Lords of Kobol - Prelude: Of Gods and Titans

by Edward T. Yeatts III

odd noise, somewhat akin to a grunt. "For travel. We would be able to appear at any point on Larsa instantaneously and deploy our soldiers."

  "It could serve as a weapon itself," Bevonal said. "The energy a device of that nature employs must be great."

  "Indeed," Edair said eagerly. "We could appear in Tiber and detonate the device right there."

  "It would split the city apart," another Cylon said.

  Bia's eyes had gone wide. Her mouth hung open though she did not speak.

  Zeus, however, stepped forward and squared his jaw. "Absolutely not. We cannot give such a device to any group that would use it that way. Many millions would die."

  "This is war!" Blue screamed and stomped forward. It leaned over, placing its face just centimeters from Zeus'. "Tiberians will die!"

  Zeus shook his head and said, "No."

  Edair backed away and flexed its arms. Another Cylon spoke from the table, saying, "We gave you our ionocraft technology."

  "Yes!" the leader said. It excitedly stepped to Bia and said, "We gave you that technology as a gesture of friendship. It would only be fair for you to give us the technology we desire!"

  Bia followed Zeus' example and raised her head. "No."

  Edair screamed again and stalked away from the Psilons. It began to make metallic barking noises and it kicked at the rock walls of their meeting room. Bevonal walked around to the front of the table and said, "Perhaps we should take it from you."

  Zeus shook his head. "You cannot. And we will not surrender it to you at any cost."

  Blue straightened and slowly looked at them. "Then we will engage in hostilities with you!"

  Before the echo of its voice decayed, it ran across the room and struck Bia in the face with the side of its arm. Her limp body cracked against the rock wall and collapsed while Zeus stared in horror. He began to look toward Edair, but the Cylon struck him, too.

  In the wooden shelter that served as their transfer bay, Zeus popped open the lid on his tank. He looked around and caught sight of Bia sitting in her pod, too, wiping gel from her face.

  "They frakking killed us," he said.

  She nodded. "They did."

  Zeus shook his head while a glob of goo dangled from his chin. "They are so … petty. Greedy. So angry. Angered near to insanity over the slightest thing."

  Bia stood and pulled a towel from a nearby chair. "They're even worse than they were before. You're right. They're so singleminded. So selfish."

  Zeus ignored her naked body and said, "Like humans."

  "Well," she said, "some humans."

  He thought back to his childhood home and seeing Cronus watching the news. He listened to his father talk about humans and their wars. "This is why we're better than them," he had said.

  Bia leaned over her empty canister and bore a dour look on her face. "Zeus." He was shaken from his reverie and he turned toward her. "I'm … beginning to think you might be right about Olympus and Lemuria."

  He blinked a couple of times and then nodded. "Can you do me a favor?"

  "Of course."

  "First thing in the morning, please see to it that their construction continues at a greater pace."

  She nodded and said, "I will."

  XCIII

  PROMETHEUS

  3 Years Before the End

  "Do it," Arcas said.

  Ares raised the rifle and shot him square in the forehead. His friend's body fell back and crumpled in the corner.

  "Out," Zeus said. Prometheus and the other three Psilons ran from the tent while he gathered a few essential folders and data cubes.

  Outside, Prometheus heard the distant thrumming of gyrocraft. "Any way to know whose it is?"

  "Has to be Cylon," Ares said. "There's no way Thoria would abide Cronus and a Tiberian force coming here."

  "What about some other humans?" Poseidon asked. "Trying to collect on those bounties like that group last month?"

  Prometheus was about to interject when Zeus emerged from his tent and looked up through the signal netting.

  "Any moment now," Ares said. Four large trucks sped away from the camp and deeper into the woods. "That's the last of the equipment. We can blow it."

  Zeus nodded and walked toward a nearby group of people. He put his arm around Hera and said, "We are now in Code Black. Arcas is readying the Paralus and the transfer equipment is on the way."

  "The Aetos?" Dionysus asked.

  "Coming," Ares said, "but we need to run. I don't think we can wait."

  Dione sighed and Ersa asked, "How far is it again?"

  Ares slung the rifle over his shoulder and lifted a large satchel. "Three kilometers."

  Hermes' shoulders sagged and he exhaled forcefully to see his breath. "I guess we don't have a choice."

  "No." Zeus started to run.

  As more than twenty Olympians followed, Prometheus heard another sound. It was distant, but it was getting louder. He dodged a low branch and turned to Ares who was now stopped and bracing himself against a tree. "What is that?"

  "Them."

  A hundred meters away, dirt, sticks and pine needles were kicked up as a cohort of nearly five hundred Cylons ran into the campground. Prometheus gasped and Ares lifted a small device from his waist. He pressed a button and the shelter that had been the transfer bay exploded. Dozens of machines were thrown high into the air and into the trees.

  "Go," Ares said.

  Prometheus turned and ran as hard as he could. Soon, he was nearly caught up with the rest of the Olympians and Ares was even with him. He glanced over and saw him press two more buttons on his device. Behind them, two more huge explosions obliterated their campsite.

  He tossed the metal box and said, "Let's hope that works."

  Gyrocraft roared overhead and Zeus was yelling into a radio. "Arcas! Can you read me?"

  "Go ahead," he answered.

  "Once the equipment is loaded, you have to go! There's too many of them for you to wait for us!"

  "Are you sure?"

  Zeus nearly stumbled over a fallen tree but he said, "Yes. Go!"

  Prometheus kept running. As he did, he thought about the various plans they had in place. They could fly out if the Aetos reached them in time. They could split up and head into the foothills of the Baetican Mountains. They could separate even further and try to blend in with the population of Kvenlan. They could rent or steal a boat from there, too, and proceed to the rendezvous.

  Dear God, he prayed, please allow us to get to the coast. Help us make it through today.

  Again, Prometheus heard the metallic workings of Cylon warriors. He glanced behind himself but didn't see anything.

  "Left," Zeus said.

  The group moved through the trees after him and they emerged in a small open area on a hill. The Aetos was there and the door was open.

  "Go!" Zeus yelled.

  Ares and Epimetheus stayed at the edge of the clearing and readied their rifles. Prometheus stayed near his brother and watched as Psilons poured into the shuttle. Two gyrocraft descended into view and the wash from their rotors blew debris into all their faces.

  "Surrender to us, Zeus," a Cylon voice said. "You and your people will live."

  Prometheus looked at Zeus and saw the white-haired leader staring defiantly into the air despite the wind. He pushed the backs of his people as they climbed inside the Aetos.

  "Incoming!" Ares yelled.

  Prometheus turned and saw several Cylons at nearby trees. They fired their weapons and the bullets tore splinters from the trunks. Ares was sprayed with wood, but he raised his heavy weapon and fired one shot. An explosive round hit one of the soldiers and its torso erupted.

  Epimetheus began to fire his thirty-three caliber rifle. As the large rounds pinged and pierced the soldiers, he said, "Go!"

  Prometheus started to run to the Aetos, but the gyrocraft above began to fire. Its high-powered cannon rent the ground between him and t
he shuttle. The Psilons who hadn't gotten on board began to scatter and as they did, Eryx's back exploded in a red mist. His body fell into the brush.

  "No!" Zeus screamed. He ran after him and two others tried to pull his body into the trees. The gyrocrafts' bullets again erupted and Zeus leapt into the forest. Prometheus was pinned down by a stump and he overheard Zeus on his radio. "Take off!"

  The door to the Aetos closed and its engines burned. The gyrocraft began to fire on it, but the rounds seemed to harmlessly bounce off. In an instant, the golden ship hovered and then blasted away. Its wings clipped the tops of several trees and its thrusters scorched and set alight the branches of evergreens behind it. The gyrocraft swirled about in its wake and tried to right themselves.

  "Frak," Ares said. Prometheus turned toward him and saw that he and Epimetheus were backing away. Ares lowered his telescanner and said, "It's Typhon!"

  Prometheus' eyes widened and his breathing ceased. He turned to the woods and saw nothing but pufts of dust and shards of bark from the Cylons' weapons fire.

  Ares and Epimetheus began to run. Prometheus scrambled to his feet and began to run, as well. Zeus, Dionysus, Metis, Caerus, and Polemos were already tearing through the trees. Soon, they came to a single makeshift lane between the evergreens and turned to the north.

  "Faster!" Ares yelled. Prometheus glanced back at him and saw that he was reaching into his satchel, pulling bricks of plastic explosives out and tapping the controls on them.

  Please, Lord, help me run.

  The cold air ached his lungs. His sides burned. Snot ran from his nose and around his mouth. Still, Prometheus ran.

  A few moments later, the first of Ares' explosives detonated. Despite the boom, they heard the creaking of several trees