Tales From Olympus: Gods Reunited Read online

  I looked over at Arina and the Three Embers, who seemed enraptured by my story, possibly because I never shared much of my life before meeting them. “I heard a noise but didn't think anything of it. After a few minutes, I got impatient. I called out, and when my brother didn't respond, I went on guard and moved around the tree.”

  I bit my cheek, trying hard not to laugh as I explained, “My genius brother had chosen to relieve himself in front of the hollowed out log of a log-skitter nest. There he was, his pants down, as he lay on the ground, arms glued to his sides with that sticky mucus, being tugged into the log by a skitter.”

  I couldn't hold back as the men all started chuckling, and I laughed out to my brother's embarrassed dismay. “The skitter had stung him in the ass while he did his thing.”

  Now the women of Asgard were grinning at my brother as Intark, and Inatra burst out into boisterous, gut-busting laughter.

  I shrugged. “I should have left him there, but he was my brother, and I suppose I'd have missed him if he was eaten. So I dispatched the log-skitter and injected Eros with the anti-toxin.”

  I looked around with a grin. “I promised I would never tell a soul. Needless to say, I was already sharing the story with every Olympian we passed as we re-entered the Citadel. It is a legend even today.”

  Eros finger struck again. “Thank you for that, sister.”

  I waved him off. “My pleasure.” Indeed it was. He had always been mother and father's favorite who could do no wrong. It is the one story I have of him to show everyone he isn't perfect like our parents insist. That he is fallible just like the rest of us. I can't help but love the aggravating man, he is my brother after all. And I missed him so when we all thought our captured brethren dead eons ago.

  We had always had a well-entrenched sibling rivalry. And loathe as I am to admit it, he truly is better at everything than me except for fighting and one other thing. I am the better shot. Math had always been the one thing I excel in, and I can instantly calculate an arrow's trajectory, taking into account all the external environmental data that could alter its hypersonic course.

  Truth be told, I was quite proud of my brother.

  I looked at the five moons in the sky, where the largest of which, Remus, had started blotting out the sun as it prepared to set. “This is as good a place as any to bed down for the night. After our evening meal, Rhodos, Janus, you have first watch with Intark and me.”

  Janus muttered something like, “Tyching firstborns, always snapping orders.”

  I stared at the volatile man who in some regards reminded me of Loki, as he had two personalities living inside him. You could almost see the transition as his more pleasant personality took control, “Of course, Artemis.” I winked at the man who was amused at his own outburst.

  I could not be faulted for being a firstborn, it wasn't as if I had chosen to be of the first line born of Zeus and Hera. Though voices on the wind rumor I may be of an affair father had with Leto. Which really didn't matter, as we were all related, coming from the same genetic stock, which is why we have always had to limit our population to prevent too much inbreeding which results in erratic manifestations such as Janus.

  Father had bedded only mother, unlike the first and secondborns who were bred by the Frost Giants like cattle... like me, to get our population to the desired thousand that our Frost Giant masters required. Sometimes we tried to resist the neural inhibitors, but if we didn't do as we were ordered... we found ourselves with one less firstborn until we obeyed.

  I have always had an aversion to physical relationships since the first children I had, I was nothing more than an animal to be bred in the Jotunn's eyes. Ten children of mine all begot ten children. Then we had strict, self-regulated population control to prevent the aberrations of inbreeding.

  My brothers and sisters never speak of it with each other as we all have children begotten from our forced couplings with each other. I know it all sounds so unnerving and morally bent, but all civilizations started the same way. It all begins with two and then inbreeding until they have a fairly stable genetic base, complete with imperfections. It was the same for all the races, only – voluntary as opposed to us.

  Perhaps that is why the only romantic relationship I have ever had was with a woman, where I didn't need fear the stigma nor feel as if it were what I was expected to do. I flushed at the thought of Caenis, the mischievous firstborn who I had coupled with off and on over the eons, whenever my need to physically be with someone to let me know I was not alone, overpowered me.

  I cannot tell you how tempted I was in Asgard, with all the beautiful people around vying for my bed. I had been tempted only twice when my need was great, but the ones I had my eyes on, had eyes for only each other. Maybe once we settle back in, I can call upon the beautiful redhead to sate my hunger.

  I glanced back at our party. Of the three hundred Olympian refugees in Valhalla who were freed from the enslavement of the Titans, only two hundred and three wished to return home to Olympus. None of the men had ever known this world, as we found it in our efforts to hide from the Frost Giants and Titans, they would only know the Citadel.

  The rest had varied reasons not to return. Some were ashamed of their enslavement, of their willingly working with and breeding with the Titans as they were under the control of the nano-phage that induced a false love and submissiveness. Some simply wished to stay in the rich and diverse culture in Valhalla.

  A few, we would return to Valhalla to retrieve later. The ones who could not shake the mental conditioning, those who still swore allegiance to Queen Rhea of the Titans, who they believed was their goddess. These men were a danger to others and themselves as they repeatedly try to do harm to others in the name of their Goddess and try to escape the care of the hospitals in Asgard to return to their Goddesses.

  She waits in her crippled flagship, the Elivagar, which floats beyond the asteroid belt in the Ragnarok system as it is slowly repaired. It would take decades if not centuries before the ship was repaired enough to leave the system with sublight or FTL drives.

  We have taken to calling these men, the Stricken. Kate has shared with me that on Earth, their condition is known as the Stockholm Syndrome.

  Samantha asked, “Firstborn?”

  I smiled because she had beat the ever curious Arina to the question, her mouth already half open. Sam had always been inquisitive, and she seems to suck up knowledge like a sponge. I shook my head – how had such a tall well-adjusted woman come from her mother, Kara, the small Valkyrie with so much fire. Her height was from Kate, her fire from both.

  I patted the stone I sat on, and she grinned like the young woman she appeared, even though she now had countless centuries under her own belt now. She hopped up onto the rock and pulled her knees to her chest to hear my answer. I had long since got over the odd feeling of synchronicity around the Three Embers as they all cocked their heads at the same time in entreaty for me to explain.

  They are the first Asgard with the third generation evolution of the sentient nanites, Verr, streaming through their veins. It is believed they all share a peripheral consciousness through the nanite link they share, while still possessing their own individual personalities and emotions.

  This individuality is most apparent in their choices of mates, the sweet Gentle Essa loves the huge and impulsive Ragnarok, Intark dearly... whereas the headstrong Brunie enthusiastically butts heads with the equally headstrong Valkfela, Talia. Sam? Well, Samantha... hmm... she is in love with knowledge and seems to share Kara's embarrassment about public displays of affection. Kate lovingly refers to her firstborn as bookish.

  I have found that since we arrived here on Olympus, the big sister protective feeling I have had for them has intensified. I am responsible for them, and I know the worry Kate and Kara must be feeling with them away. It is the same I feel for all my descendants here on Olympus. At least Brunhilde has her parents here.

  I often wondered what it would be like to have a singl
e mate to live out my life with. A relationship born out of love and mutual respect instead of one of duty and necessity to propagate our species. Perhaps feeling used to breed is another reason I have been adverse to courting.

  I looked at the Asgard who were listening and explained. “You know that I am what you would call the Ruling Caste of Olympus?”

  They nodded, and I felt sort of remiss, never sharing the details of our culture with those I call my new family. Our race has always been so closed off and secretive as we refined the ability to hide away from those who would hunt us, or those who might inadvertently bring them to our doorstep.

  I wondered how to explain a concept that might be misinterpreted. “Well, all Olympians came from the First. Zeus and Hera, who were designed in the bio-labs of Ymir. To stop the aberrant drift of the design, they opted to breed the First, instead of cloning. So over the first hundred cycles... years, the Firstborns were, well, born... It wasn't until our numbers reached one thousand three centuries later, meeting that strange Jotunn symmetry they strive for, that they turned off our neural inhibitors and allowed us to think for ourselves for the first time in our lives.”

  I closed my eyes and savored that first breath again, as I thought my first thought free of control, seeing all the possibilities of my existence rolling out before me. I smiled at the memory. “That is the day we truly were born. Free thought. That was our greatest gift from the Frost Giants and their folly. Why would we want to take the gift of life from others for them, when we had just finally experienced it for ourselves.”

  I opened my eyes and took Samantha's hand as if to share the feeling through our hands, that we lived. Then I gave her hand a squeeze and released it. “The Firstborn have no deviation from the template genetic markers of the First, but with each generation, the code degrades, the dense DNA and chromosomal makeup of each successive generation show degradation of their genetic makeup.”

  I sighed. “Which is why we must limit our population, and why it is more favorable for us Firstborn to be the progenitors.”

  Arina nodded as she listened and said more for the girls than anyone else as the Ragnarok and the older Asgard are aware of the fact, “For any civilization to have a diverse enough genetic pool to survive, it has to have at least fifty thousand individuals to avoid gradual degradation of that pool.”

  The girls started nodding then Sam's eyes widened as she looked at me, the other Embers eyes moving to me at the same moment. Yes... they realized what the others had known. I have been used for breeding to keep my race alive. Something I both take pride in and feel shamed for. The first time we had no choice, but the second time to save our race, I did it out of duty.

  I looked up from where I was rubbing my palm with my thumb as the three girls and Arina all reached over to touch me, sharing their empathy for something they couldn't imagine. Inatra was just looking away into the forest. I knew of their generational ships though she didn't wish to speak of such things.

  The men on those ships fought and took what they wanted, that always ensured the strongest of offspring to continue the lines as the ships took centuries to reach their targets. But it speaks volumes of the strength of the small Ragnarok woman, that she had never had a child until she did with Arina. There wasn't a Ragnarok male on her father's ship ferocious enough to best her.

  I waved it all away and smiled. “Enough of this, let's set camp and supper. Everyone needs sleep. There's another exciting day of jungle travel ahead of us on the morrow.”

  That was the signal for the rest of us to get in gear and pitch in, at least we wouldn't have to worry about a log-skitter trying to share body heat with us as we slept tonight. They were very territorial, and we wouldn't find another for at least a thousand yards or so.

  I saw the rolling of eyes at my mention of more of the same tomorrow and had to chuckle.

  Chapter 2

  Mount Olympus

  The next morning, I awoke when the last watch moved back into camp. I smiled at Sam, who looked so out of place each night, Kitty had noted too that her sisters... well sister and Brunie who may as well have been her sister had someone to bed with and she for the first time in her life felt the odd woman out. So Kitty opted to share her bedroll with Sam, who she saw as her own big sister.

  I took in the sky as the sun started peeking between the horizon and the red moon Tartarus. I inhaled the air of home, taking in all the scents and letting them fill me with familiarity as I compared it all with my memories. I always feared I would forget home if I were away too long, even though it was an impossibility as our brains were designed for total recall.

  I flicked a pebble toward Inatra. She caught it without looking back at me, and I grinned, amazed at how much sensory input their nanites, their Verr, gave them. I wouldn't be surprised if it hadn't been the tiny biological machines who moved her arm to catch the pebble. But Inatra was awake now as she looked back at me with a toothy grin of warning. She was such fun to tease.

  She started shaking Arina gently awake. The movement of the returning watch waking the camp in waves, the Ragnarok, Vangr, and Asgard woke first, then Eros, and the rest of our people. Had our men lost so much of their situational awareness being locked away in the metal walls of the Elivagar for so very long?

  I smiled and started to tell everyone to break their fast so that we could roll up camp and continue our quest. But Kitty was already diving into the air with a ration pack in hand. Pegasus swooped through the trees, and Kitty landed on her roof in a three-point stance, and they were twisting up above the soaring treetops.

  Inatra chuckled and said fondly as we watched the two dance in the sky, “So impulsive that one.” Then she added as she stepped next to me, “You stink.”

  I shoved the woman's shoulder. “You are plenty ripe yourself, woman. We hadn't anticipated having to trek to the Citadel in the heat of the jungle. We approach the River Styx, and we can see if we can't remedy you smelling like the wrong end of a Ragnarok saber feline.”

  I gave her a toothy grin as she shoved my shoulder. Eros caught me as I stumbled to the side. The silly woman forgets her strength at times... I cocked my eyebrow at her smug face and rethought. Maybe she doesn't.

  Arina called out from where she was stretching out the kinks of sleeping on the ground, “Don't be a brat, Ina.”

  I grinned as Inatra looked sheepishly back at her woman. We all knew who was in charge in their relationship, and it was intriguing that it was the gentle one, not the one who made a habit of punching dinosaurs.

  I sighed as we wrangled up some ration packs, already missing the small portion of the fresh meat we had for supper. I prompted Arina, being in charge of the Asgard Expedition, “We should see Mount Olympus on the horizon by now if not for the jungle canopy. Mind if I borrow a wind-spider before we restart our journey? I just wish to see home.”

  She nodded cutely. And then we went about getting ourselves fed. I was really, really done with these human rations. Did they really believe they tasted good? I'd have to ask Kate when we re-established FTL communications.

  The humans are endlessly fascinating, having the most varied genetic makeup, living on a planet that has a cesspool of such aggressive organisms that their immune systems can fight off just about anything this universe has to throw at them. And besides the Vangr, they are the weakest of the inhabited worlds, but I feel they are the most adaptable and... dangerous when backed into a corner. Their brute force approach to solving problems proved useful in defeating Ymir and the other nine of his crew of the Ginnungagap.

  The men on the Elivagar say that the two humans that were affected by the bio-engineered pheromones the Titans exude were partially successful in resisting the effects, and for that unfortunate ability, they had been dissected by Rhea and her crew to determine just how they accomplished their defiance.

  But now with the antigen to the nano-phage being distributed to all the habitable worlds, and soon to be distributed to Olympus, the Titans will no longer be
able to hold sway over the men of this galaxy. A smile quirked at the corner of my mouth as I added, or some of the woman of Asgard with their ambiguous sexuality.

  Well, us Olympians have the same disregard for gender in our pairings to an extent, but not at the genetic level like the Asgard, which made some of their women susceptible to the charms of Rhea and her kin.

  The Whispering Breeze walked over after deftly detaching Inatra's wind-spider from her back, and she gave it to me with an entertained smile. Her woman was the source of so many of her smiles. I placed the back of my hand to her cheek, as was their custom. I find it quite humorous the almost prudish behavior of the Asgard and their taboo of showing public displays of affection when in truth they were a highly sexual people and just about freely shared their beds with anyone who turned an appreciative eye upon them.

  With the introduction of the other races into their populace, the hidebound Asgard have slowly, over the past few millennia, become more accepting and changing their views as the Humans, Vangr, and Ragnarok had no problem with public displays of affection. The younger Asgard, like the Three Embers, have adopted the practice of hugging those they view as friends and family in public. Which gives me smug satisfaction to see Kara blushing every time she observes it or is a recipient of it. Kate takes great delight in hugging her whenever she can just to embarrass her mate. Zeus' balls, do I love those two.

  I thanked Arina, “Thank you, Little One.” It took me quite some time to understand why all her friends and family called her that when she was taller than many who used the endearment.

  It was explained to me one day, that when Kate the Raging Storm took Arina on as her Second, she had not yet reached full Asgard maturity and looked like a small teen child, belying the centuries she had already lived. It was when she had accidentally received evolved Valkyrie nanites that her body was aged to full maturity by the Verr in her system. And she became the tall, beautiful woman she now is. But the affectation remained.