After speaking briefly with the scientists about Bulwark's new standard medium and light armour that's in the works, he leaves and decides to check on things around Big Mountain. Karl was still spending quality time with his family, and Josie was slobbering all over the various technologies around the place... He even swore he saw her riding around on the back of a Robo-Scorpion the other day... Or maybe hallucinating...?

The only thing that perturbed him slightly is the fact he hadn't seen much of Boone... The man would always get up early in the morning, go somewhere, and then come back with dark circles around his eyes and smelling heavily of gunpowder. ​​

Obviously, he was at the firing range, but Afton wasn't sure what brought on this new bout of determination and obsessive training... He shrugs to himself, perhaps it was time to find out what was bothering his companion.

As he approaches the Firing Range he'd greeted by the sound of gunfire from various weapons. Inside he spots Boone standing where Tamia had been weeks ago, he was currently firing his Hunting Rifle at a target around 800 yards away.

To most, this would be an incredibly difficult shot, but for Boone, it seemed relatively easy... Once he'd emptied his clip he drops the rifle and pulls out a .44 Revolver and continues firing at the same target. Most shots hit despite him now using a pistol, Afton knew how difficult such a shot was, especially since his Perception and Agility was so high.

It was an almost superhuman feat, but Boone was doing it fairly easily...

"Yo." Afton greets after the revolver clicks, indicating its lack of bullets.

Boone glances over and nods at him, "Need somethin'?"

Afton shakes his head, "Personally? No... You on the other hand have been training non-stop for weeks now... I'll return the question, do you need something?"

...

"No. I just need to be better than I am, faster, stronger, better." he states while reloading his weapons with such dexterity Afton wondered if he had the [Rapid Reload] Perk.

"So something is bothering you." Afton challenges, wondering if Boone would be willing to talk about it... The man was a tough nut to crack, rarely showing emotion. To be honest, the only real smile he'd seen Boone give is at Karl's survival, and while killing Legionaries.

Boone halts halfway through reloading the Revolver before nodding, "It's been a while since I was in the 1st Recon, I try not to think about it too much or the days sometimes slip by me... Manny either wasn't bothered or drank enough that it didn't matter, but I can't forget the people we lost and the things we did... I want to say I've moved past it, but. What happened with Karl made me feel like I was straight back in Bittersprings."

Afton raises a brow but doesn't interrupt the man, allowing him to air his grievances.

Boone finishing reloading his weapons and starts firing again, unloading all the bullets in his rifle before turning to Afton again, "I had a buddy called Isaac, funny guy, liked food despite the shit we had to eat in the unit, made it his duty to hunt animals to give the unit some variety, dreamt of buying a farm and living peacefully with a wife and family... He was my spotter before Manny." he releases a long sigh.

"We were in a firefight for some reason I can't remember... Bullets were so loud I could barely hear myself think, let alone Isaac spotting for me... Which is why I had no idea when some guys had snuck up on us and shot Isaac through the neck... I manage to deal with them while taking minimal injuries, but Isaac was fucked. I tried to save him but..." he trails off and shakes his head with a look of determination, "The shit that happened to Karl wouldn't have happened if I was better. I'll make sure it doesn't happen again. Ever." he states.

Afton slowly nods after listening to the story, he could understand Boone's feelings... Kind of. He was sure the Sniper had some sort of PTSD, but that was common in the wasteland so no one really bothered to pay attention to it.

"If you want to get stronger, I think practising something you've already mastered is rather inefficient... Why not try working gadgets into your abilities, if you had some Flashbangs you might've been able to blind those guys with Grenade Launcher for a moment." he says.

...

Boone puts down his Hunting Rifle and nods, "I think... You may be right." he admits, having not seen any drastic improvements to his shooting for many years.

"I'd also like you to get fitted with the weaponry we'll be producing in the future... What would you say to testing a Railgun?" he asks.

The project that he was speaking about was basically Bulwark's take on the Brotherhood of Steel's Gauss Rifles... Gauss Rifles were meant to be an 'All-Purpose' weapon, thus they weren't as powerful as they potentially could be.

The Railgun Afton and the scientists were trying to create were significantly larger, with a much, much longer barrel so the projectile could pick up more speed. This weapon would be excellent for Boone as it'd essentially be a super sniper, putting even the Anti-Material rifle to shame.

Boone slowly nods, "If it shoots well then sign me up."

Afton grins, "Good. I'll have the scientists get to work on supportive tools, though, that'll have to wait until we get Karl's prosthetics properly fixed up... I think he'll like what we come up with."

Boone raises a brow, "Guns?"

Afton nods, "Big guns."