Before Afton and the group left to 'borrow' the Power armour in the Brotherhood of Steel safehouse, they made sure to gear up Tamia and Veronica.

Tamia was strong, but not necessarily all that good with a good. Her shots were accurate when tested, but in combat situations, her accuracy rate dropped significantly. For this there were two options. One was to give her a Submachine gun so it wouldn't matter if she occasionally missed, or two give her a powerful revolver so that even if she missed the head and hit the chest or a limb, it'd be devastating regardless. ​​

Ultimately, Tamia decided to get a .44 Revolver. She was more familiar with that type of weapon, and she trusted the revolvers reliability far more than any SMG. Her upgrades didn't end there however.

Afton decided that the 'Knock Knock axe' he'd acquired for Camp Searchlight wasn't good enough for the task they had before them. So he granted her a single Proton axe from Big Mt, in addition, she also purchased a full set of Reinforced combat armour.

Veronica however wished to keep punching things for some reason. Afton couldn't figure out her weird fetish with 'fisting things', but he agreed to get her something that suits her tastes regardless. Her old powerfist, while still powerful, wasn't enough to fight off an army of Legionaries. So, he bought the most powerful powerfist the Gun Runners had available... It was called the 'Two-Step Goobye' and it was a unique weapon.

[Two-Step Goodbye]

Strength req : 9

DMG : 70

Crit dmg : 10

Crit mult : 4x

AP : 28

Weight : 6

Value : 25000

Special : Bonus Critical Chance, Reduced Critical Damage, Critical Kill = Boom! Critical hit results in the person being hit becoming a timed explosive.

The weapon itself just looked like a wrist-mounted shotgun with a knuckle mechanism allowing it to shoot when you punch someone... Less sophisticated than the typical Brotherhood of Steel Powerfist, but significantly more powerful.

Perhaps with some alterations, he'd be able to make the shotgun firable even when not punching someone... Though, the mechanism would need to be properly tailored to prevent it randomly going off.

Of course, upon being gifted with this new weapon, Veronica broke out into almost manic giggles as she began testing it on nearby rocks, causing the area to be filled with the sound of powerful shotgun blasts and destroyed rocks as she went to town.

The price for the weapon wasn't cheap and Afton would have never considered buying it were they using his own cash... Now that House is footing the bill however he found himself more 'charitable' than ever.

Other than her new Powerfist, Veronica also received a 12.7mm Submachine gun to wield while she was punching people... It was more for suppressing fire than anything but, who cares about the cost right?

The only thing Afton was really worried about was the 9 Strength requirement for Veronica's Powerfist.

[Veronica Santangelo]

Health : 99%

Stamina : 70%

DT : 18

Strength : 8

Perception : 4

Endurance : 8

Charisma : 6

Intelligence : 7

Agility : 5

Luck : 4

Ailments :

[Sprained wrist] : -50% damage when attacking with affected area. Can become more severe with further damage.

[Sore shoulder] : -1 Agility when attempting to use affected area.

Her Strength simply wasn't high enough to properly utilise the weapon and this could already be seen after thirty minutes of use. Of course, this wouldn't be a problem once they acquired Power armour, but it was still something to watch out for.

After the group acquires all their new gear, they all get back in Dirt-Hog and head in the direction of the Brotherhood Safehouse that supposedly exists... Afton wasn't doubting Veronica's knowledge, only whether or not the Brotherhood was strong enough to set up Safehouses so far away from the Bunker.

Regardless, they headed there nonetheless. Afton sat with his feet up on the dashboard as Josie drove, thinking various things, their plans for the Fort, what they'd do afterwards, etc. But, once a thought strikes his mind, he realises that either something was really wrong, or he'd missed something about the system itself...

He'd not received any Companion notification after Veronica and Tamia had accompanied them... Was this due to their loyalties? No, Veronica wouldn't even think of betraying him, even with all that time that'd passed.

Differing goals? No... Their goal, for now, was the same...

What made this situation different from all the other times however?... The fact that he'd not formally invited Tamia and Veronica into the group? Hmm, well, let's test it then.

He opens the hidden panel leading to the back of the truck and crawls through, all the while Josie complaining about him distracting her. Once he's through, he pokes his head out of the hole, causing everyone resting in the back to jump in surprise.

"Yo! Hey, I just wanted to ask... Tamia, Veronica, do you guys want to official join our mercenary group? Or?"

Tamia shrugs, "I mean, aren't we technically already in it?"

Afton nods, "Yeah, but nothing is set yet, you don't have to stay permanently, it's just more for appearances than anything."

The duo shrug again, "Alright, whatever ."

Afton receives a couple new messages in his peripheral which causes him to grin, "Cool." he says before returning to his seat in the front of the truck, looking over his new notifications.

[Companion gained : Tamia of the WoodenGrip Tribe.]

[New Perk acquired! : Protagonist]

[Protagonist] : You are the Protagonist! Random soldiers miss their shots on you despite being perfectly able, groups of enemies give you a chance for some reason, enemies are far easier to persuade!... The world is literally your oyster, designed for your adventures and ready for your triumphs! +50% chance for lucky events to occur.

Wow, yeah that new Perk seems pretty overpowered by name alone...

[Companion gained : Veronica Santangelo]

[New Perk acquired! : A Penchant for Fisting]

[A Penchant for Fisting] : Increases unarmed damage by 69%, increases unarmed attack speed by 50%.

...

Huh, Afton wasn't really sure how to take that last Perk... Perhaps it was time to have a 'private' talk with Veronica... Though, he was scared that he would find out she'd been using her 'fisting technique' on Christine or something...