TW11 The Cleopatra Crisis NEW Read Free Page B

also old," Cassius replied. "It is for young men such as ourselves to plan the future."
    "To plan conspiracies, you mean," said Brutus.
    "Against whom do we conspire?" asked Cassius, raising his eyebrows in surprise. "Against Caesar? He is not the power in Rome, thank the gods, yet he is a threat not to be taken lightly. All here are loyal citizens of the republic, merely expressing their concerns about the future. Is that conspiracy'?"
    "Perhaps not," said Brutus. "Yet it has the flavor of one."
    "Come now, Brutus," Cassius said, putting his arm around him, "you are among friends. Set aside your worries. There are many flavors here to tempt you. Such as this excellent Greek wine, for instance."
    Cassius gestured for a slave to pour Brutus another cup. "Let us have no more talk about conspiracies." He winked. "At least, not for tonight."
    Brutus drained the cup and held it out to be refilled. The wine was filling him with pleasant warmth. A warmth that seemed to banish the chill of an uncertain future. Yes, indeed, he thought, it was a good night to get drunk.
     
     
    Capt. Jonathan Travers of the United States Temporal Army Observer Corps, alias "Lucius Septimus," personal secretary and aide to the commander of the legions, stood outside his tent and gazed out at the troops camped all around him. The legionaries were relaxing around their cook fires, but there was a tension of anticipation in the air. Each of them knew that in the morning, they would take part in a historic event that had no precedent.
    The camp had been situated on the slope of a hill. The entrance gates were on the downslope and the rear gates were at the crest. The legions had camped out in the open, away from wooded areas that could provide an enemy with an opportunity to make a sudden attack from concealment. The earthworks had been thrown up around the camp, the soil taken from a twelve-foot-wide ditch dug around them to a depth of nine feet. The earthen wall itself was ten feet high and six feet wide, enough room for defenders to stand on top and hurl their javelins in the event of an assault. Timber and brush had been used to reinforce the earthworks and the ramparts. When occasion demanded it, wooden towers could be placed atop the wall, but this was only a temporary camp and there was no need for them.
    The camp was laid out in a large rectangle, divided into three roughly equal parts. These divisions were marked off by two broad "streets" that ran the width of the entire camp. The
praetorium
was the headquarters section.
    where Travers had his tent. It occupied a wide space in the exact center.
    Directly behind the
praetorium
and separated from it by the second of the two main streets, the
via
quintana
, was the
quaestorium
.
    It was a similar space situated at the middle of the camp, where hostages, prisoners, booty, forage, and supplies were kept. The
praetentura
was the front section of the camp, separated from headquarters section by the first of the two main streets, the
via
principalis. One fourth of the cohorts were encamped there, in tents facing the wall, on either side of the
via
praetoria
, which was the street leading from the center of the camp to the front gates. Half the cavalry was camped there too, as well as the archers and the slingers, situated so that they could quickly move out the front gate to form an advance guard in the event of an attack.
    The remainder of the cohorts and the cavalry were disposed on either side of the
praetorium
and in the rear of the camp. Running around the entire perimeter, just inside the wall, was a broad street one hundred and twenty feet wide, meant to allow movement for the troops defending the walls and to prevent hostile missiles coming over the wall from reaching the tents. There were smaller streets running lengthwise and widthwise throughout the camp, separating each cohort from the one beside it. Everything was laid out with practiced, logical precision. There was a specific allotment of