Chapter 9

I may have some characters speaking Latin to each other in this chapter. I apologize – I am not an expert in the rules of grammar for that language. I can usually scrape by in English but that's about it :). I'll do what I can to research, but I'll probably mostly be using Google translate sometimes in this chapter and in future.

For the first time she could remember, Jessica was completely at a loss for words. She had no idea what to say to the man who was watching her with so much hope in his eyes.

His smile faltered at her lack of reaction. "…Sister?"

She shook her head and shrugged helplessly. Fear taking hold as she realized she had no idea what to say or do. The Legate's claim seemed so absurd and yet… and yet he fleet familiar. If he was lying, what was his game? Burke had mentioned a brother once. So if Vorenus was telling the truth, then what would his reaction be to her loss of memory? And where was Jericho? Where were Cassidy and Arcade?

"Legate Vorenus," Krupp said, in his slithering, nasal tone, "Legate she does not remember us."

"Vorenus glanced from the strange dapper abomination to Jessica and back. His brow furred, and he spoke with a quiet anger. "Jessica, tell me… what did those wasters do to you…"

"She has gunshot scars in her forehead, yesss…"

"I asked my sister!" Vorenus snapped, shooting Krupp a venomous glare. He turned back to Jessica, and there was nothing but honest love and gentleness in his eyes. He said, "what happened, Jessica?"

It wasn't like she could deny it. Jessica tossed her head, her dark hair sweeping aside to reveal the scars. His gaze was drawn immediately to the pale circles on her forehead. She said, "I'm sorry."

God, it felt strange, taking that tone with a Legionary. But it didn't feel wrong.

Vorenus raised a hand to her face, and gently brushed her hair further aside, leaning in to give the scars a closer examination. As he ran a thumb over the wounds, his eyes narrowed and his mouth formed a thin, grim line. "What did they do to you...?"

"I don't know…" Jessica admitted flinching a little away from his touch. Sensing her discomfort, the Legate immediately lowered his hand. She said, "I woke up in a doctor's office in a small town south of New Vegas. I don't remember anything before that."

"I don't understand." Vorenus said slowly, "what do you mean you don't remember?"

"I mean I don't remember."

"Well I…" he stared at her, his voice growing desperate. "You know your name. That's not nothing. That must mean something. So you must remember something!"

"It means I remember my name." Jessica said simply.

The legate stepped backwards, collapsing onto a nearby chair, looking miserable and absolutely devastated. "Do you remember me?"

She shook her head.

"The Legion?"

"No."

"What about… what about our childhood, growing up to the west? Hunting coyote pups and trading the pelts for Nuka-Cola?" he smiled encouragingly, leaning forward in his chair, "I'd kill the beasts and you would talk the traders into giving us extra caps. They taught you how to play cards…"

"There is no life before the Legion!" Krupp hissed.

The armoured man momentarily turned his attention on the abomination, and Jessica was reminded that he was a Legion Legate. Cold authority and angry unforgiving eyes. He spoke clearly and sharply, his tone carrying a threat. "Frumentari, Shut your mouth and untie my sister before I grow angry."

Krupp shifted and made a disapproving 'tch' noise, but he moved behind Jessica and untied her, being none too gentle in the process. Her hands finally free, Jessica shook some feeling back into her arms, and gently massaged her bruised wrists. She was getting very tired of being everyone else's prisoner. She said, "The man I came with – Jericho…?"

"Degenerate scum. He is being held in the lower decks for interrogation."

Lower decks. Prisoners were kept in the lower decks. Good information. She said, "He helped me."

The Legate's eyes widened in surprise. Pushing further, Jessica said, "He should be rewarded and allowed to return to Megaton unharmed."

The Legate watched her thoughtfully for a moment, and then nodded. "Very well. A friend of my sister is a friend of the Legion. I will see that it is done."

"Thank you." she said, and meant it. "I would like to see him before you send him on his way." The Legate's tacit permission to access the prison? Much easier than sneaking around a Legion-occupied fortress. She could search for Cassidy and Arcade while she was down there and find a way to get all three of them back to the Mojave and out of this nightmare. House's robot be damned.

"That can happen too." The Legate softened and smiled happily, though he was clearly distraught by the news, "Don't worry, Jessica. Whatever happened, what matters is that you're home now. You're among family. We'll get you a room to yourself and food to eat – the finest the Wasteland has to offer! Once you're settled in I'll give you a tour. I'll tell you everything."

Krupp began to protest. "Sir, she is an unknown, yess… her loyalties-"

"Her loyalty is to her family, damn it!" Vorenus barked, rising angrily to his feet. "Leave us."

Krupp rocked back on his heels. It was nice to see the slithery frumentari caught off-guard. Jessica turned towards him to watch as he snapped to attention and saluted. Before the abomination marched out, he shot Jessica a suspicious look. Knowing that her would-be brother could not see her face from that angle, she responded with simpering, exaggerated look of cherubic innocence.

"Abomination!" Vorenus said, planting his fists on the table and shooting Krupp an angry glare. The creature stopped at the door and turned back. The Legate continued, "you are a lesser creature. The Legion was built on the strength of Men. We fought and earned everything we have. Everything we are. All you are is what the Good Doctor's gifts made you. You're an unnatural creature, and beneath us. Never forget that."

The Abomination smiled back at him, or perhaps it was just baring its teeth. "And I am Caesar's Frumentari. Not Legate Vorenus's. You would do well to keep that in mind."

Vorenus straightened, glaring coldly at the creature. His fists were clenching and unclenching, but he did not speak. The door creaked closed and the Legate sighed. "I really do hate those creatures. That is not what a Legionary should be. Perhaps we should have left with Edward Sallow."

Jessica said nothing, but privately filed the information away for later use. The Legion was not as unified as she had originally thought. Every large organization had its tensions. She tried to think of a way to exploit the division, but the real truth hitting her was that even with the Legate's trust and belief in her, she was not safe here.

"So you don't remember anything?" he asked plaintively.

"No, I'm sorry. I don't remember anything." Jessica said, helplessly. She did not have to work to put frustration in her tone as she said, "Sounds and smells sometimes almost… something. But really I don't even know if 'Jessica Chase' is my real name…"

"It is! Your name is Jessica. Our mother was Penelope." Vorenus searched her eyes for a spark or a hint of recognition, and his face fell when she stared blankly back at him. For Jessica's part she was racking her brain for anything, even the vaguest hint of recognition.

Nothing.

"You know…" he told her, his eyes shining with a rekindled excitement, "Our mother came here to the Capital Wasteland once. She was a promising, skilled hunter, and extremely cunning. A long time ago our tribe's leader told her to find out what lay east."

Jessica stared, "I was a tribal?"

"I… yes." Vorenus seemed to shrink, leaning back against the edge of the table. "There is no life before the Legion, but…. Yes."

"Well…" Jessica smiled, "tell me about them! What were we called? Where were we from?"

For the first time since he had laid eyes on her, a little uncertainty crept into Vorenus' expression. He repeated, "there is no life before the Legion, Jessica. The Doctor's abomination was not wrong."

"You're right, of course. I'm sorry…" Jessica backtracked immediately. She was horribly aware that the only thing standing between her and possible rape, torture, and crucifixion was this man's misplaced love, and mistaken belief in her loyalties. She wondered what Boone would have thought of all of his.

All the same, she had to ensure that she had the Legate on her side. She said, "Can you tell me about our mother?"

"Of course. I'm glad you're curious, Jessica! She explored for many years. Joined up with a strong tribe and collected slaves for them. She traveled from Boston to Jacksonville and came back to the tribe with a fortune and slaves in tow. She was also carrying us in her belly. Caesar had elevated us by then. Added us to his Legion and brought us glory. But he recognized her extraordinary skills, and made her an Immune. A special rank reserved for those even above the Frumentari. He made her his right hand." Vorenus laid a hand on her shoulder, smiling with pride, "As you were. As you will be again! We just need to get you back home."

Jessica stared, her mind reeling. She recalled the small amount of time she had spent in the Western Legion's camp, speaking to their Caesar, and his generals. The whole thing had sickened her to her core. A band of raiders without the drugs which made them so unstable? A society which built nothing. Traded nothing. Made nothing grow. Had no real art or culture or purpose beyond war.

It was the first time the Mojave had ever felt like a Wasteland. Jessica had seen no future at all in it. Only pain for those pressed down under the Legion's sandaled feet. She wanted no part of it.

"You do not remember…" Vorenus said mournfully. He turned away, hand clasped over his mouth, eyes filled with grief. "I am so sorry, sister. But at least you're home. You'll stay with me. You'll stay with me and I'll help you remember everything. Then we'll find the people that did this and we will make them suffer, Jessica!" his tone grew angry and triumphant, "we will make them beg for death a thousand times before we let them get their wish. You and I, sister. We will crucify every last one of them!"

Jessica thought of Benny and felt guilt pierce her heart, and how she had tricked him, talked him into an alliance, and then found him in Caesar's camp. The ghosts of Nipton and Camp Searchlight were at her back, the stench of corpses, rotting on the rows of crucifixes, and the forlorn hollow stares of the Legion slaves. She had so easily taken Benny's gun and so left him to the mercy of men who had none.

That impulse to lie, to manipulate and betray with so little hesitation – was that Jessica House's the Courier, or Jessica the Caesar's Immune?

Yes, Benny had shot her. But he had been trying to protect Vegas and keep it free. If she was Legion, then what had her original mission been? Why did she carry the Platinum Chip? Had she been ordered to seize it for the Eastern Legion's Caesar? Or to strengthen Edward Sallow's little band of renegades who were camped out across the canyon?

She was certain of one thing and one thing only: A House or NCR Victory at Hoover Dam was not at all what this new Caesar would have wanted. If she did not escape from these men, then at some point she would have to reckon with that. All of this made the precariousness of her position all the more staggeringly clear. If she let on that she was opposed to this familiar stranger's plan, there was no telling what would become of her.

And what of the Divide? The community of Hopeville – running on democracy and freedom and liberty, and sitting on enough nukes to force all of America to comply.

And Jessica had walked into that town and destroyed it with a single delivery. Had that been her intention all along? Had Ulysses been right about her? Had his hatred been justified all along?

She should have died there? Should he have killed her? Did she deserve it?

"Sister? Sister are you all right?"

"I am… I'm just…" Jessica bit her lip and looked away, trying to fight back the tears that were filling her eyes. All of those innocent people – and a nation strong enough to stand up to the Legion. All of it gone because of her.

Vorenus embraced her, hugging her gently and despite the disgust and confusion, she did not push him away. She just sobbed into his shoulder.

"It is alright, sister." He said soothingly, "it's alright. I know this probably a lot to take in."

"It is." Jessica collected herself and stepped back, turning away to wipe her eyes. She had to keep it together! This was not the time! Understanding his enthusiasm for family and old memories, she turned back to him and said, "and what of our father?" her voice was much, much shakier than it should have been.

Vorenus shrugged. "She met a man in the wasteland. A stranger who traveled alone with nothing but a hat, a coat and a revolver. I do not remember much of her words about him. They traveled together for a time. He told her that her spirit burned like fire, and he made love to her, one day she woke up alone. She said she was not angry. She said they like were ships passing in the night."

"Where is she?"

Vorenus sighed and looked down at the map in front of him. "She is dead."

A faint glimmer of grief flickered in her soul. "I'm sorry. She sounded like an incredible person."

"She was." He took a long breath. "I wish you could remember her, sister."

"How did she die?"

Grief and quiet anger filled Vorenus' voice. "One of our Legions was exploring the west when they ran across an old world facility. It was run by a mad man. A scientist named Victor Presper. He is a depraved monster, Jessica."

"He killed her?"

"He told Caesar of men who wander America. Men who, over time, collect Knowledge and Power." Vorneus gave her a serious look. "New World Power, Jessica. Gifts from the atomic radiation itself. Strength. Speed. Skill beyond what humans are capable of. Even sometimes …Immortality. The Doctor felt harnessing these gifts was a way for Humanity to overcome the apocalypse and build a new future. The Legion offered him the structure to spread them across the world. Caesar was intrigued. The Doctor said that our Mother had such gifts. So he sent her with Burke - his best Frumentari, to speak with Vesper."

"Neither came back…" Jessica guessed.

"We waited three years for a word from Presper. Caesar was enraged. Ready to send ten Centuriae to break down the Good Doctor's door. Then we received a gift. Abominations. Rank on rank of Burke clones with gifts for healing. Speed. Strength. Some of them, when they are close to death their genetics grow unstable and they-"

"Explode." Jessica finished his statement, "like a little nuclear bomb." Oh, Boone…

Vorenus frowned at her, "yes. You have met one?"

"An ally of mine." Jessica told him, recalling Boone's cold hands, and the despair of the clinic's dark silence. She quickly added, "During my… illness. I made some friends, and we…" Jessica was horribly aware that she had to stop talking! Too much information! She bit her lip.

Vorenus' eyes narrowed as he watched her closely. He said quietly, "If one of your friends put one of those abominations to death I would thank him. But Jessica, what were you doing that put you up against one of them?"

They stared at each other as she raked her brains, rolling through excuses and possibilities. A way to answer the question without telling him the depths of what he would no doubt see as betrayal.

The door squealed open behind Jessica, and she breathed a sigh of relief as three Legionaries filed in. she turned to see the same centurion who had questioned Krupp and Martin outside Rivet City.

He stood half a head taller than she did, with broad shoulders and heavy, muscular arms. His helmet with its red plume was under his left arm, and Jessica was able to see his face for the first time. He was a handsome man, underneath the armour. His short dark hair, deep brown eyes, and clean-shaven, angular chin was not unpleasant.

He spotted her immediately and came to a halt. Behind him stood his second-in-command, and his first sergeant. He licked his lips and glanced between her and the Legate, trying to determine whether or not it was a good time.

Vorenus was suddenly all business, "Welcome, Septimus."

"Ave." the Centurion said, drawing himself into a crisp salute. "Hail Caesar."

"Longa sit regnum eius." Vorenus replied, with a salute of his own. "You have something to report?"

Jessica stepped out of the way, allowing the Centurion to pass her by and come up to the table. He gave Jessica a sidelong look and said, "What is a woman doing in a briefing?"

"Don't mind her." Vorenus instructed coolly, "did you engage the Brotherhood?"

"The struck at Hubris Comics, damaging our printing presses. My Centuria engaged and pursued them. We finally cornered them at Tacoma Industrial Park, but the radiation was so thick that my men could not proceed without suffering heavy losses."

"So they are still there?" Vorenus mused, his voice filled with satisfaction.

The Centurion shifted uncomfortably, "I am afraid not, Legate Vorenus. My men report that they… rose away into the sky in a tornado of light."

Jesscica and Vorenus' eyebrows both rose at the pronouncement.

"I know it sounds insane but there have been many such rumors." The Centurion added quickly. "It is frustrating. They refuse to meet us in open battle. They harry us constantly. Attack our supply lines and vanish before we can react. I would have to spread my forces too thin to defend against them."

Vorenus crossed his arms and turned to Jessica. "What do you think, Sister?"

"I have seen stranger things," Jessica replied, thinking of the Big MT, "Perhaps they have some sort of long distance teleporter. As for meeting you open battle, perhaps you should stop fighting them on their terms and find a way to draw them out."

"Hah!" Vorenus nodded approvingly.

Septimus looked insulted. "Do you think I have not thought of this? We know nothing of them! And what would a woman know of combat?"

Vorenus tilted his head to the side, smirking. "Tell me, Vorenus, how many tribes have surrendered to you?"

Jessica recognized the game her brother was splaying immediately. She had done it herself on countless occasions: setting a verbal trap. Vorenus knew who she was, and she must have had some considerable accomplishments to her name. Yet the Centurion clearly did not know her at all. An opportune way to embarrass him to make a point.

"One." Septimus hazarded, aware that he was being baited, but uncertain what sort of trap he faced, nor how it would be sprung.

"One." Vorenus agreed. He stepped to his subordinate's side and laid a hand on his shoulder, addressing Jessica. "Septimus Servius, my best Centurion, has the singular honor of being the only centurion in Caesar's Legion to have a tribal Chieftain surrender directly to him."

"Oh?" Jessica asked coyly, playing along. She leaned back against a filing cabinet, her hips off to one side just so, and her arms crossed with relaxed ease.

The centurion's eyes ran up and down her slender figure as Vorenus continued. "Tell me, Septimus, the Tribe of the Many-Mountains, the people of the Blue River, and the Scalp Hunters of the Scioto River – for whom did they all lay down their swords?"

Septimus' eyes widened as he looked upon Jessica in a new light. "The Black Widow…"

Vorenus patted him on the shoulder. "Woman or not, my sister has done more for Caesar than even you, my friend."

"I have heard much lot about you…" Septimus told her.

Jessica asked her next question casually, giving him that same killer smirk. "And what have you heard about me?" Massage my ego a little. Show me you've learned your lesson.

She enjoyed the way his Adam's apple bobbed nervously, and the slight shade of pink which seeped into his cheeks.

The Centurion bit his lip and said, "I know that five Chieftains have surrendered their tribes, three raider warlords decimated their own armies, and a son murdered his own father for your favor." He sounded as intrigued as he did impressed.

"And for Caesar's grace and mercy." Vorenus added testily, glaring at him.

"Yes of course…" Septimus' gaze was fixed on Jessica. She stared back with welcoming, smiling confidence. The Centurion tilted his head to the side, giving her a respectful nod. "Please forgive my ill manners. It is an honor to meet the Caesar's Immune! Your beauty is as legendary as your skill with words. It is a rare person who can do with speech what a sharp blade and a strong arm cannot!"

Jessica waved an easy hand, "Carry on, Centurion." She made sure to pronounce the hard 'C' in the proper Legion way.

Five Chieftains? Really?

"Septimus!" Vorenus barked, finally pulling his subordinate's attentions away from Jessica. The Legate glared at him. "Have your men escort my sister to Vera Weatherly's hotel and procure her a room there. Ensure she is fed and seen to by the city's doctor."

"Am I not to stay for the briefing?" Jessica asked. I could be very useful…

Septimus spoke immediately, "I will ensure you are brought up to speed on everything that has happened here. This is a wild, dangerous country, Miss Chase. My hope is that with you and your brother both at the helm we will tame it all the more quickly."

"Things to be considered tomorrow." Vorenus snapped. He shot Jessica a glare of her very own. Annoyed at her for playing with his soldier. He said, "After you've had food and rest. You've been through enough for one day, Jessica. As for our thinly-stretched army, Septimus, do not fret. I've requested a few more Centuriae from the Legion's West Flank. Caesar shall have his prize, and the Good Doctor his Guinea pig."

The Centurion barked a few orders in Latin at his Optio, and the man stepped forward, respectfully taking Jessica's arm and guiding her towards the door.

On the far side of the Rockland car tunnel lay a derelict old-world government outpost. Walls of imposing concrete towered against steep rocky canyon walls. Giant satellite dishes dotted the tops of the concrete constructions. The surrounding rock faces had been scorched with lasers and plasma blasts; a battle between the old Brotherhood and the Enclave had taken place there long ago. Indeed, there was still an irradiated crater in the soft soil where an enclave airstrike had destroyed Liberty Prime.

The canyon was, for the first time in years, teeming with activity. The Legion had swarm3d across it like a horde of ants. Slaves wearing grey torn rags laid dry timber and heaved on strong, heavy ropes to move great balks of concrete and stone. The slave drivers in red Legion armour moved amongst the workers, threatening their charges with batons and cruel whips.

The canyon echoed loudly with the grunts of the working men, the tormented wails of the dying and suffering, and the merciless barked orders of their masters.

Atop a distant cliff, Sentinel Glade peered through the scope of his sniper rifle, the narrow circle moving slowly across the fields of slaves, from headdress to headdress. He said, "A tesserarius. Decanus, decanus, decanus, decanus, decanus…"

"First sergeant and five squads." Star-Paladin Greg 'Kodiak' Bear said quietly, writing notes into a little brown book, "and that's just what we can see…"

Glade let out a long, quiet breath through his nose, "a full centuria… They must have at least three in the Wasteland."

"One for the city, one for the north and one here…" Kodiak said, glancing at his superior officer, "That's still only around two-hundred and fifty men.

"Two-hundred and fifty well-trained soldiers with experience, discipline and a command structure." Glade replied, "That's not nothing, Greg. And if Elder Rothchild's right…"

Kodiak fidgeted uncomfortably in his grey and brown combat armour. He said, "I don't know how we're going to win this…"

"We beat the enclave and the supermutants. I'm sure there's a way. We just have to use what the Wanderer taught us: be light and fast and only hit them where they're vulnerable."

Far below, the slave workers had uncovered a set of train tracks leading into an old pre-war tunnel.

"Those openings are closing up fast." Kodiak observed.

Movement flashed in the distance horizon, light glinting in Glade's scope. "Hold up." He refocused. Off in the distance was a dust trail, rising into the clouds. At its head was a train, bright silver and curling towards them before it disappeared behind a treeless dead hill. But its passenger cars kept sweeping along behind it like an enormous metal snake, slithering across the wastes, and flashing between wisps of dust.

"You see it?" Greg asked glumly. He held up his own binoculars to have a look for himself.

"Rothchild was right." Glade murmured.

The train reappeared, chugging straight towards them. Its design was sleek, with streaking deco speed lines. A prewar marvel – a nuclear-powered highspeed train designed to carry passengers back and forth across eastern America.

The Legion had fixed it.

As it drew near, they could hear its wheels clicking away on the tracks. A light appeared in the train tunnel and the noise grew far louder, echoing ahead of the locomotive. The Legionaries began waving their slaves off the tracks as workers poured out of the tunnel mouth.

A door to the facility opened and expelled a Centurion with his bright red horizontal plume, and his second in command. They were flanked by more Decanii, who began arranging their squads into parade formations

"There's the greeting party." Glade grumbled.

"Rothchild was right." Kodiak murmured. "Damn."

The train let out a long whistle as it slowed to a halt, its light faint in the distant train tunnel. Then there was silence. The Centuria was on full display with banners and gleaming weapons. Behind them were the slaves, forced to stand in long lines and patrolled by the whip-wielding specialists.

Calls could be heard inside the tunnel. Orders from Legion sergeants. Then came the thunder of marching feet and a long line of troops poured forth from the darkness. Glade spotted two more horizontal plumes as rank after rank flowed into the valley. He could hear Kodiak counting under his breath. The marching went on for minutes until at last the valley was filled with three times the original number of Legion troops.

"Two more companies." Kodiak said grimly as a line of pack Brahmin emerged, loaded with supplies.

"We should head out for a lift." Glade said as the three Centurions converged to speak with one another. "Rothchild and Jackrum both need to know about this."

And so ends the first act of this new story!

I know a lot of you are probably Jonesing for some action. All in good time. Fights mean nothing if there is no time spent explaining the why of it all, and getting invested in the various characters involved. I wrote a lot of action towards the end of my last story and am very much enjoying the small character stuff which can only occur in moments of peaceful interaction. We will get there. All I ask is patience.

Well with three more chapters of this under my belt and a whole slew of new ideas flooding my imagination, I finally feel like I can finally comfortably say the saga is continuing. My apologies about the delays. That writer's blockage was…considerable and it took a lot of Fallout –related fiber in my media diet to move it along! To that end I would offer up a quick shout-out to Many A True Nerd and Oxhorn both for their amazing Fallout Videos!

First off a shout-out to my brother Krow Blood! Everything in this series is as much his brainchild as it is my own.

Secondly thank you to all of you who have stuck with me this far. Your reviews and support are as always humbly appreciated and immeasurably valuable!

Thirdly to any newcomers who stumble upon this story - I'm sure you're feeling completely lost. I tried to design this story so that anyone just stepping in now wouldn't feel too lost, but there is still a lot happening, so…

All the stories below can be found on my profile. The Children of the Atom reading list reading list is as follows:

Genesis – A Fallout 3 short story

Modus Operandi – A Fallout 3 novel

Aqua Vitae – A Fallout 3 novel

Pro Posterus – A Fallout: New Vegas story

Mutatis Mutandis – A Fallout 3 novel

Catharsis – A Fallout 3 Christmas themed short story

Children of the Atom - Part 1: Wasted Land

Jesus… that's a lot more than it felt like. All the same, that should catch you up :)

Thanks for reading. I'll see you all next chapter!