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The Centurion placed his Shishkebab in a wooden cabinet, beside his Thermic Lance and then stripped out of his armor, dropping the suit onto the ground, until he was left naked. The scars carved into his body were signs he seemed to wear proudly, as a sign of his experience and ferocity. He climbed slowly into a crude bathtub at the rear of his tent, filled with tepid water.
"Girl, take my armor to the blacksmith and tell him to add the Veteran Ranger armor onto it. Then return here..."
He nodded to the blood stained suit of red cloth laden with scraps of power armor and sheet steel. It was exceedingly heavy to one without the strict physical conditioning the Legion drilled into their recruits, so the light kevlar of riot armour would be a welcome addition.
Aurora moved to pick up the Armour; it was very heavy, though no heavier than a three month old Brahmin calf that simply didn't want to budge, but still somewhat awkward. It had been three years since she had left home.
From behind the hair that had fallen across her face she snuck a peek at the man who was now her 'master'. She hated that word, but from what she could see of the man, he was well muscled, and battle scarred, if he was not her enemy, she would have found him attractive, and probably worthy of a bending of the rules in her and Ellie's 'competition' though neither girl would get that bottle of Pre-war Wine now.
"Yes, sir." She said softly as she hefted the awkward and bloodied armour and left Titus to his bath.
She moved on unsteady feet with the load to the blacksmiths' tent.
The Legionary Blacksmith looked at her with naked hatred as he menacingly tested the machete he had just sharpened on a thick piece of Brahmin leather, while another Legionary carried a Fire Axe away from the grindstone.
"What do you want, Slave?" he growled at her. She lowered her head and took a deep breath, knowing that wrong or disrespectful words would ensure she would be the next thing he tested the machete upon.
"Forgive me, sir, but Centurion Titus requests that his armour be improved with the addition of Ranger Armour." She said softly.
The Blacksmith nodded his head in the direction of an empty table, where she placed the heavy armour.
"Tell him it will take at least a day." He said gruffly, annoyed at how much work he already had, which would have to be pushed back for the Centurion.
She turned and nodded her thanks to the Blacksmith who ignored her. She moved back along the paths towards her master's tent.
"Well if it isn't my favourite Roman Goddess of the Dawn, Aurora." A voice drifted weakly from a row of crosses. Aurora looked up into the now ear-less features of Private James Sexton, looked up and stopped in her tracks.
"Oh god, James!" she breathed in horror. Sexton was strapped to the cross, and blood from where they had cut his ears had coloured his body crimson, she knew he would not survive long with the amount of blood loss.
"Shh, don't worry about me." He smiled weakly, he knew he had not long for the world either.
"It's not so bad, I've got the memory of that great number you and the girls did for the Talent show. You were so sexy and what a voice!" even in the face of Death, Sexton was cheery.
Aurora's memory of the events returned
Private Sexton had sat down with Aurora, Victoria and Diana in the mess hall. He merrily interrupted their conversation as they waited for Ellie to finish her shift. He had a devious look in his eyes.
"Ahh my three favourite Roman Goddesses!" he beamed.
"What the hell are you talking about?" asked Victoria, confused, Diana scowled her confusion.
"Ah, I think I know what you're on about." Aurora said, putting her hand up.
"Victoria, your name is derived from the Mythical Roman Goddess of Victory, Diana, your name is derived from the Goddess of the Hunt, Moon, virginity," Victoria snorted in laughter for it was known that Diana was a bit of a playgirl amongst her fellow troopers. "And childbirth." Aurora said, trying not to join Victoria in laughter.
"And you?" Diana asked of Aurora.
"I'm the Goddess of Dawn, or so my dad told me when I asked him what my name meant. Mum picked it out, she's got a thing for ancient world mythology, back when she was with the Followers of the Apocalypse she was obsessed, well before my time." Aurora took a sip of the Nuka Cola before her and placed the half empty bottle back on the table,
"Anyways, she taught me a lot of crap about this God, and that Goddess, Egyptology, old world ancient history, Astrology, and so forth, I can tell you where Venus is, where Mars is, Jupiter, constellations, all that crap." She looked around the room as Ellie came over and pulled up a chair.
"So, Private Sexton, what do we owe the pleasure?" she smiled, she had a soft spot for Sexton, and he was often trying to get her to have dinner and 'dessert' with him afterwards.
"Well, I've got an idea to improve morale around here." He smiled.
"What, other than that gruesome ear tally over there?" Diana said, indicating the Bull and tally marks carved into the wall.
"Yeah, but this one, you get three days leave to go to Vegas." He grinned, he had their attention.
"Ok, I'm game." Aurora said, "What's the great idea?"
"Talent show!" he smiled.
Instantly Elliott bugged out.
"No way, I ain't got no talent." She said, raising her hands in mock defeat. Sexton pouted, and then looked to the other three.
"Well, Goddesses?" Diana, Victoria and Aurora smiled at each other,
"You had us at Vegas!" Victoria grinned.
The girls stood upon a makeshift stage in the mess hall dressed in the dark grey suits of pre-war business wear that they had managed to acquire. They wore High heels and had scarves tied around their necks, it was packed with the boys and girls of Forlorn hope.
The music started and the girls began to wriggle their hips in time to the beat. They turned and stepped to the beat towards the Mic.
"You had plenty money 1922…"
Aurora began to the cheers of the boys. She danced with the girls, carefully choreographed moves while some of the men took pictures.
The girls had three chairs set up and each one moved into the crowd during the musical interlude, each picking a soldier and escorting him to the stage.
One of the Troopers had a HoloCam and was taking a Holovid of their performance, it would be played several times over the next few days much to the girl's embarrassment and left in the Mess hall with the other pictures that were being taken of them during their performance.
Aurora had Sexton following her like a puppy with a silly grin on his face. She sat him on the chair and continued the next verse
"You're sitting down wondering what it's all about…" the girls stepped around each of the troopers slowly tracing a single finger across their shoulders. Each man had a grin on their face as wide as the Grand Canyon.
"Get out of here, get me some money too!" Aurora sang as she and the girls pushed the men off the chairs to the uproarious laughter of the troops.
Diana and Victoria moved two of the chairs off the stage and continued to dance while Aurora moved back to the crowd and took Major Polatli's hand and brought him to the stage. His arrival was greeted with cheers and wolf whistles for the girls
"I fell for your jivin' and I took you in…" Aurora sang to the Major who grinned just like the boys had, enjoying the attention, he shook his head and smiled from beneath his moustache, Victoria danced to his left, Diane to his right and Aurora swung her hips behind him.
She leaned over his right shoulder
"Why don't you do right…"
She moved to the left shoulder.
"Like some other men do…"
She moved above his head and placed her hands on his shoulders.
"Get outta here, and get me some money too!" she sang, giving him a gentle shove. The Major got the idea and left the stage to the cheers of the men.
The three girls stepped forward to the microphone and sang together, their heads next to each other.
"Why don't you do right, Like some other men do… Like some other men dooooo…." The girls held the pose, their faces together, Aurora in the middle, holding the back of the Microphone with a played hand, sultry looks in each of their eyes, cameras flashed as they finished their song, the men and women cheered, the feeling within the Mess hall was exuberant, Sexton cheered loudest, the morale in the place had been boosted by the three women and their sexy dance.
Pictures of their performance would be tacked up next to the Legion Ear Tally on the Mess hall wall, which would become known as the 'morale booster wall.'
As they left the stage, Victoria was heard to comment "If I had to pick a torture method, I'd use high heels, these things are worse than crucifixion!" Aurora laughed in agreement. The girls had won their three day pass, but it would be the next week that Victoria would be dead, and Diana would be in the slave pen with the other women.
And Aurora would be saying her last goodbye to James Sexton.
"I just wish he had gone on that date, but that's ok, I have a good memory to keep me happy until the end."
A legionary came up and shoved her.
"Move on, or you'll end up next to him woman." He snarled.
"Yes, sir, I'm sorry sir." She said, quickly moving away back in the direction of Titus' tent. she chanced a glace back at the line of crosses as she moved, Sexton was looking up into the sky, waiting for death. She mourned him, a good friend, and perhaps, if fates were kinder, something more.
She ducked through the door of the tent and approached her master, she was still shaken from seeing James, but she tried to hide it.
"Sir, the Blacksmith has your armour and said it will take at least a day." She said, going to her knees before Titus as he bathed.
She felt hunger gnawing at her and thirst was begging to dry her throat, she was tired and stressed, but she knew he was not finished with her yet.
She had a feeling that life now would be just like in her basic training, you would eat when they told you to, sleep when they told you to, and shit when they told you to and be thankful that they let you do it at all.
She decided to make the best of a bad situation. She had done stewardship before, one Officer was the same as the next, no matter what army they served, or at least she hoped was the case with the man in the tub.
"Is there something else I may do for you, sir?" she asked, dreading his response.
Titus was a little impressed by the strength of the NCR milk drinker. Though he'd keep it to himself, he had expected a woman of her stature to struggle more with the weight of his gear. She didn't drop it or drag it, but she carried it quickly - she made haste, but didn't rush. She would make a good slave and because of that, he would have to make the best of her while she was here.
While she was delivering his armor, Titus took the opportunity to relax and indulge himself by imagining himself taking up the mantle of the legate. Lanius was the terror of the east, and Titus would be his successor who set the Mojave ablaze.
His wishful thinking was cut short by the entrance of the girl. He nodded as she reported back to him the work of the blacksmith. If he knew what was good for him, the smith would have his armor finished and cleaned before Titus had to leave.
"Yes." He replied to her, shortly. "There is."
He took a bottle of healing powder from the table beside the tub and handed it to her. "You may cleanse my wounds, then dress me... Then you will tell me everything you know about Camp Golf."