Colonel Miller followed Lieutenant Boyd into the interrogation room. The Russians had spent the day digging in alongside their newfound allies, but the colonel needed to proceed in eliminating the Legion threat from the Metro.

As they walked up the steps of an escalator that no longer functioned it's role, Boyd spoke. "I heard one of your Rangers helped one of the troopers out in getting her husband back. Is that true?"

Ah yes, that incident. Uhlman was helping a widow who lost her husband to the Fiends. Although the desire to berate the Ranger was present, Miller chose to be lenient on him. The mere mention of the soldier having the possibility to put a bullet in her own skull was convincing enough and it would be bad for morale - going by Colonel Hsu's situation, most of the troops were already fighting with poor morale in the first place. At the very least, it would be an improvement to their allies stationed here. "Yes. As much as Uhlman has a knack for terrible jokes, he's a good Ranger. He's my go-to man whenever I need something done."

"Good, the last thing the NCR needs is a trooper's brains all over the floor of her quarters. It's bad enough that the Fiends have a tendency to rape, pillage, and plunder while on chems. Which begs me to question, why do you hold a grudge against them?"

"There is a station called Paveletskaya, it has earned the respect of most of the Metro since the locals have a long history of fighting off mutants in droves. To some degree, most of the factions tend to support their stance on helping them out given that they won't be the ones to deal with the mutant packs." Miller explained. "When all of us arrived there at the mere rumor of the Legion being present, the Fiends were already trashing the place and killing its defenders. In other words, we were very angry."

"Looks like their days are numbered." Once they reached the top of the escalators, the lieutenant walked over to a room on her right. "Here's our prisoner. Your interrogators seem to be doing a good job at… convincing Silus to speak. The information we've been getting has been accurate and enough to counter several slaving patrols south of New Vegas."

"Good, but we also have a problem."

"What would that be?"

"This was the Reds' only batch of truth serums, it's going to be awhile before we get another from Revolution." The colonel answered.

"Damn, it felt too easy."

"I know the feeling. So what would you also need out of him?" When they entered the room, Miller saw a Legion soldier without his armor on. Instead, he had nothing, but jeans and a simple blouse to cover himself with.

"Silus is a Centurion, he's one of the high-ranking officers of the Legion." Boyd explained. "He also has the privilege to know about Caesar's health and something about infiltrators in our ranks. Since the NCR can't touch him, you might have to beat the information out of him. However, try not to kill him. We still need him alive."

"I completely understand, but I've had several interrogations of my own to know how to handle a guy like this."

"You're going to personally interrogate him."

Miller nodded his head. "Of course, I know a few tricks up my sleeve that might help."

"Alright, keep me entertained. I want that smug face of his to be gone by the time you are finished."

He chuckled. "Don't worry, this is normal procedure."

The Spartan Commander unlocked the doors before they closed behind his back. Two chairs and a table were present. The two were placed across one-another with a table kept between them. Just like how they done… discussions like this in Polis.

When he took his seat, he heard the Legion Centurion talk. "What kind of excrement did they find you, worm?"

Once Colonel Miller sat down, he stared at the man. "The kind that finishes off a corpse like yours."

"Oh? You think, I should be afraid of you. Pathetic. The Legion has many more soldiers like me who would put your kind to shame."

"Tell me, young man. How do men like you achieve a rank of Centurion, because all I see is an imitator?"

"How dare you insult the Legion?! We earn our ranks by spilling the blood of our enemies to in Caesar's name, despite of his 'headaches' that affect his strategic ability. Our numbers are numerous, your soldiers are weak even when we are not fighting. There is nothing fake about our quest to bring the banner of the bull across all the lands."

All the colonel could do was scoff. "Yet, here you are. Doing nothing, but wasting your time becoming a prisoner. For what? Domination? All I see is a man who clearly lost his way and wants to believe he's a true believer of his cause."

"That is because I am. I kill in the name of Caesar and I currently sacrifice my body to serve the Legion. Even when I'm here, you spend your time trying to pry out the information out of my mind, but you will not have it. When the Legion puts their feet on your backs, you will find true salvation."

"One man is a tragedy, but a million is a statistic."

"What wisdom comes from such words?"

"They come from a man who would make your Caesar look like a child." He answered. "You are simply one single Centurion. However, your… lord has many others who could replace your rank. What does he care about you? Perhaps the only thing he should think about is whether you are a coward to give information to us."

"I am no coward. Caesar will come for me!" Silus replied. "After all, he ordered me to come here and distract your commanders while others lurk within these walls to destroy your precious link to the city of corruption and sow disruption between your eyes. As a Centurion, I will not falter in my course."

This man must have loved boasting when there were others around. Too bad he didn't have the brain to shut his mouth. "I'm afraid to say that a centurions have more brawn than brains, really. After all, you divulged enough information to us that I think your Caesar might kill you for our previous… appointments."

"No, my lord will never abandoned me. Caesar will come and I will walk free while the lieutenant becomes my slave and your skull as my goblet. We will rise to surpass your armies and bring your cities to ruin, mark my words.

Colonel Miller rose from his seat, placed his hand on the table and leaned forward. "That is why I call you imitators. As a descendant of the third Rome, you are a charlatan who cannot think forward beyond the man who dressed you up. Thank you for this conversation." Then he turned away from the Legion officer and returned back into the observation room.

After the doors closed behind him, Lieutenant Boyd was waiting for him with her arms crossed. "I don't see how you got any information out of him."

"Tell me Boyd, how do you get eyes on the enemy?"

"By sending scouts or a… patrol." Her tone changed. "So you're saying that he's playing around with words?"

"Da. He mentioned about a link to a city? Do you know anything about that? Is it a supply route or what?"

Then he noticed her face turn ghostly white. "It's the train from here to New Vegas. Shit, they got an infiltrator to sabotage the train."

"Don't worry about that, I'll give one of my men the heads up." Then he reached to his hand-held radio and spoke. "Uhlman, come in?"

An enthusiastic and happy voice was heard on the other side. "Secret Agent Uhlman, over!"

"Cut the chatter, there's a bomb in the terminal building attached to a train. I'm going to need you to cut the wires."

"Understood, but the guards won't let anybody near it."

"Lieutenant Boyd, could you help with this problem?" Miller wondered.

"I can, I'll inform the guards to let him through." Then she handed him a coded card. "Here, you'll need this."

"For what?"

"If the Legion intends on hampering our patrols, then someone must have had access to the patrol manifest. Most troopers go there to spend some love-making there, but if someone unauthorized is present bring him alive if you can."

"Don't worry, I'll send several of some Reds to keep me company."

Ever since Tomilin and his Rangers found him and Cass, they paddled through the sunken tunnels to avoid the various obstructions and the local fauna from getting too close with the boats. With each swipe, the convoy of three boats continued to make its way through the waterways just to find land and get to Polis from there. Artyom looked around to see the shrimps take notice of their presence, but remain in their places.

Then he heard Tomilin speak. "Be careful men. We don't want to get eaten by our own fish. Boris, Stephan, keep your lights charged. We don't want to be caught in the fucking dark."

One of the Rangers was shaking with his shotgun attached with a bayonet. However, another was quick to calm him down. "Romanov, stop fucking shaking. You'll tip us over."

"Sorry, Red." The Ranger was quick to reply. "I'm not fond of these fuckers."

"Yes, we get it. You're afraid of shrimps."

"We could get attacked at any time." Romanov thought. "I just want to be ready when it happens."

"Hell, I might toss you over for good measure."

While the convoy of boats continued to move throughout the 'seas', Artyom and Cass were accompanied by two Rangers. Both of whom were watching their backs with their weapons as they paddled the boat forward. One of them smiled at Artyom and gave his hand out to him. "My name is Petr, my friend watching your backs is Grisha."

Given the grim scenery around them, perhaps a conversation might help keep the idea of getting eaten by sea monsters out of his mind. "I'm Artyom and my friend is Cass."

"So, how long have you two have been together?" Petr wondered.

"Well-" The stalker never had the opportunity to finish.

The caravaneer spoke. "We've been traveling together for awhile."

The Ranger seemed confused. "Really? I'm surprised for both of you. Most stalker couples I've met have settled down. Why haven't both of you tried?"

"Don't you remember, I'm from Exhibition station." Artyom answered. "It's rather hard given that I have nowhere else to go."

Petr shook his head. "You're quite the pessimist. I understand that you lost your home, but maybe there are other stations out there."

"I want to introduce her to my step-father."

Cass was quick to comment. "Hold up, you didn't lay with me because you wanted your step-father's thoughts on me? What kind of logic is that?"

"It would be funny, really. I left my home station and bring home a girl. He'd have a laugh at that."

"You Russians are weird."

Grisha laughed. "Given that this is the Metro, what better way to impress a father in such a way. It means you have your priorities straight."

"Priorities? How the fuck is this considered priorities?"

"That means you're smart enough to live a happy life in this shithole of a home. Yes, being a stalker has its economic freedom, but there are plenty of dangers going along with it."

Then Tomilin spoke. "Everyone, shut the fuck up!" Silence came as they heard a loud rush of water slipping through an exit. "Go in the other direction, quick!"

Soon the paddles were beginning to splash in the other direction. Artyom was quick to do the same as the convoy of boats tried to drive elsewhere. Romanov was quick to notice something. "Shit, we can't get out of this! The waves are pushing against us."

"Keep trying. We must not get caught in the waterfall."

Artyom looked away from the waterfall and turned his attention on their way back; however, he noticed something in the water that caught his attention. He turned on his flashlight as he saw the large creature underneath his boat. "Sir, something's under us."

"What is it?"

"I don't know, but it looks bigger than the regular shrimps."

Romanov was quick to identify it. "It's a male. Don't piss it off."

The creature revealed it's full might as it knocked the boat Artyom was in. "It's trying to get us out of the boat."

"Grisha, Petr, open fire!" Soon the two Rangers in the same boat were quick to open fire in the water, but the shrimp shook the boat again. This time, knocking the stalker off as he held onto the edge. However, his weight turned the boat as everyone held on. Yet, the force of the water began to make their way towards the other boats.

Tomilin shouted to the top of his lungs. "Look out!" Then the convoy began to smash into one-another as the group accelerated out of the drain and into the world below.

Artyom looked below as he saw a strange pulse in reality. The very kind that brought him back into the Metro. "Anomaly, look out!"

In the quiet tunnels, Jed Masterson kept inventory of his goods while he was angry at what had happened. Apparently, Ricky's Pip-Boy stopped working on their journey and now they were lost. "You know, I knew you were trouble kid. Look at us, we're stuck in these passes."

His eyes turned on the young man in the vault suit, who was trying to get his piece of machinery to work. "Look man, I can fix this. Give me a little time and we'll be going."

"Time is money, Ricky. We're all going to die because of you."

Then one of the caravan guards walked up to him. "Don't be so hard on the kid. After all, he did land on a rock."

"Stella, don't give the boy the excuse." Jed replied. "I expected to have a professional not… this."

The caravan became tense as they heard gunfire in the distance. The leader of the group looked behind his back to hear voices cry out. "Put that fucker down!"

"Fall back, fall back!"

"Get through the cracks."

However, he couldn't put his finger on the accent since he had never heard of them before. Then he saw flashlights appear from the right side of the tunnel as one of them slipped through. "It can't get us through here. Come on." More slipped out of the small cracks in the tunnel that the caravan had bypassed after finding out it was a dead end. After the final person walked out of the crack, they all turned their lights on them as they walked forward. "Hey, you don't mind any company do you?"

When they revealed themselves Jed didn't know what to say. They wore black armor and carried trench coats on their person. He could mistake them for NCR Rangers, but their helmets were very different than what he had seen on the propaganda posters. These people were strange; however, he didn't want to offend these people given that they had more men than he had guards. "Sure, but you are stuck with us." Then he glanced his gaze upon Ricky and shook his head. "This kid had a map on his Pip-Boy, but apparently it stopped working."

"What the hell is a Pip-Boy?" One of the strange men asked.

Then Stella was immediately surprised by the question. "Have you been living under a rock?"

"Nyet, but I've been living in a Metro train system. Does that count?"

"Ha, ha, very funny."

One of the people stepped forward and revealed her arm. "Jed? Jed Masterson, is that you?"

It had been a long time since he had heard her voice, but he recognized her. "Cass? What the hell are you doing here?"

"I was accompanying one of these men. We were ambushed by some monster, but we got out alive. You're a sight for sore eyes."

"Really? Why is that?"

"Ever heard of the Sierra Madre?"

"Yeah, it's one of those legends that isn't true."

"I beg to differ." She walked into the light and began to show off her armor over to the caravaneer. "Turns out it's real." Then he saw the words 'Sierra Madre Security' written on her back.

"Damn, you got that legendary treasure on you?"

Cass shook her head. "Artyom and I got split up after were chased by a deathclaw. We met these fellas and ended up here."

"Well, it looks like you're stuck here with me."

Ricky spoke up. "Like I said, give me a moment and I'll fix it."

However, Cass displayed something Jed was longing for, hope. "Don't wait for him, Jed, I got mine."

"You got a Pip-Boy as well?" Jed wondered.

"Yeah, my friend saved my ass and handed some of his stuff to me. It works."

"I'll be damned, looks like we're saved."

"Before we go, I would like to introduce you to the leader of this group of men. I think you know it's worth the company."

Jed stared at one of the men as he came forward and unmasked his face. Then he brought his hand out. When they shook hands he introduced himself. "My name is Ranger Tomilin, I'm the head of these Rangers. So do you know where we're going?"

"I could send you New Vegas," Jed began. "However, we're going to have to take the long way back. We can't go back the way we came from. If you follow me and let me get some trade in Zion I might be able to get you and the others back to civilization."

"Spasibo, I appreciate the help, but I still don't understand where we are?"

"Don't worry, once we get out of this maze we'll figure things out."

When the caravan proceeded to move, Jed noticed Ricky have the opportunity to get close to Cass. Oh how he would pay to see her punch him. "Hey lady, how about we share information. Maybe I could show you my third glowing nut and you'll see what you're using."

The caravaneer shook her head and grabbed one of the strange men; however, he was younger than the others. "Sorry, I'm taken."

"I doubt this fucko knows how to treat a lady right."

Cass's partner spoke his mind. "My friend has a four-barrelled shotgun and you're giving her one hell of a reason to use it."

"What a fucking bitch?! I was trying to be friendly." Ricky replied.

Then one of the strange men commented. "If you don't want to lose your balls boy, don't get friendly with her."

Jed shook his head as he led the caravan. It was going to be a long journey going by several weeks.

Author's Note: Yep, Artyomand the others have found themselves heading off to Zion.

Someguy the anon: As a fish person, I disagree.

Paladin Bailey: Thanks for the review.