by Rob Steiner
“Where are we going?” Lucia asked. They entered the Terran atmosphere above Asia, and their collision with the air formed plasma sparks at the front of the ship. “We enter Roman airspace in fifteen minutes.”
Appius tapped his tabulari. “Land the ship at these coordinates.”
The coordinates came across Lucia's display. She read them and then checked them again. “My friends are in Roma.”
“For now,” Appius said. “But they’re about to be caught, and they will be taken to those coordinates.”
Blaesus must have read the coordinates on his tabulari. “The South Pole?”
“The Praetorians have a secret facility there for high profile prisoners,” Appius said. “Prisoners they don't want people to know they have.”
“Like the Consular Heir,” Lucia said.
“Like the Consular Heir.”
“So he really wants to defect to Libertus. Why?”
Appius smiled. “If I told you, you wouldn't believe me.”
“My boy,” Blaesus said, “you’d be surprised at what we believe now.”
40
Kaeso glanced at the chronometer on his wrist. It was midnight. He'd been talking with Ocella for a half hour, but it felt like five minutes.
“Humanity has been in space for more than five hundred years,” Ocella said. “Why do you think we've never encountered any alien beings?”
“Space is big. Humanity has traveled to an infinitely small corner of it.”
“Traveled, yes. But we have telescopes and scanners on almost every inhabited world searching the stars for intelligent alien life. In five hundred years we've never found any sign.”
“Maybe we're just alone.”
“We may be alone now, but we were not the first intelligent life in the universe.”
“The Muses.”
“Yes, the Muses came before us. Yes, they're intelligent, but they're a virus. How did they know how to build starships?”
“What are you saying? Because I can't pretend to answer these questions.”
Ocella licked her lips. “I'm saying humanity is not the first intelligent race the Muses found. There were nine others before us. All were infected with the Muses; all were given knowledge the Muses learned from previous races. And all died when the Muse strains began fighting each other.”
“Fighting each other?” Kaeso said.
“Yes. It all starts out benign. The Muses infect a race, give them technology enabling them to cure diseases, increase fertility. Populations explode. Eventually each race is given the technology for space travel, and each race colonizes other planets using the way lines.
“Then they find another race infected with a different Muse strain. Or sometimes different strains infect the same race, like they did us. Either way, the Muses seem to go insane and force their hosts to slaughter each other. It’s a brutal fight to the death, and every race used this way is extinct.”
Kaeso rubbed a hand over his shaved head. “So somehow the Muses came to Terra? They've been with humans since the beginning?”
“Not since the beginning of humanity,” Ocella said. “Since Marcus Antonius Primus found them in Egypt.”
It made a crazy kind of sense. Antonius took Roma because he developed gunpowder weapons while in Egypt. Antonius’s gunpowder weapons were a world-changing innovation…the kind that came from the Muses on Libertus. Antonius obliterated Octavian's naval fleet at Actium with cannons, sailed his armies to southern Italia, and marched up the peninsula with few casualties on his side. After Antonius took Roma, the Republic entered a Golden Age that some say still existed.
“Why did the Muses infect Marcus Antonius?” Kaeso asked. “If they were in Egypt, why didn’t they infect Cleopatra, or the Ptolemy kings or the pharaohs before them?”
“I asked Cordus the same thing. He said it was a chance encounter Antonius had while exploring an Egyptian ruin outside Alexandria. He opened a sealed tomb where several vials of the Muses were stored. Egyptian priests said the tomb was that of an ancient god, and the vials contained the god’s powers. Octavian had just declared war on Antonius, so he was desperate…and very drunk. On Antonius’s orders, the priests mixed the vials’ powdered contents with water, placed the solution on the tip of a dagger, and then Antonius cut himself with the dagger.”
“So Antonius was the first human infectee.”
“At least the first modern human. The alien race the Egyptians knew as gods came to Terra over fifteen thousand years ago to escape their war with the Liberti Muses. That race infected some humans, but those early humans died out due to natural disasters and primitive conditions.”
“You’re saying the Terran Muses uplifted humanity just so they could find the other strains and wipe them out?”
“I'm not saying this,” Ocella said. “I’m just telling you what’s in the memories Cordus gave me.”
“Cordus,” Kaeso said skeptically. “Who is the Roman Consular Heir.”
“How could those memories lie? What would Roma have to gain by giving me a story like this?”
Kaeso laughed mirthlessly. “I don’t know, maybe get you to destroy Umbra?”
Ocella sighed and stared at him. “This is all true. The memories, Scaurus’s texts, Cordus. I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life. Even Roman and Umbra actions so far confirm what I’m saying.”
“Fine,” Kaeso said, “let's assume what you're saying is true.”
“It is.”
“Then what is your plan? You get Cordus off Terra, then what?”
“We get him to a Saturnist stronghold.”
“And then?”
“They use his blood to develop a cure against the Muses.”
“And after that?”
“Gods, I don't know! I don't have a detailed mission brief for this. I'm making it up as I go. I know I have to get Cordus away from Roma and Umbra. He's the only chance humanity has to avoid extinction.”
A noise outside the window made Kaeso look. He and Ocella stepped to either side of the window facing the street and peeked around the corner. An old woman in filthy rags pushed a cart filled with old blankets, cans, and other dingy items. The sound of her cart’s squeaky wheels floated over the sounds of waves and boat traffic on the river.
“This street is filled with beggars,” Ocella whispered. “I don't think the Praetorians recruit old women.” The doubt in her eyes and rigidity of her posture belied her confident words.
“Maybe not,” Kaeso said. The old woman shuffled down the street, pushing her cart, without glancing at the townhouse. At the next street corner, she turned right and out of Kaeso's sight.
“Then again...” Kaeso said. He pointed to a large, overflowing trash bin across the street from the corner on which the old woman had turned. “Seems like a tempting target for a real beggar.”
“Maybe she'd already found what she wanted,” Ocella said, taking a pulse pistol from her cloak and scanning the street. “Maybe she was tired and wanted to go...to where ever she slept.”
“Or maybe she has a disguised camera in her cart and was scouting the block,” Kaeso said. “I think we should leave.”
Ocella hesitated, then said, “Agreed.”
“Go warn the others. I’ll keep watch.”
Ocella nodded, then left the gathering room. Kaeso turned to the window and watched for other “beggars.”
Lepidus studied the man’s face on his pad. The picture from the recon unit was washed out due to the darkness, but the black and white image matched the one the way station took of the Llahsa freighter’s centuriae. Same shaved head and scarred forehead, same sharp nose and dimpled chin.
Lepidus smiled. The gods are with me tonight.
He turned to the Praetorian centurion next to him. “Take them.”
Kaeso heard noise behind him. He turned to see Ocella enter the room, but she was alone.
“Where are they?” he asked.
“Downstairs. Gaia Julius has another idea.”
>
“We have to leave now, the Praetorians are here.”
“There's a way out through the basement. Best we use it instead of the front door, don't you think?”
Kaeso nodded and was about to follow Ocella when blinking lights from across the river caught his eye. He turned and realized they were not blinking lights. Two flyers, black and silent, glided over the river toward the townhouse, momentarily blocking the lights on the Trastevere.
He cursed, then pushed Ocella to the kitchen. They ran down the stairs and into the basement just as a house-shaking crash came from upstairs.
Everyone in the basement—Nestor, Cordus, Gaia Julius, and her two men—turned to Kaeso and Ocella as they charged down the stairs.
“We need to leave!” Kaeso yelled to Gaia.
Boots stomped on the floor above them.
“In there,” Gaia said, motioning to the secret room. After they all rushed in, Gaia put her hand on the palm pad next to the door. The stone entry slid shut. Cordus ran to Ocella, who put a protective arm around his shoulders.
“Please tell me we're not trapped in here,” Kaeso said to Gaia.
“Give me some credit, Ancile,” Gaia said. She hurried to the other side of the room, pushed aside a bookcase to reveal a hidden door. She opened the door, and a dark tunnel appeared. She turned back to Kaeso with a smile.
“Secret doors upon secret doors,” Kaeso said.
“Saturnists are much more paranoid than Umbra,” she said, then hurried into the tunnel. Gaia's men followed.
Ocella glanced at Kaeso, and then she pulled Cordus into the dark tunnel.
On the other side of the wall, boots charged down the stairs into the basement. Kaeso went to the wall and put his ear to it.
“Centuriae!” Nestor said in a whisper. Kaeso waved him into the tunnel. Nestor frowned, looking from the tunnel to Kaeso. When Kaeso waved more insistently, Nestor shook his head and approached the wall. Kaeso wanted to throw Nestor into the tunnel, but that would make noise. Besides, the voices behind the stone wall were muffled. Nestor might pick up bits Kaeso missed.
“All clear…empty…yes, sir…search the house...secure the block...” Boots stomped up the stairs back to the first floor, and then all was silent in the basement.
Kaeso caught Nestor's eye, then jerked his thumb back at the tunnel. They both stepped quietly to the tunnel and pulled the door closed behind them. The tunnel was pitch dark for a moment until Kaeso's eyes adjusted and he could make out a white glow up ahead. It was enough to outline the contours of the tunnel and enable him to move forward. He heard the shuffling footsteps from the others and followed the sounds.
“What did you hear?” Kaeso asked Nestor.
“The house was clear and they’re searching the entire block.”
“That's what I got, too. How secure are Saturnist secret doors?”
“Should be shielded to prevent any power or heat signatures.”
Kaeso kept his hands on the rough-hewn walls to guide him along. The white glow ahead grew brighter as they closed on the others. The odor of dirty water grew stronger, overpowering the tunnel’s mustiness.
“We have to assume they'll find it,” Kaeso said. “And we have to find a way to warn Lucia. Caduceus is in danger.”
Before Nestor could answer, they turned a corner to their right and found the rest of the escapees. They stood near an opening from which Kaeso smelled the stagnant water. He made his way to the front, where Gaia Julius pointed her electric torch over the edge. The beam illuminated brown water three feet below the opening. Black and green mold covered the ancient stone walls and arched ceilings.
“It's an offshoot of the Cloaca Maxima,” Gaia said. “It's no longer used, so don't worry about walking through raw sewage.”
“Where will it take us?” Kaeso asked.
“If we go that way”—pointing to the right—“the Tiber. If we go that way”—pointing left—“the main line and the Forum Romanum. I suggest the river.”
“Agreed. Won't the Praetorians know this line?”
“I'm sure they'll figure it out,” Gaia said, “so our best chance is to be out of here before they do. Ready to get wet, Ancile?”
Gaia jumped into the brackish water with a splash. The water came up to her waist, and she waded down the passage to the right. Gaia's two men jumped in after her, as did Nestor.
Cordus stared at the water. “I-I don't know how to swim.”
“It’s not deep,” Ocella assured him. “It only comes up to your chest. See where it is on Gaia?”
“What about the river?”
Impatient, Kaeso said, “It's either the sewer or you take your chances with the Praetorians. Which is it?”
Cordus glanced at the dark tunnel behind Kaeso, and then the water below his feet. He still hesitated.
“I can't believe you're scared of a little water,” Kaeso said. “I thought Romans were a brave race. Isn't that what you always tell us barbarians?”
The boy shot Kaeso an angry look. The fear in his eyes turned to determination, and he jumped into the water. He gasped, but quickly righted himself and followed Gaia.
Kaeso grinned. Romans are so easy to manipulate.
Ocella’s eyes flashed at Kaeso, then she jumped into the water after Cordus.
Kaeso was the last to jump. The water was brutally cold and Kaeso gasped despite himself. He followed Gaia's small torch beams ahead. They passed side tunnels, and even turned down a few, making Kaeso pray that Gaia knew where to go. Just to be sure, he waded up to her and asked where they were.
She smiled. Her once perfectly styled patrician hair hung in wet strands down her back. “The walls are marked,” she said, but did not elaborate.
Kaeso didn't recall any markings on the walls where they turned, and he had checked. But then the Saturnists have become good at hiding things in plain sight.
“What happens when we get to the river?”
“We swim.”
“I was hoping for a better plan.”
“Our plan was to wait in the safe house until my contacts could secure passage off-world. Your arrival made us flee before they could secure that passage.”
Kaeso bristled at her implication that he brought the Praetorians down on them, though he knew he likely had.
Ocella waded up to them. “You have a starship, Kaeso?”
“Yes.”
“But how do we get to it?” Gaia asked. “The Praetorians won't let us ride a shuttle to the way station. Our pictures are on every security watch list on Terra.”
“We never planned to take a commercial shuttle,” Kaeso said. “I have a contact who can get us on a cargo shuttle to the way station. You just need to get us out of this sewer.”
“Working on it, Ancile.” She then gave him a sideways glance. “How did you make it through the way station? I thought the Praetorians killed every Ancile they found.”
Kaeso was silent, then said, “They can’t find Ancilia with deactivated implants.”
Gaia eyed him curiously, and Kaeso said, “Let’s just say Umbra brought me out of retirement.”
“Well,” Gaia said. “Ocella’s betrayal has made Umbra desperate.”
Kaeso refused to take Gaia’s baiting. Instead, he said to Ocella, “By the way, how did you deactivate your implant?”
Ocella watched Cordus. The boy and Nestor were engrossed in a conversation on Roman history and the days after Antonius became Consul. “Cordus did it.”
“How?”
“Scaurus had a device that enabled communication between me and Cordus. Apparently Roman Muses need it to deactivate an implant developed by the Liberti Muses.”
“What about these memories Cordus gave you? Can they help us find a way out of Roma?”
Ocella shook her head. “The memories went away when Scaurus deactivated my implant.”
Gaia chuckled. “Implants or not, Roma will find you or Umbra will kill you. Saturnist resources are considerable, but you’ll need to stay on the ru
n. Your best hope is for that siege to last as long as possible, keep them both distracted, and give you a head start.”
Claudia’s tear-streaked, ten-year-old face flashed in Kaeso’s mind. “That siege is killing my home. It has to end.”
“My aren't we ambitious?” Gaia said. “Kidnapping the Consular Heir and lifting a Roman world-siege. You enjoy impossible tasks, don't you?”
“Enjoy isn’t the word I'd choose,” Kaeso said. “But Libertus must win. I can deal with the consequences here.”
“You might be able to,” Ocella said in a low voice, “but what about Cordus? We need to protect him. Gaia is right. Keeping Roma and Libertus distracted helps to get us off Terra. I can live with the siege lasting a few more days.”
“Libertus doesn't have a few more days. The Roman fleet has already slagged three major cities. That's over six million people dead.”
“I know,” Ocella said, “and it breaks my heart. But Cordus is important...”
“So is my daughter,” Kaeso growled. “Your niece. You might be here to save humanity, but all I want is to save my world and my daughter from incineration. If the siege ends, then I can handle a little pressure from Umbra and the Praetorians.”
“You are so short-sighted,” Ocella said, her voice rising. “Umbra may have changed your face, but you’re the same man you were before Petra died. You never look beyond your current mission. You never think what happens next. Or who it hurts.”
“When you sentenced every Ancile to death, did you wonder who that would hurt?”
“They would’ve killed me and that would’ve killed Cordus,” Ocella snarled. “I hate what I did. I hate myself more than you know. But I made the right decision, because that boy is the only thing that will keep every human alive from ending up like the six million dead Liberti.”
Gaia cleared her throat. “Perhaps you two should continue your conversation when you have more privacy?”
Kaeso glanced at the others. Gaia's men were a little too focused on the tunnel ahead. Nestor and Cordus had stopped talking—Nestor frowned at Kaeso, while Cordus looked from Kaeso to Ocella with sad eyes.