Chapter 558 - Prep Steps

Afton steps out of the changing room just in time for Caroline and Carlos to arrive. He debriefs them on how the operation went and what to look out for should they notice anything weird. Lastly, he told them that once Karl was up and walking, have him take short walks to get used to the Cybernetics... Nothing intense.

With that, he left them to attend to Karl while he leaves for the Sink... Only for Glados' drone to pop out of the wall to inform him that he'd received a message a couple of hours ago from Tamia... Apparently, the NCR was harassing Jacobstown and they'd already been forced to destroy an encampment already... Tamia had already made an agreement with Marcus, the super mutant leader of Jacobstown to clear the NCR encampments to secure an alliance with them.​​

Afton releases a slow sigh upon hearing the message. This was essentially a declaration of war, no doubt the NCR troopers had already reported the presence of Bulwark in the area, so once it was known the encampments were wiped out, it'd be regarded as an outright attack, perhaps even an unprovoked one.

"Ugh, whatever... This just forces some of my plans forward slightly..." he mutters before focussing on the drone, "Have Klein begin CERR01-07, I think it's time to ramp up the stakes."

Elsewhere :

Tamia and her group had already eliminated two scout camps around Jacobstown, and through some 'light' interrogation, they soon acquired the location of the main NCR encampment in the area... However, once they actually reached the place, it strangely seemed much more heavily fortified than one would expect for an operation such as this...

Even Boone was baffled by the number of men and fortifications that were present, never in his experience as a 1st recon sniper had he seen anything like it for such a remote location.

There were around one hundred and thirty men give or take the few the group hadn't managed to spot yet. The number of men wasn't the biggest obstacle however, that would be the small group of NCR soldiers wearing some kind of power armour which were guarding a large tent.

The power armour in question looked as if it'd been cobbled together from scrapped pieces of Brotherhood varients. All of which were heavily stamped with NCR regalia, perhaps it was to distract from the make-shift feel of the armour? Tamia certainly wouldn't feel safe wearing that pile of scrap... Especially not after seeing the various tests Afton, Klein, and Mobius conducted on 'too tightly-sprung armour.

The tent they were guarding seemed to be of particular importance as patrols around it were almost never-ending, every minute or so a group of soldiers would walk around it while scanning everything of interest. The men in power armour never moved from their designated positions though.

"Wait, what's that?" Boone mutters while looking through his scope. Everyone else looks through their binoculars and spots it... Two men and one woman wearing white lab coats entering the tent with an unconscious Supermutant being carried being them.

"A supermutant? What could they want with it?" Tamia mutters aloud.

"Maybe they're testing some kind of mutant killing weapon?" Josie questions.

Boone shakes his head, "No, as far as I know, the NCR abandoned that kind of research when a virus wiped out one of their research centres... They tried to cover it up of course, but, it was eventually addressed by the last President, Wendell Peterson."

"What are we going to do? Whatever they want with the mutant can't be good... What if they dissect it?" Josie asks.

Tamia shrugs, "We could try see if Marcus wants to try and rescue them, but, we're only on this mission to secure an alliance with them... Boone, did you see what department the scientists were from? I heard Afton was looking to capture some OSI members..."

Boone flashes a grin but his face quickly resumes its neutral expression, "they had OSI badges on their chests and shoulders."

Tamia nods, "We should probably try and capture them then, after that the camp is up for destruction."

"Who's going to sneak inside though? Anja might be the only one trained to do it, maybe that Scorpion guy once he's done getting drilled by Glados..." Josie mutters.

"Hmm... Let's head back to base and see if there are any Stealthboys available... If not, we'll just see if Afton is available..." Tamia states while getting up and headed off in the opposite direction, wanting to teleport back. The others are in agreement, not wanting to risk their lives doing something stupid or ill-prepared.

Neither Jacobstown or the NCR noticed the flash of lightning declaring their exit from the mountain.

Once back Tamia immediately heads to the armoury, getting Glados' assistance to find anything of use... Fortunately, three Stealthboys had been made, though, these were only the failed products that were attempting to make multiple-use versions.

While there, Boone swaps out his Anti-Material rifle with his Railgun, it would easily be able to pierce the NCR's make-shift power armour, and its reduced sound would allow him to stay hidden for far longer.

Josie on the other hand stocked up on explosives, stuffing a backpack full of C4, Plasma grenades, and Plasma mines. Not to mention a few flashbangs and decoy grenades.

Last but certainly not least, they decided to bring the recently upgraded ED-E. Josie had been given the basics of his upgrades, but she could already think of a couple ways to use them.

With that, they quickly left Big Mt again via teleportation, Glados had made Afton aware of their presence and intentions but decided to let them do this on their own while he continued to try and analyse his father's DNA. He was sure they'd be fine and wouldn't need his help for something like this... Especially with how many grenades they'd apparently taken out of the armoury.

He did make sure that Dogmeat and ED-E recorded the battle though, he wanted to see how much they'd progressed during his absence.