“How’s that?” Avlar asked with a frown.
“I tractored his cockpit while in full burn.”
“That explains the physical condition we found him in, but still he’s alive and he wasn’t blown to pieces.” He gestured to Daniel sleeping in the bed. “I think for now we can safely say that this is a big improvement to how he would have been otherwise, wouldn’t you agree?”
“I’m not so sure,” Chase answered miserably. “I knew in my heart that if I didn’t grab him that instant, and not a second later, there wouldn’t be anything else to grab. But I also didn’t think I could live with the alternative. So I acted outside protocol and risked the life of a dear friend…and my superior, for that matter.”
“You reacted with compassion and, by all accounts, with great courage, risking your own life to save your friend’s. You should give yourself a break; you did the best you could and you shouldn’t second-guess your decision. If I had been in his place, I would have certainly wanted to have someone willing to risk everything to save me.”
Chase gave him a half-hearted smile. “Thanks, Doc.”
“Anytime, Lieutenant. Let me know if there’s anything else I can do for you.”
“I will, thank you.”
The doctor clapped him on the shoulder and returned to his work, while Chase stared down guiltily at Daniel’s sleeping form. Had his own impulsive mind been the cause of this situation, or had he made the right decision to save them both? Looking at Daniel now, Chase could imagine him opening his eyes, sitting up, and talking. It seemed so simple. Like he was only asleep. With a heavy sigh, he pulled up a chair and sat down at his friend’s side.
It was not so simple after all.
Chase had no idea how much time passed as he stared at Daniel’s motionless body, when suddenly he saw a reflection of Aphroditis’ face on the shiny walls of the med-bay. He tried not to jump and stared in wonder as she smiled at him. Then, before he recovered his senses, he heard her sweet voice inside his mind.
“It’s time, Chase. Go now.”
Chase turned his head to the window and saw that the ship had just left hyperspace. All of a sudden, an electric current shot through him and he remembered every detail of his vision and what he needed to do. Without another second’s pause, he started sprinting out of the med-bay like a madman. Heading for the bridge…
The Destiny battlegroup finally jumped back to normal space. On the bridge of the Destiny, Captain Saroudis got up from his chair and turned to his navigation officer.
“Where are we?”
“We’re in unknown space alright, quite far from the border.”
“Long-range sensors; find us a habitable planet.”
“Right away, Captain.”
Saroudis wondered how next to proceed. Alone in an unknown region of space, where any race could be a potential enemy, they’d have to fight for their own survival. Of course, they could also try to find allies. God knows they needed allies right now, on the brink of extinction. There was no denying that the situation was dire, hopeless, some might say. In the numbers and state they were in, their only hope was to regroup and repair before the Obsidian Empire found them again.
The navigation officer interrupted his train of thought.
“Long-range sensors have found two planets with breathable atmospheres within sensor range.”
“Tell me more, Lieutenant.”
“One is at the outer edge of our scanning capabilities. A fully populated planet, industrialized, home to about seven billion people. Their technological level seems quite archaic; they are certainly no threat to our battlegroup.”
“Seven billion? And the other one?”
“The other one is only a few light years from our current position; it doesn’t seem to be inhabited. However, it has far fewer natural resources than the first world.”
Captain Saroudis thought the choice was obvious. Seven billion people could very well mean seven billion enemies, no matter their level of technology. Whilst the second planet was perfect to settle down for repairs and establish a settlement in this galaxy. Of course, if he could get the first world as an ally, their resources and manpower would come in handy in the fight against Obsidian. But all of this could be done later, when they had finished repairing their ships and set up a new base of operations.
He was about to give an order to set course for the second world, when the bridge’s double doors slid open and Lieutenant Chase Athanatos stormed onto the bridge. The captain got to his feet as Chase sprinted toward him.
“What is it, Lieutenant? Any news from Daniel?”
“Not yet, Captain.”
“Then why is it that you storm in here unannounced? You’d better have a good reason for this breach of protocol.”
“I know, Captain. I have a reason, a very important reason.”
“I’m listening.”
“Am I correct in assuming that our sensors discovered a populated world?”
“Yes, we’ve actually discovered two planets; one uninhabited, and one with a population of seven billion.”
“Earth!” Chase exclaimed before he could stop himself.
“What? What is Earth?”
“That’s the name of that planet.”
“How in the blazes would you know that?”
“It’s a long story, but right now we must hurry. They’re about to be attacked by a Zarlack Fleet, and they’re going to need our help.”
The captain blinked slowly. “Lieutenant, you’re not making any sense. I believe your crazy maneuver to save our wing commander made you lose your grip on reality. And I thought we had agreed that the computer might have been wrong identifying the new ships we encountered in the last battle.”
Chase struggled to keep his patience. “No, it wasn’t. They were Zarlacks alright. I know how I sound, sir, but I’m telling you, we NEED to go to Earth. Now!”
“Lieutenant! I understand you’re feeling shaken right now, we all do. But I don’t see how you could know about this planet. We jumped blindly here. The only way you could know these things was if you were seeing the future. Is it what you’re telling me?”
“No, Captain, that’s not it. It’s...it’s complicated. You need to trust me.”
“Either give me a good reason as to why I should believe you, or I’ll resume my plan and take what I think is the safest course of action for this battlegroup—and that is clearly to go to the uninhabited world and establish some sort of base there.”
“But, sir, the reason Earth will be attacked is precisely because we’ve jumped into this area of space. We’ve unintentionally endangered seven billion people; we can’t abandon them!”
“What the hell are you talking about? How could you know all that?” the captain exclaimed. “I don’t know if this is the last fight, or Daniel’s predicament, or you’re simply suffering from sleep deprivation, but you’re sounding mad! Stand down, Lieutenant.”
“I’m not the mad man here!” Chase shouted with much more anger than he had intended. The second the words left his mouth, he knew the game was up.
“Lieutenant Athanatos, you’re out of order!” Captain Saroudis turned to his chair and clicked a button summoning security to the bridge.
Chase bowed his head. “That won’t be necessary, Captain.”
“Well, you don’t seem like yourself, Chase. Consider yourself relieved of duty pending a full medical examination.”
“But, sir,” he pleaded. “Earth?”
“Earth again?” The captain raised his eyebrows. “Kid, if I were you, I wouldn’t make your situation worse than it already is.”
Suddenly, Chase heard Aphroditis in his head again.
“Chase, you must succeed! The entire fate of the universe hangs in the balance! If you lose now, everyone is doomed!”
The main bridge doors opened and three armed security guards walked into the room. Chase’s head felt like it was about to explode. His precious window was closing; he had only a few seconds le
ft to do what needed to be done. For a moment, he froze, uncertain as to what to do, then he took a deep breath and made up his mind. It was now or never.
In a fluid motion, he took his service weapon and pointed it at the captain’s head.
The captain’s jaw dropped open. “Are you insane, Lieutenant?!”
The three security guards pointed their weapons as one at Chase and shouted, “Drop your weapon… NOW!”
“If you shoot me, the captain dies! I’m sorry, Captain, but this is bigger than you and me. This planet needs us and we need them. Without them, there’s no future for any of us, so unless we rescue them right now, we’ll all die soon enough and the Alliance will die with us. If that’s the case, I can die here with you. I really don’t give a damn.”
Saroudis looked deep into Chase’s eyes. “My god, Chase, you really believe all of this, don’t you?”
“With every fiber of my being, sir.”
“What is it you want from me? I can’t and won’t put the entire battlegroup into mortal danger just because you think you know what’s going to happen in the future. You have to understand the insanity of what you’re telling me, son. You know full well I can’t just trust you under these conditions; you’ll have to shoot me first.”
Chase’s chest rose and fell with quick, shallow breaths. “Then let’s do this one step at a time. First things first. Ask the security goons to drop their weapons. NOW!”
The captain slowly turned his head toward the guards and gestured them to drop their weapons. They obeyed instantly, but glared at Chase with increased menace. The rest of the bridge seemed to share their sentiments, and the atmosphere grew thick with tension as people looked around in fear and bewilderment.
The captain was steady. “Now what, Lieutenant?”
“Now we’re going to make a deeper scan of the region surrounding Earth to see if they’re already under attack or soon will be.”
“Very well. Take it easy, Lieutenant.” Saroudis turned toward the navigation officer and said, “Do as he asks.”
The officer began clicking away at his control panel, and the seconds seemed to stretch into years. Chase’s arm, still holding the gun at his captain’s head, was starting to feel unbearably heavy. He was hyper-aware of the eyes of every person on the bridge boring into the back of his head but, just when it felt like the silence couldn’t last any longer, a sound emanated from the console and everyone turned toward it at once.
“Scan complete, Captain.” The navigation officer sounded shocked.
The captain turned to him curiously. “Anything to report, Lieutenant Gathos?”
“Yes, sir, many things. There is indeed a fleet of ships approaching the Terran System.”
“The Terran System?”
“That’s the name of the eight-planet solar system where Earth is located.”
“Earth?” Saroudis repeated, sounding astonished.
“Yes, sir. The computer established links with radio and other types of wave communications within the planet. It’s indeed called Earth.”
“What else can you tell me, Lieutenant?”
“As we already know, Earth’s technological advancement is centuries behind ours; they do not seem to have the resources to fend off the incoming attack. They can barely get into the outer space surrounding their own world.”
“That’s why we must stop wasting time and jump to their rescue,” Chase insisted as his gun began trembling.
“Easy, Lieutenant, I’m not giving that order just yet.” Saroudis turned to Lieutenant Gathos and asked loudly, “What else?”
“Well…that’s the most disturbing part, Captain. I intercepted a message that Earth is sending into space. It’s a sort of welcome message to any and all alien life. It contains many things about their cultures, languages, mythologies, and much more. Our computer cross-referenced it to our databases and found several matches.”
“What?!” the captain cried. “How is that even possible? What kind of matches?”
“Well, one of their languages, what they call Ancient Greek, is actually the language used in our old sacred scrolls. But that’s not all. The language they call English, the dominant language on the planet, is actually a ninety-two percent match for our Universum.”
In an instant, Saroudis’ expression changed completely. He ran his hands through his hair and suddenly couldn’t care less about the gun being pointed at his forehead.
“Oh dear lords… Does that mean what I think it means?”
“Yes,” Chase replied. “We’re linked to these people, one way or another.”
The captain turned in shock. “But how did you know? How could you have known?”
Chase hesitated. “…It’s going to sound crazy, Captain.”
“Crazier than putting a gun to my head?”
“Maybe not…” Chase paused, took a deep breath and continued. “While I was asleep, I saw a woman in my dream, or maybe it was a vision. I’m not entirely sure. She called herself Aphroditis, a beautiful and almost surreal woman. She told me all about Earth and said I had to convince you to save it any way I could. Unfortunately, when the security guards entered, I was left with very few options.”
“Aphroditis?” the captain repeated with wide eyes. “As in, goddess of love and beauty, Aphroditis?”
Chase frowned. “You know her, Captain?”
“According to our old mythologies and legends, Aphroditis was one of the goddesses of Olympia; she used to guide our people in the old days. But it’s been centuries since their influence and worship faded. Today, it’s almost completely gone from our culture—only philosophers and historians remember the tales. I’ve been fascinated with legends and mythologies since I was a young boy, so I read all about them at the Library of History on Alpha Prime. But until now, I only thought they were stories—a cultural myth. I never had any idea there could be some truth in them… I’ll be damned!”
“Does this mean you believe me, Captain?”
“Let’s just say your credibility just received one hell of a boost. Now we need to know more about this fleet and their capabilities.” Saroudis turned to his strategic officer, Commander Philis. “Commander, can we defeat this fleet in battle in our current state?”
“According to our scans, the enemy firepower is equivalent to ours, but the computer can’t really make a successful analysis of their shielding technology. We’d be facing a few more ships than we have but, with a carefully laid out plan and the element of surprise, perhaps we could indeed repel the enemy. But I should point out, that doesn’t mean they wouldn’t come back with reinforcements.”
“One problem at a time, Commander. Right now, it looks like we’re going to make some allies after all. How long until the fleet reaches them?”
“A little more than two hours, sir. But we’ll need a near three hour jump to reach them, and that’s if the jump engines are still operable. By then, they might very well have finished the job. Earth has no planetary shielding and no space-worthy craft. The only weapon they possess is the atom bomb. While very powerful, their delivery systems are way too slow to be effective. In fact, they might accidently destroy their own planet if they try using them.”
“Can we send a message to warn them?”
“The approaching fleet just started emitting jamming frequencies, sir. We’re also about to lose sensor resolution so we won’t know what’s going to happen until we actually arrive on the scene.”
“Dammit!” Saroudis and Chase cursed at the same time.
They turned to each other in surprise, and Chase’s face relaxed into a faint smile. He slowly lowered his gun and holstered it, looking into the captain’s eyes all the while. The second his weapon was holstered, the security guards immediately picked up and raised their guns, but the captain raised his hand sharply.
“Hold your fire; lower your guns.”
The guards were clearly reluctant, so the captain raised his voice to a tone that couldn’t be ignored.
�
�You will holster your guns this second! And get the hell off my bridge while you’re at it.”
The security detachment disappeared from the room and Chase turned his attention back to his superior. “What should we do, Captain?”
“We should hurry, that’s what we should do. Battle stations everyone; plot a jump for Earth and engage the second the coordinates have been fed to the jump engines.”
“Aye, aye, Captain. Coordinates in. Jumping now.”
Chase gazed around the bridge. It was suddenly a flurry of activity. People typed away into computers and filed flight plans as the lights on the terminals blinked rapidly and the monitors started displaying strategic and data scans. Suddenly unnoticed by everyone around him, Chase pulled in a deep breath of relief. He had managed to do what Aphroditis had asked of him.
“Captain, I’m really sorry I pulled a gun on you.”
“That was a serious violation that could be construed as mutiny. I could have you executed for this or, at the very least, court-martialed.”
Chase hung his head. “I know. You can court-martial me, though I would hope capital punishment would be optional.”
Saroudis smiled at the cheeky remark. “We’ll see, son, but, luckily for you I’m not so sure what the gods would think of me if I did sentence you to death.”
“Am I right to believe that their worship might have found a new follower?”
“You bet! And with the position we’re in, it’s somehow comforting to know that the gods are on our side. We’ll definitely need their help. But next time you need to convince me of anything, I would rather you do it in another fashion.”
Chase grinned. “Duly noted.”
6
Chase went to engineering to find his friend Yanis. Yanis Tixichos was the First Tech on board the Destiny, and he and Chase had developed a friendship over the years. He was the one who had helped Chase customize his fighter with dozens of pre-programmed pattern commands that allowed him to be more efficient during dogfights, reducing the time it would take to do basic things like changing the weapons selection or power distribution. Chase had even managed to convince him to reprogram the simulator computer with the same commands so he could train with them and make adjustments in his spare time.
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