Fury to the Stars (Universe in Flames Book 2) (28 page)

A feat in and of itself!
he thought. File
notes concerning the nebula’s composition made him wonder how they’d managed to
construct anything in such a volatile environment without blowing themselves to
kingdom come.

One thing in particular caught his attention: an
immensely powerful shield generator. But it followed, of course, that the whole
shipyard’s construction would depend on this one thing. It must have been built
first, and allowed them to not only shield themselves from catastrophe during
the assembling of the rest of the facilities, but also helped reduce the
nebula’s atmospheric particulate density within the shielded area. Surely it
would take a major catastrophic explosion for any of the particles to ignite
within the shielded area.

It was an ingenious design, one he admitted he’d
probably never have thought of. The shield generator was itself also protected
by a self-generated shield engine, much more powerful than even the biggest
Zarlack’s or Obsidian ships carried onboard. While his scientist mind was in
awe of all the data he was observing, he had to remind himself that he had a
job to do.

But the plans and the highly resilient encryption
confirmed him one thing: this installation was important to the enemy. If they
left in such a hurry, it could mean only one thing. Something or someone put
their plans in jeopardy. Gatos was only a few hours away in hyperspace, at what
was once the outskirts of Obsidian territory. The Alliance or any other power
out there must have been in the process of attacking the facility. That meant
that he needed to contact them at all cost, so he might be rescued from here.
Once he’d found a way back to the Alliance, he could give them all his precious
research to fight back at the enemy.

He brought up a status of the station. Everything
was running reasonably well, all considering; his station was fully
operational. He considered opening a subspace transmission, and just flooding
it with a distress call. But this might also attract the wrong crowd, and
whether or not they could decrypt the message, they could probably still track
it. So he decided first to install R&D upgrades into the station’s systems.
The weapons would require some hardware upgrades to be fully upgraded to his
specs, but some of his energy efficiency subroutines could probably give them a
sufficient boost in power. His ace in the hole was that he’d already installed
pretty much everything needed to make the shields at least stronger than
anything Obsidian or Zarlack.

An hour later, he was satisfied that he could defend
himself and the station from even a medium-large fleet, should the enemy get
the transmission before the Alliance did. He started working on his message. He
also added anti-jamming subroutines into them, so they would cut through enemy
jamming fields. He considered that part was vital, especially if Obsidian and
the Alliance were fighting it out in the nearby Gatos system.

He reviewed his modifications one last time and then
hit the comm button on his terminal to start recording his message.

Here goes nothing
, he thought before he
started talking.

The chaos after the rescue maneuver had left many
aboard the
Hope
wounded or knocked unconscious. Chase called for medical
emergency aid to the bridge but nobody arrived. Doubtless similar incidents had
happened all over the ship. With most systems down when ripped from the nebula,
they’d all felt the full brunt of abrupt acceleration, as well as the hasty
jump into hyperspace.

One thing was sure now, Ares had been right:
evidently Argos needed Chase alive. That act had provided definite proof. It
still bugged him that he didn’t know why, but at least Sarah, he and the baby
were all still alive, thanks to it.

Sarah seemed a little shaken up from everything that
just had happened.

“What the hell was that? What just happened, Chase?”

Chase lifted one finger to make her wait before
answering, and opened a channel to engineering.

She lowered her eyebrows, looking frustrated he
didn’t answer.

“Yanis, please respond?”

A few seconds passed and he repeated the request but
still no answer. A pit started forming in his stomach as he remembered the promise
he’d made to Fillio.

“Yanis!”

“Uuuuurgh... I... I’m still here, but my head is
ringing.”

Chase sighed in relief.

“You’re okay, buddy?”

“Wouldn’t go that far. What the hell was that? And
how are we still alive and discussing it?”

“As improbable as it sounds, we were rescued by a
behemoth-class Zarlack ship.”

“Nah, I’m dead or asleep and this is a dream. Ouch!
No… I’m awake. I can’t believe it.”

“I can. I don’t know why, but it’s clear that Argos
wants me alive.”

“How would you know?”

“He told me a second before he rescued us.”

“Yeah, this makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.
The guy obliterates the Alliance, almost destroys Earth. And now he saves you
from the very trap he erected in order to kill us? Do you see the irony here?”

“Look, I can only surmise that he never thought I’d
sacrifice myself in order to save the fleet. Furthermore, since it’s now pretty
clear that we have a spy in our midst, he must have known I was onboard the
toughest ship. He probably thought he could thoughtlessly destroy the opposition
and just spare me.”

That gave Chase pause. Whoever was working with him
would be someone relatively close. Someone with access to sensitive data.

“How’s the ship doing, Yanis?”

“Power is restored to ninety percent. We’re no
longer in hyperspace but we’re still in tractor lock. We can’t feel it anymore
because our inertial dampeners are back online.”

“The crew of the bridge is pretty shaken up. Some
haven’t regained consciousness. I need to make that ship go away.”

“Then use your precious gadget. It ought to give you
enough control to make that happen.”

Right,
Chase thought,
the
neurolink interface!

“Thanks, Yanis. Make sure the ship purrs like a
kitten. I think this is going to be a long, hard day.”

“No shit!”

Sarah was still there, fixed on Chase expectantly.

“Sorry, I just didn’t think it was necessary for me
to say the same thing twice.”

“You could have just said that. However…
What the
fuck
?”

“I know.”

She made a head movement that could only underline
her previous comment.

“That’s why we need to deal with him once and for
all.”

Chase put the cylindrical neurolink devices to his
temple and went back to his captain’s chair. He sat down and closed his eyes.

“We need to get back to the rest of the fleet,
stat,” he added for Sarah’s benefit. “Give me a minute to get rid of our tow
truck.”

“One minute, huh?” she said with a smile.

“Uhum,” Chase said with a smile.

Chase powered the shields, which effectively shut
down the tractor beam linking the two ships. He then lost no time powering up
the main guns, turrets and torpedoes, and locked on the target. He activated
them all at max power, giving a new meaning to the phrase “give it all you’ve
got.” The ship’s shield took most of the incoming fire, but they quickly
lowered. Once the first main guns’ plasma canon fired, they were almost down to
nothing. Then the ship blinked as it entered hyperspace, fleeing.

“Thanks for the tow!” Chase added sarcastically.

While he would never admit it out loud, he was glad
the ship escaped. He could have blown it out of space without breaking a sweat,
but they’d just saved his whole crew. Whether it had been remotely controlled
by Argos, or captained by one of his lackeys didn’t really matter. That ship
had saved their hide, so he was glad he didn’t have to deal with any conscience
conundrums which eradicating them would have brought.

He displayed a star map on his virtual instruments
and attempted hailing the rest of the fleet through the
Destiny
.

The face of Commodore Saroudis appeared in the
virtual view screen, but the image shook.

“Chase? How is that even possible?”

“I’m afraid to say, Argos saved our hide. I don’t
understand it either. But what’s going on? Things look shaky over there.”

“Argos? What? Yeah. I’m so glad to see you, no
matter the reason. Where are you right now? We’re getting our asses kicked. We
can’t jump out of the area. They’ve brought three Jump Interdiction Fields
ships and we’re in the middle of a kill box.”

“Send your coordinates. I’ll be there shortly. You
hang on, Adonis!”

Chase realized it was the first time he’d ever
addressed his former captain by his first name.

“Roger that. Coordinates sent. Hope you can help us
out of this mess or we’ll be dead in minutes. We’ve already lost four ships.
All Obsidian ships but one were destroyed. But the last one just decided to
retreat at subspace speed. Fortunately the Droxians are holding steady, and
have only lost two ships.”

“Hang on, we’re on our way. Sarah, you’d better go
to your StarFury. We’ve got to help the fleet. They’re under attack.”

“On my way,” she said, storming out of the bridge.

Chase entered the coordinates and activated
hyperspace engines. With a blur they entered the hyperspace corridor.

When the
Hope
got out of hyperspace less than
a minute later, Chase was mortified by the chaos and fireworks from the ongoing
battle. Indeed, the Zarlacks had them surrounded, though probably with no more
ships than their own forces. But the fact that they were all around the fleet
made things more complicated for the Alliance battle group. Chase analyzed his
sensor data and saw three ships that were heavily damaged within the Zarlack
ranks. He locked every torpedo available onto the first one, directed every
turret to fire towards the second and tagged the third for later, since it was
currently out of range. He unleashed the full power of the
Hope
upon his
newly designated targets, as he felt the Fury in him boil with rage and
determination.

He transferred every ounce of energy from redundant
and non-essential systems to the weapons, even transferring thirty percent of
shield power so he could boost weapon efficiency to one hundred and thirty
percent. The salvo of twenty-five torpedoes blew up the first ship immediately.
The resulting shockwave lowered the second destroyer’s shields by a hefty
margin upon impact. The continuous stream of turret fire continued pounding and
draining them. He then brought main weapons to bear. He selected a twenty-five
percent shot so the recharge would take less time, and fired upon the crippled
ship. The last of its shield collapsed, while the long range turrets’ fire
started to blow holes in its armor. Soon the enemy stopped firing, after losing
main power, and a single torpedo strategically launched towards the launching
bays had the expected result of generating secondary explosions. The second
destroyer ripped itself apart, spewing flames, crewmen and debris all around
it.

“Welcome back, bro,” said Argos in his mind.

“I’m just getting started. I’m coming for you next!”
said Chase, feeling like he was in a trance.

“Now is that any way to thank me for my leniency?
How ungrateful of you.”

Chase’s blood boiled, but he decided to not let his
brother’s antagonism divert his focus from the battle. He would first turn the
tables on that battle, then deal with Argos.

A beep informed Chase that the third ship he had
tagged just entered main weapon’s range. It was time for the crew to say
goodbye to their dear lives. He fired a full-powered shot from the main guns,
which vaporized the ship upon impact.

“Impressive toy you have bro... Let’s see how it
works when you get all the aggro, shall we?”

“Give me everything you’ve got, Argos. Try and enjoy
yourself while it lasts though; your hours in this world are limited!”

“Your overconfidence will be your downfall.”

Chase forced himself to not continue the banter, as
he knew full well that it created more rage within him, that he could lose
control. At the very least it would cloud his judgment and this wasn’t the
time.

Suddenly, almost every ship from the Zarlack armada
adjusted vector towards EAD
Hope
. Oops! Soon he was taking fire from at
least seven destroyers, two of them behemoth class. Chase quickly redistributed
power to reload his shields. He managed full power and then some, and gritted
his teeth: quickly weapons were no longer the priority, shields were.

“Dude, are you seriously piloting the
Hope
in
battle with only your mind?” said Yanis over the comm.

“Easy peasy.”

“Yeah, something I don’t understand though: you seem
to be affecting systems I haven’t even given you control over. Like power
distribution. How the hell are you managing THAT?”

“I don’t know, but it seems to be working.”

“Yeah,
I can see that
. Granted, I know little
about Furies, but damn!”

“Nothing but instinct.”

“What matters is that we kick these guys’ asses.
I’ll let you do what you’re doing. Obviously you’re now in charge of this
battle.”

Another incoming transmission chimed. It was Daniel.

“Welcome back from the dead, Chase! I thought we’d
lost you there, and I couldn’t even say goodbye. My StarFury’s comm got damaged
during the last sentry run. These things sure pack a punch, huh? You’re okay?”

“I’m fine, buddy, you?”

“Well, we’re getting our proverbial asses kicked but
your arrival seems to have given the enemy pause. What are your orders?”

“Don’t you have them from Saroudis?”

“He got severely injured when one of these behemoths
engaged the
Destiny
. Last I heard Commodore Saroudis was being
transported to the med-bay, vitals critical.”

Chase roared as an answer. Tears formed at the
corners of his eyes: tears of rage.

“
Okay
… I’m pissed off about that too, but
what the hell was that sound?”

“Never mind that.”

“Alright, you’re clearly in command now. What are
your orders?”

“Just destroy every JIF ship, so we can jump out of
here when we need to.”

“Agreed. See you on the other side.”

“Daniel?”

“Yeah?”

“It’s good to hear your voice. No unnecessary risks
out there, okay?”

“Haha, right... Sorry, I’m trying to keep a straight
face over here. That’s so funny coming from you… But aye, Captain. But you know
what, it’s damn good to hear your voice too, bro.”

Chase permitted himself a smile. The fact that
Daniel called him bro warmed his heart. He was more of a brother than Argos
could ever be. He wondered if at one point in time things had ever been
different between them, perhaps during the time he had no memory of.

A salvo of heavy fire and torpedoes pounded into his
ship from the nearest behemoth and brought his attention back to the fight just
as shields fell down to sixty percent.

“All caught up with your friends?” Argos laughed
within his head.

He had to expend a huge amount of mental energy to
stop himself from replying, but he managed not to.

“Chase, I’m in space rejoining the
Destiny’s
wings.”

“Be careful, love. Daniel has your orders.”

“Understood. You be careful too. You do seem to have
all the aggro on you at the moment.”

“Argos is trying to make me believe he could kill
me, but we both know he’s wasting his time posturing. I just hope it’s not part
of another trap.”

“Yeah, me too. Firefly out.”

Chase engaged smaller ships in the armada, and
pushed the sub-light engines to the maximum, trying to evade as much incoming
fire as possible. The
Hope
was no StarFury; but still immensely more
maneuverable than the
Destiny
.