Cvria Ivlia, Consulate of Labenius/Parthicus (II)

[Winter]

The Necropolis of ancient Carthage

For election results, see the Campus Martius

[Caesar Rex]

All of you know me.
I am Servius Labienus and I have been elected as consul of Rome.
It is the first meeting of the senate and I hold the Fasces.
The junior consul needs to elect the censor and Princep Senatus.
This must be done today in order to have the proceeding legitimate and fair.
There are three topics that need to be handled and will be done so now.
I do not wish to spend six months deciding what can be done in one day.
So as not to waste any further of the senates time I will bring forth the first for discussion.

That is the whereabouts of the Proconsul Marcus Valerius.
Something must be done and it needs to happen now.
He has been missing for four months and as a Proconsul of Rome he must be found.
You as the senate need to decide now what is to happen.

[Maxinius Scipio]

Emotion. Gaius, as a Senator, is not supposed to show much emotion in his speeches and proposals. He is a nobleman, one of the finest men in Rome and the world. An example must be set for the lower ends of society, so they know how and when to act when necessary.

His brother is gone. Emotion, then, is acceptable.

"Please! I beg that you do something immediately. Not only is the Proconsul gone, but my brother is gone. The brother that I have known for my entire life. He must be saved!" cried Gaius.

Emotion is acceptable, but too much of it isn't, "I don't care about the cost. We must bring him home to his wife, family, and country!"

[Philos Sophos]

"What do you expect us to do,send our legions to fight Carthage.We aren't so strong to fight them now.I suggest to send spies(ooc:Commandos)to find out where he is and rescue him."

[Maxinius Scipio]

Gaius turned slowly and his face turned red with anger. He almost screamed at Tiberius and threatened to throw him off the Tarpeian Rock, but he took a deep breath and calmed himself.

"It is inevitable that Carthage will be invaded. If we want to end this war, that city must be taken at some point. By invading Carthage and saving my brother, we will be killing two birds with one stone, so to speak."

[Kritias]

Brutus Caepionis entered the Curia hastily, followed by his Lictor Guard, who were trying to compete with the speed of the youth Senator. Ever since his father died, Marcus has been as grumpy and cautious as possible when walking the public streets -- it was not a good time for the men of the Iunii seeing the family's popularity with the low classes; who knows what a jealous senator may come up with... Once in the Senate though, Marcus, always wearing the black mourning toga, could not stand seeing a dear friend and political ally, the noble Senator Corvinus, suffer for the disappearance of his renown brother. Once Corvinus has stated his public plea in the Senate House, asking for the Conscript Fathers to cut the tie and declare war on Carthage, Marcus Brutus stood, raising his hand high to demand the floor. He said:

"Senators, I do understand any amount of cautiousness you may reserve in your hearts regarding Carthage. For who would not think twice before attacking an established and mighty empire! Let us face facts, Brothers! We are not asked to face some low Italian tribe; we are not asked to quell some petty rebel outbreak not the Greek cities of the South. We are asked to deal with an Empire, an Empire that has ample coin and men and ships to wage a bloody and prolonged war.

Fathers, this foe has committed an unforgivable crime: a nation that has the nerve to throw at the faces of two Senators of Rome, Lepidus and Labienus, the peace offers made in front of the Immortal Gods, a nation that demands at sword point a booty of no less than 60,000 golden denarii and finally a nation that dares capture a Proconsul of Rome is a nation that deserves nothing more than cold iron held by a Roman fist!

Senators, let us not fool ourselves; the Carthaginians have set their minds on reclaiming their lost Empire in Sicily, a land that we do now own. Why else would they refuse a merciful truce offer? Why else spit on Rome's Honour by ill treating our diplomats? Why else kidnap the Proconsul of the island? I ask my self if all these acts are coincidental but we all know that there's no such thing as coincidence! There's only the will of the Immortal Gods. So I ask once more, should we be merciful? I think not!

Let us pass now a Senatum Consultum, a vote, to declare war on Carthage -- let us do what they have forced us to do; to fight them and destroy them!"

Brutus sat down in a delirium of cheering from the majority of the Senate; would anyone speak against the motion?

[Xavier Dragnesi]

Quintus Marius Parthicus walks cheerfully into the Curia. It had been a narrow but satisfying victory for Junior Consul in the elections, but now that he had gotten in, he thought that he was climbing the Cursus Honorum very well. Sitting down in his curule chair, he listens to some of the talk before he makes his own say:

I agree that the Carthaginians must be vanquished, as we have seen from maps provided by the Consuls of the last term that not only are we enemies of Carthage, but apparently, Iberia is as well. Therefore this is the plan that I propose:

We send our Senior Consul with two or three legions to Africa to fight Carthage. Meanwhile, we send a delegation to Iberia to negotiate with the Spanish, and if possible, obtain an alliance against Carthage. If not, we can at least gain some trade rights or map information.

As for Proconsul Valerius, we must get spies to track him down, because he could be anywhere in Carthage, and when we declare war and start the fighting, their senate might carry him off to some other Carthaginian province, so we need spies to keep him in sight.

And as Censor this term, I appoint Publius Valerius Publicola
As Princeps Senatus, I appoint Tiberius Octavius Ulpianus

[Gaius Julius Civilis]

ooc: I realise I shouldn't be here, but I gotta share my opinion, so here goes:

ic: another letter from M. Lucretius Falco arrives:

Those Phoenicians depended on sea trade, but as the map from the anonymous cartographer shows, the Balearic isles are the only real trade hub the Punics own besides Carthage. If we take it, we can easily pressure the mainland possesions of those arrogant baby-murderers by blockading the handful of ports they still own, or maybe place a few of the improved legions near their cities or caravan routes. As before, I propose this aggression not to crush Carthage, but to force them into signing peace on our terms.

[The10thLegion]

i say that if we are going to fight the Punics then we need for the Proconsul of sicily to aid some ships to make sure our legions get there safely

[Winter]

The Proconsul is missing, I assume you mean the Quaestor?

Fervor-filled speeches aside, yes I do believe it is time to take on the Phoenicians. They acted utterly arrogant whilst I was in their city, only a few steps above spitting at my feet.

If they will not end this war, we should end it for them.

[Xavier Dragnesi]

If I remember correctly, we still have plenty of ships from the last Consular term when Senior Consul Brutus built many fleets for the protection of our trade routes against Carthaginians and pirates. I think these ships will be enough to ship our forces over to Africa, and will save us the need to build more.

[Winter]

Yes indeed. It is sadly ironic that these ships purchased illegally will now be necessary.

However, I do believe that the Consul should be allowed to make his own plan once we attack Carthage. He is the commander, and we do not need to be making strategy.

Also, young Brutus, we do not need to declare war as we are already in a state of open war. This renewed conflict is because they won't end this war.

[Caesar Rex]

What does the senate recommend.
I would see us raise four legions to oppose this nation.
I would in turn see the disbandment of all previous legions raised before the reforms thus freeing up our treasury for these new legions.
I do not wish to have the same treatment as our previous consul when I start recruiting so I will see the senate debate this and come to a conclusion as soon as possible.
Voting should begin as soon as possible censor Publicola.

[Philos Sophos]

"I think we need so much men as possible,we dont know how big is their army.We should disband the old style legions and replace them with the new ones.And I am sorry Gaius,I wasn't thinking when i said that.

Roma Victor!"

[Kritias]

" Should the Junior Consul allows, I believe that the Senatum Consultum about invading Africa can begin. The majority of the Senate and Tribunes have pledged to support the attack..."

[Caesar Rex]

This is true Marcus.
The first step is giving myself imperium to commit Rome to this war.
That includes training and equipping legions.
I believe that this act you needs to be prudent.
No time must be wasted.
Is there any news of our Proconsul?
What does the quaestor have to say about the state of Sicily?

[Xavier Dragnesi]

I will now start the voting on these two motions:
1. Should we fully initiate the war against Carthage?
2. Should 4 new legions be raised for this intent?

[Caesar Rex]

Thank you consul.
Please it is a matter of urgency to have this ratified.
The sooner we can begin the sooner we may see the end and hopefully the return of our proconsul.

[Philos Sophos]

"I would like to join the legions and fight Carthage with the consul,it has been a long time when i spilt blood,I just hope my fighting skills aren't gone."

[We shall fwee...Wode]

I never seek war, but this war is there before us, and us such i see the first motion a waste of breath. Lest we forget though friends, the lack of respect they showed our most noble senators, and our entire people through the tribune. Take their land and teach these insolent scum. Give them the treatment they showed our delegates.

But first we must be cautious of the Iberians. We must assure them that we mean them no harm in our attack on Africa. We must let them know that we mean to be friends in their war with the african dogs. So could we not make an alliance before any landing commences on the sunburnt shores of the southern continent. Of course, should they reject an alliance, just attempt to keep amicable relations with these people, for lest we forget, they have done much of the work for destroying Carthage's imperial designs.

I would also like to know what my right honourable men will do with our old legions. I propose we grant them land in sicily, and I feel that this should be incorporated in the bill to create the new legions, as the disbandment of the old military is an important part of the replacement and refitting of our armies. What do you say friends?

OOC: Is there multiple Tribunes/am I a tribune? If so YAY!!!!

OOC2: Who has the save, and can you give it to me for my Censor report on suggestions for the advancement of the Res Pvblica. Cheers