Fury to the Stars (Universe in Flames Book 2) (13 page)

“You can say that again, Doc! She’s been captured
and tortured by someone claiming to be my brother. From what she said, it
sounds like she might have died several times and was brought back to life.
Then, if that wasn’t enough, upon her return to Earth she learned that her
uncle had passed during the battle against the Zarlacks. We go to the funeral
soon.”

The doctor nodded seriously. “That’s it, Chase. She
has been through much more than just one person can handle, and the presence of
the fetus on top of that? That’s a lot for both the body and the mind to deal
with. Add to that, I can’t predict what your Fury DNA could do to her own. We
know there can be exchanges between the fetus and the mother in some cases. I
think the past few days have simply taken a toll on her psyche and the
pregnancy is responsible for these minute differences.”

Whether or not that was reassuring, Chase couldn’t
quite decide. “Alright, Doc, thanks. Oh, but… how’s the baby? The torture must
not have been good for him… or her.”

“The fetus seems fine, in perfect health, in fact.
If it ever was hurt or damaged, perhaps you healed it as well when you fixed
her leg without realizing it.”

“Right...”

Sarah stirred faintly as her eyes began fluttering
open and shut.

“I’ll give you two some privacy,” the doc said, and
left the chamber.

Chase nodded as the doc left and sat on the
examination bed, taking her hand in both of his. “Hey, you… You gave us a big
scare.”

She looked confused. “I don’t know what happened.
One moment I was fine, the next I just blacked out.”

“The doc said it’s normal after all you’ve been
through lately.” He hesitated, wondering how to proceed. “But… there is
something else.”

“Now what?” She sounded exhausted.

Chase’s eyes started to water. Seeing the change,
she sat up and took notice.

“You’re scaring me, Chase, what is it?”

He took a deep breath and decided to just get it
over with. “You... you’re pregnant.”

At first, her brain couldn’t comprehend the news.
But before long, little tears of joy wet the corners of her eyes. Her face
softened and she gazed up at Chase with a radiant smile.

“That’s… that’s wonderful. But… are you okay with
this?”

He let out a gasp of laughter. “Well it sure took me
by surprise. But yes, I’m very,
very
happy.”

She beamed. “So am I.”

Time seemed to suspend as they sat in a happy
silence, basking in the good news. For a moment, the rest of the world fell
away, and the new little family had a bit of peace. For just a moment…
everything was as it should be.

When Sarah fell asleep again, Chase left the med-bay
and headed to the bridge.

“How’s Commander Kepler, Chase?” Saroudis asked as
soon as he came in.

“She’s fine, thank you.” He blinked, still in
surreal shock. “She... she’s pregnant.”

The commodore first raised an eyebrow, then beamed
at Chase. “Congratulations! You’re about to become a father.”

“Yeah... it looks that way.”

The commodore paused. “Are you worried?”

Chase held a hand on his neck. “Honestly, it’s just
all very sudden—not something we planned. So, yeah, I’m really happy. I guess
I’m just… worried about the kind of world we’re going to be bringing this child
into.”

“That’s normal, Chase.” Saroudis smiled. “Every man
becoming a father will ask himself that very question. It’s the cycle of life:
we are born, we live, we make children, and we die.”

“I suppose so.”

The commodore cleared his throat. “Well… I’m sorry
to change the subject but I have some bad news.”

Chase straightened up. “I’m listening.”

“Preliminary investigation of the accident seems to
show criminal intent.”

A chill ran down Chase’s spine. “Sabotage?”

“Or terrorism. It’s too early to tell, though we
already received confirmation of another suspect explosion in Asia, in another
building the Alliance built. We knew there might be resistance to the
fast-paced changes we applied to Earth society. We faced similar problems
ourselves at one point in time.”

Chase sighed. “Yeah. I could see how a death count
like the one they just had could also be quite a motivator to recruit
distraught people to rebel against any new system.”

“Especially people who lost people close to
them—family members, dear friends. I heard of a faction that was greatly upset
at the steps we took to reduce meat farming.”

Chase plopped down into his chair. “Right there, you
see, that I don’t get. Meat production, especially cow, was responsible for
more than half the pollution on their planet, not to mention most of these
animals were treated appallingly.”

“Ignorance is bliss.” The commodore shook his head.
“We can’t blame the humans for information they didn’t have, at least not
clearly.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, when the lobbies—be it fossil fuels,
agricultural, or any other ones in power—most of them made damn sure that the
majority of people on Earth were unaware of the true impact their business
practices had on the environment. Instead, they made it seem like they were
going green—like doing a magic trick, the art of misdirection, if you will.
Attract attention to something else, so you can do an entire other thing in the
meantime.”

Chase frowned. “That doesn’t make it better.”

“I never said it does, but by presenting a distorted
truth to the people, you can control them with greater ease. That’s what was
happening on Earth before. If you remember, we pointed the finger at fossil
fuels when we arrived because that’s what the Internet seemed to pick as the
main reason for pollution on Earth. Only when we made deep scans of their
atmosphere did we realize that this was not the case. It was only a ruse to
mask yet another problem from the eyes of the public. Why do you think we
haven’t put so many restrictions on fossil fuels? Sure, we replaced the
largest, more dangerous processing plants, and we’re trying to remove the
nuclear ones to avoid natural catastrophes when something goes wrong. But
planes are still flying, cars are still running.” He leaned forward. “That’s
because their impact wasn’t hurting the planet nearly as much as the meat
industry was.”

Chase nodded thoughtfully. “At least with the synthesizers,
they can experience the taste of meat without having to squander and pollute
their own world now.”

“Yes, I agree. And I must admit their meals are
nothing short of delicious. Granted I haven’t tried many, but the pizza in
particular is extraordinary.”

Chase smiled, recalling his very first taste.

“However,” continued Saroudis, “there will always be
people who don’t want a substitute to anything, and, to a certain point, I can
understand that. That’s why we are reducing and not banning this area of their
agriculture. We are, however, making sure the animals are living under top
conditions. No more farms and hangars where the poor things were squeezed
together and unable to see the sun shining in the sky.”

Chase thought back to the attack. “So we have to
watch for underground movements and possible terrorist cells in the near
future?”

“I think it was unavoidable, yes.”

Chase stayed pensive for quite a while. While it was
in his nature to condemn needless violence at face value, he couldn’t help but feel
sympathetic to their cause. How would he feel if someone swept in and changed
his entire way of life, only to have millions die in the process? The rage,
although the means were unacceptable, could be understood.

Just then, the ship started to tremble.

“Lieutenant Commander?”

Chase realized he was entering a dangerous state and
quickly quieted his mind. The trembling stopped almost immediately.

“Sorry, Commodore.”

Saroudis looked concerned. “Still having issues
controlling your abilities?”

“That was more an experiment I was trying.”

“Do not conduct experiments on my ship!” Saroudis
exclaimed. “No offense, but seeing how quickly unstable you can become, judging
from the state of your quarters the last time you lost control, and the overall
damage it had created in that entire section of the ship, I will have to ask
you to refrain from doing this onboard this or any other ship for that
matter."

Chase didn’t answer.

“Do I make myself clear, Lieutenant Commander? I am
not making a suggestion here.”

“Yes, Commodore, perfectly clear. And you’re right,
it would be easier to brainwash or at the very least convince people of ideas
if they had lost someone close. I’m sure there are plenty of potential
volunteers on the surface of the planet right now who fall under this sad
category.”

“We knew that all along. We have been through this
before the Alliance was created in our part of the universe. If history is to
repeat itself, there will be more acts like these. I hate to use that word, but
we must be prepared to deal with the fallout of all that has happened. Humans
are not strangers to acts of terrorism; this could be a prelude to a dark phase
for this world.”

Chase’s face tightened. “Are you thinking what I’m
thinking right now?”

“That the accelerated speed at which we made Earth
evolve might result in an even faster, darker, and stronger counter-response
and that our own technology might be used against this world in the process?”

“Exactly,” Chase agreed. “Our arrogance in thinking
we could control evolution, supervise them and make sure they avoided our own
mistake, was a huge delusion.”

“I think it’s too early to tell. After all, these
could be isolated occurrences. But should there be more acts like these, on a
bigger scale, then yes, I am worried about the exact same thing. I do think,
however, that we acted the best way we could under the circumstances and I do
not regret any of our actions. They were made with the best intentions.”

“I, on the other hand, am not as sure, even in that
regard.”

“I’m surprised to hear that coming from you, Chase.
After all, you have been talking with the gods of Olympus—surely they were
guiding us towards the right path.”

Chase stared down at his hands. “Are they?”

“I cannot believe what I’m hearing!”

“Look, Commodore, I’m sorry. This day has been a lot
to take in and my thoughts are all over the place at the moment. But I do not
believe in gods. Even Aphroditis herself said that god is a concept, and that
they are simply more advanced beings. So for the time being, I am more than happy
getting advice on how to face some of our predicaments. However, I do not like
the idea of being someone else’s puppet. Sarah told me about the strength of
the mental grip Argos had on her mind. How she felt powerless to do anything; a
prisoner in her own body, she said.”

“What does that have to do with this?”

“I’m just thinking, making a parallel with how
humans were deceived by their leaders and invisible factions, that perhaps the
Olympians are using a different approach to reach a similar goal. Control.”

Saroudis frowned. “Didn’t Aphroditis say that she
was acting in defiance of the rules of her people?”

“Yeah, and that also raises a flag in my book. Look,
Commodore, I’m not trying to bring you down, I just have these doubts and
questions rushing in my head right now and I thought vocalizing them would help
a little. But this is all theoretical at this point. I’m just coming to the
realization that blindly following one’s advice, or in this case more like an
order, is not so different from what we fear might be happening on Earth. How
am I different and better if all I do is follow Aphroditis’ every desire? Who’s
to say her end game is in alignment with what we want for ourselves?”

The commodore shook his head.

“We’re getting ahead of ourselves here, and I, for
one, dislike projecting too much into the future. Furthermore, I prefer to
tackle problems one at a time. I understand your doubts; not only is it human,
Chase, but it is
sane
to raise these questions. Just make sure they
don’t prevent you from doing what needs to be done when the time comes. What I
mean by that is not being a puppet; it’s thinking of the bigger picture. We are
trying to survive, and survival might also mean doing things we’re not always
comfortable doing as human beings. That is, when one has a conscience, and it’s
clear yours is bothering you right now, and that’s understandable under the
circumstances. But take what I’m telling you for what it is. We did our best,
and we will continue to do our best for ourselves and for the people of Earth
and every other living being currently in jeopardy in the universe. At the very
least, we are aligned on the side of light, aren’t we? We are trying to make
things better, and that alone is the reason I can find sleep these days.”

“You’re right,” Chase said quietly. “Somehow I doubt
I’ll get any sleep for the time being, but you’re right. We are doing our best.
I just hope it results in a favorable outcome.”