{Caesar}
[Flagstaff. 2275]
Uh what happened? I was playing the OWB mod for HOI4 and then I fell to the ground my chest killing me and well this definitely isn't a hospital. This is a beautiful bed. Fuck, either I slept with someone cosplaying Caesar or that's a mirror and going by the frame I think it's a mirror. Shit I've been reincarnated. A voice comes from the other side of the door.
"Mighty Kaisar, are you awake?"
"Yes"
Please don't have an X, please don't have an X.
A woman dressed in a clean white tunic and skirt with a red X across the chest enters. Fuck. The Legion. I'm fucked. I'm Caesar, I have a brain tumour, I can't run If the Legion falls I will be heavily punished, if I run anyone who knows the name of the Legion will kill me.
I climb out of bed, I open my wardrobe. It's full of red tunics. I grab one and hand it to her. Then open a drawer pulling out a pair of shorts, another holds socks and pants. I remove my pyjamas handing them to her, she hands me the tunic. She folds the pyjamas and retrieves my fur. She never glances at my body clearly she is well trained. Well I have his memory's and can clearly fall quite easily into his routines. Once I pull on my socks she hands me my fur and then my broach. She bows as I grab my boots and then the final piece the outfit the displacer glove. Its beautiful device, from Caesars memory it releases a sonic pulse that causes immense internal damage to anyone caught in the pulse. I turn to the slave, who shivers slightly with fear. I walk past her and exit the room, two praetorian guards falling into step behind me. This building appears to have been some nice villar overlooking the original flagstaff. When Caesar took flagstaff as his capital he chose this villar as his personal home and capital building. We reach the dining room. Lucius is already sat eating breakfast. I sit down at the head of the table. The praetorians sit as well. Slaves bring bowls of porridge. I take the jug of milk and pour myself a glass before tucking into my bowl of porridge, honey and prunes. A veteran legionary rushes into the room.
"Mighty Kaiser I bring news."
I dab my mouth and look up.
"Speak."
"Scouts have reported ranches in north Mexico below our borders. They report no alliance with Tlalocan or the Republic of Rio Grande."
"Inform Legate Augustus he is to push south, he is to take the ranches."
"Yes, Mighty Kaiser"
He scurry's out and I continue my meal. Then Lucius speaks.
"Kaiser, how is your head?"
Hmm, I assumed that no one knew about it, well I doubt I can hide much from Lucius and it is something I desperately don't want in my head.
"The headaches are getting worse. Get me Vulpes. I wish for his services."
A slave scurry's out the room to deliver my message to a Frumentari.
We finish eating and I retire to my study. It's very nice. I walk slowly around it examining everything. I pull open a draw and see rolled up flags, must be the flags of those we conquer. I walk over to a table carefully pinned to it is a map of the US a think pencil line shows our borders and the rough borders of those around us. To the east across a river is a border labelled Lanius's Cohort, well thankfully this appears to be The OWB mod so Lanius will be more of a leader. I can only hope that Diana doesn't corrupt him against me. Judging by the size of Lanius's cohort this is 2275. I have 6 years before New Vegas occurs. I doubt cannon will stay tho. I have plans within plans coursing through my head. I can't let Joshua loose the first battle of Hoover dam, I need him on my side, he is way to competent to allow him to become my enemy.
Why am I so numb? I'm thinking of how to avoid tossing a guy into the Grand Canyon that's not normal, Why do I need to plan to avoid it I can just not attempt to kill him. What am I now, I'm not Caesar but I'm not me, I had a life, friends family a dog, and yet I feel little about it, I'm numb to my past and alone in my present. I need a walk.
I stride out of my study and to the door. Two legionaries rush to open it as my Praetorian guards fall into step. We stride out of the villa and into the courtyard. Slaves halt their tending and bow their heads. I turn to one.
"Get me the master gardener." "Yes mighty Kaiser."
He rushes off and soon a Legionary rushes over, he snaps to attention.
"You called mighty Kaiser." "Yes, what is the feasibility of growing Prune trees here."
He stares blankly at me. One of my Paetorians huffs and growls.
"Kaiser wishes to know if you could plant prunes in his garden." "Yes of course, it is perfectly fea, feas, feasible. I will get on it immediately."
I continue walking. The villa sits on a raised hill but is a convenient walk to the centre of the city takes about 20 minutes. Legionnaires and slaves alike snap to attention or bow their heads as I pass. Its interesting, I never imagined that Flagstaff would be so industrialised. Their is a huge wood processing operation to the east. Barracks and slave bunk houses are everywhere and factories ring the city. From Caesars memories I recall that all technology fall under the Cult Vulcan. At the centre of the city is a large empty space.
"Why is it empty?" "Err, Kaiser you couldn't decide what to erect there." "Ever heard of the Brazen Bull?" "No my Kaiser." "It was a metal bull. Hollow and big enough to have a person trapped inside. Prisoners would be placed inside and a fire lit, as the bull heated the person would scream and as they screamed their voice would be channeled through the mouth of the bull causing it to bellow."
The nearby legionaries stare, the slaves stare with horror and a legionary with the symbol of the cult Vulcan stares at me with admiration.
Why did I say that, this is the legion the only thing keeping that legionary from rushing off to mock up a prototype is my presence. And why don't I care that they will likely construct one and test it. I'll reject it when they bring me the proposal.
I continue on my walk, I think I will visit the Temple of Mars.
The doors creak open, the temple is massive and adorned with symbols and drapes. I look up at the priestess's.
"OUT."
They rush to the side passages. Fleeing to their rooms. My Frumentari sweep the hall finding no one.
"I wish to be alone."
They move to each exit and pass through standing guard on the other side. I walk up to the main tapestry, it depicts a huge sun basking down upon a depiction of me.
"I have no clue if you are real Mars, I don't know if there is any truth in the Legions belief but I'm lost. In the span of a day my life went from a fire safety officer who liked gaming to Caesar master of the most fragile military dictatorship ever conceived, lord of a faction written to be the most evil, monstrous possible. Why, What did I do to deserve this. There is nothing for me now, my new face is the face of a monster where can I go? All it would take is news of the legion and a coin with my face to reach my new home and boom I am exposed plus the legion would collapse and then on top of the monstrous acts I did to build it I would be responsible for the atrocities that would occur when it collapses."
I rant and rant for an hour before finally slumping next to the Dias.
"I need something please. Something to show me what is necessary, Please. You must have had a hand in me being here please give me a sign."
A hand tugs on my tunic. A young slave stands there holding the speaker of my glove. She flinches as she holds it out to me. I hold out my hand and let her position it on my fingers.
"How long have you been here?" "The entire time Mighty Kaiser."
She heard everything, even broken slaves let things slip. I press the activation button on my displacer glove and once the charge shows green hit the trigger.
Her eyes go wide as the concussive blast hits her, her skin ripples as she is lifted up her eyes bursting, she is launched away from me trailing a stream of blood as she flies into a pillar. As she strikes the pillar she folds around it backwards. The stream of blood from her mouth arcing across the room and she bounces and slams to the floor coming to rest in a pool of her own blood. The doors burst open and my Frumentari burst into the room their power fists at the ready.
"Clean it up."
They nod and shout for the cleaning slaves. I walk down the room avoiding the sprays of blood and out the doors. I beeline back to the Villa. I need alone time, I enter my study and slump into the chair at the desk. I just killed someone just cold bloodedly killed someone, just because they heard my breakdown. And right now despite the fact ,y tunic is sticky with her blood I don't feel much. Mentally I'm on a rollercoaster of emotions but even then they are duller than what I should be feeling, then again while I have never killed before Caesar has, he may prefer to order his men to kill but if he wasn't willing to kill personally he wouldn't wear a displacer glove, Caesar has no issue killing, so I suppose his brain chemistry wouldn't have the same reaction to killing as someone like me who has never killed. I mean I think that after what I just did I should be in shock, shaking and trembling just trying to process that I murdered someone but no I may be flipping out mentally but physically you wouldn't know. Maybe that was the sign I wanted. The slave showed me kindness, despite what my legion has done to her she showed me kindness and I killed her in return. If I fled similar things would happen. People would offer me kindness, they would protect me from the NCR and I would use them, hide behind them not caring if that meant their deaths. That was my choice. Show that slave mercy or kill her, my first thought should have been about her, If I was still my old self I would have been horrified by her predicament but no my first thought was how she was a threat to my safety. I'm not myself but I'm not Caesar, What am I?