Megalopolis, 52.000 light-years from Earth
It’s early morning in the Divine Palace. Few people in the capital world of the Hera sector are thinking about their goddess: they just know that she’s been living in the Divine Palace for as long as they can remember, that her every wish is supreme law, and that to serve her is the highest honor imaginable. The twelve servants attending to her morning routine are of a different opinion.
They are all girls, between twelve and fourteen years old: according to the laws of Megalopolis, too old to be considered children and too young to marry. After assisting Hera in her daily milk and ambrosia bath and clothing her, they are now taking turns brushing her hair, painting her nails, and feeding her pet peacocks.
Their families are richly rewarded for their service, and once they reach marriageable age the girls are granted a sizeable dowry. Their marriage proposal cannot be refused, under penalty of death.
Despite its prestige, it’s one of the riskiest jobs on Megalopolis. Any offense, no matter how trivial… failing to properly paint a nail, wearing a dress that Hera doesn’t like, sneezing in the presence of a god… can result in being burned alive or transformed into a rat.
<So tell me, Tertia Decima. How many children are you planning to have?> Hera asks one of the girls, a fourteen year old with pigtails. The servant tries to remain calm when she answers: she can already feel herself sweating, and a single drop of sweat touching the Queen is a death sentence.
<I have not… I, I mean… how many as the… gods… allow me? Your Majesty?>
<Fair enough. How many siblings do you have, child?>
<Seventeen, Your Majesty.>
<An acceptable number. Unless, of course, some of these are only half-siblings?>
<M-my father… re-married after his… first wife died in childbirth after… her tenth… child.>
<So his second wife has less children than the first ever had? That is simply unacceptable, Tertia Decima! You will tell your mother that she has to have more children, won’t you?>
<Y-yes, Your Majesty! Of course!>
<Good. I cannot allow lazy spouses in my realm to… who let this foul beast get inside!?> Hera suddenly shouts: a falcon just flew inside the room, frightening her peacocks.
The bird lands in front of Hera and quickly transforms into a man wearing a white cape; his body is as black as the night itself, and there doesn’t seem to be a face beneath his white hood.
<Queen Hera of Olympus. I am Khonsu, son of Amun and god of travels. I bring you a message from Queen Nephthys of Naqada, sister-widow of Set and goddess of death.>
<This is a civilized galaxy, Egyptian: you should have asked for an audience. But, in the interest of peace between our pantheons, I will hear your message.>
Khonsu nods and a scroll appears in his hands, which he starts to read:
<In view of the wanton acts of unprovoked aggression against the domain of Queen Nephthys, Goddess of Death, committed by Queen Hera of Olympus in flagrant violation of Article LXXV of the Treaty of Karnak, the Death Council of the Naqada Galaxy hereby declares that a state of war exists between the vassals of Zeus and the vassals of Nephthys.>
<You… you DARE!?> Hera shouts, her body shining with blue energy.
<You have the right to beg for the clemency of Nephthys. If you admit your inferiority to…>
<I WILL HAVE THE HEAD OF THAT WENCH!!!> Hera screams, unleashing a bolt of pure destruction; just the sudden change in air pressure is enough to instantly kill the young girls serving under her and the pet peacocks. When the energy reaches Khonsu, he effortlessly blocks it with one finger, teleporting the energy itself to the other side of the star system.
<I take it you waive your right to beg. I will relay the message.>
The Egyptian gods vanishes in the blink of an eye, leaving behind a truly furious Hera.
<The NERVE of that Nephthys! First she kidnaps my daughter, the flesh of my divine flesh, then she destroys my mother’s planet, and now SHE blames ME!? She will taste my WRATH! Quickly! Someone fetch my… where is everybody?> she asks, looking around searching for someone to carry out her orders. Only now she notices the devastation she created, including the blood stains on the walls that used to be innocent young girls and spoiled peacocks. She gives no thoughts to the girls.
<And NOW she takes away my beloved birds! You shouldn’t have made this personal, Nephthys!>
New York City
Noriko Null isn’t the type to visit bars, especially at night. She stands at the entrance, her silver eyes covered by sunglasses, and she strongly considers leaving the place at once.
<Hey, you look like Null!> another customer tells her. A quick glance tells Noriko his entire history, at once confirming he’s harmless and completely uninteresting.
<I get that a lot. Excuse me, I’m looking for someone.> she tells him, trying to walk past him; the man tries to stop her by staying uncomfortably close.
<Well, you found him! Tell you what, I’ll buy you a drink if you take off these glasses.> he says, his hand coming close enough to remove her shades; he stops when he sees a strange light shining behind the lenses.
<You have ten seconds to leave my sight without being injured.> she says.
<She means it, you know. Don’t you think you’ve had enough for the night?> another girl scolds him, a brunette with a ponytail standing behind him.
<C’mon Jane, I wasn’t doing anything…> the man complains, glancing at Noriko again.
<Five. Four.> she counts.
<Alright, alright. Freakin’ psycho.> he mumbles as he hurries to leave the bar.
The two girls stare at each other, with a hint of a smile. The brunette leads the way to the nearest free table; Noriko puts her phone on it and presses a button, creating a barely audible buzz.
<There. The Sound Nullifier is active; we can talk with a little privacy now.> Noriko clarifies.
<A little paranoid, don’t you think?> Jane asks.
<It’s easy to say when every intelligence agency on the planet doesn’t have their eyes on you. Did you know you have two CIA and one FBI agent as your regular customers?>
<I know I have a high school friend who still stalks me.>
<I’m not stalking you. I’m just…>
<Keeping tabs on my personal and professional life without my consent?>
<Okay maybe I am stalking you. But by that logic, I stalk like 60% of the planet.>
<That doesn’t make it okay, Noriko, it just makes it creepy. I guess you wanted to talk because you’ve discovered I’m currently dating Max, right? I knew you’d keep an eye on him.>
<I couldn’t care less about his sentimental life, but yes, I run security checks on all his dates.>
<Totally something that a stalker would say.>
<I’m serious! His sister’s alleged girlfriend turned out to be an evil goddess and I’ve had one of my dates try to sell me to a terrorist organization. You can’t really blame me for being cautious.>
<You’re joking, right? No, of course you’re not, your life is crazy. But you know I’m no threat to your superhero team. Unless… you’re not interested in Max, are you?>
<Of course not! This is strictly about business, Jane.>
<If you say so. You always had a thing for older men.>
<That’s not true!>
<Name one guy you’ve ever been interested in who wasn’t older than you. Starting with the history teacher you had a crush on, whatshisname, the one with glasses?>
<I was twelve, Jane. Can we go back to business, please?>
<Alright, alright. So what does the mighty Noriko Null need from a simple waitress?>
<I need a reality check.>
<What an interesting concept.> is the comment she receives, but it’s not coming from Jane: the voice belongs to a statuesque blonde wearing an elegant office suit.
<Oh Hell no.> Noriko complains, facepalming.
<Excuse me, miss, this is a private conversation. Where did you come from?> Jane asks.
<Olympus.> the goddess answers; instead of dismissing her, Jane gives Noriko a puzzled look.
<Athena, this is my friend Jane. Jane, this is Athena. She’s about to leave.>
<Athena as in, THAT Athena!?>
<Indeed. I am leaving, Noriko, but I won’t be alone. You’re coming with me to Parthenos.>
<You have some nerve, Athena. You better have a damn good reason for…>
<The Egyptians have started their invasion. The Galaxy is at war.>
<Say what!?> Jane exclaims.
<That’s a pretty good reason. Can I have some coffee before I leave the planet? I’ve only had five triple shots of espresso today.> Noriko asks to Jane.
<What about the whole “galaxy at war” thing?>
<Nothing to worry about as long as I get enough coffee.>
Naqada Galaxy, 17 million light-years from Earth
As the sister of the god of war, Ilithyia has seen her share of armies. But she can’t recall the last time she saw one as massive as the one currently orbiting the sanctuary planet of Nephthys.
So many thousands of pyramid-shaped ships have arrived in the few hours that the goddess has lost count: it’s an entire galaxy preparing for a large scale assault. Not only that, but something rises from the planet itself: a snake. Big enough to be seen from orbit and longer than this world’s equator. Ilithyia can hear the sound of her own heartbeat in the eerie silence of the mothership.
<Magnificent, isn’t it?> Nephthys asks her. The goddess wears her usual black skintight armor, with a snake coiled around her body. Even when she’s not doing anything, Ilithyia can feel her power dwarfing anything she’s ever faced before.
<With all due respect, Your Majesty, why do you need an army? You are far more powerful than all of these ships combined. And so are most of the gods of Olympus.>
<Of course they are. Facing a lesser enemy would be beneath Egypt.>
<All of your… of our soldiers are going to die.> Ilithyia realizes.
<Death is the sole distinguishing feature of mortals, child. Your native galaxy is a realm of chaos, where mortals die meaninglessly and randomly. I shall bring them order and purpose. Death must be carefully regulated: you just can’t leave it up to the living.>
<But… the rules of death are the domain of my uncle Hades, ruler of the Underworld.>
Nephthys slowly turns towards Ilithyia and smiles. The goddess of childbirth has never been so happy of not having the mortal need to use the restroom.
<Where do you think I’m going next, child? Once one Greek galaxy falls, the others will follow, and I shall become the supreme judge of death of all creation. Now… use your little toy.>
Ilithyia looks at the Silver Key of Heaven in her hand. She wonders if Hermes was right, if the situation she created is way above her head. But she also remembers what Hera has told her all her life: that her family is above everything else. That the offspring of Kronos can do no wrong.
<Yes. To give birth to a new era, the old order must die.> Ilithyia agrees, closing her fist.
A halo of pure light appears above the mothership. Followed by thousands and thousands more, above every ship. And one by one, when they descend, they bring the war to Olympus.
A minor planet in the Sobek sector
In the grand scheme of things, this world is pretty much useless to the Egyptian pantheon. It’s a fringe world populated by a two hundred million Naga, the reptilian species who constitute the majority of subjects in this area of the galaxy. When the ship it was supposed to provide for the war didn’t report back, it wasn’t an immediate concern: the war can spare a single ship, after all.
The ship’s captain is looking at the screen that shows the orders he received, but he’s not the captain anymore. He’s no longer a half-snake humanoid with four arms and a snake’s tail. He’s a fully converted and gold-skinned Eden. His second-in-command is next to him; they’re exactly identical now. Like the two hundred million Eden on the planet’s surface.
<It appears the fleet has vanished to a place called the Olympian Galaxy.>
<Follow them.> the Eden captain orders.
<This ship is primitive. It will take us 3,102.5 days to reach our destination.>
<A drop in the ocean of eternity. But there are other ways.> the captain says, looking at the screen with his golden eyes and forcing the computer to show information it isn’t authorized to access.
Specifically, a request to send additional troops to a planet where Nephthys is holding a prisoner.
<Let us see if this “Hermes” is ready to embrace Eden.>
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