistol; the process was slow and measured, so as not to damage any of the pieces. It had been his daily ritual for the last two years to clean his pistol before the sun rose; no matter how much sleep he missed out on.

Truth be told, cleaning the gun acted as a sort of therapy both physical and mental for him. Now that he had a small country to run, Rex had no time for the gun fights and quests that had filled his life before the second battle of Hoover Dam. Cleaning the gun kept at least a small part of his old life alive in the boring and somewhat mundane duties of a leader.

The daily chore also acted as perfect physical therapy for Rex as well. It allowed Rex to practice finer movements with his mechanical left arm. He had lost the original in the second battle of the Hoover Dam. Of course, his companions made it through the battle with little more than a few scratches and scars, but Rex was not so lucky.

He remembered that day perfectly, the smell of gun powder in the air, the sounds of bullets whizzing past his head, and the warm feeling in his gut as he fired round after round into the legion troops fighting futilely against his companions and Securitrons. Rex always bragged at being the best shot in the Mojave, and that day he was in rare form. Brandishing his custom twin 10mm pistols he fired shot after shot from their extended mags hitting his targets with accuracy and precision.

In the excitement, he went ahead on his own into the Legate's camp. Making his way through the camp, an improvised fortification of metal walls and tents, he came across Legate Lanius atop the hill overlooking the battle. Rex had tried to talk the massive man into retreating, but with one misspoken word he set the warrior into a fury.

Rex had always preferred ranged combat to close quarters and barely managed to twist his body so the Legate's bumper sword missed his head. Unfortunately, the sword found its way to Rex's shoulder and cut clean through cleaving through. He'd fallen backwards and rolled down the hill as the Legate followed.

The Legate said something then but Rex was bleeding out and he couldn't quite make out what the big bastard had said. Just before he lost what little life he still had left the Legate's head exploded into a bloody cloud. Arcade appeared at Rex's side and some injected some medicine before tying of Rex's stump, and Rex was sent into blackness.

When he woke the battle had been won and the Mojave stood as an independent nation. Rex and his companions took charge of the new nation; establishing a small government of community leaders and set about spending the spoils of war. With the resources of the Hoover Dam, Zion, the Sierra Madre, and the Big Empty the new Mojave could become a super power. Her people were ready for it and welcomed the technological marvels rediscovered by Rex and his companions.

He'd built his mechanical are during the initial rebuilding with the help of Veronica and Christine. The pair were happily reunited after Rex returned to the Sierra Madre for the vending machine technology. It took months of tinkering and adjustments, but the trio had perfected the mechanical prosthetic. Whether it be paperwork or tinkering in his workshop the arm was a suitable replacement.

The arm had been specifically calibrated so as not to interfere with his aim. Though the Mojave was mostly quiet without the Legion, NCR, or the fiends Rex himself was still the target of remnants of the shattered Legion. After launching a nuclear weapon at the Legion stronghold in Denver the legion and routing them at the second battle of the Hoover Dam Rex watched as the Legion shattered and cannibalized itself. Disorganized factions fought for power to the west while also dealing with the newly revealed Midwest Brotherhood of steel.

Though the attacks were far and few these days Rex had ordered the creation of three new legions of Securitrons. In the early days of the united Mojave, the Securitrons were treated as valuable and irreplaceable resources. That changed after Rex found design schematics in Mr. House's databanks and learned to operate the Sierra Madre's vending machines. Using the technology, Rex and his freshly recruited Techs had unlocked the secrets of mass producing Securitrons.

The vending machines also blessed the Mojave with an endless supply of raw material. Anything from pure metal alloys to fabric could be created if enough fissionable material was fed into the machine. What had once been useless scrap could now be transformed into almost anything. Two years after the battle for the hoover dam the Mojave was being stripped clean of junk to serve as raw fissionable material.

As soon as they understood how the tech worked Rex and the think tank went to work creating new coding for the Vending machines. Allowing the Mojave to produce a multitude of new items like steel girders, raw chemicals, medicines, a host of different raw materials like iron and coal, and even more volatile substances like Uranium and Cesium. Though anything more complicated than raw materials produced a high "mutation" rate during mass production. They'd learned that the hard way after a batch of exploding coffee mugs injured several workers.

These resources coupled with the knowledge found in Big Mt.'s archives, any useful knowledge was buried beneath centuries of the Think Tank's mad ramblings, allowed for an unprecedented change in the Mojave. With plans for a G.E.C.K found in the ancient archives of Vault 22, Rex and the newly recruited Big Mt. staff built and used the matter manipulation device to build massive water purifiers to clean the Mojave's water supply. With the power of the G.E.C.K and access to clean water the Mojave's fields were soon bursting with fruits and vegetables.

Rex looked out his window to the rectangular fields of fruits and vegetables spread out across what formerly was rubble and ruin. Securitrons flitted through the roads between these fields as trucks carried workers to their respective fields for the day's work. An achievement rex was personally proud of was the fleet of functional trucks resurrected from centuries of neglect. Many of the sturdiest old trucks from before the war were now operational thanks to their parts being replaced and their micro fusion cells repaired.

Rex sat back and lit a cigarette; he watched the sun rise higher casting light across New Vegas and its surroundings. Lost in thought, he didn't hear Veronica enter carrying the collected reports from throughout the Mojave. ED-E hovered just behind her carrying a tray with two steaming mugs.

Realizing she hadn't been noticed, Veronica looked at her friend as she usually did in the moments he drifted off. His red hair was slicked back showing of his rather bony face and grey eyes; he was tall but slim with little bulk on his body. He hadn't changed much from when they met at the 188-trading post.

The first time she saw Rex she almost laughed out loud because of his get up. He wore goggles, a long-reinforced leather duster strewn with belts and packs containing different odds and ends, worn jeans, a beaten-up pair of black boots, and a large green pack slung across his back. He looked out of place, like he belonged in a workshop somewhere not walking the Mojave. That opinion of him soon changed after he recruited her on his journey. That was two years ago and after all they had been through Veronica was glad she decided to follow him.

Veronica cleared her throat and Rex turned to her snapping out of his daze before saying:

"Oh, good morning Veronica"

"Good morning Rex, ready for this month's reports" Veronica asked placing a steaming mug in front of Rex.

"As ready as I'll ever be" Rex said taking a sip of the hot liquid "Broc Flower Tea again?"

"Arcade says it helps with your immune system." Veronica asked before continuing "Let's start with the New Vegas report: Revenues from the casinos are up 5% this quarter with the Ultra Luxe showing a huge spike in food sales. Crime is down in Freeside, and the rehab clinics are finally showing a low own in new cases. The Thorn is reporting less attendance than usual even for the off season, and Red Lucy is asking about her pet Deathclaws again."

"Just tell they went to a farm up north" Rex said shuddering as he remembered Borous's last report of his experiments on the Deathclaws. It almost made Rex sorry for the monsters. Almost.

"The Farm is reporting an increase in production of about 6% over last year's harvest, and the other independent farms are reporting similar numbers. The agriculture board wants you to confirm some new seed varieties before the planting season starts."

"Oh great, another day spent discussing the pro and cons of Bullman's wheat species or Jax's wheat species." Rex said flicking his cigarette butt into the ash tray across the room.

"You'll do sit and nod when needed. It's basically a done deal anyway" Veronica said flipping through the rest of the file.

"Anything else to report?" Rex asked lighting another cigarette.

"Nothing of any real note on my end" Veronica said, "How's the reactor project coming?"

"Oh, just fine" Rex said relishing the feeling of the nicotine infused smoke going down his throat "If we can maintain stability in stage four it'll give us a hell of a lot more options when it comes to keeping the Mojave's lights on."

One of the few projects at Big Mt. Rex was personally involved in was the initiative to build an enhanced fusion reactor. The progress had been slow, but the Think tank and the team of researchers assigned to the project were close to a stable reaction. When the reactor was ready, its design would be implemented into the Mojave's existing power grid.

Rex's face shifted into a contemplative expression and he rose, placing his pistol in its holster on his hip. The old familiar sense of wanderlust took him then, and he looked to Veronica.

"Veronica let's go for a walk; it's been too long since I've toured the dam" Rex said stretching "got to check up on Raul"

"You're just trying to get out of my report, aren't you?" Veronica asked raising an eyebrow.

Rex shrugged and slipped past her, a smoke trail following him like a jet trail. Veronica sighed and followed Rex hoping he wouldn't use this impromptu tour to get out the day's paper work.