Cvria Ivlia, Consulate of Lepidvs/Caesar(II)

[Xavier Dragnesi]

Sextus Julius Caesar, relative of Quintus Marius, stands to speak. He knows his mentor's mind very well now, and says what he believes Marius would have said:

Senators. You should know that Quintus Marius and I have nothing against the Brutii, and definitely nothing against the current Brutus newly entered the Senate. But it is just because of this fact that I believe that he is not yet fit for a Praetor job. For the past few terms, the Praetors have been relatively inactive. I have not seen any Praetor reports for a long while. Without even seeing the work of a Praetor, how, may I ask, can a new senator hope to fill the shoes of such a position? Therefore, I say that we should appoint a Praetor who has at least seen one or two active praetor terms or understands the Senate enough to take up the place.

[chaplain118]

Suddenly the doors to the curia bursted open as Turnus Rutulus Saevus stormed in, raging at what appears to be an unknown reason. But as soon as he spoke, the aristocrats nodded in approval.

The people be damned, having been fed and fooled by your trickeries! What good will your games accomplish for Rome? What riches will you bring to her gates? Caesar, you claim to stand FOR the people, yet you squander away our treasuries, leave our borders undefended from the oncoming barbarians, and leave our sacred City open to attacks from outside! You don't care for the people, only for power. Bah!

Even now, you appoint Brutus, a man we know to not have had the experience, as praetor. What are you planning here Caesar? You enter the curia claiming your divinity, you appoint your soon to be brother as praetor, and you ask for peace while barbarians are raping our women, pillaging our borders, and murdering our children?! No, Brutus cannot be praetor, for I fear this is only part of Caesar's plot for KINGSHIP!

Our legions, where are our legions? Where are our sons, our brothers, and for some, our fathers? Where have these men gone to? We cannot even account for our legions much less muster them for battle to defend our lands. Was this also part of your plans Caesar?

Finally, you claim you love the people, you claim to hold them in your heart, yet Italy lays in utter ruins! I propose we expand our public baths system, introduce more aquaducts. Yes it will be costly, but when your fine mistresses are dying from the plague, Brutus, or when your precious "people" riot because of the lack of water, Caesar, you will have wished you have pursued these works instead of consolidating your own power, especially your power to be KING!

Fellow senators, we cannot, in good faith, allow a man as ambitious as this to run rampant with his decisions. And so, as the key point of our debate, I nominate Triarius as our future praetor!

I would be harsher in my speech were it not for your wedding.

Finally taking his seat, Turnus glared at Caesar and saw that his words had struck a nerve. At the sight of the reaction, he smiled.

[Winter]

ooc: What the hell...

Senator Rutulus you will cease! How dare you come barging into this sacred chamber shouting unsubstantiated and ludicrous charges at the duly elected Consul of Rome? You sir are clearly quite out of your mind!

Do you not realize that the elder Caesar's funeral games are being paid for by his son? Do you really believe the Republic, in the middle of two wars, would fund these games?

You blame the mismanagement of our legions on Caesar himself, without realizing this man has never held a position of imperium and has never had influence over their placement!

You wildly assert that Italy lays in utter ruins as the people rebel; sir this claim is a bald-faced lie, as the people of Italy are content as of now, and we need only start updating our aging infrastructure.

Sir if you intend to bring this noble and honest man up on charges of royal ambitions, I can assure you that I will defend him as best I can. And I am sure that any charges you bring up will be seen as idiotic and stupefyingly ignorant as they are here today.

ooc: No hard feelings, welcome to YATS!

[Confederate Jeb]

"Sorry I'm late again." Tertius says as he enters the Curia. When he had taken his seat, he began again. "Senator Lepidus, taking action to write this report should be a model to us all. From what I have heard there has been much indecision here in the Curia. We cannot stand for this any longer. We must work for our republic to be back to fighting condition. Are we not Romans? Are we going to allow barbarians and Greeks crush us under foot while we argue here?"

OOC: Who has the save?

[chaplain118]

ooc: haha, none taken. I'm liking this debate

Slowly rising from his seat, Turnus Rutulus Saevus began his speech, carefully calculating his words to lay the appropriate traps.

How foolish of me to have forgotten that these expenses are paid for with his own, it must've been the way the people of Rome were manipulated with his paenes et circenses. He holds the people in the folds of his toga, and that, Lucius Aurelius, is enough trouble for those of us who treasure our hard earned places in society.

Unless I'm very much mistaken, I believe that our consul is responsible for our legions, is he not? Is that not the laws set forth by our forefathers? Is that not the laws of the Republic? If he has no control over our legions, then who does? If he has no control over the very thing that protects our lands, then who does? The Senate can only decide to whom our legions can wage wars on, but the legions, they obey the orders of the consul. And as he prepares to place his soon to be brother on the seat of Praetorship, I fear of what else he is planning, especially with the legions.

And also, you twisted my words about the state of Italy. I never asserted that the people are rebelling, I only asserted that our infrastructures are in such a state that a continued policy of neglect would promote social unrest. Already, squalor in the outlying provinces are approaching unbearable levels, I shudder to imagine the future of Rome if we do nothing in the Eternal City. Fixing our infrastructure would be costly, and there will be corrupt officials who are more than willing to pocket the sesterces rather than spending an as for the city. If Caesar's appointment of his brother as praetor is approved, I fear that he is too inexperienced to properly control the corrupt officials that will permeate throughout our construction efforts.

I am not here to bring down this man's honor, I am here to voice my concerns for the Republic.

ooc: so exactly WHO does control the legions because I'm basing most of my assumptions on actual Roman laws and stuff.

[Selifator]

OOC: I think that those are the consuls and proconsuls, in special cases like the rebels in Italy another senator may command the forces.

Senator, you forget one thing. We have not yet decided how and where our legions shall be retrained and strengthened. How must our consul do this when we ourselves have not yet decided what must be done?
We must understand our situation in order to change it.

[Winter]

ooc: I have the save, and whomever the senate decides to give Imperium to can control the legions. It's all in the Constitution thread.

You misspeak, senator Rutulus. Caesar wishes only to honor his father before the city, and nothing more.

The legions obey whomever the Senate commands them to obey. Caesar has not been given any imperium over a single auxiliary legion, let alone all of them, so laying the mismanagement of our military at his feet and his alone is a gross untruth.

The Censor as well as the Senate would oversee any building programs to assure that it is free of corruption, sir. The fact that there will be some, however, cannot scare us out of improving the lives of our people!

We do not have to approve the appointment, but Caesar is only fulfilling his obligation as per the Constitution of the Roman Republic. If you look to article IV of the document, it expressly says under the elections heading

Should there be no candidate for a position, the Junior Consul shall appoint a senator to said position pending Senate ratification.

He is acting in no way like a tyrant.

You are not here to bring down this man's honor? I believe that your calls of "kingship!" are enough evidence to the contrary.

[Pompey117]

The doors opens and Marcus Pompey walks in. He has no expression on his face. He sits down and doesn't talk but he has something in his mind.

[We shall fwee...Wode]

A young man walks into the senate halls, he has a small, but well-built frame and has a swagger of a proud and powerful man, despite being of small stature. his face is weary beyond his years, but his eyes shine with passion and exuberance. He walks in proudly and simply sits. He then stumbles up to say:

Greetings men, my name is Marcvs Ativs Balbvs. I pledge my heart and sole for the republic and the goings on in this building. however, as a new senator, I do not wish to entangle myself on the debates before my presence, but when I am needed, I shall be here.

He sits down and watches eagerly as a small child.

OOC: I have returned, my exams have ended and I wish to do my duty once more.

OOC2: First person to go OMG it's Wode gets some rep!

[Born To Folk]

ooc: OMG it's wode

[Philos Sophos]

ooc:OOOMMMMMGGGGGGG,WWWOOOOODDDDDEEE IIIISSSS BBBBAAACCCCCCKKKKKK!!!!!

[Born To Folk]

ooc: i was first i still get rep

[chaplain118]

As he gauged the situation around him, Turnus saw that his support among even the aristocrats is waning. Keeping his eyes trained upon Lucius Aurelius, he began his speech.

So be it, the man is not at fault for our current state of being. And I owe him a sincere apology for my outbursts. But it is still a troubling thought within my mind that he plans on giving Brutus the praetorship. The thought of a single family ruling Rome is a thought I give hesitation to. It is perhaps due to too much wine from the previous night as well as reading the early history of Rome has put me in a very guarded state as of late.

My fellow senators, you cannot fault me for holding the Republic's best interest at heart. I was merely doing what I thought was best for our nation and people.

Having said these, Turnus Rutulus Saevus sat down in his chair.

[Confederate Jeb]

OOC: Wode is a noob!

Welcome back man.

Hey Winter, can I have the save so I can do what I talked to you about? I haven't seen the game yet.

IC: "Senator Turnus, do not be too hard on yourself. We all have different opinions on our fellow senators, and your feelings for having one family rule are not wrong. But this is no ordinary family we speak of here." Tertius smiled as he spoke. I've been in his position before, he thought as he retook his seat.

[Grandis Latro]

Vitruvius stands and clears his throat, the senators quiet down and listen...

"There are many new men here, men I've never seen. I applaud you all for joining the senate. It gladens me that a new man sits in the second curile chair, proof that Rome continues no matter what. Your hearts are in the right place, but...

Vitruvius pauses and looks at each of the new senators...

Know that when you enter these halls, you enter a sacred place! You reek of hubris and ambition! Learn from your elders, know before you speak, know what has transpired in these halls before you make assumptions...

Vitruvius takes a drink of water...

Now as to the matter at hand. There is talk of peace, peace Rome desperately needs.
If I remember correctly we are currently in a state of war with three nations, Carthage, The Hellenic League and Gaul.

I do not believe it is possible to have a sustained peace with Greece anymore, however I do believe it is possible to have a ceasfire with Gaul and Carthage.

Gaul is fighting Greece and Iberia, I think, so they are in no position to wage war with us. Carthage's spirit has been broken for some time now, when I was in Africa I came to understand that they have no standing army anymore and don't wish to create one. Peace with these peoples would be to our benefit.

I understand there will be grumblings about Gaul, but it will give us the much needed respite from war to strengthen our legions and perhaps even raise more.

As for the Praetor position... We are a Republic, so therefore I support a runoff election. If the new senator has the vote of the people, then his experience level does not matter, he will be Praetor, if not then he will not be... simple.

[We shall fwee...Wode]

Consuls, is it possible with the next report on military strength to include a map of our Republic, and of the lands of our allies. I am curious as to our exact borders and wish to see the facts on the "Barbarian hordes and what not.

[Xavier Dragnesi]

Sextus Julius rises to speak as well.

I fully support Spurius Vitruvius' plan. It is far more intelligent an idea to fight one war at a time rather than three. We should have a motion to see if this plan is supported or not. Then we can allocate a delegation to go talk to the Gauls, and perhaps the new Proconsul to talk to the Carthaginians. Then, if they accept, we must only hope that barbarians though they are, Gaul will be a more noble neutralist than the Hellenic States, and that Carthage will see fit to stay down as a crushed and defeated nation.

[Winter]

Right then. I shall open candidacies for the praetor runoff election, and we shall open a debate on the peace treaties proposed. After this, I shall take my leave of the senate house to create my reports.

[RVFVS]

A lictor arrives in the Cvria and annouces his usual thing that Caesar is coming. Caesar walks everyone is looking at him his face is red and he looks like he will burst then he sit in his curul chair then stands and says:

So...this is what has happended...you mock me...ME! a consul of Rome! Behind my back. This is foolhardy and stupit. You senator Rutulus a new senatore call me... a king? DO YOU? Some senators get up and leave realizing the usually calm and collected Caesar was getting pissed My whole life has been dedicated to the republic all of it! And you DARE insult my father by saying the games I put on for him are nothing more then stepping stones for ultimate power! And why my little aristocrat is it soooo bad to feed the people? Hmm? No answer. They are romans too! It is not like I feed a barbarian horde. What right do you or I or Lepidus or anyone hve to deny them what shoul be theirs...you have no right....none at all. Oh but you've never known whats its like to go hungry because your so rich.


Caesar continues more calmly
I am sorry for my outburst...such things that have been said about me in my absense I cannot ignore. Anyway I must agree with Vitruvius about the Carthaginians but Gaul? I do not support peace with Gaul. They are unwashed barbarians who fester at our border. No I think we must make a push into Gaul. I realize it will be hard but I think necassary. Show them who is boss then make peace or else the will just attack us again and aigain. As well if the senate decrees it I would like the Consular Imperium. for I would retrain many legions well out. And also I wouldnt mind getting a taste for military service a little more.

ooc: Chaplain you should be more careful when you insult people! Only do it when you know you can win. I have learned that with the gaul incident with falco

[Caesar Rex]

What have we really decided here.
Beside being sidetracked with a few ramblings we must sue for peace.
War has been the foretopic for way to long and we must end it.
Right now the propraetor of Illyria has imperium and word must be sent to him to begin the move into Greece.
Let him gather to him an army worthy of taking the Greeks down.
Let my son have what is needed to bring victory to Rome.
Let us rebuild our crumbling Republic to the strength of our forefathers.