Chapter 344 - Clawing Death!

"So let me get this straight... They." Karl jabs a finger towards the terminal of Camp McCarren, "Want us." he gestures towards himself, "To clear HOW MANY DEATHCLAWS!?"

Afton picks his ear nonchalantly, "Err, over a hundred at least."​​

"WHAAAAT!!! Are they insane!? And you! Do you have a death wish!?" Karl yells, completely caught off-balance by the abrupt job offer Datri had presented.

Boone just watches on while leaning against a wall with crossed arms, Anja however is rapidly looking between Karl and Afton. "Are Deathclaws really that bad?" she asks, never having encountered one before.

"No"/YES!" Afton and Karl both say, giving one another weird looks as they do.

"You're pretty confident for someone I had to save from becoming Deathclaw chow." Karl states, wondering why Afton was even considering this job.

"Yeah? Well, I probably coulda taken it without your help... A couple punches and boom. dead deathclaw." Afton retorts sarcastically, not willing to give Karl an inch. He was pretty sure the group was ready for the bounty, but he'd not expected Karl's outright refusal.

Karl looks to Anja, "Look, Deathclaws are one of the biggest threats you could run into out here. I'd rather fight a Supermutant one on one with a knife than fight one of those things. I once saw a young Deathclaw male chase an NCR vehicle straight out of its territory... Thing managed to bite the head off of the guy manning the gun, pretty sure the driver shit himself when that happened. We were forced to kill it and the brood mother afterwards... Fuckin' monsters, the lot of 'em." the man grumbles.

Afton shakes his head, "I think we can do it, besides, you're making it out like they're invincible or something." he taps his Deathclaw leather satchel, "My dad didn't seem to have trouble, this bag is proof of it."

Karl's about to retort that his dad was probably wearing full Power armour and armed with a Gatling laser, but manages to hold his tongue. He wasn't stupid enough to blurt out something like that in the heart of NCR territory.

Boone decides that now's the time to interject, "I'm with Afton on this. Opening up the supply lines could give the NCR teh advantage they need to properly fend off the recent Legion offensive. Now that they'd taken back Nelson, any supplies going through the Eastern route would probably be intercepted."

Karl frowns, "If we were taking jobs based on how patriotic they are, we'd be dead already. This isn't some regular Legion camp raid, these are fucking Deathclaws!"

"Yeah? Well, we'll stop by the Gunrunners and pick up some more explosive .50 cal rounds and another Anti-Material rifle if it makes you feel better. I doubt even a Deathclaw could endure having its head pop like a balloon." he says, a small smirk appearing on his face.

Afton nods, "Yeah, we won't be going in blind. We'll make the proper preparations and retreat if we need to... If shit really hits the fan then we can lead the Deathclaws into Black Mountain, and have them fight it out with the Super mutants."

...

Karl rubs his beard, "I guess..." he thinks for a bit more before eventually sighing, "Fine. But we're not going anywhere near that place without proper equipment... AND, we'll ask for half of the reward upfront."

Afton nods, "I can go with that... The walk will be a pain though... Man, I miss Dirt-Bird already."

"I don't know. I think I prefer walking over sitting behind you like some kind of princess." Karl mutters.

...

The group chuckles, before Afton speaks up again, "Ah, by the way. We've got another member joining us soon."

Karl raises a brow, "Would it kill yah' to tell us who you're scouting beforehand? I'd like to look at a prospective member before they join us."

Afton shrugs, "Well, I didn't think it was really necessary. She won't participate in regular combat... I plan on having her take care of our vehicles while we're busy doing other shit."

"Her?" Boone asks, giving him a pointed look.

"Heh, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you're just trying to get your tip wet, kid." Karl laughs.

Afton just shakes his head, "You guys can chat shit when you're able to drive a vehicle, until then, she'd be more useful than you chuckle-fucks when mechanics are concerned."

A couple hours later while the group are heating some beans in a large pot over a fire, Josie finally spots them and begins waking over. She carries with her a large rucksack, a pistol, and a service rifle, along with what looks like some sort of toolbox. "Hey. You guys are harder to find than you'd think..." she says as she approaches.

"Well, you know what they say, practice makes perfect. You'll be thanking us when we have to camp out in the wilderness." Karl says, scooping a portion of beans into a small metal bowl. "Feel free to introduce yourself." he mutters after taking a bite.

She nods, "I'm Josie Trantow, former NCR mechanic and now, I suppose, bounty hunter?" she questions before continuing, "I hope we all get along."

Afton smiles and starts pointing people out, "The senile old man is Karl. The one who thinks he looks cool wearing glasses is Boone. The one with slight sunburn is Anja. The machine-puppy is called Dog-meat... and you already know me. The sexy and magnificent leader of... Come to think of it, we don't really have a name." he says scratching his cheek.

Karl shrugs, "We don't need one, people already know who our group are so who cares... I'm slightly curious what name will finally start sticking." he admits.

Boone nods at Josie and Anja gives a sheepish smile, finding herself slightly self-conscious at meeting their new member.

Afton gestures at the food, "Help yourself, we have a big job coming up. One that concerns Deathclaws. So we'll be gearing everyone up in the best shit we can afford before going for it. That okay with you?"

Josie nods, "Err, as long as you don't use me as bait, sure..."

"If we need bait then we'll just tie up a raider or use one of the Fiend corpses collecting flies back at the trenches." Afton says seriously, not bothering to take her words as a joke to promote how dangerous the job might actually be.

Josie's initial enthusiasm is dampened by this, and so she just quietly sits by the fire eating beans while listening to the group discuss plans and tactics.

Afton's eyes are drawn towards the notification that pops up,

[Companion gained! Josie Trantow. Perk Granted: Still Jammin']

[Still Jammn'] : Decreases chance for allies weapons to malfunction by 30%, while increasing the chance for enemies by 50%.

He skims it and nods in satisfaction, small scale it would be fairly unnoticeable... But in big battles? It could literally turn the tide of war, it wouldn't just affect enemy weapon condition, but also their morale. This was definitely a very useful Perk.