A small fire had started on the pirate ship and as distant figures struggled to douse the flames the trierarch of the bireme quickly turned his vessel about and headed back into the bay at full speed as the excited crews on the catapult concentrated their fire on the lead vessel. Before the bireme could get out of range a final shot caught in the furled sail and set it alight. Meanwhile another fire had flared up on the pirate ship and as the flames spread, the men at the oars fled from their benches and began to dive over the side, abandoning the vessel to a raging inferno that lit up the entrance to the bay in a brilliant but terrible glare of red and orange. Closer inshore the crew of the bireme were struggling to extinguish their own fire with a chain of sailors passing water up to men sitting astride the spar, who desperately attempted to quench the flames.
Cato thumped the rail again, consumed with frustration and self-reproach, until Macro slapped a kindly hand on his shoulder.
'There's nothing we can do about that. Besides, we've done well enough tonight. Now it's time to finish up here.' Macro nodded down towards the knot of enemy hemmed in around the mast.
A fresh wave of marines from the other bireme was swarming over the bows and chasing down and slaughtering the few pirates still alive at the prow.
The two centurions picked their way over the tangle of bodies and descended the steps to the main deck. Macro sheathed his sword and roughly pushed aside a handful of marines at the edge of the melee.
'Pull back!' he bellowed. 'Pull back! Give 'em some space!'
The order was relayed through the marines by the junior officers, and the marines gradually broke away from the pirates, warily stepping backwards across the deck, made slippery by the blood. The men took care where they placed their feet to avoid tripping over the bodies sprawled beneath them. A space opened up around the handful of bloodied men clustered on the main deck. They glared their defiance at the marines and kept their weapons raised and ready to use. An uncanny silence filled the air as the fighting ended and men on both sides waited expectantly. Cato and Macro pushed their way through the marines until they emerged a few paces away from the surviving pirates. Cato sought out the leader he had seen earlier and pointed towards him.
'Tell your men to surrender!'
The pirate leader stared back and then sneered his defiance. Something about him was familiar and Cato frowned, trying to place the man. Before he could make the connection the man brandished his curved sword.
'No surrender, Roman!' he screamed in Greek.'We'll not die like dogs on your crosses!'
Cato raised his hand to try to calm the man down, and replied in the same tongue. 'I give my word you'll not be executed. Slaves you will be, but at least your lives will be spared.'
'Never!' the pirate leader shrieked. But even as he spat his defiance at the centurion there was a dull clatter as one of his men threw down his sword and bowed his head. His comrades glanced from him to their leader and then another weapon thudded down on to the deck. An instant later, only the pirates' leader still held his weapon and he stared from side to side in frustration.
Cato held out his hand. 'Give it up, man. You've lost the fight. No sense in losing your life.'
The young man gritted his teeth and for a moment Cato was certain he was determined to go down fighting. Then his resolve crumbled and the sword fell from his trembling fingers as he stared hatefully at the Romans. And then Cato remembered exactly where he had seen him before. On the deck of Telemachus' trireme. Even now he recalled how close this man had been to the leader of the pirates.
'Ajax,' Cato muttered.
06 The Eagles Prophecy
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
'But I gave my word,' Cato protested, and glanced round at Macro for support. The older centurion gave a slight shrug.
'You gave your word,' Vitellius repeated with a faint smile, as he glanced past Cato towards the prisoners, chained together in a small circle as they stood on the beach. A squad of marines stood in a loose circle around them, keeping guard. Vitellius shook his head.'What makes you think that we should honour any promise given to those murdering pirate scum.'
'It was the condition for their surrender. I agreed terms with their captain, Ajax.'
'Well, more fool him. Have the leader separated from the others. If he's one of Telemachus' top men, as you seem to think, then we might be able to squeeze some useful information out of him. Bring this Ajax to headquarters and we'll go to work on him. But the rest will be crucified. Do our men good to see them nailed up.' He glanced round and pointed up at the headland. 'Up there. Where the enemy can see them, and our own men can enjoy the view.'
'Sir, I must protest.'
'Fine. You've made your protest. Now do me the kindness of allowing me to arrange for their execution.'
Cato's mouth opened, closed and opened again as he shook his head. 'This isn't right…'
Prefect Vitellius nodded. 'I agree. It isn't right, it's war. And this discussion is over. Now see to it that your ships are beached and the men given an extra ration of wine. They deserve it. Make sure they understand it's on my instructions. I'll want reports from both of you by the end of the day. You can do that after we've questioned the prisoner.' He gave a curt wave of the hand. 'Dismissed.'
Cato and Macro saluted, turned stiffly away and crunched down the shingle slope to the shoreline.
'Thanks for your support,' Cato muttered.
Macro shrugged. 'Sorry, but I'm with the prefect on this one. They're pirates. They should have known that they could expect no mercy from us.' Macro frowned at him. 'Don't go all soft on me, Cato. Those bastards down there had it coming to them the moment they decided to take us on. Besides, if the position was reversed, if we were their prisoners, do you really think they'd show us any mercy?'
Cato refused to meet his friend's gaze and glanced down at his boots. 'No. But that's what gives our side the moral authority. That's what makes fighting for Rome worth the while.'
'Moral authority?' Macro stopped dead and stared at Cato for an instant before he exploded with laughter. 'Fuck me, lad, you really do come up with them, don't you?'
Cato looked back, scowling over his shoulder. 'Let's just get on with it, shall we? After all, we're just obeying orders.'
'Surely!' Macro slapped his friend heartily on the back. 'Sometimes, I tell you, orders are a positive pleasure to carry out…'
Cato glared at him and Macro laughed again. 'Only joking. Come on.'
A crowd of marines from the fortified camp had gathered by the shore to examine the pirates and jeered loudly as a few amongst them lobbed pebbles at the prisoners. Even as the two centurions approached Cato saw Ajax reel as a stone gashed his forehead.
'Hey!' Macro roared out, making the nearest marines jump. 'Stop that! We need that one in good condition!'
The men drew aside as Macro and Cato approached the prisoners. In addition to the injuries they had received two nights earlier, several now had cuts from the stones that had been thrown at them. Normally the marines might have been a little more careful with captives who could realise a decent price in a slave auction, but since these men were pirates there was little chance that they would be spared, and therefore they could be freely abused by their captors.
Macro beckoned to the optio in command of the guards. 'The prefect's arranging a little display for this lot. Take them to the master carpenter's workshop. Except for him.' Macro pointed to the pirates' leader. 'He's coming with us. Cut him loose from the others.'
'Yes, sir.' The optio saluted.
The prisoners were jostled into a rough column while their young leader was taken to one side, under the eye of a marine who kept a firm hand on his shoulder while the other rested on the pommel of his sword. Ajax watched in sullen silence as his men were led into the camp, chains jingling as the shingle crunched under their bare feet.