Moments: Solving the Mystery of Boone's Wife in Fallout New Vegas

This is another type of new article I will publish occasionally that takes time to remember truly unforgettable moments in video games. Whether these moments be exciting, heart breaking, terrifying, or especially tense, they deserve our attention and I'll write about as many as I can recall right here.

One of the new features in Fallout: New Vegas was the companion system. Throughout the desert wastelands of Nevada, you could find several individuals with specific skills and perks to accompany you on your adventures. One such companion and my personal favorite was former NCR sharpshooter, Craig Boone. When you find Boone in the small town of Novac, he's keeping his skills sharp serving as the town's night shift sharpshooter. Talking to Boone, you learn that part of the reason he seems so resigned from the world is his deceased wife.

Boone explains that she was taken by slavers from Caesar's Legion and he suspects one Novac's citizens is responsible for selling her into their custody. This begins a mission to gain Boone's loyalty named "One for My Baby." Boone tasks you with talking to several townsfolk to find out who sold his wife into slavery. After handing you his NCR beret, he tells you to wear it with the suspect in range of his rifle to signal you found the guilty individual. I set off to put my sleuthing skills to work and approach my prime suspect, Boone's former friend and NCR brother in arms, Manny Vargas. Manny is the one who had invited Boone to move to Novac after he had married Carla. However, Manny wasn't very fond of Carla. Carla hated Novac and was in a constant state of discontent. Manny certainly has the motive to have sold off Carla but I'm not convinced; it seems too simple.

I continue my investigation with Cliff Briscoe, the odd man selling dinosaur toys inside of the T-Rex. Perhaps he knows something that may help my investigation. I find out he isn't Carla's biggest fan either but beyond that he doesn't provide very much information. Outside, Ranger Andy also concedes that Carla wasn't popular among the townsfolk of Novac. Eventually, I find out that basically, everybody hated Carla. Well now, that doesn't really narrow things down. I review who I have left to interview for the mission and I remember a man near the entrance of the town who had been muttering nonsense when I arrived. It's No-Bark Noonan, the village idiot and I don't have high hopes he'll give me any good information.

But I figure it's worth a shot, so I go to talk with old No-Bark Noonan. In our conversation among some incomprehensible ramblings, he reveals some strange men had stopped in the lobby of the Motel. Finally, we're getting somewhere. I head inside and talk to Jeannie May Crawford, the Motel owner. She's a pleasant lady and when asked about Carla, she compares her to a cactus. She's nice to look at but hurts when you get close. So she feels the same as everybody else. I begin to explore the lobby looking for clues left behind by these strangers when I spot a safe behind the counter. The safe intrigues me not because of my investigation but because I tend to let my fingers wander where they don't belong. I wait for Jeannie May to leave before I indulge my obsession for robbing people of their caps.

The safe is a cinch to crack and I loot the items inside. Unfortunately it only contains some rubbish and a handful of caps. But I look again and see an item named "Bill of Sale." What's this? I investigate further to learn it is a receipt from the Legion in which Jeannie May had sold Carla, and her unborn child into slavery! My head is whirling with disbelief. One, the guilty was one of the last people I would suspect. Two, Jeannie May sold Carla and her child. This lady is going down! With the town of Novac still shrouded in darkness I find Jeannie May and tell her to follow me to the dinosaur so I can show her something. What a fool! I walk with the wench until we're in range of Boone's rifle and I slip on the red beret.

Quietly, I wait, as Jeannie May stands, peering into the never ending black of the night, unaware that she's about to meet her untimely de- BAM! Her head explodes and fragments of her skull litter my TV screen as I jump like a little girl watching a horror movie. Her body, lifeless crumples on the sandy ground. I look up to the mouth of the dinosaur and see Boone with his rifle and I feel confident that justice has been served.

Keep an eye out as I will update my blog with more unforgettable moments.