Sarah had been right. They had clearly started off on the wrong foot, and Chase needed to mend that fence. It was obvious, now that Chase was talking with him one on one.
“Admiral, I have thought about our tactics, and I was hoping you’d be willing to take over the command of the fleet for this mission.”
There was a little silence, and while Chase was confident the admiral was not one to lose his composure on a whim, the changes in his facial expressions were enough to reveal that the request had taken him by surprise.
Of course, for this to succeed, the admiral’s ego would have to be strong enough to overlook their past disagreements.
“I see,” was all the admiral said at first. After another pause, he continued, “May I ask how you arrived at this conclusion? It seems out of character.”
And now the real kicker. Should Chase try to tiptoe around the admiral or should he go for all-cards-on-the-table honesty? Chase was not someone who liked to take credit for someone else’s ideas, so he decided for the latter.
“I’ve been reminded that the chain of command is something I shouldn’t just bypass when it suits me, no matter how powerful I am or how convinced I am about what needs to be done. While I do feel that I have the power to do almost anything, to the point where I could ignore any orders to achieve my plans, I also know that I have made many mistakes that way. You’re new to this whole situation and, following Commander Kepler’s advice, I took a step back and tried to put myself in your shoes.
“How would I react if someone of a lower rank, who also happens to be of the same race as our deadliest enemy, was in charge of not only my own future, but of entire crews amongst my fleet? And then I realized that, given that you had missed the first year of this conflict, I couldn’t expect you to just fall in line. In fact, I suspect your instincts must be wreaking havoc with your acceptance of the situation. No doubt you’re only playing along because the commodore speaks highly of me. The moment that changes, we may not see eye to eye or even be able to discuss strategy in a way that makes us both comfortable.”
The admiral cleared his throat.
“It sounds as though you’re just trying to please me. But, then again, you’ve put yourself in my shoes, and I would be remiss if I didn’t do the same. From the little I know you, I can say with a fair amount of certitude that you’re a very proud individual; and while I’m willing to accept Saroudis’ word that you’re wise well beyond your years, what I have seen up until now is bordering on arrogance. Until right this minute, that is. No doubt this change of mind, thanks to the commander, was not easy for you. Am I correct?”
“Absolutely, Admiral. While I have a great respect for both your rank and your past deeds with the Star Alliance, I did feel that having been away for so long would require some catching up on your part. It was wrong of me to assume we couldn’t discuss it and try to find common ground.”
Admiral Zenakis rubbed his silvery beard.
“It takes a special kind of person to go against their instinct. And I can see why Saroudis likes you so much. I don’t mind arrogance, and I can tolerate it when it delivers the right results, which seems to be the case with you. But it takes an even bigger man to go against his nature and re-evaluate the situation when presented with an alternate point of view.”
“I think millions of dead people would disagree with the results part, but I appreciate your words, Admiral. Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me just yet, Captain. I haven’t decided yet if this move of yours takes you off my shit-list; but let’s say you’ve taken steps towards this goal.”
Oh boy.
Chase kept a smile on his face. “I understand, Admiral. I really want us to get along.”
“You’ve made that clear, and I want to reward this, but with a warning. If, after this battle, our forces join the Earth Alliance, I might become your boss. The chain of command you’re so unaccustomed to following will need to be assimilated and integrated into your way of thinking.”
Chase knew this was a possibility, even though he dreaded it. But he decided not to worry about it now. There would be plenty of time and many things could happen before all of this ever became official. So instead of worrying, as he used to in the past, he decided to let the future unfold.
“I am aware of that, Admiral.”
“Good. Still, I think under the circumstances, I should be more open to your ideas. I get from Saroudis that they tend to be crazy, and what you’re about to do to defeat this Gaia 2 takes a lot of courage, which I’m not about to overloook just because you’ve rubbed me the wrong way. You have balls, I’ll grant you that.”
Chase chuckled. “Thank you, Admiral.”
Chase was glad to see a sensible and wise man behind the tough, war- and battle-hardened look of the admiral.
“Now that this is settled, shall we discuss military tactics?”
Chase was surprised by the question. He assumed the admiral wouldn’t want to discuss strategy once given command.”
“Sir?”
“Captain Athanatos, Commodore Saroudis says you’re one of the best tacticians he has ever had the honor to work with, and I can’t ignore that. You seem to have a short fuse, but you also strike me as someone that has his heart in the right place. So I would value your input if you were willing to share.”
“Absolutely, Admiral.”
Chase made a mental note to thank Sarah. She had turned a very tense situation into something else entirely - the beginning of trust between two diametrically opposite people. Chase had no doubt that this was something they would direly need in the hours to come.
5
Oryn felt the ground shake in her quarters. She had lain down on her bed after the long use of her new tech had given her a massive headache. She would need time to get used to using it safely without such side effects.
She jumped out of bed when the ground shook again.
What the hell is going on?
She called security for a report on the situation.
“Are we under attack?”
A low-rank Fury, whose name evaded her, answered. “There are some power surges in sector A-three of the palace, Mistress.”
That was where her quarters were located. So were Miseo’s.
Then Oryn heard shouting from outside her quarters.
“Oryyyyn!”
Oryn cut off the holo-transmission.
That was Miseo’s voice. She wondered if the use of the mental link, even in witness mode, had triggered, accelerated or merely worsened the rage she had felt inside her brother’s mind mere hours ago. That could complicate things.
For the time being she needed to see what Miseo was doing and try to de-escalate the situation.
When she was inches away from the door to her quarters, it exploded, and the concussive blast sent her flying against the opposite wall.
This almost knocked her out. There were flames all around her, and a crazed Miseo yelled her name. Perhaps she should have heeded her scientist’s warnings.
Too late to worry about that now. I must make sure Miseo is brought back under control.
Her headache was now much worse, but she ignored the pain and got back on her feet. Her eyes flashed bright blue and soon sub-zero air expanded all around her. She increased her aura and even the flames turned into cold, shiny and spiky statues of ice. She unleashed a shockwave that reduced them to ice dust.
Miseo entered through what was left of her doorway. His aura burned like wildfire, registering power levels she didn’t expect her brother possessed.
For the first time for as long as she could remember, Miseo scared her. There was no doubt that the experimental treatment and technology had made him insane, but it clearly gave him a significant power boost. She had hoped for that, of course, but not if it meant her subject turned against her.
“I will kill you, you cold-hearted bitch!” said Miseo through gritted teeth.
Uh-oh.
Oryn’s heart pounded in her che
st. She was not accustomed to this feeling, but the adrenaline allowed her to think fast enough to dodge the first wave of fireballs Miseo launched towards her. She rolled to the ground and transformed the next two attacks into balls of ice by unleashing a frost wave from her open palm.
If the energy Miseo was displaying could be harnessed, this new tech would allow her to create an army of super Fury soldiers. But her current predicament made it apparent that the tech was in serious need of fine tuning. She had to deploy most of her focus and abilities to block her brother’s next attacks.
It was time to counterattack and regain the upper hand. Oryn hated being on the defensive. She fired four icicle stakes towards each of her brother’s limbs, hoping to nail him to the nearest wall. Miseo burned one of them in transit but the other three pierced both legs and one of his arms.
His resulting roar shook the palace and everything made of glass around her shattered. So did the visible parts of the icy stakes. In a heartbeat, his look went from one of madness to one of utter insanity.
Oryn swallowed hard as she questioned her tactics. Attacking Miseo only seemed to make him even more reckless and out of control, which she didn’t think possible.
Miseo’s aura doubled in size, generating a heat wave that canceled Oryn’s icy wind. Furniture around him burst into flames. The ice lodged within his muscles melted. To make things worse, the wounds her projectiles had inflicted on her brother mended themselves instantly.
Miseo’s face was deformed by both pain and rage to a point where she didn’t recognize him. He might as well be gone, replaced by a mad Fury beast intent only on obliterating her.
This is really bad!
Chase made his final pre-flight check on the modified StarFury that would allow him to jump stealthily into Earth’s orbit. All systems were in the green.
“You’re all set,” said Yanis on the comms.
“Looks like it. Thanks, Yanis. See you on the other side.”
“Chase?”
“What is it?”
“You know I don’t like this plan, and I also don’t like that you’re going to have to confront Gaia 2 on your own.”
“Is that concern I hear in your voice, my friend?”
“Drop the tough-guy act, Chase, it’s me. You should be terrified. And if you’re not then you’re either blind or dumb, and last I checked neither of these adjectives applied to you. Still, I understand why you’re doing it. Just, please be careful, okay?”
“You got it. And I’m more than just a little worried, if you must know.”
“Good, at least it means you’re not approaching this mission half-cocked.”
“I’m not. But we both know it needs to be done.”
“I know. Chase, get in, get inside her head, and spend as little time as you can in there on your own. The sooner you call us into the scene, the sooner we can take some of the load off your shoulders.”
“Will do. This is one battle I can’t win on my own. I should get going now, Yanis. Thanks for the pep talk. I needed it.”
“Hey, what are friends for, right? You’re good to go.”
Chase’s StarFury was inserted into the launch tube when another communication came in.
“Captain Athanatos, we’re about to drop out of hyperspace at the outer edge of the estimated long-range, safe-sensor distance to avoid detection. We’ll stay here until you need us in the fold,” said Admiral Zenakis.
“Thank you, Admiral. I’ll be in constant communication with Kvasir via the subspace implant. He’ll let you know the moment Gaia 2’s CPU reaches the targeted seventy-percent load, at which point she should be too busy to efficiently defend against the fleet. Kvasir will also run interference with her matrix the moment I make contact so as to avoid detection of the fleet, should she decide to crank up her sensor range or send patrol ships to find us.”
“But won’t your presence be considered a breach of her conditions? She could easily turn the ships towards Earth and start killing humans by the millions.”
“Kvasir has programmed a virus that will be auto-delivered the moment I enter her matrix. It’s a very low-threat virus, emulating basic AI subroutines that will intercept any commands to fire on Earth and return false data to Gaia 2 of their destruction.”
“That’s if Gaia 2 doesn’t see through the deception. I hope this Asgardian is as good as you think he is.”
“That’s a risk we have to take. Should his virus fail, you’ll have to jump in ahead of time.”
“Understood. Good luck, Captain.”
“Thanks, Admiral. Athanatos out.”
The Hope and the rest of the battlegroup jumped out of hyperspace, and a few seconds later Chase’s StarFury launched. It had been a long time since Chase had actually been in a starfighter. He had remotely piloted many with his mind but he felt a nice, nostalgic feeling being back at the controls. While he could have just as easily sent every command mentally, he enjoyed using the manual controls for once. He loaded the stealth jump subroutine and executed it.
The jump only lasted a few seconds, and his StarFury cloaked a millisecond before exiting hyperspace on the far side of the moon. Chase ran the matrix-detection program, a very low-emission scan that should provide the implant with the coordinates for any of Gaia’s matrix entry points. The signal was using Gaian signal encapsulation so it would not appear alien to Gaia 2 and trigger an alarm in her matrix.
It would also allow Chase to enter Gaia 2’s matrix without resistance. He closed his eyes and let the implant guide him in.
Soon Chase’s consciousness filled with a visual representation of the matrix. A world so large in scope it made him feel tiny, even though for now all he could see around him was an infinite void filled with data streams.
Chase heard a voice in his head.
“You’re one resilient Fury, and I fully expected you to disregard my warning. I hope you realize it’s a mistake that will cost Earth no less than a million souls. Hope your conscience won’t bother you too much about that.”
Not if Kvasir did his job well, bitch.
Chase had no way of knowing that, though, and had to proceed until Kvasir made contact with him, as soon as he had managed to infiltrate Gaia 2’s firewall.
For the time being, Chase felt utterly alone in the world.
Oryn had depleted way too much energy in the first part of her fight with Miseo, and it hadn’t resulted in anything good. Her quarters had been ravaged, and she had been forced to retreat. She was running in the corridors of the palace, but she could hear growls and heavy footsteps in her wake.
“Come back here, coward! I’m going to kill you and then feast on your flesh!” yelled Miseo.
Having had a special relationship with extremely low temperatures since childhood, Oryn didn’t think it was possible, but the words made her blood run cold.
She couldn’t keep running forever, though. Much of her stamina had already been depleted, and she wasn’t able to distance herself from what was once her brother.
Her hope to quietly test this new technology went up in smoke. She questioned whether the benefits of its application could ever be greater than the risk involved in its use. Yet, she couldn’t think about that right now and had to stop Miseo. She also needed to find a way to explain what had happened or she could kiss her ambitions goodbye.
Her adrenaline-flooded mind raced to find a way to turn this catastrophic failure into something remotely salvageable. Of course, surviving was her first priority.
She needed to put some distance between them, even if for just a few moments, so she could think more clearly.
She jumped forward and pivoted in midair. She gathered as much energy as she could and unleashed a wave of near-absolute-zero energy, such as she had never created before, pouring her entire soul into that one attack.
The wave hit Miseo full face, and he was instantly trapped in an icy prison. His aura still glowed, and Oryn knew this was but a temporary measure. At the end of her jump, she used he
r flying skills to stay in the air, feeding even more energy into her energy wave as she flew away from Miseo. The entire corridor became a solid block of ice.
She would run out of juice very quickly this way, but she had no choice.
When hundreds of yards’ worth of corridor and quarters around Miseo had been turned into ice, she turned around and flew as fast as she could outside the palace in a straight line, bursting through walls, quarters and even unsuspecting Furies in the process.
She erected a force field just before breaking through the largest wall of the palace to protect herself from the harsh atmosphere of Erevos. It would take less than a minute to reach the nearest starport at the outskirts of the city. That was all the time she had to come up with a plan to salvage this disaster of cataclysmic proportions.
“Report,” asked Admiral Zenakis over the holo-transmission.
“We’re good to go, Admiral,” said Yanis. “The laser turret and shield upgrades have been installed on every Star Alliance and Earth Alliance vessel. The Olympians only needed my blueprints and battle logs to adapt their own systems. Annoyingly, they managed to do it before me.”
“Good. The Olympians’ ships are more advanced than ours, I would imagine.”
“You have no idea, Admiral. I’m looking forward to analyzing their tech the moment this battle is over.”
“Is Athena alright with that?”
“I’ve asked Chase for help. He kindly forwarded my request to Athena.”
“This is good news for us.”
“Our next ships might make a serious leap in terms of both firepower and defenses.”
“With the Furies back, we could use that. But next time you have to ask the Olympians for favors, I would request that you clear it with me first.”
“Chase is my captain, sir. I wouldn’t have any reason to go over his head unless I thought the situation warranted it.”
“That’s very commendable of you, but I’ve been given command of the fleet. For the time being, you report to me.”
Yanis did not like the sound of this. The admiral was revered in the Star Alliance for his victory at the Thermopylae Nebula; both his experience and genius strategy had turned the tide on an ambush that should have cost the Star Alliance more than it could afford to lose against the Obsidian. Still, something about the man’s behavior bothered Yanis. However, they didn’t have time for this now, so Yanis decided to play ball for the time being; or, at the very least, feign doing so.
Armageddon Unleashed (Universe in Flames Book 7) Page 7
