The Spectrum Chronicles: Shattered Time

Chapter One

"This goes well beyond the Greek pantheon," said Zeus. His gaze settled upon the operatives murmuring on the dais below, his expression hard. "Chronos belonged to none, yet ruled all with his mere presence. He existed before us, before our fellow Romans, before the Norse—before even the Japanese or the Egyptian."

He continued on, all murmuring falling into silence. "Long before we thought to form this council, he had already begun regulating the flow of time within his Time Chamber, hidden deep within Drevni Misteros. This you have all been privileged to know. But what you don't know is what happens, should his power—a power well beyond what you and I could ever hope to have—fail."

"But was this a failure of his power?" asked Kali, her voice echoing from the Third Echelon tier. "Or was this a failure to use his power as it was so intended?"

Zeus narrowed his eyes. "Speak plainly."

Kali shrugged, the copper skulls dangling about her throat clinking with the movement.

"I've spoken plainly enough, have I not? Or would you have the rest of the council—to say nothing of our operatives—believe this to be mere happenstance?"

"Wife—" Shiva began, only for Kali to hold up a hand in warning.

"Don't, Shiva. Do not presume to take that patronizing tone with me. I am hardly on a blood-lusting rampage." When Shiva made no further attempt to contradict her—though from the anxious set of his mouth, there was nothing he would have liked to do more—Kali went on. "Come, Zeus. It is all common knowledge among the Spectrum's elite by now. Father of Time though he might have been, it is clear that he is no more—and that with his final actions, he brought only chaos down upon all who remain. And I should know much of chaos, given I was once its agent."

"Your checkered past notwithstanding," cut in Venus, full lips forming a disapproving pout, "I think it unwise to presume what Lord Zeus should acknowledge here, with so many young, untested operatives present."

The beginnings of an argument broke out between Kali and Venus, and from there, all who supported them respectively. This had the effect of dividing the council into uneven factions, a third of which thought it best to let the situation resolve itself. On occasions such as this, it would have been far more surprising if an argument hadn't broke out. The council was not known for coming to decisions peaceably, even if their roundtable debates were hardly the battles of centuries past.

Before long, the spherical chamber walls were echoing with too many voices to hear what a single occupant was saying, and it was only by the sheer ingenuity of one individual—a sharp, piercing whistle cutting through the clamour—that the discussion moved back onto its intended track.

"If it pleases the council."

All heads turned toward Commander Lithias. His Second Unit operatives shuffled in their seats, allowing him passage as he left the unit's designated seating area and dropped to one knee on the central dais.

He went on, his voice clear yet respectful. "I would like to propose a stratagem to deal with the current fall-out of Chronos' actions, before any irreversible damage is done."

"But how can we deal with the current fall-out?" asked Terran, the First Unit's commander. A general murmur of approval followed, echoing around the chamber. "We haven't yet determined what the extent of that fall-out is."

"If I may." Gale stepped forward from the Fourth Unit's row, her slight form allowing her to weave between the seats with ease. In her hand was a compacted disc of quartz, emitting a faint, pink glow. "I ran a diagnostic the second we experienced the influx of power. From there, my second was able to triangulate the affected areas."