That evening, while sitting in his own quarters and staring out the window, Octavius went over the confrontation in his head. There had been fear in the man's eyes, which meant there was a chance of being able to break through to him. But there was also still hatred, which wouldn't be as easily overcome. Another good sign was that he hadn't attacked Octavius, even though he had a clear chance to. But there was something else that troubled him so. The man had been coughing. Could it be another outbreak….?

But before he could think more on the topic, there was a loud explosion from the east side of the fortress, and then a flurry of feet and yelling. Octavius quickly rose to his feet, just as Marcus burst in, breathless and forgetting the proper salute. But that didn't matter much anyways.

"Sir!" Marcus said breathlessly, panting and slightly leaning against the doorframe. "Attack on the eastern wall Sir!"

"Find Tribune Placidus and tell him to alert the trumpeters. They are to sound Forma-Ad signa. I will gather the men closest men to the breached area and we will hold them back until backup is ready.""

"Yes Sir!"

Quickly, Octavius buckled his helmet and swung on his cape, gathering up his sword and rushing toward the eastern rampart. Up ahead, he could see smoke rising from the wall, and heard the screams and shouted orders from the soldiers as they prepared for the next attack. Looking at the carnage he could tell it was an artillery strike from the cowboy's exploding sticks, and ran forwards to inspect the destruction.

"S-Sir…" Came a weak voice suddenly.

Octavius looked down to see one of the soldiers on the ground, his almond colored eyes glazed and scared. The general crouched down beside him, and looked over the damage. There was a deep gash in his right arm from a piece of debris, and his left leg was terribly mangled below the knee, causing Octavius to cringe. He had been right in the blast radius.

"All is okay, Quintus. We will get you out of here in no time." Octavius said reassuringly. Then, off to his left, he saw two men running towards them, and made an urgent gesture for help. "Severus, Caius, take him to Lucius. When you have done that, round up as many men as you can and get the wounded to safety."

"And...the dead, Sir?" Caius asked.

Octavius stiffened. "There are dead?"

"Yes, Sir." Severus said solemnly, bowing his head.

Octavius let out a sorrowful sigh, and rubbed his face tiredly. There was nothing he hated more than losing good men. "Move them out of they way. We shall hold a formal burial ceremony when this is through."

"Yes Sir."

Watching as the two men carried the third between them, Octavius turned and ran up the rampart steps to the path overlooking the other side of the wall. Here and there men were helping each other up, those injured who could walk making their way to the hospital bay, those unable to were carried off by their comrades on stretchers. Upon closer inspection the damage was worse than he had originally thought, and the severity of the situation was worrying. A large gaping hole had been blown in the side of the stone wall, and rubble had been tossed up everywhere. The dust had settled now, and it had also become clear that a few of the barrack buildings that were near the wall had been destroyed. Luckily, Octavius thought to himself, no one was off duty yet.

"Sir," Came Marcus' voice at his shoulder. Octavius turned and nodded for him to continue. I only brought half the legion, Sir. I left the others to defend the main and back entrances, Sir."

"Good." Octavius replied, crossing his arms and staring out across the field of golden grass that seemed to glow in the light of the setting sun. He then yelled up to one of the men higher up in the signal tower. "Are there any sign of them?"

"No, Sir!" Was the shouted reply. "Whoever lit the explosives have left Sir. We think it was two of the enemy, Sir. We have seen no other signs of invasion, Sir."

"Okay. Marcus, have the men on high alert. No, wait, they need rest. Okay. Divide up the men into groups and assign watch times. We shall change watch every hour. Do not assign men who are wounded or down with the fever."

"Yes Sir!" And Marcus was off.

Octavius sighed quietly, and stood for a while longer staring out at the expanse below him. As he sat there, watching the wind roll the grass like waves, he wondered if perhaps the attack had been an attempt to free the cowboy's leader. It seemed likely, as they had shown they were eager to get their men back. Octavius would have been willing to do a prisoner swap, but none of the Romans who had been captured or missing in action had been seen or heard from. And when cowboy prisoners were questioned, they said they had answered to the law and received their just punishments. But it was very angering.

Later that evening, with the third watch of the night sounding, Octavius found himself wandering towards the prison block, tiredness and weariness in his steps as he walked forwards. He didn't know why he was going there, just that his feet were leading him forwards, and decided not to fight it, and just go with it. He walked through the entrance, nodding to the guards as he passed, oblivious to their questioning gazes. He stopped before the door to the very last cell in the back, and after exchanging a low voiced command with the century, slowly pushed open the door, stepping in and closing it behind him.

As it was last time, the room was dark and silent, and the curtains were still drawn tightly over the window, not that there was enough sunlight to light the room anyways. He saw the prisoner sitting on the cot, staring at him with curious, though as usual very guarded eyes. Wearily, Octavius once again sat on the small chest, and sighed quietly as he sat staring at the floor. There was an awkward silence, and then he spoke.

"I...hope I am not bothering you," He said, glancing up for a moment to stare at the man.

The man shook his head, and leaned against the wall with his arms crossed, and his hat almost covering his eyes. "Not like there's anythin' 'ta interrupt me from." He said cooly.

There was silence again, and Octavius cleared his throat before speaking again. "You are wondering what the commotion was?" He asked, waiting patiently for a reply.

The man chuckled slightly, in a mirthless tone, and shook his head. "My rescue party, no doubt. Though I'm sue they didn't make it through, now did they?"

"No, they did not. It was only two men with an explosion. They got away."

The man sighed. "Didn't 'spect them 'ta make it through anyhow."

"Um, may I ask you a question?" Octavius asked suddenly, startling the cowboy.

"I...'spose so..." The cowboy replied, glancing up at him quickly.

"Men- good men -have gone missing in action. They have not been found. Not even dead, and have not been seen or heard from. Every time I offer a prisoner exchange to your people they always decline. Why? And where are our soldiers?"

For a moment the man hesitated, and Octavius could see the fear in his eyes as he tried to figure out what to say.

"Um, well, you see…" The man began, gulping slightly. What was he so afraid of? "W-We have a…a...a law system an'...well, they had 'ta pay fer their crimes an'...war is, it's a pretty major crime an' well...they were all...well...sentenced 'ta...well...in a, a way ya might better understand it-"

"No." Octavius said, shaking his head in a tired, weary manor. "I understand already."

Silence immediately followed, and Octavius thought he could see a faint glimmer of shame, and even regret, in the eyes of the man who sat opposite him.

"I...I don't like it, that form'a punishment. 'Specially since they didn't even get a fair trial." There was a moment's pause before the man continued. "But I ain't got jurisdiction in terms'a punishment. 'Sall up 'ta the government. I'm just the guy in charge of the men. I'm...I'm honestly really...really...sorry."

That was it. He'd done it. The general Octavius had broken through to the prisoner. "It is alright. I cannot blame you for what your empire does. I understand, the being next to powerless when it comes to one's people. I, for one, am unable to provide everything my men need. If they need something, I must consult the Senate before we get it. It is a tough life, for us leaders."

"Yeah. It is."

Another bout of silence fell, and then Octavius stood and yawned, rubbing his head as it was rather irritating, and turned again to the man. "I am afraid I must leave now…"

"Huh? Oh, of course uh, yeah. Umm, thanks I...guess fer...fer the company, I 'spose."

"You are...um, quite welcome. Is...is there anything you need?" Backing towards the door.

"No. I'm fine. Safe night, I guess." The man said, smiling apologetically.

"Thank you. And may yours be just as safe." With a nod of goodbye Octavius opened the door and went to leave, then stopped, and turned back to the man. "If you need anything, just ask the guard for Octavius, and I shall provide what I can."

"Thanks."

And with that, Octavius turned, and left for his own room, longing for a long night of rest, and wondering for the first time the name of the man in which he had captured.