“Give me five minutes.”
“You have two.”
Chase dispatched new orders to the rest of the fleet. With half the ships destroyed, they needed to stop targeting the super destroyer and split far enough from one another so that the Fury super destroyer would have to maneuver to enter firing range, effectively lowering the rate at which it could take out more ships.
That tactic quickly paid off. The ships, most of which already had their shields heavily damaged, scattered by micro-jumping just outside the Fury’s firing range. It forced the Fury to select a target. While that bought them some time, they were still running out of time and Chase knew it.
“I’ve just sent the subspace update to all Alliance ships in the fleet. You should be able to tractor the Zarlack ships, but may I remind you they are more massive than we are. You may need two or three of our ships to make it work. And if they activate their engines to counter you, you won’t get enough velocity to throw them at the Fury super destroyer, which I take is your plan, right?”
“It is . . . Except I have another idea in mind to deliver my payload. Thanks, Yanis.”
Chase didn’t have time to explain his plan so he cut the communication and, after informing the fleet he needed to take control of all of their ships’ operations, he went to work.
The remaining twelve Alliance ships divided into three groups of four. He mentally slaved their jump engines to the leading ship of each group.
It was time to test his theory.
The Hope and three other Alliance ships locked onto the nearest Zarlack destroyer with their tractor beam. Before they could activate their engines to full power to counter the beam’s efficiency, all four ships diverted most of their power to their sub-light engines in order to achieve the maximum velocity possible in under five seconds. Chase then mentally locked the coordinates of a hyperspace jump to the Fury’s super destroyer and opened the hyperspace window. But he then immediately activated the emergency cancel order on board all four Alliance ships at the exact time that he released the tractor beams. He then had all four ships break hard to avoid their own hyperspace window. The ships moaned and shook from the treatment, but they successfully avoided entering the window. The Zarlack destroyer in tow didn’t have that luxury and was swallowed by the hyperspace window, only to explode at the end of the corridor, right on the Fury’s starboard shields, draining them down to forty percent.
The Zarlack destroyer exploding upon the Fury’s shield was a thing of beauty. But Chase lost no time leading the second group of Alliance ships, led by the Destiny, to duplicate the tactic. It worked even better, Chase managing to tighten his timing with more precision this time around. And another Zarlack behemoth ship was sucked into a hyperspace window and catapulted against the Fury’s starboard shield, which was now as low as two percent.
Chase hoped that the third and, if necessary, fourth similar attack wouldn’t destroy the Fury ship but, instead, disable it. He wasn’t ready to sacrifice Aphroditis just yet.
But something went wrong with Chase’s third attempt. The Fury super destroyer micro-jumped before the Zarlack projectile ship entered the hyperspace window. It appeared next to it and fired at the Zarlack ship before it entered its window, destabilizing the hyperspace window and overloading the Zarlack’s engine in the process. It exploded, but not before the Fury super destroyer had micro-jumped away. The four Alliance ships were not so lucky and were caught in the massive explosion. Two of them were taken out on the spot, while the resulting shockwaves damaged and disabled the other two Alliance destroyers.
And, just like that, Chase’s tactical advantage disappeared, as did his hope of neutralizing Miseo’s ship.
24
Chase watched in horror as the super destroyer reversed the situation and regained the upper hand in the fight.
His mind raced, but he had played his last ace. To make things worse, Miseo, who had probably had enough of Chase’s creative ways of inflicting damage on his brand new super destroyer, ordered the few remaining Zarlack destroyers to fly into their targets now, as they used to do when they were under Argos’ orders.
Soon the last Zarlack destroyer sacrificed itself to take out more ships. And, for the next few minutes, the space around Earth was transformed into a giant fireworks session. The once large Earth Alliance fleet had been reduced to only a handful of ships still capable of firing upon the Fury destroyer, the shields of which had sufficiently recharged to now engage them one by one and claim a difficult but now seemingly unavoidable victory.
When Chase’s friends rejoined him on the bridge, they saw a look they had seldom seen on his face. The look of defeat.
“What’s going on?” asked Sarah.
“I don’t know how to win this battle anymore.”
“Whatever it takes, Chase,” said Daniel. “We can’t let Earth fall.”
Chase reconsidered Saroudis’ proposal to sacrifice whatever was left of the fleet to take out the Furies. Chase could probably teleport his friends away at the last minute, but he couldn’t be everywhere at once, and many would die, the commodore included.
He ordered the fleet to exit the super destroyer’s firing range and recharge their shields. But he didn’t have much time to make his final choice.
Then the Hope’s communication officer announced an incoming transmission from the Crimson Shadow.
“On screen.”
Miseo’s face filled the large holo-screen in the center of the bridge.
“You’re defeated. There’s no use fighting anymore. It’s only a matter of time until I pick the remainder of your fleet off one by one.”
The temperature on the Hope’s bridge felt as if it had dropped by twenty degrees.
“Even if that is so, we’ll fight you to the end.”
“And you’ll lose. You know that by now. But I have a proposal for you. A one-time offer that will expire in one minute. If Argos and you surrender yourselves to me now, I will leave orbit and spare the rest of your ships. The clock is ticking,” said Miseo as his image disappeared and was replaced by a Fury timer counting down.
“What the hell is this?” asked Argos. “He can’t be trusted. He’ll destroy this world whether or not we comply.”
“I never thought I’d ever say this, but I agree with Argos,” said Ryonna.
“Chase, what are you going to do?” asked Sarah.
He rose from the captain’s chair and looked around at his friends. Now was the time to make a decision. He’d either give himself up and save everyone still alive here and on Earth below, or they could keep fighting; but things didn’t look good. Most of the ships were running on fumes. There seemed to be no possible outcome that would see them victorious in their current state.
“I don’t want you to give yourself up,” said Chris, with tears in his eyes.
Chase felt an invisible hand squeeze his heart. While he had no problem with the idea of sacrificing himself for his friends and family, he didn’t know what that move would mean for the future. But he needed to trust that someone, perhaps his son, would take over and finish this war. He knew better than to think it all depended on him anymore.
“I don’t think we have a choice here.”
“This is bullshit!” yelled Argos. “You’re not the kind of person to just give up!”
“Look around, Argos. The fleet is almost completely destroyed. We can’t hope to win this battle.”
“Since when is that something you’re willing to accept?”
“This isn’t a debate. Will you comply or will I have to drag your sorry ass on board Miseo’s ship myself?”
Argos shot him a deadly look. “You’re making a mistake. But it’s your decision to make.”
“Very well then,” said Chase when Miseo’s face filled the holo-screen a second later.
“Have you decided?”
Chase made fists.
“We have, but if you don’t hold your promise, I guarantee we will tear your ship from the inside ou
t.”
“Of that I have no d—”
The communication ended when something impacted with the Fury ship’s shields.
“Multiple hyperspace windows detected!” said the Hope’s tactical officer.
It took everyone on the bridge by surprise, Chase included. “How many ships?”
“Thirty-five including the one that exploded on the super destroyer.”
“Friend or foe?”
“I couldn’t tell you what they are. I’ve never seen ships like these. But they’re converging towards the Fury super destroyer, so I’d say friends.”
Chase didn’t understand this new development. He looked at his friends.
“Any of you recognize this design? Argos? Ever seen these before?”
He shook his head. “I’ve never seen such ships.”
“Commander, what is the computer saying? Do we have anything in our database? Perhaps an older race?”
“No direct match, Captain. But they seem to represent a mix of Alliance, Droxian and even Obsidian in terms of design and power signatures.”
“How is that even possible?”
Thirty-four unknown destroyers simultaneously opened fire on the Crimson Shadow. Their added firepower quickly drained the Fury super destroyer’s shield. Then some of the ships accelerated to ramming speed. While they were much smaller than the Crimson Shadow, they still packed a punch and their sub-light engines were very powerful. After four of them exploded on the surface of the Fury’s shields, bringing them down in the process, the remaining thirty ships’ combined firepower started to punch multiple holes through the Crimson Shadow’s armor plating. Multiple explosions happened simultaneously. Large chunks of debris flew all over the place and many decks were soon exposed to space.
The Crimson Shadow was taking a pounding of epic proportions from a race nobody had even heard about.
“This is unbelievable,” was all Chase could say.
Everyone else had their eyes locked onto the scene of destruction. It all felt surreal, like a dream.
“Aphroditis,” said Chase. “She’ll be killed.”
“Better her than us,” Argos replied.
Chase dismissed his brother’s comment as his mind raced and he considered teleporting inside the Fury ship and getting Aphroditis out of there. But before Chase could act, the Fury ship jumped away.
“Captain, incoming transmission from the main unknown ship.”
“On screen. Let’s see who just saved our collective asses,” said Chase.
The screen filled with the image of a beautiful, blonde human female. Her long hair looked like a golden waterfall. She stood in front of an image of the planet Earth, which couldn’t be what the inside of her ship looked like.
When she spoke her voice was icy cold. “My name is Gaia, admiral and sole leader of the Independent Gaian Defense Force.”
Gaia? What?
“Gaia? I thought you were on board the flying training ship with Spiros! What is this?” asked Chase.
“You must have me confused with someone else, Fury. About an hour ago we received a distress call from Earth informing us it was under attack. I have come to reclaim my world. The Earth Alliance has demonstrated their incompetence in protecting this planet for the last time.”
This doesn’t make any sense. That can’t be Gaia!
“Wait a minute? What are you talking about?”
“You are no longer welcome in Earth space. You have less than one hour to gather your survivors and leave this system or you’ll be fired upon and destroyed for your sins.”
The transmission ended abruptly.
Chase looked around. Everyone was as baffled as he was and still in shock. What should have been a moment of intense relief after a long struggle and painful victory quickly felt like a nightmare of epic proportions.
“What the hell is going on?” said Chase out loud.
To be continued . . .
Get Book VI here: Shadows of Olympus (Universe in Flames Book 6)
You can read a sneak peek of Book 6 in the following pages.
Shadows of Olympus
By Christian Kallias
Enjoy this sneak peek of Universe in Flames Book 6: Shadows of Olympus
Dramatis Personæ
Earth Alliance
Captain Chase Athanatos – Earth Alliance Fury hybrid (formerly Star Alliance Lieutenant Commander)
Commander Sarah Kepler – Earth Human with Fury powers (formerly US Navy Commander)
Chris Athanatos – Fury Human hybrid (currently aging fast)
Commodore Saroudis – Earth Alliance Human (formerly Star Alliance Captain)
Commander Daniel Tharraleos – Earth Alliance Human (formerly Star Alliance)
Chief Engineer Yanis Tixichos – Earth Alliance Human (formerly Star Alliance)
R&D Engineer Spiros Malayianis – Earth Alliance Human (formerly Star Alliance)
Ryonna Isch’ys – Droxian Warrior (formerly a fugitive Droxian smuggler)
Tar’Lock – Gorgar (Insectoid and formerly a Hellstar prisoner)
General Adams – Earth Human (formerly US Army General)
Emperor Altair - Raxin Humanoid and Obsidian Empire leader
Argos Thanatos – Fury and Chase’s twin brother (formerly head of the Zarlacks)
Rae Kwan – Earth Alliance human (formerly US scientist)
Olympians
Aphroditis – known to humans as the goddess of love
Ares – known to humans as the god of war (deceased, living as pure energy form)
Zeus – known to humans as the god of the sky and mighty ruler of Olympus
Hades – known to humans as the god of the Underworld
Furies
Arakan – Supreme Commander of the Furies
Miseo – Arakan’s son and right arm
Oryn – Arakan’s daughter
Zalara – Arakan’s wife (deceased) l
Other Characters
Keera – Humanoid bounty hunter
Tararok – Zarlack (Lizard/Reptilian) bio-scientist
Kvasir – Asgardian scientist
Admiral Ally Thassos – Earth Alliance Human (formerly Star Alliance Admiral - deceased, clone version still alive)
Prologue
Chase felt as if he was being siphoned away from where he stood.
What the hell is happening to me?
The force pulling on his body was like nothing he had ever experienced. He tried to counter it but there was no escape. He was being sucked out of the Hope as if a black hole had taken grasp of him and him alone. His vision was distorted and it felt as though time had stopped. His friends were all around him but none of them seemed affected. They looked like statues, frozen in time, while Chase skidded against his will across the floor of the Hope’s bridge towards a dark portal.
The oval-shaped doorway swallowing Chase was a void with ominous purple lightning all around its circumference.
Chase fired one fireball at it. When that failed he unleashed a dozen more powerful ones into the portal, but they were simply swallowed up. To make things worse, the portal now grew bigger and the gravitational force even stronger.
If he’d had any illusions about escaping this relentless force before, he could forget about it now. There was nothing Chase could do. He called for help but no one could hear him. After several minutes of struggling, the gravitational pull proved too strong. Chase lost his footing and tumbled forward. Instead of falling onto the ground he was snatched in midair and swallowed inside the portal.
Chase was lying on the ground in an unknown place. It took him a few seconds to regain access to all his senses. Whatever feedback they were providing made no sense though. He lay on something that felt organic. It was soft. And it was moving. The place was dark, and he could barely see anything. He heard soft murmurs all around him, thousands of them. Some distant, some so near he could almost feel people breathing down his neck.
From time to time purple lightning flashed in the sk
y. For a brief moment it would illuminate the place, but the resulting light was so strong that Chase’s eyes couldn’t adapt fast enough to get a clear picture of where he was. The split-second shadow of an image he saw made no sense.
His heart started beating more strongly. Whatever this place was, it felt ten times worse than the Underworld he had visited not long ago. There was also a wretched smell all around him.
“Can anybody hear me?” he cried out, but all he could hear were the layered and indiscernible murmurs. Voices he wasn’t sure were even human, but they sounded as if they were either in pain or afraid. Perhaps both.
He struggled to his feet, having trouble keeping his balance. The ground was not a flat surface; that much he was sure of. He needed to see where he was. The last lightning flash had rendered his eyes useless in the dark. He cast an icy-blue energy sphere in his hand in order to see what was around him.
What he saw terrified him to the core. He was standing on a pile of bodies, some human, some alien. They were in constant movement, their faces deformed by pain and suffering. Their bodies were dark and their mouths opened and closed as if they were fishes gasping for water. Their eyes were wide open but all gray: no irises, just dark, gray globes. When Chase moved, they jerked their heads around in a brisk and unnatural way, as if they reacted to his presence. That sent shivers down his spine.
What the hell is this place? Why am I here?
Chase moved the ball of energy around to get a better picture, but it was hard looking at this unfathomable mud, made of bodies, limbs and faces as far as the light would shine. The sky was just a dark void, starless and filled with thick, dark clouds that moved like smoke. Even in his worst nightmares he had never seen anything so terrifying. Could it be a nightmare? He sure wished it was and hoped he would soon wake up.
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