Chapter 354 - Old Acquaintance

With all the Deathclaws eliminated along with their nests, the group packed up all their gear and began to move again. While they could return to Camp McCarren and immediately accept their reward, Afton decided that they could claim it later... For now, their destination was Novac.

Before they left though, they made camp to rest after the long day they'd just had... As it was Afton's watch, however, he left Dog-meat in his place and snuck back into the Quarry. He'd already found the coordinates that he needed for teleportation, so all he needed to do now was gather all the stuff he wanted to transport...​​

It was a tough couple hours of work, but he eventually managed... He'd gathered all the Deathclaw corpses and eggs he'd saved into a big pile and calibrated the coordinates so that all of it would be transported. Yeah, sure, it'd take a shit load of energy to do, but Borous would appreciate the opportunity to study the creatures, not to mention the fact that he wanted Glados to process the leather into something workable...

He left a note atop the pile of corpses basically telling the AI to make him some protective clothing he could wear from the brood mother corpses... Their defensive properties were a double-edged sword, it'd protect the Deathclaws, but also made them valuable targets for hunters looking for their leather.

With a *CRACK!* of lightning, the pile was gone, leaving a small cloud of smoke behind in its wake. With all that done, Afton made his way back to camp and woke the next person up so they could take watch.

The next day they travelled along the highway that both Karl and Afton were very familiar with. They'd spent enough time patrolling them with the Powder Gangers that they almost knew them like the back of their hand... It was strange to see them empty, with the occasional trader to Sloan.

No other bandits had set up shop around here, and Afton was sure it was due to the NCR finally clearing up the area. After a day or so of walking, they eventually reach Primm and are immediately greeted with an old friend.

"Hah! Look who the cat dragged in, an old hair-ball and 'fastest gun in the Mojave'... Seems like you've picked up some pals between last I saw you." Sheriff Meyer exclaims from the lawn chair he was sitting on in front of the town.

He still wore his Powder Ganger jacket, but now looked armed to the teeth with a rifle and many pistols on his hip. His black and grey speckled beard has grown out long, and he still had the black hat he never seemed to take off.

Currently, he was sitting in some shade with a beer in his hands, watching the highway Primm was next to.

Karl scratches his steadily growing beard in irritation, "Sounds 'bout right. Give you a lick of power and you're already drinkin' on the job and harassing passerbys... Still an improvement from your old gloomy self." he retorts, walking over and enthusiastically greeting the man with a pat on the shoulder.

Meyer shrugs, "Yeah, well, I can say the same thing. You lot look like you're headed to fight an army..." his eyes go over Afton, "And you kid, you planning to hold one of those pistols with your third leg?" he jokes.

Afton shrugs, "Unfortunately not, your mother seems determined to keep it in her mouth as long as possible." he snipes back, the three of them laughing like old friends.

Meyers looks over at Boone, Josie, and Anja. His glance at the latter is less hospitable than the rest, but he knew voicing it would not turn out well for him. If Karl and the kid were willing to let a ghoul travel with them, it must be for good reason.

Instead, he simply nods at them, "Howdy, in case you didn't notice the badge, I'm the sheriff of Primm. Former... Associate. With the cowboy duo there." he points a thumb at Karl and Afton.

Boone gives a stiff nod, if he wasn't already aware of Karl and Afton's history with the Powder Gangers, he'd be much more hostile to the man still wearing their regalia.

Josie was still new to the group and hadn't heard about it. Even so, despite her rather comfy job in Camp McCarren, she knew who and what the Powder Gangers were. Leaving her with a less than ecstatic first opinion of the man.

Anja was of the opposite opinion however, the man had obviously given a cautious look at her, but he'd not said anything derogatory yet, putting him in her 'good books' for now.

Meyers glances at the Cyberdog panting next to Anja's leg, "You even got a dog? If I didn't know any better I'd say you guys were preparing to hunker down and start a family. He waggles his thick eyebrows, "I don't know what's between you two, but we at Primm don't discriminate."

"Fuck off, Meyers." Karl states before continuing, "We just got done clearing the Deathclaws along the highway and Quarry, so you'll be seeing more trade come through soon enough."

Meyers gapes at them, "You're sayin' that you lot took down the shit-load of Deathclaws down there? Forgive me if I call bullshit on that." he states, and no one could really dispute him as it did seem farfetched.

Afton grins at him and pulls a Deathclaw egg out of his bag, "I guess this is just an above-average chicken egg then." he says, causing Meyers to audibly swallow his saliva.

"You sure you killed all of 'em? Otherwise, the survivors might come sniffin' after their eggs... I'm tough but... Not tough enough to fight those things off." he sheepishly admits.

"You'll be fine. You think we'd be able to steal an egg and get away alive if we hadn't killed them all first?"

Meyers slowly nods, "I suppose... Alright. Why don't you folks come in, Primm has changed a lot since you last visited." he says, gesturing them all inside as he leads.