Chapter 42 - Taste Of Blood

A good distance outside of Helios One a fat man with a pudgy, pockmarked face, large moustache and receding hairline sat in a chair overlooking the facility. He was wearing camo trousers and a green shirt that didn't seem large enough for his size, as well as a hat that denoted his rank of Major.

Around him were many rangers wearing veteran uniforms, most wielding Anti-Material rifles or some other strong ballistic firearm. One approached and gestured towards the thousands of men now surrounding Helios One, "Major, we've taken care of the outside defences of the plant, we have enough supplies to starve them out, hopefully without losing a single man." they explain, their red visor concealing the sour look they had due to having to serve under this walrus of a man.​​

The Major scoffs, "And let them retreat into some prebuilt tunnels? I think not. Our orders were clear, eliminate any trace of that damn cult from the Mojave. We have enough on our plate with that group of savages that call themselves the Legion, and I won't allow us to be troubled by this lot... Prepare the men to breach the facility." he states, causing the ranger to turn towards him.

"But sir, this Brotherhood Chapter may not be large, but they will probably have enough armour and weaponry to kill many of our men. The loss would not be worth the risk-"

"Shut your fucking mouth ranger! You'll do as I say, or I'll have you court-martialed!" the Major exclaims, his face going red in fury.

...

The ranger just sighs, "At your orders, sir." they say before leaving, a few rangers split off to go give orders to the others, meanwhile two walk together towards the ones positioned behind the facility.

"Do you think we should actually listen to him? He sound like he doesn't give a shit about the men serving under him." a feminine voice comes from behind the mask with red visors.

"We don't have a choice, best we can do is report the situation to headquarters afterwards... I doubt we'll be able to sustain these kinds of losses every battle, no matter the threat the enemy poses." the male says.

Afton rested his Laser rifle on the railing of the metal walkway, pointing it exclusively at the door where the NCR would at any moment been streaming through... He could see how nervous his fellow Initiates were at the side, but wasn't sure how to comfort them, as he himself was worried about how this battle would go.

...

Ten minutes pass, nothing.

Thirty, nothing.

fourty-*BAAANG!*

The metal door explodes, a Knight in Power armour waving his arm and backhanding the large metal pieces launched towards him. Smoke concaels their vision from the entrance, but something is tossed through it...

*Tink, Tink, Tink...*

Afton focuses on the object, it looking like a metal cylinder with a bulbous round head... His eyes widen upon notices what it was. "PULSE GRENADE!" he shouts, allowing some of the Knight to back away from it just as it explodes in a large electrified shockwave.

Anyone wearing Power armour that is caught in the blast immediately feel their limbs lock up, the armour's mechanisms spasming due to the pulse. The systems immediately try to correct themselves but they aren't fast enough as lightly armoured NCR troops were already running into the room.

This is probably what the Initiates were for, just-in-case the NCR had access to Pulse grenades they'd be available to lay down suppressing fire until they recover.

The NCR men wore crappy looking armour that was reminiscent of stuff he'd seen worn by America in the middle east in his original world. Though, they didn't have any bullet-resistant vests or even armour plating.

Afton immediately opened fire upon the NCR soldiers who seemed to have no idea what awaited them as they exited the smoke. His laser rifle hit one in the eye and liquified their brain, causing him to grimace but not stop firing.

The other Initiates seemed to get the idea and fired with their own weapons, a barrage of lasers and plasma projectiles reduced the unfortunate soldiers to ash and green mulch.

Most weren't even able to get a shot off with their service rifles, instead just dropping and adding to the increasing pile of bodies lying next to the door.

Soon enough the Knights recovered and started firing their own weapons, their Gauss rifles and Gatling lasers killing the soldiers before they could even leave the smoke concealing the exit.

The NCR's screams of agony and terror seemed to quell the coming troops slightly, which was probably wise of them... Afton knew he'd rather run away then try and breach into this room, it was tantamount to suicide.

They had a brief reprieve as the NCR soldiers attack seemed to falter, Afton's adrenaline was through the room and his heart was beating furiously. He imagined the situation was the same across Helios One, but wondered how they'd get out of this mess...

He glanced to Sandra who's hands were almost violently shaking as she held her gun, "You alright?" he asked, worried.

She gives a shuddering nod before glancing at his own hands, "F-fine... Y-you?" she asks, causing him to look down and realise his own hands were in a similar state to hers.

...

"I don'tk now." is all he's able to say as the next round began, bullets start spraying through the smoke and *clinking* against the Knights Power armour, doing no damage and only displaying where the offending person was.

*CRACK!*

The sound of a Gauss Rifle discharging gave way to the now-familiar sound of someone's head exploding... The angry and terrified shouts of the outside NCR could clearly be heard by them.

"YOU METAL-FUCKING BASTARDS! I'LL KILL ALL OF YOU! YOUR WOMEN, YOUR CHILDREN!" someone shouts but is interrupted from their trade.

"Soldier! We are not savages and will commit such atrocities! YOU WILL SORT YOURSELF OR I'LL DEAL WITH YOU PERSONALLY!"

...

Seems like the Brotherhood wasn't the only faction with problems...