Miles hadn't taken his father's death well, the timid boy that was usually kind, empathetic, and helpful to anyone who asked had changed. He was colder, sarcastic and uncaring even when Afton tried to have a real talk with him.
It was like he didn't care anymore, but that obviously wasn't true as the boy now spent most of his time studying or in the firing range. Afton had snuck up behind him in the cafeteria to try and scare him, but ended up hearing him murmur about the NCR, and how they'd pay...
It wasn't as if no one else hated the NCR in the Chapter, but Miles had started bordering on obsession... Afton spoke to the Scribes in the med bay, but apparently, they weren't all that suited to psychological problems, plus, they didn't see a problem with the boy hating the NCR, they were their enemies and it was the correct thing to feel.
A few weeks after the incident that killed Miles father he pulled Melissa and his mother Katie Stanton to a room to have a chat.
"You two, do you know what's going on with Miles?" he asks as soon as they're all sat down.
Melissa just shrugs but Katie nods, "I do... The NCR will pay for what they've done to my family." she mutters through gritted teeth.
Hmm, maybe getting her to help would be more difficult than he'd thought?
"Misses Stanton, I understand you're in pain, but Miles is not taking all of this well. He sits alone in the cafeteria muttering about how the 'NCR will pay', he doesn't acknowledge me or Melissa anymore and he's running himself ragged with all the training he's doing. I'm not an expert but I don't think he'll be able to keep this up for more than a year..." he explains his worries to them.
"Afton, they killed his father, my husband... If he wants to seek revenge then let him, the NCR will attack eventually and his hatred will help him through the conflict." she says with a hardened look.
Melissa glances at Katie with an odd expression, clearly she disagreed but found it difficult to say it aloud, "I think Miles needs help..."
Afton nods, "Katie, it's fine to hate the NCR, we all hate them to some degree after all... But, he's obsessed, its not good for him physically, or mentally. It might not even be good in battle as he might break ranks and charge the enemy... You're his mother, he won't listen to Melissa or me, but maybe you could get through to him?" he asks, hoping she'd attempt to help her son instead of revelling in her resentment and anger towards the NCR.
...
Her face goes from a number of expressions, from furious to shameful, from sad to disgusted, and finally, to tears. "I-I'm sorry." she mutters as she wipes the sudden tears away, "I'll speak with him... You two should be off to your classes, I'll be fine." she says, standing up and leaving, presumably to her own quarters.
Afton glances at Melissa as the woman finally vanishes, "Think it worked?" he asks, unsure what to think about her reaction.
Melissa slowly nods, "It did, I don't know if Miles will listen though... I want the old cry baby back, the way he acts now is like a quiet version of Steve Lynch..." she says, causing him to chuckle at the comparison.
"Well, lets hope he doesn't attack us for no reason then. You've got mechanics class right? You better hurry otherwise you might miss it, it's on the other side of the facility after all." he says, causing the girl's eyes to widen as she sprints away, giving a brief wave before she gets out of view.
Afton sighs to himself, hopefully Misses Stanton would be able to help whatever psychological problem Miles was experiencing. If not then he'd end up losing a friend earlier than he'd ever anticipated.
The next day Afton was eating a breakfast his mother had prepared, Verna was on the opposite end of the table eating her own breakfast, already dressed in Scribe robes... His father had apparently left early in the morning to patrol the area, something about "special methods are needed" had him slightly worried about the man.
He was an incredibly strong and experienced fighter, but in a world with guns and mini-nuclear bombs you would die if someone definitely wanted you dead. He'd just eaten the last mouthful was the metal door to their room slid open, revealing Zachary in his Power armour... Almost immediately their eyes were drawn towards the large dents in it, that was clearly not caused by small firearms...
"Zach! What happened?" she jumps out of her chair and lifts the helmet off of her husband, examining his face to see if he had any injuries.
"Don't worry Verna, NCR never knew what hit 'em... Don't know how they didn't notice us sneaking behind their sniping spot, we aren't exactly the most well hidden." he says, banging a metal fist on his chest plate and causing a metallic *clank* to ring out.
"What're those dents from? Power armour is almost entirely immune to ballistics, so they must have had something heavy duty, right?" he quickly asks, glaring at one particular dent that seems a few inches deep.
Zachary follows his gaze and notices it, "Ah, that? Anti-Material Rifle. I'd say its the most powerful ballistic weapon they have at their disposal, packs a mean punch, especially with Armour Penetrating rounds... Lucky they hadn't landed a shot on my helmet, that would've knocked me clean out." he explains.
"Did you wipe them all out?" Verna asks, wanting to know that those who attacked her husband were now gone from this world.
His father shook his head, "One escaped, jumped off of the cliff we were standing and rolled to a stop, we assumed he was dead until he started running again. Wasn't able to pick him off with my Gatling laser, and the others missed with their Gauss rifles, a shameful display if ever there were one."
"Hmph, let's get you out of that armour and fed." she says, grabbing his hand and taking him to the armoury where they'd leave the armour to be repaired.
Hope you bois like the chap, if I missed anything please let me know.
A week after Afton had spoken with Katie Stanton Miles had actually approached him. He was sitting in his quarters reading a book about how biological humanoid move and how that translates into machinery.
"Er, Afton?" Miles asked from behind him, causing him to quickly turn at his unexpected visitor.
"Yeah?" he replies, not continuing as he wanted Miles to say what he needed.
...
"I'm sorry for... Acting like I have... I've been trying to get better as quickly as I can but, I'm exhausted, I-We need to be prepared for when the NCR attacks. I won't have them taking anything else away from me, I won't let them." he quickly says.
Miles wasn't as cold as he'd been before, but his obsession with the NCR didn't seem to have changed... Perhaps his mother had shifted his focus from personal strength to collective, he could imagine the boy would accept that as there was only so much a single person could do... That meant he wanted to help, as well as receive help from Afton.
This wasn't really what he had in mind, but at least Miles was started to introspect on his situation, admitting he was exhausted was the first step after all, and it was very rational to be worried about the looming fight with the NCR.
"What do you want me to do Miles?"
"I want you to help prepare me, Melissa and anyone else who wants to fight against the NCR."
"Why not ask Doran? I'm not a teacher, and am nowhere near qualified enough to teach it." he says, more to excuse himself from having to tutor others.
"You're one of the best Initiates, the teachers have other duties and won't prepare us fast enough."
...
Afton shakes his head, "I'll help you Miles, as I always have, but anymore than that is asking too much, I'm still learning and training, I can't spend that amount of time training others. If you want to do it yourself, then that's up to you."
Miles nods, "That's fine... At least you're trying."
In the end he and Miles worked out a time where he'd tutor Miles in some of the advanced things he knew, tutoring him at the firing range, some basic melee skills, and other things that may be needed.
They'd do this once a week for an hour or two, similarly to the arrangement he Christine and Veronica had. Well, they used to have...
A week after he'd made the arrangement with Miles he left to go meet with Christine and Veronica, only to find Veronica standing there in the room, alone with a worried look on her face. When he entered she turned towards him, "Afton? Have you seen Christine? I haven't seen her all day and can't find her!" she quickly asks, almost panicking.
"Are you sure? Where is she usually?" he asks, trying to remain calm at the rapidly declining situation.
"I've already looked there! I've looked everywhere!... She... She might not even be inside Helios One!" she exclaims as she runs through her thoughts. Veronica quickly turns to him with a determined look, "You stay here and wait to see if she returns... I'm going to look outside for her, we... Have a hidden spot that we'd spend time together in." she says before sprinting out of the room.
Afton tries to follow after her but knows that he'll not be allowed outside due to the NCR becoming more aggressive as time goes on. He starts wandering around the halls in-case Veronica had missed Christine, unfortunately, she wasn't anywhere to be found.
Veronica hadn't even put on her Power armour as she left Helios One, the guards at the door questioned her briefly but she gave a lie about how the Elder had given her permission.
She stayed well away from their usual patrol paths, as the NCR would most likely be monitoring it. Instead she climbed and shimmied around the mountain until she got to an isolated spot... It'd be the perfect overlook for NCR snipers had they been aware, or even able to get to this position. The only way to access it was from the side closest to Helios One, making it impossible for them to get to.
It looked over the facility and all the roads, allowing her to see the distant Gibsons scrapyard and many other places... It was a good spot, Veronica's favourite spot.
She wasn't alone when she finally reached the top however, Christine had her legs dangling off the cliff with a forlorn look on her face, "Christine!" Veronica shouted as grabbed the girl away from the edge, fearing her lover doing something stupid. "I'VE LOOKed EVERWHERE FOR YOU, DO YOU KNOW HOW WORRIED YOU'VE MADE ME!?!"
Christine smiles slightly before her expression returns to a frown, "I'm sorry Veronica, for everything." she says ominously.
...
"What? What do you mean?"
Christine tugs her collar to the side and reveals her holotag, it was a metal border with holographic technology in the middle that displayed her information. One detailed her name, age, and parentage, while the other detailed her rank and experience within the Brotherhood of steel... She unclipped the one holding her personal information and forced it into Veronica's hand. "I want you to have this... To remember me by." she says, her eyes glistening as she attempts to hold back her tears.
Veronica's eyes widen at this, "Remebm-No, you're not going anywhere! You can't leave us all behind, I won't let you!" she says, grabbing Christine possessively, dropping the holotag onto the dirt.
Christine hugs her and they remain silent for a while before she responds, "Then come with me." she says simply.
Veronica slowly exhales through her nose as she thinks about it, "Why, why are you leaving? If something's bothering you I can help, you know I will."
"There's nothing you can do about it, I want to stay but I have no choice..." she says, not explaining the situation further.
Hopefully I am portraying the two characters correctly, they are more OC than anything as we're only giving tidbits about how they were in the past. If you have any critiques please let me know, thanks for reading!
If you like my content or want to read ahead please go to https://www.p.atreon.com/Nagross, I'd appreciate it.
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