At the governor’s office Labienus is met by one of the cadets in Hirtius’ staff.

“I am sorry, sir, Hirtius is on a tour of his provinces. You might consider using Caesar’s Couriers to get a hold of him, or you could try and catch him up,” said the young soldier.

“Where is he headed?” asked Titus, knowing that this Contubernalis would likely know exactly who was, and why he might want to know.

“He is en route to Gades.”

“Alright…” said Labienus, scowling as he thought..when did he not have a grumpy demeanor? A bit out of the way, but not unexpected. Hirtius had always been a very efficient person, or Ceasar would never have kept him. It would be a month before he got any sort of response, if got one at all, from Cornelia Metella. He couldn’t honestly say one way or the other on that score, he could only expect that it would be based on her apparent sense and her position. Bah! To have to work with a woman as a main ally was galling.

On the other hand, a man was a fool not to respect if not utilize the influence of women in the highest eschelones of Rome, for an assortment of reasons. One only need look at Ceasar’s Aunt Julia, his mother Aurelia, and Servilia Capionis; three entirely different women, yet women who radiated power and were the grease upon which Rome slid forward. Even were she the silliest sort such as Pompeia Sulla, she would still have influence, if only because through her tea parties she would introduce her children to other children where the friendships and the alliances of the future would form. Nor would her comments on the other children go unnoticed by the Paterfamilias. Where Cornelia Metella sat exactly in this scheme, he didn’t know, and that would of course dictate her reaction to him. His assessment of her told him she would end up like an Aurelia or Servilia, though still young, and her birth promised a network that was second to no one.

So Labienus was fair enough to accept his actions as simply those required by the facts of life. Things could be far worse, and he was not one to waste time over what was, versus what must be. Men like Ceasar liked to use men like Labienus for their characteristics, then piss on them as a reward. Well, Caesar didn’t know what it was like to live between a Pompey and a Ceasar, and then try and be their own person. It meant one had to display a degree of ruthlessness that in time was reflected in a rather sour character.

Labienus recognized the contubernalis was expecting something more.

“ Did he leave an approximation of his planned route? He might be choosing to review a number of things along the way.”
To you GM