The Eternal Empire (32 page)

18th
July 1920

Lactodorum,
Britannia

Titus ducked instinctively as the
bullet struck the wall behind him. Bloody sniper, he thought as he looked
carefully over the rubble. For the past three days Titus had led a battlegroup
of the legio II Augusta fighting from street to street and house to house. He
hadn't come up against any of the foreign volunteers yet, Lactodorum being
defended by a force of local militia and auxiliaries. They knew the city well
and were tough to shift.

He heard a noise off to his left and
Titus and the squad of legionaries with him turned weapons at the ready.

"Don't shoot!" said Virius,
as he scrambled over a broken-down wall landing up next to Titus. "Unless
you want my job that is."

"What, and miss all this
fun!" they both flinched as another bullet ricocheted off the brickwork.
"Anyway, what are you doing here Virius? You should be back at
headquarters deciding where you can get us killed next."

"I like to get out in the fresh
air when I can," answered Virius taking his friends teasing in his stride,
"besides I like to deliver good news personally."

"Oh yes," said Titus
sarcastically, "what is it this time. Lead a frontal assault on a
Caledonian landship in my best toga?"

"No, we've been relieved."

Titus was silent and looked at his
friend in disbelief.

"If you're joking Virius Primus, I
will stick this handgun up your arse and blow your brains out."

"No Titus, it's true. The legio IV
Macedonian will finish off Lactodorum and push on to Venonae. We're to return
to Isca to rest, reorganise and refit."

The two men had changed since the
fighting had started. Titus had lost much of his easy going nature. Constantly
surrounded by death and risking his life everyday he had become cynical and
hard. Ironically Virius, who had been regarded as quite reactionary before the
rebellion and had been one of the first to call for the use of force had
mellowed considerably. Coming face to face with the realities of war had made
him believe that there had to be a better way.

Titus smiled, and Virius could see a
few tears clearing a path through the dirt and grime on his checks. "Yes,
Virius," he said choking back his emotions, "that is good news. We've
been fighting for too long, and we've lost too many good people."

The smile on Titus face disappeared as
a question formed in his mind. "The legio IV Macedonian? What are they
doing here? They weren't part of the original relief force."

"New reinforcements have arrived,
large detachments from the First Trajana and Thirteenth Gemina as well as the
Fourth Macedonian, complete with armour, artillery and aircraft," answered
Virius, "Constantinople is reacting to these foreign volunteers and
mercenaries. If this goes on much longer the entire Rhine army will be
here!"

19th
July 1920

Minden,
Saxony

Cornelius went over the intelligence
reports for the hundredth time. He had the feeling that he was missing
something - that hidden in data before him was something that the Saxons were
trying to keep secret.

The phone on Cornelius desk rang,
breaking his concentration. Normally he hated being disturbed while he was
trying to solve a problem but as he had been going around in circles for hours
the incessant ringing came as a welcome break.

"Cornelius Petronius," he
answered formally as he picked up the ear piece.

"Cornelius, it's Katherine, I must
see you. Now."

There was a note of desperation in her
voice.

"What's wrong Katherine?" 

"I can't tell you over the
telephone but I must see you now. Please Cornelius, as soon as you can!"
The urgency in her voice was growing.

"All right Katherine, I'll
come," he said, keeping his voice calm and hoping that it would have a
soothing effect on her. "Where shall I meet you?"

"I'll pick you up at the embassy,
at the side gate by the river in half an hour." She sounded more composed
now.

"That'll be fine," Cornelius
replied, "I'll see you then."

The line went dead and he replaced the
ear piece on its cradle on the side of the telephone. Swiftly Cornelius cleared
the papers on his desk and locked the secret intelligence reports away. He
wondered what could have happened to unsettle Katherine so much. Cornelius had
never known her sound so agitated.

Leaving his office he informed the duty
orderly that he was meeting a 'confidential source'. This raised a few eyebrows
from the centurions of the intelligence section who knew that the acting head
of military intelligence was not a 'field man', but they just looked at each
other and shrugged their shoulders. After all he was in charge, so he could do
what he wanted.

Katherine did not say anything when he
got into her motor carriage. In response to his first questions she told him to
wait until they were out of town and drove off. Throughout the trip she said
nothing, but Cornelius could see a conflicting set of emotions fighting for
control over her features as she sped out of the city at her usual breakneck
speed. Determination, fear, anger and sadness all registered on her face during
the drive into the countryside outside the Saxon capital.

They stopped at a deserted picnic spot
along the roadside and Katherine switched off the engine. She sat for a few
moments holding the steering wheel tightly and staring out of the windscreen.
Cornelius had hardly taken his eyes off her since leaving Minden, and despite
his need to know what was wrong he waited until she was ready to speak.

"There's going to be a war,"
she said finally, not looking at Cornelius. "I overheard Franz and the
others planning it at the lodge."

"It was probably just a plan
Katherine," said Cornelius, "remember it's their job as staff
officers to prepare for all eventualities and war is..."

"No Cornelius! It's not 'just
another plan', it's for real. The uprising in Britannia is part of it!"

That got his attention. "What do
you mean," he asked. "What does the fighting in Britannia have to do
with this?"

"They want to draw your troops
away from the Rhine frontier before they attack. They'll be cut off in
Britannia and unable to get back." She went on to explain how she had
overheard Franz and the others in the study below her room.

Cornelius listened with mounting
concern. When she had finished he had a dozen questions but only one that was
really important.

"Why are you telling me this
Katherine?"

She looked directly into his eyes and
spoke slowly and deliberately, "Franz said that surprise is all important.
If you, the Romans that is, were forewarned then they would have to cancel the
attack. I want to stop them Cornelius, I want to prevent a war, that's why I'm
telling you. I want you to warn them so that the attack will be called off. So
that there will not be a war." Her voice had become dry and tears formed
in her eyes. "There are enough people dying in Britannia. I don't want to
see another generation of widows and orphans in Saxony."

Cornelius took her in his arms and held
her tight. She was risking everything by telling him this. She would be
regarded as a traitor and her family connections would not save her from the
executioners axe. But he could understand her reasons and came to a decision
quickly. He gently pushed her away until he could look at her, his hands gently
cupping her face.

"I'll contact the Rhine army head
quarters immediately," he told her, "but I won't put you in any
danger. I will not reveal the source of my information and you're not to talk
to anyone else about this. It's to remain between us."

Katherine nodded and then gave him an
envelope. "I wrote down everything I heard. You must stop them
Cornelius."

"Take me back and drop me
somewhere quiet," he instructed her as he took the envelope, "contact
me in a week and I'll let you know what's happening. I don't think that we
should be seen together."

She nodded her agreement, started the
motor carriage and drove him back to Minden. There was a park about half a mile
from the embassy where they used to go for walks and she dropped him off there.
Before getting out of the vehicle Cornelius leaned over and kissed her.

"I love you Katherine," he
said and quickly got out.

Silently she watched him walk briskly
away along a path that led out of the park towards the river. "I love you
too," she whispered.

Back in his office Cornelius studied
Katherine's notes, cross referencing the information she had written down with
the data from his intelligence sources. There was nothing that contradicted
what Katherine had discovered and plenty that supported the Saxon assistance of
the rebels in Britannia, but Cornelius could find nothing significant to
substantiate a Saxon invasion of the Empire.

Suddenly Cornelius realised what it was
that he had been missing. He had been looking for activities that indicated
what the Saxons were up to, whereas it was their absence that was significant.
The Saxons should be preparing to attack.  Given the bad relations between the
two nations, no Saxon government would miss an opportunity to at least put
pressure on the Empire especially with a province in revolt. Why were they
providing so much support for the rebels across the sea whilst doing nothing
here? The mere threat of a Saxon mobilisation would have prevented the transfer
of many of the imperial troops now fighting in Britannia. Unless that was what
they actually wanted.

‘They have fooled us,’ thought
Cornelius bitterly, angry at himself for missing what in hindsight now seemed
obvious. He called the orderly from the office next door and a young soldier
came in immediately.

"When is the next courier leaving
for Colonia Agrippina?" he asked him curtly. The orderly was taken aback
by Cornelius's uncharacteristic abruptness, but replied promptly.

"This evening sir. He's booked on
the seven o'clock train."

Cornelius looked at the clock on the
wall. He had just over three hours.

"Tell him to wait for an important
document from me. He's not to leave without it. Do you understand?"

"Yes Cornelius Petronius,"
answered the orderly, still a bit shaken by the tone and manner of his
superior, "I shall see to it immediately." He saluted and left.

Cornelius took a clean piece of paper
and began to write. He put down all the facts and details from Katherine's
notes together with his own analysis and information, but carefully omitted
anything that could be used to trace it back to her. Once he had finished he
burnt all the papers that Katherine had passed to him.

21st
July 1920

Augusta
Treverorum

Cornelius sent Katherine's information
to the military intelligence section of the Rhine army. It reached Augusta
Treverorum the following afternoon and was delivered to the desk of Silvanus
Anemas, but he only opened and read it the next day. Silvanus Anemas had a
great deal of respect for Cornelius and the threat of an impending attack by
the Saxons was not something that he could ignore. After studying the report
and checking its facts against his own sources he went straight to the office
of Manual Dikouros and demanded to see the army commander immediately.

When the intelligence officer arrived,
Manual Dikouros was about to leave for an inspection of the legio IV
Macedonian. A group of senior officers from the Praetorian Guard were due for a
visit and Dikouros had selected this legion to parade in their honour. Most of
the legion had just been detached to join the fighting in Britannia, but there
would be enough left to put on an impressive display for his visitors from
Constantinople.

The demand to see him immediately,
rather than make an appointment irritated Dikouros. He liked to review the
service file of an officer before a meeting. Dikouros would gauge how important
and well connected the officer was and then decide how he would treat them. He
had not got where he was by making enemies of junior but influential officers.

Silvanus Anemas informed Dikouros of
the report from Saxony warning that an attack on the Empire was imminent. As he
spoke he watched the colour drain from the generals’ face.

Dikouros was scared. Not by the thought
of hordes of Saxons pouring across the frontier or by the natural fear of any
soldier facing the uncertainties of battle. Manual Dikouros had no intention of
being anywhere near the front lines in a war so the physical dangers did not
figure highly on his list of concerns. What worried Dikouros was that he had
just told Exanzenus that there was no danger of a Saxon attack and that the
transfer of more troops to Britannia had not unduly weakened the Rhine
defences. Being wrong and found to be wrong was right at the top of Dikouros's
list of things to be avoided.