* * *
Dealing with Menander and Eusebius, on the other hand, took most of the evening. Their protests could not be brushed aside.
The ones which didn’t involve them personally, at least. The young officers’ insistence on accompanying Antonina on the expedition, she gave short shrift.
“Don’t be stupid. I’ll have twenty thousand men—most of them Axumite marines—to keep me out of harm’s way. I’m not leading this expedition, you understand—certainly not in combat! I’m simply going along to make sure that the Roman supply effort which is critical for success doesn’t slack off.”
Menander and Eusebius stared at her stubbornly. Antonina clapped her hands. “Enough! Belisarius will need you far more than me. Since I’m taking all the carvels and their experienced captains, he’ll be relying on the two of you to fend off Malwa attacks on his supply route up the Indus. You do remember that he’s a leading a much larger expedition, no?”
At the mention of Belisarius and his needs, Menander flushed. Eusebius, darker complected, did not. But he did look aside. No longer meeting her hard gaze, he managed a last little protest.
“You’ll need the Victrix, Antonina. To make sure the Malwa shipping at Chowpatty and Bharakuccha is completely destroyed. And I’m really the only one who can still handle the fire cannon. Well enough under combat conditions, anyway.”
Antonina hesitated. They were now moving into an area which was beyond her expertise.
Fortunately, Ezana made good the lack. The Dakuen commander had come with Eon and Ousanas to Antonina’s villa, where the final arrangements for the division of Roman naval forces were being made. Before Eusebius had even stopped talking, Ezana was already shaking his head.
“Not true, Eusebius. In fact, having the Victrix along would be more of a problem than a help. You’ve been training with that odd weapon, we haven’t. Trying to mix it in with Ethiopian forces and tactics—especially at the last minute—would cause nothing but grief. Like as not, by accident, you’d wind up burning more Axumite ships than Malwa.”
Hurriedly, seeing the young Greek’s gathering protest: “Not because of your error, but because some eager Ethiopian captain would sail right into the spout. Trust me. It’ll happen.”
Eusebius took a deep breath, then let it out slowly. Watching, Antonina was certain that the young officer was remembering similar veteran wisdom expounded in times past by John of Rhodes. And, again, felt grief at his loss. A small grief, now, softened by time. But grief nonetheless.
“All right,” said Eusebius. “But if you don’t want the Victrix along on your expedition, Antonina, I’m not quite sure what role you do see for the ship.” Shrugging: “The fire cannon itself would be ideal for destroying Malwa ships in the confines of the Indus. But the Victrix is a sailing ship, not a galley. Once the monsoon ends, it’ll be well-nigh impossible to move her up the Indus—not against that current—unless we hauled her with oxen. And what kind of a warship can go into battle being drawn by livestock?”
Again, Antonina felt herself floundering out of her depth. But she could tell from the expressions on the faces of the experienced naval men around her that they all understood and agreed with Eusebius’ point.
“Difficult—at best—to convert a sailing ship to a galley,” muttered Ezana. “Have to rebuilt her almost completely.”
“We could just transfer the fire cannon to an existing galley,” offered Eon. But the look on his face didn’t evidence any great enthusiasm. “True, you’d lose the advantage of height. Be a bit dangerous, that, in close quarters. Which”—his enthusiasm was fading fast—”is of course how the weapon can be used best.”
Ousanas started to say something, but Menander interrupted.
“Go the other way,” he said forcefully. He jerked a thumb toward the southern wall of the room, pointing to an invisible harbor. “You all know the new steam-powered warship the old emperor designed arrived here three days ago. What you may not know is that the Justinian brought an extra steam engine with her, in case of major mechanical problems. But I can’t really use the thing anyway. Can’t possibly fit it in the Justinian as a spare engine. We could use it to refit the Victrix as a paddle wheeler.” He paused, looking at Eusebius. “I think.”