"You think I'm in danger?"
"Possibly. Not so much from Claudius, but maybe from other plotters. If they think you betrayed them. ."
"Then why don't I stay here?"
"Some of the others might try to link you to the plot. Also, you won't see much of me anyway, and if the German legions are involved in the plot, being near me could be very dangerous."
"If you say so," she said, without any sign of enthusiasm.
"Vipsy, I really love you," he said, and embraced he firmly, "but now I'm going to ask you to trust me on this. A plot is very dangerous and this one isn't over yet."
"I love you too," she said, and kissed him fiercely, then she backed away and said, "About my father. ."
"Yes?"
"I know he's done wrong, and I know he'll have to take what's coming to him, but he is my father. Could you please make a really big effort to save his life?"
"Of course you have to feel for him," Gaius said, "but there's a limit to what I can do. But I promise, I will do what I can for him."
"Thanks," she said, and embraced him again.
* * *
Plautius stared at Gaius, the horror clearly on his face. "But that's terrible!"
"Yes, it is," Gaius agreed, but then he suddenly had a thought. There could be two reasons for his concern: the fact there was a coup, or the fact that the coup had failed. He had to be careful, for Plautius could well have been allied to Scribonianus.
Plautius began wandering around the room, shaking his head, before finally saying, "Something has to be done. "The problem is, what?"
"We honour our oath to the Princeps," Gaius replied. "You must persuade the German legions not to join in."
"I shall see what I can do to persuade them to remain loyal." Plautius paused, then added, as if speaking to nobody, "Irrespective of what we think of Claudius, Rome must not have another civil war."
"I agree," Gaius said firmly.
"The problem now is there're a few very ambitious younger Romans with better military connections who might jump in. Men like Galba, or Vitellius."
"I don't know them," Gaius admitted, "although I do know Vitellius' father. I started my career serving under him when he was Governor of Syria, and as far as I know, he was supportive of me."
"Then pray that Vitellius can convince his son so that the German legions remain loyal," Plautius said, "because if we cannot generate enough quick support, there will be civil war, and Claudius won't win. And if Claudius loses, and you're known to be on his side, your future is rather poor."
Gaius stared at Plautius, and a strange feeling came over him. His future was not necessarily that poor! "Petronius owes Claudius a lot, and the Egyptian legions were rather pissed off at the attitude of the German legions to Little Boots. Provided the Pannonian and Dalmatian legions can hold until next year," he replied coldly, "the eastern legions will wipe the field free of any German force. They're battle-hardened, this Galba's no Julius, and they'll get him to wipe his arse with his nose. Provided Claudius can stay alive, he will stay Princeps. So our job is clear: the Pannonian and Dalmatian legions must stand firm."
Plautius stared at him in surprise, as he could see a fire was burning in the eyes of his new subordinate. The local legions would stand firm, or this young man would bring the eastern legions and he could count on them. One of the last acts of Gaius Caesar was to order Petronius to commit suicide. As it happened, Petronius was in no great hurry to comply, and Claudius' letter, in which he ordered Petronius not to, arrived in time. The east would be loyal to their favourite commander, who was clearly on good terms with this young Claudius and who could hardly fail to be loyal to the new Princeps. And this young man was also a favourite amongst the troops, or so he heard. All Plautius could do was to agree with his young Legate's proposal.
* * *
When Gaius returned to camp, he was updated on the revolt. The two he had locked in the cellar were captured without difficulty, two senators who had escaped on horses were captured and they surrendered meekly. One of the soldiers had been captured but one managed to escape, and since nobody really knew his name, it was likely that he would never be captured. The remaining soldier, when confronted and when escape was not possible, decided to stand and fight, believing death in combat was more honourable than being executed for treason. The cavalry was only too willing to oblige him.
Gaius decided to interview his captives, who were held in makeshift cells built of wooden stakes. The cells were rudimentary, very drafty, and somewhat smelly after a while, but they did their job: they contained the prisoners. He did not expect to learn much, and he was not surprised. They were a sorry bunch, but the revolt was clearly quite amateurish. For some reason they had convinced themselves that because of the family connections, Messala would be able to persuade Gaius to march on Rome and for some reason they expected the seventh would meekly follow. Now, with a trial in front of them, they were truly a sorry bunch.
One of the senators tried to bribe Gaius, offering a bag of gold for a day's start. Gaius stared at him coldly, then said, "You were happy enough to have me put to death, so I am happy enough to leave you to the Princeps' mercy." He then indicated to the guard that he wished to speak to Messala in private. The guard nodded, and walked away, but watched and was ready to return at an instant.
Messala was crouched in the wooden cell with a pitiful look on his face. "Please, Gaius. ."
"Quiet!" Gaius snarled. "You were going to kill me, and quite frankly I'd rather stick a gladius up your arse, but there's Vipsania to consider. What you've done is to poison the water for us. Now there's doubt whether she will truly stand by me, and she must be worrying about what I will do to her. That's your gift to your daughter, and frankly I think. ."
"I'll talk to her and persuade her. ."
"You'll do nothing of the sort. You've done more than enough already."
"Then what about me?"
"I shall send a report to Claudius, and I will ask him to show some mercy for you, and plead with him that I am convinced that Vipsania had nothing to do with this. It would be the honourable thing on your part to fully confess, while exonerating your daughter."
There was a silence from Messala.
"For the Gods' sake, at least do one good thing for your daughter!" Gaius spat.
"All right," came the sullen response.
"I am hoping that Claudius will be lenient, partly for me, and perhaps because you're a distant relation of his wife. I'm sure he wouldn't want adverse things about her doing the rounds of Rome."
"Thank you. I'll see. ."
"You won't ever see me again. That's one of the conditions," Gaius waved him to stop. "My guess is, Claudius will exile you, so you might like to consider where a suitable place would be. If Claudius merely limits you to your estate, then I guess Vipsania can go and see you as she wishes, but if I see you again, I'll rethink that matter of using a gladius. In the meantime, if you have any further light to shed on this revolt, put it in writing, and I shall see that Claudius gets it, with a better recommendation for mercy." With that he turned on his heel and marched off, leaving the guard to give Messala some writing equipment.
Later that day he began making arrangements for the captives to be returned to Rome.