by Tanya Allan
Smiling and nodding at me, he withdrew. The door was locked behind him.
Iona crudely measured lengths of cloth against me, and then asked what kind of clothing she should make.
“I’m not sure the world is ready for the mini skirt yet, but it might be fun finding out,” I said.
She looked blankly at me.
“A short, one-piece tunic that comes down to just below the naughty bits; so a good hand’s length above the knee. That way we can keep out legs free to run or kick, depending on what’s required. Not too dissimilar to the soldiers’ kilts. We can always add leggings if it gets cold.”
That kept her busy for several hours. I rested, thinking. So far, so good; I was still alive and in the custody of someone I knew would take me to London and then to Rome.
I needed to be in London, but not as a slave or captive. I needed a degree of freedom to move freely in order to discover the enemy recruiting agent and training camp. Our agent had pulled out, unwilling to go back in, so I simply had the date of his death to aim for; so I had less than four weeks to work a miracle.
I had two disadvantages: one, they would be expecting the corps to send an agent, and two, I had no real idea of where or who I was looking for. I had two advantages: one, I was female, and they would not be looking for a female, and two, I was a real figure in history, so they would be looking for anonymous persons as would be standard operating procedure. I was not standard, in all sensed of the word.
Our clothing, when finished would win few prizes in Milan or Paris, but they were functional and more or less covered us. Most on the Roman males wandered around showing most of their legs, but women didn’t and wouldn’t until the 1960s.
For two days we were left alone. They fed us and provided water. Once a day, one of the criminals from down below came up under supervision and removed our waste bucket, returning it a few minutes later emptied and rinsed out.
On the third day the sun came out and the Roman garrison were activated into training drills. I watched their infantry train. It was fascinating, for given the restrictions of weapons and technology generally, their discipline was superb. Those in charge gave very few shouted orders, as everything was done to either drum beats or trumpet calls.
I had to admire their efficiency, so there was little wonder that the mighty Roman army had conquered the known world.
At midday, Gaius turned up when the food was brought to us.
“How do you fare?” he asked, as the spotty soldier placed the food on the floor.
“We’re fed and watered, but bored to death. What are you going to do with us?” I asked.
“The Tribune would interrogate you further to discover how it is you speak our tongue and can beat the finest man in the cohort.”
“For what end?” I asked.
“I think he believes he can profit by your skills in some way. He still smarts from your insults.”
“I never insulted him. I simply answered the questions and spoke the truth as I saw it. If he took hurt that’s his problem.”
“You talk like a soldier, and yet your appearance is disconcerting. You speak our language as well as the patricians in Rome, and yet you are as different to what they would have women be as you could get. Are you truly from these festering isles?”
“The inhabitants of these isles will eventually give the world an empire to rival and even surpass that of Rome. But you surmise correctly, I am not native born here.”
“Where are you from?”
I smiled.
“I am not from here and now, but as I am here and now, I will make the best of things.”
“You talk in riddles, woman,” he sounded cross.
“I do not mean to upset you, Gaius, but you would neither understand my answers nor know what questions to ask of me. Just accept that I am here, and you need never fear me, for I am not a threat to the Empire, or to you.”
He glanced at Iona.
“Who is this woman?”
“She is my friend and companion. I trust her with my life.”
“Is she from the same place as you?”
“No, neither was she born to the tribe that you faced. She was taken as a wife and is now a widow, courtesy of your recent action. She has nowhere else to be, so she has decided to stay with me.”
“Are you lovers?” he asked.
“And if we are?”
“I would say it would be a shame and a waste of two beautiful women, but I understand. In Rome, there are few hindrances to men who love men and women who love women. But being a woman is not like here, I think. Men like to feel they control all their daughters and wives. They might rule inside their homes, but in public life, women have no standing to speak of.”
“Even the empress?”
“An empress is only powerful while her husband grants her that freedom; it can be removed in a moment.”
“I am not an empress.”
“What are you?”
I met and held his stare.
“I am a soldier.”
He laughed, nodding.
“Yes, I can believe that. But as in all armies, there are those that lead and those that follow. I don’t see you as a follower.”
“All armies have generals and then those responsible for ensuring the generals’ commands are fulfilled and realised. Like you, I am one of those who do just that.”
“To which army do you belong?”
I smiled.
“That depends on where I am at the time.”
He laughed again, shaking his head this time.
“Pah, more riddles. Come, I will take you to my general.”
Gaius and two soldiers escorted me from the gaol and into a courtyard, where the two soldiers left. I was interested that my passage from there to here caused a great stir amongst the soldiers who saw us pass. Iona’s needlework was making its mark.
“Are you sure he will be safe enough with my hands free?” I teased.
Gaius simply grunted, as Tribune Gallinas put in an appearance in the courtyard.
“Remain, Gaius, if you would. I believe you might have some valuable comments to make,” he said, as he sat on one of the stone benches. He gestured to another, so Gaius sat, looking distinctly uncomfortable.
The Tribune was wearing a very plush white tunic with purple and gold trim, to denote his high rank. His quarters were luxurious compared to many that I had stayed in as a US Marine in the future.
He regarded me, taking in my short tunic-style dress.
“You look more presentable, but hardly the height of fashion. I doubt your clothes would be accepted in Rome.”
“I don’t wear clothes to be fashionable, but to be functional.”
He smirked.
“I would never doubt that. I have had time to consider you and your presence. I now need to decide what to do with you. What would you suggest, Gaius?”
Gaius started, taken by surprise.
“Well, she is not going to be of much value as a serving wench, so to sell her into slavery would probably end in tears, and not hers. She has displayed some keen combat skills that we might find useful. She obviously possesses some outstanding military leadership qualities, as the band of women were effectively recruited and trained within a few short weeks and yet gave us a run for our money. I would respectfully suggest that you consider giving her command of an auxiliary unit to augment our forces. I’d rather have her fighting on the same side than against me.”
I was surprised, as he had obviously given this some degree of thought. As I thought about what he said, it dawned on me that this was one of the Romans’ more enlightened policies. Often, after conquering a people, they would recruit their best surviving fighters into the Roman army as specialists. They would serve under a lengthy contract in lieu of tribute as a conquered people. Instead of paying Rome substantial sums for the joys of being defeated, the tribe or nation would simply provide soldiers to Rome for a lengthy period.
At the end of which, as be
fitting all soldiers of Rome, those who served their term would be made Roman citizens, so establishing and legitimising them within the Empire. Those who died in service would know their dependents would receive their citizenship and be relatively secure financially.
The Tribune considered this for a few moments.
“I had a similar thought, but I had also thought of the circus.”
“I agree, she would make an outstanding gladiator, but consider this, sir. Do you want her skills on public display for all to see, or would you rather they were retained and put to use for the glory of the empire?”
I saw Gaius in a new light. This was not simply a hardened warrior, but also an intelligent thinker. He might lack the family connections or the wealth to rise up the system. If ability was the key, then he would surpass Gallinas by a long way.
He was giving Gallinas the means by which he could propel himself further up the chain of command.
“Good point, Gaius, an excellent point; I had not fully considered that. I would, however, be loathe to grant her too much freedom, for I am not convinced I could trust her loyalty.”
I decided to have my say at this point.
“It is rude to talk about me as I am standing here listening. Where I am from, women and men are equal in all aspects of society, and yet I have to stand, wearing crude clothing and stinking of the prison you keep me in, while you sit and talk about me. If you wish to know what use I might be, why not ask me?”
“You are no longer where you come from, wherever that might be. This is part of the Roman Empire, and women do as they are told.”
“Then you, my dear Tribune, have a lot to learn about good management techniques.”
“You think that you will win favour by insulting me?” he asked, going red in the face.
“I am not insulting you. If I were to actually insult you, you would be exceptionally angry and probably asking this man to kill me on your behalf. I am merely pointing out your shortcomings, as it is quite clear that few people entrusted with your education have ever done such a thing in the past.”
He stared at me for a moment, clearly unsure how to take both me and what I said.
To give him due credit, he remained calm.
“What gives you the right to tell me my shortcomings?”
“You have assumed the right of being the lord of life and death over people who know nothing of Rome or your emperor, so by the same power I claim the right to speak my mind. Bear in mind that although I appear to be a member of the female sex, I am more than a match for any man. Indeed, I have forgotten more about the art of fighting than you have ever learned.”
He sat for a moment, regarding me and frowning. Then he pointed to one of the benches.
“Sit, woman, and convince me of your merits.”
It was a heavy stone bench, probably having remained in that one place ever since frost placed there some time ago now. I lifted it and carried it closer to where he and Gaius sat, dropping it and sitting down.
Both men stared at me with expressions something akin to awe.
“Your soldiers are fine for set pieces and strategic action against armies and bands of ill-disciplined warriors in the field. They are completely unable to deal with a guerrilla style of warfare. Your legion was attacked by a band of warriors, which caused some considerable damage and certainly lost you your captives. What action would you have taken against the settlement when you would have reached it?”
“I’d have raised it to the ground and taken those not slaughtered into captivity,” he answered without hesitation.
I smiled, shaking my head.
“Spoken like a true Roman commander. By taking punitive action against civilian and non-military targets after sneak attacks by unidentifiable persons, all you will succeed in doing is alienate the populace and instil the seeds of rebellion and hatred. Even if you take those survivors into captivity, the feelings of resentment and hatred will only fester and brew until, given the opportunity, revenge would be swift and terrible. It would probably end up being against some innocent person who had no knowledge of the original atrocity. To get the most from any occupation, even if initially initiated by force of arms, is to become invaluable to the people, who have amazingly short memories when supplied with a better standard of living than previous administrations.
“The Roman Empire succeeds where others have failed by a positive approach to the assimilation of other cultures into the Imperial way of life. Religions are not stamped out, but simply absorbed and brought in alongside the existing Parthenon of deities. Look at your approach to the new religion in Palestine. By allowing the Jews the freedom to execute their alleged Messiah, this new faith has started to spread. By making it illegal and forcing it underground, it will continue to flourish and grow in both strength and numbers. I guarantee that as soon as one of your Emperors adopts the new Christian religion as the legitimate religion of the Roman Empire, then its strength and appeal will falter and it will become another political machine within the empire. Indeed, I foresee that the Empire will fall, but it will continue under the guise of a Roman Church with the Emperor changing his role to that of a spiritual leader and calling himself Pope. It will transform the faith into one of the strongest political organisations on the planet, dominating people’s lives across national boundaries on every continent.
“You do the same with languages, customs and festivals; as all are respected and permitted, as long as they are consistent with what already exists. If one people group worships the god of the sun, then they are permitted to continue and simply allow the name of the god to be another name of the existing deity.
“In military matters, you have a vast infantry machine that is highly disciplined and trained to face a myriad of military scenarios. You use cavalry as an auxiliary force, which is fine in open plan battlefield situations, but you rely too much on the set-piece scenarios. Here, in these isles, you face diverse tribes that are not unified or cohesive as a military force. You have three disadvantages. One is the climate. The next is the topography of a forested land with few open spaces and lastly the fact that they know the terrain and you don’t. These disadvantages are outstripped by the Imperial Roman military machine you possess. By assimilating a few tribes at a time, you already have a large following of tribes that have been turned. Some by force of arms, but others have seen the benefits of being allies. When you break a dominant tribe that has subjugated other smaller tribes, these tribes automatically see that you are an ally, and this is confirmed by the advanced civilisation you represent. Why be a savage painted in woad when you can live in a proper house with central heating and benefit from the protection that Rome offers?”
The Tribune said nothing, but raised his head to allow me to continue.
“My women warriors were successful because of three factors: one, you were not expecting an attack, two, the attack came at night when you were unable to identify who was friend and who was foe, and three, we did not hang about and wait for your military machine to swing into action. We struck fast and light, causing major disruption and confusion while we could. After that, we never attacked, except for small harries against your supplies and the fringes of the column that was unable to respond to our greater agility and speed.
“Imagine that as you advance into unknown territory and as your columns are vulnerable, you deploy an extra unit whose task is to secure the flanks and the area to the front for a good measure so that ambush and sneak attacks are not possible. Take that one step further; this advance unit is trained to undertake searches to contact the enemy and then swings into action. Its primary function is reconnoitre, and the secondary function is to strike but not as a large and lumbering machine, but as a snake - fast and deadly, causing maximum confusion and disruption to the enemy to allow the main column to prepare for the battle proper.
“This unit would be as content on horseback as on foot, whether in open country, in the forest, or even a town or settlement. The key to this u
nit is a system of rapid communications to feedback up-to-the-minute intelligence. In daylight, this could be done by shiny metal using the sun’s rays to reflect a simple coded message, when dull or at night, then either a flag system, with two flags depicting different letters or by flashing lights, doing the same.
“Light, self-sufficient and armed with the right equipment, a commander in the field would be furnished with the latest intelligence and would know exactly where the enemy is long before the enemy knows where you are. The last advantage is that by using local people, giving them the usual rights and privileges of any other soldier of Rome; you will bring on-side their dependents and friends. This will simply add more allies to your cause, and that can only have a positive effect on the administration of this part of the Empire.”
Gallinas blinked a few times, but said nothing. He glanced then at his trusted commander. It was Gaius who responded first.
“What she says makes a lot of good sense,” he said, nodding.
Gallinas’ eyes narrowed.
“How much would it cost?” he asked, showing that he was a politician first and a soldier a very poor second.
“The recruits would come free; either from existing troops, or through local recruitment that would be undertaken in any case. There is a training and equipment factor, and then you will have to pay them. The rewards would be reaped when you sustain lower casualties, swifter campaigns and greater booty and more avenues to trade,” I said, appealing to his more mercenary side.
“They could all be women?”
“Not necessarily, as many soldiers currently serving might volunteer to transfer to the unit. I can work with both men and women. But, can you imagine the reactions of those in Rome when word gets back of a female cohort that is as brave and as lethal as the finest cohort in your legion?”
He obviously could, for he started to smile. I glanced at Gaius and our eyes met. He was smiling too, but quite grimly. He was also nodding at me, which I took as a good sign.
“You would swear an oath of loyalty to me?” Gallinas said.
“I would swear an oath firstly to Rome, and then as my commander of the moment, to you, yes. But, as you know, commanders come and they go,” I said, leaving the statement open.
