Chapter 212: New-clear resolution...
The Fiends quickly noticed the NCR's movements, streaming forwards like a wave of dirty molasses. Afton took aim at his trap as the Fiend forces were almost in position.
...
...
"Karl, tell the NCR to take cover, I have no idea how powerful this'll be..."
His companion nods and quickly starts shouting for the NCR to get down, and after waiting a few moments for the NCR to hear Karl he fires his Anti-material rifle... Directly at the Mini-Nuke he'd planted earlier.
*BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!!!!!!!*
A light brighter than the sun washes over the area, no, the region. Shouts of panic erupted from behind Afton as he pulls out his sunglasses, not bothering to mention the large crack on the lenses that was slowly closing on its own.
After the light came the heat, as if a heatwave had just punched everyone present in the face, it makes everyone feel as if they'd just been put in an oven or a microwave. Bare skin burned slightly, and anyone who was trying to see what'd just happened had to quickly close their eyes or risk damaging them. Honestly, the heat made the regular Mojave weather look like a cold spell!
Next, After the heat came the shockwave. A few people's eardrums burst as the loudest sound he'd ever heard erupts, quickly followed by a wave of force that knocked anyone still standing off of their feet. Afton had to duck as stray shards of metal that'd been launched from the explosion like shrapnel passed by him... Perhaps planting the Mini-Nuke without a pile of scrap metal wasn't the greatest idea?
Uses VATS and surveying the situation behind him, he could spot that a few NCR soldiers had been injured. Though, none seemed to have been killed.. Yet.
Once he deactivated VATS he himself was almost blown away, the shockwave somehow increasing in intensity compared to the first blast. His eye's widened as a cloud of smoke and dust rushed to their position, quickly enveloping everyone.
Afton didn't waste any time and covered his mouth with many layers of fabric, he was sure they were out of the immediate radioactive zone, but perhaps the power boost acted differently with nuclear weaponry? The chain reaction caused by the radioactive material might not just simply be increased by 100% as his Perk had stated... He really needed to work out how it worked. Though, perhaps he should've tried that before he detonated a literal nuclear bomb!
After a couple minutes the dust obscuring everything finally settled, allowing everyone in the area to see the humungous mushroom cloud that'd formed overhead.
Gasps of shock, awe, and fear could be heard from the NCR troopers behind him. Though, Afton was more interested in the scorched ruins left behind by the explosion. Where once stood hundreds of Fiends ready to charge their position, now only held one huge crater.
He was amazed that- [Perk Acquired! : Nuclear Friendly]
[Nuclear Friendly] : Decreases friendly fire damage allies take from your Nuclear weapons by 30%.
...
Honestly he hadn't expected to get a Perk for this. Additionally, the Pekr he was given was essentially useless, even if you could avoid 30% of the damage a nuclear weapon could deal, the other 70% would more than certainly wipe you from existence.
Afton was shaken from his thoughts when a hand landed on his shoulder, glancing at whoever it was, he was greeted by the image of a shocked-looking Boone who's sunglasses were crooked on his face, as if he hadn't had time to readjust them yet.
"That... Was scary." he says simply, still clearly shaken by the utter destruction unleashed by the bomb. It was at that moment that Afton realised that despite the residents of the wasteland living in a post-nuclear world, none had every experienced the sheer power of a Nuclear weapon... Afton had seen videos and other depictions of it so he knew what to expect... But Boone and everyone else? Most probably thought it was just a larger than usual bomb... Not to mention he hadn't exactly warned them that this would happen...
Boone continues after taking a moment to compose himself, adjusting his sunglasses so he didn't look like a dope. "We need to find another one and plant it under Caesers chair." he states, causing Afton to start laughing.
His laughter seemed to bring most of the NCR soldiers out of their shock, some cheering at the fact they'd utterly annihilated their enemies. Captain Krajcik stumbled over to Afton and slumped against the wall next to him, "So, you weren't going to tell me that your 'trap' just so happened to contain a literal nuclear bomb?"
...
Afton shrugs, "Youknow, I once heard someone say that 'surprises were fun'... Well? Was it fun?" he asks, semi-sarcastically, completely avoiding his initial question.
...
"No. I doubt my injured men would say they had fun either... I should be mad but, some of my men would probably lose their lives trying to fight the Fiends. Atleast now I won't have to bring bad news to any of their families."
Afton nods, "Erm, as thanks for saving you all that trouble, would you mind vouching for me that Nephi had been killed? I don't think there'd be much left of him after that, let alone his head."
Captain Krajcik just shakes his head, "I don't think anyone will question that Nephi is dead... Afterall, you did drop a nuke on him. Besides, I doubt anyone in Camp McCarren could've missed that." he says, pointing at the mushroom cloud hovering above them.
Afton glances at his Geiger counter and notices that the radiation in the area had picked up slightly... Perhaps radioactive material was going to start falling upon them like unwanted snow? "Er, we should probably get back to camp, it'd be better to report what'd happened sooner than later. Plus getting the injured to safety is very important." he says, not even hinting at the fact he may have irradiated the whole area.
Captain Krajcik nods in agreement, looking grateful at his worry for the injured troopers...
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Niggross
Niggross Hope you bois enjoyed the chap, if I missed anything please let me know. Thanks!
If you like my content or want to read ahead please go to https://www.p.atreon.com/Nagross, I'd appreciate it.
Chapter 213: Paid but short-handed...
The group started making their way back to Camp McCarren, Afton picking up and riding Dirt-Bird as they passed the place where he'd left it... Boone admitted that he wasn't able to drive it, nor did he know where it would try to disintegrate his ass if he tried. Not that Afton wouldn't have difficulties now that he was missing an arm.
During the journey back all the adrenaline had slowly drained out of him, with the release camp the flood of emotions he had been ignoring up until now. Rage, guilt, sadness, despair towards the now dead Nephi for killing those innocent hostages, as well as taking his arm.
The worst part was that if he was paying more attention to the situation he may have been able to salvage it... It was fairly obvious that the Fiends would make their own entrance if they couldn't get through the main one, though, Afton doubted that had truly tried to collapse the building... Not that it mattered now, since his Mini-Nuke had rendered all of the Rock Crushing Plant to rubble.
He was still unsure how he was going to go about getting another arm... Cybernetics were hard to come by, if he didn't have the requisite parts it might take months or even years to fully develop a working one that suited his requirements. That wasn't even mentioning how hard would be to get used to being one-handed until then... He could still feel phantom sensations from his right hand, as if it was still there but just numbed.
It was strange... He'd heard people describe it before, but he'd never tried to consider how that actually felt. If he had to put it briefly, it felt like a sneeze that would never come... If that made sense?
Regardless, he was sure he wasn't the only person struggling with what actually happened back there. Karl had actually gotten to know most of the hostages before their unfortunate end, adding making it quite personal. Afton knew the man was experienced, but that only meant he'd be better at hiding it.
He put away his thoughts as the group approached Camp McCarren, he parked Dirt-Bird in it's usual spot and walked past the tense-looking gate guard, followed by Captained Krajcik and his men, some being carried by makeshift stretcher.
They enter inside and are immediately greeted by Major Dhatri, the man's eyes roaming over the injured NCR soldiers before finally resting on Afton's missing arm, the sleeve of his recon armour just limply hanging below his elbow.
"Now, if I didn't know any better I'd say there was trouble during your hunt." he states matter-of-factly.
Afton just scoffs and raises his arms, clearly displaying his missing limb, "Oh really? I wonder how you came to that conclusion?" he says sarcastically.
Dhatri just shakes his head, "Just my intuition, that and the fact a few of my men are injured saving your ass, as well as you missing an arm... What the fuck happened out there!"
"Well, the Fiends were holding some people hostage so we wanted to get them out before we dealt with Nephi... They had all been killed before we arrived though, turns out they'd laid a trap for us. Collapsed a building on her heads. Somehow we managed to survive that and make a runner after the Fiends accidentally dug us out of the rubble."
Dhatri nods, "Hmm, good your story lines up with what your friend said over the radio... Would I be wrong in guessing that you were responsible for that mushroom cloud from earlier?"
Afton looks away sheepishly, "Er, depends on what you think about it..."
...
Dhatri laughs at this, surprising Afton as he hadn't thought the man was capable of it. The heavy black bags under his eyes made him seem like an incredibly dour person after all. "I don't care much for it, but my superiors are up in arms wanting to know what'd happened. I suppose they'll be ecstatic to know the explosion occurred within Fiend territory, courtesy of a bounty hunter... Or now I suppose, former bounty hunter? I doubt you'll be willing to go out again with you missing an arm."
"No, I'm still good. Half my usual firepower is still enough to get the job done. Speaking of the job, I don't suppose I could claim my reward without Nephi's head? It was kind of annihilated during the explosion."
...
Dhatri chews the inside of his cheek while in thought, the man clearly wanted to reward him for all the trouble they'd gone through. Losing an arm was quite a significant sacrifice after all... Though, the fact NCR troops had to save them did put him a troublesome situation. The only reason he was actually considering a reward was because the explosion had killed hundreds of Fiends, not just the target of the bounty.
"I can't give you the full reward as I'd need the head for that... Disregarding the fact NCR troops were needed to assist you, the damage done to the Fiends is great enough that I can ignore it. Still, I think 3000 caps can be given for your efforts." he says and Afton can see that this is the best offer he was going to get.
Afton nods, "That's fine. I was half expecting to not get paid if I'm honest." he shakes Dhatri's hand, "Thanks."
"No problem, you've done more than enough for the NCR to give you a little leeway. You, go grab the caps for these men." Dhatri, points at a nearby soldier who quickly runs off.
Not long after the young soldier returns with a couple large pouches of caps in his arms, handing them to Afton who's body was tense as he awaited the familiar sensation...
[WELCOME TO LEVEL 30!]
[WELCOME TO LEVEL 31!]
[WELCOME TO LEVEL 32!]
[WELCOME TO LEVEL 33!]
Huh, well, this shouldn't be surprising, I did drop a nuke on hundreds of Fiend after all.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS
Niggross
Niggross
Hope you liked the chap, if I missed anything please let me know. Thanks!
Weekly Power Status
200+ Power
Ranking 
8 Power
stone 
Paragraph comment