Beyond The Impossible

HDS Bloodshed IV, Hera sector

Despite his happy-go-lucky personality, Max Black a.k.a. Quantum has met his fair share of bad people. Even before his superhero career, before meeting wannabe tyrants and evil gods, it wasn’t hard for him to spot people who thrive on being the worst that humanity can offer.

And hitching a ride on one of Adrestia’s warships has proven that this isn’t limited to Earth.

The war goddess lives in a secluded area of the warship, and since when his body is in human form Quantum needs to eat he had the spectacularly bad idea of meeting the crew.

Right now he’s in the mess hall, which he finds is a very fitting name: if there’s one word that perfectly describes this ship, it’s a mess.

The off-duty officers resemble more a bunch of undisciplined hooligans than a military unit. They’re constantly shouting and shoving each other, throwing stuff around, and making obscene gestures at him. It’s a stark contrast with Adrestia, who seems to keep a cold composure at all times; based on what Quantum has overheard, it may be because these aren’t technically her troops: they are Ares soldiers.

<Well well well. It looks we have some new meat today, boys.> one of the soldiers tells his comrades as he sits next to Quantum. He has a military haircut, a black eye, and he has more muscles than a bodybuilder. The others don’t seem much different, except in skin color: even in such a short period of time, Quantum is sure he’s spotted an equivalent to every Earth ethnicity.

But unlike every other spaceship he’s visited so far, there doesn’t seem to be any women on board.

<This is one of the Vanguard? He looks like a wuss. Are we sure he isn’t one of Adrestia’s… uh… what’s the word for when they cut off your c##k?>

<Who cares! Hey wuss, what’s it like working for a woman?> another soldier asks loudly, getting uncomfortably close to Quantum. Who can tell that showers aren’t really a priority on this ship.

<Don’t you work for a woman too?> he notes.

<Ha! We work for a GODDESS, wuss! Not for a scrawny little b#tch!>

<You know I’m the Strongest Under The Heavens, right?> Quantum replies, hoping to use his reputation to defuse the situation. The result is that the soldier slams his hand on the table and stands up proudly.

<So if I beat you, I’ll be the Strongest Under The Heavens!>

<I’m pretty sure it doesn’t work like that, dude…> Quantum notes, but the soldier is already moving to punch him in the face. The Earth hero doesn’t move, changing instead his body into electricity: the soldier’s hand passes through Quantum. Thanks to the control he has over what his energy does, this doesn’t result into an electrocution but only in a very painful shock.

<Not that you could beat me, of course.> he points out. It wasn’t exactly a brilliant move, since the entire mess hall is suddenly ready to turn into an all-out brawl… and it probably would, if the door didn’t open to reveal the arrival of Adrestia.

She doesn’t need to say anything, but every single Ares soldier immediately kneels down.

<Quantum. Follow me; you have a call.> she says calmly. And while he didn’t get the chance to eat anything, he takes the first opportunity to leave the mess hall.

He follows Adrestia outside. She’s not even walking, preferring instead to float slightly above the floor. He’s seen Vesta do it, but somehow he can tell that with Adrestia it’s less about the joy of flight and more about interacting at little as possible with the mortal world.

<How can you stand these guys?> Quantum finally breaks the ice.

<They’re useful. If it wasn’t for my troops, the Egyptians would have already conquered another hundred planets.>

<“Another?” How many did they take?>

<Since the start of the war, 273. Excluding the 34 they annihilated.>

<Wait, seriously!?>

<I am a goddess of many talents, mortal. Humor is not one of them.>

<How come I haven’t heard about this?>

<Are you under the impression that you have the capacity to understand the magnitude of an intergalactic conflict?>

<Maybe not. But I thought that you needed the Vanguard’s help, so cut the holier-than-thou attitude, alright?>

<I am a sovereign goddess. That makes me holier than you by definition.>

<That’s not what… nevermind. You said you had a message for me?>

<Your Demon friend has been trying to contact you for some time. I don’t think he understands that all communications to this vessel are closely monitored.>

<Torn’s calling? What’s going on?>

<He has found the stronghold of Nephthys. We have altered our course and we are headed there; I will keep my ships as close as possible, without arising suspicion, while you contact Null.>

<Why can’t you contact her yourself?>

<She does not answer my calls.> Adrestia replies; a slight twitch in her mouth is the only signal that she’s upset by this, but she’s normally so emotionless that it’s very noticeable.

She leads him to a secluded area, normally used for target practice by the crew during their off hours; the blood smeared on the walls glows in the light emitted by the fire pentagram.

<The mortal is here. You may speak now.> Adrestia tells the Demon on the other side of the portal.

 

The Gorgon’s Veil, 390 light years from the galactic center

Astronomers on Earth call this region of space “Sagittarius B2”, a rather uninspired name. A giant molecular cloud of gas and dust, it is one of the largest ones in the Olympian Galaxy and extremely close to Olympus itself. Mortals call it the Gorgon’s Veil because it hides something that no one has been able to see: only the gods have been able to get inside and survive.

Torn isn’t worried by any of this, of course. His main objective is to avoid being caught by the creatures that are now dwelling in the Veil: enormous snakes the size of planets, swimming in the glowing dust illuminated by the myriad stars that surround the nebula.

They are so massive, in fact, that the gravitational field they generate is enough to let Torn stand on one. The nebula is surprisingly good at absorbing radiation, and the heat reaching him from the star-forming regions keeps him from freezing. A human would’ve been killed a thousand times over but, as long as he keeps a connection with the Blood, Torn can keep himself alive. There isn’t much of an atmosphere, though, and he won’t survive forever breathing only ionized hydrogen.

<I have located Nephthys. She doesn’t seem to be doing anything to protect herself.> he tells through the pentagram, where he can barely see Quantum and Adrestia’s silhouettes.

<She’s one of the Nine Gods. She doesn’t need protection from anyone.> Adrestia comments.

<If she is so freakin’ powerful, why isn’t she doing anything? What does she need the other gods for?> Quantum asks.

<She could reach Olympus in minutes from here. She’s waiting for something.> Torn says.

<She doesn’t believe Zeus has really vanished. She wants Hera or some of her minions to attack her directly.> Adrestia deduces, to which Torn replies:

<Perhaps we should attack. We may have the element of surprise on our side for once.>

<I can contact Hera and gather her forces for a coordinated attack, but the Egyptians will see us coming light-years away.> Adrestia notes.

<No, they won’t. Torn, are you up for a trip to Hell?>

<I am. Why?>

<I have an idea.> Quantum answers; Torn can’t see him, but he knows him enough to be sure that he’s now smiling.

 

Phlios, 45,000 light-years from Earth

Vesta leaves the ship and approaches the planet, reminiscing about the time when Phlios was a thriving civilization instead of a long dead world. Sometimes she wonders if Earth will suffer the same fate… it’s hard to tell if it will endure a billion years like the Lar, or if they will vanish completely from galactic history like so many others have done.

Earth has been her home for a little over 2700 years, a small fraction of her age of one million years, but she can’t bear the thought of living anywhere else. She pushes those thoughts away as she enters the massive factory, which is so full of activity and noise that it makes it seem like Phlios is alive again. But it’s only the machines that are doing all the work, especially the countless Nullbots who seem to be endless in number. When she finally reaches the control room, she finds one of the only two living beings on the planet: Dmitry Voron is slumped over a desk and very much asleep.

She recognizes the symptoms of exhaustion, as well as the green leather jacket that’s been put over his shoulders like a sheet to keep him warm. Even more surprisingly, the room is completely quiet: Vesta doesn’t even hear Noriko Null get closer.

<Don’t wake him up.> Vesta can hear her say though the Neural Transmitter.

<What happened?> the goddess asks.

<He crashed. Fifteen hours of uninterrupted consciousness will do that. Follow me, we can talk out of the Sound Nullifier’s range.> Noriko says, getting outside of the control room. She rubs her arms to warm herself, now that’s she’s in her T-shirt; Vesta raises the temperature of the air of a couple degrees without giving it much thought.

<How’s the work going? Better than the war, I hope.> Vesta says.

<Definitely better. I’ve been coordinating the Covenant ships from here, and things don’t look so good; basically, our galaxy’s getting its ass kicked. Dmitry and I have had more success.>

<Yes, about that, what exactly have you been doing this whole time? Building ships?>

<Among other things.> Noriko answers, with her silver eyes shining. She gives a few commands to the nearest holographic interface, instructing it to show one of the constructions sites beneath the surface: they’re assembling a warship whose shape is unfamiliar to Vesta.

<This is what Dmitry’s been working on. A brand new fleet for the Covenant.>

<It doesn’t look like your previous ships.>

<I’ve made a few adjustments. The new Surtur class will be superior to the Ragnarok class in every way. Well… almost. I can’t synthetize enough Neutral Matter for the hull, but it has the most powerful shields I’ve ever designed.>

<And you think this will be enough to defeat Nephthys?>

<No. Like I said, this is what Dmitry’s been working on: it’s to defend ourselves from the next enemy. I hope you haven’t forgotten that we still have to deal with the Eden, with Apollo, and eventually with Ares.>

<I am the last person in the universe willing to forget Ares.> Vesta answers, and Noriko can feel the air get a little too hot for comfort. She quickly changes the subject:

<Yes, I can imagine. I guess there’s a reason for visiting me in person?>

<Torn has found Nephthys. Apparently she’s just waiting for us to attack her, and Quantum has a plan to deal with her, if you can believe that.>

<Oh I believe that alright. I just don’t think it’s going to be a good plan, but let’s hear it.>

<He thinks we should attack her head-on. That’s crazy, right?>

<Well, what do you know. He actually does have a good plan.>

<What? Noriko, I know I probably sound like a broken record at this point, but Nephthys is…>

<Ridiculously powerful and can definitely kill all of us without breaking a sweat?>

<Uhm… yes?>

<Then I’ll just have to kill her first. Let’s deal with her army first.> Noriko answers, then she whistles. Something obeys her command: a four-legged creature of twisted metal, composed by thousands of tiny polyhedrons.

<It kind of looks like a robot dog.< Vesta comments.

<It’s not a dog. It’s the Focused Enemy Neutralization Robotic Infantry System.>

<Uh?>

<F.E.N.R.I.S. for short.>

<-You’re beginning to reeeally stretch those acronyms. What’s a dog going to do against an army?>

<This isn’t F.E.N.R.I.S.> Noriko clarifies, petting the robot with one hand and with the other changing the image projected by hologram. Instead of the warships under construction, it shows a massive valley filled to the brim with millions of the same robotic dogs.

<That is F.E.N.R.I.S. And they’re ready to bite.>