章 35: NCR Psyche

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.