by R. W. Peake
~ ~ ~ ~
This was the manner in which we passed the days, but while there was a banquet on the royal barge almost every night, all of us were only invited that one time. I was invited back, just myself, twice more but never at Caesar’s table again, which was fine with me, since it meant I could relax more. Cartufenus and I usually sat together, also fine with me because we enjoyed each other’s company and had more fun. Every so often, the fleet would stop sailing to allow Caesar and Cleopatra to disembark, with the queen wanting to show Caesar one of the local sights, usually a temple or monument. They were always accompanied by one Century at least, depending on how far they were going, along of course with Caesar’s personal bodyguard, while I usually went along. It was during one of these trips that I saw with my very eyes one of the most amazing and awe-inspiring sights in the known world. I am of course referring to those massive structures called the Pyramids, and there are no words to describe them adequately. They are as tall as small mountains, built of huge blocks of stone. Cleopatra was quite knowledgeable in their construction, and of course, Caesar, being the engineering genius that he was, asked innumerable questions and was keenly interested. What I found most astonishing was that as large as these structures are, ultimately they are to hold the remains of one man, even if they were Pharaoh. The other thing that struck me was how old they were; Cleopatra claimed that they were more than a thousand years old, something I still find hard to believe, but it was clear that they are very, very old indeed. Regardless of how old they are, they still remain as the most impressive sight these old eyes have ever seen, even more impressive than Rome itself and all that it has to offer.
~ ~ ~ ~
Caesar and Cleopatra may have been enjoying themselves, but the men were getting bored. After the first few days of watching crocodiles eating cattle, and the huge creatures we called river horses that live in the Nile, even with the double wine ration, the men were running out of diversions. Before a full week had passed, my morning report contained details of fights between the men, or with the crew of the ship they were on. One evening, after our trip to the Pyramids, Felix rowed over to my boat, his face grim. He had barely sipped his wine before he started giving me the bad news.
“Primus Pilus, I don’t really know how to put this,” he began, and I waved him silent.
“Then just say it and don’t worry about how I'll take it. I promise I won't hold it against you.”
I had hoped this would put him at ease, except it did not have the effect I intended. Instead, he did not reply, looking into his wine cup as he seemed to be considering something. I was about to say something but I bit it back, sure that I would make things worse.
“It’s just that what I'm about to tell you is…..awkward,” he said carefully. “It’s awkward because it concerns one of my fellow Centurions, and as much as I've come to admire and respect you, I've still served with these men longer than I have with you.”
He looked at me to gauge my reaction, but I still said nothing, deciding to wait for him to continue. Very briefly, I thought about reminding him of his duty, that he owed his first allegiance to his commanding officer and to the 6th Legion, except I knew things were not always that simple, so I remained silent.
Seeing that I was not going to speak, he sighed. “Very well, you're not going to make this easy are you? It concerns Cornuficius. He's been working on the men, convincing them that they need to put pressure on Caesar to end this . . . whatever you want to call it, and go home so we can finish this business once and for all.”
I shook my head, taking a deep drink from my own wine cup. It was always Cornuficius; he was turning out to be more of a pain than Celer ever thought about being.
Felix looked at me, waiting for me to speak. “That would be a huge mistake. You were there when the Spanish Legions threatened to mutiny. In fact that’s why you’re here and they’re not, and I can tell you this.” I leaned forward, pointing my finger at him, something he did not deserve, but I was angry. “The Spanish Legions and the 10th in particular did more for Caesar than the 6th ever has or ever will, and he still sent them home in disgrace. Trying to pressure Caesar is absolutely the worst thing the men could try.”
“I know.” Felix held his hands up in protest, “and I told Cornuficius that, but he won’t listen. Ever since that business with Fuscus, he knows he runs the Cohort. That’s why I came to you.”
“What do you know about what happened with Fuscus?” I asked sharply.
“No more than what everyone knows, that Fuscus ordered the Cohort to leave the tents alone and Cornuficius ignored him. And once he did, the rest of the Centurions followed Cornuficius’ lead. They’re all afraid of him, except Sertorius, but he had been wounded by that point and wasn’t there.”
“The 10th isn't your Cohort,” I pointed out. “So why are you the one to tell me this?”
“It doesn’t matter. They’re part of the 6th, and this is just as much my Legion as it is Cornuficius’ or anyone else. And you’re right; I was there in camp and I saw what Caesar did. I also heard that he ordered the 9th to be decimated before that, and I know that if he would do that to a Legion who marched with him in Gaul, he wouldn't hesitate to do the same thing to us.”
I rubbed my face, trying to think of what to do. For a moment, I thought about going to Caesar, telling him what Cornuficius was up to, and suggesting that the same thing happen to Cornuficius that happened to Verres Rufus. Almost immediately, I rejected the idea, for a number of reasons, not least of which was giving Caesar any indication that I was unable to handle the problem. That meant I would have to handle this on my own, so I sat with Felix, making small talk while I worked on a solution. Cornuficius had to be stopped, one way or another, and I was beginning to come up with an idea on how to make it happen.
~ ~ ~ ~
Fortunately, not only the men of the 6th wanted to go home; Caesar’s generals were anxious to leave as well, they finally prevailed upon Caesar to end his holiday. Turning about two days before my 30th birthday in April, our progress back down the river was much swifter than it had been in the opposite direction, since we were going downstream and we did not stop at every village, town, temple, and monument on the way. Entering the open water, we sailed to Alexandria, bringing Cleopatra and her entire retinue back home, while the men began preparing for what they thought would be a voyage back to Italy, especially once word got out of what was going on back home. Antonius had been making a mess of things, appointing men to posts based on nothing more than his whim at the moment, or how much money they paid him, of course. Payoffs for offices have been part of the system for the gods know how long, but usually there is some minor consideration given to the ability of the men vying for office, yet apparently, this was something that Antonius was not paying any attention to at all. One man in particular, Dolabella, was running rampant and causing much trouble. Also waiting for me personally was word that Gisela had indeed given birth to a baby girl, and she was asking what name should be given to her. After thinking about it, I wrote that I wanted the child called Livia to honor my dead sister. The situation with the Legions was not much better than the political situation in Rome; the men had been sitting in camp on the Campus Martius for the last several months waiting for Caesar to return to make good on his promises, and there was increasing unrest. All in all, there were numerous reasons that Caesar needed to return to Rome. Perhaps that is why he chose to do nothing of the sort and attend to a completely different matter.
~ ~ ~ ~
Caesar had appointed Domitius Calvinus governor of Asia, and he had sent the 37th to Caesar while retaining the 36th, despite Caesar calling for both Legions to join us in Alexandria. To be fair to Domitius, he had good reason not to send the 36th; another son of Mithridates, Pharnaces was his name, was raising havoc in the region, invading Cappadocia and Armenia with a large host. Deiotarus was the king of Galatia, the invaded regions part of his domains, so he went to Domitius, begging for help. The fact tha
t he had originally sided with Pompey meant that he could not come to Domitius empty-handed, so he was forced to promise a substantial sum to help defray the costs of the war we were fighting in Alexandria, to which Domitius promptly agreed. Domitius then marched with the 36th along with Galatian Legions trained in the Roman manner and a force of auxiliaries to confront Pharnaces. In the ensuing battle, Domitius was soundly defeated a few miles from the city of Nicopolis. This was the matter that Caesar was now determined to address, judging that it posed a greater threat to the security of the region than the events in Rome. Consequently, I was summoned to headquarters and ordered to make ready to march overland to the province of Syria. I must say that I was not happy to receive these orders, knowing how the men would react at being told that instead of boarding ships for home, they would be marching to fight yet again. Most worryingly, I had to think about Cornuficius and what emotions he would arouse with this news, wondering which Centurions would side with him. Although I had begun to form an idea on how to neutralize him, it was still not the right time for me to implement my plan, and I worried that this news would render what I had come up with so far useless. These thoughts were at the forefront of my mind when I returned to our quarters to tell Diocles to summon the Centurions. When they arrived, they were in a boisterous, happy mood, sure that I was about to tell them what they had been expecting since we returned to Alexandria.
“We're marching day after tomorrow.”
The Centurions’ first reaction was to cheer. After a moment, I could see that my words were sinking in, their expressions rapidly changing. Not surprisingly, Cornuficius raised his hand.
“When you say ‘march,’ do you mean down to the docks?”
I did not see any point in delaying the inevitable reaction. “No.”
I might have to deal with their displeasure, I thought, but I do not have to make it any easier on them than they would on me.
“Then march where?”
“Wherever Caesar orders us to,” I replied sharply, immediately regretting it. Because Cornuficius was my enemy did not mean I should punish the other men. “We're marching to Syria,” I relented.
There was a moment of shocked silence, then the air was filled with protests, and Cornuficius shot me a triumphant look.
“Silete!”
I did not mean to be so loud, but it had the desired effect, the men immediately shutting their mouths, their expressions sullen.
I decided that I needed to make an attempt to give details on why Caesar made this decision. “We received word that General Domitius suffered a defeat at Nicopolis at the hands of Pharnaces,” I explained. “Deiotarus has asked for our help to expel the Pontics from the territory they’ve seized. That’s what Domitius was trying to do when he was beaten. Caesar has decided that affairs in this part of the world take precedence over what is going on back in Rome.”
“That’s fine for Caesar, but I don’t see what it has to do with us,” Cornuficius replied. “Our agreement with Caesar was very specific. We would march for him until the civil war is over. What happens in Armenia or fuck-knows-where doesn't concern us.”
I saw that there were men nodding their head in agreement, something that I expected, but what worried me was that some of those expressions were worn by men who were not normally aligned with Cornuficius. I knew I had to tread very carefully, and I made a vow right then to Dis that I would make Cornuficius pay for all that he was putting me through.
“What happens in Armenia very much is our concern, and it has everything to do with the civil war. Caesar can't return to Italy with the situation in Asia so unstable. Not to mention that the whole reason that Pharnaces felt confident enough to try to invade was because of the civil war and our situation here. That makes it very much our concern.”
It was thin; oh, it was very thin but I remained silent, waiting for the others to digest this. I was heartened to see that the men who were not allies of Cornuficius seemed to accept my argument.
Of course, Cornuficius was unmoved. “So you say, Primus Pilus, but that's your opinion. . .”
Before he could say anything more, I cut him off. “No, that's what Caesar has ordered, and that's what's going to be done. Are you refusing a direct order, Decimus Pilus Posterior Cornuficius?”
The silence that followed hung like a wet sagum over the room as I waited for his reply. I was gratified to see that he did not look quite as smug or comfortable now, his eyes darting around to the others, looking for support. However, men like Cornuficius only surrounded themselves with people weaker than they were, meaning that men like Considius and Favonius were not likely to stick their necks out at a moment like this. Quickly seeing he was alone, he licked his lips nervously, obviously calculating what his odds were of facing me down. Making his decision, there was no mistaking the bitterness in his tone when he spoke.
“No, Primus Pilus, I'm doing no such thing. I'm simply voicing the concerns that I know many of the men have about our situation.”
“Your concern is duly noted, Pilus Posterior, and you're to be commended for your genuine concern for the welfare of your men; it's an inspiration to us all, I'm sure.”
I made no attempt to hide the sarcasm in my voice and it made me happy to see that my words scored a direct hit, his normally placid features becoming flushed and his lips tightening in anger. He opened his mouth to say something, and for a moment, I thought I had him, but he regained his self-control, instead saying nothing.
Looking around at the rest of the group, I finished, “If there's nothing else to be said, then we have work to do and it won’t get done sitting here.”
Chapter 6- Veni Vidi Vici
Two days later, we left Alexandria, just the men of the 6th, the Jewish contingent and other allied forces, and the cavalry. The men were not in the best of moods, but they marched at the pace Caesar set with no problems, and I was thankful that at the end of the day they were generally too tired to do much complaining. I watched Cornuficius the way a buzzard eyes a dying animal, waiting for him to do anything that I could use to finish him, for that is the conclusion I had come to, that his career in the Legions must end. It was not a decision I came to lightly; even during my problems with Celer, I had never considered taking such a drastic action like what I was contemplating now, but I had seen enough of Cornuficius to know that he was a detriment to the Legions. Even now, after all these years when my passions have cooled, I am comfortable with my decision. I just had to wait for him to make a mistake, one that I could use to achieve my aims. However, he was cautious, knowing that I was watching him, so it became something of a grim game. I would suddenly stop by his Century area whenever he was sitting at a fire with some of the men, hoping to catch him saying something that would put him where I wanted him. Unfortunately, I am hard to miss and he would always be chatting innocently away.
With this private battle playing out, we continued marching, entering the province of Syria, traveling along the coast so that our resupply came from the sea, before turning inland and heading for Ace Ptolemais. At this point, we crossed over a series of mountain ranges, making the going slow and the days long, but it kept the men sufficiently tired so that trouble was kept to a minimum, for which I was thankful. Reaching Ace Ptolemais in early Junius, we made camp outside the city walls, whereupon Caesar took up where he left off in Alexandria, that is to say putting things back in order. During the years of civil war, the running of Roman provinces had not been a high priority of the ruling class, and the civil administration suffered as a result, something that Caesar was determined to put to rights. During our last days in Alexandria, he had disbanded the Egyptian army, establishing the two Legions he left behind, the 28th and 37th as permanent garrisons. Here in Ace Ptolemais, he filled several administrative posts, appointing a number of minor officials to offices that were vacant, along with hearing petitioners, all of which took time. The days passed as he went about his business and we quickly settled into a routine where the men would go
into town when they were off duty, unerringly finding the part of town that caters to fleshly desires. Following just as inevitably was trouble, particularly now that there was no fighting going on to keep the men occupied and their bloodlust sated, forcing me to begin making my trips into town with my purse full of coin once again. Trouble with the civilian population was nothing unusual and in reality was to be expected. What was not expected, at least on my part, was an incident that gave me exactly what I needed to destroy Cornuficius, because it happened with our allies, the Jews.
~ ~ ~ ~
“Caesar summons you to attend to him immediately.”
Apollonius looked grave, but try as I might I could not pry a word from his lips as to what it was about, so I was in an agitated state of mind when I arrived. Caesar looked every bit as grim as Apollonius and he was not alone. With him was none other than ben-Judah and Antipater, their moods matching Caesar’s.
I saluted, then Caesar jumped right into the matter. “Pullus, we have a serious problem. Are you aware of a disappearance of one of Antipater’s officers?”
I shook my head. “No, Caesar, this is the first I've heard of it.”
Caesar turned to ben-Judah and said, “Perhaps you should tell him since you're more familiar with the details.”
“Yes, Caesar.”
Ben-Judah turned to me and there was nothing friendly in his eyes as he spoke. “As Caesar said, one of my officers, a man by the name of Joseph of Gaza has disappeared under suspicious circumstances.”