p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"Prologue I: The Shot/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.45pt;"span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"Frumentarii. His once-commander, Vulpes Inculta had long ago explained that the word had come from a civilization that had been old and dead for a very long time even in the Old World… but no longer. Caesar, he'd said, was bringing that long-dead empire back to life and everyone in the Legion had to do their part./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.45pt;"span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"What part was that?/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.45pt;"span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"According to Vulpes, who'd heard it from Caesar himself, frumentarii had been traders who'd dealt in grain and other foodstuffs. As such, they had needed to travel far and wide and forge connections that could have, and had been, used in their subsequent work as spies and, eventually, assassins. Skillful killers and cunning saboteurs, they were the eyes and ears of Caesar, his blades in the dark./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.45pt;"span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"The lone frumentarius crawled slowly to the summit of the small hill and adjusted the scope of his rifle. With the sun behind him and plentiful cover, he did not have to worry about being discovered during his observations of the road to Sloan. Even if Quarry Junction had been cleared of its deathclaw denizens a while ago by the loathsome Courier, he…/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.45pt;"span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"There was someone coming and speak of the devil – it was the bastard himself. The bastard who'd killed Vulpes. He, who had marched into The Fort and killed Caesar, along with his elite guard after he worked with them for a long time. But then again, he had been playing all sides, only to betray them all./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.45pt;"span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"Even while steadying his breath, he remembered. He remembered when the Courier had marched into The Fort, all arrogance, the Mark of Caesar held highly before him as he approached the tent. He remembered how the Courier had entered the bunker and emerged, shortly later, claiming success in the task given to him./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.45pt;"span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanWith each new breath more memories came – the sacking of Nipton, after which fearless Vulpes Inculta had perished by the Courier's hand, along with two veterans of the division. The smallest tremble was now present in his hands as he lowered the sniper's safety while the memory of hearing of Curtis' death and the two-faced Courier's help with Caesar's sickness came again, just as visceral as it had been the first time. How foolish they'd been! How had they believed that the man who'd set them back years and ended so many of their number had suddenly turned a new leaf and was now helping?/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.45pt;"span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"His breathing was becoming steadier by the second and yet the trembling in his hands he was unaware of stayed. While his forefinger slowly/span span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"moved to squeeze the trigger, he recalled the final insult – the Second Battle of Hoover Dam. The battle shortly before which the Courier had walked into The Fort with his usual arrogant gait and after going inside Caesar's tent, he'd shot everyone present dead then did the same with whoever tried to stop him from leaving. The battle in which all the present members of the Legion had been looking for the bastard, but to no avail. The battle that had ended in Lanius' shameful retreat across the Colorado… because of the Courier's silver tongue and honeyed words./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.45pt;"span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"The memories of the Legion's disgrace and the sudden gust of wind twisted the frumentarius' aim and instead of the Courier's head the .308 bullet found its home in the device that the bastard currently had in his hand./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.45pt;"span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"The device exploded with blue energy and so it was that the Courier who had cheated death numerous times disappeared from the Mojave, never to be seen or heard from again./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.45pt;"span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"Frumentarii. His once-commander, Vulpes Inculta had long ago explained that the word had come from a civilization that had been old and dead for a very long time even in the Old World… but no longer. Caesar, he'd said, was bringing that long-dead empire back to life and everyone in the Legion had to do their part./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.45pt;"span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"What part was that?/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.45pt;"span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"According to Vulpes, who'd heard it from Caesar himself, frumentarii had been traders who'd dealt in grain and other foodstuffs. As such, they had needed to travel far and wide and forge connections that could have, and had been, used in their subsequent work as spies and, eventually, assassins. Skillful killers and cunning saboteurs, they were the eyes and ears of Caesar, his blades in the dark./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.45pt;"span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"The lone frumentarius crawled slowly to the summit of the small hill and adjusted the scope of his rifle. With the sun behind him and plentiful cover, he did not have to worry about being discovered during his observations of the road to Sloan. Even if Quarry Junction had been cleared of its deathclaw denizens a while ago by the loathsome Courier, he…/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.45pt;"span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"There was someone coming and speak of the devil – it was the bastard himself. The bastard who'd killed Vulpes. He, who had marched into The Fort and killed Caesar, along with his elite guard after he worked with them for a long time. But then again, he had been playing all sides, only to betray them all./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.45pt;"span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"Even while steadying his breath, he remembered. He remembered when the Courier had marched into The Fort, all arrogance, the Mark of Caesar held highly before him as he approached the tent. He remembered how the Courier had entered the bunker and emerged, shortly later, claiming success in the task given to him./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.45pt;"span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanWith each new breath more memories came – the sacking of Nipton, after which fearless Vulpes Inculta had perished by the Courier's hand, along with two veterans of the division. The smallest tremble was now present in his hands as he lowered the sniper's safety while the memory of hearing of Curtis' death and the two-faced Courier's help with Caesar's sickness came again, just as visceral as it had been the first time. How foolish they'd been! How had they believed that the man who'd set them back years and ended so many of their number had suddenly turned a new leaf and was now helping?/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.45pt;"span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"His breathing was becoming steadier by the second and yet the trembling in his hands he was unaware of stayed. While his forefinger slowly/span span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"moved to squeeze the trigger, he recalled the final insult – the Second Battle of Hoover Dam. The battle shortly before which the Courier had walked into The Fort with his usual arrogant gait and after going inside Caesar's tent, he'd shot everyone present dead then did the same with whoever tried to stop him from leaving. The battle in which all the present members of the Legion had been looking for the bastard, but to no avail. The battle that had ended in Lanius' shameful retreat across the Colorado… because of the Courier's silver tongue and honeyed words./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.45pt;"span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"The memories of the Legion's disgrace and the sudden gust of wind twisted the frumentarius' aim and instead of the Courier's head the .308 bullet found its home in the device that the bastard currently had in his hand./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.45pt;"span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"The device exploded with blue energy and so it was that the Courier who had cheated death numerous times disappeared from the Mojave, never to be seen or heard from again./span/p