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2.12% Fallout:Industrial Baron in Caesar's Legion / Chapter 2: Legion subditee

Chapter 2: Legion subditee

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"You seem like a profligate with manners. Ave, true to Caesar. I'll only say this once: submit to the son of Mars, and you and your tribe can live under his sturdy yoke. Otherwise, we'll kill and crucify the men and enslave the women and children. I await your response," said the man wearing a mask.

"It's a bit late for that proposal since I'm the only survivor of my... tribe... legate. But, as the only leader left alive, I'm willing to collaborate with you," I said, looking at the leader of this legion.

"What caused the death of your tribe, profligate? The walls and gate of your castra have proven to be very resilient, so whatever caused your tribe's downfall must be a future problem for the legion," said the leader in his characteristic tone of voice.

"The deception of my tribe's former leader failed with me. I discovered that all my training was simply to perform... a sacrifice. And well, like many others, I enjoy living, so I refused to die. Therefore, I had to kill over a thousand inhabitants by myself," I responded to the legate of the legion.

"If what you say is true, your actions are impressive, worthy of one of the legion's veterans. But now you've denied lord Caesar his tribute. Why shouldn't I crucify you to show the other profligates what happens when they tamper with what rightfully belongs to the son of Mars?" replied the legion officer.

"This place still holds great value for our lord Caesar, legate. These facilities... this castra has the capacity to produce food for the legions, along with potable water and electricity," I quickly said, using the words the legate often used to generate sympathy.

"That will be useful but of no value to my cohorts. I highly doubt you can maintain the production of everything you mentioned on your own, so your castra is merely a basic shell, ready to be looted and its parts used to craft swords and spears for the mission lord Caesar has entrusted to me," the legate responded, keeping the same tone of voice.

"But if, instead, you, legate, servant of our great lord Caesar, provide me with workers, I could get everything back up and running by training them. It might not seem like it, but I know everything necessary to keep what's inside my castra operational. I suppose you understand the great benefit this brings to the son of Mars and his mission, legate," I said with a slight smile.

"You have my attention, subject of the legion, but I won't give you slaves for free. Considering that you were once part of a tribe that didn't respect the civilization the legion brings, you don't have the coins to trade goods. However, I will accept weapons, like the one in your hands, and the armor you're wearing as barter in exchange for good slaves from the legion," the legate replied.

"Oh, of course, legate. I have plenty of weapons and armor ready for you to take immediately. I could even pay the tribute expected from my tribe to the legion right now in the form of food and water to celebrate this great day when I wisely joined lord Caesar's legion," I said with a smile, using body language to try to activate his mirror neurons and generate empathy.

"Lead us," the leader replied in the same tone as always.

We re-entered the shelter, followed by the legionaries, and I stopped at the terminal to try to shut down the robots.

But the legate grabbed my forearm tightly.

"What are you planning to do?" the legate asked as he firmly held onto my forearm.

"There are robots here... I used them to kill the sectarians, and they have orders to kill anything that isn't me, or we wouldn't be having this conversation because no one would have opened this door," I replied, staring at the legate.

"This technology is forbidden by lord Caesar; those robots must be destroyed," said the legate, slightly angry this time.

"And so it shall be, legate... May I proceed?" I said, maintaining eye contact.

"Proceed," the legate responded, crossing his arms again.

I shut down all the robots because I wasn't going to destroy machines that could be useful.

"Done, let's move on," I said, getting up from the chair and leading the legionaries through the shelter.

We quickly came across the signs of the massacre that had occurred hours earlier, and although the legionaries said nothing, I could see in their eyes how respect was forming. The more massacred bodies we found, the more respect seemed to grow as we made our way to the armory.

The legate observed everything and occasionally kicked one of the robots, as if expecting it to betray him. I'm not foolish enough to face someone who could probably crack my skull with a single blow.

The armory was open, and all the legionaries, except for the legate, rushed for the pistols.

"10mm pistols, ammunition, and parts to repair weapons, and several full sets of riot armor, legate," I said, pointing to the armory's contents to the legion officer.

"A great tribute, from what I see, but will that armor hold up?" the legate asked, observing the riot armor.

"Of course... May I, legate?" I responded to the legate, pointing to the sword on his waist.

"Be my guest," the legate replied.

I took the sword from his waist and, using the pistol I had previously discarded, shot the armor before stabbing the legate's sword into it with difficulty.

"It's Kevlar with padding and a small steel plate in the middle. It will withstand medium-caliber weaponry and will handle bladed weapon attacks quite well," I said, pointing to the armor I had used as a practice dummy.

The legate examined the armor and took back his sword.

"I'll take half of the weapons and armor as payment for the slaves I'll bring... and I'll take the other half as an advance payment of your tribe's tribute as subjects of lord Caesar. Next year... how much food do you think you can produce?" asked the legate.

"It depends on the number of... well, slaves I can train. If I can keep negotiating with the legion to get some parts, I could condition some levels of the shelter to increase the production of plants and the amount of food to offer as tribute. But the maximum production capacity of my castra is enough food for about fifteen hundred people for an entire year," I replied to the legate as the legionaries began to arrange their tribute.

"As long as you deliver a tenth of what they produce each year in water and food, you will have the protection of the legion. But I also expect you to produce weapons for my cohort. I need four hundred weapons by the end of the year," said the legate.

"Ah... legate... We don't have the facilities to manufacture more weapons. This is all I have. I don't have the lead or gunpowder for bullets, nor the material to create the weapon bodies and springs..." I tried to explain to the legate.

"I only give orders once. If I have to repeat myself, I'd rather kill you and find someone who will follow my orders. I'm not requesting ballistic weapons; I'm asking for swords. If you have the knowledge to run these facilities, you should also know how to craft swords for my cohort," said the legate, maintaining his usual tone.

"Yes, of course. It will take me a few days to get a proper forge up and running, but you will certainly have your swords by the end of the year, legate. I'll just need to find someone to sell me iron and coal. You have my word that those weapons will be in your possession before the deadline," I said with a smile, hiding my nervousness.

"In our main settlement, you'll find everything you need to fulfill my orders," said the legate, picking up some boxes of weapons and helping his men.

"Ah... legate, one question before you go..." I said, following the legate as he headed out of the shelter.

"Speak," said the legate without stopping.

"Is there any chance I could join the legion as a legionary?" I asked the legion officer.

"No. The legion doesn't recruit its subjects, or it would risk losing the tribute we must be given. Especially in your case, without you, this doesn't work. In any case, you would have to be part of an auxiliary cohort, but you don't have the men," the legate replied.

"It will take me a few days, but I'll have everything running perfectly. However, keep in mind that I am the leader of my tribe. You could consider me a barbarian prince who must be Romanized, and what better way than like the ancient Romans who included barbarian leaders in their legions to integrate them into the great legion" I said to the legate, who, after hearing this information, stopped and looked at me.

"You have too much information about the Romans, don't you think? It almost sounds like a message from the god Mars. Perhaps I should enslave you and send you to lord Caesar. He might find great satisfaction in your company," said the legate, staring at me.

"Well, my tribe has a lot of information about the great Roman Empire, and..." I tried to say.

"Give me that information," ordered the legate.

"Right away. I'll make a copy of the information for you, legate." I said, hiding the nervousness in my voice.

The legate followed me to one of the computers, and I made a copy of the information the legion officer had requested.

"Here you go, legate," I said, handing over a holodisk with all the available information.

"A gift worthy of the mighty Caesar," said the legate, looking at the holodisk.

"Yes, consider it a token of my appreciation for our lord Caesar," I said with a slight smile.

"Get this place up and running, and you'll have your place in the legion. But don't expect favoritism; you'll start like everyone else, a simple legionary, and you'll earn your rank through your feats in battle," said the legate, this time taking the items and leaving as quickly as he could.

For the first time, I looked with my own eyes at the wasteland outside the shelter and saw a nearby city and a river.

A few hours later, a large group of legionaries appeared, bringing three hundred slaves in exchange for the weapons. Honestly, I didn't know the value of human life, but a few hundred low-caliber pistols and ammunition allowed me to acquire so many people who had lost the most essential thing about being human: their freedom.

But that didn't matter. Once I brought them inside quickly, we started cleaning the shelter from top to bottom before the smell of rot began to sicken these slaves, who, surprisingly, were incredibly submissive. I expected people who had recently lost their freedom to be much more combative, but it was a surprise that was both good and sad.

After cremating the bodies and cleaning all the rooms, the next day I began putting the learning facilities to good use, placing these slaves in intensive simulations on hydroponic farming and machinery maintenance.

The same machines that had forcibly injected knowledge into me were now helping me get these facilities running again.

It took me five days to get everything in order and functioning as it should. After repairing and activating many of the robots, it was easy to restore normalcy, and I made my first act as a political leader to gain support.

I freed all the slaves from their collars, not because I was a good person, but because they had to stay here anyway, as they had guaranteed food and water. This allowed me to gain the sympathy of many, who cried with joy at being free, but were still trapped in the shelter since I was the only one who could open the doors and controlled all the robots. As long as the legion left me alone, I was the absolute ruler within the shelter.

With everything in order and leaving a robot as a supervisor while I was away, I headed to the city to the south, called Castra Sol Rubrum, to join the legate's cohorts and find someone who could supply me with the resources to fulfill the legate's order.

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CREATORS' THOUGHTS
Chill_ean_GUY Chill_ean_GUY

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Chapter 3: Castra Sol Rubrum

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The air outside the shelter felt different, and the sensation on my skin was unlike anything I'd experienced before. It was my first time feeling the sun on my skin, and it was a strange sensation. According to the data I extracted, we are in the year 2274, and there were many visible changes in the area, especially the aridity of the land, considering that this land was once considered fertile. But it was difficult to expect anything from the land, especially when it had been bathed in radiation by nuclear missiles during the Great War.

It was clear that society had regressed several centuries in technological advances because the few houses I found on the way to the legion's settlement were made of tin and wood.

And they were raising some horrible beasts, cows with two heads that looked monstrous, in addition to the difficulty they had in tilling the land or the resilience that seeds had developed to grow in such dry and possibly irradiated soil.

All of this was much different from what I had imagined, but considering that slavery had returned, it meant I had to prepare for the worst and not let ancient values prevent me from joining the government that dominates this area.

It didn't take long to reach the place where the legate's cohort had settled, where there were several guards at the city gates.

"Wearing our colors without being a legionary, you seek your death, profligate," said one of the legionaries dressed in his football gear.

"Ave, true to Caesar. No, I am a subject of the legion and have come to this settlement by the legate's invitation to fulfill his orders for the next tribute payment from my tribe," I replied to the legionary, who widened his eyes at the mention of his officer.

"Ah, I did hear about you from my comrades, about the bloodthirsty loner tribe that inhabits the hills. Avoid trouble and continue with what you're doing," the legionary responded.

"Thanks. By the way, who is in charge of the legionaries? I made a promise to join your legion once I resolved some matters, and I will soon be ready, but I need to know as soon as possible whom I should speak with," I asked the group of legionaries.

"I'll take you to our decanus right away," said a legionary who began leading me through the city.

The city seemed badly damaged by fire, but I focused on keeping up with the legionary who led me to his commanding officer. We entered a fortification in the heart of the city, and I immediately saw who was in charge because he wore a different helmet.

"Ave, true to Caesar. Decanus, this is the legion's subject who wishes to join our ranks," said the legionary.

"Ave, true to Caesar. Return to your post. I am Decanus Flavius. What brings you here?"

"Salve, I just wanted to ask if there were any additional requirements besides showing up to join our lord Caesar's legion," I said respectfully.

The decanus looked me up and down.

"You have the right build for the legion, good physique and condition, as I see. Do you know how to use that, or did your parents give it to you to avoid hand-to-hand combat like a coward?" said the decanus.

"I wouldn't miss a shot to the forehead of a profligate from over five hundred meters away, and I can defend myself in close combat," I replied to the decanus.

"I would tell you to prove your words, but ammunition is scarce, so go to that cabinet over there and put on your new uniform, which will be with you for life," said the decanus.

"I'll finish resolving some issues regarding the supplies my tribe must deliver to the legion, and then I'll be at your service, decanus," I replied.

"Then don't waste any more of my time," said the decanus, returning to his work of keeping inventory for the legate's cohorts.

Without wasting much time, I went in search of merchants in the area because my first option, using what I had been taught, was bars, but that wasn't a realistic option in any settlement controlled by Caesar's legion, as alcoholic beverages are prohibited. It took me some time to realize that there was no such option.

Finally, I managed to find merchants who were quite close to the river, where a hastily constructed bridge connected us to another city that also flew the legion's flags.

These animals, incredibly mutated by radiation, made me extremely nervous. These brahmin were very important animals for the local economy as they were a source of transportation and food for the wasteland's inhabitants.

Eating this animal's meat was considered a small luxury due to its price, which, for the moment, didn't make much sense to me, as I still couldn't determine the exact value of the silver and gold coins that the legion used as currency.

I had brought some things in the bag I had when I left to see their value and to determine how much I could get by selling agricultural products from the shelter's hydroponic farms, as well as the animals that had been bred for generations in the shelter to maintain protein intake with more variety than just mushrooms. But it was only chickens and rabbits, as anything larger would have consumed significant shelter resources.

Finally, I approached one of the merchants who had much more attractive merchandise and seemed wealthy, as he had several heads of cattle.

"Ave, I'd like to ask your expert opinion: do you think any of this has value?" I said, pulling out canned food and preserves, leaving them with the merchant, who looked about forty years old.

"Ave, let me see... jams, fruits, vegetables, and canned food... Well, the jam is still good, it has a fresh blackberry flavor... And your fruit and vegetables have a good color, but I don't usually buy canned food unless I can guarantee it's less than a hundred years old, so you were unlucky with your loot in that regard. But for the rest, I could offer you one gold coin and twenty silver coins for everything you have here," the merchant examined everything and opened a jar of jam to eat it with a kind of cracker.

"Mmm... these were canned three months ago. It's carrots, rabbit, garlic, potatoes, and tomatoes—in short, rabbit stew," I replied to the merchant, who suddenly seemed very interested.

"Where did you get this? As far as I know, there isn't a single canning plant around here that hasn't been looted," said the merchant.

"We produce it in my tribe, the same tribute we offer to Caesar," I responded.

The merchant stared at everything for a few moments and then glanced at the other merchants in the area.

"Seven gold coins for everything you have here, kid. But when you have more, come directly to me and no one else. I'll give you a good price. I can get your products not only to Red Sun City but also to Flagstaff and Phoenix. Just get me a stable amount that you can sell me each month, and we'll make a lot of aurei together," the merchant said with a barely contained smile.

"Thanks for your knowledge. I'll ask around with others to be sure," I said as I slowly started to put my items back in the bag.

"Listen to me, kid, I'm your best option. I can take your stuff far. That food is quality—you won't see the typical tribal or legion subject eating it. Only the richest artisans or legionaries who have accomplished great feats will be dining on it," said the merchant, who was visibly upset.

I kept packing my products into the bags, watching as he grew more desperate while eyeing his potential competitors.

"Alright, alright, look, ten gold coins for everything here as a sign of our friendship, five silver coins per preserve, five silver coins per jar of vegetables and fruits, and forty silver coins for the canned goods," the merchant said, his voice tense as he looked around.

"Six for everything and forty-five for the cans, and you've got a deal," I responded.

"You're killing me, kid. That's the best I can do," the merchant said, clenching his fist.

"Well, I'll try my luck elsewhere. I'll probably find someone else in the other city," I said with a smile.

I saw the merchant turn red and clench his fist.

"Kid, come back..." the merchant said, holding back his desire to insult me.

"Fine, you've got a deal. Give me that now," the merchant said, handing me ten gold coins.

"Thank you, it's a pleasure doing business with you. Do you sell raw materials?" I asked in a friendly tone, noticing the merchant sweating after our negotiation.

"What do you need?" the merchant asked as he began to relax.

"Steel, if possible. Otherwise, quality iron and coal, aluminum, and canning jars. If you can get me that, we can finalize a deal right now. I must emphasize that everything will be used for the tribute we offer to the Legion, so avoid any tricks. We both know how the Legion can act when their tribute is at stake," I said, looking at the merchant.

"I can get it for you, but much of it is scrap from looted buildings. If you need it from a mine, I can get that too, though it won't be cheap. And don't worry, you don't mess with the Legion—I learned the hard way, almost getting crucified for a small mistake," said the merchant.

"Good. North of here, you'll find a castra belonging to my tribe in the hills. Tell them you come on my behalf at the gate, and they'll deliver the products I just showed you. You'll use what you owe me to obtain those resources for me. Understood?" I said, looking directly at the merchant.

"Yes, very clear. Good heavens, where did you come from, kid? You're too skilled at negotiating for someone so young," the merchant said, quite surprised.

"Hard times make strong men," I replied, saying goodbye to the merchant and returning to the decanus.

I then returned to the Legion post and changed my armor to that of the Legion, though they allowed me to wear the rest of my riot armor as long as it didn't alter the appearance of a legionary too much.

Thus began days of training considered brutal by normal standards, but honestly, for me, it was just another Monday. Our instructor made it clear that to turn someone into a legionary, you had to break the man to reform him into the perfect soldier, ready to die at the orders of Caesar. All the slaves captured by the Legion or born within it to be turned into legionaries were suffering greatly.

There was a lot of hand-to-hand combat training, which was the most abundant in the regimen, aiming to find the strongest and eliminate the weakness of the Legion recruits.

There was no firearms training—the bullets were too scarce. For that reason, the legate's legionaries pounced on our ammunition like hyenas. Every bullet was reserved for when the legate's cohorts finally began to conquer the East under the orders of the mighty Caesar.

This would open up many opportunities for me if I managed to position myself in the right place at the right time.

For a month, I underwent the rigorous training of the decanus, and although the trainer focused a lot on me, trying to break me, someone who had already been broken once couldn't be broken so easily again.

And as for favoritism, well, it seems that was a lie, because I could frequently slip away from the camp and the city, using the excuse that there were problems with weapon production and that I had to observe it personally. The decanus himself sent me because every sword counted in this mission.

With the help of freedmen, we began to set up a good-sized foundry outside the shelter, converting the cremation furnace. It didn't take long for us to finally complete the Legion's order, even delivering more than they had requested, several months ahead of schedule.

I hope the legate will look upon me favorably when an opportunity arises.

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Leave a comment; support is always appreciated.

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I remind you to leave your ideas or what you would like to see.

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CREATORS' THOUGHTS
Chill_ean_GUY Chill_ean_GUY

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