jungle," Prometheus said.
Ares nodded and walked toward Zeus. "We need to leave."
His father turned and looked at the boat and the still-to-be-loaded cargo. "We're going as fast as we can."
Ares knelt down and opened the zipper on his satchel. He removed his telescanner and tried to watch the planes. A single streak of smoke tore across the sky before dipping into the jungle. He squinted, trying to see what it was, when he saw three planes come into view. "Those are Llanoan fighters. Humans. The Pact's fighting back." More explosions in the distance.
"Done," Bia said. She backed her vehicle off the dock and the rest of the Psilons formed a line, carrying boxes, bags and equipment onto the sea vessel by hand. Ten minutes later, they were finished.
Epimetheus stepped out of the boat's cabin and said, "We can get ten of you on board. The rest will have to fly."
The group turned and began to look at each other. After a few moments of no one moving, Zeus started pushing and pointing at his people. "Go. Get on board now. We'll see you on the other side."
Ten of the Olympians crowded onto the Paralus and Epimetheus started its engines. Zeus backed off the dock and stood beside Ares. He waved at Bia and she ducked into the cabin. Epimetheus slowly maneuvered the boat away from the dock and then opened it up.
The hydrofoil roared loudly before its movement matched its volume. Ares saw a couple of passengers being tossed by the acceleration before the Paralus reached its top speed of nearly one hundred kilometers per hour. After just a few moments, the ship began to disappear into the blue haze above the ocean.
"Now we wait for Antaeus," Zeus said. He began to walk to the edge of the trees a few meters away when another jet tore overhead. Ares looked at it with his telescanner. "Who was that?"
"Cylons." Now above the jungle, the fighter turned and banked toward the beach. "They may have seen us."
"Oh no," someone mumbled.
"Into the trees," Zeus said. They all ran into the foliage and the plane flew overhead. He looked out into the sand at the vehicles and said to Ares, "They'll know someone's nearby."
Ares only nodded. He looked up with his telescanner and covered himself with a drooping green frond. The plane had turned again and was approaching. "Third pass." As it zoomed by Ares studied it and then said, "Their payload is gone. They might still have ammo in their cannons, though."
Zeus' wristband beeped and he looked down. "He's coming."
"What about the Cylons?" Prometheus asked.
Zeus shook his head and said, "We'll have to be quick."
Ares kept scanning the sky while the Psilons crouched low and watched over the water, sweeping their eyes across the horizon. Finally, a shimmer under the clouds grew larger and a glint flashed in his eyepiece. Ares smiled and said, "There."
They turned to look as the great golden shuttle dove toward the shore and aimed its huge head at the dock. Its thrusters engaged, throwing sand in billowing rolls, and stopping the craft at a seemingly impossible speed. As the Aetos hovered, the doors swept open and Ares stood.
"Go!" Zeus yelled. The remaining Psilons ran as quickly as they could. It was nearly fifty meters across the beach in the open and not one of the Olympians could resist looking warily into the sky.
Ares stopped by the door and waved everyone behind him on. He heard the crackle of the Ticulan jet and looked into the southwest. It was turning yet again and approaching fast. "We have to go!" he yelled inside. He slapped the back of each of the last four people and then jumped inside himself. "That's it!"
"Hold on," Antaeus said from the control seat at the front of the eagle. The doors swished shut and then the shuttle lurched up and aimed at the clouds. When the thrusters engaged, most of the passengers were thrown to the rear of the cabin and Ares steadied himself on a chair's support. He managed to climb into the seat and buckle himself in before he heard the first pings of bullets striking the hull.
"The wings?" Zeus said.
"Almost there." Antaeus pressed his hands on the induction panels harder and saw their speed in his mind. Once they reached the minimum level, he closed the dozen long wings and turned the shuttle into a dart. It blasted away from Caralo's coast and broke the sound barrier in short order.
Ares placed his hand on an induction panel and watched the fighter turn into a speck behind them. The Cylons would not be able to catch up. He looked at Zeus and nodded.
"Everyone alright?" he asked. Once they responded positively, he walked toward the front and sat next to Antaeus. "Course?"
"Due north, then we'll sweep east over the Iberian Sea and fly north through Attica." Zeus nodded and reclined in his seat. Antaeus looked over his shoulder at everyone in the cabin and said, "You may as well rest. We're going to be flying for a while."
Aphrodite scoffed and looked at Hephaestus. "How can I rest after all that?"
Ares smiled and leaned back in his chair. He was asleep in minutes.
"Son?"
Ares stirred and looked at Zeus. "Where are we?"
"Near Attica." He sat beside him and whispered, "I just got a message from a contact in Tiberia."
"Yeah?" After he spoke, Ares looked around and saw that most of the passengers were asleep. Almost as a reflex, he spoke again but softer, "Yeah?"
"There has been some movement there. More people joining the cells. More dissatisfaction with the Caesar. I need you to go meet with the leader."
Ares raised his eyebrows and said, "Now?"
"Yes. Arcas is on his way to us with a dartship. We're going to meet with him on Attica's northern border."
Ares nodded and thought. "I'm a bit wary of going into the bears' cave during a Code Black."
Zeus quietly said, "I understand. If you can hold out for a couple of days, the Paralus will have reached port and we can be set up again. You'd be able to transfer if you had to."
After another moment, Ares asked, "Why the rush? In the middle of all we have going on, why now?"
Zeus inhaled slowly and repositioned himself in his chair. "The war isn't going well for Tiberia. They've expended all of their resources and there have been rumors that they may seek an alliance with the Pact of Nations to fight the Cylons."
Ares snorted lightly and said, "I'll believe that when I see it."
"I understand, but … the facts are the facts. They've lost many soldiers and tons of materiel." He leaned closer and continued, "Homefront opinions of the Caesar and Tiberia in general are at all-time lows. In the Expansion nations, too. The Draft has turned millions against Tiber. This is the time to strike. We fortify our friends in the Expansion and they drive out the Titans. We help our friends in Tiberia and they can force the Caesar's hand. Maybe stage a coup … that's a longshot, certainly. Nonetheless, if the stormfront shifts, both the Titans and the Caesar could lose their grips."
"I understand."
Zeus patted his son's hand. "We need these people, Ares. Help them however we can."
While his father went back to the control chairs, Ares began to access information on their cell in Tiberia by placing his hand on a soft white induction panel. After being lost in the data for a time, the Aetos began to descend and Ares stood. He clasped his satchel shut and looked to the front of the shuttle. Zeus gave him a curt nod and opened the hatch.
In northern Attica, it was storming. Rain fell at a forty-five degree angle and Ares ran into it, passing Arcas on the way.
"All yours!" he yelled.
Ares jumped inside and closed the hatch. He tossed his bag into the rear seat and lifted the small craft off the ground with a thought. Soon he was flying due east toward Tiberia.
A few hours later, the computer woke the pilot with a soft beep. Ares saw that he was nearly at the outskirts of Cales, a large city on Tiberia's southern coast. He took the dartship down and flew it along the bed of a thin river and through a dense forest. The propulsion of the aircraft and its special hul
l meant the ship was unlikely to be spotted, but he didn't want to take any chances.
A short while later, he landed the dartship in a clutch of trees. With the hatch open, he pulled the satchel's strap over his head. Then he picked up the automatic rifle. He stared at it for a moment and then looked behind him. It was a quiet, pleasant night. He sighed and stowed the weapon in the rear of the ship. He pressed a button and it closed up tight.
He walked for the better part of an hour. He thought he heard distant thunder. No rain came and he heard no more. After a few more kilometers, Ares emerged from the forest and found a smoldering wooden frame. He narrowed his eyes and slowly looked around. He didn't see anyone so he cautiously moved around to the side of the smoking structure. That's when he saw the fire trucks and police cars.
"Halt!" someone yelled.
Ares began to run. As he did, he wondered if this had been a trap. He ran alongside another house and came around the front, face to face with an officer. Quickly, Ares jabbed with his left hand, sending the man reeling. Another officer was right behind him and he thrust his gun near Ares' face. He ducked, grabbed the weapon and slapped the man's elbow, bending it forcefully in the wrong direction. He screamed and collapsed as Ares kept moving and tossed the gun into the grass.
He ran into the street and past a group of firefighting robots standing still with a hose in their hands. Another forest was ahead and he thought he could make it. That was before the police car ran into him.
When he
Lords of Kobol - Prelude: Of Gods and Titans Page 66
