The Argonaut Affair

by Simon Hawke

  "So you still think they're conducting some sort of war game in preparation for an invasion of our timeline?" Steiger asked.

  "I think it's a possibility," Delaney said. "It's the best explanation I've been able to come up with."

  "There's only one thing wrong with it," said Steiger. "Us. If they've gone to all that trouble to verify the original scenario and conduct a controlled disruption, then they must have known from the beginning that we were never part of it."

  "What if they didn't?" said Andre. "We've become one of the variable elements in this scenario. If we hadn't met Jason at the Anaurus River, he would have arrived in Iolchos alone. We don't have a record of the entire crew for this voyage. Even in the myth, not all of the Argonauts were named."

  "That's right!" Delaney said. "We've been so concerned with the anomalous elements of this mission, we overlooked one of the most obvious ones. We must have displaced three of the original crew members! The hooded man might be among the Argonauts, but if he isn't, then he must be clocking ahead to all the significant points along their route. If that's the case, then they may not have realized that there were three people on the crew who weren't supposed to be there."

  "At least not at the beginning of the voyage,'' Andre said.

  Delaney glanced at Steiger. "I think we're onto something. It was the middle of the night when you were knocked out at Iolchos. In the dark, you might have been taken for Jason or one of the original crew members we displaced. During their secret meeting on Mount Pelion, the hooded man asked Chiron about the Argonauts who weren't among his pupils, the ones the centaur didn't know before. He asked Chiron to name and describe them all. That must have been when they first suspected something was out of sync with the original scenario. It was confirmed for them at Lemnos, but they had to check it out. We would have done the same. If we introduced variables into a temporal scenario and something popped up that didn't seem to fit the historical events, we'd try to make sure we knew exactly what the variable was and how it might affect the outcome."

  Steiger nodded. "It makes sense. They must have scrambled to check us out against any possible historical variables. Were there any people like us around originally who might have been part of the crew? When they didn't turn up anything, they had to look for another explanation. They must have been as baffled as we've been. They couldn't learn anything from the centaur, because the centaur was one of their variables that they inserted into the scenario; and when the hooded man saw me at Lemnos, it must have tipped him off that I was from the future."

  "Only which future?" Andre said. "There wasn't supposed to be anyone from their future on the scene they didn't know about."

  "They had to check it out," said Steiger, nodding. "And they would have wanted another, closer look."

  "The old blind king," Delaney said.

  "Our hooded friend?" said Steiger. "Or someone else on their mission team," Delaney said. "It had to be."

  "I'm keeping my eye on Idmon," Steiger said. "I don't know about these 'visions' and 'intuitions' of his."

  "There is a chance they're genuine," Delaney said. "He could be a sensitive."

  "And he could be planted," said Steiger. "I have a 'strong intuition' myself that the opposition is up to something tricky."

  "If they guessed we were from another timeline," Andre said, "they must have started searching for the confluence, but if our original theory was correct that the centaur came through by accident, they wouldn't know exactly where and when to look for it."

  "And if they haven't found it by now, it explains why we're still alive," Delaney said. "They need us to tell them where it is."

  "It fits," said Steiger, nodding. "It finally fits together."

  "That's right," Delaney said, wryly. "We've got them right where they want us."

  "Perhaps not," said Andre. "One of us can clock back to the confluence point and warn Curtis to summon the Counter-Insurgency Strike Force. Then all we have to do is give them what they want. Lead them directly to the confluence. It'll be just like the Khyber Pass. The minute they come through, they'll be hit with everything we've got."

  "And what about us?" said Steiger. "You figure once we tell them where the confluence point is, they'll be nice enough to let us go?"

  "I didn't say there'd be no risk," said Andre.

  "No, there'd be risk all right and not only to us," said Steiger. "We were damned lucky in Afghanistan. The confluence point shifted just in time or the battle would have lasted longer. It might have interfered with the action between the British and the Pathans, to say nothing of the casualties our people would have sustained. We've got a similar situation here. Hannibal and his Carthaginians on one side, Scipio and his Roman legion on the other. Fighting a temporal battle smack dab in between would be dangerous as hell. The object of this mission was to disrupt their timeline, not invite a situation that could disrupt our own."

  "Do you have an alternative?" said Andre.

  "I say we carry on with our original plan," said Steiger. "Let's take our best shot. If we blow it, there's still a good chance at least one of us can get back and warn the Rangers."

  "What if they take their best shot before we take ours?" asked Andre.

  Steiger smiled. "I didn't say there'd be no risk."

  "Touché," said Andre, wryly.

  "I'm in favor of it," said Delaney. "Now that we've reached Colchis, we're in a good position to cut and run. If we stick close to the principals in this scenario, it could make it difficult for the opposition to move against us. The minute we get a reading on the situation, we interfere, create the disruption and clock out fast. They'll be watching us every minute, but we might have a chance to pull it off."

  "Maybe," Steiger said, "but there's still one option we haven't considered. It's not a very pleasant one."

  "What? "Delaney asked.

  "We could kill Jason."

  9

  They broke camp at dawn and headed inland, following a spirited debate about their plan of action. As usual, Jason had not given any thought to how they would obtain the golden fleece once they arrived in Colchis. Planning ahead did not seem to be his forte. He had simply assumed that they would come, pick it up and leave. Now that they had arrived, it occurred to him that it might not be so simple. This realization was brought home to him when the other Argonauts asked him how they should proceed. It was not until then that Jason realized he didn't even know where the Sacred Grove of Ares was.

  "How are we to find it, then?" asked Orpheus.

  "We could ask directions of people we encounter on the way," said Jason, pleased that a solution had been found.

  "Did we not hide the Argo so the Colchins would not find it?" Argus said. "If we encounter people on our way and ask directions, word will quickly reach King Aietes that a force of armed men has arrived seeking the Sacred Grove of Ares. We would have no chance to take the golden fleece by stealth."

  "By stealth?" said Jason, outraged at the suggestion.

  "Would you have us act as thieves come skulking in the night?"

  "In what other manner did you think to obtain the fleece?" asked Theseus. "Surely, you did not suppose King Aietes would simply give it to you?"

  "Was not my father Aeson, cousin to Phrixus?" Jason asked. "Is not the fleece the rightful possession of my family?"

  "As I heard the story, Phrixus gave the fleece to Aietes for his daughter's hand in marriage," Orpheus said. "If that is true, then the fleece rightfully belongs to him."

  Jason bit his lower lip. "I had not thought of that."

  "Why am I not surprised?" said Steiger.

  "It changes nothing," Jason said. "We must bring back the fleece if I am to rule in Iolchos. It is the will of the gods. I will explain it to King Aietes and ask him for the fleece."

  "And what if he refuses?" Orpheus asked.

  "Then we shall take it by force," said Jason. "It cannot be called stealing if we are obeying the wishes of the gods."

  "Interesting logic,"
Steiger mumbled to Delaney.

  "You don't suppose there really is a golden fleece, do you?" said Delaney.

  "Be damned if I know," Steiger said. "It's probably some old sheepskin painted gold. Or maybe high sulphur content in some sheep's drinking water altered the pigmentation and made the wool turn yellow. They'd probably attribute something like that to the gods. Hell of a thing to go to all this trouble for."

  "I've seen knights in the Middle Ages hacking each other to pieces over a splinter alleged to be a piece of the true cross," said Andre. "The value of a sacred relic has less to do with what it is than what it's believed to be."

  "The oftener a tale is told, the truer it becomes?" said Delaney.

  "Something like that, I suppose."

  Steiger snorted. "I can't wait to see the Old Man's face when we plop some rotten old rag down on his desk and tell him it's the golden fleece. There you are, sir, hang it right up there in your den with your collection, next to El Cid's jewel-encrusted sword and Patton's pearl-handled .45."

  "I'll just settle for getting back and being able to tell him anything," Delaney said.

  By the time they reached the city of Aea, they had picked up a sizable escort. Crowds followed on both sides of the road as the Argonauts marched into the city with Jason strutting proudly in the lead. Wide-eyed children ran beside them, staring at the bearded warriors with the sun-bronzed skin, and after seeing that the Argonauts seemed friendly, some of the bolder ones ventured to touch their metal shields. A few of the children picked up sticks to carry as mock spears and fell in behind the procession, comically imitating Jason's bantam rooster bearing, their heads held high, their shoulders thrown back, their free arms swinging in exaggerated motions. Hercules, Andre and Hylas attracted the most attention; Andre because she was the only woman among such an imposing looking crew, Hercules because of his physique and Hylas because he seemed the same age as the children, though he was older than most of them.

  A large crowd had gathered at the palace steps to see the strangers. King Aides' soldiers waited there as well, in a show of force. It did not escape the notice of the Argonauts that the soldiers outnumbered them considerably. The soldiers of King Aietes blocked the palace steps. They stood in ranks three deep, looking very disciplined in their feather-crested helmets with bronze cheek and nose pieces, metal-studded leather breastplates and short white chlamys fastened at their throats by metal clasps. They carried short iron swords and long javelins and each of them held a small, round iron shield with the likeness of a ram's head on it. Their commanding officer stepped forward and pointed with his sword at Jason.

  "Are you the leader of these men?" he asked.

  "I am," said Jason, stepping forward until the soldier's sword point touched his chest so as to show no fear. "I am King Jason of Iolchos and we have come in peace, though if we are not received in peace, we are prepared to fight, as well."

  "How's that for diplomacy?" Delaney said to Andre.

  She merely shook her head.

  The officer lowered his sword. "You are either very brave or very foolish, Jason, King of Iolchos. Or perhaps you are only very young. Those are bold words for a stranger who arrives uninvited with armed men. I am Kovalos, captain of the palace guard. Look about you first and then choose your next words carefully. We are five times your number and those are only the soldiers that you see. What is your purpose here?"

  "That I will reveal only to King Aietes," Jason said. "It is unseemly for a king to be questioned by a captain of the palace guard. Inform your ruler that a king has come from Thessaly and that he requests an audience."

  Kovalos stared at Jason for a long moment, then turned to his soldiers. He beckoned to an officer. "You heard?" he asked. "I heard."

  "Repeat our visitor's words to King Aietes exactly as you heard them and then hasten back with his reply." He turned back to Jason as the officer ran into the palace. "We will soon know how you shall be received," he said, curtly. "I am not accustomed to be kept waiting," Jason said. Kovalos pursed his lips. "Nor am I. Nevertheless, it seems that we shall both be obliged to suffer some slight demands upon our patience. I will try to bear up under the strain."

  "If I were Jason," Argus said, "I would not speak to such a man in such a manner. He is not yet crowned king and we are too few to make an army."

  "This was badly done," said Orpheus, looking around. "Have you observed the archers on the rooftops? We should have sought out the Sacred Grove of Ares and made off with the golden fleece so that no one was the wiser. Our position here is most disadvantageous."

  "Perhaps if you sang one of your songs, you could lull them all to sleep as you did the hound of Hades," Theseus said. "Then we could take the golden fleece and be back aboard the ship before they woke up from their peaceful slumber."

  "Or perhaps you could tell them the tale of how you slew the Minotaur," Orpheus countered. "Then if any of them survived the telling of the tale, we could do battle with them on more even terms."

  "Be silent, both of you!" said Argus. "We have enough troubles on our hands without arguing amongst ourselves."

  "I think we are about to find out exactly what our position is," said Idmon, as the officer Kovalos had sent in to the king had returned.

  "King Aietes will see you," said Kovalos. Jason started forward and the others followed, but Kovalos stopped him with a hand upon his chest. "A moment," he said. He shouted an order and the soldiers broke formation, then reformed flanking the Argonauts, with a squad of men in front and behind as well. They moved in close, hemming the Argonauts in tightly so as to restrict their ability to move quickly. "Now," said Kovalos.

  They were marched into the palace, into the large, marble-columned main hall where Aietes sat upon his throne, surrounded by his courtiers and protected by a line of armed men stationed at the foot of the steps leading to the throne. He leaned forward in his chair as the Argonauts approached and stared at them intently, stroking his long black beard. His appearance was a marked contrast to that of the Dalion king, Cyzicus. Where the Dalions were a small, impoverished people, Aietes ruled over a large and wealthy kingdom and his palace and his dress reflected this.

  Dressed in a long, gold and silver embroidered gown and wearing a high crown of hammered gold set with rubies, Aietes had a ring on every finger and bracelets studded with jewels on both wrists. He looked like a debauched Talmudic scholar with long, jet black hair that fell in heavy ringlets to his shoulders and a coarse, black beard that obscured the entire lower half of his face. His eyes were dark and deeply set and his face was gaunt and striking. He was sharp featured, with a large hooked nose and a high forehead, all of which combined to give him a brooding, menacing air. Kovalos halted them halfway across the room. "Which of you is Jason?" Aietes said. "Come forward." Jason pushed his way past the soldiers standing in front of him and approached the steps to the throne. There was an interested murmuring among the courtiers at the sight of so young a king. "I am Jason of Iolchos."

  "You have traveled far," Aietes said. "What is your purpose here?"

  "I have come for the golden fleece," said Jason. There was a stunned silence. "The boy gets right to the point," said Steiger, softly. Aietes stared hard at Jason for a long time. Jason stood his ground, meeting his steady gaze unflinchingly. Finally, Aietes broke the silence.

  "The golden fleece is the most sacred relic of my kingdom," Aietes said. "By what right do you come seeking it?"

  "By divine right," Jason said. "My father, Aeson, was cousin to that very Phrixus who was brought here by the ram whose fleece now hangs in the Sacred Grove of Ares. It is the will of the gods that the golden fleece be brought back to Iolchos, so that the spirit of my relative may at last find peace."

  "If this is the will of the gods," said Aietes, "why have they not revealed it to me?"

  "They have revealed it to me," said Jason, "in a prophecy spoken by the Oracle of Delphi. It was the gods, speaking through the Oracle, who led me here. The golden fleece rightfully bel
ongs in Iolchos and I have come to ask you to surrender it."

  "And you come asking with armed warriors at your side," Aietes said.

  "I have done the bidding of the gods," said Jason. "The journey was a long and arduous one and we have encountered many dangers on the way. Yet if it had been the will of the gods that I should come alone, that too would I have done. We did not come here as raiders or as thieves, else we would not have marched here openly in the full light of day, nor would we have allowed ourselves to be placed at such a disadvantage by your soldiers."

  "Yet even as we speak, your other men could be plotting to conduct the very raid which you deny."

  "I have no other men," said Jason. "You see before you all who have journeyed here with me."

  "Good move, kid," Steiger mumbled. "Give our strength away, why don't you?"

  "Our strength?" Delaney whispered. "Let me get this straight. Are we going to try to help him or were we thinking we might have to kill him?"

  Steiger glanced at him with surprise. "Hell of a thing, isn't it?" he whispered back. "I'm starting to get caught up in this."

  "Well, make up your mind, Colonel." Steiger grinned in spite of himself. "Have you made up yours?"

  Delaney grimaced. "I'm working at it real hard." Aietes smiled as he stroked his beard. "You claim the golden fleece rightfully belongs in your kingdom," he said to Jason, "yet it was Phrixus who brought it here, your own kinsman on whom you base your claim. With his own hands, he gave me the golden fleece to commemorate his marriage to my daughter, Chalciope, who stands there with her sister, Medea." He swept his arm out in an exaggerated gesture, indictating two women standing together among the courtiers on his right. "Will you tell the widow of your kinsman that you would take away a sacred relic with which the gods had blessed their union? Would you take from her this one remaining token of her departed husband?"

  They all looked at the two women who stood close together, the eldest clutching her younger sister's arm. Chalciope had brown hair streaked with gray and a full, soft, pretty face that she must have inherited from her mother, for it had none of the harsh angles and sharp planes of her father's features. Yet Medea had her father's coloring, hair that was raven black and fell in long, curly tresses down her back. The darkness of her hair made her face look paler than her sister's, but it was not the pallor of ill health. Her lips were red and full and her features sharp, like her father's, but on her the effect was one of striking beauty. She had not inherited her father's beaklike nose, but she had his black eyes and penetrating gaze, which she now directed pointedly at Jason, staring at him with curious intensity.