The Eternal Empire (48 page)

General Strategicus halted his vehicle
to confer with a Decurion from a landship regiment that had stopped to refuel
and rearm. A ragged cheer broke out as the men recognised Strategicus. 

The Decurion saluted smartly, a broad
grin splitting his dust caked face.

"Greetings General, it's an honour
to have you visit us."

"The honour's all mine,"
Strategicus replied as he returned the salute. "You and your men have
fought well. I'm proud to command you."

The Decurion glowed at the praise.

"How are things with your unit?
Have you had heavy losses?"

"Losses in battle have been
light," replied the Decurion, "but breakdowns are a real problem. For
every vehicle we lose to enemy forces we have to leave two behind for the
workshops to collect and fix."

Strategicus nodded in acknowledgement.
"That seems to be a common complaint. We underestimated the wear and tear
due to the pace of our operations. We'll have to increase the proportion of
maintenance personnel and repair equipment in the combat units in future."

The Decurion offered the general a
drink from his canteen, which he gratefully accepted.

"Will the Arabs surrender if we take
Damascus, sir?"

"I should think so," replied
Strategicus, handing back the canteen and wiping his mouth with the back of his
hand. "In fact I expect them to sue for peace well before we reach
Damascus. The Caliph is not in a strong position and if he loses his capital he
may lose his head as well."

"What then, sir?"

"Then we take a pleasant boat trip
to Gaul and try out our new tactics on the Saxons," he answered jovially.
"Then everybody will know the cost of making war on Rome."

26th
August 1920

Minden,
Saxony

"The news from Syria has certainly
caused a number of nobles to think twice about their support for the war,"
said Count Radisger to the small group assembled Frederick Maleric's Minden
townhouse.

"The 'war party' has been a lot
quieter as well," added Count Dursloff. "Although they have proposed
stripping the eastern frontier of troops to reinforce the army in Gaul!"

The success of the imperial army in
Syria and especially its unprecedented speed of advance had come as an
unpleasant surprise to the Saxon council. Everyone knew that it was only a
matter of time before the victorious army of Asia Minor made an appearance in
the West.

"All the more reason for us to act
now!" said Frederick forcefully. "They promised a short war that
would bring the Empire to the negotiating table on our terms. They have failed
to destroy the Roman army on the Rhine and have not even reached Lutetia. Now
they want to denude our borders with the Turks and the Rus!"

There were nods and murmurs of
agreement.

"I agree," said Radisger,
"unless the army can break through the Mosa River within the next few
days, they never will. The Romans will only get stronger."

"We must push for a cease-fire and
begin negotiations whilst we are still in a strong position," agreed
Dursloff.

"They still have the civil war in
the Balkans, which I believe is not going so well," pointed out Count
Torgoneau, the deputy minister of foreign affairs. "Alexander will be keen
to use the eastern troops against that usurper Monomachus."

"Do you think that we can get
enough support for a cease-fire?" interrupted Radisger, directing his
question at Maleric.

Frederick thought for a few moments,
swiftly ticking off in his mind those members of the council that he believed
would support a cease-fire. Eventually he shook his head.

"No. I don't think so. Too many of
the nobles threw in their lot with the 'war party' in the euphoria that
followed the capture of the Eagle. While the army still holds out the
possibility of victory, they are unlikely to support a call for a
cease-fire."

"What can we do?" asked
Dursloff, "we can't just sit by while the military and the war party
cripple the country and throw away the lives of thousands more of our people in
their stupid war!"

"We have a responsibility to the
country," agreed Radisger. "We must cut our losses now."

Frederick raised his hands to get
everybody's attention. "You are right. As the most senior Counts in the
kingdom we have a duty that goes beyond the pursuit of military glory and
revenge for past defeats. If we can't stop the war immediately, then the least
that we can do is to minimise its effect on the future of the country."

"What do you propose?"
queried Count Radisger.

"We must keep the Eastern
Regiments where they are. It will take several weeks for them to re-deploy all
the way across Saxony to Gaul. It's unlikely that they will arrive in time to
be of any use."

"If we can't get support for a
cease-fire, what makes you think that we will be able to block a move to
reinforce the army?" asked Dursloff.

"Because there are a great number
of Counts who have estates in the east," explained Frederick. "The
fear of Turkish or Rus raids across the border, let alone a full scale invasion
should be enough to get their votes."

There was general agreement on that,
and everybody left soon after to start canvassing support amongst the other
nobles in the council. Katherine, who had been listening surreptitiously from
the room next door, came in and found her brother.

"You did well Frederick," she
said as he poured her a glass of the wine. "It's a shame that you couldn't
go straight for a cease-fire."

"That will come eventually
Katherine," said Frederick, "but not before there has been a great
deal more bloodshed and senseless loss of life."

"How can people be so
stupid?" asked Katherine, partly to herself.

"They always have been, and
probably always will be." Frederick looked sadly into his sister's face.
"Despite all our technological achievements, we are no different now than
they were a thousand years ago. I fear we are destined to repeat history until
the entire planet is a funeral pyre."

27th
August 1920

Constantinople

The emergency session of the imperial
war council had been convened by Alexander, a sure sign of the increasing panic
felt by the Emperor. The cause of Alexander's latest attack of anxiety was the
news that Adrianople had fallen to the Moesian rebels and that the Pannonian
legions coming to defend the capital had suffered a defeat near Naissus.

Gregory had the proposals from Sextus
Capito with him. He had received them the previous afternoon and had spent the
evening going over them. All he had to do now was to work out how to get
Exanzenus to agree to them.

They all stood as Alexander entered and
were surprised to see him being followed in by Stephanie Dikouros who was
looking very pleased with herself. The Emperor took his seat and then ordered a
servant to bring a chair for Stephanie. Gregory studied the Emperor while they
waited for Stephanie to be seated. His eyes were flickering rapidly from face
to face and he was fidgeting with his hands.

"The troops supporting that
traitor Monomachus have taken Adrianople!" he said with a tremor in his
voice. "They're only 140 miles from here. What are you going to do about
it?"

Exanzenus answered. He was angry at
Stephanie’s presence here and needed to take control of the situation in order
to negate the influence that she had over Alexander.

"We're all concerned about the
rapid advance of the insurgents, your Majesty," he said smoothly.
"The army command led me to believe that the Pannonian legions would have
intercepted the mutineers well before they got this close to the capital."
Exanzenus glared over at the generals on the council who shifted uncomfortably
in their seats. They had not expected Monomachus to send only a third of his
troops to hold up the Pannonian army while he made a dash for Constantinople
with the rest.

"That does not answer my
question!" The Emperor's voice was louder now and he bunched his hands
into fists. Stephanie put her hand on his arm and began to stoke it.

"The legio II Thracia and most of
the Praetorian Guard is at Tzurulum, your Majesty," interrupted General
Probus, chief of the imperial staff. "We hope to hold them there until the
Pannonian legions fight their way through."

"Hope to hold them! Hope to!"
shouted Alexander, "I don't want your wishful thinking general. I want
those traitors crushed!"

"With all due respect your
Majesty," continued the general, "we only have one under strength
legion and the Praetorian Guard. We don't have the troops available to destroy
them until the legions from Pannonia arrive."

The Emperor grew more and more anxious,
glancing around the room with a look of despair and Stephanie continued to
stoke his arm soothingly whilst giving Exanzenus the occasional triumphant
look. The council members began to talk quietly amongst themselves.

Exanzenus knew that Stephanie was
trying to discredit him in the eyes of the Emperor and that by focusing on his
personal safety she could play upon his fears. He had to outmanoeuvre her.

"We can destroy the rebels,"
said Exanzenus suddenly, silencing everyone in the room. He waited for a moment
to be sure of everybody's attention. Stephanie eyed him suspiciously.

"The army of Asia Minor is
presently embarking on transports to be sent to Gaul. They can be easily
diverted here and can be engaged against the Moesian traitors within a week.
After their amazing victory over the Arabs in Syria I think that we can safely
trust them to crush this threat to his Majesty's person."

Most of the council members were
stunned by the suggestion, but Alexander was delighted. His face lit up and he
banged the table with his fist.

"Yes! That's what we'll do. Thank
you Exanzenus, what a brilliant idea. Organise it immediately."

Gregory stood up. "Your
Majesty!" he shouted to get attention. "Those troops have been
promised to General Comnenus, they are needed to stop the Saxons overrunning
Gaul. They're the only troops available to help them!"

"What do you think is more
important, Nicerites," snarled Exanzenus. "The capital and the
Emperor, or a bunch of provinces that we can retake at will."

"If we abandon the West it will
split the Empire. If the West can't depend on us when they need us why should
they remain loyal to Constantinople and a united Empire? This will bring out
all the old animosities - East against West, Greek against Latin!"

General Probus interceded on Gregory's
behalf. "The Rhine army needs those reinforcements, they are in danger of
being overwhelmed by the Saxons and destroyed. We can hold the rebels long
enough for the Pannonian legions to get here."

"I don't want to hold them!"
Alexander screamed at the general, "I want to utterly smash them! I want
the head of Monomachus on a pole outside the palace gates! Do I make myself
clear!"

Gregory, still standing, took a deep
breath, "I strongly disagree, your Majesty," he said firmly but
respectfully.

Alexander sat looking at Gregory. His
face was taut and he was struggling to control himself. "You disagree do
you? And who else is of the same opinion as Gregory Nicerites?"

Only General Probus stepped forward to
stand beside Gregory. With the exception of Exanzenus the other members of the
council avoided looking at the Emperor or Gregory. The chief minister wore a
small contented smile.

"In that case," said
Alexander, "you can take your disagreement elsewhere. You are dismissed
from this council and banished from the capital. You have twenty-four hours to
leave the city before I send the Praetorians after you."

Stunned, both Gregory and Probus bowed
to the Emperor and left the chamber.

"The Emperor is no longer acting
rationally," said Gregory, as they walked along the corridor. "He is
being manipulated by Exanzenus on one side, and by his mistress on the other.
We must do something or the Empire will tear itself apart."

"What are you suggesting?"
asked Probus in a whisper, wearily eyeing the Praetorians on guard duty.

"We must free the Emperor from the
clutches of those two."

"And how do you propose to do
that?"

"By doing exactly what His Majesty
ordered me to," replied Gregory with an ironic smile. "By leaving the
city."

General Probus gave Gregory a puzzled
look and he promised that he would explain once they were away from the palace.
They walked the rest of the way in silence, Gregory still clutching the
proposals from Sextus in his hand.

Another reason, he thought to himself,
to act against Exanzenus.

29th
August 1920