Ian Miller - Legatus Legionis

A glance behind him showed that the fight was over and the Roman soldiers were now checking the wounded. He sensed that the woman was approaching and it was just as she was beginning to thank him, a thought struck him. Three satisfying splashes! He nodded to the woman, then noticed the soldiers standing around, as if everything was over. He gave an abrupt order to gather up spare weapons and to gather the wounded together, and when there seemed to be uncertainty as to whether to obey, he spat the order out again and turned back to the bridge. Behind him, he could hear the Centurion spit out more orders, orders that would be promptly obeyed. He stared at the river. Something was wrong, and the image would not get out of his mind. Three splashes. The woman stared at him, then slightly angrily she turned towards the wounded.

Three splashes. What was it? Yes! Three splashes at the same time! The steel sword, the large wooden shield and the body struck the water at the same time, more or less. But if heavy things fell faster, or even if denser things fell faster, there should be a sequence of splashes. But no! There had been three satisfying splashes more or less simultaneously.

A strangely intense but very calm feeling overwhelmed him. The Greek philosophers were wrong! Or at least some of them were. Things fell at the same rate. The Earth could move around the Sun, because all the things on the Earth were falling at exactly the same rate. Things fell towards each other, and towards much bigger things! The Moon was falling around the Earth because it was the closest biggest body, and both fell around the Sun because it was bigger still, even if it was further away. Aristarchus was correct! Everything was suddenly so clear, as if a veil had been drawn from his face. For over a minute he stared at the water below, marvelling at the simplicity of it all.

Then he turned to face the others. Timothy had just arrived with the cart.

"Take it over the bridge," Gaius ordered, "then two of you start cutting lance-stakes." He turned towards the Centurion who had been escorting the woman. "Get that carriage back onto the road, and get this woman back to safety, as quickly as. ."

"The axle's broken!" The Centurion said in a matter of fact tone.

"I see," Gaius nodded. "Then get the wounded to the other side of that bridge now, and. "

"These men need care!" The woman in interrupted.

"Yes, on the other side of the bridge!" Gaius retorted, and turned back towards the Centurion.

"Who do you think you're giving orders to?" The woman again. She had to be influential, because the Centurion stared between the two, uncertain of what to do.

"There're about four hundred of those raiders up there!" Gaius said, and pointed. To his surprise, a line of horsemen appeared on the brow of the hill. "The bridge gives us the only chance of defence."

The Centurion gave a quick glance, then suddenly became more urgent. "Move the men!" the Centurion ordered. "You three, get that carriage out of that ditch." As an experienced Centurion, he may have doubted who was in charge, but he knew trouble when he saw it, and he knew what to do about trouble.

"You!" Gaius said to a soldier who was walking toward the bridge. He seemed to be reasonably fit, except his right arm was bandaged and he was obviously wounded. "You can ride a horse?"

"Yes."

"Take one and go get help!"

"The man's wounded!" The woman again.

"And we'll be dead unless we get help," Gaius remarked coldly. "He can't fight with an arm that can't move, but he can probably sit on a horse, and it looks as if the bandage has more or less stopped the bleeding. He goes."

"I'll go!" the woman said.

"No!" Gaius countered. "There are still more wounded to be tended to, and you seem to know what you're doing." He did not want to add that he was not going to send a woman alone, and that he doubted she would have the influence to get help.

"It's all right," the soldier said to the woman. "I'll manage." The soldier walked to the horse, and was helped onto it. "I'll have help quickly," he said to the woman.

He was about to set off when Gaius called out to him. "When you get to Lussonium," he said firmly, "you may tell the men that a slow response time will really piss off their new Legatus , and assuming he survives, a pissed off Legatus has the authority to order more than enough drills that they will never be slow again!"

"Yes sir!" The soldier suddenly realized that haste on his part was a good idea, and he rode rapidly. Gaius was also amused to see that the other soldiers had dramatically increased their efforts.

"Well?" Gaius said to the woman, who was standing there uncertain about what to do since her authority appeared to have been usurped. "We haven't got much time, and there's a lot to do. To start with, there are soldiers still needing you." He nodded dismissively towards her, as if to say, 'Well, get on with it!' then turned away from her, and began giving a sequence of instructions to other soldiers. The woman was almost furious at being ordered, then she realized that he had a point. Some of her escort were groaning with pain, and trying to staunch blood. Yes, she should try to do something to help. As she bent over her first patient, she looked back and frowned. The stranger who, she admitted, had saved her life, was picking up rocks.

Gaius had the largest rock he could carry in one hand, and a small stone in the other. He walked over to the bridge, stared down, and dropped. Two satisfying splashes, both at the same time. Twice it worked! He looked towards the hill. The raiders were now almost at the bottom, then there would only be a few minutes. The carriage was almost in place.

"Lock it in place!" he ordered, "and fix on your palisade stakes in the hedgehog formation."

"Sorry, sir," the Centurion said. "The men didn't bring their stakes. It was not intended to camp and. ."

"Then we'll have to rely on the stakes just cut," Gaius nodded. "Fix the long ones to the cart like this," and he wedged it in place, with a point sticking forward, a formidable obstacle to a horse attempting to leap the cart.

"Get to it!" the Centurion ordered.

"You two!" Gaius said to two of the soldiers who were standing back, as there was no room for them. "Go gather up anything that will burn. Timothy, find a spot near the bridge and get a fire started. Centurion?"

"Sir?"

"Who are your two best archers?"

"Hardly matters," the Centurion replied. "We have no bows. ."

"If you have two people who can use a bow, there are four bows and a pile of arrows in my cart. Timothy and I shall use two. Find two others."

The Centurion nodded, and selected two soldiers.

"You lot," Gaius turned towards the two soldiers who had been gathering up dry wood and leaves. "Pack that cart with whatever will burn, but don't light it yet. Timothy, make sure that fire is going well, and get some good sized sticks burning, so we can throw them on the cart and get it to burn well when we have to. You other soldiers, gather stones for your slings if you've got them, then line up on the side of the bridge. What we do is this. If horses charge, slingers will throw at riders before they reach the bridge, archers only shoot at enemy on the bridge. Three of you take these longest stakes, and impale anyone trying to leap across the cart. If they come on foot, Centurion, form lines of three on the bridge to deal with anyone clambering over the cart. And if you have any Gods who smile on you, now would be as good a time as any to ask for assistance!"

The sound of horses was now clear, and the riders stormed up a small rise and into view. Then they slowed, staring at the bridge. About six of them clearly believed they could leap across the cart, so they formed up for the charge.