Without any warning, she jerked her arms free, ignoring the blinding pain that followed. The lizards seemed as surprised as she was that it had worked, and she used their confusion combined with a jolt of adrenaline to pull herself to her feet. She kicked out with all her strength and felt her foot connect with painful satisfaction with the lizard’s face.
He didn’t even blink.
“Uh oh,” she muttered.
Before she could try to run, she was slammed by a tail so hard that she flew and crashed into the nearby wall, barely conscious. The other lizard muttered something angry in a language she couldn’t understand and they took her arms again, dragging her away.
So much for my great escape, she thought. Then she lost consciousness once more.
When she opened her eyes again, she was in a much bigger room. There were strange torches lighting the walls and, in the center, there was what appeared to be a throne. She tried to raise her head higher, but fell back with a whimper of pain.
“I said she was not to be hurt!” a voice resonated from the throne.
“She tried to escape, master,” answered one of the lizards.
“Who did this to her?”
After a moment’s pause, one lizard stepped forward. Even its tail was trembling. Sarah didn’t understand what could make such a huge, monster of a thing afraid but, the next second, something seemed to go very wrong. As if pulled by invisible strings, the guard started levitating and soon the lizard’s limbs shot straight out to his sides. There was a low frequency buzzing, during which everyone seemed to hold their breath, and then, all at once, the lizard’s head exploded.
Dark blood and bits of flesh showered down around her, and Sarah wiped her face clean in disgust. The other lizard by her side immediately kneeled.
“Leave us!” the voice demanded.
The lizard jumped to his feet and hurried from the room. Sarah watched him until he’d disappeared through the doors, then turned her attention back to the throne. It was a man, she saw now. The source of the voice was a man.
He got to his feet and slowly descended the stairs in front of the throne. As he walked, the dim lights caught the side of his face, and Sarah was actually able to see him a little. There was something about him that looked familiar. The curve of his lips, the shape of his jaw. He almost looked like… She shook her head to clear it; she must be dreaming.
But then he threw back his hood and her mouth fell open. She couldn’t believe her eyes. A deep warmth flooded through her tired body and she pushed up onto her legs and ran toward him.
“Chase!” she cried in happiness. “What are you doing here? I’m so glad to—”
Then she stopped like she’d hit an invisible wall. The corner of the man’s mouth twitched and, like the lizard before, she started levitating.
Tears formed in the corners of her eyes as she realized her mistake. The man looked very much like Chase. It could very well have been his twin in fact. But there were a few differences. He had a nasty scar that ran down the entire left side of his face, and a shock of gray hair with some white highlights. But the most telling difference was the eyes. His glowed a bright red, resonating pure evil.
Chase’s eyes were kind. And he would never look at her the way this man was looking now.
“Who are you?” She started sobbing uncontrollably as he lifted her still higher.
The man smiled. “Chase, huh? So that’s the name my brother goes by these days.”
End of Book 1…
The Way of the Warrior
(Originally called Ryonna’s Wrath)
By Christian Kallias
The Way of the Warrior happens in between book 1 (Earth - Last Sanctuary) & book 2 (Fury to the Stars). It focuses entirely on the Ryonna character. This is where it sits in chronological order, but if you’re impatient to learn about Chase, Sarah and their friends, you can skip it and return to it later. I recommend reading it now as it’s a really great book where Ryonna is the protagonist, something that is unique to this novella.
Universe in Flames (Volume 1.5 Novella)
The Way of the Warrior
(Ryonna’s Wrath)
Universe in Flames
Volume 1.5
By Christian Kallias
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, 2016 / Version 1.2
Chapter 1
I need to save my son!
The thought was at the center of Ryonna’s mind as she watched the Iron Fire enter hyperspace and felt a little sadness. She was surprised by the feeling, as well as the bond she had quickly formed with both Sarah and Chase. After all, she was not used to trusting strangers, especially these days, while being on the run. But both their plight and predicament, as well as the generosity they had displayed towards her, warmed her heart. She felt sorry for Sarah. Ryonna’s vision had indicated that her end was near. If it hadn’t been for her, she probably wouldn’t have struck a deal with Chase and the Alliance, and she wouldn’t know where Ronan was.
Ronan.
She had to get to her son as fast as possible, but going inside Hellstar Prison half-assed would not achieve anything. She longed to see her son more than anything in the world. More so since her husband had passed. Ronan had become the center of her universe. Worrying and being overprotective was not the Droxian way, but she couldn’t help it. From the day they had discovered his genetic weakness, and during the years spent hiding it from the Droxian Ministry of Health, her bond with her son had grown beyond that of most Droxian parent-child interactions.
She brushed the thoughts away. Now was the time to devise a plan to get to Hellstar, with at least a hint of hope of getting out of there alive. First things first. She needed to acquire a jump-capable ship. She opened the holographic star map in the Alliance’s shuttle and studied her current location. She didn’t have much currency, so buying a ship was not an option. She would probably have to steal one.
Her eyes fell on the few credits Sarah had given her lying on the co-pilot’s console next to hers. Her mind wandered a little, but soon a bleep from her own console caught her attention.
“Recorded message awaiting,” said the onboard computer with a male, synthesized voice.
What message?
She touched the control and soon an image of Chase’s smiling face filled the holo-screen.
“Hello, Ryonna, I took the liberty to record this before you were ready to depart. I wanted to reiterate our thanks for your generous donation of the quadrinium we need so much. I wish we could have come with you to Hellstar to help you free Ronan. As soon as we repel the Zarlack attack on Earth, we’ll try to get back in touch with you. Hopefully we can still help you achieve your goal. I don’t have to tell you Hellstar is a very dangerous place, so please be careful and make sure you have a plan before going in.”
She smiled at Chase’s advice, which matched her own analysis of the situation.
“I’ve taken the liberty of dropping a couple hundred pounds of quadrinium into this shuttle’s cargo hold. I know you said you didn’t need it, but we both know this stuff has value, and you may need the cash to buy equipment. You gave us more than enough, and one day I hope we can repay you for your incredibly generous gesture. I’ve also loaded the onboard computer with some of my autopilot flight patterns. If you get into trouble, don’t hesitate to activate them. Hope to see you soon. Farewell and good luck, Ryonna.”
The holo-screen turned off, and the emotions she had been feeling moments before returned with a vengeance. She had been wary of trusting Chase when they first met, but not being able to see his death when she looked at him puzzled her. That had never happened before and threw her off. Instinctively she felt he was hiding something. Sarah, however, had convince
d her they meant no harm and were willing to help her. This message from Chase reaffirmed the conclusion she had reached in the hours following their first meeting, namely that he indeed meant well and had a good heart.
“Thank you, Chase,” she said out loud.
As if in answer, her ship trembled from what felt like laser impacts on the aft side of her shuttle. She raised her shields and checked her radar. She could see no signature, so she turned the shuttle for a visual. She was rewarded with another set of laser impacts on her shields. She swore. She caught a glimpse of her attacker’s craft, and while she didn’t recognize the ship, it was noticeably bigger than her own.
Probably equipped with a hyperspace engine, then.
Her ship’s shield absorbed more salvos, and she took evasive action, which helped a little. For a split second she wondered if she shouldn’t simply activate the device Chase had given her. After all, Iron Fire had only left a few minutes ago. But she decided against it. She didn’t like the idea of calling for help at the first sign of trouble. She also knew that Sarah and Chase were on a time-sensitive mission. A few minutes’ delay could be catastrophic for them and the people of Earth. After more laser impacted with her shuttle’s shield, the onboard computer complained that the shields had dropped below forty percent.
She needed to think fast. She brought up the schematics of the shuttle and diverted all power to the shields, boosting them to nearly sixty percent; and then she accessed the engine’s schematics and looked for a way to eject quadrinium from its chambers. While the controls of Alliance vessels were new to her, she had flown enough ships to understand the basics. It took another five hits and more warnings from the computer before she saw what she was looking for. But it would take time to make the necessary adjustments to eject the quadrinium and ignite it, and with every moment her shields were lowering. That’s when part of Chase’s message struck her.
“Computer, show me autopilot patterns.”
The holo-screen filled with different, pre-programmed patterns. She selected “aggressive evasive” from the list, a pattern called Delta-7. The moment she activated it the ship took over piloting duties, and it didn’t take long to realize that the automatic patterns flew the ship much more efficiently than she did. That gave her the necessary time for the next part of her plan. She diverted more power to her shields from the weapons, which she wasn’t using anyway, as well as ninety percent of life support. The way this fight was going—one sided and with her getting her ass kicked—this bold maneuver would either succeed or she’d die trying. Once she had redirected every ounce of power to the shields, she regained manual control and executed the commands she had been working on.
Her ship released smoke from her engines, simulating damage. She waited a few seconds to see if that would stop her pursuer, but her instincts told her this pilot was not interested in only disabling her. A few more salvos took another ten percent of her shields and confirmed her gut instinct.
“Yep, they want me dead alright.”
She slowed down, and soon the attacking ship was upon her. She locked onto it with the shuttle’s tractor beam and then ejected the quadrinium, redirecting all power to the aft lasers. Dragging the ship into the quadrinium cloud, she fired at it with her aft lasers at full power. The resulting explosion rocked the shuttle, severing the tractor beam and taking out whatever was left of the shuttle’s shields. With inertial dampeners set to the minimum, she experienced tremendous G-forces when the ship entered a wild spin. Fortunately, Droxian physiology allowed her to withstand much stronger forces than this before risking loss of consciousness. She recovered from the spin and saw an array of warning lights on her consoles, followed by multiple vocal warnings: “Shields down, structural integrity comprised,” said the monotonic, synthesized voice of the onboard computer.
“Tell me something I don’t know,” said Ryonna as she turned about to look at her target.
Sparks erupted inside her cockpit and the lights flickered. Her shuttle was in bad shape, but that was to be expected.
“Low power! Low power!” wailed the onboard computer.
Annoyed that the AI was stating the obvious, she turned off vocal alerts.
Approaching the ship that had fired on her without warning, she saw it had been heavily damaged and was slowly spinning in space, smoke and sparks escaping from one side. All that was left to do was board the ship and hope she hadn’t damaged its jump engines beyond repair. She located the target ship’s nearest landing bay and landed her shuttle inside. She checked the cargo bay for atmosphere. She could leave her ship without resorting to an EVA suit.
She left the cockpit and set her blaster to maximum stun while running towards the cargo door. With determination and anger in her eyes she punched the release button with her elbow and raised her blaster towards the now-descending cargo ramp.
Chapter 2
The ramp descended to the ground of the cargo bay of the unknown ship. Ryonna heard a wailing alarm, no doubt related to the heavy damage she had inflicted on the ship just moments before. She stepped down the ramp, blaster in hand, and checked her surroundings, making sure no one was waiting in ambush. After a few seconds she mentally marked the cargo bay as clear. She approached the nearest console and brought up a schematic of the ship. She exited the cargo bay, her weapon still pointing forward, and made her way to the bridge. She avoided the turbo lifts, preferring to use ladders inside the nearest bulkhead.
At the bridge’s door she took a deep breath and stormed in. A humanoid male on the floor had his weapon drawn. She jumped out of the way just in time to avoid the laser fire from his blaster. The laser grazed Ryonna’s hair as she landed on the deck and rolled behind a nearby console.
“Why did you fire on my ship?” she exclaimed from behind her cover.
There was no answer, but three more blasts impacted the console protecting her. Sparks flew over her head and some landed in her hair.
“Fine, let’s do it your way!”
She removed one of her boots and threw it to her right, while jumping in the opposite direction.
Laser fire hit her flying boot, and while in midair, she lined up her shot and pressed the trigger. The stun shot hit her target in the thorax and he collapsed with a groan. Small sparks of lightning ran over his body armor. She took no chances and fired three more stun shots. His limbs jerked and spasmed. His eyes were closed when she approached, her blaster still pointed at his head, ready to fire again if necessary. When she was near enough, she kicked the man’s blaster away. She placed her knee on the torso of the motionless body and checked his pulse. She found one and proceeded to search his body for more weapons. She found a second, smaller blaster in a chest holster, as well as a few small blades, morning stars and a light-blade attached to his belt. His skin was a pale-green tone, and he had markings on his face.
Gotta be a bounty hunter to be armed to the teeth like that. I wonder how they found me, especially in that Alliance ship? So much for hoping an Alliance ship would provide anonymity, allowing me to move discreetly in the sector.
She dragged his body to a chair and sat him down. She changed settings on her weapon and shot twice more. Two energy lasso shots immobilized him at both chest and feet height, emitting a low-level hum and radiating blue light.
Ryonna sat next to her immobilized prey. She tried accessing the console in front of her but the computer refused her commands.
“Non-authorized personnel access, locking the computer core. Please provide valid biometrics identification,” said the onboard computer, before turning on a hand scanner on its glass controls.
Ryonna smashed her fists on the controls, frustrated. The glass on the console cracked and cut her hand. For a second she looked at the droplets of blood falling on the floor. She wiped the blood on her pants and picked up her blaster. There was no way of knowing if anyone else was on board without computer control. Since she had managed to bring up the schematics of the ship in the cargo bay she hadn’t expected t
he bridge’s console to be locked. But it made sense. She had similar contingencies in place in her own smuggler’s ship. Low-level access to plans and cargo direction so she didn’t have to babysit the unloading crew, but critical systems on the bridge would only work for authorized personnel.
She tried accessing the same controls on the console in front of her hostage. A similar warning was issued and the hand scanner came on. She dragged the unconscious man’s hand from the grip of the force lasso and put it on the scanner. It turned green, but then the computer requested a vocal command code.
“Well, that was worth a try.”
There was no alternative. She brandished her blaster in front of her and resigned herself to going room to room, checking the current level. It took ten minutes to check every corner and all the rooms. Her head started to buzz from the surrounding alarms. When she couldn’t take it any longer, she started shooting the speakers on the walls. She decided to go to the engine room and assess its state. Her outside survey while approaching the ship had revealed substantial damage on the plating as well as a nasty hole on the port side of the ship. When she tried entering the engine room a vocal warning resonated. “Engine room radiation level outside safe limits, access restricted.”
“That can’t be good.”
She needed access to the ship’s computer as well as information on her attacker, so she ran back to the bridge. Not taking any risks, she entered carefully and scanned every corner for surprises. She heard a small groan. Her hostage was slowly returning to consciousness.
“About time!” Ryonna had gone overboard, stunning him repeatedly when she took him out of commission. She had been angry. She didn’t appreciate being shot at the minute Iron Fire had gone into hyperspace. She had overdone the stun shots in the heat of the moment.
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