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64.73% Steel Waste / Chapter 459: Pool Side Vacation

Chapter 459: Pool Side Vacation

At another part of Big Mt was Tamia who was currently looking after Carlos. The young boy had been distraught at the state of his mother and recently discovered grandfather, Tamia had spent a couple hours now trying to calm the child, but nothing seemed to work.

To be honest, she was considering just ditching him with the others so she could get some rest... Despite avoiding any injuries, she was still pretty exhausted after the whole ordeal at the Fort... It's not every day you waltz into the enemy base, kidnap their leader and kill most of their troops.

The other problem with the boy was his rather rude attitude towards women... The Legion indoctrination was easy to see in him, yet in his panicked state it seemed lesser than what it was. She had of course met the child when she first entered the Fort. He was amongst the group of children who were talking smack at her and Josie.

"Hey, look at that." she says, pointing at the large pack of Cyberdogs that were sprinting somewhere.

Carlos raises his head and stares at them, his eyes widening at the peculiar sight... Cyberdogs were usually only used in the NCR military from what he had heard... Yet there were so many of them before him.

A couple even approaches the duo, the dogs look intensely at them as if expecting a treat. Tamia raises a brow but pulls out some beef jerky from her bag, handing it to Carlos for the kid to feed. Unbeknownst to them however, the Cyberdogs were actually scanning both of them for Glados.

Tamia watches as the boy feeds the dogs and wonders when she'd be able to rest. She still had to process the things Caesar had revealed. She didn't think he had been lying, but she wasn't sure if she wanted it to be true or false... Knowing that she had a family somewhere was comforting in a way, more than when she was wandering around the wasteland solely bent on revenge.

She looks back at Carlos and lightly taps his shoulder, "Come on, we should find where our beds are... I'm tired as hell." she mutters.

"*Bzztch!* Your designated room is over in the dormitories, meat bag." a Glados controlled drone states from above them.

"Meat bag?" Tamia asks, wondering if she should take offense. It wasn't the first time she'd been called that today either.

"Indeed, meat bag. You are being made of flesh wrapped in a skintight bag, the only interesting part of you is your brain, which I have observed to not be the best amongst your kind." Glados explains.

...

Tamia just shakes her head, deciding not to think about it, "Whatever, just take us to the dorms."

Elsewhere :

Boone, Josie, Anja, and Veronica were having the time of their lives... They were all currently resting on sun loungers next to a large pool, Josie had had her leg stitched, wrapped up, and pumped with pain killers while the others had the various light scratches they'd received patched up.

All of them had been provided with bathing suits, bikinis and shorts... Except for Anja of course who was given a full-body bathing suit... Nobody wanted to see the body of a ghoul...

"If I knew Afton had a place like this I'd have begged him to take me here a lot sooner." Veronica mutters as she sips an ice-cold cocktail. "Do you guys think Karl's gonna be alright? I know Afton's robot-girl-AI-thing said he would, but I'm still worried.

"H-he will, with all the technology here I think it would be easier to list what they couldn't do..." Anja says, admiring what Afton had 'built' here.

Boone tries not to think about Karl's state and releases a long pent up sigh, as a soldier this situation is one he'd found himself in more often than he'd wish, the fate of his comrades is up to fate and the expertise of those operating on them. The fact that he can't do anything to help just makes it all the more bitter.

Instead, he watches the various women in what looked like maid outfits walk around the place, attending to various jobs that needed doing... One stands nearby to fix them up drinks or to help them with any problem they may have. There was something that stood out to him however, "I recognise these women... They're part of the group we rescued from the Legion..."

"Hmm, you think they like working here?" Josie asks, still slightly delirious from the large amount of pain killers she'd been given.

Veronica shrugs, "I don't know... Let's ask one," she raises a hand at the nearest maid, "Excuse me?"

"Y-yes, w-what can I do for you?" the maid stutters out awkwardly.

"How is it working here? I mean, I know it's probably better than being stuck in that camp, but what about the rest of the Mojave?"

The maid's voice is caught in her throat when she's about to retort that the camp provided more freedom than this, and was potentially less dangerous... She had learned her lesson however, even now she could feel the glowing orange eyes glaring at her back, Shani knew she'd be on the chopping block of she tried to escape again...

She'd attempted to leave twice now, apparently she'd been given three strikes... She really didn't want to see what would happen if she made a third attempt. Shani gives a forced smile to Veronica, slightly too toothy to be a sincere one, "N-no, it's great here! We get fed amazing food, we have amazing housing, and we are s-safer than we ever have been!" she lists off.

Veronica grins back at her, not noticing that Shani's smile didn't reach her eyes, she turns back to Josie, "See? Afton's got shit handled here, I might even take a dip in the pool once I finished my drink." she grins.

"Ah... Veronica c-could you..." Anja attempts to ask but hesitates.

"Yeah?"

"C-could you teach me how to swim?" the ghoul asks, having never gotten the chance before.

Veronica beams, "Sure! Come on, first you gotta kick your legs like a madman!" she exclaims while dragging Anja into the pool, not even taking notice of the gross texture of Anja's hand.

Shani just sighs as this all occurs, these people were ignorant to the atrocities that were being committed here... She wondered if they'd ever find out, and if they did, if they would do something to stop it. She shakes these thoughts from her head and turns to the only male of the group, "Is that all you need, sir?"


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

next chapter

Chapter 460: PowerRang-Claws?

Afton stands from the grass and rolls his shoulders. He felt like a newer, better man with the ability to do anything he put his mind to... He looks down at his right arm, rolls up the sleeve and takes off his glove to reveal the wood-like flesh beneath.

The new mutation he'd gained didn't exactly come with a set of instructions, so he was stuck trying to figure it out himself like Toby Maguire in the first Spiderman movie... Fortunately, he isn't forced to shot catchphrases at the top of his lungs to achieve an effect.

His plant arm feels as if it's bubbling, a tingly feeling springs up underneath his skin as he concentrates on moving it... His figures twitch as his thumb disappears, causing Afton's brows to raise in consternation... Yeah, that was an incredibly strange feeling.

The sensations in his thumb hadn't disappeared, but instead had just shifted to the rest of his arm... Honestly, it was making him slightly nauseous. He takes a couple moments to compose himself and tries again, imagining his arm becoming a spike.

His fingers meld together and become thinner at the end, his wrist locks itself in place and once everything is done, Afton finds himself with a large wooden spike attached to his elbow... He can move it, but everything below the elbow is locked in place.

He tests the point of the spike but finds that it isn't all that sharp... He'd probably need another mutation to be able to form sharp edges, not that it'd be difficult to kill someone with this spike, it'd be like jabbing a pointed piece of wood into someone's throat... Still lethal.

He morphs his arm back to its regular appearance, the flesh easily reverting as if it'd been waiting to return to normal. He's about to test it some more but is interrupted by Dr Borous who floats outside the Think Tank.

"That is an incredibly peculiar ability you've acquired Mr Parker."

Afton nods, "Yeah, it's a recent thing... What're you doing outside the Think Tank? Don't you guys hate the outside?"

Borous shakes his chassis, "Most do, but I only stayed within the Think Tank for fear of the Lobotomites and other creatures roaming this place... Now that it's all cleared I find the sun on my brain quite calming."

Afton smirks, "You taking Gabe on walks?"

Borous chuckles, "Of course! I have a lot to make up for, the least I can do is spend time with my old friend... Ah, anyway, I actually have something to speak to you about." he rediverts the conversation back to the subject at hand, "The Deathclaw samples you brought back are developing quite nicely, in fact, I've managed to hatch a few eggs. I'd love to show you them if you are willing to see?"

Afton raises a brow, "You've started hatching them? Please don't tell me you've made a farm of them..." he asks pointedly.

Borous turns his monitors away slightly, meaning that he certainly had. "I had Glados permission, I'll have you know."

"Glados..." Afton asks, her robotic form expanding over them and looking down with an orange eye, "Yes, creator?"

He shakes his head and sighs, "I know you've been listening, did you really give Borous permission to make a Deathclaw farm?"

"Request 4239 was accepted, it was one of the projects I personally found interesting. The creatures designated: Deathclaws seemed like the perfect killing machines, at least, as much as biology allows." she explains.

"And you didn't see anything wrong with making a large amount in the crater, youknow, where everyone except you is susceptible to getting torn to pieces?" he asks with crossed arms.

"It was a calculated risk. A few dead organisms would be worth an attack force of Deathclaws." she states.

Afton shakes his head, "I'm not arguing with you on that, it's just that I'd like to be informed when something that risks the facility is decided upon. I understand I might have been busy, but I am still the owner of this place." he chides.

"Understood... On this subject, Dala has requested permission to dissect the organism designated: Shani. Its brainwaves were reported to be peculiar, and its recent attempts to escape the facility have become annoying at best." Glados explains.

"Is this her third strike?" he calmly asks.

"No. But I do not see why it matt-"

Afton interrupts and ignores her question, "Then leave Shani alone until she tries to escape again, after that Dala can do what she wants with her."

"Understood." Glados says before leaving, well, only physically. Afton knew she was everpresent around Big Mt, her surveillance encompasses everything.

"That AI you've built is quite unnerving..."

Afton nods, "I designed her that way... Anyway, you wanted to show me the Deathclaws? Well, lead on."

Borous begins leading Afton away from the Think Tank and towards a far off laboratory. It looked recently created and had huge fences around, all of which were electrified to prevent any chance of escape.

Afton didn't say anything about it however, he was quite honestly relieved that so many defensive were set up to prevent a potential Deathclaw escape... One escape could result in an infestation that would be difficult to remove for the robots and cyberdogs... Afton himself would probably have to step in.

He's led through the lab which held many eggs that'd been experimented on and further mutated, and eventually finds himself in an observation room overlooking the fenced-in area... Young Deathclaws could be seen running around, playing and pretend hunting. A few over-eager ones accidentally touch the fence and bounce off of it with electricity visibly licking their skin, after that they know to stay well away from the 'pain wall'.

One thing Afton took particular notice in were the peculiar colours of the Deathclaws... Usually, they only came in brown, black and beige... But there were green ones, red ones, and yellow ones... "Is there a reason for the weird colours?" he asks Borous.

"Indeed there are, I colour coded them to easily identify which mutations I've introduced... The red ones are more aggressive, the green ones had larger claws, and the yellow ones are smarter than average... These are only preliminary tests, of course, I only wish to see how far I can alter them until they start dying."

Afton nods, "Fair enough... Just one warning before I allow this to continue. You will take all precautions physically possible to prevent any altered Deathclaws from escaping... The wasteland does not need smarter, larger, or more aggressive Deathclaws... At least, not without us being able to control them." he states.

Borous nods his chassis, "Of course. I have learned from my past mistakes."

Afton examines the robot for any indication of deceit... Eventually, he just turns away, "Alright, carry on them. Report your progress regularly to Glados."


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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