บท 43: Bloodbath
It'd been ten minutes since the NCR had charged through the doors, everyone was still behind cover and ready to fire again at the doors. The bloody, burnt, and melted bodies still lied in a pile in front of it. Neither side wanted to move them as anyone who tried would likely be added to it.
Now that the adrenaline had mostly worn off, Afton and most of the other Initiates started to look pale and sickly, the fact that they'd just killed some men, deserving or not had finally hit them.
Afton didn't want to feel like he'd done anything wrong, but the sense that something was "off" had him unable to concentrate fully for a while. He couldn't put his finger on whether it was his conscious, his rational mind, or some ephemeral feeling from his soul attempting to punish him.
Whatever it was, it was difficult to brush off, even more so when he thought he'd have to kill a lot more today, as well as later on in his life... It couldn't be helped though, could it? This was an apocalyptic wasteland, if he hadn't shot them, they might have shot him...
This was for the survival of himself, his friends and his family. There'd always be casualties in war, but the best he could do was to make sure he wasn't among that number.
He'd just resolved himself when the next wave of NCR men charged through the doors, they had much more vigour that the ones previously who were currently lifelessly strewn around on the floor.
They ran in with guns blazing, firing semi-randomly in the Knights direction, though all the bullets of their service rifles *plinked* off the Power armour as if they were shooting at a block of steel. Again, Afton started firing his laser rifle, each pull of the trigger and kick of the gun gave way to another vaporized man. Their position on the always above the door allowed them to easily hit their targets.
Some were started to feel sorry for the poor fools forced to charge through here while their commanders watched, but carried on shooting when an elder Initiate reminded them that they were here to murder everyone they've ever known or loved.
The NCR charge halted momentarily as a number of ballistic grenades were thrown in, some of the Knights kicked closer ones towards the door, but most just exploded a good distance away, achieving almost nothing at all.
The sound and smoke from the explosion must've been a trigger for the next wave, hopeful, or perhaps even resigned shouts from the NCR echoed out as they charged through. Afton wondered why they were still being sent in when it was obvious this kind of attack would fail.
It seemed that the NCR had similar thoughts as after the previous attack none came after. Ramos commanded the Knights to hold their position as went up to the Initiates, "That was fine work everyone, I know some of you are... Affected by what you just had to do, so if anyone wants to talk about it, you can see me, Doran, or anyone in the medbay. The fight also isn't over yet, so there'll be no more recreational activities until the NCR leaves, or we all die.
Half the Knight and I will be staying to keep this entrance secure, you and the rest of them are given permission to rest, be ready though, you will be called upon when the next attack occurs." he says, waving them away and taking his position back in-front of the door.
The Initiates get up, most with wobbly legs and start moving towards the cafeteria, most just wanted to eat and fall asleep... It hadn't been any more physically taxing than usual, but mentally everyone was exhausted.
"Sandra, you sure you're alright? You can talk about it if you want." Afton asks, he'd made his peace in between the fighting, but his emotion were still a bit raw concerning it. Perhaps helping someone else come to terms would assist him in some way. Not to mention his friend was struggling more than he had been.
She shakes her head, "I... I just want to grab some food and talk to my parents, I think..." she admits to him as they walk.
When they reach the cafeteria they can vaguely hear the sound of gunshots, aswell as the discharge of energy weapons. He couldn't see Miles or Melissa, so they were probably still in combat, hopefully they'd be alright...
Afton mindlessly shovelled food into his mouth before returning to his quarters, idling noting that neither of his parents were around. He wasn't worried as they'd both be kitted in Power armour, if the NCR had a way to hurt them they'd have shown it during their attack earlier.
As the sky dimmed and darkness slowly took over the region, the Major in charge of the attack on Helios One was smoking a cigarette while glaring at the facility. Obviously, the initial charge had failed, and dedicating any more troops to trying to breach it would result in massive loses, they might even lose the battle if something like that was even possible.
So, with nothing else to do, he decided to play the long game. They already had the place surrounded, and there was nothing they could do if they had an underground passage leading out of here, so he'd just have to starve them out.
He had no idea how long that'd take, or if the Brotherhood would just let that happen. He reckoned after they ate through their resources they'd perform a desperate last-ditch attack, one they'd undoubtedly fail.
Still, there wouldn't be nothing for them to do, the Major was determined to win, no matter the kinds of tactics he was forced to use.
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บท 44: Road to Disaster
Afton was awoken in the middle of the night as some kind of explosion went off at one of the entrances, he sighs and pulls the pillow over his head... The NCR had not sent anymore troops to their untimely deaths, instead, they'd just been occasionally chucking grenades into the entrances.
Afton had heard of this kind of tactic in the past, exhaust the defenders and keep them on high alert so when you do attack, it'll be significantly easier. The tactics weren't used all that much in the wasteland as superior resources and firepower would usually determine the victor.
He just wanted to run out there and start shooting at them, it was so incredibly annoying to finally fall asleep, only to be awoken by yet another fucking explosion. His parents still hadn't returned to their quarters, which was slightly worrying as they should've been allowed to rest, perhaps they had more important duties to attend to though...
This continued for the next few days, everyone was constantly on high alert as another attack could be coming at any moment, Afton himself had spent most hours of his days straining his eyes at the entrance, carefully listening in-case he caught the sound of charging feet.
He'd met Miles and Melissa in the cafeteria as well, Miles looked relatively ok, if a bit shaken, but Melissa? There were bags under her eyes and it appeared that she'd been crying recently... Not something he'd expect from the usually jovial girl.
Miles had been training and waiting for this day to come, so it wasn't surprising that his first kill hadn't affected him all that much, this was probably also the reason Afton was able to rationalise it so quickly. Whether he intended it or not, his mind had constantly been on the NCR lately, the fact that they'd invade and he'd have to defend himself was obvious.
Melissa wipes her eyes and sniffs before looking at him, "Afton... How are you?" she asks, as she pokes her food with her fork.
"Good... You guys holding up well?"
Miles nods, "Yes, I'm finally able to avenge dad, those bastards will get what's coming to them." he states.
Melissa slowly nods, "Yeah... What Miles said." she says, glancing away at the last moment.
"You don't have to act tough Melissa, what you're being asked to do is awful, you need to understand that someone our age shouldn't have to kill. That's what you're torn up about, right?" he asks.
She nods slightly, "It, it all happened so fast... One moment I was poking Miles arm, the next the doors explode and we're shooting at people... I think I hit some, I had my eyes closed though." she admits shamefully.
Miles places a hand on her shoulder, "You did what you had to do, they came here to kill all of us, how would you feel if you hesitated and they killed me, or your parents?"
Her eyes widened momentarily at this, her expression darkening before she slowly nods. "I..."
"I think you should speak to your parents or someone in the med-bay Melissa, it'll help, trust me." Afton says, giving her a reassuring smile.
She nods and scoops the rest of her food into her mouth before standing, "I'll... I'm going to see my parents." she says before hurriedly leaving.
Afton stands afterwards, "You be safe Miles, try not to get yourself killed." he remarks before heading towards where he'd been stationed. Miles giving him a small nod in reply.
The Chapter didn't really have a plan to survive this... The Elder was occasionally on the intercom to reassure everyone, but it was starting to feel like false promises. He'd not seen Veronica since the conflict started, the Elder was probably working her to exhaustion every day in an attempt to get the ARCHIMEDES weapons operable.
Afton knew that wouldn't happen though, they didn't have the Range Finder, and even if they did, there was still much that needed to be repaired underground. He reckoned most of it was fixed, but as they weren't able to leave to gather materials and components, the repairs have likely halted.
It'd been a week since the siege started, food was beginning to get low, with water being rationed even more so. Things weren't looking good, but a smile came to his face when he finally spotted Veronica in the cafeteria. He was instantly at her side as she slowly ate her food like a sloth, clearly exhausted.
"Veronica! Where have you been!?" he asks, semi-demanding.
"Quiet, eat." she states, not even looking at him.
...
Afton waits at her side as she slowly finishes her bowl of food, once she's done she takes a sip from the bottle of rationed water and looks at him expectantly.
"You alright?" he asks, not liking the weird way she was acting.
Veronica nods, "I am... I've just been working non-stop for days, I've been eating nothing but junk food while doing my best to repair everything the Elder tells me to alone. Feels like he doesn't trust anyone but me." she admits.
"And... What's the Elder going to do about the NCR on our doorstep?"
...
Veronica shakes her head, "I don't know... I think he's starting to lose it, while I work I can hear him muttering about not being able to find something... He's ordered me to open up the walls so he can check if anything is inside them... I'm worried Afton."
"As am I, the only hope we have is if the Elder can make something happen, we're sitting ducks here and are already running out of food. Sooner or later, we're going to have to act." he says with a frown. "Do you honestly believe the Elder can do anything?"
...
"No." Veronica finally says after a moment of silence.
Afton exhales out of his nose and nods, "Then we'll need to find another avenue to get out of this situation... I think I know just the person to talk to." he says, grabbing Veronica's attention.
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