Chapter 555 - Jacobstown

Tamia sighs, "What a sad state of things..." she glances at the trader and Boone, "You guys know if there are any more encampments in the area? I'd rather not run into any of them if this is how they are operating..." she leans towards Boone and whispers, "Plus... I think we should let Afton know what's happened here."

Boone nods before shrugging, "I don't know if there are anymore encampments, probably are some dotted around Jacobstown to keep watch on the town..."​​

"A-are you headed to Jacobstown?" the traders hesitantly asks and continues once Tamia nods. "W-would it be okay for us to accompany you? I still need to sell these goods and, quite frankly, I'm scared of running into the NCR again... W-what if they question me about what happened here?!" the man anxiously stutters out.

Tamia shrugs, "I don't mind, as long as you don't get in the way and pull your own weight... I didn't catch your name...?"

"P-Peter... Peter Benet"

With that, Tamia, Josie, Boone, and the caravan guards loot the NCR corpses and encampment before flipping the caravan back onto its wheels and strapping the brahmin to it. The caravan guards had originally been kitted out with revolvers and shotguns, but now they seemed ready for war, with service rifles, grenades, and other provisions.

Tamia let them have most of the loot as she and her companions wouldn't be able to carry it anyway, besides, it wasn't as if they were seriously lacking supplies anyway.

The group began moving, following the road to Jacbostown while being very wary of any possible NCR encampments. Whatever operation they were attempting certainly didn't seem 'above base', NCR laws prevented them from randomly stopping caravans, so the previous soldiers were either corrupt, or their orders breached their own laws. Though, this wouldn't be the first time that'd occurred.

Boone does spot two hidden scout teams hiding amongst the trees as they progress, but the soldiers don't seem to be intending to attack, instead simply watching them... Each team does send a single member off somewhere though, meaning they were reporting the event to their superiors...

Fortunately, the group eventually reaches Jacobs the next day. It couldn't really be called a 'town' per se, as there was only one large building present. There were large log walls surrounding the border of the town, and a large Big horner herd kept safely within its confines.

At the gate of the town stood five large figures all wielding guns too small for their physiques... They were all Supermutants, all with green skin and hard features, they wore scrap-metal armour that seemed to be tied to their bodies without much care... Tamia could spot that the group had a few recently acquired injuries, fresh scars, and wounds that hadn't yet healed.

The super mutants all immediately became hostile when they spotted the group, pointing their weapons at the caravan while the guardsman points their own, the standoff didn't last long however as a super mutant taller than the rest steps forwards with a pacifying gesture."Wait! Wait, everyone stand down! There's no need for bloodshed today!" he commands, his authoritative voice causing the super mutants to lower their weapons.

Seeing this, the caravan guardsman do the same, though, the tension between the groups was still incredibly high... Tamia takes the chance to step forward and be the ambassador for the group, walking over to Marcus with her hand extended in a friendly manner. "Hello, I'm Tamia, nice to meet you."

The supernatant nods with a small smile, "Likewise, I'm Marcus, the leader of this place." he states while looking over appraisingly at the rest of her group, "What business do you have with us? I can't imagine the NCR let you through to here easily..."

Tamia scoffs, "Yeah, I realised that when we started shooting at each other." she says, causing the mutants behind Marcus to relax slightly, seems as if the NCR wasn't well-received around here...

She gestures over at the trader, "That fellow there's called Peter, and wants to trade goods with you... Me and my group though? We have more private matters to discuss, matters that might help with your NCR problem." she quietly states, causing Marcus' brow to furrow.

Marcus slowly nods, "Hmm, alright. We could do with more supplies considering the NCR's attitude towards us, while I get that handled, could you wait in the resort? I can't imagine whatever you have to discuss will be easy or quick. There's another human who lives here, enter the resort and go right, you'll find him... Oh, and, er. Try not to stare at the Nightkin, if you want to keep your head on your shoulders." he states before walking towards Peter and his caravan.

Tamia, Boone, Josie and Dogmeat walk into Jacbostown and towards the resort. They're given the stink eye by a few of the residents, but none seem willing to act out. They enter the resort and go right, walking into some sort of laboratory that had a female ghoul and elderly human discussing something. Both stop though and look towards them with inquiring gazes though.

The older man looks the group over, but his eyes are quickly drawn towards Dogmeat, his eyes widen as he stands and approaches, only for Dogmeat to back away slightly with a growl. "Ah..."

"You got a problem with our dog?" she asks.

"Uh, no... I was just wondering who designed his Cybernetic components... It's some of the most advanced tech I've seen to date... Sorry, my name's Henry, the mutants usually just call me 'Doc' though."

Tamia shakes his hand, "Tamia, that's Boone, Josie, and Dogmeat." she says, gesturing at each person respectively. "Never thought I'd see a human living around here..." she admits.