“Epani, what are you doing here?”
The colossal, whale-like Panelix hovered in front of the small, silver ship. Inside were the four members of the Dessaron, a team of elite warriors that normally served the Decay Lord Galyn, but had been working for Kinisis for a while now.
“I have been looking for inspiration!” Epani smiled a toothy grin. She was in her normal, perhaps true form, that of a sea monster. Her angler lure dangled in front of the silver ship, illuminating it. “But in my brief travels, I realised I cannot go far. You on the other hand, you can go anywhere.”
Inside, Retvik, the so-called leader of the team, stood by the communication panel, wearing his traditional crimson and gold armour. “Well, not anywhere. Is there something we can help you with?”
“I am so glad you asked. Yes, there IS something you can do for me. I have spotted some distant nebulae, perhaps the birthing of a new universe, and I want to look deeper into it. Perhaps I could use the nebulae within our own universe. But these nebulae are rather distant, further than I am willing to travel. If I gave you the coordinates, would you be able to explore these nebulae, take some nice photos and procure an analysis of the materials within the gas clouds?”
“That sounds like an unusual task.”
Behind Retvik stood the rest of his team. Tenuk, the eldest of the group, seemed rather uncertain about Epani’s request.
“Why do you need to send us? Surely you have some minions or something that can do this for you?”
Epani snorted. “Hah, no. Unlike my fellow deities, I do not have servants, nor do I have anyone capable of leaving the universe itself. You four on the other hand, you have much more freedom, and you can travel somewhat quickly. Either way, this journey should not take you long. No more than a week.”
“A week?” Tenuk exclaimed.
“A week isn’t that long…” Phovos, the armoured Raptor, muttered. “And this is all you need, yes? Nothing more?”
“Yes, this is all I need. I would not normally ask you, but since you are already a small way towards this destination, and I cannot simply go on my own.”
“We would have to run this by Kinisis and Galyn first though…” Retvik explained. “We can not just go and do as anyone asks.”
“I have already spoken to Galyn, and he had no issue with you doing this small task for me.”
“So that is it. You want some close-up photos and a chemical analysis of these nebulae? Nothing more?” There was still some unease in Retvik’s voice.
“Yes.”
Retvik glanced at his crew mates. “Alright, fine. But we will require some sort of compensation. After all, we are supposed to be returning for a break.”
Epani nodded. “Of course, what compensation would you like? I could create a planet in your honour, or even a star.”
The Dessaon turned to each other, talking in a way that Epani couldn’t hear them. Well, she could have heard them if she wanted to, she was a deity after all, but she let them have their privacy. After a moment, they turned back to her.
“A star would be cool!” Elksi, the cheeriest of the four, beamed. “What kind of star?”
“Any sort of standard star you like.”
“That would very cool…” Retvik mused. “Very well. We will do this for you, Panelix.”
Epani bowed her head. “Thank you. I shall let you start your journey. I shall even give you a small thrust.” The Panelix flew behind the ship, nudging it gently with her flippers. “Fly safe, little ones, thank you.”
The Dessaron waved, then zoomed off into the distance. Once they were out of sight, Epani smiled and made her way back to the universe.
“That’s one distraction out of the way…”