Caesar was the first to open his box, and he raised an eyebrow at the contents. He gave a dry laugh. “And what exactly is this supposed to be, Valence?”
“It is a tribute to my work team, Lord Caesar. I’m expressing my appreciation in a different way than usual, but do not take it as a sign of feminine weakness—consider my exceptional baking abilities to be a statement proclaiming my war against any current unhappiness that may plague any man of this army. You may also see it as an effort to feed you all to the best of my ability. A well fed soldier makes for a quicker kill. Eat them at your discretion, of course. I’ve distributed several boxes to the other camps in the Mojave area. Aurelius of Phoenix deemed them edible.”
Before she could give Caesar the written note from the centurion confirming that her baked goods were alright to eat he had already taken a couple of bites. His eyebrows shot up in faint surprise before he smiled at her, finishing the rest of the cookie. “This is good, Valence. You’d make a good woman.”
“No. I would not.”
“I honestly expected,” he ignored her, taking a bite out of another cookie. “that these boxes would contain the heads of high ranked NCR staff. But this is just as good, I suppose.”
Lucius shrugged, biting into one of his own cookies, as the other Praetorians were doing with their box. “It would raise troop morale.”
She nodded, never losing the frown. “Do I have permission to distribute these to the rest of the camp?”
Caesar waved her away, smirking, enjoying his cookies, just as she had planned him to. “Yes, of course. Just don’t cause an uproar over it. The day hasn’t yet ended, and I intend for my men to work towards reward, not simply achieve it.”
She grunted in confirmation and turned to leave the tent but stopped short. She turned halfway, managing to pull her expression into what was seen as a terrifying smirk. “Oh, and please, have someone inform the Legate that I’ll be meeting him in about a week to discuss plans for Hoover Dam with him over tea—and cookies.”
As she left, Lucius leaned over to Caesar. “I don’t think that was meant to be threatening at all.”
Caesar shook his head. “No, it wasn’t. The only woman I’ve ever let into our ranks and she never ceases to amaze.”
Troop Morale 1b/1
“It is a tribute to my work team, Lord Caesar. I’m expressing my appreciation in a different way than usual, but do not take it as a sign of feminine weakness—consider my exceptional baking abilities to be a statement proclaiming my war against any current unhappiness that may plague any man of this army. You may also see it as an effort to feed you all to the best of my ability. A well fed soldier makes for a quicker kill. Eat them at your discretion, of course. I’ve distributed several boxes to the other camps in the Mojave area. Aurelius of Phoenix deemed them edible.”
Before she could give Caesar the written note from the centurion confirming that her baked goods were alright to eat he had already taken a couple of bites. His eyebrows shot up in faint surprise before he smiled at her, finishing the rest of the cookie. “This is good, Valence. You’d make a good woman.”
“No. I would not.”
“I honestly expected,” he ignored her, taking a bite out of another cookie. “that these boxes would contain the heads of high ranked NCR staff. But this is just as good, I suppose.”
Lucius shrugged, biting into one of his own cookies, as the other Praetorians were doing with their box. “It would raise troop morale.”
She nodded, never losing the frown. “Do I have permission to distribute these to the rest of the camp?”
Caesar waved her away, smirking, enjoying his cookies, just as she had planned him to. “Yes, of course. Just don’t cause an uproar over it. The day hasn’t yet ended, and I intend for my men to work towards reward, not simply achieve it.”
She grunted in confirmation and turned to leave the tent but stopped short. She turned halfway, managing to pull her expression into what was seen as a terrifying smirk. “Oh, and please, have someone inform the Legate that I’ll be meeting him in about a week to discuss plans for Hoover Dam with him over tea—and cookies.”
As she left, Lucius leaned over to Caesar. “I don’t think that was meant to be threatening at all.”
Caesar shook his head. “No, it wasn’t. The only woman I’ve ever let into our ranks and she never ceases to amaze.”
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