Chapter 575 - Ghoulish Appearance...

It only took a couple hours for Afton to completely annihilate the Super Mutant presence atop Black Mountain. It took another thirty minutes to loot the place and look for anything worth taking... Surprisingly, and somewhat terrifyingly, the Super Mutants had in their possession three Mini-Nukes...

Where had they gotten them? He had no idea.​​

Why had they not used them at all? No idea.

Why were they stored in a manner one would a rugby ball? Again, no idea.

Regardless, Afton quickly stowed them away before continuing to look around the place... Eventually, he found the machinery that allowed the radio station to function, it all looked in relatively good condition, so Afton had an idea... Why not start his own radio station? It wasn't like anyone would be able to stop him... Nor would anyone really care unless he started doing something weird... Like broadcasting people's secrets, or kidnapping people and forcing them to confess live on air...

He shakes those ideas from his head, even if he tried that, the validity of those secrets would be called into question... After all, people are willing to say anything to stop getting tortured.

He plays around with the equipment for a bit, eventually accessing the database that Tabitha had been using to store prerecorded messages... Afton quickly deletes these and wonders what he should replace them with...

Back in the Brotherhood base, Veronica, Christine, Miles, and Melissa were listening to the Black Mountain radio while watching and listening to the battle occurring atop it. That is, until the sounds stop completely, leaving them in relative silence...

The silence continues for around thirty minutes until some sort of interference...

*Bzztch! BzzzzzZZZTCH!*

"*Bzztch!* Annnnd GOOooood Morning Mo-Ja-ve!" A familiar voice blares over the radio, disregarding the fact that it's late in the afternoon already...

...

"Afton." the people sitting around the radio all mutter simultaneously, having already experienced his past antics.

"My name is DJ Aftonie Parkin-in-ya-lot, an I'm here to rock your world!... Yeah!"

...

"Now let me introduce the first, and last song you'll ever hear on this station!..." he shouts, but no music seems to start, nor do any instrumentals... "Fly me to the moon! Let me play among the stars!" he starts singing, without any accompanying music at all... Afton's voice isn't bad, but, it's more akin to something you'd hear singing in your shower than anything else.

Despite it all though, no one in this world had heard this song by Frank Sinatra, it was one of the songs that were lost after the Apocolypse... So it was actually fairly interesting to listen to...

Afton goes on to sing the entire thing, and after he finishes, he flips a switch and causes the song he'd just sung to loop on the station... But not before adding a final message to the Super Mutants who'd been using the station to guide their way.

"Super Mutant brothers and sisters! If you seek salvation and freedom from the chains that bind you! Head to Jacobstown and make something of yourselves among your own kind!"

This message would be played every time his 'Fly me to the moon' song was looped, which would hopefully help some of the wandering Super Mutants looking for sanctuary... It would also draw some negative attention towards Jacobstown, but with Bulwark and New Vegas's protection, that wouldn't be much of an issue.

The group only realises Afton had played a prank on the Mojave after their third time listening to the looped song...

Back atop Black Mountain, after Afton had 'changed' what was being broadcast, he searched around the last building he hadn't had the chance to check yet... And was very surprised to find a decrepit-looking Ghoul wearing a Mechanics jumpsuit trapped in a room. He'd obviously been imprisoned by Tabitha, judging by the large amounts of sticky notes covering the frame of the door, each saying 'DO NOT TOUCH MY THINGS!'...

Once Afton got the door open, the Ghoul inside slowly stood up and bowed in Afton's direction, "Thanks for gettin' me outta there boss, you have no idea how hard those crazy mutants can work someone... If I weren't a Ghoul I woulda starved to death, died of exhaustion, died from getting manhandled..." he shakes his head, "The names Raul." he says with a Mexican accent.

"Uh huh... Well, now that I've freed you I should be on my way... I got shit to do." he says and starts to leave when the Ghoul speaks up again.

"That's a great idea boss... I'll just head home too, to my lonely abandoned shack... In the middle of nowhere... Alone..."

...

Afton crooks a brow, "Do you need something?"

Raul shrugs his shoulders, "No. Why do you ask? You need me for somethin'? It'd definitely beat wandering through the wasteland alone, with a high risk of getting murdered and eaten... Not even in that order..."

"Look, if you need something just tell me, otherwise I'm just gonna leave you here." he states, not willing to deal with this incredibly sarcastic Ghoul.

...

"Look boss, I ain't got much, and I don't even know how long I've been kept here... This isn't all due to gratitude for saving me, but since you helped me out, I want to do the same for you... You get me?" he asks.

Afton crosses his arms, "That depends, you got any talents?"

The Ghoul looks as if he's about to say something but purses his lips, "I-er, I used to work as a mechanic before the war, I can repair shit, maybe even a vehicle if you find the parts..."

...

That's interesting... Another Ghoul who lived before the war, just like Dean. He also needed some extra hands for the development of new vehicles, their current pace of making them certainly wasn't enough, especially considering they'd be facing bigger factions soon enough.

"Hmm... As long as you keep your mouth shut about my secrets, I think I could find a place for you... But, you have to be willing to have a chip installed." he states.

"A chip? Like those things you put in animals?" he asks incredulously.

Afton nods, "Kind of, but these chips have been specially designed for humans... They will essentially read your thoughts and inform me if you intend to betray me. Trust me, they've been extensively tested so they aren't dangerous."

"That sounds like some sci-fi-tech-shit, boss... I'm in!"