The group leaves Camp Searchlight the night morning, the NCR troopers and Sgt Astor all bidding them farewells as they begin walking north to their next destination.
They follow the winding highway for a while until something causes them to halt in their steps... Black plumes of smoke could be seen drifting in the distance, and Afton swore he could hear the faint sound of gunfire occurring.
"You guys hear that?" he questions the others, wondering if the Legion had finally invaded with full force.
Everyone gives grim nods, "Fuck. Sounds like Novac's being attacked... I don't know if Manny'll be able to defend against something like that." Boone quickly says, wondering if his old town would still be standing by the time they get there.
"Well, we better go see then." Afton says before breaking into a jog, obviously he could go faster but he'd end up leaving some of the less fit people behind... There was still a couple miles until they reached Novac so sprinting all the way there and exhausting everyone wouldn't do.
The group made 'good' progress but had a stop a couple times for Josie and Karl to catch their breath. The former wasn't a physically active person and the latter was getting old and hadn't kept up his fitness when he was in prison.
Eventually, Afton could see the trademark Dinosaur that marked Novac, but unlike last time he saw it, its head was missing a large chunk and was slightly on fire... Even from this distance, he could see bullets flying through the air, impacting the head of the dinosaur as a lone figure in its mouth tried to fight the attackers off.
He was able to see who was involved when they got closer to Novac, a large group of Legionaries were trying to advance from east to gain access to the town. Though, they were being held back by a small group of townsfolk, NCR soldiers, and Manny who was sniping from the top of the Dinosaur.
"GET OUTTA MAH' TOWN YOU SPORT-WEAR-WEARIN', DOG-FUCKIN', PIECES OF VARMINT-SHIT!!" Daisy's familiar voice roars as she fires two service rifles simultaneously, the woman looking like a character from Wolfenstein.
The Legionaries who'd tried to charge her with machetes were quickly mowed down. One drops to their knees and tries to plead for their life but Daisy shoots them anyway. Though, she's forced to duck into cover as the properly armed Legionaries all aim their own guns at her, inadvertently giving Manny some breathing room.
He manages to peak out of cover and get some more shots off with his Hunting rifle, but throws himself out of the Dinosaur head when a Legionary prepares to fire a heavy-looking weapon at him. From what Afton could tell, it was a grenade launcher...
*Thump!*
*BOOOM!*
The remaining pieces composing the head of the Dinosaur disintegrate in the subsequent explosion, raining down plastic shards on Novac as their biggest attraction is destroyed.
By this time the group have finally gotten into range to act, Boone immediately loading his Anti-Material rifle with some of his remaining Explosive rounds and firing at the Legionaries.
Afton isn't even able to say anything to stop him as it'd put his loyalties to question... Besides, he wasn't about to let the Legion destroy one of his favourite towns either! He gets out the Sonic Emitter and fires it at one of the groups of Legionaries, all the while activating [Meltdown!].
Once the sonic projectile strikes, a huge shockwave ripples through the area, knocking over the rest of the Legionaries who weren't immediately killed and forcing the Novac defenders behind their cover.
*BOOOOOOOOM!*
The chain reaction of multiple [Meltdown!] explosions quickly envelops a large portion of the Legions forces. Afton chuckles as he watches the destruction he'd caused, only now noticing the wide-eyed looks he'd received from his companions.
"What the fuck!" Karl shouts, taking a step back from Afton, or more specifically, the 'nuke-energy-pistol' he was holding. "Why didn't you do that against the Deathclaws!"
"Is that really what you're asking about? Not the fact that he'd had a weapon of mass destruction attached to his chest?" Boone retorts.
"Why don't you guys talk about this, you know, when we're not fighting against an army?" Josie shouts, feeling like her companions were not taking the situation seriously.
Afton shrugs and gestures at the army who were not running for their lives back in the direction of Nelson, "Doesn't seem like they'll be bothering us for a while... And for Karl's question, I wanted to keep more of the Deathclaw corpses intact. This gun usually just turns the enemy into puddles of green goo." he explains.
Karl just shakes his head in exasperation, "Whatever, just don't go pointin' that thing at me."
"I'll try not to... Shall we see how Novac's doing? I might need to get my doctor gloves if anyone is injured." Afton says, wondering if the town had found another doctor that wasn't just another fraud like the last one.
The group walk through the scorched area that'd previously been under siege and come face to face with many guns. Revolvers, rifles, shotguns, and many more were all pointed at them, courtesy of the townsfolk of Novac.
"Oi! You silly lot, Put them guns down!" Daisy commands as she steps in front of the group, holding her shoulder from what seems to be a bullet wound.
Afton gives a wide smile, "Hey Daisy, how're you doing?"
"Ah, I shoulda known it'd be you three. Who else would be mad enough to drop a bomb so close to town!" she scolds before returning to her usual happy demeanour, "Pardon me if you're tired from your time on the road, but I'm not really ready to receive you right now. None of us are." she says and gestures at the heavily damaged town.
"Looks like you got shot... Want me to take a look at it?" he asks, the elder woman nodding and letting Afton lead her to a more private setting so he can tend to her wound.
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With the group finally at their destination, Boone and Karl take everyone else to the motel while Afton goes around treating the injured, first dealing with Daisy's bullet wound and then onto other less significant injuries.
As it happens, Novac still hadn't found a permanent doctor to stay in their town. Sure, a few people had occasionally stopped by to perform some procedures for exorbitant fee's, but no one was wanting, nor willing to stay in the dust bowl of a town.
Afton couldn't really blame them though, the place was literally on the front lines of the slowly advancing war between the NCR and Legion. If the recent attack wasn't enough to send some fleeing, he didn't know what would.
The only people who actually remain in this town now are either too stubborn to leave, too cowardly to brave the world out of their comfort zone, or simply have possess too much to leave. Obviously, Manny and Daisy fall into the former category.
Manny was an ex-NCR soldier, so was fairly well versed in warfare, but Daisy was definitely a surprise... Afton had no idea where she'd learned to use a gun, but whoever taught her must be proud.
If things weren't bad enough, Ranger Andy, the only real sheriff the town had, died while leaving to check on his friends in Ranger Station Charlie. Manny had sent a mercenary to check for him and found the place completely destroyed, NCR corpses were strewn about the place with only a single lone Legionary to show who was responsible.
So, the only people left who had some kind of say in the town were Daisy and Manny, and even then, both were unwilling to take up a prominent leadership position. The town was literally falling apart at the seams, and there didn't seem to be anything anyone could do about it.
Afton knew he could probably do something, take control or place himself in charge perhaps? But that wasn't really an option as he had other responsibilities to attend to... Though, it was an interesting thought to make Novac the hub of his operations in the Mojave. Thinking about it further, it was in a good location, close to Hoover Dam, supply lines, Helios One, and New Vegas...
He shakes these thoughts from his head, all of that would be in future if he still wished, for now, he needed everything ready to begin the original reason he came here... The construction of his new vehicle.
Afton, Karl, Anja, Josie, Daisy and Manny were all sitting around a fire as the sun disappeared below the horizon. Boone had decided to take watch as Manny was here instead, and the man looked like he needed rest.
Despite Boone's dislike for him, he still respected his determination to protect the town, even at terrible risk to his own life. So, without another word, he posted himself back at his old spot in what remains of the Dinosaurs mouth.
"So, what brings you back to our little ol paradise?" Daisy asks while roasting some meat on a stick over the fire.
Afton tosses some more wood into the fire, "Some junkie asshole destroyed Dirt-Bird, so I'm back to build her little 'big' sister."
Daisy raises a brow, "Ah? A shame, all that hard work up in flames... I don't know if fixin' up another here would be great though, deary. Those knife-wielding pansies might just sneak a bomb in while we aren't lookin'."
Afton shrugs, "I dare them to try, I'll send them back with the bomb stitched inside them, and a deadman switch held in their mouth." he growls out.
"Er, that's..." Manny mutters before shaking his head, "You guys seem different from last you left... More... Dangerous. I've heard some chatter over the radio but some of it sounded exaggerated... Did you really drop a nuke on some fiends, or was that just regular trooper gossip?"
Karl chuckles but doesn't confirm or deny it "Comes with the job, either you be a threat or get threatened. Anyway, why don't you let us know what's been goin' on since we left?"
Manny nods, "Well, things were alright for a while, better than before even since you helped the NCR take back Nelson. But shit hit the fan when the Legion attacked. Once they retook Nelson, they began attacking every and any caravan coming through the highway, they even destroy Ranger Station Charlie, making even that route dangerous.
The attack you stopped today was a long time coming, we have no supplies, our numbers are down since people fled from the conflict, and the NCR is struggling to hold them back as it is. If you hadn't arrived, I don't think we'd still be standing here today. Or, if we were it'd be in shackles."
"It's good we came then." Josie adds, "Still, I can't believe the NCR would let such a large force assault a settlement like this, their situation must be worse than I thought..."
Afton nods at this, the NCR was incredibly lucky that they'd cleared out the Deathclaws from the Long 15. If they hadn't and the convoy was forced to go through the eastern routes they'd have undoubtedly been captured or destroyed. The army attacking Novac was likely meant to coincide with their capture of the convoy, forcing the NCR to be split upon what they reacted to... Obviously, they didn't react fast enough to the force attacking Novac regardless, so something else must be up.
"You heard anything from the NCR? I'd be surprised if they weren't going to send any more troops to reinforce this place..."
Manny shakes his head with a frown, "Aside from the few troopers that'd retreated from the forward position near Nelson, we've not heard a peep outta them. Feels like they're just letting us fend for ourselves while they focus on something else."
Afton shrugs, "Whatever their reason, me and the others will help protect this place until we leave." after says, his companions nodding in agreement.
Hope you bois liked the chap, if I missed anything please let me know. Thanks!
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