Seven Years Earlier

Western New Mexico

The small town of Serpiente, named so because the Mamba tribe called it home, welcome the disguised Caesar, his Legate Joshua Graham, and Vulpes Inculta with open arms. They had made their home in the ruins of a once expansive little town, using the main street buildings as places for learning of all types. They taught their women a traditional dance, what Caesar knew to be called belly dancing, and their men were taught several forms of hand to hand combat. They would be difficult to conquer, but it would be worth it.

The truth was that Caesar feared these people. They had knowledge of the world he had based his Legion upon. To conquer them now would save them a lot of trouble in the long run. To take them early in their conquest of New Mexico would keep them from spreading their knowledge. Convincing their elders to keep the information to themselves would serve their purposes. Their elders might see the need for a group like the Legion, willingly give themselves over, but he doubted it. The old had their pride just like the young, and only the already broken would easily submit.

Vulpes had only recently become a Frumentarii. He had been surprised when the Caesar and his Legate volunteered to enter the town with him. It had been unheard of for either of these great men to enter the fray so early. To go on a scouting missions such as this was unheard of, but they constantly warned him of the importance of this town. Perhpas that was why they came, why the Legate kept a notebook so close to his chest. The Legate's fascination with the populous became evident from the moment they first set eyes on the people. The men wore loose fitting pants and were muscular from years of training. The women wore a scant top and long skirts, adorned heavily with materials they had gathered and fashioned into jewelry. The Mamba Tribe was known all throughout New Mexico for its otherworldly habits and warriors, a perfect conquest for the Legion.

"We'll visit the library first," Graham spoke as they passed down the main street, watched on all sides by the people of Serpiente," I've heard their elders stay there. We may be able to integrate them peacefully."

"I do not believe it will be so, Legate. The men are fierce warriors and the women are unbridled and reckless. They will not be broken easily," Vulpes whispered.

"If it will be bloodless, then all the better. These people have much to teach us. You will learn that soon enough."

The library was large and expansive, standing at an impressive four stories. The building had remained intact following the Apocalypse, many of its resources surviving the radiation. Outlandish music played over the speaker system, raining out into the main expanse of the town. Even in their library, their place of learning and wisdom, these unbridled women danced.

"Joshua! What a surprise to see you!" A high pitched, excited woman's cry came forth from behind one of the doors.

The Legate turned quickly, and was greeted by a small, graying redhead that burst forth from a pair of double doors and hugged him outright. Vulpes raised an eyebrow. The woman might have been in her forties, dressed in a doctor's uniform. High spirited for the kind of job she had. Blood, both fresh and dry, decorated the white coat over her blue scrubs.

"Gaea. I was hoping to find you here. We need to talk."

Caesar took this moment to look Vulpes directly in the eye, and he whispered to him words that the Frumentarii would never forget," You are not to follow us. Should you do so, your punishment will be harsh. If you harm any of these people, you will pay with your life."

Two weeks later, Caesar's Legion marched into the town, capturing the men that fought, murdering the ones who tried to run, and enslaving the unbridled women that struggled and fought all the way back to the camp. Their books were burned. Their holotapes containing the music of their culture destroyed. Manuals for their hand-to-hand combat were all that survived the cleansing. Of the women, only Gaea went peacefully, and upon her arrival to the camp, was immediately given to the Legate.

The others were fiercely broken, given upon their arrival to the most barbaric and distasteful of the Legionaries so that they might be taught a lesson. Each woman was stripped bare and thrown into the center of a hundred gathered men. They were told to chose the one they wanted, to fight for her, beat her to an inch of her worthless life if they had to, but never to kill her. They had to learn their place, and every one of them did.

Of the men that suited the life of a Legionary, the one they called Octavian showed the most promise. He rose through the ranks of the standard outfit quickly, picking up on the morality code that the Legion held. He knew his place, but he advanced it with every passing assignment. Marcus was a true warrior, and he fought for a cause that many said was not the Legion, but freedom. He wanted Freedom.

Vulpes did not see him again until the battle of Hoover Dam, and Octavian was one of the few Legionaries to return alive. On the day Joshua Graham earned the title of the Burned Man, Gaea was given to him. It was not until later that Vulpes discovered Gaea was the mother of this impeccable warrior, and by being owned by him, once more found protection.

Vulpes even took one of these Mamba women for himself, and he thought her a prize. She was the most beauteous of them, all sinewy muscles and long, lusterous hair. She would have born him a son, had her body not given out on her eight months into her pregnancy, claiming not only her life but the life of the child as well. Her beauty had taken from her strength, and she did not have enough of it to carry a child. After this woman, Vulpes had never taken a slave.

Rumors circled that he had loved this woman, that the loss of her and the child had shook him so terribly that he would never lay with a woman again, but it was not so. Vulpes knew the rumors. The woman may have been a prize to put on display, but her personal worth was limited. The child had been of promise to him, but he had lost that. He let them go willingly, when their bodies were carried away, but he carried the memory of the lifeless child close. He did not want to relive such a thing.

At the same time, Juno had given birth to her daughter, whose full name was Ariadne. After a long and hard labor, she had been gifted with a baby girl almost her copy. The child's father had long ago returned to the Ultra-luxe, beyond reach of the woman he had left behind in Freeside. Juno's father was somewhere in the Mojave, and she never found him. From the day Ariadne was born, Juno had promised to carve a future for her with her bare hands, and she worked and worked to feed and clothe her child. She began to hate the people on the Strip, spurned by a man who once claimed to love her, and all of her work became for the good of Freeside and the daughter she would raise there. Life treated her terribly for a long time, and she fought for everything.

Seven short years after the birth of her child, Juno had risen to some kind of glory.


Deep in the iradiated bunker, Juno had made her choice.

She had not upgraded the securitrons. She had destroyed Mr. House's bunker, and she knew why. Talking to him down there, after an already infuriating first meeting with Caesar, had left her frustrated and angry. Mr. House talked like he owned her, and she would be damned if he did. So she blew up his securitron army, and it felt great. Evidently, it had probably been a good idea that she had decided to take her daughter to the King, and not leave her daughter at the Lucky 38.

When she returned to speak to Caesar, she found herself in a more agreeable mood, and it seemed to her that he did as well. He greeted her with a smile of approval, and she returned it with a brief flash of her own smile. He seemed pleased by this, taking her smile as a sign of growing comfort among the Legion. The truth was that Juno had thought on the Legion while she was in the bunker.

Granted, the radiation might have influenced her train of thought, but she saw that Caesar's Legion, while it had a lot of bad sides, could do a lot that the NCR could not. She saw their 'justice' system as far more effective than that of the NCR. Truly, would it not stop prostitution to just turn them all into slaves? Would it not stop gang wars if you made all the gangs Legionaries, or killed the ones who tried to stay in their gangs? She liked the idea, even if it meant taking away some personal freedoms.

"I felt the quake. I assume you have destroyed the bunker?" He inquired, leaning forward in his seat.

Juno only smiled wide with pride and victory.

"As you ordered. I could see why it would be a threat to you, to have all of that down there."

"I'm glad you see why I asked you to perform this deed. I hope you prove to be a helpful ally," Caesar said.

Juno looked at him, churning a thought in her head before she spoke," As long as you do the same for me, I'm sure that can be arranged."

Vulpes entered Caesar's tent behind her, and she glanced over her shoulder at him for the briefest of moments. Their eyes met, and she turned her gaze away from him as Caesar spoke again. He had heard her, thought her statement curious. Caesar did too, and he rested his chin upon his palm, staring at the Courier intently.

"What are you asking of me, Courier?"

"My name is Juno, and I'm not asking anything of you yet. I'm still trying to figure out what I mean to do myself."

"Then let me help you out, my next task is for you to kill Mr. House."

Juno raised a brow, not out of surprise that he wanted Mr. House dead, but that Caesar would ask her. Surely he had more qualified servants, like Vulpes or the other Frumentarii. She tilted her head to the side as she looked at him, aware of Vulpes circling around her to stand near his leader. He continued to look at her, and just like the man he stood next to, tried to size her up. However, she felt more than curiosity about her actions in his gaze.

"I'm surprised you would ask that of me, Caesar. I wonder, do you already trust me enough with this task, or are you worried about wasting Legion lives on something that might not even be possible?"

"Consider it the later, Juno. However, I will be sending someone with you to make sure you actually perform the necessary actions," Caesar leaned back in his seat. He was testing her reaction.

She tried her best not to betray any kind of emotions toward his statement. She needed to keep herself looking strong in this society of men.

"And who might that be?" She asked, but she already knew the answer. Who else did Caesar send when it involved her?

"Vulpes Inculta will be going with you to the Lucky 38 to help you kill Mr. House."


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