It was in Mississippi that both sets of Legion forces finally reunited. It was the scouts who'd found each other first. They took several days to ensure that they were, in fact, members of the Legion. A few more days were taken to establish communication protocols, then a few more to arrange a time and place for both sections to come together. It would be a momentous occasion, so a time and place was set for the leadership of both sections to come together and meet for the first time was planned meticulously. If you asked me, it was rather bothersome. But I understood the need to make a show of things for morale.

A large bank was chosen as the location of the meeting. It had been built early in the United State's history, so it was made of stone and was dabbled with Roman architecture. Caesar and his top officers were already there, standing at the top of the steps that led to the bank's entrance. Caesar's forces, some twelve thousand men, were standing at attention along the road. The Prydwen and the fleet of vertibirds made an aerial show by doing multiple fly-overs. Our vehicles drove in a tight formation up to a designated landing pad which they would carefully encircle.

The leadership's vertibird landed and everyone disembarked. T'Preea was dressed in her finest cultist robes. Serena was in her uniform which was pressed and sharp. Malpaius wore the new set of power armor which had been polished to a mirror shine. Representatives from the Tappers, the Ala Miraculorum, and other minor governmental entities all followed suit. Meirune stepped out of the vertibird's cargo bay equipped with his armor and mounted weapons, followed by a troop of his most elite deathclaw soldiers.

Finally, the Praetorian Guard exited the vertibird in a tight formation with me in the middle. Their armor was polished and they marched in lockstep as they brought me to the head of the procession. There was a momentary pause in movement before the entire procession began marching down the road towards the bank. When the Praetorians reached the steps, they opened up their formation and I continued the walk up the bank's stairs escorted by Malpaius.

We stopped one step short of the top where Caesar was waiting for us. Malpaius saluted Caesar, "My Caesar, it is my honor to present to you your granddaughter; Caesaris Merida Orodum."

I dipped into a low curtsy. I had opted for a more formal outfit made up of a crimson dress with gold and leather accessories. This would keep me comfortable during the meeting, and gave me enough movement to do more things like curtsies.

"Grandfather, it is a pleasure to finally meet you in person," I said with a smile.

He smiled at me. He was in his mid-sixties, his hair was short cropped, gray, and time had begun withering his body. He had the air of someone in command, but even that was beginning to wane as age slowly claimed him.

"Merida," he said simply. "I'm pleased to see you've finally managed to meet with us. It's been years since I sent my forces to aid you in your efforts."

"It's not a satisfactory result if you don't have to wait for it," I countered with a smirk.

"Well said," Caesar nodded. "We've prepared quarters for you and your officers. Would you like to join us in the command center so we can begin discussing your progress and comparing results?"

"I would be honored, Grandfather,"I replied. I looked to Malpaius and he signaled for everyone to follow us in.

The bank had been cleared out and cleaned. The lobby was converted into a large command center with a series of tables set up in a large sat at the one end flanked by his officers while I had a seat reserved for me opposite of him. T'Preea and Serena sat to my right, Malpaius to my left, and the others filled in the rest of the chair on either side. The Praetorian Guard for myself and Grandfather fanned out around the table, though Eric made sure to stand closest to me, behind me and to the right. Meirune sat down behind me and to my left.

Caesar looked at those gathered in order to assess the results of his gamble sending Malpaius and the Legion members to me, "I will begin by saying that this day has been highly anticipated. It was a risk to send so many valuable men to the Commonwealth to help my granddaughter, but the results seem to be worth it. Today we will compare the results of our methods and see what the future holds for the Legion."

He stood and moved to a map. He took a piece of coal and circled a large swatch of the southwest United States, "Thus far, our forces have control of Arizona, New Mexico, a sizable portion of Texas, Louisiana, and some of Mississippi. We've doubled the initial size of our fighting force from approximately six thousand to around twelve thousand."

He returned to his seat and motioned to me, "Please show us the results of your efforts, Merida."

I smiled and stood, then made my way to the map. I took the coal and drew a line around the entire eastern seaboard, their bordering states, as well as a few others. Just to be cheeky, I also circled some of Mississippi.

"We have taken the entire eastern seaboard," I began with a bright smile and chipper voice. "We've also gained control of Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Alabama. As we all met here, saying we've taken part of Mississippi should be a given."

I nodded to Malpaius, "I was sent five hundred men from the Legion, which added to the large number of men I'd already had serving under me. We have since integrated the Brotherhood of Steel, Trappers, the Church of Atom, deathlcaws, and synthetic units into our forces. All told, with volunteers from each state and territory we've brought under our control, we now have a mobile fighting force of nearly thirty thousand, and local protection forces in the hundreds stationed in every territory."

The Legion leadership couldn't help but compare the substantial difference between the amount of territory we'd gained compared to Caesar's. They also wouldn't be able to ignore the sizable difference in our fighting forces; not just in numbers, but in the different factions, units, species, and tech. I could already hear quiet whispers around the table as I went back to my seat.

As I sat down, I continued, "We've taken no slaves and have wiped out raiders and gangs. We've also instituted emergency response procedures, local law enforcement, established territorial governors, medical and local assistance… the list goes on. We also have nature renewal programs to bring the wasteland back to life as we continue to march forward."

The room was quiet for an uncomfortable amount of time. Not only had we conquered nearly five times the amount of territory that Caesar had, but our fighting force was nearly three times the size of Caesar's. We had an advantage in technology. Our people were happier and healthier. The land was healing wherever we'd been. Things were clearly better where I had ruled compared to Caesar's territory.

Caesar finally spoke, "You've exceeded everyone's expectations, dear. It seems you've been busy and diligent. But there was a time you stayed idle for some time. We were never idle. We never stopped. There are some who see this and wonder why you would do such a thing if the goal was to come together as quickly as possible."

"As I understood it," I replied confidently, "the goal was to see if my method of ruling would prove to be more effective than the way you've been doing things. Or did I misinterpret your letter?"

There was another pause in the conversation before Caesar smirked and chuckled. "No, I suppose you're right. This was an experiment to test out methods of governing the people."

"And if we look at the results, I would say my method has been extremely successful," I smiled confidently.

"I believe we can all agree on that," Caesar replied.

Everyone in the room nodded.

"However, large numbers don't necessarily mean better results," Caesar said as he looked across the table at the different people on my side. "You've certainly collected a number of… unique… allies."

I could hear Meirune snort as Caesar's gaze lingered on him.

"While you have a large military force, can you guarantee their loyalty?" He motioned to the men on his side of the tables, "Each of these men has fought with me for years. We've shed blood together. Any one of them would happily die for me. Can you say the same for those under your command?"

I raised my head to put on a confident air, "I've also fought beside my men. We've bled together as well. They would gladly die for me. But, and this is something you failed to mention, Grandfather… I would also gladly die for any one of them. They know my will, the people understand how I govern. Most of my forces are made up of volunteers who were inspired to join so they could help bring my way of governance to others because they believe in my vision."

I looked to my left and right to see my friends and allies nodding in agreement, "I could die today and my work would continue on. My forces wouldn't fight over who would rule because I simply decide on which option is the best course for us. There would be no infighting, no fracturing of power, just a decision on who would make the final decisions. Can you say the same, Grandfather?"

He stared at me with a hard gaze of a man who knew his leadership was being challenged. He had cultivated his power through charisma and terrible violence. He was given respect out of fear. Fear was a powerful motivator, but power built on fear was a house whose foundation was built on sand. If people stopped being afraid of you, if they began respecting someone else for any other reason more than they feared you, your power would crumble as its foundation was washed away. He understood what I was doing. But he had called this meeting himself, and I was only complying with his wishes by speaking the truth about my forces.

He didn't leave any time for silent thought before responding, "I see you allow women to fight for you. You even allow them positions of leadership."

"I see you don't," I smiled innocently.

"I allowed you to lead," he countered with a smirk.

"You allowed your granddaughter her right to come into power?" I tilted my head curiously. "Did your men expect anything different?"

"May I answer that, Caesar?" Malpaius spoke up.

All eyes turned to the Legate. The other side of the table was extremely curious to see what he might say.

Caesar looked at Malpaius, measuring whether or not he could trust the man he'd sent to aid me. After a moment of consideration, he nodded, "Please do."

Malpaius looked at me, "The Caesar sent us to aid you and protect his last living heir. His instructions were to guide you and aid you…" He paused and I could see that he was struggling with something in his mind. He was fighting through his loyalty for Caesar and his loyalty for me. He had seen the two different worlds Caesar and I could build, and he was deciding on which one he wanted to live in.

He turned to lock eyes with Caesar, "He wanted me to make you think you were in charge while I controlled the men in the background. You were to be a mouthpiece while the Legion tightened its grip on those you conquered."

Malpaius looked back at me, "I did so in the beginning. But as we watched how you made your decisions, and we saw how you ruled your people, we could not find fault with your methods. Only once did I ever think you made a mistake…" He looked at Serena, then back to me. "But you showed me that your faith in those you command is enough to bring any wayward actions in line. The Legion does not let women rule. But I see that is a mistake. You've given a chance to everyone who wishes to be a part of the Legion, and we are stronger for it."

Caesar's face was stoic, carved out of emotionless stone as Malpaius revealed the damning truth. He wasn't going to let anyone see his anger or frustration with what his Legate had said. But I could see it. I could see the fury behind the neutral expression. I noticed the subtle shade of red that his skin took on as he came to terms with Malpaius' confession. Even as he glared at me, thinking about how he was going to try and smooth things over, I stared back at him with a bright smile that never waned.

"As I said in my letter to you, Grandfather, I have been sent here by higher powers," I said with a casual tone as if Malpaius had never made his confession. "I have been ruling over an empire for far longer than you can imagine. I've built one from the ground up. I know how to treat those who serve me, and I know how to care for those under my rule."

I placed a hand on Malpaius' shoulder, "Of course it occurred to me that you might send someone to handle me. But I had faith that I could show anyone that the world I was capable of building would be one they would wish to fight for. I sensed when Malpaius had stopped considering me as someone to be handled and instead as someone to be followed. I knew then that I would be the one to command the Legion."

"You think to take control of the Legion from me?" Caesar asked, his tone was calm but held a dangerous edge. "You think I would allow that?"

"It's not a matter of whether or not you would allow it," I replied with a positive tone. "It's a matter of how long it will take to become a reality. You're nearly sixty years old. Your empire is built on fear of your reprisal should someone challenge you or the Legion. I'm almost twenty. My men outnumbers yours nearly threefold. We're better armed, we have more vehicles, an air force, deathclaws, zealots, and a god on our side. The only question is whether you will step down as Caesar and hand the mantle of leadership over to me peacefully, or will you fight to keep control for another few years before one of your officers decides he can take over?"

I continued speaking without giving him the chance to respond, "And your men can now look at the world you want to build and the world I want to build. They can see two possible futures and choose which one they wish to see become a reality. Do you think they'll die for your vision… or live for mine?"

The threat was clear. And with it out in the open, the tension in the room was palpable. Everyone's muscles were tense as both sides waited to see if anyone was willing to start a fight that would end bloody. I could hear Meirune elicit a low growl that reverberated through the room like a thundercloud. He wanted the fight. His desire for it is likely what stayed the hands of Caesar's officers. No one wanted Meirune to leap into action. Not in such an enclosed space, and especially not within the short distance he was from them. Say what you will about his intelligence, but he knew very well how to leverage his physical might to cow people into submission.

Everyone remained deathly quiet for some time before I stood from my chair, "I thank you for having quarters prepared for me, Grandfather, but we have our own aboard the Prydwen. We will await your decision about my succession for one week. After that, we will need to reevaluate how we approach the matter."

T'Preea, Serena, Malpaius, and the others all stood with me. We left the bank in orderly fashion and made our way back to the vertibird. Caesar was left alone with his officers and the reality that he was already sitting on drawn battle lines. Our forces were already positioned against one another. They would have to decide what to do in light of the engagement they would have to face if Caesar made the wrong decision.