Chapter 2

Three hours later, Ky sat at the head of a long table, Lucilla at the opposite end, with a collection of whatever leaders they could get together on such short notice between them. Bomilcar, Aelius, Ursinus, Ramirus, Medb, and Cormac were seated along the sides, along with representatives from Scandi, Gaul, and Germania, all of whom happened to be in the city at the moment, working with Lucilla on a new trade deal that would have the Scandi give up their insistence on dominance of the trade lands bordering Mere Suebicum.

“Thank you all for coming on such short notice,” Ky began. “I’m afraid I have grave news. We’ve received reports that Port Amicitiae has been destroyed by a fleet of strange ships that we believe to be the same Easterners who supplied Carthage during the war. The same ones Valdar faced in the Sea of Reeds five years ago.”

A murmur of disbelief and concern rippled through the room. Ky held up a hand for silence.

“This is clearly an act of war, Consul. One we cannot ignore,” Bomilcar said.

“I agree,” Ky said with a nod. “But we need more information before we act. We don’t even know who these people are, let alone what their capabilities are or what they want. It leaves us very blind, which is a bad place to find yourself at the start of a war.”

“Perhaps we should send a large, armed fleet to the east to investigate,” Ramirus said. “I know we have had other, unsuccessful attempts to open communication with these people, but we haven’t sent a significant force yet, for fear of provoking a reaction by accident. That is, clearly, not an issue anymore, so we could ensure our men are able to return while finding out why they attacked us.”

“No,” Medb said. “If this was their opening move, with a fleet nearly as large as our own, then they knew exactly what they were doing. They prepared for this. Blundering into their seas with the bulk of our fleet would be a mistake. It doesn’t matter why they attacked us, just that they did.”

“She’s right,” Ky said. “We can’t risk our fleet on a blind mission into their territory. Not only do we not know how large a force they have, but we have no way of knowing how advanced their military knowledge is. They demonstrated at least an ability to make gunpowder and cannons, which probably started before we gained that ability. From Valdar’s report of the battle, and based on the weapons we found with the Carthaginian army after their final defeat, the quality of the cannon was inferior to ours, but that doesn’t mean it has stayed that way. From the descriptions given to us by Valdar and now by the captains of the ships that escaped from Port Amicitiae, they have made significant advances in their shipbuilding capabilities, possibly drawn from what they learned from our own ships. There is no reason to believe those advancements are limited solely to their ships. If we sail our entire navy into a larger fleet with comparable weapons to our own, we will lose most of our navy before the war, if it comes, ever truly starts.”

“Which might be why they attacked us the way they did,” Medb said. “To draw us out.”

“Possibly. Either way, we can’t risk it. Besides, seaborne attacks aren’t our only concern. We also have to prepare for a possible landward invasion as well. If this is the first move of war.”

“You think they’ll attack through Persia?” Aelius asked.

“Maybe, but they could also come through Anatolia or even Sarmatia. We know they used caravans from Asia all the way through to Persia and into Egypt during the war, so the route is known to them. Look back at the maps I made for you after the war that show the rough outlines of Asia. It is possible to go south, along the Hindu Kush and into Persia, across the middle through Anatolia, or up and around the Inhospitable Sea, as the Greeks call it, although my people always knew it as the Black Sea. It’s also very possible they could come up over the Caucasus Mountains and through Scythia. This is our biggest problem. There are literally hundreds of ways they can come at us, and until we know which way they plan to come, we won’t be able to prepare for it.

“We need each of you to talk to your people and at least begin probing your eastern fringes, especially you,” Lucilla said from the other end of the table, directing the last at the representative of Germania. “If they come by the northern route, that would bring them directly into your territory. I will send word to the Greeks and the Ptolemies to have them begin scouting their eastern fringes as well. The sooner we get an indication of where they are coming from, the better.”

The Scandi representative still looked doubtful, but the Germanic’s attitude shifted noticeably when it became clear his lands were a likely point of attack, if war was coming. Reality had a way of sobering up even the harshest critics, after all.

“Good. Aside from that, we also need to pull back on all civilian works projects. I know there are still a lot of projects in the planning stages, many being counted on by all your governments to help continue the growth and expansion in your lands, but if the enemy has matched our technology, then we need to begin focusing on our military tech again. We slowed down most of our military production to accommodate civilian production or the production of muskets. While our gunpowder production stayed the same, everything else has fallen behind. It’s time to refit our factories for war.”

“And if we’re wrong?” Ramirus said. “We will have a lot of unhappy allies out there who were relying on us if war doesn’t emerge.”

“I know, but it’s a risk we have to take. I don’t think we’re wrong, though.”

Ramirus just ducked his head in response. Ky knew the old spy didn’t think he was wrong but was playing devil’s advocate, as the saying went. Ky appreciated it, but it wasn’t needed this time.

“I will begin to work on new plans for Hortensius. I know he was excited about the new textile works we just started, but that isn’t critical and can wait. In the meantime, have the legions start on training regimens with the equipment they have currently. Even if we start now, it will take months, maybe longer for any new weapons to be available, and I strongly suspect we don’t have that kind of time.”

“Probably not,” Bomilcar agreed.

At least, in the interim, they’d finished the reorganization of the legions from the old Roman way, which worked when legions were essentially their own operation, run independently from the rest, but didn’t work in a world where command was a telegraph away. Now, each legion was essentially a corps of an overall army, still broken into ten-by-ten cohorts and centuries. The main change was above that, with four legions being an army with an overall commander, allowing for more centralized control and coordination between the legions.

After seeing the weapons that emerged at the end of the war, Ky knew the next fight would be larger and bloodier and had at least gotten the military structure in place for it. That had taken longer than he had wanted, more than two years to get the Senate to agree to the change, promote officers up to their new positions, and replace all the cohort and century commanders who’d fallen in the war. Another year to train them all.

It was a good start, but Ky was almost certain it wasn’t going to be enough.

“I want the existing legions brought up to strength as much as possible. Any scattered units on public works details are to be brought back immediately. We can’t afford to have our forces dispersed right now. I also want you to call up the veteran reserve, all those still in shape to fight. We’re going to need every able-bodied soldier we can muster.”

Bomilcar glanced at Aelius, who gave him the same look in return and said, “You’re still in charge, Legate.”

“I know you were looking forward to retiring, old friend,” Ky said. “But I need to ask you to hold off, at least until we know what we’re facing here.”

“I suppose a quiet retirement was too much to hope for. You can count on me, Consul.”

Thank you. I’ll talk to Valdar as soon as the admiral gets back from Carthage. The navy will have to begin looking at its situation, as well.”

“We should send an expedition to the Port Amicitiae and see what, if anything, is left,” Medb said. “It might also give us some further idea of the enemy’s strength.

“Agreed,” Ky said. “I’ll bring that up with him as well.

“I’ll send word to Conchobar and Talogren, let them know what’s coming, so they aren’t surprised by it,” Lucilla said.

“I know this is frightening,” Ky said to the table as a whole. “And we’d all hoped this conflict, if it had to come, wouldn’t come so soon. The important thing is to not let it overwhelm you. Stay focused, and remember that we survived the very edge of destruction. We can survive this as well. I’ll have more for you in the coming days. Till then, may the gods smile upon us all.”

“Would you two please follow me,” Lucilla said to Ramirus and Medb as the council meeting wrapped up.

The two looked at each other but said nothing, just following in Lucilla’s wake as the Empress led them to her private study. As soon as she closed the door behind them, she rounded on the pair.

“How did we let ourselves get blindsided like this?” she demanded. “I rely on you two to be the eyes and ears of the Empire. To learn we are blind is troubling, to say the least. Was there any kind of warning, even an inkling, that an attack like this might be coming?”

Medb returned Lucilla’s angry expression with one lacking in affectation. Ramirus, on the other hand, looked away when she turned her eyes to him, looking to the floor.

“No, Your Majesty,” he said. “You were right to say we were caught completely off guard. All I can do is apologize for my failure.”

“Your Majesty, I have been pushing for more aggressive intelligence gathering to the east for months now, but I haven’t had much success in gaining approval to proceed. If you recall, I’ve sent you several reports to this effect. Hopefully, now someone will listen to me. The Easterners are an existential threat that demands our full attention. We cannot afford to prioritize anything else.”

Lucilla studied the former queen. It was clear that Medb was attempting to cover herself by shifting the blame to Ramirus, but she had, in fact, sent reports arguing against Ramirus’s choice of strategies. At the time, Lucilla had sided with Ramirus. There hadn’t been any word of the Easterners in more than four years, when the argument happened, and Ramirus made good points that unrest in Italia and Carthage and keeping a closer eye on Persia, which was in chaos nominally under the control of the Ptolemies, took precedence.