Praetorian Series [4] All Roads Lead to Rome (13 page)

I smirked.  “Let me handle this.  Galba already hates one Hunter, why not make it two?”

“Oh be still my beating heart,” he said, feigning a swoon.

“Okay, now you’re trying too hard, John.  Don’t turn yourself into a caricature, okay?”

“Is that what I am?”  He asked, his voice legitimately considering the thought.

“Just back me up,” I said.  “My Latin’s gotten better, but it’s still not very good.  If I need a translation, just blurt it out.  You’re good at that kind of thing.”

“Damn straight.”

I rolled my eyes but stepped forward, ready to interject myself between a raging bull and an overprotective lioness.  I’d never been one to seek out confrontation – unless it was to protect my idiot brother who was slowly going insane – and I’d never been particularly brave when confronting authority.  I’d had a desk job back home, building engines and designing cutting edge aerodynamic propulsion systems.  Jacob had seemed to think that I was an
astronaut
– whatever that was exactly – some kind of starfarer who conducted scientific experiments in space.  Such a thought had barely entered the minds of those outside of the Islamic Caliphates, who were so far the only ones to have successfully launched individuals into space – although many questioned the validity of such claims and even more were convinced that many “test subjects” had not returned alive.  The idea that the other me, the Diana Jacob had grown up with, was some kind of badass space explorer seemed insane.  I barely even drove my car unless I had to.

Space?

No thank you.

But getting Helena and Galba to shut up wasn’t nearly so daunting a prospect, so I stepped up to the table and thought of what to do.  I glanced to my right and saw Gaius and Marcus watching me, their faces supportive.  Even though I’d rarely spoken to either of them, I knew them to be amazing individuals and they adored Jacob, so I had to think they’d offer me some of the same respect for no other reason than because I was family.  I tightened my lips in silent appreciation and turned back to the pair, but the sight of Aulus Plautius caused me to stop.

He too was staring at me as I stepped up to the table, his arms crossed, his face very serious.  He didn’t seem upset that I was about to interrupt, merely amused that I was doing anything at all.  He flicked his hand at me after we locked eyes, again not in a shooing or dismissive manner, but in an encouraging
after you
kind of way.  I jerked my attention away from his scrutiny, suddenly embarrassed that I hadn’t thought this through ahead of time.

Is this how Jacob had bumbled his way through seven years of Roman history?

Galba had just threatened Helena with crucifixion by the time I finally reached the tent’s central table, and I was legitimately worried that he might go through with the act unless Helena finally backed down.

I cleared my throat.  “I think it’s time to…”

I tried to speak loud enough to be heard over their ravings, but my words fell on deaf ears.  I gritted my teeth, growing frustrated at myself rather than the two of them.  Words alone wouldn’t get them to stop, so I glanced around the tent, hoping to find inspiration.  And then I found it, leaning against Marcus’ leg invitingly.

I walked over to him and pointed at his shield.  “Do you mind?”

He smiled and waved his hand across his body.  “Please.”

“Thanks,” I said, leaning down so that I could pick up the semi-cylindrical, rectangular shield.  It was a lot heavier than it looked, but not so much that I had trouble lifting it with both hands.  I barely even struggled as I carried it toward the central table, lifting it high over my head.  Helena, facing in my general direction, noticed what I was doing and quickly quieted down, while Galba, noticing his opponent had stopped, turned as well, but not before I slammed the shield down on the table, creating an exceptionally loud bang and causing the toy-like icons that represented troops and towns to go flinging throughout the room.  One bounced off Alex’s chest harmlessly, while Gaius ducked out of the way of another.

The pair of guards from outside rushed into the room immediately, but John and Alex stopped them before they took two steps inside.  Quickly determining that the noise hadn’t been a threatening one, and after a quick flick of dismissal from Plautius, the two left without incident.  Meanwhile, Helena and Galba had finally shut their mouths long enough for me to get a word in.

I took a quick breath, slightly winded from the exertion of throwing the shield down, and looked both of them in the eye in turn.  Again, I hadn’t quite thought of what I should say ahead of time, so I simply said the first thing that came to me.

“Do you two mind?”

They glanced at each other angrily, before Galba took a step away from Helena and toward me.  I gulped as he approached, worried that he’d sentence me to some horrible punishment for speaking out of line, but when he arrived, he simply leaned down and picked up Marcus’ shield.  Lifting it above the table, he dropped it, causing another, yet not quite as deafening, bang to ring out.

He rested his hands upon it and leaned toward me.  “Do not toy with me… Hunter.  Do not think that I will be any kinder to you because you are a woman.  You’re brother has made me distrustful of anyone with your name.  Were your tiny, frail grandmother to arrive next, I would have her whipped and thrown in the stockade.”

I gulped again and backed away, but John came up to stand by me supportively, and threw his chin in Galba’s direction.  “Calm down, big guy.  We’re all friends here.”

“Are we?”  He said gruffly, shooting a glance at Helena who was reluctantly moving around the table to stand beside him.

“We don’t need to be friends to work together,” she said.  “You proposed a partnership over a month ago, but so far there hasn’t been anything equal about it!”

“Calm yourself, woman.  I called this meeting for a reason.”

“Did you now?” Helena asked.

Galba shot a glare at her but quickly smothered it as he picked up the shield and held it out to Marcus, who took it and stepped back to stand beside his friend again.  Galba then smoothed out the map upon the table and stabbed a dagger that sat near it into a corner to keep it down.  He straightened, lifted his chin, and clasped his hands behind his back.  Aulus Plautius stepped up beside him, and the two exchanged glances before Galba finally spoke.

“I have come to a decision…”

“Regarding?”  Helena asked.

He threw a look at her but ignored the interruption.  “Regarding where we shall go from here.  I have been discussing our strategic situation with Aulus and have come to a decision that may have dire long term repercussions, but appears to be the only option available to us.”

He paused for what I assumed was dramatic effect, but then he placed his hands upon the table before him and leaned heavily on his arms, and then I wasn’t sure if he was being dramatic or indecisive.  He dipped his head momentarily but then snapped it back up, causing his neck to jiggle in response.

“We are abandoning our foothold here in Britain,” he announced.  “Aulus, Legate Saturninus – who is away at the moment – and I will lead our three legions into Gaul where they will split.  Legate Plautius and Legate Saturninus will lead the II
Augusta
and XX
Valeria Victrix
to Germany while I will take the XV
Primigenia
to Iberia…”

“Where’s that?”  I whispered to John.

“Spain.”

“Oh.”

“…with what few Praetorians remain in our care,” Galba continued, “where we will work to ensure it remains placid.”

“What?!”  Helena and I shouted at the same time.  I looked at her, ready to step back while she challenged Galba, but she simply stood there in apparent shock, not ready to continue, so I turned back to Galba myself.  “But you have to stay here.  Jacob always said that Rome had to conquer Britain for…”

Galba raised a hand and cut me off.  “Do not say more than what others are unprepared to hear,” he said, flicking his eyes in the direction of his friend, Aulus.

I was amazed that he still felt the need to conceal the reality behind who we were and where we came from, even from someone he seemed to trust more than any of us, but I supposed it seemed rational to keep as few people as possible from understanding the reality of time travel… or that there were people present who could control it.  Even with everything that had happened recently, it was certainly possible that such knowledge in the wrong hands could only make the situation worse.

“Britain is merely territory,” Galba picked up.  “It will still be here when the political situation in Rome has calmed, and when its Legions are ready to conquer again.  For now, we must reclaim what we have already lost and preserve what we have.”

Helena looked up, her face calm and her words quiet and no longer accusatory for once.  “You promised we would go after Jacob.  You
promised
me.”

Galba looked at her almost sympathetically.  “I have not altered that terms of our deal.  I have simply placed it lower on our list of priorities.  Agrippina will not be welcomed when she returns to Rome, and she will have less than half of her Praetorian force available to her should she even arrive.  She can wait.  With fortune on our side, we can arrive in Iberia within two months, and be in Rome in six. Even though I do not expect much aggression there, we must nevertheless reinforce Roman rule where we can.  It should be quick, but necessary.  I am sorry.”

“But Jacob…” she started.

“…is of no concern,” Galba finished.  “Warped though his mind may be, I do not believe he will simply abandon you all.  Let him do what he left to do.  Perhaps he will grow so tired of Agrippina completely that he will apprehend her himself.”

“How can you say that?!”  Helena hissed as she took a step toward Galba to glare at him.  She flicked her eyes at Plautius, and lowered her voice.  “You know how manipulative Agrippina is and how susceptible Jacob is now, and you know what kind of damage Agrippina can do with the power they’re after.  We have to be there to stop them so that…”

“You have such little faith in the man you so often profess to love,” Galba interrupted, glaring right back at her.  “For all his faults, Hunter is not stupid, and even with everything that has happened to him, he will not so easily fall to her machinations.  Perhaps I have placed too much faith in him, but perhaps you should place more.”

Helena blinked at his comment and took an uneven step backward, almost falling in the process.  I thought to help her, but she steadied herself and stood solidly on her own near the wall, alone with her thoughts once again.

Galba nodded and returned his attention to the map.

“As I was saying.  Once Iberia is placated, I will lead the XV
Primigenia
to Rome where we will apprehend Agrippina and save Hunter from her web of deceits.  This decision does not come easily, as I need not remind you of the ramifications of such an action.  As you know…”

Galba trailed off, as though he was remembering something.

“Forget something?”  John asked, causing Galba to nod slowly.

“Simply that it is perhaps not so obvious that I need not remind you,” Galba commented, and the confusion on our faces must have prompted him to clarify.  “Do any of you understand the consequences I speak of?”

As I knew next to nothing about Roman History, the same with Alex, and John had about as little patience for such things as a fifth grader, I figured none of us did.  Helena might have, because of everything Jacob had taught her over the years, but she no longer appeared interested in being part of the conversation anymore.

Galba must have caught on, because he sighed before continuing.  “I never thought I would live to see a moment where I missed any of you, but now I do, as Vincent and Jacob would have no need for me to explain.”  He shook his head in annoyance and pointed at the map, somewhere in northern Italy.  “You see, it is illegal for me to march an army into Italy.  There is a demarcation line here in
Cisalpine Gaul
that is the furthest south any Roman general can lead troops.  Going further is an act of rebellion.  I was forced to do it once before, but it was at the behest of a legitimate emperor, and I have no desire to repeat the action.  I do not wish for my name to be associated with such acts, and placed alongside tyrants like Marius and Sulla.  But I do not believe I have a choice.  The only way to apprehend Agrippina is through military force, and as she only has a small army currently at…”

He broke off when Gaius stepped forward with military precision and stopped a step away from the table.  Every head in the tent turned to look at him, and while Plautius appeared annoyed by his improper attitude, Galba simply looked interested.  I wondered why, since Galba seemed as high strung as the rest of them, but I supposed it could have had something to do with the fact that Galba and Gaius and Marcus had had something of a working a relationship for years now.

“There is another option, Legate,” Gaius said with little emotion.

“You forget your place, Praetorian,” Plautius warned

“No,” Galba said, finally leaning off the table.  “Let him speak.”

Gaius pointed at the map.  “Send us to Rome, Legate.  Marcus and I are Praetorians, and hold high rank.  Let us lead the empress’ few remaining Praetorians with us to Rome immediately and…”