The largest of the enemy grabbed Maya by the back of her neck and dragged her out of the cart, sending her skidding on the gravel and scraping the palms of her hands, arms, and knees. Thin streaks of blood left behind her trail where her skin broke from the intense friction, sending a numbing pain through her body. Luckily, she was far enough away from one of the wall of rocks that surrounded them and didn't hit her head.

"That's enough!" Alerio yelled at Caius, his eyes seething with fury at his subordinate's disobedience. "She is NOT to be harmed, those were the Legate's instructions!"

Caius shrugged and postured confrontationally in front of Alerio, which enraged his superior even further.

"We've been waiting for almost an hour! We have traversed the entire Mojave Wasteland, for what? Where is the Legate? Where is his messenger?" Caius questioned, spreading his broad muscular arms at the desolate expanse they were currently in, "I doubt there even is a Legate left in the Mojave. I think Lanius died at the Dam and you're just using his name to do your own dirty work." Then he turned toward Maya, who was wincing in pain and crawling toward a rock to prop herself up. "I caught her, she belongs to me" he said threateningly.

Maya's heart began to race as she felt the blood recede from her skin…

"I belong to no one" she spat defiantly, despite her fear. She wasn't going to allow them to do or say to her whatever they wanted, not without a fight.

"Be quiet" Caius screamed at her threateningly, making her flinch, and started walking toward her. Before he could get any closer Alerio un-holstered a 9mm pistol he had hidden behind his back and pointed it directly at Caius's head.

"Not…another step" he warned. Then an unexpected movement caught their attention in the corner and everyone drew weapons, turning to face the intruder. It was a Brotherhood of Steel member in full armour. White armor…

"Now, now" an unpleasantly familiar voice came behind the helmet as he spread his hands apart to indicate he wasn't armed, "That is no way to treat a Legionary Centurion". Alerio dropped his weapon immediately and greeted their new guest.

"Ave Niveus, we have been expecting you" he said. Maya detected a hint of annoyance in his body language, despite his voice and face not giving his true feelings away.

Niveus nodded and reached up with both hands to remove his helmet. As his face was revealed Maya had to stifle her dread. It was White, the Elder who had interrogated her and McNamara. Suddenly all of Maya's captors got into formation and saluted White, greeting him with an "Ave" in unison. Alerio walked up to White and started speaking to him away from the group, who were still facing away from Maya.

'This could be my chance' she thought hopefully as she got an idea. If she picked the right time and was quick enough, she could make an escape. It was clear to her that her captors wanted her very much alive, but for what she wasn't sure of yet, and she wasn't about to hang around to find out. As the group were facing away from her, all the attention was directed towards White, leaving Maya a golden opportunity to make a run for it. She slowly inched her way behind the largest enemy soldier, Caius, so that he would block Alerio and White's view of her. Slowly getting up onto her feet so that she didn't make any noise, Maya made a silent and fast dash to the parting in the rocks behind her that was the way out. If she got past the opening unseen, it would buy her more time to escape as it would block her from their sight. Heart pounding between her ribs and air rushing through her hair, Maya made a successful dash through the opening before she heard a yell behind her. She felt the adrenaline pump through her veins, making her legs push her harder and faster away from the group. The yelling stopped and Maya looked behind her to see how many of them were following, but was surprised to see that she wasn't being pursued. Her gait slowed a bit but she still pushed forward.

'Maybe they're too tired to pursue me' Maya thought, turning her attention back straight ahead of her. She was tied up in the back of the cart for the entire journey while they pulled her and expended energy, so it was entirely plausible. Just as she was starting to get her hopes up, she saw a shimmer of light about thirty feet ahead of her. Maya turned to her left to try to avoid it but it was following her, and it was fast! Panting, Maya tried to outrun it, but it was no use. She felt what was like a hand grab the hood of her sweater and pull her back, not hard enough to choke her but it stopped her in her tracks. Maya couldn't explain how this was happening, the only thing that came to her mind was the alien from Predator.

'Oh crap they better not be real!' she thought terrifyingly as she struggled and wiggled out of her baggy sweater, hearing an annoyed grunt as her sweater hovered for a second in thin air and was then tossed to the side. All Maya heard before she was knocked onto her side on the ground were the fast-paced scraping of heavy footsteps on dry dirt. She was sent skidding and tumbling down a slight slope until she reached more flat terrain and ran out of inertia, landing in a foetal position onto her side. Groaning in pain, she unfurled herself and clutched her bruised and scratched arms. The shimmering figure was still moving toward her; in the blink of an eye the shimmering ceased and a tall, broadly muscular hooded figure was revealed. His face was completely obscured, wrapped in dark rags and reflective goggles over his eyes, a faded and weathered black cloak that ran down to his ankles with a hood over his head, and leather armor over dark grey clothing protecting his chest and calves. Maya gasped, scrambling back on her burning palms and the heels of her feet, but before she could stand herself up the hooded man reached down and pulled her up by her arms. As soon as she was on her feet he let her go and stood in front of her, staring down through his reflective goggles. He must have been over 6'4" tall and didn't look like he broke a sweat at all chasing after her. Maya stood rooted to the ground, knowing that if she ran he would simply catch her again and half expecting him to hit her. But nothing happened, in fact she could hardly hear him breathing as he stood there like a stone. Finally, she decided to break the silence.

"Let me go, I have nothing you want".

The man raised an arm and pointed in the direction leading down the mountain, followed by a deep and steady voice, "No one is stopping you. If you wish to leave, that is the direction you should take."

With that Maya turned the other way and began to run down the rough terrain, a trail of dust following in her wake.

"You'll never make it back alive!" she heard the man yell behind her. Maya slowed down to a jog for a couple hundred feet; then realising he was right she stopped, and just in the nick of time as a few steps in front of her was a steep drop, about four or five stories high, that lead down to sharp jagged rocks. She didn't even see it ahead of her! One misplaced step and she could have fallen to her death. An empty dread filled her chest as she realised where she was. Looking over the horizon there was nothing but wasteland; no signs of civilisation, of people, no shelter, just barren land peppered with shrubbery and rocks. If there was such a thing as hell, this was it for Maya. She couldn't turn back, not with what was waiting behind her, but she also knew that going forwards would be just as perilous. She heard footsteps behind her and turned around to see the tall hooded man walk slowly towards her, behind him some distance away she could see the men that had kidnapped her.

"Your friends are gone, there is no one left to help you get back home" he said, his words confident and unwavering.

"You're lying! You don't know that! They're coming for me, and when they get here…you and your friends will be sorry" Maya spat at him assertively. The others had just caught up behind him and were staying back in case they were needed, except for Caius who was staying close behind.

"There's a probability you are correct, but they will never get here in time. And I am not the one who has lied to you…Maya"

Calling her by her name caught her off-guard. She had never given this information away to him, the only person here who knew her name was…

"White…. you work for White, don't you?" Maya said, keeping an eye out on his friends standing behind him.

"No, White works for me" the figure replied, reaching an arm out for her to take but Maya shook her head and took a couple of steps back, edging closer to the precipice.

"Leave me alone!" she yelled at them, "You said I am free to leave, you lied!"

"I did not lie Maya; I will give you the choice to leave, no one here will stop you", he said, to which some of his subordinates protested to. He silenced them quickly before continuing, "But, before I do, you must hear my words"

Maya hesitated, waiting for them to grab her and put her back in the cart; but nobody moved. The figure's arm was still held out with his hand open, waiting.

'This is a trick, they will say anything to get me to come with them' Maya thought, looking behind her. She was half a step away from the drop, the vertigo sending a wave of nausea and paralysing fear through her body. But she had no other option, there was no way she could fight her way through a wall of armed enemies, not without help anyway. And in all honesty, she did not know what had happened to Boone… he could be dead, if the others didn't get to him in time. The thought made her eyes well up and she turned her head away so her enemies couldn't see.

"Maya…all you have to do is listen…" came the figures voice again.

She fervently shook her head; Maya had made her decision. There was no chance she was going to trust, much less listen to the people that had hurt her and her friends. "No" she answered as she looked up at her captor and took another step backwards, despite every fibre in her being telling her not to, desperate to live. She felt her stomach drop as she started to fall and air rush from below her. Maya closed her eyes, not wanting her last images of life to be her falling to her death. But before she had even dropped past the precipice she felt a large strong hand grab hold of her arm and pull her back onto land, dropping her shivering several feet from the precipice. Maya's eyes were still firmly shut as she sat on the firm ground, shaking, as she heard someone kneel in front of her. Opening her eyes, she looked up at the figure in front of her.

"Why did you do that?" the hooded figure asked sternly.

"I know you're Legion, you can't be trusted. I'd rather die than help you" Maya answered honestly.

"Stupid woman, you have no choice" Caius laughed just a few steps behind her, "You're going to do as we say".

The hooded figure stood up and faced Caius, "I would watch my next words very carefully if I were you, Caius". He was almost a full head taller than his subordinate, but Caius didn't seem concerned.

Shrugging off the hooded man's warning, Caius walked around him and grabbed Maya by the back of her neck and tried to rip her shirt off. Maya yelled and flailed her fists at him, trying to get away from being further assaulted, but that just angered Caius even further. She heard fabric rip as Caius grabbed a handful of her t-shirt and pull her towards him.

"Let me go!" she screamed as she felt her shirt rip off and saw it get tossed to the side, leaving her only with her bra on on top. Suddenly, Caius was pulled back with such force he was airborne for a second or so, landing onto his backside with a groan only a few paces away from the precipice. The hooded figure walked up to him, grabbed him by the throat and lifted him off his feet, tearing the goggles and helmet off of Caius's head as he walked him to the edge. Maya could see his face for the first time since she was captured; the fear and desperation in his eyes as he pleaded for leniency. Nobody dared interrupt the events that followed in fear of being reprimanded as well.

"You dare challenge the orders and word of your Legate?" he asked angrily, watching Caius's eyes bulge as he realised who he had disobeyed.

"You…are…Lanius?" Caius managed to gasp.

The Legate nodded, "Now do you realise the gravity of my warning?" a satisfaction in his voice as Caius nodded. "Good, then you'll have some time to think about your actions on your way down". With a powerful thrust, Lanius threw Caius over the edge, watching him fall to his death on the jagged rocks beneath. Maya covered up her mouth in shock as she heard Caius's scream followed by a sickening thud a few seconds later. Lanius peered over the precipice, satisfied with the result. He turned on his heel and walked over to Maya, who was watching him in horror, picked her up and set her on her feet as she wrapped her arms around her chest.

"Now, will listen to what I have to say?"

"Are you seeing what I'm seeing?" Ramos asked as he stared down the binoculars behind the group. Boone tilted his rifle in the direction Ramos was referring to, looking down his scope. He was growing impatient; they were several hundred meters away from the enemy camp and so close to their goal, now was not the time to look back.

"What the hell? Are those NCR troops? ...With an armored truck?" McNamara asked taking the binoculars from Ramos, studying the plume of dust following a black armored vehicle in the distance.

"Yes" Boone replied, lowering his rifle. He had to admit, this did offer some relief. "Thompson must have radioed in and asked for them" he added.

McNamara smiled and nodded, "Good, we'll need their help".

"Uh…we've got a problem here…" came Ibsen's voice. He was studying the enemy campsite when a movement cause his eye. "It's Maya! She's made a run for it".

"What?!" Boone asked, turning around and looking down his scope. Surely enough, there she was, sprinting away from the enemy. She was about a hundred feet away before her disappearance was noticed. Boone was tracking their movements, feeling an itch in his trigger finger to wipe them out one by one as they started to jog slowly after her.

"Wait!" McNamara stopped him, placing a hand on the barrel of Boone's rifle.

"What for? We're not going to get another chance at this!" Boone answered angrily.

McNamara pointed him in the direction he was focusing, close to the enemy's shelter. What Boone saw next almost made his heart stop. It was him…White.

"Shit" he hissed as he watched White, in complete white BOS armour, order two other of his soldiers who ran down the slope and made their way behind a rock face.

"Ramos, Irvine, let's go see where they're going" McNamara ordered, un-holstering his weapon, "Boone keep an eye out on the group. If things get out of hand- "

"I know what to do" Boone replied staring steadily through his scope.

Ramos, Irvine and McNamara stalked the enemy BOS soldiers while Ibsen kept an eye out for them and Boone watched the events unfold at the precipice. The NCR soldiers were making good time too, Boone could hear the grumbling of the truck coming nearer.

The enemy group were further away now and their attention was drawn away from their camp, this was the perfect time to move in and create an ambush at their campsite. It provided the perfect cover as it was surrounded by boulders and sarsens, and the NCR troops arrived just in time.

Boone waved them down and the truck pulled up just in front of him. A door next to the driver's seat opened and a soldier walked up to him.

"Oh crap, he wasn't kidding" he said staring up at Boone in awe while Boone glared at him from behind his aviators, unimpressed with the lack of etiquette or respect for the chain of command.

"Private" Boone addressed him, reminding him of his position.

The soldier straightened up and saluted Boone, "Henderson, Sir".

"What are you doing here?"

"We got a call in from Thompson, our supply driver, who said he came across you and mentioned you might need some assistance" Henderson replied.

Boone briefly explained the situation and the troops followed his orders without question. They moved into position at the campsite, surrounded the area, and waited for the enemy to return.

Having retrieved her sweater and pulling it back on quickly, Maya reluctantly followed Lanius back to the campsite. Their trek was deliberately slow so that Lanius could speak with Maya on the way. He had also ordered his men to go ahead of them so they had some privacy.

"Maya, I have tracked your movements since the day you arrived to this time" he began, "I know your situation, I know you are from another time, brought here against your will. Your presence here has…disturbed certain factions, and awakened others."

"Okay… I'm not sure I follow" Maya answered hesitantly, feeling completely exposed and uncertain of what to expect next.

"You have already met four factions in this time: The Brotherhood of Steel, The Followers of the Apocalypse, the New California Republic, and now Caesar's Legion…although, now we are just Legion" his voice sounded nostalgic and far away as he spoke of his faction.

"From what I've heard, the Legion deserved to be wiped out" Maya replied unemotionally, "They used slaves, treated women as cattle to do with whatever they pleased, they took over other groups, and made everyone conform to their rigid ways"

"And the NCR hasn't?" Lanius asked calmly. Maya was surprised that he didn't react aggressively towards her like his soldiers had.

"The NCR treats everyone equally, they bring order and law to the people, make sure they have food and water and shelter and that they are protected from other aggressive factions"

"And you don't think for a moment that the NCR exploits women? What about the women who work in New Vegas, in Gomorrah, who prostitute themselves daily for the men they work for? The women who find themselves enlisting in the NCR to become soldiers because they have no other choice? Or because their husbands dragged them into serving alongside them".

Maya looked up at him with a puzzled expression, "You think that's in any way the same as you treat your women?! I haven't been here long enough to have a fair debate about this, but I know that having the choice to leave rather than not, being free rather than a slave, is better. Also, at least women outside of the Legion are free to do as they please and aren't worked to death like Brahmin"

Lanius chuckled, "You are correct Maya, you haven't been here long enough to have a fair debate. But if you were, if you took the chance to see life on both sides with eyes unclouded, you would see that the Legion and the NCR are not all different. Each have their strengths and flaws. But, you are missing something... Since your arrival, have you contemplated why the world has been reduced to ruin?"

A silence fell between them for a moment. Truthfully, it was all that was on Maya's mind, and she couldn't understand why humanity didn't attempt to re-build after the war, especially since they had over two centuries to get back to some semblance of where technology was before the war.

"Yes" she answered truthfully, "Every waking moment".

Lanius nodded, pleased with her answer, "And do you know why humanity has been left to rot in the wake of war?"

"Not enough resources?... No unified government to co-ordinate the efforts?" Maya guessed out loud, then looked up suspiciously at Lanius, "Too many violent factions or tribes trying to bring order down…"

"All the points you mentioned are contributing factors. But the real question is why?"

Maya shrugged, uncertain of what information she was expected to give. This felt more like being back in school in history class being lectured by the teacher. She was starting to feel irritated.

"What do you want from me?" she asked exasperated, "I doubt you dragged me all the way up here in the middle of nowhere just for a chat about politics and women's rights. What is this really all about?"

Lanius stopped in his tracks and took off his goggles and the rags covering his face. The others ahead seemed to stop too but they didn't dare look behind them. Maya watched curiously as Lanius unravelled the strips of cloth that covered his face and let them fall to the ground in front of him. Then, as the last long strip of cloth was being removed, his skin was revealed; inch by inch, scarred, gnarled tissue. Maya was no stranger to seeing scars and other wounds, but the horror of it and what Lanius must have endured to receive those wounds made her skin crawl as she silently inhaled and held her breath to reign in the shock she felt.

Lanius stood in front of Maya, hood still over his head but his gnarled face laid bare for her to see. He was terrifying both in stature and features, but Maya did not give in to the fear and looked him straight in the eyes. He was still just a man. She could see a hint of doubt in his eyes about the action he had just carried out, determination was there too, and…quite possibly concern about what her reaction will be.

"Wh-…what happened to you?" she asked hesitantly.

Lanius ordered his men to continue forward to the camp. No one protested, but Maya could see that they were grudgingly obeying his orders.

"I… was not always in Caesar's Legion…" he answered, "I was a warrior in the Hidebark tribe in Arizona… My tribe was against Caesar, and for many years we fought off his Legionary soldiers. Each tribe member was responsible for eliminating any Legionary soldiers they saw, and I sought out to kill as many as I could. However, as time went on, more of them would trespass into our territory. Until…our Chieftain relented to their threats and surrendered." Lanius stared into the horizon, as if recollecting his thoughts before he continued. "He…betrayed everythingour tribe was…he condemned us all to be slaves to a leader who ruled through brutality."

"What did you do?" Maya asked fascinated.

"I killed him, and all of the warriors. They deserved nothing less for their betrayal" he turned back to face Maya and met her gaze. The intensity of the anger in his eyes made it almost impossible to maintain eye contact. "But I was maimed by those who I once considered my brothers. Caesar was the one who healed me and gave me a purpose after my life as a Hidebark warrior ended. Since then I served him in his army as a Legate, leading his soldiers into battle, conquering other tribes. But…the Legion was never my home, never my family. Since Caesar's death I've had no purpose. I lead the remainder of the Legion survivors away from Mojave and planned my revenge on the NCR. It wasn't until some years after the battle of Hoover Dam that I realised I had been fighting the wrong battle. That is why I brought you here"

Maya was dumbfounded, "I don't understand…"

"You came here from another time. I know you are working on a way to get back home and try to change the future. Your efforts are in vain, you cannot change what is to come"

Maya was getting impatient, "You cannot know that".

"Let me ask you this: how much do you know about the Brotherhood of Steel?" he questioned her.

"I know that their methods are unorthodox, but their intentions overall are good"

"The Brotherhood of Steel was responsible for the destruction of the world. They were born out of the ashes of the Great War, but before they became known throughout as The Brotherhood they were the military of the United States of America and Vault Tech's right hand in the outcome of the war" Lanius explained. His tone was sincere, but Maya couldn't believe it. That would mean that McNamara, Ramos, Ibsen, Irvine…her friends, were part of an organisation that destroyed civilisation.

"You…what you're saying…it's insane! Why would they be part of that? What is Vault-Tech, and what would anyone have to gain from destroying humanity?!" Maya refused to believe him. There was no reason for him to give her this information but to further his agenda.

"I don't expect you to believe me, but the evidence is all around you. You cannot change this future, no one can. It has been strategically planned with incredible precision. And now, you are here, an anomaly and uncertainty in their plans. You can do something about it." He insisted. Maya could sense a feeling of desperation in his voice.

Maya could sense where this was going. "I am not going to help you and your faction!" she answered angrily.

"I am not asking you to help the Legion" he answered, grabbing Maya by the shoulders and pulling her closer so their words were not overheard, "I have no love for them, I am not their servant any longer"

Maya's anger turned to confusion, "Well…what then? Why are you with these people who clearly are Legionaries?"

"I had to use them to get to you. After we are done here, you will no longer be troubled by them…or me. All I ask is that you question everything. And…if you get the chance to travel back, take this with you" he pulled out a black stone with an engraving on it of a bear on it and a feather. Maya studied it in the palm of her hand. The engraving was rough and jagged around the edges, as if it was done in haste. Maya looked up and caught a softness in Lanius's eyes, as though he was caught in a past memory.

"You're asking me to go back and do a favour…for you?" Maya whispered incredulously, "You said yourself you've been following my progress, and you want me to drop everything…to sacrifice the mission and prevent the elimination of human civilisation…for a rock?!"

"It's not just a rock" he insisted, looking down at it in Maya's palm "Her name was Quill…she was my mate when I was part of the Hidebarks, but she took her own life less than a year after we were absorbed into the Legion. If you went back to the year 2278, a year after the first battle for the Dam, the year our tribe was destroyed and I became Legate, you could change the outcome. You could save thousands of lives" he closed her fingers around the stone, "I have had many years to reflect on everything that has happened…on the actions that I took. If I had known that she would have taken her own life, I would have done things differently; I would have left Caesar and the Legion behind. Send that message to me, give me the stone and I will know what it means. As far as saving human civilisation, I have already warned you that it is not possible. That path was carved long before you were even born, you cannot change it"

"How do you know that?!"

"White was able to retrieve the information from deep within the Brotherhood of Steel, from the council themselves" Lanius explained, an urgency in his tone, "Use him, get the information out of him. He will give you everything you need to know if you show him this" Lanius took out a large gold coin, one side with a stamped image of Caesar's head wrapped in an olive wreath, the other with what looked like the face of the Roman god of war: Mars. Then the sound of yelling and shots being fired came from up ahead where the camp was.

"Your friends are here for you" he whispered urgently, taking out a device hidden underneath his cloak, "I will leave you now. You have everything you need. Go!" and with a turn of a switch his frame shimmered and Lanius disappeared into the ether.

"Wait!" Maya called out, but it was no use. The yelling and shooting intensified up ahead and Maya felt a sense of urgency to run towards it. White was up there, and Maya needed to make sure he wasn't killed before she got the answers she needed from him. She pocketed the rock and coin, turned on her heel and sprinted for the campsite. Catching sight of some soldiers dressed in similar garb to Boone, taking shelter from gunshots behind a large eight-foot-tall rock, she ran towards them. When she was about fifty feet away from them, one of the soldiers turned around and aimed his rifle at her.

"STOP! DON'T MOVE!" he yelled. Maya stopped in her tracks holding her arms above her head.

"Don't shoot! I'm not with them!" she yelled back and caught sight of a red beret around the corner behind an armored truck. "Boone!" she called out and saw his head pop up as he looked in her direction.

"Maya! Get down!" Boone instructed as a volley of shots whizzed past him and impacted the ground, bringing up plumes of dust and debris.

Maya did as she was advised and hid behind the rock with the soldier who had pointed his rifle at her. "Don't kill White! We need him alive!" she yelled over the noise and screams of wounded Legionaries.

"That's going to be a problem! He ran from the group towards the rocks" Boone yelled back pointing in the direction White ran to as he aimed down his sights and shot down a couple of Legionaries.

Maya was desperate, she needed the information Lanius told her about if she was to have any chance at getting back home. There were only two Legionaries left and they were hunkered down reloading their weapons. Plucking up her courage, Maya made a run for it in the direction Boone had pointed.

"Wait!" Boone hollered, firing a couple more shots to provide cover as he backed away from the fight and sprinted after Maya.

A couple hundred feet away from the campsite in a much rockier environment, Maya heard what sounded like the engines of a Vertibird. Her heart quickened, realising he must be trying to get away. She sprinted, weaving her way around the tall rocks and boulders that covered the area until she got to a clearing. And there she found him, bloody on the ground with McNamara standing over him.

"No! Don't!" Maya screamed, catching McNamara's attention. He looked up at her and waved her to get away, but Maya disregarded it and ran towards him. "You can't kill him! He has information we need" she said as she jogged up to him and pushed the gun away from White, who was on the ground bleeding out from a gunshot wound to the leg and shoulder.

"He has killed hundreds of my brothers and sisters in arms! He doesn't deserve to live" McNamara seethed angrily as Boone caught up behind her.

"I want him dead as much as you McNamara, but if he has information we need, then we need him alive…at least for now" Boone replied.

McNamara lowered his gun, an expression of disgust and disappointment on his face, "Fine…but after that, he answers for his crimes".

Maya knelt next to the bleeding and groaning White. He looked pathetic and helpless now that he was all on his own, but he still looked up at her with that same sneer she saw the first time she met him. But this time, Maya had the upper hand.

"We've got a lot of questions for you White, and you've got a lot to answer for" she smiled, fishing out the coin and watching his sneer fade away as he realised the gravity of the situation he found himself in.

"Time for you to talk…"