Saroudis’ eyes grew in size and then he looked around at the mess.
“Look, I understand you didn’t take Fillio’s death very well. None of us did. But this is war. There are casualties. Surely she’s not the first close friend you’ve lost in battle.”
“It’s the toughest one to swallow, though. We were just . . .”
“You were what?”
Daniel wondered if he should disclose how close he and Fillio had become. After all, the regulations on fraternizing were clear, even though Chase and Sarah clearly didn’t care much about them.
“We had become close, very close.”
“I understand your reluctance to volunteer this information, but you know I don’t care about that rule as much as Star Alliance command once did. Even if Earth personnel are also not supposed to fraternize, it’s only human to fall in love with a fellow member of one’s crew. I’m really sorry for your loss, Daniel. I was surprised not to see you at the ceremony.”
“I . . . I wanted to be there. I just didn’t find the strength.”
“That’s alright. But it seems to me you could use some counseling sessions or perhaps talk with a friend?”
“The one friend I would have liked to talk to about this is nearly dead, Sir.”
“Chase’s current status is a great worry to a lot of people, but I have faith that Ares will find a way to bring him back.”
“I wish I was as confident as you in the matter, but the truth of the matter is, I have lost all hope. This war will soon be unidirectional, and there won’t be any place in the universe where one is safe.”
“If we all thought this way, then yes, this war would be already lost. But we can’t just give up.”
“Look, Commodore, I understand what you’re trying to do and I’m grateful for your good intentions, but the fact is, even if Chase recovers, what can he do next time that will be any different? He’s only one man. They have an entire planet of Furies to launch at him and us. The truth is we don’t stand a chance. In fact, we never did.”
Saroudis’ expression grew darker.
“I’m really sorry you feel that way, Daniel. I sympathize, but I think you’re wrong. As long as we’re still alive, there’s hope.”
“If you don’t mind, Commodore, I’d like to be alone now. I’ll drop my resignation letter to you later today.”
“I think this is premature, so I won’t accept it. For the time being, you should consider yourself on indeterminate leave.”
“I don’t think I’ll come back to active duty, no matter how long it takes.”
“Be that as it may, for the time being I’d rather you take the necessary time to grieve, Commander. Let’s revisit this issue later, much later. And in the meantime if you need someone to talk to, you know where to find me.”
Daniel nodded. “Very well. Thank you, Commodore.”
Saroudis left the quarters and Daniel crashed back into bed.
Chase had been flying for a long time when he saw Sedah in the distance. He landed in front of him.
“Thank you, Sedah, for letting me have one last talk with my friend.”
The boy nodded.
“Now, I’ll be on my way, so if you’d be so kind as to show me how to get out of here.”
“It’s not that simple. I’m afraid you can’t leave.”
“What do you mean? I’m obviously not dead, otherwise I’d be another walking zombie like the rest of them. So if I’m not dead, I should be able to leave the Underworld. Shouldn’t I?”
“Only if I allow it.”
Chase didn’t like the sound of that. “What do you mean ‘allow it’? Who are you?”
The little boy morphed into a taller, older man, with glowing red tattoos on his arms and a daunting look.
“What is this? Who are you?”
The man laughed. His voice was deep. “I am Hades, and you are in my realm, forever.”
Chase took a fighting stance.
“Not a chance. I’m not staying here!”
“Then you’ll have to go through me.”
“Easily arranged.”
“I’m glad to see you’ve recovered some of your feistiness. This will be an interesting fight.”
“Not for you, I’m afraid.”
“You’d think your last defeat would have taught you a smidge of humility.”
“Look, Hades, I take it you’re an Olympian. And I have no beef with you, so I suggest you let me pass and tell me how to get out of this awful place.”
“I’ll tell you what. If you defeat me, I’ll let you go.”
Chase studied his opponent. His look was determined, and if he had any emotions at all, Chase couldn’t sense any. He readied himself for battle.
“Give me all you’ve got. Let’s see what my nephew Ares has done with you.”
Chase didn’t answer but launched himself at Hades with all his might. He went for the face with a powerful right hook but hit nothing but air. A split second later he felt pain in his guts, where Hades had lodged his fist with surprising thrust.
Chase took two steps back and had to struggle to stay on his feet. Blood dripped from his mouth onto the dark onyx ground, where it boiled and evaporated.
Alright, this is not going to be an easy fight.
When Chase looked up, Hades was no longer there.
Chase flew upwards in an attempt to find his adversary, but all he saw was a shadow flying around him at impossible speed.
How can he be so fast?
Then he felt no less than twenty blows in quick succession all over his body and, before he knew it, Chase crashed back to the ground. The pain was overwhelming.
He had fought Furies not long ago, and none of their blows compared with the pain he felt now.
Hades landed nearby and walked towards Chase, who could barely move a muscle.
“And you thought you’d beat me easily. I guess you still have a lot to learn.”
How can he be so powerful? I thought Furies were more powerful than Olympians. I expected Zeus to maybe match them, but this guy is something else.
Chase had to use most of his energy just to get back to his feet. He adopted a defensive stance but he was trembling.
“You can’t hope to fight in your current state. You should rest and, if you feel like it, you can have another go at me tomorrow.”
“No! Let’s fight now.”
Hades shook his head. “Impetuous.”
Before Chase could blink, he received a deadly blow to the back of his head. The last thing he saw before losing consciousness was the onyx ground coming at him.
On board the Silver Arrow, Apollo’s ship, Argos paced on the bridge.
Ares saw Apollo’s look. “What is it, brother?”
“So let me get this straight. This guy killed you, and now he’s going to help you?”
“It’s a little more complicated than that, but basically yes.”
“I sure hope you know what you’re doing.”
“We don’t have any choice. We need him to defeat Menoitios.”
“If he’s powerful enough, which remains to be seen.”
Argos stopped pacing and looked at the Olympians. “Don’t worry, I’ll defeat your Titan for you.”
“I’d like to see that,” said Apollo. “Menoitios has never been defeated in combat. Aside from Zeus, I don’t think anyone else can destroy him.”
“Well, if we are to save Chase I need to destroy him, so there isn’t really any choice now, is there?”
Apollo looked at his brother. Ares answered with a shrug.
Interesting words Argos had chosen. He genuinely didn’t want his brother to die. Perhaps there was hope for him yet.
“You!” said Argos, pointing a finger at Ares. “Don’t you go misinterpreting my words. I’m only doing this because it suits my long-term plans which, by the way, also include eradicating your entire race.”
“Charming fellow,” said Apollo.
Argos crossed his arms against his che
st and looked through the viewport.
“Tell me about it. We’ll soon arrive near the Tartarus system. Any idea where we go next?” asked Ares.
Apollo looked at the projected holo-starmap and pointed towards the farthest planet from the twin-star system.
“There, I think.”
“You think?”
“I’m pretty sure. Like I told you, I haven’t been here in a few thousand years.”
Argos grunted. It annoyed Apollo enough that he rose from his chair.
“Look, Argos, we get it. You hate us. But let me be absolutely clear, the feeling is mutual, and I’m looking forward to shutting your mouth on the battlefield the first chance I get. So if you want to destroy us, you’re welcome to try.”
“Easy there, brother.”
Argos laughed and turned around. “Empty threats. If you were really looking forward to killing me you wouldn’t need my help with your crazed pet, now would you? But I recognize that usual Olympian arrogance. You share that in common with your brother. He too was taunting me before I turned him into a blob of interstellar energy.”
Apollo’s anger grew quickly, as did his bright blue aura.
Argos responded in kind and his bright red aura cast red light all around him.
“Ha ha ha, you want to teach me a lesson now? I could use the warm-up, so bring it on, old man.”
Ares stood as well and positioned himself between Argos and Apollo, extending his arms on both sides. “Stop it! Now is not the time.” He looked at Argos. “Perhaps you’d like to get some rest before we reach our destination? You’ll need all your strength.” He looked at his brother next. “You too. You may need to help Argos fight Menoitios.”
“Fight alongside a Fury? Have you lost your mind? I’m showing you where to go. That’s where my duties end in regard to this mission of yours, brother. I’d rather die than ally myself with a being intent on killing us all the first chance he gets.”
“I don’t need nor want your help. If you’re anything like Ares, you’ll just slow me down anyway. You two stay out of my way when we reach our destination,” said Argos as he left the bridge.
“I want to kill that insolent asshole,” said Apollo through clenched teeth.
“And perhaps one day you’ll get your chance, but for now don’t let him push your buttons. He enjoys conflict too much. In fact, I think he thrives on it. We’ll deal with Argos when the time comes. Though I’m not entirely sure he’s an enemy anymore.”
“What the hell are you talking about? Have you been sleeping while he spoke? He said he’s looking forward to wiping us out.”
“Yes I heard, but I also entered his mind when he was about to kill Chase on Droxia.”
“And?”
“And, I think that even if I hadn’t nudged him towards a non-lethal blow, he might actually have done it on his own. As much as he hates his brother, I can’t help feeling that something has changed in him. He could have easily destroyed the Iron Fire right after we delivered Aphroditis, but he went out of his way to let us escape, and he paid dearly for it.”
“Not nearly enough if you ask me.”
“Perhaps, but if there’s only the slightest chance that he could be turned, I have to take it. He could be a powerful ally.”
“Says one of his victims. Boy, I don’t know if this is the non-corporeal thing or something else, but the more I spend time with you the more I think you’ve lost it. Especially if you think you can play with fire and not get burned.”
“Look, Apollo, I’m aware of the risks and I can understand how it looks from your perspective. Don’t get me wrong. I really appreciate your council on this matter, but I can’t ignore my gut feelings.”
“You do realize that you don’t have guts anymore?”
When the transport ship arrived at RavenShire, Ryonna made a face at the view. More than half the starport had been destroyed.
“I take it that’s not the good news you were hoping for?” said Keera.
“We’ll have to see. As I remember, most of the detained ships are on the north side, which seems less damaged than the rest of the complex at first glance.”
“Do you mind if I ask what we’re looking for?”
“My old ship. At one point, after my husband died, I had a larger, more powerful smuggling ship. But when they came for us, I needed cash fast and I had nothing to trade but my ship. So I sold it to the port in a hurry. A friend among the starport crew helped me get a deal so I could recover my ship one day.”
“How so?”
“I sold it for half its value in exchange for parking rights here. I could buy it back for a fee if I came to claim it in the future.”
“You think it’s still here?”
“It’s anybody’s guess. If it hasn’t been moved or destroyed in the rubble, then perhaps it is. We’ll know soon enough. Please land over there,” said Ryonna, pointing at the platform to the north, the only one still standing.
“But will they let you take it back without the credits?”
“From the looks of it, we should be able to get inside and just take it.”
Keera raised an eyebrow.
“Desperate measures, Keera, desperate measures.”
“Right.”
They exited the transport in a hurry. Ryonna checked the charge on her blaster, set it on maximum stun and holstered it.
“Just a precaution. I’m hoping we won’t need it, but if my ship is here, we need to get it back. It’s our best bet to reach Jonas before anyone else.”
“How do you figure?”
“It’s probably the fastest hyperdrive engine in the universe. One of a kind, really.”
“If that’s the case, you’d think someone would have either bought or stolen it.”
“It’s ancient tech and doesn’t register on scans, so when I left the ship in exchange for a generous credit loan, I made sure they categorized it as a standard engine, classified as pretty slow.”
“I take it your friend helped you with that.”
Ryonna nodded. “I wonder if he’s still alive.”
“Want us to look for him?”
“No, we really need to hurry. Right now the priority is getting to Jonas’ last known coordinates.”
After a few minutes, Ryonna and Keera found a way inside the starport through the debris blocking most of the entrances.
The place looked abandoned. Once inside Ryonna interfaced with the first console they met. Its holo-projector lens was cracked and the image flickered, which made inputting commands and reading the screen a chore. But after a few minutes she found what she was looking for.
“The ship is on level seven, bay eleven.”
She brought up the map of the starport and studied it. “That way.” She pointed to their left.
They ran for a few minutes until they arrived on level seven. This part of the complex was barely holding together. Small tremors shook sand and rocks from cracks in the ceiling. As Ryonna approached the nearest console, she saw a hand sticking out from a pile of rubble nearby.
She ran to it and dropped to one knee. She tried to find a pulse. Then she saw a familiar ring on one of his fingers. She frowned.
“Rhaklin.”
“What’s a rhaklin?”
“That was the friend I told you about. This,” said Ryonna as she removed the ring and showed it to Keera, “is his wedding ring.”
“I didn’t know Droxians used rings. I thought this was no longer in practice except in very low technology races, most of them not space faring.”
“You know your galactic history very well, Keera. Indeed, Droxians usually don’t wear rings. But Rhaklin’s family was following the ancient ways.”
“Seeing as you don’t have a ring, I take it that you didn’t.”
“Partly true. I didn’t really care for trinkets, but my husband Jax also liked the old ways.”
She rose and took a chain from under her armor. On it dangled two identical rings. Black, with faintly pulsating go
lden runes.
“So you see, I do have a ring. I just don’t wear it on my finger.”
The ground shook a little stronger than the previous smaller tremors.
“I’m sorry about your friend, Ryonna, but I don’t think this place is very stable. Let’s get your ship and get the hell out of here.”
“Agreed.”
Ryonna went to the nearest console, a few steps away from where Rhaklin lay. She entered a few commands on the holo-display. The entire holo-user interface flashed red, and a holo-palm-reader floated on the right side of the interface.
“Dammit!”
“What is it, Ryonna?”
“I can’t unlock the docking clamps on the bay where my ship is. It requires biometric authentication.”
“Any way around it?”
She kept entering commands in an attempt to bypass the security features but it repeatedly ended with the interface flashing red.
Another tremor shook the starport and part of the ceiling of level seven collapsed nearby. An alarm wailed, accompanied by a vocal warning. “Coolant leak in section seven, evacuate immediately! This is not a drill.”
“This is not good,” said Keera.
“You think? Dammit, we need to hurry.”
Her mind raced, and then she went back towards Rhaklin’s arm. She took a deep breath and kicked the forearm at the base where it disappeared into the rubble. The bone-shattering noise made Keera flinch.
“What the hell are you doing?”
“What needs to be done.” She turned towards where she estimated Rhaklin’s head would be, even though she was actually looking at concrete debris. “I’m so sorry, old friend.”
She ripped his arm off with a powerful motion and went back to the console. When she had aligned the hand correctly for the holo-scanner to accept the input the console flashed blue twice, giving access to the ships.
The smoke resulting from the coolant leak started to permeate the closed atmosphere around them. Keera coughed.
“Try to breathe as little of that stuff as you can. Too much of it will kill us real fast,” said Ryonna as she dragged the shirt from under her armor and used it as a low-tech filter.
Keera did the same.
They ran towards bay eleven and Ryonna saw the nose of her old ship. The automated clamp-release program was just finishing. Something clanked when the clamps had fully retracted, creating another tremor. Another large piece of concrete fell from the ceiling.
Universe in Flames – Ultimate 10 Book Box Set: An Epic Space Opera Adventure Page 148
