Athene's Prophecy (Gaius Claudius Scaevola Trilogy) (41 page)

"Cut your grooves," Gaius shrugged.

"It'll wreck the nuts," Timothy warned.

"Take the bolt that went with it," Gaius added, "and do the same with it. See if you can make more pairs. Then if it works," he added, looking at the tradesman, "can you cut similar parts in iron?"

"I can do it with the hardest steel," the man said proudly, then added quickly, "Of course it will cost . . ."

"I know that," Gaius smiled. "Just don't get too greedy." He paused, then added, "or else." He smiled inwardly as he saw the look of fear. He then grinned as he added, "I suppose Timothy's told you what is going to be paid if this works?"

"Of course I have," Timothy added quickly. Too quickly, Gaius thought. As if he wanted to stop Gaius from going further. He had probably not told the real total. Yes, Timothy would be pocketing some and sharing the rest.

"Then the cost of making these iron tools should come from that," Gaius shrugged, "because you can't prove you can do it otherwise. Oh," he added, after a pause, "Timothy, make sure your man knows that this has to be proven beyond reasonable doubt. I would think at least three pairs of cutting tools should be made. What do you think?"

"If you wish," Timothy replied cautiously.

"And of course, he's going to have to do the bulk of the work. You can't make any of those."

"I'll add some more from my share," Timothy promised.

"I should hope so too," Gaius nodded, then he turned and left.

Chapter 34

A year passed without incident on the military front, except that the remaining Tribunes, seeing Gaius' decorations, or alternatively, having watched in envy as his cohort had the two hottest months in the luxuriant regions of Lake Barada carrying out mountain drills, decided that they would also ensure more intensive drills within their cohorts. The legion began to resume its efficiency, even if its Legate did not. Timothy produced the steel tools, then found they were useless because the nut-derived master could not be held in place long enough to do any good, while the bolt-derived master could not be forced to turn. Making these had taken longer than expected, and using them proved more difficult than expected, although, Timothy admitted, it should not have been that surprising. Metal was strong, cutting metal would require a lot of force, so a means of holding everything in place and getting enough force was required. The holder had to have a much longer strong lever. Once they knew what to do, they would get there.

The news from Rome was increasingly depressing. The
Princeps
was accused of becoming increasingly erratic, although, as Gaius noted, the accusation was not entirely fair. Until now, the Roman living in Rome had been spared taxation: Gaius Caesar had the outright impertinence to introduce taxes that would treat Rome on par with the remainder of the empire. That was extraordinarily unpopular, but, as Gaius noted, not entirely unreasonable. Some of the rich complained that these taxes removed their ability to live according to their station. Little Boots, having heard this complaint at the end of a particularly lavish feast he had put on to impress them, leaped to is feet and announced, "There is no need for you to live like this. A man should be frugal, except he be a Caesar!"

That was hardly the statement with which to win friends, which illustrated Little Boots' problem. He felt neither shame nor scruple about demonstrating the power he wielded, and he showed little restraint in wielding it. On the other hand, he was very intelligent, and he realized the effect this must be having. Accordingly, he lived between two extremes: one was a strange state of exultation at the unrestrained enjoyment this power brought, and the second was a total state of depression arising from the fear of what might follow.

And what might follow was more likely once the largesse ran out, as it would if he did not acquire more money. Accordingly, more effort was made to gather revenue, and in this Little Boots could not restrain himself from flouting his superiority. While giving a particularly long speech in the Senate he switched to holding an auction, naming all the bid prices himself. The nod of a sleeping Senator was taken as a bid, and one Senator woke up to find he had made thirteen quite outrageously expensive purchases. As Little Boots remarked, that would teach him to pay attention and not go to sleep in his presence. The money was paid because the Senator was too afraid to even suggest he had been asleep.

Little Boots was making more effort to find treachery. Gaius' father was being accused of non-patriotic behaviour, and Gaius rather suspected there could be truth to the accusations. His father would consider Caesar's erratic behaviour would make the Republic increasingly attractive. He would overlook the avarice of the average Senator, and that the Republic only worked when the Senators were working for the benefit of Rome, rather than for themselves. Caesar's efforts to make people admire him led to money going through his hands like water, so being wealthy and being under suspicion for plotting was a very undesirable combination. His father was obviously under some pressure, for he sent details of tunnels he was excavating into a hill behind the family home. If everything went wrong, much of the family wealth would be buried there, protected by traps, for Gaius when he returned home.

Lucilla, in the meantime, was to be married to a Flavian named Quintus. Quintus Flavius Secundus was a sound man, his father said, interested in neither politics nor the military. He had, however, built up quite a considerable fortune through selling pork and trading in corn. He was a man of refinement, and most importantly, the Flavians seemed to be on reasonable terms with Little Boots.

The letters from Claudius were becoming more frequent, and, in their own way, quite strange. Claudius, so he said, envied Gaius. Or more to the point, he envied Gaius' being away from Rome. Rome was filled with intrigue, but even more importantly, with fear. There was reasonable evidence that the upper German legions had been on the verge of revolt, while it seemed that the Germans were crossing the Rhine and raiding villages under Roman protection at will. The German legions were in relatively poor shape, and their commander, Gnaeus Lentulus Gaetulicus, was lax.

So Caesar went north and decided to impose discipline. The methods were stern but standard: furloughs were restricted, there were route marches all over the place, there was wood cutting, road making, ditches were dug, there were mock battles, and there were practices of river crossings. As it happened the only river was the Rhine, and these crossings were variously interpreted as invasions, or exercises, but whatever they were, they did not last long in German territory.

Caesar also suspected that the leaders were planning revolt, and part of his visit was to root this out. It was never clear what role Marcus Aemilius Lepidus had, but he had been Drusilla's husband, and he may have thought he had some claim to a vacant Principate. He and Gaetulicus probably were plotting, but their plots were rather amateur, for Caesar arrived and their legions did nothing. In any event, the two were brought back to Rome and secretly executed.

The next exercise was either an exercise in complete stupidity, or, as he, Claudius, suspected, a means of humiliating the northern legions. Caesar announced to the most ill disciplined legion that they would march to the coast to invade Britain. With fewer troops than the great Julius had failed with, and decrepit boats, the legion refused to board. Gaius then taunted them, questioning whether they were Roman soldiers, or whether they would rather stroll along the beach collecting seashells. Such was the enthusiasm for the venture that soldiers began doing just that! Gaius apparently then called the whole venture off, apparently to the general mirth of the Britons. Caesar had deliberately taken the troops he could trust the least, and despatched them on this expedition to test their loyalty. When, as expected, they refused to embark he had them collect seashells. He, Caesar, could withstand the ridicule, but the legions could not.

There was also the question of the German invasion. Before going on the disciplinary exercise, Gaius Caesar had announced that the Empire could be expanded by conquering the Germans, an objective of the divine Augustus that was only dropped after the lamentable efforts of his General, Varus. So, Gaius Caesar would take up the challenge, or at least that is what he said. As such, when he arrived, direct revolt would have been difficult, and by the time the discipline was underway, Gaetulicus had lost control. That could be thought of as well-thought-out strategy, however Caesar did not want Rome to start thinking about plots, even failed plots. So, having left Rome to "sort out the Germans", Caesar realized that he had to take something back to Rome. Unfortunately, as usual his vanity got the better of him, and he decided to return in triumph. He announced victory over the Germans, he added Germanicus to his names, and he paraded a number of Germans before Rome to prove his conquests. Close examination showed these to be Gauls, disguised as Germans.

Some laughed at Gaius Caesar, but not for long as vicious taxes were imposed on those who laughed the loudest. His approach to taxation became more innovative, and he even went around the whorehouses, taxing the whores' clients. People paid up, as the alternative was to be a subject for Gaius' inventive nature.

The problem that Caesar failed to recognize, Claudius added, was the damage to Rome's reputation. Varus had shown the Roman legion to be vulnerable, but Little Boots had shown they had lost the will to fight anyone other than their
Princeps
, and there was not too much will there either. By totally ignoring the senate, Little Boots was now behaving effectively as a king, ruling alone and dispensing with other possible claimants. This was having a very bad effect on the senior Romans.

In Claudius' opinion, there would be trouble. Gaius stared at this letter in disbelief.

* * *

There was trouble, although not the sort envisaged by Claudius. Herod Agrippa had somehow managed to rekindle the anti-Jewish sentiments in Egypt, and the trouble spread like wildfire. Greek and Jew were fighting at Antioch, and Petronius was mobilizing his forces to put down such trouble. However, two of his officers were not to take part in this show of force. One
Legatus
had to be left behind, because he was too persistently drunk to act. Petronius himself would command. The second was Gaius Claudius, who, when getting ready to march towards Antioch, received a letter with the imperial seal.

Petronius watched with some concern as Gaius broke the seal. Gaius himself had heard enough of Little Boots' actions to be really concerned, but in the event breaking the seal led to one of the proudest moments of his life. The
Legatus
of
Legio
III,
Cyrenaica
, a legion temporarily stationed in Bostra, had become seriously ill. Gaius Claudius Scaevola was ordered by Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus to proceed to Bostra as temporary Legate. No mention here of the Senate of the People of Rome.

But it did not matter. While it might be temporary, he had a legion!

Petronius, surprised by Gaius' response, took the letter, looked at it, and nodded. "Congratulations," he said, as he gave Gaius an encouraging pat on the shoulder. "I won't say I'm pleased to see you go, because I rather fancy I could use every good man available at Antioch, but I'm really pleased for you. This is the sort of opportunity a Tribune needs."

"Thanks for letting me go," Gaius said.

"The signature doesn't give me much choice," Petronius laughed a brittle laugh, "but of course I wouldn't dream of standing in your way. Now, a piece of advice. Once you get there, remember you are now a
Legatus
. Act like one. You've always had a tendency to do things your way, which can be a bit irritating in a Tribune, but now it's necessary. Listen to others, but don't lean on them. Back yourself, and remember, as long as you don't do anything too stupid, I'll back you fully. You have nine cohorts of the finest army the world has seen, and if someone tries to push you around, feel free to use them."

"I assume there's a problem?"

"There is," Petronius nodded, "and it may require a bit of thought, and frankly I think you're as good a choice as anyone to deal with it. So, get going and may the Gods be with you."

"Sir? One more thing?"

"Yes?" a puzzled Petronius said.

"Just in case there could be any action, bearing in mind the attention the
Legatus
has shown, the legion, and my cohort, may need a temporary
Tribunus Laticlavius
."

"And?" Petronius now seemed almost amused that his subordinate was offering advice.

"With respect, Governor, I believe Lucius Vibius would do that job as well as anyone."

"You do, do you?" Petronius stared, then added, "I thought you two didn't get on that well?"

"I believe he's the best man for the job if you need someone in a hurry," Gaius said. "Bearing in mind my appointment is only temporary, it's unlikely the
Princeps
is concerned about this detail, and . . ."

"I see," Petronius interrupted. "All right, then. I agree, and why don't you convey the news to him?"

* * *

Vibius stared at Gaius, and finally asked, "Why does Petronius want to find a temporary replacement for you?"

"There could be action soon," Gaius shrugged, "and you know what our Legate is like."

"But why me?" Vibius asked, and then added, "and why send you to tell me?"

"Petronius' choice," Gaius shrugged, then added, "I did put in a good word for you, and the Governor agreed."

"Why? I'm already a Tribune, and I've got my own cohort."

"Read up all you can about strategy," Gaius advised. "If you get any action, and make a fist of it, fighting as
Tribunus Laticlavius
is the route to your own legion."