LXXII

APOLLO

2,057 Years Before the Final Exodus

 

Hephaestus and Aphrodite were far down the hall when Zeus stood again. "Let them go."

"Zeus, this is madness," Hestia said.

"I can't believe you'd just let them go," Apollo said.

"Quiet!" He put his hands on his hips. He pulled his pants up somewhat and continued, "Very well, Apollo, what's your story? Did you see an agent of God?"

Apollo looked over at Leto, who was seated next to Aurora. He then caught an expression on Aurora's face. Not a smile, but a slight side-to-side head shaking. "No, father. I did not."

"I guess I should be offended," Leto said.

"And what is your part in all of this?"

Apollo sighed and Leto put her hand on his. She was sitting next to him now. "If you can't mention me, then you can't mention the priests. The temple they're going to build. Minimize your role." Apollo glanced over at Aurora and Leto caught his look, "Don't worry about her. She knows what has to be done."

Apollo cleared his throat, "I gave Aurora and the Megarans advice throughout the years."

Zeus chuffed and sat down, "'Advice?' Really? You expect me to believe that?"

"And a map." Zeus raised his eyebrows. "I pulled some of Atlas' stellar cartography files and pointed them in the direction of a habitable planet."

There was murmuring around the table and Zeus shook his head. "Which one?"

"Earth."

"Unbelievable," Zeus said. He breathed in and out, slowly. Finally, Zeus looked at Aurora and then to Apollo. "Mark my words: you'll be lucky if these people make it there. It's a journey fraught with danger."

"They will make it," Aurora said.

"If they do," Zeus said, "they will not find hospitality waiting for them on Earth. The probes we sent found cold conditions …"

"Thousands of years ago," Apollo said. "Probably a minor ice age."

Zeus continued, "Likely unpredictable climate shifts, frequent seismic activity. Pretty, though the world may be, there is a harshness to it. You both may have condemned your Cylon subjects to death."

"Like you." Apollo regretted, briefly, saying that out loud. Then, he felt a surge run through him and Leto put a hand on his shoulder.

"Do it."

Apollo stood up and pointed at Zeus, "You ordered the murders of seven hundred Cylons."

"What?" Asclepius and Dionysus said.

Apollo looked around the table at the gods' faces. "He had the military round up suspected insurrectionists, drive them out to the beach, activate communications jamming devices …"

"Zeus?" Hestia said.

"… and then had them killed. Of the seven hundred Cylons on that beach, less than two hundred were able to download safely."

"Why?" Helios asked.

Zeus said nothing. He sat quietly and glanced around the room. "Our secret was known."

"One priestess … guessed," Apollo said.

"She could've told others!" Zeus yelled. The Lords were still stunned. They gazed at him with open mouths. He noticed this and he said, more calmly, "It would have been a matter of time before others figured it out, too."

"That's a risk we've always taken, Zeus," Athena said. "You know that."

"You said we would discuss this again if a problem arose," Dionysus mumbled.

"We just stripped an archon of her powers for disobeying us, for going behind our back," Zeus angrily said while pointing toward the wall and the corridor beyond. "Now there are three of us who did the same thing under my nose and I'm just supposed to let it go?"

"You're changing the subject," Hestia said. "You ordered a slaughter …"

"We've done that before," Ares offered.

Zeus nodded at his son thankfully. The gods grew quiet and Zeus said, "Thank you."

"That was different," Aurora said. "But it was also wrong."

Zeus' face again twisted in anger but Apollo spoke before he could, "Because we created FTL and got Cylons – whom you believe were dangerous – off this planet, you're willing to punish us and fracture this council?"

"Yes," Aurora said. "This isn't about you, Zeus. I know your ego has swelled over the millennia, but please."

"Enough!" Zeus barked.

"No, enough with you!" Aurora stood and yelled. Her smile was truly gone now. "You ran this council and this planet for so long, now that neither we nor the humans need you, you still feel the need to flex your muscles."

"Aurora," Zeus said calmly.

"You are an egomaniacal bastard, Zeus."

"Whoa," Hermes said.

"They may think you're the Lord of Lords down there, but in here, you're just another man. Another flawed, simple man."

"Shut up!" Zeus screamed. He leapt from his chair and Ares caught him again. Zeus grunted and began to say something else, but he stopped himself.

The Lords stared again at Zeus and sat still as his outburst echoed into the hallway. Rage still filled every visible muscle and he stood there with Ares' arm wrapped around him, panting.

Aurora turned toward the gods and smiled. "Who among us wishes to remain while he finds that we don't always agree with him as much as we used to?" Helios and Hestia were the first to stand and walk toward the door. After a moment, Dionysus joined them.

"Dionysus?" Zeus asked plaintively. "You would abandon me, too?"

He shrugged, "Sorry, old man. It's just not as much fun as it used to be."

Zeus walked slowly back to his seat and plopped down. Ares stayed behind him with a hand on his shoulder. Hermes and Athena remained seated. Asclepius looked confused. Apollo prepared to stand and join Aurora and the others, but Leto grabbed his shoulder.

"No, Apollo," she said, "you have to stay with your father for a while longer."

Helios, Hestia, and Dionysus left the room. Aurora was still standing, still smiling. Zeus looked at her with disgust and he asked with a cracking voice, "Why aren't you leaving?"

"Oh, I'm leaving. For good." She looked at Asclepius, "I need his help."

Apollo, Athena, and Hermes lowered their heads as they understood. Asclepius shook his, "Aurora, I don't think …"

"It's not your choice, doctor. It's mine."

Apollo looked at Leto without turning his head. She answered his unspoken question, "She'll be fine. Her work is finished. She knows what she's doing."

"Aurora," Asclepius began.

"I'm ready now, Asclepius. Please, escort me to the resurrection pods." She stood by the door with her hand outstretched. Begrudgingly, Asclepius stood and walked over to her. He took her hand and they left the room.

Zeus exhaled loudly and then laid his head on the table. Ares walked away from his father but Athena put a hand on Zeus' arm. "Leave me. All of you."

Slowly, the remaining Lords stood and walked out. In the corridor, they exchanged glances and went their separate ways, saying nothing. Apollo walked to the entryway to take the skycar down and Leto walked with him.

"You know this had to happen."

Apollo shook his head, "I didn't expect today to end like this."

Leto smiled, "The day may be over. But there are plenty more to come. You and Aurora both bought that time."

He scoffed and mumbled, "We didn't even get to mention the Draco and monotheist side of it all."

Leto shrugged. "That's not important right now."

Apollo reached the entrance for the skycar and the doors slid open for him. He stepped inside and looked down the mountain at Theonpolis. Dusk was nearly over and the city's lights were beginning to come on.

"What do I do now?" he asked.

Leto was looking out of the window toward the peaks below as they descended. "Go about your life, son. I may not return for some time, but believe me," she turned and put a hand on his chest, "your work has barely begun."