Centurion

'How about you? What's a Roman woman doing here in Palmyra?'

She shrugged. 'I travel with my father.'

'And your father is?'

'Lucius Sempronius, the ambassador.'

Cato examined her more closely. The daughter of a senator no less, and here she was tending to the wounds of ordinary soldiers. 'What's your name?'

She looked at him and smiled, revealing neat white teeth. 'Julia. And yours?'

'Quintus Licinius Cato, prefect of the Second Illyrian. Well, acting prefect for the present.' Now it was Cato's turn to smile. 'But you can call me Cato.'

'I was going to. There's no point in standing on formalities here. Or at least I don't think there is, not when the rebels might take the place any day and put us all to the sword,' Julia added matter-of-factly as she took a fresh strip of cloth and dried his hand, dabbing the water off. She reached for a dressing from a basket and began to wrap it round Cato's hand. 'Prefect, you say? That's an important rank, is it not?'

Cato frowned. 'It is to me.'

'Aren't you rather young for such a position?'

'Yes,' Cato admitted, and then continued tersely: 'And isn't the daughter of a senator rather out of place looking after common soldiers?'

She tied off the dressing firmly, and gave it a short extra tug that made Cato grit his teeth to stop a gasp of pain. 'Clearly you are no common soldier, Prefect, but your ma

'I meant no offence.'

'Really?' She took a step back from him. 'Well, your wound is dressed, and I have done the job as well as any man here, for all the disadvantages conferred on me by my social station. Now, if you don't mind, Prefect, I'm busy.'

Cato flushed with irritation at her mood, and shame at his rudeness. She strode past him, out of the door and back into the corridor. He turned after her.

'Thank you… Julia Sempronia.'

She paused a moment, her back stiffening, and then turned into one of the rooms and disappeared from sight.

Cato shook his head and muttered to himself, 'Oh, well done. Surrounded by enemies, and you go and make yourself another one.' He slapped his hand against his thigh, and gasped as pain shot up his arm. 'Shit!'

Grinding his teeth, he marched swiftly out of the hospital and made for the signal tower. Once he was satisfied that the men there understood that they must only make their signal to Macro once the diversionary sortie was well under way, Cato went to join the force assembled just inside the citadel's gateway. The commander of the garrison had allocated the task to one syntagma of the royal bodyguard and the men had gathered quietly in the glow of the torches flickering in iron brackets above the gate.They were heavily armoured and carried the same large round shields and stout spears of their forebears in the days of Alexander. The horsehair crests of their helmets did not appeal to Cato's eye, more used to the utilitarian helmets of Roman soldiers, but it added to their stature and made the body of men look quite formidable, Cato conceded.

'Ah! My friend from the sewer.'

Cato glanced towards the voice and saw an officer waving at him. 'Archelaus?'

'The same!' The Greek laughed. 'Come and join my men, and see how real warriors fight.'

'I have no shield or helmet.'

Archelaus turned to the nearest of his men. 'Bring some kit for our Roman friend.'

The man saluted and hurried off to the barracks as Archelaus offered his spear and shield to Cato. 'Here, I'll explain how we use these.'

Cato saw that the shield had a central strap which he slipped his arm through before grasping the handle near the edge. Unlike the Roman design this shield was purely for protection and could not be punched into the enemy. It provided good cover for his body and thighs and Cato hefted it experimentally until he felt confident about its weight and balance. Then he took the spear that Archelaus was holding ready. It was perhaps two foot longer than his height, with a sturdy shaft and a long, tear-shaped iron point. The other end was capped with a small iron spike. Cato closed his fingers round the leather hand grip and tested the weight. It was heavy, and was a thrusting weapon, unlike the legionary javelin which could serve as a missile as well as a spear.

'Hold it upright,' Archelaus explained. 'We keep it that way until we close on the enemy. Stops us from doing any harm to our comrades, and helps to break up any arrows or sling shot they send our way. When we close and the order is given to advance spears, the front rank goes ahead of the formation and switches to an overhand grip.' He took the spear from Cato and flicked it up into the air and caught it, his arm bent and the shaft angled forward so the point was at eye level. 'Stab from here, like this.' He thrust the spear forward in a powerful jab and then recovered it, ready to strike again.Then he changed his grip, lowered the end and handed it back to Cato. 'You have a go.'

Cato tried the overhand grip and stabbed at the air. He would have preferred to use his sword but could see the advantage in using the spear's greater reach to strike at the enemy.The man Archelaus had sent to the barracks returned with the spare equipment and Cato returned Archelaus' shield and sword. As soon as he had tied the chin straps of the helmet and taken up spear and shield the commander of the syntagma bellowed the order to close ranks. Cato noticed that some of the men in the line beside him were carrying small haversacks.

'Incendiary materials,' Archelaus explained quietly, following the direction of the Roman's gaze. 'We're making for a ram the rebels are constructing in front of a temple on the other side of the agora. We're to set it on fire. The ram and anything else that might be of use to the enemy.'

The commander shouted another order as he stepped into the front line of the formation. Several of the Greek mercenaries raised the locking bar of the gate and, bracing their legs, they heaved for all they were worth. The tall, studded timber doors protested on their hinges and eased open with a grating groan. The commander raised his spear above his head and looked over his shoulder to call out to his comrades.

'Advance!'

The front rank of the syntagma rippled forward ahead of the following men as the dense column tramped out through the gate. Cato marched at the side of Archelaus a few ranks back from the front and as they emerged from the gate his heart was beating wildly. Earlier he had doubted the need to join the diversionary attack, but it was vital that Macro's column managed to cut their way through to the citadel, and Cato felt an instinctive duty to do all that he could to help his friend, and the men of the Second Illyrian. So he lowered his head, gritted his teeth and tightened his grip on shield and spear as the column spilled out of the citadel and made its way towards the makeshift barricades the rebels had erected across the streets leading from the agora in front of the citadel.

'At the run!' the commander yelled and the men around Cato swiftly quickened their pace, sandalled feet pounding across the paving stones as their scabbards slapped against their thighs and their ragged breath was drawn with sharp gasps. Above the din of the charging men around him Cato heard the sharp cries of alarm from the rebel lines. Braziers burned behind the barricades and dark figures rose up along the defences, clearly visible as they readied their weapons and faced the men of the royal bodyguard charging towards them across the open expanse of the agora. In the open-sided precinct of a temple Cato saw the looming shape of the shelter being constructed for the battering ram, and above the buildings on either side he saw the first faint glow of the coming dawn and knew that time was ru