Planet: Troy
Helen widened her eyes in disbelief, feeling utterly overwhelmed at the sight of the world looming before her viewport. There was a colossal gate that created a belt cinched around the planet covered dazzling scarlet oceans and diamond white continents of land, the moons of Troy were all gathered in a spiraling circle that rose beneath the mighty world.
The gate itself was made of golden oscillating cogs, escape wheels, and barrels as if it were fashioned from the organs of a clock. The dark blood-orange sun was directly behind Troy, casting an amethyst solar eclipse upon the world, fiery bands of silver-violet light lapped aggressively at the fringes of the foreign planet, icy blue stars illuminated the inky black void of space as the onyx Spartan spy vessel crept closer.
Leda had been able to smuggle Helen out of their overcrowded palace by dressing her as a servant and had Clytemnestra guide her sister downstairs while their mother braved the mob of savage mortal-creatures to create a distraction as Nestra took Helen to the hanger. Helen had been able to slip away in the Spartan's elite spy craft; it was virtually undetectable on scanners and was completely invisible to the naked eye once it was within the throes of outer space. Helen was then completely alone; she didn't even have any Spartan android servants aboard with her. Unfortunately, there hadn't even been time to pack a knapsack so she was still in her ceremony suit and furry white cape to keep her swan wings hidden; although technically if she wanted them gone, that could have been arranged too. There seemed to be no defining end to Helen's abnormalities: she was a feature shape-shifter.
She had complete control over the various animal features her body could morph into. Sometimes when she wanted to see miles away she'd transform her eyes into golden eagle eyes, or if she needed to hold her breath underwater she'd swap her raptor eyes out for a set of emerald gills beneath her jaw, or if she needed to hear through walls; wolf ears, cut herself out of a tricky tangle; panther claws. The possibilities were virtually endless however she could only summon one at a time and the option of not having any animal features was non-existent. For some reason, her swan wings were the most natural and comfortable for her. Maybe that was because she was born that way, according to Leda the family found Helen as a baby completely swaddled up in her own snowy white swan wings.
Suddenly the mighty gates around the imposing planet began to open. She softly gasped in alarm and leaned farther back in her chair as the cog wheels slowly spun, clasps unlatched and both sides of the ring elevated upwards, looking like a concave pair of thin wings rising on opposite sides of the planet. The display was so menacing, Helen fought the urge to pilot her craft away from the looming gates, but instead drew a deep breath and shakily leaned forward on the guidance-bars. Her vessel zoomed through the opening and emerged through the cloudy atmosphere.
Mirror-plated single-pilot star-runners zipped through the darkened fuchsia sky to be on either side of the Spartan ship, Helen struggled to peer into the cockpits but even their view-shields were reflective. She nervously followed their lead and eventually cut through the cloud cover and was soaring high above the crashing oceans of blood red waters, dolphins lunged out of the waves like eager spectators, their enormous iridescent rainbow flippers shimmering in the dim light of the hidden sun briefly before they dove back under the surface.
The ocean gave way to a sparkling shoreline that looked like it was made of crushed diamonds, creating a kaleidoscopic wave of light glistening upon the ground. The beaches emptied into a lavish expanse of tall tawny meadows and then, rising out of the fields, was a snowcapped mountain; seemingly chiseled out of the mountain's face was the Trojan royal palace. Helen's ship landed on the hanger that was essentially a ledge on one side of the mountain high above the castle, her escorts leaped out of their vessels and joined the crowd of other Trojans awaiting her appearance on the hanger ground.
The Trojan spectators all softly started talking to each other when they laid eyes on Helen of Sparta, she blushed as she slowly walked down the ramp. She could have been the three headed beast Cerberus to these creatures, they hadn't laid eyes on an outsider in nearly fifty years. She awkwardly gave the crowd a small wave, they all stopped talking and stared. Helen swallowed hard and lowered her hand.
"Your Greatness, welcome!" A gorgeous young Arab in a flowing high-low turquoise skirt and gleaming armored breastplate emerged from the crowds just then. "I am Aeneas, principal lieutenant under the General of the Guard." They bowed briefly after closing the distance between them. Aeneas had striking good looks with unexpectedly dusty blue eyes and had long goddess braids mounted high on their head in a ponytail; the braids were blue ombre and decorated with rings and a rich layer of stubble covered their angular jaw. Their makeup was an equally mesmerizing pallet of blues and greens. "The Royals are eagerly awaiting you to join them in the palace. Shall we?" They flashed a smile and gestured at the flight of stairs carved out of the mountain that steadily spiraled down to ground.
"We...we should," she nodded reluctantly. "We shall, I mean." She anxiously followed as Aeneas led the way down.
"You seem nervous, Your Greatness," Aeneas glanced at her with concern.
"Is it that obvious?" she gulped, suddenly wishing she had paid more attention to her mother's lessons on Ruler Behavior. She was pretty sure Rulers never seemed nervous.
They smiled softly. "You have no need to be worried. The royals are benevolent, noble creatures with mostly mild-manners."
"You speak fondly of them as if they're your own family," she noted with some relief.
"They are my family," Aeneas smiled more. "I'm married to their eldest son."
Helen finally smiled in return. If the rest of the Trojan family were anything like Aeneas, everything would be fine, everything would be just fine, she kept telling herself.
Presently they were crossing the threshold of the castle. Helen's eyes widening as she gazed up at the giant pillars etched with glittering gold that lined the polished patio in front of the opened mirror paneled doors that stretched up to the skies. Once they entered the cool palace, she instantly registered the unencouraging sight of an auguring group of creatures that could have only been the royals standing before a massive water-fountain bubbling with ruby red water. They all turned to look at her; Helen froze in her tracks like a deer in headlights while Aeneas kept walking ahead.
"Your Majesty," they bowed before the Queen of Troy. "I am pleased to present Helen of Sparta." They gestured at the girl they thought was standing right beside them, then did a double take as they realized she was still by the doors.
"Helen, is it?" Hecuba's brow was furrowed but she forced a pained smile. "Well come closer, child, I'm not about to bite."
Helen gulped and timidly made her way over to the Trojan royals. "Your Majesty," she bowed her head briefly, then anxiously blurted out, "thank you so much for having me, things were so tense and crazy back home, I thought they would burn the castle down just to find me!"
"And what makes you think they haven't?" One of the young Trojan royals snapped bitterly, looking her over with disgust.
"Paris," the High Priest Priam shot his son a silencing look. Then smiled warmly at Helen. "Your Greatness, you have nothing to fear now that you are safe and sound here. Your mother Leda is a darling friend of ours and we have assured her that you will be welcomed here for however long you need," he extended his hand and Helen gratefully shook it with both of hers.
"Thank you so much, I just...have no idea what to even think right now!"
"Is it true?" The prince standing at Aeneas' side demanded curiously. "Did you really slay a goddess? I mean, we've all seen the footage but -"
"Deiphobus, shut up," Priam shot him a scandalized look. "I can't believe you would ask her such a thing!"
"I-I didn't mean to," Helen gulped, looking around desperately as the ever growing more familiar feeling of being cornered overwhelmed her yet again.
"So, you just accidently happened to thrust the galaxy into a war with the gods?" Paris snapped; his blazing amber eyes flashed.
"Th-there isn't a war!" Helen exclaimed helplessly. "Creatures just got...got caught up in the moment, I'm sure everyone is really sorry about what happened -"
"Everyone? Everyone didn't kill the goddess. You did." Paris fired at her.
"Paris, can we not attack her the instant she steps through the doors?" Hecuba hissed with exasperation. Then forced another smiled as she turned to face the girl, "I'm sure you're incredibly drained from your journey. I'll have you escorted up to the room we've prepared, and you can get freshened up for dinner -"
"Yeah, but don't get too comfortable," Paris interrupted his mother. "Because I'm not so sure how long you'll be staying."
Helen flinched. Just then two armor clad soldiers emerged into the room from a side passageway. One was exceptionally tall and radiantly beautiful with cascading tawny brunette ringlets streaming out around her armored shoulders as she strode over with a helmet under her arm, a brilliant smile on her lovely face. Her vibrant green eyes seemingly glowed with energy. "I'm sorry I'm late, everyone," she stuck out her hand as she neared Helen. "You must be the Ruler of Sparta. I'm Hekta, Your Greatness, the General of the Queen's Guard."
"It's my honor, General," Helen bowed her head briefly, then insisted, "Please just call me Helen, I'm not so sure my mother's decree was ever really finished or not..." Was it selfish to hope that it hadn't been?
Hekta shrugged a shoulder, "As you wish. Helen, this is Cass," she introduced the beautiful soldier at her side. "They're the Commander of the Blue Squadron and if Aeneas is my right hand, that makes Cass here my left," she good-naturedly shook Cass' shoulder.
Helen shook hands, "Pleasure to meet you."
"Same," Cass smiled brightly in a way that instantly made Helen feel welcomed. "So, Helen, have you met the whole clan yet?"
"I-I think so," she gulped as she looked everyone over. Hecuba, the grand Queen with her stunning silver streaked six-strand braid and imposing crown, Priam the High Priest who despite his tan seemed particularly pale in comparison to his golden-brown family, his long snow-white hair pulled back in a loose braid, and then there were their five children: Hekta, Deiphobus, Polyxena, Cass and Paris. Deiphobus was a sensational head-turner -they all were- with rich inky black hair streaked with bright blue and even had two blue stripes in his closely cropped beard. Polyxena worn a solid black ring on the middle finger of her right hand and had exceptionally bright scarlet-orange hair with dark roots and a face full of striking piercings. Cass had a buzzed haircut with a knight chess piece shaved against the side of their head and wore metallic purple lipstick, their plush eyelashes made their laughing green eyes seem huge, and then there was Paris.
Paris of Troy had something of an iconic look to him, with dark bronzy curly hair ever so beautifully rumpled and a clean shaved jaw that extenuated his strong jawline. Thick eyelashes framed his vivid amber eyes and dramatically arched eyebrows added to his intense expression. His scowl deepened his dimples, and a collection of tattoos were scattered over his strongly built arms crossed loftily over his chest as he scrutinized Helen of Sparta before him. He wore a single golden earring in one ear and kept nail polish only on the middle finger of both hands.
Helen offered him a small, hopeful smile, he looked as insulted as if she had just flipped him off. Helen blushed and looked away again.
"Well, c'mon," Hekta spoke up. "I'll show you to your apartment then we'll talk over dinner, okay?"
"Thank you," she nodded gratefully and turned to follow her.
"Oh hey, Helen!" Cass called, she turned around again to see Cass smile. "Welcome to Troy."
***
Moon: Mycenae of the Spartan System
"Creatures are really losing their shit over this..." Agamemnon muttered absently as he stared at the vibrant red screens that lit up the otherwise dark living room in his manor.
"Agamemnon, you've been watching the news for three days straight, turn that off and get yourself some dinner, hm?" Clytemnestra leaned against the archway between rooms, busy texting away on her tablet. Her husband didn't bother asking who she was talking with, he already knew even if she didn't think he did.
"Can't eat," he muttered, still staring as if in a trance at the red glowing screens lit in a semi-circle around him on the couch.
"Then at leastwise go to bed,"
"Can't sleep..." His bronze eyes flickered back and forth between news reports. It seemed like the entire galaxy was outside of Sparta's door, everyone was demanding to know where the Hades the God-Slayer was at. "This revolt thing is really taking off..." He leaned back thoughtfully and stroked his chin, thoughts tumbling over one another in his head.
"Huh?" Nestra finally looked up from her tablet, her dark eyes briefly glancing at the screens that showed reporters and other creatures lining up outside of her childhood home. Sparta was struggling to contain the masses, there was even talk about closing the spaceports to discourage visitors. Something sinister was rippling throughout the galaxy and it was echoing through Sparta, practically shaking the entire world loose. "This doesn't look like it's getting better," she bit her lip.
"No. It doesn't," Agamemnon glanced at his HALO tablet on the couch beside him, there were hundreds of miscalls waiting for him to view from various members of his Mycenaean council, everyone wanted to know what he was going to do to help the Spartans, Mycenaean's major system. "In fact, it really looks like the galaxy is about to explode," he muttered.
Nestra glanced at him in concern, always feeling uneasy whenever his mind went to the dark, closed off place she couldn't reach. He had been increasingly more withdrawn and agitated since the death of their eldest child, Iphigenia. Iphigenia really was a die-hard Daddy's Girl and was undoubtably Agamemnon's proudest achievement. They had done everything together, shared all the same passions, had all the same ambitions, talked about everything under the stars, and dared each other to do things out of their comfort-zones; they were practically as close as twins. Tragically his precious Iphigenia was killed turning a festival for Phoebe Artemis that had turned violent when a riot broke out between the religious worshipers and the technological worshipers.
Dozens of creatures were slaughtered in the senseless rampage that was supposed to have been a joyful celebration, Iphigenia was only eighteen. Agamemnon had never been the same since her death. He had grown cold, bitter and was spiteful to the gods, particularly Artemis who apparently hadn't deemed the disturbance significant enough to intervene. He was really beginning to think that a war with the gods right then was exactly what the galaxy needed, was exactly what he needed. It was time the divines were made to answer for their crimes done unto creaturekind. "You said your sister made it to Troy alright?" He softly asked, staring at the holographic screens intently.
"Yeah, Helen called a few hours ago when she was entering the gates...Why?" Nestra furrowed her brow.
"Do you think they'd open the gates again? For you or your mother, I mean...If you two ever needed shelter," he was thoughtfully drumming his black painted fingernails against his jaw. Iphigenia had always kept her nails painted and the last thing she had dared her dad to do was paint his, he kept them black ever since that day as if waiting for the next time she'd dare him to do something different. Nestra sometimes found the nail polish as haunting and unsettling as his grief grease-rings he refused to remove, it was a grim reminder to her and their son that they had really lost Agamemnon the same day as Iphigenia.
"What?" Nestra shrugged with confusion, the uneasy feeling in her gut was growing. "I dunno, why? Why are you asking all these questions?"
"Just...musing, that's all." He glanced over his shoulder at her, aware of her intense stare. "You shouldn't have to wait up for me, Ness, if you're tired go to bed. I'm...too wired to sleep right now," he flashed a brief smile before hopping off the couch.
"Where are you going?" She slowly turned to keep an eye on him as he slunk through the dark living room for the exit.
"Just gonna catch up on some of these calls that's been blowin' up my tablet, that's all," he flashed another eerie smiled before latching the door to his office. Nestra frowned with concern, her troubled mind reeling for answers.