Breakfast was subdued the next morning, though everyone was suppressing a bit of excitement. Most of us had already been to the quartermaster to exchange our training armor for new, as well as to receive several sets of clothes.

“New orders from your Centurion.” A messenger said as they stopped by our table. “Everyone is to be ready to march tomorrow. You will wear armor and sword, everything else needs to be in wagons. Dorian, after the meal you are to meet him in his office for orders.”

“Why march in armor?” Virgil grumped. “We aren’t near the front lines, and marching in armor sucks.”

“I hear that.” I agreed. “But it’s orders, so we have to. Maybe they think there’s a chance for units to infiltrate past the lines. Sowing chaos behind enemy lines is a tried and true method for fighting.”

“Damn right it is.” Paul agreed. “And don’t start with that honor crap Virgil. This is war, remember? We would be doing the same thing, attacking their supply lines, if their supply lines didn’t involve eating people.”

“While Paul has a point,” Dorian started, “We have orders to fulfill. Let’s get this done with, because there won’t be any excuses accepted. If you leave something behind, you do without. Pair off with a buddy to go over the list Daniels gave us, everyone checking their partner’s list. Brandon, I’ll be your partner, let me go ahead and see what our Centurion wants.”

We grumbled a bit, but it was good natured grumbling. As the group split off, I headed out into the practice field to help out with the organized chaos. I already had my stuff organized and ready to go, and figured that getting out of everyone’s way would be the best. Unsurprisingly, Clint and Thomas were the first to join me, and settled right in to the loading scheme. Growing up as loaders probably helped.

“Brandon? BRANDON!” I looked up nearly an hour later to see Dorian calling for me.

“Over here!” I called back, flipping another tent package onto my shoulder and heading toward the back of the next wagon. I wasn’t confident enough to work with the two man teams, but I had picked up a few of their tricks. The most important of which was to get the load to a point where you could balance it. Do that, and you can go all day. Fight the load, and you’ll be tuckered before lunch.

“Hey, can I speak with you?” Dorian asked, pulling me off to a semi-quiet portion of the yard.

“What’cha need?” I asked.

“I wanted to apologize. I had no idea they were going to do this.” He started, stopping after he noticed the confused look on my face. “He didn’t? Oh that sonofabitch!” He swore, kicking the dirt a bit in frustration. “Bastard ordered me not to say anything. Fuck, I should have seen this coming.”

“Calm down, what’s going on?” I asked, concerned. It took a lot to cause Dorian to lose his cool, though he was starting to open up a bit more around the group. After a moment, he did manage to pull himself together, followed quickly by getting a devious look on his face.

“Right. Well, I’ll just have to outplay him.” I heard Dorian mutter before he looked me straight in the eye. “Can you do me a favor? I still have a bit of packing, and could really use your help. There are some things that really need to get back to my parents.”

“Sure.” I agreed, though it was a bit nervous.

“Don’t worry, it’ll be fine. Until then, I think you should see the Centurion for our orders.”

“Right. Sounds good.” I agreed, heading over to a water barrel to rinse off a bit of the sweat I had worked up. Once that was done, I headed toward the centurion’s office. I knocked on the door, walking in when I was almost immediately granted permission.

Entering the sparse room, it was hard to get a read on our new commander. He was broad shouldered and heavily muscled, but so were we all after Legion training. He kept his hair short enough that I could barely see the blonde coloration, his blue eyes piercing and dismissing me for a moment after I walked in to finish some paperwork. Knowing the powerplay, I stood at attention and waited, making sure not to look at the papers.

“You are?” He asked eventually.

“Legionnair Brandon Clayson, sir.” I replied.

“Ah, I wondered when you would be by. I understand you were the Decanus for your training group?”

“Yes sir.” I agreed.

“I see.” He said, stroking the bit of stubble on his chin. “Well, I know what you are. And unlike the softie Daniels, I don’t and won’t be trusting you anytime soon. Legionnaire Dorian is now Decanus, along with the added stipend that entails. In order to provide the least disruption possible, you will continue acting in those duties. In addition, you are a probationary Legionnaire under my authority. You will receive half pay, and any deviation from my orders will be punished with the strictest punishment imaginable, understood?”

“Yes sir.” I said, bottling up the immediate reply. My first urge was to rip the smug bastard’s head off. From his smirk, he realized that and knew he had me over a barrel.

“Good. You are forbidden from informing any of the others. Go ensure everything is ready, we march at dawn.” Waving me off, I stormed out of his office, barely resisting the urge to slam the door shut.

“Half pay? Probationary Legionnaire? Who the fuck does he think he is?” I grumbled, heading into the barracks. I stormed over to Dorian’s area, not noticing the silence I left in my wake. “What do you need help with?” I asked, as he was busy sorting things in a chest.

“Could you pack up that deck of importants?” He asked, mentioning the cards that had the relations of everyone important in the city on them. I headed over to his desk, surprised to see tw pictures turned up and prominently displayed apart from the rest. Confused, I almost carelessly swept them up, the only thing stopping me was a pair of piercing blue eyes. I pulled the card out to see our new Centurion.

Reginald Clavis, Centurion.

First son of Senator Flavian Clavis and Corrinne Locke, he has held the post of Centurion for six years. He has several medals of commendation, and is highly respected within the upper ranks of the Legion. While he hasn’t attempted to wield much in the way of political power, he is expected to retain his father’s Senate seat when he finally retires from the Legion. Building strong relations is highly recommended.

Corrine Locke.

First wife of Senator Flavian Clavis, she has born him three sons and four daughters. Sister to Senator Alphonse Locke, she represents the mending of bridges and renewing of alliances between the Locke’s and the Clavis’. She is adept at flowing between political stations, and is the suspected power behind the rapid rise of the Clavis family through several lucrative merchant contracts. While it has never been officially connected to her, several families who have inadvertently insulted her have seen rather rapid declines in their fortune. If you must plot against her, never let her find out lest her vindictive streak be turned upon you.

My anger drained, replaced by confusion. I could tell Dorian was trying to tell me something, but I wasn’t able to put it together. Something about our Centurion and his mom, but beyond that I was drawing a blank and cursing my inability to remember political affiliations. Dorian was able to put it all together without even looking at the cards.

“Thanks.” Dorian said, “I’ll take it from here. While I go and return these, could you double check my trunk? I’ve already checked your stuff and cleared it for loading.”

“Sure thing.” I agreed, looking through his things. Unsurprisingly, everything was neatly packed and ready to go.

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

Sometime that night

“Brandon.” I woke up to someone whispering my name just outside of my ward. I slowly roused, realizing that it was Dorian about the third time he hissed. Sitting up, he gave me the signal to be silent and headed to a rear window in the barracks, sliding out it and into the night. Curious, I followed. We snuck through the training grounds, until we reached the back of the stock building. It was locked this late at night, but that wasn’t our plan apparently. Dorian turned when he reached the shadow in the corner of the wall, quite possibly one of the most secluded places in the grounds.

“Can you keep our talk silent?” He whispered, and I made a quick blood ward. It wouldn’t prevent all sounds from getting out, but so long as we stayed below an alarmed shout it would suffice.

“No shouting, but this should work for normal conversation.” I said, though I still kept my voice to a half whisper.

“Perfect.” Dorian nodded, looking around one last time. Satisfied we were alone, he asked, “So, how bad is the bastard treating you and have you put it together yet?”

“Well, I’m still acting as Decanus, though you are getting the extra pay for it.” I said, shaking my head when he went to apologize. “I know, it’s not your doing. I somehow managed to piss him off enough that he thinks he can demote me to probationary Legionnaire and keep me at half pay. We’ll see about that, as I already sent a letter off to Duke Cornick.”

“It’ll never get there, but good. You made the obvious move, and if you keep it up it will only reinforce his opinion that you aren’t able to move within the political landscape.” Dorian explained. “What you are missing is why he hates you, yes?”

“Yeah.”

“Family. His uncle is Senator Locke. I couldn’t leave that card out, as Reginald had his people walking through our barracks all day. A single card slightly out of place is fine, but too much would draw suspicion. Anyway, you remember the recruit that attacked you in the night?”

“How could I not?” I asked, absentmindedly rubbing a shoulder.

“Right. That recruit was Sean Locke. Third son of Senator Locke.”

“Oh sonofabitch.” I groaned, everything falling into place. “Let me guess. Reginald blames me for the death of his cousin.”

“Oh worse.” Dorian said. “Sean was supposed to be the family’s next Praefectus. With the backing of several Senate seats and help from within through his cousin, he was going to zealously lead the armies of light against the vampires, cleansing them from this world. That family has always placed devotion to the wings of the church above all.”

“And I ruined that by existing.” I finished.

“Exactly.” He nodded. “Welcome to the life of politics.”

“How are they going to intercept my mail though?” I asked, confused.

“Bribes.” He shrugged. “He’s a Centurion. What mail clerk would turn down a small bribe to make sure that he sees all outgoing mail from his own command before it is sent out? He has political connections, and can offer them help with their own promotions. Even a small favor from someone as big politically as the Clavis family can be huge. You should know, you’ve seen what the Duke was willing to do for you.”

“That’s true.” I said with a sigh. “Any chance that we could send the letter some other way? Where he can’t intercept it?”

“Not anymore.” Dorian smiled sadly. “I was hoping you would put it together and send the letter today, before we were completely cut off. That ship’s sailed now, so we have to work through it. I’ve talked to who I can in the group with political connections, but those count for precious little out in the field. What we can do is bear witness for you when the time comes.”

“Thanks. For all of that.” I said, touched. “I really appreciate it, but I doubt this guy is done being petty just yet. Pass along to the others that we will have to deal with it, but to let me take the brunt of it. If he knows he can get to me through the rest of the squad, he will.”

“Alright. Don’t be surprised if you receive extra help on your punishment details. And one more thing.” He said, getting incredibly serious. “We’ve talked about it before among the others, but it’s even more important now. Don’t worry if he tries to starve you. You have an entire squad of soldiers willing to donate their blood to keep you going.”

“I appreciate that. More than you know.” I said, wiping a tear from my eye. Getting an idea, I smiled. “Hey, speaking of blood. I think before we leave tomorrow, everyone should give me a drop of their blood. I can use it as a link, making sure everyone is ok and knowing where they are at.”

“Great. I’ll get everyone up a bit early then and have it set up. And we can find a way to get around Centurion Clavis. He obviously doesn’t realize just how strong we are together. We are Legion.”

“We are Legion.” I agreed with a smile. Feeling much better despite the bit of dread in my stomach, we silently snuck back into the barracks. Turns out we didn’t have to wait until morning to get a bit of blood from everyone, as they were all waiting on our return. With a shrug, Dorian explained the situation to the rest of the group as I started taking a small portion of their blood. By the end, everyone had agreed that the Centurion’s orders were to be followed to the letter and nothing more. Not only that, but we were going to be watching each other’s backs at all times. Even trips to the latrine would be done with partners. I had made my first political move, but I wasn’t aware how the deck was stacked against me and what rules were in play.