Chapter 3: The Jewel of the Heavens

She can see it from afar. The glimmering jewel in her heart.

The floating planet, she, the builder, had been working on for millennia. Her home.

“Stella, what we know means Star. That word is taken from an ancient language; one we have little knowledge of.”

The builder is sitting in the captain’s chair, in the Dreadnought, glancing at her great residence. The planet, which was once nothing but rocks, rivers and grass, she now has built into a highly advanced civilization. Through her inventions. And borrowing things from ancient ruins, which were strewn across the galaxy.

Stella is the most well-known and well-visited landmark in the entirety of the star realm. Many, from local merchants to rich businessmen from other regions, travel here in search of wealth, prosperity, and in some cases, even providence. The architect was well known to be very protective of her subjects so many sought her aid. Whether it was financial wisdom, spiritual advice, or protection from the elements. In the heavenly realm, there are many mechanical beasts and monsters, perhaps from the past. People were not sure where they came from, but they were sure that they existed. Due to the prevalence of attacks and raids.

Most of the beasts lacked intelligence but instead had a great desire for destruction, tearing apart the land of any that stood in their path. Fearing the wrath of these beasts, there were many beings that took residence inside of the planet for protection.

The smaller planets, often encased in protective domes, were not too far away from the capital, typically had drones protecting them, along with energy shields that protected them. The further, more remote places in the realm did not have such luxuries, forcing many to fend for themselves. Or in worst cases, hire mercenaries for protection. The builder was unable to be in multiple places at once, but she aspired to protect all in the realm. It was difficult, since the realm was the size of a large galaxy, filled with thousands upon thousands of planets and countless solar systems.

She let out a sigh, relieved to be close to home. Her ship was moving slowly towards a landing pad, in the main city. Its name was Aegis. Her actual home was a spiraling tower in the city. A visual window pops up on the main display screen. Visitors are waiting for her to disembark.

“Ah. More bureaucrats are waiting for me. Fun.” Those waiting for her were city officials, elected by the adult residents that had reached full marks of citizenship and legal age, among a couple other factors.

These “officials” simply did as all elected folk do, ran the city, managed the funding for projects, voted in large committees of their peers on laws, and wrote legislation. The divine hammer had very little interest in these boring, boring matters, so she left these problems all in their able hands.

She did perform routine unannounced inspections, in and out of the city hall, just to ensure they were doing their job properly.

At times, she had to confront some of them.

Corruption was an issue. An issue she dealt with thoroughly and quickly.

The visored woman motions at her servant, Diana, making her walk closer to her. The ship’s thrusters slow down as they approach the landing pad. They turn vertically as the large vessel slowly hovers down onto position. Then, one of the doors slides open, creating a cybernetic walkway towards the ground. Diana and her creator walk out slowly, admiring the scenery before them.

“It is good to be home finally. When was the last time we were here, Diana?”

“Accrrrrroding to me estiitmates, at least three years ago! Maybe we should return more often?” Diana ponders as her excessively large bosom bounces with every step. Drawing someone’s eyes towards them, then a cough can be heard.

“U-uh sure. I just can’t help myself; I enjoy the pleasure of seeing my people. Also, did you mess up your speech parameters? Why are you...” She begins to form a question but then Diana responds erratically.

“Waaaat do you meaaaaaaaan this perfectly NORMAL! All speech paraamterS functioning at OptImal capatcitY!” Her words were slurring up and down in pitch as she said this. The Divine hammer sighs, already knowing who the culprit of this problem was.

“You know what, I don’t have time for this. I will inspect your CPU later. I feel like you performed one of your usual ‘enhancements’ when I was asleep.” The builder was baffled how she even pulled this off.

She does daily maintenance checks of her personal droids. Diana was clearly tampering with her own specs, she suspected.

Just the daily game she likes to play, she thinks. She then looks at the bureaucrats. The two have finally reached the ground of the landing area.

Awaiting them are five different officials.

One of them steps forward. A human being, a younger man who was two meters tall, had dark tanned skin and wore glasses. He was wearing a business suit, always one to be a professional. The young mang had a blank expression, but the builder could tell he was happy she had returned. She had known him since he was a small child, after all.

His name was Anthony or, as he likes to be called, Tony. He is a young man in his 20s, one of the newer bureaucrats. He was her main assistant, performing many important duties while she often went on trips around the realm. He is holding a metal device of sorts, scrolling through data. Tony begins walking towards them, “Welcome back my lady, we have provid—” He is cut short.

“Dispense your formalities, state your agenda. You should know better by now, my friend. I don’t care for those sorts of things, Tony.”

“As you wish. Since your departure, we have increased the productivity of the west City sector’s machine plant. We are now producing twenty thousand mechanical Sydroids, each possessing thirty percent more operational efficiency then the last batch.” The drones were a necessary element for the ensured protection and survival of not only the city but the beings of the heavenly realm and at times, the other realms.

The divine hammer thinks of her realm, the Heavenly star realm.

There are several places that reside in this known universe. There are different realms that exist in the known universe, places or lands people exist in. Some are easy to travel between, others are not.

The Heavenly star realm was merely one of them.

Its length stretched far beyond that of the principal headquarters, Stella, and the distance of many moons. The “city” was just what the divine hammer liked to call her home. It was closer to the size of a large planet. Stella was ancient, built over thousands of years. The place started as a barren rock filled to the brim with natural resources such as iron and steel but was eventually forged into a bustling hub of commerce, as well as a home to various species.

Some people were humanoids. Others were furry sentient animals, intelligent as or more so to their human counterparts. And there those that were machines, some made for war. Some machines were designed as servants. Most of the people that traveled came very far to inhabit the land or to do business.

Traveling to and from Stella was an endeavor for most.

Traversing between different planets could be slow and quite dangerous, due to the rampant number of beasts. Natural hazards, such as space debris and ion storms further made traveling between worlds a risk venture. For the most part, high speed, warp capable vessels were expensive for her to produce, so only she and wealthy individuals had them.

Most people had to make do with slower spacecraft or public space buses that she also created. She was a bit frustrated by the lack of high-speed craft, but it was not a problem she could solve for the moment.

Her mind drifts to the more pressing problem, Cyber beasts. Or monsters, as most people like to refer to them as.

Monsters, some called them, others referred to them as beasts. The phenomenon of their birth into the world was recorded but the true origin of these beasts was unknown. Even she, the Divine Hammer, could not find an answer in her thirty or so thousand years of life.

Before she was born, these things roamed around space. Devouring and tearing through anything that stood in their way. The inhabitants of the galaxy eventually found ways to combat them, to defend themselves.

To kill these cyber monsters, one must aim truly at their core. A crystal shard embedded inside of them, somewhere on their body. Finding their core and destroying it was the only way to kill these monsters.

This was taught to her by her elders.

The immortals of the land and her sister gods.

They had taught her many things when she was a smaller, more outgoing lady. Aging has made her more reserved. Even if she was still youthful compared to them. She was a younger god, compared to the other deities that ruled the sister realms in their universe, but she strived to be the best she could be. At least in building or leading.

The Divine Hammer was the de facto ruler of the realm but more of a consultant than an empress.

She found it more useful for the mortals to rule themselves. Rather than ruling over them, she stood by their side. An aide alongside them in their journey through the stars.

Not a tyrant that lacked empathy, like her sister. She truly was saddened how she grew, since the two were close in age. Her mind was cemented, focused.

To be a god meant to act like one.

To perform her job, not to act like an emotionally unbalanced adolescent.

Her thoughts consumed her, making her ignore Tony’s rambling. Her mind went back to other matters. Warp gates.

Locations that connected multiple places in space from a long distance. Very useful for space navigation, as well as key to improving the quality of life for realm goers. Maintaining these gates was costly.

As well as finding the correct materials to create and maintain them.

A rare crystal called kylithium was needed for their construction and maintenance. It was a crystal that contained an unusually high amount of energy in its raw form, so it had to be handled properly. The last time someone mishandled this rare crystal; half of a solar system was burnt to cinders. So, naturally, the blonde-haired god personally oversees shipment and transportation of this material.

The gates were the main form of travel, where travelers can purchase tickets for rides on intergalactic public space ferries. The cheap, slow but effective way of traveling between galaxies. Some people could afford to build their own starships, at a high cost. Some were small, other ships were as large as small moons. These were officially sanctioned transportation methods. Officially.

There were more dangerous methods of travel that were banned.

There are unauthorized warp gates, unmonitored ones. Made deep in space, far away from her reaching eyes.

They can be traversed but they are...not safe to travel through.

There is a rumor, a myth even, the builder has heard. Another way to travel through the realms is spoken of in legend.

In between the realms, there is dimensional space. Some say it is possible to move in between the “spaces.”

To make a path yourself through dimensional space, on your own. She tried it once but was unsuccessful, only succeeding in breaking every limb on her body in the process. She could build a planet but could not go through the backdoor to a world, she noted. Instead, she sent drones scouring around the realm. Much more effective use of her time.

The drones were used as a primary tool to protect and maintain safe passage in between sectors not near the Star gates. They were either publicly available for usage or can be purchased in bundles. Nothing is truly free.

A “drone” is a mechanical machination. A machine that only follows programming provided to it by its creator or through updates, provided to its core memory circuit. Drones can be used for a variety of tasks, from menial to important. Most drones were produced as defensive automations to ensure protection of space and living beings. Some of these machines were sent sprawling into the other realms.

The other realms are ruled over by deities.

Such as the Divine hammer, herself, or Star breaker, the builder thinks.

She has come home for an important reason; she must talk to the other rulers; it is timing for them to meet again. Once every five years, the Star gods meet to deliberate the future of the realms and to share information. It was something she had done for quite some time. Since she was young, when she was barely even a thousand years old. The tradition has carried on for tens of thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands of years. It was taught to them by their elders. Who have long since went into retirement.

Yet she was not sure why she started doing it in the first place. It was almost as if something or someone else had placed the thought in her mind. She could not recall when they started this tradition. Only that it was necessary. The builder’s attention focuses back in, as she was zoned out, Tony was talking about new jobs in the entertainment sector. Some foreigners convinced them that racing in small vehicles was a good business venture.

“And now we have created two hundred thousand new jobs this year alone, resulting in a large boost in revenue. It seems like more foreign investors are willing to support the emerging ‘space race’ industry, luckily for us.” Tony sighs and continues scrolling down his data pad. Part of his job is reporting changes in each industry as well as financial spending. He was truly a diligent assistant.

That was Tony’s first job before he became a proper city official, being an accountant. The young man quickly rose up the ranks and he is now an advisor and assistant for the goddess.

“Tony, thanks for your report, you have been busy since I have been gone, haven’t you?”

“Thank you, my lord, I appreciate your compliment.” Tony looks up from his tablet, adjusting his glasses.

“You can call me Divi, you know. Calling me a ‘lord’ doesn’t suit me. I barely even do much, if even anything at all, regarding management of this planet.” She sighs and shrugs. She knows Tony wants to show her respect, as do all the other occupants of the realm.

“I will not. It is protocol, made by the directors to call you by your appropriate title. It is bad enough you refuse all manner of gift or drink from us, let me have this...Please.”

“If you insist.” Divi looks onwards to the other four, they are looking for instructions.

“Go, shoo! Bother me later with your boring inquiries.” They ran off; they were holding stacks of bills and legislation that she unfortunately had to read at some point.

Had to make sure she was on top of things whenever she returned from her long trips, after all. This was a democratic society she built, after all.

“Come with me, Tony. You know why I have returned; I will need your help for a while.”

“Ah yes, the ‘council of the stars,’ it is that time again. Should we prepare a festive welcome for the others, my lord?” Tony briskly asks as he walks next to her and Diana. The three walk towards an elevator on the roof, the door opening automatically as they reach it. They move inside. Tony presses a button, the 25th floor. On it, resides her business office, as well as temporary residence. The monolith that is the 100-story building is the centerpiece of the capital city they are standing in, Aegis. The doors close shut quickly and the elevator goes downwards.

“As you wish. The other realm gods do get some enjoyment from the festivities; this is a mini vacation for them. Almost.”

She thinks of the other realms, most of them she has visited at least once before.

The realm of the celestial stars, ruled by her sister, Star breaker.

The realm of the heavens, built by herself, the Divine Hammer.

The realm of mid-earth, where mostly humans reside, it was ruled by the great Earth Goddess

The under realm, those stars were ruled by corporations. Graced by the Goddess of darkness.

The abyss, home to nothing but death. It was ruled over naturally by a death god.

And the void. A place she was not allowed to visit. If she ever fell into the void realm, she would never return.

A place perhaps worse than death. The one who ruled over the void often didn’t leave her post. Or more so, they could not. The guardian of the void had to remain there to keep the things inside the void from not coming out. So, she was a gatekeeper. Often, the Void Goddess sent a servant in her stead but this time, she would arrive late. She was occupied with something, the builder remembered, from her last conversation with her.

Every fifth year, the six gods met together, fostering plans for the future of all realms. Truly a council. Sometimes the other rulers spoke to her, they had their own means. Recently all except for one.

It seems that the Earth Goddess has gone missing. No one was able to find out what happened to her, her communicator device was damaged. Tony saw the concern on her face and knew.

“Are you worried about the Earth Goddess?”

“Yes. I haven’t been able to figure out where she is or what happened to her. Part of the reason I was gone for so long was to ascertain her whereabouts over the last three years but...

“No luck, it seems.” Tony sighs.

“You may be a mighty goddess, but you are not almighty. No one else has been able to find her either, so don’t feel too bad about it.” He kind of shrugs and continues speaking. “We will find her. For her sake and ours, she is a valuable ally. And a friend we need.”

“Trying times may be ahead of us, I don’t know what will happen, especially with the increase in monster sightings, my lord.” Tony’s expression darkens. He, too, can feel the storm coming. An uncertainty cascades between the two of them.

“I don’t know either, my friend. But we will find out together. Don’t feel too bad, there is plenty of good you have done. We will find her, don’t worry too much.” Tony pats her on the shoulder, his mood lighting up a little. He knew that she spent several years scouring the different realms, doing her best to find the earth goddess.

“Thank you, Tony.” The elevator starts to hum less. They have arrived at their destination; the twenty fifth floor of her building.

Many papers and digital tablets floated around the room. A mess she refused to clean up. She walks to her desk that has some kind of screen on it and jumps into her chair, raising her legs to rest on her desk.

“But for now, we continue as we have and as we will. We have two weeks to prepare! Let’s get to work.” She smirks.

ABOUT THREE WEEKS LATER. The mood is festive. There can be cheering heard all over the city. Citizens from all over the realm have come together in celebration; they are celebrating the reunion of the six deities. Many call them the six stars of the heavens.

The six lords of the realms.

Every time they meet, it is a joyous occasion.

The citizens gather from the far reaches of the different realms, waiting for them to land in the jewel of their civilization, the capital city, Aegis.

The divine hammer is standing next to her assistant, Tony. The two spent most of the previous two weeks preparing for the arrival of her brethren. Most of the planning went to ensuring that the viewers had safe passage into the city. She gazes down at the thousands of people, cheering enthusiastically.

“Look, Tony. They can’t even see the transport, yet the people are this excited. I always enjoy these kinds of moments...it reminds me of why I am here. It reminds me of the things I want to do to ensure the prosperity of our people. We quickly have the welcome lined up but there is much to do while the others stay.” She looks wistfully down, pacing back and forth behind her office desk. Tony, as usual, remains diligent. He is glancing at his data tablet, held in his right hand, while also listening in to his boss. He is wearing a headset and has some kind of communication device on his waist. Tony is in constant contact with the entire city defense force.

The City defense force, also known as the CDF, is composed of a mixture of volunteers and battle-hardened individuals. They are trained to serve the citizens, protect them, and mediate disputes that occur between them. So naturally, they are always busy, but today they are on high alert. The arrival of high-profile people always rouses-up troublemakers that lurk around.

Tony is scrolling on his tablet, which is showing him a live video feed of some cameras placed around the city. As the builder ponders, a message pops up on her computer screen on her desk. She turns around and touches the screen, showing a live video feed. A tall, chiseled man with blackened fur with white stripes is wearing a blue hat and a tidily kept uniform. He is standing firmly and confidently and has a serious expression on him.

“This is Renolds, Chief CDF officer reporting from downtown. Nothing to worry about for now but we are keeping an eye out on any of the usual ones that like making trouble.”

“Thank you for your report, Renold. Anything else you want to tell me about?” He briefly looks around and almost seems worried.

“I just have this feeling, Ma’am, but it is just a hunch. Something feels off, I can’t put my finger on it. Something is wrong.”

“You aren’t the only one. Tony here had the same feeling the other day, so if you have it. Well, I’ll have to believe it.” She sighs, slumping down from her standing position and sliding into her chair, exhaling.

“A storm is brewing somewhere, but what?” Renolds nods his head, but he can only shrug. She has known him for a while. Renolds is a fur canine that has traveled from the earth realm to the star realm, in search of a new home after his old one was razed to the ground by stifling Silfirs. Silfirs are large wild monstrous lizards that can breathe flame and have a hungry appetite. For living people, that is.

Very annoying to root out, they tend to live in the ground and multiply far too fast for ordinary folk to contain them, in their nests built deep underground, far away from others.

Renolds had the misfortune to live near one of these nests unknowingly and one day, several thousand of the Silfirs, the scaly bastards, devoured his hometown, razing all the building to the ground and sadly murdering quite a few canines. Luckily, she and the earth goddess were off on a land survey of a nearby area, so the two of them cleansed the land of the filth rather quickly

Renolds was a proud, duty-bound one. He took this act as a sign of his calling. His calling was to serve and to protect others. So from that moment forward, Renolds followed the Divine hammer home and took care of the city.

As he grew older, his accomplishments grew, as well as the authority granted to him. He started as a volunteer, then became an officer, then became a trainer for the CDF. And not too long after, he rose to the position of overseeing the capital city’s armed forces. He was someone she knew was trustworthy. Someone she knew had good insight. So, she took his words to heart.

“We will just have to deal with whatever happens the same way we deal with everything else. Together. Don’t get too stressed over this; I want you to focus mostly on maintaining a perimeter around the landing area. The rest of the city can be monitored by our drone array, shield array, and the others we have running around.”

“I understand. I will keep you informed. But feel free to give me a message, I got the entire crew on double today!” He regains himself and stands at attention.

“Will do. Later, Renolds.” He bows, then proceeds to turn off the video feed. She gets up out of the chair then walks over towards Tony, motioning him to follow her.

“Come along, Tony. We are heading towards the landing pad; they will be here shortly.” A large spaceship is slowly coming into focus from the view of the windows. It is the other gods of the realms. She and Tony walk back towards the elevator, this time heading towards the roof. The hum of the ship’s thrusters can be heard as the two quickly ascend. They reach the top of the building. The doors automatically open and the two are greeted by high winds.

“They are almost here, luckily they are on time.” Tony remarks looking up at the incoming vessel.

“Traveling between the different realms and picking them up takes time. Besides, The two of us know this merely a formality; if they wanted to get her quickly, they have other methods.” Tony nods as he looks towards the builder.

The voyage and spectacle of the gods arriving was mostly for show, though it was good for business. During the week of council of the six, businesses were always the most active during this penta-annual tradition. So was the large spaceship they traveled on, the Excalibur. Named after a legendary weapon from a children’s fairy tale, it was the sign of hope and prosperity across all of the realms. Her thoughts drift back to reality as the ship is right above them, it is preparing for landing. She and Tony take a step backwards. The side and back thrusters turn vertical and blue energy shoots out of them. The ship slowly starts to descend.

“And here they are. Well, you know what to do.” Tony just shrugs and puts his tablet down on the ground. The ship has touched the ground. The large thrusters have turned off, leaving a humming sound. A ramp shoots out of the side of the vessel and quickly forms into steps. Four figures begin to walk down, though some of them are not who they were expecting.

“Welcome, my fellow comrades...though this was not what we were expecting to see.” The divine hammer is a bit puzzled as they walk in front of her but doesn’t show this on her face. Instead, she motions the party to follow her. Another means of transport has just arrived, floating next to the side of the building. They shuffled towards it, slowly.

They have business to conduct.