The Eternal Empire (13 page)

"Fellow workers!" Laetus had
a deep voice and it carried well across the square. "We've come here
today, to deliver a message to our noble governor, and that message is NO WAGE
CUTS!"

The crowd took up the war cry. "NO
CUTS! NO CUTS!"

Laetus waited for the chants to subside
before continuing. "We demand that the governor call a meeting of the
commercial council to discuss the unilateral changes to the people’s
wages."

Other activists took their cue to start
a new chant. "WE WANT THE GOVERNOR! WE WANT THE GOVERNOR!" The crowd
loyally took up the cry, with Leo Laetus leading them.

Once he was happy that the crowd would
continue the chanting without him. Laetus stepped down from the make shift
platform and flanked by two other radical officials walked across to where the
auxiliaries had been waiting, their rifles at rest but with short swords fixed.
The tribune in charge of the auxiliary cohort stepped forward with two of his
junior officers to meet the three men.

"That was a short speech for you
Leo," said the tribune amiably. Laetus smiled back and shook the soldiers
hand.

"Short and to the point,
Rufius." Laetus replied. Like Leo Laetus, Rufius Gallicus had been born
and breed in Tarraco, and despite being on opposite sides during the regular
outbreaks of industrial conflict that had plagued the area, they had developed
a friendly, working relationship. They respected the role that the other
performed in the city and worked to ensure that emotionally charged situations
did not get out of hand.

"Is our great and illustrious
governor at home today?" enquired Laetus, "If he is, please inform
him that a delegation from the radical party, representing the workers of the
factories and mines of this great city would like a few moments of his precious
time."

"He's home, but I'm not sure he
wants to speak to you." The tribune turned to look up at the gate house
that was the entrance to the mansion. A number of armed men were visible along
the top and at the windows. Unlike his auxiliaries facing the demonstrators
these men had their weapons ready and aimed at the crowd.

Laetus followed the tribunes gaze. He
studied the men in the gate house and noticed others along the length of wall
that surrounded the mansion. "I don't recognise them or their
uniforms." he said to the tribune. "Who are they?"

"The new governor brought them
with him. Personnel bodyguards from Macedonia."

The auxiliary commander was obviously
disgusted. "Bunch of brainless apes, most of them. If they had turned up
here without the governor I would've had them thrown into jail."

"Doesn't he trust you to protect
him?" Laetus was shocked. He knew Gallicus to be a loyal and professional
soldier, and this insult to his fellow citizens’ integrity offended him.

The tribune turned back to view the
crowd, still calling for the governor. "Apparently, he prefers to have his
'own people' around him."

"You mean other Greeks, don't
you." said Laetus, beginning to sum up the character of Basil Diogenates,
their new city governor.

The tribune gave a non-committal shrug.
"I'll go and see him Leo, and explain that it is in the best interests of
the city that he meets with you."

Laetus thanked Rufius and returned
behind the white line. The conversation between them had been overheard by
those in the front of the crowd and it was soon being repeated and circulated
around the square. Rufius Gallicus gained entrance to the mansion and went to
see the governor.

Basil Diogenates was glad that the
tribune had come to see him. It saved him the job of sending for him. The
auxiliary officer was shown into the office and saluted the governor who was
sitting behind a desk. He started to speak.

"Governor, there is a delegation
outside who...."

"I know there's a rabble outside
tribune! I am not deaf!" Diogenates stood up and went around the desk to
stand in front of the soldier, who was still standing at attention.

"What I want to know,
tribune," he pronounced the officers title slowly, spitting out each
syllable, "is what you're going to do about it!"

Gallicus was taken aback. "Do
Governor?"

"Yes, DO tribune! Disperse them
and arrest the ring leaders! I shall brook no insurrection whilst I am governor
of this city!"

Gallicus felt a wave of panic building
up inside him. "With all due respect Governor, I can't recommend that as a
course of action. If you would just meet with them and..."

"I'M IN CHARGE HERE TRIBUNE!"
the governor screamed. Standing beside the auxiliary officer, Diogenates spoke
slowly into his ear. "I want you to go back out there and tell that bunch
of trouble makers to disperse. If they don't you will order your men to open
fire. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes governor," the tribunes
mouth felt dry and he coughed to clear his throat, "but I must point out
that under the law, we can't fire on civilians unless we are attacked or a
state of emergency exists."

The governor smiled at Gallicus, and
that smile sent a cold shiver through the tribunes body. "Is that what's
bothering you? Don't worry I can guarantee there will be plenty of witnesses to
swear on the Holy Scriptures that they fired first. Isn't that right
Anton?"

The last remark was addressed to a man
who had been slouched in a chair in the corner throughout the governors tirade
against Gallicus. He was in the same uniform as the other personal guards but
he wore the insignia of a primus pilus, the chief centurion of a legion. Rufius
Gallicus looked him over and his experienced military eye soon told him that
this man had never served in the army let alone risen to the most coveted and
respected position that an ordinary soldier could attain.

He was a big, tough looking man with a
stubble beard, untidy hair and a dishevelled uniform. He looked over towards
Rufius Gallicus.

"Absolutely boss - I mean
governor", he said in a manner that made it clear that whatever Basil
Diogenates said was fine by him.

"Of course," added the
governor "if you don't feel up to it, Anton can always take over your
command."

"That will not be necessary
governor," replied Gallicus quickly. "I shall deal with it
myself." He saluted and left the room as fast as he could without breaking
into a run. One of those animals take over his cohort, not bloody likely! He
had to get Leo to disperse his people before this moron who had been appointed
governor started a massacre.

Basil Diogenates smiled smugly to
himself as he watched the tribune leave the office. He was a distant cousin of
the Emperor, from a branch of the family generally kept at a distance. They
owned some mines in the mountains of Macedonia, and treated their work force
like slaves, with a private army to keep the workers and local towns in line.
When he had been in his late teens, Alexander had met his cousin whilst
travelling around the provinces as part of his general education. Basil had
introduced the young Alexander to some of the more depraved vices that were
available to those with money and influence. From then on, whenever Alexander
felt oppressed by his father’s influence he would take himself off to Northern
Macedonia for a few weeks of decadence with Cousin Basil.

Now that Alexander sat upon the throne
in Constantinople, Basil saw the opportunity to increase his fortune. As soon
as he heard that the governorship of the rich city of Tarraco was vacant he
imposed upon his cousin to appoint him to the post. He intended to run the city
and its attached lands in the same manner as his own holdings in Macedonia and
had even brought a hundred of his own men with him.

Diogenates moved over to the windows
overlooking the yard between the mansion and the gate house. He could hear the
demonstrators, still chanting their demand to see him. He watched Gallicus
march through the gate to rejoin his men.

He turned back to Anton. "I'm not
sure that our tribune really understands how to deal with such people, I think
that we should keep a closer eye on what is happening in the square." The
governor left the room followed by the leader of his bodyguards.

On rejoining his men outside the
mansion Gallicus called Laetus over. He explained that the governor refused to
meet him and that he had been ordered to disperse the crowd. Laetus was
incredulous.

"He's mad! Where does he think he
is." Laetus was turning red with fury and began to shake with anger.
"We won't let some petty Greek tyrant come here and treat the people of
this city like slaves!" he shouted.

Gallicus pleaded with Laetus.
"Please Leo, get your people away from here! This isn't the time or place
for a confrontation. Please believe me!"

The desperation in the tribunes voice
gave Laetus cause to hesitate. He took a few deep breaths and forced himself to
calm down. He looked at Gallicus and saw fear in his eyes. That decided him.

"All right Rufius, I'll get them
to disperse. It won't be easy, but they'll listen to me."

Gallicus relaxed and let out a sigh of
relief. He was about to thank Laetus when a group of men appeared beside him.
It was Anton with half a dozen of the governors’ bodyguards.

"Is this the ring leader?"
snapped Anton, pointing at Laetus.

Gallicus did not speak. He just stood
there, seeing the situation that he thought he had just defused about to
explode. Laetus replied for him.

"I am Leo Laetus, elected
spokesman for the miners and workers of...."

"You're under arrest for plotting
an insurrection. Seize him!” The bodyguards moved forward and grabbed a startled
Laetus. One of his colleagues who had come forward with him moved to protest
and was smashed to the ground by a rifle butt. A growl of anger rose up from
the front of the crowd after witnessing their leader being taken and one of
their people being attacked. The bodyguards levelled their guns and fed a round
into the firing chamber. All along the line auxiliaries grasped their weapons
tightly in response to the growing hostility in front of them. Gallicus snapped
out of the trance he had been in and stepped in front of Anton.

"What the hell do you think you
are doing!" he said, using the tone he reserved when speaking to a
subordinate who had just done something exceptionally stupid. "This man
has done nothing illegal."

The leader of the governors’ guards was
not at all intimidated. He looked at the tribune with scorn. "The boss was
right," he sneered, "you haven't got the stomach to deal with
problems like this." He stared straight into the tribunes’ eyes and
smiled. "You are dismissed from command of this cohort and placed under
arrest for disobeying orders." he said.

Two more bodyguards stepped forward and
took hold of the dumbfounded Gallicus, removing his handgun and sword. The
cohorts’ chief centurion came over on seeing his commander being taken by the
bodyguards.

"What's going on here!" the
centurion demanded.

"The tribune is under arrest on
the orders of the governor," stated Anton, "I have been appointed to
command this cohort in his place. Do you understand centurion?"

The disbelieving centurion looked to
his tribune for guidance. Gallicus nodded sadly. "Play along for
now," he said, "I don't want you getting into trouble as well."

Gallicus could see his chief centurion
fighting an impulse to break his vine staff over Antons head, but to Gallicus's
relief he took his advice. The centurion came to attention and saluted
Gallicus. "As you order tribune." He said pointedly, restricting his
defiance to words. He turned back to Anton, but did not say a word, just gave
him a stare that conveyed an unspoken threat.

Anton decided that this was not the
time to deal with the chief centurion as well. He could wait until later. The
bodyguards hustled Laetus and Gallicus inside the mansion. Anton signalled
somebody in the gate house and a voice boomed out of a loud speaker.

"ATTENTION! THIS IS AN ILLEGAL
GATHERING. YOU HAVE FIVE MINUTES TO VACATE THE SQUARE. ANYONE STILL IN THE
SQUARE AFTER THAT WILL BE SHOT ON SIGHT!"

The shocked crowd immediately reacted
to the announcement. Mothers grabbed hold of their children and started to drag
them away, whilst others started shouting curses and blasphemies at the
mansion. Somebody threw a stone at the gate house and others followed. The
auxiliaries looked to their officers for orders, but they just told them to
hold their position. A few stray stones flew amongst the troops but the gate
house and the bodyguards were their main target.

Anton scurried behind the line of
auxiliaries for protection from the stones. He turned to the chief centurion.

"Open fire!" he shouted to be
heard above the roar of the crowd.

The chief centurion looked at him in
disgust and then walked over to the nearest century. He spoke to the centurion
in charge who barked out an order. The front rank brought up their rifles,
loaded and on command fired a volley into the sky, well above the heads of the
demonstrators in the square. The shots reverberated around the square and the
crowd turned and fled. Luckily the roads leading into the square were wide and
the space in front of the mansion rapidly emptied.