Centurion c-8 Read online

  'I'm sorry, sir. We won't delay you again.'

  'Make sure you don't.' Macro turned and nodded down the track stretching out ahead of them. 'We're going to have the hardest of marches, and then a fight at the end of it, Cato. Make no mistake about it, this is going to be the toughest campaign we've ever known.'

  08 Centurion

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Macro led his two cohorts at an unflagging pace into the parched hills east of Antioch. By day the sun blazed down mercilessly on the small column, and at night the temperature dropped sharply so that the men shivered as they gathered round their campfires and chewed on dried meat and hard bread. The first evening the men grumbled bitterly about having to sleep in the open and then after an uncomfortable night they were back on the road while the stars still glittered in the velvet darkness. For the first two days he permitted them only the briefest of rests at midday and by the time the column stopped, when there was no longer light to see the way ahead the men were too tired to complain about the lack of tents.They simply stumbled into rough sleeping lines, dropped their kit and curled up on the ground, falling asleep almost at once. There they lay, until stirred to take their turn on watch duty.

  The orders from Longinus were explicit on the need for speed. Macro was to march for as many hours as he could, and was not to construct a marching camp at the end of each day. As a soldier who had many years of campaign experience Macro was wretchedly disturbed by the need to sacrifice security for celerity. In order to compensate for the lack of a ditch and rampart he doubled the watches every night and posted cavalry vedettes for good measure. The burden of extra watch-keeping duties compounded the exhaustion of the day's march and by the third day a small number of men had begun to straggle, and did not catch up with the main body until late in the evening.

  'This can only get worse,' Cato muttered as he watched the dark figures of the last men to arrive fumble through the dark lines stretching out across the rock-strewn ground, searching for their units.'In a day or two they will no longer be able to catch up with us. They'll be strung out along the route. Easy pickings for any bandits, or the enemy.'

  'Can't be helped,' Macro replied, and then yawned as he eased himself back against his saddle bag and arranged his heavy military cloak across his body. 'There's bound to be a few slackers in any cohort. A few days of marching always finds them out.'

  'Slackers?' Cato shook his head. 'I saw some good men fall out of the column this afternoon. If we keep this pace up then those who actually make it as far as Palmyra will be in no shape to fight.'

  'Oh, they'll fight,' Macro replied confidently. 'Or they'll die.'

  'I wish I shared your optimism.'

  Macro turned towards Cato and in the faint loom of the stars Cato could see his friend's amused expression.

  'What? What's so bloody funny?'

  'Who said I was an optimist? I'm just telling you how it is. How it has always been for a soldier on campaign. You think we had it hard in Britain? That was a walk in the forum compared to the desert.This land is as much a danger to us as the enemy. Once we reach Chalcis we'll have over a hundred miles to go before we arrive at Palmyra.' Macro rolled on to his back and tucked an arm beneath his head. 'This is the easy part, Cato.You wait until we reach the open desert.Then you, and the men, will really have something to complain about. Almost no chance of finding any water on the way, according to the governor's instructions. The men will have to carry enough water to last five, maybe six, days when we leave Chalcis. I have no idea what condition they'll be in when we reach Palmyra. But I do know that they will have the fight of their lives.'

  'Then it might be advisable to give them some opportunity to rest before they fight,' Cato persisted. 'These double watches are not helping things.We're still a long way from Palmyra.'

  'Cato, you saw how easily that Parthian prince and his men slipped through our outposts and turned up on the governor's doorstep.' Macro jerked a thumb towards the horizon. 'Who's to say they're not out there watching us right now? Waiting for the chance to attack. I'll not take that risk. In fact,' he reflected, 'we'd better not have any more campfires from now on. Just in case the enemy are out there. I'd sooner the men were cold and tired than dead. Besides-' He broke off and yawned. 'We've got more immediate difficulties.'

  'Oh?'

  'Yes. The officers and lads of my cohort are not best pleased to have me appointed as their new commander. As if the execution of Crispus wasn't bad enough, they've had the former commander of Crispus' victim foisted on them. Bit of a slap in the face. Makes you wonder if the governor wanted to cause us even more trouble on the road to Palmyra.'

  'I shouldn't be surprised,' Cato replied bleakly. 'Another twist of the knife. What have your lads been saying, then?'

  'Nothing to my face. It's more the tone of their comments and the generally sour ambience whenever I'm around. Of course, I don't give a flying fuck about how they feel towards me. Just as long as they do as they're told.All the same, we'd better keep an eye out for any further trouble between the legionaries and the auxiliaries. Last thing we need is for them to be watching their backs when they should be looking out for the enemy.'

  'Quite.' Cato took a last glance round the camp before he eased himself down on to the ground and tried to make himself comfortable under his cloak. But despite the heat of the day the nights were cold and he could not help shivering. He knew that it would be a while before he managed to get to sleep, if he ever did.

  'Macro?'

  'Hmm?' Macro grumbled drowsily. 'What? What is it?'

  'What are your plans when we reach Palmyra?'

  'Plans?' Macro paused before replying. 'Longinus did not have much to say on that front. Just that we are to cut through to the citadel and hold it until he arrives.'

  'That's assuming that Artaxes and his followers haven't taken the citadel yet.'

  'Yes.'

  'And if they have?'

  'Then we've pretty much had it. Our water will be finished by then so there'll be no possibility of retreat. We'll have to take Palmyra by ourselves, or surrender.' Macro chuckled. 'It's the same old story. Death or disgrace. Some choice, eh?'

  'Some choice,' Cato agreed quietly.

  'Still, nothing to be done about it,' Macro concluded.'So do me a favour and shut up and get some sleep.We need all we can get.'

  Macro turned his back to Cato and pulled his cloak tightly round his stocky body. A short time later he was asleep and his rumbling snores added to the more distant chorus of the other men, broken here and there by the low voices of the restless and the occasional snort and whinny from the horse lines. But there was no sleep for Cato as his mind dwelt on the situation. The odds were stacking up against them and while he understood the need for the governor to send a relief force to Palmyra it appeared to Cato that their mission was little more than a desperate gesture. King Vabathus might already be dead, along with the ambassador and his small retinue. Even now Artaxes could be cementing his grip on the throne, and throwing his kingdom open to Parthia. If that happened then the delicate balance of power that had kept the peace in the east of the Empire would be shattered. Parthia would be able to mass its fast-moving army on the very frontier of Syria and threaten Roman territory from Armenia to Egypt. Emperor Claudius would be forced to reinforce his eastern armies at huge expense, and strip legions from the Rhine frontier, already thinly stretched. That, or abandon huge swathes of land to Parthia and risk the ire of the mob and political rivals in Rome.

  It could all have been avoided, Cato realised. If only Rome had been content to leave Palmyra as a buffer between the empire and Parthia then peace could have lasted, albeit an uneasy peace. But the moment the treaty had been signed with King Vabathus, a confrontation with Parthia was assured. Cato felt a cold rage grow within him as he contemplated the policymakers back in Rome, living lives of luxury far from the consequences of their power play. Perhaps they had calculated that their designs on Palmyra justified the risk of provoking the
Parthians, as one might wager a stake on the roll of a dice. But here on the frontier that stake was measured in the lives of the men sleeping in the darkness all around Cato. Men whose endurance would be stretched to the limit in the days ahead, before they even had the chance to close with the enemy. If they won, then a token would be shifted fractionally on the map of the Empire back in Claudius' palace in Rome. If they lost, then the token would be casually swept from the board and discarded.

  Cato smiled bitterly at the thought, and cursed himself for possessing this cruel streak of detachment that caused him to view his actions in the widest context. For a while he glanced at Macro's slumbering form with envy. Finally, a long time after almost all the other soldiers had fallen still and silent, Cato eventually drifted off into a troubled sleep on the cold, hard ground.

  The next day the column left the hills and emerged on to the rolling dusty plain on the road to Chalcis. Despite Macro's concerns, they encountered only the usual trade caravans from which the men hurriedly bought fruit and wine at vastly inflated prices. All the while the number of stragglers increased and by the time they reached Chalcis, three days after leaving Antioch, Cato saw from his strength returns that eight men of the Second Illyrian had failed to reach the camp in time for that morning's roll-call. He sat in the shade of the palm trees that fringed the small lake on whose bank the town of Chalcis squatted. Like the other towns that had been founded on the ancient trade routes, Chalcis profited from levying taxes on the caravans of camels that passed through its territory, and its inhabitants lived with an enviable degree of comfort. But now, news of the revolt in Palmyra and rumours of the inevitable conflict between Rome and Parthia had unsettled the people and small crowds gathered to watch the Roman column as it marched up to the town and halted to rest and fill its canteens and spare waterskins at the lake.

  Cato could well understand their anxiety. The isolation that made peace so profitable for Chalcis also made it vulnerable in time of war, and its strategic importance meant that it would be contested by both sides.The income from trade would dry up and the town faced hard times, if it survived at all. Cato focused his mind on the strength returns on the waxed slate that Centurion Parmenion had brought to him.

  'Eight men now. I wonder how many more we will have lost by the time we reach Palmyra?'

  'Shall I send a cavalry squadron back to round them up, sir?'

  Cato considered this for a moment and shook his head. 'If they're able to, they'll find us. But I'll not lose any more men than I have to by sending out search parties. Mark them down as absent without leave. If they fail to catch up by tomorrow morning then put them down as deserters.'

  'Very well, sir.' Parmenion scored a note on his tablet and Cato watched him for a moment before speaking in a low voice.

  'What's the mood of our men?'

  Parmenion looked up at his commander, then glanced round to make sure that they would not be overheard. 'Not too bad, considering.'

  'Considering what?'

  Parmenion nodded towards the legionaries sitting beneath the palms a short distance from the men and horses of the Second Illyrian.'There's still plenty of bad blood over that business in Antioch. The legionaries are needling our lads at every opportunity. Frankly, they're spoiling for a fight.'

  'Who, our men, or Macro's?'

  'Both.' Parmenion wearily rubbed the bristles on his chin.'Wouldn't take much to set them at each other's throats.'

  'We must see that it doesn't happen,' Cato said firmly. 'I want you to pass the word on to the other centurions and their optios.We can't afford any trouble. I'll come down like a bloody avalanche on any man who causes a fight. Make sure that's understood.'

  'Yes, sir.'

  'Very well then, Parmenion. Carry on.'

  His adjutant closed his wax tablets, saluted and then strode off towards the handful of mule carts that carried the cohort's records, pay chest and small stock of spare weapons and rations. A party of auxiliaries was busy loading the filled waterskins and baskets of fruit and dried meat bought from the market in Chalcis. Cato regarded them for a moment, and wondered briefly if he had allowed for adequate supplies to see his men across the desert to Palmyra. It had been a difficult calculation. Of all the supplies that a commander had to provide for his men, water was the most onerous, thanks to its weight, and propensity to find the means of spilling or leaking. If they carried too much water on the carts it would slow their progress. But if too little was loaded and the column was delayed by a sandstorm, or enemy action, then it would run out and the men would suffer the agonies of thirst that desert conditions swiftly made so acute.

  A flash of red caught his eye and he saw Macro emerge from the city gate, striding back towards his column. As he reached the carts Macro caught sight of Cato and made directly for him.

  'Don't get up!' he called out as Cato made to rise and stand formally at attention. A moment later he squatted down heavily beside Cato and untied the chin straps of his helmet, removing it with a sigh of relief.

  'Was that necessary?' Cato nodded.'The helmet, I mean.'

  'I think so.' Macro mopped his sweaty brow on the back of his forearm. 'There's bound to be some kid in Chalcis with a sling and Parthian sympathies. Why take the risk?'

  'Fair enough. Any news from Palmyra?'

  Macro had made it his priority to visit the ruling council of Chalcis the moment the column had arrived. He lowered his arm and nodded.

  'A Greek merchant and his family arrived at dawn. The situation in Palmyra doesn't look good for our side. The king and his followers are still holding the citadel, while Artaxes controls the surrounding streets. Seems that he doesn't have full control over his men. They've started looting the city. That's why the merchant has fled the place. He has young daughters. Probably the wise thing to do.'

  Cato nodded.

  'He also provided me with a map of the city,' Macro continued as he pulled a flattened scroll of papyrus from his harness and unrolled it. Placing it on the ground he weighted the corners with stones while Cato leaned forward and briefly examined the diagram. It had clearly been drafted in a hurry and lacked any detail. Only the outline of the walls and the most important districts had been depicted.

  'Not much to go on,' Cato ventured.

  'Well, it's all we have, for now. The Greek merchant did his best for me.' Macro glanced up with a thin smile. 'Before you ask, I did put it to him that we needed someone with local knowledge and could use him as a guide.'

  'What did he say?'

  'Something colourful. Diligent as I have been in my studies of the language in recent months, it was a word I was unfamiliar with. But his response was, in a word, no.'

  'A pity.'

  'But he did tell me a bit about the ground.' Macro indicated the flattened semicircle of Palmyra's walls. 'The defences are in good order, he claims, so we will need to gain entrance by a gate.The citadel is here.' Macro tapped an arrangement of black boxes at the right of the diagram.

  'Then we can skirt round the city and enter the citadel directly,' Cato observed hopefully.

  'Sorry, sunshine. It ain't going to be that easy.The citadel is built on a low bluff of rock on the wall. There's no access there. There's only one entrance into the citadel inside Palmyra. According to the merchant the best way into the city for us is here, a gate on the east side of Palmyra. It's the most direct route to the entrance to the citadel.'

  'That means going through the streets.' Cato shook his head as he considered the prospect. 'If we have to fight our way in, then the rebels will be able to hit us from all sides, and from the roofs. If they get any advance warning they can block our route. If we lose our direction…'

  'I can imagine the details, thank you,' Macro responded tersely. 'But for now that's the only plan we have. Like it or bloody lump it.'

  Cato raised his eyebrows in resignation, and then continued,'Did your merchant have anything else to tell us?'

  'I got as much from him as I could. The citadel is we
ll fortified and the king's bodyguard are the pick of his army. Tough cases, every one of 'em. So says the Greek, but he's no soldier, so we'll have to take that comment with a pinch of salt. But there is one good piece of news. The Palmyran siege weapons are stored in a compound inside the citadel. So Artaxes is going to have to build his kit from scratch before he can manage an assault. Buys us a little more time at any rate.'

  'What about the size of Artaxes' forces? What did the Greek know of their numbers?'

  'He says that Artaxes has a huge army at his command.' Macro spat with contempt. 'It's probably the first mob the merchant has ever seen. He couldn't tell me if there was one thousand of them or ten thousand. He just didn't have a clue. But he did say that Artaxes is telling everyone that a Parthian army is on its way to help him, and when it arrives, then those in the citadel and anyone who does not swear an oath of loyalty to him will be put to death.'

  'We can assume that it's true,' Cato reflected. 'After all, Longinus put a force into the field the moment he was aware of the situation. There's every reason to believe that the Parthians would do the same. In which case, it's all down to which side reaches Palmyra first.'

  'My thoughts exactly.' Macro nodded, and rolled up his map. 'So we'd better get the lads back on the road as soon as we can.'

  A short time later, the column resumed its march and the men could only glance wistfully at the sparkling surface of the lake as they marched along its bank. They had had only the briefest of opportunities to fill their canteens and rest in the shade of the palms and only a handful had had the chance to immerse themselves in the cool water before the orders to pick up their packs and fall in had been bellowed out, rousing the men from the comfortable shade of the trees. The people of Chalcis watched them for a while before drifting back to their homes to anxiously contemplate the future.

  On the far side of the lake the route to Palmyra abruptly branched off through a strip of irrigated farmland, and then gave out on to the desert. Cato's heart sank as he contemplated the flat expanse of pallid yellow sand and rock that stretched ahead into the distance, where the horizon was lost in a shimmering band of hot air that looked like molten silver. The column marched on into the afternoon heat, gradually leaving behind the thin strip of palm-fringed green that marked the lake, until it too was swallowed up by the stifling air that wavered far off in every direction.