Trojan War Chapter 39

 

39.

Paris woke up to the differing lights and the scents of the flowers. He recalled last he was in the battle with Menelaus and was to lose his life when around them at the battle site, a series of close explosions occurred and then he was whisked off before he fell unconscious.

“You are awake, Paris. I am impressed for not many did after that last …routing.” Paris turned to look and saw Aphrodite reclined there on the long seat.

“Do not despair. You are not dead and neither myself. You are on my ship, the Scented One.” Aphrodite smiled. The Scented One is the main mothership of Aphrodite’s fleet. It was fashioned in the design of a five-petal flower but each petal held the missile launchers which could do an array of two hundred and fifty in one launch.

“I spirit you away from impending death by King Menelaus. How could I allow that when you were the one chose me over the two Goddess? I would rather be banished than be declared unworthy to the other.”

“Rest now, herdsman. Troy will not be saved by you but by some of us.” Aphrodite smiled.

“I don’t understand.” Paris was still in the dazed state after his battle with Menelaus.

“Call is God’s intervention. Some of us will assist Troy in the coming battles.” Aphrodite replied. “As I speak now, the enemy had been hit by a malfunction in their weapon system courtesy of Apollo and Ares. They have implanted in the malicious program that disables the system.”

“Then I shall tell King Priam to attack them now. They can’t hit us with the new shields and our weapons will terminate their fleet.” Paris tried to get up but he could not move.

“Patience, herdsman. I said disable not shutdown. The Archaeon was not built in seven sunrises, and it won’t be that easy to win all of them by then.” Aphrodite looked at Paris. “What we are doing is to give Troy a chance to breathe. Honestly, we have not decided to see who may win but we just want to see who dare to win.”

Meantime, King Menelaus had also recovered in the chamber at King Tyndareus palace. He found himself laid on the bedding and his armor removed. He saw the King and asked about the outcome of the battle.

“Did I win?”

“I don’t know. All we knew was that there were some explosions and then a small ship was seen leaving but we could not pursue. Our ships are without any weapons and then we saw the ship identified as Chariot One was in pursuit and followed on by the other Chariots. It seemed that they were hiding behind the moon and unknown to the world’s defenses.” King Tyndareus replied. “We recover you from the surface and your armor damaged but you are unhurt.”

“My victory is cheated.” King Menelaus roared. “I will hunt you Paris of Troy.”

At that moment, Polydorus had called on all halt to the Chariots in pursuit of the small ship. He called the halt when he saw the ship rendezvous with the huge mothership that he identified as belonging to the Olympians.

“We will call off the pursuit. I need to see King Priam.”  

The intervention of Aphrodite did not miss the attention of the other Olympians. Zeus called for a gathering of the Gods and Goddess. The gathering was held in the Great Hall at Zeus Tower.

“Who dares to defy my …” Zeus was interrupted by Hera.

“Do we stand by when eleven world bullies one?” Hera looked at Zeus. “Are we not the Olympians who manage the truce on the worlds?”

That last statement sent murmurs among the gathered. Zeus turned to look at the other eleven that he considered his appointed class of Gods.

“I gave the order not to intervene. The worlds needed the respite from peace to ease their tensions.” Zeus uttered his reasoning.

“And to allow eleven worlds to bully that one? I called it rather unfair.” Hera defended the intervention.

“And you choose to do it without confiding with me?” Zeus was upset. “Who else had intervened?”

“I may have before the war has done something …” Hephaestus voiced out. “I share with them my new metal and they had it embedded into their core and shields, and weapons but it’s of limited quantity.”

“Fool!” Zeus was upset. “Why the Trojan? Do you know the Trojans like the Spartans are a warring nation among the twelve worlds here? They are not Babylon or Hellas. Those are cultural worlds.”

“The Trojans are weak from the war with us. I did what was needed then to assist them using them to test it but I was unaware a war was to occur.” Hephaestus replied. “Too soon.”

“Zeus, the war can end with quick results. Let me release my weapons. Troy will be gone by the next rise of the moon.” Ares snapped in.

“Ares, do you mock me? I know that you had released the malicious program that disabled the weapons of the fleet. You worked with Apollo on that. You knew that the weapon was ours to hold and use only when needed but only on my command. Not yours or …. Hera.”

“Zeus…” Hera had raised her voice.

“Spare me your excuses, woman. I know what you had done. And I will caution you all. I want the war unattended by us. If you act otherwise, I will banish you.” It was what Zeus had repeated but the tides of war had already the Gods and Goddess roles.

“Send words to Hector of Troy. I will see him.” Artemis was the next defy Zeus.

So was Hephaestus.

“The Trojans mocked me with my metal. I will provide the Achaean the next best designs of my own.

Well, not all. Some had chosen to defy their alliance.

“Aphrodite, your lover’s herdsman had stirred up the nest of hornets.” Athena approached Aphrodite. “Are you to sit on the side while Troy fell and Helen returned to her rightful lover?”

“Athena, my lover. To whom Helen chose to be her lover had been made known. Have you?” Aphrodite taunted the other of Athena’s vow before Zeus that she will remain alone with anyone.

“Yet you hold a string of them and which one of your children knew who their real father is.” Athena shamed the other. “I am also known as the Goddess of War, and I don’t need to display it so blatantly like your one lover, Ares.”

The rift between the two Goddesses was to deepen and Athena decided to partake against Ares.

“Where Ares may be, I shall be.”