The Eternal Empire (16 page)

"I'm always at the service of the
Emperor," said Sextus defensively.

"We're glad to hear that,"
said the second man, speaking for the first time.

"The recent disturbances,"
continued Mamertinius, "have brought evidence of a serious conspiracy to
our notice."

Conspiracy. Everything was a conspiracy
to these people thought Sextus bitterly. It was a convenient excuse that
allowed them to arrest and hold people without charge, to invade a person's
privacy and ruin the career of anyone that they suspected of treason. Or who
had annoyed someone of importance. It would not be the first time that the
peregrini had abused their position either for their own purposes or for
financial gain.

"There have been reports about a
lack of co-operation between the officials and auxiliaries of this province and
the legions," Mamertinius said, "our investigations have linked these
incidents to a subversive organisation whose aim is to undermine the
Empire."

"It's no crime to be a
Federalist," said Sextus, not sure what they were after, "they're a legally
recognised political party."

"We're not talking about the
Federalists," said Mamertinius pointedly, "but about a conspiracy
that would see this province secede from the Empire, and assist our enemies in
attacking us!"

"I've no knowledge of such a
conspiracy or of anybody with such sympathies," said Sextus forcefully,
which was not quite true. He knew of a number of provincial officials who had
remarked that Britannia would be better off without the interference of
Constantinople, but as for a conspiracy, that was too much!

"I'm sure that these traitors
would take pains to hide their treason from a loyal servant of the Emperor such
as yourself," commented the second man in such a way that it sounded like
a threat.

"Quite so," said Mamertinius,
"and the way that you can help us is with information. Evidence of unusual
purchases by auxiliary units, suspicious movements, political gatherings,
comments by senior officials about how good it would be if Britannia were to
become independent."

"If any of that information comes
my way I'll certainly get in touch with you," said Sextus desperate to get
them out of his office. To his relief they got up. Sextus rose with them and
saw them to the door.

As they were just about leave,
Mamertinius turned around and spoke quietly to Sextus.

"You may feel free to drop the
occasional word of support. It may just loosen a few traitorous tongues."

"Of course."

Sextus smiled weakly at the two
peregrini agents and closed the door behind them. He returned to his desk and
sat down. Despite the coolness of his office, Sextus was sweating.  He pondered
the visit and what it could mean for the future, his future. Crossing the
peregrini was not an action guaranteed to keep a person healthy, but to become
an informer for them was not something he could stomach. There was something
very wrong with a system in which a group like the peregrini could intimidate a
senior provincial official.

4th
March 1920

Minden,
Saxony

The officer finished his presentation,
and stood to one side of the maps and charts which covered one wall of the
conference room. The largest map showed the region of the Rhine frontier with a
number of bold blue arrows from Saxony across the river into the heart of the
imperial province of Gaul. The staff officer had put a great deal of work into
his plan and hoped that General Godisger would be impressed. Past presentations
by other officers had been verbally dissected by Godisger and this officer did
not relish the thought of being on the end of a similar, humiliating
experience.

Count Paulus Godisger stared at the
wall. Throughout the presentation he had sat expressionless at the rear of the
room. He did not take notes nor interrupt. Other officers asked a few
questions, but these were on technical points only. The full discussion of a
plan was only allowed once the presentation was complete. There was silence as
everyone waited for Godisger's comments. Nobody was going to either praise or
condemn the plan of their fellow staff officer until the Generals views were
known. Then they would congratulate the officer on a brilliant plan or join in
tearing him to pieces.

The General gave a small smile. The
presenter of the plan relaxed slightly.

"How much does Constantinople pay
you for proposing plans like these?"

The officers’ face paled. He started to
say something but it was incoherent and the General cut him off sharply.

"There is nothing new in this
plan" Godisger accused, "why should it succeed?"

The officer regained some of his
composure. He was ready for questions like this.

"This time we will be better
prepared," he said pointing to the charts to the left of the main map,
"our troops are better equipped and have more artillery. The establishment
of an army staff guarantees better co-ordination....."

"Nothing is guaranteed on the
battlefield!" interrupted Godisger. He rose from his seat and walked to
the front of the room. He pointed a finger accusingly at the charts on the
wall.

"Having well trained, well
equipped and well led troops does not win battles! It merely reduces the
chances of defeat," said Godisger. He stared at the other officers seated
in front of him, ignoring the presenter of the plan. "and don't forget
that despite all our efforts over the last thirty years the Romans are still
better trained than us." He saw that he had shocked some of the men before
him.

"Don't be idiots! Only a fool
underestimates his enemies. The Roman army is a tough, well trained fighting
machine, but it can be beaten." He turned to look scornfully at the map
behind him and the officer who had presented the plan, "but not with
uninspired, reworks of ideas that have failed before."

He turned back to face the rest of his
staff officers. He took up the parade ground stance he used when giving a
speech, and the rest of the room stirred in their seats in anticipation of what
he was about to say.

"Despite what I've said this plan
could succeed, but not at a cost we could afford! This plan will mean a war of
attrition, and we can't win such a war. The resources of the Empire are many
times greater than ours and eventually they'll overwhelm us. To win, we must
win quickly which means destroying the Roman armies along the Rhine and in the
west before reinforcements can arrive from the east. Then we will be in a position
to negotiate a favourable peace treaty."

Godisger paused to let his words sink
in. When he continued his voice was angry but slow and controlled. "I will
not watch another generation of young men go to their deaths because of
incompetent planning!"

The suppressed anger in their leaders’
voice made everyone in the room feel uneasy, but Godisger was not interested in
making them feel good. They were all well bred young nobles with a duty to
their country and their people. He would make sure that they treated the
soldiers under their command like their own sons or he would make sure that
they never commanded anything more important than the latrine detail.

He cast him eyes on an officer in the
second row. "Tribune Maleric," Godisger addressed him, "we'll
hear your presentation next week. I hope that it will show some more
imagination than today's one!

7th
March 1920

Tarraco,
Hispania

Rufius Gallicus and Leo Laetus made
their way to the strong point that commanded the road into Tarraco from
Dertosa. A full century of auxiliaries with a couple of hundred armed citizens
from the city were entrenched between the mountains and the sea. The road was
blocked by felled trees and barbed wire. Machine rifle nests covered the
approaches with overlapping fields of fire. Deep holes had been dug to hinder
armoured vehicles getting too close and the defenders were supported by a team
of mortars from the auxiliary cohorts’ heavy weapons century.

Gallicus and Laetus joined the
centurion at the forward positions. Other vehicles and troops were just visible
up the road. They had been there for two weeks and had not made any attempt to
force the road. Up in the hills, a similar situation existed as loyal troops
had come into contact with the Tarraco rebels. A few warning shots had been
exchanged and the opposing sides had dug in to face each other. Neither side
was keen to fight.

"Report, centurion?" demanded
Gallicus.

"They've been reinforced in the
last day, probably another cohort, possibly some artillery as well. One of the
outposts in the hills spotted what looks like a forward artillery observation
post being established."

Gallicus turned to Laetus.
"They're bringing more of the Legio VII Gemina in. The increased number of
aircraft we are seeing means that they have re-deployed the legions air
squadrons closer to us as well."

"And does that mean that they are
going to attack?" asked Laetus. The last few weeks had taken their toll on
Leo Laetus. He was looking tired and his confidence had been replaced by a fear
of the consequences of their rebellion. The initial euphoria following the
storming of the Governor’s mansion by the auxiliaries and the declaration of an
independent city state had been followed by a calmer reflection on the
probabilities of the long term survival of Tarraco as a separate entity. The
odds were not very good.

"Yes," said Gallicus,
"as soon as they're ready." He stared up the road and in his mind’s
eye looked beyond to where the legion would be camped. He had exercised with
the legions enough in the past twenty years to know what would happen when they
attacked. A heavy artillery bombardment followed by probing attacks along the
entire front, then an overwhelming assault at one point which would drive
through their defences. Once they had broken through, the lines would have to
be abandoned before they were taken in the rear and the city would then be open
to direct attack.

"What do you think governor Gallus
wants to see us about?" asked Laetus. A message had been delivered the
previous day under a flag of truce requesting a meeting with the city
leadership.

"Probably wants us to surrender
before there is any more bloodshed," replied Gallicus. The full city
council had discussed the option of surrender well into the night once they had
heard about the governor's request. Despite Gallicus and Laetus being prepared
to surrender themselves to face trial, the rest of the council had refused to
countenance any agreement that excluded a full pardon for all involved.

"You never know," smiled
Laetus, regaining some of his natural humour, "perhaps he wants to
surrender to us!” He looked at his friend and together they left the safety of
the sandbagged position. Gallicus collected a pole with a white sheet attached
from a soldier and the two men walked towards the governors troops.

It was still quite cold and there was a
breeze coming in off the sea. After they had gone about thirty yards, two men
left their positions and walked over to meet them. One of them was a centurion
from the legion and he was carrying a standard covered in white strips of
cloth. The other was Felix Gallus, the governor of the province of Hispania.

They stopped a few yards apart and the
Governor came forward alone to speak to Gallicus and Laetus. They exchanged
greetings and then got down to business.

"What do you want governor?"
asked Gallicus.

Felix Gallus looked at the two men
before him. When he spoke it was with sadness in his voice. "You can't
win. I think you know that. I want you to surrender and prevent the bloodshed and
destruction that will happen if I order an assault."

"What are your terms?" asked
Laetus warming to the conversation. Negotiating was his area of expertise.

"All those directly involved in
the death of Basil Diogenates and the declaration of independence must stand
trial," said the governor, "but there will be no mass persecution of
either the auxiliaries or the citizens who took up arms."

"No deal," said Laetus,
"we want a full pardon for all involved, and the right to choose our own
city governor."

Gallicus remained quiet and let Laetus
talk. He knew that his friend would extract the best deal for the city.

"I'm afraid that's
impossible," replied the governor, "a trial is required by law, but
the extenuating circumstances will count in your favour." The governor
continued trying to win them over. "If the reports are correct, Diogenates
behaved badly and illegally. This doesn't excuse your behaviour, but it will go
a long way towards mitigating any sentence."

"You're offering us nothing,"
stated Laetus, "come on Gallicus, let's get back to our lines, we've a
battle to prepare for." With that they turned and walked away. They had
only gone a few yards when the governor called out to them to wait. They turned
around as Felix Gallus came over to them, leaving the centurion behind.

"Listen," said the governor
quietly, "the Emperor will not allow a full pardon. He wants blood for the
death of his cousin. That means you two and the other centurions of the
auxiliary cohort. The rest can be pardoned; there is no evidence against them
anyway."