@skips-multi-muse
continued from here.
When the Courier decided it was time and necessary to head out without him in tow Arcade definitely did not, could not, always remain around the Lucky 38. Sure - sometimes the kind researcher could be found there, but it was never for exceptionally long... after all, he knew they knew where to find him whenever they decided to roll back into New Vegas and might need him.
After all... it wasn’t like he tended to get out much into the Mojave these days otherwise.
While things with Six was interesting enough, a definite much needed change of pace for the, hopefully, betterment of the Mojave... he was still needed at the Old Mormon Fort too. The Followers were far too low in numbers to even lose the hands of someone like himself, and with the ever mounting tensions within Freeside between the free citizens and the NCR soldiers about it was a matter of time before everything reached a bloody head.
Of course when it finally did reach that point it was almost ironic that those involved were not the aforementioned parties. He was surprised that The Great Khans would dare to try such a bold tactic, given distance and location from where they typically were, but assumptions only made an ass out of everyone anyway. Julie hadn’t wanted any of them harmed if they would leave peacefully enough, but it didn’t look as if that was going to be the case.
Unfortunately Arcade found himself amongst what very well might prove to be the first fighters against the onslaught. He was handy enough with that plasma defender after all, and he alongside a few of the others and the mercenaries that worked here as guards had to hold off the pending assault long enough Julie and the rest could get those they were helping - the sick, the wounded, the non-combatants - into the more secured towers.
It looked bad - and even when the unknown fighter joined the fray, causing chaos and disruption within the ranks of the gathered foe as well as taking out several key targets, and there was enough time given that a collective force of the Kings and several of the NCR soldiers in patrol in the area could come in and handle the rest - thankfully with as minimal loss as possible, barring those already handled, thanks to Julie’s intervention.
There wasn’t enough manpower for even this - let alone enough supplies - but those who were injured had been brought in regardless of who they had fought for. Arcade had noted one was Boone, of all people, and he had taken upon himself to settle his doctor’s bag beside him in order to check out the man’s wound - touch gentle and careful and worry on his face despite the sharp, wry barb of his own words.
He had turned to gather a few things he needed out of that bag to remove the bullet - thankfully it wasn’t too serious, should just be a matter of fishing the damn thing out and stitching him up - when he caught just what Boone was looking at. He chewed for a second on his lower lip, a hum a little under his breath. “Thank you. If you hadn’t stepped in..” The rest of that was better left unsaid, wasn’t it?
And then, “You’re still an idiot.” He wasn’t going to let him off completely! Either way he moved to try to get a better hold on Boone’s shoulder, shifting his instruments closer to him to indicate he was ready to get to work if he was ready enough for it as well. “I thought you were out with Six anyway. When did you get back?”
