บท 502: First Term.
Afton shakes his head and looks to the crowd, "Do you see this? A prime example of acting solely for self-interest... Since when did information given to you by an enemy you are at war with, hold any weight!? Would they believe President Kimball is a Legion spy if they said so? If not, why do they believe their lies now?... The answer is obvious! Because it helps their goals! Whether or not it is true does not matter to them! Only that they can gain power from it!" he loudly states, causing a few in the audience to looks contemplative, and a few to clap in response.
Crocker slams his podium, "You are taking this completely out of context!"
"As I said earlier! Show me the evidence, or retract your slanderous statements!" Afton pointedly asks.
Crocker grumbles for a moment before recomposing himself and continuing, "Seeing as we aren't going to get anywhere on this front shall we move on-"
Afton objects before he can change the subject, "No you don't! We haven't discussed the crimes committed by the NCR yet!"
Crocker squints at Afton in response, wondering what he could be referring to... As far as he was concerned, the NCR hadn't broken any laws... At least, none concerning Bulwark.
"If you'll recall, the NCR has made many hostile actions towards the town of Novac, even demanding the independent town hand 'criminals' over to them. Of course, the criminals they mention only mean me, someone they wish to arrest despite holding no evidence to support it. Bulwark and Novac want the NCR to compensate for blocking the roads, surrounding the town with NCR forces, and threatening innocent civilians!"
Crocker tightly grips his fists before jabbing a finger at Afton's direction, "You will receive nothing of the sort! You are a wanted criminal and our actions were clearly justified!... We are getting nowhere on this, how about we discuss Bulwark's threat to the entire Wasteland instead!?" Crocker bites back, "The NCR formally requests that Bulwark reveals the weapon of mass destruction they used against the Legion's front-line defences! All your talk about prohibiting Nuclear weaponry seemed to ignore your flagrant use of them!
Against the Fiends you detonated a Mini-Nuke and killed thousands of people. Against the Legion you killed hundreds of Legionaries in an instant and almost blinded many NCR observers as a result of a similar weapon!" he exclaims.
Afton scowls, Crocker had him there. Despite the Orbital Laser System not technically being Nuclear, it still counts as a weapon of mass destruction. He couldn't really dispute the point either without revealing the laser's existence, which may just bring the main Chapter of the Brotherhood of Steel directly down on his head. Combine that with the fact he had detonated a Mini-Nuke in the past and it paints a fairly hypocritical picture of Afton and Bulwark as a whole.
Afton thinks for a moment before shaking his head, fuck the Brotherhood. Let them come, he wouldn't let this shitty politician bad-mouth him on this stage! "You are wrong Crocker, the weapon used against the Legion wasn't Nuclear in origin."
"Then what is it!?" the man retorts with a greedy look in his eyes.
"Something that I refuse to trust the NCR with!" he gestures at the crowd, "Look what the NCR had done to the Mojave! Taking land, taxing people who already lived here, and forcing people to fight in a war they never wanted a part in! You want to steal my hard-fought technology like you stole homes and farms from the people at Sharecroppers farms? Sending all the food produced to the war effort and causing thousands in Freeside to starve as a result!? I wouldn't trust the NCR with a grenade, let alone the weapons currently available to Bulwark!"
Crocker sneers, "And your actions against the Fiends!? You can't avoid your actions there!"
Afton shakes his head, "The Fiends are hardly deserving of mercy considering the rape and murder they committed against men, women, and children! But do not forget I was only fighting against them on behalf of the NCR!" he exclaims, revealing some vital information that shocks a small part of the crowd.
Crocker sputters in response but can't completely deny the fact that Afton was indeed working for the NCR at that point.
Fortunately for the struggling politician, Dr. Helmsley steps in again, "Gentleman! It seems we are getting nowhere on this front, perhaps it's time to move onto something that both parties would agree on!"
...
Crocker nods, "Fine. Afton Parker, the NCR requests that you, Bulwark, and any of your affiliates do not get involved in the conflict between the NCR and the Brotherhood Chapter operating in the Mojave." he states.
Afton frowns upon hearing this, so this was what Crocker was actually aiming for... The NCR weren't sure about his current relationship with the Brotherhood, and wanted to know their current status before they started moving against them.
He'd heard that the Long 15 trade route had started being attacked by the Brotherhood in order to gather supplies, but he wasn't sure to what extent it was... Apparently, the Brotherhood was a big enough thorn for the NCR to move forces against.
To be honest, he should just let the NCR deal with the Brotherhood... But it felt wrong when he thought about it... Despite Hardin's actions against him and his exile, he still had friends and family in the Chapter. If he left it to die, he'd indirectly be betraying them, leaving them to die... Could he really let that happen and do nothing?... No. He couldn't.
"Bulwark will continue to remain neutral in this conflict, but we would like our pick of the prisoners you take. This is our offer, no interference for a selection of those you capture." Afton states.
...
Crocker mulls it over before slowly nodding, "That is acceptable. We only wish to secure the safety of our roads and caravans, the fate of those captured matters not to us. However, we will require payment for the resources expended, as you know, capture is significantly more difficult than elimination." he explains and Afton nods in affirmation. Upon seeing this Dr. Helmsley quickly types this upon his terminal, setting the first term in stone.
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บท 503: X Factor!
With the first term decided, Afton and Crocker went on to discuss the removal of NCR troops from Novac's roads, and compensation for the supplies they inadvertently stopped. Then, of course, came the next big obstacle of the whole discussion.
"The NCR demands to know what weapons were used against the Legion's front lines." Crocker states.
Afton just sighs at this, "Yeah, that's not happening. Unless you're willing to reveal all classified files that the NCR holds?" he asks, knowing the NCR had some bodies locked in their closet.
"That's not the same thing. One is secrets of state, and the other is a weapon of mass destruction that you seem all too willing to use. For the sake of the Mojave and Wasteland as a whole, you must reveal it!" Crocker continues.
Afton shakes his head, "I refuse." he states, and is about to continue wringing the ambassador out when his Danger Sense warns him of something... Though, he's not particularly sure what. It certainly wasn't Crocker or his bodyguards...
He focuses his hearing, and with his superhuman perception, he hears the vague sound of a car's engine... He turns his head towards the entrance of the town where a black van had just pulled up, it had no indication of who it belonged to, but considering the only faction in the Mojave who had vehicles were Bulwark and the NCR, it wasn't hard to guess...
It reverses slightly, pointing its back double doors towards the crowd and stage before stopping completely. Afton looks towards Crocker who seems just as confused as everyone else... Even the NCR Rangers seem ready for combat against the unknown threat.
"One of the NCR's surprises, Crocker?" Afton asks, making sure the rest of the crowd hear it via the microphone.
"N-" Just as Crocker's about to respond the back doors of the truck receive a huge fist-shaped dent.
*BANG!*
Another dent.
*BANG BANG!*
By now the most-likely reinforced doors were on their last legs...
*BANG!*
*CRASH!*
The doors are completely destroyed and thrown far away from the van as a huge figure ducks out of it... They look to be 7.8ft and completely garbed in black leather. Black leather trench coat, black leather trousers, black leather trilby. That wasn't the most noticeable thing however, that attribute would being to its grey, almost greenish skin that was completely covered in black veins that were somewhat similar to what Afton has. Of course, this could only be observed via its neck and hands due to the Jason mask it also wore.
It carried some sort of huge sledgehammer with it, though, Afton could see the jet engine on the back of the head, presumably to provide more force to each strike.
"What the fu-" Crocker mutters but is quickly dragged away by his bodyguards... Veronica was already at Afton's side while Gabe was growling at the creature in the distance. Finally, a scream from the crowd seems to break the camels back as everyone begins fleeing in every direction, with the exception of where the monster was of course.
The van that had delivered the creature quickly tries to drive away, but Afton wasn't willing to let that happen, pulling out a pistol to shoot out its back tires... But this wouldn't be needed apparently.
*PEWWW!*
A silent projectile from seemingly nowhere slams into the front of the black van, completely and utterly destroying the engine and causing it to flip over a few times with the occupants receiving a not so pleasant stop.
With this Afton turns his attention towards the creature. First, he uses his Karma Sense he received from [Stay the Path], but is surprised to find that the creature had a good deal of positive Karma which far outweighed any negative it might have. Next, he used his [Living Anatomy] Perk.
[Mr X]
Health : 100%
Stamina : ??%
DT : 50
Strength : 17
Perception : 5
Endurance : 30
Charisma : 2
Intelligence : 2
Agility : 5
Luck : 1
Ailments :
[Beauveria mordicana variante infestation] : Victim has been completely overtaken by the fungus, -6 Intelligence, -4 Luck, -5 Charisma, +11 Strength, +22 Endurance. Incredible regenerative capabilities.
[Crazed] : Victim is currently in a state of mania. Makes victim incredibly more violent and unreasonable.
[Beserk] : Inability to feel pain, Injuries do not cripple.
[Conditioned Target] : Victim has been conditioned to accomplish a single task... The death of Afton Parker.
[Psyker?] : ???
"Fuck." Afton mutters to himself, feeling like he was fighting Patient Zero again... He looks to Veronica who still seems to be observing the situation and give her a punch to the shoulder that cause a metallic sound to ring out. "Don't just stand there, shoot that thing!"
"Aye aye cap'ain." she says with a shrug before pointing her Gauss Rifle at the creature.
*Bang! Bang! Bang!*
She fires three shots and everyone looks over to see what damage it'd done... Only to gabe at the fact no damage had been caused whatsoever... Unless you count blowing a couple holes in its trench coat as damage...
Despite the attack against it, the creature doesn't say anything, instead just continuing to march towards the stage where Afton was still stood.
"What the fuck is this thing!?" Veronica asks while firing a couple more shots, which continue to do no damage at all.
"Don't know, don't care. Just shoot it!" Afton exclaims while drawing his own pistols and firing. Unfortunately, despite all the gunfire the creature was taking, nothing seemed to do any damage to it.
Afton was about to toss his pistols away and charge it with his Ultra Chainsword when his 'allies from the sky' provided assistance.
*PEW!*
Another projectile from nowhere slams into the creature's back, this continues through its body and exploded out of its chest which utterly destroys its heart. Afton and Veronica grumble at the blood and gore they got covered in, but ignore it while watching what the creature would do in response.
...
It doesn't do anything, instead just standing there blankly while the large hole in its chest spurts out blood, as if its heart were still beating. Afton raises a brow and decides to check its health, and gapes at what he sees.
[Mr X]
Health : 99%
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