"Yes, you killed him," Caesar muttered. "But you made a point to squeal like a girl, run like a girl—"
"In case you haven't noticed, sir, I am a girl."
"Yes, yes, you are," he grunted. "And you fight dirty."
His throne had been moved back inside his tent, and all the Praetorians inside had apparently caught word of my so-called "battle". They looked at me with contempt and disgust. Not only was I a woman in an army of men, I was a woman that kicked in places that should never be kicked.
"It was self-defense," I objected.
"You're lucky your opponent had the balls to kick," Caesar continued, ignoring me. "Had you been fighting a woman, you would have been dead."
"But I wasn't," I pointed out. "The Ranger was a man, so I did what I had to do."
Caesar looked exhausted, whether from arguing with me or simply because he could, I didn't know. He leaned back in his throne and closed his eyes. "Vulpes."
"Yes, sire?"
"You can keep your woman, if you really want her," Caesar grumbled. "Go ahead and fetch Raul. Arcade too; I believe he might enjoy hearing this as well." He opened his eyes, and his face split in a devilish smirk.
Vulpes removed himself from Caesar's side, and strode outside of the tent. The rabid-looking dogs at the front even moved aside where he walked, I noticed.
When he was gone, Caesar cleared his throat, sitting up a little in his chair to look more dramatic. "Tell me, woman. What do you know about the flanking war tactic?"
"The explanation is kind of in the name," I muttered back. "In war, you take some troops, and you flank the enemy."
"And do you know what lies east of the Mojave?"
"Nope."
Caesar put a finger on his cheek, modeling another intelligent pose. I desperately wondered if he did that on purpose. "The Brotherhood of Steel are prevalent in the Midwest," he answered. "They own precious land that we could hold in our grasp: the caves, the prairies. Plenty of open spaces that could be used to establish more camps for my legion to grow and flourish."
Flanking the Brotherhood? Was that what he was going at? "Is the NCR not any of your priority now?"
"The NCR can finish themselves off," Caesar growled. "We won the Battle for Hoover Dam, with ease, I might add. The NCR are no longer formidable enemies. They squeal and run, just as you did in the arena today."
I didn't feel like arguing my battle anymore.
"The mechanic and Mr. Gannon are here, sir," I heard Vulpes call from behind me. Glancing back over my shoulder, I saw a dignified Arcade, standing next to a ghoul sporting a jumpsuit that said 'Miguel'. I figured that his name was Raul.
"Good, very good. Arcade, sit down," Caesar gestured to the seat beside him. When Arcade passed beside me, he flashed me an unreadable look. Raul approached me to stand awkwardly a few feet away, and the stench of rotting flesh filled my nostrils. Caesar looked at all four of us once Vulpes and plastered himself back into the corner next to the throne before continuing. "Meet Raul," he told me simply, gesturing to the ghoul. "You two are going to be very well acquainted. Now, you know perfectly well that the Brotherhood of Steel is a much more formidable foe than the NCR, what with their power armor and high-tech weapons. My old-fashioned Legion troops hardly stand any chance against them, no matter what our numbers, but we need that land, to expand the horizons of our beautiful nation."
"Yes, beautiful is the word," Arcade muttered. Caesar flashed him a warning look before continuing onwards.
"There is a particular tactic that I am willing to try. This flanking tactic that I mentioned," he nodded to me. "If we can flank the Brotherhood from behind—no, if we can start another Legion east of the Brotherhood, and attack them as soon as we declare war, then we can take them out with ease and precision.
"Raul here, I was lucky enough to find on the outskirts of Vegas as my troops swept through. He's a remarkable mechanic, and has been able to fix anything I have asked him to fix. I have asked him to tinker with an abandoned Pip-Boy, to add a contacting device into it so I can communicate with the wearer. And the wearer, of course," he leaned forward, looking at me with a sudden dramatic intensity "will be you."
"Alright, cool," I told him nonchalantly. "So, I get to strap this Pip-Boy to my arm and figure out what civilizations lie beyond the Midwest, to ensure that they will follow the Legion as your loyal subjects; is that what I'm doing?"
"Precisely," Caesar answered.
"Great, great, good to hear. Then, how am I going to get around the Brotherhood, without being, say, caught and interrogated?"
Caesar was unfazed by my hole-poking in his theory. "That's why I called Arcade here, you see. I was sure he would love to hear what else I found as my soldiers were trekking through the Mojave."
Arcade shifted uneasily in his chair, his dignified expression failing as he tried to figure out what Caesar was getting at.
"Jacobstown, a cave southwest of Vault 34, Westside, the old NCR Sharecropper Farms, and Novac, Arcade," Caesar riddled. "Know anything in common with those places?"
It didn't seem to take long for Arcade to figure out something in common. His emerald eyes began to widen and his skin flushed a shade paler than it had been before.
Caesar gave him a minute in silence before continuing, "It didn't take long for the woman to talk after we found her—"
"—YOU BASTARD!" Arcade cried suddenly, leaping up from his seat and throwing his arms back in rage. "WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER? WHAT DID YOU DO TO THEM?"
Caesar looked genuinely surprised at Arcade's sudden outrage, but composed himself again easily. "After your Enclave friends told me what I needed to know, I had no further use for them."
The Enclave?
From Arcade's lips escaped a small sound of his heart breaking, and he stood there, eyes bulging in horror at the composed Caesar in front of him. "You…" he began quietly, his voice cracking. "… you killed them? You killed… Daisy?"
"I haven't seen you so attached to someone since the day you came into my care." The way Caesar said 'my care' as an excuse for slavery made my teeth grit.
Arcade's brows furrowed. "You son of a bitch," he spat.
"I also haven't seen you cuss," Caesar continued mildly. "You usually avoid it if you can."
Arcade's ears were turning red as his fists started to clench. "So, you got what you wanted, huh? And what was that, I wonder? You've never had any interest in technological advances before."
"It doesn't matter about my interests," he responded curtly. "The point is that your Enclave friends gave me an important piece of technology that will assist in turning the tides of this war—a Vertibird—"
"That doesn't belong to you!" Arcade interrupted. His nails were digging deep into his palm now, his shoulders trembling with rage.
Caesar made a blatant point to ignore him. "A Vertibird will transport you and Vulpes outside of the Midwest, so you may correctly complete your duties."
In any normal situation, I would have asked: And what if I didn't want to? but I already knew the answer to that. I was somewhat friendly with Boone and the Ben-man, but I didn't want to spend the rest of my days right beside them on a cross.
"When do I start, then?" I asked grimly instead.
"Now," Caesar answered simply. "Raul, go get the Pip-Boy."
"Right, boss," Raul spoke for the first time in a Mexican accent. "I'll go do that for you, boss."
