Universe in Flames 3: Destination Oblivion (11 page)

“I don’t remember
pulling
that
trigger though,” said Argos, laughing out loud.

“You find that
funny? As soon as Chase finds you, I can only imagine what he will do to you.
We’ll see who gets the last laugh.”

“Perhaps. Let’s all
go back to Earth and ask him.”

“What makes you
think he’s on Earth? I can tell you he isn’t.”

“He will be. Whether
he’s there when we arrive, or whether there’s much of it left when he comes
back, is another story.”

“What? What is
that supposed to mean?”

“I sent my
strongest armada towards Earth. It should be there any minute now. Without Chase
to protect it this time around, I’d love to see what your pathetic Earth
Alliance will do.”

“You know full
well our ships are now more powerful than yours.”

“Perhaps. Still,
I have the greater numbers.”

“Ryonna, let’s go.
This pathetic excuse for a Fury is too scared to kill us, so let’s get out of
here and back to Earth.”

She nodded in
agreement, but clearly uneasy about the whole situation.

“Easy there. Don’t
misunderstand me. You either take me back to Earth with you or this building
will become your grave.”

“And that’s what
you call surrendering?”

“Semantics,
Daniel. Make your choice, but may I suggest you make the right one, as well as
making it fast.”

“Daniel, this is
a trap. We can’t take him to Earth! That’s what he wants.”

“I think we have
to. Chase will take care of him, I’m sure of it. And this time I will not only
let him kill Argos, I’ll even encourage him.”

Argos smiled
defiantly. “You two do realize that nothing stops me from going to Earth on my
own?”

“Then why this
stand-off?”

“Honestly, I was
hoping my dear brother would be here with you, but since he isn’t that means he
must be on his way back to Earth as we speak. So let’s not delay that nice
family reunion and let’s go now.” Argos gestured toward the exit with his head.

Daniel and Ryonna
looked at one another, and then at Argos, already stepping out of the giant
office. They followed him. With each corridor they passed, they saw more dead
bodies and blood spattered over the otherwise pristine and high-tech building.

They arrived at
the docking bay where they had left their shuttle. Argos stopped.

“Why are you
stopping?” inquired Ryonna.

“To let you
recover your weapons.”

With the
situation so unreal, she had forgotten about that. She didn’t like this one
bit. Argos had something up his sleeve. But she also knew very well that a
direct confrontation here would only mean their deaths. One thing was clear,
once on board the
Iron Fire
, they’d need to find a way to get rid of
him. She cringed at the thought, though.

“Plot all you
want, Ryonna, but please, let’s get going now.”

She realized he
could read thoughts. That would make it almost impossible to get the jump on
him. She holstered her blaster and other weaponry.

“Nice blade by
the way,” said Argos.

She grunted.

“Perhaps one day
you’ll have the opportunity to use it against me, but not today.”

“Don’t tempt me!
I’d like nothing more than to slice you up.”

“I know,” said
Argos with a smile.

He then levitated
Daniel’s side arm and it flew into Daniel’s holster.

“Can we please go
now?”

Daniel and Ryonna
walked towards the shuttle. Sensing their arrival, the side door slid up and a
ramp slid down. They all went on board and Daniel took the helm and fired the
engines. They rose from the landing platform and vectored towards the
Iron
Fire
in orbit around the planet.

Soon Tar’Lock
opened a channel.

“Everything
alright?”

That’s when
Daniel had an idea.

“Tar’Lock,
destroy the shuttle!”

“What? Are you
crazy?”

“Argos is on board.
Shoot us down,
now
!”

Argos lifted two
fingers and said, “Sleep!” Both Daniel and Ryonna lost consciousness. He then
used telekinesis to lift Daniel’s body from the pilot’s chair and lower it gently
nearby.

“Guys! What’s
going on? Please respond!” said Tar’Lock impatiently.

Argos sat in the
pilot’s chair, looked over the controls and activated a video stream.

“Oh shit!” said
Tar’Lock, seeing his face.

“Nice to see you
too. Tar’Lock is it?”

“If you hurt my
friends I’ll destroy your ship right now!”

“I haven’t hurt
them. They’re here. They’re just sleeping at the moment, but unless you want
them dead, I suggest you don’t try to shoot the shuttle down. It would only
kill
them
, I can assure you.”

“What do you
want?”

“Nothing. Let us
board the ship; then we’ll be on way to Earth.”

Tar’Lock
hesitated, but ultimately he wasn’t ready to kill Ryonna or Daniel. No way would
he make that decision.

“You’re clear to
land,” said Tar’Lock reluctantly.

“Well thank you.”

Argos then proceeded
towards the landing bay of the
Iron Fire
and woke his slumbering crew.

When Daniel came
around he looked at the open doors of the shuttle, parked in the
Iron Fire
’s
landing bay. Argos patiently waited outside with his arms crossed against his
chest.

“Shit, we’re
still alive,” he muttered, while shaking his head, trying to wake up more.

“Yes we are,” added
Ryonna. “Perhaps we can sabotage the ship on our way back. Blow him up?”

“We can try, but
we both know he knows everything we think. I don’t think he will let us.”

“We have to try
and kill him somehow, even if we must sacrifice ourselves doing so.”

“I hear you,
Ryonna, but
. . .”
Daniel looked towards Argos. “I don’t think we have the slightest chance.”

“Are you coming?”
screamed Argos from outside the ship.

They followed him
to the bridge. The second the doors slid open and Argos stepped out, a flurry
of blaster fire ricocheted off his face.

Tar’Lock kept
firing but the next waves of blaster fire disintegrated before reaching their
target and the weapon was snatched from Tar’Lock’s grasp and thrown to the
other side of the bridge, where it exploded upon landing.

“AINI, self
destru—” But Tar’Lock couldn’t finish his sentence. An invisible force was crushing
his wind pipe. He struggled and couldn’t breathe, and soon collapsed to the
floor.

“Please stop,”
pleaded Ryonna. As much as she hated to admit it she had strong feelings for
the little guy.

“Don’t worry, I
didn’t kill him; but we can’t have the ship self-destruct now, can we? Let me
explain something. I understand your feeble minds want nothing but to kill me,
and perhaps one day you’ll get your chance, but today I’m in control. I run
this show and we’re going to Earth. It’s a very long jump, so I’d like to short
circuit your next attempt at blowing this ship, or any other dumb ideas your
tiny brains will muster in an attempt to stop me. Even if you did manage to
blow this ship, understand it wouldn’t kill me. My own ship is cloaked and tracking
me in real time. Just as Chase did when I summoned him aboard the Damocles
station, I’m perfectly able to erect a force field to survive in space. You, however,
will instantly die if this ship explodes. So let’s put your hopes of heroism to
rest right this moment, and let’s just try to enjoy this trip, okay?”

“Nice speech,”
said Daniel, clearly annoyed but agreeing with everything Argos said.

Argos smiled.
“See, that’s all I want, for us to get along for the day or so it will take to
reach Earth; then you can get back to hating me and trying to kill me all you want.”

Ryonna slowly removed
her blade from her back without making a sound, her mind as blank as she could
manage, and slashed at Argos from behind. Before the blade could slice through
Argos’ neck it shattered in midair.

Argos turned
around. “Have you’ve been listening to anything I’ve just said?” He exhaled
deeply in frustration.

But Ryonna wasn’t
interested in listening. She reached for her blaster but before she could fire
it was snatched from her hands.

“Droxians! Proud
but stupid people.”

Argos lifted a
finger and pointed it towards Ryonna’s left arm. Soon an intense pain brought her
to her knees. Daniel was terrified as he saw the muscles in her arm atrophy and
heard her bones crushed inside her arm as if they were brittle. She screeched in
pain.

“Please stop,”
Daniel pleaded.

Argos stopped.
Ryonna fainted from the pain and hit the ground headfirst.

“Only because you
asked nicely. Perhaps you should tend to her injuries,” said Argos, looking
towards Tar’Lock, and then continuing, “that way we won’t have to suffer each
other’s company any more than we need to during this long trip.”

On board the EAD
Destiny
,
Commodore Saroudis hailed an incoming ship of unknown origin. The craft was
small but traveled at faster sub-light speed than anything the commodore had ever
encountered.

“Unknown craft,
this is Commodore Saroudis of the Earth Alliance Destroyer
Destiny
.
Please identify yourself and your intentions. You’re entering restricted
space.”

A woman with
beautiful, flame-colored hair and stunning, deep-blue eyes appeared on the holo-screen.

“My name is
Aphroditis.”

That sent a
shiver down Saroudis’ spine.

“As in the
Olympian goddess of love?”

She hesitated,
but finally nodded.

“I’m truly sorry
to say this, but how can you prove it?”

“I’ve been in
contact with one of your crew, Chase Athanatos. I was the one who urged him to
come and save Earth from the Zarlacks.”

“It is you,” said
Saroudis, still not believing his eyes. “You’re the last person I expected to
pick up this call.”

“I can imagine. I
need your help.”

Saroudis’
expression changed.

“Our help? I find
that difficult to believe.”

“Commodore, we
may be powerful beings with a much better understanding and an advanced
technological edge, but we are beings of flesh and blood nonetheless.”

Saroudis
remembered a conversation with Chase in the past when he explained the same
things: that they weren’t gods
per se
, just more advanced beings.

“What we can do
for you?”

“I’m being hunted
by a vicious individual called Argos Thanatos.”

“Chase’s
brother?”

“His twin
brother, yes. He just killed
. . .”
She stopped, and a tear ran down her face.

Fear and dread filled
Saroudis’ heart. “Chase?” he said, his voice trembling.

“No
,
he killed my half brother, Ares.”

“I’m so sorry for
your loss. My deepest condolences.”

“Thank you,
Commodore. Ares sacrificed himself so I could escape, but I’m sure Argos will
follow me. For the time being I have nowhere else to run to.” She lowered her
eyes in shame.

“You came to the
right place. We’ll gladly give you sanctuary here on Earth, for as long as you
need it.”

“Just until I
reunite with Chase. My staying here could put this planet in Argos’
crosshairs.”

“We’re already in
his crosshairs, but we’re better equipped to fight his armadas now. You’ll be
safe here.”

She paused and
looked at Saroudis for a long time, as if deciding whether or not to believe
him. “I
. . . I hope
you’re right.”

“Upon arrival in
Earth’s orbit, you can come aboard my ship. It would be a pleasure to receive
such an honored guest.”

“You’re very kind,
Commodore. I should arrive in less than ten minutes.”

“You can land
your ship in our landing bays. I’ll be there to meet you.”

“Thank you,
Commodore.”

He nodded and the
communication ended.

That was
unexpected. Saroudis never thought he would one day meet an Olympian face to
face. Until now he thought they were only interested in talking in visions, and
to Chase only. Chase’s having left the Earth Alliance—a fact that saddened
Saroudis more than he would ever admit—was probably why Aphroditis had decided
to contact them directly. No doubt the impending threat from Argos was her reason
for being here in the first place.

Saroudis tried to
wrap his mind around the fact that Argos had killed an Olympian. He knew the
Furies were powerful, but an Olympian? He didn’t even know they could be killed
until now.

As much as he
hated having to place the next call, he knew he had to. Or did he? Admiral
Thassos had voiced her concerns and doubts regarding the Olympians before, and
now one was knocking at their door he wondered how he could spin this to her gently.

For a moment he
considered whether it was necessary to inform her in the first place. She had
given him jurisdiction over Earth’s defenses and her ship was currently in
Droxian space.

It can wait until
after my meeting with Aphroditis
, he decided.

He rose from his
chair, and gave Sergeant Major Boltris the bridge.

When he arrived
in the landing bay, Aphroditis’ ship had just passed the force field separating
cold, black space from the artificial atmosphere aboard the
Destiny
.

Her ship was
magnificent, lean and shaped like an organic bullet, with wings that reminded
Saroudis of shark fins. It had a chrome finish, and the way the light reflected
from it was simply mesmerizing.
A godly looking ship for a goddess
,
thought Saroudis.

She appeared when
a part of the ship, a door perhaps, vanished into thin air. There didn’t seem
to be any mechanical parts involved. It was as if the part in front of which she
now stood simply didn’t exist anymore. A ray of light radiated from her
position towards the landing bay’s floor. It created a translucent light
bridge. Such an elegant design for a ramp. Aphroditis stepped on it and was soon
approaching him.

Commodore
Saroudis was nervous, and his heart pounded, but the more steps she took in his
direction, the less nervous he felt, as if she was emitting a calming aura. In
fact, Saroudis felt more serene now than he had in years. She stopped in front
of him, smiled and presented her hand.

“Thank you for
having me on board the
Destiny
, Commodore Saroudis.”

He took her hand
and kissed it.

“It’s my pleasure
. . . Your
. . . I’m sorry, how should
address you?”.

She beamed a
smile at him. His heart skipped a beat in admiration.

“Aphroditis is
fine, Commodore.”

“My pleasure,
Aphroditis,” he said, in a tone suggesting he was not yet completely comfortable.

She looked
around. “Ah, the
Destiny
, the ship Chase was aboard when I first contacted
him.”

“That’s right. She
has been to hell and back, but she’s one tough ship. I’m very proud of her.”

“You should be,
and of yourselves, all of you,” she said, extending her voice to everyone
around.

A grease monkey
passing by opened his mouth when he caught her gaze, dropping whatever tools he
had in his hands.

She returned her gaze
to the commodore. “You did a fine job protecting this world. I thank you from
the bottom of my heart.”

“I
. . . Well, we couldn’t have done
it without you and Chase. I mean, if you hadn’t convinced him when you did, I
would not have attempted such a dire rescue.”

“I know. That’s
what’s so curious about this universe. Sometimes it’s the little things, the
actions of so few people at a particular point in time, that can make the
difference between light and darkness.”

“Chase said something
along those lines too, in fact. That all would be lost if we didn’t come here
and repel the Zarlacks. You’ll have to tell me more about that. I’m really
curious to understand how you know these things.”

“Perhaps. It’s not
something I usually talk about. My abilities, I mean.”

“I didn’t mean to
intrude. Please forgive me.”

She smiled with a
level of innocence and compassion Saroudis had never experienced.

“You don’t have
to, really. I’m
. . .
I’m really sorry, but it’s been a long trip and I left in a hurry.”

“Absolutely. Would
you like me to show you to your quarters so you can rest?”

“That would be
lovely, but if I could eat something as well, that would be great.”

“We can
definitely arrange that. Let me show you your quarters, and then if you want we
can have dinner. Unless you’d rather dine alone?”

“No, I would
really enjoy some company. Thank you, Commodore.”

“Please, call me
Adonis.”

“Very well. Thank
you, Adonis.”

*  
*   *

“Is the food to
your liking, Aphroditis?”

She took one more
bite.

“It’s unusual but
quite tasty, thank you.”

“It’s Earth’s
food. They have amazing dishes, millions of them.”

“This isn’t flesh
though, is it? I
. . .
I’m starving but I would hate to think I’m eating something that once lived.”

“No, it’s a
replica, so it’s pretty much how flesh would taste, but this was never living.”

“Alright. You’ll find
me silly, but that still disturbs me a little.”

“I know how you
feel, and to tell you the truth I’ve tasted real flesh. I thought before I
passed judgment I should at least know about it.”

She grimaced. “And?”

“Well, it was
delicious too; probably slightly better than the replicated stuff; but we’ve
asked the humans to reduce their consumption of meat for the greater good of
the planet.”

“Besides the
obvious objections to eating once-living beings, what was the problem exactly?”

“The way they
were raised and treated. In some cases it was humane but most of the time it
was
. . .” He paused.
“Barbaric at worse, cruel at best.”

“I see,” said
Aphroditis with clear sadness.

“But wouldn’t you
already know all that?”

“We are not all
knowing. When we decided to let Earth take its own path, so long ago, we didn’t
really look back. In fact, it wasn’t until I started having strong visions of
this planet’s destruction that I decided to intervene.”

“On your own?”

“Yes, at first at
least. Ares accepted to help me when it became clear that Chase needed a
mentor.”

Saroudis nodded.

“But at first I
took it upon myself to contact Chase, against my father’s wishes, in fact.”

“That would be
Zeus, right?”

She raised an
eyebrow. “Yes. I’m surprised you know that, though.”

“I’ve been
fascinated by the tales of Olympia since I was a child. In fact, it played a
role in accepting what Chase was saying when
. . . when he pointed a gun at my face, practically
ordering me to go to Earth and battle the Zarlacks right after
. . .”

“Right after the
fall of the Alliance.”

Saroudis’
expression became grave at the mention of that dark moment in the not-so-distant
past.

“Yes, that.”

“I’m sorry it
took such a measure to convince you; but I’m not sorry it did. I’m certain
Earth’s survival is the key to saving the universe. I’m also glad you knew
about us beforehand. Looks as though that helped convince you.

“Clearly. You
don’t have to apologize, though. While I was shocked at first, I realized that
Chase was doing what he thought was right. He did have doubts though.”

“I’m sure he did.
And still has them; probably stronger now than ever before, after what happened
to Sarah and his unborn child.”

“I thought you
were the one who told him to fire upon her ship.”

“No. Argos
managed to intercept our communications and masqueraded as me when speaking to
Chase.”

“That’s
unfortunate. Does he know? I don’t want to ruin your evening, but he wasn’t
really happy about the Olympians when he resigned his commission and left this
world.”

“He does now, and
hopefully with time we can mend that broken trust between us. At least I hope
so.”

“I know you
mentioned earlier that you didn’t especially want to talk about your visions or
your ability to see
. . .
the future?”

“Possible futures,
in fact. It’s always in movement. It’s the actions and thoughts of every
inhabitant of this universe that shapes the future. While there are many
potential futures ahead, I only see those that seem more likely to happen.”

“Makes sense. In
those, you are persuaded that Earth plays a capital role? And I take it Chase as
well?”

“That’s correct.”

“Chase mentioned
at one point that our current enemies, the Zarlacks, are only a pawn race, that
their real masters are yet to be revealed. That has me worried.”

“Yes, the real storm
hasn’t begun yet. This is just a prelude to a much darker war.”

“Whoa! Really? I
thought times were pretty tough already. I mean, the original Alliance was obliterated,
billions dead; millions died on Earth. How much worse can it get?”

Tears formed at
the corners of Aphroditis’ eyes. “Much worse.”