Juno weighed him down as Vulpes carried her out of Novac. He took the sniper seriously; loaded up everything he could carry (including the Courier), Vulpes walked out of Novac in the dead of night. His leg threatened to collapse, but the pain did little to halter his progress. Little Ariadne had taken from him whatever she could, which was not much, and even with his injured leg trailed behind him. The little girl remained shocked, worried for her mother, and worried for Mr. Fox. He knew it because she kept asking him if he was okay. He had to keep telling her that he was, at least until he felt safe to sit her mother down and take the weight off of his shoulders.

The expanse of desert he had to cross before he felt like he had delivered her from the sights of Boone seemed to go on and on, the pain in his leg distorting the distance. Only the little girl, who never stopped humming in an attempt to calm herself, kept him aware that it really would not be so long until he could deliver the girl and her mother to a much safer place. He vowed to himself that he would not go to sleep, and would continue the journey to Cottonwood Cove as soon as Juno could move. Mars only knew how long that would be.

Juno's weight would have been easily manageable, but what did him in was the combined weight of her and her guns. She carried her body weight in weaponry, and when he finally felt out of the sniper's scope, it took all of his strength not to drop her off of him roughly. She landed on the ground as he gently let go of her, slumping over the mass of weaponry Vulpes had haphazardly strapped to her body. Just like that, the pressure on his leg ebbed away, and the woman he had carried for at least a quarter mile slept soundly. Her child, however, found no comfort in the darkness of the Mojave. She kept on weeping and crying, looking to him for some sort of comfort but he did not know how to provide it. He had no experience with needy children.

He did what he could for her, let her sit nearby and occasionally patted her on the back to tell her it was okay. She did not seem to believe him, feared harsh punishment from her mother. Vulpes doubted that Juno would punish the girl for reacting like she did and killing the man who would have either killed her or stolen her away. Ariadne held onto her little stuffed fox and wept without tears, the fragile and innocent world her mother had carved for her conveniently shattered by the NCR. In the old world, a girl like Ariadne would have been a precious jewel, but in post-apocalyptia, Ariadne had to learn to be like her mother and learn it fast. Otherwise, she would die. Vulpes knew that much. All of the protective mothers in the world could not shelter an innocent thing like her from the world long enough to keep her alive.

When the sun rose, Juno began to stir. Her movement alerted the child first, and Ariadne immediately went to her mother's side, her cries of despair and fear enough to kick her mother's senses into overdrive, and whatever sedative that remained in her veins was flooded out by adrenaline. Juno sat up with a shot, regarding her daughter and her surroundings first just before enveloping the little girl in a hug, her eyes locking on Vulpes as quickly as she had awakened.

"What happened after I passed out? Did they hurt her?.."

She kept one arm firmly locked around her little girl in a comforting hold while the other cradled her forehead. Juno appeared to be nursing a headache, and he was not surprised. He had caught her before she hit her head, but the drug itself may have been causing her to feel ill. Holding her head was the only sign she betrayed of such feelings.

"No. She killed the last one, and the snipers for Novac threatened our lives if we didn't leave, so I carried you out here," Vulpes explained coolly.

"…Great. Has she been crying the whole time? Is your leg okay?" Juno continued to pat her daughter's back.

"She has been, and my leg is fine." The latter part had been a lie. The wound had been throbbing since he sat down to await her awakening from slumber.

She looked at him with suspicious eyes, but she questioned him no longer. Her attentions were immediately on her daughter. He was a grown man. She could let him take care of himself in that moment.

"It's okay, Ari. You didn't do a bad thing. I know mommy's gotten onto you for touching her guns before but I'm not going to punish you for what you did. You reacted the right way, and when we're somewhere safe, mommy will teach you to use a gun correctly, okay? I think it's about time," Juno kissed her daughter's forehead lovingly, alive with concern and fear of her own.

Vulpes could not understand Juno's method of childrearing; however, he saw that it worked well enough on the child. The woman cradled and caressed her little girl even when she stood up and continued on her way toward Cottonwood Cove without a word to Vulpes, a wobbly, drugged up mess. Still, she kept on going, eager to get away from what she had left behind her and to introduce her daughter to a world the two of them might permanently become a part of. Vulpes hoped for that. Juno would be an asset to the Legion in any way Caesar saw fit to use her.


Vulpes went ahead of Juno after they arrived at the Fort, seeking audience with Caesar almost as soon as he arrived. Much had to be reported before Caesar spoke to the Courier again, and Vulpes could almost feel the buzz of anticipation in the air as he entered the tent, staring straight toward Caesar.

"You've been gone for weeks. I almost thought Mr. House had won, but then I heard he had been killed. Tell me, Vulpes, what took you two so long to get back?"

Straight to the point. Perhaps that is why Caesar remained in power even at fifty-five years of age.

"I was wounded, and the Courier insisted we not leave the Strip until it properly healed. Even then, we left before the wound had healed completely. She spent days fussing over my wound, and after we reached Novac, she barely paid mind to it, even when we were attacked by three NCR rangers... She is.. a complex woman, Caesar," Vulpes noted.

"As all powerful women are. The Mojave is the birthplace of the strong, but the Strip is the birthplace of the weak."

"She is not from the Mojave."

"A Wanderer too, then? How did you find out that she is not native?" Caesar leaned forward, his interest peaked by this little fact.

"We spoke about her past frequently. She was born to the Mamba Tribe from New Mexico, the very same you conquered almost eight years ago, Caesar."

"It seems that she has confided in you greatly, Vulpes. Sending you with her was the best decision. She is an important asset to our campaign. Watch her, make sure she doesn't change sides, but from now on, do not let her know you are following her. She needs to think she has some kind of freedom," Caesar began, "with the knowledge that she is from that tribe, it is probably best we introduce her to them differently…"

The older man continued to lean forward, his eyes fixated on the floor now as he was deep in thought. Vulpes knew this look. Caesar often looked like that when he was on the verge of some kind of tactical epiphany. What he could be conjuring up, Vulpes might not know for a while. Often times, Caesar would never share his thoughts with him when he got like this. The like in the old man's eyes changed, as if he finally reached his decision, and he looked to one of his guards.

"Go fetch Gaea, and the Courier too. Once they arrive, I want everyone to leave."


The Fort made Ariadne act like a little bird, overly sensitive to her surroundings and always looking around. Juno could feel the little girl's anxiety pouring out even as she sat with her underneath the comforting shade of a high raised tent where she assumed many Legionaries would eat their dinner. Juno helped herself and her daughter to a helping of what one of the slave girls had prepared for them upon her arrival, and Juno had an easier time keeping her focus on her food than Ariadne did. The child seemed concerned for the women walking around with enormous loads on their backs.

"Mommy, why are those women carrying so much stuff?"

"It's their job, I guess you could say," Juno froze. She did not know how to address this topic.

"If it's their job, do they get paid for it?"

"They are paid with their lives," the mother noted.

"…Are you paid with your life too, momma?" Ariadne looked up from her food, suddenly more concerned.

She seemed to understand more than Juno believed.

"No, sweetie. These people pay me more than that," Juno leaned forward and kissed her little girl on the forehead," Now I want you to listen to me. No one here is going to hurt you. Momma's gonna make sure that they never try to make your job the same as those other women. Momma's gonna make sure that a lot of other women have the same kinda chances we do."

Ariadne looked up at her mother for a moment, as if sizing up the promise. She looked down at her meal and continued to eat, and Juno took this as a sign that Ariadne believed her. Either that, or Ariadne knew her mother would not fail her, should all of those men try to force them into a life that they did not want.

"Courier? Caesar wishes to speak with us- Juno?" an older woman's voice began.

"Hm?"

Juno turned around and found herself faced with a familiar woman, collared and robed in tattered burlap. This woman was Gaea, the prophet slave and her mother. Silence went between both women for a second, and it was Gaea who broke it.

"We can discuss this later, sweetie, but Caesar has some important things to talk to us about together."

"I—who do I leave Ari with? I can't bring her with me, can I?" Juno looked down at her daughter, and then around the area, looking for a suitable watcher for her child.

"Siri over there can watch her. I'll go get her and inform her of her duty," Gaea walked away, sure and silent.

Juno had expected that the Legion had conquered her own tribe, but she never thought that they would all be there, at the Fort, serving directly underneath Caesar and some of his most trusted and skilled Legionaries. As she watched her mother go to fetch a woman to watch over Ariadne, she pondered over why Vulpes did not tell her after all the time she spent talking about home, and then it hit her. He probably knew it would be best not to tell her at all, to keep her from seeing the dirty parts of the Legion. She could not blame him for that, even as she caught sight of him leaving Caesar's tent. He looked straight at her, as if he were tuned into her presence even at that distance. Those eyes watched her as he began walking away until he disappeared around the left side of the tent.

He made her hair stand on end in a good way. She had not been attracted to a man like that in what must have been seven years or so, but she kept a lid on it as best she could. Now was not the time to go chasing after the silly need to feel like a woman again. Juno promised herself that she would watch him for any and all signs of similar feelings, but she would not approach him under any circumstances. She would wait for him to make the first move, and then she would allow herself a night, or maybe even longer, to feel like a woman again. She did not need a man, but she sure would like one.


"Leave us."

At Caesar's command, the Praetorian guard scattered like leaves in the wind, moving outside of the tent as two women, one free and one a slave, stood before the Emperor in silence. He regarded them both for a moment, and when neither spoke, he began.

"I know you are a knowledgeable woman, Courier. I have no doubt that you know the significance of your name in this world I have created."

"I am aware it comes from the name of a Roman Goddess, but I am not quite aware of what it means to your people. You've taken much from the Roman Civilization, but you have made much on your own. Surely you tweaked the story of Juno," the Courier did her best to sound as if she knew more than she did about everything he might try to bring up, if only to keep a few steps ahead.

"The Goddess Juno serves many of the same purposes, watching over mothers and children but also over the Legion as a whole. As I have made it so, she kills the weak with her own hands and guides them into a life beyond, where the weak are strong, and she raises the Legion was an iron will of a harsh mother. You carry the name, and Gaea has already begun talking about a new aspect of Juno before I even spoke with her about it, and now the slaves are already talking about you being a human incarnation of the goddess."

"Before I even know if I can trust you or not, Courier, my people are assimilating you so quickly that they'll start worshipping the dirt you walk on, leaving homemade bobbles and gifts for you at your tent, should you ever stay overnight at the Fort. I need you to be aware of the gravity of the situation you've fallen into, and how much the Legion needs a woman like you to gives them home."

Gaea looked between Caesar and her daughter," Are you suggesting she start walking about calling herself a goddess, giving into every strange demand you might have of her?"

"No, Gaea, what I'm asking is that Juno accepts the slaves' and maybe even the Legionaries' offerings, should they be mad. It will keep you free, Courier, if they believe you a goddess and every child born from your womb a god in and of themselves. I am offering you what I think you want."

Juno looked at her mother and wondered how much she had known before Juno had even come to the Fort. She wondered if her mother had purposely set this up for her, instilled the people with a vision of a woman, no a goddess, like her. A once tactless, easy going, happy nurse had become a thoughtful, conniving slave. With this in mind, Juno recognized that Caesar was right. This is what she wanted, a way to keep herself and her daughter free of the bondage all of the other women went through. Still, she desired more.

"Alright. I'll do it. I'll do this and anything else you want me to. If you can keep my baby girl from being shackled, then I'll kill the NCR's president with my own bare hands if I fucking have to."

"Vulpes informed me earlier that you were attacked at your temporary residence in Novac by NCR Rangers. I suspect this means that they have already chosen your side for you," Caesar leaned back in his throne, looking at Juno like a hawk. He demanded an answer, and she was willing to give one.

"It would seem so, and if you could do me one small favor…"

"What is it, Courier?"

"It's regarding Vulpes. Please don't let him leave the Fort for another week or two, I think he hurt his leg again when we were attacked in Novac, but he wouldn't say anything to me. I would feel better if he were allowed to rest," Juno's concern poured out of her like water from a spilled cup.

Caesar did not take long to heed her request.

"It will be done. Now about your next task for us…"


Hi everyone! I just thought I'd update quickly since I finally found the will to write this chapter. It took me awhile to get it going, and it feels short and jumpy to me. I've never been the greatest at transitions, but either way, the best is yet to come. In the following chapter, Juno will go to the Ultra-Luxe and reunite with a certain someone. The Boomer quest line will be skipped, as it won't change from what was in the game too much, if at all.