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nightingaelic · 3 years

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Curious but, perhaps new Vegas Companions reacting to The courier and their “attempts for the blue star treasure” as the courier call it but no it’s obviously an addition to the sodas in the wasteland.

The courier popped the cap off the bottle, flicked it aside with their finger and drank deeply, finishing the swallow off with a theatrical sigh. "So there I am in Primm, and I've just finished breaking Deputy Beagle out of his bind with the convicts in the Bison Steve Hotel, and he insists on throwing a party at the Vikki & Vance to celebrate. Ruby, gem that she is, hands me a bottle of this stuff and plays it coy about the taste, so I crack it open and there's a blue star underneath the cap. Never seen that before, or at least I don't remember seeing it before, but this guy next to us at the bar gets all excited. Says his name is Malcolm, used to collect the caps with stars, something about a secret, pre-war treasure... sounded like a lure for suckers, but then I come across these two dead travelers outside Nipton that look like they died in a scuffle over the damn things."

They gestured at the full crate of Sunset Sarsaparilla on the counter of the 188 Slop & Shop, which they had just shelled out 100 caps for. "Anyways, now I pick it up whenever I run into it. The Sierra Madre might be a myth, but with stuff like this, you never know. Right?"

Arcade Gannon: Arcade rolled his eyes. "Just what we need. Another reason for someone to track us down and try to kill us."

"Would I ever put you in danger?" the courier asked, rather facetiously.

Arcade pinched the bridge of his nose. "Just promise me we aren't going to get shot over collectibles, and I won't say another word."

"I... cannot promise that."

"Okay." Arcade plucked a bottle of sarsaparilla from the crate and scanned its label. "Carbonated water... well, not anymore... pure cane sugar, of course... yadda yadda yadda... oh, and criminal amounts of safrole. You should not be drinking this."

The courier shrugged. "I've had worse."

Arcade shook the bottle at them. "This will give you cancer."

"Arcade, I've been shot in the head."

"Which explains why you're still drinking it." Arcade tried to grab the open sarsaparilla away from the courier, but they pulled back out of his reach and playfully squared up. "Fine!" he said, throwing his hands up and walking away from the bar.

Craig Boone: Boone watched the courier for a minute, observing the way they were drinking the soda with excessive relish. Finally, he eased a bottle out of the crate and held it up to the sunlight. The courier eyed him suspiciously as he examined it, and they made a small noise of reproach when he twisted its top off.

"No star," he said, holding the cap up so they could see.

As he had expected, the courier barely glanced at the bottlecap and instead focused on the soda itself, which was fizzing slightly. Boone tilted the bottle to and fro, watching with amusement as their eyes followed its path.

When he finally took a sip, the courier groaned and went back to their own bottle.

Lily Bowen: "But dearie, that much soda will rot your teeth!" Lily protested. "Grandma hasn't been able to find you a new toothbrush yet. Why not take the soda home and save it for a special occasion?"

The courier held their bottle of sarsaparilla up in a toast. "Lily, with you, every occasion is special."

"Aww, pumpkin." Lily blushed and squeezed herself onto a stool. "That's very sweet of you. But only two bottles before we move on, okay? We take the rest home."

In response, the courier pulled another bottle out of the crate and slid it over to the super mutant. "Make it three, and you can have this one."

"Dearie, you know I'm watching my figure!"

The courier laughed. "I know, I know. We'll work it off. Go on, all yours."

"Hmmph." Lily picked up the bottle and turned it around, examining the label. "Like nightkin and Stealth Boys, you are."

She twisted the top off, and the two made noises of pleasant surprise at the discovery of a blue star on the bottom of the cap.

Raul Alfonso Tejada: "You've got to be careful with that stuff, boss," Raul opined, sliding onto an empty stool and eyeing the crate suspiciously.

"What, because of the treasure hunters?"

"Ay, no." The ghoul shook his head. "El refresco. Don't know what they put in it, but half the continent used to drink it. That stuff spread faster than Nuka-Cola, and Nuka-Cola knew it. Tried to buy Sunset, then when that didn't work, they tried to make their own version."

The courier perked up at that. "Nuka-Cola made sarsaparilla? I've never seen it."

"Me neither, but I've heard tell it's out there." Raul sighed and leaned over the counter, arms crossed. "Nuka-Buzz, or something? No, no, it'll come to me... Wild. Nuka-Cola Wild."

"Huh." The courier took another swig of the soda, clearly trying to cover up their sudden interest. "Know where I might get some?"

"Nah." Raul looked at them sideways. "But you're not gonna find any star caps on them anyway, right?"

"Oh yeah. Right."

"Híjole, Six. You've got a problem."

Rose of Sharon Cassidy: "Uh, no? No, I know exactly what's up with stuff like this." Cass put her hands on her hips and glared at the courier. "Sam and Michelle just took you for a ride on those things, that's what's up. How many're in there, 24 bottles? Fewer at the rate you're suckin' 'em down, but 100 caps for 24 bottles is downright criminal. Over four caps per head, and you're not even getting a decent return of 24 caps if you're saving the ones with little blue stars on them! But let's be honest here, Six."

The courier threw a hand out in defensive exasperation. "I am being honest, Cass! It's for a-"

"Mmm, uh-uh." Cass shook her head violently and crossed her arms. "You're not that stupid, you have decent enough business sense from what I've seen. What you've got going is the same song and dance I do when the bartender's pouring generous rounds. Just own it, Six."

"Oh come on, that's not the same-"

"I don't wanna hear it." Cass hopped onto a stool and shoved the crate of soda as far away from her as she could get it. "Sam, get back here and bring me a glass of something that'll put me in a more forgiving mood. On their tab."

Veronica Santangelo: "Wrong." Veronica sighed and sat down next to the courier. "You know how far we are from the Strip?"

"Not really?"

"Give or take a few, 26 miles." The Scribe frowned. "Meaning, if you want to drag that crate home with you, we have to carry it 26 miles through the desert, protecting it from cazadores, coyotes, Fiends, and if your story's at all true, rabid treasure hunters. I don't know about you, but I'm not about to risk my life for a box of flat sarsaparilla."

"But it's not flat." The courier handed her their drink to inspect. "Not completely. I don't know where Michelle dug it up, but she found a good batch."

"I don't know," Veronica replied, peering down the bottle's neck. "Can't really tell without getting a better look. What if I..."

She made as if to pour the soda out onto the ground, and the courier squeaked and tried to grab it back. Veronica held it out of their reach and smirked. "So it's not really about the caps, is it? Because if it was, we could just empty these all and save ourselves the trouble of hauling it."

"Veronica, please."

"Fine." Veronica handed the drink back. "But I want three bottles for myself. You can keep the caps."

ED-E: ED-E beeped in general agreement with the courier's story and accepted the new load, lowering itself slightly so they could pack up the bottles. By the time the courier was done, the bottle they had been drinking was empty. With a shrug, the courier pocketed the cap- starless, ED-E noted- and plucked another from the crate, causing the eyebot to bob and adjust.

Rex: The cyberdog sniffed the bottle the courier offered them and sneezed, narrowly missing the contents. They snatched it back with a chuckle and went on drinking. Rex curled up at the base of their stool, yawned, and went to sleep. By the time he woke up again, the crate was down to 20 full bottles, and the courier was giggly from the pre-war sugar.

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