Chapter 24

After several hours in conversation with Ramirus, Carus, and Taenaris, Ky finally got to leave the Senate. For now, as long as Ky was always at hand, they could block Silo, but they needed to get more loyal Senators in the city at least until the new laws were passed.

In the spirit of delegating out more responsibilities, Ky spoke to all three men about crafting the actual details of the new laws, after making sure all three of them were on the same page. While they didn’t understand the need or end goal of some of the laws Ky was pushing for, they’d been instructed by the Emperor to follow Ky’s lead, and all three men had been willing to do the bulk of the legwork on making Ky’s ideas law.

Ky was still planning to look over their work, just to make sure everything fit what was needed, but even with the AI’s help, he didn’t understand the inner workings of the government enough to do it himself. Lucilla had been right, he really did need men like this, that he could hand off some of the ever-growing lists of demands for his time.

All three men were now also sending messengers to the supporters they managed to sway to their cause. From the last count, Ky’s meetings with the various voting blocs had been enough to give the coalition they’d built the majority, which all supported the outline of the laws he’d layout for them.

While it was getting late when they finished, he wasn’t entirely done. The Emperor had insisted he attend the final victory parade for the various champions of the games, going so far as to call a halt to their meeting in the forums.

“I will admit, Emperor, that I am growing tired of these games. I understand their need and have no issue with their being held, but it seems like my presence is regularly required. Even with Ramirus and Taenaris doing much of the work in the Senate, I still have much to do.”

“I have tried to explain this, but I understand you are a soldier and not a politician, so I will try again. While you have built a coalition in the Senate capable of doing what you need, much of that power is fleeting. True, the Senators saw some value in what you’re proposing, but they are all, to a man, ultimately beholden to the people they serve. If you lose the masses, then many of the men you have brought to our side will slip back through our fingers. In politics, loyalty is fleeting, and most often only yours for a short amount of time. The most important thing you can do to keep their allegiance is to keep the people’s allegiance. If they support you, then their Senators will not abandon you.”

“That is fine, but this is, what, the fourth event I’ve been to. How much is enough?”

“There is never enough, when it comes to the mob. The mob will take all you can give and demand more. There is only what you are able to give.”

“Lucilla mentioned this was more of a parade of the victors than a contest. I hope I will not have to sit by while slaves murder each other for our approval, will I?”

“No, she is right. We take seats on the floor of the colosseum, and the victor of each contest will be brought before us. They will be given their winnings, if any winnings are due, and a laurel placed on their head. We will congratulate their valor, or skill, or what have you and praise them as a shining example of the Empire. Their family and friends will be in the stands, watching. The people don’t forget the magnanimity of their Emperor, or their Consul. We will be binding these men and women and all of their families to us, for a time, at least.”

When the Emperor said we would take seats on the floor of the Senate, Ky imagined simple chairs set. What he got was something closer to a portable throne room. An ornate throne sat in the center of the arena, flanked by a copy of the simple Consul’s stool on the right side. The throne was smaller than the one in the throne room, but only by a little. They faced the large gate that led to the subterranean levels, where the victors were being held in wait for each of their turn to process towards the Emperor and receive their accolades.

Behind the Emperor were his loyal guards. Ky’s Lictores were not allowed within an arm’s length of the Emperor. While Ky was fairly sure the Emperor didn’t fear him, that was probably a prudent security measure. He’d already seen how difficult it could be to tell friend from foe in Rome.

The processions started, each victor, or sets of victors in a few cases, were called out by a herald, after which they would proceed at a steady pace until they were several feet from the throne, where they would kneel and bow their heads. The Emperor would say a few words of encouragement and then direct Ky to approach and place the laurel crown on their heads. The AI tried to explain that parts of the ceremony had been lifted from the original Greek Olympic games by the Romans at some point in the past, but that it had been further altered since the divergence from their original timeline, becoming more formal and serious.

Ky eventually had to tell the AI to shut up. Its long-winded explanation on a topic he had not requested information on was yet another note in the growing list of unusual behaviors.

After the first dozen presentations, Ky checked out of the whole process. Beyond clapping at the right points and putting a wreath on the head of the victor, there wasn’t much for Ky to do. While he appreciated how much this meant for each of them, he’d never been invested in the games themselves. For the Romans, these games had a religious and social impact, which meant little to Ky. While religion still existed in his time, it was mostly centered around Emperor worship, and he hadn’t been one of the devotees.

The level to which people of this time believed every aspect of life was somehow controlled by mighty figures watching from a high peak baffled Ky. They believed that these beings that created the world would care if a person didn’t slaughter enough goats or offer enough daily prayers, like some petty accountant checking off tallies for the proper amount of worship, and would create misfortune on that person if the numbers didn’t add up. It was all perplexing, although the AI had repeatedly warned that he had to take their religion into account if he was going to mold them into that which could survive.

So, Ky did his duty for each person being awarded, even if he did it with disinterest. That disinterest almost cost him his life, had he not had the AI.

“Commander, hostile detected,” it warned, highlighting one of the people gathered in front of him.

Even with the warning, Ky was almost caught off guard. It took a moment to recognize what the AI had been warning about. The person had ducked a hand inside their open-sided tunic and the beginnings of a dagger had started to be pulled out.

His Lictores were several steps behind, and they too had been lulled into a sense of security by the repetitive nature of the ceremony. To their credit, they reacted as soon as Ky began to move, but it wouldn’t have been enough to stop the assailant.

Ky, however, was fast enough. The AI had already removed the interlocks that they put in place to limit his speed to something just above what unaltered humans were capable of. Ky felt like he had suddenly stepped out of a pool, no longer pushing against the force of the water and able to move freely again. That too, almost caused problems. He hadn’t moved this quickly in some time, and his balance was slightly off. The AI’s motor assist helped correct for this, as it was designed to do.

Ky’s arm shot out in a blur, grabbing the assailant’s wrist just as the weapon cleared the man’s tunic. He squeezed, not hard enough to turn the bone into powder, but enough to break it, causing the man to drop the weapon. At the same time Ky lifted the man straight up, his arm fully extended, so the man dangled free from the ground.

The assailant didn’t give up. He struck out his hand catching Ky on the side of the face. A fist was too slow to activate his shielding, but Ky was sturdier than the people of this time, the blow causing no permanent damage.

The guards around him didn’t seem to realize this, reacting instinctively.

“NO!” Ky called out as one of the guards who’d been flaking the men being awarded, stabbed out with the spear he’d been holding.

The iron tip exploded through the assailant’s chest as the guard skewered him through the back. A look of surprise locked on the man’s face as he died, the spear ripping through his heart.

Ky released him, angry.

“I wasn’t in any danger,” Ky said, fury in his eyes.

“I’m ... I’m sorry Consul. I didn’t...”

“I think it’s best if we call an end to the ceremony now,” The Emperor said, pulling himself up out of his throne.

The guards reacted quickly, hustling the remaining citizens on the floor of the colosseum back into the tunnels, while the Emperor’s personal guard and Ky’s Lictores led them back inside the building itself.

He hesitated, unsure of where to go. The ramps of the arena were filling with spectators, some running in panic others to spread the word of what happened. There were already far too many people in between them and the safety of the Imperial Palace, and that number continued to grow as people realized the event was over and began filing out of their seats for home.

“To the antechamber of my box, please,” the Emperor said.

“We needed that man alive, to question him,” Ky said as they were led to the Emperor’s box.

“I agree, but the man was just doing his duty. He saw you in danger and acted. You might not have been in danger, but any other man would have been. You have to forgive them their training.”

“I do, and I hold no ill will towards you, soldier,” Ky said to the man who’d slain the attacker.

“Thank you, Consul,” he said.

“This was a planned attack, and I would like to know which of our enemies set it in motion. I don’t think it was in response to what happened in the Forum today, this would have taken more time to set up. It’s been less than a week since the word of our proposed laws started leaking out.”

“That means they would have had to start plotting right after your victory,” the Emperor said. “Silo and his snakes trying to kill you because you could veto whatever laws they try to pass makes sense. It’s in his nature. Before that, you were barely known here, and what people knew of you was that you saved our city from complete destruction. Why would someone start plotting your death then?”

“Maybe the same people that poisoned you. They might be angry enough that I stopped their plan to want me dead. We need to get Ramirus and Carus working on this now. There’s something larger going on here, and we need to know about it.”

“I agree,” the Emperor said.

They waited ten more minutes for the city guard to create a lane between the colosseum and the palace lined with armed men. That ten minutes seemed to drag on into eternity, as Ky worked through all the information they’d collected so far, trying to figure out what he was missing.

After dispatching Carus, Ky spent the next several hours in his rooms trying, and failing, to go over the next day’s plans. His distraction got to the point that the AI even queried him, asking if everything was alright. Finally he gave up and sat in a chair, staring at the ceiling, continuing to mull his problem over.

Everything they were doing was still in the early stages, barely started and easily halted. He’d been trained as a soldier and was ill-equipped to deal with this kind of intrigue. Political plotting and scheming was beyond his experience, and that worried him. He felt blind to a fight that had already started.

He was finally pulled out of his reverie by a knock at the door.

“Come,” Ky said, not bothering to stand.

“Consul,” Carus said, sweeping into the room and slapping a fist to his chest in salute.

Ky sat up when he saw who it was.

“Any word?”

“Some, although not as much as I would like. Although the Emperor has allotted significant resources to your protection, including for my assignments, we haven’t had time to get everything placed. It’s difficult work getting men in the right places to hear the things we need to know. Ramirus has spent decades building his network, and he is still blind in many areas.”

“Were you able to work with him, have access to his resources?”

“Yes, we’ve been together until just now. It is late and he has early meetings. Besides, you can only pluck at the strings of a network so many times before you must rest them.”

“All of which means you don’t have much, but you do have something,” Ky translated.

“Yes. We’ve been focusing on getting men, or Ramirus’s assets, inside the households of the people we think most likely to be part of this cabal we’ve heard about. They turned up little. If they are part of it, they’re still playing the game too cannily for us to catch them.”