“worry lines.” He had dark circles under his eyes, and his skin was even paler than it normally was, since he had the kind of complexion that did not darken in the sun as much as men who had skin tones such as mine. Despite all these signs of woe, he displayed the same energy, and after greeting some of us warmly by name and making the obligatory joke about my size, he got down to business.
“Gentlemen, we are about to embark on the last phase of this operation, one that should culminate in the end of this unfortunate and unhappy war.” We stood silently at intente , watching him gather his thoughts for what he would say next. Looking down at some papers on his desk for a moment before resuming, he continued, “I intend to launch an amphibious operation, an operation in which the 10th will be accorded the signal honor of accompanying me in the first wave.” So far, nothing was a surprise, the rumor mill being extremely accurate to this point. Caesar noted our lack of expression, and his face darkened for a moment before he expelled his breath with a harsh chuckle. “And I’m not telling you anything you don’t know already, am I? I should remember that there are no secrets in the army.” Pursing his lips, he let out a sigh. “Very well, that’s the gist of it anyway. I will also be taking the 11th, 12th, 25th, 26th, and 27th, along with the Cohorts of the 28th that held faith with me instead of going over to Pompey like the rest of that lot.”
While our role was not a surprise, the identities of the other Legions were, and I exchanged a sidelong glance with Crastinus, who raised an eyebrow, which did not escape Caesar’s attention.
“Is there anything you care to say, Primus Pilus Crastinus?” Caesar asked mildly.
Crastinus reverted back to the age-old soldier’s trick of going rigid and staring off into space. “No, sir, nothing at all, sir.”
Caesar picked up a stylus, tapping it thoughtfully against his chin, then replied, “I would prefer it if you spoke your mind, Gaius Crastinus. You know I value the opinions of my Centurions.”
Crastinus was now off the hook; he had just been ordered to speak his mind, no matter how politely it was phrased, and he did not waste the opportunity.
“It’s just that, given everything we’ve heard from the intelligence reports, that bunch over there has had a lot of time and put in a lot of effort in fortifying the possible landing spots.” Caesar nodded his agreement with that statement, and Crastinus continued, “Given that, sir, it just seems a bit . . . chancy to include green Legions like the 25th and the rest in the first wave. I mean,” he added hastily, “we’re happy that the 11th and 12th are with us as well, but wouldn’t it be good to have the boys from Gaul in the first wave?”
When Crastinus finished, Caesar looked to the rest of us to see if we had anything to add, but we did not. Not only was Crastinus our senior and therefore our spokesman, he had summed up exactly what constituted our fears. More than half the army would be untested troops; granted they had been in the army for more than a year, but they had not seen any action.
Seeing us remain silent, Caesar nodded, heaving a sigh that seemed to contain all the weariness of the world in it. “Ideally, you would be correct, Primus Pilus. It would indeed be better to put all my veterans together in the first wave to ensure the highest probability of success. But I’m sure I’m not telling you anything that you don’t know when I say that the men of the 7 th , 8th and 9th and I had a bit of a . . . falling out.” Despite the seriousness of the topic, a ghost of a smile played about his face at the understatement, eliciting a couple of chuckles from us. He grew serious again, and continued, “Given that, I’m not sure how far I can trust the men of those Legions, and until I am sure again, I'm not willing to risk the consequences if they should decide to switch their
“Gentlemen, we are about to embark on the last phase of this operation, one that should culminate in the end of this unfortunate and unhappy war.” We stood silently at intente , watching him gather his thoughts for what he would say next. Looking down at some papers on his desk for a moment before resuming, he continued, “I intend to launch an amphibious operation, an operation in which the 10th will be accorded the signal honor of accompanying me in the first wave.” So far, nothing was a surprise, the rumor mill being extremely accurate to this point. Caesar noted our lack of expression, and his face darkened for a moment before he expelled his breath with a harsh chuckle. “And I’m not telling you anything you don’t know already, am I? I should remember that there are no secrets in the army.” Pursing his lips, he let out a sigh. “Very well, that’s the gist of it anyway. I will also be taking the 11th, 12th, 25th, 26th, and 27th, along with the Cohorts of the 28th that held faith with me instead of going over to Pompey like the rest of that lot.”
While our role was not a surprise, the identities of the other Legions were, and I exchanged a sidelong glance with Crastinus, who raised an eyebrow, which did not escape Caesar’s attention.
“Is there anything you care to say, Primus Pilus Crastinus?” Caesar asked mildly.
Crastinus reverted back to the age-old soldier’s trick of going rigid and staring off into space. “No, sir, nothing at all, sir.”
Caesar picked up a stylus, tapping it thoughtfully against his chin, then replied, “I would prefer it if you spoke your mind, Gaius Crastinus. You know I value the opinions of my Centurions.”
Crastinus was now off the hook; he had just been ordered to speak his mind, no matter how politely it was phrased, and he did not waste the opportunity.
“It’s just that, given everything we’ve heard from the intelligence reports, that bunch over there has had a lot of time and put in a lot of effort in fortifying the possible landing spots.” Caesar nodded his agreement with that statement, and Crastinus continued, “Given that, sir, it just seems a bit . . . chancy to include green Legions like the 25th and the rest in the first wave. I mean,” he added hastily, “we’re happy that the 11th and 12th are with us as well, but wouldn’t it be good to have the boys from Gaul in the first wave?”
When Crastinus finished, Caesar looked to the rest of us to see if we had anything to add, but we did not. Not only was Crastinus our senior and therefore our spokesman, he had summed up exactly what constituted our fears. More than half the army would be untested troops; granted they had been in the army for more than a year, but they had not seen any action.
Seeing us remain silent, Caesar nodded, heaving a sigh that seemed to contain all the weariness of the world in it. “Ideally, you would be correct, Primus Pilus. It would indeed be better to put all my veterans together in the first wave to ensure the highest probability of success. But I’m sure I’m not telling you anything that you don’t know when I say that the men of the 7 th , 8th and 9th and I had a bit of a . . . falling out.” Despite the seriousness of the topic, a ghost of a smile played about his face at the understatement, eliciting a couple of chuckles from us. He grew serious again, and continued, “Given that, I’m not sure how far I can trust the men of those Legions, and until I am sure again, I'm not willing to risk the consequences if they should decide to switch their
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