Bridge of the Ragnarok, 390 light years from the galactic center
Noriko Null sits on the captain’s chair, with her hands clasped under her chin. Two members of the Vanguard stand next to her chair, Quantum to the right and Torn to the left; they’re all looking at the viewscreen, showing the spectacular show of light created by the ship’s engine.
Vesta sits on the chair of one of the tactical stations; she’s ignoring the viewscreen and instead concentrating on the images of the screen in front of her: it’s showing a star, completely white.
Noriko doesn’t seem to notice her friend sighing, but Quantum walks towards Vesta to ask:
<Is everything okay?>
<That’s Olympus. It’s close enough to show up on the sensors.>
<Isn’t that a star?>
<It’s Olympus. It’s my… it was my home. I haven’t been so close to it since I was exiled.>
<Do you miss it?>
<Sometimes. I still hope I’ll see it again someday.>
<We’re approaching the Gorgon’s Veil.> Kari Zel informs them from the navigator’s seat.
<Slow down below lightspeed. Raise shields to maximum.> Noriko orders.
As the main engine shuts down, the gigantic molecular cloud appears in all its glory. Everyone remains speechless, until more and more ships appear on the sensors.
<The Surtur, Tyr, Ymir, Slepnir, Garm and Fafnir are ready and at full power. The last three Ragnarok-class ships are on their way: the Yama, the Vanth and the Quez… Queztal…>
<Quetzalcoatl.> Noriko helps Kari pronounce.
<Yeah, that one, they’ll be here in three minutes.>
<We’re receiving a signal from the Bloodshed: the Adrestia armada is approaching from the other side of the nebula.> another Kari informs her.
<How many ships did she bring?> Noriko wonders.
<According to the message… fifty-three. Thousand.> Kari answers, disbelieving her own words.
<Is that a lot?> Torn asks.
<It’s enough to take over the entire Hera sector once we’re done> Vesta explains.
<So that’s a lot.> Torn nods.
<What about Hera?> Noriko asks.
<No signal. Do you really think she’ll come?>
Just as Kari voices her concern, several hundred ships appear on the screen. They don’t drop out of lightspeed like they did, but instead emerge from a large number of small hexagonal portals.
The largest ship is the biggest one they’ve ever seen: roughly of triangular shape, with a bright blue hull finely decorated with the image of a peacock’s feather.
<The Jewel-Of-The-Universe. Hera’s personal ship.> Vesta recognizes it.
<I’ve seen moons smaller than that!> Kari exclaims.
<It was a gift from Zeus for their seven hundred thousandth wedding anniversary. Hephaestus built it; he claimed that the main cannon could break a star.>
<Most of the other ships don’t have an Olympian design. And that wormhole technology looks familiar.> Noriko comments, before the communication console beeps insistently. It does so as another ship approaches the Ragnarok: while it’s not as astronomically large as the Jewel-Of-The-Universe, it still makes the Earth ship seem tiny by comparison. It’s completely white, with just a few details in light blue to draw a stylized dragon on its hull.
<The message identifies it as the Kuraokami.>
<The Japanese dragon of rain and snow: Leiko isn’t exactly subtle. Put her through.> Noriko says.
The screen changes from showing the nebula to a closeup of the Ice Queen in her full Winter Armor, sitting on the central throne of a Lar warship.
<Slayer Of Gods.>
<Ice Queen.>
<Quite a collection of new ships. You’ve kept yourself busy, I see, although you seem a little pale; you should enjoy the warmth of the Sun while you still can.>
<I was not aware that you knew what warmth was, Your Majesty. Why are you here?>
<The Winter Kingdom has volunteered to help Queen Hera to end this vile invasion.>
<In exchange for what?>
<Peace in our time.>
<I’m sorry, I didn’t quite catch that. It seems there’s a lot of bulls##t on this line.>
<Your sarcasm is not required or appreciated, just like your assistance. Now that I have rebuilt the Winter Fleet, I don’t need your help to secure this galaxy.>
<We’ve approaching the Egyptian fleet. We should have them on screen in a second.> Kari announces. And soon enough, the viewscreen shows the nebula again… obscured by a mass of pyramids that don’t seem to end. Even with hundreds of feet between each ship, they’re so numerous that they manage to block most of the light coming from the ionized gas around them.
<That is more than a lot.> Torn notes.
<Status report. How many ships are we talking about?> Noriko asks.
<I think the sensors are having trouble tracking so many of them.> Kari answers, working her way through the console commands. Noriko reassures her.
<Give it time. The Ragnarok can identify up to 256,000 individual engine signatures.>
Kari slowly turns towards Noriko, to look her in the eye before answering. She doesn’t get to see it often, but there’s fear in the Myridian’s eyes.
<It’s more than that.>
Noriko’s hands close into fists and her silver eyes shine for a few moments.
<Open a channel with the other fleets.> she orders.
She takes a deep breath and clears her voice, before delivering the message.
<This is Noriko Null, captain of the N01-Ragnarok. We have all been enemies to each other, at one point or another. In fact, I’m pretty sure you’re thinking about opening fire on my ship right now. But you have to know that none of us can defeat the Egyptians alone. So you have two options: let Nephthys be the one who kills me, or fight by my side today to win the honor of killing me tomorrow. I am the Slayer of Gods: before this day is over, gods will die either by my hand or by those of my enemies. The choice is yours. Null out.>
The bridge goes silent, with the only sound coming from the instrumentation.
<Too much?> Noriko finally breaks the ice.
<Are you basing this alliance on the fact that everyone wants you dead?> Quantum asks.
<Pretty much. Let’s remind them why they want me dead: full speed ahead towards the largest concentration of Egyptian ships. Torn?> she says, standing up from the captain’s chair and holding out her hand towards the Demon.
<Hell expects to get it back. The Lady Of All Demons was very insistent.> he replies, while taking something from the inside pocket of his duster: a visually unremarkable metallic key.
<I can imagine; remind me to never lend your people money. Stay sharp people, there are way more ships than I anticipated; this will be messier than expected.> she warns them, holding the Iron Key of Heaven in her hand.
<I can’t see why; can’t you use that thing to send them back to their galaxy?> Kari asks.
<I could, but Ilithyia has the Silver Key: she could easily bring them back here. I could teleport the fleet into a black hole, but I’m not going to kill millions of people just because they’re taking orders from the wrong goddess. Not if I can find a better way.>
<This is a war. If you’re not willing to kill soldiers, what are you going to do?> Torn asks.
Noriko closes her eyes. She can feel her heart pounding and her mind expanding into something greater. A moment later, when the Egyptians fire the first shots, she opens her golden eyes.
<I am going to make the war disappear. Release the wolves.> she says, and the Key shines.
Sobek’s mothership
The war god with the face of a crocodile is watching from the bridge of his capital ship, ready to enjoy a battle for the ages. His divine senses allow him to fully understand what happens, while his mortal soldiers are completely baffled.
Hundreds of portals have just been opened, and each one releases a swarm of thousands upon thousands of robots. They move quickly: their small size and agility allow them to avoid every shot and get so close to the enemy ships to land on them… completely bypassing their energy shields.
They resemble large dogs, but they’re actually composed by many icosahedron blocks: they only need a small breach into the hull, less than half an inch wide, to squeeze their entire body inside.
Trying to shoot them is useless: when one robot is shot, they just separate into smaller blocks and can then reassemble themselves. Sobek watches his soldiers struggle to come up with a strategy to deal with these mechanical monsters, but he’s not worried: they may be impressive, but since their firepower is almost nonexistent they can’t damage a single ship.
Or at least that’s what he thinks until the first robotic wolf sinks its teeth into one of the computers, accessing the ship’s teleportation system.
As he watches the crew of hundreds of ships being teleported against their will, finding himself without an army, Sobek begins to appreciate this galaxy’s creativity.
Bridge of the Kuraokami
The Lar crew watches in disbelief as the swarm of FENRIS robots tears through Sobek’s armada: they’ve never seen something like this. Even the Ice Queen is speechless, until she snaps out of it.
<What are you waiting for? Open fire on the Egyptians!>
<Interesting. Instead of killing the enemy, they’re teleporting them away.> is the observation of the Lar woman standing next to her. None of the officers recognize her, since it’s a disguised Circe.
<Teleporting them where?>
<A nearby planetoid. I sense that Nephthys is there too, along with a much weaker goddess.>
<Ilithyia?>
<I believe so. But there’s someone else… I can’t quite put my finger on it, but I don’t like it.>
<You should investigate. Everything hinges on Ilithyia being at the right place at the right time. Besides, the war is perfectly under control on this end.> the Ice Queen comments, watching the Winter Fleet engage the Egyptian forces.
The Throne of Nephthys
The soldiers of Sobek find themselves stranded on a planet that isn’t a planet: it’s a living mass of dead bodies and twisting snakes, although in Null’s mind that’s a better alternative to killing them.
Out of the thousands of terrified warriors, only one remains calm: a woman possessed by the energy of Eris, captured by the FENRIS like a common mortal.
<Ah, I thought they didn’t make shows like these anymore.> she sighs wistfully, looking up at the sky to watch armies slaughtering each other.
Bridge of the Ragnarok
Even the sensors of one of the most advanced ships in the Galaxy can’t keep up the the chaos of this battle: the forces of Egypt, Adrestia, Hera and the Winter Kingdom are intermingled in an extremely complex web of strategies. The FENRIS are slipping through, running support and picking apart every ship they can.
<Am I the only one who didn’t know about the robot dogs?> Quantum finally asks.
<They’re not dogs, they’re a modular drone swarm. If anything, the smaller units resemble wolves. I was hoping to limit the number of deaths, but there are too many Egyptian ships for…> Noriko answers, losing her balance for a second but managing not to fall.
<Are you alright?> Quantum asks.
<I’m still not used to my golden eyes. I don’t think I can hold them much longer.>
<I think you can transform back. It looks like it’s going to be a piece of cake from now on.>
Just then, a loud roar can be heard throughout the ship: the viewscreen is almost entirely filled by a gigantic face of a crocodile, as Sobek grows to immense size to devour fifty ships with one bite.
<That is not a cake.> Torn comments solemnly.
Noriko then slowly turns her head towards Quantum. There’s no need to say anything.
<Yeah, I know, I know.> he shrugs, transforming into radio waves to exit the ship and flying towards Sobek after changing into pure electricity.
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