[center][h1]Jᴀᴍᴇs Wɪʟᴋɪɴsᴏɴ[/h1]- Leader of the Muddy River Collective -[indent][indent][indent][indent][indent][indent][hr][/indent][/indent][/indent][/indent][/indent][/indent]
[img]http://31.media.tumblr.com/092c82a1b7bc83b2cf2c530d8d398b5f/tumblr_n1fcabEHxk1qbtxe8o1_500.gif[/img]     

[sup] New Vegas, Free Economic Zone of the Mojave [/sup][/center][indent][indent][indent][indent][indent][indent][hr][/indent][/indent][/indent][/indent][/indent][/indent]
The trip down the Colorado River was one that James Wilkinson didn’t make often, but in this particular case it was a special occasion. The leader of the Mojave, the enigmatic Mr. House, had hosted a convention of sorts – though the results of the convention’s mere first day was something that upset Wilkinson’s stomach far more than the bad food in Boulder City. The cause of that upset had been something that was unsurprisingly on everyone’s minds, and it more than likely upset more people than just a collectivist forty miles away from ‘real’ civilization. Wilkinson still remembered the first words he said to his personal envoy to Mr. House, Katherin Liao. They were words that he could barely keep to himself [i]when[/i] it had [i]happened[/i], after all.

[i]The NCR has lost its damn mind![/i]

The words and Liao’s subsequent laughter still echoed in Wilkinson’s thoughts. A reminder of the worst fucking day that came out of the current year yet, though he was damn well sure that the worst was yet to come; because that was how life always seemed to go.

Thankfully, the convention itself wasn’t exclusively about the NCR’s decisions and Wilkinson didn’t regret taking ship to Boulder City to arrive [i]on time[/i] for the proceedings. As one of House’s more relevant subordinates (though Wilkinson preferred ‘allies’ to the term), it was of note to come and keep his ears open. He also wasn’t in the business of shirking the leader of the Mojave just because he didn’t prefer to leave the MRC. If he had to choose between upsetting a vocal minority in his home settlement and upsetting House he would choose the not upsetting House choice every time -- and he was very sure someone back in the Moapa Valley were unhappy. After all, these were the same people who had a problem with him continuing his predecessors policies of working with House and centralizing the settlements in the valley. In short, Wilkinson was not universally popular and this visit had its repercussions. It all made him think back to when Jonathan Vasquez talked about ‘necessary evil’ and ‘essential needs over sensationalist nostalgia’. Somehow, Vasquez had bothered people less in his time. 

Wilkinson took a light breath as he shuffled his hands in his coat pockets. He knew he would never be his predecessor and he would have to live with the choices he made, for better or for worse. The past was in the past and the future was [i]now.[/i]

He looked over to his cohort and friend, Katherin Liao, as he tried to bury his thoughts. In the last two years that Liao served as his envoy to New Vegas, the infrastructure of the city had continued to be reinforced by House’s policies to the point that Wilkinson did not even recognize it anymore -- and that was not accounting for the political and social effects that had occurred in the same time-frame. Liao provided him the knowledge he [i]needed[/i] to know and whilst he was back some forty miles north from New Vegas she served as the only voice the MRC had in New Vegas. With no establishment of a congress proper, she was all he had. He just hoped House saw her as an asset and not another superfluous busybody in the city. She did have more to her than being an envoy, after all she came from one of the largest caravan companies in the Mojave. She looked about as uneasy as he did. 

However, before he could make conversation the familiar voice of Mr. House blared across the commons, alerting Wilkinson and the others that things were to continue on schedule. It was time to take their seats.

“Let’s hope that nobody tries to top the NCR today.”