Family Vacations

     “Pack up your things,” my father said as he stuck his head in my room.  “We’ve got tickets for the air galley tomorrow.  We need to be at the aerodrome in Londinium by the third hour.”

     I groaned.  We had just got back from Dalmatia just a week ago and the month before that, we were in Caledonia.  We spend more time abroad than we do at home.  

     “Can’t I stay at home this time,” I pleaded.  “Briseis can keep an eye on me.”

     Father frowned. “I’m afraid not Darryle,” he said.  “Briseis is getting too old to be your nursemaid.  If things go well, maybe we can sneak in a side trip to see the Pillars of Hercules,”

     That’s my father, always trying to appeal to my sense of adventure.  Trouble is, that one’s sense of adventure can get blunted quite easily when you’re spending most of your time going from province to province, country to country.  In my teenage opinion, if you’ve seen one backwater, you’ve seen them all.

     “Demetrios, help Darryle get packed will you?  Make sure you pack your things as well.”  With that, my father shut the door.  I listened to his footsteps retreating down the hall as I flung myself onto my bed.

     “We only just got back and we’re already leaving again,” I said, fingering the bulla that hung around my neck.  As long as I wore that, I was a child in the eyes of Roman law.  I wished it was time to put on the toga virilis and become an adult.

     Demetrios began going through the closet, pulling out a traveling case, and placing it on my bed next to me.  His family and mine had been together for several generations.  His father ran our estates and he was my valet and closest friend.

     “I wonder where we are going this time,” he asked as he started packing.  I got up and gave him a hand.

     “And will it be in the Empire or not,” I wondered as we continued to pack.

     The Londinium aerodrome was packed with people traveling before Saturnalia.  As usual, Father was able to get us to the head of the boarding queue.  I looked at the departure sign.  “We’re going to the Western Continent,” I asked as we waited for boarding.

     “We have some business matters with the Haudenosaunee,” Mother replied, casting a knowing look toward Father.  

     The boarding gates opened and we walked out onto the landing platform. Before us, attached to the mooring mast, was the air galley Emperor Augustus.  It was a long, silver cylinder, rounded at both ends.  Two gondolas hung from the cylinder, the forward one being the control area, and the rear one being part of the passenger and crew quarters.  A bust of Augustus was painted on the side, along with the ubiquitous SPQR.  It was a beauty to behold.  I’ve seen air galleys of various sizes flying over Londinium, but this was the first time I’ve ridden in one.

     We boarded and were shown to our berths.  They were small but lavishly furnished.  Demetrios and I were to share one berth, and my parents another.  Heavy curtains served as doors to keep the weight down, or so said the slave that escorted us.

     “We launch in ten minutes,” said the slave.  “You’ll want to be in the observation lounge for that, it’s quite a sight.”

     Father gave him a ten-sesterces coin and thanked him for getting us settled.  The slave bowed and left.  We stowed our few bags and headed off to the observation lounge.

     The slave was right, watching the city fall below us as Augustus ascended into the heavens was an amazing sight.  I stayed in the observation lounge for hours, watching the countryside slide past, slowly giving way to the ocean.  A freedman came by to inform me that dinner was to be served shortly and I had to get ready.

     There wasn’t enough room on the galley for a proper triclinium, so we had to eat seated at tables like provincials.  The dinner more than made up for that. There were a variety of dishes from across the Empire and beyond.  I ate Aztec maize, snails from Gaul cooked in butter and garlic, and other dishes I can’t recall the name of.  I was more than ready to retire at the end of it.  Demetrios and I bade good night to my parents and headed off to our berth.  I was fast asleep before my head hit the pillow.

     Nature called a few hours later and I got out of bed, pushed past the curtain, and started to make my way to the washroom on the deck below us.  I passed my parent’s berth and heard voices.  Being a nosy teenager, I stopped to listen, the call of nature forgotten.

     “Who is the target,” my mother asked.

     “Marcus Lucius Scipio,” replied my father.  “He was involved in a plot against the Western Emperor and thought he could escape justice by hiding amongst the copper skins.”

     “How does Crassus want us to do it?  Poison?”

     “No, he wants to send a very public message to anyone who might be plotting against the Emperors.”

     I couldn’t believe what I was hearing!  My parents were calmly discussing killing someone!  They were Imperial agents!  This explained all the trips we've made over the years.

     I wanted to hear more, but a freedman appeared at the end of the corridor, making his rounds.  “Can I help you with anything Dominus?” She asked.

     I walked towards her as my father drew the curtain to his berth.  

     “No,” I said.  “Just heading below to the washroom.”

     She touched the brim of her hat.  “Very well, have a good night,” she said as she slipped past me.

     “Too much wine,” I said to my father as I went below.

     The crossing of the Mare Oceanus took ten days.  I desperately wanted to talk to Demetrios about what I had overheard, but there was never an opportunity. The Augustus docked at the Haudenosaunee capital of Onondaga.  I watched as the native ground crew gathered the galley's mooring lines and brought her down onto the landing pad. We walked down the gangplank and hailed a steam car to take us to our hotel.

     We occupied a suite of rooms near the top floor of the hotel.  Demetrios and I unpacked our cases and sat on the balcony, which overlooked a beautifully maintained garden.  After a few minutes, Father came out to join us.

     “Darryle, your mother and I are going out to take care of a few things.  I’ll arrange for some food to be brought to you and Demetrios.  I want you two to stay here.  Onondaga is a big place and parts are unsafe for a couple of youths.  We’ll be back in a few hours.  Tomorrow, we’ll do some exploring together.”

     I nodded, the picture of a dutiful Roman child.  Demetrios also nodded.  Father smiled at us and left.  I waited until he was gone before I told Demetrios what I had overheard on the Augustus.

     He didn’t believe me at first, but I finally convinced him that I wasn’t making it up. We wondered which branch of the Imperial service they were associated with.  The Praetorians?  The frumentarii?

     Our speculations were cut short when the door to my parent’s part of the suite banged open.  We heard scuffling and loud voices speaking Haudenosaunee, one of which belonged to my father.  They didn’t sound angry to me, the tone was more nervous and concerned.

     The door to our rooms opened and my father came in.  His clothes were disheveled and covered in blood.  Behind him were two Haudensuanee, their clothing also in disarray.

     “We must leave for the Roman embassy immediately.  Leave your things.  They’ll be here at any moment.”

     “Who will be here,” I asked as Demetrios and I stood up.

     “There’s no time for details right now.  Someone tipped off Scipio, he was waiting for us.  I need to inform Crassus as soon as possible.  There’s a steam car waiting downstairs.”

     We raced downstairs and clambered into the waiting steam car.  With a hiss, the car sped down the streets of Onandaga, heading towards the Roman embassy.  "What is going on," I asked as I watched the streetlights race by.

     My father looked at me.  "You're close to donning the toga virilis, so you have a right to know.  Your mother and I are agentes in rebus in the frumentarii.  We are tasked with investigating threats to the Empire from within and, if necessary, eliminating the threats by whatever means are necessary."

     I confessed to accidentally hearing part of their conversation that one night on the Augustus.  My father looked out the window.  "I thought as much," he said.  "Your mother and I decided that night that we would tell you everything when we returned to Londinium.  You need to know so that you can be ready to protect yourselves if need be."

     "Who is this Scipio, and where is the domina," Demetrios asked as we entered the embassy district.

     "He was the instigator of a plot to assassinate the Western Emperor Suetonius.  When his plot was uncovered, he fled to the Haudenosaunee, possibly aiming to go west and lose himself among the tribes there.  We got the order to eliminate him when we returned from Dalmatia.  But someone must have let Scipio know we were coming as he was prepared for us. A lot of people lost their lives.  We think we wounded Scipio, but aren't sure.

     "As to where my wife is, we got separated in the fighting.  The emergency plan was to meet at the embassy.  I hope to Jupiter that she's there."

     We rode the rest of the way in silence.  I was filled with worry about my mother.  Was she safe, or was she dead in the street somewhere?  After a few more minutes, we arrived at the gate to the embassy.  My father showed some insignia to the legionnaire standing guard, who lifted the gate and waved us through.  

     The steam car pulled up in front of the embassy and we got out and ran into the building.  Waiting there was a short, pudgy man with silver hair done up in tight ringlets.  He came up to my father, who saluted.  "Legate Crassus, I'm here to deliver my report."

     Crassus clasped my father's forearm.  "No need Marcus, Bronwyn arrived just a few moments ago and reported in.  She is currently with the medicus getting her wounds treated.  I suggest you do the same."  

     He turned to the two Haudenosaunees who had accompanied us.  "Degonwadonti, Rohahes, I would advise you to do the same after you hide the steam car."

     Degonwadoti and Rohahes turned and left.  Crassus turned back to my father.  "My sources are saying that Scipio managed to get away, but has been seriously wounded.  We have informants looking for information on his whereabouts.  In the meantime, you are to stay here until the medicus clears you and then you will report to Roma.  Someone gave Scipio a warning and I intend to find out who that was."

     "Understood.  May I present my son Darrlye and his friend Demetrios?"

     Crassus clasped forearms with Demetrios and myself.  "It is a pleasure to meet both of you.  Marcus here has told me a lot about the both of you.  I haven't asked him about this, but I think you both could have a bright future in our little organization.  The Empire could use more people like yourselves.  You both will be taking the toga virilis soon, I understand."

     I looked at my father, who nodded.  "Yes Legate, in six months.  Demetrios in four."

     Crassus smiled.  "Good.  I would like you to apply to the Imperial Academy next year, with your father's permission of course.  Discuss the matter with him later.  For now, you are to rest and enjoy my hospitality.  Marcus, come with me, we have much to discuss."

     Crassus led my father away.  A slave led Demetrios and I to our rooms.  We looked at each other.  An offer to attend the Imperial Academy was a great honor.  I felt a flush of pride at the offer and wondered if soon I would be dragging my family along on "vacation" like my parents had.