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Hoover Dam, 2281
General Oliver slowly crawled across the floor, his usually tidy and pristine uniform was now smeared in dirt and blood. His ears were ringing from gunfire at close range in the tight corridors of Hoover Dam. The familiar humming of the Dam's generators were now drowned out by the screams of dying men and women. Oliver crawled through the first open door he saw and propped himself up just out of sight from the corridor.
He let his hand wander down to his bleeding legs. The Courier had broken through the door to the Comms room, where Lee had been trying to co-ordinate the simultaneous defence of Hoover Dam and Camp Golf from the Legion. Even the fucking Chem Fiends were helping the Legion by throwing themselves mindlessly at Camp Mccarran. The Courier had cut down Oliver's bodyguards with almost contemptuous ease as the General tried to send off one final message to Hsu, ordering the abandonment of the Mojave. Only the timely arrival of three Rangers had stopped the Courier from gutting Oliver, though the bastard had cut the General's hamstrings with his gladius before turning to take on his new opponents. One of them had even had a clear shot at the back of the Courier's head when he had walked into the room, but that fucking robotic dog that followed in his every step had leapt and bit into the Ranger's hand and pulled him to the floor before savaging him.
However hard it was for Oliver, he began to fully recognise how well he had been played. Over the past two months the Courier had been an invaluable help to Oliver; He had discovered who the mole at Camp Mccarran was, Private Crenshaw, according to Hsu he had been a prankster, who everyone thought to be harmless but the evidence had been clear andshe had disappeared at the same time as the monorail bombing and the Centurion's escape. The thumping of metal boots on the Dam's corridors dragged Oliver from his memories.
"General!" A strong voice called. "Where are you Oliver?" Lee kept silent, hugging closer to the wall. "I'd rather have a chance to talk to you before you pass out from blood loss." The General stayed silent. "Lee, I can see your feet." The voice said again, a lot closer now.
"Go fuck yourself." Oliver shouted, unholstering his pistol and training it on the doorway. The voice was silent for nearly a minute but Oliver still aimed his pistol at the door, though his arm was wavering now. Then someone leapt through the doorway. Reacting instantly Oliver fired until the magazine was empty. Only then did he realise that it was the body of an NCR Ranger, who thankfully appeared to have died before his abrupt entry into the room.
"Well aren't you jumpy?" The Voice mocked from the door. Oliver swung the ground back round to face it. The Courier stood there, leaning on the wall, with a blood covered Legion gladius in his hand. He wore a mish-mash of various armours; the arm and shoulder pieces of the armour seemed to have been made from T-51b power armour; the body armour was a typical metal armour favoured by many mercenaries who wished to look intimidating; the shin guards and boots looked like they came from a suit of combat armour; like all Legion he wore a leather kilt. The entire outfit was painted black with the only colour being the crimson cloak the draped from his wide shoulders. He appeared to be bleeding from a cut to the cheek with seemed recent, blood also dripped from at least four bullet holes in his body armour. The Courier seemed completely unconcerned with the wounds. It's like Joshua Graham all over again Oliver thought despairingly.
"You traitorous wasteland fuck!" Oliver spat at the Courier as he walked over and squatted in front of the General, his wide shoulders blocking Oliver's view of anything else.
"It's not a betrayal if I was never on your side." The Courier said, cleaning the gladius on his cloak.
"The only reward Caesar will give you is a knife in the guts when this is all over." Oliver growled through his agony. "You'll always be an outsider. And outsiders don't last long around the Legion." The Courier let out a slight chuckle.
"Well that's where you're wrong General." He said, sheathing his gladius. "As of this morning I am officially Centurion Cato of Caesar's Legion." The Courier informed the General. Oliver simmered silently, the bastard was already speaking like a proper Legionary. "Though to be honest where my century is I have no idea." 'Cato' admitted. Oliver just stared at him intensely for near a minute until his vision started to go blurry.
"Why?" He finally managed to croak out. Oliver wanted to know. He had trusted the Courier, even liked him. He needed to know.
"Rome." Cato answered simply "Do you know the first thing that happened after I woke up in Goodsprings?" He asked, Oliver continued to stare in silence. "It was attacked by Powder Gangers. I helped them defend the town, a man should always pays his debts" He added, scratching his chin.
"Soon after I reached Primm, the entire place overrun by deserters and raiders. Those two towns showed me that the NCR aren't fit for control of the Mojave wasteland." Cato spat on the ground beside Oliver. "You don't even deserve a death by blade." he said contemptuously. "If I had time I'd throw you off this Dam but I suppose a bullet will have to do." The man who had been the Courier reached to his side and drew his pistol, a 45. Auto.
"It's called 'A Light Shining in Darkness'." He told Oliver. "It's last owner was a strong, brave man who gave me the hardest fight I've ever had." Cato said, chuckling at the memory. "It feels like a shame to even use the weapon of such a great man on you. But needs must." He said softly as he pressed the barrel of the 45. against Oliver's skull and pulled the trigger.
"The Dam is ours, my lord." Vulpes Inculta said softly, dropping his binoculars and letting them hang by the rope around his neck. Caesar gave a single decisive nod and leaned back on his throne, taking a sip of honeyed water. The two men watched the battle from a vantage point on Fortification Hill, Vulpes and Lucius stood on either side of the Throne with the rest of the Praetorian Guard waiting vigilantly behind it. Throughout the day Vulpes had been watching the battle for the Dam through his binoculars and receiving regular runners from Lanius and the various raiding parties along the Colorado River. Camp Golf had fallen and Chief Hanlon taken prisoner, the Ranger stations in the Mojave save Foxtrot in the west too had fallen.
"How did our new Centurion perform?" Caesar asked, finishing his drink and beckoning it to be refilled.
"Excellently." Vulpes replied. "Lanius reports that he broke the NCR line almost single handedly after the recruits were thrown back." The Frumentarii raised his binoculars to his eyes. "And his tribals with the artillery worked wonders."
"I must admit the bomber was an impressive sight." Caesar conceded as Lucius picked up the amphora from a nearby and refilled the cup. "Who led the attack on Golf?" Caesar inquired after a sip of his honeyed water.
"I believe it would be Decanus Severus, my lord. Centurion Aurelius' second, our runners report it was he who beat Chief Hanlon into submission" Vulpes replied almost instantly. The fact that he knew the name of every Centurion and their second-in-command in the entire Legion was a source of pride for the Frumentarii's leader.
"Order the Decanus to bring Hanlon and any other prisoners to me." Caesar ordered. "Aurelius is to take the rest of his century to Nipton." He listed off his commands "He is to let any large groups of NCR soldiers pass. Tell him he is to stop any refugees and hold them at Nipton. Any Caravans are to be captured and their leaders brought to me." Caesar stopped to take a large gulp from his cup, finishing it. Lucius went for the amphora again but Caesar waved him away. "Send another two centuries to assist him. Tell him I want the Van Graff's alive no matter what." Vulpes bowed and went to find a runner. "Send a runner to Lanius, he is to send his freshest Century to secure the Gun Runner's factory." Caesar ordered Lucius, who now stood beside the Throne.
"Shall we not order men into the city?" The Praetorian asked.
"No." Caesar replied simply as he climbed to his feet. "Let the Omerta's prove their worth." The Son of Mars walked to the edge of the cliff that overlooked the Dam and held his hands to the sky.
"Rome is mine!" He shouted exultantly to the river. With the tumour gone and Arcade Gannon treating him, Caesar could think clearly now, his mind as sharp and clear as ever. He felt physically stronger than he had for the last ten years. The Legion too, like him would get stronger until the whole wasteland was tamed.
"Rome!" The Praetorians echoed, thumping their fists against their chests.
"And Carthage will burn." Caesar muttered to himself.
Cato ran at a steady pace along to road to New Vegas, the Legionnaires keeping up with him with the ease that comes with hundreds of hours of training. Many of the fleeing NCR soldiers they passed had long since abandoned their weapons, upon seeing the jogging Legionaries they would run and hid behind anything beside the road. Occasionally a legionnaire would stop and take a shot at one of the runners before catching back up with the column.
They came across a Ranger and eight troopers lying in wait for them as they drew close to the Sharecropper farms. They gunned down three Legionaries before the century turned their own weapons on the attackers. The Ranger died with two shots from Cato's 45. in her chest and a final one to the head. Leaving the wounded Legionaries to follow at a slower pace the rest of the century set off again. It was just under half an hour when the century finally reached the Gun Runner's compound, during that time they passed many fleeing people, who fled at the sight of the Crimson banner. Cato ordered his men to ignore the fleeing refugees and soldiers unless they opened fire on them.
The gates to the compound were open with two guards in combat armour blocking the way in. One fled back into the factory, presumably to warn his fellows. The second guard stood his ground and raised his rifle, receiving a javelin in the throat for his trouble before he could even squeeze off a shot. Cato stopped for a moment to direct several of the Legionaries to block off side doors, in that slight pause he was overtaken by an eager recruit, who having missed out on the chance to gain glory on the Dam was determined to find it here. The first bullet hit him in the chest the moment he stepped into the doorway. The Legionary launched his javelin, his body rocking in the motion that had been drilled into his mind since he was a child. Bullets tore into his body as he threw but his aim remained true, hitting one of the guards in the gut, causing the man to fall to the ground, crying in pain. With the first intruder down the remaining guards attempted to turn their guns on the rest but it was too late.
With the time it took the recruit to die his comrades were already among the defenders, hacking, stabbing and slashing. The guards died with cries on their lips while the Gun smiths were knocked unconscious as they tried to sabotage the machines and destroy the schematics. Cato pulled his gladius from the neck of one of the guards and wiped the blade on the man's trousers. The Centurion allowed himself a small smile as he sheathed his blade. The attack had gone the same way many Legion raids on Caravans and towns did. The guards despite being trained well did what most did when confronted by a large number of screaming, faceless soldiers who refused to go down after the first shot, they panicked and all aimed for the closest man rather than his equally dangerous fellows who were just a willing to hack open your throat as the first.
"Piso!" Cato called to the most experienced Decanus in the century. The short, squat veteran stepped up and saluted.
"Sir!" The faceless Decanus barked. In the back of the factory the Legionnaires were piling the guards' bodies and carrying the gunsmiths into the one of the empty supply rooms.
"Take the guard's rifles and guard the gate." Cato said as he leaned down and picked up one of the rifles. He threw it at the Decanus, who caught it deftly.
"Yes Centurion." Piso said in his gravely voice before calling his men to him and marching from the factory.
"And if you see anyone in Van Graff armour feel free to crucify them." Cato called happily as he pulled his canteen from his belt.
"Yes Centurion." Piso answered dutifully, shouldering his new rifle and taking a pot-shot at an NCR soldier in the distance.
Colonel James Hsu pulled the trigger on his 9mm pistol and watched in satisfaction as the Fiend fell back screaming. But then the scream turned into a roar and he was back up in an instant and throwing himself the Colonel. Before the man could reach him the Colonel fire again, in the end it took the rest of the magazine to bring the Chem Fiend down.
"Clear the gate!" He roared in his best parade ground voice, struggling to be hear over the near constant gunfire, screams and explosions. A soldier rushed forward, screaming his war-cry before a laser streaked out from the smoke and hit his shoulder. The soldier went spinning to the ground, his war-cry now absent. Before the man could recover one of the Fiends' dogs loped through the smoke and tore out his throat. Not having time to reload his own pistol Hsu grabbed a dead soldier's service rifle and squeezed off three rounds at the dog. With a yelp it fell of the soldier's carcass and fled. Bullets and lasers continued to strike down any unfortunate soldiers but no more Fiends attempted a charge, for the moment.
The battle for Camp Mccarran had become a stalemate, Major Dharti's First Recon Sharpshooters had kept the Fiend's from forcing their way past the ruined gates but equally the NCR troops were unable to get their trucks through the gates. They could try and charge through on foot but the losses would probably leave the survivors easy prey for the Powder Gangers in the south. And even if they made it past the ex-convicts the Legion would catch up with them before they had a chance of reaching to Mojave Outpost.
"Grenades!" A voice called as several dark shapes flew out of the smoke. One landed two feet to Hsu's left but before he could react a trooper grabbed the body of a dead Fiend and threw it across the grenade. Though the raider's body blocked most of the explosion the force behind it still threw the Colonel off his feet. Another group of Fiends charged towards the NCR position.
First Recon snipers on the roof of the airport took out the first six Fiends, each sniper hitting his target in the throat. The troopers still on their feet opened fire with their service rifles, bringing down some of them but there were too many to be stopped by their ragged volleys. A Fiend leapt over the sandbags protecting Hsu, slashing the throat of a trooper standing in the way. Hsu grabbed a nearby pistol and squeezed the trigger. The bullet took the Fiend in the forehead, dropping him like a stone. But before James could react the next Fiend was over the barricade and kicked the gun from the Colonel's hand.
The Raider had her machete held high, ready to strike when her her head exploded into a red spray of blood and bone. The body flew backwards, hitting the sandbags as Captain Ronald Curtis stepped over James Hsu's still shocked body, his riot shotgun spewing flame and shot. Coming back to his senses climbed to his knees and grabbed the pistol. Curtis continued to gun down any Fiends that happened to be unlucky enough to walk into his vision as Hsu reloaded the 9mm with one of the magazines strapped to his belt.
"Sir, we need a plan." Curtis shouted as he ducked behind the sandbags to reload. "The Legion will be here soon." He added as finished and waited for the next wave of Fiends. The Colonel tucked the loaded pistol into the holster at his side and picked up a Service rifle, making sure it was loaded.
"Clear them away from the gates." He ordered Curtis. "If we can do that then we have a chance of driving away faster than they can kill us. The Captain went and gathered an assault team, ordering Conteras to bring the heaviest weapons they had left. Hsu sighed angrily as he ordered the rest of the men onto the trucks, if he a single squad of Oliver's power armoured troops then he could deal with these Fiends in a quick and orderly fashion but they were all deployed at the Dam and if the panicked message from Oliver was to believed, they had joined most of the other soldiers in death as well.
"Ready men, we go in fast." Curtis told his troop of twenty four soldiers, the biggest or most experienced men he could find. They were armed with unconventional weapons usually reserved for Rangers. Several carried Riot shotguns like their Captain, a few more carried miniguns and light machine guns and one even had a flame thrower. The troopers prepared themselves, each man clicking the safeties off and making sure the sights lined up. Curtis pulled one of the few remaining grenades off his belt and in one movement pulled the pin and then threw it. A few seconds later there was an explosion in the smoke.
"Go!" The Captain roared and lead the way. Hsu watched as the assault team disappeared into the smoke around the gate. Seconds later there was the explosions of gunfire, the cries of the wounded and the dying. After a minute or so had passed a red flare streaked out of the smoke and into the sky, Hsu and Curtis' prearranged signal.
"Drive!" Hsu shouted at the lead truck as he ran over and jumped the passenger seat. The driver sparked the truck into action and pushed his feet onto the accelerator. The truck built up speed and into the smoke. As they drove through Hsu noticed dozens, maybe hundreds of small cannisters clustered around the base of the gate. The bodies were everywhere, dozens upon dozens of Fiends and several of Curtis' men. When they turned onto the road and out of the smoke they found Curtis and three of his men waiting by the side of the road. The truck slowed down for the men to climb into the back.
"Best move quickly sir!" Curtis shouted, moving up to the window to the cab. "The Fiend's will be re-grouping now."
"This all that's left?" Hsu asked getting a nod as an answer from the Captain. James twisted to look in the wing mirror. The last of the convoy pulled out of Camp Mccarran, holding the remaining seventy members of the garrison.
"How long until we reach the Mojave Outpost?" Hsu asked the driver.
"A couple hours at least sir." She answered. Hsu flicked the truck's radio into life. After a few moments of static the old ham radio found the signal.
"This is General Lee Oliver." The NCR commander's voice came out of the speakers. "The line was broken, the Dam has fallen. We cannot hold back the Legion." The voice paused, Hsu could hear muffled shouting and gunshots.
"I am ordering the retreat." The voice paused again, as if saying the words pained it. "All NCR personnels are hereby ordered to..." There was a crash and Oliver's voice trailed away, several gunshots rang out, close to the radio this time. "Retreat to the Mojave Outpost with all haste." Oliver's voice came back, frantic and nearly drowned out by a cry of pain in the background. "Colonel James Hsu is now appointed acting commander of Mojave division of the New California Republic..." There was a cry from Oliver and a crash as whatever the radio had been resting on was sent flying against the wall. Only silence followed, at least for half a minute.
"This is General Lee Oliver. The line was broken..."
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