With everyone in the group now aware of some of their future plans, it was now time to start preparations in actually infiltrating the Fort. Tamia had explained that she had been given permission to use as many caps as she needs to complete the task, making Afton almost fall unconscious with uproarious laughter.
It was perfect. They now basically had infinite funds to do something they were already going to do... Man, things were seriously 'Coming up Afton!'.
Now with the 'go ahead', Afton intended to make full use of their new expendable funds. First off heading to Doctor Usanagi's clinic. Once there the group basically bought all stock of her implants. Sure, the doctor was surprised, but as far as she was concerned, the purchase of all available implants would literally fund one hundred years of research...
Afton's body was durable enough to take some more implants so he finished his set, buying Intelligence, Charisma, and Luck implants to boost his stats.
[Perk granted : "Empathy Synthesizer" Charisma Implant]
[Charisma Implant] : +1 Charisma
[Perk granted : "Logic Co-Processor" Intelligence Implant]
[Intelligence Implant] : +1 Intelligence.
[Perk granted : "Probability Calculator" Luck Implant]
[Luck Implant] : +1 Luck]
[For enhancing all of your stats with technology, Perk granted : The Cyber Punk]
[The Cyber Punk] : You know your way around tech, especially when it's surgically implanted into your body... Stops your body from rejecting implants, and boosts your effectiveness when using active ones.
The Perk appears in his peripheral vision and has a Cybernetic-looking Vaultboy sitting on it in the corner... Though, the Vaultboy itself seems to be glitching out for some reason... A bad omen perhaps?
Afton wasn't really sure what to make out of his new Perk, he'd never actually considered the chance of implants being rejected by his body... But, since he didn't have to worry about that now, maybe he should look into getting some more.
Regardless, he 'persuaded' most of his group to get implants, even if there was the potential of their bodies rejecting them. Though, the only one he made sure they receive was the "PHOENIX" Monocyte Breeder, an Implant that allows the body to heal significantly faster than it usually would.
Of course, Afton didn't bother getting that Implant as his body was already far, far more effective at healing. That, and he wanted to leave room in his already tech-filled body for a different, more effective implant should it come up.
In addition to the healing implant, Karl got the Agility and Endurance ones. Though, Afton was sure the latter was more to help his sore back...
Boone got a Perception and Agility Implant, but ended up rejecting the latter, forcing Usanagi to remove it or risk infection, and a litany of other health defects.
Josie got an Intelligence and Endurance Implant, getting lucky and keeping both.
Veronica tried to get Strength, Endurance, Agility, and Intelligence, but her body rejected the latter, forcing the Doctor to remove it... Though, three Implants was the best result (aside from himself) they'd seen so far.
Tamia herself tried to get all the stat Implants, same as Afton, but her body rejected Agility, Intelligence, and Perception. Allowing her to keep Strength, Endurance, Perception, Charisma, and Luck... Still, Mr House had to foot the cost of all the rejected Implants as they were rendered useless afterwards...
Afton was glad he didn't have to speak to the man, otherwise he might feel guilty about taking advantage of his offer to Tamia... But he'd get over it pretty quick, so, 'meh?'
At the point, everyone had gotten Implants apart from Anja... But there was a good reason for this, in Doctor Usanagi's words, 'I have no idea if Implants would even work on a Ghoul'...
Yeah, apparently their anatomy was similar, yet different enough for the Implants to have an affect, but not necessarily the one you want. Regardless, the group paid for Anja to receive the Endurance Implant, and Usanagi was willing to sell it to them for half-price due to her professional interest in seeing what'd actually happen.
The operation was relatively quick, but afterwards everyone realised they needed to remove the Implant almost immediately... Anja wouldn't stop screaming until the tech was removed, but no one knew why she reacted like that.
Regardless, it seemed like Anja was the only one who wouldn't receive an Implant out of the group. It wasn't 'too bad', but it was still a bummer for the Ghoul, who felt that she'd be more useless than she was before.
Once the group had finished at Doctor Usanagi's clinic, they moved on and headed towards the Gun Runners to stock up their equipment... Veronica and Tamia needed a complete set of equipment.
Afton's group were already kitted out with their preferred gear, so that didn't really need to be changed. They had good weaponry and good armour for their desired role... Though, once Veronica spotted the heavy reinforced combat armour Afton wanted her to wear, she immediately rejected it.
"I am NOT wearing that!"
Afton just raises a brow and sighs exasperatedly, "Why not? You wanna die from some puny 9mm round or something?"
Veronica just shakes her head, "No, but if I wanted to walk around all day in sweaty, heavy armour, I'd grab some Power armour!"
...
"You have some Power armour to use?" he asks, suddenly very interested.
Veronica just shrugs and nods, "There's a safehouse North East of New Vegas that should have a spare set... It's barely used, and I doubt the Paladin that maintains it would mind too much..."
Afton's face breaks into a huge grin as he hugs her, "Veronica! You've made my day!" he exclaims, tossing her up in the air as if she were a small child.
"Wait! Let me down! Afton, stop!" she yelps but can't stop herself from giggling at the intimate byplay. Of course, the rest of the group and the Gun Runner Vendertron watch this all occur with dull or amused looks.
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
Before Afton and the group left to 'borrow' the Power armour in the Brotherhood of Steel safehouse, they made sure to gear up Tamia and Veronica.
Tamia was strong, but not necessarily all that good with a good. Her shots were accurate when tested, but in combat situations, her accuracy rate dropped significantly. For this there were two options. One was to give her a Submachine gun so it wouldn't matter if she occasionally missed, or two give her a powerful revolver so that even if she missed the head and hit the chest or a limb, it'd be devastating regardless.
Ultimately, Tamia decided to get a .44 Revolver. She was more familiar with that type of weapon, and she trusted the revolvers reliability far more than any SMG. Her upgrades didn't end there however.
Afton decided that the 'Knock Knock axe' he'd acquired for Camp Searchlight wasn't good enough for the task they had before them. So he granted her a single Proton axe from Big Mt, in addition, she also purchased a full set of Reinforced combat armour.
Veronica however wished to keep punching things for some reason. Afton couldn't figure out her weird fetish with 'fisting things', but he agreed to get her something that suits her tastes regardless. Her old powerfist, while still powerful, wasn't enough to fight off an army of Legionaries. So, he bought the most powerful powerfist the Gun Runners had available... It was called the 'Two-Step Goobye' and it was a unique weapon.
[Two-Step Goodbye]
Strength req : 9
DMG : 70
Crit dmg : 10
Crit mult : 4x
AP : 28
Weight : 6
Value : 25000
Special : Bonus Critical Chance, Reduced Critical Damage, Critical Kill = Boom! Critical hit results in the person being hit becoming a timed explosive.
The weapon itself just looked like a wrist-mounted shotgun with a knuckle mechanism allowing it to shoot when you punch someone... Less sophisticated than the typical Brotherhood of Steel Powerfist, but significantly more powerful.
Perhaps with some alterations, he'd be able to make the shotgun firable even when not punching someone... Though, the mechanism would need to be properly tailored to prevent it randomly going off.
Of course, upon being gifted with this new weapon, Veronica broke out into almost manic giggles as she began testing it on nearby rocks, causing the area to be filled with the sound of powerful shotgun blasts and destroyed rocks as she went to town.
The price for the weapon wasn't cheap and Afton would have never considered buying it were they using his own cash... Now that House is footing the bill however he found himself more 'charitable' than ever.
Other than her new Powerfist, Veronica also received a 12.7mm Submachine gun to wield while she was punching people... It was more for suppressing fire than anything but, who cares about the cost right?
The only thing Afton was really worried about was the 9 Strength requirement for Veronica's Powerfist.
[Veronica Santangelo]
Health : 99%
Stamina : 70%
DT : 18
Strength : 8
Perception : 4
Endurance : 8
Charisma : 6
Intelligence : 7
Agility : 5
Luck : 4
Ailments :
[Sprained wrist] : -50% damage when attacking with affected area. Can become more severe with further damage.
[Sore shoulder] : -1 Agility when attempting to use affected area.
Her Strength simply wasn't high enough to properly utilise the weapon and this could already be seen after thirty minutes of use. Of course, this wouldn't be a problem once they acquired Power armour, but it was still something to watch out for.
After the group acquires all their new gear, they all get back in Dirt-Hog and head in the direction of the Brotherhood Safehouse that supposedly exists... Afton wasn't doubting Veronica's knowledge, only whether or not the Brotherhood was strong enough to set up Safehouses so far away from the Bunker.
Regardless, they headed there nonetheless. Afton sat with his feet up on the dashboard as Josie drove, thinking various things, their plans for the Fort, what they'd do afterwards, etc. But, once a thought strikes his mind, he realises that either something was really wrong, or he'd missed something about the system itself...
He'd not received any Companion notification after Veronica and Tamia had accompanied them... Was this due to their loyalties? No, Veronica wouldn't even think of betraying him, even with all that time that'd passed.
Differing goals? No... Their goal, for now, was the same...
What made this situation different from all the other times however?... The fact that he'd not formally invited Tamia and Veronica into the group? Hmm, well, let's test it then.
He opens the hidden panel leading to the back of the truck and crawls through, all the while Josie complaining about him distracting her. Once he's through, he pokes his head out of the hole, causing everyone resting in the back to jump in surprise.
"Yo! Hey, I just wanted to ask... Tamia, Veronica, do you guys want to official join our mercenary group? Or?"
Tamia shrugs, "I mean, aren't we technically already in it?"
Afton nods, "Yeah, but nothing is set yet, you don't have to stay permanently, it's just more for appearances than anything."
The duo shrug again, "Alright, whatever ."
Afton receives a couple new messages in his peripheral which causes him to grin, "Cool." he says before returning to his seat in the front of the truck, looking over his new notifications.
[Companion gained : Tamia of the WoodenGrip Tribe.]
[New Perk acquired! : Protagonist]
[Protagonist] : You are the Protagonist! Random soldiers miss their shots on you despite being perfectly able, groups of enemies give you a chance for some reason, enemies are far easier to persuade!... The world is literally your oyster, designed for your adventures and ready for your triumphs! +50% chance for lucky events to occur.
Wow, yeah that new Perk seems pretty overpowered by name alone...
[Companion gained : Veronica Santangelo]
[New Perk acquired! : A Penchant for Fisting]
[A Penchant for Fisting] : Increases unarmed damage by 69%, increases unarmed attack speed by 50%.
...
Huh, Afton wasn't really sure how to take that last Perk... Perhaps it was time to have a 'private' talk with Veronica... Though, he was scared that he would find out she'd been using her 'fisting technique' on Christine or something...
Yeah, I decided to change Veronica's companion Perk as it was a bit underwhelming... I think the one I added is far more suitable for her.
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
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