Into the Fire Part II: To End All Wars (Universe in Flames Book 10)

by Christian Kallias

  The words resonated with Chase, and he started to understand why Aphroditis had told him he needed to separate his feelings for those he loved from what needed to be done.

  “As much as I hate to admit it, you’re right. Let’s try to all get out of here alive.”

  “Of course we’ll try, with all our might; I don’t want to die, and I don’t want to lose you or Chris. But I understand that it may happen, especially if Spectre Arakan is as powerful as you said.”

  “He’s beyond anything I thought possible, even with my Ultra Fury powers, I felt helpless when we fought him. I was a mere bug compared to him. I’ve never felt so insignificant before.”

  “Then I understand that we need to train for years. And that’s what we’re going to do, as a unit.”

  Chase nodded.

  Chase was toweling himself off when he heard the holo-comm system ringing.

  “Sweetie! Can you get that?” he shouted.

  When Sarah didn’t answer, he walked into the bedroom only to see that she had left. He quickly dressed and answered the call. It was Athena.

  “Hey, Mother; what can I do for you?”

  “I just heard about that crazy training room you had your engineers cook up for you.”

  “What about it?”

  “Your father and I want to train as well.”

  Kvasir was right; they would have to take turns; it would be difficult having to train in the limited about of space. With Athena and Menelas, that made a total of eight people who wanted access to the time chamber. The room was barely bigger than a basketball court, and they needed space to fly around and use different tactics.

  “Alright, the more, the merrier, I guess. But let’s test the thing first, and I don’t want everyone to go inside at the same time. I’ll test the machine, Argos will join me, and then we can make groups and allot time in the room with some sort of rotation.”

  “Sure; if it’s okay, I’d like to train with Menelas.”

  “Works for me. Though, I suggest we mix things up from time to time, just so we fight different opponents; it will keep us on our toes.”

  “That’s a good idea. Keep us in the loop, then?”

  “Sure.”

  A few seconds after ending the holo-communication, the doorbell rang.

  Chase swiped the holo-control to see who was there, and a hologram of Daniel projected in front of the door.

  “Come in.”

  “Hey, buddy; you wanted to see me?” asked Daniel.

  “Yeah, we need to talk about who’s gonna command the fleet while we train and when we go to Erevos.”

  “Do we have a timetable on that?”

  “Anywhere between ten and twenty days. Every warrior on this ship wants time inside to increase their abilities, so it looks like we’ll have to work out a schedule. If we take more time than that, we risk Spectre Arakan developing additional powers.”

  “How do you feel about fighting him?”

  “Honestly? I’m scared to death at the moment, and if we can avoid a confrontation and just blow his ass up with the rest of Erevos, I wouldn’t mind. But if there is a fight, then we need to be stronger than we are. Way stronger.”

  “Are you excited about the prospect of training inside the time chamber?”

  “I’m always excited about acquiring more power, but the thought of spending years in there is weird, you know.”

  “Well, to me it will feel like days, and I have to admit I hadn’t thought of the fact that time will pass at a much slower pace for you.”

  “I’m sure it will be brutal to just train every day for years. But at this point, we don’t have a choice. Spectre Arakan can crush us like insects with our current power levels.”

  “That must be frustrating.”

  “And terrifying.”

  “I bet.”

  “So, the reason I asked to see you is that I want you to take command of the Victory and the fleet should there be any engagement with the enemy while we train. If needed, you let us know, and those of us inside the time chamber will get out to help you.”

  “I’ll make sure to only ask for your help if it’s necessary.”

  “I know you will; thanks, bro.”

  “Thank you for trusting me with the Victory.”

  “You’ve always had great leadership abilities; that’s why you were the Destiny’s Wing Commander and first in line to replace Saroudis, if needed, despite being the weaker pilot,” Chase said with a smirk.

  “Oh, oh! I can’t believe you just said that.”

  “And yet we both know I was the better pilot.”

  “The most reckless one.”

  “But…”

  Daniel lifted an apologetic hand.

  “Ok, ok; you were the best pilot on that ship, probably the best pilot I’ve ever flown with, in fact. And so modest,” added Daniel, unable to suppress a chuckle.

  Chase laughed. “Yeah, that too.”

  “Have time for a quick breakfast before you go test the chamber?”

  “I’d like that.”

  Altair sat next to Ryonna’s bed.

  “Thank you for coming, and thank you for saving my life, again.”

  “You’re welcome; when you failed to answer, I knew something was wrong.”

  “But coming down to the planet yourself?”

  “I felt responsible; I gave you that mission, it only seemed fair that I come and get you out myself. I couldn’t send the troops; they would have gotten overrun, so stealth was the only way. There was simply no one I could trust to get the job done, so I had to do it.”

  “When I saw you there, I really thought I was hallucinating. I— I never expected anyone to come get me.”

  “I’m so sorry you had to go through that torture. I shouldn’t have put you in that position, for that I deeply apologize.”

  Ryonna laughed.

  “What’s so funny?”

  “You risk your own life once again to save me, and then apologize for my failure. I’m the one that should be apologizing, something that’s not exactly my strong suit.”

  “Really, I hadn’t noticed that,” said Altair with a playful smile.

  “You must have sent other people on perilous or even suicidal missions before, though; I doubt you’d follow up on every one of them. So, I guess my question is, why me?”

  “No reason in particular besides what I’ve already told you. This mission was paramount; we simply couldn’t afford to fail. Since brute force would probably have resulted in a massacre, I felt I didn’t have any other choice. There was simply nobody else I trusted to get the job done.”

  Ryonna wasn’t convinced by Altair’s explanation. At least, not fully.

  “Are you telling me the whole truth?”

  “Why would I lie?”

  Perhaps Ryonna was projecting her latent feelings onto Altair in the hopes she wasn’t imagining things. But her emotions were troubling, as she never thought she’d be feeling anything like this for anyone in her life.

  “I didn’t mean to imply you did. Never mind. Thank you again for the rescue and for calling Ronan; that was a wonderful surprise.”

  “I thought he needed to know about you, and I had a feeling you’d enjoy seeing him upon waking up. However, and I hope you don’t take this the wrong way, I came down first and foremost to make sure the objective was completed. Of course, I was also hoping nothing had happened to you. While your temper can sometimes be problematic, I recognize that you’re a valuable…asset to this war.”

  Ryonna smiled. Her temper had been more under control lately, and she wondered if that was the reason she had so many close calls. It didn’t make any sense, but she felt it in her heart that she had grown slightly softer. She was still a proud warrior, but now she questioned her actions a little more than before.

  “I understand. I’m also grateful that I didn’t have to kill Tar’Lock’s sister myself. Though given a chance, after what she put me through, I certainly wouldn’t have hesitated.”r />
  Altair’s eyes grew wide.

  “Right,” said Ryonna. “You didn’t know that the queen was his sister since I forgot to mention that in my report.”

  “I don’t think that would have made a difference in my showdown with her, though I’m glad I didn’t have to factor in her relationship with Tar’Lock when I took the shot; sometimes just the slightest hesitation can cause a plethora of consequences.”

  “I’m glad you didn’t hesitate. I don’t think Tar’Sian was the same person Tar’Lock once knew. And since Gorgar have limited memory, I don’t think the family bonds are as strong as other races experience. Still, I’m not looking forward to telling him his sister is dead.”

  “While I don’t like deceiving people, perhaps it would be best not to tell him at all?”

  “The thought had crossed my mind since he has so many siblings anyway, but I would feel like I’m being deceitful, and I’m not sure I could look into his eyes as a friend while withholding that piece of information.”

  “But what if telling him breaks that friendship?”

  “Well, under the circumstances, if it happens, then it would mean that it wasn’t that strong a bond to begin with.”

  13

  In the cargo bay, Cedric approached Argos who was waiting for Chase so they could test out the chamber.

  “Can I speak to you?” inquired Cedric.

  “Sure, what do you need?” answered Argos.

  “Gaia gave me a call earlier; she said something about you helping Spiros’ clone.”

  “What about it?”

  “I just wanted to say thanks for helping. He’s my friend, and I should never have let him go on his own.”

  “You’re welcome and don’t beat yourself up about this, sometimes we need to do certain things alone. Is that all you wanted to tell me?”

  “Not exactly. I was thinking; if you had some of your equipment in the chamber, you could probably bring him back in a fraction of the time.”

  “I hadn’t thought of that, but what does it matter? In suspended animation he won’t feel a thing anyway.”

  “I know; I’m hoping he doesn’t feel any pain at the moment, but I was thinking mostly of Gaia.”

  “I see. If I repaired his body inside the chamber, then Gaia would spend less time on the outside worrying.”

  “Yes, exactly. Would you be willing to consider it?”

  “We’ll have to see if there’s enough space to do both repairs on his body and train simultaneously, but I don’t see why not. Since we may be in the chamber for years, or at the very least weeks or months at a time, fixing his clone body shouldn’t take more than a few days or so.”

  “Thank you, and I’m sure Gaia will appreciate it.”

  Cedric extended his hand toward Argos. This was something he didn’t expect. Argos tentatively reached forward and shook Cedric’s hand.

  When Chase stepped into the training bay that morning, Chris snapped, “You’re late.”

  “Sorry, breakfast with Daniel ran longer than I expected.”

  “I thought you’d be excited to try this as soon as possible,” added Argos.

  “I am; I just wanted to see my friend. I’ll be cooped up for years in the time chamber, at least from my perspective, so taking some time off, even if just a couple of hours, seemed like a good idea.”

  “Fine. Who’s going in first?” asked Chris.

  “I’ll be going in first; to test it out,” said Chase.

  “I don’t think that’s a good idea,” said Argos. “We can’t lose you if something should go wrong. There’s just too much at stake. Let me go instead.”

  Chase knew what Argos was trying to do, even without having to probe for his feelings. Argos still felt he was to blame and that he needed to do whatever it took to redeem himself. Chase could understand since he also felt responsible for failing to save every life claimed in this war. But, as many had told him before, he knew he needed to look forward and trust not only himself but also everyone around him.

  “Your life is as valuable as mine, Argos. But, I have no objections letting you go first.”

  “I could go with you?” proposed Chris.

  Chase brushed his hand through his son’s hair.

  “I think Argos wants to do this one on his own. He won’t be long.”

  Thank you, said Argos.

  Anytime, Brother.

  Argos approached the airlock leading to the time chamber and glanced at Kvasir.

  “How’s this going to work?”

  “This is just a simple test, so you get in, stay in the room for about ten minutes, and get out.”

  “That’s it?”

  “You can train while you wait the ten minutes. We’ve managed to find a way to reuse some of the enormous amounts of energy being blasted toward the containment field, giving us a ton of extra energy that can be tapped into. This gave me an idea, and we’ve managed to push the gravity generator you used earlier to unprecedented levels.”

  “That’s interesting. How far will it go?”

  “It probably can go all the way to five thousand Gs, but I’ve set it up so it will only increase incrementally to the next level once it’s safe for your body. It will also only set to the maximum level of the least powerful user in the group. This is to avoid accidents that could result in an unintentional death. Imagine a normal human stepping into a one thousand G environment, they’d be killed instantly.”

  “That’s a good point. I’m ready to go.”

  “Once you get into the air lock, wait until the light turns green, then you can enter the time chamber.”

  Argos turned around and looked at his friends, family, and the rest of the eggheads that made this possible. He smiled.

  “Good luck, Argos,” said Chase. “If you feel anything is wrong, just get out of there immediately, okay?”

  Argos flashed his brother a thumbs-up.

  “Will do. See you all in ten minutes?”

  “It will only be ten minutes for you,” corrected Yanis. “If everything goes as planned, we’ll see you in about twenty seconds, more or less.”

  “Right. Here goes nothing.”

  Chase could sense Chris was worried and wanted to tell his uncle to be careful, but he probably felt his uncle’s emotions just like Chase could and decided to stay silent.

  Argos entered the air lock and waited a few seconds until a light in front of the blast doors turned green. He pressed the door controls, splitting them open, revealing an intense white light that shone in the entire cargo bay. He stepped in, and his silhouette disappeared into the bright light as if he had stepped into a thick fog. The doors whooshed shut.

  He’ll be fine; don’t worry, said Chase to Chris.

  I hope so.

  We need to test this tech; in fact, without it, there’s really no way we can defeat Spectre Arakan.

  I know that. Even though I’m glad we are all training, I just wish we could take a few days off, not always be training or fighting or dealing with one tragedy after another. Don’t get me wrong, I love getting a better grasp on my powers, but there have to be some fun things we could do that won’t require us to fight all the time.

  The words resonated deeply with Chase. Even more so coming from his son. Ever since his miraculous birth, all he had known was worry and fighting. That was not the life Chase had envisioned for him.

  That brought back the dream he had when he was under the synthetic Kyrian snake venom. In that dream, Chase, Sarah, and Chris were a normal family, outside playing, enjoying life. It felt like paradise, but the reality was very different. Chase still hoped with all his heart that soon, after the Furies were dealt with, they could finally have those moments together, as a family.

  Well, if we go inside the machine, we could take as many days off as we’d like and only a fraction of that time would pass in here, so we wouldn’t feel guilty doing it, right?

  I hadn’t thought of that, but I would think you’d not want to waste a second of you
r training time.

  Spending time with my son could never be a waste of time, Chris. In fact, I feel like we haven’t had enough time even to talk. I know it’s not going to be as fun as leaving the ship and going to the surface of some distant planet, but I’m sure we’ll figure something out to get a few days off, just you and me. If you’d like that?

  Chris smiled from ear to ear. “I’d like that.”

  “How are we doing?” asked Chase when he thought more than twenty seconds had passed.

  “Everything seems to be working just fine. But Argos hasn’t gotten out.”

  Chase couldn’t sense anything wrong regarding his brother, but he had no idea if he would be able to while Argos was in the chamber.

  “Can you instruct him to get out? Do we have communication set up?”

  “Yes, I can project a holo-message inside the room. I’ve tried vocal communication but the time dilation makes it a little tricky, and I never managed to get it working correctly.”

  “Tell him to get out, or I’ll have to go in.”

  Sarah stood next to Chase and squeezed his hand.

  “Perhaps we should have tested a shorter amount of time.”

  Chase glanced at her sharply. “He’ll be fine.”

  The doors to the chamber opened, and Argos stepped out. Argos was profusely sweating as he stepped from the air lock, but other than that, he didn’t seem injured or ill.

  Chris ran to his side.

  “How was it?”

  “It felt okay, except for that bright light, but, by the end, I got used to it.”

  Chris punched him in the shoulder.

  “What’s that for?” complained Argos.

  “You should have come out on time; we were starting to get worried!”

  “Yeah, sorry about that, and thanks for the holo-message. I started playing with the new gravity engine, and I guess in between training and that strong light, I lost track of time.”

  “How do you feel, physically?” asked Kvasir.

  “Beside the tiredness from the gravity field, completely normal. But I can already tell the space in there is not optimal for training. Not to mention that we’ll need a food synthesizer, a table to eat on, and bunk beds of some kind when we need sleep inside the chamber. I might also need to bring in some of my cloning equipment to help Spiros once he’s back here.”