* TIMELINE. ( DO NOT REBLOG W/OUT PERMISSION. )
new vegas ( also referred to as the strip. ) is run by three gangs, the chairmen, the omertas, and the white glove society. when referred to as a whole, they are known as the three families.
mr. house is the head of all three combined. think of him as the king of new vegas. he is also referred to as ‘the overboss’. all three of the gangs ( who were previously referred to as tribes / tribal gangs. ) do not keep up much direct contact with him, except for transfer of his cut of profits.
the chairmen run a casino called the tops. benny is their leader. swank is benny’s second, oversees day-to-day operations, and is primarily at the front desk of the tops.
VERY BRIEF SLAVERY, SEX TRAFFICKING, AND NON-CONSENSUAL DRUG USE MENTION IN THIS BULLET. the omertas run a casino called the gomorrah. their primary trade involves sex work, not all of which is consensual. ( the workers are kept hooked on chems and therefore dependent on the omertas. ) before they joined the strip, they primarily focused on the enslavement and murder of unsuspecting travelers. they are extremely secretive and protective of their power. trading information with outsiders of the family is punishable by death. the gomorrah is run by nero and big sal, his right hand man.
VERY BRIEF CANNIBALISM MENTION. the white glove society runs a casino called ultra-luxe. the ultra-luxe is extremely high end and extremely snobby. the casino is run by marjorie, with mortimer as her right hand man. he’s the hotel manager and works front desk. marjorie also runs their main restaurant, the gourmand, which is exclusively meat-oriented. they are, surprise, cannibals.
anyway: the chairmen. benny’s boys.
the chairmen used to be a gang called the boot riders. before new vegas formed, they were approached by a single securitron sent by mr. house to invite them to the strip. it was destroyed on sight. mr. house retaliated neatly by sending twenty securitrons, instead, to negotiate an offer. while most of the gang did agree to accept his offer, the current leader, bingo, refused. benny challenged his refusal in a proper duel, wherein benny overpowered him quickly and won, taking on the role of the gang’s new leader. any dissent is taken care of quickly and quietly.
afterwards, the boot riders are henceforth known as the chairmen.
benny’s long-term goal is to control new vegas. the odds are very much not in his favor, but it’s been a work in progress for years.
at some unspecified point, benny attacks one of mr. house’s securitrons with a pulse grenade and, after bringing it in, hires a woman named emily ortal to inspect it and reprogram it. ( in exchange, she was meant to have broken into mr. house’s databases, but benny deigns not to fulfill his end of the deal once he gets what he wants, breaking off the arrangement instead. ) henceforth, the securitron is known as yes man, and is programmed to obey every single command given to him. unfortunately, this command is open-ended, and yes man will obey anyone who orders anything of him.
taking advantage of yes man’s now compliant nature, benny interrogates him on everything he knows about mr. house and his schemes. benny learns that mr. house has a bunker hidden underneath the fort, ( an enormous and very heavily fortified base for caesar’s legion. ) which is unlocked and powered only by the platinum chip. ( beneath the fort is where mr. house has stationed his secret bunker, wherein he uses the chip to install upgrades in his securitrons. )
the platinum chip, directly before the events of the game, is currently en route to the strip via a courier. there are six decoy couriers, as well. yes man discovers the route in use by the courier, and benny is able to track them down. he hires three great khans to help him with the job. the courier is kidnapped, bound and gagged, and after a swift monologue, benny steals the chip, shoots them in the head, and leaves them for dead. he betrays his accomplices and returns to the tops, under the protection of his gang once more.
except there’s one more thing.
the courier survives, and his actions haven’t gone unnoticed by mr. house.