Steam Legion (23 page)

Galba snorted, reaching out of the bath for a nearby cask of wine. They’d forbidden the slaves from entering until they had finished their bath and so were both surrounded by the little luxuries that made their lives worthwhile.

“Those fools would waste the Empire’s gold on nothing but books and toys were we to permit it,” Galba said while taking a sip of the wine. “You’re right, of course, however. At least we know that the Judea Province has been thrown into the expected turmoil.”

“That much has gone almost entirely to plan,” Flavius said, as satisfied as his friend. “The near-total destruction of the Twelfth Legion has started shock waves through Rome that are almost beyond what we’d hoped for.”

“I imagine so,” Galba sneered. “The plebes and fat fools who think they are owed something merely for having been born Roman could hardly fail to be shocked by the merest implication that perhaps some part of the world not only doesn’t agree with them, but may actually be capable of reaching out its hands to throttle them in their place.”

The news of the Twelfth’s destruction had actually silenced some of the biggest mouths in the city. The sheer shock of the news alone might have been enough to turn the Senate against the Emperor if they hadn’t been even more stupefied by the news than him and his closest advisors. By the time most of his fellows had recovered from their shock, Galba had found that Nero and his advisors had already initiated responses that were deemed correct and reasonable.

He’d deplored the lost opportunity, but Galba was a patient man. He’d assembled his allies over a period of years, convincing many who would normally never have thought to stand against the likes of the Emperor. He could stand to wait a few more in order to see the job done right.

“There is good news, after a fashion,” Flavius said with a roll of his eyes, “from the Egypt Diocese.”

“Oh?”

“Yes, the last reports to reach us indicated that the rebels of Judea had committed nearly a full Legion’s worth to Egypt,” Flavius said. “So you may get your crisis across the Empire after all.”

“That many?” Galba asked, mildly surprised. “I wouldn’t have thought that they would have so many men to commit away from their core territories.”

“Apparently the destruction of the Twelfth may have made them slightly overconfident,” Flavius replied dryly.

“Idiots.” Galba shook his head. “They actually believe they can stand against Rome on an even footing? They’re stupider than I believed, and I have been betting on their stupidity.”

Flavius chuckled, but nodded in agreement. “At any rate, there’s no force in Egypt capable of standing against their current force in any single battle. That should ensure a significant, and hopefully sufficient, path of destruction across the region.”

“Good,” Galba said. “That, coupled with the other crisis flaring across the Empire, should be enough to sway the Senate in our favor.”

Flavius agreed, adding, “That is my conclusion as well.”

Galba sighed happily, seeing the culmination of his plans approaching. The Empire was the most powerful force in the entire world, and very soon it would be his.

Section Three–Contents Under Pressure

Chapter 17

“Runner from the main gates, my Lady,” one of the town boys announced from the door to Dyna’s office.

They’d been ensconced in the small township now for better than two weeks, both to the pleasure and occasional annoyance of the locals. Dyna was glad of their help, however, as her own men had a great deal to do and so very little time available to do it in.

She looked up and nodded to the boy, one of many locals who were making some extra coin off her and her forces. “Send him in.”

The man who came in looked winded, like he’d been sprinting.

“My Lady.” He saluted. “The supply column has arrived from Alexandria.”

“Excellent,” she said. “Have them assemble in the town square. We’ll get the gear tallied before we distribute it.”

“I think you’ll want to see this now, my Lady,” he said, looking slightly nervous and actually a little spooked.

Dyna raised an eyebrow as she looked up at him. “Oh?”

He just nodded.

He’d piqued her curiosity, more through his manner than his words, so she set her tablet and stylus down and gestured ahead of her.

“Very well, let’s go,” she said as she stood up and grabbed her sword and belt from the back of the chair.

She buckled it into place as she walked out the door, heading for the main gates to the walled section of the township. The runner pointed her in the right direction, but it was hardly needed. She could see a swarm of people filling the streets ahead of her with numbers she hadn’t been aware even existed within the small township.

“What in the Gods’ names?” she wondered aloud as they walked.

“You’ll see, my Lady,” the runner said. “I think they’ve been picking up people along the entire road from Alexandria.”

She just grunted in response, annoyed by his flimsy attempts at cryptic comments, and continued on to push through the crowd. They resisted at first, until they recognized her, then the people began to melt away from the armed and armored woman pushing through.

They stepped out of the crowd in time for Dyna to see what the ruckus was all about, and the sight brought her up short.

Master Heron’s automated chariot rattled along the stone-paved road leading into the middle of town, which was impressive enough, to be honest, given that Dyna knew it had never been tested over more than a few hundred feet. What caused her to stop in her tracks, however, were the four chariots it was towing along behind it, each loaded down with gear that would have taken at least two mules apiece to move normally.

“My Lady!”

Dyna looked to the automated chariot itself and saw Craftsman Sensus waving at her as he jumped down from the bronze and wooden device. He was covered in smoke and soot, but the grin on his face was wide enough that, had it been lower, she’d have thought someone slit his throat.

“Craftsman,” she blurted. “I’m surprised to see you outside of the Library shops.”

“Someone had to test the chariot,” he explained, “and there were only three people who could. Master Heron is too old to be rattling around the province, and you were here, so that left me.”

He grabbed a cotton cloth and wiped his face down. “I changed the boiler fuel from oil to charcoal. It takes more work to run but is cheaper and hotter. Makes a terrible mess, though, I must admit.”

“Not much cheaper,” Dyna scowled, thinking about it.

Coal was far more common in the northern provinces of the Empire, notably in Britain, but it was hardly economical to transport. Wood to make good quality charcoal was equally difficult to acquire in the region around Alexandria, which was why oil was a more common fuel in the area despite its higher cost.

That would be a problem to surmount, if the device were to be truly useful, but from what she could see, it would probably be a worthwhile effort.

“How long from Alexandria?” she asked.

He looked up at the sun, considering for a moment. “Three hours.”

She quickly thought about that, considering the news carefully. Cabasa was very near Alexandria. One reason why she had chosen to bring her men here was because they could respond quickly along the coast or pull back to the city if needed without tipping any Zealot spies that might be watching Alexandria. That said, they were still probably close to twenty-five mile stones from the city, so three hours was an impressive speed just the same.

“Any problems?” she asked, running her hand along the carriage before eyeing the chariots towed behind.

“It’s a bone shaker,” he told her ruefully as he caught her gaze and smiled. “You like my solution?”

“It is simple,” she admitted. “I kept trying to put everything on one chariot.”

“Makes it too heavy,” he said. “But the weight and power gives it a lot of pulling strength. I believe we could have towed more chariots.”

“Good,” she said, nodding. “Very good.”

Dyna stared for a long moment before abruptly shaking herself to clear her thoughts. “Right, that’s for later. I need the list of what you’ve brought.”

“I think you’ll be very happy,” he said, leading her back to the second chariot and pulling back the cover so she could see the stacks of scutem inside.

Dyna let out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. “You think correctly. I didn’t know there were that many scutem in the entire city.”

“There weren’t. The Twenty-Second took most with them when they marched for the north,” Sensus told her. “But the strong right arms of Alexandria build for you, my Lady.”

“Then I owe them a great deal,” she nodded. “Thank you for bringing these.”

“I brought more than these, my Lady.” He gestured back to the next wagon.

When the cover was pulled back, she saw two rows of cannons, enough to double her siege force. Dyna’s mouth dried as she stared for a moment.

“My Gods, Sensus, you can’t strip Alexandria’s defenses like this,” she protested, recognizing the irony given what she had consistently told Cassius. This was a different case, however, since it really appeared that they had stripped the city bare of her best defensive assets, the steam cannons.

“We haven’t,” he told her calmly. “Every smith, every shop, every strong arm in Alexandria has been working nonstop. In the next two carts I have projectiles for the cannons, armor, swords, and all the various equipment you asked for. We levied enough men from Alexandria to muster another Cohort for your militia. They aren’t Legion, but they know how to swing a sword.”

“Good, we will be needing them,” she said, clapping a hand on the big man’s shoulder. “Come, I’ll show you the local bath so you can get cleaned up. I’ll have my men get things put to rights here.”

“Just a moment,” he said before climbing back up into the chariot and fiddling with something out of sight. When he was done, he jumped back down and clapped his hands clear of black dust as best he could. “That’ll keep it from going anywhere while the boiler cools down.”

She grinned. “That would be for the best. So, speak to me of what has happened since I marched from Alexandria. I’ve been building a tower of tablets with all the notes I’ve been taking since I left my projects. If I don’t get back soon, I fear I’ll have all of Egypt’s supply of wax tablets stored in my command tent!”

“No doubt all filled with brilliant ideas, my Lady.”

She rolled her eyes. “Says the man who showed that I have so much more yet to learn when he showed me up with his own brilliance.”

“I am only good with my hands, my Lady,” Sensus said, shaking his head. “No brilliance, just the eyes of a common man of good sense.”

“There is nothing common about either good sense, or you, Craftsman Sensus,” she told him pointedly as they walked toward the bathhouse.

“That’s not what my wife would say, my Lady,” he told her, laughing.

As she laughed with him, Sensus leaned in closely and spoke to her in a low voice.

“Master Heron sends his regards, my Lady, and a gift in the last cart.” His voice was serious, but she thought she could detect a real hint of awe or something similar. “I’ll show it to you when there are less people. Better to keep this one under our robes, if you get my meaning.”

Dyna nodded slowly, not certain what he was speaking of exactly but certain that a little secrecy would be far from harmful. “Tonight, then.”

“As you say, my Lady,” he said. “Tonight.”

Chapter 18

Glints of light flashed off a polished shield, almost three miles away from where Gordian had propped his leg up on a sun-bleached stone. Deciphering the signal only took a few seconds’ thought; the signal code used by the Legion was simple by necessity, but it was enough.

“So,” he said, considering the situation. “They have a Legion’s worth of men.”

That was unexpected news and, frankly, disheartening.

“I never would have believed it had anyone else reported it,” Centurion Janusi said with a shake of his head, “but I trust our men.”

“As do I,” Gordian confirmed with a determined set to his jaw.

They’d bypassed the port at Caesarea, not
quite
in defiance of the letter of their orders but certainly treading roughly on the spirit of them. Gordian was well aware, however, that retaking Caesarea was far from a trivial matter. It would certainly require a lengthy siege of the city built around the harbor, and as one of the richest ports in the Empire, that was certainly a non-trivial task.

Meanwhile, reports from his scouts had indicated that a large Zealot force had been seen moving from Judea Province into the Egyptian Diocese. Left unchecked, the sheer destruction a Legion-sized force could wreak on the largely undefended region didn’t bear much thinking on.

When this is over, I need to see if I can figure out just whose mark was on the orders that stripped Egypt of its defenses ay such a critical moment.

That was a thought for a future time, however.

“Go get the men ready to move,” Gordian ordered. “We’ll meet the scouts on the road and get our final marching orders then.”

“As you will it.” Janusi saluted before running off.

The Legion would be on the move within an hour—he’d had them waiting for just such an order since they stopped—but Gordian worried that it would not be enough. The enemy was already moving into Egypt, and that was going to put the Twenty-Second in the position of chasing a mobile force that really didn’t have much interest in taking territory intact. They’d be able to run them down, no doubt, but Gordian would have to take care not to tire his men out before it happened.

The Commander of the Twenty-Second Legion let out a deep breath and then pushed off the rock he was propping himself up against and made his way back to his command.

****

The Twenty-Second marched within the hour, as he expected, and met the scouts a few hours later on the road, just as they turned in toward the Egypt Diocese. The additional detail they were able to report in person didn’t do much to settle Gordian’s nerves, but they did solidify his resolve.