The Beginning of the End (Universe in Flames Book 4) (13 page)

“I understand, and he’s right. The mission is to get your world back and rescue the survivors, whoever they turn out to be.”

“How do you want to play this when we arrive? I’d rather you didn’t climb in a StarFury.”

She shot him a look.

“We’ve talked about this before. Actually, you talked with my clone about it. As confusing as it all is, I agree with the sermon she gave you. I’m not made of glass.”

“And you know I agree.”

“But don’t worry, thanks to your pestering Yanis about remote controlling fighters, I can simply fly one from the bridge, right?”

“Yep. So the only thing you need to worry about is making sure the
Hope
doesn’t get destroyed.”

“Yeah, should be simple enough, right?”

They both laughed.

“More seriously, though, perhaps you’d like to be the
Hope
’s wing commander. I was about to say ‘again’ but then realized . . .”

“That the first time it was my clone. You really don’t have to tiptoe around that. It will take some time to get used to the fact that she replaced me for a while. I have accepted it. As for being wing commander, that’s sweet, Chase, but a wing commander should be in her ship when her wing-mates go into battle, so I’d rather you let Fillio assume that role.”

“Very well, it’s settled then.”

They resumed kissing.

*   *   *

Argos entered the supreme commander’s throne room. It felt really empty without the hundreds of warriors who all witnessed him getting his punishment last time, even if they were just present holographically. When he arrived at the top of the stairs, Supreme Commander Arakan gestured him to come close.

“Supreme Commander, I’m reporting for duty as ordered,” said Argos after taking a knee.

“Rise, Argos. I had a chat with Miseo. He told me your intel and strategy has been incredibly useful for our expansion.”

“I’m glad to serve my people.”

“Good. And I’m glad our initial talk cleared any misunderstandings.”

If that’s your version of an apology, I’ll take it.

“It did, Supreme Commander.”

“What have you to report?”

“The Alliance has taken the bait and are going back to their home world as we speak.”

“I take it you’ve prepared a little surprise for them once they arrive?”

“I did, but I’m sure my brother will manage to regain control of their sector.”

“Then why not simply send more forces there? What are you trying to pull, Argos?”

“Supreme Commander, if I may, this is just a diversion. While they’re fighting to regain control of Alpha Prime, we can safely attack and destroy Droxia.”

“They have a huge contingent of ships protecting that world, and it only takes three hours for the humans to travel to their rescue with their jumpgate. Are you certain your plan is sound? We can’t risk losing too many of the Zarlack fleet until our own ships are fully operational.”

“And we won’t. I have made sure of it, Supreme Commander. I would only require that you give me a few of your best fighters, so they can destroy Droxia from within while we divert their fleet away from orbit. I have a little surprise for them.”

“Wouldn’t you and Miseo suffice for that task?”

“While Droxians are no match for any of us individually, we’re still talking about destroying multiple cities and nearly five billion Droxians in just a few hours.”

“Clearly you haven’t seen my son Miseo fight yet. But fine, I’ll send one of my strongest generals with you as well. You, however, will stay with the fleet. Your plan seems to require precise planning. It may be wise for you to be directing the ships while General Arkoolis and Miseo wipe the Droxians off the face of their world.”

“Very well, Supreme Commander. We’ll be jumping to Droxia within the hour.”

“Very good. You’re dismissed, Argos.”

“If I may, Supreme Commander. If I succeed with this mission, will I be given command of the Fury attack fleet and a seat at your generals’ table?”

“I wish I could say yes, but it will take more than one successful mission for you to redeem your earlier act of defiance. For the time being I would be happy to just be breathing, Argos, if I were you. We’ll re-assess all this once you’ve completed your mission.”

Son of a bitch! This is not what we agreed upon when I sacrificed everything to bring you back from the void.

“I can sense your anger, Argos. You’d be wise to not push this issue any further for the moment.”

“Very well, Supreme Commander. Thy will be done.”

Argos rose and left the throne room.

Anger didn’t even begin to describe how Argos felt. He had singlehandedly rescued his brethren. Since their return he had secured no less than seven systems rich in resources that had allowed them to start building ships, and still he was being treated as though it never happened. Had he made a mistake? Should he have tried to conquer the universe on his own instead of relinquishing all the power to that fool Arakan? He felt cheated and humiliated.

We’re not done with this, Arakan, even if I have to rip your spine out of your body myself one day.

*   *   *

Chase was back in the
Hope
’s captain’s chair when the fleet jumped out of hyperspace near Alpha Prime. It felt a little unreal being back in orbit, almost a year after the fall of the Star Alliance. Sarah sat by his side, holding his hand.

“Captain, we’ve detected five behemoth-class Zarlack ships coming our way. They’ve launched multiple squadrons of fighters,” said one of his crewmen.

“Launch the StarFuries. Instruct the rest of the fleet to deploy fighters and remind them to keep their distance as much as possible in close combat. They’ll most certainly try to ram us like they did back on Earth.”

“Orders relayed, Captain.”

“There, Sarah,” said Chase, handing her the neuronal interface devices. “You can use these to pilot your StarFury.”

“What about you?”

“I don’t need these anymore.”

“Show off.”

Chase smiled as she took the cylindrical devices and put them on her temples.

“Let’s see how this feels for real this time.”

Soon she was flying with Fillio’s wing. They engaged the first waves of fighters and it felt so good flying a starfighter, even remotely. She deployed the StarFury drones and was dispatching Zarlack fighters with great ease. Even though she only had memories of flying a StarFury remotely, it felt as if she knew it already. She nearly got hit by a kamikaze fighter when it blew just yards from her empty canopy, illuminating her shields a radiant blue.

“Watch out for these. They no longer try to just fight us off; and remember, your StarFury is equipped with the multiple jump capability, so every time one of these punks tries to ram you, just micro-jump out of the way.”

“Roger that, Daddy. Thanks for the assist.”

She didn’t need to open her eyes to know Chase was probably smiling at her remark.

Fillio had ordered a change of formation and that meant separating from Chase’s wing. She still didn’t understand how he was able to pilot five StarFuries and command the
Hope
simultaneously with his mind. But it mattered not, even though she had to admit she was a little jealous. Would Chris be able to do the same one day? That sent a shiver down her spine and she felt warmth in her belly.

Four Zarlack fighters had locked onto her ship and were approaching at ramming speed. Of course, there was no fear since she wasn’t physically inside the craft, but she didn’t intend to let her StarFury get destroyed. She deployed one of her drones and set it as a mine and the next instant she micro-jumped ahead of the incoming fighters. She felt the explosion that took the quadruplet of fighters.

“Take that, suckers.”

“Enjoying the StarFury’s technological superiority?” asked Chase.

“I am. It’s a worthy successor of the Thunderbolt.”

“So much has happened lately I almost forgot that particular ship even existed.”

“Says the man who was so proud of having helped design it.”

“Touché.”

Chase’s wing’s flying patterns were out of this world. He was literally dispatching a full Zarlack squadron every minute or so, always changing his patterns and strategies to never let them adapt.

She got her head back into the battle when her shields were illuminated by sizzling laser fire coming from her aft side. She went evasive and locked onto the craft responsible for the tickle on her shield. She pounded it with rapid laser fire, and when its shields were down to twenty percent she sent it to hell with a well-placed missile down its engine pipe. The battle was going well, but soon the behemoth destroyers would enter firing range.

“Everyone beware. For those of you with second iteration StarFuries, if you get hit by long range fire, you risk your ship overloading or even exploding,” Chase informed all the StarFury squadrons.

“Who’s brilliant idea was that?” inquired Fillio.

“Your brother’s.”

“That figures. I’m gonna have a talk with him later.”

“Enjoy almost unlimited micro-jump capabilities in the meantime.”

“Can’t argue with that now, can we?”

*   *   *

Chase opened a channel towards the planet.

“Can anyone hear me? This is Lieutenant Comma— Lieutenant Athanatos to Alpha Prime, we’ve received your distress call. If you receive us, please ping us so we can locate you on the surface. We’ll send a rescue crew the minute the battle is over up here.”

There was no response.

Chase had an idea and opened a channel to the
Destiny
.

“Yes, Lieutenant.”

“Commodore, I think we can easily handle things here. You should jump the
Destiny
to the far side of the planet and send an away team down to the surface.”

“You may still need the
Destiny
’s firepower. It’s been upgraded and is now a match to the
Hope
’s.”

“I think we can handle five behemoth-class destroyers even without the
Destiny
, sir.”

“We both know Argos is smarter than to show his hand openly. I’m sure more ships await somewhere.”

“And if needed you can always rejoin the fight, sir. I think the sooner we send ground troops to the surface the better.”

“As much as it pains me to admit it, I have grown accustomed to trusting your instincts. Rejoin the
Destiny
once the battle is over. You have the fleet, Lieutenant.”

“Good luck, Commodore.”

“Likewise, Lieutenant.”

The rank calling bothered Chase a little, but he understood why Saroudis was doing it. They had grown complaisant enough in their friendship to ignore it, but their last argument probably required it. For a while anyway. The first plasma fire exploding not far from the
Hope
’s shields was Chase’s cue to get his head into the battle instead of letting it wander.

He brought the
Hope
about and fired a full salvo of torpedoes at the nearest Zarlack destroyer. He switched to the main guns and waited until the first torpedoes impacted with their targets.

Now!

He fired the
Hope
’s main guns and split the Zarlack destroyer in two, before both parts exploded in a bright, fiery display.

But then he heard a voice.

Jump the ship, Dad, now!

It sent a shiver down his spine.

Chris?

There’s no more time, jump!

Chase decided to trust the voice and micro-jumped the
Hope
.

What happened next was terrifying. Three additional ships de-cloaked out of nowhere, and all jumped within the remainder of the fleet. The resulting explosion illuminated space so brightly that for a few seconds it looked like a star forming. When the dust settled, Chase couldn’t believe his eyes. More than half the fleet had been incinerated. Only a handful of ships remained, and most were heavily damaged. One of the original Zarlack destroyers had been destroyed in the blast as well.

“Holy crap, what is this? I’ve lost contact with my StarFury,” exclaimed Sarah.

“Open your eyes and see.”

Sarah looked in horror at the flying graveyard scene that unfolded in front of her eyes.

“What happened?”

“Three additional Zarlack destroyers were hidden, cloaked—however that’s possible—and they simultaneously jumped into the center of the battle theater. They must have either overloaded their engines or exploded them when they collided with each other upon their exit from hyperspace.”