Publica Section 1 Epilogue
Addressing the Senatus
Epilogue
The Imperator struck out his arms and called out in a loud booming voice, “Order my friends, order!” His words passed unheeded amongst the heckles and shouts of the many senators. Fury had grown in the senatus chamber, and such anger never wore away easily.
“There is no basis for this!” a senator shouted aloud. Many cheered his response with claps and more heckling.
Another man stood, able to hush to silence at least one side of the chamber. He spoke with a deliberate but calm, formal voice. “Senators, please! The praetorians distribute the food, why can it not be they who decide how it should be done?” In an instant, a roar of taunts exploded from one section of the senatus.
Jacobi leaned to his side and whispered to his long time friend in the chamber. “What do you think?”
“The Imperator has clearly overstepped his bounds,” he replied. “The bene principes disallows the military from intervening on civil matters. Food rationing should be handled by the people, and the people have elected us. No citizen of the Publica was ever given the choice for the Imperator.”
The man’s opinion, however, was clearly not shared by the other side of the senatus. “Wise are the words of the Imperator, senators. Only a man of the military knows how best to run a military. Let us give him the power to complete his tasks.”
“A vote!” another man amongst the ranks of house Lupus supporters shouted.
Whispers floated through the hall as the senators began to consider the proposal. Jacobi admired the chaos of the senatus, but he suspected the Imperator had secured enough support for his proposal despite the opposition. Thracus had cleverly chosen a time when many Serpens and their cohorts were away to meet with matters of the merchant.
It was rare for an Imperator to propose matters to the senatus and normally only of the gravest concerns, such as the official declaration of war or a cessation of hostilities. It never dealt with civil matters. A good republic was never run by a military or by an Imperator. Only an empire would be as such.
Jacobi deposited his vote against the proposal, fearing that if the Imperator should win this, he might be further compelled to bring the senatus to his will. The effort felt ceremonial to Jacobi. He understood the politics of the senatus too well. If it was proposed, then it was already decided. No politician proposed matters to be truly discussed within the chamber.
Several minutes passed before the votes were tallied.
“The proposal has passed. The praetorians, under Imperator Thracus, shall now take full responsibility of food rationing,” the speaker announced but his voice fell away to an angry roar before he could even finish his sentence.
The words left an expression on Jacobi’s face that was rarely seen in public.
Epilogue
The Imperator struck out his arms and called out in a loud booming voice, “Order my friends, order!” His words passed unheeded amongst the heckles and shouts of the many senators. Fury had grown in the senatus chamber, and such anger never wore away easily.
“There is no basis for this!” a senator shouted aloud. Many cheered his response with claps and more heckling.
Another man stood, able to hush to silence at least one side of the chamber. He spoke with a deliberate but calm, formal voice. “Senators, please! The praetorians distribute the food, why can it not be they who decide how it should be done?” In an instant, a roar of taunts exploded from one section of the senatus.
Jacobi leaned to his side and whispered to his long time friend in the chamber. “What do you think?”
“The Imperator has clearly overstepped his bounds,” he replied. “The bene principes disallows the military from intervening on civil matters. Food rationing should be handled by the people, and the people have elected us. No citizen of the Publica was ever given the choice for the Imperator.”
The man’s opinion, however, was clearly not shared by the other side of the senatus. “Wise are the words of the Imperator, senators. Only a man of the military knows how best to run a military. Let us give him the power to complete his tasks.”
“A vote!” another man amongst the ranks of house Lupus supporters shouted.
Whispers floated through the hall as the senators began to consider the proposal. Jacobi admired the chaos of the senatus, but he suspected the Imperator had secured enough support for his proposal despite the opposition. Thracus had cleverly chosen a time when many Serpens and their cohorts were away to meet with matters of the merchant.
It was rare for an Imperator to propose matters to the senatus and normally only of the gravest concerns, such as the official declaration of war or a cessation of hostilities. It never dealt with civil matters. A good republic was never run by a military or by an Imperator. Only an empire would be as such.
Jacobi deposited his vote against the proposal, fearing that if the Imperator should win this, he might be further compelled to bring the senatus to his will. The effort felt ceremonial to Jacobi. He understood the politics of the senatus too well. If it was proposed, then it was already decided. No politician proposed matters to be truly discussed within the chamber.
Several minutes passed before the votes were tallied.
“The proposal has passed. The praetorians, under Imperator Thracus, shall now take full responsibility of food rationing,” the speaker announced but his voice fell away to an angry roar before he could even finish his sentence.
The words left an expression on Jacobi’s face that was rarely seen in public.
posted by Ultrapunk at 11:54 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home