“Decimus Pilus Prior Fuscus,” I made sure to use his full rank, “what is your report? I expected to see you pushing through the center of the camp and fall onto the right flank of the enemy, but instead I had to order the 7th to do so, after they had already fought their way to the corner of the camp. What happened?”
He stood for several heartbeats, saying nothing and I could see by his face that he was struggling to form the words.
Finally, he said, “We saw that the Jews had matters well in hand. They were pushing the enemy back easily, so the men began searching the tents.”
I felt my face begin to flush. Seeing my expression, he hastened to add, “To make sure that nobody could surprise us by falling on our rear after we passed.”
“Really?” I said in mock surprise. “That's interesting. We did the same thing, but the 7th managed to carry out their orders without delay.”
His face colored, and he protested, but I could see that it was half-hearted.
I held up my hand, cutting him off. “Tell me what really happened, Fuscus,” I said quietly so only he could hear.
His head dropped and I could see his jaw clenching as he tried to decide what to do.
He looked up then said one word; a name actually. “Cornuficius.”
Even when you expect something, sometimes it is still a shock when it actually happens. I had suspected that somehow, Cornuficius was involved in the disappearance of the 10th, but until I heard it from the lips of Fuscus, it was only a suspicion. Waiting for Fuscus to continue, I could see the shame he felt at being forced to admit what I had known for some time; Cornuficius was the one who really ran the 10th.
“I gave the order to advance, but the men just ignored me. Cornuficius said that the Jews had everything in hand and that since we were near the center of the camp and Ptolemy’s tent, the pickings would be richer than the men could imagine. He said it so that everyone could hear, and before I could say anything the men had scattered to the four winds.”
“What did you do?”
“I ordered Cornuficius to summon his Century from what they were doing and get back into the fighting, but he just laughed like I was joking.”
I looked at him incredulously. “And you didn’t smash his face in?”
Fuscus shrugged helplessly, but said nothing.
“What did the other Centurions do?” I demanded.
“Nothing. I suspect that they were looking to me to do something. And I failed.”
The bitterness in his tone was plain to hear, causing my contempt for him to lessen a little; it was clear that he had more than enough for himself to serve the both of us. I sighed, looking past him at the men, some of whom, as was their habit, had found the stores of wine and were beginning to stagger about.
“I expect that you'll be relieving me, Primus Pilus.”
I shook my head. “And give the Cohort to Cornuficius? That’s exactly what he wants. He counted on your weakness, and he knows that if I were to go by regulations, I would relieve you.”
“But he was insubordinate,” Fuscus protested. “That would be more than enough cause to not only pass him over, but to bust him back to the ranks.”
“True,” I agreed. “But there would have to be another witness of Centurion rank in order to make the charge stick. Who else was present? Let me guess.” I knew the answer already and saw the realization hit him. “Salvius? Considius?”
He nodded.
“Not Sertorius though, correct?”
He shook his head, not saying anything, but I saw that I had made my point. There would be no witnesses that would back up Fuscus and we both knew it.
~ ~ ~ ~
The evening briefing was held in Ptolemy’s headquarters, which of course had been stripped of anything valuable by Caesar’s bodyguards. Caesar arrived, the assembled officers hailing him as Imperator, which he acknowledged with a wave and a smile. He gave fulsome praise to the leaders of the Jewish contingent, and it was at this point that I learned their names were Hyrcanus, who was a priest of some sort, and Antipater, who was their king. I was pleased to see that Joseph ben-Judah had survived the battle without much more than a scratch or two, for which I teased him.
“You’re just jealous because I’m faster on my feet than you are,” he laughed, a charge I could hardly deny given my condition.
As we waited, I scanned the faces, looking for one in particular, which I did not find. After the briefing was over, when Caesar was making his way towards the exit, I managed to get his attention, not that hard since I towered over the rest of the men. Waiting for me to hop to him, while I paused until the men around him turned their attention away to other matters, I asked him a question once we were relatively alone. His face revealed nothing as he gave me the answer and I did not make any further comment, then he clapped me on the shoulder and I returned to where Valens and Fuscus were standing.
“What was that about?” asked Valens, and I told him.
“I asked about the casualties among the Centurions.”
Valens stared for a moment, then gave a short laugh. “Why? You’re already Primus Pilus of the 6th. Where else would you rather be?”
“I asked about one in particular.”
His laugh was cut short. He and Fuscus exchanged a knowing glance. “Verres Rufus?”
I nodded.
“And?”
“He was killed in the attack on the river side of the camp.”
“Well, that was to be expected,” Valens said carefully. “They were attacking with those missile troops in their rear.”
“True,” I admitted. “But the funny thing is, he was the only Centurion killed.”
~ ~ ~ ~
Caesar left shortly after the evening briefing, ordering the infantry to stay behind, clean things up, tend to our wounded, and bury our dead. Taking the cavalry, he rode straight for Alexandria, his purpose being to stop Ganymede from rallying the remaining garrison to continue resistance, but he had no cause for worry. Word of Ptolemy’s death took any thought of further opposition from the people, and we heard that they gathered in great crowds along the wide avenues, coming to Caesar as suppliants to beg for his mercy. I think that this was entirely calculated on their part, since by this time Caesar’s mercy and clemency was widely known and the Egyptians were simply doing what so many of Caesar’s enemies had done. Caesar would not disappoint them either. The only action he took was to have Arsinoe removed from the city, along with Ganymede, while the younger Ptolemy was installed as co-regent with the very pregnant Cleopatra, but he was just a puppet and I suspect he knew it. Of course, Cleopatra was not much more than a puppet, yet for reasons I never fully understood, Caesar trusted her, letting her rule as she saw fit for the most part. Nonetheless, I heard from Appolonius, through Diocles of course, that he had to forbid her from killing her sister. Ganymede he was less gentle with; he was clapped in irons for leading young Arsinoe astray, but from everything I saw and heard when I was in her presence in the royal compound, she needed no encouragement. The whole family was a nest of vipers as far as we were concerned, though we could not verbalize that sentiment.
Before he left for Alexandria, Caesar did give us a task to perform, and although it was a bloody one, it was done with enthusiasm. Our job was the execution of the surviving Gabinians. These men were Romans who had turned on their own kind to serve the Egyptians, and nothing could have saved them, even if they had not caused us so much trouble. The other matters that had to be attended to were promotions because of losses. The 6th had not lost any Centurions, although Clemens and Sertorius had been wounded, but we had lost three Optios out of the 20 dead, and one of the men I promoted was Sergeant Tetarfenus, who I had kept an eye on, thinking that he had the makings of a good leader. I still found it somewhat strange to be in a position where I was judging the merits of men older than I was, although they were not that much older in most cases. After a few days, Caesar returned, but he was not alone, coming with Cleopatra, along with the entire Egyptian fleet. We were about to spend the next few weeks doing things that most Legionaries dream about their whole career but never get to do, and that was absolutely nothing.