Universe in Flames – Ultimate 10 Book Box Set: An Epic Space Opera Adventure

by Christian Kallias

  “Aw,” Sarah sighed with disappointment. “It didn’t make a whoosh.”

  “It’s a tactical weapon,” Chase explained. “No need to broadcast your position when you’re coming up behind your enemy for a stealth kill.”

  “Good point,” she grinned, “but not as fun.”

  Chase smiled at her excitement, but the longer he watched her playing with the weapon the more he worried about the time when she’d need to use it.

  His smile faded and he took her hand, pulling her to the front of the store. “Come on, let’s pay for this and go.”

  When they were back on the streets, he turned to Ryonna.

  “What’s the plan?”

  “We’re heading to a well-known bar. That’s where I can find the man I’m going to…interview about my son.”

  “Interview?” Sarah asked skeptically.

  “I’d rather do it alone,” Ryonna warned. “It could get ugly.”

  “All the more reason for you to have help,” Chase insisted.

  “You can wait for me outside. If someone runs out, try to stop him.”

  “I would think three is more intimidating than one.”

  Ryonna bit her lip. “Don’t take this the wrong way, Chase, but humans aren’t the most intimidating species… You’re rather small. No offense.”

  He grinned. “None taken. And we aren’t small, you’re huge.”

  “Hence, more imposing.”

  He shook his head in exasperation. “Alright, fine. We’ll do it your way—this time.”

  Ryonna smiled graciously. “Good. We’re almost there.”

  “How do we even know he’s here?” Sarah asked doubtfully.

  “It’s his base of operation.” Ryonna pointed at a nearby building. “There it is. Chase, why don’t you stay in the front, and Sarah, there’s a door in the back. Would you mind?”

  “I’m on it,” Sarah replied and headed around toward the back.

  Chase took a step after her. “I’d rather we didn’t split…”

  Ryonna turned to Chase and looked deep in his eyes. “Now is not the time.”

  He stared at her for a moment, then nodded. Sarah disappeared behind him, and he took up position as Ryonna headed inside. After a few minutes of waiting, he clicked the communicator on his wrist and a holographic image of Sarah sprang to life.

  “Status?” he asked.

  “I’m here at the back door. Staring at some sort of rats and standing in garbage.”

  He bit back a smile and saw her eyes narrow.

  “Next time…you take the back.”

  Inside the bar, Ryonna approached a table where a blue humanoid alien was sipping a simmering red drink. She sat down across from him before he could protest.

  His eyes widened and he set down the drink in alarm. “Ryonna, you’ve got balls to come here. Do you know Obsidian has placed a bounty on your head?”

  “How much?”

  “Ten thousand credits. I have to say, I’m more than a little tempted to cash it in.”

  Ryonna smiled dangerously. “Is your life only worth ten thousand, Grolax?”

  “I guess not,” he muttered. “What do you want?”

  “I need to find my son.”

  “And this is my problem why?”

  “Because you still owe me for the last favor I did you, and because if you don’t start talking, I might just start tearing this place apart. I’ll start with the mirror behind the drinks, so unless you want your sorry-ass reflection to be the last thing you see, you’ll start talking.”

  “You know I don’t like threats, especially empty ones.”

  “Oh Grolax,” she smiled sweetly. “This is no empty threat.”

  He looked at her as if gauging her level of intent, before his composure broke and he looked down at the table. “I did hear something, but you know how it works. You give me something of value, and I tell you what I know. With the price on your head, you can’t just come in here and try to cash in on an old favor.”

  “Look, Grolax, we’ve worked together for a while now. I’m willing to be civilized about this, but do not push me; you’ll regret it.”

  Then, all at once, three Horak goons headed toward the table. Ryonna looked up in alarm just in time to see Grolax’s hand retreating from a hidden button beneath the table.

  “Grolax?” she demanded as the goons got closer. They weren’t as tall as she was, but they were about twice her width.

  “I’m sorry, Ryonna, but business is business. You understand, yes?”

  Before he could say anything else, Ryonna sprang into action. With one hand, she propelled herself up from the table, kicking out in a circular motion that sent two Horaks flying. Before the third one could react, her knife had sliced through his heart. With a scowl, she removed the bloody blade and held it under Grolax’s throat while he was still reaching for his blaster.

  “Come now, let’s not do anything rash,” she said calmly. “You and I both know what will happen if you don’t drop your weapon this instant.”

  He dropped the blaster on the table with a splash and a clatter.

  “Alright, calm down, Ryonna. You wouldn’t want to kill the only person here who knows where your son is being held.”

  “I might if you don’t start talking, NOW!”

  “Alright, alright, the Obsidian Empire has him.”

  “I already know this.”

  “Right, well, they transferred him yesterday.”

  “Where to?”

  “Hellstar Prison.”

  Ryonna’s face fell and she stared down at the table. Grolax leaned forward but, the next second, she punched him full in the face. Dropping a coin on the table, she left the bar.

  The frigid night air bit into her face as she joined Chase. “Let’s go,” she said shortly.

  He blinked in surprise. “You have what you came for?”

  “Yes.” She walked at a brisk pace, not waiting for him to follow.

  He stared after her in confusion, before quickly calling Sarah to join them. She caught up with them a second later and hurried after Ryonna’s retreating back.

  “Ryonna, you’re walking too fast for us,” she called.

  “We need to get off this planet as soon as possible.”

  “Can you tell us what you learned? Where’s your son?”

  “In prison.”

  Sarah and Chase exchanged a look before Sarah ran up behind her and put a comforting hand on her back.

  “I’m so sorry,” she murmured as she struggled to keep pace.

  “It’s not your fault.”

  “Do you know where they’re holding him?”

  There was a hitch in her step and her voice was strained. “Hellstar.”

  Chase’s face tightened in concern and Sarah whispered, “What’s Hellstar?”

  “It’s a high-security hell hole from which there is no escape,” he replied.

  “Well then…how do we get him out?”

  “You don’t,” Ryonna answered. “I will.”

  “Ryonna,” Chase began, “let’s be rational about this—”

  She spun toward him. “What would you do if it was your son? Or if it was hers?”

  Chase hesitated, then confessed, “I would do anything to get him out.”

  “Then you know why we must part ways.”

  “Can’t we help her?” Sarah asked quickly.

  Chase looked down but shook his head. “Unfortunately, we can’t. Hellstar is simply too far away from here; we don’t have the time.”

  There was a crash and they glanced up to see Ryonna kicking a trash bin out of her way as she stormed back to the ship. Sarah looked at him with muted concern, and he shook his head again helplessly.

  “We just don’t have the time.”

  20

  Back on the Iron Fire, the ship was already breaking orbit by the time they reached the bridge. Before Chase could sit down, Ryonna turned to him.

  “I need transportation; can you spare a fighter?
”

  “We can, but they don’t have jump capabilities. It will take you months to get to Hellstar without a jump-capable ship.”

  “I’ll find a way. I just need something that allows me to travel. My ship is too badly damaged.”

  “Ryonna, I can imagine how you must be feeling, but wouldn’t it be better for you to come back with us? Let us repair your ship; you might even get to Hellstar faster and maybe we can help you break out your son together.”

  “I appreciate what you’re trying to do, but you’re fighting for your own survival right now. There’s a huge battle coming for you and your people, and you don’t know if you’re going to survive it. Even if you do, your priorities might shift. Believe me, I’m doing what I know has the most chance of saving my son’s life. But this path I must walk alone.”

  “What if I came with you?” Sarah volunteered.

  “Absolutely not!” answered Chase swiftly.

  “Sarah, you are sweet and kind. I felt from the first moment I met you that you were someone I could trust, but you wouldn’t last an hour in Hellstar,” Ryonna said gravely.

  “And how long do you think you’ll last,” Chase tried to reason with her.

  “As long as it takes to find my son.”

  “And then what?”

  “Then we’ll break out together.”

  “I thought no one had ever escaped from Hellstar.”

  “I’ve heard of one man who did it. I’ll find him and learn what he knows.”

  Chase shook his head. “That’s a suicide mission, you know that? But…I get the feeling that that’s not going to change your mind. I wish we could help.”

  “You’ve already helped more than I thought you would. Thanks, to both of you. Keep the quadrinium. Something tells me you’ll need it more than I will. And I hope you can save Earth. If Sarah is any indication, it seems like a good planet with good people.”

  Tears welled up in Sarah’s eyes and she started to say something else, but Chase squeezed her hand and they watched in silence as Ryonna left the bridge.

  An hour later, Ryonna was looking for whatever she could salvage from her shuttle when Sarah approached her quietly.

  “What can I do for you, Sarah?” she asked as she pried open a container.

  “I...I wanted to know if there’s anything I can do for you. And to give you this.” She held out the remaining credits from their time on Hathan. “It’s not much; it probably won’t get you very far.”

  Ryonna took it gratefully. “No. Thank you. It could actually be very helpful.”

  “Isn’t the quadrinium in your cargo worth a hundred times more?”

  “Even more than that.”

  “Then why give it to us? Keep some of it at least.”

  “There’s a bounty on my head; nobody would do business with me now. They’d more likely shoot me to get the bounty and cargo instead. The quadrinium is very important to you and, as it stands, it is now worthless to me, so it was an easy choice.”

  “Well, easy or not, we are extremely grateful.”

  “As am I. If you hadn’t come to the planet’s surface, I might still be rotting down there. Now, not only do I know where my son is, but I have transport to get there. We’re even.”

  “Well, could you use this?” Sarah held out the weapon she’d just purchased.

  “Thanks, but I won’t need it. I have plenty of weapons and, once I get captured and sent to Hellstar, they’ll be confiscated anyway.”

  “So that’s your plan, get captured and sent to Hellstar?”

  “That’s the plan.”

  “Chase was right, it certainly sounds suicidal. But I know how you feel. I don’t have children of my own, but I’d do the same thing for my nephew.”

  Ryonna smiled at her fondly. “This is where my path leads now. I will either break us out of Hellstar, or die trying.”

  Sarah nodded and left with a sad smile but, only a few minutes later, Chase came into the shuttle bay to check on Ryonna before her departure.

  “You know, when we started this yesterday, I really thought we’d have a longer run.”

  She laughed. “Me too. But priorities shift, you know. I’m sure you understand.”

  “I certainly do. I just wish we could help you find a less dangerous way to get your son back.”

  “I know, but time is of the essence. Every day that passes is one more day my son will have to try to survive in Hellstar.” Her voice grew soft. “He’s only sixteen.”

  “Well if his mother is any indication, I’m sure the boy is pretty tough.”

  “He is,” she said proudly. “I’ve been training him for more than a decade.”

  Chase raised his eyebrows. “Since he was six? You Droxians start really young!”

  “He actually started late compared to some of the other children. He was a sick child.”

  “That must have been difficult…” Chase trailed off. “Wasn’t that part of why the Droxians left the Alliance? The Alliance didn’t approve of your policies with your children?”

  She nodded. “Yes. I’m not proud it, but the Droxian people want only able bodies in their midst. A child that displays too much weakness can sometimes have...”

  “…A short lifespan?”

  Her mouth thinned to a hard line. “It wasn’t easy, sneaking around for years to hide his condition.”

  “You see, sometimes rules are meant to be broken.”

  She threw back her head and laughed. “I see where you’re going with this.”

  He grinned. “Not so subtle, huh?

  “Remember, Droxians are very empathic. While we don’t read minds, we pretty much get the emotional state of the people we talk to.”

  “How’s my emotional state right now?”

  “In complete disarray.”

  He stared at her without saying anything until she finally threw up her hands.

  “Alright, I’ll tell you. At my age, I sincerely doubt a creature will come out of the emptiness and swallow me whole if I break the law.”

  “Is that what you were told?”

  “Not in so many words.”

  “Charming.”

  “We learn to deal with our fear from a young age as well. Now, regarding Sarah…”

  Chase straightened up. “I’m listening.”

  “I saw her succumbing to torture and, from the glimpse I got, it must have been a long, agonizing battle. I’m not a hundred percent sure, but it felt like it was happening on an Obsidian base or a ship of some kind. My vision doesn’t have windows or any more geographical references to give you than that.”

  Chase paled but took a steadying breath. “Alright, so I just have to make sure the Obsidian Empire doesn’t get their hands on Sarah.”

  Ryonna gave him a pitying smile. “I should say so. I hope your love and determination are enough to prevent it but, after all these years of seeing what I’ve seen come to pass, I have my doubts. I can only wish you the best of luck. Hopefully we’ll meet again someday and you can tell me all about it.”

  “Anything else you want to tell me?”

  “I was hoping you’d forget.”

  “No such luck.” said Chase gravely.

  “Alright, if you must know. I haven’t seen your death. That was also one of the reasons I was reluctant to trust you when we met on the planet.”

  Chase’s eyes widened. “How is this possible?”

  “I don’t know. It’s the first time it happened, but I didn’t see anything when I looked into your eyes.”

  “Can it be because I will die after you?”

  “No, that’s not it. I have had visions of people dying centuries from now from what I could understand from the visions.”

  He nodded and tried to lighten the sudden weight he felt in his chest. “So, how do you feel, betraying the sacred oath? Feel like you’re going to burst into flames or something?”

  She smiled. “Not so much.”

  “Well then, good luck to you. I hope one day I can mee
t your son.” He shook her hand, and then handed her a small device. “And take this. It’ll send out a distress call. If me and my crew survive our impending apocalypse, I’ll come and help you myself.”

  “Thank you, Chase, for everything.”

  “You don’t have to thank me. You have no idea how helpful you’ve been. Without you, we’d be empty handed. At least now we have a fighting chance.” He was about to leave, but then turned back suddenly. “Oh—and before I forget—here’s a data disk; it contains an encrypted Alliance message.”

  Ryonna frowned. “Why are you giving me this?”

  “If by any chance you encounter any of our ships, especially one with a jump capable engine, transmit the message to them and they will take you wherever you need to go.”

  “I’m in your debt, Chase. I hope I can repay you one day.”

  “Nah, we’re barely square; I still feel like we owe you.”

  They shook hands again and, a few minutes later, Ryonna left the Iron Fire to board one of the Alliance starfighters and started on an opposite vector. Chase watched her craft departing from the bridge. Once it was out of sight, he turned to his communications officer.

  “Did you do as I requested?”

  “Yes, sir, the tracking signal is strong.”

  “Very well.”

  “What tracking signal?” asked Sarah.

  “I’ve asked that her ship be tracked.”

  “Why?”

  “Because if we do survive the battle, I’m gonna do whatever it takes to help our new friend.”

  “Didn’t you give her the distress beacon?”

  “I did, but Droxians are a very proud people. She might be reluctant to use it, even under dire circumstances.”

  Sarah smiled approvingly and he winked.

  “Don’t tell anyone. I have a reputation to uphold.” Then he turned again toward the communications officer. “I need you to do one more thing.”

  “Yes, Captain?”