Bear (Van Buren)

Bear is a member of the Rusty Hooks in 2253.

Background
Some within the ranks of the Rusty Hooks would say Bear is the true leader of the pack. Bear is the uncompromising tactician when it comes to violent caravan raids, the diplomatic liaison when it comes to settling disputes within the gang, and the enforcer of the law within the Rusty Hooks. This is all the more extraordinary considering Bear is a super mutant. Some would even say that the only reason Kyle the Hook gets any respect at all is because Bear seems uniquely loyal to him. In fact, Bear's loyalty seems to boarder on the submissive, like a regularly disciplined dog.

Bear has been with the Rusty Hooks since almost its inception. About a month or so after Kyle "established" the Rusty Hooks, Bear was found leading a caravan for the Crimson Caravan Company through the wastes. When Kyle and his band attacked the caravan, Bear single-handedly killed six Rusty Hooks with his unusual iron bear claw weapon, before taking several bullets to the chest which rendered him unconscious and nearly dead. When Bear awoke and was pretty much back to normal (seems the bullet wounds were not as fatal as everyone thought thanks to that super mutant hide), he was mysteriously loyal to Kyle; so much so that Bear beat the living shit out of a few "possible" dissenters as a message to anyone who might even think of betraying Kyle. Since that time, Bear has been very close to Kyle the Hook, as well as offering advice to Kyle, which kept Kyle in power.

The big "mystery" as to why Bear is so loyal to Kyle is that Kyle, despite all his dumbness, is actually quite the expert at demolitions – almost idiot savant-like. Kyle instantly saw the potential of having a fierce super mutant like Bear under his command, so he created the heart bomb. Sid, the Rusty Hooks' part time medic and full time slacker, inserted the heart bomb with a radio trigger for Kyle, persuaded by a .44 pointed at his skull. After secretly placing the bomb and stitching Bear up away from prying eyes, Kyle told Sid that if he ever mentioned this device to anyone, he would make sure Sid was tied up and thrown into a den of hag snakes.

Kyle then made it known to Bear that he would always be in control of him as long as that device was nestled safely next to Bear's heart. Should Bear decide to break out on his own, he would become scorpion food. As long as Bear remained loyal, he would be treated as a second in command, especially since he showed such great physical and combat prowess. Bear, not being a stupid man, agreed to Kyle's terms in the secret hope that one day he could regain control of his own life and squash Kyle. That thought is Bear's driving force and which allows him to wake up each morning with hope.

Relationships

 * Kyle's body guard.

Interactions with the player character
Bear is a huge, standing over 7'6" and weighing in at a muscular 440 lbs. He is a master of hand-to-hand combat, melee weapons, and large guns - though he rarely uses guns. In fact, he's so good at beating things up, that legend has it that Bear once beat the shit out of two super mutants with nothing more than his bare fists. However, despite Bear's physical and combat prowess, he is also very smart and well spoken. He conveys his thoughts intelligently and does not seek to belittle anyone who does not have the extra brain power that he so obviously has. He is fairly easy to reason with and will happily help the player, should the player figure out Kyle's weird control over Bear.

If the player is able to free Bear from his predicament, Bear will be very grateful and perhaps become a companion. In addition, Bear actually knows all about Bloomfield Space Center and what the Hermes-13 was designed for and where it is programmed to go. He keeps this information secret because he does not think anyone in the Rusty Hooks is intelligent or responsible enough to know. He knows this information because he is one of the surviving super mutants from the Master's army. He is well versed in New California Republic's undertakings, as well as the Brotherhood of Steel and Enclave, and is a good source of information, once the PC earns Bear's trust.

When visiting the rocket assembly building in Bloomfield, there will be pretty tough, bipedal security bots equipped with twin gattling guns for arms. The Rusty Hooks will get freaked out by the bots all-of-a-sudden coming to life and help the player destroy the bots. The completion of this scene will bring Bear up to the player to thank the player for helping destroy the bots (it's not apparent that the player is the target since the bots will respond to other threats shooting at them). This dialogue will put the player in the position of gaining information about the Rusty Hooks, the growing dissent in the ranks, what, exactly, Sid has been able to fix/activate, and launch the player into figuring out how to get the remaining Space Rocket working. In addition, the player could figure out how to get the communications satellite dish working to further his cause. Also, the player may get the opportunity to not only participate in raids against caravans, but possibly get Bear to overtake Kyle, or have the player overtake and control the Rusty Hooks (the player would get the opportunity to rename the raiders to whatever he wants and the raiders would refer to themselves by that new name).

Other interactions

 * If Bear and troop become enemy to player, Bear gives a +5% combat bonus to his buddies. This bonus disappears after he dies.

Appearances
Bear was going to appear in Van Buren, the canceled Fallout 3 by Black Isle Studios.