“Move out of our way, or I will make you move.”
“You cannot pass through here,” answered the man with a deep voice.
“Wanna bet?” Ryonna replied, taking a step forward.
“Ryonna, maybe we shouldn’t antagonize him,” the Gorgar cautioned. “The Radioks are dumb, but they are numerous in this prison.”
“Who are you calling dumb?” the man bellowed.
“Not you, sir. I was making a general observation,” the Gorgar replied.
The fat Radiok seemed confused by the answer, so he started scratching his head, trying to figure out if he should feel insulted or not.
“Move away now,” Ryonna repeated impatiently through clenched teeth. “This is your last warning, fatso!”
“Who are you calling fasto?”
Ryonna turned towards the Gorgar. “Yeah, you’re right. They’re really dumb.”
The Gorgar nodded in answer.
“What?” cried the Radiok. “Nobody dares to—”
Before he could finish his sentence, he was taking a swing at Ryonna. And while she was much faster, she was still impressed by his speed considering the Radiok’s ample corpulence. She slid under him and went for a kick in between his legs. He didn’t seem to budge so she backed away.
“That should have floored him. What’s going on?”
The insectoid smiled. “That’s not where the Radiok’s genitals are.”
“Oh...”
“He’s pissed now anyway, so let’s finish this.”
The Gorgar teleported behind him and attacked the Radiok with three precise strikes to his back. The man fell headfirst to the ground with a loud thud.
“Alright, next time do that immediately.” Ryonna huffed, annoyed at having needed the assistance of a Gorgar.
“Again, not part of our original deal. And you’re welcome.”
“If you say the word deal one more time I will shove your antennas down your throat.”
“Charming…”
Ryonna stepped over the Radiok and they resumed their run. A few minutes later, they arrived at an intersection. The Gorgar made a weird noise and pointed towards the right.
“That way. We’re near.”
“Let’s hurry then.” The feeling of terror had returned to Ryonna’s chest.
They arrived at a series of rooms. Some of them looked like living quarters. She could smell a Droxian presence now. She rushed towards it and entered one of the alcoves before stopping dead in her tracks. What she saw terrified her. There was a Droxian body in the middle of the floor, face-down and motionless, lying in a pool of blood.
She froze, terrified to take another step. The body didn’t seem to be breathing.
C H A P T E R
VII
The lift’s doors opened and Daniel and Chase stepped onto the bridge.
“Good to see you up,” the captain said upon seeing Chase.
“Captain,” Chase replied with a nod.
“Daniel, would you mind explaining to me why one of my security guards had to surrender himself to my brig?”
“Long story, Captain.”
“Alright, we only have a few seconds before we jump out of hyperspace near Droxia, but you will debrief me later.” His tone left no room for argument.
“Yes, Cap—”
He never finished his sentence as the Destiny’s hyperspace engines roared.
The second the Destiny made the jump back to normal space, all hell broke loose. Salvos of laser fire came crashing against the ship’s hull, rocking it. They were at the planet alright. And it was under a full-on attack.
“Shields up, now! Battle stations!”
“Shields are up, Captain,” answered a crew member.
“What the hell! I thought we were supposed to stand trial, not be shot on sight!” shouted Daniel.
“Status report?” demanded the captain.
“A fleet of several ships, some Obsidian and some Zarlack, are attacking a large fleet of Droxian ships as well as firing on the planet, Captain.”
“Get me Captain Dark’nar of the Droxian battleship Phoenix.”
“On screen, Captain.”
The captain appeared on the main holo-screen of the Destiny. He seemed as lost as they were, shouting commands in Droxian to his crew. After a few seconds he turned towards his main camera. “Captain Saroudis, do you have any idea what this is?” he demanded.
“None. But let’s not worry about that. We will engage and provide assistance; we owe you that much.”
“Thank you, Captain Saroudis, this will not be forgotten.”
The screen snapped off as the captain issued his next order.
“Target enemy vessels; fire at will. Torpedoes, lasers, everything. Red alert! Deploy all fighters now!” He turned toward his two young friends. “You two, to your ships on the double. Alpha and Beta Wings need their wing commander.”
“Understood, Captain,” said Chase as they both ran off the bridge.
* * *
Chase and Daniel’s fighters were the last to launch, but soon they rejoined the rest of their wings. This was a far bigger onslaught than the one that had taken place on Earth a few days ago. Obsidian and their Zarlack allies had clearly amassed another huge fleet in order to attack Droxia, no doubt because of their intervention in the previous battle.
How had they gotten so many new ships so quickly? No one knew.
“Dan, what if Sarah is on one of these ships?” The question had pricked the back of his mind ever since he saw the Obsidian Fleet.
“Chase, not now. I understand how you feel, but you can’t let that stop us from destroying our enemies. They nearly annihilated a planet with seven billion souls, and now they’re trying to destroy another. They need to be stopped. Not to mention that if we survive this, we might just have found our biggest ally yet.”
“Let’s just hope they don’t bite the dust here today,” Chase replied.
“That’s more like it. Let’s help them make sure that doesn’t happen, alright?”
“Roger that. Engaging.”
Chase went into a fury of acrobatic maneuvers, dispatching enemy vessels one after the other. His mind was fully dedicated to winning this fight and it showed. After only a couple of minutes he had eradicated an entire enemy wing almost by himself.
He was directing his wing to the next incoming wave of fighters when he heard something in his mind.
Chase, help, Hellstar...
It was Sarah’s voice. He would know it anywhere. At first he froze, believing he was hallucinating. His ship took a blast of laser fire to his port shield, but he barely reacted until the onboard computer resonated another alarm: “Warning! Collision alert, warning!”
He barely managed to veer off course at the last moment, his shield brightening up from the close encounter with a Zarlack fighter.
“In the name of...” Daniel shouted via the comm. “Are you alright, Chase?”
“Yeah, sorry, got distracted for a moment.”
“Chase, there’s no way of knowing if Sarah is here, but you can’t think about that for now. We need you.”
“Roger that. Plus, I know now she isn’t here.” Chase was almost delirious with relief that she was alive, although terrified at her destination.
“Huh? Mind explaining that?”
“Later—let’s finish this and fast! I know where I have to go next.”
“That’s the spirit. Watch your six! You have multiple enemy craft approaching.”
Chase looked at his HUD. Three enemy craft had taken advantage of his little reverie and were aligned perfectly on his six. They started firing the moment they were in range.
Chase took evasive action by rotating the ship on its axis, avoiding most hits but still taking some damage to his shields.
“Hang on, Chase, I’m coming.”
“No need, Dan, I’ve got this.” He couldn’t help but grin. “Computer, execute command Omega One.”
The ship’s engine’s cut o
ff and he made a one-hundred-and-eighty-degree rotation to face his foes. With the engine off, the ship carried its initial momentum and Chase lined up a shower of laser fire upon their frontal shields, diverting the engine power to his own shields and boosting the power of his lasers. He painted all three targets and fired three missiles simultaneously. Two of the missiles tore their targets apart in a fiery blaze, while the third impacted the ship but the ship didn’t explode; it lost all shields instead.
Chase rebalanced power, went full on the engines, and headed on a collision course. He waited until the last second and fired a single burst of concentrated laser fire. The enemy ship exploded like a piñata, and Chase flew through the debris.
“Are you okay, pal?” inquired Daniel.
“I’m fine. Don’t worry about me.”
“Dude, you seem to be flying even more recklessly than usual.”
Chase smirked. “And how does that reflect on my kill stats so far?”
After a couple of seconds Daniel answered. “As long as you’re in control of your emotions.”
“I wouldn’t go that far.”
“Why don’t I like the sound of that?”
“I’m fine, bro, don’t worry.”
“Roger. Good hunting.”
“You too.”
* * *
On the bridge of the SAD Destiny, Captain Saroudis watched the battle with great focus. Their arrival seemed to have tipped the balance in favor of the Alliance now, with multiple squadrons of fighters being eradicated by the joint forces of the Destiny battle group and their Droxian escorts.
Chase’s ability to engage enemies using non-conventional and ever-changing fighting techniques never ceased to amaze the captain. Of course, his recklessness was enough to give the captain a series of small heart attacks. Chase was an ace pilot and natural strategist, one they could not afford to lose. Not to mention his relations with the Olympians.
The Obsidian Empire and their Zarlack allies seemed to agree. They sent no less than two squadrons on an approaching vector towards Chase’s Beta Wing.
“Lieutenant, concentrate fire to cover Beta Wing; all batteries, fire.”
“New targets acquired. Firing now, Captain.”
The barrage of laser fire being unleashed towards the incoming wings vectoring towards Beta Wing was very effective and dealt with most of them in a matter of seconds. More than two thirds of their craft exploded before they could reach firing range.
“Thanks for the assist, Captain,” Chase called over the comm.
“Anytime, Chase. But some fighters are still entering firing range.”
“That’s alright; my wing will take care of it. What’s our status?”
“We seem to have tipped the balance of this fight. We should be able to win this, but it’s too early to tell at what cost. It’s a rather balanced fight; both sides are incurring substantial damage.”
“Roger that, Cap.”
Captain Saroudis’ chin was pressed against a clenched fist, clearly worried by this unexpected battle. Yet he knew this might actually win over the Droxians as new members of the Alliance, something that was both unexpected and a great first step towards uniting more worlds against the Obsidian Empire. He had to admit, though, that he didn’t know if that would be enough. Even if the Droxians joined them, they would most likely still be outnumbered. They simply had no way of knowing how many Zarlack ships were out there. So while every new allied world mattered, especially after the catastrophic losses the Alliance suffered from the coordinated attack, Captain Saroudis wondered how long they could resist an all-out attack if one was to come.
“Captain!” shouted one of the officers.
“What is it?”
“Multiple jump points forming.”
“Damn, just when we thought we had this battle under control.”
“Sir, the ships show a friendly signature!”
“What?”
“Seven Alliance battleships with escorts, including the SAD Cronos.”
“Thank the gods…”
* * *
Onboard the SAD Cronos’ bridge, Admiral Thassos was sitting in her chair.
“Ensign, target all enemy ships. Fire at will.”
“Yes, ma’am, firing at will.”
The admiral was a tall woman well into her eighties, though the years had been kind to her. By human standards, the admiral barely looked fifty years old. Her face bore few wrinkles and held one blue and one green eye, along with long blond hair that flowed like golden velvet down her back.
“Open a channel to the Destiny.”
“Channel opened.”
Captain Saroudis appeared on the holo-display of the Cronos battle destroyer.
“Long time no see, Adonis.”
“Indeed, Admiral.” He looked delighted. “I thought the Fifth Fleet was destroyed when the Empire attacked the home world?”
“Rumors of our demise were greatly exaggerated.”
“I can see that. Your timing couldn’t be better.”
“You seemed to have things under control from what our scans told to us, but I thought you’d appreciate the help anyway.”
The captain chuckled and gestured to the battle. “We do.”
“I’m looking forward to seeing you soon, old friend. In the meantime, let’s turn these Obsidian scum and their new friends into pretty fireworks.”
He smiled. “Roger that, Admiral. Saroudis out.”
The holo-screen turned off.
Admiral Thassos then picked the biggest three battleships currently engaged against the Alliance and the Droxians, targeting them on her personal battle holo-display.
“Bring main weapons to bear.”
“Main weapons active.”
“Fire in sequence on my target list, maximum firepower.”
“Firing now, Admiral.”
* * *
Chase had just dispatched the last of the incoming enemy fighters when he was blinded by several jump points forming. Obsidian Empire reinforcements, no doubt. It took a few seconds for the white veil from the jumps to restore his vision. At first he thought he was dreaming, then quickly checked his HUD for confirmation. There was no doubt, those were Alliance battle destroyers, and quite the armada too.
“Am I seeing this right?” Daniel’s voice came over the comm system.
“Yeah, that’s the Fifth Fleet.”
“But how is that even possible?”
“Does it really matter?”
“No I guess not. I’m just stunned. For a second I thought it was more Zarlack reinforcements and more bad luck.”
“You and me both, my friend.”
Soon every ship from the newly arrived Alliance armada started spewing fighters. It looked like a swarm of bees, beautiful and extremely effective too. Both Obsidian and Zarlack starfighters started disappearing off the radar at an exponential rate.
“Wow, looks like this battle will be over sooner than we expected,” Daniel said.
“Yes, but let’s go assist anyway.” Chase grinned. “It’s not every day we have the numbers on our side. Let’s savor this moment.”
“Agreed.”
“Care to make it interesting?”
Daniel chuckled. “What did you have in mind?”
“The one with the least kills is on drink duty for a week.”
“Deal!”
Both Daniel and Chase vectored towards the nearest wings of enemy ships and engaged them. Clearly surprised by getting fired on by no less than three fronts now, they were easy pickings. They exploded one after the other. Chase aligned a perfect couple of shots toward his nearest target, successfully exploding the fighter wing, which promptly started spinning and went crashing into another foe, the explosion claiming both fighters simultaneously.
“Buy one, get one free!”
“Show off,” Daniel replied.
“That’s seventeen, my friend. Now who’s showing off?”
“I’m still gonna say you.”
“Fair enough.” Chase laughed.
Then something happened. The Cronos fired an intense beam of laser fire that instantly took out the biggest Obsidian battleship still in play. Two successive shots then took down the next two biggest Zarlack battleships, the first hit splitting the ship in half and the second provoking a major explosion that disabled the targeted ship.
“I don’t know what that was, but I’ll take five, please!” exclaimed Chase.
“I had heard the Cronos was getting equipped with next generation R&D weaponry.”
“I’m also getting a newer signature on the radar but haven’t seen any of the ships on visuals.”
“Oh,” Daniel said knowingly, “that must be the Omega starfighters.”
“What are those? And why am I not flying one?”
“They’re the next generation of dogfighting war machines. I had heard about them in passing but never thought they were actually ready for combat.”
“Why don’t we see any?”
Right on cue, an impressive looking fighter with sharp lines and glistening armor de-cloaked in front of Chase’s fighter.
“Hey, rookie! How do you like my new set of wings?” called a familiar female voice over the comm.
“No way! Fillio?”
“Still as reckless as ever I see,” she replied.
“Well, you know me. That’s one sweet machine you’re flying.”
“Very, and it’s been invaluable to our survival. The cloak only works for a few minutes, but it definitely gave us the edge we needed with our enemy encounters.”
“I bet! I want one of those, yesterday!” Chase was almost giddy looking at the ship.
“You’ll have to ask Admiral Thassos for one, flyboy. We don’t exactly grow them on trees, especially nowadays. Speaking of starfighters, what the hell are you flying? I don’t recognize the design.”
“Oh, say hello to the F-140 Thunderbird, the first Earth Alliance ship. I helped design it.”
“Really? What’s Earth?”
“Long story. We’ll talk about it over drinks. And from the looks of it, Commander Tharaleos will be the one fetching them, for a whole week,” Chase taunted.
Fury to the Stars (Universe in Flames Book 2) Page 5
