Beyond The Impossible

Mundus, 99,000 light years from Earh

Surrounded by a dust cloud that absorbs all light attempting to leave this system, there is a planetoid not found on any stellar map.

It’s located on the frontier between the Athenian Federation and intergalactic space, but the planetoid hasn’t always been here: fifty thousand years ago, it was firmly in Demeter’s sector and within a few dozen light years from Earth.

Even if someone were to put it on a map, it would be hard to find something notable beyond the dust nebula. The planetoid is half the size of Earth’s moon; it orbits a dim red dwarf star, and its surface is completely barren.

There is only one structure on the planetoid, a fortress that doesn’t look particularly impressive from the outside. Both because the dim light of the small star doesn’t illuminate it very well, but also because almost the entire fortress is integrated into the mantle of the planetoid.

Its outer defenses are extremely limited for a reason: this is not an installation meant to prevent people from accessing it. It’s meant to keep something from ever escaping.

That is why there are now fifteen Praetor Warships orbiting the planetoid.

It’s very much an overkill: they are the top of the line of the Athenian Fleet, weapons of last resort meant to protect the Athenian Federation by annihilating the enemy.

A single Praetor Warship has enough firepower to blow multiple planets to smithereens; fifteen just reeks of desperation.

A concept that Nike is very much aware of.

The Goddess of Victory sits on the captain’s chair of one of the warships, staring into the viewscreen showing the fortress from orbit.

As Athena’s right-hand goddess, she was one of the extremely few beings aware of the existence of this place before it was even revealed to the rest of the Federation.

And even she doesn’t know what Athena holds in this cursed place, or why she has placed here all of her hopes of winning the war.

All she knows is that this is far too late to change course: she can just pray that her goddess’s wisdom exceeds even her myth.

 

Access bay

The personnel working at Mundus is carefully selected. The officers must have demonstrated the utmost loyalty to Athena, they must have at least ten years of exemplary service in the Athenian Fleet, and can only serve a maximum of twenty years: after resigning, their memories are carefully edited to remove the knowledge of what they have seen and done.

Because of this, the officer registering the arrival of new prisoners suddenly realizes that this is the first time in fifteen years that she has seen someone not wearing a uniform.

Four adults and four children are being escorted by a soldier wearing a helmet; they have been handcuffed and blindfolded.

<New delivery. Lock and lose the key, standard procedure.> the soldier delivering the prisoners says, handing over a holographic sheet listing their names.

<Three Class 4 prisoners: Robert Null, Katerine Kalama and Kiros Zel. Four Class 3 prisoners: Kayla Black, Nalani Null, Ariel Zel, Azure Zel and Imani Zel. There must be a mistake, those last four are children!>

<There are two mistakes, actually: I’m nine years old, not a child, and I should be way higher than Class 2 if you ask me.> Nalani comments.

<Not now, honey.> Doctor Kalama tells her daughter, placing a hand over her shoulder; she’s immediately pulled back by the soldier.

<No contact between prisoners! Stay still for the scanner!> he yells.

<No need to get upset. This will only take a moment.> the officer in charge of security calms him down, staring at the screen of the scanner analyzing the newest arrivals.

<Four Myridians, duplication powers accounted for and neutralized. Two regular humans, one…> she stops when the screen starts flickering, and the data turns into nonsense.

<One powered human. The Nubian-skinned one, according to the file… interfering with the scanner?> she wonders, looking at Kayla.

<Powers are accounted for. Is there a problem?> the soldier with the helmet asks.

<Nothing can enter Mundus without proper authorization. If the prisoners are not identifiable with perfect accuracy, I cannot allow them to pass. I will have to escalate this.> the officer notes, holding out her hand to reach for the communicator… but the soldier puts his hand over hers.

<We’re in the middle of a war. You really want to bother a superior over some triviality?>

<It’s standard procedure.>

<There’s nothing standard about those prisoners. Do you know they were arrested on direct order of Lady Athena herself?>

<Yes, it was in the file, but…>

<And that the transfer was authorized by her? Personally?>

<I need to verify that the prisoners she released are the same ones entering Mundus.>

<You want to ask Athena if she made a mistake?>

<Of course not! But the procedures are very clear: nothing and nobody enters or leaves without proper authorization.>

<Fine, go ahead now. Ask Athena if she made a mistake in allowing someone dumb enough to enter Mundus on their own free will. She is not known for her sense of humor, but perhaps she will find it funny.>

The officer thinks it over for a few seconds, then reluctantly unlocks the door that leads to the nearest elevator.

<Just take them to sub-level 5 and hurry back. I heard we’re sealing off all access today.>

<Don’t worry, hurrying is my specialty.>

The soldier escorts the prisoners to the elevator, without looking back. Once the doors close, the officer asks herself:

<I wonder what he meant by that?>

 

In the elevator

That was an unusual interaction: Mundus doesn’t get prisoners often. In fact, the prohibition on using teleporters and the need to transport large equipment is the reason why this elevator is large enough to comfortably hold nine people.

Eight of which find themselves free from the handcuffs and blindfold in the blink of an eye, allowing them to see the soldier take off his helmet, adjusting his already perfectly sculpted hair.

<I’ve missed the simple pleasure of a well-executed misdirection.> Hermes congratulates himself, unbuttoning his uniform to show off his godly pecs.

<What are you doing? Put that back on, there could be cameras around!> Kayla protests.

<The personnel are not so lucky. See, Mundus is so obsessed with keeping knowledge of what they hold here, that there are no cameras anywhere. Besides, after being jailed for so long, surely you appreciate the sight of the peak of human form?>

<You’re barking up the wrong tree, horndog. So, what’s the plan here?> she asks.

<I could explain, but I bet she already figured it out.> Hermes answers, pointing at Nalani.

The kid genius is a bit embarrassed by the attention, but she does take the bait.

<Well I don’t have all the variables, but you said this place is designed to keep things locked rather than stopping people from getting in. So, if I were my sister… I would’ve figured out that Athena taking us here is a trap, and engineered a trap of my own. We’re here to take Athena by surprise and free whatever she wants to keep locked here, right?>

<I don’t want to be too skeptic, but… how are we supposed to sabotage a place like this? None of us is a soldier!> Doctor Kalama protests.

<I am.> both Kayla Black and Kiros Zel reply in unison.

<Sorry, I know you both have powers, but even you can’t take on Athena alone!>

<They won’t have to. Isn’t that right, “dad”?> Nalani asks, turning towards Bob Null.

<How did you figure it out?> he asks.

<You think I don’t know my own father enough to notice the difference?>

<My bad. I thought it was a good imitation.> he replies, turning into the closest thing that Eros has to a true physical body… a pink silhouette of a man with wings.

<What the hell!?> Doctor Kalama exclaims, pulling her daughter towards her; she had not noticed that her companion had been substituted by an impostor.

<Don’t judge yourself too harshly, love. I’m way better at understanding romantic love than the love for one’s father… understandable, given my family.>

<This is… interesting. I take it you two switched places when we were transferred to the ship that took us to Mundus.> Nalani deduces.

<That is correct. Noriko’s instructions were to take the place of her father, sneak into Mundus, and destroy it from within. I don’t have specific instructions on how, but I assume Hermes will help.>

<Actually, not quite. I’m supposed to take you, Kiros and Kayla inside… and sneak the others back to safety before Mundus goes into full lockdown.> Hermes reveals.

<No. That is a terrible idea.> Nalani objects.

<We’ll be fine, kid. Kayla has her energy powers, and I’m an experienced Myridian soldier.> Kiros reminds her.

<We also have powers! Don’t you remember?> Ariel adds, holding hands with both her sisters.

Instead of using their Myridian heritage to create duplicates, the three merge into a single adult woman surrounded by the blue aura of the supercharged virtual particles she generates.

<We’re Trinity. Although we’re thinking of changing our name.>

<Yes, I do remember, and I’m fine with you three joining the mission if your father agrees… but I also have to stay.> Nalani insists.

<Absolutely out of the question!!! This is too dangerous!> her father objects.

<Mother, I am the second smartest mortal in the Galaxy…>

<And nine years old.>

<…and the only person in this room capable of even understanding whatever countermeasure Athena might have in place, let alone being able to come up on the fly with a way to get around them. I must be part of this mission, without question.>

<Little Sunshine, do you have any idea of what your sister will do to me if I abandon you here?>

<And do you have any idea of what I will do to you if you don’t?> Nalani responds to Hermes, looking at the god straight in the eye.

<Eh. You’re going to be such a little troublemaker when you grow up… if you survive.> Hermes chuckles, holding up Doctor Kalama and carrying her over his shoulder.

<What are you doing!? Let me down!> she protests.

<Be careful out there, kids.> Hermes tells them, disappearing in an instant right as the elevator reaches its destination and its doors open.

<He didn’t even wait for my consent. What a son of a…> Kiros protests.

<Dad? Didn’t the lady at the front desk say we were going to sub-level 5?> Trinity asks, pointing at the display indicating the floor. It’s showing “120”.

<It did feel like a long ride. Let’s have a look.> Nalani says, taking the lead to leave the elevator.

Once everyone is outside, Kayla places her hands over the door: a surge of electricity flows into her body, and the elevator lights are shut down. In fact, the whole floor is suddenly without power: Kayla has to surround her hand with the energy she just absorbed to provide some illumination.

<This will slow down anyone from following us. If this is where Hermes wanted us to go, we could start doing some damage.> Kayla proposes.

Kiros creates six duplicates of himself to provide more coverage from the rear, while Nalani is more interested in the door in front of them.

In fact even at a first glance, it’s clear that this “floor” is little more than the access point for this huge security door, easily thirty feet tall.

<Hold on. I think I can hack the lock.> Nalani proposes.

<We can hack it too!> Trinity volunteers, grabbing the oversized handle and using all of her strength trying to open it.

Nalani knows from experience that in this fused form, the three girls are as strong as Kari in her 10K Rise state… and yet the door is not budging in the slightest.

<Allow me, love.> Eros tells them, doing the same… and yet even his divine strength is just barely enough to just barely move it an inch.

And then scream in utter terror, fluttering his wings to fly back several feet and shiver in place.

<Close that door!!! Close it!!!>

<What the… why!? What’s inside?> Nalani asks, but it’s clear Eros is no longer listening to her… or to reason.

<No love! Just hatred! Loves nothing… hates everything… everything will burn! My soul is burning! I have to get out of here!!!> the god rambles incoherently, flying upwards at maximum speed. Crashing through the ceiling, and one level above it after another.

And a voice is transmitted through a speaker throughout Mundus:

<Intruder alert. Hostile activity at sub-level 120. Doomsday protocols are in effect, I repeat, Doomsday protocols are in effect. This is not a drill. May Athena have mercy of our soul.>

<We don’t think we were supposed to open that door.> Trinity notes.

<And I thought I was the genius. C’mon, we’re supposed to cause trouble right? Might as well get a peek at what spooked Eros so much!> Nalani says, with Trinity gleefully returning to the door.

<Tell me again why we agreed to follow a nine year old?> Kayla asks Kiros.

<I have not agreed to a single thing since I got here.> he reminds her.Convertire documenti Word o PDF in HTML