11th September 2012
20:51 GMT
We're escorted at walking pace through the interior of New Cronus. Burn marks, battle damage, broken bodies and blood are on display throughout the route of the attackers' advance, their own dead being tided up for eventual removal and final disposition. The dead of the defenders are mostly left where they fell, except where that left them in the way. Then they have been dragged aside and dumped.
That one has a wound-. They fell, were dragged and found to still be alive and they received a coup de grâce shot to the head.
Athyns' fists clench as he notices.
Heavy doors open in front of us and we emerge onto one of the upper gantries overlooking the launch bay. The cruiser is still attached to the entrance, blocking the view of space while giving an excellent view of its guns. Three are pointed in our direction, and while I'm confident that I could block them I'm pretty sure that would kill Athyns.
Below on the deck, the attackers have set up an ersatz medical bay. Their wounded are laid out on beds, medics treating their wounds while new arrivals are seen by a New God in glowing overalls. Some… I can't see any wounds. Some sort of stun effect? If they got hit with some sort of neural shock device but the attackers were pushed back, that's certainly possible.
"Here." The lead of our escort points to the open cargo entrance of a small cargo hauler. "We will fly around the exterior, that you might know the hopelessness of your position."
So. Confident of their control of the exterior, but less sure about the interior. That portion of the exterior, anyway. That's still worrying, because there were a lot of soldiers with Oceanus Junior. And… Oceanus himself, of course. Though I suppose that they might simply have retreated inwards or around the outer hull.
"My position is seldom hopeless." I step aboard and then turn. "But an overview-."
"Wait!" At One With My Mission.
Our escorts stop, and Athyns frowns as he turns to look along the gantry. The New God I saw a moment ago has left his patients and is heading up to us on a cargo lift.
"Hold!" The New God jumps up and heads towards us at a jog. "You, Lantern."
"Me, Lantern."
One of our escort steps towards him as he comes towards us.
"My lord, we are ordered-."
The Ascendant gestures with his right hand, and the soldier stops talking. Yes, that's the problem with deifying your leaders. There's nothing to stop them silencing you, even when you know something that they don't.
"Can I help you?"
He comes to a halt, hands hidden in voluminous sleeves. "Our soldiers in comas. Your doing?"
"I've been outside, fighting your starships. I haven't deliberately put anyone I've fought into a coma."
I take a look down towards… Spikes of yellow from the fear-filled dreams that Melinoë has given them.
"It wasn't the false gods or their-" A glance at Athyns. "-slaves. You are the only variable that remains unaccounted for."
"Oh, not true. There's-."
"Lord, Sparta herself has ordered us to take them to her."
"Then board. We will continue this while we travel."
Athyns and the guards climb in, Athyns taking position opposite me near the loading entrance. The Ascendant gets in last, standing between us as the transport lifts off -good inertia controls, I barely feel a thing- and flies into the cruiser's shuttle bay and then out into local space.
Good job I don't get motion sick any more.
"What is causing it?" Divine The Source.
"I suspect that it's one of my colleagues. Melinoë, Goddess of Nightmares and Madness. But since I was told that all of the gods are dead, there's probably nothing that can be done for them."
"How?" Divine Discipline Domin-.
"I can't exactly hear what you're doing, but we have a ceasefire. Keep violating it by trying to alter my behaviour and I'll assume that it's off."
He takes a half-step away, eyes widening.
Athyns shakes his head. "He said nothing of consequence."
"You.. heard-?"
"Yes, I am a demigod. A descendant of Rhea. This doesn't mean that I would go along with that insane-."
"Not… Helpful, Athyns. And the broad outline of the plan seemed sound to me, if the justification was… Reaching a little. But as for your soldiers, anyone Melinoë strikes ends up like that. As far as I know, if she's dead, that's it. Getting them out of it would require her or another nightmare deity." I'd raise my eyebrows but I'm wearing a full face helmet. "Do you have one?"
"No. But once Sparta takes Rhea's full power into herself, it won't matter. She will be able to do it herself."
…
Will she now?
I take a moment to look out of the hatch and I can see that the invaders do indeed have control of this portion of the surface. I can't see any fighting, so either both sides are hunkering down or it's going on inside. I can see patrols and guards around the remaining surface guns.
"So how's that going to work? Rhea created the gods to be compatible with her siblings' power."
"The mechanism by which it will occur is not my concern. But if healing my people requires this 'Melinoë's' assistance, then I will try to ensure that she is kept alive."
"Appreciated."
We land without a bump, smoothly sliding up to the same landing I left by at the start of the engagement.
"Though if any of them die while-."
"People die in combat. If you want them all unharmed, you can always leave. Or just have never come."
"I can do neither."
I step off, Athyns and the guards and the Ascendant following us.
"If it changes your answer, it works on gods, too."
No fighting here, as far as I can see. Either that, or they cleared the way with more thoroughness than they did their landing zone. Coeus might have retreated from the bridge if he could see that he was going to be overrun-.
Then the doors to the bridge open and I see Sparta, her Ascendant bodyguards, the recumbent forms of the gods and the Seeds floating around her. The physician escorts us in and the mortal guards form up to guard the door, which closes behind us.
The Seeds shimmer as Sparta stands, glowering at me as she takes a single step in my direction.
"I win."
