The Phantasma of Hades

[Lord Zalzabad]

Panic Spreads, the Alliance Forms

The Rumors had spread fast. For the fall of such an important city, the Eastern Capital of the Republic, could not be kept secret for long. Rumors also told of the Ghost of Caesar haunting the Republican troops, who fled. Yes, the city had fallen without a fight. Dictator Cicero had not been seen in public since his Television Address four weeks ago, and few people failed to see that the Republic was in its death throws. The talk between the high society told of an exodus of scientists, generals and government officials flee to the New Rome Colonies. With the news that their government was abandoning them, the cities still under Republican Control fell into disorder. Actum, Lutera, Veii, Rome, Pompeii and Hispalis were the only cities left under republican control. The garrisons from the other cities had been withdrawn to defend the Central Republic. People were panicking, fleeing the cities to the ports at Veii and Pompeii, with the hope of finding a boat, any boat to take them to the New Rome Colonies.

However, some people were ignorant of the panic, for they were too young. Lucida and Portia were brother and sister. They knew something was up, it had to be. Even before their imprisonment, the city streets were not this busy, full of Automobiles, loaded with luggage, people throwing what they could into trolleys and wheeling them away. But Lucida and Portia had no possessions. They had just escaped their fowl imprisonment. They had been there for five weeks, ever since their ruthless Grandfather threw them into this workhouse. From that moment, they planned their escape. They would catch a boat to a place where their parents use to take them for their family holidays, that is, before they died. It was called New Rome, and there they would start a new life, away from their oppressive Grandfather. They walked down the Via Actum, towards the Central Railroad Station. There, they would use the 40 drachmas they had begged to get a railroad ticket to Veii, to their new life. Standing on the edge of the great railroad station, Lucida remembered his parents, Caius and Portia Cassius, who, he remembered were murdered by his Grandfather, Cicero. He would get his revenge someday, and it would be sweet.

Never before in the worlds history had so many chiefs of state were gathered together in one room, but there, Zhang saw, were the heads of state of five different nation states. If an assassin wanted to throw the world into chaos, he would only have to bomb this place. That, thought Zhang, is why Emperor Mao sent him, while feigning illness. He could name the heads of state so easily, Catharine, Bismarck, Cleopatra, Tokoawa St Joan of Arc, and her Chancellor, the aging Joffre. They were all talking amongst themselves, yet stopped when Zhang entered the room. “Who are you, and what are you doing here?” asked Joffre
“I,” said Zhang, “am Ambassador Zhang Lu, representative of the almighty Chinese Empire, in place of Emperor Mao, who is currently fighting off a bad case of the flu.”
“Very well, ambassador, you may take your seat” Joffre replied. It was obvious to Zhang that he would be the Chairman of this meeting. He sat down between Catharine and Bismarck, and looked at the document before him. Joffre stood up, and surveyed the room. However, before he could speak, Catharine stood up and asked, “Why did you call this meeting Chancellor Joffre?”
“Why, my dear, isn’t it obvious from what is going on over the border? This is about the situation in Rome,” replied Joffre.
“What situation?” this time it was Tokoawa, the Japanese Shogun.
Bismarck turned to him and asked, “Where have you been, my friend? They are in the midst of a civil war, and have been for five weeks.”
“Explain.”
“Forces loyal to the recently deceased Consul, Cassius, led by General Scipio, hero of the battle of Tours, are attacking the Republic from the West, while forces lead by the former Emperor Caesar are attacking from the East. The Republican Forces are sandwiched between these two forces, and are not likely to survive much longer. Why I have called this meeting, is to form an alliance to help protect all of our nations from the victorious side in the civil war.”
“Come on, Joffre,” said Bismarck, “Tell us why you really want this alliance.”
“Very well, then, to attack the warring parties and seize the empire for ourselves”
This statement shocked many of the heads of state in the room. Zhang was the first to speak, “But Rome has done no harm to us. Why should we attack?”
“Because Rome is weak, divided, and rich. We will naturally divide the spoils. I place in front of you, my dear friends, the treaty documents. You have the power to sign for Mao, do you not, Zhang?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Well then, from now on, the Cycenne Alliance is a reality!”

[ChrisiusMaximus]

Nice new twist Zalza this looks like a most interesting turn of events.

[Lord Zalzabad]

The alliance does not really come into very much play in this story, just setting up a plot line for the next part of the trilogy

[Lord Zalzabad]

Antonius' Betrayal

General Constantine was sitting in his office, looking over the plans for the defense of the Republic. Sipping his coffee, he looked out the window to the rapidly emptying city. He shook his head, but knew that these people would be safe in New Rome. This was because the Rebels had no Navy or Airforce to speak of. Sighing, he turned the page of the document, to show a map on the defense of Veii. He was due to go down there to inspect the progress later that day, when the phone rang. Grumbling that his work had been interrupted, he picked up the phone.

“General Constantine?” the voice on the other line asked.
“Yes, and who might this be?” asked Constantine in a puzzled tone.
“Its Antonius.”
“Marshal Antonius? What a pleasure…”
“No, Constantine, I was demoted and arrested for treason. This is my one phone call. Do it soon.”
“I will be in Veii for three days, but I will do so when I get back. Good Luck, Antonius. May you have better luck in your next life.” With that, Constantine hung up the phone, and went back to work.

Antonius was shocked that his friend had been so rude to him. Nevertheless, at the same time, as they were leading him back to his cell, relieved. Relieved that the Tyrant of Cicero would soon be no more. If Caesar and Scipio did not kill him, Constantine would. As he approached his cell, Antonius noticed the warden an evil grin on his face. As he was thrown into his cell, the warden turned to him, and said, “Do not worry, my friend, you will not have to stay here for long. The order just came,” he held up a piece of paper, “to have you shot by firing squad in four days, at noon.” With that the warden left, chuckling to the guard. Antonius smiled at the thought that he would be able to live at least half a day without the yoke of tyranny that Rome had suffered under for so long.

Constantine on the other hand was shocked that the order had come. He had grown to enjoy the fruits of his new position, and did not want to give them up so easily. The phone rang once more, and Constantine angrily picked it up.

“What!?”
“I am sorry to disturb you, General,” said the familiar voice.
“Zhang?”
“Yes it is I, old friend. You still have not forgotten your fathers wishes?”
Constantine suddenly remembered his fathers wish, to remove Cicero from power and felt ashamed that he had even forgotten it.
“No, Zhang, I have not,” lied Constantine, “now what do I have the pleasure of talking to you, Ambassador?”
“Things were just a bit quiet, and I decided to check up on them”
“Well if that’s the case, I will do it soon, good bye…”
“No, Constantine, there is something else.”
“What would that be?”
“They have formed an alliance”
“Who has?”
“Everyone.”
“Like who?”
“France, Egypt, Germany, Russia, Japan, and, I am ashamed to even say this, China.”
“And what does this alliance wish to accomplish?”
“To destroy Rome, and divide it between themselves. I must go, I am expected somewhere else. Please keep this a secret from everyone. Farewell, my friend.”

Constantine was shocked at this news. Why did the world hate Rome so much? He could not see it. Had not Rome give them aid? Had not Rome give them Technology? Then it hit him. Rome had taken too much of the pie, and had stuck their finger in nearly everyone else’s. The campaigns were endless. The Greeko-Roman Wars, the Odessa conflict, the failed French campaign, little over twenty years ago. He shook his head. There was nothing he could do. He sat back in his chair, looking at the clock, only to find that his train left in half an hour. Swearing a curse, Constantine grabbed his briefcase, and ran out the door.

The ticket officer’s heart melted when the children explained their story to her. The train was fully booked, but there was room in the carriage reserved for military personnel. Handing over the tickets, she refused payment, thinking to herself why a grandfather would do such a thing to his own grandchildren.

[ChrisiusMaximus]

Great stuff Zalza, gripping stuff in fact.

[Lord Zalzabad]

To all my loyal fans, sorry about the lack of updates for my story. I have been preoccupied with other very important things, such as a new computer that will play civ 3 faster than one frame per minute. But that is being shipped down to Canberra on monday, and I will once more have nothing to do, exept finish this story. So Tuesday will come the next part of the Phantasma of Hades, A Fateful Encounter!

[ChrisiusMaximus]

I will be looking forward to it

[vovan]

Yup, hanging on the edge of the seat to learn what happens next.

Actually, I should probably reread the last couple of chapters to refresh the memory.

[Lord Zalzabad]

A Fateful Encounter, Plans are Laid

Here it is, right on time, as promised

-----------------------------------------------------------------------Constantine was already in a bad mood, and ended up being late for the train. However, as he was a high ranking official, they waited for him. Cursing once more at the inefficient railroad system, he walked into his VIP carriage, an officer saluting him. There, he saw two children sitting on HIS chair, eating HIS lunch at HIS table! Furious, Constantine looked to the officer. If looks could kill, the officer would have been dead, but he replied, “These children had tickets, sir.”
“Well then get them out!”
“I cannot do that, sir.”
“Why not!”
“Do you know who those children are?”
“Who?”
“The son and daughter of Portia and Caius Cassius.”
This shook Constantine. He looked over at the children, and slowly approached them, smiling happily, as the officer, sulked away to the bar.
“Hello children, what are you doing in my carriage,” said Cassius in his sweetest, most fatherly voice.
“We are going to Veii, Mr General,” said the little girl.
“Yeah, we are getting away from our evil grandfather,” said the older boy
“And what do you plan to do when you get to Veii?” asked Constantine politely
“We will get on a boat to New Rome,” replied the little girl.
“And what might your name be,” asked Constantine
“I am Lucida,” said the little boy, “and this is my little sister, Portia.”
“Hi,” said Portia, “and who might you be, Mr General?”
“I am General Constantine. Now why don’t you go down to the dining car and get something to eat,” he said, handing him some coins.
“Thank you Mr Constantine” they both said, running off to the dining car.

Cracus was looking over the tactical map. His forces were entrenched North of Byzantine, while Chrisius’ forces were entrenched at Hispalis. In between them was the Imperial Army. The word of Antonius’ defeat had come as a shock to all of his troops. Now was no longer the time for hesitation. He had to act decisively. Hispalis, he thought, would be the decisive battle. If the Republicans won, Caesar's forces would be crushed. If the Imperialists won, Rome would be open, and the Republic would be no more. And here his army was, stuck in the middle of enemy territory, far from the action, far from the combat. He and Chrisius had developed a plan for the coming battle, similar to the one that Antonius had worked out. His troops were completely mechanized, and could be in Hispalis in three days. On the other hand, Caesar's forces could get there in two, which was his problem. He turned to his commanders, who had just briefed their troops about the coming plan, and gave the order to move out. If Caesar moved, they would reach him at Hispalis, if he stayed put, they would fight it out in Byzantium.

Caesar, on the other hand, had ordered his men to move. His commanders had noticed how arrogant he had become. They had tried to warn him of the dangers of fighting with such fatigued troops, but he did not listen. Because of this, his troops would move much more slowly, and would reach Hispalis in two and a half days, at the dead of night. He had ordered an all night march with no breaks in between. Trouble was around the corner, but Caesar looked so happy, and it would not be right to spoil that happiness, would it?

Scipio was still angry about his failure to seize Titinium, and was fairly unwilling to take Caesar's last phonecall. However, he promised something big would happen, and the enemy troops would melt from him like Ice on the Via Actum, and within the week, he would be at Rome. His troops were all rested eagerly awaiting the first sign of battle. That morning he set out, with his entire army, for the Via pass.

The reports Chrisius got were disturbing. He had gained the title of Grand Marshal of the Republic of Rome by default, and loathed his new job. Sitting in the Governors office in Hispalis, he looked over a map of the Republic, or what was left of it. Spies indicated that Caesar was preparing to move, and forces at Pompeii noted a reduction of troops at the fortress protecting the pass. It looked like Scipio was preparing for an attack on the Via Pass. This put him into a weak position. The Via pass was the most secure pass in the country, protected by the latest Tanki, and the best-trained troops. The coastal road at Pompeii had been cut off by engineers, denying Scipio a chance to strike through there, but at the same time, leaving the Republican forces with invasion options. The Via pass was penatratable, but would come with great loss of man and machine on Scipio’s side. Unfortunately, after the Via pass there was nothing to stop Scipio from taking Rome. However, his most pressing problem was Caesar. The ground at Hispalis did not suit defense. The city itself was situated where the Brundistrum Plains met the Roma desert. The nearest hill was 100 km away, leaving nothing but open plain. His engineers had produced three hastily constructed Fortresses in a V shape pointing north, and backing on to the river. In between these three fortresses named Rome Veii and Actum, the light infantry were entrenched in the classic style, a front line trench, and three reserve trenches, with wide, but zigzagged communications trenches connecting them together. The communications trenches were wide to allow easy withdrawal if things got too rough. The secondary plan involved his two Tanki Brigades, and a new squad of Advanced Tanki, fresh off the production line. While Caesars forces are attaching from the north against the well entrenched Infantry, the Armored units would sneak up behind the main attacking force and cause havoc in the rear of the Imperial Forces. Then, if everything went right, Cracus would come in from the north and complete the rout. If it all went wrong, the army would retreat across the river, destroying the bridges, and go into a full-scale retreat to Veii, destroying everything as they went.

“Here, children, take this money. You will need it for the boat ride to New Rome,” said Constantine, handing over some money as the train approached the station.
“Thank you, Mr General,” said Portia, “We will never forget your generosity.”
The two of them got off the train and disappeared into the crowd. Constantine said a silent prayer for their safety, and hurried off to the waiting car.

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Next chapter, the battle begins, as Constantine prepares his plot. Meanwhile, will Scipio stand Idle at the gates to Rome as the Republics fate is decided on the field of battle? Find out (or maybe not) in the next exiting chapter, due tommorrow!

[Lord Zalzabad]

Just incidently, this forum has kinda got busy lately. and also, if you read my story, please respond. I am grateful for any feedback even negitive.

[ChrisiusMaximus]

Im still here and loving every bit of this great story just wish you would do it faster but all good things come to he who waits.

[vovan]

What Chris said. Good stuff, indeed.

[Lord Zalzabad]

The Arrogance of Caesar, Marius' Plan

Your waiting will be over. I have set Febuary the 18th as the deadline for completing this story. I only have three major battles to go, one (maybe two, if your lucky) assassinations, and more twists than the River Thames. Well, maybe not that many, but you get the point.
------------------------------------------------------------------------Looking at the fortifications around the city of Veii only took two days instead of the three originally planned for. Thanking his luck for this day off, Constantine sat by the pier, looking at the vast amount of ships in the Harbour. He picked up a stone, threw it into the ocean, and looked back towards the city itself. His fate, Zhang had called it, to kill Cicero. He slowly stood up and walked to the train station, failing to pay for his dinner. Better sooner than later, he thought. Anyway, the defenses here were fine without him for now.

General Marius looked at the report, and looked down at the map of Hispalis. Hastily drawn on this were the positions of the fortresses. This did not look good, as it looked like Chrisius would want a fight. He took the news to Caesar, who hardly reacted to the news, “We will bury them! What resistance could THEY put up?” Graccis agreed with Caesar's diagnostic of the situation, but Marius was not sure. Capturing those fortresses would be tough with only Infantry with no artillery support, and minimal Mechanized support. He looked at the map once more. Recon units had reported that all bridges over the Hispalis River were destroyed, but in the city itself, there were two bridges left standing. Marius heard the roar of a reconnaissance plane overhead, and swore. They had lost the element of surprise. He could see troops firing at this plane with their rifles, but nothing worked. They were too slow to deploy their German Botha anti aircraft weapons. A captain from Recon handed him a report, showing him the enemy trench positions, and he compared it with the report that Cracus’ Heavy Armored Corps had smashed through the rear guard left at Byzantium last night. He would once more be in a sandwich, with two opposing forces coming at him from two sides. He would have to finish one off before the other, but which one. A loud explosion ripped the relative silence of the night, as Artillery shells rained death apon his men. He then turned to a sergeant, ordering him to gather all unit commanders in his office immediately, and to give orders to his men to entrench.

Antonius was surprised at the noise he was hearing from his prison cell under the Citadel at Hispalis. Had the battle come this far so soon? He smiled at Caesar's stupidity. His men would be tired, and would need a rest. They would not fight at optimum form. Then again, however, if Caesar won, his life just might be saved. However, the chance of Caesar winning this battle was low and the chances of Caesar letting him live was even lower. So Antonius sat back in his chair, and sighed, listening to the sounds of the battle above.

“They have 100,000 troops fortified around the city of Hispalis. Our estimates indicate that 40% of them are conscripts, 40% are regular troops, 15% Veterans, and 5% are of the elite Border Guards division. Intelligence sources indicates that Chrisius received a new shipment of Tanki, but their make, model and whereabouts are currently unknown. The enemy has constructed forts here here and here,” Marius said, pointing to the positions of the forts for the assembled commanders, “with enemy troops dug in, in an arc between the three forts. All bridges across the river have been destroyed apart from these two in the centre of the city itself. To get those bridges before they are destroyed is our number one goal. Now commanders, what is the state of your forces?”
“We have two hundred thousand troops under our command,” said the operations chief, “however…”
“However what?” replied Marius. It was the commander of the 3rd Corps, the Caesura brigade, “Our troops are at 70% readiness, sir. Many of our troops are conscripts, as you know, and what skills our regular troops have had has been eroded due to the lack of battle. I would say that our two hundred thousand troops would only be worth one hundred thousand.”
“So, commander, you are giving even odds of victory?”
“No, General,” said the commander of the Imperial Guards, “The odds are stacked against us. We are facing a well-prepared enemy, entrenched troops with lots of artillery and air support. Not to mention that we are operating in a time frame of less than half a day to achieve victory. If we win, I will eat my hat. Sorry commander, but none of our previous tricks will work. Cracus wants our blood for humiliating him like we did at Caesura, and many of the troops defending the city are bitter for the defeat at Byzantine. We are facing a determined enemy. We should have stayed at Byzantium, and took on Cracus there. Then after regrouping our forces, and training up our men, come down here and smash the enemy. I am sorry commander.”
“That is alright. I too was against this move, but Caesar insisted. It seems that he, and us all underestimated the republican resolve. We will withdraw 50 km, out of the enemy artillery range and wait for Cracus. We will then defeat his forces before setting our sights on capturing the city. Does everyone agree with this plan?” finished Marius. There was nodding and a few grunts around the room, indicating that they would go along with the plan.

The train arrived early. He hailed a taxi and ordered him to go to the defense ministry. He would conduct the plan tomorrow, when Cicero would be making his address to the nation. This would save the Republic, so he told himself, paying the taxi fare.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

In the next chapter, Cracus' forces will mix it head to head with Marius in a grudg match to the death. Who will win? Who will die? And will Constantine ever get around to killing Cicero? Fing out (or maybe not) in the next exciting chapter of the Phantasma of Hades!

[ChrisiusMaximus]

More twists than a Curly Wurly then ?

[vovan]

Originally posted by ChrisiusMaximus
More twists than a Curly Wurly then?

That makes this story really twisted. In a good kind of way. Great stuff, as ever, ZZB. (errr, I am always trying to abbreviate your name somehow, but it just doesn't sound right, sorry Lord. )