“Your clan leaders must be blind! I can’t believe you would associate with these city-dwellers for the sake of cheap comforts!”
All parties in the room were rendered motionless by the shock. No one expected the Bates Clan’s sudden outburst.
Before anyone could compose a response, a thunderous noise resonated throughout the settlement.
The four Bates Clan’s envoys suddenly drew weapons from underneath their cloaks, a shotgun of some sort that would be devastating at this range. However, faster than they could bring their weapons to bear, bullets abruptly struck them, knocking three of them flat onto the ground.
The last one scanned his surroundings, confused. The look on his face remained, even when his head was suddenly disconnected from the rest of his body. Immediately after the violence, the area beside the bodies flickered, and a large figure came into existence.
He really has bulked up with all the chrome he has now.
Thorne flicked the blood off his wrist blade and walked back to stand behind me.
As if being thawed, commotion erupted throughout the tent, all at once.
“How could this happen?”
“The Bates Clan struck during a sacred meeting?! Did they fake their neutrality?”
The commotion was only halted as the sound of gunfire filled the area. It came from outside, where the loud noise from earlier originated.
Sharing a glance with Thorne and Vin, we prepared our weapons and went out to assess the situation.
The tent we were in was secluded from the rest of the settlement to give us some privacy. It had a good view of the clearing between the entrances to this valley and the settlement, which was where the action was taking place.
I could spot my vehicles in the distance, joining the fight against the attackers, who were two dozen dune buggies strong.
The Bush Clan defenses were caught off guard and were on the back foot as they struggled to rally together.
I immediately brought out the SMG attached to the back of my suit and took cover behind some nearby vehicles.
Kiri, designate the targets for my weapon.
‘Affirmative, smart ammunition ready to fire.’
Lazily aiming in the direction of our attackers, I pulled the trigger.
A stream of bullets shot out from the barrel of my compact submachine gun and curved toward their target. A portion of them missed, but enough had hit its target that I got several experience prompts.
+10 EXP
+10 EXP
+10 EXP
My bullets didn’t do much damage to their vehicles, but it was a different story for Vin and Thorne, who fired their rifle one after the other in short bursts. While their weapons did significantly more damage to the vehicles they struck, mine definitely had higher accuracy.
I turned back to the sound of the envoys rushing out behind us, each carrying weapons of their own. With the respite we gave the defenders, they had the time to rally together and start a counter-offense. Groups laid down fire in unison and soon, more and more dune buggies fell prey to our gunfire.
The enemy commander sensed the tide turning as well, as a horn sounded, which signaled the start of their retreat.
With them gone, the Bush Clan quickly busied themselves with dealing with the aftermath of the attack while I gathered with my security to assess our damage as well.
One of our Vanguard was completely totaled. It was taken out at the start of the ambush, as it was a priority target, and the team inside was lost as well. The other guards were only slightly injured, as they weren’t caught up in the explosion.
I don’t think I can ever get used to losing people in my employ. Especially when I had to inform their families and pay the compensation…
We watched Jamie and a few other leaders of their clan barking out orders. When they finished, Jamie spotted us and approached.
“Come with me. Our leader will be having a meeting with all the envoys soon and you’re invited,” I nodded back in response.
He wordlessly turned around and led the way as Vin, Thorne, and I followed. We were led to their leader, Kelsey’s tent, where I found all the other envoys already there. They gestured for us to take a seat off to the side before they began.
The old leader cleared her throat, drawing attention to her as she stood up.
“Everyone, I will jump straight to the point. The Bates Clan has betrayed our trust and attacked us during what should have been a sacred meeting of discussion. We may have had occasional skirmishes before for resources, but the attack on our settlement this time has broken tradition. They have gone too far.”
She took a pause to drink from her teacup before she continued, “Our Bush Clan will be gathering our allies and declaring war on them. Will any of you be willing to join us?”
Everyone in the room alternated glances at each other and the murmuring grew louder until a woman stepped forth.
“We have consulted with our leader before this meeting. The Bates Clan’s betrayal and dishonorable actions are unquestionable. We will be glad to join you to punish their misdeeds.”
The other clan’s representatives soon stood forth, one by one, and gave similar answers.
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“Thank you all for joining us. We shall discuss further details at a later date. We will soon see who will stand on the Bates Clan’s side. For now, we shall all prepare for the battle ahead of us,” The old clan leader declared.
The meeting was soon adjourned, but I was asked to stay back. The envoys gave me an appreciative nod as they exited.
If anything, at least I earned their favor with this incident.
Kelsey, the leader of the Bush Clan, spoke out once again once she ensured the room was cleared.
“With this incident, your matter of obtaining safe passages for the route to Salt Lake City will be delayed until we win the war.”
“Yes, it is understandable. How confident are you guys in your victory?”
“We are certain of it. With the neutral clans on our side, we should have the numbers, so it is a matter of how many casualties are taken in the process. We will soon have a war council with the other clans to discuss the battle and, more importantly, how to split the spoils and territories.”
“I see…and how does this involve me?”
“Unfortunately for you, your previous arrangement with those clans will probably be rescinded soon. They will insist you take part in the fight to lessen their casualties. I wanted to give you a warning ahead of time.”
Shit…So my entire sales pitch was wasted and now I have to participate in a war between wastelanders. How did this spiral into such a mess?
“I understand. Thank you for your warning.”
“You should go prepare for the battle as well if you want to receive the safe passage to Salt Lake City. Otherwise, it is an option to stay out of this fight and negotiate after the war as well, but the clans likely won’t be as receptive to you. We will contact you once the war council is arranged.”
“Again, thank you. See you soon.”
We took our leave and returned to where our vehicles were parked. On the way out, it was easy to tell the mood around the settlement had drastically changed since the attack.
“We should leave straight away. Better not to bother them and overstay our welcome when they are on edge,” Vin whispered.
“Sounds good to me. We have to prepare for this war anyway…”
----------------------------------------
“What have you gotten into again, Rollo?! And you, Thorne? I thought you were supposed to be keeping an eye on him!” Claire’s voice pierced through the call.
“...Claire, it wasn’t something we caused. It’s just how things turned out,” Thorne explained.
“Enough, it shouldn’t be too bad this time. While wastelanders usually have the advantage with their hit-and-run tactics that make use of their mobility in the wasteland, we have them on our side in this fight as well. They should be able to coordinate us to best make use of our equipment advantage, right?” I glanced over at Vin.
“Yes, in theory, but they could also have us act as a decoy since our vehicles are much more durable.”
“I’ll just have to negotiate with them when this war council of theirs happens. In the meantime, we’ll have to prepare for the fight.”
“We should do a crash course to refresh our men on how to fight against other humans in the wasteland’s environment. They don’t have much experience since we normally breeze through the wasteland and only have to fight mutants. Fighting people is very different from beasts,” Thorne added while eyeing Vin.
“Right, you two do that. We’ll take care of this Claire, don’t worry too much.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah. You guys are always getting into trouble. I think I’m used to it at this point. Contact me if you need me. In the meantime, I’ll be busying myself with your paperwork.”
The call cut out and the three of us swiftly dispersed as we were each busy with our own matters.
As for me, I needed to go shopping.
My equipment so far was all catered toward my covert activities. My weapons were all only suited for close quarters, as I only had pistols and SMGs. It was time to expand my repertoire to something with a little more range.
I headed to the same place I had bought my SMG, at the Premier Arms section of the weapons department store.
The salesperson there greeted me and soon brought up several options for me to try in their range.
There were various bulky options of various designations to choose from. Despite using different technologies from traditional firearms, they still classified them as sniper rifles, designated marksmen rifles, and so forth.
I crossed out all the sniper rifles from the list as they required proper training that I didn’t have, nor would I spend any upgrade points on it.
I reviewed the memo I made on my SAID when the sales agent introduced each weapon and picked up one I was interested in.
“Sir, that one is the Thunderstrike Railgun. It—”
“Yes, I remember. Let me test it out.”
“Of course, sir.” The salesperson immediately shrunk back.
This particular weapon was classified as a rifle and was something even I could use without specialized training. It was only a size or two up from my SMG. It maximized the advantages of a railgun, allowing for ultra-high velocity projectile speed, which meant I didn’t have to compensate for bullet travel as much.
It also packed a lot more punch, which I sorely needed when fighting against all the dune buggies wastelanders used. None of my other weapons were suited against vehicles, so this would fit in that niche.
The final deciding factor was the scope it came with. The integrated scope performed as well as the scope attachments they sold. With its integrated nature, its durability was much higher, making it more reliable to use in the wasteland’s sandstorms.
Having purchased my new rifle, I spent the remainder of my time training with the security team. I too did not have much experience fighting against other humans in the wastelands, and I needed to learn how to fight together with my employees as well.
During my spare time, I continued to tinker around with the Vanguard in my personal garage. With war approaching, it may also be an opportunity for me to gain a lot of experience points. I opened my status to double-check how far I was away from the next level up.
Status
Level:
17
EXP:
920/1700
Musculoskeletal:
211
Neural Reflex:
65
Visuomotor Coordination:
87
Endurance:
59
Sensory Perception:
127
Upgrade Points:
2
Upgrades:
* Stealth +7
* Hacking +3
* Cybernetic Engineering +10
* Stealth Technology +10
* Software Engineering +6
Enhancements:
SAID: Zenitech Sebastien v2
Bio-Coprocessor: SocialCorp Lightning II
Optics: Mirage Tech Clear-Sights mk.12
Cyberarm (Left): Nova Tech Heracle Mk. 3
Cyberarm (Right): Nova Tech Heracle Mk. 3
Auditory: SocialCorp Echo IV
Cardiovascular: BioGen Lifepump 5
Miscellaneous: HSU Custom Shade
I needed all I could get before I had enough to update the new tech I wanted. After all, just two or three points wouldn’t be enough to satisfy my needs anymore.
Exactly seven days after the Bates Clan’s attack on us, we received a summon to join the war council that would take place in three days’ time.