Labya, 34.000 light-years from Earth, former Aphrodite sector
For the vast majority of planets in the Olympian Empire, life under Athena is not much different from before.
There are hundreds of worlds that had been abandoned by the gods for centuries and only recently had been brought into the galactic community; aside from Earth, the other planets in this category have largely been left alone by Athena. It will take at least a century to bring them up to speed.
Most of the planets that had been directly ruled by a god just had to swear loyalty and accept to surrender control of their military forces directly to Athena.
And then there are the planets in the sector that used to be administered by Aphrodite, the only ones whose entire philosophy goes against Athena’s principles.
She had considered simply wiping them off the map, but that would have meant wasting potential almost as much as Aphrodite has.
Since these sectors had no real military, the resources that Athena would have otherwise allocated to squash rebellion have been deployed to force a radical shift in this society.
Under Aphrodite, pleasure was the ultimate goal of all citizens. Laws were almost non-existent: causing pain to others without their consent was the only true crime.
Anywhere else, this would have led to sheer anarchy. But Aphrodite’s powers made sure that all basic necessities were met without the need to actually work for them.
This was paradise for anyone living there, but completely antithetical to Athena’s principles: the fact that no citizen of the Queendom had made any scientific breakthrough that didn’t involve sex in the past fifteen thousand years was simply irredeemable to the Goddess of Wisdom.
Today, while brothels are still active and lucrative, other jobs are mandatorily imposed by the new government. One of these jobs is actually guarding the residence of the vassal ruling this sector instead of just allowing anyone to just walk in.
<Documents, please.> the guard in front of the Throne Room says with an extremely bored voice; she would rather do anything except this.
<Do we really have to show them?> Vesta asks. The guard doesn’t seem to recognize her, or even to care about her being accompanied by Quantum and Gilgamesh.
Even though all three of them are wanted by the Olympian government, she couldn’t be bothered to memorize their faces.
<I’m afraid so. It’s the new rules.> the guard shrugs.
<What’s the worst that could happen if you break them?> Vesta pushes.
<They take away my weekly sex points. I can’t afford to lose them or I won’t get laid.>
<That sucks, am I right? Here’s our documents.> Quantum tells her, handing over three plastic objects. The guard doesn’t even look at them and steps aside.
<Don’t stay past fifteen minutes. I have to report any visitor who stays longer.> she clarifies, opening the door for them.
<Much appreciated.> Vesta thanks her. Only after all they’re past the door, she pulls Quantum together and asks:
<Did you just show her your credit card!?>
<From what you told me, they don’t even teach how to read around here. Besides we’re inside the Throne Room now, right?>
<More like the Bed Room.> Gilgamesh notes. It’s in fact completely different from the throne room of any other god he has met: there is no actual throne, but a heart-shaped bed.
It’s large enough for six people, but only one is laying there. In the dim lights of scented candles scattered across the room, a woman gets out of the bed taking care to only cover herself from the waist down.
Almost instinctively, even as she looks away Vesta makes all the candles in the room burn twice as bright in order to provide better illumination.
<What are you doing here?> she asks with a whispering voice, looking around.
<Dude, that’s my wife, have a little decency!> Quantum replies, moving at the speed of light to get close enough to cover her chest with more sheets.
She looks exactly like Jane, but that’s definitely not his wife. Something that becomes immediately clear once she looks at Gilgamesh, and her body shapeshifts radically: from a 30 year old white woman to an incredibly muscular and unusually hairy man with bronze skin.
A man that Gilgamesh has not seen for a million years.
<Enkidu!?> the Sumerian exclaims, much louder than his inside voice.
<Ssshh! Keep your voice down! You don’t want to get caught!> “Enkidu” warns them; once he touches Quantum’s arm, he goes back to being an exact replica of his wife Jane.
<Gilgamesh, get a hold of yourself, we talked about Eros’s power to turn into the person you love, remember?> Vesta tells him.
<I remember. Freaks me the hell out.> Quantum comments.
<Sorry. I just didn’t expect to see… it doesn’t matter.> Gilgamesh lies.
<Guys, I love all of you and I’m so happy you’re all okay, but you really shouldn’t be here.> Eros warns them, nervously looking around.
<We made sure we were not followed. And don’t worry, this is literally the last place where Athena is going to look.> Vesta explains.
<That’s not who you should be worried about.> Eros replies, suddenly turning into a blonde goddess who looks like she’s in her early 20s.
<Why did you turn into… oh.> Vesta realizes too late why Eros would turn into Hebe right now.
Because right then a man who makes Gilgamesh look skinny by comparison just stepped out of the door leading to the bathroom.
<What business have thou with my wife, villains!?> Herakles shouts.
<Dude, we’re just here to talk.> Quantum replies, raising his hands. His gesture doesn’t reassure the demigod, who stomps forward with enough force to crack the marble floor beneath his feet.
<Herakles, please, you know that’s not really Hebe.> Vesta reminds him.
<Dost thou deem me ignorant of such tidings!? Verily, though Eros’s dalliance doth mend my spirit, my heart doth weep for Hebe’s demise, wrought by the hand of thy abhorred liege!!!> Herakles continues shouting.
<Now I know how Torn feels like. I have no clue about what he just said.> Quantum admits.
<He knows his wife is dead; he’s been finding solace in my arms. And he blames Noriko for killing Hebe.> Eros translates.
<So you swallowed Athena’s lies. You are a fool if you believe a single word from her.> Gilgamesh insults him.
<I shallst exact mine vengeance upon thee, who doth defile the honor of my beloved!!!> Herakles shouts, lunging towards Gilgamesh. He stops only once Quantum shoots a beam of photons right into his eyes; enough to render any mortal permanently blind, it should work for a couple of minutes against a demigod.
<Gil, don’t antagonize the angry tower of muscles!!!> Quantum chastises his ally.
<I don’t care how strong he is. He’s no threat if he can’t hit anything.> Gilgamesh says, easily avoiding Herakles flailing his arms.
<Verily, thou dost realize this doth meaneth war!!!>
Once Herakles stomps his feet, the whole building is hit by the equivalent of a massive earthquake. The floor crumbles, swallowing Herakles; Gilgamesh would also fall, if Vesta didn’t catch him while keeping herself levitating.
<Why can’t I ever get a family reunion without SOMEONE throwing a tantrum!?> she complains.
<He has a lot of pain to work through.> Eros explains, returning to the closest thing to a physical form that he can create without copying a pre-existing one… the winged silhouette of an androgynous humanoid.
<Take him. I can only work with an over-muscled hero at a time.> Vesta tells Eros, tossing Gilgamesh at him before flying towards the inevitable battle against Herakles.
Alone with the Sumerian again, Eros returns to the form of Enkidu… the man-monster that Gilgamesh has tried his best to forget.
<It’s a good thing he didn’t recognize you. Herakles would be devastated at the thought of you working for his wife’s killer… he’s actually a huge fan of your adventures.> Eros says.
<Our intelligence didn’t say anything about Herakles being with you. Did Athena send him here anticipating we would try recruiting you?> Gilgamesh asks.
<She said spending time with me would do him good.>
<I understand the feeling.> Gilgamesh notes, holding tight to “Enkidu” and staring a little too deeply into his eyes.
The Hatchery, 21.000 light-years from Earth
Hermes has seen his fair share of advanced technology. From the stellar forgery of Hephaestus to the necro-laboratories of Anubis, from the terraforming machines of the Lar to the dimensional shipyards of Themyscira.
He still has to stare in wonder at the intricate circuitry of the Genesis Armor.
<You really outdid yourself this time, Sunshine.> he congratulates Noriko.
<I did most of the actual construction.> Roxiana points out, not even bothering to look at the god. She’s too busy regulating the cables that are connecting the armor to the chair where Enyo has been secured to entertain him.
<Based on my revised schematics.> Noriko clarifies.
<But do you really think this little thing can take on Athena herself?> Hermes asks, tapping his finger on the armor’s helmet.
<Don’t touch it! This is sensible equipment, and you don’t want the armor to get attuned to your divine power!> Noriko warns him.
<Aww, you really do care for me, Sunshine!>
<Hardly. If the armor locks into a single target for its absorption parameters, it’s going to take forever to readjust it. Besides, I promised you’d be in my “do not kill” list, and being careless around the Genesis Armor can easily break that promise.>
<Speaking of that promise… my contribution was revealing where Athena keeps the eyes of Prometheus. But I couldn’t help noticing you have done nothing with this information.>
<Knowing where they are is one thing. Breaking into what is easily the most heavily guarded fortress in the Galaxy is another. Besides, if the armor works as intended, I might not even need the eyes to begin with.>
<You have aroused my curiosity, Sunshine. How does this marvel of science work?>
Noriko looks straight at Hermes, raising an eyebrow.
<Did you seriously just try to trick me into revealing my greatest tactical advantage
to a guy who tried to kill me multiple times?>
<Come on, are you ever going to forget about that insignificant squabble of ours?>
<No.>
<Don’t I deserve at the very least…>
<No.>
<You weren’t even tempted by the mention of my arousal?>
<No.>
<You know, Sunshine, I could just hide on the other side of the universe for a couple of decades and let you sort this thing on your own… provided that you live that long.>
<You won’t. You enjoy tormenting me too much.>
<Ah, a mortal after my own heart.> Hermes sighs.
<If you two are done flirting, we are ready for the first extraction.> Roxiana announces.
<I was not… proceed.> Noriko confirms, preferring to avoid continuing the conversation.
Sitting on her chair, Enyo tenses her muscles as syringes of Neutral Matter pierce her skin.
They extract blood from her veins… way more than it would be acceptable for a mortal… and Noriko monitors it flowing through the tubes connecting to her latest creation.
The blood is poured into a centrifuge, which concentrates the sample while bombarding it with all sorts of exotic particles and quantum entanglement fields.
At the end of the process, the centrifuge releases a small cylinder that fits in her hand; the blood inside is now glowing so much its light bleeds out.
She holds it out to show it to Hermes.
<What is it, exactly?> the god asks.
<What the Genesis Armor runs on. Weapons-grade god energy.>
<It looks… impressive. But if I’m not here to learn about your armor, Sunshine, why am I here?>
<I need to take the armor out for a test drive. And that requires a sparring partner… or a punching bag.>