Elsewhere :

Elder McNamara was slumped in his chair while rubbing his temples, the recent report had everyone on edge. But not only that, it had a few partitioning him to release the lockdown and allow the Chapter to start actually performing their duties. ​​

They'd been trapped in this bunker for years now, and McNamara was more or less leaning towards actually listening to them... Their pursuers the NCR had been continually pushed back by the Legion and barely had enough men to keep their roads safe, let alone search for the Brotherhood... Even then, they'd already given up looking many years ago.

Despite all this, he was still incredibly wary of actually revealing themselves to the outside world again. Their position made it almost inevitable that they'd be attacked on two fronts from both the NCR and Legion if things continued to progress as they currently were.

You would think that the Legion would be more lenient in their dealings with them, but you'd be very wrong in that assumption. The Legion hated any and all technology more advanced than a simple ballistic weapon. Even then, he'd read reports that most ran into combat with nothing but machetes...

If everything wasn't bad enough yet, the ventilation systems were still on a crash course for failure. Dust particles were steadily beginning to gather, no one had notified yet but in a couple years the situation would be untenable... And that's not even mentioning his most recent report...

Apparently, a literal army of Deathclaws charged up Black Mountain. Usually, he and the rest of the Brotherhood would celebrate at the deaths of so many Supermutants, but they still hadn't determined the reason the Deathclaws attacked in the first place.

This was very, very worrying. No information in their database on Deathclaws gave any indication, so, as most would do in this situation, he sent some Knights to scout the Quarry to see what was going on...

McNamara sighs to himself when he remembers it. They'd found almost nothing. Not 'nothing' in the 'nothing had occured', but 'nothing'. As in theentire Quarry was entirely emptied of Deathclaws. His men did notice signs of battle, blood spatters and craters here and there, but no corpses.

This should have been impossible. If the Deathclaws had been killed, then their corpses should still be around. Unfortunately, he had no scouts in the area at the time, so they were currently in the dark about what'd happened...

It was possible that the Deathclaws were attacked and simply moved to another location... But that wasn't good for the Chapter either. The reason the bunker was in such a good location was because the NCR rarely moved through the area.

Now that the highway was clear, the NCR would begin using it for supply routes, making their situation more tenuous than ever. Hardin and his supporters would only make things worse, as they simply could not leave the bunker now, or after the trade routes start.

Once single mention about someone seeing a Paladin would have the NCR storm back into the area... They may not miss their bunker the next time.

Elsewhere :

Afton and the rest of the group are lead into Primm, he and Karl both gawking at the previously desolate place that'd apparently regained some vibrance. Some of the ruined building had been given a make-shift patch up while many new faces seem to have settled here.

In the main street, Afton could see a few stalls selling small amounts of vegetables, fruits, and other foodstuffs. Hell, there was even a Geckop roasting over a fire, making the whole area smell of roasted meat.

"Is this the same town we saw months ago? Because right now, I'm on the fence." Afton states, surprised at the dramatic change.

Meyers chuckles, "I'm surprised, considering you two are primarily responsible for it."

Both Afton and Karl raise a brow at him and he continues, "With the Powder Gangers almost entirely eliminated from this area, we haven't had trouble from raiders for a while. The few who tried seemed afraid that you'd come back and sort them out." he says gesturing at Afton with a smirk.

"Personally, I can't see what they're so afraid of. You don't look like much, even with that goofy outfit and all those guns." he mutters.

"They must've heard about what he did in Westside... I'm not gonna bitch t though, fuckers deserved it." Karl spits.

"Yeah, I heard somethin' like that... Butchered two kid-fuckers in front of everyone and threatened to do the same to anyone else who committed similar crimes." Meyers shrugs, with Anja and Josie giving Afton a weird look.

"What? They literally sold children to the Fiends. They should be lucky I hadn't just castrated them and let the crows have 'em." Afton says disinterestedly.

Meyers just shakes his head, "Anyway, most of the folk who come here now are runnin' from the Legion. They've apparently taken to raiding small settlements and enslaving any they capture. So, families 'av been headed West to escape them. Fortunately for us, we're in the perfect place to get protection from the NCR, while also not paying taxes." he explains.

"Not paying taxes?" Afton mutters, "I wouldn't be surprised to see the NCR taking forces from the front lines to make you pay them." he says semi-sarcastically.

Meyers shrugs, "They need people stationed here for us to pay taxes. Right now the closest NCR base is the Mojave Outpost south of here. Anyway, the lack of taxes has only encouraged folk to settle down here, the lack of raiders and Legionaries is just the cherry on top." he explains.

"All this talk is making me worried about Novac." Afton mutters. He wasn't wrong to be afraid either, as Novac was the closest settlement to Nelson, the place that the Legion had recently recaptured.