One of the challenges that has been afeature of this book and the last one is trying to track theprogress of the transformation from the Roman Army of the Republicinto the Imperial era with which most casual readers are familiar.As fully-formed and well-documented as the Legions are startingwith the Augustan era, what’s not so clear is how these changescame about. As I’ve been doing throughout the books, my main goalis to try to present readers with an idea about how mattersmight have transpired, based on my own experiences as acareer Marine. Namely, very few changes are made out of nowhere,but in a process of trial and error, where the transformation ismore gradual, through fits and starts rather than just suddenlyappearing, seemingly out of nowhere. My hope is that I’vecommunicated this sense to the readers.
Finally, as always I want to thank what hasbecome a solid team that have helped make Marching WithCaesar® the success that it is.My editor Beth Lynne of BZHercules for taking my freak-outs aspublication date approaches in stride, and my phenomenal coverartist Marina Shipova, for putting a face to Gaius Porcinus, and inparticular Sextus Scribonius, who has become one of the mostcommented-on characters in the books. Also, my team of advancereaders: Joe Corso, an author in his own right; Stu MacPherson, whohas been one of my most steadfast and honest fans, from the firstbook; Ute St. Clair, who served as editor for Caesar Triumphant andwhose knowledge of the period and players is absolutely vital tokeeping me honest and consistent; Margaret Courtney, who I know ishard at work on her own book which I can’t wait to read! But thereis one of my advance readers who, unfortunately and to my greatsorrow, wasn’t able to read the last installment of Titus’ story.Robert “Curtis” Graham, MSGT USMC (Ret.) was another of my earlyand most ardent fans, and was one of the original members of whathas become a group of readers whose eye and judgment I trustimplicitly. He had also become a good friend, and so it was withgreat sorrow when I was informed by his wife that he had finallylost an epically heroic battle against cancer. As I said, we hadbecome friends and corresponded regularly, and never did I hear himcomplain about what had to be a horrific burden, and he onlyreferred to his condition in passing, as a nuisance that had to bedealt with and nothing that he couldn’t defeat. Instead he wantedto talk about Titus, and the journey that he was on, and like allus old Marines, reminisce about our respective time in our mutuallybeloved Corps. I know it’s a standard line to say that someone willbe missed, but I can assure you, and his family, that I will misshearing from Curtis, and I already do.
Semper Fidelis,
R.W. Peake
November 10, 2013
Marching with Caesar –Last Campaign
Chapter One –LastCampaign
Chapter Two – TheThracians
Chapter Three –Naissus
Chapter Four – Who Was TitusPullus?
Chapter 1- LastCampaign
Time is a funny thing. Some moments drag by,the passage of the sun through the sky seeming to have come to atotal stop and you are convinced that you are trapped in a momentthat will never end. Other times, it seems that you blink your eyesand days have passed. This is what seems to have happened duringthe next five years of my time as Camp Prefect. It was like I laydown to sleep one night, then awoke the next morning only torealize with immense surprise that years had gone by. Oh, therewere certainly momentous occasions and interesting events that tookplace; Gaius Porcinus, my nephew and heir and Centurion in his ownright, and Iras had the first two of their six children, thefirstborn being a boy that they named Titus Pullus Porcinus in myhonor, and I love that boy more than life itself. Most importantly,for Gaius in particular, my estimation of Iras’ pregnancy justproves that men have no eye for such things, because young Tituswas born nine months and two weeks after Gaius had returned fromRome.
Soon after young Titus came along, Irasbecame pregnant again and bore Gaius a daughter, naming her Valeriaafter his mother, whom he and I had not seen for more years thaneither of us cared to remember. Also during that time, Gaius’father, Porcinus, died, but I am somewhat saddened to say thatGaius took his father’s death with relatively little emotion.Despite the fact that Porcinus had been a good father and evenbetter husband, at least according to Gaius, he and his father hadnever been close, and I suppose I bear some responsibility forthat. As I had come to learn, my life and career had captivatedyoung Gaius’ imagination from an early age, and the idea of life asa farmer left Gaius dead inside, much as it had me. I felt badlyabout this, because Porcinus had been so much of a better fatherthan Lucius had been to me, to make it not even worthy ofcomparison, but who can explain the mysteries of how the humanheart works?
Sextus Scribonius, my best friend who I hadmet when we were both wide-eyed tirones during thedilectus of the 10th Legion that was raised byGaius Julius Caesar in Hispania so many years ago, returned to hisstatus of Evocatus. Taking up tutoring the children of some of theCenturions, this surprised everyone but me, who knew that of allthe things that Sextus Scribonius could do, teaching was perhapshis greatest talent.
In the larger world outside of Siscia,Octavian had absented himself from Rome, as he had promised when herelinquished his power back to the Senate, going to his province ofGaul and setting it to rights. The whole region had been severelyaffected by the neglect and turmoil of the civil war, and hadgenerally been neglected by Rome, the internal struggles havingtaken
