When they arrived at the designated coordinates, she used her comm. “Chase, I guess this is where we part ways.”
“For now, but I’ll see you soon. Be careful out there.”
“You too.”
Like clockwork, both their squadrons veered off on a different heading. She was assigned to the satellite orbiting above North America, while Chase had the one currently orbiting above Europe. The pursuing enemy fighters split equally to follow each target, but the supporting Alliance squadrons were doing a fine job of suppressing hostile fire.
Back on the Dragon’s Claw, the man stood up from the throne and closed his eyes as if trying to concentrate. After a moment’s focus, he smiled.
“Here you are. What are you up to?”
He fixed his eyes again on a ship whose signature didn’t match anything in the database. It had a strange design, but definitely emitted an Alliance energy signature. The ship was accompanied by a squadron of Alliance fighters who were being attacked by Zarlack vessels. While it was a chaotic skirmish, from back here, the man could clearly see that the squadron was covering for the strange ship as it headed toward one of the satellite defense platforms. Another ship of similar design was flying toward another satellite.
“They’re up to something, and I can feel your presence now.”
He marked both fighters as targets, but with the lowest priority. While there was no doubt they were up to something, it seemed pointless. These satellites didn’t have enough firepower to be a real threat, so why go toward them?
In the meantime the new Alliance battleships were engaging the rest of the fleet and doing a sizeable amount of damage. That seemed to be the real threat. The largest ship had managed to inflict improbably sizable damage to his own ship already, so that was the one that needed to be dealt with. He tagged it as the main priority and ordered most of the fleet to concentrate their fire. It was more heavily shielded and armored than any of the remaining ships but, strangely enough, it had not fired a second salvo at the Dragon’s Claw.
“And why is that?” the man murmured to himself.
Perhaps the weapon needed recharging. If so, the man wouldn’t give it the opportunity to fire again. He entered a course at maximum thrust to intercept and destroy. The ship maneuvered out of the way, but he was closing the distance fast.
“You can run,” he smiled, “but you can’t hide.”
He was less than a minute away and was already plotting a firing solution, when his tactical officer suddenly called, “Master! Multiple jump points forming to the starboard!”
“WHAT?!”
He ran back to his throne and looked at the holo-display. Several more ships had entered the battlefield, carrying a signature he recognized well.
“Droxians?! What the hell are Droxians doing here?!”
He leaned back in his chair and absorbed this new turn of events. So, the Alliance had somehow struck a deal with the Droxians… That changed things. Droxians were known to be formidable at war with heavily armored ships that were armed to the teeth.
“Your orders, master? Do we engage?”
“Stand by.”
The battle was starting to get more complicated, but that did not displease him. It had been way too easy up until now. He was almost pleased the Alliance had something up their sleeves. He only wished it wasn’t the Droxians…
“This is Captain Saroudis to the Droxian fleet. We mean you no harm; in fact, we are requesting your assistance.”
A Droxian admiral appeared on the main screen of the Destiny. He was huge, even by Droxian standards, with big red hair arranged in decorative warrior locks, a huge scar, and yellow teeth. Unfortunately, he also looked furious.
“We did not come here to help; we are in pursuit of Alliance ships that illegally trespassed Droxian space.”
The captain held up his hands peaceably. “We are aware of this incident; it was an accident. They didn’t know they had trespassed on your territory.”
“Ignorance is no excuse.”
“Look, we’re in the middle of a battle right now, as you can no doubt see. We will gladly surrender and face the consequences of our mistake if we survive, but for now, either help us or leave.”
“I do not take orders from Alliance scum.”
“Very well then, maybe you’d like to join the Obsidian Empire instead.”
“We join with nobody! The Droxian people are independent.”
“Admiral, it’s been nice talking with you, but I have a battle to fight. Saroudis out!”
The communications officer turned to Captain Saroudis once the transmission had ended. “Sir, we have an incoming transmission from a fighter en route toward the Droxian Fleet. It’s Wing Commander Tharraleos.”
“On screen.”
Daniel’s face appeared. “Captain?”
“Daniel, what is it?”
“I couldn’t help but overhear your conversation. Doesn’t look like the Droxians will willingly take part in this conflict, so I thought I’d press the issue.”
“Wait, if you attack them now, they’ll start firing at us for certain.”
“That’s not what I had in mind. Look at your telemetry.”
Captain Saroudis glanced down and saw that Daniel’s ship and escort was being followed by multiple squadrons of Zarlack fighters.
“What in the hell…how did you…?”
“It’s a long story. Let’s just say I pissed off some of their pilots with some fancy flying. They did not seem amused.”
“I thought you were supposed to be on the Far Beyond?”
“I was, but since my mission was over and there’s a war going on out here, I thought I’d make myself more useful than just looking at it from a tactical display. Hang on…I’m entering firing range of the Droxian Fleet; let’s hope my plan works.”
As he flew within range, he started a fast spin, causing the enemy laser fire to fly past him and hit the Droxian battleships. The Droxian’s response was immediate. They launched fighters and started firing their main guns at the rest of the Zarlack Fleet.
Captain Saroudis looked at the tactical display with bewildered amusement. “I’ll be damned. Welcome to the fight.”
A new alert started blinking on the holographic display of the Dragon’s Claw. The Droxians had started firing upon the Zarlack ships. The man watched this with impassive eyes. So they really did ally themselves with the Droxians. So be it.
“Return fire toward the Droxian ships,” he commanded. “Maximum firepower.”
“Retuning fire, yes master.”
This battle was getting more interesting by the minute. Annihilating both the Alliance and this Droxian Fleet would prove a worthy challenge.
The doors of the throne room opened and a Zarlack officer ran in and knelt before the throne. The man growled, clearly angered by the interruption.
“I apologize, master, but security just discovered the Emperor has collapsed in his chambers.”
The man slowly rose from his chair. His eyes started to glow a vivid red as he lifted a closed fist toward the officer. “Who said you could enter this room?”
Before the Zarlack could answer, the man’s fist opened and the officer literally exploded. His limbs and head hit the surrounding walls, and dark blood splashed all over the floor, soaking the bits of his dismembered body.
Without a second glance, the man projected the gruesome image over the holographic monitors throughout the entire ship.
“This is what will happen to any of you who either disobeys my orders, or takes unwanted initiative.”
Then he flicked a stray piece of bone from his shoulder and returned to the throne.
Chase landed his ship quickly on the satellite docking bay and was immediately joined by Alliance and Earth personnel who began unloading the quadrinium.
Pausing for breath, he clicked on his comm. “Sarah, status report?”
“Landed a few minutes ago. Quadrinium has been delivered. I’m about to leave the landing
bay and get back into the fight. What about you?”
“I...” he hesitated. “Quadrinium is being unloaded as we speak.”
There was a distinct gloat in her voice. “I beat you to it then?”
“This wasn’t a race and, technically, my satellite was the farthest.”
“You’re a sore loser, you know that?” she said with a chuckle.
He couldn’t help but grin. “Very funny. I see the Droxians have started shooting at the Zarlack ships; I told you something finally had to go our way.”
“Well you can thank Daniel for that. He taunted them somehow.”
“Good for him, and good for us.”
“Indeed. I’m leaving the bay. See you in space in a few.”
“Be careful, Sarah.”
“You too.”
Chase tapped his feet impatiently as the quadrinium was carried out of his cargo bay. Standing here with nothing to do, he pictured Sarah engaged in the heat of battle. Ryonna’s warning echoed again in his head and he clenched his fists.
He had to get out there. He couldn’t lose her. Not now, not ever.
“We’re done, sir. You’re good to go.”
He sighed in relief. “Thanks. I take it you know what to do with it?”
“Yes, we’ll have the modifications ready within minutes.”
He nodded and climbed back into his fighter, downing two more enemy craft the second he left the shielding range, and headed for Sarah.
The shadowy man walked out to the bridge of the Dragon’s Claw. Every Zarlack stood up and saluted in unison. He didn’t salute in return, but looked toward the second in command. “Commander, who is your best pilot?”
“That would be me.”
“Then by all means, come with me.”
“Yes, master.” The Zarlack turned toward one of his officers. “You have the bridge.”
They walked toward the nearest lift and headed down to the fighter bay. A few seconds later, they were in front of a magnificent, black fighter, at least three times bigger than the average Zarlack craft.
The hooded man turned to his companion. “You will do as I say at all times.”
“Yes, master.”
“See you in space in a minute.”
Without another word, a door on the ship opened and the hooded man climbed aboard. The Zarlack commander ran to the first available fighter and ran his pre-flight check. Fear was coursing through his veins, but there was something else too, an aching excitement. He had been chosen to be on the master’s wing. Clearly that was an honor.
A moment later, both ships launched off from the Dragon’s Claw.
23
Chase checked his radar to see several ships vectoring toward Sarah’s position. It was nothing she couldn’t handle, except that one of the fighters carried a strange signature. It was something he had never seen before, and the ship itself was much larger than usual. He quickly adjusted his vector to join her.
“Sarah, you’ve got a strange bogie vectoring toward your position.”
“I see it. What is it?”
“Damned if I know. But let’s keep an eye on it; I don’t like this one bit. Make sure it never locks onto your six okay?”
“Roger that.”
“I’ll be there in a few minutes.”
“Worrying about me, baby? That’s so sweet.”
Chase didn’t answer. He wished he could take it so lightly, but every time he tried to relax and focus Ryonna’s warning shot through his mind. Was this the moment he had been dreading? And why hadn’t Aphroditis appeared to him? He would think that she’d be heavily interested in the outcome of this battle…She couldn’t check in and help?
“All good, Chase? Did I make you uncomfortable with my last transmission?”
“Sorry, Sarah, no you didn’t. Don’t worry. I just got lost in my thoughts.”
“Not to be a bitch, but weren’t you the one who told me to stay focused?”
He laughed shortly. “Roger that, and you’re right. Head in the game!”
“That’s better. Sarah out.”
Checking his instruments, it was clear now that the strange ship was interested in the fighters that had delivered the quadrinium to the satellite. Chase hoped that didn’t mean they were countering against his plan, but how could they? Space was in chaos. The Droxians had engaged the Zarlack Fleet and the playing field had been leveled. If they could only find a way to destroy or at the very least disable that seemingly indestructible behemoth of a ship, they might have a chance to win this thing.
A warning signaled and Chase glanced at his controls to see that the strange fighter was picking off ships from Sarah’s escort at an alarming rate. He was less than a minute out of range and he clenched his fists out of frustration.
Another thirty seconds and Sarah’s ship was the only one left.
“Sarah?” he called anxiously.
She sounded out of breath. “I don’t know why it hasn’t fired on me yet.”
“Don’t worry about that. Just be evasive. Do not engage until I join your wing.”
“I can take it.”
“No! Wait for me. That’s an order.” It came out harsher than he’d intended, but he was having trouble controlling his emotions. Something was seriously wrong, he could feel it.
“Very well... Crap—it’s targeting me.”
“Evasive maneuvers, Sarah!”
“Roger, but hurry up. This pilot is using flying patterns completely different from anything we’ve seen so far from the Zarlacks.”
“I don’t think it’s a Zarlack ship.”
“I can’t shake it, Chase! It’s locked and loaded on me, but it still isn’t firing.”
“Hang on,” he assured her, “I’m engaging any second now.”
His heart started pounding in his chest and he pushed his ship even faster. Why would this mystery ship take out her entire squadron but leave her? None of it made sense…
The second he entered firing range, he pelted the ship’s starboard side. Nothing happened. He glanced at his controls again, sure he had misread them. No, he didn’t. The ship’s shields had stayed at one hundred percent.
“This is not good!” he cried in alarm.
“What is it?” Sarah asked, still dodging as best she could.
“Its shields are incredibly strong! I hit it full on and they didn’t even blink.”
“Maybe we need to go at it with missiles.”
“With shields that strong we’ll only waste our ordnance. We need to find a way to lower them first.”
“I’m open to suggestions.”
“Let’s go at it together, like we did with the scout corvette the other day. Try to dance around and stay very evasive. I don’t like the ease with which it destroyed your escort, or the strong signature I’m getting from its shields.”
“Me either. Understood and,” she confirmed, “engaging.”
As they engaged the incoming wing, Chase got his first visual look at the ominous craft, and what a beast it was! It was at least five times the size of the F-140s with a black matted paint that made it look like a shadow in space, erasing the stars behind it.
He and Sarah focused their lasers on a specific point in the shields for about twenty seconds but, to Chase’s intense dismay, its shields dropped by only a single percent.
“We really have a problem here.”
“These shields are way too strong, Chase. What do we do?”
“We need stronger firepower; there’s no way we can take this fighter out with just two F-140s.”
“What about the Destiny?” she asked.
“That’s what I’m thinking too. But we’ll need all the ships we can spare for the next phase of our plan…”
“So what do we do then?”
As if to answer, the black fighter veered and turned to face its opponents, hitting them with heavy fire. The first salvo took Chase by surprise and scorched his aft shields down to thirty percent before he managed to start evading. Not only wa
s the fighter powerful beyond anything that Chase had ever thought possible for a vessel of its size, but it was also incredibly maneuverable, and Chase had one hell of a time dodging its relentless attacks. Forget thinking offensively, it was taking his entire focus not to get blown out of the sky.
“Hang on, Chase, I’ll try to get his attention.”
“No, it’s too powerful. I can manage and keep it at bay until the satellites are ready to fire on the destroyer.”
“But Chase—”
“That’s an order, Sarah. Stop firing at him and engage his escort. The escort is Zarlack in design and I don’t understand why it hasn’t engaged yet, but that doesn’t matter. I need you to dispatch it. I won’t be able to dodge both of them attacking me.”
Sarah was quiet for a long moment, before she finally said, “Engaging escort now.”
The second Sarah locked onto the passive Zarlack ship, it veered away from the dark fighter and engaged in evasive maneuvers. It had one hell of a pilot! Sarah had trouble scoring the few hits she did, and she wasn’t able to inflict enough damage before the tables turned and she became the target.
She danced around and evaded most of the fire and, for a few minutes, both vessels exchanged the roles of hunter and prey—neither managing to inflict any serious damage. All the while she kept a close eye on her radar and she watched as Chase’s fighter got steadily weaker. His shields were already down to fifteen percent. He was the best pilot she had ever seen, but a sense of dread started looming over her.
What if he had met his match?
In the Destiny’s engineering room, Yanis looked at his terminal and said, “That’s it, we’re ready. Cedric, can you give me the status of the satellites?”
“Eighty percent charged. Another two minutes before they’re ready to fire. I’m entering the code now and locking the coordinates for the transport of the EMP device. Do we know if it will affect our ships as well?”
Universe in Flames – Ultimate 10 Book Box Set: An Epic Space Opera Adventure Page 32
