Snippet #2555319

"Aegis? Ah, I suppose you must be a wanderer, then."

Cross let his mouth do the talking, immediately flicking through his options in the time it took to say that sentence. He recognized those orange lenses, those which once upon a time his father wore and which he died in. Enclave, no doubt about it. And given his prior experience with them, he had absolutely no delusions about their benign intentions. If they knew of Aegis' existence at all, they knew where to find it. It was but a matter of time. Best to give them whatever information they needed, at least for now.

"You're already walking in the right direction. It's about... three dozen klicks from here, give or take." Cross let his eyes glance up and down the other's form, as any normal wastelander would do. It was rare that anyone would even know of the Enclave's continued existence, and they most certainly wouldn't connect it to that particular model of power armor. Had to keep up the appearance of an ignorant, unassuming waster, after all, especially if they questioned him about the coat.

"Going to be a long slog, no matter how you look at it." he half turned to wave a hand vaguely in the aforementioned direction, trusting in his senses to warn him of any sudden movements.

Silently, Cross took a mental inventory. A bolt action rifle, slung in clear view across his back. Same went for the dual submachine guns on his hips, in plain view. Three grenades, tucked in the pockets of his coat, one hunting knife, tucked away in his boot. Nowhere near enough to take out a squad of Enclave soldiers - there was no way this guy was alone. Three others, at the very least. But he did have those custom smoke grenades Emma had cooked up; in the worst case scenario, he could simply pop one and run.

Talk first. he reminded himself. Talk first, and only make a run for it if absolutely necessary.

Wearing a small, friendly smile on his face that nobody alive outside of Arroyo could tell was completely false, he turned back to the other man.

"Looks like you've come a long way from home. East Coast? Vegas?"