Nemesis

by Christian Kallias

  The ship exited hyperspace. Ares couldn’t understand what they were saying, but looking at the viewport on the ship and activity on the bridge, he could surmise that they were scanning the debris. There was palpable agitation, and when someone got up from a chair in the center of the bridge, Ares was surprised to see a being that was not like the others. He also had pitch-black skin but had more of a humanoid face. Its flesh was tangled and seemed to be in a perpetual flux, which gave the creature a very ominous look.

  The energy this being was emanating felt familiar somehow and was comprised of a smoky, black aura that brought back bad memories. Even though he wasn’t entirely sure, Ares thought this being’s silhouette and aura was too similar to the one that he had detected inside Arakan’s throne room back on Erevos. Was that a Spectre? If so, then there was no more doubt about it, he was in the alternate dimension.

  The Spectre spoke a similar language as the arachnoids. A holo-screen filled most of the area in front of the Spectre, and it displayed an image of Erevos exploding in slow motion, taking out a small fleet of cloaked spider ships in the process. The Spectre raised his voice, and from his tone, Ares concluded that he gave a command of some sort.

  The holo-image zoomed in and focused on a spatial anomaly that was collapsing, probably the breach created by the infernal machine Ares had been trapped inside when the Fury home world exploded. A few translucent-looking spider ships managed to make it through before the breach closed. If that meant what Ares thought it did, cloaked ships similar to the one he was on made it to the other side, into his dimension, and the Earth Alliance may be oblivious to their presence there. With the strong time dilation difference between the Spectre’s dimensions and his, Ares had no idea how much time had passed. It could be minutes, maybe days here, which meant that for all he knew months or years could have passed on the other side.

  The Spectre spat another command, and the holo-image changed again. Its focus reverting to Erevos as the footage rewound until the Spectre spoke again, which prompted the image to freeze. He walked toward the 3D holo-image and raised his hands. The tips of his fingers lit red as he began manipulating the holo-footage, turning it, zooming in and out, and eventually focusing on a point of interest. Four small craft with animalistic auras engulfing them were flying toward Erevos at an incredible velocity. The auras were of a dragon, a tiger, a phoenix, and a python. They were the Atlantian soul ships, which answered one more question Ares had asked himself earlier. Chase had managed to destroy the Furies. But had he and his family been on board the ships? Had they made the ultimate sacrifice to defeat their enemy?

  The thought troubled the Olympian. Not only was Chase his pupil and dear friend, but with the Spectres now on the other side of the rift, if Chase had perished, Ares feared the times ahead could be very dark.

  As the Spectre played the footage frame by frame, ships appeared blurry from the sheer speed at which they hurtled toward the planet. The Spectre manipulated the holo-interface to try and acquire more information. He ran different modes, analyzing power signatures, and perhaps even lifeform scans. One of the modes showed the interior of the ship, their cockpits empty, which reassured Ares as to the fate of Chase, Sarah, Chris, and Argos. The Spectre resumed the footage, advancing it frame by frame until the soul ships merged into one giant multicolored fireball a second before impacting with Erevos. The planet split and exploded into pieces.

  So, the Furies are gone for good this time. At least, there’s that.

  Chase had managed to take out the Furies as he had promised both Ares and his sister, Aphroditis. One thing was certain, Ares wasn’t in Elysium, and it didn’t look like he would be going there anytime soon. Spider ships had entered his dimension, and he needed to find a way to go back and let Chase know. He decided that for the time being, he should stay on this ship and try to obtain more information about the Spectre as well as the arachnoids. They could very well be planning an invasion, and if that happened, Ares intended to have as much intel on this new threat as he could gather, and hopefully, find a way home in the process.

  The arachnoid female walked toward Nyx. She recognized the beast. Her array of red eyes glowing.

  “You should never have defied us,” said the arachnoid.

  “Zarna. I wish I could say I’ve missed you, but I’d be lying. In a way though, I’m grateful they sent you after me. Saves me the trouble of hunting you down.”

  The arachnoid female laughed, which was not a pleasant sound. It sent shivers down Nyx’s spine.

  “Furies. To think I once took pity on you. My superiors were right, you’re a waste of space, an impure race that has brought our Spectre masters nothing but grief.”

  “Pity? Is that what you call what you’ve put me through?”

  Zarna smirked. “You’re still breathing, aren’t you?”

  Nyx’s orange eyes glowed as her purple aura came to life like a lilac flame, surrounding her body.

  “Because I escaped! And now, I’m given a chance to exact revenge on your hairy ass and believe me, I’m going to enjoy every second of it.”

  Zarna growled as a trio of long, sharp, bony claws emerged from her hands.

  “I think you’re mistaken, Fury, it is I who will enjoy cutting you to pieces.”

  The arachnoid jumped at Nyx and slashed her right hand at the Fury’s head. Her claws found nothing but air as Nyx somersaulted backward. Upon landing, Nyx aimed an open palm toward Zarna and unleashed a powerful purple fireball. To Nyx’s surprise, Zarna didn’t try to dodge it, but instead moved her head in the path of the attack and opened her serrated mouth, swallowing it. Her multiple eyes briefly flashed purple before turning back to red as smoke exited and trailed upward from her nostrils.

  Zarna screeched, her eight spider legs detaching and spreading around her head similar to two hands reaching out. Her many eyes flashed an intense red as she spat a gray projectile toward Nyx. Before the Fury realized it, the sputum extended and turned into a web of crimson energy that enveloped Nyx, trapping and immobilizing her.

  “That’s new!” Nyx said between clenched teeth.

  “There’s a lot you don’t know about us.”

  The more Nyx struggled to get free, the tighter the hold the net exerted on her, and the pain quickly went from high to nearly unbearable.

  “Let me go! I’m not going back to the lab! I’d rather die.”

  “Not your choice, I’m afraid.”

  Why? Why was Zarna so obsessed with her? What could they possibly want with her and for what reasons? The Furies were a dead race, so what good could be gained by studying her? Nyx felt an anger rise deep within, and her purple aura grew exponentially.

  “It would be easier and hurt less if you just complied; you’ll never get free of these restraints.”

  “Watch me!” cried Nyx.

  The more Nyx struggled, the deeper the net buried, and soon enough, the energy web began cutting through her skin, drawing blood. The pain was a motivator, feeding Nyx’s rage and bringing it to a boiling point. She unleashed an animalistic roar as her muscles tightened. In one swift move, she broke free of the net and shattered it to oblivion.

  Zarna took a step back, fear permeating over her face.

  Nyx was bleeding, and it took a second for her to heal herself from the multiple cuts.

  “You should have left me alone. You’ll pay for this mistake with your life.”

  Her aura grew stronger as she pointed an open palm toward the arachnoid. A purple fireball with small, sizzling, white lightning bolts came to life. As Nyx’s eyes burned like two miniature suns, she unleashed her attack on Zarna. The speed and power of the attack took the arachnoid by surprise, and she barely had time to move out of the way.

  The fireball burned through most of her left arm and shoulder, incinerating both flesh and bone in its path. Zarna’s resulting screech was so high-pitched that it forced Nyx to cover her ears.

  Dark, thick, gray blood spilled from where Zarna’s arm and shoulder
used to be. A look of terror locked onto Zarna’s agony-deformed face.

  The fire in Nyx’s eyes echoed the amount of rage burning in her soul.

  “I told you to leave me alone,” spat Nyx, “but you wouldn’t listen.”

  Before Nyx could prepare another attack to finish Zarna off, the arachnoid reached with her remaining hand and touched a control on her chest armor. She became engulfed in streaks of red light and beamed away.

  “Dammit!” exclaimed Nyx.

  Enraged at the thought of Zarna escaping her grasp, Nyx forced herself to calm down. Now was not the time to let her anger overcome her.

  You’d better run. Next time I see you, though, will be the last.

  3

  Altair was getting out of the shower when Ryonna embraced and kissed him passionately.

  “Hey, you,” said Altair. “I didn’t hear you come in. When did you get back?”

  “Just a few minutes ago, you were still in the shower. I’ve missed you.”

  Ryonna dragged Altair toward the bed.

  “Wait—I’d love to, believe me, there’s nothing I’d like more, but I have to get back to the office.”

  Ryonna growled. “What could possibly require your attention at this late hour?”

  “Chase is waiting for me.”

  Altair could tell by the look on her face that this news shocked her.

  “Chase? Really? That’s the last person I expected you’d have to meet with right now.”

  “That makes two of us. I’m just as surprised as you are. He’s barely talked to anyone in the last year.”

  Ryonna nodded and looked pensive. “He’s been through a lot. I hope his presence back in Earth Alliance headquarters means he’s doing better, though. Would you like me to accompany you?”

  “I think that could raise suspicions as to our relationship; that is unless you’re now comfortable being seen together as a couple, openly?”

  “I wish I could say yes, but I haven’t even told Ronan yet. I’d hate for him to learn it through whispers.”

  Altair raised both his palms. “Understandable. Know that I’m not pressuring you into anything, you can take as much time as you need.”

  Ryonna kissed him.

  “Thank you, love. I’ll be waiting for you when you return. How does that sound?”

  “Like I have a very good reason to hurry back,” he said and smiled.

  Altair walked to his dresser and quickly put on his uniform. He then stepped onto his quarter’s transporter pad. He brought the beaming controls online from his wrist holo-device, selected his office, and pressed the energize control. Blue streaks of lights engulfed his body, and he vanished.

  Altair rematerialized in his office. Chase was standing on the far left, looking at model-sized versions of the Earth Alliance warships that were encased in a nice glass display. He gazed over the corvette class all the way to the super-destroyer ships with the Hope as the last and largest one in the display.

  “Hello, Altair,” Chase said while keeping his gaze on the chrome ship models as if mesmerized.

  “Hi, Chase. It’s been a while.”

  Chase turned around and tried his best to smile.

  “It has, hasn’t it?”

  Altair gestured for Chase to take a chair by his desk, which he did.

  “May I offer you a drink, coffee perhaps? One sugar, if memory serves?”

  “I’d rather have a Ju’Ran Blackhole if it’s all the same to you.”

  “That’s one stiff drink. I didn’t know you liked that.”

  “I didn’t for a long time, but I’ve taken to enjoying the occasional cocktail lately. Helps dull the pain, even if only for a fleeting moment. The effects of alcohol don’t last long with my physiology. Unfortunately.”

  “I see. In that case, I think I’ll allow myself a single malt whiskey. Wouldn’t want you to drink alone.”

  Chase smiled as Altair prepared the drinks by entering commands on his desk console. A second later, the drinks beamed in.

  “I heard you came to headquarters with your StarFury?” Altair said as he handed Chase his drink.

  “You’ve heard correctly. I know I could have just beamed in, but I’m not used to transporters. That’s not really true, perhaps I’m resisting using them. Maybe because it reminds me of the power I’ve lost. To think I could teleport anywhere in the blink of an eye…I—I haven’t adjusted to losing that ability.”

  “That’s understandable.”

  “I also wanted time to think; between you and me, I also missed being in the pilot’s seat. So, the StarFury seemed like the right mode of transportation at the time since I obviously could have flown faster on my own as well.”

  “I can’t imagine you had many thrills on your way here, though.”

  Chase chuckled. “No, I most certainly did not. I wasn’t looking for any, mind you, so I’m somewhat grateful on that front. At least it’s one part of our lives that I don’t have to worry about anymore—the constant danger. For the time being, that is.”

  Altair’s eyebrows arched. “For the time being?”

  “You know what I mean. Don’t get me wrong, it’s been nice to have peace, even though I didn’t have anyone to enjoy it with…” Chase let the words trail for a moment, his face darkening. “And then there’s that gut feeling telling me it won’t last for much longer.”

  “I’m not sure I like the sound of that. Even though I’ve been feeling something similar. Did you sense any enemy presence?”

  “No, not really. And to be fair I haven’t tried to sense anything, but come on, Altair, you can’t possibly tell me that you and the rest of the Alliance think the Spectres won’t eventually find a way to come to our universe. Tanak’Vor himself said so; it was his plan all along to prepare this dimension for a Spectre invasion.”

  “A plan you thwarted, at great personal cost.”

  “For now. And I don’t need to be reminded what it cost me.”

  “I’m sorry, Chase, I meant no offense.”

  “None taken. I know you didn’t mean anything by it, but we both know the fallout I’ve experienced from the Fury War. . .” Chase paused and took a sip of his Ju’Ran Blackhole, “. . .as well as many others. Olympus has been destroyed, and I miss my commanding officer.”

  “We all miss Commodore Saroudis…”

  “I wanted to see his family. I—I promised him I would make sure they were safe. But I never managed to go visit them. What could I tell his wife and daughter that would make them feel any better?”

  “Nothing I suppose, and don’t worry, we’ve made sure they’re taken care of. Daniel visits them regularly.”

  “That’s good.” Chase sighed. “I haven’t been around my friends as much as I hoped to be…”

  “Speaking of friends, Ambassador Is’chys was at the celebration last night, she was sad not to see you. Truth be told, we all were.”

  “Ryonna is an ambassador? Good for her. I bet a lot of people expected me to be there, and, no, just to clarify, your invitation wasn’t lost in the mail. I just didn’t feel like celebrating.”

  “I can respect that, though I’m surprised to see you in my office today.”

  “It was a spur of the moment thing. Sorry if I didn’t give you much notice. Not to mention the late hour at which I called. I hope I didn’t interrupt any plans.”

  “Don’t worry about that, Chase. Anything for you.”

  “I’m glad to hear it since I have a favor to ask. A rather…” Chase paused, “sizeable one.”

  Altair gulped the rest of his whiskey.

  “I’m all ears.”

  “I need a ship. Preferably one that can hold its own in battle, with multiple StarFury squadrons.”

  “I see. We’re talking either destroyer or dreadnought class, then. Do you mind if I ask why?”

  “I’d like to head out to the unknown regions and try to find a cure for Sarah, and I’d rather not have to worry about a crew.”

  Altair furrowed his
eyebrows and stared long at Chase. “I don’t think you have a choice in the matter. While your powers allow you to control the ship, their systems, and the StarFuries with the power of your mind, that still doesn’t make you an engineer. If anything breaks down, someone will need to fix it for you. Not to mention that you could become incapacitated. What then?”

  “I’ll figure something out. I can’t ask anybody else to risk their life for me.”

  “I hope you won’t mind me saying this, but that’s a debatable opinion. Almost everyone in the galaxy owes you their life. I’m sure I can find more than enough volunteers to help you in your mission, no matter the risks. People…Nobody has forgotten what you’ve done for us, Chase.”

  “I’m sure you could, and I appreciate the sentiment. But in this case, I don’t want to assume the responsibility for their lives. I’m sorry if I sound blunt or selfish even, but I was hoping I wouldn’t have to debate this with you,” Chase said, his voice cold.

  Altair let a long breath escape. “I see. What if I came along?”

  Chase’s brows lifted.

  “I can’t let you do that, you’re needed here. You’re the head of the Earth Alliance Council. In fact, you’re the only reason why I felt comfortable resigning my commission because I knew you wouldn’t lead the Earth Alliance astray.”

  “And I’m grateful for your trust in me, but you could use the help. Going to the unknown regions without backup, without a crew even…seems reckless.”

  “When has that ever stopped me?” smirked Chase.

  Altair chuckled. “Right, this hardly would be the first time you did something reckless. But let me ask you this: why not ask your friends and family to help? I’m sure they’d jump at the opportunity to spend time with you.”

  “Look, it’s something I need to do on my own. I don’t expect you or anybody else to understand, I only hope I’ve earned enough respect so that my wishes are considered. I’d like to think I’ve earned that.”