“I don’t like this, Adonis. Why don’t you come with us to Droxia?”
“I wish I could, Alexandra, but I’m the commander of this fleet. My place is here, where the battle is to be fought.”
“Our place is by your side. We’re not going to be separated again. After all these years we’re finally a family once more.”
“I beg you, please start packing. Where’s Sendra?”
“I don’t know. I think she’s flirting with someone from your crew.”
Not what Saroudis wanted to hear.
“Have her come back here and help you pack.”
“No! We’re staying here.”
Saroudis was getting restless. If necessary, he would remove them from the Destiny with force, but he really wanted to avoid taking such measures with his own family.
“My love, please try to understand. I promise I’ll pick you up myself the moment this is over. But I won’t be able to do my job properly if my focus is split between the battle and worrying for your well-being. I never thought I’d see you again, but now that I have you back, I can’t afford to lose you again. Can you at least understand that?”
Her eyes were watery. “I’m not happy about this.”
“Neither am I, believe me.”
Alexandra sighed. “Very well, I’ll start packing, but you’d better not take too long to come back for us. Sendra only just started getting used to being on board this ship. I can tell you she won’t be happy.”
Saroudis took his wife in his arms and hugged her with passion. “I know. I’ll come to get you the minute it’s all over.”
“Promise me you’ll be careful?”
As much as he wanted to be sincere in his answer, Saroudis knew that it was a promise he couldn’t make with absolute certainty.
“I will. I promise.”
16
Chase was getting used to fighting without his sight. The more time passed, the more he managed to dodge or parry his doppelganger’s attacks. He felt the blows coming at him with such clarity sometimes, that it was like seeing them with his mind, as clearly as with his eyes.
When the attack stopped, Chase opened his eyes again.
Dark Chase was nowhere to be seen.
“How did I . . .? Where did he go?”
Hades came next to Chase. “His job is over. You only needed to realize your own potential. The instant you did, he no longer needed to fight with you.”
“Was he really a copy of me? I’m still trying to wrap my head around it.”
“No need. I could say he was your subconscious mind made physical in this place, but I doubt that would make it any clearer.”
“No you’re right, it doesn’t. I’m just surprised how fast it’s been.”
“Remember, time means nothing here. You’ve been practicing with him so much longer than you realize.”
“Running to catch you seemed much longer.”
“And perhaps it was, mostly because you were not focused on what needed to be done, at least at first. Now that your mind is free of that cancerous self-doubt that’s been eating you alive, things have been progressing much faster. Wouldn’t you agree?”
Chase knew what Hades meant. For the first time since he’d discovered his powers, he no longer doubted his abilities. But not because he was stronger or faster, or even smarter. For the first time he knew that there was only one thing that needed to be done. He needed to fight for what he believed in, and he needed to trust himself in the process. But Chase also needed all of his friends, together, as a unit; as a family, even. Together they would find their way towards victory. There was no other choice, and once Chase realized it, his doubts faded away. The path was clear. He only needed to walk it, no matter where it led.
“I do. I’ve never felt so liberated. I feel like I know what to do now. And I don’t think it’s pride or bravado or just ignorance and self-confidence. I genuinely believe there’s only one thing left to do, and that is to find a way to rid the universe of the Furies once and for all. I know how difficult that task will be. I don’t even know if I’ll survive it. But I know it must be done and, finally, in no small part thanks to you, I know I’m not alone.”
“Give yourself some credit, Chase. It’s been before your eyes the whole time. You just needed to open them.”
Chase smiled warmly at Hades. “Now what?”
“Now nothing. You’re ready to return.”
“Can I leave now?”
“You’ll only be able to leave this place when they get you out of stasis. But, in the meantime, we can keep training if you like. Just the two of us.”
“Yes. I’d like that.”
Sarah was still wondering if she was awake or dreaming as she watched Gaia get back up after Chris’ incredibly powerful blow sent her crashing against the wall.
Spiros was equally surprised.
“Well, I’m glad I’m his mother, and I’m glad we’ve only had verbal arguments till now.”
“Funny,” said Spiros. “I didn’t expect this. If he’s that strong at this young an age, how powerful can he become?”
“I think that’s the point really. That’s what he’s been trying to tell me all along. I was just too worried about his well-being to listen. I’m hoping Ares comes back soon and brings Chase back; but until then, and probably after as well, I think Chris has a role to play. And as much as it pains me to admit it, I don’t think I could stop him even if I wanted to.”
Spiros gazed into Sarah’s beautiful green eyes for a moment. “You’re right. But it must not be easy to see him grow that fast.”
“It isn’t. But I don’t have any choice. I know that now. If there’s one thing I can tell you about Chris with absolute certainty it’s that he’s even more stubborn than his father.”
Spiros laughed. “That’s saying something, isn’t it?”
“Yeah.”
Gaia walked back towards Chris. “That was an impressive punch. Did you hurt your hand?”
“Nope. I’m fine. Can we continue?”
“Sure. Let’s see what else you can do.” Gaia put her avatar body in a defensive stance.
“Okeydokey,” said Chris, before launching himself at her again.
This time she was ready for him and she managed to get out of the way of his next punch, but only just. She blocked his next flying kick, and went on the offensive, trusting that Chris could take it. But she hit nothing but air. By the time she realized where Chris had gone, he was already preparing to shoot a fireball her way. She tried blocking it but it exploded in her face. Her shields absorbed the damage, but she was surprised to see that the single attack had drained them by almost a third.
“Why aren’t you fighting back?” asked Chris.
Gaia looked towards Sarah.
“Can they hear me?” Sarah asked Spiros.
He pushed a control on his console. “They can now.”
“That’s alright, Gaia, you can train seriously with my son. I’m not sure you can really hurt him.”
“I wouldn’t let it go that far, but to fully evaluate his potential, I will have to get a little rough with him. I just need your permission for that.”
She looked at Spiros who nodded back to her.
“You have it.”
And just like that Chris and Gaia were going at each other at speeds almost too fast for human eyes to follow. Chris was hit a few times here and there, but he was always back up before Sarah had time to worry. She watched another five minutes and then decided she had someone to see.
“Spiros, I’m guessing this could last all day?”
“Yeah. He’s already fighting Gaia better than Chase was at first. It’s really impressive.”
“Then please let me know when they either take a break or stop the training for the day. I’ll be on board the Hope in the meantime.”
“Very well. Say hi to Chase for me.”
“Will do, but I can’t guarantee he’ll hear it.”
Back on board the Silver Arrow A
res found Apollo and Asclepios arguing.
“Enough, you two! We don’t have time for this.”
“He started it,” said Asclepios.
“I don’t care who started it. Stop acting like children. You are tens of thousands of years old. Start acting like it.”
Apollo was the first to notice Argos was not with Ares. “Where’s Argos?”
“Providing a diversion while I brought you this.” Ares put down the jar containing the Kyrian snake clone.
“How long do you need to make your elixir?”
“That depends. Is there a med-bay with a matter synthesizer on board?” asked Asclepios.
“What do you think, old man? This is one of our most advanced ships.”
“A simple yes would have sufficed,” said Asclepios. He shot Apollo a mean look before turning back to Ares. “Not long. An hour tops.”
“Very good. I’ll be back shortly.”
Ares disappeared back into nothingness. While traveling in space he had heard her voice.
Hurry, Ares, time is running out.
There was no mistaking it. It was Aphroditis’ voice. Before he went to grab Argos he decided to see her.
He was shocked to realize that homing in on her consciousness didn’t take him to Erevos but, instead, on board the Fury super destroyer. Not only were the Furies on their way to Earth; they had taken Aphroditis with them. For what purpose, though, he didn’t know. Perhaps they knew that he would eventually try to see her.
Whoever was leading the charge against Earth should know that Aphroditis was on board his ship. If it was destroyed, she would die in the process. The commander of this mission must have known that Ares would eventually figure it out.
Cowards.
Ares passed his hand over Aphroditis’ gray, cold skin.
“I’m here, sister. Don’t worry, we’ll find a way to get you out of here, I promise.”
A black, oily liquid fell from one of her empty eyes.
Go, Ares. Chase needs you. Listen carefully, the Furies . . . Her voice was terribly strained. No doubt it was agonizing for her to speak at all, even telepathically.
“I’m listening.”
They have sent an assassin. He will try to kill Chase while he is still in stasis. Don’t let . . . that happen. Go . . . Now.
He was surprised that she could still communicate with him but from the gravity of what she had just told him, he knew better than to argue or ask more questions.
In his mind it was his fault that Chase was in this state. If he had reacted faster, perhaps he could have reached him in time. So he didn’t overstay his welcome. He teleported back to Argos’ secret base.
The Furies were still going at each other. Both their faces were covered with wounds.
“You took your sweet time, old man,” said Argos before punching Zath’ron, who had been distracted by Ares’ sudden appearance, to the ground.
Argos still had time to throw five powerful fireballs towards his enemy before Ares touched his shoulder and teleported him away.
Timoros had just boarded the ship that would finally bring him to the EAD Hope and his targets. He had left a trail of dead bodies behind, each of the people he had impersonated with the help of his armor and its perfect holographic projection capabilities. It had taken more time than he would have liked to reach his destination, but he was one last transport away.
He was currently impersonating a lower-rank officer within the Earth Alliance. One of the many officers on a mission to resupply the EAD Hope. Just like every other officer on board the different ships within the fleet, he had been informed of the full-alert status they were now under. The word was that the Furies were on their way to attack Earth, which should make his exit plan all the simpler. The moment Chase and Argos were dead he would just steal a ship and rejoin his fellow Furies. Unless he received additional orders from Miseo by then.
Which reminded him. He needed to report on his progress. He used his armor’s neuronal GUI to prepare the message, encrypt it and send it over subspace.
“Approaching targets. ETA on mission’s completion: approximately two hours.”
Maintaining his deception, as soon as the ship landed on board the Hope, he helped the crew unload the supplies. Another ship arrived which provided the perfect distraction for Timoros to get lost and leave the landing bay in search of his targets.
After a few minutes interfacing with a computer in the hallway, he couldn’t find any relevant reference to Laiyos or Argos, but there were only four med-bays on board. At the very least, Laiyos, the one the humans called Chase, should be in one of them.
He made his way towards the nearest one.
Daniel had just left the commodore’s office with Rae by his side.
“I’m so happy the commodore agreed to let me look at your huge database of star charts. Thank you so much, Daniel.”
“That’s alright. I’m glad to help. I also have to thank you. You gave me something useful to do. I’d almost forgotten what that felt like.”
She beamed him a warm smile.
“Now that we’re here, shouldn’t you go see your friend Chase?”
“That’s a very good idea. Should I leave you on board this ship or will you come with me? You’ll have the same access on board the Hope. In fact, its computer is more advanced than the Destiny’s.”
“This is all new to me. I’d rather we went together if you don’t mind?”
“Absolutely. Let’s take my fighter. I’ve missed piloting it. I could give you a nice flyby around the fleet, if you like.”
“That sounds like fun.”
They reached the fighter bays and dressed appropriately to be granted departure from the Destiny on board a StarFury. Rae looked really cute in a pilot’s jumpsuit, but that also made his heart ache a little since it reminded him of Fillio.
Rae noticed. “Is everything alright, Daniel?”
“It’s nothing. Just some bad memories.”
She took him in her arms. “It will be okay, Daniel. It’s normal to grieve. Give it time.”
She then dropped a friendly kiss on his cheek. “Should we go? I’m impatient to fly out in space on board a starfighter. I once wanted to be a pilot, you know.”
“Oh really? Why didn’t you?”
“You’re kidding, right? I’m much too small to be selected as a pilot, silly.”
Daniel had heard of the height requirements for humans to become fighter pilots. The Star Alliance didn’t have such rules. Size didn’t matter as much as reflexes and piloting skills did.
“Right. Well, you could apply now. We can always use new ace pilots.” Daniel flashed her a thumbs up.
“I’ve gotten used to being a scientist and forgot about my dream of becoming a pilot years ago, but who knows what the future holds? If you had told me two days ago that I would go into space in a starfighter, I never would have believed you. So never say never, I guess.”
“That’s the spirit. Should we go?”
“Absolutely. I’m quite impatient.”
Daniel helped Rae up the ladder and into the backseat of his cockpit. She noticed something painted on his helmet. “A scorpion?”
“That’s my call sign, yes. What about it?”
“Nothing, it’s just that it’s my astrological sign. Funny coincidence.”
Daniel had heard of Earth’s concept of astrology, but never really given it any thought. Not that he didn’t care. It sounded quite interesting, but there simply hadn’t been that much downtime for him to explore most of the facets of humanity and life on Earth. Most of the time he would stay in the Destiny’s or the Hope’s quarters at night. He liked sleeping near the stars. Even if it had only been a few days since he had resigned his commission, it felt good to be back on board a StarFury.
Rae pulled him out of his train of thought. “Have I said something wrong?”
“No, don’t worry. I was just thinking how good it feels to be back on board one of these.”
“I�
�m glad to hear that.”
Daniel explained that the first flight through a launch tube could be dizzying. But she loved it.
Soon they were out in space and Daniel could feel the excitement in her voice, even if he couldn’t see her face. He made a few sharp maneuvers to show her the ship’s capabilities. During some of these she shouted and cheered. Soon they had traveled back and forth among the fleet of different ships. Daniel had vectored his StarFury towards the Hope when something illuminated his shields three short times in a row.
“What was that?” Rae asked, startled.
“I’m not sure. Nothing to be concerned about, though. Maybe just some small debris from a previous battle. Let me check.”
Daniel brought up the neuronal HUD and asked the computer for an analysis of the sensor logs to see if they could tell him what they had just hit.
“That’s peculiar . . .” said Daniel as he received his answer from the onboard computer.
“What was it?”
“The computer thinks it was frozen droplets of blood.”
“Then it has to be what you said, just the remnants of a—” But then she shrieked.
“What is it?”
“Look up there!” She pointed towards one of the smaller ships in the distance. “Is that . . .?”
Daniel approached the ship and saw a crewman stuck just outside an airlock. He wasn’t in an EVA suit, and it didn’t look as though he had ended up there voluntarily.
“Oh my god,” said Rae.
Daniel opened a channel to the Destiny.
“Commodore, we need to check on something ASAP. We may have a problem.”
17
When Keera woke up, Ryonna was standing in front of the regen tank, patiently waiting for its cycle to end so she could talk to Jonas.
“Hey . . .” said Keera with a soft voice.
Ryonna turned around. “Hey yourself. I’m relieved to see you’re fine. Thank you for saving my hide back there. I owe you one.”
“Hey, what are friends for? You would have done the same for me,” said Keera with a smile. “How’s Jonas?”
Universe in Flames – Ultimate 10 Book Box Set: An Epic Space Opera Adventure Page 160