than three thousand years, as both republic and empire, Tiber stood. For two hundred years, he ruled. He had made Tiberia stronger and larger than ever. So quickly … so very quickly, it's been taken from me.
He breathed deeply through his nose and winced at the sharpness of the cold night air inside of him. He looked down at the throngs of people fleeing the palace and wondered if he could really blend in with them. He could pass for any regular person, but that wasn't a guarantee of safety. Not with the machines coming. And the rebels. Being in this suit, he'd be taken for a patty without a second thought. He'd be dead then, too. Maybe there's time to dirty it up. I could pass then.
Behind him, the main doors to the chamber were thrown open. Two Praetorian Guards cautiously walked inside and looked about. Caesar turned and stared at them. They stopped in their tracks and studied him. Uneasy, the emperor asked, "What is it?
The smaller of the two guards stepped forward and removed his helmet. In the dim light from outside, Caesar could see the man smile. He dropped the helmet and said, "Your reckoning."
CIV
ZEUS
The Day of the End
"It's going to take some getting used to," Leto said through his wristband. "But I'm fine."
"Good, good." Zeus paced around in the corner of the warehouse. "Sit tight. Run some tests if you feel up to it or get bored."
"I will." There was a long pause and then she said, "I love you."
Zeus smiled for a second and said, "I love you, too."
He walked out of the building and looked across the Gusa Shipyards. A few large trucks and makeshift buildings were assembled in front of the hangars. Just weeks ago, the parts of their two starships lay all over the place.
"Zeus," Poseidon said as he ran toward him, "Hades just got a call from some official. He said we can expect a visit from the government soon."
He squinted and asked, "Why?"
"I have no idea." Poseidon looked around and then asked, "How's Leto?"
"She's fine. She got onboard a while ago."
"Hmm." The brothers began to walk back toward the tents. "Have you given any more thought to my idea?"
"Well, we've got seeds. If Earth is devoid of usable plant life, we can start there."
"But animals," Poseidon said. "Animals are as important to a planet's ecosystem and our survival as plants."
"I know," Zeus said. "The journey will take months. There's not enough time for us to gather everything we need to ferry a bunch of animals around."
"We could have cloned them, like I suggested …"
Zeus was becoming exasperated. "We were on the run. Constantly, it seemed. Cloning horses and cows and sheep seemed to be low priority."
Poseidon nodded and then sighed. "I miss those horses in Saban." Zeus smiled. "That farmer was always kind enough to let us go for a ride."
They ducked under the flap of a tent and saw several of their fellow Psilons gathered around a screen. The signal was poor but the images were stark.
"Two more carrier fleets sunk off the coast of Tiberia," the reporter said. Smoking hulks of metal were broken in two and falling beneath the waves. "Meanwhile, on land, the Cylon forces pushed through the Caesar's lines south of Tiber and seem to be marching north right now."
After thousands of armed machines moved through a dead forest, a news anchor appeared and said, "We have word now of more Cylon attacks underway in Attica, Tyria, Thoria, Memfi, Gerzeh, and Badar." Some of the Olympians gasped as the man kept repeating what was spoken into his earpiece. "The battlefront in Erlitoun has expanded and now legions are moving toward the Huban border. We're also receiving confirmation of the launch of dozens of long-range planes …"
"Turn it off," Zeus said. "For now."
Hades pressed a button on the remote control and turned in his chair. "Do you think the Cylons have atomics?"
Zeus inhaled and then shook his head. "I don't know. It's only been a few months since the Caesar's attack. I wouldn't think they could create nuclear weapons in that short time …"
"We did," Arcas said. Several of the Psilons lowered their heads.
Zeus looked down at the notepad in his hand and he began to speak softly. "Aetos and the dartships are already on the Olympus and Lemuria, so we'll have to go up on different flights. The resurrection pods have already been placed and we know which ship we're going to, right?" Most of them nodded. "The auto-clone systems? Up and running?"
Metis glanced around and then said, "Yes. The tests went well."
"Good." She was looking for Hera, he thought. They worked on those systems together.
Hera left weeks ago. She said then, "I need time to think. Time away from you." She drove off in a rented car. Zeus watched her go and stood there at the gate for a long while until her dust cloud dissipated. She hadn't called or sent any kind of message since.
"The ships are ready," Zeus said. "They're being charged now and that will take another week at the station, but we're ready."
Semele shook her head. "Do we really have to leave? Do we have to go to Earth?"
Zeus was about to speak when Bia said, "Zeus and I have discussed us taking the ships away from Larsa for a time. Coming back later to see how things are." She crossed her legs and said, "It depends on how things end with the Cylons."
"Correct." Zeus scanned their dour faces and said, "It seems desperate because it is. I am not excited to leave Larsa any more than any of you. But," he motioned to the deactivated monitor, "things are not going well. At all."
"Zeus," Arcas was by the entrance, holding the flap back. "There's police outside."
He looked down at his tan shirt and saw dirt on it. He brushed it a few times and then walked out. He was greeted by a Huban man in a suit, holding a badge.
"I'm District Chief Inspector Qin with the Huban State Police," he said in heavily accented Attican. "Mr. Zeus, we are here to take you and your people into custody."
Poseidon said, "What?" Zeus turned and saw him and Arcas leaving the tent. The police behind Qin readied their weapons and Zeus raised his hand to hold his people back.
"Wait, wait," he said. More Psilons had exited the tent and were gathering behind Zeus. "Why are we being arrested?"
"Not arrested, Mr. Zeus," Qin said. "I have been ordered by the government to detain you."
"Why?"
"What's going on?"
"Can they do that?"
Zeus straightened up and spoke calmly, "Inspector Qin, we have been given permission by both the United Space Probe Agency and Huban's government to operate here in Gusa. We just finished a major project for them. Operation Preserve. Have you heard of that?"
Qin looked back at his officers and said, "I'm aware of it, yes, but it is still classified."
"Did the ships launch? We haven't heard."
Qin sighed and said, "Yes. Yesterday."
Zeus nodded and said, "If all is well, I don't know why we're being detained."
"All is not well." The inspector moved forward and said, "Cylons have invaded Huban. They are not far away from here now. They know you're here."
Arcas stepped forward and said, "How?"
"I do not know." Qin motioned for his men to lower their weapons. "I have been ordered to detain you and then take you to the border to turn you over to them."
Zeus raised his eyebrows and he pulled his head back. Arcas scoffed and turned away. Poseidon said, "You're frakking kidding me."
"My government has asked me to give you to them in exchange for them to halt their invasion."
Zeus licked his lips and said, "That won't work. Cylons aren't invading just for me."
"Perhaps," Qin said.
"They want the technology we developed for our ships. For Operation Preserve," Polemos said. "They want to use it against us all."
Qin was frustrated and flailed his arms. "I do not know their aims. I know my orders. Please, come with me. Now."
Zeus inhaled deeply and looked at the faces of the Huban police. There were about twenty of them and they carried handguns. He looked back at his Olympians. They were evenly matched, numerically, but Zeus believed his Psilons could take them in a fight. Then a military truck rolled up.
An officer leapt from the cab and began yelling at Qin in Fengi. A dozen soldiers left the rear of the vehicle carrying automatic weapons.
Arcas seemed to be reading Zeus' mind. "So much for fighting back."
"Look, everyone," Zeus lifted his hands and continued, "we'll go with them. We'll try to escape if the opportunity arises, but we'll go. Peacefully."
"And what if we get handed over to the Cylons?" Metis asked.
Zeus lowered his head and thought, "Then … suicide is the best option." Some of the others seemed stunned by this but he followed it up with, "Our backups are waiting in orbit, so it's just a shortcut, really."
"Mr. Zeus," Qin said. "You need to go with the major here." The scowling officer hung behind Qin and angrily waved the Olympians over. Zeus looked at his people and nodded. "I am sorry, Mr. Zeus."
He didn't look at the inspector again. He just said, "Me too," and walked toward the waiting soldiers. They produced plastic bands and tightly wrapped them around their wrists. Some of the Psilons grunted and protested, but they didn't seem to care.
With his arms bound behind his back, Hades chuckled and said, "Isn't this just the sauce on the steak?"
Poseidon laughed and stumbled behind him. Hermes asked, "What do you mean?"
"Humans," Hades answered. "Wars, greed, selfishness …"
Zeus nodded and said, "Betrayal."
The soldiers pushed them to the rear of the
Lords of Kobol - Prelude: Of Gods and Titans Page 86
