ZEUS
2,057 Years Before the Final Exodus
Zeus stretched his arms wide and the armor plates on his chest pulled at his undershirt. When he put his arms by his side, the plates clicked together again. His right hand grasped the sword, still in its scabbard.
"We're there," Helios said.
Zeus stepped toward the hatch and opened it. The wings of Aetos were spread wide. Zeus picked up his shield with his special staff magnetically attached and he stepped out of the craft. His boots clanked on the golden wings of the shuttle and he looked at the battle below.
Smoke rose from emerald green grass. Gleaming armor merged with dark soil and darker blood in craters. Ares' soldiers lay about the field missing limbs. Arrows dotted the shields of those still standing. To the south, Zeus looked and he saw tens of thousands of men clad in armor and red cloth. Their banners bore dragons and their faces wore rage.
The Aetos hovered lower still and a few arrows whispered past. Zeus pulled his sword and leapt from the wing, landing on the ground meters below. His armor crunched and slowly he stood. The enemy crowded around and he lunged at the first few who foolishly dared to challenge him. His glinting steel sword tore through their armor like paper and their blood sprayed into the air. More came toward him and he threw his blade into the chest of a large berserker. As that warrior fell, Zeus pulled his staff from his shield and jabbed it toward three swordsmen. Electricity arced from its tip and shook them into unconsciousness. As it recharged, Zeus spun it and used the sharp, lightning bolt end as a dagger, stabbing it into the faces and legs of all who came toward him. His raging Chara caused many of the enemy to waver and heave. Several kept coming and Zeus pulled his sword from the chest of the dead man, swiping it across those who came near enough.
Suddenly, he felt a tap on his shoulder. Zeus turned and saw that it was Cronus.
"You've failed me again, son." The large man then leveled an automatic weapon at Zeus' face and pulled the trigger.
Slowly, Zeus opened his eyes. He didn't awaken with a start. He wasn't sweating. His heart wasn't even beating quickly. In times of stress, many of his dreams included death at the hands of his father. Lately, he had gotten used to this again, as Zeus was experiencing more stress than usual.
After dressing, Zeus walked into Olympus' hallways. He then took the lift a few floors up and walked in the corridor outside of the command center. He hadn't been inside for decades, but he knew the time was coming again.
He hesitated in front of the door. He thought about the Cylons, the Thirteenth Tribe. It was a mistake to let them live centuries ago. Now they knew the Olympians' secret. At least some of them did. And they bombed his temple.
"Father?" Ares said after sliding open the door.
Zeus was caught off guard but he nodded and stepped inside as though he had just arrived. "What's the word?"
Ares walked back toward a console and sat down. "No word on the bomber. Still no sign of the priestess. Anywhere. If she got back to Cyme or Megara, she did so outside of the usual means."
Zeus nodded. It had been two months since she came. He wasn't ready to deal with all of this. He didn't want to, rather. Zeus had just wrapped up the Hecate unpleasantness, Atlas said he, too, wanted to depart for good, and now this?
"Agents have investigated the Ioles in Cyme. None are priestesses and all seem to have been in place for some time."
"Keep an eye on them. What about Ioles in Megara?"
"There are many, to say the least." Ares pressed a panel and then said, "Most of them are accounted for and some are not."
Zeus exhaled for a long moment. His shoulders slumped forward and he looked at the floor. He took in a breath and lifted his head again. It was time to get to work. No more of this self-flagellation.
"Coordinate with the chief archon's security forces. Get every bit of information they have on those terrorists." Ares nodded. "Tomorrow evening, march in a battalion of soldiers. Round up everyone on your suspect list and shoot them."
"But … they're Cylons. They'll just download."
Zeus stood still for a moment. He nodded once and then said, "Take in a wide-range communications jammer. These Cylons' transferral systems are still primitive. The jammers will block a great many signals."
Ares seemed taken aback. After a moment, he nodded. "Yes, sir."
Zeus stepped up behind Ares and touched his shoulder. "Also, order a company of your mechanized Cylons to stand by … with the soldiers."
"Why?"
Zeus looked down for a moment before he looked into Ares' eyes, "In case these terrorists spread our secret to the troops. We'll need the Cylons as insurance."
Ares grit his teeth. After a moment, he returned his attention to the console.
Zeus turned and walked out of the command center. He moved down the corridor and his pace slowed. More than three thousand years. If it all had to end now, was he ready for it?
No. Not like this.