The Aliens were looking for a few good fighters, warriors who could be brave without blasters, and content with shields of bronze . . .

What they got were Romans . . .

Gaius Vibulenas: From a raw kid, he became an accomplished soldier -- and a leader of men.

Quartilla: She was everything a man could want -- you would never guess she wasn't human.

Pompilius Niger: He learned young that the worst dangers a soldier faces come from those who give him his orders.

Clodius Afer: A veteran, he didn't ask questions -- until his alien masters forced the answers on him.

The aliens knew that in these primitives they possessed the finest low-tech soldiers in the galaxy. What they did not understand was the madness of enslaving a Roman legion and leaving them with swords in their hands.