Chapter 6: Qui non proficit, deficit (He who does not go forward, loses ground)
"Can you stand?" Boone asked gruffly.
"Ye-eah." Felix said quickly but haltingly. He tried to pull himself to his feet, but the white hot pain in his chest made him flinch. He managed to reach his feet on the second try. Felix stood in just his pants and boots. His sunglasses had been broken and somehow his hat had gotten bloody beyond saving. He had his weapons on his belt. His chest had been bandaged as well as his left shoulder. Other than the bandages his back and chest were bare.
Boone had already gathered all their equipment. He had his own pack on and he was carrying Felix's. He also had Felix's rifle.
"We should head back to Novac." Boone said roughly. "I'm almost out of ammo and we need more medical supplies." With that Boone stared walking. Felix caught up quickly and walked beside him.
After a mile of silence, Felix finally spoke. "Are you sure you don't want to kill me?"
"Why? You want to die?" Boone retorted gruffly.
"Not particularly. I just… didn't expect anyone from the NCR would hesitate to kill me if they knew what I was. Especially you."
"I didn't expect to hesitate either." Boone growled before taking a deep breath. "What are you doing here?"
"You needed someone to watch your back." Felix smirked. "Back in Novac I got the feeling you were heading out on a suicide mission." Felix shoved his hands in his pockets and looked up at the sky. "It seemed like a waste. A little bit of my knowledge coupled with your marksmanship could make us a deadly pair."
"Your knowledge?"
"Wasn't it super convenient that I knew exactly where to find the Legion patrols?"
Boone looked over at Felix. "Figured I was getting lucky."
"Nah. Once I had the lay of the land, their patrol routes became obvious." Felix said with a grin.
"Huh. This might be a beneficial relationship after all." Boone considered for a moment. "Does anyone else know?"
"No, just you. I try to be careful with what I say. The scars would give me away quick too, so I usually hide those."
"That's what the Legion does to its soldiers?" Boone asked glancing at Felix's back.
"It's normal in the Legion." Felix said with a shrug. "Even the best legionary messes up occasionally."
They walked toward Novac all day. When night came they camped in the hills. Felix was exhausted and fairly convinced that if Boone did want him dead, he would have already killed him. Felix slept like the dead. Even though he kept up all day, he was still in a lot of pain and exhausted by the time they camped. They headed toward Novac again in the morning. Felix shrugged into a spare shirt and carried his own rifle and pack now.
"You're a shit shot, you know that?"
"Hey! I killed two of them!" The raiders had attacked from a distance. With his shoulder still injured Felix had stayed beside Boone and fired from there.
"And I killed eight."
"Yeah? Well, let's throw you in the middle of six legionaries with only a machete and see if you make it out alive!" Boone glared at Felix. "Alright! Alright. You know the Legion rarely use firearms. I'd never even fired a gun until a few weeks ago!"
"How'd you learn?"
"A local merc. She showed me the ropes. Made me not entirely useless beyond twenty yards."
"Still pretty useless." Boone said bluntly, then considered carefully. "I could use a capable spotter."
"And I could use a loyal contubernia at my back; looks like we're both shit out of luck."
"Not necessarily."
"What? Thinking of swapping me out for your old spotter?"
Boone's head shot up and his eyes went cold. "No. Thinking you might be trainable."
"You said it yourself Boone, I'm a shit shot." Felix snorted in laughter.
"You first picked up a gun a month ago." Boone began. "And you have no formal training. Some NCR soldiers pick up a gun for the first time eight weeks before they hit the desert. Most soldiers would kill for this chance."
"It's not that I don't want to learn. In fact, it's the opposite. First Recon is widely feared among the Legion. It'd be a privilege to learn to shoot that well. But I don't think you're thinking clearly, Boone. I'm a legionary, remember? Teaching me is like giving away your secrets to Caesar himself." Felix explained. In speaking freely, he hadn't thought twice about what he said and he pronounced Caesar with the hard k. He saw Boone flinch at the pronunciation.
"Do you want to learn or not?" Boone said harshly.
"Of course I want to learn but-"
Boone interrupted. "Then we need to get you a decent rifle." With that, the conversation was over.
They approached Novac around midday.
"How do you know the town isn't going to turn on you for what happened to Jeannie May?" Felix asked as they walked into town.
"Cause I dealt with the body." Felix nodded his understanding. As they walked toward the dinosaur, the other man in town who wore a red beret came out to meet them.
"Thought you might be dead." Vargas said bluntly when he was close enough.
"Not yet." Boone replied darkly without stopping.
"Should've at least said something before you left. The Boone I knew wouldn't just abandon his post." Vargas said with a snort.
Boone finally stopped and looked at his old partner. "Nothing worth defending in this town."
"Yeah. I guess you don't have any friends here, do you?" Vargas said as he crossed his arms. "Carla saw to that."
"You better watch what you say." Boone seethed.
Vargas just shrugged. "I'm not saying anything that isn't true. The whole town's glad she left."
Felix hesitated when he saw Boone move to swing. He wasn't sure if this was something he should get involved in. Vargas obviously had more hand to hand experience than Boone and quickly turned the tables. As Vargas went to put Boone in a headlock, Felix stepped in. A foot on Boone's knee forced him out of Vargas's grasp and a twist of Vargas's wrist coupled with a shove sent Vargas stumbling away from Boone.
Desino, iuvenis was what Felix almost said. He caught his tongue just in time and spoke the English instead. "Enough, children." Neither First Recon vet liked being referred to as a child and glared menacingly at Felix. Felix just stood between them smugly. "As much as I may enjoy watching two NCR vets duke it out in the middle of the street, I have a companion's back to watch. You want him, you go through me."
"Hey, man, I didn't start it." Vargas said sternly.
Felix shook his head. Poke the bull, you get the horns. He thought to himself. "Is this going to be a problem?" He asked aloud.
"As much as I want to send you packing, NCR patrols won't shut up about the work you two are doing. Keep this town safe, and you'll always have a place here." Vargas said before turning around and heading back to his post.
"Come on." Boone growled. "Let's resupply."
They left town the next morning.
"Did you get any sleep last night?" Felix hazarded after a mile of silence. Boone didn't respond. They spent another week along the river. Boone used every opportunity to teach Felix to spot for him. He also critiqued Felix's shooting.
"At this distance, gravity effects the bullet so aim high." Boone lectured while Felix lay prone at his feet.
"The fuck is gravity?" Felix asked as he looked up from his scope.
"Are you kidding me?" Boone looked down at Felix. "You're not kidding." Boone pinched the bridge of his nose. At times like this, he realized he took his NCR education for granted. "You know when you throw a ball up, it comes back down, right?"
"Yeah."
"That's due to gravity."
"Okay."
"So the further a bullet travels the farther it falls."
"Oh, so I arc it, like a spear?" Felix tried.
"Sort of, but not so drastically." Boone wasn't a great teacher, but Felix was a fast learner. Mostly. Boone kicked Felix's leg roughly. "Fix your feet."
Felix glanced back at his feet and kicked his feet out so they were flat against the ground and not up on the toes. "Sorry."
Pickings along the river were getting slim, so they were using a molerat for target practice. Felix hit with two of three shots.
"Alright, let's go."
They came upon a Legion patrol just before dark. They shot from the ridge but the last legionary, a decanus, had found cover so Felix headed down to flush him out. He charged the legionary and quickly got within striking distance. But the decanus was skillful. He managed to disarm Felix of his machete quickly but soon Felix managed to do the same. They then fought hand to hand, much too close for Boone to get a clear shot. Something about the way the decanus fought was familiar and after a few strikes it felt more like a sparring match than a life or death battle.
"Felix?!" The decanus said in shocked disbelief.
The voice coupled with the martial prowess finally triggered Felix's memory. "Blasius?!" Felix replied in the same shocked disbelief. The fight was over and they just stood staring blankly at each other. Felix shifted sideways and put himself between Boone and the decanus. He then pulled off the sunglasses and cowboy hat he usually wore when fighting the Legion.
"You're supposed to be dead!" Blasius said as he pulled off his decanus helmet, revealing identical stark white hair to Felix's.
"I know." Felix said sadly.
"Wait… You're the melee support with the sniper? You're the one whose been killing our raiding parties?!"
"Yes." Felix replied with a sigh.
"Come on, Felix! You owe me more than a one word answer!"
"I'm done with the Legion, alright?!" Felix shouted. "I'm done perpetuating the slave army!"
"The Legion is the winning side and you had it all! Why turn your back on that?!"
"Felix." Felix heard the gravelly voice from behind him and glanced over his shoulder to see Boone approaching with his rifle up.
Blasius face palmed. "Fuck me, a First Recon sniper?!"
"What the hell's going on, Felix?!" Boone seethed.
"I'm wondering the same thing!" Blasius roared.
"Boone. He's… he's my brother." Felix finally stammered.
"Your brother?" Boone asked in surprise.
"Stay back, Boone." Felix said quickly. "Beyond ten feet."
"Protecting your sniper?" Blasius said harshly. "Well, well. It looks like you have a choice to make, brother." Blasius said, crossing his arms over his chest. "We both know you will beat me in a fight and we both know the sniper is within your kill range. Kill the sniper and bring back that stupid hat as proof. I won't even tell them you were his accomplice. You could get your position back, maybe more if you have any inside intel." Blasius paused for a moment. "Or kill me. Work with the enemy sniper until the Legion breaks the NCR at the dam. Then, when they catch you, and they will catch you, you know exactly what will happen. I wonder how many days they'll be able to keep you alive. A week? Maybe two? You always were the best at withstanding pain."
"I do admit," Blasius continued. "I'm surprised the sniper hasn't gone for the double kill. It would probably be his best choice."
"Felix." Felix heard Boone from behind him. "Make the choice."
Felix didn't know what to do. Blasius was right. He was in the position to kill either of them and there was no getting out of this without killing one of them. The seconds ticked by until finally, Felix made his decision.
Blasius didn't even have a chance to react before the knife was in his stomach.
"Bastard!" Blasius yelled as he tried to draw his own weapon. Felix prevented him from doing so. "You'll never be one of them! You'll always be a legionary!"
"I know." Felix replied sadly as he withdrew the knife and slashed his brother's throat. This close, Felix got covered in blood but he didn't push Blasius away. Instead he watched as the life died in his eyes. When he was dead, Felix kicked him back so he fell to the ground. He stared for several seconds then turned away abruptly. He saw Boone standing more than ten feet away with his rifle still up.
"Loot the bodies like we usually do." Felix said sternly. "I… I need a minute." Felix walked off into the desert.
Felix never left Boone's sight range. He just stayed at a distance while Boone looted the bodies as they usually did. When he was done, Boone headed off to find a campsite. As he built the fire, Felix came back and dropped a slightly mutilated gecko beside Boone. Then he sat at the edge of the ring of light given off by the fire, just staring out into the wastes.
Boone didn't know what to say so he just went about their usual camping routine as Felix sat. Eventually he settled on something. "What did you lose?"
"What?" Felix asked
"Your brother said you had it all. What did you lose?" Boone repeated less sternly.
"I was a veteran decanus speculatore." Felix began, not looking over at Boone. "That's a scout. I was damn good at what I did. I could cover more ground faster than anyone else. I was so good I even worked with the frumentarii on a few occasions. I had a reputation for being reliable. The information I brought back was always accurate. I was even recognized by my centurion for my outstanding service once. They gave me Rufus."
Boone saw the hint of a smile come to Felix's lips. That unsettled Boone. "A slave?" He asked, disgusted.
"No. I was away from camp too much to make use of a personal slave. Rufus was a dog. My dog."
"A dog?"
Felix made a noise of confirmation. "Trained by the former members of the Hangdogs. Loyal companion. Ran with me, ate with me, slept with me, and even saved my life a few times. That cocky little furry bastard." Boone could hear Felix smiling. "In the Legion, nothing is yours. From the boots on your feet to the machete in your hand to the food on you plate. It all belongs to Caesar. But Rufus was mine; the only thing that was mine. If he was still around today, I may well have sided with Blaze today so I could get him back."
"Why didn't you?"
Felix was quiet for a long while. "Because Blaze was a monster, just like me. I knew what he'd do if he got his hands on you. But you didn't kill me when you had the chance. Figured I'd return the favor."
"By killing your brother."
"I didn't really have a choice, did I?" Felix said harshly. He then sighed. "Truth is I don't even know if he was my brother. We were both children when the Legion conquered our tribe. We were the only two boys of the right age to train to be legionaries. We looked similar, with the same white hair, so everyone just assumed. But we did grow up together. I guess I can add killing my own family to my list of crimes."
"Fratricide." Boone provided.
"What?"
"The word for killing your brother."
"There's a word for that?" Felix said incredulously. "That was something I didn't need to know, Boone."