Beyond The Impossible

Stockholm City Hall, Sweden

The Nobel Prize banquet is excruciatingly boring, at least to Noriko Null. Despite being at the center of attention, her mind is literally light-years away.

Because of this, she doesn’t notice the man sitting next to her until he speaks.

<Congratulations on your two Nobel prizes, miss Null> he says with a slight accent.

<<Sorry for attracting all the attention, mister Kalu. You deserve your Peace Prize more than I deserve mine>> she answers in another language, surprising the Nigerian man.

<You speak Yoruba. I shouldn’t be surprised: you’re famous for being full of surprises… and for loving the chance to show off.>

<Isn’t the purpose of this whole ceremony to show off our accomplishments, mister Kalu?>

<Indeed. That is the whole reason why I wanted to talk you, miss Null.>

<Because you want to impress me?>

<No, because it’s clear that you hate being here almost as much as I do.>

<Most people would be glad to win a Peace Prize, you know.>

<Like those people?> he asks, broadly gesturing towards the members of the high society that are enjoying the occasion.

<They think throwing money or medals to the people who help those in need is enough to clear their conscience. They don’t care about the world’s problems, they just want the problems to shut up.>

<You still accepted the Prize’s money. And the medal> she reminds him.

<Just because I have Nobel Peace Prize doesn’t mean I’m a saint, Null. I still care about my reputation and legacy. And I can use the money for a worthy cause.>

<Ah, here comes the sales pitch. The problem with having more money than anyone else on the planet, mister Kalu, is that everyone thinks you’re not spending it correctly.>

<And the problem with being the smartest person alive is thinking nobody else can have a good idea. Why don’t we discuss things in more detail in a less crowded place? Perhaps at dinner?>

<Are you asking me out, mister Kalu?>

<Think of it as a chance to practice your Yoruba. That was really an atrocious accent.>

<I do not have…> she retorts, pointing her finger at him; when he takes her hand to kiss its back, it’s so completely unexpected that she doesn’t take it back.

<I’m sure you’ll know how to find me, miss Null> he says, disappearing into the crowd.

Noriko is left confused by the turn of events… and intrigued.

<O.D.I.N> she calls with a whisper.

<Yes, mistress Null?> the voice of the artificial intelligence answers through the Neural Transmitter.

<Start a Class 1 surveillance on Oluwa Kalu. I don’t want him taking a single step without being informed about it.>

<At once, mistress. He is currently at the Stockholm City Hall, heading towards…>

<Not like that. Send a written report to my N-Phone every six hours.>

<Acknowledged. May I enquire the reason for this surveillance, mistress?>

<My last date tried to sell me to my mother. You can never be too careful these days.>

 

30.000 light-years from Earth

As much as the gods care about their kingdoms, it’s nearly impossible to clearly define where they end: keeping defined borders in space is notoriously difficult.

The MFS Independence, the newly built capital ship of the Mortal Fleet, is patrolling the closest thing to the borders of the Mortal Republic: a stretch of empty space with an endless line of surveillance buoys, devices whose only task is to detect any ship that flies through its sensor range.

The woman sitting on the captain’s chair, the seven feet tall giantess Aura, is restless: the ship has been waiting here for hours now.

She’s a woman of action: prior to the fall of Artemis she was the leader of the Hunters space pirates, and now she’s the Minister of War of the Mortal Republic. Political intrigue is the domain of her husband Alexer Syzar, President of the Mortal Senate, not hers.

<High General, sensors are picking up something> one of the officers informs her, transmitting the data from the sensors to the holographic screen projected by her chair.

<Took her long enough> Aura laments.

<We should have visual contact in… by the gods> the officer says, his jaw dropping when the main screen shows the ship that just crossed the border. A single ship with the mass of an entire fleet, it resembles the tower of a castle; it’s so massive that even the MFS Independence, itself large enough to dwarf an Earth aircraft carrier, looks like a toy next to it.

<This is the HDS Executioner, demanding permission to teleport>

<Permission granted> Aura says, knowing perfectly well that she doesn’t have a choice.

A beam of light announces the appearance  of three people. Two of them are men wearing a black and red armor that covers them from head to toe; the crest on their helmet and the symbol on their chest identifies them as soldiers serving Ares. Between them is a woman in black military uniform, with straight blond hair reaching past her back.

<Welcome aboard, Adrestia> Aura greets the goddess.

<You have a nice vessel, General Aura. One day you mortals will learn to build real ships, I’m sure.>

<High General, Your Grace> Aura points out, standing up from the chair. The daughter of Ares is a tall woman, but Aura is still an entire foot taller than her.

<My ship may be smaller than yours, but it has a nasty bite.>

<Your ship, High General? Doesn’t it belong to the Mortal Republic?>

<I know what I said> Aura answers, looking at Adrestia in the eye.

The tense exchange of threatening stares is interrupted by an officer announcing:

<Two unidentified vessel incoming.>

<More ships, Your Grace? I thought we agreed to this encounter informal> Aura says.

<I didn’t summon any reinforcements> the goddess recalls, seemingly sincere.

One of the ships slows below lightspeed, circling the HDS Executioner; it’s much smaller than the HMF Independence, and its design is well known among the gods.

<The Ragnarok, the ship of the Slayer of Gods. What is Null doing here?> Adrestia wonders.

<I don’t think this is Null> Aura says: while she can’t read the kanji on the right side of the ship, she recognizes that they’re not the ones translating the word “Ragnarok” in Japanese.

In fact, once the ship completes its circle around the HDS Executioner she can read the white letters on the left side: “Apocalypse”.

<It’s an ambush! Raise the shields!> she orders; and just in time, because another ship just entered visual range and fired at the HMF Independence as soon as the shields went up. An exact replica of the Apocalypse, the only distinguishing feature is the word on the left side: “Armageddon”.

<This is Supreme General Adrestia. Destroy the enemy ships> the goddess orders, and her ship complies… or at least it tries to: the Apocalypse and the Armageddon are too fast for its weapons and they easily dodge every attack. They still don’t pose much of a threat to the HDS Executioner: their plasma blasters are no match for the shields of a capital ship.

<Open a channel with those ships, I want to know what the Hades is…> Aura orders, but before she can finish her sentence she finds herself floating: the artificial gravity isn’t working anymore, just like the lights and the entire ship’s instrumentation. They can still see Adrestia’s ship from the windows: their ship is similarly without power.

<This can’t be a random failure, there are over a dozen redundancies to every major system> the goddess says; she’s the only one still touching the floor, unaffected by the lack of gravity.

The two mysterious ships open fire: without its shields, it’s a sitting duck. A few expertly placed hits on the engine, and the enormous capital ship explodes in a blinding explosion.

With everyone else looking away, Adrestia doesn’t blink: her eyes are fixed on the ships that hover above the HMF Independence like birds of prey.

<If it’s a war you want, know that I’m always up to the challenge> the goddess says.

As if they’d heard her words, the Apocalypse and the Armageddon hastily retreat, flying deeper inside the territory of the Mortal Republic. Once they’re gone all systems come back online, including the artificial gravity. With everyone falling back on the ground, Aura doesn’t waste time to bark a new order:

<Follow them!!!>

<We… we can’t, High General. They didn’t leave any trace. They just… vanished.>

<Set a course for Argos. We need to mobilize the Mortal Fleet> Aura orders.

<I’m coming with you> Adrestia adds.

<I really don’t think that…>

<It is NOT a suggestion> the Goddess of Revenge interrupts her.

 

Myridia, 50 light-years from Earth

Kari Zel has little sympathy for Ganos Lal, Supreme Pontiff of the Church of Null: there’s something unsettling about that woman. She never thought she’d welcome her in her own home, but she feels this is important: Lal seems truly shaken, as she sits down and contemplates the glass of water in her hands for a long time, before deciding to talk.

<Over the past few months, my duplicates have witnessed the destruction of several cities and nations where the Church of Null had a significant presence. I thought it was retaliation from the Olympians, but now that Elorus has been destroyed…>

<You think someone else is targeting the places where you spread your religion> Vesta says.

<Including those in the Winter Kindgdom?> Kari asks. Hearing the cry of her daughter Ariel, she creates a duplicate to check on her while the original Kari has her eyes only on Ganos who says:

<You know of the spread of the word of Null in the planets ruled by the Ice Queen?>

<I have duplicates on other planets too. And it’s your word, not Noriko’s: she never said she’s a goddess and she never told you what to do.>

<Actually, she did> Ganos reveals, rubbing her eyes to force herself not to cry.

Kari and Vesta look at each other: neither of them trusts Ganos Lal, but she does look sincere.

<She made me swear to never reveal it, but… she instructed me to make sure her followers would never do harm in her name, and that the way to worship her was to improve society. I have never… wanted for the faithful to suffer because of her… because of me…>

<But now you fear you’ve made every member of the Church of Null a target> Kari understands.

<Yes. I don’t know how many faithful lived on Elorus, but… when its sun exploded, five billion mortals died in flames. Why? Why doesn’t Null answer my prayers? What have I done to deserve her wrath?> Ganos Lal asks, now starting to cry. As much as Kari doesn’t like the woman, it’s hard to stay mad at her right now.

<I’m… I’m sure Noriko doesn’t want you to suffer, Lal> she tries to console her.

<Then why did she left those people die?>

<Uhm, Vesta, a little help here? Vesta?> Kari asks for support, finding that the goddess has left the room. She creates a duplicate to search for her, finding Vesta outside the house looking at the horizon, with a wistful stare lost in the past.

<Something’s wrong, Vesta?>

<I hate this. Watching someone suffer, wishing for your help while there’s nothing you can do… I could never stand it, Kari. When you’re a god, everyone expects you to be able to do anything.>

<Lal seems to think Noriko can blow up stars. Do you think she really encouraged her religion?>

<As much as I love Noriko, she has a dark side. >

<Maybe. But not so dark that she’d order to kill civilians. Who would want to harm people for which god they worship, Vesta?>

<You’d be surprised. But we’re not dealing with any fanatic here… this is a god’s work, Kari.>

<Yeah. So… which members of your family can blow up stars?>

<I’ll write a list> Vesta sighs.