One thing was sure now, Ares had been right: evidently Argos needed Chase alive. That act had provided definite proof. It still bugged him that he didn’t know why, but at least Sarah, he and the baby were all still alive.
Sarah seemed a little shaken up from everything that just had happened.
“What the hell was that? What just happened, Chase?”
Chase lifted one finger to make her wait before answering, and opened a channel to engineering.
She lowered her eyebrows, looking frustrated he didn’t answer.
“Yanis, please respond?”
A few seconds passed and he repeated the request but still no answer. A pit started forming in his stomach as he remembered the promise he’d made to Fillio.
“Yanis!”
“Uuuuurgh... I... I’m still here, but my head is ringing.”
Chase sighed in relief.
“You okay, buddy?”
“Wouldn’t go that far. What the hell was that? And how are we still alive and discussing it?”
“As improbable as it sounds, we were rescued by a behemoth-class Zarlack ship.”
“Nah, I’m dead or asleep and this is a dream. Ouch! No… I’m awake. I can’t believe it.”
“I can. I don’t know why, but it’s clear that Argos wants me alive.”
“How would you know?”
“He told me a second before he rescued us.”
“Yeah, this makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. The guy obliterates the Alliance, almost destroys Earth. And now he saves you from the very trap he erected in order to kill us? Do you see the irony here?”
“Look, I can only surmise that he never thought I’d sacrifice myself in order to save the fleet. Furthermore, since it’s now pretty clear that we have a spy in our midst, he must have known I was onboard the toughest ship. He probably thought he could thoughtlessly destroy the opposition and just spare me.”
That gave Chase pause. Whoever was working with him would be someone relatively close. Someone with access to sensitive data.
“How’s the ship doing, Yanis?”
“Power is restored to ninety percent. We’re no longer in hyperspace but we’re still in tractor lock. We can’t feel it anymore because our inertial dampeners are back online.”
“The crew of the bridge is pretty shaken up. Some haven’t regained consciousness. I need to make that ship go away.”
“Then use your precious gadget. It ought to give you enough control to make that happen.”
Right, Chase thought, the neurolink interface!
“Thanks, Yanis. Make sure the ship purrs like a kitten. I think this is going to be a long, hard day.”
“No shit!”
Sarah was still there, fixed on Chase expectantly.
“Sorry, I just didn’t think it was necessary for me to say the same thing twice.”
“You could have just said that. However… What the fuck?”
“I know.”
She made a head movement that could only underline her previous comment.
“That’s why we need to deal with him once and for all.”
Chase put the cylindrical neurolink devices to his temple and went back to his captain’s chair. He sat down and closed his eyes.
“We need to get back to the rest of the fleet, stat,” he added for Sarah’s benefit. “Give me a minute to get rid of our tow truck.”
“One minute, huh?” she said with a smile.
“Uhum,” Chase said with a smile.
Chase powered the shields, which effectively shut down the tractor beam linking the two ships. He then lost no time powering up the main guns, turrets and torpedoes, and locked on the target. He activated them all at max power, giving a new meaning to the phrase “give it all you’ve got.” The ship’s shield took most of the incoming fire, but they quickly lowered. Once the first main guns’ plasma cannon fired, they were almost down to nothing. Then the ship blinked as it entered hyperspace, fleeing.
“Thanks for the tow!” Chase added sarcastically.
While he would never admit it out loud, he was glad the ship escaped. He could have blown it out of space without breaking a sweat, but they’d just saved his whole crew. Whether it had been remotely controlled by Argos, or captained by one of his lackeys didn’t really matter. That ship had saved their hide, so he was glad he didn’t have to deal with any conscience conundrums which eradicating them would have brought.
He displayed a star map on his virtual instruments and attempted hailing the rest of the fleet through the Destiny.
The face of Commodore Saroudis appeared in the virtual view screen, but the image shook.
“Chase? How is that even possible?”
“I’m afraid to say, Argos saved our hide. I don’t understand it either. But what’s going on? Things look shaky over there.”
“Argos? What? Yeah. I’m so glad to see you, no matter the reason. Where are you right now? We’re getting our asses kicked. We can’t jump out of the area. They’ve brought three Jump Interdiction Fields ships and we’re in the middle of a kill box.”
“Send your coordinates. I’ll be there shortly. You hang on, Adonis!”
Chase realized it was the first time he’d ever addressed his former captain by his first name.
“Roger that. Coordinates sent. Hope you can help us out of this mess or we’ll be dead in minutes. We’ve already lost four ships. All Obsidian ships but one were destroyed. But the last one just decided to retreat at subspace speed. Fortunately the Droxians are holding steady, and have only lost two ships.”
“Hang on, we’re on our way. Sarah, you’d better go to your StarFury. We’ve got to help the fleet. They’re under attack.”
“On my way,” she said, storming out of the bridge.
Chase entered the coordinates and activated hyperspace engines. With a blur they entered the hyperspace corridor.
When the Hope got out of hyperspace less than a minute later, Chase was mortified by the chaos and fireworks from the ongoing battle. Indeed, the Zarlacks had them surrounded, though probably with no more ships than their own forces. But the fact that they were all around the fleet made things more complicated for the Alliance battlegroup. Chase analyzed his sensor data and saw three ships that were heavily damaged within the Zarlack ranks. He locked every torpedo available onto the first one, directed every turret to fire towards the second and tagged the third for later, since it was currently out of range. He unleashed the full power of the Hope upon his newly designated targets, as he felt the Fury in him boil with rage and determination.
He transferred every ounce of energy from redundant and non-essential systems to the weapons, even transferring thirty percent of shield power so he could boost weapon efficiency to one hundred and thirty percent. The salvo of twenty-five torpedoes blew up the first ship immediately. The resulting shockwave lowered the second destroyer’s shields by a hefty margin upon impact. The continuous stream of turret fire continued pounding and draining them. He then brought main weapons to bear. He selected a twenty-five percent shot so the recharge would take less time, and fired upon the crippled ship. The last of its shield collapsed, while the long-range turrets’ fire started to blow holes in its armor. Soon the enemy stopped firing, after losing main power, and a single torpedo strategically launched towards the launching bays had the expected result of generating secondary explosions. The second destroyer ripped itself apart, spewing flames, crewmen and debris all around it.
“Welcome back, bro,” said Argos in his mind.
“I’m just getting started. I’m coming for you next!” said Chase, feeling like he was in a trance.
“Now is that any way to thank me for my leniency? How ungrateful of you.”
Chase’s blood boiled, but he decided to not let his brother’s antagonism divert his focus from the battle. He would first turn the tables on that battle, then deal with Argos.
A beep informed Chase that the third ship he had tagged just entered main weapon’s r
ange. It was time for the crew to say goodbye to their dear lives. He fired a full-powered shot from the main guns, which vaporized the ship upon impact.
“Impressive toy you have bro... Let’s see how it works when you get all the aggro, shall we?”
“Give me everything you’ve got, Argos. Try and enjoy yourself while it lasts though; your hours in this world are limited!”
“Your overconfidence will be your downfall.”
Chase forced himself to not continue the banter, as he knew full well that it created more rage within him, that he could lose control. At the very least it would cloud his judgment and this wasn’t the time.
Suddenly, almost every ship from the Zarlack armada adjusted vector towards EAD Hope. Oops! Soon he was taking fire from at least seven destroyers, two of them behemoth class. Chase quickly redistributed power to reload his shields. He managed full power and then some, and gritted his teeth: quickly weapons were no longer the priority, shields were.
“Dude, are you seriously piloting the Hope in battle with only your mind?” said Yanis over the comm.
“Easy peasy.”
“Yeah, something I don’t understand though: you seem to be affecting systems I haven’t even given you control over. Like power distribution. How the hell are you managing THAT?”
“I don’t know, but it seems to be working.”
“Yeah, I can see that. Granted, I know little about Furies, but damn!”
“Nothing but instinct.”
“What matters is that we kick these guys’ asses. I’ll let you do what you’re doing. Obviously you’re now in charge of this battle.”
Another incoming transmission chimed. It was Daniel.
“Welcome back from the dead, Chase! I thought we’d lost you there, and I couldn’t even say goodbye. My StarFury’s comm got damaged during the last sentry run. These things sure pack a punch, huh? You’re okay?”
“I’m fine, buddy, you?”
“Well, we’re getting our proverbial asses kicked but your arrival seems to have given the enemy pause. What are your orders?”
“Don’t you have them from Saroudis?”
“He got severely injured when one of these behemoths engaged the Destiny. Last I heard Commodore Saroudis was being transported to the med-bay, vitals critical.”
Chase roared as an answer. Tears formed at the corners of his eyes: tears of rage.
“Okay… I’m pissed off about that too, but what the hell was that sound?”
“Never mind that.”
“Alright, you’re clearly in command now. What are your orders?”
“Just destroy every JIF ship, so we can jump out of here when we need to.”
“Agreed. See you on the other side.”
“Daniel?”
“Yeah?”
“It’s good to hear your voice. No unnecessary risks out there, okay?”
“Haha, right... Sorry, I’m trying to keep a straight face over here. That’s so funny coming from you… But aye, Captain. But you know what, it’s damn good to hear your voice too, bro.”
Chase permitted himself a smile. The fact that Daniel called him bro warmed his heart. He was more of a brother than Argos could ever be. He wondered if at one point in time things had ever been different between them, perhaps during the time he had no memory of.
A salvo of heavy fire and torpedoes pounded into his ship from the nearest behemoth and brought his attention back to the fight just as shields fell down to sixty percent.
“All caught up with your friends?” Argos laughed within his head.
He had to expend a huge amount of mental energy to stop himself from replying, but he managed not to.
“Chase, I’m in space rejoining the Destiny’s wings.”
“Be careful, love. Daniel has your orders.”
“Understood. You be careful too. You do seem to have all the aggro on you at the moment.”
“Argos is trying to make me believe he could kill me, but we both know he’s wasting his time posturing. I just hope it’s not part of another trap.”
“Yeah, me too. Firefly out.”
Chase engaged smaller ships in the armada, and pushed the sub-light engines to the maximum, trying to evade as much incoming fire as possible. The Hope was no StarFury; but still immensely more maneuverable than the Destiny.
He took another Zarlack destroyer out of the equation, when an incoming transmission on all Alliance bands came in.
“This is Spiros Malayianis, onboard the Damocles-3 space station, hailing any and all Alliance forces in the sector. I have reasons to believe you are currently engaged with the enemy. I am a scientist working on next generation weaponry, highly classified and highly advanced stuff. I have been tasked with improving our weapons to better fight Obsidian. I believe my new weapons will also be highly efficient against Zarlack technology. I am in possession of the schematics for these weapons. They could be crucial to the Alliance. While I managed to kill every Zarlack on Damocles-3, I need evac as soon as possible. If you receive this signal, please respond.”
“This is Captain Chase Athanatos of the EAD Hope, message received. As soon as we’re done with our current engagement, I will come for you. Can you please tell me more about the technologies you possess? How’d you manage to have data about Zarlack ships, if you don’t mind me asking?”
“Captain Athana… You? No, no, no! Your name is Argos!”
“No, wait! Argos is my twin brother.”
“Please transmit your Alliance identification codes or I’ll terminate this communication this instant.”
“Done.”
“Confirmed. Weren’t you in one of my classes at the academy? Always talking during my courses. So that’s why Argos’ photo was so familiar. Captain, huh? Sometimes it’s not the ones you think that climb the ranks.”
Chase was a little taken back by the comment, but then he remembered his days at the academy.
“I’m actually a Lieutenant Commander. As for the academy, you taught space applied physics, right?”
“And other science courses, yes.”
Another Zarlack volley of torpedoes bee-lined for the aft of the Hope. Chase managed to boost both engines and inertial dampeners on the fly, and the Hope dodged the torpedoes on their first pass. He hastily redirected turrets to them, actually controlling each of them precisely with his mind, to destroy the torpedoes before they could re-acquire lock on the ship.
“I really can’t take a trip down memory lane at the moment. We have to destroy three JIF ships, and these are quite heavily shielded.”
“Right, let me send you an encrypted file that should help with that. Forward to your starfighter pilots. It’ll cut through this particular shield’s design like a hot knife on butter.”
“File received; hang on.”
Chase forwarded the file to Yanis, and tasked him to distribute it within the wings.
“Now on to your other inventions, if you don’t mind?”
“Right, mostly new shields, multi-phasic, highly adaptable; they would be much harder to bring down. They’re AI controlled, so their frequency intelligently adapts as they get taxed.”
“Like the EAD Cronos? And therefore my ship as well.”
“Their shield was my alpha version, so yes, in the same vein. But much more efficient and resilient.”
I’ll take three, Chase thought to himself.
“Boy, you said EAD before. You meant SAD right?”
“No, the Star Alliance fell. We’re now the Earth Alliance.”
“What’s Earth?”
“A planet we saved, that gave us sanctuary.”
Chase absently realized that Zarlack ships had redistributed their firing pattern to engage other ships now. So he no longer seemed to be the focus point of interest. A voice in the back of his mind didn’t like the timing, though.
“Son, can you come and get me?”
“As soon as we blow these JIF ships, you’ll be our first stop.”
“I’
ll be waiting for you.”
“One more thing… How do you know about Argos?”
“Damocles-3 was under Zarlack occupation. I’ve managed to stay onboard, undetected, for ages. Unlike my fellow citizens, who all got either imprisoned or killed,” said Spiros gravely.
“Yeah, we’ve lost more good people than I dare count as well...”
“Onboard, I managed to study their systems from my hiding place, long enough to even research Zarlack tech. And oh boy, they sure are a few steps ahead of the Obsidian, technology wise!”
“We’ve noticed. It’s with their help that they annihilated the Alliance.”
“I’ve also gathered that, from their inter-fleet communications. Just before the fleet stationed here jumped out, I found the Argos file, and some very interesting schematics about a shipyard they’ve got hidden in the Gatos Nebula. If you need me to find a crack in its defenses, it shouldn’t be much of a problem.”
“That shipyard is gone, but we sure could have used that information an hour ago.”
“I bet! Sorry about that. I’ve been in a battle for my own survival in the last few hours.”
“No worries. What matters now is that we—hang on!”
The ship that Chase was currently targeting and firing upon with his main guns had just entered hyperspace. He checked his sensors and saw that every ship but the JIFs had jumped to hyperspace as well.
“Spiros, the Zarlacks have entered hyperspace. Any idea how they did that with the jump interdiction field active?”
“The JIF ships are Obsidian in design, but the Zarlack’s ship engines are a totally different design than either Obsidian or Alliance. They aren’t affected.”
“That’s handy! I gotta go. Be aware that you might soon receive the wrong kind of visitors knocking at your doors. We have a leak.”
“Well, that’s just great! Fortunately I’ve put contingencies in place for that very scenario. Please just don’t be too late to the party. I can hold them off for a while, but...”
“That’s all you’ll need. We’ll be there shortly.”
“Roger that. Malayianis out!”
Chase commed Daniel.
“Status on destroying these JIFs.”
“Beta through Gamma wings are engaged dispatching the rest of the Zarlack fighters; Alphas are less than a minute away from targets. We’ve received Malayianis’ modifications.”
Universe in Flames – Ultimate 10 Book Box Set: An Epic Space Opera Adventure Page 76