Vespasian flushed with anger. He could see the direction Plautius was taking this and needed to act swiftly if he was to limit the damage to his legion. If the general wanted more blood then the morale of the Second would receive yet another blow. The disgrace of decimation already weighed heavily on their minds, but the fact that the punishment had been levied on the Third Cohort alone had allowed the rest of the legion to escape any significant damage to their hard-won reputation. A reputation that had been bought with the blood of their comrades, and a reputation that had been built on some spectacular feats of arms.

As their commander, it was natural that Vespasian should bask in the reflected glow of his men’s achievements. Yet his first thought was for his men - for how shamed they would feel to be the target of the general’s wrath yet again. All thanks to the failures of Maximius and the Third Cohort. If Vespasian was to preserve what remained of his men’s battle spirit then he would need to make a sacrifice.

‘My legion does not deserve to be held accountable for the deeds of a disgraced cohort, sir. The Second has put in an outstanding performance on this campaign. They have fought like lions. You said it yourself, sir, only a few months back. Like lions. If any unit is to be punished, then let it be the cohort who permitted the prisoners to escape. Let the Third be held to blame, sir.’

General Plautius did not reply immediately, as he weighed up the legate’s offer. At length the general nodded. ‘Very well then, those who permitted their comrades to escape punishment will have to provide a replacement for each condemned man.’

Vespasian felt his heart begin to race as he listened. Surely he did not mean another round of decimation? What would the enemy make of that, Vespasian wondered. Leave the Romans alone long enough and they would surely decimate themselves into oblivion and save everyone else the job.

‘Sir,’ Vespasian spoke as calmly as he could manage,’we dare not decimate the Third Cohort again. They’d be finished as a fighting unit.’

‘Maybe they should be finished,’ Plautius replied. ‘In which case a ruthless execution might encourage the others to fight on when the time comes, and not just turn and run away, like those scum. Perhaps after we’ve executed the next batch they might just provide the example I wanted for the rest of the army. Legate, this cohort has cost us the final victory over Caratacus. Their failure will cost us dear in coming months.

Now this? How much more damage will they do to my army, and the reputation of your legion? Another decimation is the least they deserve.’