Thunder of the Gods by Anthony Riches Page B

men?’
    Quintinus shook his head.
    ‘Not really sir. I’d suggest you meet the young gentleman and draw your conclusions once you’ve looked into his eyes.’
    Marcus nodded.
    ‘Fair enough, First Spear. And where might I find this man?’
    The senior centurion pursed his lips.
    ‘In Daphne, Tribune, with the rest of the legion’s senior officers, yourself and the legatus here accepted. The legatus, Legatus Lateranus that is, arranged for himself and his young gentlemen to be quartered there when the legion’s not in the field.’
    ‘Daphne. I see. The place does have a certain … reputation.’
    Scaurus smiled at Quintinus’s almost imperceptible flinch as a look of disgust crossed his tribune’s face.
    ‘Why don’t you take yourself off to Daphne, Tribune Corvus, and deliver an invitation to a briefing with their new legatus on my behalf? I’m sure you’ll find a way to make the point to them that any failure to attend this evening will result in their new legatus taking a positively violent exception to their continued occupation of their current positions.’
    Marcus saluted and turned away. Quintinus was silent until he was out of earshot.
    ‘I can’t see our officers being all that happy to have their evening spoilt, Legatus. I believe they’ve recently become rather fond of dinner parties …’
    He fell silent as Scaurus smiled and shook his head.
    ‘And just how many
young gentlemen
does my new legion have on its books, First Spear?’
    Quintinus sighed.
    ‘Nine, Legatus. Two broad stripe tribunes and seven of the equestrian class.’
    ‘
Nine
. I see. And we are supposed to have how many exactly?’
    ‘Six, Legatus. One broad stripe tribune who has the role of your deputy, and five narrow stripe tribunes who are—’
    ‘Who
should
be competent military men, respected equestrian officers each with a cohort command under their belts and therefore respected by the legion’s centurions. They should be capable of performing the full range of administration for a pair of cohorts, and providing leadership in battle. Is that what they are, First Spear?’
    Quintinus shook his head.
    ‘Our narrow stripe tribunes are for the most part serving for the first time. As, to be fair, are both of the broad stripe men.’
    Scaurus looked at him.
    ‘Two senior tribunes?’
    ‘The legatus believes –
believed
–
that a backup for his deputy would be a positive thing.’
    The legatus shot him a derisive look.
    ‘So, they should be experienced soldiers, instead of which they all seem to be neophytes. We should have six, and instead we have nine of them. They are the sons of rich men, I presume, sent here purely because Antioch is something of a backwater where they will be at little risk of anything as vulgar as actually having to go to war. After all, the Parthians haven’t threatened the border for twenty years after the battering we gave them the last time they tried it on, so why not send their boys to Syria, and let them spend their time chasing girls in Daphne, eh?’
    He stretched.
    ‘And now, First Spear, I think I’ll go and inspect my quarters. After that I’ll be going to my office to examine the Third’s records, and see what sort of legion it is that I’ve been bequeathed by Legatus Lateranus. You, no doubt, will be keen to greet my cohorts into camp; they should be here soon enough now under the command of my first spear. You’ll know him easily enough, he’s a little older than me, black hair and beard with more than a little grey, and spectacularly bad tempered even for a centurion. He’s in command of two full cohorts of Tungrian auxiliaries who the emperor has seen fit to second to this legion while it’s under my command. You might want to warn your officers that my Tungrians are battle hardened, and won’t take kindly to any of the usual games that tend to get played when new units arrive in a camp. So don’t say I didn’t warn you!’
    He turned away, then spun on his