438 Suicidal Planner

Afton, Karl, Boone, Josie, Veronica and Anja were all currently inside an apartment building discussing the plan of infiltrating the Fort. The Power armour had been completed a couple days ago, so all they needed now was to actually plan out the assault and to wait for Tamia to return.

Boone prods at finger at the holographic map on the table, courtesy of Afton and the Think Tank. "If you are going to be bringing Power armour I doubt they'll simply let you on their raft." he states, pointing at Cottonwood Cove.

Karl nods, "The Mark of Caesar Tamia received would only allow one person to accompany her... The rest of us would have to find another way into the Fort."

Afton shrugs at them and traces a finger at Hoover Dam, "Couldn't we just drive across the Dam and sneak up to the Fort? I know their defences would be massive, but with Dirt-Hog and a lot of bullets we could probably manage..."

"I don't know... Last I saw the Legion's fortifications East of the Dam were enough to stop an army in their tracks. They might've laid down mines, built walls, and created pitfalls after losing the first battle of Hoover Dam."

Afton sighs while tapping the table, he's about to offer another option when the apartment door opens, revealing Tamia who strolls in. "Welcome back." he says.

Tamia nods at him, "I found our doctor, I left him with Daisy so they can catch up before he sets up in the medical tent."

"Anyone we know?" Afton asks, curious at who she picked.

She shrugs, "A guy called Arcade Gannon, House recommended him. Anyway, what's this?"

"Battle plans." Karl states but Veronica snorts, "More like Suicide plans. Right now we've got sending you into Cottonwood Cove, a slave camp, with one escort. While everyone else hops in Dirt-Hog and drives into heavily fortified land that may or may not been absolutely filled with mines."

Afton sighs, "When you put it like that it sounds like we haven't done anything..."

"I'm not saying you haven't done anything, just that what you have done is dogshit stuck to the bottom of a shit sandwich..."

"If you've got a better plan then feel free to speak up." Boone asks pointedly, shutting Veronica up for now.

Tamia walks over and looks at the map, "Seems like there aren't really any other options... What would the NCR think if you guys tried to drive over the Dam?"

...

"You didn't think about that, did you?" she asks with a dull look.

Afton palms his face, "To be fair, it's only recently we've been enemies with the NCR. It's not like I expected the Legion to blurt out my identity to everyone with and without ears."

Tamia just shakes her head and points at the Northside of the Fort where the Colorado intersects between an NCR camp and the Legion headquarters. "What are the chances of building our own raft and using that here?"

Afton shakes his head, "Impossible, if we ignore the fact we'd have both NCR and Legion shooting at us while we paddled across the river, we'd still be surrounded with no viable way to retreat... Considering the fact we're trying to rescue Karl's daughter, it's pretty important... Dirt-Hog is probably our best bet at actually getting in and out. Plus, with the Power armour we'll be using, swimming would be impossible, plus the fact that neither are designed to work underwater... Yet."

"So what do we do?" Josie asks while sipping a beer as if the discussion doesn't involve her.

Afton breathes a long sigh, "Tamia and Josie head through Cottonwood Cove through the 'official' entrance. Josie isn't all that high-profile so her past with the NCR wouldn't immediately be noticed, plus the fact she's a woman-"

""Hey!"" "Fuck you."

...

Afton raises a brow at the angry looks he's receiving and snorts, "I don't mean that in a bad way, I mean that the Legion are all sexist pieces of shit and will underestimate you." he explains before continuing, "Anyway, the rest of us will drive over the Hoover Dam and breach through any defences they may have... It's going to be a shit show, but that's what you signed up for.

Before this happens, Tamia and Josie will try and locate Karl's daughter. If or when you find them, you will take them to House's underground bunker where they'll be kept out of the subsequent fighting... Hmm... If you two take Dogmeat then you'll be able to triangulate the coordinates to teleport... Yeah, that's what we'll do." he mutters the last part.

"Take Dogmeat with you and teleport Karl's daughter out of there, afterwards find the bunker and do what House wanted. If you aren't able to get inside without fighting then wait for us to arrive and we'll do it all together... To be honest, I doubt House's super-secret bunker would be easy to get inside... If it was the Legion would've gained access years ago."

...

"Why don't we just teleport into the base?" Karl asks, getting nods from everyone else.

"Because I'd rather not reveal that we are able to teleport... It's bad enough that some of the soldiers in Novac are aware of it. If we just show the Legion what we can do they'd just snitch on us to the Brotherhood... I don't know about you guys, but we've got enough on our plate against the NCR and the Legion right now...

Plus, I'd rather have Dirt-Hog as backup in case something goes wrong... It'll provide firing power, cover, and a viable escape should we need it. Cool?"

Karl shrugs, "Still think teleporting inside would be easier than fighting through an army... How do you expect to get through the initial defences East of the Dam?"

Afton just smirks at him and flashes the Range Finder. "Good thing we have a spare 'nuke' to drop on them."

Anja raises her hand to talk, as if she were inside a classroom, "Er, sir... Won't using that be the same and showing our teleportation?"

Afton shrugs, "I doubt anyone will survive the initial blast, and we can play it off afterwards as a nuclear detonation... It'll probably be fine, for a while at least."