Scaevola's Triumph (Gaius Claudius Scaevola trilogy Book 3) (37 page)

"I think," his opponent said at last, after some thought, "that we can analyse these exercises exhaustively, but they are just that, and −"

"Your comment on that much?" General Slaben interrupted and stared at Gaius.

"Exercises have value," Gaius answered carefully. How could he be diplomatic, yet still promote himself? "It is true that actions in the field are a more reliable indicator, but the exercises do give an indication of what might follow."

"You wish to comment?" General Slaben asked, nodding at his opponent.

"I think there's a better indicator," Gaius' opponent said. He looked towards the General and said, "You are shortly going to lead a raid on the Ligra system. The question is, do you really want this Claudius in command of your escort, watching your back?"

The General looked a little stunned, then answered simply, "Put it like that, the answer's yes, which means this meeting's over."

"But you can't . . ." his stunned opponent began.

"Oh, yes I can," Slaben nodded. "I have terminated the meeting. Everybody will now leave, except you." Gaius watched with interest as the others immediately deferred to Slaben, and began gathering up their notes. He had clearly been the most important Ulsian at that meeting. Slaben turned towards Gaius and said, "As you may have gathered, our General Staff have decided that some sort of action is required." Slaben noted that the rest were ready so he then stood, paused and returned salutes from the other Ulsians. Another Staff Officer took Gaius' stunned opponent by the arm when he had refused to stand, and he then escorted him from the room.

As Slaben had stood to take the salute, so had Gaius. Slaben now indicated he should be seated, then he continued, "Shortly I am going to lead a raid on a planet that used to be considered as a significant Ulsian colony, and which has the largest factory outside Ulse for manufacturing the motors for our advanced ships. The first objective is to deprive the enemy of the ability to make new ships this close to Ulse. Secondary objectives are to destroy enemy ships so that we can retreat if we have to, attempt to incite resistance amongst the Ulsians living there, and if the opportunity arises, to take the system."

"They seem to be sensible objectives," Gaius said. A pause followed.

"I have read the files on your training," Slaben continued. "You all appear to be at least adequate pilots."

"Thank you," Gaius said. "Soon we hope to improve a little."

"You needn't worry about that," Slaben smiled. "The ships really fly themselves. Can you teach some of the elements of fighting to your women?"

"I believe so," Gaius said. He had to be careful. It was important not to overdo it, because the results would be verified, but it almost looked as if he might get his chance to burn up some centuries.

"Then the question is," the General continued, "are you prepared to command the escort, and will your family be prepared to go as well?"

"I suppose in principle I have to ask the other two," Gaius said carefully, "but yes, in answer to your question, we shall go."

"Then we shall adapt battleships for each of you," the General said. "You shall each train for at least two weeks, then you must be ready to embark. We shall upgrade what you term your Tin Man, provide the two women with equivalents, and they will also fly ships. The women will have tasks that do not over-extend their fighting abilities, and remember, technically if they don't know what to do, all they have to do is say, "Shoot what you can!" The ships always do the actual fighting, but they have to know when to, and what priorities have been set. You should concentrate on meeting your other senior officers, and arrange for any tactical agreements you may need. You can assume that anything you want to do will be able to be done, as long as those under you understand what you mean."

"I won't know the pilots," Gaius said, "but I need scouts. How do I −"

"That is done by machine," the general nodded. "You will be instructed in these standard operational details, and then you may add what you wish. Colonel Klendor will be appointed to aid you."

"Suppose I want to do something that the ships can't do?" Gaius asked. "I know a lot of Ulsians will say I don't understand enough physics, say, and −"

"Your ship will tell you," Slaben smiled, "and don't worry about knowledge. You will be no worse than many, and better than most. The ships take care of all that sort of thing." He paused, then asked, "Are you afraid the Ulsians won't follow you?"

"It will be my job to ensure that they follow," Gaius said, "although I suppose there is the problem that they may not recognize my rank, and −"

"They will recognize the rank," Slaben said, "because the appointment is mine, which means the orders are mine. You will, however, have to earn respect."

"I know that," Gaius replied. "I have never failed so far, although I admit that I have never commanded Ulsians before. That is just one of many things I must address before we leave."

"There are certain social rights that Ulsians have that you should not block," Slaben said slowly. "They have certain off-duty rights and −"

"It is not my intention to intervene in any off-duty activity," Gaius interrupted. "My command policy has always been, the men can do what they like, as long as they turn up sober when it is time for action, and do not do damage to local civilians."

"You can leave that sort of thing to your more junior officers," Slaben smiled, "but I am pleased that . . . er . . ."

"You haven't accidentally got yourself some stuck-up prat that thinks he's God's gift to the military," Gaius smiled.

"I didn't think it could get that bad with you," Slaben nodded, "but it's good to hear you're aware of the problem."

"Most armies have them," Gaius shrugged, "but they're usually sorted out in early engagements."

"We should get together later on," Slaben said, "after you get some idea as to what you've let yourself in for, but in the meantime, one more point. When you take to the field, as you seem to put it, leave your more junior officers some operational latitude to achieve an objective in a better way, that is, leave some tactical flexibility at the level of the group."

"It is not my intention to be overly prescriptive," Gaius replied, "but if I order a group to attack with so many ships on a specified flank, I don't expect them to form a committee and discuss options."

"That, I promise, will not happen," Slaben smiled. "Military life is quite different from civilian life."

"There's one thing that puzzles me, and that is why you want me?"

"You don't think it was because you won that test?" Slaben smiled.

"No, I don't. You don't select a top commander that way, and there must be other choices beside that last Ulsian."

"The choice was made by others," Slaben nodded. "This was merely my opportunity to object, and it was difficult to find grounds after that performance."

"Then perhaps I should reassure you, I won't let you down."

"Oddly enough," Slaben replied, "that is one of the very few things I am reasonably confident about this expedition. We shall meet again in two weeks to see what needs doing." With that, he stood up, returned Gaius' salute, and left the room.

Chapter 29

Gaius had informed the women of the offer. They had discussed the opportunity and agreed to go many times, however this time, as Gaius pointed out, the issue was different. Before it had all been abstract, but this time it was for real.

"We have to go," Lucilla said calmly. "We've been over this so many times."

"Yes," Gaius said, "and each time you've thought of it as a great big adventure. It isn't. In war people get killed, they get maimed . . ."

"That hasn't stopped you," Lucilla pointed out.

"Maybe there were no alternatives for a Roman man of my class," Gaius said, "and maybe . . . "

"There were choices, and you know it," Lucilla said. "You know how many of the rich families bought a pardon from military service?"

"And were derided for it," Gaius pointed out. "And it wasn't as if our family was, shall we say, strongly endeared by Tiberius."

"You could have got away with it," Lucilla said. "Quintus did."

"I don't think you quite realize why Tiberius summoned us to Capraea," Gaius shook his head. "Mother and father were terrified. They mightn't have shown it, but they thought that was the end of us."

"Yes," Lucilla continued, "but you didn't tell Tiberius you wanted to join the army just to save the family. You told Tiberius in the hope that Tiberius would help you."

"There's some truth to that," Gaius nodded, "but it was my duty."

"And in a sense, this's our duty," Lucilla concluded. "In any case, we can't stay behind."

"I could still decline," Gaius said simply.

"And we'd all sit in this room for the rest of our lives, moaning and grizzling at each other," Lucilla snorted. "Some option."

"You'd still have your plays, you'd −"

"No, we wouldn't," Lucilla said, "unless someone writes more. We've run through the available texts, and Timothy's better memories. The last one we did is about a third improvised."

"Nobody else knows that," Gaius pointed out.

"Perhaps," Lucilla countered, "but there are no more with even the basic plot and scenes outlined. We'd be bored stiff."

"You could get killed, you know,"

"I know," Lucilla said, "but I'm going to die sooner or later anyway. At least this way I get something more out of life than looking at these walls and wandering aimlessly around this city."

"And what about you?" Gaius asked, looking at Vipsania. "You haven't said much."

"I don't think I want to go to war," she said simply, "but I agree with Lucilla. I certainly don't want to sit around here, quietly going mad. On top of that . . ." She paused.

"Yes?"

"You'd be unbearable."

"No, I wouldn't, and you mustn't −"

"Yes you would," Vipsania said emphatically. "You couldn't help yourself. The Ulsians'd be continually moaning about defeats, and you'd be moaning about their incompetence, and how we stopped you −"

"No, I mean it. I won't hold it against you if we stay."

"Yes, you will," Vipsania said firmly. "I know you better than you do yourself on this. You may not actually say anything, but you'll look it."

"Gaius," Lucilla said, taking his arm. "We're going, like it or not. Don't make it any harder for Vipsania."

Gaius looked at the two of them, then nodded. It was probably true, he reflected later, that if he had stayed, he would have regretted it, because he could never fulfil that prophecy. And the odd thing, he realized, was that if Quintus were here, Lucilla would have stayed, and that would put intolerable pressure on Vipsania. But they were going, so there were things to arrange.

* * *

The next few days were hectic. All their property was catalogued, and their most valued treasures were to be taken to their ships, while the rest was to be secreted away in some great storehouse. When they returned, their apartment would be exactly as they left it, so they were told. "Provided they could find it," Lucilla muttered.

The women were then given a reasonable amount of free time, while Gaius was required to attend a continual sequence of staff meetings. He himself called meetings with the senior officers of the warships under his command. The fleet, as was standard procedure, would be divided into groups of squadrons, and, as was expected, the deployment of groups was under his direct control. His first move, however, was to appoint four of what he called tribunes, to command super groups, and also to establish a sequence of command in case he was killed or disabled. He then discussed the setting of parameters for independent action: it may be necessary at times for a squadron or a group to act against an unanticipated enemy force, but there had to be procedures. When he said that, he was worried whether the soldiers would protest at the way he was going about things, but to his surprise, he had their attention. Procedures were very understandable, and it appeared that Ulsians would feel lost if given too much latitude for action. If it were imperative to act because they would be destroyed if they did not, or if an opportunity would be lost if they failed, then the commander on the spot could act, but it was imperative that suitable messages be sent back up the command chain. If it were not immediately imperative to act, then the information should be sent to the relevant level of command. The response from the Ulsians left him in little doubt that it would be a remarkable situation that led to independent action.

He then told them that he wished where possible to fight with concentrated forces in preset formations. Accordingly, all commanders would now spend time playing preset scenarios, in order to get familiarized with certain tactics. He was pleasantly surprised to find that the Ulsians were extremely pleased to do this, and it was helping him gain their respect. He would keep an eye on progress, but for much of the time he would be elsewhere, since he had a sequence of further meetings to attend. He had wondered what the troops would think of his only being at their exercises occasionally, but to his surprise there were no problems. Attending meetings was what Ulsians did, after all.

The second group of meetings was with the commanders of the transporters. There was a command difficulty here because in principle there were two commands. He was responsible for getting them in the vicinity of the objective, and if attacked by enemy warships, they must obey his orders, but once landing procedures were commenced, they were responsible only to General Slaben. Somewhere in between there was a grey zone. This infuriated Gaius, however he was only too well aware that Slaben would be the overall commander, so he had to accept this. So he spent most of his time at these meetings pointing out that none of his orders would pertain to the actual invasion. On the other hand, if the invasion was proceeding and General Slaben was fully occupied with that, and enemy warships turned up, as long as it did not affect the landings, he would give recommendations and the transporter commanders must immediately let him know what their response would be. Hopefully, this problem would not arise.