"Gaius, what do we know about the enemy commander, I only know that his name is Araxius." Vadomarius asked one of his lieutenants.
"Well, it seems that old Procopius has appointed Araxius as the Praetorian Prefect in the Oriens, the Praefectus praetorio. That basically makes Araxius his right hand man. We also know that he has most of the enemy army with him. We saw the banners of the Celtae and the Petulantes in their camp. " Gaius replied, happy as always, nothing seemed strong enough to make him sad or depressed. Some men in the camp simply called him "Happy".
"Oh. That could be a problem. We have the Celtae and the Petulantes in our army as well. They may hesitate to fight the men that they share years of service with. Are there any other enemy forces out there?"
"Well, other than the two legions, the enemy mostly has militia and maybe some auxiliaries. Nothing we can't handle,sir." Vitellius, also one of the officers, said, confident in the positive outcome of the battle. Everyone knew that he was a rival of Gaius, and therefore, while Gaius wanted a surprise night attack, Vitellius proposed a direct attack on Pergemum in the middle of the day.
In the middle of the debate, a scout ran into the tent. He quickly saluted and started talking.
"Sir, there is something you need to know about. We have just discovered that during the night, several enemy cohorts evacuated by boats from Macedonia have landed near the city. They may aid the enemy in the fight. For now, they aren't showing any plans to march towards Pergemum, instead, they have set up a small encampment on the shore."
"DAMN IT! Those bastards. We have no choice now. Ready or not we must attack. Vitellius, go tell the men to get some sleep now because we attack as soon as the Sun sets. Gaius, you seem to be a capable tactician, now you will have to prove that you are a good soldier as well. You have shown bravery when we were fighting against Rumitalca, but those were recruits, levies. These are legionnaires. You will lead the infantry. Show no mercy. Pergemum must be in our hands by tomorrow morning. Understood?"
"Yes, sir!" Gaius saluted and left the tent.
Vadomarius left the tent soon after. He called for the men to assemble in front of him. The men were there, they were looking at him, waiting.
He took a deep breath, he will give a speech, the men need something to raise their morale, and he will do everything to raise it.