The Third Emissary: The Cohort Chronicles, #2

By Michael Vetter

The Roman Empire in the first century A.D.

 

A network of agents known as The Cohort is run by the powerful Roman politician known as Senator Tatius whose goal is to return the empire to its republican roots. When Emperor Caligula is assassinated by his own bodyguards in 41 A.D. and "Uncle Claudius" is put on the throne by the Praetorian Guard, The Cohort faces a challenge to its very existence.

 

Rome's plan to conquer distant Britannia requires control of an important naval base in Mauritania located at the Pillars of Hercules between the Mediterranean and Atlantic Oceans. The base must be secured by an Army legion before a political delegation to the region can extract tribute from the local Berber tribes, by force if necessary.

 

Two novice operatives of The Cohort are secretly placed into a Mauritanian delegation to report back to Senator Tatius about naval and trade negotiations. Legatus Linius Crispus Valerius, head of The Cohort in Asia Minor, (see The Quiet Centurion | Book I), gives two young men their orders and sends them into a web of diplomatic and military intrigue. Linius Crispus and his assistant, Ming, run into their own dangers in Roman provinces across norther Africa and Syria.

 

The Third Emissary | Book II continues a fictional series that traces the lives of a Christian centurion, his family, and a host of characters during the period 35-74 A.D. The rapid spread of Christianity intertwines with the inexorable expansion of the Roman Empire.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Michael Vetter
• Release date: Oct 17, 2022
• ISBN: 9798215661703

Michael Vetter

Michael Vetter is a former U.S. Air Force intelligence officer with degrees in Mechanical Engineering from UMass Lowell and Ocean Engineering from MIT. The Tapez Scroll—Remnant Rescue Series | Book 1 is his fifth book of fictional adventure that melds speculative technologies with Biblical themes. Michael and his wife Mary live in Salem, New Hampshire. Contact him at [e-mail]

Book preview

The Third Emissary

41-43 A.D.

The Cohort Chronicles | Book II

A Novel

Michael Vetter

The Third Emissary

41-43 A.D.

The Cohort Chronicles | Book II

Copyright © 2022 by Michael Vetter

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Certain characters in this book are historical figures and certain events portrayed did take place.

However, this is a work of fiction. All of the other characters, names, and events as well as all places, incidents, organizations, and dialogue in this novel are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance between characters in this book

and actual persons is entirely fictitious or coincidental.

NKJV: Scripture is from the New King James Version®.

Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.

Used by permission.

All rights reserved.

Formatting by Rik: Wild Seas Formatting

Cover design: Brian Weaver

Author photo: Johanna Higgins

Also by Michael Vetter

Bible Adventures

Run Before the Rain—An Antediluvian Adventure

One World Tower—A Babylonian Adventure

Flight from Egypt—Adventures Along the Nile

Sons of Zadok—Adventures of the Guardians

Remnant Rescue Series

The Tapez Scroll | Book 1

Sicarii Justice | Book 2

Gideon’s Sword | Book 3

Zion’s Deliverance | Book 4

The Cohort Chronicles

The Quiet Centurion | Book I

The Third Emissary | Book II

The MarsX Archives

Mars Lottery | Book 1

The Tycho Incident | Book 2 (2023)

Introduction

The events in the scope of this novel take place during the first century (41-43 A.D.) in the Roman Empire. The book is not strictly historical fiction in the sense that I am not a Roman historian. Most of the characters are fictional and the events are made to fit a narrow three-year time period. The fictional adventures span geography from Jerusalem and Antioch in the east, to Ephesus in Asia Minor, to Rome, and to Mauritania in northern Africa. I have taken the liberty of framing the characters and their exploits within the broad context of cultural life in their time.

Events and dates

Many volumes have been written about the history of the Roman Empire and in this fictional story the dates of the conquest of Mauretania Tingitana were shifted by a few decades; the early plans for a full-scale invasion of Britannia in 43 A.D. and the importance of the Septem classis naval base and the Legio IX Hispania are real; Rome’s Grand Strategy for global conquest was the motivation for wide-ranging and expensive wars of expansion in the west (Britannia) and east (Parthia).

The timing of some biblical events during the period of 40-49 A.D. have been condensed to fit the shorter period of 41-43 A.D. for this story. The Apostle Luke’s divinely inspired book, the Acts of the Apostles, about the birth and growth of the Christian church, makes it clear that many Jewish believers took the Gospel to Asia shortly after Pentecost and before the Apostle Paul’s missionary journeys. During that time, small assemblies of believers in Asia were for the most part Jewish and the conflict over whether Gentile converts to Christianity should also obey the Law was being debated among the apostles and other church leaders, but had not yet been resolved. The church in Antioch played a major role in the spread of Christianity. Its gifted leaders were strong proponents of missionary evangelism.

Biblical characters

While some well-known Bible characters are mentioned in this fictional story, I have refrained from attributing dialog to them. I tried to keep their actions consistent with those mentioned in the Scriptures. An exception is Prochorus who was introduced in The Quiet Centurion, Book I of this series.

Prochorus is listed in Luke’s Acts 6:5 as one of seven Hellenistic deacons "…men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom." Tradition says that Prochorus was the bishop of Syrian Antioch and died a martyr’s death there. The Third Emissary brings this minor biblical character to the forefront and I hope it does justice to his godly character, devotion to his flock, kindness to strangers, and missionary zeal.

The Apostle Thomas (Didymus) receives brief mention in this story in the context of taking the Gospel to India (Indus). Christian tradition has it that Thomas traveled to India’s ancient Malabar Coast in the middle of the first century and founded numerous churches there before his death there in 72 A.D.

Historical characters

The Emperor Claudius, General Corbulo, and the Praetorian intelligence chief, Ireneus Leonidus, are historical characters. Our protagonist, Linius Crispus Valerius Gordionus, and his family and associates are entirely fictional. As readers of The Quiet Centurion have astutely observed, Linius Crispus was loosely patterned after Centurion Cornelius of Acts chapter 10.

The Cohort

I am not aware of any secret organization in Roman history called The Cohort. The idea for the fictional spy network came to me from reading two books: Conspiracy Narratives in Roman History by Victoria Emma Pagán, and Praetorian–The Rise and Fall of Rome’s Imperial Bodyguard by Guy De La Bédoyère. It was common practice in the Empire for influential Roman families and politicians to employ their own intelligence networks to keep informed about commercial, military, and political developments. Any official information from the Emperor, government bureaucrats, politicians, or military was suspected as a lie, deception, or misinformation. Anyone wishing to know the truth had to find it for themselves.

Tensions between the Emperor and the Senate were at their peak in first-century Rome because the democratic ideals of the original Republic were under assault. It makes sense that the wealthy Senator Tatius Quirinius Plinian Patricius (the fictitious leader of The Cohort) would create his own off the books network of trusted agents. He commissioned The Cohort to gather information in the hope that it would result in a resurgence of the democratic Roman Republic one day.

Now those who were scattered after the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch,

preaching the word to no one but the Jews only.

But some of them were men from Cyprus and Cyrene,

who, when they had come to Antioch, spoke to the Hellenists,

preaching the Lord Jesus.

And the hand of the Lord was with them,

and a great number believed and turned to the Lord.

Acts 11:19-21 (NKJV)

Now in the church that was at Antioch

there were certain prophets and teachers:

Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger,

Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen

who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch,

and Saul.

Acts 11:26b; 13:1

Major Characters

(In order of mention)

Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (Caligula) – Emperor (Reign: March 37 A.D. –January 41 A.D.)

Tatius Quirinius Plinian Patricius – Senator of equestrian rank in Rome; founder and leader of The Cohort

Plinius – Senator Tatius’ private secretary; chief scribe and cipher clerk of The Cohort

Donato – Senator Tatius’ house servant (and adopted son); new member of The Cohort

Lucius Autronius Paetus – Graduate of Laticlavius Military Academy (Ephesus); Third Emissary to Mauretania Tingitana; new member of The Cohort

Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (Claudius) – Emperor (Reign: January 41 A.D. – October 54 A.D.)

Ireneus Leonidus – Praetorian Guard, Chief of Intelligence

Linius Crispus Valerius Gordionus – Former centurion and now a senatorial legate overseeing The Cohort in Asia

Livia Aquilius Crispus Gordionus – Linius Crispus’ daughter

Marius Crispus Valerius Gordionus – Linius Crispus’ oldest son

Varinia Aquilius Gordionus – Linius Crispus’ wife

Flavius Crispus Valerius Gordionus – Linius Crispus’ youngest son

Ming – Freedman; Gordionus family’s pedagogue; confidential secretary to Linius Crispus; member of The Cohort

Prochorus – Hebrew (Hellenic) Christian church leader in Antioch of Syria

Vitus Anastasis – Cobbler, leader of the Christian church in Ephesus

Patricius Vellius Paterculus – Ambassador and First Emissary to Mauretania Tingitana

Pontius Corvinus Curius – Second Emissary to Mauretania Tingitana; Praetorian Guard

Septus Manius Cotta – Third Emissary to Mauretania Tingitana; bookkeeper

King Juba III – King of Mauritania Tingitana and grandson of Cleopatra of Aegyptus (Egypt) and Numidia

Soranos of Perga – Physician of the Methodic School of Medicine

Nicomachus Nico the Syrian – Apothecary and The Cohort’s agent in Carthage

Xue (Zŭ-ā) – Nico’s son

Antonius Vibius Varus – Proconsul and governor of Cyrene

Shimon bar Judah – Chief Rabbi of synagogues in Cyrene

Ryanos of Crete – Jewish zealot and insurrectionist in Cyrene

Lysander Acilius Glabrio – Centurion and primus pilus of Legio IX Hispania in Septa

Cassia – Slave and cook for Pontius Corvinus

Heron (Hero) Alexandrus – Mathematician and inventor in Alexandria

Thomas (Didymus) – Apostle of Jesus Christ

Justus – Roman sergeant promoted to centurion by Lucius Autronius Paetus

Aulus Caecina Cornelii – Centurion of Legio IV, the Cyrene Third cavalry regiment; new member of The Cohort

Chapter 1

January 24, 41 A.D.

Rome, Villa Albanus

Senator Tatius ate his meager breakfast of oatmeal and warm milk in front of a fireplace stoked to a blazing fire. The sun’s rays had not yet touched the hills of his Albanus estate on the outskirts of Rome. Wisps of steam ascended from Lake Albanus into the chilled air. The grey-haired politician was nearing eighty years of age and hadn’t eaten his morning meal before dawn since he commanded troops in the field decades ago. The news that came during the night by courier from Rome announced Emperor Caligula’s death with no details. The shocking news made his return to sleep impossible. Tatius expected a second messenger to come later with more details than the three words, Caligula is dead! Knowing Roman politics, he assumed that Caligula’s death was not from natural causes. Rumors had circulated for months that senators were fed up with the raving lunatic in the Palantine Palace. Senators voiced aloud that someone should do something to shut him up. Tatius had a good idea that the emperor’s bodyguards had plunged knives into the madman. Blood from a violent death would send an unmistakable warning to the next emperor: Your life belongs to the Praetorian Guard, so watch your step!

Senator Tatius Quirinius Plinian Patricius was a blue-blooded aristocrat and the longest serving member of the senate. His strong voice still echoed across the Forum in rousing speeches extolling the ideals of freedom and republicanism for all Roman citizens. He did his best to shape, dampen, or redirect the excesses of a line of irrational emperors, ambitious generals, and power-hungry politicians who threatened to tear apart his country. The one leverage he had to influence the vast bureaucracy of the Roman government, besides his fine reputation, was intelligence about the web of conspiracies in Rome and corruption in the provinces. His information came from a shadow network of agents known to his inner circle as The Cohort. A steady flow of messages, letters, and verbal reports from couriers flowed to him and his secretary from the far reaches of the Empire. Reliable, truthful intelligence from eyewitness sources was the unique edge that might return his land to a republic.

Tatius had served in the Senate longer than any other man. How much longer he would be around was up to God. He’d been searching for a younger man to take over The Cohort who shared his zeal for Rome’s original republican ideals. That man had to sit in the Senate, have loyalty to the historic Republic, and be wily enough to outsmart the most powerful politicians. He hadn’t found anyone like that whom he could trust. That man had better come along soon the senator mused as the sun peaked over Lake Albanus and cast its glow on the bleak, leafless trees of his orchard.

As the senator ate his breakfast, he looked up and saw a horse approaching the hilltop villa at a fast gallop. Tatius set his bowl aside with renewed anticipation. More news at last! The rider stopped at the front steps in a shower of gravel. The horse gasped for breath and shook its head. Foamy sweat covered its flanks and foam dripped from its mouth. The rider, a slave boy whose light weight meant the horse could run a bit faster, was also out of breath. After he dismounted, he pulled a wrinkled, sweat-stained papyrus roll from inside his shirt and handed it to Plinius, the senator’s private secretary who’d limped down the steps from the villa to meet him. The stooped figure had been the senator’s secretary and confidant for decades. Long hours hunched over his desk had taken a toll on his physical frame and eyesight.

Any other news? Plinius asked, hoping for a last-minute shred of information not put in the written report.

No, Sir, the boy said between breaths. I came as fast as I could.

You did well, Plinius praised the boy. His horse might be lame for a week, but the boy would be rested enough by tomorrow to return to Rome on another horse.

The secretary nodded to two servants who’d come running from the stables. One led the horse away and the other helped the rider walk on unsteady legs.

Sir, the boy said with a sob before Plinius returned to the villa, What will happen now?

Tears, and not sweat, streaked the boy’s cheeks. All the child knew was that the greatest man in Rome, the only emperor he’d ever known, was dead. To a young, innocent mind like his, the murder of Emperor Caligula must seem like the end of the world. Maybe it was the end of the world, Plinius thought.

After searching for something appropriate to say, Plinius called out, I don’t know, but if you have a meal and get some rest, things will look better tomorrow.

The senator’s loyal scribe turned and limped up the steps. Would Rome be better with Caligula gone? The new emperor might be no better than the last.

Chapter 2

Rome, Villa Albanus

Plinius handed the messenger’s scroll to the senator who blinked a few times and handed it back. You read it, Plinius. Give me the highlights. My eyes won’t focus this early in the morning.

The confidential secretary unrolled the flimsy papyrus and moved closer to a lamp to read the compact script. His eyesight wasn’t much better than the senator’s. Whoever wrote the note was in a hurry, but managed to fit the report on one sheet. He took his time and formed a summary in his mind as he digested the details. When he held the scroll close to the lamp the yellow glow illuminated the top of his face while the rest of his body was in shadows. His eyebrows shot up halfway through the text and transformed his face into a ghoulish mask. He rubbed his eyes when he was done and looked at the senator.

Well? What does it say? Senator Tatius said impatiently.

"Caligula is dead and Claudius is emperor," Plinius groaned.

Tatius sighed and arose using his cane to steady himself. We’ll discuss this in the privacy of your secure room, Plinius. Ask Donato to make a good fire in there. The stone walls and floor will be freezing. Unlike the rest of the villa, the secure room did not have forced hot water under the floor. Donato, age eighteen, was the senator’s favorite servant and chariot driver. Find Lucius and have him join us too, Tatius added.

That order made Plinius’ eyebrows rise. Lucius? The nineteen-year-old was the senator’s protégé of sorts who had come to the villa with a recommendation from the senator’s best Cohort operative in Asia. Why would Tatius want that young upstart in their meeting? True, he was a recent graduate of the military academy in Ephesus, but what could he contribute?

A short while later they gathered in the stone vault that was Plinius’ sanctum for the senator’s most private affairs. Granite blocks formed the ceiling, walls, and floor with an opening for a small chimney. One oak door was as thick as a hand span to make sure nobody could listen from outside. A large desk filled the middle of the room and along one wall a tall case held hundreds of scrolls in small cubbyholes.

The fire was blazing and the room was warm enough for everyone but the senator. Donato was ready to leave after starting the fire when the senator stopped him. Donato, I want you to stay too. Lock the door and sit with us.

Plinius opened his mouth to object and Donato paused in mid-stride.

Stay here, Tatius repeated. I’ll explain everything.

Donato did as he was told. The muscular young man had been the senator’s personal chariot driver ever since he was strong enough to rein in a two-horse team. He was the senator’s favorite household servant, but he’d been kept in the dark about what happened inside the room that Plinius always kept locked.

Lucius, only a year older than Donato, wondered why he was also asked to attend the meeting. He suspected that his brave action in a skirmish against Aegean pirates the previous year might have something to do with being welcomed as the senator’s special guest. His presence in the secret chamber was a mystery.

Plinius, give us the details. So Caligula is dead and Claudius is emperor. When did this happen?

Yesterday afternoon.

Why was I not told until late last night? Someone could have contacted you or me during the day using the rooftop signaling system. The senator’s apartments in Rome were on a hilltop with an unobstructed line of sight to the roof of the Albanus villa. A round-the-clock lookout on the villa’s roof had seen nothing.

Senator, I can only assume that in all the confusion, my informants in the city and in the palace waited to gather as much information as they could before notifying you. I’m confident that our man who compiled this report in the city did the best he could, Plinius apologized.

You’re right. So the ‘Little Boot’ is dead, Tatius said using the late emperor’s derogatory nickname. How did it happen?

Caligula was killed after he left the Temple of Saturn where he had attended celebratory games and theatrical plays in memory of Augustus. His entourage was stopped in a narrow passageway between the Temple and the palace where the conspirators repeatedly stabbed him. The report says that he suffered thirty wounds so I assume there were many attackers, each wanting the Emperor’s blood on his dagger. Caligula’s Germanic guards were diverted as part of the plot and by the time they returned, the emperor was dead. Stricken with grief and guilt, the guards responded in a rampage against the assassins, conspirators, senators, and innocent bystanders.

Do we know the attackers names? Tatius asked.

Eyewitnesses identified a few of them. Cassius Chaerea, a tribune in the Praetorian Guard, was killed by the bodyguards first. Cornelius Sabinus, another tribune hothead known as ‘The Tiger’ was his accomplice. Gaius Callistus was also arrested and four accomplices were implicated.

"Callistus is one of the three Monetalis Triumvirate." The man’s high position in Rome’s national treasury was worrisome.

I believe so, yes, Plinius replied.

I hope my friend Marcus Vitruvius wasn’t involved, the senator said. Vitruvius was one of the three-man council called the Monetalis Triumvirate who ran the central bank of Rome. The bank was the Empire’s treasury and the mint for gold and silver hard currency. The bank and mint were inside a fortified hilltop complex in the center of Rome that used to be the Temple of Juno. At least now Tatius knew that one of the bank’s triumvirate, Gaius Callistus, could no longer be trusted.

Is Ireneus Leonidus mentioned in the report? Tatius asked. Leonidus was the intelligence chief and second in command of the Praetorian Guard who had made subtle threats against Tatius and other republican senators in the past. Because subtlety was unusual for the Guard, Tatius took the threats seriously.

His name is not mentioned, Plinius said after he skimmed the papyrus.

Then he managed to keep his name out of it, Tatius observed.

May I ask a question? Lucius spoke for the first time. He had no idea why he was present in the secure vault, but details of the assassination were fascinating.

Of course, Tatius said.

Couldn’t Claudius be the main instigator of the plot since he stood to gain the most? I mean, killing the emperor is a sure way to make a vacancy at the top, isn’t it?

Both the senator and Plinius smiled. On the surface, the young man had a point. They smiled because he didn’t know who Claudius was. Tatius explained, "You would think so until you realized that ‘Old Uncle Claudius’ is the last person in the world with any aspirations to the throne. While Caligula was Princeps, Claudius never showed any interest in rising to power. Quite the opposite, in fact. He’s an obscure relative in the Julian family tree. I’ve never seen him show the slightest bit of ambition, initiative, or leadership. He’s the mild-mannered, harmless uncle that everyone loves but otherwise ignores."

Senator, it says here that Claudius is being held in the Praetorian Fortress for his protection, Plinius pointed out. If the Praetorians are behind the assassination then it means they chose a man who will go along with whatever they want. Claudius has Julian aristocratic blood in his veins and that might be enough to placate Rome’s citizens. The new emperor could prove more dangerous than Caligula if he’s obliged to do the bidding of the Praetorian Guard.

If you believe rumors I’ve picked up in the streets, nobody will be sad to see Caligula gone, Donato said. He also found the discussion interesting and grew more comfortable now that Lucius had broken the ice by speaking up.

Plinius agreed. Caligula was an uncontrollable madman and the Guard and Senate had had enough of his antics. Nobody could rein in his sadistic murders and the hedonism that managed to offend even the most coarse of citizens. He took pleasure in publically denigrating his friends and enemies alike. He seemed to especially enjoy ruining the reputations and careers of senators before they turned up dead in a dark alley. I suspect that he was also raiding the treasury and that’s what convinced at least one member of the Triumvirate to plunge his dagger.

While Plinius talked about the assassination and how it was probably engineered by the Praetorians to cement their hold on the Empire, Senator Tatius was thinking ahead. The Senate was planning to send a high-level delegation to negotiate the annexation of a distant region critical to Caligula’s invasion of Britannia. Claudius would probably endorse those same plans since it would bring a foreign kingdom’s mining resources and rich agricultural land into Rome’s orbit.

Chapter 3

July, 41 A.D.

Rome, Villa Albanus

Senator Tatius assembled Plinius, Donato, and Lucius for their first meeting together in six months since the assassination that put Claudius on the throne. Plinius still objected to the two boys, hardly men in his opinion, intruding into his private domain, Sir, is it necessary that Donato and Lucius be here? He resented his employer not telling him in advance about including them in a sensitive intelligence meeting.

It is time to speak with them about Mauretania, the senator said with a knowing smile. He’d spent months lobbying fellow senators and making deals about the Mauretanian