The waters settle and the battle with the raiders concluded. Officer Verius Tiberius Julianus began to inspect the cargo ship his trireme had engaged in combat. Upon inspecting the raided ships, Tiberius discovered a cowering Aegyptian youth hiding behind earthen vessels below decks. Tiberius surveyed the youth and determined he must have been one of the ship's original crew, for his dress was fine and hygiene well kept for a boy at sea. Like all educated Romans, Tiberius knew enough Greek to ask the boy several questions. He was most interested in determining if the boy would be a threat and if he had knowledge of further pirate activity. As he concluded his questioning, he ordered the men to take the boy to Praetor Sextus Valens Verus for further questioning. He then went to his tent to write a brief note to accompany the boy:

"Praetor Verus,
Upon inspection of one of the plundered ships I discovered this boy who claims to be the son of this merchant fleet's captain. When the battle began his father hid him below deck so as not to be harmed. When I questioned him about the preceding happenings, he said the morning before last the merchants had discovered a fleet of no less than 40 vessels traveling northward on their horizon. The merchant ships swiftly attempted to sail away from the large fleet to avoid detection. However, by this morning, a small portion of that pirate fleet followed and attacked them. These are the men who murdered the sailors and whom we engaged in combat. From my knowledge of the boy, he appears to be speaking the truth and his words require immediate action.
Officer Verius Tiberius Julianus
Commander of Trireme Maximus"

The officer then dispatched a small boat to row to the Praetor's Flag Ship. Once onboard the message was given to Praetor S. Valens Verus. Upon reading the scroll Valens directed one of his ships to transport the youth back to Rome, coming from an obvious wealthy Aegyptian Family, this boy just may be a pawn for the Emperor's dealings with Aegyptus. The Praetor then sent orders to Officer V. Tiberius Julianus to take a group consisting of the Trireme Maximus and twenty Cypriot Trireme back to Crete, regroup with the twenty Cypriot Trireme already headed to Crete, then make a mass sweep all forty-one warships of the waters east of Cyprus to the shores of the eastern Mediterranean, destroying any and every pirate vessel encountered.

***Onboard the Trireme Maximus***

As the sun set low and red on the horizon and the decks still tinged red by the blood spilt, the patrolling fleet of Roman and Cypriot warships moved toward the shore. The Triremes and galley-line warships were beached for the night, according to typical practice.

In his tent on the shore, Verius Tiberius Julianus sat in the dim lamplight writing in his small journal. Today his entry was concerned with the day's engagement:

"Though we search the sea for piracy, we have yet to see the great pirate fleets of story tales. The tales of home speak of massive fleets destroying Asian and Aegyptian Armadas. These fleets consisted of dozens of ships, sometimes carrying great treasures. In our search, we have found one young boy who has successfully avoided the grasps of this formidable nemesis. However, his words were not comforting. He has seen these great foes who plague the Cilician coast attacking from their hidden strongholds. Their numbers are vast and their ships well equipped. His words, however, required more skilled evaluation.

Today, we have only seen a taste of what is to come, a small group of bandits who had little expectation of a clash with the great Roman Naval initiative to purge the sea of their kind. Though our forces had the advantage, this was a great victory towards our control of the great sea. Though the battle was clearly one-sided, it was my first opportunity to see the men in action. They have done well today, proving themselves not only capable in the face of combat but superior to the majority of the flotilla. Their abilities at rowing are surpassed by few other ships. Even the Cypriot commanders have since committed on the veteran-like skill, but they are equally masterful in their swordsmanship having decimated the foe cutting them down like dry stalks of wheat. I only wish my men will be able to continue to show their honor, courage, and ability in the future battles for Roman supremacy of Mare Nostrum."

The sky and been twilight for some time now, when a flash of lightning lit the sky. A storm was fast approaching.

***Onboard the Flag Ship***

In the morning, Praetor Valens departed with his fleet to the shores of Thracia. He had great confidence in the abilities of Officer V. Tiberius Julianus to command. Now, he waited to see if it would pay off. For eight days, Valens and his vessels sailed along the cost of Asia Minor. On several occasions they encountered small pirate flotillas; on every occasion, the criminals were brought to justice. The Romans recovered some items from the pirate ships: ebony, ivory carvings, glass, textiles, spices, Aeqyptus linen. Then on the eighth day, after an hour long battle at see with nine pirate vessels (mostly manned by Assyrians) they recovered a small group of Asian merchant vessels that had been raided by the pirates. Valens embarked on the largest ships and saw gold, armor, weapons, and shield. Clearly, this vessel had been sailing under the standard of the Asian Kingdom! Valens ordered his Trireme Commanders to follow him... It was time to return to Rome and inform the Emperor.

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By: Verius Tiberius Julianus and Sextus Valens Verus
AD 31