Legio XVII: Roman Legion at War by Thomas A. Timmes Page A

and it was peaceful.
    Manius meanwhile had become a very solicitous and dutiful son.  He tried to see his mother almost every day. He helped with the chores, entertained Decima, took long walks with Lucia, and contributed a large part of his salary to the household.  He still lived at Campus Martius , but had acquired a horse as part of his new job, making the travel back and forth that much easier.  As time passed, Lucia was coming to grips with the death and absence of Gaius.  She was becoming increasing lonely and dependent on Manius.  Initially she felt guilty when she caught herself looking at him and admiring his good looks, broad chest, and stately bearing.
    Manius spent a lot of time just looking at Lucia, and made no attempt to hide it.  He was in love.  After the one year period of mourning passed, he asked her to marry him and she readily agreed despite the fact that she was again marrying a soldier and could lose him too.  The fact that Manius was 13 years older did not make a bit of difference.  She loved him and that was all that mattered. She felt secure around Manius and knew he loved her and Decima.  Manius had enough money to build an add-on to the house so they could have privacy while still helping his mother Flavia.  The Tullus household was again a place of life and joy with Decima definitely keeping everyone’s feet firmly grounded in reality.  Manius was living life to the full; he was relaxed and rejoicing in his new found passion and purpose.
    He also found time to foster a personal relationship with Levi.  The two men saw eye to eye on most issues of the day and enjoyed their frequent professional meetings and conversations despite the fact that one was a professional soldier and the other an intellectual bureaucrat.  On special occasions, Levi and his wife Rivkah would invite Manius and Lucia to their villa for dinner or entertainment.  It was during these times, that a special bound formed between the two couples.  They always enjoyed one another’s company because the relationship was free of stress, hostility, or subtle judging.  During the next three years, the relationship matured and they became trusted life-long friends.
    Manius initially viewed Levi and Rivkah as foreigners and, therefore, a little beneath him.  After all, they were Jewish and lived in the area designated for non-Romans.  Levi never did or said anything to offend Manius, but there was an unspoken bias on Manius’ part that he had absorbed from the culture and particularly from his father.  Despite the fact that Manius admired Levi for his intelligence, hard work, and honesty, Manius felt superior to Levi and even more so for treating him with respect and dignity.  His cultural prejudice would lie dormant just below the surface for the next 18 years.
    After three years of countless trial and error, an endless search for lighter yet stronger materials, and hours of field testing by the soldiers assigned to him, Manius declared victory!  He and his team had produced, tested, evaluated, procured, and instituted the Telamon recommendations and several other good ideas submitted by leaders and soldiers in the field.
    Manius was especially proud of the mobile ballista his team developed.  They had taken a heavy cumbersome siege weapon and successfully down-sized it to accompany a Legion on the move.  It was now a relatively light weapon mounted on a platform that could be pulled like a wagon.  Its large sturdy wheels were designed to be pulled or pushed through dirt, mud, snow, or wetlands.  Troops would curse it and hate dragging it around, but cheer when they witnessed its arrows slam into a line of charging enemy infantry or cavalry.
    Improving the standard Roman helmet was another of Manius’ pet project.  His team engineered and tested several versions of hinged cheek protectors and felt they had finally gotten it right.  It was wholeheartedly approved by the troops that tested it and later was