Beyond The Impossible

Aegian Galaxy, 2.5 million light-years from Earth

Poseidon never really needed to establish a strong border for his realm: few gods would be foolish enough to attempt an invasion.

As such, nobody stops two warships from entering his territory.

One belongs to Anubis: entirely composed of swarms of necrobots, taking the shape of a massive metallic pyramid with a black surface and glowing green circuitry.

The other is the Aegis, the bird-shaped capital ship of the Athenian Federation covered in Neutral Matter. It would normally be operated by a crew of Federation officers, but Athena knows this is not a war that will be won by mortal armies: she’s operating the ship entirely on her own, and she only has two other goddesses accompanying her.

Enyo stands stoically to her side, arms crossed and a stern expression on her face. As the Minister of Defense of the Olympian Empire she’s technically in charge of this mission, but she hates having to rely on the services of another goddess… and a war goddess like her, no less.

Even worse, not long ago Enyo herself would have had an entire fleet of loyal warriors under her direct leadership, whereas now she can only command forces that swear allegiance to a mortal like Null and to her younger sister Hebe.

The other goddess stands in front of the main viewscreen, excitedly admiring the beauty of the Aegian Galaxy that it’s clearly visible in all its glory.

<Ooh, that’s so pretty!> Amaterasu exclaims in childlike excitement.

<It’s enemy territory.> Enyo reminds her.

<A pretty territory! Once we’re done with your war thingy, can we stop to look around?>

<We’ll see.> Athena replies, checking the information relayed by the ship’s sensors.

<Pleeeeease?> Amaterasu pleads.

<I understand a sun goddess is a valuable asset, but did Null have to assign us to babysit a child goddess?> Enyo complains, rolling her eyes.

<Hey I’m an adult now! I’m seven years old!> Amaterasu replies. From a human perspective she does have the body of a full grown adult, but the way she pouts betrays the fact that her mind is much younger than that.

<Tell me about it. At least you’re stuck babysitting only one goddess.> Athena remarks.

<What’s THAT supposed to mean!?> Enyo replies.

But before Athena can respond, a bright light fills the bridge with a hologram of Anubis asking the same question in Athena’s mind:

<Where is Null???> he angrily asks.

<On her way. Even with the Ragnarok, it will take her several hours to get here.>

<Unacceptable. We had a schedule for this operation.>

<Ever been in a real war, Anubis? They seldom run perfectly in schedule.> Enyo tells him.

<Mine do.> Athena comments under her breath.

<The invasion will proceed as planned, with or without Null.> Anubis declares, and his hologram vanishes without waiting for anyone to comment.

<He’s scary.> Amaterasu admits.

<He’s not slowing down: he’s going to attack Poseidon’s forces alone.> Athena reveals, relaying the information she sees on her monitor.

<He’s brave.> Enyo nods.

<He’s an idiot: he doesn’t stand a chance doing this alone. And if he alters Poseidon, we won’t be able to ambush him like we were planning.> Athena says.

 

Priam Tower, Troy

55,000 light-years from Earth

The headquarters of Ilium Incorporated used to be a very busy building: as the business hub of one of the greatest conglomerates of the Galaxy, the place has been crowded for centuries.

But ever since the company was accused of attempting to overthrow the Olympian government, along with hundreds of human rights violations, the place has been deserted.

With a treasury based on thousands of years of transactions Ilium Incorporated is far from bankruptcy, but the building has been evacuated and the company is under strict surveillance from the government.

A small contingent of Galactic Security personnel used to guard the headquarters until the war started, and now only a token number of local independent contractors act as security guards.

The lobby used to be manned by a dozen secretaries ready to welcome new visitors, but now there’s only two security guards who keep themselves busy by reading their tablets.

The human doesn’t even look up from his device when someone comes through the door; it’s his colleague, an Aurochian minotaur, that has to get his attention by shaking his arm.

<Check it out, we have a couple of chicks!> he excitedly tells him, pointing at the two women approaching the desk.

<The tall one’s pretty hot, yeah, but why do you care? They’re human.>

<So? You know how few Aurochian females are there out here?>

<Gentlemen.> the taller woman gets their attention, leaning against the desk. She’s wearing a black militaristic uniform and has her hair with a buzz cut.

<If you can call them that.> the shorter woman comments. The guards can’t take a good look at her: the black cloak and sunglasses don’t leave much exposed.

<Sorry miss, the building’s closed. But I’m free tonight, if you want me to show you a good time.> the human guard tries to flirt with her.

<Baby, I’m not the kind of girl who takes “no” for an answer. When I see something I want, I just take it.>

<And what exactly is it that you want?> the Aurochian asks.

<A tachyon condensator, quark entanglement separators, negative mass injectors, a set of plasma conductors and a spectrographic map of the Outer Rim.> the shorter woman answers in a deadpan and emotionless tone.

<Uh? What’s she talking about?> the human guard is confused.

<You see, gentlemen, my boss here has gone through some very traumatic experiences lately, and she’s a firm believer of retail shopping therapy. And she knows she keeps those beauties in your vault, upstairs in the penthouse.> the taller woman explains, in an increasingly seductive voice.

<This is getting weird for me.> the minotaur admits.

<So now be a dear and open the door to the direct elevator for us, okay baby?>

<Look miss, we’re just the guards here. Galactic Security has the keys, not us!> the human guard says. And the expression of the taller woman changes into a frown.

<This universe is no fun. I have to do everything myself.> she complains, and with a popping sound an exact duplicate of her appears right behind her.

<A Myridian! Things are getting interesting here!> the Aurochian exclaims, watching the duplicate walk towards the elevator that leads directly to the penthouse.

<It’s magnetically sealed. Even ten Aurochians wouldn’t budge it.> he informs her.

<Really. How about ten thousand women?> she asks rhetorically: her body glows with a pink aura, and she’s able to tear open the doors like they were tissue paper.

<Hey you can’t do that!> the human guard shouts, pressing a button right before her first body grabs his head and with a swift motion twists it 180°, murdering him brutally.

<I told you I don’t like taking “no” for an answer. I didn’t mean it literally.> the taller woman comments, as the lobby is filled with the sound of an alarm and the Aurochian pulls a plasma gun on her.

<Hands where I can see them! RIGHT NOW!> he shouts.

<Poor choice of words.> she replies, her mouth twisting into a smirk.

A second duplicate appears right on top of his bull-shaped head; the glow is switched to this copy, and with superhuman strength she grabs both of his eyes and rips them out of their sockets.

<Well, what do you know. You can have fun in this universe, after all.> she comments.

<General Zel. Couldn’t you do this without sounding the alarm?> the shorter woman reprimands her, calmly getting into the elevator and ignoring the screams of agony of the Aurochian.

<My bad. I was caught up in the moment.> the taller woman shrugs; one of her duplicates takes the gun and shoots the guard in the head, then throws it at the original and makes all copies disappear.

Once the duo gets into the elevator, she voices her doubts.

<Do you really need all that stuff? Can’t you build it yourself?>

<Not without attracting Noriko’s attention by gathering the necessary materials. As long as this pathetic excuse for a war keeps her out of the Galaxy, however, we are unopposed.>

<Makes sense. Although I thought you would have taken advantage of the whole thing to overthrow her, instead of staying out of it.>

<First rule of a hostile takeover, Zel. Never interrupt your enemy when it’s making a mistake.> the shorter woman answers, and the two don’t exchange words until the elevator reaches its destination.

Galactic Security might have left low-level contractors in charge of the building, but they know the vault of Ilium Incorporated would be the target of all arms dealers in the sector.

When the elevator doors open, the two women are faced with the two dozen military androids that are guarding the penthouse. And their bodies are covered in laser targeting systems.

<THIS IS A RESTRICTED AREA. UNIDENTIFIED VISITORS ARE NOT ALLOWED. WARNING: LETHAL FORCE IS AUTHORIZED.>

<I don’t need identification. I am your mistress.> the shorter woman answers, taking off her sunglasses to show her silver eyes. Which show much brighter than the targeting lasers.

<SUBJECT NOT AUTHORIZED. ASSUME SURRENDERING POSITION OR WE WILL ENACT LETHAL FORCE. YOU HAVE TEN SECONDS TO COMPLY.>

<Surrendering?> she repeats, raising an eyebrow.

<TEN. NINE.>

<Rei Null does not surrender.> she angrily responds, drawing a Genius Gun and blasting the first android with enough kinetic energy to tear it to pieces while simultaneously creating a hole in the wall behind it.

The other androids open fire, with all shots ricocheting against her forcefield. The alternate version of Kari Zel from her universe hides behind her, and doesn’t get out of it until Rei is done shooting.

In a few seconds, all the androids have been completely demolished.

<I wish you were able to bring more guns from Heaven.> General Zel admits.

<Soon I will get all the guns we need. And I will give you another army to lead.> Rei promises, stepping on the scattered remains of the androids to approach the vault.

The locking mechanism is so complex that the most advanced supercomputers in the Galaxy would need weeks to crack its code. Rei takes a small device from her pockets, no bigger than her hand, and attaches it to the safe. It opens with the push of a button.

<Did you bring that too? Very specific.> Zel comments.

<I built it last night from some junk I found laying around. When I cracked the Imperial Network and found the only non-governmental organization with the technology I needed, it wasn’t difficult to deduce their systems would have even worse security. This reality is a joke.>

<I’m confused, is this stuff going to help us stay real outside of Heaven?> Zel asks, glancing at the handcuff that keeps them both anchored to this reality.

<When I need you to think, General Zel, I will order you to. Now, keep those nuisances out of my hair while I begin assembling the first steppingstone to my return to power.> Rei tells her, handing over the Genius Gun.

Just as the sirens of a squadron deployed by Galactic Security approach the building.

<And Zel. I expect the utmost professionalism from this: no survivors.>

<You got it. I’m feeling back home already.> General Zel answers, setting the Genius Gun at its highest setting.