Marcus Cornelius Falco

Marcus Cornelius Falco was a Roman Tribune in Claudius's army when he conquered Great Britain in 43 AD. He became involved in the War Chief's plot to interfere with this historical event, helping a group of time travellers to foil the Renegade Time Lord, and possibly joining them as a companion to one or more of the benevolent Time Lords involved.
== Biography ==
Born in 20 AD in Cumae, Italy, Marcus was the heir of a "minor branch of the Roman Cornelian family". His father held administrative posts under Augustus and Tiberius, only to be killed as a supporter of the Praetorian Prefect Sejandus while Marcus was stil a boy. Falco's uncle, a military officer, pulled some strings to kickstart his nephew's career, getting him a posting as a tribune in the Second Legion during the 41 AD campaign in Germany, but he did not see "real military action" until the Roman conquest of Britain in 43 AD. In its course, he "distinguished himself" at the battle of the Medway River. (GAME: ) 
While assisting Legate Vespasian, whom he had come to see as a surrogate father figure of sorts, on a scouting mission ahead of the main body of the army, Falco and his men came upon the Sacred Wood. Vespasian insisted on personally leading a small party of men into it, where he was hypnotised and captured by the war god of the Sacred Wood, in actuality an incarnation of the War Chief. (GAME: ) Falco was left in command of the scouting cohort, which was quickly ambushed and mostly wiped out by a group of Britons actually under the War Chief's command. (GAME: )Lurking on the edges of the battlefield, Falco and his men witnessed the arrival of the TARDIS or TARDISes of one or more group of time travellers who had detected the energy signature of the War Chief's TARDIS and come to investigate. (GAME: ) The Time Lords may have included any of the the Third Doctor, the Colonel, and Leora, each accompanied by one or more of their companions. (GAME: ) Taking them prisoner, Falco was willing to trust that they were not spies, (GAME: , ) but insisted on having them accompany his men back to Claudius's main camp in an effort to warn him about the new, massing force of barbarians. The journey was long and arduous, and may have involved some members of the party being captured by further barbarian ambushes. (GAME: )
Eventually, the group made it to the camp, where, if Falco had not been among those captured, he was able to confirm that the strange travellers were not spies, and secure them an interview with the Emperor. However, due to internal politics of the camp, Claudius was not sure whether to believe their claims of a new army. He agreed to stay the advance for a day or two, however. (GAME: ) In the night, the camp was infiltrated by a group of would-be kidnappers under hypnotic control. Recognising some of his men among them, Falco realised the truth of the time-travellers' claim that the locus of the mystery was in the Sacred Wood, and helped them sneak away from the camp. (GAME: )
Though ambushed by the Britons, they did end up back at the Sacred Wood when the hypnotised barbarians opted to drop the prisoners there as tributes for their god the War Chief. Upon realising that there were members of his own kind among the party, the War Chief was eager to gloat, and explained the nature of his scheme, whose ultimate aim was to take control of the entire Roman Empire by capturing and hypnotising Claudius, then outfitting the brainwashed Roman army with laser pistols. (GAME: , , ) Dumped in a containment cell within the War Chief's TARDIS until it was time to brainwash them, the time-travellers managed to escape, possibly with the use of the non-brainwashed Briton Branimandua, (GAME: ) and the War Chief's plan was foiled when his hypnotic machines were destroyed, though he himself managed to escape. Vespasian was then safely returned to the Roman camp, allowing history to go back on track. (GAME: )
Subsequently, both Falco and Branimandua may have become a companion to any of the Time Lords involved. (GAME: ) Indeed, by one telling, after taking off in the Colonel's TARDIS, the Colonel and Leora realised that Falco had stowed away onboard. The Colonel was initially reluctant to let him stay on, intent on wiping his memory, but Leora convinced him otherwise with Falco's own help, with the Roman recounting the Sibyl's prophecy from when he was young, of which he believe TARDIS-travel to be the fulfillment. He had been assured that Vespasian's safety from this point on was a historical certainty, freeing him of his concern about his mentor. (GAME: )
== Physical appearance ==
Falco was a "small, handsome man" with dark hair and a "handsome" face that was rugged, but aristocratic. As a tribune, he wore "ornate, finely-crafted armour" including a breastplate, backplate, helmet, and greaves, as well as a red cape. (GAME: )
== Behind the scenes ==
The notes prefacing the "Non-Player Characters" section of The Legions of Death explained:
Due to the multiple-choice nature of The Legions of Deaths plot, not only is Branimandua and Falco's eventual graduation to companionship optional, but so is the identity of the Time Lord protagonist to whom they would become companions: any combination of the Third Doctor, the Colonel or Leora were available as possible Time Lord protagonists. Thus, each of Marcus or Branimandua may be considered a potential companion to all three including the Third Doctor, although the prose epilogue commits to Falco becoming a companion to the Colonel and Leora. 
Category:1st century individuals
Category:Human military officers
Category:Human time travellers
Category:Companions of the Colonel
Category:Companions of Leora
Category:Companions of the Third Doctor