Sarah Lyons was divided by the time that Kazdin was through debriefing the Elder-General about what Silus had told Stella about Caesar's declining health. Kazdin had believed that the blonde woman would agree without much of an argument that their enemy which boasted the largest number of infantry should be dealt with swiftly and evenly. If their army could wipe out even half of Caesar's estate, well that was half of the upper echelon of his regime up in smoke.

Decanus, Centurions and even the sneakiest of the lot the frumentari would be taken out of the game. Not to mention Caesar himself and his upper tier of handpicked body guards. It seemed like a no brainer but Sarah was not easily persuaded.

"The fact of the matter, Miss Willow, is that I have already lost two of my own squad just in the act of retaking this facility from the NCR. Remember, I am merely doing a favor for an old friend. I'm still unsure as to why your war means anything to the Brotherhood."

Kazdin's silence caused Sarah to sigh and uncross her arms.

"Look, I'm not unsympathetic to your plight. However as of now, this isn't our war. It's yours. You'll need to convince me otherwise. The Pride took this facility not only as assistance to your war, single handedly giving your army access to a base of operations…"

Sarah was cut off by the loud clearing of a throat. The Jersey Devil and Eagle Octavia uncloaked, seemingly forming out of thin air.

"I don't remember it that way," Karen Solider said cheekily with a smirk, "the entire reason you didn't lose more than two men was because of me and Eagle. And Kazdin. And come to think of it, Boone too."

"People don't usually talk to me that way. You better have a damn good reason for interrupting a meeting of the brass." Sarah said, her blue eyes narrowing.

"That's because they need job security. I'm a vagabond, princess, so ass kissing isn't exactly my style."

"I appreciate your help in taking this terminal, so I choose to humor you. Go ahead." Sarah said through gritted teeth, taking a seat at her new desk.

"I'm not normally one to talk big about other people. I hate to admit it, but Kazdin's won me over. A little. With Eagle's financial backing we're ready to take on the big dogs in this fight. You would definitely give us the winning weapon in this war, so why not fight with us?"

Sarah rolled her eyes.

"Clearly you aren't the best at eavesdropping," she said, "I told you that so far any skirmish we have been a part of in the greater Mojave wasteland area has been a direct gift to that man."

Sarah pointed to where the Lone Wanderer sat, hands behind his head and a smile on his face.

"The Capitol Wasteland chapter of the Brotherhood of Steel owes him much more thanks than it can ever repay him for. If he would simply ask me to join this fight, I would be obligated to help out of sheer respect for the Lone Wanderer. So, Andrew, why haven't you asked me yet? Refresh it for our dear Jersey Devil here."

Andrew shifted his weight in his chair, bringing his feet to the ground and leaning forward.

"I respected your tenacity and determination when I decided to throw my gun in after you helped the Khans. I had been sort of a war chief and advisor representing the Brotherhood for years." He explained.

He pointed to the refashioned metal slab that he used as a chest piece covering the faded blue of his Vault 101 jumpsuit.

"I chose to throw my own gun into the fight. That doesn't mean that I am going to influence Sarah one way or the other. No offense, particularly to Kazdin, but I've known Sarah much, much longer than I have known any of you. She comes first and her mind is the one you have to convince. I am a strictly neutral party."

"Andrew and I are like family." Sarah cut in, "He and his wife and his family are as important to me as the codex of the Brotherhood of Steel."

Sarah glanced fondly at Andrew who smiled back.

Kazdin's eyes lit up for a moment and she smiled. She crossed the small dingy office with its broken floor tiles and warped wallpaper covering crumbling drywall. She stopped a few paces in front of Sarah.

"The Mojave Brotherhood isn't mine, you know? I was recently initiated as a Brotherhood Paladin, but other than that I had my bosses too."

"And?" Sarah asked skeptically.

"Tragically, the Elder and the other head officers of all departments died in the NCR's attack on our bunker. If nothing else, you should fight for the attack on your family, the Brotherhood of Steel. But if you need more incentive…"

Kazdin paused for a moment, unsure of the words she wanted to say.

"I'm no dummy," she said finally, "I know what they've been saying. Ever since you've arrived they have been looking to you as a figurehead. While I have been the go-to gal since the fall of the bunker I know I'm not their real leader. I never have been. Even Veronica has more experience with them than I do."

Kazdin thought for a moment before deciding to pull the trigger.

"So if you help us out with destroying Caesar's headquarters, then you can absorb the Mojave remnants of the Brotherhood into your chapter."

Sarah looked to the Wanderer, who shrugged.

"That is exactly what you wanted." Andrew chimed in.

"I feel the need to remind you that as the acting Elder around these parts, as sworn Knights and Paladins and Initiates I could pull rank at any moment I choose and they, as instructed by the codex, would listen to the orders of its ranking officer. I say the word and the Brotherhood Remnants whether they respect you or not would open fire and put you all down at a moment's notice if that was what its ranking officer wanted."

Sarah waited for a beat in the stunned silence before laughing enthusiastically. She wiped her eyes along the back of her Power Armor's gauntlets.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't resist." Sarah apologized, "Although that is technically true, I'm afraid I'm not that much of a douche. I'm alright with bartering. So we will help you clear Cottonwood Cove, creating a distraction as we airlift a team of your soldiers into Fortification Hill. Sound good?"

"Umm, y-y-yeah, I mean yes, that sounds like a suitable distraction to me. I'm sorry; I thought you were serious about killing us all just because you can." Kazdin said, her voice shaky.

"Make no mistake that I could, but I won't. However, after this offensive and distraction The Pride is taking the Mojave Remnants back to the Citadel for debriefing. The rest of this is up to you. Is that clear?"

"That's clear." Kazdin confirmed.

"Alright, so inform your team and we will start planning our attack on Cottonwood Cove." Sarah said.

Kazdin nodded as she, the Jersey Devil and Eagle Octavia made their way out of Sarah's office.

BBBBBB

Veronica wondered back to her days in pursuit of technology, such as the weapon of war she had switched on rather than had destroyed. She hadn't felt truly "Brotherhood" related for years and now that she had deliberately disobeyed her codex she was forced to think about the advantage the weapon would bring if she could only find the control device.

She looked back to Daniel Godwin who had remained silent although the two of them and Lorenzo had been trekking for a few hours from Helios One down through the Legion-massacred Ranger Station Charlie and onward toward Novac.

The loss of Monroe the robot while having been more devastating to Daniel in an emotional way still had rocked Veronica in a tactical way. Monroe's double shoulder mounted miniguns and his intimidating bass electronic voice would leave most would-be attackers sprinting for cover. His armor and tank-like build were great for surviving attacks like the six Legionnaires who were making their way toward their position.

Veronica and her duo had ducked and were firing before the hit squad was within speaking distance. The roman look-alikes dove by the wayside, scrambling for cover as they returned fire. Daniel's face was one of righteous anger and grief as he fired round after round at the bodies clothed in crimson.

A spear narrowly missed his face as Veronica pulled him toward her and out of the way of the thrown weapon. He stared into her dark eyes, momentarily taken aback before he thanked her and resumed fire, paying more mind to the meager cover provided for him.

As the smoke cleared following the brief battle just outside of Novac, Daniel noticed that for the first time in his life, he had achieved the highest kill count. The fire for his lost lifelong friend –his only friend for so long he couldn't recall—was in his heart and would be for a long time. Veronica sauntered toward him after clearing the bodies of the men she had killed.

She knelt before him, producing a canteen.

"You nearly got yourself killed." She murmured.

"I don't know what came over me. It's like I froze up. I should have been terrified."

"You have to be more careful, Dan. We need you." Veronica insisted, looking into his blue eyes.

"We?" Dan said with a wink.

"We." Veronica laughed. She slapped his arm. Dan chuckled along with her regarding his joke as lame at best, but he was trying.

"I'm not ready to pledge my undying love," Veronica said good-humoredly. "And I don't think you are either. So come on, Danny-boy. Let's check in with Novac and see what we can do to help."

"Aye aye, Captain." Dan said with a grin before rising and following Veronica and Lorenzo into the small settlement.

"And Dan?"

He looked to her, giving her his attention.

"Be careful this time."

"Of course." He said finally before making his way through the gate and into the tiny community.

BBBBBB

The streets of Freeside seemed to reach out for Kazdin Willow and she could only assume that her companions Andrew Ross and Melissa Kimbly felt the same. She couldn't see through their eyes or smell through their noses but she was still an ordinary person and she could only assume that other ordinary people could relate.

She smelled vomit and alcohol and could sense hopelessness and dejection among Freeside's denizens. She wasn't interested in their problems, at least not right this second. She had her destiny closer than she had ever had it before. So close she could taste it along with Freeside's stale fragments of human confidence, happiness and love.

She felt she were on a precipice as she squinted hatefully at the flashing neon lights in the distance, the ones that read "The Tops Casino". She heard the words spoken so finely into her ear once more like she had a couple of hours before.

"The chairman of the Tops casino returned yesterday with a new glint in his eye and a shiny new chip in his hand. How long will it be before he escapes once more to whatever hideaway he calls his home away from home? Well, my love, this dapper gentleman can only imagine."

Her eyes had lit up and she had stormed out of The Pride's temporary office shortly after the attack on Caesar's camp had been discussed. Sarah had made a remark to Andrew about being unsure as to Kazdin's mental faculties.

She had hoped that the last minute reassignment of troops would not lead to senseless deaths, but she was trusting in her party and their individual –as well as combined—skills. She believed they could do their part in destroying Caesar's slave processing and shipping location as well as his very camp.

She only hoped that the price she had paid –the entire reassigning of her Brotherhood of Steel numbers to Sarah Lyons—was worth it.

Kazdin knew that being a leader meant making tough decisions every day. She knew that trading the most battle-prepared and heavily armored human resources for the martial expertise of the Lyons' Pride in one more skirmish – and ONLY one more, Sarah Lyons had made clear – was indeed a risk.

Her companions were of no help, of course. She smirked as she walked along remembering how faithful the rest of her crew was in trusting her with the hard decisions.

Stella had only shrugged when asked her opinion of the trade. The Jersey Devil had been only as opinionated as "Well I hope you find another army to replace this one." Eagle had been overwhelmingly supportive to the decision, believing that Kazdin had made the correct one and that the answer had to be out there somewhere.

The question to be paired with that mysterious answer was simply how do I regain the lost numbers for my army?

Kazdin's inquiries were voiced only a few minutes before Eagle and Karen had left to make their way to the Gun Runners to place a large shipment order on armor, weapons, food and ammunition. The GR Representative nearly fainted when Eagle showed her portfolio proving all of her million-dollar investments were completely legitimate.

And the collateral was entirely too incredible to pass up. If for any reason the hundreds of thousands of caps necessary to pay for the equipment needed to protect their cause turned up as nothing, then the promise of Eagle Octavia's Stealth Boy Mark Three schematics made the Gun Runner's representative jump at the chance to make a deal.

Either he was being paid an exorbitant amount of caps for the shipment order or he would be given access to a device that within the right circles would make him an exorbitant amount of caps. He couldn't lose and therefore agreed heartily to not only supply Kazdin's army, but to actually stop supplying the NCR altogether.

Eagle Octavia had outbid the NCR and therefore that invading army had lost their largest military supplier to their enemy. It was a victory that the Jersey Devil would certainly relish.

Kazdin had been staggered when Boone had requested that rather than accompany her to the Tops Casino, he go along with the Pride and the rest of the women who would storm Caesar's camp in the night.

After thinking it over, Kazdin felt secure enough to allow her boyfriend the closure he felt he needed. If he could be the one to assassinate Caesar Kazdin knew he would benefit from it, even if only slightly.

So after lengthy inner deliberations and securing the Pride for one final stand that would inevitably turn the tide into Kazdin's army's favor she was left to walk the streets of Freeside alone, or so she had believed.

Andrew and Kimbly met with Kazdin in her private cabin as she was preparing for her journey to Freeside.

"So everyone else is assigned to something and you're thinking of going to this casino and confronting your enemy alone. What are we, chopped liver?" Andrew had said, offended.

He had caught Kazdin off guard for a moment.

"I was thinking you would want to join your friends in the Lyon's Pride in assaulting Cottonwood Cove." Kazdin had answered.

"You didn't even ask us." Andrew said. Kazdin had no reply and so Kimbly stepped forward.

"We've made a life here," Kimbly responded, "We have our little ones who are safe for now, but if the NCR wins, our children will be killed and we will never be free."

"I've made a living in D.C. and have so many friends around there, especially in the Brotherhood, that I've lost count," Andrew added, "But Melissa is right. She and I have made a life here in the Mojave among the Khans. We're going to fight for the freedom you promised us."

"That's very selfless of you. I was indeed thinking of going after Benny alone. But having you there with me would make me feel more secure." Kazdin answered.

"It's like Sarah said, I'm not officially a part of the rank and file, although I might as well be. I'm a free agent. Always have been," Andrew said good-naturedly, "I was called the Lone Wanderer before meeting this stunning lady beside me."

"It's an honor to have such legendary figures among my flock." Kazdin replied standing and placing her rifle on her back.

Andrew had secured his pack and palmed his 10 mm variant of the lever-action rifle, nicknamed the River Rifle.

"It's an honor to free our home beside you." Andrew answered.

"We won't let you down, Commander." Kimbly added.

Kazdin had smiled and apologized for having left them out.

She allowed herself a smile even now as the inviting memory shone through the dark thoughts she had been thinking.

However, the enormous gate leading into the New Vegas strip stalled her and made her remember the grave promise she had made so long ago when she had promised her now deceased friends Sunny and Trudy that she would find Benny and make him pay for his crimes.

She sighed, a long slow sound escaping her lips as she showed proof of 2,000 caps to the sentry robots and the gate was opened for her.

"Today, I make good on my promise. Sunny… thank you for believing in me. Trudy, thank you for being one of the first to tell me that I have it in me to finish this quest. I will not falter or fail."

With her heartfelt prayer to her friends completed, Kazdin steeled herself as she pushed through the gate and into that sparkling tribute to sin and vice, with more than her share of sin on her mind.

BBBBBBBB

FOUR HOURS LATER: EN ROUTE TO COTTONWOOD COVE

Stella peered out along the rolling hills and the steep descent toward the cove that proved to be the biggest and most important checkpoint the Legion had under its control. It was the location for every item, prisoner, slave, weapon, food parcel, round of ammunition, trader, Brahmin, visitor and Legionnaire to stop and be rigorously inspected by the local Praetorian, Aurelius of Phoenix.

Stella knew the depravity of the man first hand. Of course, as she had been held captive such a short distance away, the man would visit Caesar's war camp to deliver reports and take his leave among the beautiful slaves the camp had at its disposal. Stella had been one of his favorites and the fact that she had not had his name to add to her list of dead Legion assholes made her skin crawl. At the same time, of course, she knew that vengeance was at hand.

"I should just snipe all of them now and save the Pride the trouble." Boone whispered.

Stella knew where his heart lay and she could sympathize. She wanted to tear the hearts from every man wearing a red dress at the bottom of the hill until the hail of Legion bullets ended her mind's misery by separating her brain from her head and thusly, separating her life from her body. The nightmares would cease and she would fade away into blessed nothingness. No more fear, no more pain, no more soul-boiling anger.

However she was not at death's door yet. Stella refused for one of those alpha male pricks to end her life. She was too proud, too murderous, too filled with rage to even consider allowing herself to die in one final charge. She could not allow Boone to give away his life nor their positions for the act of killing a couple of red-skirts.

Kazdin had named her the Commander of this unit over even the more senior member of the group. It wasn't a dig at Boone or a sign of lack of trust but Kazdin felt with his head mired in payback that Stella may make better decisions on the field.

It wasn't that this campaign was a tactical matter, it was far from it. She and her unit along with the Lyon's Pride and their newly acquired members of the former Mojave chapter of the Brotherhood of Steel were well aware that this was to be a battle of attrition.

Stella and her unit were ordered to raze Cottonwood Cove and Caesar's camp even to the foundations and then when they were certain that every red-dressed alpha male lunatic was god-damn dead to destroy the camp and the cove with fire. Burn it down to bare charred embers and ashes, sparing only whatever slaves they found.

"Stand down, Boone. We follow orders. They'll slaughter the five of us in seconds." Stella said. Boone grunted in the affirmative.

Stella had referred to herself, Boone, Eagle Octavia, the Jersey Devil and Communications Officer Lenk who had been declared fit for active service in this effort. Kazdin and Boone had grilled Lenk a thousand different ways and the wealth of information they had received from her was going to do very well in making sure Kazdin's army defeated the NCR in the upcoming battle.

As a token of appreciation as well as trust Kazdin had asked if Lenk wanted to fight in the siege of Caesar's land or if she wanted to sit it out in case crippling fear and doubt overtook her and rendered her unable to fight.

Lenk had adamantly decided to seek revenge on the men who had nearly killed her and so after being kitted with the best gear Kazdin had been able to find, she went along with the similarly outfitted team led by Stella Mayford.

"Are you ready for this Lenk?" Stella asked her out of the blue. The blonde pushed her glasses up further onto her nose and nodded.

"You need to be sure. When we are out there fighting, your body may want to seize up in fear because these bastards have left an impression. You must compensate and act on instinct. Your mind may not believe those instructions because this part of the war is personal to everyone here with me. However, you cannot put anybody at undue risk because you act recklessly. So I need to ask you again, Lenk. Are you ready for this?"

"Ma'am? The Legion crucified or killed many of my very good friends. They left me for dead, scarred and afraid for my life. I would jump at every shadow. But right now… Right now I want to use my new assault carbine and wipe them off of this planet so that they can't ever hurt anybody else again. Yes ma'am, I am ready." Lenk replied.

Stella smiled. She knew firsthand the fire that Lenk felt.

"Good," Stella said firmly, "Because the Crimson Gambit cannot and will not wait another day."

BBBBBBB

The Tops Casino was everything Kazdin hated and she knew for sure that she was completely biased due to the hate for their chairmen that flooded her brain and made her think of all the ways she could play this confrontation out.

She had completely ignored the front desk attendant, apparently Benny's second-in-command if the smooth talker could be trusted. While she heard the "babys" and "ring-a-ding-dings" he spouted, she chose to ignore him entirely and make her way into the casino before she was stopped by the Tops' greeter with a hand on her shoulder. She looked angrily at him and grit her teeth to keep from yelling at him.

"Whoa, there, baby. That's a sweet looking assault rifle, but I'm afraid only floor managers are permitted to carry weapons at the Tops. Hand it over and submit to a pat down, darlin'."

She held her hands up as he took the weapon from her back and proceeded to pat him down, very frustratingly slowly, for other weapons.

She silently cursed when he found the 9 mm pistol strapped to her thigh. He rubbed her leg longer than she felt was necessary before taking the weapon and securing it.

"Sneaky sneaky, baby. Now that we're all more comfortable, have a great time. The Tops Theater is a real ring-a-ding dive, doll."

Kazdin suddenly felt naked and wanted to rip her weapon from the greeter's hands, shoot him dead and storm the casino, but she knew there were bigger problems to deal with than winding up dead in a full frontal assault provided by a three person team.

So she huffed and led the equally disarmed Andrew and Kimbly through the lobby and into the casino where her heart stopped beating momentarily and her eyes burned from squinting for so long.

There he was. Just at the end of the blackjack tables and surrounded by six very tough looking guards.

Benny.

He was within reach of a well-placed bullet; however there was not a gun or knife to be found on her person or on any of her companions.

She knew a confrontation was in order and her feet began walking of their own accord and before her mind knew what was happening, she was staring at the man in the checkered suit who was laughing with one of his goons before he looked toward her as if in slow motion. When his eyes locked on hers, his mouth dropped open and he stammered out a lame attempt at being glad she was still alive so he could sleep.

"Talk. Talk right now." Was all Kazdin could say at the moment.

"Okay, hear me out. I know you're looking for all kinds of payback, but believe me when I say that shooting you in the dome was nothing personal."

"What is that chip and why did you feel the need to shoot me for it?" Kazdin demanded.

"We ain't talking about no chip, not out here. Sensitive ears, ya see. What say I meet you in the Presidential Suite in fifteen minutes and I'll answer everything you gotta say? I promise."

"Only on two conditions," Kaz said harshly, "Lose the guards and we go right now. Together."

"Alright, fine. We'll do it your way pussycat."

Kazdin followed closely behind Benny, her blue eyes never leaving the man as she watched him like an Eagle for any signs of foul play. Andrew and Kimbly followed along a few paces behind equally as wary.

As the elevator to the Presidential Suite dinged open into the large, well decorated recreation room, Kazdin pushed Benny out and ordered him to answer her.

Benny sank onto a bar stool with his hands raised in surrender.

"That chip ain't no ordinary chip, as I'm sure you gathered," Benny said quickly, "It's called a Platinum chip and believe you me, it is the most important thing of its size in the wasteland."

"What's so god damned important about it?" Kazdin demanded.

"Baby, it's got everything to take down House. He's the de facto ruler of the strip and truly of New Vegas as a whole. The key to his power though, is his securitrons. Surely you couldn't have missed them posted at the fancy enormous gate and every other corner next to every casino. It's like the player don't trust the pawns."

"What is your plan with my chip, Benny?"

"Hey now, first of all it's my chip. It needs to be in the hands of someone who can use it right, and I'm afraid that just ain't you."

Kaz started to retort but Benny held a hand up.

"I don't mean nothing mean by that. Obviously you're a real ripe customer and you got brains to spare. Tougher than I ever seen to survive what I did to ya. Again, I'm real sorry about that. It was just business, and if you think that House or the NCR wouldn't shoot you dead if it meant taking control of this thing, you got another thing coming."

"What is your plan?" Kazdin said again, her eyes narrowing. Benny gulped.

"I can't tell you that, but it's big, trust me. Join me. Work for me doing special missions and you will have access to money and power over the strip. Not as much as me, of course, this was all my idea. But you will live like nobody has ever lived in the Mojave wasteland and that is a guarantee."

Kazdin looked down at the barstool Benny was sitting on. It was a lucrative offer if Benny could be believed whatsoever. She had seen deadly business being done before and it was true that trying to kill her was the one sure fire way to take her chip and become apparently the king of New Vegas.

Maybe it wasn't personal. Maybe he could be trusted and maybe, just maybe the revenge she had lusted after was not the way to go.

Kazdin sat on a nearby bar stool.

"Go on. I'm listening."

BBBBBBB

The vertibird delivering the men and women of the Lyons' Pride descended on Stella's crew faster than the field commander had thought and as the first volleys of minigun fire and rockets began peppering the buildings and tents throughout Cottonwood Cove Stella stood and switched the safety off of her assault carbine. Her team followed suit. The only two members of Stella's squad who had different weapons were the Jersey Devil who sported the scoped light machine gun Bozar and Boone who hefted the amazingly powerful .50 caliber sniper rifle.

As the explosions and staccato burp of machine gun fire deafened all humanity around it Stella lifted her assault rifle and motioned downhill toward the Praetorian's command building.

"Charge!" She screamed over the cacophony of war.

A scream rose higher than the explosions as the small team rose and ran down hill. Weapons were steadied upon their respective soldier's shoulders and as the end of the massive hill came into view, so did the legionnaires, who were all facing away from the hill and toward the cove itself, aiming at power armored soldiers who had just now landed on the ground and began firing advanced laser and plasma weaponry at any crimson-clad man they saw.

Stella followed suit firing a volley of lead upon a garrison of Legionnaires. Ducking behind cover, Stella and her team opened fire on the eleven Legionnaire garrison. They had no time to react as seven of them fell the moment Stella and her four compatriots opened fire and those that did turn to fire on their flank were vaporized by laser fire.

After the last man guarding the way out of the cove fell, Stella rose once more and led the charge deeper into the bastion of the enemy. Stella popped her weapon up repeatedly, firing on the Legionnaires scattered throughout the hills and trees peppering the area.

The Jersey Devil proved to be a woman of immense strength regardless of her wiry frame. The loud-mouthed woman made the powerful Bozar sing and dance as she cut down enemies which Stella had no idea were even out there.

Karen sniped men behind rocks and lying down in the tall grass to the west of the command building whom Stella had never known existed. Boone was playing his part as well, lifting the hefty .50 to his shoulder and sniping men everywhere. He single handedly cleared several Legionnaires from the roof of the command building before turning his sights again to the ground and blowing a Decanis' head clean off his shoulders as he was charging an unaware Stella who was trading shots at a Centurion several yards away and to the east of the building.

She looked to Boone's position and smiled at him before continuing her assault on the Legion presence, joining together with the Pride in a brilliant awe inspiring mash up of projectiles and red and green light shows as body after body of Legionary after Legionary fell to the ground either bloodied and broken or a pile of glowing red or green ash.

Explosions, bullet fire and disintegrations lit the night like a bonfire as the fighting raged to its end and when the last Legionnaire fell, a collective shout of victory rose into the night air and after the cheering finally stopped, even the crickets had stopped chirping in fear of the wrath of the Pride and the Remnants.

Stella took her team toward Sarah who saluted them. The salute was returned from five battle-ready warriors.

"Cottonwood Cove is barren, but I'm sure we can make the place uninhabitable. There's a trailer up in the northwestern hills that sports the logo of an old-world radiation waste company. Sending those barrels down here and igniting the command building should keep this place uninhabitable for years." Sarah reported.

"Great idea, but let us scour the area for innocents and information first. The Praetorian here, I knew him. He would have sensitive information in his office." Stella said. Sarah nodded in agreement.

"Twenty minutes." Sarah allowed.

"Thank you again for your help." Stella said.

"After your airdrop to and from Caesar's camp we will wish you the best of luck in your upcoming battles."

Stella shook hands with the Elder-General and sent Boone, Karen and Lenk to secure any innocent slaves and she took Eagle with her into the command building intent on finding any sensitive information.

Fifteen minutes later Stella and her team met with Sarah Lyons outside the command building which the Pride was lining with c4 explosives.

"Boone?" Stella asked.

"Three slaves. They were en route to the camp as soon as their paperwork was finished by Aurelius of Phoenix." Boone reported.

"They're gone now, I suspect?"

Boone nodded.

"Great job. Me and Eagle found some dossiers on slave trafficking, plans to deal with the Khans and an important Legionnaire in a high position of power within the NCR called Curtis. Seems like all info is unimportant."

"That doesn't mean that Caesar doesn't have important information in his camp." Sarah chimed in as she approached the newly reunited Remnants unit.

"Come on, we're airlifting you into the camp before we blow this fucking place off the earth. The Pride is falling back into the hills awaiting extraction. They are to blow this place once our vertibird disappears. I'll take the minigun and blast that trailer and the barrels will poison the area. And what the hell, I'll also provide air support as you storm the camp."

Stella clapped Sarah's enormous steel epaulette with a smile

"You're the best, Sarah."

"Yeah, yeah I know. Let's do this. All aboard."

BBBBBBBB

Knight Captain Dusk had removed her helmet. Her close-cropped blonde hair stuck to her forehead with sweat but the night air was cool on her overheated skin as she sat down close to Gallows. He too had removed his helmet. Their fingers entwined as Dusk kissed his lips, ignoring the scar that ran through his bottom lip and into his chin.

The kiss lingered as Dusk clicked the button on the detonator which caused the C4 to ignite, blasting the Cottonwood Cove command building into rubble just as the radioactive barrels fell downhill and into the midst of the rubble that once housed Aurelius of Phoenix and a multitude of Legion warriors which now lay as a ghost graveyard to be pondered by future generations.

Dusk moved away from the kiss and stared into Gallows' green eyes before turning her blue ones to the horizon just in time to see the last flickering of the Pride's vertibird as it moved off to assault the camp.

"Godspeed Elder-General." Dusk said softly.

Gallows only smiled.

BBBBBBB

"Here's where you get off everyone!" Sarah yelled as her minigun glowed red hot as it administered covering fire onto the Legionnaires diving for cover below. Nearly fifty fell to the cover fire alone as Stella and her charges clipped onto the rope that hung off of the side of the Vertibird. Stella and her unit rappelled to the ground below and unclipped before finishing off the Legion mongrels who had braved a chance look out toward the gate. They fell missing their heads as Stella and company moved further into Caesar's camp.

Caesar's Praetorian Guard and the frumentarri were out in force, but the numbers weren't insurmountable and Stella had to thank Centurion Silus for the information to invade now during Caesar's vulnerable state.

The Jersey Devil and Eagle Octavia paired up, working seamlessly together. Eagle would reload her massive machine gun while Eagle peppered the Legionnaires with bursts from her assault carbine.

"Now!" Karen cried.

Eagle knelt immediately and Karen stepped upon her back and launched herself over the crate, executing a roll forward to halt her momentum before bringing Bozar up and over to train on the four Praetorian guards who were charging her. The powerful bullets perforated the guards, but a frumentarius sprinted toward her location.

The Jersey Devil dropped to the ground on her belly as Eagle launched herself off the crate. As her left hand pushed the exploding power fist away from Karen's position, her unsheathed combat knife pierced the frumentarius' neck, dropping him to the ground dead before he realized he had been bested.

Eagle then threw the knife toward a passing Legion recruit who was advancing on Lenk. The knife caught him in the side of the neck and as he fell Eagle sprinted toward his body and dislodging the knife, sheathed it in less than one second.

Eagle dodged a bullet just before Karen sprinted between the tents with her .44 magnum unholstered and pointed directly at a line of six recruits.

Bang, hammer down, bang, hammer down, bang, hammer down six times and all of the recruits fell dead to the ground.

Karen lifted her hands at the death end of a 9 mm held by a Decanis being pointed at her skull. She smirked just before he pulled the trigger as Lenk ambushed him with bursts from her assault carbine.

"Thanks doll face." Karen said with a salute before holstering her magnum and drawing Bozar once more.

She and Eagle leapt and dodged and sprinted and rolled as they killed Legionnaires left and right, obviously being well-trained in such combat. Stella was happy to advance, firing shots from her assault carbine at any and all Legionnaires who got too close to the killing machines.

"Me, Eagle and Lenk will hold the bastards at that bunker off! You and Boone go kill Caesar and his guards!" the Jersey Devil advised.

Stella nodded and moved to the grand tent flap. She replaced her assault carbine with her Legion Machete Gladius.

"Theatrics and close quarters." Stella said simply at Boone's glance.

Boone palmed a lever-action shotgun and after a moment to collect themselves moved through the tent flap and into Caesar's holiest of holies.

Boone blasted two Praetorian guards who were nearest the flap while Stella sprinted toward three more. She blocked two punches made with shotgun-infused power fists before slicing one Praetorian's neck deeper than any person would need to before spinning and slicing his partner's throat open. Stella took a blast punch to the back which knocked her two feet onto the ground.

Boone grunted as he brought his shotgun up just in time to kill the Praetorian milliseconds before he could deliver the same blow to Boone.

Stella moved to her feet, dazed just in time to block one of the Legion's dogs' vicious bite to her neck with her forearm. She cried out in pain as blood dripped from the dog bite and ran down her arm.

A shotgun blast killed the dog and the dog's matriarch as she came bounding into the fight. One final shot rang out as Boone shot the dog in the head and put her down.

Side by side Boone and Stella moved into Caesar's throne room which stood empty. In the room just beyond stood a tall, muscular man with short cut black hair and a thick beard. Just behind him lay Caesar in his bed, too pain-struck to even move to join the fight. His bleary blue eyes watched the scene with fear.

"Praetorian Lucius." Stella whispered. The man dipped his head slightly in recognition.

"Ranger Stella." He spoke, his gravelly voice spoke of countless battles and he showed absolutely no fear for the Legion's menace.

"Move out of the way." Stella spoke.

"Why are you even talking to him?" Boone wondered.

"Because aside from Siri. I never touched her. In fact, I took care of her." Lucius answered.

Stella nodded.

"I was always loyal to mighty Caesar from my very first day as a volunteer recruit. But I always despised the things the men did for entertainment." Lucius said.

"You were still loyal to a man who turned a blind eye to rape, torture and fights to the death among slaves." Stella said.

"You are just innocent enough for me not to take your head off where we stand. But not so innocent that I will spare you if you try to keep us from vengeance." Stella warned.

"Your vengeance is centered upon a man I love as my own father." Lucius said as he squared his stance.

"Then as much as I liked you Lucius, you need to be taken out of the way."

"Even if Caesar falls now, a greater force will take charge of the Legion and there will be no talking him down." Lucius tried.

"Life is full of small challenges." Stella said as she raised her blade and stared off at the large man holding his exploding power fist upward in a combat stance.

Boone tried to raise his shotgun at Lucius but he knocked the gun out of his hand, burning Boone's hand in the process. A kick to the gut knocked Boone out of the fight for a few seconds. Long enough to block Stella's mad downward swipe with her gladius. The clang of the machete against the steel of Lucius' power fist caused a spark to fly which ignited a pool of liquid. The fire caught the side of the tent and spread.

The machete was knocked backward along with Stella's arm, giving Lucius an opening at Stella's head. Boone's fist connected with Lucius' chin just before he made to punch Stella's face with the exploding gauntlet. It was a momentary distraction at best, but Stella capitalized by slicing Lucius' belly. The cut wasn't deep enough to cause more than superficial damage, but the pain registered and caused Lucius to stagger, but only momentarily. A mechanical punch caught Stella in the midsection, the explosion breaching her torso armor and causing a hole and another burn scar in addition to the countless scars that already littered her body.

Boone moved forward and caught Lucius' hand as he moved in to finish the job. A head butt and three punches later he called upon his ranger training, hooked Lucius' leg with his and tripped him, falling forward with the Praetorian.

As Boone struggled on top of the Praetorian master guard, his right hand holding Lucius' exploding fist down and his left blocking a follow up punch from Lucius' left hand, the only weapon left to him was his own forehead. He slammed his forehead into Lucius' face three times before Lucius looked as if he were dazed.

"Boone! Roll!" Stella cried.

As Lucius eyes opened wide in surprise, Boone rolled over to his back, bringing Lucius around the top. Seconds later Stella's machete gladius slammed into Lucius' skull, the deadly honed edge cutting deep into his brain and killing him instantly.

The fire had all but consumed the tent and the smoke was billowing. Stella helped Boone to his feet and advanced on Caesar's form shivering in the bed despite the fire's great heat.

"Edward Sallow!" Boone shouted.

"You know… nothing of me or my regime." Caesar spat.

"You'd be surprised what me and the army I serve knows about the Legion." Boone spat.

"I'm done talking. Fuck you. My successor will ravage you all."

Boone raised his .50 caliber sniper rifle and peered through the scope. Even at point blank he could see the fearlessness in Caesar's eyes and the angry flames billowing in the background.

"One for my baby." Boone whispered before pulling the trigger. The sound nearly deafened him and Stella, but he didn't even blink as Caesar's body nearly disintegrated in front of him.

Stella used her machete to cut the wall of the tent open and as she and Boone escaped the inferno that had become of Caesar's tent she knew that he had found peace once again.

"So. Theatrics, Boone?" Stella spoke as they walked toward Eagle, Karen and Lenk at the mysterious bunker at the very end of the camp.

"You're one to talk. You're machete is truly dangerous."

Stella smiled.

"Stella, all innocents are corralled in the bunker." The Jersey Devil reported.

"Thank you. How was the fight?" Stella asked.

"Had to improvise at the end, but it was nothing me and Eagle couldn't handle. Lenk on the other hand, is extremely talented."

"Something nice from J.D. is something to listen to." Eagle chimed in. Lenk merely blushed.

"What happened?" Stella wondered.

"She is a fierce fighter and is very passionate. She kept up with me and Eagle, and that is tremendously hard to do." Karen said.

"I am ex special forces. No big deal." Lenk commented shyly.

But Stella had other plans and a glowing review in her mind.

"Come on everyone. Let's burn this place to the ground and signal exfil." Stella said as she led her charges toward the bunker.

As Stella neared the bunker, Siri smiled at her, who returned the gesture with one of her own.