Fury to the Stars (Universe in Flames Book 2)

by Christian Kallias

  He squeezed her hands tightly. “I will protect you,” he swore. “And our child. I will not let anything—”

  “Chase, that’s exactly what I’m talking about,” she said with a sigh. “You can’t. You couldn’t protect me from Argos that day. He took me and there was nothing you could do to stop it. You couldn’t save all those people on Earth from getting blown to bits. It was beyond your control.”

  He felt like she’d sucked all the happiness right out of him, until…

  “But you know what? If you hadn’t made that jump in your fighter, I’d be dead right now. If you hadn’t gone to Hellstar, I’d still be a prisoner. And if you hadn’t single-handedly fought an entire fleet, we’d be talking about billions of lives lost, not millions.” She clapped him teasingly upside the head. “So lighten up, soldier. Start living your life now, instead of spending all your time fearing the future. You did good.”

  He blinked again in amazement. He’d fallen in love with a rather incredible woman.

  “Now, tell me what happened yesterday. What did the commodore want?” She was suddenly all business and he couldn’t help a little chuckle before he began his recap.

  He started with the terrorist attempt on the EAD Hope and finished with telling her about the emperor and their plan to blow up Argos’ secret shipyard.

  Sarah’s eyes widened in excitement. “That’s crazy! So when do we leave?”

  “We?”

  “Yes, we. I’m coming with you.”

  He bit his lip. “Sarah, I’d really rather you—”

  She cut him off with a sweet but dangerous smile. “And as much as I appreciate the sentiment of whatever you’re about to say, let’s get one thing straight. I’m pregnant, not handicapped. I will be flying your wing on that mission. Are we clear?”

  Chase leaned back and blinked mildly at her tone. “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Good.” She flashed him a sudden wink. “Now come on, we have at least two hours before anyone needs us to do any big, world-saving schemes. Plenty of time for a little…”

  With a mischievous giggle, she pulled him on top of her once more.

  * * *

  It seemed as though almost everyone in the whole Alliance had somehow gathered into Admiral Thassos’ conference room to discuss the upcoming mission. While Chase may have gone into it with some ideas of his own, it was clear that the admiral was running the meeting. Almost at once, he was assigned command of the EAD Hope—something he certainly hadn’t counted on and had mixed feelings about. While he was thrilled with the opportunity to test out the new class of destroyer, he would have traded almost anything to be flying one of the brand new F-147s instead.

  The emperor had contacted all the Obsidian ships he knew in the area and was having them meet the Alliance not too far from the Gatos Nebula near the shipyard, and with the added support of the Droxians, Argos might just have a fair fight on his hands.

  Chase relished this notion as he listened to Thassos drone on about combat tactics. It felt good to be taking the fight to the enemy for once, instead of running away.

  “People, you leave in three hours,” she concluded. “Lieutenant Athanatos, you are to take command of the EAD Hope immediately. Make sure she’s combat ready before we leave.”

  “Yes, Admiral. May I request Yanis to be transferred to the EAD Hope for this mission?”

  The admiral turned. “Commodore Saroudis? Any objection?”

  “None. He helped build and design the ship. There is a lot of new tech that he might need to supervise and make on-the-fly adjustments. Seeing that the Hope will be the tip of the spear in terms of firepower, I think it’s the right move.”

  The admiral nodded brusquely. “In that case, you’re all dismissed. Good luck!”

  * * *

  Chase and Sarah walked together to the nearest shuttle and took off.

  “So, little announcement.” Chase smiled. “You are to be the Hope’s wing commander.”

  Her eyes widened in shock. “Are you serious?”

  “Of course I am. You’re one of the best pilots I’ve ever flown with, and since I can’t fly my own wing, I really want you to do this for me.”

  “What about Daniel?”

  “Daniel is the Destiny’s wing commander. That hasn’t changed.”

  Sarah beamed and nodded in delight. All this talk “convincing” him that she was going to be coming along—when he’d obviously thought it the whole time.

  “Make sure you use the new advantages of these ships, too,” Chase added. “I think the drones in particular should give you quite the edge in dogfights.”

  “And the cloak too.”

  “Yeah, about that. Please make sure you’re very careful with the cloak. Remember that once you de-cloak, you’ll be without shields. So just… use them with care.”

  “Is that any way to talk to a wing commander?” she teased playfully. But she actually clapped her hands in delight. “I can’t wait to test the StarCrusher.”

  “Oh no, no, no!” Chase interjected gleefully. “I’ve decided the F-147 will be called StarFury.”

  She chuckled. “I think I heard this name before, but sure… you’re a Fury—take it to the stars?” She laughed again at her own teasing. “How did Yanis take it?”

  “He’ll survive.” Chase grinned. “It’s not like we called it ‘Doors’ or ‘Orange’.”

  Sarah laughed at the joke. She never stopped to think about names like “Apple” or “Windows.” After all, they were part of their society and culture for so long that they simply made sense and it had become second nature. But from the outside, she understood very well how they could sound a little silly.

  “Now about your first order of business. You’ll need to brief your pilots upon arrival.”

  “Anything in particular you’d like me to say?”

  “I’ll leave it to your discretion. We just need to blow up that shipyard, so anything along those lines should suffice. They’re experienced pilots. They know the drill.”

  “How many StarFuries will the Hope have onboard?”

  “Only three. Yours; I suggest you give the second one to Jaris. He seems the most apt to use the neuronal interface. And the third one I want to be in reserve.”

  “Of course you do.”

  Chase raised an eyebrow. “Am I that predictable?”

  She giggled. “It’s all part of your boyish charm.”

  “Boyish, eh?” he teased. “For all we know, I’m over a hundred.”

  There was a hitch in her step. “Wait… what?”

  He sighed. “I haven’t gotten a chance to tell you that yet. According to the Olympians… I might have a gene that either makes me age slow or…

  “Or what?”

  “Perhaps not at all.”

  She turned to him with a sudden frown. “But if you’re not aging, what does that mean for us? And for… the baby?”

  He bit his lip as they neared the ship. “I don’t know. But we’ll sort it all out, I swear. For the time being, let’s just focus on getting back in one piece.”

  They paused in unison when they reached the shipyard and stared up in awe at what was to be their home for the next few days.

  To say the ship was magnificent would be an understatement. Sure, it resembled other Alliance battleships in terms of look, but it somehow looked meaner, more streamlined; a true war machine despite its slightly smaller size.

  Chase gazed up with more than a little hesitation. When he saw Sarah watching him closely, he tried for a casual shrug. “No pressure. How bad could it be?”

  Then they walked up to the doors and found the entire crew waiting for them.

  The lines upon lines of crewmen stopped him short and he sucked in a quick breath as the sudden weight and responsibility of his assignment hit home.

  “Acting captain on deck,” shouted a man standing in front of all the others. A major by the looks of it. As one, everyone saluted.

  “At ease,” answered Chase.


  “Welcome to the EAD Hope, Captain. I relinquish command as per instructed by Admiral Thassos. The ship is yours.”

  “Thank you, Major...”

  “Sparton. Major Sparton, Captain.”

  “Thank you, Major Sparton. If you’ll show me the way to the bridge, I want to undock and test some of the systems before we leave for the mission. Please also have someone show Commander Kepler her quarters and then the rest of the ship.”

  Major Sparton signaled one of his officers then turned back to Chase.

  “Have you selected a second-in-command, Captain?”

  Chase glanced at Sarah, but she shook her head a fraction of an inch. Chase got the message. He cleared his face and gazed calmly back at the major.

  “You will be my second-in-command, Major. You know this ship better than anyone, I take it?”

  “Thank you, Captain. And yes. I’ve been onboard since we had artificial atmosphere and life support working.”

  Just then, a shuttle docked on the bay behind them. Yanis popped his head out curiously, before being immediately followed by the emperor and a host of security guards. Chase stepped forward quickly and ordered them to release the emperor into his care.

  The enemy of my enemy is my friend, he thought.

  “Emperor, I really hope the information you gave us is correct. I’ve been inclined to believe you up until now, but if you have a hidden agenda—”

  The emperor didn’t even let him finish. “No agenda. Let’s go destroy Argos’ most useful installation. Then you can decide for yourself how valuable I can be for you.”

  Chase was surprised the emperor relinquished control so easily, but he guessed the man didn’t have much choice. “Alright. You stay with me at all times, though, is that understood?”

  “Whatever you say.”

  He turned back to Major Sparton. “Very well, to the bridge then?”

  “Absolutely. Follow me, Captain.”

  They all took a lift to the bridge, and soon Chase was in the captain’s chair. As it turned out, it was very comfortable, made with dark-blue material resembling leather. On each of the arm rests were controls for most of the ship’s systems. The emperor stood not too far away, his arms locked against his chest as he observed, silent.

  “Get us out of space dock,” Chase ordered, “one quarter impulse.”

  And just like that… the mission was away.

  C H A P T E R

  XX

  Argos’ ship entered the Gorialis Star System, and soon arrived at their destination. He looked at the view screen, mesmerized by the beauty of the enormous star and its giant solar flares’ eruptions.

  “Status?” Argos barked.

  “We’re at optimal distance to attempt inter-dimensional communication, Master,” answered one of his officers

  “Very well, establish communication and send it to my ready room. I am not to be interrupted for anything until it ends, understood?”

  “Yes, Master, I understand.”

  He got up from his throne-looking chair on the bridge and entered an adjacent ready room. The atmospheres between the two rooms were very different. The bridge was well lit, and full of computer terminals. The ready room, however, was pitch black, with two small torches on each side of the room that were triggered to light upon his entry. Argos loved the natural light of the flame; loathing the artificial lighting that came in most ships. That’s why he would retreat to this place to think. Even in the midst of combat, he preferred dispatching orders from here.

  He slowly kneeled on the floor, about three meters in front of a wall.

  Soon, a hologram about five meters tall appeared, but it was quite garbled with a lot of static.

  “Rise,” said the voice in a very metallic, grinding and garbled voice. It had a faint echo; and seemed to be coming from the depths of hell itself.

  He slowly stood and faced the dark, red-colored holographic projection,

  “What have you to report at this time, Argos?”

  “My plan is well under way. I will soon have all I need to come and get you.”

  “We grow weary of waiting. You promised results, but so far we see none.”

  “I assure you all is going according to plan. In fact, there’s been a new variable that may speed things along.”

  The holographic shape jittered with a terrible signal distortion. It was clearly humanoid in nature, but too garbled to identify in detail.

  “Very well. Make sure you get all you require, as we instructed you. You will be handsomely rewarded. But fail us, Argos, and our revenge will be long and painful.”

  His name resonated in the sentence, giving weight to the threat.

  “Thy will be done. You will soon be free again.”

  The holographic shape only growled in response, and then disappeared back into the nothingness it came from.

  Time was running out. Clearly his masters were losing patience. But now that Chase had entered the equation, Argos knew exactly how to proceed next in order to fulfill his mission. He would not fail them.

  Instead of returning to the bridge, Argos glowered from his away-room throne. He needed to know what Chase was up to. His newly formed plan could potentially save months of work, but he had to be sure Chase would comply. On that front, he still had an ace in the hole. Still, he’d have to be careful and precise to pull it off. Fortunately Chase was only awakening to his powers, and bore almost no control over them. The fight at Hellstar prison had been a pathetic demonstration, which worked in his favor.

  Yet the Olympians were not to be forgotten; they could help Chase in ways that would be catastrophic. He had to get a hold on that communication line between them and Chase, and yank it off. He would need to proceed carefully, though: the last time Furies tried to attack the Olympians, it had led to their downfall. Argos had no intention of repeating the biggest mistake in the history of his race.

  His eyes glowed eagerly as he leaned towards a big jar, and, after pondering for a moment, he opened its lid. A strange-looking snake with many spikes and yellow, glowing eyes arose from the half-light. It turned and spat out a very high-pitched hiss; almost painful to hear. Argos quietly moved his free hand in front of the snake. It opened its mouth wider, as three double-tipped tongues started an eye-pleasing circular dance. Venom drops formed on the tips of its yellow fangs, as its eyes glimmered even more brightly.

  Argos made a sharp move with his hand. The snake flew at his arm in a flash, thrusting fangs deep into Argos’ forearm. The resulting jolt of pain that followed was both excruciating and extremely pleasurable to Argos, almost orgasmic. The snake didn’t release for a while, but hung limply from his skin. Argos didn’t seem to mind, enjoying the venom’s burn as it flowed through his veins. He closed his eyes and leaned back, exhaling slowly. The burning pain and toxicity traveling his system was easily countered with his Fury powers. But for the high to be pleasurable, it needed to hurt a little.

  A few minutes later, Argos mumbled in a satiated whisper, “That’s enough for today.” He tried to get the snake off his arm; but instead of retracting as it usually would, it tightened its grip. Such feeble creatures thinking they can impose their will onto me, thought Argos, permitting himself a smile. He started flexing and tightening all the muscles in his forearm so strongly that the fangs were forced from the holes recently made in his skin. The startled snake released all at once, swinging his head back and hissing wildly, its three tongues flailing about.

  The beast was clearly agitated, yet afraid at the same time. You are right to fear me. But when primal instinct overtook fear, the snake turned and flew at Argos’ throat, which did not go well with Argos. He caught the snake in midair with crushing force, grinning. Sheer terror could now be read in its dimming eyes. He opened the palm he’d closed over the creature, and the snake exploded all around Argos’ throne, spilling yellow blood and guts on both his throne and himself.

  Argos sighed and stood. He cleaned himself up by levitating every particle of splash
ed snake goop, incinerating them in a flash. Soon there was nothing left, not even ashes. At that moment he received an incoming transmission from the bridge.

  “What is it?”

  “We’ve received very interesting intelligence from the sensors you placed on the subject, Master. We have audio and video files you need to watch right away,”

  Finally, some good news.

  “Thank you,” he said, waving the holographic comm to the side to turn off the call.

  He summoned another holographic projection with the intelligence data mentioned. He sifted through videos of new weaponry the Alliance had been working on, as well as a meeting with a female admiral. On one side of the table stood the emperor, giving the Alliance very specific information.

  “That snake… I knew he would rebel eventually, but so soon?” he murmured at the screen.

  The meeting outlined a mission to destroy Argos’ shipyard: a perfect setting to put the next part of his plan in motion. The universe always seemed to help him achieve his goals, if only he waited long enough. He hastily assembled a response: he had no problem with them crippling his current means of ship manufacture. Argos had plenty of ships in reserve. The target had strategic value to him, of course, but instead he saw ripe conditions for a trap. All that mattered to Argos was that Chase and his precious Sarah would soon be stumbling into his grasp.

  He opened a holo-comm and commanded, “Get us to the shipyard, and recall all ships from the Xyrion sector to these coordinates. Their orders are to destroy any Obsidian ships they encounter there—” He verified and pronounced the coordinates of the Obsidian Empire fleet rendezvous with the Earth Alliance strike force, with anticipatory relish.

  “Yes, Master.”

  “Oh, and clone another Kyrian snake. Have it sent to my ready-room.”

  “Understood, Master.”