Jack Whyte - The Skystone

"Well said, Tonius. " Caius spoke softly into the silence. "You will find no dissenters from your viewpoint here, I think. But I have to remind you that you are a general of the armies of Britain and bound by holy oath to maintain that status. That opinion of yours places you squarely in conflict of interest. "

"Not so!" Cicero sat forward, the intensity of his feelings obvious in every line of him. "Not so, Caius. Not at all. I am a general of Britain, true. Commander of a military district. For how long, God alone knows, since imperial favour is as fickle as it ever was. I may have been replaced since I came here, but, by God Himself, as long as I hold the rank and the privilege, I will direct all of my energies to the care of my responsibilities, which are all things military and civil within my jurisdiction. I will discharge my duties fairly and to the best of my abilities according to the ancient laws of Rome, which are the only laws I believe in. And my duty is to maintain the Pax Romana in my district and in this land. Nowhere else!" He stared around at each of us.

"You all heard Varo speak of the army appointing a new emperor. It would not be the first time, but this time it may be the last. I have heard talk that the army in Spain has done just that. One of their generals. I forget his name. If it's true, he'll have to fight for his title, and he'll be up against many another with ambitions the same as his. That is what makes the Empire's case so hopeless. It has become a matter of the conquest of the strongest, for the good of himself!" He had everyone's attention as he went on.

"You have all heard me clearly, I think. This island of ours is still an island of peace. But I know that there are some here in Britain who would like to see an emperor of Rome who lived right here. And, to an extent, I can agree with that. But only to a clearly defined extent. Where any man tries to set himself up as emperor of Rome from Britain, he will find himself in conflict with me. For that is treason. Rome has an emperor —

three of the swine, in fact, all appointed and anointed by due process.

"But if, on the other hand, I should hear news of upstart emperors appearing as if by magic from the ranks of the armies in other lands, usurpers who would claw like vultures for the carcass of the world, then, on that day, I would rule in favour of establishing a just government on Roman, Republican lines to govern Britain. But Britain alone! Not the world. A government in Britain, for Britain, with a Senate for the governance of law, according to the Republican standards of our ancestors. "

"Bravo, Antonius Cicero! If such a day comes in our lifetime, you will have my support in your rebellion. " Caius leaned towards him. "But what will you do about the other possibility?"

"What other possibility?"

"The possibility that the emperor might go unchallenged? And that there will come a day when all the armies of all the far-flung outposts are recalled to Rome, on orders of the emperor himself, to defend the Motherland?" Caius continued to speak into the silence he had inspired.

"It has to happen, my friends. We have starved the whole world to feed the maw of the Mob that Tonius spoke of. Now the world is full of angry people with no room to live, with no food to eat. And all of them can see that whatever they lack, Rome seems to hold. They want their share now. They see it as their right. Their sons have died for Rome, died by the million, down the centuries. By the million! And those that did not die went home as trained soldiers of Rome. These people know the Roman legions are a myth today. We all know it. We simply will not admit it. " Varo interrupted. "Caius, Caius! You exaggerate to prove your point, I think. It can't be all that bad! Listening to you, I can almost hear the screams of savages coming to burn this house! You argue for effect. Admit it. "

"No!" The denial was emphatic. "Not true, Quintus. I am not exaggerating. There are only a few outposts of the Empire where the legions still retain some real strength, and they exist almost by accident. Tonius will agree with me. " Cicero nodded his assent as Caius went on.

"This island is one of them, because people like us — like you, like Varrus, like me — are kept away from the seat of power, from Rome and from Constantinople. Men like us are too prickly, Quintus, too unbending for Rome today. We offend their sensibilities just as surely as they offend ours. So we, and others like us, remain in the outposts and maintain our forces. And we, Quintus, and those others like us, are the last hope Rome has. "

Caius turned to Cicero again. "When the crisis comes, Tonius, and it will — when the Roman homeland itself is about to be invaded — our legions will be recalled to the defence. " He paused to let that sink in.

"What will you do then?"

"I'll resign. " It was a deep-throated growl, an unusual sound from his aristocratic throat.

Caius smiled. "No, Tonius, you won't be allowed to. That would be treason. Direct refusal to obey an imperial command. Instant death. " Cicero flared again. "Better to die that way than march my men into Hades for a cause I have no faith in, and then watch them slaughtered!" He paused and cleared his throat and spat into the fire. "Anyway, " he went on, "it's not going to happen. At least not tomorrow, or the day after. I know for a fact that the Supreme Command is getting itself into an uproar. We're going to be seeing an upgrading of military values and spirit right across the world. For a while, at least. You mark my words: anybody trying to blunt the beak of the Eagle in future is going to be in for some rude surprises. "

"Is that official? What's going on?" I asked him. He looked at me and grunted. "Yes, you could say it's official. Official enough. Recruitment is on the increase all over, and the old standards are supposedly being revived and revised. Valentinian commissioned a study of the military a few years ago. It was done by some fellow called... I forget his name, but I've read his book. Pretty good. Nothing new in it, of course. But it praises the way things used to be done — the old ways. "

"Of Military Matters. " Caius's voice was quiet. "Flavius Vegetius Renatus. I read it and enjoyed it. Is it going to do any good, do you think?"

"Required reading now for all officers. It's been accepted, if not as a training manual, then at least as the official text on weapons, methods and tactics. "

"Good. Will it mean a return to armed camps?"

"Armed camps?" Tonius laughed scoffingly. "Hardly! You ask for miracles, Caius! Armed camps! We are far too civilized nowadays for that kind of nonsense! Our poor soldiers couldn't handle it. "

"They handled it in my command. "

"Ah, Caius! But you were a martinet. You were that crazed whoreson Britannicus whose men were all possessed by evil spirits, so that they behaved like machines instead of men! Nowadays our blasted officers are too afraid of mutiny to insist on discipline. Can you believe that? Roman officers afraid of their own men!"

I was inspecting the faces around the circle of firelight. They betrayed a wide range of reactions to what was being said by the two speakers, but every one of them was rapt, totally taken up by the discussion. Now Caius sighed aloud. "Aye, I believe it, Tonius. I have seen it. So you think this grand new spirit is doomed?"

"Of course it's doomed. You said yourself, the rot is too far gone. It'll have an effect for a few years, I suppose. Perhaps ten, maybe even twenty, although I doubt it. But it cannot last. There is nothing to sustain it. All I can hope for is honourable retirement in the meantime. " He stopped talking and gazed into the embers again. The fire was almost out. I saw Caius look around him at his guests. Without exception, they wore expressions of gloom and despondency.