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61.63% Steel Waste / Chapter 437: Arcade with professionalism.

Chapter 437: Arcade with professionalism.

Thankfully, House did know of one 'decent' doctor who might be willing to temporarily relocate. He'd sent Tamia down to the Old Mormon Fort where the Followers of the Apocolypse were located.

Apparently, the group had been causing him trouble since they moved in, messing with RobCo tech when they had the chance, attempting to hack into the Lucky 38 to find the source of House's longevity, and even telling new visitors to New Vegas to not waste their lives away in a casino... Yeah, House didn't like them one bit.

So, Tamia considered that she may have been sent to 'steal' one of their doctors to slow the group's influence gain in Freeside. The Followers of the Apocolypse were basically the only charity service in the Mojave, and they spent most of their time healing those in need, helping people with addictions, and providing shelter to those who'd spent their life savings in the strip.

Tamia thought they were pretty respectable, regardless though, Novac needed a doctor. And that is where she'd find one. House had told her about one man who was considered better than the rest, more researcher and scientist than an actual doctor from what he'd managed to find out.

Arcade Isreal Gannon.

It isn't difficult to enter the Mormon Fort, for all intents and purposes it's almost always open. The only exception to this rule is when gangs attempt to raid the place for medical supplies and to take advantage of the weak and injured.

As has become usual these days, she receives hard and curious looks from various people as she walks in. A woman with a wild mohawk walks towards her with a stern expression, "Excuse me, do you have business here?"

Tamia raises a brow at the oddly hostile greeting, "Yeah, I'm looking for a guy called Arcade Gannon, know 'em?"

"Depends on why you need him." she states, and Tamia just huffs at the woman.

"I just need to talk with him, that's all."

Julia lets out a long sigh and gestures towards a tent at the back of the fort, "He should be over there, I'll be keeping an eye on you though." he states and Tamia nods, walking over to the tent.

Tamia approaches the tent and enters inside, spotting a man with short blonde hair and glasses hunched over a table with heaps of paperwork. "Er, hello?"

The man jolts at the sudden greeting and slowly turns to her, "Hi. You need something?" he abruptly and rather rudely asks.

Tamia nods, "I'm here to ask for your help-"

"Oh, really." Arcade cuts her off, "Let me guess, Someone sprained their ankle and everyone else is busy with more pressing matters? OH! Or have they run outta coffee again?"

Tamia raises a brow, "Er, no... Does-"

"Ah, I know! Did they need someone to clean the faeces from someone's clothes?" he asks, seemingly frustrating himself further as he continue.

"No!" Tamia finally exclaims, stopping Arcade's rant. "I don't even work with the Followers of the Apocolypse... Is that something they usually make you do?" she asks, feeling like Arcade smarter than that Julia chick she'd spoken with earlier.

Arcade shrugs, "Alright, I may have been slightly facetious, but not by much. My research is important, and yet they treat it like toilet paper, sure it's on a bit of a slump, but you can't force progress!" he sighs and looks back at her, "You said you needed help?"

Tamia nods, "Not just me, but a whole town. I come from Novac, you heard of it?"

His eyes light up in recognition, "Ah, yes, I've heard of it... And you more importantly... The mysterious courier working for House, right?"

"I wouldn't say 'mysterious', just forgettable." she jokes.

Arcade snorts, "Forgettable? You're making history... I'm still undecided whether that's good or not though... What do you need from me? From what I heard Novac has become a fortress, I'm not exactly soldier material."

Tamia looks him over, "I don't know, I think you have potential... But that besides the point, we need a doctor. The town was hit hard the other day by some mercenaries hired by the NCR or the Legion... Or both... To be honest I wouldn't be surprised if there was a third party involved with attention we've attracted."

"A doctor, huh?... I don't know, I mean, my research might be in a slump but it's nothing a bit of elbow grease couldn't fix... Plus there are probably hundreds of other doctors you could hire that aren't using their skills for the betterment of their fellow man."

Tamia shrugs, "There probably are, but I doubt I could trust them. Who's to say they won't be bribed to botch procedures, poison the citizens, and assassinate high priority targets? At least you come with a rather fantastic recommendation."

"Recommendation?" questions Arcade who seems thoroughly confused.

Tami nods, "House sent me in your direction. If that ain't something to be proud about then I don't know what is."

"H-House? He knows who I am?... He's watching me?" Arcade chokes at her words, the implications of which making him look around the tent anxiously.

"Forget about that, if he wanted to do something he wouldn't have sent me here... Plus, he seems to have a good opinion of you, better than the rest of the people here. Anyway, you wouldn't have to stop your research, just put it on hold whenever someone gets injured... Think of it as a scientific expedition." she urges, attempting to persuade the man.

"Hmm... I mean, people do say that working on a problem from different angles helps its completion... Novac..." he trails off, "Do you know someone called Daisy? They should still be living there." he asks, sitting up straight.

Tamia nods, "Daisy's fun. She'd currently the mayor of Novac."

...

"Mayor? Huh, never thought she'd willingly take that job." he shakes his head, "Whatever, you've convinced me." he says, standing up and grabbing a satchel and stuffing his papers inside, afterwards grabbing a bunch of medical supplies and storing them.

As he's doing this Tamia notices the Plasma defender holstered on his hip under his lab coat. At least he knows how to defend himself she thinks to herself.


CREATORS' THOUGHTS
Niggross Niggross

Hope you bois liked the chap, if I missed anything please let me know. Thanks!

Also, thanks to my patrons for their support :

ShinAmazake

Chris Lindsey

Kingsprovince

Chapter 438: Suicidal Planner

Afton, Karl, Boone, Josie, Veronica and Anja were all currently inside an apartment building discussing the plan of infiltrating the Fort. The Power armour had been completed a couple days ago, so all they needed now was to actually plan out the assault and to wait for Tamia to return.

Boone prods at finger at the holographic map on the table, courtesy of Afton and the Think Tank. "If you are going to be bringing Power armour I doubt they'll simply let you on their raft." he states, pointing at Cottonwood Cove.

Karl nods, "The Mark of Caesar Tamia received would only allow one person to accompany her... The rest of us would have to find another way into the Fort."

Afton shrugs at them and traces a finger at Hoover Dam, "Couldn't we just drive across the Dam and sneak up to the Fort? I know their defences would be massive, but with Dirt-Hog and a lot of bullets we could probably manage..."

"I don't know... Last I saw the Legion's fortifications East of the Dam were enough to stop an army in their tracks. They might've laid down mines, built walls, and created pitfalls after losing the first battle of Hoover Dam."

Afton sighs while tapping the table, he's about to offer another option when the apartment door opens, revealing Tamia who strolls in. "Welcome back." he says.

Tamia nods at him, "I found our doctor, I left him with Daisy so they can catch up before he sets up in the medical tent."

"Anyone we know?" Afton asks, curious at who she picked.

She shrugs, "A guy called Arcade Gannon, House recommended him. Anyway, what's this?"

"Battle plans." Karl states but Veronica snorts, "More like Suicide plans. Right now we've got sending you into Cottonwood Cove, a slave camp, with one escort. While everyone else hops in Dirt-Hog and drives into heavily fortified land that may or may not been absolutely filled with mines."

Afton sighs, "When you put it like that it sounds like we haven't done anything..."

"I'm not saying you haven't done anything, just that what you have done is dogshit stuck to the bottom of a shit sandwich..."

"If you've got a better plan then feel free to speak up." Boone asks pointedly, shutting Veronica up for now.

Tamia walks over and looks at the map, "Seems like there aren't really any other options... What would the NCR think if you guys tried to drive over the Dam?"

...

"You didn't think about that, did you?" she asks with a dull look.

Afton palms his face, "To be fair, it's only recently we've been enemies with the NCR. It's not like I expected the Legion to blurt out my identity to everyone with and without ears."

Tamia just shakes her head and points at the Northside of the Fort where the Colorado intersects between an NCR camp and the Legion headquarters. "What are the chances of building our own raft and using that here?"

Afton shakes his head, "Impossible, if we ignore the fact we'd have both NCR and Legion shooting at us while we paddled across the river, we'd still be surrounded with no viable way to retreat... Considering the fact we're trying to rescue Karl's daughter, it's pretty important... Dirt-Hog is probably our best bet at actually getting in and out. Plus, with the Power armour we'll be using, swimming would be impossible, plus the fact that neither are designed to work underwater... Yet."

"So what do we do?" Josie asks while sipping a beer as if the discussion doesn't involve her.

Afton breathes a long sigh, "Tamia and Josie head through Cottonwood Cove through the 'official' entrance. Josie isn't all that high-profile so her past with the NCR wouldn't immediately be noticed, plus the fact she's a woman-"

""Hey!"" "Fuck you."

...

Afton raises a brow at the angry looks he's receiving and snorts, "I don't mean that in a bad way, I mean that the Legion are all sexist pieces of shit and will underestimate you." he explains before continuing, "Anyway, the rest of us will drive over the Hoover Dam and breach through any defences they may have... It's going to be a shit show, but that's what you signed up for.

Before this happens, Tamia and Josie will try and locate Karl's daughter. If or when you find them, you will take them to House's underground bunker where they'll be kept out of the subsequent fighting... Hmm... If you two take Dogmeat then you'll be able to triangulate the coordinates to teleport... Yeah, that's what we'll do." he mutters the last part.

"Take Dogmeat with you and teleport Karl's daughter out of there, afterwards find the bunker and do what House wanted. If you aren't able to get inside without fighting then wait for us to arrive and we'll do it all together... To be honest, I doubt House's super-secret bunker would be easy to get inside... If it was the Legion would've gained access years ago."

...

"Why don't we just teleport into the base?" Karl asks, getting nods from everyone else.

"Because I'd rather not reveal that we are able to teleport... It's bad enough that some of the soldiers in Novac are aware of it. If we just show the Legion what we can do they'd just snitch on us to the Brotherhood... I don't know about you guys, but we've got enough on our plate against the NCR and the Legion right now...

Plus, I'd rather have Dirt-Hog as backup in case something goes wrong... It'll provide firing power, cover, and a viable escape should we need it. Cool?"

Karl shrugs, "Still think teleporting inside would be easier than fighting through an army... How do you expect to get through the initial defences East of the Dam?"

Afton just smirks at him and flashes the Range Finder. "Good thing we have a spare 'nuke' to drop on them."

Anja raises her hand to talk, as if she were inside a classroom, "Er, sir... Won't using that be the same and showing our teleportation?"

Afton shrugs, "I doubt anyone will survive the initial blast, and we can play it off afterwards as a nuclear detonation... It'll probably be fine, for a while at least."


CREATORS' THOUGHTS
Niggross Niggross

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 :

ShinAmazake

Chris Lindsey

Kingsprovince

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