AN/ Thanks to SimplyTheBaest and OB1 for their reviews. In the future I will try to get people to proof read my stories before I publish. I want publish every week but most likely I will not be able to do that. But the more reviews and fallows I get the harder I'll work.
Salt lake city, Imperial palace tower
Emperor Vulpes looked over his new city. He was in an old airplane control tower in what was once the salt lake city airport. It was now the new Imperial plaice, And this is where Vulpis plans to build New Rome. Only six months ago the city had been an Irradiated hell hole occupied only by super mutants, centers, feral ghouls, and bloatflies. But after months of slaves packing dirt over the Irradiated ground and building new buildings from the stones of the area the city was beginning to look like a old world town. The legion had lost many lives in taking the city and even more slaves to radiation poisoning but people were disposable, symbols were not. Cesar was so obsessed with the idea of new vegas as new Rome that he refused to compromise with his tactics. The legion had lost too many resources after the battle of hoover dam that they forgot that there was so much unclaimed land the east, south, and north that the legion could have taken over in a forth of the time they spent in the mohave.
"My emperor" said A guard named Setiferus "The kansas city representative is here."
"than you Setiferus" Said Vulpes he sat down on his desk. As the legion marched east one of his advanced Furmontary had came in contact with a huge city called Kansas City. It was a large city that had sprung from a vault 200 years ago, but like all valts there was a special Quark. the vault was used to test how a slave sitome works. After they had emerged from their vault they had used their slaves to takeover the city from the ghouls establish dominion over the surrounding area. They built a great wall around their city and vast farms and massive factories, worked by the slaves that are descended from the original vault slaves. And now the representative of the slave city was on his way to decus an alliance with the legon. Caesar or laneus would take the town over but Vulpus saw a chance to make a powerful ally.
The door opened to reveal a man in a suit and tie. He looked friendly enough but his eyes gave him away. This man was a killer and he loved it. Behind him four girls were on there hands and knees. They were wearing pre war summer dresses and metal collars with leashes attached to them, and the Kansas city representative was holding the leashes.
"I hope that you find my gifts acceptable." said the man "by the way, my name is Gooden, James Gooden." He began laff like he had made an incredible joke.
"up you go slaves" Said James and the four slaves walked up in front of Vulpus. they were young, probably 16-17 and had long hair that hung over their shoulders in brades. Vulpus could see that they also had numbers tattooed on their necks, like serial numbers. They were also very good looking except for one who had a long scar on her face and a missing eye.
"they are Quite satisfactory" Said Vulpus trying to ignore them, he would enjoy them later but for now he had bigger things to deal with.
"but you haven't even seen the best part" He said.
"what do you mean," Asked Vulpis.
"Perhaps I should give you a demonstration" said James. He then reached into his back pocket and drew a 9 millimeter pistol. Vulpus reached for his .45 and his guards pointed their marksmen cabins at the diplomat.
"hay hay hay!" he said putting his hands in the air "I'm not suicidal, i'm not going to shoot you." After a few seconds of silence he flipped the gun so he was holding it with the barrel and said "the gun is part of the demonstration, may I continue."
Without lowering his gun Vulpus said "continue."
"good, slaves 108 and 107, sit up" Said James, followed by the scared slave and the slave next to her sitting up.
"108 tell your new master how you Know 107"
The slave without scars (who Vulpes assumed was 108) looked at Vulpus and said "said she is my sister, we grew up together"
"Good" said James "now 107, tell Master Vulpes why you look like a ghoul."
"My old master wisely decided to punish me with his knife" Said 107. "After that I was sold to the state and worked on the fields until master James bought me"
"very good" said james. "Now 108, do you love your sister"
the slave looked confused but said "yes master"
"Good" he said before handing 180 the gun, "Now kill her"
Vulpes g
was taken aback, I wasn't like he treated slaves with thoughtfulness and respect but damn, even he would not be that cruel.
"What, pless no, no, don't do this master!" begged 107. James kicked her into the ground
"don't hesitate, do as you are told" he said to 108.
108 pointed the gun at her sister
107 looked at her and begged "please, please don't do this to me sister, pl" she was cut short by a gunshot into her skull.
the room was silent and Vulpes looked at his guards, they looked at him and he could tell what they were thanking, they wanted to put this man in the ground. Vulpus honestly would have enjoyed that but, It was only a slave, not worth killing a valuable alliance over. 108 dropped the gun and continued to stare into space. Vulpes looked into her eyes and he could see extreme fear, and anger.
"gards remove the body and take the other slaves to my chambers" Said Vulpes.
He then looked at James. "We have work to do," said Vulpes.
"you got that right" said James, and he set down to in front of the desk.
"So strat to business," said Vulpes "What do you want in exchange for support for the Legon, slaves, guns, capps?"
"Why would we want your capps, we have all that we need," said James.
"Well, then why are you here?" Asked Vulpes.
"Ha" laughed James. "the vault that my people came out of opened up 250 years ago, how do you think we survived for so long?"
"Inlighten me," said Vulpes. This man didn't come here to boast, he had one goal to make sure the Legion was on his side. He tried not to show it but he was terrified of the legion, as he should be, thought vulpus.
"the same way that your legon survived after the death of caesar, we decided that we would survive no matter the cost, in the first fifty years we had to eat are slaves when they got too old to work." He paused for a moment as is trying to see vulpes reaction to this before continuing. "If any slave even thought of rebeling then we would force them to kill, cook, and serve their closest family member to their masters. Then they would be put in an isolation cage with nothing to eat but the bones of their loved ones. "They would be left in there until they starved to death in front of their fellow slaves. It was harsh but it made the slaves work hard to protect themselves and their families. Within twenty years we had no need to eat slaves but the punishment remains. The slaves weren't people any more, only machines to be used at are wilm. And with these machines we built a completely self sustaining city. well almost completely self sustaining."
"What do you mean, almost self sustaining?" Asked Vulpus.
"There are some minerals that we cannot find in our immediate area, especially Salt and Sulfur," Said James lighting a cigarette. "want a light?" he asked, holding a cigarette out to him.
After a few seconds of Vulpus staring at him without saying a word he put the cigarette up.
"So this is what you want." said Vulpes.
"yes I want to trade slaves and guns for salt and sulfur" said James taking the cigarette out of his mouth. "Do you have an ashtray, I don't want to burn the building down"
"So what was all that stuff for?" Aced Vulpus, handing him a ashtery from a drawer in his desk.
"What stuff?"
"Killing that slave, telling me stories of cannibalism, did you mean to intimidate us"
James was silent for a moment before responding "we want to show you how similar we are."
"Were not fucking savages, like you" snarled Vulpes.
"I mean that we will do whatever it takes to survive, even if it means doing stuff that pre war society would deam a crime against humanity" said James. "We are survivors, and our nations will still be on the top of the world when the NCR and Mojave are descending into the pits of hell."
"Even if I agree to this treaty I can only offer you salt, we have no significant sulfur reserves," Said Vulpes.
"That is where you are wrong" said James.
"Do you think that I do not know my own lands" Said Vulpes
"of course not, but we do know that there is a land to the north that the pre war people called yellowstone, it is said to have vast deposits of sulfur in it"
"So why don't you mine it your self?" Aced Vulpes.
"we don't have the manpower to secure the area for a long period of time, but you do."
"So intern for guns and ammunition you want for us to secure an unknown piece of wilderness and strip it of natural resources" Said Vulpus
"And you will receive the finest slaves and guns in the waste for this effort," said James.
"I don't want your slaves and I don't need your guns," said the Emperor. Vulpus wanted to have a army of soldiers not machines. And he honestly did not believe that those slaves were people any more.
"I get it, you think that there is some tip of fale safe code that we programed into our slaves to make them obey only us, and I won't waste my time trying to convince the bull otherwise. But you do not want to tern are guns down," Said James.
"And why is that?" asked Vulpus.
"why did you lose the secant battle of hoover dam?" asked James.
"What the fuck does that have to do with this?!" Vulpes exclaimed, in reality he had an idea of where he was going but it was important to make sure he knew who was incharge.
"You lost because you did not have the firepower to deal with brotherhood soldiers or enclave vediberds," said James. "If the legion had, armor piercing bullets, anti air rockets, and Fat boy mini nuke launchers, do you think that the tide could have turned in you favor, but by all means keep waving knives at the mohave."
There was truth to his words, thought Vulpes as he considered his options.
"You have a deal" said Vulpes making a decision, he was sure that Caesar was rolling in his grave right now but at the time he did not care. This was his empire and he would see it to victory, whatever it took.
"you will not regret this" said james standing up.
"Guards escort the man to his corders, and bring me lucas," Said the young emperor. After all I have a war to plan thought Vulpes.