IOLE
2,057 Years Before the Final Exodus
For the first time in months, Iole felt truly relaxed. She spent the evening in a restaurant in Megara, playing the piano. She hadn't done that for some time.
She helped Aurora organize and lay out the plans for Megara itself and its expansion. She helped families who wanted to move away and into the rest of Kobol. They faced some discrimination and rumors. Even after centuries, the collective memory of people couldn't be ignored.
And then the bombings came. Temples, government offices, and more. Chief Quorum Archon Eris said Megaran separatists were to blame. Aurora spoke out against that but many in the media didn't acknowledge her. She had been away from Olympus too long, the goddess figured, to carry any weight. She even began to fear that her outspoken nature was drawing too much attention to the Tribe.
Iole finished her soft, romantic tune and the restaurant's patrons applauded. She smiled and repositioned her fingers on the keys, about to start another song, when the doors burst open.
From the kitchen and the front entrance, armed men dressed in black and gray ran into the dining area. The patrons screamed and recoiled from the sight of their weapons. They stormed from table to table, examining everyone.
"I will make this quick," an officer said, holding up a few pictures. He scanned the room and pointed to several people. "Him. Her. Him. Him." Then he saw Iole behind the piano and he pointed. "Her."
"What?" she said. "Why?"
"We're here on orders from the Chief Quorum Archon and we will execute our duties. Please come with us calmly."
Iole remembered what Aurora had said. Comply and assist with their investigation. She didn't raise her voice or object when two armed men came to her piano bench and one lifted her arm up. She stumbled away from the keyboard and the bench fell over. She looked back and said, "I need to get my …"
"We're going. Now." The officer turned and moved toward the door. Six Megarans in all were being carted away.
It was night when she stepped outside. Up and down the street, dozens of other soldiers were pulling people from offices, shops, diners, and more. Everyone was being placed in trucks and as Iole was pushed along, she felt someone grab her wrists and begin to bind them.
"Hey, what's that for?"
"For our protection and yours, ma'am," the soldier said.
She was lifted up and pushed onto a bench. The night air was punctuated by the protests of more people as they were herded onto trucks. Iole stopped looking outside and then around at her fellow detainees. Of the eleven people on the truck, nine were Ioles. A soldier lifted a Crassus onto the truck next. That would be the second one of him. And then there was a third.
"What do you know?" one of the Ioles asked.
Iole Auroratous shook her head. "I don't know anything. They just came in and took us."
"What the frak?"
"It's about the bombings," a Crassus said. "It has to be."
Iole nodded silently and watched as another Iole, another Crassus and a Cimon were loaded onto the truck. The soldier tapped the butt of his rifle on the gate loudly and yelled toward the front. "Full! Go!"
The engine turned over and it lurched forward. The Megarans all leaned to one side as the truck turned and accelerated out of the city. Soon, they were on a highway. Iole recognized the landmarks they passed. They were moving south. Away from Megara and away from Cyme. There wasn't much to the south. Some plains. A few algae farming communities.
They turned hard to the west. One of the Ioles began muttering to herself. She was praying. After a few minutes, they turned again. And again. Iole Auroratous shook her head. She had no idea where they were going now.
After almost half an hour, the truck stopped. Three soldiers moved to the gate; two had their weapons trained inside. The third soldier unlatched and lowered the barrier. "Let's go. Out."
They stood up and hunched over because of the low ceiling. The people in front of Iole were helped out and then directed to the right. The soldier grabbed her elbow and she stepped off the truck. She looked up and saw hundreds of her fellow Megarans.
"Gods," she said quietly. Soldiers were lining a path with weapons raised, but not necessarily aimed. They seemed to form a kind of gauntlet directing people down a slope. There was a lot of chatter and Iole smelled the ocean nearby.
"Look at this," one soldier said as she walked past. "I mean, what the frak?"
"All these bitches look the same."
Iole lowered her head. She shuffled along behind dozens of others. On her right, a Crassus struggled and a soldier calmed him by hitting him with the stock of his rifle. She looked up and saw a ridge ahead. All of the prisoners were being pushed down a ramp toward the beach. The headlights of several trucks were illuminating the scene and she saw a line of about two hundred Cylon warriors along the ridge.
She stepped off the sidewalk ramp and onto the sand. This was a public beach. The military had closed it for this … whatever this was. Her high-heeled shoes proved a detriment in the sand and she kicked them off. She looked around but it was dark on the shore. She heard the waves crashing and she could see silhouettes of people standing ahead. Lots of people. She filed past an officer who was using a flashlight to read a clipboard and Iole stopped.
"Excuse me, sir," she began. "I'm Iole Auroratous Megarii. I'm Goddess Aurora's personal assistant. I demand to know what's going on."
The brigadier looked up from his clipboard and said, "You do? How do I know you're Aurora's personal assistant?"
Two soldiers stepped alongside the general and Iole became nervous. "Well, for one thing, my name. I took it after the goddess."
"Fine. Do you have your ID?"
Iole closed her eyes and winced. "When I was taken from the restaurant, I wasn't allowed to retrieve it."
"I see." He lifted the flashlight toward the beach and scanned it across the faces of the hundreds of people standing there. "How do I know that one of these women isn't Aurora's assistant?"
With some exceptions, they were all Ioles.
She swallowed hard and looked at the brigadier again. "I … I don't know."
He nodded and motioned toward the crowd. "Keep moving."
Iole hesitated but another soldier came behind her and prodded her forward. She shuffled across the sand a few more meters and was shoved into the clutch of people. She heard muffled cries and hushed conversations.
Someone asked, "Are you an Iole, too?"
She nodded first. A moment later, she said, "Yes."
"What's going on?"
Iole Auroratous shook her head. "I don't know."
She stood for some time. More trucks arrived and more people were funneled down the ramp toward the beach. They were all herded into the group. Iole became increasingly nervous. She shook her head and shuffled from foot to foot in the sand. Soon, she realized she had to pee.
"May I have your attention!" the brigadier yelled. Once he did, floodlights from the ridge next to the Cylons were activated and bathed the beach. The gathered Megarans turned their heads to shield their eyes for a moment before they got used to the light.
"You are all gathered here under orders from Chief Quorum Archon Eris Castorina Lisii." The general paced as he read from his clipboard, "'In accordance with Chief Quorum Archon Executive Order twenty-seven, you are all hereby under arrest for terrorism, treason, and blasphemy.'"
The crowd gasped and began to respond angrily. They denied it, of course.
"'In accordance with the law for acts of terrorism, treason, and blasphemy, you are all to be executed for your crimes.'"
Dozens of screams came from the group. Several people collapsed into the sand. Iole felt as though the ground was giving way beneath her. She wavered, but she stayed erect.
"What about a trial?" someone yelled. There was no response.
The plaintive wails continued. Iole looked toward the general and she saw him give a spinning motion with his right hand. Two large cylinders on either side of him were turned on and panels lit up along their surface. A loud whirring noise began to compete with the waves. A soldier stationed on one of the cylinders yelled over the din, "Jammers' up."
'Jammers?' Communication jammers?
The general walked between the devices and row after row of soldiers moved into position in front of the Megarans. Iole's mouth fell open and she took a deep breath. Her face felt hot as she realized it might be her last.
"Frak you!" a man yelled. To Iole, it sounded like a Crassus. "Freedom for the Thirteenth!"
He yelled it again and again. A small chorus joined him, but the vast majority of the Megarans remained silent.
Iole exhaled quickly and then inhaled slowly. Perhaps this was her last. After a moment, she breathed again. Maybe this one.
"Ready," the brigadier yelled. "Aim."
"Thirteen!" the Crassus yelled once more.
"Fire."
Iole closed her eyes and heard the jarring blasts of dozens of automatic rifles. Blood-curdling screams overpowered the waves and the jammers. She stood still, her eyes clenched tightly, waiting for the bullets. She felt warm blood spray onto her face. She thought for a moment about how many people were between her and the soldiers. She couldn't guess but she didn't dare open her eyes.
Finally, she felt a bullet hit her shoulder. She flinched, let out a slight cry, and thought about falling. She decided not to. A moment later, three bullets rippled across her torso and two hit her head. She fell into the bleeding heap and died.