Twilight of the Gods (Universe in Flames Book 8)

by Christian Kallias

  His readings confirmed that firing on the bogies from within this range would most likely result in forfeiting the StarFury and its pilot’s life.

  Daniel confirmed to his entire squadron the order to dump the rest of the drones as mines while he laid out his last drones. He then hailed the Hope.

  “That’s it, Captain. All drone mines in position. Let’s hope we stop them all. We won’t have time to bring in another squadron if we miss. How many direct hits can you take?”

  “Zero would be good since the shields are still only half-charged. I’m hoping the shields could absorb a couple of these, but I wouldn’t tempt fate with a third one. That first shockwave damaged many of our systems and the shields have been slow to recharge.”

  “Well, if more than two made it through our barrage, then you’d better jump the Hope out of the way.”

  “I’m afraid that’s one of the systems that’s been damaged. We’re not jumping for a while.”

  Daniel swore off comm. The Furies seemed determined to inflict maximum damage in this fight, and they didn’t seem to care about the amount of resources they were squandering in the process. Which meant they probably had more ships ready or on their way. How fast were they building them?

  Hopefully, Ryonna’s mission would be successful and they would deal a blow to the Furies’ supply chain.

  22

  When Ryonna, Keera and Tar’Lock arrived near the entrance of the subterranean cavern, a low-frequency rumble shook the area.

  “What the hell is that?” asked Ryonna. “Keera, use your suit’s link to the ship to check the sensor reading.”

  “Roger that,” answered Keera.

  She brought her ship’s sensor data into her super-suit holographic HUD.

  “The amount of mineral deposit on the entire planet must be screwing with the ship’s sensors. Either that or this is a nightmare.”

  “What are you reading, Keera?”

  “Ten Fury super-destroyers powering up and taking off. But that can’t be. My ship’s sensor must be buggy, let me run a diagnosti—”

  But before she finished, Ryonna knocked on her helmet’s visor while Tar’Lock’s clicking went into overdrive.

  “What? You can’t hear me?”

  Ryonna turned and pointed toward the sky behind her. Multiple Fury star destroyers were taking off, creating around them veritable sandstorm clouds as they rose from the dry ground. Keera felt her skin crawl.

  “Why didn’t we detect them earlier?” she asked.

  “I think for the same reasons we couldn’t get an estimate of the number of inhabitants on the planet. There is too much interference due to the number of resources available on this world. Which explains why the Furies are using it.”

  “I seriously doubt we’ll not encounter more company then.”

  “We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it. For now, let’s try and find a Gorgar swarm and hope Argos’ tech works.”

  Ryonna grabbed the device Argos gave her and installed it on her temple before gesturing Keera to proceed forward. Clicking aside, Tar’Lock had stayed silent, so when Keera began the march, Ryonna put a hand on his shoulder.

  “Are you alright, buddy?”

  “God knows how many of these ships my people have unwillingly built. All the fatalities we had in the last battles with the Furies may all be because of my people.”

  Ryonna reflected on her insect friend’s words. He was wrong, since the Gorgar didn’t have a choice in this case; they were just being used. But it did explain how the Furies were able to quickly churn out ships since their return and why they would sacrifice some of them to attain a certain goal. With such a large labor force doing only one thing, work and gather resources, it seemed they didn’t need to worry about the rate at which these ships could be replaced.

  Ryonna wondered how long it took for these outbound ships to be assembled. A week? Days? And with an order of such large magnitude and more workers than the entire Alliance put together, perhaps the assemblage time was even less than she could imagine. That thought was scary.

  “Don’t be ridiculous. It’s the Furies who are mind controlling them against their will. They’re just victims.”

  “Even so, it fills me with shame. We have to make it stop.”

  “That’s why we’re here,” said Ryonna with a forced, reassuring smile.

  Tar’Lock nodded before following Keera.

  CHASE ASSUMED his Ultra Fury form to deal with the next wave of Fury warriors. Though, no Strike Force was in sight, yet. Perhaps they knew the present company would outclass them. Or perhaps they just wanted to let the party exhaust as much energy as they could and put more odds in their favor.

  Chase suddenly dodged an incoming attack, and shot his entire arm through the Fury warrior’s chest, his fist holding the Fury’s heart when it exited out the back. For a second he gazed into his foe’s dead eyes. All this violence was weighing on him. In that ephemeral moment of reflection, he remembered what Sarah told him about her fears. What if she became a force for evil? What if she needed to be stopped? Now that she was getting a better grip on her powers, Chase didn’t worry as much about that, but it still concerned him.

  Nevertheless, in the heat of battle, Chase could be a killing machine. What made him different from the Furies whose lives he was ending? And would the world one day look upon him like they looked upon the Furies now? Would there be a price to pay for all this killing?

  If you’re done feeling sorry for yourself, there are three more Furies about to attack you, said Argos.

  His brother must have felt his current state of mind. Nonetheless, he was right. Now was not the time to ponder these existential questions. Chase had no doubt his destiny was to rid the universe of the biggest scourge that roamed it, but on some level, he was also a part of that scourge.

  When Chase removed his arm from the dead Fury and turned around, the nearest Furies were being incinerated by a crimson fireball.

  Correction, two fireballs.

  Get back in the game. I know what you’re feeling all too well. But you’ll be fine, you fight and kill because you have to, not because you like it. It took me nearly a lifetime to understand the difference between the two, and thanks to you, I understand now.

  Thanks for the assist.

  Anytime.

  Chase threw the heart, still in his hand, as a baseball pitcher would. Upon impact, the heart exploded on the incoming Fury’s armor at such velocity it stopped the Fury cold and temporarily sent him back, leaving Chase with only one additional Fury to deal with. And deal with him he did.

  He dodged the short-range fireball aimed at his head, grabbed the arm that had fired it, and ripped it out of its socket in a circular movement as he turned on himself. Chase accelerated and used the Fury limb to catapult the rest of the body against the nearest wall.

  Chase dropped the arm on the ground as the previous Fury was already upon him. Large claws extended from his armor, and he furiously slashed at Chase. In Ultra Fury form, everything seemed to happen in slow motion for him, so dodging the attacks couldn’t be simpler. When he got bored of it, Chase shot a kick upward at the right moment, severing the Fury in two parts from the speed of the attack.

  Still, there was something at the back of his mind telling him that they were doing exactly what was expected of them and missing the big picture of the Strike Force plan. Chase knew he shouldn’t ignore his instincts, so he thought he should stop treating this fight as a warm-up session and get it over with. He somersaulted in the air and unleashed a rapid series of fireballs, incinerating Furies one after another. Oryn, Chris and Argos also intensified their resolve and, thanks to Thor and Odin, the last wave of Furies were quickly dealt with.

  One final Fury got up from the ground, the one that had apparently survived Chase’s fireball. He didn’t seem injured much.

  Careful, Chase, warned Oryn. He’s part of the Strike Force, the strongest of them all.

  “I’M DISAPPOINTED IN Y
OU,” said Afthartos as he ignored Chase and looked straight at Oryn. “Your Father will be disappointed as well.”

  “Arakan isn’t my Father! And for him to learn about this would mean you would survive this day, which I’m afraid you won’t.”

  Oryn felt her heart ache a little at uttering the words, which surprised her. She and Afthartos had been seeing each other in the past. When he got too emotionally attached to her, she had ended it. She only needed the physical release that their sexual relations had brought her. Perhaps she had let herself become more involved emotionally than she thought. But it mattered not. They were no longer fighting on the same side.

  “I’m sorry to hear you say that. I won’t take any pleasure in killing you.” Afthartos replied.

  “You were never up to the level to do that before, what makes you think you could achieve that now?”

  “If you’re making reference to our private sparing sessions, I’ve always let you win.”

  “And I was also going easy on you. Enough talking. Get the team away from here and tell Arakan you failed your mission. Or better yet, just find a far away world to settle on. Erevos’ days are numbered anyway.”

  “I can’t believe you’ve been so easily brainwashed by these traitors!” spat Afthartos.

  Oryn wondered if, indeed, she’d been brainwashed. But right now, fighting against the Furies instead of with them, made more sense to her. Plus, she needed to kill Arakan for what he had done to her mother. She would take great pleasure in ripping out his heart and showing it to him. To see the life extinguish from his eyes knowing that she had been the one to remove him from the universe he sought to rule.

  “I don’t have to explain myself to you. As your commanding officer, I order you to stand down!” exclaimed Oryn.

  “I’m commanding our team now, and I was hoping you would take your rightful place as our leader, but it seems you’ll be just one more casualty in our path.”

  Chase, we have to be careful, while they are no match for you and me in one on one combat, Afthartos and his team working together can be a real threat to us. I wouldn’t dare take them on my own, Oryn said telepathically.

  Understood.

  Afthartos launched himself at Chase who was nearest to him and delivered a powerful punch across Chase’s face. But Chase didn’t budge nor registered the attack in any way. Yet, his hair shot upward.

  “My turn,” said Chase with a smile.

  Chase unleashed a large amount of attacks, mixing up one expertly crafted combo after another and sending the Fury commander to the ground within seconds.

  “I would take Oryn’s generous offer if I were you. Perhaps you could have achieved your mission if we weren’t here. But as it stands, you can’t hope to achieve anything.”

  Afthartos jumped back onto his feet with ease. Oryn saw the surprise in Chase’s eyes when Afthartos didn’t display the slightest bit of damage from the ravaging combos he had been dealt.

  “Impressive speed and power, but you’re wrong. In fact, we’ve already taken the upper hand.”

  Chase turned around, but it was too late, Tax was already behind Odin.

  ARAKAN WAS STUCK IN MID-AIR, ZEUS’ powerful lightning beams preventing him from moving. He defied the head of the Olympians by locking his gaze with him.

  Zeus’ eyes filled with blue energy and lightning bolts shot from his eyes, hitting Arakan one after another. While he couldn’t move, he used telekinesis to deflect the incoming attacks. A few of them scored hits on his armor, but it took the brunt of the damage without any significant pain.

  Zeus then spread his hands and an intense pressure started pulling at Arakan’s body, bent on ripping it in two.

  Arakan had to act fast, and so he sought up the biggest boulder he could unearth with his mind behind Zeus. Because of all the destruction happening around them due to the orbital black hole exerting an increasingly strong gravity pull on the planet, as well as Zeus’ focus being in a near trance, Arakan managed to extract a massive boulder without his foe noticing.

  Arakan used his entire mind’s power and crushed the boulder on top of Zeus. The Olympian managed to stay upright, but lost his focus, which interrupted his paralyzing lightning beams for a fraction of a second. That’s all Arakan needed. He moved so fast it looked as if he had vanished into thin air. When he reappeared at ground level in front of Zeus, the Olympian tried reacquiring the Fury with his lightning beams. But Arakan would not be fooled a second time.

  Arakan dodged the incoming lightning and flew forward at near light speed. Both fists lit up with bursting crimson energy, and he threw them at Zeus’ chest with all his might.

  Zeus was catapulted backward and flew for miles as he crashed through his own temple, destroying it in the process. He then rebounded multiple times against the ground, unearthing everything and leaving a trail of smoke in his path. Eventually, he crashed one final time on the stone pavement face first. Zeus groaned, bleeding cuts and multiple bruises covering his muscled body. His white clothes were colored red by his own blood.

  Taking his time, Arakan walked toward Zeus to reach the downed Olympian, his aura burning with flames of hatred, looking like a furiously erupting volcano. Arakan knew the fight was nearly over; the blow he had struck had shifted the balance of this battle, and he intended to enjoy every minute of it despite the fact that Olympus Prime time was being counted.

  Zeus was trying to get on his feet but kept stumbling back down. The amount of force he had endured would have killed anyone but him on the spot. But Arakan had hit him when his defenses were down and his focus high. Zeus had made a major mistake using an abundance of his energy trying to hold Arakan so early in the fight. And the Fury had no intention of letting himself be caught in a similar situation a second time.

  In the sky, lightning jumped from one dark cloud to another as the entire planet continued to tremble. It was the last requiem of destruction to Arakan’s ears as he was so near to getting the revenge he wanted against not only Zeus but also his entire race.

  Miseo, Argos, and even Oryn, had been disappointments to Arakan, but if anything, it had forced him to finally take control of his destiny for himself and not rely on the failure of others. Like he should have done from the beginning. No one but him had the power nor the resolve to bring down Olympians, Asgardians and any other race foolish enough to stand in his way.

  Zeus had managed to return to a sitting position by the time Arakan was approaching him.

  “Look at you! How the mighty have fallen…I practically destroyed you with a single attack. You’re pathetic!”

  “I’m not dead, yet.”

  “Yet, being the operative word. Just like this world,” said Arakan, gazing at the sky. “You’ll soon just be a memory.”

  Zeus got back on his feet, his legs trembling slightly.

  “You talk too much.”

  “Then let’s finish this.”

  Zeus raised a fist in the air and multiple lightning bolts hit him from the heavens, charging him like a rod. Arakan could feel Zeus getting stronger with every second and so he launched himself forward, determined to finish what he had started.

  23

  The mine-drones detonated upon impact with the kamikaze high-yield Fury starfighters who were en route to the Hope. And not a second too soon. The explosion illuminated the pitch-black void of space momentarily, resulting in intense and bright fireworks. When the barrage of light stopped, three ships were still flying like shooting stars toward the Hope.

  “Crap!”

  Daniel redistributed weapons power to his StarFury’s engine and went in pursuit.

  His comms crackled. “What’s your status? Our sensors are fuzzy, and the explosions haven’t helped,” asked Sarah.

  “There are still three bogies en route; I’m in pursuit.”

  “Daniel, you can’t. What about Beta Squadron?”

  “They’re too far away.”

  “They could micro-jump.”

  “Even so,
there’s no time; the starfighters have already passed their detonation PNR.”

  “You can’t shoot them either, you’ll get blown up!”

  “I know that. I have another idea,” said Daniel, cutting off the comms so he could focus on the task at hand.

  He injected half of his life support power into the engines to have enough juice to catch one of the ships in time. His comms flashed again but he used his mental HUD to reject Sarah’s call.

  “Sorry, Captain,” he said out loud to himself. “Can’t take your call right now.”

  At max burn, Daniel aligned with the wake of the last ship and could see the Hope growing at alarming speed through his cockpit windshield.

  The first ship impacted with the Hope’s shields. A bright yellow light forced Daniel to close his eyes. He used that moment to check the Hope’s shield level via his neuronal holo-HUD. They were down to thirteen percent. Daniel had hoped that the shields would have recharged more quickly. Sarah had been right; their recharge times were extremely slow.

  Daniel was only a few klicks behind his target when the second Starship impacted with the Hope’s shields and took them completely out.

  It was now or never. He couldn’t let the Hope fall nor could he let Sarah die. Chase would never forgive him. And since Chase hadn’t intervened yet, it meant they had their hands full on the surface of the planet.

  Daniel pushed the engines beyond their limits when suddenly his comm channel block was overwritten.

  “Are you out of your mind?!” screamed Sarah. “You’ll crash as well.”

  “Hang on.”

  Daniel had just caught up with the last ship, and with a quick glance, he saw that they were pilotless, something he had strongly suspected. Both his StarFury and the Fury flying bomb were a couple of seconds from impacting with the Hope when Daniel put his plan into action.

  This is going to be too close for comfort.