The Fiends quickly noticed the NCR's movements, streaming forwards like a wave of dirty molasses. Afton took aim at his trap as the Fiend forces were almost in position.

... ​​

...

"Karl, tell the NCR to take cover, I have no idea how powerful this'll be..."

His companion nods and quickly starts shouting for the NCR to get down, and after waiting a few moments for the NCR to hear Karl he fires his Anti-material rifle... Directly at the Mini-Nuke he'd planted earlier.

*BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!!!!!!!*

A light brighter than the sun washes over the area, no, the region. Shouts of panic erupted from behind Afton as he pulls out his sunglasses, not bothering to mention the large crack on the lenses that was slowly closing on its own.

After the light came the heat, as if a heatwave had just punched everyone present in the face, it makes everyone feel as if they'd just been put in an oven or a microwave. Bare skin burned slightly, and anyone who was trying to see what'd just happened had to quickly close their eyes or risk damaging them. Honestly, the heat made the regular Mojave weather look like a cold spell!

Next, After the heat came the shockwave. A few people's eardrums burst as the loudest sound he'd ever heard erupts, quickly followed by a wave of force that knocked anyone still standing off of their feet. Afton had to duck as stray shards of metal that'd been launched from the explosion like shrapnel passed by him... Perhaps planting the Mini-Nuke without a pile of scrap metal wasn't the greatest idea?

Uses VATS and surveying the situation behind him, he could spot that a few NCR soldiers had been injured. Though, none seemed to have been killed.. Yet.

Once he deactivated VATS he himself was almost blown away, the shockwave somehow increasing in intensity compared to the first blast. His eye's widened as a cloud of smoke and dust rushed to their position, quickly enveloping everyone.

Afton didn't waste any time and covered his mouth with many layers of fabric, he was sure they were out of the immediate radioactive zone, but perhaps the power boost acted differently with nuclear weaponry? The chain reaction caused by the radioactive material might not just simply be increased by 100% as his Perk had stated... He really needed to work out how it worked. Though, perhaps he should've tried that before he detonated a literal nuclear bomb!

After a couple minutes the dust obscuring everything finally settled, allowing everyone in the area to see the humungous mushroom cloud that'd formed overhead.

Gasps of shock, awe, and fear could be heard from the NCR troopers behind him. Though, Afton was more interested in the scorched ruins left behind by the explosion. Where once stood hundreds of Fiends ready to charge their position, now only held one huge crater.

He was amazed that- [Perk Acquired! : Nuclear Friendly]

[Nuclear Friendly] : Decreases friendly fire damage allies take from your Nuclear weapons by 30%.

...

Honestly he hadn't expected to get a Perk for this. Additionally, the Pekr he was given was essentially useless, even if you could avoid 30% of the damage a nuclear weapon could deal, the other 70% would more than certainly wipe you from existence.

Afton was shaken from his thoughts when a hand landed on his shoulder, glancing at whoever it was, he was greeted by the image of a shocked-looking Boone who's sunglasses were crooked on his face, as if he hadn't had time to readjust them yet.

"That... Was scary." he says simply, still clearly shaken by the utter destruction unleashed by the bomb. It was at that moment that Afton realised that despite the residents of the wasteland living in a post-nuclear world, none had every experienced the sheer power of a Nuclear weapon... Afton had seen videos and other depictions of it so he knew what to expect... But Boone and everyone else? Most probably thought it was just a larger than usual bomb... Not to mention he hadn't exactly warned them that this would happen...

Boone continues after taking a moment to compose himself, adjusting his sunglasses so he didn't look like a dope. "We need to find another one and plant it under Caesers chair." he states, causing Afton to start laughing.

His laughter seemed to bring most of the NCR soldiers out of their shock, some cheering at the fact they'd utterly annihilated their enemies. Captain Krajcik stumbled over to Afton and slumped against the wall next to him, "So, you weren't going to tell me that your 'trap' just so happened to contain a literal nuclear bomb?"

...

Afton shrugs, "Youknow, I once heard someone say that 'surprises were fun'... Well? Was it fun?" he asks, semi-sarcastically, completely avoiding his initial question.

...

"No. I doubt my injured men would say they had fun either... I should be mad but, some of my men would probably lose their lives trying to fight the Fiends. Atleast now I won't have to bring bad news to any of their families."

Afton nods, "Erm, as thanks for saving you all that trouble, would you mind vouching for me that Nephi had been killed? I don't think there'd be much left of him after that, let alone his head."

Captain Krajcik just shakes his head, "I don't think anyone will question that Nephi is dead... Afterall, you did drop a nuke on him. Besides, I doubt anyone in Camp McCarren could've missed that." he says, pointing at the mushroom cloud hovering above them.

Afton glances at his Geiger counter and notices that the radiation in the area had picked up slightly... Perhaps radioactive material was going to start falling upon them like unwanted snow? "Er, we should probably get back to camp, it'd be better to report what'd happened sooner than later. Plus getting the injured to safety is very important." he says, not even hinting at the fact he may have irradiated the whole area.

Captain Krajcik nods in agreement, looking grateful at his worry for the injured troopers...