Cass gives him an annoyed look for ignoring her but repeats herself regardless, "I needed your help on something Glados asked me, she wants me to make a caravan and head to California with it, but we lack man-power and the Brahmin needed to carry it all. I'm pretty sure we could sell any tech we make here and make a fortune, but that's not the purpose of the caravan, so..." she shrugs, "Any ideas?"
"Huh, didn't think Glados would ask you. I figured if she wanted an information network on other countries she'd just use robots or launch a satellite or something. Er, do you need to use Brahmin or could we just give you a vehicle?" he asks, wondering if there was a way to reverse mutations on Brahmin and return cows to the world.
Cass shakes he head, "That'd catch too much attention... Usually only the NCR military or the Brotherhood have vehicles... Not regular traders."
Afton nods, "Alright, Brahmin it is... As for goods? Seeing as Glados probably doesn't care if you make a profit or not, we could sell water?"
Again, Cass shakes her head, "Water's too heavy for the distance I'm going to have to travel. Not cost efficient enough, plus, there are plenty of places in California you can get water." she explains.
Afton crosses his arms, "Hmm... Ah! I got it... Clothing! Not just wasteland leathers, but proper, pre-war clothing. Who in this age makes suits after all?"
Cass shrugs, "The Ultra-Lux?"
Afton huffs, "Yeah, but I doubt they do mail order shipping. Besides, whatever we could make here would be substantially better to whatever others can produce..."
Cass nods, "I guess it could work? It might help me with meeting with the higher echelons of California if I'm selling those kinds of clothes I guess? But, that doesn't fix my issue of lacking people, Glados forbids me from even thinking about taking the others girls here."
"They can't leave because I don't trust them not to reveal this places location... By the end of the week we'd have the armies of the NCR and Brotherhood up our collective asses. Anyway, Just take some Protectrons and Cyberdogs with you, a couple Cyberdogs could take care of a Deathclaw no problem, so unless you go wandering into a nest you'll be fine." he explains.
Cass nods, "That'll be fine then, I think... I'll go wandering around the crater to see if any brahmin herds are around. Keep me updated on the progress." she says before leaving.
Afton looks to the drone floating next to him, "Glados. Start production in high-quality prewar suits, also, have Klein and Mobius see if it's possible to create a non-metallic listening device small enough to not be detected. I'm hoping these suits'll find their way into high society, if we can listen in then we'll be much better informed."
"Production on Deathclaw leather will temporarily come to a halt if we begin production on suits." the AI says, as if asking if that's what he intends.
"That's fine, we have enough dusters for now." he says as he finally heads up to the Sink. Once he gets there his Intelligence in increased by the lighting, which is helpful as he heads straight to the Laboratory he'd had added to the complex.
The new room itself looked like a mechanics dream... Though it was a bit messy. He could have some spiderbots clean the place, but he'd probably just get mad about loosing a screw somewhere or something. Being messy was ok if it was your mess and you generally knew what was where.
Anyway, he walks straight up to the work bench which had scattered pieces of scrap metal atop it... he'd been working on a project for a couple days now, but it was still in it's infancy. He'd not had a [Eureka!] moment yet which had increased the amount of time this project would take...
From under the workbench he pulls out what looks like a metal bar with a handle. The handle itself was filled with microfusion cells to power it. As of right now it didn't work, but once he created a viable prototype, the Mojave, Nay!, the WORLD would tremble before it!...
Ok, he might be a bit over dramatic, but considering what he was making he thought he had the right to be. The name of the project is... The Ultra Chainsword.
Unoriginal? Slightly... But is was different enough from the Warhammer version that he felt he could patent it differently... Probably.
He intended to have an Proton blade like his Proton axes, but he wished to make that a revolved blade like a chainsaw... Imagine the cutting power of a lightsabre, combined with a chainsaw! It was making him hard just thinking about it!
Some might say it was pointless since the Proton axes could cut through most things, but he'd disagree. It only seemed like that because Afton was using it, against unarmed and light armoured targets it cuts fine, but unless Afton was using it, that's were it stopped.
Sure, if you held it against metal long enough you might melt through it, but that wasn't all that helpful in a fight... So, if he wanted his companions to be able to cut through anything the Ultra Chainsword would be needed... Plus, it was pretty fucking cool!
Regardless, the project was still in its early stages, not even 10% completed. The problem was making the energy blade actually revolve without cutting out... The energy projectors themselves weren't meant to move, making it incredibly unstable and causing it to cut out at random.
Yeah, he'd made no progress... But, all that meant was he was overlooking an obvious answer.. One he'd find eventually. His dreams of having an army of Power armour, Ultra Chainsword wielding badasses would not be stifled!
Hope you bois liked the chap, if I missed anything please let me know. Thanks!
Also, thanks to my patrons for their support :
Joseph Suh
Chris Lindsey
Kingsprovince
The atmosphere back in Novac had taken a substantially different tone... Most of the people there had thought the only threat was from the Legion, but when they'd picked up the NCR already coordinating themselves to attack the town, passively training the militia had become actively training an army.
A few people blamed their current situation on their saviour for formerly being affiliated with the Brotherhood of Steel and as a result, antagonising the NCR, but most already hated them enough to not mind...
It wasn't like the NCR gave a shit about them before, but now since they had someone who 'grew up in the wrong place' they were all now a target. Still, it wasn't as if they were helpless. As soon as the mercenary group returned from wherever they had went, they came back with lots and lots of supplies.
Fruits and vegetables that'd only been recorded before the Great war, crates of purified water, reliable weaponry only the Legion and NCR seemed to be able to get... Their saviours were more prepared then they'd expected.
Right now the town was bustling with movement, a large group of people were training in combat in a clearing as the rest carried boxes of supplies here and there, however, the biggest man-power sink had to be the rather large scrap metal wall that was being erected around the town. The previous wall used to fend off the Legion simply wasn't enough anymore, so it was being improved.
It didn't look all that visually appealing, being made from a pile of scrap metal, but with some makeshift wielding and metal plating, it looked the part... The wall was around 8ft tall and surrounded the town, blocking off the road and forcing people to go around it should the town refuse access through.
It was made high enough to prevent people from climbing over, the most likely candidate for this would be the Legion, but it would also help against NCR spies who might try to sneak inside... Usually building a wall like this would be a death sentence as it'd block off supplies, but seeing as Afton's mercenary group was able to seemingly pull supplies outta their asses, it wasn't that big a problem.
The townsfolk numbered around 400 people, with around 250 able combatants. That might not seem like much, but in a defensive position with thick walls placed between them and the enemy, it would likely be enough.
Daisy, the new mayor, was being overworked. But with a few people's help she was barely holding onto the situation... Manny had taken up the position of training the townsfolk as there were enough people to watch the town while he was elsewhere now. Plus, he was still somewhat injured from the Legion attack.
He was a bit wary of fighting against the country he used to serve, but if the NCR attacked Novac for simply having a criminal in their midst, that was their prerogative. He intended to protect the town from any threat, even former friends. It was really all he had left...
Currently Karl, Boone, Anja, Josie, Tamia, and Veronica were sat at a table with two other men... Jonas and Hestus, the former Legion spies tasked with assassinating Afton, something that'd failed spectacularly...
They were 'asked' for information about the Legion, and whether or not they actually intended to be loyal and not betray the town later on. Fortunately, with the amount of information the duo had given, their loyalties don't seem to be misplaced.
Apparently the Legion intended to invade Novac after dealing with the Brotherhood of Steel, using the forces that survive destroying the bunker to create a two-pronged attack. This obviously didn't happen as even if Afton hadn't gone to help, the Brotherhood would have been killed regardless.
Even Vulpes Inculta seemed to think the attack was fool-proof. Unfortunately for him, he'd severely underestimated the Brotherhood's military prowess, especially inside such confined spaces.
Still, the Legion didn't seem to be swayed by their many failures... Recently they'd heard over the radio that Camp Searchlight, and the town itself had been taken over by the Legion... Astor had been crucified for any passerbys to see, and the Legion raid camp further west had become significantly more aggressive.
The NCR couldn't even do anything about it since the Legion kept increasing the pressure on the east of Hoover Dam... Still, the NCR had made some gains. They'd recaptured Nelson, invaded Red Rock Canyon and killed whatever Great Khans were left after they attacked the Brotherhood, and finally got the Long 15 trade route properly protected and running.
The recent events were bad news for Novac however, since Camp Searchlight and Cottonwood Cove were the only remaining Legion outposts west of the Colorado, Novac was smack-dab in the middle of the conflict.
If either side captured Novac they'd have a distinct advantage over the other, especially with how Novac had recently been converted into a fortress city...
"So we're fucked?" Josie states more than asks.
Karl shrugs, "Preeetty much."
"Oh, cheer up guys. I'm feeling pretty good about situation." Veronica says from the side.
"Pretty good?" Karl asks with a snort, "We got hostile NCR positions North, East, and West of our position and Legion outposts straight South... In what world is this 'Pretty good?'"
"Er... My world?" Veronica mutters, feeling as if she'd been scolding for saying something stupid.
...
Tamia sighs and slumps in her seat, "Guys, we are still planning on infiltrating the Fort right?" she asks, drawing everyone's attention.
"No way." "Yes." Josie and Karl look at each other after hearing the other's words.
"We're pretty fucked as it is, we can't just march into the Legion's base and expect to come out alive." Josie states.
Karl shakes his head, "We'll do what we said we would. You don't need to come with if you're scared, but we're doing this." he growls back before getting up and leaving, presumably to grab a strong drink.
Boone looks to Josie and shakes his head, "If you aren't ready for the Fort just say so, you won't be forced to participate. From most points of view it seems like a suicide mission." he says as he gets up and follows Karl.
Hope you bois liked 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.
Also, thanks to my patrons for their support :
Joseph Suh
Chris Lindsey
Kingsprovince
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