This can’t be real.
“Sarah? Is that you?”
Her voice was just as he remembered it. “It’s me, Chase. It’s so good to see you. We miss you. Please come back home, Chase.”
Tears formed at the corners of Chase’s eyes.
“Where’s Chris? Did you give birth already?”
“I did. I wish you’d been there, though.”
Chase swore inside his head. He had missed the birth of his child. He really needed to get out of here.
Behind Sarah, Hades pointed his right hand toward her and she started levitating. She was startled and scared, flailing her limbs uncontrollably.
“Stop it! Let her go!” shouted Chase, his anger almost reaching boiling point.
“I’m sorry, but you need this,” said Hades.
Hades shot a powerful column of energy that burst through her ribcage. Blood, bones and guts spilled out. Her eyes turned blank and Hades threw her lifeless body in front of Chase as if she was nothing.
Overwhelming hatred fed into Chase’s soul. His entire body tensed to the limit of exploding. Every muscle in his body grew as his aura expanded exponentially. Dozens upon dozens of lightning bolts sizzled and crackled around him. Chase unleashed a furious roar that shook the ground and echoed throughout the entire Underworld.
“About time. Now we’re finally getting somewhere,” said Hades with a smirk.
“I’m going to kill you!” said Chase, his eyes now shining orange so brightly they looked like two miniature suns.
Argos was first to step out of the Silver Arrow. Ares and Apollo followed. The air was dry and hot. Wind swept large quantities of fine-grained sand dancing into the air in a way that reminded Argos of smoke patterns.
Argos lifted a hand. “I’m good. I don’t need chaperones.”
“Don’t be in such a hurry to fight this Titan mindlessly. Menoitios is not just a dumb brute. He will fight intelligently. If you need our help we’ll come and join you,” said Apollo.
“That won’t be necessary.”
“Be that as it may, this mission is critical, Argos,” said Ares. “And I know you don’t want Chase to die. He did save your life in your last battle with a Titan.”
Argos stopped and turned around with a questioning look. “What are you talking about, old man? I’m the one who saved his pathetic life from being crushed by the Titan’s foot.”
“Right, you wouldn’t remember, since Chase had to reverse time to save you.”
Argos saw a flash of himself being smashed between two giant palms. Perhaps the old man was being truthful. Still, while Argos felt the need to help save Chase—even though he still couldn’t really understand the true motives behind his actions— he was not in the mood to befriend Olympians and was still determined to end them all when the time was right.
“Supposing that’s true, how did my brother reverse time? And, more importantly, if he did, how is it you remember it?”
“Aphroditis gave him her pendant before the fight. It was destroyed, so when I asked her, she explained its true function to me.”
“I see. Well, then that only makes us even, since I had saved him just moments before.”
Apollo approached Argos. “Look, you might need my help. I think it’s best I don’t show my face right away, since I’m the one who put the Titan in here. Seeing me could make things worse. But if required, I won’t be far.”
“Whatever.”
“Here,” said Apollo as he handed Argos a small, round piece of tech.
“What’s this?”
“You’ll need it to get in or out of the facility.”
“So it’s a key?”
“It’s a little more complicated than that . . . but yeah.”
“Where do I go now?”
“Let me walk you there. It’s near.”
After a minute they reached a metallic obelisk that rose from the sand. Some blue Olympian runes on its surface pulsated slowly.
“Don’t lose the device I gave you, or you might end up trapped there as well.”
“Very well. Now let’s go. The sooner I’m done with this, the sooner we can part ways.”
“Ares was right; you’re positively charming.”
“At least you’re still breathing. Count your blessings.”
Apollo shook his head in dismay, pressed controls on the obelisk and Argos was transported away.
Ares stepped next to Apollo. “I know he’s insufferable, but right now he’s our only hope.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of.”
It took a little while for Ryonna to remove most of the rubble that covered Keera. She had been lucky. None of the heavy concrete was resting directly on her body so her wounds appeared minimal. But a heavy beam tightly locked her lower leg against the floor. Ryonna tried to lift it but it was simply too heavy for her to lift or budge in her current condition. She was starting to feel dizzy. The coolant-to-fresh-air ratio was becoming increasingly dangerous.
Keera blinked as she regained consciousness.
“Are you alright, Keera?”
She moaned and groaned, but suddenly looked worried. “I . . . I’m stuck!” She tried to pull herself out.
“I know. Stop trying to move or you’ll injure your ankle. I’m going to get you out of here.”
Keera pointed at blood dripping from one of Ryonna’s arms. “You’re also hurt.”
“It’s just a scratch. Don’t worry about me.”
Ryonna took her blaster and set it in plasma-cutting-torch mode. Soon she was attempting to cut the beam holding Keera’s leg.
Another tremor occurred and sand and small rocks fell on them.
“How’s it going?”
“Slowly, I’m afraid,” answered Ryonna, without attempting to hide her frustration.
“This is taking way too much time. We have to leave now.”
“I’m going as fast as I can, Keera.”
“I know, but it won’t be fast enough and you know it. This entire level could collapse any second now.”
Ryonna looked at the quadrinium-reinforced alloy beam she was trying to cut. She was barely a third of the way through. Then her gaze went to Keera’s leg, just above where the beam trapped her ankle. Then she looked at Keera’s eyes, who had seen where Ryonna had been looking. She knew what she was thinking, even if Ryonna hadn’t said a word. There was fear in Keera’s eyes, but then the look of fear was replaced with one of acceptance and determination.
“Do it!”
“Are you sure?”
Keera nodded, and Ryonna didn’t hesitate. She unbuckled her belt and stuffed it into Keera’s mouth.
“Bite on this. I’m so sorry.”
Ryonna then proceeded to cut the lower part of Keera’s leg above where the beam trapped her. Keera screamed. Even though her voice was strongly muffled, it was hard to bear. She kept biting on Ryonna’s belt. It only took a handful of seconds for Ryonna to cut through the limb. The cut was clean. The plasma-torch mode of her blaster cauterized the wound as it went, ensuring little or no loss of blood.
Keera lost consciousness again, but by then Ryonna had her in her arms and was running towards her old ship. Large pieces of concrete fell all around them.
As soon as Ryonna was on board the ship, she dropped Keera in her med-bay corner past the cargo hold, quickly strapped her in and ran for the cockpit.
She brought all systems online, bypassing most pre-flight checks. There was no time. When the engines started humming another tremor happened, much stronger than the previous ones. It rocked the ship and the entire starport. Not far from the ship a power conduit exploded and what Ryonna had feared happened. With the coolant leak, the ratio between coolant and oxygen made for a deadly mix. Flames engulfed everything.
“Dammit!”
Ryonna couldn’t see anything. It was all blocked by flames. How the hell would they exit the starport now? She brought the ship a few feet off the landing bay’s floor, her mind racing to find a way to get ou
t of there. When she felt more explosions and large pieces of concrete hit her ship’s armor, she decided there was only one thing to do.
She keyed in coordinates in space above Droxia and readied herself to activate her hyperspace engine.
“Here goes nothing!”
Her ship disappeared from the landing bay and, shortly after, the entire starport exploded in a fiery inferno.
8
Miseo landed his ship back at Erevos headquarters and soon he was in the throne room where his father waited.
“Have you completed your mission, son? Where is General Arkoolis?”
“The mission was mostly a success, but I’m afraid the general didn’t make it.”
Supreme Commander Arakan was never a pleasant person to look at because of his scars and his imposing figure, but when he was disappointed or angered, he looked disturbingly deranged. His eyes flashed red.
“I understand he was your friend, Father, but he got himself killed.”
“By Laiyos?”
“Yes. But worry not, I have avenged his death. Laiyos is no more.”
Arakan rose from his throne. “There’s that at least. Well done, Miseo. Have you brought back his head?”
“I’m afraid there was nothing left to bring back.”
“I see. Where is his pathetic brother?”
“He perished as well.”
“How?”
“Also at the hand of Laiyos.”
The supreme commander looked deeply into his son’s eyes.
“That will teach that defiant Fury. If he had killed his brother when I asked him, none of this would have happened. People should know by now that I know what is best for us.”
There he goes again, finding a way to make any situation about himself.
“Yes, Father.”
“Well, he won’t be missed. After all, we’re ready to test our brand new destroyer.”
“The Crimson Shadow is operational?”
“Yes, it’s ready to go. We need to send this Earth Alliance a message. Was Droxia destroyed?”
“I’d estimate that more than two thirds of their population was killed, but the planet remains.”
“Then perhaps we need to finish the job? What do you think, son?”
Is he seriously asking for my input? Intriguing.
“I think we managed to do what we set out to do. The initial goal was the total destruction of planet Droxia, but our having turned their precious planet into a pile of rubble in just a few hours will put the fear of the gods into our enemies’ hearts. They won’t likely recover from this for a very long time, so we have all the time we want to focus on more important targets now . . .” Miseo paused. “But that’s just my opinion.”
“And I value your input, son. I agree with your assessment of the situation. Which target should we set our sights on then? Earth?”
“Earth is protected by a very powerful planetary shield, but it may be of great interest to us to test that defensive capability. Perhaps our superior firepower will prevail.”
“Agreed. Even if we can’t penetrate this shield, we may collect vital sensor information that could allow us to develop a weapon to counteract it. Not to mention, we can still crush their current fleet in the process.”
“I’m not one to be cautious, but will one ship really do? Shouldn’t we take part of the Zarlack fleet with us?”
“Since you’ll be in command of this mission, I’ll let you decide how many ships to take with you.”
“Thank you, Father. You won’t regret putting your trust in me.”
“I know. On your way to Earth stop by where the black hole was created by Laiyos. The Crimson Shadow is equipped with the necessary weapon to close this tear in space and time. If we allow it to grow it will eventually destroy Erevos.”
“We can’t have that.”
“No we can’t. Simply fire the red-matter cannon into the center of the black hole, but be sure to keep your distance. As soon as you have fired the weapon, enter hyperspace or the ship could be destroyed by the resulting explosion.”
“Understood.”
Supreme Commander Arakan made a dismissive gesture with his hand. “If that will be all, I need to rest now. Give them hell, son.”
Miseo left the throne room and Arakan returned to his throne and let himself fall into it, pensive.
I sense deception in Miseo. What is he planning?
“You know very well what he plans,” said a voice.
“You need to stop interrupting my thoughts. I don’t need your council,” answered Arakan out loud.
A shadow walked from behind the supreme commander’s throne. It was blacker than night itself. The dark silhouette seemed to be made of nothing, like a void. Wherever it walked light was extinguished and colors faded.
“All evidence to the contrary. Your son just lied to your face and you didn’t do anything about it.”
“I don’t know why I keep talking with you. You’re not real. You’re just in my head!”
“Keep telling yourself that, but the fact of the matter is—”
Arakan jumped from his throne. “SILENCE!” He launched a powerful fireball at the shadow figure. It went through and destroyed Arakan’s beautifully crafted dining table.
The shadow, who was just as imposing as Arakan himself, shook his head from side to side. “When will you learn?”
“Leave me alone. I’m not in the mood right now.”
“Very well, but we’ll have to revisit the matter of your treacherous son one day or another.”
Sarah arrived at med-bay two with Chris in her arms. He was laughing at everything he looked at.
Doctor Michalis left his console to greet her.
“Hello, Captain, what’s going on? Is that . . .?”
“Yes, that’s my baby.”
“Why didn’t you call me for the delivery? It’s not safe to have a baby on your own, you know?”
“I didn’t really have much choice in the matter.”
“What do you mean?”
“Look, Doc, it’s been a really weird day and I would love to stay and chat with you, but I need you to run tests on Chris. As you can see, he’s growing too fast.”
“When did you have him?”
“About two hours ago.”
The doc’s eyes widened.
“That’s peculiar. He seems way older.”
“That’s not all . . .”
“Granted he’s a little big for a newborn, but perhaps that’s just due to his Fury heritage.”
“I don’t think you understand, Doctor.”
Sarah lay Chris down on his back on the floor. He immediately rolled over and crawled on the floor of the med-bay.
“This is not possible.”
“Now we agree on something, Doc. My son tells me he tempered with his genetic makeup while he was in my womb, so he would grow at an accelerated pace. I need to know what he did to himself and how to reverse it.”
The doc’s face changed color. “How can he tell you anything?”
“Right . . . He has been able to communicate with me telepathically for a while now. I’m sorry, Doc, but I don’t have the patience to play catch-up with you. Can you please help me or should I look for another doctor?”
“I apologize, Captain, I usually have good adjustment skills, but I may need a minute or two to process all of this.”
Sarah realized how crazy she must have sounded. She couldn’t blame the doc for being overwhelmed with what he was seeing and hearing.
“I’m the one who’s sorry, Doc. It’s been a very peculiar pregnancy, and I wasn’t even awake for the birth, so I’m very stressed out at the moment. Take a minute, but we need to run tests on him soon. If we don’t find a way to reverse what’s happening to him, he’ll keep growing too fast and his lifespan will be short.”
Then a high-pitched alarm wailed inside the med-bay.
“What’s happening, Doc?”
The doc ran back to his console. “It’s Li
eutenant Athanatos. His vitals are crashing!”
“What? I thought the cryostasis would preserve him until we found a cure.”
“It should have. I don’t understand why it didn’t. I’ve never seen anything like this before.”
“What do we do, Doc? How can we help him?”
“I don’t know. If we take him out of stasis he’s sure to die in the next few seconds, but if I’m reading this right, he only has a few minutes to live inside the pod as well.”
Sarah’s heart started beating hard.
Chris, who had been crawling around them for a while, caught a glimpse of the cryostasis pod where his father rested. He got to his feet.
“That’s new,” said Sarah.
“Don’t tell me he can walk,” said Doctor Michalis, completely bewildered.
“We’re about to find out. I think he knows his dad is in trouble.”
Chris took his first steps and little by little approached the cryostasis pod. Sarah swore she saw him grow almost half an inch in the time it took him to reach Chase’s pod.
“Doc? Please tell me you saw that?” said Sarah, pointing towards Chris.
When he didn’t answer she turned around just in time to see the doc collapse to the ground.
“That’s just great!”
Chris turned around when he heard the doc hit the ground. He looked at his mother and laughed before turning his attention back to the pod. He put his small hands on the glass and a golden aura engulfed him. Some of it traveled through the glass and entered Chase’s body. The alarm stopped almost immediately.
Sarah let herself fall to the ground and sighed. “I think I’m with you on this one, Doc,” said Sarah to herself, since Doctor Michalis was still unconscious. “This is going to take some getting used to.”
Chase launched himself at Hades and struck him with a series of powerful blows. Hades didn’t seem to be able to block or deflect any of the attacks. Chase sent Hades flying upwards with a powerful kick and immediately released three dozen fireballs towards him. They all found their target and the darkness of the Underworld was briefly illuminated by the multiple explosions.
Universe in Flames – Ultimate 10 Book Box Set: An Epic Space Opera Adventure Page 150
