[NUMERIUS AUREOLUS]: Senator Verginius, Legio V is already embarked and about to sail through the Bosphorous. It can destroy the Macedonians at Debeltos, dispose of the settlement and then conquer Byzantion. I do not see what we have to gain from ordering the ships back to port and telling them to wait for the next First Consul (you, perhaps, Senator Verginius?).

We have the manpower to do the job. Legio V can handle itself. Furthermore, our forces are concentrated in what was Macedonia - they are more than sufficient to win a war with Egypt in Europe if she starts one.

Letting the expedition complete its mission would not prevent us preparing ourselves for renewed struggles. Indeed, getting it over with may well free up some of our armies there for duties elsewhere. Furthermore, the income from Byzantion would not go amiss.