The next week was filled with tension on both sides. Caesar had an important decision to make. That decision would decide the fate of hundreds, if not thousands of soldiers. We remained on the Prydwen for the duration. We didn't want to provoke him into any rash action, though we did have scouts moving around his camp to assess the fighting strength of his men and the vulnerable spots in their formation. Each days the veritbirds would patrol the skies to monitor any possible troop movement on their side.

I allowed our soldiers to meet with their companions in Caesar's camp so that they could reunite and share stories of our exploits. This only lasted two days before Caesar no longer wished for the camps to intermingle until he had come to a decision. This only worked to my advantage. My soldiers would share stories of triumph, a caring leader, and how we had seen to the needs of everyone in our territory. Caesar's men would hear about how we didn't enslave anyone, and how my citizens were happy to support the reclamation effort in exchange for secure power grids, homes, roads and medical care.

Caesar's decision to stop the soldier's from interacting with one another was seen as weak. The soldier's questioned why he should be upset or afraid of them speaking with their brothers in arms. There was growing sentiment that Caesar feared what my soldiers would tell his, and that he didn't want his soldiers to consider joining my side. That decision made his reputation suffer. After all, if he wasn't afraid of what his soldiers would hear, he wouldn't have ordered them to stay away from each other.

Finally, the week I'd given him ended. I sent instructions to Caesar and his officers to meet me at the top of the bank's stairs to announce Caesar's decision before all of our men. This time, however, I made a larger show of our forces. Every vertibird we had did flyovers and hovered in a tight formation above the buildings. Our vehicles were manned and running, stationed only a few hundred feet from the bank and covered each road that his soldiers would need to use if a battle broke out. The deathclaw units were fully armored and stood at the front lines, ready to charge forward if the word was given.

T'Preea and the rest of the leadership took a vertibird down. After they landed, T'Preea, Malpaius, Serena, and Meirune marched side by side up to the bank. The Praetorian guard followed them, but stopped at the bank steps and spread out over a large area of the street. The leadership continued up the steps till they reached the top where Caesar and his officers waited.

Caesar looked at the four delegates and scowled, his classic features cracking with edged fury, "Where is the Caesaris? Why is she not with you?"

"She took a different mode of transport," T'Preea answered. "She'll be here any moment."

"She thinks to make me wait?" Caesar growled.

"With respect, Caesar," Serena replied, "you've made her wait for a week. A few more moments shouldn't be beyond your ability at this point."

"You dare speak to me that way?" Caesar roared, his anger only growing. Just as he was about to begin shouting at Serena, a slow, steady sound caught his attention.

The low bass of air being thrown back by large, leathery wings could be heard. The sound grew steadily as it grew closer and closer. Finally, after several moments, I appeared over the rooftops riding the scorchbeast. It let out a thunderous roar as it circled the bank a few times. I guided it down to the street and had it land in front of the bank's steps. As I moved out of the harness and climbed down the rope ladder, the Praetorian Guard marched forward to surround me.

I looked up at the scorchbeast and pet its neck, "Stay here, Templeton."

The scorchbeast huffed and shifted itself into a sitting position so that it could watch me.

I turned and started up the stairs, flanked by my Praetorian Guard. When I finally the top of the stares, Caesar and his officers were still staring at the scorchbeast in a mixture of amazement and fear.

"Don't worry," I reassured them, "he doesn't bite unless I tell him to."

It took a moment for the Caesar and his officers to pull their attention from the scorchbeast and over to me.

I stepped ahead of T'Preea and the others and smiled up at the men, "Grandfather. It's been a week since I gave you my ultimatum. I'm here to find out what you've decided. Will you give me command over the Legion? Or will you fight to hold onto your power?"

Caesar scowled down at me, "Do you think this… beast… is supposed to cow me into submission?"

I shook my head lightly, "Not at all. I would think the near twenty foot tall deathclaw in custom power armor bristling with weapons that would normally need to be mounted on a vehicle standing only a few yards away from you would cow you into submission. But the scorchbeast? No. You see, Templeton has separation anxiety and tends to get antsy if I don't spend time with him every so often. I thought a ride would be good for him."

Meirune elicited a growl and smirked down at Caesar, expressing just how eager he was for me to give the command to attack.

I stepped closer to Caesar, easily within his striking rand and outside of mine, making me an easy target for his sword, "I would prefer this to be a peaceful transfer of power, Grandfather. But if you cannot put the good of our people ahead of your desire for power… then I'm willing to go to war with you."

Caesar was fuming. His face turned red as he tried to keep his composure while he thought of a response. His mouth pinched tight as he took a deep breath, ready to reply when movement exploded around him. Caesar's officers snatched him and threw him to the ground. They pounced him like a pack of ravenous wolves, pinning him to the ground and began stabbing him in an adrenaline fueled flurry.

The sudden violence surprised me. I gasped and took a step back even as Eric an the other Praetorian Guards pulled me back and surrounded me in case the officers decided to turn on us. The gesture proved to be unnecessary, as the officer backed away after finishing their bloody work.

Caesar lay on the ground, bleeding from dozens of wounds, his eyes wide with shock and pain at the sudden betrayal, His breath came in short desperate gasps.

"Malpaius," one of the officers called. "Do your part."

"Malpaius stepped forward, drawing his sword, "You do not command me, Joshua. I know my duty."

Malpaius moved around Caesar's helpless form and held the grip in both hands. The point of the sword hovered over Caesar's hearts he locked his gaze with. His face was full of conviction as he knelt and drove the sword into Caesar's heart and declared to me, "Hail Caesar."

The condemning finality with which Mailpauis made his declaration sent a shiver down my spine. Caesar's life faded as his blood pooled out around him. I stared at Malpaius, unable to believe the scene that had just played out before me. It echoed the murder of the man he pretended to be, and I couldn't help but wonder if Caesar had thought the same thing that his ancient predecessor uttered before he died.

Wiping his blade clean with his cloak, Malpaius bowed his head to me, "Caesar, the officers of the western Legion have agreed to lend you their support in the upcoming expansion efforts."

"As proof of our loyalty," Joshua said as he stepped forward and pointed at Caesar's dead body, "we have killed your enemy with our own hands. One life for the lives of our soldiers as believed you would prefer."

I steadied myself and looked up at Joshua, "I accept your gesture of loyalty and gladly welcome you and your men into the Legion proper. However, I will require you to make this announcement to your soldiers. You will need to tell them what you have done and why you have done it."

"At once, Caesar," Joshua bowed his head. He and the other officers approached the top of the steps and looked down at the soldiers who had witnessed the gruesome scene unfold.

Joshua looked down at the soldiers, still covered in Caesar's blood, "Soldiers! My fellow Legates and I have killed Caesar! We have done this thing because it was the only right choice; not just just for the Legion, but for the fate of our country. Caesar refused to see the truth even as it stared him in the face."

He pointed down at the soldiers, "He did not care for the lives of his men. He saw an overwhelming force, insurmountable odds, a wholesale slaughter… and all he could think of was how he could continue to hold onto his power. He refused to see the obvious gap between territory conquered, or lives enhanced! He let his desire for power blinded him to the reality of not only a fight he couldn't win, but to a future that left his methods behind. He cared only for holding on to his power to the very detriment of his legacy and his men."

Joshua turned and motioned for me to approach. My curiosity led me to walk to the steps.

"Our new Caesar has proven that everything we've been doing hasn't just been ineffective, but detrimental to the future!" he shouted with a growing passion. "Look around you! See the allies she has gathered! Look at the vehicles and weapons she's made available to her men! Look to the skies and see that she conquers both land and air! Her people thrive with new homes, new roads, medicine, food, and clean water! This is the Caesar we deserve! This is the Caesar we fight for! All hail Caesar!"

"All hail Caesar! All hail Caesar!" The shout rang out over and over again for a minute as the men's fervor was roused.

I waited for the shouting to die down before addressing the Legion, "Let me begin by saying that I did not expect this turn of events. Your Legates did this of their own accord. However… I cannot argue with the results. This is the most peaceful transition of power that we could have hoped for."

"The Legate has already espoused the differences between myself and my grandfather," I continued. "However, there is one difference that is more important than all the rest. My grandfather claimed to be the son of Mars; that he was a demi-god. But demigods have power beyond mortal men. My grandfather was a liar."

I willed the stone to create a plinth beneath my feet and raise me up several feet as I gathered radiation around me to form a set of wings and a halo, "But I am not a liar! I am Merida Orodum, daughter of Atom! By my will I control the very world around us, I manipulate the radiation that poisons this world, and command the beasts it has created! And with your help, we will retake this world and return it to a state where our children will no longer have to struggle just to survive!"

The Legion roared with excitement at both the display of power and the promise of a brighter future. That day was marked with celebration. We let the Legion feast and drink before we began the process of integrating both sets of the Legion together. We would need to reorganize ranks and units, familiarize Caesar's men with our technology and tactics, and put every one of them through the memory process. I hadn't forgotten for one moment that the Enclave was still out there, or that Seven would still be planning something.

Now the Legion was mine and mine alone. And I planned on turning the full might of the Legion on the rest of the country to bring them into the fold so that I could return America back into the superpower it used to be.