The Epic Of Man...

[OzzyKP]

"Sir, Ambassador Daisuke Takahashi, is here to see you. He says it is urgent."

"Very well, send him in."


Takahashi, the Japanese Ambassador entered the Presidential palace in Delhi, and greeted President Chandragupta Maurya with a low, formal bow, as is the Japanese custom. He stood politely waiting to be addressed.

President Chandragupta gave a small bow and then invites the Japanese Ambassador to sit. "So, what is so urgent, Ambassador?" he asked.

"Sir, I have been sent to discuss the matter of your neighbor to the north. It has come to our attention that our Mongol neighbors have set up new settlements very near to your northern borders, and to our western borders. Our King has become quite concerned of this, and as this is a matter that concerns both our peoples, he has instructed me to consult with you."

President Chandragupta had heard rumors of Mongol movement on their northern border, but was in truth preoccupied with domestic affairs, India was the world's first true Republic, and keeping his nation's diverse religious and ethnic communities together was a constant challenge. He had not sufficiently investigated the reports from the northland. He pushed Takahashi to give him more information on the matter.

Takahashi got out the map he had brought, and laid it on the table, "The Mongols have built a new settlement here," he said, pointing at Tibet, "and a caravan of Mongol settlers are desending upon this river valley here," again pointing at the map. Perhaps due to their great nautical history, the Japanese were great mapmakers.

Chandragupta didn't need to study the map long. He knew immediately what this meant for his people. Looking at the string of outposts Mongolia has established made the picture clear, they weren't simply expanding, they were creating a ring around Indian and Japanese lands to contain their nations and permanently bottle them up. The Indians knew well the lush land to the far north that the Mongols called home. Why settle among the deserts and mountains bordering India when there was so much nicer land north? Clearly this was not peaceful settlement, but an aggresive move to block the Indian Republic.

Chandragupta turned to his assistant, and told him, "Call the Mongol ambassador and tell him I request an immediate meeting. And ready the chariot division garrisoned in Lahore"

[The Capo]

The situation in Rome was dire; the leadership had been reduced to three men whose ambitions were in conflict, a military who had little to no organization, and an infrastructure ravaged by barbarians. All of these circumstances had finally resulted in a battle that should never have been so important.

Gallic troops had finally reached Italy and were menacing towards Rome, in their wake roads, mines, and farms had been brutally masacred for minute amounts of wealth. The leaders of Rome had finally agreed to put aside their petty family-politics to come to the aid of the people of Rome. Meanwhile a lone Senator Remus Latinus, and Centurion Flavius Julius have been investigating the suspicious death of King Aeneas Latinus for some time, with small but interesting results.

To put it quite plainly Rome was in shambles...

Antium...

Flavius and Remus approached the plague in the center of town, but it was to no avail, a troop of soldiers and citizens dressed in make-shift armor approached them as one asked "Please, let one of you be Senator Latinus?"

Remus turned, "Yes, I am Remus of the house of Latinii, what is the matter?"

"Dominus, there is an army of Gaul approaching Rome, Proconsul Remus Latinus has ordered all able-bodied Romans to come to the aid of our motherland, whatever matter you have before you, I assure you it is trumped by these Gauls." he handed Remus a map, but he didn't need to look at it.

"Very well, Flavius we must go to Rome." he turned back to the soldier "Who commands the army?"

"Army? Dominus, we have no army. This is our army." He said, referring to the citizens assembled, "If this is an army, we are in trouble."

"Alright, collect your things Flavius, we must go straight to Rome..."

Meanwhile in Rome...

Bucco Varro had finally received his money, and was prepared to return back to Antium and live out the rest of his life. He looked at Rome differently now, he was a rich man and the world was his oyster, but things were about to change.

A Centurion approached him in the street "Sir, sir!" he cried as Bucco walked away from him "Sir, it is edict from the Senate that you listen to me, or be punished!"

Bucco turned around "WHAT IS IT!?" he yelled.

The Centurion clutched his sword "Proconsul Remus Latinus demands that all able bodied Romans report to the city barracks, an army of Gaul approaches from the north."

"I have orders to meet with Senator Brutus sir." Bucco responded.

"No other orders can be adhered to, this is entirely necessary, please, time is of vast importance." the Centurion said.

Bucco looked around, it was late and he was tired. "Alright, alright, I'll come." he knew that legal trouble was the last thing he needed, if his origins were discovered it would spell death for him...

TO BE CONTINUED....

[OzzyKP]

Three hours have passed, and the courier returns to the Presidential Palace and is immediately ushered into President Maurya's office. Maurya quickly cuts through the formalities, "Where is the Ambassador?"

"I don't know sir, he never came out to speak with me."

"What? Did you give him my message?"

"Yes sir, I gave the note to one of his servants, then I waited for 2 hours. I am certain the Ambassador was present in the embassy, but I received no explanation for why I did not receive a response. I was simply kept waiting."

"That insolent dog! He cannot so disrespect a man bearing the Presidential seal, and live to tell the tale. This is indeed quite unfortunate. Deliver to him one last ultimatum, 'Immediately stop the construction of the city north of Lahore, and negotiate borders or that settlement will be destroyed.' Send this message to the Mongol capitol itself, I will not risk war over an incompetent Ambassador. Copy the message to each of the world's greatest kings as well."

"Yes, sir.'

'Oh, and deploy the chariot division. Instruct him to move within striking distance of the Mongol's settlers north of Lahore and again deliver the ultimatum. They shall then wait until further orders."

"Yes sir, right away sir."

[OzzyKP]

Chandragupta assembled a war cabinet of his most important ministers and military leaders. Indeed, only a grouping of such important men could face the historic events that lay before them.

First and foremost, was Chandragupta's Prime Minister, Chanakya, a legendary political thinker in his own time. He orchestrated the fall of the old dynasty of Kings, and the election of Chandragupta as the first President of the Indian Republic. He has served as Chandragupta's esteemed advisor and Prime Minister since. In future ages, Chanakya will be compared to other strategists like Machiavelli and Sun Tzu from Rome and Japan respectively.

Also in attendance was Chandragupta's grandson, the brash military commander, Ashoka. Ashoka had distinguished himself years earlier as the savior of Delhi when it was under attack from eastern barbarians. During the siege he broke out with his chariots and routed the enemy forces. He is now the Commander in Chief of the Republic's military, and his personal chariot unit, that distinguished itself at the Battle of Delhi, has been sent to meet the Mongols north of Lahore.

As India was working on concert with Japan through this crisis, Ambassador Takahashi was also present. He was recently briefed from the Emperor and was prepared to negotiate a military and diplomatic strategy on Japan's behalf.

Also in attendance was Radhagupta, the Domestic Minister, and Pushyamitra, another general, Ashoka's second in command.

Chandragupta spoke first, "You have all been briefed on our situation, and the aggressive moves the Mongols have made into our lands. They are a threat to both us and our friends the Japanese. I have been assured by Ambassador Takahashi that this shared threat will create a shared reaction. We will be working in concert with our Japanese neighbors through this entire process. It is for this reason I have invited Ambassador Takahashi to our usually closed cabinet meeting."

"I have attempted to contact the Mongols," he continued, "but I was unexpectedly rebuffed. Takahashi informs me the Japanese have received the same reaction. I have sent riders out to contact the Mongol King, and am awaiting a response. In the event they similarly ignore my pleas for diplomacy we need to decide an appropriate course of action."

Prime Minister Chanakya, rose to speak, "His irrational refusal to communicate is unexpected. With Japan and India united, and threatening war, it is clearly in his best interests to negotiate an acceptable border arrangement. If and when he ultimately refuses to negotiate, suggests only two possibilities. That he is profoundly stupid, or that he anticipated our response and deliberately provoked us to goad us into war. This also implies that he has a very large army at his disposal and is prepared to take on the combined might of Japan and India. I am a cautious man, and thus must assume the later."

Nodding in agreement, Ashoka spoke, "Pushyamitra has been gathering intelligence on the Mongols, and can shed more light on this subject." He gestured to Pushyamitra and beckoned him to share his report.

Pushyamitra began, "Our scouts traveling in the northern hinterland along the Mongol border have given reports of many trained Mongol axmen. Their soldiers are equipped with bronze weapons and armor, far stronger than what we have at our disposal currently. They appear battle-hardened from years fending off barbarian raids. We do not have any accurate estimates of the size of their force, but if there were many more units of the kind our scouts saw, this could indeed be a fierce war."

Chandragupta nodded, a grim expression appearing on his face, he turned to his grandson, "What of our military readiness?"

General Ashoka replied, "It is not good. City defenses are paltry, and our offensive capacity is limited to my lone chariot unit, currently moving to intercept the Mongol settlers. Most of the troops we do have are green and have not faced combat. Indeed the Battle of Delhi was the first serious battle we have fought in two generations."

The situation looked grim indeed, Chandragupta did not despair, his trusted advisor was a true strategic genius and had got him out of some rough situations in the past. He turned to him next.

Chanakya still on his feet did not miss a beat, "Even if a snake is not poisonous, it should pretend to be venomous. We must strike swift and severe, a dramatic show of force and ruthlessness will put fear into their men, and cause the Mongols to question their chances. Ideally this will bring them to the negotiating table, and having scored a recent victory, will give us the upper hand in negotiations. If however they still refuse to talk, then the blow to their army's morale may give us a slight edge in the ensuing conflict."

All in the room nodded in agreement, Chanakya was indeed a wise man, and this plan seemed to be the best way to leverage their limited forces against a superior enemy.

Sensing the agreement, Chandragupta spoke, "Excellent, so it is agreed. Negotiations are our primary goal, and a quick victory should aid in bringing the Mongols to the negotiating table. If that should fail however, no blow to their morale will be sufficient to overcome our severe lack of military strength. There is little doubt we must build an army, and immediately. Radhagupta, how stands our production capacity?"

"We have just begun construction of an iron mine far south of here, but I fear it won't be ready in time to fill our military needs. The breeding grounds of Lahore though have plenty of horses ready for chariot production. The only issue however will be switching over from a peacetime economy. After knowing nothing but peace for so long, the people may be slow to hammer out the weapons of war once more...."

"The people are fat and lazy," interjected Ashoka, "They have grown used to a decadent lifestyle in this materialist Republic of ours. This is a national crisis, we have no time for a peaceful disposition. Even our slaves have grown fat and lazy. It is time we put them to the lash and get every last bit of labor out of them. If the merchants and blacksmiths resist, we confiscate their businesses. Anyone who resists will simply disappear. We can militarize our state through the strength of our police for maximum efficiency."

"But how? How can we get the people to accept such a brutal regime?"

Instinctually, everyone turned once again to Chanakya. His machinations swept away the old lines of Jewish and Hindu kings, to bring Chandragupta to power through ballot, if anyone could sweep away his new creation, it was he.

Taking his chair once more, Chanakya fixed his gaze upon all seated around him and tented his fingers as he spoke, "It is quite easy actually. We must simply appeal to their sense of national greatness at the same time we fan the flames of fear. This is a national crisis, and at our most base level, all people seek security at the expense of all else. It is simply a matter of pushing the right buttons."

The assembled men nodded, mesmerized by Chanakya's cool, calculating cadence. Chanakya continued, "To do that we must simply tap into our common heritage and sense of unity. We all know the story of Emperor Bharata told in the Mahabharata. His empire stretched many miles in all directions, encompassing the known world to our ancestors. That world has been invaded by the Mongols. Their settlers intrude within the sacred borders of Bharatavarsha. Displacing our hopes for Greater Bharata, Greater India. This is more than a simple territory dispute, this is an affront to our religion and way of life. Chandragupta, my dear friend, declare this a religious crusade, and grant yourself absolute power in a theocracy to defend the people from this outside threat. A threat not only to their lives, but to their sacred religious traditions and eternal territorial ambitions. Ashoka and the military are behind you, I will create a propaganda machine, and anyone who resists will simply be disposed of."

Chandragupta thought on the matter a while. While the Republic was in many ways simply a power play, he had grown to appreciate the workings of democracy. India's form of government was the most advanced the world had yet seen. Unlike the mere trappings of the Roman Senate, India had a true republic. It did indeed bring happiness to the people. Chandragupta was quite reluctant to throw it all away.

Yet he could not allow the Mongols to defeat them, burn their villages, and rape their women. If he had to choose between a reputation as the destroyer of the Indian Republic or the destroyer of India, he clearly must choose the former.

Before he could speak though, a breathless courier burst in the room. "I bring word from Mongolia, they ignore your plea for negotiation. They will not discuss borders, they will not discuss their settlements, they will discuss nothing. Their only message is that any war that is begun now will never end. They pledge eternal warfare if violence breaks out."

Chandragupta rose to his feet quickly. "It is decided then. We must move quickly."

[OzzyKP]

Originally posted by OzzyKP
10 gold to the first person who can identify and cite every quote i used....

*sigh* all that work for nothing.

Where is everyone besides me and Capo?

[The Capo]

Field of Mars, Rome...

Romulus surveyed the soldiers gathered in the Field of Mars; he was a little uneasy about their mission, the army had been underfunded due to Romulus' expansion project which indirectly resulted in their current situation. Brennus, the King of the Gauls, had taken it upon himself to unite the Gallic and Celtic tribes of Europe against the Romans. They had a clear advantage, and that was copper. This metal was so rare within the Roman domain that it could only be used for jewelry and small trinkets, Romulus knew that his troops could only gain victory if they clearly outnumbered the Gauls.

"So, Scipio do you think this will be enough men?" he asked. The men were waiting for Romulus' speech before they were to be deployed.

"Well Praetor, we have reserves coming from Spain, Germania and Antium. The Gauls appraoch from the Masillian highlands, they will be here before the rest arrive, this will have to do for now, I believe we will be able to hold Brennus with this army, whether or not the reserves will arrive in time is entirelly another matter." Scipio Africanus replied, he was a Senator made General for this event.

Romulus nodded and approached the crowd of soldiers, none of them had been battle tested, and barely any of them were properly trained or equipped "Brave men of Rome, your country calls upon you. We are simple men, we are traders, merchants and farmers. Nobody ever said Rome had ambitions for conquest, or military achievement. I know the majority of you are simple plebians, but not now, now you must take up your arms in defense of Rome herself! The Senate has given me Praetorian powers to settle this emergency, an army of Gaul approaches from the north, they will be upon Rome soon, and it is our duty as proud and true Romans to defend Rome to the death! Reserves approach from our northern settlements and from our Spanish expeditionary forces, but until they arrive we must hold off these brigands with every ounce of mettle we can muster. We will stay here outside of Rome for the time being and await the Gauls, meanwhile General Romulus Latinus will wait for General Valerus Pullo from Narbo Martius and General Crassus Brutus from Spain, once these armies consolidate we will make a stand in the hills surrounding the town of Segestica. From this position we will be able to pinch them and hopefully outnumber them. I understand the defense of our lands is something the Senate, and myself as Proconsul have failed to accomplish. The resources we have been given have not been condusive to military prowess, and so far the wealth of our merchants has been our foremost concern, but you have my assurance that the Augers have already begun and are almost finished creating a new alloy that will make Roman metal the strongest the world has ever seen, once this project is finished we will crush the Gauls once and for all!" he surveyed the camp, the men were listening, many of them filled with pride. Romulus knew he could count on these men to defend Rome and avoid disaster. "Alright men, tonight we sleep and prepare for tomorrow, the Gauls should arrive within the next couple of days..."

On the road to Rome...

"I don't understand, if her father hates your family so much why would she marry you?" Flavius asked Remus as they rode back towards Rome, they were followed by two units of warrios from both Narbo Martius and Antium respectively.

"She is not her father Flavius, she knows Romulus has nothing to do with my father's murder, its Gnaeus Brutus that holds an old grudge with my father. He would love nothing more than to peg it on Romulus so he can seize control of the triumvirate, that is all it is." he explained.

"I still don't understand what any of this has to do with your investigation." asked Valerus Pullo, General of the army from Narbo Martius.

"See Pullo, it is no matter that Gnaeus accuses Romulus, there is no evidence, so he can prove nothing. But as long as he has an inclination he can deny Livia's marriage to me. She simply wanted me to clear my brother's name, but if Romulus knew this she thinks he would assume she is a Brutii spy." Remus explained.

"Women are confusing." Flavius said "Wouldn't it be strange if she was though?"

"Confusing?" Remus asked.

"No, a spy." there was a silence.

"Well its simple, she isn't. Why would she be?" Remus asked.

"I don't know, I don't know her." Flavius replied.

"EXACTLY! So let's move on to something else, we should arrive in Rome in five days, hopefully before Brennus does..."

The Curia, Rome...

Gnaeus Brutus, Aulus Iunius, Quintus Latinus, and Titus Pompeius made plans for the appropriation of funds, with Romulus and Remus away from the city the Latinii, at least for now, had no means of controlling the empire. In many of their minds this battle with Brennus was a good thing; Romulus was not necessarily a tyrant, but under his leadership the coffers were empty, the military was non-existant, and all of the infrastructure built by Aeneas was ravaged by barbarians. Romulus' expansionist policy was ill-advised and ill-funded, while it was successful in establishing Roman settlements in the Danube valley and in Germania, it had created a war with the Gallic tribes of the west and managed to get thousands of Roman settlers killed as a result.

"Our first order of business should be to re-establish our roads. If we had them intact this situation would have been much easier, we have no idea when our reserve armies will arrive from Antium and Narbo, not to mention trade with the Russians has been stymied by sh*t-eating barbarians!" Gnaeus Brutus exclaimed.

"I agree, Romans are traders and merchants, roads are as necessary to us as are veins to a heart." Aulus agreed with Gnaeus, "We must establish mines again and farmlands, we're too well off sitting here in Rome while the rest of our country suffers under the Gallic axe."

"Well, while I agree with both of you I have to say we can't rush into any of this. " Quintus Latinus interjected, he was an old man, and brother of Lavinia Latinus who was the mother of Romulus and Remus "Romulus' expansion program is nearly completed, if we cut the funding we will have wasted precious time and materials, we should get these settlements up safely before we committ to building more roads and mines, Italy is pretty well developed as it stands, and Antium and Narbo Martius need time to establish themselves."

"The house of Scipii agrees with the Latinii, this policy has been troublesome for Rome, and did cause our situation with the Gauls to be as violent as it is, but that's no reason to stop now, we've put too much effort and money into this to trash it simply because of some filthy Gauls! Africanus, Pullo, Latinus and Brutus command our armies. These are our finest young Roman men, and they will break the Gauls. Once that is done we can safely settle, this may be a war for our survival, but we forget what spoils come with victory." Titus Pompeius continued "and I know for a fact that Scipio Africanus will be victorious, the boy is a prodigy, a true Scipii and a true Roman. Victory here spells glory for Rome."

"And what if we fail? If they sack Rome we'll be exiled to Antium, I pray to Jupiter, at worst Narbo Martius. Our soldiers are ill-equipped, the Russians tell tales of Gauls weilding heavy copper axes! Our weapons will be smashed into shards against that type of army." Gnaeus said, "My son Crassus is in harm's way because that arrogant boy Romulus doens't know how to protect his empire!"

"Romulus is not a warmonger like you Brutus!" Quintus Latinus responded "He was trying to expand our empire and get wealth for us all, and you talk about him as if he personally stabbed you in the back!"

"Please, please, there's no time for petty squabbles here, time is of the essence." Aulus interjected "Titus told me he had something to show us."

"Yes of course, how could I forget. An Auger who Romulus commissioned with discovering an alternative to copper says he has successfully found a metal that is stronger than copper." Titus began, "He calls it 'Iron,' he says if we can equip our men with armor and weapons made of this metal we will be unstoppable."

Titus stood up "Come outside into the garden, I had a slave prepare a statue for us, it will show you exactly what type of uniform these soldiers would wear..."

[deity]

Originally posted by OzzyKP


*sigh* all that work for nothing.

Where is everyone besides me and Capo?

maybe it's something to do with ONLY 10 gold!

BTW, I'm having trouble getting psyched up to continue writing in this one after that false start. My first session post relates to that game and I was a bit miffed about a new game starting up. I would have preferred Mongolia went AI, and as it turned out.. that would have been for the better maybe...

Anyway, I'll try and get some inspiration soo...

[OzzyKP]

Well in theory I shouldn't have to bribe people to read my posts!

But yea, I'm going out of town for a week now, so I hope to see some good posts from everyone when I get back.

[The Capo]

C'mon Deity!

What does the second start have to do with anything? Everyone generally has the same land from what I can tell, I'm just continuing as I'm going with my storyline, so everyone else should do the same.

As long as we have Mongolia covered we should be fine. I wished more people would post though, that would be nice.

[The Capo]

Ten miles north of Rome...

Scipio Africanus and Valerus Pullo had finally met in Italy, but they were very late. The Gauls had already reached the farmlands north of Rome, where the army under Romulus Latinus was already prepared to rebuff the attack on the city. Meanwhile there was tension in Rome as a few key Senators were planning a takeover while the Proconsul attended to the military.



"At this rate we'll be too late to reach Rome, we camp here and hope the army can hold the Gauls for another night." Africanus said, donning his new armor courtesy of Titus Pompeius, who had funded the project leading to the discovery of Iron. The metal had recently been discovered in Spain, and returned to Italy for research, a new metal was created that would be stronger than Bronze.


Pullo looked hard into the distance, there was a small billow of smoke coming from some hills, but otherwise no proof that the Gauls were near "I say we march into the night Scipio, if the Gauls approach Rome they will attack, otherwise they will move. They won't stop to rest, we should pursue just as quickly."


"Impossible Pullo, the plan must be to bring the Gauls from Rome, Romulus has assembled a large force there, it will take the Gauls more than two days to take the city, we'll be there tomorrow." Scipio replied, he was assured of victory, he knew the plan quite well. The trap had yet to be set, but the Gauls would be fooled into thinking Antium was left ungaurded after failure at Rome. Africanus had known that the Gauls will not fight if they are assured defeat, they must return the unquestioned victors; if they knew of an easier target than Rome they'd take it, Brennus could not afford a defeat, it was necessary to the Gauls to stop the Roman expansion at all costs.


"I understand that, Brennus' army is comprised of all the Gallic warriors, but I don't understand how we intend on stopping them, what if they break Rome's defense?"


"Nonsense, Romulus boasts his force is so large even if the Gauls cut through with the might of Mars himself they will at least need three days to destroy our forces, the plan is to lure them to Antium where they will be crushed, the battle of Rome occurs soon. We must prepare, after this victory we will create a large professional force, for now though, we must use our mettle." Scipio replied.

Pullo patted Scipio on the back "You are a great Roman Scipio, and the armies of Remus and Flavius Julius will arrive in Antium soon, I think the plan will work. Finally we can show those old men in the Senate what the Roman youth is made of!"


PS; Alright, I just read this, and I have to say two things: 1) I was wasted when I wrote this,a nd 2) I am wasted nwo. So I'm sorry, but it makes sense, I will explains later.

[The Capo]

Minutes after the Gallic attack on Rome...

The Gaul's eyes went blank as Romulus slammed his sword into his belly. He pulled his sword out, it was dripping with the blood of Gauls. "We have rebuffed the Gallic army!" Romulus bellowed as he lifted his sword into the air. It was quite a scene; the fields were strewn with bodies, weapons, and blood. Romulus approached a Centurion, Publius Mamericus, and placed his hand on his shoulder.

"Dominus?" Publius asked.

"The Gauls have retreated into the northern highlands, we celebrate our victory tonight and tomorrow we give chase. I need you to help me though, I have a special mission for you..."

House of Brutii, Rome...

"Until the war there is no reason to pursue our goals, we don't know what the outcome will be yet, and we can't bank on anything at this point." Gnaeus said to his daughter.

"I understand father, but Remus has intentions to marry me, if we don't succeed in time what am I supposed to do?" she said, she was very distraught.

"Livia, my beautiful daughter, there are ways to end marriages believe me. Bucco never arrived, which bothers me because my spies say they saw him in Rome. I wonder if he was called to the front." Gnaeus surmized, he poured some wine for his daughter.

"Crassus may return home soon father!" Livia remembered, her brother had been out in Spain and Gaul for the past few years, and she was excited to see him back in the city.

"Let us hope so, his army should be meeting with Brennus' soon, we shall pray for his safety..."

West of Antium...

Crassus Brutus was making great time "Rufus, shall we make camp here or continue? The moon will be upon us soon."

Rufus was Crassus closest friend, and many rumored the two to be lovers, which made it difficult for Crassus to move up in the military which was his chosen profession "We'll make it to the city if we continue, but it will be past nightfall."

"Very well, we must continue. The battle plans are for us to meet near Segestica, if Romulus' army is successful the Gauls will be approaching Antium through that town." Crassus was pleased that he'd finally be able to return to Rome, hopefully after years on exploratory duty he'd be given a better position in the military.

A lone horseman approached, he was not a Roman "Identify yourself!" a centurion ordered.

The man pulled his horse to a stop, "I am Vasili Pochenko, I represent King Stalin of Russia. Is this the army of Romulus Latinus?"

"No, it is my army. I am Crassus of the Brutii. What news do you have for Proconsul Latinus?" Crassus replied.

"I am sorry, I must speak directly with King Latinus." the Russian answered.

"He is not the King, he is the Proconsul." Crassus responded, the Brutii and Latinii were not fans of eachother.

"Whatever he is, he is in charge of affairs of state, and this is an affair of state." the Russian said sternly, this particular Russian was brave enough to speak down to a General. "So if you please, direct me to YOUR leader so I can move this important information along."

Crassus thought for a bit, if he could discover the content of this information he could greatly help his father, "Very well, Vasili was it?" Crassus asked, the Russian nodded, "Well Vasili, you will go south down this road here, but there are Gallic axemen everywhere, Rufus and two soldiers will escort you to Rome."

"That is fine Roman, good luck with your battle comrade..."

[The Capo]

The Higlands outside of Antium...

Remus Latinus, Scipio Africanus, Crassus Brutus, Flavius Julius and Valerus Pullo sat at the table to devise a strategy. The battle would take place tomorrow, the armies of Romulus Latinus had successfully rebuffed the Gauls north towards Antium, a city they believed to be unguarded. The Roman empire, under the command of Proconsul Romulus Latinus, had called upon all able-bodied men to fight against the Gallic invasion of Italy. Defeat would have cost Rome its empire, now only Antium could be taken by the Gallic armies of King Brennus.

"Only two of us should command these armies." Remus said, "The others should return to Rome quickly, we don't want the city to fall into disarray."

"Why would that happen Remus?" Crassus Brutus asked, he suspected this comment was directed at his father.

"No reason, its just that with the entire army out defending against the Gauls we don't want to risk any type of insurrection." Remus explained "Not to mention our finest Generals are in this tent and our Senate is defenseless."

"I agree, I believe myself and Remus should stay and defend the empire, the rest should return to Rome and make sure everyone knows all is well." Scipio said, he got a few nods but Remus didn't seem to agree.

"No Scipio, I must return to Rome. There is an issue that needs my attention, besides I need to make sure my brother behaves himself." Remus replied.

"Yes, there is a courier from Russia too, I sent him to the city with my aide Rufus." Crassus interjected, if Remus would be returning to Rome he wanted to also. His father had sent him numerous notes that Remus had been courting his sister Livia.

"Very well, Scipio we will leave you with Flavius Julius, Pullo you go directly to Antium and assure the city's safety. We will return to Rome tonight." Remus continued "Good luck..."

The Next Morning...

Flavius Julius couldn't believe how far he had come in the past few years; he got to name the Senate, he was given rank as a soldier in the legion, sent to Antium where he recieved a plot of land, was made a Centurion by a Senator and finally got his own cohort to command, and in defense of the empire! Things were going well for him, and he knew he couldn't screw this up.

"Formation I!" he barked, holding his sword into the air, the troops formed into an inverted wedge, his legion would be charging downhill upon the Gauls.

"Dominus" a soldier said to General Scipio Africanus "The Gauls are approaching."

Scipio surveyed the Gallic line, which was slowly approaching. Brennus' army was comprised of mostly Axemen, and a few skirmishers.

"Flavius, charge forth a small army of your men when the Gauls reach the bottom of the hill," Scipio ordered "When they begin their charge we will come from our right upon their side, we need to box them up."

Just then a Gallic commander, possibly Brennus himself, barked "Heraus!" and the Gauls began their charge.

"Gemina!" Flavius ordered his forward unit of warriors, "Charge!"



The Romans ran down the hill, holding their swords high in a ready position, as two Gallic units charged upon them. There were plenty of Roman reserves in the nearby forest, Flavius readied his sword for Scipio's order.

A Gallic axeman slammed his axe into a Roman warrior's shoulder, nearly chopping his arm clean off! He was promptly stabbed in the stomach as he tried to pull his axe from his victim's body. Flavius was disgusted but still watched for Scipio's order.

"Shall we pursue them sir?" Cassius Carbo asked Scipio, he was his second in command.

"Not quite yet, we need them to fall deeper into our trap." Scipio surveyed the action; the Romans were taking heavy losses, the Gauls were fighting like animals.

"This is insanity." Flavius said to himself as he watched the Gauls begin to surround the Roman warriors, they were taking heavy losses and Flavius knew if he didn't support them the Gauls could break the line, and with it the morale of the troops. He lifted his sword into the air and ordered "CHARGE!" he began to run down the hill, his legion following closely behind.

"What is he doing!?" Scipio asked Cassius, "He's disobeying my orders!"

"Shall I call for the charge dominus?" Cassius asked his General, Scipio had no choice. The Romans couldn't afford to lose more men and he knew it, "Very well Cassius, let Mars be on our side!"

Cassius Carbo ordered the standard move forward, and the army of Scipio began its charge.



The Gallic line was thin, but vicious. They started making segway against the first unit of Roman warriors, but when the rest of the Roman army began charging it was clear that the Gauls would be overwhelmed.

Brennus tried to call back the troops but the Roman warriors reached them too quickly, any retreat now would result in a massacre. When Brennus finally realized he would have to fight or die he raised his battle-axe and let out a warcry. The Gallic troops went berzerk.

Flavius saw this, he knew the Gauls would fight for Brennus if he fell today, and he knew that politically his capture could result in the fall of the Gallic resistance. "Take Brennus alive Romans! Don't give up!" he yelled as he directed another charge...



The Romans were victorious, the Gauls were defeated and Italy was safe again. Brennus had successfully been captured by Flavius Julius and a couple other soldiers, Scipio was pleased with Flavius' performance, "Flavius Julius, despite your refusal to wait for my command you showed excellent mettle today against these savages."

"Thank you Senator Africanus." Flavius replied with a respectful nod.

"Your actions today, they will be told throughout Rome and the lands of the Romans. I suspect others will hear of your bravery today on the field." He grabbed Flavius' forearm "What you did today was important, you shall be greatly rewarded, Romulus will have no choice but to give you land, or even make you a Prefect. You brought him Brennus, the Gauls are effectively crushed, and the Triumvirate preserved..."

[The Capo]

The Roman Empire had finally secured its place in Europe; Romulus Latinus returned to Rome a conquering hero, the Senate was unable to curb his power as the people deemed him the great defender of Rome. Flavius Julius was the hero of the day, his brave charge was not seen as foolhardy by the people, who considered it a testiment to Roman bravery. Politically speaking Rome was better off than it had been in prior years, new agreements were being reached between Rome and its neighbors in Russia and Africa. Through Romulus' expansion program Roman territory had now extended into western Europe and it seemed for now that Rome would be a success...

Rome...

"Ah, Crassus Brutus" Romulus said with a fake smile, "Welcome to my humble abode."

Crassus grabbed Romulus' forearm and shook it, staring dead into his eyes. Crassus had only been in Rome a short time since being out in Spain, he hadn't even seen his father or his sister yet but Romulus demanded an audience "Proconsul Romulus Latinus, it has certainly been a long time. To what do I owe the honor of your presence?"

"Here sit, have some wine." Romulus motioned for his slaves to bring food and wine for Crassus, but Crassus held up his hand.

"No that's fine, I have to go home and see my father, I have been away for a very long time." Crassus took a seat.

"Well Crassus, the war went quite well and the Senate and People of Rome thank you for your help in driving the Gauls into hell. For your excellence in command I have decided to comission you with an important mission, it is very much a secret." Romulus took a sip of wine.

"I don't know what to say Romulus, thank you." Crassus replied, he still wasn't sure what Romulus was driving at.

"There is a war, in the East. We are not going to get involved in this war, but I am sending a legion to investigate the matter."

"Who exactly is at war sir?" Crassus asked.

"The Indians and Mongolians, there is another kingdom, but we have no contact with them, the Indians call them the 'Japanese,' your job is to contact these people and report to me how the war went." Romulus explained.

"With all due respect sir, I have been gone for so long in Spain, and I simply long to be with my family for a while before I go back out on campaign again." Crassus knew this was a ploy to get him out of Rome.

"Think of it as an order General. You are highly qualified for this, Rome needs good representatives..."

House of Latinii...

"Mother, are you here?" asked Remus as he walked into his mother's room.

"Remus!" she said, as she hastily threw some sheets over herself, "Don't just walk in here like that."

"I'm sorry mother," he said, he was a little embarassed and quickly turned away "I didn't see anything I-"

"Okay, you can turn around now." Lavinia said.

"Well, we've won the day." Remus said with a smile "And finally Rome can go back to business as usual. By the way, while I was out I heared a strange rumor."

Lavinia got up from the bed "What rumor?"

"Well, there's a town near Antium, where the murderer of my father once lived. His name was Leartes, he was said to be a Greek, but he really wasn't, he was of Latin blood." Remus explained "That's not even the interesting part, the interesting part is that he was said to be the son of a great Latin warrior named Turnus, now if I remember my history correctly wasn't Turnus the same name of the warrior father killed in the field of Mars?"

"Yes, I believe it was." she said, she was getting a little nervous and Remus noticed.

"Perhaps it is the same Turnus, and this Leartes was avenging him! I couldn't investigate further because of the war, but I must find Bucco Varro, who seems to know more than he is leading on." Remus explained.

There was an akward silence, Lavinia approached her son and smiled at him, she rubbed her hand against his cheek, "Remus... there is something I have to tell you..."

TO BE CONTINUED...

[OzzyKP]

The short-lived Indian Republic died quickly and quietly. Chandragupta dissolved Parliment, and declared himself Great King, or Maharaja. Chariot production began in earnest in several cities, all other building projects were put on hold and the people forced into the creation, training and manning of chariot units. This was to be the greatest war the world had ever seen, and India did not intend to lose.

There was some resistance in the cities to the harsh police state Maharaja Chandragupta Maurya imposed upon them, but all rebels were enslaved immediately and put into the service of making new chariot units.

While not as powerful as the bronze clad axemen the Mongols were reported to have, the Indian chariots great strength was their manuverability and speed. Speed was key. India's northern border consisteded of many large mountain chains that are virtually impassable for most units, thus to strike its enemy, India must detour around the mountains. Its fast moving, four horse chariots accomplished this nicely:

[OzzyKP]

In a field north of Lahore.

General Ashoka returned to his unit stationed outside of the Mongol encampment. He was discouraged by the delay caused by the trip to Delhi. He summoned the commander on duty, Major General Ajatashatru to brief him on the decisions made in Delhi and to get updates from the field. It was late, but he didn't wish to waste any time.

Ajatashatru entered the tent and saluted General Ashoka. Ashoka stood in the back of the tent with his back to him. He turned slowly around and asked, "What news of the Mongolian settlers?"

The tent was dimly lit by several torches, but Ajatashatru could see that Ashoka was not a handsome man. He burned with intensity though. He delivered his report, "Since you left the camp, the Mongols have unpacked their wagons and have begun to build a village on the bank of that river."

"Fools. Don't they understand the danger they are in? Why would they encumber themselves by building in such a tense moment. Do they have a military escort yet?"

"No sir, just women, children, and farmers for the most part. They should put up little fight. "

"Still more curious. Perhaps the Mongols aren't as organized or powerful as we expected. No matter. Our plan is the same."

"What news from Delhi? Did the Mongols finally agree to negotiate?"

"No. They refused to discuss borders altogether. So the decision has been made to strike swiftly. If we let them expand into our territory without challenge we will soon have Mongols living right outside Delhi. We are to flex our muscle here, in the hopes a quick victory here will drive the Mongols to the negotiating table. If they remain stubborn, then our victory will be a morale boost in our favor."

"Understood. What of General Pushyamitra?"

"He remains in Lahore and is directing the training of new chariot divisions. We will be alone for this battle, but reinforcements will be deployed soon. General Pushyamitra will lead the new chariots to our next objectives, if we have them. We must waste no more time. Ready the troops, we ride out at dawn."

"Understood sir."