บท 494: Long grip
Afton raises a brow at Glados, "The Tunnellers are that close?" he asks, not having expected them to get that far.
"Correct, but your assumption is not. The organism designated: Tunnelers, primarily travel via an extensive tunnel system, Dr. Borous has been studying a few samples and organisms, and has found that the hives they live within have strict hierarchies, meaning these are likely an exiled group." Glados explains.
Afton slowly nods, "So we don't have to worry about an imminent attack? Cool... Are the Cyberdogs winning?" he asks.
"The Cyberdog units have an overwhelming numerical advantage, as well as a tactical one. Unit designated: Gabe, is the one currently leading the patrol."
Afton snorts to himself, "The Tunnelers tried to fight the patrol while Gabe was around? What, are they stupid or something?"
"Negative. The most likely explanation is that their poor eyesight allowed them to mistake Gabe as a weaker animal, such as a Bighorner."
"Well, they deserve to get their shit rocked then... How're Tamia, Veronica, and Anja doing?" he asks while resting his cocktail on top of the drone for a laugh, of course, Shani pales at this but is ignored by both man and AI.
"I am currently receiving the schematics for the Pre-war bomber, most is too heavily damaged to be legible, but perhaps the Brain-Bag's can piece something together..."
Afton nods, "Good." before lounging back into his chair and enjoying the sunshine... Though, Glados' drone hadn't left yet, meaning there was something else she needed to address... He flips his sunglasses up and glances at her, "Something wrong?... Have the Thought Implants been tested yet?"
"Indeed, but their results have been 'mind-numbing... In the sense that every subject's head has exploded. Rather I felt it important to update you on a different developing situation, the Think Tank has been receiving transmissions from somewhere you would be particularly interested in... A place called the Sierra Madre."
Afton, upon hearing this spits out his drink while Shani squeaks and slowly retreats upon hearing 'Thought Implants'. She's either ignored or not noticed however, allowing her to slip away back to the dorms.
"You've found Christine!?" he exclaims, "Well? Where is it? I'm gonna go down there and kick the shit outta Elijah and bring Christine back in one go!"
"I advise you not to do that, Creator." Glados states, causing a shiver to run up his spine. He remembers the phrase 'I can't let you do that' from another AI...
"Why not?" he asks simply, his tone demanding an explanation.
"Because, by my calculations, the signal itself seems to be a trap. It is being projected from the Mojave, but its source is elsewhere. I advise you send a robot instead, to spring the trap and not risk yourself." Glados explains, allowing Afton to relax and not worry about a potential 'Skynet' situation.
Afton nods, "Alright... Send a scout to check out the signal, update me immediately if you find something.
"Affirmative." the AI confirms before leaving the same way the drone entered.
Afton releases a sigh and slumps into the chair, wondering where his maid had gotten off to...
"*Bzztch!* Afton, an NCR messenger has arrived at Novac's gates... They're requesting you, what do you want us to do?*Bzztch*" Daisy's voice comes through the Pipboy on his arm.
He scowls and throws his half-drunk cocktail at a nearby wall which shatters the glass before picking up the radio. "Can I not get five minutes to myself, god damn!"
"*Bzztch!* I can send them away if you like, it's not as if you need to be here to hear the message... But they seem rather insistent on it.*Bzztch*" Daisy explains.
He releases a long sigh, "No... I'll be there in like, five to ten minutes." he states as he gets up, he's currently dressed in swimming trunks and a Hawaiian shirt, not exactly formal attire, but Afton's too tired to care at this point... Though, he does make sure to bring his Fallen Ranger Sequoia just in case.
Four minutes later a lightning bolt strikes the teleportation point at Novac, allowing Afton to job over to the wall still in his 'beach attire'. He's sent weird looks by the residents of Novac, but he ignores them and gets to his destination.
On the wall he finds Daisy standing with crossed arms with another man he wasn't familiar with. "Afton, you're here..." she states before jumping slightly and gesturing at the man in lab coat, "This is my... Friend, Arcade Gannon." she explains.
Afton raises a brow but shakes the man's hand regardless, the man becoming confused at Afton's uncovered plant arm. "Er, nice to meet you, Arcade."
The man nods, "Likewise, nice to finally meet the man who's technically employing me." he adds with a smile.
"I'm employing you?... Oh, the Doctor Tamia brought over?" Afton asks.
Arcade nods, "The very same, I have to thank you for allowing my research to continue, without your help I would have never discovered the laxative properties of fermented barrel cactus."
...
"Ok?" Afton offers, not knowing whether he should be angry about unknowingly funding literal 'shit' research.
Arcade shakes his head, "Don't look at me like that, despite its somewhat humourous name, laxatives save lives. Never know when an idiot will shove something poisonous down their gullets that need to be removed." he explains.
Afton shrugs, "I'll take your word on it, er, keep up the good work..." he says before turning to Daisy, "Where's this 'messanger' then?"
Daisy gestures over the wall at the single, plain-looking man who's sitting under the shade of the wall.
"Oi! This ain't spa! If you're gonna use my shadows you better pay for it!" Afton sarcastically shouts down, surprising the man who seemed to have been dozing off.
"My apologies! Ah, you're Afton Parker!? I come with a message!... If you would allow me up to hand it to you-" he's cut off as Afton's arm literally stretches to him and snatches the letter out of his hand, shocking the man and a few of the people on the wall itself.
"Thanks! Now bugger off before I set the turrets on you!" Afton says before looking down at the letter, ignoring the disbelieving looks of those around him.
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บท 495: Letter'us begin?
Afton looks over the letter, noticing the various stamps printed on it. Most look official, especially the one of the two-headed bear... He opens it and pulls out the paperwork, beginning to read the message inside.
Almost immediately, Afton palms his face at what he's reading... Daisy becomes curious and leans over to read with him, "Hmm, that's odd..." she mutters.
Afton nods, "Yeah, really odd." he retorts. The letter is essentially an invitation to start peace talks with the NCR, they've even picked out a 'neutral' area where this can occur without either party having time to scheme. It's set in a week from now...
"Are you going to attend?" Daisy asks.
Afton shrugs, "I don't know about you, but this seems like a trap..."
Daisy nods, "Those star-spangled bears are too arrogant for this to be serious. But, if it is real we could get them off our backs for a while." she states.
"Who sent the letter, if I can ask?" Arcade asks with crossed arms at the side.
Afton glances at the letter again, "Ambassador Crocker? Does he even have the power to do something like this?" he mutters to himself. He hadn't personally met the man, but from what Boone had said about him, he seems pretty honest and hardworking, at least compared to the other bureaucrats...
Arcade shrugs, "No idea, I'm not all that interested in military ranks and such, but I think he's trustworthy... His work in Freeside, while not perfect, has helped a lot of people. And just think about it, a chance to set aside your war with them temporarily so both sides can concentrate on eradicating the Legion."
Afton clicks his tongue, "I don't know... I think we'll end up fighting the NCR no matter what. Plus, making a temporary peace agreement with them would only allow them to target other vulnerable factions."
Arcade raises a brow, "Like what? The only other factions are raiders, cannibals, and slavers..." he asks in confusion.
Afton shakes his head, "You're forgetting about where I came from... The Brotherhood will be targeted, without me causing trouble the NCR will apply full force against them."
...
Arcade looks like he wants to say something but is stopped by Daisy as she rests her hand on his shoulder, "Leave it, let Afton decide this alone, neither of us are really in a position to object anyway." she states, "I'm going to get back to work, decide what you wish." she says before leaving. Arcade himself gives a brief nod before exiting as well, leaving Afton alone to decide his plan of action.
With that, Afton departs from Novac after checking the place to make sure supplies, defences, and other essentials are all properly maintained. Once he's back at Big Mt he begins thinking about whether or not actually going to Primm is a good idea.
Due to it being for a peace agreement, he would only be allowed to bring two bodyguards. And it didn't have to be said to not bring Power armour. Though, the NCR did make sure to write that rule down in bold font. Clearly, they either wanted him to show his sincerity, or they wanted him defenceless so they could attack without having to deal with his Power armour.
Strangely, they didn't have any rules to prevent bodyguards from wearing Power armour, meaning that they'd somehow requisitioned some, or really did want to have peace between their respective factions.
It was also said that the people of Primm would be the ones setting up the entire 'event', with neither faction having anything to do with it. This would allow things to be as impartial as possible. Of course, Afton doubted this and would bet a significant amount of caps that they'd have spies scheming in the background, but that would be the case for most big factions anyway.
"Fuck it, I'll go, but I won't expect anything but a fight..." he mutters to himself. If the NCR really did use this opportunity to attack him, it'd be a massive win for his publicity. His factions current stance, even if they didn't state it, was that the NCR, Legion, and Brotherhood of Steel did not hold the peoples best interests at heart, and would use any means necessary to prop up their corrupt, barbaric, foolish ideologies.
If the NCR was seen breaking a peace agreement by an entire town like Primm, there was no way they'd be able to hide it. Even mentally deficient people would be able to realise that the NCR weren't as honourable as they usually purported to be... This news might even make NCR troops themselves start to lose trust in the country they served.
Well, that, and hoping that the potential war crime they were about to commit would make his own NCR sympathiser companions more willing to go against them...
At least he had a week to help fix the EMP vulnerability in their Power armour. He'd have Veronica accompany him, so making sure she wasn't at risk was a top priority... Still, he wasn't sure who his second would be.
He couldn't bring Tamia as she was technically affiliated with Mr House, and anything that went wrong there could possibly force New Vegas into a war. This would be a catastrophe considering that the NCR had a firm foothold in the strip, Freeside and outskirts of New Vegas in Camp McCarren.
Bringing Anja might be a good political statement, but she was more suited to infiltration and other stealthy missions than to that of a bodyguard. She didn't know how to operate Power armour, and he doubted a couple weeks of training would get her up to the skill he'd wish.
The same could be said for his other companions however, none knew how to operate Power armour, making training them a top priority... He'd need to get on that eventually, but first, he'd actually need to make a couple more suits of armour.
"Urrrrghhhh! There's so much that needs to be done!" he complains to himself, with the only other person aware of his self-pity being Glados who just watches with a slight degree of amusement.
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