Chapter 605 - Gathering Remnants

"Are you sure he's going to be here? Far as I'm concerned, you're just chasin' ghosts." Doctor Henry mutters as he and Orion approach a hidden cave that was East of the Aerotech Office Park.

It'd taken a while to travel to here from Jacobstown, but the situation simply demanded it... After Daisy had been assassinated by the NCR, Orion had immediately started searching for his old colleagues, eventually finding Doc Henry in the Supermutant sanctuary.​​

It hadn't taken much to convince the man to come along, as everyone in their group loved Daisy like a sister. The fact that she was murdered in such a fashion angered both of them to no end, which is why they had decided to take drastic measures.

"I'd already been searching for 'im before all this shit went down. Tell me, what do sightings of a 'crazy bearded berserker' say, was combined with mass raider disappearances in the area?" Orion asks.

...

"That could be anyone though, why do you think it's him?" Henry retorts.

Orion shakes his head, "And the ghost stories depicting him as some angry demon? If that ain't Johnson then I don't know what is!" he states, not willing to be convinced otherwise.

Henry just shakes his head, "Whatever, but if we end up running into a literal demon, I told you so." he says as they both enter the cave. Almost immediately Orion spots a bear trap he'd almost stood on, he catches Henry's eyes and warns him as they head deeper.

Eventually, they find themselves in a small cave room that has a few supplies scattered here and there, a bedroll sitting at the side with a freshly opened can of beans that seemed half-eaten?

Suddenly, a blur leaps out from hiding, catching Orion in the face with a fist while putting Henry in a headlock, a revolver digging into his temple. "Who are you!? You think I'd let you take me out that easily!?" the manic-sounding man exclaims, but the familiar voice quickly draws the duo's attention.

"Johnson!?" Henry quickly asks, not wanting this fight to continue and lead to something they'd all regret.

...

The man crooks a brow and leans forward to get a better look at Henry's face, dropping his revolver as soon as he realises who he was holding. "Doc! You are lucky I didn't just decide to cut to the chase and put a few bullets in you! This ain't the first time I've been attacked here after all!" he says, letting the doctor go and slumping onto his ass.

"Damn, you look like shit." Orion says as he rubs his jaw where he'd been punched.

Johnson glances up at Orion and chuckles, "Likewise... Why're you two here? Must be pretty serious if you decided to visit me here, thought I'd go peacefully, but the looks on your faces say otherwise." he trails off.

Orion gives a solemn nod, "Yeah... Daisy's dead." he states.

Johnson releases a sigh and looks down at the floor, "I see. How'd it happen?" he asks, knowing it wasn't a good end judging by the duo's presence.

"She was shot. Right in front of me by an NCR sniper." Orion quietly says, staring off into the distance as if living through it again. "It wasn't warranted at all. She the mayor of Novac, a Bulwark controlled town that'd peacefully existed without issue until then." he explains.

Johnson clenches his fists and grinds his teeth when he hears this, and the only really Doc Henry wasn't doing the same was that he'd already heard about it, and come to terms with it.

"Those fuckin' NCR bastards... We shoulda forced them out from the Mojave years ago! Moreno! WE SHOULD HAVE! But you didn't want to fight anymore... And now what!? You come here with the complete opposite intentions!?" Johnson angrily exclaims.

Henry rests a hand on Johnson's shoulder, "Look, in hindsight it was probably the wrong decision, but we couldn't have known that at the time. Don't take it on Moreno, we all agreed to separate... We are all responsible." he reasons, and Johnson slowly recollects himself.

"... So, what're we gonna do? Attack Camp McCarren? Destroy Forlorn Hope?-"

"Uh, about that. Camp Forlorn Hope was annihilated by Bulwark..." Orion sheepishly says, causing Johnson to go silent.

...

"Hahahahaha!" the man suddenly breaks into laughter, "Hahahaha! S-so you're telling me some group called 'Bulwark' already destroyed that place!? What have the NCR done about it?" he giddily asks, as if he'd just received a birthday present.

Orion gives a small smile, "Nothing. There's nothing they can do. Bulwark is like what the Enclave was, but better. It comes with the technology, science, industry, wealth, that it had, but also the empathy that it lacked. No one even knows where Bulwark's headquarters are, which is why the NCR hasn't retaliated yet." he explains.

Johnson nods but looks slightly uncertain due to the fact that it sounded too good to be true. He shakes his head and waves Orino off, "Enough with your sales pitch, just tell me who we're going to shoot.

Orion shrugs, "I actually thinking that we can ask Afton Parker, the leader of Bulwark where we can help... As much as I'd just like to destroy NCR infrastructure, we need to make sure the Legion doesn't immediately take the NCR's place in the Mojave... I'm sure you guys know enough about that shit-show to know what I'm talking about."

Johnson glances over at Henry, "What do you think? I've never even seen Bulwark, can they be trusted?"

Henry nods, "Yeah, over in Jacobstown they helped us deal with the NCR up there. Though, I haven't yet met Afton Parker... From what Moreno said, he sounds like an interesting kid."

"Kid?" Johnson parrots.

"Yeah, apparently he's not even outta his teens yet."

...

Johnson sighs, "Alright, I'm in... Let's collect our shit and see how we can help out." he says, getting off of his ass and shaking hands with his old friends.