The Beginning of the End (Universe in Flames Book 4) (10 page)

“Good. This nonsense has dragged on long enough. I firmly believe the only way we survive what’s coming next is if Chase has his head in the game, and right now the two of you keeping your distance with a child on the way is a bad idea.”

“I miss him, that’s true. And as weird as it sounds, I think Chris does too.”

“How so?”

“Every time I think about breaking up with Chase for good I get these horrible cramps, like Chris is voicing his disagreement. It’s a little creepy, really.”

“I think after seeing him resurrecting Chase we can safely assume he will be something else, and not just a human baby.”

“That’s the problem, Ryonna. This scares the shit out of me too. I love Chase, and I love my baby, but they both scare me sometimes.”

“You’re a military commander, Sarah, or have you forgotten? The Sarah I met was not scared of anything. Get a grip!”

“You’re right. It must be these damn hormones. I was warned about them, but the side effects of pregnancy seem much stronger than expected.”

“And let’s not discount that you may have some Fury DNA in you as well now.”

“Say what?”

“There is an exchange of DNA between a baby and a mother. You clearly have a Fury baby with amazing abilities growing in you. This might also place stress on you and unbalance your system. I’m no doctor, but I think this could also explain your mood swings, your fears and perhaps also some of the feelings of anger you harbor towards Chase.”

“That’s an interesting point of view. I’ll keep it in mind. Thank you, Ryonna.”

“You’re welcome, Sarah. I’m sorry for slapping you.”

“That’s okay. I needed that.”

Ryonna smiled.

Chase and the Gaia droid landed at the outskirts of the Death Valley desert.

“Why have we stopped?” asked Chase.

“We’ve arrived.”

“I don’t see anything here.”

The ground shook in front of them, and as sand moved to the side a metallic trap door slid open and revealed stairs.

“Neat,” said Chase as he started climbing down the stairway. Lights turned on as he advanced.

At the bottom, Spiros Malayianis was waiting for them near a giant steel door.

“Hey, Spiros, nice to see you again.”

“Likewise, Chase. Welcome to your tailored training facility.”

“Thanks. I can’t wait to test it, though I doubt AI controlled droids will provide a challenge for long. And I’m afraid you’re gonna waste a lot of resources.”

“You’re expecting them to get destroyed by the dozens, are you?”

“Yeah, won’t they?”

“I’m looking forward to seeing how you survive your first training session.”

Chase raised an eyebrow. “Survive? You can’t be serious.”

Spiros keyed a few commands near the giant door, which slid open slowly. It was the thickest door Chase had ever seen. The engine that powered the sucker must have been draining quite some power. The moment the door was fully open, lights turned on, revealing the room beyond. The place was huge, the size of a football field at least. Chase could see droids standing there, three of them around the middle of the room. They looked de-activated.

“Three droids?” said Chase, smirking widely. “At least give me a challenge.”

“Get in, Chase. Good luck.”

“Yeah right.”

Chase walked towards the center of the giant room. He stopped in front of the first droid. Two more stood behind it, forming a triangle. They looked really sleek: humanoid shaped, smooth; and their chrome finish reflected the light.

Chase approached the droid and knocked its head twice. “Anyone there?”

Its eyes flashed green. Chase was briefly startled and took a step back. A light turned on at his right and revealed a large control room behind a large window. Chase saw Spiros and the Gaia droid standing there.

“Are you ready, Chase?”

“Sure.”

“I’ll just activate one droid so you can get a feeling of its power. Don’t pull any punches.”

“If I don’t it might be scrap metal very fast.”

“I think you’ll be surprised.”

“Alright.”

The first droid launched itself at Chase and threw a series of punches and kicks at a surprisingly fast rate, but it was still way too slow to be any danger to Chase. Several of them together could be another story.

“Fight back, Chase,” asked Spiros over the speakers.

Chase blocked the next two attacks and punched the droid straight in the face. A blue shield blocked the impact. The droid was thrown back a few feet but was soon back on the offensive.

“That’s cool. Activate the other two, Spiros.”

Now all three droids attacked Chase and it required a lot more concentration to not get hit, but with enough focus he repelled their attacks easily, often throwing them away temporarily with well-placed punches and kicks. Chase’s blood boiled with joy as he fought the droids. He noticed they started to anticipate some of his attacks.

“These things are cool. I’ll take twenty please.”

“That won’t be necessary, Chase.”

Then something happened. The entire arena hummed and trembled for a second and Chase felt heavier. His speed was cut in half.

“What the—”

But then one of the droids caught him off guard with a strong uppercut that sent him flying. When he crashed against the floor it hurt more than it ought to.

“What just happened?”

“I’ve artificially doubled the gravity inside the chamber. Do you still want twenty of them at this setting?”

Chase got up, wiped a little blood off the corner of his mouth, looked at Spiros and smiled. “This is awesome. Thank you! How far can the gravity go?”

“Oh, right now it’s maximum setting would crush you, most likely, but in time, as your body acclimates to it, you should be able to develop your speed, reflexes and overall power.”

Bring it on!
“Cool.”

“There’s more.”

A panel opened on the high ceiling and a turret dropped down and started firing plasma at Chase. He jumped out of the way, but the droids were already upon him. He somersaulted over them, sending one flying against the nearest wall with full force. It lost no time getting back up and running back towards the brawl. Chase blocked a spin kick from another droid and sent the third to the ground by sweeping its feet from under it with a crouched kick.

The fact that the droids didn’t seem to get damaged, thanks to their shields, made for very focused training on Chase’s part. At this level of gravity, he already had to give the most of himself to stay ahead of the game, and could already feel his tiredness growing.

“Can I blow some of them up?”

“You can try.”

Chase opened his palm and a blue fireball shot towards a droid, which deflected it with the back of its hand, to Chase’s surprise. Its shield lit up in the process. The droid didn’t stop and was now on top of Chase and launched a series of attacks. It anticipated Chase’s counterattacks with more ease. Then Chase was hit from behind. Having placed all his focus on that one droid he hadn’t heard the other coming. He was thrown forward, where the third droid stopped his momentum by smashing him to the ground with a powerful right hook.

Anger started to fill Chase’s body. He loved the challenge, but didn’t really appreciate being beaten by tin cans. He jumped back to his feet just in time to feel something coming from behind. One of the droids sent lasers his way. Chase deflected them and sent a flurry of fireballs towards his attacker. Two of them were deflected but the next few hit their targets. The droid was thrown in every direction with each new impact and fell to the ground. Smoke rose from it.

The other two droids fired towards Chase as well. He flew upwards and created a giant fireball the size of a car and sent it towards the droids. They jumped out of the way, but the impact with the ground and resulting explosion and shockwave sent them flying uncontrollably. Chase flew towards one of them and landed a series of punches, kicks and knees, sending that particular droid flying even further.

The turret above fired three more shots towards Chase, who back flipped three times to dodge the incoming attacks, but was rewarded with a metallic knee in the thorax in the middle of his evasive action. Some of his ribs broke and he spat blood. He crashed to the ground a few yards away. He took to his knees but was panting heavily.

The turret rose back into the ceiling and the two droids still standing ran back to the center of the room and deactivated.

“What’s happening?”

“The computer says you’ve injured yourself.”

“It’s just a couple of broken ribs. Nothing I can’t handle.”

“I read three broken.”

“Alright, give me a sec to heal myself.”

Chase healed his wounds and did an internal power check. He was running on fumes.

“Perhaps I need to take a little break. I exhausted too much energy destroying boulders before. What’s with the third droid? Did I destroy it?”

“It’s self-repairing. It will be back on its feet in a few minutes, don’t worry.”

“I might destroy a few at each session.”

“Yes, we’re aware of that, but at the same time you have to push yourself to your limits with the gravity being doubled. That way you can emulate fighting stronger and faster foes.”

“That’s very ingenious, Spiros, thank you so much.”

“My pleasure. Gaia helped.”

“I’m sure she did. Thanks.”

The arena hummed again and the gravity returned to normal. Chase seemed so light he felt compelled to throw a quick succession of punches and kicks into the air.

“Wow, this is cool. I think I already feel a little faster.”

“That’s the idea. You should get some rest now. There’s a mess hall and even sleeping quarters here. Anything you need, really.”

Chase smiled.

I’m gonna enjoy spending most of my time here.

*   *   *

When Daniel came to Chase’s quarters, he looked worried.

“What is it, bro? What can I do for you?”

“I wanted to talk to you about Fillio, if you have the time.”

“Sure. Everything alright?”

“We . . . we’ve been spending quite some time together and most of it is great, but there seems to be something wrong and I can’t put my finger on it.”

“What do you mean ‘wrong’?”

“I wish I knew. We’re having a lot of fun together and, to tell you the truth, I’m falling for her.”

Chase smiled. “That’s great, isn’t it?”

“Yeah I thought so too, but lately she’s been a little distant.”

“Distant how?”

“Something seems to be really eating at her soul, but every time I try to raise the subject, she changes it.”

“These constant battles and risking our lives every few weeks takes a toll on most of us.”

“You seem fine.”

“Well, I’m not. Perhaps I’m just better at hiding it than Fillio.”

“Can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

“Did the two of you . . .?”

“What?”

“You know. When the fifth fleet helped us defend Droxia, the way she talked with you, it seemed the two of you were good friends, perhaps even something more.”

“We were close at one point, but we never went all the way.”

“Any reason why?”

“I’m not sure. When we first met after the academy, she had just lost most of her family. She felt lost and very depressed. At that time she was also mad at the world around her. Her anger and thirst for payback was her driving force, but it was also taking a toll on her. We quickly became friends and I felt she wanted more. It almost happened a few times, in fact, but I sensed something wasn’t right. I think she hadn’t processed her grief properly, and all that affection seemed misplaced at the time. I wanted to be a good friend but I didn’t want to start a relationship under the circumstances. Don’t get me wrong, she’s a lovely girl, but we were both pilots. We weren’t supposed to fraternize and get attached to one another that way.”

“Since when did Chase Athanatos give a crap about rules and regulations?”

“Touché. But this was not just about regulations. I once found her in my quarters with my sidearm in her hands after we had spent the night together. And by spend the night I just mean sleep in the same bed. We never had sex, but she needed a presence sometimes and I was happy to provide it for her. But when I saw her with that gun, I had the definite feeling that she was seriously considering using it on herself. I felt that if we ever embraced a physical and emotional relationship, it could be a liability on the battlefield. She was already carrying so much pain with her in that cockpit when we flew on missions. I thought if we got close and something happened to me, it might actually push her over the edge. I didn’t want to be responsible for that. Perhaps that was selfish of me—I don’t know—but it didn’t feel right.”

“That’s heavy. And I don’t think that’s selfish. On the contrary.”

“Daniel, it’s possible she still carries a lot of that weight around with her. And perhaps you can help her, in time, to unburden herself. But I suggest you avoid telling her about this conversation. If she wants to tell you, you should let her do it on her own terms.”

“You’re probably right. I appreciate you sharing this with me, though. I hope it wasn’t nosy of me asking you. It’s just I worry about her.”

“No worries. I completely understand. I think the two of you having a relationship is great, for the both of you. I can’t think of a nicer guy for her to put her trust in.”

“I’m not sure she wants something serious, you know . . .”

“My advice to you is to give her time. And be there for her when she needs you.”

Daniel took Chase in his arms and patted his back. “Thanks, bro.”

“Anytime.”

“How are things with you and Sarah?”

“We’ve been better. Hopefully time will heal these wounds.”

“Jeez! It’s not easy understanding women, is it? I mean, you risked everything to save her and now you’re being blamed for it.”

“To tell you the truth, Daniel, I don’t disagree with her point of view. I did a selfish act. I wanted to save her, and to hell with the consequences. And I risked way more than I was aware of at the time. I was blinded by my obsession to rescue her.”

“That’s only human and you know it.”

“Perhaps. And yet now we’re going to have to face the most dangerous race that ever walked amongst the stars, thanks to me.”