from their chairs, they found themselves just in front of each other's faces. Close.
"Good night." Zeus said it simply, softly.
Leto answered with a nod.
Zeus leaned forward and kissed her mouth. She went limp for a moment before wrapping her arms around his shoulders. They stayed in that dimly lit, empty cabin for some time.
XCIX
CAESAR
1 Year Before the End
"As expected, the Atticans' counterattack was unsuccessful. The Cylons have taken Strand."
Several of the legates gasped. Prefect did not respond from the screen. Caesar stared at his new commander general.
Barbus was a capable officer, no question. But she was forced on him when the legates, tribunes, and the Senate itself grew dissatisfied with Quintus. It wasn't fair, Caesar knew, but Quintus understood. He left without protest. The emperor saw to it that he was cared for.
Barbus spoke louder to be heard over the chatter of the war council, "There are now eight major military facilities in Isinnia under Cylon control. Any one of them could launch major airstrikes on Tiberia and its territories."
For once, the legates and Prefect were silent. Caesar nodded toward the general and she sat.
"Any word on Zeus?" the imperator asked.
The intelligence consul shook his head. "No, dominus."
"Greater effort must be expended to find the terrorists, consul," Prefect said from its screen.
Maxentius glared toward the monitor and said, "Yes, but not for the reasons you believe, Prefect."
"Terrorist cells under Zeus' direction have repeatedly attacked and destroyed power stations and datafarms throughout Tiberia!" The screen flashed brighter as Prefect's voice rose in pitch and volume. "Thirty thousand optimates have been lost in recent attacks due to data backlogs and technical errors! Five praetors and your war consul were killed by Zeus himself!"
"Immaterial!" Caesar rose from his seat and pushed it away with the backs of his knees. As Prefect prepared to speak again, the emperor yelled at the screen, "Off!" The glowing face was gone in a blink.
He looked toward the senators along the table. The consuls and tribunes. There were three dour-looking legates along with General Barbus. Caesar pointed to them.
"You understand the situation, don't you?" The four of them nodded. The imperator looked at the rest of the council and said, "These are the darkest days for the Empire … possibly in all its existence. We are utterly spent." He put particular emphasis on that last word. "Soldiers, materials, equipment. Our treasuries are depleted as well and we are no closer to victory."
"But the Pact …" a minor prefect dared interrupt.
"Quiet." The man sank in his chair. "This war council is finished." Two senators began to protest and Maxentius raised his hands. "Because of this council and its advice, we invaded Gela for resources and for 'honor,'" he said with sarcasm, "we split our attention and couldn't decide what we wanted and by the time we did, it was too late. Our military was sapped and the Cylons gained their footholds around the world." Caesar shook his head. "I let myself be led astray by the desires of the optimates. The greater good of the Empire was not part of their goals."
"My lord!" a senator screamed.
"Get out of my sight. All of you." Slowly, the council began to leave their chairs and depart the room. The emperor caught the attention of General Barbus and motioned for her to stay. Senators and legates grumbled as they left and the imperator said, "The Caesar will lead! I will end this the best way possible. By the Black Stone I swear it!"
Once the room was emptied, once the door closed, Maxentius turned toward General Barbus and said, "Maintain your efforts to find Zeus. He has a technology that might save us all." She nodded. "In the meantime, there is an old file. Centuries old. You need to find it and put it into action." Caesar leaned against the table. Quietly, he said, "It's called the Phaethon Project."
C
CYLONS
3 Months Before the End
"How should I be costumed?" Edair asked.
Bevonal stopped his strategy calculations and looked toward the Council leader. "I do not care."
"You should!" Stripped of most of its outer coverings, Blue stepped away and held up its old metallic cape. "If I appear opulent, then I display our wealth and make it appear as though the war does not impact us." It then pointed to its suit of shining chrome armor. "If I appear as a soldier, then I display our strength and our resolve."
Bevonal's red circle eye swept three times before it answered. "The rest of the Council are outfitted in armor. If you wish to appear opulent, go ahead."
Edair's speakers crackled with excitement and it began to slip into its costume. Minutes later, gleaming in differently colored and reflective metals, the wispy version of the leader emerged, gliding about on its shimmering cape. "I like this!"
"Then why did you ask me?" Bevonal stalked away and tried to think in private.
"Shall we speak again of our goals?" Ma'd asked. It was covered in gold armor reminiscent of Gela's first army.
Bevonal answered, "If we must."
Pvamoos stepped forward and said, "Tiberia and the Pact of Nations must cease hostilities at once."
"They must repay us for Cylons deactivated during the conflict in the form of raw materials." Ma'd seemed pleased with itself.
"They must allow us to maintain our bases and territories in Isinnia, Eridia, and Badaria," Bevonal said. "They will not agree to this."
"They should!" Edair said. "We are preparing to strike the final blows. Surely they understand this."
"Perhaps they do," Bevonal said. "This is why they negotiate."
"It is time," Ma'd said.
The Council of Five moved out of their makeshift tent on the slopes of the Majellan Mountains south of Thera. Their capital city had been bombed repeatedly, but the Cylon government and war headquarters had operated quite well from the mining facilities and quarries in the mountain range.
The road leading toward Thera was lined with Cylons. In the distance, a long motorcade entered the Council's view. "I see them!" Blue shrieked. Bevonal continued to think.
The black vehicles slowly got closer and the flags of their representative nations fluttered alongside them. Minutes later, they stopped in a semicircle before the quarry base and a few representatives emerged. Lastly, a large truck rumbled up the hill and turned away from the rest of the vehicles. The Council was curious about this and the rear of the truck began to lower to ground level. Suddenly, as its door opened, a large cart emerged carrying a man tethered to a box by cables. It was the emperor of Tiberia. Edair gasped.
The dignitaries lined up along the road with the emperor remaining in his motorized chariot. The Council of Five moved closer and the leader swept forward, flicking its cape as it did. "I am Malaflees Carbanotto Blue Edair, leader, and this is the rest of the Council of Five." It motioned behind itself and the other Cylon leaders exchanged glances, dismayed that they had been denied the right of introduction.
A human stepped forward and smiled. "I am Dyseo Rodimus, prime minister of Attica and here on behalf of President Berenice Callis."
A human female bowed and said, "I am Nichel Kweito, chief delegate of the Pact of Nations."
"I am Caesar Maxentius the Ninth, lord imperator and princeps senatus of Tiberia." The Cylons bowed low and stared at the Caesar's cart. "Forgive me if I do not leave this vehicle." He kicked and a tuft of dirt flew into the air. "It's an old tradition."
Edair stepped to one side and said, "Please, glorious leaders. This way." The Council of Five began to move along a trail and then down into a quarry. The delegates and their attendants followed. The slope of the rocks stretched far above and the procession kept spiraling downward. As they did, they saw the refineries and assembly plants lining the valleys of a river that once fed the quarry. Cables and conveyor belts extended in every direction. Great forge
s of molten metal glowed far away. All was still. Gela's attention was turned here and to the talks.
The Council of Five took its place behind a table fashioned from carved stone. The emperor rolled his chariot in front of the table while Attica's prime minister and the Pact's chief delegate sat on blocks nearby.
"I presume you are here to seek an end to hostilities," Edair said as it drifted above the table.
"Correct," the chief delegate said.
"We have terms," Blue answered quickly. "Would you like to hear them?"
Caesar waved his hand toward it and said, "Please."
"Tiberia and the Pact of Nations must cease hostilities at once," one of the Council said.
"They must repay us for Cylons deactivated during the conflict in the form of raw materials."
Bevonal finished, "They must allow us to maintain our bases and territories in Isinnia, Eridia, and Badaria."
The humans exchanged looks while the emperor nodded. "Your first point is one we can easily accept."
"Very good!" Edair yelled.
"Progress!" another Cylon said.
"The second point," Caesar continued, "will be difficult but we can certainly work on it."
"Progress again!" Blue turned toward that Cylon and made a menacing gesture.
"Your third point, however," Kweito said, "will be very difficult."
The Caesar added, "Impossible, I would say."
Edair rose high above the ground and flared its cape, "Why?!"
"Cylon forces occupy seven of our islands and both eastern peninsulas of Attica itself." The prime minister shook his head. "There are
Lords of Kobol - Prelude: Of Gods and Titans Page 80
