[X] Plan Make Connections and Study v2
[] Connect: You make an attempt to connect with him. Cassianus' father was a farmer and his mother a tavern maid -- you come from different worlds, yet if you can form a friendship, or at least an understanding of sorts, it will make both your lives easier in the long run.
[] Training: Your men are well-trained enough, but the Samnite campaign did not offer many opportunities for the sort of combat they will soon be facing. It may be chilly, but you drill them in the fields outside Nicomedia.
[] Promote Centurions: A few centurions and lower-ranking officers left the legion in Rome, their service having ended. Several soldiers who served with distinction during the Samnite campaign may well stand to replace them. Men you raise up may be loyal to you in the future.
[] Brothers in Arms: You strive to mend the frayed relations between the patrician cavalry and the plebian legionnaires, which have grown worse over time.
[] Correspondence
--[] Cicero
[] The Scipians: Unlike Sertorius, who traveled with a single slave, Scipio has brought along a veritable entourage of slaves, clients, friends, and cronies. These Scipians are largely plebian men of all stripes, and you attempt to integrate yourselves with them in order to learn something more of their new master, Cassianus, who seems to have become a focal point for them -- a novus homo who has risen from their ranks to lead a legion.
[] The Marians: The soldiers and legions now serving under Marius are devoted in their loyalty to the great general. You seek to make connections with these men, and form relationships which may serve you well back in Rome. Perhaps the greatest of these Marians is the legatus Gnaeus Papirus Carbo, legatus of the Seventh Legion and Marius' second in command.
[] The Prince: Bithynia is not short on royalty. Ptolemy, one of the princes of Egypt, long exiled from his native land, made himself a guest of Mithridates and remained in Nicomedia after the city fell to Rome. Famed as a great partier and player of the flute, he has resided in a palatial estate here in the city with his family and retainers. You could pay the heir of the Pharaohs a visit.
[] Si Vis Pacem: The Greek city-states in Asia and the Greek mainland have long maintained their independence and autonomy, even as nominal vassals of Rome. You read up on their histories, rivalries, and old friendships, that you might make use of these in your campaign.
[] Para Bellum: You begin studying the campaigns against the Macedonians and the Greeks over a century ago, hoping to learn more about Greek tactics, that you might counter them better.
[] Study: You study the campaigns of Marius in Africa, hoping to learn something about defeating a hostile kingdom while protecting Roman clients. That Marius himself is here does not hurt matters either.
