launch."
The female being looked skyward and said, "I see other ships, too."
The male waved his hand. "Their echoes are faint. I believe the likelihood of their survival is small." He nodded toward Anaxo. "We should focus on this one and the Draco."
XCVIII
LETO
1 Year Before the End
"This is Zeus, terrorist leader of a group called 'The Olympians,'" the monitor announced. The Psilons watched intently as an old picture flashed on screen. "They are wanted for crimes against the state and murder. Caesar Maxentius the Ninth is offering a substantial reward for their capture. If you have seen any of these people, please contact your local magistrate's office …" Poseidon muted the volume.
"I thought you said Caesar seemed pleasant and easy going," Hades asked.
Arcas chuckled, "Have you not read your history?"
"Well," Hades said, "you told me the Caesar wouldn't be upset if the Titans were gone."
Zeus nodded. "True. It's possible that this manhunt is a farce. We killed most of his praetors. His war consul. He had to put on some sort of show of force for his advisers. He couldn't just let those assassinations go."
"You said he needed us," Hera added. "Doesn't this risk losing us?"
Zeus shrugged. "I don't know."
As he walked toward the bar, Dionysus put down his empty glass. "When did you last talk to Rhea?"
"Last week." He poured wine into a cup and took a big gulp. "She said nothing's changed and we can still stay as long as we want."
"The ships?" Atlas asked. "Any word from Bia?"
Zeus sighed. "Nothing new. She told me everything is going according to schedule so far."
Leto simply watched him. She saw his shoulders slump and the slow way he blinked. She knew he was tired. She could hear it in his voice.
"What's to stop Huban or Attica from cashing in on us?" Ersa asked. "They could turn us over in an instant."
Zeus nodded. "They could, but …"
"Politics," Antaeus said. "If they did, then the Atticans or whoever would have to admit that they had been helping us."
Dione added, "And given the alliance between them and Tiberia, it could make things difficult."
"All true." Zeus raised his glass toward them and took another sip.
He's been drinking more, Leto thought.
"Look," Zeus said. "This is supposed to be a casual get together. No more business."
Many of the Olympians chuckled and began to mill around. Leto slowly stood and walked toward the bar where she got a drink, too. She saw Hera pouring herself something, so Leto held back, nibbling a few crackers from a bowl. When Zeus' wife left, she stepped forward and got a little bit of white wine.
"The stresses are all minimal," Hephaestus said.
"Less than two percent?" Atlas asked.
"Yes indeed."
Leto smiled and shook her head. They couldn't not talk about work. She sat on a small chair and looked across the floor toward Zeus. He was looking right at her. A charge ran through her skin and she grinned very briefly. Then she turned and pretended to be interested in Hephaestus' FTL talk.
Hephaestus coughed and asked, "What about your probes? Anything new on the probes?"
Atlas swallowed the last of his liquor and said, "Yes. I showed Zeus earlier today. There's one really great planet on the other side of a big star cluster. It's a long ride, though."
"Nice planet?" Hephaestus asked.
Atlas nodded. "Earth. That's what he called it." He tipped his glass toward Zeus. Leto looked at him and saw that he was looking at her again. Or was that still? She began to feel self-conscious. Leto stood and went to the other sofa nearer the bar. There, Hermes and Metis were talking.
"It doesn't matter if Caesar can or not," Hermes said. "His technology is the same kind that they were made with. The point is, we can't get in."
Metis said, "And if we could, there's nothing to say we could craft a bug to bring them down."
"Exactly." Hermes looked around the room and said, "That's if we even should."
Metis sniffed and said, "Oh, you're on Prometheus' side with that, huh?"
Hermes shrugged and said, "If they're sentient beings like we think they are, it'd be genocide, right?"
Leto looked at both of them and said, "If Cylons are going to kill everyone on Larsa, they should be stopped."
"Agreed." Metis nodded and popped a few bite-sized crackers into her mouth.
"Well," Hermes said, "that's if that's what they're really going to do."
Leto looked toward Zeus again and saw that he was talking to Dionysus. I wonder if he knows. They talked normally for a moment and then the larger brown-haired man laughed. Zeus chuckled and looked away. Hera seemed angry, though. She stood and stalked toward the bar again with a stern look on her face. Instinctively, Leto looked around the room for Dionysus' mother, Semele. She was in a far corner, talking to Aphrodite.
Dionysus stood and staggered backward half a step. Zeus grabbed his son's arm and steadied him. "What?" Dionysus barked. "All I said was it looks like she's permanently sucking lemons."
Leto heard Hera inhale sharply. She reached over the counter and pulled an empty bottle from the shelf and she quickly turned back around and strode toward Dionysus.
"Shit," Hermes leapt off the sofa and darted between furniture and chatting Psilons. Hera was almost within striking distance when he caught her arm and yanked the bottle from her hand. Zeus stood and began to wave his hands and Dionysus only laughed.
"I don't know why that's pissed you off so much!"
Hera balled her fists and struggled against Hermes and now Zeus. "You tell that bastard! Your bastard! To shut the frak up!"
Leto's eyes widened and she looked at drunken Dionysus. He was still smiling and didn't seem to process what she said.
"Hera," Zeus said, "I think it's time for you to go."
"Yes it is." She jerked her hands away from Hermes and stepped back. Zeus moved toward her to guide her out, but she reared back and slapped him as hard as she could. The sound of that smack stopped everything in the cabin. Hera stalked out of the room and it was several seconds after her departure before small talk resumed.
Leto watched Zeus stand there in the middle of the floor, staring at the door. Dionysus had already moved along to another glass of wine. A moment later, Zeus turned and caught Leto's gaze. She quickly looked away.
She leaned back against the cushion, hoping to conceal herself somewhat behind a lamp. She only halfheartedly tried to listen to Hermes, Metis, Antero, and Ersa talk about computers.
"At least the new download protocols are in place," Metis said.
"No more Code Blacks," Hermes added as he sipped his drink.
Antero nodded and looked off to the side. "Too late for Eryx. Epimetheus."
No one responded. Leto looked around the room while still trying to avoid Zeus' gaze.
"What about children?" Ersa asked. Slowly, Leto turned and faced the others.
Metis shook her head. "They still can't be scanned and added to the transfer roster until they reach cerebral maturity."
Hermes downed the rest of his drink and stood. "Twenty-five."
"Yes." Metis shrugged and said, "Given the stress of our current daily lives, I don't think anyone's considering children right now, anyway."
Seeking an escape from the conversation, Leto turned around. Ares, Belus, and Arcas were talking about sports on the other side of the lamp. Dionysus was now raucously talking to Poseidon about some movie he was watching. It seemed that the party had moved on. Zeus had not.
He sat in his chair with an empty cup. He set it down and then placed his face in his hands. After a few minutes of that, he straightened and then roughly scratched his white hair. He stared at the door. No one tried to talk to him.
Leto sipped her wine as she watched Zeus. She tried to tell herself to go ove
r there. She couldn't do it. At one point, she managed to put both feet on the floor in preparation for standing, but then Hades sat next to Zeus and started talking to him. Leto relaxed her muscles and allowed herself to sink back into the sofa.
After another hour, half of the Psilons left the cabin. The remainder were paired off and chatting quietly. Zeus sat alone, sipping from his cup. When Hermes stood and left, she was alone on the couch. She sighed and decided to finally leave. She began to pass Zeus on her way out and instead of walking by, she slowed, looked down, and asked, "Can I get you something?"
He was almost surprised by the question. "Some more water, please."
She smiled and took his cup. She refilled it and got some water herself. Leto took it to him and then began to debate whether she should go ahead and leave.
"Sit."
Leto swallowed hard and then stepped around an end table before sitting in a cloth chair. As part of her standard conversation routine, she asked, "How are you?" She regretted it as soon as she said it.
Zeus chuckled. "I'm fine."
She nodded and watched as Antero and Macaria left together holding hands. After several moments of silence, she said, "I don't really know what to say." Zeus looked up. Leto stared into his bright blue eyes and she melted a little. He seemed so tired but there was warmth there. She could feel it.
Hephestus and Aphrodite left. Zeus nodded toward them. He turned and caught sight of Belus and Caerus leaving together out the other door. They were now alone.
Suddenly, Leto felt nervous. Self-conscious again. She tugged on her shirt sleeves and said, "I guess I should go to bed, too." Zeus stood and Leto followed suit. With both of them standing up
Lords of Kobol - Prelude: Of Gods and Titans Page 79
