Armageddon Unleashed (Universe in Flames Book 7)
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Armageddon Unleashed
Universe in Flames Volume VII
Christian Kallias
Contents
Acknowledgments
Copyright
Damocles Fall
Dramatis Personæ
The Story So Far
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Afterword
Also by Christian Kallias
Damocles Fall
About the Author
Acknowledgments
Cover artwork by Christian Kallias (Fury ship 3d model by Levi Mueller)
christian@kallias.com
www.christiankallias.com
www.facebook.com/ChristianKallias
www.twitter.com/kalliasx
Copyright
Copyright © 2017 by Christian Kallias
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
First Printing, 2017
Thank you for buying my book, here is an exclusive freebie for you. Get the DAMOCLES FALL book here:
Dramatis Personæ
Earth Alliance
Captain Chase Athanatos – Earth Alliance Fury Olympian hybrid (formerly Star Alliance Lieutenant Commander)
Commander Sarah Kepler – Earth Human with Fury powers (formerly US Navy Commander)
Chris Athanatos – Fury Human hybrid (currently aging fast)
Commodore Saroudis – Earth Alliance Human (formerly Star Alliance Captain)
Commander Daniel Tharraleos – Earth Alliance Human (formerly Star Alliance)
Chief Engineer Yanis Tixichos – Earth Alliance Human (formerly Star Alliance)
R&D Engineer Spiros Malayianis – Earth Alliance Human (formerly Star Alliance)
Argos Thanatos – Fury and Chase’s twin brother (formerly head of the Zarlacks)
Star Alliance
First Admiral Zenakis - In Command of First Fleet.
Commander Axiotimos - Zenakis’ second in command / First Officer.
Olympians
Aphroditis – known to humans as the goddess of love
Athena – known to humans as the goddess of wisdom, craft & war
Ares – known to humans as the god of war (deceased, living as pure energy form)
Zeus – known to humans as the god of the sky and mighty ruler of Olympus
Hades – known to humans as the god of the Underworld
Furies
Arakan – Supreme Commander of the Furies
Miseo – Arakan’s son and right arm
Oryn – Arakan’s daughter
Zalara – Arakan’s wife (deceased)
Other characters
Kvasir – Asgardian scientist
Gaia – Artificial Intelligence created on Earth, speaks for the planet.
Gaia 2 – An older backup version of the Gaia Artificial Intelligence. Evil and sees humans as vermin.
Alexandra Saroudis – Commodore Saroudis’s wife
The Story So Far
Warning: If you haven’t read all the previous books in the series, you’re exposing yourself to SERIOUS spoilers by reading this part.
This section was created for readers of this series to refresh their memories (should they need to) before reading this new book. It can, of course, be used by new readers but I’d recommend you start reading the series at book 1: Earth – Last Sanctuary (it’s free)
Volume I: Earth - Last Sanctuary
Following a devastating attack by the Obsidian Empire, helped by the mighty Zarlacks, a band of survivor led by Chase Athanatos from the Star Alliance blind jump away from their homeworld (Alpha Prime) and end up in an uncharted part of space, near a planet called Earth. Guided by the Olympian goddess of love Aphroditis, Chase and his friends rescue planet Earth from alien attack and form a new alliance (Earth Alliance). But soon the Obsidian Empire tracks them down and decides to launch a full-scale attack on the blue planet. In the midst of the epic battle that ensues, the leader of the enemy forces captures Chase’s new love interest, Commander Sarah Kepler. He reveals to Sarah that he is Chase’s brother.
Volume II: Fury to the Stars
Chase learns of his Fury heritage and starts developing powers while he tries to rescue Sarah from the hands of his evil twin Argos, currently torturing her for information. Another Olympian, Ares, trains Chase and helps him get a grasp on his emerging powers. Meanwhile Earth is suffering random terrorist attacks that put the new Alliance’s frail status in jeopardy. After going to Hellstar prison to get Ryonna out, Chase fights Argos and is finally reunited with Sarah, but something is off. A long range distress call from a former Star Alliance scientist (Spiros Malayianis) brings Chase and Argos on yet another collision course. Chase is put into the impossible position of choosing between preventing sensitive weapon schematics from falling into Argos’ hands or saving Sarah’s (and his unborn son’s) life. She has been brainwashed to do Argos’ bidding and is also responsible for the wave of terrorism back on Earth. Chase reluctantly destroys Sarah’s ship.
Volume III: Destination Oblivion
Having had to kill the woman he loves as well as their unborn child plunges Chase into a spiral of hatred and self-destruction as he leaves the Earth Alliance. After meeting a bounty hunter (Keera), Chase join forces with her in order to track the one man he hates more than anything in this world. His twin brother Argos whom he holds responsible for Sarah’s death. Argos resurfaces on their radar after killing Ares in cold blood. When their paths cross, Chase nearly kills Argos after an epic fight in Tokyo, but only spares his twin brother’s life when he reveals that Sarah is alive and the person that Chase killed was a clone. Meanwhile a dangerous Artificial Intelligence (Gaia) is born on Earth and threatens humanity as a whole, but in the end Spiros Malayianis convinces her that she has nothing to fear from humans. In order to rescue Sarah, Chase has to reluctantly team up with Argos in order to defeat a Titan that holds a piece of tech Argos needs for his nefarious plan. When recovered, Argos requests Aphroditis to enter the piece of tech that will free his brethren, once thought to be extinct, from their dimensional prison. Aphroditis enters the machine willingly in exchange for a promise from Chase to rid the world of Argos and the threat he poses. The Fury homeworld (Erevos) is brought back into their reality as a result. The enemy of old (Furies) is back in play.
Volume IV: The Beginning of the End
Argos reunion with the Furies turns sour as he refuses to kill Chase when ordered. Back on Earth Chase trains for months with the help of Gaia and Spiros to increase his powers tenfold in the hope of defeating the Furies. Argos and two highly trained Fury warriors (Miseo, the son of the Fury Supreme Commander Arakan as well as General Arkoolis) are sent on a mission to wipe out the Droxians in retribution for their joining the Earth Alliance after the battle around Earth orbit (Earth Last Sanctuary). Ryonna, with Keera’s help, tries to save her son when he gets tangled in the massacre that ensues on Droxia.
Chase arrives on Droxia and defeats Arkoolis but Miseo proves to be too powerful for him. Argos intervenes near the end of the battle, mortally wounds Chase and leaves him for dead before they (Miseo & Argos) have to flee when reinforcements arrive.
Volume V: Rise of the Ultra Fury
Sarah is about to give birth to Chris when he warns her of things to come, using the Fury powers Sarah has acquired as part of her pregnancy. Chase is brought back on board the Hope and put in suspended animation until Ares can procure an Olympian elixir with the help of Argos who is starting to question his allegiance with the Furies. Chase wakes up in the Underworld, his soul trapped in between the world of the living and the dead, where he meets Hades who trains Chase further while his son Chris is born and ages at impossible speed. Argos starts feeling remorse for his actions and agrees to help Ares recover the banished Olympian Asclepius from his prison. Argos defeats the Titan Menoitios and frees Asclepius with Ares and Apollo’s help. On their way back to the Hope, a Fury assassin by the name of Timoros tries to kill Chase while he’s still trapped in the Underworld. Every one of Chase’s friend risk their lives to try and stop Timoros but he’s too powerful. Eventually Chase returns from the Underworld when he feels Sarah in mortal danger. He drinks the elixir and obliterates Timoros while reaching a stepping stone power-wise in becoming an Ultra Fury. The first Fury super destroyer is dispatched as part of a fleet intent on destroying Earth, currently protected by a powerful planetary shield. When it looks like all hope is lost, an unknown fleet going by the name of Gaian Defense Force enters the fold and forces the Furies out of Earth orbit. Their leader, also named Gaia, demands of Chase that the Earth Alliance also leaves orbit within the hour or they’ll destroyed.
Volume VI: Shadows of Olympus:
Chase and what’s left of the Earth Alliance are forced to vacate Earth space. Spiros, Cedric & Gaia stay behind in order to try and stop Gaia 2 from taking control of planet Earth. Meanwhile the alliance splits up, with Saroudis and the Destiny battlegroup going back to Alpha Prime, where the Obsidian Empire helps them get more ships and resources at a time of need. Chase, Ares and Argos go to meet Zeus on Olympus, but are not welcomed as friends. After battling one another, Chase and Zeus came to an agreement. Zeus reveals to Chase that he fell in love with Arakan’s wife during the first Fury war, and that’s what lead to the conflict escalating. He also told Chase that Oryn is his daughter, not Arakan’s. He tasks Chase to bring her back to him and in exchange Olympus will join the Earth Alliance in their fight with the Furies. Sarah and Chris are sent on a mission of their own to try and make contact with the Asgardians. They find an armada of frozen Star Alliance ship as well as Kvasir, a banished Asgardian engineer who could be an asset in defeating the AI scourge back on Earth. But Miseo is sent to recover him and a battle ensues. Chris fights Miseo and nearly gets killed, but Chase intervenes. When he’s about to kill Miseo, Oryn arrives on the scene and the two of them fight, resulting in a draw. Kvasir is rescued and so is the Star Alliance armada. Meanwhile on Earth things go from bad to worse, Gaia 2 is about to take control of the planet, so Gaia unleashes a planet-wide EMP to insure Gaia 2 doesn’t get her hands on all of Earth’s computing power. Gaia 2 invades Cedric body and turns him into her new avatar cyborg. After executing Spiros, Gaia 2 gives Chase a warning, to stay away from Earth or face the consequences of humans dying by the millions.
And now the continuation . . .
1
“Course set for Earth,” said Sarah. “I’ve got First Admiral Zenakis hailing us.”
Chase grimaced.
“I’ll take it in my ready room.”
A moment later Chase addressed the holo-screen. “Admiral, it’s good to see you alive and breathing. We’ve been under the assumption that the First Fleet was lost during the initial assault against the Star Alliance.”
“I don’t think we’ve had the pleasure. Captain Chase Athanatos, is it?”
“Yes, Admiral. And no, we haven’t. But your reputation precedes you.”
“I’m going to cut to the chase, if you’ll pardon the pun, Captain. I was under the impression we were going back to Alpha Prime, where I would meet my old friend Commodore Saroudis, but you seem to have redirected the entire fleet towards Earth without asking me.”
“I’m sorry, Admiral. This is an emergency. A vile AI is attacking Earth. Without the help of that world, the new Earth Alliance wouldn’t exist today, and, incidentally, your ships might never have been freed from their state.”
“Be that as it may, Captain—and this is why I’m calling you instead of ordering you—there is such a thing as a chain of command. Last I checked, a first admiral vastly outranks a captain.”
Really? We’re going to do this now? Talk about inconvenient timing.
“Yes, Admiral. But technically you’re not part of the Earth Alliance, are you? You’re not exactly my superior officer. Granted, I was a Star Alliance Lieutenant before the Earth Alliance was made, and you probably see it as one and the same, but surely you’ve noticed the ten Olympian destroyers in the fleet?”
“I have, and I will admit I did not think the Olympians actually existed outside myths.”
“There’s a lot you’ll want to become acquainted with regarding the events that happened after the fall of the Star Alliance, Admiral. But right now Earth is the home for this new alliance. We’ve been driven away by a mad AI intent on its destruction. That same AI just executed two of my friends in front of my crew. I can’t let this go unanswered, and I have the commodore supporting my actions.”
First Admiral Zenakis’ gaze intensified. “So if I understand you correctly, Captain, should I issue an order to you now, you’d refuse it?”
Do I really need to say it out loud?
“I’m afraid so, Admiral. Right now, with the fate of Earth in the balance, I’d only take orders from the commodore should he decide to cancel this mission.”
Zenakis played with his beard. “I see. So if I were to call the commodore he’d tell me he’s authorized this mission of yours?”
“Not exactly. Or not in so many words.”
“I see that my first impression of you is warranted, Captain. You are a loose cannon. You’ve taken this decision on your own.”
For fuck’s sake, I don’t have time for this.
“With all due respect, Admiral, I have the commodore’s full confidence. I know he would support my decision.”
“And yet you haven’t told him.”
Well if I wasn’t held up on the line with you, I might be doing that now.
“Correct, but rest assured he is my next call.”
“Mine as well, Captain, mine as well.”
“I can’t stress how important it is that we deal with this AI once and for all, and swiftly.”
“Am I correct in assuming you have a plan?”
Well, sort of.
“That’s correct, Admiral.”
“Do you mind sharing it with me? If I’m going to put my ships and my crew in harm’s way, I need to know why and with whom we’re doing this.”
“May I suggest I present my plan to both yourself and Saroudis at the same time? Right now it hinges on some points that need clarification.”
“Why am I neither surprised nor enthused by this? Let me tell you why, Captain, as I pride myself on being a good judge of character. My guts tell me you’re a hothead. Perhaps a genius, or perhaps just lucky. I don’t really care which. But you seem to think you have the ability, and right, to decide the fate of everyone around you. How am I doing so far?”
Painfully and annoyingly accurate.
“Admiral, while we could debate this more, for now I think it serves neither of our respective interests. I understand your reluctance to blindly trust me, my instincts or my methods, so I invite you to contact Commodore Saroudis. A lot has happened since you left. The Star Alliance has been defeated, we’ve met the Olympians, and they’ve set me on my current path. The commodore understands this, and hopefully so wi
ll you.”
“Are you a betting man, Captain Athanatos?”
“No, why?”
“Because hell will freeze over before I entrust the lives of everyone on board my fleet to someone just because he thinks he’s following some sort of destiny.”
That’s just great.
“However,” Zenakis continued, “as a gesture of respect for old-wolf Saroudis, I will follow your fleet until I have listened to what the commodore has to say on your behalf. You’d better pray his confidence in you is as ironclad as you seem to think it is, because if it isn’t, we’re not coming to Earth with you.”
With or without you, we’re going anyway.
“Understood, Admiral.”
“We’ll be in touch, Captain. Soon. Zenakis out.”
The holo-transmission ended before Chase could say anything else. Not that he looked forward to continuing this barren chat. Saroudis would back him up, that much Chase was certain of. But this First Admiral Zenakis sounded like bad news. The last thing he needed was a by-the-book admiral in charge of things. Fortunately, as long as they didn’t rejoin the Earth Alliance officially, Chase had the leeway to deal with the emergency at hand. And, right now, that meant ridding Earth of Gaia 2.
Sarah exited the shower with nothing but a towel around her shoulders and sat on the bed next to Chase. He was pensive.
“You can’t sleep either?”
“No.”
“Are you sure going to Earth is the right move? This Gaia 2 means business. She’ll kill the first million the moment she detects us.”
“We’ll have to make sure we’re not detected, then.”