The talk between Goris and Major Knight was interesting, to say the least. At first the major wasn't buying what he was hearing, but after I interfered and talked with him, telling him what exactly happened and how it happened, he reluctantly agreed to discuss it with Goris. While I didn't hear the whole conversation between them, I know for a fact that most of the talking was about the quarry and what it would take for Goris and his pack to let the miners return and do their job so that the dam could get that limestone. Thought by the end, Goris and Knight found a middle ground for the quarry problem, one that was benefiting both sides.
Unfortunately, that peace and agreement didn't come for free, and like all of the good things Goris had to do something in exchange for that, otherwise, the general would send quite a few troops to get rid of them once and for all. The price was a mission, albeit a strange one, at least from my perspective. Knight wanted Goris to go and meet an NCR sergeant that was stationed at Camp Searchlight for some bizarre reason, since not only was that quite far away from Sloan, but from what my men had managed to dig about that site, something not quite public happened there.
Moreover, while Mike and the rest of the boys hadn't been able to find out more about what happened there, they did tell me that quite a few ghouls are roaming around the supposed camp. Knowing Knight, the job he gave has to be related to the ghouls one way or another, and since I was the reason behind this whole thing, I had to join Goris and be there to make sure that nothing bad happens, otherwise, a lot of innocent people and peaceful deathclaws might die. Therefore, after saying goodbye to Meyer and his team, Goris and I left Sloan.
By the time we reached our destination, the sun was already up in the sky, slowly killing us with the heat wave. Just as Mike told me, the whole area was covered in some kind of radioactive fog, with ghouls roaming everywhere. Strangely enough, most if not all of those ghouls were wearing NCR clothes, almost as if this was something else, something entirely different from what Knight told us.
Just as we were about to make our way toward the checkpoint that Knight gave us the coordinates for, gunshots were heard, making both Goris and I duck for the nearest cover. Thankfully, those gunshots were meant for them, instead, a couple of the ghouls fell to the ground. Since one of us wanted to be turned into a corpse anytime soon, we waited until the gunshots stopped before we made our way toward the NCR camp. As soon as he saw us, a man wearing the overly familiar outfit of the NCR came to greet us, in good old American fashion.
"Hold up, you two might not want to be around this place, the whole area is irradiated to kingdom come."
"Hello sir, Major Knight sent us here, but he didn't tell us what happened here. From what I know this was supposed to be an NCR military camp, so what happened?"
"What do you think happened? If you hadn't heard or seen by now, the Legion got past our defenses, and in some unholy way, they found out that there were a lot of sealed radioactive materials held in this very camp. The next thing we knew is that they somehow into the camp, opened the sealed containers for some dumb reason killing everyone, themselves included and that's why there are ghouls here."
"To be honest, I'm new to the Mojave, but these damned savages do love destroying lives and homes, don't they? First Nipton and now this camp…"
"I don't know if the major told you my name, but I'm Astor. I take it he sent you two here to help right?"
"Well, I've been helping out where I could over the last month or so, and since Knight is a friend of mine, he asked for help with this situation."
"Thank god for that. We are already stretched out thin thanks to those bloody savages, but I still have to warn you guys, you will need a lot of Rad X and Radaway to clear my now-dead brothers and sisters... If the major hadn't thrown anything for you guys, I'm willing to pay you in bullets and caps, heck I would gladly give you guys our supply of Rad X and Radaway, as well as some stimpacks."
"Thank you for the offer, sir, but you guys are needing those things more than we do."
"No, no, no, can't do that. Even though you are here because the major asked for your help, I can't just pretend that you aren't risking your life. I will pay you what I promised. Now follow me, we have some radiations suits deeper into our temporary base."
"Just one suit is enough. I don't need one."
The sergeant glanced at Goris for a second before nodding at him, not wanting to argue or even pry why Goris wouldn't want a suit. A few minutes later, I managed to put the suit on me though, with the help of three troopers. I swear, one day I would make a suit better than this, one that could be put on quicker and without the need for a few pairs of hands. With the suit on me, Goris and I left the temporary camp, slowly making our way toward the radiated paradise that was filled with ghouls.
Thankfully, most of the ex-soldiers, now ghouls near the original camp were already dead, but there was no doubt that more than a few were still inside the building where the radioactive material had been stored as well as in the rest of the buildings that are still standing. While it was true that one could easily take care of a ghoul, once there are more than three of them then it starts being a problem, as they would do anything to eat you. However that wasn't the worst part, to even close, since a lot of ghouls had managed to make their way out of the camp and into the wasteland, forcing us to follow the road, trying to find them.
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