An oblique approach

Chapter 7

Belisarius awoke long before dawn. Within a short time after rising, he was satisfied that the preparations for the march were well in hand. Both of his chiliarchs were competent officers, and it soon became apparent that the tribunes and hecatontarchs had absorbed fully the orders he had given them the night before.

Maurice came up to him. Belisarius recognized him from a distance, even though it was still dark. Maurice had a rolling gait which was quite unmistakable.

“Now?” asked Maurice.

Belisarius nodded. The two men mounted their horses and cantered through the gate. The Army of Lebanon was camped just beyond the fort, where its soldiers could enjoy the shade and water provided by the oasis. Within a few minutes, Belisarius and Maurice were dismounting before the command tent occupied by Bouzes and Coutzes.

The tent was much larger than the one Belisarius used, although not excessively so by the standards of Roman armies. Roman commanders had long been known for traveling in style. Julius Caesar had even carried tiles with him to floor his tent. (Although he claimed to have done so simply to impress barbarian envoys; Belisarius was skeptical of the claim.)

Upon their arrival, the sentries guarding the tent informed them that Bouzes and Coutzes were absent. They had left the camp in the middle of the night. Further questioning elicited the information that the brothers had taken two cavalry regiments along with them.

Belisarius uttered many profane oaths, very loudly. He stalked off toward the nearby tent, which was occupied by the four chiliarchs who were the chief subordinate officers of the Army of Lebanon. Maurice followed.

At the chiliarchs’ tent, a sentry began to challenge Belisarius, but quickly fell silent. The sentry recognized him, and saw as well that the general was in a towering rage. Deciding that discretion was the order of the day, the sentry drew aside. Belisarius stormed into the tent.

Three of the four chiliarchs were rising from sleep, groggy and bleary-eyed. One of them lit a lamp. Belisarius immediately demanded to know the whereabouts of the fourth. He allowed the three chiliarchs to stammer in confusion for a few seconds before he cut through the babble.

“So. I assume Dorotheus has accompanied the two cretins in this lunacy?”

The chiliarchs began to protest. Again, Belisarius cut them short.

“Silence!” He threw himself into a chair by the table in the center of the tent. He glared about for a moment, and then slammed his palm down on the table.

“I am being generous! The Emperor may forgive the idiots, if he decides they are just stupid.”

Mention of the Emperor caused all three of the chiliarchs to draw back a bit. The face of at least one of them, Belisarius thought, grew pale. But it was hard to tell. The interior of the tent was poorly lit.

Belisarius allowed the silence to fester. He knotted his brow. After a minute or so, he rose and began pacing about, exuding the image of a man lost in thoughtful calculation. Actually, he was scrutinizing the interior of the tent. He believed firmly that one could make a close assessment of officers by examining their private quarters, and took advantage of the opportunity to do so.

Overall, he was impressed. The chiliarchs maintained clean and orderly quarters. There was no indication of the drunken sloppiness which had characterized the tents of a number of the former officers of his own army. He also noted the austerity of their living arrangements. Other than weapons and necessary gear, the chiliarchs’ tent was bare of possessions.

The general was pleased. He prized austere living on campaign-not from any religious or moral impulse, but simply because he valued the ability to react and move quickly above all other characteristics in an officer. And he had found, with very few exceptions, that officers who filled their command quarters with lavish creature comforts were sluggards when confronted by any sudden change in circumstances.

He decided the pose of thoughtful concentration had gone on long enough. He stopped pacing, straightened his back, and announced decisively:

“There’s nothing for it. We’ll just have to make do with what we have.”

He turned to the three chiliarchs, who were now clustered together on the other side of the table.

“Assemble your army. We march at once.”

“But our commanders aren’t here!” protested one of the cavalry chiliarchs. Belisarius gave him a fierce look of disgust.

“I’m aware of that, Pharas. And you can be quite sure that if we fail to intercept the Persians before they march into Aleppo, the Emperor will know of their absence also. And do as he sees fit. But in the absence of Bouzes and Coutzes, I am in command of this army. And I have no intention of imitating their dereliction of duty.”

His announcement brought a chill into the room.

“The Persians are marching?” asked Hermogenes, the infantry chiliarch.

“The day after tomorrow.”

“How do you know?” demanded Pharas.

Belisarius sneered. “Doesn’t the Army of Lebanon have any spies?” he demanded. The chiliarchs were silent. The general’s sneer turned into a truly ferocious scowl.

“Oh, that’s marvelous!” he exclaimed. “You have no idea what the enemy is doing. So, naturally, you decided to send two full cavalry regiments charging off on a wild goose chase. Just marvelous!”

Pharas’ face was ashen. To some extent, it was the pallor of rage. But, for the most part, it was simple fear. Watching him, Belisarius estimated the man’s intelligence as rather dismal. But even Pharas understood the imperial fury which would fall on the chief officers of the Army of Lebanon if they allowed the Persians to march on Aleppo unopposed.

The junior cavalry chiliarch, Eutyches, suddenly slammed his hand onto the table angrily.

“Mother of God! I told them-” He bit off the words. Clamped his jaw tight. For a moment, he and Belisarius stared at each other. Then, with a faint nod, and an even fainter smile, Belisarius indicated his understanding and appreciation of Eutyches’ position.

The infantry chiliarch spoke then. The timber of his voice reflected Hermogenes’ youth, but there was not the slightest quaver in it. “Let’s move. Now. We all know that Coutzes and Bouzes agreed to combine forces with Belisarius’ army. Since they’re not here, that makes him the rightful commander.”

Eutyches immediately nodded his agreement. After a moment, reluctantly, so did Pharas.

Belisarius seized the moment. “Rouse your army and assemble them into marching formation,” he commanded. “Immediately.” He stalked out of the tent.

Once outside, Belisarius and Maurice returned to their horses. The first glimmer of dawn was beginning to show on the eastern horizon.

Belisarius gazed about admiringly. “It’s going to be a lovely day.”

“It’s going to be miserably hot,” countered Maurice.

Belisarius chuckled quietly. “You are the most morose man I have ever met.”

“I am not morose. I am pessimistic. My cousin Ignace, now, there’s a morose man. You’ve never met him, I don’t believe?”

“How could I have met him? Didn’t you tell me he hasn’t left his house for fifteen years?”

“Yes, that’s true.” The hecatontarch eyed Belisarius stonily. “He’s terrified of swindlers. And rightfully so.”

Belisarius chuckled again. “A lovely day, I tell you.” Then, businesslike: “I’m going to stay here, Maurice. If I don’t chivvy this army, they’ll take forever to get moving. I want you to return to the fort and make sure everything goes properly. I think Phocas and Constantine will manage everything well enough. But I haven’t worked with them in the field before, so I want you to keep an eye on things. Remember the two key points: keep-”

“Keep a large cavalry screen well out in front and make sure the infantry gets dug in quickly. With at least half of them hidden behind the ramparts.”

The general smiled. “A lovely day. Be off.”

As Belisarius had expected, it took hours to get the Army of Lebanon moving. Despite his loud and profane comments, however, he was quite satisfied with the progress. It was unreasonable to expect an army of twelve thousand men to start a march more quickly, with no advance warning or preparations.

By midday, the army was well into its marching rhythm. The temperature was oppressive. The western breeze which sprang up in the afternoon did not help the situation much. True, the wind brought a bit of coolness. But since the army was marching northeast, it also swept the dust thrown up by hooves and feet along the march route instead of away. At least the dust was not blown directly into the soldiers’ faces, although that was a small consolation. Syria in midsummer was as unpleasant a place and time to be making a forced march as any in the world.

However, Belisarius noted that the commanding officers of the Army of Lebanon refrained from complaining. Whatever their misgivings might be regarding this unexpected expedition, under unexpected command, they seemed willing to keep them private. He now took the time to explain to the three chiliarchs his plan for the battle he expected shortly. The two cavalry chiliarchs seemed skeptical of the role planned for the infantry, but forbore comment. They were pleased enough with their own projected role, and the infantry was none of their concern anyway.

As evening approached, Belisarius concentrated on discussing his plans with Hermogenes, the infantry chiliarch. Hermogenes, he was pleased to see, soon began to evince real enthusiasm. All too often, Roman infantry commanders occupied that position by virtue of their incompetence and fecklessness. Hermogenes, on the other hand, seemed an ambitious fellow, happy to discover that his own role in the upcoming conflict was to be more than a sideshow.

By nightfall, Belisarius was satisfied that Hermogenes would be able to play his part properly. In fact, he thought the young chiliarch might do very well. Belisarius decided to place Hermogenes in overall command of the infantry, once the Army of Lebanon was united with his own army. Phocas, his own infantry chiliarch, was a competent officer, but by no means outstanding. On the other hand, Phocas did have a knack for artillery. So Belisarius would put Phocas under Hermogenes’ command, with the specific responsibility for the artillery.

Belisarius pushed the march until the very last glimmer of daylight faded before ordering the army to encamp for the night. The Army of Lebanon, he noted with satisfaction, set up its camp quickly and expertly.

After his command tent was set up, Belisarius enjoyed a few moments of privacy within it. He found the absence of Procopius a relief. For all the man’s competence, and for all that his most sycophantish habits had been beaten down, the general still found his new secretary extremely annoying. But Procopius was now at the villa near Daras-and had been since Belisarius moved his army to Mindouos. The general had seen no use for him during an actual campaign, and had ordered the man to provide Antonina with whatever assistance she needed in running the estate.

He heard a commotion outside and went to investigate. Maurice had arrived, along with Ashot and three other Thracian cataphracts. By the time Belisarius emerged from his tent, his bucellarii were already dismounted from their horses. With them, dismounting more slowly-pain and exhaustion in every movement-were eight members of the two vanished cavalry regiments. One of the eight was an officer, and all of them looked much the worse for wear. Even in the dim moonlight, the general could see that three of them were wounded, although the wounds did not seem especially severe.

The officer limped over to Belisarius and began to stammer out some semicoherent phrases. Belisarius commanded him to hold his tongue until he could summon the chiliarchs and the tribunes. A few minutes later, with the leadership of the Army of Lebanon packed into the command tent, he instructed the returning officer to tell his tale. This he did, somewhat chaotically, with Maurice lending an occasional comment.

Bouzes and Coutzes, it turned out, had not found the pay caravan. What they had found, charging all over the landscape looking for it, was half of the Persian cavalry, charging all over the landscape looking for it likewise. An impromptu battle had erupted, in which the heavily outnumbered Romans had taken a drubbing. The two brothers had been captured. In the end, most of the Roman cavalry had escaped, in disorganized groups, and were being encountered by Belisarius’ own army as it marched forward into position. Though badly demoralized and half-leaderless, the surviving members of the two regiments had been so delighted to find a large formation of Roman troops in the vicinity that they were rallying to the standards of Belisarius’ army.

When the officer concluded his tale, Belisarius refrained from commenting on the stupidity of Bouzes and Coutzes. Under the circumstances, he thought, it would be superfluous. He simply concluded the meeting with a brief review of his plans for the forthcoming battle, then sent everyone to bed.

“Things are going well,” he remarked to Maurice, once they were in private.

Maurice gave him a hard look. “You’re playing this one awfully close, young man.”

Belisarius eyed him. Maurice was not, in private, given to formality and subservience. Even in public, he satisfied himself with nothing more than the occasional “sir” and “my lord.” But he rarely addressed his general by his own name, and hadn’t called him a “young man” since Belisarius smiled crookedly. “I won that battle, too, if you recall.”

“By the skin of your teeth. And it took you weeks to recover from your wounds.” Morosely, rubbing his right side: “Took me even longer.”

Thinking the tent was too gloomy, Belisarius lit another lamp and placed it on the table. Then, after taking a seat in his chair, he examined the hecatontarch’s grim visage. He was quite confident of his own plans, despite their complexity, but he had learned never to ignore Maurice’s misgivings.

“Spit it out, Maurice. And spare me your reproaches concerning the two brothers.”

Maurice snorted. “Them? Drooling babes are cute, but they’ve no business leading armies. I care not a fig about that!” He waved a hand dismissively. “No, what bothers me is that you’re cutting everything too fine. You’re depending on almost perfect timing, and on the enemy to react exactly as you predict.” He gave Belisarius another stony look. “You may recall my first lessons to you when you were barely out of swaddling clothes. Never-”

“Never expect the enemy to do what you think he’s going to do, and never expect that schedules will be met on time. And, most of all, always remember the first law of battle: everything gets fucked up as soon as the enemy arrives. That’s why he’s called the enemy.”

Maurice grunted. Then:

“And whatever happened to your devious subtlety? That ’oblique approach’ you’re so fond of talking about?” He held up a hand. “And don’t bother reminding me how shrewd your battle plan is! So what? This isn’t like you at all, Belisarius. You’ve never been one to substitute tactics for strategy. How many times have you told me the best campaign is the one which forces the enemy to yield by indirection, with the least amount of bloodshed? Much less a pitched battle which you’re forcing?”

Belisarius took in a deep breath and held it. The fingers of his left hand began drumming the table. For a moment, as he had done many times over the past weeks, he considered taking Maurice into his full confidence. Again, he decided against it. True, Maurice was close-mouthed. But-there was the first law of secrets: every person told a secret doubles the chance of having it found out.

“Stop drumming your fingers,” grumbled the hecatontarch. “You only do that when you’re being too clever by half.”

Belisarius chuckled, snapped his left hand into a fist. He decided on a halfway course. “Maurice, there is information which I possess which I can’t divulge to you now. That’s why I’m pushing this battle. I know I’m cutting too many corners, but I don’t have any choice.”

Maurice scowled. “What do you know about the Persians that I don’t?” It was not a question, really. More in the way of a scornful reproof.

Belisarius waved his own hand dismissively. “No, not the Persians.” He smiled. “I wouldn’t presume to know more about the Medes than you! No, it involves-other enemies. I can’t say more, Maurice. Not yet.”

Maurice considered his general carefully. He wasn’t happy with the situation, but-there it was.

“All right,” he said, grunting. “But I hope this works.”

“It will, Maurice, it will. The timing doesn’t have to be that perfect. We just have to get to the battleground before the Persians do. And as for the enemy’s reactions-I think that letter I sent off to Firuz will do the trick nicely.”

“Why? What did you say in it?”

“Well, the essence of the letter was a demand that he refrain from threatening my shiny new fort. But I conveyed the demand in the most offensive manner possible. I boasted of my martial prowess and sneered at that of the Medes. I tossed in a few well-chosen remarks on the subject of Persian cowardice and unmanliness. I dwelt lovingly on the full-bellied worms which would soon be the caskets of Persian troops-assuming, of course, that the slimy things were hungry enough to feed on such foul meat.”

“Oh my,” muttered Maurice. He stroked his gray beard.

“But I thought the polishing touch,” concluded Belisarius cheerfully, “was my refusal to build a bath in the fortress. Firuz wouldn’t need the bath, I explained, because after I slaughtered him, I would toss his remains into the latrine. Which is where they belong, of course, since he’s nothing but a walking sack of dog shit.”

“Oh my.” Maurice pulled up a chair and sat down slowly. For the hecatontarch, the simple act was unusual. A stickler for proprieties was Maurice. He almost never sat while in his general’s headquarters.

“We’d better win this battle,” he muttered, “or we’re all for it.” His right hand clenched his sword hilt. His left hand was spread rigidly on the table.

Belisarius leaned over and patted the outstretched hand. “So you can see, Maurice, why I think Firuz will show up at the battlefield.”

Maurice made a sour expression. “Maybe. They’re touchy, Persian nobles. But if he’s smart enough to override his anger, he’ll pick a battlefield of his own choosing.”

Belisarius leaned back and shrugged.

“I don’t think so. I don’t think he’s that smart, and anyway-the battle site I selected overlooks the stream that provides all the water for his camp. Whether he likes it or not, he can’t very well just let us sit there unmolested.”

“You would,” retorted Maurice instantly.

“I wouldn’t have camped there in the first place.”

Maurice’s right hand released its grip on the sword, and came up to stroke his beard. “True, true. Idiotic, that-relying on an insecure water supply. If you can’t find a well or an oasis, like we did, you should at least make sure the water comes from your own territory.”

The hecatontarch straightened up a bit. “All right, General. We’ll try it. Who knows, it might even work. That’s the one and only good thing about the first law of battles-it cuts both ways.”

A moment later, Maurice arose. His movements had regained their usual vigor and decisiveness. Belisarius left his chair and accompanied the hecatontarch out of the tent.

“How soon do you expect to reach the battlefield?” asked Belisarius.

Maurice took the reins of his horse and mounted. Once in the saddle, he shrugged.

“We’re making good time,” he announced. “It’ll slow us down a bit, having to gather up what’s left of the two cavalry regiments, but-we should be able to start digging in by midafternoon tomorrow.”

Belisarius scratched his chin. “That should leave enough time. God knows the soldiers have had enough practice at it lately. Make sure-”

“Make sure the cavalry does its share,” concluded Maurice. “Make sure the artillery’s well-positioned. Make sure there’s food ready for the Army of Lebanon when it arrives. And whatever else, make sure the hill is secure.”

Belisarius smiled up at him. “Be off. You’ve got a long ride back to our army. But there’s a lovely moon out tonight.”

Maurice forbore comment.

Back in his tent, lying on his cot, Belisarius found it difficult to fall asleep. In truth, he shared some of Maurice’s concern. He was gambling too much. But he saw no other option.

His fist closed around the pouch holding the jewel. At once, a faint thought came. danger.

He sat up, staring down. A moment later, after opening the pouch, the jewel was resting in the palm of his hand.

The thought came again, much stronger. danger.

“It was you, last night,” he whispered. danger.

“I know that! Tell me something I don’t know. What are you? ”

The facets shivered and reformed, splintered and came together, all in a microsecond. But aim never vanished, never even wavered. In a crystalline paroxysm, the facets forged a thought which could penetrate the barrier. But aim was overconfident, tried to do too much. The complex and fragile thought shattered into pieces upon first contact with the alien mind. Only the residue remained, transmuted into an image:

A metallic bird, bejewelled, made of hammered silver and gold-enamelling. Perched on a painted, wrought-iron tree. One of the marvelous constructs made for the Emperor Justinian’s palace.

“You were never made by Grecian goldsmiths,” muttered Belisarius. “Why are you here? What do you want from me? And where are you from?” aim surged: future.

Belisarius blew out an exasperated sigh. “I know the future!” he exclaimed. “You showed it to me. But can it be changed? And where are you from?”

Frustration was the greater for the hope which had preceded it. aim itself almost splintered, for an instant. But it rallied, ruthless with determination. Out of the flashing movement of the facets came a lesson learned. Patience, patience. Concepts beyond the most primitive could not yet cross the frontier. Again: future.

The general’s eyes widened.

Yes! Yes! Again! The facets froze, now ruthless in their own determination. future. future. future.

“Mary, Mother of God.”

Belisarius arose and walked slowly about in his tent. He clenched the jewel tightly in his fist, as if trying to force the thoughts from the thing like he might squeeze a sponge.

“More,” he commanded. “The future must be a wondrous place. Nothing else could have created such a wonder as you. So what can you want from the past? What can we possibly have to offer?”

Again, a metallic bird. Bejewelled, made of hammered silver and gold enamelling. Perched on a painted, wrought-iron tree. But now the focus was sharper, clearer. Like one of the marvelous constructs made for the Emperor Justinian’s palace, yes, but vastly more intricate and cunning in its design.

“ Men created you?” he demanded. “Men of the future?” yes.

“I say again: what do you want?” aim hesitated, for a microsecond. Then, knew the task was still far beyond its capability. Patience, patience. Where thought could not penetrate, vision might:

Again, the thunderclap. Again: the tree shattered, the ceremony crushed beneath a black wave. Again: crystals, strewn across a barren desert, shriek with despair. Again, in an empty, sunless sky, giant faces begin to take form. Cold faces. Pitiless faces. Human faces, but with all of human warmth banished.

The general frowned. Almost “Are you saying that we are the danger to you? In the future? And that you have come to the past for help? That’s crazy!”

The facets shivered and spun, almost in a frenzy. Now they demanded and drove the demand upon aim. But aim had learned well. The thoughts were still far too complex to breach the frontier. Imperiously it drove the facets back: patience, patience.

Again, the giant faces. Human faces. Monstrous faces. Dragon-scaled faces.

“Mary, Mother of God,” he whispered. “It’s true.”

An explosive emotion erupted from the jewel. It was like a child’s wail of-not anger, so much as deep, deep hurt at a parent’s betrayal. A pure thought even forced its way through the barrier. you promised.

Truly, thought Belisarius, it was the plaint of a bereaved child, coming from a magical stone.

The general weighed the jewel. As before, he was struck by its utter weightlessness. Yet it did not float away, somehow, but stayed in his hand. Like a trusting child.

“I do not understand you,” he whispered. “Not truly, not yet. But-if you have truly been betrayed, I will do for you what I can.”

That thought brought another smile, very crooked. “Though I’m not sure what I could do. What makes you think I could be of help?”

A sudden surge of warmth came from the jewel. Tears almost came to Belisarius’ eyes. He was reminded of that precious moment, weeks earlier, when Photius had finally accepted him. The boy had been skittish, at first, not knowing what to make of this unknown, strange, large man who called himself his father. But the time had come, one evening, when the boy fell asleep before the fire. And, as he felt the drowsiness, had clambered into his stepfather’s lap and lain his little head upon a large shoulder. Trusting in the parent to keep him warm and safe through the night.

Belisarius was silent for a time, pondering. He knew something had gone awry, terribly wrong, in that future he could not imagine. Danger. Danger. Danger.

He realized that the jewel was nearing exhaustion and decided that he must put off further questioning. Communication was becoming easier, slowly. Patience, patience. He had danger enough in the present to deal with, in any event.

But still-there was one question.

“Why did you come here, to the past? What can there possibly be here that would help you in-whatever dangers you face in your future?”

The jewel was fading rapidly now. But the faint image came again:

A face, emerging from the ground, made from spiderwebs and bird wings, and laurel leaves. His face.