Ok, now she was just being smug.
I crinkled my nose at her as I shook my head. “I thought you were supposed to be the nice one.”
She seemed to bubble over with mischief as she replied, “I am.”
I heard Inatra growling out from where she was helping set up some barricades around the receiving area so the Three Embers could drop their shield.
I had to blink at the battle readiness of Valhalla because mag-sleds with shield projectors and magnetic harvesters were already being pushed halfway through the Bifrost so that Intark and some of the Olympians who had gathered their wits about them could pull them the rest of the way through on our side.
I told my parents, “We will need to watch over the air confrontation in the control room. But first, I have to warn you not to overreact when another tech comes through to assist Arina. She is a friend, not an enemy. Tell everyone to keep their weapons down.”
Hera narrowed her eyes in realization, I warned again, “Thea is a friend mother.” We had mentioned her in passing.
I could see the hate in her eyes, but before we could say anything else, a huge form covered in Mithreal armor that was burning and sizzling from the effects that coming in contact with compressed magnetic force had on it.
Every armed woman in the courtyard raised their weapons, one even let loose a javelin that scratched the already badly damaged armor before falling harmlessly to the ground. I was running in front of the eight-foot-tall figure, my arms wide toward my people as I yelled, “Hold! She is an ally! Stay your hands and lower your weapons.”
I understood the abject fear on the faces of every Olympian there as a Titan stood among them. Thea, unphased by the waves of hate and fear which seemed to radiate our way, reached up with a hand and removed the eerie elongated faceplate of the Titans and let it drop to the composite steel deck of the courtyard with a heavy clank as she started removing her armor.
Her beautiful face creased as she looked out over the sea of Olympians, but when she looked down at me and gave me one of her rare smiles even without their nano-phage pheromones, the Titans could steal a heart away with that smile. But most are so far lost in the Fog of Ages that most emotion is beyond them now. I have had the pleasure of seeing Thea slowly become more and more emotional and animated as the years have rolled by since she abandoned her kin to save the life of Kara, the Wild One.
Nobody lowered their weapons as I had ordered, their fear was overriding my orders. It wasn't until Zeus and Hera stepped up to us, mother's eyes looking up and boring into her mortal enemy, that she held a hand behind her and said without breaking eye contact, “Do as she says.”
People hesitated and Zeus cleared his throat, they were used to their orders being executed without question. His steely gaze had our people finally lowering their weapons and Thea continued to remove her virtually destroyed armor, with heavy clanks on the ground. Why had she just not taken a wind rider through the Bifrost, then her armor wouldn't have been so damaged.
But I suddenly understood. She wanted people to see she could no longer use the Mithereal, and was as vulnerable as anyone else now. I looked up at her and reached a hand up to cup her cheek, “Well met, Thea.”
She returned my gesture, her huge gracefully feminine hand cupping the entire side of my head, as she said, to my surprise, in Olympian, “Well met, Artemis.”
When she dropped her hand, she was suddenly engulfed in a ring of hugs as the Three Embers greeted her and stayed by her side as they greeted her. Thea's hard look softened at them. I narrowed my eyes as I looked at them and the crowd then Arina who was looking smug. They were purposefully putting themselves between her and the hostile crowd.
I put a hand out inviting mother and father to join us. “Hera, Zeus, this is Thea of the Titans. Friend to the united races and to me. Thea, Hera and Zeus, rulers of Olympus.”
Thea leaned over the girls and offered an arm to my parents, saying, “Ah yes, the grand experiment of the Frost Giants. Olympians, such a beautiful race. Well met.”
Zeus locked his eyes with her copper eyes and they sized each other up. Then he exhaled and said carefully, “Well met Thea. You live only because my daughter swears you mean us no harm, see to it you do not break her word.”
Thea gave me a crooked smile. “Such a charming young man.”
Odin's beard, she was getting as flippant as Inatra. We really shouldn't let those two drink together so much. Then she gave him a critical appraisal, looking him up and down as they grasped forearms, her hand covering most of his arm. “What a prime breeding specimen you would have been.”
I wanted to slap my own forehead at that as all the weapons in the courtyard raised again. But when they released each other at Hera's chuckling, they all hesitated. Mother offered her forearm as she said, “You'd have to get in line behind me, Titan. Well met.”
Instead of taking her arm, Thea surprised me and took a knee, bowing her head at mother to place it lower than hers. “Queen Hera of Olympus. It is indeed a pleasure.”
Even Zeus looked confused at a Titan prostrating before his wife. He motioned his hand, and everyone again lowered their weapons.
I exchanged a smirk with Arina. Thea probably truly believed Zeus was nothing but breeding stock for mother. Since all of her people were women, it was only natural to assume women were in charge, just like how the Valkyrie commanded the Asgard fighting force, and Freya ruled over Folkvangr. The only male ruler she had ever met was Odin, and even then, he shared his rule with Geiravor.
Hera would be ruler in her eyes, the concept of her and Zeus being equals probably never crossed her mind. I... thought it was funny, the look on father's face. But mother's face slipped into an actual smile as she saw too.
She looked at the bowing Titan then me, confusion over what she was to do coloring her expression. I shrugged, and she reached out hesitantly and placed a hand on the Titan's shoulder in traditional greeting. “Well met. Thea of the Titans.”
At that, Thea stood back up, towering over all, reaching over to cuff Intark on the back of the head as he joined us. Then the two exchanged a fist bump. Intark, being one of the largest Ragnarok I knew, was still a foot shorter than Thea.
Then she bowed her head to Hera. “I hear time is of the essence, your majesty, is there a terminal I can access to observe these attack craft? They must be a new development. We have never needed such things in the past.”
Then she smirked. “Likely a result of Kara and the Asgard crippling Rhea's flagship and destroying the quantum tunnel relay bridge.”
Hera looked at her then me. I nodded, and she deflated and said, “Yes of course.” Then added, “What can you tell us of the weaknesses of Titan tech?”
Thea hesitated and said in a cold tone, “I am no traitor. I will not divulge the secrets of my people.” Then she inclined her head. “I will afford information to help the friends of the Asgard to defend against attacks such as this. But make no mistake, I will not betray the Titans.”
Zeus studied her then inclined his head as she said with a tinge of humor, “That is a fine line you walk, Thea of the Titans.”
She shrugged and looked almost coy. It was almost breathtaking with her copper hair flowing back over her shoulders, against her ivory skin. “I only stand apart from my sisters because I was honor-bound to see to it that the little Valkyrie, Kara, made her way back home. I've never seen a pet... umm... a person, with such an iron will. And she showed us what it was to remember what you are fighting for. I owed her and still do.”
My parents continue to surprise me every day, after digesting what Thea said, they inclined their heads and mother said, “This way, Thea.”
Zeus added, “But you will be under guard at all times.”
Thea beamed, “Delightful!” It was all a game to her. It was just how the Titans were, and I had to smile.
I caught Inatra and Intark's eyes and nudged my chin. I would not leave our friend defenseless, even among my own people. They nodded an
d moved with Thea, who paused to crouch to lift Arina like a doll when the Little One put her arms out for a hug. She sat her back down, and I followed them into the control room as Arina started barking orders for positioning the shield generators as more continued to flow through the Bifrost.
I stood tall. I believed we just might survive this without having to abandon our home. Then I warmed as a pink-haired Dite again took my hand. Just what was happening between us?
Chapter 11
Battle
The control room was buzzing with activity, and dozens of voices were coming over coms as the Asgard Hornets engaged the Halfling ships just a few miles short of the Citadel. All the firstborn were present, and we all gathered around the holographic display that was swirling around the entire center of the large space.
The room went silent, everyone's attention was on Thea as she ducked through the doors. Many hands moved hesitantly to their weapons. But both Zeus and Hera were patting the air with their hands to calm everyone. Hera said, “Thea is in exile and is here to give us insight into these new craft.”
Slowly, with many distrusting eyes on the Titan, people went back into action.
The detail of the hologram was phenomenal, and I would have thought we were watching Asgard telemetry. Then I realized that we were because we could see all our vessels and the Asgard vessels clear as day when they were all cloaked.
I felt helpless watching a battle occurring just a stone's throw away at the horizon. I and others did what we could, tagging targets with our fingers in the display and flicking the targeting data over to tactical so they could assign auto-canons and targeting data to the manual gunners on the wall. They were out of effective range now, but if they broke through the Hornet defense...
We watched the first clash as the Hornets sliced through the wave of incoming vessels, becoming visible as most power was diverted to the overpowered mag-lances that were comprised of hyper-compressed magnetic force, like their nano-lattice. This was their moment of vulnerability, as their nano lattice would be at a fraction of its normal strength as the power systems recovered, leaving them virtually unprotected for a couple seconds while the systems recycled and their cloaks and nano-lattice re-engaged.
I'm sure all the united races were watching near real-time as this would be the battlefield test of the mag-lance systems against the Mithreal armor of the Jotunn. We had all hoped we would never have to deploy them in battle.
With great flashes of blinding blue light, the stingers of the Hornets, the mag-lances speared down from the Asgard vessels at a forty-five-degree angle as they decloaked, the magnetic energy slamming against the hulls of the Jotunn ships, dragging across the seemingly impenetrable armor of the gods.
It was all over in an instant, the closing speeds were so great. One of the enemy ships disappeared into a bloom of plasma in a brilliant explosion that sent the passing Hornet spiraling and sparking in the sky. The pilot ejecting just before the badly damaged hornet itself exploded.
Another Halfling craft listed, a tear in its armor extending through one of its vertical thrust engines, causing it to start a slow, lazy spiral, we saw a storm bridge matter transport beam slam into the jungle below before the ship nosedived toward the ground to be swallowed by the jungle canopy.
The other enemy ships suffered only minor damage, that ungodly armor living up to its reputation. None of our Olympian weapons could touch it, it was only the areas of these new ships not protected by Mithreal that were vulnerable to us.
It wasn't as one-sided an exchange as we had hoped for. The two seconds of vulnerability of the wind riders proved precarious as return fire belched from the aft weapons ports of the enemy ships. Two Hornets took hits, one was batted to the side, the weak nano-lattice flaring and I was glad they had inertial dampers inside or the pilot would have been crushed by the lateral g-forces. The other Hornet shuddered under two simultaneous blasts and exploded mid fight in a brilliant ball of plasma and flame.
Someone gasped, I think it was Hera, but then there was cheering when an ejection seat came spiraling out of the inferno, covered in the bright blue nano-lattice of the Vanger Valklopt. She had hardened her ejection seat, it was all that had saved them.
Leto was on coms instantly. “Lance Flight One, friendlies down, ejection seat spotted. Dispatch retrieval team.”
The response was instant. “Lance Flight One, proceeding with retrieval.” Then the woman almost whispered, “Did you see? The Asgard ships can damage Mithreal...”
The first engagement was over in just over a couple seconds, and two Hornets were down, along with two enemy vessels.
Apollo was transmitting, “Lance Flight One, use caution. Enemy combatants dirtside.” Kroth, the storm bridge. They were using it like the ejection seats our allies used.
It would take a few seconds for all the ships to turn to make another run, and the enemy was shooting blind, trying to anticipate the approach of vessels they couldn't see.
Thea walked gracefully into the hologram and reached out and gently plucked one of the enemy craft from the screen and looked it over, turning it in her hand and pinching with the other to expand the view of different portions of the vessel.
She murmured, “Fairly inefficient design, but effective.” She looked to me instead of Hera. “It appears a rushed design.” Then she smiled sadly as she admitted, “Probably a reaction to the happenings in the Ragnarok system. To keep the Star Killers out of reach of Asgard systems and away from harm.”
Then she sighed and said, “They will use the Halflings in their stead now.” She seemed disturbed by this, which was good progress, her moral compass has been resetting over the centuries. Before she had no real distinction between good and evil except what Kara had shown her. To Titans, things just... were. But now she was starting to see things with the beginnings of compassion and empathy.
She made a visible decision and then stepped out of the holographic display with the representation of the attack craft in hand. She explained, “If they were piloted by my sisters, know that I would not show you this.”
I nodded as Hera joined Dite and me by Thea. She enlarged the model in the air and then as it slowly rotated in the air she stabbed her finger. “Here, here, and here are the weaknesses in this design. They should never have incorporated a window, but they were likely too rushed to create a sensor suite expansive enough to replace it. That or they are afraid of Asgard jamming technology, and they don't want the ships flying blind.”
We nodded, as that was how the orbital cannons had been able to stop them.
Then she continued, “The orbital maneuvering thruster ports are hidden.” She ran a slim finger along the seams of oval shapes that blended with the Mithreal. “But they would be necessary as the ships are too small to have anti-grav thrusters.”
Then lastly, she tapped the stubby wings. “The stabilizing gyros would be in mid wing, and the armor would be thinnest there to maintain aerodynamic integrity while in the atmosphere.” She shrugged and said, “That is all I care to share. I wouldn't that much, but those are my friends in the Asgard Hornets.” She let go of the model, and it evaporated.
Dite moved over and relayed the information she gave us to the Hornets and the Lances.
The ships clashed again, and this time the Hornets seemed to have learned from the first engagement. Just as their mag-lances struck, they were flipping on their z-axis letting the inertial dampers keep the pilots alive through such an extreme maneuver. But the return fire was harmlessly hitting the receding mag-lances as the ship's systems recovered.
Two Jotunn vessels vanished into violent flashes in the sky, a third was sparking and spiraling as a storm bridge hit the jungle floor below. More Halflings transferring to the surface. But we lost another Hornet that was listing bad as the pilot ejected. This was a becoming a battle of attrition. Their greater numbers were leveling the field. Retrieval was called for the Valklopt pilot.
Inatra was hissing, her teeth gritted as she sc
anned the hologram, ships darting around like fireflies belching deadly fire. I asked as I studied the battle, seeing the Halflings starting to get organized and staggering in tight clumps so that the Hornets had fewer clear targets for their strafing runs.
I asked, “What is it?”
She said with concern in her tone as she looked antsy not being able to help, “Where's Kitty?”
My eyes widened as I realized how extreme those maneuvers the Hornets were doing had been. We scanned the plots and Aphrodite blurted, “There!” She pointed, and the violet icon that was lost in the darting amber and red icons bloomed.
Hera clapped her hands and spread them wide near it, and we saw Kitty riding atop a Hornet, a vicious smile on her face, her eyes scanning the battle behind her flight goggles. Then she sprang from the ship as it closed for another strafing run on a clump of Halfling vessels.
Everyone in the room gasped as she fell behind, we watched another engagement as she fell, spiraling in the air and pulling the double-bladed mag lance from her back, blue blades of magnetic energy expanding from both ends.
It was like watching a slow, graceful pirouette in the air before she started to thrust her spear and was torn away from our view as the surviving ships passed by. The screen caught up, and we saw Kitty standing on a pierced cockpit window, her mag-lance stabbing through the clear material, the force field and the pilot's head beyond.
Gasps and cheering erupted in the room, then she dove into the air again in a wide summersault to land on another, her hand grasping a weapon's port on the leading edge of a wing. With a grin, she thrust her mag lance into the port, and after a second's delay, the wing exploded, sending her spinning off in the air as the two enemy craft arced slowly toward the ground.
Hera took a step toward the display, hand over her mouth but visibly relaxed when Kitty's falling form threw her arms wide and her photonic wingsuit expanded. She soared toward the jungle canopy as her chameleon cloak engaged.
Tales From Olympus: Gods Reunited Page 13
