Chapter 581 - Shit-Show

Ambassador Crocker had just arrived and sat down in his office chair. He'd been woken up last night by some kind of light show that actually warmed his face momentarily from the nearby window. Though, by the time he tried to get a good look at it, the event had ended.

He sips his coffee while turning on his terminal, wondering what curveballs would be thrown at him today... Somehow, he'd had a really bad feeling since he stepped into the embassy.​​

...

*Bzztch!*

The sound of the nearby military radio attracts his attention, as he raises it to his ear, wondering what the issue was that forced them to talk to him directly through this channel.

"Crocker here, what is it?... Mmhm? Yeah, I saw it... No, so why don't you just tell me." he states as he sips his coffee... Before suddenly decorating his desk and terminal with it as he spits out the entirety of it. "THEY DID WHAAAAT!?..." he screams in shock, but glances up and spots his surprised-looking receptionist giving a small wave indicating he has a visitor.

In response, he angrily waves her away while shaking his head, turning his full attention back onto the radio, "They did what?" he repeats, not believing what he'd just been told.

"They annihilated Camp Forlorn Hope... And when I say annihilated, I mean, ANNIHILATED." the soldier announces, not holding anything back. "It must be retaliation for the assassination of Daisy Whitman! It's too coincidental to be anything else! We have to mobilise our forces and teach those fuckers not to mess with-"

"Will you shut your damn foolish mouth, Soldier!?" Crocker abruptly interrupts the man, not wanting to hear any more 'insightful' dogshit come from their mouth, "You literally just explained to me that Bulwark instantly annihilated Camp Forlorn Hope, one of our biggest encampments, without leaving any traces or survivors... And yet, somehow you are confident enough that you could take them on? DO YOU NOT REALISE HOW DAMNED STUPID YOU SOUND, SOLDIER!?" he roars down the radio.

...

Crocker rubs his brows with a sigh, "What has General Oliver decided to do?"

...

"Soldier?" he repeats, wondering if the connection was shot.

"Oh, well... Ambassador... General Oliver has not said anything, once he got word of what happened to our encampment he said he needed to speak with someone and left... We haven't seen him since..."

...

"Do you think he'll be coming back anytime soon? Despite how I feel about it, he is still in charge of our operations in the Mojave... And don't try play me with the 'he went out for a cigarette' trick, I seen it before and I ain't fallen for it!"

"We'll inform you if he returns, Ambassador... We still need to decide what to do though, right now everyone's just running around like headless chickens, wondering if their base would be the next hit."

Crocker rests his elbows on the table and links his fingers in a contemplative stance... He could just leave the decision making to someone else, but he was sure they'd just fuck up the situation even more than it already was... He didn't know who planned the assassination, but whoever it was should be court-martialed.

He was well aware that Bulwark wasn't something they could deal with right now, the Legion was preparing for their biggest attack yet, and the NCR didn't even know where Bulwark's main base was located.

And now these idiots were thinking of trying another attack? Isn't it obvious Camp Forlorn Hope was a warning? Why else destroy a camp so close to Novac almost immediately after the attack? He wondered if the only reason the NCR was even still in the Mojave was because Afton Parker allowed them to be...

There wasn't anything they could do either, judging by the sort of weapon that was used, it could probably strike anywhere, at any time, without much delay... All with destruction comparable to a nuclear bomb.

General Oliver's absence wasn't even the worst part... No, that belonged to the fact he had to address what happened at some point to the public! How much panic would he cause if he walked out and straight said "Er, yeah, Camp Forlorn Hope was annihilated in an instant. We have no evidence of who did it, no survivors to corroborate the attack, and only circumstantial evidence that certainly wouldn't hold up in any court, kangaroo or not!"

Yeah, fat chance of that happening... He'd probably get blamed for it, lose his career, and subsequently thrown back to California with a huge fine and dishonour printed onto his back.

He could try and lie about it... But the public would find out eventually, and then what? The public's response would be way, way worse. The facts would remain the same, just with the added charge of willfully lying to their collective faces.

Crocker wanted to do good for the NCR... But there was no feasible way to win in this situation... Thus, he was forced to play his trump card.

"Sorry soldier, as much as I'd like to help, I'm on vacation." he states, not managing to hide the grimace as he says this.

"What!? Since when!?" the soldier demands, knowing exactly was Crocker was doing.

Crocker stands up and shuts off his terminal, "Since two days ago. Goodbye, soldier." "Oh you motherfuck-*Bzztch!*" he turns the radio off, taking his coffee and quickly leaving the building and heading directly into the Ultra-Luxe casino... Hopefully, after a week or two at most, things would blow over and be fine...

Elsewhere, the soldier radio's yet another General who quickly goes on 'vacation' as soon as he hears what'd occurred... Leaving only a few Colonels like Cassandra Moore to deal with this shit show. Even then, those who could choose not to involve themselves and instead focus on the more pressing issue of the rather massive Legion invasion that would be happening soon, judging by how many troops had already massed.