The Great Khans
After their talk, the group took a moment to refresh themselves by heading back to their dorm rooms and using the bathroom for their morning needs. Once they were clean and relieved, they returned back to the orb for the next chapter in learning of the Wasteland.
Chapter 9: The Great Khans
The narrator began by explaining that various settlers would often try to rebuild civilization by finding or building homes to settle down. They slept peacefully in the comfort of their homes knowing they were safe from the beasts and weather. However, that didn’t mean they were protected from everything. Just by seeing the humans in leather jackets with a mustached human, wearing a horned helmet, and chains circling around it, the group could tell they were here to cause trouble. Maybe it was the fact that they were armed for an attack or maybe it was the strange hair, tattoos, and piercings that decorated their bodies.
Or maybe it was the fact they were sneaking around like thieves in the night.
While some settled to crow crops or trade the narrator explained that some survived by taking what they wanted using any means necessary. Thus was the lifestyle of a raider. Survive by taking what you wanted with the strength that you had.
The narrator showed another set of raiders, one that made the others sickened to look at. They were wearing bones and leather armor while surrounded by a fire in the middle of a ruined building. The look in their eyes showed that they were mad and the blood-covered weapons around them indicated what their profession was.
“Do you guys have raiders in your homes? I mean, we get some outlaw gangs down south or mafia groups in the cities, but nothing like this,” Sandbar asked his friends.
“I hate to say it, but the griffin lands have a long history of raiding. We used to raid a lot of nations, including Equestria. Some of them still do so, but most griffins don’t care much to do anything about it unless it affects them,” Gallus explained.
“We only raid when we’re at war,” Smolder said, shrugging. “It’s a popular tactic. Scorch the earth. Take what you can. Leave no survivors.”
“Changelings rarely ever did raids,” Ocellus replied, shaking her head. “It wasn’t our style. We preferred things quiet and without notice. The Invasion of Canterlot was the first of its kind.”
“We had to deal with the Storm King’s raids during his invasion. It wasn’t until we went underwater that we managed to finally have safety,” Silverstream answered.
“Yaks raid enemies. Smash all stuff and take what we want for our people!” Yona said, proudly. “Will not smash innocents though. Only bad yaks or ponies or dragons or whatever.”
“So I guess that’s one thing we all have in common with the Wasteland,” Sandbar said, with a shrug of his shoulders. “Wish it was something more positive.”
However, the way the narrator went on about them, it seemed that half the wasteland seemed to be full of them. The Fiends. The Jackals. The Yakuza. All dressed the part of their respective clan's name to be a theatrical nightmare of suffering for the locals. The good thing was that most of the raider gangs didn’t last very long as evidenced by one surrounded by what appeared by inhalers and needles. A warped look was on his face as drool dripped out of his mouth and blood off of his nose. You didn’t need to be a doctor to tell that this guy was dead.
Be it by infighting, overdose, or some group of more powerful survivors there was an absolute certainty you weren’t going to live to your old age years if you were a raider. However, despite this, some raider gangs have managed to live for generations. And the longest of them was the Khans.
The name came from a group of warriors from Mongolia who lived hundreds of years ago as shown on the screen of an old painting showing a group of armored humans wielding spears riding off into battle. “I’m still uncomfortable with the fact that my kind are unintelligent beasts that get used as labor by these humans,” Sandbar whined. “I can’t imagine being one.”
“Well, if you were you’d most likely be dead considering the horses are all gone by now in the wasteland,” Gallus pointed out.
Led by Genghis Khan, The Khans were some of the toughest warriors in human history. They even came close to taking over the entire world once. Farther than any other human army in their history. Even a thousand years later, their names were still known in the Wasteland. Not helped by the gang that took their name despite having no relations to them. They came out of Vault 15 along with other future gangs and the ones who set up Shady Sands which would become the foundation of the future NCR.
“Vault 15 seems to be where everything started for a lot of people,” Ocellus said, writing down her notes.
While the residents who created Shady Sands were focused on rebuilding society and surviving against the Wasteland others liked the way it was. Survival of the fittest. One such gang was called The Vipers and they appeared on screen looking like the vicious killers that they were and armed to the teeth. They were crazies who worshiped snakes for some reason but were such a dangerous threat that they even managed to kill a High Elder of the Brotherhood of Steel.
“I thought we were learning about the Great Khans?” Smolder asked, scratching her head. “How many raiding gangs are there?”
Still, despite the dangerous outlaws the Vipers were they were still nothing compared to the Khans according to the narrator. The first group of Khans they saw earlier were now inside the home of a young couple. Holding them hostage, they began to loot the place while taking whatever looked valuable.
“What a bunch of jerks!” Silverstream said, puffing her cheeks out. “It’s bad enough that the wasteland is such a dangerous place but to do something as horrible as this?!”
“And here I was feeling a bit sorry for all those raiders that Caesar guy wiped out while building his legion,” Gallus snorted.
The Khans valued only one thing in life: Strength. They knew that the world had changed to the point where only the strong would survive and the weak would die. For years, they were a dangerous threat in Arizona and California. Stealing. Murdering. Burning. Everything you could think of they did to survive under the leadership of the one they called Death Hand.
“Death Hand?” Smolder said, snorting before laughing. “Wow, that’s so cheesy.”
Under Death Hand’s guidance, the Khans managed to survive in a time where raider gangs lasted only a few years at most. He even managed to grow old despite his scars and old wounds. That was until his son, Garl, defeated him in combat to the death and took his place as the new “Death Hand”
“He killed his own father?! Just to become head of the gang?!” Sandbar asked as everyone but Smolder looked shocked. The pony noticed this and sighed. “Let me guess. Similar to dragon culture?”
“Very much,” Smolder admitted, nodding her head. “They guys sound very much like dragons. Just give them scales, tails, wings, horns, and fire breath and they are a mirror image.”
“Ember didn’t really kill her father to become Dragon Lord. Did she?” Silverstream asked, biting her nails.
“Nah. A Dragon Lord can be challenged every 300 years for their position and it is to the death, but that hasn’t happened in a long time,” Smolder said. “Remember what I said earlier about how strength is the most important thing for a dragon? It's the same mindset as these guys. I mean, it wasn’t until Ember that dragons started changing to get along with your races. Before that, well, chances are they’d be attacking your lands for jewels or something.”
“Think the Great Khans changed as well?” Ocellus asked.
“Guess we’ll see,” Gallus answered as he turned the screen back on.
It was under Garl that the Khans would go on to raid Shady Sands and become their number one enemy for years. While most saw Garl as just a bloodthirsty bully, others believed he was looking for a worthy foe to test his might again. He would get his chance when the famous Vault Dweller made his first stop in Shady Sands in his west to save his home.
It began with the kidnapping of the Mayor’s daughter, who would become the future president of the NCR, Tandy. The group watched as a young man in a Vault 13 suit with padded leather armor arrived at their campsite demanding Tandy’s release. The Khans had charged upon Garl’s orders believing he had found his worthy foe, but in truth the Khans were nothing compared to the skills of the Vault Dweller. Before the student six could realize what was going on, the Khans all laid dead with the Vault Dweller not having a scratch on him. The Khans were the first threat the legendary hero would face in his great quest, but they were hardly worth even talking about even in the Dweller’s memoirs.
“Ha! Talk about irony!” Gallus laughed, holding his sides. “These guys thought they were the baddest flank-kickers around and they got their butts handed to them by a guy who didn’t even think twice about them! Gahahaha!”
“If you ask me those guys deserve it,” Silverstream said, smirking.
“But Yona not understand something. How did Khans continue if they all dead?”
It turned out that the Vault Dweller didn’t manage to kill all of the Khans. One had managed to survive: a young boy by the name of Darion. Darion had hidden in cowardice while all his fellow Khans were slaughtered. Angry at himself, he tried to atone for his actions by starting a new gang: The New Khans. He rebuilt the legacy of the Khans from the ground up with his gifted leadership and intelligence. He might not have been the strongest, but even the smartest can survive without super brawl abilities as shown with him leading the New Khans in a shootout against NCR troops.
For 80 years, he waged war against President Tandy and the NCR. Perhaps he blamed her for his original gang's death? Or maybe he just saw a target ripe for the picking. Regardless, Darion made the old Khans look like wimps compared to his New Khans. They even managed to gain control of Vault 15 and had access to all its advanced technology.
That was one insult too many for President Tandy and so she sent someone to take care of the New Khans once and for all. Just like before, this individual was able to shoot down the New Khans with such skill it was like Deja Vu. Because by fate or luck, the one that Tandy had sent was the descent of the Vault Dweller: The Chosen One.
“Wait, you’re telling me that the descendant of the original destroyer of the Khans also went toe to toe with New Khans?” Sandbar said with awe. “That’s like something out of a comic book!”
“You have to admit that the odds of such a thing are super unlikely,” Ocellus said, quickly doing the math in her head. “Maybe destiny did play a role in all this?”
“Well, they are a chosen one. So maybe whatever divine powers are left in this world had a hand in it?” Silverstream pointed out
“Shhh! Yak watching bad guys get beaten,” Yona whispered as she watched another New Khan fall to the might of the Chosen One. Strangely enough, they couldn’t tell if the Chosen One was a male or a female.
After going through waves of enemies, The Chosen One stood face to face with Darion who was now an old and crazy man. He was wielding one of those weapons that shot out fire which the six remembered burning Joshua Graham from earlier. Still, even with his crazed state he went down with such a fight that the narrator said he would have made the old Khans proud of how he died.
Despite Darion dying, there were still survivors of the gang who managed to be far enough away from the fighting. These small groups walked through the wasteland together with the biggest being led by Papa Khan, a big man with a small horned helmet on his head, and took the name Great Khans to honor their heritage. Years later, Papa Khan guided his people to the ruins of New Vegas, but at a time long before Robert House used his robots to take over.
Even though New Vegas was surrounded by hardened tribals and raider gangs, the Great Khans saw it as their new home. It was the right place for them to settle and stay strong while rebooting their ranks. For a few good years, the Great Khans had everything going for them until Robert House unleashed his securitons to civilize the tribals into the Three Families seen today. The Khans, however, refused to be part of this change and so the six watched as they were forced out of Vegas by the robots. To make things worse, the NCR was making its way east and they had still not forgotten, nor forgiven, the Khans for their past actions.
“You know, I kinda feel bad for them,” Smolder said, crossing her arms as the others looked at her. “Don’t get me wrong. I think they’re bad guys for sure. But to be always kicked out of your home with the threat of being destroyed? It’s almost similar for some dragon clans back home.”
Knowing that it was suicide to go against two armies, the Great Khans left Vegas which managed to get Mr. House to stop caring about them. However, they still fought against the NCR when they started appearing in the Mojave to annex it. Some grudges were just too deep to let go.
Still, some saw the Great Khans as victims of the NCR. After all, they had become ruthless in their efforts to take control over more land for their ever-increasing nation. To some, the Great Khans were trying to live in peace even if they were a raider gang. Others believed the Great Khans brought it on themselves by attacking the NCR over old grudges of those long dead. Regardless, the one thing everyone agreed on was that they hated each other's guts. They fought with brutality and without mercy towards either side.
The NCR eventually did manage to win a battle that nearly crippled the Great Khans at Bitter Springs. The six watched as NCR Troops and Rangers tactically took down squads of Great Khans who fought tooth and nail to defend their home. Some even were fighting despite how much blood they lost.
“You ever wonder if our races would be like this if things didn’t work out?” Sandbar asked Ocellus who blushed upon seeing him staring at her.
“I...I guess they would. Chrysalis wasn’t going to stop until all ponies were enslaved or dead,” Ocellus whispered, rubbing her hooves. “I’m glad we aren’t enemies though. I’m glad we're friends.”
“Yeah, me too,” Sandbar said smiling with a light blush on his face.
“If you two are done flirting can we get back to the fight?” Gallus teased which made the two blush and turn away in an instant.
The Battle of Bitter Springs, however, had a different name to the people of the Mojave which would paint a dark picture upon the NCR: The Bitter Springs Massacre. The name alone made the six’s eyes widen as a bad feeling came over them like a cold breeze.
NCR intel had determined that Bitter Springs was the Great Khans hideout. While the Khans fighters took to the front, they began to evacuate the camp's children and elderly towards the back using a secret passage they knew. Or so they thought.
The NCR First Recon had learned of the passage and openly fired on what they believed was a Great Khan ambush on their men. By the time they learned who they were really shooting it was too late.
“Oh no...” Silverstream whispered as she realized what had happened. Everyone was silent in horror as the prospect of what the narrator later confirmed to be true. The women who didn’t fight, the elderly, and their children and grandchildren were mostly killed in the ambush. “Those poor innocent people...”
“Not even the Khans deserved that...” Gallus muttered, lowering his head.
“...Yona not sure she like NCR anymore.”
“Me too...” Sandbar whispered, shedding a tear.
Various people tell different stories of what happened that day. Bad intel? Miscommunication? Or was it done on purpose for the sake of genocide? Many soldiers that day left the NCR, including two men in red berets who were drinking heavily in front of a fire that was next to a giant dinosaur statue. Those who left would forever be haunted by the day they pulled the trigger in that battle.
The Great Khans had never forgiven the NCR for what happened at Bitter Springs and now stand close to the edge of destruction. The ones that survived, or didn't leave the gang, went west to Red Rock Canyon to escape the NCR and New Vegas. Despite their new safety, they were wounded and near beaten. No longer able to survive like they used to, the Great Khans were forced to become chem dealers and sell them to others just to make ends meet. They even have started to accept deals with Caesar just so they can have their revenge one day.
“Wait, they’re going to try and work with Caesar? Don’t they know he forces the raiders to join his army or be destroyed?” Silverstream pointed out.
“Yeah, and some of those Great Khans fighting were women. Guess they don’t know what they’ll get in store for them if they join the Legion,” Gallus said, shaking his head. “I can’t tell if this alliance is being made out of stupidity, ignorance, or desperation. Or all three.”
The narrator agreed with Gallus as he called Papa Khan’s desire for revenge a fool's hope, but it might be all the Great Khans have left after losing so much. Focusing on Papa Khan, who looked proud and yet burdened, the narrator said that while the Khans had lost much they weren’t the worst of the lot. That mostly belonged to those whose skin had rotted away. Those who couldn’t be called human anymore.
But that was a story for another day.
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In the words of the great Stan Lee: NUFF SAID!
That's what you get with VATS cheating.
The Khans should have taken Mr. House's deal. They would have been far better than the Omertas as one of the families...
Do you like the sight of your own blood
10246133
the Omertas were chosen deliberately by House to do the kind of criminal dealings that were common in Vegas Pre War...so even if it was the Khans, they would still be thugs. the Omerta, the Chairmen, the White Glove Society...all three selected to represent an aspect of old Vegas that House wanted to capture again.
10246206
All of this is true. But the Khans would have been far easier to control, and would be generally just less assholes than the Omertas
Ahhh... the bias and hate is strong with this one...
Glad your alive and still writing! Another great chapter! BE SAFE!
The Chosen One is canonically male.
10247033
The series this is based off of keeps the Chosen One's gender up in the air so I'm just going by its interpretation. Personally, I prefer the Chosen One being female.
I do like the great Khans in how, similar to real world mongolians they lead their nation of warlords to build a new empire.
Yeah I'm gonna agree and say the Khans really don't get much sympathy from me. I mean I can empathize with a few Khans who know better and want out to make a better life, but most of them are just raider morons who don't really have a plan beyond 'hit a target and take their stuff'. I mean, even Caesar had a plan at least.
Ah Yes the great Khans.
Oof for the sake of spiciness, make the nuke both the ncr and legion canon, their reactions to the absolute destruction through lonesome road and the implication of the tunnelers being a thing will be funny
(In canon they tear deathclaws like butter and Ulysses comments that they may go and fuck all of humanity if/when they get out)
I'm not being an impatient butt here but how far are ya with the next chapter?
10341706
Not for awhile I am on vacation after two months of heavy working
10341749
Ah ok, I hope you* enjoy your vacation then.
10179779
The great khans do not like the fiends they only sell them Chems for money.
The khans are just being Pragmatic in the chem deal seals and besides the ncr and legion are no goods guys either. The ncr will make you part of them weither you like it or not.
Even though the Khans are pretty much scum, some can't help but feel a bit sympathetic for them. In a way, they're so pathetic it goes back round to pity. Everyone and their brother have been kicking them around like a football since Fo1:
Khans: "Nyahaha! We're the biggest badasses in the region!"
Vault Dweller: "Oh hey, Tandi, I'm here to bring you home."
Khans: "Ah, a worthy opp-"
VD: *WHAM* "Outta my way, n00bs."
New Khans: "Well, that sucked, but now we have this shiny tech-filled vault-"
Chosen One: "Sorry, property of the NCR. Fuck off!" *WHAM*
Great Khans: "...well, that sucked more but-"
NCR: "You still here?! Get lost, scrubs!" *WHAM*
GK: "...oh god, not again..."
House: "Join me or get lost."
GK: "Fuck you, old man, we-"
House: "No, Fuck you." *WHAM*
GK: "Goddamn fuckin' assholes everywhere..."
Caesar's Legion: "...I'mma gonna end this man's whole career..."
Seriously, they're chem-dealing, raider scum, but there's exactly one option where they get a happy ending that isn't slavery.
Sandbar and yona ship is canon. So there
11044204
This series was made before that episode so I see no point changing it
10246089
So you don't feel bad about the fact that the old The Young and the children got wiped out come on man I feel bad because they lost a lot of people that weren't even a part of the battle were just running away now I don't feel bad for their leaders