7
Chase and the Gaia droid landed at the outskirts of the Death Valley desert.
“Why have we stopped?” asked Chase.
“We’ve arrived.”
“I don’t see anything here.”
The ground shook in front of them, and as sand moved to the side, a metallic trap door slid open and revealed stairs.
“Neat,” said Chase as he started climbing down the stairway. Lights turned on as he advanced.
At the bottom, Spiros Malayianis was waiting for them near a giant steel door.
“Hey, Spiros, nice to see you again.”
“Likewise, Chase. Welcome to your tailored training facility.”
“Thanks. I can’t wait to test it, though I doubt AI controlled droids will provide a challenge for long. And I’m afraid you’re gonna waste a lot of resources.”
“You’re expecting them to get destroyed by the dozens, are you?”
“Yeah, won’t they?”
“I’m looking forward to seeing how you survive your first training session.”
Chase raised an eyebrow. “Survive? You can’t be serious.”
Spiros keyed a few commands near the giant door, which slid open slowly. It was the thickest door Chase had ever seen. The engine that powered the sucker must have been draining quite some power. The moment the door was fully open, lights turned on, revealing the room beyond. The place was huge, the size of a football field at least. Chase could see droids standing there, three of them around the middle of the room. They looked de-activated.
“Three droids?” said Chase, smirking widely. “At least give me a challenge.”
“Get in, Chase. Good luck.”
“Yeah right.”
Chase walked toward the center of the giant room. He stopped in front of the first droid. Two more stood behind it, forming a triangle. They looked really sleek: humanoid shaped, smooth; and their chrome finish reflected the light.
Chase approached the droid and knocked its head twice. “Anyone there?”
Its eyes flashed green. Chase was briefly startled and took a step back. A light turned on at his right and revealed a large control room behind a large window. Chase saw Spiros and the Gaia droid standing there.
“Are you ready, Chase?”
“Sure.”
“I’ll just activate one droid so you can get a feeling of its power. Don’t pull any punches.”
“If I don’t it might be scrap metal very fast.”
“I think you’ll be surprised.”
“Alright.”
The first droid launched itself at Chase and threw a series of punches and kicks at a surprisingly fast rate, but it was still way too slow to be any danger to Chase. Several of them together could be another story.
“Fight back, Chase,” said Spiros over the speakers.
Chase blocked the next two attacks and punched the droid straight in the face. A blue shield blocked the impact. The droid was thrown back a few feet but was soon back on the offensive.
“That’s cool. Activate the other two, Spiros.”
Now all three droids attacked Chase and it required a lot more concentration to not get hit, but with enough focus he repelled their attacks easily, often throwing them away temporarily with well-placed punches and kicks. Chase’s blood boiled with joy as he fought the droids. He noticed they started to anticipate some of his attacks.
“These things are cool. I’ll take twenty please.”
“That won’t be necessary, Chase.”
Then something happened. The entire arena hummed and trembled for a second and Chase felt heavier. His speed was cut in half.
“What the—”
But then one of the droids caught him off guard with a strong uppercut that sent him flying. When he crashed against the floor it hurt more than it ought to.
“What just happened?”
“I’ve artificially doubled the gravity inside the chamber. Do you still want twenty of them at this setting?”
Chase got up, wiped a little blood off the corner of his mouth, looked at Spiros and smiled. “This is awesome. Thank you! How far can the gravity go?”
“Oh, right now it’s maximum setting would crush you, most likely, but in time, as your body acclimates to it, you should be able to develop your speed, reflexes and overall power.”
Bring it on! “Cool.”
“There’s more.”
A panel opened on the high ceiling and a turret dropped down and started firing plasma at Chase. He jumped out of the way, but the droids were already upon him. He somersaulted over them, sending one flying against the nearest wall with full force. It lost no time getting back up and running back toward the brawl. Chase blocked a spin kick from another droid and sent the third to the ground by sweeping its feet from under it with a crouched kick.
The fact that the droids didn’t seem to get damaged, thanks to their shields, made for very focused training on Chase’s part. At this level of gravity, he already had to give most of himself to stay ahead of the game, and could already feel his tiredness growing.
“Can I blow some of them up?”
“You can try.”
Chase opened his palm and a blue fireball shot toward a droid, which deflected it with the back of its hand, to Chase’s surprise. Its shield lit up in the process. The droid didn’t stop and was now on top of Chase and launched a series of attacks. It anticipated Chase’s counterattacks with more ease. Then Chase was hit from behind. Having placed all his focus on that one droid he hadn’t heard the other coming. He was thrown forward, where the third droid stopped his momentum by smashing him to the ground with a powerful right hook.
Anger started to fill Chase’s body. He loved the challenge, but didn’t really appreciate being beaten by tin cans. He jumped back to his feet just in time to feel something coming from behind. One of the droids sent lasers his way. Chase deflected them and sent a flurry of fireballs toward his attacker. Two of them were deflected but the next few hit their targets. The droid was thrown in every direction with each new impact and fell to the ground. Smoke rose from it.
The other two droids fired toward Chase as well. He flew upwards and created a giant fireball the size of a car and sent it toward the droids. They jumped out of the way, but the impact with the ground and resulting explosion and shockwave sent them flying uncontrollably. Chase flew toward one of them and landed a series of punches, kicks and knees, sending that particular droid flying even further.
The turret above fired three more shots toward Chase, who back flipped three times to dodge the incoming attacks, but was rewarded with a metallic knee in the thorax in the middle of his evasive action. Some of his ribs broke and he spat blood. He crashed to the ground a few yards away. He took to his knees but was panting heavily.
The turret rose back into the ceiling and the two droids still standing ran back to the center of the room and deactivated.
“What’s happening?”
“The computer says you’ve injured yourself.”
“It’s just a couple of broken ribs. Nothing I can’t handle.”
“I read three broken.”
“Alright, give me a sec to heal myself.”
Chase healed his wounds and did an internal power check. He was running on fumes.
“Perhaps I need to take a little break. I exhausted too much energy destroying boulders before. What’s with the third droid? Did I destroy it?”
“It’s self-repairing. It will be back on its feet in a few minutes, don’t worry.”
“I might destroy a few at each session.”
“Yes, we’re aware of that, but at the same time you have to push yourself to your limits with the gravity being doubled. That way you can emulate fighting stronger and faster foes.”
“That’s very ingenious, Spiros, thank you so much.”
“My pleasure. Gaia helped.”
“I’m sure she did. Thanks.”
The arena hummed again and the gravity returned to
normal. Chase seemed so light he felt compelled to throw a quick succession of punches and kicks into the air.
“Wow, this is cool. I think I already feel a little faster.”
“That’s the idea. You should get some rest now. There’s a mess hall and even sleeping quarters here. Anything you need, really.”
Chase smiled.
I’m gonna enjoy spending most of my time here.
When Daniel came to Chase’s quarters, he looked worried.
“What is it, bro? What can I do for you?”
“I wanted to talk to you about Fillio, if you have the time.”
“Sure. Everything alright?”
“We . . . we’ve been spending quite some time together and most of it is great, but there seems to be something wrong and I can’t put my finger on it.”
“What do you mean ‘wrong’?”
“I wish I knew. We’re having a lot of fun together and, to tell you the truth, I’m falling for her.”
Chase smiled. “That’s great, isn’t it?”
“Yeah I thought so too, but lately she’s been a little distant.”
“Distant how?”
“Something seems to be really eating at her soul, but every time I try to raise the subject, she changes it.”
“These constant battles and risking our lives every few weeks takes a toll on most of us.”
“You seem fine.”
“Well, I’m not. Perhaps I’m just better at hiding it than Fillio.”
“Can I ask you something?”
“Sure.”
“Did the two of you . . .?”
“What?”
“You know. When the fifth fleet helped us defend Droxia, the way she talked with you, it seemed the two of you were good friends, perhaps even something more.”
“We were close at one point, but we never went all the way.”
“Any reason why?”
“I’m not sure. When we first met after the academy, she had just lost most of her family. She felt lost and very depressed. At that time she was also mad at the world around her. Her anger and thirst for payback was her driving force, but it was also taking a toll on her. We quickly became friends and I felt she wanted more. It almost happened a few times, in fact, but I sensed something wasn’t right. I think she hadn’t processed her grief properly, and all that affection seemed misplaced at the time. I wanted to be a good friend but I didn’t want to start a relationship under the circumstances. Don’t get me wrong, she’s a lovely girl, but we were both pilots. We weren’t supposed to fraternize and get attached to one another that way.”
“Since when did Chase Athanatos give a crap about rules and regulations?”
“Touché. But this was not just about regulations. I once found her in my quarters with my sidearm in her hands after we had spent the night together. And by spend the night I just mean sleep in the same bed. We never had sex, but she needed a presence sometimes and I was happy to provide it for her. But when I saw her with that gun, I had the definite feeling that she was seriously considering using it on herself. I felt that if we ever embraced a physical and emotional relationship, it could be a liability on the battlefield. She was already carrying so much pain with her in that cockpit when we flew on missions. I thought if we got close and something happened to me, it might actually push her over the edge. I didn’t want to be responsible for that. Perhaps that was selfish of me—I don’t know—but it didn’t feel right.”
“That’s heavy. And I don’t think that’s selfish. On the contrary.”
“Daniel, it’s possible she still carries a lot of that weight around with her. And perhaps you can help her, in time, to unburden herself. But I suggest you avoid telling her about this conversation. If she wants to tell you, you should let her do it on her own terms.”
“You’re probably right. I appreciate you sharing this with me, though. I hope it wasn’t nosy of me asking you. It’s just I worry about her.”
“No worries. I completely understand. I think the two of you having a relationship is great, for the both of you. I can’t think of a nicer guy for her to put her trust in.”
“I’m not sure she wants something serious, you know . . .”
“My advice to you is to give her time. And be there for her when she needs you.”
Daniel took Chase in his arms and patted his back. “Thanks, bro.”
“Anytime.”
“How are things with you and Sarah?”
“We’ve been better. Hopefully time will heal these wounds.”
“Jeez! It’s not easy understanding women, is it? I mean, you risked everything to save her and now you’re being blamed for it.”
“To tell you the truth, Daniel, I don’t disagree with her point of view. I did a selfish act. I wanted to save her, and to hell with the consequences. And I risked way more than I was aware of at the time. I was blinded by my obsession to rescue her.”
“That’s only human and you know it.”
“Perhaps. And yet now we’re going to have to face the most dangerous race that ever walked amongst the stars, thanks to me.”
“Still, I don’t think it’s your fault. The commodore doesn’t think it either, so why do you?”
“I appreciate the vote of confidence, Daniel, but it is my fault. Did I mean for all this? Of course not. But that doesn’t change the facts, you know.”
“Wanna talk about it some more?”
“What is there to talk about? I just have to train and make sure I can do everything in my power to defeat them.”
“That we defeat them, Chase. We’re all in this together. You should share that heavy load of yours with the rest of us.”
“Right.”
Chase smiled back at his brother-in-arms, but no matter what anyone told him, he felt responsible. For the countless deaths on Earth and the inevitable future victims the Furies would add to the already unbearable body count. But also for Aphroditis’ imprisonment inside the dimensional machine, as well as Ares’ death.
Another four weeks had passed and, as per his routine that day, like every day, Chase returned to the training facility in the wee hours of the morning. It was definitely more fun than transforming boulders to dust. He was already training at 4 Gs and felt more and more powerful with every passing day.
Today he was battling against five droids and like every morning when he had amped the difficulty, either in number of droids or level of artificial gravity, he had trouble holding his own at first. The first two weeks of training he had either damaged or destroyed more than half the available droids, and he was now trying to train without letting his instincts take over to the point where he couldn’t control his strikes and transformed his metal sparring partners into another useless pile of scrap.
But that meant holding off, sometimes, and that often cost him more damage than he would have otherwise incurred. He was fine with that, as he felt that his overall resistance to blows was growing as well over time.
In the control center, Spiros entered with his morning coffee and sat on his chair, watching Chase’s life signs and monitoring that all went well. They’d all had a scare the week before when one of the droids malfunctioned and blew up in Chase’s face. Some of the shrapnel had been propelled too close to Chase’s heart. His fast healing abilities had, of course, come in handy but Spiros was determined to make the entire training facility foolproof.
He was exhausted that morning. Like many nights before he had pulled an all-nighter working on designing the next gen of battle droids. Not only could they help Chase train more efficiently, but they could become a really efficient foot army in case of an invasion.
He poured a cocktail of drugs into his coffee.
“You should ease up on the stims,” said the Gaia droid.
Spiros stumbled from his chair and almost spilled his coffee. He held his heart.
“You almost gave me a heart attack. I didn’t see you there.”
“I was recharging.”
“Right. The new power modules will help you recharge faster, but if you don’t want me to take stims you should let me sleep every once in a while.”
“I believe you are incorrect in your assumption that I am keeping you from getting rest.”
As much as he wanted to tell her otherwise, she was correct. Spiros was the one who decided to work all day monitoring Chase while he fought and then work most of the nights with Gaia.
“I really look forward to testing the new droid body. I want a new avatar. This one is too inefficient. We’ll need to design one with a much larger memory capacity so I can at least copy some of my matrix into it. But we’ll also need secondary memory banks to store all the data we’ve been learning from observing Chase fight.”
“Speaking of which, how can you even function inside this body? Isn’t the memory way too small to accommodate most of your basic AI?”
“It is, but I’ve installed an ultra-fast wireless connection that allows me to access my functions remotely. There is a slight delay though, and it is not efficient.”
“We can’t have that now, can we?”
“Sarcasm, I take it.”
Spiros smiled but then felt a sting in his heart. It had skipped a beat or two. While a good part of his vital functions had been replaced or enhanced by nanites and other augments over the years, Spiros still had a good-old beating heart.
“Are you alright? I am detecting some strange vitals.”
“I bet you are. I’ll be fine, but you’re right. I can’t continue replacing sleep with stims and stay up all night with you for much longer.”
“Not to mention you are snoring heavily when you fall asleep without realizing it lately.”
Spiros smiled. “Snoring is a normal bodily function.”
“Not according to my medical files.”
“Right. Trying to argue with the world’s largest encyclopedia! What was I thinking?”
“Is there a reason you vocalize when being sarcastic? Since I’m not very receptive to it, as you undoubtedly know by now, wouldn’t it be simpler to just think it?”
She certainly didn’t have the warmest of personalities at times, but Spiros did find Gaia quite endearing nonetheless.
Universe in Flames – Ultimate 10 Book Box Set: An Epic Space Opera Adventure Page 124
