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Titus stood at the top of the stairs of the resort at Camp Golf as Sejanus threw Aurora to the ground. The building was strikingly quiet - the usual buzzing of the Decanii and the screams of Hanlon's interrogation were not there.
The Centurion looked groggy, bedraggled even. Even for a man his size, that med-x was strong. He'd been downing bottles of bitter drink all afternoon trying to wave off the dizziness left with him after such a huge dose. He slowly walked down the stairs towards Sejanus and the traitor. One thing noticeably different was Titus' armour.
It was no longer the bloodstained patchwork of the armours of men he had killed, but instead it was a brand new suit of heavy gauge steel, a lighter copy of Lanius armour. It lacked the red apparel of the Legate's, but had a brass yellow Legion bull emblazoned across the breastplate. Caesar was so pleased with the capture of Camp Golf, that he had bestowed upon Titus the honour of being the Prime Centurion of this cohort. Over the past few days, more and more detachments of men, and their officers had been sent to Camp Golf to bolster such a position close to Vegas. When Titus reached the last step he hopped down and stared Aurora straight in the eyes as she looked up at him from the ground.
"I'll see you rewarded for this, Sejanus. You may leave now."
Aurora saw the anger in his eyes; she knew bad things were coming her way. He had warned her. She hadn't listened.
She sat upon her knees on the tiles of the floor, chipped and cracked tiles dug into her bare legs, she trembled before him as the Decanus and his men left her alone with Titus. Her breathing shuddered through her nose and she shook visibly before him as he walked around his recaptured Slave.
She had miscalculated the dosage of Med-X; it should have been enough to ensure he slept until at least mid-afternoon. His silence was penetrating, stabbing fear into her heart. What had been between them before, a trust of sorts from her saving his life, had now been shattered with her betrayal and failed attempt at escape.
She waited for him to speak, a trembling wreck upon the floor, tears forming at her eyes and silently running down her nose to drop onto the slave rags she wore. Her hands bound behind her.
Any normal slave, Titus would have nailed to a cross and branded his initials into so they'd die knowing their life was not their own. But this one... She had drugged him, betrayed him. A few days nailed to bits of wood and burning a 'T' across her stomach with his thermic lance would be too swift a punishment for her.
He had better plans for her, but until they came into fruition, she would still have to be taught a lesson.
Titus grabbed her by the back of the neck, hoisted her up to her feet, and led the recaptured slave to his room.
The door to his room opened and he threw he to the ground. As he entered, his uncharacteristic stoicism disappeared, and he backhanded her across the face.
Aurora's feet barely touched the ground as Titus hauled her up the stairs to her masters room. There she felt the anger in his backhanded strike she raised a hand to her cheek where the mark was deepening.
She sobbed at the pain and the humiliation of being captured. She knew the man before her should have her upon a cross right now, but this was unexpected. She went to her knees before him and waited for his next move, be it Strike, or cutting words, she knew that to apologise for her behaviour would simply anger him more, as he would know she was only sorry that she had been caught.
It would be both. The centurion slapped her again and again, never making a fist. He wanted her in pain but not to be damaged. A damaged slave would be useless. He had contemplated fucking her with a rusty machete, but that'd make her less inviting for his own 'long sword'.
He grabbed her hair, pulling her head back so she would look him in the eyes, but she dare not. Titus was a vengeful man. He'd practiced this before, going out of his way to kill his old CO at the first battle of hoover Dam. Though this would be more refined than murder. He would let her rise higher than ever before, just to make her fall even further.
She bore the pain of his punishment with what little dignity she could muster; yet even that crumbled as he pulled her head back, trying to force her to look at him.
She wouldn't dare meet his eyes, lest he see the contempt for him she felt. The fear and terror that he was instilling into her was obvious for him to see. He struck her hard, her hair slipoed through his fingers and she fell to the floor in a sobbing, shaking heap.
"A little insurance." Muttered Titus as reached for something on his bed. He held up heavy metal collar, a wonderful product of some slavers further east. He placed it over the back of her neck, then went to clasp it shut around the front. He couldn't tell if she was just shaking or struggling against him, so he hit her again and finished putting the collar on.
The last strike brought the reality home. He wasn't going to kill her. .. not yet. He was keeping her alive, for whatever reason she couldn't even begin to wonder.
She heard the click of the collar as it closed around her neck, she reached up to touch it, and realised what it was before her fingertips touched the child metal. She finally looked at Titus, the realisation stark in her Brown, red rimmed eyes. There was no escape for her now. For better or worse, whatever he wanted, she was his slave.
It was too tight, deliberately so that if it was ever taken off, she would still feel where it dug into her.
"If you have any ideas about wondering off again, feel free. But know that I'll have your head mounted on my wall."
He had more planned for tonight. Grabbing Aurora by the collar, he dragged her downstairs to Hanlon's office. He had been tied to his wheeled office chair, and was barely clothed. It was plainly visible that plenty of his skin had been removed. It looked puckered and yellow, infected from the filthy blades of these torturers. His head was hung low, like he was barely conscious.
The legionaries stayed silent but Titus turned to Aurora.
"You make him talk."
Aurora's eyes wandered over Chief Hanlon's body, a mess of wounds, stripped flesh, if she didn't know better she would say he had been 'ghoulified' but the fresh welling of blood from his wounds showed the truth.
She wept at the state that the men of the Legion had brought him to. she was shoved roughly, "Make, him talk." Titus repeated.
"Chief Hanlon, my name is Aurora Marie Cosgrove, I am a former private with the Supplies Corps from camp Forlorn Hope and am now in the service," she took a deep breath, "Of the Glorious Centurion Titus Vulcanus, I would like to discuss the location of each ranger that is stationed within the Mojave."
She looked at the Chief seated before her. "Sir, I implore you, speak to me and your suffering will end."
He spat blood at her feet. "Traitor." he mumbled.
Titus whispered in her ear.
"There are tools on the table. If he speaks, he is a free man."
He wanted Aurora to play vital role in his campaign. She should feel ultimately responsible for the eradication of the rangers in the Mojave. He nudged her forward. Clearly they were past the point of asking for the information. These greedy NCR pigs usually only responded to bribes of their freedom or good old fashioned torture.
Aurora looked at the tools upon the table, some rusty, others clean, some with dried blood upon their blades and edges. She swallowed, the tightness of the collar impeding her, hurting her. Her hand hovered over the tray of tools.
"Chief, please. I know about your misdirection with the Rangers. I was one of Reyes' friends at Forlorn Hope. She told me about the inconsistencies. you are as much a traitor as I am." she said to him, her hand still hovering over the tools.
"Speak to me, tell me where they are and you can go free." she implored him once more.
"Darlin'," he said softly, "You and I both know that neither of us have a hope in hell of getting out of this alive, or with any part of our dignities intact, I can see he's already broken you, but I'll be damned if I let him use you to break me."
Hanlon looked at her. "You know where they are, you have been sending them supplies from Forlorn Hope, you tell him."
Aurora sighed. "Quartermaster Mayes looked after those requests." Hanlon smiled at her from behind his damaged face.
"Remember the presidents, they'll show you the way." he said. he turned to Titus, "and you, Son, you can go to hell, I've told her everything she needs to know. the information is here, you just have to find it, now if you're going to kill me, get it over and done with." Aurora looked from Hanlon to Titus, she then looked at the desk, not wanting to see what came next, there was a picture of president Tandi in a frame next to his computer.
Titus pulled Aurora aside and whispered. "If his information proves helpful, I'll keep my machete from between your legs..."
"Hanlon. You've served your purpose, and out of respect for you, I won't nail you to a cross. You'd have done well in the legion..."
Titus reached into Hanlon's desk and found his ranger sequoia.
"Now you die a free man's death."
Titus pulled back the hammer and fired two shots.