My men are not going to be very tolerant of such temperament. Nor am I, for that matter.'
'I didn't mean…'He flushed. 'If my supplies would be of help, you're welcome to them.' There was a grudging tone to this offer, but Belisarius decided to ignore it.
'Fine. Get whatever you have and give it to my slave Iakis. He's the tall fellow with the pockmarked face and a wedge-shaped scar on his shoulder.' He held the flap of the tent up. 'After we eat, I will confer with my officers.
You may join us if you wish. They will be relieved to hear your news.'
Linos scowled, uncertain whether he was being mocked or not. 'What use is that?'
'I don't know yet,' Belisarius admitted. 'But between your news, which will lift their spirits, and your current information they may be satisfied that the last year has not been in vain.' He squinted against the sunlight, averting his head a moment. 'Most of them are around that fire, over there. I used to spread my officers through the camp, but now, with so many unfamiliar faces, I need to keep them all in one place.'
'Don't you trust them?' asked Linos, shocked.
'Not the way you might think; I do not know them well enough to rely on them without question. I don't know which of these officers reacts too quickly, which too slowly. I don't know who among them is best at night, and who is best before midday. I don't know if one of them is afraid of confinement, or fire, or serpents. I don't know who has a way with horses, or dogs, or peasants. I don't know which of them speaks Latin.' He walked as he enumerated his points, pausing now and then to nod or wave to his soldiers. 'For that reason, I require my officers to stay near me.'
'Doesn't this irritate them?' Linos inquired.
'Not most of them, no, because they are as new to me as I am to them, and there are several of them who have never been on campaign before.' He indicated the large fire surrounded by tents, most of them with slaves stationed in front of them. 'This is where they are. You can see for yourself that half of them have new gear that has not seen much use. What they lack are horses to carry it, but that is another matter, isn't it?'
Four officers hastened forward as Belisarius approached their campfire, two of them armed with nothing more than short, wide-bladed glavi. They looked at the newcomer with Belisarius, all of them betraying some degree of curiosity.
'This is Linos,' Belisarius said, raising his voice so that all would hear him. 'He comes from Captain Hyperion who has landed at Rhegium with men and supplies for us.'
A growl of approval met this announcement. 'I know Captain Hyperion,' said one of the younger officers. 'He is very good in battle, so they say.'
'And where has he fought?' asked one of the others, a trifle older than most of the officers. Another seven men had come up to the space near the fire, for although it was stifling in the heat, it was also the only sensible place to gather.
'He fought in Egypt,' Linos said defensively. 'He has had experience.'
One of the men laughed unpleasantly. 'If he has not had some before, he will get some now.'
'Regimus,' warned Belisarius, 'wait until you see the man in action before you condemn him.'
'You know the type as well as I do; highborn relatives, ambitious family, purchased promotion and all the rest of it. That's what all the officers are like now. They are puppets of the court.' Regimus touched a jagged scar that crossed the bridge of his nose and ran unevenly down his left cheek. 'None of them lifted a sword except to practice with slaves.'
One of the younger officers bristled. 'You don't know that. You're assuming that because you never heard of him that there's nothing to hear.'
'Like you, Georgios.' The speaker was wearing lightweight leather armor studded with iron.
'You're as bad as Regimus,' Georgios snapped. 'You and Regimus and Kyrillos and Daidalos and Urien are all the same; just because you've been here longest, you think that means you're the only ones with any knowledge of war and battle.'
'That's right,' said the armored man. 'And you've yet to show me I'm wrong.' He indicated Linos. 'Is he any indication of what they're sending us now?'
'I don't know,' said Belisarius. 'I don't have a list of men being sent yet. I won't see it until we join Hyperion.'
'Children,' scoffed another of the older men—possibly one of those Georgios had named—'they're sending us children to lead the soldiers. Is the Emperor trying to win the war with youth instead of force of arms, do you think?'
'Urien,' Belisarius said sharply, 'it isn't for us to question the decisions of the Emperor.'
'Does that mean you never doubt the wisdom of what Justinian does?' asked Urien. 'I never thought you were a fool before, Belisarius, but perhaps I was wrong. If you don't wonder what Justinian is trying to do, then you are being duped.'
Belisarius was standing very straight now and his features were severe. 'That is enough. Every man is entitled to his doubts, but no one is permitted to question what the Emperor does or why he does it. Do you all understand this? I do not want to have another set of replacement officers, but I will not oppose what Justinian commands. Is that clear?'
The men said nothing but their expressions were eloquent.
Linos felt suddenly very awkward, like a man who had walked into a house during an argument. He coughed once and said, 'There are new officers being posted here, of course. Most of you will be sent home or to other garrisons. The Emperor is increasing the number of his troops in Alexandria.'
'Alexandria,' said one of the men in disgust. 'Egypt! What use is that?'
'The Emperor has decided that there are dangers in Egypt. He believes that there may be attempts to end the strength of Byzantium there.' Linos spoke with authority now, having spent much of the last month hearing of these things. 'The Emperor wishes to increase the soldiers in Egypt so that those who might be plotting against us will see how foolish they are and desist.'
'It might make them more determined,' said Belisarius in a distant tone. 'But there is no way to be certain of that until the action has been taken.'
'Does this mean you do not think that the Emperor has been wise?' Linos was indignant at the suggestion; he glared at Belisarius. 'You are his General. How can you question what he does?'
'I'm not questioning it, and I don't doubt his decisions. Christos! if I did, I would not continue this campaign under the conditions we have faced; I could not ask it of my men.' Belisarius looked around him, meeting the eyes of each officer in turn. 'I only wonder, occasionally, how the Emperor's decisions are seen by others, especially those around him.'
One of the officers, a young man with rough bandages covering a large area of festering abrasion, looked directly at Linos with pain-hardened eyes. 'If the Emperor thinks that the officers have been taking advantage of him and have used the war to increase their positions, have him come here himself and see how we fare; share our food and our tents with us.'
Belisarius held up his hand to silence this objection. 'I have tried in my reports to make our predicament clear, but we are not the only ones seeking the aid of the Emperor, and he must answer the needs of all his people, not just his army in Italy.'
'And you never doubt him?' Linos inquired.
'Of course; I've said so. But the Emperor is the Emperor and he must be the final authority for all of us.' He indicated the poor condition of his men and the camp. 'If you were here, riding with us, eating with us—'
'When we eat,' muttered one of the officers but Linos did not know who.
'—and living with us, you would have to question what the Emperor commanded us to do. Any sensible man would. But that does not give any of us the right to refuse what the Emperor commands us to do. Is that plain?' Belisarius was more tired than angry, and his words carried little challenge.
'I will see that your sentiments are mentioned in my report,' Linos promised stiffly.
'Oh, for the Grace of Angels!' Belisarius brought his fist down on a heap of damaged saddlery. 'I am not telling you this for your report. I want you to understand what we are facing here, and why there are problems and discontent, not what you may or may not have to say when you send back your impressions.'
The officers moved uneasily and a number of them whispered things to each other without any inclination to include Linos in their observations.
