Bitter-Root

Sergeant Bitter-Root is a sniper who is currently assigned to Alpha Team of NCR First Recon that is stationed at Camp McCarran in 2281.
==Background==
Bitter-Root is a sniper with the NCR's First Recon at Camp McCarran. He is not very friendly and does not like to talk; however, if asked about it, he says that he does not "mean anything by it," and that it is only his nature.The Courier: "Not too friendly, are you?"Bitter-Root: "Guess not. I don't mean nothing by it. You really want to talk to somebody, try 10 of Spades. He's always got plenty to say."(Bitter-Root's dialogue)
As a child, his parents were members of the Great Khans living in Bitter Springs. His father was a sadistic murderer with an alcohol problem who used to take Bitter-Root out shooting members of the NCR, military personnel and civilians alike, since the age of three, later laughing with his fellow drug addicts about the killings. Bitter-Root's mother was an insipid person whose only useful quality to the group seemed to be her being, to quote Bitter-Root's father, "a smokin' hot piece of ass," attempting unsuccessfully to sell her son into slavery on numerous occasions in exchange for Jet. He loathed his parents and the upbringing he received.The Courier: "Losing your parents must have been hard for you. I'm sorry."Bitter-Root: ""The Courier: "You don't really mean that, do you?"Bitter-Root: "/ "(Bitter-Root's dialogue)The Courier: "What happened to your parents?"Bitter-Root: ""(Bitter-Root's dialogue)
Bitter-Root was "liberated" from this environment during the Bitter Springs Massacre by the NCR troops and then Captain Dhatri, who took him in as his son. He claims he does not remember anything about the massacre, but when pressed, he admits that after the battle, the blood he was covered with was not necessarily all spilled by the NCR and that perhaps he had seized the opportunity to settle some of his own scores.The Courier: "How did you survive the massacre?"Bitter-Root: "Guess I could tell a pretty good story, if I had a mind. But the truth is, I don't know. Just got lucky. They brought me to Dhatri after the battle. He was just a Captain, back then. Guess he saw something in me... knew I didn't belong with the Khans. Maybe he felt bad, too. About how his men killed my folks. I told him he did me a service, but he didn't believe me. Still doesn't. He's a good man, Dhatri. Doesn't act like it sometimes, I know. But he didn't have to take me in."The Courier: "You're not telling me something. You couldn't have forgotten the whole massacre."Bitter-Root: " "(Bitter-Root's dialogue) He does not feel bad over the massacre, furthermore he has grown to hate the Great Khans for their way of life, which he describes as lazy, trumped-up raiders, who if they are not actively taking chems, they are selling them.The Courier: "What do you know about the Great Khans?"Bitter-Root: " Used to have a settlement up at Bitter Springs, 'til they pissed off NCR and got slaughtered for their trouble. "(Bitter-Root's dialogue)The Courier: "Tell me about happened to them at Bitter Springs."Bitter-Root: "It was massacre. That's what a lot of NCR folk will tell you. Most of them feel plenty bad about what happened. My damn parents, too. They were just as bad as the rest."(Bitter-Root's dialogue) 
Bitter-Root's name is part of an old Great Khans ritual; upon reaching the age of adulthood, one is severely beaten in a rite of passage, and if surviving, afterward they choose their own name. Although too young to undergo the beat-down himself, he chose the name Bitter-Root and feels that the Bitter Springs Massacre was his ritual and that the Great Khans "owe" him his name. His choice of name has a double meaning, referring both to his bitter roots as well as to the traumatic event that he considered his rite of passage - the Bitter Springs Massacre.The Courier: "So your name... it comes from Bitter Springs."Bitter-Root: "In the Khans, you're not fully grown 'til you've taken a beat-down. Everybody gathers round and hits you until you're damn near dead. After that - if you haven't begged for mercy - you get to choose a new name. One you'll use for the rest of your life. When NCR slaughtered the Khans at Bitter Springs, I hadn't got my beat-down yet. I was still too young. Way I see it, Bitter Springs was my beat-down. So afterward... I gave myself a name. It's all I've got from the Khans, and it's all I ever want."(Bitter-Root's dialogue)
Bitter-Root's past haunted him long after being taken in by Captain Dhatri, to the extent that he would eventually seek therapy from Doctor Usanagi of the Followers of the Apocalypse. With her assistance, he was able to work through some of his demons.The Courier: "I'm trying to get Corporal Betsy to go see a doctor. I heard you saw Usanagi yourself."Bitter-Root: "10 of Spades really ought to keep his mouth shut, but he's right. There were a lot of things in my past I just couldn't leave behind. It helped. . Well, more than a little. Betsy ought to pay a visit to Usanagi since it can't hurt none."(Bitter-Root's dialogue)The Courier: "I'm trying to convince Corporal Betsy to go see a doctor. Any ideas?"10 of Spades: "Oh, b-b-because of what that fuck Cook-Cook did? W-well, it's n-not the same thing, but D-Doc helped me with my s-s-stuttering. The d-doc has a c-clinic north of here. Can't m-m-miss it. You should t-talk to Bitter-Root, too. He's b-been to see the doc, too."(10 of Spades' dialogue) To him, the best part of his job is shooting those who deserve it.Bitter-Root: ""(Bitter-Root's dialogue)
==Interactions with the player character==
===Interactions overview===
===Quests===
* I Don't Hurt Anymore: Bitter-Root is needed for one of the paths to convince Betsy to seek help for her trauma.
* Three-Card Bounty: Bitter-Root and the rest of Alpha Team can be brought along to take down Driver Nephi.
* I Forgot to Remember to Forget: Talking to him about his history is needed in order to trigger this quest.
===Effects of player's actions===
Upon completing the Driver Nephi portion of the Three-Card Bounty quest by claiming Nephi's bounty, Alpha Team moves to Camp Forlorn Hope to help with the Legion at Nelson. Bitter-Root can then be found in the Camp Forlorn Hope barracks.
==Inventory==
==Notes==
Sergeant Bitter-Root is the only active member of First Recon who actually sleeps at night. The others simply stand or sit around.
==Notable quotes==
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==Appearances==
Sergeant Bitter-Root appears only .
==References==
Category:Fallout: New Vegas human characters
Category:Fallout: New Vegas NCR characters
Category:New California Republic Army characters
Category:Great Khan characters
Category:Camp McCarran characters
Category:Camp Forlorn Hope characters
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