The Curia

[SwissBarbar]

A young man entered the room. His body was athletic and strong, his angular face expressed calmness and contentedness and his intelligent eyes radiated dignity. This mans name was Avlvs Aemilivs Mamercvs, son of one of the oldest and most prominent families in Roma, the Gens Aemilia. When he was even younger, he used to celebrate often and was well known for his orgies and affinity to excessive drinking. He still liked the easy life but now, at the age of 22, he decided to appear on the stage of politics to prove he was worthy of wearing the name of the Aemilii. Though he had a wild youth, he was known as a polite and accommodating person, who treated others - even people of lower rank - with kindness.

Now he was Tribunus of Roma. He was thought since childhood to consider himself as a true Roman, so this was a great honour for him. He looked around and lifted his hand.

"Ave senatores! To me it is an honour to be here. Thank you for your invitation."


He did not say more than that, because he wasn't requested to do so and because some of the others argued about something. So he sat down and listened what the other Senators had to say.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

I tried to describe him based on his ingame traits. He also will behave here based on those traits, so if I got unfriendly in here, please don't take it personal ;-)

[/Bean\]

Cotta was about to reply to Quintus' retorts, when the senate doors opened, and young man entered the chamber. "Ave senatores! To me it is an honour to be here. Thank you for your invitation," spoke he. Cotta recognised him as Avlvs Aemilivs Mamercvs, a young figure of the powerful and ancient Aemilii family line. Cotta was about to ignore him and answer to Quintus' remarks, when an idea formed in his mind. Slyly, he smiled, before resuming an honest face, and speaking.

"Greetings, Avlvs Aemilivs Mamercvs. It is a pleasure to meet you at last. I have heard great things about you. We were just...discussing... the next destination of Rome's armies. I'm sure a young Tribune such as yourself would welcome a chance to strike back at old enemies to the north, gaining experience in waging war and command in the Legio II Latium. What say you, senator?

[SwissBarbar]

Aemilivs looked at the Senator and smiled back. Almost he laughed out, but he could contain it. He was very pleased to see, that this even younger Roman seemed to be smart as a fox. Aemilivs, a smart fellow himself, always thought the Senate to be a bunch of old and boring men, but this appeard to become far more interesting as he expected.

My friend, thank you very much for your warm and honest welcome. He smiled. I've caught up the last bit of your .... discussion ... and I must say, since I am a young and highly motivated Tribunus, I indeed am keen on making soon the experience of defeating our enemies in battle.

But first you have to explain, why I should make this experience in the coldness of the north, while I could also fight enemies in the warm climate of the south. How strong are our armies? How strong are our enemies? Are we able to replace soldiers fast, if we should fail in the first campaign, or would we be protectless, if we don't succeed at the first try? Are the northern enemies weaker than those in the south? And isn't the south economically more profitable?

Convince me, and I'm your man.

[everyone]

Asina, after much deliberation, stood up

Since Legatus Cotta seems to be in a reverie (OOC: offline), I shall answer this question, though I am not representing him.

To answer your questions:
Our two legions combined outnumber the seperate armies of Aemilia and Liguria each by a comfortable margin; our only main threat are those wildmen known as "gaesatae"; but they are still men and could be felled by a blade in their innards.
Yes, we are able to replace our soldiers relatively fast; troops can be raised immediately from neighbouring provinces and replacements would be stationed there; since it is my job as the new Legion of the Consuls to provide sufficient troops, I shall not fail in that task.
Though the garrison of our southern provinces are slightly weak, it is unlikely that any sizable force would arrive from there.
The northern tribes (of Italia) are stronger than those of Sicilia, but an invasion of Sicilia now would not be a wise move as our allies, the Poeni, consider Sicilia under their sphere of influence; if we intrude, we might face a war and lose a valuable trading partner and leave our ports vulnerable to blockades.

As for a possible invasion of Greece, I don't think that's possible with the current resources we have; and it would incur a lot of expenses as we have to build a fleet, deal with logistics, and reports show that Pyrrhus and his Epirotes have a strong base in Greece

[/Bean\]

Cotta stands again, after his previous mind wandering (ooc: Cotta actually went to get his hair cut, then had a (edit: lovely, long, hot) shower, so may have appeared 'offline' to his fellow senators).

Thank you Consul. I hope this justifies our reasons, Tribune Aemillivs. As for your seeming reluctance to travel north, I can answer this only through your own desire. We live in a warm climate, it is true, and it does get warmer to the south. But if our soldiers waged war simply according to the levels of warmth during the colder seasons, we would not be powerful at all. Struggles and hardships make a soldier, not warm climates and comfy beds.

[Potocello]

Servivs Longvs sits in the corner pondering what has been said throughout the Senate chamber. He quickly makes up his mind and decides to stand. Looking at the senators he says...

"Good senators, Dux Asina and Legatus Cotta are best looking out for the interests of Roma. If we invade to the north, not only will we unite Italy, but our soldiers will gain much more experience fighting the ruthless barbarians in the north. As Legatus Cotta said, "struggles and hardships make a soldier, not warm climates and comfy beds." Plus, can we risk the concequences of what is to come if we break the treaty and invade Sicily? The world will no longer look upon Roma as the honorable nation we are, but will put us on a level comparable to those naked barbarians in the north. Senators, listen to these wise men and vote to move our armies north to defeat the barbarians.

Servivs sits, waiting for the replies from his fellow senators.

[/Bean\]

Boldly, Cotta stands again.

Senators, it seems support against the strike north is waning. I can no longer see any valued argument against it, and indeed the Consul and the Dictator have spoken in favour of it. I believe any continued aggression to this edict may be seen as a personal attack or the sake of argument; not something we promote within this chamber. Therefore I propose that this matter may now be moved aside until the voting, and we can concentrate on other matters of state; other edicts.