‘Every third male in Carthage seems to be called Hamilcar, so the chances are there’s someone with that name stationed in the harbour. I guessed that the guard at the entrance wouldn’t know the name of all of the captains and squadron commanders, but I spotted a five-banked galley in the sheds opposite us, a pentereis. We just have to hope that the strategos of that squadron isn’t called Hamilcar. Our chance to size this place up is now, before the optio returns, but we must be careful. We don’t want to appear too interested.’
Scipio stretched, turned, and then walked back in front of the guards, peering beyond them and drumming his fingers impatiently against his thigh. ‘Bide your time, soldier,’ one of the guards said. ‘It’s always difficult finding people in this place. There are two hundred and twenty sheds to check, as well as the headquarters rooms on the island.’
Scipio pursed his lips. ‘You know what it’s like. If I don’t return to the Byrsa soon with my message delivered, I’ll be for it. Anyway, I thought this place was the pride of Carthage. It should be the height of efficiency.’
The man snorted. ‘How long have you been in Carthage, soldier?’
‘Only a matter of days. We’re Italian mercenaries, got into trouble while we were with Demetrius’ army in Syria and ended up as galley slaves, but then slipped ship in the harbour here and offered our services to the guard before our captain could reclaim us.’
‘Well, if you’re skilled oarsmen, I’d keep quiet about it. Otherwise the Carthaginians will recruit you for their war galleys. They’ve built this harbour and these ships, but they don’t have the slaves to man them. Carthage hasn’t conducted wars of conquest since the time of Hannibal, and war is the only way you get a good supply of fit men for the galleys. If you ask me, that’s why they’ve started up this war against Masinissa again: not to conquer a few more square miles of wasteland but to capture Numidians to use as galley slaves.’
The other guard joined in. ‘They say they’ll use Gauls, too, brought back as slaves by the wine traders.’ He jerked his head towards the island. The optio was returning, and the two guards stood to attention. After a few minutes the optio rounded the portico and marched up to them, eyeing Scipio suspiciously. ‘There’s a Hamilcar who’s a captain of the triremes, currently seconded to the infantry, but not a squadron commander of the pentereis. In fact, there’s no such squadron. There’s only one of those big ships left, and it’s a relic. The largest vessels in the fleet now are triremes. Unless you can explain yourself to me, I’m to take you to the admiral for questioning.’
He nodded curtly to the two guards, who stomped their legs apart and held their spears at the ready. Fabius felt his pulse quicken: this was precisely the kind of encounter that they had wanted to avoid. Scipio affected nonchalance, shrugging. ‘It was a new appointment, for one of Hasdrubal’s cousins. Maybe it was more of an honorary rank. This place is so cut off that information doesn’t pass often enough up to the Bysra, and Hasdrubal’s eyes have been elsewhere, on the war with Masinissa. I’ll return and tell him that his cousin Hamilcar is nowhere to be seen and that ships are still under construction. Maybe that will make him come here himself for an inspection.’
‘Don’t do that,’ the man said hastily. ‘You don’t know Hasdrubal yet. If he finds fault and loses his temper, heads will roll.’
Scipio slapped him on the shoulder. ‘All we soldiers want is to go off-duty and get to the taverns, right? We were told that if we didn’t find Hamilcar here, he might be in the Tophet sanctuary, as he’s also a priest. We’ll go and look for him there.’
‘Your nearest route is directly opposite us. I’ll escort you past the guards.’ The optio turned and walked to the left, heading along the southern side of the portico around the harbour, and Scipio and Fabius followed. They walked within a few feet of the docked lembos and past the first shipsheds, and then they veered right through a gap in the portico. Moments later, the optio had left them at the guard post and they were in the city proper, in a street that ran parallel to the high retaining wall of the harbour complex. They made their way quickly out of sight of the soldiers, and past the busy fish market that lined the street. Scipio turned to Fabius as they walked, speaking urgently. ‘Did you see that lembos?’
‘It looked Roman.’
‘It was Roman. I saw bundles of pila in the stern. No other soldiers carry spears like ours. And the amphorae of wine and olive oil for the crew were Italian.’
‘Captured?’
Scipio shook his head. ‘That would be an act of war, and they can’t risk that until they have the slaves to man their galleys and confront us at sea.’
‘This war harbour is an empty threat until then.’
‘But it might only take one victory in the field to supply enough slaves. Once that happens, the threat is very real.’
‘We’ll have to tell Gulussa to redouble his efforts not to let his men get captured.’
‘I don’t think we need to worry,’ Scipio replied. ‘His men will fight to the death.’
‘There’s something else,’ Fabius said, navigating his way around a pair of bullock carts. ‘The warships I saw in the sheds were small, most of them liburnae, double-bankers at most.’
Scipio nodded. ‘There were only a few triremes. That’s our most important intelligence for Polybius so far. We know they haven’t got the manpower for a fleet of large galleys as in the past. But last night the kybernetes said that many of the Carthaginian merchant captains have been conscripted by the state. Those men would make up a highly experienced cadre of officers for a new fleet of liburnae, with the oarsmen of an elite squadron perhaps made up not of slaves but of mercenaries attracted by the promise of higher pay, and a cut of the profits. Liburnae are well-suited to break through a blockade and take messages to allies. But they’re also suited to another kind of war, perfectly in keeping with a state that prides itself on its prowess and ruthlessness in trade.’
Fabius stopped and stared at him. ‘Are you saying what I think you’re saying?’
‘Some would call it trade war, taken to its logical conclusion.’
‘You’re talking about state-sponsored piracy.’
‘With a fleet of this size, Carthage could sweep the seas clean of rivals, and the liburnae could return in safety to their lair. The profits to the state might be less in what they actually plunder than in ensuring that Carthaginian merchant ships and their trade partners have a monopoly of the sea lanes. The cargoes of captured ships could even be split among the liburnae crews as an incentive. With her present constitution, Rome would be powerless to stop it. Look how difficult it is getting the consuls to agree to raise the legions for a campaign that might extend beyond their year in office, giving no glory to them. Imagine the problems suppressing organized piracy on this scale. It would be a proxy war with Carthage, but would have to be fought piecemeal over years, even decades. It would require Rome to sanction an admiral with a remit unlike any other given to a war leader, and to authorize the formation of a truly professional navy. The Senate in Rome is too wrapped up in its own politics and gens rivalry to allow that, and Carthage knows it.’
‘There’s another purpose for those liburnae, and that’s as escort vessels,’ Fabius said. ‘It’s something else that the slave carrying the tin ore pointed out to me. At the far end of the rectangular harbour is another shipbuilding yard, with huge wooden formers and a vessel being built up from the keel. He said the timbers were cedar of Lebanon supplied by a convoy that came under naval escort from King Demetrius of Syria, with his son leading a special delegation from Syria that was met by Hasdrubal himself at the harbour entrance.’