Twilight of the Gods (Universe in Flames Book 8)

by Christian Kallias

  “Surely defeating the Furies matter, no matter what you’re going through.”

  “Of course it does. Don’t get me wrong, Apollo, I just mean that I don’t think a bigger fleet and more ships is what will win this war. The actions and the heart of a chosen few is where I feel this all lies.”

  “I assume you’re talking about Chase.”

  “Yes, but not only him. Your brother Ares, your sister Aphroditis, as well as Oryn and a few of Chase’s friends.”

  “I’m surprised to hear you say that. Are you absolutely sure you’re feeling well?”

  Zeus walked in silence for a few moments before answering.

  “Yes. In fact, it’s been a very long time since I’ve felt so clearheaded.”

  “I’m glad to hear it. About Oryn—”

  “Next time she is here I should present you your half-sister. She’s as fiery as Athena and as fearless as Poseidon.”

  “That’s quite the mix. I’m really looking forward to meet—”

  But Apollo never finished his sentence as a large column of crimson energy pierced through his ribcage and shot past Zeus, sending blood and bone fragments splashing all over his face.

  “Apollo!!!” shouted Zeus as he cradled his wounded son in his arms, preventing him from crashing to the ground.

  Apollo tried to speak, but only a large quantity of blood erupted from his mouth. His eyes stopped moving and froze into a final lifeless and empty look of shock and despair.

  “NOOOOOO!!!!!” screamed Zeus as a massive thunderbolt fell from the sky and ignited Zeus’ rage like wildfire.

  The sky turned dark almost instantly, winds and rain washing the blood of his dead son as he held him in his arms. Zeus’ tears electrified and transformed into thunderbolts, destroying everything around him. Garden columns, water fountains and statues all exploded and were turned to dust. The entire planet started shaking.

  “Hahahahahah,” resonated a mad laugh not far from Zeus.

  He knew that voice. Zeus closed his dead son’s eyes and carefully laid his body on the trembling stony ground.

  Zeus turned around to face an approaching Arakan. A massive crimson aura radiated all around him, painting the chaos around them both with bloody red shades.

  “We have unfinished business, you and I,” spat Arakan. “And I’ve waited a very long time for this very moment.”

  Zeus’ anger exploded inside of him and lightened his deep blue aura. Thousands of small lightning bolts sizzled around him, and his silvery beard and hair electrified and flew chaotically in every direction. Zeus’ pupils disappeared from his eyes and filled with morphing blue energy, multiple lightning bolts dancing in between both of his eyes.

  “Not as long as I have!”

  CHASE AND SARAH had barely put their clothes back on when Daniel requested their presence on the bridge.

  “Just under the wire,” said Sarah.

  “Only just. Thank you. I needed that, god knows what awaits us next.”

  “Your pleasure was not my only concern, dear,” said Sarah with a wink.

  “Fair enough. Let’s go see what awaits us now.”

  Chase and Sarah entered the bridge. Daniel was sitting in the captain’s chair, with Oryn towering on his right, her arms crossed against her chest. Daniel got up. “Captain,” he said gesturing the chair to Sarah.

  “News sure does travel fast,” murmured Sarah as she installed herself comfortably into the chair.

  Well, he is my best friend, pleaded Chase directly in her mind.

  Relax, soldier. A promotion, my very own destroyer and fireworks all on the same day? You’re nowhere near in trouble in my book.

  Chase smiled from ear to ear.

  “When are we exiting—”

  But then the fleet exited hyperspace around a beautiful and massive purple and green planet. It was at least three times as large as the Earth’s mass. In orbit, not far from their exit point, was a fleet of seven Asgard ships in formation.

  “Never mind.”

  Chase was in awe at the sight of the Asgardian destroyers. They were both massive and beautiful hunks of greenish-gray with a semi-chrome finish. They literally looked like flying emerald weapons.

  The turbo-lifts’ door slid open and Chris and Argos rejoined them at the center of the bridge.

  “Did we miss anything?” asked Argos.

  “We’ve just jumped out of hyperspace,” answered Chase.

  “Scan the area for any ships,” requested Sarah.

  “Captain!” screamed a crewman. “Multiple jump points forming all around us.

  “Now what?” said Sarah, bracing for the worst.

  Before anyone had time to realize what was happening, all hell broke loose. A larger version of the Fury star destroyer class ship jumped right in the middle of the Asgardian fleets and detonated a fraction of a second later. The explosion bathed the entire bridge with a blinding bright light for several seconds as the ship started trembling.

  As the light generated from the massive explosion receded into the darkness of space and everyone’s eyes adjusted to the horror of what their brain showed them, a massive shockwave hit the entire fleet and forcefully rocked the ship upon impact. Crewmen were thrown across the entire room. Chase caught Daniel, and Chris went to catch his mother but she stopped in mid-air on her own a few inches away from her son. Oryn and Argos didn’t move and were planted on the floor, a near identical look of horror mixed with a smidgen of fear in their eyes.

  “Are you alright, bro?” inquired Chase at a shocked Daniel.

  “I’m okay, thanks for catching me.”

  Sarah let herself float down from her high position. “Everyone alright?”

  “Captain! Shields down to twenty percent,” shouted the tactical officer.

  “Guys,” said Argos solemnly.

  His brother’s tone froze Chase’s blood, and it was the first clue that the devastation they had felt was beyond belief. Chase looked through the now cracked viewport. A slight blue force field had deployed to prevent explosive decompression.

  It took Chase, and everyone else still standing on the bridge, a few seconds to interpret the enormity of the devastation and the brutal images of the utter destruction that their brains were feeding them.

  20

  The once beautiful and awe-inspiring Asgardian fleet transformed into a million flaming pieces of debris. An Obsidian ship near the Hope cracked in two and exploded shortly after that. The shields had not been strong enough to deal with the shockwave of the massive explosion.

  “What the fuck just happened?” exclaimed Chris.

  “What was on that ship?” added Sarah.

  “The only thing that could have created that big of a bang,” Oryn said icily, “is loads and loads of engine-grade purified quadrinium.”

  “They could have destroyed the entire system!” shouted Argos.

  “I’m starting to believe that could have been what Arakan wanted.”

  Chase was still mute, reflecting upon the tens of thousands of Asgardian lives that must have perished in the explosion.

  “Why?” he finally muttered.

  “Isn’t it obvious?” answered Oryn. “Arakan is mad, and he wants to kill everything and everyone in his path.”

  “Yes, but why send the Strike Force to get Odin’s head if they could just destroy the planet?”

  “Don’t be ridiculous; the shield around that planet could probably sustain ten times that level of destruction.”

  “And you know this how?” asked Chase coldly.

  “Because I’ve been drafting potential invasion scenarios of this world for months.”

  “This is your doing?” barked Chase, unable to contain his current mood.

  “No, I would never sacrifice the fleet’s latest and biggest ship in this way.”

  “Then why did Arakan do this?”

  “So that the Asgardians would drop their shields to send reinforcements from the surface of their world.”

  �
�Allowing the assassins to bypass the shields,” said Argos with a snort. “Not exactly stealthy or covert.”

  “But damn efficient,” retorted Chase. “Let’s go everyone! We don’t have time to lose. Odin will soon be under siege.”

  “More jump points forming!” shouted the tactical officer.

  This is not going to be a good day, thought Chase.

  ONBOARD THE CURRENTLY CLOAKED LATHRAÍA, Afthartos asked for a status report from his pilot.

  “Are we ready for the next phase of our plan? Stand ready to enter the planetary shields.”

  “We’re ready, sir. But I’m not sure anything can bring these ships down.”

  “We don’t need them down, just weakened enough so that our reinforced ultra-high frequency rotation shields hold for entry.”

  “My instruments tell me another story, that we’ll be vaporized the second we enter into contact with them.”

  “Let me worry about the plan. Your mission is to quickly identify a weaker spot and fly through it the moment our diversion takes out that orbiting fleet.”

  “Our scans have detected three destroyers currently landed on the planet’s surface. They’ll have to lower their shields to get off the world.”

  “Even if that was the case, we don’t have time to wait for the Asgardians to regroup. This entire operation hinges on the element of surprise, so we can position ourselves for the kill while most of their forces are occupied elsewhere.”

  “Understood; we’re receiving the sub-space beacon now, and the super-destroyer will be system bound in forty seconds.”

  “We only get one chance at this, so don’t screw up.”

  “If I screw up, sir, we all die.”

  “That should be incentive enough not to.”

  “With all due respect, sir, you’ve selected me for my piloting skills, haven’t you?”

  “Your point being?”

  “Let me do what I came to do.”

  “Fair enough.”

  “Ship is system bound.”

  A large explosion brightened everything for a few seconds. When Afthartos regained his ability to see, the pilot had already engaged the ship at full burn. The purple shield protecting Asgard lit up as the shockwave generated from the explosion hit. As expected, there were pockets of low intensity forming on its surface, and it only took the pilot a couple of seconds to identify the best vector for entry. The ship trembled slightly, and the shield friction generated a high-pitched sound for the few moments it took the Lathraía to pass the Asgardian shield.

  “We’re in atmosphere, sir.”

  “I recall someone doubting the feasibility of this maneuver.”

  “I stand corrected, sir. My apologies.”

  Afthartos didn’t like being second-guessed, especially from a flyboy who wouldn’t survive more than two minutes on the battlefield. The Fury leader cracked his neck to divert some of his anger away. The rest of it, he decided to express vocally.

  “In the future, flyboy, if you enjoy your head where it is, you’ll keep your doubts to yourself.”

  The pilot swallowed hard.

  “I— I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.”

  “See that it doesn’t,” said Afthartos as he exited the cockpit.

  FIVE MORE FURY destroyers entered orbit. Immediately, two of the destroyers started firing on the planetary defense platforms around Asgard, while the three other ships vectored toward the Earth Alliance fleet. Another two destroyers jumped in from the far side of the planet and concentrated their fire on both defense platforms and lowering the planetary shields.

  “Let’s get Thor on the line,” ordered Chase.

  “Aye aye, Admiral,” the communications officer responded.

  It still felt weird being addressed as Admiral. Especially since Chase mostly had a bad track record with some of the fleet members he came into contact with. Most notably, Admiral Thassos, and not so long ago, former First Fleet Admiral Zenakis. Who had since been stripped of his rank and confined to the brig of his former ship until the Earth Alliance would have time to deal with his abandoning the fleet at a very critical moment.

  Thassos had been one of Argos’ clones, who’d been following his orders. According to Saroudis, who had told Chase, the real Admiral Thassos had been a great commanding officer of high moral fiber. However, Chase barely had any interactions with her, and mostly with her brainwashed clone.

  But now he was the one they called Admiral. And Chase intended to execute his duties in a whole new way, as he was not the kind of guy to play things by the book.

  Thor’s face filled the Hope’s main holo-screen.

  “This is not what I was expecting. I thought the intelligence that Oryn provided hinted at a stealthy incursion into our world, not a full-fledged invasion!”

  “We didn’t expect this either, Thor. But let’s not argue about that now. We believe this diversion was made to throw us off guard so the elite force could move freely and execute your father, Odin. He might already be in terrible danger. Having not met him or knowing anything about your world, I can’t just teleport on the planet blindly. I need you to guide us to your father.”

  “I’m dropping the Mjölnir’s shields so you can come aboard, and I’ll teleport us through the planetary shields from here.”

  “We’ll be right there.”

  “Sarah, you have the—” but Chase stopped mid-sentence. “Sorry, old habits. You are now officially in command of the fleet, so make these ships go away.”

  “Won’t you need my help on the surface as well?”

  Chase was proud of her progress, but the idea that she would put her freshly new powers to work in such a volatile situation didn’t sit well with him. He couldn’t tell her that though; she was just starting to feel confident about herself, and he didn’t want to screw with that either. So he chose his words carefully.

  “If we need the backup, I’ll come and get you, but right now this fleet needs a leader, and that is you.”

  “Very well; be careful, all of you,” conceded Sarah.

  Chase could tell she was slightly disappointed but he could also feel the fiery determination growing inside her about dealing with the ships in orbit.

  “You too.”

  Chase gestured to his friends. “Quick! Everyone gather around me.”

  Argos, Oryn and Chris all rushed toward Chase, and they took his arm when he extended it forward. A second later, they all vanished.

  “Never gets old, does it?” commented Daniel.

  “No, it doesn’t. Why aren’t you in the air already?” said Sarah, semi-playfully.

  “Right,” said Daniel with a quick salute before running out of the bridge on the double.

  WHEN CHASE’S party arrived on the Mjölnir, they didn’t have any time to lose. Thor had them teleported through the planetary shields, directly into his father’s throne room.

  Thor immediately kneeled in front of the man standing on the intricately carved throne made of obsidian stone. Green-colored runes pulsated inside the stones themselves. A tall and heavily muscled old man was sitting on the throne. His blue eyes were as cold as ice and seemed to pierce through the darkness. At first, Chase thought he didn’t have any tattoos like the other Asgardians they had met. But soon, a single emerald eye tattoo flashed on his forehead, giving him an even more imposing stature.

  “Father, you’re in danger!”

  “And you brought Furies to me? Did you stop to think that perhaps that was the plan all along?”

  The two guards standing on either side of the throne wore fine-crafted ivory-infused alloy armor, and they pointed their lances toward the party. On their tips were emerald-colored energy balls with purple lightning bolts crackling around them.

  “No!” gestured Thor. “Do not fire!”

  “They don’t obey you, my son.”

  The guards appeared to hesitate, which didn’t please Odin much. But instead of reprimanding them, he rose from his throne. Chase was surprised, again, as Odi
n was even taller than Chase had estimated when he first laid eyes on him a moment earlier.

  “Damn Furies…they destroyed our fleet in orbit.”

  “You may want to not have them packed neatly in one place next time,” suggested Oryn.

  The coldness of Thor’s look in her direction told Chase that addressing the Asgard leader at this point and in this fashion was probably a mistake.

  Please keep your mouth shut, said Chase telepathically to Argos.

  But I haven’t said anything— for once.

  Yes, for once being the operative word here. I would really appreciate it if this time you controlled yourself, no matter what is being said next.

  You may want to tell that to your friend Oryn.

  Looks like the damage is done already.

  Odin shot a murderous look toward Oryn. “Who are you? Who said you could address me?”

  Thor murmured. “I thought you had learned your lesson onboard my ship? Please keep quiet.”

  Whatever, answered Oryn telepathically. But I can tell you that my old team will dispense with pleasantries and will strike without caring about any sort of decorum.

  “Please forgive her, Father. She doesn’t know our customs.”

  The pupil inside Odin’s eye tattoo flashed red, which Chase thought was not a good omen.

  “Perhaps. But what about your own disobedience? What were you thinking going with them to Droxia? You’ve forced our entire people into a conflict that doesn’t concern us.”

  It’s good you told me to shut up, said Argos. ’Cause I could give this fool a piece of my mind.

  Don’t you dare!

  Relax will you; you asked me to keep it shut, I’ll keep it shut.

  Before Chase could thank Argos, Odin’s gaze fixed toward their direction.

  “Who is that fool you’re referring to?” inquired Odin.

  Oh shit!

  “From your follow-up thought, I take it the two of you were talking about me.” Odin turned his attention toward Thor. “This is what you brought to help defend Asgard? A bunch of reckless half-breed Furies whose ideas of respect are telepathically insulting me. I should never have let you go to Midgard. There will be repercussi—”