Armageddon Unleashed (Universe in Flames Book 7)

by Christian Kallias

  The Earth Alliance had lost two ships in the last ten minutes of engagement, and the Olympians had suffered their first loss as well. Things were not looking good now that Gaia had numerical superiority.

  Chase re-appeared on the bridge.

  “Welcome back, and not a minute too soon,” said Sarah. “How is Chris?”

  “Both him and Argos entered regen tanks. They’ll be out of commission for a while.”

  “We’re not winning this battle at the moment. We even lost an Olympian destroyer.”

  “Dammit! Where’s Saroudis’ fleet? We need reinforcements.”

  “We certainly do.”

  Chase sent a telepathic message to the commodore.

  What’s your ETA, Adonis? We’re in trouble here.

  Hello, Chase, we’re about an hour away.

  We won’t last an hour at this rate.

  I’ll push our jump engines, but it will only shave off a few minutes and we may lose a couple of ships that way.

  Understood. I just hope we’ll still be here when you arrive.

  We’ve informed the Droxians of our predicament. They’re also on their way. They might arrive before us.

  How did you manage that? I thought they didn’t want to leave their planet undefended to come to our aid.

  Thanks to the emperor, who promised to send a replacement fleet three times as large as the one currently protecting Droxia, they reconsidered. We’ve also agreed to share our newest technology upgrades with them, which sealed the deal.

  That’s good news. Thanks, Adonis. See you soon.

  Good luck, Chase. Hold the fort until we arrive.

  Will do.

  “Saroudis is a little less than an hour away. We have to buy ourselves some time.”

  “That’s all well and good,” said Sarah, “but how?”

  “Captains, we’ve received an incoming transmission, Droxian in origin,” said the comms officer.

  “On screen,” said Chase and Sarah at the same time.

  “That’s how,” said Chase with a smile.

  “You knew Droxians were on their way?”

  “I’ve just learned about it.”

  The holo-screen filled with the face of a Droxian captain.

  “This is Captain Harnek of the Droxian Planetary Defense battlegroup. Our ships are minutes away from Earth, but our sensors have detected a jump-interdiction field. Can you please have it dropped?”

  Sarah gently signaled for Chase to answer.

  “We can really use your help, thank you. I’ll take care of that JIF right away.”

  “Thank you, Captain. See you on the battlefield.”

  The holo-communication ended.

  “Alright everyone, we have to hold Gaia 2’s fleet until Commodore Saroudis comes with reinforcements. Keep harassing these ships but, whenever possible, adopt a defensive strategy. As soon as the JIF is down, don’t hesitate to micro-jump the destroyers whenever needed. Our priority now is to avoid losing any more ships.”

  Chase then sent the telepathic request to have the JIF dropped by Athena’s battlegroup.

  On board the Eternal Wrath, Oryn checked the ship’s holo-instruments, monitoring long-range data of the battle unfolding around Earth. They’d arrive in orbit within minutes. Miseo was out of cryo again and stood a few yards away, his back turned and looking at the viewport, arms locked across his chest.

  “You really think you have it all figured out, don’t you?” said Miseo.

  “Look, we were never really close, you and I. And now the time has come to end this. I know you want to kill Chase as much as I do, so at least we see eye to eye on that goal. We stand a better chance taking him down if we team one last time.”

  “Do we?”

  “It’s not like you have much choice. I can dose you with enough drugs to turn you into a puppet. But I think it’s best you comply on your own. That way we can attack him simultaneously.”

  “What about the battle currently taking place on Earth? Do we join in the festivities?”

  “Nope; our mission is to kill the Ultra Fury. Let them destroy themselves. That’s not why we’re here today.”

  “We’d be passing up an opportunity to rid ourselves of more of our enemies’ ships. Is that wise?”

  “We can’t split our focus. Not to mention that our only choice would be to join these Gaian ships, which managed to repel one of our super-destroyers in our last engagement. Whoever that enemy is, it’s not afraid to sacrifice ships to win a battle. We only have one destroyer. We need to focus on what we came here to do. Even if our added firepower should tip the scales of that battle in their favor, surely we would then have to contend with these ships. And right now, even if the Earth Alliance has taken out a third of their fleet, there are still too many ships for one Fury destroyer to take on.”

  “You’re a coward, Oryn, but you know that already, right?”

  “Miseo, this is not a negotiation. You’ll do as I say.”

  Oryn activated the mental control device, but the sensation she got from it wasn’t what she expected. Instead of feedback from Miseo’s body like before, she felt herself losing control of her own body.

  “The problem with mental technology,” said Miseo, “especially one that hasn’t been thoroughly tested, is that it can be used against you.”

  Oryn couldn’t move a muscle. The more she tried, the more pain she felt. She fell on her knees, her body trembling. She didn’t understand how he was doing it. Not only was she unable to control her brother’s body, but she was now helpless to control her own.

  “What . . . what are you doing?” whispered Oryn with difficulty.

  “I’m taking over this mission, the way it should be. Once Chase is dealt with, you’ll pay for your betrayal. Now go to sleep,” said Miseo.

  Miseo unleashed a powerful energy blast that sent Oryn into the nearest bulkhead. Still unable to move a single muscle, she crashed head first into it and her limp body hit the floor, unconscious.

  Miseo cracked his neck muscles and turned his attention back to the viewport.

  The Ultra Fury is mine and mine alone.

  Daniel had just finished an attack run on a GDF destroyer with the intent of lowering its shields enough for it to be taken out by the larger ships in the fleet when his radar bleeped alarmingly.

  “What the hell are these?” he said to himself.

  A closer look at his instrument showed that the destroyer had unleashed tens and tens of smaller objects.

  “Wing Commander,” his radio crackled, “are those starfighters spewing from that ship?”

  Daniel analyzed his sensor readings with dismay. The craft were really fast. They didn’t seem very maneuverable, but their speed was an issue. One of the bogies passed less than two hundred yards from his StarFury and he got a good look at it.

  It was spherical, and made of rows of cog-like rings, rotating at very high speed. The bogie impacted a nearby StarFury and tore through it as if it was made of cardboard. The ultra-fast rotation of its multiple toothed rings took the starfighter’s shields down almost instantaneously and then tore through its armor with little to no effort.

  Not content with just ripping the life out of one of Daniel’s pilots and destroying a StarFury in less than a second, the bogie changed course toward its next target.

  Daniel hit his StarFury’s engines to the max and tried to pursue the bogie. He showered the spherical weapon with laser fire but every one of his hits was deflected by a force field.

  “Alpha-six, you have one of these new weapons targeting you. Jump out of the way, now!”

  “I can handle it, Wing Command—”

  These were Alpha-six’s last words. He suffered the same fate as Alpha-three a few seconds earlier.

  Had Gaia 2 created an efficient weapon to deal with short-range fighters? It certainly looked like it.

  Daniel opened a channel to the Hope. “Guys, we have a serious problem.”

  Yanis looked at the sensor data of the bat
tle with his head in his hands. It looked bleak. Not only did the Gaian Defense Force destroyers have stronger shields, their new multiple-focus firing solution was costing a ship almost every time it fired.

  The new defensive stance of the fleet, jumping out of the way, was working but it wouldn’t take Gaia 2 long to adapt to the new strategy.

  Yanis needed a way to exploit any weaknesses of the enemy. Even though he had been at it for hours, so far he couldn’t see any weaknesses. Mental fatigue was setting in. There had to be a weakness he could exploit, and he needed to find it fast.

  To add insult to injury the GDF destroyers were now targeting smaller craft with a deadly new weapon. Yanis wondered if Gaia 2 had actually developed the weapon on the fly, or if the loss of a third of her ships had forced her to take a more aggressive stance towards the smaller craft, which earlier may have seemed no more than mosquito bites to her, thanks to her superior shield technology.

  Perhaps a new set of eyes was required.

  He opened a channel to Earth and got Cedric on the line.

  “It’s good to see you buddy,” said Cedric.

  “And you, my friend. I thought we’d lost you.”

  “I’m harder to kill than I look.”

  Yanis beamed a smile. “Indeed you are. Do you have a minute to look at something for me?”

  “Kind of in the middle of a hundred things right now, but I’m sure you wouldn’t have called me if it wasn’t important.”

  “It is. Gaia 2 is kicking our butts up here. Can I send you a couple of sensor logs? Tell me if anything jumps out at you.”

  “Sure thing. Shoot.”

  Yanis sent the sensor data via subspace and waited while Cedric had a look at it.

  “Interesting. The center ship in the formation seems to be using its own shields to canalize the energy in front of the vessel before firing. It’s not even using its own weaponry, just acting as the conduit.”

  “How does that help us?”

  “Hmm, let me guess. You’re trying to find a flaw to exploit before the center ship fires?”

  “Yes. I’ve been looking at their firing sequence and analyzing sensor data with a fine-tooth comb, trying to find a power fluctuation, a frequency, anything we could exploit while the ships are concentrating their firing sequence. I was hoping their shields would lower while they send their own plasma beams to the conduit ship, but I can’t find the chink in their armor.”

  “Did you notice how the destroyers stay in tight formation for another minute, minimum, after the firing sequence?”

  “No. But why does that matter?”

  “There has to be a reason, a tactical one, or they wouldn’t risk it. Staying in formation for too long is dangerous. If one ship blows, it will seriously affect those around it.”

  Yanis heard a series of beeps on Cedric’s side of the conversation. Cedric flinched when he looked towards the source of the beeps.

  “I’m afraid I must take care of this right away, Yanis. But I suggest you look at your sensor data and concentrate on the data emanating from the ship after they execute their firing sequence. My gut feeling is that you’ll find something to exploit during these sixty seconds after the shot.”

  “Thanks, Cedric, will do.”

  “You can thank me later, if we survive this day. I could sure use a strong drink then.”

  “You got it. Yanis out.”

  Yanis brought back up the last two sensor logs from the Gaian destroyers and focused on the data after the plasma weapon’s discharge.

  There it was. The center ship had no shields for three seconds after firing. It took nearly sixty seconds for them to recharge to half power, and that explained why the other ships stayed in formation. They used their own shields to protect the one that had depleted its shields while acting as a conduit.

  So, in theory, if they attacked right after the delivery of these one-kill shots, they could take out the middle ship. The close proximity of the group might also result in secondary damage to the ships around it.

  Thanks, Cedric, you’re a genius.

  Yanis opened a channel to the bridge. “I might have something you can use.”

  Fifteen Droxian destroyers jumped into the battlefield in Earth orbit and engaged the GDF fleet. Gaia 2’s reply was almost instantaneous, using a similar tactic as before, focusing the fire of six of her destroyers in close formation to deliver a high-powered golden plasma beam. It tore through its target in less than a second, and already one of the Droxian support destroyers was split in two, less than a minute into the fight.

  Three Olympian destroyers and starfighter escorts, shadowing the GDF destroyer formation, opened fire with a flurry of anti-matter torpedoes as well as a barrage of laser fire. They concentrated on the central ship, the one that had delivered the kill shot to the first Droxian destroyer.

  The Hope jumped right in front of the GDF formation and fired its main plasma beam right into the bow of the center ship. The Olympian ships scattered shortly before their torpedoes hit, while the Hope’s main plasma beam added to the damage the Olympian torpedoes had done to the enemy ship.

  It exploded in the middle of the formation, lighting the shields of all the other GDF destroyers. The resulting shockwave scattered them, severely compromising some of their shields.

  The fourteen remaining Droxian ships launched a barrage of laser turret fire and torpedoes towards the scattered group and took out more two ships.

  Two Olympian destroyers came about to blast another ship out of the sky, but it micro-jumped out of the way of the incoming wave of anti-matter torpedoes.

  “It worked!” exclaimed Chase. “Great job, Yanis!”

  “Cedric deserves most of the credit on that one, boss. But, Chase, this new, spherical, short-range weapons her ships are firing at our StarFuries are another ball game altogether; and I’m sure she’ll adapt to this new strategy of ours soon enough.”

  Chase had no doubt that would be the case, but for the time being they had inflicted quite a blow, and that put them back on the offensive. All in all, good news, Chase thought.

  “Duly noted, Yanis. Let’s see if we can inflict more damage this way while we can. We only need to stall them for half an hour, after all. Then, Saroudis and the Obsidian will add to our numbers, so we can finish this bitch off. Chase out.”

  Before Chase could discuss their next move with Sarah, the tactical officer spoke up.

  “Incoming jump point, at vector 0-3-5. Fury destroyer coming out of hyperspace. It jumped in away from the fight. It will be here in less than fifteen minutes at current sub-space velocity.”

  “Dammit, talk about bad timing,” said Chase.

  “Well, you knew they were coming,” said Sarah.

  “I just wish we had more time. I’d better be going. Use what we’ve learned to keep them at bay. Perhaps the mere fact that we’ve found a weakness will force Gaia 2 into a more defensive stance. Every minute we delay this battle, we increase our chances of eradicating Gaia 2 swiftly once reinforcements arrive.”

  “What about the StarFuries?”

  “Let’s bring them home for the time being. We can’t afford to lose them at this rate. At least, not until we find a way to counter that new weapon.”

  “Very well. Be careful, Chase.”

  Chase winked at her. “You too, love.”

  Chase teleported away from the bridge.

  “Open a channel to all StarFury wings immediately,” said Sarah.

  When Chase arrived in engineering, Kvasir was startled by his sudden appearance.

  “I don’t think I’m ever going to get used to people teleporting in and out around me,” said Kvasir. “Do you need anything from me, Captain?”

  “Yes, that device you equipped me with while I was inside Gaia 2’s matrix. Can it be reprogrammed to transmit all sensor data from the fleet?”

  “It could, but why do you need it? Can’t you just get that info on any console throughout the ship?”

  “I could,
but I have to go aboard the newly arrived Fury ship soon and I would still like to keep an eye on the battle while I’m there. I could use my power to link with the computers aboard this ship, but something tells me I’ll need to keep all my focus on fighting Miseo and, god forbid, Oryn.”

  “Didn’t she almost kill you when you came to rescue me? Why ‘god forbid?’”

  “I can’t kill her, and I can’t tell you why.”

  Kvasir’s shining tattoos lowered in intensity across his face.

  “Not a problem, Captain. Just give me a few seconds to program the device with its new function.” He did so. “There. Think of what data you want and the device will deliver it to you in real time, overlaying the data as an HUD in your field of vision.”

  “Perfect. Thanks, Kvasir.” Chase attached the device to his right temple. “Can we still communicate with this?”

  “Yep, just mentally say my name and it will open a channel.”

  Chase flashed Kvasir a thumbs up and looked at Yanis. “Any progress with defeating the new short-range weapon used against our StarFuries?”

  “I’m afraid not,” said Yanis, “but I’m still analyzing the sensor data. Gaia 2 tech isn’t easy to break.”

  “Understood. I know you’ll do your best to find a solution. What about acquiring one of the weapons for a closer look? Would that help?”

  “It most certainly would, but how do you intend to do that? We’ve recalled the StarFuries back into the launch bays for the time being. Not that I think any of them could bring one on board anyway.”

  “Leave that to me. In the meantime, you should prepare a powerful force field capable of holding a still active weapon in one of the cargo bays. Can you do that?”

  “We sure can try, but if we lose containment, that thing could do some serious damage inside the ship.”

  “Then make sure your force field doesn’t lose containment. I’ll be right back.”

  Chase blinked out of existence.

  “How will he bring us one back?” asked Kvasir.

  “I’ve long since stopped asking such questions. Chase has a knack for accomplishing the impossible. Whatever his mind just conjured up, it’s probably a walk in the park for him. We’d better be ready for his return, though.”