Announcement

**Lord Zalzabad** · May 9, 2003, 10:05

Ok, this is the final story in my long running series. The above attachment is a must read for those who do not wish to read the previous two stories,The Ghosts of Thermopolie and The Phantasma of Hades. Although, I do recommend you read them to get the general story.

Also, those who have been following the story should also read it, as it tells what has happened since the last story ended.

Below is a map of the empire. The numbers match the numbers before the town names in the above attachment. This story may take awhile to write, and may be very long.

Attached Files

**ChrisiusMaximus** · May 9, 2003, 13:56

Hoorah!! three cheers for Lord Z, Im so glad to see you return as promised and I cant wait for the third story in this epic series. Great job with the rundown on the story so far, more power to your elbow.

**Lord Zalzabad** · May 10, 2003, 02:56

The Shadow Alliance Strikes

It had just started to rain over the city of Byzantium. Graccis looked out his car window as he approached another set of traffic lights. He sighed and remembered the days before such awful machines were created. He honked his horn at the car not moving at the blue light, and gave the driver a one-fingered salute as he passed. The traffic never used to be this bad before Caesar disappeared. Now, that idiot prince had his troops searching high and low for his father, and loosened the restrictions on private transport. There were even rumours going around that the prince was wanting to set up a Senate. Graccis chuckled under his breath. He still had the ear of that naive leader and a Senate would never exist under as long as he was around. And also he had the comforts of his beloved Portia at home, waiting patiently for his return. The car moved into the VIP carpark, only to see it full, a delivery truck in his spot! Graccis swore. If Caesar were still around, these things would have never happened. Graccis drove around to the employee's carpark, parking in a disabled spot, as it was the closest to the door. He got out, and hit the ground, as he heard an explosion coming from the VIP carpark. Graccis pulled out his revolver, and stood up. The nearby soldiers were running to survey the carnage, and Graccis decided to join them. Running around the building, he saw the VIP carpark in ruins, and a gaping hole in the Imperial Palace. He walked over to the soldiers, who were standing around, looking at the wreckage, and then it hit him. If the Prince was dead, there would be no successor, which would lead to Civil War (within a Civil War), and the empire opponents could take advantage of this. He turned to the soldiers, who were talking quietly amongst themselves now, and ordered them to start searching the ruins for survivors, and hopefully, the prince.

The blast shocked Portia as well, who nearly fell through the window. Looking to the horizon, towards the nearby Imperial Palace, she could see flames and smoke rising into the sky. She quickly got dressed properly, pulled out a pen and started writing on a piece of paper. This only took a minute, and she rushed to the elevator, pressing the button for the ground floor. The elevator rose, and Portia entered, checking her pocket for the note, and a piece of chalk. A sense or relief overcame her as she felt the two items, and the elevator reached the ground floor. She smiled to the doorman, who was a Corporal in the Imperial Guard, who kindly smiled back, as she walked out the door, and down the street cursing at herself for not bringing a jacket. As she approached a certain lamppost, she placed her hand in her pocket, feeling for the piece of chalk, and pulling it out, casually placing a mark on the post. She continued, walking into a deserted park. Looking left, then right again to make sure she was alone, she placed the message in a knot in an old Oak tree. She returned to her apartment soon afterwards, going a completely different route.

"I wonder how my sister is going," said Admiral Cassius vacantly as he walked onto the bridge of his ship
"She said she was fine in her last communique" replied the man waiting for him on the bridge.
"It has been a while, Marshal Chrisius" replied Cassius
"As it has been. You know your orders right?"
"Yes, sail to Imperial waters to test our new fighter"
"That is correct, Admiral," Chrisius said, looking out the windows of the control deck at the aircraft they were to test. The black finish on the aircraft shone mystically in the setting sun, as the Marshals eye returned to the Admirals face, "Make sure our baby does not get hurt. First fleet will be practicing amphibious landings in the Wast Coast of the Island, so you will be alone out there. May the gods be with you, Cassius"
"And with you, Chrisius. Could you do me a favour, though?"
"Certainly, what?"
"If Portia sends another message, could you please inform me of her well being? I just do not like what she has got herself into."
"I will, Cassius, but you must remember, that it is her job"
"But to associate with scum like that?"
"Yes, I will see to it personally she gets a promotion when she returns"
"I doubt she would accept it, she likes getting dirty with all that field work"
"Very well, happy sailing, Admiral"
"Thankyou, Marshal"

He counted the bodies before him. There his troops had suffered only three losses this time, and had managed to capture two Imperial troops alive. Looking at the three trucks before him, he marvelled at their luck. There was enough ammunition here to last them a month. Their only concern now was oil. The two prisoners were herded into the back of the captured truck, followed by two "shadows" They would be interrogated and killed all on the truck. The commander smiled, and the Shadows once more dispread into the night.

"It is a success! Out spy's report that there is a massive hole in the Imperial Palace, right near Caesars bedroom."
"Very good. Call Perrie in here at once" replied the aging Chancellor Joffre, as he picked up a book, and started to read. It was half an hour before Marshal Perrie entered the Chancellors study. Joffre placed his book on the table, and greeted his old friend.
"Welcome, Perrie. I trust you know why you are here?"
"That I do, Chancellor, sir. The Cycenne Alliance forces can cross the border within twelve hours of you giving the word. Do you give it?"
"No, not yet. We will wait intill action heats up in Rome first"
"Very well, but Chancellor, I still do not see the reasoning behind attacking Rome."
"You will see in time, my friend. Scipio is little more than an ignorant blind man who cannot see a threat when it is pointing a gun directly at his face."
"Very well, sir, but it would not be wise to underestimate this man"

Scipio looked again at the numbers before him and sighed. French troops had been massing on the border, along with Egyptian Troops, and he could not spare a single division to protect the Western Flank of his border. He needed the deterrent in the east of his Empire to stop Imperial Aggression. General Graccis walked in and handed him a message, that there had been an explosion in Byzantine. Scipio screwed up the piece of paper, and threw it into the corner, and stood.
"You know, Graccis, we will most probably get blamed for this. How long intill Project Eve is ready?"
"It is ready now. All we need is a test sight" replied Graccis
"That is good, once Eve is complete, we will no longer have to fear encirclement like this. Return to the Eastern Front and prepare our defences."
"Yes, Sir"

"Marshal, sir, we have found the Prince, unharmed. He was in the dining hall when the explosion occurred."
"That is good. What are the casualties?"
"Twelve missing or dead. Who would have done such a terrible thing?"
"Most probably that Western Republic or the Shadow Army. I will fry them for this!"
"That’s my call to make, Marshal," said the prince, who was standing behind him, visibly shocked at the attempt on his life.

A car drove past a certain lamppost, and the driver took note of an unusual mark that had been chalked on there only recently. He smiled as he turned the corner and parked his car near the park. He got out, and walked towards a tree, stoping and reaching into a knot, pulling out a note. He smiled as he returned to his car, and began the drive back to his home where he would encode the message, and send it to High Command.

**ChrisiusMaximus** · May 10, 2003, 04:23

Lord Z its great as ever

but I have one small suggestion which would make it easier for new and regular readers to follow. Firstly I want to say that you have throughout this series managed to tell a multi front story very well and that in itself is not an easy task. I have always managed to follow the story but at times have had to reread and backtrack a little to make sure I fully understand the script, of course this may be due to me being a bit slow.

I feel prompted to tell you these things because even though I had read both the first two stories and really enjoyed them, I found your link in your first post of this thread really helped me to fully understand the current and the past events of this work. My humble suggestion is for you to put bold headers at the start of your paragraphs where you jump to another situation in the story eg.

Meanwhile back at the Imperial Palace

Things were getting heated back at Byzantium

Over at the HQ of the Eastern Republic

Or something along those lines.

Looking forward to much more of this excellent tale and have you got plans to continue Yuki's tale ?

**Lord Zalzabad** · May 10, 2003, 07:32

Yes, maybe you are right. I might try that out with the next part. Even I get confused with who is where and what there doing, and (if you looked closely enough) some charicters even fell off the face of the story. Yuki's Tale only has one chapter to go, and I shall finish it at a date yet to be deturmined. I have, however, run very low on Mb for my hyper fast internet conection so I will not be able to post much more of the story on the forum in the next upcomming days. I have three chapters finnished as we speak, and I will releace them when I have more Mb's

How am I writing this you might ask? I am doing so on the school computer.

**Lord Zalzabad** · May 11, 2003, 08:54

I have decided that, insted of writing headings in, I will only deal with one or two scenes per chapter in most cases. But here is the next chapter for your reading pleasure

**Lord Zalzabad** · May 11, 2003, 08:55

2. The Shadow Keeper

The morning sun had risen over the horizon as the bodies of the two dead soldiers were pushed from the trucks. The troops of the Shadow Army knew they had to hurry, as the desert heat would be unbearable in a few hours. The small cave came up unexpectedly, protected by a ring of camouflaged machine gun nests. The trucks entered the cavern, parking next to one of the many smaller caves that lined the inside of this grand cavern. The troopers jumped out of the trucks and filed up on parade. Some idle soldiers that were not part of the previous nights mission looked on, content that they were not a part of the mission. Their old and frail commander slowly climbed out of the cab of one of the trucks, and looked on his assembled troops. He paced back and fourth in front of his troops as he was waiting for someone. He took of the scarf that had protected his face from the sand to reveal his old and weathered face. A man covered in a long, brown cape, a hood covering his face, so no one could see his appearance, approached from one of the adjoining caves. Sight of this hooded individual, Antonius and the troops assembled stood at attention. A hand, which did not look like a human hand, as the skin was pealing off it, appeared from beneath the cloak and saluted the assembled troops. Antonius ordered them to stand at ease, and then dismissed them. Antonius then moved in the direction of this mysterious hooded figure.
"How are your wounds, High Commander?"
"They are well, Antonius, my friend. I trust your raid was fruitful?"
"That they were, High Commander. We captured not only rations bound for the front lines, but medical supplies and ammunition."
"But no oil?" the High Commander enquired, looking at the large oil tanks that lined the far side of the main cavern.
"No sir. We will have to make another raid for that, sir."
"That is a shame, my friend," the High Commander said as he began to walk towards an adjoining cave, "as we will have to mount another raid to gain it. The final operation begins soon"
"Yes, sir," said Antonius, following the High Commander, "but are you sure it is not wise to tell our friends about our guest?"
"No, they can thank us for the favour at a later date," replied the commander, stopping by a cell where a thin starved man, dressed in only blood soaked rags, laid before him. The commander looked at this pitiful excuse for a human being and spat on him. He turned and went to leave the room, but stopped at the edge of the small cavern, turned to the ragged prisoner, and only said, "Oh how the mighty have fallen, Julius my old friend!" With this, he left the cavern, cackling like a witch.

***

Strato was sitting in his desk, looking through the window at the moon shining on the bay that his office looked over. The beating sounds of a helicopter snapped him out of this hypnotic stare at the beautiful sight, and focused his attention on the documents that lay before him. Two intelligence reports, from two highly placed agents. One, from Byzantine, told of an attempted assassination on the Prince's life, the other, from Thebes, told that the Cycenne Alliance was ready to strike. Strato could not help but think that these two incidents were related. On receiving these reports, a little over two hours ago, the Consul ordered his top Military Advisers, Grand Marshal Chrisius and Marshal Cracus to a briefing. The helicopter must indicate that they had arrived from Constantine City on the East Coast of the Island Republic. Without fault, that very instant the two Marshals walked into the room, saluting at their Consul.
"Why did you call us here, Consul Strato?" asked Chrisius impatiently.
"I am sure you had important things to take care of in Constantine City," replied Strato in a grave voice, "but something has come up."
"What might that be?" asked Cracus
"The Shadow Alliance is ready to strike."
"The Cycenne Alliance? But why now?" asked Chrisius, obviously surprised at this news
Strato pushed the two documents across the table, and the Marshals read the paper. Chrisius shook his head, and said, "But these are not connected! How can they be?"
"Simple," Strato started. "The alliance placed a bomb at the Presidential Palace in order to assassinate the prince. If it worked, the empire would fall into civil war, and Marius and Scipio would take up the pieces, leaving Scipio's Western Border with the alliance members unchecked, and their trump card, Fort Via, undermanned, as Scipio's forces would be gobbling up Imperial Territory. The Alliance would choose this moment to strike, smashing through the Western Republic's border guards like they were paper, and seizing that piece of territory. If the bomb failed, Prince Augustus would order vengeance on the taking of his life, and most probably blame Scipio for the attack, launching into ma full-scale war with Scipio's faction on the West Roman Plains. Meanwhile, forces of the Cycenne alliance will seize the Western Republic, before taking on the much-weakened Imperial Army."
"That’s a good explanation, sir, but it does not affect us," replied Cracus, anxiously.
"But it does, my dear Marshal," replied Strato, "For our goal is to reunite Rome under our rule. If Rome is in the hands of the Cycenne Alliance, our task will go from difficult to nigh on impossible. Tell me, Cracus, what is the readiness of our army?"
"We have three Armoured Corps and twelve Infantry units ready for deployment. Third brigade is the most battle ready at 97% combat readiness, as they are on an amphibious landing exercise near Jerusalem. The First Fleet is supporting this, but only half of the ships are in service."
"The other half?" interrupted Strato
"Being outfitted sir. The Second Fleet left this evening for the Imperial coast at Thermopile to test our new Stealth Fighter against the Imperial Radars. The Third Fleet, as you are aware, is in no position to enter offensive operations (as it was little more than a coast guard) Our long range offensive bombers are fully serviceable, and our fighter regiments are in top shape," finished Cracus.
"What of our amphibious landing capacity?" asked Strato.
"We can land on a beach-head approximately 50,000 troops. We have air transport to send in two divisions of Light Infantry as Paratroopers or one brigade of Armour, provided there is a place for these planes to land," replied Chrisius.
"And what ships are not being refitted in the First Fleet?"
"The Carrier Veii, the battleships Thermopile and Roma, Heavy Cruisers Brutus and Cassius, twelve destroyers, three anti-aircraft Cruisers, of the AGIES class, the Odessa, the Lyons and the Tours, and three nuclear powered submarines, NS 21, NS 26, and NS 33."
"And of our other ordnances?"
"Those, you say? They are deployable by our long range bombers."
"No. Send them to the Veii. I want this fleet gathered at the Naval Base at Curastrum in three days. I also want you to begin the deployment of the Republican Guard to the Naval Base at Curastrum too. That is your job, Cracus," finished Strato. Cracus saluted and left the room.
"What is the mission you give me, Sir?" the Grand Marshal asked.
"I want you to gather allies on the continent. Make overture to Marius and Scipio, but do not tell them of the dangers that await them."
"What of the young emperor, Augustus?"
"I have another plan for him."
"Very well sir, your wish is my command

**ChrisiusMaximus** · May 11, 2003, 14:17

Most excellent I love the intrigue!! keep up the good work.

**Lord Zalzabad** · May 12, 2003, 08:34

3. the Cards are Placed

"This is an outrage!" the emissary yelled, standing up, and staring at the young emperor with eyes colder than the artic wind.
"I am afraid that is our demands," said Augustus, with Graccis adding, "you may ether accept it or face the consequences. The decision is Scipio's"
"How can we accept such…" the emissary paused, "such terms as these when you have no evidence that we were behind this unfortunate attack! It could easily be Marius, or even that Shadow Army that has been plaguing your lands!"
"No one makes demands from the emperor!" yelled Graccis, stoping the young prince from saying what he wanted.
A thin smile crossed over the emissary's lips as he stood to leave. Pausing at the door, without turning around, he said, "You know, my friend this boils down to little more than a declaration of war."
"Ha, and if it is, Friend? What will you do?"
"There will be consequences, Graccis, and that young puppet you call an emperor. The Western Republic is not one to be trifled with. I must go, my plane awaits "finished the emissary, sweeping out of the room. Graccis turned to the young prince, and said in a mock-worried tone, "you can see that war approaches, shall I mobilise the army?"
"Yes, Graccis, and as you are the best General we have, I place you in command."
"Me?" replied Graccis, faking surprise, "Oh thank you your Excellency. The Armies of the House of Caesar shall roll over those arrogant pigs that call themselves equal with us!"
At that point, a messenger came forth, handing Graccis a letter. He read it briefly, and turned to face the Emperor, "Your Excellency, it seems the troublesome Second Fleet has left Constantine harbour, most likely heading for our East Coast. Shall I dispatch the coast guard?"
"Will they get there on time, and will they pose a threat to the rebels fleet?"
"No, Emperor Augustus, they will have very little impact on the Republican fleet. Those dogs have the edge in us technologically, but we have the manpower to defeat them. What is a more perplexing issue at the moment," continued Graccis, his eyes reading further down the letter, "Is that the Third Fleet and the serviceable portions of the First Fleet have been ordered to gather on the East Coast of the Roman Republic."
"And what might they be doing there?"
"I do not know, but Chrisius and Cracus are not to be dismissed as fools."
"But have you not lead an army against them many times?"
"No, I have not. I have faced less skilled commanders like Strato, Antonius and Constantine, but I have never had the chance to go up against Cracus, (as Chrisius no longer fights in battles), who when he struck horns with Marius and Scipio smashed their forces into shreds."
"Then how come they lost the war?"
"That, my young emperor is another story. I must head to Veii to prepare the army"
"God's speed"

***

"That is the terms they offer, Comrade Dictator," the emissary said into the videophone, "the choice is up to you."
"Thankyou Comrade, you may return home."
"Yes, sir" the emissary finished, as the screen went black. Scipio arose from his chair, and looked out over the hills that his capital at Actum stood under. The winter snows were melting, and on the streets below him, the people of his Republic, (as it was a republic in name only) went about their daily lives, as if nothing had happened. Scipio on the other hand was wishing he were one of the people ignorant of the crisis that was about to befall his nation. Scipio moved over to a screen on a table and pressed a button. A map of the entire eastern republic appeared on the screen, with the positions of all of the Republic's troops. He noted, worryingly that the Western border was relatively undefended, even though that was the most productive part of the Republic. Two Corps, under Generals Titinius and Brutus were charged with protecting that vital part of the republic. Meanwhile, the Second Army Group, based at Rome, and the Third Army Group, based at Pompeii (under the direct command of General Graccis) were poised in defensive positions. His air assets were pitifully low, consisting of mere 200 fighters and 50 bombers, but one of his main trump cards was the cruse missile. Missile Technology was the apex of the Western Republics knowledge pyramid. Not even the Eastern Republic had the capacity to produce long range missiles like them. He had 400 of these beasts at his disposal, which could deliver a frightfully large payload to anywhere on the continent. He smiled at this, and said to himself, "yes, maybe we can fight off those Imperialists."
"That is," said another voice, one Scipio could not place, but faintly remembered, "If Cycenne does not strike first."
Scipio turned and faced this stranger, saying "Who in Hades are you?!"

**Lord Zalzabad** · May 21, 2003, 22:38

Sorry about the lack of updates. Exam time is comming up soon, so I will be unable to post much more for at least a month. Sorry about this

(also, I am rewriting Yuki's Tale, at least the last chapter posted so it flows more evenly.

**ChrisiusMaximus** · May 22, 2003, 13:37

Well I can only say its a shame we will have to wait but I understand, I too am very busy at the moment with work and just dont have time to update my story.

Ill be looking forward to your continuation when time permits and good luck with your exams.

**Lord Zalzabad** · June 21, 2003, 13:09

4. Ghost of the Past

I am updating a story, and that only means one thing, another exam is coming (for anyone interested, I failed my last exam). so enjoy parts four and five, (because I know I will enjoy having to do written japanese again next year)
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"Back already, Cracus?" asked Strato, surprised at seeing his general walking through the door.
"My task was not too taxing, sir, but something else has come up."
"What is it?" asked Strato, puzzled
"As I was heading up here, I ran into a messenger from the intelligence agency, and offered to bring his message up for him. Things are getting beyond our control, sir," replied Cracus, anxiously, handing over the envelope to the consul.
"Ah, I see you have already read it," replied Strato, noticing the wax seal was broken, as he pulled the letter out, and started to read it. He read the report slowly, as Cracus paced impatiently up and down the office. After reading the letter twice, just to make sure that he read it correctly the first time, Strato's head went up, and he asked, "Is this true?"
"As far as I can tell, yes. It is from one of our top agents in Byzantine. Graccis is preparing to leave the capital, something he has not done since Caesars disappearance. Our agent could not extract the information of where he is going exactly, but I suspect he is going to Veii. This means that they are mobalizing their troops for a battle against Scipio."
"And what is Scipio's reaction to this?"
"Our agent has not yet made contact, according to our reports. Chrisius ordered him to fill Scipio in on the situation. "
"It will be interesting to see how this turns out. Are you sure it is safe returning the gun to the hunter?"
"If he can convince Scipio to our plan, yes. Anyway, he can do little harm to us from over there. But what is more interesting to note is that the puppetmaster has left the puppet alone."
"Yes. This presents many oppitunitys for us to exploit."

"I am sorry you do not remember me, Scipio, my dear friend." Said the mysterious man as he approached the stunned Dictator. Then it hit him. Under the light it looked like someone he knew… but it couldn't be, could it?
"Publius?" Scipio said meekly
"It is about time you recognised me, my friend"
"But… but your dead. You… you are a ghost, no my conscience, oh why are you haunting me!"
"I? A ghost? I doubt it, my friend. I am as real as this room, as real as yourself, but not s real as your Republic."
"What do you mean?"
"I have come from the east to give you a message from my former captives. Cycenne is about to strike."
"What is this Cycenne you speak of?"
"You do not know? I myself do not know much, but I will tell you what I know. Cycenne is an alliance formed during the Civil War to pool the resources of the foreign nations together for the sole reason to seizing Rome to divide amongst themselves. My former captives believe that they were behind the bomb blast, in an effort to stir up a war between you and the Imperialists. While the majority of your forces are fighting Graccis in the East, the Alliance will strike in the west, and crush us. They will then devour all of Rome."
"This… this is all a bit too much… who did you say you "former captives were again?"
"I didn't. At the Battle of Actum, just fifty kilometres away, superior Republican forces ambushed my scout party. They took us by surprise, but somehow, I survived the carnage. Their commander Cracus sent me to Republican H.Q at Veii, where I became a prisoner. They, at that time knew not of my importance to your force, but when they were executing prisoners, the young commander, Strato recognised me, and let me live. I spent ten years labouring in a work camp intill the army offered a reprieve to all prisoners of war. I took this, and I was recruited into the intelligence agency. I was sent here to warn you of these plans."
"How then can I tell you are not leading me on?"
"Disbelieve me at your own peril, Scipio."
Scipio smiled, and said, "Very well, I will put you in command of the Western District. You can be in charge of defending the region"
"What? Two Corps to defend against over a million?"
"If you are in such good relations with Nova Roma, get them to offer assistance."
"Very well, sir. I will attempt to fulfil your commands to the best of our abilities."
"Good then, get cracking."

The bar was busy with many people all watching the screen as the Byzantine Emperors scored a goal against the Hispalis Tigers. A cheer erupted from the bar, enough to unsettle the girl sitting at the bar, staring mindlessly at her drink, aimlessly mixing it with a straw. A man came up to her, sitting on the bar stool beside her.
"Are you sure that he is leaving?" said the man cautiously, looking around to make sure no one was watching
"Yes, I am positive. He is packing his bags right now. He wants me to go with him" replied the girl.
"No, you will not. Command asks you to attempt to gain sway over the emperor."
"But while Graccis is alive, it will be impossible."
"He won't be alive for long. You should use all your available resources to achieve your goal of seducing the emperor."
Portia suddenly glowed red in embarrassment, "But… but he's twelve!"
"What are you going on about? Anyway, I will contact you when we need to assassinate Graccis, we will require your aid with that," finished the man, as he stood up, putting a fifty dollar note on the bar table and left, leaving Portia staring into her drink, "But he's only twelve" she mumbled to herself, "What am I going to do?"

"Admiral Cassius, a message from Nova Roma," The communications officer said, handing the decoded message to the young admiral. He looked over it, and smiled a sly grin. He turned his navigation officer, and bellowed, "Send word to the fleet, we are changing course to Veii!" Cassius looked down at the message again, reading the last section over again, and wondering why they would summon him back after their placement at Veii. "Sir," an officer said, interrupting Cassius from his deep thoughts, We will be in range in a week."
"Very well, I hope that is not too long."
"For what?"
"Oh, none of your concern, just thinking to myself"

**Lord Zalzabad** · June 21, 2003, 13:10

5. Cycenne Prepares

The city was Tours. Little under 40 years ago, this town was being bombarded by Roman Cannons. Now, the tables were turned. This was, after all, thought Marshal Perrie, where his career began. He walked passed the troops, all at attention, before they bordered their Tanks and APC's for their jump off points. He looked up, as he heard the roar of a planes engine above him, and saw a low flying spy plane, banking steeply returning to their base at Lugium. From the West he heard the rumblings of French Interceptors attempting to intercept the Roman Plane. Perrie turned to his staff officer, telling him to order his troops to prepare. Impatiently, Perrie walked to his office, and picked up the phone.

"Hello?" said Joffre
"We have a problem. The Romans have sent a spy plane over the border."
"Hmm. You're right, Perrie, we need to, however, assess the readiness of the Egyptian and Russian armies. Also, we will need council approval. Anyway, if our plan works, even if they know what is happening they will be unable to stop us. I will get back to you soon," finished Joffre, putting the telephone down, and pressing a button on his desk. Joffre's office had four televisions placed around the room, in stratigic places so he could see all of them at one glance. At the press f the button, the televisions sprang alive, showing the faces of four different men.

"What is it, Joffre, it is three in the morning here!" snarled Zhang Lu angrily.
"Zhang is right, it is very inconvenient to call us all of a sudden," replied General Zhukov, commander of the Russian Expeditionary force, based at Elephantine
"Be quiet, Zhukov," said Ramses, "He would not of called unless he needed to."
"He better not," replied Admiral Shindler, the German commander of the Allied fleet.
"I have called to ask your readiness for action."
"The Southern Armies are ready for action. We can be on Ravenna within two days" said Ramses confidently
"The South Western Armies are prepared. We can march to Pisae within the week," said Zhukov
"The fleet is ready for action, as well as the Marine expeditionary force. We can form a beachhead anywhere on the South Eastern Coast. We will land at Pompeii, capturing the city."
"Intelligence has much to report, Joffre" said Zhang uneasily, " There is an army corps based at Ravenna, heavy armour, highly mobile. If Ramses' forces attempt to attack, they will get a bloody nose"
"And who commands them?" asked Ramses
"Err, a General Titinius. There is also a second corps based at Pisae, under the command of a General Brutus. This much you should know. But some troubling news has just come in."
"What might that be, Zhang?" asked Joffre
"There is a new commander of the Western District, but I cannot believe who it is."
"Who is it?"
"A Colonel General Publius."
"Hmm, I have heard that name before," said Zhukov
"I am sure you all have. But the problem is, that he is suppose to be dead."
"That is of little concern to us," interrupted Joffre, "Our plan will go as follows. Perrie's armies will surge forward into the Actum region, while the other three forces wait. The Romans will move their brigade at Pisae to Actum to defend the city, while their corps at Ravenna will move up to Pisae. Once that occurs, our other three forces will launch their attacks. Zhukov's forces will cut the enemy's supply line north of Pisae, surrounding the Roman forces at Actum. While this is occurring Ramses' forces will surge up towards the Via Pass, cutting off there only route of escape."
"A very good plan, Chancellor Joffre," said Ramses, smiling.
"But what if they don’t do this?" said Zhukov sceptically
"They will, their main goal is to defeat the invaders. They don't know about our alliance, and because of this, we have the upper hand."

Colonel General Publius was sitting in his position in the Western Republic Command Centre at the Via Pass Military Facility, looking over a virtual map of the Western Districts. Plotted on is virtual map were four big red marks designating the enemies armies (and fleet). The reconnaissance photographs had been patched through, and the results were most troubling. His commanders stood before him, looking over the map.
"So this is what we are facing." Said General Brutus, very calmly, despite the situation, as he glanced over the map.
"Yes. We are up against a Military Genius in Joffre. It will be near impossible to hold them off with conventional warfare," said Publius, grimly, "Does anyone have any suggestions?"
Titinius looked over the map and said, "Their plan is highly obvious, by the looks of these troop formations. Why didn't we notice these before?"
"We did not have the resources to spare, then," said Publius.
"Well, their goals are to cut off our armoured corps here and here," he said, pointing to two points on the map, on near Lugium, one near Pisae, "and land their troops at Pompeii, where they should face fierce resistance from Graccis' boys. But," he continued, looking at the enemy fleet numbers, "they field two aircraft carriers and possess twelve battleships, compared to our pitiful navy. If Pompeii falls, Actum will certainly be next, and our war will be over."
"A very good analysis on how we are going to be defeated, but we need strategies on how to win!"
"We could retreat all troops to Fort Via and fight a battle here," said Brutus
"We would have a chance at victory if we did that, but our superiors will not let us loose four of our most productive cities"
"It might be the only way."
"It might, but I have an idea. We will move the Pisae corps to the foothills of the Via Mountains, and the Ravenna corps to Pisae. However, a false brigade made up of civilians, using outdated equipment will move to Actum, to give the illusion that the Brutus' army is attempting to counter the French Incursion. This false army will be surrounded, and disbanded, and the Cycenne Armies will prepare to attack what they expect is one corps, who will, after the surrounding of the false army flee to the Via Pass. Expecting only one corps, our forces will cause liberal amounts of havoc within the enemies' forces. Once their fun is over, we will withdraw our forces to the Via pass, where we will prepare for a siege. "
"Sound good, Publius, do you think it will work?" asked Brutus
"It has a good chance, but there are a lot of ifs"
"Like what?" asked Titinius.
"First, they must follow the obvious ruse they are preparing, second, the attack on Pompeii "MUST" fail. To ensure its failure, we must inform Graccis of the situation, and we must do that now."

**ChrisiusMaximus** · June 21, 2003, 13:41

Hmmm A Roman reunification would be a most welcome development now, if only they could put aside their own ambitions and ally behind one leader.

This is thrilling stuff Z keep it coming

Sorry to hear about your exam better luck next time

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The Requim of the Shadow

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