(Pov: Female Narrator)
Diana, the D.I.V.A.’s leader. A human from Old Earth, a trash world. A pretty 21-year-old redhead with blue eyes and short hair. Diana was born as Dahlia and was blonde at the time.
Iliana, before was IX-501-R, is one of Iliana the Great’s many copies, the artificial planet Ixiana’s queen. She looks like a living doll with her big eyes. A doll with long, wavy silver hair and gray eyes. An alien named Timothée Ilarez is madly in love with her. Although Iliana has the appearance and intellect of a 22-year-old woman, she's only 7 years old of her.
Victoria is a 28-year-old butterfly woman and a Papizei fighter. She has jet-black hair in long pigtails, one green eye (right) and the other brown (left). Victoria was born under the name Vaniesse.
Alissa, formerly CMK-47i, an android with extraordinary skills from the ruined world of Aruine. Although her body is artificial, she has short brown hair and amber eyes. Her age is unknown, but Alissa has been around for many years.
They all have skin in different white tones. By a combination of circumstances, they had to flee their home world and they met in a space tavern.
With nothing better to do with their skins, they got themselves a cheap spaceship and founded their own group of mercenaries, the D.I.V.A. For the right amount of money, they can do anything... almost anything.
Since their interview with Jenima, the D.I.V.A. have become famous. Aboard their new ship, the Star Diva, they've had many adventures.
(Pov: Diana)
I'm Diana, D.I.V.A.’s leader. In the Star Diva, our day was quiet until Alissa asked me via the ship's comms system to join her on the command bridge.
I'll join her.
"You have to listen to this." She says to me.
She plays a long-recorded message.
"Hello, beings of the stars! People in my village think I'm crazy, but I know you exist. Let me introduce myself. Colmar, from the village Little Seed. It's probably a strange name for you, but our planet's called Green Shard, so we're not short of original names! Anyway, beings of space, I need you. I need your help. Our village has only one farm nearby, Louden and Rieka's. Rieka has fallen seriously ill, and Louden has to go with her to the nearest town so she can be treated. This will leave him with quite a debt, but he's willing to do anything to save his wife. Only thing is, he can't leave his farm without anyone to take care of it. I volunteered, the couple left for town, but I can't manage it. I need help or his farm will fall into ruins. Please, beings of the stars, help me!"
After Colmar's message is finished, I look at the android and sigh.
"Alissa, it's an Untouchable World."
"I know."
There's been a silent, golden rule for centuries, ever since the advancement and discovery of space. The Rule with a capital R. "Never go to an Untouchable World, a world too primitive to know about the existence of other planets, other life forms." For example, a world where its people are still prehistoric. People who break this rule are shunned by society as a whole and are almost always murdered.
"What's going on?" Iliana suddenly asks as she reaches the command bridge.
"We've received a message asking for help." Alissa explains to Iliana.
"Help? Do they want to hire us for a mission?" Asks the doll woman.
"But this message comes from an Untouchable World." I said.
"Oh."
Iliana looks sad. As an Ireonix, she is sensitive to the suffering of others. This is linked to her power to read souls and connect with them. She asks to hear the message. I can't refuse.
While Iliana listens to Colmar's message, Victoria arrives. Her feet don't touch the ground, as she glides with her wings.
"Hi." She says to me.
"Hello Victoria." Alissa answers for me.
"What's going on here?" Asks the butterfly woman.
"We have to help him!" Iliana suddenly says.
"I knew you were going to say that," I said to Iliana, "but it's an Untouchable World."
"So what?" She asks me.
"Taking care of a farm." Alissa says. "That's not within our expertise."
"A farm? What farm?" Asks Victoria.
Iliana explains everything.
"Well, if this Colmar guy pays us, I don't see any problem."
"We can always learn." Alissa adds.
"You three aren't serious? It's forbidden to go to Untouchable Worlds!"
"Diana, are you afraid?" Victoria asks me teasingly.
"I'm not afraid! But breaking the Rule is madness! Not even Timothée himself would break it!"
"That would surprise me." Says Victoria. "After all, there are bounty hunters after him."
"To save his life, he'd break the Rule." Says Alissa.
I sigh. My fellow mercenaries can be tiresome at times, but we always get along.
"All right." I said, giving up. "If you want to help Colmar by playing farmer, I'm not going to stop you."
"Diana!" Says Iliana. "Does that mean...?"
"Yes. Let's take the Star Diva to the planet Green Shard and I'll come with you!"
Iliana, her eyes shining, hugs me. Alissa analyzes Colmar's message to obtain the planet's coordinates. As soon as she has them, Victoria pilots the ship to the planet Green Shard. Normally, it's either me or Alissa who pilots, but I don't say anything.
(Pov: Iliana)
I'm Iliana, one of the D.I.V.A, a clone of Iliana the Great and an Ireonix. I'm so happy that Diana has agreed to help Colmar. I'm aware that, as our leader, she has to make some tough decisions.
Sometimes we have to refuse certain missions, even if it costs the lives of innocent people. For example: intervening in a war by indirectly helping one side by providing them with weapons. We've had so many requests for this kind of thing since our interview with Jenima. It's crazy! To think that being a mercenary only means taking part in armed conflicts.
Anyway, we're approaching the planet Green Shard, but there's a problem. We can't see it.
"Are you sure you have the right coordinates?" Diana asks Alissa.
"Positive."
"Then where could this planet be?" Asks Victoria.
She looks at the vast, dark sky of starry space intensely, then asks Alissa to use her android eyes to magnify where she's pointing her finger. Alissa complies and her response startles both Diana and me.
"I see it. Green Shard, a planet as small as a pea."
"What?" Diana asks. "Are you quite sure about that?"
"Yes."
"But then how can we help Colmar?" I asked. "Unless we shrink ourselves..."
"That is possible." Alissa says. "With technology that modifies the size of objects."
"I know such machines exist," says our leader, "but they cost a fortune."
"So what do we do?" Victoria asks. "Do we give up?"
"No!" I retorted. "We don't need to buy a machine, just be able to use it once on the Star Diva while we're in it!"
"And another time when we want to get back to our normal size." Alissa adds.
"Um..." Victoria says. "Diana, what do you decide?"
"Well, it doesn't hurt to ask if such a machine can be borrowed. Let's go."
I smile. Victoria turns the Star Diva around and we head for a trading planet, where you can find everything.
After landing, we go into a large store. It's daylight on the planet. The woman at the counter looks humanoid, but the hair on her head is shaped like a broccoli flower and she has tentacles.
"Hello." She says. "Are you looking for anything in particular?"
"Well," says Victoria, "we'd like to borrow a machine that changes the size of objects."
"Ha, ha! I'm sorry, enlargement/shrinking machines can't be borrowed. They can be bought."
"But we only need it twice." I said, wanting to negotiate. "Surely we can reach a compromise."
"No compromises. Either you buy or you leave right now!"
"Rude." Alissa said in a low voice.
"What did you say?" Asks the tentacled woman.
"Rude. You're rude, Madam. That's not good for business."
"How dare you?!"
"Do you know anyone with an enlargement/shrinking machine?" Diana then asks, wanting to calm the woman down. "We could borrow it."
The woman at the counter yells at us to leave, which attracts the attention of other customers. Victoria then gets angry.
"Do you know who we are? We are the D.I.V.A. and we need an enlargement/shrinking machine!"
The other customers start talking amongst themselves. We hear our names and Jenima's among the hubbub. This situation seems to embarrass the woman at the counter. I see her pull out a mini-mobile phone, shaped like a carrot, and call someone.
"Yes, that's me. Listen, I've got a little concern. Do you know, uh, the D.I.V.A.? Uh-huh. What? Celebrities? Really? In that case, do you know who they could borrow an enlargement/shrinking machine from? From whom? Great, thanks!"
The woman hangs up and addresses us.
"Go to the rich neighborhood at 5 FromLaVerdier. A man named Markusch can help you. Now, will you please leave?"
We leave without further ado.
(Pov: Victoria)
I'm Victoria from Papizei and one of the D.I.V.A. We're heading for 5 FromLaVerdier. I wish I could fly with my wings to get there faster, but Diana doesn't want us to attract attention. What's the point? Since the interview with Jenima, we're famous. It's only a matter of time before someone stops to talk to us.
"Hey, Mom, look!" Says a child's voice.
I knew it. We had to make conversation with the boy and his mother, then with an old man, then with a fat woman, then with a student with glasses. We're exhausted, but Diana, Iliana and Alissa remain smiling and polite. How do they do it? I would have sent them packing a long time ago.
After everything was finished, we arrived at 5 FromLaVerdier. Markusch was waiting for us on his huge private grounds with his enlargement/shrinking machine. He's an alien with a body as long and thin as a broom. We can't see his mouth, but he can talk to us. He lives in a huge mansion.
"Greetings! It's an honor to meet you. So, you need my machine?"
"Yes, but how did you know?" Diana asks.
"I was told. So, all you have to do is show me the object you need to enlarge or shrink, and my machine will take care of the rest."
"Thank you." Says Iliana. "Let's go and get the Star Diva."
Markusch is confused. Well, I think he's confused. It's hard to read a broom's facial expressions.
"The Star Diva? What's that?"
"Our spaceship." Alissa explains. "We need to get as small as possible if we're going to..."
"Just a moment!" Says Markusch. "You want to be shrunk, but that's impossible. This machine changes the size of objects, not people."
"But it has to!" I retorted. "We have a mission on a planet as small as a pea."
"Well, I'm sure its inhabitants have technology that can help you."
I remained silent. I couldn't tell him "no, because it's an Untouchable World".
"Unfortunately, no." Said Alissa, against all odds.
"Hasn't anyone ever tried to change size with an enlargement/shrinking machine?" Asks our leader.
"Nobody." Says Markusch as if it were obvious.
"Well, we'll be the first then!" I say determinedly.
Before Diana can say anything to me, I'm flying off to the Star Diva. I enter the spaceship and pilot it to Markusch's mansion. The alien with the body as long and thin as a broom flinches when he sees it. I teleport Diana, Iliana and Alissa inside. Alissa, using the ship's comms and her own communications system, asks Markusch to activate his machine.
"This is madness! What if I kill you? I don't want to go to jail!"
"Everything's going to be okay." Alissa said to reassure him. "Please, activate your machine."
We can't quite see Markusch from where we are, but he must be sighing in frustration and sweating in fear. The alien activates his enlargement/shrinking machine and we disappear. At least, we think we've disappeared, but we're still here.
"Everything is so big!" Iliana exclaims.
"We must be microscopic in size." Thinks our leader Diana.
"No, we're only three times smaller than a pea." Says Alissa. "I'll go tell Markusch that we're still alive."
Markusch is happy to know that we're not dead. Alissa says goodbye, Diana takes control of the spaceship and pilots it back into space.
Despite our size difference, the Star Diva is as fast as ever. It will only take a few hours to find Green Shard.
(Pov: Alissa)
I'm Alissa, an android and one of the D.I.V.A. As soon as Green Shard appears before us, we see that it's now as big as a large planet.
"Now we can help Colmar." Says Iliana, happily.
I like it when Iliana is happy. When she's very sad, I feel weak and useless. Her emotions seem to affect the other D.I.V.A.s. Victoria becomes more withdrawn. Diana is becoming stricter in her command.
"That's good." Victoria says. "But where are we going to land without attracting suspicion?"
"I activate cloaking." Says Diana, making the Star Diva invisible. "Now we can find ourselves a corner to land in without worry."
As soon as the Star Diva enters the planet's atmosphere, I analyze the radio signals to locate Colmar. We see that it's night.
"I think I've found him." I say, then send a radio message to these coordinates. "Good evening, Colmar. Can you hear me?"
I don't get an answer, but I try again.
"Colmar, this is a being from the stars. We received your message. My friends and I want to help you with Louden and Rieka's farm. Can you hear me, Colmar?"
Then we all hear Colmar's voice in the ship's comms system.
"Yes! Yes, I hear you! It's a miracle... and I was right! WE'RE NOT ALONE IN SPACE!"
"Right. I'm Alissa."
"I'm Diana."
"I'm Victoria."
"I'm Iliana."
"We are space mercenaries, the D.I.V.A." Explains our leader at Colmar. "We're ready to help you with the farm..."
"But first let's talk payment!" Says Victoria.
"Payment?" Colmar asks. "I wasn't aware of that. Can't you help only with the goodness of your heart?"
"Unfortunately, no." Quickly says Victoria before Iliana says we can help for free.
Iliana is so sensitive to the distress of others that she'll do anything without asking for anything in return. Well, except for food and clothes.
"Colmar, we're mercenaries." Diana says. "If you can't pay..."
"NO! I... I'll find a way to pay you. Please, come and join me."
Iliana looks at the rest of the group. I feel like she wants to cry in supplication.
"Alright." Our leader finally says. "We're on our way."
Colmar thanks us. Following his radio signal, I find Colmar's house. The Star Diva goes there and we land further on, near a forest.
Colmar's house is far away, in the middle of nature. It's shaped like a large mushroom. As soon as we arrive in front of it, the front door swings open to reveal Colmar. He looks like a man. A tiny man, if we were our normal size. A man with big ears, a big round nose, small eyes that are completely brown, with no distinction between the iris and the pupil, and with barely any brown hair on top of his head. He wears an outfit that many people would find eccentric. All yellow and covered in aluminum.
"Hello there! By the gods, I never thought... Oh, I'm so nervous!"
"Your pulse and respiration are above normal."
I said that without thinking. Colmar is part of an Untouchable World. He doesn't know what an android is, and it's better if he doesn't.
"I’m sorry, what?" He asks.
"It's nothing. Excuse me."
"So, about the payment..." Victoria says before she's interrupted.
"Before that, can you show us around the farm?" Says Iliana.
"And give us some advice." Diana adds. "We don't have much farming experience."
A lie. Diana and the rest of us D.I.V.A.s have never worked on a farm in our lives.
"Of course, of course!" Says Colmar.
He comes out of his house and takes us to the farm. On the way, he asks Victoria why she has wings.
"Uh... well... how can I put this?"
She couldn't tell him about Papizei.
"A fairy touched her when she was little." Iliana said immediately.
"Oh, a fairy! Of course..."
Victoria sighed with relief. Iliana was introduced to fairies when we met them on one of our previous missions. Diana also knew fairy tales from Old Earth.
When we arrive at the farm, Diana, Iliana and Victoria become tense. Not that the place is dangerous, but they must be wondering if they can really help. I analyze their body language to come to this conclusion. The farm is big, very big. There's a house, a pen with sheep, cows, two oxen and a horse, a coop with chickens and chicks, the land to cultivate.
After Colmar has shown us around and given us a few tips, he walks away from us.
"Wait! Where are you going?" Iliana asks.
"Home."
"Won't you stay and help us?" Asks Diana.
"No, I barely know how to farm!"
"But your message said you can't manage it, that you need help!" Victoria retorts.
"Yes because I'm not a farmer. I only agreed to look after the farm so that Louden could save Rieka. That's all!"
"But..." Iliana says.
"If it's about payment, I promise to pay you, one way or another. Now, good luck and get to work!"
Colmar leaves. Victoria is furious. Iliana looks down. Diana looks at me, waiting for my advice.
"I don't have any advice to give you. Either we go back into space, or we stay and take care of the farm."
"I want to stay," said Iliana, "but..."
"I'm looking in my database for anything related to a farmer's work... I've got nothing." I say. "I'm connecting to the Great Spatial Database. Downloading data now..."
Five minutes later, the data is downloaded. I've got everything I need to teach How to Be a Farmer 101.
"If you agree to stay, I can teach you everything you need to know to look after the farm. Diana? Your decision?"
She cusses, then says we're staying.
"I'm going to show that fool Colmar what the D.I.V.A. can do!"
Iliana and Victoria couldn't help but laugh. I smile. And so a new mission, and adventure in a way, begins for us. We must become farmers and good ones. Until Louden and his wife return, if she survives her illness.