When In Rome… Meet Other Centurions

Having managed to acquire some Roman currency, the Doctor and Rory were now back in the market in search of Amy. The place was crowded and she was difficult to spot, even in her questionably-Roman outfit and not-very-Roman red hair.

"Why did we let her wander off without arranging to meet up?" Rory said agitatedly, but the Doctor waved an arm to calm him down.

"Don't worry, Rory. We'll find her, just as long as she hasn't left the Forum."

The pair of them paused in their journey through the market to once again cast a glance round for Amy or a stand she might have gone to. Rory's gaze happened to fall on three men wearing off-white tunics and he watched them as they walked past.

"Praetorians," he heard a voice say off to his left, and it took him a couple of moments longer to realise someone was talking to him. "Cushy lot," the voice continued, "They get twice the pay of normal legionaries for sitting on their arses all day and doing half the work. That is, until half of them decide to rise up and try to overthrow the Emperor, which makes them worse than just being soft and lazy and just makes them traitors. The ones that aren't… well some of them aren't bad, but they're not real soldiers, mate. Not like you or I."

Rory turned to the speaker to see a tough looking man quite a bit shorter and older than himself, but wearing the same military style clothing. Rory also noticed the rather large mark of an old bruise on the man's forehead, suggesting he'd been in a fight a few days ago.

"It's good to see a fellow legionary round here," the man said in a friendly tone, obviously having recognised the uniform Rory was wearing. "Not many of them for company here in the city. The name's Macro, centurion in the Fourth Cohort of the Second Legion."

"I'm Rory…nicus," Rory introduced himself, for a moment almost using his real, very non-Roman name. Then he decided to add a cohort and a legion too for the sake of authenticity. Really, there wasn't that much he had to make up. "Centurion in the First Cohort of the Ninth Legion."

"Between postings, I take it?"

"For now. I've just arrived from Britannia," Rory answered, playing along. The invasion of Britannia was actually some years before he'd started his stint as an immortal Roman auton, but it was as close to the truth as he was going to get.

Macro nodded. "Served there myself some years ago. Due to head back soon, actually, as soon as my orders come through. How was the campaign going when you left?"

Rory shrugged and bluffed his way through the answer. "Slowly."

Macro laughed. "So I'm told, but that's the first time I've heard it from an actual legionary. Not much for me to look forward to, then?"

"Not much," Rory replied, just as the Doctor noticed that Rory had stopped searching for Amy and was now engaged in conversation. He ambled over to join the pair of centurions.

"Rory, I see you've made a friend," he commented. "He's got a big fancy cloak like you. He's a centurion too then, I take it? Oh not another one, that's just what I need."

Macro gave the Doctor a funny look, perplexed by both his mannerisms and his strange choice of clothing. Rory quickly intervened. "Uh, yes, Doctor, this is Centurion Macro. Macro, this is my friend the Doctor."

Turning to Rory with a completely baffled expression, Macro looked like he might be about to say something that wouldn't come across too politely with the Time Lord, but the Doctor spoke first.

"Ah, hello, Centurion. It's a pleasure to meet you. I don't suppose you might be able to help us out here? You see, Rory's lost his wife."

"Lost your wife?" Macro said to Rory, seeming a little unsure as to whether he should take the Doctor seriously or if he was just a rambling madman.

"Oh, yes," Rory answered in a hurry to explain, "She's somewhere in the Forum. I promised to meet up with her but we can't find her. She's about my age, thin, with red hair and dressed in blue. Have you seen her?"

Macro looked thoughtful for a moment. "I do remember seeing a red-haired girl somewhere round here earlier. Reminded me of a girl I once met in Britannia, that's why I remember it, but I couldn't tell you where she is now."

Both Rory and the Doctor looked disappointed by that news. "Thanks anyway," Rory began to say, but Macro shrugged.

"I'll help you look for her if you like," he offered. "Right now I'll consider any legionary in Rome a friend of mine. Besides, you're probably the best company I'll have all day if that lad Cato doesn't snap out of his misery any time soon. Can't say I have plans to do much else."

After responding with enthusiastic thanks, Rory and the Doctor joined him as they went in search of Amy.

-oOo-

The three Praetorians that had passed Rory earlier reached the other side of the square, where a man dressed in a similar fashion was waiting for them. He looked back in the direction the three soldiers had come from, peering along the row of stalls and his eyes narrowing as his gaze fell upon the form of Guardsman Calidus. No, Centurion Macro, he corrected himself, remembering that Calidus had just been the false name Macro was going by while undercover in the Praetorian Guard. The centurion appeared to be in conversation with two other men; one of them a soldier, the other… well, he didn't know what to make of the peculiar way the man was dressed. Was he a slave? An entertainer? He wasn't sure. He just knew that perhaps these would be two other men he would have to keep an eye out for. Replacements for the executed traitors in the Praetorian Guard would be due to arrive in Rome soon, and there was a chance that Narcissus might try placing further spies among them. If these two men were talking to Macro, then it was possible that they were agents working for Narcissus too.

"Centurion Tigellinus?" one of the Praetorians addressed him. "What now? Are we going for a drink?"

Tigellinus turned to the lower-ranking guardsman. "Yes, Mercurius, we will be," he answered. "Let's try the River of Wine. I believe the barman is allowing Praetorians in again now."

Mercurius nodded and a content grin settled on his face, but Tigellinus' expression still showed a disgruntled scowl. He didn't actually much care for a drink at the moment, not after sighting his enemy, but he hoped that soon he would be presented with an opportunity to enact the vengeance he was owed on Macro and Cato. Since they were the only two people who could implicate him as part of the plot to kill the Emperor, he had to consider them a threat, even if Tigellinus was under the protection of the Imperial advisor Pallas, but he would prefer it if that threat were removed. The pair of legionaries-come-spies were due to leave Rome soon, but they weren't gone yet and while they were still here Tigellinus thought he ought to make the most of the opportunity to ensure they never left alive at all. It was the only way to guarantee his safety.

"Sir?" one of the Praetorians said, noticing his centurion's distracted look, but Tigellinus just brushed him off.

"Yes, I know. I'm coming," he said before turning to join the other soldiers, all the while thinking hard about how to deal with this dangerous situation and get rid of his enemies for good.

A/N: This will be continued, but I'm not completely sure where I'm going with it so I'll take a break there for now. It needs a bit more time for me to figure out exactly what happens next. I won't make the fic too long, but I thought it would be fun to write a few chapters about the TARDIS trio teaming up with Macro and Cato for a while, so watch this space.

Also, for those who haven't read the books, the redhead girl Macro met in Britannia happened to be Boudica :)

Historical note: The writers of Doctor Who messed up quite a lot when they had River pretend to be Cleopatra in Roman occupied Britain. Sure, it was quite funny, but when Julius Caesar attempted to invade Britain in 55 and 54 BC Cleopatra was fourteen years old, and when the Roman conquest of Britain actually happened in 43 AD she was long dead, so you may have to take Rory's personal timeline in this with a pinch of salt.