Couriers: A Fallout Fanfiction

Talvimus: True to Caesar

  The swing of a hammer felt instinctual, as if the weapon was an extension of Talvimus' soul. When the large hunk of steel made contact with a human body, the crushing of bones signified accomplishment and pleased Talvimus' ears. These NCR soldiers tried to run and hide but all they succeeded in was delaying their brutal deaths. They were weak and only served as living training dummies for tonight's assault on Ranger station Charlie. It held no strategic value and was only attacked to strike fear into the NCR, to remind their soldiers that they would never be out of reach of Caesar's shadow. It was almost a daily routine for Talvimus' unit to ambush and assault any members of the NCR they could find.

  Talvimus inhaled the copper scented air. He was surrounded by his squad of legionaries and the corpses of soldiers. Blood pooled on the concrete floor and stained the bottom of Talvimus' boots while viscera dripped down on parts of the walls. They had done well tonight.

  As a decanus, Talvimus was in charge of leading his unit. He was tasked with training recruits and turning them into soldiers fit for the upcoming battle at Hoover Dam. Four years ago, the Legion had failed in their attempt to snatch the Dam away from the NCR's claws in order to take over New Vegas and have been recovering from their loss ever since. On that day, Caesar needed to scrape the blame of failure off of himself, so he shifted it onto Joshua Graham, Caesar's legate who was in charge of leading the assault. Caesar had Graham coated in pitch, set ablaze and thrown into the Grand Canyon to show that failure will not be tolerated, regardless of rank. Talvimus wouldn't have been that extreme. He would have just crucified him instead.

  Tonight, Talvimus wanted to leave a special treat for the NCR. In his hand was a holotape and a recorder, ready to be filled with his words.

"This is a message to the NCR from the Legion. We are coming for you. Run, and we will catch you. Hide, and we will find you. No matter what you do, you are all going to die."

  A pause. Talvimus imagined the shocked face of whoever listened to this holotape. It was short, sweet and simple.

  "Oh, and we took one of the women alive." Talvimus ended the tape and left it on the metal desk in front of him. He turned to the woman who was tied up with a sack over her head. She was completely still with the exception of her chest, which sharply rose and fell with each breath. Women had their uses in the Legion, just not as the soldiers. That was a mistake that the NCR made by letting the weaker sex try their hand in warfare, Talvimus thought. 

  Talvimus and his men exited the radio station with the captured woman being lead with rope. Night had fallen and the moon displayed itself proudly in the dark sky, providing a minuscule amount of light that allowed them to see the dark figure slowly approaching them. They drew their weapons, ready to strike, but Talvimus raised a hand, signaling for them to stand down.

  The figure that approached them was a fellow man of the Legion. Talvimus recognized him.

  "Ave, Augustine." Augustine smiled and waved.

  "Ave, Talvimus. Was your assault a success?"

  "Indeed. It was fairly trivial."

  Talvimus signaled to his men to secure the perimeter and leave them be.

  "Keep an eye on that woman, men. She was a pain in the ass to subdue and I won't be dealing with her for a second time."

 Talvimus and Augustine took a seat on a nearby bench, their feet sore from their recent travels.

  "What brings you here, Augustine? I assume you're not here for our standard philosophical discussions."

  "I wish that we could have those memorable talks again but something more important needs to come to your attention. Vulpes Incultas requires your skills as warrior of speech and sabotage for your next mission."

  Talvimus understood. "But what of my men?"

  "No worries, your men will be put under the guidance of Decanus Aleksandr during your absence."

  "Aleksandr? His skills in combat are questionable but he's not the worse substitute that could've been chosen, I guess. What does Vulpes ask of me?"

  "Your orders are to speak with our agent inside of Camp McCarren and assist him in destroying the monorail that is connected to the Strip. He goes by the name Ronald Curtis. In addition, you need to keep Curtis alive. He's invaluable to Caesar as a spy and will not provide any information on the NCR if he's dead or out of the job. Understood?"

  "Sounds like fun." It had been so long since Talvimus had the privilege of operating in a clandestine mission such as this. 

  When Caesar had absorbed Talvimus' tribe into the Legion in a land father east, Talvimus had displayed excellent combative prowess over the years and quickly rose through the ranks, eventually becoming a decanus. During a feast one night, about five years ago, Vulpes had approached Talvimus and had started speaking with him, showing interest in this man who had survived numerous years of brutal wasteland warfare. Talvimus could sense that Vulpes was evaluating him, gauging the caliber of Talvimus' character, asking him questions about his life before joining the Legion. Throughout the night, they discussed philosophy, politics and military stratagems. Vulpes was impressed with Talvimus, who he found out was well spoken and very well-educated in both Pre-war and Post-war history. Talvimus had told Vulpes that his tribe had an extensive library that had survived the bombs back in his village that contained quite a few moldy tomes.

  Unfortunately, the Legion's priorities did not include the obtainment of knowledge. Caesar was happy with the ignorant mass fueling his war machine in his westward campaign in their roles as soldiers.

  Vulpes had given Talvimus a place in the Frumentarii, Caesar's special intelligence gathering agents, but Talvimus preferred his role as a decanus.

  "I'm sure it will be. I wish you fortune, my amicus," Augustine said. "I'll gather your men and lead them to Aleksandr's camp. I'd suggest obtaining a disguise before you go into McCarren but, of course, I don't need to tell you that."

  They both stood and slowly walked towards the exit.

  "Thank you, Augustine. It was a pleasure to see you again."

  Augustine smiled. "Same to you, brother."

  Talvimus assembled his men and ordered them to follow Augustine. They walked off in an orderly fashion and left Talvimus by himself, who made his way onward to New Vegas with his hammer on his back and thoughts of what's to come on his mind.