Realms Of The Gods

by C. M. Kane

  ‘Is Loki back yet?’ Zeus strode across to his chair and threw himself into it.

  ‘Yes, my lord,’ Tannan said. ‘His jumper just docked, he should be on his way to the bridge as we speak.’

  ‘Good, as soon as he’s on the bridge signal everyone to make for the portal to Tuvarna, and from there to Cassandra’s Nebula. Hopefully Ares will know we have arrived and come out to meet us, then finally we may see an end to this treachery.’

  The turbo lift doors opened and Loki stepped onto the bridge. Tannan told the communications officer to signal the other ships, and then turned to the Olympus’s captain.

  ‘Captain Arden, set heading to Tuvarna on full battle alert, and be prepared for anything as we come through.’

  Captain Arden saluted. ‘Yes, Commander Tannan.’ He set to, ordering the crew to their work. As the Olympus started to move a warning siren informed the crew of the imminent portal crossing, and that they were now on full battle alert. Tannan checked the sensor array, the other ships were following suit, dropping in behind their flagship. The Olympus deployed its emitters and powered them up. A large patch of space directly before them seemed to shimmer as the graviton beam hit it, showing them that the portal had opened. The Olympus moved through, closely followed by the Idris, Atlantis, Cerberus and the Asgard. As soon as the ships cleared the portal they headed toward the nebula building speed.

  ‘Report,’ Zeus said.

  Tannan looked at his display as only the relevant information from the sensor operator was funneled to him. ‘It looks like one Orion class battle cruiser and six Khopesh class destroyers are in orbit around Tuvarna. I’m just getting the readings on the Orion battle cruiser now, my lord.’ He paused in shock. ‘It’s the Erebus, my lord, Thanatos has joined Hera.’

  Zeus jumped to his feet. ‘Thanatos? Why? ’

  ‘My lord.’ Tannan frowned as he interrupted his enraged god. ‘The portal is reopening, there are more ships coming through.’

  Tannan’s face paled as he watched his display screen. ‘My lord, we now face four Orion class battle cruisers and twentythree Khopesh class destroyers.

  They are jamming our communications through the portal, we are trapped.’

  Zeus narrowed his eyes at Tannan as he continued to study the information his bridge crew were sending him.

  ‘Ares has signaled, he is now coming out of the nebula and is making his way toward us. The Kydomois looks badly damaged my lord.’

  Zeus smiled grimly. ‘So the odds will be pretty even then, continue on course until we meet up with Ares, ignore the others until he’s with us, unless they open up communications directly.’

  ‘Yes my lord,’ Tannan said as he watched his monitors closely.

  After a further twenty minutes in which the surrounding fleet followed silently, they began breaking heavily to join with Ares and turn their ships towards their enemies. Their backs were to the nearby nebula.

  Tannan turned to Zeus. ‘We are receiving a message from the Juno, my lord.’ Zeus nodded and Tannan put it on the viewscreen at the top right. The main part of the screen was taken up by the view of the approaching fleet. When it switched on they looked up to the gloating face of Hera.

  ‘Well, well, well. Look at who we have here.’ She turned to her bridge crew, smiling widely. ‘The mighty Zeus, along with his band of ever faithful lapdogs.’ She laughed. ‘Foolishly caught in a trap of my own design, how utterly delightful.’

  ‘Is this all of you?’ Zeus asked bitterly. ‘Or are their more traitors lurking around out there?’

  ‘Traitors?’ Hera feigned surprise. ‘Hardly, they are simply clever enough to follow my lead to greater glory, where there will be none of your foolish restraints placed upon them. As you can see by my allowing you to join Ares unmolested, I am feeling quite generous.’ She smiled. ‘I have decided I will give you and your allies the chance to surrender your ships to me. I shall even let you all live … as soon as you swear eternal fealty to me, of course. But not you, Zeus. Oh no, for all the humiliation you have heaped upon me you will become my personal slave. You will serve as a permanent warning to all those who would dare oppose me.’ The other smaller spaces around the main part of the screen began filling with the faces of the other gods under Zeus’ banner.

  Poseidon snarled. ‘Piss off, Hera. I’ll die before I follow you anywhere, let alone allow you to lead our people. And as for you, Thalia,’ he said, addressing a woman aboard another ship, ‘you disgust me even more than Hera.’

  ‘I stand with my brother,’ Hades said.

  ‘As do I,’ Odin and Thor joined.

  Ares smiled coldly as his ship slowly joined those already trapped. ‘And you already know I’m going to kill as many of you bastards as I can manage before you take me down.’

  ‘It’s not too late, are there any of you that will join us?’ Zeus addressed the other ships.

  Hera smiled coldly as her lines remained firm. ‘Oh, but this is just too perfect. I get to kill you at long last, and I have the added bonus of killing that interfering pest Loki, that I see on your bridge. Tell me, Loki, did you enjoy your little sleep on Terra? I of course, knew what the local rabble was doing. It was I that organized for you to investigate the sighting of a downed jumper … through certain channels of course, so neither you nor that fool Radnor would become suspicious. I even had a hand in getting your captain to take the Fenris in close to that volcano. All I had to do was threaten his wife and children. It’s amazing what a little torture to a young child will do to a man, even though he only took the ship to a couple of thousand feet above the volcano instead of landing it, as I had insisted.’

  She smiled in satisfaction. ‘I wonder if he realized I killed them after your little accident anyway. After all, I couldn’t leave any witnesses to my little plan now could I? What do you think, Loki? Do you think he knew those he loved were already dead before he passed?’

  Loki did his best to ignore everything Hera was saying. At that moment he was thinking of Tae. He wasn’t afraid of the coming fight, nor of dying for that matter. He was just shocked his only regret was that he hadn’t bedded the girl, and that he’d never really got to know her.

  It surprised him to realize that he would have liked that, and had even been looking forward to it. She was the first woman in an age to intrigue him outside the bedroom. What would she do if it was her faced with this situation? He wondered. He knew exactly what she’d do. He faced the screen and smiled.

  ‘Hey, Hera, if you’d stop running off at the mouth for five seconds I have something I’d like to give you, on behalf of all of us.’ He held up his clenched fist and raised his middle finger. The bridge crew broke into raucous laughter, as did the other gods who saw what he had done.

  Hera’s face reddened noticeably as she glared at him with unconcealed hatred. ‘You have all heard me. I have given everyone the choice to surrender. You haven’t and now you leave me no choice. You will be destroyed.’

  ‘Oh, I don’t think so,’ a new voice interrupted. The ships now started to receive an incoming picture of Tae’s smiling face on their screens.

  ‘This is Captain Tae Rames of the Brightmoon. You have exactly thirty seven and a half minutes to surrender your ships to Lord Zeus and his companions before I clear the nebula, or you will be destroyed.’

  ‘Who the hell are you?’ Hera snarled looking to her sensors.

  ‘Wow. Zeus said you were dumb as dog shit, but I had no idea you’d be this stupid. Then again, at your age I suppose your hearing’s on the way out. Along with a few other things, if what I heard is correct.’ Tae laughed nastily, as she tried to antagonize Hera and buy herself some time.

  Hera stared at her opened mouthed, she was physically incapable of speech for a moment she was so enraged. Nobody had ever spoken to her with such disrespect, nobody, she was Hera, she was a daughter of Cronus … she was a GOD!

  ‘Who are you, you insolent little bitch.’

  ‘I’ve already told you. I am Capt
ain Tae Rames of the Brightmoon.’ Tae looked Hera up and down with obvious contempt before continuing. ‘It’s your unlucky day old woman, I’m here to offer up a challenge to you. It takes true courage to be leader, Hera, something I don’t believe that you possess.’

  Tae smirked at her as she spoke. ‘All I’ve seen from you so far is cowardice. You’re very good at having someone else do your dirty work for you … well, you might have personally tortured little kids, I’d say that’s more fitting of someone like you, and now you follow that up with this pathetic trap of yours. Hell, I’d bet Thanatos would make a far superior leader than you. At least he’s a true warrior, he has real courage. So come on old woman, if you think you have the right to lead, then prove it. I challenge you to battle, winner takes all, your ship against mine. ‘If you’ve got the ovaries for a fight, that is. If not, hand over the reins to someone who has. Hell, come to think of it that might be a good idea, as it is I’m so much better than you that I won’t even have to hide behind missiles like you will.’

  Hera was beyond incensed, for a Titan to be called a coward was the ultimate insult, and this woman also kept inferring she was old, useless, unworthy. ‘Where are you?’ she screamed at the com-screen.

  ‘I’m in the nebula still, but don’t worry, I’m coming.’ Tae peered at her small claws and cleaned one with another, as if she were totally unconcerned.

  ‘Tae,’ Zeus interrupted. ‘What the hell are you playing at?’

  Tae smiled at him, she’d been hoping for something like this, if Cassandra was right and Zeus played along, then she had a sure fire way of getting Hera to agree to her challenge.

  ‘Trust me, lover,’ she purred seductively. ‘I’ll get rid of this sexless old crone and be back in your bed before you know it. If you could only see all the naughty things I have planned to do to you.’ She giggled then ran her tongue over her now dropped fangs suggestively. Then she winked and turned to saunter back to a strange chair that she leant against. Zeus was dumbstruck as he stared at her, wondering what the hell she was up to.

  Hera felt her hatred for any woman Zeus bedded ignite inside her anew. She hated him, yes, but she hated it even more that she still wanted him so badly. She became determined to make him suffer eternally for not wanting her in the same way. A purple crystal had been installed to power the Juno’s forward pulse cannon array, something no-one knew about. Perhaps now was the perfect time to show everyone just how powerful she really was. So the woman wasn’t going to use missiles? Hell with that crystal added she wouldn’t need missiles; she’d simply crush the bitch.

  Hera was astute enough to know the other gods, especially Thanatos and his followers, would be seriously considering this clever little bitch’s words. She’d had to play her cards carefully to obtain their help; she knew she would need to consolidate her position before she let them know her true plans for the realms. She deserved power, she was the one who had gone against her own father and saved them all. She had invented the portal device, and for what? To be consigned to some damaged ship as soon as Zeus had tired of her. She was supposed to have been his queen, his equal. No one was better than her. Damn him to hell! Yes, she’d destroy Zeus’ latest lover to heap yet more pain and misery upon his shoulders. Then she would have even more ships at her disposal, this would also put a quick stop to any thoughts the bitch might have planted in the minds of the other captains in her fleet. She turned to the com-screen.

  ‘I agree,’ she said. ‘But only on the condition that all Zeus ‘captains must give their word of honor to surrender unconditionally to the winner.’ She smiled. ‘You have five minutes to decide.’

  Zeus turned to Tannan who muted the com-channel to Hera’s ship. ‘What in all of Tartarise does she think she’s doing? I’m not surrendering my ship on the whim of a child.’

  Tannan frowned, for the first time in his life he had no idea what advice to give his lord. Hera wasn’t bluffing, and a god’s word was binding.

  Tae switched her open com to Zeus and the others in his fleet only. ‘I haven’t got time to explain everything to you, you’re just going to have to trust me, please, I know what I’m doing. I just need to stall her a little longer.’

  ‘Trust her,’ said Loki walking up to stand beside Zeus.

  ‘What? Loki, this is Hera we’re talking about. This decision affects the lives of everyone in the realm, including the gods. I can’t trust that to a terran woman,’ Zeus said

  ‘Zeus, has she ever let us down? This young terran has saved everyone here at least once, myself twice. I don’t know what she’s up to, but I don’t think she’s ever been your lover,’ Loki said.

  Zeus shook his head. ‘Not yet.’

  Loki frowned in annoyance at the answer but continued. ‘Yet she certainly made a point of making out she was, didn’t she? Why? Logically the only purpose her charade would serve would be to enrage Hera. And why would she want to do that except to make her angry enough to agree to this deal. Think man. She asked us to trust her. I know it’s hard, and my mind is only now starting to come up to what it once was, but everything in me says it’s time to take a leap of faith. I think she’s up to something, and if there’s one thing we’ve all learned, it’s that when that girl is up to something, it usually means major trouble for the person she’s conspiring against.’

  Zeus breathed deeply and stared at Loki for a moment. The odds were already stacked against them. As it was, their chances of winning this battle were virtually nonexistent. They needed a miracle, it was time to do as Loki suggested. As he turned back to the com-screen he remembered that Tae said she needed to stall Hera a little more, so he decided to add his own time consuming condition in the hope it helped her.

  ‘We accept the agreement, but on the condition we hear every one of your own captains accept as well. Not that I don’t trust your authority, Hera, but I’ll hear it from each of them personally before we agree.’

  ‘Done.’ Hera smiled. ‘Do it,’ she yelled at the other captains. One by one each of them agreed over an open channel.

  ‘I hope she knows what the hell she’s doing,’ Zeus said as the last captain swore to stand by the outcome of the coming battle between Hera and Tae.

  ‘Now that we have the formalities all sorted I thought you all might like to watch the added power a purple crystal can generate from a pulse cannon array.’ Hera said triumphantly.

  Zeus and Loki stared at each other in shock. Where in the seven hells had Hera gotten a purple crystal from? Zeus felt the first flickering of panic. Hera would pulverize Tae, no matter what class of ship she may have found. He mentally prepared himself. He was going to have to ask Loki or Tannan to behead him rather than allow Hera to take him alive; anything else was unthinkable.

  ‘That’s nice,’ Tae said as she came back online. ‘I’ve got a few of them myself, they’re rather pretty, aren’t they?’

  Hera blanched. ‘You’re lying of course,’ she said, getting hold of herself again, but Zeus and Loki could hear the nervousness now laced in her voice.

  ‘Am I now?’ Tae gave Hera a long considering look. ‘You know, I’ve been thinking. Do you know what’s really funny in all of this? It’s that you’ve brought everything on yourself. You must be one the universe’s biggest failures. First you don’t shut the portal in time, letting through Cronus and the Ouranos. Then you go and get your head caved in. That obviously said byebye to any brains you ever had. Hell, you can’t even keep a lusty little snuggle bunny like Zeus satisfied. I mean, he’s a man honey. Honestly, I ask you all, how hard is that?’ She sighed, shaking her head and raising her hands as if mystified.

  Zeus’ own eyebrows rose in surprise as he heard snorting laughs from some of the surrounding gods. Some of them were coming from Hera’s own fleet.

  Tae smiled and continued. ‘This of course was followed by your totally inept attempt at wiping out the Tuvarnan race.’

  She now had Brightmoon pan around the bridge of her ship, letting everyone see her crew for
the first time. Every one of them stared fiercely back at the watching gods, their crests fully erect.

  ‘Thanks for the crew by the way, I couldn’t have asked for better. After that you allowed a silly little war to occur on Salernis, a war which killed my father. This further bungle of yours put me in a position where I was able to grow into the woman who is about to kill you today. And finally, either you or your flunkies kidnapped my family, which set me on the path to meet my new crew and ship, fully completing the circle of your breathtaking incompetence.’

  She grinned widely. ‘Ain’t karma a bitch?’

  ‘Where are you, you stinking little whore?’ Hera screamed. She was incensed; this girl was openly mocking her, telling her of her supposed failures in front of everyone. The gods’ laughter at her infuriated her further. How had the girl found the Tuvarnan? It doesn’t matter, she told herself, I’ll be killing them all now anyway, right along with all the Terrans. That planet is as good as dead.

  Tae kept smiling unconcernedly. ‘I’m just coming through now,’ she said. ‘Oh, better clench your butt cheeks together people, we don’t want any accidents.’ She laughed and winked as if she hadn’t a care in the world.

  Zeus and Loki looked to Tannan who was staring at the imaging being sent to him from the techs handling the sensor arrays.

  ‘Something’s coming through the nebula now, my lord. Whatever it is, it’s damn big. Orion class easily, but of a design I’ve never seen before.’

  What the hell did she mean about clenching their butt cheeks together? Both gods thought in bewilderment. Is this some kind of a strange joke? They turned away from Tannan to watch the view of the nebula on the com-screen. Tannan switched from flat screen to threedimensional viewing, just as Brightmoon broke through into clear space.