章 370: Fast Times
It'd been a couple weeks since the soldiers had visited, but there hadn't been any indication of anymore. Afton didn't know whether this was a good thing or a bad thing, as if the NCR simply forgot about Novac, the town wouldn't be screwed the moment he and his companions left.
Regardless, the townsfolk seemed fine with that after having decided to take their safety into their own hands. Afton wondered what the expression of the next tax collector would look like when everyone refused to pay.
It was fair though, no protection, no tax. Afton didn't think the NCR would be willing or able to send troops to force compliance either, if they tried Afton would take a stand, even if doing so would cause many, many problems.
He reckoned he could win the PR war though. The people would support a rebel fighting against tyrants as opposed to an oppressive government, especially since Afton was quite well known around the Mojave already... It helped that people in hard times were drawn to going against authorities like the NCR.
During these weeks Afton and the gang had begun putting all hands on deck when constructing the newest vehicle. It would be a relatively large truck with an engine, but that was just to secure another vehicle.
Afton intended to use the truck to tow a Fire Engine to Novac from Camp Searchlight. Afterwards, he had half a mind to give the tow truck to Novac to help secure supplies and other essentials. He was slightly worried about doing that however as it'd just put a larger target on Novac.
Afton, Josie, and Daisy could usually be found in the garage fixing up the truck, while the others were either patrolling around the town or helping secure parts necessary to fix the vehicle.
Of course, the latter was just a cover so Afton could use his [Mechanicus] and [Jury Rigging] Perks without prying eyes constantly on him. The Gibson Scrap Yard up the road helped cover his rather unnatural abilities, to both his companions and to those who might be spying on them.
As everyone was far more familiar with the process of repairing a vehicle than last time during Dirt-Birds construction, it took far, far less time to finish it.
By the time the third week rolled by, the truck was completed. It had previously been a simple truck with a bed in the back allowing it to carry small things. But with some modifications of Afton's design, it now more resembled some sort of Winch truck.
The arm on the back had a rolled-up bundle of steel cables Afton'd managed to 'find' which should be strong enough to tow a Fire Engine. Of course, he'd put in a larger engine and reinforced the chassis to make sure nothing would break before it got back to Novac.
His modifications had made it a great deal heavier, which would help with pulling the larger vehicle, but did put a lifespan on it... The Winch Truck simply wasn't designed for what they were using it for, and would eventually break without occasional repairs.
The reactor engine would burn itself out far too quickly, and the chassis itself was still not comparable to a specifically designed Winch truck, making it vulnerable to bending, breaking, and a whole manner of other potential disasters.
Still, if nothing else at least Josie and Daisy enjoyed the process. The former woman jumping up and down giddily as they prepared to start the engine for the first time. Afton decided to take the first ride to christen it as he felt he'd put in the most effort...
He inserts the makeshift key into the ignition and turns it, causing the reactor to hum to life. The headlights illuminate the dim garage and Josie cheers at the apparent success.
"Let's drive it! Come on!" she urges, and Afton felt that if she could she'd force him off of the driver's seat and start driving it herself.
Afton just smiles and nods while opening the garage door. He gently accelerates it and exits the workshop, causing a couple of townsfolk to move out of the way as he drives through the street. This wasn't the first time they'd seen him driving a new vehicle, so their surprise was limited at best. Though, some of the newer residents gave big enough reactions to satisfy him.
Once they were on the outskirts of town Afton hops onto the back and allows everyone to reposition themselves, Daisy getting into the passenger's seat while Josie excitedly grabs the wheel.
"Now, you remember what we said about driving, right?" Afton asks from the back of the truck, hoping she'd not crash their new creation.
"NOPE!" Josie chirps as she slams her foot on the accelerator, almost causing Afton to rolls off of the back. Daisy and Josie are both forced into their seats as the truck rapidly speeds up.
It's lucky that the highway was relatively clear, even with all the cracks and potholes running across its surface, otherwise, Josie might've flipped and completely totalled the vehicle.
"WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" she cheers, pushing the truck faster as it races down the highway, its suspension barely managing to stop the wheels from being torn out from under them due to the rough road.
Despite the rather manic driving though, Josie proves that she's quite a good driver... Afton had expected it after she'd spent most of her life learning about vehicles, but for a first-timer, it was quite the sight.
The trio continued to race the vehicle around Novac until the sky darkened, even then Josie hadn't had her fix of speedster fun, and she was already wanting to go again. Though, Daisy refused to drive with Josie again...
When Afton was in private, even Nyx stated her concern for their safety at Josie's driving, something he hadn't expected as Nyx had been with him when he was driving at top speeds to Camp McCarren.
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Niggross
Niggross Hope you bois liked the chap, if I missed anything please let me know. Thanks!
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章 371: Hottestspot
The creation of the Winch truck brought a bit of attention to the group. Now that people could see that repairing vehicles wasn't a fluke, they wished to learn and do the same... Even a fool could tell just how valuable such skills would be.
Unfortunately for them, Afton had no intentions of teaching anyone. Especially since his skill at repairing vehicles included some of his more 'unnatural' abilities'. Still, some of the young, jobless, men in Novac continued asking for help, but it wasn't Afton that stepped up, it was Boone.
Boone in his free time starting training groups in combat, doing drills, exercise, tactics, gun handling, and hand to hand.
To be honest, Afton wasn't sure if ti was a good idea to be training people up like that. Sure they had some degree of loyalty to the town of Novac, but other than that there was no guarantee. For all they knew, they'd leave town and use the skills he taught to become the most effective bandits in the Mojave.
It scared him slightly to think about what a group with NCR skills, no morals, and no laws could do. Just look at what Afton and his group could do, sure they were the cream of the crop, but they were still just people.
Regardless, he didn't stop Boone from training the populace. If they stayed in Novac as citizens and didn't abuse the skills they were given, it'd be a great help the next time the Legion tried to invade... Or, indeed, if the NCR decided that Novac should start paying its taxing again.
During all of this, Afton decided to chip in with a bit of his own knowledge, though not regular people. He instead focussed on teaching Anja and Josie what they needed to know for their respective roles. Despite Josie's extensive knowledge on vehicles and everything concerning them, she lacked the training to do other tasks like gun repairs.
And while Afton was helping Josie with that and her overall competence with weaponry, he made sure to drill Anja on infiltration, surveillance, and combat skills. Right now she had 'basic' knowledge on how to operate in missions, but she was far from being 'super spy' level, something Afton would rectify.
That wasn't all though, he made sure she was well versed in melee combat and the use of a knife. It wouldn't be uncommon for her to slit someone's throat as opposed to shooting them and potentially alarming anyone nearby, even with a silencer, guns still make noise.
So, he taught her Krav Maga, a martial art that is specifically designed for this kind of thing... Obviously, nowadays it was considered lost knowledge as he was the only remaining practitioner due to his Unarmed and Melee Skill level.
Funnily enough though, Anja seemed to be picking it up fairly quickly, so with enough time, he was sure he'd have his own personal John Wick to help him in future.
With the Winch truck now built, it was time to try and recover a Fire Engine from Camp Searchlight. The road was still slightly perilous due to the Legion's presence, but with Afton there he was sure they'd be fine...
It would only be he and Josie going as the less weight on the Winch meant the faster they'd get back... Not to mention there wasn't exactly a great deal of seating in the truck, only having a driver and passenger seat.
So, after much deliberation (arguing), Afton finally put his foot down and told the other's what was going to happen. "While we're gone, you guys will protect the town. No questions. Nothing." he states as he looks at Josie who's currently in the driver seat of the Winch truck, "Alright, you ready to go?"
"Yeah!... But, er, I'm still a bit unsure of these controls..." she mutters, glancing at the makeshift controls Afton had been forced to install. The truck hadn't originally been a Winch truck, so he'd had to manually rearrange everything. He himself didn't hold much hope in the controls if he were honest, but they'd just drag the Fire Engine back if the controls broke.
Once the duo was situated, Josie gave a wave to those seeing them off and slammed her foot on the accelerator, launching the truck forwards and shooting sand and dust into the faces of their friends.
The drive to Camp Searchlight isn't a long one and it isn't hard to tell when they're getting close... The green smog covering the place lets them know well enough. Afton gives Josie some Rad X as they enter the town, it wouldn't do for his driver to grow a third arm... probably.
Anyway, the duo drives through the streets of the destroyed town and eventually reach the Fire Station. Josie waits in the car with a gun in hand as Afton hops out and examines the trucks to find the one in the best condition.
The tires on both of them are blown out and utterly useless, meaning he'd have to find a replacement... This would also make it fairly difficult to transport it as well. Before he does anything else however, he walks to the back and finds the water outlet, opening it and lettering the two-hundred-year-old water stream out into the ground below.
From his Pipboy he could tell that it was extremely irradiated, most likely because it was directly next to where the toxic waste had been released. He wasn't able to tell if the vehicle itself was covered in radioactive material as most of the town was making the test go off. He'd have to check it once they were back in Novac... Though, he didn't really know what he could do to remove the material... Aside from thoroughly washing it?
"How's it looking?" Josie asks from the Winch truck, still scanning the area for threats.
"The tires are fucked but we already expected that. Both trucks look fine to me, but the only problem is the radioactive material that might still be on them... We'll check them when we get back though."
クリエイターの想い
Niggross
Niggross
Hope you bois liked the chap, if I missed anything please let me know. Thanks!
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