Earth Last Sanctuary (Universe in Flames Book 1)

by Christian Kallias

  “…I meant Commander Kepler.”

  “No, you didn’t.” The captain permitted a corner of his mouth to curl into a smile.

  Chase’s face flushed and he dropped his eyes to the floor. He had never been in this situation before and didn’t know what to do besides wait for the captain to break the ice.

  “Don’t sweat it; we all have feelings. And she’s definitely not bad to look at.”

  Chase hesitated. “Yes, sir.”

  “Now, on to more pressing issues. Our quadrinium reserves are evaporating quickly. We need to think about devoting part of our effort into replenishing them and seeking out any other possible allies before the Zarlacks come in full force.”

  “Allies?”

  “Surely the Zarlacks have made enemies in this part of the galaxy, and the enemy of my enemy is my friend.”

  “What about more Alliance survivors?”

  “I’d like to hope more ships survived and maybe some escaped the attack back home but, without knowing for sure, isn’t it exactly the kinds of fool’s errand we ought to avoid with the limited time we have?”

  “Not more so than trying to make friends with alien races that may see us as yet another enemy.”

  “There’s wisdom in what you say. What would you propose?”

  “I’m thinking Daniel and I could go back home with one jump capable ship and a couple of squadrons as escorts. Try to locate any surviving ships and bring them back here.”

  “You’re my most experienced fighters. To put you both in danger with no guarantee of reward doesn’t feel like sound strategy to me.”

  “I understand, sir, but, to have even the slightest chance of making such a mission succeed, don’t we need our best people?”

  “Correct, but I need one of you to stay here. We need a seasoned wing commander should the battle start before the search party returns.”

  As much as Chase hated the idea of going without Daniel, he knew that Captain Saroudis was right. They couldn’t put all their eggs in one basket. But Chase had no doubt that the current force of the fleet would be insufficient against the next wave to come. After all, what kind of enemy commander would send a similar or smaller fleet after the one that had disappeared? No—the enemy would at least double or triple their forces. They’d come with bigger ships and bigger guns. To beat such a threat, the Alliance would need bigger ships and bigger guns as well.

  “Alright, but we also need some sort of ace in the hole. Be it tactical or technological, we must have some way to level the playing field should the next wave be bigger than what we think we can handle today.”

  The captain nodded. “Agreed. In fact, both our and Earth’s scientists have been considering this. So far, the only thing the people of Earth could propose is nuclear weaponry, but we know from our own history that’s too much of a risk.”

  “In the hands of humanity, yes, but in ours? We’ve come a long way since those dark times—”

  “No, no, no!” Captain Saroudis cut Chase’s argument short. “The moment we try to rationalize this subject with how evolved we’ve become, the sooner we get back to where we were a thousand years ago, at the brink of destruction. I won’t be responsible for the destruction of Earth, not now that we know that it’s our true home.”

  “Look, Captain, I understand your position. Heck, I don’t want that any more than you do, believe me. But think of the alternative.”

  “What alternative?”

  “Simply put, these weapons are on Earth. They could get detonated anyway should we prevent the next wave of the attack. Wouldn’t they be less dangerous if we used them a farther distance from the planet?”

  “What are you thinking about? Mines?”

  “Kind of…but we add a few elements of surprise.”

  “Now you’ve got my attention, soldier, tell me more.”

  Chase began pacing distractedly, thinking aloud as he planned. “First of all, we shield them so they can’t be destroyed with tampering or a few shots; we don’t want our own weapons turning against us. Second, we give them engines, maybe even some jump engines so they can make micro jumps. It’ll be just like the modifications we added to the F-140s, but with simpler engines that have an even lower range and smaller fuel chamber.”

  “What about detection? If they have such abilities, surely they’ll get detected and we’ll lose some of, if not all, their strategic value.”

  “Yeah, I also have an idea about that…” Chase replied with a smirk.

  * * *

  Chase arrived in the main engineering room. He quickly scanned the place, trying to find Yanis, and heard his voice resonating from somewhere past the quadrinium chambers. A moment later, he popped in front of him and saw his friend’s instant dismay.

  “No, no, your presence here means trouble! Go away!”

  “When did I ever make any trouble for you?”

  “Okay, trouble isn’t the problem. But every time you show up, I must stop whatever I’m doing and do some ludicrous thing in an even more ludicrously short amount of time, and then I’m backed up for days catching up on my to-do list. So, nice to see you and all that, but we’re closed. See you another time, if you don’t mind.”

  Chase grinned. “Well, sorry friend, but I’m here on orders of Captain Saroudis.”

  “Of course you are…” Yanis let out a sigh of discontent. “Well, step right up then. How did my modified torpedo do on the battlefield? People come and go asking for favors, but they never report anything to me unless it blows up in their face. Well, not literally…”

  “It saved both my ass and the planet’s. So good job!”

  “Thanks, glad I could be of some assistance. Maybe I should mention that to the next Earthling woman I try hitting on. My torpedo saved the day. That’s a nice opener, right?”

  “Good luck with that. But as for the torpedo, it indeed worked as planned, which explains my presence here yet again.”

  “You want more of them?

  “Actually yes, it would be nice to have a few in reserve; but I’m here so you can help me build another contraption.”

  “…I’m afraid to ask.”

  “Basically, I need you to add an engine, including short range jump, to a mine. Then I’d like you to shield it and give it a fighter’s signature.”

  “Why would you want…?” Yanis stopped mid-sentence and smiled. “Of course, so it doesn’t register as a mine.”

  “Exactly.”

  “You know, I always wondered why you’re a space pilot. Clearly your vocation is to think, design, and build stuff. You know that, right?”

  “Yeah well, I love flying and blowing things to pieces just as much. Why not both create and destroy? For the former, I always have you anyway.”

  “How convenient! But it makes sense. After all, I couldn’t fly a ship if my life depended on it so I won’t argue with you there. If I could, I’d probably come with you guys.”

  “That’s the spirit.”

  “Please tell me you don’t need this ready today.”

  “No. We probably have a few days, but the sooner the better. And you’ll have to get in touch with Earth to obtain the nuclear warheads that will act as the mines.”

  “Hello! Did you just say nuclear?”

  “Yes. That’s why they need to be disguised as fighters.”

  “And Captain Saroudis agreed to this? Do you have him under hypnosis?”

  Chase rolled his eyes. “He didn’t agree at first, but I think he realizes that we don’t really have a choice. Plus, I made a compelling argument that it would be safer for the people of Earth if these things blew up in space rather than on their planet’s surface.”

  “Can’t argue with that logic.”

  Chase didn’t even try to hide his smile. It was like a kid announcing a perfect grade to his parents.

  “Okay, Chase, but there is one problem. A technical one.”

  “Which is?”

  “Well, shielding a fighter or a torpedo is one th
ing, shielding a nuclear warhead and giving it an engine is another.”

  “I sense some impending techno-babble I don’t really want to deal with, so let’s jump directly to the solution.”

  “Basically, it requires much more energy to shield and disguise it as a simple fighter. That means more quadrinium and, last I checked, we were already running low.”

  Chase sighed. “I know, it’s a gamble but we need to win the next fight, even if that means we won’t be able to jump the fleet or use the ships at peak performance. Both our and Earth’s survival depends on it. What good will our quadrinium be if we all die here in the next few days?”

  “See, that’s exactly why I hate it when you come here. It’s always a do-or-die type situation.”

  “Not really my fault.”

  “I know, it’s just… It’s frustrating to do all these things that go against common sense. I mean, we learned so long ago to leave nuclear ordnance alone, and here we are using them the first time we’re backed against a corner?”

  “I hear you; I don’t like this one bit. But I don’t see any alternative, do you?”

  “No…I guess not. Anyway, back to the technical issue. I can maybe give you ten of these, but I don’t think we can do more. And they will have a short range. The maximum will be to the confines of this solar system.”

  “That’s fine, totally in line with my plan anyway.”

  “Also, the jump will be a one-off. Once the mine has jumped, it will have to detonate or stay there and look really mean at whatever’s coming.”

  “Can you at least make it work as a mine in that case?”

  “To blow up based on the distance of a foreign object? Yes, of course. It will be its primary function anyway.”

  “Yeah, but I would love it if it could not detonate based on a list of signatures I will provide…”

  “I see, a smart mine.”

  “Exactly. It will blow up for anything but Earth and Alliance signatures.”

  “Alright, that shouldn’t be much of a problem.”

  “Great, I’ll leave you to it. I have to prepare for another mission.”

  “Do I even wanna know?”

  “I don’t think so.”

  “Alright, good luck then.”

  “Thanks, Yanis. I don’t know what I would do without you.”

  “I’d sleep,” he answered brightly. “I’d sleep without you. Think about it all the time.”

  “We’ll sleep when we’re dead.”

  “Yeah…”

  Unfortunately, that seemed like sooner rather than later. Chase clapped him on the shoulder and returned to his quarters. With so much that was uncertain, and so little resources to accomplish much of anything, Chase could be thankful of only one thing.

  There was a plan brewing in his head. And on that…he could be certain.

  Chapter XVI

  Chase crashed into his bunk bed, almost smashing his skull against the gray wall. Another eventful day, he thought. But he couldn’t fall asleep. His mind was still racing almost obsessively about how fast things were about to hit the fan. In a matter of days there would be another, much bigger attack on Earth. Fortunately the mine ships, if used properly, should inflict a considerable amount of surprise damage early in the fight, but he still needed to find a few more aces in the hole—something to turn the tide of battle, should the mines, ships, and orbital defense satellites prove insufficient. After all, they would be lucky if three of the satellites were even ready in time. It would be another two days before they could test the first one, and that would be without shields.

  For the next two hours he couldn’t think of anything except combat and strategy. Time continued to slip by at an alarming rate, until he finally said aloud, “I need something to distract myself so I can fall asleep.”

  As if on cue, his personal communicator started to beep. He threw the video to the wall on his quarters. It was Commander Kepler.

  “Hi, Chase. I wanted to call you earlier, but it was a long debrief.”

  “Same here. I’ll have to tell you about it. We thought of a new weapon.”

  “Really? Cool. Something I can fly as well?”

  Chase couldn’t help but laugh a little.

  “What’s so funny?”

  “Nothing. And I’m afraid it’s not flyable, unless you want to blow up.”

  “Where’s the fun in that?”

  “Where indeed? I’m glad you called. I can’t sleep; my mind is racing.”

  “Mine too. I’m afraid. I know I shouldn’t be. I’m a seasoned pilot; been in battles my whole life. But the fate of the planet is on my shoulders now.”

  “Our shoulders.”

  “Yeah, you know what I mean though.”

  “Why do you think I can’t sleep?” he chuckled. “And technically, it isn’t even my planet, so I totally understand how you feel.”

  “We should do something about that. Feeling like taking a trip down here?”

  “What do you have in mind?”

  “Well, I thought, since we can’t sleep anyway, maybe we could watch a movie.”

  “A movie? Oh—those recreation things you told me about. Any one in particular?”

  She grinned. “I’m sure I have something that fits. So what do you say?”

  Chase considered it. While his mind rejected the idea of wasting precious time with something as trivial as a movie, he wasn’t coming up with any good ideas anyway. Maybe he needed a break, and the thought of spending time with Sarah was a very pleasant one.

  “Yeah okay, sounds like fun. Should I bring anything?”

  “Nope, I have everything needed in my flat. Just get down here. I’m sending you my building’s coordinates. Just land on the top and I’ll wait for you there.”

  “Sounds good. Hey, you wouldn’t happen to have anything to eat, would you? I just realized I didn’t eat anything all day.”

  “Same here. I just ordered some food. It will be here soon.”

  “Good. See you soon, Sarah, and thanks for the invite.”

  “No problem. You let me fly a ship in space today, well, technically yesterday, so it’s the least I can do.”

  “Chase out.”

  He jumped out of bed, took a quick sonic shower, and changed clothes. Before he really thought about what was happening, his fighter was about to enter Earth’s atmosphere.

  The sight of Washington at night was breathtaking; all those tiny lights, signs of life in the middle of the night…It reminded him of his own planet. At least, the planet he grew up on. Because if Aphroditis was right, he didn’t know his real planet, Furya. The second he’d found out, he’d looked it up in the ship’s computer, eager for a visit, but apparently, it had been destroyed a long time ago.

  A signal alerted him that he was about to land on the building, and he slapped his face to wake up. No time to think about that now. He had to save this world.

  The second he turned off the systems and opened the hatch, he saw Sarah waiting for him on the roof. She was wearing very different clothes—a snug black dress that revealed the shape of her body. He felt silly in his training uniform, but they hadn’t really had time to pack before all hell broke loose in his part of the universe. He made a mental note to acquire new, less formal clothing the first chance he got.

  “Hey there,” she greeted him cheerfully.

  “Hello, Commander.”

  “I thought we agreed on Sarah.”

  “Yes, of course. Sarah.”

  He smiled at her and noticed she was looking at the box he’d tucked under his arm.

  “What’s that?” she asked as he extended it.

  “We talked about food, and I thought I’d bring you this from the ship.”

  “That doesn’t answer my question now does it?”

  “Sorry.” He laughed nervously. “It’s a food synthesizer. It basically creates food.”

  “But I thought I told you I had taken care of that.”

  “Yeah I know. It’s just in case w
e run out of food, or for you to use another day.”

  Her face brightened. “I see…a gift then? You brought me a replicator. That’s so cool.”

  “What’s a replicator?”

  She then went on about yet another movie in which there was similar technology to what he’d brought.

  “You didn’t have to offer me a gift, but that’s very sweet of you. Now come on, let’s get down to my flat and watch some good old-fashioned Hollywood cinema.”

  “What’s Hollywood?”

  She chuckled and gave him a brief background on the entertainment industry on Earth. Movies, television, theater…the works. It was fascinating to Chase how prolific Earth was in these matters, inventing stories to transport their minds to other places and feel good about forgetting their day-to-day life. It was very different from what life meant where he came from. Sure they had recollections of old tales in their society too, but they were mostly of a historical nature. They had books and music as well, but this cinema thing was something he didn’t know about. Maybe it was something his civilization once had. But the last few generations had been so difficult with the war, that it most likely had become a lost luxury.

  They quickly arrived at her flat. The place was huge compared to his quarters; it seemed to have far more space than one would need just to sleep. She gave him a tour, showing him all the different rooms. The kitchen, for example, was a room where food was prepared. This concept was too strange for him and made him laugh. Food was dispensed via the synthesizers; there was no need to pick up different elements and mix them together. It seemed like an inefficient use of time.

  They ended up in the room she called the living room, and sat around a table with multiple white containers with red temples printed on them. As if he couldn’t get more confused, Sarah handed him some wooden sticks. Bewildering, yes. But there was a very pleasant aroma in the room, something he had never smelled.

  “What are these sticks for, and what’s smelling so good?”

  She laughed. “Our food, silly. This is Chinese.”

  His mind raced. “Isn’t China one of the countries on this planet?”

  “Yes, yes it is. And they make a typical food from their region. You see, on Earth we like to share each region’s food. Recipes have evolved over the centuries and globalization opened up all sorts of foods from different parts of the world.”