The Eternal Empire

by Geoff Fabron

  "When the war broke out," she explained once they were seated, "we, the Women's Franchise Movement that is, decided to show that we could help to defend the Empire just as well any man."

  "To prove that you deserve the vote I suppose," interjected Cornelius.

  "That's very cynical," scolded Fulvia, "but absolutely true. Anyway, we organised and financed a number of field hospitals and provided volunteers to run them. Due to the manpower shortage caused by the recent defence cuts, the army was more than pleased to accept our little contribution."

  "And you, Fulvia Antoninius, decided to become a nurse!" said Cornelius incredulously. Somehow he could not see Fulvia emptying bedpans.

  "Good heavens no!" she exclaimed with a laugh. "I'm the administrator. My business skills are more appropriate to organising than to patching holes in soldiers. But what are you doing here? I assumed that you would be safely interned in Minden for the duration."

  "I managed to get out just before the fighting began," Cornelius replied simply. "Uncle Tiberius reactivated my commission."

  She gave him a penetrating look and Cornelius began to feel uncomfortable.

  "I know you Cornelius, there is more - tell me the full story," she said slowly and firmly. "All of it."

  "You're worse than my mother," he said with a combination of irritation and resignation.

  "I've known you almost as long," she replied with a smug smile, "and I'm a lot more nosey than she is as well as being more skilled in getting what I want from a man. Now tell me everything."

  Cornelius began from when he had left Fulvia at Colonia Agrippina. He told her of Katherine's discovery of the Saxon war plans and his futile attempt to alert Dikouros to the danger. Fulvia was impressed by the theft of the plans and Cornelius's trek across country back to the Empire, but was concerned about Katherine, realising the risks that she had taken.

  "So you left her bound and gagged to try and hide her involvement," she said as he finished, "sounds very melodramatic. I never knew you were so forceful with your girlfriends."

  "Fulvia!" exclaimed Cornelius in disapproval.

  "I'm sorry," she apologised, "that was very flippant. You must be very worried about her."

  "Yes I am," confirmed Cornelius, his eyes full of sadness.

  She took his hands in hers and squeezed them gently.

  "Oh my dear Cornelius," she said softly. "You really are in love."

  20th August 1920

  Britannia, near Deva

  It was close to midnight. Titus waited impatiently for the agreed signal.

  A light appeared from an abandoned farmhouse about half a mile away. It flashed three times, and a few moments later flashed twice more. Titus nodded to a young legionary and the soldier replied with his own torch.

  Five minutes later two figures in dark clothes approached. The small squad of legionaries that Titus had brought with him quickly surrounded the two men, their rifles at the ready.

  "Hello, Titus," said Sextus. "Thank you for coming."

  "Who's your companion?" asked Titus curtly.

  "Tribune Munius Burrus," replied the old soldier, "I served under your brother."

  Titus considered this and ordered his men to stand easy. They put up their weapons and withdrew a short distance from the three men.

  "Why did you send me that note," demanded Titus. "If the peregrini had intercepted it, I could have been in serious trouble. People have been shot for 'consorting with the enemy'."

  "I'm sorry about that," said Sextus, "but I had to speak to somebody that I could trust. It's vitally important that I get a letter to Gregory Nicerites at the capital."

  Titus regarded them coldly. "I'm listening."

  Sextus was struck by the change in Titus. He was no longer the carefree young man that he had last seen in Milan last December.

  "The Caledonians are planning to take over Britannia, once the imperial troops have been driven out," continued Sextus. After his first visit to Burrus, he had done some more discreet investigations and had uncovered more evidence, even though most of it was circumstantial, of Caledonian duplicity. Much of what he had found out indicated that Quintus Flaccus was in league with the northerners.

  "So?" said Titus after Sextus had finished. "What's that to us? You started all this with your rebellion."

  "It was that idiot Exanzenus and that fool of a governor Dalassenus who drove us to it!" Sextus snapped back angrily. "Nobody here wanted this stupid war!"

  "All right," conceded Titus, "but why this meeting. I'm sure it's not out of a desire to keep Constantinople informed of local affairs."

  Sextus pulled an envelope out from inside his jacket. "In here is a set of proposals for ending this rebellion and returning things to the status quo."

  "You mean as an integral part of the Empire?" asked Titus.

  "Yes, provided the conditions detailed in this letter are met, I believe that I can get the majority of the provincial leadership to agree."

  "The military supports this move," added Burrus. "We have no desire to be ruled by the Caledonians. If these terms are accepted then we'll join you in expelling those northern barbarians."

  Titus looked at the two men for a moment then he took the envelope from Sextus. "I'll make sure that this gets to Gregory as soon as possible, despite the channel being blocked there are still courier flights. I hope it has the effect you deswire, I'd rather have you fighting with me than against me. How will Gregory get word back to you?"

  This time the tribune took an envelope from inside his jacket.

  "This contains the name and address of a friend of mine in Deva. He knows how to cross the lines and to find me. You can trust him."

  Titus took this envelope as well and tucked it into one of the many pockets of his battledress.

  "I hope that Gregory can get them to see reason and bring an end to this tragedy," said Sextus as they parted.

  "So do I," agreed Titus, "but with Exenzenus still running things he'll have his work cut out."

  23rd August 1920

  Syria, 30 miles South of Hama

  General Strategicus stood up in the turret of his 'Raven' armoured motor carriage, much to the discomfort of his bodyguards in the vehicles following. They were only a few miles behind the advance units that were pursuing the fleeing Arab forces and the centurion in charge of the bodyguard did not consider this a safe place for the army commander. He had tried to remonstrate with the general on several occasions, but to no avail.

  "I understand your concern but I must be up at the front," he had told the worried centurion, "I need to push the men forward. We must keep the enemy off balance."

  The centurion reluctantly agreed. After all, there were no significant Arab forces left between Hama and Damascus.

  The Arab field army, 40,000 strong had placed itself squarely across the path of the imperial advance just north of Hama, confident of defeating the invaders. Strategicus had used two legions to hold the attention of the Arab troops while he had massed the cataphract regiments on his left. After a short, but fierce air and artillery bombardment, he launched the landships at the enemy. The Arab infantry had fled panic stricken at the advance of 300 armoured landships, and the armoured motor carriages regiments had pursued the routed troops to prevent them from reforming. The landships had then swung to the west to roll up the rest of the Arab army. Unable to deal with the imperial troops that appeared suddenly in their rear and with few weapons that were effective against the heavily armoured 'Bear' and 'Bison' landships, the Arab army had collapsed. Motorised infantry from the auxilia palatina had already blocked the road south to Hama forcing the Arab army back against the mountains. Unable to form a new line of defence, the Arab regiments had been overwhelmed one by one. Only 5,000 of the army had managed to escape capture by abandoning their heavy weapons and fleeing into the mountains.

  General Strategicus halted his vehicle to confer with a Decurion from a landship regiment that had stopped to refuel and rearm. A ragged cheer broke
out as the men recognised Strategicus.

  The Decurion saluted smartly, a broad grin splitting his dust caked face.

  "Greetings General, it's an honour to have you visit us."

  "The honour's all mine," Strategicus replied as he returned the salute. "You and your men have fought well. I'm proud to command you."

  The Decurion glowed at the praise.

  "How are things with your unit? Have you had heavy losses?"

  "Losses in battle have been light," replied the Decurion, "but breakdowns are a real problem. For every vehicle we lose to enemy forces we have to leave two behind for the workshops to collect and fix."

  Strategicus nodded in acknowledgement. "That seems to be a common complaint. We underestimated the wear and tear due to the pace of our operations. We'll have to increase the proportion of maintenance personnel and repair equipment in the combat units in future."

  The Decurion offered the general a drink from his canteen, which he gratefully accepted.

  "Will the Arabs surrender if we take Damascus, sir?"

  "I should think so," replied Strategicus, handing back the canteen and wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. "In fact I expect them to sue for peace well before we reach Damascus. The Caliph is not in a strong position and if he loses his capital he may lose his head as well."

  "What then, sir?"

  "Then we take a pleasant boat trip to Gaul and try out our new tactics on the Saxons," he answered jovially. "Then everybody will know the cost of making war on Rome."

  26th August 1920

  Minden, Saxony

  "The news from Syria has certainly caused a number of nobles to think twice about their support for the war," said Count Radisger to the small group assembled Frederick Maleric's Minden townhouse.

  "The 'war party' has been a lot quieter as well," added Count Dursloff. "Although they have proposed stripping the eastern frontier of troops to reinforce the army in Gaul!"

  The success of the imperial army in Syria and especially its unprecedented speed of advance had come as an unpleasant surprise to the Saxon council. Everyone knew that it was only a matter of time before the victorious army of Asia Minor made an appearance in the West.

  "All the more reason for us to act now!" said Frederick forcefully. "They promised a short war that would bring the Empire to the negotiating table on our terms. They have failed to destroy the Roman army on the Rhine and have not even reached Lutetia. Now they want to denude our borders with the Turks and the Rus!"

  There were nods and murmurs of agreement.

  "I agree," said Radisger, "unless the army can break through the Mosa River within the next few days, they never will. The Romans will only get stronger."

  "We must push for a cease-fire and begin negotiations whilst we are still in a strong position," agreed Dursloff.

  "They still have the civil war in the Balkans, which I believe is not going so well," pointed out Count Torgoneau, the deputy minister of foreign affairs. "Alexander will be keen to use the eastern troops against that usurper Monomachus."

  "Do you think that we can get enough support for a cease-fire?" interrupted Radisger, directing his question at Maleric.

  Frederick thought for a few moments, swiftly ticking off in his mind those members of the council that he believed would support a cease-fire. Eventually he shook his head.

  "No. I don't think so. Too many of the nobles threw in their lot with the 'war party' in the euphoria that followed the capture of the Eagle. While the army still holds out the possibility of victory, they are unlikely to support a call for a cease-fire."

  "What can we do?" asked Dursloff, "we can't just sit by while the military and the war party cripple the country and throw away the lives of thousands more of our people in their stupid war!"

  "We have a responsibility to the country," agreed Radisger. "We must cut our losses now."

  Frederick raised his hands to get everybody's attention. "You are right. As the most senior Counts in the kingdom we have a duty that goes beyond the pursuit of military glory and revenge for past defeats. If we can't stop the war immediately, then the least that we can do is to minimise its effect on the future of the country."

  "What do you propose?" queried Count Radisger.

  "We must keep the Eastern Regiments where they are. It will take several weeks for them to re-deploy all the way across Saxony to Gaul. It's unlikely that they will arrive in time to be of any use."

  "If we can't get support for a cease-fire, what makes you think that we will be able to block a move to reinforce the army?" asked Dursloff.

  "Because there are a great number of Counts who have estates in the east," explained Frederick. "The fear of Turkish or Rus raids across the border, let alone a full scale invasion should be enough to get their votes."

  There was general agreement on that, and everybody left soon after to start canvassing support amongst the other nobles in the council. Katherine, who had been listening surreptitiously from the room next door, came in and found her brother.

  "You did well Frederick," she said as he poured her a glass of the wine. "It's a shame that you couldn't go straight for a cease-fire."

  "That will come eventually Katherine," said Frederick, "but not before there has been a great deal more bloodshed and senseless loss of life."

  "How can people be so stupid?" asked Katherine, partly to herself.

  "They always have been, and probably always will be." Frederick looked sadly into his sister's face. "Despite all our technological achievements, we are no different now than they were a thousand years ago. I fear we are destined to repeat history until the entire planet is a funeral pyre."

  Chapter Seventeen

  27th August 1920

  Constantinople

  The emergency session of the imperial war council had been convened by Alexander, a sure sign of the increasing panic felt by the Emperor. The cause of Alexander's latest attack of anxiety was the news that Adrianople had fallen to the Moesian rebels and that the Pannonian legions coming to defend the capital had suffered a defeat near Naissus.

  Gregory had the proposals from Sextus Capito with him. He had received them the previous afternoon and had spent the evening going over them. All he had to do now was to work out how to get Exanzenus to agree to them.

  They all stood as Alexander entered and were surprised to see him being followed in by Stephanie Dikouros who was looking very pleased with herself. The Emperor took his seat and then ordered a servant to bring a chair for Stephanie. Gregory studied the Emperor while they waited for Stephanie to be seated. His eyes were flickering rapidly from face to face and he was fidgeting with his hands.

  "The troops supporting that traitor Monomachus have taken Adrianople!" he said with a tremor in his voice. "They're only 140 miles from here. What are you going to do about it?"

  Exanzenus answered. He was angry at Stephanie’s presence here and needed to take control of the situation in order to negate the influence that she had over Alexander.

  "We're all concerned about the rapid advance of the insurgents, your Majesty," he said smoothly. "The army command led me to believe that the Pannonian legions would have intercepted the mutineers well before they got this close to the capital." Exanzenus glared over at the generals on the council who shifted uncomfortably in their seats. They had not expected Monomachus to send only a third of his troops to hold up the Pannonian army while he made a dash for Constantinople with the rest.

  "That does not answer my question!" The Emperor's voice was louder now and he bunched his hands into fists. Stephanie put her hand on his arm and began to stoke it.

  "The legio II Thracia and most of the Praetorian Guard is at Tzurulum, your Majesty," interrupted General Probus, chief of the imperial staff. "We hope to hold them there until the Pannonian legions fight their way through."

  "Hope to hold them! Hope to!" shouted Alexander, "I don't want your wishful thinking general. I want those traitors crushed!"

  "With all d
ue respect your Majesty," continued the general, "we only have one under strength legion and the Praetorian Guard. We don't have the troops available to destroy them until the legions from Pannonia arrive."

  The Emperor grew more and more anxious, glancing around the room with a look of despair and Stephanie continued to stoke his arm soothingly whilst giving Exanzenus the occasional triumphant look. The council members began to talk quietly amongst themselves.

  Exanzenus knew that Stephanie was trying to discredit him in the eyes of the Emperor and that by focusing on his personal safety she could play upon his fears. He had to outmanoeuvre her.

  "We can destroy the rebels," said Exanzenus suddenly, silencing everyone in the room. He waited for a moment to be sure of everybody's attention. Stephanie eyed him suspiciously.

  "The army of Asia Minor is presently embarking on transports to be sent to Gaul. They can be easily diverted here and can be engaged against the Moesian traitors within a week. After their amazing victory over the Arabs in Syria I think that we can safely trust them to crush this threat to his Majesty's person."

  Most of the council members were stunned by the suggestion, but Alexander was delighted. His face lit up and he banged the table with his fist.

  "Yes! That's what we'll do. Thank you Exanzenus, what a brilliant idea. Organise it immediately."

  Gregory stood up. "Your Majesty!" he shouted to get attention. "Those troops have been promised to General Comnenus, they are needed to stop the Saxons overrunning Gaul. They're the only troops available to help them!"

  "What do you think is more important, Nicerites," snarled Exanzenus. "The capital and the Emperor, or a bunch of provinces that we can retake at will."

  "If we abandon the West it will split the Empire. If the West can't depend on us when they need us why should they remain loyal to Constantinople and a united Empire? This will bring out all the old animosities - East against West, Greek against Latin!"