Chapter 684 - Warring Decisions

The trio was led by House through the city, visiting many different establishments, shops, and even the few rebuilt icons of Pre-War Vegas. House had recreated many things, such as the Bellagio Hotel, complete with its iconic fountains (Which were occasionally drank from by the populace as a free source of water), the Ferris Wheel, and even the Luxor Hotel... Though, this version was equipped with many defence systems that'd destroy any bombardment from above...

Rose was extremely happy with the Arcades House had built, and the trio had spent two hours simply enjoying themselves inside... Eventually, though, it was time to visit Josie, who'd become the Head of Security for New Vegas.

To reach her they end up having to enter the Lucky 38, where Tamia's office had been set up. House knocks on her door a couple times before receiving the 'Ok' to enter. As soon as the door enters Rose runs through, cheering as she throws herself at Tamia, accidentally throwing a stack of papers to the floor as she does so.

"Auntie!"

"Wha-Rose! You can't just go jumping at people!" Tamai grouses while reluctantly hugging the girl in her arms.

"But I missed you!"

...

"I missed you too..." Tamia says with a sigh, looking up and spotting Afton and Josie at the door.

"Er, hi... Thought it'd be good to give you a visit, you know, see how you're doing." Afton sheepishly says while scratching the back of his head. Walking over to help pick up the scattered papers that Rose had knocked over.

Josie steps up and gives Tamia a hug, though, Afton could tell there was some tension between the two... "How are you doing?"

Tamia shrugs, "Good, but busy mostly. No thanks to you, Afton." she states.

"What did I do now?" he audibly mutters.

She shakes her head, "It's not what you did, it's what you haven't done! More and more refugee's keep fleeing from the Enclave, Brotherhood conflict. I'll ask the same thing I did two years ago, why not just wipe them out and take control yourself!?"

He stands and deposits the paperback on her desk, "I'll give the same reason I gave last time as well then. If I got rid of both factions, I'd be responsible for taking care of the people who live there... That'd be a logistical nightmare! And it'd likely break into civil wars and rebellions not long after... I can't be aware of everything and present everywhere." he states.

House finally enters the room, having been waiting for Tamia to air her grievances to Afton, "Did I not offer you a solution to this? Wage war yourself, and hand the maintenance to me... I'll bring the region's glory back, much the same as I have with the Mojave." he offers.

Afton has to force his scowl down, knowing exactly what sort of game House was playing. "We both know that would take far more resources than you currently have at your disposal, House. The Mojave has only just become stable enough to lower our security measures... How many years would it take for you to deal with the whole of New California after the Enclave is wiped out? Long enough to cause mass starvation and homelessness I reckon." he states.

Josie decides to butt into the conversation, "Guys, can we not talk about business for one day? The is the first time we've taken Rose here, it'd be a shame if she never wanted to come back."

"But this place is cool Mamma!" Rose exclaims from Tamia's lap.

"Shh, Rose, I'm trying to make a point here."

Tamia shakes her head, "Whatever... Since you're here though, you should probably know that the Enclave has started using Pulse Weaponry against the Brotherhood... I doubt the war will last much longer considering..."

Afton shrugs, "Not. My. Problem." he says in a sing-song tone.

"Not your problem. But a problem for the rest of us." a raspy voice states from the corner of the room.

"Wah!" Josie, Afton, and funnily enough, House, all jump in surprise at the sudden appearance of the voice.

Ulysses steps out from the corner and Rose laughs at her parents for being scared of her uncle.

"When did you get here?" Afton asks.

Ulysses grins behind his mask, "I was always here, you just never noticed..."

"Creepy bast-*Ahem*, Basket case." Josie flowers from the side, never having liked Ulysses in the first place.

"I know it is now my place to say this. But you need to make your stance known, Afton. The people follow Sol, and Sol follows Bulwark. As far as they know, you do not care for the plight of the people living under the conflict... I have witnessed many refugee's begging for Bulwark to save their homes..." he trails off.

Afton shakes his head, "Why should we get involved in a conflict we have no involvement in?"

Ulysses eyes him, "Bulwark was built to preserve technology and protect the innocent... Or was I mistaken? Both the Brotherhood and Enclave have started using more dangerous types of technology, the battle forcing their inner beasts to come forth... The war was started to gain resources, but is now solely to prevent each side's own annihilation."

...

Afton stands there silently, chewing his lip as he tries to think over everything... There were many things to consider, resources, the tech each side might have, his former connections with the Brotherhood, the Enclave's intentions... But all of that quickly faded away when presented with one thing.

"Daddy? Why won't you save them?" Rose suddenly asks from Tamia's lap with moist eyes. The three-year-old somehow summing up everything in a single question.

In the end, they were right... He didn't want to use Bulwark's resources to muscle in on a war that'd soon end... He wanted to finish off whoever was left standing, but, that would lead to many dead civilians... All of which probably could have been avoided if he'd taken action sooner.

In the end, what father could say no to his daughter?