Universe in Flames 3: Destination Oblivion

by Christian Kallias

  “Anything is possible. Perhaps you were preserved. I don’t know. All I know is what I felt battling you.”

  “And that is?”

  “An old soul, and a power beyond anything I’ve ever met before.”

  “Surely Argos as well?”

  “Yes, Argos also has this power. But it’s as though your powers are opposite sides of the same coin. He is a Fury alright: arrogant, scheming, drunk for power, but also scared.”

  “Scared? You’re shitting me. I can’t imagine my brother being scared of anything.”

  “Then you’d be wrong. I felt an intense fear when I fought him. Something running really deep, so deep he might not even know it himself. I wouldn’t be surprised if, in fact, it was that fear that subconsciously drives his actions.”

  “If you’re asking me to reason with him, you’ll be sorely disappointed, Ares.”

  “I know. The hatred between you probably can’t be fixed.”

  “It can’t, and his days are numbered. Now that he came here, I’m gonna track him down and avenge Sarah’s, my child’s and my mentor’s deaths.”

  “I understand, but please let me explain further.”

  “Very well.”

  “So, Olympians are not the killer types, and after realizing how wrong I was I . . . Well, I left my people. In fact, they more or less banished me. And I had centuries to reflect upon what I had done. This happened before the Furies were defeated. I had nothing to do with their downfall, so I cannot be sure. But I know my father, Zeus. While his might and anger are legendary, I don’t see him killing an entire civilization.”

  “What then? Where are the Furies?”

  “That’s just it, Chase, I don’t know; but perhaps some are still around.”

  “It wasn’t just the Olympians who fought them, right?”

  “No, in fact a coalition of almost all the worlds living back then assembled their forces and fought a war that lasted generations. But they were simply too powerful. Sometimes a single Fury would arrive on a planet and destroy everything on his own.”

  “That explains some of my visions.”

  “Exactly, Chase. Furies are something else. They are powerful beyond reason. And they are aligned with darkness, of that much I’m certain.”

  “How do you explain me, then?”

  “The exception that confirms the rule?”

  “Are you telling me or asking me?”

  “Chase, I don’t know why you don’t have a blood thirst like the rest of your people. Perhaps you are a hybrid. Perhaps I’ve looked at it all wrong, and the fact that you’re so powerful doesn’t mean you must be a pure-blood Fury. Perhaps it’s that distinction that makes you so powerful.”

  “I have rage, anger and fury in me. I just choose to control them.”

  “I know, and I thank you for it. But there’s something else in you. At first, when Aphroditis told me you were the key I simply couldn’t feel it. You seemed too arrogant, too sure of yourself; a little childish really.”

  Chase smiled ironically.

  “No offense intended.”

  “None taken.”

  “But you constantly put your own life in service of others, ready to sacrifice it at a moment’s notice. So I don’t know what the future holds, Chase. All I know—and this is just a gut feeling—is that you have a role to play in what happens in this universe. You matter.”

  Chase released another long breath of frustration.

  “Does that bother you that much?”

  “I . . . I’m done, Ares. I just want to kill Argos and be done with all this. I’m not sure I want to keep living once he’s dead.”

  “You don’t truly believe that. Your anger and thirst for revenge are what’s driving you right now, and believe me, I understand. But no, deep within your soul, in your heart, I feel this is not true.”

  “I don’t feel what you feel.”

  “I know. Been there, remember?”

  Chase nodded.

  “Look, Chase, I sacrificed myself so my half sister would live. I have a request, a favor if you wish, to ask of you.”

  “Protect her?”

  “Yes, please. She fled when I asked her to. I think she went to Earth.”

  “Of all the places . . .”

  “I know. Too many memories there. That’s why you left it in the first place.”

  “Yeah . . .”

  “Please, Chase. I’m sure Argos is after her. He made that very clear.”

  “Look, if she’s on Earth, or will be on Earth soon, that’s probably the safest place in the universe right now.”

  “I wouldn’t be so sure.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “She said in the potential futures she saw . . . Well, if you left Earth, most of those futures didn’t end well, for Earth or anyone else for that matter.”

  “Here we go again . . .”

  “Look, Chase, I know you hate all this. Prophesy, the future, fate.”

  “You got that straight!”

  “Nevertheless, if she sees chaos and death, I believe it might happen.”

  “Not really my problem anymore.”

  “I know, but please promise me you’ll protect her. That’s all I ask.”

  Chase looked at Ares’ golden energy form and pondered what was asked of him. He didn’t care about anything but killing his brother now. The rest was background noise.

  “Chase?”

  “Alright, I’ll look after her, but only because of the respect I have for you.”

  “Fair enough. Thank you, Chase.”

  “You’re going to Elysium now?”

  “We’ll see. You might still need my guidance in the coming days.”

  “Guidance or emotional blackmail?” The moment he said it he regretted it. “Sorry, Ares, that was low.”

  “It’s alright. I understand how you must feel. Thank you for listening to me.”

  “Sure. What should I do with your body?”

  “I didn’t think about it really. If you don’t mind, I’d like you to commit it to the stars.”

  “You want me to space you?”

  “My body, yes. From the stars it came; to the stars it shall return.”

  “Very well, consider it done.”

  “Thanks, Chase.”

  “Anytime. See you around then?”

  “We shall see.”

  The golden aura dissipated, and soon Ares was gone.

  C H A P T E R

  V

  On board the Iron Fire, Daniel sat in the captain’s chair. Ryonna’s contacts had come through. Apparently she had been right, and Chase had been seen fighting on the Ponos One station. They were about to exit hyperspace on their way there when Ryonna entered the bridge.

  “Where’s Tar’Lock?”

  “He’s resting. He didn’t get much sleep. Apparently a sound made by the hyperspace engine bothers him and he’s been really restless.”

  “What has changed that he sleeps now?”

  “I knocked him unconscious.”

  “You what?”

  “Look, I like Tar’Lock, but after two days without sleep he was driving me insane; plus we need him alert, so it’s a win-win.”

  “Hope you went easy on him.”

  She smiled. “Give me some credit, will you?”

  “Alright.” Daniel was unable to restrain from chuckling.

  “What so funny?”

  “Nothing. I just had a mental image of you knocking him out.”

  “He could have dodged. He is infinitely faster than any of us. I think he wanted it.”

  “Alright,” said Daniel, still grinning.

  “Where are we?”

  “We’ll be there in less than an hour.”

  “I hope Chase is still there.

  “You and me both.”

  “What if he doesn’t want to come back?”

  “We’ll make him.”

  She laughed.

  “What?”

  “Do you really think we
can make him do anything against his will?”

  “I guess not. We’ll ask nicely, then.”

  “Yeah, let’s do that, and pray he is in a better mood than when last we saw him.”

  “Worst comes to worst you can try clocking him too,” said Daniel with a wink.

  “I can try, but I’d rather not.”

  “Look at it this way: if he wants to get his ass beaten, who better than you to do it.”

  “I suppose there’s some logic in what you say.”

  * * *

  Argos sat on his throne, pensive, when he heard the hiss of his pet snake from within the jar next to him.

  “Soon. I still have work to do now,” said Argos towards the jar.

  He brought a holo-display to life and placed a call.

  “Good day, Master.”

  “How’s the subject?”

  “Vitals are strong. Nothing to report.”

  “Have you made the preparations I’ve requested?”

  “Subject is ready for transport.”

  “Very well. Make sure everything goes perfectly; I don’t have to tell you what would happen otherwise. I’ve dispatched twenty warships to accompany you to your destination.”

  “Absolutely, Master. Thy will be done.”

  Argos terminated the communication and flicked the video away. He then brought up a security bulletin. It showed his picture on a warrant, and apparently he was worth thirty-five million credits alive and forty million dead. That made him smile.

  The Datalight Thieves Corporation didn’t like the fact that once his engineer was done with their help cracking the Olympian’s communications encryption, he’d had them blown up. Argos despised DTs, so he’d never had any intention of letting them live, whether they succeeded or failed at their task. As for the warrant, he found it funny. As if there was any bounty hunter in the galaxy capable of stopping him. In any case, it brought attention to him, and perhaps that’s what he needed for the next part of his plan.

  Now that his brother Laiyos’ resolve had been destroyed beyond repair, he would be easier to manipulate. Argos wished he didn’t need him, though. That last fight had been a close call.

  “I can’t believe how strong he has become. I really need to tread carefully next time.”

  Argos’ pride was what had been wounded most during their last encounter. Not in a million years did he imagine his brother would take the upper hand in that fight. It was unexpected to say the least. Ares had obviously trained him well. His own fight with Ares, however short and decisive it had been, clearly revealed a skilled and trained warrior. Qualities he must have passed along to Laiyos. But there was something else, something more, about Laiyos. Argos wondered what that was and how he had missed it before.

  But by now he had no doubts that his brother would be spiraling down into oblivion. He had heard of his fighting on Ponos One, and he had no doubts that his spirit was crushed. It had been so simple to deceive him, though. But what had sealed the deal was when he controlled Sarah’s mind, making her tell him to shoot her ship.

  The irony was that she had given him the idea. Her trapped consciousness had suggested it to him so many times, to have her killed. That was the beauty in all this.

  Now Argos needed a plan to strike back at the Earth Alliance. They were increasingly becoming a more powerful annoyance. Their new technologies were ahead of those of the Zarlack fleet that had once given him a serious edge in battle.

  But they seemed to be growing their new alliance faster than he ever could have anticipated. At least he had acquired some technology upgrades when he was controlling Sarah. Like cloaking. It had proven difficult to cloak a warship, but adapting the tech to the Dark Star proceeded without major issues. If his engineers could find a way to cloak a warship, even for a minute, he could strike at Earth and they wouldn’t even see him coming.

  Argos knew he had to make a statement, some sort of show of force, and the sooner the better. His new shipyards were already churning out new ships and he still had more forces at his disposal than the Alliance, even if that snakehead of an emperor joined them.

  That one I did not see coming, he admitted to himself.

  But the Obsidian were immaterial to his long-term plans, and the Alliance would soon be dealt with, with the help of his brother no less. He couldn’t help but smile.

  Soon all he had worked towards in the last decade would come to fruition. It had been a long and difficult path. All of that thanks to his dear brother. His reluctance to help achieve their destinies more than a decade ago was why Argos had to do all of this now. They had never seen eye to eye and probably never would.

  But it mattered not, as long as he could manipulate his brother into doing exactly what he needed him to, and to hell with him afterwards. Laiyos was dead to him the moment she died anyway.

  Argos did not like the veil of darkness this memory suddenly cast upon his train of thought, so he lifted the jar and let the Kyrian snake bite him. As always, the effect of the beast’s venom was almost immediate. And soon Argos did not think of her anymore, that memory sinking back into the depth of his soul, where it belonged.

  * * *

  Chase returned the F-147 to the cargo bay of the Valken.

  As requested he had spaced Ares body and observed as it floated in space for a moment, reflecting on everything Ares had told him.

  He really dreaded returning to Earth. He worried all the memories of Sarah would rush back and screw with his mind again. But even if he hated to admit it, he was mostly ashamed facing his old comrades-in-arms, his friends. Even more so since he wasn’t exactly proud of what he had done during his time away. How low he had sunk.

  He shook the thought away. There was no turning back. He had given Ares his word and he would not break it because of how bad he felt about himself. He just hoped he would find a clue to Argos’ whereabouts there. Because word or not, that was still his mission, his only reason to live at the moment.

  I will avenge you both, Sarah and Chris.

  The pain in his heart grew exponentially at the thought, and for a moment he wished he had some more Kyrian snake venom. “Anything?” he asked, back in the cockpit where Keera was waiting.

  “I would have told you if there was, but I think I saw something for a brief moment at the very edge of our long-range sensors. I could swear I saw a fleet of some kind for a second but then it was gone. Should we investigate?”

  “We need to go to Earth. Is it on the way?”

  “It’s a little detour but not far off.”

  “How much of a detour?”

  “An hour perhaps.”

  “Alright, let’s take a look first. Drop us there but not too close. I’ll take my cloaked ship the rest of the way. How good is your ship’s stealth engine?”

  “Top of the line. I rarely get detected when I make stealth runs.”

  “Rarely?”

  “Well, no tech is perfect.”

  “Roger that.”

  “I saw you send . . . I take it that was Ares?”

  “It was his request.”

  “So he wasn’t dead when you arrived? He died in front of you, I’m so, so—”

  Chase cut her off. “He was dead, alright.”

  “You’re not making sense.”

  Chase smiled, realizing how insane he must sound to others when he blurted out things like that.

  “What’s so funny?” She raised an eyebrow.

  “Nothing. I’m sorry. He still lives in energy form, so we had a little chat.”

  “Boy, my life gets weirder and weirder since I met you.”

  “Is that good or bad?”

  “Only time will tell; for now, at the very least there’s no dull moment.”

  “Right. Shall we go?”

  “Entering hyperspace coordinates now.”

  The Valken entered hyperspace and stars became lines in the canopy, the intense, bright light accompanying the change of velocity from sub-light to FTL speeds.

 
Keera put her hand on Chase’s shoulder. It startled him.

  “Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you there.”

  “That’s alright. What can I do for you?”

  She looked at him with compassion. “I just wanted to say sorry about your friend, or mentor or . . .”

  “He was my mentor, but friend works too.”

  “Sorry, Chase.”

  “Thank you, Keera.”

  “Want to talk about it while we get there?”

  “Not really. Hope that’s okay.”

  “Sure, just know you can talk to me if you need to.”

  He smiled at her. “Thanks, Keera.”

  She smiled back.

  Chase couldn’t help thinking how sweet Keera was. This was out of character with the image he had of bounty hunters. It takes all kinds, I guess, no matter the job. There was no denying that her good nature and sweetness reminded him of Sarah. It felt both good and excruciatingly painful at the same time.

  He liked seeing Sarah in her. That brought brief, happy memories to the surface; but almost immediately it brought deep and painful scars too. Chase wondered how long it would take for those scars to heal. He had no illusions. They would probably never disappear fully, but he hoped eventually they’d become more bearable.

  Then again he didn’t care about living once Argos was dealt with; and it didn’t look as if the pain in his soul would heal before then.

  * * *

  Daniel was surprised how easy it had been getting to Ponos One. They had encountered Obsidian warships along the way but they had been nothing but polite, even going as far as proposing to escort the Iron Fire to its destination. Surely the emperor was behind all the pleasantries. He had entered negotiations to join the Earth Alliance. A concept with which Daniel had serious issues.

  Then again, having fought the Obsidian for the last decade, how could he not? Sure, the emperor had helped and provided information about Argos’ secret nebula shipyard—which mostly proved useless. Daniel knew he couldn’t blame him for the trap. Having been their prisoner on Earth all that time he couldn’t have known that Argos would wait for them there, thanks to his hold on Sarah’s mind at the time.

  Boy, that whole situation had been seriously fucked. Argos really played us like fools. And I fell for it as well.