Fury to the Stars (Universe in Flames Book 2) (5 page)

Chase, help, Hellstar...

Then her mind dissolved into an empty void.

Ryonna’s first night in Hellstar had been a
sleepless one. As was custom for new arrivals, she was assigned a lone cell.
But Hellstar wasn’t a normal prison. Cells there were only temporary. Main
population was actually just a large, open space. There was one fortified main
entry, but several smaller doors led to interrogation chambers and medical
centers, and one big door led to a morgue. The prison was mostly unguarded with
the exception of sentry droids who would intervene only if the security of the
prison was in jeopardy. Something that didn’t happen often, if the prison’s
reputation was to be believed. The inmates did a good enough job of maintaining
their own brand of order.

What that meant was that no one who came to Hellstar
would ever get out. Not alive anyway. The population of the prison had the
tendency to make their own rules. They would thin the herd regularly. Only the
strong survived this place. Ryonna wasn’t that worried, though. Not many races
were able to take down a Droxian in a one-on-one fight. What she had to be
careful about was to not get overpowered by larger numbers.

Her stomach made a strange noise accompanied with
some discomfort. She groaned but knew it was part of her plan; the quadrinium pin
she had ingested was being transformed in her stomach, a process that would
take some time. And while she might hate how she was feeling, it was normal
since she literally had a nanite factory in her stomach. So it was bound to
feel unpleasant at the very least. She hoped the doc had been right, or else
her stay in Hellstar, and in the universe for that matter, was not going to be
as long as she’d hoped. She had gone through a whole lot of effort and pain to
get this plan in motion. It had to work. Ronan’s life hung in the balance.

Aside from the discomfort from the pin, there was
something else that was causing her stomach to feel as though it was tied in
knots. A fear gripped her heart and wouldn’t let go. She tried to tell herself
that it was just nerves, but her instinct told her that she had no more time to
lose, that Ronan needed her.

In the morning, a flying droid came to open her cell
and accompany her to the general population. As they approached the large and
clearly fortified gates, Ryonna rolled her neck first to one side, then the
other, popping the bones loudly. The massive doors opened after a series of
loud clicks and groans. She held her body stiff and tall as she strode past the
dozens of creeps waiting within its walls.

Here we go,
she thought.

The moment she crossed the threshold, the gates
closed back with a loud, metallic clunk, and the ground trembled. She looked
fiercely at everyone present. One pair of crazy eyes after another. Humanoids,
Brins, insectoids… All the finest scum of the universe was here, no doubt. She
gave them each a look that would melt ice to make sure she set the tone of her
presence. She knew she had to make it clear from the start that she was not a
being to be trifled with. After a few moments, most of the inmates went back to
whatever they had been doing before she walked in. There was one Brin, though,
who simply wouldn’t stop staring at her.

“Want a holo-picture? It will last longer!” she said
defiantly, jutting her chin.

He didn’t answer. She walked right in front of him
and stared down. Still, he didn’t move and his eyes stayed locked on hers.

“I suggest you get out of my way,” she said
menacingly.

Brins were typically about the height of human
beings. This one was actually about two meters in height and was well built.
His purple, scaled skin looked filthy and he emitted an unpleasant odor. He
still didn’t budge. He did, however, make the stupid decision to growl.

Ryonna had hoped to avoid any confrontation, but she
knew very well she would have to mark her territory if she was to survive her
stay here, however short it may turn out to be. She kept meeting his gaze until
he made the first move.

But before he could launch his fist toward her
thorax, she was already out of the way. She caught his arm and snapped it on
his own back, taking a step away as he screamed through the agony of a dozen
broken bones.

By this point a crowd had started to form around
them. She decided not to let the altercation last too long. After all, she had
more important matters to attend to. She delivered a single blow in a fast and
fluid motion to the back of the Brin’s neck. He collapsed to the ground,
unconscious.

“Now let this be a lesson to everyone,” she said
loud enough so most convicts within an ear shot could hear. The crowd quietly
dispersed.

“Very impressive. Although, you probably made
yourself a few enemies. The Brins are well respected here in Hellstar,” said
someone to her right.

She turned to see who had spoken. An insectoid
Gorgar was standing there.

“Well, he looked at me wrong,” she retorted
irritably.

“Maybe that’s because he’s both blind and deaf, and
I guess now a cripple.”

“What?” Her face clouded with surprise.

“Nah, I’m shitting you. The guy’s a real asshole. I,
for one, am happy you kicked his ass.”

Ryonna released a sigh of relief over the last
comment. She definitely hated those who preyed on the weak, and she’d hate to
think of herself in that category.

“Who do I talk to to get information around here?”

“That depends. What kind of information are you
looking for?” The Gorgar smiled. He clearly knew something.

“I’m looking for someone in Hellstar.”

“Another Droxian perhaps? A young boy?”

Hope swelled in Ryonna’s chest. “Yes, where is he?”

“I can help, but everything has a price down here.”

“I don’t have time for—”

Before she could finish her sentence, the Gorgar
vanished into thin air in front of her eyes. “Make the time,” he suddenly said
from behind her.

A teleporter? She jumped instinctively back into a
fighting stance.

“Easy, Miss...?”

“Ryonna.”

“Take it easy, Ryonna, I’m not your enemy. But I
need your help, and I think you might need mine.” The insectoid was right, and
Ryonna knew it.

“I’m listening.”

“I believe I know the one you are looking for.”

“What do you want?”

“I sense you are not planning to be here for long. I
want you to take me with you.”

She shook her head. “Not in the cards.”

“Too bad. The boy won’t last long.” The insectoid
turned away, but glanced back at her intently. “He’s your son, isn’t he?”

“How did you—”

“Oh please, a mother’s love is obvious. But like I
said, he won’t last long here.”

She jutted up her chin. “My son is stronger than you
think.”

“That may be true, but it’s not really relevant at
this point.”

“What does that mean?”

“He got into a fight with another convict yesterday.
It didn’t look like he would survive his injuries for very long, I’m afraid.
I’m surprised he lasted the night.”

“What? You son of a bitch, why didn’t you tell me
that earlier? Where is he now?” She moved toward the Gorgar, but he just
vanished and reappeared behind her.

“As I said before,” he began, “everything has a
price. Mine is my freedom.”

“What about your life? I could crush you right now!”

“Well, you could give it your best shot, but I doubt
you have the time to play cat and mouse.” The Gorgar then teleported again
three times successively. First on her right, then left, and then in front of
her. He moved so fast that Ryonna could hardly keep track. “If you see what I
mean...” He smiled when he was finished.

“You can’t keep that up all day. Eventually, you’ll
run out of juice.”

“Maybe, maybe not. But do you think your boy has
that kind of time?”

A fierce rage boiled in Ryonna’s blood, but now if
what that creature said was true, she might even have less time to find Ronan
than she had thought.

“One day you’ll regret blackmailing me, mark my
words,” she hissed.

“Do we have a deal then?”

“Yes,” she responded grudgingly. “Now where is my
son?”

“Follow me. He was badly wounded, so we need to
hurry. I hope we’re not too late.”

“If we are, the deal is off.”

“That’s not in the original deal. Let’s go.”

Ryonna growled.

The Gorgar started running, Ryonna following closely
behind. After ten minutes, they arrived near something that looked like an
arena of some sort.

“This is where he fought.”

Ryonna looked at the ground and saw blood. Lots of
blood. Some of the fresher streaks did indeed look like Droxian blood.

“Alright, where is he?” she asked anxiously.

The Gorgar got down and took some of the Droxian
blood between his fingers, licked it briefly, and got up again.

“What are you doing?” Ryonna demanded.

“Picking up his scent.”

“What? I thought you knew where he was? Don’t you
waste my time—”

“Look, I’m the best chance you have to find him
quickly.”

“Doesn’t look that way to me.”

“Droxians,” the Gorgar groaned, before suddenly:
“There! He’s three clicks in that direction.”

“What are we waiting for?!”

They resumed their run and made their way to one of
the smaller corridors. It was there that they ran into a problem. A big, fat,
orange problem. He was a humanoid with dark, tribal tattoos covering his bright
skin, and he was standing directly in their path. They came to a stop in front
of him and Ryonna didn’t waste any time bothering to evaluate the situation.

“Move out of our way, or I will make you move.”

“You cannot pass through here,” answered the man
with a deep voice.

“Wanna bet?” Ryonna replied, taking a step forward.

“Ryonna, maybe we shouldn’t antagonize him,” the
Gorgar cautioned. “The Radioks are dumb, but they are numerous in this prison.”

“Who are you calling dumb?” the man bellowed.

“Not you, sir. I was making a general observation,”
the Gorgar replied.

The fat Radiok seemed confused by the answer, so he
started scratching his head, trying to figure out if he should feel insulted or
not.

“Move away now,” Ryonna repeated impatiently through
clenched teeth. “This is your last warning, fatso!”

“Who are you calling fasto?”

Ryonna turned towards the Gorgar. “Yeah, you’re
right. They’re really dumb.”

The Gorgar nodded in answer.

“What?” cried the Radiok. “Nobody dares to—”

Before he could finish his sentence, he was taking a
swing at Ryonna. And while she was much faster, she was still impressed by his
speed considering the Radiok’s ample corpulence. She slid under him and went
for a kick in between his legs. He didn’t seem to budge so she backed away.

“That should have floored him. What’s going on?”

The insectoid smiled. “That’s not where the Radiok’s
genitals are.”

“Oh...”

“He’s pissed now anyway, so let’s finish this.”

The Gorgar teleported behind him and attacked the
Radiok with three precise strikes to his back. The man fell headfirst to the
ground with a loud thud.

“Alright, next time do that immediately.” Ryonna
huffed, annoyed at having needed the assistance of a Gorgar.

“Again, not part of our original deal. And you’re
welcome.”

“If you say the word
deal
one more time I
will shove your antennas down your throat.”

“Charming…”

Ryonna stepped over the Radiok and they resumed
their run. A few minutes later, they arrived at an intersection. The Gorgar made
a weird noise and pointed towards the right.

“That way. We’re near.”

“Let’s hurry then.” The feeling of terror had
returned to Ryonna’s chest.

They arrived at a series of rooms. Some of them
looked like living quarters. She could smell a Droxian presence now. She rushed
towards it and entered one of the alcoves before stopping dead in her tracks.
What she saw terrified her. There was a Droxian body in the middle of the
floor, face-down and motionless, lying in a pool of blood.

She froze, terrified to take another step. The body
didn’t seem to be breathing.

The lift’s doors opened and Daniel and Chase stepped
onto the bridge.

“Good to see you up,” the captain said upon seeing
Chase.

“Captain,” Chase replied with a nod.

“Daniel, would you mind explaining to me why one of
my security guards had to surrender himself to my brig?”

“Long story, Captain.”

“Alright, we only have a few seconds before we jump
out of hyperspace near Droxia, but you will debrief me later.” His tone left no
room for argument.

“Yes, Cap—”

He never finished his sentence as the
Destiny’s
hyperspace engines roared.

The second the
Destiny
made the jump back to
normal space, all hell broke loose. Salvos of laser fire came crashing against
the ship’s hull, rocking it. They were at the planet alright. And it was under
a full-on attack.

“Shields up, now! Battle stations!”

“Shields are up, Captain,” answered a crew member.

“What the hell! I thought we were supposed to stand
trial, not be shot on sight!” shouted Daniel.

“Status report?” demanded the captain.

“A fleet of several ships, some Obsidian and some
Zarlack, are attacking a large fleet of Droxian ships as well as firing on the
planet, Captain.”

“Get me Captain Dark’nar of the Droxian battleship
Phoenix
.”

“On screen, Captain.”

The captain appeared on the main holo-screen of the
Destiny
.
He seemed as lost as they were, shouting commands in Droxian to his crew. After
a few seconds he turned towards his main camera. “Captain Saroudis, do you have
any idea what this is?” he demanded.

“None. But let’s not worry about that. We will
engage and provide assistance; we owe you that much.”

“Thank you, Captain Saroudis, this will not be
forgotten.”

The screen snapped off as the captain issued his
next order.

“Target enemy vessels; fire at will. Torpedoes,
lasers, everything. Red alert! Deploy all fighters now!” He turned toward his
two young friends. “You two, to your ships on the double. Alpha and Beta Wings
need their wing commander.”

“Understood, Captain,” said Chase as they both ran
off the bridge.

*   *   *

Chase and Daniel’s fighters were the last to launch,
but soon they rejoined the rest of their wings. This was a far bigger onslaught
than the one that had taken place on Earth a few days ago. Obsidian and their
Zarlack allies had clearly amassed another huge fleet in order to attack
Droxia, no doubt because of their intervention in the previous battle.

How had they gotten so many new ships so quickly? No
one knew.

“Dan, what if Sarah is on one of these ships?” The
question had pricked the back of his mind ever since he saw the Obsidian Fleet.

“Chase, not now. I understand how you feel, but you
can’t let that stop us from destroying our enemies. They nearly annihilated a
planet with seven billion souls, and now they’re trying to destroy another.
They need to be stopped. Not to mention that if we survive this, we might just
have found our biggest ally yet.”

“Let’s just hope they don’t bite the dust here
today,” Chase replied.

“That’s more like it. Let’s help them make sure that
doesn’t happen, alright?”

“Roger that. Engaging.”

Chase went into a fury of acrobatic maneuvers,
dispatching enemy vessels one after the other. His mind was fully dedicated to
winning this fight and it showed. After only a couple of minutes he had eradicated
an entire enemy wing almost by himself.

He was directing his wing to the next incoming wave
of fighters when he heard something in his mind.

 Chase, help, Hellstar...

It was Sarah’s voice. He would know it anywhere. At
first he froze, believing he was hallucinating. His ship took a blast of laser
fire to his port shield, but he barely reacted until the onboard computer
resonated another alarm: “Warning! Collision alert, warning!”

He barely managed to veer off course at the last
moment, his shield brightening up from the close encounter with a Zarlack
fighter.

“In the name of...” Daniel shouted via the comm.
“Are you alright, Chase?”

“Yeah, sorry, got distracted for a moment.”

“Chase, there’s no way of knowing if Sarah is here,
but you can’t think about that for now. We need you.”

“Roger that. Plus, I know now she isn’t here.” Chase
was almost delirious with relief that she was alive, although terrified at her
destination.

“Huh? Mind explaining that?”

“Later—let’s finish this and fast! I know where I
have to go next.”

“That’s the spirit. Watch your six! You have
multiple enemy craft approaching.”

Chase looked at his HUD. Three enemy craft had taken
advantage of his little reverie and were aligned perfectly on his six. They
started firing the moment they were in range.

Chase took evasive action by rotating the ship on
its axis, avoiding most hits but still taking some damage to his shields.

“Hang on, Chase, I’m coming.”

“No need, Dan, I’ve got this.” He couldn’t help but
grin. “Computer, execute command Omega One.”

The ship’s engine’s cut off and he made a
one-hundred-and-eighty-degree rotation to face his foes. With the engine off,
the ship carried its initial momentum and Chase lined up a shower of laser fire
upon their frontal shields, diverting the engine power to his own shields and
boosting the power of his lasers. He painted all three targets and fired three
missiles simultaneously. Two of the missiles tore their targets apart in a
fiery blaze, while the third impacted the ship but the ship didn’t explode; it
lost all shields instead.

Chase rebalanced power, went full on the engines,
and headed on a collision course. He waited until the last second and fired a
single burst of concentrated laser fire. The enemy ship exploded like a piñata,
and Chase flew through the debris.

“Are you okay, pal?” inquired Daniel.

“I’m fine. Don’t worry about me.”

“Dude, you seem to be flying even more recklessly
than usual.”

Chase smirked. “And how does that reflect on my kill
stats so far?”

After a couple of seconds Daniel answered. “As long
as you’re in control of your emotions.”

“I wouldn’t go
that
far.”

“Why don’t I like the sound of that?”

“I’m fine, bro, don’t worry.”

“Roger. Good hunting.”

“You too.”

*   *   *

On the bridge of the SAD
Destiny
, Captain
Saroudis watched the battle with great focus. Their arrival seemed to have
tipped the balance in favor of the Alliance now, with multiple squadrons of
fighters being eradicated by the joint forces of the
Destiny
battle
group and their Droxian escorts.

Chase’s ability to engage enemies using
non-conventional and ever-changing fighting techniques never ceased to amaze
the captain. Of course, his recklessness was enough to give the captain a
series of small heart attacks. Chase was an ace pilot and natural strategist,
one they could not afford to lose. Not to mention his relations with the
Olympians.

The Obsidian Empire and their Zarlack allies seemed
to agree. They sent no less than two squadrons on an approaching vector towards
Chase’s Beta Wing.

“Lieutenant, concentrate fire to cover Beta Wing;
all batteries, fire.”

“New targets acquired. Firing now, Captain.”

The barrage of laser fire being unleashed towards
the incoming wings vectoring towards Beta Wing was very effective and dealt
with most of them in a matter of seconds. More than two thirds of their craft
exploded before they could reach firing range.

“Thanks for the assist, Captain,” Chase called over
the comm.

“Anytime, Chase. But some fighters are still
entering firing range.”

“That’s alright; my wing will take care of it.
What’s our status?”

“We seem to have tipped the balance of this fight.
We should be able to win this, but it’s too early to tell at what cost. It’s a
rather balanced fight; both sides are incurring substantial damage.”

“Roger that, Cap.”

Captain Saroudis’ chin was pressed against a
clenched fist, clearly worried by this unexpected battle. Yet he knew this
might actually win over the Droxians as new members of the Alliance, something
that was both unexpected and a great first step towards uniting more worlds
against the Obsidian Empire. He had to admit, though, that he didn’t know if
that would be enough. Even if the Droxians joined them, they would most likely
still be outnumbered. They simply had no way of knowing how many Zarlack ships
were out there. So while every new allied world mattered, especially after the
catastrophic losses the Alliance suffered from the coordinated attack, Captain
Saroudis wondered how long they could resist an all-out attack if one was to
come.

“Captain!” shouted one of the officers.

“What is it?”

“Multiple jump points forming.”

“Damn, just when we thought we had this battle under
control.”

“Sir, the ships show a friendly signature!”

“What?”

“Seven Alliance battleships with escorts, including
the SAD
Cronos
.”

“Thank the gods…”

*   *   *

Onboard the SAD
Cronos’
bridge, Admiral
Thassos was sitting in her chair.

“Ensign, target all enemy ships. Fire at will.”

“Yes, ma’am, firing at will.”

The admiral was a tall woman well into her eighties,
though the years had been kind to her. By human standards, the admiral barely
looked fifty years old. Her face bore few wrinkles and held one blue and one
green eye, along with long blond hair that flowed like golden velvet down her
back.

“Open a channel to the
Destiny
.”

“Channel opened.”

Captain Saroudis appeared on the holo-display of the
Cronos
battle destroyer.

“Long time no see, Adonis.”

“Indeed, Admiral.” He looked delighted. “I thought
the Fifth Fleet was destroyed when the Empire attacked the home world?”

“Rumors of our demise were greatly exaggerated.”

“I can see that. Your timing couldn’t be better.”

“You seemed to have things under control from what
our scans told to us, but I thought you’d appreciate the help anyway.”

The captain chuckled and gestured to the battle. “We
do.”

“I’m looking forward to seeing you soon, old friend.
In the meantime, let’s turn these Obsidian scum and their new friends into
pretty fireworks.”

He smiled. “Roger that, Admiral. Saroudis out.”

The holo-screen turned off.

Admiral Thassos then picked the biggest three
battleships currently engaged against the Alliance and the Droxians, targeting
them on her personal battle holo-display.

“Bring main weapons to bear.”

“Main weapons active.”

“Fire in sequence on my target list, maximum
firepower.”

“Firing now, Admiral.”

*   *   *

Chase had just dispatched the last of the incoming
enemy fighters when he was blinded by several jump points forming. Obsidian
Empire reinforcements, no doubt. It took a few seconds for the white veil from
the jumps to restore his vision. At first he thought he was dreaming, then
quickly checked his HUD for confirmation. There was no doubt, those were
Alliance battle destroyers, and quite the armada too.

“Am I seeing this right?” Daniel’s voice came over
the comm system.

“Yeah, that’s the Fifth Fleet.”

“But how is that even possible?”

“Does it really matter?”

“No I guess not. I’m just stunned. For a second I
thought it was more Zarlack reinforcements and more bad luck.”

“You and me both, my friend.”

Soon every ship from the newly arrived Alliance
armada started spewing fighters. It looked like a swarm of bees, beautiful and
extremely effective too. Both Obsidian and Zarlack starfighters started
disappearing off the radar at an exponential rate.

“Wow, looks like this battle will be over sooner
than we expected,” Daniel said.

“Yes, but let’s go assist anyway.” Chase grinned.
“It’s not every day we have the numbers on our side. Let’s savor this moment.”

“Agreed.”

“Care to make it interesting?”