Scaevola's Triumph (Gaius Claudius Scaevola trilogy Book 3) (64 page)

The enemy pursued the remaining fleeing Ulsians, but then when Gaius' fleet became visible, the enemy attempted to flee. The remaining Ulsian ships had got to a position where they would flank any departure to the M'starn region, but to everyone's general surprise, thirty-five ships, plus the
Livia
, set off in a totally different direction, towards the Ranhyn home world.

Whether Vipsania was alive was unclear. If she were, presumably she would be sold as Quintus had been sold.

Suddenly Gaius made a resolution. There was nothing he could have done about Quintus, but the situation regarding Vipsania was slightly different. If he followed the same path, he would sustain the same time changes, and provided he guessed the correct path, their relative ages would be more or less unchanged.

The Ulsians had better let him pursue Vipsania. But first, he had Gerenthe to deal with. Gerenthe had once called him a barbarian. Well, he would find out something about barbarians very soon.

Chapter 45

Gaius felt almost sick, for as he came closer to the fleet it became increasingly obvious that Gerenthe had kept a large number of ships away from the battle. Why? Cowardice, or was he going to turn his guns on the
Actium
, and get rid of these pestilent Terrans? Would his own fleet fight with him if Gerenthe did that? Bearing in mind the damage they had sustained, could they? A careful assessment of his fleet made it very clear that he was in no shape to fight any battle against an undamaged fleet, which in turn meant that the Ranhynn had better keep their word. Of course if the Ranhynn had a superior fleet and were always going to turn on Ulse, this battle was always lost.

Then, suddenly, he felt happier as Marcellus brought him a message from the
Romulus
. Lucilla was not only alive, but she was free, and she insisted on seeing him before he saw anyone else. At least not everything was falling to pieces. Yes, he replied, thank the Gods she could send such a message, and yes, of course he would be glad to see her first. He would insist on it.

He brought the
Actium
closely alongside the
Romulus
, such that the
Romulus
was between him and Gerenthe. He was somewhat nervous as he entered the shuttle, but then he had to admit that if Gerenthe was able to turn his weapons onto his ship, neither he nor his fleet could do much about it. He entered a shuttle, and set off towards the
Romulus
. As he looked across the scanners, he was surprised to see five of his ships take up protective positions, and a further twenty placed themselves between the
Romulus
and Gerenthe. It was clear that a number of the other Ulsian commanders had their views on Gerenthe sitting out the fight, and almost ordering them to their deaths.

He boarded the
Romulus
and was immediately greeted by Lucilla wrapping her arms around him. Behind her stood an elderly Ulsian who, from the style of his clothes, was of high governmental rank.

"I'm so glad you're alive!" she said. "We've been fearing you'd be killed."

"I'm so glad you're free," Gaius replied, and hugged her fiercely. "I know," he said to the Ulsian who was standing behind patiently, "I had assurances, but I was far from convinced."

"I am sorry," the Ulsian said quietly, "but that was necessary for Lucilla's safety. We thought it better you have a bad feeling for some days than something go wrong and Lucilla be executed."

"I'll accept that," Gaius said tersely. It was obvious to everybody that he was controlling a very deep anger, but only just, and at any stage he could explode.

Lucilla pulled back a little and said, "I'm really so sorry about Vipsania."

"As will all Ulsians be," the elderly Ulsian said in agreement.

"I can think of one that won't," Gaius spat angrily. "I assume you've come to stop me."

"Gaius!" Lucilla almost pleaded. "I want you to do me a favour, please."

"Which is?" Gaius asked, although he had sensed the answer.

"I know how you feel," Lucilla said simply, "and I want to remind you of something. When Quintus died, you applied reason, and you stopped me doing things that would be destructive to all of us. Agreed?"

"Yes," Gaius said softly.

"It is now my turn to do the same," she said.

"The situation isn't quite the same," Gaius reminded her softly.

"No, it isn't," she said. "This time there's an awful lot more at stake, and it's imperative you control yourself."

"More at stake?" Gaius frowned.

"Much more," Lucilla said, then added softly, "While we are reasonably convinced that Vipsania will be dead, we don't actually know, do we?"

"So?" Gaius asked tersely. "Exactly what are we going to do about that?"

"This is Gemep, the new ambassador of the Government of Ulse to the Plotkyn region, and who came with me from Ulse," Lucilla explained. "I want you to listen to what he says."

"And that is?"

"You're not to touch Gerenthe's ship," Gemep said simply.

"Then at least you've got an idea how I feel," Gaius said coldly.

"I'm afraid Gerenthe is out of your reach," the Ulsian said calmly. "I have made a deal with him, and you must honour it."

"And exactly what's this deal I must honour?" Gaius said in disbelief.

"You must provide a damaged ship to have him and a number of other commanders taken back to Ulse for trial and termination of their lives."

"What?" Gaius said, now a little stunned.

"Your sister provided proof that Gerenthe and some of his associates were traitors," Gemep said. "Accordingly, I accompanied her here to arrest them, and return them to Ulse. You will permit this."

"And, I suppose, he'll be found not guilty, and live . . ."

"Unlikely," the Ulsian smiled. "He and the others have already pleaded guilty, and the plea is irrevocable."

"Eh?"

"It was easy, actually," Lucilla interrupted, with a bitter smile. "There was enough evidence to strip him of outright command. I pointed out to him that that would leave you in complete command, and under Ulsian law, you could try him for cowardice on the spot, and if you found him guilty, there would be no one to appeal to. You would have the right to execute him however you saw fit, and whatever else he might think about us, a demise on Ulse would be extraordinarily more comfortable than a Roman execution. His only chance to avoid whatever you might inflict on him was to order his own imprisonment while he still had the rank to do so."

"He was that scared of me?" Gaius frowned in disbelief.

"We had incontrovertible evidence," Gemep smiled ruefully, "that Gerenthe never won any battles. He had done a deal with the enemy, and had organized this battle according to the enemy's requirements."

"So that's why the enemy thought we'd loop around the planet," Gaius mused.

"And also why your last minute change of mind gave us victory," the Ulsian smiled. "Whatever made you do that, it was brilliant. Thanks to Gerenthe, the enemy were lined up with their backs to you, to give you the first round as free shots. Gerenthe couldn't warn them because they were on the wrong side of the moon. Mind you, he tried, and that's part of the evidence."

"But why?" Gaius asked in a stunned tone.

"What appears to have happened," Gemep said calmly, "is that Gerenthe was fairly half-hearted when he led his ships to the first planet. His strategy was not too much different from this time, oddly enough. It was not an important planet, and his forces outnumbered the enemy, but he only attacked with half his ships, and technically he lost the battle when had he committed all his forces he probably would have won.

"After his first attack had been beaten, he invited the enemy to surrender, on the grounds he had an equal lot of undamaged ships. However, it seems they said they'd fight."

"What spoil sports," Gaius muttered. "Fancy going to war and electing to fight."

"Anyway," the elder Ulsian said, as he ignored the interruption, "Gerenthe still could have beaten them. His analysis was more or less correct, and the enemy ships were in a much poorer state. However, it appears that somehow he suggested a truce, and a meeting.

"There's no way of knowing exactly what went on at that meeting. Somewhere along the line it must have occurred to the M'starn that here was a real opportunity for deception. Remember, Gerenthe had gone to that system to prevent the M'starn from advancing through that sector, but it seems that was never their intention −"

"Logical," Gaius interrupted. "The problem with a deep and rapid advance is that it is too easy to dissipate your power. Basically, with limited resources a general has to concentrate his forces and strictly limit the number of objectives."

"Just so," Gemep nodded. "At any rate, by then the M'starn had decided that this planet was a strategic liability, if they had to commit extensive forces on an extreme flank to hold it, and it was too far away from anything they held to be a threat to them. Also, Gerenthe was not the complete traitor you may feel −"

"You're softening me up for his eventual −"

"No, I am not!" Gemep smiled. "Let me continue. He apparently had decided that he had already lost this battle, and since he had only fought a minor force that he outnumbered, I think he decided that the total war was lost. Accordingly, he did a deal by which he would deliver victory to the M'starn, in return for the guaranteed survival of Ulsians."

"Let me guess," Gaius said bitterly. "In return, he would be some sort of Governor."

"Not a bad guess at all," the Ulsian confirmed. "To make everything look better, the M'starn undertook to leave the planet to his forces, provided they all stayed there. That effectively removed a substantial part of Ulse's warships from any future combat role, and taking the planet would give Gerenthe the reputation he needed to command the next major force. When he delivered that to the enemy, Ulse would be finished off completely."

"And now?"

"Ulse will now continue on and if all goes well will eventually defeat the M'starn, thanks to the victory you've given us here."

"I meant, now in the more immediate sense," Gaius smiled.

"Suppose you were empowered to appoint an Ulsian as a replacement for Gerenthe," Gemep said. "Who would you appoint?"

"Klendor," Gaius said quickly. "First, he's earned it, he was in charge of half the fleet that won victory so it's half his, and also we work together well."

"Then do it," the Ulsian said, "and as quickly as is reasonable."

"May I ask why the urgency?" Gaius asked curiously.

"For practical purposes, we need an Ulsian victor," the Ulsian said simply. "No, wait! The reason's this. We've checked the fine print on the agreement that was made before we set out. Ranh, through Plotk, must ally itself to Ulse. A victorious Ulsian military leader, however, must make the request. I'm sorry, but we think if you make the demand to honour their promise, they'll squirm on a technicality. If I make the approach, they'll squirm on the military part, but if an Ulsian Space Marshall makes the demand −"

"It's all right," Gaius smiled, although a little sadly. "I recognize I've got to be kept away from the limelight, and −"

"Not at all," the Ulsian said. "Ulse thinks very highly of you, and it's deeply in debt to you. However, we also have to do something about the possibility of a legal loophole. Klendor does not claim victory for himself; all he claims is to be a victorious Ulsian Space Marshall, and that means they have to ally themselves to us. You will be remembered forever in Ulsian history, but we also need some good Ulsians to compensate for Gerenthe. With Slaben and Klendor we have them, and they will help restore Ulse to its glory."

"And I'll be put out to pasture," Gaius smiled ruefully.

"Not at all. What happens to you depends on what happens next, but I assure you it will be in accord with your wishes."

"So what does happen next?" Gaius asked curiously.

"Klendor will put two demands to the Plotkynn. The first is that their facilities will be totally devoted to repairing our ships, as of now."

"And the second?"

"That they recognize Space Marshall Claudius as the commander who won this battle, and honour him accordingly."

"Honour?" Gaius smiled. "How?"

"In the way of your culture."

"And how's that?" Gaius now began to find this almost amusing.

"I've examined all our records of your culture," the Ulsian smiled, "and it seems reasonably straightforward. They will make their major city available, and award you a triumph."

"What?" Gaius was now completely stunned. The prophecy, fulfilled this way?

"Of course, Ulse will take advantage of the opportunity to impress on them our power," the Ulsian said slowly. "True, in detail some things will be done slightly differently, but in spirit it will be similar to what you call a triumph."

"And if they refuse?" Gaius asked curiously.

"I doubt they will," Gemep smiled, "because they know that would not be honouring their promise. Under the ancient Ulsian law, that would be effectively a declaration of war. Now they know Ulse has returned to winning ways, I doubt they'll wish to declare war with their fleet stationary and not in battle readiness. In any case, the Ranhynn have never been known to deliberately break their word. They may not keep fully to what you thought was the original spirit, but they have never defaulted, and there is no reason for them to do so now. Also, they really do like celebrations, and it's never been known for them to turn down the chance of a party."

"So what do I have to do?" Gaius asked curiously.

"Nothing," the Ulsian said. "You may like to go down to the planet. You will have to leave the
Actium
for the time being, because it will be the first into the repair dock, and while you may not be aware of this, your ship is quite seriously damaged. When you set off to the second planet, the damage was so great that it's probably just as well there was no battle."