Max Black’s apartment
New York City, Earth
Getting here wasn’t easy for Kari Zel. The city has ended the state of emergency, now that the army of reanimated corpses has dissolved, but that hasn’t made people less terrified.
Panic in the streets is enduring and people are still traumatized. Even if the dead didn’t manage to get very far and there have been no casualties, the fact that something like this could ever happen on a global scale has really awakened Earth’s population to the weirdness of the universe they inhabit.
She finally reaches the apartment after ignoring three different people shouting about the end of the world, and Jane Lane opens the door after releasing its three different locks.
<Oh thank God, Kari, it’s great to see you! Is it really over?> the human asks her.
<The zombie army? Yes. The war might get much worse.>
<We’re in a war?> Jane asks.
<Don’t you watch the news!?>
<Yeah, they say they don’t know what really happened. And we’ve lost communication with both Midgard City and the rest of the Empire, after the battle in orbit knocked out most satellites.>
<Uh. I’ve been so busy coordinating the war effort that I didn’t consider I was relying so much on the Vanguard internal network. I’ll pass the message to the Ministry of Defense to update Earth’s authorities, hopefully this will calm people a bit.> Kari promises.
<You’re here for Max, isn’t it? Taking him to war?>
<I’m afraid so. If things are under control on Earth, we need him.>
<Kari, you’ve been living on this planet long enough to know things are never “in control”. But if you need Max… he’s completely out cold after fighting zombies for hours. Can’t you give him at least a good night’s sleep?>
<I can give him six more hours. Then I’ll need him to report on the Ragnarok, it’ll be in orbit.>
<He’ll be there. But Kari, please be honest with me… things are gonna be alright, isn’t it?>
Just now, Kari realizes a fraction of the weight carried by Noriko when she has to lie sounding absolutely certain of her words.
<Of course. We’ve got the best people in the galaxy working on this.>
Parthenos, 80,000 light-years from Earth
The burp is so loud that its echo would be enough to make mortals lose their hearing for hours.
That doesn’t bother the beings in the room, since all of them except one are gods, but they do find the attitude unworthy of the occasion.
<Dionysus, you could at least try to take this seriously.> Athena chastises the god of wine and debauchery, who is already drinking from a new bottle.
<Verily, brother, dost thou wish to offend thine own Empress?> Herakles asks; he’s the only demigod present, as everyone else in this meeting is a god.
<What? I don’t see Null around here.> Dionysus replies.
<My husband was referring to me, Dionysus. You do remember you swore allegiance to me as the Divine Co-Empress, right?> Hebe asks.
<I dunno. I must’ve been too sober to think things through.> the god shrugs.
<This would never have happened if my dear Zeus was still on the throne. Can we please hurry? My baby girl could wake up from her nap at any moment, and she gets cranky without breastfeeding.> Rhea intervenes.
<Grandmother, you do remember Hera is not literally a baby, don’t you? I just rejuvenated her body, not her mind. She can be fine on her own.> Hebe reminds her.
<Oh don’t be silly, of course she’s still a baby, she’s just a million years old!>
<Is this going to take longer? I have a war to handle.> Enyo complains.
<She promised she’d… ah, here she is.> Hebe acknowledges when three new gods join the meeting.
The first is Vesta, accompanied by Amaterasu who stays as close to her as she can, and then by a shirtless Hermes who walks into the room like he owns the place.
<Things sure are desperate if we’re recruiting him.> Athena comments, making sure to be heard.
Everyone takes a seat at the round table, with Vesta standing up and leading the meeting.
<Thanks to everyone for being here. You probably realized why you are gathered here.>
<Orgy?> Dionysus guesses.
<You are related to every single god at this table except the one who has the mind of a child.> Nike responds to him, gesturing towards Amaterasu. Who awkwardly waves at everybody with a nervous smile, uncomfortable with this crowd.
<That never stopped Dad.> Dionysus shrugs.
Vesta ignores the comment, continuing her speech with a roll call of all the gods present.
<Hebe, Amaterasu, Athena, Dionysus, Enyo, Herakles, Hermes, Nike and Rhea.You’re all here because you represent all the gods and demigods working for the Olympian government; as you’re all expected to help with this war, Noriko has asked me to coordinate your efforts to prevent the, well, usual family drama.>
<Aren’t we missing a few people? I know I’ve been out of the loop for a while, but unless Null killed more of us she should have a couple more.> Hermes wonders.
<Aphrodite, Eros, Dike and Themis have been dismissed since they don’t have any offensive capabilities.>
<I do find Aphrodite to be quite offensive.> Athena snarks.
<Don’t you ever tire of sucking the fun out of everything?> Hermes tells her.
<Remind me again, Hermes, how many months have you spent in your little golden cage since Null thwarted your plans?> Athena replies.
<See, this is exactly what Noriko wants to avoid. The enemies are Hades, Poseidon and Ereshkigal, guys, not the rest of your family.> Vesta chastises them.
<Speaking of which, what about my father? None of them would dare attacking us if we had almighty Zeus at our side.> Enyo asks.
<He hasn’t agreed to participate. At least not yet, we’re working on it. But in the meantime, we’re conducting the war on the assumption that he won’t join. And that means dividing your efforts into two separate roles, defense and offense. First of all, the defense: we know Poseidon has unleashed Charybdis, and Scylla will follow. And we expect Hades will send Cerberus.>
<I once defeated that foul beast with mine own hands! Verily thou has little to fear, fair Vesta.> Herakles boasts.
<You subdued Cerberus, but didn’t defeat him. And since Scylla and Charybdis are at least as powerful as Cerberus, we’re assigning both Nike and Dionysus to help you with those monsters.>
<Meaning I’m on duty to supervise the drunkard and the man-child. Meaning no offense to your husband, Lady Hebe.> Nike comments.
<None taken.> the Empress shrugs.
<Hermes, you’re the only one who can effortlessly patrol the whole Galaxy. With the other gods busy, you’ll be the one assisting the mortal armies defend themselves from the ships left over from the first stage of the invasion.> Vesta continues.
<That is a waste of my talents, aunt. We know very little of one of our opponents, Ereshkigal: I would be more useful exploring her galaxy and reporting my findings.>
<Yes, but Noriko doesn’t trust you enough to let you operate independently.>
<That’s smart. I wouldn’t either.> Hermes reluctantly agrees.
<Rhea… mother… our main obstacle dealing with Poseidon is that if he loses control of the Aegian Galaxy, the complex of space rivers connecting its worlds would collapse. As the goddess of all that flows, would you be able to sustain the rivers if he falls?> Vesta asks.
<I suppose I could, for a little while. But to keep it stable you would need the help of a similar power of my little boy; have you tried asking Hades?> Rhea asks.
<We are at war with him, grandmother.> Athena reminds her.
<Oh, right. You kids and your silly games are hard to keep straight!>
<Speaking of which, what’s the task for the offensive side of this war? Who are we fighting, Hades or Poseidon? Because let me tell you, I don’t like the odds of either one.> Hermes comments.
<Inanna will take care of Hades for us. Anubis will handle the gods following Poseidon, leaving us free to take on Poseidon directly.> Vesta answers.
<Who’s “we”, exactly?> Hermes insists.
<Myself, Athena, Enyo and Amaterasu. Plus the rest of the Vanguard and a few more allies.>
<I’m noticing a distinct lack of Class-1 gods. You do know how powerful Poseidon is, right?>
<You don’t have to tell me twice.> Vesta answers, instinctively reaching for the scars on her abdomen left by his trident.
<The goal is to slow down Poseidon long enough for Inanna to provide the finishing blow, after recovering from her fight with Hades. This should either discourage Ereshkigal from continuing the war, but if not, everyone still standing will converge on her.> Hebe explains.
<A whole lot is depending on convincing a very unstable goddess to work for us.> Athena notes.
<Don’t worry about that. Noriko is on the case.> Vesta reassures her.
Themiscyra, 1 million light-years from Earth
Noriko Null feels uncomfortable every time she has to visit the Amazon homeworld.
The entire planet feels sterile, as artificial as the female androids inhabiting it. And of course there’s the fact that the Amazons have an uneasy relationship with the rest of the Galaxy, not formally recognizing the sovereignty of the Empire over their world.
But she has to keep at least some level of alliance with the most technologically advanced planet in the Galaxy.
She’s being escorted by a newly built Queen, walking next to her through the metal-plated underground levels of her palace.
There are very few guards here: Amazons don’t like to waste resources, and it’s very unlikely for any intruder to get this deep into their central hub.
<I hope our relationship will be an improvement over my predecessors, Lady Null. I know you had trouble with them, so I have been programmed to be more agreeable.> Queen Autonomia says.
The tone in her voice is definitely softer than what Noriko is used from hearing from Amazons.
<No offense, but I was a bit surprised you changed Queen so soon.> Noriko admits.
<None taken. It’s very simple: our servers ran an extensive analysis on my predecessors. Queen Tecmessa was deemed too militaristic to be reactivated, and Queen Clonie was too focused on isolationism, given the current state of affairs. I was created with the goal of leading the Amazons into a new age: no longer antagonizing our neighbors, attempting to have a larger presence but maintaining our independence.>
<Yeah, I got that from your name, Queen Autonomia. So you’re not going to join the war.>
<According to our long-range sensors, your media is calling it “the war of the six empires”. Surely the Slayer of Gods doesn’t need a seventh, but we are glad to supply the help you need.> the Queen responds, more diplomatically than her predecessors would have.
Now they have reached the most sacred part of the whole planet: the laboratory where new Amazon models are assembled.
An antigravity forklift brings a metallic box in front of them, which the Queen opens like a cabinet.
It contains an android in the shape of a fifteen-year-old girl, wearing a simple white tunic. The only sign that this isn’t a living human is that it’s not breathing, and not moving either.
<There you go, Lady Null. The new Amazon unit you requested.>
<What about the specifications I requested?>
<Fully sentient and sexually mature, equipped with a kill switch, without the ability to feel pain, programmed to follow your commands and without any sense of self-preservation. Although I have to say, these are quite… exotic requirements.>
<Inanna wants me to sacrifice virgins to her, in order to help in the war. I’m sure this qualifies.>
<Interesting. I was not sure how to call this model, but I think the only one that fits is Thuma.>
<From the Ancient Greek θύω, “to sacrifice”. You have a weird sense of humor, Autonomia.>
<Oh I’m just programmed that way. Do you wish to activate Thuma now?>
<Not yet. If you want to help in the war, Autonomia, I need you to build more.>
<Do you have a specific number in mind?>
<Fifty thousand units. And Autonomia, once you’re done… please delete the blueprints. I’m trying to be the last person to ever order fifty thousand girls to kill themselves for a god.>
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