“Look, brother, you have lost. Your fleet is defeated, and now you will die.”
Argos tried to speak but Chase knocked his head against the glass repeatedly. He then threw Argos in the air and made him levitate in front of him, his limbs dangling in the air.
Orange fire flashed in his eyes as he stepped forward and grabbed him by the throat, a triumphant smile dancing on his face. “And now you die!”
Argos panted and tried to speak, but the grip on his throat was crushing his vocal chords. In the end, however, he summoned up just enough energy to say one telepathic word.
“Sarah!”
The name sent a spark and a shiver down Chase’s back. He released his grip slightly.
“Speak!”
“If you kill me, she dies,” Argos panted.
Chase shook his head. “I don’t believe you. If I kill you, your grip on her mind will be released and she’ll bring back the data crystal.”
“If you truly believe that… then finish me off.”
A wave of rage coursed through Chase and he tightened his grip, cutting off all the oxygen to Argos’ brain. He would kill him now. And then everything would be fine.
“Chase!” Daniel shouted.
“What?!” Chase called back, staring into Argos’ eyes as all the life faded away.
“Don’t do this! If it does kill Sarah, you will never be able to forgive yourself!”
Chase wanted to let go but somehow couldn’t.
“CHASE! Let him go before it’s too late!”
He tried again, but couldn’t. That’s when an image of Sarah flashed through his mind.
All at once, he released Argos, dropping him to the floor as he turned back to his friend and helped him get to his feet.
“We need to get Sarah back. We’ll take your StarFury.”
Daniel nodded. “What about him?”
Chase looked at Argos, but before he could decide, his brother clicked a device in his pocket, and in a cloud of orange light, he was gone.
“Dammit!” Chase lashed out.
“You didn’t have any other choice,” Daniel said, putting his arm on his friend’s shoulder.
“Tell that to the members of the million families he killed,” said Chase with an intense expression of sadness across his face.
“That wasn’t your fault,” Daniel insisted. “If anything, you helped make sure he didn’t kill everyone on Earth. Stop feeling so responsible for god’s sake!”
Chase glanced at his friend with a small smile. “Thanks.” He suddenly pulled him into a warm embrace. “Now hold on tight!”
Daniel looked around. “What? Wh—”
They flew off the command deck at tremendous speed.
Daniel screamed aloud but tilted back his head as walls streaked past. “You can fly?!”
“I know.” Chase started grinning uncontrollably.
“Holy shit on a hyperspace engine! This is unbelievable!”
It only took a few seconds for them to arrive at the remaining StarFury—just in time to see Argos’ ship take off, blow a hole through the station’s shields and immediately disappear into hyperspace.
For a moment Chase was incredibly tempted to go after it, but one look at Daniel’s determined face clarified his priorities. They rushed to the ship but were stopped at the last moment by a voice echoing through the bay’s speakers.
“Hey! What about me? Take me with you!” Spiros called.
“We’ll send someone to pick you up. Hang tight,” Chase called back. “Just drop the shields as we leave the station, okay?”
“What would you have done if I hadn’t woken up, boy?”
Chase grinned. “Believe me, I would have found a way.”
They entered the StarFury and shot out through space. The second they were away, Chase opened a channel to Yanis.
“Hey, pal, did you get the schematics containing Dr. Malayianis’ awesome new tech?”
“Sarah got them,” Chase replied, “that’s why I needed you to track her.”
“She jumped to hyperspace not long ago, but I’m sending you her exit vector now.”
“Thanks, buddy. All good onboard my ship?”
“Yeah, we’re about done with the enemy fleet.”
Chase and Daniel gave each other a look of relief. “Excellent. Have someone pick up Spiros Malayianis from the station. Any news from Commodore Saroudis?”
Yanis sounded tense. “They’ve just finished operating and placed him in a regen tank, but his injuries were severe. I hope he makes a full recovery.”
“So do I. Thanks, Yanis.”
“Sure, see you soon.”
“Yeah, we’ll pick up Sarah and come back ASAP.”
“Good luck.”
Chase killed the comm, fed the coordinates, diverted all power to the jump engines, and then jumped into hyperspace.
* * *
Onboard the Dark Star, Argos just finished healing himself. He had been too close to death for comfort and was still trying to understand how his brother Laiyos, who had always been inferior to him in every way, had managed to put him in such a state.
“Note to self, don’t kill his friends in front of him,” he said with a chuckle.
Argos’ ego had been hurt deeply. He was not happy about losing this fight, but only the end result mattered now. And with his next move, he would seal Chase’s fate for good.
He opened a channel to one of his ships on standby in the area.
“Yes, Master,” answered one of his Zarlack lackeys.
“Drop the jamming fields.”
“Jamming fields dropped.”
Argos sped off into space with a dark smile.
“So long, brother.”
* * *
The StarFury dropped out of hyperspace and Chase scanned for Sarah’s ship. It was only a minute away. With a gasp of relief, he vectored towards her at maximum afterburners.
It only took a few moments to catch up and he opened a channel.
“Sarah… I’m hoping you’re no longer under Argos’ influence. Please respond.”
Silence.
“Sarah?”
Not a thing.
Chase’s throat closed up and his eyes filled with angry tears. “Dammit!”
An incoming transmission buzzed within the cockpit. Code Red transmission from Admiral Thassos. “Lieutenant Commander Chase Athanatos, please respond.”
“Chase here. What can I do for you, Admiral?”
The admiral sounded frantic. “I’m sending you files you need to look at. Sarah is a spy!”
“I know. She was under Argos’ mind control all along. She couldn’t control what she was doing. Don’t worry. We’re in pursuit right now.”
“I don’t think you understand, Lieutenant Commander. Not only is she a spy, but she also orchestrated the terror attacks on Earth. While your assault fleet was trying to destroy the shipyard, her nefarious plans almost cost every single living being on Earth their life.”
Chase paled and stared out at her ship. “She has the schematics for the ultra-advanced weaponry developed by Malayianis on board as well…”
“Spiros Malayianis is alive? He’s our top R&D scientist!” the admiral shrieked. “She could bring them straight back to the enemy, and that’s not a risk we can afford to take. Your orders are to shoot to kill, Lieutenant Commander. Please confirm the order?”
Chase felt his heart harden to a stop inside his chest. He tried to focus on what the admiral was saying, but his mind couldn’t process the command.
“I—I’m sorry. Say again, Admiral?”
“Your orders are shoot to kill. Please confirm.”
Daniel looked at him in horror and Chase shook his head in a daze.
“I can’t do that, Admiral. I—I love her. It’s not her fault. She’s… carrying my child.”
There was a slight pause before the voice crackled through again. “I’m truly sorry to hear that, Lieutenant Commander, but you must think of the bigger picture her
e. If Argos gets his hands on this technology, it’s the end of us all. This is a direct order!”
Chase killed the comm.
“What are you doing?” Daniel gasped. “Did you just hang up on the admiral?”
“No, we simply had trouble with communications.”
“Right, she’s gonna believe that.”
Chase threw up his hands. “Look, I… I need to think. I need a plan!”
Daniel’s face tightened with pity. “Bro, I understand. But as much as it pains me to say this… she has a point.”
“I should have killed Argos! If he was dead there would be other options.”
“Perhaps, or perhaps she would have been killed and the data recovered by someone else in the Zarlack ranks.”
“No! I let Argos live and now I am faced with this impossible choice!”
What should I do? he thought desperately. I can’t kill Sarah! I can’t kill my unborn child!
* * *
Onboard the Dark Star, Argos received the red-coded alert meaning that an Olympian was establishing communication with Chase. He acknowledged the alert on his terminal to hijack the transmission.
Oh, Aphroditis… your timing couldn’t be better; thank you, dear.
* * *
“Chase, listen to me very carefully, you must—” But Aphroditis’ voice was cut off in a sudden wave of static. It was the first time Chase had ever heard such a peculiar sound.
“Aphroditis?” he shouted back. “I must what?”
“What’s going on?” Daniel asked in surprise.
“Hang on...” answered Chase.
“Chase, can you hear me?” called Aphroditis.
“I hear you.”
“Chase, you must not let Sarah escape with these plans. If you do, all is lost. Everyone will die and Argos will win.”
Chase reeled back in horror. “I don’t think you or the admiral understand what you’re asking of me! I can’t kill my unborn child! I can’t kill Sarah! She is everything to me!”
“I’m so sorry, Chase, but think deep and hard. We’re talking about billions of lives here. What would Sarah want you to do? How would you live with yourselves?”
Tears started streaming down Chase’s face.
He locked onto Sarah’s StarFury and fired just enough laser to shut down her shields.
“Sarah! Please don’t, I beg you! Turn around; we’ll find a way!”
A deafening silence answered him.
Chase swore loudly and increased his speed.
“You know what it will mean if you don’t do this now,” Aphroditis said solemnly.
It felt like an icy hand was slowly closing around his chest, squeezing the life out of him as a war of emotions raged on inside his mind.
Then his radar bleeped.
A ship was approaching fast. As it de-cloaked beside them, Chase saw Argos’ dark ship.
He veered off immediately and engaged it, firing everything he had left, but it only drained the Dark Star’s shields about thirty percent.
“That tech is mine, brother,” Argos said telepathically.
“Chase,” Daniel said gravely, “we can’t let him get his hands on this data. If he does, it’s the end of the war; it’s the end of all of us.” He paused, staring at his brother-in-arms. “I can take that shot if you want me to.”
“No! Don’t!”
“There is very little time left,” Aphroditis warned. “In a few seconds, Argos will recover the tech and everything will be lost!”
More tears burned Chase’s eyes as he vectored his ship and lined it up behind Sarah’s. He fired a few more shots to get her attention and smoke started pouring out of her ship.
“Sarah, I beg you. Please turn around or give me some sort of sign that you’re in there, my love. Sarah, please! I can’t—I can’t do this!”
And then he heard her voice.
“Chase, this is taking all the strength I have left so you have to listen carefully. You have to shoot me down. There’s no other way… I will wait for you at the gates of dawn, my love.”
The Dark Star approached Sarah’s StarFury and was now nearly upon her.
It was like the space around them went silent. Chase could still see things happening, he felt a vibration coming from the ship… but everything was quiet.
The power of Chase’s emotions ran through every fiber of his being with the force of a thousand tsunamis. Dread, remorse and self-hatred started to blacken his very soul like an unstoppable venom. But then the sheer weight of his sorrow pressed down inside his chest and he knew he would never be the same. Something had changed within him. Something had died.
With silent tears streaming down his face, he locked onto Sarah’s ship, diverted all power to his weapons, and set them at maximum.
His lips parted with a broken sob.
“I love you with all my heart, Sarah. Please forgive me. Both of you.”
He then closed his eyes… and opened fire.
TO BE CONTINUED.
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Fury to the Stars (Universe in Flames Book 2) Page 31
