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just transpired.  When he arrived, the Chief was in the middle of a staff meeting; Manius took a seat outside his office and waited for the room to clear.  While waiting, Manius had two thoughts on his mind: how to tell Lucia about his new assignment, and how to select the men and materials he would need in Sicily.
    An hour later, the meeting broke up, and Manius walked in.  The Chief did not even look up from his papers, so Manius announced himself.  “Good morning Sir, I am Praetor Manius Tullus, and I want to inform you about a meeting I just had with the Consul.”
    The Chief was the one who had scheduled the meeting, so, without looking up, he simply asked, “Did you accept the job?”
    “Yes I did, and I’m supposed to depart for Sicily in a week.”
    Stasius looked up, smiled broadly and said, “Good, I recommended you.  Welcome to Scipio’s Army.  I’ll have my staff make your travel arrangements.  Praetor, before you leave today, go see Tribune Velius.  He’s our Training Officer.  The two of you should work together.”  Stasius then looked back down at his papers and started reading, which signaled to Manius that the meeting was over.
    Manius walked down the hall until he saw a sign above a door that read, “Training.”  Once inside the room, he saw the walls were covered with charts, graphs, training schedules, and multiple lists of Legions.  No one paid any attention to him, so he said loudly, “Where can I find Tribune Velius?”
    One of the many busy clerks looked up and said, “Sir, he’s out right now, but should be back shortly.  Can I help you?”
    Manius sat down and said, “Yes, the Consul has appointed me to train the Legionaries in Sicily, and I want to know what training plans you may have already developed for them.”
    The clerk laughed politely and said, “Sir, I can answer that question.  We have done absolutely nothing.  We’re still moving in and getting organized.  We all thought we were going back to Spain.  This Sicily assignment came as a total surprise.  I don’t know what troops are down there or if we’re supposed to get any more Legions.”
    At that moment Velius walked in, spotted Manius, smiled, and walked over to him.  “Sir,” he said, “I am Tribune Velius, Scipio’s Training Officer.  Sorry to keep you waiting.  Welcome to my totally disorganized office.”  Manius laughed; he already liked Velius.
    “Tribune, your clerk just told me that the Consul’s Sicily assignment came as a surprise.”
    “It sure did,” said Velius.  “We all expected that he would resume his Command in Spain and then go into Africa to attack Carthage.  I understand he was more than disappointed.  The word is that there are several Senators who don’t like him for a variety of reasons.  The mutiny at Sucro didn’t help.  Some of them believe he is too lax and cares only about his own fame and personal career.  You know sir, the nail that sticks up gets pounded down level with the other nails.”
    “That’s politics in Rome,” replied Manius, who was ready to shift the topic of conversation.  “Velius, if you’re available I will come by tomorrow and talk about training the two Legions presently in Sicily and any others that may be assigned there.  If you have the space, I need an office and a few clerks to work with me while I’m here.  I leave in a week for Sicily.  Before I go, I want to develop an overall scheme of how we can cooperate in training these men.”
    “Yes sir, I’ll be here.  I’ll clear out one of these rooms and assign you two clerks.  A lot will depend on what training facilities are already in Sicily, and, of course, the physical condition of the men.  Come by anytime tomorrow.”
    “I hope you don’t feel I’m intruding on your staff responsibility?” asked Manius.
    “No sir, not at all.  You will be taking a big load off my shoulders, and I anticipate I’ll learn a few things.  Sir, you’ve got a great