“Calculate the time difference based on star positioning, Commander.”
The first officer entered multiple commands on his holo-interface. His eyes grew wide.
“How long has it been, Commander?”
“This can’t be. Thirteen months, Admiral.”
“That would explain why we feel the way we do.”
Something beeped on the first officer’s console.
“Now what?” asked Admiral Zenakis.
“Short-range sensors have picked up two enemy signatures nearby.”
“Obsidian?”
“No, sir. But it can’t be.”
“Commander! What is it?”
“They’re . . . they’re Furies, sir,” said the commander, his trembling voice barely making it to the admiral.
“That’s impossible. The Furies are gone.”
“We’re receiving an incoming transmission from a ship called the Hope, sir. It says it’s from the Earth Alliance, but they are using a Star Alliance cypher.”
“On screen.”
The admiral rose from his captain’s chair as the screen changed from a view of the rest of his fleet being unthawed to the face of a beautiful woman with fiery crimson hair and emerald eyes. She was stunning.
“This is Commander Sarah Kepler of the Earth Alliance destroyer Hope. Most of my crew is formerly Star Alliance.”
“I’m Admiral Zenakis of the Victory. What can I do for you? And please tell me my computers have gone haywire because of whatever happened to our ships. We’re detecting Fury ships not far from our position.”
“That’s why I’m calling you, Admiral. And no, your computers are working perfectly. I’ll explain further—and I’m sure you’ll look forward to learning more about what happened directly from Commodore Saroudis—once we’ve dealt with these ships.”
The admiral smiled. “Commodore Saroudis? That old sailor got promoted? Good for him. I’m listening, Commander. How can we be of assistance?”
“We don’t have much time so I’ll make this short. The Furies resurfaced a few months ago and are wreaking havoc everywhere in the universe. What we thought to be the last remnant of the Star Alliance came to my world, Earth. We allied ourselves and created the Earth Alliance. We’ve been fighting them ever since. These two Fury ships are immensely more powerful than yours. How should I put it?”
“Bluntly, Commander,” said the admiral, his voice sharp.
“Alright, your ships are no match for these two destroyers. But your numbers should allow you to keep them occupied until we arrive with reinforcements. But right now you’re nearer to these ships than we are. Please make sure not to fire on the planetoid around which they’ll soon enter orbit.”
“Why’s that, Commander?”
“Well, let’s just say the father of my child is occupied fighting a Fury, after rescuing an Asgardian we believe holds the key to helping us defeat Fury technology.”
“That’s a lot to take in, Commander. Why don’t you just dispatch me with orders? I’m looking forward to a full debrief with Commodore Saroudis once this is over.”
“Just keep them occupied, Admiral. Try to minimize losses on your side. We could really use more ships, and I know a lot of former Star Alliance personnel will be glad to meet more survivors.”
“Very well, Commander, we’ll give them hell.”
“Oh, and one more thing.”
Admiral Zenakis nodded.
“We need to capture one of these ships to reverse-engineer their tech and adapt our weaponry.”
“Very well, but there’s one thing I don’t understand, Commander. You need to get one of these ships? What size force are you bringing in? And will it be enough? If our thirty-plus destroyers are no match for these Furies, what are you bringing along with you?”
“Olympian destroyers.”
Admiral Zenakis heard the words, but it took a moment to digest them.
“Like I said, Admiral,” said Sarah, not waiting for him to answer, “it’s a really long story.”
“Very well, Commander, see you on the other side.”
Sarah saluted the admiral, who saluted back.
The admiral returned to the captain’s chair and opened a channel to the fleet.
“You heard the lady. Red alert! Vector us towards these Fury ships and fire at will the moment we’re in range.”
C H A P T E R
XX
Cedric ran back inside the room and remotely accessed the controls of the hospital on his holo-console. He hacked into the MRI room systems, ran a few scans and saw no one in the vicinity of the four droids currently fighting outside.
One of the droids smashed through a wall not far from him and crashed at his feet. Its eyes blinked madly for a few seconds, its fingers twitched and multiple sparks fired from its neck before the light in its artificial eyes died off.
“I guess that makes only two against one,” said Cedric out loud.
He needed to hurry. He analyzed the schematics of the MRI machine, looking for a way to remotely activate it and boost its magnetic efficiency. If he managed to do this, he could use the magnetic force from the MRI machine to first attract Gaia 2 towards it, and then boost it even further to turn her into a recycled tin can.
But that could kill Gaia. He realized she was monitoring what he was doing when a text message blinked on his screen. “Don’t mind me, just do it, Cedric! We need her dealt with before her reinforcements arrive.”
Cedric quickly typed an answer. “What’s their ETA?”
“Fifteen minutes for the first one. In an hour an entire army of battle bots will be crawling these walls and killing everything that moves.”
“That’s just great! So what difference does it make if I kill that one Gaia 2?”
“It could give us the opportunity to get Spiros out of here. On second thought, it’s best if one of my droids survives. Wait exactly fifty-seven seconds and then activate the MRI at max power. I’ve already reprogrammed the power distribution to a level that will crush the battle bots. All you need to do is make sure it’s fired up.”
“Alright then. Good luck.”
“To the both of us.”
Cedric took his pack of cigarettes out of his pocket but it was empty.
“Of course,” he said, crushing the empty pack in his hand.
* * *
Chase kept firing all of the dark energy he had assimilated earlier. Miseo had so many wounds, his armor had been completely shattered and Chase could already see death in his empty gaze. After a while Miseo stopped screaming. Chase suspected that the Fury was no longer registering any additional pain.
Chase had depleted almost all of the dark energy. He had enough juice stored to fire up one more time. He walked towards the shadow of his once strongest opponent and stopped only five yards from him. Chase aimed his finger towards Miseo’s forehead.
“Goodbye, Miseo, you won’t be missed.”
As Chase fired the last ray of energy something happened. A wall of ice appeared in front of Miseo and reflected the attack back towards Chase. He managed to dodge it by a hair.
Chase turned around and saw a female Fury walking towards him.
“My brother is a pain in the ass, but he’s still my brother.”
“I know the feeling well.”
“Right, Argos was once your nemesis and has now sided with your band of pathetic rebels. Any chance he’s around? Bringing back his head on a platter would make my father really happy.”
“He’s not here, and even if he was I wouldn’t let you lay a finger on him, no matter how much I used to hate him.”
“Who said you’d have a choice, Laiyos?”
“My name is Chase.”
“Not your birth name, but whatever. Laiyos, Chase, you’ll die just the same since your head is as valuable as your brother’s to me.”
“I see. And what would your name be?”
“You can call me Oryn.”
Then it hit Chase. The woman in front
of him, threatening to bring his head back to her so-called father was Zeus’ daughter. Chase needed to de-escalate the tension that was quickly building up in the room.
Ares teleported into the room at the female Fury’s back.
Wait up, Ares, I need to see where this leads. Any chance you could go somewhere else in the base?
Why? It’s not like I can help you fight her anyway.
Please, Ares, it’s related to your father’s request. I can’t talk to her if you’re listening.
Why? I don’t understand all the cloak-and-dagger attitude, Chase.
Ares, please trust me on this, okay?
Whatever.
Ares teleported away.
“Where did the ghost Olympian go?” asked Oryn.
Chase raised an eyebrow.
“You didn’t think I sensed him teleporting at my back?”
“It doesn’t matter. I need to talk to you.”
“That’s a shame, Chase, because I’m not interested in hearing what you have to say.”
Oryn’s aura shone a glacial blue and the temperature in the vicinity dropped twenty degrees. Her eyes shone a bright shade of cyan.
“No, seriously, it’s about your father,” said Chase.
She walked towards Chase. With each step, an area of about fifty square feet of concrete floor froze around her on contact with her feet.
I wonder what made her as cold as ice, literally.
“Please, Oryn, just lis—” But Chase’s plea was interrupted by Oryn firing a cold ray of white energy at him. He jumped out of the way at the last second and her attack hit the ice wall she had erected before to protect her brother. It cracked upon impact, revealing an unconscious, barely breathing Miseo.
* * *
Sarah took Chris in her arms the moment he entered the bridge. She checked him for wounds. He was looking fine but she still felt compelled to give him the once over.
“I’m fine, Mom. Please, stop. It’s embarrassing.”
“He’s two weeks old and he’s embarrassed already.”
“Who are you talking to?”
“Myself— Never mind. How’s your father?”
“I don’t know, but he seemed to have the situation completely under control.”
“I can confirm that,” added Daniel. “Miseo doesn’t stand a chance.”
“And yet he hasn’t returned.”
“I’m sure he’s got a good reason. When will we arrive in orbit?”
“In less than seven minutes. The admiral’s forces will engage the enemy in less than two.”
“I can’t believe that old wolf Zenakis is still alive.”
“Old wolf? You know him?”
“Not personally, although I’ve seen him a few times addressing our troops.”
“How good is he?”
“As good as they get. Why?”
“I really want us to minimize the damage to his fleet. We need those ships.”
“You’re assuming he will willingly give up his command to Commodore Saroudis. First admiral is the highest rank in the Star Alliance military. He could become all of our bosses, and he could decide not to join the Earth Alliance.”
“That hadn’t occurred to me, but surely he’ll consider it.”
“Oh, I’m sure he’ll consider it, but the first admiral has a reputation for being a hard ass.”
“Right now all that matters is stopping the Furies, grabbing one of their ships and putting the seed of doubt in their minds for once. The Olympian ships showing up should definitely rattle them and, hopefully, they are the ones with the necessary firepower to bring one of the ships down before they have time to escape to hyperspace.”
“You should ask Athena if they have any anti-jumping field technology. If they do they could make sure they don’t leave.”
“I’ll do that. Thanks for the suggestion, Daniel. How are you doing?”
“Better than before Chase showed up, that’s for sure.”
“That bad, huh?”
“Does the phrase ‘in the nick of time’ mean anything to you?”
“It does. I think we have things under control here if you want to get some rest. Same goes for you, Chris.”
“I’m staying,” said Chris. “You might need me to remote-pilot more StarFuries.”
“I’m hoping we won’t have to, but I’ll gladly use your help, if needed.”
“I, on the other hand,” said Daniel, “think I will take up your offer and get some rest. Wake me up if things don’t go as planned, though.”
Sarah nodded.
* * *
First Admiral Zenakis brought his fleet about in an offensive formation. The Victory led the charge against the two Fury super-destroyers and soon a barrage of laser and torpedo fire illuminated the darkness of space around the small planetoid.
The Fury destroyers responded in kind and many of the Star Alliance first-fleet ships took heavy damage from the first pass. The gap in the level of technology between the thirty-plus Star Alliance ships and the two Fury super- destroyers was more than evident. It would have taken one hundred of these ships to hope for a chance to take them down. But First Admiral Zenakis was one hell of a strategist. He used smart maneuvers to always have weakened or damaged ships covered by those in the fleet whose shields were still in the green.
In less than three minutes of engagement the Star Alliance was clearly losing this battle, but they managed to keep the Fury forces engaged, effectively buying the reinforcements time to arrive on the scene and tip the balance of the battle.
The entire ship rocked as multiple enemy torpedoes impacted with its shields. A small fire erupted on the Victory’s bridge.
“Admiral! We’ve lost ventral shields,” said the first officer.
“Full rotation on axis, divert all power to shields. Keep firing at will. Everything we’ve got.”
“Sir, at this rate we’ll deplete all our ordnance in two minutes, and for what? Their shields are regenerating faster than we can tax them. We can’t win this!”
“We don’t have to win this, Michalis, just hold them off another handful of seconds.”
A large explosion nearby filled the bridge with bright yellow light for a brief instant.
“Report!” shouted Admiral Zenakis.
“We’ve lost the Penelope, sir.”
Admiral Zenakis gritted his teeth. His good friend Captain Hadoxopoulos was captaining that ship.
Farewell, my friend.
He looked at the countdown on the holo-screen which displayed the mad exchange of fire between Star Alliance and Fury ships. The scale was unreal. It was nothing but a blurry chaos of laserfire, missiles and torpedoes firing every which way. The countdown was at twenty-five seconds. They only needed to hold off just a little longer.
Admiral Zenakis opened a channel to the fleet.
“Evasive pattern Theta-6. Do whatever you can to avoid being targeted and shot down.”
The ships in the fleet dispersed in a way that it made it difficult for the Fury destroyers to target them efficiently. They needed to pick a target, maneuver towards it and, in doing so, exposed themselves to more fire from the Star Alliance, as well as costing precious time.
Then multiple bright blue and green flashes of light appeared on both the holo-image and radars.
“They’ve arrived, Admiral, twelve ships. Two resembling our own design but still emitting a different power signature, the Hope and the Euphoreon, and ten massive Olympian warships.”
“Let’s have a look at them,” said the admiral.
He rose from his chair and looked at the impressive Olympian warships. They were out of this world.
“My god, they’re beautiful,” said the admiral.
The Olympian ships opened fire on the Furies. With the added firepower from Zenakis’ own fleet, the enemy’s shields were now draining at a much faster rate.
“Offensive pattern Gamma-5. Let’s finish this!”
* * *
Chase took a defen
sive stance before contacting Ares telepathically.
I might need a pick up soon. Stand by for my signal, and act fast. If Miseo was able to stop you in this form, perhaps his sister can as well.
Very well, Chase.
Chase could feel Ares’ frustration at being kept in the dark, but Chase couldn’t think about this now, and he couldn’t give his mentor an explanation either.
Chase felt the ships outside engaged in a frenzied battle. He also felt the arrival of both Sarah and Chris. With the Olympian fleet in the mix, he was sure Sarah would complete her mission. Now he needed to complete the one Zeus had given him.
Contacting Ares telepathically just moments before had given Chase an idea.
Listen to me, Oryn, I need to talk to you about your real father!
That seemed to get her attention for a split second, but then she fired bright-blue icy fireballs at Chase with great speed and proficiency. Chase dodged them all but the last passed closely by his right cheek and he felt the lower half of his face on that side grow cold. He touched it and it was hard as stone. He had lost feeling in that area as well.
This adversary was not to be taken lightly. Her ability to use ice made her a deadly opponent. One Chase would have to watch out for.
“My father is Supreme Commander Arakan! And, in time, like everyone else in this universe, you’ll bow to him. That is, if you manage to avoid being transformed into a Fury icicle today.”
She was a Fury, alright. The same rage Chase knew all too well seemed to flow in her veins. But she was also an Olympian. A Fury-Olympian hybrid. She could either become a powerful ally or a very dangerous nemesis.
“No! Zeus is your real father!”
Oryn stopped the kick she was about to launch at Chase and her expression turned grave.
When Chase realized she wouldn’t answer, he kept going. “The man you think is your father killed your own mother because she had an affair with Zeus. Arakan couldn’t stand the idea of Zeus, an Olympian, having fathered someone he had thought was his own daughter.”
Oryn’s aura grew so strongly that the entire launching bay was now freezing up, a thin, shiny and reflective cover of ice coating everything. The lights from the battle outside reflected diamonds all around them.
Shadows of Olympus (Universe in Flames Book 6) Page 24