Shadows of Olympus (Universe in Flames Book 6)

by Christian Kallias

  Two large statues representing Titans stood at each side atop the massive stairway leading inside the temple, and for a second he thought they had moved slightly.

  I must be letting Zeus get to me.

  When they reached the bottom of the marble stairway, two twisters came dancing around them at unnatural speeds, raising furiously fast winds.

  “I really think he doesn’t want us here,” said Chase sarcastically. He brought his aura to life. “Hang on, you two.”

  Without waiting for confirmation, Chase unleashed a powerful shockwave around them that dispelled the twisters. It worked, but then something else happened.

  The Titan statues came to life and jumped from the top of the stairs, landing on each side of the party. When their feet impacted with the ground, it cracked all around them and the ground shook heavily. Their eyes shone bright red.

  “Here we go,” said Argos, assuming a defensive stance.

  “Ares, let us deal with this.”

  “Not like I can do anything to help you anyway.”

  Chase brought a lot of energy to bear, but didn’t use his Ultra Fury powers. Not yet. He wanted to keep that in reserve for Zeus, even though he hoped he wouldn’t have to.

  The marble Titan nearest to Chase lifted his giant foot and brought it down to crush Chase. But, by the time it did, Chase was already in the air and smashed the Titan’s face with a heavy flying kick. It sent the Titan flying backwards for hundreds of yards, destroying whatever was in its path, unearthing trees, destroying water fountains and other smaller statues.

  At the same time, the other Titan launched a giant punch towards Argos, who grinned, clearly not impressed. He extended his right palm and created a black fireball with red lightning sizzling all around it. It looked more like a little black hole than an actual fireball. And it had a similar effect too. It stopped and swallowed the Titan’s giant fist, and soon it exploded in a hundred pieces of marble. Argos intensified his attack and the forearm of the Titan became brittle and exploded. The Titan screamed so loudly that Argos’ hair was thrown backwards.

  Argos sent a powerful shockwave towards the Titan’s left leg, which made his target lose balance. When it hit the ground, Argos didn’t want to let his advantage go and he incinerated the Titan’s head with a column of crimson energy.

  “Don’t waste too much energy with these, Argos. Keep a large reserve in case we have to face Zeus.”

  “Don’t patronize me, Chase,” barked Argos. “I’m still a master at controlling my power levels.”

  Was he patronizing Argos? Perhaps he was.

  When Argos’s attack was over, the Titan lay on the ground, headless and missing an arm. Argos clapped his hands together to remove marble dust from them.

  Then the ground started shaking more and more. The other Titan was running back towards Chase, growling so loudly it resonated all around them, as if the sound came from the dark, ominous heavens above.

  “I’ve had enough of this,” said Chase.

  Chase lifted himself off the ground, his purple aura shining brighter than before. When he reached a height of twenty yards, and about two seconds before the Titan was upon him, he unleashed a flurry of icy blue fireballs towards the marble giant. The effect was devastating, and with every impact of Chase’s attacks, the Titan lost parts of itself. Hands, forearms, shoulders. They all went, with each attack scoring a hit. Soon there was nothing left of the stony Titan.

  A deep voice was heard from the sky. “Who dares enter my house without my permission?”

  Chase looked at Ares, who smirked and said, “Say hi to Father.”

  Chase smiled at the clear sarcasm behind Ares’ words.

  “I’m Chase Athanatos,” said Chase, raising his voice to be heard from afar. “I want to speak with you about an alliance between our peoples.”

  There was silence for a while until a flurry of lightning struck all round Chase, Ares and Argos.

  “The Olympian people will never ally themselves with Furies! Go away now or be destroyed.”

  The lightning strikes intensified in number and frequency, unearthing soil, stone and leaves and sending it into Chase’s face. He intensified his aura and consumed the debris before it could hit him.

  “The blood inside my veins may be Fury but I’m fighting against them. I’m correcting a mistake you made a long time ago.”

  A growling sound made the ground shake heavily for a long time. For a moment Chase thought the planet could actually split into two. The amount of energy behind the tremors and sound was intense and he was surprised there wasn’t more damage being done around them.

  “But I’m not here to assign blame,” added Chase. “I just want us to find a solution to deal with the Furies once and for all. I’d think you’d be interested in that.”

  “I will deal with the Furies in a time of my own choosing. Now leave before I lose all patience,” said the deep voice of Zeus.

  Chase felt anger. He knew that Zeus would provide resistance, but he had at least hoped he would listen.

  “I won’t leave this place until I’ve been given a face-to-face audience with you, Zeus. And I’ll get one even if I must destroy your temple and half of your planet in the process.”

  “Chase,” said Ares pleadingly.

  “Stay out of this, Ares,” Chase answered, his tone sharp.

  The voice intensified. “Yes, Ares, stay out of this,” said Zeus before a giant lightning bolt struck Ares’ golden energy form and sent him skidding on his back for yards.

  “Ares!” shouted Chase.

  But Ares lay on the ground, smoke rising from his energy form. His aura blinked and it looked as though he could disappear at any moment.

  Dammit!

  “I have no tolerance for traitors, even among my own children. If you don’t leave this instant, the next one is for you, Fury!”

  Chase looked at Argos. His brother’s look was determined and he shook his head.

  “We’re not leaving,” said Argos.

  “On that we can agree. Argos, please go check on Ares. Give him some juice, if needed.”

  Argos wanted to argue but he decided against it and ran to Ares’ side.

  “Very well,” said the voice, growing louder. “You’ve been warned.”

  Four giant lightning bolts shot towards Chase. He blocked them all with both his palms extended forward. The power behind the attacks made him skid on the ground for a few feet.

  Small flashes of lightning flickered on Chase’s grinding teeth. His eyes flashed purple as he syphoned the energy from the thunder strikes into two lightning-based fireballs that cast chaotic and surreal light all around him.

  “I’m done playing, Zeus!”

  Chase unleashed the energy contained in the lightning fireballs back towards the temple. A flurry of smaller lightning bolts shot from them and wreaked havoc on the outside of the temple. Columns shattered, walls cracked, decorative statues exploded.

  “How dare you!” said the voice.

  “This is nothing. You don’t want to test my resolve.”

  Chase merged the rest of the energy from the still-crackling energy of the lightning fireball into a single ball of bursting energy and added some of his own power to it.

  He looked around and saw a nearby mountain. He shot the fireball towards it. What happened next illuminated the entire valley more brightly than the light of day for just a second.

  The resulting explosion shook the planet to the core and the ground all round cracked for miles. When the dust settled, there was nothing left of the mountain.

  “Be thankful I didn’t throw this at your temple. But that remains an option if you refuse my request for an audience.”

  There was silence for more than a minute, but the sky cleared and the sunrays plunged through the dissipating cloud cover.

  That’s more like it.

  C H A P T E R

  IX

  Spiros, Cedric and Gaia had been on the run for a couple of days. They kept
moving all the time to avoid being found, while they worked on a way to shield themselves from Gaia 2.

  “We have to change the cypher of my firewall again,” said Gaia.

  “Already? We did it less than twenty minutes ago,” answered Spiros.

  Cedric was snoring on a bed nearby. Spiros could use his help but decided to let him get some rest after he had stayed up for more than twenty hours. Cedric could be insufferable when he wasn’t getting enough sleep. The same applied to Spiros. His patience with their current situation was also running out.

  “You seem concerned,” said Gaia.

  “Aren’t you?”

  “Of course I am. But it’s not like we have a choice. Don’t forget the cypher. You only have two minutes.”

  “Right, the cypher.”

  Spiros entered a new cypher on his console and applied it to Gaia’s higher firewall functions. It was only a matter of time until Gaia 2 broke the firewall, whether they cycled their cypher often or not.

  Spiros wished he could eat something warm and delicious. They were on military dried rations and that didn’t help keep his mood towards the positive.

  “How’s the backup of your consciousness going?”

  “It’s ninety-five percent complete. The encrypted dump should be fully transferred to the data crystal within a couple of minutes.”

  “Good.”

  “You still have to tell me your plan on how to destroy the Gaia 2 droid tracking us. Is the backup a part of that plan?”

  “I wish I could tell you more about it, but if your systems are hacked, then she’ll know how I plan to kill her. We can’t take that chance.”

  “Is that why you haven’t told Cedric either?”

  Spiros turned around and looked at Cedric. He was still snoring.

  “Yeah. I like him and trust him, but should Gaia 2 decide to torture him, he might spill the beans. For the time being, the only place my plan is safe is inside my head.”

  “I understand.”

  Gaia’s droid turned her head around.

  “What is it?”

  “I thought I heard a noise.”

  “I didn’t hear anything.”

  “Shush! Go hide, now.”

  Spiros’ heart pounded in his chest but he didn’t stay to argue with Gaia. He went to Cedric and woke him up covering his mouth and making sure he made no noise. Spiros grabbed the backup that had just finished and they left through the back door of the abandoned factory.

  * * *

  Miseo boarded the Zarlack destroyer his sister Oryn had provided for his mission. Within minutes he had set a course and entered hyperspace. The next Fury destroyers would soon be ready but, for the time being, only the Crimson Shadow was battle ready. After his defeat on Earth, it would be a while until he commanded that ship again, if ever.

  The amount of rage inside his soul was high. He had to force himself not to let it translate into the physical world. If he did, the flimsy bulkhead of the Zarlack destroyer would not be able to contain his fury.

  He took long, deep breaths in order to calm himself. He reviewed the mission parameters left by his sister once more.

  Why would Oryn send him to do such a menial job? His mission was to bring back one man, a scientist from an Asgardian colony at the farthest reach of this vessel’s range.

  She could have sent Zarlack soldiers without the need for Fury oversight. Was she planning something else in his absence? Or was she just sending him away and, if so, for what purpose?

  The more Miseo asked himself questions, the more frustrated he became, until he finally decided to ask her directly. He moved to the ready room next to the bridge to place his call privately.

  The holo-screen turned on and the wall opposite the viewport of the ship’s ready room filled with the image of his sister.

  “It’s been less than an hour. What is it, brother?”

  “I want you to tell me why you’re sending me on this fool’s errand.”

  “This is no errand. Acquiring Kvasir is of the utmost importance to us. We need to understand better how the device the Olympians used to trap us works, so we can not only defuse or destroy it once and for all, but also protect ourselves against it, should the Earth Alliance manage to strike a deal with the Olympians.”

  That made sense and indeed gave more meaning to Miseo’s mission.

  “Tell me more about this Kvasir.”

  “You must bring him in alive, no matter what. He’s no good to us dead. So whatever happens refrain from taking unnecessary risks that could cost him his life. He’s the Asgardians’ most talented scientist.”

  “How come he’s alone on that colony if he’s their best scientist?”

  “I didn’t say he’s their best, just their most talented. My intel is a little thin about why, but it would seem Kvasir didn’t play nicely by the Asgardian rules, so they banished and imprisoned him.”

  “Why isn’t he escaping? Surely if he’s that good a scientist he should have found a way.”

  “That’s why I’m sending you there, Miseo. I don’t have all the answers, just a little actionable intel. I need a seasoned Fury and I need someone I can trust to follow orders. Please tell me I haven’t made a mistake in placing my trust in you.”

  “Don’t worry, Oryn, I’ll bring you back this Kvasir.”

  “Make sure you read the brief in its entirety. The last patrol I sent to that world never returned. A long-range probe picked up data on a weapon that seems to crystalize ships in space. Perhaps that’s why Kvasir never attempted to escape the place. After weeks of work our scientists have found a way to modify our shields to deflect the crystalizing beam of energy. Make sure you activate the secondary shield generator or you’ll be history. Oh, and once you have Kvasir, destroy everything in the system. There’s a Star Alliance armada that fell prey to the station’s main weapon. Let’s make sure nobody finds a way to recover those ships.”

  “Very well, sister, I’ll report back once I’m done with my mission.”

  Oryn turned off the communication without as much as a goodbye.

  Miseo returned to the bridge, satisfied that his mission was neither a fool’s errand nor a simple diversion meant to drive him away from home.

  * * *

  “I wonder why the Zarlacks haven’t acknowledged our hails. The encrypted message we sent should have been proof we are coming on Argos’ orders,” said Tar’Lock.

  “Perhaps the base has been repossessed by the Furies. Let’s not forget Argos is now considered a traitor,” replied Keera. “If they found the base, surely they took possession of it or, at the very least, canceled his standing orders.”

  “The last thing we need is a Fury on board that station,” added Ryonna. “That could make this mission way more difficult than it has to be.”

  “I guess that depends on how strong that Fury is,” said Keera. “You already killed one, didn’t you?”

  “I took her by surprise, and if there’s more than one, things might get toasty,” replied Ryonna.

  “Why don’t you let me go first?” asked Tar’Lock. “I can run fast enough to act as your scout.”

  “I’ve already told you why on the ship, Tar’Lock. While you’re fast compared to us, you could end up being slow compared to a seasoned Fury warrior. And a single blow could claim your life. So please, stay behind, and use the battle droids for cover. Is that understood?”

  Tar’Lock clicked his disagreement but nodded nonetheless.

  Ryonna stopped Keera with her arm at the next intersection inside Argos’ base.

  “Hang on,” she whispered. “Scanners indicate movement.”

  Ryonna gestured the platoon of soldiers to take offensive positions and reminded them to use non-lethal force only. She checked her own blaster and made sure it was on maximum stun. She hoped Zarlack soldiers were susceptible to that setting.

  “I really wish I had an extra super-suit,” said Keera.

  “I know. But if it makes you feel better you can have
mine,” answered Ryonna.

  “No, it makes more sense that the best warrior amongst us wears the super-suit. I get that.”

  Ryonna nodded before deploying the helmet part of her liquid-metal suit. It covered her face and the eyes of the helmet lit blue. Ryonna gave the signal to the soldiers to advance.

  All hell broke loose. Multiple blaster fire darted past the soldiers. Two were hit before the rest of the platoon returned fire.

  “You two,” said Ryonna, pointing her finger towards Keera and Tar’Lock, “stand fast and wait until the firing stops.”

  “To hell with that. I’m helping you,” argued Keera.

  “No, that’s a direct order. You two, don’t move. Tar’Lock, make sure she obeys.”

  But Ryonna didn’t wait for any confirmation before jumping out of cover, opening fire in midair towards the incoming blaster fire.

  The Zarlacks’ carapaces were very thick and the Earth Alliance stun weaponry had little effect. It destabilized them for a couple of seconds, but they recovered and kept firing on the now decreasing soldier platoons.

  Ryonna was hit once on the torso before ending her jump, but her super-suit’s shields absorbed the damage with ease.

  Time for a change of tactics.

  She activated her cloak and used the suit’s super-speed to shoot past the Zarlack platoon. Soon she was behind them, taking them by surprise. Before any of them realized what had happened, she shot a supercharged stun blast at the back of the neck of the nearest Zarlack. That did it. He collapsed to the ground, alerting the others to Ryonna’s presence in the process.

  She fired three stun shots from point blank range at the next Zarlack warrior and that had the same effect. She quickly checked her sensors to see if the Zarlacks had survived the attack. Her mentally projected HUD confirmed they were still breathing.

  She used her super strength to jump to the ceiling and used maglock to stay there while she took three more Zarlacks down before three well-placed blaster shots hit her on the helmet. Her HUD flashed orange, indicating that her shields in that part of the suit were under twenty percent.

  She undid her maglock and let gravity bring her back to the floor with a metallic thud. She was instantly greeted with a blade coming towards her throat. While the suit could probably take it, she didn’t want to test that hypothesis. She grabbed the incoming blade with her free hand and twisted it, effectively altering the Zarlack warrior’s balance. She shot three successive stun blasts at the soldier’s chest and he fell on his back, his arms and legs twitching. Ryonna dropped the blade.