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As the days passed in the camp just outside the captured camp McCarran, Aurora's injuries healed, but her cracked ribs would take weeks before she could stretch without feeling a bite of pain in her side.
She would serve Titus as he wished, but often found that she would be told to leave his tent and assist the other slaves when Lanius arrived to discuss plans for taking New Vegas. She was glad to be away from the Monster of the East. Far better for her as a former NCR soldier and a Woman to not be anywhere near that brute.
She helped to move firewood and cook food, often overhearing the soldiers comment about how fortunate Titus was to have an NCR soldier to punish as his slave.
She was helping one of the other women prepare an evening meal. For Titus' men when shrill screams and cries came from one of the slave tents. Two soldiers were escorting another woman carrying a baby, one who was better dressed than the rest of the slaves.
"Fiona had her baby last night, and it looks like she tried to hide it" observed the slave beside her.
"What are they doing?" Aurora asked.
"That woman," replied the slave, "is a priestess. They take the children of slaves and raise them to be true to Caesar, to serve him as a slave or soldier depending on their gender. They never know who their parents are, no family bonds to get in the way of their loyalty."
Aurora was shocked, "That's barbaric..." she gasped
"Its the way things are here girl. You'd better get used to the idea of it. If you get pregnant to that centurion of yours you might be fortunate, he might take you as a wife, but I doubt it."
The women turned to the screams as they rose in pitch and despair, the mother ran out and tries to get her baby back, the soldiers struck her down with the butts of their rifles.
Aurora looked on sadly and hoped to hell that v she didn't get pregnant. Despite her newfound allegiance to the Legion, there was no dammed way that she would give up any child of hers to slavery. She was approached by one of Titus' men
"Slave, your master requires you." He grunted. Aurora nodded and moved back to Titus' tent
The legion had spent the last few days at McCarran, using it as a forward base from the Fort. Titus, Lanius and the other centurions had spent most of their time in Colonel Hsu's old office planning how to take Vegas. On the word of frumentarii under Inculta, they had found out that the NCR had garrisoned the Strip and Freeside in the absence of Mr House. Clever - Vegas was a big city. Naturally, Lanius had suggested a full frontal assault. He would have gone through with it if not for the pleas of the other officers. The group were struggling to think of a way to breach the city without losing the entire cohort.
On the fourth day, Titus had spoke to an older centurion - one many had little respect for due to his absence at the taking of the dam. On speaking to him, Titus had found this man was cunning even more so than himself. This man would make a good frumentarii.
Centurions Agrippa and Titus brought their plan before the Legate, hoping for his approval.
"...and then the men rise from the tunnels and purge the city!" Finished Agrippa.
"Under the cover of the boomers guns." Added Titus.
Lanius approved and sent word east to Caesar. They'd be on the move to Nellis, and then North West Vegas to get into the tunnels.
Titus' slave entered his tent the next afternoon. She looked like shit. The bruises were going down, but it was clear she was still in pain and had not slept properly for days, despite being afforded the luxury of sharing a real bed. "Ah, finally," he said as he looked up from a letter from the Fort, "We're moving."
Aurora looked at her master. She was tired and still hurting, Lack of decent sleep due to the pain was not helping and there was no way that she would be able to get a syringe of Med-X or a Stimpack in the puritan-minded Legion, especially after she had used Med-X to drug Titus in order to attempt escape. The slave collar that still adorned her neck was a tight and constant reminder of that failure.
"Yes master, I shall begin to pack." she said, bowing her head.
Aurora moved to start packing up the smaller items and place them in the crates that were stacked in the back of the tent. her years of service in the Supplies Corps had trained her well in packing for economy, space and movability, and quickly she had the smaller, unneeded items packed securely away.
She looked round for anything that she missed, her mind checking off everything that she had packed, spare blankets, bedding, clothing, smaller miscellaneous things that he kept as trophies from previous battles. she had her few extra slave belongings packed away in a small, crude rucksack next to her sleeping mat on the floor, she would carry that herself with the sleeping mat rolled up and tied to the rucksack.
She remembered first trudging into the Mojave, her kit bag heavily packed for the Mojave. it was so much different to fighting the ongoing NCR/Brotherhood war, she had never fired a shot, never taken a life, until she came to the Mojave and saved the life of her captors by killing one of her own.
The NCR-Brotherhood war was a cakewalk compared to the war with the Legion. at least the Brotherhood didn't crucify their prisoners of war, they simply didn't have any. The Brotherhood was struggling to fight for its life, just like the one here in the Mojave. and now, so was the NCR with so many of its installations destroyed and its Rangers almost gone and in disarray, tings didn't look good.
Aurora found that she didn't really care, she had snuck a peek at her Service Record when Titus was in a meeting with the other Centurions. Her Record was not exemplary , but she was still proud of her distinguished service record back home in the NCR/Brotherhood War, and her service in the Mojave was just as good for her efforts at Forlorn Hope in Supplies, Quartermaster Mayes had put her forward for a promotion, which had been approved. apparently she was to be told the next day, but the Legion had taken Forlorn Hope before the news could reach her. All that meant nothing to her now, after reading the notes on her confession and judgment,
"Private Cosgrove is hereby sentenced to hang by the neck until she is dead, her body will be then strung up from the Ranger Monument at the Mojave Outpost with a sign describing her crimes against the NCR, This sentence will be carried out at our next available date, due to a combat situation. -Colonel James Hsu, Camp McCarran Acting Commanding Officer, Mojave operations."
Aurora had sighed as she closed the folder and placed it back exactly where it had been.
She turned back to Titus once she had finished packing what she could.
"Will you be taking your evening meal soon, Master? She asked him
"Yes. It'll be a long day tomorrow." He muttered. "You should eat too. The slaves and recruits will have some serious weight to haul." He was of course referring to the guns from Nellis should they be taken from the Boomers.
He'd taken to not wearing his armor much. He hasn't seen battle in almost a week, and his new steel armour was too heavy to wear without cause. Titus looked tired and irritable, his dealings with Lanius were stressful encounters. The legate would have no issue killing a centurion should they disappoint him, and everyone knew it. Worst of all, Caesar would let him. Having to tread on eggshells was tough.
Perhaps more irritating was Caesar's choice to send a certain Frumentarii ahead of the cohort to 'butter up' the Boomers. Or remove their leadership should they prove uncooperative. Titus sighed. "...the fuckers! Couldn't they just send Vulpes."
Aurora came up behind her master and gently placed her hands on his hardened shoulders. she could feel the tension and knotted muscles. she pressed gently releasing the tension in his shoulders. She had seen her mother massage her father's shoulders and legs after a long day on the Brahmin ranch and it often seemed to relax and calm him. it was a skill she had picked up easily.
"If I may ask, master, Where are we going?" she said, gently pressing the knots from his left shoulder with deft fingers.
The centurion sank in his seat, closing his eyes as her soft hands worked over his shoulders. "We're going to Nellis with the Lanius. We want their guns and their numbers to make up the men we lost here."
Titus wished he was going to Nellis alone to collect the cannons, but he had to admit, if the Boomers had any ideas about resisting the Legion, the mere sight of Lanius should set them straight.
"The Boomers, Master?" Aurora said, pausing in her ministrations to her master's shoulders. In her time in the Mojave, she'd heard of many NCR survey and diplomatic teams being blown to bits by the artillery from Nellis. There were standing orders that no NCR soldier or citizen was to approach Nellis. "Forgive my saying so, but the Boomers are not likely to roll out the red carpet. More like they'll send out a full spread of ordinance. Many times we heard of NCR survey and diplomatic corps teams not returning from their missions to Nellis." She continued rubbing his shoulders. "If Severus' word is true, then the Boomers owe us a few favors and won't shell us on sight. If not, then..." he sighed. "Then we'll have to go through a known Deathclaw infested area to get to the gates of Nellis."
This really was the last thing they needed, but if the frumentarius could infiltrate the airfield and convince the Boomers that they should fight for the Bull, then there needn't be any bloodshed. If that wasn't possible, assassinating their leadership should prove nearly as useful.
"Now, get me some food!" Titus snapped. It'd be a long walk tomorrow.
Aurora backed away from Titus, "Yes, Master, at once." Aurora affirmed his order for food and quickly went and collected a meal of brahmin steak and boiled vegetables. She set his plate down in front of him and left to get her own bowl of food from the slave's cook fires. She settled on her sleeping mat and quickly ate her meagre fare. She waited for him to finish and collected his dishes. When she returned she turned down his bed and prepared his Bath. "It's there anything else; Master?" She asked him. "Nothing for tonight."
He undressed himself and lowered into the bath, the hot water soothing him. After some time in silence, washing himself, he stood, let her dry him off and then lay in bed, staring up at the canvas. Titus was anxious about what tomorrow would bring, and preemptively frustrated about having to cross paths with Severus again - that bloody viper.