STRENGTH AND HONOR -- Caesar's Gambit

It is 10 AD. Micah Antonius Equinus was the Prefect of auxiliary cavalry in the XVII Legion; that is, before the legion ceased to exist. He and a few of his personal staff were some of the very few survivors of the Teutoburg Forest Massacre in the late autumn of the year 9. This represented the worst defeat of Roman forces since Crassus lead six legions to destruction in Parthia 60 years before. Augustus was upset.
As the senior surviving officer of the debacle, it was Micah who brought the detailed news of the loss of three entire legions and the suicide of their general, Publius Varus, to Rome and the Emperor Augustus.
Prefect Equinus’ unanticipated ‘reward’ is promotion to tribune of the first class, and, with his body slave Lucius, to be hustled out of town without ceremony. Both had expected much worse. Bearers of ill tidings are rarely well received.
As bad as Teutoburg is however, Caesar has other problems, most notably in the eastern province of Egypt, breadbasket of Rome. He needs a man of strength and honor to deal with the situation. Micah is that man.
Strength and Honor is a story of treachery and loyalty, brutality and kindness, murder and salvation set against the backdrop of Roman Egypt where anything can and does happen.