Muted Implications (Clay Warrior Stories Book 12) by J. Clifton Slater

Author:J. Clifton Slater [Slater, J. Clifton]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-08-01T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter 20 – 4 Days from the Ides

“It’s as if Fulgora herself doesn’t want me to make the New Year’s Eve session,” Lucius Flaccus grumbled.

“Senator, I am sure the Goddess of Lightning has better things to do than pick on a representative of the Republic,” his assistant suggested.

Looking through the window at the raging storm and hearing the air split with thunder, Flaccus was not sure.

“First they pull the ships from Messina harbor to transfer Legionaries up the coast to support Echetla,” the Senator complained. “Then this storm moves in as if it rented the villa for the month. And I am stuck here in Sicilia, four days from the vote on the new Consuls.”

“You still have time to make the Capital,” his assistant remarked. “With the right ship, good weather, and a fast horse.”

“Three hundred seventy-five miles of rowing. What could go wrong with young Centurion Rudentis in command of the ship?” Flaccus questioned. “Then seventeen miles of riding to reach Rome. And there will be correspondence to be read once I arrive. We’ll never make the Ides of March vote.”

“Sir, I am sure Centurion Rudentis is capable of commanding a Republic warship. You are just frustrated,” his secretary observed. “Once the tempest breaks and we are on the way, you will feel better.”

“I’ll feel better when I am in my seat at the Senate,” Lucius Flaccus commented. “And doing deals. That will erase this melancholy.”

“Absolutely,” the assistant confirmed.

While most of the residents sheltered from the storm, men on one warship were busy. In the blowing rain, rowers bailed water from the bilge of a trireme.

“First Principale, give the crew extra rations,” ship’s Centurion Rudentis instructed.

“Pulling buckets of water from the hold isn’t that tough a job, sir,” his second in command offered.

“It’s not for water purging during a storm,” the ship’s senior officer replied. “When we launch from Messina, Senator Flaccus will be on board. He is in a hurry to reach Ostia. And we will get him there in record time. Feed them like oxen.”

“Because they will be worked like draft animals,” the First Principale said finishing the expression. “The crew will not let you down, sir.”

“I trust not,” the ship’s Centurion responded.

***

“I don’t trust them,” Senior Tribune Gaius Claudius expressed to his Senior Centurion. “The frontier is too quiet.”

Four hundred and eighty-five miles north of Messina, the Senior Tribune was also fixated on leaving for Rome. But rather than rain, Gaius Claudius dealt with a late frost and a feeling in his gut.

“With the new Consuls installed,” his Senior Centurion asked, “do you think you’ll get a Legion, sir?”

“Not after losing a fortune in gold while escaping from Echetla,” Gaius replied. “Even capturing Messina for General Codex’s Legions couldn’t save my reputation.”

“Sir, you are an outstanding leader and would make a superb Battle Commander,” the senior infantry officer told him. “The Legionaries claim you can smell trouble before it happens.”

“Well, I smell something from the Etruscans,” Gaius noted. “I hate to leave for the Capital if our garrisons are going to be called out.

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