บท 572: Disarming Presence
Two days later :
Hardin was absolutely furious, how dare that boy walk in and so brazenly attack them!? It'd taken half a day for his people to dig him out of the rubble, and hours after that to splint up his injured arms... His Power armour had protected him for the most part, but his limbs had been bent and twisted at their joints in horrific ways, leaving him like this... Without his arms and having an assistant spoon food into his mouth.
He leans forwards while trying to get a spoonful of the weak-porridge when someone runs into the room, their feet squeaking as their shoes grind to a halt on the concrete floor. "Elder! He's back!"
*PPFFFFTT!*
Hardin spits out his food and receives a hidden glare from the women he'd just covered in it. "WHAT!?"
"Afton Parker! He's back, and he's brought friends!"
Hardin pushes himself out of bed and leaves the room, disregarding his injuries and even his armour as he goes to take a look. He arrives at the wall where many Brotherhood members were quietly whispering to one another about what to do, and eventually part ways like the red sea once Hardin arrived.
Once on the wall, he looks down and spots Afton a good distance away... He was standing there in full Bulwark Power armour with three other people. His friends were setting up strange machines nearby, but no one had any idea what there were...
Hardin was in a similar situation, not having even an inkling over what their purpose was... Were they bombs perhaps? Or maybe turrets?...
He shakes his head, in the end, it doesn't matter. "PARKER! YOU WILL LEAVE MY TERRITORY, OR WE WILL SHOOT YOU DOWN LIKE THE DOG YOU ARE!" he roars, finally drawing Afton's attention.
He was holding his helmet at his side with a smug smirk, "Do you really think you have the capabilities for that? Seems like you got lucky and survived the last time, I'll warn you now though, if you don't surrender... You'll die for sure." he states.
Hardin growls before regaining his composure, his face relaxing as he laughs at Afton's face, "Hah! You may have escaped last time, but you and your friends are no match against the might of the Brotherhood! Surrender now and I might postpone your execution!"
...
Afton looks a bit put out at Hardin's words, and the elder feels as if he'd made a small victory from that alone... Atleast, until Afton begins to speak...
"Er, you were supposed to say, 'You want what army'... And then I'd spread my arms like this-"
*CRACK!*
Hundreds of lightning bolts fire from the sky behind him in between the boundaries of the machines that'd been set up, kicking up dust and almost blinding the Brotherhood members that were watching.
"Summon my army, and you'd surrender." Afton explains, the dust clearing and revealing his 'army'...
What did Afton's army consist of exactly? Well... For starters, there were around fifty Cyberdogs on the outskirts, as well as one-hundred strange-looking Sentry-bots with blue-tinted metal plating... Those in the know would recognise it as Saturnite, and those 'even more in the know' would recognise the Sentry-bots as the Ultimo-Bot that had been guarding the Big Mt artillery sight...
The Ultimo-Bot's were larger, stronger variants of ordinary Sentry-Bots. With considerably higher firepower, durability, and processing power. Not to mention the pre-installed military tactics and strategies each came with.
They aren't what draws the most attention however... That would belong to the two figures standing directly behind Afton... Deathclaws! Two large, black Deathclaws! Each were armoured with that blue-tinted metal again, and looked larger than the average Deathclaw you'd see in the wasteland. Unlike the rest of their kind, they seemed completely tamed as well! Deferring completely to Afton despite their wish to attack immediately.
Veronica, Christine, and Miles who were standing next to him clearly hadn't been expecting this either, and were barely holding back from firing upon the Deathclaws themselves...
Hardin's eyes almost bulge out of their sockets at this display of power... If the act of teleporting large amounts of troops wasn't enough, the troops themselves were enough to cause even the larger factions to pause in fear. He isn't even able to find his voice until Afton starts speaking again.
"Well!? Now that you guys have seen my army, I'll ask again. Surrender. I am not a cruel person, so I won't kill you like Hardin has been threatening to do to me... But the Mojave Chapter of the Brotherhood will end today... Before that though, I'd like to make an offer, to those of you who see the faults in your leadership and can think for yourselves... Join me, and we'll fulfil the duties the Brotherhood purports to serve in their stead."
...
Afton releases a sigh at the lack of reaction... Obviously, he hadn't expected many to jump ship now, as they'd likely be fired upon by their friends for it, but he was hoping at least a few would have the courage... Whatever he'd just have to find those willing after they surrender.
Hardin steps forwards, almost foaming at the mouth as he shouts, "NEVER! I'D RATHER DIE THAN SURRENDER TO YOU, BOY! YOU DESERVE NOTHING! NOT THE STRENGTH YOU HAVE, NOT THE ARMY, AND NOT THE ALLIES! I WILL TAKE THEM ALL AWAY!... BROTHERHOOD! ATTAAAACCCK!"
Thus, the battle starts... And quickly ends as Afton's troops decimate the forces of the Brotherhood... It's fortunate the Brotherhood wore Power armour, otherwise they'd have all been instantly killed when struck by his Deathclaws or Cyberdogs combined sonic attacks... Afton did his best to knock them unconscious as well to prevent them from getting killed in the fight as well...
They certainly hadn't been expecting him to leap onto the wall and start punching people unconscious... Nor had they expected his first punch to completely blow Hardin's head clean off... The man was literally 'armless' and wasn't even able to shout an insult as his head exploded into red mist...
That act alone had a large portion of the Brotherhood surrender, but a few of the more zealous were still unwilling to lose... Unfortunately, this led to a few dying at the hands of his Deathclaws, but the casualties were remarkably low considering the ferocious battle that'd occurred.
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บท 573: Hold!
The battle lasted less than an hour, yet to those who participated, it felt as if they'd been fighting all day... The surviving Brotherhood of Steel members were all stripped of their power armour and tied up next to one another.
Veronica, Christine, and Miles do their best to try and convince some of them to desert the Brotherhood and join Bulwark, but their attempts are unsuccessful most of the time. More than half of them refuse to join Bulwark, determined to stay true to the Brotherhood and the Codex... Which was what Afton had been expecting and dreading.
There were actually a few people who he was considered refusing entry to Bulwark... Prime examples of this would be Christine's parents, the duo should be begging Christine for forgiveness, as they had basically been doing last time he saw them... Yet, once they laid eyes upon Christine's scarred body, face, and bald head. They did an almost complete 180 in their attitude...
Christine obviously still cared about them, regardless of how they'd acted in the past, but seeing them acting like this towards her made Afton's blood boil... Fortunately, his anger with them was stifled slightly as he watched Veronica punch Darian Royce in the face, knocking him out clean.
After that Veronica escorted a rather distraught Christine away from the prisoners. Miles at least managed to find Melissa, who brought along a rather large contingent of Brotherhood members who had been dissatisfied with Hardin, or persecuted by him in some way. There were around twenty of them not including Melissa, which had Afton quite happy. They'd be combat-ready once he'd put them through a psych evaluation(For loyalty), given new equipment(Including chips), and properly shown around Big Mt.
Afton himself was unsurprisingly caught in conversation with a familiar face... Former-Elder McNamara. The man was sitting on the floor with crossed legs, seemingly unbothered at his restrained state. "Welcome back, Afton." he smiles as if they hadn't just been fighting.
"Yeah, thanks... You're looking awfully happy for someone who'd just lost literally everything. The Chapter is gone, and once we've found all those willing to join Bulwark, I'll teleport you to Mexico, without any equipment and minimal supplies." he states. It was a given he'd be forced to do that, if left alone in the Mojave they could alert the NCR to the trap he's attempting to spring on them.
Even if no one rats to them directly, the large numbers of former Brotherhood members leaving the area would be warning enough that something suspicious was occurring.
McNamara shrugs, "I knew something like this was going to happen ever since Hardin became Elder... I think I prefer it ending this way..." he quietly admits.
Afton crooks a brow, "You prefer it ending this way? With me taking your people, stealing your stuff, and ditching you in Mexico like some illegal immigrant?"
The man just tilts his head and continues smiling, "Compared to what the NCR would do to us? You came in with non-lethal intentions. Even with the few casualties, this is the best result we could have hoped for... At least we get to live past Hardin's 'reign'."
"You know, you're actually my favourite Elder... Why not come to Bulwark? You'll receive a similar position to Head Paladin, I'll put you in charge of the former Brotherhood members, and I'll even have you scanning, searching, and researching dangerous technologies."
McNamara laughs, "Favourite Elder!? Haha! Well, just between you and I, I believe I did a better job than both Hardin and Elijah put together." he jokes while tapping his nose, as if trusting Afton with a secret. "As for your offer? I'm sorry that I can't accept... My place is still with the Brotherhood, and I still have a duty to protect our family, something tells me that they'll need all the help they can get..."
Afton nods sympathetically, afterwards cutting the man's restraints before leaving and continuing to look around the place. He does end up running into some more faces from his childhood, Adah Lindgren, Ramos, and people his age... He even ended up running into Sandra Torres. Sadly, the latter was the only one among the group that was willing to join Bulwark... The rest, despite their relationship with Afton, chose to follow the others in Mexico.
All in all, it took around half a day to get everything completed. During this time Afton had his robots loot the Brotherhood base and bunker, the latter of which would be stripped for tech later to serve Bulwark... Afton was looking forward to adapting the combat simulators into the Holodeck tech that was in Big Mt.
The Brotherhood armoury was a significant boon as it contained well-maintained energy weaponry and Power armour, all of which would be adapted and improved into the Bulwark variant.
There were a few problems concerning Black Mountain, but the army still stationed in the Brotherhood base easily annihilated the Super Mutant invaders... Seems as if they thought the battle would've weakened them enough to make for easy pickings. They were demonstrably wrong.
This attack had drawn Afton's attention however, he currently had nothing to do as they were waiting for the teleport enhancers to recharge so they could send the Brotherhood prisoners off to their new home.
Afton glances over at Veronica, "You're in charge, make sure no one dies while I go visit our Super Mutant neighbours." he says before marching towards the bottom of Black Mountain.
"Can we come-" Veronica starts but is cut off by Afton.
"No. You're still being punished, remember? Now stay here and imagine all the Mutant faces you aren't getting to punch." he jokes as he walks off, leaving his companions and the army behind.
Miles gestures at Afton as he leaves while glancing at Veronica, "Is he gonna be alright? There are over a hundred mutants on that mountain..."
Veronica purses her lips and shrugs, "He'll be fine... It's Afton after all..." she states noncommittally as if her answer was complete and comprehensive enough for even a child to understand...
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Niggross
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