The wind off the Colorado whipped through her hair as Courier Six stood tall near the edge of Hoover Dam. Victory and the cool breeze tempered the heat of the battle, a heat that only now started to abate. She had won. She checked herself; the Legion had won. She had assisted. In, if she permitted herself the indulgent thought, indispensable ways. She glanced to her right at the proud figures next to her. Aurelius of Phoenix, Vulpes Inculta, and the Legate Lanius, who was standing behind Caesar himself. On the far side of Caesar was Lucius, the leader of Praetorians and her future boss, if all went well.

"Ave, legionaries!" Caesar's voice echoed off the ravine walls, met with a deafening cheer. "Mars has seen fit to bathe us in the blood of our enemies. The river runs red today!"

Six remained stoic, as did the others lined up next to her. They were separate, picked out for special honors, and they would receive them with dignity.

"Ave, Lanius." Caesar came to stand in front of the Legate. "You have shown great bravery today, as you do all days, of course. For your success in taking Hoover Dam I will have a new helmet forged for you, steel plated with gold, so all that may come against you will see the shine in the eyes of Mars for miles."

Caesar stepped to the next man.

"And Vulpes. Able leader of my Frumentarii. Without your, shall we say, particular acumen, we would have been fighting in the dark. As it is you gathered exceptional amounts of intelligence and at the same time struck the fear of the Gods into every profligate to hear the name Legion. Among certain other tasks, of course." Vulpes smirked slightly. "You will have first pick of the slaves. I know how you like those NCR Rangers."

"It is rewarding to watch them break, my Lord."

"Indeed. Aurelius, one of my finest Centurions. You performed admirably running the forward camp at Cottonwood. Some forget that a war is not won by strength of the sword alone, but by strategy and coordination and support. That's not to say you aren't a warrior. How many of those dogs' tags did you collect today?"

"Sixty-seven, Lord Caesar."

"I dare anyone with a higher number come forward!" Caesar laughed. Lanius shifted on his feet. If he had a higher number, Six didn't doubt that the Legate would have spoken up, but as he remained silent it seemed he was just upset that Aurelius had beat him. "For your faithful service I give you first pick of the weapons."

"Thank you, Lord Caesar."

Finally, her leader stepped in front of her. "Now, many of you have seen this little girl running around the camp. You heeded my warning about mistaking her for a profligate! Good men. She has performed many tasks for us, many that have given us an advantage this day. And for that I thank her. In remembrance of all she did for the Legion I present her with the first Sesterius." He took a bronze coin from his pocket and tossed it to her. She caught it, startled. "In her honor, it will be a value of six Sesterii to one Denarius. This coin will first be distributed, one per person, throughout the wasteland as a symbol of the riches we will gain from this new territory. It will be a new value in our currency as this land will be a boon to our Legion. Legion in aeternum! Legion forever!"

Whatever response Six might have made would have been lost in the roar of victory.

The legionaries were celebrating long into the night. There was a centurium standing guard at the Dam, but Six, and everyone else, knew there would be no offensive from the NCR. They had thrown everything they had into this battle and had lost over two thirds of all their men. They would be retreating far west of Vegas and would be a long time coming back to the Mojave, if ever.

The courier, however, had retired to a makeshift bunk in the quietest room she could find. She turned the coin over in her hands. She hadn't been sure at first, but there was a mirror in one of the bathrooms that was clean enough to see her reflection in. It was her. It said Currere Sex. She turned it over. Caesar, and the words Fortitudo Aeternum. An incredible honor, she knew. How did he even have it so quickly? He must have had it made before the battle. If she had fallen, would he have released anyway, it in her memory? She felt full to bursting. Well, mostly. She would have equally liked a more traditional gift. First choice weapon was good. First slave was a high honor. She didn't particularly want one, but it was the thought that counted. Or perhaps... an honorary induction into the Praetorians, she thought, then chided herself. That wasn't how the Praetorians worked. She knew what she had to do to receive that honor. She felt entirely ungrateful. The others probably wished they had received something like this. Their face on money, who wouldn't love that?

And she only needed five more of them to equal one Denarius. It was worth less than a bottle cap. She could go back to the press in the Sarsaparilla Headquarters, hammer her face flat, and it would be worth more. Well. Not for long. Very soon, no one would use bottlecaps in the Mojave anymore.

She couldn't sleep. The Denacii were being uncharacteristically lenient after the victory, but even if the legionaries weren't making so much noise she doubted rest would find her. She made her way to the top of the Dam, where at least it was quiet. The risk of attack was infinitesimal, but out in the open the Legion were still disciplined. She saw shadows marking sentries, but they were still. The sky was lightening; it would be dawn soon. She tried to capture the peace she felt after the battle.

A voice startled her. "Courier. You look lost."

She turned. Vulpes Inculta. The first Legion member she had ever met. How fitting he would be here. She looked back across the water. "You can just call me Six. I'm not a courier anymore."

"So you aren't. What are you, I wonder?" Silence stretched between them. "I suppose you don't even know."

Six bristled. "Don't you have a Ranger to be getting back to?"

"She'll keep," he responded, watching her carefully. "Does it not bother you, imagining what I am going to do to her?"

She shrugged. "The fate of an NCR dog means nothing to me." He continued staring at her. Her skin prickled. "I don't care to imagine it, though."

Vulpes smiled. "I have been waiting for this moment for a long time."

"The moment where you get to go rape your Ranger?"

He walked to the edge and leaned on the low wall next to her. "The moment when you realize you have more in common with my Ranger than you do with any man wearing red."

She wasn't looking at him, but she still turned her head away. She didn't want him to see her cheeks redden. A sign of anger, taken by men as a sign of embarrassment.

"How dare you. I have been honored today, as you have, by Caesar himself. And yet you question my allegiance."

"How could I not?"

"After all I have done-"

"All you have done makes no sense," he interrupted. "This is the only thing that does. That is why I knew it would come."

She turned to him now. "I fight for the Legion. I do as my Lord -"

"Exactly. You fight for the Legion." He looked her up and down slowly.

"And?"

"Don't play the stupid profligate with me," he said coldly. She opened her mouth angrily, but he cut her off. "I remember Nipton. I remember a girl whose eyes went wide seeing crucified bodies. That was the first time you surprised me. Young girl, scared expression. Yet the words you said to me were strong. Like a recruit. Not accustomed to the sight, but accepting of the truth. Of course, you did not know the whole truth then, did you?"

"And what is that, then?"

"Oh, you know it now. In Nipton you saw something larger than yourself. You saw strength. You saw justice, pure and true. You saw the corruption of the wasteland, and the fact that it can be stopped. But soon after, I imagine, you realized what you never saw."

"I'm tiring of this circular conversation, Vulpes."

"You never saw a woman in Legion armor."

"I guess I'm the first," she said. His eyes narrowed. "Figuratively," she added, very aware of the mercenary outfit she was wearing. They had never given her her own armor. There had been a few sets in the safe house, but they hadn't fit.

He was right, though. Of course he was right. The first time, she hadn't thought anything of it. Well, you didn't judge an army based on one small group of soldiers. But it didn't take long for her to learn what the Legion's stance was. Still, she had gone to Caesar when summoned. Her curiosity and her memory of Vulpes at Nipton were too much to deny. And he hadn't cared that she was a woman. It was almost enough to make her forget the rest of them.

"I heard some things, obviously. But clearly it isn't that bad if Caesar had you deliver the Mark to me," she said.

"Caesar needed someone who could get into the Lucky 38-"

She stepped closer to him, invading his space. An obvious play for dominance, but she didn't care. "The Lord Caesar never said a single word to me about being a woman. He assigned me tasks and expected me to carry them out. And I did. Very well. And he honored me today. Put my face on money so everyone could see it. He clearly has no problem with me."

"With you? No. He recognizes all you have done. You had... advantages, as a Dissolute-"

"Don't call me that," she snapped.

Vulpes cocked his head to the side. "But that's what you are. There are no women Legionaries."

She stepped back and looked away. "You need women. You can't have a society of just men."

"Obviously. We have many slaves. Some of us have wives back in Flagstaff. Understand, of course, that the term 'wife' does not mean 'equal'. Then are women that live what you would consider normal lives under Legion rule. But they are not Legion themselves. They and their ilk are called the Dissolute. Civilized towns that have been incorporated by the Legion do not get enslaved." Vulpes smiled wide, showing his teeth. "We're not monsters."

"Well. I'm not a slave. I'm not a wife. And I'm not Dissolute. So don't call me that."

"Why do you want so desperately to be part of something that despises you? Do you want to be special? The only female legionary? A living legend?"

Six didn't respond right away, and the two faded into silence. They looked toward the East as the dawn broke.

"Caesar's opinion is all that matters. And honestly," she said quietly, with a small smile, "I think once you're on the money, you are a bit of a legend. Enjoy your Ranger, Vulpes."

She turned and went back down into the Dam. She had spent enough time wandering up top that she didn't remember the way to the room she had been in previously. Not that it mattered. She had only wanted to escape Vulpes and his probing conversation. Any empty room with a mat would do.

Before she could find one, however, she ran into a group of legionaries in the hallway. Three recruits, by the look of them. And drunk, by the smell.

"Hey, man, it's that chick!" Clearly new recruits. Dirty tribals, not yet assimilated to Legion culture. They had probably found alcohol left from the NCR troops and instead of turning it in or dumping it out like a true Legionary, they kept it for themselves.

"My name is Six," she said sternly. "And who is your Denacus?"

"Your name is sex? I'll say," said another.

Six's eyes narrowed. "You are clearly drunk. And if you don't want to end up on a cross tomorrow I suggest you tell me who your Denacus is."

"Come on, now, baby, we won! Hows about we end the night with another bang?"

She shot her palm up into the first man's nose, hearing a crunch. The blood indicated she had broken his nose, but she felt as though she had broken her wrist as well. She was never that good at unarmed fighting, and she had left her machete in the other room.

The other two laughed and moved forward as the first stumbled back. She walked backwards slowly with her hands up in front of her, the right one throbbing painfully.

"Stupid bitch. Grab her!"

Her back came against a wall and she realized she'd missed the turn for the stairs. She was in a corner.

The two uninjured recruits came forward. She managed to get a few solid hits in, ignoring the pain and probable damage she was doing to her hand, but they caught her at the wrists. She kicked out and connected with a shin, but their hold on her barely weakened. The first recruit, blood streaming down his face, approached and tried to catch her legs. She got another kick in, right on his injured nose. He howled, but leapt forward and pinned her legs to the ground. "You'll pay for that," he said.

He sat, straddling her legs. She tried to buck him off, but he was too heavy and with the other two holding her arms she had no leverage. They pushed her down on the ground and began kicking her in the stomach, the ribs, the kidney, the head. She instinctively tried to curl up into a ball. At least if they were beating the shit out of her they weren't doing anything else. Yet.

After what was an interminable amount of time, a shot rang out in the hallway. Then another. Two bodies thumped down next to her.

"You saw this person being honored by Caesar this morning, so you thought good sport for the evening would be beating her?"

If Six were more conscious she would probably have been upset that she just got rescued like a damned damsel by Vulpes Inculta.

When she woke up, she looked around blearily. Everything hurt. After her vision had cleared a bit, Six recognized that she was in a medical tent. Sheets separating beds. A table with a doctor's bag and assorted medical supplies. Man in a lab coat. And then her eyes settled on a face. Not a particularly happy one, either.

"Courier."

"Nng. Arcade."