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51.05% Steel Waste / Chapter 362: Tough path

Chapter 362: Tough path

By the time Afton and Cass were done dealing with the Legionaries, the whole camp must've heard it. The usual screams that were heard from the tent were the all too familiar feminine ones, but instead cowardly male ones.

That, and the couple shots Afton'd fired made everyone else all too aware that there was an enemy present. As Afton was shaking off the blood and bone fragments that'd gotten stuck to his fists, Nyx was quickly alerting him to the situation outside.

"Thirteen hostiles ousid-"

*BOOM!*

"Ten hostiles outside." she corrects after the explosion occurs.

Afton smirks, "At least Boone is getting some use out of the unused Explosive ammo they hadn't used on the Deathclaws." he mutters before turning to Cass, "Long time no see Cass, I'd make small-talk but this isn't the time, nor place for it. Are you still good to fight?" he asks.

Cass still appears to be glaring at the Legionary corpses, she swings the Proton axe at the body formerly known as Julius a couple more times before looking at him and nodding, "Give me a gun so I can show my appreciation for their hospitality. Mojave style." she states, tossing the axe back to Afton who quickly deactivates and stows it away.

Afton gestures at his armoury, "Any preferences?"

"A shotgun."

Afton nods and tosses her his Sawed-off shotgun, along with a handful of shells. Afterwards, he looks around the room at the hostages one last time before turning his attention to the enemies that were apparently getting closer. He wasn't sure what to do with them, so he'd decide after all teh Legionaries had been dealt with.

"Stay here a moment Cass, they have our position locked down, and I wouldn't ignore the possibility of them just shooting up the tent and everyone inside..." he says and Cass gives him a hard look but allows his decision anyway.

Afton approaches the entrance of the tarp and suddenly shouts, "I SURRENDER!"

...

"Afton what the fu-"

"Quiet Cass, it's all according to plan... I AM COMING OUT! DON'T SHOOT!" he yells, slowly lifting up the cloth entrance of the tarp and stepping outside, coming face to face with around ten Legionaries.

Most seem unaware of Boone's presence, despite the fact he'd already killed a couple of them, but a few that were scanning the surroundings knew something was up.

To be honest, Afton wasn't even sure if the Legionaries would allow him to 'surrender' as the rules of war weren't exactly their concern. Regardless, he hadn't been riddled with bullets yet, which meant they wanted to capture him, most likely for questioning.

"KEEP YOUR HANDS UP, SCUM! DOMINICUS! DISARM HIM!" one Legionary yells, pointing a dirty-looking hunting rifle at Afton.

"Any enemies I don't see Nyx? he quietly asks his AI.

"More hostiles detected, but are too far to detect their number." she quickly replies.

Afton nods at this, with her upgraded sensors that meant that they wouldn't be a threat to him for a while. One of the Legionaries slowly walks towards Afton to try and disarm him of all his weaponry. Afton had other plans, however.

He scans the Legionaries and notes the ones paying less attention to him and more on their surroundings. He makes it look as if he was finding his arms to heavy to hold up before abruptly drawing his revolvers.

His draw speed was so fast that most hadn't even realised weapons were being pointed back at them. The [Quick Draw] Perk combined with his maxed out Agility and Perception is the only thing that allowed this feat of inhuman proportions to be performed.

*BANGBANGBANGBANGBANGBANG!*

Bullets start flying from his weapons, killing three Legionaries before they start firing back in return. However, as soon as Afton started firing, Boone also joins the fight.

*BOOM!*

An explosion shakes the area as four Legionaries are caught up in it, arms and legs flying off as other brutal injuries cover them. This distraction is enough to shake the aim of the Legionaries enough that Afton doesn't even have to dodge to avoid them, allowing him to continue firing his weapons until no hostile remains.

He scans the Legionaries bodies and doesn't see any still alive, he gives a brief wave to Boone as thanks before spinning his revolvers back into their holsters. "Fuck, that was cool."

"And really god-damned stupid." Cass scolds as she steps out of the tent.

Afton shrugs, "Just let me enjoy this, will you? Anyway, there's still some Legionaries remaining, wanna come deal with 'em?"

Cass nods, "I haven't gotten my pound of flesh yet, so even if you wanted to you wouldn't stop me from comin'." she states.

The two patrol around, following the direction where the remaining Legionaries should be. Most seem to be quickly trying to return to camp, as to why they were gone? Afton really had no idea. Though judging by the fact Anja was sneaking around not too far away, he could imagine the situation.

It doesn't take long to clear up the rest of the Legionaries, Afton's group simply had better training, equipment, tactics, and information. The enemy didn't stand a chance, all getting utterly annihilated without managing to do a lick of damage.

Afterwards, Afton, Boone, Anja, and Cass all meet up back in the main tent where the captives were being held, finding most of them already standing and unbound, having apparently freed themselves.

Afton crosses his arms as he looks at them all, Anja and Boone sending cautious looks at him while remembering his words before starting the job...

Afton didn't really have any idea what to do with them, sure he'd considered executing them all, but that was probably a bad idea for everyone involved. Boone would definitely refuse, and so would Cass, he couldn't free them as they were aware of who saved them...

"Afton, you're not thinking-..." Boone stops before finishing, not wanting to distress the captives.

...

He rubs his face, "Damn, why can't shit just be simple and easy." he mutters before addressing the group, "Look. I know all of you have experienced something utterly vile and torturous, but I cannot allow you to rejoin the rest of the Mojave. Our identity is incredibly sensitive, and if anyone got word of what'd happened here, me and my entire group would be at risk..." he states, the captives now looking slightly pale at where this was going.


CREATORS' THOUGHTS
Niggross Niggross

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

If you liked my content or want to read ahead please go to https://www.p.atreon.com/Nagross, I'd appreciate it.

next chapter

Chapter 363: Delegating problems...

Afton continues to go over his choices, rubbing his temples as he imagines every scenario possible...As far as he could see, there were only three choices... Kill the hostages, rescue them, or do nothing.

All of them would have drastic consequences, but he couldn't see any other way around it... Unless...

He glances at the hostages and then back at his friends, closing his eyes and going over it. "You guys have two options as I see it." he starts, not bothering to look at the peoples pleading looks. "One, I take you somewhere where you would be comfortable for the duration of your stay, I cannot let you return to your regular lives, so this is your way out. Or, your second choice... I kill you all here and now to stop future problems springing up."

Boone and Cass both look indignant and confused at his words, but allow him to explain himself before drawing any conclusions.

Afton sighs, "I will use some advanced technology to teleport you to your destination should you choose to live. After everything has settled down, you will be allowed to return to your regular lives, though, I may have to remove certain memories of what you may see." he says.

Boone raises a brow at this, "I'm guessing this is from 'that' place?"

Afton nods, "Yeah." he states simply.

"Am I the only one who's finding it hard to believe that you can teleport people?" Cass mutters.

"Earlier you were swinging around an axe made of light... But yeah, sure, pick and choose the technology you're amazed by." Afton drawls before turning towards the captives. "What is your choice?

Most of them look very unsure but eventually agree to go along with whatever his plans for them were... They'd just escaped a bloody, violent, and torturous death via the hands of the Legion, so being temporarily held captive by their 'saviour' didn't sound all that bad... Plus, some of the captives' families had been killed as they were captured, leaving them with little to nothing holding them in the Mojave.

Afton nods and starts rapidly tapping his Pipboy, afterwards allowing Nyx to take over gathering the coordinates as he got out some paper and a pen. With it, he scribbles a note to Glados to hopefully protect these people as they arrive at the crater.

Cass looks over his shoulder and raises a brow as she reads it aloud, "Dear Glados, these are guests and NOT test subjects. I REPEAT! NOT test subjects. Provide them with adequate care until I return and decide what to do with them."

...

"You know... I think I'm getting cold feet for this." one of the former captives mutter with the rest of the group nodding.

Afton shrugs, "Alright, this will take a couple hours, so to preserve energy we should strike at the other camps and gather any other hostages we find here..." he looks to Cass, "You comin' or?"

Cass shakes her head, "I'm stayin' here... I'll protect these guys until you're back, never know if more Legionaries will return."

Afton nods, "Alright, keep the shotgun, you might need it." he agrees, eventually walking away towards the next Legion encampment with Boone, Anja, and ED-E in tow.

During the next few hours, the group stumbles across similar scenes to the first camp they encountered. And, just like the first, they dealt with the Legionaries there in the same manner, brutally and efficiently.

Eventually, at around 4 am, all the camps had been eliminated. The captives had all been gathered in the first camp and the coordinates had been triangulated for teleportation. All that was left now was to send them off and return to Astor and report what they found.

Afton looked at the group of around fifty people, and then at Cass who's standing next to the group, "You sure you don't want to come with us?" he asks once more before she's sent off to the Think Tank.

Cass just smiles and shakes her head, "I think I've had it with the Mojave, Afton... Nothing goes right here, so getting some distance between me and this place while helping these folks is good enough for me." she says, and Afton nods.

He could understand the sentiment, besides, she might be a valuable asset to the Think Tank due to how well-travelled she was. They wouldn't need to rely on robot scouts and the old world American map to figure out where was what. Plus, she'd probably have a good deal of knowledge on valuable trade routes... Though, Afton was still unsure what he wanted to do with the info was he got it.

"Well I'll be in touch if you ever wanna change your mind... Also, try not to anger the other... 'Unique' residents at where you're headed... Not just for your health, but theirs too." he explains before readying the teleportation device.

He was unsure how the Think Tank had recovered so much energy before his last round of teleportation, but he guessed that they might be putting his 'Glowing One Reactor' idea to use. Regardless, he taps the button and give a small wave to the people, just as a lightning bolt strikes their position.

Boone and Anja step back at the thunderous sound and shockwave produced, and afterwards quickly look at Afton with aggrieved and angered eyes.

Boone grabs his collar with both hands and pulls him close, "What did you just do!?" he growls, having just seen the group they were supposed to be protecting hit by lightning and reduced to nothing.

Afton chuckles and shakes his head, easily prying Boone's hands off of him, "Don't worry, that's just how the teleportation functions. It dematerialises them and reconstitutes them in another location, it's rather crude I must admit, but we're nowhere near creating small, stable wormholes just yet." he explains, confusing the duo more than anything. Though, from the sound of it, Afton hadn't just killed all those people for no reason.


CREATORS' THOUGHTS
Niggross Niggross

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

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