Beyond The Impossible

N01-Ragnarok

In orbit above Olympus, 28,000 light-years from Earth

As the warship approaches the white dwarf star, the viewscreen completely shuts down: at this distance, it can’t reduce the brightness to a level that wouldn’t blind any mortal.

Its outer hull of Neutral Matter is capable of withstanding the temperature of the surface of a star, and its shields are holding back the lethal level of radiation.

Managing the thrusters so that the ship is able to make a controlled descent, instead of crashing into the star itself, takes all the computational power of the warship even with the assistance of Noriko Null’s brilliant mind.

Kari Zel is practically jumping with excitement:

<Can you believe we’ve never been here before!?> she exclaims to Quantum.

<I can’t believe we’re here NOW.> he admits.

<Come on, we’re actually going to see Olympus! This is a big deal!> she insists.

<You weren’t this enthusiastic when we visited the Throne Of The Universe.> Torn recalls.

<Yeah, but how many people have heard of that!? I’ve been hearing legends about this places since the day I was born!>

<Unlikely. Human infants are not particularly good listeners.>

<Kari, remember we’re not here as tourists. Not only it took me years to figure out a way to survive such a place, we’re on a time limit: Vesta will keep up with Hera only for so long.>

<I still can’t believe we left her to fight Hera alone.> Quantum laments.

<Who said we’d be leaving her alone?>

 

The Vulcan Forge, 23,000 light-years from Earth

Vesta never liked fighting. In fact, she’s spent the vast majority of her immortal life trying to cause as little damage as possible.

It’s only thanks to her adventures with the Vanguard that she has managed to access her true potential, but it’s not easy to overcome a million years of self-restrain.

Hera walks through a firestorm of plasma so hot that it could easily vaporize any planet unfortunate enough to get in its way. The Queen Of Olympus lets the plasma bounce gently against the incandescent blue aura covering her body, intoxicated with her newfound power.

<So this is what being invincible feels like.> she gloats.

<We don’t have to do this, Hera! There’s no reason for us to fight!> Vesta replies, doubling the temperature of her attack. It only lasts a couple of seconds: she can feel she’s reached her limit, but Hera doesn’t seem to have one anymore.

<Oh, but there is. You need to be taught a lesson in humility.>

<From you!? What do YOU know about humility!?>

Vesta attempts a different approach: if she can’t get past her sister’s invulnerability, she can exploit her lack of fighting experience. Despite her best efforts, Vesta has been in a few fisticuffs.

If the two were on the same level, it would be no contest: Hera has absolutely no idea whatsoever how to throw a fist. But they are not in the same class anymore.

<You were SUPPOSED to stay in your place!!!> Hera says as she sidesteps Vesta so fast that even a goddess capable of flying at the speed of light doesn’t register her movement.

<But no, you just HAD to take the spotlight!!!> Hera continues, flying behind Vesta and painfully twisting her arms behind her back.

<Don’t you think I see how everyone prefers you to me!? I’m the Queen! I’m supposed to be the one everyone loves! Even when Zeus exiled you, he kept thinking about you! Everyone did! Even my own children were defeated by your mortal pets! Why don’t you just GO AWAY!?>

Hera releases her energies directly into Vesta’s body, who screams in pain: the blue fire seeps into her veins, filling her lungs with pain.

<Just admit it! Admit you’re trying to take my place! Admit that you’re jealous of me!>

Vesta quickly tilts her head backwards, hitting Hera’s nose. It’s such an unexpected move that Hera lets her sister go, allowing Vesta to free herself.

<You… you hit me!?>

<You don’t get it, Hera… I hate this.> Vesta says, looking at her white-hot fists.

<My blood turning into fire. My lungs filling up with plasma. Every inch of my skin becoming hotter than any star. I hate becoming this, just to barely compete with gods who never had to struggle a single day in their life.>

<Ah! So you DO admit you’re jealous!!!>

<Of course I am! You have everything a goddess could wish for! A husband, children of your own, a kingdom, the awe and respect of entire pantheon… you’ve always had everything handed to you, Hera, while I’ve always been looked down. And I can’t have children. Why wouldn’t I be jealous of what you have? But I have never, NEVER wanted to take any of it away from you. You’re my sister! Is it really that unbelievable that I could be happy for you?>

Hera looks at her, struggling to understand. The simple concept of being happy for someone else’s happiness is completely and utterly alien to her mindset.

<You’re a lying schemer to the end. Nobody will miss you.>

Hera gathers her power, ready to unleash a blast of energy that truly worries Vesta: she’s not sure she will survive the attack. And it comes too fast to evade… as Vesta notices only once the blast completely misses her.

At the last possible moment, in fact, Hera was attacked from behind. As she turns to see who dared such a disrespectful move, she’s bashed in the head with a shield of Neutral Matter.

<Wrong. It looks like you missed.> the new combatant quips, spinning around her spear to show off she’s ready for battle.

<Athena. I’ve been looking forward to teaching you a lesson.>

<So have I. Lesson one: there’s no place in war for grandstanding and posturing.>

As if to prove Athena’s point, Hera is so preoccupied with showing off her superiority that she’s caught by surprise for the second time in a row, as yet another goddess ambushes her from behind.

<Hello mother. DIE!!!> Enyo screams in her ear, her War Cry so devastatingly loud that even the Class-1 goddess recoils in pain at the sonic attack.

<Lesson two: never underestimate the resilience of a psychotic war goddess.>

<Athena? I thought you were neutral in this.> Vesta tells her niece, enjoying the chance to recover some of her strength but fully aware the battle has just begun.

<I was. Unlike my half-sister, I’m not the goddess of senseless war… if there’s a chance of winning a war without a fight, I will always take it.>

<ENOUGH!!!> Hera shouts, releasing energy in every direction to push Enyo away.

<That is clearly no longer a possibility.> Athena dryly observes.

<Be honest with me, Athena. Can we actually beat Hera?>

<Us three? No. Not in this battle. But we will hold the line until the war is won.>

 

Olympus, 28,000 light-years from Earth

The Ragnarok has landed in the large plaza that serves as a landing platform for any spaceship daring enough to approach Olympus. It’s been used very sparingly: gods tend to simply fly to Olympus on their own, as ships capable of surviving here are exceedingly rare.

The plaza leads to a flight of stairs that seem interminable. Quantum stops to look around: he’s the only one who can actually see anything in the first place, because the visor placed in front of everyone else’s eyes completely blocks any light and just shows a virtual reality rendition of the environment around them.

<This place is just amazing.> he comments. The palaces of Olympus are as magnificent as he imagined: a complex of temples and buildings completely made of finely decorated Neutral Matter.

The light of the star’s surface bounces off the perfectly polished metal, immersing everything in a sea of shiny reflections.

Quantum is also the only one who can appreciate the infrastructure in place. Noriko has figured out how it works on an intellectual side, but she can’t see the hundreds of gravity dampeners that take heat from the star and use it to greatly reduce the gravity inside the buildings.

And she can’t see that the palace is literally standing on nothing: unlike the neutron star where the Vulcan Forge used to be, a white star has no true surface… instead of floating above the clouds like ancient Greeks used to believe, Olympus is floating above a star.

<We should pick up the pace. Even the Survival Field can only last so long: the radiation levels here are off the… charts?> Noriko explains, confused when in the blink of an eye the Vanguard is suddenly standing before the gate that leads to the main palace instead of being on the stairs.

<Hello, Sunshine. You looked like you needed a little boost.> Hermes greets them, leaning against the gate. He’s just chilling there, despite the radioactivity and the heat that could melt steel in an instant, shirtless as always.

<Normally I would complain, but we’re in a rush here.> Noriko admits.

<This is a momentous occasion, you know? You’re the first mortals here since… hmm, let’s see, I think since Ixion maybe? I don’t think Ulysses ever managed to sneak inside.>

<We’re here to see Hebe.>

<Why do I get the feeling I’m going to hear that a lot in the near future?> Hermes says.

 

Council Of The Twelve Gods

In the room that is the real center of the Olympian Galaxy, Hebe sits on the throne that used to belong to her father. In fact, she has a hard time believing it’s her throne now.

Hermes leads the Vanguard in the room. Luckily for them, it’s sufficiently shielded against the radiation coming from the star beneath their feet that they can actually survive here.

<This is just… a smaller version of the Throne Of The Universe.> Kari comments with disappointment. Nothing could compare to what she imagined she would find.

<Told you.> Torn adds.

<I see that Athena is no longer with you. I understand this means she agreed to my plan?> Noriko asks.

<She did. Although she specified that she would have attacked Hera regardless… I think she’s hesitant to admit you thought about this first.> Hebe answers.

<I couldn’t care less about who get the credit of being smarter.>

<Come on Sunshine, you care a little.> Hermes points out, only to be ignored by Null.

<What’s important is that even Athena and Enyo working together can’t defeat Hera in a straight fight. Zeus and Hades won’t help us… it’s up to you and me, Hebe.>

<Me? I’m not anywhere near as powerful as my sister, Null, let alone my mother.>

<I disagree. I think there’s a very good reason why Hera has belittled you more than she has done with your siblings… no offense…>

<None taken. I’ve long accepted that I am not as important as them.>

<Vesta used to say the same thing.> Quantum points out.

<That’s right. You and Vesta are more similar than you realize, Hebe. You’re the only gods I know that actually care about mortals. There’s a concept on Earth called noblesse oblige… “nobility obliges”. It’s the idea that nobility extends beyond entitlement: those with power should behave responsibly. I believe the same extends to divinity… and that you believe the same.>

<I’m not sure I follow.> Hebe admits.

<With great power comes great responsibility.> Quantum clarifies.

<Max, this is serious…> Noriko rolls her eyes.

<Come on, I had to! Why did you go with a French thing when the quote was right there!?>

<You’re saying my divinity obliges me to intervene? I’ve already supported those who betrayed my mother, Null. What more can you ask of me?>

<I ask you to trust me. I can’t force you to do this, Hebe. You have everything a god could want… if Hera wins she will definitely keep the throne to herself, and I know you’d rather give up the responsibility of being a ruler. I know because I’m the same… I’d much rather let anyone else take care of all this crap. We would both love nothing more than sit this one out, but…>

<Divinity obliges.> Hebe interrupts her. She may look young, as it befits the Goddess of Youth, but sometimes her wisdom slips through her appearance.

<You’re more worthy of the title of goddess than most of my family, Null. Let us forge a new alliance to inherit the skies. What do you need me to do?>