The Eagles Conquest

Chapter Thirty-Nine

The general was just leaving his headquarters tent when Vespasian anived. Aulus Plautius was wearing his full ceremonial armour and the afternoon sun was brilliantly reflected in the fine cuirass and gilded helmet. Around him his senior officers gathered in equally gaudy attire. A string of neatly groomed horses was being led up the slope to where they waited outside the general's headquarters.

'Ah- There you are, Vespasian. I trust your day went well?' 'Sir, I have to tell you something. In private.'

'In private?' Plautius looked irritated. 'Then it'll have to wait.'

'But, sir, it's vital I tell you what I know straightaway.'

'Look, we can't delay any longer. The Emperor and the reinforcements are just beyond that ridge on the far side of the river. He has to be met with the full formalities as he enters the southern camp. Now go and get your ceremonials on. Then join me as fast as you can on the other side of the river.'

'Sir-'

'Vespasian, you have your orders. Kindly carry them out.'

The horses had reached the headquarters tent and vvithout another word or glance at Vespasian, Aulus Plautius hoisted himself onto a glossy black mare and pulled the reins to turn the horse in the direction of the new ly completed bridge. After a sharp kick of his booted heels the beast lurched forward into a canter and the rest of the staff scrambled onto their mounts and hurried to catch up. Vespasian watched them go, arm raised to protect his mouth from the dust churning through the air. Then he slapped his thigh angrily and marched back towards his legion.

Claudius and his reinforcements would have arrived in the camp on the south bank just before dusk, but for Narcissus. In the event, the column was halted on the far side of the ridge while the freedman went on ahead in his litter to make the appropriate arrangements for a dramatic entry. The litter drew up in front of the assembled ranks of officers and they waited in hushed anticipation for the occupant to emerge. With painstaking exactness the bearers lowered the litter to the ground, and a pair of footmen hurried to the silk curtains and drew them back. The plumes of the officers' helmets tilted as they craned their necks to get a good view of the litter, fully expecting the Emperor to emerge in some strange twist of protocol. There was an audible sigh of disappointment as Narcissus stepped out of the litter, rose to his feet and greeted the general.

'Aulus Plautius! Nice little camp site you've got here.' Narcissus paused to examine the scarlet cloaks and polished breastplates massed before him. 'Hello, gentlemen, I'm most touched by this welcome. You really shouldn't have.'

Aulus Plautius ground his teeth in an effort to control his temper. He stood silently as the freedman stepped up to him with a broad smile and pumped his hand.

'Now then, let's not hang about any longer. We need to get on and make preparations for the arrival of the Emperor. Have your staff officers stay to help with the organisation. The rest of these chaps can go and wait wherever it is you soldiers go between battles.'

While the officers milled about impatiently in the overcrowded officers' mess tent, Narcissus quickly issued instructions that sent legionaries scurrying around the camp to assemble the materials necessary to achieve the theatrical effect that the Emperor's chief secretary wanted. Vespasian, bathed, scented and clad in ceremonial finery, managed to join the officers reassembled outside the headquarters just as proceedings began.

Long after the last rays of the sun had been blotted out by night, a strident blaring of trumpets at the main gate a

Lumbering into view down the avenue of flickering torches came the elephants, with the Emperor himself riding the first in the line. Right on cue the legionaries along the route began to shout out 'Imperator! Imperator! Imperator!'. the traditional acclamation for a beloved and respected commander. Claudius sat behind an elephant driver on an elaborate throne specially made to be carried on the back of an elephant. Without inclining or turning his head, the Emperor waved one hand in acknowledgement. He wore a magnificent silver cuirass studded with jewels that gleamed like eyes of red and green in the torchlight. Flowing around him was a cloak of imperial purple. On his brow he wore a golden wreath whose lustre reflected the flickering glow.

Magnificent as the spectacle was, the principal member of the cast would have benefited from a dress rehearsal. The unusual rolling motion of riding an elephant is uneasy on the stomach of someone new to elephants and the motion necessitated frequent adjustments to the wreath to keep it at an aesthetically pleasing angle. Otherwise, judged Vespasian, Claudius was making a decent enough fist of it.

The elephant driver halted the Emperor's beast and urged it down with a set sequence of kicks and orders. The front knees gracefully buckled and the Emperor, still waving nonchalantly to his cheering troops, was almost pitched out of his throne and only avoided this indignity by throwing himself backward and grabbing the arms. Even so the imperial wreath was dislodged. It bounced down the flank of the elephant and would have landed on the ground had not Narcissus leaped forward and fielded it with a neat one-handed catch. The beast lowered its rear and the Emperor pulled a hidden lever to release the side of the throne, which folded out to provide a nicely angled series of steps down to the ground.

'Ohh! Very neat!' Vitellius marvelled, standing in his place next to Vespasian.

The Emperor descended, replaced the wreath discreetly returned to him by Narcissus, and limped forward to greet the general of his army. 'My dear Aulus Plautius. It d-d-does my heart good to s-see you again!'

'The pleasure and honour is all mine, Caesar,' uttered Plautius and bowed his head.

'Yes, m-most kind of you, I m-rn-must say.'

'I trust Caesar's journey was comfortable?'

'No. N-not really. Bit of a s-storm after we left Ostia and the roads in Gaul n-need upgrading. But the chaps on the British f-f-fleet were very accommodating. And do you know, P-Plautius, every fort I've passed th-th-through since I landed at Rutupiae has hailed me as Imperator! What about that then?' The eyes gleamed proudly, and the nervous tic he had never quite managed to master emphasised his pride with a sudden sideways twitch of the head that nearly shook the wreath off again. It now hung at a slight angle above his left eye and behind him Narcissus had to still his hand as it instinctively started to reach out to straighten his masters symbol of office. Abruptly Claudius swung round towards his chief secretary.

'Narcissus'

'How times did they call me Imperator?'

'eighteen times,including tonight,Caesar?'

'There- what about that? More than either Augustus or Tiberius ever got!' inclined his head and smiled modestly at the achievement.

'No more than you deserve, Caesar,' Plautius said respectfully. He turned to one side and indicated his senior officers with a wave of his hand "May I present my legates and tribunes to you, Caesar?'