Betrayal: The Centurions I

by Riches, Anthony

  He pointed at the map again.

  ‘What you see is an allied territory, supplier of some of the finest shock troops in the empire. What you should be seeing is a pugio pointed squarely at Rome’s back. A knife wielded by my compatriot Gaius Julius Civilis. In recent days he has taken to meeting with the tribes’ citizens, one family at a time, building a base of support for his plan to strike at Rome when the empire is at its most preoccupied with matters elsewhere.’

  ‘And you know this how, exactly?’

  ‘I know this, Legatus, because I was invited to a gathering in our most sacred holy place three nights ago, a meeting of all the senior men of the tribe, mainly those qualified as citizens of the empire, the men who elect our magistrate, plus a few others of high standing who for whatever reason have not achieved citizen status. This gathering was called by Civilis, a man with whom I have personal differences.’

  Flaccus nodded his understanding.

  ‘No less than I expected. He’s a Gaius Julius, which means that his family achieved citizenship a century ago when Caesar first conquered this country, whereas you are a Tiberius Claudius, the son of a man granted citizenship by the emperor Claudius. Am I right?’ Labeo nodded in silence. ‘Which means in turn that Civilis and the other men of the tribe like him, members of the families used to controlling your affairs in a tight little clique, now find themselves beset on all sides by men who see no reason why the initial cosy set-up whereby they elected one of their own to the magistracy should be allowed to continue. After all, whoever leads their faction is in truth the de facto king of the tribe. And there are more than enough men like you to challenge their oligarchy, if you act together. Although that has been a big “if” in the past, hasn’t it?’

  Labeo nodded slowly.

  ‘You are surprisingly well informed, Legatus.’

  Flaccus snorted his amusement.

  ‘What I am, gentlemen, appearances to the contrary, is not entirely fucking stupid.’

  The gathered officers stared back at him in barely concealed disbelief, and he laughed tersely at their collective discomfiture.

  ‘I know you all look at me and see a fat, gout-ridden old man, chosen by Vitellius to command the legions of Germania because the odds of my being offered the purple by those legions is somewhere between scant and none. But my father didn’t raise an idiot, and nor did he stint on my education as a younger man. I’d wager I’ve a better political brain than any man here, and I know very well what’s motivating your compatriot Civilis, and you, for that matter. He wants to rule your tribe, like an old-fashioned king, and you want to break his grip on the reins of power and avoid him becoming a tyrant. Right?’

  Labeo nodded slowly.

  ‘Your view of the matter is well informed, Legatus.’

  ‘Good. Now we’re being honest with each other. So what happened at this gathering?’

  ‘Civilis told the men of the tribe that we were being exploited by the emperor’s decision to allow the legions to recruit directly from our people by force. He argued that this decision, whilst lawful, makes a mockery of our long-standing treaty with Rome to be exempt from taxes and conscription, especially given the way in which your centurions have been going about it. I think you know what I mean?’

  He shot a hard glance at Marius, who stared back at him expressionlessly.

  ‘Civilis is telling our people that we’re on a slippery slope to being just another subject people, rather than a valued ally.’

  Flaccus nodded with a knowing expression.

  ‘A good choice of argument, I’d say, given the sorry details that Legatus Lupercus and his First Spear have already shared with me as to what happened when our recruiting parties, shall we say, exceeded their brief somewhat. Presumably this man Civilis told your elders that that Flavius Vespasianus is their best hope of maintaining their independence, and coincidentally keeping his head attached to his neck?’

  ‘He did. But there’s one thing he made great play of that I’m willing to bet good money you haven’t heard yet.’

  Flaccus’s eyes narrowed.

  ‘Really? I do love a challenge. But I’ll warn you, Prefect, that I see every single intelligence report before they go off to Rome for the men who advise the emperor to fret over. Still want to take that bet?’

  Labeo looked at him for a moment, then shook his head.

  ‘No, Legatus. I don’t think I will.’

  The senior officer smiled tightly.

  ‘A wise choice.’

  He turned to address the legion’s officers.

  ‘The most persuasive argument that this man Civilis could have brought to this meeting our ally has described would be one based not on logic, but on religion. Your people, Claudius Labeo, are still effectively wedded to the old ways, are they not? Rome’s gods are tolerated alongside the imperial cult, but when you pray, you pray to firstly Magusanus, and then to Hercules. And there is a woman hidden deep in the forest beyond the Rhenus who exercises a good deal more influence on the tribes on this side of the river than Rome finds comfortable. Did Civilis mention her, by any chance?’

  The Batavi officer nodded ruefully.

  ‘Yes.’

  Flaccus addressed the room.

  ‘Our biggest problem here is not that the Batavians feel slighted by the emperor’s decision to recruit from their ranks, or that this man Civilis wishes to be king of his tribe, or even that he is looking for a way to avoid the emperor having him executed, once the war against Vespasianus is done with. No, gentlemen, our biggest problem is that there is a priestess in the tribal lands beyond the Rhenus who has accumulated more power than any chieftain in a remarkably short amount of time. Her name is Veleda, and whole tribes bend the knee at even the mention of that name, it seems. Her reach is so long that she has even brokered agreement in a territorial dispute between the Roman inhabitants of Colonia Agrippina and the Tencteri tribe on the other side of the river. They believe she sees the future, like a Germanic version of the oracle at Delphi, and her proclamations are brought to those who ask for them by her acolytes, allowing the woman herself to maintain a remoteness that only feeds her myth.’

  He took a drink of wine, savouring the taste for a moment.

  ‘This really is very good wine, Munius Lupercus. So, why should this woman’s auguries be such a problem now?’

  As the question hung in the air, he gestured to the Batavi officer.

  ‘Claudius Labeo here knows, which might give us a clue.’

  Labeo bowed his head fractionally in recognition of Flaccus’s point.

  ‘Nobody else? Very well, gentlemen, the reason why this woman is now no longer simply a curiosity but a deadly enemy of Rome, is two-fold. Firstly, she has recently predicted that the Batavians will rise up against their Roman “overlords” and defeat them, freeing the German peoples who are not yet their subjects from the threat of their yoke and liberating the tribes to the west of the Rhenus to enjoy fresh independence. And that, although significant enough in its own right, is the smaller of the two issues that we have with this priestess and her prophecies. Would any of you care to guess what the bigger of them is?’

  He looked around him at the legion’s officers, inviting anyone to comment, but they stared back at him to a man, baffled as to what it was that could be worse than the seditious words they were hearing.

  ‘The major reason why this Veleda represents the biggest threat to the empire on the entire northern frontier is the simple fact that the Germans believe her prophecy. Not just the Batavians, but all of them. In and of itself her prediction of Batavian victory is simply an incitement for them to rise against us, one of many that have been hurled across the Rhenus since the days when we stood on the brink of subduing Germania Magna only to have that prize torn from our fingers by the disaster of the Teutoburg Forest. But invested with the power of that belief it becomes deadly, a casus belli that has the potential to ignite every damned tribe on both sides of the river all the way down the frontier
to the Winter Camp in the far south. If the Batavians make war on Rome, then Civilis and his men won’t stand alone for long, that seems certain enough from the intelligence reports I’ve been reading of late.’

  He turned back to Labeo.

  ‘This gathering of your tribe’s elders took place in one of your holy places, did it not?’

  ‘Yes Legatus, a grove formerly used by our priests for the worship of Magusanus.’

  ‘And did Civilis order a ritual to be held?’

  ‘He did.’

  ‘There it is.’

  Flaccus gestured to the Batavi officer with a grim smile.

  ‘This man Civilis plans to use the priestess’s prophecy as the spark to light the dry tinder of his people’s frustrations with Rome. And that fire will blaze across Germania with a speed that would have represented enough of a challenge to our authority even if Vitellius hadn’t emptied out the frontier fortresses to spearhead his march on Rome. As it is, we are already perilously close to defeat before the first spear is thrown. And make no mistake, gentlemen, if we lose so much as a single battle to whatever force the Batavians can put into the field then the tribes that surround us on both sides of the river will be at our throats in days, as the news reaches them and proves this woman’s claim that Rome’s northern frontier is vulnerable, ripe for the taking.’

  He fell silent, and every man in the room pondered on the sudden, terrifying nature of the abyss that had opened beneath their feet. Munius Lupercus cleared his throat, looking at Flaccus questioningly, and the general nodded his assent to whatever it was the legatus had to say.

  ‘So, Claudius Labeo, tell us of Civilis’s intentions, as much as you know them.’

  The Batavi nodded.

  ‘I know them well enough, Legatus Lupercus. He plans a ruse, to allow him to gather his forces into one powerful army under the disguise of what he hopes you will order him to do, when the tribe’s allies rise up and lay waste to the Roman fort on their territory along the north-west frontier, which will happen at any time now. He will send word of this apparently minor rebellion to you, and seek your permission to take my cavalry wing, his own German guard and the tribe’s militia west to put down the revolt, whereas in reality he will swiftly join with their leader Brinno and his men, trapping the Roman forces that remain between his army and the sea, destroy them one fort at a time and then turn back to face us with the threat at his back neutralised and the German tribes flocking to the banner of a man who has defied Rome and won. Your remaining legion strength will face an army that becomes stronger with every day, and most of your legionaries are still as green as fresh-cut wood.’

  Flaccus played a penetrating stare on him before replying.

  ‘You realise that your people will see what you’re doing in revealing Civilis’s plan as treason, pure and simple? When we’ve defeated them, as we surely will in the long run, you will be a man without a homeland?’

  Labeo shrugged, his eyes hard with certainty.

  ‘I am a faithful servant of the empire, Legatus. I hold no allegiance for Civilis, a man I believe to be motivated by dreams of becoming king of my tribe but who will instead lead us to disaster. When, as you say, Rome has stirred itself to stamp this rebellion flat and restored the rule of law to my people, I will see what state of mind they have with regard to my behaviour in alerting you to this threat. If they will have me back I will be glad to serve the tribe, and if they are hostile I am sure that Rome will find some small place for me to live out my days in the happy knowledge that I did the right thing by my oath of allegiance to the empire. A man must always follow the dictates of his conscience, and my conscience will not allow me any other path than that of honour, and to attempt to save my people from this disaster.’

  The general nodded.

  ‘And well said. It would be ideal if we could avert the need for you and your horsemen to take up arms against your comrades, but I fear we will need your spears if we are to snuff out this embryonic rebellion before the fire takes hold and sends the whole of the north up in flames. What’s our strength in the land of the Cananefates and the Batavians?’

  Lupercus pointed to the wall map.

  ‘On paper we have the men needed to deal with whatever manpower the tribes can muster. The tribe is thirty thousand strong, and four thousand of their fighting age men are away with the army in Italy.’

  Flaccus shook his head dismissively.

  ‘In point of fact, Munius Lupercus, their cohorts were at the Winter Camp in Mogontiacum until a few days ago, but Vitellius has ordered them south again to rejoin his army in preparation for Vespasianus’s attack. There’ll be no help for Civilis from that quarter.’

  Lupercus continued his briefing, pointing to a point close to the coast.

  ‘We usually have an infantry cohort here at Praetorium Agrippina, but the fort’s current real strength is a small fraction of that. There’s normally another cohort here …’ He pointed at a spot on the map five miles from the first. ‘But it’s the same story, just token centuries left to make sure the locals don’t rob the place while the rest of them are away. Further to the east there are another three forts guarding the frontier and the bridge across it, but once again they’ve no more than caretaker strength. With all the men who’ve been withdrawn to satisfy the emperor’s demands for more units to be sent south, we’ve only got a single cohort guarding the frontier from Bridge Fort to the sea.’

  Flaccus eyed the map sourly.

  ‘When do you believe the Cananefates will attack, Decurion Labeo?’

  ‘In the next day or so, Legatus. No later.’

  ‘Then the forts closest to the coast are as good as lost, and the men manning them too, unless they see the attack coming and manage to make a run for it.’

  ‘I …’

  The general’s gaze snapped back round to the Batavian cavalryman.

  ‘You what?’

  ‘I took the precaution of sending one of my men west to warn them, Legatus.’

  Flaccus stared at the Batavi with a new light of respect in his eyes.

  ‘Gods below, you might just have saved them. What did you tell them?’

  ‘That they were about to be overwhelmed, and that they should abandon their positions and fall back on Bridge Fort where they were to await further orders. The fort being close to the river, Legatus.’

  A smile crept across Flaccus’s face.

  ‘And thereby convenient for the fleet.’

  ‘That was very much what I had in mind.’

  ‘I see. And while you’re suggesting strategy, do you have any more ideas you’d like to share?’

  Labeo smiled weakly.

  ‘I may already have over-reached myself.’

  ‘Not at all. We’re all strangers here, but you know this land intimately. So come along, out with it.’

  The Batavi nodded, walking to the map and pointing at the river Rhenus north of Batavodurum.

  ‘The banks of the river are shallow here, which means that it’d be easy enough to get a decent-sized force ashore from our naval vessels. And less than fifteen miles from our tribal capital. Which means that if several cohorts of trained and well-armed soldiers came ashore there, to meet with my five hundred horsemen, the resulting force would be enough to ensure that Civilis would have to bring his full strength to meet it or risk losing the war before it begins.’

  ‘I see.’ Flaccus pondered the suggestion for a moment. ‘But would your men fight their own people? Surely there’s a risk they’d refuse to spill their brothers’ blood?’

  Labeo shook his head emphatically.

  ‘They fear Rome’s retribution on our people if this rebellion succeeds. They’ll fight, if only to safeguard their families from the wrath that will descend on them if Civilis gets his way and declares a Batavi kingdom. If you can put an army up against the rebels my men will join them, and do their duty to the empire, in the hope of a swift resolution to this potential crisis.’

  Flaccus looked at Lu
percus questioningly.

  ‘What do you think, colleague? Should we wait until your legionaries can get forward to join the fight, or chance the decurion’s plan and seek to put this fire out before it has the time and space to take hold?’

  The legatus looked in turn at his senior centurion.

  ‘How long will it take us to put the legion in fighting order and march to Batavodurum, First Spear?’

  Marius, who had been expecting the question, answered crisply.

  ‘I can put nine cohorts on the road in a day, with the Tungrian auxiliaries camped here, Legatus, and we can be within striking distance of the capital inside four days, if we advance with sufficient caution to avoid the potential for an ambush.’

  Flaccus thought for a moment.

  ‘So we can either strike now, with whatever auxiliary forces are available plus your cavalry, Claudius Labeo, using the fleet to bring forward the auxiliary cohorts that can be detached from their current deployments, like your Tungrians, or we can wait several days to have legionaries available to strengthen the battle line.’

  He nodded decisively.

  ‘I’m approving your plan, Decurion, with certain conditions. We’ll pull the auxiliary cohorts on the north-west frontier back from their forward positions by means of the Rhenus fleet, and concentrate them close to Batavodurum, while your cavalrymen move forward to join them, then use the fleet to take more auxiliaries down the river to join them. The combined force will then move to threaten the Batavi city, and we’ll see if we can’t flush out this man Civilis and his fellow rebels. My orders will be for the auxiliary forces to engage, if the circumstances of that engagement look favourable. And if not, the force can simply fall back and join Munius Lupercus’s men as they advance down the Rhenus. So either we beat them quickly, and with the minimum fuss, with the job done by Rome’s loyal allies, or we beat them later, with the full force of Rome’s iron fist. But either way, gentlemen, we must beat them, so the prime factor for the auxiliary force’s commander will be the preservation of his force to fight at the right time.’