SPECTRE WARS

THE COMPLETE SECOND SEASON

UNIVERSE IN FLAMES

CHRISTIAN KALLIAS

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Cover artwork by Christian Kallias - kallias.com

christian@kallias.com

www.christiankallias.com

www.facebook.com/ChristianKallias

www.twitter.com/kalliasx

https://steeleternal.com/ (My Music)

Editors

Paula Lavattiata Lopez (Books 11 to 15th)

Tyler Colins (Books 16 & 17)

Proofreaders

Paula Lavattiata Lopez (Books 11 to 15th)

ARC Team (thank you all)

COPYRIGHT

Copyright © 2025 by Christian Kallias

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

First Printing, 2020-2022

Second Printing, 2025 / Version 1.0

CONTENTS

Also by Christian Kallias

Book 11: Nemesis

Book 12: Unleashed

Book 13: Reckoning

Book 14: Dominion

Book 15: Fireborn

Book 16: Atlantis

Book 17: Asunder

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Also by Christian Kallias

Thanks to all my patrons

About the Author

ALSO BY CHRISTIAN KALLIAS

—== Access All my Books Here ==—

christiankallias.com

The Universe in Flames Series

Book 0: Wings of Destiny* (more prequels in the works)

Book 1: Earth - Last Sanctuary (Definitive Edition)

Book 2: Fury to the Stars

Book 3: Destination Oblivion

Book 4: The Beginning of the End

Book 5: Rise of the Ultra Fury

Book 6: Shadows of Olympus

Book 7: Armageddon Unleashed

Book 8: Twilight of the Gods

Book 9: Requiem of Souls

Book 10: To End All Wars (Final Chapter)

Book 11: Nemesis

Book 12: Unleashed

Book 13: Reckoning

Book 14: Dominion

Book 15: Fireborn

Book 16: Atlantis

Book 17: Asunder

Books 1-17 also available in trilogies format.

Books 1 to 7 available on Audible (Book 8 in recording)

Extra: Damocles Fall (Definitive Edition)

Extra: Course Correction

* Wings of Destiny & Way of the Warrior are also available in the Universe in Flames - Origins series or through some box sets. The Box Sets contain other extra stories like Descent, Course Correction, Damocles Fall and others.

* * *

Universe in Flames in MUSIC Form

Albums with songs from the Book Series are now available, they’re the perfect companion to take Chase’s adventures with you on the go!

Album 1: Battlecry of the Galaxy

Album 2: Unleashing the Storm - Part I

Single Blood Brothers

Unleashing the Storm - Part II (coming this Winter / 2025)

More on STEELETERNAL.COM

Early access to new songs on Steel Eternal’s Patreon page.

You can also find my music on most streaming services (Spotify, YouTube Music, Apple Music, and more)

* * *

From Far Beyond Series

Book 1: Spaceship Down

Book 2: The Stranded Fleet

Book 3: Dark Empire

Book 4: The Battle for Earth

Book 5: Empire Mine

Book 6: Civil War

* * *

Rewind Series (get the entire series for free here)

Book 0: Out of Time

Book 1: Freedom’s End

Book 2: Pandemonium

Book 3: Nightfall

* * *

Galactic Tales (10 Epic Stories from Earth & Beyond) - soon to be unpublished, with more single “short” stories coming in 2025.

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BOOK 11: NEMESIS

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Cover artwork by Christian Kallias

christian@kallias.com

www.christiankallias.com

www.patreon.com/ChristianKallias

www.facebook.com/ChristianKallias

www.twitter.com/kalliasx

Production Editor & Alpha/ARC Team Lead

Paula Lavattiata Lopez (myeditcheck.com)

Editors

Paula Lavattiata Lopez (myeditcheck.com)

Proofreaders

Paula Lavattiata Lopez (myeditcheck.com)

Alpha Team (Thank you Millie, Rod, David and Mike)

COPYRIGHT

Copyright © 2019 by Christian Kallias

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

First Printing of original book, 2019

Version 1.2

DRAMATIS PERSONÆ

Earth Alliance

(Former Admiral) Chase Athanatos – Earth Alliance Fury Olympian hybrid - Hero of the Fury War.

Captain Sarah Kepler Athanatos – Earth Human with Fury powers (in critical condition)

Chris Athanatos – Fury Human hybrid

Emperor Altair – Head of the Earth Alliance (formerly Obsidian Empire Emperor)

Captain Daniel Tharraleos (dan-yel tha-rah-leh-os) – Earth Alliance Human (formerly Star Alliance)

Chief Engineer Yanis Tixichos (yah-nis tee-hee-hos) – Earth Alliance Human (formerly Star Alliance)

R&D Engineer Spiros Malayianis (spee-ros ma-lah-yah-nis) – Earth Alliance Human (formerly Star Alliance)

Argos Thanatos – Fury Olympian hybrid and Chase’s twin brother (formerly head of the Zarlacks)

Ryonna Isch’ys – Droxian Ambassador (formerly a fugitive Droxian smuggler)

Olympians

Aphroditis (a-fro-dee-tee) – known to humans as the goddess of love

Athena – known to humans as the goddess of wisdom, craft & war

Ares (ah-rees) – known to humans as the god of war (deceased, living as pure energy form)

Poseidon - known to the humans as the god of the seas

Spectres

Asrak’Vor – Spectre Commander (brother of Tanak’Vor)

Ergon’Kar – Spectre Warrior

Furies

Nyx – Fury Warrior

Asgardians

Thor – Fleet Commander & son of Odin.

Loki – Son of Odin.

Odin - King of Asgard

Kvasir (kvah-seer) – Asgardian scientist

Other characters

Tar’Lock (tahr-lock) – Gorgar mercenary (Insectoid and formerly a Hellstar prisoner)

Talon Epizon – Mercenary captain (former Star Alliance officer)

PREVIOUSLY ON UNIVERSE IN FLAMES

Note for new readers: You can read Dark Legacy without having read the first 10 Universe in Flames books. Dark Legacy is a new story series with some new characters, but there are many recurring characters from the previous series. It also continues the story less than 24 hours after the end of event of the previous series. It’s up to you if you prefer starting the story at the beginning or with this book. Please note: by starting at this point, if you decide to return to the Universe in Flames first arc, this book contains information and possible spoilers from the first series arc. However, this book has been written in a way that new readers can start the journey here.

Below is a short overview of where the story begins to provide some context.

In the wake of a genocidal tragedy, the Star Alliance fled their corner of the universe to survive the onslaught of the Obsidian Empire. In doing so, they found both an ally and a sanctuary on a faraway planet called Earth. With their ally, the Star Alliance formed the Earth Alliance and fought alongside other races (Droxians, Olympians, and Asgardians) in the subsequent Fury War (known as the second Fury War). Furies—human-looking creatures with incredibly powerful fighting abilities and the scourge of the universe—were once thought extinct for ten thousand years. But against all the odds, they returned. Originally, a coalition of worlds led by the Olympians, Asgardians, and many other older civilizations had defeated the Furies during the first Fury War. But the Fury’s planet, Erevos, wasn’t destroyed and was trapped in an alternate dimension where time advanced slower than in their original dimension (the same dimension where Earth resides). Upon their return, the Furies waged a terrible war against the Earth Alliance and the entire universe in an effort to cleanse the galaxy of the races that once defied and imprisoned them. Chase Athanatos (a Fury hybrid), along with his friends and loved ones, fought the Furies at every turn and eventually won the battle. But at a terrible personal cost to Chase. He lost many people he cared for, his family members, and the final battle saw his wife, Sarah, mortally wounded by an enemy that had been steering the Furies campaign behind the scenes: The Spectres. Chase defeated Tanak’Vor, the only Spectre known to have crossed over to this universe’s dimension.

This story takes place roughly one year after the end of the second Fury War (and one day after the last scene in Universe in Flames book 10: To End All Wars).

PROLOGUE

Nyx reached the end of the corridor and took a sharp left. She slid to a stop when she saw the three metallic spiders. The eyes of the robotic spiders glowed yellow. Each creature lost no time crawling toward the young female Fury. Their thin, pointy legs generated nerve-wracking clicking noises. But their clacking was nothing compared to the damage these spider bots could deliver, against most species anyway.

Nyx wasn’t your average humanoid. She was a proud Fury, a descendant of a now extinct warrior race. In fact, as far as she knew, she was the last of her kind. She previously left Erevos when her values conflicted with those of Supreme Commander Arakan and his plans for the future of her race. She had commandeered a ship into the unknown dimension, a dimension within which the coalition of worlds had trapped her species at the end of a long and brutal war. The coalition wanted to stop the Furies’ plans of universal conquest. Olympians, Asgardians, and several other races had teamed together to stop the Furies, but instead of destroying them, this alliance had shifted the planet into an alternate universe, trapping the Furies for all eternity. Or so it seemed.

It was unknown why the supreme commander did not send more exploration vessels into their new dimension. Eventually, Arakan had decreed that the Furies should not try to explore the new dimension after a few scout ships left the planet, never to return. Before Nyx decided to take matters into her own hands and travel, Arakan had told his race that a plan to return to their dimension was in the works. But as time went by, Nyx grew restless. To the point where she eventually went against all warnings from her closest friends and took her destiny into her own hands.

If there was one emotion that Nyx had never let interfere with her life, it was fear. That was not to say she never experienced it; she felt it plenty when she left Erevos in search of other civilizations. A voice inside had told her to push through and trust her instincts.

The metallic clickety-clicks from the spider bots grew stronger and snapped Nyx’s mind back to the present. It had been a long journey, one filled with many battles for survival and close encounters. Today was no different.

The spider bots stopped advancing, lowering their center of gravity by briefly flexing their creepy legs, and leaped forward as a group. Fire lit inside Nyx’s sun-colored eyes as her purple aura engulfed her body. She slashed through the first spider with her forearm, using it as a sword, splitting the mechanical spider in half. The glow in her eyes intensified as she pushed with her mind and used telekinetic energy to stop the second spider in midair as if it hit an invisible wall. The third was almost upon her, its gigantic mouth, layered in row upon row of rotating titanium teeth, was wide open and ready to shred her flesh upon contact.

Nyx pushed her aura to its maximum and shot a purple fireball directly into the monster’s mouth. The result was as swift as it was devastating. The spider bot exploded from the inside out, spreading molten metallic debris and shooting sparks onto the cold, hard floor. She returned her attention to the one enemy spider left, still held in midair and unable to advance. She strengthened her mental hold on the creature and bent it, forcing it to collapse in on itself. She continued to throw kinetic energy until it was nothing more than a rough sphere of scrap metal oozing a black liquid oil.

She released her mental grip, and it fell to the floor with a satisfying clanking noise. Black smoke rose from the remains as the ethereal purple aura around Nyx faded to nothingness.

Only three spider bots to try to bringing me down? That’s insulting.

As if in answer from the universe, a more massive humanoid creature stepped around the corner at the end of the corridor. The humanoid arachnoid unleashed a screech that sent shivers up and down Nyx’s spine. Her inner senses confirmed what she already knew: this creature wouldn’t go down as easily as the three previous bots.

That’s more like it!

* * *

Earth – Washington, DC. A year after the end of the Fury War.

“I’ll save you, Sarah,” Chase whispered. “I promise.”

With a heavy heart, he gazed at his wife’s frozen face inside her suspended animation chamber. Black veins filled with the poisoned Spectre blood were visible along her neck. It was the same poison that prevented Chase from healing his beloved. For the past year, sorrow filled his heart and blackened his soul as he had been unable to think straight since Tanak’Vor had mortally wounded Sarah. Not even killing the Spectre had brought Chase a glimpse of comfort. He blamed himself for not being able to protect her, the woman he loved more than life itself.

It was during their last stand against the Furies, the evil race he partially belonged to, that Chase had lost everything. On the same day Chase defeated Tanak’Vor, the Alliance also destroyed Erevos (the Furies home world). Defeating the Spectre brought victory to the Earth Alliance, and the Fury War had been won. But the price for victory had cost him and weighed heavily on his soul. His father was gone, swallowed by a miniature black hole attack Tanak’Vor had managed to cast before Chase was able to extinguish the Spectre’s life. Also gone was his friend and mentor Ares. He had been on Erevos when Chase and his family had taken out the planet with the help of the legendary Atlantian soul ships, whose selfless sacrifices ensured the planet’s destruction. Before the final assault on Erevos, Chase had lost his grandfather, Zeus, and most of the Olympian race, when their enemy took out Olympus, resulting in more guilt for Chase.

Every day since the end of the war, Chase stood by Sarah’s side, talking to her even though he doubted she could hear him, feeling his soul grow darker as his hope withered away with each passing minute.

To make matters worse, he was estranged from their son, Chris. He sighed as he remembered their last encounter.

“I don’t want you here. Please leave.”

“Son, I—I’m trying. I wish you could understand how I feel. I never wanted this to happ⁠—”

“Stop! You let this happen to her! Just get out.”

Chase shook his head, attempting to shake off the disturbing memory.

Another casualty from the Fury War was his aunt, Aphroditis. She was an Olympian with the ability to sense possible futures and the person who initially enlisted Chase to fight and defeat the Furies, the scourge everyone had thought extinct for ten thousand years. Aphroditis paid a steep price: trapped inside an infernal machine that hacked away at her body and soul. Like Sarah, her life was also hanging by a thread inside a similar suspended animation chamber located in the Earth Alliance Medical Headquarters.

Doctors tried their best to heal both the Olympian goddess and Chase’s wife but did so in vain. They suffered from different but equally critical afflictions. Chase could still remember Aphroditis begging him to let her die, but he had promised Ares he would bring her back, and if nothing else, Chase always kept his promises.

On days like these, the pain was too much to bear, the weight of all that guilt eating him alive. But today Chase knew he had to stop lamenting the situation and do something about it. Today he would get an Earth Alliance ship and head to the unknown regions of space in search of a cure for Sarah. If Alliance medicine was unable to help, perhaps somewhere, someone out there, could provide a cure for his wife and aunt. To make things worse, Sarah was pregnant, so that brought the number of lives to save to three: Aphroditis, Sarah, and their unborn daughter.

Chase would not rest until he found a way to bring them all back, or die trying.

Before Tanak’Vor perished, he stole from Chase the one power that could have greatly helped in his quest. He could no longer teleport himself across the universe with a single thought. Was the power gone for good? Or would he be able to learn it again over time? Chase didn’t know. Without his ability to teleport, he would have to travel the stars the old-fashioned way like he did for most of his life: aboard a ship.

Using his former rank as an admiral in the Earth Alliance would make it easier to commandeer a ship as well as a crew. Though he wasn’t sure he wanted to ask others to risk their lives for his mission. He thought about asking Argos and Chris. Part of him wanted nothing more than to be with his family in these hard times, and he had no doubt they would be willing to risk their lives in a heartbeat. But, that was exactly the reason that made him hesitate. He couldn’t risk his brother’s and son’s lives.

The last thing he wanted was to lose someone else trying to save Sarah and their unborn child. Chase laid his hand on the chamber’s glass and gazed at his wife.

“It’s time, love. I’ll have someone transfer you to Earth Alliance Medical while I’m gone. But I promise you, I will return, and I will save you both. I love you, and no matter what happens, I hope you know how much so.”

With a heavy heart and a final look, Chase finally left their apartment. He went onto the roof and climbed aboard his trusted StarFury. The holographic HUD (Head-up Display) came to life inside his mind when the neuronal link was established. He missed the connection he had made with the onboard AI of his soul ship: Dragos. The Atlantian fighter’s AI could read his thoughts and advise him in times of need. StarFuries were a marvel of technology, especially when considering the first model had been nothing more than an F-14 Tomcat the Alliance had retrofitted to fly in space. It had been a little over two years since Chase and Sarah tested the first iteration of the starfighter.

With a single thought, Chase connected his mind to the starfighter’s systems and ran his pre-flight checks. Shortly after his StarFury took off from the roof, blasting a cloud of dust around the building in Washington, DC, it hovered briefly in the overcast sky before Chase set a course for Auckland, New Zealand and punched the engines to the max. The StarFury soared like an iron eagle as it blasted out of view, dissipating nearby clouds in the process.

* * *

Asrak’Vor, a member of the Spectre race, was peering outside the viewport of the capital spider ship Oblivion. Spectre Prime himself had given Asrak’Vor command of the mighty destroyer, which was part of a battlegroup. It had been a year since entering the alternate dimension where humans and other species of the Earth Alliance lived. Impure beings, the lot of them. These same beings that had defeated both the Furies and murdered his brother, Tanak’Vor.

Rage boiled at the forefront of the Spectre’s mind, fueling his motivation to make the Alliance pay for their crimes. He felt anger toward his superiors as well for their lack of vision. The Furies had been weak, and the Spectres had been misguided in their thinking they could manipulate them to cleanse the dimension.

If you want something done well, do it yourself. We’ll consume and cleanse every soul in this wretched dimension.

The spider ship was part of a much larger invasion fleet; most of that fleet had been destroyed trying to make it through the rift when the Earth Alliance last opened it. Erevos had been transported back into the Spectre’s dimension, and the planet’s destruction had destabilized the space on their end around the singularity. As a result, most ships that composed Asrak’Vor’s fleet had been wiped out on the spot, and he now only had a few ships left from what was once a veritable armada with which to invade and purge the impure from this realm.

Space and time were fragile constructs, and the ancient technology the Alliance used to create a rift between their dimensions was capable of playing havoc with the fabric of the universe. So when Erevos exploded while the rift was still partially open, it resulted in catastrophic effects within Asrak’Vor’s dimension.

Now on the other side of the rift and being cut off from communication with his superiors for so long, Asrak’Vor could only speculate as to how far the damage had propagated into the Spectres’ dimension. And then there was the time dilation. On this side of the rift, it had been a year. From the Spectre’s perspective, only hours had gone by. The time dilation factor between the realms was significant and something the Spectre had trouble adjusting to.

In this impure dimension, time passed substantially faster than where Asrak’Vor came from. Until he heard from his hierarchy, all he was able to rely on were some faint and incomplete sensor logs accumulated during the brunt of the explosion that had vaporized most of his fleet alongside the Fury home world.

Asrak’Vor counted himself lucky since his ship was among the few that had survived the trip in one piece. More or less so. The Oblivion had suffered extensive damage in the explosion, and repairing it with the limited amount of resources available in this dimension had been challenging, at best. Fortunately, they had managed to effect partial repairs while staying undetected, thanks to their ship’s cloaking and superior stealth technology. Systems that would be paramount in striking back at the heart of the enemy—Earth.

Soon, though, they’d get their hands on the necessary materials required to try to open communication back to their home world and the Spectre Council, and hopefully, receive new orders. Or reconsider a new strategy on how to complete their initial objective even with a crippled fleet and without the help from his hierarchy.

But that gave Asrak’Vor pause. His brother had made the mistake of going off plan, and his wife and children had certainly paid a steep price. A fate that Asrak’Vor hoped his own family wouldn’t suffer. By now, Spectre Prime had most likely executed his brother’s family for his mistakes. With no way of communicating with his dimension, Asrak’Vor could only speculate, but failure was not something that was tolerated at the highest ranks of the Spectre military. And the current appointed Spectre Prime was famous for both his cruelty and lack of compassion.

Why, brother? Why did you do it? You were supposed to wait for reinforcements before making a move. Why couldn’t you wait, Tanak...why?

The thought of his nephews, nieces, and sister-in-law being executed because of his brother’s failure brought anger and fear to the surface of his mind. Unlike his brother, Asrak’Vor intended to succeed. Spectre Prime’s direct orders were not to engage the enemy openly until a stable rift gate between both dimensions had been put in place to allow for bi-directional dimension travel of both fleets and personnel. Then, and only then, would Asrak’Vor seek his brother’s murderer, the Fury called Chase Athanatos, and rip out his soul.

Unfortunately, most of the building blocks required for the gate to be assembled on this side, which was the only option for opening a rift, had been lost with the rest of Asrak’Vor’s fleet. While it could theoretically be possible to construct a gate from the other side, this endeavor would take years, which would mean centuries would pass here, and the enemy could grow stronger.

And with most of the building blocks gone, it would make his job of completing this mission all the more difficult. He would have to take risks and reveal their presence in the process. That part, he feared, could no longer be prevented. The trick was to make sure.

In a sense, the Spectre had no other choice but to succeed in his objective, even if it meant he had to bend a few rules, something he was not keen on doing for fear of retribution from Spectre Prime. All he could hope for was once the gate was up and active, his masters would forgive whatever unorthodox methods Asrak’Vor needed to do to accomplish his objective.

As for his thirst to avenge his brother Tanak, it was burning inside him like an eternal flame. Just like his brother before him, the fate of his family hung in the balance should he fail in his mission.

With the fleet reduced to only a handful of damaged ships, the task would take longer than initially planned and would require both finesse and patience, neither of these virtues being the Spectre’s strong suit.

1

EARTH - AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND

Emperor Altair sat at his desk in Earth Alliance Headquarters. The tall, red-skinned humanoid was pensive as he reviewed his agenda for the day. The doorbell chimed.

“Come in.”

The doors split open, and Captain Daniel Tharraleos stepped inside.

“Ah, Daniel, thanks for coming. Please take a seat.”

“It’s good to see you, Emperor.”

“How many times do I have to tell you to call me Altair?”

Daniel chuckled. “That’s still going to take some time for me to get used to. To think a few years back we were mortal enemies bound to destroy one another, and now we’re calling each other by our first names. Do you ever think about that?”

“Not really, no. The old me, the ruthless Obsidian Emperor is, as far as I’m concerned, dead and buried. In fact, I think I need to ask the council to give me an Earth Alliance rank now, so I can fully shed that old skin and move forward. I don’t like my title anymore, it reminds me of a time where I was much too concerned about my own thirst for power. It’s no longer who I am if that makes any sense.”

“It does, and you’ve certainly come a long way. In fact, I’d go as far as to say we’re lucky to have you lead the Earth Alliance. You were instrumental in us winning the Fury War.”

Altair shook his head. “We both know that’s not true, but that’s very kind of you to say. Chase and the rest of you are the reason we’re sitting here this morning, at peace, and without the threat of impending doom looming over our heads. For a change.”

Daniel smiled. “And you don’t give yourself enough credit, Emp—” Daniel corrected himself with a smile, “Altair. Winning the Fury War certainly was a collective effort, but you’ve saved our collective asses more times than I can count. Speaking of Chase,” he said, furrowing his brows, “any news? He hasn’t exactly been returning my calls lately.”

“I’m afraid I haven’t heard from Chase either, not for a while anyway. I wouldn’t take it personally, though. I know the two of you are very good friends⁠—”

“With all due respect, we—we’re more than that, we’re brothers,” Daniel said with no small amount of sadness in his voice. “Not by blood, of course, but in spirit. Which is why I’m having such a hard time with him not being around or at least keeping in touch.”

“I understand that must be difficult for you. He’s lost so much in bringing us victory. War is unfair that way. To ask so much of an individual and to reward him with loss and sorrow is…”

“Cruel, I know. That’s what war does,” said Daniel solemnly.

Altair nodded. “I hope you don’t mind me saying so, but you look tired.”

“I didn’t get much sleep last night.”

“I’m sorry; when we talked at the party, I thought you were kidding when you said you might not get any rest.”

“And when I said so, I was, but somehow I ended up staring at the ceiling all night. I also had a little too much to eat and drink at the celebration, so, yeah, sleep eluded me.”

“Did you at least enjoy yourself?”

“Oh yeah, a little too much in fact. The Earth Alliance can definitely throw quite a celebratory party. Everything was top notch, the food, the open bar…obviously. As well as the company.”

Altair smiled. “Yes, it was good seeing all our friends in one place, well, most of our friends anyway.”

“I really hoped to see Chase there too. But I guess he wasn’t ready to be among his friends and loved ones just yet.”

“I think, at least for the time being, that we may be a constant reminder of what he’s lost, you know? And that he’d rather not put himself in a position that potentially poured salt on an open wound. I know in his place, that’s how I would feel.”

“Yeah, I figured as much. I remember when I lost Fillio...I hated how I felt whenever a smell or a food we shared reminded me of her and realizing that she was gone…it’s never easy.”

Daniel let the words hang for a moment. “Speaking of last night, congratulations on your speech. I’d love to hear more about that space station you want to build.”

“Well, as of this morning, we have a name: Alkyonidon Station.”

“That’s a mouthful.”

They both laughed.

“It made sense to use an Olympian name, not only because of their important role in defeating the Furies…but I do suppose we could try to find a nickname for it.”

“I’ll let you know if I come up with one.”

“Yes, you do that, Daniel.”

“I guess it’s a good name though, in remembrance of what that victory cost the Olympians. Basically, their world and most of their population.”

“Yes, they’ve paid a dire price in this war. The station has been my pet project since right after the end of the war. I believe we need a place, central to the Alliance, in order to reinforce diplomatic ties between all our members, both current and future ones. The Fury War shook our universe; we’ve been on the brink of annihilation, and it’s only due to the sacrifices of brave men and women that we survived the onslaught. I’m hoping the station will allow us to focus on peace and making sure we can deal with any arising conflict before it gets out of hand.”

“That’s a noble sentiment, and I think something we can certainly use.”

“I wish everyone was so open to the idea.”

“What do you mean?”

“At first, when I proposed to build a space station, I was met with resistance by the council.”

“That’s peculiar. Why do you think that is?”

“These days, there’s no tangible threat intent on wiping us all out. So why would we want a station dedicated to peace rather than focusing on rebuilding what was lost on so many worlds? Let’s just say some of my colleagues don’t agree with me on the subject.”

“I, for one, agree we need such a place, and I’m glad you convinced the council. Peace is a wonderful thing, but I believe it must be cultivated moving forward, or we run the risk of repeating past mistakes. Not to mention that we may yet face new threats in the future.”

“My thoughts exactly. The Spectres could find a way into our dimension, and if they do…” Altair let the words hang in the air for a moment, “Gods help us.”

“I’m surprised the council didn’t consider that.”

“Oh, they say if the Spectres were able to enter our realm, they would have already.”

“You did explain to them that time passes at a significantly slower pace on the other side, didn’t you?”

“Tried, and I guess failed.”

“Even if they don’t come, or come much later, having the station would allow us to have a base of operation.”

“And now you see why I’ve fought so hard to make sure we started construction. We can already see some factions making their move to fill in the power voids throughout remote places in the Alliance. Pirates mostly, and nothing we can’t handle up till now, but the sooner we can put a coherent, multi-system government in place dedicated to peacekeeping, the better. That’s why I’m glad you see things my way. In fact, that’s exactly why I asked you here this morning. I’m looking for the station’s commanding officer.”

Daniel’s face dropped. “Me? You want me to command the station?”

“Why, yes. You seem surprised.”

“I am. I—I mean I’m honored you’d think of me, but I’m mostly a Wing Commander.”

“Don’t sell yourself short, Daniel, you did an incredible job in the last battle around Erevos, commanding a large destroyer fleet to victory involves more than just fancy piloting skills and leading squadrons.”

“The only reason I was put in charge was that both Sarah and Athena were needed elsewhere. We both know that. Though, ironically, Athena never got to fight the Spectre. And let’s not forget if it wasn’t for Gaia’s last-minute weapons upgrades to the Victory, we might have lost that battle.”

“But we didn’t. Look, Daniel, it doesn’t matter how or why it happened the way it did. You were in command, and you did an excellent job in a sensitive position. One you were thrust into under extreme circumstances. At the end of the day, that’s what history will remember. And that’s why I want you for this job. You’ve proven you’re quick to adapt to fast-changing situations, make life and death decisions under pressure, and you have a clear understanding of the chain of command. Something the council was very adamant about.”

“I imagine you must have redacted some of my records then. While I always had a deeper understanding of the chain of command than Chase did, I also went against orders when I felt it was necessary.”

Altair gave Daniel a big smile. “I know, and yes, I’ve redacted a couple of things. But that’s why I want you for the job and why the council doesn’t need to know. Sometimes, rules need to be broken, and you seem to understand the fine line in determining when to make those decisions. If Chase had followed every single order, without question, without rebelling when he thought it was needed, we would all be dead right now.”

“That’s a blurry line to walk through if I ever saw one.”

“One I believe you’re perfectly suited to navigate.”

“Well, thank you, Altair. Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate you’d trust me for the position, but...well—I have to admit I had imagined something else from this meeting.”

“Such as?”

“To be honest, I was kind of hoping I would get my own ship, you know?”

“Ah, Starship Captain!”

“Exactly. Don’t get me wrong, I love being in command of fighter squadrons, always have. But I always envisioned getting my own command would be the next logical step for me.”

“Yes, and if we were currently at war, I would give you your own command on the spot, without a second thought. But if I were to do that today, it would mean your main duties would be patrolling Alliance territory day in and day out. Sure, you’d occasionally engage in skirmishes with pirates in order to maintain order in some desolate part of the galaxy, but I doubt it would be a fulfilling position for you. Not after all we’ve been through.”

Altair could see Daniel was thinking about what he just said.

“Perhaps…but then you’re assuming I’m looking for excitement. And that I will get it on a station dedicated to peace. Isn’t that kind of a dichotomy? Or am I missing something?”

“Aren’t you looking for thrills? Even if only on a subconscious level; you must realize that by now. I know from personal experience this last year has been a transition phase for me. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t miss war, not in the least. And while it’s been nice taking time off and enjoying life for a change, the fact of the matter is that you and I have been warriors for most of our lives. I anticipate it will take a while longer to get used to this new paradigm.”

“I suppose there’s some wisdom in what you say. I can also confirm I haven’t found the transition to peace to be as easy as I thought it would. Waking up in the morning not knowing if that day would be the day I bit the dust wasn’t fun, but it sure was a great motivator. Without the thrill of the fight, I do spend most of my time bored out of my skull. Still, if I were to look for excitement, I’m not sure commanding a diplomatic space station will deliver, even compared to commanding a starship that’s mostly doing patrol runs.”

“You’d be surprised. Something tells me this station will become a focal point of attention in the Alliance, and, as such, it won’t be an easy ride. Any way you look at it, the station will most certainly be built with a target painted on it. This Alliance has grown a lot in a very short time, and while we have tried to project an image of unity in the stellar broadcasts, bringing so many different races into a unified coalition hasn’t been all that easy. It would be best for you not to see this position as a retreat. If running it will be even a fraction harder than it was to green light the project, I can pretty much guarantee it will challenge both your patience and sanity at every turn. We fought hard to achieve peace, and without sounding too alarmist, my gut tells me we may have to fight just as hard to keep it.”

“I’ll grant you one thing, Altair, you sure have some interesting sales pitches.”

Altair chuckled.

“Are there tensions building in the Alliance already?” Daniel continued.

“Nothing major so far. Some old feuds are brewing now that races, which didn’t cohabitate with each other in the past are brought together in the bigger picture. Take the Ferogot and the Droxians for instance, once upon a time they were at war, and while the Droxians nearly extinguished them, there’s a serious thirst for revenge that still exists in many Ferogot. And now they’re asked to sit at the same table. That’s bound to cause some friction.”

Daniel nodded.

“But where are my manners,” continued Altair. “Would you like a drink? I could go for a strong coffee myself.”

“Coffee sounds really good, thank you.”

“How do you like yours?”

“Black, please.”

Altair pressed a few holo-controls on his glass desk, and shortly after, two circles of yellow light flashed as cups of steaming hot coffee materialized.

“That’s a neat trick, do you have a synthesizer built into your desk?”

“Not exactly, there’s one in the room, but Yanis was kind enough to install the latest generation transporters in this facility, and I couldn’t pass the opportunity to have it installed in my office as well.”

Daniel grabbed his cup and blew on it before taking a timid sip, evaluating the temperature of the steamy liquid.

“So, we’re beaming down coffee now?”

Altair smiled. “So to speak. That’s one of the advantages of this Alliance. While Yanis and Cedric managed to build a crude teleportation system back when my fleet was trying to invade Earth, the pooling of technical knowledge from all the different races of the Alliance has allowed us to make substantial jumps forward these past few months. Beaming technology, in particular. I’m beaming in and out of the office on a daily basis, that’s how advanced and safe that tech has become in a short amount of time.”

Daniel took another sip of his drink.

“Good coffee, thanks. I take it access to the Asgardian tech has made that particular trick easier.”

“Yes, the Asgardian beaming technology is definitely the most advanced in the Alliance, and our implementation of it is closely modeled after theirs.”

“What about their hyperspace engines? We could use their speed.”

“Indeed, but integrating that tech with our ships’ designs has been problematic. Asgardians are one of the only races that don’t use quadrinium to power their ships’ hyperdrive engines. The resource they do use is a naturally occurring crystal that’s only native to Asgard. Which makes it hard for us to mainstream the tech since the crystal is both rare and very hard to mine.”

“Perhaps there are other worlds on which it can be found.”

Altair drank from his cup.

“Yes, that’s one of the many things I’m hoping the Alkyonidon Station can help us with. Establish a central place for trade so that every world in the Alliance can help reap its benefit. But, that’s a conversation for another day, that is, if you’re interested in my proposal.”

Daniel finished his coffee and placed the cup back on the yellow glowing circle on Altair’s desk. The cup beamed away.

“Not to sound ungrateful or anything, but do you mind if I take a few days to think it over?”

“Of course not, Daniel. It will take months for the station to be fully operational, though I’m hoping we can staff it with a skeleton crew within a few weeks. I don’t need the CO to be there before that happens. Which gives you plenty of time to decide.”

“Thanks, I appreciate it. I take it we have the Gorgar to thank for having the station built so rapidly?”

“Absolutely, they’ve almost finished with the central deck of the station already. It’s a marvel the speed at which they can build.”

“Yeah, it’s a marvel, as long as our goals are aligned, that is.”

Altair finished his coffee, placed the cup on his desk, and watched it disappear.

“Yes, that particular alliance took a lot of doing, and whether it will stand the test of time still needs to be determined. But for the time being, the Gorgar race seems to recognize that our shaky start, while unfortunate, was a necessary one. They won’t admit it openly of course; their leaders are proud that way. But even if they won’t say it out loud, they feel partially responsible for many of the millions that died in the war. They were, after all, though unwillingly, arming the Furies.”

“The Furies may have used them first, but then so did we near the end. Off the record, and on a personal level, that decision of ours still doesn’t sit well with me. Not our finest hour…”

“No, I suppose not. These were desperate times, and like you, I’m not particularly proud of how we handled it.”

“Speaking of Gorgars, it was good seeing Tar’Lock yesterday. Though he left shortly before we met with you and Ryonna. I take it he’s still mad at her?”

Altair looked straight into Daniel’s eyes for a few seconds before blinking and looking away.

“You’d have to ask her. I’d rather not interfere in their affairs.”

“Well,” said Daniel with a smile, “thanks again for the coffee. I appreciate you offering me the position.”

Both men got up and shook hands.

“You’re welcome, Daniel. Always a pleasure, and I’m looking forward to hearing what you decide.”

“Likewise, Altair. I’ll try to give you an answer in a few days.”

* * *

Spiros was working on an upgrade to the shield matrix design for the latest generation of Alliance destroyer fresh off the assembly line. While the war was over, the work to improve both weapons and defensive technologies was not. Emperor Altair, who presided over the council for the Earth Alliance, was wary of letting the Alliance lower its guard and be vulnerable to another attack.

That’s a concern Spiros could easily get on board with. After all, they knew little to nothing about the Spectres, and while the Furies had finally been dealt with, killing Tanak’Vor had been incredibly difficult. If more of his race were out there, the Earth Alliance needed to make sure they would be prepared for them. The ship they engaged during the last days of the war, a spider ship, was technologically more advanced than anything the Alliance possessed, and that was the reason why the Emperor had given him his current assignment. So here he was, in space again, inside the latest shipyard, working on improving the new destroyers’ shields as well as new weapons to throw at future enemies. For a moment, it reminded him of his research days on Damocles-3. It felt like another lifetime and another Spiros.

In many ways it was. Thanks to Chase transferring Spiros’ soul to a new and improved clone, he currently had the body of a thirty-year-old, when, in fact, he was significantly older than that.

Part of him wished he had never been brought back to life. But he knew that way of thinking was selfish. Even if his reunion with Gaia had been short and the pain of her sacrifice still fresh and agonizing, deep down he knew he wouldn’t have wanted to miss a minute of their time together.

Spiros had been back to active duty for a little over two months. He was seeing a counselor to help him grieve the loss of Gaia. But no matter how much he talked about her in these sessions, the fact remained that he missed her more than anyone could ever comprehend.

An incoming transmission interrupted his train of thought. It came from a StarFury. When Spiros accepted the call, Chase’s face filled the holo-screen.

“Chase! You’re the last person I expected to hear from today. How have you been doing?”

“Hello, Spiros. I’ve been better, but thanks for asking. Of all my friends, I’m sure you’re the one that has a better inkling as to what I’ve been feeling lately.”

Of course, Spiros knew what Chase was alluding to. For all intents and purposes, he had lost Sarah, along with their unborn child, and had become estranged with a lot of his friends, which was something that had progressively happened to him as well. While Cedric, Yanis, and even Kvasir had been very good colleagues, the bond that once united them seemed to have diminished as of late. Perhaps Spiros was partly responsible for that as he had willingly sought out solitude over socializing.

“I do,” said Spiros solemnly, “and I’m sorry to hear you’re still grieving. But Chase, if I may, at least Sarah isn’t dead; there’s still a chance, no matter how small, that you could bring her back. I would give up everything to be in your position.”

Chase frowned, sadness crawling behind his eyes.

“I know, Spiros. I’m sorry, poor choice of words.”

“Don’t sweat it, my friend. I understand. We all have our crosses to bear.”

“Thank you for your understanding and for your friendship. It means a lot to me. I’m not sure I’m worth it. After all, I’m the one who asked Gaia to find the blink drive. I would think you’d want nothing to do with me since I’m directly responsible for her…sacrifice.”

Spiros had often gone down the path of blaming others when the pain was too strong after losing Gaia. But eventually, he realized that she would disapprove of him for blaming Chase. Without the Atlantian tech, as well as Gaia’s brave sacrifice, Earth would have fallen.

“It was her choice to make, Chase, you didn’t force her to do anything she wasn’t willing to do on her own. And if you hadn’t asked, we might have lost the war. I don’t blame you for any of it; I can’t and not to mention I think she’d hate me if I did. Sometimes life is unfair, as you well know.”

Chase nodded.

“But I’m sure you’re not calling me to talk about any of this,” Spiros continued. “Is there something I can do for you?”

“Am I that transparent? Fair enough. I’m indeed calling for something else entirely. I don’t know how to ask you.”

“Then just ask.”

“Okay...I’ve decided to take a ship to the unknown regions of space.”

“To try to find a cure for Sarah?”

“Yes. It seems everything we’ve tried in conjunction with the Earth Alliance doctors is not yielding any results, so I’m left with little choice but to try something new. I’ve been thinking about it for months, and it seems that looking for an answer beyond known space is my best hope for finding something, anything, to help Sarah. However, I don’t feel at ease with the idea of taking a human crew aboard the ship. This is my responsibility, and I can’t ask others to risk their lives.”

“You can’t possibly take such a journey on your own. You’ll need a crew to mend the ship, and let’s be realistic, you may need someone for company. Not to mention you’ll need someone to tend to you should you get injured.”

“Hence, my calling you. I—I’d like to ask you to consider creating an artificial crew, clone bodies with AIs powering them, but before you object, I’m thinking something similar to the AIs we use for our own ships’ computers, and perhaps a blank Gaia canvas like you used on your last mission. I know I shouldn’t be asking you this⁠—”

“But you are…”

Spiros still felt a sting at the mention of her name. They said time heals all wounds, but it would take significantly more time to heal this particular one.

“Look,” Spiros said. “I’m not sure the Earth Alliance would allow us to do this. In fact, I’m certain they’d refuse, which is why you’re asking me directly. I know that the risk of an evil AI emerging from a blank Gaia canvas is small, but it’s a risk, nonetheless. Currently, the Alliance is limiting all research related to artificial intelligence and with good reason. I’m not even allowed to improve her basic template to help me with my own research. And just like your proposal, that would result only in an automaton to help me in my daily tasks. At first, I didn’t understand what the difference was; after all we still use our ship’s AIs. But we’ve been asked to implement hardwired fail-safes to make sure these AI can’t or won’t even consider interacting with a body of any shape or form.”

“And yet we have drones on the Starfuries.”

“They can hardly be thought of as AIs. They’ve been programmed with your macros and fighting tactics.”

“Are you telling me there isn’t a heuristic OS that decides which tactic of mine to utilize in combat and that it’s not AI based?”

“Alright, I guess as long as a drone doesn’t go haywire and start attacking our own ships, they’re willing to turn a blind eye. I, for one, can’t blame them. Gaia 2 killed me after all.”

“I understand, which is why I’m trying to cut through the red tape and bypass the Earth Alliance altogether on this one. So I’m asking you, as a friend, to grant me a personal favor.”

“I see...It’s that kind of request then?”

“Yes. I know it’s not an easy one, and if it makes you uncomfortable or if you don’t want to help me, know that I’ll understand.”

“Alright, then. I’ll need to think about this one, Chase.”

“Fair enough. Before I can set out to the unknown regions, I first need to secure a ship anyway, and I hope Altair will allow me to commandeer one.”

“I don’t see why he would refuse you, of all people.”

“The Alliance is now under a council of rulers, and Altair is only one of its members. In the past, as an admiral, I could have made that decision on my own, but as you know, I resigned my commission.”

“Regretting that decision?”

Chase chuckled. “Today perhaps...But, no, not really. I was in no frame of mind to deal with Alliance business after what happened. And, frankly, I don’t think I can ever be that type of leader again.”

“Never say never.”

“Well, in this case, I do. When I am at the forefront of things, people tend to die.”

Spiros felt like arguing that point, but he knew better not to.

“That’s your prerogative, I guess. I can’t say I agree with it, but you already know that. Look, I’ll do my best to give you my answer shortly. Thanks for calling, it’s good seeing you again.”

“Likewise, Spiros. Thank you.”

2

Ares felt a pleasant sensation, like he was floating. It reminded him of a certain Olympian flower and the high provided when inhaling its pollen. His sister, Athena, was quite fond of the recreational drug.

Athena.

Had she survived the Fury War? Wait. . .Why was he conscious in the first place?

Though his consciousness was not yet able to give him a clear visual of what was going on around him, his senses were slowly coming back to him. Gradually, his vision returned, and he got a clearer picture of where he was: in the blackness of space. Drifting.

He no longer was inside Aphroditis’ clone body but back to his pure post-mortem energy form.

As his high receded, Ares felt displaced and lost. The space around him didn’t seem right. It felt alien somehow. Was he en route to Elysium? Or was he there already? Had Chase destroyed Erevos and the Furies once and for all? Was his sister still alive? His mind quickly saturated with a million questions, overwhelming the former God of War.

Ares tried to calm his mind by emptying it of all thoughts, which seemed to help his senses return to normal. Now grounded in the present, his mind eased up enough to try to interpret where he was. Around him, he could see asteroids and metallic debris, most likely wreckage from destroyed ships. Looking at the asteroids, he got a strange feeling, like perhaps they were remnants of a destroyed planet.

While that was something he wasn’t certain about, Ares had been responsible for the destruction of enough worlds to recognize this wasn’t a simple asteroid field.

Could all this be what was left of Erevos and the orbiting ships taken out when the planet exploded? This meant the soul ships had managed to shift Erevos back to the alternate dimension before destroying it.

One question lingered in his mind, though. Why was he still alive in energy form? Shouldn’t he have been vaporized in the explosion of the Fury world?

Ares focused his mind on his friend and pupil, Chase, and tried to send him a telepathic message like he had done hundreds of times before, across impossible distances.

Chase? Can you hear me?

No answer.

Aphroditis? Father? Anybody?

Wherever he was, he was out of reach of the people he knew. All signs pointed to him being in the alternate dimension. Everything around him felt alien. The position of the stars looked like nothing he recognized. Even the way he sensed the building blocks of the universe gave him completely different feedback than usual. Wherever he was, he had never been here before, be it in energy form or before his body perished at the hands of Argos.

He floated around the area in search of clues. He came upon the debris of more ships, which allowed him to form a mental picture of what type of ships the wreckage had once been. Even though their hulls had been exposed to space and many had been blown to smithereens, a couple of ships’ main hull silhouettes had remained mostly intact. They looked like dark, giant spiders.

With no planet in sight, Ares didn’t know what to do next. He expanded his mind trying to detect any form of life within light years around him. Because space itself felt so different, he couldn’t project his mind as far as he used to. The sensory feedback he received could only be described as a negative tingling.

This definitely has to be the Spectres’ dimension.

The thought was unpleasant. In fact, even devoid of a body, he felt a sense of dread just by being in this universe. It was dark, oppressive, and downright creepy.

Ares pushed forward and eventually sensed a traveling ship approaching the area at extremely high velocity, perhaps the Spectre’s version of hyperspace. Though it felt more like the ship was instantly hopping from one point to another over long distances, and for a fraction of a second, blinking in and out of existence until the next hop. Hopefully, in this universe, just like on his own, he wouldn’t be detected as long as he remained invisible. It took a while to get a good lock of the ship in his mind, but eventually, he did, and he teleported inside.

The ship was cold, the floor, the walls, and the ceiling of what appeared to be internal corridors were a dark shade of dirty chrome, and there didn’t seem to be anyone in his direct vicinity. He roamed through the ship until he finally met someone or more precisely—something. First, he saw a few metallic spider drones moving about the corridors, producing nerve-wracking metallic clickety-clicks with each step. They didn’t seem to detect his presence, which Ares took as a good omen.

Further roaming the ship, he arrived at what he surmised was the bridge and his first contact with organic beings in this dimension. The aliens that served as the crew were thin and tall humanoids with a strange fur on their black skin. It was similar to the hair found on spiders. Upon his first good look at their heads, he froze. They had eight small legs wrapped from the back of their furry skulls all the way around what served as a face filled with multiple red eyes. They looked like a hybrid between a human and a spider, their faces straight out of a nightmare. Their large fanged mouths made the most unpleasant sound as they spoke.

The ship exited hyperspace. Ares couldn’t understand what they were saying, but looking at the viewport on the ship and activity on the bridge, he could surmise that they were scanning the debris. There was palpable agitation, and when someone got up from a chair in the center of the bridge, Ares was surprised to see a being that was not like the others. He also had pitch-black skin but had more of a humanoid face. Its flesh was tangled and seemed to be in a perpetual flux, which gave the creature a very ominous look.

The energy this being was emanating felt familiar somehow and was comprised of a smoky, black aura that brought back bad memories. Even though he wasn’t entirely sure, Ares thought this being’s silhouette and aura was too similar to the one that he had detected inside Arakan’s throne room back on Erevos. Was that a Spectre? If so, then there was no more doubt about it, he was in the alternate dimension.

The Spectre spoke a similar language as the arachnoids. A holo-screen filled most of the area in front of the Spectre, and it displayed an image of Erevos exploding in slow motion, taking out a small fleet of cloaked spider ships in the process. The Spectre raised his voice, and from his tone, Ares concluded that he gave a command of some sort.

The holo-image zoomed in and focused on a spatial anomaly that was collapsing, probably the breach created by the infernal machine Ares had been trapped inside when the Fury home world exploded. A few translucent-looking spider ships managed to make it through before the breach closed. If that meant what Ares thought it did, cloaked ships similar to the one he was on made it to the other side, into his dimension, and the Earth Alliance may be oblivious to their presence there. With the strong time dilation difference between the Spectre’s dimensions and his, Ares had no idea how much time had passed. It could be minutes, maybe days here, which meant that for all he knew months or years could have passed on the other side.

The Spectre spat another command, and the holo-image changed again. Its focus reverting to Erevos as the footage rewound until the Spectre spoke again, which prompted the image to freeze. He walked toward the 3D holo-image and raised his hands. The tips of his fingers lit red as he began manipulating the holo-footage, turning it, zooming in and out, and eventually focusing on a point of interest. Four small craft with animalistic auras engulfing them were flying toward Erevos at an incredible velocity. The auras were of a dragon, a tiger, a phoenix, and a python. They were the Atlantian soul ships, which answered one more question Ares had asked himself earlier. Chase had managed to destroy the Furies. But had he and his family been on board the ships? Had they made the ultimate sacrifice to defeat their enemy?

The thought troubled the Olympian. Not only was Chase his pupil and dear friend, but with the Spectres now on the other side of the rift, if Chase had perished, Ares feared the times ahead could be very dark.

As the Spectre played the footage frame by frame, ships appeared blurry from the sheer speed at which they hurtled toward the planet. The Spectre manipulated the holo-interface to try and acquire more information. He ran different modes, analyzing power signatures, and perhaps even lifeform scans. One of the modes showed the interior of the ship, their cockpits empty, which reassured Ares as to the fate of Chase, Sarah, Chris, and Argos. The Spectre resumed the footage, advancing it frame by frame until the soul ships merged into one giant multicolored fireball a second before impacting with Erevos. The planet split and exploded into pieces.

So, the Furies are gone for good this time. At least, there’s that.

Chase had managed to take out the Furies as he had promised both Ares and his sister, Aphroditis. One thing was certain, Ares wasn’t in Elysium, and it didn’t look like he would be going there anytime soon. Spider ships had entered his dimension, and he needed to find a way to go back and let Chase know. He decided that for the time being, he should stay on this ship and try to obtain more information about the Spectre as well as the arachnoids. They could very well be planning an invasion, and if that happened, Ares intended to have as much intel on this new threat as he could gather, and hopefully, find a way home in the process.

* * *

The arachnoid female walked toward Nyx. She recognized the beast. Her array of red eyes glowing.

“You should never have defied us,” said the arachnoid.

“Zarna. I wish I could say I’ve missed you, but I’d be lying. In a way though, I’m grateful they sent you after me. Saves me the trouble of hunting you down.”

The arachnoid female laughed, which was not a pleasant sound. It sent shivers down Nyx’s spine.

“Furies. To think I once took pity on you. My superiors were right, you’re a waste of space, an impure race that has brought our Spectre masters nothing but grief.”

“Pity? Is that what you call what you’ve put me through?”

Zarna smirked. “You’re still breathing, aren’t you?”

Nyx’s orange eyes glowed as her purple aura came to life like a lilac flame, surrounding her body.

“Because I escaped! And now, I’m given a chance to exact revenge on your hairy ass and believe me, I’m going to enjoy every second of it.”

Zarna growled as a trio of long, sharp, bony claws emerged from her hands.

“I think you’re mistaken, Fury, it is I who will enjoy cutting you to pieces.”

The arachnoid jumped at Nyx and slashed her right hand at the Fury’s head. Her claws found nothing but air as Nyx somersaulted backward. Upon landing, Nyx aimed an open palm toward Zarna and unleashed a powerful purple fireball. To Nyx’s surprise, Zarna didn’t try to dodge it, but instead moved her head in the path of the attack and opened her serrated mouth, swallowing it. Her multiple eyes briefly flashed purple before turning back to red as smoke exited and trailed upward from her nostrils.

Zarna screeched, her eight spider legs detaching and spreading around her head similar to two hands reaching out. Her many eyes flashed an intense red as she spat a gray projectile toward Nyx. Before the Fury realized it, the sputum extended and turned into a web of crimson energy that enveloped Nyx, trapping and immobilizing her.

“That’s new!” Nyx said between clenched teeth.

“There’s a lot you don’t know about us.”

The more Nyx struggled to get free, the tighter the hold the net exerted on her, and the pain quickly went from high to nearly unbearable.

“Let me go! I’m not going back to the lab! I’d rather die.”

“Not your choice, I’m afraid.”

Why? Why was Zarna so obsessed with her? What could they possibly want with her and for what reasons? The Furies were a dead race, so what good could be gained by studying her? Nyx felt an anger rise deep within, and her purple aura grew exponentially.

“It would be easier and hurt less if you just complied; you’ll never get free of these restraints.”

“Watch me!” cried Nyx.

The more Nyx struggled, the deeper the net buried, and soon enough, the energy web began cutting through her skin, drawing blood. The pain was a motivator, feeding Nyx’s rage and bringing it to a boiling point. She unleashed an animalistic roar as her muscles tightened. In one swift move, she broke free of the net and shattered it to oblivion.

Zarna took a step back, fear permeating over her face.

Nyx was bleeding, and it took a second for her to heal herself from the multiple cuts.

“You should have left me alone. You’ll pay for this mistake with your life.”

Her aura grew stronger as she pointed an open palm toward the arachnoid. A purple fireball with small, sizzling, white lightning bolts came to life. As Nyx’s eyes burned like two miniature suns, she unleashed her attack on Zarna. The speed and power of the attack took the arachnoid by surprise, and she barely had time to move out of the way.

The fireball burned through most of her left arm and shoulder, incinerating both flesh and bone in its path. Zarna’s resulting screech was so high-pitched that it forced Nyx to cover her ears.

Dark, thick, gray blood spilled from where Zarna’s arm and shoulder used to be. A look of terror locked onto Zarna’s agony-deformed face.

The fire in Nyx’s eyes echoed the amount of rage burning in her soul.

“I told you to leave me alone,” spat Nyx, “but you wouldn’t listen.”

Before Nyx could prepare another attack to finish Zarna off, the arachnoid reached with her remaining hand and touched a control on her chest armor. She became engulfed in streaks of red light and beamed away.

“Dammit!” exclaimed Nyx.

Enraged at the thought of Zarna escaping her grasp, Nyx forced herself to calm down. Now was not the time to let her anger overcome her.

You’d better run. Next time I see you, though, will be the last.

3

Altair was getting out of the shower when Ryonna embraced and kissed him passionately.

“Hey, you,” said Altair. “I didn’t hear you come in. When did you get back?”

“Just a few minutes ago, you were still in the shower. I’ve missed you.”

Ryonna dragged Altair toward the bed.

“Wait—I’d love to, believe me, there’s nothing I’d like more, but I have to get back to the office.”

Ryonna growled. “What could possibly require your attention at this late hour?”

“Chase is waiting for me.”

Altair could tell by the look on her face that this news shocked her.

“Chase? Really? That’s the last person I expected you’d have to meet with right now.”

“That makes two of us. I’m just as surprised as you are. He’s barely talked to anyone in the last year.”

Ryonna nodded and looked pensive. “He’s been through a lot. I hope his presence back in Earth Alliance headquarters means he’s doing better, though. Would you like me to accompany you?”

“I think that could raise suspicions as to our relationship; that is unless you’re now comfortable being seen together as a couple, openly?”

“I wish I could say yes, but I haven’t even told Ronan yet. I’d hate for him to learn it through whispers.”

Altair raised both his palms. “Understandable. Know that I’m not pressuring you into anything, you can take as much time as you need.”

Ryonna kissed him.

“Thank you, love. I’ll be waiting for you when you return. How does that sound?”

“Like I have a very good reason to hurry back,” he said and smiled.

Altair walked to his dresser and quickly put on his uniform. He then stepped onto his quarter’s transporter pad. He brought the beaming controls online from his wrist holo-device, selected his office, and pressed the energize control. Blue streaks of lights engulfed his body, and he vanished.

* * *

Altair rematerialized in his office. Chase was standing on the far left, looking at model-sized versions of the Earth Alliance warships that were encased in a nice glass display. He gazed over the corvette class all the way to the super-destroyer ships with the Hope as the last and largest one in the display.

“Hello, Altair,” Chase said while keeping his gaze on the chrome ship models as if mesmerized.

“Hi, Chase. It’s been a while.”

Chase turned around and tried his best to smile.

“It has, hasn’t it?”

Altair gestured for Chase to take a chair by his desk, which he did.

“May I offer you a drink, coffee perhaps? One sugar, if memory serves?”

“I’d rather have a Ju’Ran Blackhole if it’s all the same to you.”

“That’s one stiff drink. I didn’t know you liked that.”

“I didn’t for a long time, but I’ve taken to enjoying the occasional cocktail lately. Helps dull the pain, even if only for a fleeting moment. The effects of alcohol don’t last long with my physiology. Unfortunately.”

“I see. In that case, I think I’ll allow myself a single malt whiskey. Wouldn’t want you to drink alone.”

Chase smiled as Altair prepared the drinks by entering commands on his desk console. A second later, the drinks beamed in.

“I heard you came to headquarters with your StarFury?” Altair said as he handed Chase his drink.

“You’ve heard correctly. I know I could have just beamed in, but I’m not used to transporters. That’s not really true, perhaps I’m resisting using them. Maybe because it reminds me of the power I’ve lost. To think I could teleport anywhere in the blink of an eye…I—I haven’t adjusted to losing that ability.”

“That’s understandable.”

“I also wanted time to think; between you and me, I also missed being in the pilot’s seat. So, the StarFury seemed like the right mode of transportation at the time since I obviously could have flown faster on my own as well.”

“I can’t imagine you had many thrills on your way here, though.”

Chase chuckled. “No, I most certainly did not. I wasn’t looking for any, mind you, so I’m somewhat grateful on that front. At least it’s one part of our lives that I don’t have to worry about anymore—the constant danger. For the time being, that is.”

Altair’s eyebrows arched. “For the time being?”

“You know what I mean. Don’t get me wrong, it’s been nice to have peace, even though I didn’t have anyone to enjoy it with…” Chase let the words trail for a moment, his face darkening. “And then there’s that gut feeling telling me it won’t last for much longer.”

“I’m not sure I like the sound of that. Even though I’ve been feeling something similar. Did you sense any enemy presence?”

“No, not really. And to be fair I haven’t tried to sense anything, but come on, Altair, you can’t possibly tell me that you and the rest of the Alliance think the Spectres won’t eventually find a way to come to our universe. Tanak’Vor himself said so; it was his plan all along to prepare this dimension for a Spectre invasion.”

“A plan you thwarted, at great personal cost.”

“For now. And I don’t need to be reminded what it cost me.”

“I’m sorry, Chase, I meant no offense.”

“None taken. I know you didn’t mean anything by it, but we both know the fallout I’ve experienced from the Fury War. . .” Chase paused and took a sip of his Ju’Ran Blackhole, “. . .as well as many others. Olympus has been destroyed, and I miss my commanding officer.”

“We all miss Commodore Saroudis…”

“I wanted to see his family. I—I promised him I would make sure they were safe. But I never managed to go visit them. What could I tell his wife and daughter that would make them feel any better?”

“Nothing I suppose, and don’t worry, we’ve made sure they’re taken care of. Daniel visits them regularly.”

“That’s good.” Chase sighed. “I haven’t been around my friends as much as I hoped to be…”

“Speaking of friends, Ambassador Is’chys was at the celebration last night, she was sad not to see you. Truth be told, we all were.”

“Ryonna is an ambassador? Good for her. I bet a lot of people expected me to be there, and, no, just to clarify, your invitation wasn’t lost in the mail. I just didn’t feel like celebrating.”

“I can respect that, though I’m surprised to see you in my office today.”

“It was a spur of the moment thing. Sorry if I didn’t give you much notice. Not to mention the late hour at which I called. I hope I didn’t interrupt any plans.”

“Don’t worry about that, Chase. Anything for you.”

“I’m glad to hear it since I have a favor to ask. A rather…” Chase paused, “sizeable one.”

Altair gulped the rest of his whiskey.

“I’m all ears.”

“I need a ship. Preferably one that can hold its own in battle, with multiple StarFury squadrons.”

“I see. We’re talking either destroyer or dreadnought class, then. Do you mind if I ask why?”

“I’d like to head out to the unknown regions and try to find a cure for Sarah, and I’d rather not have to worry about a crew.”

Altair furrowed his eyebrows and stared long at Chase. “I don’t think you have a choice in the matter. While your powers allow you to control the ship, their systems, and the StarFuries with the power of your mind, that still doesn’t make you an engineer. If anything breaks down, someone will need to fix it for you. Not to mention that you could become incapacitated. What then?”

“I’ll figure something out. I can’t ask anybody else to risk their life for me.”

“I hope you won’t mind me saying this, but that’s a debatable opinion. Almost everyone in the galaxy owes you their life. I’m sure I can find more than enough volunteers to help you in your mission, no matter the risks. People…Nobody has forgotten what you’ve done for us, Chase.”

“I’m sure you could, and I appreciate the sentiment. But in this case, I don’t want to assume the responsibility for their lives. I’m sorry if I sound blunt or selfish even, but I was hoping I wouldn’t have to debate this with you,” Chase said, his voice cold.

Altair let a long breath escape. “I see. What if I came along?”

Chase’s brows lifted.

“I can’t let you do that, you’re needed here. You’re the head of the Earth Alliance Council. In fact, you’re the only reason why I felt comfortable resigning my commission because I knew you wouldn’t lead the Earth Alliance astray.”

“And I’m grateful for your trust in me, but you could use the help. Going to the unknown regions without backup, without a crew even…seems reckless.”

“When has that ever stopped me?” smirked Chase.

Altair chuckled. “Right, this hardly would be the first time you did something reckless. But let me ask you this: why not ask your friends and family to help? I’m sure they’d jump at the opportunity to spend time with you.”

“Look, it’s something I need to do on my own. I don’t expect you or anybody else to understand, I only hope I’ve earned enough respect so that my wishes are considered. I’d like to think I’ve earned that.”

“You have, and then some…and if a ship is what you need, a ship you’ll get, Chase.”

“Thank you.”

“We have a new class of destroyer ships fresh out of the docks, that is it will be when Spiros finalizes his work on the new shields’ design. We haven’t named her yet, so before the painting bots do their magic, let me know what you’d like to call her.”

Chase grinned as he thought about it. “Iron Fire.”

“Hmmm…For some reason, I expected you to say Destiny.”

“The Destiny was always Saroudis’ ship. This name is forever tied to his legacy. The Iron Fire, on the other hand, was the first ship I was given command of, the one with which I returned to Earth to stop your fleet. Well, Argos’ fleet. Back then, the mission had also been one requiring us to go into uncharted territory. Seems fitting to bring that particular name back, seeing how similar this mission could be.”

Altair nodded. “I can see that. As for your brother when he commandeered my fleet away from me to attack Earth, he was pretty ruthless back then. I remember spending most of that battle unconscious. What he called an alliance back then was nothing more than subduing my people and me into doing his bidding. But I guess both he and I were very different people back then.”

Chase smiled, but quickly sadness filled his eyes. “Yes…old enemies became friends. In my case, even family. It’s a strange universe we live in, but at least it doesn’t get boring.”

“Try spending fourteen hours a day behind a glass desk drowned in paperwork and let’s have that discussion again.”

“Ha, fair enough.”

Altair briefly brushed his hand over his chin. “It’s good to see you, Chase.”

Chase stared at Altair for a moment. “It’s good to see you, too, even though it brings up a slew of different memories, you know…”

“Nostalgia?”

“I suppose, in a twisted kind of way.”

“I understand. As for your ship, the soon-to-be-christened Iron Fire is yours to do as you please. I would request that you try to avoid making new enemies in your travels. If it can be avoided, that is.”

“I have no intention of starting a war with anyone, but obviously, I’ll defend myself if I need to.”

“I wouldn’t expect anything less…Admiral?”

“No—I appreciate the gesture, but I’m not resuming my commission.”

“You kind of have to, Chase, at least on paper. Otherwise, I’ll have a hard time justifying who’s in command of an Earth Alliance destroyer.”

Chase flinched. “Alright then, I guess I can live with that.”

“It’s settled then. I’ll let Spiros know he needs to hurry and put the finishing touches on the ship. I think you’ll like her, she’s equipped with the most advanced technology of any ship to date. She’s fast, powerful, perhaps not as much as a Warheart class destroyer, or not as massive as the new dreadnoughts we’re working on with the Asgaridans, but she packs quite a punch for a ship her size, that’s for sure.”

“I’m glad to hear it. Hopefully, I won’t have to push her too much.”

“Well, at least you’ll have plenty of firepower to defend yourself. Do you mind if I ask you for a favor while in the unknown regions?”

“Not at all, what is it?”

“Well, if you could chart every place you travel to and send the intel back to us via subspace? I’m mostly after data regarding potential worlds that could be beneficial for the Alliance to try to approach and perhaps extend our jump gate network to? If you’re correct, and the Spectres return, we may need new allies. What better place than the unknown regions to find them.”

“I’ll set the onboard computer to do all of that for me if that’s alright with you. Not exactly going on a sightseeing trip. Hopefully, subspace communication will function wherever I’m heading.”

“Sure, whatever you can do will be appreciated, and, Chase?”

“Yes?”

“Be careful, will ya?”

Chase gave the best smile he could muster.

“No promises.”

4

Argos deflected the fireball back to his nephew, Chris, with the flick of the back of his hand. Chris avoided the energy-based attack by somersaulting in the air and joining his hands together and used them as a hammer to slam Argos to the ground. Before Chris could land on his uncle’s back, knee first, Argos rolled out of the way and quickly regained his footing, losing no time throwing a roundhouse kick toward Chris’ head. Chris blocked the blow with his elbow and unleashed a powerful shockwave with his other hand that sent his uncle flying backward. Argos recovered his balance in midair and landed on his feet gracefully.

He’s getting stronger every day. Over time, he could very well become more powerful than his father.

It was getting harder to look at Chris as a young boy. He was easily looking nineteen now, his body had the right amount of athletic muscle for his age as well as the training regimen he had put himself through lately. By all accounts, a Fury to be reckoned with. Technically, the boy wasn’t even two years old, since having interfered with his own genes from within the womb of his mother in order to grow faster and help his parents in the Fury War. If Argos hadn’t stabilized his DNA, he would have continued to age at an accelerated pace and would have most likely died already. Or would he have? Just like Chase and Argos, Chris had Olympian blood running through his veins that could potentially grant him immortality or, at the very least, a longer than normal lifespan.

Was Argos immortal? Ever since he had joined his brother’s cause against the Furies, he felt younger than ever, his gray hair now all but gone, the only distinctive features between Chase and him was the scar across Argos’ face and his red eyes. He had cut his long flowing hair to shoulder length.

Chris was standing straight, an open palm aimed at his uncle. At the exact same time, Argos felt a familiar aura in the distance. Chris’ fireball crackled to life but fizzled shortly after.

“Why are you stopping?” asked Argos.

“Your head is not in the fight today. What’s on your mind?”

“You felt it too, didn’t you?”

Chris looked away and went to grab a bottle of water.

“I’ll take that as a yes,” added Argos.

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

“He’s your father.”

“Biologically, perhaps. But he’s not filling that role anymore. As a matter of fact, I wonder if he ever did.”

Even though the bond that Chris and Argos shared was strong, and on a certain level was the reason why Argos truly felt like part of the group after he defected from the Furies, he hated seeing Chris’ resentment toward his father.

“You know he didn’t abandon your mother on the battlefield that day, he was trying to save your sister’s life.”

“I don’t have a sister!”

“Oh, that’s how you want to deal with this? Your unborn sister, then.”

“Mom’s life was more important.”

“I can tell you that if she were here, she’d slap some sense into you. And we both know it didn’t matter whether or not Chase had come to Sarah’s aid, she had been infected by the Spectre’s blood already, the damage was done and there was nothing more he could have done.”

Chris turned around, making a fist. “He could have at least tried!”

Argos threw his hands at Chris. “Well, you and your father sure share that Athanatos stubbornness.”

When Chris didn’t answer and turned away, Argos came by his side and put a hand on his shoulder.

“Look, what’s going on between you and your father is something you’ll have to deal with on your own terms, I get that. Know that I’m here if you want to talk about it. In the meantime, Chase is here. I suggest you at least think about saying hi, but ultimately, the choice is yours.”

Chris delicately brushed off his uncle’s hand. “Thanks, Uncle. You should go see him if you feel the need, he knows where to find me…should he care.”

“Oh, he does, trust me. More than you’re willing to accept.”

Chris’ voice was filled with sadness. “That remains to be seen.”

* * *

When Daniel opened his apartment door, Chase could tell how surprised his best friend was to see him. In fact, he was probably the last person Daniel expected to see.

“Chase! Holy shit, it’s really you!”

“Hey—” Chase hesitated for a fleeting moment, “bro,” he finally added. “Long time no see.”

Daniel took Chase in his arms and patted his back firmly.

“Are you kidding me, it’s been a year, so yeah, long time indeed! Come in.”

Chase nodded as he stepped in and walked to the living room.

“Can I offer you a drink?” Daniel asked, gesturing Chase to sit down on the couch.

“No, but thank you,” Chase said as he sat.

“How come you’re here? I thought you were staying in Sarah’s old apartment in DC, watching over her. Not that I’m complaining, it’s really good seeing you.”

“It’s good to see you too, my friend. I—I’m sorry I haven’t stayed in contact these last few months. I needed some time alone. I hope you understand.”

“I gathered that, yes. I’m glad you finally decided to reach out, though. I saw Chris and Argos yesterday.”

“Did you? How are they?”

“Well, Argos seemed fine. Chris, on the other hand, doesn’t seem to be dealing with your absence all that well. You should consider paying him a visit. I take it that’s why you’re here though, right?”

“Not exactly. And truth be told, I don’t know if it would be such a great idea. The few times we’ve met over the past year, the only thing we accomplished was bringing anger and resentment to the surface.”

“Even so, he’s your son, Chase. You may have lost your wife, but he lost his mother.”

“Sarah isn’t lost, not yet.”

“Yeah, of course, that’s not what I meant to say by lost. You know what I mean, though.”

“I do. But Chris doesn’t seem interested in anything I have to say about that day. Why would he? I should never have brought Sarah to fight with us in the first place. Chris is mad at me, rightfully so, I might add. Gods know I’m mad at myself.”

“I can’t speak for Sarah, but seems to me it was her choice and knowing her, she wouldn’t have been okay with staying on the sidelines. As for Chris, I think he’s madder at you for isolating yourself in the aftermath of battle than what happened on that day. You’re both hurt and instead of sharing this as a family, you’re driving a wedge between yourselves. Talk to him, Chase, maybe the two of you can mend some fences.”

Chase took a moment to consider his friend’s advice.

“I’ll think about it, thanks. But enough about me; I’d like to know how you’ve been and what’s new with you.”

“Well, until now, not that much really. Although Altair offered me command of Alkyonidon Station, which will be the future headquarters for the Alliance. Once it’s up and ready, that is.”

“That sounds like a fun assignment as well as a nice promotion, congrats.”

“Thanks, I haven’t accepted the position yet. I’m still thinking it over.”

“What’s there to think about?”

“Well, for one, I don’t know if I’m the right man for the job. And I’m not sure I’ll enjoy commanding a space station. You know me, I need to travel through the stars. A station by definition is stationary. Might not be my cup of tea, so I’m not sure I’ll take the position.”

“I’m sure you’ll get plenty of opportunities to travel to and from the station, perhaps you should give it a try. If it’s not for you, you can always ask Altair to replace you down the line.”

“True, I hadn’t considered that. I know I should avoid the subject since it’s probably still fresh in your mind, but don’t you miss it?”

Chase lifted an eyebrow. “Miss what?”

“War, or more precisely, fighting for our lives. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’m glad it’s over, but now that it is, it feels like something is missing. The thrill, the excitement. Days seem pretty boring now, not that I’d want the Furies back or anything like that. But I don’t know what to do with myself. I’m spending most of my days inside the house, watching the damn TV, five hundred plus channels and I still get the feeling that there’s nothing interesting to watch.”

Chase smiled. “I don’t miss the war, no. I do miss my friends, and I do miss the bond we all shared under pressure, but I’m not missing the impending doom. But, most of all…I miss her.”

“I know, Chase. We all do. Are you planning on doing something about Sarah’s condition? Is that why you came back?”

Chase nodded. “Yes, though technically I’m not ‘back’ per se. I came to commandeer a ship that I’ll be taking out shortly.”

“A ship you say? Where to? If you don’t mind me asking.”

“The unknown regions.”

Daniel’s eyes gleamed. “Sounds to me like you’ll be needing a first officer, then?”

Chase shook his head. “I can’t, Dan. Gotta do this one on my own.”

“The hell you do! It took so much time for you to finally trust your friends to help you in the Fury War, don’t go back to your old self, Chase.”

“Sarah’s predicament is my fault, even though she insisted on coming, I should never have taken her with us to fight Tanak’Vor. My father prevented Athena from coming to the battle, and while she’s pissed at him for that, she’s still alive. That’s one occurrence where I feel I should have taken a page out of my father’s playbook. I’m sure you can understand that. So I need to do this on my own, where the only life I risk is mine.”

“Oh boy, your exaggerated sense of chivalry and self-sacrifice isn’t getting better as the years go by, you realize that, right?”

“I’m not following.”

“Chase, you’re being selfish, and the sad part of it is that you don’t even see it.”

“How is me doing this on my own selfish?”

“Because the people who care about you, myself included, want to help. We all love Sarah, we all want to see her get better; shutting us out is also ignoring our needs on the matter. I get that you’re hurting, I truly do, but have you stopped to think about how that makes us feel? I miss you, and your family misses you, too. You act as if you’re too hurt to process these emotions, and don’t get me wrong I know you are hurt. And I understand that you needed time alone. Well, newsflash, we’ve given you that time and then some. Now that you plan on doing something about Sarah, you can’t simply expect us to be okay with you going on your own.”

Chase felt a sting in his heart. Was he being selfish? Was he too stubborn? Why couldn’t his friends and family understand the guilt and pain he felt in losing so many people? Chase never asked for any of it. Days like these he wished Aphroditis never made contact with him in the first place.

But perhaps he had not stopped to think about how his friends felt on the subject.

“I understand what you’re saying, Daniel. And I’ll consider it. But I’m afraid, right now, that’s the best I can do.”

“Well, not exactly a shocker, but thank you. That’s all I ask. Look, I know it’s been, and still is, hard for you. Just remember you’re not alone. We—your friends, your family—are here for you. Anytime, anywhere, in fact. We want to help you, no matter the risks. Don’t shut us out, I beg you. At the risk of repeating myself, we’re here for you.”

“I know you are, bro. I know you’re there for me, and even if I don’t always voice it properly, I hope you know how much it means to me.”

5

Captain Talon Epizon was gazing through the viewport. His ship, the Bellerophon, had exited hyperspace through the use of the newly constructed jump gate system. It pained him to have to use anything made by the Earth Alliance. But his own ship’s hyperspace engines had been damaged, and he hadn’t managed to find an affordable power capacitor that his archaic engine required in order to restore his ship’s jump capabilities. There were very few of these capacitors left in existence, and even fewer in working order. Sometimes Talon wondered if it wouldn’t be cheaper to simply buy a new ship.

The only capacitor that he had found was too rich for his hide unless he wanted to tempt fate and ask his ragtag smuggler’s crew how they would feel not receiving wages for the next few months. Something he wouldn’t, as he knew very well what their answer would be. They were mercenaries after all. So there he was with his hunk-a-junk ship unable to make its own jumps, thus relying on the Alliance he so despised.

It was late, and he was alone on the bridge. The onboard AI, hardly worthy of the intelligence moniker, could have taken care of navigation all on its own. But Talon didn’t trust anyone, not breathing beings and certainly not machines. It had been the case since he lost his entire family to the devastating attack on the Star Alliance by the Obsidian Empire.

And now the head of the Empire leads the Earth Alliance; they’re actually friends with these savages.

The doors of the bridge split open behind him. When he couldn’t hear the footsteps resonating on the metallic floor, he knew which of his crew had come in without the need for him to turn around and check.

“What can I do for you, my insectoid friend?”

Tar’Lock walked next to the captain and joined him in his late-night stargazing activity, even though it always felt like nighttime in space.

“I wanted to thank you for making the detour back to Earth. I know you don’t like to go there. I—I really appreciate it.”

Tar’Lock was right, Earth was a reminder of a past the captain wanted to forget, and perhaps, in time, forgive. Though the latter might take some significant time.

“You’re a valuable member of my crew, Tar’Lock. That’s the least I could do. How did it go? Did you find the closure you were looking for?”

“I wish I could say I did.” Tar’Lock sighed. “At the very least, it felt good to see my friends.”

“What about the Droxian?”

“She…Ryonna’s clearly moved on. Perhaps I should too.”

“I’m sorry to hear that. Though you already know my take on the subject, there are plenty more fish in the sea.”

Talon regretted the words the moment they left his mouth. Simply because he didn’t believe in this particular cliché. In fact, he missed his wife and children dearly and would give anything to spend just a single moment with them. He used such idioms as a defense mechanism. As a former Star Alliance officer turned smuggler, he could never appear weak in front of his crew. That would be an open invitation for a power-hungry crewman to kill him and take his place.

That was exactly why sleep was a luxury nowadays, not that he ever got much of it since the Obsidian invasion. Every time he managed to close his eyes, the nightmares would strike. Seeing his family burn every night was something that hacked away at his soul, to the point where he dreaded sleep and only succumbed to it when his body forced him to.

“Did you see your friend, what’s his name. . .Chase?”

“No, he didn’t come. I can’t blame him though, he’s been through a lot.”

“We all have,” said Talon absently, his gaze focused on the distant starlight.

“I suppose so.”

Talon saw a couple of stars blink in the distance, followed by another trio. Without a word he rushed to his captain’s chair and brought up his holo-controls.

“What’s going on?” asked Tar’Lock.

“I think we have company.”

“What?”

Tar’Lock used his super speed to go to the scan console and brought up its interface. His Gorgar speed allowed him to enter a flurry of commands in a heartbeat. In fact, most of the time, and even more so on a ship this archaic, the interface couldn’t keep up with the speed of his inputs.

“I’m not detecting anything, Captain.”

“Send the scans to the main holo-screen. I’m sure I saw something.”

Tar’Lock complied, and soon an image filled a large portion of the near-empty bridge. Captain Epizon got up and walked toward the screen and pointed to the clusters of stars he saw blinking suspiciously a moment ago.

“Enlarge sector three by four by sixteen.”

The captain attentively observed the enlarged cluster of stars for a moment.

“What exactly did you see, Captain?”

“I’m not sure, a shadow, or something.”

“Our instruments didn’t pick up anything, I’m afraid. If you don’t mind me asking, when was the last time you got some solid sleep?”

Talon shot daggers at the Gorgar. “I didn’t imagine it, Tar’Lock!”

“I’m sorry, Captain, I shouldn’t have said anything.”

Talon sighed. “No, it’s me who’s sorry, Tar’Lock. I shouldn’t have barked at you like that. I haven’t slept well at all since…well since as long as I can remember, really. But I can’t shake this feeling, my gut is telling me there’s something out there.”

Tar’Lock clicked nervously. “Then let me try to push scans beyond their resolution. I can try modifying them in order to do so, something I’ve picked up from a friend of mine.”

“Ryonna?”

“No, Keera, actually. You’d like her. In many respects, you remind me of her.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

Tar’Lock smiled as his hands moved at speeds too fast for human eyes to follow, reprogramming parts of the sensor array. He then refreshed the scans onto the main holo-screen, which turned shades of red, green, and then blue, and one of the scan modes looked like old-school Earth TV white noise. Eventually, in one mode, where everything was mostly black, a faint dark-gray shadow appeared at the center of the cluster.

“There!” exclaimed Talon.

Tar’Lock saw the shape for a fraction of a second before it disappeared. But that was more than enough to send a cascade of shivers down his spine. The shape of a spider in space.

“We gotta get the hell outta here,” said Tar’Lock with a symphony of panicked clicks trailing his words. “Now!”

“Why?”

“If this is the type of ship I think it is, we’re in mortal danger.”

“Perhaps they don’t care we’ve detected them.”

“Oh, believe me, they care. We better pray they didn’t detect our scans.”

“Then let’s stop scanning them.”

“Already done.”

An ominous series of bleeps resonated from Tar’Lock’s console.

“What’s going on?” Talon asked.

“Exactly what I feared. They’ve just locked on to us.”

* * *

Asrak’Vor was sleeping in his quarters when one of his officers woke him.

“Rhhh, what is it?” he said, not trying to hide the annoyance from his tone.

“Apologies for the interruption. A ship exited the jump gate near our scout ship, Master.”

“Ships exit that jump gate every day. What’s so special about this one?”

“We’re detecting incoming scans.”

This fool better not have woken me up for nothing.

“It’s not unusual for ships to scan the area around them when exiting hyperspace; in fact, I would expect most diligent captains to do that.”

“I—I agree, Master. But the scans do seem focused on the scout ship we have in the area.”

Asrak’Vor sighed, realizing this matter needed his attention more than he required sleep.

“I’ll be right there; don’t do anything until I arrive.”

“Very well, Master.”

Asrak’Vor got up and secreted a thin oily liquid that would wash his skin from the impurities of the preceding day. He then augmented the temperature of his skin, bringing the oil to a burning point and letting it evaporate, which released a pleasant musky smell.

The Spectre arrived on the bridge and saw the main holo-screen showing relayed sensor data from the ship he had sent ahead to scout the area. He sat on his semi-organic onyx throne. The organic material molded to accommodate its user. Asrak’Vor was baffled by how primitive the ship looked, even by this dimension’s standards.

“Report.”

“The vessel is scanning our scout ship, there’s no reason to believe it has detected us, but it’s insisting and tried different methods of doing so.”

“Isn’t our stealth cloaking technology impenetrable?”

“It should be, but like our own ship, the scout ship has suffered damage, its cloaking field is operating at ninety-seven percent efficiency.”

That ought to be enough for fooling that old rust bucket’s sensors.

“Master, the scanning has stopped.”

“Any change in course from the ship?”

“None whatsoever.”

“Your assessment of the situation?” said Asrak’Vor, slightly annoyed.

“I—I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have bothered you with this incident. I apologize.”

“Apology accepted. And I think under the circumstances, you did well.”

The navigation officer bowed upon hearing Asrak’Vor’s words of praise.

The Spectre’s subordinate was correct, he shouldn’t have bothered him until he had conclusive evidence. On the other hand, it was paramount that their presence in this dimension remain a secret as long as possible. And, as such, Asrak’Vor was happy to see healthy initiative like this from his crew.

He turned to his comms officer. “Open a channel to the scout ship.”

“Channel opened,” answered the officer.

The holo-screen filled with the image of the captain of the scout ship.

“What can I do for you, Master Vor?”

“The ship that just scanned you—lock on it and destroy it at once.”

“We do not believe they have detected us.”

“It doesn’t matter what you believe. If the Earth Alliance even suspects our presence in their dimension, they’ll send an entire armada to hunt us down. We can’t take that chance. Avoid making your presence known to any other ship. In the event it can’t be prevented, then destroy them as well. Whatever happens, don’t get caught, I believe I don’t have to tell you what you need to do if your ship is disabled.”

“You don’t, Master Vor, we’ll self-destruct before we let our tech fall into enemy hands.”

“Report back to me when your mission is completed.”

The captain saluted by slamming a fist into his chest, followed by a bow, and then his holo-image faded into nothingness.

6

Chase barely slept all night, thinking about how to proceed. Both Daniel and Altair’s discussions kept replaying in his mind. Eventually, he had called Argos and asked that he and Chris meet him on the shipyard in orbit around Earth. He had placed a similar call to Daniel and had let Spiros know he’d be coming to check on the Iron Fire in the morning.

He didn’t like the idea of having to convince them to stay behind. But he didn’t want to take the ship and go without at least seeing his friends and family one more time. It had been months since Chase talked with Chris. He wished it weren’t so, but the tension between them was still volatile and not yet ready to be diffused. Would it ever? Chase wondered.

He navigated his StarFury into the landing bay of the shipyard and took the turbo-lift to the observation deck. While the lift went down, he wondered if Chris would bother to show up. The turbo-lift doors opened, and the first thing that grabbed Chase’s attention was the ship outside that he could see through a large viewport that ran along the right side of the hall corridor.

The destroyer was magnificent. It was a much smaller ship than the Hope, but according to Altair, it packed a punch nonetheless. The bots had already painted the name on the side: Iron Fire. Reading the name brought back some happy memories, a time where everyone he loved was still present. Even members of his family he didn’t know he had back then, like his grandfather, Zeus, and many family members he had never really spent much time with before Arakan destroyed them along with Olympus. Some he never even had the opportunity to meet. That thought sent Chase’s state of mind reeling back into darkness faster than previous glimmers of joy, which had gently brushed his soul moments before.

Chase walked along the circular-shaped corridor, his gaze still locked on to the hull of his future home for the next few months, years, or even decades. He didn’t know how long he would roam the unknown regions, only that he would do so to try to save his wife, Sarah, and their unborn daughter.

A silhouette caught his attention. It was Daniel. The more he advanced, the more people were revealed behind the curve. Chase’s heart beat stronger with every new step. Spiros was next. Then Yanis and Kvasir appeared, which Chase hadn’t expected. He was only a few feet away when he saw Argos step forward from the rest of his friends.

Where’s Chris?

Chase felt a sting in his heart but couldn’t blame his son for not coming. He hadn’t exactly been the father of the year. Smiles filled the faces of his friends as he approached and stopped in front of them.

“It’s good to see you all,” Chase said tentatively.

“Good to you see you too, boss,” said Yanis.

“What he said,” added Kvasir with a smile, his facial tattoos steadily pulsating green.

Daniel took Chase in his arms and whispered in his ear.

“I’m glad you reconsidered.”

Have I? Chase wondered.

He had to admit, though, it felt good being reunited with the people he had gone into battle with. They had sweated, bled, and in the case of Spiros, even died by his side. Chase had brought him back, albeit in a younger clone body. It still felt weird to see Spiros look like he was now in his thirties. Whenever Chase thought of him, he always saw the older scientist’s face in his mind.

Chase clapped his best friend’s back and smiled, not willing to sour the moment by saying something he might regret.

“Chase,” Spiros said with a slight bow.

Then it was Argos’ turn, and the twin brothers shared a hug that Chase didn’t know he needed. The warmth he felt emanating from his brother soothed Chase’s soul, even if only for a fleeting moment. To think Argos was once his nemesis. But those times belonged in the past, and he was now someone Chase could trust with his life.

“It’s good to see you, Brother,” said Argos, a genuine smile lighting his entire face. “What is it I hear? We’re going on a trip to help Sarah?”

Chase had hoped to delay the moment where he would need to convince them to let him go at it alone. But it looked like the reunion was over, and he needed to let them know how he felt.

“About that⁠—”

“Hell no, you’re not,” said a familiar voice behind him. “You’re not doing that again.”

Could it be?

Chase didn’t have to turn around to know that the voice belonged to his son, Chris, but for a second, he thought he might have imagined it. There he stood, taller than Chase remembered and full of muscles. Chase could tell he had been training intensively.

“It’s good to see you, Son.”

Chris grimaced. “You’re not taking the Iron Fire on a joyride on your own. In case that was what you wanted to tell us.”

How well he knows me.

In his heart, Chase didn’t want any harm to come to his friends or to what was left of his family. He remembered when this adventure started—when the Obsidian Empire sent them on the run for their lives. Back then, Chase thought he was an orphan and had no idea who his birth parents were or even that he had a twin brother. Now he had a family, and pushing them away would not bring the dead back nor would it make it easier on anyone.

There was something else Chase felt in his heart; he had missed all of them terribly. Even if it had been his initial intention, there would be no way he could refuse their help now. Daniel was right, he couldn’t ignore their feelings any longer.

“Well, when it’s asked that nicely,” said Chase with a smile.

Chase felt his son’s gaze lock onto his, sizing him up somehow.

“Alright then, what are we waiting for?” he added.

Spiros walked by Chase’s side. “The Iron Fire is ready to go, except for that discussion we had earlier, which I suppose doesn’t apply anymore?”

Spiros was correct, Chase wouldn’t need an artificial crew now, and so, by extension, he could accept Altair’s proposal to throw him a volunteer crew to care for the ship’s systems.

“No, it doesn’t, thank you, Spiros.”

Spiros nodded.

“Would you guys want a tour of the ship since we’re all here?” proposed Yanis.

“I’m game,” said Argos.

“So am I,” added Daniel. “Let’s take a look at what will be our home for the foreseeable future.”

“Then follow me,” Yanis said and motioned forward.

* * *

Daniel and Argos followed Yanis. Chris stood back for a second.

“I’ve missed you,” said Chase tentatively.

“You have a funny way of showing it,” answered Chris coldly.

Chase sighed. “I’m sorry, I—I didn’t know how to deal with all of it, you know?”

“No, I don’t know, Chase.”

Hearing his son call him by his first name crushed Chase, but he couldn’t blame Chris for that.

“You’re not the only one hurting. Sarah may be your wife, but she’s my mother, unless you’ve forgotten.”

“I haven’t, and if I could turn back time⁠—”

“Yeah, that’s an easy excuse, and you know it. So, before we say things we might regret, I have something to say, and I want you to listen.”

Chase nodded. “I can certainly do that.”

Chris shot his father a look that conveyed he wasn’t convinced with Chase’s words.

“I’m only coming along because we share a goal: bring my mother back. I don’t want nor need to rehash the past any more than we have to. You and I are on a different frequency. Now more than ever, but perhaps we always have been. You’ll have my skills when you require them, and you can count on my help to achieve the mission. In fact, you’ll be captaining the ship, and I’m just a member of the crew.

“Fair enough.”

“I’m not finished,” said Chris sharply.

Chase grimaced. “Sorry, please continue.”

“ I have no intention nor do I care to fix whatever is broken between us. There’s only one thing that matters and that’s saving my mother. If that doesn’t work for you, then let me know, and I’ll ask Altair for my own ship and crew. Are we clear on that?”

To say these words cut Chase’s heart like a razor was an understatement of epic proportions. Under the circumstances, and with Chase having been mostly a recluse in the past year, he couldn’t blame his son for his dismissive attitude. But at least they were in the same room, and he held out hope that going on new adventures together would help mend their relationship. Even if Chase recognized it probably would take some doing and with no shortage of time and patience.

“Clear as crystal, Son.”

“Good,” said Chris as he walked away to rejoin the rest of the group.

Chase wiped the tears that burned his eyes and followed his son.

* * *

Nyx left the complex on Pisces III on a stolen grav-bike, where she had fought Zarna, but she needed to get a jump-capable craft if she wanted to put as much distance as possible between her and her captor. She headed toward the nearest town outside of the dome cities.

Outside of the few cities on the surface of Pisces III, the planet was little more than a shithole where all the scum of the regions came to trade and look for and participate in shady enterprises. Scavengers, bounty hunters, smugglers, and everything in between, they all gravitated in the region. The sooner Nyx left this planet the better. She needed to head to Geminon Prime where she had left her Fury ship. It would not be a short trip. She hadn’t slept in thirty hours, and even the icy cold wind of Pisces III’s nights whipping against her face wasn’t enough to prevent her eyes from closing.

I can’t afford to fall asleep. I need to get to the starport and get out of this hellhole.

She wished she had some stims with her. Stims were highly illegal in the sector. The most efficient ones contained Spectre blood, and the penalty if caught using or selling these ranged from life imprisonment to summary execution. A synthetic version of the drug existed, but the authorities looked at it in the same way and applied similar punishment.

Spectres were unchallenged masters in this dimension. As such, they didn’t like their blood being used in any way, shape, or form. Spectres liked to believe they were the only pure beings in the universe, so it was no surprise they would react vehemently when their blood was used in such matters. But Spectres’ stims were the only drug that would allow a living, breathing lifeform to stay awake for days on end, if not weeks, and not feel tired while under their influence.

There was, of course, a risk in using it, especially taking too high a dose. A Spectre’s blood had, at homeopathic doses, some truly wonderful properties in the hands of the right doctors and chemists. But mess up the dosage, and the healing properties turned to poison, and more often than not, followed by death.

One of the reasons why Spectres reigned unchallenged in this dimension was that when they injured their foe in combat, they’d voluntarily flood the enemy with some of their blood. Because not much was needed to kill almost any species, most learned to accept the Spectres’ absolute power and bowed to them for fear of being annihilated. There was also the fact that they could rip out one’s soul and siphon its essence. Who in their right mind would want their soul to be trapped inside a Spectre for all eternity?

But Nyx had had more than her fair share of exposure to a Spectre’s blood in the forms of stims, some of them of shady origin. One batch, in particular, had been very potent due to its elevated concentration, which almost killed her. Luckily, she was a good friend with an underground chemist living on Geminon Prime. He had discovered an antidote to a Spectre’s blood overdose. Not many people knew about it, and if it weren’t for Jared saving her life, she would never have learned about its existence. Jared knew very well that if his life-saving interventions were rendered public, the Spectres would hunt him down and destroy him, his research, and whatever stockpile he had.

Her train of thought was interrupted when she looked at her rearview holo-cams and noticed a set of distant headlights in the night sky. Was she being followed? She needed to make sure, so she adjusted her course to check. She looked behind her and the headlights were gone.

I guess I’m just being paranoid⁠—

But then a projectile impacted with her grav-bike, splitting it in two. At over three hundred meters altitude, Nyx started to free fall toward the harsh desert landscape.

7

A day after meeting with his friends, Chase, sitting in the captain’s chair of the new Iron Fire, was ready to depart for the unknown regions in the hopes of finding a cure for Sarah. As expected, Altair had readily found a crew to man the ship.

Yanis, Kvasir, and Spiros were manning engineering, making sure the ship performed at peak performance. Argos and Daniel were on the bridge with Chase. Chris, however, had decided to stay in his quarters.

“Are you all sure you want to do this?” Chase inquired. “There’s no way to know what awaits us in the unknown regions.”

“Whatever is there,” Daniel said, “we’ll face it together like we always do.”

“Couldn’t have said it better,” added Argos.

For the first time since the devastating battle with Tanak’Vor, Chase felt hope and warmth return to his heart. As much as he feared losing any of them, he was equally grateful to have his friends and family by his side. And there was no one else he’d rather go to the unknown with than with people he respected, loved, and trusted with his life.

“Helmsman, take us out of dock.”

“Aye, Captain,” answered the crewman.

The Iron Fire’s sub-light engine came to life, the thrusters fired, and the ship slowly moved out of the shipyard. Soon, it was free of the massive facility orbiting Earth. Chase looked at the blue marble intensely, not knowing when or if he’d ever see the beautiful planet again. He had to though, Sarah’s life depended on it.

Chase brought his chair’s holo-controls to life with a single thought thanks to one of his Fury gifts that allowed his mind to interact and become one with computers.

He looked at the holo-starmap of the known regions and let his gaze drift outside the boundaries of space. Listening to his instincts, he chose a point that triggered a tickle-like sensation inside his body. The hyperspace coordinates locked onto the part of the holo-map that was void. Chase fed the coordinates to the jump engines. From the looks of it, that would result in a little over two day’s jump.

“Ready to depart from the Sol system,” he said. “Helmsman, engage!”

The Iron Fire’s jump engines came to life, and the ship vanished from orbit.

* * *

Ares explored the arachnid ship from stem to stern, multiple times. His lack of understanding of their language made finding tactical information about their race both difficult and frustrating. He was about ready to give up and move on to another part of the Spectre’s space to see if any of the races that inhabited the dimension spoke a language he could understand.

But just before he was about to leave the spider ship, movement in a nearby corridor caught his attention, especially the heavy clanging noise that sounded like the spider bots on overdrive. What he saw would have sent a shiver down his spine if he still had one.

Several arachnoid warriors armed to the teeth were approaching. Also, there was something else, something massive, bringing up the rear and making infernal reverberating sounds. Whatever that monstrosity was, Ares now understood why most corridors on board this ship were so large.

The beast was at least five times the size of the foot soldiers and was half organic, half machine. It had four massive mechanical spider legs and two smaller legs that didn’t touch the ground but moved about like independent tails. At their end resided sharp plier-like appendages that could grab or even crush most humanoid heads. Atop this metallic, almost mech-like portion sat a humanoid body, fused with the machine underneath. It was beige and hairy skinned, with overinflated muscles and long, razor-sharp black claws. It wore a battle helmet with multiple red glowing orbs.

The spider bio-mechanical beast was hands down the scariest thing Ares had ever seen. And coming from the Olympian God of War who had lived for tens of thousands of years, that was saying something.

Whatever that group was doing, Ares knew he had to investigate further. He followed them to a drop ship and boarded it with them. Hopefully, this was going to yield more interesting intel than he had been able to gather so far.

* * *

Nyx looked around to try to identify who took out her grav-bike. But no one was around. Using her Fury powers to counter gravity, she slowed down her descent and landed like a feather on the sandy landscape. Her fiery hair had violet highlights that cascaded down her back and shoulders. It was lustrous and voluminous, resembling a mane and gave Nyx feline qualities accentuated even more by the intensity burning in her eyes.

She was a huntress, not prey, and whoever thought differently would soon feel her wrath.

Her mind was on full alert, telling her that her aggressors were not done with her. If it was Zarna’s doing, they knew blowing up her vehicle would not take her out. Since the night was pitch black, she couldn’t see them, yet. But, sure enough, she could sense multiple lifeforms approaching her position, thanks to her Fury gifts.

Nyx had the ability to sense both a lifeform’s presence as well as their energy levels. Among them, she could sense Zarna, who had come with backup—one being, in particular, had energy levels off the scale.

I should have known they wouldn’t let me escape so easily.

But Nyx was determined to regain her freedom. She may have been the last of the Furies, and because she was female, perhaps the only hope for her race’s survival. She owed it not only to herself but her entire race to escape this dimension, and perhaps one day, rebuild her bloodline.

The thought of her species ending was unacceptable. No matter how much she disagreed with the supreme commander when he was alive, the events leading to the destruction of Erevos were proof that Arakan had led them all astray. Still, the delusions of grandeur of one man didn’t mean Fury kind deserved extinction, and Nyx would fight until her dying breath to make sure that part of her civilization survived.

Six lifeforms, all arachnoids, were homing in on her position. Though she didn’t need any flying apparatus, as most Furies could fly, she had used the grav-bike to try to stay under the radar, but it became obvious that the arachnoids could track her. She needed to get them off her back, preferably with a strong message so they’d leave her alone for good this time.

Nyx created a white fireball and threw it in the air. She used her telekinetic abilities to let the energy sphere hover, providing her with a shimmer of light so she could see enemies approach. A sort of artificial moon.

“I’m going to give you all one chance to leave here in one piece,” she shouted into the stillness of the night. “This offer expires in ten seconds, at which point I’ll rip each and every one of you to pieces. Ten…nine…eight…”

Nyx continued her countdown all the way to zero. The arachnoid fighters were almost upon her. She closed her eyes as her purple aura burst to life.

“So be it,” she said calmly as her hair shot upward like a mad flame

Upon opening her eyes, she moved with such speed and agility that the first arachnoid never saw her coming, and by the time he felt her hand slash through his neck, his head was already detached from his shoulders. The remaining five soldiers opened fire with plasma weapons embedded in their arms. The once dark, quiet desert lit up with flying red balls of plasma.

Nyx dodged most of the energy projectiles, deflecting some with the back of her hands and forearms. She needed to thin the herd, dodging and deflecting wouldn’t get her anywhere, so she jumped high into the sky. Balls of molten plasma followed her ascent as she prepared an attack of her own. Both her fists were engulfed in purple energy, forming into fireballs, which grew bigger with each passing second. When she was satisfied with their intensity, she clasped her hands atop her head, effectively merging both fireballs. Dark purple lightning bolts sizzled to life. She needed a second to aim, so she used her mind to erect a protective shield to deflect the plasma fire still raining upward toward her.

She smashed her hands down toward the quintet of arachnoid warriors, right in the dead center of them. It was unlikely that her attack would kill them all, but that wasn’t the bulk of her plan; in fact, this would serve as an effective distraction. The large purple fireball darted downward like an eagle descending upon its prey.

The arachnoid that was directly in the trajectory of Nyx’s attack tried to jump out of the way, but the velocity at which the purple fireball homed upon him made the attempt futile. He was caught in the inferno from Nyx’s attack impacting with the blue, sandy ground. Flames consumed the arachnoid’s flesh in the blink of an eye.

Sand exploded into the air from the resulting shockwave, like water when hit by a heavy object, and the remaining four arachnoid warriors were sent tumbling and scattering away. By the time they understood what was going on, the female Fury no longer hovered in the air.

She killed the third arachnoid by punching through his ribcage from behind. The beast’s heart stopped beating in her hand. With a swift motion, she smashed what was left of the organ and opened her palm, not bothering to remove her arm from the dead arachnoid, but instead using him as a shield for a nearby warrior who had returned to his feet and opened fire with his arm appendages, raining red plasma upon Nyx.

With a single thought, Nyx unleashed a telekinetic shockwave through her open palm and sent the arachnoid warrior in the air. She sensed incoming fire from behind her, and so she swiveled and kept using the dead arachnoid as a shield while maintaining a visual on the prey she had sent tumbling a moment ago. Her eyes flashed orange and shot out two thin lasers, piercing the arachnoid’s skull, which promptly exploded like a bursting watermelon, splashing dark-gray blood before the rest of its carcass impacted with the cold sand and then sunk to its sandy grave.

Four down, two more to go!

8

Captain Talon Epizon’s reaction was immediate, and he activated his ship’s sub-light engines to their maximum.

“Let’s get the hell out of here,” he said as he pressed a control on his chair that turned the lights red and sounded an alarm. “Tar’Lock, shields up!”

“Shields are up, Captain.”

Talon opened a channel to the entire ship. “This is the captain, all crew to the bridge; this is not a drill!”

Tar’Lock clicked nervously. “The lock is still on.”

As if to make the Gorgar’s point, the ship rocked as yellow streaks of plasma grazed the Bellerophon.

“Shields down to eighty percent,” Tar’Lock said, a series of panicked clicks escaping him.

“What?!” exclaimed the captain. “They barely grazed us. Who the hell are these guys?”

“We encountered a ship like this one before, albeit a larger one, and our strongest destroyer barely survived the engagement.”

“Then we’ll have to make sure this enemy doesn’t hit us full force. Meanwhile, divert every ounce of power from secondary systems to shield regeneration power nodes.”

“Done, Captain. And, I concur, too many direct hits with the shields down could blow us to smithereens. Should we head back to the jump gate?”

Captain Epizon answered by taking manual flight control of the ship, using every trick he knew to evade, alternating one maneuver after another to keep the enemy guessing. This seemed to work as more streaks of plasma screamed past their ship, far enough away that the shields weren’t affected. But Talon knew very well this course of action was just a stopgap and that he couldn’t keep dodging forever.

He swore to himself. If only the Bellerophon jump engine was functional, he could get the hell out of here. But backtracking to the gate would leave the ship a sitting duck, and all the enemy had to do was line up a couple of well-aimed shots, and they’d be history.

“No, Tar’Lock, that would give them a clear line of fire, which is a risk we can’t afford to take. Why can’t we fucking see them? I thought ships couldn’t fire while cloaked?”

“Not these spider ships.”

I hate spiders!

“Well, do whatever you did earlier and make sure we can at least acquire a radar position on them; I can guess their position from the plasma fire coming at us, but if we have any hope of losing them, I’ll need to know where they are.”

There was frustration in Tar’Lock’s next streak of clicking noises. “I’ll do my best, Captain. I suggest we send a distress call.”

“To whom? We’re a crew of smugglers with no allies or friends to speak of.”

“The Earth Alliance, sir.”

The simple mention of the Alliance enraged Talon.

“No, I’d rather die!”

“Under the circumstances, you may get your wish sooner than you think. I know you don’t like the Alliance, Captain, but they need to know that the Spectres are in our space.”

The captain had heard of the Spectres, though until now, it had only been in the recounting from drunks in bars, and there were stories of how the Fury named Chase had defeated the mighty Tanak’Vor. Tar’Lock had confirmed the truthfulness of the stories, but to a certain extent, Talon always thought these tales had been embellished.

Should Talon reconsider? This enemy’s firepower was like nothing he had ever encountered, not even during his tour with Admiral Thassos and their journey of survival against both Obsidian and Zarlack forces.

More plasma fire grazed the shields.

“Shields down to fifty-two percent,” said Tar’Lock, alarm resonating in his voice.

Talon’s mind was on overdrive as he flew the ship by the seat of his pants while analyzing the holo-starmap and short-range sensor data for a place to hide. He found one in a thick nebula cluster off their starboard bow.

“Let’s hide inside that nebula cluster,” he said.

“We’re assuming that their sensors, like ours, won’t penetrate the nebula.”

“Unless you have a better idea?”

The captain could feel that Tar’Lock wanted to return to their previous exchange, and so he added, “One that doesn’t involve the Earth Alliance, that is.”

“Then that’s a negative, Captain, I don’t have a better idea.”

Members of the crew scrambled into the bridge, a mixture of tiredness, fear, and confusion in their eyes.

“We’re being attacked by an unknown cloaked ship, we’re going to try to lose them in a nebula cluster,” Talon said, catching up his crew. “Make no mistake people, this enemy has more firepower than anything we’ve ever faced. Frontal assault is not an option.”

His tactical officer and second in command, a large Droxian, growled. “What did you get us into now?”

“I didn’t get us into anything; assume your station and return fire!”

“Captain,” said Tar’Lock. “Our weapons won’t be the least bit effective against their shields.”

“I don’t care, just find me a firing solution on that ship and return fire!”

Tar’Lock sighed. “As you wish, Captain.”

* * *

The holo-screen turned off, and Loki exhaled deeply. His plan of protecting Asgard from the next threat was going well, even though he didn’t like deceiving those he loved—his family. But they wouldn’t listen to him, anyway. Loki felt strongly about protecting Asgard by any means necessary.

Asgard had came very close to being destroyed during the Fury War, and while his father Odin had decided to bring the Asgardians into the Earth Alliance, Loki had always felt it was a mistake to get involved with them.

Loki would not let his world and people suffer the same consequence as Olympus. An entire civilization gone in the blink of an eye. That’s the price one paid when they tackled forces they didn’t understand. Some people would have called Loki’s stance on the subject cowardice, but he preferred to think of it as self-preservation.

And he had history on his side. For centuries, Asgard remained neutral and made sure not to involve themselves in the larger conflicts, like the Star Alliance and Obsidian Empire feud and many others that followed the first Fury War over ten thousand years ago. Asgard had been safe, and it had flourished.

Midgard, known as Earth to the humans, was once an Asgardian colony; however, Asgard severed ties due to human unpredictability. They were waging wars between themselves and, eventually, were deemed unworthy of Asgardian membership.

That’s why Loki felt he needed to work in the shadows; to make sure his people didn’t attract the wrath of the next war and be the next casualty to rob an old race from this plane of existence. A battle Loki was certain would come, and one that would make both Fury Wars look like child’s play.

When the doors of his quarters split open and footsteps resonated, Loki quickly swiped the holo-terminal to the side. He could identify his father just by the sound of Odin’s royal boots echoing on the green marble floor. That, and he was usually the only one who entered his quarters without ringing first.

“I thought we had agreed you’d make an effort in giving me some privacy,” said Loki.

Odin stopped a few meters away from Loki, who smiled and swiveled on his intricately decorated chair.

“Right,” said Odin. “Old habits die hard I guess.”

“That’s what you say every time.”

Odin smirked. “I guess I’m getting old. It’s not like you have anything to hide from your father, is there?”

As a matter of fact…

“No, of course not, Father, but what if I had been engaged in a romantic or physical activity with a date?”

“I haven’t seen you engage in those kinds of activities in years.”

“Perhaps because I fear my privacy being invaded, or maybe I’m just discreet enough that you don’t know about it.”

Odin nodded. “Fair enough. You should reprogram your quarter’s door not to automatically let me enter.”

Hearing this from his father was a surprise. As far as Loki was concerned, the reason why Odin didn’t announce himself was that he didn’t trust his younger son. Loki was, after all, the God of Mischief, and he made a lot of questionable decisions over the eons, some of which had put Asgard in trouble. Something he was now determined to avoid for his world.

Odin either was growing tired of keeping an eye on his son, or he was just plain getting old and senile. Something Loki had a really hard time picturing.

“And you’d be okay with that?” Loki asked.

“You’ve been acting admirably for more years than I dare count. When the Furies came to Asgard, you answered the call and fought by your brother’s side, just as I hoped you would. I think it’s time to let bygones be bygones.”

Loki forced a smile. “Thank you, Father. That means a lot to me.”

Of course, Loki didn’t see his past actions as something that needed to be forgiven in the first place. He acted in Asgard’s best interests, or at the very least, what he thought was his world’s best interests. Occasionally, that intersected with his self-pursuits and trouble ensued. But wasn’t that the case with every lifeform? The needs of the self outweighing the needs of the many. Sometimes a person needs to feel alive, even if the resulting decisions affect more than one individual.

“Was there anything else?” added Loki.

“Tomorrow, your brother and I will catch an early breakfast and discuss orbital defense protocols. I thought you might be interested in joining us.”

It had been a long time since Loki had been included in informal meetings, let alone the formal ones, but he appreciated the gesture. Maybe he would finally feel like a member of this family.

Loki nodded. “I’ll be there.”

Odin smiled. “Good night, Son.”

“Night, Father.”

As Odin left Loki’s quarters, the God of Mischief felt a strange sensation: an inner warmth he didn’t think he would feel again. Was it a son’s love for his father? Loki wondered.

* * *

Nyx removed her arm from the now burned-to-a-crisp arachnoid chest. He had served as an excellent, if rather smelly, shield during the first portion of the fight. Arachnoid burned flesh was not pleasant to a Fury’s enhanced sense of smell.

When the other two arachnoids resumed firing upon her position, she grabbed the burnt carcass by one of his arms and spun it like a giant hammer. Nyx spun so fast that large quantities of sand scattered around her, like a twister, effectively deflecting all incoming fire.

Eventually, she released the carcass, using it as a projectile to take out the remaining warrior. The impact was devastating, and Nyx heard the satisfying sound of multiple bones breaking as the arachnoid warrior crashed to the sandy ground. Instinctively, Nyx fired a small but powerful fireball that finished off her target.

The remaining arachnoid lit Nyx up with plasma fire from its arm cannons. She blocked the fire by extending both her hands forward. It took an incredible deal of mental and physical energy to do so, but the result was instantaneous. The last warrior stopped firing, baffled as to why his plasma projectiles were frozen in the air. Nyx used the confusion and sent half the plasma fire back to him.

The arachnoid jumped out of the way, and before he could get back on his feet, Nyx stood over him, an open palm aimed at his face.

“Pity,” said the arachnoid. “I’m only following orde⁠—”

A column of purple energy shot from Nyx’s hand, interrupting the arachnoid’s last words and incinerating him.

“I gave you a chance to back away, you should have taken it,” Nyx said, though the arachnoid was long dead.

She looked around at the bodies while mentally releasing the white fireball that had served as a light beacon during the fight. It died down in the sky, and Nyx was plunged into darkness. She took a deep, calming breath when, suddenly, she heard a voice boom in her head.

“Watch out! Behind you.”

She turned just in time to see a large shadow collide with the ground, sending massive amounts of sand upward.

* * *

Chase was looking down at his cheeseburger when Argos sat across from him in the pristine mess hall. The place was brand new, and they probably were the first to use it.

“How are you doing, Chase?” Argos asked.

“Surprisingly okay under the circumstances. I didn’t expect we’d all go together. Chris is probably the reason why I haven’t argued against it, though.”

“He hasn’t been the most talkative kid since the end of the war, but if he feels it’s important, he’ll make himself heard.”

“Yeah, perfect timing too, sensing that I was about to tell you all that I’d rather go to the unknown regions on my own.”

“You’ve been alone this entire year, and on a certain level, you had already isolated yourself in the past, taking the weight of the war on your shoulders. It’s time to forgive yourself for the casualties. You can’t save everyone, Chase; nobody can. War is never easy, and as much as I understand where you’re coming from, you can’t control the outcome.”

“Easier said than done, but I appreciate you’re saying so.”

“Now, if you’re feeling relatively okay, why is your burger still sitting there getting cold?”

Chase smiled.

“I know it’s not been easy for you either, and…well, I wanted to say that I’ve missed you—all of you.”

“Nice way of deflecting the question. We’ve missed you too. It’s really good to see you, brother.”

Chase realized he wasn’t really paying attention; this was mostly a one-way discussion. He needed to get some things off his chest.

“I need to save her, Argos.”

Argos looked straight into Chase’s eyes for a moment, probably realizing they weren’t having a real back-and-forth discussion.

“I know. We will, one way or another. Chris won’t have it any other way, and I think he’s more stubborn than you if that’s even possible.”

Chase chuckled. “He’s taken to you, I can tell.”

Chase could tell this last remark had touched a chord.

“He’s been looking for a father figure, Chase—and, well, not to take his side but…you weren’t there.”

“I wish things had gone differently, you know?”

“Don’t we all, brother? But that’s what makes life interesting; not knowing what’s going to happen next. At least, I think it is. Take us for example, if we had done things differently, we probably wouldn’t be on the same side. I think one of us would have killed the other a long time ago.”

Chase reflected on his brother’s words for a moment. Argos joining him had been an unexpected blessing. And while Chase would give anything to have Sarah in his arms right now, deep down he knew that he had done everything he could to protect his family. He gave everything to the Fury War, his heart, his soul, and at the end of the day, the war swallowed his sanity and spat out a shell of a man.

“I miss my old life, well…sometimes I do, when all I had to worry about was flying a Manticore fighter and blasting Obsidians out of the sky. Things were easy back then. I just had to show up; do my work, wash, rinse, and repeat.”

“And you were good at it, too.”

Chase flinched. “What do you mean? How would you know that?”

“I was observing you from your time at the academy. I may have wanted to kill you back then, but there was always a need for me to know where you were and what you were doing.”

“Were you now? That’s not something I would have expected.”

Chase had no idea that Argos had taken an interest in his life back then. But then again, Argos had erased Chase’s memories in the first place and turned him into an adult without a past.

“Yes. I don’t think it was a conscious thing, really. Back then I hated you more than life itself, I wanted you to suffer. It’s something I—I’m quite ashamed of... I hope you know that.”

“There’s a reason the humans say the past should stay buried, but you know, in the middle of the sleepless nights this past year, I’ve asked myself many questions, including why you and I had that fallout that resulted in me losing my memories.”

Argos squared himself in his chair. “And?”

“One day we need to have that talk.”

“I suppose we do, but it’s probably best we put a pin in it for now. Keep our respective focus on our mission.”

Argos was dead right, now wasn’t the time to bring dark and potentially painful revelations to light. Chase had enough trouble dealing with his current fears as is, the last thing he needed was to add more fuel to the fire.

“Couldn’t agree more.”

“What do you think we’ll find in the unknown regions?”

“Your guess is as good as mine.”

“Perhaps we’ll find more information about the Atlantians. I miss my soul ship.”

“As I do mine. But the soul ships’ purpose was to defeat the Furies, so I doubt we’ll find more.”

“I’m sure the Atlantians must have left some cool gadget behind one way or another.”

“Wouldn’t that be something? And who knows, perhaps we’ll find something even better...”

Chase let the words hang, and his face changed.

“What is it?” asked Argos.

“I’ve had this strange feeling lately.”

“Uh-oh.”

“What? I haven’t said what the feeling is about…yet.”

“When you get those sorts of feelings, things tend to get complicated, ugly, dangerous, or all of the above at once.”

“Fair enough. I’d better not say then.”

“Too late now, brother, spit it out.”

“It’s not easy to put into words, but I feel a darkness rising.”

“The Spectres?”

“I don’t know. But if I had to guess…yeah. We’ve killed one of them, and that felt like a titanic task. Tanak’Vor himself said his kind would seek revenge. So, whatever we find in the unknown regions, my gut tells me we should also be on the lookout for more allies. The Earth Alliance has come a long way since we created it to defeat—” Chase paused. “Well…technically, you at the beginning of all of this.”

“I thought we’d agreed not to focus on the past right now,” said Argos playfully.

Chase smiled, but it faded away quickly. “It’s still a new and fragile coalition. One I’m not sure is ready to face an enemy as powerful as the Spectres.”

“I can tell you that Emperor Altair spent a massive amount of resources making sure we get a heads-up if the Spectres ever returned. When they come back, we’ll be the first to know.”

“That’s the problem, Argos. Knowing they’re coming doesn’t mean we’ll be ready for them. Truth be told, I’d rather that day never came. I don’t think we’ll ever be ready to fight a race as powerful as the Spectres.”

“And yet you’ve got a feeling—” Argos grabbed Chase’s barely touched burger and took a bite.

“Hey,” Chase protested.

“We both know you weren’t going to eat it. Now I better understand why. So, in the spirit of not wasting food, I’ll eat it before your gloomy but hopefully not prophetic mood cuts my appetite as well.”

“Fine. Fair enough. Enjoy.”

Orange light engulfed Argos’ hand, warming the burger before he took a huge bite.

“Thanks,” Argos said with his mouth full.

9

Nyx heard the sound of a ship flying overhead and soon a spotlight illuminated the surrounding area, revealing what had impacted in the sand moments earlier. A part of her wished she didn’t see the beast. A half humanoid, half spider cyborg, the monster was at least three times her size, perhaps more. The reflection of its red eyes off its metallic helmet glowed stronger as the beast advanced toward her.

They really don’t want me to escape.

She wondered why, but right now, she didn’t have the luxury of pondering Zarna’s reasons. The cybernetic creature quickly closed in on her, and she needed to deal with this threat.

Nyx let her inner energy flow through her body; her purple aura shone around her, casting shadows in the uneven sand. Grains of sand lifted from the ground and swirled everywhere.

The beast stopped about ten meters from her position and unleashed a horrific growl. It triggered Nyx’s fight-or-flight response and, as she always did, she chose to fight. But there was no denying the fear that crawled at the back of her mind. She had never seen such a creature and had no idea how to defeat it.

She decided to let her instincts take over, and she quickly launched a fireball at one of the monster’s legs. Upon impact, it was deflected into the sand, splashing more sand into the air.

Uh-oh.

Before she knew it, she was dodging gigantic metallic legs as the creature charged her. She jumped away, barely managing to escape being trampled. She continued to unleash fireballs at both its legs and its humanoid parts, but the creature was so fast it managed to use its artificial limbs to deflect all of her attacks.

She jumped high, hoping a greater vantage point would give her the upper hand. To her surprise, the creature jumped higher than she ever expected it to be able to. Once in the air, it used built-in thrusters in its mechanical legs to soar higher. No matter what course correction she tried, the creature quickly matched her, and she was unable to lose it.

Eventually, the beast grew tired of the cat and mouse game and started discharging thick sputum that expanded into energy webs similar to the one Zarna had used against her. The frequency at which the creature shot the expanding nets from its mouth was worrisome, and it took Nyx’s entire focus to dodge them.

Going back to the lab and being probed like a rat was not an option Nyx was willing to consider. She would fight for her freedom, and without realizing it, her rage fueled her energy, and her aura turned orange. She flew at impressive speeds and arched around the creature, landing her feet into the back of the cybernetic spider.

It fell and crashed onto the ground, skidding, leaving a large sand trail as it did. Nyx felt intoxicated by the amount of power coursing inside of her and didn’t hesitate to pursue the downed creature for the kill. It was getting back up when the Fury landed from above, using an energy-infused hand as a blade and cut through one of the beast’s legs. Electric sparks flew, and thick black oil sprayed from its cut mechanical limb. It stumbled to keep its balance on its remaining three legs, and Nyx pushed her advantage by jumping toward the beast and landing her knee into the creature’s face. The blow was so powerful it sent the monster crashing into a nearby boulder.

Time to end this fight!

Nyx opened fire on the cybernetic soldier with a flurry of fireballs. They exploded one after another, engulfing the creature in an orange inferno. After three-dozen attacks, Nyx stopped and the last of her fireballs detonated with such power that it illuminated the barren area for kilometers on end.

As the resulting smoke, dust, and sand cloud settled, Nyx looked at the hovering ship nearby and caught Zarna gazing at her from the ship’s ramp. She was smiling, casting that air of confidence and arrogance that Nyx hated so much about the arachnoid. Zarna’s arm had been fitted with a cybernetic implant on which arachnoid biomass was growing.

Nyx’s aversion for the arachnoid woman sent her near the brink of losing control, and before the Fury even realized it, she had opened fire on the transport ship with a couple of fireballs. The first one impacted with its shield, and the transport pilot dodged the second one, forcing Zarna to climb up the ramp and close it.

Forget the ship! said a male voice in her head.

“Who is this?” shouted Nyx. “Show yourself!”

Behind you. Quick.

Nyx turned, but it was too late. The spider monster, having recovered from her attack, fired five energy nets in a wide spread. Nyx tried to dodge them, but got caught by three of the nets. She fell back to the sand like a stone. As she collided with the ground, the three-legged spider creature fired a red bolt of lightning at Nyx. She felt like hundreds of thousands of volts course through her body, resulting in agonizing pain. She quickly lost consciousness.

* * *

A power conduit in the bridge of the Bellerophon exploded near Urgon, sending the Droxian crashing into the bulkhead. Talon’s first officer passed out on impact.

“Medic to the bridge!” shouted Tar’Lock.

“Tar’Lock,” Talon said, “you’re the acting first officer now; assume Urgon’s station.”

Tar’Lock clicked with frustration. The last thing the Gorgar wanted right now was more responsibility. He obeyed his captain nonetheless. A nearby crewman took a fire extinguisher and dealt with the burning power conduit.

“Secondary power failing!” shouted Tar’Lock.

“We’re almost there,” said the captain, his tone more to reassure himself than to convey confidence to his crew.

“That’s not going to do us any good if we can’t maintain life support let alone shields to protect us from the cluster’s radiation,” barked Tar’Lock.

Captain Epizon caressed the armrest of his chair. “She’ll hold. I know she will.”

Tar’Lock wanted to argue that last point, but he was too busy trying to keep the ship in one piece and adjust the sensors in order to obtain a solid lock on the spider ship. He also had been tempted, more than once, to send a subspace distress call to the Earth Alliance, but his allegiance to Talon was strong, and he knew that he would not be forgiven if he went behind the captain’s back.

The ship rocked as another salvo of plasma screamed near enough the shields to light them up.

Only once in his life had Tar’Lock seen such epic flying. And, right now, he wished that Chase were here to help them deal with this threat.

“Tar’Lock,” said Talon, “how are we coming with that sensor lock?”

Tar’Lock’s holo-console sparked, and he lost his holo-screen. He kicked the shit out of his console, and the holo-image returned, albeit slightly fuzzier.

“Like the rest of this ship, Captain…not looking good.”

He could tell that it wasn’t the answer Captain Talon Epizon was looking for.

“ETA to the nebula cluster?”

“Five minutes at present velocity.”

“Can we boost the engines?”

“It’s a miracle they’re still working, I wouldn’t try it.”

“Then we’ll need a diversion before we enter the nebula; prepare to jettison a third of our quadrinium crates.”

Tar’Lock knew what his captain was up to. By detonating quadrinium, it would create a massive explosion, one that could damage the spider ship or at the very least blind their sensors long enough for the Bellerophon to enter the nebula cluster, hopefully disappearing from the enemy’s sensor in the process. There was only one problem with that plan. And it was about to be voiced.

“You’re not suggesting we blow up tens of thousands of credits worth of cargo for a diversion, are you?” barked the weapon’s officer, Heath McCormack.

“Not now, Heath!” said the captain.

“Yes, now! It’s our wages you’re bargaining wit⁠—”

But Heath never finished his sentence. Tar’Lock ran to Heath, knocked him unconscious, and returned to his own station in the blink of an eye. Gorgars were fast in general, but Tar’Lock was in a league of his own. To most humanoids, when he moved at his maximum velocity, it looked like teleportation for the observer.

“Thank you, my insectoid friend,” said Talon.

“Ready to jettison the quadrinium, Captain,” answered Tar’Lock.

Unlike the rest of the captain’s ragtag crew, the Gorgar was not aboard the Bellerophon to make a profit but more to get away from Earth and the feelings and memories he had decided to leave behind.

Tar’Lock heard another two crewmen whisper their discontent about the captain’s plan. With any luck, they’d survive the next few minutes, and then they could deal with them. If the crew staged a mutiny now, they’d all die during the attempt. Hopefully, they understood the only thing keeping them alive at the moment was the exceptional flying skills of their captain.

“Jettison the cargo now, and keep an active lock on the payload,” ordered Talon.

“Quadrinium away,” answered Tar’Lock.

Captain Epizon redirected as much power from life support as he could and injected it to the thrusters. Tar’Lock held his breath hoping the Bellerophon could get enough distance from the deadly payload. Igniting quadrinium would create a massive explosion, one that could easily vaporize them, and the shields of the ship were barely holding as they were.

“Here goes nothing,” said Talon. “Fire!”

Tar’Lock swallowed hard as he activated the firing holo-control.

10

On the Iron Fire’s bridge, Daniel sat beside Chase as the ship exited hyperspace. A short time later, Argos joined them.

“Commander,” said Chase. “Please scan the area for any habitable world.”

“Aye, Admiral,” answered the female officer.

Argos went to stand beside the captain’s chair. He folded his arms across his chest.

How’s Chris? asked Chase telepathically.

You’ll have to ask him that directly. Though, it’s probably best to give him some space right now.

Chase wanted nothing more than to talk, but he could sense that rebuilding a bridge with his son would not be an easy task. Even though he knew he had to try.

Thanks, Argos.

Anytime, brother.

“Some of us can’t speak with our minds,” Daniel protested. “Don’t think I don’t know when the two of you are exchanging thoughts telepathically. It results in long and awkward silences while your faces change expressions.”

Chase smiled. “Sorry, and duly noted.”

“What are we looking for, exactly?” Daniel asked.

“Anything really. Signs of life, contact with other space-faring species. Anything to help us locate medicine or technology that could help Sarah.”

“That’s kind of a long shot, isn’t it?”

“Well, we gotta start somewhere. We’re going into uncharted territory for a reason: hoping to find something there that we can use,” said Chase.

“Fair enough. Let’s hope the locals, should we meet any, are friendly.”

“We’ll find out soon enough,” commented Argos. “If they aren’t, Chase, Chris, and I will happily deal with them.”

“That’s if they aren’t more powerful than Furies,” said Daniel.

Argos shot Daniel a dubious look.

“Besides Spectres, I doubt many races can hold up in a fight against us Furies.”

Chase twitched. “That’s the thing, Argos. We don’t know what we’re going to find out there. For all we know, we could be relegated to the bottom of the food chain.”

“That’s a scary thought,” said Daniel.

“Come on, you can’t be seriou—” but a series of beeps coming from a nearby holo-console interrupted Argos.

“Admiral!” exclaimed the commander. “Long-range scanners have located an inhabitable planet with signs of technological advancement.”

“Analysis. What level of technology are we talking about? Space-faring?”

“Since the sensors have detected the world at the outer limits of their range, we’re only getting partial data. Looks like an industrialized world; we detect energy signatures of all sorts as well as subspace signals. We’ll need to get a lot closer to acquire more accurate information, though.”

“As first encounters go, this sounds promising,” said Daniel. “We’re looking for signs of life, and well, we’ve found just that.”

“Agreed,” said Argos.

Chase didn’t need the input, even if he welcomed it. He could already feel it in his bones that they needed to go there.

“Then let’s have a closer look, shall we?” Chase turned toward the helm’s officer. “Set a course for the planet and engage the jump engi⁠—”

“Hyperspace window opening in front of us,” the navigation officer interrupted. “Energy signature is massive!”

“On screen,” said Daniel and Chase in unison.

The bridge holo-screen filled with a terrifying image.

Argos uncrossed his arms, his eyes growing wide. “What the hell is that?”

A massive creature at least five times the size of the Iron Fire exited a hyperspace window and headed their way. Its multiple heads looked like dragons, and it floated through space like an eel glides through the water.

“Is that a…hydra?” asked Daniel. “In space?”

“How can anything that massive live and breathe in that type of atmosphere?” said Argos.

“Not to mention travel through hyperspace,” said Chase, his gaze locked onto the monster filling the holo-screen. “Right now, though, I think we should leave these questions for later and get the hell out of here. Commander set a course for the planet and engage jump engines.”

“Hyperspace engines won’t engage, Admiral,” said the commander.

“What?! Why?”

“The creature is emitting a Jump Interdiction Field (JIF) of some sort. Doesn’t seem technological in nature but more a function of its biology. It has the same effect as a JIF though, so I’m afraid we can’t jump.”

“You gotta be shitting me,” said Chase. “Lock weapons to the target.”

“Is that wise?” Daniel asked. “We know nothing of these creatures, they may not wish us any harm. Maybe we shouldn’t appear threaten⁠—”

Before Daniel could finish his sentence, one of the monster’s heads opened wide and fired a bolt of plasma at the ship.

“I stand corrected,” said Daniel.

“Shields up!” screamed Chase.

The plasma bolt slammed into the Iron Fire’s shields a fraction of a second after they were fully raised, rocking the ship hard.

“Shields down to eighty percent,” said the tactical officer.

He opened a channel to engineering. “Guys, we’re going to need you to find a way for us to get to hyperspace.”

“Already working on it, Chase,” answered Yanis. “But it may take a while.”

They better find a solution fast, or we could lose the ship in our first encounter.

If Chase pondered that thought any longer, he would go down a rabbit hole he really didn’t want to visit. He needed to trust that no matter what happened, not facing dangers alone was a good thing.

Upon closing the channel, Chase turned to his tactical officer. “Do we have a lock on the creature?”

“Negative. Systems won’t engage, the creature’s energy signature is in constant flux, and it’s playing havoc with our targeting systems. We’ll only be able to fire manually.”

“Perhaps Daniel was onto something,” said Argos. “As much as I hate turning tail, fighting this thing head-on might not be the wisest thing to do right now. Not if we can avoid it.”

Chase thought about it briefly while a second bolt of plasma rocked the ship, lowering the shields another fifteen percent. Though the creature seemed hostile, perhaps it was reacting to their presence the only way it knew how. Protecting itself from what it perceived was a threat.

“Admiral,” insisted the tactical officer. “Should I return fire?”

“No, set a course to five by six by three, engage sub-light engines, maximum burn. Let’s see if we can lose it.”

“Course set, engines at maximum,” said the helm’s officer.

The ship rocked as sub-light engines engaged and the Iron Fire changed course.

“Report?” asked Chase.

“Creature is matching our new vector and is in pursuit,” the commander said gravely.

Of course, it is.

“Should I go out in space and blast that thing to smithereens?” asked Argos.

While the idea had already crossed Chase’s mind, using their powers in space had a high probability of creating space-time anomalies like black holes. If they still had the soul ships, they could have used them, but unfortunately, the soul ships had sacrificed themselves to take out Erevos in the final minutes of the Fury War.

“We can’t take the chance of disrupting this part of space. The last thing we want is to appear hostile in any way.”

“Doesn’t seem to bother our hydra friend out there,” said Argos.

“Yes, but technically we’re the strangers here, it may just be defending its territory or home for all we know. We may very well be looking like invaders or even predators to the creature. And if we start creating black holes by using our powers in space, I’m not sure we’ll receive a warm welcome from other races.”

Argos growled slightly in mild frustration. “Fair enough. But right now the Iron Fire looks very much like lunch to this creature unless we find a way to get away or destroy it.”

Chase looked at the integrated holo-screen on his captain’s chair. The creature had adjusted to their new heading fairly quickly and was gaining on them. Argos was right, unless they found a solution, and fast, they were all in jeopardy. There might come a time when they would need to step out and annihilate the creature as a mere survival tactic.

It sure seems motivated to catch us. I wonder why.

Chase could have asked his crew to do this next part, but linking his mind with the Iron Fire’s computer was bound to be faster and give him greater control over the ship.

He accessed the power distribution subsystems and redirected a significant portion of the weapons as well as secondary power reserves to the sub-light engines. The move increased the engines efficiency to one hundred and twenty percent.

Chase could feel the creature still following them, matching the Iron Fire’s speed. He expanded his senses toward the creature and felt a strong emotion. Rage. Chase focused on the hydra and asked a question.

Why are you firing on us? We mean you no harm.

The answer was more feeling than language itself. But if Chase had to put a word to it, it would be ‘destroy’. Clearly, the creature wasn’t interested in why the Iron Fire was here or its intention, it only wanted them gone, no matter what.

* * *

Ares flinched as he saw Nyx lose consciousness. As far as he could tell, the arachnoids hadn’t detected his presence. It helped to be made of pure energy and only appear in a semi-physical form whenever he chose to.

The female Fury sure knew how to fight, but despite her impressive skills, she had been captured. Ares wondered how she had survived Erevos’ destruction in the first place. Hopefully, she would live long enough to tell him. As it stood, she might be his only hope of understanding what was going on in this dimension, so when the ship landed, and the arachnoids grabbed Nyx, Ares stayed with them.

Several hours later, Nyx was slowly regaining consciousness in a cell aboard the larger spider ship in orbit of the planet. Ares waited, making sure she regained some strength and grounded herself in the moment before making his first contact.

* * *

When Nyx opened her eyes, the first thing she noticed was the agonizing and deep pain she felt in every one of her bones. As if a massive animal had trampled her.

It took a moment for her wits to return, and when they did, she quickly recognized the place she was in. Her old cell.

“Dammit!”

I can’t believe I’m back here. . .again.

Nyx felt a mixture of sadness and desperation at the idea of being back to square one. Especially after the amount of effort it had taken her to escape the lab in the first place. For weeks she’d been the subject of multiple experiments conducted by Zarna. Most of them of the unpleasant kind. Some of them; however, seemed to have focused her mind and gave her a boost in power and energy. A boost she had promptly put to good use the first chance she got.

You fought well, said a voice in her mind.

She jumped from the dirty bunk bed and frantically looked around.

“Who is this? Show yourself!”

My name is Ares.

“So, I’m not going nuts and hearing voices?”

Well, you hear my voice, but that’s only because I decided to speak to you. And I think it would be best if you spoke to me telepathically if you have the ability to do so. Just in case your cell is under surveillance.

Nyx wondered if she was truly awake or having a nightmare. The bodiless voice didn’t add up. Perhaps it was all part of Zarna’s plan, and in the form of one more experiment. In which case, the Fury wondered what the best course of action would be. Should she interact with the voice? Or ignore it?

I can help you escape, added Ares. But first, I have a few questions.

After a brief pause, while she considered Ares’ words, Nyx answered, using telepathy. Ask away.

Are you a Fury? And, if so, how did you survive the destruction of your planet?

Not that either is any of your business, but yes, I’m a Fury. I wasn’t on Erevos when it was destroyed. Though days like these I wish I had perished with my world.

Thank you for your honesty. And no, believe me, you wouldn’t want to have been on Erevos when it exploded. I can tell you that much.

At least I wouldn’t have been turned into nothing more than a Zargon (Fury pet) by these damn arachnoids.

Nyx genuinely hated that race with every fiber of her being. If given a chance she would see them burn, every single one of them.

Alright. I could use a Fury. I’ve worked with your kind before.

Have you now? What are you?

There was an uncomfortably long silence.

I’m an Olympian.

Rage filled Nyx’s already dark soul.

Please tell me your kidding? You’re responsible for everything that went wrong with my race from the start, and you want me to help you? You must be out of your damn mind!

That’s a narrow view and not a fair one. We just opposed your kind in a time when you needed to be stopped.

And sent us to rot in this dimension. Was that something you needed to do as well? Then when Erevos finally found a way to return to where it belonged, your kind interfered once again and sent my people straight to hell. No! Go away Olympian, before I decide to kill you.

I’m already dead.

Good. Then I’ll take pleasure in killing you again because apparently, the first time didn’t stick all that well.

Charming. . .You’re a Fury, alright.

Was the voice in her head really an Olympian or was it a figment of her imagination? Worse yet, was it one of Zarna’s new ploys? Nyx didn’t know nor care. All that mattered was trying to get free again. And this time, make sure she stayed that way.

11

Tar’Lock fired at the ejected quadrinium payload, hoping the Bellerophon was far enough away not to get engulfed in the major explosion that would ensue. The energy bolts ignited the cargo, producing such a blast that the resulting tremors shook the ship. Power conduits exploded nearby, and the lights in the bridge flickered madly for a few seconds. Fortunately, the shields had managed to divert most of the shockwave produced by the explosion.

“What’s our status, Tar’Lock?” asked the captain. “Tell me we got rid of our pursuer.”

When more plasma projectiles rocked the ship, Tar’Lock knew this hadn’t been the case. But then the spider ship flickered in and out of space for a moment before uncloaking completely as it emerged from the inferno. They had damaged its cloak. Tar’Lock didn’t know if that was a good or bad thing as he clicked frantically.

“Negative, Captain. However, we seem to have disabled their cloak.”

“On screen.”

Tar’Lock transferred the rear camera images to the bridge’s main holo-screen. It flickered, forcing Tar’Lock to enter a few more commands to stabilize the image the best he could. Too many systems had already been damaged on board the aging Bellerophon, and it was only a matter of time before they lost power to critical systems like engines, shields, or life support.

Talon looked at the spider ship still in pursuit.

“My gods, this thing looks like a spider that crawled out of hell.”

Even though Tar’Lock had seen a bigger version, the ship’s design looked as creepy as he remembered, and every fiber of his being told him they needed to get as far away as possible and fast.

“What are your orders, Captain?”

“Damage report? Did we make a dent at least?”

“Most of the damage is superficial, their shields are still over sixty percent and recharging, no sign of a fluctuating power signature. It’s probably only a matter of time for them before they fix their cloak.”

“Then I guess we need to find a way to be gone before that happens. How long until we enter the nebula?”

Another hit from the spider ship rocked the Bellerophon hard, sending the captain crashing from his chair.

“Captain!” shouted Tar’Lock.

Talon raised a hand while getting back up. “I’m alright, stay on task, Tar’Lock. ETA on the nebula?”

“Thirty seconds.”

“Can we make it?”

“I think so, Captain, but that ship will surely follow us inside.”

“Well, unless you have a better idea…”

Tar’Lock shook his head.

“Hopefully,” Talon continued, “their sensors will be just as affected as ours once inside. At the very least, it should be dense enough so they won’t be able to get a visual lock on us, that should give us some options on how to evade them.”

Talon sent Tar’Lock a flight path.

“As soon as we enter the nebula, we’ll change direction and then turn off the engines completely. Perhaps if we don’t emit a strong enough signature, they’ll have a hard time finding us.”

Tar’Lock clicked nervously but fed the flight path into the computer. The captain was hoping to lose the spider ship with some unorthodox maneuvers, which in itself was a not a bad idea, but his plans rested on the assumption that the spider ship couldn’t use its sensors inside the nebula to pinpoint their location once they went dark. It was one hell of a gamble, one that could cost everyone’s life on board the Bellerophon. Then again, their choices were limited at best. Tar’Lock, like the rest of the crew, would have to hope Talon was right.

Another hit rocked the ship, and several holo-controls madly blinked red as sparks shot from the ceiling.

“Shields down to three percent, one more hit and we’re history,” said Tar’Lock.

It took the captain a couple of seconds before he answered. “Keep on course.”

“Entering the nebula cluster now,” said Tar’Lock with a hopeful sigh. He activated the new flight plan and held his breath.

The moment the ship changed course, Tar’Lock lost all sensor data and prayed that the same happened to their enemy. The next few seconds of silence on the bridge were nerve-wracking. If Talon chose the wrong tactic, the spider ship would destroy them. Time seemed to have slowed down, and seconds felt like minutes.

“Status,” whispered the captain, finally breaking the silence.

“All sensor resolutions are gone,” answered Tar’Lock, also whispering. “There’s no way to know if this worked.”

“Well, we’re still here, so I guess to some extent, it did. There’s only one way to confirm if I made the right choice or not and that is to wait further.”

“Yes, Captain.”

“Look on the bright side, if they do find us and fire, with the state of our shields, we’ll be destroyed instantly and won’t have time to feel a thing.”

Tar’Lock clicked nervously.

* * *

Thor was returning from training and was on his way to Loki’s room when he received a subspace call. It had an Earth Alliance signature. He swiped the call to his quarter’s holo-screen. The face of his dear friend, Poseidon, appeared.

“Hey,” said Thor with a smile. “Long time no see.”

“It’s been a while, indeed. How are you doing my friend?”

“I’m doing well, thank you. What about you? Have you found a suitable planet to settle the Olympian survivors?”

“I’m good, thank you, and yes, at last, we have found a suitable world. A couple of months ago, in fact. I wanted to call you earlier, but we’ve been busy, and well, you know the burden of command.”

“Don’t sweat it, Poseidon. I’ve been busy too, we’ve had our hands full rebuilding a fleet to replace the ships that were destroyed by Arakan and his Furies during their attack on Asgard.”

Poseidon nodded. “Glad to hear you’re keeping busy. How’s your father doing?”

“He’s been better. The battle against Arakan’s special force drained him more than I thought it would. Our physicians are trying their best to raise his energy levels, but he’s weaker than I’ve seen him in years.”

“I’m sorry to hear that, my friend. Is there anything we can do? Would you like me to send one of our physicians?”

“That’s very kind of you, but I don’t think it will be necessary. He’s lived for so long, perhaps his heart isn’t in it anymore. I think if I had lived over forty thousand years, I might feel the same.”

“The burden of immortality.”

“It certainly feels that way sometimes.”

“I’m pleased to see you and get news, but if I may be blunt, that’s not the main reason behind my call.”

“I had a feeling that was the case. How can I help, Poseidon?”

“When we left in search of a new Olympus, we sent probes throughout the universe. One of them that happens to be traveling not too far from Asgard territory has been sending back some strange readings.”

“Strange how?”

“I wish I could tell you for sure. All I know is that there might be someone, or something, in your space that I don’t think belongs there.”

Thor’s tattoos flashed brightly a couple of times. “I see. Any chance you could send me the sensor data?”

“Already embedded in the subspace signal. Perhaps it’s nothing but paranoia on my part, but I thought I’d tell you all the same. Let me know if you can make sense of it, and should you need help in any way, don’t hesitate to ask, okay?”

“Understood. Thank you, my friend…It’s been good seeing you again.”

“Good to see you too. Poseidon out.”

As the holo-screen vanished into nothingness, Thor accessed the sensor data and sent it to the head of orbital defense operations requesting that he investigate the data further as a high priority order. If something was lurking in Asgardian space, Thor needed to know who or what it was.

* * *

As Thor entered his brother’s quarters, he saw the light of a holo-screen reflecting on Loki’s face. Loki was standing at the end of the room.

“Remember our deal,” said a voice.

“I gotta go,” Loki hurriedly ended the call.

The holo-communication went black.

“Am I interrupting something?” asked Thor.

“No, nothing important, anyway. Just catching up on some backlogged tasks. What can I do for you, brother?”

Thor’s facial tattoos lit up slightly more than usual. “Nothing in particular, but I thought we had planned to train again this evening? When you didn’t show up, I thought I’d check that you were alright.”

Loki held his neck and moaned. “I’m sorry, I should have called you. Yesterday’s training was a little rough on me, and I’m not sure I’m up for more training until my neck heals.”

“I’m sorry, brother. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

“No worries, wouldn’t be much of a combat training if we didn’t hurt ourselves from time to time. Mind if we leave it for another time?”

“Sure, there will be other opportunities for us to train.”

“Thanks for checking on me, though. I appreciate it.”

Thor’s tattoos pulsed slowly.

“Mind if I ask why you didn’t get into a regen tank after our workout?”

Loki smirked. “You know me, brother…my pride often gets the better of me. And I find pain to be a great motivator.”

Thor wasn’t sure if he believed Loki. Something about how his facial tattoos pulsated didn’t quite sit right. Nor did his explanation make much sense. Perhaps the God of Thunder was reading too much into it.

“Well, if you’re not gonna use a regen tank, then have the doc look at your neck first thing in the morning. You know how cranky I get when I’m deprived of my favorite sparring partner.”

“Sure thing, Thor. I thought that honor went to Poseidon.”

“He’s not my brother, and well, he lives rather far, as you know.”

“How are the Mjölnir hammer upgrades? Did my engineer come through for you?”

Why are you changing the subject, brother?

“He’s a fine engineer, even though I’d rather Kvasir were around. But, thank you for sending him. As for the upgrades themselves, I was hoping I could test them with you today, in fact.”

“I’m sorry, brother. I’ll use the regen tank so we can spar tomorrow, I promise.”

“Alright, then…Loki, you know you can always come to me if there’s something wrong, right?”

Loki’s tattoos died down for a split second.

“I’m not sure I understand, brother.”

“I don’t know, maybe I’m reading too much into it, but you don’t seem yourself tonight.”

“I’m just tired. Long day, I guess.”

Thor put his hand on his brother’s shoulder.

“Then you should get some rest. I’ll see you tomorrow. Eight sharp?”

“You can count on it.”

Thor flashed his brother a thumbs-up.

“Good night, Loki.”

“Good night.”

* * *

After Thor left his quarters, Loki turned the holo-screen back on.

A dark shadow filled the screen.

“Tell me you didn’t just hang up on me, Asgardian.”

“I had to. My brother was here.”

A growl was the only thing the shadow used as a reply.

“Look,” continued Loki. “I know my brother, he would never agree to this exchange. You need pentalium, and I’m happy to provide it to you at the agreed upon price. Something tells me you really need that stuff, so surely this interruption was better than having to deal with my brother’s objections on the matter. Trust me, we don’t want him meddling in our dealings.”

“Very well…”

“Are we still on for tonight?”

“We are. You’d better not be playing me, Asgardian. If I don’t get the pentalium from you, then I’ll take your head instead.”

“There’s no need to resort to threats. I told you I’d get you what you need, and I am a man of my word. Just have your ship orbit the coordinates I gave you. I’ll have the Asgard planetary defense sensors disabled for that quadrant. At three in the morning, when the royal guards change shifts, I’ll beam you directly to the throne room. That’s the only way you’re getting onto Asgard undetected.”

“Understood. Make sure everything goes without a hitch, Loki. I’m leaving with what I came for tonight, no matter what.”

This deal is getting more and more difficult. Too late to back down now though.

“Follow my instructions, and we’ll all get what we want. I have everything under control.”

The shadow growled once more as the holo-communication faded into nothingness.

12

“Captain, if I may have a moment?” said Tar’Lock.

Talon gestured Tar’Lock toward his ready room. The bridge was too busy for a private conversation as most of the crew were now back at their posts. When they were alone, he turned toward the Gorgar.

“What is it, Tar’Lock?”

“We need to let the Earth Alliance know about the Spectre ship’s presence.”

“We don’t know what it is.”

“I know this ship, the last time the Alliance saw one, there was a Spectre in our dimension attempting a coup to overthrow the Furies. And that was only but one Spectre; he posed such a threat that many heroes, some of them I knew personally, died to unfuck the situation.”

“You’re not making any sense, and watch that tone of yours. Remember your place, crewman.”

Tar’Lock clicked nervously. “I—I’m sorry, I didn’t mean any disrespect, but please, Captain, you have to listen to me on this. That ship is bad news, and not just for us, but for all living beings in the universe.”

“That’s a little melodramatic, don’t you think?”

“Not when you know what Spectres are capable of.”

“Even if what you say is true, you must know by now that I don’t like the Earth Alliance.”

“And that’s your prerogative. While I’m no longer aligned with them per se, I know we’ll need their help on this one. You gotta trust me.”

“No!!” shouted Talon. “They are the last ones I would call for help, you hear me?”

Tar’Lock tensed his body.

“We are in no position to be picky here. If we can’t send for help, we’ll be destroyed and countless others after us. If you’re willing to put all of our lives in danger because of it, I think it’s time you tell me why you hate the Earth Alliance so much.”

Talon fixed his gaze on Tar’Lock.

“I don’t owe you an explanation.”

“With all due respect, Talon, I think you do. Up until now, I’ve followed your orders blindly, and while I’m grateful you took me on board as a member of the crew, that doesn’t mean I should blindly accept your stance on the Alliance.”

“You’re more than just another crewman, and you know it. I—I consider you my friend.”

“And as such, I think I’ve earned the right to know why you’re so reluctant to contact them. They could have ships here within the hour to take care of this threat for us. Instead, Urgon is in critical condition in med-bay, and we’re being hunted down by a ship you and I both know we have zero hope of destroying. So, please, Talon, help me understand?”

The captain took three steps forward past Tar’Lock and locked his gaze on the orange-purple fog outside the ship. The thick gas layers in the nebula clusters had saved their hide but for how long? Talon took a deep breath.

“Very well. But it doesn’t leave this room.”

Tar’Lock clicked. “That goes without saying.”

Talon turned to face Tar’Lock. Sadness masked his eyes.

“My family was aboard a transport vessel from the Phoenix when the Obsidian unleashed their attack. My wife, my two daughters. I was Admiral Thassos’ first officer back then. Since I couldn’t take any leave, I requested that they be allowed to visit me aboard the Cronos. But having civilians on board a destroyer in a time of war is not exactly standard protocol, as you would imagine. Because the admiral respected my long years of service, she agreed to make an exception.”

Talon took a long breath before continuing. “They never made it onboard the ship. The Obsidian Empire unleashed their full-scale attack, breaking the cease-fire and claiming the lives of everyone I held dear. I—I never recovered from that day. Perhaps because I knew full well it was my fault. If I never made that special request of the admiral…”

Tar’Lock’s eyes dropped. “I’m sorry, Talon. But what does that have to do with your hatred for the Earth Alliance?”

“Do you really have to ask? The Earth Alliance not only joined forces with the Obsidian Empire, but their Emperor, the one person responsible for my family’s death, is now the head of their council.”

“I’ve met the Emperor. Believe me, he’s not the same man he once was. As a matter of fact, he risked a destroyer’s entire crew to save me and my friends during the Fury War.”

“Is that supposed to make me feel better? This man’s actions are directly responsible for the death of my wife and children, there’s nothing he could have done after that day that would redeem him in my eyes. Surely you can understand that.”

“I’ve lost family too, at the hands of the person I love, in fact. Ryonna killed my sister.”

Talon tipped his head to the side. “The same Ryonna you went to see yesterday?”

Tar’Lock nodded.

“Did you intend to kill her?”

“Of course not! I—I know that if she killed Tar’Sian, it’s only because she had no other choice. Sure, I tried to hate her and distort the truth so that I had a scapegoat to despise…it’s easier when you can blame everything on someone else. At least it’s easier than to face and accept the truth, no matter how painful it may be.”

“Look, Tar’Lock, I’m sorry you lost your sister, I truly am. But I don’t think our situations compare.”

“Perhaps not, but one thing’s for sure, you have the look of someone who needs a devil to hate, and it looks to me like you’re willing to go to great lengths, including sacrificing your crew as long as you can keep that hatred burning. I know how you feel⁠—”

Talon pointed an accusing finger in front of Tar’Lock’s face.

“Don’t you dare think you have any idea how I feel!”

Tar’Lock shook his head. “Yeah, you’re right, you’re not letting revenge and anger blind your actions, obviously. But, hey, feel free to doom us all in the name of your emotions. You sure are doing a hell of a job so far.”

Tar’Lock didn’t know if it was his words or something else, but he saw Talon’s face completely change expression. One from hatred to confusion. Talon turned back toward the viewport and stayed silent for a few minutes.

When Tar’Lock thought that they wouldn’t resume their argument, he walked toward the door.

“Wait…please,” said Talon.

“Why, Captain? Haven’t we said all we needed to on the subject?”

Talon turned back toward his acting first officer. “I—I can’t help the way I feel toward the Earth Alliance. And I doubt this will ever change. However…”

Tar’Lock didn’t say a thing, instead letting his captain continue when he felt he could.

“You’re right that anger, hatred even, is what has driven me for the longest time. Perhaps, in this case, it’s affecting my judgment. Right now I can’t bring myself to call the Earth Alliance for help. I—I just can’t.”

“Who said anything about you calling them for help?”

Tar’Lock could tell from Talon’s dumbfounded look that he didn’t follow.

“Look, Captain, I can send an anonymous communication to the Earth Alliance headquarters, it doesn’t have to come from you or the Bellerophon. As a matter of fact, let me make this real simple for you. I’m not going to wait for your authorization. I’m going to step out now, go to my station, and program a probe to exit the nebula cluster. Once outside, it will send a subspace distress call on an emergency frequency I know the Alliance will be monitoring.”

“And there is nothing I can do to stop you?”

“Short of shooting me? No. I’m sorry about your family, I truly am. And I’m sorry that you’ve been carrying this for so long, but we need to let someone know of the danger we’re all facing. Or many more families will suffer the same consequences.”

“What if the enemy ship manages to locate us because of this?”

“Then we’ll probably die. But at least we won’t die in vain. I’ll take all the necessary precautions to make sure that doesn’t happen though.”

Talon sighed heavily, which Tar’Lock interpreted as a good sign. When the captain stayed silent, Tar’Lock walked away through the ready room’s door and onto the bridge.

* * *

The space hydra had managed to re-enter firing range, and its multiple heads resumed spitting bolts of plasma toward the Iron Fire. Chase did his best to evade by piloting the ship with his mind, but no amount of fancy flying prevented some plasma bolts from hitting the Iron Fire’s shields, which kept lowering at alarming speeds. Clearly turning tail and fleeing was not working.

Chase had hoped that the creature would eventually lose interest in their ship and get tired of chasing them, but apparently, the rage that animated it knew no bounds. Chase tried to jump to hyperspace, but the ship again refused to bring all systems online. Whatever field the creature was generating was interfering with the jump systems.

Chase opened a channel to engineering. “Guys, please tell me you’ve figured out a solution to jump?”

“Hey, boss,” said Yanis. “I’m afraid this is not a problem we can fix quickly. The field generated is in constant flux, and we haven’t been able to isolate a pattern yet so that we can counter its effect for long enough for the jump engines to activate. I’m afraid we’re not going anywhere. Kvasir is working on modifying the shields so that at least we dissipate impacts more efficiently.”

Not what Chase wanted to hear. The ship rocked as two more plasma shots impacted with the shields, draining them further.

“Alright, keep at it.” Chase turned to his brother. “It’s still gaining on us. I’m trying to dodge its attacks, but there’s simply too many of them.”

“Can I go blow it up now? Please,” asked Argos.

While it was a tempting thought, and while the situation grew more dire with each impact, Chase wasn’t prepared to risk creating a black hole. There might come a time where they wouldn’t have a choice, but they weren’t there yet.

“Negative. Any more ideas?”

“I have one,” said Chris as he entered the bridge.

“I’m listening.”

“Let me go distract the creature. Perhaps if I fly around buzzing at it, it may get sidetracked and allow the Iron Fire to gain enough distance so you can jump.”

“We’re not jumping out of here without you.”

Chris sighed. “I’m not suggesting that, just beam me in before jumping.”

Chase wasn’t familiar with using beaming technology. After all, he used to be able to teleport at will, on his own, which would have made his son’s idea ideal for him to execute if he still had that power. Chase wasn’t enchanted with the idea of Chris serving as a distraction, at best, and as bait, at worst. If push came to shove, he had no doubt that his son could defend himself, though. Chase could monitor his progress from the bridge and beam him out should anything go wrong.

“I don’t like it—” said Chase.

“Shocker,” said Chris sharply.

“If you’d let me finish,” argued Chase, “I think that’s our best bet.”

“I should go with him,” said Argos.

“Thanks, but I don’t need an assist, Uncle,” Chris protested.

Chase would prefer Argos to accompany Chris, but something told him that if he ever wanted to regain some sympathy points with his son, he would have to trust him and dial down his overprotective fatherly instincts.

“Chris is right. He can manage it on his own.”

Have you lost your damn mind? asked Argos telepathically.

Chris is not a kid anymore, he’s as strong as you or me; we need to trust he can do things on his own.

Okay, Chase, if you think that’s wise. I just hope you know what you’re doing.

Chase didn’t. They were in uncharted territory, both literally and figuratively. Everything about this region of space was alien to them, and as their first encounter proved, there was no way of knowing what they were up against. That meant Chase had to silence his anxiety and fully trust his son would prevail. Releasing control was not Chase’s forte, but today he would have to. Chase reached with his mind and found the Iron Fire’s teleportation sub-functions within the ship’s central computer core.

“Alright, Chris. Whenever you’re ready, I’ll beam you outside.”

Chris erected a force field bubble around him that would act as an air reserve and also shield him from the near absolute zero temperatures of space.

“I’m ready,” said Chris.

Please be careful, said Chase.

I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that. Now hit it.

With a heavy heart, Chase looked at his son and nodded as he mentally activated the beam-out sequence. Rays of blue and purple light engulfed Chris, and he disappeared.

Good luck, son.

13

Ares took a break from trying to talk with Nyx when he realized he wasn’t getting anywhere. He should not have told her he was an Olympian. Still, he would need to find a way to convince the Fury to accept some sort of truce and partnership. He needed a body to interact with in this dimension so he could affect his own future. That was his only chance to return home and warn Chase that the Spectres have already taken a foothold there.

When an arachnoid guard approached the cell with what looked like food, he knew that he needed to seize the opportunity.

I’m going to invade the guard’s body when he opens the cell. Be ready to finish him off.

He’s not going to open the cell, he’ll just open a small hole in the force field and slide the tray in, you dumbass. Do you really think I would need your help taking down a single guard if he gave me the slightest opportunity?

Is it really necessary to resort to insults?

Necessary, no, but I rather enjoy it. Nevertheless, they made that mistake the very first day they put me in a cell. They’ve long since learned that I’ll exploit any breach in their security.

Okay, plan B then. What opens the force field?

The third red control on his wrist device.

When I press it, make sure you take him out quickly.

Nyx sighed. Whatever you say, Olympian.

Ares wanted to protest her tone, but he ran out of time when the guard carelessly dropped the food platter in front of the cell door, not caring that most of the food jumped around and splashed on the damp floor.

The guard smirked at Nyx as he reached for his wrist device to open a small hole in the cell’s force field.

That’s when Ares jumped him from behind and forced his energy inside the arachnoid. Invading the creature’s mind was neither simple nor pleasant. It felt nothing like taking control of humanoids in his dimension. What it did feel like was that there was more than one consciousness in the arachnoid’s mind. As a result, taking control of the arachnoid’s body was harder than Ares anticipated.

The guard shook and moved oddly, stepping into the food platter with both feet. Ares slipped and crashed on his ass. The shock and pain nearly kicked away Ares’ partial hold on the alien mind.

Nyx shook her head in disbelief.

The arachnoid mind was so dark that Ares felt as if he were trapped inside an inverse black hole intent on expelling the Olympian. He had to push his mental abilities to their limits. He moved the alien’s trembling hand with great difficulty, trying to hit the third red control on the wrist device. Because the hand trembled so much, Ares hit the second one instead, and a bolt of lightning shot from the rear of the cell toward Nyx’s back.

She dodged it by a hair as her purple aura filled the cell.

“I said third, dammit. Watch it!”

T—t—trying.

Try harder! And hurry up, we don’t have all day.

The arachnoid mind was still fighting to regain control of the shared body. Ares needed to distract the alien mind. He jerked his borrowed body forward enough for the scalp of the creature to make contact with the force field. The resulting electric current traveling inside the body finally gave him full control, even though he experienced enormous pain feedback himself.

Ares got up and freely pressed the third red control on the device. The force field dropped. Ares immediately regretted it as Nyx’s eyes flashed purple and her aura exploded like a supernova.

“Wait—” said Ares. “I’m in contro⁠—"

But she didn’t, and Nyx literally incinerated the arachnoid with a purple tidal-wave attack. The power she unleashed destroyed the arachnoid at a subatomic level, disintegrating its body.

“Good job,” said a bodiless Ares with no hidden amount of sarcasm in his tone. “I finally had his body under control, we could have used it to help us get out of here.”

“Damn…you’re still alive. I was kind of hoping you’d have died along with the guard.”

“For crying out loud! Haven’t you listened to anything I’ve said until now?” protested Ares. “I’m already dead. You can’t kill me in this form, no matter how much you try. For Gods’ sake, I survived the destruction of your world, that should tell you something about how resilient I am in this energy form.”

“Apparently so…bummer, though. I’m sure you can understand that I had to try, Olympian.”

“Stop calling me that! I have a name. Ares.”

“Not exactly trying to make friends with a member of my arch enemy’s race. And, frankly, at this point, I’d rather you were just a figment of my imagination. Though, after that stunt of yours, it would seem to be wishful thinking on my part.”

Ares sighed out loud. “Whatever works for you. But may I suggest we get the hell outta here before they send reinforcements.”

“Finally, something we can agree on, Olympian.”

“Ares!”

“Whatever,” barked Nyx as she ran out of the cell and toward the prison’s exit.

* * *

Loki looked at his holo-terminal with purpose as his eyes glowed blue and his body morphed into Thor’s. As the God of Mischief, one of Loki’s powers was shape-shifting. Even his own armor morphed as well, and soon, he looked exactly like his brother.

He entered a few commands on the holo-terminal, and the image of Poseidon filled the holo-screen.

“Hello, Poseidon,” said Loki, using his brother’s voice.

“I didn’t expect to hear back from you so soon. Is everything alright?”

“Not exactly. You said you’re not too far from Asgardian territory, correct?”

“Yes, we’re only a short jump away, why?”

“We’ve been hit with a strange malfunction and lost sensor range on something I wanted to get checked. Would it be an imposition to ask you to check it for me? I would send one of our ships, but I’ve recalled them. The malfunction could be a man-made virus, and the last thing I want is for our ships to become stranded should that area contain any hostiles. I’d hate to impose though if you have other things to do⁠—”

Poseidon raised a hand. “Think nothing of it, my friend. We can take an hour or two out of our schedule to help a friend. You know you can count on us.”

“Thank you…my friend. I’m sending you the coordinates via subspace.”

Poseidon looked down, and a series of bleeps echoed through the holo-channel.

“Got them. But, Thor, is everything alright? You seem somewhat concerned.”

Loki swallowed hard. He needed to end this conversation now that his primary goal had been achieved. Thor and Poseidon had developed a strong bond on the battlefield during the Fury War, and the longer Loki talked, the higher the chances his deception could be exposed. That would cost him dearly as he didn’t get the feeling that the Spectre race was the forgiving kind.

“I’m fine, don’t worry. Just been a long day, you know how these go.”

Poseidon smiled. “I certainly do. We’ll check the area, and I’ll report back in a few hours.”

“Thank you, Poseidon. I owe you one.”

“You don’t owe me anything, my friend. Poseidon out.”

When the holo-transmission ended, Loki regained his appearance and let out a long sigh of relief.

Well, that’s one thing done. The Spectre will be here soon, I’d better get ready to meet with him.

* * *

Chris lost no time upon arriving in space. He locked onto the pursuing hydra and flew toward it as fast as he could. A couple of seconds later he was upon the massive creature. He purposefully flew in between two of the heads and spun wildly in the process, making sure the creature felt his presence and didn’t think he was just some rogue space rock.

Two of the heads turned back keeping a visual lock on him. Both pair of eyes glowed red, but shortly after, the heads returned their attention to the Iron Fire and spat more plasma attacks toward the ship.

I guess I need to make a better first impression then.

Chris quickly veered around and flew back toward the back of the creature. The hydra’s tail was huge, but Chris decided to grab it at its thinnest point. Perhaps that would get the beast’s attention. And that it did. The moment Chris caught the very tip of the massive tail, four heads turned around. The next thing that happened sent Chris swiveling uncontrollably into space as the creature shook its tail so fast and taking him by surprise.

He recovered his senses in time to see a massive bolt of plasma traveling at high velocity toward him. Chris could probably have deflected the attack, but he feared that if he used too much of his powers in space, he could tear the fabric of space and time in the area like his father had in the past.

Chris dodged the bolt, darted forward, and started buzzing around the hydra’s head making sure to get its attention; at times coming a little too close for comfort and having to fly between the creature’s large teeth to escape being turned into a space snack.

But the distraction worked, and the Iron Fire changed its heading without the hydra noticing, its focus now entirely devoted to trying to eat Chris.

The air within the force field thinned, and Chris regretted not creating a bigger bubble around him. He would not be able to keep this going for much longer, and he passing out was not an option.

What’s your status? asked Chris to his father.

You’re doing a great job, another minute and we should be able to beam you back aboard and get the hell out of here, said Chase. Do you think you can hold the hydra at bay for that long?

Chris wasn’t sure he had enough oxygen to do so, but for the sake of their mission and his family’s survival, he preferred not to disclose his doubts. He could always try and execute his last maneuvers holding his breath.

Not a problem.

It was only a handful of seconds later that his vision started to blur, and he was losing focus. As a result, he had to take much less complex trajectories, and that opened up possibilities for the hydra. Each mouth thrust toward Chris was getting closer, and he could feel the creature’s frustration boost its already enraged demeanor.

Chris tried to count the seconds in his mind, but he had already lost the ability to keep up with the passing of time. His oxygen ran out, and having to spend a lot of energy and focus on dodging the creature, Chris felt his lungs burning. He used his self-healing power to alleviate the symptoms to some extent, but there was simply too much to do to focus appropriately.

Then suddenly, everything went dark.

* * *

Eventually, Talon returned to the bridge and was surprised to see Tar’Lock was the only one there.

“Where’s the rest of the crew?”

“I sent them to their quarters to get some rest. They’ve been informed we may ask them to come back at a moment’s notice. They were on edge, and I thought if they can grab some sleep, even an hour’s worth, it might be better for both their spirits and reflexes.”

Talon stayed silent as he reflected on Tar’Lock’s words.

“Good thinking. It’s not like there’s much they can do right now. Though we may want to call them when you send out your probe.”

“Probe is already on its way.”

“Isn’t that reckless? What if the enemy pinpoints our position from the probe’s exit vector?”

“I’ve made sure it took a non-linear trajectory to make its exit. It’s also using one percent of its engines, moving at minimum speeds.”

“Which means it will take hours to get free of the cluster.”

“It also lowers the chances of being detected, especially within the cluster.”

“As much as I hate to admit it…well done, Tar’Lock.”

“Thanks, Captain.”

“Any luck locating the Spectre ship?”

Tar’Lock released a series of semi-muffled clicks. “No, but I dare not push our sensors to full power, we could reveal our position just like we did the first time we detected the ship.”

“If only I had not insisted on scanning the area, we’d be on our way to resupply and on our way back to the jump gate.”

“Don’t do this to yourself, Captain. It’s not your fault. You saw something out of the ordinary and wanted to make sure it didn’t pose any threat to your ship and crew.”

“That’s irony for you. My overzealousness actually put us in way more danger than if I had left it alone.”

“If there’s one thing I learned these past few years, is that nothing good comes from second-guessing our past actions. What’s done is done, what’s the point in lingering in what could have been?”

“Well, my Gorgar friend, you have an advantage in that matter, you have a small amount of memory and the ability to erase parts of it at will. In fact, for you, it’s not so much an ability as a way of living. You must erase memories to form new ones. The human condition, well…let’s just say we can’t forget the things we’d love to more than anything.”

“Oh, I’ve been around enough humans and humanoids in general to have a good understanding of how you torture yourselves this way.”

Talon smiled.

“In humanity’s defense,” Talon said, “we don’t do it on purpose, well, at least, I don’t think so.”

“I know, and while I would give a great deal to have even a tenth of your capacity for storing memories, sometimes I think it may be better to just hold onto a select few.”

“Trust me, in some cases it is. I don’t know what’s worse, Tar’Lock, not knowing whether we’ll survive this or the waiting. Perhaps we should choose a heading at random and just make a run for it.”

“Well, you’re the Captain, so that particular decision is yours, but if you want my advice, I say as long as the status quo doesn’t change, it can’t hurt to wait.”

An intense light filled the bridge, and then the ship rocked. The lights turned red, and sparks flew from a terminal near Tar’Lock.

“On the other hand,” said the insectoid with a series of panicked bleeps.

“All crew to the bridge on the double,” said Talon over the comms before turning to Tar’Lock. “Looks like the status quo has just been broken.”

14

The royal guards left the throne room a moment before Loki beamed in. The next shift would be on duty in about ten minutes, though they sometimes arrived tardy since people were seldom present at this late hour. He sat, looking around the room, and imagined what it would be like to be the King of Asgard.

Deep down he knew that Thor would probably be chosen to replace Odin one day. Loki had always been ambitious, but he loved his family too much to ever think of attempting a coup. If he ever got to rule Asgard, it would be because he was chosen to do so.

In the meantime, he would do whatever was necessary to protect his world and his people. Right now that was the focus of his secret dealings with the Spectres. He had debated whether or not to tell Thor and his father, but he knew very well how they’d react. Loki was the only one in the Alliance that had detected the presence of the Spectres in their dimension. This gave him a window of opportunity to secure a deal with the race that has the potential to wipe out all life in the universe.

Loki wasn’t stupid to think this deal would last forever, and, actually, he wasn’t interested in forever, what mattered to him was buying his race some time to prepare. If war were coming to this dimension, they would need time to build up their defenses.

The Fury War had left Asgard vulnerable. More so than it had been in the last ten thousand years. A few years, or even a few months respite, could be the difference between the fall of Asgard or its ultimate victory. Loki didn’t intend to lose.

After all, the deal he was about to strike with the Spectres didn’t cost Asgard much. A small quantity of pentalium, which they could spare, and some intel the Spectres had requested him to gather on their behalf. In exchange, they would leave Asgard alone.

Pentalium was a rare element native to Asgard and not found anywhere else in the universe. It was the critical element derived from a crystal that powered Asgardian hyperspace engines. Thanks to pentalium-powered ships, Asgard had the fastest hyperdrive engines in the Alliance.

The Earth Alliance requested access to the material, which Odin denied. Even though the King of Asgard was thankful for the Alliance’s help during Arakan’s attack on Asgard, he posited there wouldn’t be enough pentalium to go around for the entire Alliance. Right now, the stockpile was quite low because Asgard was focused on rebuilding their fleets. As a result, it took more effort and resources to dig deeper into the planet’s crust to retrieve new deposits with enough purity to fuel hyperspace engines.

Loki wondered what the Spectres wanted with the rare crystal. He had no doubt they had something nefarious in mind. But because they had requested such a small quantity of it, Loki was inclined to think it couldn’t be too much of a threat. The Asgardian’s train of thought got interrupted when his wrist comm vibrated.

It was time.

Loki interacted with the throne’s holo-controls, and a figure beamed into the center of the room. Loki rose from his father’s chair with the intent to greet his guest.

The Spectre appeared massive, taller than even his brother, Thor, and his skin was as dark as a moonless night. A single emotion overtook Loki’s heart: Fear.

“Right on time,” said the Asgardian, presenting his hand in friendship.

Asrak’Vor looked at the hand for a second and returned his deep gaze to Loki.

“We…do not shake hands,” said the Spectre coldly.

“I see. Well, in any case, welcome to Asgard.”

“I also don’t have time for useless pleasantries.”

“To business, then?”

“As you say. Do you have what I requested?”

Loki tapped his wrist holo-device, and a small crate beamed to the side of the Spectre.

“The amount of pentalium discussed. I’ve even rounded it up a bit.”

“Good. What about the coordinates of the Olympian ship and requested DNA sample?”

Loki reached inside his vest and took out a small data crystal that he handed to Asrak’Vor. “Everything you’ve asked for is stored on that.”

Asrak’Vor grabbed the data crystal from Loki’s hand, making sure he did so without touching his skin.

“Are you guys germophobes or something?”

Asrak’Vor growled.

“Never mind,” added Loki.

“You can go now,” said Asrak’Vor.

“Huh…this is my place.”

“Go! Now.”

“I see. Well, I would say it’s been a pleasure doing business with you, but. . .Well, anyway, I want to make sure you’ll keep your promise and leave Asgard alone from whatever plans you have. I wouldn’t stay up here too long, the next shift of palace guards is scheduled to arrive any minute now.”

Asrak’Vor’s eyes flashed briefly, and that was all it took to make Loki’s blood freeze. Asrak’Vor’s facial tattoos dimmed to nothingness. Loki decided not to push the issue and entered a command on his wrist device and beamed out of the throne room.

* * *

A plasma bolt grazed the ship, lighting the small bridge of the Bellerophon.

“That was too close for comfort,” said Tar’Lock.

“Where the hell is the crew?” barked Talon.

A series of rapid clicks escaped Tar’Lock. “I don’t know, Captain. They should have reached the bridge already. We need to get out of here though. The enemy fire, while pretty random, could still blow up the ship, especially with our engines powered down to their minimum. I fear the current shield levels would do nothing if we catch one of these plasma bolts full fro—oh, crap.”

“What’s going on?”

“I think I know where the crew is.”

“Where?”

Tar’Lock pointed at the viewport.

Talon got up from his captain’s chair. “Is that what I think it is?”

“I’m afraid so. There goes our short-range cargo shuttle, which means that we don’t have a way to get off the ship, should we need to, as the Bellerophon’s only escape pod is currently inoperative.”

Talon’s face went from worried to red-hot mad.

“Hail them, now!”

“No response, Captain.”

Talon shook his head. “Abandoning ship at the first sign of trouble, quite the faithful crew I assembled.”

“Look on the bright side, Cap, I’m still here.”

Talon gave Tar’Lock a dubious look before allowing a chuckle to escape.

When plasma fire grazed the ship once more, Talon regained his composure.

“Alright, let’s use this to our advantage. The plasma fire is focusing more around this area, and I think we now know why. They must have detected the shuttle’s engine as it left the ship.”

“What do you have in mind?”

Talon sat back down. “Let’s plot an exit course that is diametrically opposed to the shuttle.”

“If they detected the shuttle’s engine, won’t they detect ours if we push them?”

“We’ll operate at thirty percent. Unlike the shuttle, we have stealth tech installed. I think we’ll minimize chances of detection that way. Hopefully.”

“You think?” snapped Tar’Lock, doubled with a series of anxious clicking sounds.

“Unless you have a better idea?”

“Never mind. Plotting course now.”

* * *

Chase could sense Chris was in trouble, even though he had told Chase he could manage to hold the creature off. He silently swore, regretting trusting Chris’ words at face value.

Chris? Are you hurt? Son? Please respond, thought Chase. Chris!

“Something’s wrong with my son; I’m turning the ship around.”

The Iron Fire veered, and Chase redistributed power to the sub-light engines, siphoning energy from virtually every other system on the ship.

“Beam him back,” said Argos.

Chase queried the Iron Fire’s main computer with his mind, trying to beam Chris back onboard. The computer couldn’t get a lock on Chris’ biosignature because of interference. Chase then remotely launched three pilotless StarFuries.

“Computer’s not letting me! Dammit. Launching fighters remotely,” Chase said.

“Chase, fighters won’t make a dent, beam me out instead. I’ll go help Chris.”

“Hurry up, Argos. I don’t think he has any oxygen left. He’s gonna pass out any moment.”

Chase feared that even at full Fury flight speeds, Argos would be too late, but he nodded in agreement and beamed him into space with a single thought command from the central computer. Argos rematerialized outside the Iron Fire and darted forward like a shooting star.

Whatever interference was preventing transporters from locking onto Chris’s signature must have been generated by the hydra and only affect the area surrounding the creature.

Chase unleashed torpedoes from every launch tube from the ship, bypassing the computer’s warning they were too far away to lock onto the target. Instead, he manually aimed toward the creature.

There was a risk he might hit Chris in the process, but feeling his son’s consciousness wither away, Chase felt he needed to provide him with cover, and hopefully distract the beast, even for just a moment until Argos reached him.

Chase felt Chris had lost consciousness and feared the worse. The torpedoes approached their target with Argos right behind them.

Keep an eye on the torpedoes. If one looks like it’s going to hit Chris, take it out before it does, Chase said to Argos telepathically.

Understood; might blow up a few just to get the beast’s attention, anyway.

Good thinking.

Chase felt his son’s body temperature was getting dangerously cold, the force field around him was failing, and he would soon be exposed to the deadly frost of space.

The hydra shot a plasma bolt at Chris, and it took whatever shield was left around him. The impact sent Chris spinning wildly.

“Chris!” shouted Chase.

The hydra followed Chris when multiple of its heads roared as they saw the incoming torpedoes. One of the heads was still deadlocked on Chris, and it opened its mouth to eat its prize.

Argos shot three fireballs, two of them detonated torpedoes next to Chris, the resulting explosions pushing Chris away from the monster’s teeth as they bit on nothing but space void.

Shit! That was close, swore Chase.

You’re welcome.

Argos swooped to try and grab Chris, but the hydra opened fire from multiple heads, forcing him to slalom in between the plasma projectiles. Many of them impacted with the torpedoes, illuminating space with one explosion after another.

Argos was only meters away from Chris when a hydra head violently knocked him off course. The Fury recovered and deflected two plasma projectiles targeting him.

The Iron Fire was still far away from the battle. Which brought Chase’s anxiety levels to their paroxysm.

Argos’ aura grew exponentially, and his right fist was engulfed in an expanding fireball. He then darted toward the nearest head and smashed it in full force.

The creature screamed, and before Argos had ended his power punch motion, the tail of the creature hit him with full force, and Argos illuminated blue for a second and was catapulted away so fast he entered hyperspace.

“Argos!” shouted Chase.

Brother? Are you alright? Argos? Come in!

I—I don’t understand what happened, Chase, somehow I got thrown into hyperspace. I’m coming back, but I have no idea how far I’ve been thrown away.

Things were looking bleak, and the Iron Fire was still too far to help cover Chris. With Argos out of the fight, he was now an easy prey.

Chase extended his mind to find his son’s life sign and realized that Chris was mere seconds away from death. His body temperature had dramatically dropped, and his heart would stop beating any moment now.

It felt like time stopped inside Chase’s mind. What happened next made no sense, but somehow he found himself in space next to his son. A force field englobed them, and Chase started warming and healing his son.

Unfortunately, he wasn’t paying attention to anything else around him except bringing Chris back from the dead, and when he saw a massive mouth approaching their position, there wasn’t much he could do.

Just before teeth impacted with Chase’s force field, the creature’s head was smashed away by an incoming Argos. Chase’s brother hit the beast with both his fists at full speed, sending it hurtling kilometers away into space.

All safety measures in using their Fury powers in space had just been overridden. Survival was now their prime directive, even if they destroyed this part of the universe’s fabric.

Chase could feel his son’s heartbeat increase slowly and steadily, and he continued to send Chris as much healing energy as needed.

Hang on, Son. I’ve got you.

A fleeting thought came into Chase’s mind. It was exactly for this reason that he hadn’t wanted anyone to accompany him on this mission, but now was not the time to obsess about it. Chase needed to learn to accept the consequences of his decision and act accordingly.

Thanks for the save, brother.

Sound didn’t travel in space, so they used telepathy to communicate.

Argos flew next to them. You’re welcome. I’m just glad the creature didn’t send me farther away than this. How come you’re in space? Did you also beam here?

I wish I could tell you for sure; the only explanation that makes sense is that I can still teleport under certain conditions. At the very least, for shorter distances.

Well, that’s a start and good news if you ask me. We’ll have plenty of time to find out later though; let’s incinerate this beast first.

Agreed. Chris is still in critical condition; do you think you can take care of the hydra on your own?

Argos looked straight into his brother’s eyes and then smirked. I thought you’d never ask.

Argos unleashed five crimson-colored and powerful fireballs at the hydra that was already speeding back toward them. The fireballs did not have the anticipated result, and the hydra used five of its heads to swallow them.

“Oh, come on!” shouted Argos, to no one in particular.

Smoke erupted from each of the head’s nostrils as all the pairs of eyes glowed red.

I stand corrected; doesn’t look like it’s going to be an easy fight. We need a plan B, and fast, Argos said with a vicious edge to his tone.

The Iron Fire swooped between them and the creature and unleashed a barrage of laser fire. All laser cannons opened fire on the creature, and quantum torpedoes blazed from every tube. But unleashing the full firepower from the Earth Alliance destroyer had little to no effect against the scaly armor of the giant space-faring beast.

The hydra retaliated in kind by sending a salvo of plasma bolts that illuminated and swiftly drained the Iron Fire’s shields. The lights across the ship flickered madly and then suddenly died out. The engines shut down, and the Iron Fire drifted in space like a giant piece of metal junk.

That’s not good, said Argos.

No shit.

Chris’ eyes flew open.

What…what happened?

Chase released his son. Long story, one we can talk about later. Can you fight?

Chris grabbed his neck and cracked it. Yeah, I think so.

Sorry to interrupt, said Argos, but the creature is going after the Iron Fire.

They’re sitting ducks, said Chase. We can’t let it get to them.

Chase exited Chris’ force field after refilling it with oxygen. Then all three of them turned into Ultra Furies and flew at max velocity after the hydra.

* * *

Asrak’Vor scanned the data crystal with a device embedded in his palm and sent the gathered information back to his orbiting ship. He opened a holo-transmission.

“Yes, Master,” said his second in command.

“I’ve sent you a set of coordinates and a DNA profile. Have a scout ship go to these coordinates, and make sure it takes out the Olympian destroyer. Destroy it from within by sending someone inside to deal with the crew and take control of the ship. The Olympian destroyer is no match for a scout ship, and it should take all necessary precautions not to reveal its presence.

“Once the operative is aboard, have him either destroy the ship or at the very least disable it so that we can retrofit it later. As for the DNA profile, you already know what to do with it. This is a top priority. I want this done right and done fast.”

“Absolutely, Master. Thy will be done. Should we beam you back to the ship?”

“Not just yet. I’d like to observe this place a little. We may have to fight these people in the near future, and observing their architecture and their art could provide me with insights on how to defeat them on the battlefield.”

“Understood. We’ll be waiting for your beam out signal. Gorak’Shen out.”

Asrak’Vor walked to the nearest window and gazed at the city. It looked different from anything he had ever seen. Many of the buildings shimmered in the starlit sky. They looked like giant amethyst crystals as if the city itself had been carved inside a natural formation but then perfected itself. Green was clearly a predominant color for Asgardians, who seemed to break the architectural rules with such grace that nothing appeared incommensurate. The symmetry and creativity danced together to form a balanced tune in all their details.

Observing the intricate details for a little longer gave Asrak’Vor some food for thought about how to fight these people.

Inside the throne room, parts of the design were mirrored in how the walls were carved with angular shapes and attention to triangular geometry. From that, Asrak’Vor deduced that the Asgardians were a focused people who had mastered an impressive level of technology compared to other races the Spectres had fought, eradicated, or assimilated into their souls pool. They would make a fine addition when the time came.

“Who the hell are you? Who let you in here?” boomed a deep voice behind Asrak’Vor.

The Spectre turned and saw an elderly Asgardian standing a few feet away. The man wore very intricate armor that gave the Spectre additional insight into their culture. Asrak’Vor could tell they were proud and strong warriors who believed in duty, sacrifice, and honor.

“Don’t mind me, I’m just passing through.”

“You’re in my throne room. Nobody gets in here without my authorization or at the very least without my knowledge.”

Asrak’Vor smiled. “All evidence to the contrary.”

“Guards!” shouted Odin.

Armed warriors, thrusting long, glowing green lances, filled the room.

“This isn’t necessary, I was just leaving. I gave my word I wouldn’t harm your people. Please don’t make me break that promise.”

“I don’t care who you are or who you gave your word to. I would; however, appreciate it if you told me who the hell you are,” demanded Odin.

“No one you need to concern yourself with.”

At least for the time being.

“I’ve had it with your cryptic answers. No one sneaks into my throne room and lives. Guards! Take him out.”

All six guards pointed their weapons at the Spectre and opened fire. The concentrated beams of green plasma resembled lasers in their shape, but they packed a punch, energy wise.

Each of the streaks stopped a few centimeters from Asrak’Vor’s face, and they vanished into nothingness.

“That was a mistake,” said Asrak’Vor calmly.

A black aura engulfed the Spectre, and chaotic whirlwinds of dark smoke danced around him, sending both Odin’s and the guards’ hair swirling around as if they were in the middle of a storm. The aura increased and was so dark it made everything behind it disappear as if swallowed by an invisible void.

Asrak’Vor’s eyes glowed for a fraction of a second, and what happened next defied belief. Green astral projections exited from each of the guards, and in a heartbeat, their souls were snatched from their bodies. Pain was etched on their faces as they traveled and entered the Spectre, whose eyes flashed green briefly as Odin watched in horror.

All six physical bodies, now only empty shells, collapsed on the ground, dead. Asrak’Vor snapped his fingers, and they disintegrated as if they never existed.

Odin adopted a fighting stance as his aura radiated around the throne room with radiant green tones.

15

Nyx was running as fast as she could.

“Where the hell are you going?” asked Ares.

“To the cargo bay, we need to steal a shuttle and get the hell out of here.”

“No! We can’t go yet, I need to gather more intel.”

“Then be my guest and stay here for as long as you want, I won’t stop you.”

“I just saved your life!” protested Ares.

“You most certainly did not. I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself, though I will admit that your intervention might have sped up the timetable of my ineluctable escape.”

“Be that as it may, you owe me, and you know it.”

Nyx stopped short in the middle of the dark, cold corridor.

“Show yourself, Olympian.”

Ares materialized in his golden energy form.

She wasted no time pointing a finger at him.

“Let’s make one thing clear, Olympian, I owe you and your kind nothing, except maybe a swift execution. You’re the reason I’m trapped in this dimension in the first place, so the way I see it, if anything, you owe me my freedom.”

“We don’t have time for this.”

“Finally, something we can agree on. Now, since there’s no love lost here, I suggest we go our separate ways. I’m the last Fury in existence, and I don’t intend to die here for whatever fool’s quest you’re cooking up. Is that clear?”

“You’re not the last Fury.”

Nyx studied him with piercing scrutiny. “What did you just say?”

“I said you’re not the last Fury. There are others, in the other dimension. As a matter of fact, they’re the ones I’m trying to get this information for.”

“Why would you care about helping Furies? You’re not making any sense.”

“Look, I understand how you feel about me and my kind. If it makes any difference, I’m sorry for whatever part my race played in trapping you here. However, I’m glad we found each other, and it seems to me like we can use each other’s help. As for helping Furies, it’s best you meet them directly and decide for yourself. How does that sound?”

Ares had chosen his words carefully, the last thing he needed was to reveal to Nyx that these Furies weren’t pure-blooded. Worse still, if she knew they had Olympian blood, she would probably lose interest altogether in their existence.

“What are you saying, Olympian?”

“Let’s start with my name…please.”

Nyx sighed deeply. “Very well. Ares.”

“That’s better.”

“Are you telling me that if we team up, not only will I meet other Furies, but that we could return to my dimension?”

“Our dimension, yes. That’s the plan, at least.”

“Alright then,” conceded Nyx. “For the time being, let’s see where this leads us. Just don’t expect us to become friends.”

Ares smiled. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”

* * *

“What have you done to my guards?” said Odin.

“I’ve ate their souls; though I suppose technically assimilated would be a more accurate description. They are part of me now and will live forever inside my body.”

“Return them to their bodies at once!”

“That’s not how this works. Even if I had the ability to do so, I wouldn’t. They’ve granted me their life’s essence, prolonging my own, and I can also access their powers.

Asrak’Vor smirked. “In this case, that power wasn’t very big to start with, but I suppose every little bit helps, and I appreciate their sacrifice.”

“Sacrifice? You’ve executed them!”

“I could have killed both their bodies and souls, but I chose not to, at least part of them will live forever, through me.”

“You’re insane!”

“I’ve been called worse, but never by anyone who survived to tell the tale.”

Odin growled. “I’m going to kill you!”

Asrak’Vor laughed aloud. “Not going to happen, old man. You can’t kill me. You can try, and even though I can sense your powerful aura, you’re no match for me.”

“You’re correct about being no match, but I think you’ve got things mixed up. I am the King of Asgard, the most powerful warrior on this planet.”

“I have no doubt that among your people you’re considered as such. However, against a high Spectre like myself, you don’t stand a shadow of a chance. Maybe if you arduously trained for thousands of years. But as it stands, your soul is about to join the hundreds of thousands of souls that animate me and grant me near-limitless powers.”

“We’ll see about that. I haven’t met an enemy I couldn’t defeat,” spat Odin between clenched teeth.

Asrak’Vor smirked. “You have now.”

“Not if I have anything to say about it.”

Odin pushed his aura to its absolute limits and raised a hand to the heavens. “I summon thee, Gungnir!”

A green energy-based lance materialized into Odin’s hand. He swiveled it so fast between his fingers that it unleashed a typhoon shockwave that darted toward the Spectre. Upon slamming into Asrak’Vor, the strong concentrated winds split and died out.

Odin’s eyes widened, and his face turned ashen with fear. “That. . .That’s not possible!”

“Your puny powers are a fun diversion, but I’m afraid I’m going to have to cut our meeting short. I would love to stay and chat, but I have an entire dimension to conquer.”

“I’m not done with you yet!” exclaimed Odin.

“But I am done with you.”

Odin growled and concentrated his aura into his right hand, transferring a massive amount of energy into his weapon and threw Gungnir toward Asrak’Vor. The lance pulsated with crackling green energy, enough of it to take out a large starship.

The lance impaled the Spectre’s abdomen, and exploded. The resulting shockwave knocked Odin himself to the floor while green flames engulfed the Spectre. Odin rolled several meters, his throne room rocking as if hit by a massive earthquake. The walls and ceiling cracked like eggshells, and large stones fell from the ceiling.

Odin struggled to get back to his feet, panting heavily as the billowing clouds of smoke from the explosion dissipated.

“To think I had that room redecorated not that long ago...That will teach you to invade Asgard and insult its king. How puny are my powers now?”

“Pretty pathetic, really,” said Asrak’Vor.

Odin couldn’t believe his ears and what he heard, and his eyes grew wide. “What?”

As the smoke cleared, it revealed a still standing Asrak’Vor where the legendary Asgardian weapon had hit him and incinerated half of the room. The area around the Spectre was fully scorched, with parts of the ground obliterated. The Spectre hovered above the resultant crater. A small hole in his stomach mended itself as a viscous dark matter regenerated the missing tissues.

“Goodbye, old man.”

“Not so fast!” protested Odin. The Asgardian king’s aura exploded back into existence, and new lances came to life in both his hands.

Asrak’Vor smiled, and his eyes sparkled for a split second as a high-pitched sound resounded within the room.

Both of Odin’s hands exploded, and the energy lances vanished. He fell to his knees as he looked toward the ends of his arms—but his trusty hands were no longer there.

“What the hell are you?” he said, his face deformed from the pain.

“The future. Which means your end.”

Asrak’Vor moved so fast it was impossible to see. To Odin, it looked as if he teleported. The Spectre ripped through the Asgardian’s chest, and in one sweeping motion grabbed and extracted Odin’s green translucent soul, which struggled to remain inside his body, but Asrak’Vor’s pull on the Asgardian soul was too strong.

Asrak’Vor’s eyes flashed green for a fleeting moment after devouring Odin’s soul. The king’s hollow body collapsed to the ground, his skin color quickly morphing into ash-like tones.

“You fought well, King of Asgard. Your life’s essence is now mine, for all eternity.”

Asrak’Vor pressed a holo-control on his wrist armor and beamed out of the throne room.

* * *

Athena walked into the hydroponics garden of her ship, the Olympian flagship and supercarrier Prometheus. She stopped in front of a purple-flowered tree. The psychotropic-inducing flowers weren’t fully matured yet, but that didn’t stop her. She used telekinesis to rip one from the tree and bring it in front of her nose.

With a single thought, she ignited the flower and inhaled a deep breath of the highly pleasurable and intoxicating smoke.

“I thought I’d find you here,” a familiar voice said behind her.

She turned around. “Hello, Uncle. What can I do for you?”

Poseidon smiled.

“Just checking on you. You’ve been keeping to yourself lately.”

“Looks like I haven’t been doing such a good job of it. But really, what is there to talk about?”

“A lot, actually. We haven’t talked in weeks.”

Once she took a second whiff of the smoke, there was nothing left of the flower but scattered dust. She released her telekinetic hold, and the ashes fell to the blue-colored grass below. She turned around.

“I understand you feel like you have to keep an eye on me, but I’m a big girl, Poseidon. I don’t need your pity nor do I need anyone’s company.”

“Who said anything about pity?”

“Then why don’t we drop the act and you tell me what’s really on your mind.”

“Look, Athena, you’ve been coming here often and losing yourself in this…activity. I think you need to talk about Menelas.”

A single tear slid down her cheek. “There’s nothing to talk about. Menelas is dead.”

“We don’t know that for sure.”

She wiped away the tear with the back of her hand. “Don’t we now?”

“Chase said he disappeared into a man-sized wormhole.”

“And that’s supposed to make me feel better? You may want to work on your pep talks.”

Poseidon sighed. “I can only imagine how you’re feeling, but we all lost loved ones during the Fury War. In your case, there is still hope.”

Athena also sighed. “Look, Uncle, I appreciate what you’re trying to do here, but it’s unnecessary. Instead, why don’t you tell me why you needed my ship?”

“I didn’t need it, per se. I was hoping we could spend some time together, the resupply run was more an excuse to do just that.”

“Typical. I have half a mind to turn around and go back to New Olympus right this second.”

“And it would be your right. But in this instance, we can’t do that, and you know it. I’ve already agreed to help the Asgardians, and we’re almost there. You know how much I hate breaking my word.”

“Very well, but that doesn’t mean I have to enjoy your presence. And if you really want to know: Yes, Uncle, I’m hurting. But talking about it won’t help.”

“As long as you’re sure that’s all that’s bothering you.”

She shook her head. “What else would there be?”

“You tell me. I don’t think grief is the only emotion eating at you. Hence my worry.”

Fire burst inside Athena’s beautiful blue eyes.

“Very well, I’m angry at him, furious even! It took ten thousand years for Menelas to get back to me, and after all this time, he used my blind love for him to take me out of the equation just before the last battle against the Spectre. So, yeah, I’m mad at him. Wouldn’t you be?”

“He didn’t use your love. All Menelas wanted was to protect the one he loved more than anything in this world. How could you not see that?”

“That was not his choice to make!” screamed Athena. “I—I had chosen to…”

But Athena never finished her sentence.

“Let it all out, just say what’s weighing on your heart.”

This time tears flowed like rivers down the Olympian goddess’ face.

“I had the right to be in this fight with all of you! I needed to be there, if only to protect our sons and…”

“And Menelas.”

She nodded.

“We both know that Chase and Argos didn’t need protection. And don’t take this the wrong way, but I doubt your presence would have tipped the balance. Tanak’Vor was too powerful. It’s a miracle we survived.”

“Still, I wish I had been there.”

“Believe me you don’t.”

Athena made a fist. “Damn you, Menelas!”

“I’m not going to try to defend his actions. Instead, I’ll tell you this: I understand why he did it. In his place, I might have done exactly the same thing. And I think Chase regrets not doing so with Sarah.”

“You can’t be serious? We both belonged in that fight, with the rest of you.”

“Perhaps you did, perhaps you didn’t, we’ll never know. Do I think your presence would have changed the outcome of the battle? I honestly don’t think so. Tanak’Vor was too powerful. As a matter of fact, he killed me and mortally wounded Sarah.”

“And yet you’re standing here telling me I shouldn’t have been there to try to put him down, you see the irony, don’t you?”

“It was pure luck that Chase managed to grab and reintegrate my soul into my fallen body. Your son saved me; he saved all of us.”

“Not all!” she spat.

“I’m sorry, poor choice of words. But he did save everyone he could. I don’t understand why you haven’t tried to keep in contact with either him or Argos.”

“We’ve talked. Chase paid a dear price, and unlike some people, I can tell when someone needs time alone.”

Poseidon shook his head. “Very well, I can take a hint too. I’ll leave you be. If you need anything, you know where to find me.”

Poseidon walked away, and Athena watched him go. She didn’t enjoy being sharp or dismissive, but she was still hurting, and as much as it saddened her, she didn’t know how to process that pain. Talking about it certainly didn’t seem to help her in any way.

I’m sorry, Uncle.

* * *

It only took a couple of seconds for the trio of Furies to catch up with the hydra. The beast was hurtling through space at full speed and would rip the Iron Fire into pieces, killing everyone on board with little to no effort.

Chris attacked the back of the beast, while Chase and Argos split and attacked its sides and opened fire with salvos of fireballs, no longer caring that they could destabilize the very fabric of space and time.

By all accounts, it should have happened already, so either this region of space was different, or the creature’s presence was the reason for the lack of a black hole forming as the Furies unleashed their full powers in space.

They managed to infuriate the creature enough that it reluctantly turned its attention back to them. Then they concentrated their fire while flying around the hydra as fast as they could in order to disorientate it, but that was not an easy feat since the creature had seven heads and could easily keep track of all three of them.

The Fury’s attack seemed to be more efficient against the creature than Earth Alliance weaponry but not strong enough to make a dent or get the massive creature to reconsider its strategy in favor of fleeing. As a matter of fact, Chase could sense that the creature was even more determined to kill everything and everyone in its path than it had been earlier.

I’m running out of air, said Argos.

So am I, confirmed Chris.

We can’t take this much longer, but what choice do we have? Try to conserve your oxygen by holding your breath at the risk of damaging your lungs, we can heal later.

That tactic didn’t seem to work very well for me earlier; in fact, the pain in my lungs made me lose consciousness quicker than I expected. It’s just a theory, but I think in Ultra Fury form we’re burning oxygen faster.

Lights inside the Iron Fire came back to life, and so did the ship’s engines. That seemed to anger the hydra who immediately fired three plasma projectiles at it.

We can’t let those touch the ship, warned Chase.

On it, said Argos.

He fired three small super-charged fireballs that detonated the plasma attacks before they reached the ship. The last one exploded so close to the Iron Fire it scorched a large portion of its paint job as well as causing structural damage to its surface.

Chase sent a telepathic message to Daniel.

Daniel! Can you beam us back? We’re running out of both oxygen and juice here.

Transporters are offline, so is life support. It’s a miracle Yanis and Kvasir jump-started the engines just now. In the meantime, Cedric is working on transporters.

Dammit! Chase swore in his head.

Alright, try to put some distance between the beast and the ship.

Understood, good luck. Hang in there.

They would need more than just luck, but Chase decided not to let his mind sink to a dark place during the fight.

The ship activated its sub-light engines and tried distancing itself from the battle. They clearly weren’t at full power yet and took some time to travel to a relatively safe distance.

Perhaps we’re going at this the wrong way, said Chris.

If you have a better idea, we’re all ears, said Argos.

I do. Keep firing at it, I’ll be right back.

Chris flew straight at the beast.

He’s your son, alright, said Argos.

Not exactly sure it’s a good thing in our predicamen—but Chase stopped short. What the hell does he think he’s doing?

Chris aimed himself at one of the beast’s open mouths and disappeared inside the hydra.

“Chris!!!” shouted Chase.

Argos flew toward the head that had swallowed his nephew.

A second later, a bright-orange aura emerged from the creature’s neck and the neck exploded, spilling dark-purple blood and hydra flesh all around. In the center of the orange glow was Chris as the shockwave he unleashed to free himself from the beast dissipated all around.

He looked ready to pass out as he had expended too much energy. Meanwhile, Argos swooped him up and returned next to Chase.

That was ballsy as hell, but he’s not going to be doing that again any time soon.

The creature didn’t appreciate having one of its heads blown off, and the other heads started unleashing a flurry of smaller plasma attacks at an increased rate.

Fortunately, the Iron Fire was out of range. However, the Furies had to do some fancy flying to avoid getting hit.

I don’t think I have enough energy and oxygen left to try and replicate your son’s maneuver.

Chase felt an intense dread fill his soul as he realized they were at an impasse, and they had no way to get themselves out of there alive.

Neither do I. I expended a lot of energy healing Chris earlier. But if I’m going down, I’m going down fighting.

Chris was very low in energy at this point, but he nonetheless took a fighting stance. All three Furies’ auras shone brightly in the darkness of space like a tri-solar system.

It acted like a beacon, and the creature eventually stopped its incessant firing, and all six heads fixed their gaze upon the light show.

I think it’s pissed, said Argos.

I could have told you that earlier, confirmed Chase. Perhaps if we get another head or two, it would reconsider and leave us alone.

We’ll never manage with our current energy levels, not to mention the advanced carbon dioxide poisoning we’re all suffering from.

Would you rather we let it kill us?

Good point. Alright then, one last tango?

Let’s go, said Chris.

Chase wanted to say something meaningful to them, but they were running out of time. They had to charge the creature in the hopes it would be enough to defeat it or at least force it to flee. He just hoped he would be given a chance to say how he felt later.

16

When a guard appeared at the cross section of the next corridor, Nyx slid on the cold floor. She reacted instinctively and telekinetically reached to crush the windpipe of the arachnoid crewman, making sure it couldn’t call for help.

When he tried to reach for his wrist control, she sprinted forward.

Oh no, you don’t!

She fired a small-powered fireball to swat his hand away from the controls and used her telekinetic abilities once more, this time grabbing the entire arachnoid and drawing him toward her while at the same time she threw a punch with all her might.

Her fist, followed by most of her arm, pierced his torso. His mouth opened wide, but he was unable to vocally express his dying pain. Nyx removed her arm from the guard’s chest with both disdain and brutality, and the crewman fell to his knees and then collapsed. Thick black blood coated the Fury’s right arm.

Ares materialized in his golden energy form beside Nyx.

“That was gross,” said Ares.

Nyx engulfed her arm in purple energy, lifting the blood away from her skin before disintegrating it.

“I don’t remember asking for your input.”

“Any chance you could drop the big bad girl act for a moment? I get it, you’re a kick-ass Fury warrior. And perhaps that’s how you deal with danger, and I have no doubt that it keeps you alive; but just for a little while, until we get out of here, could we please at least try and pretend to act like partners?

Nyx growled. “You’re a nuisance, but you know that already, Ares. Would you have preferred he called for reinforcements?”

“Of course not!” Ares shook his head. “Now what?”

“Well, you tell me, partner. I think we’ve established that for the time being this is your show.”

“Can you read the arachnoid language?”

“I wouldn’t go so far as to say that I’m fluent, but I know some basics.”

“Then we need to find a data terminal. Any idea where one would be?”

Nyx nodded. “Follow me, your highness.”

“Cut it out!”

“You’re impossible to please, Ares. Has anyone ever told you that?”

Ares sighed. “This is going to be one long day.”

* * *

Thor jumped out of bed when the ground shook, and a deafening sound resounded in the area. An explosion lit the throne room, which Thor saw through his bedroom window.

“What the hell?” he said. A sense of dread rose inside his soul. He commanded his armor, which attached itself to him piece by piece in the blink of an eye, and he ran out of his quarters. Expecting trouble, he conjured Mjölnir. The legendary hammer materialized as a green holographic shape before it solidified into his hand.

It took him a couple of minutes to reach the center of the royal castle. There were sixty flights of stairs to climb, but instead, Thor swiveled Mjölnir and used its momentum to fly upward. He landed on the green-tinted marble floor.

The throne room doors were wide open, and a lifeless body was in the middle of the room.

Father? No!

Thor ran, then slid on his knees and stopped in front of Odin’s slain body. His skin was gray, and Thor immediately knew that his father was dead. His forearms were missing hands, and there was blood spilled all around. Thor went to check for a pulse. But where he reached for a glimmer of hope, he found none.

Tears filled his eyes as darkness swallowed Thor’s soul.

Light, rapid footfalls echoed behind Thor, he knew to whom they belonged.

* * *

Loki fell to his knees next to Thor.

“What the hell happened?” he shouted.

Did the Spectre do this?

“I—I don’t know. The explosion woke me. I rushed here, but Father was already gone.”

Why did they do this? They promised to leave Asgard alone. What…what have I done?

Loki never expected this to be the outcome of the deal he made with the Spectres. He wondered why Odin had been in the throne room in the first place so late at night. Could it be?

And then it struck him. Loki had used the controls on his father’s throne chair. He hadn’t given it a second thought, but perhaps there were safeguards in place to inform Odin when someone else tampered with his chair.

How could I have been so careless? This…this is all my fault.

Thor took his brother in his arms and squeezed him hard. Loki could barely swallow as he let his tears express his sorrow, and the guilt threatened to swallow his heart and soul.

* * *

The pain inside Chase’s body was intense and the damage to his lungs extensive. It didn’t matter how much he tried to heal them, they felt like they had been plunged into a sea of molten lava, and soon the lack of oxygen in Chase’s brain would make him lose consciousness. Then he’d die; him and the rest of his family.

When he decided to set out for the unknown regions, he never thought they would be populated with creatures so massive and powerful. All of a sudden, being an Ultra Fury wasn’t all that it was cracked up to be.

Stay focused! complained Chris.

Chris was right, if they were going down, they at least should stay focused on trying to make their last attack count, if only so the Iron Fire would survive. Chase didn’t have to tell his family how he felt, and they didn’t need to tell him in return. In their last desperate charge against the monstrous hydra, they were all very attuned to each other’s feelings.

I’m sorry, Sarah, thought Chase as they approached the head all three of them had targeted.

But then everything changed, and something large struck and catapulted them off course. It took them a couple of seconds to recover from the jolt, and when Chase visually reacquired the hydra, his brain had trouble interpreting what his eyes were seeing.

A dragon with blue crystal formations around its arms, neck, and legs, about half the size of the hydra, was engaged in battle with it. The dragon incinerated one of the hydra’s heads, burning it to a crisp.

The hydra retaliated with multiple salvos of plasma, but the dragon deflected them with its wings and inflicted more damage to another head by slashing through it with its razor-sharp claws. The hydra’s blood flew away from the wound before flash freezing.

At this point, the monster finally decided to turn tail and flee the scene just as a blue light engulfed Chase, Argos, and Chris.

A second later they were on the bridge of the Iron Fire, on all fours, gasping for much-needed air. Chase’s lungs burned so badly he nearly passed out from the pain. But he needed to see if what had happened outside was a figment of his imagination due to oxygen deprivation or if a space dragon had saved their asses.

Chase’s energy pool was dangerously low, but now that he didn’t have to maintain a force field, fight pain, or fly in space, he managed to heal his burning lungs enough to get back to his feet, albeit with difficulty. So did Argos, who helped Chris up and gave him some of his energy in the process.

“Boy, it sure looks like we were right on time fixing the transporters. You guys look like you are at the end of your ropes,” said Daniel. “Are you going to be okay?”

Chase flashed his best friend a trembling thumbs-up as he walked toward the viewport. He hadn’t been dreaming, the dragon was still firing what looked like warning shots toward an already fleeing hydra, making sure it kept going. Eventually, the beast entered hyperspace.

What else awaits us in this part of space? I wonder.

* * *

The space dragon adjusted course and flew toward the Iron Fire.

Daniel was still sitting in the captain’s chair. Ever since they had returned, Chase stood by the Iron Fire’s main viewport, his attention focused on the approaching dragon.

“Should we prepare for combat?” Daniel asked.

“Not just yet,” said Chase. “Let’s not forget it saved our hides. I don’t think it wants to do us any harm, and I’m not sensing any aggression toward us.”

Argos joined Chase by the viewport.

“Are you alright?” asked Argos.

“I’ll live, just a little shaken that we almost got killed on our first day out.”

“We’re either getting too old for this shit or perhaps we’re a giant magnet that attracts trouble.”

Chase had already reached the same conclusion about trouble following him wherever he went, and ever since after that first day Aphroditis had contacted him.

“Don’t be ridiculous, at least about being old,” said Chase with a smile.

I know we said we’d have that talk later, but you’re over two hundred years old already, said Argos telepathically.

Chase barely looked to be in his late twenties, Earth-wise years. The Olympian blood running in his veins most likely granted him immortality or at the very least a long lifespan, but he would never have guessed it had already been over two centuries. Perhaps he needed to have that talk with his brother to learn about his past. Which as far as he was concerned was made of only about a dozen years worth of memories.

You can’t be serious?

Well, technically, if we don’t count the time we both spent in stasis that is. Otherwise, we’re both over ten thousand years old.

They heard Chris laugh in their heads. You both are definitely too old for this shit, then.

That was an information Chase wasn’t ready to deal with, but deep down he knew that had to be the case. After all, Menelas had fathered them during the first Fury War, so it couldn’t have been any other way.

Chase decided to not let his mind go down this particular rabbit hole for the time being and focus on the fact that they were alive and still needed to find a cure for Sarah. He just hoped the next encounters wouldn’t all turn out to be such close calls.

“I hate putting you all in such danger, though.”

“You have done no such thing. We came of our own free will, Chase. And look on the bright side, we’re still alive. Though I predict in a short time, our future will involve time in the regen tanks to recover from this battle.”

“I sure could use it,” admitted Chris.

“As soon as we’ve seen what this dragon is and wants, we’ll all go into tanks. But I just want you both to know that I’m glad you guys are here.”

Argos nodded, but Chris stayed silent, his arms crossed against his chest, mimicking his uncle’s favorite posture.

While they all longed for a regen tank, they needed to see what the dragon would do and if it could establish contact.

The dragon flew right in front of the nose of the ship and peered in at them.

Thank you, said Chase telepathically, hoping the creature would understand him.

Telepathic communication transcended languages, and Chase had long suspected that whenever he did engage with a race that spoke another language, his brain would translate on the fly, like a universal translator.

You’re welcome.

We owe you our lives. Is there anything we can do to thank you for your help?

As a matter of fact…Would you mind if I came aboard?

Chase looked right and left as if to size up the dimensions of the bridge, which wasn’t even a fraction of the creature’s wingspan.

I’m afraid I don’t think we have a room big enough for you to get in. You’re nearly as large as our ship.

This is not my only form.

Before Chase could ask what the creature meant by that, the dragon began shrinking, and as it did, it morphed into a more humanoid shape with wings.

“What the hell is going on?” asked Daniel.

“Get ready to receive this…being,” said Chase when he couldn’t put a label on what it was he was looking at. “He’ll be our guest, at least until we hear what he has to say.”

“He?” asked Chris.

“His voice sure sounds male.”

From the looks on both Argos’ and Chris’ faces, Chase surmised that he had been the only one who heard the dragon’s telepathic conversation.

“Sorry,” Chase added. “He asked me if he could come aboard, and from his voice, I think he’s a male. That is if their species have gender.”

The dragon shrank all the way to humanoid size, a large figure still, slightly bigger than a Droxian, Chase estimated. His wings shrunk as well and folded behind him. The scaly skin slightly changed color: from the pitch black of the dragon to a dark shade of gray. The crystals he had in full dragon form had morphed inside his body and were no longer visible. He had deep-blue shining eyes.

“Should we beam him inside?” asked Daniel.

“I’m not sure, I’ll ask him.”

But before Chase could ask the question, the dragon had disappeared from space.

“That won’t be necessary,” said the dragon from the other side of the bridge.

Everyone turned, shocked and surprised.

The dragon walked down the small ramp to the center of the room. He stopped near Daniel and bowed.

“Thank you for allowing me on board, Captain.”

Daniel blinked a few times, still trying to understand what happened and not sure what to say.

“I—I’m not the captain of this ship. And…you’re welcome, I guess.”

“Who’s the commanding officer, then?”

Daniel, his fingers slightly shaking, pointed toward Chase. “He is.”

“Thank you, sir.”

Chase could tell Daniel was as dumbfounded as they all were with the dragon’s manners. There was something about such an imposing being displaying such humanlike courtesy that was surprising and felt out of place.

When Chase walked toward the dragon and reached out, he noticed the dragon was squinting intensely, and his eyes were watery.

“Is there something wrong with your eyes?”

“My kind is sensitive to strong light, especially the synthetic kind. It’s quite uncomfortable at the moment. I can barely see you.”

“I’m sorry. Let me take care of that for you.”

Chase mentally reached the computer and lowered the artificial lights to a candlelight-like dimness.

“Is that any better?” he said as he extended a hand of friendship.

The dragon blinked multiple times while his pupils adjusted to the light. Then his expression changed radically, and before Chase knew it, the dragon took a knee and lowered his head.

“Forgive me, Master Dragonheart.”

“Dragonheart?” echoed Argos.

“Master?” Chris said, dumbfounded.

* * *

Rain was a rare occurrence on Asgard, especially during this time of the year. But it had been heavily raining ever since Odin had been killed. As if the planet itself was mourning the loss of her king.

She was not the only one. The entire Asgardian population was shocked over the announcement about Odin, who had lived and reigned for so many millennia.

The streets of Asgard City were filled with mourning people attending their king’s funeral. Atop the center spire in the middle of the city shone a capsule containing Odin’s remains. Bells resounded throughout the planet as it rose slowly upward.

The capsule was glowing gold as translucent rings of yellow light pulsed skyward.

Thor, like everybody else, was drenched as he watched his father rise to his place of eternal rest.

“I can’t believe he’s gone,” sobbed Loki by his side.

“Not now, Loki, it’s disrespectful to talk during the ceremony, you know that.”

As the capsule reached the halfway point between the surface and the top of the planet’s atmosphere, thirty royal guards brandished their lances to the heavens and fired green plasma bolts.

After a few minutes, the capsule reached its destination over the planet. It ignited and dispersed the king’s ashes into space.

As the light died off, the Asgardian royal guards shot one last farewell salvo of green fire toward the heavens.

A massive holo-projection of Odin’s bust took shape in the sky. It would stay there for an entire month as the people of Asgard mourned, at which point, another ceremony would take place, the one where Thor would officially be crowned the new King of Asgard.

* * *

Onboard the Prometheus, and throughout the ship, lights flickered madly before the engines turned off and the emergency lighting kicked in. The soft blue illumination gave the ship’s corridors a peaceful glow.

Athena’s old ship, also called Prometheus had been badly damaged during the Fury War. Thanks to the Alliance sharing the new tech it had developed from the merging of various races systems, the new iteration of this ship had received the latest and most innovative technologies. It didn’t bode well that there would be a power failure so early in its deployment and barely a couple of weeks after its maiden voyage.

Athena was in her quarters when she felt the engines die.

“Athena to the bridge. Status report?”

But there was no answer. Perhaps the power fluctuations having caused the engines to shut down had affected other systems. She tried hailing engineering next with similar results.

“I miss my old ship,” she said with a long sigh.

She reached out with her mind. Poseidon, any idea what’s going on?

I’m not sure. Almost every system suddenly turned itself off. I’m heading to engineering. I’ll report back to you when I know more.

Athena’s quarters were on the same deck, and something told her to also head to engineering.

I’ll meet you there.

Understood.

It took less than a minute for Athena to reach engineering, and immediately upon arrival, she knew something was wrong as she heard crewmen screaming in agony from the other side of the sliding doors.

She rushed inside and saw the creature standing in the center of the room, holding one of her engineers by the neck.

“Let him go at once!” she commanded.

The Spectre turned around and established eye contact with Athena. “As you wish,” said the Spectre, the corner of his mouth curling into a wicked smile as he crushed the windpipe of his prey. He then opened his hand and let the dead Olympian crumple to the floor, joining several other dead engineers scattered around him.

Athena didn’t personally know the man the creature had killed, but rage filled her soul, nonetheless. Her kind had been nearly wiped out by Arakan and the Furies, and only a few thousand Olympians survived. Every death brought the entire race a little closer to extinction.

Athena aimed an open palm at the Spectre as her blue aura engulfed her, shining brightly and sending her beautiful blonde hair whirling up into the air. In a swift move, she created a bright-blue fireball and fired at the Spectre.

He faced her without trying to dodge her attack, and the fireball impacted with his torso. The fireball fizzled against the creature’s thick black skin.

“That tickles. I’d appreciate it if you didn’t do that again.”

Athena’s heartbeat accelerated. “What the hell are you, and what are you doing on my ship?”

17

Loki almost didn’t pick up the incoming subspace call. He knew who was on the other side of the call, and he had no desire to talk to the monster that had killed his father.

“What the fuck do you want? I gave you everything you asked for, and as a thank you you’ve killed my father!”

“I suggest you change your tone, Loki. You’re obviously grieving, so I’ll let this one pass. But don’t make the mistake to think I’ll tolerate being spoken to in this fashion in the future,” said Asrak’Vor.

Loki’s anger boiled to the surface of his psyche, and it took considerable self-control to lower his outrage and not lash out further.

Loki took a deep breath. “Why are you calling me?”

“Better…I did not intend to kill your father, but he erupted into the throne room like a volcano and left me no other choice. I gave him plenty of opportunities to stay alive, but he refused them all.”

That didn’t surprise Loki. Odin had always been a proud Asgardian, fearing no one, even foes more powerful than him. In this case, that pride had cost him his life.

“And I wish I could rip your head off, but in the spirit of future cooperation, I will take your words as a half-hearted apology.”

Asrak’Vor smiled. “Not exactly the sentiment I was going for, but because your father’s soul has strengthened my abilities quite a bit, I’m willing to meet you halfway. So if it makes you feel better about it, so be it.”

To say that this was the last thing Loki wanted to hear was an understatement of massive proportions. He’d never wished his father to be killed. To protect their world, Loki had accepted the Spectre’s deal, which also included protecting his father. But Loki knew very well that it was his inattention that brought the King of Asgard to the throne room in the middle of the night. It was an equal split for Loki between hating the Spectre and hating himself.

Even though it would be easier to hate someone else and deflect the blame and focus his anger onto Asrak’Vor, Loki knew better. His carelessness was at the root of the tragedy, and he would have to live with it for the rest of his life.

“I’m not sure what you are expecting me to say or do.”

“I’m not expecting you to do anything. I just called to say that I’m pleased with our transaction and hope we can cooperate again in the future if need be.”

In your dreams. If you ever set foot on Asgard, I’ll fucking kill you myself.

However, Loki once more bit his tongue and nodded instead.

“Oh,” Asrak’Vor continued, “and thank you for the Asgardian ship you provided us; your men are good at following orders. I feared they wouldn’t respond well to my authority, but I’m glad to see they’re as loyal as you said they would be.”

“You’re welcome. Now, if you don’t mind, I have plenty of things to do.”

Loki didn’t wait for the Spectre to answer and ended the holo-transmission. He then shot a fireball at the holo-terminal, projecting sparks and molten metal all around him.

Loki’s eyes watered and turned red from the inner rage rousing his soul.

* * *

The Dragonman’s words echoed inside Chase’s head—Master Dragonheart. The Atlantian ship, Dragos, had also called him Dragonheart. Was it a coincidence or was there a link?

“Please rise, there is no need for that,” Chase said.

The Dragonman rose but kept his eyes downcast.

“Why did you take a knee?”

“You’re him. You are Dragonheart. My people have been waiting for your return. I never expected to find you on this ship, though I now understand why I felt compelled to drive the hydra away. Destiny wanted me to find you today.”

“I don’t know who you think I am, but I think you’re mistaken. I’m a Fury Olympian hybrid, and my name is Chase.”

The Dragonman shook his head. “No mistake, you are who I believe you to be. Finding you is a godsend, and as the prophecy foretold, you arrived in a great time of need, as we certainly could use your help.”

“Who’s we?” asked Argos coldly.

“Forgive me, I should have introduced myself. I am Ka’Rij. One of the last remaining Dragonmen of Kyria.”

The name Kyria struck a chord with Chase. He recognized the name from the Kyrian snake venom he once used, the same substance Argos had been highly addicted to.

“Why do you think we can help?” asked Chase.

“The planet where we sought refuge after Kyria was destroyed is under attack. The prophecy states that Dragonheart would return in our hour of need and help us defeat the enemy.”

“That’s all well and good,” said Chris, “but it seems to me you’re way more powerful than we are, so how can we help you?”

Ka’Rij looked at the boy. “The defiant one. It’s an honor to meet you as well.”

“I don’t know what you think you know about me, but my name is Chris.”

“I did not mean any disrespect, young master Chris.”

“Stop that, we don’t call each other master around here.”

“Very well. To answer your question, we Dragonmen can only transform into full-blown dragons in space. There’s something in our world’s atmosphere that prevents us from taking this form, which is when we’re most powerful. We still have powers in our humanoid form, but without the right conditions, they’re limited.”

“I don’t suppose you can take the fight into space then?” asked Argos.

Ka’Rij shook his head. “The enemy figured out our weakness, and ever since, we’ve been losing the war. One on one we’re stronger than they are, but they do have strength in vastly higher numbers. Many of my fellow soldiers have perished already. It’s only a matter of time before the last of my people are killed. I can’t let that happen.”

“I see,” said Chase. “Do you know why the hydra attacked us?”

“That surprised me as well. Hydras aren’t inherently aggressive.”

“That makes us feel so special,” said Argos without even trying to hide his sarcasm. “This one certainly seemed intent on killing us, and by any means necessary.”

“Yes, I sensed that,” answered Ka’Rij. “It acted as if killing you was a matter of life and death. It’s the first time I’ve seen a hydra so determined to kill. As I said, it’s usually not in their nature.”

Chase wondered why that was. He had tried to calm the creature by connecting to its mind, but it was enraged beyond anything he had ever sensed and reminded him of the few times he had lost control of his emotions. Like when he fought his brother on Damocles-3 or the state of pure rage he entered before killing Tanak’Vor.

“Well, hopefully, we’ve not made an enemy of their kind,” said Chase absently.

“There are very few hydras left. Perhaps that was the reason for this one’s aggression. It may have been protecting its nest,” said Ka’Rij.

Could we have jumped right in the middle of the creature’s nest?

That would certainly explain its reaction to their presence. Trying to defend unborn children would warrant such aggressiveness.

Ka’Rij interrupted Chase’s train of thought.

“So, will you help us?”

“We were actually on a mission of our own,” said Chase.

When sadness filled the Dragonman’s eyes, Chase knew he couldn’t dismiss this request from the being who just saved all their lives.

“However,” said Chase, “maybe we can help one another.”

“How so?”

“Do you know of any powerful healing methods that could bring the near-dead back to life? Without going into too much detail, my wife was mortally wounded and is now in stasis. While Furies can heal others, we seem powerless against what ails her. That’s why we’re here, searching for a potential cure.”

Ka’Rij smiled. “Then we were really destined to meet. Tears of the Dragonmen have incredible healing capabilities. I’ll gladly try to heal your wife myself if you’re willing to help me and my people.”

This moment reminded Chase of his first mission with Sarah. They had aided Ryonna, someone they didn’t know they could trust, but a deep bond and friendship were established, and together they fought many battles.

“Then we have a deal. We’ll do everything we can to help you, but you’ll need to guide us in this part of space, I’m afraid we don’t even have a starmap of the area.”

“Not a problem, my world isn’t very far from here.”

* * *

Nyx stopped in front of a large door and froze.

“What is it?” asked a bodiless Ares. It made little sense for him to keep his energy form where he was sticking out like a sore thumb.

“Shut up, Ares. I’m trying to concentrate…I’m pretty sure there’s a terminal behind there, but I’m sensing at least two arachnoids. I can dispatch them quickly as I’m not sensing any warrior-class energy emanating from them.”

“I believe you can, but our last encounter nearly resulted in catastrophe, so perhaps we should consider stealth. I question whether you can dispatch them both without one of them managing calling for reinforcements first.”

“Watch me,” she smirked as she prepared to walk through the door.

“No, wait!”

She stopped short. “What?”

“I think I have an idea. . .”

“Mind cueing me in?”

“I was getting to it…if you would let me finish. We need to divide and conquer. Be ready to kill whoever steps through this door.”

“You’re not seriously asking me to trust that you can invade these arachnoids’ bodies any better or faster than you did earlier?”

“The guard was a warrior, his mind was strong. I’m pretty sure I’ll do better this time.”

“I don’t like it.”

“Would you prefer we broadcast our position if you’re not fast enough in your brute-force attempt?”

“You better not mess this up, Ares.”

“I won’t…I hope.” He said this last part under his breath.

* * *

Ares entered the room in his invisible form, roaming around and getting a lay of the land. Nyx was correct in her assessment sensing two crewmen inside the room. It must have been a lab of some sort as there were three pods lined up against the right side of the wall.

A thick layer of ice had turned the glass opaque so that Ares couldn’t tell if they were occupied or not. They bore a resemblance with the Earth Alliance stasis pods, and he wondered if they also shared a similar function. They’d have plenty of time to worry about that later. Right now he needed to make sure they could access the terminals to garner as much intel on the arachnoids as they could.

The scientists worked in separate parts of the lab, which could play in Ares’ favor, but he needed to act before that changed. He chose the nearest arachnoid and approached him.

I’m only gonna have one shot at this, better make it work.

Ares invaded the scientist and felt the arachnoid’s mind try to fight him for control. As Ares had guessed, this mind was weaker than the guard’s. Still, it took a good ten seconds for him to gain control over the motor functions of the alien.

Ares hated the sensory feedback he received from these half-man half-insectoid creatures. There was darkness in their minds, which felt like a black hole that could suck his sanity at the first sign of weakness on his part.

He tried taking a couple of steps to confirm that he could use this body. They weren’t the most agile steps, but they would have to do. He turned and walked toward the door.

I’m getting out in a few seconds, be ready to incapacitate this arachnoid, said Ares telepathically to Nyx.

Ready, she answered.

As he walked to the door, the other scientist uttered something in their distinctive language. His words were incomprehensible, but Ares could feel that their meaning posed a problem. He dismissed him with a wave of his hand but never turned, hoping that this distraction would buy him a few seconds.

He heard sharper-toned words from the other scientist and then footsteps.

No turning back now. Nyx, wait for the door to close before making your move.

She didn’t answer, but he couldn’t wait for confirmation, and he walked out.

The moment the doors began closing, he sent another telepathic message.

I’ll invade the second one; get inside when you’ve dealt with this one.

Ares didn’t stay to see how Nyx would deal with the body he just presented her. He teleported back to where he estimated the other scientist would be and arrived a couple of meters behind it. Ares propelled his consciousness inside this second being.

His mind resisted much more than the first one, and Ares struggled to invade it fast enough before the scientist reacted.

Crap. Nyx, hurry!

Ares felt the newly invaded body trying to reach a red button on a nearby console. He fought with all his might to try to gain control over the arm, which trembled as a result but kept advancing little by little.

Shit!

A centimeter before its elongated furry fingers touched the holo-control, Ares registered intense pain and saw the hand severed from the arm and plopped onto the floor. He felt the vocal cords of the body constrict on their own before feeling intense heat. Then there was nothing.

Ares was no longer connected to the body, and he witnessed a headless figure fall in front of him, smoke rising from the neck and a pungent smell of burnt flesh invaded the room.

There stood Nyx, a palm still extended. Hanging from her other hand was what was left of the first scientist. She let this one fall to the floor as well.

“Good job, Ares.”

He wanted to say that if she hadn’t intervened at that moment, she probably wouldn’t be congratulating him, but he knew better than to feed the fire of Nyx’s explosive soul with gasoline if it wasn’t needed.

“Thanks. Do you mind my asking how you knew about this place?”

“It’s one of the labs where they experimented on me, and it’s not something I’d like to reminisce about any further, so if you don’t mind, let’s get to…”

“What is it?” asked Ares when she let the words hang.

“Kind of a moot point now, but wouldn’t it have been simpler for you to wait outside with the first scientist while I killed this one?”

“Now that you mention it…”

* * *

“Status?” asked Talon.

“Well, we’re still breathing, but you probably didn’t need me to tell you that.”

Talon smiled. “Anything on our sensors?”

“Not yet. But, then again, we’re still inside the cluster.”

“ETA to exit?”

“Just about now. Let’s hope your theory was correct, or this will be a very short trip.”

“Don’t jinx it, will ya?”

“Sorry, Captain. Exiting the nebula cluster in 10. . .9. . .8…—Uh-oh.”

“Mind elaborating, my insectoid friend?”

“Up until a minute ago, I still had a faint signal of the shuttle. I can’t detect it anymore.”

“Which means…”

“Well, either our sensors can’t penetrate the cluster at this distance or⁠—”

“Or the crew got what they deserved.”

Tar’Lock clicked twice. “A bit harsh don’t you think?”

“Considering that we don’t have anything resembling an escape pod anymore, I’m not so sure. I never liked the lot of them, anyway.”

Tar’Lock still thought it was a little cold, but he could see why the captain had reached this conclusion. The rest of the crew had indeed made their decision, but there was no reason to focus on that at the moment.

“If they were destroyed, shouldn’t we cut off all engines and let our momentum carry us out? I’m afraid that even with our engines at thirty percent, the spider ship might still be able to detect us. Especially when we factor in the amount of damage we’ve already taken.”

The ship emerged from the nebula cluster, and the viewport of the Bellerophon turned black, and within seconds, the stars appeared.

“Captain?”

“Very well, kill the engines. Let’s hope it’s not too late.”

The faint hum of the ship’s engines died out, and the lights on the bridge faded to nothingness as the Bellerophon silently drifted into the deep black unknown.

18

Nyx interfaced with the arachnoid ship’s operating system. She could tell Ares had no idea what she was doing or what any of it meant. Not that she was one hundred percent certain herself.

“Anything yet?” inquired an anxious Ares.

“What part of ‘I’m not fluent with their language’ didn’t you get?”

“I don’t think we should stay here too long, we risk being discovered.”

“Luckily for us, Zarna isn’t in a hurry to visit me in the brig. What I don’t understand is why they didn’t notice my absence from the cell already. That spider bitch is obsessed with me. I have a hard time imagining not having me surveilled all the time. I would think by now the entire ship would be roaming with guards trying to catch me.”

“As far as they know, you’re still in there.”

Nyx’s eyebrows raised. “Mind explaining that one to me?”

“I’m projecting a holographic version of you sleeping in your bed.”

“What? How?”

“I’m not even sure I can explain the how, but let’s just say that there’s a lot more I can do without a body just by thinking about it.”

“That doesn’t make any sense, but whatever. I’ll chuck that one into the good news category. Though I can’t imagine not having a body. I think I’d miss simple pleasures like touching, eating, kissing, and well…you know.”

“Yeah, I know, I’d appreciate if you didn’t remind me what I’ve lost. For now, let’s be grateful I can do these things, though it is taking a toll on my energy levels. Probably explains why I had such a hard time invading the second crewman.”

Nyx turned to face his golden form. “What happens if your energy levels deplete?”

“Off the top of my head? Alarms blaring, all hell breaking loose, and more unpleasant things I would imagine.”

“That’s not what I meant, Ares.”

“I don’t really know, and I’d rather not find out.”

“Fair enough.”

Nyx nodded and returned her attention to the holo-interface when something caught her attention.

“What’s this?” she added.

“Did you find something?”

“No, Ares, I just felt like saying that out loud.”

“Very funny. What is it?”

“If I’m reading this right, and I very well could be mistaken…”

“Last I checked, I’m still not able to read spider—ish…

She gave him a look. “Spiderish?”

“You know what I mean. So, if you wouldn’t mind spelling it out for me, so I’m kept in the loop. . . ”

“Hang on, Olympian, let me make sure I understand this first. Okay…it seems to be schematics for an inter-dimensional something. I’m not sure about this symbol,” said Nyx pointing at the interface. “Could be engine.”

“And that’s a good thing why?”

“For one, it could be our ticket home.”

“Yeah, but we’d be bringing gods know how many Spectres with us. I’d rather we didn’t do that.”

“I haven’t seen a single Spectre since I got captured, and I’ve spent quite some time on board.”

“Well, you may not, but I have. There’s one on the bridge, so there could potentially be more. . .as this is kind of a massive ship.”

“Wait a second. There’s a Spectre on board?”

“Yes, at least one that I know of. Why?”

“Spectres are not the kind of creatures we want to pick a fight with.”

“I’m aware of that. As a matter of fact, let’s try and make sure we don’t even make contact. What else can you tell me about the engine?”

Nyx frowned. “It’s not only schematics. Unless I’m mistaken, it’s this ships’ secondary engine, but it’s never been used, and if I’m reading this right, the crew is set to test it in a few hours.”

“Why a few hours? Why haven’t they tested it already?”

“I don’t think you’re going to like the answer to that question.”

“Tell me anyway.”

“They’re waiting for a fleet of ships to meet them first.”

“So what you’re telling me is that it’s not a test but an invasion?”

“Looks that way.”

“We have to stop it.”

Nyx stared at Ares. “Do we now?”

“The thought of bringing one Spectre to the other side was troublesome enough. Even though I’m pretty sure there are already a few that made it in the other dimension, the last thing we need is to let them establish a foothold. We just can’t.”

“For the sake of argument, let’s assume I give a shit about the state of our dimension, you know, now that my people are gone and all that. I don’t see what you and I can do about it.”

“I’m sure I can formulate a plan; you’ll just have to tell me more about the technology.”

“It was hard enough locating it inside the computer, but Ares, I’m not an engineer,” protested Nyx. “Even if I can identify the meaning of symbols, I won’t be able to understand how the technology works.”

“Then perhaps you need to share what you know with me some other way.”

“Why do I get the feeling I won’t like what that entails?”

* * *

Chase cradled his head in his hands. He was sitting alone at a table in the Iron Fire’s mess hall. Since it was late, there were only a few crewmen around.

Argos approached him and looked at the empty plate in front of his twin brother.

“What did you get? Pizza?”

“Actually, I felt like having Asian tonight, so I went with Pad Thai. A little spicy for my taste, but delicious, nonetheless.”

Argos sat across from Chase. “How are you doing?”

“Taking into account that we almost all died a few hours ago, I guess I’m okay. You?”

“Same here, but we both know that’s not what I meant.”

Chase smiled. “What did you mean then?”

“I see…You want me to spell it out,” Argos paused and nodded before continuing. “How do you feel about Chris? He hasn’t been displaying much affection toward you, and I’m sure you sensed the tension.”

“Oh…that. I’m not sure how I feel. Obviously, I’m sad at our current rapport, but I’m not an idiot either. Whatever bridge I burned between us, I’m not fooling myself into thinking there will be an easy fix. Like, for example, going out on a death-defying mission and hope it will magically rekindle a father-son love with the snap of my fingers. Even though Chris’ body and mind matured at an accelerated rate, he’s way more mature than I gave him credit for. He’s his own person with his own demons to deal with. I’m gonna let him decide what’s best for him.”

“That’s the last thing I expected you to say, but I’m glad you’re looking at it from this perspective. I think it’s very healthy.”

“Don’t get me wrong, I tried controlling everything, including the safety of my family during the Fury War. I did everything I could to protect them both. To such an extent that I made unilateral decisions I ended up regretting. The universe doesn’t give you points for succumbing to fear, and I learned that lesson the hard way, and by association, so has my son. I’m fully aware my actions brought Sarah to the brink of death.”

Argos’ face darkened. “Since we’re on that subject, I don’t think the universe rewards blame either.”

Chase chuckled. “I bet it doesn’t.”

“At the end of the day, you two will either mend your fences or you won’t. Just give yourselves the time you need to work things out. And we may have found exactly what we were looking for—a potential cure.”

“I can’t lose her, Argos.”

“And as long as I have life in me, I’ll do everything to make sure you don’t. So will Chris. But you need to believe it too.”

“Thank you, Brother.”

“Anytime, Chase. Now, I don’t know if this is the right time, but there’s something else I wanted to discuss with you.”

Chase nodded. “Sure, what do you want to talk about?”

“Aren’t you the least bit surprised that Ka’Rij called you Dragonheart? I mean, isn’t that the nickname your Atlantian soul ship chose for you?”

“It is. I don’t know what to think of it. But the fact that Ka’Rij is mentioning some sort of prophecy is what got my attention.”

Argos smiled. “Yeah, I could see why. Last time someone came at you with the concept of prophecy, we engaged in an intergalactic war.”

“One in which I almost killed you.”

“I wish I could say I hold a grudge, but let’s be honest about it. Back then I deserved it. Obviously, I’m glad you didn’t, which is a testament to what a good heart you have. When you’re not wallowing in self-pity that is.”

Chase laughed. “Touché!”

“Yes,” Chase continued. “If Daniel hadn’t stopped me, I would have killed you aboard Damocles-3. I was ready to, I’m sorry to say. This conversation is taking a rather macabre turn, perhaps we should change the subject.”

“Not on my account, no. I’ve had plenty of time to go over my evil ways and learn from them. In fact, I wonder if a part of me didn’t actually want to die. I felt alone, and even with all the power I acquired by managing the Zarlacks and enslaving the Obsidian Empire, I still felt like something was missing in my life. I wasn’t able to pinpoint what it was, and not in a million years did I think I would let go of my thirst for power, but, by putting my life in your hands, everything changed for the better. So thank you for that, and I’m glad you listened to Daniel. What other pearls of wisdom did he impart on you?”

“He’s the one who convinced me to bring everyone along.”

“Looks like you’re learning from your past. How does that play into the Dragonman’s plight?”

“We’ll help him. Not only because he saved our butts, but because I can’t feel any ill will emanating from him. He just wants to save his people. For a change, it’s good being the ones being asked for help rather than the ones needing it. Don’t you think?”

“Yes. I just hope we’re not heading into another war. We know virtually nothing of the enemy we’ll be facing. Ka’Rij made the biggest, most powerful creature we’ve ever seen crawl in fear and turn tail. Doesn’t that worry you about what is expected of us?”

“I thought you were trying to help me not go back to my control-freak ways and over-worrying patterns?”

Argos chuckled. “Right. My bad. It’s gonna be a piece of cake.”

“It feels like destiny all over again, Argos. I fought the concept every step of the way during the Fury War, thinking that destiny was a burden, and I think, for this reason over others, that’s why the outcome wasn’t the one I expected. Since we’ve moved to the philosophical portion of this chat, I think perhaps it’s time for me to accept that there is a destiny for each and every one of us.”

Chase could tell from the look of shock on his brother’s face that he didn’t expect to hear this from him.

“You definitely did a lot of thinking.”

“A year’s worth as a matter of fact. And I concluded that there’s no reason to fight destiny. Don’t get me wrong; I’m not saying one must surrender to it. I think we create our own fates with our actions, but parts of our lives still feel like a destiny is attached to it, for better or for worse. Take our trip here, for example, I chose a random place for our first jump, simply by trusting my instincts, and we’ve ended up finding a potential new ally.”

“After almost being swallowed by a seven-headed hydra.”

Chase winked “Details, details.”

Argos chuckled. “I like the new Chase. I hope he sticks around.”

“You and me both. Like I was saying, a blind jump put us into the path of a race of beings at the brink of extinction in need of our help. You can’t tell me you don’t see the irony in that?”

“True, the thought had occurred to me.”

“And that’s how it all started for me when you were intent on destroying Earth with your Zarlack armada. Back then we needed quadrinium to power our rag-tag fleet if we were to have a shadow of a chance to stop you. So Sarah and I went into the mission blind, and we met Ryonna. The rest is history.”

Argos put his palm on the side of the table and a holo-screen popped up, he interacted with it, and two small glasses filled with colorless liquid materialized in front of them.

Argos picked his up, as did Chase.

“To destiny, then” said Argos.

They clinked glasses, and Chase replied, “Bottom’s up.”

19

The vegetation on board the Iron Fire awed Ka’Rij. It reminded him of his beautiful but now lost world of Kyria, a world full of colors and once teaming with life. That is until the demons rose and war claimed the planet.

If it weren’t for a ship arriving near the end of the last battle, Ka’Rij and the several hundred Dragonmen that were crammed into the ship would have perished, along with their planet.

Light footsteps approached the wooden bench where Ka’Rij was sitting. The youngling sat next to him.

“Do you mind if I join you?” asked Chris.

“Not at all.”

“We haven’t been properly introduced. I’m Chris.”

“I know who you are, son of Dragonheart. I’m Ka’Rij, son of Pyros.”

“How could you possibly know about me?”

“Our prophecy mentions you as well.”

“Is that why you called me the Defiant One earlier?”

Ka’Rij nodded. “You are mentioned by another name too.”

“And what would that name be?”

“Heart of the Tiger.”

Chris laughed. “I think I prefer that one.”

“I can see why. But even if you weren’t mentioned in our prophecy, when I intervened with the hydra, I sensed a father’s love and his fear of losing you above all else.”

Chris made a face. “I didn’t sense that. And we Furies can sense emotions. Sometimes even see them as clear as daylight. So perhaps it was your imagination.”

“That’s because you’re angry, a state of mind that often happens to younglings.”

“What happened to Heart of the Tiger?” Asked Chris with a playful smirk.

“I mean no disrespect. That’s how we address our young ones. When you’ll be over thirty-six thousand years old, maybe you’ll understand what I mean.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Ka’Rij saw Chris turn his head and size him up.

“You sure don’t look a day over fifty. I didn’t mean to overreact. I guess there might be some truth about me being angry.”

“It’s okay to be angry from time to time. I understand. I’ve also been angry in the past, but nothing good came out of it.”

“And I’m supposed to listen to advice from a stranger I just met why, exactly?” asked Chris with a smile.

Ka’Rij laughed. “No, and you are neither obligated to listen nor learn from anything I say youn—, sorry, Chris.”

“I don’t enjoy being angry at my father. I just can’t help it.”

“It means you’re probably not ready. Let time do its job. Sometimes it’s the only thing that can heal deeper scars.”

“Not ready for what?”

“Forgiveness. Sometimes I think it’s the most beautiful thing in the universe, but it can be difficult to master.”

“I’ll take your word for it. May I ask you a question?”

“Of course.”

“Why do you need our help? I understand that you’re not as powerful when world-bound, you made that pretty clear…But even in this form, I still sense a tremendous amount of power emanating from you. Perhaps not as much as a Fury, but not too far behind either.”

“That may be because I’m the most powerful Dragonman among the survivors. My fellow warriors are both brave and strong, but they’re not as strong as I am. That’s because none of them started their journey as warriors. I fought the demon war on Kyria, and as such, I’ve been trained to fight since a young age. My fellow men were innocent souls trying to escape a dying world.”

“Well then, you and I have something in common. I’ve also fought since a very young age.”

“We’re soldiers. And while I trained my people ever since we escaped Kyria, and while I’m proud of how strong they’ve become, they’re not soldiers, they were never meant to be. There’s just too many enemies for us to fight. And while I could defeat them one by one, I can’t ask them to line up in single file and fight them one at a time.”

Chris chuckled, “Yeah, I can see why they wouldn’t. I’m just not sure how three more soldiers will help you.”

“Your ship seems powerful. That’s another advantage we can use.”

“You don’t have ships?”

“Do you think I would have been flying through space on my own if we did have ships similar to yours? No, the last of our warships were destroyed long ago, and we’ve been engaged in battle for so long, with dwindling resources, so over the centuries, we’ve all but abandoned our pursuit of technology.”

“I see. What can you tell me about your world?”

“Which one? The one I originated from or the one we’re heading to now?”

“I guess I’m interested in both, but for now, let’s talk about where we’re going.”

“When we found it, it used to resemble Kyria, our birthplace. But that was before the Hellion Empire came and tried to drive us away.”

“Why did they do that? What do they want with…what’s the name of your new planet?”

“It’s unpronounceable in your tongue, but basically we call it New Kyria.”

“So what does your enemy want with New Kyria?”

“Its resources. Well, one, at least. The planet is mostly dead now because of the wars waged through the generations and the heavy mining of the planet’s resources. When I entered this hydroponics bay, it brought back many memories. I haven’t seen such lush vegetation for a long time. It calms my mind sitting around this many living plants, just as it should be, really.”

“If New Kyria is in such a desolate state, why don’t you all just leave and find a new world to settle on?”

“We’d love to, but the reason is twofold. Not all Dragonmen can turn into full-blown dragons, only a select few of us can do that. That’s why we stopped fighting the enemy from orbit. At first, there were enough of us to match their fleet of ships, but over time, both sides incurred heavy losses. While the enemy can build ships to replace those we destroyed, we couldn’t grow enough dragons to keep up with them. It takes tens of years for a Dragonman to reach maturity, and even more to see if he or she will be able to transform. The second reason is that we’ve lost the heart of Kyria, and we can’t leave the planet without it. First, we need to get it back.”

Chris raised an eyebrow. “What’s the heart of Kyria?”

“It’s a large jewel, forged in fire, that was once part of our birthplace. It’s the last thing that remains from our world. It holds an amazing power for those who know how to wield it. But that knowledge has been lost through the eons, even to us.”

“What makes you think the enemy hasn’t destroyed it? Perhaps you’re fighting a war to recover something that’s long gone.”

“It is said to be indestructible. But maybe who knows? Maybe you’re right. Maybe we’re fighting for nothing. Sometimes I wonder what it all means. Why can’t we all just live in peace?”

“I’m obviously too young to hold the answer to that question. I for one know what I’m fighting for, and it works for me.”

Ka’Rij cracked his jaw a couple of times, which startled Chris.

“Sorry, I do this sometimes. It helps me think. What do you fight for, young Chris?”

“I fight for those I love. Ever since I was born. In fact, even before.”

“Before? How is that possible?”

“That’s kind of a long story.”

“I have nothing better to do at the moment.”

“Very well…you asked for it. It all started when I was inside my mother’s womb…”

* * *

“Oh, I think you know very well what I am,” said the Spectre. “You killed one of us a year ago, which was the biggest mistake your kind ever made. For this, your entire universe will burn. I’m Ergon’Kar, and I serve Asrak’Vor, my master. He has sent me here today to bring back your head.”

Athena’s heart raced, and a sense of dread filled her soul.

“You’re a Spectre?”

Ergon’Kar smiled.

How the hell was a Spectre standing in front of her? The implications were massive. The last one they fought almost wiped out her entire family. She survived because Menelas made sure she never faced the threat. In the end, Chase had prevailed, but he almost accidently killed both his brother and son in the process, and the battle left his wife, Sarah, at death’s door.

How was Athena supposed to dispatch a Spectre on her own? Even though she was one of the most powerful Olympians still alive, she was nowhere near as powerful as her half-Fury sons.

Her fear levels increased exponentially, but she would not succumb to the fright.. Instead, she let the Spectre’s presence feed her aura and soul with anger and thirst for payback. Tanak’Vor had taken Menelas from her, the love of her life and father of her children, and she wouldn’t let any harm come to her family.

Athena’s blue eyes shone brightly as her aura increased. “You’re mistaken, Ergon—whatever the fuck your name is. There’s only one person dying here today, and that’s you.”

The Spectre laughed as Athena launched two fireballs at him, which he easily deflected with the back of his hand.

“Then you’ll have to attack me with a little more than a child’s attack. Let me show you what true power is.”

The Spectre aimed an open palm toward Athena, and a black fireball came to life. Smoky snakes danced around the center of the attack as crimson lightning bolts sizzled on its surface. The engine room was plunged into darkness. Athena’s blood froze.

Ergon’Kar smiled from ear to ear. “Goodbye, Athena.”

The attack was as fast as it was powerful, and Athena was acutely aware she was standing inside the room containing the jump engines. She would have to be very careful about how she dealt with her enemy’s attacks.

So Athena stood her ground and quickly drew an invisible circle in front of her with her index fingers. “Athena’s shield!” she shouted.

A transparent, golden-energy shield materialized just before the Spectre’s massive fireball advanced toward her. The shield blocked the assault, but the sheer power of the attack made her skid backward.

Athena used all her energy to plant her feet into the hard metal floor, so much so that her feet dug into the metal in order to stop her momentum. The shield blinked madly, informing Athena that it had trouble diffusing the black energy. The fireball kept spinning against her shield but then started waning in size.

Athena fed more energy into her shield, accelerating the process. Then she heard Ergon’Kar’s evil laugh as his eyes shone red.

“And you wanted to kill me. Look how much you’re struggling dealing with my very first attack. Olympians are pathetic. Your kind think you’re so superior, but, in fact, you’re nothing more than children who have been given too much importance in a universe not truly fit for powerful beings. And that’s why we’ll take great pleasure wiping out whatever is left of your dying race.”

“You talk too much, asshole!” spat Athena between clenched teeth.

She put all her strength into her next move. While keeping her shield up, she drew another circle.

“Perseus Mirror Shield!” she cried.

The golden shield turned blue and sent the remainder of the black fireball hurtling toward its sender at five times its original speed, giving the Spectre no chance to dodge his own attack.

Athena caught a glimmer of surprise in the Spectre’s eyes, informing her he had not anticipated her tactic. Even though he tried to get out of the way, the black fireball burned through his flesh and ripped through both his left arm and shoulder.

The scream the Spectre released was equally satisfying as it was terrifying. It felt as if a thousand people all screamed at once in reaction to the pain.

Athena didn’t wait to see if her move worked. She knew how difficult it was to kill these things, so she didn’t intend to underestimate her enemy. She raised her right hand.

“Athena’s Justice Spear!” she said.

An energy spear formed in her hand, and the bright white light emanating from the energy weapon illuminated everything in the room.

“Now you die, motherfucker! This one is for Menelas.”

Athena thrust the energy spear, and it took a fraction of a second for it to leave her grasp and impale the Spectre’s chest, dead center.

It didn’t go completely through, but instead, half the energy spear protruded out of each side of the Spectre, whose dark, viscous blood continuously spilled from his missing left shoulder and arm. The screaming of the thousand voices also stopped the moment the spear impaled him.

When the Spectre stumbled and had to put a knee on the floor to not fall fully, Athena knew she managed to defeat her enemy.

But her victory lap felt premature when Ergon’Kar lifted his head and looked her straight in the eyes with a crooked smile that terrified her.

That’s not possible, he should be dead!

Athena panicked and unleashed dozens of golden fireballs toward the Spectre in the hope of finishing him off. The Spectre’s red eyes lit up with so much intensity that the light they cast forced Athena to squint.

The fireballs continued to slam against the Spectre’s thick skin and disappear inside his body as if swallowed by an invisible miniature black hole.

Athena’s attacks grew in size and intensity for more than a minute, but then she finally gave up this tactic when she saw it wasn’t working.

Ergon’Kar rose back to his feet as the light inside his eyes changed color briefly and flashed gold.

He took a deep breath and smiled. “Thanks for the power up, Athena.”

* * *

“What do you propose we do, Ares?” asked Nyx, not sure she really wanted an answer to her question.

Her instincts told her that whatever Ares meant by another way of sharing information wouldn’t sit well with her.

“Let me invade your mind so I can add my own engineering expertise to your understanding of the alien language. Together we’ll understand the puzzle more efficiently.”

“No fucking way!” she protested. “I’d rather die than let an Olympian inside of me.”

An alarm blared.

“I guess you may get your wish sooner than expected. They must have figured out the projection inside your cell was a hologram.”

“It was bound to happen, at least it bought us some time. We still need to get the hell out of here, it just means we have to do it sooner rather than later.”

“No, you don’t understand. They’ll keep hunting you down. You can run, but you can’t hide, not forever. As long as you stay in this dimension, you’ll never rest, they’ll keep hunting you down.”

“That’s my problem!”

“Tell me, Nyx, even with your hatred for me and my kind, what sounds better to you? A life where you’ll always be looking over your shoulder, and possibly worse, be captured over and over again until they get what they need from you and finally take you out of your misery, or a chance to return to your original dimension, meet with other Furies, and fight for a worthy cause?”

“We don’t have time for this, they’ll be all over us in a matter of minutes, we have to go Ares, now!”

“I’m projecting other holograms of us all around the ship; it is, however, quickly expending my energy reserves, so you can take a minute to make a decision. Do you want to run or do you want to fight for a chance for true freedom? That’s all that it boils down to in the end, but I’m afraid you have to decide now.”

Nyx stayed silent for what seemed like a long time. Her mind felt under attack by a thousand arguments, and for a moment, she felt overwhelmed and as if she would have a nervous breakdown, but then she heard her father’s voice inside her mind. Recalling a memory from her childhood. After a fun day with her family, she had asked him a question: “What’s the most important thing in the whole word, Daddy?”

“I think you know it, child. Freedom. In every sense of the word.”

Nyx winced and her eyebrows drew together. “You’d better not be fucking with me about this, Ares.”

“I just want to give us a fighting chance. We need to stop them from invading our dimension, or at the very least, delay them so we can prepare. I’ve seen firsthand what one Spectre is capable of, and I can only imagine the horror of what millions could do to a defenseless universe.”

“They’ll kill everyone and everything in their path. Like they have done in their dimension. They only keep enough civilizations alive to use as their slaves.”

Even though there was no love lost for the rest of the inhabitants of her own universe now that Erevos was gone, Nyx still hated the Spectres and arachnoids with a vengeance.

“Very well, Ares…You win. Do your thing, fast.”

20

Everyone on the Iron Fire’s bridge anxiously waited for the ship to jump out of hyperspace.

“You mentioned something about a blockade defense?” asked Chase.

“The coordinates I’ve entered into your system will bypass it,” said Ka’Rij. “But there could be a couple of ships in orbit. From time to time they send a few to replenish their resources.”

“What I don’t understand is why they keep attacking you if most of your world’s resources have either been mined or destroyed? What is there to fight for on New Kyria?” asked Argos.

“We suspect they’re after something residing inside the planet’s core. An ore of some kind,” said Ka’Rij.

“I guess it doesn’t matter why they stay on the planet,” said Chase. “It only matters that we help Ka’Rij get rid of them by any means necessary.”

Not that I don’t enjoy the new, improved Chase, said Argos telepathically, but we know nothing about these people, who’s to say the Dragonmen of Kyria aren’t the ones that started this war?

My gut tells me Ka’Rij is telling the truth.

We don’t have time to second-guess ourselves, added Chris. Chase is correct, I spent enough time with Ka’Rij to tell you he’s not trying to deceive us. To him, we’re the saviors his race has been waiting for, and for fuck’s sake, we wouldn’t even be here arguing about it if it weren’t for him. So, even if we don’t know the whole truth, the way I see it, we still owe him our lives. Not to mention he said he could help save my mother. I don’t care who started this war, for her sake I’m ending it today, with or without your help.

Easy there, tiger, said Argos.

Chris is right. We owe it to him and Sarah to help the Dragonmen.

“You’re doing it again,” protested Daniel.

“Doing what?” asked Chase.

“You know very well what, having a Fury walkie-talkie mind conversation.”

Chase smiled. “We’re done. ETA on our return to normal space?”

Daniel fixed his gaze on his friend for a second before looking down to gather the requested info from his holo-controls. Of course, Chase knew the ETA. His mind could directly connect with the ship’s computer, but this gave Daniel something to do, and it would give the rest of the crew the info at the same time.

“We’re a minute away from jumping out,” said Daniel.

“What about our sensors? Are they now able to detect any energy signature?”

“No, either there’s nothing there, or we’re being jammed.”

“Ka’Rij,” asked Chase. “Which do you think it is?”

“As I told your son, my people haven’t used technology in a long time. We’re fighting with our own devices, and I really couldn’t tell you if the enemy is using technology to disrupt your sensors. I’m sorry.”

“That’s okay, Ka’Rij, I guess we’re about to find out.”

The bridge was silent for the last ten seconds of the jump, and tension rose as the blue-purple light tunnel outside the Iron Fire’s main viewport appeared as if it collapsed into itself, revealing stars, a sizeable dark-red planet, and something else—a fleet of five large ships standing in between the Iron Fire and New Kyria.

“I guess we can safely say they were jamming us,” said Argos.

* * *

Altair stopped in front of their quarters and peered down at the engagement ring he purchased for Ryonna. He didn’t know if he was doing this right. After all, Droxian tradition didn’t involve the same union rituals as humans. Neither did the Obsidian ones he was accustomed to. But living on Earth for about a year, they had had plenty of time to get acquainted with their customs.

Altair was surprised how anxious he felt thinking of the moment he would finally pop the question. Their relationship was still mostly a secret affair to the rest of the world, and he had no doubt that if Ryonna accepted his marriage proposal, they would still keep it secret until she had a chance to talk with Ronan about it.

He closed the ring box and hid it in the inside pocket of his official Earth Alliance uniform before entering their quarters. He was surprised not finding Ryonna home at such a late hour. An LED holo-message indicator blinked on the smart wall. He approached and pressed it.

Ryonna’s face filled the holo-screen.

“Hello, love. I’m sorry to have left without letting you know, but I thought it was time for me to go to Droxia and let Ronan know about us, in person. I felt this was not the kind of news I could deliver over a subspace holo-transmission. I won’t be gone too long.”

Altair smiled and wondered if Ryonna had felt his intentions. Even though he wished he could have hugged her before she left, it filled his heart with happiness that she took the initiative to move forward in their relationship.

The day had been long, with a lot of paperwork and problems to fix in regard to the construction of the Alkyonidon Space Station. However, the core of the station, which would act as the command center of the station, would be operational in the next few days. Altair removed his uniform jacket and threw it on the bed before letting himself crash onto the soft satin sheets.

The station was still several weeks away from completion, but as soon as the command center would be up and running, they could send a crew to oversee the rest of the construction.

Altair still didn’t have a commanding officer for the station. Daniel seemed interested in the position but since he left with Chase to the unknown regions, there was no way of knowing when he would return.

The station needed a commanding officer soon, but since Altair still had a few weeks, he decided not to worry too much about it for the time being.

With a lingering smile on his face, Altair closed his eyes and quickly fell asleep.

* * *

“Do it, Ares,” said Nyx, “before I change my mind.”

“You’ll need to let go. If you fight me, it won’t work,” warned Ares. “Do you think you can do that?”

“Define let go?”

“You need to willingly surrender your body and mind to me. Once that happens, and for a little while, I’ll have full control over who you are. Your consciousness will be silenced.”

“The more you open your clap-trap, the less it makes me wanna do this. So shut up and do what you gotta do.”

His energy form nodded. “Close your eyes and try to empty your mind. We don’t have much time, so don’t resist when you feel something invading you. I give you my word you have nothing to fear from me.”

“Uh-huh,” said Nyx as she reluctantly closed her eyes.

Trusting others wasn’t Nyx’s forte. However, she accepted that desperate times called for desperate measures, like letting a filthy Olympian enter her very body and soul. The thought froze her to the core.

I must be out of my damn mind!

“Nyx, what part of empty your mind didn’t you understand,” insisted Ares.

“Don’t push it, I’m trying!”

“I suggest you try harder, any minute now warriors are going to burst into this room and kill us. Well, kill you. We need to learn all we can before that happens.”

“Not exactly helping, Ares.”

“Please, Nyx, just try. Take some deep breaths first.”

Nyx did as instructed and tried her best to not think about anything. It took a few moments to calm her mind to the point where she could lower her current stress levels.

Ares’ golden energy form floated toward Nyx and tried entering her body. A couple lightning bolts shot from Nyx’s skin toward Ares.

“You’re resisting me.”

“This is never going to work.”

“It has to, or you’ll die here and so will the remaining Furies in our dimension. Surely, that’s not what you want.”

That thought didn’t exactly help her stress but was a good motivator. There were still Furies out there, and perhaps even more than Ares was aware of. Her people weren’t extinct, and she knew she was duty-bound to do everything in her power to make sure that never happened.

Slowly, she could feel another consciousness inside her mind and felt like hers was being erased. Fear kicked in and the result registered intense pain throughout her body.

Let go, said Ares in her head.

Nyx took another deep breath, and for the first time in her life, she released control. Soon darkness took over, and her consciousness vanished into oblivion.

* * *

Ares was now fully in control of Nyx’s body with enough access to her conscious mind that when he looked at the schematics on the holo-console, it started to make sense.

He understood that things were way worse than he ever could imagine. The Spectres’ had been working on this machine for a long time in order to achieve an inter-dimensional jump. Fortunately, all the ships that had attempted it in the past had been destroyed. Scanning the files at light-speed indicated to Ares that the Spectres accomplished a recent breakthrough. When Zeus ordered the Furies to be sent into the Spectres dimension, not knowing that this was what the ancient tech would do, they gave the Spectres all they needed to replicate the technology.

The repercussions of this threatened to overtake Ares’ sanity. In ridding themselves of the Fury threat, Zeus had potentially opened a door to a stronger, viler enemy to step into their universe and wipe out every living being.

Ares didn’t allow his mind to wander into that dark place too long. He kept reading as much as he could about the inter-dimensional engine and other Spectre technologies much to the dismay of Nyx’s incomplete understanding of their complex language.

Having lived for tens of thousands of years, his own understanding of languages allowed him to fill the gaps that Nyx’s mind couldn’t.

He knew full well that time was running out, and he needed to get out of her mind soon. If arachnoids stormed this place, there was no way he could use her body as efficiently as she could to repel them.

Ares extended his mind to try and estimate the amount of time he had to gather further information. The God of War knew he needed to bring back as much intel as he could so the Earth Alliance could prepare for an upcoming battle, one with the potential of making the Fury War look like a walk in the park.

He didn’t sense any life forms in the immediate vicinity but could feel many warriors scrambling around the ship. It was a massive ship, probably even bigger than the largest one the Earth Alliance created, but in this case, its size played in their favor.

Ares checked their ships’ capabilities, their stealth technology, their weaponry, their power requirements and how they generated it, and any information he could find about both the Spectres and the arachnoids.

He got lost in his reading, to the point where the more he read, the more he forgot to check their surroundings for incoming enemies. More time passed when his gaze fell on something strange—a holo-file about the Furies.

It seemed like the Spectres had accumulated a massive amount of data research about their physiology. That explained why they valued Nyx so highly, after all, she was most likely the only breathing Fury in this dimension and therefore their only gateway to continue their experiments. But why were they so interested in Fury physiology?

The door of the lab suddenly opened, and Ares knew his time inside Nyx was up.

* * *

“Do you think your friends will get your distress call?” asked Talon.

“I don’t know. If someone is listening, I’m sure they’ll come. I only hope they do before the spider ship finds us.”

“I don’t like depending on others for survival, my insectoid friend.”

“Aye, Captain, neither do I. But what other choice do we have? If we fire up the engines, we’d surely be detected. Without jump engines, what are we supposed to do if we’re discovered?”

“We could make a run for the jump gate.”

“I wouldn’t recommend it. If the enemy failed to detect us, surely they’ll backtrack to the gate and wait for us there.”

“We can’t just drift in space hoping someone answers our call for help either. As far as we know, the enemy may have jammed the probe or worse, destroyed it, in which case it never reached anyone inside the Earth Alliance.”

Tar’Lock clicked his tongue multiple times without realizing it while he was pondering his captain’s words. They were, indeed, in a less than ideal situation, and the Gorgar made sure to not let Talon know how dire the situation actually was.

With their engines off, running on battery power meant their sensor range was also very low, and there was no way for them to detect the spider ship if it cloaked, which it certainly would be.

If the enemy found them, they’d dispatch them with ease. They would never see them coming, and they would probably die instantly.

“I know, Captain. There’s equal risk in both approaches.”

“Then perhaps we should flip a coin?”

Tar’lock’s tongue clicking evoked surprise. Should they entrust their lives to chance? The idea was mildly amusing to Tar’Lock under the circumstances. But the more he thought about it, the more his anxiety rose, reminding him they could die at any minute.

“I guess I can live with a toss,” said Tar’Lock.

Talon rose from his chair and dug deep inside one of his pockets, taking out a rusty old coin.

“That surely doesn’t seem current,” said Tar’Lock.

“It’s a few centuries old. I got it on Earth while you were visiting your friends. I thought it would bring us luck, though not exactly the kind I had in mind.”

“That really depends on how you look at things, I guess. We’re still alive. So maybe it has fulfilled its purpose.”

“Hmm, I guess there’s wisdom in looking at it this way. So…what do you say? Heads we stay, and tails we make a run to the jump gate?”

Tar’Lock had seen plenty of TV shows when he first set foot on Earth to be vaguely familiar with the concept.

He nodded and clicked furiously.

Time seemed to stop as the coin spun in the air over and over again. Tar’Lock held his breath even though he didn’t know what outcome he wished for. All he wanted was for the decision to be made for him, and yet he felt compelled to participate beyond just watching it, so he ran and grabbed the coin right before it fell into Talon’s hand.

Talon took a step back and breathed heavily.

“You scared the crap out of me! Why did you do that?”

“I don’t know, Captain. I’m sorry, I just felt I needed to. Let’s do it together.”

“Fair enough.”

Talon nodded and extended his hand toward Tar’Lock who looked at it while his heartbeat accelerated. Talon swallowed hard.

Tar’Lock gently slapped his palm atop the human’s and slowly lifted it.

“Tails,” he announced.

“And you’re okay with that?”

“We agreed to let the coin choose, didn’t we?”

Talon smiled. “We sure did. Then I guess it’s time to rejoin your post, crewman, we’re getting the hell out of here.”

“Yes, Captain.”

21

“What do you mean you’ve lost them?” barked Asrak’Vor.

“I’m sorry, Master. We’ve destroyed one of their shuttles, but it’s possible we didn’t get them all.”

Asrak’Vor’s eyes narrowed. “Explain.”

“They’ve entered a nebula cluster, it played havoc with our sensors, but many hours later a smaller ship emerged. We destroyed it with ease; it had multiple life signs on board, perhaps even the entire crew.”

“Perhaps isn’t going to cut it. We can’t afford to have a single one survive and report what they’ve found about our presence here.” Asrak’Vor’s eyes flashed a dark red. “Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes, Master, we’ll keep looking for the main ship.”

“Do not fail me, you know what the punishment would be.”

“I know, Master.”

Asrak’Vor was furious and swiped the holo-communication away with a sharp movement before releasing a growl that got the rest of his bridge crew’s attention.

“Status on the infiltration of the Olympian ship?” he said coldly.

“The assassin is aboard the ship, but he hasn’t reported for a while,” said one of the crewmen.

Asrak’Vor answered with another deep growl that made some equipment on the bridge tremble.

This day is not going at all as I’d hoped.

Asrak’Vor knew very well that he couldn’t be in multiple places at once, no matter how much he hoped he could personally influence the outcome of every single mission that was happening simultaneously.

In a few hours, they’d reach their coordinates, and with the materials they had brought back from Asgard, they would be able to start the next phase of their plan. Hopefully, all these missions and objectives would be finalized before then.

* * *

“What do you mean power up?” asked Athena, unsure if she really wanted to know the answer.

Still impaled through his chest was the energy lance pulsating a bright-white light that cast ethereal shadows of the Spectre all around him.

“You see, those pathetically weak attacks of yours, their energy levels are so low that I can easily assimilate them and power up my own pool of energy. That, however,” he said, pointing at the energy lance, “was something unexpected. I had no idea you possessed this kind of strength and resources. I’m almost impressed.”

“I don’t care what impresses you.”

“Yes, yes, we’ve established that you only care about killing me. And while this attack never had the ability to do so, I have to admit it came closer than I expected.”

He grabbed the lance with both hands and arrogantly pulled it out of his chest slowly. Thick black blood oozed down to his feet.

“There’s no way you can recover from that wound.”

Ergon’Kar chuckled. “Watch me.”

With the energy lance out of his body, the Spectre held it from both ends as wide as his arms would let him. The attack was still in effect and kept burning his hands, but the burnt skin particles turning into ash froze in midair and reversed their course back to reattach to Ergon’Kar’s hands, performing an endless cycle of burning skin being reattached to him while he held the weapon.

His eyes intensified to red as his dark aura grew.

This isn’t possible, thought Athena. How can this monster regenerate this way? The lance of justice is my strongest attack.

The Spectre’s muscles doubled in size, and he growled between gritted teeth as he applied more force to the energy-based attack. Eventually, Athena’s lance broke and exploded into a million white-energy particles, which started swirling around him resembling a tornado. Little by little the energy bits were sucked inside Ergon’Kar and the more particles entering his body, the quicker his wound healed.

His injury was half its size by the time all of Athena’s attack energy was siphoned. Black tendrils of dark goo shot in between the edges of the wound, recreating organs, muscles, and then skin, until Ergon’Kar looked as healthy as he had been at the beginning of the fight.

“I have to hand it to you. You’re a much more formidable warrior than I thought you’d be. I guess that explains why your son managed to kill my master’s brother.”

So the Asrak’Vor he mentioned earlier is the brother of the one who killed Menelas. Tanak’Vor, the Spectre who also took out Olympus, my father, most of my race.

“And I’ll take great pleasure in helping my sons kill your master as well. We defeated the Furies, and we’ll beat you, too.”

Ergon’Kar’s laugh resonated around the engine room of the Prometheus.

“The Furies were unguided children with parlor tricks disguised as power. Look at what it took to defeat just one of us; what will you do when my entire race comes here to eradicate you like the bugs you are?”

So that’s their plan, an invasion of this dimension. But how would they get here? The Pandora device that opened portals between dimensions was destroyed.

“We will stop you, no matter the cost. However, right now, I’m sick of looking at you,” spat Athena. “Time for you to join Tanak’Vor.”

Ergon’Kar smirked. “I don’t think so.”

Athena powered up and brought every ounce of power she could to bear and burned her aura to its absolute paroxysm. It shifted from blue to a gold tint. She made fists and raised both her hands to belt level.

Her blonde hair flew upward, resembling a golden flame caught in the wind as her aura turned into a whirlwind around her like ten thousand angels dancing.

“Don’t waste what little energy you have left, Athena, this battle is over.”

Athena’s eyes glowed gold. “It’s over when I say it’s over!”

* * *

“I thought you said there wouldn’t be any ships here in orbit?” asked Chase.

“I did not expect any to be. I’m sorry, Dragonheart,” said Ka’Rij.

“Commander Aniotis, status report on the fleet? Can we take them on with the Iron Fire alone?”

“Initial scans are inconclusive, while they seem to have lower firepower than us, their shield technology is very different. There’s no way to know how well our weaponry will be able to penetrate it. Admiral, we’re being hailed.”

Chase briefly looked at Argos and Chris then took a step forward. “On screen.”

The Iron Fire’s holo-screen filled with a green-skinned humanoid the likes of which Chase had never seen. The man’s nose was non-existent and in its place was three thin black lines where air could get in and out. The man’s eyes were a lilac-purple with deep black pupils. When he blinked, two sets of his eyelids came into play, first one horizontally, like most humanoids, then one vertically.

He had no hair and half a dozen yellow horns adorned his forehead.

The first few words from the creature were incomprehensible until the computer analyzed the language and translated.

“I’m High Commander Xertan of the Hellion Empire. You’re trespassing on sovereign territory. Turn your ship back, leave, and never return, or we’ll be forced to destroy you.”

“Hello to you too, Commander Xertan, is it?” said Chase. “I’m Admiral Chase Athanatos from the Earth Alliance. I’m afraid we can’t comply with your wishes. You’re occupying the world of a friend of ours, and I’m afraid that we’re the ones who request that you stand down or be obliterated. . .” Chase’s look turned ice cold, “at once.”

The high commander’s eyes morphed into thin lines. “You’re outnumbered five to one, and we can call reinforcements. You don’t stand a chance, Admiral.”

Ka’Rij, asked Chase telepathically. Are you able to take care of a couple of these ships in your full-size dragon form?

That shouldn’t be a problem, but I would not be able to take on all five.

You won’t have to.

“Last chance, High Commander,” said Chase. “I don’t have all day and will require your answer now?”

The high commander growled, punched something in front of him, and the holo-communication ended.

“I think we can safely say that means no,” said Argos. “Now what?”

“Admiral!” exclaimed Commander Aniotis. “All ships are targeting us and powering their weapons.”

“Shields to maximum. Battle stations, everyone,” said Chase before turning to Ka’Rij. “Let’s first take care of this fleet, then we’ll help you clean up forces on the surface. Any chance you can call some of your people to join us?”

“They’ll be shot down by ships before they have time to transform fully. The enemy knows that about our weakness. It takes us between twenty to thirty seconds to transform, during that time we’re highly vulnerable to attack. There are only two of my men left who can reach orbit and transform. I’m not sure we can take the risk.”

“We’ll cover them, you have my word, and maybe we won’t need their help, but have them ready to join this fight if the need arises and we need reinforcements.”

Chase could tell that Ka’Rij was still thinking it over, but he nodded in agreement, nonetheless.

The enemy fleet opened fire with hundreds of laser turrets. After the first few impacts on the Iron Fire’s shields, Chase remote-piloted the ship with his mind and went evasive. He returned fire with the Iron Fire’s laser cannons and sent a volley of torpedoes toward the nearest target.

The first minute of engagement gave them sensor data as to the capabilities of their enemy’s level of technology. Fortunately, their laser turrets were no match for the Iron Fire’s brand new, multi-phasic shields, which meant the ship could take a serious amount of pounding before it would be in jeopardy. That gave them time to come up with a solid tactic to dispatch the enemy.

“Argos, Chris, I don’t know about you, but I’m aching to get back inside a cockpit for a change. I’ll remote an entire squadron, but I feel like I need to be on the frontlines of this battle.”

“I would argue,” said Daniel, “that the place of the ship’s captain in battle is on the bridge. But somehow I think I’d be wasting my breath.”

Chase smiled. “And deprive you of commanding the ship in my absence? I would never,” he said and then winked at his friend.

“Yeah, that works too.”

“I’ll remote control another squadron,” said Chris. “I’ll take Beta Squadron. Uncle? What about you take Gamma?”

“I’m nowhere near as proficient as the two of you in this exercise, but I’ll assist in any way I can.”

“We also have real pilots,” protested Daniel.

“Tell you what,” said Chase. “We’ll have Gamma Squadron with real pilots and Argos will be their wing commander.”

“Babysitting, that’s just great,” said Argos. “Now I wished I had accepted Chris’ offer on teaching me that skill.”

Chase smiled at his brother’s remark before looking toward Daniel.

Take good care of my ship, said Chase telepathically. And yourself while you’re at it.

Daniel nodded.

“Very well, be careful out there.”

“What’s the fun in that?” said Chase as he and the rest of his family ran out of the bridge.

* * *

Nyx felt tremendous pain way before she fully recovered consciousness.

“What the hell is happening, I can’t see shit!” she exclaimed. “Did you blind me?”

“I had to extract myself from you in a hurry, your sight will return momentarily. In the meantime, just try to sense the enemy by homing in on their energy signatures.”

“You’re telling me how to fight now?”

Three arachnoid warriors lurched toward her, firing plasma weapons. Nyx raised her palm forward and erected a shield to deflect the fire while her sight slowly returned. She tried reaching with her mind to locate the enemies in her surrounding space, but the side effects of Ares forcefully removing his consciousness from hers made it harder for her to concentrate.

“This is bullshit, Ares! You’re gonna get us killed.”

“I’ll distract one of them. You’ll feel better soon.”

“What if soon is too late?”

“It will return, trust me.”

“Not gonna happen any time soon!”

But the more she swore in her head, the more her senses came back to life, at which time two arachnoid warriors were almost upon her. Her vision was still slightly blurry, but she saw well enough to engage one of the warriors, who seemed to struggle, stumble, and fall. No doubt Ares was trying to forcefully invade his body. The diversion was all Nyx needed.

She immobilized the nearest warrior with a telekinetic grasp and dodged the energy web the third warrior shot from his mouth by somersaulting over him. While she was perfectly inverted above him, she grabbed his head and twisted it with all her might, snapping his neck. By the time she landed, he had collapsed, lifeless, on the lab’s floor.

She aimed an open palm at the back of the still-immobilized warrior and impaled him with a column of purple energy, blasting flesh, bones, and blood through what was once his ribcage.

He was dead before his carcass hit the floor. She turned to see the third warrior, still struggling to keep Ares out of his mind and body, trying to reach a control on his forearm’s holo-device.

“Oh no, you don’t!” she exclaimed.

Nyx was still far away from the warrior, so she slashed her hand in the air, and an invisible wave of energy cut the creature’s arm. He screeched in agony, and a sound that felt like it came from the depths of hell pierced Nyx’s ears.

The intensity and high-pitched tone destabilized her and she lost her sense of balance, making it difficult to walk.

That’s fucking new, she thought as the pain and dizziness grew exponentially.

There was an easy, albeit rather painful, fix for that. In a swift, penetrating motion, she pierced both her eardrums with her index fingers. The paralyzing screech muffled into oblivion, and once she recovered the rest of her senses, she incinerated the warrior’s head with a well-placed fireball.

She let herself fall onto her knees, her breathing ragged. She healed her wounds and pierced eardrums with a single thought.

“You fucking bastard!” she screamed. “You almost got us killed.”

“Well technically, I can’t die, but for what it’s worth, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have exited your body so quickly. I was hoping we could focus on the almost part of the getting us killed comment and move on.”

Nyx rose to her feet and dusted herself off. “I’m not amused, Olympian. This is the last time I trust you.”

“Look, I made a mistake, I got too involved with the data I was sifting through, and by the time I realized my mistake, they were upon us. I panicked and extracted from your body too quickly. It won’t happen again, you have my word.”

“It won’t happen again, period!”

“Alright, calm down, the good news here is that I found out a lot of things about the Spectres’ plans, as painful as that experience was, trust me when I say that it definitely was worth it.”

“I don’t care about their plans, I just want us to get out of here and rejoin the other Furies.”

“And the intel I gathered will help us achieve just that, but we need to make sure this reunion isn’t blemished by a full-scale invasion from the Spectres. We’re not ready to face them, yet.”

Nyx took a deep breath and tried calming her anger. “You’re disillusioned if you think a few Furies can take on the Spectres, no matter the time frame. But, for the time being, I’m listening.”

22

Tar’Lock clicked nervously as a holo-control flashed on his console.

“What’s that, Tar’Lock?” asked Talon.

“Since we’re back at full power, I recalibrated the sensors so we can detect the spider ship with long-range sensors.”

“Let me guess, they’ve found us.”

“They have, indeed.”

“Well, we knew that was a risk.”

“I don’t think you understand. They’ll destroy us with ease. Like I said before, we’re no match for them, almost nothing is except perhaps a full-blown Earth Alliance destroyer.”

“You sent your distress call, so it’s possible that one is on its way.”

“Or they either jammed us or destroyed the probe before it could complete its subspace transmission.”

Talon smiled. “What’s with the negativity today, Tar’Lock?”

“Sorry, I am a little on edge. I guess I had plenty of time to do some soul-searching while we waited inside the nebula cluster, and I kinda came to a conclusion.”

“Mind enlightening me?”

“I decided that I don’t want to die before I tell Ryonna how I feel about her.”

“Don’t you think she knows already?”

“Probably…maybe…I don’t know.”

“But there’s that little problem of her being with the Emperor?”

“Yeah…at least I think she is.” Tar’Lock paused and clicked a couple of times. “I guess it doesn’t matter. I’ve been a coward, I hid my feelings for so long, and even though it’s probably too late, I owe it to myself to have the guts to face her and tell her how I feel. I know what you’re going to say—that it makes no sense whatsoever.”

“That’s not what I was going to say at all.”

“Oh?”

“I think you need to do what you feel is right. If it makes sense to you, who cares what the rest of the universe thinks?”

Tar’Lock turned his head so he could look directly into Talon’s eyes and smiled at him.

“That’s better,” said Talon. “Now, you need to keep the faith and let us both do whatever it takes to stack the odds in our favor, so that the universe grants you your wish.”

“I’m not sure the sentiment will help us defeat the spider ship.”

“Maybe it doesn’t have to. Maybe all you need to do is focus on staying alive and trust that destiny will attend to itself.”

“As crazy ideas go, I’ve heard worse. Definitely worth a shot.”

“At this point, what do we have to lose?”

“Uhh…our lives.”

“I’ll have none of that, you have a message to deliver. That’s an order, Tar’Lock. In the meantime, what’s your estimation on the spider catching up with us?”

“About ten minutes before we reach the jump gate ourselves.”

“At least that means they’ve been looking for us and are not parked in front of the gate, that would have made things much more difficult.”

“You’re ability to always see the good in any situation is baffling sometimes. Interesting, yeah, but baffling.”

“You should try it sometimes, Tar’Lock. Life’s easier that way.”

Whatever’s left of ours anyway, thought Tar’Lock to himself. Even though I’d love to punch your face, Altair, I sure hope you got our distress call, and I may even enjoy seeing you save our butts.

* * *

“Alright, everybody. It’s been a while since we engaged in a good old space battle,” said Chase over the comms. “Stay sharp.”

“Aye, aye, Admiral,” Argos said with a chuckle.

Chris stayed silent.

“I propose we focus all three wings on one target,” said Chase. “Let’s see if the added firepower of all the StarFuries is strong enough to take down one of these ships while Daniel engages the rest of the fleet with the Iron Fire.”

“Lead the way,” said Argos.

Chase missed the times where he had to rely on pre-programmed macros to fly an entire squadron of fighters, but the ability for his mind to remotely control machines had come a long way, and it allowed for a more dynamic way of fighting the enemy. He could make on the fly changes with so much precision, granting him significantly greater control than his old macros.

By the time the squadrons entered firing range of their intended targets, the ships had deployed their own defenses; pilotless drone fighters much smaller than StarFuries.

“We may want to use our own drones to fend them off while we continue a direct run to the tango,” said Chris.

“I like that tactic,” answered Chase. “Let’s do it.”

Every StarFury unleashed six automated drones that targeted the incoming drone force and engaged them. The StarFuries didn’t change their heading, and soon incoming laser fire streaked past their respective cockpits, a few hits impacting their shields.

“Now let’s see if we can make a hole in these shields,” Argos said as he deployed his squadron and ordered them to open fire.

Chase and Chris followed suit almost perfectly in sync, and the twenty-four StarFuries unleashed a veritable barrage of laser fire toward the enemy shields. As anticipated, they held remarkably well, confirming that their shielding technology was quite advanced, especially their recharging time.

“I think we need to add missiles to our run,” said Argos. “We won’t bring their shields down with lasers alone.”

“I concur,” said Chase.

“Not yet,” said Chris.

“What do you have in mind, Son?”

“Watch, and on my mark, fire a pair of missiles and quantum torpedos from each of your fighters.”

“I’d rather you clue us into what you have in mind.”

Defensive fire from the destroyer increased as they drew nearer to the enemy ships and so did the enemy impact ratio. The StarFuries’ shields were getting heavily pounded.

“No time,” said Chris dismissively. “Just get ready.”

Trust him, said Argos in Chase’s mind. He’s no longer the kid that needs saving that you remember.

While nothing would make Chase prouder than this fact, he didn’t enjoy being left in the dark when strategy was involved. But he decided to let it play out, and, as requested, he armed all his weapons.

Three of Chris’ StarFuries blinked out of existence and almost instantaneously three major explosions lit up the shields on the enemy destroyer, draining most of them in one go.

“Fire now!” ordered Chris. “Before their shields recharge.”

Chase sent his squadron payloads as did Argos. Streaks of missiles and quantum torpedoes filled the space between them and the enemy. Chase wasn’t as much surprised by his son’s choice of strategy as he was mystified. While Chase had used the tactic in the past to great effect, Chase preferred sacrificing fighters only when needed. This felt like wasting resources way too early in the fight.

But Chase decided to not voice his concern.

The missiles that were faster than their bigger torpedo counterpart hit the tango’s shield first and almost all were in sync. The resulting onslaught of explosions on the enemies’ starboard shields drained them enough to pave the way for the torpedoes to finish the job and blow the target to pieces.

“Good job, Chris,” cheered Argos.

“Thanks, Uncle.”

Chase wanted to echo Argos’ congratulatory attitude, but he just couldn’t.

“I like the way you think, Chris,” said Chase. “However⁠—”

“Here we go. Never satisfied.”

“Don’t get me wrong, Son. We’ve splashed one, and that’s a good thing but at a heavy cost. We’ve spent half our ordnance and sacrificed three fighters. We may need them later during the fight, especially if the enemy brings in reinforcements.”

“Yeah, yeah. It’s fine when the mighty Dragonheart does it, but gods forbid you don’t see the tactical advantage of finding a surefire way to quickly take care of a destroyer, which is what you’ve asked us to do by the way. Typical.”

His words resonated in Chase’s mind. Was his son correct? Was Chase still trying to win the next engagement with as little loss as possible? Early in the Fury War, Chase probably would have used a similar tactic, even though the Alliance didn’t have that many resources. So, was it fair to blame his son for trying to make sure they got rid of as many enemies as fast as they could?

“Forget I said anything,” he conceded.

“It’s forgotten already, we have more ships to destroy,” said Chris sharply. “If you don’t like my tactics, fine. I can live with that as long as my results speak for themselves.”

Like father, like son, said Argos to his brother.

* * *

Daniel was sitting in the captain’s chair on board the Iron Fire.

“Bring us about, and watch our distance. I don’t want us in the crosshairs of the four different destroyers’ firing range at once.”

“Aye, Captain,” said Commander Aniotis.

“I should go and transform. Your friends will need my help,” said Ka’Rij.

“Seems a little too hot outside for that at the moment. If you’re as vulnerable as you say you are while transforming, you should wait.”

“If I wait too long, we may lose this engagement. I’ll take the risk.”

“Clearly, you don’t know Chase besides whatever prophecy you think he belongs to.”

“The prophecy is not a matter of think, with all due respect, Captain. I know it to be true.”

“Yeah, alright. Allow me to be both skeptical and suspicious on this one. The last time someone spoke about his destiny, it didn’t end very well for him.”

“I understand and respect that,” said Ka’Rij, pausing for a moment. “This is what I propose: I’ll stay in your shadow and use your shields for protection during my transformation.”

“I don’t see how that will work. In your dragon form, you’re larger than the Iron Fire.”

“And I can start flying before I reach full size; it will work, trust me.”

Daniel thought about it and knew that if Chase had agreed to help Ka’Rij it was so he would in turn help cure Sarah. He wouldn’t be able to do that if he died in this engagement. The strategy was too risky, and the stakes were too high.

“Be that as it may, please hang on a minute.”

Daniel opened a channel to engineering. “Yanis, can you guys extend the shield far enough so that our guest can stay protected inside it while he transforms into his full dragon form?”

“Technically we can create a larger bubble, but the dragon is massive, so that will significantly diminish their strength. How long will they have to be extended to repel enemy fire?”

Daniel looked at Ka’Rij, his eyes doing a good job at relaying the question.

“Forty seconds, give or take,” said Ka’Rij. “I can usually do it under thirty but that’s when I don’t have to be aware of my surroundings like impacting either the ship or the shields,.”

“Forty, forty-five seconds, if you can swing it,” answered Daniel, not willing to gamble with Ka’Rij’s life and any misplaced optimism on the Dragonman’s part.”

“We’ll make it work, but by the time he’s transformed, they’ll probably have drained completely.”

Daniel hated the prospect of entering the battle in these conditions, but it didn’t look like they had much of a choice. Fortunately, the enemy’s laser turret tech was way weaker than theirs, so the Iron Fire’s thick quadrinium-reinforced armor plating should be able to take some sizable hits before they got into too much trouble.

“Roger that, get ready to expend the shields,” said Daniel before turning to the commander. “Change of plans, Commander, let’s head to six by twelve by three. We need to stay at the very edge of the firing zone. Once Ka’Rij teleports out of here, start firing every torpedo tube toward the nearest enemy, let’s give them something else to shoot at other than us, at least for a minute.”

“Understood. Firing now.”

“I said once he’s teleported!”

The commander pointed to where Daniel thought Ka’Rij was and saw that he had vanished.

“I guess the countdown starts now, then. A little heads up would have been nice. Yanis, I sure hope you already started expanding the shields.”

“Yep, Cap, they’re already expanding.”

“At least there’s that,” said Daniel as his gaze traveled over the dozens of white streaks from the advancing torpedoes as they filled the main viewport.

I sure hope we won’t need this ordnance later.

* * *

“What’s our ETA?” asked Altair from the captain’s chair of the Hercules.

“We’re forty minutes out,” answered his navigation officer. “Asgardian hyperspace boosting optimizations are at sixty percent. The highest we’ve pushed them so far.”

The Hercules was the most advanced ship of the Earth Alliance fleet. While it lacked a true Asgardian hyperspace engine, due to the rarity of pentalium to power these engines, Thor and his people had worked in concert with Spiros on optimizing the new hyperspace engines’ designs .

The Hercules was a ship built for war, even though it had been commissioned in a time of peace. The idea behind the ship was that it needed to keep the peace and be an even bigger deterrent than a small fleet of Warheart class destroyers.

During the Fury War, the Alliance had been caught with their pants down too many times in terms of firepower, with always bigger and stronger ships making their engagement a matter of life and death. So, when the time came to create a new class of ship, Altair ordered the construction of the Armageddon-class dreadnoughts. The Hercules was the first, and there were another three in service: the Nemesis, the Pegasus, and the Medusa. Spiros, the engineer who had supervised their creation, referred to them as flying fortresses.

The other dreadnoughts were patrolling the Alliance’s biggest entry point for invasion, so Altair decided not to bring them on this mission but requested that they get ready to jump on his command. Part of him also wanted to see its firepower on its own. He hoped he wouldn’t regret the decision but trusted that his ship could take care of the threat.

Altair had been surprised receiving the distress call in the middle of the night, even more so seeing Tar’Lock’s signature attached to it. Even though he wasn’t technically a member of the Earth Alliance anymore, Altair was not the kind of man who forgot who his friends were. He also knew that if Ryonna had been there, she’d be on board the ship with him right now.

He had left a holo-message for Ryonna before leaving Earth orbit but never got an answer.

Tar’Lock’s message was as succinct as it was terrifying.

Spectres back—under attack by spider ship—help!

Since the Fury War, nothing had frozen Altair’s blood faster than reading that note. He hoped with all his heart Tar’Lock was mistaken about the Spectre part. That would be terrible news for every living being across the entire Alliance and beyond.

It was not an easy decision leaving the other ships at their current posts, but Altair’s thinking was that if the Spectres were indeed back and tried to take out a major stronghold of the Alliance, such as Earth, Droxia, New Olympus, or Asgard, that would be bad, very bad. So having them scattered around these locations unless ordered differently was the most prudent course of action for now.

Altair hoped the Hercules would make it in time to help Tar’Lock and that the ship’s exceptional firepower would suffice to repel whatever was waiting for them at the coordinates Tar’Lock provided.

“Boost Asgardian hyperspace optimizations to seventy-five percent,” Altair said out of the blue.

“We’ve never tested this level of optimization, and the exotic particle created into our hyperspace engine could rise exponentially if we do so. We risk damaging them.”

“I’m well aware of that, but we need to get there faster. Carry out my orders.”

“Aye, Captain.”

* * *

“And what do you propose we do, exactly?” asked Nyx. “It’s only the two of us on this ship, there’s no way we’re taking it over and doing an inter-dimensional jump on our own.”

“We have to figure out a way to make this happen, except we’ll make sure the ship doesn’t survive the trip. Once on the other side, we need to destroy the ship. ”

Nyx’s eyes remained steady and unblinking. “You think? You don’t even have a fucking body, how do you intend to make these modifications?”

“I’ll just borrow one.”

“As long as it’s not mine.”

“I know.”

“Good luck with that then. Your ability in this matter deems approximate at best.”

“That’s because I had to grab people in the middle of their work or while they were trying to kill us. If I invade a sleeping body, I know I can suppress their consciousness in the blink of an eye.”

“Okay, for the sake of argument, let’s say we do that. Then what, I’m supposed to take down an entire ship on my own? There are hundreds of warriors on board, and according to you, also a Spectre on the bridge.”

“Yeah, that’s the tricky part, you’ll need to kill that Spectre. I just hope for all our sakes that he’s not as powerful as Asrak’Vor.”

“Is that the one you told me the Furies took out, almost losing their lives in the process? The multiple Furies, and they almost lost.”

“Among them were three Ultra Furies.”

Nyx’s face dropped. “Ultra Furies don’t exist, they’re a myth told to children. Seriously, why am I even listening to this? I have half a mind to let you deal with this on your own, jump on an escape pod, and try my luck at surviving alone.”

Ares knew he had to find a way to convince Nyx to help him on the mission, without her there was no plan.

“If you do that, you’ll stay stuck here forever. And. . .there’s something else. Something I don’t think you will like.”

“Oh. My. Gods! What the hell are you talking about, Olympian? What else is there?”

Ares lowered his head and pointed to the chambers lined up against the wall. “You may want to look at the pods. But be prepared for a shock.”

Nyx turned and gazed at the pods. What was inside them? A thick layer of ice was rendering their windows opaque. Nyx could distinguish a humanoid silhouette inside, but that’s as much info as the visual inspection provided.

She stepped in front of one, surprised by her heart pounding at an increasingly rapid pace. It felt as if the organ wanted to escape her chest.

She wiped some of the frozen condensation from the surface of the glass. The coldness stung her palm. Then her entire expression dropped.

“This can’t be,” she said. “It just can’t.”

* * *

“ETA to the gate?” asked Talon.

“Two minutes.”

“Are we going to make it in time?”

The ship rocked and trembled, sending Talon crashing from his chair.

“I’ll take that as a no,” he said through pursed lips. “Plan B, then?”

“That doesn’t seem like a way to optimize our chances of survival.”

Tar’Lock put the ship on evasive, avoiding as many plasma bolts as possible from the cloaked spider ship. Fortunately, the enemy ship was engaging from outside its optimum firing range and never scored direct hits.

“I don’t think we have much of a choice. We must drop our shields to enter the jump gate, thanks to your friendly Earth Alliance regulations, or it will consider us a hostile, and we’ll get blown to bits.”

“I won’t argue that it was a dick move from the council, but it has slowed down the raiders abilities to perform hit-and-run raids.”

“Fair enough, and you’re sure you can trick them into going toward the jump gate?”

“We’re about to find out.”

Talon noticeably swallowed.

“On the next impact, I’ll blow up the pyro charges on the hull. The enemy will think they scored damage, which will hopefully buy us a little time.”

“How much time?”

“Fifteen, thirty seconds if we’re lucky.”

“For the record, this is the most daring and batshit crazy plan I’ve ever heard. If it works, my little insectoid friend, I’ll kiss you, but if we get killed. . .”

“Well, if we get killed, there wouldn’t be much you could do about it, now would there?” asked Tar’Lock pre-emptively.

“I don’t know, but I’ll kill you again.”

Tar’Lock chuckled, but when the master lock alarm buzzed, he verified that all the variables of his plan were in place, and there were quite a lot of variables.

“Here goes nothing. Activating in three. . .two. . .one.”

The spider ship took a shot at the Bellerophon, and a massive explosion engulfed the ship for a brief moment before it rapidly shot through the flames and headed toward the gate. The spider ship boosted their engines in pursuit, taken by surprise with the impressive acceleration of their target.

The jump gate started its activation sequence, with bright-orange lights flashing progressively stronger, a visual indication to any approaching craft that a hyperspace window was about to open.

The spider ship kept firing increasing amounts of the plasma toward the Bellerophon. Because of their increased rate of fire, each projectile was less powerful than the fully charged ones the spider ship was using when in closer range. Multiple explosions and debris flew off the crummy old ship as it kept accelerating.

The spider ship, realizing they wouldn’t catch the Bellerophon before it entered the gate micro-jumped and then dropped its cloak. It was now right on top of the Bellerophon as the hyperspace window opened. The beat-up ship was a handful of seconds away from entering the hyperspace window.

A column of translucent light shot toward the Bellerophon as the enemy deployed a tractor beam, but the beam passed through their target, causing the Bellerophon to stutter in and out of existence.

At the same time, the flames and smoke from the earlier explosion had just dissipated, revealing there was another Bellerophon. The real one.

On the bridge, Talon stood in full view of the cracked viewport. A smile spread across his face.

“Fire at will, make that jump gate disappear. Now!”

Tar’Lock had already started the firing sequence. The Bellerophon diverted every ounce of power from its engines, life support, and self-repairing systems to only one—the weapon’s systems. Last minute optimization had allowed Tar’Lock to boost their efficiency by forty percent and deliver a sustained beam of red laser energy toward the gate.

The key would be the precise timing of hitting the gate while it was using all its power reserve to form the hyperspace window. The jump gate blinked before it exploded into a pure inferno, trapping the spider ship dead center inside the kill zone.

“Goodbye, assholes,” said Talon.

23

A couple of enemy fighter drones broke away from their formation and were on Chase’s six.

Chase checked his own drones and only three were still operational. They had done a bang-up job of keeping the smaller fighters out of the way of the Alpha, Beta, and Gamma Squadrons when they made their runs at bigger targets.

But the enemy seemed to have a near infinite supply of the damn things, and while the kill ratio was four to one in favor of the Earth Alliance forces, they would eventually all be destroyed if the enemy was given enough time.

Right now, though, Chase and his friends couldn’t worry about that, as their own StarFury drones were doing what they were programmed to do, which was to divert the smaller craft’s attention while the fleet took care of the larger ships.

* * *

The Iron Fire’s barrage of torpedoes provided a good but short reprieve from the hundreds of laser cannon turrets firing toward the Earth Alliance destroyer. If it hadn’t been for the life-or-death battle happening outside the viewport of the Iron Fire, it would almost have been a pleasant, if chaotic, light show to look at.

Daniel looked at the holo-timer floating a few centimeters over the right armrest of the captain’s chair. Twenty seconds left until the dragon fully transformed. The shields were down to sixty percent already, and now that the fire intensified, they were losing power at an alarming rate.

The enemy’s tech was inferior to theirs, but in this case, it didn’t matter, it was the intensity and storm-like rate that was taking the Iron Fire’s defenses down faster than they could afford, especially if Daniel wanted the dragon to survive.

He opened a channel.

“Chase, we need a diversion. We’re getting pounded here while Ka’Rij transforms. I’m not sure we’ll be able to provide enough cover for him, and if he’s as vulnerable as he says he is in this phase, we could lose him. I would use the main primary plasma beam if we had the energy, but we’re using all our power to provide shielding to both the ship and Ka’Rij.”

“We can’t afford to lose him. If you need a distraction, we’re happy to provide one. Don’t worry about not being able to use the primary weapon now, you’ll get your chance later. In the meantime, divert all power to your shields, even from life support if you have to.”

“I’ve already done that.”

“Of course you have.”

* * *

“Chris,” said Chase. “You heard Daniel, time to take out a second ship, but as much as I don’t like it, we need to take it down even faster than before.”

“There’s only one way to do that, and you’re not going to like how many ships it will cost us. Since we don’t have time to argue, fire every missile and torpedo your squadrons have left at the next tango. I suggest we take out their capital starship, which should considerably cut down their firepower.”

Chase was frowning as his son relayed his plan but decided that time was too critical to be wasted again on debates. At this point, if they wanted Ka’Rij to survive and help them save Sarah, fast and wasteful would have to do. And time was not on their side, so the tactic would have to do.

“Firing now,” said Chase and Argos in unison over the comms.

Dozens upon dozens of missiles and quantum torpedoes screamed forward, filling the space ahead with their light-gray trails.

The enemy capital ship’s turrets changed their firing priority almost instantly, stopping their onslaught toward the Iron Fire and trying to destroy as many incoming bogeys as they could. But their efforts were in vain as missiles and torpedoes impacted the capital ship by the dozen. A concerto of explosions engulfed the ship in flames.

As the fire dissipated, the capital ship had been well scorched but still operational. It had suffered massive structural damage, but once it resumed firing, Chase knew their maneuver hadn’t succeeded.

“At least their shields are down,” said Chris.

Multiple visual alarms blinked inside Chase’s StarFury mental HUD. It informed him that a secondary shield generator inside the flagship had kicked in.

“No, they’re not,” said Chase. “This capital ship has redundant shielding technology. They just activated.”

“Holy crap,” said Argos. “That’s not good.”

“Maybe taking on the bigger ship wasn’t my best decision,” said Chris.

It had been the first time Chase hadn’t led the assault himself, and he wanted to be supportive. Even though he agreed the plan hadn’t worked, he probably would have made the same targeting choice and take the biggest threat off the board.

“It doesn’t matter now, and for what it’s worth, I would have made the same choice in targeting this very ship.”

The radio crackled as the Iron Fire opened a channel to all squadrons.

“Guys, we have a major problem,” said Daniel. “Ka’Rij just informed me that transforming inside the protection of the shield bubble has generated some unforeseen issues for him. It’s gonna take more time for him to end his transformation.”

“How much more time?” asked Chris.

“I don’t have an exact figure, but a lot!”

To make things worse, the remaining ships then all focused on firing toward Ka’Rij as his expanding shape was hard to miss, and the enemy obviously decided he had became the bigger threat. Neither the Iron Fire nor Ka’Rij got hit as the extended shield bubble was continuing to intercept and diffuse the thousands of lasers blasts, creating a chaotic blue-orange halo all around the ship.

They’re now only targeting Ka’Rij. They’ve stopped shooting at us altogether, said Chris.

The enemy must think he’s the most dangerous thing out there now, added Argos.

And Chase could see why—the dragon was now bigger than the Iron Fire.

Chris brought about what was left of his squadron, and Chase followed suit.

“Are we going to sacrifice all our remaining StarFuries?” he asked.

“Unless you have a better idea.”

Chase looked at his holo-projected neuronal HUD and saw that the Iron Fire’s shields were weakening at an alarming rate.

“No, right now we have to take this ship out,” conceded Chase. “I’m linking control of the rest of my squadron directly to you. Their ordnance is gone, though.”

“Roger that.”

“I can’t do the same, obviously,” added Argos.

Argos’ squadron was made of living, breathing pilots, so having their ships micro-jump in a kamikaze fashion wouldn’t be wise. At worst, it was up to each pilot whether or not to sacrifice their life to achieve the objectives, but neither Argos nor Chase would directly ask this of them.

“That’s okay, have Gamma Squadron focus on diverting some fire from another ship,” said Chase.

“Roger that,” said Argos.

“Now, for the promised light show,” said Chris.

All of Chris’ Beta Squadron StarFuries opened fire with low-powered laser shots but at extremely fast rates, and the more hits on the shields, the faster they lowered. This lasted for a handful of seconds before the enemy capital ship finally diverted some of its turrets toward the incoming starfighters.

Every single missile and quantum torpedo onboard Beta Squadron fired all at once at their target.

Even though the enemy captain made that decision a little on the late side, at these ranges, their turret gunners were pretty efficient at taking out the Earth Alliance’s veritable barrage of missiles.

Soon, all incoming fire directed at the Iron Fire from the capital ship ceased, leaving the task to target the transforming Dragon to the remaining three destroyers, while the enemy flagship concentrated on defensive fire.

By Chase’s estimate, the flagship had shot enough missiles and torpedoes out of the sky for its shields to deflect multiple impacts from kamikaze StarFuries.

“Is this going to work?” asked Chase.

“We’re about to find out,” answered Chris.

With a single thought, Chris ordered every remote-controlled StarFury to micro-jump, and they all blinked out of existence at the same time.

* * *

Ergon’Kar slowly walked toward Athena, like a hunter toward a prey he knew he had already defeated. His facial expression was mixed with conviction and determination.

Athena’s blue eyes shined stronger, and their color switched to gold. She pushed her aura more than she ever had and created another energy lance, bigger and brighter than the last one. She roared as she threw the legendary attack at her enemy, this time aiming for the Spectre’s head.

This time, however, Ergon’Kar was ready and tilted his head to the side and grabbed the lance in midair. The intensity of the attack burned half of his hand, but his regenerative abilities allowed him to keep a solid grasp on the energy-based attack.

The Spectre produced a broad smile. “You didn’t really think I would fall for the same trick twice, did you? Who do you think I am, a Fury?”

Athena stayed silent as her aura slowly flickered down around her. She was barely able to remain standing, and her knees trembled and began to buckle under her. She had used the lion’s share of her energy in this attack for nothing.

“What is it with you Olympians? I told you this battle was already over. Why wouldn’t you listen?”

Athena’s heart thumped and raced wildly as her aura died off. Her beautiful, floating blonde hair fell back behind her shoulders. A dark veil of fear and sadness fell upon her soul.

With agility, Ergon’Kar swiveled the lance half a rotation, now aiming the lance’s tip back at her.

“For what it’s worth,” said Ergon’Kar, ”you fought bravely. I would normally assimilate your soul, but when a fighter displays incredible resilience and fights well, my caste believes they deserve a warrior’s death and for their soul to rest.”

Athena swallowed hard as her eyes filled with tears of regret. She now realized why Menelas didn’t want her to face Tanak’Vor. Her next thoughts went to her children, and her heart filled with dread at the idea of never seeing them again.

Chase, Argos, I’m so sorry.

“I think this belongs to you,” said the Spectre. “Die well, Athena.”

With extreme force and velocity, Ergon’Kar threw her attack back at her. Even though it only took a fraction of a second to travel the distance separating them, Athena felt like time froze. Her consciousness filled with regrets of things past and things she had hoped to achieve in the future, such as seeing Menelas again.

Everyone thought he was gone, but in her heart, she always kept hope that he was still alive, somewhere, somehow. The remorse of realizing that she would never see him or her children again was overwhelming her.

Then, suddenly, a typhoon appeared in front of her, swallowing the energy lance less than a meter before it impaled her. The typhoon’s circular motion slowed and then spun the opposite direction at an even faster pace, and the energy lance shot back again toward the Spectre, who never saw it coming. It impacted and pierced Ergon’Kar’s shoulder.

It sent the Spectre crashing and sliding on the floor for twenty meters and finally pinned him to the farthest wall of the engine room. Thick black blood dripped like a dark cascade from his wound and puddled onto the floor.

Athena blinked multiple times, still not sure if she imagined the whole thing. Then her uncle stepped in front of her, his mighty golden Trident glistening in his cybernetic hand.

“Are you alright, Athena?” he asked.

Athena’s energy was too low to answer, her knees buckled and she fell, losing consciousness. Poseidon caught her before she hit the floor, and he delicately rested her against the glass behind where the Prometheus’s engines were located.

Rest now Athena, I’ll take care of this.

Poseidon rose back to his feet, cracked his neck, and turned around to face his niece’s attacker. His eyes glowed a strong greenish-blue, giving him an intense presence.

“You’re going to pay for this with your life,” growled Poseidon.

* * *

Nyx thought she would lose her mind as she just couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Inside the lab’s pods was a weird, mutant copy of a being but with darker, arachnoid skin. There was no mistaking it, the monstrosity she peered at looked like her.

“What the hell is this?” she asked.

“From what I gathered from the data,” said Ares, “they’re a Fury-arachnoid, hybrid clone.”

Nyx snarled and her purple aura grew and turned a deeper crimson hue.

Suddenly, it clicked inside her mind. The reason Zarna was so obsessed with her. Nyx had wondered how come they never killed her on the numerous occasions when they caught her again and again? Now she understood why. Yet, somehow she wished Ares had never found the truth.

Her Fury pride increased her anger tenfold. “But to what purpose?” she asked, smashing her fist against the pod.

“To use as cannon fodder in their next war.”

“And you think your friend Chase can stop this?”

“If anybody can, it’s him, but we have to warn him first. Also, he could use another Ultra Fury.”

“The Ultra Fury is a myth.”

“You’re so close to transforming into one right now, you don’t even realize it.”

She turned and looked at Ares. “Can you show me?”

Ares nodded. “Yes.”

He approached her and put his hand on her shoulder.

“Close your eyes.”

Nyx was reluctant to trust Ares so soon after she had sworn she wouldn’t, but she had been on such an emotional rollercoaster that she didn’t hesitate for too long.

“Now what?” she said.

“Visualize your anger, let it take shape inside your mind.”

In her mind’s eye, a giant red ball of fire the size of a star burst into view.

“Good. That’s your hatred, and it’s fueled by your energy, which is very strong. Now, project yourself in its center, and let it explode from the inside out.”

“I’m not sure I understand.”

“You don’t need to if you do what I tell you. Just focus on the center of the star you see in your mind, the absolute center. Think of it as a nucleus or the core of a planet if that helps you visualize better. With your mind, make that core explode.”

What happened next made no sense to Nyx, but every particle in her body received an energy boost so strong she thought she was the one that would explode from the inside out. The amount of power that ran through her was beyond anything she thought possible.

“You can open your eyes now,” said Ares.

An orange glow radiated all around her, and her aura was shining brighter and expending much more energy than ever before. Her eyes sparkled orange and looked like a pair of miniature suns with multiple exploding flares.

Her hair danced atop her head like a golden flame.

The lab doors split open, and three more arachnoids opened fire on them.

She mentally grabbed the plasma fire with a single thought, feeling the energy at a subatomic level, grabbing hold of it and destabilizing each sub-particle bond with one another until it vanished.

She then used another mind push to grab all three warriors with telekinetic energy, and she paralyzed all their muscles with ease. She opened her palm and a golden fireball shot from her hand. A fraction of a second later, the energy split in three smaller projectiles that impacted with each enemy.

They disintegrated from the amount of concentrated energy impacting with their frail bodies, leaving three burnt shadow outlines on the door behind them. A few concentrated specks of dust were the only remaining proof that these beings ever existed.

She looked at her palm with awe. “I—I’m an Ultra Fury.”

* * *

The jump gate exploded into a greenish-yellow inferno, engulfing the entire spider ship like a black hole relentlessly devouring matter.

Secondary and tertiary explosions made the blast even bigger and shook the Bellerophon to its core, but its shields held, miraculously, just long enough to protect them from the radiation of the blasts before giving in.

Tar’Lock released a long sigh of relief. “That was a great strategy, Captain.”

“Thank you, Tar’Lock,” Talon said with a smile.

Three impacts on the hull rocked the ship heavily.

“What the hell?” exclaimed Talon.

“Grappling hooks…but that can’t be,” said Tar’Lock.

The green-yellow flames receded, and a hazy shadow appeared in their place; it wavered back and forth like dancing flames, but there was no mistaking the overall shape—it was a dark spider.

“How could they have survived that explosion?!” exclaimed Talon, trying to convince himself that he wasn’t hallucinating.

The Bellerophon was immobilized by the hooks that had pierced through the hull as if it wasn’t even there.

“We must have at least damaged their tractor beams, which is why they used grappling hooks instead. Let’s try and get free of these. Reverse engines at maximum!” ordered Talon.

Tar’Lock entered commands at light speed on his console, but the only effect it had was a grinding noise as the ship barely budged.

“It’s not working.”

“I’m sorry, Tar’Lock. I was sure this was going to work.”

Tar’Lock clicked nervously. He, too, thought they had defeated the spider ship. But he should have known better as he knew how resilient they could be. Back during the war with the Furies, the Hope had barely survived its skirmish with one of these, granted that it had been a larger class of enemy ships.

“Can we fire at it?” asked Talon.

“Currently, I’ve transferred all power, trying to break free of their hold.”

“Little good that’s doing us. Transfer it back to the forward particle cannons, and open fire with everything we’ve got.”

“Yes, Captain.”

The Bellerophon opened fire toward the spider ship, but its weak shots were no match for the spider ship’s armor plating and the few shots that did get through just bounced off the dark surfaces.

“We simply don’t have enough power to damage their hull. I think we’re screwed,” Tar’Lock said with a multitude of interlaced clicking sounds at a rapid pace, even for him.

“Maybe we are, Tar’Lock. But if we go down, we go down fighting, agreed?” asked Talon, locking eyes with his first officer and friend.

Tar’Lock nodded.

“Kill the engines.”

The moment Tar’Lock did as his captain ordered, the grappling hooks started to bring the Bellerophon forward.

“Why aren’t they blasting us with their plasma bolts?” asked Tar’Lock.

“Perhaps for the same reason as they didn’t use a tractor beam. They may have survived a jump gate exploding in their faces, which is quite a feat, especially for a ship their size, but that had to cost them something. And we’re about to find out if this thing can be killed, even if we lay down our own lives to achieve the goal. Lock onto the center of the ship, and on my mark, give me ramming speed.”

“Coordinates locked.”

“It’s been an honor having you on my crew, my little insectoid friend.”

“Likewise, Talon.”

Talon took a deep breath. “Now!”

The Bellerophon darted forward, picking up speed at a blistering pace.

24

Multiple StarFuries collided with the enemy’s shields at nearly the same time as the lion’s share of the remaining missiles. The shield flickered and blinked off. The remaining quantum torpedoes were primed to finish the job.

The nearest enemy destroyer micro-jumped in front of the enemy flagship and its shields took the brunt of the torpedoes damage, barely staying up.

“Dammit!” exclaimed Chris over the comms.

Let me take care of the rest, said a familiar voice. Thanks for the cover.

The dragon flew past the StarFuries, temporarily plunging each cockpit into darkness.

Ka’Rij, in full dragon form, was a thing of beauty. His shiny black scales made him look like a metallic shadow flying through space.

The dragon used his enormous wingspan to swipe at the destroyer and send it into a wild spin. Ka’Rij roared, and a massive fireball shot from his mouth and zoomed toward the enemy’s flagship.

Since its shield were down, it ripped through the metal effortlessly and engulfed the ship in flames. Sensing the Iron Fire was positioning itself into firing position, Ka’Rij banked left and gave the Earth Alliance ship a clear shot at their enemy.

* * *

“Status of main weapon?” asked Daniel from the bridge.

“Primed and ready at full charge, Captain,” answered Commander Aniotis.

“Lock onto the center of the ship, and open fire,” Daniel said with coldness.

An intense ray of yellow plasma energy shot from the nose of the Iron Fire and struck dead center on the enemy flagship.

The continuous beam of plasma turned the metal red, melted through it, and cut the enemy ship in half. The bow and stern floated in opposite directions before secondary and internal explosions blasted the ship into a million fiery pieces.

“We have a kill!” exclaimed the commander.

Daniel smiled.

Tough little ship. I think I’m in love.

It was moments like these that made Daniel doubt he would be a good fit for the station commander position that Altair offered. Though, he did not doubt that the Alkyonidon Station would probably be a flying fortress of its own with more firepower than any of the Earth Alliance destroyers and dreadnoughts.

“Multiple hyperspace windows detected,” said Commander Aniotis.

For a split second, Daniel thought enemy reinforcements had arrived, but the last three ships, including the one Ka’Rij had sent into a spin, all opened hyperspace windows and turned tail.

* * *

They’ll be back, said Ka’Rij directly into Chase’s thoughts, and in greater numbers next time. But, for now, this gives us a window of a few hours to try to retake control on the surface. Thank you so much for this, and I’m sorry you wasted so many resources in doing so.

Don’t worry about it, answered Chase. We’re happy to be of assistance. That’s the least we could do considering you saved our hides earlier. As a matter of fact, if it weren’t for you, we’d have lost more than just a few starfighters and ordnance.

I can sense there’s something else on your mind.

Chase smiled for a second before continuing.

My wife. . .I’m really hoping you can help us with that, too. We—We’ve tried everything, in vain, and I can’t lose her.

I’ve lost my other half to this war. I would give everything to bring her back, so I think I have a good idea as to what you’re feeling. We’ll do whatever we can to help her. I give you my word.

Thanks, Ka’Rij.

Chase still didn’t know what could possibly be stronger than his own Fury healing abilities, besides the elixir from Asclepius, which died with him when Arakan destroyed Olympus. The elixir had brought Chase himself back to life by reaching deep in the Underworld and returning him to the land of the living. There had to be similar compounds out there that would do the same for Sarah. Chase hoped that the tears of the Dragonmen were one of these.

The comms crackled to life. “Well, we’ve won, so what’s next?” asked Argos.

Ka’Rij? Can you enter the atmosphere on your own?

Yes, it’s always a little tricky as the transformation happens while I am planet-bound, but I’ve done it enough times that it’s become almost second nature. Just follow me in.

Ka’Rij banked right and started his descent.

“Let’s follow Ka’Rij,” answered Chase.

“Roger that,” said Argos. “What about my squadron pilots?”

“Back to the barn, only Furies from this point forward.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” argued Chris. “We may need their firepower for cover.”

“They’ll be risking their lives if they come,” Chase protested.

“And what have they been doing in this battle, knitting sweaters? I think as part of the Earth Alliance they know what they signed on for, wouldn’t you think? I don’t want to sound insensitive here, but they’re only alive today because we've risked our lives to kill the Furies. If they chose to come on this mission, they know that they may be risking their lives.”

Chase didn’t like the idea, as the Earth Alliance was not officially part of this war. However, Chris was only trying to maximize their chances, and he was becoming a voice of reason against one of Chase’s own failings—the ability to accept that in any engagement, there would be losses.

“Let your squadron know, Argos, that it’s a voluntary mission. Those who want to come, can; the rest should return to the Iron Fire. We’ll be putting them in the line of fire against unknown forces, so I don’t want to make that decision for them.”

“That’s what an admiral does,” said Chris. “As a matter of fact, even when you were a lieutenant that was and still is the burden of command.”

The words stung even though Chase knew his son was right. It was time for him to let go of the fear and guilt that was paralyzing him.

No one from Argos’ Gamma Squadron changed course. This made Chase feel a little better and did confirm that he had to accept that men would die under his command, no matter how he wished it not to be true.

You need to get your shit together, barked Chris telepathically. Having turned your back on me when I needed you the most is one thing, but don’t fail everyone else because you’re scared shitless. Or have you forgotten who you are? For better or for worse, you’re the hero of the Fury War, you’re the one who killed Tanak’Vor. Why are you still acting like you lost that war?

Because I feel like I did.

That’s bullshit. If you ever want to earn back an ounce of my respect, you need to become that fearless, maximum risk-taking father I remember. This. . .this other guy, I don’t know who he is, and I don’t care much for him. Still. . .thank you for saving my life earlier with the hydra. Hopefully, the way of the warrior still runs through your veins and will return to your heart and soul. If not, and if the Spectres return, then gods help us all because without Chase the Dragonheart, we’re all fucking doomed!

Chase’s eyes watered. He knew his son was right, but that didn’t make it any less painful to hear. However, hearing his son thanking him for saving his life earlier did help bolster Chase’s confidence if only ever so slightly.

Son, I truly hope this man you talk about still exists…

If he doesn’t, then on top of my mother, I would have lost my dad. And I don’t want to live in that world. You hear me? So listen to my words for once: get-your-shit-together!

Tears fell down Chase’s face. In his own antagonist ways, Chris had still hit a chord with his father.

Thank you, son.

* * *

By the time Poseidon marched toward the Spectre for the kill, Ergon’Kar had removed the energy lance that had pinned him against the wall. He didn’t wait and promptly threw it back at Poseidon.

The God of the Sea blocked the attack with his Trident. The tip of the weapon glowed, and the energy lance stopped in midair. It disintegrated into a million small particles of light that were siphoned into the Trident and then into Poseidon himself.

“Who the hell are you?” asked the Spectre.

“My name is Poseidon.”

Ergon’Kar smiled from ear to ear. “The head of the Olympians himself? Must be my lucky day.”

“I’ll make you swallow those words soon enough.”

“I would already have returned a hero with Athena’s head, but bringing both of yours, I’ll be instantly promoted, and songs will be written about this moment.”

“I would worry more about making it out of here alive than your social status if I were you.”

Poseidon pointed his Trident, and a laser-thin, blue energy attack pierced the Spectre’s chest. It traveled completely through him.

“Then you’re going to have to unleash stronger attacks,” smirked Ergon’Kar before launching forward.

Poseidon smiled in return. His blue-green eyes flashed briefly, and the Spectre’s chest exploded as if a small grenade detonated from inside his body. It sent the unsuspecting Spectre crashing to the ground, spilling massive amounts of black ooze on the floor.

Ergon’Kar roared with a mixture of pain and frustration.

Poseidon aimed his cybernetic arm at the downed Spectre, and a ray of super-concentrated blue energy shot from his palm.

The Spectre raised a palm at the last second and tried to block the attack. Little did he know that it was a freezing ray. His hand started to feel numb almost immediately, and soon after, he was encased in an ice coffin. Poseidon increased the level of the ray until Ergon’Kar was trapped inside two meters of solid ice.

When he was satisfied, he turned and ran back to Athena. She was still unconscious.

He triggered some commands on his cybernetic arm, and the inside of his palm glowed orange. He delicately put it about ten centimeters from her chest. A warm orange light traveled from his palm and penetrated her chest. After a couple of minutes, she finally blinked her eyes open.

“What—what happened? The Spectre?” she said trying to get up.

“Shhh…try and not move for a moment while I heal you.”

“That being is dangerous. Is it dead?”

“The next best thing, really.”

“You don’t understand.”

“Of course I do. I fought Tanak’Vor, don’t you remember?”

“Yeah, and he killed you. Where—where is it?”

Poseidon moved slightly so her field of view was replaced with Ergon’Kar entrapped in the ice coffin.

“That won’t hold him forever.”

“We don’t need forever.”

Poseidon manipulated the controls on his cybernetic arm and a small, round drone no bigger than a penny flew upward and stuck onto the ice block. Poseidon then opened a channel.

“Bridge, come in?”

“This is Commander Actarios. How can I help, Poseidon?”

“Lock into this frequency tag, and beam it out to space.”

“Locking on.”

Blue and green streaks of light engulfed the iced Spectre, and he disappeared.

“Thank you, Commander.”

“Your or Athena’s presence is needed on the bridge, Sir. We’ve received a distress call from the Earth Alliance.”

“Lock onto Athena and beam her to her quarters, then beam me up to the bridge.”

“No—belay that,” said Athena. “Beam us both to the bridge.”

“Understood,” said Commander Actarios.

As the beaming streaks enveloped them, Poseidon spoke:

“You know you should rest.”

“Thanks to you, I’m much better; it’s my ship after all.”

Poseidon smiled just before they beamed away.

* * *

The time had come for both Tar’Lock and Talon to make peace with whatever deities they believed in. They were three seconds away from the end of the line when a big bright light flashed and blinded them.

“Hang on to your socks,” a voice over the comms resonated in the bridge.

The Bellerophon slowed down brutally, which sent Talon’s head crashing into the viewport, and he lost consciousness.

Tar’Lock almost stumbled over his console but managed to grab it as a lifeline. His eyesight returned in time to see a massive shape pass in front of the ship and slice through the spider ship’s grappling hooks in the process, while a blue tractor beam set to reverse polarity was slowing down the Bellerophon.

Tar’Lock didn’t remember ever seeing this particular ship, but the design was unmistakable. It was an Earth Alliance warship, and from the size of it, a big one. They had gotten his distress call, and not a second too late.

The holo-screen filled with a familiar face.

“Hello, Tar’Lock. You okay?” said Altair.

“Hello, Altair, you’re a sight for sore eyes. My captain wasn’t strapped into his chair and he hit his head pretty hard, but considering what could have happened if you didn’t intervene, I think he’ll be fine. But, Altair, this is a Spectre ship, you need to blow it out of the sky while it’s damaged. The damn thing survived the explosion of the jump gate.”

“Understood. Just tend to your captain, Tar’Lock. We’ll take care of this.”

“Don’t underestimate it though.”

“Don’t worry, Tar’Lock, I don’t intend to. Thanks for the heads up.”

The holo-screen turned off and Tar’Lock ran so fast to Talon’s side, that to the human eye it would appear he teleported. A moment later, he had left the bridge and was on his way to med-bay.

* * *

“Lock all weapons on the spider ship, maximum firepower and open fire,” ordered Altair. “I want this thing destroyed sooner rather than later.”

“Firing now,” said the weapons officer.

The Hercules’ batteries all fired at once, and a massive volley of thirty-two torpedoes screamed toward the spider ship.

It returned fire and destroyed as many incoming projectiles as it could. Red shields erected around its black metallic hull and lit up like a Christmas tree as it absorbed the thousands of incoming blasts.

“Enemy shields are holding,” said the weapons officer.

“Lock primary weapons to the center of the ship. Wait until the torpedoes impact their shields, then open fire. Don’t wait for my order.”

“Understood, Captain.”

About half of the torpedoes made it to the target, engulfing the spider ship in flames upon exploding on its shields. But Altair knew how advanced these ships were.

He never had fought one himself, but he had read the reports and analyzed the sensor readings that Yanis had dumped into the Earth Alliance weapons’ database. As a matter of fact, the new plasma cannon of these latest generation warships had been specifically designed to counter the spider ships’ nearly impenetrable shields.

It was time to test if Spiros’ advancements would pay off.

After the volley of quantum torpedoes impacted on the spider ship’s shields, the main plasma cannon came to life, and a large stream of yellow energy fired at the center of the still flaming inferno.

The velocity at which it impacted with the enemy shield hit dead center, which turned completely red as the shields fought to deflect it.

“Status?”

“Enemy shields down to thirty percent and…holding. Their power is fluctuating heavily, they must have diverted every particle of energy to their shields. I wouldn’t be surprised if they dropped life support even.”

Altair smiled. “Then let’s increase power by twenty percent, divert all power from hydroponics, life support in the lower cargo decks, and reduce artificial gravity all the way down to twenty percent if you have to.”

It took about three seconds for the weapons officer to key in the changes for the bright yellow beam.

“Their shield dropped to seven percent. But again, they’re holding.”

“Chances of penetrating the shields if we go all-in?” requested Altair.

“Simulations say we have an eighty-seven percent chance of destroying the ship if we do. But, Captain, if we don’t, we’ll be dead in the water for forty-five seconds until the emergency batteries recharge the shields.”

“I am well aware of that. Charge the main weapon for a full energy-draining shot.”

Altair could read the fear in the officer and everyone else on the bridge. But if he had learned anything from the Fury War and how Chase and his friends waged battle, it was that you had to be willing to risk everything when faced with superior technology.

“Charged, Captain.”

“Open fire!”

* * *

While engulfed in flames, Ka’Rij turned from a full-sized dragon to a humanoid dragon form. Watching the transformation was nerve-wracking for Chase.

But their newfound friend had assured him he had done this enough times that it would go well, and soon enough, they burst through the thick layer of atmosphere of New Kyria as a still conscious Ka’Rij folded his now much smaller wings into a gliding position.

Are you alright? Chase inquired telepathically.

Never better, thank you.

Where to now?

Follow me.

It only took five minutes to arrive at their target: a large industrialized base.

We need to neutralize this base, said Ka’Rij. It serves as their starport and provides a steady stream of troop reinforcements for them. We’ve been unable to stop them due to the massive aerial firepower they have protecting it. We should start here, as that will lower the amount of resistance we face in our planet-bound engagement.

Chase realized Ka’Rij was addressing all of them simultaneously when Chris answered before he did.

Can we flatten it? What about the precious artifact you told me about?

It’s indestructible. But I doubt you can flatten the base with just your few StarFuries and my aerial support. My fire-breath attacks are way less powerful inside the atmosphere since I’m much smaller. Simple physics really, my fire-producing glands have been reduced at the moment and so has my lung capacity.

Chase chuckled. At this point in time, our StarFuries are holding us back, Ka’Rij. If you’re okay with us leveling the base, trust us, it won’t take long.

Laser turrets turned in place and opened fire on the incoming squadron. Aircraft lifted from the base and pierced through the shields on their way to intercept.

I’m not sure I follow, said Ka’Rij. But yes, you have my approval to level the base.

“Gamma Squadron,” said Argos, “engage and destroy the enemy fighters, but have them pursue you at a far distance, or you’ll get caught in the crossfire.”

The pilots confirmed their orders and engaged the fighters briefly before veering left and steering them away from the base as ordered.

Why are you doing this? asked Ka’Rij.

Chris? said Chase. Wanna do the honors?

I thought you’d never ask.

Chris’ canopy opened, and he flew out of his ship. As the laser fire intensified toward Ka’Rij, Chris flew in front of him and formed a shield to deflect the laser streaks that would pose a potential threat to the Dragonman.

“How are you doing this?” said the wide-eyed Dragonman.

“What, that? That’s nothing, my friend. Watch this!”

Chris’ green aura exploded like a supernova, and soon after, turned a similar shade as the Earth’s sun as he turned Ultra Fury. Chris thrust both his palms toward the base.

Dozens upon dozens of orange fireballs shot from his hands and impacted the base’s blue shields, illuminating them like rain impacting a pond during a downpour in the middle of a storm.

It took less than ten seconds for them to fail, and then Chris raised a hand to the heavens, and a rapidly growing fireball grew over him. In less than three seconds, it grew to double the boy’s size.

Chris unleashed a mighty roar that echoed around the entire valley as he sent the fireball hurtling toward the base.

Upon impact, there was a brief blinding flash before the inferno devoured metal structures and enemy flesh alike. Moments later, a large crater had replaced the base with heavy smoke rising from its center.

“That’s—that’s not possible,” mumbled Ka’Rij.

25

The lights inside the bridge of the Hercules lost ninety percent of their brightness as every bit of energy was siphoned from its system. A ball of supercharged plasma energy grew in front of the Earth Alliance dreadnought and merged into the already thick energy beam, making it increase by another forty percent.

Most of the lights inside and outside of the ship went off, making it look like the Earth Alliance ship was powering down, except for the massive plasma beam that was still shooting toward the smaller spider ship.

This better work, thought Altair, or we’ll be sitting ducks.

The spider ship moved and tried to deflect the blast from its center as if it knew that if its shields failed at that angle, it would be obliterated. The bright red shields blinked.

“Almost there,” said Altair. “Keep it going! And try to adjust for the enemy’s drift while you’re at it.”

“We’re running out of power, the beam will shut down in ten seconds, and we don’t have enough power in this firing mode to adjust the orientation, I’m afraid,” the weapons officer said as his voice trembled.

Come on! thought Altair. Explode already.

The shields flickered right before they gave up entirely; the beam was no longer hitting the spider ship dead center.

The plasma energy cut through whatever was in its way, which resulted in a massive explosion that took out three of the four legs on the port side of the spider ship.

Whatever few lights were still on in the bridge blinked off and sent the crew into relative darkness except for the light show coming from the viewport but eventually even that died out and full darkness ensued.

We’re in trouble.

Forty-five seconds without shields and weapons could very well be an eternity if the spider ship still had firing capability. That was plenty of time for them to either inflict massive damage or destroy the ship altogether if they knew where to fire, like the quadrinium chambers, especially now that they’d be working overtime to try and restore power to every system on the ship.

Yanis had come up with this all-in firing system to give Chase a battle advantage with much stronger Fury destroyers during the war. But Chase had an uncanny ability that not many other captains had, which was a sense, or instinct, about when to use it. Altair swore internally about using this tactic.

From Altair’s captain’s chair, a small, low-energy LED display turned on and counted down. It showed forty-three seconds.

Taking down that spider ship was paramount for the Earth Alliance. And perhaps it had been a hidden remnant of the Fury War, but it could also be a new scout ship that hinted at a future full-scale invasion.

The thought was too horrible to contemplate. Especially, seeing how hard it was to damage the damn thing with a ship that was considerably larger. Then he remembered the conversation with Chase where his friend indicated that the Spectres might return.

It all made sense. Why would Tanak’Vor work in the shadows of the Furies, manipulating Arakan from day one to try and destroy the Earth Alliance if they didn’t have a bigger plan in the works? These dark thoughts were terrifying and sent Altair to a very uncomfortable place where fear reigned supreme.

Right now, it all boiled down to whether they had damaged the ship enough so that it retreated, or at least was disabled enough so that the Hercules would have time to regain its power.

They only needed another twenty seconds for the Hercules to restore power and defend itself again. Altair’s heart froze when the spider ship started moving toward them.

* * *

Tar’Lock finished installing the unconscious Talon into the only regen tank on board the Bellerophon. Minutes after activating the pod, Talon’s head stopped bleeding and a counter ticked down from one hour and thirty minutes, the time required to heal all of Talon’s wounds.

The prognosis was not life-threatening though. A long sigh of relief escaped Tar’Lock.

He returned to the bridge to see the battle still raging outside. Upon glancing at the scene, he nervously clicked as he wished he hadn’t been curious.

The spider ship appeared damaged, but it was slowly advancing toward the Earth Alliance dreadnought. The ship looked disabled, and none of its usual deck lights were on.

A very bad sign, thought Tar’Lock.

He quickly entered a flurry of commands on the nearest holo-console, trying to see if he could bring any semblance of weapons to bear. But the Bellerophon was simply too damaged to be of any help. Its antiquated self-repairing circuitry would take hours, if not days, to restore it to flying shape.

The spider ship didn’t fire on the Hercules, which Tar’Lock took as a good sign. After everything the enemy ship had been through, like exploding inside the jump gate and getting fired upon by the Earth Alliance dreadnought, it had to have sustained some level of damage.

What Tar’Lock didn’t like was the sensor reading showing an increased amount of energy emanating from the power core of the ship. The rise was too rapid and could mean only one thing. The spider ship intended to self-destruct and send them all to hell in the process.

He tried opening a channel to the Hercules but got no response.

Tar’Lock’s heart rapidly beat as he looked on helplessly to the spider ship approaching and latching onto the hull of the Hercules. He swallowed hard and braced for what would inevitably come next.

* * *

Nyx couldn’t believe the amount of power her body now possessed. She felt, for lack of a better word, godly.

“This is unbelievable.”

“Yes, that’s the power of the Ultra Fury. I may be mistaken, but you seem to generate even more power than what I’ve witnessed from any Fury in this form.”

“How do you figure?”

“I don’t know, there’s something about how concentrated your aura is. It looks supercharged, which is good because three Ultra Furies barely managed to take out a single Spectre.”

Nyx sensed Ares wanted to say something else, but he restrained himself.

“What aren’t you telling me, Ares?”

“Nothing of importance right now. You need to get to the bridge and kill the head of the snake while you still can.”

“What does that mean?”

“In this form, you’ll burn your energy pool way faster than you usually do. Sure, it’s larger than any I’ve ever sensed, but it’s not infinite, no matter how powerful you feel right this moment. Also, it’s your first time wielding this power and that could also impact the length at which you can keep this transformation going.”

Right now, Nyx felt indestructible and that she commanded an infinite source of energy, but Ares had told her the truth until now, so she had no reason to doubt him.

“What’s next, then?”

“I’ll teleport you to the bridge; there you can take out the Spectre as fast as possible while I sabotage the ship so that it doesn’t survive the re-entry into our universe.”

“And you’ll do that how?”

“Let me worry about that. You just make sure the enemy is too busy with you wreaking havoc on the bridge. But, please try not to destroy the ship in the process, it’s the only prototype with inter-dimensional jump capabilities, so we need it to work its magic at least once, or we’ll get trapped here for gods knows how long.”

“I’m sure they can build another one, or one is already being constructed.”

“Perhaps, but from what I’ve gathered, they require some pretty rare ore to make it work, not to mention the time dilation between dimensions.”

“I don’t follow.”

“Months can pass in our dimension while only mere hours have gone through here.”

Nyx tried doing the math in her head, but it gave her a slight headache.

“How long was Erevos trapped here? After the first Fury War, I mean. Not just a few years?”

“It’s been roughly ten thousand years between the time it first was sent to this dimension, then returned to be destroyed a few months later.”

Nyx’s mind had a hard time assimilating what Ares was telling her. While her planet was in exile in this dimension, entire civilizations must have risen and fallen on the other side. Would she even recognize her universe of origin? But the thought of meeting with other Furies fueled her determination and bolstered her courage.

“I know it’s a lot to process,” said Ares. “But, right now, none of that matters.”

Agree to disagree, she thought.

Nonetheless, she acknowledged that maybe this was their one and only shot to get the hell out of this gods-forsaken prison of a dimension once and for all. She sure wouldn’t miss this awful place.

“Ready when you are,” she said.

Ares put his energy-based hand on her shoulder. “You won’t feel a thing, but you’ll be transported directly onto the bridge.”

She nodded. “Any last words of advice?”

“Go in firing, be fast, surgical, and whatever you do, don’t underestimate the Spectre, or it will be the last thing you ever do.”

Determination burned inside Nyx’s now orange-glowing eyes as she nodded.

She turned around for a brief moment and fired fireballs at the pods containing the freak clones created from her DNA. She incinerated them, making sure nothing remained.

She took a deep breath. “With that out of the way…let’s do this!”

* * *

Poseidon helped Athena onto her captain’s chair aboard the Prometheus.

“You should really get some rest,” said Poseidon.

“I’ll rest later, for the time being, someone needs our help. Fortunately, we’re not far away from the source of the distress call, so we’ll first render assistance. That’s the least we can do for the Earth Alliance.”

“Not disputing that.”

“I’m getting a newfound understanding why Menelas didn’t want me to fight these beasts. I did not expect them to be so powerful.”

“Yes, and I can tell you that this one was much weaker than Tanak’Vor. By a huge factor.”

Athena’s eyes shot open at this realization, even though her uncle words did make sense. If the Spectre she fought had been as strong as the one her sons defeated, she wouldn’t have lasted as long as she did. She had no delusions of grandeur when it came to her own battle powers, and knew full well Chase and Argos, and even Menelas, were stronger warriors; no matter how much she had trained after the end of the Fury War.

The training had been a way for her to externalize her anger and frustration at having been denied the choice to participate in the last battle. And her own way to cope with her grief. Well, today she got a taste of what she had missed, and knowing there were more of these Spectres, some of them more powerful than Ergon’Kar, was not a pleasant thought.

“Menelas did what he did because he loved you. I understand your earlier frustration and anger, but it won’t change the simple fact that he wanted you to stay alive. I wish I had done that for my brother. But Zeus is the one who saved my life instead.”

Athena quickly wiped away a forming tear.

She missed them both. Menelas and her father Zeus. The hope she felt that he might still be out there was what helped her get up every day since the end of the war.

“I know. What’s our ETA?” she said, trying to change the subject.

“We’ll jump out of hyperspace in a little under two minutes,” said commander Actarios.

“Be battle ready, engage shields, and power all weapons the moment we jump out,” she ordered.

“As you command,” answered her crewman.

* * *

Ka’Rij hovered over what was once the enemy base, flapping his wings to stay level with the young Fury. Ka’Rij’s people had tried for years and failed to severely damage this base, and now it was gone.

“I—I can’t believe your powers. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Chris smiled. “Well, believe me, there are beings infinitely stronger than us.”

The look of shock on Ka’Rij needed no interpretation as to how he received this new bit of information.

“What are these beings you’re talking about?”

“Spectres. One alone almost destroyed us all. My father eventually defeated it, but not before my mother was mortally wounded,” said Chris, his face expressing the deep sadness hacking at his heart with every new beat.

“I hope we can help your mother.”

“We hope that too, Ka’Rij.”

“I do have a question, though. Why didn’t you use these powers to dispatch the fleet in orbit?”

“You see, in space, you have these incredible powers, you can turn into a full-blown dragon and destroy larger targets. Well, with Furies it’s the opposite. We can unleash these powers only when we’re planet-bound. Well, that’s technically inaccurate, but when we use our powers in space, we risk creating rifts in the very fabric of space and time.”

“How do you know this?”

“Because it has happened already, pushing our energy levels to their maximum and unleashing energy-based attacks has resulted in the formation of black holes in the past. If one had formed in orbit, your world and people would be gone now.”

“I understand.”

“What I don’t is why we didn’t create any against the hydra? By all accounts, all three of us used our powers in that battle, and yet we haven’t created a black hole.”

“Could it be because the part of space I found you isn’t like any other place in the galaxy? It…it’s where Kyria once stood. Where my planet died, and it has affected the space around in ways that no one understands. It was once an entire solar system with twin stars, but after the demon war that took out my home, it became this strange space where the only creatures that dare roam it are large beings like the space hydra.”

“I see. That could explain why.”

Chase flew in and joined them. “Speaking of which. I don’t mean to be insensitive, but you talked of a possible cure for my wife?”

Ka’Rij looked at Chase. He could sense a sadness looming in the Fury’s heart.

“Of course. You’ve helped us achieve a major victory today. I’ll come back with you, and we’ll try the cure.”

“You have it on you?”

“Tears of the Dragonmen are the most powerful health elixir we have.”

“That’s not the name of the potion, you mean it’s your own tears?” asked Chase.

“Yes. Now that you chased away the Hellion Empire, my people will have time to attack and destroy smaller targets on the remainder of the surface of the planet.”

“We could probably blast a few of these from orbit, too. Or, if you prefer, we can take care of all of them for you. It won’t take long”

“That’s very generous of you, and on any other day, I would gladly accept your offer, but we Dragonmen are very sensitive beings. The best way to explain it is that we have a direct communication line with the universe.”

Chase raised an eyebrow. “I’m not sure where you’re going with this.”

“The universe is a breathing, living entity. It’s connected in ways most beings inhabiting it are oblivious to. We do not know why Dragonmen have this intimate link, but it’s both a gift and a curse. When we come in contact with new people, we not only feel what they feel, but we sense emotions from everyone whose lives they’ve touched or important people they’ve interacted with. The stronger the bond a person has with someone, the more his or her emotions, like echoes if you will, will reach us. And right now, a lot of people you care about are in danger. I can sense this through this universal ripple effect.”

Argos rejoined the group.

“What?” said Argos. “That makes little sense. We Furies can also sense these things, at very large distances, and I’m not sensing it now.”

“Perhaps, but trust me when I say that my senses are more acute than yours in these matters. I’m certain friends of yours are in danger. You can always come back and help us later. As a matter of fact, we’ll probably need you to do so, as the Empire will return in greater numbers. But for the time being, we can deal with the remaining bases.”

“Then we should go,” said Chase.

* * *

Back onboard the Iron Fire, Chase, Argos, Chris, and Ka’Rij were heading to the bridge. Chase had already asked Daniel telepathically to enter hyperspace and push the engines to their absolute maximum the moment they stepped aboard.

“Tell me, my dragon friend,” said Chase. “Can you tell me more about what you’ve sensed?”

“I sense something regarding members of your family, Chase,” said Ka’Rij. “More specifically, the one who gave you and your brother birth. I would say anxiety and sadness. I also sense an old enemy now turned ally in jeopardy, fear permeates that man’s thoughts right now. As well as a mentor, trapped in a land far, far away, trying to return to you with troublesome news.”

Chase’s heartbeat accelerated furiously. Was Ka’Rij talking about Athena, Altair, and Ares? Was Ares still alive somehow?

“How can you know all of this?”

“As I said, we have a powerful bond with the universe. We’ve sensed for a while now that the biggest threat the universe would ever face is building up.”

“Then you were right, Chase,” said Chris. “Spectres will come back.”

“Tell me this,” asked Chase, “we’ve fought a terrible war about a year ago, have you sensed the ripples from that war?”

“Yes, through a faint connection with a man who has forgotten who he is, but still, we knew a large-scale conflict had taken place, but only after the fact. That war feels more like it was a test of your resolve, a way for the universe to see if you had what it took to face the real threats to its very existence. You see, we are the universe. You, me, everyone, is part of that one sentient being, and that being or entity that the universe is knows when danger is near. We pick up on these emotions and can sense them through the many invisible energies and connections that exist between living individuals.”

“Can we help any of them?” asked Chase. “Is there still time?”

“There was never any time for you to be a part of this conflict; you chose a different path coming here, looking for new allies and a cure for your wife. But this part of your journey is at an end now. I’ll return with you and help your wife. Since we came back to the ship, I’ve had more insights into a few different people you’re connected to, and I believe they’ll prevail. You, Chase, seem to be a nexus point; you’ve created a powerful network of individual connections. These are in play as we speak, and I think they’ll prevail on their own.”

“I hope you’re right.”

“I’m not seeing the future, just sensing emotions from people I don’t know personally, but the picture I’m sensing tells me that these people you’ve formed connections with, they’re capable of taking care of themselves.”

Chase was not sure he liked the sound of that. He hated being far away when people he cared about were in danger. But Ka’Rij’s words somehow echoed with the telepathic pep talk he had earlier with Chris. If the Spectres were coming, then his son was right. Chase would not be able to deal with this enemy if he kept looking back to the past. He needed to ground himself to the present and make sure his head was in it for the win.

Still, his curiosity was quite strong, and so he had to ask about Ares.

“Is Ares still alive?”

“If you’re referring to your old mentor? Yes. Though the true definition of alive is a little blurry in his case since he’s been lacking a physical body for some time now. Is that who you’re talking about? Someone that died but still exists on another plane of existence as pure energy?”

Whatever doubts Chase had regarding Ka’Rij’s abilities just vanished upon hearing these words. He certainly did have a special connection with the universe, and he wasn’t just blowing smoke up Chase’s ass, no matter how farfetched it all sounded at first.

The Dragonman couldn’t possibly have known so much about Ares unless he felt all of this from Chase’s connections or, at the very least, the residual emotions he had toward all these people. To Chase, the fact that on a certain level, imperceptible to most, everything was connected made sense.

“He’s fighting to come back to your dimension,” added Ka’Rij. “The odds are stacked against him, but if anything, he’s quite the resourceful fellow. Death itself doesn’t seem to have a grasp on this soul.”

The description the Dragonman provided was clearly Ares. Which meant he was alive and in the other dimension. Hopefully, he would find his way back to them. Chase had missed his mentor tremendously, especially in the last few months. His guidance, his words of wisdom, and his presence; something Chase had taken for granted for so long, and on a personal level, Ares was someone that Chase relied on and missed dearly.

With any luck, the dragon tears would also help Aphroditis.

“We left kind of in a hurry, you didn’t even inform your people.”

Ka’Rij smiled. “They already know.”

Right. Because of their connections to each other, they would have known everything that Ka’Rij knew. Chase wondered if he would ever develop such a connection with the universe himself one day.

26

The Hercules shook as the spider ship attached to its hull.

“Status report?” asked Altair.

“Power regeneration has stopped!” one of his officers shouted.

The timer on the captain’s chair was indeed frozen.

“How?”

“Unknown.”

“Theorize, please.”

“The only explanation that makes sense is the spider ship is siphoning our power at the same rate we’re recharging our systems.”

“With what we have, is there anything we can power?”

“It will take a toll if we drain the energy before the process is complete, but I can safely, at the least, get us sensors and communications.”

“What about weapons or engines?”

The officer shook his head. “Not a chance.”

Dammit!

Altair had not foreseen this. He had assumed they would be in trouble for a minute while the power systems recharged, but it never occurred to him this period could be extended due to external factors.

“Restore those systems. We need to know what the enemy ship is up to.”

“Aye, Captain.”

The officer entered a few commands, and light partially returned to the bridge, and some holo-screens came back to life.

There was no need to check with his crewman as Altair could see with his own eyes what the sensors displayed. His officer had been correct, and the enemy ship was somehow siphoning power from the Hercules, and in doing so, it was overloading its own engines.

“They’re trying to blow us to hell by overloading their power core,” said Altair, his voice unsteady.

“I’m afraid so,” said the officer. “In five minutes, their core will reach critical condition, and then…”

The officer didn’t finish his sentence. He didn’t need to.

And then we would all die.

* * *

Nyx appeared on the bridge, and she didn’t wait for the enemy to react to her presence. She reached with her mind and killed every crew member with a strong telekinetic push, blowing their heads before they even knew what was happening.

Dead bodies crumpled onto the cold, hard floor. A dark figure sitting in a chair a few meters in front of her stood up.

“Impressive. I can see why Zarna was obsessed with you. You’ll indeed serve our needs well,” said the Spectre.

“I don’t think so. I’ve already taken care of your freak show experiment involving my DNA. You’re not using it to create an army of brainless warriors.”

“What you think you know and what is true are two different things. As for your DNA, there’s plenty more where that came from. You should never have come here.”

“Enough talking, asshole. I’m here to kill you.”

“You’re welcome to try.”

Nyx opened fire on the Spectre with three orange fireballs that he blocked with ease.

She tried sending more attacks, but her muscles stopped working.

The Spectre walked toward her.

“You’re no different from all the other scum inhabiting this universe. You’re weak, feeble, and no more than an insect. Your excessive pride and ego are the reasons why it will be so easy to kill you and everyone else in the other dimension.”

The more Nyx tried to move, the more pain and resistance she felt. An invisible force paralyzed her.

The Spectre came closer. He smelled her and pierced her with his gaze.

“What the fuck are you doing?” she said. Even the act of talking was a painful endeavor.

“Your soul smells delicious. I’m looking forward to assimilating it into the thousands of warrior souls I’ve already defeated over the eons.”

Nyx had heard stories over the years about the Spectres and their soul-sucking abilities, but she always dismissed it as myth to scare the inhabitants of this dimension. Obviously, there was some truth to it after all.

She had no intention of letting her soul be sucked out as a trophy. She dug deep and expanded her aura, trying to muster up the energy to break free, but it didn’t work.

Ares had been right, she shouldn’t have wasted time engaging the enemy with words. She should have attacked him immediately when he wasn’t ready for her. But it didn’t matter now. She couldn’t turn back time, and she needed to find a way to get herself out of his grasp.

While no muscles would move, there was still one thing she could try. She waited until the Spectre’s head aligned perfectly with her eyes and then she opened fire. Two orange laser-thin energy blasts shot from her eyes and burnt through the Spectre’s brain.

* * *

Chris felt his father’s presence at his quarters’ door. He knew that they eventually would need to talk about their relationship, but he didn’t feel like it.

There was very little he wanted to add on the matter, so he didn’t answer. Eventually, when Chase rang a second and third time, Chris resigned himself.

“Come in.”

Chase entered. “You have a minute, Son?”

“Sure,” said Chris, a little sharper than he meant. “I guess. Take a seat.” Chris gestured toward the nearest chair.

“That’s okay, I’d rather stand.”

“Suit yourself. What can I help you with?”

“I wanted to get your read on Ka’Rij.”

Sure, divert the conversation from the real reason you’re here. Predictable.

“He seems like a stand-up guy, dragon, whatever he is. I like him myself. Do you doubt him?”

“No, not at all, I mean he did save all our lives. I only wonder if his tears will be enough to save your mom.”

“It’s not like we didn’t try everything else up till now. Haven’t we?”

Chase nodded. “We have.”

“Now that this is out of the way, why are you really here?”

Chase smiled briefly. “This may be a long journey. Getting your mother back.”

“Or, it may be a short one, and Ka’Rij’s tears will heal her.”

“I don’t want us to get our hopes up, that’s all.”

“Yeah, optimism hasn’t been your strong suit for quite some time. You’re probably already worrying about Altair, Ares, and Athena.”

“Aren't you? She’s your grandmother after all.”

“She shares your taste for distant family relationships, so, not really.”

Athena also had not lived the end of the war well—losing the man she loved. Chase definitely could relate to how she felt but understood why Chris would feel the way he does.

“They were looking for a new world to settle, and she’s still grieving.”

Chris sighed. “There’s always something. Always excuses for people’s shitty behavior. As for worrying, I choose not to. Ka’Rij said they had to deal with their threats on their own and it was unlikely we’d get there in time to help any of them.”

Chris reminded Chase of how impetuous and borderline arrogant he was when all of this started. In fact, it was even earlier, at the academy, when he was riding on his high horse, thinking he was the best pilot in the entire Star Alliance. And even if he was just that, back then he wasn’t aware the reason for that edge over his fellow pilots was due to his Fury genes.

“Look,” Chris continued. “Let’s trust that our friends can take care of themselves. Destiny will attend to itself.”

Chris didn’t need to probe his father to guess how that last sentence would land. His father struggled with the concept of destiny ever since Aphroditis first contacted him.

“Understood. I miss your mother, I hope you know that. I miss you, too.”

“No offense, but you have a funny way of showing it.”

“I guess I deserve that. For what it’s worth, I’m sorry about how I dealt with my pain this past year. I never wanted to hurt you.”

Chase could sense that his words shook Chris more than he thought they would, but he wasn’t ready to forgive Chase. Not yet anyway.

Chris stayed silent.

“I’ll let you rest,” said Chase turning toward the door.

It slid open with a soft whooshing sound.

“Before you go,” said Chris.

Chase stopped and turned. “Yes.”

“I meant what I told you while we were on New Kyria. When the Spectres return, it will turn into a shitshow faster than we can say oops. If you’re still stuck in that loop of self-hatred and regret, who will stop them?”

“Looks to me you may very well be the man for the job.”

Chris smiled. “That’s the last thing I expected you to say. But no, and I think Ka’Rij said it better. You’re a nexus in this universe. Sometimes a nexus for shit to go all kinds of wrong.”

Chase chuckled. “I definitely earned that.”

“But seriously, this Dragonman calls you Dragonheart, and I think that deep down, that’s who you are, but losing mom shook your self-confidence, and the reason why we prevailed in the last war was that you were willing to do whatever it took to win.”

“I know, and you’re right. I’ve tried stopping myself in being that man at one point, even in the last days of the war, and we paid a dear price. I never should have let your mother come with us.”

Chris’ eyes watered. “No, you shouldn’t. But she was always stubborn, and it was her decision. I think the last thing she’d want for you would be to blame yourself and lose your ability to be that man, that hero, who looks death in the eyes and finds the courage to send it packing. For what it’s worth, I’m proud of that man.”

Chase couldn’t hide his tears. “Thank you, son. You have no idea what these words mean.”

“I’m still pissed at how you handled the situation, and it may take a while until you and I are really okay, but perhaps I’ve been a little hard on you, considering.”

For a moment, Chase wondered if he was in a dream and about to wake up, but a huge weight lifted from Chase’s soul.

“I’ve messed up, Chris, I know I have. And I thank the gods for having you; you’re the best thing that ever happened, and you have a lot of your mother in you.”

“Get out before this becomes too weird.”

Chase chuckled as he left the room.

* * *

Ryonna was on the transport returning from Droxia from her son’s ship. Her time with Ronan had gone well. She had dreaded so much the moment she would tell her boy that she was seeing someone.

As it had been a few years now since Ronan had lost his father, she didn’t know how he would react.

“That’s okay, Mom, as long as you’re happy,” he had told her.

Ronan had come a long way. In his two years in the Droxian star force, he had been put in command of two separate ships and was up for yet another promotion, thanks to his extraordinary ability to wage space battle.

His father would have been proud. The thought stung Ryonna’s heart a little more than she thought it would.

Was she having second thoughts? Was it too early to move forward with Altair? Up until now, they had kept their relationship hidden, keeping it a secret to the outside world.

The first few weeks had been complicated. She couldn’t relax and felt like she was being unfaithful to her husband. Earth had different customs, people separated and lost loved ones all the time; the ‘until death do us part’ was not exactly a part of Droxian marriage customs, though.

While there was an unspoken agreement that a widowed Droxian could seek a new partner, it wasn’t widely accepted. Usually, the remaining partner would finish his or her life on their own, alone, remembering and honoring their loved one.

When it came to Droxian matters of honor and etiquette, Ryonna was usually very much aware and respectful of them. But her late husband, Jax, once told her that if anything ever happened to him, he would want her to move on and not heed this particular tradition of remaining alone.

Jax was always more open to the outside world and other cultures than she was, even though they both shared a difficult period when Ronan was sick at birth.

They had to trick the system and authorities, to make sure that another well-established Droxian custom didn’t cost them their son’s life. That one they both fought openly for the sake of their son’s survival.

On Droxia, sick children were removed from their parents and euthanized. Droxians were a warrior race first and foremost. Weakness, especially in a child, was not tolerated.

Ryonna contemplated the old days and all the stratagems they had come up with to give Ronan a fighting chance. Now he was about to reach the task force commander rank, bringing pride to her and the rest of his people. He would be the youngest Droxian to ever hold that rank, too.

Fortunately, since joining the Earth Alliance, Droxia had abandoned some of their old, antiquated ways. The weeding out of weak and sick children was one such custom that had been abolished and a condition to continued membership in the Alliance.

The Earth Alliance had a liberal attitude on letting each species govern their own people, but anything that resembled cruelty was where they drew the line.

There were die-hard protectors of old Droxian traditions that wished they had not joined the Alliance in order to keep their beliefs one hundred percent intact, but Ryonna was obviously glad that this change meant that no other parents would have to go through what they did with Ronan.

Unlike most Droxians, though, Ryonna knew full well that sometimes rules were meant to be broken, but that didn’t mean it came easily to her.

All life was sacred, and it was time for her people to let go of these old and decadent traditions. The Fury War had devastated their world, with billions of casualties when only three Fury soldiers had attacked it from within. If it hadn’t been for Chase’s courage and his willingness to fight them until his last breath, quite literally, her world would probably have been fully destroyed.

She wondered how Chase was doing. She hoped with all her heart that he would find a way to cure Sarah. He didn’t deserve this; having risked everything at every turn to save countless civilizations. The Fury War had been very cruel to her friend.

Altair should have checked in with her by now. So she opened a holo-comm to Earth Alliance Headquarters, directly to his office.

There was no answer, and the call transferred to his assistant, a human blonde female with ocean-blue eyes.

“Hello, Ambassador,” said the assistant. “I’m afraid Altair isn’t in right now. Would you like me to leave him a message that you called?”

“Can you please transfer me to his personal holo-comm device? Unless he’s occupied?”

“That won’t do you any good, he left on the Hercules.”

What?

“Do you know where he went or why?”

“I’m sorry I don’t have all the details, I think they were answering an Alliance distress call.”

“Thank you, Sophie.”

“You’re welcome, Ambassador.”

The holo-screen turned off.

What’s going on? Ryonna wondered.

In order to get back to Earth as fast as possible, she didn’t wait for the Earth Alliance ship that took her to Droxia to return from its tour of duty. Instead, she had the transport she was on diverted toward the Droxian-Earth jump gate at once.

While on her way to the gate, she decided to call Ronan. Perhaps he could help her get news on the Hercules. When that failed, she linked directly with the home world to inquire why her call hadn’t gone through.

She connected with a Droxian military officer who told her that her son’s ship had left for a mission of grave importance, and, unfortunately, even her diplomatic status didn’t grant her access to the details on what that mission was.

Some things never change, she thought.

* * *

“Well,” said Poseidon, “if you’re not going to rest, I think I will. I know little about fighting spaceships, anyway. Call me if you need me to board an enemy ship.”

Athena smiled. “That’s a good idea. I will. Thank you for the save earlier.”

Poseidon winked playfully. “Don’t mention it.”

The Olympian God of the Sea released his hold on his Trident; The weapon was magnificent. It radiated a small blue-green aura at all times. It levitated on its own, around Poseidon, and locked itself on the back of his silver and gold armor.

Athena was still in pain from her battle with the Spectre. Perhaps Poseidon was correct, and she needed to rest. But right now, she wanted to see what threat they would be responding to.

If it was from the Spectres, she couldn’t leave her captain’s chair in good conscience. She was the most decorated admiral in the Olympian fleet, for eons now. A natural tactician with a flair for feeling the enemy’s move before they even expressed the thought. Although, her skills hadn’t been required for thousands of years after the first Fury War. They were put to good use to help Chase and the Earth Alliance defeat the Furies a second time.

Long-range sensors caught brief shadow glimpses of energy signatures that partially matched the Furies. She was having trouble believing the data, likely they were glitches in the main computer.

But it couldn’t be, Erevos had been destroyed and the last remaining ship in orbit during the final battle. She concluded the sensors must have been glitching, and she asked the computer to run a self-diagnostic.

The sensor data now showed an Earth Alliance dreadnought and two smaller ships, one matching the database for Spectre design.

“ETA to hyperspace exit?” she asked.

“A couple of minutes away.”

“Are subspace sensors picking up energy signatures?”

“We’re about in range now.”

“On screen,” said Athena.

The sensor data allowed the main computer of the Prometheus to construct a holo-3D image of what happened in normal space.

A damaged spider ship was attached to one of the latest Earth Alliance dreadnoughts, the Hercules. The ship was in trouble, low in power, shields down, and no sign of its energy reserves rebuilding.

Athena knew the design of the spider ship very well. This was a smaller version of the one in her database.

It was damaged, but unlike its prey, its power consumption was through the roof and growing still. It appeared that an overload of the ship’s core was in progress.

“Make sure to adjust our exit vector to within a thousand kilometers or less from the Hercules, and that—thing,” Athena ordered.

The ships female computer voice resonated on the bridge, “Hyperspace window is too narrow, chance of collision high, recalculating a safer exit vector.”

“No!” said Athena. “Override, Athena Gamma-Six-Three-Omega.”

“Confirmed. Adjusting exit corridor as requested,” the computer replied.

Athena zoomed the holo-display with her fingers and painted three of the five remaining legs as targets for the Olympian’s ship’s weapons to fire upon. She also pre-locked the tractor beam to lock onto the ship’s energy signature. From the amount of energy its core was radiating with each passing second, Athena knew they wouldn’t have much time.

She brought in a star chart to see what lay beyond their hyperspace exit. A red dwarf was only seconds away at maximum hyper-speed, so she pre-programmed the coordinates into the jump engines as their next destination.

“I’ve pre-programmed our battle plan, get ready to execute all three commands on my mark,” said Athena.

“Understood,” answered her tactical officer, the only Droxian member of her crew.

Times sure had changed, more than half her crew were not of Olympian heritage since Olympus was now gone. When Zeus was still alive, and their beautiful planet was still teeming with life, this would never have happened. Now with Olympian survivors numbering in the low thousands, the external help provided by the Alliance was more than welcome, if not a little strange.

Athena had nothing against other races, but she had been accustomed, mostly through her father’s way of ruling Olympus, of not interacting with many outsiders, let alone trust them with her life. But her sister, Aphroditis, and her son, Chase, had changed all that for the better.

“Exiting hyperspace in three. . .two. . .one,” said her officer, interrupting Athena’s train of thought.

The Prometheus jumped out of hyperspace very close to the Hercules. Real-time sensor data confirmed that the core of the spider ship was about to explode.

“Now!” she ordered.

The Prometheus’ plasma batteries surgically opened fire on the targeted legs and scored multiple impacts. Olympians had some of the best targeting sensors in the universe, which had always allowed Athena to come up with very meticulous strategies.

“The enemy ship’s engines are about to explode,” informed her tactical officer. “Recommend we clear the area.”

“Negative, keep firing.”

“As you command, Admiral. As you command.”

Two of the three legs targeted were now in flames but still holding, and large dark pieces of metal were floating around as the Olympian’s plasma turrets continued targeting the remaining legs.

That will have to do.

“Engage phase two. Deploy the tractor beam and jump the moment we have a lock.”

“We could rip part of the Hercules’s hull that way,” argued her officer.

“Better rip a deck or two than have it explode. Just do as I say, and be quick about it, or we’ll be the ones who pay the price.”

“Understood, tractor beam locked and firing.”

Athena used her chair control to redistribute power from the weapons to the tractor beam, and she had already pre-programmed the rest of her plan.

As the Prometheus flew by, its tractor beam ripped the spider ship off the hull of the Hercules, snapping two legs that were still holding on like delicate twigs. One of the attached legs unstuck from the hull of the Hercules and exposed that particular deck to space for a moment until an emergency force field activated.

Immediately after, the Prometheus micro-jumped dangerously close to the red dwarf in the area. The moment it re-entered normal space, the tractor beam reversed polarity and pushed the spider ship into the burning sun.

Athena had pre-programmed a volley of quantum torpedoes to make sure they would finish the job, even though she doubted the enemy’s core overload could be stopped at that point.

The tractor beam released its grasp as the volley of torpedoes flew toward their target like blue shooting stars heading toward a red inferno.

The Prometheus micro-jumped away a fraction of a second before the spider ship exploded into smithereens and the debris was consumed by fire.

27

“What the hell just happened?” asked Altair as every system on the ship came back to life.

“Checking sensors,” said the officer. “The ship looked Olympian. Actually, it was the Prometheus.”

Athena’s ship, thought Altair. Well, they sure arrived in the nick of time.

“We’ve got an incoming transmission.”

“On screen.”

Athena’s face filled the bridge’s main holo-screen.

“Are you alright, Altair?”

“We are. Thanks to you. I didn’t expect anyone else to show up. Did you pick up Tar’Lock’s distress call as well?”

“We did. But we were delayed by a Spectre that boarded our ship.”

One more confirmation, besides the ship they had engaged with in battle, that Spectres had forces in their universe. And just when every sentient life in this dimension was getting used to this time of peace. In the grand scheme of things, one year wasn’t much, and it had come and gone so quickly. Whatever doubts or hope to the contrary inside Altair’s mind lifted—war was coming.

Altair’s expression turned grave. “I was hoping this was a single occurrence, but if one attacked you, then we have to assume they have more ships. Speaking of ships, what did you do with the one stuck on our hull?”

“Extreme suntan.”

Altair chuckled. “That’s good. One less thing to worry about. We’ll have to intensify patrols and long-range scans; there must be more out there.”

“We know there are. We received some troubling news from Asgard on our way here. I’m afraid a Spectre killed Odin.”

Holy shit!

“I’m sorry to hear that. I can only imagine how Thor is taking this.”

“He wants us all to meet on Earth and discuss an aggressive strategy to hunt them down.”

It made sense, even though Altair had no doubt this decision was tainted by Thor’s thirst to avenge his father. They had to proceed carefully since it took three Ultra Furies to bring down the one Spectre a year ago. Which begged the question. . .

“How did you defeat the Spectre?”

“I didn’t,” said Athena, looking down. “As a matter of fact, if Poseidon hadn’t intervened, I would be dead right now.”

“I take it his intense training paid off?”

“That, and according to his own admission, this Spectre wasn’t as powerful as Tanak’Vor. That much he was certain of.”

“Well, I’m glad you managed to neutralize the threat. I wonder if we shouldn’t try and contact Chase. He’s deep in uncharted space, but perhaps if we boost our subspace transmission, we could get in contact with him.”

“I’m not sure we should. Right now we have dealt with the immediate threat, perhaps we should allow them time to take care of their own mission. I don’t think Chase is ready to fight another war, not until his wife’s condition is treated.”

“I understand that, but if the Spectres attack us full force and Chase is away, what chance do we have of winning?”

“None of that has happened yet. I wish we could have interrogated the Spectre for more information.”

“It’s doubtful he would have revealed anything.”

Athena nodded grimly. “Probably not.”

“Are you alright, Athena?” asked Altair.

“The fight took a lot out of me.”

“I can imagine, but thanks to you, there’s no immediate threat anymore. We owe you a big one. I suggest you get some rest on your way back to Earth.”

“Will do. It’s good to see you again, Altair.”

“It’s been good seeing you too, Athena.”

* * *

The power holding Nyx captive wavered, and she pushed her aura to its extreme and broke free of the invisible force.

This time she didn’t wait for the Spectre to recover, and she sent him flying against the nearest console with a powerful mental shockwave. Her enemy’s spine made a satisfying cracking noise as it slammed into the metallic structure.

The power she now wielded was intoxicating but also scary. She would have to use it wisely as she remembered Ares’ warning about the ship. They couldn’t risk damaging the prototype engine. They’d still need the ship for a little while so that they could get back to their dimension.

Keep your head in the fight, said Ares in her mind. I can sense your thoughts are all over the place. I’m almost done with the modification. Just another few minutes and we can get the hell out of this damned place.

Ares was right. She needed to stay focused on destroying the Spectre, and even though her powers seemed boundless at the moment, she never heard of a Spectre losing a duel with any other race, before that Fury, Chase, Ares had told her about.

Understood. Thanks, Ares.

For what?

Having my back and unlocking this power in me.

Sure thing, just kill this fucker, fast!

She smiled. On it.

Nyx darted toward the Spectre as he was getting back up. It was time to end this fight. This thing would pay for all the suffering inflicted upon her, experimenting with her, and trying to build a clone hybrid army based on her DNA.

The wound she had inflicted to his brain was almost healed. Black, oozing liquid was already rebuilding the burned tissues.

She sensed the Spectre trying to block her with telekinesis again, and her rage exploded and multiplied by several factors, boosting her aura and energy, and she broke through the block.

Orange lightning bolts sizzled around her as she enhanced her energy to its paroxysm. As she approached her prey, she saw something in his eyes, something she had never seen in a Spectre before. Terror.

“Wait!” he shouted.

“Not a fucking chance.”

She concentrated all her power into her right leg and slashed it upward the moment she was upon the Spectre. The kick was devastating and cut him in half.

She pushed away both halves of his body with telekinetic energy. They crashed to the floor with a squishing sound and left a long trail of sticky black blood on the tiles.

Hundreds of small tendrils shot from the open core, growing toward the other half.

“Oh no, you don’t!” shouted Nyx.

She aimed her palms to the gestating halves and opened fire with concentrated beams of golden energy, consuming the black flesh and blood. His body parts moved about like a virus running from a cure, recreating more flesh and trying to survive.

The sight wasn’t pretty, but it was also scary to think that these organisms could reconstruct themselves from a small biomass. Something Nyx was intent on not letting happen. She intensified her energy beams and rapidly burnt through the rest of the flesh until the last molecule of the Spectre turned to dust.

When she was confident he was gone, she stopped her attack but looked at the scorched floor, making sure she hadn’t missed any part of the Spectre. He was gone. A whooshing sound came from behind her.

She expected more arachnoid guards to burst in, but her eyes locked onto something even viler.

* * *

Tar’Lock and the Bellerophon were tractored aboard the Hercules without issue. The regen tank, which contained Captain Talon Epizon, was transferred to med-bay three.

Altair walked in and stood next to Tar’Lock.

“I’m told he’ll be fine.”

Tar’Lock solemnly clicked. “Yeah, fortunately, his injuries were minor. I’m not sure how he will feel when he wakes up, being onboard an Earth Alliance dreadnought, though.”

“I checked his record before coming here. He resigned his commission from the Cronos during the Fury War. Do you know why?”

“I do, but I don’t think he’d want me to tell anyone about it. I’d rather not share something he told me in confidence.”

“I can respect that. I’m mighty impressed that you guys survived as long as you did against a spider ship. Know that if Talon were open to it, I’d love to give you guys a ship of your own in the fleet. To think you escaped death on that hunk-a-junk like that one…no offense.”

“None taken, the Bellerophon surely has seen better days.”

“Still, you’re both very resourceful, and the Earth Alliance could use you.”

While Tar’Lock wouldn’t mind rejoining his commission, especially now with the looming danger of the Spectres abounding, he knew Talon would never go for it. He had too much hatred, however misplaced, toward the Alliance, and Tar’Lock was quite fond of his captain. Even more so after all they’d been through lately.

“I doubt it’s in the cards.”

“Well, the offer stands nonetheless.”

Tar’Lock nodded. “Thanks.”

They both quietly looked at the regen tank. After a few minutes, Altair broke the silence.

“Do you mind if I ask how you’re doing, Tar’Lock? To be honest with you, I didn’t expect our paths to cross so soon after the anniversary reunion of our victory over the Furies.”

“I didn’t either. And in such circumstances,” Tar’Lock said, his latest series of clicks sounding like a sad song.

“I know how you feel. We thought we were safe now that the Furies are gone, and here we are, with another shadow threat hanging over our heads.” Altair sighed. “I had hoped we would have more time to prepare.”

Tar’Lock’s eyes widened. “You knew this was coming?”

“No, not really. But Chase told me he felt that the Spectres would eventually return. He didn’t think it made much sense for them to send Tanak’Vor in our dimension just to micromanage the Furies. They obviously had longer-term plans. Gods know what they are.”

“We’ll probably know soon enough. If they used Arakan like a puppet to wipe us out of existence by controlling the Furies, it stands to reason that whatever plans they have for us must not be pretty.”

“I’m sure they won’t be. Whatever they are, we can’t afford to let them achieve their goals,” said Altair.

“I have no doubt we’ll fight them. At least you have a cohesive Alliance, finally working together instead of fighting among themselves. That has to count for something.”

Altair looked straight inside Tar’Lock’s eyes.

“Right?” insisted Tar’Lock.

“Right,” said Altair with a slight nod before putting a hand on Tar’Lock’s shoulder. “I’m glad you’re okay.”

Tar’Lock wondered how sincere Altair was being. While he had learned to respect the former Obsidian Emperor during the war, he had little to no doubts that Altair knew of his feelings for Ryonna.

“Thanks to you,” said Tar’Lock. “It seems I owe you my life twice over now. At the very least.”

“Let’s not keep a running tally, okay? That’s what friends are for.”

Tar’Lock attempted a smile, but deep inside he really wondered if he could ever consider Altair a friend. His feelings for Ryonna were too strong for him to like the guy she was with now, no matter how much of a stand-up person Altair was, and honorable, too.

Tar’Lock thoughts went to a place he knew he shouldn’t venture, but he couldn’t help it.

“How’s Ryonna doing? Is she on board?”

Altair twitched slightly. “No, she’s not. She’s been on Droxia. Some internal affairs to take care of.”

“How does she like her ambassador position?”

“I think she enjoys it very much.”

Tar’Lock clicked. “That’s surprising.”

“Why would you say that?”

“Ryonna is the most badass warrior I know next to Chase. With courage the size of a planet and with enough power to snap both our necks with her fingers, if she wanted to. It’s just weird to think of her working behind a desk.“

“Well, the war was over. She had to adjust as we all did.”

“Looks like her warrior abilities might be needed once more in the near future. How does that make you feel?”

Tar’Lock could sense that Altair didn’t want to answer this question and had to take a moment to formulate a response that would be neutral.

“Ambassador Ryonna is free to choose her own path, I’ll support whatever she decides.”

I bet you will. Not like she’ll need your permission, though.

Tar’Lock wasn’t proud of how he handled this part of the conversation, but his heartache was simply too fresh. He knew deep down that he and Ryonna could never be anything else but friends, and though he still harbored some anger toward her for the death of his sister, he was still very much in love with the Droxian warrior.

“Well…when you see her, say hi for me.”

“Sure thing. Would you like to grab something to eat?”

“I’d rather stay and be here when Talon steps out of the regen tank if that’s okay with you?”

“Sure thing, Tar’Lock. I’m sure we’ll have other occasions to share a meal in the future. Let me know if you or Talon need anything, okay?”

“Will do. Thanks again, Altair.”

Altair nodded and walked away.

* * *

After over two days of travel, the Iron Fire was only minutes away from entering Earth’s hyperspace. Chase and Daniel were alone on the bridge, and since Chase didn’t need a crew to fly the ship, they were sent to their quarters to rest after the eventful journey to the unknown regions.

“I didn’t expect us to be back home so soon,” said Chase from his captain’s chair.

“Me neither. But I have to admit it feels good. Not exactly a fan of flying space hydras. That thing is sure to give me nightmares for years to come.”

Chase chuckled. “Ka’Rij said there are not that many flying around anymore. They’re a rare sighting, even in the unknown regions.”

“That makes me feel sooo much better,” said Daniel sarcastically. “It’s not like shit tends to gravitate around us, right?”

Chase smiled. “Fair point. At least we made new allies. That can’t be a bad thing, considering.”

“Speaking of, it took me a while to assimilate Altair’s last holo-communication. I can’t believe the Spectres are back already.”

“You and me both, bro.”

“What are we going to do?”

“What else? What we always do. Fight them. Right now we know very little about their forces. It could just be a scout force or a remnant from the Fury War we weren’t aware of. After all, the soul ships destroyed the inter-dimensional device.”

“Okay, thanks for the reassuring speech. Now please tell me what your gut is telling you.”

“You sure you want to know?”

Daniel stared at Chase for a few seconds that seemed to last for several minutes before nodding.

“They’re coming. I feel it in my very bones.”

“You’re right. I shouldn’t ask questions I don’t want to hear the answer to.”

They both chuckled.

“We’re about to exit hyperspace,” said Daniel.

Chase got up.

“Where are you going?”

“I’m gonna get Ka’Rij, Argos, and Chris to a shuttle.”

“Chase?”

“Yes?”

“I hope with all my heart that Ka’Rij’s tears will cure Sarah. We all miss her.”

“I know. Thanks, bro.”

28

Nyx couldn’t help but smile at the sight of Zarna stepping onto the bridge. The arachnoid female looked around and saw the multiple headless warriors scattered on the floor.

“Where is my Spectre Master?” she inquired, her voice shaking.

“I’m afraid he’s indisposed…permanently. But I’ll gladly send you to join him.”

“You have no idea what you have done, Nyx.”

“Oh, I know exactly what I’ve done. I’ve freed myself from your grasp and your nefarious plan to use my DNA to breed a hybrid.”

Zarna’s face registered surprise, and Nyx could tell that Zarna didn’t expect her to know about this pet project.

“It doesn’t matter, the hybrids are gone, and so will you be in a minute. If you have any last words, now’s the time.”

“You just delayed the inevitable. Deep down I’m sure you know that. We were right to bet on your DNA, you’re the first of your kind that managed to kill a Spectre.”

“That’s not entirely true, Zarna. But I think you know that.”

“Then let me rephrase: in this dimension.”

“This dimension where your corpse can remain and decay for all eternity. I’m getting out of here.”

“There’s no escape.”

“We both know this ship is my ticket out of here. But you know what? Maybe I’ll return one day and burn you all to the ground.”

“I don’t know how you managed to acquire all this information, but it doesn’t matter, you’ll never be able to stop my masters.”

“I would worry more about your own life if I were you, especially since it’s about to end.”

“That’s your problem, Nyx. You’re always talking too much instead of acting, and that is why you’ll lose.”

Zarna reached for a control on her wrist armor, but her finger stopped a centimeter away from pressing down.

Nyx slowly approached. She enjoyed every second of it as she could sense the fear growing to utter terror inside her tormentor’s soul. Zarna tried to talk, but Nyx blocked her mouth with telekinetic energy.

“It’s not pleasant, is it? The feeling of being trapped with no escape? Not that I’m expecting an answer out of you,” Nyx said, smirking. “I want you to know that this time you’re not escaping my wrath, but we’re on the clock, and unfortunately, I won’t have time to make you suffer the way you truly deserve.”

Zarna noticeably swallowed hard as she and Nyx stood face to face. Nyx’s aura morphed to Ultra Fury form with lightning bolts sizzling all around her. The energy waves made every hair on Zarna’s black skin crawl.

“Goodbye, bitch.”

So much energy was shot into Zarna’s body that Nyx was somewhat surprised that the arachnoid didn’t implode on the spot. Instead, Zarna glowed orange as the energy burned her from within.

Nyx let go of her telekinetic grasp, and as soon as she did, Zarna released an agonizing screech. The intense sound threatened to pierce Nyx’s eardrums.

She removed her hand from the arachnoid’s shoulder, her palm still open, then turned and took a few steps back. Zarna continued to burn from the inside out and soon her agonizing scream diminished as her vocal cords fused with the rest of her body from the intense heat.

Nyx brought her open palm to shoulder level and smiled before making a tight fist. Zarna exploded into millions of pieces of charred arachnoid flesh.

A deep breath of satisfaction escaped Nyx as her aura died out and her hair fell back down to cover her shoulders.

* * *

Ares materialized onto the bridge of the Spectre’s prototype ship.

“What the hell is that smell?”

Nyx smirked. “That would be Zarna.”

“Oh…well, she stinks.”

“Yeah, and I once thought she reeked from the outside. How are we doing?”

“We’re ready to activate the inter-dimensional drive.”

“You’re sure it’s going to work?”

“If it doesn’t, I don’t think either of us is going to survive.”

“Easy for you to say, you already lost your body.”

“It’s going to work—I think.”

Nyx growled. “If it fails, I’ll kill you.”

“I’m already dead, remember.”

“As I’ve said before, I’ll kill you again, then.”

Ares chuckled. “Good luck with that.”

“Shouldn’t we be aboard a transport, ready to leave the ship before it blows into a million pieces?”

“The snag in that plan is that won’t work. They don’t have anything jump-worthy in their landing bays. Apparently, the alarm we heard was not only meant to find us but also for scientists aboard the ship to escape.”

Nyx raised her eyebrows. “I hope it doesn’t mean what I think it means.”

“I wouldn’t know, I can sense strong emotions, but I can’t read minds clearly.”

“They better not have taken a copy of their research with my DNA.”

“Right now, even if they did, there’s nothing we can do about it.”

“We could pursue and destroy them.”

“We don’t have the time, the Spectres have sent an entire armada to these coordinates. If we don’t leave here within five minutes, they’ll blow us to pieces.”

Nyx’s frustration was palpable. She hated the idea of her DNA reproducing hybrids to be used as cannon fodder against their enemies. But Ares was right, five minutes wasn’t enough time to do anything about it.

“How the hell are we supposed to survive if we have to destroy this ship when we arrive on the other side? Shouldn’t we just bring it back to your people?”

“I’ve thought about that, and I’ve tried memorizing as much as I can about the inter-dimensional drive specs. But since it’s the only working version of the drive in existence, it’s too dangerous. Also, we don’t know the state of the other dimension; they could have started their invasion already. I’ve seen records of a fleet of ships, at least a partial one, making it through the portal when Erevos was destroyed.

“How long ago was that? Surely your people would fight an invasion.”

“I have no idea, and there’s a huge time dilation between this dimension and ours.”

“Take a wild guess?”

“I don’t know, months, maybe a couple of years passed on the other side. I’m not sure since I don’t know how long I’ve been out floating in space after⁠—”

But Ares stopped short.

“After my planet blew up,” Nyx finished the sentence for him.

Ares nodded.

“Which brings me back to how are we escaping this ship once we’re on the other side?”

“I’ll teleport us out.”

“What if there’s nothing in range to teleport us to?”

“Let’s just say that in this shape, range isn’t much of an issue for me.”

“Alright then, what are we waiting for?”

“Go to the terminal in front of you.”

Nyx approached it. “Now what?”

Ares stepped closer to Nyx and touched her hand. She felt warmth going through her.

“See that red holo-control?”

“I do.”

“Press it when you’re ready.”

Nyx didn’t wait and touched the holo-control. The ship’s inter-dimensional drive hummed to life, and a red wormhole-looking anomaly filled the viewport, illuminating the walls and pieces of equipment with crimson hues.

The anomaly swallowed the Spectre’s ship into the darkness just before collapsing in on itself.

* * *

Chase’s heartbeat raced with each new step he took inside med-bay one in the medical premises of the Earth Alliance. Accompanied by Chris, Argos, and Ka’Rij, they were directed toward a pair of suspended animation pods resting near one another.

In one lay Sarah, with black tendrils still showing on her neck, and the other one contained Chase’s aunt, Aphroditis.

Chase wanted to speak but was too overwhelmed. He stood and looked at Sarah through the pod’s glass. Chris must have sensed his state, so he spoke first.

“Do you have enough tears for both of them?”

“Yes, I can produce enough,” answered Ka’Rij.

“Without compromising their potency?” added Argos.

“The tears are as potent as they can be. Drawing more of them does not change their composition or efficiency. As a matter of fact, one tear is enough to heal every ailment I’ve come across in the galaxy.”

Chase hoped with all his heart that Ka’Rij wouldn’t be proven wrong today. He couldn’t envision a world without Sarah by his side.

The Earth Alliance doctor gave Ka’Rij two small vials. He took the first one and placed it near his tear duct. A watery liquid that looked like glistening diamonds dropped into the vial. He closed it and handed it to the doctor. While he repeated this procedure with the second vial, Argos asked a question he assumed was on everyone’s mind.

“Who goes first?”

“Let’s manage expectations here,” said Chris in an uncannily cold tone. “I think we should bring Aphroditis back first, see how she reacts to the tears.”

Chase was glad someone made that decision for him. Sure he wanted to try it on Sarah as soon as possible, but trying his aunt first, even though they didn’t suffer from the same ailment, would at least demonstrate if the tears of the Dragonmen were as potent as he said.

The doctor didn’t wait and inserted the first vial into a small compartment on the outside of pod with Aphroditis inside. The slot swallowed the vial and injected it into the patient and then started the stasis reanimation procedure.

Everyone held their breath, but they didn’t have to wait long. The holo-display embedded on the pod’s glass came to life, showing Aphroditis with very low vital signs. All metrics were in either the red or orange. The metrics increased, changing colors from yellow to a bright green until all her vitals hit their maximum values, and she returned to a healthy state.

“That’s—that’s amazing and borderline impossible,” said the doctor. “I never expected the healing to go so fast. If these readings are right, I think we can take her out of the pod right now.”

Chase nodded, hopeful that the cure would work for both of them equally. It only took a few more seconds for the stasis pod to finish its cycle. Aphroditis slowly blinked her eyes open and looked around.

The doctor opened the stasis pod and steam rose, engulfing them before it dissipated into the med-lab.

“What happened? Why am I still alive?” she asked.

Chase took a step forward. “How do you feel?”

“I—I feel perfectly fine, which is confusing. I thought I was dead or at the very least, dying.”

Chase smiled. “No, you’re in great shape, now, thanks to our friend Ka’Rij over there.”

The Dragonman of Kyria took a slight bow.

Aphroditis looked at him with curiosity.

The doctor helped Aphroditis step out of the stasis pod, and she caught a glimpse of Sarah in the pod next to her.

“Is that. . .? What’s wrong with her?”

“One thing at a time, Aphroditis, let’s first make sure you are fully rehabilitated,” said Argos, “and let’s hope Sarah won’t stay in the pod for much longer.”

The doctor took a still confused Aphroditis to the nearest medical bed, then returned and inserted the second vial into Sarah’s pod. A similar response in terms of health metrics occurred as Sarah’s vital signs jumped from low red bars to high greens.

Chase’s heart beat so fast that he thought it would burst through his chest. He could feel a similar anxiety mixed with anticipation in both his brother and son. The darkened veins on Sarah’s neck cleared up in a matter of seconds.

That has to be a good sign.

But Sarah did not open her eyes. The doctor looked at the results and frowned.

“What’s happening, Doctor?” asked Chris, his voice unsteady.

“All her vitals are back to normal, just like Aphroditis, but…”

“But what?” asked Chase, unable to contain his stress.

“I don’t detect any brain activity. Her body is fine, but it’s like she’s…”

“Spit it out,” warned Argos.

“She’s brain dead.”

The news hit all three of them like a sledgehammer to the gut.

“Get her out of there, we can heal her the rest of the way,” said Chris.

The doctor looked at Chase.

“Do as he says, now!”

The doctor opened the stasis pod. As soon as the steam evaporated, Chris grabbed his mother and carefully laid her on the nearest med-bay bed. Chase, Argos, and Chris put their hands on Sarah and used their healing powers, enveloping her body with bright-white energy.

“I can’t sense anything wrong with her,” said Chris.

“Neither can I,” said Chase, tears beginning to run down his face.

“Why isn’t this working!?” barked Argos.

Ka’Rij kneeled next to Chase.

“I—I’m sorry it didn’t work.”

Chase’s anger was so strong it ran the risk of exploding. But he fought hard to stay as calm as he could. Not an easy feat under the circumstances.

“It—It’s not your fault.”

“I’m sorry, nonetheless. I’ll do whatever it takes to help you find another cure.”

Chase felt his son’s mind spiral out of control and fill with rage. Chase put his hand on Chris’ shoulder.

“We’ll keep trying until she comes back to us, Son.”

Chris swiftly got up, both his fists clenched so tight that they were dripping blood. Before Chase could try and console his son, Chris abruptly left the med-bay, his eyes full of tears.

“Stay with her,” said Argos. “I’ll speak to Chris.”

Argos got up and followed the boy outside.

The emotions inside Chase grew at an impossible rate until they overtook him completely. He smashed the silence with a deafening scream that felt like it came from the depths of hell, making the entire structure shake as if a massive earthquake had come to life.

Once his animalistic roar subsided, he let his body collapse on top of Sarah’s. He had lost all control over his thoughts and emotions, and that resulted in thousands of tears cascading down and onto Sarah.

“I—I’m so sorry, love. I failed you.”

He grabbed her face in his hands and kissed her on the lips, his tears raining on her sweet, motionless face.

Please, wake up, please, Sarah, wake up.

But she didn’t.

* * *

Argos caught up with Chris at the far side of the hall.

“I’m not in a speaking mood, Uncle. Just leave me alone.”

“I’m sorry, Chris, I truly am. But I think you should be with your father in this moment of sadness.”

“You don’t get it, do you?”

Argos raised a questioning eyebrow.

“Chase is broken, or am I the only one who sees that? Hopefully, he realizes that and on the way to heal his soul. When the Spectres come, if he hasn’t healed his spirit, he’ll be the first casualty of this next war.”

“Don’t you dare say that!”

“Why not?!” screamed Chris. “Talk to him, you’ll see. He knows what I’m telling you is true.”

Argos shook his head in dismay.

“I just think we need to go through this as a family, Chris.”

“Well, for what it’s worth, I understand what he felt a year ago a little better. And like him, I need to be alone right now.”

Argos stood in the hall, looking at his nephew running away. He wanted to go after him but knew better than try to change the boy’s mind.

* * *

Ares was only slightly surprised the ship hadn’t blown them to smithereens as it jumped. The inter-dimensional engine was operational, which was good news for them but terrible news for every living being in this dimension.

“If I had lungs, now would be a good time to exhale deeply,” said Ares.

Nyx let a deep breath escape her, and Ares smiled.

“Yeah, just like that.”

Nyx returned the smile. “Did it work?”

“Let me check,” said Ares.

He expanded his consciousness and reached out to try to find Chase’s mind. It took a little while but he sensed he was back in their dimension. Eventually, he touched Chase’s mind but could feel it was in utter despair.

He felt the same strong connection to Chase he was used to in the past, so he was sure he could teleport him and Nyx there. For a moment he stopped to think if he should bring Nyx with him. Without her, he would not have been able to return, but she was a Fury, and not the good kind of Fury. What if she became their enemy when she learned that the Furies Ares talked about were actually the ones responsible for the deaths of everyone she knew and the destruction of her home world?

Not to mention that she was potentially stronger than Chase, at least stronger than the last time Ares had sensed his pupil’s power. With the Spectres hell-bent on coming to this dimension to wipe it out, could they afford to have their focus split between two enemies should Nyx turn against them?

Ares was conflicted. On the one hand, his heart told him not to betray the woman that had risked everything to make his plan a reality, but on the other hand, his mind was screaming at him to be logical about the decision.

Nyx interrupted his thoughts. “So?”

When Ares heard multiple footsteps running toward the bridge, he knew that he needed to make a decision and quickly. While there was probably no one aboard the ship that could stand up to Nyx now, she had expended a lot of energy in her fight with the Spectre, mostly because she had pushed her Ultra Fury powers to the max, burning through her energy pool at light speeds. And there was hundreds of enemies roaming the ship’s decks.

“Press the auto-destruct sequence holo-control.”

“Are you sure?”

Ares put his hand on hers. “No…but we have to make a decision, and that’s the one I’m making.”

“Here goes nothing. Don’t you dare leave me here.”

“Of course not,” said Ares.

Had she sensed his hesitation? It didn’t matter, even though his logic told him he should take the Fury out while he had the chance, his heart couldn’t reconcile with the idea of murdering the person responsible for him returning to his friends and family. In his past life, way before he met and trained Chase, he probably could have gone down that path, but he was a different person back then.

Nyx pressed the holo-control, and a five-second timer in the arachnoid language counted down. Ares and Nyx teleported out of the ship.

Two platoons of arachnoid soldiers burst through the bridge doors, armed to the teeth and ready to shoot at anything they encountered. But all they saw was the hellfire that devoured their bodies and souls.

29

Ares rematerialized with Nyx inside an Earth Alliance structure. Having sensed Chase’s despair, Ares didn’t think introducing Nyx to him now was a good idea.

“Where are we?” asked Nyx.

“Home. My home anyway, well, sort of⁠—”

“You’re not making much sense, Ares.”

“I know, I’m sorry, but there’s someone I need to see right away.”

“Is he one of the Furies?”

“Yes.”

“Will you take me with you?”

“Not right away. Please, just trust me on this. Now is not a good time.”

“What am I supposed to do?”

Ares escorted Nyx to a nearby room. It was the mess hall in the medical facility, but Ares could tell it was late at night on Earth. When they entered, the lights came to life, revealing dozens of empty tables.

“Are you hungry?”

“Actually, I’m starving.”

“Come with me.”

Nyx followed Ares to a food synthesizer. “Press this button.”

Nyx did and the machine beeped.

“It’s preparing pizza,” said Ares.

“What the hell is pit-za??”

“Trust me, I think you’ll like it.”

The synthesizer hummed for a second before its holo-light turned off and a warm light glowed from outside the glass door.

“There’s food inside,” said Ares hurriedly. “Careful, it might be hot. I’ll be back in a while. Please wait for me here.”

“And then we’ll meet my fellow Furies?”

Ares flashed her a thumbs-up before teleporting away.

* * *

Ares materialized near Chase’s current position, his golden energy glow the room’s only light source. He saw Chase’s silhouette sitting on the ground, sulking.

“Chase? What’s the matter?

“Ares? Is—is that really you?”

“Yes…I’m back. What’s wrong, Chase?”

“It’s Sarah, she…I don’t know how to explain it. It’s like her body is there but not her soul. I don’t understand. The Dragonman’s tears worked with Aphroditis, why didn’t they work for Sarah?”

Ares was relieved to hear that his sister was doing better, but right now was not the time to focus on his happiness. The Olympian God of War could sense that Chase’s soul was crushed.

He sat next to Chase and touched his back.

“I’m so sorry, Chase. I didn’t know Sarah was hurt. I’m sure we’ll find a way to cure her. Together.”

“I thought we had. I really thought we had found a way. Now I don’t know what to think anymore.”

“Don’t give up hope.”

“Yeah, everyone keeps telling me that. They just don’t know how it feels. Daniel, Argos, even Chris, they all helped me get better these last few days. Hope is dangerous, Ares, you know? It can make you move forward, but when it gets crushed. . .”

“I certainly do know how you feel.”

Chase lifted his head and looked at Ares. “I guess you would, on some level. At least your sister’s fine now.”

“Thank you for keeping your promise. I’m sure you gave Sarah a similar one, did you not?”

“Of course I did.”

“Then sulking in the darkness is not going to make it happen.”

“I know…” Chase took a long deep breath. “I knew it was a long shot, but… you know?”

“I do, Chase. I know this is the worst timing but…I’m afraid I’m the bearer of bad news.”

“Not sure I want any more bad news for the day, Ares.”

“While I normally would respect that, especially considering the circumstances, I don’t think this one can wait.”

Chase sighed. “What is it?”

“The Spectres are coming.”

Chase couldn’t help but chuckle.

“That’s the last thing I expected you to do upon hearing the news.”

“That’s because you’ve been away. Ares, we know. Athena, the Asgardians, and even Tar’Lock, all engaged with them today. They barely got away with their lives, in fact.”

“What about you?”

“I wasn’t there. I—we were getting Sarah the cure…one that obviously didn’t work.”

“What are the doctors saying?”

“That we should let Sarah out of stasis. Her baby is healthy, and they think that even if Sarah doesn’t wake up, the baby will be born. It’s all speculation at this time. It’s like she’s in a coma, but the doctors don’t understand why.”

“Sarah is pregnant again?”

“Yeah, I guess you have been away for a while.”

“How long, Chase? How long has it been since you defeated the Furies?”

“A little over a year. Speaking of which, where were you all that time?”

“When the Pandora device transported Erevos back to the Spectres’ dimension, it sent me there with it. I think I lost consciousness when the planet exploded. All I remember is billions of voices screaming to their end and then nothing. Everything just turned black. I woke up, floating in space, some time afterward.”

“How did you get back here?”

“It’s a rather long story. The short version: I stole a Spectre ship.”

“How? You don’t even have a physical body.”

“I had some help.”

“What kind of help?”

“That’s not important right now.”

“Did you keep the ship?”

“No, I had to destroy it.”

Chase sighed. “Bummer.”

“Why?”

“Because I would have loved traveling back to the Spectres’ dimension with it and kill them all, that’s why.”

“I think we’ll get the chance to do that sooner rather than later, though I’m not sure we should wish for it. As you no doubt know, Spectres are incredibly powerful. I doubt even you could defeat the whole of them, no matter how thirsty for revenge you are.”

“I know…that’s why Sarah is in the state she’s in, and I almost killed Chris trying to defeat just the one Spectre.”

“Looks like we have a lot of catching up to do.”

Chase nodded as a tear rolled down his cheek.

“Why don’t we go get some fresh air and you catch me up?” proposed Ares.

“Alright,” said Chase with a long exhale before struggling to get back on his feet.

Chase and his former mentor walked outside the medical center and merged with the night.

* * *

Argos was by his aunt’s bed when she woke up.

“Chase?” Aphroditis muttered as her eyes blinked open.

“Close enough,” said Argos with a smile.

“Sorry, Argos,” she smiled. “Where’s your brother?”

“He is around but needs some alone time right now.”

“What happened? I remember seeing Sarah when I woke up, she didn’t look well.”

Argos took some time to recount all the latest events that had transpired. Aphroditis cried when she learned the cost to Chase in defeating the Furies.

“That’s one of the reasons why I didn’t want to be kept alive,” she said.

“What do you mean?”

“I saw multiple futures. In some, the Furies won, thanks to you overthrowing Arakan and leading them to victory against the Earth Alliance.”

What?

“Then I’m glad that particular future didn’t come to pass.”

“I wish I had your certainty…” Aphroditis let her words trail.

Argos narrowed his eyes. “Why would you ever say something like that?”

“It’s not easy to explain. You see, the only few possible futures where you and Chase defeated the Furies…well, it always came at a price and were veiled in darkness and pain.”

“Are you talking about the Spectres?”

“I don’t know. Perhaps. My memory is foggy. I only remember a dark presence overshadowing the Furies, something way more powerful and vile. The Furies set the universe afire, this darkness, however…I felt it had the potential to bring about the demise of our universe, the end as we know it. Freedoms and liberties would disappear; we’d become enslaved, by the trillions, where the lucky ones living in this world were the ones allowed to live. The rest—the rest would be trapped into darkness for all eternity.”

Argos didn’t like what he was hearing, but it made sense, she must have been talking about the Spectres. From what they knew of Spectres, more often than not they stole and stored their enemy’s souls inside their essence, which could explain the reference to being trapped and death being a release.

Argos even witnessed the scene during their fight. The mere thought about the amount of energy and power that had been required to kill just one of them gave him shivers.

“What do you see now? Did you have any more premonitions?”

She slowly shook her head. “I haven’t had any visions since I woke up. And between you and me, I truly hope I won’t get them anymore.”

“They could come in handy though.”

Aphroditis let her tears flow freely as she spoke again. “I don’t think so, Argos. I now think with all my heart that my precog abilities were a curse and that one should let destiny attend to itself. Of course, I can only speak from my own perspective. The ones who are at the crossroads of destiny, those who can change things on a large scale with their decisions and brave acts, these Nexuses, as I call them, they tend to pay a higher price.”

“You mean Chase?”

“And everyone close to him, yourself included.”

“I understand this has been hard for you, and you suffered because of me, something I don’t think I will ever forgive myself for, but I don’t see how me leading the Furies to victory would have been a better outcome for us.”

Aphroditis cradled Argos’ hand in hers.

“You wouldn’t…and this journey has changed who you are tremendously, for the better, and for that I’m thankful. You should forgive yourself, as I’ve forgiven you. I’m proud of both you and Chase, you are both to be commended for your victory against the shadows. That being said…if there were one race that could ever stand up to the Spectres, it would be the Furies. But with most of them gone now, there’s nothing to stop the Spectres’ nefarious plans. Athena should never have saved my life during the first Fury War. Ever since that day, I feel I made things worse for everyone I know.”

“Don’t say that, Aphroditis.”

“You don’t understand how it feels to tell people about my visions and to see how it affects their future decisions…the consequences they may face, the future being remolded, sometimes it feels like I did more harm than good. I’m not talking only about you and your brother here. I’ve—I’ve single-handedly ruined Zeus’ life, among others.”

“I think you’re exaggerating a little. You’ve been through so much to ensure we defeat the Furies, at least you can get some comfort from that, couldn’t you?”

“And now the Spectres are coming without the one race that could stand up to them.”

Argos had a hard time reconciling with this concept. Had there been a potential future where he defeated Chase and the forces of light, and where that future could be a better one? No, no matter how he looked at it, he refused to accept that this could be true.

Aphroditis closed her eyes. “I—I’m tired, Argos. If you don’t mind, I think I’ll sleep a little longer.”

“Yes, get some rest. We’ll have plenty of time to catch up later.”

Argos kissed Aphroditis on the forehead and left the room, his heart heavy. Her words echoed in his mind and imagining himself as the head of the Furies, defeating his friends and family, was not something he enjoyed.

Argos willed himself to put that image aside. He thought about the fact that seemingly only the Furies could stop the Spectres. If that were true, then what would happen next?

These thoughts caused him to shiver and he had to consciously will himself to shrug them away. Times were dark enough without the need to add more doom and gloom. Whatever was coming, there was no choice other than for him and Chase to fight it head-on.

Ares materialized in front of Argos, which made Argos jump.

“Damn, Ares. You’re the last person I expected to see, and you almost gave me a freaking heart attack.”

“Sorry about that. The rumors of my demise have been widely exaggerated.”

“Apparently so. It’s good to see you, and even though I’d love to hear how you’re still here, something tells me you’re longing to see your sister now.”

Ares nodded.

“She just fell back to sleep. I can tell she needs it, but I’m sure you won’t mind waiting by her side until she wakes up.”

“I don’t mind. It’s good seeing you again, Argos. We’ll catch up later?”

“Absolutely.”

Ares walked through the door of med-bay five as if it weren’t there.

* * *

Thor exited Altair’s office of the Earth Alliance’s headquarters and walked to the nearest window to gaze outside.

My father used to love Midgard.

Midgard had once been an intricate part of the Asgardian’s world. But when Olympians had taken over protecting the humans, Odin had decided that challenging the Olympians for control over the planet was too dangerous. It could have had disastrous repercussions for the stability of the region.

In hindsight, Thor’s father had made the right decision. If Asgardians and Olympians had been enemies, the second and last Fury War could have turned out differently.

His father had always been a wise man. One that Thor didn’t think he could replace as the King of Asgard. But soon he would be crowned in place of his late father.

“Hey there,” said a familiar voice.

Thor turned around and smiled at his friend, Poseidon.

“It’s good to see you,” said Thor

Poseidon hugged Thor.

“Likewise,” said Poseidon. “I wish it were under better circumstances, though. I—I heard about your father. I’m sorry for your loss.”

Thor’s facial tattoos flashed once and died down.

“Thank you.”

“Shouldn’t you have stayed on Asgard?”

“I needed to report back to Altair.”

“You could just as easily have done that via holo-transmission.”

“I know…I guess I also needed to clear my head.”

“I can understand that. Do you know who killed your father?”

“From the security footage, it seemed to have been a Spectre. A very powerful one, too.”

“I was afraid of that. I suppose you ordered a full investigation?”

Thor nodded. “Hasn’t yielded any results yet. Our systems were tampered with.”

“In what way?”

“Footage in several areas of the temple has been deleted beyond recovery.”

“Why do you think that would be?”

Thor shook his head. “Could be a number of things. Perhaps the Spectre’s doing. Or perhaps…” but Thor let the words trail.

“A traitor?”

“The thought has crossed my mind, but I’m having a hard time accepting that.”

“I’m sorry, didn’t want to burden your grief.”

“Don’t worry, you haven’t. My father always loved this place, so it’s fitting that it’s my first destination after his passing. How did your encounter with the Spectre go?”

“It almost cost Athena her life. I guess my intense training paid off. But luckily for my niece and me, he wasn’t nearly as powerful as Tanak’Vor. That much I could sense.”

“Well, I guess that’s good news. But…”

“I know, while this one was weaker…what about the next ones, right?”

“Something tells me we’re about to find out and soon.” Thor nodded, his facial tattoos resuming their usual neutral shine.

* * *

Tar’Lock and Talon entered Altair’s office.

“Please, gentlemen,” said Altair, “have a seat.”

Tar’Lock nodded. “Thanks, Altair. This is Captain Talon Epizon. He’s the reason I’m still breathing. Well, so are you, obviously.”

Altair looked at Epizon. “Nice to meet you, Captain. And the reason we’re all breathing is your ingenuity in escaping the spider ship and sending that distress call. The rest, well, we were fortunate Athena also picked it up.”

Talon nodded without saying a word.

“Please, sit,” said Altair.

Tar’Lock sat, but Talon didn’t.

“I’d rather stand if it’s all the same to you,” said Talon, his voice cold.

“Absolutely. As long as you don’t mind that I do.”

“It’s your office.”

Tar’Lock clicked nervously.

“Why did you want to see me, Tar’Lock?” said Altair.

“Well, we wanted to come by and extend our thanks for answering our distress call. If you hadn’t come when you did…”

“You shouldn’t have troubled yourself for that. Even though you left the Earth Alliance, which was your right, you’re still a friend. I’d hope you’d also answer a distress call of mine if you ever got one.”

“Absolutely,” said Tar’Lock.

“I don’t want to sound rude, but I actually have some important plans tonight. Was there anything else?”

Tar’Lock clicked rapidly. “There is. I would like to know if your offer to have Captain Epizon assume command as a captain of an Earth Alliance destroyer still stands?”

“What?” barked Talon, obviously taken by surprise. “What are you doing Tar’Lock? I don’t want this.”

Altair looked at Talon then returned his gaze to Tar’Lock.

“What’s going on here?”

“Captain Epizon resigned his commission with the Star Alliance shortly after arriving on Earth. I think it was a mistake. As you told me when I stepped onto the Hercules, the Alliance needs good captains, especially now, and I think Talon would make a terrific one, even if he doesn’t seem to realize it just yet.”

Altair’s gaze shifted to Talon. “Are you sure you don’t want to sit, Captain?”

Talon grimaced but eventually sat in front of Altair. Fire was burning in his eyes.

“I sense some tension. Perhaps before we continue this discussion, we should clear the air?” proposed Altair.

“And perhaps Tar’Lock should focus on his problems instead of meddling in the affairs of others,” Talon retorted.

Altair steepled his fingers together and pressed them to his lips.

“I’m not sure why you’re here. What’s clear; however, is that you haven’t discussed this among yourselves. As I said earlier, I do have plans, so let me tell you what I think. I’d love for the both of you to rejoin the Alliance. Tar’Lock is correct, with the impending threat from the Spectres looming on the horizon, we could use good captains. And you’ve proved yourself incredibly resourceful surviving a spider ship against incredible odds. I commend you both for that. However, I sense some animosity on your part,” said Altair, pointing one of his fingers toward Talon. “Then again, I know I’m not very popular with ex-Star Alliance officers.”

“You can say that again,” snorted Talon.

“Talon!” Tar’Lock exclaimed.

Altair raised a hand. “That’s alright, Tar’Lock, I’d rather Captain Epizon spoke his mind.”

“Since we’re being frank, I’d rather let a gun do my talking,” said Talon.

Tar’Lock clicked nervously. “I’m sorry, Altair, this was a mistake, and it’s all my fault. I think we should go.”

“No, that’s alright,” said Altair, calmly. “I’ve checked the captain’s Star Alliance records before the two of you came in. I can see why he’d like nothing more than to shoot me where I stand. We all know that on some level, I certainly deserve it for my past actions when I was leading the Obsidian Empire.”

Talon made a threatening rumbling noise in his throat.

Altair grabbed his service blaster and slid it across his desk to Talon. “Do what you need to do, Captain.”

Talon looked at the blaster as Tar’Lock clicked in rapid succession. Talon slowly grasped the blaster and then pointed it toward Altair’s head. His hand was shaking.

“Are you crazy!?” shouted Tar’Lock. “Put that down!”

Talon ignored Tar’Lock as his gaze locked with Altair’s. There was a mixture of pain, sadness, and extreme anger in his eyes.

“There’s nothing I can do to bring your family back, Captain. The only thing I can say is that I truly wish I could turn back time. I stupidly, though somewhat unwillingly, allied myself and my empire with the enemy, and every morning when I wake up, I am faced with the fact that millions died because of my lack of foresight in doing so.”

“That’s all well and good, but then why give me your gun? Do you have a death wish?”

Tar’Lock watched in horror as the two males squared off.

“Not particularly, no. I’ve accepted the fact that my life now is about making amends and trying to save people rather than enslaving or killing them. I know that won’t bring back your family nor will it appease my conscience. That’s a burden I’ll have to live with for the rest of my days, and if that’s my destiny, then potentially for just a few more seconds. But you know what? I have no control over that. All I can say is I’m sorry for the part I’ve played in your tragic loss. I didn’t fire the shot that killed your family, but my ships did, and for that, I am ready to accept any and all consequences. Whether you shoot me dead today or another grieving widower does tomorrow, that’s the price I’m willing to pay in my quest for redemption. So…by all means, Talon, if you think it will make you feel better, or if you think that’s what your loved ones would want you to do to honor their memories, then by all means, take that shot.”

There was a long pause, and it felt like the oxygen was being sucked out of the room.

“Please, please, Talon, don’t shoot him,” said Tar’Lock. “He just saved our lives risking his and an entire crew no less.”

“Stay out of it, Tar’Lock,” Talon replied. “This is between him and me.”

“He’s right,” said Altair.

“How can you be okay with the prospect of dying?” asked Talon.

“We all die, Talon. Sooner or later. I try to better myself with every moment that’s given to me. If I get more time, I’ll do my darned best to do more good. If my life ends here, then at least I die knowing that I’m doing my best here and now, even if that wasn’t always the case.”

Talon’s hand shook harder.

“You’re nothing like I expected you to be.”

“I get that a lot. I’m not your enemy, Captain. I’m only trying to do some good in this world. That’s all.”

Talon took a deep breath and slowly rested the gun in front of him. Tar’Lock released a very long sigh of relief.

“I’m sorry for even pointing that at you, Altair. You’re not the monster I thought you were when I stepped in your office. I think I need to do some soul searching of my own. If anything, you’ve triggered that, and I’m thankful for it, as well as for your risking your life to save ours.”

“You’re perfectly welcome. But let me ask you this: would you be interested in doing your soul searching while commanding an Earth Alliance starship?”

Talon’s eye widened. “You’re still offering me a command? After this?”

“After what? Nothing happened. As a matter of fact, you strike me as someone who can think on his feet and not let emotions overtake his sense of logic. That’s a strong pitch for a captain, and exactly the kind of men I’d want at the commands of our starships. We could use you, both of you, actually.”

“Could Tar’Lock be my first officer?”

“I don’t see why not.”

“Wait, what?” said Tar’Lock. “I don’t have the right military training.”

“You’ll do fine,” said Talon.

Altair smiled. “I agree. Your heart is in the right place, and you’ll have a captain teaching you the ropes, I’m sure.”

They all rose from their chairs.

“So, what do you say…” added Altair. “Captain Epizon, should I find you a ship?”

Altair extended his open hand.

Talon grasped it and shook. “I think I’d like that very much.”

“Good. Welcome to the Earth Alliance.”

“Thank you, sir.”

* * *

Asrak’Vor received a transmission on the bridge of the spider ship. The holo-screen came to life and the face of the Spectre whom he had tasked with investigating the lack of progress from Ergon’Kar filled the screen.

“Report.”

“I found him, frozen in space. I can tell from his wounds that he engaged in a tough battle.”

“Is he dead?”

“He would be if I hadn’t reached him when I did. I put him in a healing chamber, but I can just as well terminate his life if that’s your wish.”

Asrak’Vor despised failure, and the thought of killing Ergon’Kar lingered in his mind. But they had already lost a ship, adding to the tally of manpower they couldn’t afford to lose, at least not until reinforcements from their dimension arrived. Even though the Spectre hated rewarding failure, this time he decided not to let his anger and thirst for revenge dictate his actions. Instead, he used logic.

“That won’t be necessary.”

Asrak’Vor could feel multiple sets of shocked eyes peering at him from the shadows of the dimly lit bridge. The crew wasn’t used to Asrak’Vor showing mercy of any kind.

“Very well, Master. Will there be anything else you need me to do in the area?”

“No, come back aboard, we have work to do.”

“Thy will be done,” said the Spectre as he saluted Asrak’Vor.

The communication ended, and Asrak’Vor walked away from his chair and into his ready room.

Shortly after, his first officer arrived.

“What is it I can do for you, Zanon’Zar?”

“I’m surprised you spared Ergon’Kar.”

“As am I. But I see his survival as a sign that he may still have a role to play. We’ve lost enough people today.”

“I didn’t think you cared much about signs and portents.”

“Usually, I don’t. Though we lost a ship, we managed our primary objectives. We have the necessary material to start building the gate as well as recovering something that was ours.”

Zanon’Zar nodded. “It won’t be easy to assemble the gate. Now that the Earth Alliance knows of our presence, they will patrol every system looking for us.”

“I know…that’s why it was important to recover Ashra’Lur. The moment she wakes up, she’ll take care of the Earth Alliance for us.”

“You seem to have quite a bit of faith in her.”

“Why wouldn’t I? Technically, she’s of my bloodline.”

Even though she represents way more than that.

“If that will be all,” said Zanon’Zar.

“Actually, no, before the scout ship was destroyed, did you receive any subspace transmission from them?”

“Yes, we have. It contains the sensor data on the new prototype shields they were equipped with.”

“And?”

“And the technology is viable. As a matter of fact, the scout ship held its own against the biggest Earth Alliance dreadnought. Should we use Loki’s pentalium to upgrade our fleet to the same shielding technology? That would give us a considerable advantage over them.”

“But then we wouldn’t have enough of the material to create the gate.”

“We can always attack the Asgardians and steal their stockpile.”

“And incur more losses. Not to mention that the technology may not be as efficient against their own fleet.”

“So that’s a no for using the new shield tech?”

“Only for the time being. We must conserve what limited resources we have, and if we’ve learned anything these past few days, we can’t overextend ourselves. Bringing more ships and troops to this dimension always was and remains our top priority. When that is done, we can wipe out the Asgardians and use the advanced technology to crush the Alliance.”

* * *

Chris didn’t expect to find anyone in the mess hall this late at night. But a lone woman sat at one of the tables with a half-eaten pizza in front of her. A powerful aura emanated from her body.

“Who are you?” he asked as he approached the woman. “I don’t remember seeing you around here before.”

“I haven’t been here for long. My name is Nyx. If you see Ares, tell him I’ll kick his ass for leaving me here on my own for so many hours.”

Chris’ eyes widened. “Ares is still alive?”

“Well, he keeps saying he’s not, and I really don’t know what gives.”

“I guess the term ‘alive’ is relative in his condition.”

“That about sums it up, I guess. And you are?”

“Chris. My name is Chris.”

“I sense a lot of power from someone so young. Are you a Fury?”

Chris furrowed his eyebrows. “Who are you again?”

“A friend of Ares. Everyone else I know is dead.”

Chris pulled up a chair and sat opposite Nyx.

“You don’t mind, do you?” he said.

“Makes no difference to me. But I’d like an answer to my question if you wouldn’t mind.”

“I guess you could say that I’m part Fury. Technically, a quarter Fury, a quarter Olympian, and half human.”

“So you’re a freak, we Furies don’t mate with other inferior races.”

Chris hardened his face. “Nice to meet you too, Nyx the Fury.”

“We have a bit of a problem though, I hate Olympians with a vengeance.”

“You’ll get over it, most of them are dead anyway. Arakan saw to that.”

“You know of Arakan?”

“I’ve had the displeasure of fighting him, yes. But technically it wasn’t exactly Arakan, possibly some Fury-Spectre hybrid or an Arakan meat suit is more accurate.”

“I’m not sure I understand.”

“Well, the Spectre called Tanak’Vor took over his body. So he looked like Arakan, but really he was more Spectre than Fury, at least in the end.”

“Is he dead?”

“Like every other Fury, my family excepted, yes.”

“And that Spectre, did he kill the Furies?”

“I guess you could say he was overly responsible for their demise, but my family were the ones who finished them off.”

Chris briefly saw a flash of pure hatred inside of Nyx’s eyes before she fired a purple fireball at him. Instinctively, he turned Ultra Fury and blocked her attack with ease. He looked at the fireball, which stopped just mere millimeters from his palm. It looked like one of his father’s attacks. Chris made a fist and the fireball dissolved into nothingness.

“I’ve had a very long, hard day, so I’ll let this one fly,” said Chris. “But if you ever do that again, I’ll kill you.”

Chris could tell from the shock in Nyx’s eyes that she hadn’t expected him to block her attack.

“You—you’re an Ultra Fury, too.”

“I don’t subscribe to labels, I’m Chris, and I’ll kill anyone that wishes me or my family harm. I can tell you’re not too fond of us right now, so let me ask you this: Do I have to kill you? I wouldn’t want any bad blood between Ares and me. But I’m not found of being attacked unprovoked.”

“That two-faced son of a b—he lied to me. I should have known not to trust an Olympian.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“Ares tricked me to get back to this dimension; he said I’d meet other Furies. And what do I find here, the very people who killed my kind.”

“Your kind needed to be killed, no offense to you personally. As a matter of fact, until you attacked me, I thought you were rather charming, in a twisted kind of way. I guess I shouldn’t judge a book by its cover.”

“Was there a compliment hidden under all that sarcasm?”

“You tell me.”

There was a strange energy building between them. Chris didn’t know or understand why, but there was definitely some sexual tension building up, one that was being fueled at light speed.

Nyx smiled. “I’m older than you.”

“So what? I’m probably half-immortal on my Olympian side.”

“This is getting weird.”

“On that, we can agree. What are we going to do about it, though?”

For reasons that made no sense to Chris, he felt a strong attraction to the Fury female, even though she was clearly antagonizing him and had just tried to kill him. Perhaps that might have had something to do with the exponential build up of physical attraction.

Before they knew it, they were kissing while undressing and made animalistic love right there on the mess-hall table.

* * *

Chase was staring at the ceiling of his temporary quarters near the medical center. He couldn’t find sleep, no matter how hard he tried. He had gone looking for Chris, hoping they could have a father and son talk, but his son had telepathically informed him to stay away and that he needed the time apart.

How ironic that his son would employ the same tactic as Chase had done only a year earlier, something that Chris had given him quite a bit of flack for doing.

But Chase had an inkling as to what could be going on inside his son’s head, and he was the last person that could fault him for reacting this way.

Argos had checked on Chase earlier, but the conversation had been short. Now, more than anything, Chase wished he could fall asleep, hoping the night would offer words of wisdom, or at the very least, that getting some rest would help his mood.

When it was apparent that sleep would continue to elude him, Chase jumped out of bed and took a long hot shower, which had the opposite effect than he had hoped for, making him even more awake.

He had been standing for minutes in the middle of the bathroom, naked and dripping wet, when the steam evaporated from the mirror in front of him. Chase caught a glimpse of his reflection and had to suppress the urge to break the mirror.

Instead, he grabbed a pair of scissors and started cutting away big chunks of his hair. Minutes later, it was nearly as short at it had been in the academy, and the bathroom floor was covered with long black hair.

Chase also decided to shave his beard, even if it really didn’t change how he felt about himself, at least the reflection in the mirror was different, and right now he needed different.

EPILOGUE

When Ryonna beamed into the restaurant on Earth, she was taken by how fancy and beautiful the place looked. Her gaze traveled around the large and romantically lit dining room until her eyes landed on Altair.

He saw her and smiled. She approached the table as he was pushing his chair back and came to greet her.

Such a gentleman, she thought.

“Thank you,” she said. “This is such a lovely place. I’m glad you surprised me with this dinner. I thought for sure after you took a ship to go to battle, you’d have a ton of paperwork to take care of.”

Altair smiled. He pulled out Ryonna’s chair for her and walked back to his own chair and sat. He poured white wine into both their glasses, starting with Ryonna’s.

“I do, but it will still be there in the morning. I wanted to spend a nice evening with you now that you’re back. How are things on Droxia?”

“Same old, sometimes it feels like there are two opposite forces at work there. Those who have fully embraced being part of the Alliance, and the old farts who care more about million-year-old decrepit traditions.”

“Did you manage to talk with Ronan?”

She nodded. “Yes, I did.”

“And?”

“And my son is a wonderful Droxian, and even though he was surprised, all he cares about is my well-being. So long story short, I have his blessing, which means we can now decide, if that’s what we wish, to stop hiding our relationship.”

“You have no idea how glad I am to hear you say that.”

“I know this has been hard on you.”

“I wouldn’t say it was hard. Just not always easy. For either of us.”

“True. Well, it’s over now. We can tell the world how we feel about each other,” Ryonna said as she took a sip of her wine.

“In that case, I’d like to tell you how beautiful you look tonight and how much I love you.”

Ryonna smiled.

“You’re sweet. I love you, too.”

Altair reached for something inside his suit jacket.

“Initially, I wanted to wait a little bit before asking you this, but…”

Before Altair could finish, a waiter was at their table.

“I’m sorry to interrupt, ma’am, but there’s an urgent holo-transmission for you.”

Altair reacted with surprise. “I wonder who it could be? I haven’t told anyone about our plans. How could anyone know you’re here?”

Ryonna shrugged. “I have no idea. I haven’t told anyone either. I best check on this urgent call. Did the person give a name?”

“Yes, ma’am,” said the waiter. “I believe his name was Ronan.”

Ryonna had tried to contact her son when Altair had left on the Hercules. But then why would the call be urgent? Something didn’t add up, and Ryonna had a bad feeling about it.

“If you’ll excuse me, love, I—I’ll be right back,” she told Altair.

Altair removed his hand from his pocket and nodded. “Absolutely, I hope everything is fine. Do you want me to come with you?”

“That’s alright, you can wait for me here. Hopefully, I won’t be long.”

When Ryonna arrived at the private guest holo-room, her heart was thumping madly against her chest. She went to the holo-control and pressed the acknowledge communication button.

She became engulfed in rays of light, and everything changed.

“What the hell?” she exclaimed.

She spun around. She was in orbit of Earth, inside a ship whose design she immediately recognized, except. . .it couldn’t be.

The cockpit holo-screen came to life and filled with the face of her dead husband, Jax.

That can’t be Jax! I must be having a nightmare.

He was covered in bruises and blood, his voice trembling.

“Ryonna, I. . .I’m sorry to do this to you, but I need your help. Ronan is in grave danger.”

Before Ryonna could say a single word, the ship opened a hyperspace window and left orbit.

* * *

Chase had been using the gravity training room for so long he had lost track of time. Had he been there for hours or days? He didn’t know nor did he care. He had lost interest in firing at holographic targets with his fireballs some while ago. Now, instead, he just stood there, letting his mind wander.

The doors of the room split open, and a long shadow traversed across the floor. He looked up to see Daniel standing by the door.

“Hey,” said Chase.

“I—I have to leave in the morning, and I wanted to talk with you.”

Chase reached with his mind and set the room’s gravity back to one G. The engine progressively adapted with a fading humming sound. As the gravity returned to normal, the room’s lighting changed colors, from red to yellow, all the way down to green, and eventually returning to a warm white light once the engine was entirely off.

Daniel stepped in and hugged Chase. It took a little while for Chase to embrace his best friend. But, eventually, he did and clapped him twice on the back.

“How are you holding up?” Daniel asked as they broke their hug.

“I’ve been better.”

“I can imagine. That’s a new look for you,” said Daniel pointing at Chase’s now significantly shorter hair. “I like it.”

“I needed a change.”

“Understandable. Want to talk about it?”

Chase shrugged. “What is there to talk about? Sarah…” but Chase paused. “She’s gone, Daniel, I can’t sense her soul anymore, it feels like she’s just an empty shell now.”

“I—I don’t know what to say Chase. I’m sorry, I know how much you hoped to cure her. But how come you can’t sense her soul? Doesn’t seem right.”

“I wish I knew. I’ve been asking myself that over and over. I—I’m sure I felt her soul after she was wounded, heck, even when she was in suspended animation. But now, nothing. It makes no sense.”

“Could it be you sensed what you wanted to sense back then?”

Chase pondered the words.

“Does it matter?”

“I think it does, Chase. But more importantly, I think you shouldn’t abandon hope. The Spectres are coming, whether it be sooner rather than later, they’ll come and try to claim our universe.”

“I know. And don’t get me wrong, I do care about what happens, but I’m just trying to process this set of emotions right now.”

“Yeah, that I can understand. I just hope you’re not going for another spin down a dark place.”

“I’m this close,” said Chase gesturing with two fingers. “I’ve done everything I can to help, tried to make sure the Furies didn’t destroy every living being in the universe, and was rewarded with nothing but grief for my trouble. Put yourself in my shoes for a moment, what is there to look forward to if Sarah is gone?”

“We don’t know that she’s gone. You brought Spiros back to life from the Underworld. And you’ve managed to teleport to save your son. Perhaps you could visit Zeus in the Underworld, see if Sarah’s soul is there. For that matter you could also check if they saw Menelas in the Underworld.”

“I can’t explain how I managed to teleport, and believe me, I’ve thought of going to see Zeus. I have tried. And failed. My teleportation power is gone, at least on a conscious level. I can’t seem to convince my subconscious to activate it to make the trip to the Underworld.”

“Well, you did it once, perhaps you can do it again. It may not be entirely gone. I’d look at it as a good sign that you managed to do it, even if it was a short distance. At the very least, the power isn’t fully gone.”

Chase frowned. “I’m not having the best time looking at things in a positive light at the moment.”

“Then maybe you should spend less time focusing on what you’ve lost and more on what you still have. As well as what you must protect, like your unborn daughter. She’s still breathing, that has to count for something.”

“She might very well be the only reason I’m hanging in there.”

“Chase, that’s not like you!”

“Chris said the same thing. That I used to be this hero, and that I’m now no longer myself.”

“Look, Chase, you’re my best friend, heck, you’re my brother even, but from the outside, it does look like something changed, and not in a good way.”

“Could it be that you all put too much hope into the fact that I could fix everything, defeat any enemy, that you didn’t realize that I’m only a living being, not a god.”

Daniel smiled. “I never thought of you as a god, if that helps.”

Chase attempted to smile.

“Look,” said Daniel. “I can only imagine what you’re going through right now. But you still have things to look forward to. Even if you don’t see it right this instant, which is understandable considering…but trust me: there’s still hope. Chris is still here, he’s still your son, and sure, things are tense right now between the two of you, but that can change at a moment’s whim. And you also have Argos, Aphroditis, your mother, and we still don’t know what happened to your father. I, for one, don’t believe anybody is dead unless we have a body to prove it. Even then, stranger things have happened in the last couple of years.”

Chase had to admit Daniel was making sense. And Chase had not thought of his father much lately. Could he still be alive somewhere?

“I know…and you’re right. I still have things to look forward to, but without Sarah, all of it seems—pointless. You know?”

“That I can understand on some level. But, Chase, allow me to be the devil’s advocate here, have you wondered what she would want you to do?”

“What do you mean?”

“Ok, just for the sake of argument, let’s say she’s truly gone.”

“I’m so glad you came to lift up my spirits…you’re doing a bang-up job so far.”

“Chase! I’m serious. You asked me to put myself in your shoes, so let me tell you what I think, okay?”

Chase nodded.

“Alright,” Daniel continued. “Look at it this way, if Sarah is gone, then what would she want you to do? Do you think she’d want you to give up all hope? And then what? Jump into a quadrinium engine or a pool of lava and be done with it? What does that accomplish? Besides ending a suffering that…and I get it, is very painful. But life is pain, Chase! You’re not the only one who lost…”

But Daniel stopped himself and wiped a tear forming out of the corner of his eye.

“I know you miss Fillio. And, I’m sorry. I know many of us lost loved ones,” Chase said.

“We have and more than likely we’ll continue to with what’s coming our way. But I think what they’d want us to do is to honor their deaths, make sure they didn’t give their lives in vain. When I feel bummed out, I sometimes ask myself, what would Fillio want me to do? You know? So I ask you this, what do you think Sarah would want you to do? Especially now with the Spectre threat looming over our heads. Do you think she’d want you to give up hope? Or would she want you to fight and make sure you looked after Chris and make sure your unborn daughter grows up in a world that’s worth a damn? To protect your children and everyone you both loved?”

“You know the answer to that, Daniel.”

“I’d still like to hear it.”

“She’d want me to be strong, to face whatever dangers are ahead, and should she really be gone…”

“She’d want you to move on and make a life for yourself. I know this and you know it as well. Right now, hope is a hard pill to swallow, but deep inside, you know that she would never wish for you to feel defeated and give up on life. That would not honor her memory. If anything, you’d be insulting everything she fought for.”

“You’re right,” Chases eyes looked down. “That’s the last thing she’d want.”

“You’re damn right about that! If you don’t do it for yourself, then do it for her. On some level you must want to rip these Spectres’ hearts out to get back at them, right?”

Chase felt hatred fill his soul. Daniel was right. Perhaps his sadness had masked a deeper, stronger emotion—payback.

Without realizing it, Chase turned into an Ultra Fury. A golden aura engulfed him and radiated, casting moving shadows around him and Daniel. Bursts of golden lightning sizzled near Chase.

“That’s more like it!” Daniel exclaimed. “That hate you’ve been trying to bottle up these past few months…I know it’s been eating you inside. You once told me you didn’t want to use it to get more powerful, and perhaps there’s wisdom in focusing on more balanced emotions, but right now, if you ask me, you could use it to fuel what’s eating at you. There might just be a million Spectres that could be a good recipient for it. Just unleash it, for Sarah and for everyone we’ve lost.”

Chase raised an eyebrow. “A million?”

Daniel gave his best friend a large smile as he scratched the back of his head. “Heat of the moment kinda thing. Hopefully, there aren’t that many.”

But Chase liked the idea of unleashing the pain and hatred inside his core onto the Spectres. No matter how many and how powerful they were, he would train and get stronger still. After all, fighting and protecting those he loved had always been his way.

He knew that’s what Sarah would want. Not just defend those he loved, but also the trillions of innocent lives throughout the universe, those that couldn’t possibly fend for themselves. As a matter of fact, Sarah would despise Chase if he let Chris and Argos try to defeat them on their own. And if something happened to either of them because he’d given up all hope, he’d never forgive himself.

Now was not the time for Chase to obsess about what had been lost, it was time to fight and protect what he still had.

Chase briefly stared at Daniel.

“Doesn’t matter how many they are. I’ll kill them all.”

“That’s the spirit. But you, more importantly, won’t have to do it alone, we’ll be by your side all the way. Together we’re stronger.”

Chase nodded. He could always count on Daniel to lift his spirits when things got tough, and today was no exception.

“Speaking of being here, what’s that you said about leaving in the morning?”

“Right. Altair asked me to make a decision about Alkyonidon Station. He said I either take the job as commander or he’d have to give it to someone else. I hate the idea of being away from all of you, but then again, I’ll only be a jump away. It should be a few weeks, at least until the station core becomes operational. In these uncertain times, I think we could use a headquarters in space, a place where we can rally all the races together to make the Earth Alliance bigger and stronger than it is now.”

“We’ll sure need allies in the future, and if Alkyonidon Station can help do that, I’m glad you’ll be part of it. This sounds like the right move. Congratulations on accepting the position.”

Chase extended his hand, and Daniel shook it. “That doesn’t mean we won’t see each other, and you’re welcome to visit me there anytime you feel like it.”

“Sounds like a plan. Thanks, Daniel. I really needed to hear all of this.”

Daniel nodded and smiled “Anytime, Chase.”

* * *

“Hello, mother,” Chase said without turning away from the large glass window.

Chase had been peering at the inner garden inside the Earth Alliance’s complex for what seemed like hours.

“How are you doing, son?” asked Athena.

“How do you think I’m doing?”

She delicately put a hand on his shoulder.

“I know it must be hard. But don’t despair, and whatever you do, don’t give up.”

These words were easier said than done, but Chase was done feeling sorry for himself. And giving up had never been in his nature. The last time he thought Sarah had been lost to him, it had sent him in a whirlwind of hatred and despair the likes he wasn’t keen to experience again. Ever, in fact.

Chase turned and took his mom in his arms. He then attempted to smile.

“I won’t give up. As long as there’s a glimmer of hope, I’ll hold onto it.”

Athena smiled, her eyes moist. “That’s good, Chase. I’m glad to hear it.”

“But the same has to go for you, you know?”

She nodded, almost absently. “I know.”

“We don’t know what happened to my father. He may still be out there. The only thing I’m sure of was seeing him be swallowed by a miniature black hole of some sort.”

“You’d think he would have found his way back by now, though.”

“Not necessarily. Time dilution, space anomalies, gods know what else, nothing surprises me anymore. I’m just glad you survived your encounter with a Spectre. Really, I don’t know how I would have reacted if you hadn’t.”

“Well, we have Poseidon to thank for that. I clearly bit off more than I could chew. I was so angry, Chase, I wanted retribution for Menelas. Deep down though, I knew I didn’t stand a chance, but I couldn’t step away from that fight.”

Chase knew very well how his mother felt. Sometimes the emotions in his own heart had been so strong that he had gone into fights he knew he couldn’t win. Like when he fought both General Arkoolis and Miseo. Was it courage, he wondered? Or misguided stubbornness?

There was no denying that Chase had been born a fighter, it was in his blood and what he did best. Even if he craved peace in his heart, deep down he wondered if that would ever satisfy the warrior part of his soul, the one that needed to burn higher than a star going supernova.

It was pointless to try and be something he was not. Chase was born to fight the darkness, and darkness was coming their way. He could feel it in every fiber of his being.

“I can relate and understand that. But please, in the future, try and be careful. These Spectres are something else, defeating them won’t be as easy as it was dealing with the Furies.”

Athena raised an eyebrow. “Easy, you say?”

Chase smiled. “You know what I mean. Arakan was a powerful Fury, but he was nothing without the help of Tanak’Vor. Which begs the question as to why they didn’t come to our universe in full force in the first place?”

“They probably thought they could let us destroy ourselves and finish us off with ease. Divide and conquer, let the Furies rule the universe by exterminating countless civilizations, each one being one less enemy to conquer.”

“Well, if that was their plan, it failed miserably. Instead, they’ve united us against our enemies.”

“I never thought I’d say this, but under the circumstance, let’s be grateful that the Fury War brought that.”

Chase nodded.

Yeah, how ironic, he thought.

“One thing is for sure, Spectres are coming, and I intend to be ready for them.”

* * *

In a dark room, a man woke up gasping for air; his heartbeat fast and erratic. He looked around but all he saw was blackness. He blinked his eyes multiple times, trying to discern some shapes or images, but it was all in vain.

Where am I? he thought. And, more importantly…who am I?

His memory was an empty slate, and for some reason, that scared the crap out of him. He was breathing heavily and it felt like the air was having trouble getting to his lungs.

What’s going on? What is this?

A faint noise grabbed his attention. He swiveled his head toward it, but he couldn’t see anything.

“Who’s there?”

“Shhh…try and relax,” said a soft female voice.

“Where am I? Who are you?”

“I’m not exactly sure where we are. All I know is that we’re prisoners. My name is Diaspira. What’s yours?”

Tears filled the man’s eyes. “I—I don’t know,” he sobbed.

“That’s okay, don’t worry about that right now, I can help you remember.”

“How?”

He sensed something moving in the darkness, and soon he heard soft breathing next to him.

“Is it okay if I take your hand?”

The man had no idea who he was and why he didn’t remember anything. He was scared and felt alone. He didn’t even know what to answer.

“I—I suppose so, yes.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t hurt you.”

“Okay.”

Diaspira’s embrace was warm and soft. After she took his hand, he felt a warm energy fill his body and soul. Images flashed quickly in his mind but before he could grasp what they were or what they meant, they were gone.

“What was that? I—I think I saw memories for a brief moment.”

“That’s good,” said the sweet voice of Diaspira. “Take it slowly. It will come back to you, eventually. I’m low in energy, so I can’t do much more for you today, but we’ll start over tomorrow.”

“Okay…thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

“What’s your name?”

To the man’s surprise, the answer to that particular question now came naturally to him.

“I’m Menelas.”

“Nice to meet you, Menelas.”

-== TO BE CONTINUED ==-

The story of Chase and his friends continues in

(Keep reading Book 12: Unleashed right now)

BOOK 12: UNLEASHED

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Cover artwork by Christian Kallias

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www.twitter.com/kalliasx

Production Editor & Alpha/ARC Team Lead

Paula Lavattiata Lopez (myeditcheck.com)

Editors

Paula Lavattiata Lopez (myeditcheck.com)

Proofreaders

Paula Lavattiata Lopez (myeditcheck.com)

Miliana Chipăilă

ARC Team

COPYRIGHT

Copyright © 2020 by Christian Kallias

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

First Printing of original book, 2020

Version 1.04

DRAMATIS PERSONÆ

Earth Alliance

Admiral Chase Athanatos – Earth Alliance Fury Olympian hybrid - Hero of the Fury War

Captain Sarah Kepler Athanatos – Earth Human with Fury powers (in critical condition)

Chris Athanatos – Fury Human hybrid

Emperor Altair – Head of the Earth Alliance (formerly Obsidian Empire Emperor)

Captain Daniel Tharraleos (dan-yel tha-rah-leh-os) – Earth Alliance Human (formerly Star Alliance)

Chief Engineer Yanis Tixichos (yah-nis tee-hee-hos) – Earth Alliance Human (formerly Star Alliance)

R&D Engineer Spiros Malayianis (spee-ros ma-lah-yah-nis) – Earth Alliance Human (formerly Star Alliance)

Argos Thanatos – Fury Olympian hybrid and Chase’s twin brother (formerly head of the Zarlacks)

Ryonna Isch’ys – Droxian Ambassador (formerly a fugitive Droxian smuggler)

Ronan Isch’ys - Droxian

Allanah Kohri - Chief Engineer in charge of starfighters maintenance

Albert Natos - Chief Engineer of Alkyonidon Station

Talon Epizon – Earth Alliance captain

Tar’Lock (tahr-lock) – EAD Helios’s First Officer - Gorgar (Insectoid and formerly a Hellstar prisoner)

Olympians

Aphroditis (a-fro-dee-tee) – known to humans as the goddess of love

Athena – known to humans as the goddess of wisdom, craft & war

Ares (ah-rees) – known to humans as the god of war (deceased, living as pure energy form)

Poseidon - known to the humans as the god of the seas

Spectres

Asrak’Vor – Spectre Commander (brother of Tanak’Vor)

Ahsra’Lur – Female Spectre Warrior

Furies

Nyx – Fury Warrior

Menelas (meh-neh-lahs) - Fury Warrior (Chase and Argos’s father)

Asgardians

Thor – Fleet Commander & son of Odin

Odin - King of Asgard (deceased)

Kvasir (kvah-seer) – Asgardian scientist

Siegfried - Divine Asgardian Guard

Other characters

Thomson - Datalight Thief

Jax Isch’ys - Ryonna’s (supposedly dead) husband

Diaspira - Pretorian survivor

Skrom - Arachnoid engineer

PREVIOUSLY ON UNIVERSE IN FLAMES

Previously on Universe in Flames

Previously in Season One (Books 1–10):

In the wake of a genocidal tragedy, the Star Alliance fled their corner of the universe to survive the onslaught from the Obsidian Empire. In doing so, the Alliance found both an ally and a sanctuary on a faraway planet called Earth. With their new ally, the Star Alliance formed the Earth Alliance and fought alongside other races (Droxians, Olympians, and Asgardians) in the new Fury War (known as the second Fury War). Furies—human-looking creatures with incredibly powerful fighting abilities and the scourge of the universe—were once thought extinct for ten thousand years. But against all the odds, they returned. Originally, a coalition of worlds led by the Olympians, Asgardians, and many other older civilizations defeated the Furies during the first Fury War. But the Fury’s planet, Erevos, wasn’t destroyed and was trapped in an alternate dimension where time advanced slower than in their original dimension (the same dimension where Earth resides). Upon their return, the Furies waged a terrible war against the Earth Alliance and the entire universe in an effort to cleanse the galaxy of the races that once defied and imprisoned them. Chase Athanatos (a Fury hybrid), along with his friends and loved ones, fought the Furies at every turn and eventually won the battle. But at a terrible personal cost to Chase. He lost many people he cared for, and the final battle saw his wife, Sarah, mortally wounded by an enemy that had been steering the Fury’s campaign behind the scenes: The Spectres. Chase defeated Tanak’Vor, the only Spectre known to have crossed over to this universe’s dimension.

BOOK 11: Nemesis

Chase decides to go to the unknown regions where he hopes to find a cure for Sarah. While planning to go alone on this mission, he’s joined by many of his friends, as well as his estranged son (Chris). A small number of Spectre ships made it through to this dimension when Chase and the Alliance sent Erevos back to the Spectre’s dimension before the soul ships blew up the planet. The leader of these Spectres is none other than Tanak’Vor’s brother, Asrak’Vor. He’s bound on seeking revenge for the murder of his brother and will do anything to kill the one called Chase Athanatos. Meanwhile, in the other dimension, shortly after Erevos is destroyed, Ares regains consciousness. He is baffled that he survived the explosion of the Fury planet. He boards a Spectre ship, and while trying to acquire intel about the Spectres from within, he stumbles upon a female Fury survivor—Nyx. Nyx is being hunted by the Spectres and the two are forced, against their better judgment, to join forces and escape the Spectres. The unlikely alliance yields a treasure trove of information, and Nyx learns that the arachnoids, a slave race working for the Spectres, are experimenting on her, and using her DNA to create something else, something sinister. Ares learns the ship they’re on also contains a prototype engine the Spectres intend to use to send an invasion armada to attack the Earth Alliance. Nyx and Ares manage to use the ship to return to their dimension, but they make sure the ship doesn’t survive the trip. Chase and his friends encounter new dangers in the unknown regions and are saved by a Dragonman of Kyria called Ka’Rij. He recognized Chase as the one he calls “Dragonheart” and asks the Alliance for help in saving his world and the last survivors of his race on New Kyria. Chase, Argos, and Chris help Ka’Rij repel the Hellion Empire from New Kyria and Ka’Rij gives Chase some of his tears, which he believes will cure Sarah of her ailment. Chase and his friends return and use the dragon tears on both Aphroditis and Sarah. The Goddess of Love recovers, but Sarah does not, to both Chase’s and Chris’s dismay. Ares returns and meets with Chase, only to deliver the news that the Spectres are working on a way to invade the Earth Alliance.

… and now the continuation.

PROLOGUE - THE DIVINE ASGARDIAN GUARD

There was a burst of static over the comlink of the Asgardian penitentiary ship Aegir One.

“Captain! It’s coming for you. Get the hell out of ther⁠—”

A high-pitched burst crackled over the link, followed by a distorted scream of agony.

Captain Tyr’s first officer was no more, and for the first time in a thousand years, Tyr felt an emotion he thought had disappeared forever. Fear.

The bridge’s doors exploded as if made from dry plywood, and columns of flames invaded the bridge. The fire suppressant system activated, but these weren’t typical flames. The suppressant system could only push the flames back slightly, not starve the fire. White embers shot around the inferno when he stepped through the flames, like an angel of doom.

The most terrifying creature Tyr had ever seen walked purposefully through the fire as if it weren’t there, and its shiny, dark skin seemed unaffected by the scorching temperatures. A look of death locked into his crimson eyes. It was the first time Tyr saw a Spectre in the flesh, and Thor had not exaggerated their might and power. Not one bit.

Two of the nearest officers who had been thrown to the ground when the bridge’s doors exploded jumped back to their feet and opened fire, extending their phasers and switching them to lance mode. Green bolts of superheated plasma blasted from the weapons and impacted on the Spectre’s skin. No scorch marks, no apparent damage; it was all in vain.

The energy discharges glowed on the surface of the Spectre’s skin for a moment before being assimilated inside the creature’s body. Standard weapons were clearly useless against such a creature.

Before Tyr could order his crew to cease fire, the Spectre’s eyes glowed a deeper red, and he raised one of his hands, palm half open in front of him. An energy siphon appeared at the center of his hand. What happened next terrified Tyr to his core.

Blue energy detached from both officers’ bodies. The energy resembled the officers but was a translucent copy of their forms, each resisting the pull and trying hopelessly to get back inside their flesh. Their souls were being ripped away from them. The men struggled to regain their bodies until finally being fully snatched and siphoned inside the Spectre’s palm.

Both Asgardian bodies collapsed to the ground, devoid of life, while their souls turned into bright-blue flames that danced in rapid circular motions a few inches away from the Spectre’s fingers. Tyr thought he could hear their soul’s scream as the Spectre swallowed them, which made the captain’s already frightened state even worse.

Was that what awaited him? And the rest of his crew? Asgardians were not afraid to die in combat, as a matter of fact, they relished such deaths as it promised their place in Valhalla. But could one’s soul rejoin the gods of old when it was consumed in such a fashion? Tyr doubted it, and that’s why this situation terrorized him.

The Aegir’s captain also felt hopeless at the realization he would never see his wife again or hold both his boys in his arms. The bells were ringing, and he was well aware that today was the day he would die. But he would make sure the Hel’s (Norse underworld) creature didn’t move on to kill other crew members or ever threaten his own family. Even if it were the last thing he did.

Tyr knew full well he didn’t have the power to take on the creature in direct combat. The Spectre had already decimated most of his crew, and there were only a few Asgardians still alive on board the ship. No, to take the creature out, a sacrifice would be needed.

“Commander,” Tyr said coldly to his tactical officer. “Self-destruct sequence, now!”

“Aye, aye, Capt⁠—”

But his officer never finished his reply, and when Tyr turned around to see what had transpired, he saw his commander’s soul fly past him and end up directly inside the Spectre’s mouth. The creature’s eye flashed green for a split second before returning to their vile reddish tone as the Spectre smirked at the captain.

“Even if you could self-destruct this ship,” said the Spectre, “know that it would not kill me.”

What? That can’t be!

Even though Tyr struggled to accept the Spectre’s words, deep down Tyr could sense his opponent wasn’t lying. Asgardian warriors and other species, like Furies or Olympians, could create force fields around them to fly in the vacuum of space. An ability Tyr didn’t possess, though.

“I’ll take my chances,” said Tyr, his voice not as commanding as he’d hoped it would sound.

“There’s nothing you can do, you’re already dead, every single one of you…both here and throughout the rest of the universe. We’ll hunt you down one by one, consume your life force, and become even stronger than we already are.”

As the Spectre spoke, the last remaining three crewmen on the bridge fell to the ground as their souls were siphoned into the Spectre, their voices screeching in agony one last time.

So, that was what they were doing? thought Tyr. Devouring our souls to get stronger. How do we stop such an enemy?

That’s when Tyr realized what he had to do, even if it went against everything he had been taught, his very mission as the captain of the Aegir. But first, he had to escape his hunter and quickly.

He brought the holo-controls from his wrist device to life and selected a mini-map of the ship—Cell Block Omega. But when he tried to activate the transporter, he saw blue energy rise from his hand.

No! Not now!

Tyr felt his soul being pulled out of his body. He resisted with all his might, which seemed to slow down the process somehow, but he wasn’t strong enough. The pull was as relentless as the evil that wielded it. Already a third out of his body, Tyr’s soul looked at his hovering finger, which was an inch away from the beam-out control that would allow him to transport away from the bridge. But it might as well have been a galaxy away.

It can’t end like this.

And while Captain Tyr had been raised to welcome the end, and to proudly enter the gates of Valhalla as a warrior who fell in combat, he would give anything for the chance to help his people as his last worldly action. No matter how ludicrous his idea was.

Odin, grant me your strength, give me one more chance to help Asgard. I beg you!

“You’re a feisty little one,” said the Spectre. “But it matters not. You can’t escape me; your soul is mine. I’ll add your strength and your power to my own. With every single one of you I assimilate, I grow stronger. And that’s why this realm will be ours. When you fight one of us, you don’t just fight a superior being, you fight an entire army that spans thousands of years worth of power.”

The words resonated inside Tyr’s mind as he struggled with every ounce of determination not to let his soul get swallowed by the Spectre. There was only one type of warrior who could stand a chance at fighting these Spectres on a level playing field. And that being was currently in suspended animation inside Cell Block Omega.

When the pull became so strong that more than half of Tyr’s soul had already been ripped outside of his body, something happened.

Tyr stared at the Spectre while he felt his soul being snapped back into place. The Spectre’s raised hand fell to the ground with a thud, and surprise momentarily filled the enemy’s eyes. Standing next to the Spectre was Oberon, the chief security officer, yielding a laser battle-axe. He had dismembered the Spectre.

Oberon propelled toward the Spectre for the kill. Meanwhile, Tyr activated the transport. He couldn’t take the chance that Oberon wouldn’t finish his enemy, something Tyr doubted had the odds of happening.

Tyr became engulfed in green light as he counted down the couple of seconds the transport would take to dematerialize his body.

The Spectre teleported behind Oberon and launched his remaining fist as he punched through Oberon’s chest. Attached to the fist was the chief’s soul.

Everything went black for a second, and Tyr rematerialized inside Cell Block Omega.

Tyr swiped a holo-control on his wrist device and brought up the bridge’s holo-feed. Oberon had collapsed on the floor, his body lifeless, his eyes empty. The Spectre’s cut limb on the ground levitated upward and reattached to him with dark, viscous filaments, and within seconds, the Spectre flexed his fist open and closed a couple of times.

Tyr swallowed hard as the Spectre looked toward the holo-cam and smiled.

“You can run, Captain, but you can’t hide. Make no mistake, I’ll have your soul.”

How was the Spectre aware of Tyr’s watching him through a holo-feed?

These truly are Hel’s creatures! And only evil can defeat evil.

The Spectre ran out of the bridge so fast that a shockwave threw the dead bodies around and causing them to roll aside.

There was no time to waste as Tyr realized he was living his last moments in this world. He could feel it in his bones. He ran to the suspended animation chamber and put his palm into the identification device.

“Captain Tyr, identity confirmed,” said a female computer voice.

“Proceed with reanimation sequence,” said Tyr.

“Are you certain, Captain?” the computer asked.

“Yes, reanimate Siegfried, now!”

“Please enter the authorization code and DNA confirmation.”

“Authorization Captain Tyr, alpha, seven, pie, three, one, one, sigma, six, mu.”

Tyr grabbed his light dagger behind his back, activated it, and made a deep incision inside his left palm. A large quantity of purple blood gushed from the wound, and he made a fist and pressed hard to get the blood to flow faster. The thick blood streamed down and into a sensor on the right side of the chamber. Green light shone all around the main chamber as the pod trembled, and smoke rose from its side and back, filling the room with fog.

A pneumatic noise sounded as the door of the pod raised upward. Green flashes of light illuminated the fog all around Tyr. A large shadow walked out of the pod.

Each step elevated Tyr’s anxiety levels. He knew that what he was doing might never be undone. This ship’s entire purpose for the last few millennia had been to keep Siegfried captive for all time. Tyr had unleashed the most terrible beast in Asgardian history, but he saw no other alternative to stop the Spectre.

Siegfried was in full battle armor. The alloy that made Siegfried’s armor no longer existed. Asgardians had run out of the alloy centuries ago. The armor’s deep purple color shone through the darkness as he stepped in front of Tyr.

“How long?” said Siegfried’s deep, booming voice. “How long have I been asleep?”

“Over five thousand years.”

Siegfried growled.

“This is how you thank us for helping you hunt down the Furies? I should kill you where you stand.”

“I’m already dead, so do as you wish. I only ask that you survive this day and defeat the creature that’s about to step into this room.”

The ship shook as an explosion resounded nearby.

Siegfried looked past Tyr for a moment and returned his gaze toward the captain.

“Explain!”

“We are being attacked by Spectres. They are the most formidable creatures ever to grace our universe. As a matter of fact, they’re from another dimension. When the Furies returned, they bled through the cracks of a dimensional rift.”

“The Furies have returned?” Siegfried growled. “Why are you lying? I personally killed the last one myself.”

“There’s no time to explain, but yes, for a time, the Furies returned, but the Earth Alliance defeated them once and for all.”

“I do not know this Earth Alliance? Explain.”

“The people of Midgard allied themselves with the remnants of the Star Alliance—the Olympians and Asgard—to create the Earth Alliance. Together we defeated the Furies, but at a great cost. We opened the door for a newer, more deadly enemy.”

“And you want me to defeat this Spectre for you?”

“You must!”

Siegfried laughed.

“You trap me for five thousand years and wake me up only to do your bidding once more. I don’t think so.”

“Then all is lost. All life in the universe will perish.”

“Not my problem.”

“I don’t believe you. The Divine Asgardian Guards were once respected as the protectors of life and justice.”

“We were until you hunted us down.”

“You went too far.”

“That’s a matter of perspective. I’m afraid yours holds very little weight.”

Another explosion, nearer to them, rocked the ship.

“Well, if you want to live past this day, you’ll have to deal with the Spectre, or it will deal with you. Unless you’re afraid.”

Siegfried grabbed Tyr with telekinetic energy and brought him near, levitating Tyr above the ground.

“I am afraid of no one!”

“You should be. It can rip your soul away from you.”

The blast doors of Cell Block Omega exploded, and the Spectre walked through the resulting inferno.

“There you are, Captain,” hissed the Spectre.

Before Siegfried could say a word, Tyr’s soul was ripped from his body and siphoned by the Spectre whose eyes briefly glowed green.

Tears traveled down Tyr’s dead face, and then a single and final tear dropped to the floor.

In this moment, Siegfried felt the pain of Tyr’s soul. Being an empath, Siegfried felt the captain’s last emotional state. The captain’s last thought had been about his wife and children. His deepest regret: not to see and hold them one last time.

Siegfried progressively released his telekinetic hold on Tyr to lay the dead captain down on the ground delicately.

“An exquisite soul,” said the Spectre with a smirk. “I bet yours will be, too. As a matter of fact, I sense incredible power in you. Much more so than the rest of this crew combined. Your soul will make a fine addition to my collection.”

“So you’re the Spectre? I’m not impressed,” scoffed Siegfried.

“Arrogant and defiant as well. Not for long. Give me your soul!” screamed the Spectre as he reached forward with his palm.

Siegfried felt the pull of the Spectre reach deep within him on a molecular level, trying to rip his soul from his body.

Siegfried’s eyes shone a bright green. “I think not,” he boomed.

His eyes flashed fiercer as five strong crushing noises resounded inside the room.

The Spectre gasped as he stumbled backward three steps, barely able to remain standing as he looked at his chest—five fist-sized craters were lodged inside his dark skin.

He tried to speak, but dark blood bubbled from his mouth instead. “Im—impossible.”

“You’ve killed the entire crew of this ship, and while I have no personal beef with you, justice demands that you die for your crimes.”

The Spectre gritted his bloodstained teeth as Siegfried cracked his neck from side to side.

The craters inside the Spectre’s torso healed, and he spat a large quantity of black blood on the floor.

“This is going to be an interesting fight,” said the Spectre.

The Spectre threw three powerful dark-purple fireballs infused with crackling black lightning toward Siegfried. The fireballs deflected as if by magic on their own before impacting with the Divine Asgardian Guard and boomeranging back toward the Spectre with increased speed. The Spectre raised his forearms in front of his face to block his own attacks. Three successive explosions engulfed him in black flames.

“I beg to differ. It will be a short, easy fight,” said Siegfried with an icy look.

Bright-white energy engulfed the Asgardian from head to toe, casting strong shadows all around him.

Siegfried didn’t wait for the Spectre to recover and fired three powerful white fireballs. They were as vibrant as miniature suns; their illumination so pure it bathed the large room in a bright, silvery light.

The Spectre’s body froze, and ice formed over portions of his body with each impact. Before he could move away, another three attacks impacted him, and more ice covered him. Siegfried kept unleashing the freezing attacks from his hand until the Spectre was engulfed in a massive ice coffin.

Looks like the time has come for the Divine Asgardian Guards to rise again and show the world our might.

Siegfried raised his hand to the heavens. A titanic white fist made of energy materialized above him. The Asgardian slashed his fist forward, and the titanic energy hand crushed the Spectre into a million icicles.

A thousand blue flames scattered around the room. Thousands of souls released from their eternal torment. They eventually vanished into nothingness, finally getting the rest they deserved.

“Computer,” said Siegfried.

“Unauthorized voice detected. Please authenticate.”

“Asgardian Guard Siegfried. Authorization omega, five, five, seven, lambda, three, sigma, taf.”

“This authentication code has been disabled and cannot be accepted.”

“Override code Valhalla objective seven four seven.”

There was a slight pause.

“Confirmed. What can I do for you, Divine Guard?”

“Locate nearest penitentiary Aegir ship.”

“Aegir Three is in the Cerberus system.”

“Name of the onboard prisoner Divine Guard?”

“Fenrir. Divine Asgardian Guard of the Wolf.”

“Set a course at maximum hyperspace speed and engage.”

“Confirmed.”

The ship rumbled shortly before entering hyperspace.

Hang on, brother; I’m coming for you.

* * *

I wonder what’s taking her so long, Altair thought.

Her timing wasn’t the best, either. The evening he had decided to propose to Ryonna, she had taken a call and been gone quite a while. Which made Altair even more nervous about how he would proceed with his proposal.

Altair waited a good twenty minutes until he finally decided to check what was taking Ryonna so long. It didn’t take much to figure out something was amiss. She was nowhere to be found.

Altair decided to check with the restaurant’s security, hoping they’d seen her. But no one seemed to be able to give him a satisfactory answer.

It’s not like her to disappear without warning. Something is definitely amiss.

Altair wondered if perhaps she sensed what he was about to do and maybe preferred to run away. Except Ryonna was one of the Droxian’s strongest warriors, and fear was not in her vocabulary.

Altair’s heartbeat raced.

He used his influence in the Alliance to access the video footage.

He stood over the security guard while they reviewed the feed.

“There,” he said, pointing at a shot of Ryonna going toward the communications terminal. “Lock on her and find all the footage you can⁠—”

But before the security guard could acquiesce, a beam of light enveloped Ryonna, and she vanished into thin air.

“Looks like she beamed away,” said the security guard. “Though it does look like she didn’t expect it.”

Altair wasn’t in the mood to hear someone state the obvious, but he knew full well the guard was only doing his job, so he decided not to voice his anger.

“Thanks for your help.”

“Anytime, Emperor.”

Altair stepped out of the security office and opened a channel to headquarters. “Beam me directly to my office, on the double.”

Streaks of light enveloped Altair, and soon, he too was gone.

* * *

Ryonna was still shocked by Jax’s pre-recorded holo-message. Parts of her had a hard time reconciling the idea her husband could still be alive. Another part of her thought it had to be a mistake, some sort of automated feature he had programmed into his ship in case of his passing.

What she couldn’t explain was why it would activate only now, and how it could know she’d be on Earth. Unless the ship had detected her presence when she visited Droxia earlier and followed her here.

Still, the timing was suspicious, and she couldn’t make heads or tails of the situation.

Altair!

Having being beamed unexpectedly, she had almost forgotten about Altair. He was probably still waiting for her in the restaurant. She tried using the ship’s control to send a subspace message to Earth, but the main computer had locked her out.

“Unauthorized input; you may not use the system,” said the ship’s AI.

Ryonna slammed the pilot’s control panel. “Damn you, I need to let Altair know what’s going on.”

“A message has been sent for you already.”

“What? How dare you?”

“My orders are to fly you to the Thendra system. I can’t let you use subspace communication until we reach our destination.”

The hell you will.

Ryonna knew her husband’s ship well, so she tried hacking into it. The operating system had been upgraded since last she had used it, but it was still familiar.

“Please refrain from any hacking attempts,” warned the AI. “Or I’ll be forced to incapacitate you.”

“Jax will decompile your code bit by bit if you even lay a finger on me. Just be a good computer and grant me access to the subspace antenna.”

“Request denied.”

Then you leave me no choice, thought Ryonna.

“I must insist that you stop your current activity at once,” said the AI.

“Up yours.”

A lightning bolt shot from the pilot’s console and hit Ryonna in the chest. It radiated a strong electric current throughout her body and her vision blurred. She lost consciousness.

1

“What do you mean you can’t track her location?” exclaimed Altair.

It had been three hours since he had witnessed Ryonna’s disappearance. He was growing weary, and his patience had thoroughly expired.

“We’ve located her transport coordinates to a ship that didn’t stay over Earth’s orbit for more than a handful of seconds before entering hyperspace. The ship used advanced stealth technology,” said the commander of orbital security.

“I don’t care, I need to know where the ship took her.”

“Emperor, I understand your frustration, and I’ve already deployed multiple patrols and alerted all the ships within range to keep an eye out for her. But I doubt that will cut it.”

There was no way for Altair’s chief of orbital security to understand how he felt right now. No one could. Seeing as his relationship with Ryonna had been on the QT, no one could comprehend how worried Altair felt.

Altair sighed. “And why the hell not, Commander?”

“That ship’s energy signature was on a rotation frequency, which means there’s no way to identify it going forward. All I can do is provide the small signature samples we’ve recorded to the ship, hoping their sensors will find a match. Seeing how random the patterns were, I wouldn’t count on the ship repeating these signatures in that order again for weeks or months.”

That angered Altair even more. But it took every ounce of Zen left in him not to display it.

“Don’t we have tech that can track such a signature?”

“I wish I could say yes, Emperor, but it’s the first time we’ve encountered stealth tech that advanced. Whoever that ship belongs to, its owner clearly doesn’t want to be tracked. This is definitely not an Earth Alliance engine. I can tell you that much.”

“I see.”

“And if I may be blunt, it’s a technology we could use, should we get our hands on it and study it.”

Not my priority right now.

Altair was well aware he was putting his feelings in front of the greater good by this last thought, and while it took a moment for it to sink in, it eventually did. The commander was correct, such a technology could prove invaluable to the Alliance.

Heart before duty was a dangerous path to walk, he knew that. Yet he was too focused on Ryonna’s well-being to stay rational. Deep down, he knew that was unacceptable for someone in his position.

“Duly noted. Thank you, Commander.”

Altair terminated the holo-communication with a long sigh. He dreaded the next call he had to make. But under the circumstances, he saw no other choice. He brought up his contacts on the holo-screen in front of him and scrolled until he found Ronan.

His fingers hovered in the air for a good minute before he placed the call. His heart was pounding in his chest as the holo-comm rang over and over. After a couple of minutes of ringing, Altair gave up and called the Alliance’s embassy on Droxia and tried to locate Ronan through official channels.

When that failed, he placed another call. Captain Talon Epizon’s face filled the holo-screen.

“What can I do for you, Emperor?”

“Captain Epizon, how’s your new ship?”

“She’s a beaut. Fresh off the docks. I didn’t expect a call from you so soon. Is everything alright?”

“Not exactly. It—It’s a personal matter. One I’m sorry to impose, but…”

“Say no more. Let me know what you need the EAD Helios and her crew to do for you.”

“I’m trying to locate an ambassador that’s gone…missing.”

Before Talon could answer, Tar’Lock shot in front of the holo-cam. “What the hell happened to Ryonna?”

“Hello, Tar’Lock,” said Altair.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, hello, sir. What’s wrong with Ryonna?”

Altair swallowed hard. “I don’t know. She vanished a few hours ago. We—we were in a meeting, and she excused herself. The next thing I know, she’s gone. I’ve used every resource at my disposal to locate her, but came up empty.”

Talon gently pushed Tar’Lock out of the holo-cam field of view and gave him a stern look.

“I apologize for my first officer’s interruption,” said Talon. “I guess he’s not yet used to standard protocol.”

“That’s alright, Captain, believe me, I understand how he feels.”

“Am I right in assuming that the Helios’s maiden mission will then be to locate Ambassador Isch’ys? What about our initial assignment to the Alkyonidon Station?”

“Yes, locating the ambassador is your new assignment. As for your resupply run, I’ve already dispatched another ship. You can always drop your cargo after you complete this new assignment. I’m sending you a transmission with the data I’ve assembled so far. Report to me the minute you find her.”

“Will do, Emperor.”

“Oh, and one more thing.”

“I’m listening.”

“They’re using a stealth ship with an engine with a rotating energy signature.”

“I’m aware of the theory behind such tech, but I had no idea such a thing existed. That won’t make our mission any easier.”

“No, it won’t, Captain. Obtaining that ship or the blueprints on what makes that engine tick is also part of your mission. However, locating the ambassador is your primary objective.”

“Understood. Epizon out.”

* * *

“What the hell is going on? How could he lose Ryonna?” said Tar’Lock, pacing so fast on the bridge, he was a blur to the human eye.

“Calm down, Tar’Lock, we’ll find her. I thought you’d be happy about the assignment.”

“Why the hell would I be happy? Short of a Fury, nobody can take or trick Ryonna. If she’s missing, this is some serious shit.”

“Come with me to my ready room.”

Tar’Lock clicked nervously. As soon as the doors of Talon’s room closed, he spoke:

“I’d appreciate it if you watched both your tone and language on my bridge.”

“Sorry, Talon. You didn’t mind swearing on board the Bellerophon.”

“The Bellerophon was an old, rusty ship with a crew I wouldn’t trust with a potato gun, present company excluded, of course. This is an Earth Alliance destroyer. I’d like a certain level of bridge decorum to be respected. You know—with it being my first command and all.”

“I understand, but I’ve never studied at the Alliance Academy, and as you know, my race’s capacity for memorizing information is, well…limited at best.”

“I’m aware of both these facts, Tar’Lock. Just try to stay polite on the bridge, it doesn’t matter if you’re following the exact protocol. Can you do that for me?”

“Sure thing, Captain. I just hope you know what you’re doing by having me as your first officer. I’m sure there was no shortage of better candidates, most of them more qualified to take on the assignment.”

“Even if that were true, there’s no one in this world I trust more than you. I am aware of your race’s limitations regarding memorizing procedures and rules. But I’m sure we can work around that.”

“I shouldn’t have barged into your communication with the Emperor either, should I?”

Talon smiled. “No, you shouldn’t have. But as your friend, I understand why you did.”

“Talon, we need to find Ryonna, I…”

Talon put his hand on his insectoid friend’s shoulder. “I know what she means to you, Tar’Lock. That’s our mission, and we’ll do everything we can to find her. You have my word.”

* * *

The alarm blared throughout the commander’s office aboard Alkyonidon Station. Daniel slammed his fist on his desk.

“Now what?” he exclaimed out loud.

“All non-essential crew to the escape pods,” urged the female computer voice booming throughout the station.

“Oh, for crying out loud, not again!”

He checked the interlink—the station’s internal network—and saw an overload in the secondary fusion reactor located on the other side of the station. Priority one alert.

Swell. I can’t stand this shit anymore, why on Earth did I accept this position? I want a starship, one that travels through space, not a tin can with suicidal self-destruct tendencies orbiting a dead world.

Daniel exhaled deeply and reluctantly opened a channel to engineering.

“What’s the matter now, Chief? Why can’t we have a single day without a major life-threatening situation? Or evacuation order, for that matter? Or is that too much to ask around here to have one single day go by without a hitch?”

“Can’t talk right now, Commander. I’ll have to get back to you,” said Chief Engineer Natos with no shortage of tension in his voice. “We have a coolant leak, and if I don’t take care of it…”

“Yeah, yeah, we’ll all blow to pieces. I’m looking forward to reading yet another of your report—” but Daniel stopped himself. “You know what, strike that, once the emergency is dealt with, why don’t you come by and report directly to my ready room. I think some face time will do us both some good.”

There was a short pause during which Daniel could hear all sorts of noises and other crewmen shouting in the distance. Whatever was happening in engineering, this incident sure sounded like a serious one. But, then again, that seemed the norm lately. The logistics of building the station in a hurry was coming back to bite the Alliance in the ass. They had tried to do too much too fast.

“Understood. Natos out.”

Daniel shook his head in dismay. It had been weeks already, and the station was nowhere near complete. No matter how many crew they had on board, even tripling the technicians, had had no significant impact on making the station safe and bringing it back on schedule.

Accidents like this one, threatening the entire station, happened on a bi-weekly basis, and Daniel had learned to live with the threat of impending doom.

It had not helped his sleep. Eventually, he had requested his entire ready room be equipped with its own shielding and an engine, turning it into a giant escape pod, one in which Daniel had taken the liberty to move in full time. His quarters on D deck gave him the creeps, with being so near one of the quadrinium fusion reactors.

Natos had not been very receptive to the custom job, to say the least. But Daniel had told him he had had enough of spending half his time in escape pods. And unless the station actually blew up, he wanted a place where he could stay and do his work. Should it blow up, his ready room had to be modified to withstand the blast. Obviously, that request had slowed down other areas of the construction, but Daniel had been adamant about it.

The Gorgar strike had not helped matters much either. They worked about one hundred times faster than any other race or construction bots. But Altair had promised to resolve the strike shortly.

Piloting a ship or staying stationary on a space station were two different things, and every few days he considered making a call to Earth Alliance central and resigning. But somehow Daniel thought that wouldn’t ingratiate himself with the Alliance nor provide a good incentive to give him command of a starship. No, he had made his bed, now he had to live with the consequences, at least for a time.

Not to mention he considered Altair a friend, and Daniel lived by a simple code: Don’t do to others what you don’t want to be done to you. That meant sometimes he had to swallow his feelings and take one for the team.

Then there was the issue of the paper-pushing job hacking at Daniel’s nerves, and he started to hate it more than Natos’s incompetence made only worse by an excuse-ridden personality.

Truth be told, they had never seen eye to eye. From day one, Natos had been nothing but resistant, and Daniel simply didn’t appreciate the guy. Daniel’s main problem with Natos was that his chief engineer thought Daniel too young to be in charge of a project of this magnitude, something Daniel regretted being forthcoming with when he first took command. Natos’s ego had done the rest to make sure their working relationship would never improve past its initial debacle.

But today he missed Earth more than usual. It was very early to place that call back home, but he did it anyway.

A sleepy Altair picked up, from his bed no less.

“Daniel…I take it you didn’t get my nice Earth-time clock gift I sent with the last cargo shipment.”

“As a matter of fact, I did, sorry.”

Altair looked around. “What’s that noise?”

“Oh, that?” said Daniel sarcastically. “That’s the sound of the station about to blow up, you know, like every other day.”

“I take it things aren’t improving over there?”

Daniel’s eyes widened. “Improving? You gotta be kidding me. I don’t know what’s worse, being stuck here or having to micromanage Chief Natos.”

“I can sense you’re agitated, and truth be told, I have problems of my own, Daniel. So let’s try to make this a quick and painless call.”

Daniel had heard the news of Ryonna leaving Earth, and dumping his problems onto Altair might have been insensitive of him.

“I—I’m sorry, Altair. I take it there is still no news about Ryonna?”

Altair shook his head. “I’m afraid not. It’s been weeks, and I’m going crazy. I’ve used all the Alliance’s resources to locate her, in vain. She did drop me a holo-message to let me know she had something very important to do and to trust that she’ll return once that’s done, but…”

“I get it, you worry. Sorry to dump my problems on you like this. But if I may make a personal remark: Ryonna is more than capable of dealing with whatever comes her way, I’m sure you know that more than anyone else.”

“I do, but the last time she went solo on a mission…” Altair let the words trail.

Daniel knew very well what Altair was referencing—the mission on the Gorgar home world where Tar’Lock’s sister had almost killed her. Altair had been the one to save her life. Daniel could relate to how stressful it must have been not to know Ryonna’s whereabouts.

“I’ll make sure the station’s long-range sensors keep a lookout for any ship that travels within range.”

“Thanks, Daniel, I really appreciate it.”

“Well, you’re the boss.”

“You know what I mean.”

Daniel nodded. “I do. However, I believe you should trust Ryonna, let her do her thing. If she hadn’t given you any signs of life, then sure, I’d be just as worried, but she did contact you.”

“Holo-messages can be faked.”

Daniel wasn’t used to seeing Altair so worked up. Whatever his relationship used to be with Ryonna, all signs pointed to it being of a romantic nature now. But Altair had always been cool under pressure, even when the situation was dire. Especially having saved their mutual asses on multiple occasions.

But everyone had an Achilles heel, and, nowadays, Ryonna seemed to be Altair’s.

“I’m sure you had the message tested.”

“It’s a ninety-nine point nine percent chance of being authentic.”

Daniel smiled. “So why worry for the dot one percent?”

Altair nodded. “I’m being silly, aren’t I?”

“Look, I’m not gonna tell you how to feel, that’s not any of my business, but Ryonna is a big girl, she can smash both our heads without breaking a sweat. My point is, she may have her reasons for not letting you know where she went or why. I know it’s probably not what you want to hear, but perhaps you should respect that and trust her.”

There was a long pause in which Daniel worried he might have overstepped his boundaries regarding their friendship.

“Thanks, Daniel. That actually helps. I think I’ve been too obsessed, focusing too much on how I felt about it and perhaps not enough on how she does. You’re right, she is more than capable of taking care of herself. I’m glad you woke me up.”

“Sorry again about that.”

“I wish we had this conversation before I sent Talon and Tar’Lock to find Ryonna.”

“Then I take it my delivery of supplies will be late to the party?”

“I’ve already dispatched the Iron Fire to bring you your cargo.”

“Chase is coming here?”

“I thought you might enjoy that.”

Daniel’s day just got brighter suddenly.

“Roger that. Thanks, boss.”

“I understand there’s been some strange activity in the vicinity of the station, so I thought we might as well send a flagship.”

“Strange sensor readings, yes, and well, it’s hard to investigate with building drones. ETA on their arrival?”

“They should be there by tomorrow.”

“Argos and Chris coming too?”

“Negative. They’ve been assigned to the Zephyr and returned to the unknown region to help Ka’Rij deal with their invaders. From the last report I got, it’s a good thing we have boots on the ground there, things are escalating quickly.”

“I’m surprised Chase didn’t volunteer for that one.”

“It’s complicated, I think he’ll explain it better than I can.”

“Understood.”

* * *

Argos shook Chris by the shoulder.

“Wakey, wakey. We need to get going, the enemy is approaching.”

Chris shook his head to wake himself up faster.

“I was in the middle of a nice dream. Thanks, Uncle,” he said sarcastically.

“Might I assume it was erotic in nature?” said Argos with a broad smile.

Chris became flustered. “Some—something like that.”

“You’ve been distracted since we left Earth space, what’s going on with you?”

“I—I don’t know how to say this, and maybe I shouldn’t.”

“A girl?”

Chris jumped out of his seat and nervously scratched the back of his head. “What? Why would you think that?”

“Well, you called out Nyx’s name during your slumber, so…”

Chris’s face turned red. “I did?”

Argos laughed. “Yeah, but that’s okay, it’s part of life. It seems to me you chose a pretty unattainable woman for your first flirt, though.”

“Who says it’s a flirt or she’s unattainable?”

“Nyx doesn’t seem very happy to be among us, I’m sure you’ve noticed. She blames us for killing her kind, which frankly, we did.”

“It’s our kind too. Well, half our kind.”

“Semantics. And technically a third for you.”

“Right. Olympian, Fury, and human. What a mix. As for Nyx, well, if you must know, we’ve…done it, so I don’t find her quite so unattainable.”

Argos stared at his nephew for a good while.

“What?” said Chris to break the silence.

“I’m trying to figure out if you’re proud of it or if you’re worried.”

“Why would I be worried?”

“Because she declined your invitation to join us on this mission. That has to give you some pause.”

“There could be all sorts of reasons for that.”

“I guess. It could also mean that you doing her, to use your own vernacular, doesn’t mean she necessarily wants to hang out with you all the time.”

Chris sighed. “Don’t remind me.”

“Did she give you a reason?”

“I’m too ashamed to say.”

Argos put his hand on Chris’ shoulder.

“Hey, I’m family, you can tell me anything. I won’t judge you, and I won’t make fun of you. You know full well by now that’s not my style.”

Chris stared at his uncle for a moment.

“Well, she basically told me it was an animalistic thing. She needed the release.”

“Some people are like that, don’t take it personally, there’s nothing to be ashamed of.”

“Then why do I feel so crappy about it?”

Argos sighed. “I’m beginning to see the problem. You’re emotionally attached to her already.”

Chris nodded.

“I’m sorry,” continued Argos. “Unrequited love is never easy. I take it this is the first woman you felt this way about?”

“Pretty much, yeah. Not that we had much time for socializing during the Fury War.”

“No, we most certainly didn’t. I hope you can work something out. A man’s first love is something that can be both beautiful and complicated. Not to mention a determinant to how future relationships unfold. Have you talked about this with your father?”

“No, we’re not exactly there…yet.”

“That’s already something if you’re considering talking to him about it, which I highly recommend. As long as you keep an open mind about your relationship with him. And I’m sure he’d love to advise you on these matters.”

“I’m sure he would. I just don’t feel as close to him.”

“Right. Like love, these things sometimes need time.”

Ka’Rij entered the room inside the drop ship. Argos, who was slowly running out of things to say on their current subject, was relieved for the interruption.

“Is it time?” asked Argos.

“Yes, we’ll be entering enemy firing range any tim⁠—”

The ship rocked heavily, and Ka’Rij had to grab a piece of equipment to stay upright.

“I guess we’ve entered firing range,” he added.

2

Chase was training at the highest gravity setting when the cargo doors split open and the gravity fail-safe activated. Chase felt as light as a feather as a result.

Nyx stepped in.

“Sorry,” she said. “I wasn’t aware anyone was using the training room this late at night.”

“Normally, nobody would,” said Chase, “but I couldn’t sleep.”

“Didn’t ask. Are you done?”

Chase smiled, brushing away the lack of politeness from the Fury female. At least she wasn’t trying to kill him anymore, so on some level, Chase thought it was an improvement, even if only a slight one.

“I am. It’s all yours. Can I ask you something?”

“Do I have a choice?”

“Charming, as always.”

“Don’t expect us to become best friends. You killed my entire race.”

“Fair enough, even though I’m part of that race.”

“A fucking hybrid, not exactly a pureblood. And just because you have Fury blood in you, it does not absolve you of your crimes.”

“Look, I get it. It’s obvious we won’t be pals, and as far as I’m concerned, we can spend eternity ignoring each other⁠—”

“Good. Works for me,” interrupted Nyx.

Chase took a deep breath, trying not to let anger take over.

“That’s your prerogative, but let’s make one thing clear—I do not regret what I did. Furies wanted to kill everyone in the galaxy, I couldn’t let that happen.”

“No, of course not, Mr. Hero Had to Save the Day by Committing Genocide Himself.”

That one hit Chase hard. This entire time he’d been focusing on how he let so many people down and how many innocents died on his side of the battle. But for the first time, he was confronted with a survivor from the other side. He did not expect the power of the feelings he felt upon hearing these words.

But as he had stated earlier, he did not regret ridding the universe of the Furies. Even though now, the Spectres would do their best to take their place and happily wipe out every living being.

“I guess I never looked at it from your perspective.”

“Not that I thought you would. But you, your brother, and your son, you all disgust me. And to think I had sex with Chris…” she shook in revulsion. “I feel sick just thinking about it.”

What the fuck? She had sex with my son?

“Oh? Chris is a very sweet boy, you’d have a hard time finding a better soul.”

“That same boy that can’t stand being around his father, though, we do have that in common.”

Without realizing it, Chase turned into Ultra Fury form, his orange aura bursting all around him like solar flares.

“There you go, traitor. Show me what you got!” taunted Nyx.

* * *

Ashra’Lur walked with confidence toward her master. She was an oddity amongst Spectres. There weren’t many warrior women. As a matter of fact, Spectre women were not highly regarded in their society.

But Ashra’Lur was not a typical Spectre female. Far from it. She was a powerful warrior, one that rivaled the best of men. She walked toward Asrak’Vor, who was sitting on his throne, and she took a knee.

“You’ve called upon me, Master?” she said, her voice icy cold.

“Rise.”

Ashra’Lur rose and saluted her superior.

“I have a mission for you, an important one.”

“Thy wish is my command. What’s the mission?”

“We need a diversion while we assemble the gate. I can’t be in two places at once, and I need to supervise things here. So I’m putting you in command of a fraction of the fleet. I need you to grow that fleet in any way you can and harass the systems and planets around that new Earth Alliance station.”

“Why not just attack and destroy the damn thing? Give the order, and I can wipe it out with as little as a trio of ships.”

“I have no doubt you could. But that would defeat the purpose of what I’m trying to do. I need the Alliance occupied, not bloodthirsty for revenge. Do you understand the difference?”

Ashra’Lur bowed. “I do, Master.”

“We’ll have our pound of flesh in due time,” Asrak’Vor added. “Right now, however, we must bide our time until a portal between our dimensions is established, and we can’t do that with the Earth Alliance patrolling their territory at their current frequency. We need them busy chasing shadows, and that’s where your fleet comes in. I recommend you don’t use a pattern in your attacks, the more random, the better. Every time you strike an enemy, get in, get out, and try to recover some of their ships with each assault.”

“But these race’s technology is pathetic.”

“They’re not as bad as you think, and nothing prevents us from retrofitting them with some of our own tech and making hybrid ships and building an attack force.”

A low growl of discontent grew inside Ashra’Lur’s throat. “How long am I to play this game with the enemy?”

“For as long as it takes us to build the gate. It won’t be long now that we’ve secured the necessary resources from the Asgardians.”

“Very well.”

Ashra’Lur bowed and walked away.

“And Ashra’Lur?”

She stopped but didn’t turn.

“If during your assignment you meet the one they call Chase…you are not to engage.”

“And why’s that?”

“All you need to know is that he’s mine. You are not to kill him, no matter the circumstances. Is that understood?”

We’ll see about that, thought the Spectre female.

“Yes, Master. What about the others? His family members and friends?”

“I’ll let you use your best judgment. Just remember the plan, we’re not trying to force them into a face-to-face conflict. Tease them enough to have them occupied with smaller threats, while we pave the way for the future of our race. I recommend you tease them around their station, then move out. Have them try to follow you and your cloaked ships.”

Ashra’Lur turned her head back and smiled briefly. Her smile didn’t last, and soon her face was devoid of emotions as she walked away from Asrak’Vor.

* * *

The holo-screen inside Poseidon’s ready room came to life. The image filled with the face of his good friend Thor. Before Thor even uttered a single word, his grave facial features hinted to Poseidon that this was not a social call but one to tell him something had happened.

“What’s going on?” asked Poseidon.

“There’s been an incident in Asgardian space. Something that should never have happened.”

“Are you alright?”

“I’m okay, just shaken up by the possible ramifications.”

“You’re going to have to give me more than that.”

“I know, but it’s something we’ve never shared with other races. So I’ll ask for the highest level of discretion.”

“Understood. You can trust me.”

“One of Asgard’s Divine Guards was taken out of stasis and has escaped.”

“What’s a divine guard?”

“It used to be the highest rank of the military, our elite warriors.”

“So, someone like you, if you weren’t the King of Asgard, would hold that rank?”

Thor’s facial tattoos flashed in an erratic pattern before he sighed.

“I would not qualify for this rank. I—I simply don’t have nearly enough power to ever be considered a Guard.”

“I don’t understand, what are you saying?”

“I’m saying that Divine Guards are the most powerful beings known to Asgard, if not the universe. Once upon a time, when we were helping you fight the Furies, after the end of the first war, our scientists used genetics to improve our best warriors in an attempt to create a super soldier capable of defeating any Fury.”

“But genetic improvement was banned by the Alliance eons ago.”

“Which is why we kept this under wraps. After the Guards helped us wrap up the war with the Furies, we had to make them disappear. But Odin thought we shouldn’t kill these men and women for their service to our people. Another problem arose when trying to apprehend them. They were less than receptive at the idea of being frozen for all eternity.”

“I can see why they’d have a problem with that.”

“Yes, but what choice did we have once they started killing our allies?”

“How the hell did you manage to do this without other races knowing about it?”

“Your brother knew. And a few other select people who helped us imprison them.”

“What? Which brother?”

“Zeus. He helped us catch them with the assistance of Titans, many of which didn’t survive the task. Those who did were either sworn to silence or disappeared, never to be seen again.”

Poseidon reflected upon his friend’s words. Zeus had often displayed disdain for the Asgardians, it was hard for Poseidon to reconcile the notion that he helped them.

“Most Titans died during the Fury War, there weren’t many left to help you.”

“Well, let’s just say our geneticists found a way to resuscitate some of the ones that had fallen in combat. They weren’t exactly themselves anymore, though.”

“You can’t expect me to believe that my brother sanctioned this. No offense, but that doesn’t sound like him. I’m not saying that you’re lying, but your information must be wrong.”

“I was there, I participated in the project. It was covered in a veil of secrecy and only a few, myself included, knew about it. In order to recapture the Divine Guard, not even Odin was made aware we would use fallen Titans for the task. He would not have agreed with us using the same genetic trick that helped us create the super soldiers we were then trying to contain.”

Poseidon’s eyes narrowed. “And did you?”

“Reluctantly, but not before suffering some heavy losses trying to capture them with ordinary means.”

“What about the modified Titans?”

“Most of them became erratic and lost their minds shortly after their mission was completed. Those who had kept a semblance of sanity were returned to Zeus. There were only a handful that remained. The rest, well…”

“Spit it out, Thor.”

“A fail-safe was installed into their genetic makeup with DNA manipulation. When they became a danger for their creators, we activated the fail-safe.”

“You killed them?”

Thor’s eyes lowered as he nodded slowly.

Poseidon buried his face into his hands.

“I know this must be hard to hear,” said Thor.

“That’s a major understatement. But I take it if you’re telling me, something went wrong with the other side of the story.”

“Yes, one Divine Guard escaped.”

“Surely, you can deal with a single one, right?”

“I don’t think you understand, the Guards are very powerful. In fact, they may be too powerful, and that power comes at a price. Their ethical-thinking ability is affected by their genetic manipulation. They killed thousands of Furies during the war. Quite frankly, if your brother hadn’t trapped the Furies in the alternate dimension to protect his daughter, they most likely would have won that war on their own. All seven of them.”

“There are seven of them?”

“Only three are alive—that we know of.”

“And let me guess, now you need help to trap the Guards?”

“Or reason with them. Though I’m not holding that option as a high probability.”

“Why tell me this, why not Chase and the other Furies?”

“Furies can’t take part in any of this. The Guards are genetically programmed to hate and eliminate them on sight. They won’t care that Chase, Argos, Chris, and that newcomer, Nyx, aren’t the enemy. They will attack and kill them the moment they see them. It would be better if we dealt with this ourselves.”

“Except that Chase could probably defeat these Guards, right?”

Thor’s facial tattoos flashed faster than Poseidon had ever seen. The flashes were almost stroboscopic in nature.

“You gotta be shitting me!” added Poseidon.

“Siegfried, the Guard who escaped, easily dispatched a Spectre only minutes after being awoken from a five-thousand-year hyper-sleep.”

“He beat a Spectre?”

“Without breaking a sweat.”

“That’s heavy…How was he awoken in the first place?”

“Asgardian error. The captain of the Aegir One penitentiary vessel thought he could defeat the Spectre that had killed every Asgardian on board.”

“Well, obviously, he thought he was correct in that assessment.”

“Except, he didn’t understand what it was he had just unleashed.”

“I’d rather the Guard killed a Spectre than a Spectre siphon a Guard soul and became all that much more powerful. At least there’s a chance to reason, no matter how small, with Siegfried. We know the Spectres won’t listen. The Divine Guards could, if we can reason with them, become a powerful ally, one I feel we may need, and sooner rather than later.”

“Somehow I doubt the remaining Guards will be open to working for those who created, discarded, and trapped them for all eternity.”

“I see your point.”

“It doesn’t matter now. What does matter is that we must act fast. We have to make sure he doesn’t wake up his brother- and sister-in-arms. Fenrir and Brunhild, the only other two surviving Divine Guards.”

“You said there were seven at first?”

“Initially, yes, well, technically eight, but one was terminated during creation as his DNA showed signs of early mental madness, and it was decided he should not be allowed to be born that way. Technically, he was the twin of another guard.”

“So these beings have been grown in labs?”

“Yes, from a DNA mixture of some of Asgard’s best warriors over the ages.”

“I see. You didn’t stop to think what would happen to a being that powerful when they didn’t have a sense of family, a father figure, friends?”

“We were blinded by the mission and what we were trying to accomplish. You must understand the Guards were bred at a moment when the Fury War took a turn for the worse. We were being defeated at every turn. That’s why they were bred in a hurry, to kill Furies, and they were very good at it. They actually developed a strong sense of family, but between themselves, they consider each other as brothers and sisters.”

“I can see why they would. This could be problematic if they decide to turn on their captors. I must admit, I did expect bad news from the look on your face when you called, but this…this is something else.”

“I know. It’s something many Asgardians, myself included, wished it never happened.”

“But it did, and now we need to deal with it. What’s our next move?”

* * *

Argos was the first to strike at the incoming armada of flying mechs. Their armor was strong, but they were no match in fighting a Fury, at least not one on one. However, they made up for it in numbers—three-dozen mechs bent on destroying the opposition.

Since Chase, Argos, and Chris had helped destroy their stronghold on Ka’Rij’s planet, New Kyria, they had regrouped and formulated new tactics to reassess their domination.

Ka’Rij had contacted the Earth Alliance for help, and Chris had asked Argos to join in helping the Dragonmen of Kyria. They were a dying race and needed all the help they could get.

Having pushed the invader away during their first encounters, Ka’Rij’s people had protected the orbit of the planet in full dragon form, which was no match for the invader’s destroyers. Now the enemy was sending smaller drop ships in an attempt to wage war on the surface of the planet.

Argos dodged multiple plasma bolts and incinerated his first mech with a powerful fireball. It impacted between the chest and head part of the mech where its armor was the weakest and decapitated the thirty-plus ton metal war machine.

Chris had already transformed into Ultra Fury form and was punching his way through the horde of mechs with ease.

He reminds me of myself when I was younger.

Argos had been quite the hothead in his youth, diametrically opposite to his brother Chase. But back then, when Chase was still called Layios, he was often the voice of reason, and it had been a surprise for Argos when he faced him for the first time after erasing his brother’s memories.

Somehow, wiping Chase’s past had impacted his personality, increasing his courage, and Chase became more inclined to go all-in and full force during their next encounters. So much so, he almost killed Argos twice; once on board Damocles 3 and once on board the Iron Fire. The Fury rage Chase had displayed back then was surprising, but in hindsight, it was probably just Chase accessing Ultra Fury powers on pure instinct.

Argos had changed too. Way more than he ever thought possible. In joining the Earth Alliance and betraying the Furies’ Supreme Commander Arakan, he had found a sense of belonging, a family. Something he once thought lost forever. But the universe has a funny way of doing things sometimes.

“What the hell are you doing?” Chris complained as he swiftly passed in front of his uncle, splitting a mech in two in the process. “There’s a time for thinking and a time for fighting!”

Argos had allowed himself to become distracted. “You seem to have things well under control.”

Chris stopped and hovered a few hundred yards away and stared at his uncle for a moment. The enemy forces took this as an opening for their next attack. They could not have been more wrong.

Chris intensified his green aura so much that it looked like New Kyria had a third sun in the sky. Without even moving, five fireballs shot from Chris’s body from all sides at impressive speeds, leaving no chance for the slow-moving mech to dodge or repel them.

A concerto of explosions detonated all around.

“Show off,” said Argos.

“At least I’m doing my job. Perhaps you should return to the ship? I can take care of this wave on my own.”

Am I unable to focus on the task at hand? Argos wondered. But the question was academic at best, there was no way he would leave his nephew alone out here. If anything happened to him, Chase would never forgive him. Neither would Argos forgive himself.

Argos turned Ultra Fury as well, and his red aura cast crimson hues to all the surrounding clouds. It only took ten seconds for Argos to dispatch the rest of the flying mechs—flying through them, slashing them to pieces, and sending them to a fiery hell with well-timed attacks.

Today, it would rain molten metal on the surface of New Kyria.

“I stand corrected,” said Chris with a smile.

* * *

The station rocked hard.

“What now?” exclaimed Daniel.

Albert Natos, I swear, I will assign you to waste disposal.

He opened up a channel to engineering.

“Report? What have you messed up now, Chief?” said Daniel, not even trying to hide his annoyance with his so-called chief engineer.

“That wasn’t me,” said Albert.

“Then why did the station rock?”

“I’m not 100% sure, but my best guess is we’re under attack.”

“What? Why haven’t the sensors picked up anything or the alarm switched to condition red?”

“That may be my fault. I was working on these systems, and since I know how much you hate being interrupted, I disabled all alarms.”

Daniel briefly buried his face in his palm. “Alright, are we under attack or not?”

“It would be best to dispatch fighters and find out. I’ll need at least fifteen minutes to restore the systems, which I think is a little too long to find out if we do end up being under attack.”

Daniel suppressed his impulse to swear.

“Very well, but you and I will have a talk in my office when this is over.”

“Understood, Captain.”

Daniel made a fist before opening a channel to the entire station.

“Condition Red, possible attack, all pilots to your fighters. We’re experiencing issues with our sensors, so we need to make a visual sitrep. This is not a drill!”

Daniel keyed a few commands on his desk holo-controls and was beamed directly in front of his fighter. The Starfury Mark III.

I’ve been itching to test your capabilities since you got off the assembly line.

“You’re not going out there with this thing, are you?” asked a female voice behind him.

Daniel turned around and saw a young woman with blond hair and blue eyes and grease stains on most of her face. While she was in fatigue-style overalls, her voluptuous curves were hard to ignore.

“And you are?” he asked.

“Right!” She straightened up and saluted. “Chief Allanah Kohri, at your command, Captain.”

“At ease, Chief.”

When she relaxed, Daniel continued, “Why wouldn’t I take her out?”

“With all due respect, we just received the Mark III. She may not be performing to peak performance until I’ve had a moment to check her and clear her for flight…Captain.”

Daniel smiled.

“I see. I happen to know its chief creator, he’s a friend of mine. I’m willing to take the chance.”

“That’s all well and good, but I’m not. The fighter, like every other one on Alkyon One, is my responsibility.”

“Alkyon One?”

“That’s the nickname we call the station. Its full name is kind of a mouthful, don’t you think?”

“I have a few Olympian friends that would take offense to that statement, but you know what, Chief? I like it, Alkyon One has a nice ring to it. Now about the Mark III…”

“I’m sorry to insist, Captain, but it’s my ass on the line if you end up blown to smithereens if a power conduit overloads because of a lack of proper inspection on my part.”

And what a nice ass that is…

She slapped him, and almost immediately, her face turned red as she took one step backward and looked down.

Daniel held his bruised cheek. “What the hell was that for?”

“I—I’m sorry, Captain. I’m a rather skilled empath, and your thoughts bled through loud and clear, if I may say so. I—I thought that was out of line.”

“No need to apologize. Now I feel like a dumbass, I’m the one who owes you an apology, Chief. My comment, even if in the confines of my thoughts, was indeed inappropriate.”

Even though I happen to think my statement was true.

She smiled for a moment before her face turned serious.

“Apology accepted. I do believe we were talking about my responsibilities vis-à-vis the ships…I haven’t cleared her for flight, so she’s not leaving this deck until I do. Unless you’d care to override me on this one, but then I’ll have to note it into the log. As per procedure.”

Daniel rather enjoyed the woman’s direct approach and her not being afraid of telling things as they were, which was refreshing, unlike most of the crew he had interacted with and thought were too distant toward him. Daniel was not used to being in command, but he definitely could sense a certain distance from the men and women under his authority. That was probably something that came with the rank. It would take a while for Daniel to get used to being the boss.

“I see. Isn’t the Mark III equipped with the latest-gen sensors that should help us detect, at least on some level, the cloaking technology the Spectres use?”

“That’s correct. But as I said before, it’s a prototype; one I believe Chief Malayianis wouldn’t be happy about if it exploded on its first tour, not to mention his fondness for you. If that part were true. No offense.”

Daniel chuckled. “It is, we’re friends. You make a good poin⁠—”

But then the station rocked several times, and a nearby conduit sparked.

Daniel opened a channel to his second in command. “Commander, report! Any visual contact?”

“With the sensor grid down, it’s hard to say, but I’ve had turret personnel scan the area, they haven’t seen any trace of a single ship.”

“And yet, these tremors feel like weaponry impact.”

“Correct, Captain. Why haven’t you launched your fighter?”

Daniel smiled. “I’m about to. Tharraleos out.”

“Look, Chief…”

“Chief Kohri.”

“Look, Chief Kohri, I don’t have time to debate. I appreciate your diligence, but under the circumstances, I think I’ll need the Mark III’s sensors.”

“Understood. I’ll make the appropriate note in the log.”

Daniel nodded and rushed to get into the cockpit and put on his helmet. The moment he did, the lovely voice of Chief Kohri was there to greet him.

“If you don’t mind, I’ll be keeping a close eye on your systems while you’re out there, to make sure they’re all running nominally.”

Daniel smiled. “I would expect nothing less from you. Thank you, Chief.”

Daniel’s ship lifted from the ground and soon passed through the force field that protected the launch bay of Alkyonidon Station from the coldness of space.

* * *

Ryonna’s head was pounding hard when she blinked back to consciousness. Whatever the ship’s AI had done to her, she was still feeling its effects.

“You’re dead circuitry,” she moaned.

“You left me no other choice,” said the ship’s computer.

“I have a right to know where we’re going.”

“I’m afraid that information is on a need-to-know basis only.”

And I needed to know.

Ryonna stopped herself from continuing the argument with the computer, which was programmed to a specific set of actions, and its coding obviously wasn’t evolved enough to incorporate negotiations into its algorithms.

“We’re almost there,” said the computer.

“Wherever there is,” said Ryonna, unable to mask any of the sarcasm in her tone.

“Opening a channel.”

Soon the holo-screen filled with the face of Jax. He looked terrible, barely able to stay conscious.

“What’s going on, Jax? What happened to you, and how badly are you hurt?” asked Ryonna.

“I’ll—I’ll explain soon,” his voice was faint, “As for my wounds, they’re critical. I sure hope you’ll be there soon.”

“Computer,” ordered Ryonna, “exact ETA to our destination?”

“Seven minutes and twenty seconds.”

“Can we make it faster?” she insisted.

“Negative. Boosting the engines past their safe level requires level three authentication.”

“Jax?” said Ryonna. “Did you hear that?”

Jax gestured in what seemed like a painful nod. “Computer, grant Ryonna admin access to your systems. She is to have complete access.”

“Please enter authorization code,” said the computer.

“Epsilon twelve theta mu six three,” said Jax, his voice fainter.

“Authentication confirmed. User Ryonna elevated to an administrator.”

And the moment I can afford to, thought Ryonna, you’ll be shut down.

Before she could voice her first order, the computer anticipated her question.

“Should I push the engines to one hundred and twenty percent to reach our destination earlier?”

“You do that,” said Ryonna dismissively, suppressing all her instincts not to smash the ship’s computer into digital oblivion.

3

“Thank you for your help,” said Ka’Rij.

“Anytime,” answered Chris.

“This was the third attack in this region in a week,” commented Argos. “I don’t think it’s a coincidence.”

“I hadn’t thought of that,” said Chris. “They do seem to be sending more troops, so maybe you’re right.”

Argos smiled.

“It’s possible they’re after something they had to leave behind when we defeated them a while back.”

“I wonder what that would be?” said Ka’Rij.

“Well,” said Argos, “we could try to triangulate some coordinates based on all the attacks of the past couple of weeks. Perhaps we can figure out where exactly they’re trying to go and why.”

“I’ll have my colleagues work on that at once,” said Ka’Rij.

The dragonman left the room.

“What could they possibly want that they’d be willing to sacrifice so many of their men?” asked Chris.

“Whatever it is, it seems like we need to find out and quickly.”

* * *

“Hey, Yanis,” said Chase. “How’s the ship doing?”

“Hi, Chase. All systems nominal. This new Hope is something else. I can’t wait until we see it in action.”

Chase didn’t share his friend’s enthusiasm. While he thrived in battle, be it personal or of the space-faring kind, he knew their enemy well enough to fear them. One Spectre alone had brought so much havoc to the Alliance, nearly costing them the Fury War, and now there were more of these things unleashed in their dimension.

“Careful what you wish for,” said Chase, his voice sad.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to…”

“It’s okay, Yanis. I know you didn’t mean to remind me what the war has cost me.”

“Speaking of that, how are you doing?”

“I have both good and bad days, but I’m determined to find a way to get Sarah back.”

“And you know you can count on me every step of the way.”

Chase attempted his best smile, only to fail miserably. “I know, Yanis, thank you. I’m about to do my daily run, so if you don’t mind telling me why I’m here?”

“Of course. Actually, the timing couldn’t be better. With the help of Spiros, we’ve been working on something for you.”

“Now you piqued my interest, what is it?”

Yanis got up. “Follow me.”

They went through one of the secondary labs in engineering to a dark room illuminated only by a column of light in its center. Floating inside the light were four brace devices made of dark metal.

Chase observed the levitating objects for a while. “What are these?”

“This is your ticket to freedom from the gravity training room.”

“I like training there.”

“Yeah, so does another Fury, but that’s beside the point.”

“Are you spying on me?” said Chase with a wink.

“No, but who do you think had to repair the damage from your last scuffle with Nyx? I think you’ll love these.”

“Well, then? What are they?”

“Portable graviton braces. Two for your hands, and two for your ankles. When you wear them, you can alter the gravity around you. It won’t affect gravity anywhere else, though, so you can use them when you run, on the go, or even when you sleep.”

“Why would I use them while I sleep?”

“The more you wear them, at any setting, the more your body adapts to the stronger gravity, and when you disable them, well, you know what happens.”

“Yeah, I feel lighter, faster, and stronger.”

“Up until now, you’ve only been able to progress a few hours here and there. With these, you can train every waking and sleeping minute. There might be an adjustment time for you to fall asleep when the gravity is set too high, so I would try to lower the settings at night. But think about it, even if you use them at a fraction of their power while you sleep, you still train your body.”

Not that Chase had managed to sleep all that well this past year. When it wasn’t nightmares where he relived his final battle with Tanak-Vor, it was worse seeing Sarah get mortally wounded over and over. Sleep was no longer the resting activity it once was.

“Just don’t overdo it,” continued Yanis when he realized Chase was caught in his thoughts. “At least at night.”

“Why not?”

“Well, night is for your body to regenerate, that’s what sleep is all about. If using the graviton braces prevents you from sleeping, you may exhaust too much of your energy reserves and defeat the overall purpose.”

“Between you and me, sleep isn’t very forthcoming.”

“I’m sorry, Chase, what about asking the doc for help?”

“I have, I don’t like pills, and my Fury physiology makes it hard for any chemical compounds to work properly unless I take what would be considered way past lethal for humans.”

“Yeah, that will make finding the right dosage tricky, not to mention you’d risk some serious side effects.”

“Exactly.”

“Would you like me to work on something to help you sleep, then?”

“I don’t know, Yanis. I mean, as much as I could use the rest, I don’t like what I see when I’m unconscious.”

“I can help with that too, you know?”

“How?”

“By suppressing the brainwave signals between other parts of your brain. You’d still have your dreams because your body needs them to rest, but you wouldn’t remember them when you wake up.”

“How quickly can you get this done for me?”

Yanis gave his friend a broad smile. “Come back later today. I’ll have a prototype we can put through its paces.”

“You’re a lifesaver.”

“Hey, you know me, I aim to please.”

“Thanks. Show me how the braces work.”

“With pleasure.”

Chase put them on and listened to Yanis’s instructions on how to set their graviton settings. He tried all sorts of settings until he noticed a beta feature in the device’s holo-menus.

“What’s that?”

“It’s not ready yet, but you can test it in small bursts. In a nutshell, it’s an inverse field. It makes the gravity lighter.”

Chase made enough of a dumbfounded face for Yanis to expand on his explanation. “It makes you faster and lighter. Because I can’t exactly focus the field with the precision I’d like, it also means that your attacks will be impacted by the setting.”

“Hmm. Still, gaining speed, especially in certain situations, could be very useful.”

“That was my thought exactly. Unfortunately, I haven’t managed to calibrate it well, and it does tax the brace’s power cells. They regenerate, so the more you use them, or even simply wear them, the more the energy cells recharge. The more graviton, the more effort on your part, the more the devices recover their charge. But when used in reverse mode, it drains them fast. At least until I can figure out a patch of some kind.”

Chase smiled. “I’ll take three more sets, please, so we can equip every Fury. And perhaps later we could also make some for the Olympians. We all need to power up in the coming weeks.”

Yanis frowned. “I wish it were that simple, but I used the entire supply of pentalium that Kvasir was kind enough to provide.”

“I’m sure the Asgardians will be more than willing to give us more. We can share the tech with them as well. Thor would love these.”

“Yeah, on paper I’m sure they would, but not too long ago the Asgardians discovered a rather large amount of their reserves had been stolen off Asgard. You, know, around the same time Odin perished.”

“So that’s what the Spectres wanted, but why?”

“You have to understand that pentalium is ultra rare, Chase, and the most advanced Asgard tech requires the element. It’s denser and more power efficient than quadrinium. Because so much of it was stolen from their stockpile, it may slow our ability to churn out new ships with all the Asgard tech, like teleporters. As for why the Spectres want it, I have no idea, but it certainly means they intend to build something, which would require a massive amount of energy. I’m talking planet killer type of firepower with the amount they stole.”

“That’s not good news. Why wasn’t I told before?”

“I only found out myself when I asked Kvasir for more. He wasn’t sure he could officially tell me about their shortage. The Asgardians are already dispatching ships to the four corners of their territory and beyond, trying to find new sources of pentalium. But for as long as they’ve been a space-faring race, they only found the element on their home world, which doesn’t bode well as to a speedy solution to their shortage problem.”

“I understand that the Asgardians wouldn’t want to let everyone know that the main element that gives them their technological advantage was in short supply. Makes sense, they’re way more security-focused than most other races.”

“And yet they lost most of their precious element. One has to wonder how that was allowed to happen.”

“That’s a good point, and one I’d love to have an answer to, but the way the Alliance treaty states, each member has jurisdiction over their own worlds as long as it doesn’t interfere with the Alliance as a whole.”

“Except in this case, we’re waiting for some of the Asgardian parts that make the new Alliance ships tick.”

“Let’s give Thor a bit of breathing room here, we owe them that much. Let him deal with this problem directly with Altair. As for the braces, hopefully, we can forge more in the future.”

“Fair enough.”

* * *

Chase was running on deck four with a gravity field of three hundred G’s set on his new training toys when Ares appeared in front of him.

“Long time no see,” said a very sweaty Chase, gasping for air.

“You sure look tired, that must have been quite a run.”

Chase pointed to his new braces. “Graviton racing, they need some getting used to. Maybe I pushed them a little hard for my first use.”

“Of course, you did,” said Ares with a smile. “I’m sorry for my absence of late. I didn’t realize how long I had stayed by Aphroditis’ side.

“No need to apologize. Because of me, you haven’t spent much time together in the past, even during the Fury War.”

“We both know you had to give her to Argos back then, there was no other choice.”

“I didn’t expect you to actually voice this sentiment. But thank you, it helps.”

“Last we spoke, you weren’t feeling all that well.”

“Daniel lifted my spirits, somewhat.”

“I’m glad to hear that.”

“But enough about me, how’s my aunt doing?”

“She’s recovering well, those dragon tears seem to have done the trick.”

They had had no effect on Sarah, but Chase would not let that hack at his soul anymore. There had to be a cure out there, and he would find it. Meanwhile, the Spectre threat was real and needed his full attention. Sarah would never have wanted him to disregard such a threat. As a matter of fact, she’d be the first one willing to die if it helped Chase get his mind straight regarding the dangers looming over the Earth Alliance.

“I’m really happy the tears worked on her. And I’m glad you’re here. I missed you.”

Ares nodded. “About that, I’m only passing through. Poseidon needs my help, and I wanted to inform you of a delicate situation that could impact us all. But for the time being, he’d like to deal it with it on his own, well, with Thor and me.”

Ares briefed Chase about the Asgardian Divine Guard.

“That’s all we need, more powerful foes to enter the fold.”

“I know, bad timing too.”

“Did Poseidon say if he needed my help in dealing with this problem?”

“Quite the opposite, and I’m not even sure I was supposed to let you know, but the threat is real, and I think it’s best you’re at least kept in the loop. I’ll let you know if we need your help, but I got the feeling that Thor wants to try to deal with the problem directly.”

“Seems like a serious threat, but if Thor wants it that way, I’ll respect his wish. Should things change, and if he needs my help, I’ll be there.”

“Thank you, Chase. I’ll keep you posted, but right now, I should get going.”

“Wait—”

“What is it, Chase?”

“If you can spare the time, I have a big favor to ask you.”

4

Ares and Chase materialized in the Underworld. The first thing that Chase noticed was how much it had changed.

“Are you sure we’re in the right place?”

Ares looked around as did Chase. There was vegetation everywhere, including beautiful luminous-blue flowers, and the sky wasn’t black as the night anymore, it was a cool, refreshing, dark-purple. In fact, the place felt quite serene and definitely nothing like either Chase or Ares remembered.

“Is it just me? This place looks like Olympus, doesn’t it?” Chase asked.

“It sure does. That’s what happens when Zeus is left in charge of the Underworld, I guess.”

Chase smiled. “I kinda like it! It’s more…relaxing.”

“Which the afterlife or the transition of the soul to the next realm should be.”

Chase thought he detected a bit of resentment in the way Ares spoke about afterlife. It was faint, but like most Furies, Chase was empathic and had the ability to detect even subtle emotional changes, especially from someone he had such a bond with.

What he also sensed was that Ares was not in the mood to discuss his situation, at least not right now. Chase wondered if it had anything to do with the fact that Ares had stayed behind in energy form instead of going to Elysium when Argos killed his living body.

Could it be that Ares had waited too long and that window had closed? And if that were the case, what would it mean for Chase’s mentor and friend?

“Chase!” shouted a familiar female voice.

Chase turned around and saw Oryn running toward him.

His heart bled as he remembered how she had fallen in combat. But she had defeated the man who had killed both her parents, and she was now reunited with her father Zeus in the Underworld.

Oryn jumped in Chase’s arms, which he didn’t expect. It felt good, nonetheless.

“It’s nice to see you, Oryn,” he said.

Chase could sense how happy his friend and fallen comrade felt. The afterlife seemed to have washed away much of her sorrow and pain. No doubt spending time with her father, the real one, also played a major role.

She looked into Chase’s eyes. “It sure is, but why did you wait so long to visit?”

“It’s kind of a long story, but let’s just say I’ve lost the ability to teleport here on my own.”

She smiled. “Which explains Ares being here. Hi, Ares.”

“Oryn. Always a pleasure,” said Ares with a slight bow.

“While I’m enchanted you’re here with Chase, I didn’t expect ever to see you again.”

“The feeling’s mutual, believe me. And for a while I thought I would never return from the other dimension.”

“So that’s where you have been,” said Oryn. “I’m sure Father will be happy to see you.”

Ares nodded.

It warmed Chase’s heart to hear Oryn call Zeus Father; after all, it wasn’t so long ago when she refused to accept her origins. Chase just wished it hadn’t cost Oryn her life to be reunited with him. But at least she had accomplished her destiny by killing Arakan, even if that victory came at a high cost and not just to her.

“I love what you did with the place,” said Chase.

“The Underworld wasn’t exactly thrilling, especially after a life of fighting. It eventually got boring, so I needed a project to occupy my thoughts, and this place looked so…”

“Dark?” proposed Ares.

“And then some,” she said with a smile. “And Father also missed Olympus. It didn’t take much convincing for him to embrace the changes. I think he actually enjoyed it more than he let on.”

“Speaking of Zeus,” said Chase. “Where is he?”

“It’s his daily meditation time. Let me go fetch him for you.”

“Perhaps we shouldn’t trouble him and should wait?” said Ares.

Oryn smiled. “Nonsense, it’s been so long since we’ve had visits from friends. I’m sure he’ll be more than happy to interrupt his session to see the both of you.”

* * *

“Chase!” exclaimed Zeus. “What a wonderful yet unexpected surprise.”

“Nice to see you too,” said Chase.

Ares shifted from behind Chase, revealing himself.

“Father,” said Ares tentatively.

“Ares, it’s good to see you.”

Chase could tell Ares seemed relieved at his father’s words. To say that they didn’t always have the best relationship was an understatement, but as far as Chase could tell, Zeus didn’t seem antagonistic toward his son in any way.

“It’s good to see you too,” said Ares. “Love what you have done to the place.”

“Oryn deserves all the credit, it was her idea,” said Zeus.

“Perhaps,” said Oryn, “but I could never have done it without your help.”

Zeus smiled at his daughter, and Chase could see a sparkle in his grandfather’s eyes he had never seen before. No doubt, Zeus was finally happy.

“But, Chase, I suppose if you’re here with Ares, it means you can’t teleport on your own anymore? Or I would love to think you would have come earlier.”

“Correct,” said Chase. “I’m sorry it took so long, with Ares away in the other dimension, I actually thought I would never see the two of you again. Fortunately, Ares is back.”

“What happened to your power?” asked Oryn.

“That’s part of the reason for my visit. I hope you can help me shed some light on the matter.”

Zeus walked toward Chase and put his hand on his forehead. The last time he had done that, the King of Olympus had imbued Chase with the ability to teleport anywhere in the universe with a single thought. But during the fight with Tanak’Vor, Chase had been robbed of his ability.

“I can barely sense a remnant of the power in you. There’s a small amount of it, but I would be surprised if you can use it consciously.”

“As a matter of fact,” said Chase, “I did manage to summon the power to save my son, but it was instinctual, not conscious. I was kind of hoping you would be able to help me recover this ability again.”

“Yes…that makes sense about it being only available on instinct, seeing as little of it remains in you. But I’m afraid I can’t grant back that power.”

“Why not?”

“Don’t misunderstand me, it’s not that I don’t want to, it’s just that I can’t grant you a power you have lost. You see, when I touched your mind to enhance that power before, I didn’t teach you anything new, I just managed to create a stronger bond between your brain and your innate power so that you could use it to its full potential. Unfortunately, now it’s as good as gone, and I’m afraid I can’t make more of it for you.”

“I understand. Do you think I will ever recover it to its full potential?”

“It’s hard to say, Chase. Perhaps as you use it more and more instinctively, you may recover some control over it. Only time will tell.”

Chase nodded solemnly. That wasn’t the news he hoped to hear. He had hoped Zeus would be able to unlock the power in him so Chase could hop quickly to all the corners of the cosmos in search of a cure for his beloved.

There was no denying that missing this ability would hinder Chase, though he had sworn to himself that he would find a cure no matter how long it took. The fact that it would take days or weeks to travel from one location to the next would definitely slow things down and was an inconvenience, but it wouldn’t lessen his resolve.

“Fair enough. I guess I’ll have to get used to using hyperspace like the rest of you.”

“At least you’re still alive,” commented Oryn.

Zeus grabbed his daughter by the shoulder. “She’s right. You’re out there, and you can find solutions for your predicament.”

Chase nodded. “There was something else I wanted to ask, but…”

Chase let his words hang, unsure he actually wanted an answer to his question.

What is it, Chase? You can tell us, said Oryn telepathically.

I’m unsure I want an answer on this one, my friend.

Of course, you do, or you wouldn’t have come today. You fear the answer, but I can sense you need it.

Oryn had voiced it better than he could have, and she was right. He needed to know, even if the answer could potentially crush his soul.

“Have—have you seen Sarah’s soul come by here in the last year or so?”

Oryn’s smile faded. “What happened to Sarah?”

Chase briefed Oryn and Zeus on the events of the past year, having to suppress tearing up more than once.

“We did suspect that the war was over,” said Zeus, “as there has been way less traffic to the Underworld, and we knew no one had perished since we didn’t see any of you enter our gates. We were surprised no Furies were showing up either, but now that you’ve explained how the Pandora device works, it makes sense. There is clearly a difference in the life cycle between dimensions, or at the very least, they have their own underworld, separate from ours."

“Not that they need any there,” said Ares.

“What do you mean?” asked Oryn.

“I’ve spent enough time on the other side to tell you their universe does not have much in common with ours. There, the Spectres reign supreme, and they’re feared even more than Furies were on this side, even at the height of their powers. I got a definite feeling that most of the people who die on the other side either do it at the hands of the Spectres or in service to them.”

“And since they assimilate souls…” said Chase.

“In this case, there may not be anything like the afterlife or the equivalent of Elysium there,” agreed Zeus.

Chase felt a disruption that traversed him like a wave. He wasn’t sure if it was because they were on another planet here in the afterlife or if his ability to sense danger had diminished, but he definitely got a couple of strange vibes. One was about Daniel, and the other was Spectre in nature. Chase turned pale.

“What’s going on, Chase?” asked a worried Oryn. “Are you alright?”

Chase turned toward Ares, “We gotta go, our friends need us.”

Chase could tell Oryn was sad to hear he was leaving already, but she understood all too well what it meant to care for others, and she quickly tried to return a smile to her beautiful face and nodded.

“Don’t be strangers,” said Oryn.

“Be careful, both of you,” said Zeus, his gaze drifting toward Ares.

Ares nodded as he touched Chase’s shoulder, and the duo vanished from the afterlife.

“Poor Sarah,” said Oryn.

“I have a really bad feeling about of all this,” said Zeus.

* * *

The Starfury Mark III handled like a dream. Daniel had missed piloting a starfighter for a while now, but being inside the cockpit, he realized how much he did. In fact, part of him wanted to tender his resignation right there so he could find an occupation that put him back in the seat of a fighter.

But he also knew it was both shortsighted and selfish to think this way. After all, Altair had put his faith and trust in him. Deep down, Daniel knew these feelings he had might be transitory, that he would eventually break into this new command position like one does a new office chair.

Some things do take time, and changing one’s main job had a longer adaptation time than changing digs or one’s diet.

Even if these moments would be few and far between, returning to his comfort zone felt exhilarating. This new fighter especially made Daniel feel like a kid on Olympus day (an old celebration equivalent to Christmas in the Star Alliance), playing with his new toys.

The neuronal link that allowed Daniel to fly the fighter with his mind alone was more responsive than ever. In fact, it felt like the ship and his mind were so tightly bonded, that the ship anticipated Daniel’s next move before his conscious mind voiced the thought. It was the strangest yet most amazing feeling.

“How is she handling?” asked Chief Kohri via the comlink.

“It’s hard to explain. The short version, like a dream.”

“And the long one?”

“I’ve never felt such a tight neuronal link before. It’s like this thing is reading my thoughts a millisecond before I have them.”

“Good, then?”

“Better than good. Fantastic.”

“I’m glad to hear it. I’ve been monitoring your power levels, the power matrix seems rock solid.”

Not that Daniel expected anything less from Yanis’s mind. The engineer was always on the lookout on how to improve their ships.

“Glad to hear it. Anymore attacks since I left the docks?”

“Weirdly enough the station has stopped shaking ever since your squadron took off.”

Daniel didn’t like the sound of that, unless a space phenomenon was at play. But his instinct told him otherwise. He had sensed enough weapons fire throughout his career as a pilot to know the difference. These had been hits on the station’s shields.

“Alpha Squadron, report. Has anybody detected anything on their sensors?”

“Negative,” said Alpha Two. “The only thing the sensors have reported are faint remnants of energy discharges on the station shields.”

“Which at least confirms it’s weapons fire.”

“Inconclusive at this point, especially due to their high randomness and their rate.”

Alpha had a point. Why would a stealthy enemy hit the shields a few times so far in between when they wouldn’t possibly affect enough damage to make a dent into them? Daniel knew from experience that the Spectres’ spider ship usually packed way more firepower.

Something definitely didn’t add up. Perhaps they were gathering data on the Alliance’s new shield technology, but if that were the case, Daniel had to make it stop.

“I guess it’s time to put these new sensors to the test, then.”

Daniel mentally brought up the sensor submenu in his HUD and dug into the advanced settings. He found the new cloaking detection sensor array, which was colored red and dubbed beta. This made Daniel smile. Yanis, but especially Spiros, like most engineers, didn’t enjoy releasing a technology until all its bugs had been worked out. But with the looming Spectre threats, they didn’t have time to be picky, plus the only way to actually enhance the tech was to use it any chance they got.

Daniel agreed with that practice, even though he’d been all giddy taking this new ship for a spin. Granted, Yanis had messed up a couple of times in that regard, and Daniel had come as close to a hair’s breadth in paying for it with his life. But that was part of the job.

He activated the new sensor array, and the sensation was like nothing else he had felt before. The sensory feedback he received was similar to a sonar wave shooting outside of his craft, but the way the tech had been implanted through his neuronal interface allowed Daniel to perceive visual and sensory feedback mentally. He felt a slight tingle while the wave traveled outward and through the visual overlay and was ever so subtle on his HUD.

“Alpha leader, this is Alpha Two, anything?”

“Not yet.”

“It may take some time for the new tech to calibrate,” commented Chief Kohri. “The sensors might need to record more live occurrences before they are fine-tuned enough with the phenomenon to identify it.”

“Why’s that?” asked Daniel.

“As I understand from the blueprints when I glanced over them, the technology is both adaptive and heuristic.”

“In English, please?” asked Daniel.

“It learns as more data is fed into it.”

Daniel’s gut feeling told him there was something out there, a ship of some kind. And that threat didn’t necessarily have to be the Spectres. Part of him wished it were something else as he remembered all too well how difficult it was to bring those ships down. The station’s defenses were pretty advanced, equipped with the latest generation plasma beam cannons. But Alkyon One was far from being ready in his opinion and not ready to take on more than one or two of these ships at the moment, and that was if they could provide sensor data to target them.

Therefore, it was imperative he gather enough data, so when the time came, the station’s sensor could be equipped with a similar system and be able to defend itself from any threat. Alkyon One would be a massive station when completed, able to house hundreds of thousands of souls. Daniel had to make sure he could guarantee their safety.

“Alright, then, let’s feed it as much data as we can.”

5

“Report,” said Ashra’Lur on board the spider ship Venom.

“The station’s shields are holding better than expected. Whatever design they’re using seems quite adept at sustaining our multi-phasing weaponry,” said one of the bridge crew.

The Alliance is resilient, if anything. I’ll give them that.

“Are they scrambling fighters?”

“They are, Mistress.”

Ashra’Lur’s stare was ice cold.

“I—I’m sorry, I meant, Master,” corrected the arachnoid crewman.

Granted, she was the only female Spectre the arachnoids had ever served with, but, nonetheless, she expected to be treated like any other Spectre of her rank, and that included proper bridge decorum.

Ashra’Lur was not happy with her assignment. She was a powerful Spectre warrior, she cared very little about commanding a starship. She wanted to rip the Earth Alliance’s biggest warriors in half, be it Olympians, Asgardians, or the last handful of Furies still alive if she were lucky enough to meet them during her menial assignments.

She would cherish ripping the heart out of the one called Chase and showing it to him as he died. She had her own reasons for doing so, reasons no one else would understand, but it ran deep within her soul. For the time being, though, she had to be careful not to show her enthusiasm in the matter, especially to her commanding officer, Asrak’Vor.

Chase having killed his brother, Tanak, Asrak’Vor had claimed the right for revenge, as is tradition in cases like these. But Ashra’Lur had never cared about traditions. If the opportunity presented itself, she’d relish it and would end Chase in a heartbeat.

“Master?” the crewman said when she didn’t answer his last comment.

“Very well. Do we have enough data to tune our own weapons to be more efficient against their new shields?”

“We may need to engage them more to obtain optimum sensor data.”

“Alright then, let’s see if they’ve managed to progress their technology in terms of detecting our ships, but let’s not make it easy for them. We have our orders after all. Scramble Widow-class fighters, and engage the enemy.” Ashra’Lur had to swallow her next words as it was counterintuitive for her to dispatch such orders. “They are not to attack the station directly, though.”

“Yes, Master, scrambling fighters.”

* * *

Ryonna gazed at the planet coming into view through the viewport shortly after the ship entered the atmosphere.

The planet’s sky was purple, and the desert-like landscape growing in the viewport was very dark, almost black. There were two twin suns in the sky, both blue.

“ETA?” asked Ryonna.

“We’re landing at the target coordinates within two hundred seconds,” said the now cooperative computer.

Ryonna didn’t like that she hadn’t been able to speak to Altair in gods knows how long. Though she could find out.

“How many days has it been since you’ve…” she paused, “acquired me?”

“A little over three days,” said the computer.

That seemed excessive.

“Can we open a channel to the Alliance headquarters back on Earth?”

There was a pause.

“So?” insisted Ryonna.

“Commander Jax has insisted that no communication to the Alliance be permitted at this point in time.”

Ryonna sighed. “I thought he granted me admin level privileges, doesn’t that mean you have to do as I say?”

“This order is marked code red ultra. It can only be countered by the commander himself.”

I see, then let’s get him back onboard. I’ll give you both a piece of my mind on the matter.

Ryonna’s mind was teeming with so many thoughts it was hard for her to stay focused. She would have to deal with problems as they arose, one at a time. If she let her mind wander and worry about too many things, like Altair, the Alliance, Jax, and her son, she risked becoming overwhelmed. One of these thoughts kept coming to the forefront of her mind, though, and that was how could her dead husband still be alive?

“Prepare for landing,” said the computer.

The ship rocked more as the winds intensified near the surface, and the landing was a little tricky even though the onboard computer didn’t seem to have any problem taking care of it on its own. If anything, it was a very good virtual pilot.

“We’ve arrived at our destination. Please hold for holo-communication.”

The main holo-screen turned to life, and the image froze Ryonna’s blood. Jax’s face was disfigured by pain. Multiple wounds on his face had crusts of blood on them, and his breathing was shallow.

“Ryonna, we don’t have much—time.”

At first, Ryonna wanted to ask questions. Anger and a sense of betrayal were bursting inside her mind, but she could tell that Jax was in terrible shape and needed immediate attention or he could die, this time for good. She silenced her curiosity, for now.

“I’m listening.”

Jax tried chuckling, but the process resulted in more pain showing on his face than anything else. He coughed up blood.

Whatever questions were burning Ryonna’s soul to a blaze would have to wait.

“Where are you, Jax?” she continued. “How can I help?”

“Take the rover at the back of the ship, it will guide you to me. Also, take a med-kit from the ship, please. Without it, I don’t think I’ll survive another hour.”

Even though Ryonna was aware of the urgency of the situation, she still felt compelled to ask at least one question.

“What about our son?”

“Ronan is in grave danger, and it’s all my fault. I’ll tell you more, I promise, but please hurry. If I perish before you get here, so will Ronan.”

Ryonna swallowed hard. Part of her still had a hard time believing all of this was real. There were so many unanswered questions, so much mystery. One way or another, she would get to the bottom of this.

But the realization that Ronan could become a casualty in all of this released large amounts of adrenaline into her system, and she ran to the back of the ship and grabbed not one but both med-kits she found. She threw them into a nearby backpack and then grabbed a magnetic belt off the weapons rack wall on the other side of the rover. She put it on and attached two blasters and a nano blade onto it before she climbed into the rover as the cargo door finished opening.

* * *

Menelas was still struggling with his memories. He remembered a lot more things from his past. Thanks to the help of Diaspira, he had managed to recover more and more chunks of his life in the form of flashbacks, but they were usually fast and condensed, and they didn’t always make sense.

It had also generated its fair share of side effects. The sheer number of overlapping emotions attached to each of these flashes had put his mind into a frail state. But they helped give Menelas hints, however brief, of his life.

He was pretty certain that a big part of his life had revolved around being a warrior, with loss and fear two very strong emotions that came back through the different flashes.

He was also sure he had been part of one or more wars. Was he a soldier? When he had that thought, his body vibrated in a certain way, and while he wasn’t happy about it, he felt this was at least partially true.

“How are you feeling today?” asked Diaspira.

“More confused than ever, but I think, day by day, it’s getting better to deal with the emotional turmoil from all these memories, at least I think so.”

“That’s good to hear. Your emotional distress is completely normal. It’s hard to recover one’s memory in such a fashion. It will take more time. If only we could get out of here, I have technology back at my lab that could ease that process.”

“This prison seems pretty inescapable.”

“For me, it is, for you, I’m not so sure.”

“What do you mean?”

“I sense great power in you. I think you’re a warrior of some kind. I may be wrong, but I think you’re a Fury.”

The name Fury sent a shiver down Menelas’ spine, and he got more flashbacks of his past. One, in particular, was where he was commanding many men in battle. But they didn’t use weapons, he and his soldiers were firing energy-based attacks from their palms, and so were their enemies.

* * *

“That name means something to me.”

“Then there’s a good chance my instincts on the matter are right. If you are a Fury, getting us out of this prison should be child’s play.”

“I don’t see how. Sure, apparently in my past life, I could create powerful attacks. In the flashbacks I’ve glimpsed, especially that last one, the attacks can be very powerful, but I haven’t the slightest idea how to bring up that power.”

“That’s where I believe I could help you. I’ve managed to bring forward your flashbacks, and I think I can help you with the attacks as well. Though, I must warn you, if you do succeed in doing this, there will be mechanical guards that rush in here, and you’ll have to deal with them using your powers again. Do you think you can do that?”

Menelas thought about it, and his stress levels rose quickly. He wasn’t even sure he could muster up this power once even with her help, let alone do it again under the pressure of impending danger.

“Did you say mechanical?” asked Menelas, buying himself some time.

“Yes, this prison is unmanned, but it doesn’t mean there’s no security. The Atlantians are almost extinct, only a handful of them remain, and most of their facilities are guarded by machines that do their bidding.”

“Atlantians…somehow that name also means something to me.”

“I don’t see why it would. They’ve not interfered in the affairs of other races, let alone Furies, for eons.”

“Can you tell me more about them?”

“I’m not an expert, but I’ve heard about them in passing.”

“And yet we both ended up in one of their prisons.”

“I see how that would be disconcerting, but as I said, they’ve left a fair amount of machines behind, and these machines are ruled by the same programming that was instilled into them tens of thousands of years ago. Their rules are meaningless in today’s world, but they still enforce them, as it’s part of their artificial intelligence.”

The word artificial intelligence was also familiar to Menelas, and it created negative emotional feedback.

“I see.”

“Look, we’ve been cooped up in here for too long, the rations they give us are barely adequate for our survival. Sooner or later, we’ll get sick, and if we do, we’ll die. We need proper nourishment, and I have medicine back in my lab that will help us get stronger as well as ease the return of your memories. I don’t want to push you if you’re not ready. I’m sure this must all be frightening. So, it’s up to you to try this whenever you feel ready, ok?”

Menelas nodded. He felt fear in thinking he would have to break out of there and fight for both their lives. Probably the old him would easily deal with whatever danger came his way, but right now, he felt vulnerable and uncertain of the powers he saw himself wield in his flashbacks.

“Thank you for letting me decide. I do yearn to get out of here as well.”

“I don’t blame you. I’ve been trapped in here for years, so I can’t wait to get out, but we have to do it when you feel ready, otherwise, it may fail. If it helps, I believe in you. I sense you can do this, you just need to believe in yourself.”

Menelas took a deep breath. “Very well, how do we start?”

“Now?”

“Yes, now.”

“Okay, the exit is that way,” said Diaspira, pointing toward the wall in which a small trapdoor opened to deliver their food every other day. “Now point an open palm toward that wall, close your eyes, and try to sense your inner energy.”

Menelas did as instructed and tried finding that mystical energy within himself, but all he saw was a few flashbacks. One, in particular, was when a black siphon swallowed him. That startled him, and he gasped for air.

“What happened?”

“I—I had another flashback, something black that…”

“That what?”

“Swallowed me. That was the strangest sensation.”

“It’s normal to be afraid, you’re reliving past events in short bursts, out of order, and as long as I don’t have access to my lab, these won’t make any sort of sense to you. In fact, they’re probably the reason why you’re so afraid.”

Menelas’s first instinct was to say he was not afraid of anything, but that would be the furthest from the truth. Perhaps that was because the real him, the one who remembered who he was, was indeed fearless. And if that Menelas was indeed fearless, then his current self needed to be like him, if only for a little while.

He took a long, deep breath, closed his eyes, and tried to calm himself.

“I think I’ll need some guidance as to how to access my power.”

Menelas felt the warm hand of Diaspira on the back of his neck.

“Think of the word power and focus on what you see.”

A small orb of light appeared in Menelas’s mind.

“I see a small sphere of light.”

“Good. Perhaps this is your power. Now try to make it grow. But remember to breathe.”

Menelas hadn’t realized he was holding his breath. He took in a few long breaths while focusing on making the light grow. At first, nothing happened, but soon, the orb grew, first, little by little, but then it doubled in size.

“I feel something.”

“Keep going, you’re on the right path. I can feel it.”

Without opening his eyes, Menelas nodded and kept his breathing steady while growing the orb more and more until he felt Diaspira’s hand lift from the back of his neck.

“Why did you remove your hand?”

“Open your eyes and see for yourself.”

When Menelas opened his eyes, he could see an orange glow emanating and casting a warm light all around them. For the first time since he woke up in this place, he could see the walls, their shapes and curvature.

“I liked it better when I couldn’t see our prison.”

“I think it’s normal to despise one’s cage, no matter what. But I believe we won’t have to suffer it any longer. Can you feel the power that runs through you at the moment?”

“I can, it’s like nothing I can describe, though.”

“You don’t have to, Menelas, you just need to unleash it toward that wall, but make sure you don’t use it all, you’ll need more of it for the guard.”

“Are we sure there’s only one?”

“As they all look the same, I’m not sure, but it does seem to be the same one that I have glimpsed before.”

“Alright. One wall, one guard. And then?”

“We run like hell. Hopefully, I remember the way, it’s been so long.”

“How do you propose I proceed?”

“Try to bring some of that energy of yours into the palm of your hand.”

Before Menelas could voice his uncertainty about how to achieve that, an orange fireball appeared and crackled inside his hand.

“This is unbelievable.”

“Now use your mind to shoot it at the wall.”

Menelas took one last breath, and before he knew it, the fireball darted toward the wall and the entire place trembled. Large pieces of rock exploded all around, creating a large hole in the dark stony wall for them to pass. Before they could move, an alarm resounded and metallic steps resonated in the distance.

6

Ares materialized on the bridge of the Odin, Asgard’s latest ship off the assembly line and the first one including Alliance tech to complement its already very advanced systems.

“Right on time,” said Thor.

“What took you so long?” asked Poseidon.

“If you must know, Chase needed to see Zeus,” Ares pointed toward Thor, “and I much prefer his greeting.”

“We’re about to intercept the Aegir One,” said Poseidon. “I was starting to think you weren’t coming.”

“I can’t exactly fight with you, so what difference does it make? As a matter of fact, remind me why you need me on this mission?”

“The Aegir is an ancient Asgardian ship,” said Thor, “and because the sensitive cargo prison ships hurtle through space, they have a very powerful shield engine, which won’t allow anyone to teleport in and out unless the shields are dropped.”

“Surely, if it’s ancient, you can bypass its shields; isn’t the Odin infinitely more technologically advanced than the Aegir?”

“Yes and no. You see, for a ship to run for that long, it had to be retrofitted many times, so while some of its systems, like the jump engines, are of older design and inferior, fortunately for us, its power source is about a hundred times bigger than the Odin’s.”

“Wait, what?” asked Poseidon. “How can that be?”

“Over the centuries, we perfected our consumption and reliance on pentalium to the point where we’ve streamlined its use, managing to do more with less.”

“Because?” asked Ares.

“What do you mean because?” asked Thor.

“I can sense there is a reason for that, no offense.”

Thor sighed heavily. “Follow me.”

They walked into the Odin’s opulent equivalent of a captain’s ready room.

“Alright,” Thor continued. “I’ll tell you, but this doesn’t leave the bridge, understood?”

“You can trust us,” said Poseidon.

“I know that, but in the hands of our enemies, this could mean the end of Asgard.”

“Now you’ve piqued my interest even more,” said Ares. “And I echo what my uncle said, you can trust us.”

“Very well. As you know, our tech relies on pentalium. Much like the humans relied on fossil fuels for as long as they were industrialized. Until the arrival of the Alliance in the fold, we have relied on pentalium since the dawn of our civilization. But the mines are pretty much dried up. We have to spend up to a hundred-fold in terms of effort to get to what’s left and purify it, and we’ve been running our fleet on fumes.

“Not even my admirals are aware of this shortage. Unfortunately, we haven’t been able to find pentalium anywhere else in the universe. And not for a lack of trying, let me tell you. As a matter of fact, Odin’s stance on the subject is that we may be on the brink of the end of the Asgardian civilization.”

“Surely, you can adapt your technology to use quadrinium, which is rich and can be found everywhere.”

“Oh, we can, but we’d lose our advantage in battle. Our ships would travel as slow as yours, and we’d have to revamp the entire fleet with what would amount to downgrades, no offense.”

“None taken,” said Poseidon. “But I thought you are sharing pentalium with the rest of us in the Alliance, isn’t that burning the candle at both ends?”

“Because Kvasir and Spiros have found ingenious ways of creating a hybrid version of the new tech that powers most ships and some of the Odin’s system as well, we’ve managed to optimize the use of pentalium in these systems to only use micrograms of it, hence, we would have been able to provide the Alliance with pentalium for decades at least, while we kept perfecting the hybrid tech and trying to locate more.”

“How long has it been since you’ve been searching for new sources of the element?”

“About seven thousand years. With no success whatsoever. Not even a single ounce of it was ever discovered by either a ship or the thousands of probes roaming the galaxy.”

“That’s a long time,” said Poseidon. “If this is a finite resource, you must have been working on a contingency plan.”

“Optimizing our stockpile was the contingency plan. Until my father died.”

“What does one have one to do with the other?”

“The night my father was murdered by a Spectre, a large amount of pentalium went missing.”

“Wow, that’s heavy,” said Ares.

“How the hell did they know you had the element, and what could they possibly want with it?” asked Poseidon.

“I don’t know, on both counts, but for the latter, I suspect nothing good for the rest of us.”

“Shouldn’t we inform the Alliance and try to recover it from those who stole the pentalium?” asked Ares.

“We’ve sent a small armada where we thought they may have vectored away, only half the ships returned. None of the survivors found the Spectre ships, and I suspect those who did, didn’t survive the encounter.”

“Looks like it’s as good as lost,” said Ares with a solemn voice.

“While the loss of pentalium is a big problem, I just wish my father hadn’t lost his life that night. I don’t know that I’m up to the task of filling his shoes. Especially in these uncertain times.”

“You’ll be fine,” said Poseidon, “and know that you’re not alone. You have friends in us and the rest of the Alliance.”

Thor nodded. “Thank you.”

“King Thor to the bridge,” said an officer over the comms.

“And being called that is gonna take some time getting used to,” said Thor as they walked back onto the bridge.

“Report,” said Thor the moment he walked through the doors.

“Target in striking distance,” said the Asgardian officer.

“On screen.”

The massive holo-screen filled most of the Odin’s bridge with a back view of the Aegir in the same hyperspace corridors as theirs.

“How can you track a ship in hyperspace to the point where you’re flying right behind it?” asked Poseidon.

“We don’t have time for me to give you the long version, but the short one is it’s due to pentalium-powered engine designs. The Odin is a much faster ship.”

“Are the shields of the Asgardian ships up while in hyperspace?”

“They have to be. The shields’ design and the hyperspace engines form a unit to allow us to get to these velocities.”

“Okay,” said Ares, “but didn’t you just say a minute ago that the Aegir’s shields are much stronger than any other Asgardian ships? Are we beaming there while in hyperspace?”

Thor looked at Ares. “Are we?”

“While I have teleported in ships going into hyperspace, I never tried to that fast, and for the Alliance ship, I had learned how to teleport safely through their shields. Trying to do this with stronger shields while in hyperspace seems like an awful risk to take if you ask me.”

“Say no more,” said Thor before turning to his officer. “Collapse the hyperspace tunnel.”

“Collapsing the tunnel.”

A couple of green-colored shots looking like shooting stars darted away from the Odin and flew to the sides of the Aegir. Once the stars had traveled a fair bit in front of the ship, they exploded into a near-blinding light that filled the bridge.

Moments later, both the Odin and Aegir were out of hyperspace.

“The Aegir is vectoring toward us, weapons are locking,” said the officer.

“Can we get rid of Siegfried by destroying the Aegir?” asked Poseidon.

“No,” answered Thor. “It would take a long time to bring their shields down, and Siegfried could escape. He can fly through space without a ship for much longer than even a Fury can. Ares, you’re up. But be mindful of the shields, they’re the most powerful of all ships you’ve ever had to beam in or out of. Are you sure you’re willing to take the risk?”

“So, the plan is to get onboard, lower the shields, and you beam aboard?”

“Correct.”

“Except, I can’t affect material changes in the real world unless I take possession of a body, and something tells me this Siegfried might not let me do that.”

“It’s very unlikely you can take control of such a powerful mind, no. As much as it pains me to ask you this, can you take control of a corpse? Or perhaps there are survivors hiding in the ship.”

“I don’t know about the corpse, I’ve never tried it. I must admit that just the thought of it is creeping me out.”

“Believe me, Ares, I wouldn’t ask you if we had any other choice, not to mention that it goes against our rituals on how to treat the dead.”

“Alright, if there’s a survivor around where I’m going, I’ll try possessing them, if not, well, I’ll improvise, I guess. Speaking of where I’m going, it would help to know the exact place where I can shut down the shields.”

“Show him,” said Thor.

The holo-screen zoomed toward the Aegir, and as it did, the image morphed into a 3D holographic blueprint of the ship, showing Ares exactly where he had to be.

“Once there, enter these commands on that panel.”

Ares paid attention to the set of commands, as it was not just a one-control push.

“Do you need me to show you that again?” asked the officer.

“No, thank you. I think I got it,” said Ares before turning toward Thor and Poseidon. “Wish me luck?”

“Good luck, Ares,” said Thor. “And thank for doing this, I can’t stress enough how vital it is that Siegfried not be allowed to free his brother and sister.”

“I understand,” said Ares before vanishing from the Odin’s bridge.

* * *

“Huh,” said Daniel over the comlink with Chief Kohri. “I think the sensor array is all outta whack. Are you seeing what I’m seeing?”

“I am,” said the chief. “While at first sight, it looks like interference, but when I do look closer…”

“It seems to be vectoring toward our squadron.”

“Do the Spectres have smaller starfighters that also have cloak?”

“I think we’re about to find out.”

Daniel opened a channel to the rest of his squadron. “I’m detecting possible contacts ahead, approaching fast.”

“We don’t see anything on our scopes,” said Alpha Two.

“Only the Mark III can pick these up.”

“Should we cloak as well?”

“Our ships are vulnerable when cloaked. We have to drop shields. If they have a way to detect us, we’ll be history.”

“There’s only one way to find out,” said Alpha Five. “I’m cloaking and hitting the thrusters.”

“No! That’s too dangerous,” Daniel complained. “Alpha Five, disengage cloak and return in formation.”

“Sorry, Commander, we need to know.”

“Not at the price of your life, Lieutenant, that’s an order.”

“Very well, I’m returnin—” but before the lieutenant could return in formation, plasma shots lit up the area where he was last seen, and the ship exploded.

“Evasive maneuvers, everyone, stay frosty.”

“What the hell are we supposed to do against invisible threats that can fire when cloaked,” screamed Alpha Seven over the comms.

“Stay evasive, microjump away if your shields are too low. We need more sensor data to detect them.”

“So, we’re basically bait to advance our R&D toys?” complained Alpha Three. “That’s fucked up, but I guess we don’t have much choice.”

“Alpha Three is correct,” Daniel confirmed. “We need to get this cloak tech of theirs figured out, or we won’t last long in the future.”

Multiple clicks of confirmation could be heard over the comms.

Daniel hated the idea of sending men and women to dodge invisible starfighters, but they had no choice. He just hoped this new tech was a fast learning one, or this would be a short engagement.

Daniel’s shields lit up as bolts of plasma impacted his starboard shields. He looked at the plasma bolts’ firing position to determine where the fighter was. His HUD recorded all the sensor data and his semi-visual contact of it, and a bar dubbed ‘calibrating accuracy’ appeared on the HUD and filled to five percent.

Daniel went evasive, dodging as best he could the incoming fire. Another couple of plasma shots hit his rear shields this time, bringing them down to eighty-five percent, but they recharged back to one hundred in only a few seconds.

Good job on the new shields, Yanis. I already love this bird.

“Shields down to seven percent,” said Alpha Three. “Sorry, gotta jump away for a little bit.”

Daniel wanted to tell his teammates not to feel sorry about saving their lives, but it was taking all his concentration to dodge more incoming fire and now from two different positions. The plasma bolts screaming past his cockpit and in front of him told him that the fighter was still firmly on his six while another fighter shot on his port shields. Daniel could manage to dodge the enemy on his six, but there was nothing he could do for the second craft.

Fortunately, the new shields were holding pretty well under the circumstances. They were holding at around fifty percent.

“Anyone else having a bad dingleberry day?” shouted Alpha Five over the comms.

“Tell me about it, they’re all over me,” said Alpha Two.

Meanwhile, the sensor array accuracy bar had filled to sixty-seven percent. Not as fast as he’d hoped, but it was still acquiring data.

This thing better give me a clear radar picture by the time it’s up to one hundred percent.

A quick look at his instruments showed that the rest of his team wasn’t faring as well as him, the StarFuries Mark II’s shields were not as efficient at absorbing the plasma fire.

“Daniel,” said Chief Kohri. “I’ve got an idea, but it will require a second pilot. And a damn good one.”

While Daniel was the commander of this squadron, he had selected a wing commander for Alpha Squadron, one with an impressive file, having scored an impressive amount of kills during the Fury War.

“Linking Alpha Two to the comms. Jake, can you hear us?”

“Affirmative,” said Jake.

“Alright,” said the chief. “Daniel, you slow down a bit until you get pounded a little more on your rear end.”

“Gotta say, Chief, so far I’m not liking this plan of yours.”

“You want to take out one of these suckers or not?”

She sure is a fiery one. I think I like her.

“Sorry, go ahead, what’s the next move?”

“You release flare countermeasures.”

“I think I see what the chief is up to,” said Jake. “The flare will bounce off the ship’s armor or shields, and I can light it up.”

“Exactly,” said the chief. “And you two better start dropping the chief. My name is Allanah.”

“Roger that,” said Daniel with a smile.

“I’m in position,” confirmed Jake. “Ready to light this sucker up.”

Daniel lowered his velocity to the point where he could feel the frequency of hits on his rear pipes increase and was ready to deploy heavy flares. Meanwhile, his port shields were getting pounded to oblivion while the sensor accuracy had passed ninety percent.

“Ready, Jake?”

“I was born ready, Commander. Break left the moment you deploy, so I don’t blow you out of the sky.”

“I’d appreciate that, deploying in two, one, now!”

The heavy flare particles shot back from Daniel’s ship and bounced onto something, giving enough of a visual clue for Jake to light up the enemy craft with his plasma cannons. He shot an additional two missiles for good measure. The cannon hits made the ship flicker enough for the missile to acquire a lock, which blew the enemy into a million pieces.

“We have a kill!” exclaimed Jake over the comms. “I don’t think these suckers are as heavily shielded when cloaked.”

That was the only piece of good news regarding the fact that the Spectres had invisible and combat-ready starfighters in addition to their larger ships.

“Good job, Jake,” said Daniel. “And thank you chief—I mean, Allanah.”

“I’m glad it worked. Looks like you won’t need to use that tactic again anytime soon, though.”

Daniel saw his HUD flash as the ‘detection accuracy’ bar filled to one hundred percent and blinked green. His radar lit up with seven small red bogeys and a larger one a few thousand klicks behind.

“I’m linking your radar data with the rest of the squadron,” said Allanah.

“I owe you a drink when we get back to the station.”

Is that a date? said Allanah’s voice in his head.

Holy crap, you can use telepathy that far? replied Daniel.

Yes, sir.

Daniel had, of course, experienced this with his friend, Chase, but somehow it felt different with Allanah.

With the bogeys now clear for everyone to acquire on their radar, it didn’t take long for the rest of the enemy squadron to drop their cloak. Daniel could see from his instruments that the moment they did that, their shield power levels increased almost tenfold.

“Let’s give them a run for their money,” said Daniel over comms.

7

Talon was pensive and looking at the bright hyperspace light streaks from the seat behind his desk in the captain’s ready room of the Helios.

They had been searching for days for a signal even remotely matching the ship that had abducted Ryonna. With no success whatsoever.

Tar’Lock entered the room.

“Any news, Talon?”

Talon’s slow moving of his head from side to side gave more information than words could have conveyed.

“There has to be something we can do,” said Tar’Lock. “Ryonna could be in serious trouble.”

“Believe me, I know that. Not to mention that our boss is also counting on me to bring her back safe.”

“I don’t care about Altair. We’re doing this for her, not for him.”

“It’s not that simple. Whether you like it or not, and jealousy aside, he’s still our boss, and this is still the Helios’s first mission.”

Tar’Lock crossed his arms over his chest and turned his head away, chin slightly up. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m not jealous.”

Talon allowed a faint smile to transpire. “Yeah, right.”

“Ryonna is my friend,” insisted Tar’Lock. “Sure, I had feelings for her. Until I learned she executed my sister.”

“If the Alliance records are any indication, she didn’t have any choice, your sister had lost her marbles and was on a very dangerous power trip.”

Tar’Lock took a couple of steps toward the viewport, facing away from Talon.

“I know…she was still my sister.”

“There is something that raised my suspicions, though.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’ve read enough mission reports in my time in the Alliance, but this one feels redacted somehow. I can’t put my finger on what and why, but it’s a feeling I get.”

Tar’Lock was in front of Talon so fast that it startled him, and he rocked a little bit on his chair.

“I thought we agreed you wouldn’t do that on the ship.”

Tar’Lock summoned up an apologetic look as best he could muster. “Sorry.”

“You can use your super speed any time on away missions to save our asses, but you’re scaring half the people you meet when you do it on board the ship.”

“Got it, now let’s get back to that redaction.”

“There’s nothing I can do about it, I don’t have the skills to recover those kinds of digital changes. Perhaps a hacker would. But we have a mission, so it will have to…”

But Talon let the words hang.

“What is it?”

“I just had an idea on how to kill two birds with one stone, but I think it’s a terrible idea.”

“Let’s hear it anyway?”

“I have a…I don’t want to use the word friend, so let’s go with acquaintance who used to be a Datalight Thief.”

“That name is familiar, but I guess I decided not to keep it in my active memory.”

“Why aren’t you letting the Alliance implant extra memory so you can retain more of it? It must be frustrating to have a small and finite amount you can store. Honestly, I don’t know how you manage it—decide what memory to keep and what not to store.”

“I let them install a buffer only, it allows me to keep the data for up to a few months and works on automatic and is tamper proof. I won’t install a tech inside my head that would allow a third party to take remote control of me and use me as an instrument of destruction.”

“Surely Spiros can make Argos’s tech safer to use?”

“No! Any tech is subject to hacking. My brain is off limits. I’m already pissed about the buffer, even if it is a read only link to my brain.”

“Then why did you install it in the first place?”

“To make sure I can be a more efficient first officer. Without it I doubt I’d be even capable of performing my duties to you.”

“You didn’t have to.”

“Yes, I did. There are procedures aboard a ship like this, and I need to remember what you say during a mission.”

“Well, I appreciate you doing that, but if it makes you uncomfortable and want to remove it, you have my blessing.”

“It could put us at risk.”

“We’ve managed fine on the Bellerophon in the past without it.”

“The Bellerophon was an old piece of junk capable of transporting twenty people at most, this ship can house thousands.”

Talon smiled, as he knew better than to argue and compare his old ruin-of-a-ship to a brand new top-of-the-line Alliance destroyer.

“Where’s the Bellerophon by the way?” asked Tar’Lock.

“Cargo bay three.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, I’m sentimental like that, and we never know when we might need it.”

“Is it just me or have we drifted away from the subject?”

Talon rubbed his chin. “As I said, it’s a bad idea mixing my old partners in crime with Alliance business. I really wanted this new command to be a fresh, new start, you know?”

“Who cares, especially if it allows us to find Ryonna.”

Talon wanted to explain that it mattered to him, that he wanted to approach this new command in a different way than how he had done things on the Bellerophon. But he could understand why Tar’Lock wouldn’t care about such things. And, truth be told, given the relationship Ryonna may have forged with Altair, Talon assumed he wouldn’t mind the use of shady tactics, either. After all, their secondary objective was to find out all they could about the engine tech on the ship that grabbed the ambassador.

“Yeah, I’m sure Altair would also agree in this situation. And it seems repeating the same useless long-range scans for weeks isn’t the correct use of our time.”

“Not to mention that the more time passes, the less chance we have to find Ryonna alive. I say we go find your friend.”

“Acquaintance,” Talon corrected.

“Whatever.”

Talon smiled.

“Alright, even though part of me thinks Ryonna is the kind of person that can take care of herself. Still, she’s our mission, so let me set the new course.”

Talon brought up the holo-terminal and entered a new course for the ship. It jumped out of hyperspace briefly for navigation to enter the new vector and then jumped back.

“Why didn’t you ask the pilot to do that?” asked Tar’Lock.

“Because I’m a hands on kind of guy, and it will take some time until I let anyone else do what I’ve done for myself for years.”

“I see. You did say this person…”

“Thomson.”

“That this Thomson was a part of the Datalight Thieves, why did he leave?”

“He never really told me, and I didn’t ask. I try not to get too personal with business acquaintances, makes it harder if you need to take any action that will sever the relationship later on down the line.”

“I’m not sure I understand.”

“Sometimes you have to do things you don’t like to do. Like killing your sister, sorry for using it as an example here, but I think it applies. It may have been difficult for Ryonna to do it, knowing how much she meant to you, but she was looking at the bigger picture. And sometimes we have to do questionable things for the greater good.”

“That’s a slippery slope, and I don’t think the Alliance likes its officers to use deadly force.”

“Of course not, but back in my Bellerophon days, survival was my main goal.”

“I remember. How will Thomson be able to help us?”

“He’s very good at finding lost things and hacking into any database, even those dubbed impenetrable.”

“And now you know why I will never have a read-write device installed in my brain.”

“Can’t argue with that logic.”

“But if this Thomson can help us find Ryonna, that’s all that matters.”

I know…and perhaps find out what truly happened to your sister at the same time, thought Talon.

* * *

Ares had a hard time teleporting through the shields, and upon him arriving inside the Aegir, he felt the effects of being dizzy, when he used to have a body, that is.

He could hear weapon’s fire outside. Siegfried must have started opening fire toward the Odin.

He sent a telepathic message to Poseidon.

I’m in.

How are you doing?

Let’s just say Thor didn’t exaggerate the strength of these shields. I wouldn’t want to have to do this again anytime soon.

Hopefully, you won’t have to. Keep us posted. But hurry. Siegfried isn’t happy about us taking his ship out of hyperspace.

Will do.

Ares expanded his mind around trying to find signs of life, but he only found one. And what an energy that life-sign radiated. It was like nothing Ares ever experienced. Even when Chase turned Ultra Fury, he didn’t radiate as much power, which didn’t bode well if they would need to fight this being.

People really need to stop creating lab monsters, it never turns out well, thought Ares.

Ares looked around him and saw a deceased Asgardian. His skin was very pale, with a creepy look composed of a mixture of terror and pain locked into his facial muscles at the time of death. No doubt a side effect from having one’s soul ripped away from one’s body.

Spectres were both formidable and fearless creatures. The fact that they gained more energy with each soul they siphoned made them way scarier than Furies. And if Siegfried had defeated one, Ares really hoped his kind could be reasoned with, or the Alliance might end up fighting a battle on two fronts.

Part of Ares really didn’t want to do this, and he wondered if it would even work in the first place. But it didn’t seem like he had much choice. He slowly approached the lifeless body in his invisible energy form.

I’m sorry about this.

Ares’s energy entered the dead body and was surprised to feel he could move and use it with more ease than when the body was animated by a brain and a soul. But perhaps that made sense. After all, when he invaded bodies in the past, he had to fight an active mind for control. The organs remained in this corpse, albeit starting to decompose, but there was no consciousness to defeat.

Ares stood up and looked at the pale-green skin on his borrowed body’s forearm. Then he felt the only life force on the ship moving at the same time the Aegir stopped firing its weapons. It was moving fast and toward him.

Crap, I must have triggered some sort of alarm.

Ares rushed to the console and entered the commands he had been shown earlier just as the door of the engineering section split open, and a tall man in beautiful armor stepped inside.

“Who the hell are you?” asked Siegfried. “There was no survivor on this ship.”

Instead of answering, Ares moved slowly away from the console and sent a telepathic message.

Guys, shields are down, but Siegfried is in front of me.

Don’t engage. We’ll be there in a sec.

Trust me, I have no intention of engaging him.

Suddenly, Thor and Poseidon teleported in between Ares and Siegfried.

* * *

Siegfried smiled. “Long time no see, Thor. It must be my lucky day. If I had known you were on that other ship, I would have invited you on board.”

“Why’s that?” asked Poseidon.

Siegfried briefly looked at the God of the Seas with disdain before returning his gaze toward Thor, his facial traits hardening and making him look even more threatening than before.

“Siegfried,” said Thor. “We need to talk.”

“I don’t think so,” spat Siegfried. “The only thing that needs to happen now is your death.”

Thor’s luminous tattoos flashed multiple times before returning to their usual breathing-like pattern.

“I understand you’re pissed.”

“Pissed? You put me in hyper-sleep for millennia!”

“You left us no choice.”

“I can’t help but notice you don’t have a legion of Titans with you, so how do you expect to capture me? With this pathetic Olympian?”

“The name is Poseidon.”

“Who cares? You’ll be dead before this day is over.”

I don’t think he’ll listen to reason, said Poseidon telepathically.

We have to try, answered Thor.

“Look,” said Thor. “What my father and Zeus did was unforgivable, I get that, but let’s try to find a peaceful solution to this predicament.”

Siegfried slowly shook his head from side to side in the guise of an answer.

“We are willing to let your kind be free, but with some conditions,” said Thor.

We are? asked Poseidon.

Double-crossing him in combat will be harder than if he lets his guard down.

I think double-crossing him period sounds like a bad idea.

Unfortunately, we don’t have a choice.

“For the sake of argument,” said Siegfried, “what would those conditions be?”

“You would need to let us undo some of the genetic modifications that have been done to you and then you can live among us, peacefully. We’ll make it up to you; give you your own system and ships. How does that sound?”

“Like a fantasy and a lie.”

“It’s in everyone’s best interest that we resolve this situation peacefully,” added Poseidon.

Siegfried pointed an accusing finger toward him. “Don’t you dare address me, your kind is as guilty of this travesty as Thor. And I’ll take equal pleasure in turning you to ashes. Is that clear?”

“I had no knowledge of your existence until a few days ago. I would not have supported my brother’s choice in the matter.”

Siegfried smiled. “You’re Zeus’s brother?” His smiled broadened. “I guess this day keeps getting better and better. Don’t worry, though, your brother will join you shortly after I’m done with the both of you.”

“That’s going to be difficult since Zeus is already dead.”

“Then I guess it will be an act of mercy in reuniting you in the afterlife.”

I don’t think this guy will listen to reason, said Poseidon.

Then we’re in trouble.

How did you expect to capture him if diplomacy failed?

Honestly, I was hoping that either our current combined power levels were big enough to at least incapacitate him and put him back on ice or these millennia in hyper-sleep would have lowered his strength.

I’m sensing an incredible amount of energy from him. It won’t be an easy fight.

No, it won’t.

“Look,” pleaded Poseidon. “I get it, you’re feeling betrayed, and on some level, I can empathize with you⁠—”

“I don’t need your pity,” shouted Siegfried. “Just your blood! Enough talk, time for the two of you to pay for the sins of both your families.”

Siegfried’s bright-white aura grew fast, a cold breeze permeating around them, and soon, the floors of the ship glistened with a thin layer of ice.

Got any ideas? asked Poseidon.

Fire versus ice, I’d say.

Got it.

Poseidon raised his cybernetic arm, and red-orange light ignited around his artificial wrist. He opened his palm and shot a column of flaming energy toward Siegfried.

The Asgardian Guard’s eyes glowed white as the incoming flames turned to ice. He then waved a couple of fingers, and a typhoon of cold air blasted the ice into thousands of sharp shards approaching fast toward Thor and Poseidon. Poseidon spun his trident swiftly with his other hand to create a deflecting current, swiping the shards away from them.

Thor brought Mjölnir to bear and threw the hammer engulfed in emerald energy toward the Guard. Siegfried swiftly punched the hammer away with his right hand while shooting a powerful white fireball toward Thor.

The God of Thunder dodged while extending his arm to recall his weapon. The moment it did, he raised the hammer overhead, and lightning shot from nearby equipment and hit the top of the hammer. He smashed the hammer down onto the floor, unleashing a massive shockwave doubled with a wave of electric current.

Siegfried jumped in the air to avoid the waves of electricity hitting him, letting the shockwave hit him instead.

But the attack didn’t have the effect Thor hoped it would, and Siegfried was only knocked in the air a few inches.

“Damn, he’s good,” said Poseidon.

“Maybe, but he’s overconfident. Let’s use that to our advantage.”

Thor brought the hammer against his chest plate, and the electrical waves stopped advancing and instead shot up, hitting Siegfried from behind. The electric current embraced the Guard as an aggressive wild plant would grow around trees.

Siegfried’s face deformed from the pain induced by the current’s lightning bolts, some of which sizzled between his eyes and on the surface of his teeth.

Now! Throw everything we have at him. We may not get a second chance!

Poseidon swiveled his trident in the air and around him while transferring most of his energy pool into the weapon. Its center glowed gold with a blue and green aura made of energy water dragons dancing around it.

“Cosmic wave execution!” he screamed as he hurled his trident forward.

Meanwhile, Thor imbued his hammer with so much energy it radiated like a green sun as he raised the hammer over his head once more, allowing more electrical current to be siphoned from the ship’s system into the hammer. The lights all over the ship madly flickered as Mjölnir accumulated more energy than ever before.

Before Thor was ready to throw his hammer at Siegfried, the Guard fired glacial air toward Poseidon’s incoming trident in the hopes of freezing it to place, but the water-dragon energy that spun around the weapon protected it from the cold, and the trident impaled Siegfried in the chest.

His eyes slowly blinked white as the electrical vines holding him in place died, and his body gradually levitated downward. A thin line of blood ran down his chin from the corner of his mouth.

“It’s now or never!” said Poseidon.

“On it!” screamed Thor. Large lightning bolts shot from his eyes, a look of fury and incredible power sculpted on his focused face.

With all his might, he threw a spinning Mjölnir toward his wounded prey. The entire room was bathed and reflected in emerald tones, and nearby equipment exploded and bulkheads deformed from the resulting shockwave as the weapon darted toward Siegfried.

“Structural integrity critical,” said the Aegir’s computer before the hammer exploded on Siegfried’s chest.

He was swiftly engulfed in a green and orange inferno, and his painful scream sounded more like an animalistic roar than anything else. He disappeared in the still-developing inferno of green and orange flames that consumed him.

Thor looked at Poseidon. “You still have some charge on that cyber arm of yours?”

“I think we got him.”

“Better safe than sorry, trust me.”

“Understood,” agreed Poseidon, aiming his palm toward the inferno and unleashing two-dozen lava fireballs, adding to the mix. Multiple explosions and more screams resounded in the room.

“This ship won’t take much more,” said Poseidon.

“Doesn’t matter, we needed to make sure.”

Poseidon nodded as he looked at the colorful inferno in front of them.

“Why isn’t your hammer coming back?” asked Poseidon.

“It’s no more, this attack consumed it.”

“I see.”

The flames died down little by little and a shadow slowly formed inside the receding flames and smoke. But where the pair expected to see a body burned to a crisp, they saw a very angry Siegfried still standing, the trident still in his chest while the light in his eyes glowed stronger than ever before. He was gritting his teeth.

“That’s not possible,” said Poseidon. “How do you kill these things?”

“Genetically modified Titans,” said Thor, his voice trembling, “A whole lot of them, too.”

Siegfried growled, and the entire ship trembled. His skin was burned, and literally, with multiple gushing wounds, it did not seem to bother him. A cold air current engulfed him and cooled him down. His aura grew around him and penetrated his wounds. Within seconds, he was fully healed. He cracked his neck to the side with a smile.

“Pretty impressive. I didn’t expect you two to possess such powers. I guess a lot has happened while I was asleep. But I’m afraid that your powers won’t be nearly enough to bring me down.”

Poseidon called his weapon back to him, but Siegfried caught it the moment it was out of his chest.

“Not so fast.”

Poseidon increased the telekinetic grasp on his weapon tenfold even though he was quickly running out of power. But Siegfried didn’t let go of the weapon. Instead, his eyes flashed white one more time, and a shockwave of glacial wind knocked Poseidon off his feet.

Siegfried grabbed the Olympian weapon with both hands and effortlessly snapped it in two.

We’re royally fucked, said Poseidon telepathically as he was rising back to his feet.

Yeah, let’s get out of here.

Thor activated his comms, but Siegfried was faster.

“Shield’s up!” he screamed.

Green light flashed outside of the nearest viewport as the shields turned back on.

“I thought you gave Ares a command that would disable them for good,” said Poseidon.

“So did I. Siegfried must have rewritten the security override before he came here.”

Ares appeared nearby in energy form. “Time to go.”

“Not possible. Unless you can get us through these shields?” said Poseidon. “I don’t see how.”

Siegfried roared and was upon them before they could utter their next words. He swiftly slammed his elbow on Thor’s face, catapulting him toward the nearest bulkhead as two of the Asgardian’s teeth and blood flew in the air.

Poseidon reacted instantly, slamming his cybernetic arm at their enemy, but Siegfried grabbed and stopped the Olympian by blocking his arm at wrist level. Before Poseidon could try to get free, his entire arm became very cold, and as Siegfried’s aura grew, the Olympian’s artificial limb turned to ice at the hand and the ice kept progressing to Poseidon’s shoulder.

I—I can’t move…said Poseidon telepathically.

Thor ignored the intense pain throbbing throughout his entire body and quickly jumped back to his feet and ripped a panel off the bulkhead and sent it hurling toward Poseidon at hypersonic speed. The panel impacted with Poseidon just under his shoulder and sectioned off Poseidon’s cybernetic arm, and the God of the Seas stumbled backward a few steps, recovering the use of his muscles.

Sorry, if I hadn’t. . . said Thor.

I know, the cold would have traveled to the rest of me. Thank you.

Siegfried dropped Poseidon’s arm to the floor with a clang and looked at a panting Thor.

“Why delay the inevitable? The two of you sealed your fates the moment you stepped on board my ship.”

Thor had landed near the console Ares had used earlier.

Ares, said Thor. If I provide a distraction, do you think you can enter that command again, this time quickly?

I can try, answered Ares, who had stayed in the back of the room while the two of them were fighting Siegfried.

Don’t run with your body. Teleport to the console on my command. Just ignore everything else. Getting the shield down is all that matters. The moment we’re beamed out of here, you go as well, preferably before the shields are brought back up.

Understood. Ready when you are.

Thor then contacted one of his officers telepathically.

Get ready to beam us out of here on a moment’s notice. Don’t wait for my order, the moment the Aegir’s shields are down, beam us away.

Understood, my King.

Thor walked toward Siegfried.

“We don’t have to be enemies. We can find common ground.”

“I prefer it the other way. After all, someone must pay for what was done to my kind, from our creation to our genocide, or in my case, eternal imprisonment.”

“Poseidon and Ares were not aware nor a part of this shameful part of our history. Please let them go.”

“I’m afraid not. Since Zeus is dead, I’ll gladly take revenge on his brother.”

Now! ordered Thor.

Thor ran toward Siegfried and feigned a punch attack, which Siegfried moved to intercept, but midway through, Thor rolled to the floor, grabbed Poseidon’s arm, and slammed it on Siegfried’s face. He didn’t budge; in fact, he didn’t even register the impact.

“Seriously?” said Siegfried, dumbfounded.

Ares had teleported to the console and entered the commands in a flash.

The shields dropped, and Siegfried growled. He turned around and unleashed a fireball at Ares, which burned the Asgardian borrowed body to ashes while the fireball impacted with the bulkhead. Fire erupted on that side of engineering, and sparks flew all around Ares.

Green light engulfed Thor and Poseidon as they teleported away. Ares’s energy, now visible through the boiling fleshy remains of his puppet body, also vanished into thin air.

“Noooooooooo!” roared Siegfried.

8

Ryonna jumped off the rover and started running toward the entrance of the nearby cave. Her heart pounded hard.

“I’m almost there,” she said over the comms.

“Hu—hurry.”

Hang on, Jax. I’m coming.

The caverns inside the cave split in two directions.

“Do I go left or right?” she asked.

There was no answer.

“Computer, which way?”

“Left.”

Ryonna sprinted toward a larger cave, and once inside, she saw the unconscious body of her husband. Her heartbeat kept accelerating as she slid on the ground and put her fingers on Jax’s neck, trying to find a pulse.

There was one, but it was faint. She quickly opened her backpack and removed the two med-kits.

“Computer, tell me you’re programmed for first aid.”

“I am.”

“Tell me what to do.”

“Apply a health sensor on his forehead.”

“Tell me what it looks like.”

“Small green metallic pill shape, at the top of the kit.”

“Got it!” she said in a panic as she placed the sensor on her husband’s forehead.

“What now?”

“Processing.”

“Hurry up!”

“Inject nano gel, the blue hypo-tube, to the left side of his neck, then grab the one from the second kit and inject him in his right leg.”

It’s a good thing I grabbed both of these.

Ryonna grabbed the hypo-tubes of adrenaline and injected Jax in both locations.

“He’s not waking up.”

“I’m not expecting him to at this stage. He has suffered too much internal bleeding.”

“How do we stop that?”

“The nano gel will take care of quickly repairing the damaged arteries, but we have to wait until they’re fixed before the next step, otherwise, it could kill Jax.”

Patience was not one of Ryonna’s virtues.

She put her fingers on his neck; his pulse was slower.

“His pulse is worse.”

“A necessary evil while the nanites repair his arteries, I’m afraid.”

“Will he make it?”

There was no answer.

“I asked you a question!” screamed Ryonna.

“I don’t know.”

“Give me the odds.”

“His wounds are severe.”

“Do you have a healing tank on the ship?”

“We do.”

“Then beam him directly into one.”

“It’s too dangerous. His chances of recovery are better if we wait at least three minutes while we deal with the internal hemorrhage.”

“Why didn’t you beam me here instead of taking the rover?”

“Our transporters can only beam one person at a time, and they have a long recharge time. I can only assume Captain Jax wanted to make sure you could beam him out upon your arrival on the scene.”

“What good does that do if he doesn’t make it?”

“I’m sorry, these were his orders. You didn’t seem to have a problem following them yourself.”

Except, I didn’t know how badly hurt he was, you useless pieces of electrons.

Ryonna sighed heavily.

“There has to be something we can do in the meantime?”

“You could use the healing gel pads in both the med-kits to dress his external wounds.”

As she was dressing Jax’s wounds, Ryonna heard a howling in the distance.

“What the hell was that?”

“I’m detecting indigenous quadruped life forms moving toward your position, fast.”

“You gotta to be shitting me. How many?”

“I’m afraid I’m not familiar with this expression. I detect three cold-blooded felines with long teeth approaching. My database has identified them as Xenix. On their own, they’re not very hard to deal with, but Xenixes are dangerous in packs.”

“Swell. I didn’t travel through half the galaxy to let a pack of big cats eat us alive.”

“A good thing you brought weapons.”

You’re telling me!

Ryonna had taken an ambassadorial position, but her heart was and always would be one of a warrior. And a warrior doesn’t go anywhere without her weapons.

The Xenixes’s red eyes were the first things Ryonna saw as they ran toward her position in the dark tunnel ending of the cavern they were in.

“Don’t worry, honey, I got this,” she said to Jax, knowing full well he couldn’t hear her.

“Computer, the time until I have to administer the next medicine?”

“Forty-seven seconds would be ideal. After sixty seconds, we risk cardiac arrest.”

“That’s a rather short margin. It will have to be a short fight, then.”

“Indeed.”

Ryonna grabbed both her blasters and unleashed a barrage of fire toward the incoming pack. The big cats were huge and resembled a hybrid of an Earth’s saber tooth tiger with metallic scales.

The scales posed a problem as the blaster shots ricocheted off their thick exterior.

“Screw this tactic,” said Ryonna as she reattached both blasters to her magnetic belt and took off the nano blade instead.

I should have taken two of these as well.

But there was nothing she could do about that now. It would have to do. She activated the nano blade, and a thin almost invisible blade shot upward. At least this weapon should slice through the creatures.

The big cats advanced toward her but slower now. They were observing her.

“What are they doing?”

“They are deciding on their strategy. Once they attack, they will do it as a unit. It will be very hard to fend them all off with just one blade.”

“Duly noted.”

* * *

Menelas’s blood froze as the metallic monster walked through the hole the Fury had created moments earlier, carving a much larger hole in the wall as the metal giant advanced. It raised itself straight, and its head just about reached the ceiling. It was at least three times his size, and its metallic skin seemed impenetrable.

“You don’t expect me to defeat that thing, do you?”

“This is just a bunch of mechanical parts with a dumb computer as a brain,” said Diaspira. “It’s no match for a Fury warrior, have faith in me.”

You gotta be kidding me, thought Menelas.

Menelas heard the voice but barely over the resounding pounding of his heart.

“Just do what you did earlier, and we’ll be free.”

Menelas raised a hand toward the massive metal giant and tried firing a fireball, but nothing happened.

“Uh oh.”

“Just focus on your power.”

But then Menelas’s aura died all of a sudden.

“Could I be out of juice?”

“No, but you need to control your fear.”

Easier said than done.

The metal giant ran toward him, making the entire prison tremble under each of his steps and bringing down dust and small pieces of the ceiling. Menelas braced for impact. The giant slashed its arm at him and sent him crashing against the rocky walls, cracking it upon impact. His entire body ached and throbbed.

“Menelas!” Diaspira screamed.

Menelas looked up only to see her held at belt level from the massive hand.

“Escape will not be permitted. Use of lethal force authorized,” said a synthetic voice.

“Menelas, help!” pleaded Diaspira.

Then something happened inside Menelas, something unconscious, and Menelas started moving on instinct without realizing it. His aura exploded and concentrated on his right arm as he was running toward the metal giant. Menelas leaped in the air and felt as if he were flying. Still completely on instinct, he slashed his energy-infused arm, using it as one would a sword and sliced through the giant’s metallic appendage with ease.

Diaspira, still imprisoned by the large metallic arm, fell to the ground and yelped upon impact. Blood shot from her mouth. Upon seeing her in pain, rage invaded Menelas’ soul, and his aura radiated even stronger as his hair shot upward and small rocks levitated around him.

The metal giant looked at its missing arm, and its eyes glowed dark red as it launched itself with its good arm at Menelas.

The Fury’s answer was both swift and instinctive as Menelas raised his palm forward and unleashed a dozen fireballs that melted the giant into a pool of boiling metal.

Menelas’s hair fell back in place, and his aura died down. He ran toward Diaspira. She was moaning. Menelas carefully ripped the metal fingers from around her body, revealing black bruises and oozing blood.

She tried to speak, but she spat blood instead. Eventually, she managed to utter some words.

“I think it broke all my bones. I—I don’t think I’m going to make it.”

“I can’t let you die.”

“Unless you have a healing power, I don’t think it’s up to you.”

And then Menelas was struck with another flashback, one where he was using white energy to heal someone on the battlefield.

“Actually, I think I do.”

Menelas closed his eyes and soon was engulfed in a white aura, and he felt his wounds and aches disappear. He then put his hands on Diaspira and healed her too.

“Wow, I didn’t know Furies could do that. Thank you, Menelas.”

“You’re welcome. Can you walk?”

“Oh, yeah, I feel as good as new, thanks to you.”

Menelas smiled as he helped Diaspira get back on her feet.

“We better get going,” she said, “before more of these things are sent our way.”

They ran through a multitude of corridors until, finally, at the end of one, the sunlight hit their eyes. Having not seen such bright light for so long, they were momentarily blinded.

Eventually, their sight returned only to see a vast desert surrounding them in all directions.

“What are we supposed to do now?” asked Menelas.

“Don’t be afraid of what’s going to happen next, okay?”

“What do you mean?”

Diaspira started having convulsions, her stomach moved in and out, and she fell to her knees.

Menelas tried to get to her but she pushed his hands away and shook her head. After a couple more convulsions, she spat out a small, black bendable bracelet-type device.

“Are you alright?”

“I had to hide it from them. It’s our way out.”

“I don’t understand. How does a bracelet get us out of this desert?”

“You’ll see.”

She put the bracelet around her left wrist and swiped the device. A holo-screen sprung to life, and she entered commands on an interface filled with symbols Menelas couldn’t read.

Soon, a triangular portal came to life not far from them. It had lightning all around its near-perfect shape, and in its center, a room could be seen.

“What is this? Is it magic?”

“No, it’s a cosmic portal. That’s how my kind travels.”

“I’ve never seen anything like it.”

“Freeze!” said a synthetic voice in the distance.

Three more metal giants were running toward them, apparently emerging from a similar portal but bigger.

“They have this technology as well?” asked Menelas.

“We don’t have time to discuss this now. Let’s go before they overwhelm us with larger numbers.”

Menelas nodded as she took his hand, and they walked through the portal. The moment they were on the other side, she touched the bracelet again, and the portal closed.

“We’re safe now.”

“Where are we?”

“In my lab. Thousands of light-years away from where we were a second ago.”

“How is that even possible?”

“I’ll explain later. First, let’s see how badly our bodies need nutrients.”

“Okay.”

But Menelas felt just fine, way better than he ever had. Perhaps his healing powers had provided them with all they needed.

Diaspira walked toward a table and grabbed a small cylindrical device and turned back toward Menelas.

“Thank you for saving my life, Menelas.”

“You’re welcome, thank you for teachi⁠—”

But Menelas never finished his sentence. A massive amount of electrical currents ran throughout his body, overwhelming him, and he lost consciousness.

“Sorry about that, Fury,” said Diaspira.

* * *

Daniel’s squadron was now engaging the enemy fighters in the open, and while the enemy cloaks had dropped, their stronger shields made it difficult to take them down. The squadron had to pair or sometimes create trios to take the enemy down, but that left Daniel and his team open to attack while deploying for the kill.

Daniel opened a channel to the squadron.

“Let’s try to bring them in firing range of the Alkyon One.”

“Alkyon One?” said Alpha Six. “I like that diminutive.”

“Cut the chatter,” said their usual wing commander and the Alpha Two on today’s mission. “Is the weapon grid even ready to be tested?”

“Why don’t we find out?”

An incoming comm overlapped inside Daniel’s StarFury Mark III. It was his pain-in-the-ass chief engineer, Albert Natos.

“What is it, Albert?”

“I don’t think it’s a good idea to try the weapon’s grid just yet. We should at least run a few simulations of all systems before we do.”

Daniel had had it with his chief’s attitude, and being under pressure and threat of death did not bring Daniel’s diplomatic fortitude to the surface.

“To hell with your simulations and your defensive stance on everything. I’m giving you a direct order, we’re bringing enemy birds to the firing zone, and I’ll order the C&C (Command and Control) to fire at the enemy ships. So, for once, zip it, and do as I say. Do you think you can manage that?”

There was a bit of incomprehensible mumbling on the other side of the call while Daniel dodged an enemy missile, shot it to bits, and engaged a nearby bogey.

“I didn’t quite catch that,” said Daniel, making sure he didn’t mask any of the irritation in his voice. “You know, with dodging missiles and shooting at Spectres.”

“I was saying…oh, never mind. Understood, Commander. I’d like the logs to reflect that if we blow every power relay on the station, I have warned you against such things.”

The last thing Daniel needed right now was to be antagonized by someone he’d sooner space at the first opportunity. Well, at least in a mental fantasy. Now was not the time to run simulations nor was it the time to be cautious.

“Okay, Albert, let me rephrase it in a language you’ll understand. If you do blow even one of my station’s power conduits, you’ll be fired. You had more than enough time to make sure they’re working at peak capacity. Clearer for ya?”

“You’re impossible to work with! If we survive this, you’ll have my resignation letter on your desk first thing tomorrow.”

Woo…I’m shaking.

“Fine by me. In fact, strike that, I’m actually looking forward to it. And let me make one thing crystal clear, there’s no if we survive. You mark my words we will survive this attack. Now activate the damn defense grid!”

I’m not losing Alkyon One before it’s even finished, which with Alby Wackos as my chief, might take a full century, said Daniel in his mind.

You have a real way with people, said Allanah. Did anybody ever tell you that?

Did you hear that?

Loud and clear, and I’m not the only one. Daniel thought he then heard her chuckle too.

“Did I broadcast that entire conversation to everybody?”

“We weren’t gonna say anything, boss,” said Jake with a chuckle. “I think you left the comms open to the squadron when you picked up that call.”

“Sorry about that everyone,” said Daniel as three plasma blasts impacted his starboard shields.

“Don’t worry about it, Alpha One,” said Alpha Five. “The chief is a real douche, we’re actually glad someone put him in his place for once.”

“Ditto,” said Alpha Seven. “I was motivated to kick some serious Spectre butt today, but if it means we don’t have to see his face anymore, now I’m pumped.”

“At the risk of repeating myself,” said Jake, “keep the chatter down…even if I agree.”

Daniel ordered C&C to stand ready to take out the enemy fighters and make sure to adjust their trajectory to force the enemy craft into the firing zone.

Daniel requested they wait until they all arrived inside the firing range. After all, with Albert keeping the power grid running at a minimum, they might think the station’s defenses weren’t activated, and if they did, they could use the element of surprise.

Once the last enemy starfighter entered firing range, Alkyonidon Station’s plasma cannons made easy work of them, and within twenty seconds, every enemy fighter was obliterated.

Now we’re talking!

Spiros hadn’t lied when he said these new weapons were something else.

Aren’t you forgetting something, said Allanah.

Right, the carrier for these ships.

* * *

Ashra’Lur was aboard the spider ship, and she was not amused.

“I thought you said their weapons were offline,” she growled.

“They appeared offline, Master. Perhaps it was a trap,” said her arachnoid tactical officer.

“We were the ones who were supposed to trap them, not the other way around.”

“I apologize, Master, please forgive me.”

As much as she’d take pleasure gutting the inefficiency out of her underling, she wanted to send the Alliance a message, and that would be easier to achieve if she had a full bridge crew at her disposal. There would always be time later for punishment.

One of the ships looked slightly different from the others, and it also was the one that had impressed her the most in terms of piloting skills.

“Has the tractor beam been upgraded yet? I’d like to try it on this ship,” she said as she tagged Daniel’s fighter on her holo-controls.

“It has, to your specifications. We only need to feed it the sensor logs from this battle to see if it can lock on a shielded vessel like this one.”

“What’s so special about this one?”

“It’s the one whose sensors seem to have detected us in the first place, and it has a stronger power signature than the rest of the fighters, as well as multi-phasic shields.”

They’re learning to adapt their tech from our encounters. Tanak’Vor really made a mess of things.

“Then feed the required data, and grab that ship.”

9

Daniel looked at his sensor array to get a better picture of the bigger blip on the radar. The ship’s computer projected a 3D holographic shape of the still cloaked ship directly in his HUD.

It was a spider ship all right, just a smaller one than the one they had faced during the Fury War. But if the starfighter’s shield and weapons were any indication, Daniel had no doubt this spider ship could still pose a serious threat to Alkyon One, especially in its current state of ongoing construction zones, which no doubt were the most vulnerable to attack.

Perhaps Daniel could test the new Mark III torpedoes on that cloaked ship. If the shields were running at a much lower power, they could be vulnerable.

“Jake,” said Daniel over the comms, “join my wing and let’s do a run at the bigger ship.”

“Is that a good idea? What about the rest of the pilots?”

“You and I can deal with incoming fire. I don’t want us to lose another pilot today.”

“Agreed. I’ll follow your lead.”

Daniel’s starfighter wing broke off from the rest of the squadron and vectored toward the enemy spider ship. It didn’t take long for defensive plasma fire to rain down on them, and they both had to take evasive action.

“I’m taking heavy fire,” said Jake, unable to mask the worry from his voice.

Daniel checked his shields, they were holding up at sixty percent, but Jake was flying a Mark II StarFury with inferior shields, which were dangerously low.

Daniel swore.

“Break off, Jake. I’ll try a single torpedo run on my own.”

“I can’t abandon my wingman.”

“Yes, you can. My shield generators are three times stronger than yours, and this is a direct order, break off.”

“I’ll meet you halfway. I’ll fly your wing until my shields are about to fail and then micro-jump.”

“Alright, just make sure you don’t wait too long.”

Jake managed to keep his shield between ten and twenty percent for a few more seconds before he had to bail out.

“Sorry, Commander, gotta micro-jump away.”

“Do it.”

Jake’s StarFury micro-jumped, and Daniel’s StarFury became the recipient of double the incoming fire, and his shields drained way quicker than he had hoped. They were down to twenty percent, and he wondered if he should abort his torpedo run, but he was about to enter firing range any second now.

“What the hell are you doing?” said Allanah over the comms. “Your shields won’t hold!”

“Just a few more seconds. We need to see if these are efficient enough against a cloaked spider ship.”

“Not at the cost of your life.”

“Do I detect worry about my well-being?”

“Commander! Turn around now!”

Daniel took a deep breath and held it in briefly.

“I can do it, locking torpedoes, entering firing range in three…two⁠—”

Before Daniel could end his countdown, a deep-purple light bathed his entire cockpit, and he lost control of his ship.

“What the hell is this?! I can’t break away.”

“A powerful tractor beam’s got you in its grasp. It’s turned your StarFury at an angle preventing you from firing your torpedoes.”

“A tractor beam should not be able to grab me with shields on, even less so at this range.”

“Perhaps Alliance tractor beam technology cannot, but apparently theirs can.”

“Dammit! Should I try to micro-jump away?”

“No! Whatever you do, don’t hit the jump engines, Commander, the tractor beam’s power signature is way too strong and you’ll rip your ship in half if you attempt it.”

Crap, I should have listened to her and turned around.

* * *

“Status report,” asked Ashra’Lur.

“Tractor beam operational, rotating the ship to avoid torpedo fire.”

“How is the tractor beam holding up?”

“All systems nominal, power is stable, it can’t escape.”

“These smaller crafts have jump engines, can he get away using it?”

“Negative, Master. It would rip the ship to pieces if the pilot attempts it. He will be sacrificing his life for nothing.”

Ashra’Lur smiled broadly. She was satisfied with her new weapon. It would open up new tactical avenues to fight the Alliance in the future, and no doubt, Asrak’Vor would reward her for her ingenuity. Not that she needed his approval in the first place.

“What should we do with the ship, Master?” asked one of her officers.

“Can we get access to its computer through the tractor beam?”

“I’ll give it a try…”

After a few moments, the officer delivered his report on the hack.

“Most systems have multiple firewalls, and the wireless link’s bandwidth through the tractor beam doesn’t allow for a thorough hack. Furthermore, the other starfighters are scrambling toward our position. I did manage to get the name of the pilot by enhancing sensor visuals, though.”

Did it really matter who piloted that ship? She wondered.

“And?” she said, not thinking much of it.

“Commander Daniel Tharraleos.”

The name rang a bell somehow. In the multiple security bulletins they had of Alliance personnel, the name appeared multiple times as a close friend to the one they called Chase.

Ashra’Lur’s smile widened even more.

“Target that ship and destroy it.”

“The explosion could damage the tractor beam, Master.”

“It doesn’t matter, now that we know the technology works, we’ll rebuild it. Killing the commander is of bigger value to me. Fire at will!”

* * *

“Commander, Jake here,” said Alpha Two over the comms. “I’m bringing the rest of Alpha Squadron with me for another pass and try to take out that tractor beam.”

Daniel didn’t like the idea of putting the entire squadron at risk to save his own ass, but under the circumstance, he didn’t have much of a choice.

“Roger that, but please don’t take any unnecessary risks.”

“With all due respect, Commander, do you mean like the kind of risks you just took?”

Daniel bit his lip. “Yeah.”

Daniel’s ship rocked heavily and sparks started flying all around him. The spider ship was pounding his Mark III with everything they had. His shields had recharged while the tractor beam had grabbed it earlier, but at the current rate of fire, they’d fail quickly.

“Commander, we’re micro-jumping in, hang on.”

“Understood,” said Daniel, his eyes locked on the shield’s level inside his HUD.

They were dropping at an alarming rate. Daniel redirected power from the weapons thrusters as well as power from life support. It strengthened the shields, but that would only buy him a handful of seconds.

Dammit! I should have known better!

Daniel, said Allanah. I’m getting a strange reading on the long-range sensors.

Friend or foe?

Because the grid is not up to full power, I can’t tell. But it’s approaching fast.

The rest of Alpha Squadron engaged the cloaked spider ship, but they were firing blindly based on the position of the tractor beam as their only point of reference. Daniel’s advanced sensors were unable to transmit the full sensor data because the tractor beam generated too much interference.

Daniel’s ship rocked more and more. The enemy ship didn’t divert any part of its firepower to deal with the rest of Alpha Squadron. They were determined to bring him down.

This may end up being a short command after all.

Allanah, are you still there? Daniel thought, hoping she was still connected to his mind.

I’m here. The ships aren’t making a dent to the spider ship’s shields. I don’t know what to do.

I know. Can you please give Chase a message for me if I don’t make it?

Don’t! You’re gonna make it.

We both know my chances are less than optimal.

In fact, Daniel thought his odds of survival were pretty much zero at this point. His shields were down to ten percent. Another ten seconds, at most, and he’d be history. He had already siphoned every bit of juice from all his systems. He even redistributed power from the starboard shields to boost the port ones, but there was nothing else he could do.

His shields dropped down to seven percent.

Tell Chase I’m sorry and that I believe in him, and tell him thanks for being the best brother I could ever have wished for.

Understood.

Two-dozen shots hit his shields and they dropped. The next two shots broke off chunks of his ship’s armor, and the glass of his cockpit cracked.

Goodbye, Chase. I’m sorry.

Right as Daniel had the thought, his cockpit was plunged into total darkness, and he thought he had been sucked into space but quickly realized he was still sitting inside his cockpit. Every possible alarm and warning on his HUD blinked like mad—structural integrity, shields, power levels, they were all fluctuating uncontrollably.

“What have you gotten yourself into this time?” asked Chase over the comms.

Daniel took a deep breath of relief.

“Oh, man, you have no idea how good your timing is.”

“Trust me, I know exactly, and you can thank the gods the Asgardian jump engines on the Hope are resilient even when pushed way over their safe limits. Can your ship fly?”

Daniel checked his systems and redistributed the power to the thrusters and shields as well as life support. His controls refused to respond.

“That’s a negative, I’m afraid.”

“Alright, it ain’t no thing. I’ll beam you aboard your station. I’m requesting they lower their shields.”

“Wait, you’ll have to lower yours as well. What about the spider ship?”

“Let me worry about that, okay?”

“Chase?”

“Yeah.”

“Thank you, brother.”

“Anytime.”

Daniel was beamed out of his starfighter, and before he knew it, he was on solid ground on board Alkyon One.

* * *

The Hope opened fire on the source of the tractor beam, which had locked onto part of the Alliance destroyer now that the shields were down. Once confirmation of Daniel safely beamed onto Alkyon One, Chase returned his attention to taking down the spider ship.

“Shields up!”

“They won’t activate with that tractor beam locked onto us,” said his tactical officer, Commander David Alwin Linebaugh, who was also Chase’s first officer.

Chase swore. “Then lock on that tractor beam and take it out,” said Chase.

“Yes, Admiral. Target locked.”

“Use the primary plasma cannon at max power.”

“This will disable most systems on our ship for thirty seconds.”

“Perhaps, but it will take down that tractor beam for sure, and I have a feeling it will do enough damage to that tiny ship so they reconsider staying in this fight. Just to be on the safe side, have the Alkyonidon Station squadron take a defensive position around us.”

Just in case.

“Aye, Admiral, orders away and firing now.”

The Hope fired a constant and focused stream of golden plasma toward the point where the tractor beam originated. The result was nearly instantaneous. An explosion cut the beam, and the spider ship’s cloak flickered, showing part of the ship in space for short periods of time.

“Keep firing,” said Chase.

Eventually, three more explosions appeared nearby, and the cloak of the spider ship failed entirely and faded into existence.

I see you, thought Chase.

The lights inside the bridge turned off, the low, nearly imperceptible rumbling of the engines died down, and the main weapon stopped firing.

“We’re in the dark for thirty seconds. Now we better hope they can’t fire at us during that time,” noted Commander Linebaugh.

On the bridge, the emergency lights turned on, allowing Chase and the rest of the officers to see each other.

“Don’t wait for my order, the moment power is restored, raise shields and destroy that ship, all batteries, all torpedo bays.”

“With pleasure,” said the commander.

Time seemed to crawl, with the Hope effectively disabled for the next twenty-five seconds, and all that remained now was to wait.

* * *

Ares materialized in energy form onboard the Odin only to see Poseidon collapsed on the floor.

“Shields up!” screamed Thor, who was by Poseidon’s side. “And beam Poseidon directly to med-bay, have them treat his wounds and put him into a regen tank ASAP.”

“Yes, my King,” said one of his officers.

Poseidon was beamed away, and Thor rose to his feet, anger burning in his eyes like active volcanoes. His facial tattoos flashing stronger than Ares had ever seen them.

“Are the Aegir’s shields back up?”

“They aren’t,” answered the Asgardian officer.

“Then destroy that ship. Fire everything we’ve got!” he screamed.

“Bringing all weapons to bear. Firing.”

The Odin took the Aegir’s plating off piece by piece with every shot and every quantum torpedo. Within seconds, its structural integrity failed completely, and the ship exploded in a bright-orange inferno.

“I thought you said we couldn’t kill Siegfried that way,” said Ares.

“There’s no harm in trying, and the lack of a ship will at least slow him down.”

“That makes sense,” said Ares without much confidence behind his words. “Are you okay, Thor?”

The Asgardian King was covered in bruises and gushing wounds, but Ares was more worried about his pride and current mental state.

“I’ll live,” Thor said sharply.

Once the dust settled outside the viewport, a bright-white energy engulfed a single man.

“On screen, zoom in,” ordered Thor.

The massive holo-screen filled with the image of Siegfried with a big smile on his face. He was completely unscathed.

“That’s not possible,” said one of the officers.

“What will it take to kill this Guard?” asked Ares.

Thor shot daggers at Ares, who promptly realized that he shouldn’t have uttered that title in front of the crew.

“Guard?” said another officer. “I thought they were a legend to scare children to sleep.”

Good job, Ares, said an annoyed Thor inside Ares’s mind.

I’m sorry. I should have kept my mouth shut.

“This man,” said Thor between gritted teeth, “is an enemy of Asgard. You’re sworn to secrecy about everything you’ve seen and heard here, under penalty of death.”

Isn’t that a little extreme? argued Ares.

My ship, my kingdom, my rules. Please stay out of it. You’ve caused enough damage as it is.

Ares wanted to complain that the damage had been Odin’s and Zeus’s to start with, and that without his help, they would all be dead, but that only confirmed what he sensed earlier in Thor, a mind in turmoil, governed by rage.

Very well, I’ll check on Poseidon, then.

You do that.

* * *

“Keep firing at the man,” ordered Thor, after sitting down on his command throne.

The Odin resumed firing toward Siegfried, but nothing could penetrate the shield that he had erected around himself. Eventually, the Guard moved. He unleashed a flurry of fireballs toward the Asgard flagship.

The ship rocked heavily, and lights inside the bridge flickered madly.

“Shields can’t take much of this!” complained his tactical officer.

Crazy bastard, he will create space-time anomalies. Unless that’s what he wants.

“Recommending we jump away,” said the Asgardian tactical officer.

“No! Keep firing.”

“But it has no effect, my King.”

“Keep—Firing!” insisted Thor, his voice stone cold.

Meanwhile, outside the viewport, Siegfried stopped throwing small fireballs at the ship and raised his hands upward. A large fireball grew over his head at an impressive speed.

None of the Odin’s weaponry was having the slightest effect on Siegfried, and before Thor could give another order, the Guard hurled the now massive bright-white fireball toward the ship. Upon impact with the Odin, the fireball lit up the shields around the entire ship, and they flickered rapidly for a couple of seconds.

“Shields are down!” shouted the tactical officer in alarm.

Thor growled. “Hyperspace, now.”

“I can’t activate the engines, sir.”

“Why not?”

“I—I don’t understand how this is possible,” said the officer, his voice trembling, “but there’s a small black hole forming on our port side, and it’s growing quickly.”

“Sub-light engines, maximum power, get us out of here before we’re trapped in the gravitational pull of the anomaly.”

The Odin’s engine whined while the ship barely moved.

“Divert all power to the sub-light engines, including life support,” ordered Thor.

The engines roared more, and the ship started moving and attaining a steadier velocity.

“Time until we are free of the gravitational pull and able to jump away?” asked Thor.

“Two minutes, give or take.”

We don’t have two minutes.

And Thor was proven right as Siegfried went in pursuit and started blasting off large chunks of the Odin’s armor with successive attacks.

“We’re not gonna make it, power fluctuating,” said the tactical officer.

“We need a diversion. Can we beam pentalium off the engines and into space?”

“That has never been attempted,” said the tactical officer. “Furthermore, if you’re going to do what I think you’re going to do, without shields we may not survive the blast, sir.”

“And without the diversion, we won’t survive, period. We don’t have a choice. Prepare to beam half of our reserves of pentalium right in front of the man’s fly path, lock that exact target with four quantum torpedoes and fire.”

“Sir, I must object⁠—”

Thor’s eyes turned bright green. “Do as I say or we’re all dead, NOW!” screamed Thor.

“Very well, locking target, transport in progress…firing torpedoes.”

“Everyone,” said Thor, “you’d better brace for impact.”

The moment the quantum torpedoes impacted with the rock-size amount of pentalium in space, an explosion turned the area as bright as the creation of a supernova would and engulfed Siegfried in its center.

The ship rocked heavily, and multiple consoles on the bridge exploded. Thor was the only one that managed to stay steady on his throne. The rest of his crew stumbled around with some being ejected from their stations.

The viewport cracked briefly before a seal could be instantly created by an emergency force field. The security feature saved everyone on the bridge while additional explosions happened in front of the ship.

Siegfried was nowhere to be seen, and he had stopped firing his attacks at the Odin, but the shockwave of the explosion was tearing the ship to shreds nonetheless.

“Structural failure imminent,” said the Odin’s female computer voice. “Breaches in deck one, three, four, twelve, seventeen, and twenty to twenty-five. Fire on multiples decks.”

“We’re not gonna make it!” screamed a nearby officer.

“If we don’t,” retorted Thor, “my Father will welcome us to Valhalla with open arms. Try the jump engines, now.”

“Power fluctuations are too erratic to spark the engines,” said a nearby engineer.

“Use emergency power systems to compensate and override safety alerts.”

“We could blow up the ship,” said the officer.

“We’re dead anyway if we don’t try, just do as I say,” Thor screamed.

Light flooded the bridge as the Odin entered hyperspace.

* * *

Siegfried felt the world around him burn like ten thousand suns exploding all at the same time, with more energy than he had ever felt in his entire existence, but the shield protecting him deflected the brunt of the blast, and he used his healing power to mend his body.

Each time massive heat waves burned his skin, he healed it quickly, but that took all his focus to stay ahead of the damage being done to his body by the radiation leaking through his shield.

Soon, the explosion diffused enough that he decided to drop his shield and siphon the rest of the explosion inside his body instead, recharging his now dwindling power levels.

It took only a couple of seconds for the Asgardian Guard’s body to siphon all the energy exploding around him, and, for a moment, his entire body flashed a bright white, resembling a cross-shaped star in the emptiness of space.

Once his body had assimilated the energy, Siegfried felt more powerful than he ever did before.

I may have failed to bring you down today, Thor, but thanks for the power up.

10

“Report!” growled Ashra’Lur.

“Power grid overloaded, shields and weapons are down, and so is the cloak,” said the arachnoid officer.

“Where did that ship come from? And why didn’t we detect it earlier?”

“Its jump engines signature is Asgardian, which might explain why we didn’t detect them until they were upon us. They are traveling faster than other ships in this dimension, and they are mostly undetectable by our sensors until they jump back to sub-light.”

Ashra’Lur growled.

“I’ll put our best engineers to work on a workaround,” added the officer.

“Indeed…Can we get out of here?”

“The power grid is too weak for a long jump, but we could jump a small distance.”

The female Spectre sensed two very powerful life forces on board the Alliance ship and was intrigued.

“Beam me up inside that ship, as far away from any life forms as you can, and jump away. Get ready to jump back here on a moment’s notice and beam me back to the ship.”

“Is that wise?” asked another officer.

Ashra’Lur turned toward the female arachnoid who had just spoken.

“Master,” she added.

But those were her last words as Ashra’Lur burned a hole through her chest.

“Anyone else have suggestions as to how I decide to command my missions?”

The bridge stayed dead silent.

“Very well, then,” she continued. “You have your orders. And take the trash out while I’m away. Initiate transport.”

Ashra’Lur was engulfed in red-orange streaks of light and vanished from the bridge.

* * *

Ryonna prepared herself for the assault she knew would come any moment now. She took a defensive fencing stance, holding her nano blade with both hands over her head, the blade pointing forward.

The ship’s computer was right. When the Xenixes finally moved, they did so in perfect synchronicity, and they were faster than she could have ever anticipated.

They moved so fast weaving in and out in front of one another that they sometimes seemed like the same creature.

When they reached her position, they split at the exact time Ryonna slashed her blade, missing all three of them. Two of the felines ripped some of her clothes with small chunks of her skin along the way, while the last one who had jumped higher, clawed her deeply in the left shoulder.

“I believe,” said the ship’s computer, “I should have insisted on how very fast these creatures can be.”

With three deep wounds, Ryonna could confirm. “Yeah, the suckers are indeed fast.”

One of the creatures sniffed heavily and looked over at Jax, then roared. The other two turned their attention toward her still unconscious husband while Ryonna counted down in her head.

Thirty-seven, thirty-six…

“Hey!” she screamed. “You’re not done with me!”

All three Xenixes turned their heads toward her, their eyes glowing with thirst for more blood.

That’s right, try this again on me and see what happens.

“Come, kitties, don’t make me wait.”

The nearest Xenix roared, and they were all on the move again.

Ryonna consciously lowered her heartbeat to find the perfect mind-to-body balance, in that state of hyperfocus, she could perceive fast movement with more ease and increase her reflexes.

As the first Xenix went for a similar attack toward one of her moves, she smiled as she slashed her blade with acute precision, slashing the beast’s head off, all the while anticipating the second attack, by turning upon herself and sending the second creature flying to the side with a powerful thrust of her knee that landed in the jaw of the yelping creature.

It was at this exact moment she felt large fangs pierce her weapon-wielding shoulder, followed by an intense jolt of pain.

Big mistake biting me!

She grabbed the neck of the creature still lodged onto her shoulder and swiveled her blade, cutting the creature in half. She then applied more pressure to the back of the creature’s neck in order to free her shoulder from its fangs and face and dropped the bloody upper part of the Xenix body to her side.

She had suffered through four large wounds, and the radiating pain in her right hand forced her to drop her blade.

The last Xenix recovered and looked at her while unleashing a terrifying roar.

Eleven…ten…

Part of her hoped seeing his companions dead on the ground would make the creature think twice about attacking her again, but it also glanced at the weapon on the ground, licked some of Ryonna’s blood off its fangs, and darted forward, mouth wide open.

So be it then, let’s do this the hard way.

Ryonna grabbed one of her blasters and quickly set it to overload, but by then, the creature was upon her, so she sacrificed her forearm by letting the Xenix bite into it.

Ryonna put the overloading blaster back on her magnetic belt. She would need her free hand for this next part. She grabbed the Xenix still attached to her right arm and, with the help of her other hand, brought it nearer to her head, where Ryonna went for the Xenix’s ear and bit it off, spitting it on the ground.

Two can play at this game, bitch!

The Xenix’s reaction was exactly what she had been hoping for, even though Ryonna had lost a lot of blood already, not to mention both her forearm bones had been crushed by this last bite, but she pushed through the pain. It would take more than three fancy felines to take her out.

The Xenix opened its mouth in pain and roared. Ryonna grabbed the incredibly warm overloading blaster, burning her hand in the process and lurched the weapon inside the Xenix’s unsuspecting mouth.

She then gathered every little bit of strength she had left and performed an inverse somersault kick, sending the Xenix flying upward before its head exploded in blood and guts all over her.

Three…two.

Ryonna barely stuck the landing and stumbled forward.

“Tell me what to do next,” she said, her voice barely registering.

“Find an epinephrine hypo-tube in the med-kit, the one with the red band, and inject Jax with it, dead center of his chest, and preferably within the next ten seconds.”

Easier said than done. Ryonna had to muster whatever strength she had left not to lose balance and consciousness. She released her mind-to-body balance technique and made sure her heartbeat increased, as it was paramount her blood flow accelerated for her to find the strength to do what needed to be done.

Ryonna took a few steps forward and let herself crash near the med-kit, she struggled to find the right hypo-tube, but finally wrapped her fingers around it and injected Jax as instructed before passing out.

* * *

The lights came back to life as the main power was restored on the bridge of the Hope.

“Raising shields,” said the commander. “Targeting the ship and f—” but then he stopped. “They’re gone, they’ve just jumped away.”

“Lower condition red to yellow,” said Chase.

“Yes, Admiral.”

“Damage report?”

“Minor damage to deck five and six where the tractor beam impacted with our hull jumping out of hyperspace. The automated nano-bots have been dispatched. We also blew up a couple of power conduits firing our main guns so early after jumping out, but nothing serious. I’ve sent a team of engineers to take care of the repairs.”

“Thank you, Commander.”

“Admiral!”

“What is it?”

“I believe we have an intruder alert on deck seven.”

Chase didn’t have to expand his consciousness very far to sense the tremendous amount of power coming from that deck. Not only did someone beam onboard his ship, but that someone was a Spectre.

“Return alert to condition red, let both Alkyonidon Station and the Alliance headquarters know that we have a Spectre on board. Beam me up to deck seven, right next to the intruder.”

Blue streaks of light engulfed Chase, and everything changed around him. He was in the middle of the hydroponics bay. He turned around just in time to block in his palm an incoming fireball. He crushed the energy sphere into a million small specks of light.

“You’re on my ship,” said Chase. “Identify yourself.”

“I don’t owe you anything, Fury,” said Ashra’Lur, smirking. “Except a swift death.”

“I’m not that easy to kill.”

“Why don’t we put that meaningless theory to the test?”

Rage threatened to overwhelm Chase. This was the first Spectre he met since Tanak’Vor had mortally wounded the most important person in his life. Chase’s blood boiled, and it felt as if lava was now running through his veins.

“You almost killed my best friend today, not to mention your kind took a lot away from me, so if death is what you’re after, I’ll be happy to abide.”

Ashra’Lur spat on the ground. “Less talk, more fight.”

Chase turned Ultra Fury and launched himself at Ashra’Lur. He punched her face as hard as he could muster. She skidded backward on the grassy ground of the hydroponics bay for a good ten paces before stopping, keeping her balance. A small trace of blood ran down one side of her lip, which she licked with her black tongue.

That’s not good. I put all my strength into that one punch.

“First time I’ve tasted my own blood. Your reputation is well deserved.”

“And what would that reputation be?”

“The Spectre killer. Not many people have defeated our kind in a single battle over the eons. You should be commended, really. But today you’ll pay for that affront to our race.”

“It is you that will pay the price for coming into my dimension.”

“I don’t think so.”

Ashra’Lur moved so fast Chase never saw her coming. She lodged her flexed elbow right into the center of his chest, knocking the wind out of him.

Chase stumbled backward two steps, gasping for air. The attack had been both powerful and executed at speeds Chase didn’t expect.

“You’re too slow, Fury. That will be your undoing.”

Chase spat blood on the ground before answering. “I thought we agreed to keep the chitchat to a minimum.”

It didn’t take long for Chase to regret his taunt, as Ashra’Lur unleashed a terrifying series of combos on him, one more powerful than the previous, sending him flying left and right, over and over, until she finally catapulted him toward the far-off wall of the hydroponics bay with a hammering uppercut.

Chase’s head was throbbing in pain as he struggled to stay awake. This Spectre was definitely as strong as Tanak’Vor had been. Which didn’t bode well when he thought that many of them were now in their dimension, but Chase forced himself not to worry about that now, and instead focused on the current fight.

She walked toward him slowly, raising her hand in the air. Chase was fully aware of what her next move would be, but he wasn’t about to let her try to suck away his soul.

He jumped back to his feet in a swift motion and raised his energy to the maximum; his orange aura grew tenfold as his hair flew upward.

“Don’t you dare try that trick on me,” said Chase as a wave of white energy traveled from his feet to his head, healing all his wounds instantly. “Fight me fairly!”

“You’re too slow. This is boring.”

Chase smiled. “That’s because I’m fighting you at three hundred gravity.”

She stopped short, a look of shock permeating her face.

“You’re bluffing. The gravity in this room is about the same as on most planets I’ve been on in this dimension.”

“In this room, perhaps, but I’m wearing these,” said Chase pointing at his ankle and wrists bracelets. “I think it’s about time I turn them off.”

Chase swiped the settings back to below one gravity. It was time to test the ultra speed setting and see if he could use it to his advantage. He immediately felt lighter, lighter than air, in fact.

“That’s more like it,” he added.

He started punching in front of him faster and faster to the point where his last punch unleashed a typhonic shockwave that sent Ashra’Lur flying and crashing yards away.

Before she could get up, he kneed her in the face and sent her hurtling toward the ceiling, but he was already there waiting for her, spinning in place at the center of a powerful cyclone. He hammered her down with a kick that dislodged multiple bones in her neck upon impact.

She screamed the short time it took for her to crash hard into the ground, which expelled a large quantity of fertile soil and grass blades into the air upon her impact.

Chase grabbed his bicep with one hand and used the other one as a cannon, unleashing wave after wave of fireballs toward the downed Spectre. Multiple explosions engulfed the Spectre in a scorching inferno.

* * *

Aphroditis screamed as she woke up from a night terror, panting heavily, beads of sweat running over her burning skin.

Athena burst into the room.

“What’s going on? Are you alright?”

“I—I had a nightmare.”

“You’ve been having a lot of those lately, but the real question is, are they nightmares or visions?”

“If they’re visions, they don’t feel like they used to.”

“That could have something to do with your experience being tortured by the Pandora device.”

“I sure hope these are just nightmares.”

“Why?”

“Because unlike visions, where I could see multiple futures unfold based on certain actions Chase and his friends would take, this one is showing me only one terrifying canvas.”

“What did you see?”

“I don’t remember all of it, but Chase, Argos, and even Chris are involved. I get the feeling the coming war will shatter this family.”

“How?”

“I—I don’t know, it’s all blurry now, but I get that definite feeling they’re heading toward a very dark place. It’s like nothing I’ve ever experienced, like it’s not even our universe. I’m sorry, I know I’m not making much sense.”

“Not necessarily, as Ares said he went to the dimension of the Spectres, and like you he described it as feeling nothing like our universe. Maybe that’s what you saw, glimpses of the alternate dimension.”

“Perhaps, but if that’s the case, it’s a terrible place, dark, cold, but more importantly, loveless.”

“Loveless?”

“Yes. In our universe, love is a major force for good. It’s what bonds us together, why we fight, why we’re so resilient. In that place in my dreams, I felt no love whatsoever.”

“That doesn’t sound very good.”

“It isn’t. As a matter of fact, any absolutes are always a bad thing.”

“I don’t follow.”

“Well, like cold cancels fire, light repels the darkness, only loveless beings can truly hope to defeat those who embrace it.”

“I see.”

“There’s something else, but I’m not sure I should tell you.”

“Why not?”

“Because it may give you false hope. These night terrors might just be that, nightmares. I wouldn’t want you to think we can count on the information I get from them.”

“You’ve seen Menelas, haven’t you?”

Aphroditis nodded.

“I have, too, in my dreams, I mean. I can’t explain it, but I can sense it in my heart that he’s alive. What else can you tell me?”

“Not much, except…”

“Except what?”

“I shouldn’t have said anything.”

“Well, now it’s too late, so please, tell me and don’t worry about my feelings.”

“I only caught a glimpse of him. He seemed not like himself, and he was with a…”

“Yes?”

“Another woman.”

“Oh…I see.”

“Please understand I had no context to know what their relationship could be.”

“That’s okay, I trust him. I know he wouldn’t betray me, not consciously anyway.”

“There it is, that unconditional love that is our strength, that defines us, even if many don’t realize it in their lifetime. The one thing the Spectres will try to rip away from us among our souls.”

“We won’t let them.”

“I hope with all my heart that you’re right.”

“We haven’t been through two devastating Fury wars and all the pain they entailed to let an emotionless bunch of soul robbers bring us down.”

“And yet the one thing I remember is seeing souls being tormented. I only hope that’s just an echo of my own torment while I was trapped and not a sign of things to come.”

* * *

Talon observed Tar’Lock pacing between two points in the captain’s ready room that to an untrained human eye looked as if he were in two places at once.

“You’re making me nervous,” said Talon.

“Sorry,” said Tar’Lock, staying in place. “I’m nervous myself.”

Talon chuckled. “Oh, really? I wouldn’t have guessed.”

Tar’Lock tilted his head slightly to the side.

“That’s called sarcasm.”

“Oh…right.” Tar’Lock smiled.

“It’s going to be okay, my friend, we’ll find her.”

“I wish I shared your confidence.”

“When have I ever led you astray?”

“Never, I suppose, then again, I don’t keep all my memories.”

“Never is the right answer, and I don’t intend to disappoint you on this one, believe me. I know all too well how you feel. At least you have hope of finding her.”

“Sorry, I didn’t want to bring back painful memories with my comment.”

“I know you didn’t, don’t worry about it. While it still hurts to this day, I have learned to live with it.”

“I hear Lieutenant Rauda in engineering is quite fond of her captain.”

Talon smiled. “Is she now? I’m not there yet.”

“There yet?”

“I’m not ready to open my heart to anybody at the moment. Hopefully, that day will come, but for the time being, I’m trying to take life one day at a time. And my current worries are about whether or not I can do a good job as an Alliance captain.”

“You’ve done it before. I’m sure you’ll find your mark in no time.”

“What do you mean find my mark?”

Tar’Lock clicked so quickly it almost sounded like a chirp. “I meant you’re doing a good job already.”

“Good save.”

The Helios jumped out of hyperspace.

“Looks like we’ve arrived at our destination,” said Talon.

“Should we go to the bridge?”

“No, I’m keeping this one off the books. I don’t want my first act on record to have been contacting and colluding with a known felon.”

“You forgot convicted.”

“I see you read the file I gave you.”

“Just trying to lighten the mood.”

“There’s no need. I’m big enough of a man to admit that we need his help, no matter if we wished there were another way.”

Any other way, in fact.

Talon had a polarizing way about himself, and he was passionate about what he did. If that meant being a smuggler, forget his past life, and turn to more than a questionable life trajectory, well, once his mind was made up, he would go all in. Taking this command was no different. Now that he was back in an official capacity, he would give it his all.

Which was why contacting a Datalight Thief was less than ideal and why he didn’t want the crew to know about it if it could be avoided. But Altair himself had given him this mission, and he was very well aware both his commanding officer and his best friend depended on him to make sure it succeeded.

“So, what, we’re just not gonna let them know where we’re going?”

“That’s exactly what we’re going to do, which means, we won’t have a safety net.”

“I’m your safety net.”

Talon raised an eyebrow. “Are you, now?”

“Well, I can run really fast, as you know. That’s always come in handy for me.”

Talon interacted with his desk holo-console. “I’d rather we don’t have to do any running and hope Thomson will be in a good mood. Speaking of which, we’re ready to beam down.”

Tar’Lock nodded. “Let’s get this show on the road.”

“Did anyone ever tell you that you spend way too much time around humans?”

“Technically, untrue, but I do watch a lot of their TV broadcasts.”

Talon pressed a holo-control, and they both vanished from the ready room.

11

Menelas moaned as he struggled to blink his eyes open. He tried moving his arms but they refused. He blinked multiple times to clear the crust around the corners of his eyes.

“I’m sorry about that,” said Diaspira.

Menelas looked around, his limbs where bound around a levitating metallic-circle device. He tried bringing his powers to the surface and received multiple electrical discharges, resulting in intense pain.

The pain sent his mind into a quick flashback where he was rotting in a prison, being tortured and questioned.

“Why the hell am I tied up?”

“I have my reasons. I don’t expect you to understand.”

“You have a funny way of showing your gratitude for your life being saved.”

“Well, technically, I saved yours as well.”

“That remains to be seen.”

“I just need to run a few tests on you. If you cooperate, you can go free afterward.”

“And if I don’t?”

Diaspira dropped the device she was working on and stepped right in front of Menelas, looking him in the eyes. Her look no longer carried any signs of empathy or kindness. She seemed like a totally different person now.

“I suggest you do as I say, running my scans on you doesn’t require you to be breathing actually.”

“If that were true, why not just kill me?”

“Having been alone for so long, I thought I might enjoy the company. I suggest you don’t make me regret that decision.”

“Who are you, really?”

“My name is Diaspira. Let’s just say I’m older than you can possibly imagine.”

“You look good. Technically, I’m over ten thousand years old myself…but that’s kind of an accident.”

“So, you’ve been to the other dimension?”

Menelas frowned. Has he given her too much information? He wondered.

“Don’t be surprised,” she said. “I’ve run tests on you. You’re not an immortal. Furies can live rather long lives, but compared to my kind, you’re as ephemeral as insects. And make no mistake, I have no problem crushing insects that get in my way.”

“I believe you. There is something that’s been on my mind, though.”

“And what would that be?”

“Why didn’t you just puke your portal and escape earlier?”

“Atlantian prisons have technology that prevents this particular device from working. I needed some muscles to get free, and you just happened to fall into my lap. Which makes me wonder, how the hell did you end up in this part of space?”

“I have no idea. One minute I was fighting a foe, the next, he attacked me with a black hole…something, and I woke up in the same cell as you.”

“Then the gods are favoring me. I had been praying for over a century for a way to escape that hellhole.”

“I take it you and the Atlantians don’t see eye to eye.”

“It’s a long story, and I have to get back to my work now. Let’s just say that those who are left hate what’s left of my kind.”

“And that would be?”

Diaspira smiled as she grabbed a device from her pocket and activated it. More electrical current than Menelas thought possible to endure flooded through his body. Menelas could not hear his own screams over the constant and unbearable amount of pain his body was subjected to.

* * *

Chase stopped his attacks when he was satisfied with the amount of firepower he had unleashed onto his foe. His aura died down, turned from orange to purple, and his hair fell back to its normal position.

The intruder’s skin was burned everywhere, and she collapsed on the ground, face first. Smoke and an unpleasant odor rose from her corpse.

I guess these bracelets did help make me stronger. I’ll have to thank Yanis later.

Chase opened a channel. “I’ve taken care of our intruder. Have the doc conduct an autopsy. Perhaps we can learn more about how to fight them.”

“Admiral, we’re still detecting two life forms in hydroponics.”

“Are you certain?”

Before Chase could get an answer, Ashra’Lur jumped in the air and unleashed a powerful shockwave toward him, taking him by surprise. He catapulted backward when he felt a telekinetic hold stop him midair.

The Spectre’s hold on him was very strong, so Chase turned into an Ultra Fury once more, but even in that form, he couldn’t break the telekinetic bond.

Meanwhile, Ashra’Lur flexed all her muscles. Dried and burnt skin cracked on her body and fell to the ground, turning into black dust. The new fresh dark skin made her look unscathed.

“That’s a nice little trick,” said Chase between gritted teeth.

“As was your speed trick. Once I get your soul, I think I’ll steal these nifty little devices off your corpse.”

“You’re never getting my soul.”

“You couldn’t be more wrong,” she smirked.

She opened her right palm, and a small siphon created at its center.

“With your powerful soul, I’ll become the strongest Spectre ever to live.”

Chase pushed his energy levels to the maximum, screaming and roaring, letting anger and pure rage fuel his body and mind. Little by little he managed to move, only if inches at a time.

“Oh, no, you don’t!” she shouted.

Ashra’Lur interrupted her current attack and threw both her hands to the side, and large lightning bolts shot from the power conduits on each side of the hydroponics bay and hit Chase full frontal.

The electrical current paralyzed Chase once more.

I have to get myself out of this mess, and fast. I’m burning through all my energy reserves trying to fight this hold.

“You were saying?” she gloated. “Now, I believe you owe me a soul.”

“I—” Chase had a hard time forming words under his current pain levels. “I don’t owe you anything.”

“You owe me more than you could ever know. But fear not, once you’re part of my collection, everything will be made clear.”

This time Ashra’Lur opened her mouth, and inside, a powerful siphon appeared. Chase felt the pull on his soul. He knew that sensation well. Tanak’Vor had almost defeated him that way, just like he had siphoned Poseidon’s before Chase reintegrated it into the fallen Olympian’s body after killing the Spectre.

Chase focused on fighting against the pull, but he was fighting on multiple fronts, and it felt like a losing battle. He couldn’t fail Sarah now, he just couldn’t.

Part of Chase’s blue soul moved slightly outside his body, but Chase ignored the pain and telekinetic hold and instead focused every molecule of his energy into bringing his soul back into his body.

“Impressive,” said Ashra’Lur. “I’ve never seen anyone do that before. But it doesn’t matter. Eventually, you’ll be too tired. But you know what, let me make it easier for you.”

Ashra’Lur’s mouth opened twice the size like no humanoid head Chase had ever seen before, and the intensity of the soul siphon tripled in size and pull. The change of power almost made Chase’s focus slip, and a third of his soul was already out of his body before he regained control and fought the pull with all his might.

“That’s it,” she gloated. “Almost there.”

Chase had to ignore how creepy it was for the Spectre to still be able to speak while performing her soul siphon with her mouth. When Chase countered her pull, three red fireballs created and spun around her before darting forward and hitting Chase’s chest. With each impact, Chase lost a bit of ground, inch by inch.

Noooooooo! I can’t let her win. It can’t end like this.

Chase sent a telepathic message all around him.

Help! Someone, please help.

If only Argos or his son were here, they’d be able to get him out of this mess. Chase’s focus started dwindling, and for a moment, he thought he saw Sarah’s face in front of his soul, smiling at him.

His soul’s right hand reached forward, trying to touch her face.

I’m sorry, Sarah, I’m so sorry.

“That’s it, Chase, let it g⁠—”

But Ashra’Lur never finished her sentence when five powerful purple fireballs hit her full front and sent her crashing toward the wall, cracking it upon impact.

Chase’s soul snapped right back inside his body with full force, and both the lightning and telekinetic hold on his body were released at once. He stumbled backward but managed to maintain his balance.

Nyx stepped next to him. She was already in Ultra Fury mode as she gave him a short glance while walking toward the Spectre.

“I’ve got this,” said Nyx.

“No! We must unite our forces,” Chase insisted.

Nyx stopped but didn’t look back. “I’ll let you know if I need your assistance.”

Ashra’Lur shrieked and screamed her frustration as she sent three black fireballs toward Nyx.

The Fury dodged the first two and sent the third one back to its origin, burning Ashra’Lur’s right shoulder.

The Spectre darted forward, pure madness and rage glowing through her red eyes.

“I’m going to rip you to shreds,” she screamed as she threw every possible combo at Nyx.

Nyx dodged every single attack, blocking here, dodging there, until she punched Ashra’Lur under the chin and sent her flying toward the ceiling. Nyx joined both her hands together and unleashed a flurry of fireballs toward the Spectre.

Chase had never witnessed such a speed of attack. After a few moments of pounding the Spectre over and over again, Nyx pushed her orange energy toward her right arm and sprinted toward Ashra’Lur, who was falling like a rock toward the ground.

Chase pushed his energy levels up, getting ready to add his firepower to the fight at a moment’s notice.

But before Nyx could slice the Spectre in two, Ashra’Lur pressed something on her wrist and beamed away. Nyx’s energy-blade arm slashed through empty air.

“Noooooooooooo!” screamed Nyx in frustration.

Chase let his aura die down, and Nyx followed suit.

“Thank you for saving me life,” said Chase.

Nyx walked passed him and knocked his shoulder with hers.

“Let’s not make a habit of this.”

Charming, as always.

* * *

When Ryonna opened her eyes, she experienced a claustrophobic reaction as she found herself submerged in water. Then she saw Jax through the glass and realized she was in a regen tank.

Jax was sleeping on a nearby chair. After the number of wounds and the loss of blood she lost defeating the pack of Xenixes, she was not surprised she needed to be put in the tank.

It appeared Jax had woken up after she treated him and was able to get them both back on board his ship.

Her mind became overwhelmed with a thousand questions. How could Jax be alive? Why didn’t he let her know? And what happened to Ronan?

Ryonna looked at the screen inside the regen tank and saw that her regeneration cycle was eighty-two percent complete.

That’s gonna have to be enough, she thought before finding the emergency abort control and pressing it.

The green liquid drained, and the door opened. She stepped out and coughed the remainder of the breathable liquid onto the floor of med-bay, waking Jax in the process.

“Hey, is your cycle over?”

She looked at some of her wounds. She hadn’t completely cicatrized fully, but she felt fine. Mostly.

“I’m good, don’t worry about me. What about you?”

“I’m good, thanks to yo⁠—”

But Ryonna punched Jax hard in the face before he could finish his sentence. He stumbled back, tripped on the chair, and fell onto the floor.

“Ouch. But I guess I deserved that,” he held his face. “You certainly haven’t changed.”

“You have. The man I married would never have let me believe he was dead. Ronan and I buried you for fuck’s sake.”

“You’re right, there’s no excuse.”

Ryonna’s blood boiled.

“You better have one hell of an explanation for this, or I’ll space you myself, and trust me, this time you’ll stay dead, but before that, where is my son?”

“In enemy hands, I’m afraid.”

“What? Which enemy?”

“Who else. The Spectres.”

The realization of her son being held by a race who enjoyed stealing people’s souls made her head spin, or perhaps she had interrupted the regen cycle too early after all. Either way, she lost balance and fell.

Jax ran toward her, but she slapped his helping hand away.

“Don’t touch me!”

“I’m sorry, Ryonna. I truly am.”

Her eyes were filled with rage. “It’s going to take more than that for me to ever forgive you.”

“I’m not looking for forgiveness, only your help in saving our son.”

“Then you better start talking, and fast.”

* * *

Talon and Tar’Lock beamed into a facility on the surface of the Eros Four planet. It was a highly industrialized metropolis holding hundreds of millions of souls.

A man sitting in front of an entire wall made of holo-screens swiveled on his chair. He wore sunglasses, which was peculiar seeing as the only light source in the room came from his holo-screens. He also bit on a pipe resting on the corner of his mouth.

“Hello, Talon, long time no see,” said Thomson before taking a long drag from his pipe.

“You do realize that smoking is illegal on Eros Four?” said Talon.

“Everything I do is illegal, but you knew that or you wouldn’t be here.”

“Hi,” said Tar’Lock.

“Oh, hello, are you a Gorgar?”

Tar’Lock nodded.

That seemed to pique Thomson’s interest as he quickly jumped from his chair and ran toward Tar’Lock, measuring him up from every angle.

“Why don’t you take a picture,” said Tar’Lock. “It’ll last longer.”

Talon could tell Thomson took a second to figure out that particular Earth’s colloquialism.

“Smart, I like that,” said Thomson.

The hacker took one more long drag from his pipe and blew the purple smoke on Tar’Lock’s face, who didn’t take long before coughing hard.

“That thing stinks!” he complained with a series of annoyed clicks. “What’s that stuff?”

“A highly potent mixture of plants. I make it myself. Highly hallucinogenic, but between you and me, it also helps me focus.”

Talon cleared his throat. “We don’t exactly have a lot of time here.”

“I take it,” answered Thomson, “that you won’t want a drink then?”

“You guessed right. Never while on duty.”

“Oh, yes, that explains why there’s an Alliance ship in orbit. It’s sticking out like a fat stinky Marshlak in this part of space. But I’m sure you’re well aware of that.”

“What’s a Marsh—thingy?” asked Tar’Lock.

“Trust me,” said Talon, “you don’t want to know.”

“So, what is it I can do for you today, gentlemen?”

“We’re looking for someone,” said Talon.

“You’re gonna have to be more specific.”

Talon removed a crystal from his captain’s jacket and handed it to Thomson.

“There’s information about an engine that scrambles its signature by rotating its frequency. All the data we have on it is on that crystal. We believe the person we’re after has boarded the ship with that elusive energy signature.”

Thomson grabbed the crystal and put it in a reader on his desk. Many of the holo-screens changed and filled with new data.

“Hmmm,” said Thomson. “Never seen anything like it before, but…”

“But what?” Tar’Lock said impatiently.

“I have heard of such stealth tech before. During the war, no less. There was a ship some of my colleagues tried to track every time they managed a short scan. They kept saying they couldn’t track it, that one moment it was there, one moment it wasn’t. We had a running joke about their overconsumption of illicit substances.”

“You mean like what you’re smoking?” said Tar’Lock, fanning the purple smoke away from his sensitive nostrils.

“Don’t knock it until you try it.”

“I’ll pass, thank you.”

“It’s common in my line of work to enhance one’s senses. The hallucinogenic is both a bonus and a kind of divine inspiration.”

Tar’Lock turned to Talon and whispered to him. “Divine?”

Talon dismissed Tar’Lock’s worries with a wave of his hand.

“Let’s get back to the matter at hand, if you don’t mind, Thomson.”

“Yeah, this is not your usual hack job. It will cost extra.”

“I seem to remember you owe me one.”

“This would make it a big one. Then you’d owe me.”

Talon sighed. “Sure, as long as it yields results, I’ll owe you for this.”

Tar’Lock clicked nervously.

Talon didn’t like the idea of having to trade favors with the likes of Thomson, not to mention having to return the favor at a later date, but as of this moment, he was their only lead.

“Alright, I’ll need at least a couple of hours to work on this. Why don’t you wait for me on floor seventy-six in the meantime.”

“What’s there?” asked Tar’Lock.

Thomson swiveled on his chair.

“My bar. It’s a nice place; you’ll like it. Take this,” he said as he handed Talon a data chip. “That will get you all the girls and gambling you want, my treat.”

“Thanks,” said Talon. “That’s very generous of you, but I think we’ll wait for you on your sh⁠—”

But Tar’Lock interrupted Talon with an annoying high-speed tapping on his shoulder.

“Excuse me,” said Talon, taking the data chip in anticipation of Tar’Lock’s explanation.

Thomson swiveled back in front of his holo-screens and got to work.

“What is it, Tar’Lock?”

“I’ve never been to such a place, and from the shows I’ve seen on Earth TV programs, gambling sounds fun.”

Talon shook his head. “Not exactly the kind of place Alliance personnel should be seen, especially in uniform.”

“That place is a zoo,” mumbled Thomson. “It’s loud, it’s foggy, nobody will notice you there. Go, don’t go, your choice, but I need to focus. Go away now.”

Tar’Lock smiled.

12

Argos and Chris flew toward the coordinates provided by Ka’Rij’s people. It had been a few hours since the Hellion Empire’s forces had tried to get inside the secure perimeter.

They really needed to see what it was that the enemy was after. On a tactical point, it made very little sense to keep attacking them only to suffer defeat and waste both equipment and manpower that way. Whatever it was, it was clearly more valuable to them than the life of their troops or their war mechs.

They stopped in midair over a mountain and hovered as Argos double-checked the coordinates. The sky was dark and lit up every few seconds as thunder stroke.

“Not the best day for a fly-out,” said Chris. “Why are we stopping?”

“We’ve reached the coordinates.”

Chris looked around him. “There’s nothing here.”

“It’s probably hidden underground, either inside the mountain or under.”

“We should not have accepted Altair’s offer to leave an Alliance ship behind, their sensors would detect a cavern, even miles deep into the planet’s crust.”

“Yeah, I thought the Alliance might need all their destroyers with the impending Spectre threats.”

“Probably, though I’m not sure one ship would make all that much difference.”

“Well, back when we were on opposite fences, the Destiny was just one ship, and it sure made one hell of a difference in preventing me going forward with my plans.”

“I suppose it did. Now what?”

“Now, we both expand our consciousness as far as we can and try to find clues on where to look next.”

A lightning bolt hit Chris, and thousands of smaller bolts sizzled all over his body.

“Chris! Are you alright?”

Chris smiled. “It kinda tickled, but I’m okay. I kinda sensed it in time and prepared myself.”

“If you sensed it, why didn’t you dodge it?”

“Because it would have hit you instead.”

Argos was relieved if a little surprised the accident didn’t inflict his nephew with more damage than a tickle. While most lightning wouldn’t cause any serious damage to a Fury, it usually provoked more than a tickle. Perhaps what Argos had been sensing lately when they trained was being confirmed.

Chris had managed to amp up his energy levels way more than Argos had in the same amount of time. Maybe it was because he was younger or simply because his physiology was different. Between the genetic engineering that had been used to make him grow faster and then Argos’a own experiment to slow down his fast-aging predicament as well as having human DNA may have made him an anomaly.

Though Argos doubted that it would make Chris stronger than Fury or Olympian DNA. While Argos was very skilled in this type of research, when the need arose, he would need to run tests to get a clearer picture. And with more decent equipment than anything the Dragonmen of Kyria had to offer.

“Did I say something wrong?” added Chris, as Argos appeared lost in thought.

“No, sorry, I was just thinking. Well, thanks, as I didn’t sense it coming, so I appreciate you using your body as a shield.”

“Sure thing, I wouldn’t be here if you hadn’t risked your life when…” but Chris let the words hang.

Argos wasn’t surprised. It wasn’t a good memory for either of them. During his battle with Tanak’Vor, Chase had accidentally fired a deadly attack at his son. Argos had managed to save his nephew, but they had both come very close to dying in the process.

“I get it. But you don’t owe me anything. I did what I did because it’s my role to protect you. I don’t want you to go into battle in the future thinking you have to save me.”

“There may come a time I’ll have to. Please don’t emulate my father in that regard. I’m a grown man, if I decide to sacrifice myself for someone else, it’s my choice, and mine alone.”

Argos couldn’t believe how wise Chris was for his age. And while he harbored a paternal instinct toward his nephew, he knew better than to try to convince him of anything Chris didn’t want to do.

Argos smiled. “Fair enough. But let’s get out of the sky. It doesn’t look like this storm is dying down.”

“Agreed. As a matter of fact, I think it’s only begun, and I have a feeling it’s gonna get worse.”

They both dropped under the protection of a cavern in the mountain. The sky increasingly lit up and the lightning strikes intensified.

Argos extended his consciousness, looking for life forms, and he picked up way too much wildlife, which didn’t help him in any way find a hidden or underground facility. Argos also realized they’d assumed they were looking for a facility when perhaps the thing the Hellion Empire was after was perhaps a resource of some kind.

“What if—” said Argos

“It’s a facility alright. I found it.”

“How did you⁠—”

Once again Chris answered preemptively to his uncle’s question.

“I’ve become overly connected to you when we’re in close range.”

Argos smiled. “So, basically, I don’t have a private life anymore?”

“I’m only sensing things, not exact thoughts. Don’t worry, I’m not prying either, just sensing your overall emotional state when we’re on missions. It helps me anticipate things a little better.”

As much as it pained Argos to admit it, Chris made a lot of sense. By being finely attuned to Argos’s emotional state, he could predict when to intervene. Even if Furies were great warriors, they were living, breathing, and most importantly, feeling beings. Everyone had thoughts or questions in the middle of combat. Even a trained elite warrior such as Argos.

That was especially truer now that Argos had switched sides. When he was fighting Chase and Chris, he had forcefully tried to block any and all emotions, thinking it would make him a better fighter, but that had only made things worse.

“You’re a different person now. I’d try to leave the past where it belongs,” said Chris as he put a hand on top of Argos’ shoulder. “I’m really proud of you, too.”

“I really must be broadcasting my thoughts.”

“It’s alright, Uncle, I get it.”

“Glad someone does. Where do we go?”

Chris jumped away from the cave and hung in the air before turning his head toward Argos.

“Follow me.”

* * *

Asrak’Vor beamed off his ship and into the command center of the facility. He was greeted by their engineer in charge. Their best arachnoid engineer, in fact.

“Welcome, Master. I was not informed of your visit.”

“Thank you. I wanted to see your progress with my own eyes.”

The engineer bowed. “As you command, please follow me.”

They arrived in front of a panoramic viewport that provided a prime view of the large dimensional gateway being constructed. The space outside the viewport was teeming with people working at incredible speeds.

“Are these the workers you’ve told me about?” asked Asrak’Vor.

“They are. The insectoid race called the Gorgar. Their physiology makes them the perfect slave race. Which probably explains why your brother used them to build a stronger Fury army.”

Tanak had indeed managed to find a good resource like the Gorgar but still managed to screw it up. A mistake Asrak would not repeat.

“And you’re sure you’ve not taken too many of them that it would raise suspicion?”

“Just as requested, we’ve made sure to isolate small remote groups on their planet that usually don’t interact with the rest of the population, making sure these specific workers wouldn’t be missed.”

“Good thinking. You’re to be commended.”

“Thank you, Master, I aim to please.”

“And was it hard to coerce them to do our bidding?”

“Not at all. Their brain and memory capacity is so weak that creating a device to control their brain patterns was child’s play. A simple implant emitting a specific frequency is all it took to have them obey like any drone would.”

“Makes you wonder why the Alliance ever decided against using them this way.”

“I believe they call it mercy, or empathy. The Earth Alliance, from the intel we’ve gathered, has a strict set of rules they abide by.”

“And that’s why they’ll be defeated. Only a fool would squander away such a workforce in exchange for principles or emotions. We won’t make the same mistake. We need to stay hidden until the gateway is complete, we must not raise suspicion from the Alliance. But once we have enough of a foothold on this dimension, these Gorgar will all be enslaved to do our bidding.”

“I’ve already started working on a larger mind control device that could work planet wide.”

“Glad to hear it. I like your forward thinking.”

The engineer bowed again. “My master is very kind to say so.”

“Anything else you think I should know?”

“As a matter of fact, I believe I’ve discovered the right frequency to induce artificial copulation cycles.”

Asrak’Vor smiled at the realization. Once they enslaved the Gorgars, they could then multiply them a hundred fold.

“They’d be a good foot soldier army, the sort of cannon fodder we could throw at the Alliance.”

“Those were my thoughts exactly.”

“You’ve done truly excellent work, Chief Skrom.”

“Thank you, Master.”

“When will the gateway be operational?”

“We should be able to test it within days.”

Good, I’m getting tired of having to hide from the Alliance scum. Soon, they’ll be the ones running and hiding from us.

“I’m looking forward to that day, Skrom. Now, if you’d please, I’d like to visit our prisoner.”

“Absolutely, Master, if you’ll be so kind as to follow me.”

* * *

Ronan had not eaten in days. Fortunately, his captors had provided him with water. He was getting pretty weak, though, and he wondered if his father had survived his wounds.

They had taken too much risk coming to this facility. And Ronan regretted not insisting enough that they bring the information about this base back to the Alliance. If his father hadn’t made it out alive, nobody would ever find him.

Ronan decided to stay hopeful that Jax had made it and that a rescue mission was on the way. In fact, in his current weakening state, that glimmer of hope was all Ronan had to hold onto. Sometimes he even fantasized about Alliance ground troops bursting into the facility, almost able to hear their boots in the distance.

He heard approaching footsteps, but they didn’t sound like Alliance boots. Perhaps today would be the day he was fed. It had been too long. The footsteps stopped in front of the doors as they split open, bathing the dark room with a yellow light.

Ronan had to blink multiple times to let his eyes adjust. Two men entered and approached him. One was an arachnoid that Ronan did not recognize, but the other one looked nothing like anything the Droxian young man had ever seen before. From their demeanor though, Ronan concluded that this black-skinned humanoid was of a higher rank.

The humanoid stepped in front of Ronan and inspected him.

“I’m glad you’re enjoying the show, but if you don’t feed me soon, there won’t be much left to look at.”

The humanoid ignored Ronan completely and turned toward the arachnoid.

“And you say this is a warrior race?” said Asrak’Vor.

“Yes, they’re called Droxians,” said Skrom. “They’re very good at waging war, even though on their own they’re very weak creatures, really.”

Untie me and I’ll show you who’s weak.

Asrak’Vor smiled. “Feisty, too, this one would like nothing else but try to take us on. I can sense it.”

Sense this, asshole.

Asrak’Vor locked his gaze with Ronan, the man’s eyes glowing red with clear anger sparkling in them.

“Let’s see what its soul is made of.”

What the hell is he talking about? No one can inspect a soul. Unles…

Ronan never finished his train of thought. He felt his soul leaving him. He looked around and saw a translucent blue version of himself floating outside his flesh and bone body.

The sensation was both weird and utterly terrifying. Ronan could sense that if the humanoid pulled more on his soul, it would snap out of his body, and Ronan would die.

“Hmmm,” said Asrak’Vor. “These souls would barely nourish us, and they’re too weak to power us up. Though, I suppose as a snack, they could do the trick.”

What the fuck? I’m a snack now?

“If I may, my Master, I believe this one is more valuable alive than dead. We are awaiting for the return of his father.”

So, my dad is alive?

Ronan was relieved at hearing the words. Thankfully, they had not found the enhanced universal translator his father had injected in him before their mission.

Without notice, Asrak’Vor released his pull, and Ronan’s soul snapped back inside his body. From the experience, Ronan assumed this humanoid was, in fact, a Spectre. They were the only beings he knew that could rip souls away.

“Don’t worry, Skrom, I just wanted to size up these Droxians. I’m not impressed.”

“This one hasn’t been fed in days and is also quite young. I believe they hold much stronger warriors. His father, for one, was harder to break than this one.”

I haven’t broken!

Then again, they hadn’t really interrogated Ronan much, and from the looks of it, they had focused their efforts on his father. Ronan wished he had followed his instincts instead of blindingly following his father on this mission he knew little about. It was too late for regrets now. There was no way to change the past.

All Ronan knew was that in the future, if he survived this ordeal, he would no longer discard his gut feelings.

“And you’re sure it was wise to let the father escape? With his knowledge of this place?”

“Our mind probe was very deep. He didn’t inform his government of this location. We then altered his mind to make sure he does what exactly we need him to do.”

“Good. We need the gateway to win this war. And you’re sure that weapon the Droxian holds is as dangerous as you think it is? I don’—”

But Asrak’Vor stopped short and turned his attention back to Ronan.

What weapon? What are they talking about? Father, what did you get me involved in?

“He can understand us,” said Asrak’Vor.

Oh, crap.

“Are you sure, Master?”

“I’m certain of it. I can sense he’s been reacting to what we’re saying. Scan him deeply for any tech that allows him to understand our language, and while you neutralize it, better wipe his mind so he doesn’t remember any of this.”

Ronan swore inside his mind.

“Yes, Master. However, I don’t believe he’ll survive a mind wipe in his current physical state.”

“Then feed him as much as he needs for as long as it takes for him to survive the procedure. If his father’s weapon is as dangerous for my kind as your interrogation led you to believe, we need to make sure the boy lives until his father returns with the research.”

“And after we recover the research on the weapon?”

“Then I’ll have a couple of snacks, and we’ll do a larger, planetary-scaled cleanup on Droxia to make sure that the technology is lost for good.”

I don’t like the sound of this at all, thought Ronan.

13

Thor entered the med-bay and walked toward Poseidon’s bed. The Olympian was sleeping. The medical staff hadn’t touched his broken cybernetic arm as requested by Thor.

The King of Asgard had requested that Kvasir work on a new artificial limb. It was the least he could do for putting his friend in harm’s way. Thor was mad at himself and resented his decisions in the heat of battle. He had let his emotions get the better of him.

The cost for such actions had been high. Fortunately, Poseidon hadn’t paid with his life for Thor’s mistakes. This time.

Poseidon moaned and then opened his eyes.

“Hey,” said Thor.

“I feel like crap.”

“I know. I’m sorry.”

“Wasn’t your fault. This Siegfried is truly something else. We may have no choice but to involve Chase to catch him.”

“Except Chase and the rest of the Alliance have engaged the enemy.”

“What?”

Poseidon tried jumping up in his bed only to be reminded he was missing a limb, and he almost fell if it weren’t for Thor catching him on time.

“You should lie down until we get your new arm.”

“I suppose you’re right,” said Poseidon, slowly returning to a horizontal position. “What about this attack you mentioned? Is Chase okay?”

“Yes, the Alliance has suffered only minimal losses. It wasn’t a full-on assault, but they did attack Alkyonidon Station.”

“Why go half-assed at it? Doesn’t make much sense.”

“I agree, but perhaps their forces aren’t as strong as we were led to believe.”

“If that’s the case, then this could give us more time to work on a solution to neutralize Siegfried.”

“The last thing we need is to fight a war on multiple fronts.”

“I get that, and maybe we do need to let Chase and the Alliance deal with the Spectre threat while we focus on this problem.”

Thor nodded pensively.

“You mentioned a new arm,” Poseidon continued. “Mind if I ask when will that be? I feel utterly useless with just one. Not to mention my trident…I had that weapon for millennia. I can’t believe Siegfried snapped it like a twig.”

“Kvasir said he’s working on it as fast as he can. He’s already boarded another Asgardian ship to rendezvous with us. If he’s done by then, you should get the arm tomorrow. As for the trident, I’ve asked him to reforge one for you.”

“Thanks, but this weapon had been forged in Titan’s blood, something even your best forgers couldn’t hope to duplicate, I’m afraid.”

Thor attempted to smile. “You’d be surprised. I suppose if we infuse enough pentalium in it, it could actually become a better weapon. It won’t be your old trident, but I have faith in Kvasir to come up with something better.”

“I suppose if any of your engineers can do it, it’s him. But why waste a resource that you’re already running out of on me?”

“Because I owe you that much. I should have known better than to run ill-equipped into this confrontation. Plus, I figured you’d need a power up for the arm as well. If both the arm and trident are pentalium enhanced, you could gain new fighting techniques, not to mention they’ll both be powered for much longer.”

“I appreciate that, and I sure could use a boost in my abilities, but I’m uncomfortable being dependent on a finite resource.”

“We’ll find more. We have to.”

“As for the battle, don’t blame yourself. There was a time emergency, and you dealt with it how you thought best.”

“I’m afraid we’ve only delayed the inevitable. I’m sure as we speak, Siegfried has already reacquired a ship, laying more bodies in his wake. Except now we don’t know where he is.”

“But we know where he’s going.”

“Yeah, Aegir Two.”

“Or Three.”

“Either way, we need to keep these ships as far away from each other and ideally make it harder for him to get to the next Guard.”

“Why not just kill the remaining two Guards while they’re in cryo-sleep?”

“I was hoping it wouldn’t come to that. I still hope we can turn one of them to our cause.”

“If Siegfried is anything to go by, we may be better served just taking our losses and moving on.”

“There are two problems with that approach. One, Siegfried will want revenge if we kill his two remaining siblings.”

“Seems to me he’s already in revenge mode.”

“It’s one thing him willing to kill Asgardians and Olympians, I’m worried if he loses them as well, he may lash out at everyone he meets.”

“We certainly don’t need that. What’s the second problem?”

“My father was adamant that we caused them enough pain in the past. We should never have created them only to hunt them down. It was very important to him that we needed to keep them under ice until we found a way to deal with them another way. The last thing I want as one of my main orders after his passing is to do something that betrays both his wishes and his memory.”

“I can empathize with that, but millennia have come and gone, and no solution has been found, it’s doubtful one will stare us in the face now. And, no offense regarding your departed father’s wishes, but the Guard pose too much of a risk to ponder for too long how to act.”

Thor’s tattoos pulsed way slower upon hearing Poseidon’s remark.

“I know. I’ll think about it more.”

“I don’t know how much more time you’ll have to ponder the issue. But I understand the predicament we’re in. Either solution seems risky. I think you know full well that these beings should not have been allowed to stay alive in any fashion once they were reacquired.”

“On that we’re in agreement. I have to figure out if there’s a way to salvage the situation now before it escalates.”

“Well, I’ll support any decision you make in the matter.”

“Thank you, Poseidon.”

* * *

Altair sat in his chair at the council meeting.

“What are we going to do about the Spectres?” asked one of the members.

“Try to dispatch more searching ships.”

“Aren’t the Spectre ships invisible and impervious to our scans?” asked another member.

“That’s the good news to come out of this skirmish. It allowed us to test a new detection system and a way for us to scan for their ships more effectively. With a caveat, as apparently the range of the new sensor technology is quite limited.”

“So, in a way, it’s not exactly good news.”

“After a fashion. We just need to improve the technology. Eventually, we’ll get it to a point where we can have advanced detection and know when the Spectres are moving about.”

“Unless they adapt their tech to this new scanning ability of ours,” said the first member who had spoken earlier.

“That’s always a risk. Such is warfare, as both sides are constantly progressing, adapting their armament to their enemy.”

“Except, right now, the enemy has very small numbers. We need to take this opportunity to strike them down.”

“More will eventually come. Though, I’m confident that won’t happen for a while.”

“What are you basing this conclusion on?”

“Ares destroyed their only prototype that gave them this ability.”

“They’ll simply rebuild another.”

“Of that I have no doubt, but time in the other dimension proceeds at a much slower rate. If anything, that heroic act of his bought us some time to clean up the handful of ships that have been roaming our reality.”

“You’re assuming they won’t find a way to open a portal from this side.”

Altair had to admit he had not considered this.

“I am.”

“What if they are already doing it? Without our knowledge.”

“This is why I believe it’s very important we review the second point on today’s agenda. The Gorgar strike.”

“We can’t afford to have ships take a hundred times the amount of time to build without their help. Not to mention Alkyonidon Station. We also need to find a way to convince them to dedicate more manpower to the construction of the Alliance defense.”

“That’s going to be tricky. They made it perfectly clear that unless they gain a seat at this table, there would be no negotiations.”

“Let’s give them their seat, then.”

There were agitated murmurs among the different members of the Alliance council.

“I don’t think we have a choice,” said Altair preemptively.

“We’re talking about giving them access to our plans, to a race that once before had turned against us.”

“It wasn’t their doing, more an unfortunate side effect from a technology that should never have been used on them. We can’t condemn them for this.”

“Be that as it may, Emperor, but the very fact that the Gorgar are susceptible to such mind control makes them the most dangerous threat of any of the races that are participating with the Alliance. They are in the trillions. If they decide to attack, whether or not they do it consciously, matters very little, and if they have a seat on this council, they’ll have access to too much intelligence. I think we should tread very carefully in this matter.”

“While I agree that there is a risk, I don’t think we have much of a choice. If as our esteemed colleague said earlier the Spectres are already working on a way to bring in more ships, we need to be ready with larger fleets, or our entire universe could fall.”

“Unless we simply use the mind control weakness on the Gorgar again. That would be the safest course of action.”

Altair couldn’t contain his objection and slammed his fist in front of him.

“No! We’ve made that mistake before, we’re not doing it again.”

“We understand your position, Altair, and your moral dilemma in the matter. But right now, the Gorgar are not working for us, and we are facing, according to your latest reports, more than one threat.”

“The Olympians and the Asgardians are working on containing this new threat.”

“And yet their first attempt was a complete failure. By the way, where are they? Shouldn’t they have sent a representative to these dealings?”

“Neither of these races has expressed a desire to have seats on the council. I am in contact with them directly. When votes are to be cast, I’ll act as their proxy.”

“This is not how a proper government works, and with all due respect, you know it.”

Altair’s patience with politics was running dangerously thin, and he had to force himself to regain his composure by taking deep breaths and trying to remain diplomatic, even if his current train of thought was chaotic.

“We have to respect their wishes, if the Spectre or Guard threat escalates to a full-scale war, it will be one we can’t hope to survive without their help. If the price to pay for their membership is that they’re not involved with the political decisions of this council, then so be it.”

“Very well, we’ll table this for the time being. But I make a motion that we reopen this question once the current threats have been dealt with. Is there a second?”

The new Droxian ambassador who had been sworn in office to replace Ryonna raised his hand. “I second the motion.”

“Very well, we’ll revisit this at the appropriate time,” said the member.

“While we’re at it, let’s vote on giving the Gorgar a seat at this table. Is there a second?”

But no one raised their hand.

Altair got up. “Look, I get it, the risk is high, but we can’t ignore this problem for much longer. We have to take whatever action gets the Gorgar back to work in helping us churn out ships and get stations built. The new estimate for the completion of Alkyonidon One is now over six months. With doubling the previous amount of Gorgar workers we had on it before the strike, we’d have the station done within the week. Now that the Spectres have attacked the station, we can’t afford to have it half built. The next time they come, we could lose it.”

“No offense, Emperor, but you know the position of this council about Alkyon One. This pet project of yours is not vital to the survival of this Alliance.”

“And I say it is. We need a central place so we can build a bigger council with more representatives and more ambassadors. Without more communication and a central place to deliberate, I think it will cost us if a war is coming, as all indications point to.”

Beyond his own worry for Ryonna’s life, her presence in these meetings was sorely missed. She would without a doubt have seconded the motion. In her absence, Altair needed to find a way to make the council see reason. If diplomacy wouldn’t work, perhaps a cold reminder of some facts would.

Altair hoped he wouldn’t regret his next words.

“I’m talking to you now not as the appointed leader of this council but as a concerned citizen of this universe. As you know, I once was plotting to defeat all your governments and force you into my own empire. It’s not something I am proud of. I was once a threat, but today, I stand by you as an equal and willing to make sure we never again face the twilight of our existence. I want you to hear me out when I say that the Furies were nowhere as dangerous as the Spectres are. And while the Guard is also a threat not to be taken lightly, we should focus on the inter-dimensional beings that want nothing more than to swallow our souls.

“You may think I’m trying to scare you with my words, and on some level, I hope I do, but not for the reasons you think. I don’t want to trick this council in making these decisions because I have an agenda of my own. Hear me now I do not. And if you think I do, then you’ll have my resignation letter by the end of the day.

“These are grave times, we’re on the brink of facing an enemy the likes of which you can’t even imagine in your worst nightmares. The Spectres don’t care about our lives, all they care about is consuming as many souls as they can, and that includes each and every one of you sitting here today.”

And damn the whole lot of you for making me say this.

“I believe my actions in the Fury War have spoken for themselves. When it came time to make the hard choices, so all of us would survive, I made them. Now in return, I’m asking you to trust me. We need the Gorgar back; we need them at this table if only to show them we trust them. By refusing them a seat with us, we’re openly sending the message that we fear them. Nothing good can come of this. We need to unite against the threat that looms over all of our lives, and if the Gorgar were here, if we shared what we knew of that threat, I guarantee you they’d give us the help we need.

“Nobody wants their souls being sucked away for them for all eternity. It is a fate worse than death itself. In this I believe the Gorgar will agree, once they’re put to the same level as the rest of us, they will do everything in their power to avoid this fate. They have to. We all have to start trusting each other or this war will consume us all.”

Altair sat back on his chair.

“Thank you for listening.”

The council remained mostly silent, with some exchanges between members for a few moments.

“Very well, we’ll vote on the issue. But we need some time to deliberate. We’ll let you know in an hour if we agree on letting the Gorgar join the council, or if we’ll accept your resignation instead.”

The words were cold, and more often than not in politics, felt somehow calculated. But Altair knew that if the Gorgar didn’t return to work, then all of this, the creation of the Alliance, was doomed to fail.

“Thank you for your consideration,” added Altair before leaving the council hall.

14

The holo-screen inside Ashra’Lur’s quarters burst to life without warning.

She bolted from her bed and stood in front of the screen, promptly saluting her superior, Asrak’Vor. His voice was glacial.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing!?”

“About what?…Master.”

“Don’t play coy with me, you’ve engaged the enemy, you lost precious resources and manpower, and my agent on board your ship tells me you’ve fought the one called Chase.”

So you were spying on me. Why am I not surprised, thought Ashra’Lur.

“I was testing their power, nothing more.”

“No, this is not what you did, and this was not part of your mission. I thought I had made it perfectly clear that I wanted a diversion, not for you to turn this skirmish into a prelude to a full-scale war we’re not equipped to deal with! Initial reports indicate the Alliance is now launching every ship they have in search of us.”

“They won’t find us.”

“And what makes you so sure of that? You’ve provided them exactly what they wanted with your stunt, the ability to detect our ships.”

“With all due respect, Master, this is incorrect.”

“How so?”

“Before engaging the enemy, I put our best engineer on a single task—to make our cloak penetrable. By not only reducing their effectiveness but by also changing its entire power signature.”

“I don’t follow.”

“I tricked the Alliance into thinking they can detect us. I thought you would be pleased, as this should buy you the necessary time you require to complete the gateway. Furthermore, I took the opportunity to test a new, more powerful tractor beam for our ships. The initial data we’ve gathered during the attack is very promising for the effectiveness of such technology.”

There was silence while Ashra’Lur could see her superior thinking about what she had just told him.

“Why didn’t you clear all of this with me first?”

Because I don’t think you have what it takes to ensure victory for us because you’re blinded by revenge. And because, quite frankly, I despise you.

Obviously, Ashra’Lur couldn’t speak her mind in the matter, not if she wanted to keep her head firmly attached to her body. Instead, she told him what he wanted to hear, pretending she gave a fuck about his rank and his objectives. She had no doubt there would come a time to correct the grave error that was Asrak’Vor’s appointment as the commander for this mission.

“I saw an opportunity to help advance our efforts and went for it. I apologize if I was out of line, and I accept full responsibility. You can and should take the appropriate measures to punish my actions if you still believe them to have been in error. In the name of the Spectres, I’ll accept your punishment, whatever it is.”

There were a few more moments of silence.

Take the bait, you weak fool.

“I’ll review the data to confirm your conclusions. If you indeed bought us the time we need to build the gateway, then you’re to be commended, not punished.”

Ashra’Lur had to force herself not to smile.

You’re so easy to manipulate.

“Whichever it is, I am, as always, at your command. I do have a gift for you, though.”

“And what would that be?”

“I’ve placed an energy signature upon the one called Chase.”

“How?”

“Inside his soul. It’s a temporary one, and it will only emit for a few weeks. I put a tiny portion of another soul inside his. Just enough for me to sense his whereabouts at all times. Eventually, his soul will push the intruding fragment out on its own. Until that day happens, we can track him anywhere he goes.”

Asrak’Vor smiled.

“Are you telling me that’s the sole reason you engaged with him in combat?”

“Of course, I knew it would please you to have this advantage over him.”

“It does indeed. Is there a way for me to track him myself?”

“I’m afraid only the bearer of that specific soul can do that, but on our next meet, it would be my pleasure to gift you with this particular soul.”

“Well done, Ashra’Lur. I was wrong to doubt your abilities or your motives. Excellent work.”

No, you weren’t, but once you do figure that out, it will be too late.

Ashra’Lur forced herself to bow. “Thank you, my Master. Your words please me.”

The holo-screen turned off, and Ashra’Lur walked toward her quarter’s viewport and she gazed into space. She smirked.

Your brother was an overconfident weakling, and so are you, Asrak. I’ll prove to you and the Spectre Council how wrong they were to appoint you in the first place. Our race deserves a true leader with a clear vision for the future, and soon enough, I’ll give them one.

* * *

“I’m sorry, but I refuse to give that man a second chance,” said Daniel.

“Look,” said Altair. “I’ve had my share of bureaucracy and being told what to do as well, so I can empathize, but Chase won’t accept Yanis to replace Albert. And we need Spiros and Kvasir to keep doing their important work with R&D. Your engagement with the Spectres earlier is proof of that.”

Daniel agreed that Spiros seemed to be doing even better work since he had resumed his initial position as the chief engineer for the entire Alliance R&D department.

“Okay, then anyone, just not that bozo.”

“That bozo built most of your station.”

“And he’s been insufferable about it. In any case, it’s too late now, he dropped off his resignation, which I accepted.”

“Daniel, you know I have the deepest respect for you, and I’ll let you have this one, but if you want to excel at command, you’ll have to learn to work with people with whom there will be clashes of personality. It’s part of life. We each have our demons and fighting our own inner wars, and sometimes that means two people will ruffle each other’s feathers.”

“Okay, sure, I’m willing to accept my share of the blame, perhaps I see something in him that rubs me the wrong way, but trust me when I say I’ve really given this…” Daniel wanted to say relationship but he just couldn’t. “Whatever that was between the chief and me. Sometimes two people simply can’t work together.”

“So I take it I can’t convince you to give it one last try?”

“Not unless you want my resignation on your desk next.”

Altair sighed. “No, that won’t be necessary. Truth be told, I doubt Albert would have agreed to return even if you had asked nicely.”

“Thank you for understanding.”

“You still need a new chief. The station can’t build itself.”

“Don’t we have the Gorgar manpower?”

“You’ll have all the workers you need by tomorrow. I’ve already sent the Heracles to the Gorgar homeworld and instructed her captain to bring as many as the ship will hold.”

Daniel rubbed his three-day-old beard. “When was that?”

“This morning.”

“Didn’t you tell me you had a council session later today?”

“It’s done, they have accepted the Gorgar’s request to have a seat at the table.”

“Well, then why aren’t you happy? Congratulations…but if I understand this right, you sent the Heracles prior to knowing if the council would approve your proposal?”

“The shorter version, yes.”

“Cheeky…what about the longer version? I can tell you’re not all that happy with the outcome, or am I misreading your face?”

“I’m afraid you’re not. They’ve agreed to let the Gorgar on the council, but with one condition.”

“What condition?”

“That I take sole responsibility for them and tender my resignation if they step out of line even once or if they go on strike again.”

“That’s ridiculous, you can’t be held responsible for a foreign government with which we barely manage to keep diplomatic ties.”

“Which is why I want Alkyon One ready as fast as possible. We need to start working with diplomats from all members of the Alliance as soon as possible. But the truth is, Daniel, I was ready to resign right then and there over this, so at the end of the day, I guess it’s a win.”

“How many Gorgars can I expect?”

“I’ve requested ten thousand of them for the first trip.”

“That should speed things up quite a bit.”

“Only if you have a chief engineer that can deal with construction at this rate. Though, I suppose the lion’s share of the station’s foundation is in place, it’s more a matter of completing it.”

“What about Cedric?”

“What about him?”

“As my chief engineer?”

“Yanis keeps complaining his mind’s not really into his job lately.”

“Perhaps he needs a change of pace and new horizons. Can’t think of a better place.”

“Glad you’re looking at this new command with a positive eye.”

“I was being slightly sarcastic.”

“Oh.”

“Don’t read too much into it. I’m getting used to the place, it’s just that I’ve spent most of my adult life on board a starship, this will take some getting used to, that’s all.”

“That’s understandable, and thanks again for taking the job. I really wanted someone I could trust implicitly sitting in that chair.”

“I appreciate the vote of confidence. I hope I don’t let you down.”

“Just focus on keeping your station and personnel safe, and if you have to ruffle any feathers again, well, it’s your command.”

Daniel nodded. “Can you please contact Cedric and see if he’d be interested in the position of chief engineer?”

“That will be next call.”

“Before you go…”

“Yes, Daniel.”

“Any news about Ryonna?”

“Nothing yet, I’m afraid. But I’ll keep you posted. Bye, Daniel.”

“Bye, Altair.”

The holo-screen turned off at the exact same time his office bell chimed.

“Come in.”

* * *

Chase stepped into Daniel’s ready room. It was a spacious though rather empty area at the moment with Daniel’s desk sticking out like a sore thumb. There was a model of the Destiny hovering over one of the corners of the desk.

“Hey,” said Chase.

Daniel, who had not taken his eyes off the embedded holo-controls in his desk, raised his head in surprise.

“Chase!”

He jumped from his chair and embraced Chase.

“It’s good to see you too, buddy,” said Chase.

“Thanks again for saving my hide. How many times does that make?”

“I’ve lost count, but that’s what friends are for.”

“I heard you fought a Spectre on board the Hope, how did that go?”

“Pretty badly, and now I owe one to Nyx, which I’m not all that thrilled about. But without her, I probably wouldn’t be standing here now.”

“That’s heavy…I’m glad she was there for you. But I can tell something else is bothering you. Anything I can do to help? What about a drink?”

Chase nodded.

“Sure, I could go for a Ju’ran blackhole.”

Daniel beamed drinks directly on his desk from the synthesizer.

“Half of your cargo bays aren’t finished, but I see you took inspiration from Altair’s office.”

“Might as well enjoy the little things, am I right?”

Chase wished he could say yes, but the truth was, he was too shaken from his defeat and what it could have meant if he had fallen in combat today. The last thing he wanted was to bum out his best friend.

“I hear ya,” said Chase with little to no conviction.

Daniel took a sip of his dark-colored drink as Chase looked at the color show happening inside his.

“Whisky?” he asked.

“I’m on duty, good old Pepsi.”

The reference to the Earth’s soda Chase had discovered on his first date with Sarah stung his heart. He decided to focus on when they would be able to share their next one together. If anything, today’s difficult fight motivated him to train more and be ready for a war that now seemed unavoidable.

“I like Pepsi,” said Chase.

“Want one?”

“No, I’m fine, thank you.”

“So, what is it you’re not telling me?”

Chase smiled for a brief moment before his entire face darkened and his features betrayed signs of worry and stress.

“I’m not sure, really. It felt weird fighting that Spectre. She had a weird way about her.”

“She?”

“Yeah, that one was female.”

“Weird how?”

“When she managed to get part of my soul outside of my body, I felt something strange on that energy pool.”

“Could be it brought sad memories. I mean, your last fight with Tanak’Vor was brutal and then some.”

“Yeah, that’s what I thought, too, that maybe it was a kind of flashback to a day in my life I’d rather soon forget. But ever since the fight, I keep thinking about that…vibration, for lack of a better word.”

“Maybe women Spectres have a different kind of energy than their male counterparts.”

“This one sure did. Though she didn’t lack her race’s ruthlessness. I also have to be more careful going forward. I got cocky, thinking I was dictating the terms of the fight the entire time, and everything went tits up in a flash.”

Daniel snorted his drink out through his nose. “Sorry.”

“What?”

“That expression, it took me by surprise.”

“I suppose I haven’t used it before. Sarah used to love it. Sometimes I enjoy using some of her expressions and other Earth colloquialisms she was fond of. You know, makes me feel closer to her in these difficult times.”

“I totally get that, you don’t need to explain. I just wasn’t very familiar with this one. How long can you stay?”

“I don’t know yet…I visited Zeus before I came here. And Oryn. I was hoping he could help me recover a conscious hold on my teleportation power. I sure could use it right now.”

“It would make things simpler if you could teleport thousands of light-years in an instant. I can see why you’d like that back, especially now. I take it he couldn’t help?”

Chase shook his head. “But that’s okay, perhaps the universe is trying to teach me something.”

“Or perhaps Tanak’Vor stole your power from you.”

“Yeah, that too.”

“The reason I’m asking about your plans isn’t entirely devoid of self-interest.”

“Really? How so?”

“Well, with what happened today, I could use you around, at least until the station is up and running.”

Chase didn’t like the idea of delaying his search for a cure, but he also had to admit to himself it felt good hanging with his best friend. Lately, he had lived a sad hermit’s life for all too long, and Sarah would want him to have a little bit of joy in his life, of that he had no doubts.

“I think it’s doable, if we’re talking days and not weeks or months.”

Daniel smiled broadly. “Awesome! And yes, days, definitely days. The Gorgar workforce is on their way aboard the Heracles. This place will finally be fully operational.”

“Speaking of which, I’d love a tour.”

Daniel jumped to his feet and finished his drink in one large gulp.

“What are we waiting fooooo—,” said Daniel with an accidental burp elongating the last syllable.

They both chuckled.

“That wouldn’t have happened with whisky,” noted Chase.

“It sure wouldn’t. Let’s give you the tour of my new home.”

* * *

Chris and Argos had to excavate their way through to the underground facility. There had been some work done by a now-abandoned Hellion boring machine, which had advanced a mile-long tunnel.

No doubt the Alliance, having chased them away from New Kyria, had forced them to stop the work, but it took very little effort for Chris and Argos to finish the job.

“I take it whoever constructed this place,” said Chris as they walked inside the facility, “beamed in and out. There are no signs of a walkable exit.”

“That we can see,” noted Argos, “but I think you’re right. Whatever this place is, the people who constructed it clearly wanted it to remain a secret or they wouldn’t have dug smack dab in the middle of that mountain.”

The facility was relatively small and resembled more of a lab than anything else, as far as Argos could tell. He had used plenty of these secret remote locations while he was preparing the return of the Furies to recognize them.

Aside from one wall containing several consoles, the place was mostly empty. There was, however, a small altar in the middle of the room, which Argos had no doubt served an important purpose.

“Let’s check that thing out,” said Argos.

They walked toward the cylindrical shape seamlessly extruding from the floor, and as they approached it, it raised slightly more and on its top, a light-blue circle lit up.

“A control of some kind,” said Chris.

“For sure, but for what?”

“Only one way to find out.”

“I’m not sure how prudent it would be for us to just press the control without knowing what it does. Could be a self-destruct mechanism of some sort.”

“And it could be something else,” argued Chris. “The only thing we know is that the Hellion Empire is desperate to get it.”

“I sure wonder why.”

“Worse comes to worst, we can fly out of here quickly. I say let’s try it.”

“Very well, but if it blows up in our faces, don’t complain that I told you so.”

Chris smiled. “Will you press it already, old man?”

“Watch it, boy.”

Argos pressed the circular control, but nothing happened.

“That’s strange,” said Argos. “I guess whatever it is, it’s not working properly anymore.”

“Nah, maybe it won’t activate for just anyone.”

“I see, then go ahead, mister big shot, why don’t you give it a try.”

Chris pressed the control, and nothing happened either. He then closed his eyes, let his palm rest on the altar, and focused. Holo-screens burst to life on top of the wall where all the consoles were located.

“I really need to learn how to do this,” said Argos.

“Practice makes perfect,” commented Chris, his eyes still closed.

The language looked like technical information and was unknown to Argos. The holo-screen display technology appeared obsolete as well.

After a moment more, indecipherable information swiped in and out of the screens at such a fast rate that even if Argos could hope to make heads or tails of the symbolic-based language, the information was scrolling way too fast.

“Any hints on what it is?” asked Argos.

“Not yet. But it’s a really complex computer core attached to an even bigger power source.”

“How big?”

“I’d say bigger than anything on our ships, that’s for sure.”

“That could come in handy.”

All screens flashed red, and a voice in a strange language echoed from invisible speakers.

Three circular-shaped holes opened up in the wall.

“I think you may have triggered something,” said Argos.

“I sense that too. I think we’re about to have company.”

Three dark chrome spheres shot from the holes at great speeds, and before long, yellow targeting lasers landed on Argos’s chest.

“What’s happening?” asked Chris, still focusing on hacking the system.

“Keep working, I’ll take care of this.”

15

“Start talking,” said Ryonna. “And begin with why you faked your death.”

There was more anger than usual behind her voice, and with good reason. She had buried and grieved for the passing of Jax. Everyone had, their son, their friends, and their family members, including Jax’s own brother.

“Technically,” said Jax, “I didn’t really fake anything. I did die in an accident. I was dead for about twelve minutes until I was revived. Or so I was told. There’s a large chunk of my memory I never got back.”

“How convenient.”

“These people don’t mess around. And what they did to me, they’re doing to all their agents. That’s how they recruit.”

“Who are they?”

“Section Alpha.”

“Never of heard of it.”

“I’m not surprised. It’s a shadow organization working outside the law and the boundaries of governmental oversight.”

“You’re telling me for the last few years you’ve been a spy of some sort. That doesn’t explain why you didn’t reach out to me.”

“Yes, it does. Because Section Alpha only recruits people who were supposed to die, they erase their old lives. Like a blank canvas, recruits are for all intents and purposes, born anew the day they were supposed to die.”

“We buried a body, it looked like you.”

“A simple clone. If you were to dig up the grave, you’d see that it’s not an exact DNA match. The accelerated cloning process used is far from perfect, but it will fool even the deepest of scrutiny. There are really no reasons for the grieving parties of new agents to look for foul play. Most of the time they’re even present when the person dies and is taken to a medical facility.”

“And then swapped with one of these clones.”

“Something like that.”

“There’s a big hole in your story.”

“If Section Alpha erased my memory, why do I remember my previous life?”

“For starters.”

“Someone high up the ranks there owed me in a big way, and he said I could ask anything if I completed one last mission for them.”

“I take it you did?”

“After a fashion. This recon mission was a two-man job. On my last visit to Droxia, I bumped into Ronan. Except, back then, I didn’t know he was our son. I regained some explanations about my past right then and there. But I made a terrible mistake.”

“You asked him to join you on the mission? How could you?”

“Trust me, now that I have my memories back, I’ve been asking myself the same thing. I thought I was killing two birds with one stone, reconnecting with a son I didn’t know I had and recovering my memories, and hopefully, quitting Section Alpha.”

“In my experience, organizations that work outside of the rules and wish to remain a secret never let an operative quit.”

“I learned that the hard way.”

“My Jax would never have been so naive.”

“I am your Jax.”

Ryonna pointed an accusing finger. “No, you’re not! You may have recovered your memories, and that’s all well and fine, but my husband died in that accident. What is in front of me now is just a coward who put my son in danger.”

“Our son.”

“You tell yourself that if you want to. Where’s Ronan?”

“In a star base somewhere near Erevos. Well, where Erevos used to be.”

“What’s there?”

“Spectres.”

Ryonna approached Jax with intent, the vein on her temple throbbing.

“Spectres have Ronan?”

“I’m afraid so, but I have all we need in order to get him back.”

“You’re lucky I need you conscious to go get him.”

“I’m not proud of this, Ryonna! Trust me. For a second, try to put yourself in my shoes. Imagine how I feel about all of this?”

Ryonna had to admit she hadn’t tried to look at the situation from his point of view. Unfortunately for him, but right now Ryonna was only interested in helping their son. There would be time later for reflecting on such things.

“I couldn’t care less how you feel, Jax. You’ve put Ronan’s life in terrible danger. We need to go to the Alliance with this, only Chase and my friends can help us recover him now.”

“No! We can’t.”

“I’m not listening to you. We’re doing this my way.”

“If I don’t return with this,” he said, flashing a data chip in front of her, “within twenty-four hours, they’ll execute Ronan. If I don’t return alone, they’ll execute him.”

“Oh, wake up, Jax. They’ll execute you both, anyway.”

“I know, but not if we work together. We used to make a great team, you and I.”

“That was in another life.”

“Well, we’re our son’s only hope. We can miss our rendezvous and have them kill Ronan, or we can stop arguing and come up with a game plan.”

“If Spectres are there, then there’s nothing you or I can do. I’ve seen a single Spectre take on three Furies backed by Olympians and Asgardians without breaking a sweat. It’s pure luck they survived the encounter.”

“Yes, Tanak’Vor did give Chase and his friends a run for their money.”

“How the hell do you know about that?”

“My mission was to infiltrate Erevos and gather as much data as I could on the Spectres.”

“How the hell would Section Alpha know about them?”

“I don’t know, but while you and your friends thought you were fighting the Supreme Commander of the Furies, Section Alpha knew he was being manipulated by another entity. And I worked my way up to palace guard, where I ran a flurry of scans on the Supreme Commander.

“When Section Alpha learned of the Alliance’s final attack on Erevos, they pulled me out of there. Just in time, too. The data I gathered allowed them to construct a piece of technology that could very well neutralize the Spectres’ power. But it’s still in the development stages.”

“Are you telling me that this data chip contains research and plans on a weapon that could defeat the Spectres?”

“That’s exactly what I’m saying. It’s also the sole reason why our son is alive. They want to trade.”

I bet they do.

“We have to involve the Alliance. They can send an Asgardian ship. It will give us plenty of time to jump where we have to.”

Jax screamed and grabbed his head with both his hands as he fell to his knees.

“What’s happening, Jax?” said Ryonna as she tried to touch him.

He swiped her hand away.

“They know.”

“What are you talking about? Are you bugged?”

“I don’t know how they did it, but basically…yes. I scanned myself with Section Alpha’s best tech when I returned and couldn’t find a technological device anywhere inside of me. Somehow, they’ve put something in my head, and they know every time I even consider deviating from the agreed upon plan.”

Ryonna considered for a moment if she simply shouldn’t acquire the research from Jax and bring it back to the Alliance. If it were as important as Jax implied, then Ryonna had to consider the lives of everyone in this dimension before the lives of her own family.

And while she could sacrifice her own life and even Jax’s, putting Ronan’s life in the balance made her pause. She knew he would understand and would not want her to weigh his life against those of millions or billions. But Ronan was the most important thing to her. She would never be able to live with herself if she didn’t try to save him while figuring out a way to still keep the research.

“What was their plan?”

“Grab the only copy of the research, torch Section Alpha, and deliver it to them.”

“Is that how you were wounded?”

Jax nodded. “Yeah, taking on the entire organization wasn’t an easy task. But I eventually managed to make my escape, or so I thought, when two agents tackled me and tried to kill me.”

“I take it that you killed them instead?”

“I didn’t exactly have a choice.”

“At least let’s copy the content of that data chip and send it to Alliance headquarters.”

Jax’s screamed even more and collapsed on the ground, blood running out of his ear.

“Or maybe not,” said Ryonna before dragging Jax to med-bay.

* * *

When Jax opened his eyes, he was lying on a bed in med-bay. Ryonna patiently waited by his side.

“If Ronan dies because of you,” she spat, “I’ll never forgive you.”

“I know, neither would I forgive myself.”

“And it seems I don’t really have any choice but accompany you to that base and make sure we rescue Ronan. The only thing I don’t understand is why they’re letting me help you.”

“I think all they care about is that I bring them the only copy of the data. They don’t seem to care about the how and the why.”

“How many Spectres are based there?”

Jax struggled to sit on the bed. He held his head, clearly he was still in significant pain.

“I never saw any. The personnel were arachnoid.”

“What was Ronan’s state when you last saw him?

“Dehydrated and hungry, but other than that, they didn’t torture him like they did with me.”

Ryonna had performed her share of interrogation for her government to recognize signs of a broken mind. She would have to be careful. Even if that man looked and spoke like her husband, he could very well be broken beyond repair and could be activated.

She didn’t like this. Not one bit.

“I’m sorry to hear that. I take it that’s how they learned about the research?”

“They were the ones who returned my memory to me. Once I realized what I had done, I grasped at the slightest sliver of hope that I could trade both our lives for the research. Their lie detectors are infallible, and every time I tried to lead them astray, I paid a high price for all my attempts at deception.”

“Is this research really a threat to the Spectres?”

“I don’t understand it myself, but it was the priority for Section Alpha. They certainly were convinced that it was the best way of stopping them in their tracks.”

“What I’m still fuzzy about is how the hell did they know about the Spectres before us? Do you realize how much pain might have been avoided if we had known beforehand that Tanak’Vor was behind Arakan and the Fury War?”

“Since I didn’t have memories of my previous life and had been trained to be undercover, I must admit that I was quite oblivious to the consequences of my mission.”

“If Chase knew ahead of time what was going on, we could have prevented many losses. Perhaps even the fall of Olympus, which has weakened our ability to defend ourselves today.”

“I don’t know what to tell you. I woke up with no memories of who I was, and I was trained and given a mission, and I did it. Do I regret it? Of course. Would I change anything with the information I now hold? Absolutely. But it doesn’t really matter now. All I care about is getting Ronan out of there, even if costs me my life.”

“That’s the only thing you’ve said today on which we can agree.”

Ryonna wanted to voice her doubts about whether or not they had the right to put the future of all living beings in this universe in the balance when the only other life on the other side of the equation was their son.

She was a warrior, even if she was a mother as well. Her head told her that there was no choice here, the stakes were too high, but her heart couldn’t abandon the idea of somehow saving her son and still help the Alliance with the research.

Because they had some sort of listening device on Jax, or more likely to Ryonna, a mental programming of some kind they had managed to hardcode into his brain, she couldn’t share any of these doubts with him. He could decide to split and then she could lose both the research and any chance to see her son alive.

“We really need to get going,” said Jax.

“Very well,” she said. “Set a course, then we’ll review how to proceed with Ronan’s extraction. There can be no mistakes.”

* * *

Poseidon flexed his new cybernetic fingers. The new limb felt lighter than the previous one, which would take a little time for the Olympian to adapt to.

The God of the Seas could tell from Kvasir’s face on the holo-screen that he was waiting for some feedback, whether by way of his tattoos pulsing or simply the features of his face.

“Thank you, Kvasir. It’s quite light.”

“That’s the graviton enhancements I’ve added after talking with Yanis and his own pet project to help Chase train with graviton bracelets. I thought I could try to do something similar with your new arm.”

“The only thing I understood was Chase and training. You’re gonna have to explain this in plain Universum if you don’t mind.”

“Sorry. I tend to get excited talking about my work. There is a generator inside your arm that can affect the gravity around you. To simplify the inner workings and bypass the how’s and why’s of this technology, all you need to know is that you can affect the level at which your body feels the gravity.”

“Are you telling me it’s similar to the gravity rooms Chase and his family have used before to power up?”

“Yes, except the field surrounding you is contained and won’t extend around you. Unless you want it to.”

“I don’t follow?”

“Unlike Chase’s graviton bracelets, I thought there could be a tactical use if you can extend the gravitational field your arm is able to create in your surrounding area. Maybe take an enemy off guard or slow them down at a moment’s notice when they least expect it.”

“That’s some good thinking. How do I use it?”

“I’ve included the most advanced version of the neuro-link we’ve worked on. Just think how much or how little you want your body, arm, or the area around you to be affected by a stronger gravity, and your cybernetic arm will do the rest.”

It can’t be that simple…

With a single thought, Poseidon felt his entire body get heavier and then reacted on instinct and felt lighter than before.

“That’s gonna take a little time getting used to, but I like it. Now I can train anywhere, even walking.”

“That’s the whole idea about Yanis’s original idea, yes.”

“Does it come at the price of losing the previous power my older arm had?”

“Not at all, if anything you can do more with your arm now.”

Poseidon slightly cocked his head to the slide. “Really? Like what?”

“Fire was your main weapon before, but as you’ve noticed, the type of enemies we keep fighting lately is mostly impervious to heat or fire. So, I’ve added cold and lightning, hoping that the diversity of the weapon helps you in combat.”

“I like the sound of that,” said Poseidon, still flexing his artificial muscles.

“You can now also cast shockwaves that rival those of Furies.”

“Won’t all these additions reduce the life of the arm in combat?”

“Quite the contrary, the pentalium power source is about one thousand times stronger than on your previous model. Thor told me you didn’t like the idea of depending on our dwindling resource, so we made sure the power cells could be also fueled by quadrinium. You’ll get a huge drop in longevity by a factor of fifty or so, but the pentalium lining on the cells themselves should last for a decade and will allow a better use of the quadrinium, should you be forced to switch to it in the near future. By then, I’m sure we will have found new ways to perfect the hybrid type of design too.”

“If we’re still here in ten years, that is, but thank you, that’s excellent work. Can’t wait to test it fully. Though I must admit, I’m not exactly looking forward to engaging with another Guard anytime soon.”

“You may have little choice, which is why I’ve also crafted you a new trident. It contains similar tech, but the way Thor described the weapon, it’s more an extension of you, so I made sure not to sacrifice its primary use. It will provide me with your feedback to let me know if I need to change anything on the design, but it’s super intuitive, if you need it as a conduit to power and deliver your attacks, it will do just that, but if you need it for anything else, mentally order it to do what you want and it will obey you, just like your arm does.”

Poseidon was intrigued by that, even though his older weapon was always returning to him on its own when the need arose, Poseidon had to use his power and telekinetic energy to wield it.

The Olympian opened his flesh and bone hand and thought about the trident, and it flew in his hand without him having to focus on it.

“Fascinating…”

“I’m glad you agree.”

“I’m in your debt, Kvasir.”

“Nonsense, we’re all in this together.”

Poseidon nodded as he admired the craftsmanship of his new weapon. It looked almost exactly like his old one, and that pleased him.

“One more thing I almost forgot,” said Kvasir. “It’s also equipped with its own graviton engine. I’ll let you experiment with the ins and outs on your own, but with two graviton engines, you can create a wider field affecting gravity, just know that the graviton engine in the trident is significantly smaller than in your arm, you can’t affect the gravity as much, and the range is probably limited to tens of yards.

“Could still come in handy.”

At least something positive had came out of Thor and Poseidon’s blatant defeat against Siegfried.

16

The spherical sentries opened fire on Argos with concussive missiles. He used telekinetic energy to stop the projectiles and threw them back at the sentries. The explosion filled the entire lab with flames.

Argos extended his personal shielding to include Chris, who was still trying to hack the system from within.

“Need my help?” asked Chris, his eyes still closed.

The dust settled and the smoke dissipated around them. The sentries were on the ground in pieces.

“Nah, it’s just a bunch of automated sentries. They couldn’t hurt us if they tried.”

“Hopefully, that’s the only thing they throw at us. I’m getting negative feedback from the system after you dispatched your targets.”

“That’s okay if that’s all this facility’s defense system has to throw at us.”

“Something tells me it isn’t.”

“Mind being more forthcoming as per the nature of the next threat?”

“There’s a reason this hack is taking me forever. This computer feels very alien.”

“Well, I’m afraid I can’t be of much help in that department, so I suggest you keep at it while I cover you.”

Chris flashed Argos a thumbs-up as a circle of light drew under Argos.

Before he could move, an orange column of light engulfed Argos and paralyzed him. The more he tried to move, the more the field intensified.

Argos turned Ultra Fury, but in response, the field holding him in place only increased.

“Uh…C—Chris? A—a little help,” said Argos, having a hard time talking through the pain.

“I know. I’m trying to find the controls for the force field.”

Glad to hear it, cause this thing is crushing me, said Argos, as it was easier for him to communicate telepathically than it was to move his lips.

“Hang on, I’ll turn that thing off.”

The amount of pressure increasing with each second made the gravity training at max power seem like child’s play. Argos didn’t think he’d last very long. He could already feel his muscle tissues tearing up, and his bones wouldn’t be far behind.

Better hurry, Chris, I can’t take this for much longer.

“It’s just a stopgap, but I think I found the power source. It has redundancy, but maybe if I cut one of them off.”

Do it!

The pressure stopped increasing, but the current strength of the force field was strong enough to crush Argos eventually.

Thanks, but this only delayed my demise.

“Still working on it, hang on.”

* * *

Chris’a heartbeat was through the roof. Panic settled in his mind and threatened to break his focus. His uncle was only minutes away from succumbing to the pressure inflicted by the force field.

Cutting off power from one of the redundant power cells bought Argos some time, but Chris could feel the computer trying to reroute power to the disabled power cell.

This computer system was nothing like anything he had ever taken control of before. It adapted to his hacks and pushed back when Chris tried accessing systems. Somehow, it felt alive. That didn’t make any sense, unless it was, in fact, a very powerful artificial intelligent being.

I—I think I’m gonna pass out, said Argos.

“Hang on.”

Out of desperation, Chris tried talking to the computer.

Please, whatever you are, let go of my friend, we mean you no harm. We just wanted to try to activate the device in the center of the lab.

The column of light crushing Argos died off, and he collapsed on the ground.

“Ooooouch,” he said.

“Are you alright, Uncle?”

“I’ll live. Good job.”

“I’m not sure I did anything.”

“What do you mean?”

“Hang on, I think I need to explain myself to the machine.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

Trust me on this, Uncle. Do you have enough power to heal yourself?

Already doing it.

Chris refocused his attention on the machine.

Thank you.

I haven’t decided yet what to do with you. The technology I’m protecting is forbidden to your kind.

You’ll have to be more specific. Our DNA is hybrid in nature.

I know, otherwise, you’d be dead. But the part that is Fury in the both of you is what I’m concerned about.

How come I can’t understand anything in your computer systems but we can understand each other.

While you were attempting to hack my systems, I analyzed your brain patterns and learned your language.

Impressive, thought Chris.

We are not Furies in the sense of what you may think. In fact, we’ve fought the Furies and defeated them.

Why would Furies kill other Furies?

As I said, we’re not pure bloods, the only people with Fury DNA left in existence are no longer working for the Furies.

I do not detect deception in your brain waves. It seems you’re telling the truth.

That’s correct. I’m not lying to you. My name is Chris.

I’m Utopia, the automated AI left behind by my people to ensure this place wasn’t used by our enemies.

Hello, Utopia, nice to make your acquaintance. What people would that be?

I believe in your language, you called them Atlantians.

My grandfather told me about your people. We’re not your enemies.

Chris, would you be willing to take over the protection of this facility for me? After analyzing your brain patterns, I believe my databanks are obsolete, and I’m afraid I could hurt the wrong people. I’ve stayed online for longer than I was designed.

Sure, if that’s what you want. But when was the last time you saw one of your people?

About fifty thousand years ago, give or take.

That’s…a very long time.

I don’t think they will return. It’s probably best if this technology is entrusted to someone who understands that it should not fall into the wrong hands. Like our enemy.

Who’s your enemy?

They called themselves Pretorians. They used to be one, the Atlantians and the Pretorians, but their philosophy diverged, and eventually, the Pretorians rebelled and created their own faction. Shortly after that, a war ensued. A long, terrible war. The casualties were high, and I was installed inside this facility to shield access to our home world and make sure that the quadrant of the universe doesn’t pay the price of our war.

I’m sorry to hear that. But if you don’t mind me asking, what is it you’re protecting?

The cosmic gateway. It’s a device that allows you to travel to very far places in an instant.

Like teleportation?

Let me analyze this word from your brain patterns…yes, of sorts, but over vast distances. I have to go now.

What? Why?

In your attempt to sever the secondary power cell, you’ve accidentally triggered another subroutine, which force-executed my self-destruct program.

I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to. Let’s reconnect the second power cell.

It’s not that simple, Chris, my subroutines are already being scrubbed, I’m afraid this is not reversible. But don’t beat yourself up about it, I’m actually grateful.

How will I know to operate the…what is it you called it?

Cosmic gateway. I’ve anticipated this, and while we’ve been talking, I’ve translated the controls and interface for you. The moment you connect again with your mind, you’ll understand how everything works. Please promise me you won’t let the Pretorians get access to this facility?

You have my word. How long until you’re completely erased?

Not long now. I can sense you have questions.

Why me?

The moment you connected to my systems, I could tell your intensions were pure. At ninety-six percent. That’s the highest purity of heart level I’ve ever recorded.

What about the four percent? Is that going to be an issue?

No, I suspect they’re your misplaced anger toward your father.

What?

I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to pry. Tell your uncle I’m sorry for hurting him. My further scans of his brain patterns indicate that while he had been misguided in the past, he’s now on a righteous path. My time is almost up. Ask the question burning your mind.

Can Atlantian technology save my mother?

I don’t possess enough data about the condition affecting your mother to answer this question, but Atlantians have created many powerful remedies, so it’s possible. I’m sorry our time is up. Goodbye, Chris.

Utopia, wait!

But there was no further communication between Chris’s mind and the computer’s systems. Instead, Chris felt a quick flood of information enter his mind and could now understand everything inside the machine.

When Chris reopened his eyes, Argos was looking straight at him, puzzled.

“Are you alright?”

“Yes, I think so. We’ve just been elected the guardians of this place.”

“How long was I on the floor? If only we knew what this place does.”

“I know what it does. It’s a central hub in our quadrant of space from where we can reach places at distances we can’t even fathom yet.”

Argos looked back and forth and between where he had been attacked and where Chris stood. “No, seriously, you closed your eyes for about a minute or two while I was healing myself. How do you know all this?”

“The AI in charge of protecting this place told me.”

“And then you wonder why I don’t want to learn these skills. Talking to computers that, if I may underline, have more often than not been aggressive toward us.”

“Gaia wasn’t.”

“Granted, she did play a major role, especially when it came to protecting Earth. Her twin sister, however…”

“That corrupted version of Gaia was definitely a problem. But the difference here is that we don’t have to worry about Utopia, it’s gone, but before it left, it gave me the knowledge and access codes for this place.”

“If it is what you say it is, that could be the perfect tool for us in searching for a cure for Sarah.”

Argos was right, by opening up the possibilities of vast distance travel in an instant, it raised the odds of finding new technology.

“Not to mention that Utopia said the Atlantians had many remedies.”

“Are this place and the AI Atlantian?”

“Oh, maybe I should have led with that.”

“Hell, yeah.”

* * *

Tar’Lock was having a good time in the bar. Lots of naked women dancing, bright and flashy colors, and unlimited access to drinks.

His metabolism was so fast that he felt the effects of alcohol almost instantly, only to move to the hangover part within an hour, and that was when he didn’t overdo it.

The data chip Thomson had given them was indeed a free, all-luxury pass, and the workers of the bars, living and robotic alike, didn’t mind cleaning up the customer’s puke off the floors or counter.

It was that kind of place.

Talon, however, wasn’t sharing his friend’s interest in his surroundings. While Tar’Lock was moving all around the bar, curious about everything, trying new drinks and talking with new people, the Alliance captain caught on to the vibe of the establishment’s clientele pretty quickly.

The sooner we get the hell out of here, the better.

Tar’Lock came for a refill, and Talon put a hand on his shoulder.

“I think you had enough to drink for, well, one day, at least.”

“It’s okay, in an hour it will be out of my system.”

“Perhaps, but you remember what you said about using your super speed to help in case we get in trouble.”

Tar’Lock clicked. “What about it?”

“These customers are not the nicest people in the galaxy, and we may want to be on our toes, regardless of what Thomson told us.”

Tar’Lock looked left and right. “They look fine to me.”

“You may not realize it, but you’re under the influence, everything looks fine when you have too much alcohol in your system. In fact, the buzz is so enjoyable that you lower your defenses and a person is generally easygoing. I’ve been there.”

Even though when I crossed a certain threshold, my mood did quite a one-eighty in that regard.

Tar’Lock’s usual clicking sounds had a funny vibe to them, making them almost squeaky in nature. “Oh…then perhaps I should stop indeed. What is good to counteract alcohol in the bloodstream, then? I should probably try to speed up that process.”

Talon thought about it for a moment while trying not to laugh at Tar’Lock’s tongue clicks.

“Coffee isn’t the worst, I guess. I doubt they have de-inebriating pills here.”

“Barman,” asked Tar’Lock waving his hand about so fast it fanned the surrounding smoke away from them.

A pretty bartender with purple and pink hair, probably a wig Talon thought, came to answer his first officer’s not-so-subtle request.

Talon made a mental note that Tar’Lock would probably never be useful in an undercover-type situation. His best friend had other qualities, like loyally and honesty, which trampled all the other stuff in Talon’s eyes.

“Hey, honey,” said the beautiful bartender. “I’m Tammy, what can I do for you guys? What about a private BJ?” she said with a provoking smile.

“What’s a BJ?” asked Tar’Lock.

“You don’t need to know,” said Talon before turning back to the lovely bartender. “My colleague just wants a drink.”

“Yes,” said Tar’Lock. “I’d like a gallon of coffee, please.”

“What’s a gallon?” asked Tammy.

“Never mind that,” answered Talon. “Just bring as big a coffee as you can make will be fine.”

“Normal, decaf, or my personal favorite ultracaf?”

Talon didn’t have to think much about that one. “Normal will do, thanks, Tammy.”

“One large coff’ coming up.”

Tar’Lock rapidly tapped on the glass counter of the bar.

“What’s wrong now?”

“I think I would prefer ultracaf.”

“And I think Thomson will be more forthcoming if we don’t leave a collection of Tar’Lock-shaped holes all over his bar walls.”

Tar’Lock gave him a puzzled look.

“Just trust me on that one,” said Talon.

17

Siegfried had lost track of time when he detected a large energy signature passing nearby. Had it been hours or days? He wondered.

A ship. Finally.

He readjusted his flight path through space to intercept the ship and amped up his speed to the bare limits of sub-flight. The one trick his kind couldn’t do was FTL travel. But acquiring a ship would soon fix that problem.

The ship, a corvette class of unknown design to the Asgardian, currently had its shields down, which would make Siegfried’s takeover a whole lot simpler. Not that shields would have stopped him in any way, but that was one less inconvenience to deal with, and that was perfectly fine with the Asgardian Guard.

Siegfried veered to the left as he overtook the ship and arched back, directly flying headfirst in the bridge’s main viewport.

Upon impact with Siegfried’s shield, the viewport shattered like brittle glass, and the few men and women that were unfortunate to be sitting or standing in the bridge were sucked into space.

“Mind if I borrow your ship?” said Siegfried as his feet reconnected with the floor. He extended his shield outward to create a bubble large enough to encompass the now missing viewport, re-equalizing the pressure around him in the process.

Lights inside the bridge pulsed red while an annoyingly loud alarm blared around him.

He then took a crystal from under his armor and plugged it into the nearest data reader. A flickering holo-screen came to life. No doubt the Asgardian’s forceful entry onto the bridge had damaged more than just the viewport.

As expected, the energy beacons of Aegir Two and Three had been turned off. Siegfried entered a series of commands on the holo-terminal, reconfiguring the ship’s sensor array. But he came up empty.

The ship’s array wasn’t particularly advanced, and deeper investigations of its system revealed that neither were the FTL engines. Siegfried also found the alarm controls and returned the bridge to brighter lighting as well as a much-needed silence.

The bridge’s door split open and multiple armed men stormed in. Siegfried didn’t budge. In fact, he didn’t even turn to face the men.

“You can turn back and wait until I have no use for this ship anymore, in which case, you’ll survive this day. Or you can do something stupid and forfeit your lives. I suggest you choose wisely.”

The men looked among themselves as Siegfried continued to enter commands on the holo-terminal. He needed to find an Asgardian destroyer-class ship for the rest of his travels. That alien hunk-of-junk wouldn’t cut it.

“Stop what you’re doing at once,” said the probable leader of the strike group, cocking his weapon and aiming it at Siegfried’s head.

“I have no quarrel with your kind,” said Siegfried calmly as he turned. “I need to borrow this ship. This is the last chance to save your lives. Drop your weapons and leave.”

“Open fire,” ordered the leader.

Wrong choice, thought Siegfried.

A flurry of blaster fire impacted with Siegfried only to ricochet off him. It took very little mental effort on his part to deflect the fire smack dab in middle of each and every man’s forehead. The fire ceased quickly as one body after another collapsed.

He left one alive on purpose. The one Siegfried had identified as the leader.

“Why did you do that?” asked Siegfried. “I gave you a way out of this, but you chose to ignore it, and now all your men are dead.”

“This is our ship, you’re an intruder.”

“First, I’m only borrowing this pathetic excuse of an FTL barge. Second, is this ship worth your men’s lives, and while it’s too late to weigh that in the balance now, is it worth the remaining passengers’ lives, including yourself?”

“I’m a soldier, I have orders.”

“You won’t be anything if you don’t proceed carefully. You clearly can’t hurt me with your toy weapons, so perhaps it’s time to take a deep breath and think things through rationally. Because I won’t tell you a third time.”

The soldier eventually dropped his weapon.

“Now what?” he asked.

“Now you leave the bridge. Go tell the rest of the crew that this room is off limits until I disembark.”

The soldier turned away and walked toward the door, which split open. But he didn’t go through, instead, he stood there for a moment.

“My patience is running thin,” said Siegfried.

“I’m leaving, but I have a question.”

Siegfried sighed. “If you must.”

“What are you?”

“You don’t need to know.”

The man nodded and reluctantly walked out of the bridge.

Siegfried finally detected an Asgardian battle destroyer in range, orbiting a planet about an hour’s jump away from the puny barge Siegfried had borrowed, and he set a course to intercept. Hopefully, the Asgardian vessel would stay in orbit, as there was no way he could follow them if they entered hyperspace.

Unless things had changed during Siegfried’s eons of cryo-sleep, there was nothing faster than an Asgardian hyperspace drive. Not to mention the battle destroyer’s sensors should provide Siegfried with enough resolution to find the two Aegir ships that imprisoned his brothers in arms.

Time was a factor, as the more it passed, the more it gave Thor and his new friends the ability to solidify their final decisions. The thought of his family being murdered as a pre-emptive solution infuriated the Guard’s already scorching soul.

If they dare do that cowardly act, I’ll kill every single one of them, their families, their entire worlds, and there won’t be a Titan powerful enough to stop my wrath!

* * *

Talon and Tar’Lock took the elevator back to the penthouse where Thomson resided.

“He sounded stressed,” said Tar’Lock.

“I agree, whatever he found must have been significant.”

The elevator door whooshed open and the first thing that struck them was sensing Thomson’s agitation, and he appeared to be packing his gear.

“What’s going on?” asked Talon.

“You got me mixed up with things way over my pay grade is what’s going on. It’s time for me to split and relocate.”

“What about your bar?” asked Tar’Lock.

“I may have exaggerated my stakes in that particular venture. When I said my bar, I may have overstated things a little bit. Let’s just say I hold some shares in that establishment.”

Figures, thought Talon.

Datalight Thieves usually stayed very mobile, some of their hacks required that they relocate, stay under the radar, and in some extreme cases, a total personality reboot. DNA injections, full body surgery to alter their appearance, and sometimes, even a career change.

“What’s going on? Did you locate the ship’s engine that we’re looking for?”

Thomson stopped packing and walked toward Talon.

“Yeah, and I wish I didn’t. You have no idea how big you owe me.”

“Why don’t you calm down and tell me the facts, preferably one at a time.”

“This engine, which I mentioned had been more or less a rumor in my field, well, there’s a reason why. It’s been developed by Section Alpha.”

“I’m unaware of this organization.”

“You and the rest of the damn galaxy, and I wish I hadn’t left even a shadow of digital dust linking me to them.”

“Again, who are these people?”

“A shadow group out of Droxia; some seriously fucked up radicalized group of people who think they and only they can protect their world. Every civilization gets a variation of these groups at one point or another in their development, but Alpha, those who know about them, and that’s rare even in my field of work, have learned to fear them and make sure they never ever interfere with their affairs. Those who have, disappeared for all eternity. And I don’t intend to become their next victim.”

“Calm down, it can’t be that bad.”

“Oh, but it is. By the time I figured out all the pieces of your sneaky puzzle, it was too late. So, fuck you very much for the poison pill, and now I must split. As a first small payment for your now big debt to me, I’ll need a ship, something fast, with decent range.”

“Before you get anything, we need to know the whereabouts of the ship, and we need a way to track it.”

Thomson swore. “You don’t get it, do you? If Section Alpha figures out where the tracking comes from, they’ll come after you and won’t stop until they hunt everyone down who is linked to the leak, and that includes my ass. And then it’s all she wrote.”

“One problem at a time. A minute ago I didn’t know they existed, I’m not going to panic about an organization I know nothing about.”

“You do what you gotta do, and I’ll do the same. All I can say is that if you don’t take this seriously, it’s been nice knowing you.”

Tar’Lock stood there, listening while the two men argued. Talon could see from his insectoid friend’s eyes that the coffee started to flush the alcohol from his system.

“Look,” said Talon as calmly as he could muster. “Right now, all that matters to me is finding someone that boarded that ship. I’ll deal with the repercussions later, and I’ll make sure to leave your name out of it. I do need that tracking system, though.”

Thomson rubbed his chin.

“Okay, it’s your funeral.”

The hacker grabbed a data crystal from his pocket and handed it to Talon.

“I’ve tracked the ship to its last pre-jump coordinates, if it moved since then, you’ll have to get there physically, run the detection algorithm on that crystal, and follow the trail where it leads you. Now, get me my ship, please.”

Talon signaled Tar’Lock with a movement of his head, and his insectoid friend opened a channel to the Helios.

“You’ll have it,” said Talon.

“I’ve included all data from my various hacks, I didn’t know if you need it, but I’ll let you be the judge of what is or isn’t useful. To get the full picture, I had to hack into several Alliance systems as well.”

Talon sighed. “Why would you need access to Alliance databases?”

“I needed more information on who was aboard the ship.”

“Except that information was on a need to know basis.”

“Well, I needed to know. Once I got the name of the missing ambassador, it made my work easier.”

“Hacking into the Alliance’s system isn’t cool, Thomson! You should have requested the information you needed from me.”

“Sue me, then. It’s not like I expect us ever to cross paths again, but I will hold you to our deal. You may have stepped in here with me owing you a favor, but the roles have now reversed, big time.”

As much as Talon didn’t like the sound of that, he had to admit Thomson had done a great job in a short amount of time. Even if that meant Talon would one day need to pay the piper. A necessary evil, he decided.

“Fair enough. Thanks for your help.”

“I wish I could say the same,” said a scorned Thomson before returning to hurriedly packing his gear.

* * *

Chris touched the control on the altar again, and this time, it lit up. Shortly after, a small thin trapdoor opened in the floor. A large, empty, metallic triangular-shaped frame rose and filled most of the room. Once it was out, the trapdoor under it closed.

“Is that the portal you mentioned?” asked Argos.

“Yes,” said Chris. “Though I did not expect a device so thin. When Utopia mentioned instant interstellar travel and a portal, I imagined something rather…”

“Bulkier?”

“Yeah, at the very least with apparent connections to the power supply. This thing must be powered wirelessly, then.”

“And you’re sure this thing can send us millions of light-years away in an instant?”

“That’s what I was told, but I think the best way is for us to use it and find out.”

“I guess we’d better test it before reporting and securing the area.”

“Oh, we can secure the area either way. I can tell you we don’t want any malicious parties to gain access to this technology. As I’m currently the sole user this tech will work for, at least for the time being, I doubt anyone would be able to interact with it and use the portal. But we’ll want to make sure it doesn’t fall under enemy hands whether or not they can use it. This is ancient tech from one of the most advanced civilizations ever to roam the stars.”

“Well, the soul ships certainly were amazing smart technology that bonded with its users, and between you and me, I miss mine.”

“So do I. Wouldn’t it be something though if we could find others?”

“Alright, you piqued my curiosity. Let’s open this thing and see what it can do.”

Chris nodded before extending a hand toward the holo-screens.

“What are you doing?” asked Argos.

“You’ll see,” said Chris with a playful smirk.

On one of the holo-screens, a control interface appeared and dislodged itself from the main screen to then lodge itself inside Chris’s hand. It was still a 3D hologram, but now he could interact with it manually.

“You did that to show off,” said Argos.

“True, I could have done all of this with my mind, but it wouldn’t have looked as cool.”

Chris’s hand moved in several directions, rotating and swiping. Some commands required full hand gestures, while others reacted to his fingers.

“What are you doing now?” asked Argos.

“Making sure both the power cells are reconnected before attempting to open a portal. I’m just about done making sure the system is working nominally. Here goes nothing.”

Light engulfed the triangular frame while a low-frequency rumble that could be felt in the room for a few seconds before the inside of the triangle flashed white briefly. When the light disappeared, instead of seeing through the portal, a landscape appeared.

Argos took a step to the side to peek through.

“Is this?”

“Another world?” said Chris. “It certainly looks like it.”

The sky was pink, and the vegetation had predominantly blue colors. A large animal walked by. It was a hybrid between a giraffe and an elephant, with zebra-like markings, alternating red and orange colors.

“Should we go there?” asked Argos.

Chris extended his consciousness and was surprised he could feel the energy and life forms on the other side of the portal.

“Let’s cycle through multiple worlds, see if something feels right.”

Chris rotated his hand ever so slightly, and with each fraction of a degree turn, a new world replaced the previous one inside the cosmic portal.

“Fascinating,” said Argos. “Are we really looking at different places throughout the universe?”

“That’s exactly what we’re doing, yes.”

Chris stayed tuned into each world for a few seconds, just enough time for him to get an energetic feel of the world shown. He sensed a lot of non-technological worlds beyond the portal, while on a couple of them, Chris could feel the presence of civilization in range of the portal.

“What are you looking for?” asked Argos.

“Honestly? I don’t know. But I feel compelled to continue.”

“Fair enough.”

Chris tuned to a world where many humanoids appeared in view, they were fighting, it looked like a war, and blaster fire shot through the gate and impacted on the wall nearby.

“I take it these are bi-directional,” said Argos.

Chris nodded and continued looking for more worlds. After a handful of them, he stopped.

“I don’t believe it,” he exclaimed. “Did you feel that?”

“I felt something, but I don’t know what it is I felt.”

Chris reversed to the previous world and extended his consciousness. Before he could put words to his feelings, Argos did instead.

“That can’t be right, is that?”

“It sure feels like Menelas’ energy.”

“I didn’t think he survived Tanak’Vor’s attack.”

“Looks like he did, and we need to go. I can sense he’s in pain.”

“We better hurry, but the question is, are we sure we can return here?”

Chris walked away from the portal and pressed some controls on the terminals behind the holo-screen wall, which had filled with information about the world currently linked through the portal.

A motorized drawer revealed a series of devices. Chris picked up two, stuck one on his wrist and watched as the small flat device painlessly fused with his skin before giving the other one to Argos.

“And that would be?”

“The way I understand it, portals will only open a transport for people wearing these.”

Argos grabbed the tiny device and let it fuse with his skin.

“How do you know all this?”

“The computer fed me all the information I needed to understand this tech. Since I’m familiar with control technology, I’ve assimilated the data pretty quickly.”

“And you’re sure it’s safe for us to walk through?”

“As far as I know, it’s perfectly safe. It would only be bad if the world somehow changed or the portal turned off while someone walked through.”

“What would happen in that case?”

“Not one hundred percent sure, but I think that person would be cut in half.”

“Swell.”

Chris smiled. “I can go first if you prefer.”

“No, I’d rather test it. You are the one who has all the control gizmos and understands how to use this tech.”

“When you do, let me know if you see an altar on the other side.”

Argos stopped for a moment before eventually putting part of his arm through.

“The air is warmer on the other side,” said Argos. The sun hitting Argos’ hand made it look brighter on the other side. “That’s the strangest feeling.”

“We really should get going,” added Chris. “I’m sensing more distress from Menelas.”

“Yeah, so do I,” said Argos as he stepped through.

Argos looked around him but couldn’t see anything.

“No altar that I can make out.”

“Then we can only return to these coordinates with our sub-dermal implants,” said Chris as he followed his uncle through. “Hopefully, I can have one of the engineers work on a portable-dialing device. For now, we’ll need to remember the exact location.”

Argos used his eyes to fire tiny lasers and scorch the ground below him before they flew away toward Menelas’s energy.

18

Poseidon entered Thor’s ready room. Thor took a few seconds to acknowledge his presence.

“Hey,” said Thor. “I see you got your new arm. I hope you’re satisfied with it.”

“It’s an upgrade alright. Thank you for having Kvasir work on it, though I’m surprised he was able to create it so quickly.”

“That’s because I asked him to work on it the moment I learned about the Spectres’ presence in our universe.”

Poseidon reflected on that and wondered why Thor anticipated that he would need a new bionic arm. Unless he had expected they’d need upgrades considering their precarious situation.

“I’m sorry,” added Thor preemptively. “I never thought you’d lose your arm in that fight. I just thought it might be a good thing to have more powerful weapons with all the threats we face.”

“There’s nothing to be sorry about, Thor. You saved my life during that fight. If you hadn’t severed it, I’d be dead.”

“One could make a case against that, as I, in fact, put your life in harm’s way by asking for your help.”

“Nobody forced me to do it.”

“I still feel responsible.”

“I get it, but I don’t think we should focus on that right now. There are multiple threats to our worlds, one scarier than the other, and we do what we do to protect our lives. So, please, think nothing about putting me in harm’s way, and even if you hadn’t requested my assistance, I would have offered it.”

Thor nodded. “I appreciate that, my friend.”

“I couldn’t help notice we jumped in and out of hyperspace not long ago. Have we changed headings?”

“We have. The Odin has suffered too much damage. It needs to return to Asgard for repair.”

“Is that where we’re heading?”

“No. We’re en route to meet our next home for the time being. Kvasir is bringing the Valhalla to us, along with a fleet of ships. We’ll meet in a couple of hours, get on board, and send the Odin back to Asgard.”

“And then go after the Aegir ships?”

“One of them, yes.”

“Do you know which one?”

“I’m thinking Aegir Two. The ship holding Fenrir.”

“Any reason behind this choice?”

“Just a feeling. Fenrir is the most logical choice. After Siegfried, he’s the most cunning warrior left.”

“What about the third Guard?”

“Brunhild is also a strong warrior, but her powers are very different. She’s more a telepath, makes you see things that aren’t there.”

“That’s all we need, fighting illusions.”

“If only that were the extent of her powers, but no, she can break one’s mind to the point where the body dies too.”

“And Fenrir? Is he also mastering an element? Siegfried’s weapon of choice seems to be the cold.”

“Fenrir’s fighting technique, from the archive I’ve read, is more aggressive. He’s the Guard of the Wolf. His speed and the ruthlessness of his attacks will no doubt put us to the test.”

“Should any of them be released? It may not be too late to pull the plug, and from what you’re telling me here, it may be the safest course of action.”

“I’ve already put both Aegirs on opposite vectors so that Siegfried can only choose one of them. I’d rather we found a way to respect my father’s wishes.”

Poseidon wondered if he should argue that point or not. He had experience with his own family when his brother didn’t pull the plug on the Furies in the past, resulting in disastrous consequences they were both aware of. In fact, Zeus’s actions had indirectly led to the destruction of Olympus and, with it, his own demise.

But Poseidon could sense Thor wasn’t receptive to having his hand forced. And the Olympian respected that his friend was still grieving. He had been handed the keys of a kingdom through tragedy, and he was still trying to cope with that.

“I’m not gonna press the issue, and I understand how you must feel. But there might come a time when we won’t have a choice anymore.”

“I only hope that time hasn’t come yet.”

So do I, my friend, so do I.

* * *

Talon was pensive when Tar’Lock entered his ready room.

“Is it done?” Talon asked.

“Yes, we’ve jumped toward the coordinates we obtained from Thomson. I’ve also requested a ship be sent to him.”

“Good. How did Altair take it?”

“He wasn’t exactly happy about diverting resources to help non-Alliance personnel, but I think I managed to convey why we had to make it work the way we did.”

“You mean by having me work with a known felon.”

Tar’Lock clicked before answering. “Not in so many words, but yes. Thanks for that, by the way.”

“For what?”

“I’m aware it must not have been easy for you to ask this favor. It has put you in a position where you owe him instead.”

“You’re welcome, and I would be lying if I said our friendship didn’t weigh in the final decision. But the truth of the matter is, he was our only option to get a lead on Ryonna. And bringing her home is and always has been our primary objective.”

“Well, thank you, anyway. Unless you need me, I think I’ll be in my room until we get to our destination.”

“Absolutely, you should get some rest.”

“So should you, Talon.”

“I will, I just want to finish looking at the rest of the intel we got from Thomson.”

“See you later, then?”

“Indeed.

Talon waited until Tar’Lock left his ready room before bringing the images back on the holo-screens. He rubbed his jaw with one hand while tapping on the desk with the other.

I wish I hadn’t seen this footage.

Talon didn’t like what he had accidentally uncovered while perusing Thomson’s hack and pondered if he should let Tar’Lock know. He kept looking at the screens, trying to weigh the positives and negatives even though he knew full well he had already made up his mind.

* * *

Chase’s holo-transmission with Poseidon ended. Apparently, Thor and Poseidon had failed in recapturing their foe. Poseidon thought now would be a good time to give Chase all the information they had on the threat.

Chase watched the holo-recording of their fight.

That’s all we need, an enemy just as dangerous as the Spectre.

At least there were only three of these beings, Chase thought. With Chris and Argos away, Chase might have to enlist Nyx’s help in dealing with that Siegfried character. The idea of asking anything of that particular Fury didn’t sit well with him.

Still, it would be preferable to face such an enemy with backup, so against his better judgment, Chase grabbed the footage and decided to go in search of Nyx.

Minutes later, Chase entered the garden on level five of Alkyon One and walked toward Nyx. The garden had a few trees planted as well as an artificial fountain that gave the place quite a serene mood, or would once the work was complete. The large crates on one side of the massive area currently broke the Zen look and feel the architects probably had envisioned for the place.

“What do you want?” she coldly asked.

Chase took a deep calming breath. “Hello to you too.”

“How many times do I have to tell you that I’m not interested in fraternizing with you or anyone else?”

“Oh, don’t worry. I got the message.”

“All evidence to the contrary.”

Chase was slowly getting used to her sharp-as-a-razor personality. Though he wondered what emotions she was covering underneath. If there was one Fury he had a hard time getting a reading on, Nyx was that Fury.

“I wanted to thank you again for your assistance.”

“You mean for saving your pathetic life? I’m still asking myself why I did it.”

“Well, I’m glad you did.”

“Who was that…” Nyx paused. “Woman?”

“I don’t really know other than her being a Spectre. I was hoping you might know something. I take it you never crossed paths with her in the other dimension?”

“I’ve crossed paths with more Spectres than I cared to, but never that one.”

“I also wanted to let you know we may be asked to fight another threat, soon.”

“You’re assuming I give a shit about your petty problems, which you really shouldn’t. I’m not even sure I want to stay around and help you with the Spectres.”

“Then why are you? Staying around, I mean.”

“Damned if I know. I think revenge for my people is the only driving force at the moment. Make the Spectres pay for bringing about the demise of my world.”

“And then what, turn against us?”

“I haven’t decided yet.”

“That’s why I wanted to tell you about the other threat looming on the horizon since they’ve also been an enemy of the Furies, and the Earthers have that expression: the enemy of my enemy is my friend.”

Nyx growled.

“Doesn’t mean you have to agree with it,” added Chase.

“Spit it out, traitor, who do you want me to fight now?”

Chase took another deep breath. “I really don’t like it when you call me that.”

“And I don’t enjoy suffering through your presence, it’s an imperfect universe.”

“That it is,” said Chase, having decided to brush off Nyx’s infuriatingly provocative comments. “The Asgardians have created these beings called Asguardian Guards.”

Chase proceeded to inform her about the info he had received moments earlier regarding the threat.

“Figures that your people would do something so low as to create a super solider in a lab to try to wipe us all out,” said Nyx.

“There was a war going on, and it makes sense for each side to try to get an advantage over the other.”

“Justify it if you will, I still find the tactic despicable.”

Chase’s feelings weren’t landing too far off Nyx’s on the subject. But it didn’t matter anymore if the ethics behind the creation of these Asgardian super soldiers were debatable. They were here, and all indications pointed to the fact that they had to be neutralized.

Chase couldn’t voice his exact feelings either. There was a part of him that looked forward to fighting such an accomplished soldier. He would have to make sure he approached it with more caution than he had in his last fight.

“I don’t particularly disagree with you on that one. But it doesn’t matter. Siegfried is here, and he may need to be neutralized.”

“You said you had footage of him?”

“Yeah.”

Chase put the data crystal inside a port on his wrist device and swiped the footage of the fight Thor had provided. The Asgardian’s armor and smart weapons recorded their fights, which Chase thought was something he would need to ask Yanis about, so he could review his fights and see what could be changed or improved with his own technique.

Nyx got up and looked closely at the footage.

“I’ve seen enough,” she said after a few seconds. “I’ll help you fight him.”

“I take it you know who they are then?”

“I’ve heard of them in Fury legend. But until today, I didn’t think they were real. In my experience, myth and reality don’t always coincide. We did call them something else, though.”

“Did you now?”

“Yes…Harbingers of Doom.”

Chase had to admit that was as equally scary as it was an accurate name for Siegfried and his kind.

* * *

Thor beamed into the Valhalla with purpose. His first stop was engineering, and he was greeted by Kvasir.

“Hi, Thor.”

“Hello, Kvasir. We need to talk.”

“My presence on board the Valhalla kind of hinted toward that. I take it my physical presence means you need me on your next mission?”

“After our failure in stopping Siegfried and seeing how badly he damaged my ship, I thought it would be prudent to have my best engineer on board, yes.”

Kvasir’s tattoos flashed faster for a moment, but he remained silent.

“What?” asked Thor.

“Nothing, it’s just you’ve never acknowledged this in the past. As a matter of fact, it wasn’t so long ago when you wanted me killed.”

“It may not have been a long time ago, but it sure feels like it now. You’ve more than redeemed yourself, and I stand by my current words that you are my best engineer.”

“I appreciate that. Sorry for the interruption.”

Thor nodded. “Here’s the problem we’re facing. Siegfried escaped, and he’ll no doubt try to catch up with either Aegir Two or Three. I’m betting he’s going to go for the Aegir Two, which is why we’re to jump to the prison ship as soon as possible.”

“If it is that urgent, why is it we haven’t jumped the moment you and the Odin’s crew came aboard?”

“Because I need you to tell me what it would take for the Aegir ships to be upgraded so they could be in a state of perpetual jump, so to speak.”

“You mean stay in hyperspace? They can already stay for a very long time, especially with the amount of pentalium they have.”

“That’s not what I mean. The Aegir ships’ hyperspace engines are old, they aren’t particularly fast, so I need us to upgrade them to the latest specs and have them put on some sort of random jump schedule. And by us, I mean you, obviously.”

“I see, so as to make them harder to be tracked and found.”

“Exactly. Can you make these changes?”

“Not without parts from a newer engine.”

“What about the Odin’s hyperdrive? The ship has sustained damage, which is why I didn’t order it to jump away from the rest of the fleet just yet.”

“Let’s take a look, shall we?”

Kvasir brought the status of the Odin up onto the nearest holo-screen. The Odin had, indeed, suffered extensive damage, but most of the hyperdrive engine was still in working order.

The Asgardian engineer then brought up specs for the Aegir prison-type ships side by side and studied both for a moment.

“I think I can cannibalize the Odin’s hyperspace engine to upgrade one Aegir ship. Yes. But that would leave the Odin stranded at sub-light speed, it would take them years to return to Asgard from here.”

“I’ll let her active captain and his skeleton crew know that they’ll have to be patient until another engine is shipped to them, as well as a team to install the new engine so they can bring her home. Right now, the priority is equipping the Aegir ships with engines.”

“That would work, but I can only upgrade one engine with these parts. We’ll need a second hyperdrive engine to modify a second Aegir ship.”

“That’s fine, we’ll have another one of our ships sent toward the Aegir Three right away with a spare engine. Do you think you can instruct another engineer on how to make these changes without requiring your presence on site?”

“Once I’ve done the upgrade on the first engine, sure, I’ll document the process and inform my colleagues on how to proceed.”

“Very well. I guess you should get started on removing the parts you need from my flag ship, then.”

“I’ll start on it right away.”

* * *

Siegfried studied the sensor data of the Asgardian ship on his holo-screens. Their shields were still down, but they would probably raise them any minute upon detecting his approaching vessel.

The Guard looked at the antiquated interface of his current ship and scanned for a data port. Even if its technology was way behind those of the Asgardians, it was still capable of reading crystals, albeit with a small modification.

A few minutes later, Siegfried plugged the Asgard crystal into the modified port and searched for all the frequency sequences of Thor’s ships he had acquired from the Aegir sensors.

He studied the data and quickly wrote a routine allowing him to use this alien technology to make a hole in the Asgardian ships. There would be a short window for Siegfried to make his move, but it would have to be enough.

When his ship exited hyperspace near the Balder, the Asgardian battle destroyer raised its shield.

Siegfried set the timer on the ship to execute a series of actions that would remotely turn off the Balder’s shields on one small location for a few seconds, just enough time for the Guard to pierce through the plating and take over the ship.

Siegfried then reduced his shield bubble and exposed the bridge to the vacuum of space as he flew away toward the Balder.

The ship opened fire as soon as Siegfried entered range, but the Asgardian weapons weren’t strong enough to make it through his personal shield. Instead, Siegfried kept counting in his head as he approached his target. When he hit zero, Siegfried pushed his aura to the maximum and pierced a hole through the ninth deck of the Balder.

The ship’s auto repair systems kicked in and filled the hole with a force field to protect the crew. But it mattered not, now that the Guard was on board, there would be no stopping him.

As the first security detachment arrived on site, Siegfried dispatched them with ease. As Siegfried fought more Asgardians on the ship, he expanded his mind and found the Asgardian computer. He accessed its long-range sensors and found the positions of Aegir Two and Three in space.

The Aegir Two was nearest, so Siegfried used his mind to order the computer to affect a jump to those coordinates while killing the crew that stood in his way to the bridge.

Eventually, Siegfried got bored of eliminating the crew one by one, so he cut life support long enough for the entire crew to be incapacitated or killed. By the time he reached the bridge, there was nobody left to challenge his claim on the ship.

Siegfried pushed the Balder’s dead captain off the seat with a mental telekinetic push. The Asgardian body fell from the captain’s chair, and Siegfried sat in his place.

Fenrir, I’m coming for you, brother.

19

While Jax went to get some shut-eye in his quarters, Ryonna roamed the ship in search of anything that could give them a tactical advantage. She didn’t share her husband’s faith that the Spectres would release Ronan once he delivered the research.

As a matter of fact, she knew exactly how things would turn out. The moment they had what they wanted, Jax, Ronan, and Ryonna would all be executed. The fact that Jax didn’t see that also provided Ryonna with enough information on how deep his brainwashing must have been.

She’d have to devise a plan of her own to save Ronan. But she needed to find something to use to her advantage. She looked at her choices of weapons in the back of the ship and loaded up with everything she could possibly carry for a small war. But none of the weapons on display would give her the edge she was after.

“Computer.”

“What can I do for you, Ryonna?”

“Any top secret weapons not on display here?”

“You’ll have to be more specific.”

“Is there any power suit or Section Alpha weaponry on board?”

A door slid open and revealed a hidden compartment loaded with additional weaponry and a suit hovering in the center of the room, held in place by a force field.

“Specs on the suit, please?”

A holo-screen came to life on the side of the suit. It was made of advanced nano-tech and reminded her of the suit she had used to infiltrate Atrak’s fortress and take him out. Little had she known back then that she would ever see Jax alive.

Somehow that tainted her heroic act, though back then, the main target had never been a warrior’s revenge, but it was to be captured and sent to Hellstar Prison so she could break Ronan out. Killing Atrak had been the cherry on top.

Upon closer inspection of the suit’s specs, she was pleased to note that the cloaking device was leaps and bounds better than the suit she wielded on Hathan Prime.

The suit seemed designed mostly for recon operations, getting in and out of places without being noticed, which is exactly the kind of edge Ryonna had been looking for.

Ryonna couldn’t help but notice that it was slightly off center of the room, so she looked up and saw a second force field generator situated slightly next to where the first one held the suit in place.

“Was there another one of these here before?”

“Affirmative.”

“What happened to it?”

“It was used by Captain Jax during a previous mission.”

“And?”

“Not enough data to answer your request,” complained the computer.

“Why is it missing?”

“The suit malfunctioned and had to be left behind.”

That didn’t bode well.

“Explain source of malfunction.”

“Overloaded based on too much firepower.”

“Isn’t the suit equipped with shields?”

“Yes, but for the cloak to be efficient in avoiding detection, shields are set to a minimal setting, in that mode, any overload will fry the suit.”

Ryonna sighed.

Well…I guess it will have to do.

* * *

“You asked to see me?” Tar’Lock said.

“Yes, my friend, please take a seat.”

Tar’Lock sat opposite of Talon’s desk.

“I’ve been debating all night if I should tell you something I learned from Thomson’s intel.”

“I thought we agreed that you also needed sleep. No wonder you look like crap. No offense.”

“None taken, and I’m going to take a fast nap before we arrive at our destination.”

“Fair enough. What is it you learned?”

“Oh, boy, am I glad you’re sitting down for this.”

Tar’Lock clicked nervously. “I don’t know what it is, but it sure seems serious.”

“I think it is. But I want you to be open-minded about it.”

Tar’Lock put his hands in the air. “That’s going to be difficult if I don’t know what we’re talking about here.”

“It concerns your sister.”

“Which one? I have so many, I don’t even think I remember all of their names.”

“Tar’Sian.”

“She’s dead.”

“I know, but there seems to be some confusion on how that really happened.”

“I’m not sure I follow. Ryonna had to shoot her in self-defense. As hard as it has been, I have accepted that. I just wish I had given her less grief about it when it happened.”

“Yeah, about that, Ryonna didn’t shoot your sister.”

Tar’Lock’s eyes grew wide. “What? What are you talking about?”

“She was involved and present at the moment of her death, but she isn’t the one who pulled the trigger.”

“Who did, then?”

“You need to understand that there was no other choice.”

“Who did it?”

“Altair.”

“That can’t be. Ryonna wouldn’t have lied to me.”

Talon sent footage to his desk holo-screen, but before playing it, he looked at his agitated friend.

“Are you sure you want to see this? It could bring back painful memories.”

“I don’t have memories besides what Ryonna told me. I want to see with my own eyes.”

“Very well.”

Talon played the footage. Tar’Lock looked on in horror as Altair saved a nearly dead Ryonna. Altair shot his sister in order to save Ryonna.

“And this footage is real, right?”

“I haven’t run any algorithm to confirm it, Tar’Lock, but who would benefit from doctoring it? It was part of some security footage Thomson found in his many hacks. I think to get a full picture of why we were after the engine, he researched the Alliance databases about the Gorgar. He probably thought this could be of use somehow.”

Tar’Lock looked pale.

“Are you alright?”

Tar’Lock ignored his friend’s question and rose from his chair, and without saying another word, he left the room.

* * *

Poseidon joined Thor on the bridge of the Valhalla.

“Are we arriving at our destination?” asked Poseidon.

“In just a few moments. Unfortunately, another ship is racing us there.”

“What ship?”

“One of mine. I attempted to hail the Balder, but the ship isn’t answering.”

“We’re proceeding with the assumption that Siegfried is on board that Asgardian ship, then?”

“I’m afraid so. I really hoped we’d have more time. Kvasir doesn’t think he can install the hyperspace upgrades in time before Siegfried gets there.”

“What are we going to do?”

“For the time being, we’ll proceed with the plan. Kvasir will beam the engine and a larger engineering team to the Aegir Two while we use our fleet to try to stop Siegfried.”

“Why not just transfer Fenrir to our ship and run?”

“I’ve thought about it, but we don’t have the necessary power required for his pod to keep cryo-sleep optimal. He would regain enough consciousness to free himself within minutes.”

“I thought the Aegir’s were really old ship designs?”

“They are, but they were also constructed when pentalium was flowing and not the scarce resource it is today. Even if Kvasir transfers the power source to our ship or tries to upgrade the Aegir’s engine, either option will take about the same time.”

“One has to be faster than the other.”

“Kvasir thinks upgrading the engine has a better chance of getting done slightly faster.”

“Do you think the fleet has enough firepower to delay Siegfried long enough?”

“It has to.”

“I don’t want to be that kind of friend, but it seems to me that now may be the time to think about the alternative.”

“I know, but I still think this plan has good enough chances of success.”

“And as your friend, I would be remiss in telling you I shared your confidence.”

“I know, and I thank you for not pushing the issue more. I’m sure you’ve thought about doing so.”

“I have. But this is an Asgardian problem in nature, even though I’m not exactly happy that my brother participated in the creation of the Asgardian Guard in the first place.”

“Our families messed up once, and now we must fix their mistakes.”

“Seems like it’s all we do lately if you ask me.”

Thor forced a smile. “It sure does.”

“Exiting hyperspace,” said a bridge officer.

Thor opened a channel. “Kvasir, you’re up. I don’t have to tell you that time is of the essence here. We’ll do everything we can on our end to delay him, but if Siegfried is allowed on board, don’t be a hero, use your portable emergency transport and return to the Valhalla.”

“Understood,” said Kvasir.

Poseidon looked at the Aegir Two through the viewport.

“How long until Siegfried gets here?”

“Not long enough.”

* * *

“Please stop it,” implored Menelas.

“I thought I was clear as per what would happen if you kept talking,” warned Diaspira.

“Why are you doing this?”

Diaspira dropped the holo-pad she was working on and walked toward a beaten Menelas.

“Because I need to figure out what makes the Fury DNA tick.”

“The Furies are no more, I’m the last purebred.”

“I see your memory is returning. Good for you. As for you being the last Fury, that’s fine by me. As long as I complete my research, I’ll be able to create an army of you and finally hunt down and exterminate the last of the Atlantians.”

“Why…” Menelas had a hard time speaking. He could barely stay conscious. “Why does it matter? Isn’t that war over?”

“As long as there are survivors on either side, it’s not over.”

Menelas shook his head. He knew all too well that kind of hatred. Arakan as well as his father before him, they all wanted to win, no matter the cost. It led to their demise.

“I wish I had died that day…”

“What day are you referring to? When you were swallowed by a black hole?”

“Y—yes.”

“If death is what you long for, then I should be able to deliver your wish. Do you want me to end your suffering now, Menelas? I don’t really need you alive to finish my work.”

But Menelas had lost consciousness.

“I’ll take that as a yes. In a sense, I suppose I owe you that much.”

She grabbed an unlit light scalpel and pressed it against Menelas’ jugular. With one press of a button she would grant her captor’s wish.

An alarm resounded in Diaspira’s lab, and she dropped the medical tool to the floor and ran toward the nearest console to discover she had intruders storming her facility.

“Impossible!” she exclaimed.

She brought up holo-controls and activated her lab’s defense systems.

* * *

Chris discharged a fireball at the main door of the facility where they could sense Menelas’s bio-signature.

The door exploded, and soon, legions of metallic warriors ran their way. Argos took out the first three with a wave of precision attacks while Chris turned Ultra Fury and slashed through the rest.

“I don’t think Menelas will last much longer,” said Chris.

Argos flew past him and punched a hole through the next set of fortified metallic doors as if they weren’t there. Chris followed him into the room only to see an unconscious Menelas held up by hovering devices.

A noise on the other side of the room caught his attention.

“Who’s there?” said Chris. “Show yourself.”

“Do what he says now,” ordered Argos, “or I’ll burn you alive.”

A woman rose from under a table, her hands held up.

“Please, help me,” she said. “I found that man here, but I don’t know what to do to help him.”

“She’s lying,” said Chris.

“Take care of my father,” said Argos. “I’ll deal with her.”

Chris nodded and flew next to Menelas and put his hand on his chest and started healing him. His heartbeat had almost stopped, and Chris put all his healing power to good use.

“You’re gonna pay for what you’ve done to my father,” said Argos.

The woman raised a blaster and aimed it at Argos.

“Such weapons have no effect on a Fury.”

Argos let his entire rage burn his soul, and he turned Ultra Fury. He used telekinetic energy to snap the woman’s weapon out of her hand, but she accidentally discharged the weapon, and a large column of plasma shot upward, narrowly missing Argos and bursting through the ceiling of the facility with ease.

The amount of power it unleashed surprised Argos. It could have dealt him a serious blow. He raised his palm at the woman, who was already running away, and he fired an attack at her.

A personal shield rose around her as she grabbed a holo-pad from a nearby table and pressed a device on her wrist.

A circular, albeit smaller, portal similar to the one Argos and Chris had used earlier came to life.

“Oh, no, you don’t,” exclaimed Argos as he shot three more fireballs at the woman, but her shield deflected all three attacks. One bounced and shot toward Chris and Menelas, forcing Argos to act fast. He fired a smaller attack to deflect the fireball from impacting them. When he turned his attention back to the woman, the portal was already closing.

“Dammit!” he screamed.

Argos went to help Chris and ripped his father’s limbs free of their technological shackles. He added his own healing power to Chris’s, and soon, Menelas blinked his eyes open.

“Argos…Chris…Is that you? Or am I dead?”

“It’s us,” said Argos. “We got you.”

They finished healing Menelas and proceeded back to the portal. But Argos stopped.

“What is it?” said Chris.

“She grabbed something from her lab. She could return for more.”

“We have to get back to Alliance space as soon as possible,” said Chris.

“Chris is right,” said Menelas. “She was experimenting on me, something about Fury DNA and creating an army.”

“I don’t like the sound of that,” said Chris.

“You and me both,” said Argos, letting his aura explode around him in a crimson inferno.

He aimed a palm at the facility and incinerated it in a final flash of fury.

20

Poseidon took a seat next to Thor’s the moment the Balder exited hyperspace. Thor ordered his fleet to open fire with everything they had. The Asgardian ship got pounded, and its shields dropped quickly.

“What do we do if he gets out like last time and picks us off one by one?” asked Poseidon.

“One problem at a time, but we’ll jump all ships away, including the Aegir.”

“I thought Kvasir was working on the engines?”

“We’ll track the Aegir in hyperspace with a tractor beam.”

“Why not do that now?”

“Because that is a last resort, we risk overloading the Aegir’s power grid.”

“Which would result in Fenrir waking up.”

“Indeed.”

The Balder returned fire, concentrating on the Valhalla.

“I think he knows we’re on this ship,” said Poseidon.

“I have no doubt he can sense us, yes.”

“Why have its shields stopped draining?”

“He’s redirected every ounce of power to shields and weapons. His engines are fully offline.”

“How long can his shields take this type of pounding?”

“Too long,” said Thor. “Commander, have the Freya’s crew prepare for emergency beam-out.”

“What are you doing?” asked Poseidon.

“Using one of my ships as a weapon. That should take care of his shields.”

And then he’ll attack us with more of his own firepower, said Poseidon.

Thor made a sound between a growl and a sigh. He opened a channel to the Aegir Two.

“Status report?” Thor asked. “How long until you can jump?”

“Another ten minutes, at best,” said Kvasir. “I need more time.”

“That’s the one commodity we’re quickly running out of. Do your best.”

“Understood.”

Thor turned off the channel. “Commander, status of the Freya’s crew?”

“They’ll be on board in ten seconds.”

“The moment they are, jump the Freya right into the Balder.”

“Yes, my King,” said the commander.

Tension on the bridge was high. Poseidon could sense that the crew was tense. The ten seconds felt like an hour, as everyone, Poseidon included, held their breath.

“Freya jumping in two, one…” said the commander.

The Freya micro-jumped and appeared where the Balder was a moment ago, but the Balder wasn’t there.

“Report!” shouted Thor.

“The Balder also micro-jumped, it’s just within transport range.”

Thor swore.

The lights on board the Valhalla turned off—every light source, every console—they all turned off almost instantly. Through the viewport, Poseidon could see that the rest of Thor’s fleet suffered a similar fate.

“We’re dead in the water,” said Poseidon.

“But how?” asked Thor.

The Balder jumped back in between the fleet, right next to the Aegir and stayed on its port side.

“Get main power back online, NOW!” screamed Thor.

“All systems are offline,” said the commander. “Main computer reboot has been initiated.”

“How long will that take?”

“A minute, give or take.”

“It will be over in a minute.”

“What do we do now?” asked Poseidon.

“I don’t know. There’s nothing we can do. I should have listened to you and killed Fenrir. I’m sorry.”

Poseidon preferred not to answer. Words would do no one any good right now. The time for regret had passed, now they’d have to deal with two Guards instead of one. Thor had made a choice, and for the second time in just a few days, it had been the wrong one.

“Never mind that,” answered Poseidon. “Can his ship attack us before we restore power?”

“Without knowing what he’s doing, I have no way to give you an answer.”

Thor and Poseidon both watched in terror as the Balder powered up its engine and jumped away the moment the main power kicked back in.

Thor opened a channel. “Kvasir? Do you hear me?”

There was no answer, and Poseidon could sense Thor’s worry for the engineer’s well-being.

“Kvasir, please come in,” Thor insisted.

“It’s gone,” said Kvasir over the channel. “Siegfried beamed away the cryo-pod.”

“Understood. How are you and your crew doing?”

“We’re okay. I wish I could say the same for the bridge crew.”

“What happened to them?”

“Siegfried beamed them outside.”

No doubt to punish its captain. Thor remained silent.

“Do you still want us to complete the engine modifications?” Kvasir asked.

“We may as well,” said Poseidon, “and should we transfer Brunhild to Aegir Two?”

Poseidon could tell Thor was considering his question but was also feeling shock at what had just happened. The Olympian wasn’t sure the reality of their situation, as well as its consequence, had fully crystalized inside his friend’s mind.

“Sir?” asked Kvasir over the open channel.

It took another uncomfortable moment of silence before Thor spoke again. Until the King of Asgard opened his mouth, the tension on the bridge could be cut with a knife.

“Affirmative…finish the modifications and slave the Aegir’s hyperdrive to the Valhalla’s. Then return on board before we jump the fleet away.”

“Will do. I’m sorry we weren’t fast enough,” added Kvasir.

“No apology needed,” said Thor before rising from his chair and heading off the bridge.

The bridge’s first officer looked at Poseidon, puzzled.

“I think you can beam the crew of the Freya back on board their ship.”

The commander nodded.

* * *

“Come in,” said Thor as he looked at the blue-purple hyperspace color streaks scrolling outside of the viewport.

Kvasir entered Thor’s ready room, his facial tattoos all but muted.

“Feel free to take a chair,” Thor added.

Kvasir sat.

“You said you believe you found out why Siegfried was able to, for the lack of a better word, reboot our ships?”

“I think so. While my team finished upgrading the Aegir’s hyperspace engines, I accessed its database, I had to hack my way into Siegfried’s DNA profile.”

“I’m listening.”

“Siegfried is one of two Guards who was given a very specific power. Techno-telepathy.”

“What’s that?”

“It’s the ability for a biological mind to bond with a machine and control it with thoughts.”

“Doesn’t Chase possess a similar power?”

“That’s correct, as do other Furies. However, Chase’s powers are more advanced.”

“Siegfried’s power seemed pretty advanced to me, he shut down my entire fleet in the blink of an eye.”

“Yes. But Siegfried can only affect Asgardian technology, where it is my understanding that Chase can interface with almost any type of technology he encounters.”

“You said another Guard has that power as well. Please tell me it’s one of the fallen ones.”

“I’m afraid not.”

“Brunhild?”

“Yes, she has the ability, too.”

The revelation wasn’t surprising from what Thor knew about her set of mental powers.

“Do you think I should order her execution?”

“I’m not sure why you’re asking me this, Thor. You’re the new King of Asgard. The decision is yours, no matter what I think.”

“I’m asking for your opinion.”

“I don’t know if my answer will help, but I believe your father should have done that a long time ago. The main problem now is that even if the Aegir Three is far away, and Siegfried will take days to reach her at maximum hyperspace velocity, the fact of the matter is, he’ll get there before us. Not to mention that he can probably listen to any transmission we send her. If you do decide to end her life, you may want to do it sooner rather than later.”

“I will. How do we even fight Siegfried if he can shut down our ships in such a fashion?”

“Well, for one, we could ask the Alliance to provide ships. Their systems should be impervious to his mind. I’ll have to ask Spiros to quickly come up with extra firewalls to put in place around their systems using Asgardian technology. Like the hyperspace drive and the transports.”

“Get in touch with him as soon as possible. I’ll contact the captain of the Aegir Three. Thank you, Kvasir. That will be all for now.”

Kvasir nodded and got up from his chair and headed toward the door before stopping.

“For what it’s worth, I think your father would understand you no longer have a choice.”

Would he? Thor wondered. It didn’t matter anymore, two Guards were more than enough to wreak havoc throughout the cosmos. Thor couldn’t afford a third one to join their ranks.

He opened a channel to the Aegir Three and the captain’s face filled his desk’s holo-screen.

“Hello, Captain. I need you to terminate Brunhild immediately.”

“I—I don’t understand, Thor. You gave me that order ten minutes ago.”

“What?”

Thor felt as if the floor was pulled out from under his chair and he was siphoned into space.

“I didn’t contact you ten minutes ago.”

“I’m confused, my King. We spoke, and, as requested, we beamed the cryo-pod into space.”

Thor’s heartbeat accelerated dangerously fast.

“Listen to me very carefully, Captain. You’ve been duped; the call you received must have been doctored. I need you to turn back right now, target that pod, and fire every single quantum torpedo on board the Aegir Three at it. You hear me?”

“Understo—” but the connection dropped, and Thor thought he felt his heart stop for a moment.

He tried calling the Aegir Three back multiple times in vain. Eventually, he opened a channel to the bridge requesting the status of the Asgardian prison ship.

“I’m afraid the Aegir Three has been destroyed,” said the commander.

Thor’s vision grew blurry as his mind became overloaded with dark thoughts.

In the name of my father, what have I done? Did I initiate Ragnarok?

* * *

Spiros was contemplating the steam rising from his cup of coffee when he received a holo-transmission. His holo-screen filled with Kvasir’s face. He looked worried.

“What’s up, Kvasir?”

The Asgardian engineer briefed Spiros on the latest events.

“Wow, I could see by the look on your face that you had bad news, but what you’ve told me is on a totally different level than I anticipated. As of this moment, we have to assume that this Siegfried and his companion can shut down Asgard tech on board our ship, correct?”

“Basically, yes. It’s imperative you start working on firewalling these systems with human or Alliance tech, but do not use any Asgardian sub-system.”

“Do you have any idea the amount of work this will generate, especially to deploy it fleet wise?”

“I’m aware, but we don’t have any choice here. I would help you, but I think these firewalls will be more efficient if I have nothing to do with their design.”

“How convenient for you…sorry,” Spiros caught himself quickly. “I know this isn’t a time for humor.”

“That’s alright, Spiros. I’m sorry to put this squarely on your shoulders. But if we don’t want the Asgardian Guards to start attacking en masse, we need to patch this vulnerability as swiftly as possible.”

“That’s all well and good, and I can start working on it right now, but what about the Asgardian ships? Siegfried could turn them against us.”

“With your permission, I’ll also be sending our ships to Damocles-5. Perhaps you could add a layer of protection around our systems as well?”

Spiros drank his coffee in one large gulp. He was rewarded with instant pain burning down his throat, and he coughed.

“Are you okay?”

“Never mind that, Kvasir. Firewalling Alliance systems is one thing. I mean, I’m acutely aware of how the Asgardian systems integrate with ours and where the weak points are. I’m no expert on your ship’s design. As a matter of fact, I always thought you guys never granted full access to your blueprints because you didn’t want us to fully understand how they work.”

“No, the reason was that if we gave you full specs, you’d request more pentalium to make it work, and we’re already running out of it.”

“That makes sense. I’ll need full access to your tech if I’m even to scratch the surface of this predicament.”

“I’ll deliver a hard copy of these files to you the moment I arrive on Damocles-5.”

“You’re coming here? Why not send it via sub—” but Spiros stopped himself. “I get it, when will you be here?”

Spiros made a mental note to start firewalling the Asgardian’s communications technology before anything else. Or else they’d leak important Alliance business and their troop positions.

“I should arrive at the end of the day.”

“I would say I’m looking forward to it, but it seems like I’ll be burning the midnight oil.”

“I know, and I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay, Kvasir, it’s not your fault. See you tomorrow.”

“Gods willing.”

21

Ryonna docked the ship to the Spectres’ small space station.

“Docked. You’re sure you want me to stay on board?”

She asked the question so as not to raise any suspicion with Jax. In truth, that’s exactly what she hoped.

“Yes,” said Jax over the comms. “We may have to make a run for it, better if you’re ready to go at a moment’s notice. I’ll get our son, I promise.”

While Ryonna appreciated the sincerity behind Jax’s words, she knew full well that he had been broken and brainwashed, and at the end of the day, he was ill-equipped to really succeed.

“Opening the hatch,” said Ryonna. “Good luck, bring Ronan back safely.”

“Will do. Be ready to get us out of here.”

“I will be.”

The moment she saw Jax step out of the hatch port connected to the station, Ryonna jumped out of her seat, ran to the hidden weapons compartment, put the suit on, and activated its cloak. A neuronal interface filled her field of view with a HUD containing the status of the suit of armor as well as various external sensor data.

She grabbed as many blasters and lightblades as she thought she could carry and checked that the weapons didn’t interfere with her suit’s cloaking ability. So far so good. Ryonna added two more grenades to her arsenal.

She sprinted out of the ship and used the sensors to track Jax. Once she had him in visual range, she slowed her pace, making sure she would not make any noise that could betray her presence.

Her heartbeat accelerated when Jax stopped in front of a male arachnoid. Hopefully, that was not a Spectre. As far as she knew, Spectres looked more humanoid than this thing.

It mattered not though if that thing was a Spectre, all that mattered was grabbing her son and making sure they survived the day. If she had to engage the Spectres in order to achieve her goal, she would. Only death would prevent her from saving Ronan, and Ryonna had no intention of dying today.

She approached them ever so slowly, making sure she avoided another arachnoid that came out from an adjacent corridor.

“Do you have the research?”

“I do, but I’ll only give it to you when you release my son.”

“Very well,” said the arachnoid.

He scanned Jax to make sure he wasn’t wearing any weapons.

“Follow me.”

They moved toward a room farther into the station. Ryonna made sure to mark the path back to the ship on her HUD and followed Jax inside the room.

Her heart felt like it would stop when she saw Ronan chained to a wall with energy-based beams. Probably using a similar technology as her own lasso setting on her old blaster.

“Here’s your son.”

“Dad,” said Ronan. “Why did you come back?”

Ryonna could sense Ronan was genuinely worried about his presence. It made sense. After all, Ronan was an Alliance officer now. He knew to put the well-being of the Alliance before his own. Something Ryonna, in moments like these, still struggled with.

“Give me the research, and I’ll let your son go,” said the arachnoid.

Ryonna’s HUD lit up indicating nearby movement. Four life-signs were heading their way, fast. She wondered if she should wait or engage them before they reached the room. But she couldn’t risk Ronan’s life. She was right in reach, and she’d rather defend her family while she could keep an eye on them rather than take the risk and lose contact. So, she decided to stay put.

Come on, Jax, make him release Ronan.

“Show me the research, and I’ll release Ronan.”

Jax hesitated for a moment but eventually dug inside a pocket and showed the arachnoid the data chip.

“Very good,” said the arachnoid man.

Ryonna checked her radar, which showed the incoming party only seconds away from arriving. When the arachnoid entered a command on a nearby device, the energy-based restraints around her son’s limbs vanished. Ronan fell to the ground.

“Now give me the research,” the arachnoid insisted.

Jax’s hand trembled as he handed over the data chip, and Ryonna noticed the incoming party slowing down and taking a position not too far from the entrance of the room, but they held their position there. Ryonna assumed they were receiving telepathic orders.

Could Jax have been right and the arachnoid would let them go once they got what they wanted?

The arachnoid grabbed the data chip and smashed it in its hand.

“Can we go now?” asked Jax.

Ronan struggled to get back to his feet. His muscles must have atrophied from being stuck in the same position for days. Ryonna wanted to go and help him, but she had to stay ever so vigilant.

“I’m afraid you won’t be leaving this place alive,” said the arachnoid.

Ronan jumped toward the arachnoid, but the man kicked him in the jaw, sending him backward, and Jax sprang into action at the exact same moment the men outside made their move.

Ryonna grabbed a lightblade with one hand, grabbed Jax’s jacket with her other hand, and pulled, forcing him down and preventing the arachnoid’s punch to connect with his face. Ryonna jumped forward and activated her lightblade, and the moment she did, the HUD flashed red, indicating that the cloak was compromised.

Before the cloak failed fully, she decapitated her son’s captor.

“Mom!” screamed Ronan.

Jax, however, was on the ground, screaming and holding his hand. Ryonna grabbed a blaster and threw it toward her son.

“Four men are about to storm through this door, cover fire!” she ordered.

Ronan grabbed the blaster and opened fire while Ryonna turned the lightblade off and grabbed another blaster, set it to stun, and fired three times at Jax, making sure he lost consciousness.

Enemy fire screamed all around them while Ronan did his best to keep them at bay.

“What the hell are you doing?” he complained.

“Your father has been brainwashed, if we want to survive, it’s better we drag him out of here.”

Ryonna set her blaster back to lethal and added her fire to her son’s while she checked her radar. More enemy troops were deploying. She chose an alternate exfiltration path and grabbed one of her grenades and flashed it so Ronan would know she was about to use it.

“On three…two…one…”

Ronan jumped out of the way as Ryonna sent the grenade through the door. Two of the soldiers tried entering the moment the grenade exploded and were torn to pieces while Ryonna grabbed her son and used her body armor to shield him from the flames.

All four life-signs on her HUD blinked out of existence.

“Let’s go! Follow me. Do not deviate from my path. And provide me with back-up cover fire if needed.”

“What about dad?” Ronan said.

Ryonna grabbed Jax and threw him on her shoulder without much effort as if he were a sack of potatoes.

“I have Jax, don’t worry.”

They exited the room as the smoke dissipated, but the lights in the corridors pulsed between darkness and a soft-red color. Ryonna checked her radar one last time, grabbed the other grenade, and activated it.

“One my mark, run after me. Do not fall behind,” she said.

“Understood,” said Ronan.

Ryonna threw the grenade at the far end of the corridor and ran the other way with Ronan in tow.

The second grenade detonated and took out three more soldiers right when they were making the turn at the end of the corridor.

Ronan tripped and fell, but Ryonna heard him and grabbed him by his arm and stood him back up. “One more slip and we won’t get out of here alive.”

Ronan nodded, and they resumed their run through the corridors. At the next intersection, they were pinned by fire coming from both sides. Ryonna knocked Jax to the side with a swift movement of her shoulder.

“You take left,” she shouted as she turned and aimed her blaster toward the right side of the intersection and buried a tennis ball-sized hole in the head of the arachnoid soldier before turning back and seeing three of her son’s shots hit the soldier in the chest.

She lined her blaster and shot his head off for good measure before grabbing Jax again.

“Let’s go. We’re almost to the ship.”

They had to kill another two soldiers on their way, and Ryonna gave Jax to her son while she closed the hatch and ran to the cockpit.

The ship rocked before she even reached the pilot’s seat, and she was catapulted against the bulkhead. She swore.

“Computer, get us out of here,” she said.

The computer started the engines the moment Ryonna reached the seat, and she took over manually and disconnected the ship from the station. Plasma fire impacted the ship before Ryonna could raise the shields and rocked the medium-sized craft.

Once the shields were up, Ryonna activated the cloak.

“Cloak damaged,” said the computer. “Unable to activate.”

“Damn!” she shouted.

“Can we jump out of here?”

“Hyperspace engines also disabled.”

They’d have to make a run for it, then. She vectored away from the station, trying to take evasive action, but there were too many targets firing at them. Some of the plasma fire came out of nowhere.

“Who’s firing at us?” she asked.

“Sensor analysis inconclusive,” said the computer. “Best guess is cloaked ships.”

If these were cloaked spider ships, they were in bigger trouble than she initially thought.

Ronan came to the cockpit. “Why haven’t we jumped?”

“We lost hyperspace.”

“Oh, crap. Now what?”

“Now we make a run for it.”

But the moment she ended her sentence, a beam of red light locked onto them and they stopped moving.

“No, no, no!”

“Tractor beam,” said Ronan. “Thanks for trying, but it doesn’t look like we’re getting out of this alive.”

An increasing amount of blaster fire impacted the ship, and the shields failed. With every new hit, sparks flew inside the cockpit.

“Structural integrity critical,” said the computer.

Ryonna looked deep inside her son’s eyes. “I’m sorry.”

* * *

The Helios exited hyperspace right on top of Jax’s ship, which was being pounded to oblivion.

“Position the Helios between us and the source of fire,” said Talon. “Triangulate probable enemy position and fire a full spread of quantum torpedoes. Use the plasma gun to destroy that tractor beam. Get ready to drop shields on my mark, and transport all three passengers directly to the bridge.”

“Aye, Captain,” said the tactical officer.

Tar’Lock was taking care of the transport.

“I have a strong lock on all three of them. But their ship is about to explode.”

Talon swore as the quantum torpedo spreads found their targets and impacted with spider ships around them, their shields flashing briefly before they disappeared again from both the viewport and sensors.

“Alright, drop shields now, initiate transport. Lock all batteries to the last point of impact, widespread pattern fire, now!”

The shields dropped while enemy plasma fire impacted them, and the next impacts rocked the Helios as explosions filled the viewport.

Ryonna, Ronan, and Jax materialized on the bridge.

“Raise shields!” ordered Talon. “Get us out of here, jump!”

The Helios moaned but opened a hyperspace window and jumped away.

Tar’Lock jumped out of his chair and ran toward Ryonna. “Are you alright?”

“Tar’Lock, I don’t know how you found us, but thank the gods you did.”

Ryonna grabbed Ronan in her arms and kissed his hair.

“Thank you all,” said Ryonna, unable to contain her tears.

Talon got up from his captain’s chair and approached Ryonna.

“Welcome on board the Helios, Ambassador.”

“Thank you, Captain…”

“Epizon. My name is Talon Epizon. I’m glad we could render assistance.”

“We owe you our lives.”

“Who’s that man?” asked Talon. “If you don’t mind me asking.”

“It’s a long story, but this is Jax Is’chys, my not-so-dead husband.”

“I’m sure looking forward to your report, should be an interesting read.”

Ryonna nodded. “But before then,” she said as she dug something out from under her suit. She handed the data chip to Talon. “We need to bring this back to Chase. It contains precious research on a weapon capable of neutralizing the Spectres. We also need to inform him about that structure the Spectres are building in space.”

“Do you know what it is?”

“I ran scans when we approached the space station, they were inconclusive, but I detected large amounts of pentalium within its structure. Unfortunately, any other scans I took from the structure were lost with our ship.”

Talon signaled one of his officers and the holo-screen filled with a sensor scan taken from the Helios.

The installation was miles wide and made of multiple black monolith parts. Only a few of them were missing to create a perfect circle in space.

“What the hell is this?” asked Talon.

“Unknown,” answered his officer. “It does resemble a jump gate of some sort.”

“Could the Spectres be creating a jump gate between our dimensions?” asked Tar’Lock.

“If that’s the case,” said Talon, “then we need to let Altair know as soon as possible. If the Spectres send reinforcements through, there will be no stopping them. Open a channel to headquarters, priority one.”

* * *

“Believe me, Ares,” said Zeus, “I told Odin repeatedly that it was a mistake keeping the remaining Guards captive. It would have been better to end the threat right then and there after they were apprehended.”

“While I agree with you for once,” said Ares, “I don’t think you have the right to take the high ground in this instance, no offense.”

“None taken. But tell me why?”

“You did the exact same thing with the Furies, you swept the problem under a rug instead of ending it right then and there when the opportunity arose.”

“Yes, because I didn’t want to kill my own daughter. Can you really blame me for that?”

“Yet, here we are. Oryn died anyway and millions more in a war that could have been prevented. The price of one life, at least this time around, was too high to pay.”

“Perhaps. But the difference between these examples is that I never expected the Furies to ever return from their dimensional prison.”

“As I’m sure Odin didn’t expect the Guards to ever wake up either. What I don’t understand is why he made that decision? No matter from which angle I try to look at it, it simply doesn’t make sense.”

“Yeah…I’m sure he didn’t expect this outcome. As for why, I suppose it’s because on some level, he felt these beings were still of Asgard. Look, Ares, we all make mistakes, and as you well know, it’s how we try to fix them that matters. I’m sure you can empathize with me on that point at least.”

Ares could. He had done unspeakable things himself. His acts, his lack of judgment in the past are what had gotten him banished from Olympus, cast away from his friends, his family. But there was no question in his mind that he had deserved that fate. In the end, it was his search for redemption that reunited him with his friends and family, however briefly in the corporeal plane of existence.

“So…how do we defeat Siegfried and the others?”

“You don’t, not even Chase is powerful enough to kill his kind.”

“What about Chase, Chris, and Argos together?”

“Perhaps, but I don’t think it’s a strategy you should even entertain.”

“I’m not following.”

“Imagine what would happen if a Spectre got a hold of one of your friend’s souls, or if by engaging unprepared with the Guards, a Spectre managed to siphon Siegfried’s soul, or worse, all three guards?”

“I thought they were a lab experiment, how can they have a soul?”

“Oh, they have a soul alright, one that may be twisted in so many ways, but having faced one of them in battle personally, I damn guarantee you they do.”

“How did you survive?”

“I ran for my life, plain and simple.”

It was hard for Ares to imagine his father running away from any battle. But it only underlined the precarious nature of the threat the Guards represented.

“So, if a Spectre assimilates their souls…” Ares let his words trail.

“He’ll get more powerful than anything we could ever imagine. Then there will truly be no stopping them.”

“So, what? We need Titans, then?”

“Very few survived the first Fury War and the…well—the clean up effort.”

“Which is why you created an army of genetically modified Super Titans in a lab, with the help of Odin.”

Zeus twitched, and Ares could sense that Zeus was surprised he knew that part of the story. “That’s correct.”

“Then you must have some DNA lying around somewhere that we can use to do the same. If we could get our hands on it.”

“It’s all gone, Ares. It died with Olympus.”

“There has to be a way!”

“The question you should be asking yourself is, do I ask for help in creating another monster that we’ll eventually have to deal with when the time comes?”

“As disgusted at myself for entertaining that very notion, yes, that’s exactly what I’m asking. If there’s no other way, then so be it. We’ll just implant them with kill switches, like you did previously.”

“For that you’d need DNA of the most powerful and brave Titans that ever lived. But there are none left alive, and their DNA is gone, forever.”

“Do you mind if I ask which of the Titan’s DNA you used back then for the creation of the Super Titans?”

“Super Titan? Not sure I enjoy the name, but to answer your question: Gaia, Hyperion, and Themis, among others. The elite of the elite, the strongest and bravest of them ever to roam the stars.”

“Wait, what? That doesn’t make any sense. These Titans were dead way before the first shot was ever fired in the first Fury War, how did you…”

But Ares let the words hang at the realization of what Zeus’ words meant.

“No way…” Ares continued. “You used Chronos to acquire their DNA in the past, didn’t you?”

Zeus nodded.

“How did you convince him to help you do that?”

“By only telling him I needed his help, making sure I left him in the dark about the specifics.”

“And what could possibly have compelled him even to accept helping you?”

“I promised him his freedom if he did.”

“Sneaky, even though that makes sense, he would never have helped you otherwise.”

“Unfortunately, for you, Chronos is no longer an option.”

Zeus looked away for a second and then returned his gaze to his son.

“You’re lying. I can tell. Why?”

“Nonsense.”

“You have a tell, you always have. Is Chronos alive?”

“That’s a matter of perspective.”

“Is—Chronos—Alive?” insisted Ares.

“I don’t think I like your tone, son.”

“Screw my tone! We need to know.”

“Technically, there might still be a slight chance he is. But you’ll never find him.”

“Where is he?”

“Somewhere you can’t go.”

“That’s not a satisfactory answer, Father.”

“Trust me, Ares, if he is indeed alive, there’s no way to get him.”

“I’ll be the judge of that. Where is he?”

“In the other dimension.”

“What? Why? How?”

“He eventually learned why we needed his help. Let’s just say he was less than pleased being used in that fashion. It took thousands of our best warriors to put him under and then we made sure he was buried deep within a place that we thought would no longer pose any threat.”

“And that place would be?”

“Erevos’s crust. Just before we used the Pandora device.”

Ares buried his head in his hands. “If he was on Erevos, then he died with the rest of the planet.”

“Maybe, maybe not.”

“What about you stop being so damned cryptic for just one conversation, do you think you could do that for me?”

Zeus smiled. “For you, I suppose I could try.”

“Father!” insisted Ares.

“Look, we gave Chronos enough sleeping agent to sleep for a week or two, at best. Dosage isn’t exactly simple to achieve on a Titan his size. He would have eventually awoken, and the hiding place where our agents left him on Erevos was not the kind of prison that would have held a being of his power for very long.”

“And what if the Spectres got his soul? Have you thought of that?”

“That…would be bad.”

“That’s an understatement of epic proportions.”

“Granted, fortunately the soul-body bond is much stronger in a Titan than any other living being. I suppose that, maybe, just maybe, if an entire army of Spectres put their strength together.”

Ares shook his head. “I gotta let Thor and Chase know about this.”

“Why? What good will it do? You can’t possibly go to the other side now that the Pandora device is gone.”

“I was there not so long ago as a matter of fact.”

“Only because you were on Erevos when the phasing happened. That doesn’t mean it will be possible for you to go back.”

“We may not have a choice in the matter now. We may have to find a way to get there.”

“If you do find a way and decide to go there with Chase and his friends, please be careful, all of you.”

Ares nodded solemnly. “Yeah, we’d have to be out of our minds to even consider it, wouldn’t we?”

“You’d literally step into the mouth of the enemy and risk being chewed up.”

“Thanks for that creepy mental image.”

Zeus shrugged. “Be that as it may, it’s a pretty accurate one.”

“I suppose it is,” said Ares with a sigh. “I’d better be getting back.”

“It was good seeing you again, son. Thank you for the visit. I hope I will see you more in the future.”

Ares smiled. “Yeah, I’m sure the need will arise eventually.”

“Oh…”

“Sorry, clumsy choice of words on my part. I didn’t mean anything by it.”

“Don’t worry, I get it. I hope you find a way to defeat the Asgardian Guards one way or the other, I truly cannot emphasize enough how dangerous they are.”

“Trust me, I’ve seen one in action, and I never thought we’d be facing enemies worse than the Spectres anytime soon.”

“If only they weren’t our enemies.”

“Thor tried that. Siegfried was less than receptive to the idea. Now that he has acquired Fenrir and Brunhild, I don’t think they’ll be interested in anything beyond taking revenge on their captors.”

“Can you blame them?”

“I guess not. But we do have to stop them. Alright, then, I guess I’ll see you when I see you, Father.”

Zeus smiled. “Take good care of yourself, son.”

“And you…”

Ares teleported away from the Underworld.

22

Chase paced nervously by the entrance of bay six. Argos, Chris, and Menelas were scheduled to arrive any moment now. Chase couldn’t believe his father was alive. And he missed both his brother and his son. It had been a while since he had seen them in the flesh.

“Chase,” said Daniel over the comms. “You’ve got a visitor.”

“They arrived?” asked Chase.

“Not exactly.”

Athena beamed in front of him.

“Hello, son,” she said, smiling.

They embraced.

“Mother,” said Chase. “It’s good to see you. How’s Aphroditis doing?”

“Better, and we probably need to talk about it more later, but for now, is it true that Menelas is alive?”

“It is. I’ve talked to him via holo-transmission. He did seem shaken by the events that happened to him, but otherwise, he looked healthy.”

“I’m glad. I told Aphroditis I could sense he was alive.”

“I—I’m afraid I wasn’t as optimistic in the matter, but I’m glad to be proven wrong.”

“Chase,” said Daniel. “The ship has docked.”

Chris, Argos, and Menelas soon walked toward them. Chase could sense a mixture of happiness and anger boil within his mother. Which wasn’t surprising since last they had seen each other, Menelas had incapacitated her, making sure she didn’t take part in their fight against Tanak’Vor.

Chase always wondered if her presence would have made any difference? Perhaps Sarah wouldn’t have been mortally wounded if she had. But Chase recognized that it was never good to stay stuck in the past and the what ifs of life. No good was to be found in that state of mind, only sorrow and regret.

Chris smiled and waved toward his father.

“It’s good to see you all,” said Chase.

Menelas took Chase in his arms, “Good to see you, son.”

He then walked toward Athena.

“I never thought I’d see you again, my love,” said Menelas.

Chase sensed her reaction before it happened.

Athena punched him hard in the nose, almost knocking his lights out, but she grabbed him toward him and kissed him passionately.

“Ouch,” said Argos. “That had to hurt.”

“He knows he deserves it,” said Chase with a smile. “It’s good to see you both. Thank you for getting him back. I’m so proud of you, Chris.”

Chris shrugged. “We were just at the right place at the right time, I guess. But…” Chris hesitated, “it’s good to see you, too.”

Argos put his hand around Chase’s shoulder. “We’ve missed you. But you know what? We’re starving, any chance we could all grab a bite?”

Chase smiled. “Sounds like a plan, follow me, the galley is that way.”

* * *

Tar’Lock waited in front of the quarters that had been assigned to Ryonna and Ronan. Jax had been put in suspended animation until they could get him to Alliance headquarters and try to undo the brainwashing he had suffered.

It took a few minutes for Tar’Lock to build up the courage to ring the doorbell.

To his surprise, Ronan answered.

“Hey, Tar’Lock,” said Ronan before turning away. “Mother! You have a visitor.”

Ryonna walked toward him and smiled. “How are you doing? I hear you’re the first officer on board the Helios. Congratulations are in order.”

“Thank you, do you think we could go for a walk? I’d really like to have a talk with you.”

She looked at Ronan, who nodded, and she exited their quarters. They walked for a good five minutes before Ryonna broke the silence.

“I thought you wanted to talk.”

“I do, it’s just not an easy subject.”

“No problem, but I’m pretty wiped. Would you prefer we do this another time?”

“No. I. . .I don’t think I can ever find sleep until we talk about this.”

“That bad, huh? What is it, Tar’Lock?”

“I know you didn’t kill Tar’Sian.”

“I’m not sure I follow,” said Ryonna, though Tar’Lock could tell she was deflecting.

“I’ve seen footage of Altair burning a hole through my sister’s head. So, you can stop protecting him now.”

She sighed heavily. “I see. Look, he didn’t have a choice.”

“Why?”

“Why else? To save my life.”

“I know that, I’m not asking why he shot my sister, she went crazy, seeing that footage only confirmed something I refused to accept when you first delivered the news of her death. My question is why didn’t you tell me?”

“I didn’t want you to hate Altair. I thought, perhaps, if it came from me, it would make things easier. I realize now that it was a mistake.”

“And then some. I resented you, you were my…you’re my…”

“Yes?”

“We’re friends! If you had told me Altair had killed her to save you, sure, maybe I would have hated him for a little while, but that wouldn’t have compromised our friendship the way that lie did.”

“I never intended to compromise our friendship, Tar’Lock. I was trying to protect you from the painful experience, hoping the fact that we were friends would help you deal with your anger. You have to understand you were beyond out-of-sorts when you learned Tar’Sian had died. I didn’t know what else to do.”

“Well, from now on, I’d be really grateful if you told me the truth.”

“Alright, from now on, I’ll tell you the truth. Does that mean we’re friends again?”

Tar’Lock smiled. “Yeah.”

“Mind if I get some shut-eye now? I had a really complicated last few days. I could use the rest.”

“Absolutely. But can I ask you one more question?”

“Sure, shoot.”

“Do you love him?”

Ryonna’s eyes grew wide. “Do I love whom?”

“Who else, Altair?”

“Not that I believe it’s any of your business but having promised not to lie to you, you leave me with very little choice here. So, the answer is yes.”

“What about Jax?”

“Look, Tar’Lock, I’m glad we cleared the air, but this is a whole other can of worms I’m not even sure how to deal with myself, so if you don’t mind…”

“Right, sorry.”

“That’s okay. Thanks for saving my life as well as my family’s. I owe you one.”

“Nah, you don’t, you saved me more than I can count.”

“Be that as it may,” her expression changed, “thank you. I really thought our time was up, and if I’m being frank, you’re the last person I thought I’d see there. Not that I thought you didn’t care for me, because, well, you know…”

Tar’Lock nodded.

“But,” Ryonna continued. “I truly thought we were untraceable on that ship, and so I wasn’t expecting a rescue.”

“Talon is the one truly responsible for locating you.”

“Then make sure to transmit my thanks to him once more.”

“I will.”

Ryonna stood there for a moment. Tar’Lock could tell she didn’t really know what else to say, so eventually, she turned away and walked back to her quarters.

* * *

“I can’t believe you’re alive,” said Athena.

“I can’t believe you punched me,” said Menelas. “Though I clearly deserved it.”

“Hell, yeah, you did. Don’t you dare pull a trick like that ever again, or I’ll kill you myself.”

Menelas put his hand up. “I believe you. And I’m sorry. That was truly a dick move on my part. I just didn’t want you to get hurt.”

“I’m old enough to make those sorts of choices for myself. I’ve been through two Fury wars, I don’t need your protection.”

“I know, from now on, you have my word, I’ll never make a decision for you.”

“And the way things are now, one day or another, we’ll have to face more Spectres.”

“I sure hope they don’t all use that type of black hole attack. Once was enough.”

“Chase told me about it. I never heard such an attack even existed.”

“Hopefully, that was part of a power Tanak’Vor had learned from one of the souls he assimilated and no other Spectre has that ability.”

Athena approached him and delicately let her fingers fall on his face before kissing him.

They headed toward the bed and turned off the lights.

EPILOGUE

Chase was woken up in the middle of the night by an incoming transmission. He got up from bed and answered the call. It was coming from Earth’s headquarters.

“Hello, Altair. It’s kinda late.”

“Sorry, Chase, I know. But this can’t wait. I’m patching you through with the captain of the Helios, they’ve successfully rescued Ryonna with the rest of her family.”

“I didn’t know anyone else needed rescuing.”

“Neither did we. Captain Epizon has something important to tell us.”

The holo-screen split in two, with Altair on the left and the face of a human filling the right.

“Hello, Admiral. I have grave news.”

“I’m listening.”

“While rescuing the ambassador, we detected a Spectre super gate for the lack of a better word.”

“You’re going to have to give me more than that. What is a super gate?”

“While we’re unsure at this point, we believe the Spectres are working on some sort of gateway, or jump gate of some kind, except it’s large, very large. It could allow entire fleets of ships to pass through.”

Chase turned pale. “What are you saying, Captain? Are you telling me they’re building a doorway between their dimension and ours?”

“That’s the working assumption, yes.”

“Holy shit.”

“We’ve also uncovered some top secret research from a Droxian shadow group called Section Alpha.”

“Never heard of them.”

“Nobody but the ambassador’s husband has.”

“Wait, Ryonna’s husband isn’t dead?”

“Apparently not. But it’s a long story. What matters is what’s on that research, though the data chip is highly encrypted and my best engineers haven’t been able to access it.”

“What’s the research about, Captain?”

“A weapon that could prove efficient against the Spectres.”

“Please tell me you’re on your way to Alkyon One?”

“I’ve asked the captain,” said Altair, “to head to you now. I knew you’d want Yanis to take a look at this research as soon as possible. I’m also on my way to the station.”

Chase nodded at Altair and looked toward Captain Epizon.

“What’s your ETA, Captain?”

“We should be docking with Alkyon One tomorrow morning.”

“As will my ship,” added Altair.

“Then I look forward to seeing you both. Looks like we have a lot of work to do. Thank you, Captain, for rescuing Ryonna. I look forward to your debrief.”

“Thanks, Admiral. Emperor. I’ll see you both tomorrow. Epizon out.”

The left side of the holo-screen extended to full screen with Altair still on the line.

“This super gate thing is bad.”

“It sure is. Hopefully, Captain Epizon isn’t just the bearer of bad news and also brings with him the solution.”

“A weapon to defeat the Spectres. How certain are we this is genuine?”

“We won’t know for sure until we decode what’s on that chip, but Ryonna says she’s certain it’s valuable to the enemy.”

“That’s good enough for me.”

“For me as well.”

“You must be pleased Captain Epizon found her.”

“I am, I think.”

“You think?”

“Ryonna and I, well, we kind of developed a relationship as of late.”

“I see, and now with her husband back in the picture?”

“I know, it’s silly, I should be happy she’s safe and sound.”

“Still, I can empathize. At least you’ll see her face to face tomorrow.”

“Right. See you tomorrow, Chase.”

“Absolutely. Chase out.”

* * *

Siegfried opened the cryo-pod door and white steam escaped all around him. Green eyes flashed through the mist.

“Welcome back, brother,” said Siegfried.

Fenrir stepped out of his cryo-pod and cracked his neck from side to side, letting out a moan of satisfaction.

“How long has it been? How long did they keep us prisoners?”

“Thousands of years.”

“Sons of a billon bitches. Then let’s go cut off Odin’s and Zeus’ heads,” proposed Fenrir.

“I’m afraid they’re already dead, even though I had nothing to do with their demise. They did that to themselves. But their friends and some of their family are still live.”

“It’s going to have to do then, I suppose. Where’s Brunhild?”

“She’s on her way to rejoin us as we speak.”

Fenrir’s eyes glowed an emerald green as he smirked. “Goooood. What’s next, brother?”

Siegfried’s eyes filled with a radiant white glow. “Now we show them why the Furies used to call us the Harbingers of Doom, and we make our captors regret they were ever born.”

—== TO BE CONTINUED ==—

(Keep reading Book 13: Reckoning right now)

BOOK 13: RECKONING

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Cover artwork by Christian Kallias

christian@kallias.com

www.christiankallias.com

www.patreon.com/ChristianKallias

www.facebook.com/ChristianKallias

www.twitter.com/kalliasx

Production Editor & Alpha/ARC Team Lead

Paula Lavattiata Lopez (myeditcheck.com)

Editors

Paula Lavattiata Lopez (myeditcheck.com)

Proofreaders

Paula Lavattiata Lopez (myeditcheck.com)

COPYRIGHT

Copyright © 2020 by Christian Kallias

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

First Printing of original book, 2020

Version 1.02

DRAMATIS PERSONÆ

Earth Alliance

Admiral Chase Athanatos – Earth Alliance Fury Olympian hybrid - Hero of the Fury War

Captain Sarah Kepler Athanatos – Earth Human with Fury powers (in critical condition)

Chris Athanatos – Fury Human hybrid

Emperor Altair – Head of the Earth Alliance (formerly Obsidian Empire Emperor)

Captain Daniel Tharraleos (dan-yel tha-rah-leh-os) – Earth Alliance Human (formerly Star Alliance)

Chief Engineer Yanis Tixichos (yah-nis tee-hee-hos) – Earth Alliance Human (formerly Star Alliance)

R&D Engineer Spiros Malayianis (spee-ros ma-lah-yah-nis) – Earth Alliance Human (formerly Star Alliance)

Argos Thanatos – Fury Olympian hybrid and Chase’s twin brother (formerly head of the Zarlacks)

Ryonna Isch’ys – Droxian Ambassador (formerly a fugitive Droxian smuggler)

Captain Ronan Isch’ys - Droxian

Talon Epizon – Earth Alliance captain

Tar’Lock (tahr-lock) – EAD Helios’s First Officer - Gorgar (Insectoid and formerly a Hellstar prisoner)

Olympians

Aphroditis (a-fro-dee-tee) – known to humans as the goddess of love

Athena – known to humans as the goddess of wisdom, craft & war

Ares (ah-rees) – known to humans as the god of war (deceased, living as pure energy form)

Poseidon - known to the humans as the god of the seas

Artemis - known to the humans as the goddess of the hunt

Spectres

Asrak’Vor – Spectre Commander (brother of Tanak’Vor)

Ahsra’Lur – Female Spectre Warrior

Furies

Nyx – Fury Warrior

Menelas (meh-neh-lahs) - Fury Warrior (Chase and Argos’s father)

Asgardians

Thor – King of Asgard, Fleet Commander & son of Odin (former King of Asgard / deceased)

Kvasir (kvah-seer) – Asgardian scientist

Siegfried - Divine Asgardian Guard

Fenrir - Divine Asgardian Guard

Grunhild - Divine Asgardian Guard

Other characters

Keera - (Former) Bounty Hunter

Jax Isch’ys - Ryonna’s (supposedly dead) husband

PREVIOUSLY ON UNIVERSE IN FLAMES - DARK LEGACY

Previously in Season One (Books 1–10):

In the wake of a genocidal tragedy, the Star Alliance fled their corner of the universe to survive the onslaught from the Obsidian Empire. In doing so, the Alliance found both an ally and a sanctuary on a faraway planet called Earth. With their new ally, the Star Alliance formed the Earth Alliance and fought alongside other races (Droxians, Olympians, and Asgardians) in the new Fury War (known as the second Fury War). Furies—human-looking creatures with incredibly powerful fighting abilities and the scourge of the universe—were once thought extinct for ten thousand years. But against all the odds, they returned. Originally, a coalition of worlds led by the Olympians, Asgardians, and many other older civilizations defeated the Furies during the first Fury War. But the Fury’s planet, Erevos, wasn’t destroyed and was trapped in an alternate dimension where time advanced slower than in their original dimension (the same dimension where Earth resides). Upon their return, the Furies waged a terrible war against the Earth Alliance and the entire universe in an effort to cleanse the galaxy of the races that once defied and imprisoned them. Chase Athanatos (a Fury hybrid), along with his friends and loved ones, fought the Furies at every turn and eventually won the battle. But at a terrible personal cost to Chase. He lost many people he cared for, and the final battle saw his wife, Sarah, mortally wounded by an enemy that had been steering the Fury’s campaign behind the scenes: The Spectres. Chase defeated Tanak’Vor, the only Spectre known to have crossed over to this universe’s dimension.

BOOK 11: Nemesis

Chase decides to go to the unknown regions where he hopes to find a cure for Sarah. While planning to go alone on this mission, he’s joined by many of his friends, as well as his estranged son (Chris). A small number of Spectre ships made it through to this dimension when Chase and the Alliance sent Erevos back to the Spectre’s dimension before the soul ships blew up the planet. The leader of these Spectres is none other than Tanak’Vor’s brother, Asrak’Vor. He’s bound on seeking revenge for the murder of his brother and will do anything to kill the one called Chase Athanatos. Meanwhile, in the other dimension, shortly after Erevos is destroyed, Ares regains consciousness. He is baffled that he survived the explosion of the Fury planet. He boards a Spectre ship, and while trying to acquire intel about the Spectres from within, he stumbles upon a female Fury survivor—Nyx. Nyx is being hunted by the Spectres and the two are forced, against their better judgment, to join forces and escape the Spectres. The unlikely alliance yields a treasure trove of information, and Nyx learns that the arachnoids, a slave race working for the Spectres, are experimenting on her, and using her DNA to create something else, something sinister. Ares learns the ship they’re on also contains a prototype engine the Spectres intend to use to send an invasion armada to attack the Earth Alliance. Nyx and Ares manage to use the ship to return to their dimension, but they make sure the ship doesn’t survive the trip. Chase and his friends encounter new dangers in the unknown regions and are saved by a Dragonman of Kyria called Ka’Rij. He recognized Chase as the one he calls “Dragonheart” and asks the Alliance for help in saving his world and the last survivors of his race on New Kyria. Chase, Argos, and Chris help Ka’Rij repel the Hellion Empire from New Kyria and Ka’Rij gives Chase some of his tears, which he believes will cure Sarah of her ailment. Chase and his friends return and use the dragon tears on both Aphroditis and Sarah. The Goddess of Love recovers, but Sarah does not, to both Chase’s and Chris’s dismay. Ares returns and meets with Chase, only to deliver the news that the Spectres are working on a way to invade the Earth Alliance.

* * *

Book 12: Unleashed

When a Spectre attacks an ancient Asgardian ship, the Aegir One, a prisoner, Siegfried, who has been in cryo-sleep for thousands of years, is released by the ship’s captain, hoping he can help save the ship. The Spectre kills everyone on board. Even the ship’s captain is himself defeated by Siegfried, who didn’t have to deploy much of his power to terminate any threat.

Thor learns of the event and asks Poseidon to help him recapture Siegfried, a Divine Asgardian Guard (super soldier) genetically created by Odin and Zeus at the end of the first Fury War. The Guards were designed to clean up the last few thousands of Furies scattered throughout the universe at the end of the war. Thor explains that once the Asgardian Guards finished what they were created for, they turned against their creators and were hunted down one by one. From the original seven, four were killed, and the other three were captured and put into cryo-sleep for all eternity.

Meanwhile, Chris and Argos help Ka’Rij deal with multiple attacks from the Hellion Empire, apparently trying to find a specific location on New Kyria, which forces Chris and Argos to investigate what’s so special about the place. Menelas wakes up not knowing who he is or why he is imprisoned. With the help of another inmate, a female named Diaspira, he recovers some of his memories and they manage to escape their prison. But Diaspira double-crosses him in order to run experiments on his Fury DNA. Chris and Argos find the place the Hellion Empire were after and locate a facility with ancient technology protected by an Atlantian AI who gives Chris access to the technology before the AI is erased from existence. The facility contains an Atlantian cosmo gateway, or a gate allowing its users to travel to other worlds in the blink of an eye. While testing the technology, Chris detects Menelas’s life sign through an open gateway, and Chris and Argos go to rescue him.

Ashra’Lur, a female Spectre, is sent to divert the Earth Alliance from the gateway the Spectres are creating in order to open a door between dimensions. Ashra’Lur attacks Alkyon One, the space station still being built that Daniel captains. Chase intervenes and saves the station, but during the attack, Ashra’Lur boards his ship, and they end up fighting. Ashra’Lur is about to snatch Chase’s soul when Nyx saves his life.

Ryonna goes to help her husband, who she thought was long dead, only to learn that her son is now in the hands of the Spectres. Ryonna and Jax team up to rescue their son, while Talon and Tar’Lock are dispatched to find Ryonna. With the help of Talon and Tar’Lock, Ryonna and Jax manage to save their son and return to Earth Alliance space.

Poseidon, Ares, and Thor try to recapture Siegfried but fail in their mission. They decide to try to secure the other two Asgardian Guards, but Thor’s obsession to keep his father’s wishes in not murdering the guards, allows one mistake after another until the worst possible scenario happens—all three Guards are released.

Talon informs Chase that the Spectres are creating a giant space gateway that could potentially allow their enemy to bring reinforcements into their dimension.

* * *

And now the continuation….

PROLOGUE

Chase peered at the waves washing up on the sandy beach.

The sound of the surf and the beautiful turquoise color of the water washed his soul with positive energy.

Sarah approached and then sat next to him in the burning hot sand. Chase’s heart was warmed by her presence.

“You seem pensive,” she said.

“I am. There’s just too much going on at the same time lately.”

“Wanna talk about it?”

Chase considered but decided against it. There was little reason to do so, considering.

“It’s okay, you don’t need to worry about any of this. Let’s enjoy this moment for what it is.”

“And what would that be?” she asked with a smile.

A fantasy, a dream, or something in between.

Sarah came closer and kissed Chase passionately before using his bicep as a cushion.

Chase could feel the heat from her body, smell her perfume, and if he allowed himself, he could probably ground himself in this moment. He had hoped the experience would help him deal with his sorrow, but he was quickly realizing that it had the opposite effect. It only made him long for her more.

Chase sighed.

“What’s up with you today?” asked Sarah.

“Nothing’s up. This isn’t real. None of this, not this beach, not you. It’s all holograms.”

“What are you talking about?”

Chase waved his hand around. “This, all this. It’s a projection; none of it is real. The sea, the beach, even you.”

“I’ve been called a lot of things in my life but never a hologram.”

“I don’t mean to be rude. I shouldn’t have tried this, it’s my fault.”

Sarah’s eyes filled with tears.

“If I am indeed a hologram, then why do I feel real, and why do your words hurt me?”

“I guess because Spiros and Kvasir are really good at what they do. Not to mention they had enough brain scans on file to re-create a pretty good facsimile.”

Sarah got up and kicked sand in Chase’s face.

“You suck! You know that? Why can’t you enjoy the moment for what it is, regardless if I’m a hologram or not.”

“Because deep down, I know it’s not real.”

Sarah shook her head and ran away sobbing.

He rose and stared at the horizon for a while.

Was she right? After all, he was the one that came here to see her, knowing full well it was only a self-serving illusion. The holographic Sarah, even if she was nothing more than a computer program, didn’t really deserve to be the recipient of Chase’s sour mood.

“Computer, switch to program Harbinger One.”

The beach on which he was standing changed to a darker place, with red lightning illuminating large black clouds in the sky. The hot sand under his feet was replaced by black rock, and the only thing that remained about the same was the temperature because of the active volcano that replaced the previously beautiful landscape.

Siegfried appeared in front of Chase.

“Fury! You shouldn’t have come here.”

Chase didn’t feel the need to interact verbally with the hologram, as he needed to blow off some steam, so he turned Ultra Fury and darted toward the enemy.

* * *

“I don’t understand,” said Spiros on the holo-screen.

“Don’t get me wrong,” said Chase, “the tech is impressive and everything looked pretty real. It’s also a useful tool for when I want to train, especially paired with my graviton bracelets. I’m just not convinced about the usefulness of the Sarah program.”

“Do you want me to take another crack at it?”

“No, that’s not what I meant. You did a fantastic job, and I thank you for it. I just think it makes me even sadder to see her that way.”

“I’m sorry, Chase. I’ve been using the tech to get over Gaia myself, and since it has helped me, I thought it could do the same for you. But I guess we all react differently to it.”

“No apologies required, my friend. I’m glad it’s working for you.”

Chase wondered if perhaps he should give it another try down the line, maybe when his mood was more suited to the experience.

“Well,” said Spiros, “maybe it is, maybe it isn’t. I do spend all my free time in the holo-constructs now, not that I have that much free time, anyway. But sometimes bouncing ideas off of her helps me find workarounds for some of the tech we’re working on.”

“I’m not judging, Spiros, and I’m grateful you took the time to craft a Sarah program for me. I guess it’s something I’ll have to figure out on my own, and right now, I can’t play house in a virtual world, not with everything going on. On the other hand, I’ve enjoyed the Harbinger One program. Though, sometimes, I wish the construct didn’t have safety protocols.”

“You could die without them, Chase.”

“I still struggle to get that one. It’s hard imagining getting killed by a hologram.”

“The tech uses Asgardian technology, and trust me on this, if the safety protocols were off, you could be killed as if you fought in the real world.”

“I see. Could you at least work on having the hologram inflict some damage? Nothing too crazy, but if I’m to use it as a training tool, it would help if it hurts when Siegfried wipes the floor with me. Otherwise, I’m having a hard time truly focusing on the fight.”

“It’s a little tricky and a slippery slope. I suppose I could try to devise a smart algorithm that lets you sense some pain but with maximum tolerance so that if you do lose too badly, the system shuts down.”

“That would be ideal. I think it would also let me know that I lost when in the fight, and I could try to adapt to different strategies and also monitor my progression by how long the program runs.”

“As long as you understand that a single bug in the way this is implemented could be fatal. I don’t think Altair would be happy with me if he knew I was doing this.”

“Then let’s not tell him, not to mention that I trust you to implement this, bug-free,” said Chase with a playful smirk.

“Alright, for you…I’ll see what I can do.”

“Thank you, Spiros. I’d better try to get some sleep. Altair and Captain Epizon are due on the station in…” Chase looked at the hour on his holo-wrist device. “A little over two hours.”

“That’s going to be a short night, then.”

“You’d think so, but for me, not so much. Sorry I called so late, I think I lost track of time.”

“That’s okay, I’m not exactly sleeping all that much either lately. I’ll talk to you soon, Chase.”

“Talk soon, Spiros.”

Chase swiped the holo-screen away and let himself crash on his bed. His body was tired from the virtual bout with the Asgardian Guard, but his mind was still racing. If he couldn’t even defeat the holographic version of that man, how would he fare when they met on a real battlefield?

* * *

Aphroditis was running away as fast as she could, dodging trees and low-hanging branches. She could sense the Spectres after her were gaining ground. It was only a matter of time until they caught up to her.

“You can’t run away forever. We’ll have your soul,” shouted one of them.

She dared not look behind her, but instead, kept running, even though her entire body ached and she could barely breathe. Her heart was pounding in her chest, and her entire body was soaked with sweat.

She had never been this terrified in her entire life, and it brought back painful memories of a similar situation where she and Athena had been running away from a group of Furies bent on assassinating them at the beginning of the first Fury War ten thousand years ago.

Athena had risked her life and the life of her unborn children to protect them from a pack of Furies hunting them down. By taking a stand back then, against impossible odds, she altered the course of destiny. That single event had been a nexus point from which history would be forever changed.

Aphroditis heard the pursuing footsteps grow louder with each passing moment. She was slowing down, running on fumes, but this time, Athena wasn’t there to save her. She was alone and it terrified her.

But why? she wondered.

It hadn’t been long ago that she would have welcomed the sweet release of death. In fact, what she had endured inside the Pandora device had been worse than dying. Way worse. In utter physical pain and mental despair, time lost its grasp. It may have been months on the outside, but from her perspective, she felt like she had been tortured at the molecular level for several lifetimes.

Now she had been given another chance at life, and perhaps that was the reason she ran aimlessly in the dark forest, only illuminated by a bright-red full moon high above. It gave the ground on which she ran a river-of-blood mood cast by the crimson shadows of trees, branches, and leaves. That faint hope of life motivated her to keep running, even though she knew she’d never outrun her pursuers forever. They were powerful creatures, and she was already pushing past her limited physical abilities.

There was light appearing up ahead and fewer trees around her with every step she took. Beads of sweat ran down her burning skin as if she’d been standing in the rain on a hot summer’s day. Her lungs were on fire, but she kept pushing, not willing to stop.

From the moonlit sky, a shadow appeared in the clearing ahead. Aphroditis didn’t know if she should change her trajectory, but the shadow, even though still far, looked somewhat familiar.

Is that Chase?

In case it was, Aphroditis decided to keep running toward the shadow, and as she approached it, she stopped running and tried to catch her breath. She looked up and saw Argos standing in front of her, remaining silent.

“Argos, I’m so glad to see you. Please help me, I’m being chased.”

But Argos didn’t answer; instead, his eyes glowed red, increasing her anxiety even more.

Argos raised his palm toward her, and before she could say anything, she felt her soul being siphoned out .

She tried imploring him to stop, but her soul was mostly outside her body, and her mouth refused to move.

What are you doing? said Aphroditis telepathically.

What we should have done a long time ago—take out the seer to ensure victory.

The voice in her mind wasn’t Argos’s, it was an overlay of multiple male and female voices that sounded both familiar and yet totally alien.

What the hell did that mean, and why was Argos trying to rip away her soul?

The voices continued.

Our brother underestimated your importance. We thought trapping you inside the Pandora device would neutralize you. But we were wrong. We won’t repeat that mistake. Your soul will be ours.

Aphroditis fought with all her might to stay in her body, but her efforts were in vain, and with every passing moment, her soul ripped from her body a little more, and she tried screaming, but her vocal cords no longer obeyed her.

Eventually, her soul exited her body entirely and floated toward Argos. In the distance, she could hear a voice screaming.

“Hold on! I’m coming!” It was Chase. But he sounded so far away.

In soul form, Aphroditis turned around and looked at her body. It had lost all color, her skin was gray, her eyes livid, and her skin darkened little by little as if it had been infected by a black virus. The darkness spread rapidly and expanded around her body and spread all around her until only her dead-eye globes, devoid of pupils, floated in front of her.

She looked around, and everything and everyone was gone. There was no trace of Argos, no ground under her feet, and her soul was floating in a void. She returned her gaze to where the eyes had been a moment ago, and they had increased in size considerably. Blood-tears formed under the globulous, unattached eyes, dripping blood into the unknown.

The overlaid voices boomed all around her.

“Your soul is ours, now and forever.”

A massive mouth made of sharp teeth opened under the eyes and lurched toward her. Before she could scream, it swallowed her whole.

Everything changed around her, and Aphroditis now screamed as loud as she could. She was soaking wet, panting heavily, and her pounding heart beat against her chest at a jackhammer rate.

She felt a viscous liquid under her eyes and reached with her finger to touch it. She looked at her fingertips, which were covered in blood.

“What in the heavens is going on?” she said before losing consciousness.

* * *

Grunhild’s mind woke up. Slowly.

Where am I? Why am I awake?

She tried moving, but she couldn’t. Her entire body was frozen cold, and she couldn’t even open her eyelids. It took a while for her memory to return and recall what the last thing was she remembered. She had been put in cryo-freeze after losing a fight against multiple Titans.

I’m still inside the cryo-pod. But why is my mind active now? What has changed?

She tried expanding her consciousness outward but was having a hard time detecting anything. Eventually, she managed to sense the void of space outside of her cryo-pod.

She wondered how her pod could have ended up in space, but she quickly figured out why she was slowly but surely regaining control over her body. Her body was no longer kept at an absolute zero temperature, and, instead, was getting warmer, albeit by only fractions of degrees.

Soon, she had enough control over her cells to actually activate a small part of her aura, which helped accelerate the thawing process, and within a minute or so, the temperature inside the pod came back to a positive value.

She opened her eyes and blinked multiple times until she was able to adapt to the outside light. She could see stars in the distance as well as a blurry shape getting smaller. As her vision returned fully, she discerned an Asgardian ship in the distance.

Why didn’t they fire on the pod? Did they think jettisoning me to space would be enough to kill me?

She also wondered how long she had been in cryo-sleep.

Questions piled up, but she decided to put them aside. She would get to the bottom of it once she got herself out of her current predicament, but not while she stayed inside her metallic prison. She raised a shield around her and pushed her aura to the maximum before unleashing a shockwave that destroyed the pod from the inside out.

She expanded her consciousness toward the ship and felt every life sign inside the Asgardian ship.

Time to get some answers.

She flew toward the ship at subspace speeds and fired a powerful fireball, timed well enough so she could destabilize and penetrate the shield on the port side of the Asgardian prison ship. The speed at which she flew in the Aegir’s armor shook the ship and destroyed a large part of that deck upon impact. A few Asgardians around the area were either incinerated from the blast or spaced outside before the ship’s force field could activate to contain the breach.

She expanded her consciousness further and found the bridge’s location and identified all the crew in her way. None had life forces to even rival with her still-diminished state. In fact, they would be easy prey, to be crushed like insects.

She walked forward when the first Asgardian security guards showed up. They opened fire with their plasma lances. Her eyes flashed a deep blue as her long hair danced around her. She blocked the incoming plasma discharges with her mind, freezing them in midair as a wave of blue energy exploded all around her, sending a shockwave that bathed the enemy soldiers. Their veins turned a luminous blue as the expression on their faces first turned to fear, then unequivocal terror. They turned their weapons toward one another and fired multiple times before all collapsed dead on the ship’s blood-soaked floor.

Her shockwave traveled through the ship while she headed toward the bridge, and she could hear the screams of hundreds and their weapons fire. By the time she reached the bridge doors, she had walked by countless corpses. Some had been killed by their shipmate’s weapons, some had turned their weapons against themselves.

Not many living beings could resist the nightmarish vision she had infected upon their minds. Their unprepared brains were simply too weak to deal with that amount of psychic storm. The horrors they saw, while illusions, were the most horrific nightmares each victim’s brain could ever conjure. Whatever their deepest fears were, her mental powers amplified them to such levels that it caused instant insanity, activating the fight or flight part of their brain but amping it to the maximum. This way, they took care of themselves without Grunhild’s need to lift a single finger. She was an expert at such tactics, trapping weak minds in their own personal hell.

She could sense one person behind the bridge was still alive, the captain. Probing his mind, she could feel he had resisted the urge to act on his inner demons, recognizing that what he was experiencing had to be an illusion. She sensed his struggle, but like many leaders, his brain was stronger than most.

She smiled and raised her palm forward before blasting a hole in the blast doors with ease. She walked through the flames and scorched metal and stopped a few yards from the confused and terrified captain.

“What…what the hell are you?” he mumbled.

“As you may have gotten a glimpse already, I’m your worst nightmare.”

He grabbed his service plasma blaster and charged her, firing madly.

Grunhild moved so fast, it looked like she was teleporting, and the energy fire was passing through her as if she wasn’t there. Then multiple versions of herself were cast all around the bridge, and the captain didn’t know which one to target anymore, so he fired at each of them in quick succession. The blasts traveled through their targets as if they were ghosts.

“You’re a witch!” he screamed as he kept firing, his blaster nearly overloading.

Grunhild growled. She despised that word with every fiber of her being.

“And yet you’re the one that’s going to burn,” she answered calmly, her voice steady and colder than the perma-frosted peaks of Asgard. “Even though that’s too kind a punishment for keeping me a prisoner for so long.”

She reached with her mind as her eyes flashed blue once again.

The captain’s skin burned, even though there were no flames, and he screamed in agony until his flesh turned black, and he crashed, head first, into the floor. Smoke rose from his corpse. Moments later, only a pile of ashes were all that was left of the Aegir’s captain.

Grunhild then connected her mind with the computer, and in less than a second, she had all the information she needed. The current date, how much time had passed since she had been put in cryo-prison, which was a little over five thousand years, as well as the coordinates of every ship in the Asgard fleet. She identified one ship of interest that seemed to distance itself from the rest, the Balder, and set a course for the Aegir Three to rendezvous with it.

“Hyperspace engines disabled,” said the computer.

She growled for a second before calming her mind. She expanded her mind and detected a group of engineers still alive, barely, and instantly reverted the madness consuming them. She replaced their thoughts with another illusion. One where their captain requested they fix the engines for her, making sure their senses would be altered so that they wouldn’t see the plethora of dead bodies around them or smell the blood of their fallen comrades.

After some time, the computer announced minimal jump capabilities. The engineering crew would have to keep fixing the ship to increase the speed, but patience wasn’t Grunhild’s strong suit, especially after five thousand years in cryo-prison.

“They’ll pay for this, all of them—Asgardians, Olympians, every single one of them. Computer, engage hyperspace.”

The Aegir Three opened a hyperspace window, and the ship entered it.

1

Ares appeared in front of Chase while he was training. In fact, Chase didn’t see him materialize until his foot missed the holographic Siegfried and slashed Ares’s energy form, passing through him.

“Jeez!” exclaimed Chase before he got smashed by a white fireball and sent crashing against the nearby wall.

Siegfried lunged at Chase.

“Computer freeze holo-program!” he exclaimed as Siegfried disappeared in midair, inches from smashing Chase further into the wall.

“Sorry,” said Ares. “Am I interrupting?”

“Ya think!?”

“Would you rather I come back later?”

“No, that’s okay. I’m trying a new method of training,” said Chase, dusting himself off. “We fed the computer all the data from Thor’s and Poseidon’s fight with the Divine Guard. It’s probably not a very accurate emulation of what’s to come when I face him, but it’s better than nothing.”

Ares gestured to the left side of his mouth, and Chase checked his own lip and swiped away blood.

“Didn’t you say this is a simulation, how did you get hurt?”

“I had Spiros lower the safety protocols to make it more real. There’s no point fighting a ghost if there’s no damage inflicted while I train.”

“I see. Perhaps you should take it easy, though.”

“Why is everyone always saying that?”

“I guess because we worry about our friends.”

“Fair enough. Is there something I can do for you, Ares?”

Chase regretted the tone of his question, but he’d been beaten over and over by a holographic enemy, and his fuse had been shortened quite significantly.

“Sorry,” Chase added. “Even in simulation form, Siegfried’s been kicking my ass all day, and I’m not exactly in the best of moods.”

“That’s alright, Chase, it’s understandable. And, yes, we need to talk.”

“Very well. What about?”

“How to defeat Siegfried, in fact.”

“That part seems clear enough to me: I train until I’m strong enough, with the help of Argos and Chris, and hopefully, Nyx, then together we can get the best of him and the other two Guards.”

“Four Ultra Furies against a Divine Guard. I suppose that’s one way of seeing things, but, as you mentioned, they may not be alone at any one time. Speaking of Nyx, have you had the occasion to gauge her power?”

“I did, indirectly. She saved my life when that female Spectre showed up. I hate to say it, but she may be more powerful than I am.”

“Really?”

“I sensed tremendous power in her when she intervened during the fight. She may not be in total control of her powers, though.”

“Like you were when I started training you.”

“Something like that, yes.”

“Then perhaps training her to help her get a grasp on her powers should become a priority if she’s as strong as you suspect. After all, she is the only true blood Ultra Fury among you, perhaps that actually could be an advantage.”

“Perhaps. As for pure blood, let’s not forget my father.”

“Can he turn Ultra Fury, though?”

“I never sensed that ability in him. Not yet, anyway.”

“Nyx then, if properly trained, could become a powerful ally.”

“Or a deadly enemy…She made it crystal clear that she’s just helping us to get rid of the Spectres as an act of revenge for what happened to the Furies. I don’t think she’ll hang around after that.”

“You never know, look at Argos, once upon a time, he was our mortal enemy.”

“I suppose…only time will tell. But Nyx is openly reluctant to even interact with me.”

“Can you really blame her?”

Chase shrugged. “I suppose not. We did destroy her world and everyone she knew. Not that we had any choice in the matter. Furies had to go.”

“No, you didn’t have a choice. As for them having to go, that’s debatable, I suppose.”

“You did not just say that!” Chase said sharply.

“Hear me out for a second, Chase. Right now, with where we stand, wouldn’t you want on our side an entire planet of Furies fighting the Spectres?”

“Perhaps, but I could never trust them. And I don’t think they’d ally themselves to us unless they felt it was a matter of survival.”

“Yet, the human saying goes that the enemy of my enemy is my friend could have applied here.”

“Why are we going on about hyperbolic what-ifs, Ares? The Fury are gone, and for better or worse, those are the cards we’ve dealt for ourselves. But for the sake of argument, if you’re asking me if I knew that a larger threat was right around the corner, would I have been so keen on finishing off the Furies? I can’t really answer that. Hindsight is always twenty-twenty, but that’s not how life works. First of all, if that had been an option, you would never have returned, and your sister wouldn’t have been saved. In my experience, rehashing the past is pretty useless, only pain and regret lingers there. We all wish we could do things differently, but that’s exactly what gives life its meaning. We are born, make choices, some good and some bad. It shapes who we are.”

“I’m aware, though I’d argue that when your lifespan is longer, like us Olympians, it sometimes gives you a different outlook on life. So, I guess where I’m going with this is: we could use the past to our advantage in a situation like this.”

Chase frowned. “I’m not sure I follow.”

Ares proceeded to explain the discussion he had with his father and the Titan, as well as the possibility for Chronos to still be alive in the other dimension.

Chase shook his head heavily. “So not only did Zeus sanction the creation of the Guard, but also he sanctioned time travel and deceiving the Titans a second time. The more I learn about it, the less I’m sure how that makes me feel being part of this family. Do you have any idea what you’ve just told me?”

“I know, it’s heavy. But perhaps now is not the time to look at the family’s past from that angle.”

“When then? The next time a family secret threatens to swallow the entire universe whole?”

“I’m kind of hoping that’s the last of Zeus’s skeletons…how do the humans say it?”

“Skeletons in the closet. And it better be. But I don’t think replicating a despicable act to fix the situation is the way to go.”

“We may not have any choice, Chase.”

“I refuse to believe that. And even if that were true, going to the Spectres dimension, besides being beyond our capabilities, would be suicidal. We have enough problems fighting the Spectres one by one here, trying to locate a Titan on their territory, without knowing what awaits us there, sounds like a recipe for disaster to me.”

“I won’t deny that it could be very dangerous, but that’s where Nyx’s expertise could come in handy. She managed to evade them for a long time.”

“If I remember well, she managed to evade arachnoids mostly, not Spectres themselves.”

“But the Spectres had interest in her, that’s why they were trying to create hybrids from her DNA.”

“Say what now?”

“I’m sure I mentioned that before, haven’t I?”

“I would remember something like this. What do you mean hybrids?”

“Since she’s the last remaining Fury, they deployed a lot of resources to apprehend her, alive. I’ve witnessed that myself, in fact. Later, when we teamed up to escape their dimension, we came across a lab with cloning pods; it contained creatures that looked like her but also like arachnoids. Who knows, perhaps even with Spectre DNA mixed in. Some creepy monstrous experiment, really.”

“What did you do about it?”

“She destroyed them all, out of rage.”

“I can understand her reaction. Are you sure that research died with the Spectre ship?”

“It did on that ship. Unless they had samples somewhere else…”

Chase passed his hand over his face. “So, basically, when the Spectres invade, they could be using these hybrids against us? Just once I’d like to get some good news when I see you, you know?”

“Sorry about that. I think it’s probably better you talk with Nyx. I sensed she was pretty knowledgeable about the other dimension. She had to survive in it for quite a while, perhaps she can shed more light on these matters more than I ever could.”

“Yeah, the difficulty will be starting a dialogue without killing each other. Trust me, talking to Nyx gives a whole new meaning to the expression ‘cutting tension with a knife.’”

“I can probably help with that.”

“Good. Because as far as Nyx goes, I’m really getting tired of trying.”

“I know firsthand she can be a handful.”

“For the time being, however, this farfetched idea of tricking Chronos one more time to help us create super Titans is out of the question. I’ll talk with Nyx to see if we can exploit a potential weakness in the Spectres, and maybe, just maybe, we could ask Chronos to fight on our side. That is, if we ever see him again.”

“He hates us, he’ll try killing us on sight.”

“Well, who do we have to thank for that? But, for a change, I’d really like it if we tried to undo the mistakes of the past, not blindly repeat them.”

“I wish we had that option, believe me. But…very well…talk with Nyx first, and let’s see where we go from there.”

Chase had no doubt that defeating the Guards might require them to go to dark places he didn’t want to go. But until he faced them in combat, after properly training, he wasn’t prepared to consider Ares’s proposal at face value. It was due time for the warriors of this dimension to stand on their own, face their demons and their creations, and try to fix problems without resorting to shady tactics.

* * *

On his way to conference room six, Chase saw multiple Gorgar flash past him. When he saw the first one, he thought it might have been Tar’Lock rushing to deliver yet more bad news. But that particular Gorgar never stopped, and shortly after, he saw another and another. While they were too fast for humans to see, the Gorgar were still slower than Furies, so where a human would just see a blur and feel a breeze, Chase saw their faces as they flashed past him.

Chase stepped into the conference room, and both Altair and Talon stood up.

“Gentlemen, sorry, I kinda lost track of time while training, then I got detained with Ares. I hope you haven’t been waiting for me too long.”

“Good to see you, Chase,” said Altair. “Don’t worry about your tardiness, the captain and I had a lot to discuss, anyway.”

“Lots of Gorgar hard at work out there,” said Chase pointing a thumb back.

“Indeed, thanks to them, Alkyon One should be operational any day now.”

Chase had wanted some good news, and while that wasn’t the kind he was referring to when he talked with Ares, it was good news, nonetheless. He turned his attention toward the man next to Altair. He had seen him the night before on the subspace holo-transmission.

“Captain,” said Chase. “Nice to meet you in person.”

Talon saluted. “Likewise, Admiral.”

“At ease…I suppose.”

Talon frowned.

“Chase doesn’t really enjoy being called Admiral, nor any kind of formalities, really,” said Altair.

The captain shifted his gaze from Altair back to Chase. “Alright…Then what should I call you?”

“Chase will do fine. I didn’t catch your first name?”

“Talon.”

Chase sat opposite the two men as they returned to their chairs.

“So, Talon, Altair, let’s talk about our situation. And how to get rid of this structure you’ve detected.”

Talon activated a portable holo-projector, and the image filled most of the room. Chase looked at the holo-images with dread slowly creeping in. He didn’t like it. They had so many problems already, dealing with the Spectre forces already in this dimension, the Guards, and now a potential full-scale invasion. There were too many moving pieces, too many variables.

At least with the Furies, they had a single enemy, even if they didn’t know they had been manipulated by a Spectre all along. But Chase had never been put in a position where he had to fight on so many fronts. That made him nervous.

“This thing looks massive,” said Chase.

“Yes. It’s tens of miles in diameter,” said Talon.

“My god, that would allow massive ships to go through it. Bigger than anything we’ve fought so far in terms of size. And how certain are we this is a gateway between our dimensions?”

“Not certain at all,” said Talon, “but before you arrived, we asked for Kvasir’s assessment based on the sensor data my ship took of the structure…to see if he could make sense of it.”

“And?” asked Chase.

“It could be a weapon of some kind, but there are no direct power sources we could identify, and its design is more like an amplifier, so he believes that it’s more likely an interdimensional gate.”

Chase pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. “Perhaps they haven’t assembled the power source, yet.”

“Yes, perhaps,” agreed Altair, “but no matter whether it’s a gate or a weapon, it’s still of Spectre origin, and no good can come from it. It’s also possible the power source is on the other side. After all, we know the Spectres have the technology for interdimensional travel, otherwise neither Ares nor Nyx would have returned from the other side.”

“Of that, I’m sure. Anything of Spectre origin is a threat to our dimension,” said Chase. “We’re all in agreement about it then. It has to go. Do we have any idea how long until it’s finished?”

“I’m afraid not,” said Talon. “Could be weeks, days, hours as far as we know. My ship only managed to gather seconds worth of sensor data, there’s no way of knowing how long they’ve been working on it and how long it will take them to make it operational.”

Chase sighed. “Could it already be operational?”

Talon pointed toward the top of the structure. “As you see here, it’s missing a few of its…monoliths to complete a perfect circle.”

Chase observed it, and from the looks of it, only two monoliths were missing to complete the structure.

“There’s something else that Kvasir reported that has us worried,” said Altair.

“I’m listening.”

“Sensor data shows that these monoliths are made of alloys containing pentalium.”

“I thought pentalium was only found on Asgard?”

“It is, that we know of,” confirmed Altair.

Chase’s face dropped. “Then that’s why they killed Odin, they were after pentalium to create it.”

“We arrived at the same conclusion, yes.”

“Alright, obviously we need to take out that array of monoliths, gate, whatever the hell this is. But we also need to acquire the information Ryonna’s husband almost gave back to them. If they were willing to go to such lengths as they did, it has to be a threat to them.”

Altair rubbed his chin. “I’ve already assigned Spiros to that task. He says the amount of encryption around the data is not only massive but in a format that he’s never seen. Like a mutating algorithm.”

Chase didn’t like the sound of that. “Could it be AI-based?”

“Perhaps,” said Altair, “but it’s too soon to tell. He’s our foremost expert in these matters, and that’s why we tasked him to recover the data. To be on the safe side, he’s been instructed to take every measure possible to make sure that whatever is causing this encryption to mutate and repel our hacking attempts doesn’t infect our own system. Which means he had to build additional, non-networked processing farms, which is also slowing down the whole process.”

“Better safe than sorry,” said Chase. “We definitely don’t want another evil Gaia scenario on our hands.”

“No, we already have rogue Asgardian super warriors and what looks like an imminent Spectre invasion to deal with, and if you ask me, that’s already too many problems to deal with.”

“Indeed,” reflected Chase. “We can’t really ignore any of these problems, but I think the gate takes precedent here, we have to shut it down as soon as humanly possible.”

“I concur. That’s why I’ve asked all ships to meet a few hours jump from the gate, then throw everything we’ve got at it.”

Chase’s instinct reacted. He couldn’t put his finger on it, but something didn’t sit well with him. Was it the idea of going all-in? Could it be a trap? He didn’t know, but it didn’t seem they had much choice. An invasion by Spectre forces, especially now, would be disastrous. They needed to prevent that at all costs, or at the very least, delay it.

“When are we leaving?”

“In a few hours, and I’d like you to command the fleet,” said Altair.

Chase thought about it. While he didn’t think of himself as a fleet admiral since the end of the Fury War, he couldn’t ignore the situation.

“On one condition, Athena is number two on this one. I may have to engage Spectres or Guards or who knows what else at a moment’s notice. If that happens, I need an expert tactician to take over the fleet.”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way, and yes, I agree your mother should be there as well and ready to take over the fleet if necessary.”

“Alright, then, gentlemen, I have a few people I need to see before we get going.”

They all rose from their seats and shook hands.

“As do I,” said Altair who was the first to leave the room.

* * *

Altair took Ryonna in his arms. She embraced him back, but he could feel something was off.

“You have no idea how worried I was,” he said.

Ryonna took a step back. “I’m sure you were…” but she let the words hang.

“I sent Tar’Lock and Talon after you the moment I realized you had been forcefully beamed out of the restaurant.”

“I know…and I don’t think Ronan or myself would be alive if you hadn’t. So thank you for that.”

“Of course. As well as your husband, I must admit that was…unexpected.”

“Yeah, tell me about it. I had grieved his passing, and these past few months, it finally felt like I had moved on with my life only for him to resurface. And now…”

“Now what?” asked Altair with more emotions behind the words than he had wished.

“Never mind, today might not be the best day for such a talk.”

Altair, however, thought differently.

“Look, when you went to take the call, I—I was preparing to tell you something. Something important.”

“Oh…what were you gonna tell me?”

“It’s been a while now that we’ve been,” Altair hesitated on the choice of words to employ, “an item, and with Ronan knowing, I…” Altair paused and reached inside a pocket and revealed a ring. “I wanted to give you this, well to…”

Ryonna’s eyes widened. “Propose? You wanted to propose that night?”

“Yeah…pretty much.”

Ryonna looked down. “That’s very sweet, and if you had been given the chance to ask that night, well…I think I would have considered it. But…”

“But now you’re not sure anymore.”

“Try to put yourself in my shoes. The man I’ve loved most of my life is back, the father of my son.”

“Are you going to get back with him?”

Ryonna shrugged. “Frankly, I don’t know what I’m going to do, I just know this,” she said, waving her hand between them a couple of times, “can’t continue, at least not until I know where my heart stands. I’m really sorry about this, Altair, you’re an amazing man, but right now, I don’t know what to think anymore.”

Altair nodded solemnly and put the ring back in his pocket.

“I—I understand. You must do what you think is best.”

Ryonna reached forward and wanted to caress Altair’s face, but she stopped inches away.

“I’m sorry, I wish things were different, I—I gotta go.”

Before Altair could say anything, Ryonna fled their quarters without looking back.

2

Chase had been watching Sarah in her cryo-pod for a while. He whispered to her telepathically, even though he couldn’t sense her in her body anymore. Chase wondered what had happened in that regard, why he couldn’t sense her or the baby’s life signs ever since he had gone into the unknown regions.

He had come to med-bay directly after the meeting with Altair and Captain Epizon, and while there was still time, he wanted to spend it with Sarah. He heard the door open, and Chris entered the room.

“Oh,” said Chris upon seeing his father. “I didn’t know anyone was here at this time of night.”

“That’s okay, son, if you want to spend time with your mother alone, I can leave.”

Chris walked next to his father. “No, I just wanted to see her, but I also wanted to talk to you afterward, especially since we haven’t had time to do so lately. So this works out well.”

Chase smiled. It seemed the chasm that once separated the two of them was slowly mending and that made Chase happy. He knew that it would make Sarah happy as well. At least she hadn’t been conscious to see the tension and bad feelings that had unfolded between the two of them at the end of the war. She wouldn’t have like it, not one bit.

“What would you like to talk about?”

“I’d like to apologize for my behavior. I think I’ve been unfair to you.”

“That’s alright, son, I understand where you’re coming from. But I appreciate you telling me this, much more than you can imagine, in fact.”

Chris attempted a clumsy smile.

“You know what’s more difficult lately?” asked Chase.

Chris shook his head.

“I can’t sense her in there anymore,” said Chase. “I used to at least be able to touch her soul, even if her body was in suspended animation, I could feel her and your unborn sister, too. Ever since we returned from the unknown regions, I can’t anymore, and that has me worried.”

“I can’t sense her anymore either, but I know with all my heart she is still alive.”

“She has to be, I don’t know what I would do without her.”

“We’ll get her back…” Chris hesitated. “Dad. We will, together.”

Chase threw his arm around his son and kissed the top of his head.

“Yes, we will indeed, son.”

Moments of happiness such as these had been rare for Chase. And even though his soul still ached for his wife, he remembered what his own mother once told him—that sometimes you have to allow yourself to feel happiness. Human nature and how one thinks is how one defines their reality and one’s perception of it. It’s easy to let one’s psyche fall into darkness and much harder to bring it back toward the light. And, today, Chase was more than happy to look at the world in a positive light.

“I hear the Alliance is preparing for a massive assault?” said Chris, breaking the short silence.

“Yeah, in a few hours the entire Alliance fleet will assemble and try to destroy what we suspect is a gate between our dimensions.”

“What if the answer to mom’s predicament lay on the other side, though? Did you ever ask yourself that?”

Chase’s eyes narrowed. “Did you speak with Ares?”

“No, why?”

“Never mind, forget I asked. As to your question, I don’t think risking being trapped in a dimension with infinitely more of these Spectres is a good idea. It took Ares and Nyx a great deal of effort and luck to return. So while I would consider it, I wouldn’t attempt a journey like this unless we had a solid plan, one that would ensure we have a way of returning safely.”

“Doesn’t seem likely, does it?”

“No, it doesn’t. And if we went there, got stuck in the other dimension, who would fight the Spectres here? Or the Asgardian Guards? No, unless we find a foolproof way of traveling between the dimensions, allowing us to retreat should things go wrong, I won’t risk it.”

“I understand, and while I’m a little surprised to hear you say this, I think you’re right. Perhaps we could find some Atlantian technology to help us do this. After all, the portals are an amazing technology, there might be more technology in the unknown regions that could help us.”

“I agree. And I think we need to investigate, but I suppose right now we have to focus on the immediate threat, and that’s the space portal.”

“And the Divine Guards.”

“Trust me, I’m actually hoping to test their might in combat, even though that sounds crazy.”

“That’s who you are, if there’s someone more powerful than you are, you feel the need to see if you can defeat them. That’s the Fury in you.”

“I suppose there’s some truth in that.”

“As for exploring the unknown regions through the portals, since we’re needed here, what do you think about asking some of our friends to take on that mission?”

“Who did you have in mind?”

“Ryonna, for one, perhaps with Menelas and Ares. If they get stuck there, Ares should be able to teleport back and report.”

“I like the idea of Ares going along. I don’t know if Ryonna is in the right frame of mind for a mission at the moment. As for Menelas, you’ve just brought him back from there, do you think he’s ready to return?”

“He’s your father, you tell me?”

“I have no idea, maybe I should ask him, but there are so many people to see and only a handful of hours left.”

“Let me take care of it, then. I also think they need a technology expert along. Either Cedric or Yanis, since Spiros and Kvasir are occupied.”

Chase felt a strong sense of pride right now. His son was growing fast and taking initiative, especially at a time when Chase was too distracted by the imminent threats to have a cool enough head to propose these solutions.

“Thank you, and yeah, it would be a great help if you could take care of this.”

“Consider it done.”

Chase patted his son’s shoulder to express his appreciation.

“There’s also something I want to talk over with you. I—I don’t know how to approach the subject.”

Chris’s eyebrows rose. “I suppose the best way is not to worry and just tell me what’s on your mind.”

“Easier said than done, we’ve had some rough patches lately.”

“I know, but I don’t want you to feel like you can’t talk to me or need to hold back. Which is why I wanted to see you to apologize. Leave the past where it belongs and start fresh.”

Chase nodded. “In that case, I’d like to talk to you about Nyx. I heard you two, well…”

“We had sex.”

Chase chuckled. “Yeah, that.”

“I really like her, even though she can be quite cold. I can’t put my finger on why, it’s just an animalistic attraction, I guess.”

“I can understand that, she’s also quite pretty. However…”

“However what? Spit it out already.”

“I get the feeling it didn’t mean anything to her, the fact that the two of you hooked up the way you did.”

Chris sighed. “Is that your gut feeling or you talked with her?”

“Both.”

“I see. I don’t think now is the time to worry about such things; we have to worry about the threats. Would I want to spend more time with her? Sure. But she made it clear when we invited her to the unknown regions that she didn’t want to go with us. She declined and said she preferred staying here and to be ready to fight the Spectres. I was a little hurt she didn’t accept my offer.”

“I, for one, am glad she didn’t. She saved my hide while you were away.”

“No shit? I take it she’s powerful, then?”

“You have no idea.”

“I have some idea, I did get a small taste of her powers, we did exchange a few attacks, before things became more…carnal.”

Chase couldn’t believe how open his son was about the subject. He probably got that from Sarah, as Chase was more an introvert when it came to these matters. And what mattered to Chase and made him happy was that his son trusted him enough to talk about it and share his feelings.

Chris was his own man; in fact, he had been since the moment he was in his mother’s womb. He saw the world differently than others. Like when he decided to accelerate his own physiology to mature at a fast pace to help with the war effort. What unborn child does that?

“So,” Chris continued, “she basically saved your life?”

“And my soul. That female Spectre had me dead to rights.”

“I’m glad she was there for you, I wish I had been there for you as well.”

“While I appreciate that, and I could have used the backup, obviously, but I wouldn’t have wanted you in that kind of danger. Even though I know that makes no sense, but with what happened to your mother, I don’t know what I’d do if something happened to you too.”

“While we both know that it wouldn’t have been your choice to make, I think I understand what you’re saying. In fact, Argos told me you wanted mom to stay behind when we went against Tanak’Vor.”

“He did?”

“Yes. At first, I discarded it, I think I needed someone to blame for mom…and it was unfair to blame you. But then I thought about it and realized you were right. She should have stayed behind. If she had, she’d be here with us right now.”

“I’ve thought about this over and over, trust me, and while I appreciate what you’re saying, we both know it’s easier to arrive to conclusions after the fact. I think my mistake was to try to tell her what to do.”

“Why do you think that is?”

“Because nobody likes being told what to do. Say I said to you that you can’t come with us to destroy the Spectres gate, what would you say?”

Chris smiled. “I’d say up yours. And that it’s my choice to make.”

“Well, now you see why I shouldn’t have tried to convince your mother to sit the last battle out.”

“Indeed. But you must not blame yourself for that. Those were crazy times.”

“If you ask me, we’re right back where we started in that regard, at least with the Furies, we had a single enemy defeat. Now we’re being pulled every which way.”

“But we’re more united now, the Alliance is stronger than ever before.”

Then why did Chase feel like they were not only unprepared for what was coming but also outclassed by their enemies.

“I hope you’re right, son, with all my heart.”

“We won’t let them win. As for Nyx, I’m surprised she helped you, she seems more like the lone wolf type than a team player.”

“She sure is, and I was surprised, too. She never would admit she did it to help me, and truth be told, she may very well not have. Perhaps I was just lucky she was there.”

“She’s something else, that one.”

“She sure is.”

* * *

When Chase exited med-bay, letting Chris have some alone time with his mother, he headed toward the cargo bay where he had parked his StarFury. On his way, Nyx ran toward him. Chase assumed she was probably just training, but she stopped in front of him.

“We need to talk,” she said.

“Hello to you too.”

She tilted her head to the side slightly, which told Chase she didn’t understand his attempt at sarcasm. Not that others of her kind were any better, but this particular Fury was lacking some basic social skills.

“What is it I can do for you?” Chase eventually conceded.

“I talked to Ares.”

“Of course you have.”

“He tells me you’re not willing to consider going to the other dimension. Not that I’m surprised, cowards usually bail out when things get tough.”

Chase felt anger and rage boil at the surface, but he just had a really nice time with his son and didn’t want to let Nyx spoil his mood. So much for Ares helping him have a real dialogue with her. But Chase neither had the time nor inclination for a fight right now.

“Sure, I’m a coward. Anything else I can do for you?”

“You’re an insult to your people.”

Chase sighed heavily. “And what people would that be?”

“You know!”

“Look, Nyx, I’m grateful you saved my life, but that doesn’t mean I will tolerate your abrasive personality forever. I’m not a Fury, I never was, so better put that in your one-track mind once and for all! I have Fury blood, yes, but I also have Olympian blood. So, I’m not one of you and never will be.”

She spat on his shoes. “That’s for sure. And how proud were you of your impure blood when your soul was being sucked from your puny body?”

It was getting harder for Chase to dodge and ignore Nyx’s verbal assaults.

“If that’s all you have to say, I think we’ll have to continue this conversation another time. I’d like to get to my starfighter now.”

Chase tried to walk around her, but she moved in his way.

“I’m not done. Not by a long shot. And I think you’ll want to listen to what I have to say.”

“Somehow, I doubt it,” said Chase as he forced his way around Nyx and walked away.

“I believe there’s a way to help your wife.”

Chase stopped short and turned around. He pointed an accusing finger.

“You better not be shitting me.”

Nyx took a few steps toward Chase and stopped only inches from him.

“Spectre blood.”

“What? What about Spectre blood?”

“In small doses, it has very powerful healing properties.”

“Even if that were true, we can only get it in this dimension by capturing one.”

“For someone who engaged more than one Spectre, would you say that this seems a likely outcome when fighting them?”

“I suppose not. It wouldn’t be easy, but we never really tried capturing one until now.”

“That’s beside the point, the blood needs to be processed or it becomes more toxic than good. The only alchemist I know who can do this safely is on the other side.”

Chase thought about it. While he was glad to hear there might be a compound that could help Sarah, he still didn’t like the odds. And, right now, they needed to focus on the gate.

“First of all, we don’t even know if what the Spectres are building is a portal to this dimension. Second, should it happen to be a gateway, we don’t know if this thing is bidirectional. And, last but not least, I’m not about to go in there blindly if we’re not sure we can even return. What good would it do to acquire a cure and not be able to bring it back?”

“I had heard that you were an ‘all-in’ kind of guy, I guess this was just unfounded hearsay.”

That comment hit Chase where it hurt. Like all truth. Was Chase holding back? Or was he being cautious with so many balls in the air. There were multiple threats ahead, which resulted in a sense of growing uncertainty inside Chase’s soul.

Chase never hesitated whether he had to fight, no, he would give his life for others, that part of his DNA had not been affected by the latest events. He thought with the lack of a clear sign of which threat was the one to go all-in on, it was better to be sure which path to choose. Right now, destroying a potential doorway for the enemy to invade and crush everything he held dear was the priority.

Chase’s face twitched. “I resent that oversimplification, but if that is what you believe, then so be it. I won’t try to stop you returning there on your own if that is your will.”

But then Chase observed a change in Nyx’s eyes. She didn’t answer, but her look clearly shifted. Chase could sense a rising fear, one that Nyx had buried in the deepest chasm of her psyche, rise to the surface.

He put his hand on her shoulder, which surprised her, and he smiled.

“It’s not that simple, is it? In this moment, nothing is certain; we all have our fears, our demons. And it’s up to each one of us to decide how we face those fears and demons. I thank you for your counsel, and I give you my word I’ll think about it. But I’m not gonna rush toward anything unprepared. All I can promise is that I’ll act in accordance to what feels right in my heart, for me, for those I love.”

Chase walked away and didn’t wait for a stunned Nyx to answer.

* * *

Fenrir joined Siegfried by the viewport. The hyperspace streaked past on all sides, casting an ethereal dance of light and shadow around them. Fenrir opened and closed his fists a couple of times.

“It’s been so long, I think my muscles need some practice,” said Fenrir.

“I know the feeling. I experienced something similar when the captain on the Aegir freed me from cryo-sleep. I had to ignore the pain and flex mine immediately, though. A lot has happened while we were asleep. There’s a new threat to this universe it seems.”

“Oh? Pray tell. But, before you do, what about the Furies? I was the first one to be put on lockdown, I didn’t even know we managed to exterminate their remnants.”

“It was all for nothing, brother. We were hunting renegade Furies across the universe for absolutely nothing.”

“What do you mean?”

“The Furies had not been destroyed in the first place. Instead, Zeus, Odin, and their allies had banished them into another dimension. And while we slept, they returned.”

“Is that the threat you’ve mentioned? Are we going against Furies again?”

“Yes and no.”

“That’s a little too cryptic an answer, you’re going to have to give me more.”

Siegfried turned his head toward his brother and smiled before returning his gaze forward. “I know…While we were asleep, the Furies resurfaced, and they waged war like only they know. That time, they were truly defeated by this new alliance. At the head of that alliance were Fury hybrids; they led the charge against the enemy. The Earth Alliance defeated the Fury and destroyed Erevos this time. But, in doing so, a new threat arose. They are called the Spectres.”

“Why didn’t we ever hear of them before?”

“Because they come from the dimension where Zeus and Odin sent Erevos at the end of the previous war. They leaked through, and, in fact, manipulated the Furies to cleanse our dimension for them.”

“They sound like a proper enemy. Could they be our allies?”

“I don’t think so. From what I’ve gathered, they’re even more obsessed with the purity of the race than the Furies. One day or another, I think we’ll have to fight them. If the one I fought is any indication, they make Furies look like child’s play.”

“Was it a hard kill?”

“Surprisingly, no, but my instinct tells me that this one was only a mere foot soldier, and that he has much more powerful brethren. These creatures nourish themselves with the souls of their victims. Every time they devour one, they get stronger. This one didn’t seem to hold many souls. From the information I’ve gathered through Asgardian intelligence, the one that the Fury hybrids killed had thousands of souls in him.”

“I see. So what’s the plan?”

“For now? We wait…”

“You can’t be serious? We’ve been locked in prison for what feels like an eternity, and you want us to wait?!”

“Don’t misunderstand me, brother. We will act soon enough. But, right now, it would be wise to wait for Grunhild to rejoin us and then use her mental abilities to grow our numbers. We’ll need a stronger force to take down our next targets.”

“And what would those targets be?”

“All in good time. I’m still evaluating the best strategy. There are many ways to achieve our goals, I haven’t decided on the path we have to walk just yet.”

Fenrir shook his head and smirked. “Though five thousand years may have passed, you haven’t changed one bit.”

3

Chase didn’t immediately realize he was no longer heading toward his StarFury, so he stopped and looked around. He was in a dark swamp, his feet planted in a pond made of worms. A greenish fog plunged the vegetation around him into a dark mist, further accentuating the toxic vibe surrounding him.

“What the hell is this place?” he asked out loud.

But there was no answer.

Was he sleeping? Was it a nightmare? Or was he having a vision?

Chase tried to consciously wake up as he had in the past when he was trapped in nightmare loops. With repetition, his dreaming self could identify his presence in nightmares and step out of them easily. And he had had many of these after the Fury War.

Nothing happened, and a strong sensation deep in his gut told him that this wasn’t a nightmare. He was either in a vision or he had lost some time and this was a reality he needed to adjust to and make sense of.

Titanic-sized spider’s legs could be seen in the distance, their upper part disappeared into the massive purple clouds in the dark sky. With every step, everything around him trembled, and more spiders fell from the rotting trees and crept all around in a very disorganized fashion as if they were afraid of a threat they couldn’t see or sense.

That sensation emerged from within Chase’s soul as well. The spiders in the distance were bigger and taller than the larger skyscrapers Chase had seen on Earth. His fear and anxiety levels shot through the roof with each new earth-shattering spider steps.

He tried moving forward to get out of the worm pond, as it was starting to freak him out. But his feet refused to move.

What is this?

Chase looked at his shins where more worms where crawling up his legs. As soon as more of them covered all his skin at the base of his shins, he lost sensation in them. He grabbed one of the worms and looked at it closely. At first, they had looked like simple worms to him, albeit completely black, but upon closer inspection, he could see tiny mouths all over their bodies, with even tinier rows of teeth. Some of the tiny mouths bit his finger, forcing him to let it go.

He lost feeling at the tip of the bitten finger almost instantly. That’s when Chase realized he couldn’t stay trapped in this fashion or he’d end up fully paralyzed. He brought his Fury aura to bear and tried consuming the worms with his burning aura, and the purple energy washed over the bugs without any effect on them.

“That’s impossible!” he exclaimed.

Chase then heard a screech pierce the otherwise silent night and resonate all around him. The screech was overwhelming, and he had to cover his ears when he realized that its intensity was making them bleed. He pushed his palms against his ears as strongly as he could, but the screech still managed to pierce through, invading his thoughts, his mind, and his very soul.

Chase used his healing ability to mend his ears, hoping that fixing the damage would help him, but it made things worse. The screech felt like it was composed of a thousand agonizing voices, as if they were screaming in pain, trapped in eternal torment.

The sheer pain of any of them would be hard to endure for someone like Chase, always willing to risk his life to fight for others. But the compounding and overlapping of what felt like millions of screeches was too much for Chase to bear.

Without realizing, Chase was screeching in pain himself, adding his own agony to the mix. All his senses became overwhelmed, and soon, the pain was reaching proportions that were strange to him. In his multiple battles against the enemies, be it Furies or Spectres, the pain he felt against these foes seemed to pale in comparison.

Suddenly, in the pandemonium of terror echoing in his mind and soul, Chase thought he heard a voice calling to him. There were too many overlapping screeching sounds happening to clearly make out the voice, but his soul vibrated at a certain frequency upon trying to focus on that one voice.

Chase tried turning Ultra Fury and was shocked when he realized he couldn’t push his energy far enough to transform. The pain, mixed with his overloaded senses, prevented him from reaching the Ultra Fury level of focus.

Resigned by this realization, he instead pushed his normal aura past levels he ever reached before, even though that would normally grant him his Ultra Fury transformation. It didn’t make sense to him as to why this was happening, but it at least allowed him to focus, and he recovered some of the sensations in the lower part of his body.

The voice Chase was homing toward became clearer. Like a beacon in the night, the voice managed to pierce through the darkness. While Chase couldn’t tell if he was imagining it, he thought he heard a couple of words.

“Help me,” said a soft female voice.

Chase had never heard the voice of this person before, but its tone touched him to his core. It was as if his own body was telling him to trust the voice. Chase took a step forward with great difficulty. It felt like trying to walk through setting cement. But he kept at it until he managed to climb out of the worm pond.

He continued intensifying his purple aura, which finally burned the pests around most of his legs. They fell on the ground and evaporated into small puffs of dark smoke, which formed themselves into spider shapes at first made of smoke but soon regained solid form in reality.

Perhaps it is a nightmare after all, he thought. Nothing here makes any sense!

Once all the smoke-worms became spiders, they crept around randomly, like the other ones Chase witnessed earlier. That’s when he heard her again, and this time, one more word struck his soul to the very core.

“Help me, dad,” said the voice.

Tears filled Chase’s eyes at the realization. But how could it be? His unborn daughter, was she really calling to him?

“Hurry,” she added.

Chase felt an inner explosion of feelings and energy rising from the deepest depths of his soul and expand outward. It gave him a similar sensation as the first time he turned Ultra Fury when fighting Argos on Damocles-3 but with even more intensity. His hair turned to a glowing purple while his aura detached from his body, morphing into gold and forming a dancing dragon all around him.

Chase didn’t realize it but his eyes had been shut by the expanding of that devastating energy now flowing through his veins. He opened them wide.

“I’ve missed you, Dragonheart,” said the dragon energy dancing around him faster and faster.

“Drakos?”

The dragon aura detached from around Chase and levitated in front of him. Its mouth moved as he spoke.

“You didn’t think you’d get rid of me for good, did you?”

“I saw the soul ships explode.”

“So? Am I not worthy of having a soul, just like you?”

“I thought you were an AI…”

“These are terms, Chase. Life is life, be it animal, human, Fury, or…synthetic.”

“What is this energy I sense inside of me?”

“Your true power, your journey, has just begun, deep down you know it to be true. You will need this power to accomplish your destiny. Right now, you need to focus on why you were brought here. We’ll see each other again one day, my friend.”

“Wait!” screamed Chase.

Drakos didn’t wait, and he plunged himself inside Chase’s torso creating a warm feeling and making the sensation of power within him even stronger.

Get to her…hurry, Chase, said Drakos, his voice farther away with every word spoken.

Chase closed his eyes and focused on his daughter’s voice. He could hear her sobbing in his mind.

He opened his eyes and locked his gaze upon a tiny golden sphere of energy glowing inside one of the massive spiders in the horizon, and before realizing it himself, he was flying toward it at speeds so fast that it unearthed every tree along his fly path.

It took only a moment for Chase to arrive in front of the massive spider, and as he approached, he realized how massive it truly was. No other foe in Chase’s life had been nearly as titanic as this one. In fact, with every passing second of flight, the beast grew only slightly, having the illusion of its initial size fade away. It was larger than anything Chase had ever set eyes on, period.

Chase stopped and levitated in midair about a few miles away from the head of the spider. Inside its belly, which was slightly translucent, shone a golden aura.

Had the monster swallowed his daughter?

Before Chase decided to take offensive action to get to where the aura was, the spider lowered its head to the ground, miles down, and Chase descended accordingly until his feet hit the ground. He no longer was in a swamp but in a large field with ankle-tall black grass blades.

The aura inside the spider moved just behind the spider’s head, letting golden light bleed through its multiple eyes, each one bigger than Chase in size. The spider opened its mouth, and the light escaping it was so bright that he had to cover his eyes and let them adjust to the strong source.

A svelte female silhouette appeared in its center and grew in size as it ran out of the spider’s mouth. Soon, she emerged, and the aura around her died down. She looked like an adolescent, perhaps fifteen or sixteen, which threw Chase off.

She was tall, taller than Chris had been when he reached her age. She had big beautiful blue eyes and a long braid, which was a mixture of the black of Chase’s hair blended with the crimson-colored tones of her mother’s.

She looked at Chase and her eyes watered. “Dad!” she exclaimed.

She was still casting an aura of light around her but not in the form of energy. Several yards around her, the black grass turned from void black to a vibrant green. Her presence altered the entire physicality of this place as if she infused life into plants that previously were dead.

Chase didn’t know her, but he could feel it inside his soul without a shadow of a doubt…she was his daughter.

“I—I don’t even know your name,” he said clumsily.

She wiped her forming tears and smiled. “If I’m ever born, you’ll name me Kharon.”

“Don’t say this! You will be born, I’ll make sure you have the chance of coming into this world.”

She nodded, but then her entire face darkened, and she looked back, startled.

“What’s going on, Kharon? What is it?”

When she turned back toward Chase, she was trembling like a falling feather.

“She found me,” Kharon said. “I don’t have much time. In case things don’t work out, I wanted to meet you while I still could, I’m sorry I had to bring you into this horrible place for that. I had…I had to see you, at least once.”

The words cut at Chase’s heart. Even though he had no doubt now that this was neither an illusion nor a nightmare. The last time he felt something similar was when Aphroditis had reached out to him from within the Pandora device. If Kharon had used a similar ability, it may mean that the darkness of the world Chase perceived with his senses here could be a representation of what Kharon felt where she was, in utero form.

“We will meet again, Kharon. I’ll do everything in my power to make it happen, I promise!”

“I know you will, but she might not let you. She’s so evil, you have no idea.”

“Who’s the she you keep mentioning?”

A tear fell down one of Kharon’s cheeks. “So you don’t know? It’s too painful to say, just know that I love you, dad. I hope one day I can meet you for real. And if I could, I’d stay here forever with you, in this moment, but I can’t…In fact, my time here is up.”

“Wait!” said Chase. “Don’t go.”

“I’d love nothing more than to stay with you. I also wish I had had enough energy to bring my brother in this place as well. Make sure you tell him about me,” Kharon said as dark tentacles emerged from behind her.

Chase reacted instinctively and fired at them. But his fireballs went through them as if they weren’t there. Upon lacing around Kharon, the tentacles certainly seemed to feel real to her. She tried holding her ground and struggled, but the tentacles slowly but surely dragged her back toward the monster’s mouth.

Chase darted forward, unwilling to let her go, but before he made it to Kharon, two bursts of light emerged on each side of Kharon and flashed a couple of red energy spheres that screamed past her head. Moments before the spheres were about to impact with Chase, they exploded into webs of red energy, trapping Chase in a burning spider web.

“Noooooo!” he shouted. “Let—let me go!”

Even though Chase was feeling more strength inside him than ever before, he was powerless to free himself from these webs of energy.

Meanwhile, Kharon was still trying to resist the pull of the tentacles, but she was just as powerless as he was. She looked at him with innocent sadness gleaming in her eyes.

“I’ll save you!” said Chase. “I promise you and your mom. Just hang on, I’m coming for the both of you.”

Black tears fell down Kharon’s face.

The more Chase tried to struggle, the more he felt his skin burn. “What is it, Kharon? Why are you crying?”

“I don’t think we can save her anymore…Stay strong. I love you.”

Chase struggled even more. “This can’t be happening!” he exclaimed in frustration.

“Goodbye, dad,” added Kharon.

Before Chase could ask his daughter what she meant, dozens of new tentacles wrapped themselves around Kharon’s body, and he caught a glimpse of terror in her eyes before she was snatched back inside the spider’s mouth.

Chase unleashed an animalistic roar of frustration and anger. “NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!”

Everything around him changed in a flash. He was on his knees, panting, with tears flowing and creating puddles near his hands.

Hold on, Kharon. I’ll find a way to help you.

Part of Chase’s anger also stemmed from not telling her he loved her too when he had the chance. So he closed his eyes and sent the message through the universe itself, hoping that wherever she was, she would hear or, at the very least, feel it.

I love you.

* * *

Chase, can you hear me? said a female voice inside his mind.

Aphroditis? Is that you?

Yes. I need to talk to you.

Not the best time. I have a lot of people to speak to before we leave, not to mention I’m not exactly in a good frame of mind at the moment.

I’m sorry for the bad timing. But if you’re about to go on a mission, then it’s even more important that we talk first.

Chase didn’t like the sound of that at all. He hesitated before answering. He had had enough bad news for the day.

I’m listening.

I had a vision. I don’t know what it was, but it felt different from the ability I once had.

That’s interesting timing. I had a vision of my own minutes ago, in fact. Though, I believe it came from my unborn daughter. Just like Chris once touched his mother’s mind while I was in the underworld. She is in grave danger, but I don’t understand why, she should be safe in her cryo-pod with her mother.

Perhaps she’s not there anymore.

I’m not sure I follow. What do you mean?

I can’t explain it, Chase, it’s just a gut feeling I’m having upon hearing your words.

Chase didn’t like the implications, but he had to admit to himself that his aunt had premonitions and a gift for sensing the future. Whether or not her powers where returning, and perhaps in a different form than before her torment inside the Pandora device, whatever she had to say, Chase knew he had to keep an open mind about it.

I see…What was your vision about?

It’s hard to explain, and it didn’t make much sense…

Chase definitely could empathize with that, seeing how strange his own vision had been.

I was being pursued by Spectres, Aphroditis continued, and Argos was there too, but he wasn’t the same, he acted like a Spectre.

What do you mean like a Spectre?

Like he was one of them, he ripped my soul away from my body, it was terrifying.

That doesn’t sound like him at all. Are you sure you didn’t have a nightmare? I mean, after all you’ve been through, I wouldn’t be surprised if your mind played tricks on you. Perhaps some sort of post-traumatic stress syndrome?

Trust me when I say that I’ve had plenty of nightmares as of late, Chase, this didn’t feel like one.

But it is possible?

There was a long pause.

If you’re asking me if I’m one hundred percent certain this was a vision, I can’t guarantee it. But I have had enough premonitions, glimpses of the future and other seer-related apparitions through my previous abilities, to tell you I believe with all my heart that it was a vision, not a nightmare.

Chase took a deep breath. What do you suppose it means?

I wish I knew. But I thought I should let you know. Whatever it is, I think it has something to do with Argos.

How?

That’s what I don’t know. His presence in the vision was ominous, and it scared the crap out of me, that much is certain. Is he coming with you on your mission?

I was on my way to see him and Chris, ask them to come with me. I think we should all be there in case we need to engage the Spectres again.

I have a bad feeling about this, Chase.

I’m sorry, Aphroditis, I wish there was something I could do. Unfortunately, right now, we must do all we can to prevent the Spectres from entering our dimension in larger numbers.

Is that what the mission is about?

As far as the information we’ve gathered, yes. We believe they’re constructing a portal to send a fleet through. I’ll let Argos know about your vision, see if he thinks it’s best if he sits this one out.

Fair enough. Be careful, Chase, I sense a great shroud of darkness is all around, and it’s threatening to swallow us all.

Chase didn’t need his aunt’s warning about the events currently unfolding. His own instinct was already telling him the exact same thing. Whatever was ahead of them made his entire body vibrate in a very negative way.

I agree with you, Aphroditis, and I’ll be careful.

Chase sensed his aunt’s mind disconnect from his.

As careful as one can be under the circumstances, thought Chase.

But there was something else that bothered him, so he opened a channel using his wrist device.

“Chase, it’s been a while,” Keera said with a yawn. “What can I do for you?”

“Sorry if I woke you, but this couldn’t wait.”

“It’s alright, don’t worry about me.”

“I heard you’re on Earth these days, is that still the case?”

“I’m taking the first transport out to Alkyon One tomorrow. I heard what happened to Ryonna, and I thought I’d come and see how everyone is doing. But, for the time being, yes, I’m still on Earth, why?”

“Do you mind altering your plans and checking something out for me before coming? It may take a while, though, and I don’t think you’ll catch your transport.”

“Fair enough. I’ll give Ryonna a call instead of visiting then. What is it you need me to do?”

“I don’t want anyone else to know, at least for now, so listen carefully.”

4

Argos was already in Chris’s quarters when Chase entered.

“Good, you’re both here,” said Chase.

“Are you alright?” asked Argos. “You look kind of flushed.”

“You should both sit down for this.”

They did, and Chase proceeded to tell them about his vision as best he remembered.

“That’s scary,” said Chris. “It’s weird that Kharon was already able to touch your mind, though. I was much further along in mom’s pregnancy when I gained consciousness inside her womb.”

“I hadn’t thought of that.”

“What do you think it means?” asked Argos.

“I don’t know,” said Chase. “But Kharon said she wanted to meet me in case she didn’t get the chance to do it later. She was very sad and terrified about the future. I don’t like the sound of this. Not one bit.”

“I don’t either,” said Chris. “But we’ll figure out a way to help her the same way we’ll help mom. And we’ll do it together, as a family.”

His son’s words were the glimmer of hope Chase needed right now. Even though his body had reacted negatively to Chris mentioning helping his mother, Chase wondered why. But he couldn’t afford to focus on that right now.

Chase nodded solemnly. “Speaking of family, there’s more.”

He then told them about Aphroditis’s own vision.

“That doesn’t make any sense,” said Argos. “I would never hurt Aphroditis. I—I mean, nowadays.” His eyes lowered. “I’ve hurt her plenty already in the past.”

“And then you helped save her,” said Chris, trying to alleviate his uncle’s guilt. “Never forget that!”

Chase could sense Argos still harbored a tremendous amount of guilt, but he knew that in his place, he’d feel exactly the same.

“She also said it may be best you don’t come on the mission,” said Chase. “Well, not in so many words, but I think that’s what she was implying.”

Chris looked at Argos. “What do you think, uncle? Should you sit this one out? Just to be on the safe side.”

Argos twitched and took a moment to take it all in before answering.

“I can’t let you go against the Spectres on your own, you may both need my help.”

“While I have no doubt about that, I’m sure we can manage,” said Chase, “but you should do what you think is best. What does your instinct tell you?”

Argos let his fingers slide over his facial scar and breathed heavily. “Even if what Aphroditis experienced means there’s some sort of danger awaiting me, that doesn’t change how I feel about letting you go without me. Let’s face it, we’re all in danger, one way or another. No…I’ve made up my mind, and I’m coming with you. I simply wouldn’t be able to forgive myself if anything happened to any of you because I stayed behind.”

One thing was certain, the more time passed, the more Argos reminded Chase of himself. Whatever evil had infected his heart in the past, Chase couldn’t sense any of it anymore. Instead, he was truly proud to feel compassion, empathy, and love be Argos’s new driving forces.

“Fair enough,” said Chase. “I guess I’ll see you onboard the Hope in a little under two hours, then?”

“Absolutely,” said Argos. “We’ll be there.”

“And we’ll face what’s ahead together,” added Chris. “As it should be.”

* * *

Thor’s face filled Chase’s holo-screen in his quarters on board Alkyon One.

“Hello, Chase,” said Thor.

“Thor, good to see you. Altair tells me you didn’t confirm your presence on our upcoming mission. Since time is running out, I thought I’d check with you.”

Thor blinked a couple of times before answering. “I haven’t decided yet.”

“What is there to decide? We need to shut down this gate at all costs.”

“While in principle I agree with you, I have other things on my mind at the moment, as you may know.”

“If you’re referring to the Guards, I think it’s a mistake to focus on them now.”

“It was a mistake not to listen to Poseidon. My mistake. One that cost lives, and I’m responsible for it. I need to fix my mess, Chase.”

“Thor, trust me, I know very well how you feel. When it comes to self-blame, I have plenty of experience.”

“Then you know I feel responsible for what has happened. Until I fix it, every person dying, every drop of blood, will be on my hands.”

“I do and I can empathize, but we can’t split our forces right now. If we do, we risk failing on both fronts. And then things will get even worse.”

“I won’t fail,” said Thor between gritted teeth. “I’ll find them and eliminate them.”

“Look, Thor, and I’m only saying this because I consider you my friend, but right now, you’re letting your anger, your rage, as well as your guilt dictate your actions, and that is a very dangerous combination.”

Thor’s facial tattoos blinked rapidly. “Be that as it may, I know what must be done.”

“No! What must be done is for us to stay united, Thor. We deal with one problem first, then another. If we split our focus, we risk losing everything. We need the Asgardian fleet to succeed.”

There was a long pause.

“I’ve read the reports, and correct me if I’m wrong, but you’re not even sure what it is you’re targeting or if you can even destroy it. Seems to me the menace is not exactly tangible right now.”

“I can’t believe I’m hearing this. What the hell is wrong with you, Thor?”

“Nothing is wrong with me, I just know what kind of threat the Guards pose, not only for my people but also for the Alliance. Seems to me our target priorities aren’t aligned at the moment. The threat of the Guards is real, where you’re betting the entire Alliance fleet for something that may or may not be a dimensional gateway.”

“I disagree with both the insinuation and your conclusion. And here’s why: If this is indeed a gateway from the other universe, the amount of Spectres that could bleed through could be infinitely more dangerous than three Guards, no matter how powerful the three of them are right now. I will help you deal with Siegfried and his brother and sister. I give you my word, Thor, but right now, I need you to help us destroy that gate.”

Thor took a deep breath. “I can give you a third of the Asgardian fleet.”

“No, we have to go all-in,” said Chase sharply, immediately regretting his tone.

“And leave all our respective worlds unprotected? You can’t be serious? I can’t believe a tactician of your caliber could sign off on something like this. This is madness, we could lose it all!”

“The reason for that is if the Spectres send an entire fleet, it may be too late to try to deal with them. If we’re unsuccessful in shutting down the gate itself, we’d better have the mother of all armadas to deal with what will emerge from the other side.”

“And what if we can’t?”

“That’s not a reason not to try it, Thor, and you know it. Let’s also not forget the building blocks of this gate, the monoliths, all contain pentalium. I thought that would resonate with you.”

“What are you saying, Chase?”

“I’m saying that we lost Odin to the Spectres, and the pentalium they stole from your world that night is most likely the reason why your father lost his life. We have to make sure his sacrifice wasn’t in vain.”

Thor’s eyes glowed green. “If my father were here, he would tell me to deal with the Guards first.”

“But he isn’t. And we both know that if Odin did prioritize the Guards versus the Spectres, it’s because, like you, he would want to undo his mistake. How long are you going to let ego drive your decision for your entire race, Thor?”

Chase swallowed hard and hoped he didn’t go too far. The last thing they needed was to drive a wedge between the Alliance and the Asgardians.

“How dare you?” spat Thor.

“I’m sorry, Thor, but you’re not thinking straight at the moment, and I know, I’ve been there! But it’s past time to see the big picture, my friend.”

“And what would that picture be?”

“We can’t afford to let the Spectre race invade our world. No matter what. If we do, then all is lost. They’ll start siphoning our souls and become even more powerful than they already are right now.”

“I…I don’t know.”

“Thor, please. I think Odin would have agreed with me on the subject. Now is the time to unite, not divide our forces. I promise you, on my son’s life, that once this is dealt with, I’ll help you. In fact, my entire family: Argos, Chris, Menelas, everyone who can fight the Guards will help you do so, and we’ll stand a much better chance at fixing this problem than we do by dividing our efforts. You have to see this, Thor: Together we stand a better chance of neutralizing them, alone you take the risk of getting killed, and then, what? You’re the King of Asgard now, your people need their ruler to be coolheaded, but more importantly, they need him alive!”

Thor’s tattoos glowed strongly and then died down. His eyes watered.

Chase could sense Thor’s pain. He could tell Thor hadn’t grieved his father’s death fully, and he could sense the conflict he was struggling with. As a matter of fact, Chase could even empathize with him, as he’d been in a similar frame of mind all too often.

“Ever since he met you, my father was fond of you.”

“And I of him. I came to Asgard’s rescue once, and you know full well I would do it again in a heartbeat.”

Thor swallowed hard. “Very well…because I believe we still owe you for saving my world, I’ll be there, and we’ll fight as one. But I’ll hold you to your promise. Once this is dealt with, I’ll ask the same of you, and I won’t take no for an answer.”

“Thank you, Thor, and, yes, we’ll deal with the Guards together.”

Thor nodded and the holo-communication ended.

* * *

Chase entered command and control, aka Daniel’s quarters, only to find him sleeping at his desk. He was snoring quite loudly, which made Chase smile.

He walked toward his friend and stood there, looking outside the large viewport behind Daniel’s desk. Multiple ships jumped in Alkyon’s space, in preparation for the takedown mission that would start shortly. The ships in the area were to converge here as one of the many rally points before they all jumped to their next destination points at different hours, all to arrive at the staging area at the same time and proceed with the assault in a synchronized fashion.

It may have been Chase’s last time to talk with his friend for a while, so he hesitated between waking him up or just letting him sleep. He was well aware that Daniel had been pushing himself lately in order to get Alkyon One ready. Chase waited a few more minutes, but all he could hear was Daniel’s snoring either increase or decrease in frequency and intensity.

Maybe he does need to sleep, thought Chase before deciding to head toward the exit.

But then Daniel mumbled, and he blinked his eyes a few times.

“Chase? Is…that you?”

“Hey, buddy, sorry if I woke you.”

Daniel yawned. “Th—that’s okay. You been here long?”

“Long enough to tell you snore a lot,” said Chase with a smirk.

“Nonsense, I don’t snore.”

Chase reached with his mind inside Daniel’s desk terminal, accessed the security footage, and played it in front of Daniel, making sure the sound was amped up to eleven.

“Alright, alright,” said Daniel, swiping the footage away. “I guess I do snore…sometimes.”

“It’s only natural, you do seem like you gained a bit of weight lately, if you don’t mind me saying.”

“Hey!” Daniel complained. “I’m barely awake, what’s with the critique-police treatment?”

Chase smiled. “Sorry, I’m only teasing you.”

Daniel couldn’t help but feel his belly with his hands, which made Chase chuckle.

“I suppose I did overindulge in carbs lately and haven’t moved much either.”

“And yet you seem exhausted.”

“That’s because, smartass, I’m burning the midnight oil more often than not. It’s one thing having a workforce as fast as the Gorgar, it’s another to keep on top of it all and manage their workflow. I must have been out of my mind accepting this position. I miss my StarFury!”

“Sorry about that. This doesn’t sound like engaging work.”

“You can say that again. It’s an administrative nightmare, days like these I feel like I’ve been demoted instead of promoted.”

“I suppose that’s the price to pay to be the commander of a station like this one, at least in its initial stages. Hopefully, it gets better once this place gets up and running.”

“It better, or I may decide to resign and come with you on missions, just like old times. For instance, I’m frustrated with the idea of not being in a cockpit and helping you take down the enemy structure.”

“I understand that, but depending on how things go, we may need to retreat here, and in that case, I believe you could see more action than you can handle.”

“Well, if it comes to that, our new defense weapons, courtesy of Spiros and Yanis, will be there to greet the enemy. I hear that thanks to the mass of the station and how the power conduits have been designed, our cannons are immensely more efficient and powerful than our latest destroyer models.”

Chase couldn’t help but smile. “That’s the spirit. Hopefully, though, with the entire fleet at our disposal, we should prevail and take out the target. I can’t imagine the shit we’d be in if we fail.”

“Yeah, it’s a scary thing to imagine what would happen should the Spectres be allowed to enter our dimension en masse.”

“It’d be better if we don’t find out, which is why we made sure every one in the Alliance is there to make sure it doesn’t happen.”

“I’m sure you’ve thought of that, but are you sure it’s not a trap to get all the ships in one area and take us all down? That would suck.”

“We’ve discussed the possibility, and I’ve implemented a fallback protocol that should minimize the loss of ships, should it be a trap. But my instincts are telling me that’s not what this is.”

“Fair enough. When are you leaving?”

“Shortly, which is why I wanted to say goodbye before it was time to board the Hope.”

“I appreciate that,” said Daniel, getting up from behind his desk.

Daniel came next to Chase and hugged him.

“Be careful,” said Daniel.

“Well, you know me.”

“I do, indeed, which is why I’m telling you this.”

Chase held his friends shoulder and squeezed affectionately.

“You be careful, too.”

“I will, and I’ll be expecting you back soon.”

Chase took a step back, smiled broadly, and saluted. “Aye, aye, Captain.”

* * *

Chris was pacing nervously in the conference room. While he was happy to help his father with taking over the creation of a task force in the unknown regions, he had never taken the lead on such an initiative. He was surprised to feel the way he did, especially after going toe to toe with powerful enemies like Arakan or Tanak’Vor.

But he recognized that fighting these terrible foes had been a different kind of fear. One triggered by survival instinct, no doubt one that was deeply anchored in his Fury DNA versus the anxiety about addressing people, friends, as a leader.

Menelas entered the conference room. Chris had asked him to come a little earlier than the others, as he wanted to make sure he was okay returning to the unknown regions so soon.

“Hey, Chris,” said Menelas.

“Grandpa, good to see you. You seem better.”

“Thanks to you and Argos, yes. Thanks again for getting me out of there.”

“Anytime. You would have done the same for us, I’m sure.”

Menelas nodded. “Of course. I thought there was supposed to be more people at the meeting, are the others coming?”

“Any minute now, but I wanted to clear something with you first, so I asked you in a little early.”

“Oh? Alright, what would that be?”

“I selected you after talking with Chase to be the muscle of this operation we have in mind.”

“And what would that be?”

“I’ll explain it to the group when the others arrive, but in a nutshell, it’s gonna require you returning to the unknown regions. I wanted to make sure you’re okay with that. Especially with Diaspira escaping. She could very well show up again during that mission. I know you had a hard time there, so if it were something you’d rather not do, I’d understand. But we feel it’s necessary that a strong warrior be part of this expedition. Ryonna will also be accompanying you, and she’s both a powerful and resourceful Droxian, but depending on the level of threat you could face, we’d rather have a powerful Fury in the group to stave off any encounter.”

“I understand. And while I didn’t expect to return there anytime soon, if you need me there, that’s where I will go. As for Diaspira, if she does dare show her face again, I’ll shoot first and ask questions later.”

“You sure?”

“Yes, Chris. Don’t worry. I’ve been jailed and tortured before you were born, you know. It takes more than pain and fear to bring me down.”

“I’d rather nothing brought you down, period.”

“Your grandmother would certainly agree with that assessment, and I think she’ll be the one that may complain the most about this idea.”

“Should I talk with Athena on your behalf?”

“No, better leave that to me. I’m sure it won’t be the most pleasant conversation, but she’ll understand…hopefully.”

“Alright, thank you for helping me with this, Grandpa.”

Before Menelas could answer, the conference room doors split open, and the rest of the group, Ryonna, Ares, Yanis, all entered the room and joined them.

“Hello, everyone. Thanks for coming. Please, take a seat,” Chris’s voiced cracked with nerves.

Chris took a deep breath once everyone was seated.

“After consulting with Chase, he’s asked me to convene you here for a mission of great importance. As you know,” Chris pointed toward Ryonna, “Ryonna here brought back sensitive information, which we believe will help us devise weapons that could mean the difference between victory and defeat against our fight with the Spectres.

“Unfortunately, our efforts to decrypt the data has not bared fruits until now, and while Spiros is still trying to access the data, we decided that we should create a task force, starting with the four of you, whose goal is to use the network of portal transport device we’ve discovered in the unknown regions. You’ve all been selected for your specific set of skills.

“Ryonna and Menelas are the muscle of the operation and will make sure that Yanis is protected while he helps identify and figure out any technology you come in contact with in the unknown regions. Ares is the failsafe in case you encounter too much opposition during your mission, he’ll use his teleportation abilities to get you out of trouble. Any questions?”

Yanis stood. “I have a question. While I understand the principle behind the mission, do we at least know what kind of technology we’re suppose to look for?”

“Yes,” said Chris, “at least we think we do. The lab where we discovered the portal was protected by an advanced AI of Atlantian origin, and we believe there may be similar technology in planets that the portal system interconnects with. So anything with the potential of getting us a better processing power, but not only that. Any potential technology that can help with power generation, as well as weapons and shields, should be investigated. Also, as you may know, pentalium is only found on Asgard, and the stockpile has been running out, so you’ll need to scan for pentalium at every destination on your travels, as well as any other source that could potentially replace it. It’s not common knowledge, but pentalium is a finite resource, one that is almost gone, and since it’s vital to the creation of so many of our ship’s systems as of late, we need to figure out a way to either find more or replace it with something else.”

“That’s a tall order for a four person team,” said Ryonna.

“True. And that’s why you four have been selected. You all bring something special to the group. Right now, we have a couple of urgent threats to deal with, which is why I’ve only selected one team for this maiden mission of yours. As you may or may not know, the AI protecting the portal asked me to vet everyone who steps through it with great care. It goes without saying that I trust every single one of you, and there may be a time in the near future where we create more teams to go through the portals, but under such short notice, I thought it would be best to assemble a strong core team for the first missions in such uncharted territory. If I could, I’d be part of that first group myself, but I’m needed elsewhere.”

“Fair enough,” said Ares. “When are we leaving?”

“As soon as you can. While we head out with the fleet to try to destroy the Spectres gateway, you’ll be heading to new Kyria.”

“Who is leading this team?”

Chris quickly sent a telepathic message to his grandfather. I hope you’re okay if I select Ryonna to be the lead, I don’t want them to think I’m giving preferential treatment, and she has more experience than you in dealing with the remaining two members.

Perfectly fine, answered Menelas.

“I think someone with a strong military background, even though she’s now an ambassador. Ryonna, are you okay with being the team lead? With Menelas being your second in command?”

“That works for me, that is, if it does with Menelas,” said Ryonna.

“Absolutely,” confirmed Menelas.

“It’s settled then,” said Chris. “Good luck, and take good care of each other. I hope to see you soon with brand new technologies we can use to secure the Earth Alliance against all threats. Thanks each and every one of you for being part of this…” Chris let the words hang for a moment. “That will be all.”

As the group began to leave, Chris asked Yanis to stay behind so he could teach him how to use the portals in order for Yanis to provide each team member with a fused access chip, allowing them safe travel through the portals.

Chris also mentally transferred all the knowledge the Atlantian AI had given him before self-destructing. Yanis, the engineer expert of the mission, would require that knowledge not only to understand how the portal network worked but also how to scan each portal destination at a distance in order to more easily decide which worlds to visit first.

5

“How are you doing?” Kvasir asked.

“I’m okay,” answered Spiros. “Just a little frustrated about not going with Chase and the others on board the Hope for the mission.”

“You need to focus on recovering that data, and if you came with us, I think you’d be asked to work on the ship’s systems instead of focusing on the problem you’ve been tasked to solve. Under the circumstances, I think it’s only logical.”

“What do you mean, us? You’re going?”

Kvasir’s tattoos flashed a few times. “I am, indeed. In fact, I’ll be the main engineer on board the Hope for this one.”

“What about Yanis?” asked Spiros.

“Chris has tasked him with a mission to the unknown regions.”

“Swell, so I’ll be the only engineer left on Alkyon One?”

“Not exactly, I think Chase asked Cedric to give you a hand. He should arrive in a few days.”

“Fair enough.”

“Is everything alright, Spiros? You seem agitated.”

“I’m alright, I can’t seem to find a way to get into that data, and I’ve tried everything short of rebuilding a conscious AI to help me keep up with the mutating algorithm.”

“I know it must be frustrating, but for the time being, I think trying to find a non-AI solution to the problem is probably a good and safe course of action.”

“I suppose…unfortunately, a machine-learning AI learns by example, and we don’t know what we’re dealing with here, so it just won’t cut it.”

Kvasir paused before he answered. “I know you miss her.”

“I truly do, and trust me, if she were here, I think we’d have already accessed this data.”

“Perhaps, but she’s not. You can always ask for my help any time, you know that? I may not be artificial, but I do like to think I possess some intelligence.”

Spiros chuckled. “You certainly do, and I didn’t mean to imply otherwise. However, I believe you’ll have plenty to worry about with keeping the Hope’s systems at peak performance when the shit hits the fan.”

Kvasir’s tattoos blinked madly. “When what?”

“Right, you wouldn’t know that expression. It’s human, I’ve always liked it ever since I heard Cedric use it.”

“Excuse me for saying so, but it doesn’t sound very sanitary.”

Spiros laughed. “That’s why it’s just an expression, you don’t have to take it so literally. In the context here, it means once you get into the thick of it.”

But that didn’t seem to make it clearer to the Asgardian.

“When ships start firing at each other,” added Spiros, “and you scramble to hold the Hope together.”

“Like any other battle, then. I just have a hard time picturing excrement hitting a fan.”

“Yeah, I suppose I should watch which expression I use, and trust me, it’s best you don’t put too much stock into that particular mental picture. I only meant you’ll be busy taking good care of my ship.”

“Your ship?” said Kvasir, raising an eyebrow.

“Well, I designed most of her systems, so yeah, I call her my ship.”

Kvasir smiled.

* * *

“You’ve got to be kidding me!” complained Athena. “Absolutely not! You’re not going back there.”

“Athena,” said Menelas, pleadingly.

“Don’t Athena me, you just returned from the unknown regions, barely escaping with your life, and now you want to return?”

“I don’t want to go there, I was asked to by my grandchild, as a personal favor. You have to understand it’s not the same situation this time. When I was there, I had lost my memories, and I was not in full capacity of my powers. I won’t be caught unprepared this time, and furthermore, I won’t go alone. Ares will be there to get us out of Dodge if necessary. Let’s not forget that if it weren’t for Chris, I may not have survived. I didn’t feel like telling him no.”

“You do realize that almost every time we keep going our separate ways, something terrible happens?”

“That won’t happen,” said Menelas with a confident smile, “and you don’t see me complaining about you being second in command in what could be the most dangerous fleet engagement of your own life.”

“Only if a fleet shows up, otherwise it will hopefully just be a matter of adding our combined firepower and blow up a gate in space. I don’t expect it to be much more than that.”

“And I don’t think Chase would have mobilized the entire Earth Alliance fleet if that’s all it is. Surely, he worries that the Alliance might have to fight.”

“There’s always a chance we have to fight a Spectre armada, I suppose.”

“I could argue that I don’t want you in that kind of danger,” said Menelas with a wink.

“And I could kick your ass.”

Menelas chuckled. “You could try.”

Athena released a long sigh of resignation and approached her lover. They kissed for a long time.

“Be careful, please,” she implored.

“I will. That goes for you as well.”

“Make sure you return to me this time.”

“After everything that we’ve been through, trust me, I won’t let anything in the universe prevent me from holding you in my arms again soon.”

“When did you get so romantic?”

Menelas smiled. “I always was as far as you’re concerned, I guess I didn’t always voice it in the past. I’m sorry about that.”

“No need, I appreciate that you do now.”

* * *

Ryonna was walking on the blue deck when a Gorgar screamed past her, blowing her hair backward as he did. But then shortly after, her hair blew back the opposite direction and Tar’Lock was standing in front of her.

“Oh…hi, Tar’Lock. I thought you were a worker. It seems like they’ve been blurring past us every other second lately. I find it quite disconcerting, in fact.”

“Hi, Ryonna. Sorry about that, I guess they’re busy making sure Alkyon One is fully operational before the fleet returns, and my kind isn’t concerned that it may seem unnatural for other races to see them run that fast. However, the station may have to defend itself sooner rather than later, so it’s good my people are here to help.”

“Yeah, I understand the reason why they’re here, but as far as Alkyon One, so much for an ambassadorial station.”

“I suppose things have changed enough in the last few weeks that it’s no longer a matter of just having a place for the Alliance to discuss its internal business and ways to keep the peace.”

“Indeed. This station might, in fact, have to enforce a short-lived peace if things don’t go according to plan.”

“It’s a scary thought, but that’s the world we live in. I hear you also had to drop your immediate ambassadorial duties for a more sensitive mission. How do you feel about that?”

“Yes, and I’m not sure how I feel, but I think we both know by now that I can’t refuse Chase or the Alliance.”

Tar’Lock nodded. “Fair enough, and I know the feeling. If it wasn’t for him, none of us would be alive. Anyway, I wasn’t going to stop, then I realized it was you in the hall and stopped to say hello since I don’t know how long it will be until we see each other again…or…”

“Or what?”

“Or if we’ll ever see each other again.”

“Don’t be silly, the armada Chase has mounted is probably the largest fleet ever to grace the universe, even stronger than when we launched the final attack against the Furies.”

“True, but if you remember, if it wasn’t for Gaia, even that fleet would have failed. Let’s hope the Alliance won’t miss these Atlantian super weapons upgrades.”

“Not to mention her dedication to safeguard Earth and every living being. It’s truly a shame we lost her. She was more human than most, even as an artificial intelligence.”

“I agree.”

“That’s part of my mission though, you know, to try to locate some of these weapons, even though I hope we won’t need them. Sorry, I guess I’m rambling here…let’s not talk only about me. How is life onboard the Helios?”

Tar’Lock scratched the back of his head. “It’s fine, I suppose. Not really sure why Talon thought I would make a good first officer. I’m still struggling to find logic within that decision if you ask me.”

“I don’t, Tar’Lock. You’re a good man and a dependable friend.”

“But I lack the proper training. Not to mention the memory capacity that’s needed with such a position. I can’t possibly memorize all the regulations that come with my duties.”

“I think your captain recognizes that he can count on you no matter what, and that may be of greater value to him than these other skills.”

“That’s—that’s pretty much what he said. I wish I had his confidence. I worry about my limitations screwing up things and getting people killed.”

Ryonna smiled. “In my experience, you’re more the kind of person who saves people, especially with your speed and reflexes, which allows you to react faster than almost anybody else. Whether or not you give yourself credit for it. I sure am glad I met you on Hellstar and that we became friends.”

Tar’Lock looked down. “So am I.”

“And I’m sorry if I’ve been a little distant as of late. It’s not exactly been the easiest of times for me. In fact, it’s been…how do the humans put it? Batshit crazy.”

Tar’Lock laughed. “Understandable, and you don’t need to justify your choices with me.”

“Choices…” Ryonna let the words trail for a while. “Seems like every time I take a step forward, ten more damn choices drop in front of me.”

Tar’Lock clicked multiple times. “How so?”

“I don’t want to bore you with my personal problems.”

Tar’Lock moved so fast by her side that it felt like he teleported. “Nonsense, what are friends for? You know you can tell me anything.”

Can I? wondered Ryonna. She knew very well that Tar’Lock had been in love with her pretty much from the beginning of their friendship. In the past, it had been easy for her to ignore it, but things had changed after she had voluntarily taken the blame for his sister’s death in order to protect someone else she cared for deeply. Someone she had basically just broke up with.

“Alright, but do you mind if we walk while we talk?”

“Of course not.”

For a few minutes, it felt good for Ryonna to open up about her problems with her friend, even though she was acutely aware that it probably didn’t help Tar’Lock with his own feelings in the matter. But she needed to talk with someone, and right now, she couldn’t think of a better or closer friend than Tar’Lock to share her woes with.

“I’m sorry, sounds like you’re stuck between a rock and a hard place as the humans say.”

“Yes, that’s exactly how it feels. Have you noticed how visual their expressions can be?”

“I have, but I kinda like it. As for the situation, I think you made the right decision in giving yourself some space. Your world’s been turned upside down in a short amount of time, and you probably need time to figure out what to do next. Mind you, I wouldn’t want to be in your place.”

“I wouldn’t wish my position on anyone, let alone a friend…but…why are you being so nice to me, Tar’Lock? I haven’t given you any reason to be lately.”

“It’s something Talon once said, but it doesn’t really matter why. At the end of the day, you’re my friend, and we’ve shared a lot together. And I’m sure one day I’ll be the one who needs a shoulder to lean on.”

Ryonna hesitated to answer to that comment. On some level, she felt like she still needed to walk on eggshells and not cross the boundaries she had imposed in that particular albeit rollercoaster of a friendship.

“And when that day comes, I’ll be there for you…if that’s what you need.”

* * *

Athena opened communications to New Olympus and the holo-screen filled with Artemis’s face.

“Athena, it’s good to see you.”

“Likewise. I wanted to inquire about the status on New Olympus.”

“Everything is fine, there hasn’t been any suspicious movement in the area. In fact, I think we chose the right world to establish what little is left of our civilization. The cluster of nebula around our new world is most likely shielding us from anyone unless they know what to look for.”

“Hopefully. However, we don’t know the Spectres scanning capabilities, their sensors might not be fooled as easily as other races in our dimension.”

“I suppose that’s true. If they do know where we are, they don’t seem interested in locating us.”

“For now, but let’s be thankful for that, I suppose.”

“Is everything alright?”

“Yes, why are you asking?”

“You seem concerned.”

“Don’t worry about it. I have a lot on my mind right now.”

“Anything I can help you with?”

“No, but thank you for asking.”

“Of course. Was there anything else you wanted to talk about, then?”

“There is. But first I wanted to thank you for taking over the day-to-day duties on the home world. I truly appreciate it.”

“It is my pleasure to serve, as always.”

Artemis was a kind soul, even though she could be ruthless in combat. And Athena wished she could spend more time training with her, but the fact of the matter was that she had no idea when she’d have time to return to New Olympus.

“I hope you’re still training,” said Athena.

“I try to, though I’ve had less time to devote to training lately, obviously. I also miss our sparing bouts, and when I do find time to train, I miss someone of your level.”

“About that, I may have a fix for you. I’ve asked Poseidon to come and help you run operations.”

Artemis winced. “Alright, but…do you mind if I ask why? I can manage my duties just fine.”

“Sorry, Artemis, I wasn’t trying to imply that you couldn’t. Actually, it has nothing to do with you and everything to do with him.”

“I don’t follow.”

“I think it will do Poseidon some good to return home, at least for a little bit, and do something different than put his life in all sorts of danger like he has recently. I can tell his time with Thor has impacted his morale, and I thought perhaps the two of you could split your duties. That way you could both have more time to train together. While Poseidon is more powerful than he ever was, I believe you have enough cunning and technique to give him a good challenge.”

“I won’t lie, training with Poseidon would be an honor. If you think that’s the best course of action, I won’t question your wisdom. But know that I don’t need his help to run New Olympus.”

“I know you don’t, Artemis, but I think Poseidon does.”

“How did he take the news?”

“Reluctantly, to say the least. So don’t be surprised if he doesn’t warm up to the position at first.”

“Understood. I’ll give him all the time he needs to adjust.”

“There may come a time when the both of you need to fight the Spectres, and right now, we’re outclassed, which is why I think focusing on training as soon as you feel he’s ready is key. Poseidon is without a shadow of a doubt our best warrior.”

“I see.”

“Don’t take it the wrong way, Artemis, you’re one of our best as well, what I meant is that I think we’re lagging behind the Furies in terms of warrior skills. Which is why I asked the Alliance to provide us with the same gravity and time stretching technologies Chase and the others used to prepare for the final Fury showdown with Arakan. It will arrive with Poseidon, and you’ll need to supervise its installation. Make it a priority.”

“I’m glad to hear we’re getting new ways to train and improve our fighting skills, and of course, I’ll make sure we deploy this technology the moment it gets here.”

“Good. Any news on Hephaistos? I was kind of hoping he could take a look at it and help us improve it.”

“I’m afraid there’s still no word about him, I keep sending search parties to the worlds around…” Artemis paused for a moment, “Olympus. I still have a hard time accepting our planet is gone.”

“Trust me, you’re not the only one.”

“As for Hephaistos, it’s possible he perished with our world.”

“I understand that, but as far as we know, he wasn’t on the home world when the planet was destroyed by Arakan’s black hole. I think we should keep searching for him, at least for the time being. What about Hades?”

“Same story, nobody has seen him since he was freed from the Underworld. My disciples know to look for him and report any sighting.”

“Good. We could also use his help.”

“I’m not sure he wants to help. If he did, he would have showed up by now.”

“Perhaps, but with so many of our people lost when Olympus was destroyed, I think we need to try to unite every surviving Olympian on the new home world.”

“We’ll keep looking for the both of them. Hopefully, in our search, we also locate other survivors.”

“I hope so as well. Thank you. I should get going; we’re about to leave any minute. I’ll call you back after the mission.”

“Be careful, Athena, and I hope to see you soon.”

“As do I.”

* * *

Ryonna returned to her quarters after her walk and after briefly talking with Ronan before he boarded his ship as part of the fleet move to destroy the Spectre gateway. When Ryonna entered her room, Jax was sound asleep. She packed some of her stuff for her upcoming mission, making sure not to make too much noise.

She still had a hard time believing that her husband was still alive. Not to mention conflicted in her feelings, having accepted to open her heart to another man finally, only for her world to be turned upside down by the realization that Jax had been alive all these years.

She still harbored a lot of anger in that regard, but she couldn’t bring herself to hate the father of their son. The thought that they could be a family again was too enticing to let her feelings on the subject ruin that possibility.

But, then again, she still loved Altair, and she knew full well that even if she didn’t have to choose today, she would have to in the near future.

A bleep on her wrist device took her out of her current train of thought.

“Time to go,” said the holo-message.

Part of her wanted to wake Jax and tell him goodbye, but she resigned herself against it. Instead, she caressed his hair and softly kissed his forehead before grabbing her stuff and heading out of their temporary quarters on Alkyon One.

Perhaps the time apart would allow her to think a little more clearly about the delicate situation she found herself . Even though she knew in her heart that whatever she decided, a man she loved would suffer.

* * *

Chris hesitated for a moment before knocking on Nyx’s quarter’s door and then decided against it and walked away. He heard the doors of her quarters split open a second after he did. Chris turned his head and saw the female Fury at the door, standing in her underwear. Chris had to force himself to keep his eyes from wandering.

“Anything I can do for you?” she asked.

“I—I wanted to talk…I guess.”

“You guess? Or you want to talk?” she said coldly.

Chris swallowed hard. “Talk.”

“Come in, then.”

Chris followed her inside.

“What is it you want to talk to me about?” she asked.

It was hard for Chris to stomach her detached tone. He clearly had strong feelings for the Fury warrior, which she didn’t seem to echo in the least. Or if she did have any feelings toward him, she was very good at hiding them. But because Chris’s empathic powers were quite strong, he knew the chances of that being true were little to nil.

“I hear you’re not coming with the fleet.”

“Correct.”

“May I ask why?”

“Because I think your father is missing the big picture.”

“How so?”

“He’s too afraid to go into the other dimension, and if this mission is about destroying the only way there, I don’t want anything to do with it.”

“I’ve had that discussion with him. He thinks it’s foolish to take such a risk at this time.”

“Like I said to him, your father is a coward.”

“Hey!“ protested Chris. “Watch it!”

She smiled. “What is it, daddy’s boy? You think I’m wrong?”

“I know you’re wrong, and I think you hide yourself behind this cold attitude of yours, and as far as my father is concerned, he’s the most courageous man I have ever known.”

“Let’s agree to disagree, then. If it wasn’t for me, your precious father would no longer be among the living.”

Chris had to bite his tongue until he managed to voice his next words, almost reluctantly considering Nyx’s aggressive tone.

“He told me. Thank you for saving his life.”

She threw a dismissive hand in his direction. “Wasn’t exactly my intention, I was more interested in killing that bitch Spectre. Your father just happened to be in my way.”

“I see…Well, thank you, nonetheless. It’s a shame you’re not willing to give us a chance to be allies. I think we’re stronger as a cohesive unit, after all, there aren’t many of us left.”

“There is no us. I’m the only Fury left. At least, pure-blood.”

“Wrong, my grandfather is also a pure-blood, but whatever.”

She pointed an accusing finger under his nose. “Trust me when I say this, count yourself lucky that I’m willing to tolerate you and your family in the first place. You destroyed my kind! I don’t think I’ll ever forgive any of you for that.”

Chris felt a wave of anger boiling deep within his soul, and he felt compelled to taunt her back. “Well, as far as I’m concerned, they had it coming!”

Nyx growled and her eyes flashed purple.

“I’ll let this one slide, this time,” barked Nyx.

“Why? Because you think I can’t defend myself or because you’re afraid I’ll kick your ass?”

Nyx laughed out loud. “That would be the day. You may have your father’s courage and some of his strength, but your blood is even more diluted with inferior races than his.”

Chris didn’t realize that he turned Ultra Fury from the anger he felt because of her remark. She did the same, and before he knew it, they were exchanging hundreds of blows at impossible speeds.

“Take it back!” Chris screamed.

“Or what?” said Nyx in between blocking three of Chris’s attack combos flawlessly.

Chris sent three fireballs her way, which she countered, sending them exploding on the walls nearby, deforming the bulkhead and triggering the fire suppressants in her quarters.

The cold water cooled both of their tempers and replaced it with something else. Before either of them consciously realized what had happened, they were soaking wet, making love on what was left of Nyx’s bunk bed.

6

When Chris exited Nyx’s quarters, Argos was outside, his arms crossed against his chest, smiling from ear to ear.

“I didn’t expect to see you, what are you doing here?” asked Chris.

“I could very well ask you the same thing, but I recognize the walk of shame when I see it.” Argos’s smile turned into a smirk. “I felt your energy,” continued Argos, “and for a moment, I thought you may be in trouble.”

“And you felt like you needed to stay here afterward, even once you realized I wasn’t in danger?”

“No, I didn’t feel the need, but someone had to tell the emergency repair crew to get lost and inform Daniel we weren’t under attack, wouldn’t you think so?”

“Oh…thanks.”

Argos smiled once more before putting his arm around his nephew’s shoulder.

“Ready to go? We have to get on board the Hope in a few minutes.”

“I suppose…”

“What is it, Chris?”

“It…it’s nothing.”

“Then why the long face?”

“I really hoped she would come with us. Even more so after…”

“I think by now it’s clear that Nyx sees sex as something completely different than you do. Or am I misreading the situation?”

“I don’t know, I guess so.”

“The real question is, was it good?”

Chris flushed and his face quickly turned as red as a tomato.

“I’ll take that as a yes,” said Argos as he rubbed his fist on the top of Chris’s head. “Look, at least you got it out of your system for now. It may not be all you wanted it to be, but in my experience, it’s better than nothing.”

Chris sighed. “I suppose…I just don’t get her. She seems to hate us with a vengeance and then we have these intense moments. She’s a weird one, that’s for sure.”

“And your basing that conclusion on your large experience with how many other women exactly?”

“Touché.”

“If I can tell you one thing, it is that men and women are very different.”

“Please tell me they’re not all like her.”

Argos laughed out loud. “No, they’re not…however…”

“However what?”

“Eeeeh…”

“Come on! What did you want to say?”

Argos’s holo-wrist device bleeped multiple times and flashed red.

“Never mind that, looks like this conversation is relegated to later, we need to go or we’re gonna be late.”

* * *

“What is it I can do for you?” asked Ashra’Lur, taking a bit of time and mental effort to end the second part of her sentence. “My master.”

“I thought you said you could detect Chase with the part of your soul you left in him?” complained Asrak’Vor.

“I did, within a reasonable distance,” she countered. “I may have miscalculated the amount needed to achieve an optimal distance detection. I apologize, Master.”

“I don’t care for apologies, you should know by now I only care about results. And in that department, you seem to have failed me.”

Ashra’Lur had to bite her tongue and force herself to remain calm. There was a fire burning deep inside her that wanted nothing more than to unleash its hatred toward this fool. Even if he was her commanding officer.

It blew her mind that the Spectre council had chosen someone so weak to lead the mission. As far as she was concerned, he had no place leading her people, let alone any mission of significant importance. He was blinded by his thirst for revenge and clueless about how weak it truly made him.

“With all due respect, I haven’t. We simply aren’t in range at the moment.”

“I don’t want to hear excuses! My patience is running thin. How long am I supposed to wait until I’m given the chance to obliterate my brother’s murderer?”

This fool is nothing if not transparent, thought Ashra’Lur. Then again, it’s one flaw I’m happy to exploit.

“In my experience, vengeance isn’t the right frame of mind to be in to win battles.”

Asrak’Vor growled. “And in mine,” he said as his eyes glowed a bright red, “it’s unwise to talk to your superior without the proper respect. Don’t make me regret having brought you into the fold and give you so many responsibilities.”

Oh, believe me, you will regret it, and soon.

“My apologies, I didn’t mean to speak out of place, that wasn’t my intention. I’ll be more careful in the future.”

“Make sure you do. You’re lucky we’re alone. I may have had to decapitate you to make an example out of you otherwise. And while I’m displeased with you at the moment, you’ve proven your worth before, so it would really be a shame to lose a good asset.”

Ashra’Lur’s patience was what truly was running thin, and this conversation just confirmed to her what needed to happen. She was under the impression that it could wait, but it looked like she would have to accelerate her timetable.

“My skills are at your disposal, of course, Master. As always. And whether or not I agree with the motivations, I can accept that killing the one called Chase is the main priority. In which case, I believe I can deliver him to you.”

“I’m listening.”

“My spies informed me that the Alliance is about to launch a major attack on the gate.”

“What? Why am I hearing of this only now!?”

“For my defense, Master, you didn’t exactly receive me here with an open mind.”

Asrak’Vor cleared his throat. “I suppose there is some truth in what you say.”

Time to lead this fool to his inevitable downfall.

“It’s understandable, though, if someone had killed a member of my family, I’d feel the same.”

“Are you implying that my thirst for revenge is blinding me from what must be done?”

“I wouldn’t dare, my master. In fact, it doesn’t matter what I think. It seems important for you to remove the one called Chase, and since he’s clearly the leader of the opposition, it makes him a logical target. If his death is what you want, then I believe we can make it happen, and soon.”

“How?”

“The Alliance should arrive here in a little over a day. Which makes moving the gate in time a risky proposition. But it also means that Chase will be part of the fleet tasked to destroy the gate.”

“We can’t let them destroy it! Perhaps we should consider moving it to another location.”

No, you fool, I need you to fail, otherwise, I may never take your place.

“I do have what I believe is an elegant solution to the problem, one that allows us to defend the gate, as well as kill your target.”

Ashra’Lur could tell from the sparkle in Asrak’Vor’s eyes that she now had his complete attention. Though when she woke up that morning, she never thought this was the direction things would be going. However, it felt like she had engaged herself on a path from which there would be no return.

“So?” said Asrak’Vor, impatiently. “What are you waiting for? How do we accomplish this?”

“While it would take too much time to pack the gate safely and move away, not to mention we’d cut it too close to activate it before the fleet arrives. In fact, even if we did manage that, it would be mere moments before the enemy came here, leaving the gate vulnerable. What I propose is a completely different course of action where we establish a connection earlier.”

“I thought we needed the last two monoliths for that to happen?”

“To open the gate at its designed diameter, yes.”

“I’m not sure I follow.”

“If we act quickly, we have just enough time to reposition the gate to create a smaller event horizon.”

“Let’s for one minute assume this can be done, wouldn’t that mean we can’t have the entire fleet travel through? We need these mother ships, which is why it was necessary to have enough resources to construct that many monoliths.”

“I agree, we need the mother ships, but we can live without them in phase one of my plan. If we don’t let smaller destroyers through before the Alliance gets here, what will we protect the gate with? Even worse, if the Alliance is even minutes in advance from our projections, they could be in a position to destroy the mother ships, which as we know, can only travel one by one through the event horizon. While normally the few ships we already have here could fare well against half a dozen destroyers, albeit with the right strategy, we’re talking about a fleet composed of hundreds of Alliance destroyers and even bigger ships on their way.”

“And you think you can activate the dimensional gate to let part of the fleet in, destroy or hold off the fleet until we can open it again and let the mother ships pass through. Correct?”

“With one caveat.”

“And what would that be?” asked Asrak’Vor with no shortage of annoyance in his voice.

“As I’m sure you know, there is a cooldown between establishing connections. At least two hours, perhaps more since we have no data on how using a smaller configuration of the monoliths will impact the cooldown.”

“I don’t think that’s gonna cut it!”

“Unfortunately, that’s as best an estimate I can give you. This gate configuration has never been tested; we only have rough simulation figures to work with. Once it’s activated and we receive detailed sensor data, we’ll have a better picture and more precise values. That’s not our only problem, though.”

“What now?”

“Because the event horizon will be smaller, the amount of energy powering the gate will also be diminished. It’s proportional to the size of the event horizon. Which means the total transfer mass will also be affected negatively.”

“Skip the science and just tell it to me straight!”

Well, if I were to tell it to you straight, I’d tell you, you are not only a fool but also incompetent.

“Only a certain number of destroyers will be able to pass through, about a tenth of the fleet.”

“Will that be enough?”

“To defeat the fleet? Doubtful, but it should be more than sufficient to destroy a part of it and delay them from attacking the gate directly while we reconfigure it for its optimal operation, at which point, after the cooldown, we could reopen it again and have more ships add their firepower to the first wave.”

“Why do I feel more bad news coming?”

“Obviously, in doing so, we may lose most of these first wave ships, but I believe it’s the only way to manage to get the mother ships through to deploy a full invasion of this dimension. Once that happens, we’ll be unstoppable.”

“Alright, you’ve laid down a strategy, one that doesn’t seem certain by any stretch. Now, convince me why we should take such a huge risk, and why it’s a better solution than packing and moving the gate?”

“In simple terms: by the time we pack and go, we’ll leave enough trace energy signatures for the Alliance to hunt us down. With the gate disassembled, we’ll be a tempting target, and the gate will be easily destroyed.”

“I thought you insured me they couldn’t detect our ships, that you fed them wrong data?”

“Yes, and that has nothing to do with our stealth capabilities. Pentalium is the reason we’d be traceable. Because they have been seeking pentalium for generations, Asgard sensors are finely tuned to it. Which is why we constructed the gate here, far away from any of the Asgardian territories, trade routes, and outposts. If the gate were gone when they arrived, they’d be able to fine-tune their sensor to track us in less time than it would take us to find a suitable deployment site. In fact, I’m willing to bet my life that we can’t take this chance anymore. We need to take a stand, and we need to defend the gate.”

“It’s a good thing you’re willing to bet your life on it, as it would be forfeited if we fail. You do realize that, don’t you?”

“Yes, but I believe death would be more than certain if we tried to run now.”

“Let’s hope you’re right. Now, what does that have to do with Chase? You did mention that it would allow me to finally kill him.”

“I did, indeed, and that’s the beauty of my plan. He’ll be on board one of these ships, most likely commanding the fleet, in fact. At this range, not only will I be able to sense him, but we’ll be able to lock onto his life sign and beam him out of there, even through their shields.”

“How?”

“Let’s just say it’s technical, but in a nutshell, at this distance, I’ll be able to interact with that small piece of soul he’s carrying, which will allow me to acquire their shield’s frequency.”

“And you guarantee that he will not die in the transport process? I not only want him dead, but I want his soul. To add his power to mine.”

“Of course. His disappearance from the fleet will, in fact, ensure a better chance of victory against their fleet. Because he’s able to remote control fleets of ships with his mind, if we take him away from his comrades and engage him in combat, we’ll destabilize them more. Time and time again, he’s been the deciding factor during the Fury War. I do recommend that we transport him into a ship and then jump away.”

“Be away from the battle? Have you lost your mind? How can we risk being away at a time like this?”

“I’ll leave my best commander behind and in charge of the fleet. He’ll know to contact us if needed. But in the grand scheme of things, you and I won’t make a big difference in a fleet battle, where Chase, if he’s allowed to stay in range of his fleet, could very well fight us and at the same time remote control the ships and find tactics that could give the Earth Alliance the upper hand.”

Asrak’Vor grinned. “These are powers I’ll rejoice in having once I assimilate his soul.”

I bet you would. Grab a number and get in line, though.

“And they will be yours, Master.”

“I’m convinced. You have executive authority to put this plan in action. Once Chase is on the ship, beam me in, and I’ll show you how to kill the strongest of the Fury hybrids.”

Ashra’Lur had to force herself to bow.

“I’m looking forward to witnessing the killing of the Fury that’s been a thorn in our sides for so long.”

* * *

“So, this is the place,” said Yanis.

“I trust you have all you need,” asked Ka’Rij. “Not that I could help you if you didn’t. Chris and Argos had to leave in a hurry last time they were here. Chris didn’t have time to teach me any of these systems.”

Yanis smiled. “Yes, Chris gave me all I needed to operate the place. Thank you for getting us here, Ka’Rij, much appreciated.”

Ka’Rij bowed. “My pleasure. The friends of Dragonheart are my friends,” he said before leaving the lab in the center of the mountain.

“Do we know what world we’re going to first?” asked Ryonna.

Yanis went to the controls and installed a translation program he’d been working on while on their way to the unknown regions to help him make sense of the Atlantian controls. Chris had infused his brain with the knowledge he needed to understand the language, but it was one thing having a basic grasp of a foreign language and another to be able to translate all of it. This program should help him bridge that gap.

“It will take me an hour or two to install everything we need, make sure the system is calibrated, and add extra security measures to the Atlantian tech.”

“Such as?”

“While Ares can beam us away from trouble, some of these worlds are way beyond his range. At least, I think so.”

Ares materialized near Yanis and Ryonna. “I believe Yanis is correct. I can’t guarantee I can beam us away from some of these destinations all the way back to here.”

“Which means,” said Yanis, “that I need to find a world somewhere in the center of them all, that appears safe, to be our retreat point in case of a problem. I’ll also start working on a portable portal generator.”

“Is that even possible? To miniaturize something the size of this lab?” asked Ryonna.

“If Diaspira managed to escape that way, it means it’s doable. Once I’ve gathered enough data through multiple travels, I hope I can devise an apparatus that allows us to use the portal network for point-to-point travel for a single person. At least, that’s the theory.”

“I’m not sure I understood all of that,” said Ryonna, “but it doesn’t matter, do what you have to do to keep us safe during missions.”

“Yep, that’s the idea.”

“Where’s Menelas?” asked Ares.

“I think he’s still outside, why?”

* * *

Ka’Rij approached Menelas and bowed.

“It’s an honor meeting you,” he said.

It had been thousands of years since Menelas had seen a Dragonman of Kyria. He was taken by surprise at seeing one walk right to him, even though Chris had mentioned their presence on this world.

“Uh? You too? Do you mind if I ask how you know me?”

“In simple terms, I can sense who you are, Dragonheart’s father.”

“If you mean Chase’s father, then yes, that would be me.”

“Your son is legendary among my people. He’s saved what’s left of my people, we owe him a great debt of gratitude.”

“That sounds like him alright, but it looks like in doing so, he allowed my family to locate and rescue me. So, I’m also grateful.”

“The universe attends to itself. None of these encounters are coincidences, and it is my firm belief that if we all met the way we did, it’s because the universe’s infinite consciousness allowed it so.”

“That’s an interesting way of looking at things. I’m not much of a spiritual being myself, so you’ll excuse me if I don’t share your faith in these beliefs.”

“That’s the beauty of life, you can decide to believe or not, and you can decide how much you want to be part of the universe. Your son, Chase, while not there yet, seems to be slowly opening to this connection. Only then will he reach his full potential.”

“I see, if you ask me, he has potential to spare already. I just hope we have the opportunity to make these choices going forward.”

“Why wouldn’t it be the case?”

“We’re at war with a powerful enemy. Which is the reason for my friends and my presence on your world today. To make sure we find a weapon or any sort of technology to help us defeat the Spectres.”

“I am aware of the enemy that shrouds the stars. There is a great darkness ahead, I can feel it in my bones. Many sacrifices will be needed for the whole to survive, but I believe it can be done.”

“Not sure I like the sound of that, but I’m forced to admit things don’t look very positive at the moment. In any case, Ka’Rij, thanks for the chat. Let us know if you need anything.”

Ka’Rij bowed. “I will, thank you. Thanks to Chris and Argos, the Hellion Empire has stopped its attempts to invade this world again, but that could change at a moment’s notice. It’s good to know a Fury isn’t too far should we require to resume our fights with them.”

While Menelas wasn’t exactly up to date with who the Hellion Empire was, he knew Chris trusted this man, and since Menelas had had positive experiences with other Dragonmen during the last Fury War, that meant he wouldn’t hesitate to help Ka’Rij’s people if and when they needed it.

* * *

Chase fired multiple fireballs at the Tanak’Vor holo-simulation, his anger levels rising dangerously close to impacting his sanity. Perhaps that new holo-program had been another mistake. But in moments like these, Chase couldn’t stop obsessing about the recent defeat he had incurred at the hands of the female Spectre.

If they met on the battlefield again, he had to be prepared.

Chase’s fireball was absorbed by the Spectre with little to no effort on his part, and Tanak’Vor went on the offensive.

While the simulation was not an accurate representation of what Chase had felt fighting the one that took Sarah away from him, it was still a good virtual sparing partner.

Tanak’Vor sent his own volley of energy attacks his way, forcing Chase to roll and dodge, blocking only the ones he could anticipate in time.

Having an enemy he hated as much as he did to train with, even if it was only a holo-simulation, helped Chase channel his excess aggression.

Tanak’Vor changed tactics when he saw he couldn’t connect with Chase with the fireballs, and he decided for a more hands on approach. Chase was ready for him and blocked a dozen well-executed combos before retaliating with his own.

The fact that the simulation couldn’t replicate the soul-snatching power of the Spectres was one of the reasons Chase doubted the efficiency of training against these holo-foes. He had asked Spiros to figure out a way to emulate that power, but since sensors had never scanned it, it would take time. Chase’s engineer friend was also quite busy working on other things at the moment.

But since Chase couldn’t find sleep, even though there were still a few hours until the fleet arrived at the staging area, so, for better or for worse, training seemed a more efficient use of his time rather than toss and turn in his bed.

Chase’s lapse in focus cost him in missing Tanak’Vor’s last combo, and Chase was pounded over and over with punches and kicks and sent flying against the wall.

“Ouch,” he said as he spat some blood.

Tanak’Vor launched at Chase to deliver more blows, but five fireballs hit him in the face and torso, and he was catapulted backward even though the Spectre managed to keep his balance and fall back onto his feet.

“End program,” said Argos.

Everything around Chase turned white as the holo-simulation turned off, revealing the large holo-room.

“What the hell are you doing?” asked Argos.

“What does it look like? I’m training.”

Argos shook his head disapprovingly. “You should be resting, not wasting your energy against holographic particles! We have no idea what to expect tomorrow, but something tells me that if we’re taking the entire fleet, then you’re expecting serious trouble.”

“I haven’t told a soul, but, indeed, my instinct is on high alert, as if my body knows something bad is going to happen.”

Argos came by Chase’s side and extended his hand to help him get back on his feet. Chase grabbed it and Argos raised him back up.

Chase then proceeded to heal himself.

“And you didn’t think you should at least tell me or Chris any of this?” asked Argos.

“Well, at first it was just a distant feeling, and I thought maybe I allowed my fears to play tricks on me.”

“What changed?”

“The more time passes and the more we approach our destination, the bigger that feeling of dread increases.”

“I don’t like this, I don’t like this at all!”

“I know.”

“Well…whatever we have to fight against tomorrow, I think you’ll do that better if you get some sleep.”

“Don’t you think I have tried?”

“Well, that’s one thing I can help you with.”

Argos’s eyes glowed red. “SLEEP!” he said with a reverberating voice.

Chase felt lightheaded instantly, as if he had been struck by something, and before he knew it, he lost consciousness. Argos caught him before he hit the ground, then opened a channel to the bridge. “Two to beam to the captain’s quarters.”

Streaks of light engulfed the brothers, and they vanished from the holo-room.

7

Ashra’Lur entered the command center of the station. The station would soon be swarmed by ships everywhere, but until that happened, she had to make sure everything was in place for her plan to unfold without a hitch.

The sub-commander she put in charge to make the changes on the gate approached her the moment she entered the room.

“My mistress, I didn’t expect you back so soon.”

“What’s our ETA on opening the gate at thirty percent surface?”

“We’re almost ready, I should be able to establish a link in a few minutes.”

Ashra’Lur peeked through the viewport, and she could see that the monoliths where almost all in place. She smiled.

“Have you told Asrak’Vor that we may not be able to reopen the full gate on time?”

“I have, but I’ve also assured him that we’d do everything in your power to make it happen, ” Ashra’Lur said.

“I wish you wouldn’t have, as I told you before, I can’t guarantee it,” protested her subordinate.

“Look, Arkhon, we don’t have any choice. We either deliver or we both get executed. Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes, Mistress. I’ll redouble my efforts to reposition the gate the moment the partial fleet makes it through.”

“About that,” said Ashra’Lur, grabbing a crystal and handing it to Arkhon, “the Earth Alliance enemy fleet has the bad habit of winning engagements even against all odds. While we won’t have the numbers, we have a technological advantage. I need you to make sure my strategies for repelling the Alliance are sent to the captains of the ships emerging on this side. They are to follow these guidelines, or they’ll get wiped out before we have time to open the gate again.”

“Thy will be done…”

Ashra’Lur could sense there was doubt showing in her subordinate’s posture and sounding in his tone.

“What is it? Is there anything else you’d like to add? Better do it now.”

“I—I don’t want to overstep my position.”

“Speak freely.”

“The plan, while I can understand it now that we’ve been located, is the only chance we have to get ships and troops from the other side. That much I am forced to admit, but it seems to me we are gambling the entire invasion effort with the assumption this mission will work. If we fail to get the mother ships through and the gate gets destroyed, how are we going to defeat the Alliance?”

That was a pertinent comment from Arkhon, even though, as he had admitted himself, it wasn’t his place to make.

“It may look like the only way, but perhaps you’re not privy to all the information that goes with your station. Have you asked yourself that?”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to assume that I knew all there is to know.”

“That’s alright, you have questions and I prefer you voice them freely. Try not to worry beyond your tasks, and let the rest fall into place, the way it should be.”

After all, the Alliance had no idea they’d be facing advanced tactics, and Ashra’Lur wasn’t betting it all on a whim, she had a plan, one that she firmly believed would take everyone by surprise, including that fool Asrak’Vor.

* * *

Argos left Chase’s quarters, and saw Chris was walking toward him.

“What were you doing in my father’s room?” asked Chris. “Is everything alright?”

“I had to force-put him to sleep,” said Argos. “He was wasting precious energy in the holo-room.”

“And that worked? Just like that?”

“Well, I have touched your father’s mind before, and I’ve had a sort of backdoor to it ever since.”

“He may not be happy with you when he wakes up.”

“Perhaps, but at least he will have rested for a few hours before we arrive at our destination. Your father has not been sleeping much lately, and he needs to rest.”

“I won’t argue with you on that. What’s that about the mental backdoor, though? And is he aware of it?”

“I don’t think he is, and I never had to use it before. Well, it’s not so much a backdoor all the time. When we were on opposite sides of the Fury conflict, I had no access to it.”

“And why’s that?”

“Because your dad was on his toes as far as my presence was concerned. Back when we were enemies, the simple danger of my presence blocked any mental access. Only weak or unprepared minds are susceptible, and because I had touched your dad’s mind before, it made it easier. But now that he trusts me implicitly, he can’t see my mental strike coming. In fact, I was surprised with how fast he went down.”

“That’s an interesting explanation, but that doesn’t answer my question.”

“Let’s just say that my story with your father is a long and sinuous one. Before even the Fury War, we had an altercation, one that prompted me to wipe his mind of all memory.”

“Why would you do that?”

“I—I don’t know if that’s a conversation we should have.”

“Why not?”

“Because I haven’t even had it with your father.”

“I don’t see why that would be a prerequisite.”

“Look, Chris, I’m not proud of who I was back then. And I made a judgment call, for better or for worse. It was that or…”

“Or what?”

Argos’s face twitched. “I can’t bring myself to utter the words out loud. I’m sorry.”

“Come on. After all we’ve been through, if you can’t tell me, who can you tell?”

Who, indeed! thought Argos.

“I blamed your father for killing someone that was dear to me.”

“Are you saying my father murdered someone? I can’t believe that to be true.”

“No, I suppose it wasn’t a murder per se. More like an unfortunate accident, really. The woman I loved intervened during our scuffle and tried to stop us from killing each other in a dispute that grew to proportions neither of us saw coming. A little like the first fights I had with your father at the beginning of the war, we both were very emotional and pretty much intent on killing each other. Well, he was, once he realized I was mostly using him to get to Aphroditis and the Pandora device.”

Argos sighed before continuing. “I’m not really all too keen to revisit that part of my life, you know.”

“I can empathize with that, but now that you’ve started, you can’t exactly stop the story here and leave me hanging.”

“And yet, I’d rather that’s what we did.”

“Uncle…please.”

“Very well…but it may change your opinion of me, and truth be told, I’m more worried about that than I am having this same discussion with your father.”

“It won’t. We all make mistakes in life. It’s how we own them that counts. So, I don’t really care who you were back then, only who you became. I think it’s because of these events that you are who you are today. You must know by now that nothing can impact my feelings for you.”

“I sure hope so.”

Argos’s heart started beating hard. For so long, he hadn’t allowed his mind to return to those painful events, and now he worried how it could affect him, especially sharing it with the person he cared for the most.

“It’s okay, take your time,” said Chris.

Argos took a deep breath. “Back then, your father didn’t go by the name Chase but by his birth name: Laiyos. I was working on the plan to free the Furies from the other dimension, and, well, I had told your father that we needed to help our people, but he didn’t know the backstory that came with the fall of the Furies after the events of the first war.”

“You mean about the Olympians and their alliance of old sending them away?”

“It’s a little more complicated than that. As far as the Alliance knew, the Fury had been destroyed in the final attack, only Zeus and a few others were privy to the whole truth. But, yes, basically I had convinced your father to help me acquire the Pandora device without letting him know we needed to capture Aphroditis to use her to bring them back to this dimension.”

“I take it something went wrong?”

“Yes. I don’t know how, but your father learned the truth about the Furies and did some extensive research on the Olympians, too. He discovered their true intentions and motivations, which was to rule the universe and cleanse it from what they considered lower races. Basically, every race but the Furies. I, on the other hand, didn’t care much for other races back then…and was just pissed that my race had been tricked the way it had.”

Argos stopped and looked at his nephew as if to silently inquire whether to continue.

“What happened next?”

“We argued for days. I tried convincing him that we needed to complete our mission, but instead of finding common ground, it escalated, and eventually we said things to each other we both regretted. Anger and hatred developed into the mix. It became physical, and we literally tried killing each other. That’s when she tried to break us up, but your father was so focused on the battle that he never saw her coming, and one of his attacks…consumed her…” Argos paused, wiping a forming tear. “She never had a chance. In fact, I suspect your father back then had reached a level of power beyond anything any of us had seen.”

“Ultra Fury?”

“I’m not sure, I don’t recall his aura changing from purple to orange, but perhaps something similar. His attack impacted her and consumed her at the molecular level. Witnessing that I just lost it. Chase was shocked by what had happened, he had never killed anyone in that fashion before, and the attack had never been meant for her. It wouldn’t have had the same effect on me. I could have deflected some or all of its power, at the very least.

“Then I really lost it, rage infected my soul, and all I wanted was to avenge her death. So, I attacked him with everything I had. Up until the tipping point, I had been aware I was fighting my blood, my brother. But after witnessing my beloved get disintegrated, gone forever, I was in a frighteningly mad rage, and all I cared about was killing my own brother.”

“That’s really heavy, I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. I don’t deserve your kindness, not after what happened next.”

“What happened?”

“Your father was still in shock, and I didn’t even let him breathe, I went all-in and pounded all my rage and anger into him, breaking all his bones and leaving him an inch from death. I…I looked into his eyes, and I was ready for the kill. I saw tears, and somehow it snapped me from my thirst for revenge. I was left with a simple choice. Quench that thirst and finish him off, or swallow that rage, delay gratification, and stack the deck against him.”

“What do you mean?”

“After stopping myself and calming down, I realized that if I ever wanted to bring back the Furies, I’d need the Pandora stone, for the device to work and reopen the dimensional portal between us and the place where the Furies had been trapped. I had researched all that was needed to achieve that goal for months on end, and I knew a powerful Titan protected the stone. I was also aware that it was impossible for one person to defeat the Titan. So I wiped your father’s memories and left him on Alpha Prime as an adult with no past, no roots. I knew that eventually I’d have to enlist his help, with or without his consent. The rest you probably know.”

Chris stayed silent, which worried Argos.

“There isn’t a day,” said Argos, “that I don’t regret it, all of it.”

“I can see why you’d feel this way, but I think you shouldn’t. You’re a different man today. As far as I’m concerned, you’ve redeemed yourself.”

“I wish it were that simple, Chris…when I came with the Zarlack’s fleet to attack Earth, millions of innocents died; I can never achieve redemption for this and so many other horrible things I’ve done in my life.”

“Perhaps there’s some truth in that, but I choose to see the good in you, not the bad. And so does Chase. It speaks volumes for someone so lost, in so much darkness as you were, to find his way back toward the light. If you ask me, it takes more than sheer courage, it requires a shift in how your soul vibrates,to shift from that state to who you are now. That’s no small feat, of that I’m certain. Also…look at it this way: if you hadn’t done all this, perhaps I would never have been born.”

“I must admit that I hadn’t thought of that.”

“And yet, that would be the very probable outcome. If Chase had been killed that day, there wouldn’t have been anyone to challenge and fight you in order to bring you back to the light. He wouldn’t have met my mother, and things today would be very different. Maybe the Furies would have wiped out all forms of life in this dimension. So that one small act of mercy may have been the catalyst for a lot of good to follow.”

“I’m both surprised and glad you see it this way. I, unfortunately, can never look at it from that angle.”

“I can understand why it would feel hard for you from your point of view. But that’s alright, I can see it, and my father can as well.”

“Please don’t talk to him about any of what I’ve shared with you before I have the chance to do it myself. It’s a burden I have lived with for so many years, and I’ve shied away from doing it for too long. One day soon, I have to do this. I certainly don’t want him to learn it from anyone else. It needs to be from me.”

“I give you my word.”

“Thank you for understanding, Chris. Are you sure you don’t think less of me?”

Chris smiled. “I actually think I admire you even more.”

“That doesn’t make any sense. Why would you ever say that?”

“Because I have a different perspective on that story. You focus on your faults, your mistakes, and the pain that followed your life choices. I guess that runs in your family, since dad has that bad habit as well. I, on the other hand, see someone who turned his life around, helped save trillions of lives, and is the reason I stand here living and breathing.”

Tears filled Argos’s eyes as a colossal weight was somewhat lifted from his shoulders.

“I want you to know that I wouldn’t trade the relationship I have with you and your father for anything in this life, no matter the cost. The two of you mean everything to me.”

Chris hugged Argos. “We love you too, uncle.”

* * *

When Chase woke, his mind was foggy, and it took a few minutes for his memory to return. Had Argos struck him with a mental command? That was the only thing that made sense. If that was the case, though, Chase should be pissed off, but he had to admit that now that he was awake, he felt like a million bucks. Whatever had happened, he had had a deep and regenerative sleep. Something that he had been lacking for quite a while.

That being said, Chase decided to send a telepathic message to his brother.

How the hell did you put me to sleep with such ease? he asked.

Good morning, sunshine. Does it really matter?

Perhaps not, but still…

Then let’s agree that what matters is that you got some good rest, which we both know you needed.

Chase wanted to argue that even if that were true, it should have been his choice, but it didn’t really matter after all.

Alright, next time, a little heads up would be nice.

It wouldn’t have worked if you were aware of my intentions.

Fair enough. Thanks…I guess.

Chase could hear Argos chuckle in his mind. Sure thing, brother.

Chase got up, turned on his holo-screen, and checked the position of the fleet. They still had about an hour before reaching the staging area. Plenty of time for him to take a nice shower and get ready before it would be time to go to the bridge.

While most quarters on Alliance ships were equipped with sonic showers, the captain of a ship this size had access to water, albeit with a quota. Every droplet of hot water helped Chase’s body both relax and reinvigorate, which was exactly what he needed. He knew that he would probably use his entire quota if he stayed in much longer, but he didn’t care. In that moment, the hot water was blissful, and he would cherish every second of it.

After ten minutes, the water turned off and a holo-screen came to life, prompting him if he wanted to continue the shower, but in sonic mode. Chase declined and used a tiny portion of his aura to evaporate the water off his skin before returning to the main room of his quarters.

The captain’s quarters on board this new iteration of the Hope was the largest one he ever had on any ship he had captained. Chase made a mental note to thank Spiros, which he was sure was to thank for the ample and luxurious accommodations.

Chase dressed, and while normally he should be wearing his admiral uniform on a day like this one, he preferred his battle armor. Kvasir had worked on an even lighter alloy that felt as light as normal clothes but with heightened resistance to heat, cold, and energy attacks. It wasn’t a great protection for someone as strong as a Spectre or an Asgardian Guard, but it would still deflect some energy from these foes, which was better than nothing.

Not that Chase could see himself go into battle with an Alliance uniform anyway. The clothes would rip and burn within minutes, and he’d end up either fighting in rags, or worse.

Chase brushed the silly thought away and checked the time, he still had twenty minutes and change before he needed to be to the bridge.

8

“I didn’t expect you here,” said Kvasir. “You could have asked me to come see you directly, you didn’t need to come to see me in Engineering.”

“That’s alright,” said Chase. “I had a little bit of time to kill, and I wanted to check with you if the project we talked about was ready.”

“It is, but since we had to rush out of Alkyon One, I only managed to finish about two squadrons of StarFury X prototypes.”

“That’s more than expected. So…they’re ready to go?”

“Indeed, to the specifications we’ve validated with Yanis and yourself. But, if I may say so, these drone fighters, while tougher and more armed than their pilot-ready counterparts, are too few to really tip the balance in a fight this large-scale. That is, if we expect that many ships.”

“I think if we’ve learned anything by now, it is that I’ll take any edge I can get, especially today, and not knowing what we’ll find at the end of our journey. I’d rather be over prepared than caught with my pants down.”

“Fair enough. When it comes to battle strategy, I don’t even pretend to know what I’m talking about. I’m just happy to provide you with the tools you think will help give you an edge.”

“I’m thankful for you and the other engineers for helping me with this pilotless drone project.”

“My pleasure. I’ve loaded them with all your pre-programmed fighting maneuvers, though, obviously, they’ll be more efficient if remote controlled individually. Perhaps this time that advantage might also be a flaw if you ask me.”

“And why would that be?”

“Because there are only two people in our fleet that can remote control them with their mind, you and your son. Unless Argos is able to now?”

“I don’t think so. Chris has tried to teach him, but that’s one skill he’s either reluctant to learn, or his mind simply doesn’t have the necessary pathways to master it with the same precision that Chris and I have. As for controlling them, I thought we’d agreed on giving them an optional neuronal link interface so standard pilots could use them as well?”

“That’s the plan, yes, and if we manage to make it work, we may then deploy a whole fleet of them, ensuring we don’t lose as many pilots in future engagements, but for the time being, that part isn’t ready, yet.”

“Do you mind if I ask why that is?”

“Of course not. The neuronal interface onboard the current Mark IIs and the few upgraded Mark IIIs we have is secure because the connection is short-range between the device and the brain, so we’re talking low power, short-range. In order to replicate this with pilotless ships for people not gifted like you, a subspace link is then required, one with extremely low latency, or the delay in commands would nullify the advance of the technology.

“But that leaves the ships vulnerable to security hacks. We know from experience that the Spectres technology is far superior to our own, so we have to assume that they’d be able to intercept and hack these subspace signals and possibly turn our own ships against us.”

“That would suck.”

“Indeed, so I’ve been working with Spiros on a secure encryption, but we’re not there yet.”

“I understand. Well, perhaps when we figure out how the Atlantian encryption works, we can become inspired by it.”

“That would be ideal, to use a different technology, since the Spectres haven’t been exposed to it, it would make it harder to crack.”

Chase nodded. “I’d better be heading to the bridge. I have no doubt we’ll get in contact later should a battle ensue.”

“About that, do you mind if I ask you something?”

“Not at all.”

“It seems we prepared for battle with a large fleet, but we’re not even sure what the monoliths are for, though their position in space certainly seems to point to a gateway of some kind. Is there something you know that we don’t?”

“Just a feeling, a really bad one, in fact.”

“I see. Now I wish I hadn’t asked.”

Chase smiled. “Who knows, perhaps I’ve overreacted and there’s nothing to worry about.”

Kvasir’s facial tattoos shone brightly. “That would be the day.”

* * *

Argos, Chris, and the Hope’s bridge crew were all waiting for Chase to arrive. Upon entering the bridge, Chase clapped his hand on his son’s back a couple of times and nodded toward Argos.

“Are you guys ready for this?” he asked.

“As we’ll ever be,” said Argos.

“Unless we meet Spectres in person,” said Chris, “I think this is mostly going to be your show. Though I can always help you remote fly ships if you need me to.”

“It may come to that, yes.”

“Count me out,” said Argos. “The last time I tried, I damaged both the starfighter and the cargo bay, before even making it to space. Not my finest moment.”

Chase chuckled. “That’s alright. We have plenty of pilots, and even with our combined mental powers, I don’t think Chris and I could remote control the entire fleet.”

“Not unless we have to,” said Chris. “I believe Altair mentioned something about some member races complaining, something about their captain’s frustration being overridden in the middle of their battle plan.”

“It’s arguable if you ask me. I usually don’t take control of ships unless I think I can do a better job than their captains, but I suppose it’s best to try not to ruffle too many feathers.”

“Or egos in this case,” said Argos.

“Indeed,” said Chase, “so it’s probably better we only send mental orders with our powers if needed to most alien races, but Earth-based ships, like the Hope battlegroup, are aware that we may override their captains if we think it’s vital to the strategy. Sometimes I need to make split-second decisions.”

“It’s a shame that we have to curtail a tactical advantage like this one,” complained Chris.

“It is what it is.”

Argos shook his head. “How the two of you can talk to machines like you would send a telepathic message is beyond me, let alone do that with multiple ships simultaneously.”

“I could say the same about your ability to send someone to sleep with a simple command,” said Chase with a smirk.

Argos smiled. “Fair enough.”

“I know I don’t say this enough,” said Chase, “but I truly enjoy these moments, when we stand together as a family. Even though…” but he let the words trail.

“Mom is here too, in spirit, at least,” continued Chris. “That much I’m certain of.”

* * *

Grunhild was surprised to be greeted by only Fenrir when she boarded the Balder.

“Where’s Siegfried?” she asked.

“It’s good to see you too, sister,” said Fenrir.

She smiled. “Sorry, Fenrir, I—I just expected to see the both of you, especially after all this time.”

“I suppose that’s relative.”

“What is?”

“Time. It may have been five thousand years, but we weren’t exactly conscious for it, so to me it feels only like a few days since I last saw you, being the first of us survivors to have been caught and put in the freezer.”

“Interesting. Unfortunately for me, that wasn’t my experience…at all. It’s hard to explain, though, it felt like being trapped in a night’s sleep that never really ends. And I, for one, hated it.”

“We, indeed, seem to have had different experiences. I basically thought my capture and cryo-freeze process had only happened moments ago.”

“Well, I don’t say this often, but I envy you.”

“You never say this,” said Fenrir with a smile.

“So…are you accompanying me to the bridge, or should I find my own way there?”

Fenrir graciously waved his hand forward. “If you’ll follow me.”

Grunhild shook her head, but eventually let a small smile emerge through her cold demeanor.

It took only a moment for them to reach the bridge, where Siegfried stood, his back turned, gazing into the darkness of space through the massive viewport of the Asgardian destroyer.

Fenrir whispered in her ear. “He’s been like this for days, I don’t know what’s gotten into him, but now that you’re here, maybe you can snap him out of his thoughts and convince him to go on the offensive. Because I give up, he’s not listening to me.”

Grunhild stared at her brother-in-arms and used a slight mental power, allowing her to read Fenrir’s thoughts and access the visual record inside his cortex to add an additional layer of images and emotions to Fenrir’s words.

“Did you just scan me?” said Fenrir.

“I’m surprised you felt it.”

“I didn’t, you just had that look. I know it all too well.”

“Don’t worry, it was a surface scan only.”

“Not that I could stop you if you decided to go deeper.”

She smirked. “Indeed. I’ll take it from here. Thank you, Fenrir.”

“Sure. When the two of you decide it’s time to kill Asgardians, Olympians, or both, let me know. I’m anxious to flex my muscles as I am aching to deliver payback for what they have done to us.”

Grunhild answered with an absent nod as she walked toward Siegfried.

* * *

When the Hope exited hyperspace, Chase was so impressed by the scene unfolding in the viewport that he felt compelled to get up from his captain’s chair. Outside, hundreds of destroyers, dreadnoughts, and other large war machine vessels where packed as far as the eye could see.

“That’s…that’s amazing,” said Chris, voicing his father’s feeling as well as Chase could voice them.

“Impressive,” added Argos.

“It sure is,” said Chase. “The largest fleet ever assembled most likely. Now that we’re here, I suppose I should address the troops.”

Chase took two steps forward and signaled his comms officer.

“Open a channel to the fleet.”

“Channel opened, Admiral,” said the comms officer.

“This is Admiral Athanatos to the fleet. By now you must have reviewed your mission briefings. I thought it would be appropriate for me to remind you of what’s at stake here. I know we barely survived one war not that long ago, and it seems like another one may begin, though I hope that our effort today either prevents that or curbs its progression. It is our belief that a massive gateway connecting two dimensions is about to be opened, and through it could travel the vilest and most dangerous enemy we ever faced. We’re here today to make sure they don’t invade our worlds.

“We have to make sure this doesn’t happen, no matter the cost. I can’t stress enough that we can’t let the Spectres enter our dimension. It took incredible effort and sacrifice to eliminate just one of their kind at the end of the Fury War, and so we must be vigilant and do everything in our power to not allow these monsters into our universe.

“Trust me when I tell you that they are without mercy, and they want our souls. You heard me right, these…things, feed by snatching souls, siphoning them inside, and imprisoning our essence for all eternity. In doing so, with every soul they snatch, they also become stronger. Today, we all stand here to make sure this doesn’t happen to us or our loved ones.

“I’m proud of the Alliance we’ve built together, and it’s an honor to command such a fleet into combat. But make no mistake, we may very well be standing at a precipice. We shall not allow ourselves to fall, as the consequences would be catastrophic. I trust each and every one of you to fight not only for our lives but also for our freedom. With all your heart, with the courage I know you were born with, and with all our might, we all will make sure that today we achieve victory. For all that is good, but more importantly, for our rights to live. We cannot permit this darkness to enter our midst.

“It’s time, time to defend what’s ours and protect a peace that was already paid with plenty of blood. We’re ready to enter hyperspace to reach our final destination any minute now. Be ready to fight the moment we arrive there. May the Gods of Olympus shine on us all.”

The crew on board the bridge applauded Chase’s short but powerful speech.

“Nice one, brother,” said Argos.

“Thanks, now let’s make sure these aren’t just words.” Chase turned toward his nav officer. “Enter the final jump coordinates into the hyperspace engines and slave with the rest of the fleet.”

“Coordinates entered, slave complete.”

Chase gestured two fingers forward. “Time to kick the hornet’s nest. Jump!”

Waves of ships flashed one after the other with the synchronicity of a well-orchestrated fireworks display, and soon, all ships had entered hyperspace.

* * *

“Hello, Siegfried,” Grunhild said as she stepped next to him.

“Grunhild, I’m glad you’re here.”

“What is it? Why are we here looking at stars and standing still while we could be attacking our enemies?”

“All in good time,” said Siegfried. “Right now, there’s an opportunity that’s been given to us, one that I believe wouldn’t have presented itself if I had rushed us forward without thinking.”

“And what opportunity would that be?”

Siegfried turned and activated the Balder’s main holo-screen.

“See these,” he said as he pointed to dozens of blue dots on a starmap.

“What about them?”

“That’s pretty much the entire Asgardian fleet. All in one place.”

“Where are they going and why?”

“They’ve changed their encryption codes, so I lost access to Asgardian security bulletins a few hours ago. I managed to hack myself back into the fleet’s tracking system, though, without them noticing. Now that you’re here, you could answer the question for the both of us, even though I believe I have a theory as to what’s going on.”

“Very well,” said Grunhild, her eyes flashing and rapidly blinking purple as she accessed the Balder’s computer.

It didn’t take very long for her to crack the new encryption codes and reconfigure and redirect subspace transmissions to acquire the information Siegfried was looking for. It displayed on the holo-screen.

“They’re making a run at a Spectre structure, not just the Asgardians, but the entire Earth Alliance,” said Grunhild.

“Which confirms what I suspected.”

“But that means the home world is defenseless, what are we waiting for, Siegfried? We may never get such a golden opportunity to strike hard at Asgard.”

“I’m aware, and believe me, I have no intention of missing our window, but there’s still time.”

“Could you at least explain your thinking here?”

“Why permit the entire Asgardian fleet to fall down on us full force when we do decide to attack Asgard? Instead, we could diminish them by engaging the Spectres. In fact, my instincts tell me that there’s a good chance the entire Asgardian fleet could be decimated, and then we’d have a clear and unchallenged path to conquer Asgard.”

Grunhild smiled. “I almost forgot how much you enjoy planning your actions to a T.”

“I’ve had good plans before, and we still ended up in cryo-freeze. Only a perfect plan will separate victory from defeat. And mark my words, this time around, I’ll make sure that defeat is not an option. ”

“Mind sharing that perfect plan of yours with the rest of us?”

“Sure, but first I’ll need you to do something, which means you’ll have to return to the Aegir Three and run an errand for us while we head toward Asgard. But before we do that, I’ll need you to use your powers to make sure they don’t see us coming.”

Grunhild’s eyes blinked rapidly for a few seconds. “Done. Their sensors won’t see you coming until they see your ship in orbit.”

Siegfried smiled. “Good.”

“About that errand you want me to do? Where am I going?”

“To a planet filled with insignificant insectoid beings. It’s funny how puny beings on their own pose no threat whatsoever, but use enough of them, and you can turn an ant into a Titan.”

“What are these creatures called?”

“Gorgars. You’ll love them, they’re highly susceptible to mental control. But I need you to do exactly as I tell you.”

Once Siegfried had explained his plan, Grunhild beamed back to the Aegir Three, and her ship entered hyperspace. Siegfried fed the coordinates of Asgard into the jump engines, and soon, the Balder entered hyperspace as well.

Siegfried let his mind relax at the view of the hyperspace lines streaking all around the ship.

It has begun.

9

Ashra’Lur smiled from ear to ear as the first destroyers emerged from the event horizon of the reconfigured gate. First, only a couple of ships emerged, but then about two-dozen ships followed. The Spectre destroyers were magnificent war machines.

“You’ve done it…you’ve truly done it!” exclaimed Asrak’Vor. “You’re to be commended.”

“I’m glad it pleases my master,” said Ashra’Lur.

She couldn’t stand the fact that she had to bow to this man and even pretend to crawl under him like a slave. What made the situation bearable was the fact that she would soon be able to drop the act and reveal her true self. In fact, it was only a matter of hours now, and that made her happy. So, she swallowed her pride one last time.

Another dozen ships exited the gate before the blue event horizon flashed and blinked madly.

“What’s happening?” asked Asrak’Vor.

“As expected, the smaller gate’s critical mass is reaching its peak. The gate will turn off any second now.”

The event horizon flickered madly while the last destroyer was still passing through it. When the gate’s connection turned off, it sliced the last ship in half. Without engines, it drifted a little before it became engulfed in a large explosion.

“What? That shouldn’t have been allowed to happen!” barked Asrak’Vor.

“It was always a possibility, I’m afraid. It’s only one ship. I’m sure we’ll manage without it.”

“You better pray that no friend of the Spectre council was aboard that ship, or there will be hell to pay.”

Ashra’Lur suppressed a smile. Trust me, I’m not the one that should be praying right now.

“Yes, Master, if that’s the case, I’ll, of course, take full responsibility.”

As I should, being the one that’s truly fighting for our people, unlike a certain mission commander driven only by petty revenge.

Outside, the monoliths were already redeploying toward their initial position, and it took a good ten minutes for them to be repositioned perfectly. Meanwhile, the ship bringing the last missing monolith to complete the gate was jumping out of hyperspace.

“What’s that?” asked Asrak’Vor.

“The last piece of the puzzle. Right on time.”

“If that’s the case, I have to question your decision about opening a smaller connection to home. What’s the ETA on the enemy fleet arriving?”

“They’ll be here any second now, and the power build-up time to establish a larger connection would have left the gate open to attack with little to defend it. Trust me, Master, this was the only way to make this work.”

The space around them flashed hundreds of times as enemy fleet exited hyperspace.

“Time’s up. Now we let them engage our newly arrived fleet while you and I prepare a warm welcome for the one called Chase.”

Asrak’Vor smiled broadly and cracked his knuckles over and over.

“The time has finally come for me to avenge my brother.”

* * *

Yanis entered commands on the terminal in the lab. He needed to double-check everything or their first travel through the portal could turn into their last. But Chris had truly given him all the information he needed to make sure that didn’t happen.

“Alright, I think we’re almost ready. Just need to give you your implants now,” he said before entering one more command on his terminal, which opened to reveal a sliding hidden compartment under the terminal. In the compartment were four small round gel-looking devices.

Yanis put the device just under the palm of his hand, and even though he knew what to expect, the experience of seeing the device melt into his skin was still somewhat surreal. He was now in the system and could travel through the portal. The next step was to give that to the other members of the team.

“Please come near,” asked Yanis to the team.

He proceeded to tag them with the portal-traveling secure device. To say Ryonna had an adverse reaction to it was an understatement of epic proportions.

“Nope, I don’t like it!” she protested, scratching the area where the device had fused with her blue skin.

Yanis handed Menelas his device, which he promptly refused.

“I have one already.”

“Right, Chris would have given you one, or you wouldn’t have been able to return.”

“Exactly.”

Meanwhile, Ryonna was still trying to scratch hers off, so Yanis took Ryonna to the side.

“Stop scratching it, it’s already diffused under your skin,” said Yanis. “All you’ll do is give yourself a rash, or worse, an infection.”

“Are we certain this device is innocuous?” she asked.

“Of course, Chris would have let me know otherwise. I’m surprised a badass warrior like yourself is scared of something so small and can’t even see or feel.”

She growled. “You don’t understand, I’ve seen similar devices in the past.”

Yanis furrowed his eyebrows. “Really? Where?”

“On Droxia, around the time my son was born. The Droxian government said it was a medical device, and that for the good of everyone, we all needed to wear one. The delivery method was different, through injection, but I fear its purpose could be the same.”

“I take it that wasn’t its real use?”

“No, it was a tracking device, plain and simple. It also scanned the wearer’s vital signs and reported back to the government in real time. Which turned my family’s lives into a living hell.”

“I don’t understand. If the device was just monitoring your life signs, why would it be such a problem?”

“Droxia used to have a rather barbaric law when it came to health, especially in relation to sick children. And my Ronan was born ill, though we didn’t realize it at first. Until they sent people to try to take him away from us.”

“Because of the tracking device?”

“Exactly. The device reported my son’s birth defect. My husband and I had to run from the authorities, which let me tell you, isn’t easy when a tracking device is imbedded inside your body with no way of removing it.”

“I could see why this would be problematic. What did you end up doing?”

“Fortunately, my husband had connections…” but Ryonna stopped and chuckled.

“What? What’s so funny?”

She shook her head. “Never mind…I just realized why and what kind of connections he had back then, that’s all. It’s not important to the story, I guess…”

But it was. And Ryonna knew it. She really hated that Jax had been an undercover agent for Section Alpha, not letting her know his true job, but she realized that, at least in this specific case, it probably saved Ronan’s life.

“So, we met with an engineer, “ she continued, “and he was able to hack into the devices. He changed our reported ID so they would stop chasing us, and the one on Ronan was hacked to report him being in perfect health. Mind you, we had enough trouble as it was hiding his condition. He often had seizures, so until we finally isolated what was wrong with him around adolescence, Jax and I were living in a state of constant fear regarding his future.”

“I can see why you’d be reluctant toward subdermal devices then. But there’s one thing I don’t understand, why did it matter that your son was sick?”

“Right, I started to tell you earlier, but I didn’t finish my explanation. You see back then, the Droxian government didn’t take kindly to sick children, to them it was a waste of resources. A sick child in their eyes meant a diminished adult, who was not worth their time, effort, and resources needed to create a productive member of our society.”

“That’s pretty cold. No offense.”

“None taken, fortunately, I managed to reverse that law not too long ago. The advantage of being an ambassador, I suppose. That and the Star Alliance frowned upon these practices. It actually led my people to be expelled from the Star Alliance.”

“Right, now that you mention it, I believe there was something about this in one of my classes at the academy.”

“Chase and Altair made sure that Droxia accepted putting some of these customs on hold as a prerequisite to joining the Earth Alliance. I then made sure to bring about their utter dissolution once and for all. So, yeah, if this is a tracking device, you’d better find a way to remove it the moment we’re done with our mission.”

“Not to worry, it’s not a…well…I guess it’s a tracker of some kind, but just between you and the gates.”

“So you say, but can we be sure? In any case, as I said before: I don’t like it!”

“Duly noted, and I understand. I’ll do more research on it, but I can guarantee you it’s not designed as a Trojan horse.”

“A what?”

“Oh, sorry, that’s what the humans call a deception, like a secret thing or device in this case, like that tracker implanted into you and your family. You were told it was a health benefit to your society, when, in fact, it could and was used in a completely different and nefarious way: to track you and report back to your government about any sick people. But truth be told, that applies to almost all new technologies.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean that people like me, we invent things all the time, and we think they’re good ideas that will help our civilization, so we implement them without seeing the potential for these inventions to be used in a negative or even maleficent way.”

Ryonna gave Yanis a look that told him he would need to develop his explanation a little more.

“Take Gaia for example. She happened as a side effect from a project Cedric and I worked on. We never meant for her to be created as a result of beaming a nuke onto a Zarlack ship. The target was teleportation, but it bore an AI.”

“Your example doesn’t make sense.”

“And why the heck not?”

“Because Gaia was a wonderful person.”

“Once Spiros convinced her to give humanity a chance, yes. But what about her evil twin?”

“Oh, I guess you’re right about that. That makes more sense.”

“Anyway, we should get going, I give you my word I’ll research that technology and test it thoroughly when we return. For now, if you don’t wear it, you’d be disintegrated the moment you step through the portal.”

“Charming.”

“Let’s say the Atlantians wanted to make sure only authorized people could use this technology, and seeing as it allows instantaneous travel over long distances, it makes sense. If that safeguard weren’t there, it could be used by anyone taking control of this lab, and if they were willing to invade any planet of their choice, who would stop them?”

“I see your point.”

A golden glow shone on both of them, and Yanis realized Ares was standing next to them.

“Sorry to interrupt, I couldn’t help but overhear, well…truth be told, I was more like eavesdropping really. I was wondering what the two of you had to discuss for so long. And having done so, don’t we have a problem with the fact that I don’t have a body?”

“Come on, Ares,” said Yanis, “give me some credit. Don’t you think I would have thought of that?”

“I’m glad to hear it, but since you mentioned disintegration, I think I’d feel better if I knew what you had in mind.”

“Well…I guess that brings another question. Can you ever be disintegrated? You have, after all, survived the explosion of an entire planet.”

“That’s a good point, still, this is Atlantian technology, potentially older and more powerful than our own, so, I’d rather we erred on the side of caution.”

“As I said, I’m one step ahead of you on this one. I’ve managed to add an exception to the portal security algorithm, having command codes helps with that sort of thing. I also made sure to replicate the change throughout the entire portal network. Each portal will know to scan for your energy signature instead of looking for that device us mortals had to fuse into our skins. It will let you travel through just the same as us.”

“Alright then, should we get going? Have you selected a world?”

“I have. I didn’t really have time to go through all the archives in the database, but I’ve selected a trio of planets that may potentially help us find some Atlantian technologies.”

“Then I suggest we get going,” said Menelas, who joined the rest of the group.

“Right,” confirmed Yanis.

He approached the center of the room and waved his hand at the only control there, a long trap door split open and the triangular portal rose. He then entered commands on his wrist device, and the portal came to life.

After a brief flashing, it showed through to another world with luscious blue-purple vegetation, and two-headed animals stopped in their tracks, staring intensely at them.

“Let’s go,” said Yanis, waving the rest of the group to step through the portal.

Menelas was the first to approach the portal, while Yanis checked his reading, making sure one last time that everything was working nominally. Before he could tell Menelas to hang on, the Fury stepped through.

The moment he did, the animals on the other side growled. Menelas flashed his aura for a quick moment, and the two-headed quadrupeds made strange yelps and ran away.

“How does it feel?” asked Ryonna. “Stepping through that…thing.”

“I didn’t feel a thing,” Menelas said casually.

The rest of the party stepped through the portal, and once they walked a few yards away from it, the portal closed.

* * *

“Admiral! I’m detecting a strange reading at our destination!” exclaimed the tactical officer.

“What strange reading?” asked Chase.

“Multiple energy signatures are popping up on our scanners.”

Chase dreaded asking. “Ships?”

“Running them through our database. The signatures are unknown, but the computer has found a partial energy signature match. Spider ships.”

“Are we too late?” asked Argos.

“I don’t know, I guess they’ve activated the gateway.”

“At least it confirms what we thought it was,” said Chris. “A gateway between dimensions.”

“I, for one, would have liked it just fine if that assumption had been wrong,” countered Argos.

“You and me both, brother,” said Chase. “Commander,” he said, turning his attention back to his officer. “ETA on our arrival?”

“About seven minutes and change.”

“And how many signatures are you detecting?”

“About two dozen, but the number is growing.”

“I guess we’ll have to shut that gate down the moment we arrive,” said Chase.

“Except now, we’ll have Spectre warships to contend with, and something tells me they’re not gonna look too kindly on us firing at the gate,” said Argos.

“It was always going to be a possibility, which is why I wanted the entire fleet with us. I had hoped we’d arrive before its activation.”

“Well, that scenario is out the window,” said Chris, “so to speak.”

“Indeed.”

“Admiral,” said the comms officer. “I have Thor on the line, he’s requesting to speak to you.”

“On screen,” said Chase.

Thor’s face filled the main holo-screen, his facial tattoos’ blinking patterns were quite complex.

“Chase, we have a problem.”

“I’m aware. It looks like the gateway has been activated.”

“It has, but let me share our sensor data with you. Asgardian sensors are still more superior than yours. There’s something interesting about our readings.”

Thor’s face faded away from the holo-screen and was replaced with a distorted video feed. It showed the gateway activated, but there was something slightly odd about it. Some of the monoliths were outside of its circumference, and the gateway appeared much smaller than Chase had seen on the previous footage provided by Captain Epizon. It resulted in a much smaller event horizon.

“The gateway is smaller, and while it can accommodate these ships, which from the looks of it seem equivalent to our destroyer class, it obviously can’t let bigger ones pass, which we can assume might be coming next.”

“Yes,” said Thor, a smaller version of his face reappeared on the top right side of the holo-screen. “We arrived at the same conclusion. My engineers tell me that the energy is already fluctuating. Though, it seems they will have to shut it down before we arrive.”

“Do we know why?”

“No, they’re still analyzing the data, which I’m also transferring to Kvasir, so he can analyze them as well. Their initial theory is that because the gate is working at less than half its capacity, and seems to be a receiver of some kind, meaning the energy needed to open a gateway could be coming from the other side, and, therefore, it can’t sustain the same energy levels.”

“If that’s the case,” said Chase, “at least it’s some good news. Though, I don’t like the idea of fighting two dozen or more Spectre destroyers, since we have no idea of their capabilities.”

“From our sensor data,” said Thor with a concerned facial expression, “they’re more powerful than any of our ships, even my own. Let’s hope that our numerical advantage can somewhat offset that. That and some of your crazy tactics. Looks like if we want to avoid Ragnarok today, we may need them.”

While Chase appreciated the compliment, he wasn’t so sure it applied here. Fighting a new enemy force always required some time for tactics to reveal themselves to Chase, no matter whether these tactics were sane or crazy.

“We’ll all have to be on our toes for this engagement. Looks like it’s going to be a long, hard day after all. Thanks for the head’s up, Thor.”

“See you on the battlefield. And if it must come to it, then we’ll get drunk on ale and feast in Valhalla.”

“As enticing as this sounds,” said Chase sarcastically, “let’s try to postpone that party if at all possible.”

“Understood. Thor out.”

“Is it only me?” asked Argos. “Or did Thor look worried?”

Chase’s facial features turned somber. “Trust me on this, brother, we all should be.”

10

When the fleet jumped out of hyperspace, all hell broke loose. The Spectre destroyers were waiting for the Alliance and immediately opened fire. Some of the ships needed a few seconds for their shields to activate fully, and among those, some of the smaller Droxian ships as well as a couple of Obsidian corvettes were the first to fall.

Chase mentally focused his efforts to transmit his orders to the fleet in order not to let chaos instill in the ranks at the very beginning of the engagement. Their first priority was to evaluate the enemy’s capabilities, starting with how strong their shields were. Having never faced them in battle before, his engineers would need as much sensor data to calibrate their fire for better shield penetration.

The first test was to focus the entire fleet’s firepower onto a single target, which seemed to work well. The enemy destroyer’s shields went down relatively fast, and the Alliance had scored its first kill. Unfortunately, the enemy had the same idea and focused their combined fire on single targets as well.

A discrepancy was quickly made apparent. For the time it took the Earth Alliance fleet to kill its first enemy destroyer, they had lost three ships.

Witnessing the Spectres destroyer split in half and explode meant, at the very least, that they were susceptible to Alliance weaponry. No doubt thanks to Spiros’s and Yanis’s weapons upgrades, which they had deployed through the fleet based on the data acquired from the encounters with the spider ships.

Chase knew, however, that it took a fairly long time for the enemy ship to fall, considering how much firepower had been aimed at it, which wasn’t good news, even if on some level he expected it to be the case. Spider ships, which were smaller, more stealthy craft, had given the Alliance enough trouble in the past, and Chase had expected the Spectres’ destroyers to be a much tougher ship, which they were certainly proving to be.

He opened a channel to Engineering.

“Kvasir, what can you tell me about these shields?” asked Chase.

“They’re very strong, by my calculation, we’ll need around ten to fifteen ships’ combined firepower to bring them down. And that’s at a minimum, meaning that bringing the shields down in a ten to one ratio would still take a fairly long time.”

“What if we keep going all-in on one ship and thin the herd this way?”

“In theory, it’s possible, and I still need to crunch the new data I’m getting, but my prediction is that they’d destroy our fleet way before we destroy theirs.”

Chase had sensed that as well; they needed another tactic.

“I guess it’s time to add fighters to the mix, including the new StarFury X’s.”

“Understood, they’re at your disposal, let’s just hope the Spectres’ fighters, which I assume they haven’t deployed yet, aren’t more advanced than our own StarFuries.”

Before Chase could answer, he saw hundreds of fighters launch from the enemy ships.

“We’re about to find out.”

He opened a channel to the fleet.

“Admiral Athanatos to the fleet, concentrate your fire on targets painted by the Hope, and deploy all your squadrons. Because we’re losing ships faster than we’re taking theirs out, try to micro jump every time your shields are too low, if you can’t jump, then present different angles of your ship toward enemy fire, and try to recharge your shields that way. Try to keep your destroyers in the fight as long as you can, but do whatever you have to to avoid destruction, even if that means you must disengage from the fight or micro jump away before you can return with charged shields. This is going to be a long and hard fight, every second of it will count, so do not push your ships too far too soon.”

Chase switched back his comms to Kvasir.

“Tell me that you’re already working on a way to adjust our batteries fire and torpedoes to these shields.”

“I am, but it’s going to take a while, their shields frequency rotation mechanisms are even more complex than ours.”

“Understood, keep me posted.”

Chase returned his attention to the mini holo-screen hovering in front of his captain’s chair, trying to find a pattern of attack or a weakness in the enemy’s tactics. But then, out of nowhere, he heard her.

Dad, you shouldn’t be here, it’s a trap!

His daughter’s words sent a shiver down his spine.

Kharon? Where are you?

But there was no answer.

“What’s going on, dad?” asked Chris, who must have sensed his emotional distress.

“I think…” Chase shook his head in disbelief. “No…it can’t be.”

“What is it?” Chris insisted.

Before Chase could finish his sentence, red light streaks engulfed him. Argos reacted instinctively and grabbed his brother’s arm. A split second later, they were both gone from the bridge.

“NOOOO!!!!” screamed Chris.

* * *

Chris’s blood was boiling with equal parts anger and fear. Both his father and uncle had been forcefully beamed out of the ship, and he had no idea where. Chris’s heart was beating so hard, he thought it had a will of its own and was trying to punch through his chest.

Chris felt the captain’s chair with his hand, it was still warm. He sat down.

“What do we do now?” asked an officer on the bridge.

“Inform Athena of the situation and that she’s now in command of the fleet.”

“Aye…yes, sir,” the officer corrected.

Chris could have sent the telepathic message to his grandmother himself, but he had someone else he needed to talk to first.

Kvasir, both my father and uncle have been beamed out of the ship!

What? When?

Just now. Please tell me you can track them?

I’m on it, I’ll get back to you ASAP. Your father was about to take control of the new pilotless starfighters, though. I guess you’ll have to do that in his place. They’re in cargo bay three.

Understood.

Chris took a deep breath and focused on the remote fighters. Soon, they rejoined the rest of the squadrons in space. As they approached multiple waves of enemy fighters, Chris familiarized himself with the StarFury X’s systems.

Because so much of the system dedicated to the cockpit and pilot had been stripped down, they felt even more maneuverable and powerful than the new Mark IIIs. Within seconds, Chris had taken down five enemy craft. The other StarFuries, however, were struggling with the fighter’s shields. They had a rapid recharge time and that meant it took some pretty accurate firing to bring down the craft.

Instead of focusing only on his targets, Chris split the fighters into two groups, one that he used to kill the enemy, and one that would provide shield-depleting assist to the rest of the pilots.

The captain’s holo-screen filled with Kvasir’s face, his facial tattoos were blinking all over the place.

“Didn’t expect to hear from you so soon,” said Chris.

“I have bad news. I tried every trick I know, and I still can’t locate your father or Argos. Whatever beaming tech the Spectres used, it’s impervious to our sensors.”

This can’t be happening! thought Chris, his anxiety rising at light speed.

“What now?”

“I don’t know, I can keep scanning, but I also have to figure out how to defeat the enemy shields or the fleet won’t last very long. And that’s not the worst of it…I’m detecting a slowly growing power signature.”

“What do you think it is?”

“The gateway’s monoliths have repositioned themselves and are now in perfect circular alignment, and I’m detecting a massive energy increase, dead center of the gate. I don’t think I need to tell you what that means.”

“The enemy is powering up the gate again, how long until they’re ready to reestablish a link?”

There was a small pause, during which Chris diverted his focus back to the remote fighters and engaged more enemy starfighters. From now on, he would have to split his focus in order to multitask while making sure he wasn’t distracted too much or risk losing precious ships.

For the time being, his mind had no problem dealing with the enemy fighters while interacting with Kvasir.

“If my calculations are correct,” said Kvasir, “and I must stress the if here, I think we have maybe two hours. Could be a little more, could be a little less.”

“And by your estimation, at the current rate, how much time will the battle last?”

“If nothing changes, and we don’t find a better tactic or a technological edge by upgrading either our weapons or shields…the battle would be over before two hours, and the Spectres would have an open lane to our universe. Which is why I need you to decide where I have to put my focus, find your father or upgrade our systems?”

As soon as that choice presented itself in the forefront of Chris’s mind, he had a harder time remote piloting the ships. He wanted to find his uncle and father more than anything else, but he knew that Chase would never have sacrificed tens of thousands of men, as well as the future of an entire universe, in order to save a family member. Or would he? But it didn’t matter what Chase would do, Chris was the one who needed to make this decision.

“I need an answer,” insisted Kvasir.

It mattered not what his personal feelings were, the outcome of this battle could very well define everyone’s future. There simply was too much at stake, and Chris knew it. Tears formed in his eyes.

“Do whatever it takes so that we can win this fight before the gateway is ready to reestablish a connection with the other dimension. We can’t let that happen, I can’t stress that enough! Leave no stone unturned, even if it means we have to sacrifice all our lives, we can’t let them through!”

* * *

On board the spider ship Nubia, Ashra’Lur was interacting with the terminal in front of her. She smiled.

“We’ve got him,” she said. “Jumping the ship now.”

Asrak’Vor remained silent.

“They’re on deck five,” added Ashra’Lur.

“They?”

“Yes, I don’t know how it happened, probably someone grabbed him during transport. Let me bring in visuals.”

A holo-screen stream of the ship’s cargo bay came to life. Asrak’Vor changed his stance as he looked at the stream.

“They look like each other, a lot,” said Asrak’Vor.

“Then the second Fury would be Argos, Chase’s twin brother.”

“This day keeps getting better.”

“Don’t you think you may need my help to fight them?”

“No! You can come with, but I’m the only one tearing that family to shreds, is that understood?”

“Absolutely. But what if they get the upper hand?”

Asrak’Vor growled and his eyes shone a bright red.

“That…will not happen. It took these two and many more to kill my brother. And I was always the better fighter.”

Whatever you say, thought Ashra’Lur. Overconfidence sure seems to run in your family tree.

“I’m looking forward to witnessing how you kill these two Furies. Speaking of which, they’re currently in the cargo bay. We should get there sooner rather than later, or they could decide to burst out of the ship, and there wouldn’t be much we could do about it.”

“While in hyperspace?” asked Asrak’Vor. “They’d be killed.”

“And so would we, as the resulting decompression would implode this ship while still in hyperspace, and take us out.”

“Let’s not give them that opportunity, then. Beam us there, now!”

Ashra’Lur pressed a command on a small device on her armor, and they beamed away from the bridge.

* * *

When Chase rematerialized, Argos was holding his wrist.

“Wow, what the hell happened?” asked Chase.

“Do I really need to spell it out for you?” asked Argos, looking around and getting his bearings.

“Let me rephrase it, how the hell did that happen? Our shields were up,” said Chase.

“Apparently not a deal breaker for these people. I suppose we are on board one of their ships, then?”

“That’s definitely the vibe I’m getting.”

“The question is, where’s the welcoming committee? Maybe we should get out of here before finding out,” said Argos, pointing an open palm toward the cargo bay’s large door.

Chase grabbed Argos’s wrist. “Don’t!”

“Why the hell not?”

“Expand your mind outside the ship, we’re in hyperspace.”

“And?”

“While I have never tried flying in hyperspace without a ship, my instinct tells me that it would be bad. As in deadly.”

Argos smiled. “Far be it for me to question your instincts. So…what now?”

Chase’s expression of surprise froze in place. “She’s here.”

“She who?”

“The Spectre female I fought before.”

“You mean the one that kicked your ass and almost ripped your soul away from you? The mad bitch that’s stronger than Tanak’Vor?”

“The one and only, yes.”

Chase could sense Argos expanding his mind to scan for her as well. “And she’s not alone.”

“I’ve noticed. There’s something about that other Spectre’s energy signature, though. Can you sense it?”

“If you ask me, a Spectre is a Spectre. They just need to die.”

“Yet, they’re vibrating very differently from one another.”

“So?”

“I don’t know, maybe I’m just worrying too much.”

“Well, looks like we’ll have to fight not one but two powerful Spectres, and the last time we engaged just the one, we almost all got killed, and that was with Chris and Menelas in the group. I’d say the worry is warranted here.”

Before Chase could answer, the two Spectres beamed in front of them.

“Finally,” said the male Spectre. “You have no idea how long I’ve waited for this day, for the opportunity to kill the both of you.”

“And who the fuck would you be?” barked Argos.

The male Spectre gestured his female counterpart to stay put while he took a couple steps forward.

“My name is Asrak’Vor. You,” he said, pointing an accusing finger toward Chase, “killed my brother, Tanak. And, today, I’ll avenge him.”

Oh, shit, thought Chase.

Looks like you were right about the familiarity of this asshole’s energy signature, said Argos.

Except, for once, I really wish I hadn’t been.

Doesn’t matter now, we need to kill him, and fast, gods only know what’s happening in the fleet right now.

Chase couldn’t agree more, but something told him it wouldn’t be an easy task.

11

Athena redeployed the fleet to a new formation and dispatched part of it toward their next targets. The battle wasn’t going well, for each of the ships they disabled or destroyed, the Alliance lost two or three ships of their own, making each successive kill all the much harder to achieve with the decreased firepower. She could feel it in her bones that this equation, while still positive for the Alliance, would invert itself soon, and the Spectres would then not only repel the Alliance but annihilate them entirely.

Who then would stop these ships from obliterating the Alliance worlds, including New Olympus?

Chase, Argos? Can you hear me? She tried reaching them telepathically.

The fact that she couldn’t contact them worried her just as much if not more than the way the battle was unfolding outside. Why couldn’t she connect with them telepathically?

She had a pretty good idea why the Spectres took Chase out of the equation, though. While she was a great tactician, Chase was even better. He had an uncanny ability to quickly adapt to an enemy’s tactic and come up with out-of-the-box though somewhat crazy tactics that would tip the balance. Removing him from the board so early in the fight had been a masterstroke on the enemy’s part.

It only made things worse that both her sons had been taken away from her, and while she trusted their ability to defend themselves, there was no denying that it made her very anxious. Today felt like a day where she and the rest of the family could lose it all, though she obviously would fight until her dying breath to prevent that from happening.

Athena was doing everything in her power to try to conjure her son’s ability to come up with a crazy tactic to tip the balance, but the reality was she couldn’t see any at the moment.

Grandma, said Chris in her mind.

Chris, how are you? Have you been able to contact your father?

I haven’t, I tried multiple times, in vain. I’m feeling like crap, it’s frustrating knowing the two men that matter the most in my life have been taken away, and there’s nothing I can do about it.

I empathize, trust me, they’re my children. That being said, Chase and Argos are very powerful and able to take care of themselves, we have to trust that whatever situation they’ve been thrust into, they’ll figure a way out of it. As they always have before.

Yeah, that’s what I’m trying to tell myself, but it’s easier said than done.

I know. But for the time being, we have to help them win this battle, that’s also why we’re here.

Well, in fact, that’s the reason I’m contacting you. I have an idea on how to throw the enemy fleet a curveball, but I’ll need your help.

I’m listening.

* * *

“Where are we going?” asked Ryonna. “It feels like we’ve been walking forever.”

“There’s a structure with faint energy emissions about seventy minutes from our current position,” answered Yanis.

“What good is it to travel thousands of light years in an instant to then trek for hours?”

“I realize that, but we don’t have vehicles small enough to go through the portal, and we don’t know for sure if they’d be allowed. After all, the Atlantians designed these portals with strong security features preventing any race from launching a surprise attack on these worlds.”

“I’m sorry to interrupt,” said Menelas. “But if we need to go somewhere faster, may I remind you that I can fly, and quickly? Faster than any vehicle you could have brought along with you.”

“We, however,” said Yanis, “can’t. Unless we can hitch a ride on your back, and while I can see one person holding you while you fly, two, especially someone built like Ryonna, seems a little less practical.”

“There’s an easier way,” said Ares. “Menelas goes to where we need to be, I lock onto his energy, and then beam us all there.”

“Why didn’t we just plan it this way from the start?” asked Ryonna. “And why are the two of you only mentioning this now?”

Ares and Menelas exchanged looks.

“For our defense, you didn’t exactly tell us what we had to do beside stepping through the gate,” said Menelas.

“And I assumed Yanis was using this time to run more scans,” said Ares. “After all, he’s been staring at his holo-screens the entire time.”

“I—I always am,” admitted Yanis. “Call it an occupational hazard, whenever I can multitask on anything, I’ll grab that chance to do so.”

“So, basically,” said Ryonna, “I’m in command of a bunch of morons.”

“That’s a little cold,” countered Yanis.

“Hey,” protested Menelas, “let’s not point fingers, this portal-hopping team is new for all of us, we can’t expect to know each other’s rhythms and be a cohesive unit with the snap of a finger. On a personal note, I’ve enjoyed this walk with my thoughts. It’s been a while since that has happened. But, if time is a factor, then show me where that structure is, and I’ll fly there now.”

Yanis made his personal holo-screen larger and tapped his finger on an image. “This is where we are, and this,” he said, pointing toward a green triangle on a map, “is where we need to go.”

Menelas levitated upward before rapidly flying away.

Everything okay? asked Ares inside Ryonna’s mind.

Why? What is it to you?

You’re our team leader, and as part of this team, I have a right to know that you’re not letting external problems distract you from our mission. I happen to sense that you’re on edge, hence my question.

It has nothing to do with the mission, and it’s a personal matter, so keep out of it.

I’ll agree to that if you, in turn, agree to put whatever’s troubling you on the back burner, at least for the time being.

Ryonna was not too keen on having a dead Olympian dictate what she should or shouldn’t be thinking at any point in time. But she had to admit that too much of her internal chatter was currently dwelling on her situation with Altair and Jax. She was also big enough to admit when she was wrong, and as much as she didn’t like his patronizing tone, Ares was right. Whatever she was currently feeling was counterproductive to their goals.

Understood, however, if you ever have any concerns in the future, don’t hide it from the rest of the team, just speak frankly.

I didn’t mean anything by it. I was only trying to be discreet.

I know what you were trying, but I’m telling you not to do it again.

Fair enough.

Yanis’s comms came to life. “Menelas here. I arrived at the destination.”

“Ares,” said Yanis, “I guess you’re up.”

“Grab my hands,” said Ares.

Ryonna and Yanis obeyed, and then they were gone.

* * *

After exposing his plan to Athena and ironing out the details on how to most effectively use the StarFury X’s, it was now time to put it to the test by doing an attack run and seeing if Chris’s tactic was a viable one.

They needed to find out quickly, as the speed at which Alliance ships were being destroyed meant that unless they tipped the balance, the Alliance would not only lose this engagement but also leave their dimension unprotected from a full-fledged Spectre invasion fleet.

Get ready to fire the moment I tell you, said Chris telepathically.

Understood, Chris, replied Athena. Good luck. I hope your plan works.

Chris took half a dozen StarFury X’s and vectored them toward the ship he had selected as the target, one that had almost suffered no damage until now. He wanted to test the efficiency of the method in the worst possible conditions.

The Spectres’ destroyers were formidable war machines, and it took a large amount of firepower to bring their entire shields down, which is why the Alliance was losing so many ships, even with the hit and run tactics they were currently employing.

Unfortunately, the time it took for the Alliance ship to bring their shields back to a fair level was proving too long, and with the current trend of losing more ships than they were destroying, their task became harder with each passing minute.

Once Chris’s squadron entered firing range, he lit up the shields of the enemy ship with low-power high-frequency beams with pinpoint accuracy, making sure every single beam hit at the exact same position in the shields. Applying that to the entire squadron almost turned the plethora of weapons fire into a constant-forming beam that illuminated the shields.

It didn’t take long for the destroyer to notice, and they changed their targeting priorities. That’s when Athena’s squadrons from the Aegis made their pass, unleashed a significant portion of their ordnance around the same area on the enemy shields, and then proceeded to fire upon the ship’s batteries, making sure they received the aggro and not those from the StarFury X’s. The overall shields were still quite high, but where Chris kept pounding them, they were starting to buckle. It was now time to execute the second phase of the plan.

Chris selected one of his drone StarFuries and accessed its hyperspace engine controls. He waited until the shields began flickering around the targeted area they were hitting, which was with far more precision than any living pilot could achieve.

Now! said Chris telepathically.

Athena’s flagship opened fire with a hyper-concentrated beam of golden plasma at the same point in the shields, bursting through and impaling the Spectres destroyer on its broadside. The beam intensified in modulation before shutting down, leaving a large cylindrical hole in the guts of the ship.

Time to finish it, thought Chris.

Chris set one of the drone’s engines to overload and micro jumped it in the center of the hole, just milliseconds before the StarFury X exploded inside the destroyer. The result was even better than he had expected, and the enemy warship split in half before exploding into a million pieces.

Chris pumped a victory fist from the bridge of the Hope. “Yes!”

It works, he said.

Impressive, said Athena. We’ll have to make sure we protect your drone fighters going forward. We’ll need them to take out more destroyers.

If we run out of drone StarFuries, we can eject pilots, and I can take control of their craft.

But will it work with a standard StarFury?

I’m not sure until we try it, but we’ll jump them in pairs if we have to. Whatever it takes—right?

Whatever it takes, indeed.

For now, let’s point me toward the next target and obliterate the next destroyer.

* * *

Chase’s heartbeat went into overdrive. Fear had rarely been an issue for him in the last few weeks, but he couldn’t ignore the amount of power he sensed emanating from Asrak’Vor. It gave Chase little doubt that Asrak’Vor was even more powerful than his brother.

“What do you want to do?” whispered Argos.

“Whatever we have to, I guess, but we’ll have to be very careful.”

“What else is new?”

Argos’s lighthearted tone did help diffuse some tension even though Chase’s instincts were screaming bloody murder, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that something terribly wrong loomed on the horizon of this day.

Asrak’Vor cracked his knuckles multiple times while he slowly walked toward them. The female Spectre, however, didn’t seem to be preparing for battle.

Chase couldn’t help think what Kharon had told him right before they were forcefully beamed out. “It’s a trap,” she had said. And it sure felt like one. The question brewing in Chase’s mind was how could she have known?

“I’m going to take great pleasure in killing both of you,” said Asrak’Vor. “Not to mention adding your Ultra Fury powers to my own. Then, I’ll be the most powerful Spectre that ever lived.”

Chase and Argos both took a defensive stance.

“You’re not getting our souls!” shouted Argos.

“I’m afraid that’s not up to you, and it’s exactly what’s going to happen,” smirked Asrak’Vor. “But I’ll have my fun with the both of you first.”

“We’re not easy marks, ask your brother,” taunted Chase.

Asrak’Vor’s eyes glowed an intense crimson as he growled.

“I’m going to make you regret those words,” he said.

Chase and Argos both turned Ultra Fury at the same time and launched themselves at the Spectre. Argos threw multiple fireballs, forcing the Spectre to deflect them until Chase was upon him and attacked him with a flurry of powerful combos.

Asrak’Vor blocked and deflected them with ease until Argos added his own blows to the mix, forcing the Spectre to step back little by little while still blocking every one of the blows from his attackers.

Chase infused both his fists with orange energy and increased both the strength and velocity of his blows while Argos dropped and went for a sweeping kick.

Both sets of attacks went through the Spectre as if he wasn’t there, and Asrak’Vor’s retaliation was both swift and decisive. Argos went flying sideways as his face was introduced with Asrak’s knee, while Chase was catapulted backward by the Spectre’s elbow, which cracked his jaw in the process.

Chase tumbled and rolled on the ground multiple times before he pushed himself back to his feet about the same time as Argos was shaking his head and struggling to get back up.

Asrak’Vor fired a black fireball at Argos, forcing Chase to react instinctively and fire one of his own, deflecting the Spectre’s attack away from his brother.

Thanks for the assist, said Argos in his mind.

Chase’s hyper-focused gaze met with Argos, and he nodded slightly.

12

The group materialized near Menelas in what felt like a split second. They were a few yards away from a small entrance with a descending stairway made of stone. It looked old, decrepit, and blue plants grew between the stone’s interstices.

“How the hell did you spot this entrance from the air?” asked Yanis.

“I almost missed it,” answered Menelas.

“Is that a subterranean complex?” asked Ryonna.

“Sure looks that way,” answered Menelas.

Yanis brought up his holo-screen on his wrist device and scanned the area.

“There is a massive underground facility with miles worth of tunnels down here. We’ll need to explore them and see if anything useful can be found in them.”

“Do we know if this is of Atlantian origin?” asked Ryonna.

“It’s too soon to tell,” said Yanis. “If there is technology down there, it’s mostly powered down; I’ll only be able to make that determination once we get a closer look.”

Ares frantically looked around. “Anyone else hearing that noise?”

The group kept silent as they listened toward the horizon. There was a small but increasing whir in the distance.

“Over there!” pointed Ryonna and with her other hand gripped the top of her holstered weapon..

A spherical metallic object whirred in the distance at high speeds, flying toward them as the sun reflected over its spinning surface.

“What the hell is that?” asked Ares.

“There were automated defense systems in the portal room when Chris and Argos discovered it,” said Yanis, “so if this is an Atlantian facility, there’s a good chance there would be similar security around.”

“What if it’s hostile?” asked Menelas. “I can shoot it down from here before it gets to us.”

Ryonna unholstered her blaster and aimed at the sphere. “So can I.”

“Please, don’t!” exclaimed Yanis.

“Why the hell not?” asked Ryonna.

“Because we are wearing security tags, and if this is an Atlantian security drone, it may have the ability to detect the tags and let us be.”

“And if it starts shooting?” asked Ares.

“Well, then, we’ll take all necessary measures,” said Yanis.

The spherical drone stopped ten yards from them, hovering in place while still rotating on itself and fast-hopping in different directions every few seconds. Upon closer inspection, the sphere was made of different layers and slices that were rotating while its center core remained static, revealing a small glass eye that turned red as it hovered around them.

“What is it doing?” asked Ryonna.

“My guess would be it’s scanning and evaluating us. If you could lower your weapon, I think that wouldn’t be the worst idea in the world,” said Yanis.

Ryonna gutturally disapproved but lowered her weapon, nonetheless, which was instantly detected by the sphere as it moved closer to her, hovering and hopping from one position to another. The frequency and pitch from its whirring sound changed with each rotation of its surface slices.

Eventually, it moved away from Ryonna and repeated the process with Yanis and then Menelas. Its center eye turned from red to purple, and it flew away.

“I take it your theory was correct, in which case the chances of this being an Atlantian facility is pretty high,” said Menelas.

“Or it evaluated us and arrived at the conclusion that it couldn’t take on all four of us, and instead, it made a tactical decision to retreat until it could come back with reinforcements,” countered Ryonna.

“Always the optimist, Ryonna,” said Yanis.

“I prefer to think of myself as a realist, but it doesn’t matter which it is, we’ll know soon enough. For the time being, however, we’d better get down there and see if we can find what we’re looking for.”

* * *

“What’s the status of the fleet?” asked Daniel.

“They’ve engaged an enemy fleet and a massive battle is raging,” said Altair.

“So the Spectres have activated their gateway already?”

“A partial activation, yes.”

“What does that mean? How can it be partial?”

“It means they redeployed their monoliths to create a smaller gate, probably in order to make sure they placed some ships in our dimension to fight our fleet.”

“Perhaps we shouldn’t have waited to get the entire fleet ready. Instead, we should have attacked it immediately with whatever forces we had on hand at the moment we received the intel.”

“Doesn’t matter now, Daniel, hindsight is always twenty-twenty, all that matters is we manage to neutralize these ships and destroy that gate.”

“And how is that looking?”

“Not very good at the moment, and it doesn’t help that we’ve lost Chase.”

Daniel’s heart skipped a beat. “What? What do you mean we’ve lost Chase?”

“He was forcefully beamed away from the Hope the moment the engagement started, Argos is missing, too.”

“How the hell was that allowed to happen?”

“Calm down, Daniel, nobody saw it coming. They beamed him out with shields up, I guess they have a way to do that.”

“Or there’s something special about Chase.”

“What do you mean?”

“Think about it, if they could beam anyone out of our ships through active shields, then why just beam out Chase? Why not beam away all the crew into space and then…”

“Game over.”

“Exactly. If you ask me, it must have had something to do with Chase. Though that doesn’t explain Argos.”

“From the reports I’ve received, Argos actually grabbed Chase, and that’s why he was beamed away as well.”

“Then that would kind of confirm my theory.”

“Mind sharing what that theory is exactly? What’s so different about Chase that he could be beamed out and not anyone else?”

“Well, for one, he’s the one who killed Tanak’Vor, so as far as the enemy is concerned, that makes him a person of interest⁠—”

But Daniel stopped short.

“And what? Why do you have that look in your eyes?”

“I’m not sure, it’s mostly conjecture at this point.”

“Well, finish your train of thought, anyway.”

“When the spider ship came to attack Alkyon One, Chase fought a female Spectre. From his recounting of the fight, it seemed to have rattled him. She almost ripped his soul away from him. Maybe at that time she did something to him.”

“Like tagging him? That seems unlikely. To use a human expression, I think you’re grasping at straws here.”

“Maybe, maybe not. We’ve seen weirder things happen.”

“Name one.”

“AI-based beings fusing with Fury warriors, Chase returning Spiros’s soul to a clone body, Ares being able to return from the other dimension after exploding with Erevos.”

“I said one.”

Daniel attempted a smile. “Whatever is happening, I sure hate being stuck here and not being able to help my friend!”

“I know how you feel, Daniel, but we can at least take some small comfort that as of this morning, the station is ready for them to use it as a fallback position, and they may very well need it.”

“Maybe you can, but that doesn’t comfort me whatsoever. It’s killing me being thousands of light years away from my friends when they need me the most.”

* * *

“Why didn’t we take Grunhild with us?” complained Fenrir.

“Because I have a mission that is a perfect fit for her mental abilities,” said Siegfried. “We can’t rush things. The last time we did, we ended up in cryo-sleep for over five thousand years. This time around, I intend to be one step ahead of our enemies.”

“Seems to me that we’re letting them breathe instead of teaching them a lesson.”

Siegfried smiled. “Rest assured, brother, a painful lesson will be taught, one they won’t soon forget.”

“In that case, mind clueing me in as to what’s the plan? You’ve done a lot of introspection lately, and that’s your choice, but I don’t appreciate being kept in the dark.”

“Not to mention patience was never your thing. Which is why, I might add, you were the first of us to get captured.”

Fenrir flashed a tight fist in front of Siegfried. “That was uncalled for! I was the first one because they sent so many Titans to apprehend me, two of which I killed with my bare hands. In doing so, I prevented them from going after you next. But you seem to have forgotten that.”

“Fair enough, I’ll grant you that one. Now grant me this, did you listen to me back then? And if you had, do you think you would have been caught the way you were? Our enemies were keenly aware they needed to divide us to get to us. They knew that together we were unstoppable, but separated it made their task easier. And do you remember me imploring you to stay with us?”

“I needed to see with my own eyes if they had killed Hildr. You know how much she meant to me. I didn’t believe she could be defeated no matter how many Titans they sent. She was so powerful. I always thought she was the best of us.”

Siegfried put a sympathetic hand on Fenrir’s shoulder. “I know, brother. Did you ever see her corpse?”

Fenrir shook his head. “By the time I got there, someone had buried her, and on the runic tombstone stood the necklace I had given her, drenched in dried blood.”

“I’m sorry. If we could do it all over again, I wouldn’t let you go on your own.”

“What are you saying?”

“That even though I strongly objected with your decision to go, we should have come with you. If we had, maybe things would have been different.”

“Is that why you’re isolating yourself and seem so focused on your thoughts lately?”

“I’m not sure, perhaps. All I know is that I don’t want us to make any premature moves, and instead, when we do make our moves, I’d prefer we plan them well this time around. They may not have Titans with them anymore, but these Fury hybrids, and from what I’ve been able to gather, are equally formidable foes.”

“I somehow doubt that, unless you have forgotten, they are the reason for our existence. We were engineered to kill their kind, and they had to engineer stronger Titans to, in turn, stop us. If Furies were all that was needed to bring us down, that’s what they’d have engineered in their lab instead of Titans, don’t you think?”

“Look, it doesn’t matter what I think. What does matter is that we don’t give them any opportunities to recapture us this time. Odin is dead, and I can tell from Thor’s recent actions that he’s now content with killing us instead of just reacquiring us.”

“That’s one thing I never understood, why did they keep us alive?”

“I wish I could tell you. It’s better I don’t.”

“What kind of answer is that?”

“The only kind you’ll get from me today, brother.”

* * *

“Is that all you can do?” taunted Asrak. “I expected more from Ultra Furies, maybe your reputation is unwarranted.”

Chase could sense his anger boiling, but he decided to not let it overtake him. For the time being, especially this early in the fight against a new enemy, Chase knew he needed to maintain a cool head. That didn’t mean he couldn’t give the Spectre a taste of his own medicine, see if that opened up some options.

“May I suggest that underestimating your enemies and overconfidence in one’s abilities might be a fatal genetic flaw that affects the Vor bloodline?”

Is there a reason you’re trying to piss him off? asked Argos.

Just want to see what the enemy is truly capable of.

I think we’re going to find out either way.

Of that Chase had very little doubt.

Asrak growled and his black aura grew exponentially around him, engulfing him in a kind of dark void.

Well, you wanted him pissed; he’s pissed alright, said Argos.

I wonder why the female isn’t entering the fight.

Oh, I can answer that one for you, this Spectre is hell-bent on avenging his brother, and so he wants no one else to take care of it. If you ask me, that’s a blessing in disguise.

Having fought her, I’d have to agree. And though I think it’s a little early to arrive at this conclusion, I believe she’s at least as powerful as he is.

“I was content just killing the two of you today,” said Asrak, “but now I look forward to making sure you suffer first.”

“Less talking, more fighting,” said Chase. “Put your money where your mouth is.”

That did it, and Asrak went on the offensive at speeds that surprised both Chase and Argos. Argos was hit first, a powerful right jab smashed his entire body onto the cold hard floor. Chase reacted immediately and darted toward Asrak with energy-infused fists, but he never even made it halfway there. Asrak unleashed a shockwave that stopped Chase cold in his tracks.

Chase managed to keep upright despite the enormous amount of telekinetic energy his body received, but then a dozen black fireballs impacted with him and sent him flying and crashing onto a far off bulkhead. Upon impact, the metallic-based wall bent and cracked, revealing electric cables, and those severed by his impact were sparking near his face.

By then, Argos had jumped back onto his feet and lit up the Spectre with dozens upon dozens of red fireballs, engulfing the Spectre into an ever-growing inferno of attacks and explosions.

That gave Chase time to free himself from the human-shaped bulkhead mark that his impact had left, and he healed his inner injuries, including some internal bleeding.

Meanwhile, Argos kept firing dozens of attacks, draining his energy pool faster than Chase thought he should. While that was unwise for longevity, perhaps it gave Chase a window to add a much more powerful attack to the mix, and so he focused a large amount of energy into a crackling energy fireball hovering over his palm. He was forced to use his other hand to stabilize his wrist as the amount of concentrated energy made it hard to keep control over the fireball.

The golden energy sphere crackled with white lightning bolts sizzling all around its surface while spinning on itself faster and faster. He was pushing toward the limits of physics in terms of how much energy could be concentrated into such a small volume. That, of course, was on purpose, as he needed this attack to inflict massive amounts of damage, preferably with a small delay.

Asrak eventually walked out of the inferno generated by Argos’s incessant attacking patterns. His Spectre skin was only slightly charred with smoke emanating from it. That was Chase’s cue to hurry. He pushed his aura to the maximum and infused as much energy to the attack as he could without having it blowing up in his face.

I need you to divert his attention, said Chase.

What has it looked like I’ve been doing up until now? Ordering a pizza?

Chase had to suppress a chuckle. I know, but I need him fully focused on you.

Understood.

Argos pushed his aura even more and intensified the power of his attacks, and for good measure, added some taunting to the mix.

“You’re not even a tenth of the warrior your brother was, and boy oh boy, did he make a satisfying screech when we disintegrated his ass.”

The fully rage-infused roar Asrak unleashed made the entire ship tremble, and every source of light around them flickered. As a result from this taunt, Argos knew that he now had the Spectre’s full attention for better or for worse.

Instead of letting Argos’s attacks impact his dark skin, the Spectre deflected them away, lowering the intensity of the furnace he was walking through, which in turn gave Chase a better view of his target, not that he needed it. He could and would fire through the flames and smoke just fine, aiming at the enemy’s life energy in his mind and not what his eyes showed him.

Chase’s mind was so focused it felt as if time slowed to a crawl. It allowed him to choose the precise point where he wanted his devastating attack to impact and propelled it toward Asrak with all his might.

13

The terminal next to Tar’Lock exploded and engulfed the tactical officer in flames. Tar’Lock reacted instinctively and ran through the flames, emerging with the unconscious crewman and delicately laying her body on the floor.

He activated his comm unit. “Medic to the bridge, now!”

He then returned to his console.

“Status report?” asked Talon.

“We have fire on decks three, five and seven,” one of the bridge officer’s answered. “Total decompression on deck fifteen, we’ve lost dozens of men there. Shields are down to eleven percent, we can’t take much more of this.”

Talon swore. “Emergency repair teams and bots to these decks, what was on deck fifteen?”

“Hydroponics, water processing, and holo-rooms.”

All things considered, their systems could have been hit a lot harder. These were essentials for longer missions, but should they survive this day, and, if needed, they could return to the dry docks for repairs.

“Prepare to micro jump,” said Talon.

“Jump engines are offline,” said Tar’Lock.

“Captain Epizon to Engineering, what’s the ETA on jump engines? Engineering, please come in.”

Talon waited for a few seconds before repeating.

“Engineering, please come in.”

The comms crackled. “There—There was an explosion…ruptured p—power conduit,” said a weak voice.

“What’s your name, son?”

“Lieutenant Bards, Captain.”

“Lieutenant, what’s the status down there?”

“I can’t tell for sure, but I think everyone else is dead.”

Talon’s face twitched. That was not the news he was looking for.

“Can you fix the engines on your own?”

“That’s—that’s a negative. I can’t move. I’m trapped under debris.”

“Understood, Lieutenant, hang on, help is on the way.”

“I—I don’t think I’m gonna make it. I’m losing a lot of blood, and I can’t reach my leg to stop the bleeding.”

“We’re going to beam a medical team to your location.”

Talon gestured one of his officers to execute his order, but it didn’t take long for the captain to receive the next set of bad news.

“What is it, Commander?” he asked preemptively when he noticed the officer’s expression change.

“Transport systems were damaged on deck seven. We’ve lost most of our medical team as well.”

While the Helios was a new ship, and Talon hadn’t yet memorized its entire schematics, he did remember the main med-bay was on deck three. Perhaps he had been a little too optimistic regarding the damage endured in the last attack pass.

“Hang on, soldier,” continued Talon, “someone will be there shortly.”

He turned to Tar’Lock and told him all he needed to know with just a look.

Tar’Lock was off the bridge so fast that he looked like a brief blur.

Would his insectoid friend be able to save the lieutenant? Or restore jump engines? Talon didn’t know, but he knew Tar’Lock would do everything in his power to help.

The ship rocked as multiple enemy torpedoes hit the starboard side of the ship.

“Shields down to four percent!” exclaimed the tactical officer.

“Inform the nearest ship to provide cover to allow our shields to recharge, and get us away from the fight, best sub-light speed,” said Talon as his eyelids slightly flickered.

* * *

The team was advancing in the dark underground tunnels, using mounted flashlights to get their bearings. Eventually, they arrived at an intersection.

“Which way?” asked Ryonna.

Yanis glanced at his holo-map. “Left…I think.”

“You think?”

“Give me a break, we can’t see shit down here, and the map isn’t exactly foolproof, as we’ve seen.”

Yanis, of course, was referring to an incident that had happened earlier, where his scans had failed to provide info on a collapsed corridor, forcing them to backtrack for almost fifteen minutes.

“I could go ahead and scout faster by flying through the tunnels,” proposed Menelas.

“I prefer we stay as a group until we know this place is secure,” said Ryonna.

While playing it safe was not her usual pace, they were in uncharted territory here, and the last thing she needed was to lose a member of her team, especially during her first command with this new group, which hadn’t found their rhythm yet. Not to mention that both Menelas and Yanis meant a lot to Chase, and while that was probably part of the reason behind her caution, her instinct told her that it was the right move. At least for the time being, and since her instincts hadn’t failed her too much throughout her life, she was inclined to listen to them.

“As you wish,” said Menelas.

“What the hell is that smell?” asked Yanis as Ryonna stepped into something.

She looked down, the flashlight on her tactical glasses illuminating her foot. She had stepped into a large pile of excrement.

“That doesn’t bode well,” she said. “This is excrement.”

“A crap load,” added Yanis as he covered his nose. “What size animal shits that much?”

“It seems fresh too,” continued Ryonna, “so it’s best we be on our toes.”

A roar coming from ahead pierced the silence in the corridor and echoed along the walls.

“I guess it knows we’re here,” said Menelas, passing in front of Ryonna.

“What are you doing?”

“Getting in front of the line, making sure that I’m the first one that…thing, whatever it is, has to fight.”

Ryonna wanted to complain that as the team leader, she had to lead the group and taking point was her responsibility, but she knew very well that Menelas was the stronger warrior among them, so she swallowed her pride and simply nodded him to go ahead.

Another roar resounded from behind them this time.

“There’s more than one,” commented Ares.

“Apparently, and they’re on the move,” said Menelas. “Get ready to defend yourselves.”

Ryonna grabbed her magnetically attached blaster rifle from her back, checked its charge, and set it to maximum kill setting.

“I’m gonna go check the rear,” said Ares. “See if I can prevent us having to fight on two fronts.”

“What is it you think you can do about it?” asked Yanis. “You’re not exactly corporeal.”

“I’m gonna assume that thing won’t be aware of that fact, which should provide you with a diversion. Until we evaluate their strength, better we don’t try to engage two of them at once.”

“Alright,” said Ryonna.

Since Ares could teleport at any time, she knew she didn’t have to worry about getting separated.

Ares teleported away. Seconds later, a red glow illuminated in the dark tunnel ahead.

* * *

Daniel was returning from the mess hall when he crossed paths with Nyx in the corridor on the green deck.

“Mind if we have a talk?” he asked.

But the Fury walked past Daniel without saying a word.

“Hey!” Daniel screamed. “I’m talking to you!”

Nyx stopped and turned around.

“I don’t answer to you.”

Daniel walked toward the Fury with determination.

“As long as you’re on my space station, you, in fact, answer to me whether or not you realize it.”

“Careful, human, I can snap you in half with a sneeze. You do realize that, don’t you?”

“I don’t think that would be received very well, though.”

“Just you and me here,” countered Nyx with a shrug.

Daniel pointed at a green line of lights.

“See these,” said Daniel, pointing at thin strips of light running along the walls and matching the color of the deck, “they record everything.”

“What do you want from me?” asked Nyx.

“I want to know why you didn’t go with the fleet to fight alongside my friends. I would give anything to be there, but I have a reason to be here, you, on the other hand, do not. Chase is now missing, and I’m thinking he could have used the backup.”

“He may be your friend, but I’m not his.”

“Then why the hell are you sticking around? Why do you stay here if you’re not going to help?”

“I have my reasons.”

“Not good enough, I’m afraid. You either make yourself useful or go somewhere else.”

Nyx sighed heavily. “If you must know, the only reason I am around, as you so well put it, is to provide payback to the race that has brought about the demise of the Furies.”

“And who exactly are you referring to here? The Earth Alliance? Or the Spectres?”

“I suppose on some level I hold you both responsible for my race’s extinction. Because Ares saved my life, I suppose I mostly am happy with hunting the Spectres…for the time being.”

“Is that what you’re calling your present attitude? Hunting the enemy?”

“You wouldn’t understand.”

“Understand what? Cowardice? Oh, trust me, I understand that just fine!”

Nyx created a fireball in her palm, aimed straight at Daniel’s head.

“Sure, go ahead,” he said. “Take me down, attack a defenseless ally. Is that how you demonstrate your courage? Silencing anyone who says something that not only hurts to hear but also happens to be the truth?”

The fireball died away.

“Leave me alone.”

“Why should I? I need to understand. I need to know why a powerful warrior like yourself stayed behind in what could very well be your one chance to achieve what you’re claiming is your goal. If it’s really payback against the Spectres that you’re after.”

“I don’t have to explain my actions to you.”

“Still deflecting the issue…very well. Let me tell you what I think is going on here. I think you’re afraid or you would have gone with Chase, Argos, and Chris.”

Nyx answered with a growl.

“Up yours, too.”

“How…”

“How what? Spit it out!”

“How’s Chris, is he…also missing?”

“I’m surprised you give a shit. Do you actually care about anyone other than yourself?”

“I wouldn’t go that far.”

“What is he to you?”

“A good fuck, I suppose.”

Daniel’s eyes grew wide. “He’s what now?”

Nyx took one long breath. “A sexual relief if you prefer.”

Daniel tried not to let the mental image of Nyx and Chris having sex distract him from the conversation.

“I understood you right the first time, just didn’t expect you to be so blunt, though considering how this conversation is going, I wonder why it surprised me. If you must know…he took command of the Hope when Chase and Argos were forcefully beamed out.”

“Then I’m afraid these two are as good as dead.”

“Why would you say such a thing?!”

“That’s how the enemy operates. Trust me, I have some experience with their methods. They divide and conquer. Right now, Chase and those around him are the biggest threat to the Spectres. Not only has he managed to kill one of theirs but also he’s not afraid to face them. Do you think it’s an accident that out of an entire fleet, they’d grab your strongest warrior? Think about it.”

“Which brings me right back to my initial question.”

Nyx sighed again. “And what would that be?”

Daniel pointed an accusing finger right under her nose.

“In what language do I have to say it so it gets through that thick skull of yours? Let’s try this one more time, shall we…What in the flying fuck are you doing standing here? While you could be out there fighting the enemy you claim to despise!”

Daniel didn’t wait for an answer, and, instead, he shook his head in disbelief and stormed away.

* * *

Chase’s concentrated attack screamed toward Asrak as Argos kept attacking him, making sure his attention was diverted until the last second. The Spectre sensed the incoming fireball and shifted his priorities.

By the time he extended his hand to block Chase’s super fireball, he was one step behind.

The moment Asrak’s left hand connected with Chase’s attack, it started disintegrating on the molecular level. The Spectre screamed in agony as the energy ate through his flesh, muscles, and bones. The fireball slowed down around his elbow and then exploded, taking with it the rest of the arm and most of the shoulder.

Argos’s next three-dozen fireballs impacted with Asrak, triggering yet another set of explosions, engulfing Asrak in crimson flames.

Chase could tell from the female’s change in demeanor that she hadn’t expected that to happen, and she briefly gazed at the two of them before smiling and returning to her spectator stance with both hands crossed against her chest.

Asrak stumbled through the now-dying flames, his eyes shooting out of his sockets from the pain. He was panting and screaming. He was missing an entire arm and shoulder, as well as part of his ribcage on the left side. Black, thick, and gooey blood sprayed from an artery and splattered a pool of black blood all around him.

Soon, dozens of black tendrils shot from the wounds, growing fast and flailing around madly.

We have to finish him off, said Argos, before his limb regenerates.

Agreed. Together, let’s unleash everything we can!

Argos and Chase extended their palms forward and unleashed a plethora of fireballs. None of them hit their target. Instead, they held in the air a few inches away from Asrak as his eyes glowed red and he roared. The attacks shot back toward their senders all at once. Both Chase and Argos had a hard time deflecting or dodging their own attacks while more tendrils were forming a sketchy, pulsating black limb on the left side of Asrak’s body, regrowing his lost shoulder and arm.

Before Argos could deflect the last of his own fireballs and return to the offensive, multiple new tendrils shot from Asrak and grabbed Argos by the throat.

“Argos!” shouted Chase.

In a swift motion, Asrak’s tendrils snatched Argos toward him. He pivoted and fired a powerful dark-purple fireball toward Chase, who tried blocking it with both his hands, but the attack shot through his defenses and hit him dead center in the chest, sending him tumbling and crashing yards away.

Argos tried grabbing the tendrils cutting into his respiration, but he struggled to rip them away from his neck. They wouldn’t budge, so in a desperate attempt, he fired three weak fireballs at Asrak’s face. They hit their target but barely inflicted any damage.

The Spectre smiled as his eyes glowed red. “Pathetic. I’m afraid it’s time for you to die.”

At a high speed, Asrak retracted the tendrils snatching Argos toward him. When Argos was right in front of the Spectre’s ugly and pungent face, Argos felt a strong pain in his stomach. He looked down to see the Spectre arm had impaled him.

Argos tried speaking, but instead of words, he spat large amounts of blood on the tendrils still holding him by the throat. Asrak forcefully removed his arm from Argos’s stomach, spilling more of Argos’s blood on the ground.

“That should teach you puny insects not to mess with forces you don’t understand or fight a warrior way outside of your class.”

Argos spat more blood as he spoke and managed to utter two words, nonetheless.

“Fuck you,” he spat through blood-ridden, clenched teeth.

The Spectre flailed away his tendrils and sent Argos crashing onto the nearest bulkhead face first. Argos lost consciousness upon impact.

“Noooooooooo!” screamed Chase as his aura grew tenfold. Rage filled his soul as his eyes burned like supernovas.

14

When Tar’Lock reached Engineering, he witnessed several dismembered and burned bodies. It didn’t take long for him to locate the lieutenant. The officer was in bad shape, his upper hip as well as the top part of his legs crushed under debris from an apparent power conduit explosion. The same one Tar’Lock assumed had taken out most of the men in Engineering.

He looked at the gushing wound just over the lieutenant’s knee. It was bleeding heavily, and Lieutenant Bards’s skin color was quite pale. Tar’Lock looked around and tore the shirt off the nearest dead engineer to tie a tourniquet around Bards leg to stop the bleeding. He then looked for a long metallic bar in order to move the debris off the lieutenant.

“Don’t,” said Bards.

“Why not? I gotta get you out from under here.”

“If there’s more internal bleeding, lifting the debris could make me bleed from more places. I think.”

“Are you an engineer or a doctor?”

“Kind of both. Well, not really, but I have some medical knowledge.”

“What’s your first name?”

“Alec.”

“Our transporters are offline, Alec, but there are medics on the way. Until they get here, I need your help to restore the jump engines. Do you think you can tell me what to do?”

“Are you an engineer?”

“No, I’m the first officer.”

“I need an engineer’s wrist control device, mine was shattered.”

Tar’Lock peered around, located a device that looked okay, and brought it to Alec.

Alec tried removing the broken one but had trouble doing so. “I’ll need your help swapping these out.”

“Sure,” said Tar’Lock as he helped him switch the devices.

Alec interacted as best he could with the new device to bring in the schematics of the engines on the small holo-screen projected above the wrist device. Alec coughed and some blood droplets exited his mouth.

Tar’Lock felt bad asking Alec, who was probably dying, to help him perform his duties in moments like these. Then, again, everyone was in the line of fire in a day like this, and Tar’Lock knew that was part of the job. Even knowing that, it didn’t help quell Tar’Lock’s feelings.

“How are we looking, do you think you can guide me to fix what’s wrong with our engines?” asked Tar’Lock.

“Perhaps…Our best bet, I believe, is if you redirect power here,” said Alec, showing him a point on the holo-screen. “By turning these controls in the correct order, it should bypass the damaged power conduit and send enough power to where it needs to go.”

Tar’Lock scratched his head and clicked multiple times looking at the holo-screen, not sure he could translate what Alec was pointing at in relation to the mess he saw all around him.

“I’m not sure I know where that is.”

“Get up, look behind you.”

“Okay, now what?”

“See the small hatch on the bulkhead that says X003-04B?”

“I do.”

“Go in there, take a left at the first junction, then a right at the second one. Open the control panel there to your right, and flip switches three, four, and six from the left.”

“I guess I can do that.”

“Just don’t mess up these switches.”

“What would happen if I do?”

“Let’s just say I’m not sure there would still be a ship left to enter hyperspace.”

Tar’Lock’s heart felt like it skipped a beat and his anxiety rose. Of course, it had to be something that required him to remember something precisely, an ability his entire race had limitations with on a biological level.

“I’m sorry to ask you this again, but my species isn’t the best at memorizing, can you please repeat the instructions again?”

Alec coughed up more blood. “Left, then second right, three, four, and six switches from the left.”

This time, Tar’Lock made sure to memorize the information and was on his way. He opened the hatch and immediately there was a choice that didn’t match the instructions. Instead, he came face-to-face with a ladder, but he could only go up or down.

“Up or down the ladder?” he shouted so that Alec could hear.

Alec was struggling to stay awake now and tried to speak but ended coughing more. Instead, he gestured up with his thumb.

“Here goes nothing,” said Tar’Lock to himself.

He climbed up, then at the first intersection went left. Crawling past the next intersection straight, then right. There was a panel on the side, he pressed the control to open it and saw eight switches. He flipped number three, four, and six.

A humming sound resonated inside the crawl space, and Tar’Lock hoped that meant good news. He opened a channel to the bridge.

“Talon, not really sure, but I think you can now jump.”

There was a short silence. “Confirmed, jump engines are back online. Great job, Tar’Lock.”

“Lieutenant Bards is really the one to be congratulated, so I’ll let him know.”

When Tar’Lock crawled out of the hatch, two medics had arrived and were working on Alec. Tar’Lock approached them.

“He’s gone,” said the first medic with frustration. “I’m calling it.”

“Hey, there’s nothing we could have done for him, simply too much internal bleeding,” answered the other one.

Tar’Lock hadn’t known the man for very long, but he felt sad, nonetheless.

Thank you, Alec.

* * *

After taking down a second ship with the same tactic, Chris directed another drone StarFury onto the next target for a third run. He checked Athena’s ships status and saw that the Aegis’s shields were low.

“Athena, perhaps you should micro jump away and recharge your shields before our next run?”

“Don’t worry about my ship, Chris, I know what I’m doing. We need to thin the herd, so I’ll make it work.”

Chris didn’t like the idea of Athena putting her ship in excessive danger, but she was now in command of the entire fleet, so he had to trust her instincts on the matter.

“Very well, let’s get another one of these destroyers off the battlefield.”

“That’s the spirit. I’ll be ready to fire on your mark.”

Chris repeated the manoeuver to a T, and once it was ready for the kill, he sent the mental command to Athena.

Her ship fired through the weakened spot in the shields, and, as before, pierced a hole in the destroyer, which prompted Chris to micro jump the overloading StarFury X, but then something went wrong. At the exact same moment his drone StarFury jumped, so did the enemy’s destroyer.

Chris tried canceling the engines overload of the drone, now hovering in space instead of inside the enemy ship. Unfortunately, it was too late, and the StarFury X exploded.

“Damnit!”

“They have adapted to your strategy.”

“That was fast,” complained Chris.

“We’ll have to figure out another way to achieve the same result.”

“Easier said then done, this was a very unique tactic.”

“I know, Chris, but we can’t give u⁠—”

There was a strong static burst over the comms.

Chris opened his eyes and looked at his tactical holo-map from the captain’s chair, only to see all sorts of red warnings overlaid on Athena’s ship.

“Athena, come in?”

There was no answer, so Chris decided to switch to telepathic communication.

Grandma, can you hear me? Athena, please answer me.

The result was the same, and there was no answer no matter how many times Chris tried to reach her mentally, which raised his anxiety levels. Fear invaded his thoughts and threatened his sanity. It was already hard for him not to know what had happened to Argos and Chase, and, at least, working with his grandmother on how to defeat the enemy had kept his dark thoughts at bay. If she had been wounded and no longer was in command, then Chris was two inches away from losing control over his fragile calm.

He hyperventilated as he tried contacting the Aegis once more, without success.

That’s when he saw them. Three enemy torpedoes were on their way toward the Olympian ship. With their shields down, these bogeys had the potential to take them out for good.

Chris took a long deep breath to calm himself and did the only thing he could think of under the circumstances—take out the torpedoes by micro jumping three of his remote StarFuries in front of their path.

He looked at the tactical holo-map in terror. With Athena’s ship out of the battle and vulnerable, it also meant that the Alliance fleet had no one to coordinate the fight with. The enemy fleet redirected more ships toward hers. Had they identified it was now the flagship, in command of the Alliance fleet? And, if they did, they certainly would deploy sufficient resources to take it out.

That’s something Chris couldn’t let happen. He reached with his mind and tried to get control of the Olympian ship’s computer. It didn’t take too long, and Chris found the hyperspace controls, but they refused to activate. The engines were damaged and would take a while to be repaired.

Damn!

Chris redirected power to the sub-light engines and shield generators and vectored it away from the incoming Spectre destroyers.

“Open a channel to the fleet,” said Chris.

“Channel opened,” answered the comms officer.

“I’m taking command of the fleet, Athena’s ship is in distress. I’ve taken remote control of the Aegis. I need the following ships to provide cover to the Aegis and guard its retreat until the necessary repairs can be made. Medusa, Phoenix, and Valhalla, I’m counting on you, don’t let the enemy fire at the Aegis, no matter what.”

It was now up to Chris to orchestrate the rest of this fight, and that scared the crap out of him.

* * *

The creature approaching Menelas was clearly organic and like nothing he’d ever seen throughout his entire life when traveling to countless systems.

It was an imperfect spherical creature with orange skin. It was slowly flying toward Menelas with no apparent limbs. Its surface was covered with randomly inflating and deflating bulbous bumps. It roared once more, revealing a large mouth and sharp brown teeth. On top of it stood a central large glassy eye with dark-purple veins and a large blue pupil the size of a human head. Around it was a plethora of smaller eyes arranged in a circle around the main one as if they were orbiting it.

“What the hell is that thing?” asked Menelas.

“I have no idea,” said Yanis, his voice slightly trembling. “Whatever it is, it’s sure to give me nightmares for years to come.”

And while Menelas was not as easily frightened, he had to admit that this creature looked like it came straight from the deepest abysses of the underworld.

“One thing is certain, it doesn’t look friendly,” said Menelas, aiming an open palm at it.

He launched a fireball, which illuminated the tunnel around it as it shot toward the creature.

The creature’s mouth opened wide and then swallowed the fireball. Its eyes glowed blue, and two puffs of smoke appeared on each of its sides.

“Not what I expected to happen,” said Menelas in disbelief.

Ryonna pushed through Yanis and past Menelas, steadied herself with one knee planted on the ground, and took a second to aim the blaster rifle at the creature before lighting it up.

The blaster fire hit the surface of the creature and dissipated with energy waves similar to a rock hitting the surface of still water.

The creature unleashed a sound between a cross of a roar and a screech, which made the entire tunnel shake heavily.

“Well, if our goal was to piss it off,” said Yanis, “I’d say we succeeded.”

Menelas fired five fireballs toward it, but the creature swallowed them all with ease while Ryonna kept firing her blaster rifle at full power with zero effect.

The creature slowly hovered in their direction, its eyes turning from a deep blue to a bright red, turning an already frightening creature into an even bigger vision of a nightmare.

Yanis, meanwhile, was interacting madly with his holo-screen.

Ares teleported back into the middle of the group.

“Did you distract the other creature?” asked Ryonna between firing spells.

“I don’t know, it didn’t seem to care much about my presence,” said Ares. “I’m not sure it could see me.”

Another roar could be heard from behind the group, this time much nearer, and Ryonna turned around in horror, only to see the second creature was also advancing around them, its eyes red as well.

“I think it’s time to get us the hell out of here,” said Menelas.

“Grab me and I’ll teleport us out.”

“No!” said Yanis.

“Why the hell not?” asked Ryonna. “We’re outgunned here, we have to retreat and figure out another plan.”

Yanis smiled. “No, we don’t.”

15

Argos! thought Chase as his rage fed his inner energy and felt like it recharged his soul.

Hang on, brother, I got you.

Chase let his inner fury invade his body and mind. On his way toward Asrak, Chase created a large white healing fireball and shot it toward Argos. Upon impact, the fireball mended most of the damage done to his brother, but Argos remained unconscious.

Chase then slashed through the Spectre with an energy-infused kick, and hit nothing but air. Chase sensed his enemy attack coming from behind and somersaulted backward, giving him a good vantage point on Asrak in midair. He fired three small fireballs at his enemy’s neck while finishing his acrobatic move. It sent the Spectre tumbling forward, but the Spectre managed to stay on his feet.

As Chase landed and skidded backward, he continued to light up the enemy. Asrak blocked and deflected the attacks with his good hand while the tentacles finished reconstructing his limb. Even though Chase was worried about his brother’s condition, he needed to use his inner rage to try to take out the Spectre.

That’s when time seemed to freeze, and Chase heard a voice in his mind that sent shivers down his spine.

It takes him a lot of time to regenerate his limbs, so you shouldn’t focus on energy attacks that he can easily counter and deflect.

He knew this voice, even though he hadn’t heard it in what seemed like forever.

Hades?

Yes, Chase. Remember what I taught you, sometimes brute-force is counterproductive. When overpowered, use your wits instead.

How can you be talking to me right now?

It doesn’t matter how, Chase, all that matters is that you don’t keep spending what’s left of your energy in vain. These fireballs, no matter how concentrated you’re making them, aren’t going to take out Asrak as long as he’s in one piece. You need to hack and slash this enemy, and in doing so, you’ll force him to expend more energy on regeneration than you.

Hades had been Chase’s latest mentor. Ares’s teachings had made a warrior out of Chase, but during his brief time in the Underworld, Hades was the one that had forged him into an Ultra Fury and taught him to use his brain over his muscles.

That’s good advice. Thank you, Hades.

You can do it, Chase, I know you can.

Time resumed its normal pace and an enraged Asrak, with eyes nearly bursting out of their sockets, was launching himself toward Chase, who got a moment of clarity. Chase closed his eyes and focused all his energy to form in his right arm.

When he reopened his eyes, his gaze was calm and his will was as hard as steel. Chase saw his move unfold in his mind before it happened and allowed himself a smile.

Asrak’s arm had completely healed by then, each of his fists was engulfed in crackling dark energy as he flew forward with hatred shining through his entire aura.

Chase could sense the power emanating from Asrak’s fists and knew that if they hit him, they would inflict major damage. But he had no intention of letting that happen.

When Asrak swung at Chase, he saw the trajectory of the Spectre’s blow with a clarity he had rarely achieved in combat, and it was easy for him to dodge. At this point, Chase moved faster than the speed of light and slashed his arm, now turned energy sword, and sliced Asrak in two.

The Spectre’s body split in half from crotch to forehead, and even though it all happened quickly, the look of terror in the Spectre’s spacing eyes was priceless. For the first time since the beginning of the fight, Chase saw fear in them.

* * *

Chris’s face appeared on Kvasir’s holo-screen.

“Tell me you’ve found a way to help us tip the balance here.”

“I may have something, yes.”

“Good, because I tried a new strategy which at first seemed to work really well, but they’ve already adapted.”

“I know. I’ve been monitoring your attack runs closely. They are actually what gave me the idea.”

“I’m glad to hear it, so do you have a way to get through their shields any faster?”

“No, I’m still working on that, but I have devised a propagation algorithm that will make it a lot harder for them to drain our shields.”

“How so?”

“Basically, I’ve written a machine-learning algorithm that anticipates where our ships will receive impacts on their shields and will boost their strength precisely on these parts. The good news is that it can be adapted to most of the newer ships in our fleet, the Earth Alliance ones, the Asgardians and Olympians, and some of the latest Droxian models as well. The older ones, though, like the older Droxian ships and whatever is left from the Obsidian are a no-go.”

“Not sure I understand how everything in your technology works, but as long as it makes our shields stronger, I’ll take it.”

“There’s a caveat.”

Chris sighed. “Of course, there is. What is it?”

“It’s a little out there, but keep an open mind. Because of the restriction we’ve put on the use of truly sentient artificial intelligence, I’ll need a better and more reactive central processing unit.”

“And where are you going to find that?”

“I need someone that is sentient to run the machine. The solution will still be mostly machine-based, but using an organic mind that has feelings, instincts, and every other thing that makes us sentient will greatly improve the efficiency of the algorithm. As in by a factor of twenty or more.”

“I don’t understand, what is it you need exactly?”

“To say it bluntly, I need that device to be connected to your brain.”

“My brain?”

“Yes, yours can already talk to machines and make split-second decisions, it makes you the ideal candidate to run it. In fact, you’re the only candidate since Chase isn’t here.”

“Will I still be able to command the fleet?”

“Doubtful, you’ll have to elect a new commander, and the experience might not be pleasant either. I’ll basically turn your mind into the central processing system in charge of doing minute and precise power distribution of shields for the entire fleet. I don’t think even a mind like yours will be able to do anything else while this process happens.”

Swell…

* * *

Chris took a moment to digest Kvasir’s words. He would be lying if he didn’t admit that part of him thought that the idea was, for lack of a better word—crazy. But with the way things were unfolding around the super gate, Chris understood that crazy or not, any option had to be considered.

“How long until the super gate powers up fully?”

“The power generation has slowed down, so that has bought us a little more time, although not that much. Maybe seventy minutes give or take five. But I don’t think I have to tell you that unless something changes sooner rather than later, we’ll lose the entire fleet before then.”

“Doesn’t look like we have much of a choice here, do we?”

“I’m afraid not. There’s also something else I’d like to point out.”

“Is there now?”

“Yes, and I want you to think really hard about this one.”

Oh, boy.

“Lay it on me.”

“In order for this to work on the scale we need it to, I had to program the interface between my algorithm and the organic brain and use it with some serious overriding chops.”

“I don’t understand. What does that mean?”

“It means that the device will try to squeeze every drop of juice it can from your brain. It also means it won’t be a pleasant experience. You’ll feel like you’re being overtaken by the machine, which on some level, is exactly what would be happening.”

“It will be painful, then?”

“That and I would imagine quite frightening. Most of the brain will feel like it’s under attack, and it may actually have some unpleasant side effects.”

“Just tell me there’s no way for this technology to create another evil Gaia fiasco.”

“I can guarantee that, yes, but I can’t guarantee that you won’t be psychologically affected from the experience. In fact, I don’t think you should use it for more than an hour, maybe push it to seventy minutes if we have to, but if you do, I fear your brain may endure irreversible damage.”

“I’m sure I’ll be fine, I can heal. How exactly did my attack runs give you such a wacky idea?”

“It’s the precision of the attacks, trying to pierce a tiny exploitable hole through a tough sheet of protection, which sparked the idea. What if we can actually do the opposite? Make sure that even if a small part of the shields is under heavy attack, then we could redistribute a surgical power boost where it needs to be in order to deflect the energy.”

Chris didn’t like the idea of giving over control of his brain, but he liked the idea of them losing this battle, and potentially the war, even less. There was no real choice here, if he needed to put his life and mind on the line to win the fight, that’s what he would do. He also knew without a shadow of a doubt that if his father had been here, he wouldn’t hesitate either.

“Alright, let’s do it, but so I’m not fully taken by surprise, what sort of side effects do you think I’ll be experiencing?”

“I wish I knew, I just finished building my prototype two minutes ago, I can’t run a simulation since it’s missing the main component.”

“In this case, my brain.”

“Correct.”

“Okay, but can you at least theorize?”

“I think it will suppress most of your senses, and primal emotions and deep…and I mean really deep parts of your subconscious might be accessible then.”

“I’m no neurobiologist and I don’t know what all you’ve just said means, can you explain it more simply? Pretend I’m not an engineer.”

“Again, I have no way of knowing what you’ll experience, but if I had to guess, I’d say visions, nightmares, powerful sensations that you wouldn’t usually feel during your waking life. Those sorts of things. But because you have more powers than most, especially mental ones, I can’t predict what other things might come to the surface during the experience.”

Well, I suppose it will have to be a surprise, then.

The nearest Droxian ship on the port bow exploded and shook the Hope.

“It’s not like we have a choice. What do I do?”

“I’m gonna need you here, to plug you in as well as monitor you. I suggest you relinquish command of the fleet and then beam directly to Engineering.”

Chris took a deep breath. “Understood. I’ll be there shortly.”

* * *

“What the hell do you mean we don’t have to teleport out of here? Explain, but talk fast,” asked Ryonna.

“This isn’t real,” said Yanis. “It’s an impressive use of holograms. In fact, they are way more advanced than our own holo-room tech. But still holograms.”

“And you’re certain of that?” said Menelas, keeping an eye on the approaching creatures.

“Fairly certain, yes.”

“Fairly isn’t going to be good enough if you’re wrong,” protested Ryonna. “Then what?”

“In the unlikely event I’m wrong, then Ares can still teleport us away.”

“What’s left of us,” added Menelas. “Ryonna, since you’re in charge, it’s your call.”

Ryonna gazed into Yanis’s eyes. What she saw in them was conviction.

“Alright, then, let’s give Yanis’s idea a try. Ares, in case our resident genius is wrong, be ready to teleport us away.”

“Understood,” said Ares.

The creatures approached them slowly, and now that Menelas and Ryonna had stopped attacking the one that came from the front of the group, its main eye had turned back to a deep blue coloring.

“There’s something that bothers me with the theory,” said Ares.

You could cut the tension with a knife as everyone was pacing to see what would happen next.

“What’s that?” asked Yanis.

“If the first drone outside identified us as a non-threat, why are we facing this now? Especially if its holographic in nature.”

“I have to admit…I don’t know. Maybe it’s a secondary security system in case someone runs underground when the drones approach?”

“That doesn’t make any sense,” protested Ryonna. “If that was the case, then why would these things not use the same scanning of our subcutaneous ID? And, in this case, they shouldn’t keep coming at us.”

“Except that they may be detecting my presence after all,” said Ares. “Remember, I don’t have an ID. The portals may have been upgraded to let me through but not the rest of the tech we encountered beyond them. Even if it’s of Atlantian design.”

“Doesn’t seem likely,” said Yanis. “Plus, you left the area and the creature was still approaching us. And why is it coming at us so slowly? That doesn’t make any sense, I maintain that we’re not in danger, my readings tell me this is holographic in nature.”

“Can’t holograms hurt?” asked Ryonna. “If Chase is using the technology to train, it means there’s an exchange of matter and energy at work.”

“Correct, you can emulate matter with holograms.”

“So why in gods name,” said Ryonna, “would you conclude that because they’re holograms, there’s no danger?”

There was an uncomfortable silence until Yanis answered.

“Screw this, Ares, get us the hell out of here.”

At that moment, the creatures darted forward at a high speed, and before Ares could do anything, they passed through the entire group from both sides. Ryonna, Yanis, and Menelas all fell to the ground, losing consciousness.

“Ahhh, shit!!” exclaimed Ares.

16

After slashing through the Spectre, Chase turned around to see tendrils shooting between the equal halves, trying to mend Asrak.

“Oh, hell no!” screamed Chase.

He infused his other arm with energy, effectively doubling the number of slashing energy swords. He then darted toward the mending Spectre and hacked and slashed Asrak over and over, cutting the Spectre into multiple pieces.

It happened so fast that the pieces of dark flesh stayed in the air with thousands of tendrils shooting around rapidly, trying to maintain some sort of cohesion. Chase kept slashing, increasing speed and energy levels, but more tendrils were created the moment his arms-turned-energy-swords went through flesh and bone.

Now would be a good time to let it burn, said Hades in his mind.

Chase levitated away from the tendril and flesh-blob, aimed his left palm toward the reconstructing Spectre body, and unleashed multiple fireballs. Upon exploding, the tendril chunks were blown away only for them to get caught by more shooting tendrils, bringing them back. It felt like a race to see who would be the fastest, Chase with his attacks or Asrak with his regeneration.

While still firing attacks by the dozens with one hand, Chase created another super-concentrated fireball in the other. A similar attack as he had used earlier when he had taken the Spectre’s arm and shoulder clean off. It was taking more time, however, as half of his energy was focused on keeping ahead of the Spectre’s fast regenerative powers.

These things are incredibly hard to kill, thought Chase. But I can feel…I’m almost there.

It took another minute and then the super-charged fireball was ready.

Chase smiled. “Time for you to rejoin your brother, motherfucker!”

Chase stopped firing the smaller attacks long enough for him to use both his hands to manipulate the stronger energy attack. He held the crackling super-charged energy fireball between his hands and then aimed both of them forward, increasing his aura to the maximum. He fired dead center at the blob that was still trying to retake a humanoid form.

Dad! Watch out! screamed Kharon in his mind.

A yellow fireball impacted with his attack, altering its trajectory by mere inches, but that was enough for it to impact on the head of the reforming blob and not the center of gravity that Chase had aimed for in order to inflict maximum damage.

Upon impact, the fireball consumed the entire upper body of the humanoid Spectre blob, leaving only legs and part of its hips. At that moment, Chase felt another attack hit him in the chest, and it sent him crashing to the ground.

The attack knocked the wind out of him, and Chase gasped for air. He fought through the radiating pain around his solar plexus and looked up toward the source of the attack that had brought him down.

The female Spectre was sauntering toward Asrak, a wide smile across her face.

* * *

“Thor, I need you to take over the fleet,” said Chris.

“Why? Is everything alright?” asked Thor.

“Yes, don’t worry, but Kvasir needs my help to boost all of our shields, which I’m sure you have noticed is something we could use right about now.”

“Indeed.”

“Well, long story short, the deployment of that technology will pretty much paralyze me from doing anything else.”

Thor growled. “I see Kvasir is back to his old tricks in deploying questionable research.”

“I’m not sure I like the sound of that. But I don’t think we have a choice under the circumstances.”

“I suppose we don’t. Good luck with whatever crazy invention Kvasir has devised for you. I’d rather not know the specifics, as I fear I’d convince you against using it. I’ll take care of the battle during your absence. I just pray it’s not a permanent handover.”

Chris swallowed hard. “So do I.”

The holo-screen turned off, and Chris brought up the transporter controls on his holo-screen and paused.

Athena? Can you hear me?

Chris was getting worried about his grandmother. But like all the other times he had tried contacting her since the Aegis had become disabled, there was no answer.

The ships he had sent to provide cover to the Aegis had managed to tractor her ship away from the middle of the battle, but he worried she could be mortally wounded. He extended his consciousness and could sense her life force, but it was faint and dwindling.

Chris opened a channel to the Phoenix and Ronan’s face soon filled the holo-screen.

“What can I do for you?” said Ronan as nearby flashes and sparks flew in front of him.

“Looks like you’re already busy.”

“Not more than any other ship in the fleet.”

“Right…I have a favor to ask of you.”

“I’m listening.”

* * *

“What took you so long?” asked Kvasir the moment Chris beamed into Engineering.

“Sorry about that. Had a couple of calls to make before relinquishing my position.”

Chris noticed a chair with hundreds of wires converging into its base from all over the Engineering room.

“I take it,” added Chris, “that this is the device?”

“Correct, if you’ll be so kind as to take a seat. I’ll take care of the rest.”

While he decided not to voice his concerns, Chris didn’t exactly feel comfortable getting his mind squeezed to lemon juice by a machine, but with no news from Chase and Argos, and the battle not looking good outside, he had accepted that a crazy experiment was perhaps the only option available.

“You’re sure this is gonna work?” asked Chris.

“Fairly sure, yes. But with every tech, especially untested ones, there’s always a risk.”

Chris grimaced. “Right.”

Chris sat in the contraption, and wires shot from around his temples and connected with his skin before piercing it.

“Ouch,” he complained.

“Sorry, but that’s necessary. Try to relax. Well…I guess that probably wasn’t the best choice of words here.”

“Why?”

“You’re about to find out.”

“I have to say I’m not brimming with confidence on this one.”

“Networking complete. All capable ships to interpret the shield boost technology algorithm are ready to receive. We’re good to go.”

“Huh…okay, but did you hear what I just said?”

Kvasir looked straight at Chris. “I have, my friend. I’m really, really, sorry for the discomfort you’ll experience next.”

Chris was about to ask for details on what Kvasir meant, but then it felt as if millions of volts shot in between his eyes. He lost his sight immediately, and the rest of his senses were gone shortly after.

The amount of mental pressure he felt was like nothing he had ever experienced. It quickly shot past what Chris had considered his threshold for pain. And he felt like he was in the center of a black hole, unable to get his bearings, barely remembering who he was or why he even existed.

* * *

“Report!” ordered Thor.

“The new shields optimization is coming online,” answered his tactical officer. “You have to see it to believe it!”

“How so?”

“It’s hard to explain, but energy drain from enemy fire has dropped sixty-seven percent, and I think it’s still improving.”

“Very well, we don’t know how long Kvasir will be able to run this and for the fleet to maintain this advantage, so we’d better use that window of opportunity while it’s there. Instruct the upgraded ships to follow my targeting orders to the letter, and since our ships are now less prone to damage, let’s use the power efficiently. Redirect thirty percent of the shields and all of the hyperspace engines power to the weapons.”

“That will force us to take the hyperspace capabilities of our ships offline, which means we won’t be able to jump for at least sixty seconds in these conditions.”

“I’m very well aware of that, we don’t need to micro jump anymore with these upgraded shields. We do, however, need to obliterate the enemy quickly so we can destroy the gate before it can reestablish a multidimensional bridge and allow the enemy to send reinforcements.”

Time, thought Thor, very much like pentalium, is now a rare resource in limited quantity, and we must make sure we don’t squander any.

“Understood, my king. Message relayed, power modifications online.”

“Fire at will, let’s see how tough the enemy vessels last under these new conditions.”

The Odin increased its rate of fire, and soon, all the upgraded destroyers in the fleet combined their firepower toward Thor’s designated target.

After a minute of pounding the first Spectre destroyer, its shields gave in and hundreds of plasma discharges and dozens of torpedoes impacted with its armor and multiple explosions threw off hull-plating pieces of the ship. A few seconds later, the entire Spectre destroyer cracked into pieces before exploding in a bright white light, illuminating the Odin’s panoramic viewport.

“Now we’re talking,” said Thor.

17

Chase coughed hard and spat large amounts of blood onto the cold floor of the enemy ship. The female Spectre attack had not only taken him by surprise but also had inflicted some major internal bleeding on top of breaking part of his ribcage, which Chase was now healing.

Meanwhile, thousands of flailing black tendrils had shot from the lower body of Asrak in order to begin the relentless reconstruction of his upper body.

Once healed, Chase stood back on his feet and watched in horror as Asrak’s body mended itself. He had missed his window of opportunity to finish off the Spectre, and now there would be two of them to fight while Argos was still lying unconscious nearby.

After expending so much energy trying to take down Asrak, Chase didn’t see how he could take care of both of them. Doubt and fear spread through his psyche like a deadly poison.

“Who the fuck are you?” Chase asked. “That was cowardly of you to intervene in such a fashion. Don’t you have any warrior pride?”

Ashra’Lur smiled. “Pride doesn’t win wars as you’ll soon discover. As per your initial question, my name is Ashra’Lur. And today is the day you and your brother die.”

Asrak’s body was almost fully regenerated. His face morphed into shape, his eyes being the last to be reconstructed. They glowed red as he growled.

“You’re going to pay for this,” he spat, pointing at Chase.

“You’re welcome,” said Ashra’Lur.

He barely acknowledged her and walked toward Chase.

“That was quite impressive, especially for a Fury.”

“You’ll find I’m full of surprises.”

“Unfortunately for you, now that I know what you’re capable of, I won’t give you another chance. I believe you’ve figured that one out already.”

Chase had. He was as furious about the situation as he was afraid that the battle was probably over. It was only a matter of how and when, but with Asrak fully recovered and Ashra’Lur now at his side and entering the fight, there was little to no hope left.

“Thank you for your assist,” said Asrak, “but you stay out of what comes next,” he added without even deigning to look at Ashra’Lur.

“Understood,” she grunted coldly.

“This has been a very different day than I imagined,” said Asrak with a grin as he stopped at arms length from Chase. “But like all good things, it must come to an end.”

“You can gloat all you want, and maybe this fight will soon be over, but at least I can tell that I beat you! If your friend had not intervened, you’d be dead meat by now, like your fucking brother.”

Asrak’s eyes flashed red as he unleashed a crushing jab at Chase’s face, sending him stumbling back. Chase straightened himself and spat blood on the ground.

“The truth hurts, doesn’t it? You’re lucky you’re not dead.”

Asrak flashed a fist forward and screamed. “But I’m not dead, and you will be soon!”

Then Asrak’s head detached from his body and spun in the air. There was as much surprise in the Spectre’s eyes as there was in Chase’s as he witnessed Ashra’Lur decapitate him.

Asrak’s head rolled near Chase’s feet. It still spoke. “How dare yo⁠—”

But then a dark purple fireball incinerated it on the spot. Tendrils shot from Asrak’s neck, but Ashra’Lur cut them in a swift move and kicked the headless body down. She opened her hand and a siphon Chase immediately recognized created in the center of her palm.

“The day has finally come,” said Ashra’Lur, “for me to become the strongest Spectre that ever lived.”

Chase took a defensive stance, readying himself and his soul, but he soon realized that he wasn’t the target of the soul-siphoning process, Asrak was. Soul after soul exited the Spectre’s body from his neck and flew into her palm, one by one getting swallowed by the mini black hole.

With every soul she swallowed, her eyes glowed red, and Chase could sense the power-up in energy within her as she did. Some souls only marginally enhanced her energy levels as others gave her massive amounts of power.

“That’s it,” she exclaimed. “Give them to me…give me all your souls!”

Chase swallowed hard at the realization that she would soon be stronger than anything he had ever faced.

* * *

Ares looked around and noticed the creatures had disappeared. He quickly checked the rest of the team. They were still breathing, but even after calling their names, none of them would wake up.

Ares decided he needed a way to affect matter, so he took control over Yanis’s body since he was the least likely to have the mental power to fight him. Though Ares suspected that none of them where in a state to prevent him from using his body-snatching power.

He rose as Yanis and checked the pulse of the other two members. He used Yanis’s wrist device and brought the medical scanner online. He read the scan’s prognosis on the holo-screen.

Comatose.

That didn’t bode well. But there wasn’t much he could do about it, and he made a mental note to ask Chris to consider assigning a field doctor for future missions. That was, if they managed to get out of this one alive. If anyone on this team died, something told Ares that Chase might not allow more portal-hopping activities any time soon.

Fortunately, their life signs didn’t seem to be at further risk, so Ares had a decision to make.

Either grab them and go back through the portal, which he was pretty sure would be standard procedure in such a situation, but then again, he now knew he was impervious to the effect of the holograms, or he could use his non-corporeal form to try to see if he could find anything useful, which, after all, had been the reason why they had come here.

He checked the map on Yanis’s holo-device and took a minute to memorize the map as best he could. He could teleport back here at any time simply by focusing on any of their life forces. At the same time, he would be able to sense if they fluctuated.

When Ares thought he had a good mental picture of the underground tunnels, he released his hold on Yanis, who fell to the ground with an unceremonious thump.

Oops, I’d better lie down on the ground next time I do that.

Ares hoped he wasn’t making a big mistake in trying to continue the mission on his own. Hopefully, his teammates would emerge from their coma soon enough, and if that wasn’t the case by the time he returned, then he’d have to bring them back to the Earth Alliance.

He could also have used Yanis’s body to continue, but he decided it would be better to continue in his invisible form in order to avoid anymore booby traps. The next one could prove lethal, and he couldn’t risk the life of his teammate.

* * *

Chris’s mind felt like a trillion voices screamed inside his head, which in turn, felt like they were devouring it. He had never felt anything remotely like it ever before.

This is horrible. If I survive, I’ll kick Kvasir’s ass.

At least Chris hoped that his current predicament, which was pretty much the most intense form of torture he had ever been subjected to, was helping the fleet outside. With his senses completely overloaded, he had no way of knowing.

One of the things he also lost the moment he interfaced with the chair was any notion of time. Had it been a minute, an hour, or a day? He couldn’t tell. Kvasir had mentioned sixty minutes as an approximate limit, but in this convoluted state of consciousness, Chris felt like it had been much longer, which didn’t bode well per how long he’d have to endure this.

He hated being in total darkness regarding what was happening in the battle or knowing anything about his surroundings. He tried focusing on lowering the amount of screaming voices he heard in his mind, and that had an unexpected result.

All of a sudden, he could see again. But what he saw made very little sense. He was on a small path made of translucent light in the middle of the universe. Looking around, he saw that there were intersections ahead, and some paths disappeared into the unknown, too far for his sight to see, while others led to nearby planets. He could see two clear paths from his current position, including the one he was currently on, that led to two different worlds.

One of the worlds was a yellow-orange planet, not too different from Erevos in terms of looks, and the other one at the end of his current light path led to a blue-purple planet.

I wonder if these are the sorts of hallucinations that Kvasir had mentioned.

He much preferred this sensory experience over the previous one, so he decided to see where the paths led. That was until he took his first step toward the blue-purple world. His body was siphoned into the light pathway as if he had been demolecularized one atom at a time, and he traveled toward that planet at incredible speeds. He was now a bodiless stream of energy, albeit one that he was aware of, and felt the feedback for every one of the atoms in the stream.

The sensation was too alien for Chris to understand, he just knew he didn’t enjoy it one bit. Still, at that moment, he wondered if this was somewhat similar to how Ares felt since he had lost his body.

Once he approached the planet, he felt his atoms reform into a corporeal body as he stared at the planet below, floating in space. It didn’t take long for the planet’s gravity to grasp him, and he began freefalling toward the surface.

18

As more and more souls traveled from Asrak to Ashra’Lur, the male Spectre body was atrophying and collapsing in on itself as if its life force was being sucked away from its flesh and bones, which Chase suspected was exactly what was happening.

It made sense since Spectres thrived on living souls for their primary source of energy. That’s probably why it was so hard to kill them with normal means such as energy-based attacks. That would only weaken the flesh part of their body while their primal source of energy—souls—were still able to provide the fuel to recreate and regenerate the body’s building blocks.

Perhaps a good tactic, if Chase and Argos survived the day, would be to figure out a way to attack their primal source of energy, the souls themselves. Chase wondered if Section Alpha’s intel had something to do with that.

Hopefully, his father and Ryonna’s team would figure out a way to help Spiros access that research. Because, as far as Chase could tell, fighting the Spectres the way they were going at it was not only incredibly difficult but also, what if, gods forbid, the Spectres opened the super gate and millions more of their kind bled through to their dimension.

When the last soul detached from whatever thin blob of incohesive black flesh was left on the ground and assimilated by Ashra’Lur, the skin flash-turned into a gray and dry carbon mass for a moment before collapsing into a pile of ash.

Asrak’Vor was no more.

“Thank you for your assistance,” said Ashra’Lur as she cracked her neck multiple times on each side. “All that power, it’s intoxicating.”

Chase could sense the amount of power she was referring to, and that scared the hell out of him. She had already bested him before, which meant after spending more than half his energy pool fighting Asrak’Vor for what seemed to amount to nothing, how was he supposed to defeat such a monster?

“Then, again,” she continued with greed in her eyes, “the two most powerful souls that will truly turn me into a Spectre-god still remain.”

“I would think you would be full after eating so many.”

“It’s a Spectre thing, you never really run out of an appetite for souls.”

“I guess I’ll have to trust you on that, but I have no intention of being added to the menu, no offense.”

She laughed out loud. “I don’t know what’s funnier. Whether you think you have a chance to save your pathetic life, or that you think I would be stupid enough to even give you a choice.”

Chase quickly glanced at Argos and realized that in his state, his brother would be easy prey. He would have to send a strong signal to the Spectre that if he were to fall today, he wouldn’t do it without a fight.

Chase concentrated as much energy as he could from within to make his aura burn brighter than it had all day. His muscles doubled in size, his veins throbbed, and he unleashed a deafening war cry before launching himself toward Ashra’Lur.

* * *

Grunhild arrived around the Gorgar planet’s orbit and stepped near the viewport of the Aegir Three, crossing her arms over her chest. Her eyes filled with blue energy as her color-matched aura danced all around.

Pulsating waves of blue energy expanded beyond the limits of the ships and bathed the northern hemisphere of the planet, radiating in slow but steady waves.

Siegfried had been right, Gorgar truly had frail minds, and it was child’s play for her to invade them. So much so, in fact, that she could affect thousands of them simultaneously with almost no effort on her part.

A few minutes later, her aura died down and she smiled. She opened a subspace link to the Balder.

“I’ve done as you requested,” she said.

“Very good. And you’re certain you can control them all in the way I’ve instructed?”

“I said it’s done, haven’t I?”

“Then once you’ve set the plan in motion, you should join us.”

“Where?”

“Well, where else, Asgard, of course. It’s time to teach our forefathers a lesson they soon won’t forget.”

“Understood. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

Grunhild waited until the first ships left orbit and joined the position next to the Aegir Three. Once she was satisfied with the numbers forming the small fleet, she ordered the computer to set a course to Asgard.

* * *

The ground was approaching fast, and Chris didn’t understand why he couldn’t fly or stop his descent in any way. If nothing changed, he would crash at terminal velocity after a free fall from orbit. It was doubtful even his Fury body would make it no matter how strong he was.

Even though he had lost all external sensory capacities, Chris still remembered the talk he had with Kvasir before all of this began. None of this was real, and he was still in the chair, improving the fleet’s shields efficiency, and what he was experiencing was just a side effect.

But Chris couldn’t shake the feeling that whatever he saw and felt was no mere hallucination. In fact, no matter how faint it was, he did feel something similar to this experience once before in his life. Chris remembered that day down to every last detail. Even though he hadn’t been born back then.

The day he had communicated with his mother from within her womb to try to get a vision from the future. Back then, he had proposed to sacrifice his life to save Chase in order to win the Fury War, but Sarah had refused to let him do it.

Moments before Chris was about to crash head first into the ground in the middle of a rocky mountain area, his body stabilized on its own. He slowed down and flipped before his feet gently made contact with the ground.

Two shadows could be seen in the distance, they were fighting and firing fireballs at each other in what looked like a fight to the death. Chris was too far away to distinguish anything but blurry shadows, but he could sense the ferocity and power they each possessed. While they had very different energies, they also felt complementary.

Before Chris could try to move forward to shorten the distance that separated him from the fierce battle, he was instantly teleported closer as if in answer to his need to see the participants clearly.

They were still shadows, and their voices were muffled, which didn’t give Chris any information as per their identities or what they were saying. They fought like Furies, though, even if Chris knew he couldn’t make that leap in deduction with only what he was seeing. However, something deep within told him that it was more than just a hunch on his part.

The shadows fought each other fiercely as if they were intent on killing each other, and while Chris couldn’t see their faces or hear their arguments, he could sense some of their emotions. That’s when a third shadow, a female, tried to intervene and was hit by one of the attacks. Her body disintegrated.

That’s…that’s Chase and Argos, that’s the scene my uncle told me about!

What did that mean? Chris wondered. Was he seeing the past? But then the sun shot through the sky and night came quickly, and before Chris could get his bearings, the sun shot past again and again. In fact, the night and day cycle accelerated to such speeds that the result was one blinding strobe light that made Chris’s head spin.

He fell on all fours and puked.

The impossibly fast spinning of the planet slowed down progressively, and eventually, time resumed its pace. It was late at night and the sky was beautiful. A distant galaxy, unmistakable to Chris, was the star of the nightly sky spectacle—the Milky Way. This told Chris that this vision, if this was indeed one, had a link with either Earth or the Earth Alliance.

There were three moons in the sky, a purple one, a red one, and a yellow one. They were pretty close to one another and had similar surfaces. The first two were close together and, from what Chris could tell, were the exact same sizes. The third moon, the yellow one, was slightly larger and at a distance. The two shadows reappeared in front of Chris, standing next to each other just under the sky with the three moons shining in the night. They weren’t moving anymore, just standing there and facing him.

A comet shot through the yellow moon and was on its way toward Chris.

What the hell does this all mean?

“Who are you?” asked Chris to the two shadows.

But there was no answer. Chris felt a knot form in his stomach, he didn’t know why, but he could sense something terrible was happening, even though he didn’t know what it was.

“Please talk to me?” insisted Chris. “Who are you? What is this place? And what do you want from me?”

Nothing happened.

The only thing Chris could feel through this entire experience was that it felt familiar to that moment back in his mother’s womb. Could it be that his power of foresight was still buried deep within him? Chris had not received any visions of possible future timelines or even hints that he still had access to his prenatal power of foresight.

But Kvasir had mentioned that whatever he would experience could be related to deep-buried parts of his subconscious.

Was that what was going on? Was he somehow tapping into his power of foresight buried deep within his mind? And if that were the case, what was it trying to tell him?

Chris didn’t know, but he could sense that it was important. Even though he didn’t understand the imagery presented to him, he could only hope that as the vision unfolded, he would receive more clues.

What struck Chris was the shadows looked identical. That was another clue that perhaps whatever he was seeing had a link with Chase and Argos being twin brothers. After all, Chris was now pretty certain that the previous scene involving them had been the scene his uncle had recounted to him before the mission. Perhaps that meant that anything he saw in these visions wasn’t to be trusted, and his subconscious was just drawing a mental picture of things that were still fresh in his mind.

The ground shook so hard that it felt as if the entire planet was trembling as a result of a planet-wide earthquake, which threatened to break it to pieces. The ground cracked all around Chris, and he had a hard time keeping his balance.

The two shadows moved toward one another, but they weren’t walking, they moved like cardboard cutouts, which looked truly bizarre, considering that minutes earlier they were fighting and moving like normal beings.

They eventually merged into a single shadow, which triggered something in the night sky. Chris looked up and witnessed the red moon disintegrate into a flux of small particles being siphoned by the yellow moon as the flow of particles transferred to it, and it grew larger in size. Meanwhile, the comet was also growing in size as it approached Chris’s position.

What did that comet represent? Why is it hurtling toward me?

It wouldn’t be long before it arrived to where Chris stood, and perhaps then, he would get some answers.

19

Ares had visited four rooms up until now, all of them labs of some kind, but nothing stood out to him, even though he wasn’t an engineer, and he’d probably need Yanis to take a closer look to be sure.

He couldn’t sense any fluctuation in his teammates life signs, which he didn’t know what to make of that. On the one hand, things hadn’t worsened, but they hadn’t improved either. Ares had already tried contacting Menelas telepathically multiple times, but so far, without success.

Ares was now heading toward the last room from the memorized schematics. If that one didn’t yield any results, it would be time to head back to New Kyria, and from there, possibly back to Alkyon One or the nearest Alliance Starbase to have a doctor check the team.

The Olympian felt remorse about leaving them unconscious in the tunnels, but it seemed like whatever this place was, it had to hold some importance, seeing as they had triggered not one but two automated defense systems.

Ares entered the last remaining lab, and this time, something different happened. Lights turned on as his consciousness stepped in, which didn’t make any sense. He was non-corporeal as well as invisible at the moment.

How could the lab have detected his presence? The only thing that made sense to him would be that whoever had built this place had knowledge of non-corporeal beings and the ability to detect them. If that were the case, then he would have to investigate thoroughly.

As the light turned on fully, it revealed a mostly empty lab, similar to the previous ones, but there was one thing that set it apart. At the very far end of the room was a pod connected to large tubes and numerous cables running on the ground and disappearing inside the wall behind the pod.

Ares approached the pod, still without revealing his energy form, and peeked through the small round window. It was covered with condensation, but Ares managed to see an elderly man inside the pod.

What did that mean? It looked like he was in suspended animation, but the question that really tickled Ares’s mind was whether or not he could be an Atlantian.

If that were the case, then that man could potentially hold many answers. It crossed Ares’s mind that the fact he was in suspended animation had to be for a reason. Not that Ares could do much about it since he couldn’t interact with the pod’s control even if he wanted to.

His instincts, though, told him that even if he could activate the sequence to unfreeze the man, he shouldn’t do it. He couldn’t really say why, but the suggestion was strong.

I do need to know for sure if he’s an Atlantian, though.

And there was a way for Ares to try to make contact with that man’s brain, or at the very least, his subconscious. When taking control of unconscious bodies in the past, Ares had sometimes felt their subconscious trying to communicate with him, it usually was a weak reflex from the mind to try to protect the body from his invasions, but the attempts, when they presented themselves, had been easily repelled by Ares’s mental strength.

Of course, Ares had never tried the process on someone who was in suspended animation. And while he had no idea if it would work or even be dangerous for him to attempt it, he felt compelled to try.

Perhaps if Ares actually tried to enter and connect with the man’s subconscious, he could get some answers. He didn’t like the idea of attempting that without at least one member of the team present to monitor what would happen, but because this wasn’t an option, Ares decided to proceed anyway.

Here goes nothing.

* * *

Ronan stepped onto the bridge of the Olympian destroyer Aegis, or more accurately, what was left of it.

The damage to the bridge was extensive. Parts of the ceiling had collapsed inside the large command room, and considering the state of the room, it was pure luck that the life support was still working.

Through the partially blocked viewport, Ronan could see the battle raging outside. While he didn’t know what had changed since Chris had asked him to locate and help Athena, a major change had tipped the balance of power in favor of the Alliance.

Ronan gestured toward the two officers he had taken with him on his away team.

“Try to locate any survivors, but Athena is the priority. We’ll try to save others if we can, but we may have to wait until the battle is over.”

“Understood,” said one of his officers.

“Aye, Captain,” added the other.

“Athena?” shouted Ronan. “If you can hear us, please let us know where you are.”

No one answered. If she was still alive, as Chris believed her to be, she probably was unconscious.

Ronan had a hard time making his way to the center of the room, where he presumed the captain’s chair would be located unless the Olympians’ bridges weren’t similar to Droxian ships. It was, after all, the first time he stepped foot onto one of these mythical ships.

Until the Fury War, there had been so few sightings of presumed Olympian ships, that for most people, their existence had reversed back into myth and legends. It was only when they made contact with Chase and revealed themselves that they resumed roaming the stars freely, like they had thousands of years ago.

That had cost their people nearly everything: their world, most of their population, and Zeus himself had ultimately been killed by Fury Supreme Commander Arakan. Ronan, like all Droxians, could empathize with the fate of the Olympians, since Arakan, whether or not a puppet for the Spectres back then, had also been responsible for the near destruction of his home world and the extermination of millions of Droxian lives.

Ronan found a terminal that while still damaged had a mostly working holo-screen, albeit flickering wildly. There was an Earth Alliance icon inside the Olympian HUI (Holographic User Interface), and Ronan touched it. A login screen displayed, and Ronan entered his credentials.

“I—Iden—Identity Cooooon—firmed,” said a very laggy and stuttering computer voice.

“Show Athena’s location.”

The 3D holo-map was so blurry and flickering that it took Ronan a little bit of time to pinpoint the position of the dot on the map. According to the sensors, she wasn’t on the bridge but the nearby captain’s ready room.

After climbing multiple obstacles, Ronan walked toward the door and stopped abruptly when he realized that the door didn’t open automatically, preventing him from smashing into it.

“Computer, emergency override of the captain’s ready room.”

“You—y—you—are—are—no—not—aut—horized,” stuttered the computer voice, which kept modulating at different frequencies and pitch.

“It’s a medical emergency, override now.”

“N—ne—negative.”

Ronan brought his own portable holo-screen online and opened a link to the Hope.

“I need to speak to Kvasir, it’s urgent.”

The Asgardian appeared on his hovering holo-screen but Kvasir wasn’t looking directly at the holo-cam.

“I don’t exactly have time to take any calls right now,” said Kvasir. “But what can I do for you, Captain…”

“Isch’ys,” said Ronan.

That seemed to get the Asgardian’s attention.

“That name’s familiar. Are you by any chance Ryonna’s son?”

“I am indeed, and I need your help. Chris asked me to rescue Athena, but I can’t get past the security locks on her ready room, and the computer is pretty useless at the moment.”

“I see. Did you happen to bring a universal subspace transmitter with you?”

“Yes as it’s standard procedure.”

“Very well, place it near the door controls and transmit its subspace frequency to me, please.”

Ronan placed the small round transmitter as instructed and scanned its quantum code, which contained the serial number, subspace frequency, and a flurry of other data. Ronan embedded them into the holo-transmission.

“Thank you, Ronan. It will just be a minute.”

“What’s going on outside? Something seems to have changed.”

“Thanks to Chris and an invention I devised, we’ve managed to make our shields much more resilient to the Spectres weaponry, and that, indeed, has given us an edge.”

“I see.”

Until now, Ronan hadn’t noticed the young man in a chair behind Kvasir. He looked in a tremendous amount of pain and distress. Ronan zoomed his feed and saw it was Chris.

“What the hell are you doing to him?” exclaimed Ronan. “He looks like he’s being tortured.”

“I suppose on some level that’s exactly what’s happening, but don’t worry, Chris has volunteered for this, he knows what’s expected of him.”

“I sure hope for your sake he doesn’t get hurt, I don’t think his father would forgive you if he did.”

“And while I have similar concerns, if we all died today, I don’t think that would be received any better, not to mention with pretty much ninety-five percent of our destroyers present in this assault, if we lose today’s fight, we may very well lose the war altogether. Hang on, I’m just about done, the door should open right…about…”

The doors of Athena’s ready room split open slightly but jammed.

“Now.”

“They’ve jammed.”

“There’s not much I can do about that from here, it’s probably debris preventing the mechanism from working, you’ll have to force your way in.”

“Stay on the line.”

“I thought I had conveyed how busy I am at the moment, perhaps you can call me back if the need arises?”

“You stay on the line!” insisted Ronan.

“You’re definitely your mother’s son. Very well.”

Ronan called the two officers for more muscle, but the door wouldn’t budge.

“Kvasir, can you use the transmitter to check if the Aegis’s transporters are still operational?”

“Hang on…”

There was a short pause.

“I suppose calling them operational is a bit of a stretch, but a short transport should be achievable.”

Ronan looked inside the room between the small opening of the doors and evaluated the distance as best he could.

“Can you beam me thirteen feet to the right and nine feet forward from my current position?”

“I can, but if you rematerialize in the middle of a bulkhead, don’t come complaining to me.”

“Understood. Do you mind if I ask you something, though?”

“Not at all, what?”

“Are you always this charming? Or is this a special occasion?”

“Sorry, I guess the amount of focus required not to fry Chris’s brain makes me a little cranky.”

Fry his brain? I really don’t like the sound of that, and I think neither will Chase.

“Do your best. I’ll probably also need you to beam us out from the ship.”

“The Aegis’s transporter doesn’t have that kind of power at the moment. I’m afraid you’ll have to find another way out of there. At best, I can transport you and perhaps another person out of the room and back to the bridge.”

“Understood, ready for transport.”

Ronan’s body was engulfed in golden light streaks, and he rematerialized on the other side of the doors. That’s when he saw her, or more precisely, her arm dangling under debris from the collapsed ceiling. Blood dripped from her hand into a sizeable pool on the floor.

Ronan proceeded to climb over the obstacles between him and her desk and looked through the debris to see if Athena had been crushed or impaled by the wreckage. He took her pulse on her dangling arm and was relieved to find a pulse, however faint.

“Athena, can you hear me?”

But she was probably unconscious.

Ronan scanned the buried desk with his holo-device and couldn’t see any debris going through her body, but that didn’t mean she was safe to transport. If his reading of her life signs was any indication, he couldn’t afford to wait. If they didn’t get her into a regen tank within minutes, she would die.

“I’ve located her, she’s in really bad shape. Can you get a lock on her and beam her back to where I was on the bridge?”

“I can’t seem to get a lock, do you have the ability to make physical contact with her?”

“Yes, her arm is within reach.”

“Then grab it, and I’ll beam the two of you back.”

Ronan grabbed Athena’s hand, it was colder than he expected. “Ready.”

When Ronan rematerialized on the bridge, Athena lay on the floor and was losing a lot of blood.

“Quick!” he shouted at his officers. “Help me get her back to the Phoenix.”

20

Chase unleashed a flurry of fireballs at Ashra’Lur, who in turn didn’t even move to dodge or deflect the attacks. Instead, the fireballs froze in place an inch away from impacting with her skin.

Her eyes glowed red, and the attack returned toward Chase, albeit at faster velocities. At least two-dozen fireballs hit his body and sent him crashing to the floor.

His entire body ached, and his head throbbed so much he had a hard time keeping his eyes open.

Son of a bitch! How the hell did she do that?

Chase struggled to get back up, but before he could, he felt a large amount of telekinetic energy lift his entire body, his feet dangling a few inches from the floor. He tried to break the telekinetic hold, but he was too weak to break free.

“I’m afraid that even on your best day, and with the help of all your friends, you would have struggled to defeat me. However, in your current state, and with the influx of power I’ve just assimilated, you don’t stand a chance in hell to even scratch me.”

Even if she was telling the truth, Chase couldn’t accept defeat. How could he? With Argos still unconscious, if he didn’t dig deep and find the strength to defeat her, both he and his brother’s life would be forfeited.

Worse still, if Ashra’Lur acquired their souls, she’d truly become unstoppable. There was no way Chris or Menelas, heck even an entire army of warriors, could stop someone that had as much power as she would yield if she succeeded in adding their souls to the equation.

That’s when it became clear to Chase what he had to do. Even if he didn’t survive the day, he couldn’t let Ashra’Lur steal their souls. Argos had mentioned earlier that if they breached the ship’s armor while in hyperspace, they might all die from the resulting explosion. But, first, Chase needed to break free of her telekinetic hold.

“Very well, if you’re going to rip my soul from me, can you at least grant me the dignity of letting me stand on my feet when that happens.”

Ashra’Lur cocked her head to the side while considering his request.

“I suppose there’s no harm in that. After all, you helped me kill that fool Asrak. I suppose I owe you that much. It’s not like you are in any position to do any damage, anyway. I do, however, suggest that you pray to whichever deity you believe in, as I’m sure you’ve realized by now, you’re taking your last breath as a flesh and blood Fury.”

Trust me, I’m all too aware of that but what you don’t realize just yet is that we both have that in common.

Chase concentrated as much energy as he could in the fingers of his right hand, but to make sure it didn’t show, he kept the energy focused just under his skin. He would only get one shot at this, and he couldn’t afford to waste the last and only chance he had to take her out, even if that meant they would all perish in the process.

I don’t think you can hear me, brother. I’m sorry…I don’t see any other way out of this. Chris, Sarah, and Kharon, from the bottom of my heart I love you all. It’s up to you now, Chris, to save your mother and sister.

Chase felt his body being lowered to the ground while he focused most of whatever energy he could muster into his right hand. The moment she released her telekinetic grasp, Chase was ready to commit suicide as long as he took her out with him.

His feet touched the ground, and he felt the hold on his body subside.

Chase had one last thought toward his best friend before the end.

Goodbye, Daniel. Thank you for your friendship as well as being like a brother to me.

* * *

Ares stepped into the pod and forced himself inside the cryo-frozen elderly man. To say the sensation was strange was an understatement. He had taken over dead bodies as well as unconscious beings before, but this felt significantly different.

It probably had to do with the fact that the temperature in the pod was about as near to absolute zero as possible. If that was the case, the chances he could establish a contact with his host were astronomically low. However, since they had come all this way, the very least Ares could do was give it a try.

After a few moments, Ares felt a presence, but it seemed so far away.

“Is there anyone here?” he asked.

There was no answer.

“Hello? I mean you no harm. I need to ask you some questions.”

Again, no answer, at least no verbal one, but there was faint feedback, which told him that he was being heard. Whether he’d get an answer in the forms of words remained to be seen.

Ares wondered if this man’s subconscious couldn’t form full sentences, especially at these low temperatures. It gave him an idea.

“If you can, try simple answers,” said Ares. “Yes or no. Do you think you can manage that?”

There was a long pause during which Ares sensed some feedback again.

“Yes.”

“Good. I guess I should only ask yes or no questions, then. Are you an Atlantian?”

“Yes.”

That was the first good news of the day.

“Can I release you from this pod?”

“No.”

Ares was compelled to ask why not, but he knew that wouldn’t work. Instead, he tried guessing as to the reasons why.

“Are you at risk of dying if I do so?”

“Yes.”

Alright, at least he was getting somewhere.

“We’re looking for technology to help us fight a terrible threat. They’re called the Spectres, have you heard of them?”

The feedback Ares received before the verbal response was greater than anything he had sensed from the Atlantian before.

“Yes.”

That one surprised Ares. He didn’t expect the Atlantians to be aware of the Spectres.

“Has your kind in the past ever fought the Spectres?”

“No.”

Maybe they knew of them without having had any contact.

“The Spectres are in our dimension as we speak.”

This time, Ares didn’t need words from the man to feel the negative feedback his last words had provoked in the Atlantian.

“Are you aware of the danger they pose to life in this dimension?”

“Yes, yes, yes!”

That was more than Ares expected, and, in turn, it also confirmed the Olympian’s suspicion that his earlier mention of the Spectres had generated a fearful reaction.

“Very well. Would you and your kind be open to helping us defeat them?”

There was a pause. “Yes.”

“We believe we’ve found critical intel on how to do that, but, unfortunately, we are unable to crack the encryption around the data. Because we’ve had trouble of our own when using sentient artificial intelligence, we were hoping to find a powerful processing unit, or, failing that, a safer AI technology that your kind may have developed for us to access that intel. We’re aware of your advancements in AI since we’ve used soul ships in defeating the Furies. Do you possess such technology here?”

“No.”

Well, there’s that.

“Do you know of the existence or potential location of technology that could help us achieve what we need?”

“M…m…”

“Maybe?”

“Yes.”

“Could the healing powers of a Fury heal what’s ailing you?”

“No.”

“If we lowered the temperature in this pod, just slightly, do you think we could have a more direct line of communication?”

“No.”

The question was worth a try.

Still, Ares wondered why that was.

“We’re also looking for pentalium, do you know what this element is?”

“Yes.”

“Until now, it’s only been native as far as we know to Asgard.”

“No.”

What did the man mean by that? It wasn’t even a question.

“Are you telling me you know where to find pentalium?”

“Yes.”

“In the unknown regions?”

There was no answer. Then Ares realized that what he called the unknown regions wouldn’t make any sense to the man.

“Let me rephrase my question. Is there any pentalium to be found within the portal network?”

“Yes.”

Another piece of good news. It was now time to see if he could help his teammates.

“My team has been hit by the holographic defense system in this base. Do you know if they’ll recover?”

“Yes.”

Ares wanted to ask how long, but he knew better by now.

“Will they recover within…an hour?”

“No.”

“A day?”

“Yes.”

Ares was glad to hear that.

“Will they have permanent damage from their comas?”

“No.”

“Is there pentalium in this facility?”

“No.”

“On this planet?”

“No.”

“Are there more Atlantian survivors that you know of?”

“M…m…”

“Maybe?”

“Yes.”

“Do you know where they could be? On which worlds?”

“No.”

Ares sensed troubling emotions under the surface, an aching feeling to fear.

“You seem agitated, is something wrong?”

“Yes.”

“Does it concern your health?”

“Yes.”

“Are you…I’m sorry to ask the next question so bluntly, but are you dying, perhaps soon?”

There was great sadness in his one word. “Yes.”

“Is there anything that can be done to prevent it?”

“No.”

The entire base trembled.

“Is this another security system?”

“Yes.”

“Did my presence trigger it?”

“Yes.”

The trembling increased, and the walls around the pod cracked.

“I’m really sorry about that. Do I have enough time to ask a few more questions?”

“No.”

That was probably Ares’s cue to get the hell out of here and make sure he could teleport the rest of the team away.

“I have to ask anyway. Now that the Spectres are in our dimension, do you think we can defeat them?”

“No.”

The next set of tremors was so strong that part of the room’s ceiling collapsed. Ares was running out of time.

“Have the Atlantians created weapons that match the Spectres’ technology?”

“Yes…Go!”

Ares was shocked that the man had found the strength to add another word, and he could sense that the man truly believed there was no more time.

“I’m truly sorry if I precipitated your demise.”

“Go…now!”

Ares shot out of the Atlantian a split second before the ceiling collapsed on top of the pod and smashed it in the process.

I’m sorry.

The lights in the room flickered madly before turning off completely. Ares teleported back to where his team was moments before the ceiling over their head cracked and collapsed. He retook his energy form, made contact, and teleported them out of the facility.

21

The shadow standing in front of him morphed and turned into black smoke mere seconds before the comet flew through it, dissipating the smoke all around. The moment it did, the tremors stopped.

The comet stopped inches away from Chris and was now a sphere of bright light shining in front of him. The energy morphed into a humanoid shape and from it emerged an adolescent girl with a long braid of red and black hair.

“Chris,” she said.

“Who? Who are you? How do you know my name?”

“I’m Kharon—your sister.”

Chris couldn’t believe his eyes or his ears.

“Kh—Karon? How can it be? This must be a dream.”

“I suppose from your perspective that’s how it would feel.”

“You’re too young inside my mother’s womb to be talking to me right now. Not to mention my mind is being ground to a pulp, which makes your presence here even less plausible.”

“And yet I’m here. Does it matter why we can talk?”

“I suppose not if it is real. I’m afraid I’m having hallucinations.”

“I don’t think you are, I think you’re accessing powers that you have forgotten you possess.”

Could it be? Could Chris, in this tormented state, be able to access the powers of foresight he once possessed? Ever since he was born, he didn’t feel like they were a part of him anymore.

“For the sake of argument, can you prove you’re you?”

She smiled. “That’s an interesting question. I met with our father not long ago.”

Chris had to admit only she would know that, but maybe all of this was his mind creating random imagery based on his own knowledge, showing him what he wanted to see.

“I can see you have doubts,” she continued. “That’s okay. I’m glad I got the chance to see you, even if we never meet in the future.”

“Why would we not meet?”

“I don’t think I’ll ever be born. In fact, I don’t think I want to.”

“What? Why would you even say that!? Chase and I will save our mother, and in doing so, we will save you as well!”

Tears filled her beautiful eyes and ran down her innocent cheeks.

“If only that could be true.”

The planet started shaking again. Lava exploded and shot to the sky all around them.

“Believe it, Kharon! We’ll save you both.”

“I wish I could stay here, with you, and talk some more. But our connection is about to be broken. You have no idea what it means to me to have had the chance to see you.”

“Wait, don’t go!”

“Goodbye, Chris. I’m really sorry for your loss,” said Kharon.

The planet on which Chris and his sister stood exploded and sent Chris hurtling through space at such speeds that everything in his mind turned to darkness.

* * *

“Target the last two enemy ships,” ordered Thor. “Let’s finish this up. ETA on the super gate’s activation?”

“Power readings are off the scale, my king. I fear it’s about to reopen any second now.”

That was not what Thor had hoped to hear. They finally had the advantage in the fight, and while over sixty percent of the ships in the fleet had either been destroyed or disabled, they were inches away from victory.

But if that gate opened and larger ships were allowed to emerge, all their efforts, the thousands of people who had sacrificed their lives today, would all have been for nothing.

“Instruct the entire fleet to divert all power to their weapons and have these last two destroyers obliterated, now!”

“Orders relayed.”

The first ship, which already had fluctuating shields, fell prey to the massive amount of firepower directed at it and exploded in a bright flash of light.

“Let’s finish this.”

With every single ship in the Alliance now pounding on their shields, the shields of the last destroyer were about to fail. Before that could happen, the ship blinked out of existence.

“Enemy ship has jumped away!”

Thor swore.

“We’ll hunt them down later, for now, we have a gate to destroy.”

“It and the others,” commented his tactical officer.

“What do you mean the others?”

“I’ve reviewed the sensor logs against the hyperspace jump signature of that departing ship, thinking I should save it so we can analyze it later. The computer automatically found three more matches for that event in the last thirty minutes.”

“What are you telling me?”

Thor’s question was mostly rhetorical.

“That it’s possible three other destroyers decided to flee during the battle.”

If that were true, it meant there would be four Spectre destroyers on the loose, which would no doubt wreck havoc in the near future. Right now, however, the Alliance had bigger problems.

“Massive power spike detected in the center of the super gate!” exclaimed the tactical officer.

“Get Kvasir on the line.”

Kvasir’s face filled the holo-screen. He looked worried.

“How much time do we have?”

“I’m afraid,” said Kvasir, “that our time is up. The gate will establish a connection any second now.”

“Can it be stopped?”

“I don’t know, perhaps if we focused what’s left of the fleet on destroying one of these monoliths, we could collapse the gate. What worries me is that we may have missed our window of opportunity. If it connects before then, I don’t think destroying even one monolith will take the entire structure down nor would it be enough to terminate the interdimensional portal.”

“We can’t let that happen.”

“I’m not sure it’s within our power anymore. I’ve run every calculation I could think of, and I don’t see how we can destroy the monoliths with what’s left of the fleet, especially with all that power being generated around them. It’s basically creating an energy shield.”

“What if we killed every other system on every ship? What if we pushed all we had to our weapons?”

“At this point, it’s worth a try.”

Thor swiftly turned to his officer. “Relay these priority orders to the fleet, now!”

* * *

Chase increased his focus to the maximum, and time seemed to slow to a crawl, which allowed him to expand his mind outside the ship, confirming they were still in hyperspace. It also allowed him to determine the best possible spot in the cargo bay’s door to make sure the decompression of the ship was optimal. He detected a small fissure in the door’s alloy on a molecular level.

Normally, such weakness wouldn’t be a problem, but if he hit that exact point with his attack, it would shatter faster, hopefully taking down the ship in the process.

While Furies, and he had no doubt Spectres as well, could survive in the void of space, in theory, no living being could survive being exposed to a hyperspace tunnel.

He would find out soon enough.

Chase managed to finalize the powerful, hull-piercing attack in a split second, and before Ashra’Lur noticed his deception, he fired it toward the cargo bay’s door.

“Die, bitch!” exclaimed Chase as the fireball screamed past her.

He could see from the surprise in her eyes that she had first thought he was attacking her, and she never even considered that he was willing to kill everyone in order to make sure she didn’t assimilate their souls.

But Chase’s satisfaction was short-lived when the attack slowed down considerably, arched back, and returned toward him.

Chase decided to dodge the attack instead of trying to block it. Perhaps it had enough energy to burst through the other side of the ship and still achieve the same result. That was his only chance.

Ashra’Lur pressed a control on her upper armor, and Chase felt the ship slow down and exit hyperspace, a mere millisecond before his attack burst through the ship’s hull.

The ship rocked and lights all around them flashed red. A message could be heard over the blaring sound of an alarm but in a tongue that Chase didn’t understand and his universal translator implant wasn’t able to interpret in real time.

Damn it! It’s all over.

Ashra’Lur clapped. “I must admit I didn’t see that one coming. I didn’t think you had it in you to try to find a way to take me out, even if that meant you wouldn’t survive, especially that you would be willing to sacrifice your brother in doing so. Though, I suppose that was a mistake on my part. I should have known you were capable of something like this.”

Chase could feel rage boil inside him, and even though he knew it was utterly pointless, if he was going to die, he wouldn’t go down without a fight. Chase pushed his Ultra Fury aura as far as he could and darted forward.

Ashra’Lur smiled and snapped her fingers, which paralyzed Chase in midair, unable to advance any further. The amount of telekinetic energy now holding him was at least ten times stronger than it had been before.

“That’s enough!” she screamed. “This fight no longer amuses me, and all I care about is your soul. Then I’ll grab your brother’s, too. Let’s finish this once and for all.”

Ashra’Lur opened her hand and the dreaded soul-sucking mini black hole appeared in its center. She was grinning from ear to ear.

“If it’s any consolation,” she added, “you never stood a chance in surviving this day. In fact, ever since I was reborn as Ashra’Lur, your days were always numbered.”

Reborn? wondered Chase. What the hell does she mean by that?

* * *

Menelas was the first to regain consciousness, and he quickly held his head in his hands.

“Oww…what the hell happened?” he asked.

“As far as I can tell, the holograms went through all of you,” answered Ares, “and rendered you unconscious. I was starting to worry you’d never come out of your comas.”

Menelas had such a splitting headache that it forced him to squint his eyes. “Comas? How long ago was that?”

“Several hours, I haven’t been counting.”

“I take it you weren’t affected?”

“That’s correct.”

“Anything interesting happen while we were out?”

“As a matter of fact, yes. I—I made limited contact with an Atlantian.”

That seemed to snap Menelas out of his dizzied state. “What? So they are still around?”

“I believe so, though that one was pretty much dying already.”

“What do you mean?”

“That’s a long story, for the time being, do you think you can use your healing abilities to wake the rest of the team?”

“I could try.”

Soon enough, they were all back on their feet, and Ares told them what he’d found out.

“And the facility is gone?” asked Ryonna.

“I’m afraid so, but you’re welcome to double-check it.”

Ryonna’s head gestured toward Yanis.

“On it,” he said as he ran scans from his wrist device. “There’s nothing left, looks like the entire facility has collapsed under so much rubble, we’ll never get anything useful from this place.”

“At least we know there might be Atlantians out there as well as pentalium.”

“What do we do next?” asked Menelas.

Ryonna dusted herself off before answering. “Let’s go back to base, get something to eat, and get a good night’s sleep. Then we choose another destination and keep at it until we find something of use.”

22

The entire fleet had concentrated all their fire toward a single monolith when a blinding flash of blue light lit up the void of space.

“Report!” shouted Thor.

“The super gate…” said his tactical officer, “is online.”

But now that the blinding light had receded, Thor, as well as anyone else, could see that with his own eyes.

“Instruct the fleet to keep firing for as long as it takes to destroy one of these monoliths, and get me Kvasir again.”

The Asgardian engineer’s face appeared on the holo-screen, his facial tattoos were flashing madly.

“It’s too late,” said Kvasir.

“We have to shut it down before ships emerge again.”

“You don’t understand, Thor. The readings I’m getting are worse than any of my most pessimistic projections. At this point, we lack the firepower to make a dent in it, and the gate will shut down when they decide to shut it down, and not a second before.”

“That’s unacceptable, there has to be a way.”

“If there is, I’m sorry to have to tell you that I don’t see it. I’m detecting large displacements of mass fluctuations. In other words, a large ship, larger than anything we’ve ever seen, is about to emerge from the gate.”

“What do you suggest we do about it?”

“My theory is that ships can’t pass through the gate with their shields up. So there’s a slight chance, if we concentrate all our fire on the emerging ships, that we could destroy them or at least cripple them as they exit the gate, one by one.”

“My king,” said one of Thor’s officers.

Thor looked through the viewport at where his officer was pointing. Terror filled the eyes of the Asgardian King.

A large object, which looked like the nose of a massive starship, was emerging from the oscillating blue energy of the event horizon of the super gate.

“Tell the fleet to target the ship with everything they’ve got,” Thor said absently, unable to break eye contact with the massive ship slowly advancing out of the gate.

Eventually, Thor returned his gaze toward the holo-screen.

“Why is it traveling so slowly?”

“Math. I think the gate’s design prevents that much mass from going through one dimension to the other any faster. Which could be our only saving grace if my theory is correct, that is.”

The first plasma bolts, beams, and torpedoes all impacted with the growing nose of the ship as it emerged, and no shield impacts were detected, and instead, every battery, canon or, torpedo impact resulted in an explosion on its surface.

Because the size of the ship was so massive, however, the explosions appeared small and localized only on the surface.

“We need to figure out a way to hit a part of the ship that allows them to be destroyed before they emerge fully.”

“I know, but I will only get such sensor data once most, if not the entire ship, has emerged. There’s a chance I can identify a location that would generate enough secondary explosions, which could provoke a chain reaction inside the mother ship resulting in its destruction. But truth be told, we’ll be lucky if we disable them, I can’t see our current fleet yielding enough firepower to destroy everything that goes through.”

“And yet,” growled Thor, “it seems we have no other choice.”

“I know this will feel very counterproductive to common sense, but for this first ship, I think it would be beneficial if the fleet spread their fire equally over the entirety of its hull surface, allowing me to gather data faster.”

“Won’t we run the risk of having that first ship survive the journey to our dimension?”

“I’m afraid, at this point in time, I think we have to take that risk, or we, in turn, risk lacking vital sensor data to destroy the next ones.”

“What about Chris? Can you reprogram your device to do to our weapons what you did to our shields?”

“I don’t think so, but I’ll try to work on that angle. Also, as long as the enemy ship isn’t returning fire, we probably should divert most of our shields power to our weapons. I have to unhook Chris from the machine anyway, or he could die.”

“Are you seriously gonna take away the only advantage we’ve had all day?”

“At the very least, he needs a few minutes break while we gather the right data from that first attack, and after that, it should be his choice if he wants to plug himself back into the machine. My machine-learning model, however, has already benefited greatly from Chris’s experience while being linked to it, so while we’ll lose some of its efficiency, I believe our respective shields will still be stronger than they were pre-battle. That is if this new enemy ship fire has anything to do with the previous firepower of the destroyers that preceded them.”

“And if it doesn’t?”

“I’d rather not speculate. For now, you should redeploy the fleet and tell them to spread their fire widely to try to hit every single inch of that ship. The more data I get, the better our chances of finding weak spots.”

“Understood,” said Thor through gritted teeth and intense frustration.

* * *

When Kvasir turned the chair offline, Chris plunged forward and puked all over the floor for what felt like an eternity.

“I vaguely remember something about the need to kick your ass,” said Chris, panting heavily. “That experience was properly horrible.”

“I’m sorry.”

“For what? Confusing the word discomfort with torture? I would be too if I were you.”

“I had no way of knowing exactly how you would feel, though I suppose I may have underestimated or even downplayed the effects my technology would have on your biology.”

“Your apologies suck as much as your bedside manner. They are both in need of major practice. But never mind that, did it at least help?”

“Oh, yes, tremendously. We’ve defeated the fleet.”

Chris wiped the rest of the vomit from the side of his mouth. “Finally, some good news.”

“I’m afraid you may want to look at this first before jumping to that premature conclusion.”

Chris rose to his feet before looking at the holo-screen. His expression turned from exhaustion to shock in a heartbeat.

“Is…that an enemy ship emerging from the super gate? This thing is beyond massive.”

“Yes, I’m afraid we’re not, as humans say, out of the woods just yet.”

“That’s the understatement of the year, Kvasir, please tell me you realize that?”

“Yes, I believe you are correct.”

“What are we going to do now?”

“We’re trying to find weak spots on the surface of the emerging mother ships. This is the first one trying to make it through.”

“It sure seems like it can take a massive amount of damage and keep smiling. Why hasn’t it fired at our forces yet?”

“I’m not sure. In fact, I was wondering about that myself. Either it can and has elected not to, or its main weapons are situated toward the back of the ship. I’m aware that seems illogical or unlikely.”

“I concur, I think it’s more likely they’re sending this one to see what’s waiting on the other side and if it can emerge in one piece, even without shields or firing a single shot.”

“What good would that achieve to hold off on firing back?”

“Well, if I were them, and I didn’t know what was awaiting me, I’d send a ship, perhaps even one I was willing to sacrifice, and while it was going through the gate, I’d have a skeleton crew report on the rest of the fleet. I wouldn’t be surprised if the next vessels that are sent are again destroyers to even things out.”

“That would be catastrophic.”

“Even if we catch a break and it’s another mother ship, this one will know where our ships are, which are the main threat, and where to concentrate their fire.”

“All good points. We also don’t know if my algorithm learned enough from you yet. Because the new ships coming are a completely original class and design, the upgrade to the shields’ efficiency might only be minimal against this new foe.”

“Are you saying what I think you’re saying? And are you freaking kidding me?”

“That depends, what do you think I’m saying?”

“That it would be best to plug me back into this infernal machine of yours, just in case.”

“Please understand something, Chris, I don’t want to. While you seem to have emerged from it without any apparent brain damage, sending you back so soon could…”

“Spit it out.”

“Well, quite frankly, this time it could kill you.”

Chris used his energy to heal himself, and in doing so, he found he could think clearer almost instantly.

“Whatever damage was done to my brain, I just healed it. And, yes, I can say with a fair bit of confidence that my brain was damaged, I can’t tell you where and by how much, but I feel much better now that I healed myself.”

“That could be the key to sending you back, your healing ability.”

“Yeah, yeah, you’re welcome.”

“Do you think you’re up to going back for a second time?”

“Yes, unless I messed up my healing, I feel as healthy as I was before you hooked that thing to my brain an hour ago. But let me tell you something, it felt a hell of a lot longer on the inside. I guess that’s one more side effect. Before you hook me up again, however, do we have any news from my father or Argos?”

“I’m afraid not.”

“What about Athena?”

“Ronan has successfully transferred her back to his ship. She was in bad shape, but she’s healing inside a regen tank.”

“Tell me the Phoenix is one of the ships that benefits from the shields upgrade.”

“Most Droxian ships weren’t designed to take advantage of this upgrade, but the Phoenix is one of these newer retrofits, so, yes, it now has stronger shields.”

“Shields won’t help us destroy these ships any faster, though. At best, it may only delay the onslaught.”

“I’ve thought about that as well. Unless we had a second you, I don’t think there’s much we can do about it.”

“I don’t understand? What would that change?”

“Well, after talking with Thor, I’m working on a similar algorithm to improve fire rate, frequency, and the shield penetration ratio, but it would require another mind such as yours to get good and as swift results as we have gotten on the shield front.”

“Unless…”

“Unless what? What are you thinking about?”

“Well, I’m no scientist, but because I speak to machines so much, I kind of know how they work intrinsically if that makes any sense.”

“It does. I’ve observed that ability in your father as well.”

“Is it safe to assume that you ran a lot of scans of my brain the entire time I was plugged in?”

“Correct, but machine learning is a very lengthy process, the machine has only enough data to guess patterns at this point as opposed to when you were plugged in, your brain was able to make split-second changes on-the-fly, constantly adjusting and improving the results the longer you were in.”

“Hang on one second,” said Chris as he connected his mind to the chair to check the logs. “Yes, as I suspected.”

“What did you just do?”

“I checked the logs and ran a simulation. I believe you can use your algorithm at five percent power by feeding only partial data to the algorithm from now on. The machine would only need my brain to decide what to do when it has less than sixty percent probability of making the right decision based on its current model.

“That means it would allow me to retain the rest of my brain for another activity. In the simulation I ran, we’d lose about ten to fifteen percent accuracy, but I think it’s a worthy tradeoff if it frees up ninety-five percent of my brain power, wouldn’t you think so?”

“I’m not sure how to program these modifications without analyzing the logs and writing new code, two tasks which I’m afraid we don’t have time for, the first mother ship is almost completely out of the gate.”

“That’s where you’re wrong. I’ve already made the modifications to the machine. You only need to plug in that new algorithm of yours and instruct the machine to use it to get the data it needs to improve our weapon’s accuracy, power, and targeting.”

“If it was dangerous running one task on your brain, I have to object about asking you to run two of them at once. Even more so now that you’ve admitted you detected brain damage after using it the first time. If we push you too far⁠—”

“Your objections have been duly noted, Kvasir, but I’ll be fine, and we don’t really have a choice.”

“What if you injure the part of your brain that allows you to heal yourself?”

“Then either a member of my family returns and heals me, or we’ll meet again to drink ale in Valhalla, either way, we’ve discussed the issue long enough.”

“I don’t know. Your father wouldn’t approve.”

“My father isn’t here, unfortunately, and so in his absence, I’m still in command of the Hope, so let me make it really simple for you Kvasir, this is a direct order.”

A minute later, Chris was back in the machine, and just like before, the activation of the chair felt like a one-way express trip to hell.

23

Chase felt his soul being dragged out of him, and no matter how much he struggled, he couldn’t prevent it from emerging outside his body, inch by inch.

“You’ve gotten better at delaying the inevitable, I’ll give you that much,” taunted Ashra’Lur.

Chase wanted to tell the Spectre to go insert something where the sun didn’t shine, but his soul had already been ripped far enough outside of his body for him to lose the ability to speak.

He fought with every ounce of will and hope still left in him, but the pull was too strong, and while he was managing to delay the process, once he had given her an inch, he was never able to recover it back.

It was only a matter of time before she snapped his soul and killed him.

There has to be a way out of this! If she gets my soul, it’s all over, and nobody will be able to stop her.

When Chase tried to force his way back, and managed to stop the advance of his soul forward, Ashra’Lur simply increased the intensity of the miniature black hole in her palm.

“I can do this all day, Fury. It doesn’t matter if it takes me a minute or ten, in the end, your soul will be mine!”

Chase fought with everything he had, and by sheer force of his will, he managed to stop the advance of his soul once more. For the first time ever, he even managed to bring it back a couple of inches inside his body.

“Impressive,” said Ashra’Lur, “but ultimately futile.”

The ship rocked heavily, and Chase felt his soul snap back into his body all at once with so much force that the momentum carried him away and sent him crashing onto his back.

Ashra’Lur growled as she checked her portable holo-screen.

“One of your friends has found us!”

Chase wondered who it could be and sent a telepathic message around the ship.

Who’s there? We need help!

Hang on, answered Nyx. I’m coming as soon as we manage to get these damn shields down.

Multiple impacts that felt like quantum torpedoes rocked the ship so hard that Ashra’Lur stumbled and fell to the floor. She was back to her feet almost instantly.

“Get us out of here, now!” she screamed into her wrist.

“Hyperspace engines are damaged, shields are failing. We’re not going anywhere,” said a voice on the other side of the communication.

Ashra’Lur growled and screeched like a rabid animal.

Thank you, Nyx, you have no idea how good your timing is. But please hurry.

We’re almost done bringing the shields down. Hang on just a little longer.

“Looks like I’m running out of time,” said Ashra’Lur.

She extended both her hands with black holes at their center and opened her mouth wide where a third and even bigger siphoning black hole formed quickly. Chase heard her scream, sounding properly demonic, resonating deep in his mind.

GIVE ME YOUR SOUL…NOOOOW!

* * *

Once Chris adjusted to a whole new level of pain and torture, he was back in the part of his mind that transported him toward the light paths across the cosmos. The blue-purple planet was no longer there, but the yellow-orange one that looked somewhat similar to Erevos, was still in sight. Before he knew it, he was siphoned toward it.

Just as it had happened before, he missed splashing against the surface of this desert-like planet and instead slowed down. His feet touched down on the surface like a feather delicately falling to the ground.

The planet’s surface conditions where less than ideal, and Chris couldn’t imagine any living thing being able to survive on the surface of this world. Chain-lightning strikes hit the ground around him, making the whole planet tremble every other second, accompanied by multiple supervolcanoes erupting all around.

There was an entire network of lava riverbeds flowing all around him.

In the distance, Chris could hear massive impacts and shockwaves, each sending a razor-sharp sandstorm his way. He was too far to distinguish any details, but he sensed a fight of titanic proportions was unfolding not too far from where he stood.

The moment he decided to investigate, he was teleported inside the eye of a superstorm. All around him, massive winds and moving walls of sand provided for the most dramatic battle arena he had ever witnessed.

Multiple men and women were fighting, and just as before, he couldn’t see anyone’s face, they were mere shadows with powers that Chris had trouble even understanding. Every time a punch was thrown, lightning, rocks, and even chunks of the planet detached from below and were swallowed up by the storm.

The superstorm was destroying the planet with every passing minute, but the men and women fighting didn’t seem to care. Focusing more on the shadows fighting than the dramatic battlefield, Chris noticed that multiple warriors were all ganging up on one single target, a female.

Chris wondered if that was the female Spectre his father had told him about, and if that was the case, did that mean he was looking at a possible future of him and his family fighting her at some end-of-days battle worthy of biblical tales?

Suddenly, Chris felt more pain and agony than he thought possible, and he fell on his knees, holding his head. He screamed out loud. In the distance, he thought he heard Kvasir’s voice resonating as if it was spoken from within the atmosphere of the planet itself.

* * *

The first mother ship was through the event horizon when the first set of weapons upgrades replicated throughout the fleet. The mother ship was almost fully engulfed in flames, but it wouldn’t explode or even crack despite the amount of firepower that had been thrown at it.

Once the Odin’s upgraded weapons optimization came online, the ship’s computer took over the targeting systems and started firing at different targets on the ship’s hull, provoking multiple secondary explosions.

“Looks like Kvasir did it. We may have a chance after all.”

But as if a blatant answer by the universe to his timid optimism, a red bubble of energy formed around the mother ship.

“Enemy ship shields have activated,” said the Asgardian tactical officer.

“What!? How can a ship that damaged still raise their shields? That’s not possible!”

“Unknown, my king, and that’s not all: I’m detecting a massive power build-up on our sensor.”

“Care to take a guess as what that could b⁠—”

But what unfolded through the viewport was answer enough to the question from the King of Asgard.

A wave of red energy traveled through the mother ship and it was gone.

“Enemy mother ship has entered hyperspace.”

Another mother ship began emerging from the super gate’s event horizon.

“Gods of Valhalla, have mercy on all our souls,” said Thor out loud.

He opened a channel to Engineering from his command chair.

“Please tell me your sensor data will allow these new upgrades to make a difference on this second ship, or I’m afraid today might very well be the end of this war.”

“I’m feeding the data into the algorithm, then Chris’s mind should be able to make on-the-fly changes to improve their efficiency, stand by.”

An agonizing scream pierced through the holo-communication.

“What the hell was that?” asked Thor.

“Gotta go,” said Kvasir. “Chris is in trouble.”

* * *

Chris’s screams of agony resonated throughout Engineering, freezing Kvasir’s blood cold as he ran to his side, only to watch in horror as blood flowed from Chris’s ears.

“That can’t be good,” he exclaimed. “Chris, if you can hear, I have to unplug you from the system, something is terribly wrong.”

Chris grabbed the Asgardian’s wrist. “NOOO! You can’t, just try…lower…link.”

Chris was clearly in agony and unable to form full sentences. He gritted his teeth so hard, his chin became drenched in blood.

“This is insane, Chris, this will kill you!”

Chris tried opening his eyes, but blood-tears formed and forced him to shut them.

“D—d—don’t disconnect.”

Kvasir couldn’t believe that Chris would ask him to leave him in this state, but he had to do something, so he brought up Chris’s modifications to the code and started debugging the boy’s new subroutines faster than he had ever used a holo-terminal in his entire life.

Lines of code scrolled by his eyes as he entered fixes to the code on pure instinct, like his own life depended on it.

* * *

Now that Ashra’Lur had increased the pull almost tenfold, Chase’s soul was again being sucked away from his body, and he lost ground at a faster pace. More than half of his soul was now outside his body.

The Spectre’s pull was relentless and beyond any hope for Chase to counter no matter how hard he fought with every fiber of his being.

I’m so sorry, dad, said Kharon’s voice in his mind.

Kharon? Is that you? Where are you?

Yes, it’s me. I’m here. I’m watching you, and I’m horrified.

What? How are you here?

But all Chase received as an answer was hearing his unborn daughter sob and cry.

It boosted Chase’s resolve, and he pushed far beyond what he ever thought possible, stopping the advance of his soul and managing with great agony to get it back just a bit.

Ashra’Lur simply increased the siphoning power of her miniature black holes, yet again to shatter any hope Chase ever had of resisting the pull.

I’m so sorry I failed you. I love you, Kharon; never forget that!

I love you too, daddy, I don’t want you to die.

“HE WON’T!” screamed Argos as he hurled his body between Chase’s soul and Ashra’Lur, interrupting the soul siphoning current that had almost completely snatched Chase’s soul away.

Chase felt his soul return to his body with incredible force, but this time he braced for it and managed to keep his balance, only to watch in horror as Argos’s soul started to be ripped out instead.

“Nooooo!” Chase screamed.

Please, tell Chris how much I love him, said Argos. Thank you for bringing me back toward the light and helping me redeem myself. I’m counting on you to win this war.

Chase reacted instinctively and launched forward, not sure what he could possibly do, but he instinctively grabbed his brother’s soul and pulled as hard as he could as more impacts rocked the ship. Chase’s muscles tripled in volume as he held to his brother’s soul for dear life.

Argos’s soul blinked and flickered madly, its face deformed from pain and agony.

You can’t save me, Chase. It’s okay, let go and save yourself. Please.

“No! I can’t let you die!”

I don’t think anything can prevent it now.

Don’t, Argos. Don’t you dare leave me!

Chase’s eyes filled with tears of despair as he kept pulling.

Let go, Chase, please, and get the hell out of here. You can fly through the hull of the ship. You can save yourself.

Ashra’Lur increased the size of the black hole inside her mouth to free one of her hands. She aimed at Chase and opened fire with powerful black fireballs.

Chase couldn’t do anything but let the attack impact him, burning his skin at first, then ripping large chunks of flesh around his muscles. The Spectre was methodically trying to destroy his muscle tissue in an attempt to force him to let go of his brother’s soul.

Chase tried healing the tissue, but he was losing muscle mass faster than he was rebuilding it. When the attacks stopped, he glanced at Ashra’Lur and saw she had raised her hand over her head, preparing a larger fireball.

Chase knew if he let that attack touch him, it would rip his arms off his body, and he would release his brother’s soul. He had to think fast and find a way to save his brother.

Ashra’Lur’s eyes flashed red, and the attack fired from over her head, hurtling toward Chase as time seemed to freeze. Chase could hear and feel his heartbeat as if he experienced it in slow motion, and he knew there was only one thing he could do.

He released one of his hands holding Argos’s soul and drew a circle in the air.

“Perseus Mirror Shield!” he screamed a split second before the Spectre’s attack impacted the forming shield and bounced back toward Ashra’Lur. Because Chase had created the shield with only one hand while holding Argos’s soul with the other, he hadn’t managed to align the mirror perfectly and so the returning fireball screamed past Ashra’s face and pierced through the hull of the ship.

Decompression of the cargo bay almost made Chase lose his balance, but the emergency force field activated nearly instantly and the air repressurized.

What Chase saw next broke his spirit to the core. The mirror shield had accidentally sectioned Argos’s soul in two parts, and his upper body soul was already hurling toward the Spectre’s mouth.

Never lose faith, brother, said Argos, and keep fighting…I believe in you. Goodbye, Chase.

The other half of Argos’s soul turned into a blue glowing light and shot down through the floor, disappearing. Argos lost all color in his skin, and his soulless body fell on its knees, tears crystallized in his eyes before falling face first against the floor.

* * *

Chris was holding his head in agony on the burning hot surface of the hellish planet as he could hear the shockwaves earth-shattering sand impacts of the battle still unfolding nearby, dead center inside the eye of the superstorm.

The pain receded little by little, allowing him to get back to his feet, albeit with great effort.

The shadows were still fighting the female warrior in front of him, when one of the shadows suddenly became crystal clear and stopped moving.

It was Argos, and he looked straight at Chris as if he could see him. But how could he?

Argos had tears in his eyes.

Goodbye, Chris. I love you.

Argos fell on his knees and then head first in the whirling desert sand. Upon impact with the ground, a lightning bolt impacted Argos and his body exploded into a thousand shards of glass.

“NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!” screamed Chris, his roar unleashing a powerful shockwave that smashed through the superstorm, cancelling it.

All the shadows except the female one disappeared one by one and Chris felt deep within his soul that Argos had died. Not only in the vision but also in real life. He had never felt so certain about anything in his entire life, and the black hole that formed in the center of his heart threatened to swallow his sanity for all eternity.

Tears of blood flooded from his eyes as the female warrior laughed out loud while walking toward him.

Rage and fury boiled inside every fiber of Chris’s being, and he felt more hatred inside his soul than he ever thought possible. By the time the shadow of the female warrior was in front of him, he concentrated every molecule of that growing hate-storm and unleashed it forward.

A column of green energy pierced through the ribcage of the female warrior, leaving a crater-sized hole in her chest as two eyes glowed red and flickered before they died forever. Thousands of spheres of light exited the hole Chris had carved through her chest, and the wind blew through the female warrior as she disintegrated into black ash.

Chris let himself fall to the ground and curled into a fetal position, his crying echoing throughout the barren lands.

24

A chain reaction of cataclysmic proportions exploded inside Chase’s soul, and it felt as if a big bang exploded from within him. Chase’s hair flashed white multiple times before coloring a glowing purple.

His aura formed into a dragon around him, and the spirit of Drakos was as hungry for revenge as Chase. In this moment, he had lost the ability to think straight. All he saw was a target to be killed, destroyed, and utterly obliterated. And that’s exactly what Chase intended to do.

She had taken his brother from him, now he would take everything from her! There was nowhere to run, and today, Chase would kill that monster with extreme prejudice.

Ashra’Lur’s eyes grew wide, and Chase saw something beyond fear in them. She extended her palm forward, creating a wormhole in its center, but Chase’s soul wasn’t going anywhere. Instead, with a single mental command, he snapped the bones in each of her fingers a hundred times over.

Ashra’Lur fell to her knees and screeched in agony.

“I’m going to kill you!” he roared. “Bit by bit, molecule by molecule!”

“Get me out of here,” she screamed into her wrist.

“ETA five minutes,” said another voice.

“I don’t have five minutes!” she yelled.

“That’s correct,” said Chase, “you don’t have them, you’ll be dead in half that time, but I’ll make sure that these are the longest most agonizing moments of your entire pathetic life.”

Chase moved so fast he looked as if there were twenty-five of him punching and ripping the Spectre with blows that felt like they could destroy planets and immolate entire galaxies.

Ashra’Lur was unable to block let alone dodge any of his attacks, and he kept pounding her over and over.

There’s something weird about this one, whispered Drakos, Chase’s dragon aura, who was dancing all around him as Chase delivered the punishment of the century.

I don’t give a shit. I used to feel this as well, now I only want to obliterate that creature into particles smaller than stardust.

I understand how you feel, but something’s wrong, nonetheless. I feel compelled to ask you to stop or you may regret it.

Are you kidding me? Never! I’m going to kill her and recover my brother’s soul.

Drakos whirled around Chase’s arm and paralyzed him.

What the fuck do you think you’re doing? Let me go! Let me kill her!

I feel that if I do, something even worse will happen and swallow the light away from your soul. Let her speak, then if you’re still inclined to afterward, you can end her.

Ashra’Lur stumbled back, multiple fist-sized craters all over her body and liters of black blood spilled to the floor. She tried speaking but she vomited blood instead.

“S—stop,” she implored.

“Why should I? You killed my brother. Now I’m going to kill you.”

She chuckled large quantities of blood. “If—If you kill me, you kill them.”

“What are you talking about? Who’s them?”

Ashra’Lur’s bloody chuckles turned into evil laughter. “Well, who else, Chase? Your wife and your unborn daughter, which you almost killed with your attacks just now.”

Chase flashed a fireball-infused throbbing fist forward. “You’re lying!”

Ashra’Lur laughed as more black blood flowed from her mouth. “You still haven’t figured it out, have you?”

“Figured what out?”

What happened next scarred Chase’s soul so deeply that he knew he would never recover from the wound.

Ashra’Lur’s face morphed into something else, something human. Chase knew that face very well.

When Ashra spoke, her voice had changed as well. “That I am Sarah.”

* * *

Noooooooooo! screamed Sarah inside Ashra’Lur’s mind. Stop it! Let him kill me!

I have no doubt that you desire to die, said Ashra, my dear, but I, on the other hand, very much wish to live. I’ll do whatever it takes to achieve that goal. If that means reveal the truth, then so be it. And I would think you would want your daughter to survive this day as well.

Not at this price. You already took Argos. I don’t want Chase to die.

And, yet, if I assimilate his soul at least the two of you will be reunited.

We both know that’s a lie. The only reason I’m able to talk inside your mind is because you’ve used my own body for your transformation!

Clever girl. It doesn’t matter. I have already won.

No, Chase has to kill you! Right now he’s stronger than you.

Yes…and I didn’t think that was even possible, but once I get his soul, I’ll wield that power myself. As for him killing me now that he knows the truth, we both know from your memories that he will never do that again. Thinking he killed you once was enough. He’s not going to find the strength to do it again.

He killed a clone!

Yes, but he had no idea that was the case when he did. So, from his perspective, on that day, when he destroyed your StarFury, he thought he’d killed you and your son, and he felt every emotion that came with that choice. And what did you do when the two of you were reunited? You hated him for it. I really don’t see what he sees in you.

Shut up, bitch!

The truth hurts, doesn’t it? Even more so now because you realize that you’ve missed your chance to say what you had in your heart. And we both know that it will never happen. Chase will either kill your daughter and me in the next two minutes, or I will kill him. My money is on the latter, though.

Nooooo! Don’t you dare!

As much fun as this little mind chat has been, I have a Fury’s heart to crush and a soul to manipulate so he’ll let me, voluntarily, I might add, devour his soul.

You’re a monster!

On that we can agree.

* * *

The Odin shook hard as the enemy’s thousands of plasma turrets unleashed their firepower on Thor’s ship as well as the rest of the fleet.

This time around, the new mother ship began firing upon the fleet the moment it was emerging from the event horizon of the super gate. Fortunately, with the enhanced shields and so many targets to fire upon, very few ships had succumbed from the enemy fire.

Thor ordered the fleet to cut that second mother ship in half by concentrating all fire upon a virtual meridian line he had given them as a target upon which to focus their fire. The new upgraded weapons were making a difference, but the second mother ship was almost through the gate, and it needed to be destroyed before it could jump away.

They couldn’t let any more of the enemy’s ships escape this position. Whatever the cost, they had to stop the enemy cold, here and now.

“Divert power from life support; get more juice to the weapons!” screamed Thor.

“Without life support, we’ll be dead in minutes!” protested his officer.

“We’re all dead if we don’t stop them. Instruct the rest of the fleet to do the same. That’s an order!”

“Very well, my king. Orders relayed.”

The combined firepower boost allowed the Alliance fleet to cut the ship in half the moment its tail had fully emerged from the super gate. The large city-sized parts floated forward on their current momentum but didn’t explode.

A third mother ship emerged from the super gate.

“How many of these things do they have!?” screamed Thor in frustration. “Same tactic, let’s cut this ship in half.”

“We’re receiving a distress call,” said the comms officer.

“I don’t give a shit! What could possibly be more important than this battle?”

“It’s coming from Asgard. Priority Crimson Five.”

Crimson Five meant an orbital attack. It took Thor a few seconds for that piece of information to sink into his conscious mind.

“On screen.”

The holo-screen filled with images of the Balder and the few other corvette-sized Asgardian ships Thor had left in orbit as a skeleton defense grid. The fleet was bombarding Asgard from orbit. Cities were in flames, and nuclear shockwaves expanded concentrically on the surface of Thor’s beloved planet.

The holo-communication scrambled and died down.

“That—that can’t be happening,” said Thor.

“We’re being hailed by the Balder,” said the comms officer.

“On…screen.”

Siegfried’s grinning face filled the holo-screen.

“Hello, Thor. I wanted you to see Asgard for one last time. Have a nice day.”

The holo-communication turned off as Thor’s heartbeat pounded like a trapped and wounded animal’s would, trying to escape for dear life.

For a moment, he thought he would faint, but he recovered his balance. The air on the bridge was already getting thin from the lack of life support.

“Restore life support, and slave all Asgardian ships to our hyperspace engines.”

“It will take sixty seconds for the hyperspace engines to come back online.”

“Then stop wasting time and have them restored on every one of our ships.”

“My king,” protested his second in command, “you’re not thinking of leaving now, are you?”

Thor sent daggers at his subordinate. “What other choice do we have? We can’t let our world burn!”

There was a long silence and thick tension in the air on the bridge.

“Inform the Hope of our departure, but do not respond to hails. Relinquish fleet command to them.”

“Aye, my king,” said the tactical officer. “Hyperspace engines restored.”

“Get us to Asgard, maximum hyperdrive.”

All fifteen Asgardian destroyers jumped away from the battle.

* * *

With the Asgardians gone, the remaining fleets’ combined firepower wasn’t powerful enough to cut the next mother ship in half before it fully emerged. As with the very first one, a red bubble appeared around it as it raised its shields.

Seconds later, it jumped away.

“This can’t be happening!” shouted Ronan. “Open a channel to med-bay one.”

“Channel opened,” said his first officer.

“Doc, how’s Athena doing?”

“Her regen cycle is only thirty-five percent complete. She’s not ready to be taken out of the tank.”

“I don’t care about her being ready. Can she survive an emergency exit?”

“I—I’m not sure. Probably for an hour or two, but she’ll have to return to a regen tank immediately or she could die.”

“Thank you for your analysis, doc, get her out, now. Inform her she’s needed onboard the Hope.”

“What for?” asked the doc.

“To salvage what’s left of this battle and fleet.”

“Understood, Captain.”

“Do you mind clueing me in to what you are doing?” asked his first officer.

“The only thing that makes sense, put the only capable tactician back in command of the fleet. We’ve already allowed two Spectre mother ships into our dimension, perhaps she can figure out a way to stop more from going through. I sure can’t think of a way to do it. Let’s pray she can.”

“We were barely managing with the Asgardian force. It’s pure math, Athena or not, we simply lack the necessary firepower.”

“Be that as it may, I think she deserves to be in charge.”

“Even if it kills her?”

“The way I see it, my friend, we’re all dead anyway.”

* * *

“What the hell was Thor thinking!?” exclaimed Talon.

“Looks like today is a good day to die,” said Tar’Lock with multiple nervous clicking sounds.

“I can’t believe they left. We were finally finding a way to prevent these ships from making their way through. Damn you, Thor!”

“I know, bad timing. I’ve intercepted the communication they received. Apparently, their world is under attack by Siegfried.”

“So what? All of a sudden the future of our entire dimension isn’t in the balance anymore?”

“I—I don’t know, Talon. The real kicker is even if Thor’s ships make it back to Asgard on time, there won’t be much left of his world.”

Talon buried his head in his hands.

“This can’t be happening. Try hailing them again.”

“I’ve tried twenty times already, if Thor was interested in justifying his actions, I think he would have picked up by now.”

* * *

When Athena beamed to the bridge of the Hope, whatever rags were left on her torso ripped, and she unintentionally flashed the bridge crew with her perfect looking breasts.

“Not a word,” she warned, lifting a finger. “Eyes forward!”

She staggered and let herself crash into the captain’s chair.

“Damn you, Thor,” she spat as she brought her tactical display online. “Get me Kvasir.”

“Yes, Athena, how can I help?” asked Kvasir.

“I need Chris on the bridge, right now!”

“I’m afraid that’s not going to be possible.”

“And why the hell not? Where’s my grandson?”

Kvasir swallowed hard as he moved the holo-cam to the side to show a bleeding Chris on a chair, his face deformed from intense pain.

“What in the seventh hell is this? Are you fucking kidding me?! What are you doing to my grandson?”

“Long story short, he’s the reason why we still have ships with more powerful weapons and shields. If I disconnect him now, which he has ordered me not to do, we lose at least fifty-percent efficiency on shields and seventy-five on weapons. Basically, if Chris disconnects from the chair, we all die.”

She pointed an accusing finger at Kvasir. “If we survive this unholiest of days, you and I are going to have a very long conversation.”

“Can’t say I’m looking forward to that, but fair enough.”

She forcefully swiped the holo-communication away.

“Here are my new targeting priorities, transmit them to the rest of the fleet.”

“This is a completely different tactic than the one Thor had put in place,” commented the Hope’s tactical officer.

“I’m very well aware of that, his tactic only worked while he graced us with his presence and his ships, now that they’re both gone, we’re forced to adapt. Just carry out my orders and don’t have me repeat myself in the future.”

“Yes, ma’am. I’m sorry, ma’am.”

Athena coughed blood into her hand. She looked at it for a moment and wiped it against her bare chest with a sigh.

“While you’re at it, have someone bring me a freaking uniform.”

25

“Sarah!” exclaimed Chase. “It can’t be! It’s not possible. This is a trick!”

“I’m afraid not, reach inside me with your mind, I’ll let you talk with her, just this once.”

Sarah? Are you there?

There was a pause followed by a sob.

Yes, Chase, I’m here.

This can’t be happening. What about Kharon?

Who’s Kharon?

Our unborn daughter.

She’s in that thing’s womb. Well, in what used to be my body now morphed into this monster. Chase, you need to finish what you started and kill us.

What? You can’t be serious?

“That’s enough with the chitchat,” said Ashra’Lur.

Chase reached with his mind but couldn’t find Sarah anymore. He reached for Kharon and found her.

Dad, mom is right, you need to kill Ashra’Lur. Don’t worry about us.

I—I can’t kill either of you.

If you don’t, she’ll kill you, and it won’t do anyone any good. Mom and I are ready to make this sacrifice.

But I’m not, Kharon.

Chase’s dragon aura stopped swirling around him.

What are you going to do? asked Drakos.

I can’t—I can’t kill them.

Which is why I stopped you. Now I wish I hadn’t.

Why would you say something like that?

Because both your wife and child are imploring you to do what I stopped you from doing. Your current emotional state is also fracturing the power flowing through you, and I’m afraid you may never reach this level of power ever again. For what it’s worth, I’m sorry, Dragonheart.

Chase’s glowing hair returned to black, and Drakos’s face was filled with sadness as his aura vanished into nothingness.

Chase fell on his knees, tears filling his eyes.

Sarah’s face receded inside the thick dark Spectre’s skin to reveal Ashra’Lur’s face, grinning with pure evil. She glanced at a rapidly decreasing holo-counter on her wrist.

“Looks like I’m getting your soul after all, but I’m on the clock here, so I’ll make this quick and painless.”

The female Spectre created a massive siphoning black hole between her hands.

Chase’s heart turned to stone as his psyche shattered into a million pieces. How did it come to this? He no longer had the mental power to even try to form a theory. Instead, his mind filled with darkness.

His soul traveled away from his body, and he didn’t even try to prevent it. Nearby, something exploded, sending Chase’s soul to snap back into his body.

* * *

“I’m really getting tired of your ugly mug,” said Nyx as she turned Ultra Fury.

“You can’t hurt me, Chase won’t allow it,” taunted Ashra’Lur.

“That’s very unlucky for you then that I don’t answer to him. I never have.”

Nyx unleashed a powerful shockwave that knocked Ashra’Lur off her feet. In a swift and fluid motion, Nyx darted forward and grabbed Ashra’Lur’s wrist and spun her around her so fast that the Spectre’s arm snapped and ripped from her body. The female Spectre smashed into the bulkhead and cracked her head.

Nyx looked at the black arm where multiple tendrils shot toward the rest of the body. She slashed through them and incinerated the limb. She then dusted the black ash from her hands.

Ashra’Lur was getting back to her feet as tendrils shot from her shoulder, rebuilding an arm.

Nyx fired multiple golden fireballs toward the Spectre, who dodged the first wave and deflected the next one.

Ashra’Lur glanced at her good wrist and smiled.

“Laugh it up all you want, bitch, I’m coming for you,” said Nyx.

“Perhaps, but not today,” said Ashra’Lur with a two-finger salute.

Red streaks of light engulfed the Spectre, and she beamed away. At the same time, a blaring alarm resounded through the speakers. It kept accelerating.

“I think that’s our queue. That bitch triggered the auto destruct sequence, we gotta go.”

Chase was still on his knees, his gaze empty.

“Hey, wake up!” she insisted. “This ship is about to blow up! We gotta go, now!”

Chase didn’t react. She went to him, grabbed him, and threw him on her shoulder.

“Wait,” said Chase.

“What now?”

“We need to take my brother’s body too.”

“Sorry to tell you this, but it looks like he’s dead.”

“I know. We can’t leave without his body. Please.”

Nyx growled but she used telekinetic energy to lift Argos’s corpse and bring him on her other shoulder. She created a force field around them at the same time the ship burst into flames.

She emerged from the flames and headed toward the Earth Alliance warship that waited nearby.

* * *

“I can’t believe she took my wife and child,” said Chase.

“Well, technically, she is your wife. Well, somehow.”

“This Spectre is nothing like my wife.”

“Now you know why you couldn’t detect her soul inside her body back on Earth,” said Nyx. “They must have replaced her with some sort of dummy clone.”

“I can’t believe this is happening. And Argos…”

Tears flowed on Chase’s face.

Nyx walked toward Chase and hesitated a moment before putting her hand on his shoulder.

“I’m sorry for your loss.”

Chase nodded.

“Was Drakos right? Should I have killed them?”

“Who’s Drakos and who should you have killed?”

“My wife and kid, by finishing Ashra’Lur when I had the chance.”

“Well, I can tell you what I would have done, but somehow I don’t think that will help you right now. Truth be told, it’s not an easy question to answer.”

“She begged me to.”

“Who? Your wife?”

“The both of them, I just couldn’t bring myself to do it.”

“Look. I won’t insult your intelligence by telling you I know what you must be feeling right now. Because the truth of the matter is, I don’t. Would I have killed them if I were in your shoes? Probably, because I can’t stand Spectres, and if members of my family had been…assimilated the way your family has been, I think I would have preferred sacrificing them rather than letting them live this way. But you and I are two different people.”

“Today I wish I would have had your determination.”

“We’ll meet them again, if at that time you think you need to correct today’s decision, I’m sure the opportunity will present itself.”

Will it though? Chase wondered.

“I—I couldn’t break my promise to my daughter. She appeared to me a while back in a vision, and I promised her that I would save them both.”

Nyx grimaced. “Look, even I have to admit you were put in an impossible position.”

“Not according to you. Perhaps you’re right, perhaps I should have honored their sacrifice. After all, that’s what they asked me to do, and I failed them once again.”

“I wouldn’t look at it this way, and right now you’re in pain, so I wouldn’t put much stock in what I’m telling you. I’m sure tomorrow you’ll hate me for even trying to give you my opinion…you and I are, like I said before, very different. Also, let’s not discount the fact that I’ve never had a husband or a child, so I can’t pretend to even remotely understand what was going through your mind. The fact of the matter is, I can’t imagine how hard that decision must have been. As per keeping your promise, I don’t know if that’s even possible. Maybe your daughter, if she is born in a few months, but your wife…seems to me she’s already fully morphed into a full Spectre.”

“I didn’t even know such things were possible. Were you?”

“Not exactly, no.”

Chase raised his head and looked straight at Nyx. “What does that mean?”

“Only that I know that the Spectres have been experimenting with genetic engineering and cross-species. That’s why they kept me alive.”

“Right. Ares mentioned that.”

“I don’t want to be rude or tell you what to do, but…”

“But what?”

“Shouldn’t you let your son know you’re still alive?”

“I know…I don’t know how to tell him that I couldn’t save his uncle.”

“Did you try saving your brother?”

Chase’s anger rose. “What the hell is wrong with you? Of course I did! With every fiber of my being!”

“Then you don’t have to blame yourself for his passing, and while he may resent you today, your son will eventually understand.”

Chase sighed. “I—I need to place that call, if you wouldn’t mind…”

Nyx got up and walked out of the quarters without saying another word.

* * *

The battle wasn’t going well around the super gate. With the Asgardians gone, the remaining fleet simply didn’t have the necessary firepower to bring down the mother ships.

Athena swore.

Was all of this for nothing?

When the next mother ship fully emerged from the gate and jumped away, she considered if it even made sense to stay and fight. With each passing minute, they were losing more ships, lowering their chances of finding a way to either destroy these ships or destroy the gate.

She opened a channel to Engineering.

“How’s my grandson doing?” she asked.

“He’s hanging in there, but that won’t last forever.”

“I’m afraid that goes for the rest of us as well. We either need to shut down this super gate or retreat.”

“I know. I’ve tried all the simulations I could think of, we simply can’t crack the firepower. If only Thor had stayed, there could have been a way.”

“What are you talking about?”

“We can’t destroy enough monoliths to shut down the gate. Now that a connection is open, it makes destroying it all that much harder. It would require at least five of them to be destroyed for the connection to be severed, but if Thor had stayed, I think I had figured out another way to shut it down and create a catastrophic chain reaction that would take out the gate.”

“How?”

“If we had managed to detonate one of the mother ships while it’s still partly inside the event horizon, I believe that the resulting shockwave would destroy the gate.”

“What if we jumped all the ships in the fleet into one of these emerging ships? Would that do the trick?”

“I thought of that, the math doesn’t look good. Their mass is simply too big, I doubt we’d even make a dent.”

“There has to be a way, Kvasir.”

“I did identify a part of the enemy mother ship that, if targeted with enough power, could trigger a chain reaction.”

“Then let’s try it.”

“We’re missing at least twenty-five percent power. There’s no way we can squeeze out that much power, even if we turned off all other systems. If Chase was here, maybe with using what’s left of the StarFury X’s, that is if enough of them survived, maybe, just maybe…if the gods of chance decided to shine on us today, which between you and me is way past time, then I would give us a ten percent chance of pulling it off.”

A bleep next to Athena’s holo-screen diverted her attention.

“Speak of the devil. Send me those coordinates. Chase is on the line.”

* * *

“What’s wrong, Chase?” asked Athena.

“I didn’t expect you to be on the other end of this call. I—I was looking for Chris.”

“What’s going on, son? What happened?”

Chase couldn’t bring himself to look into his mother’s eyes.

“Where’s Argos?” she asked.

“He…he’s gone. I have his body, but his soul was snatched by a Spectre.”

Chase didn’t have to look at his mother to sense the scar his words had on her soul upon hearing his words.

Tears ran down his face. “I’m sorry.”

“Chase. Look at me!”

Chase had to muster all his courage to lift his gaze and look into his mother’s eyes.

“There you go,” added Athena. “If that Spectre has taken your brother’s soul, but his body is still intact, then not all hope is lost. I, for one, refuse to accept your brother is gone, you hear me? You saved Poseidon from this fate once, you can save your brother as well.”

“Except the Spectre that took Poseidon’s soul wasn’t my wife.”

“What? What are you saying, Chase?”

“Ashra’Lur, the Spectre that grabbed Argos’s soul…is Sarah, some monster transformation of her.”

“That’s impossible.”

“That right there is about the exact same reaction I had when I learned the truth. And if Nyx hadn’t intervened, you probably would have lost both your sons today, and that Spectre would be more powerful than ever. I need to tell Chris about his uncle as much as I dread the idea.”

“That’s gonna be tricky right now. How far are you?”

“I don’t know, a few minutes away, I believe. You need our ship?”

“Realistically, we’d need an entire fleet of them, but Kvasir thinks we may have a shadow of a chance if you help us remote fly some ships.”

“Why can’t Chris do that? Is he okay?”

“That’s a very good question. One I can’t really answer.”

“What are you talking about? What’s wrong with my son?”

Athena sighed. “He’s hooked into a contraption that Kvasir devised in the middle of the battle to improve our shields and weapons. I’m not really sure I understand it, nor do I wish to, but it’s hurting Chris, badly.”

“Then get him off that thing!”

“He doesn’t want to, and I can’t blame him. If we do, whatever slim chance we have of shutting that damn gate dies with the rest of us today. To make matters worse, Thor left for Asgard, the planet is under attack, we suspect from the Divine Guards.”

“None of this sounds good…Since I’m probably near enough to the fleet by now, I think I can help you remote control the ships. Just tell me what to do, and please keep an eye on Chris.”

26

Chase had to focus harder than usual to compensate for the fact that he was trying to control the ships while traveling in hyperspace. It made his ability to remote control ships from a distance a little trickier than he was used to.

Eventually, he found the StarFury X’s that had survived, which were only five, and to make matters worse, all their missiles were gone. Once Chris stepped into that chair, the drone fighters had continued fighting on autopilot and were using Chase’s pre-recorded macros to fly themselves against the enemy.

Chase had to hurry, the longer it took to take down the gate, the more Chris was at risk of suffering irreversible damage. What allowed Chase to keep his sanity under the circumstances was the hope he could help heal his son if it came to that. The thought of losing both Argos and Chris on the same day was simply too much to bear.

“I’m in position,” said Chase over the comms.

“The fleet has received the firing coordinates,” said Kvasir. “The latest emerging mother ship is about thirty percent out of the event horizon, in ten more seconds our target will be in sight on this side of the gate. We have to make sure we blow the ship before it’s fully emerged or the gate will survive, and the enemy will send more ships.”

“I suppose if that happens, we’ll try again, right?”

“We can, but with each successive mother ship going through the gate, the enemy destroys some of our own. We already lack firepower, so this may very well be our last shot.”

No pressure, then, thought Chase.

“Fire sequence has begun,” said Kvasir.

Through his mental access to the StarFury X’s, Chase witnessed the fleet combine all their firepower onto a single point on the mother ship’s hull while the enemy’s city-sized fortress fired back at them.

Chris’s presence in the chair meant that the enemy’s weapon impacts on the Alliance’s ships were largely diminished, but the enemy decided to change targets, making sure to find the weakest ships attacking them and focusing all their aggro on those ships.

“Should I jump a StarFury now? Before they pick our ships off one by one?” asked Chase.

“Yes, I suppose we need the sensor data from it, hoping I’ll be able to ascertain if this is even a viable tactic.”

“What if we bypassed the testing? And simply jump all five of the ones left? That way we get the maximum firepower out of the only drone StarFuries we have left.”

“Going all-in, then?”

“Might as well.”

Chase set the drone StarFuries’ engines to overload and jumped them in sequence toward the center point where the fleet was hitting the mother ship with everything they had.

The starfighters exploded on the surface one by one, and when the fifth one hit, a major cascade of smaller explosions happened all around the impact.

“Is it working?” asked Chase.

Before Kvasir could answer, the cascade stopped propagating.

“I’m afraid not, we still need more power.”

“What if we jumped a larger ship?”

“Because our weapons are so much more efficient now, trading one ship’s weapons for a single boom has very little chance of working.”

“We need to try something! What about power optimization?”

“Most ships are already running with their hyperspace engines down, lower shields power, at least those who can afford that, and minimum life support.”

“I’m sure we can squeeze more power if I interface directly with their computers.”

“We have less than three minutes left until that ship passes through and no doubt jumps away, so at this point, do what you have to.”

Chase interfaced with all the computers in each ship left in the fleet and redistributed every single percent of power he could squeeze from the different systems. The firing rate increased as did the power.

It was, however, taking a lot of mental strain for Chase to do so, especially after the battles he had fought today and how dark he felt inside his soul after Argos had fallen.

But he pushed through the pain, sadness, and fear as he was aware how close the universe was to the brink of total annihilation.

“Whatever you did,” said Kvasir, “I must say it’s impressive. Unfortunately, we’re still lacking a good ten percent power, even if we did turn off all our shields and redirected power, the enemy would wipe us out of the sky before we managed to do the necessary damage. I’m afraid we simply don’t have enough ships.”

Chase swore in his mind. After everything that had unfolded today, after all the sacrifices, they still couldn’t get the job done. That’s when he thought of a solution, the same kind he had thought about when all hope seemed lost onboard the spider ship.

He checked his ship’s systems on how long until he could join the fight. It would be a tight window, but he would still have a forty-second window to tip the balance.

The ship he was currently on was a corvette-class, so its firepower wouldn’t give them the firepower boost they needed. However, Chase could risk his life to give the fleet the missing power. If he flew through the mother ship, in Ultra Fury mode, perhaps that would give the Alliance the edge they needed. It would most likely be a one-way trip, especially in his current state since his own body was already running on fumes.

* * *

Chris hadn’t moved from the fetal position, and the sand was burning his skin, but he didn’t care. He couldn’t move; he didn’t want to move. The pain growing in every fiber of his being was simply too much to bear.

Argos was gone…

How would Chris go on without his uncle?

Argos had been his mentor, his best friend, and quite honestly, his father figure.

Chris wished with all his heart that it was a hallucination, that it was this place showing him a possible future and that none of it were true or hadn’t even happened yet. That it was only a nightmare and he would soon wake up and be able to hold Argos in his arms.

But he couldn’t shake the feeling that what he had sensed had nothing to do with the visions he was experiencing from his body in the chair.

He had to be sure, though, even though deep down, he was nearly certain.

Chris slowly moved and forced himself to his feet, he closed his eyes and focused intensely in trying to expand his consciousness outside of the chair, outside of the Hope itself, searching for Argos’s and Chase’s life forces.

The amount of pain he received from doing this while his brain was under tremendous amount of pressure from Kvasir’s machine was beyond torture, but Chris pushed through, nonetheless.

After a while, he located his father’s energy.

Dad? Can you hear me?

Chris! Yes, how are…

But Chase let the words trail.

Argos is dead, isn’t he?

There was a long pause.

Yes, I’m sorry. I tried to save him, but Ashra’Lur got his soul.

New tears flowed onto the sand-dried ones already smudged all over Chris’s face.

He hated that woman! And that hatred materialized on the planet where he was standing, turning the sky dark into thick black clouds discharging tremendous thunderbolts toward the surface, some hitting Chris himself.

With each thunderbolt striking him, Chris’s thirst for vengeance grew stronger, chipping away at the kindness in his heart.

In the distance, Chris could hear his father’s voice, but it was muffled. Chris was no longer able to hear him, or he simply didn’t care about hearing anything anymore.

That’s when, under the pressure of the surrounding elements and Chris’s growing thirst for revenge, the planet exploded.

* * *

Chris was seizing in the chair, blood flowing from his eyes, ears, and mouth.

Kvasir’s heart skipped a beat as the chair cracked and sparks flew around and scalding hot fluids sprayed from it like geysers.

“What’s happening?” asked Chase. “Every ship is losing power!”

“Chris is having a seizure, and it’s taking the chair with him. It’s over, we’ve lost.”

* * *

Chase had moved to the bridge by the time the ship he was on exited hyperspace and added its meager firepower to the mix. He had less than a minute to make a decision, but already the enemy had taken advantage of the weakened shields as the firepower of the fleet was fading with every passing second.

Chase knew he had to make a decision quickly. He could only do one of two things. Throw himself with everything he had in the center of the mother ship or beam to the Hope and save his son’s life. He didn’t need Kvasir to tell him how bad Chris was. Chase could sense his son’s life energy dwindling with each passing moment.

Chase’s fingers hovered near the transporter controls in the captain’s chair. All he needed to do was pick a set of coordinates, and choose between the space outside or the Hope’s engineering room.

Even if Chase went after the mother ship and somehow survived, it would be too late to save Chris.

Was he prepared to lose his son and his brother on the same day?

That thought paralyzed him from making the decision, and so the universe presented its own.

“Multiple hyperspace windows forming!” exclaimed a bridge officer.

That snapped Chase’s mind from its infinite loop.

“What? Are they friend or foe?”

“That’s—that’s impossible,” said the officer, his voice trembling.

Chase swiped the transporter controls away and brought up the tactical display. Eight Fury Super Destroyers had jumped out of hyperspace.

“The enemy ships are powering their weapons! Brace for impact!” exclaimed the tactical officer.

What the hell is going on? Did we miss some Fury ships at the end of the war? Have they now come to exert revenge by finishing us off, when we’re most vulnerable?

“They’re targeting the Spectres mother ship!” shouted the officer.

What?!?

The Fury Super Destroyers joined their plasma canons firing power and focused everything at their disposal into a single and combined plasma beam of tremendous power, targeting the exact same point where the rest of the fleet had been firing upon.

The mother ship was almost fully through the gate when the Fury beam of red plasma impacted with it. The overall combined firepower burst through the hull of the mother ship and a cascade of explosions took the city-sized fortress out.

The event horizon destabilized, sending a flurry of shockwaves and giant lightning bolt sizzles on the surface of the monoliths, which began blowing up one by one. When enough of them were taken out, the interdimensional connection was severed as the explosions continued until no other monoliths were spared.

“I’ll be damned,” said Chase.

EPILOGUE

Chase beamed next to Chris, who was lying on the floor in a pool of his own blood.

“Chris!” he exclaimed as he rushed to his side.

Chase put his hands on his son’s chest and started healing him.

Chris’s heartbeat was almost gone, it only beat every few seconds, and Chase had a hard time healing him fast enough with the minute amounts of energy left at his disposal.

Don’t die, son, I beg you, please don’t die!

Chase transferred all the energy he had left, pushing himself past safe levels regardless of his own life, but then his son’s heart stopped.

“Noooooo!” he screamed.

Chase used an electric discharge to try to restart Chris’s heart over and over, but it wasn’t working.

Nyx, I need you here, now!

A few seconds later, Nyx materialized and rushed to Chris’s side.

She added her own healing powers to Chase’s and hit the boy’s heart with a powerful trio of blows before resuming the healing.

That’s when Chase felt it. Chris’s faint heartbeat.

Nyx had her eyes closed, and Chase could sense the immense amount of healing power she was transferring to his son.

Chris’s mouth opened and gasped for air as Chase’s face became covered in tears.

“Thank you, I…I thought I had lost him too,” said Chase.

Nyx nodded as she continued to pour healing energy into Chris’s body.

“He’ll be fine, he’s no longer in danger.”

She removed one of her hands from Chris’s chest and put it on Chase’s shoulder, transferring some of her energy into him as well.

Chris blinked his eyes open a few times.

“Dad, Nyx? What—what happened?”

“Just relax, son, it’s over.”

* * *

When Argos resumed consciousness, he was in a beautiful, lush place.

He got up from the ground and looked at his hands. They were translucent. In fact, his entire body was translucent and didn’t feel solid.

What the hell is this? Am I dead?

Argos looked around and saw a long line of people walking like zombies toward the horizon.

“What is this place?” he said out loud.

“I think you know,” said a familiar voice behind him.

Argos turned and saw Zeus.

“I can’t exactly say I’m happy to see you here,” said Zeus. “As we both know what that entails, but I suppose it’s good to see you.”

“I’m dead.”

“Sort of, that would be my guess.”

“What do you mean, sort of? Am I dead or am I not?”

“I wish I knew, Argos. But you see, when someone dies, they usually are part of this group,” he said pointing toward the long line of people. “Today, thousands of them arrived, but you aren’t walking toward the void like they are, not to mention you look like you’re here without being here.”

“But why? What makes me different?”

“I’m afraid I have no idea, but if I had to take a guess, something must have happened to your soul.”

That’s when Argos had a flashback of his last moments with Chase trying to prevent his soul from being swallowed by the Spectre. And as Chase tried repelling the Spectre’s attack with a Perseus shield, Chase involuntary sectioned Argos’s soul in half.

“I think my soul has been cut in half.”

“That would explain why you don’t appear fully solid.”

Argos looked at his translucent arm once more. “Now what?”

“For as long as I can remember, this has never happened before, but mind you I haven’t been the keeper of the Underworld for all that long. There might be someone who could tell us more about your condition, if we can find him.”

“Who?”

“If anyone knows what’s happening to you and how to fix it, that would be Hades.”

* * *

On the bridge of the Hope, Athena, speechless, gazed at the fireworks of the exploding super gate.

Why had the Furies helped them? And, for that matter, where the hell had they come from?

Part of her didn’t really care as to why and was just grateful.

Without their intervention, none of them would be alive, and the Spectres would have managed to gain more than a foothold situation they were left with. Instead, today would have been remembered as the day the Spectres invaded their dimension in full force. With no one left alive to stop them.

The Alliance would still have to track down and destroy the few ships that had managed to make it through to this side, but at least, now, there was still hope.

Hope, even in short supply, was a tremendous force to be reckoned with.

“Captain,” said the comms officer.

“What is it?” answered Athena.

“The lead Fury ship is hailing us.”

TO BE CONTINUED…

(Keep reading Book 14: Dominion right now)

BOOK 14: DOMINION

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Cover artwork by Christian Kallias - kallias.com

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www.twitter.com/kalliasx

Production Editor & Alpha/ARC Team Lead

Paula Lavattiata Lopez (myeditcheck.com)

Editors

Paula Lavattiata Lopez (myeditcheck.com)

Proofreaders

Paula Lavattiata Lopez (myeditcheck.com)

ARC Team (Special thanks to Davis Shellabarger & Eugenia K.)

COPYRIGHT

Copyright © 2020 by Christian Kallias

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

First Printing of original book, 2020

Version 1.00

DRAMATIS PERSONÆ

Earth Alliance

Admiral Chase Athanatos – Earth Alliance Fury Olympian hybrid - Hero of the Fury War

Captain Sarah Kepler Athanatos – Earth Human with Fury powers (body-snatched by Ashra’Lur)

Chris Athanatos – Fury Human hybrid

Emperor Altair – Head of the Earth Alliance (formerly Obsidian Empire Emperor)

Captain Daniel Tharraleos (dan-yel tha-rah-leh-os) – Earth Alliance Human (formerly Star Alliance)

Chief Engineer Yanis Tixichos (yah-nis tee-hee-hos) – Earth Alliance Human (formerly Star Alliance)

R&D Engineer Spiros Malayianis (spee-ros ma-lah-yah-nis) – Earth Alliance Human (formerly Star Alliance)

Argos Thanatos – Fury Olympian hybrid and Chase’s twin brother (formerly head of the Zarlacks)

Ryonna Isch’ys – Droxian Ambassador (formerly a fugitive Droxian smuggler)

Captain Ronan Isch’ys - Droxian

Talon Epizon – Earth Alliance captain

Tar’Lock (tahr-lock) – EAD Helios’s First Officer - Gorgar (Insectoid and formerly a Hellstar prisoner)

Cedric - Human engineer

Olympians

Aphroditis (a-fro-dee-tee) – known to humans as the goddess of love

Ares (ah-rees) – known to humans as the god of war (deceased, living as pure energy form)

Poseidon - known to the humans as the god of the seas

Artemis - known to the humans as the goddess of the hunt

Spectres

Asrak’Vor – Spectre Commander (brother of Tanak’Vor)

Ashra’Lur – Female Spectre Warrior

Spectre Prime - Supreme Leader of the Spectres, member of the Council of Twelve.

Furies

Nyx – Fury Warrior

Menelas - Fury Warrior (Chase and Argos’s father)

Neeva - Fleet Admiral

Asgardians

Thor – King of Asgard, Fleet Commander & son of Odin (former King of Asgard / deceased)

Kvasir (kvah-seer) – Asgardian scientist

Loki - Thor’s brother

Siegfried - Divine Asgardian Guard

Fenrir - Divine Asgardian Guard

Grunhild - Divine Asgardian Guard

Other characters

Keera - (Former) Bounty Hunter

Ka’Rij (kah-reej) Dragonman

Kharon - Chase and Sarah’s unborn daughter

PREVIOUSLY ON UNIVERSE IN FLAMES - DARK LEGACY

Previously in Season One (Books 1–10):

In the wake of a genocidal tragedy, the Star Alliance fled their corner of the universe to survive the onslaught from the Obsidian Empire. In doing so, the Alliance found both an ally and a sanctuary on a faraway planet called Earth. With their new ally, the Star Alliance formed the Earth Alliance and fought alongside other races (Droxians, Olympians, and Asgardians) in the new Fury War (known as the second Fury War). Furies—human-looking creatures with incredibly powerful fighting abilities and the scourge of the universe—were once thought extinct for ten thousand years. But against all the odds, they returned. Originally, a coalition of worlds led by the Olympians, Asgardians, and many other older civilizations defeated the Furies during the first Fury War. But the Fury’s planet, Erevos, wasn’t destroyed and was trapped in an alternate dimension where time advanced slower than in their original dimension (the same dimension where Earth resides). Upon their return, the Furies waged a terrible war against the Earth Alliance and the entire universe in an effort to cleanse the galaxy of the races that once defied and imprisoned them. Chase Athanatos (a Fury hybrid), along with his friends and loved ones, fought the Furies at every turn and eventually won the battle. But at a terrible personal cost to Chase. He lost many people he cared for, and the final battle saw his wife, Sarah, mortally wounded by an enemy that had been steering the Fury’s campaign behind the scenes: The Spectres. Chase defeated Tanak’Vor, the only Spectre known to have crossed over to this universe’s dimension.

BOOK 11: Nemesis

Chase decides to go to the unknown regions where he hopes to find a cure for Sarah. While planning to go alone on this mission, he’s joined by many of his friends, as well as his estranged son (Chris). A small number of Spectre ships made it through to this dimension when Chase and the Alliance sent Erevos back to the Spectre’s dimension before the soul ships blew up the planet. The leader of these Spectres is none other than Tanak’Vor’s brother, Asrak’Vor. He’s bound on seeking revenge for the murder of his brother and will do anything to kill the one called Chase Athanatos. Meanwhile, in the other dimension, shortly after Erevos is destroyed, Ares regains consciousness. He is baffled that he survived the explosion of the Fury planet. He boards a Spectre ship, and while trying to acquire intel about the Spectres from within, he stumbles upon a female Fury survivor—Nyx. Nyx is being hunted by the Spectres and the two are forced, against their better judgment, to join forces and escape the Spectres. The unlikely alliance yields a treasure trove of information, and Nyx learns that the arachnoids, a slave race working for the Spectres, are experimenting on her, and using her DNA to create something else, something sinister. Ares learns the ship they’re on also contains a prototype engine the Spectres intend to use to send an invasion armada to attack the Earth Alliance. Nyx and Ares manage to use the ship to return to their dimension, but they make sure the ship doesn’t survive the trip. Chase and his friends encounter new dangers in the unknown regions and are saved by a Dragonman of Kyria called Ka’Rij. He recognized Chase as the one he calls “Dragonheart” and asks the Alliance for help in saving his world and the last survivors of his race on New Kyria. Chase, Argos, and Chris help Ka’Rij repel the Hellion Empire from New Kyria and Ka’Rij gives Chase some of his tears, which he believes will cure Sarah of her ailment. Chase and his friends return and use the dragon tears on both Aphroditis and Sarah. The Goddess of Love recovers, but Sarah does not, to both Chase’s and Chris’s dismay. Ares returns and meets with Chase, only to deliver the news that the Spectres are working on a way to invade the Earth Alliance.

* * *

Book 12: Unleashed

When a Spectre attacks an ancient Asgardian ship, the Aegir One, a prisoner, Siegfried, who has been in cryo-sleep for thousands of years, is released by the ship’s captain, hoping he can help save the ship. The Spectre kills everyone on board. Even the ship’s captain is himself defeated by Siegfried, who didn’t have to deploy much of his power to terminate any threat.

Thor learns of the event and asks Poseidon to help him recapture Siegfried, a Divine Asgardian Guard (super soldier) genetically created by Odin and Zeus at the end of the first Fury War. The Guards were designed to clean up the last few thousands of Furies scattered throughout the universe at the end of the war. Thor explains that once the Asgardian Guards finished what they were created for, they turned against their creators and were hunted down one by one. From the original seven, four were killed, and the other three were captured and put into cryo-sleep for all eternity.

Meanwhile, Chris and Argos help Ka’Rij deal with multiple attacks from the Hellion Empire, apparently trying to find a specific location on New Kyria, which forces Chris and Argos to investigate what’s so special about the place. Menelas wakes up not knowing who he is or why he is imprisoned. With the help of another inmate, a female named Diaspira, he recovers some of his memories and they manage to escape their prison. But Diaspira double-crosses him in order to run experiments on his Fury DNA. Chris and Argos find the place the Hellion Empire were after and locate a facility with ancient technology protected by an Atlantian AI who gives Chris access to the technology before the AI is erased from existence. The facility contains an Atlantian cosmo gateway, or a gate allowing its users to travel to other worlds in the blink of an eye. While testing the technology, Chris detects Menelas’s life sign through an open gateway, and Chris and Argos go to rescue him.

Ashra’Lur, a female Spectre, is sent to divert the Earth Alliance from the gateway the Spectres are creating in order to open a door between dimensions. Ashra’Lur attacks Alkyon One, the space station still being built that Daniel captains. Chase intervenes and saves the station, but during the attack, Ashra’Lur boards his ship, and they end up fighting. Ashra’Lur is about to snatch Chase’s soul when Nyx saves his life.

Ryonna goes to help her husband, who she thought was long dead, only to learn that her son is now in the hands of the Spectres. Ryonna and Jax team up to rescue their son, while Talon and Tar’Lock are dispatched to find Ryonna. With the help of Talon and Tar’Lock, Ryonna and Jax manage to save their son and return to Earth Alliance space.

Poseidon, Ares, and Thor try to recapture Siegfried but fail in their mission. They decide to try to secure the other two Asgardian Guards, but Thor’s obsession to keep his father’s wishes in not murdering the guards, allows one mistake after another until the worst possible scenario happens—all three Guards are released.

Talon informs Chase that the Spectres are creating a giant space gateway that could potentially allow their enemy to bring reinforcements into their dimension.

* * *

BOOK 13: RECKONING

The Alliance assembles the largest fleet to take down the dimensional super gate currently being assembled by the Spectres.

Asrak’Vor is determined to get his revenge on Chase for killing his brother Tanak. With the help of Ashra’Lur, they set a trap for Chase. Before Chase is forcefully beamed out of the Hope, Argos grabs him, and together, they fight Asrak’Vor in an epic confrontation. During the battle, Ashra takes advantage of her superior and decides to kill Asrak on her own, assimilating his souls and powering up in the process.

Argos is knocked out, and Chase has to face Ashra on his own. As the fight progresses, Chase realizes he won’t be able to defeat the Spectre female, and when she’s about to grab his soul, Argos awakens and sacrifices himself to save his brother. Chase does everything he can to save Argos’s soul and accidentally splits it in half.

In his rage over losing his brother, Chase transforms and elevates his power. With this newfound power, he nearly obliterates Ashra, who is forced to reveal that she is, in fact, a Spectre inside his wife’s body. This revelation throws Chase off guard and prevents him from killing her. Taking advantage of his lowered guard, Ashra attempts to rip out Chase’s soul once more. This time, Nyx intervenes and sends Ashra running for her life.

Meanwhile, the Alliance fleet struggles and fails to destroy the super gate before multiple Spectre ships can fly through. In an attempt to improve Alliance weapons, Kvasir creates a machine that requires Chris to take life-or-death risks in order to destroy the gate and close the rift between both dimensions. But just when the Alliance is about to destroy the gate, Thor learns the Asgardian Guards are attacking his planet, Asgard. He leaves the fleet, putting the Alliance in the direst of situations.

As the Alliance is about to be defeated, a small Fury fleet jumps in, and against all odds, they join forces with the Alliance to destroy the super gate and close the rift.

Argos wakes up in the Underworld, but quickly realize he’s not all there.

And now the continuation….

PROLOGUE

Chase was observing Chris sleeping when his wrist holo-device buzzed. He quietly left his son’s room before answering the call.

Kvasir’s face filled the small holo-screen hovering over Chase’s wrist.

“What can I do for you, Kvasir?”

“I wanted to ask, or more accurately, plead with you to help my world.”

Chase thought about it, and his first thought was to refuse. After all, Thor had not kept his promise and left the fleet at a critical time, which could have cost countless lives throughout the universe.

Chase didn’t want to hate Thor for his actions, and part of him understood why he did what he did. But that didn’t mean he was ready to forgive him for leaving. However, Chase had promised to help him defeat the Guards after the Asgardians helped the Alliance stop the Spectres. He couldn’t punish an entire civilization for the actions of one man, no matter how misguided those actions had been.

And yet, the ones who managed to save the Alliance from the Spectres were enemies of old. The Furies. The irony wasn’t lost on Chase.

“I’m not sure Thor deserves our help after what he’s pulled.”

“I can’t defend my king’s actions. As a matter of fact, I’m ashamed of them, but I don’t want all of my people to pay for his foolishness, so I’m asking you as a personal favor.”

“I know, Kvasir. You should also know that I’m quite displeased with you for what you’ve put my son through.”

“I deserve that, and I’ll take responsibility for my actions. I didn’t see any other way for us to win the battle.”

“And while you probably helped us achieve the win, my son’s heart stopped. I don’t know what I would have done to you if he didn’t survive. If it weren’t for Nyx, I would have lost him. Do you have any idea how that makes me feel?”

“I do, but in my defense, he was the one who insisted on going back into the machine. I informed Chris it could kill him. In the end, it was his choice and the reason we’re all still alive.”

“Well, that sounds like my son, alright…that doesn’t mean I have to be happy about it.”

“Fair enough. I’m sorry for risking your son’s life.”

“We have to meet with the Furies before we can go, see what they want, though, at this point, I can’t say I care. How ironic that they saved our lives. After I meet with them, I suppose we can help Asgard. Perhaps I can convince them to help us in that endeavor as well.”

“But if we wait too long, Asgard may fall.”

“We’ll do all we can to prevent that, but if Thor had stayed, we’d already be on our way to Asgard, together. There have to be some consequences for abandoning the Alliance in the middle of an intergalactic invasion. I’m sure you can, at the very least, agree with that.”

“I just worry that every minute counts.”

“And it may very well, but we’ve just been saved by our mortal enemies, I can’t brush it all away and tell them we’ll talk later. Without them, we’d all be in the Underworld right now.”

“I guess I’ll have to hope we’re not too late.”

“Thor must be halfway to Asgard by now. At the very least, he’ll engage the Guards and keep them busy until our arrival. But if it makes you feel better, I’ll send the Droxian ships ahead to provide some early support.”

“Thank you, Chase.”

“Don’t thank me yet. Thor will have to bear the responsibilities of his action, your people’s standing with the Alliance may very well be at stake.”

“I understand. Thor has not been the same since the Guards returned.”

“On that, we can certainly agree. Though, if you ask me, he hasn’t been the same even before then.”

Kvasir’s facial tattoos pulsed. “Correct, he’s been different since Odin was killed.”

* * *

Chase stood by Chris’s bed until he opened his eyes.

“D—Dad?”

“Hey, son. How are you feeling?”

“Okay…I think.”

Tears filled Chris’s eyes. “Argos…”

“I know, son. I’m so sorry I didn’t manage to save him. In fact, he’s the one who saved me. He sacrificed his life to save mine. But know that I didn’t want this to happen.”

“I’m not surprised…I guess it’s in our family’s DNA to be willing to sacrifice ourselves for others. One could call it a genetic flaw.”

“I had not thought of it that way, but I guess there’s some truth to that. After all, you were willing to deny your own life to help your mother and I beat the Furies. Were you not?”

“Yes, I was ready to give up my life in a heartbeat.”

“Your uncle made a similar choice. I just wish I had avenged his death.”

“Why didn’t you?”

“The answer to that question is going to be a shock. Are you sure you want us to talk about it now? Perhaps you should rest a bit before we have this conversation.”

“No, I’m all right, dad. I need to know.”

“It’s about that female Spectre.”

“The one that beat you once before? Is she the one who ripped Argos’s soul?”

“She is.”

Chris growled. “I hate her!”

“I know how you feel. I did too.”

“Did?”

“Oh boy…this is not going to be easy to say…but I better try and explain it. Ashra’Lur…”

But Chase couldn’t fathom finishing the sentence.

“Say it, dad. What?”

Chase swallowed hard. “Ashra’Lur is Sarah.”

“What? Our Sarah? That can’t be…it can’t be!”

“I assure you, I even talked with your mother telepathically. She’s in that…monster, or she is now the monster, I don’t know how this works. I can tell you your mom isn’t in control, I think that Spectre’s blood poisoned her entire being and somehow turned her into this Spectre called Ashra.”

“But what about the Sarah that’s back on Earth?”

“I’m not sure, but probably a clone. They must have swapped her with our Sarah while we were searching for a cure in the unknown regions.”

“That would explain why we couldn’t detect her soul anymore when we returned with the Dragonmen’s tears.”

“Or why it didn’t work in the first place, even though the tears healed Aphroditis.”

“Yes, that would make sense. What are we going to do to save mom? And what about Kharon?”

“Yes, we need to find a way to save your sister as well.”

“Dad, she appeared to me in one of my visions when I was inside Kvasir’s infernal machine. I also had a vision of Argos dying there. I didn’t understand the vision as it unfolded, it was unclear and confusing, but I could tell the culprit was that…female Spectre. I—I can’t bring myself to call her mom. That thing, Ashra, I could sense she was the one who killed Argos.”

“She isn’t your mother, not anymore in this form. Whatever Ashra turned her into, she’s no longer human. That much is certain. And even if there is a small part of your mother still left in her, it’s being canceled by the Spectre.”

“But you said you spoke to mom?”

“For a brief moment, and it felt like her, but who knows if that wasn’t a trick to prevent me from finishing her off.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m still unsure, son. She and Kharon both asked me to kill them. Why would they ask this of me? Especially your mother, she knows I already went through something similar when I killed her clone. At the end of the day, no matter their wishes, I—I simply couldn’t bring myself to do it.”

Tears filled Chase’s eyes this time.

“If it makes you feel any better, I don’t think I could have either,” said Chris.

“Moments before, when I lost Argos, I was ready to destroy her. In fact, I almost killed them. Of course, back in that moment of vengeful rage, I didn’t know they were inside Ashra.”

“Makes sense, we do seem to get more powerful when angry in these moments, don’t we?”

“Oh, yeah, no doubt about that. When she grabbed Argos’s soul, I lost it and let my anger take control, and in doing so, I reached a new level of power.”

“You mean something beyond Ultra Fury?”

“Yes, I guess you could say that, and in that state, Drakos returned as my aura, it’s difficult to explain. In fact, he’s the one who stopped me from obliterating Ashra. The amount of power, the speed, the clarity in channeling my power had reached levels I never thought possible.”

“Wow. So you turned into what? Hyper Fury?”

Chase smiled. “Mmm…I guess we could call it that.”

“Will you teach me to reach that level of power too? Is Drakos still with you?”

“No. In fact, he said goodbye. Apparently, my emotional distress in learning about Ashra’s true identity decreased my focus, and he said I may never reach it again.”

“That’s bullshit, you and I both know you’ll train and fight as many opponents as needed until it comes back to you. No matter how long that takes, you’ll get there. In fact, now that I know we can reach another level of power, I’m going to do the same. I just…I just wish Argos was here so we can all train together.”

“I know how you feel. At least I did bring back his body, so…if we can get a piece of his soul back…”

Chris’s eyes widened. “You could reintegrate it into his body?”

“Yes. That’s the idea. With a caveat.”

“And what would that be?”

“As Ashra was siphoning his soul, I tried to hold him and had to create a Perseus Mirror Shield to deflect one of her attacks. In doing so, I accidentally sectioned Argos’s soul in half. I was trying to stop his soul from being snatched away, and trust me, son, I never intended to slice it.”

“I know you did your best, dad. What do you think it means, though, and where did the other half of his soul go?”

“It turned into a bright light and shot down into the floor, disappearing.”

“Perhaps he’s in the Underworld, then. At least, part of him.”

“Or I damaged his soul forever and killed any chance we ever had to save my brother.”

“I won’t accept that, and my heart tells me there’s a way to save him. Before we arrive at such dire conclusions, you’d better talk with Ares and see if you can visit the Underworld. Perhaps we’ll get more answers that way.”

“That’s a good idea. I should probably ask Hades for his counsel too.”

“Hades? What does he have to do with anything?”

“Yes, Hades. He came to me in my thoughts during the battle; in fact, he helped me fight Asrak’Vor.”

“Who’s Asrak’Vor?”

“He was with Ashra, and, believe it or not, he was Tanak’s brother. As powerful as him, too, if not more.”

“And is he…?”

“Dead? Yes. Not by my hands, though, not for my lack of trying. I threw everything I had at him.”

“So, if you didn’t kill Asrak, who did? Argos?”

“Ashra did. First, she saved his life when I was about to finish him off, and a minute later, she decapitated him and drained him of all his souls. I guess she had planned that outcome all along. The only way we can ever hope to defeat her is to get to that Hyper Fury level. I can tell you that in Ultra Fury form…” Chase let the words trail for a moment. “I’m afraid we don’t stand a chance in hell.”

“Then we’ll reach that higher level, together, and we’ll find a way to save Argos. Maybe mom and Kharon, too.”

Chase wanted to tell his son that he didn’t know if that was even in the realm of possibilities, but after all Chris had been through today, crushing his spirits didn’t seem like the fatherly thing to do. His son was right, before jumping to any conclusions, he’d need to go to the Underworld and try to get some answers.

“Yes, son, whatever happens next, we’ll do it together.”

* * *

“Hey, Argos,” said a familiar voice.

Argos turned and saw a beautiful woman walking toward him.

“Oryn! I didn’t expect to see you here.”

She smiled. “I could say the same thing about you.”

“Fair enough.”

“Though, I find it quite disturbing that I can partially see through you. What has happened to you? In fact, why the hell are you even here?”

“I wish I knew. And if you think it’s disturbing looking at me, or in this case, through me, imagine how I feel about it.”

“It must be tough. Are you solid or more like Ares?”

“I don’t know.”

“Let’s find out,” said Oryn, slapping Argos on the cheek.

His face registered the impact and moved to the side.

“Hey! Was that the best way to achieve your test?”

She shrugged. “Well, it’s a fun way.”

“For you, perhaps.”

“Stop it, you sissy, at least now we know, and if you ask me, I think it’s good news.”

“You and I have a very different view of what constitutes good news. But for the sake of argument, would you mind enlightening me?”

“You see, when I died and came here, at first, I was really content redecorating this place,” she said, waving her hand around all the beautiful gardens reminiscent of Olympus, “with dad’s help, but now I’m bored out of my skull. I’ve tried asking him to spar with me, but he’s not into it. He said fighting for tens of thousands of years was enough and that he didn’t want to do it anymore, even just for fun. Now that you’re here, maybe we could train together.”

“Train? For what purpose? I gotta go with Zeus on this one. If we’re dead, what’s the point?”

“I may be dead…it’s true, my body was destroyed. But that’s my situation. Yours may be different. Chase might be able to bring you back if your body is still intact.”

“Well, technically, he could bring you back as well. In fact, there are better chances for you than there is for me.”

“What the hell are you talking about? How so?”

“Well, if he can find some of your DNA, and I’m not saying it’s possible, but he could clone you a new body. As for me, the reason I’m here but not fully here is that my soul was ripped in two. I can’t tell exactly how, but I don’t feel like I’m all here, even in terms of my consciousness. It’s like some parts of me are missing. I know that must sound crazy.”

“Not really, no. I would imagine having half a soul would do that to you. Though, if you ask me, it’s a miracle that you’re here at all.”

“I suppose…”

“No, Argos, think about it. Your soul was ripped in two, yet you endure. This is nothing short of miraculous.”

“I’m not really into miracles.”

“Says the walking one.”

Argos smiled. “I’m not sure about the training, unless there are other activities around here.”

“Planting more colorful flowers, tending to the trees over there, how does that sound?”

Argos chuckled. “Training it is, then.”

* * *

Chase turned on the holo-screen in his quarters. Keera was on the line.

“Hey,” said Chase.

“Hi, Chase. I’ve looked into what you asked me.”

“And?”

“And baby Shayna, cute little girl, by the way…she has Fury genes.”

“That would explain a lot.”

“You knew, didn’t you?”

“Let’s just say I suspected.”

“How the hell did you think of checking her for Fury genes?”

“I hadn’t until Nyx said something to me. How the Spectres had experimented on her. Knowing now what I didn’t know back then when I saved her and her mother. Like the fact that Spectres bled through our dimension during the battle of Erevos. Then that last piece of information gave me a clearer vision of the puzzle.”

“So, the Spectres want to acquire Fury DNA? And that’s why they were after the baby?”

“I think they already have Fury DNA with Nyx, in the other dimension and through Shayna’s on our side. I didn’t understand at first what it was that the arachnoid wanted with the little girl, then Nyx told me that she had found a lab with monstrosities made of either Spectre or arachnoid mixed with her Fury DNA. Then it all clicked. That’s what they were after, and that’s why that Spectre agent sacrificed herself, but not before acquiring some of the baby’s blood.”

“If I follow your logic correctly, and tell me if I’m wrong, but wouldn’t that mean that they’re also creating Fury hybrids here?”

“I don’t know if they have the necessary equipment, but they certainly must be considering it. Now that numerous ships have made it to our side, I’m sure they’ll have the resources they need to finish their research.

“Assuming they haven’t already, you mean?”

“Yeah, but something tells me if they had viable hybrids already, we would have met some. Whatever the case is, we better stop them. I don’t like the idea of these Fury-clone hybrids. We have no idea what to expect from such a gene pairing.”

“I can see why you’d want to get ahead of that.”

“Thank you, Keera. You’ve been very helpful.”

“Anytime, Chase.”

* * *

Asgard Prime’s palace trembled all around Loki.

“I won’t let you destroy my world!” he exclaimed out loud.

Loki used all the trickery he was known for, and, up until now, it had mostly worked. Though creating a holographic illusion on a planet-wide scale had not been an easy feat. But for the time being, it seemed to have fooled the Guards. They were convinced most cities had been destroyed in their first bombardment wave.

A subspace signal interrupted his focus. It was his brother.

“Thor! When the hell are you getting here? I’m running out of tricks to repel the enemy.”

“Repel them? Our sensors are reporting all our cities destroyed already!”

“Well…sort of, more like delay them. I’ve used our holographic technology to simulate damage on most of our cities when, in fact, I had been working on defense shield domes for each major city on our planet for quite a while now. After what happened to our father, I expected the Spectres to come back one day, and I wanted us to be prepared.”

“Why wasn’t I informed?”

“I don’t think right now is the time to worry about it. I took the initiative, one that has saved millions of lives.”

Thor’s tattoos flashed rapidly. “You’re right, I should be thanking you. So the images I’ve seen…of our cities in flames from orbit.”

“An illusion. But if you don’t get here fast, the shields will fail, and the cities will fall. For real this time.”

“You don’t realize because you couldn’t have known, but I’ve abandoned our allies at a crucial time during the Spectres’ invasion, and they may not look too kindly upon us because of that. I’m afraid we may be on our own to save Asgard.”

“Our world is under attack, you only did what they would have done if it had been Earth.”

“I’m not so sure about that, if I had known you were holding them off with this ingenious trick of yours, I might have given the Alliance the few minutes they needed to win the battle. You should have told me, brother.”

“Well, it’s too late now, for what it’s worth, I’m sorry, but I’m not sorry to see our ships return. Like you said, though, I couldn’t have known.”

“I suppose it doesn’t really matter now…we’ll deal with the fallout of my actions later.”

“When are you expected to arrive?”

“In under an hour. Can you hold them off?”

“Other ships are approaching, and I think they’ll reach here before you. When they do, it may be difficult to hold them all off. But I’ll do my best.”

“What other ships? Our long-range sensors aren’t detecting them.”

“Well, that’s not surprising. The same happened to us here, we didn’t see the Balder until it was in orbit, firing at the planet. Not to mention it quickly took control of our own defenses, turning them against us.”

“That would be Grunhild. She can affect weak minds.”

“Not sure the captains of these ships would appreciate being called that.”

“And yet, they’re firing at their own worlds, are they not?”

“That’s a good point. Either way, I’ve managed to adapt our sensors to detect ships using the same scrambling algorithm that the Balder used in returning back home undetected. I’m already working on a fleet-scale patch so that it updates all our ships.”

“Just make sure it doesn’t update theirs.”

“Oh, really? Why didn’t I think of that? No offense, brother, but sometimes I get the impression you think I’m stupid.”

“Loki, you know I didn’t mean it that way.”

“It doesn’t matter if you did, I’ll keep doing my best here. You just make sure you get back here as quickly as you can.”

“I’ll push the hyperspace engines to their utmost limit; we’ll be there shortly.”

“Good. Even with abandoning them, do you think we can count on the Alliance for backup?”

“I don’t know, if I were them, after what I pulled, I wouldn’t be in a hurry to help. That is if they survived. We diverted most of our power to the hyperspace engines, and our sensors were affected by the massive energy generated by the super gate. We’ve been flying mostly blind since we left the battle. I don’t know what happened to the Alliance.”

“Let me check from here. Our interplanetary sensor array is more advanced than the Odin’s on any given day.”

Loki keyed in some holo-commands, and his eyes grew wide.

“What is it, Loki? What did you see?”

“They survived all right, but I can’t believe what I’m seeing. It’s gotta be a sensor glitch.”

“Loki!” Thor growled. “Mind sharing what it is you’re seeing?”

“Sorry, brother. There are multiple Fury ships in the middle of the Alliance fleet.”

“Are they fighting?”

“No. That’s the strangest thing, I guess, they are not. The super gate is gone, and no trace of the Spectres enemy ship is in their vicinity either.”

“I don’t understand. How can that be?”

“I don’t know, and as far as not understanding, that makes two of us.”

1

Ares appeared in front of Chase.

“Hello, Chase.”

“Thanks for coming, Ares.”

“It sounded urgent. Is everything all right?”

“Not really. But we’re alive, and I suppose right now, that’s a blessing on its own, even though we didn’t all make it.”

“What are you talking about? Who fell?”

“Argos for one, and Sarah.”

“I don’t understand. Wasn’t her body with you in the fleet?”

Chase proceeded to catch Ares up on all the latest events.

“That’s unbelievable. I—I don’t know what to say, Chase. I’m sorry for your loss.”

“Well, I still have Argos’s body. What I need to know is what happened with his soul.”

“And I take it you need my help for that, but how?”

“We need to go to the Underworld. See if he’s there.”

“Of course, if half his soul made it there, maybe we’ll be able to ask Zeus if he saw him anywhere.”

“Exactly. Can you get us there?”

“In a few minutes, I’ve been experiencing large dips in my energy levels, and teleporting from the unknown regions doesn’t help with that, either.”

Ares’s golden energy form flickered into red tones a couple of times, and Ares fell to his knees.

“Ares! What’s going on? Are you all right?”

Ares struggled to get back to his feet. “That happened for the first time an hour ago, I thought it was just because I was tired, now I’m not so sure anymore.”

“What else could it be?”

“I would imagine it has something to do with what we found out in the unknown regions. I interfaced with the body of a dying Atlantian.”

“I see. And you think this is somehow related?”

“He did warn me to get out of there as the base was collapsing, but I wanted to get more answers from him. Now I wish I had listened.”

“What can we do to help you? Has Yanis taken a look at you?”

“Chase, I’m not from this plane of existence anymore. I don’t know that we can do anything at this point. As a matter of fact, I don’t even know how I even lasted in pure energy form for as long as I have. It shouldn’t have been possible.”

“Putting that fact aside for the moment, the timing of this new symptom is too close to your experience with the Atlantian. It has to be related.”

“I agree, I never went through the pit of souls and into Elysion, and deep down, I know that I may never go now. But that’s all right, you needed my help, and I’m glad to be of service any way I can.”

“I’d say not if that kills you, but…”

“That would be redundant, indeed.”

“About your current state, though, is there any way you could grab some energy from me?”

“I don’t think it works that way, but truth be told, we’ve never tried it.”

“Then do it, enter my body, and try to take what you need from me.”

“Is that wise? What if what ails me is transmitted to you?”

“Somehow, as you’ve mentioned yourself, I don’t think it would jump from one plane of existence to another. So, if you ask me, it doesn’t matter now, I need to go to the Underworld, and I’m already late on things I need to do here, like meet with the Furies. This really can’t wait, so at the very least, we need to try it.”

“What if you need your energy to fight them?”

“I seriously doubt they’d try to destroy us right after saving our butts. Don’t worry about it, Nyx can defend us if it comes to that.”

“You’re putting a whole lot of faith in someone who’s probably celebrating the return of her kind. Don’t you think?”

“Perhaps, but what choice do we have? I need to know where Argos’s soul, or more precisely, what’s left of it went.”

“Understood. This won’t be a fun experience for you, but you must not resist me. I can’t stress that enough, and you have the strongest mind there is.”

Chase nodded and closed his eyes. He felt Ares’s consciousness invade his, and shortly after, he felt his pool of energy diminish at speeds he’d never experienced before. Not even when he turned Hyper Fury.

Stop! exclaimed Chase mentally.

Ares jumped out of Chase’s body, his golden aura glowing brighter than it had in months.

“Sorry, did I take too much?”

Chase panted before answering. “Ya think? What are you running on? And where can I find some? I feel like I barely have energy left to stay standing.”

Ares smiled. “I’m sorry, I didn’t think I took all that much. Will you be okay?”

“I’ll need to rest and eat for a battalion, but I think I’ll be all right.”

“Ready to go?”

“You tell me.”

Ares put his hand on Chase’s shoulder and they teleported away.

* * *

Argos deflected Oryn’s fireball and countered with a trio of his own. She blocked the first two and slapped the third back toward Argos, who dodged it with ease.

“You haven’t missed a beat,” said Argos.

“And you’ve powered up quite a lot.”

“Perhaps it feels that way to you, but unfortunately, I feel weaker than I have ever been. I can’t even transform into Ultra Fury anymore.”

“I suppose it was to be expected.”

Oryn’s head cocked to the side, and she smiled shortly after. “Looks like you have a visitor.”

Argos turned just in time as Chase embraced him.

“Hi, brother,” said Argos, taken a little by surprise.

“It’s so good to see you,” said Chase and then he took a step back and looking at Oryn.

“Hey Chase,” she said. “I’ll give you two some privacy.”

“Thank you, Oryn,” answered Chase before turning his attention back to his brother.

“I’m glad to see you here, though I must admit, I didn’t expect to see through you.”

“It’s all the rage down here,” answered Argos with a chuckle.

Chase did his best to smile. “I’m glad to see you haven’t lost your sense of humor, and I’m relieved you’re here. I really feared the worst when your soul was severed. I mean⁠—”

“I know what you mean. It’s good to see you too, Chase, and please don’t take this the wrong way, but you look like hell.”

“I know, Ares is having issues, and he needed to grab some of my energy. Let’s just say he took a lot more than I thought was required to make the trip down here.”

“I’m surprised you can make this sort of energy exchange in the first place, but well, I’m translucent, so what do I know?”

Chase waved his index finger. “Yeah, that’s gonna take some getting used to.”

“I’d rather we, over time, find a way to course correct.”

“So do I, Argos, so do I. And we’ll do anything we can to get you back in the land of the living. I give you my word.”

“I appreciate that. I take it you killed that bitch, then?”

“Not exactly. I—I couldn’t.”

“Then why are you still alive? She didn’t seem like the kind of person to squander a soul she could devour. Especially one as valuable as yours.”

“Yeah, she wouldn’t… “ Chase was pensive for a moment. “And since we’re talking about souls…I’m really sorry I cut yours in half.”

“No apology needed, brother, if you hadn’t, I fear she would have gotten the whole thing.”

Chase was a little surprised at how serene Argos was; it felt like something in him had changed, like he was calmer, and wiser too. Chase brushed the thought away. Now was not the time to worry about it, he only had minutes with his brother, and he intended to make them count.

“Unfortunately, I can’t stay for long. I have a meeting with the Furies.”

“Wait, what? What Furies? What have I missed?”

Chase caught up Argos as quickly as he could.

“Well, that’s heavy. They just came to your rescue, out of the blue? I thought we ended them over a year ago.”

“The only thing I know is they must not have been around Erevos when we won the war. I guess I’ll get more precision on the matter when I talk with their leader in a few minutes.”

“Interesting that they would choose this moment to reveal they’re still here. How many ships?”

“Only a handful, but they seemed heavily armed. More so than even their best ships back at the end of the war.”

“Well, I guess it’s good they showed up and helped you destroy the super gate, but I really hope you won’t have to fight a war on three fronts going forward.”

“Trust me, the thought crossed my mind, but if they weren’t interested in talking, they wouldn’t wait for me to show up, they’d shoot first and asks questions later; at least, that’s what my instincts tell me.”

“How’s Chris?”

“He’s hanging in there…somehow. I don’t think he’s handling your…”

“Death, you can say it.”

“I don’t know, it makes it so final.”

“I suppose us talking here and now nullifies that a little.”

“At any rate, it certainly gives me hope. I can’t imagine you not being by our side. I don’t think I could deal with that.”

“I love you too, brother. Who would have thought at the start of all of this that we’d be here today.”

“That’s true, it wasn’t so long ago we were trying to kill each other. A lot has happened since then. And I, for one, am not ready for our story to be over.”

“Well, don’t take this the wrong way, Chase, but sometimes we don’t get what we want. Life has a funny way of dealing you different cards than those you were expecting.”

“I’m not gonna argue with you on that one, but what matters is that you’re here, so there’s hope.”

“I used to think so too, and don’t misunderstand me here, but…

“But what?”

“I think we bit off more than we could chew going after them, even if we suspected a trap. We basically ran into the lion’s den.”

“Yeah, we clearly aren’t to their levels just yet and perhaps it was foolish of us. I did reach a new level of transformation after your soul was gone, though.”

“Have you now? It’s gonna be tricky with the superlatives, what comes after Ultra? Hyper?”

Chase laughed. “That’s exactly what Chris suggested, so I guess it’s official, Hyper Fury it is. Unfortunately, I reached it from the grief and boiling hatred. And then I lost it. I tried returning to this form, but I’m unable to now.”

“You’ll get there if it’s what’s needed to win, and if I’ve learned anything as your brother, is that you don’t know how to fail.”

“And yet I failed you.”

“No, you haven’t, Chase. It’s important you accept what I’m going to tell you now. I decided to give up my own life so that you could live, and I’m glad to see I made the right choice. You’ll master this Hyper Fury form because I know, as you know, that all our lives depend on it. You’re not the sort of man who gives up when the going gets tough.”

Chase was surprised by what he was hearing. Touched, but surprised at how calm Argos was, considering his own situation.

“What’s with you today?”

“What do you mean?”

Chase wiped a tear from the corner of his eye. “Never mind, I’m just emotional, I guess. And I really wished I could stay, but I really need to get going. Tell Oryn I’m sorry I can’t stay any longer, but I’ll come back as soon as I can.”

“Understood, I’ll let her know. Just make sure when you return that you don’t enter this realm through the front door, okay, brother?”

Chase flashed Argos a thumbs up. “Roger that!”

* * *

Ares walked toward Zeus. His father was meditating in a meadow made of shiny blue grass.

“Ares, it’s good to see you,” said Zeus without opening his eyes.

“If you say so,” answered Ares with a smile. “Am I interrupting?”

Zeus opened his eyes and levitated upward, uncrossed his legs in midair, and levitated back down until his feet touched the ground.

“Yes and no. There isn’t much to do down here but meditate. So, technically, that’s what I do with most of my time lately.”

“I see; does it help with anything?”

“It helps with accepting the situation. You know, being dead and all that.”

“I would say I know, but I’m also not exactly finding the closure I thought would come with death if you catch my drift. In fact, that’s why I wanted to talk to you while I’m here.”

“I see. What can I help you with?”

“For starters, you could try to explain to me why I’m still able to roam the universe in my energy form?”

“Truth be told, I’m not entirely sure myself.”

“You must have a theory. I can see it in your eyes.”

“There’s a legend among our people that when a soul is violently ripped from the world while it still needs to fulfill its purpose, a soulburn prevents the individual from coming to the Underworld. That’s the only thing that can explain your situation and how you’re still out there for so long.”

“So is that what happened? A soulburn? Can such a soul ever rejoin Elysion?”

“That I don’t know.”

“Well, I guess we’ll have to see what happens going forward. Though, at this point, it feels like this state of being doesn’t seem all that temporary for me.”

Ares’s aura blinked from golden to red, and he struggled to keep his balance.

“Dammit! It’s accelerating.”

“What’s going on? What’s happening to you?”

“I wish I knew, hence my questions to you. Ever since I merged with that dying Olympian, I feel like I’m leaking my energy at an alarming rate. I had to drain most of Chase’s energy just to get us here.”

“Or perhaps the end you seem to have so many questions about is nearer than you’re willing to accept.”

“Nah, I’m not ready. That much, I know.”

“I don’t think that’s how it works, Ares.”

“Well, it better be, I gotta figure out what’s happening with me and fast. Speaking of, we need to go.”

Chase, running, approached them. “Hi, Zeus, sorry to just drop by and leave, but we can’t stay.”

“That’s all right, I’m sure we’ll have other occasions to speak to one another.”

“Thanks for the chat, Father,” said Ares.

“Anytime, son.”

Chase and Ares teleported away.

* * *

“Report!” asked Siegfried.

“I’m on my way back,” answered Grunhild. “I have what we need.”

“And you’re certain it will work?”

“We can’t use this weapon against the Furies; their minds are too strong. But Droxians are a weak, pathetic race of mindless soldiers. It will work.”

“Good, because the ship on its way to engage us happens to be Droxian.”

“A perfect opportunity to test the weapon. When are they due to arrive in Asgard’s orbit?”

“At your current velocity, you should just about beat them here.”

“Perfect. Then what’s the plan? Even if only Droxian ships are on their way, you must know that the Alliance is going to send everything it has to defend Asgard.”

“Yes, and now is not the time to thin whatever armada we’ll manage to acquire today, be it Asgardian or Droxian ships. With the workforce you’re bringing back with you, we should be able to build more ships. But there’s one thing that’s missing.”

“Pentalium.”

“Exactly. It’s good to see you understand why it was essential Asgard was our first stop, and, well, if we can leave a pile of rubble behind, then all the better. I’m almost done destroying their home world.”

Grundhild’s expression darkened.

“What is it?” asked Siegfried. “I don’t like that look.”

“I’m near enough that I can sense Asgard. You haven’t killed as many people as you think.”

“What are you talking about? I’ve leveled over ten cities already.”

“No, Loki made you think you did. I’m updating your sensor array to display the real picture.”

In front of Siegfried, the holo-display changed to show dome shields over the cities instead of the rubble his instruments were showing him.

Siegfried growled. “I’m going to kill that fool myself.”

“No, you’re not. I will take care of Loki. It’s the only way we’ll be sure he’s really dead.”

Siegfried tightened his fist with such rage that he broke skin, and rivers of blood escaped between his fingers. But Grunhild was right, Loki was clearly a master of deception, and that wasn’t Siegfried’s forte. She was better equipped to take care of such a sneaky enemy.

“I suppose there’s wisdom in what you say,” said Siegfried through gritted teeth. “Very well, I guess Loki is yours to eliminate.”

2

Chase was pacing in his ready room when Admiral Neeva beamed in.

“Welcome aboard, Admiral,” said Chase.

The admiral released a faint growl. “I’m not here for pleasantries. We need to talk.”

Chase walked to his desk and gestured to an empty seat for the admiral.

The Fury walked next to the chair and looked at it for a while.

“Please sit…or not, it’s up to you,” said Chase as he sat down himself.

The admiral sighed and reluctantly took the seat.

“Thank you for coming to our rescue,” said Chase, “though I’m sure you can imagine that your ships were the last ones I imagined to see there.”

“We didn’t rescue you out of the kindness of our hearts. If we didn’t have a larger goal in mind, I wouldn’t be here, and your treacherous Alliance would now be gone.”

“Then why didn’t you let them destroy us? Or better yet, help them.”

“I’ve been asking myself this very question ever since we intervened. Something told me we shouldn’t let the Alliance fall, at least not now. There was also the fact that more Spectres were getting into the dimension, so…”

Charming fellow, then again, I don’t know why I expected anything different.

“Well, the fact of the matter is you did rescue us and we are grateful. Even though you can imagine our surprise in seeing that any Fury ships survived the war.”

“This is all there is left of my people, you murdered the rest.”

“Technically, we just tried to repel an invasion you initiated. Granted, one that was orchestrated outside of even the supreme commander’s knowledge. If it wasn’t for the Spectres manipulation of Arakan, perhaps things would have turned out differently. I wonder, are you aware of that fact?”

“The reason I’m here talking with you, no matter how repulsive an idea this is, should be answer enough. We’re aware of the Spectres. We understand they played my people like fools and used us as cannon fodder to eradicate the Alliance before they could invade it themselves and take the spoils of this dimension.”

“At which point they’d have turned against you. But if you knew, then may I ask why you didn’t make contact with us any sooner?”

“You may not.”

“I see.”

“Look, Admiral,” said Neeva with no effort to hide the disdain in his voice, “we’ve gathered a lot of intelligence on the Spectres since the day Erevos was destroyed. A day I can’t get out of my head, and I think it’s pretty much the same for every Fury survivor. In fact, I swore that I’d rip your heart out myself, come that day.”

Chase swallowed hard, remembering that if the admiral decided that right now would be the day, he probably wouldn’t have enough energy to prevent it.

“I can sympathize with that emotion, even though I’m sure you are aware of my status of Ultra Fury.”

“Yes…you don’t seem very powerful at the moment, though.”

Crap, he can sense that.

“Well, let’s just say it’s been a trying few hours. Since you’re clearly not here to kill me today, why don’t you tell me why exactly we’re having this discussion.”

“Vengeance. But not the kind I’ve been mentioning until now. We want to destroy the Spectres, every single last one of them…like they did to us, through you.”

“I guess we do have some common ground after all. And I’m actually glad to hear it. It is true what the humans say after all, ‘The enemy of my enemy is my friend.’”

Admiral Neeva’s eyes shone bright red. “We—are—not—friends.”

“Didn’t mean to use the word literally here, but okay. I’ll rephrase, we have a common goal, to defeat the Spectres.”

“Defeat won’t do, we demand total and utter extermination of every member of their race.”

Chase faked a smile. “I think you made that pretty clear. And if winning the war against the Spectres is your goal, then I believe we should consider an alliance, albeit a temporary one.”

“The shorter, the better.”

Chase wanted to mention that once the Spectres were gone, there was no way a handful of rogue Fury ships would be permitted to threaten the Alliance, but sensing the palpable disgust the admiral was exuding toward Chase, this told him he’d better stick to the basics today and accept this fortunate turn of events while it lasted. No matter how determined the Furies would be to destroy them later on.

“You mentioned intel you’ve gathered from the enemy; would you be willing to share that intel?”

“All in good time, we’ll need a few things from you first. A gesture of goodwill, see if we can trust you.”

“Such as?”

“Resources mainly, a planet we can call our own, ideally with a space gate. It will allow us to construct a massive fleet, which we will need if we ever hope to win.”

“Let me get this straight, you want me to give you the resources so that once we’ve defeated the Spectres, we’ll have equipped you with enough ships to wage war on us? You can’t be serious.”

“We’re dead serious, the way we see it, you don’t have much choice in the matter. You lost more than half your fleet, your worlds are currently unprotected. As a matter of fact, Asgard is currently under attack.”

“We’re aware, it’s also the reason we can’t prolong this meeting too much, we need to go help them.”

“Why? They left you to die. You should repay them in kind.”

“Strangely enough, the thought had crossed my mind, Admiral, but that’s not who we are.”

The admiral’s next growl told Chase everything he needed to know as per his position on that particular topic.

“I’ll consider your request,” Chase continued, “but you must know I can’t speak for the Alliance. I’m just trying to save my family here and make sure countless civilizations don’t become extinct because the enemy has decided they want to eradicate this dimension. But I’m not the one deciding for the Alliance. I will, however, present your proposal to the council.”

“Admiral Athanatos, you’d better not make me waste my time or make me regret my decision to save your pathetic lives.”

“I assure you that’s not what I’m doing, but I’ll tell you what, as a show of good faith, would you be willing to accompany us to Asgard?”

“Why in the blazes would we do that?”

“I couldn’t help but notice you’ve upgraded your weaponry, and if it’s good enough to take care of the super gate, it should be effective against the rogue Asgardian ships currently firing on their own home world. You see, it’s not just the Spectres, there’s another growing threat.”

“The Asgardian Guards.”

“So you’re aware of them too?”

“I can’t speak for Arakan’s practices of power, or to be correct, his inability to do so, but I know how to lead my people. We know pretty much everything you know and then some. Which in my book makes us more valuable to you than the other way around.”

“If that were true, you would have let us die and conquered what was left. Except, of course, there would be a lot more Spectre ships in this dimension, and you’d now be fighting them. Something I’m sure you’ve already considered being a task that you can’t take on your own. So, now that we’re all caught up with each other’s goals and agenda, let’s move forward, shall we?”

“At least you learn fast, I’ll grant you that, Admiral Athanatos.”

“Let’s drop the formal rank, you can call me Chase.”

Neeva scoffed. “I don’t think I made myself clear, I’m not here to make friends. One day, you and I will cross paths on the battlefield.”

“You don’t have to be my friend to call me by my first name, do you?”

Neeva sighed. “If you insist, Admiral Chase.”

“Just Chase, I don’t like that rank thing.”

“You’re an insult to your rank, with all due respect.”

Due respect? Yeah, because that’s what’s been going on here, us having a respectful and oh-so-polite talk…I don’t know why it bothers me, though? He’s as pompous a Fury caricature as I remember.

Chase smiled. “I know it can rub the military type the wrong way, and perhaps that’s why I like defying conventions the way I do. But enough about protocol, ranks, and the pleasantries we agreed to skip, even though it feels like it’s all we’ve been doing up until now. I’m going to Asgard, and I will reiterate my request one more time before we jump: Are you coming or not?”

“I will not endanger what little resources we have.”

“Nobody is asking you to; in fact, you can stay in reserve, fire only from afar, and we’ll even cover your ships should they come under fire. Your weaponry seems to have a better firing range, which should allow you to take no unnecessary risks. But it will send a message to the Guards, and that, I think, is worth it. How does that sound?”

“Like a promise I’m unsure you can keep, Chase.”

Chase realized it didn’t matter how the admiral addressed him since he was now putting all his disdain into his first name instead of his rank. But Chase wasn’t about to ask him to go back to calling him by his rank.

“Well, Admiral, since we’re gonna try to be civil and, whether or not we like it, trust each other, you’ll quickly learn that I’m a man of my word.”

“We’ll see about that.”

“Is that a yes?”

Neeva rose. “For now, yes.”

* * *

Chase was resting in his quarters when the doorbell rang.

“Come in.”

Chris entered the room.

“What the hell are you doing out of sickbay?”

“Well, you weren’t coming, so…”

“Son, you shouldn’t be up and about just yet.”

“I’m okay, just very tired. Though looking at you actually makes me feel in great shape,” said Chris with a playful smile.

“Long story, needed to give Ares some of my energy.”

“And you didn’t think I would want to know everything about your visit to the Underworld.”

Chase felt immensely ashamed. With everything happening so fast, he had completely forgotten to let his son know he’d seen Argos.

“You’re right, that’s unforgivable of me. I’m really sorry.”

“So? Did you see Argos?”

“I did. He’s not all there, but he seemed in good spirits.”

“For a dead guy, you mean? And what the hell does ‘not all there’ even mean?”

“He’s in the Underworld, but he’s translucent.”

Chris blinked a few times before Chase continued.

“We think it has something to do with his soul not being complete.”

“So there’s a chance to bring him back?”

“I suppose if we find a way to get the other part of his soul, ideally without killing your mother and sister, then yes, maybe…”

“That's a big if, dad.”

“I know, but right now, that’s all we know, but at least there’s hope.”

Chris came next to Chase’s bed and sat next to his father. He took his hand.

“That’s good news, isn’t it?”

“Yes, I was quite happy about⁠—”

But then Chase felt his energy levels rising and he jerked his hand away from Chris’s.

“What the hell are you doing?” asked Chase.

“Giving you back some of your power.”

“At what cost? You’re barely standing.”

Chris smiled. “Yeah, look who’s talking.”

“I’m serious, Chris. Keep your strength, you’re just as weak as I am.”

“I know, but I had some energy to spare. Don’t worry, Nyx pumped me full of it.”

“So you can heal, not to give it back to me in turn.”

“Stop worrying, will ya? I’ll just go into a regen tank.”

Chase sighed. “I hate those things.”

“So do I, but I have no other place to be right now, might as well use that time to heal faster. I take it you won’t be using one yourself?”

Chase considered it, but with everything happening so quickly and their arrival on Asgard in a few hours, there was no way he could take the time.

“I wish.”

“Then do it. The ship won’t get to Asgard any faster while you’re in bed.”

“I do have to make a call to Earth Central.”

“Then make your call and get some energy back in the tank. Even if it’s for an hour or two.”

“I’ll think about it, thanks. You go ahead, though.”

Chris got up and stumbled right back down.

“Let me give you some energy back.”

“No, dad, right now, you need it more than I do. I just need a minute for my head to stop spinning.”

Chase shook his head but couldn’t help be proud of his son’s actions. It felt so good that they weren’t estranged anymore. But deep down, he feared so much for his son’s life. He had lost almost everyone: Sarah, their unborn child, now Argos…Chase couldn’t fathom what he’d do if he ever lost Chris as well.

Chris took a deep breath and got up. Chase transferred a tiny amount of energy to his son, hoping he wouldn’t sense it in his state.

“You should probably go talk to Nyx soon,” said Chris.

“Except, I don’t know what to tell her.”

“She saved both our lives, I think you owe it to her to let her know there are more Furies alive. Even if it means she may want to leave us.”

“When did you get so wise?”

Chris winked. “I had not one but two father figures. And they both taught me well. ”

* * *

“Perhaps we shouldn’t wait for Ares to return?” said Yanis. “We have work to do.”

“What’s the rush?” asked Ryonna.

“Well, if you want to know, I hate being away from the fleet. They barely survived the battle with the Spectres, they need me to analyze the logs and help them develop countermeasures.”

“Right, you’re indispensable. Spiros, Cedric, Kvasir, they probably just are taking some R&R time.”

Yanis had to admit his friend’s remark had cut deep into his ego. But he was big enough to admit when he was acting silly.

“Ok, ok, let’s just say I’m homesick, the sooner we complete our mission, the sooner we can get back home.”

“That I can believe. But going on missions without Ares would be just plain stupid if the previous one is anything to go by.”

“I suppose we would be dead without his intervention.”

“You can drop the suppose from your sentence.”

“Well, aren’t you cranky?”

“Look, we stand a better chance with Ares, he’ll come back soon enough.”

As if an answer from the universe, Ares appeared nearby. But before he could talk, his aura flickered madly into a red color, and he stumbled into a nearby console.

Ryonna reacted instinctively to try to help him, but she passed through him.

“Yeah, you can’t help him,” said Yanis, “it only works the other way around and only for teleporting us.”

Ryonna sent daggers at the scientist before returning her attention to Ares.

“Are you all right?”

Ares had tremendous difficulty speaking. “That’s—that’s a really stupid question. No, I’m not all right.”

Yanis came on the other side of Ares and scanned him. “This is very peculiar. There’s seems to be foreign energy in your matrix, for the lack of a better word, that doesn’t belong there.”

Ares screamed as his energy-based body flickered even faster. “Tell me something I don’t know. Like how to get it out of me. I think this is killing me.”

“Well, technically you’re already⁠—”

But Ryonna never let him finish his sentence. “Yanis!”

“Right, right,” said Yanis, “my bad, hang on.”

Yanis entered a flurry of commands on his holo-device. He isolated the frequency of the foreign energy and found a pattern.

“That can’t be right,” he said.

“What is it?” asked Ryonna.

“Well, if I’m reading this right, this is some sort of information stream.”

“I—I don’t care what it is,” said Ares. “Can you get it out of me? I think I got this from the Atlantian I merged with.”

“Which makes even more sense. I need a few minutes to interface the base’s computer equipment to interpret the data.”

“Can’t you just help him so he doesn’t suffer?” asked Ryonna. “Who cares what’s contained inside of him; if it’s killing him, we should get it out of Ares now.”

“Normally, I would agree, but seeing as we’ve been searching aimlessly for a while and that the symptoms appeared after Ares merged with the dying Atlantian, I’m inclined to think whatever Ares is carrying is of the utmost importance. Just stay with him until I get things ready.”

“Plea—please Yanis,” said Ares. “Hurry.”

* * *

Everything trembled around Loki when the lights in the room turned red.

“Dammit! The shields are down!” he exclaimed.

Loki brought up more holo-controls on his right side and worked at lightning speed trying to divert power from other parts of Asgard Prime. Walls cracked all around him as orbital plasma fire impacted the city and inflicted tremendous damage all around.

Loki kept working even when a large piece of ceiling fell and broke just inches away from where he stood. Soon the lights returned to a pale-blue and the shields raised again.

Loki sighed heavily. “That was too close.”

When he heard screams in the distance, he knew something was wrong.

“Intruder alert,” said the female computer voice.

“What? Show me!”

A holographic map of the temple appeared out of thin air, and a pulsating red dot was moving fast, heading his way.

“No, no no no…NO!”

Loki recorded a holo-message for his brother.

“Thor, Grunhild is here, I’ll do my best to hold her off. But, please, hurry back home.”

Loki sent the holo-transmission to the Odin battlegroup and ran toward the opposite wall. He presented his palm, which was promptly scanned from rays emerging from the wall, and a hidden door-wall slid open to reveal a secret room. In its center, a beautiful amethyst armor hovered in midair.

Loki lifted his hands horizontally to his sides, and the pieces of the armor flew toward him and attached themselves to his body. The helmet was the last piece to fall into place, and a piece of green glass slid down in front of his face.

A flurry of holo-sensor data appeared in his field of view. Loki walked back into the room and took a deep breath as more screams resonated in the vicinity. He could hear plasma lance fire and bodies falling to the ground intermixed with the scream of his fellow Asgardians.

He made fists and the armor glowed green as a powerful force field enveloped him from head to toe.

“Here goes nothing.”

3

“Chase!” exclaimed Altair. “You did what?”

“Not much choice, I’m afraid. You need to convince the council that we need their help.”

“Have you lost your mind? I’m not in good standing with the council at the moment, as you know.”

“This is the sort of political bullshit you know very well I don’t care for.”

“Well, whether or not you care about it doesn’t enter into the equation, Chase. I can’t just tell them we have to make peace with the Furies and give in to their demands.”

“We’ve obliterated their species, and there are only a few thousand survivors. I’m sure we can find them a planet.”

“That’s neither here nor there, Chase, and you know it. The moment it suits them, they will turn on us.”

“Then lie.”

“What?”

“Just lie, tell them I turned them to our side for good.”

“You’re insane.”

“Yeah, well, that’s been the consensus from the start, hasn’t it?”

“This is no laughing matter, Chase. The council will never go for it. Remember the grief they gave me just to get more Gorgars working on Alkyon One? And you think I can magically convince them of something I don’t believe myself is the right decision?”

“I know, but I don’t care. Right now, we are going to Asgard, and the Furies are coming with us. I just hope we can salvage this already frail Alliance, and to achieve that, we need Asgard, even though they abandoned us at a critical time.”

“That, too, isn’t going to fly with the council. They’ll demand your head. Do you understand?”

Chase smirked. “Well, they can come and get it if they can. One problem at a time, though.”

“This is reckless, even by your standards.”

“Look, we can’t let Asgard fall, and we need the Furies going forward. We’re stretched thin as it is, and you may want to remind the council that there are Spectres’ mother ships in our dimension, the likes we’ve never seen or had to face before. Initial analysis of the super gate battle indicates they’re infinitely more powerful than anything we’ve faced. Think Gaia 2 monstrosity on steroids. Not to mention we still have genetically modified super warriors on the loose, whose intent they made clear. They want to kill us all, starting with Asgardians. Right now, I need to focus on the current emergency and that’s taking care of the Guards.”

“But—”

“I don’t want to hear it, Altair, I’m sorry to put you in this position, but that’s the cards we’ve been dealt. It doesn’t matter if we disagree on this, please, just do as I say.”

Altair sighed for what felt like minutes. “What do I tell them about Ashra’Lur?”

“Absolutely nothing! When the time comes, I will deal with her myself.”

“I fear you may have lost perspective in that regard. You can’t be expected to detach from the emotional impact she now represents for you.”

“Perhaps, but after all I’ve done for this Alliance, I believe this is within my right to ask of you, or am I mistaken?”

“No, you’re not. I just worry that if we start keeping things from our own government so early after the Fury War, what does that tell about us and how fragile this Alliance is?”

“I don’t care what it tells about us, and you know it. Politics has always been your forte. I put my life and my family’s lives on the line to fight and kill the enemy, and right now, one of them happens to be my pregnant wife, and I ask of you, as my friend, to give me time to try and diffuse that threat on my own terms. Can you please do this for me?”

It took a few seconds for Altair to answer. “Yes, of course, I can. Be careful.”

“Thank you. Chase out.”

* * *

Nyx was destroying training bots at a rate that impressed Chase, though part of him wondered if he should tell her that these had a cost in terms of resources.

“Easy there, you’re gonna run out of training bots,” said Chase.

“They’re useless pieces of flying junk.”

“Then use my holo-training room. You’ll find the Spectre’s simulation quite challenging.”

She sent daggers at him. “Now he tells me!”

“Sorry. Before you do, however, I…I need to talk to you.”

“What about?”

“Furies.”

“What about them? I’m the last true blood.”

“No, you’re not. Menelas, for one, is a true blood as well. But that’s not what I meant, there are more.”

“What? Where?”

“I should have told you this earlier, but I’ve been busy. They came to our rescue to destroy the gate.”

“There are other Furies? Alive?”

“Yeah, a bunch of them in a handful of super destroyer ships.”

Nyx’s aura burst into life and danced like crimson fire. Her anger was palpable.

“Then what the fuck am I still doing here? And, yes! You should have told me immediately.”

“And now you know why I wasn’t looking forward to this discussion.”

She made a fist. “You owe me! If I had known there was even a single Fury shuttle out there, I’d already be on it.”

“Yeah, and I can understand why you would. I apologize, it’s been a very busy few hours, even though that’s no excuse.”

“You’re damn right it’s no excuse, beam me into one of their ships, now!”

“Yeah, we’re in hyperspace right now, so that’s not going to happen. But if you feel you need to join the Furies once we arrive at Asgard, then you’re free to do so.”

“Why are we even discussing this? I should be with my people, end of story.”

“I was kind of hoping we were, at least on some level, your people too.”

“You have a strange sense of humor, you know that?”

Chase scratched his head and grimaced. “Wasn’t exactly trying to be funny here, but all right.”

“What could possibly compel me to choose you, the ones who committed genocide against my race, over my own people?”

“That’s not all black and white, and you know it. We were defending ourselves, and the Furies had been manipulated by the Spectres all along. And for what it’s worth, we’re making an alliance with the Fury survivors; they too understand that the Spectres must be stopped.”

“Yeah, except you want to use us to defend yourselves while they seek revenge. Or am I wrong?”

“No, you’re not wrong.”

“Are you starting to get it yet, Chase? We are a warrior race; those of us whose blood hasn’t been tainted, that is, understand that. It’s part of our DNA. We live to fight.”

“That’s low, even for you mentioning the impurity of my Fury blood.”

“And yet your Olympian genes make you weak.”

I happen to think it makes me a better Fury, but whatever. We’ll never see eye to eye on that subject.

“Well, I know my son would be sorry to see you go.”

“He can always shag another female. Unlike true purebred Fury males, Earth females number in the billions.”

“For gods sakes, do you even possess the ability to be diplomatic on any level of your personality?”

When Chase noticed that his words weren’t registering with Nyx, he continued.

“Never mind that. He’s not the only one who will be sorry to see you go. As much as I find you abrasive at times, you’re an incredible warrior, and I’d hate to lose you. Especially now that Argos is…”

“Dead, the word you’re looking for is dead.”

“We’ll see about that.”

“And what the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“Well, I’ve joined souls with their lifeless bodies before.”

“Have you now? Well, then, bring him back, and let me go. We both know I don’t belong here.”

“It’s not that simple. Ashra has the other half of his soul.”

“Oh, right, let me get this straight…your dead wife retains your dead brother’s half soul. Gotta say it must suck to be you right now.”

Chase could see he wasn’t getting anywhere with Nyx. For a moment, when she saved him and his son earlier, he thought he was getting to her, but right now, his aversion for Nyx and her disrespecting ways of addressing him, or anyone else for that matter, was more than he could take. Nonetheless, he tried his best not to take the bait of her verbal aggression.

“Sometimes I wonder if this is who you really are,” said Chase, “or if you’re using this venomous tongue of yours as a defense mechanism.”

Chase regretted his words the moment they left his lips.

“No, I just genuinely despise the lot of you. And while I hate the Spectres even more at the moment, now that there is better company for me to be with, I think it’s time we went our separate ways. It was only a matter of time, and I think you knew that.”

“Look, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to offend.”

“You couldn’t offend me if you tried. As for your son, it’s been fun while it lasted, but I’m looking forward to having sex with a real Fury going forward.”

Chase knew at this point with how strongly she was antagonizing him, that he could never say or do anything to de-escalate the situation. And even if she said she couldn’t be offended, Chase knew the moment he made that remark that it was a mistake and that he’d regret it.

“I’ll be sorry to see you go.”

Chase turned and walked away.

“Yeah, right. You had nothing but disdain for me from the moment we met, don’t try to take the high road in order to make me feel like the problem.”

Chase’s blood boiled. His inner voice kept screaming at him to just walk away, but his ego wanted him to defend his honor. And as it’s often the case when these forces clashed inside a man’s brain, the voice of reason is often lost.

He turned back and pointed a finger inches away from Nyx’s face.

“I’ve been nothing but courteous with you from day one, even when you insulted me over and over again, trying to make me react. Frankly, you’ve been trying to piss the hell out of me, and you know what, you succeeded, almost every single time in fact, but until now, I managed to keep that to myself.”

She leaned forward and kissed him.

What the flying fuck?!!

Chase pushed her away. “What the hell is wrong with you!?”

“Sex is much more pleasurable when we Furies are angry at one another; why do you think I’ve been insulting you every chance I got?”

“Are you out of your mind? This entire time, you were trying to get me in the sack?”

“Stop talking like a sissy and just fuck me already; you know you want to.”

Chase lifted both his hands defensively. “I can’t believe what I’m hearing. My son is in love with you!”

“Well, that’s his problem. He’ll get over me.”

“Yeah, but somehow I don’t think he’d get over you and I doing it. And no offense, but I prefer someone with a heart, compassion, and empathy. You know, that someone who saved my life, as well as my son’s, and for just a few moments was actually sweet and almost lovable…that’s the kind of person I could, should there be no one in my life, fall for. But this,” said Chase as he made wide circular movements with his finger, “this I would never even touch if you were the last person in the universe.”

Chase could tell she made darn sure she wouldn’t register the emotions on her face, but he felt he had hit a chord. He also could feel genuine sadness and pain emanating from her. Right now, however, he was mad as hell at her. And if she really wanted to get off his ship, he’d be happy to space her himself.

“This discussion is over,” added Chase. “You’re welcome to get the fuck out of my face, in fact, the sooner, the better. I feel obliged to thank you for helping us up until now and saving our lives, but gods know I’m not gonna miss you. Not one bit.”

The sadness intensified, and it spoke volumes to the fact she hadn’t uttered a single word ever since Chase lashed at her.

“I’m out of here,” said Chase as he stormed out of the training bay.

* * *

Ares was screaming on the floor, and his aura was now fully red and only rarely blinking back to gold. Red lightning bolts sizzled all over his body.

“That’s enough, Yanis!” yelled Ryonna. “Either do what you need to right now, or help Ares by deleting the information from him before it kills him for good.”

“I’m ready. I just wanted to double-check my code.”

“No!” she insisted. “Do it now!”

Yanis activated a prominent control on his holo-console, and a ray of light shot from the console and hit Ares’s chest, dead center. His scream intensified for a second and the ray of light vanished. Ares was motionless on the ground, and his aura progressively returned to its usual gold color.

“Did it work?” she asked. “He’s not moving? Why isn’t he moving?”

“Give it a second…”

“Ares?” inquired Ryonna. “Can you hear me? Are you okay?”

Ares’s hand moved slowly up and morphed into a thumbs up.

“Why aren’t you talking?”

Ares slowly and painfully rose back to his feet. His voice was weak. “I—I’m okay. I think.”

Yanis let out a long sigh of relief.

“Did you get it?” asked Ares.

Yanis checked his holo-controls and a giant holo-map filled the screen. The map zoomed on its own into a six planet system and a red glow filled the third planet from the dual star system.

“I think the message that was in you is a set of coordinates,” said Yanis.

“Very astute,” said Ryonna sarcastically. “The real question is, what will we find there?”

“Pentalium,” said Ares.

“How the hell do you know that?” she asked.

“I don’t know, the answer just popped into my mind on its own.”

“That’s good enough for me,” said Yanis.

“For once, I’m forced to agree with you,” confirmed Ryonna. “Can we get there with the portal system?”

“Let me check,” said Yanis as he entered more commands to superimpose portal exit points on the holo-map.

A green triangle appeared on the sixth planet, the one farthest outside of the system.

“Not directly, looks like we’ll need a ship.”

“And how do you propose we get one through the portal exactly?” asked Ares. “I could teleport us there, perhaps?”

“How do you propose to do that? Can you sense places you’ve never been to?” asked Ryonna.

“No, but I could fly through space in energy form, and once there, teleport back to the portal planet and grab you.”

“What if you have another seizure while you’re in space?” asked Ryonna.

“Well, I feel perfectly fine now. I don’t think the chances of that happening are a problem.”

Yanis brought a holo-window by Ares and opened his hands as far as he could in front of the Olympian.

“What are you doing?” asked Ares.

“Hang on…Yep, that’s what I thought, there is more data inside of you.”

“Then get it out of me before we go.”

“I wish it was that simple. I can’t.”

“Why the hell not?”

“I had to magnify a scan of your energy matrix by millions of times. Right now, it’s just subatomic milliwatts of energy growing inside you slowly. It may take hours or days until the next message is ready to be extracted.”

“Are you freaking kidding me? How many of these damn messages are stored inside of me?”

“Until the next cycle is due, I have no way of knowing if there are more waiting.”

“Then let’s hurry, we go through that portal, it shouldn’t take me more than a dozen hours to travel between these two planets through space.”

“I’m afraid we can’t risk it,” said Ryonna.

“Yet, I’m willing to risk it.”

“But we are not,” added Yanis. “I have no way of knowing if you exposing yourself to the vacuum of space could accelerate the process.”

“Well, if it’s electrical-based, wouldn’t space, being near absolute zero temperatures, slow down the process?”

“Yeah, and it could accelerate it for all we know, like some sort of safety trigger. We simply can’t predict what would happen, so I think caution is the better strategy here.”

“I concur,” said Ryonna. “Can we use one of our ships in orbit to travel there?”

“I’m afraid it’s quite far, it would take many days to jump there. Not to mention if we find ourselves head to head with one of these space hydras, we won’t have Chase onboard to save our asses.”

“We’d have Menelas,” argued Ryonna.

“Right,” said Yanis. “But I still think it’s a slow and dangerous option.”

“Okay, so if we dismiss that option, that only leaves us with two others. We either design a space-capable ship that fits through the portal, or we acquire one on the other side. Yanis, do we know if there’s intelligent life on that planet?”

Yanis adjusted the holo-map to center on the sixth planet in order to display more information.

“Yes, and I can tell they have a spaceport. The question now is, do we risk going through the gate, not being sure we can acquire what we need, or do we get a ship made to the specs we need?”

“That could take days, right?” asked Ryonna.

“We should request the Alliance to provide us with Gorgar workers, they’d have a ship this size built in hours.”

“Well, it’s a moot point now. I’ll ask Altair to ship some Gorgar our way, but they won’t be here for a while. As much as I hate going into a mission with so many unknowns, we’re left with plan A. Let’s assemble the team and be ready to step through the portal in one hour.”

4

It had been over an hour since Chase had his argument with Nyx, and he could still sense her emotional despair. How come someone so toxic and so aggressive got so hurt by a few of his words? Chase just didn’t understand, but he hated being the reason for any suffering.

What should I do?

But there was nothing to do. In a bit, they’d arrive to Asgard, and he would need to keep his head in the game and, if possible, have recovered enough energy so he could fight if needed. So the trip to the regen tank that he wished he could avoid was no longer optional.

Chase extended his consciousness to find Chris’s life sign in regen room three. He activated a beam-out sequence on his wrist holo-device and beamed himself there. He looked at Chris’s tank, his eyes were closed, and his energy levels were quite a way up already.

He took all his clothes off and stepped into the regen tank next to Chris and activated it. The blue fluid filled up and entered in lungs, which was the part he hated the most about the process, as it gave the user of the tank the sensation of drowning, even if it only lasted a few seconds.

I’m glad you decided to come after all, said Chris in his mind.

Hey, I thought you were sleeping.

Nope. And I don’t know what you told Nyx, but I can sense her disarray.

Sorry about that, the discussion didn’t go as well as I’d hoped it would.

That sounds like Nyx, all right. If she were a flower, she’d be made entirely of thorns.

Chase chuckled, provoking bubbles in the tank. And then some.

What is it, dad? I can feel you want to tell me something.

I do, but please don’t hate me.

Well, I can’t make that promise until you tell me what happened, but I promise I’ll do my best to keep a cool head.

Fair enough. There’s really no easy way to say this, though.

Then just do it.

She came on to me.

There was a long pause.

I see.

Nothing happened…well, she tried to kiss me, but I pushed her away immediately.

Oooookay.

I didn’t try anything, son. I love your mom, and I would never cheat on her. I’m not interested in Nyx. I give you my word.

I don’t need your word, dad, I can sense you’re telling me the truth.

Yet, I can tell you’re still saddened by it.

Of course, I’m sad, but that has nothing to do with you in this case. I just happen to have feelings for her. I knew very well these feelings were unrequited, but you know, deep down, I kept hoping that could change over time. She’s the first woman I fell in love with.

I’m sorry, son. Maybe these feelings can still develop.

Somehow, I doubt it. Nyx only seems interested in releasing her sexual tension. What else did she say?

That she wants off the ship the second she can transfer to the Fury ships. I’m sorry.

As am I, but at the end of the day, that’s her decision to make and we have to respect it.

I suppose we do.

You better try to sleep for a bit, at least until we reach Asgard, you really need to regenerate and regain your strength.

Okay. I’ll see you in a bit.

* * *

Loki’s heartbeat was pounding rapidly as the screams and echoes of plasma lances firing could be heard outside the room he was in. He checked his armor’s HUD (Heads Up Display) for long-range sensors. His brother’s battlegroup was still several minutes away from arriving on Asgard.

Meanwhile, two of the smaller Asgardian city’s shields had failed and were being leveled from orbit, and there was nothing more Loki could do for them. He had siphoned every bit of power he could to make them last that long, and it was only a matter of time until the ships in orbit destroyed every city and killed every Asgardian on the surface of the planet.

Loki fixed the blast doors separating him from Grunhild, and while he was confident his power armor would allow him to fight the Guard, hopefully on equal ground, deep down, he knew that she had a genetic advantage that couldn’t be underestimated.

He expected the blast doors to be breached any second now, but instead, they just split open. Grunhild must have bypassed his super-encryption security measures, and apparently, in a matter of seconds. Of all the Guards, she was known to be the one with a mind like no others, in both psychic powers and the ability to talk to machines with her thoughts.

Grunhild walked through and entered the room at the same time as black smoke from the other side of the doors invaded the room’s atmosphere.

Loki’s eyes didn’t allow him to see her, but the thermal sensors in his battle armor gave him her exact position. She threw something forward. Upon impact, it made a squishy sound and rolled to Loki’s feet.

It was an Asgardian warrior’s head, its expression frozen in utter terror.

“Loki, I presume?” she said as she finally emerged from a thick cloud of black smoke.

“Grunhild. You may want to leave here while you still can.”

She laughed out loud.

“Right, the God of Mischief telling me to run for my life. How amusing. Except you’re not a god, neither is your brother Thor. And I’ll take great pleasure in removing both your beating hearts from your chests and feasting on them.”

In her hand materialized a beating heart, and she took a bite out of it. For a second, Loki wondered if it was his. But he could still feel his own beating so hard in his chest that it threatened to burst through both rib cage and armor alike.

Grunhild spat some blood on the side and smirked, a thin line of blood running down her chin.

“You’re an abomination!” spat Loki.

“You would know something about that since your father created us. That’s what happens when beings feel so superior that they think they can create life without consequences. They play gods, and it comes back to haunt them. That’s what I am, I am vengeance incarnate, risen from my thousand years cryo-sleep, and it’s time to pay the piper.”

Loki mentally activated one of his defense systems, and two plasma turrets lowered on each side of Grunhild and opened fire, engulfing her in green flames. As the flames died out, she stood there, unscathed.

“Is that how you intend to defeat a genetically superior being? With plasma? Oh, my poor Loki, your gadgets and advanced technology won’t save you. And from the ruckus your heart is making right this instant, I think you know that already.”

Grunhild snapped her fingers and the plasma turrets exploded.

Loki swallowed hard.

“Your fear is absolutely delicious,” she said as she licked her upper lip. “I’m gonna savor every minute of this fight.”

Loki didn’t even bother answering, the more she spoke, and the more theatrics she tried to use to intimidate him, some of which he was forced to admit was working, the more time it gave for Thor to get back home.

“Loki!” she yelled. “Son of Odin, I sentence you to death for betraying your people.”

That got Loki’s attention, as his conscience had been troubling him ever since the Spectres killed his father. And he knew very well this had been his fault, but how did she know that?

“Loki, Loki, Loki, I can read you like an open book,” she added. “You let daddy die alone, didn’t you? And for what? To protect your world? You see, that’s what happens when one acts upon their fears, they make the wrong decisions. Just like every decision you’ll make next will be triggered by your fear, and that I will not only anticipate them but counter with even more terror.”

“You talk too much, bitch,” spat Loki.

“Such a foul mouth for royalty, I guess manners have gone awry while we were away. Oh well, we’ll cleanse this realm from such decadence.”

“You’ll cleanse nothing, we will stop you. My father was foolish not to exterminate every last one of you like we did the rest of your brothers and sisters. We should have disintegrated you on the atomic level.”

“Yes, that probably would have been a good idea, but guess what? You didn’t. And now you’re all gonna die for that mistake.”

“Tell that to the Spectres. You think you’re so superior, but you don’t stand a chance against them.”

“Well, for now, they’re no threat to us, you and your pathetic Alliance, however…”

“So that’s what it is? That’s how you justify your heretic existence? By attacking those you deem weaker than yourself? With all your talk of superiority, you’re nothing but a bunch of angry children having an intergalactic tantrum.”

“Children we may be, but then we are the children of your father’s hubris. And I find your tone despicable, after all, it was us who helped you kill your Fury enemies, was it not?”

“Well, we created you for nothing! The Furies came back anyway, and we had to deal with them without you; proof that you are and always had been a mistake.”

“Watch your tone…” but Grunhild stopped. “I see…Clever boy, you’re buying time for your big brother to come and save you from your cowardice. You do realize the futility of this, don’t you? I can kill both of you in my sleep.”

“Then why don’t you shut the fuck up and fight already?”

“What a wonderful suggestion, son of Odin. Where was I? Right, I believe I sentenced you for treason. Prepare to be judged.”

Her eyes glowed blue and footsteps could be heard in the distance.

Dozens upon dozens of Asgardian military forces entered, lined up in front of Grunhild, and took aim at Loki with their plasma lances.

* * *

The team stepped out of the portal and into a forest near one of the planet’s largest cities. Ryonna was the first to walk through, followed by Yanis, Ares, and finally, Menelas.

Yanis made a deep scan of the area on his wrist holo-device.

“Where do we go from here?” asked Ryonna.

“In town, that way,” answered Yanis, pointing east.

“I’ll go ahead as I’m faster,” said Menelas, “that way Ares can teleport you all into town.”

“Be careful,” said Ryonna.

Menelas flashed a thumbs up before taking flight.

“I still think I should go ahead and travel to the third planet,” said Ares.

“It’s too dangerous,” said Yanis.

“I concur,” added Ryonna. “We stick to the plan. If we do find pentalium on that planet, it’s going to be a major win for the Alliance. The Asgardian reserves are almost depleted and we lost half the fleet. We need it more than ever before.”

“That’s assuming that this planet has enough of a stockpile,” said Yanis.

“Well,” countered Ryonna, “I’m inclined to think that if the dying Atlantian felt it necessary to put Ares’s life in danger to give us clues, it’s not for nothing.”

“I don’t know,” said Ares. “How could he know what’s going on in galaxies so far away while being kept in suspended animation? I believe you’re letting hope guide you because of the Alliance’s current needs instead of using critical thinking. But it’s a very Droxian thing to do, I guess.”

“I don’t see what Droxians have anything to do with my comment,” protested Ryonna.

“Sorry, Ryonna, I didn’t mean to offend. I’m just saying that Droxians are, from birth, conditioned to do what is good for Droxia, even if that goes against their own personal beliefs, wouldn’t you agree?”

While Ryonna didn’t like when the essence of her people, which she still held in high regard, was questioned, she couldn’t deny that if she and Jax had been typical citizens of their planet, Ronan would never have been allowed to live. So perhaps, some more critical thinking inside their government and dogma wouldn’t have been such a bad thing.

“I suppose there is some truth in what you say, Ares. There is one flaw in your logic, however.”

“Is that so? Please enlighten me.”

“I’m not your typical Droxian; in fact, I’ve been more of a rebel from my government’s rules and laws than any other of my kind. So I don’t think you can apply general Droxian traits to myself in particular.”

“Fair enough, I guess we—” but Ares stopped short.

“What’s going on?” asked Ryonna.

“Menelas is in trouble.”

“Are you certain?” asked Yanis.

“I can sense his stress levels from here, I should go.”

“No!” ordered Ryonna, “I’m coming with you.”

“What about me?” complained Yanis.

“Well, you’re not exactly a warrior, I don’t feel confident bringing you in the middle of a battle, you keep walking toward the destination. Ares will snag you the first chance he gets.”

“And if he doesn’t and you get captured or worse?”

“Then you return to base, ask Ka’Rij for his help.”

“You’re not really going to leave me alone here, are you?”

But Ryonna wasn’t listening anymore, and Ares teleported them both away.

Yanis swallowed hard. The last thing he expected when he woke up this morning was to end up alone and defenseless on an alien world they knew nothing about.

5

Spiros paced inside his lab, trying to diffuse his nervousness. But no matter what beverage he took or food he ate, he still felt a large knot in his guts.

He had been working on cracking the data chip’s encryption for so long now with little to no result to show for. It felt like the algorithm protecting the data was adapting to every single one of Spiros’s attempt, which made him grow frustrated with the process.

The doors of his lab slid open and Cedric walked in.

“Hey, Spiros. Long time no see.”

“Cedric! It’s good to see you. When did you arrive? I didn’t know you were coming.”

“I know, it doesn’t matter how many shows I see and how many times I smoke my weight in weed, eventually I’m faced with choices in life. Do nothing and be bored, or snap out of it and decide to make changes.”

“You sound like you did some thinking, among other activities.”

“Yeah, well, I got bored of that too. So I contacted Keera, see if she wanted to hook up.”

“Is she here with you?”

“No, she had some stuff to look into at Earth Central headquarters, something about reviewing video footage for Chase.”

“I see. That still doesn’t answer why you’re here.”

“Oh, right. She said you could use some help with an alien doohickey.”

“I wish you had called first, it would have prevented you from making the trip for nothing.”

“And why’s that?”

“Because I’ve been working for a very long time, and I’ve hit a brick wall. Plus, weren’t you supposed to be on Alkyon One as the chief engineer?”

“Yeah, about that, it didn’t go all too well.”

“Cedric, what did you do?”

“Apparently, I’m displaying an unhealthy attitude toward female officers there.”

“You got fired already?”

“More like suspended, really.”

“So instead of harassing female officers on board Alkyon One, you thought you’d come here and see if you can what? Distract me from my work?”

Cedric grabbed a joint and lit it up.

“There’s no smoking in here,” said Spiros, annoyed.

Cedric blew a big puff of smoke. “There is now.”

Spiros buried his face in his hands and slid them through his thick head of hair. It was a strange feeling being an old soul inside a younger body. Gone were the aches in his joints, as were the multiple implants that once allowed him to get up from the bed in the morning.

Though, lately, he had to admit that he was missing some of the implants that augmented his mental faculties. In fact, he was seriously considering surgery to put these back in, but with what had happened with evil Gaia, he couldn’t justify the risk of augmenting his body with anything that could be hacked.

Not to mention the Earth Alliance had taken a complete one-eighty regarding such technologies. Anything that could present a risk for security was now subject to a gazillion rules and authorizations. The thought of the paperwork alone made him wince.

“You’ve been silent for a while,” said Cedric. “What are you thinking about?”

“That it’s not fun to be a scientist anymore.”

“You’re the last person I expected would say that, though mind you, this,” said Cedric presenting the joint, “is some good shit, so maybe I’m already too high.”

“No, you’re not. Or maybe you are, I wouldn’t know. I think I didn’t express myself clearly. Don’t misunderstand me, I love my job, I just don’t like that we have to walk on eggshells lately when it comes to tech, it feels like we’re limiting our ability to enhance our technology by fear of waking another AI monster. But if you ask me, we’re limiting ourselves when we need this tech the most.”

“Makes sense, especially seeing your current predicament. Who better than an AI to crack up such a complex puzzle.”

“Yeah, but it’s forbidden.”

“So?”

“What do you mean, so?”

“Ok, let me ask you this question, it’s a very simple one too. Where would we be if Chase had followed every single rule set by either the Star or Earth Alliance?”

“Dead, I suppose, I’m not even sure I would have met him on Damocles-3 if he would not have broken more rules than one can count.”

“And so the conclusion here is?”

“That sometimes one must break the rules?”

Cedric took one long drag before answering with a cloud of smoke. “Riiiiiiight.”

“Are you telling me to do what I think is necessary to get the data we need?”

“Why the hell not?”

“Because Chase himself, for one, told me not to. And because I have too much at stake in this conundrum. It could lead me to do things I regret.”

“Right, you’d be trying to bring back Gaia, wouldn’t you? But for that, you’d need a backup. Which I hear you don’t— son of a bitch, you have one, don’t you?”

“Don’t be daft, I wouldn’t hide something like that.”

“I may be high but I can see it in your eyes, you could bring her back if it was permitted. Not only that but you actually think it would help us access the data.”

“You’re right but only about being high. And I’m not in the mood to have a rational discussion with you when barely a fraction of your brain cells are able to string a coherent sentence together.”

Spiros snagged Cedric’s joint from his mouth and stepped on it.

“Hey! That was my last one.”

“Well, that’s the first good news I’ve heard today.”

* * *

When Ryonna rematerialized, dozens of blaster fire shots flew all around her. She reacted instinctively and jumped behind a wall for cover.

“Menelas!” she shouted. “Are you all right?”

“We shouldn’t have come here!” he answered. “They didn’t even ask questions, they opened fire the moment they saw me.”

Ryonna peaked her head to try to locate Menelas, who was hovering thirty yards over the ground, dodging fire and firing small fireballs back.

“What happened to trying to find a place without witnesses to call for Ares?”

“I did, they beamed in immediately.”

That meant they had advanced sensor technologies, so finding a ship in the area, once they dealt with their current predicament, should not be much of an issue.

“Well, firing back at them won’t help us make friends. Especially if we kill any of them.”

“Trust me, I’m spending a lot of energy making sure I don’t inflict any damage, but I kind of have to fire back or they’ll get us.”

Ryonna grabbed her blasters and set them both to maximum stun.

“Menelas, cover me, now!”

Ryonna jumped out of cover and ran directly toward the incoming fire. Menelas blew multiple shots in front of her in order to keep her out of the visual range of the enemy.

Soon the Droxian warrior entered a big cloud of smoke and unleashed her blasters at an alarming rate. A handful of seconds later, all firing stopped. As the smoke dissipated, Ryonna was holstering her weapons with dozens of unconscious bodies all around her.

“All right, we can’t stay here,” said Ares, “Menelas, grab Ryonna and bring her back to Yanis. I’ll find us a ship, and then come and get you.”

“I don’t like the idea of you going solo on this one,” said Ryonna.

“Well, I’m the only one who can go invisible, so it doesn’t matter what you like, Ryonna. It’s the right thing to do. They can’t shoot what they can’t see, plus even if they could see me, they can’t shoot me anyway, it goes through me.”

Ryonna bit her lip but eventually gave in and nodded. Menelas landed in front of her, and she rolled her arm around his waist before they flew out of the area.

* * *

Loki braced, and with a single thought, boosted the power to his personal shields just when the battalion of Asgard military forces opened fire on him. Plasma lances weren’t a very powerful weapon, but dozens upon dozens of them put together, that was another story.

His personal shield energy levels fluctuated and dropped rapidly. And while he hated retaliating against his own people, they were under the mental control of Grunhild now, and she would dispose of them the moment she was done using them as puppets.

Therefore, it was time for Loki to protect himself and keep buying time, so he activated his next countermeasure. A large portion of the left wall disappeared to reveal a giant mech.

The mech’s single yellow eye, positioned in the middle of its conic head, lit up, and the mech opened fire with the cannons embedded on its metallic forearms and cut through the Asgardians with ease, and soon, only Grunhild and Loki were left standing.

“I despise you for having forced me to do this to my own people,” screamed Loki.

“We both know they were dead already, but I’m surprised you think this tin can will help you in any way. Or have you forgotten that I can control any digital system or computer. Let’s see how you can defend yourself against your own weapons, shall we?”

Yes, show me what frequencies you use to control my tech, please.

The mech walked toward Grunhild and prepared to smash her with its metal fist but stopped as her eyes shone a bright blue.

Sensor data inside the mech was immediately transmitted to Loki’s armor. It’s Artificial Intelligence went to work to analyze the data and figure out a counter frequency. The process only took a couple of seconds, while the mech moved toward Loki. Upon activating the jamming field, it stopped and turned back toward Grunhild.

“That can’t be!” she exclaimed.

“And yet,” smirked Loki.

The mech tried to punch Grunhild, who had to physically get out of the way to avoid being crushed. She retaliated by firing five fireballs at the large mech. They were deflected by its strong pentalium-enhanced armor and exploded on walls all around them.

The mech’s single eye shone brightly and a powerful sonic boom fired from the mech’s chest, sending Grunhild flying in the air. Before she could recover from the shock, the mech fired a large column of yellow plasma and sent her flying through wall after wall throughout the palace.

* * *

Part of the Asgardian reserve fleet in orbit stopped firing at the planet and opened fire on the Balder.

“What the hell is going on?” asked Fenrir.

“Grunhild must be in trouble down there,” said Siegfried with a growl. “Return fire!”

“But if we do, we’ll destroy our own ships,” protested Fenrir.

“They no longer are our ships, but don’t worry, more are on the way. We can’t let the Balder be damaged; it holds the key to the next phase of our plan. Open fire, now!”

“Returning fire,” said Fenrir as he targeted the ships currently firing on the Balder.

The ship rocked a few times as torpedoes impacted with its shields.

“Should one of us go down there to help Grunhild?” asked Fenrir.

“Their city shields are up, and she’s the only one who can disable them, with the loss of firepower and being forced to defend ourselves, they’re already reloading to maximum power. I’m afraid Grunhild is on her own.”

“Not to sound pessimistic, but so are we.”

“It’s just an unfortunate inconvenience, don’t worry, Fenrir. Just make sure you beam out the nano implants into the Droxian ships the moment they exit hyperspace; we’ll have a very short window.”

“I’m ahead of you on this one, I’ve already programmed a macro to the Balder’s computer to execute the beam out the moment sensors detect their hyperspace exit windows.”

“Good, then we just need to hold off the Asgardians for a few moments, then everything will be fine. How long until the Droxian advanced fleet gets here?”

“Another forty seconds.”

Siegfried smirked. “Well, then it will all be over shortly.”

The Balder shook as more torpedoes impacted its shields. Sparks flew around Fenrir’s console.

“Dammit!” he exclaimed. “Shields down to thirty percent!”

“Steady, we’ll make it.”

“I wish I had your confidence, but if you kept me in the loop, it would be easier. What is it Grunhild did with these nano-implants? And what are all these life signs in our cargo bays?”

“Everything is going according to plan, brother, don’t worry.”

“That’s exactly what you said before they captured me on Therkan-6!”

Siegfried growled. “Not now, Fenrir!”

It’s always later with you, Siegfried, why the hell don’t you trust your own brother?

Fenrir never understood why Siegfried never kept him apprised of his plans, and in moments like these, it really pissed him off to no end.

“Droxian fleet exiting hyperspace. Beam out completed.”

The Droxian destroyers vectored toward the Balder and entered firing range.

“Broth—eeeer, they’re locking onto us!”

“Steady, she said it could take a few seconds.”

“I’m getting us out of here before you get us killed, I didn’t stay trapped in cryo for over five thousand years just so you can get us blown out of the sky the first chance you get.”

“You will do no such thing. And grow a pair, Fenrir, even if the ship blew up, we’d still survive.”

Siegfried grabbed Fenrir’s hand before it could execute the jump.

“Don’t test me, Brother, not today.”

Fenrir could tell from the rage in his brother’s eyes that he meant his threat. That thought alone scared him way more than the enemy ships approaching and opening fire.

“You’ve gone mad!”

“No, it is you who’s grown soft. And it’s your lack of faith in me and my plans that got you captured back then, when will you learn to trust me?”

“Perhaps it would be easier to trust you if you shared your plans.”

Siegfried grimaced and let Fenrir’s hand go, but he swiped the jump holo-control away.

“Computer,” he said, “revoke Fenrir’s jump controls access until further notice.”

“Confirmed,” said the computer voice.

Siegfried pointed an accusing finger at Fenrir. “This discussion will have to wait, just obey my orders from now on, understood?”

Fenrir swallowed hard. “Understood.”

6

“How are the preparations going?” asked Altair on Daniel’s holo-screen.

“We’re ready to receive people to the station,” answered Daniel. “There’s nothing like thousands of Gorgar to speed up completion of such titanic work. The defense systems are up and running, and wow, can this station hold its own even against an armada.”

“Let’s hope we don’t have to test these systems any time soon, especially if the enemy is of the Spectre kind. Somehow I doubt they’d fare as well.”

“Spiros is already working on adapting the shields to be more efficient should that eventuality arise. In fact, thanks to the sensors logs he received from the super gate battle, it should allow him to develop new frequencies and optimization for all our weapons.”

“It feels like the Fury War all over again, we get hit with a new superior firepower, and we rush to counter.”

“That’s not something that can’t be avoided in times of war. Let’s just be thankful we have minds like Spiros, Yanis, and Kvasir.”

“I guess. I just wish we weren’t always at war. It feels like it’s all I’ve known since I was born.”

“I know the feeling, being that I was once at war with your people since I was a kid.”

“I’m not even sure I remember why we started the war back then.”

“In my experience, war has a mind of its own.”

“That or there is simply no shortage of darkness in the hearts of people, and war is the ultimate expression of these emotional conflicts.”

“That too, I suppose. But I’m sure you didn’t call me to have a philosophical discussion about war or their causes.”

“No, I did not. I just had an unpleasant meeting with the council.”

“I take it they didn’t respond very well to the idea of helping the Furies become our new ally.”

“They were appalled that I would even consider it. Can’t say I blame them, though.”

“I don’t like the idea of trusting any Fury on any day, but if Chase says that’s what we need to do for the time being, then I trust his judgment.”

“And so do I, but the battle to convince the council of this may be a long and futile one.”

“It shouldn’t have to be a battle with our government. How the hell are we supposed to run this Alliance if we can’t even agree on anything internally?”

“That’s where Argos and his Zarlacks were smart when they presented us with an alliance back then. He had no intention of allying himself with us, it was a coup d’état, and a brilliant one at that, and by the time we realized what was unfolding, it was too late.”

“But it turned out okay in the end, you saw through his game and you rejoined this Alliance. I, for one, am glad that that part of history happened the way it did.”

“And now I have to figure out a way out of this mess, ideally without launching a coup d’état of my own.”

“It can’t be that bad, can it?”

“Daniel, they’ve thrown me out of the session and basically told me that if I ever returned with such crazy ideas, they’ll remove me from my position.”

“I bet you wish you had kept your emperor’s position now.”

“Democracy can’t be run as a dictatorship Daniel, these two principles don’t mix. I was only emperor in title, I didn’t really have control over the Alliance.”

“You did at the height of the Fury War, but maybe not these days. At least before the previous war reached its conclusion, everyone listened and obeyed you without question. Now we’ve appointed a bunch of people who didn’t risk their lives to save every living being in the universe, and yet, they have the power to overrule us on matters we can’t afford to waste time on.”

“I know. I wish there was a way to bypass them, or Chase may have to break his word with the Furies. I just don’t see what else we can do.”

“Believe it or not, but I may have an idea.”

“Really? I’m listening.”

* * *

Loki checked his instruments to locate Grunhild and saw that she had been catapulted through three-dozen walls. But he knew very well that a warrior of her class wouldn’t have suffered major damage as a result of a technological weapon blast, no matter how optimized Loki had made the mech’s weaponry.

He heard a terrifying scream in the distance, followed by a massive shockwave that took out a good third of the palace. Grunhild was pissed off, and she was letting him know.

The dot representing her on his sensor map moved incredibly fast. Loki reacquired control of the blast doors and closed them back, and even though he doubted the move would slow her down much, he re-encrypted the controls on a rotating algorithm using a large amount of the city’s supercomputer processing power.

She burst through the door without trying to hack its system. The pieces of the blast door impacted the mech, making it lose its balance, and it unceremoniously crashed on the ground. It was still in the process of trying to get itself back up when Grunhild calmly walked the rest of the way.

There were madness and pure hatred in her bloodshot eyes. She had multiple cuts and bruises all over her body.

“You’re going to pay for this with your life.”

“You talk too much, bitch.”

She screamed as she unleashed a powerful fireball toward Loki, but the mech’s giant hand moved in front of him to deflect the attack.

“Hiding behind a hunk of metal? Fine, I’m tired of that thing, anyway.”

She raised a hand forward and the mech levitated from the ground, her eyes glowed, and she dismembered the mech. She waved her hand to the side and the pieces of the mech crashed against the walls, cracking them heavily.

“Now, where were we?” she said with an evil smirk. “Oh! That’s right, I was about to kill you.”

Loki raised two fingers up and flexed them twice in a taunting move.

“I’m right here, come and get me.”

The moment she took her first step, one of the mech’s hands grabbed her entire body, and she screamed. The metal made grinding noises as the hand tried to crush the Asgardian Guard into a pulp, but she was resisting its engines.

“ENOUGH!” she roared as the hand exploded into a million pieces from a shockwave she unleashed.

Her skin was even more bloody now, and her eyes burned with the fires of all evil. She raised a palm toward Loki and a powerful crimson fireball cracked to life. As it grew in size, black lightning bolts sizzled all around it. The ground shook, and Loki’s instrument displayed a warning informing him that the shields would not sustain that much power, even though she wasn’t done making the fireball even more powerful.

In fact, if Loki read his instruments right, such an attack would take out most of Asgard Prime.

I can’t let that happen.

Loki’s hands moved quickly in the air, and a holographic rune appeared out of thin air. All the pieces of the mech plating exploded and two-dozen small cylindrical pieces flew around and attached to Grunhild’s skin.

That got her attention, and before she could react, Loki teleported away from the room and into the sky.

“Say hello to my pentalium bomb, Grunhild.”

He was hovering a good ten miles over the palace when he activated a holo-control. Two-thirds of the palace was incinerated by the large blast, leaving only one of the sky-high towers still standing. The shields, only yards away from Loki’s position, flickered madly at the resulting shockwave, but they held.

Loki released a long sigh of relief.

Boy, am I glad I buried the power sources for the shields so deep underground.

But before he had finished his train of thought, a heavily burnt Grunhild appeared in front of him and smashed him with incredible force. Loki shot down toward the ground like a shooting star and crashed through one of the city’s high-towering building, cracking its top half. It collapsed on the lower floors and tipped over, falling toward the ground. Half a second later, Loki crashed into the city’s streets, leveling three-dozen buildings upon impact, leaving a crater miles wide.

* * *

The Droxian destroyers unleashed thousands of energy blasts via their heavy batteries, draining the Balder’s shields down to less than ten percent.

Siegfried’s growl was now constant as he watched the battle through the ship’s large viewport.

Fenrir hesitated to speak but eventually felt compelled.

“Brother…”

“Just watch,” answered Siegfried.

A second later, all enemy fire stopped, and the Droxian changed their target priorities and engaged the other Asgardian ships.

“How?” exclaimed Fenrir.

“These Droxians are now under our control, their cortexes have been hacked by the nanites you’ve beamed on board their ship. From now on, in fact, they will risk their lives to protect us. And we won’t stop at just these. Soon, the entire Droxian race will bow to my reign. Once we’re done here, we’ll pay their world a visit so they can meet their new master.”

Fenrir didn’t know what scared him the most: the fact that they had nearly been obliterated from Siegfried’s unshakable faith in himself and his intellect or that he wanted to be the master of entire civilizations. He feared Siegfried’s thirst for power was reaching worrying levels. Fenrir shared his brother’s wishes to punish those who had created and then imprisoned them for all eternity, had Siegfried not be released by accident. But taking on races that had done them no wrong, he didn’t like it.

“You see, brother,” gloated Siegfried, “that’s why I don’t feel the need to inform you of my plans because I know what I’m doing and I don’t need external input. Grunhild has learned to trust me, and you’d be advised to do the same. There’s only one man that can bring this universe to its knees for what they’ve done to us, and that is me.”

Except, it’s not the whole universe that’s responsible for our predicament, just the Asgardians and Olympians.

But Fenrir knew full well he would be wise not to voice that type of comment, especially not today. Instead, he’d need to show his support to Siegfried in order to avoid his wrath.

“I’ll try to be optimistic going forward.”

“Don’t try, just do what I say and everything will be fine.”

Fenrir took a deep calming breath. “Understood.”

His console lit up red and an alarm resonated.

“What is it now?” inquired Siegfried.

“Thor’s battlegroup is minutes away.”

“Well, that’s a good thing we have Droxian ships to repel them, then, is it not?”

Fenrir had to exert an abundance of self-control to prevent voicing his thoughts out loud.

Last I checked, Droxians don’t stand much of a chance against top-of-the-line Asgardian ships.

* * *

“What is Ares doing?” asked Menelas impatiently. “He should have finished locating a ship by now. I don’t like this.”

“It’s been less than an hour,” said Ryonna. “Let’s give him some more time.”

“I’m with Menelas on that one,” added Yanis. “That should have been more than enough time for a being with his abilities, I hope nothing happened to him.”

“You two worry too much,” said Ryonna dismissively.

“Maybe I should go back and try to locate him?” asked Menelas.

“No, we all wait for him here. If he’s not back in ten minutes, we’ll reconsider our options.”

Ryonna was also feeling nervous, but somehow she didn’t think it had anything to do with Ares. Something else was going on, far away, and she worried about Ronan. They really needed to find a way to establish subspace connections between the unknown regions and the Earth Alliance outside of the portal base. She hated being so far away from her son, not knowing what he was going through.

She recognized the feeling deep in her stomach all too well; she had had similar symptoms every time someone she loved had been in danger.

The rumble of engines in the distance snatched Ryonna from her thoughts.

“A ship is approaching,” said Yanis.

“I thought he was supposed to get us to the ship, and not the other way around,” said Menelas.

“We don’t know if this is Ares, yet,” said Ryonna. “Take cover for now, and let’s see what happens.”

The trio went into hiding behind a few trees while the large ship landed a few hundred yards away. Leaves and dust blew all around them as the ship finished its landing. When it touched down, the ground shook around them.

Menelas walked toward it.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” asked Ryonna.

“It’s him, I can sense him.”

Before Ryonna could argue and order Menelas to stand fast, a being teleported in front of them. It was a species none of them had ever seen, with long tentacles protruding from the back of its purple, hairless head.

“What are you waiting for?” asked the alien.

“Ares?” inquired Yanis.

“Who else? Sorry for the delay, finding a mind weak enough to invade without damaging its owner took me longer than I expected.”

“And why exactly are you staying inside this person’s body?” asked Ryonna.

“His ship’s systems are quite complex and nothing I’ve ever seen before, I’d feel better keeping him around for a little longer until I can teach you how to operate the ship.”

The purple man extended his hand. “Let’s go, shall we?”

The trio touched his arm, and they were beamed inside the ship’s bridge.

Ares walked the borrowed body to a central chair. “This is a single station that controls the entire ship,” he said before sitting in it.

It made a squishing sound as multiple gooey tentacles enveloped the body almost entirely, and a couple of them entered his mouth.

“I think I speak for everyone when I say good call on keeping the pilot’s body,” said Yanis, as he tried retaining his breakfast.

“You are correct,” confirmed Ryonna. “I’m not sitting in that thing, even if all our lives depended on it.”

Ares’s voice resounded through the bridge’s speakers.

“I’m not surprised, to tell you the truth, I’m not sure any of you is even biologically compatible with the systems anyway.”

“And we’re not eager to find out,” said Menelas covering his mouth. “What’s the smell?”

“The bio-organic compound used to establish the pilot to the computer link,” answered Ares’s disembodied voice.

“Well, this is going to be a long trip,” complained Yanis. “Let’s take off and go. This better be a short trip, or there will soon be other unpleasant odors,” he said as he gagged, covering his mouth.

“Don’t you dare vomit on the bridge,” warned Ryonna.

“I’ll do my best,” said Yanis, his voice muffled by his hand still covering his mouth.

7

Ashra’Lur opened her eyes. Every bone in her body ached tremendously. It took a moment to get her bearings. She felt the viscous liquid all over her bruised skin, and she felt cold.

A regeneration chamber. I guess I was more wounded than I thought. Damn that female Fury, she’s even stronger than Chase.

She wondered how long she’d been in a coma; she couldn’t remember anything after the fight with the Furies. But at least she acquired part of Argos’s soul, and perhaps that’s what saved her in the end.

She searched for the controls with her hand to get out of the regeneration chamber but couldn’t find any. Unlike the Alliance regen tanks, the Arachnoid ones filled with a thick black and opaque liquid, preventing her from seeing anything, even with eyes open.

“Mistress,” said a muffled female voice from outside the pod. “Stay in the chamber, you’re nowhere near healed just yet. It’s too dangerous to exit the chamber.”

“Get me out of here, now!”

“I must insist you do not exit the regeneration chamber. It’s for your own good.”

She expanded her consciousness and found two arachnoid life forces right outside of her chamber.

“I said let me out, now, or this will be the last time you speak.”

There was a small pause before the draining of the chamber began. After a minute, she walked out of the chamber naked, with viscous black liquid still dripping down her cold skin.

One of the arachnoids, the female, walked toward her with a warm towel and enveloped her body with it.

“You shouldn’t have gotten out, Mistress, we had orders.”

Ashra’s eyes glowed red and the arachnoid skull collapsed on its self. Thick black blood was expelled from every facial orifice, and she was dead before what was left of her head hit the floor.

“You!” shouted Ashra. “What orders was she talking about? Start talking!”

“We’ve received orders from one of the motherships that traveled through the super gate. They asked that you are kept in the regeneration chamber until we meet with them later today.”

Ashra growled and the arachnoid took a trembling step back.

“It’s not for my reinforcements to dictate what happens in this dimension. I’m in command of these new ships, or don’t they know that? Who’s the fool who gave those orders?”

“The Spectre Prime himself.”

Ashra’s eyes grew wide and there was more hesitation in her next words than she had thought would be there.

“The Spectre Prime is here? In this dimension?”

“Yes. He was onboard one of the ships that made it through. We’re heading toward them now.”

“Were there any other decisions made behind my back while I was in the chamber?”

“I’m not sure I should be the one to say. Perhaps it’s best you have your meeting with Spectre Prime first.”

“You either answer the question or die, how about that?”

The arachnoid trembled like a leaf before answering. “Apparently, they’ve activated a new weapon that disturbs hyperspace travel. They’re testing its use as we speak.”

“What?! What does the weapon do?”

“I don’t know, I—I’m not sure. Perhaps your second in command knows more.”

The arachnoid’s head exploded, and his lifeless body hit the ground like a piece of wood.

“Thank you for your service,” said Ashra as she limped out of the room.

* * *

Loki was barely back on his feet when Grunhild launched her next attack. Three fireballs, two of which he dodged and then used the energy siphon option from his armor, located in the center of each of his palms, to inject the attack’s energy into the suit, powering back some of the shields that had taken a huge hit upon impact.

The move pissed off Grunhild even more, and she redoubled her efforts to attack him more fiercely. But anger made her less precise, and Loki actually managed to siphon even more of her attacks, restoring his armor power cells to nearly one hundred percent.

It was now time for Loki to switch to the offensive, and he activated chimera mode. A dozen more Loki holograms flew away from him, and he made sure to move away at the same time so that Grunhild wouldn’t be able to figure out which of them was the real one.

After two-dozen fireballs, she stopped firing and looked at each of the Loki’s.

“You’re not as pathetic as I thought you’d be, but that only means I’ll take more pleasure from defeating you.”

Loki mentally activated the echo option so all of the Loki’s would speak at the same time.

“You’ve promised my demise for a while now, seems to me you’ve overestimated your own powers.”

“I have not,” whispered a voice behind him, while she appeared to not have moved from her position.

Loki felt the brunt of a knee kick before he could turn. He flew through another nearby building and it took some mental effort to kill the first of his copies and redeploy more of them around him.

The tactic worked as Grunhild slashed through a hologram with her next combo. That gave Loki the time he needed to launch his counter attack. He deployed a lasso of energy that enveloped the Guard a few times, preventing her from moving her arms.

To make sure he had not lassoed an illusion, he fired three amethyst fireballs at her face and watched as each impacted and sent blood flying through the air.

Grunhild was screaming while trying to break free of the energy-based lasso, so Loki sent four more to add to their strength, just in time, too, as the first one was flickering madly.

Loki quickly checked the orbital sensors to see if Thor had arrived. Not that he felt like he needed his brother anymore to win this fight.

* * *

Thor’s battlegroup exited hyperspace only to be met with Droxian ships firing at them.

“What the hell is going on? Why are they firing on us?” asked Thor.

“Unknown,” answered his officer.

“Return fire!”

“But my king, they’re our allies!”

“Not today, it would seem. I need to get to Loki, prepare to beam me down to the palace.”

“There isn’t much to beam down to, my king.”

“What? Explain.”

“Only a few parts of the palace seem to have survived.”

“Are the city’s shields down?”

“They’re still up. I’m receiving an encrypted message on a subspace channel. The message contains a frequency, my king.”

“That’s Loki letting us know how to adapt our transporters so I can beam through the shields. How long to modify the transporter?”

“A minute tops.”

“Then don’t waste time speaking to me and do the modifications, beam me down the moment you’re ready.”

* * *

Chase exited the regen tank about ten minutes before he knew the Hope would exit hyperspace. Chris was still inside his tank.

Are you all right, son? He asked.

I’m okay, answered Chris, but I’ll need many more hours in here before I’m of use to anyone.

That’s all right, you just rest.

Okay, be careful, okay?

As much as one can be.

When Chase beamed into the bridge, Nyx was waiting for him there. She didn’t even turn her head to acknowledge his presence.

Chase reached her with his mind, trying to mend whatever was left of the relationship.

I’m sorry, Nyx, I shouldn’t have lost my temper the way I did.

She didn’t answer. Though Chase didn’t really expect her to. Perhaps Chris was right, if she was to leave them and rejoin the Furies, it was ultimately her choice, and Chase would have to accept it. He just hated losing their best warrior. She had displayed power levels that not only rivaled his but also bested them at times.

“ETA to Asgard?” asked Chase.

“Any second now,” said the tactical officer.

“The moment we exit hyperspace, raise shields and go to condition red. Prepare to fire at any enemy ship.”

“Understood, Captain.”

Light flashed through the viewport and the ships exited hyperspace, but there was no Asgard to be found and no ships in sight.

“What is this?” asked Chase. “Where’s the planet?”

“Scanning now,” there was a short pause until the officer resumed, “we’re…I—I don’t understand, Captain.”

“What is it?”

“We’re thousands of light-years off course.”

“What? That can’t be. Run a diagnostic, and display our position on the star map.”

“Aye, Captain. Right away.”

The holographic star map appeared in the middle of the bridge. The ship’s computer was still calculating. Soon, Asgard appeared at the far side of the map at current zoom levels. If this wasn’t a sensor glitch, then the ships had traveled opposite to where they were supposed to go.

“How’s that diagnostic coming?” insisted Chase.

“Hyperspace systems appear to be fully operational, Captain.”

“Then why are we on the other side of the galaxy?”

“I—I’m sorry, Captain, I don’t know. There’s more, the Furies are hailing us.”

“On screen.”

The holo-star map vanished and was replaced with a large holo-screen filled with an angry Admiral Neeva.

“What is this treachery, Cha—Admiral?” Neeva corrected himself. “You said we were going to Asgard, how did you manage to trick our navigational systems?”

“I assure you, Admiral, we’ve suffered the exact same problem, we’re trying to get to the bottom of this. This was not our doing.”

“How do I know you’re not lying?”

Nyx walked in front of Chase and into the holo-cam’s field of view.

“My name is Nyx, Admiral. I’m a Fury survivor, like you. I can vouch that the hybrid didn’t try to deceive you. These people may have the blood of our people on their hands, but Chase is not a liar. If he says he didn’t do, you can trust him.”

Thank you, said Chase telepathically.

Again there was no answer.

“I see,” said the admiral, his tone slightly less on the aggressive side. “Thank you, Fury Nyx.”

“Admiral,” she added. “I’d like to request permission to rejoin my people on board your ship, if you’d do me the honor that is,” she turned her head toward Chase before continuing. “Now that you’ve arrived, I—I’m afraid I don’t belong here anymore.”

The Fury admiral took a few seconds to consider his next words. “Request granted. Admiral Athanatos, would you be so kind as to lower your shields so we can proceed with the transport.”

Chase nodded toward his tactical officer.

“Shields down,” said the officer.

Nyx solemnly nodded at Chase as streaks of red light engulfed her body. As she was disappearing, he heard her in his mind.

So long, Chase. Say goodbye to Chris for me.

* * *

Loki grabbed Grunhild from behind and locked his hands across her waist.

“What the fuck are you doing?” she complained. “Let me go!”

“I will, but first, you and I are going somewhere.”

“What? Where?”

Loki smirked. “You’ll see soon enough. I wouldn’t want to spoil the surprise.”

Loki and Grunhild took off straight up, and he adjusted his armor power levels to boost his speed and compensate for the fact that he was dragging the Guard with him. He soon reached ballistic speeds, and he arched their trajectory.

“Are you insane!?” complained Grunhild. “If we hit these shields, we’ll be history!”

“That’s the idea, but there’s no we here.”

She head-butted him with the back of her skull, which he didn’t expect, but Loki miraculously managed not to let go of her.

“Let me go, I’ll leave this world right now. I give you my word!” she screamed.

“I’m not falling for that one.”

“You’re dead, Loki, you just don’t know it.”

“Look who’s talking. I think you have things in reverse. I expected more from the legendary Guards. I guess that’s what happens when one builds up expectations.”

“Since I only have a few seconds to live, it seems, I’ll let you in on a little secret. I, too, expected more from the God of Mischief.”

It wasn’t so much the words that worried Loki, but the calm in which Grunhild had spoken. Loki decided that she was just messing with his mind, hoping he’d make a mistake. Unfortunately for Grunhild, there was no way she could get out of this certain death. She had to be bluffing.

8

Ronan had been running for so long, his lungs burned inside his chest. He still tried to figure out what had happened, why his shipmates turned on him and tried to take him out.

He glanced behind him, and when he saw there wasn’t anyone still running after him, he opened a panel in the wall, climbed in, and closed the panel back. Now Ronan could breathe a little and wait until his lungs stopped burning.

He wouldn’t be able to rest for too long, however. He would need to find a way to contact the Alliance next. And going back to the bridge wasn’t an option; they’d kill him on sight.

What he didn’t understand was why he hadn’t been infected with what had taken control over the rest of his crew. Though, right now, it didn’t matter. All that mattered was to figure out a way off the ship. Since he could hear and even feel the battle raging outside, an escape pod would be too precarious.

A starfighter, maybe?

While it would still pose a significant risk, it did increase his odds of survival over an escape pod. Part of him wanted to use his comms to try and see if others like him roamed the ship, but Ronan knew very well he could reveal his position, and he preferred not taking that risk.

There was only one option to try to get safely off the ship, and that was to get to engineering, from there, he could either find a way to beam off the ship or send a distress call.

And if that should fail, he’d beam to the launch bays and try to make a run for it aboard a starfighter.

Without realizing it, his eyes closed, and Ronan fell asleep.

* * *

Loki boosted the shields around his arms; he couldn’t afford to release Grunhild until they had impacted with the city’s shields. Failing to do so would provide her with the opportunity to fly away from his grasp.

They approached the shield at an arched trajectory in order for her body to skid through it. There was a risk for Loki to perish as well if anything went wrong, but he was ready to take that chance if it meant ridding the world of such a dangerous enemy.

Grunhild had cost thousands of lives already, and her mind powers were too strong, even if she wasn’t the most powerful of the Guard, her insanely strong psychic abilities more than compensated for her lack of pure strength.

The moment they impacted with the shields, Loki’s shields drained at crazy speeds, and the armor fused with his arms from the heat even though there still were some shields protecting them. That’s when Loki decided to let go of her. He still needed to make sure Grunhild stayed in contact with the shields, and so he used his heavily burnt arms and hands to push her against them, keeping his flight parallel to the shield for as long as it took to burn Grunhild out of existence.

Her scream was the most horrifying thing he’d ever heard in his entire life. He could only imagine the amount of pain she was going through as the energy field burned through her skin, flesh, and bones.

After a few seconds, more than half her body was consumed by the energy of the shield, and her screams were a distant memory. Loki pushed away from the shields when it became too dangerous for his own safety. He flew down and hovered a mile below the city’s shields and watched as the rest of her body disintegrated, looking like a fiery shooting star surfing on the bright blue shields.

He released a long sigh of relief as he flew down toward the palace.

He landed in what was left of the throne room. His heart filled with a sudden but violent wave of regret. It was here, in this room, that his father had fallen because of his misguided deal with the Spectres.

I’m so sorry, Father. I wish I could take it all back. Please forgive me.

“He won’t!” said a familiar voice.

Loki turned and saw Thor walk toward him.

“Brother, am I glad to see⁠—”

But before Loki could finish his sentence, Thor’s arm pierced through his chest. He could feel his insides burning as he looked down to his chest, he saw his brother’s arm engulfed in blue-fiery energy.

Loki tried to speak but spat large quantities of coagulated blood instead. He looked back up, and the image of Thor progressively morphed into a female one. There stood Grunhild, with an evil smirk across her face.

More blood spat from the Asgardian’s mouth as he managed to utter a single word.

“How?”

“You forget you’re not the only one who can spell illusions into the mind of your enemies. In fact, the last few minutes we haven’t moved, you and I. You’ve been battling me in your mind, except in the real world, only a few seconds really passed, and I must say that your plan was quite ingenious. As a matter of fact, if I hadn’t managed to invade your mind when I did, you probably would have killed me. But I’m a woman of my word, and I did promise you this outcome, didn’t I?”

Yards behind Grunhild, blue streaks of light shone briefly in the darkness. Loki didn’t know if his eyes played one last trick on him, but before he closed them forever, he thought he saw and heard his brother.

* * *

“What do you mean we’re missing a ship?” asked Chase.

“The Helios didn’t make the hyperspace exit with the rest of the fleet, Captain,” said the officer.

“Then where the hell are they?”

The officer worked on his console for a while.

“She’s still en route to reaching Asgard. She should get there momentarily.”

“That doesn’t make any sense, what makes her different from the rest of the fleet?”

“I don’t know, Captain.”

Chase knew that wasn’t a question his bridge officers would be able to answer, but there one person on board that could. He opened a channel to engineering, and Kvasir’s face filled the holo-screen.

“Kvasir, any idea why we ended up here and why the Helios is still en route to Asgard?”

“I’ve been checking the sensor logs as well as the Helios’s schematics. The only thing that can explain why she is the only ship that went to Asgard, undisturbed, is because she’s the latest out of the docks. As such, she has upgraded navigational systems over the rest of the ships.”

“How so?”

“The Helios is equipped with the latest Asgardian navigational systems, unlike the Hope. We still rely on the Earth Alliance’s design dating back from the Fury War for our hyperspace calculations.”

“So what’s your conclusion? Why did we end up in the middle of nowhere, in the opposite direction from where we were heading?”

“I need more time to analyze our system logs before I can figure out why or how, but something clearly interfered with our navigation, and I don’t think it was either an accident or a system’s malfunction.”

“A new type of weapon?”

“That would be my hypothesis at this point, yes.”

“How the hell are we supposed to defend our worlds and fight the enemy if we can’t even jump where we’re supposed to?”

“Exactly. That’s an ingenious countermeasure to prevent us from reacting to attacks. I don’t have any sort of proof yet, but the timing is too suspect if you ask me.”

“The Spectre ships that made it to this side.”

“That would be my assumption, yes.”

“Can we upgrade our navigational systems with the latest Asgardian code and jump back to Asgard?”

“Unfortunately, it’s not only a matter of software, Chase. These systems require pentalium-enhanced hardware as well, so until we get these from my people, we’re shit out of luck if you’ll excuse my Terran.”

“Asgard could very well fall today, Kvasir, and then what?”

“Without pentalium, we’d be reduced to a mixture of sub-light speeds and hyperspace gates only when it comes to FTL (Faster than Light) travel speeds.”

Chase swore. Dealing with fewer Spectre ships, even though massive ones, was something he thought the Alliance could do with their current forces and the right plan of attack, but if they couldn’t track them or travel to intercept them, that changed the odds entirely in the enemy’s favor.

“Did you finish your analysis of the Spectres’ ships capabilities yet?”

“Partially, but I can tell you a single one of these ships can take on what’s left of our fleet, or at the very least, hold its own if we outsmart them. They have enough firepower to destroy any planet in their way as well. Spiros is working on new weapons designs, but just like our navigation, it won’t just be a software update. We’ll have to get back into the shipyards to effect the upgrades.”

Planet-killing ships? That’s all we needed.

“Thank you, Kvasir, please keep working on figuring how exactly this new tech affects our systems, maybe we can find a countermeasure without needing the Asgard’s upgrade.”

“Aye, Chase, I’ll get right on that. I’ll keep you posted. Kvasir out.”

The holo-screen turned off.

“Helm, set a course at maximum sub-light speed toward the nearest hyperspace gate. And give me an ETA.”

“Setting course now. Engaging sub-light engines. ETA is six hours to the nearest gate, Captain.”

“Contact the Helios and tell them to provide Thor with any support they can.”

“Aye, Captain.”

Damn it! By the time we reach Asgard, the battle will surely be over. Looks like Thor is on his own to save his world, after all.

* * *

“We’re receiving a subspace message from the Hope,” said Tar’Lock. “What in the blazes?”

“What does the message say, Tar’Lock,” asked Talon, his tone a little sharper than he’d wanted.

“There’s been a deliberate manipulation of the fleet’s navigational systems, they’re no longer with us but exited hyperspace thousands of light-years off course. It will take them the better part of a day to return with the hyperspace gates system.”

“What the hell happened? And why are we still on course, then?”

“Apparently something to do with our latest Asgardian navigation systems that only the Helios is equipped with throughout the fleet, and the Asgardian ships, obviously. As per Chase’s orders, we are to provide support to Thor’s fleet upon arrival.”

“Is Chase aware that one ship is hardly what I would call support?”

“I guess there’s not much choice at this point, Captain. Speaking of, we’re about to exit hyperspace in ten seconds.”

“Get ready to raise the shields the second we exit the hyperspace window.”

“Aye, Captain.”

Talon looked at his tactical officer for his next order. “And divert jump engines power to the weapons and shields as soon as we’re back at sub-light speeds.”

“Setting up a macro-command now,” said the tactical officer.

Talon looked with intent at the viewport.

Today is going to be a long day.

Streaks of light shrunk from long lines into dotted stars, followed by a brief flash of light, and the viewport filled with ships and chaotic energy fire exchange.

“Shields up, diverting power in progress,” said the tactical officer.

“Lock onto the enemies’ ships and start firing,” said Talon.

“Captain,” answered the tactical officer. “Thor’s ships are firing at the Balder but also the Droxian destroyers.”

“What? Why?”

“Unknown, but I’ve just received an update from the Odin’s targeting systems, and all Droxians ships are tagged foes.”

“What the hell is going on? All right, for the time being, accept the update but concentrate fire on the Balder, do not under any circumstances take killing shots toward the Droxians, even if Thor’s ships do. The last thing we need is to be part of what could turn into a civil war within the Alliance.”

“Aye, Captain. Maneuvering the Helios into position and locking onto the Balder.”

Tar’Lock left his station and sat next to Talon.

“This is bad,” he whispered into his captain’s ear.

“Yes, my friend, we need to figure out what the hell happened to the Droxians, too. See if you can get some intel from the Asgardians about it. We also need to try to locate Ronan. Imagine Ryonna’s reaction if he’s killed by friendly fire.”

Tar’Lock nervously clicked multiple times. “Holy shit, yeah, we can’t let that happen.”

“Let’s hope it hasn’t happened already. Do you think you can try to hack into his ship’s systems?”

As an answer, Tar’Lock disappeared from his seat and was back in front of his console in a split second.

9

After having dozed off, Ronan awoke when he heard multiple sets of heavy footsteps on the other side of the panel. He held his breath until the footsteps vanished into the distance.

Damn it, what a time to fall asleep. I need to get to engineering.

At least his lungs weren’t in pain anymore. He brought up a miniature holo-map on his wrist device, but not before ensuring all external communications with the ship’s systems were disabled.

Hopefully, he wouldn’t be detected. There was no way for him to figure out a way to the engineering from his position without a map, not unless he was willing to use the ships corridors, which his instincts told him would be a very bad idea.

He memorized as much of the way as he could and crawled down the bulkhead tube system.

It took a significant amount of time for him to reach engineering, but then the next problem presented itself. He scanned the room and saw a couple of guards on each side of the blast doors on top of the engineering crew itself. That was a lot of his crewmates he’d have to deal with, especially with just a sidearm.

The odds of him neutralizing the dozen people inside engineering were low, but Ronan grabbed his weapon nonetheless and set it on maximum stun. He took a deep breath, but then he hesitated.

There has to be a better way.

Ronan crawled back to the last panel junction and delicately removed its cover. He was relieved to find a respirator mask, and he put it on. He reprogrammed the terminal to replace the oxygen mix on this deck with the intruder countermeasure. That should put the crew to sleep for long enough for him to try to make contact with outside the ship.

He wondered if he should then deploy it to the rest of the ship as well, which he could do from the engineering terminals, but with a battle raging outside, he risked the destruction of his ship, forfeiting his own life in the process. Whatever affected the crew, Ronan hoped it could still be reversed, so he decided against that strategy.

Ronan activated the atmospheric control systems, and soon after, he heard multiple thuds of bodies collapsing to the ground. He crawled back at the end of the tube and waited for another minute to be sure before kicking the panel leading to engineering.

He jumped down and headed toward the terminal, but he felt a burn in his shoulder before he actually heard the shot of the weapon that had fired upon him.

Before he knew it, Ronan had lost all sensation in his right arm, and his weapon fell to the ground, his body following shortly after. His face pressed against the cold floor, he saw one of the guards wearing a respirator mask running toward him.

The man screamed as he fired more shots. “Must protect Siegfried and the Guards!”

* * *

“NOOOOOOOOOO!!” screamed Thor as he saw Loki fall to the ground.

Loki’s chest looked burnt to a crisp and smoke still emanated from his corpse.

Thor brought Mjölnir to bear and threw it at Grunhild, who didn’t have time to dodge the legendary weapon, and she was catapulted through the nearest wall, bursting through it with her body.

He then incinerated whatever was left of the wall and everything beyond the initial hole with dozens upon dozens of fireballs. Inside his soul, he felt an unquenchable rage threatening to turn him mad.

He rushed to Loki’s side.

“Brother! Please, no, stay with me! Medic!” he shouted.

But there was no one around to hear his call for help.

He gently shook Loki, trying to get a response out of his brother, but all it did was displace more blood from his brother’s mouth. Loki had long stopped breathing.

Thor delicately rested Loki back on the floor and smashed both his fists into the marble floor, turning it into millions of small stony debris.

Uncontrollable rage invaded the Asgardian’s heart. A veritable tsunami of hatred boiled up within his soul, and green lightning bolts sizzled all around his body armor.

Thor got back to his feet and raised his hand, Mjölnir returned to him as Grunhild stepped through the wall she had forcefully burst through a minute earlier.

“Two brothers for the price of one,” she smirked, “this truly is my lucky day.”

Thor roared and every piece of marble and wall around the entire room cracked. His eyes filled with dancing amethyst-colored flames. His facial and body tattoos all radiated like a green supernova.

“This place…will become your tomb!” uttered Thor through gritted teeth.

“Where have I heard such empty promises before? I wonder…Right, from your dead brother.”

Thor raised Mjölnir up high and tens of thousands of lightning strikes hit the weapon, loading the hammer with such energy that it blinded Grunhild with enough time for Thor to unleash a wave of lightning strikes toward the Guard.

Her body flew in the air as lightning bolts engulfed her body like a pack of famished electric snakes.

* * *

Ashra limped all the way to her quarters. Something was feeling terribly wrong, as she shouldn’t have been feeling this weak, not after spending so many hours in the regeneration chamber. She reached within to try to locate her souls. It didn’t take long for her to realize that she was missing a large amount of them.

“What the fuck is going on? What did they do to me?”

She summoned her first officer to her room.

When the officer beamed in, she didn’t even speak to her, but she grabbed her by the throat and smashed her to the wall.

“Where—are—my—souls!? Speak now or die!”

The arachnoid officer’s legs were madly flailing as she tried to speak, but only painful noises escaped her spidery mouth.

Ashra tried to get her hatred under control to slightly release the amount of pressure she was applying to her slave’s throat.

“N—not my…de—decision. Prime.”

“I don’t give a fuck what Spectre Prime told you, you obey my orders, do you hear me?”

The arachnoid tried her best to nod.

“Where are they? Where are my souls?”

“S—sick—bay.”

Ashra snapped her officer’s neck and stormed out of her quarters. She had to act fast, soon she’d have to meet with Spectre Prime. She couldn’t allow him to assimilate the souls she had fought so hard to acquire. If that happened, she would never manage to retain operational control in this dimension.

She now understood why she had been even weaker than she’d been at the end of her fight with the Furies. They never tried to heal her; instead, they’d been siphoning the very life force that kept her alive.

She opened a channel to the bridge to request a beam out to sickbay, but the bridge didn’t answer to her hails.

“I’m gonna burn these rebellious insects one by one!” she screamed for no one to hear.

She resumed her limping when an intense pain in her womb made her trip forward.

Black blood dripped from between her legs.

“What the fuck is going on now?”

Time to take you out of the equation, said a young female voice.

In her weakened state, the fetus was radiating strongly inside her, trying to burn her from within.

You stupid bitch! answered Ashra, you’ll die too.

Better that than the alternative, said Kharon.

“Raaaaaahh!” screamed Ashra in frustration.

She punched her own stomach multiple times, and the burning sensation stopped. But the Spectre knew that was only a temporary fix, so she struggled to get back up and decided to permanently consume a handful of the souls within her to reload her energy pool. That measure was her last resort as it eliminated the eternal source of energy from these souls, and while she would never even consider squandering power that way, the hour was dire.

As soon as she felt slightly better, she stopped the process and flew through the corridors of her ship at great speeds.

* * *

“Tell me you have some good news for me,” said Chase as he entered engineering.

“I’m afraid not,” answered Kvasir.

“We need to find a way to return to Asgard faster than via the gates, Kvasir.”

“Chase, don’t you think I’m more aware of that fact than anyone else on this ship?”

“Right, sorry. Of course, you’d do anything to help your people right now. Where are you in the process?”

“I’m afraid I haven’t figured out how to correct the navigational issues with our current systems. And, as you know, we lack the pentalium necessary for me even to create my own version of the Asgard systems.”

“Can’t we cannibalize some of our systems containing pentalium in order to do so?”

“Not in a timely fashion, I’m afraid. Not to mention I’m the only one with the know-how to create this piece of tech. So that would leave the rest of the ships in the fleet in the same position. What would we do then?”

Chase expressed his frustration with a throaty noise.

“I hate to say this,” said Chase, “but it seems Thor might be on his own, the Helios should be there by now, but I’m unsure if that will be enough to tip the balance of power. She’s only but one ship. Did we manage to get a picture of what’s going on over there?”

“Long-range sensor data is affected by the strong energy emanating from this system’s neutron star.”

“I suppose you’re also trying to compensate.”

“Yes, Chase, but right now, I could use some help. I’m only one Asgardian engineer, trying to solve a flurry of problems at the same time. Like everyone else, I have my limits.”

“I know, Kvasir, do your best and keep me⁠—”

“Oh no!” said Kvasir, interrupting Chase.

“What now?”

Kvasir’s tattoos flashed rapidly. “The Furies ships are breaking formation.”

“What? Hail them!”

“They’re not answering. What do we do?”

“There’s nothing we can do. That’s probably another parting gift from Nyx. Damn it! Why did I have to antagonize her?”

“What are you talking about, Chase?”

“It’s nothing you should concern yourself with, but let’s just say we had a rather heated argument. I never expected for it to get so out of hand. I could tell I had hurt her, but I never expected the consequences. I guess we’ll have to worry about the Furies another day.”

“You do realize what that means, though, right?”

“That we may have to fight a three-front war? Believe me, my friend, I’m painfully aware.”

“And if my world falls, we’ll lose our only source of pentalium, not that Thor had enough of it as it is. I don’t like this, Chase. I don’t like it at all.”

“You and me both, Kvasir.”

10

Ronan reached for the blaster with his left hand and barely managed to catch it from the tip of his fingers before rolling out of the way and behind the terminal, barely missing getting his head blown off.

He looked at the burnt hole in his shoulder. He’d need a regen tank sooner rather than later. But first, he had to survive. One thing was sure, piloting a starfighter in his current condition was no longer a viable option.

“Crewman, I’m your captain, I’m ordering you to stop firing now!” shouted Ronan behind cover.

“Traitor!” screamed the guard with a new salvo of blasts impacting the back of the terminal.

Well…that was worth a shot, I guess.

Ronan turned back the weapon setting to maximum power, now was not the time to give even a chance at the Droxian that was intent on killing him. He took a deep breath and rolled on the other side of the terminal and lined up his sights as best he could. He opened fire.

The shot grazed the Droxian’s face, which responded in kind quickly and shot Ronan in the left leg.

Ronan fired a second and third shot. The second one ricocheted onto the blast door and screamed past his left ear while the third one burnt a large hole in the middle of the guard’s face.

The Droxian fell to his knees, and his head smashed into the floor with a satisfying bone-cracking thump, not that he had any chance of surviving in the first place. Ronan had no doubt whatsoever that his crewmate had been dead long before what was left of his skull cracked open.

Ronan tried to get up but his new wound made him stumble and trip back to the floor face first. His blaster slipped away from his left hand.

“Dammit!” he screamed in frustration.

I need to hurry, they’re probably sending more men my way, and this time, I’ll be easy pickings.

Ronan painfully crawled back to the console and used his left arm to lift himself up onto a chair. He took three deep breaths and opened the holo-controls. Even though it could mean his own demise, Ronan tried releasing the intruder gas throughout the rest of the ship, but the computer had marked the systems as disabled now. Ronan could hear the air being recycled all around him.

He tried accessing the subspace communication array, but his access was refused. No doubt his own crew was making sure he couldn’t escape.

There has to be a way, what would you do, uncle?

His uncle was the family’s wizard when it came to hacking systems. Ronan was no slouch either with technology, thanks to Ryonna showing him the basics his entire life, but he was a far cry from being a full-blown hacker. And right now, he needed to bypass the computer. Fortunately for him, the computer core was located in engineering. He tried bringing up the schematics for the room on the holo-map, but he was denied again.

“Thorough bastards!”

Ronan tried to calm his thoughts that were slowly but surely heading toward giving up. After taking a few more calming breaths, he remembered that he had disconnected his wrist device from the internal network before falling asleep. He brought up the information on the small holo-device and located the computer core that way.

But first, he had to make sure he had enough time to get to the core. He limped the best he could back to where his blaster had fallen and tried to grab the weapon. Pain in his leg made him lose his balance and hit the floor face first.

He saw stars for a moment and fought hard not to lose consciousness. The blaster had slid a few yards away when he fell, and Ronan had to crawl to reach it. Once the blaster was back in his hand, he steadied his arm as best as he could and aimed for the center of the blast door where the seams joined. He fired at max power and kept his aim as steady as possible, starting at the top of the doors and slowly lowering his aim, soldering the doors together.

Before he was done with his work, he heard more heavy footsteps approaching. He then located the teleporter array in engineering and destroyed it. But that would only stop them for a few minutes until one of the crew found a way to teleport more troops in manually. Ronan knew he’d better be gone when that happened.

He crawled toward the panel where the computer core resided and struggled to open the panel. Taking out the core should also disable the transporters system, at least he hoped it would.

He could now hear heavy plasma fire impacting the blast doors. He had to hurry. After struggling with the panel, Ronan finally managed to expose the computer core.

The next part would be tricky. And he wasn’t sure he would survive it, but he didn’t have any other choice. He reprogrammed his wrist device to emit a subspace distress call, knowing full well that the only ships in close proximity would be able to pick that up. But if they did, they would at least have his location.

A new noise got his attention, and he glanced at the blast door. The Droxians on the other side had stopped firing and were now cutting through the doors. Time was running out.

Trying to disconnect the computer core in his current state would take too long, so he set his blaster to overload and placed it next to the core. He then did his best to limp away from the core, but he wasn’t gaining distance fast enough, barely moving faster than he would have if he had been crawling.

His heartbeat accelerated, knowing full well that the blast about to happen any second would certainly injure him further.

The blaster exploded and flames engulfed and propelled Ronan forward as he felt a large piece of metal bury itself into his back and pierce one of his lungs. Ronan tried to fight the pain, but everything turned black.

* * *

“I’m detecting a subspace distress beacon from the Phoenix!” exclaimed Tar’Lock.

“Let’s hope it’s Ronan. Helm,” ordered Talon, “bring us about to transport range.”

“We can’t beam anyone in with the shields up,” complained the officer.

“I’m very well aware of that, thank you. Tactical, all batteries, all torpedo tubes, ready to fire, maximum spread.”

“They’re going to destroy the ship if we lower the shields,” argued the tactical officer.

“Now is not the time to argue, Lieutenant Commander, you have your orders. Transporters, lock onto the distress call signal and beam the Droxian directly to the bridge. Get ready to drop the shields on my mark. The moment transport is complete, don’t wait for my order, just bring the shields back up and micro-jump to six by five by eight.”

“This is suicide!” complained the officer.

Talon got up from his chair and pointed a finger. “Lieutenant Commander Garnis, you’re relieved. Tar’Lock, take his station.”

The officer got up and left the bridge as Tar’Lock took his place at tactical.

“I’m ready when you are, Captain,” confirmed Tar’Lock.

The barrage of heavy fire unleashed all around them and made the view through the viewport an orchestra of chaotic fire and flames.

“Steady…not yet. Now, Tar’Lock!”

The Helios dropped its shields, and the ship rocked heavily, sending crewman crashing on the floor, sparks flew all around, and the bridge lights flickered madly.

Streaks of blue light appeared in front of Talon, and a heavily injured and motionless Ronan beamed in.

“Raising shields, micro-jumping,” said Tar’Lock before looking toward Ronan with horror in his eyes. “Ronan!”

Talon was already by Ronan’s side. “Tar’Lock, beam us directly to med-bay one. You have the bridge.”

Ronan and the captain vanished.

* * *

Grunhild crashed back into the floor, smoke emanating from her motionless body. Thor darted toward her, grabbing his trusty hammer with both hands as he leaped the last yards for the killing blow. Upon impact, it left a massive crater but didn’t hit the Guard, who had vanished a split second before.

Thor growled as he witnessed the resulting shockwave dislodge more pieces from the walls and ceiling. He frantically turned around, trying to locate Grunhild visually. He saw her, and then he saw her again and again.

Multiple copies of Grunhild were encircling him.

“A little trick I picked up from your brother,” said the echoing Grunhild voices.

Thor swung his hammer at the nearest one and hit nothing but air. He threw Mjölnir to the next target, but the hammer flew through yet another illusion.

He called his weapon back, but before it could reach his hand, he felt a foot lodge itself deep into his back and it sent Thor flying and crashing to the ground.

As he got back to his feet, Grunhild jumped toward Mjölnir, only for the hammer to catapult her away with a lightning strike.

“You fool,” shouted Thor, “this weapon can only be wielded by its one and only master.”

Grunhild recovered in midair and landed somewhat gracefully.

“It ain’t no thing, I don’t need your hammer to kill you.”

Thor called Mjölnir back to his hand. His eyes shone a deep green.

“We’ll see about that.”

Grunhild smiled as her body morphed into Loki.

“There, there, Brother. You wouldn’t want to murder your own blood.”

She was able to imitate everything about Loki, his voice inflections, his facial traits, and Thor’s heart ached for a moment until rage reinvaded his soul with a vengeance.

“You killed my brother! And I won’t fall for your stupid mind games,” screamed Thor.

Thor smashed Mjölnir into the ground, and a green column of energy burst from under Loki and sent him flying and ricocheting against the ceiling before falling back to the ground. He disappeared again before hitting the ground.

A different yet familiar voice resounded all around Thor.

“I’m really disappointed with you, my son.”

When Thor turned around, he was horrified to see Odin walking toward him.

“Enough!” screamed Thor. “This isn’t real!”

“My son, the reality is that your brother was a traitor.”

“I’m not listening to your lies!” said Thor throwing Mjölnir toward Odin.

Odin grabbed the hammer and smiled.

“Then why did Mjölnir let me touch it?”

Thor closed his eyes and took a deep breath, upon reopening them, Mjölnir was back in his hand, and Odin had morphed back into Grunhild.

“I won’t let you trick me anymore.”

Grunhild adorned an evil smile. “I have to admit that your mind is stronger than your treacherous brother’s.”

“My brother was not a traitor!”

“And, yet, I’ve been inside his mind, and I saw what he did. Did you know he sold pentalium to the Spectres in exchange for them leaving Asgard alone? He never expected Odin to interfere, though, but then what? Didn’t his action result in your father’s death nonetheless? Still a treacherous act if you ask me. Wouldn’t you agree?”

“The only thing I agree to is to rip out your snake’s tongue and feed you to a Titan.”

“You’re too angry to keep your mind leveled enough even to hope to defeat me.”

Thor growled. “Less talking, more killing.”

* * *

“This will never work,” complained Altair.

“Well,” said Daniel. “The only way to find out is to try it.”

“We could both burn for this, did you even think of that?”

“As an alternative to what? Defeat and our souls being food for the Spectres for all eternity? I’ll take my chances, thank you very much.”

“So that’s it, we’re doing this?”

“Well, we’re not doing anything we wouldn’t have done anyway going forward.”

“I don’t think the council will see it that way. We’re basically bypassing them and recreating a new government.”

“I don’t see that we have any choice. If my plan came from anyone else, it would fail. I’m persuaded that if this is initiated by you, this will work.”

“I still don’t like the ethics of this.”

“Fuck ethics! It won’t save us from the Spectres.”

“I’ve been emperor before, Daniel, I’ve been in this position of unilaterally making decisions that impacted billons of souls. I would never want to turn back to it, I much prefer democracy.”

“And we’ll use your experience retransitioning from one system to the other to make sure we don’t abuse power. I believe in you, I know you won’t turn your back on the gazillion lives that are at stake. Lives that are, now more than ever before, in utter jeopardy. And you know it.”

“We’ll need to be careful who we trust and how we proceed forward. The only thing is that now that the Furies seceded their forces from our own, I just wonder if we’ll not be too late?”

“They have, yes, but Chase believes it’s not a final posture, just a negative influence resulting from Nyx rejoining their ranks.”

“I don’t know, Daniel. This seems awfully risky if we can’t get them back to the negotiating table.”

“Well, at the end of the day, this won’t ever work without your intervention. I know Chase will bring them back, he’s relentless if anything else.”

“That’s true. He doesn’t seem to know how to quit.”

“And we’re all alive thanks to that virtue of his.”

“I’m in agreement with you on that one. All right then…it will take a while to get things in place, and you also have quite the preparations to make on your side of things.”

“Yeah, now I wished I hadn’t asked Cedric to take a leave of absence, but the Gorgar are very good at following directions, so we should be fine.”

“Very well…I guess we’re doing this. Good luck, Daniel.”

“To both of us.”

11

It wasn’t registering her presence and refused to open, so Ashra blasted the sickbay door with a powerful shockwave. The reinforced metal door bent as easily as if it had been made of foil.

She walked in as six arachnoids took a few steps back, clearly horrified by her presence.

She stared at each and every one of them for a minute before executing three of them in a gruesome fashion. She then pointed to the three that still stood standing.

“You!” she shouted. “You get my fetus out of me now and transfer her into an accelerated growth chamber, you!” She pointed at the next arachnoid. “You’ll reinject my stolen souls while I’m getting this rebellious baby out of my womb, and finally, you,” she said pointing toward the last doctor, “you finish the work I asked you to do on the DNA reversal serum, and you’re also in charge of the fetus’s mental reprogramming. I don’t want to hear objections, comments, or arguments. The words ‘can’t’, ‘problematic’, or ‘impossible’ will result in immediate termination.”

The trembling doctors stayed silent for a very long time.

“What the fuck are you waiting for?” threatened Ashra.

The first doctor stepped forward, “Let’s take the fetus out of you, come with me.”

“I’ll get the souls ready for reimplantation, right away,” said the second one.

“Stop,” said the third one. “Spectre Prime’s orders overrule⁠—”

He never finished his sentence and the arachnoid’s head exploded like a rotten watermelon, throwing dark goo all over the room and on the remaining two doctors.

“Any more objections?” asked Ashra.

Both arachnoid doctors shook their heads vehemently.

“You,” said Ashra to the second doctor, “I guess you’re inheriting that fool’s tasks now. I suggest you do a good job.”

The arachnoid’s voice was trembling and weak. “Yes, Mistress.”

Multiple approaching footsteps could be heard outside in the corridor.

“Keep working and ignore them,” said Ashra as she closed her fist, and three popping sounds resounded.

One security guard’s headless body fell right in front of the sickbay while the other two, also missing their heads, kept running aimlessly and crashed into walls before collapsing to the floor.

* * *

Talon waited for the doctors to remove the large shrapnel from Ronan before they put him in a regen tank.

“How is he doing?” asked Talon.

“I won’t lie, Captain, he’s in critical condition. I’m surprised he’s still breathing.”

“Ronan is like his mother, he’s a warrior, and warriors don’t give up.”

“Well, in this case, he has a chance, albeit a small one. I can’t give you a better prognosis at this point.”

“I understand, doc, thank you.”

The ship rocked heavily, and Talon had to grab the doctor so he wouldn’t fall.

“Thanks, Captain.”

Talon nodded. “I guess I should return to the bridge.”

“Before you do, something is blinking on Ronan’s wrist device,” said the doctor as he walked to a nearby table, grabbed the device, and handed it to Talon.

“Thanks. I’ll look into it. Take good care of your patient, doc.”

“You know I will.”

Talon walked out of med-bay one, though he wondered if he shouldn’t beam back to the bridge to get there faster. On the other hand, walking would give him the necessary time to take a look at the wrist device.

The Droxian wrist device model, while very similar to the Earth Alliance one, still had a few differences. Talon didn’t take long to figure out why the device was blinking. There was an unread message marked, “To the people who find this.”

Talon highlighted the holo-message. It was a log entry. He played it on his way back to the bridge.

* * *

Thor brought up Mjölnir in front of his face and grabbed it with both hands. A flux of energy connected his eyes and the weapon, which glowed stronger with every passing second. Thor was transferring some of his life force directly into the legendary hammer.

He aimed it at Grunhild, and multiple hammers made of green energy shot from Mjölnir at incredible speeds and hit the female Guard full force, sending her madly flying into the air with each impact.

With every new attack, Grunhild spat blood and bruises covered her body at alarming rates. When Mjölnir regained its original form and stopped glowing, the attacks ended.

Thor was panting, the attack had taken a lot out of him. But he was confident that he had ended his enemy, or at the very least, incapacitated her enough so that he could deliver the killing blow. He walked toward her motionless body and gave her a couple of kicks. She didn’t register any movement.

It wasn’t in his character to finish off a helpless enemy, but she had killed his brother, and Thor recognized that the abomination that she represented should never have been allowed to see the light of day in the first place. Odin’s mistakes needed to be corrected, whether or not that broke some of his own rules of engagement.

Thor lifted his hammer and let thunder charge it to its maximum power. He aimed for her head, definitely that particular guard’s biggest asset, and he swung the hammer down.

Halfway through his strike, Grunhild spun on herself and shot a large column of blue energy that pierced through the King of Asgard’s chest and impaled him.

His eyes filled with shock as he was catapulted into the air and crashed yards away, a large hole in his chest, just like his brother, who lay dead not too far from his position. Thor felt his heartbeat slow down, and a veil of darkness threatened to swallow his soul.

He heard Grunhild laugh as she walked by his side.

“Didn’t I tell you I’d get two for the price of one, so-called King of Asgard?”

Thor didn’t have the strength to answer with his blood-filled mouth, so he sent a telepathic message instead.

Stop gloating and finish me off already; I’ll keep watching over my people from Valhalla.

She gave him the evilest smile. “If believing in mindless superstition helps you, I’m happy to grant you your last wish, Thor. Go be with your father and brother now, your fight is over. Though, I guess in your case, death is more a release than a punishment. Mind you, I’ll still enjoy cutting your head all the same and parade it as my trophy. Who knows, maybe I’ll stuff it as a keepsake, reminding me of the day I destroyed the mighty Asgard civilization.”

Grunhild lifted her arm toward the sky, and it filled with blue energy, turning into a sword.

“Time’s up,” she said, “or should I say head’s up.”

“I don’t think so!” screamed a voice behind her as a golden trident burst through from her stomach.

Poseidon lifted his trident in the air as Grunhild screamed in pain. He looked to his side at Artemis, who had just beamed in. He nodded to her, and Artemis brought her energy bow to bear and nodded back to him.

Poseidon spun Grunhild, still impaled at the end of his trident, and threw her against a nearby wall. Before the Asgardian Guard could fall to the decimated marble floor, four golden arrows crucified her to the wall.

Poseidon rushed next to Thor and reached for a small satchel on his belt. He grabbed something brown and spongy and gave it to Thor to swallow. Thor was near-death and his friend had to lift his head up and help him swallow the contraption.

Tendrils of flesh and muscles started filling the hole in Thor’s chest as his life force returned to him.

Artemis walked next to them. “Will he make it?”

“Certainly looks like it,” said Poseidon. “Finish her off for me, would you?”

“With pleasure.”

Artemis aimed her bow at a bleeding Grunhild and focused on creating an energy-based arrow with so much power that it filled the entire area with bright-golden energy.

Meanwhile, Thor had recovered more than enough forces to speak.

“Thank you, my friend, I thought my time had come.”

“I have no doubt it will one day, but as long as I’m around, I’ll always make sure that doesn’t happen.”

Thor tried to smile as best he could. “What the hell was that? It’s the most disgusting thing I ever put in my mouth.”

“You’re welcome. It’s the gland of an animal, curated for generations until it reaches maturity, at which point it can then be harvested and delivers its incredible healing potency. And yes, I’ve been told before that it’s an acquired taste.”

Thor was recovering more color every passing moment now.

“Do you have more? Can you give Loki one too?”

“I have another one, yes. But I’m afraid it doesn’t bring people back from the dead. I’m sorry, Thor.”

Thor hadn’t really dealt with the emotional loss of his brother, let a few tears escape his eyes as Poseidon helped him to get back on his feet.

“Whenever you’re ready,” said Poseidon to Artemis. “She’s done enough damage.”

“I’m just trying to make sure that the arrow has enough energy to consum⁠—”

But Artemis stopped talking and turned the bow toward Poseidon and fired.

Thor reacted instinctively and pushed his friend out of the path of the deadly attack.

* * *

“Report,” asked Ryonna.

“We’re approaching the planet,” said Ares, still in possession of the alien pilot.

“About time,” said Yanis. “If we can find a less smelly ship next time, I’d vote for that.”

“It’s just bad odor,” complained Menelas. “Get a grip on yourself.”

“Says the Fury who puked twice already,” countered Yanis.

“Because you’ve fared better?”

“Enough,” interrupted Ryonna, “we get it, it stinks in here, get over it already, we have a mission to complete.”

Yanis felt compelled to mumble a complaint anyway. “I’m just saying it wouldn’t hurt to complete the mission on another ship, that’s all.”

Ryonna gave Yanis an angry look, and he raised both his hands. “Okay, I’ll shut up, now.”

“That will be the day,” said Menelas.

The ship rocked and spun, sending them all crashing around, except for Ares, who was securely attached to the pilot’s seat. Even though the pilot looked fully merged with the organic chair by now.

“We’re under attack,” said Ares.

“No shit,” said Yanis as he got back up, holding his bruised head. “Either that or the ship farted a really big one.”

“There,” said Menelas, pointing toward the dirty viewport. “Looks like an orbital defense system of some kind.”

“Ares,” asked Ryonna. “Do we have any weapons on board?”

“Limited, this is mostly a cargo vessel. Nothing that can take down an installation of this type.”

“Great, just great,” said Yanis.

“Stop complaining,” ordered Ryonna, “and try to see if you can hack it.”

“With this computer? My wrist device ain’t gonna cut it as far as range is concerned.”

Ryonna was still growling when Ares spoke.

“There are all the computers you need on the terminal to your left.”

Yanis looked at it and only saw a couple of organic pools of goo.

“I don’t speak puke-liquid, Ares.”

“Come here, Yanis,” said Ares.

Yanis walked next to the pilot’s chair.

“Now put your hand through and make contact with the pilot’s body.”

“What?”

“Just do as he says,” ordered Ryonna.

Yanis grimaced as he slowly plunged his hand into the organic material. It made a squishy sound.

“This is disgusting, I think I’m gonna puke again,” said Yanis.

“Don’t you dare,” warned Ares.

“Why do you care? You’re made of energy.”

“My pilot has a nose too, and you’re standing right over me.”

“Right…” said Yanis, swallowing hard and covering his mouth with his free hand. “Now what?”

“Keep going…there. Now close your eyes.”

Yanis did as instructed and felt new information fill his brain. Memories that weren’t his, instructions on how to control the ship’s computer with the terminal.

He then removed his hand from the pilot’s chair and went to work, plunging his hands into the gooey pools. Holographic screens popped out all around him in an alien language.

“Try to disable its shield,” proposed Ares.

“Working on it,” said Yanis. “A good thing I’m fluent in Objective C.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” asked Menelas.

“Never mind, I guess you have to be both a coder and from Earth to understand that one.”

Menelas annoyingly glanced at Ryonna, and she shrugged.

“So?” said Menelas impatiently.

“Hold on, I’m hacking an alien system, in a language I apparently know now, through a pool of goo, I’d appreciate a little patience.”

The ship rocked again.

“I don’t think this defense platform gives a crap about any of that,” said Ryonna.

“Unfortunately,” said Yanis clenching his teeth, “we have to stay at the limit of this thing’s firing range for me to get enough signal to hack its shields. I’m almost there…shields are…down.”

“Firing at the structure,” said Ares.

Six salvos of orange energy discharged and flew forward and impacted with the orbital defense weapon. The ship rocked some more.

“No damage,” said Ares.

“Beam me out to space,” said Menelas.

“What?” argued Ryonna. “Have you lost your mind?”

“I’ll take care of it myself,” insisted Menelas.

“You can’t use your powers,” Ares argued. “You could create a black hole and swallow both the planet and the pentalium we came to get.”

“Who said anything about using my powers, just do as I say.”

“Ryonna?” asked Ares.

“Not sure we have a choice, do as he says.”

“Very well,” said Ares, “beaming you out in three seconds, Menelas. Do not use a fireball in space, though.”

Menelas stayed silent and brought a force field around him before vanishing from the bridge. He flew past the viewport, and half a second later, he did it again and soon he flew in circles around the ship so fast that the ship trembled heavily as multiple lines of blue trail could be seen through the viewport.

“He’s aware he has to take out the weapon’s platform and not us, right?” asked Yanis.

“Hang on,” said Ares. “He’s acquiring the necessary velocity. I’m compensating in real time.”

Right after Ares answered, Menelas abruptly changed his trajectory and flew away from the ship like a shooting star. In the distance, a large explosion could be seen in orbit of the planet.

12

Chase couldn’t sleep and decided his time would best be served back in the regen tank. He beamed back in the regen room and stepped into the tank next to Chris’s, who was about seventy percent healed.

Welcome back, said Chris. I wasn’t expecting you back here any time soon, and definitely not before I finished my own cycle.

Chase telepathically caught his son up on the latest events.

That sucks, said Chris.

That it does, son. We should soon arrive at the hyperspace gate, though, but it will be a long way until we reach Asgard.

I hope Thor managed to deal with the Guards on his own.

Somehow, I find that doubtful. With help from the Olympians, he barely survived the encounter with only one of them the last time he had to engage one.

Yes, but isn’t Siegfried the strongest one?

I guess, but I don’t think the odds are in Thor’s favor now that there are three of them to deal with.

I can sense your frustration, dad.

I know, I’m not exactly trying to hide it from you.

It’s okay, we have to accept that there is nothing we can do now except hope that the Asgardians and the Droxians can defend the planet against Siegfried and the others.

I know, son. That doesn’t mean I have to be okay being stuck on the sidelines, you know?

I can understand that. I also sense your guilt. You should let that emotion go as well. Nyx never liked us, she just didn’t have anywhere else to go…until now. I don’t think your argument weighed in the balance of her decision.

When did you get so wise?

Believe it or not, but Argos is wiser than he looks…or looked.

We’ll get him back, I’m not gonna rest until he’s back with us, you know that.

I know…I just worry at what cost. I’m sure you have thought about that too.

I have, son.

If it comes to that, how do we choose between mom and Kharon versus Argos? What if the only way to bring him back is for us to make that choice?

Chase was all too aware that this could very well be the only possibility, to either save Sarah, perhaps even Kharon, at the price of having Argos stay to roam in the Underworld forever with half a soul. But he couldn’t fathom any of these options. There had to be a solution, a third option, one they simply weren’t aware of yet. Chase knew he needed to save them all, and he’d strive to figure it out.

We’ll find a way, said Chase. I suggest we don’t obsess over it now, though.

Easier said than done.

Yeah, tell me about it.

A holo-screen turned on in front of both their tanks. It was Kvasir.

Chase mentally activated the tank’s communication systems for the both of them.

“What is it, Kvasir?”

“I just got off with Talon on the Helios. And I’m afraid I have even more bad news.”

“Of course, you do. Let’s hear it anyway,” said Chase.

“Ronan was badly injured, but he’s recovering in a regen tank on board the Helios. But that’s actually almost good news compared to…” but Kvasir didn’t finish his sentence.

“Well, if that’s good news, I can see why you’re reluctant to get to the bad, but Kvasir, just tell us what’s wrong,” said Chris.

“Very well,” said Kvasir. “It seems the entire Droxian force is aligned with the Guards somehow, which makes the battle over Asgard’s orbit a tricky one to win. Thor’s battlegroup has already destroyed two of the Droxian destroyers, but Talon is trying to avoid destroying Droxians ships, and with good reason.”

“What’s going on?” asked Chase. “Why are the Droxians fighting against us all of a sudden? That doesn’t make any sense, they’ve always been one of our most reliable allies.”

“They’re not doing it by choice,” said Chris, “they’re being forced somehow, like some sort of mind control.”

Kvasir’s tattoos flickered. “Yes, that’s exactly what’s been going on, but how did you know that?”

“Just a gut feeling,” said Chris, “as well as some deduction on my part. There’s no way proud warriors like the Droxians would betray us unless they were forced to.”

“That’s what we think happened,” said Kvasir. “Talon sent some preliminary logs from the Helios and Ronan’s personal wrist device, and while I would need more data, I think we’re dealing with nanites infesting their brains and taking over.”

“That’s a really big problem,” said Chase. “I would have thought Grunhild was controlling their minds with her psychic powers; I hear she can do that. But if they have a technological weapon capable of turning friends to foes, then this is not going to end well for us. Anything you can do?”

“Not until I can inspect the tech some more, I’m afraid. And that’s only happening once we reach Asgard.”

“Very well, thanks for the head’s up, Kvasir.”

“Sure thing, Chase. Kvasir out.”

“There goes any chance I had to try to reach a meditative state during this regen cycle,” said Chase.

“I hear you, dad. Do you think Thor will prevail?”

“It’s not over yet, son, while things look grim, there’s still a chance.”

“What makes you think that?”

“It should be about time for the last piece of the puzzle to enter the battle in Asgard. It’s frustrating because I fully intended to be there when it happened.”

“What aren’t you telling me, dad?”

* * *

“I can’t stay on the line for long,” said Altair.

“I’m listening,” said Daniel.

“It’s official, the council categorically refused the idea of finding any common ground with the Furies. Most of the council representatives have incurred massive loss in their respective systems during the war, so I can’t say I blame them for rejecting my proposal.”

“Except, they shouldn’t put their own feelings into the equation. It’s a matter of life or death for the entire Alliance going forward. In fact, it’s bigger than the Alliance, this fight concerns every soul in our dimension.”

“You’re preaching to the choir, Daniel.”

“Sorry, I’m so pissed off right now.”

“I know how that feels all too well, trust me.”

“All right then, that settles it.”

“As much as I wish there were another way, I suppose we have to proceed with your idea. The blowback will be massive.”

“Not really, Chase is already controlling the military.”

“You know what I mean, Daniel.”

“I know. We do what we must.”

“Very well, I’ll be taking the first transport out to Alkyon One. I guess I’ll see you soon.”

“I’ll have everything ready by then. Safe travels.”

“It’s going to be a long one through the gate’s network.”

“I know, but right now, it’s the only safe way to make sure you arrive at your destination.”

“See you soon, Daniel.”

“Indeed.”

Daniel terminated the holo-channel, rose from his chair, walked to the large viewport in his office, and gazed at the stars.

Why can’t things ever be simple for a change?

* * *

Thor’s quick reflexes saved both of them. They got back to their feet just in time to see Artemis’s next volley fly their way.

“Artemis!” ordered Poseidon. “What the hell are you doing? Stand down now!”

“She’s no longer in control of her mind,” said Thor.

“This doesn’t look very appetizing,” said Grunhild behind them.

They turned around just in time to see her put something in her mouth and chew it.

Poseidon reached for his satchel only to find it missing.

“Dammit!” he exclaimed.

“That’s very bad,” said Thor.

Grunhild’s wounds healed themselves, and it didn’t take long for her to recover both her energy and smugness.

“I’m afraid there’s nothing we can do about it now,” countered Poseidon. “We do need to wake Artemis, though. She’s too strong a warrior for us to have to wage battle on two fronts.”

Thor deflected an energy arrow with Mjölnir before answering. “Not sure we’ll have a choice. But if we kill this bitch, Artemis should come back to her senses.”

Poseidon walked in front of Thor as a dozen more energy arrows flew their way, he kicked his trident back into his hand and spun it fast in order for his weapon to act as a shield, deflecting Artemis’s energy arrows.

“That’s gonna be tricky, we may have to incapacitate Artemis first, but please try to avoid killing blows if you can.”

“Understood,” said Thor. “Cover me.”

Poseidon fired fireballs from his bionic arm toward Grunhild while firing waves of energy toward Artemis with the tip of his trident.

Asgardian starfighters made a fly-by above them and opened fire on both Thor and Poseidon. They managed to dodge the shots, but it was getting too chaotic for them to form any kind of strategy while being attacked from all sides.

“What the hell are they doing?” asked Poseidon.

“I guess a fully healed Grunhild allows her to control a lot more than just your pupil.”

“Now I wish I only brought one healing gland. What’s the plan here? We can’t fight efficiently with all this distraction.”

Thor grimaced and sighed. “I know. Desperate measures, I guess.”

Thor jumped high in the sky and charged Mjölnir with lightning, he roared and unleashed it all back in every direction in the sky. Many of the starfighters exploded, and those who didn’t went crashing into the plains around the city at the very edge of the shields.

Grunhild, meanwhile, was staring at Poseidon with a grin across her face.

* * *

Menelas flew back in front of the viewport, and Ares beamed him back in.

“Well, that was reckless,” said Ryonna.

“It worked, didn’t it?” countered Menelas.

“I can confirm I’m not detecting any anomaly forming in the area, and I’ve run scans on the surface of the planet. There’s a lot of pentalium in multiple mines scattered through the entire surface of the planet, as well as a refined stockpile.”

“But if there’s refined pentalium,” said Yanis, “doesn’t that mean that there is intelligent life down there and that we’d be stealing it from them?”

“Doesn’t matter what it means,” said Ryonna, “we’ll do what we have to in order to acquire what we need. Let’s head toward the stockpile and see what’s what before reaching any premature conclusions.”

“I agree,” confirmed Ares, “setting up a course.”

The ship entered the atmosphere with some turbulence, and soon the cloudy viewport became clearer as they exited the lower clouds cover and approached the planet’s surface.

“That’s peculiar,” said Ares.

“What is?” asked Ryonna.

“I’m detecting a lot of craters around the area we’re heading toward.”

“Any idea what happened?” asked Yanis.

“If I had to take a guess, I’d say the platform we just destroyed is responsible for the craters.”

“It was firing at the planet? Why would it do that?” asked Ryonna.

“Unknown at this point, perhaps we’ll get more answers from the locals.”

“I take it you detected life forms then?”

“Yes, but they seem rather primitive. I’d say they lack the technology to build starships.”

“Or they were prevented from doing so,” commented Menelas.

“What makes you say that?”

“Well, just take a look,” said Menelas, pointing toward the viewport. “I find it peculiar that the craters are mostly circular around the mine and refinery area. Seems to me the locals might have tried to either move the pentalium or simply leave the area, which was prevented by the orbital satellite.”

“That would also explain why there was only one of them in orbit, right on top of the refinery,” added Yanis.

“Indeed,” said Menelas.

“Commencing landing procedure,” said Ares.

Soon, the ship touched down, and the chair released Ares’s possessed pilot from it. The process was as disgusting and pungent as it had been when he first stepped into it.

“I can’t wait to ditch this poor guy’s body once we’re done here,” said Ares.

“Will he be okay?” asked Ryonna. “Not that we had any other choice in the matter.”

“I predict having his consciousness suppressed for this long will result in the mother of all headaches, but I think he’ll be fine otherwise. He didn’t really fight me for the control of his mind, which should prevent lasting damages.”

Once Ares was fully released from the pilot’s chair, a process that took way more time than it had any right to, they all beamed outside the ship.

13

“Hard left,” ordered Talon. “Protect our port shields.”

“That would be easier to achieve if we could make more damage to the Droxian ships,” complained Tar’Lock.

“We have to think about how we would like to be treated if it was us who had our brains hacked without either our knowledge or consent. Would we be okay to get killed by our so-called friends?”

“I understand that, Captain, but if we get destroyed, then what?”

“Hold the line, we’ll figure this out…we have to.”

A series of loud bleeps resonated from Tar’Lock’s holo-console.

“What’s that?” inquired Talon.

“What the hell is this!” exclaimed Tar’Lock.

“Tar’Lock, if you’d be so kind as to clue us in.”

“I’m sending the data on screen, I’m afraid you wouldn’t believe me otherwise. This a sensor image from the other side of the planet.”

The holo-screen turned on and showed a giant space whale, five times the size of Asgard’s smallest moon.

“What in the blazes is that thing?” said a baffled Talon.

“I don’t know, Captain,” said Tar’Lock, “but it just exited hyperspace.”

“A hyperspace-capable mega whale? That has to be a sensor mistake.”

Meanwhile, the space whale opened its gigantic mouth and two dragons flew out of it.

“Are these?” asked Talon.

“Space dragons? I would say so. One of them is hailing us.”

“Come again?”

“One of them is hailing us, opening the channel.”

“Ka’Rij to the Helios, we’re sorry for not arriving sooner. Chase requested that we meet with him here, but I don’t see the Hope anywhere.”

It took a moment for Talon to put two and two together, but then he remembered the name Ka’Rij from one of Chase’s reports from his mission to the unknown regions.

“That’s correct, Ka’Rij,” said Talon, “the fleet won’t arrive for pretty much in a day, so believe me when I say that we’re really glad to see you.”

“We’re here to help, but can you explain why the Droxians are firing on both you and the other Asgardian ships?”

“They’ve been manipulated by the enemy’s technology. They’re no longer in control of their actions. We’re trying not to destroy them, but Thor’s forces don’t care and they’ve already destroyed three of their ships.”

“All right, we’ll only engage with the targets you tag for us. I see other Asgardian ships are firing in between them.”

“Thank you Ka’Rij, there’s one ship in particular that we can’t seem to target, the Balder, since they’re using the rest of their fleet as their own personal shield.”

“Understood, we have much better maneuverability than any space vessel, so it won’t be a problem for us to attack this ship without firing on the Droxians.”

“I think I speak for everyone here when I say that this is the best news I’ve heard all day.”

* * *

“Two dragons on approach,” said Fenrir.

“What?” said Siegfried.

That was the first time that Fenrir actually saw doubt in his brother’s eyes ever since they were released from their cryo prison.

“They’re coming about.”

“Shoot them down! Every ship is to fire on these dragons.”

“Retargeting, but they’re moving too fast, our weapons can’t seem to get a lock on them.”

“That’s because targeting systems are supposed to lock on power signatures, not organic matter.”

“What should we do?”

“Keep firing, blindly if you have to, let’s give Grunhild a little more time.”

The ship rocked heavily as the dragons made their first pass at its shields.

“Shields down to forty-two percent,” exclaimed Fenrir.

“Tighten the escort shield around us, I don’t want any hits coming from Thor’s forces or the Helios.”

“Speaking of the Helios, they’re disengaging, but I’m detecting a massive power-up of their weapon systems.”

Siegfried left his battle view of the viewport for the first time in hours and walked to a console, he brought up a holo-display and opened up a database of the Earth Alliance ships. He located the Helios inside their database and zoomed in on their weapons schematics.

“Damn, that’s what I was afraid of,” said Siegfried.

“What is it?”

“They’re powering up their Damocles Plasma Cannon. It’s that ship secondary firing solution.”

“And?”

“And that could finish off our shields with a single shot. In order to fire, they’ll be disabled for sixty seconds after using the weapon and easy pickings.”

“Yeah, except so will we!”

Siegfried’s eyes shone brightly for a second. “I’m very well aware of that, Fenrir; watch your tone.”

“I know you don’t want to hear it, brother, but perhaps now would be a good time to jump away.”

“Not yet, but program the navigational computer for a jump toward Droxia.”

“Except, you removed my privilege to do so.”

“Computer,” said Siegfried, “restore all admin access to Fenrir.”

“Administrative access restore,” cooed the computer.

“Make sure the Droxian ships don’t use their own navigational systems,” said Siegfried, “or they could jump anywhere randomly. They have to slave their systems to our own.”

“How do you know all this?”

“Let me show you,” said Siegfried, replacing the Helios’s schematics with a holo-star map. See these ships,” said Siegfried pointing at ships thousands of light-years away from Asgard. “It’s now clear why Chase and his fleet aren’t coming, or they would have been here in hours. They’re over a day away from our position now at FTL speeds. But they’re currently at sub-light speed, going toward a hyperspace gate. That can only mean one thing, their navigational computers have been compromised, but Thor’s haven’t, so my guess is Asgardian tech is the only one not affected by this.”

“That’s a big assumption, no offense.”

“Is it? Bring up Asgardian intelligence feed.”

Fenrir entered a few commands. “I’ve been denied access.”

“I guess Thor ordered his crew to fix the backdoor Grunhild had opened in their security systems. But that’s okay, just comb the Droxians log instead, I’m sure you’ll find a piece of information confirming my theory.”

Fenrir did as instructed. It didn’t take long to find the Earth Alliance bulleting in the subject. Whether or not he agreed with his brother’s plan and actions over the last few years, he had to recognize his brother’s mental superiority.

“You’re right, the Alliance suspects Spectres’ intervention, and the Asgard navigational systems aren’t affected.”

“Have you plotted the course to Droxia?”

“Yes, but I still think we should jump now.”

“We owe it to Grunhild to give her a little more time. After all, she got us what we came here for, the least we can do is not abandon her until we absolutely have to.”

* * *

“Aren’t we risking being destroyed, powering up the Damocles Cannon?” asked Tar’Lock.

“If the dragons weren’t here,” answered Talon, “I wouldn’t risk it. But with their presence, we can count on them to cover us during the sixty-second power reboot. That should also be more than enough time for them to destroy the Balder.”

“That’s still a gamble, but you’re the captain, so I’ll do what you think is best for the ship and the crew.”

“I believe this is bigger than the lives of the Helios, my friend. If Siegfried is allowed to destroy Asgard, we’re losing our strongest war allies. As well as access to advanced technologies.”

“You mean the same people who let us die instead of staying and destroying the super gate in our hour of need?”

“That is a decision that’s well over my head as a ship’s captain. What I see is that, even though Thor made a mistake, if he hadn’t, we would have already lost Asgard.”

“I suppose there’s some logic there.”

“The fact of the matter is that we’re all-in now, and thanks to the Dragonmen, we actually stand a shadow of a chance, and I’m not gonna let it slip away from our hands by avoiding taking risks.”

“Fair enough.”

“ETA to weapons charge?”

“Another thirty seconds, then we can fire.”

“Open up a channel with Ka’Rij, we’ll only make this work if we synchronize our efforts.”

“Opening channel.”

* * *

“Stop it!” screamed Poseidon toward Artemis. “Please, don’t force us to kill you. Listen to my voice, and wake up!”

Artemis kept firing energy arrows at Thor, ignoring Poseidon’s plea.

Grunhild fired a salvo of fireballs toward Poseidon, and he spun his trident to try to deflect the attacks, but one passed through his defenses and sent the Olympian down.

My friend, said Thor telepathically, I don’t think we can win unless we take Artemis out of the equation.

As much as he hated the idea of even injuring his niece, he had to admit that as it stood, they were fighting a losing battle. Grunhild kept using her psychic powers to bring in more reinforcements, preventing them to ever join forces to mount a frontal assault against the female Guard.

Poseidon needed a diversion in order to try and save his niece one more time.

Can you engage Grunhild on your own for a minute or two? I need to try to get through to her one more time, I owe my niece that much.

Of course, I’d be dead without your intervention. I owe both of you my life.

Thank you. I’m going to create a diversion, when it happens, just engage Grunhild and I’ll try to get through to Artemis.

What kind of diversion?

Just watch, you can’t miss it.

Poseidon reached with his consciousness and located all the water running in Asgard Prime and summoned it. Water shot from the floor and formed a water wall climbing to the sky, in between Thor, Poseidon, and Grunhild.

Pass through it while you still can, and please, electrify the water-wall once you’re through, asked Poseidon.

Understood, answered Thor.

Thor punched through the water-wall and electrified Mjölnir from the other side before firing a veritable barrage of thunderbolts at it. He turned back in midair and landed near Grunhild.

Poseidon dodged more of Artemis’s attacks and sent his trident flying to the surface of the water-wall, electrifying it in the process. He then used telekinetic power to direct the trident toward Artemis, which unleashed all the accumulated electricity upon her.

The lightning bolts engulfed Artemis, and she screamed as her energy bow vanished from her hands, and she fell to her knees.

On the other side, Thor transferred more of his life force into his hammer and spun Mjölnir. A large column of green energy shot toward the female Guard. She extended both her arms to block the attack but was surprised by its intensity, forcing her to skid on what was left of the palace floor.

She clenched her teeth as she deployed all her strength to try and contain Thor’s attack.

Poseidon reached Artemis with his mind.

Artemis! Wake up, we need you! Fight Grunhild’s hold on your mind. Fight it with all your might.

Poseidon heard her reply. I can’t! She’s too strong!

Yes, you can! Dig deep within your soul and find the strength to set your spirit free.

Artemis rose back to her feet, her movement uncoordinated, like two minds were trying to give her body opposing orders. Eventually, her golden aura grew and filled her eyes. Poseidon felt her spirit reborn from the ashes, like a phoenix, accompanied by a tremendous amount of anger and hate.

“I’m going to kill that bitch!” she exclaimed through grinding teeth.

“That’s much better,” said Poseidon with a smile.

Thor burst through the water-wall and crashed near Poseidon. The Olympian reacted instinctively and used his bionic arm to freeze the water into a giant wall of ice, but he knew it wouldn’t stop Grunhild for long.

“We only have one shot at this,” said Poseidon as he gave Thor his hand to help him back on his feet.

“What’s the plan?” asked Thor.

“We unite all our energies, and we strike a decisive blow. Just follow my lead.”

Poseidon turned around and stared at Artemis. “You remember the joint attack we trained for?”

Artemis nodded.

“Well, now is the time,” said Poseidon before turning his attention back to Thor. “Your hammer is the only weapon capable of assimilating the amount of energy necessary to make this happen, so you’ll have to strike the final blow.”

“Oh, believe me, I’m good with that!”

“Charge up Mjölnir as much as you can until I send you our combined energy; when that happens, supercharge Mjölnir and finish her.”

Thor transferred most of his own life force into his hammer and raised it to the sky. Thunderbolts shot through the city’s shield, thousands at a time, while the sky turned black. Mjölnir was already holding so much energy that its harmonic vibrations shook the entire city.

Poseidon’s aura exploded in the form of blue-green hydras dancing all around him, they all went into his trident, making it shine pure gold.

“Artemis, now!” shouted Poseidon.

Artemis brought up her bow, aimed it at Poseidon, and hundreds of energy arrows accumulated around her; she pulled on her bow’s energetic string as much as she could, and all arrows pulsated like a ballet of stars. She released the string the moment Poseidon spun his trident as fast as he could, so much so that it captured wind and even cracked pieces from the ice wall in the process.

The ice wall burst into a million pieces as a mad Grunhild punched through it, her eyes infused with all the hatred of her kind.

The hundreds of arrows were siphoned by the rapid movement of Poseidon’s trident, and the God of the Seas managed to deflect the biblical amount of energy contained within his weapon toward Thor’s hammer just before Grunhild headbutted Poseidon in the center of his chest with her skull, cracking his Olympian armor and sending him crashing through multiple walls of the palace.

“Poseidon!” screamed Artemis.

Grunhild aimed both her hands at the Goddess of the Hunt and incinerated her under a flurry of fireballs.

Upon assimilating all the energy into Mjölnir, Thor felt so much energy in the weapon that it traveled through his entire body and blew most of his armor into a million pieces, burning most of his clothes. He fought through the pain threatening to obliterate his body into a million pieces and threw himself in the air.

Grunhild was still firing at Artemis when Poseidon returned, flying, and fired fireballs at her with his bionic arm, forcing her to change targets and fire at him instead.

When Grunhild sensed Thor’s presence overhead, it was too late. She looked up, and the last thing she saw was the Asgardian’s weapon, now shining like a miniature hammer-shaped radiating sun smashing into her skull.

The hammer cut through her body in a split second, and thousands upon thousands of golden lightning bolts shot from every direction and disintegrated the two halves of the Guard’s body at the molecular level, leaving not even ashes behind.

14

There was no one to be seen on the surface of the planet.

“Are we sure there are life forms here?” asked Ryonna.

Yanis scanned the area. “Yep, many, in fact. They’re just hiding from us at the moment.”

“The question is why,” said Menelas.

“Well, seeing the craters all around the area, I would think it’s easy to understand that their lives are driven by fear. And that fear, as far as they’re concerned, comes from above,” said Ryonna pointing up to the sky.

“Which is where we came from,” added Yanis.

“I think I can get someone to meet with us,” said Ares.

“How?” asked Menelas.

The pilot’s body emitted a vocal sound that sounded like nothing any of them had ever heard. A kind of alien birdcall.

“What the hell was that?” asked Yanis, trying to unblock one of his ears.

“Unless I’m mistaken, it’s part of their language,” answered Ares.

“What did you tell them?” asked Ryonna.

“We come in peace.”

“Classic,” said Yanis.

A couple of biped humanoids with two sets of arms on each shoulder timidly advanced forward. They had pinkish-grey skins and large blue eyes, all three of them. Two on each side of the face and a third one hanging at the end of a small, articulated antenna on their foreheads.

They emitted similar sounds than Ares had made before.

“Obviously, this language isn’t in our universal translators,” said Yanis. “What are they saying?”

The bird-like sounds continued.

“They’re asking us what we want and if we came from the masters. They say they saw fire in the sky earlier, and they are afraid they’ll be punished.”

“Rule by fear, as expected,” commented Ryonna. “Tell them the masters are no more.”

“Are you sure that’s the best approach?” asked Menelas.

“Depends if we’re trying to establish a relationship based on honesty,” answered Ryonna, “or if we want to manipulate them like they have been their entire lives. I much prefer the former way.”

“So do I,” said Yanis. “These people clearly look terrified.”

“All right then,” said Ares before speaking a very long message in the alien tongue.

The two aliens looked at each other and murmured something, not realizing that besides Ares, none of them could understand them anyway.

One of them started bobbing his head multiple times as if he was dancing.

“It’s possible their language extends to signs and physical accentuation of certain emotions,” said Yanis.

“Stop making stuff up,” said Menelas.

“No,” added Ares. “Yanis is right, that head thing indicates he’s considering what I’ve told him.”

“Mind clueing us in?” asked Ryonna.

“Basically, the truth, we destroyed the eye in the sky, that’s what they call it, and that we would like to be friends with them and would be really grateful if we could get access to pentalium. Except, they call it the magical ore of the gods.”

“Well, that sounds about right,” said Yanis. “Anything that can’t be explained by a civilization understanding of technology would indeed appear as magic. And, well, any entity foreign that wields such technology would appear as a god.”

“Never mind that,” said Ryonna, “what’s their answer?”

“Well,” added Menelas, “since his head is still bobbing ridiculously, I think it’s safe to say he’s still thinking about it.”

“Menelas is correct,” confirmed Ares.

Eventually, the alien’s head stopped bobbing, and he spoke again.

“He’s saying if we can prove the eye in the sky is gone for good, we can take as much as the ore as we need, and if we can provide protection from the gods’ return in the future, they could get us more, much more.”

“That would be awesome,” said Yanis. “We wouldn’t even need our own workforce to get access to refined pentalium.”

“Yet, we’ll have to discuss the ethics of such a decision,” corrected Ryonna, “and that’s a decision the Alliance will have to make for us. We also need to make sure that the race that enslaved them as their miner slaves doesn’t return. And something tells me they will. We should probably ask them how the eye gathered the pentalium and at which intervals.”

Ares relayed the question and got the answer.

“They say a silvery thing similar to ours but smaller, comes here every one hundred and twenty rotations of their planet.”

“Okay, so with luck, we have time to mount some sort of defense,” said Ryonna.

“Not necessarily,” said Yanis, “the race who created the defense platform was clearly advanced. Like us, they’d have sensors, most likely subspace communications as well, and they may already be on their way to see why their orbital station isn’t answering anymore.”

“I concur,” said Menelas.

“Well,” said Ryonna, “it’s not like we have any choice, right now, we need to grab as much pentalium as we can and return as soon as possible with a defense force in orbit. Maybe we can get a few of the ships patrolling New Kyria here.”

“Remind me why didn’t we use one of these ships in the first place?” asked Yanis.

“Because that’s a very long multiple days jump,” said Ryonna, “and the unknown regions are full of surprises, like gigantic space hydras for one. Until we establish safe travel routes for ourselves, it’s risky to just fly from point A to B.”

“Fair enough,” said Yanis.

“What do I tell them?” asked Ares.

“That right now we need their help to load as much pentalium as our ship can carry and that we’ll return shortly.”

Ares relayed the message, and the alien got agitated.

“What’s going on?” asked Menelas.

“They want one of us to stay, to make sure the eye doesn’t return while we’re away.”

Menelas sighed. “Of course, they do. I guess I’ll volunteer before you volunteer me.”

“What makes you say that?” asked Yanis.

“Which of the four of us has any chance of fighting an advanced alien race should they come here?”

“Point taken,” said Yanis.

“I don’t like the idea of leaving you behind,” said Ryonna.

“I’ll be fine, they seem like lovely people,” said Menelas.

“I can’t tell if you’re being serious or sarcastic,” said Yanis.

“The second one,” said Menelas stoically as he crossed his arms on his chest.

* * *

“The Damocles Plasma Cannon is fully charged,” said Tar’Lock.

Talon lifted his right arm. “On my mark, stand-by to fire.”

Talon sent the signal to Ka’Rij, counted to three in his mind, and flicked his hand down. “Now!”

Lights flickered throughout the Helios as a deafening rumbling noise shook the entire ship. A second later, a massive column of yellow plasma shot from the ship’s nose toward the Balder.

Before it impacted, the couple of dragons lodged their claws into the Droxian ship that was directly in front of the incoming discharge of plasma, and threw the ship out of the way, and flew away to avoid being in range of the impact from the powerful weapon.

At the very last seconds, one of the enemy ships micro-jumped into position and was vaporized by the plasma beam. The beam continued its route, albeit diminished in power, and it impacted and shook the Balder. Its shields illuminated a bright green and flickered madly. Once the cannon stopped firing, all lights onboard the Helios turned off and were replaced by weak red emergency lighting.

“Now what?” said Tar’Lock. “Did that finish off their shields?”

“What part of ‘we won’t have access to any of our systems for sixty seconds’ didn’t you understand? We have no idea if it worked, if their shields are down, or if they’re preparing to retaliate against us.”

“Well, I’d like the record to show that I find this course of action highly reckless,” said Tar’Lock with clicks that sounded more like scared chirps than his usual tongue clicking sounds.

“Duly noted, but right now, it’s up to the dragons to finish the job,” said Talon.

“I thought you said they would protect us.”

“Maybe they will, maybe they won’t. I have no way of predicting what actions they’ll take in response to the Balder’s actions. It’s out of our hands.”

Tar’Lock clicks had never been so fast, perhaps as a reflex to cover another high-pitched noise that escaped from another orifice from the Gorgar bodies when under stress.

Talon gently pinched his nose. “Here we go again.”

I really need to ask Spiros to create an implant for Tar’Lock.

* * *

The dragons came about and fired large fireballs from their mouth, draining the Balder shields even more.

“Shields down to three percent!” exclaimed Fenrir, unable to hide fear from his tone.

“Target the Helios,” said Siegfried, “they’ve miscalculated their strategy terribly, it’s time to show them what that will cost them.”

The next volley of fireballs from the dragons shook the ship, and Fenrir’s console exploded in his face. He got back up and moved to another station.

“Weapons are inoperable.”

Siegfried punched the viewport, and the reinforced pentalium-rich glass cracked a little. The crack grew in larger increments a couple more times.

“Structure integrity failing on the bridge,” said the computer, “raising emergency force field.”

A wave of green energy passed in front of the viewport as the glass shattered even more and pieces of it dislodged and flew away the next time the dragons hit the ship.

“Shields to one percent. We gotta go!”

Siegfried fell on his knees.

“She’s dead,” he said, solemnly, “I can’t believe it…but she’s dead.”

“Then I’m jumping us out of here while we still can.”

Fenrir activated the jump engines and the Balder as well as the remaining Droxian destroyers all entered hyperspace windows and were gone from Asgard’s orbit.

* * *

“They’re gone!” exclaimed Tar’Lock as the lights returned to the bridge and the computer systems rebooted. “We’ve won!”

“We haven’t won,” said Talon, his fingers still pinching his nose, making his vocal intonation slightly less serious than usual. “And I’m getting you a butt implant.”

A female officer nearby Tar’Lock couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Sorry,” said Tar’Lock. “I can’t⁠—”

“I know you can’t help it. We’ve not won; we’ve just forced them to flee and regroup. They’ll be back soon enough.”

Another high-pitched sound resounded through the bridge, this time for everyone to hear. The officer that chuckled earlier burst into laughter, but her joy was short-lived when she realized her eyes were now burning.

Talon’s face grew red, he got up, and he pointed toward the lift’s door. “Out of my bridge! Why don’t you go check on the status of Ronan?”

Tar’Lock was out of the bridge in a split second, which made Talon feel ashamed for overreacting to a biological function Tar’Lock had no control over. He made a mental note to apologize to his friend later.

Talon returned to his chair and opened up a channel. “Thank you, Ka’Rij, are you all right?”

“We’re undamaged, thank you. Seems like your plan worked.”

“More or less. If it had worked how I intended it, the Balder would be space dust by now.”

“I’m not sure that would have been better, considering how powerful the Guards are.”

Talon hadn’t thought about that, Siegfried had already displayed the ability not only to survive in space but also take out multiple ships on his own. Perhaps Ka’Rij was correct in his assessment, and maybe they had obtained the best outcome they could have wished for under the circumstances.

“Right, at least Asgard is no longer under attack, I suppose we should count our blessings.”

“If you don’t mind, my colleague and I need to hibernate for a few hours, recharge our energy levels.”

“You can change size, right? Would you like us to dedicate one of our cargo bays so you can rest on board?”

“That’s generous of you, Captain, but we’ll just hibernate inside the Zorgot, she can get us back home at the same time. Unless you’d rather we stay in the area?”

“If it’s not too much trouble, can you hibernate a few hours in orbit before leaving?”

“Of course, Captain, that’s what we’ll do.”

“Thanks again, Ka’Rij, you saved our asses.”

“You’re perfectly welcome, the friends of Dragonheart are our friends.”

15

“I don’t feel right having left Menelas on the planet,” said Yanis.

“Me neither,” added Ryonna, “but he seemed okay with it.”

“He’s an elite Fury warrior,” Ares chimed in, “if anyone can defend himself and these poor people, it’s Menelas, we all know that. We’ll hurry back to New Kyria and get the pentalium the Alliance so direly needs. We’ve lost more than half the fleet destroying the super gate; at least we have more than enough pentalium to replace the lost ships with the top of the line designs. Right, Yanis?”

“Yeah,” confirmed Yanis. “Pentalium is an extremely dense material, we probably are bringing back more than Asgard currently has in stock. That ship may be lacking in weapons, but its cargo hold sure didn’t disappoint. Not only that, but we’ll finally be able to integrate way more Asgardian systems to our new ships going forward, as the lack of pentalium was always the reason we couldn’t get, for example, their incredible weapons or faster hyperspace drives.”

“Now all that is left is to make sure we arrive back in one piece,” said Ares. “Perhaps I should quickly teleport one of you back to the portal, and you can check with the Alliance to send some sort of escort.”

“I don’t like the idea all that much,” said Ryonna, “but do you think this ship can fare okay on autopilot while you’re gone?”

“Yes, we just need to drop out of hyperspace, I put the ship on auto-pilot, teleport one of you back to a portal, and return here. Should only take a few minutes.”

“Who should go?” asked Yanis.

“I’m the only one who can protect this ship in case we get boarded,” said Ryonna.

“And I’m the only one who can fly it should something happen to Ares,” said Yanis.

“Well, then perhaps you should both stay. I can go back to the planet, use the portal, and let Ka’Rij know that we need ships sent to us for an escort. What do you think?”

Yanis looked at Ryonna. “It’s your call, you’re our mission commander. By the way, we may want to create more teams in the future. Look what we’ve accomplished in just a few days. Imagine if we ran multiple teams through the portal systems, how much faster we could bring back new tech.”

“I don’t think Chris will permit that,” said Ares. “He gave his word to the Atlantian AI that he would only let people he trusts through the gate.”

“And we’re at war,” said Ryonna. “I’m sure we can figure out a middle ground, even if that means Chris has to be in charge of the operation.”

“Good luck selling that to Chase,” Yanis countered.

“One problem at a time, people,” said Ares.

Ares initiated the organic ejection system from the pilot ship with all the squishiness and odor that it implied.

“When this is over, we may want to find this poor soul a shrink. Something tells me he’ll need one. I never intended to invade him for longer than a few hours.”

“Isn’t it tiring?” asked Yanis.

“I’m surprised it hasn’t taken much of a toll on my energy levels, perhaps because it was so easy to bypass his consciousness. Like he didn’t mind the process. Anyway, let’s not waste time we don’t have, you two wait for me here, I shouldn’t be long, half an hour tops.”

“Good luck, Ares,” said Ryonna.

Ares nodded and the alien vanished from the bridge.

“That was funny,” said Yanis with a chuckle.

“What was?”

“The fact that he told us to wait for him here as if we could possibly go anywhere else.”

“I guess that’s a good point.”

“On another subject, I was thinking…we should call ourselves PT-1,” said Yanis.

“What are you mumbling about?” asked Ryonna.

“Well, we’re a team traveling through portals, and we’re the first one of its kind, so Portal Team One.”

“We can name things later,” she said.

“What’s with everybody always questioning my naming schemes? I mean really?”

Ryonna smiled. “If you have to ask the question, I think you know the answer already.”

“What? That I suck at naming things?”

Ryonna didn’t answer and turned away to look at the hyperspace streaks of light through the viewport. She was still smiling.

* * *

“Everybody okay?” asked Thor.

Poseidon was holding his chest over his cracked armor. “I’ll live. Artemis?”

“I’m okay, just a few burns and bruises, she kinda went all-out on that last attack of hers, if it wasn’t for Olympian steel, I’m not sure I would have survived. But as it stands, a few hours in a regen tank, and I’ll be as good as new.”

Thor walked to them and put his hands on their shoulders. “I can’t tell you how thankful I am to you for saving my life, and it seems, my world too.”

“Isn’t it a little early to declare that victory?” asked Poseidon.

“Are you hearing any impacts on the city shields for the last few minutes? And furthermore, shortly after we killed Grunhild, I saw multiple flashes in the sky, and Siegfried fled, I’m sure of it.”

“Well, in that case, you’re perfectly welcome, my friend,” said Poseidon.

“I wish I could say the same,” said Artemis, lowering her gaze. “I’m ashamed of myself. I—I’m so sorry I put both your lives in jeopardy.”

“There’s nothing to be ashamed of,” said Thor. “Grunhild’s psychic powers were like nothing your mind could ever have been prepared for.”

“And yet, neither of you were affected,” she added.

“That’s not true; she tricked Loki, and that’s how she managed to defeat my brother,” said Thor, fighting really hard not to show tears. “She also tried tricking me before you came in, taking Loki’s form and then even Odin’s.”

“I’m really sorry for your loss, Thor. I wish we arrived earlier. As for Grunhild, I sensed as well her trying to grab a hold on my mind the entire time,” said Poseidon.

Thor nodded solemnly. He hadn’t yet started processing the grief and the emotions he was feeling about Loki’s death. It would require some introspection and perhaps a visit to the Valhalla Temple, as he needed to plead with the gods for one last meeting with his brother’s soul.

“But see, that’s exactly my point, neither of you caved in like I did,” said Artemis.

“You’re still young,” answered Poseidon with a smile, “don’t worry about it, what matters is that in the end, we prevailed.”

“I agree,” said Thor. “I don’t think the two of you realize how miraculous a feat we’ve just accomplished. Legions of Titans perished trying to capture a single Guard.”

“Did the two of you,” said Poseidon, “feel our aura’s link together as we executed this last attack? As if we were acting as one. I never felt anything so powerful.”

“I felt it too, yes,” said Artemis.

“So did I,” added Thor, “and I think that’s why we succeeded. We managed to make our auras vibrate in sync with one another, which increased our overall power, acting as one force instead of three.”

“Something tells me,” added Poseidon, “that’s it’s going to be the only way we’ll win this war, by uniting our forces in that fashion.”

“I think you may be right there, my friend,” confirmed Thor, ”and I think there will be stories about what we did today sung in Valhalla for all eternity.”

* * *

Ashra fought to remain conscious as they removed the fetus from her womb. She had refused any sort of sedation, even though her doctor had insisted upon it. They had already tried to trick her by removing half her souls; she wasn’t about to give them another opportunity for betrayal. They’d probably try to end her if she lost consciousness.

Time was running out, and Ashra was fully aware that in a few hours, she’d have to report to Spectre Prime. She needed to figure out a game plan. She had always known that this moment would come, but she never expected it to happen so soon.

Spectre Prime had taken a huge risk going through the super gate, though from his side, he probably never expected the Alliance to be waiting on the other side, ready to destroy emerging ships. Too bad he hadn’t been in one of the ships that got destroyed. That would have made her job easier.

That didn’t matter anymore, though, she had to move forward and do what was necessary to continue her dominion over this dimension. She certainly could use the few motherships that had made it here, as they would provide her with a major firepower advantage over the Alliance. Especially since they were running out of precious resources now and were in a weakened position. Something Ashra knew she had to take advantage of as soon as possible.

“Are we done yet?” she asked.

“Last incision and we can close you up,” said the doctor.

“Make sure the fetus survives, or I’m not only going to punish you if you catch my drift.”

“Y—yes, Mistress,” said the doctor. “We’ll transfer her to the growing chamber right now and make sure she gets all the nutrients and attention she needs.”

Ashra knew that this premature baby was her way to get back at Chase and what was left of his family. They had proven more resilient than Sarah’s memories had hinted. She still had access to the human’s mind and it would prove a useful asset to figure out the best way to trick Chase going forward. Even though that other female Fury, the one called Nyx had become the clearest threat in terms of power, it was Chase’s unbreakable spirit that worried her the most.

Fortunately, she held what he valued the most hostage, and that would allow her to stay one step ahead of Chase at every turn. After all, it was that very fact that had kept Ashra alive. It was a tactical advantage she didn’t intend to waste, but rather, nurture it to bring her enemies to their knees.

“Done,” said the doctor. “You should rest now.”

Ashra growled as she got off the operation table.

“I must object to you moving so soon.”

Ashra pointed a finger at the arachnoid’s face. “Don’t you dare test my patience.”

The arachnoid bowed and took a few steps back.

“Just do your job and put the fetus into accelerated growth right away.”

“Yes, Mistress, we will do as you say.”

The sickbay’s door opened and the second arachnoid doctor entered with a large container, which radiated so much blue light that Ashra had to cover her eyes for a moment.

“Are those my souls? What the hell took you so long?” she asked.

“Yes, they are. I’m sorry it took more time to transfer them than I anticipated, there are so many of them. If you’ll please install yourself into the transfer pod over there, I’ll reinject them into you now.”

“And how long will that process take?”

“For a safe transfer, about six, maybe seven hours.”

“I don’t have that kind of time.”

“I’m afraid it’s the only way.”

Ashra walked toward her.

“Is that so?”

“Yes, Mistress.”

Ashra grabbed the container and smashed it to the ground. Thousands of blue lights tried to flee, but Ashra created three powerful siphons with both her palms and her mouth. The souls struggled to gain any distance from her and appeared to be stuck in midair for a few seconds before being sucked back inside Ashra, hundreds at a time, while high-pitched resonating tiny screams filled the room.

It took less than a minute for Ashra to reabsorb all the souls save a few dozens that managed to escape through the walls and into the next plane of existence.

Ashra’s wounds mended themselves almost instantly, and she felt her immense power come back to her. She released a roar of satisfaction that made the entire room tremble.

“You were saying?” said Ashra as her eyes shone red.

The second arachnoid doctor exploded from the inside out, spilling black goo all around, some of it landed on Ashra’s face. She licked some of it with her tongue and spat it out.

“What vile tasting creatures you are.”

She turned to the first doctor, who was hiding behind a chair.

“Get back to work, now! You’ve just inherited that fool’s responsibilities. When I come back here in a few hours, you’d better be done with all of it.”

“That’s too much work for just one doctor, I want to help, but I’m all alone now.”

“Then delegate, but I don’t have to tell you what will happen to you if I have to take over myself.”

“Understood, Mistress, I will take care of everything.”

Ashra stormed out of the sickbay with renewed determination and power levels the kind she never felt before.

You’d better! thought Ashra. These treacherous insectoids have taken the most powerful of my souls, if I hadn’t woken up when I did, I would probably be dead by now. Once I get what I want, I’ll have to extinguish their entire pathetic race.

* * *

Talon entered med-bay and walked toward Tar’Lock.

“I’m sorry, my friend, I shouldn’t have lost my nerves on the bridge.”

“It’s okay,” said Tar’Lock without looking at Talon.

Talon put a hand on his friend’s shoulder.

“No, it’s not. So what if you have flatulence when you’re nervous, did you know some humans actually shit their pants when they’re afraid?”

“You’re just saying that to make me feel better.”

“I assure you, I’m not. It’s a biological thing for many species, in fact. Death is not something every one of us is truly equipped to face without flinching. We’re mortals after all, and it’s hard to accept, sometimes, that one day life as we know it must end.”

“I suppose, I think for the Gorgars it’s not something my species keeps in their heads, we already have so little memory capacity, I think we deemed these type of thoughts a waste of memory space, so to speak.”

“And believe me or not, but I’m actually jealous about that.”

Tar’Lock gazed at Talon. “You are?”

Talon smiled. “You have no idea. Hell, yes. I wish I didn’t have the mental storage to think about my own death, my life and many of the decisions I make on a day-to-day basis would be very different. So, yes, I’m truly jealous of this.”

“I guess that makes me feel better.”

“Again, Tar’Lock, I’m truly sorry for my behavior.”

Tar’Lock’s entire face lit up. “Apology accepted.”

“How’s Ronan doing?”

“He’s hanging in there…I wish I could get in contact with Ryonna, but she isn’t on New Kyria at the moment. From what I gathered though, they got a really good clue on where to find pentalium, and they’re on a mission to achieve just that.”

“That’s great news, Tar’Lock, we need it now more than ever.”

The sound system activated. “Captain to the bridge, we’re receiving a subspace transmission from Chase.”

“I see,” said Talon before turning to Tar’Lock. “Are you coming to the bridge with me, First Officer?”

“That reminds me of a show I once saw on Earth’s TV,” said Tar’Lock, “where the captain called his first officer number one. I liked that.”

Talon smiled. “That you remember.” Talon activated his comms. “Two to transport directly to the bridge.”

Upon arriving, Talon’s officer spoke. “I’m sorry, Captain, I should have been more precise in my message to you. Chase requested a private call.”

“That’s all right, Lieutenant, I’ll take it in my ready room.”

Talon then turned to Tar’Lock. “You have the bridge, Number One.”

Tar’Lock smiled wider than Talon have ever seen him smile.

16

“Talk to me, Siegfried,” said Fenrir.

But Siegfried was still on the floor, and for the first time since Fenrir could remember, he saw Siegfried being emotionally compromised.

“I’m sorry about Grunhild,” said Fenrir. “I—I wasn’t aware the two of you were that close.”

But Siegfried remained silent. Fenrir tapped his brother’s shoulder with compassion and returned to his terminal.

“We should be arriving at Droxia in a few hours. I take it we’ll wipe them off the map?”

“No,” said Siegfried, slowly getting back to his feet.

His aura shone brightly, and Fenrir worried that he would lose control. He could sense the amount of hatred emanating from his brother’s formidable energy. Part of him was jealous, as deep down, he knew he could never match Siegfried’s superiority as a warrior, not to mention his intellect.

“I love all of you,” said Siegfried. “Not just Grunhild. But it is true that she and I had a deeper, psychic connection with one another.”

“I understand…I think. I’m really sorry. I miss her too.”

Siegfried turned toward Fenrir. “I know you do, Brother. And no, we’re not destroying Droxia, we’re claiming it for ourselves.”

“Is that even doable without Grunhild?”

“Fortunately, when she grabbed thousands of Gorgars before joining us, she found something interesting in some of their memories. They’re highly malleable, and Grunhild never ever let anything to chance, so she equipped them with the same nanites that we used on the Droxians, they’re already building a large psychic control device to affect the entire planet, it should be ready by the time we reach there.”

Fenrir still hated being informed of the plan as it unfolded; to him, that only meant that he would never be able to anticipate what would come next. But it was clear that Siegfried had a precise plan in mind like he always did. Fenrir just wondered how much of that plan could work now that Grunhild was gone. Siegfried seemed utterly uninterested in what Fenrir had to contribute to the plan.

“I see…”

“I promise I’ll try to be more forthcoming with you going forward, after all, it’s just you and me now.”

I don’t know if I should feel honored or insulted by that statement.

“I have faith that you’ll lead us to victory,” said Fenrir, knowing full well he only partially agreed with his own statement.

At the end of the day, Fenrir didn’t have any other choice. While he had no doubt he could kill many of their enemies on the battlefield, he lacked the foresight for long-term strategy that Siegfried seemed to possess naturally.

“I just have one question?” said Fenrir.

“And you may ask it.”

“Since we’re using technology to control an entire race, can’t the Alliance just counter it with a tech of their own?”

“You’ll be happy to hear that your sister asked me the exact same question; I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, we all share DNA after all. This is the reason why we decided that what we’ll do to the Droxians won’t just be to control them with nanites. It will only work for a short time, as they’re much more resilient than the Gorgars. That’s why we’ve tasked those in the cargo bay to work on a set of implants that will make Droxian a stronger warrior race, it will literally transform them from the inside out and reprogram their brains to serve us. They’ll, in turn, will be linked to one another thanks to these implants. Acting like a hive mind, if you will, but reporting to me via an implant in my brain.”

“Am I right in assuming that this implant of yours was never meant to be used the way it will now?”

Siegfried smiled. “I’m glad to see you’re using your brain more, brother. You’re correct, it was always considered as a backup solution, in case we ever got separated from Grunhild for longer periods, so that I can take over for her. She always intended to be the queen of that future hive. I guess I will have to take on that role now.”

“Well…at least the plan can move forward, thanks to both your foresight.”

* * *

Thor stood in front of the Valhalla Temple and stared at the massive stairway going to the temple’s entrance. His heart ached.

He climbed to the top and took a knee. A green light illuminated the seams between the large wooden gate, and they opened.

Thor walked through and entered the temple. Torches on each side of the walls came to life, illuminating his way. The large gate closed behind him.

On the way to the Altar of the Gods, he solemnly stared at the giant statues of the heroes of Asgard, immortalized through the ages. Once at the altar, he made an incision in his palm and offered some of his blood.

The altar came to life with a large dancing green flame.

Thor took a knee, bowing his head.

“Spirits of Valhalla, please listen to my plight.”

The flame detached from the altar and morphed into a flame spirit.

“Rise, Thor, son of Odin.”

Thor got on his feet and bowed. “Thank you for granting me an audience.”

“You’ve fought valiantly today, and we recognize your might. You’re a true Warrior of Asgard.”

“I—I was wondering if…” but Thor let the words trail as his eyes filled with burning tears.

“Speak your mind, Thor,” said the flaming spirit.

“I’d like to talk to the spirit of my fallen brother, Loki, if I may be granted that wish.”

“This is highly irregular, as I’m sure you’re aware.”

“I know, but I was hoping that under the circumstances, with him sacrificing his life to save our world, he’d be allowed to talk to me one last time.”

“You haven’t yet proceeded with the rites of passage for his soul. You shouldn’t have come so early, King of Asgard.”

“I apologize for my impatience, it’s just…I didn’t get to say goodbye.”

“We both know this isn’t why you are here.”

Thor should have known better than try to deceive the spirits.

“I apologize, and you are correct, that isn’t why I’m here. I want to know if what Grunhild said about his role in mighty Odin’s death was true. It’s been eating at my soul.”

“What does your heart tell you?”

“It’s having a hard time accepting it, but there is doubt, hence my presence here today.”

“Mighty Thor…you may return once your brother receives the hero’s funeral he deserves. Perhaps, then, you can talk to him.”

That wasn’t what Thor had hoped from his visit.

“Walk with the Gods, Thor, son of Odin.”

“Please, wait,” Thor insisted.

The spirit floated around Thor.

“Young King, this is not the way,” said the spirit.

“I’m aware of that, and you can take the necessary sanctions. But I really need to know.”

“Why does it matter, Thor? Aren’t you proud of your brother’s last actions in this realm?”

“Of course, I am.”

“Then whatever he did before then, you should find it in your heart to forgive.”

“That’s why I’m here, to know if there is something to forgive.”

The temple trembled, and Thor swallowed hard.

“Please,” Thor pleaded.

“I can tell you, but then you’ll forfeit your right to talk to your brother after his funeral, is that really what you want?”

Thor didn’t like the sound of not seeing Loki’s spirit for one last time until he joined him and his father in Valhalla, but Grunhild had planted the seeds of doubt about the real circumstances around the death of Odin. A death that had already emotionally compromised Thor as he blamed himself for the passing of his father. Because of that, Thor had made multiple decisions he would never have before, and he worried that as long as the doubts remained, he may again make such mistakes. His soul needed to know the truth, no matter the cost.

“I accept your terms, Spirits of Valhalla.”

“We are saddened by your answer, Thor, but we recognize it is your sacrifice to make. For your heroism on this day, we grant you one question, choose it wisely.”

Thor took a deep breath.

“Is it true that Loki made a deal with the Spectres, resulting in my father’s death?”

“It is true, yes.”

The spirit flame vanished, and Thor heard the gate open behind him.

Thor walked away, uncertain if he had made the right decision, but a weight had been lifted from his heart and soul. At least he could let go of the guilt he had been feeling toward Odin, even though other negative emotions still troubled his soul.

* * *

Thor was sitting on what was left of his throne when Poseidon came for a visit.

“I can sense the turmoil in you from miles away,” said Poseidon. “Want to talk about it?”

“I’ve visited the Spirits of Valhalla. They told me things I hoped weren’t true.”

“Such as?”

“Loki betrayed my people by secretly making a deal with the Spectres, and that’s the reason why Odin perished at the hands of the Spectres.”

Poseidon’s face dropped as the words hit him.

“I—I’m sorry. It must not be easy to hear.”

“I’ve been carrying the guilt of Odin’s passing ever since he died. I thought I had done something wrong, I thought it was my fault. All that time Loki was the one responsible.”

“I can sense your anger toward your brother, but I’m sure he had a reason he deemed a good one, just as I’m sure he never intended for Odin to pay the ultimate price.”

“That’s what Grunhild said, and that’s what I’ve been trying to convince myself of as well, so I can forgive him. But my thoughts are troubled.”

“I can understand that. I’ve been there with my own brother. I wonder if there wasn’t anything I could have done differently so that Zeus had survived, and I had taken his place when we fought Arakan.”

“Except in your case, no matter the outcome, it didn’t make any of you a traitor.”

“That’s open for interpretation, Thor.”

Thor finally lifted his gaze and gazed deeply into his friend’s eyes.

“How so?”

“Don’t get me wrong, I love my brother, but Zeus acted recklessly, he played a major role in bringing the second Fury War upon us, and that action alone has cost countless millions their lives.”

“And you’ve forgiven him?”

“I have, and you should forgive Loki as well. Life isn’t all black or white, Thor. We make choices, sometimes thinking they’re rational ones, and without knowing what the consequences might be. This is something we all bear.”

“You’re wiser and have a bigger heart than me, Poseidon.”

“That’s not true. You know it deep inside your own heart that Loki fought valiantly and did so until the very end. He did everything he could to make sure Asgard didn’t fall, which is probably why he made that deal with the Spectres as well, to protect his people. And if it weren’t for him, we wouldn’t be having this conversation on the surface of your world. Am I right?”

Thor nodded.

“So…” Poseidon continued, “deep down, you know you have to forgive him. One day you’ll join him and Odin in Valhalla, and I don’t think you want to hold all that resentment in your heart until that day. I’ve seen what the guilt you’ve harbored about Odin’s death has done to you. It’s important you let go of these emotions, as otherwise I fear they could consume you.”

Thor sighed heavily.

“I’m proud of your brother,” added Poseidon. “He fought until his last breath. Even if he made a mistake earlier, that says a lot about how much he loved this world and his people. As well as how much he loved you. Of that, I have not a single doubt.”

Tears fell down Thor’s eyes. “You’re right, of course. I should forgive him.”

“I’m not the one you have to tell this to, my friend.”

Thor nodded, stood up, and took a deep breath. “I forgive you, brother. Thank you for saving Asgard, your sacrifice shall never be forgotten.”

17

“Have we managed to figure out the hyperspace vector of Siegfried?” asked Chase.

“I’m afraid not,” answered Talon on the holo-screen. “They were actively jamming before the jump.”

“That’s unfortunate, right now, Siegfried is in a weakened state if he gets his hands on other⁠—”

But Chase stopped short.

“What is it, Admiral? Sorry, I mean Chase.”

Chase smiled. “That’s all right. Force of habit, I know. Since he’s already figured out a way to turn the Droxians, why would he start over with another race?”

“That does make sense, which means they’ll probably go to Droxia to get more troops.”

“We can’t let that happen, I’ll ask the fleet to head to Droxia instead of Asgard, it doesn’t seem like we’re needed there anymore anyway.”

“Not unless the enemy returns.”

“I don’t think Siegfried would, not unless he got enough forces to win this time. And right now, if he fled, it means he doesn’t have them.”

“So a pit-stop to Droxia, then return back to Asgard?”

“No, because he could only return with foot soldiers; he already has every one of the Droxian destroyers that were left from the super gate battle and that survived the battle for Asgard.”

“Makes sense. Then he’s going to want to find out the fastest way to get more ships.”

“There aren’t any more ships, at least none that are powerful enough.”

“I’m not sure I agree with you there, Chase, if you don’t mind me saying.”

“I don’t, please tell me what you’re thinking.”

“As you probably know, I’ve been running a ragtag crew after I left the Star Alliance. There are a lot of ships out there, smaller ones, yes, like smugglers, transports, some heavily armed bounty hunters. Even if ten of these ships aren’t as powerful as a destroyer, what about thousands of them?”

“That’s a troubling thought. And while I agree that it could be a problem, you’re assuming that he can get control of all these different minds one way or another.”

“Unless he finds a way to hack these ships, after all, Asgardian tech is very advanced. He can then use the Droxians as crew for these ships.”

“If Grunhild was still alive, I would say you’re correct, she was the psychic, she was the one that had the strong mental abilities to get into machines like my son and I can do. Still, I suppose we can’t dismiss this potential threat moving forward.”

“Except, we also have Spectres on the loose, and now Furies.”

“Yes, Talon, it seems we can’t catch our breaths at the moment. Right now, I still think the most logical planet for Siegfried to go to is Droxia, and we can’t let that happen. They’re formidable warriors, while I’m not worried about the handful of ships he has left, I wouldn’t want to rage a war against millions of them on the battlefield.”

“With all due respect, if it comes to that, I think you and Chris, as well as the other warriors, could probably handle it. After all, Thor, Poseidon, and Artemis managed to kill Grunhild. I think we have enough courageous warriors in our ranks.”

“Perhaps, but how would we live with ourselves if it came to that?”

“Yeah, the ethics of such a decision wouldn’t look good.”

“I don’t think our souls could bear the weight of killing our allies by the millions just because they were brainwashed by our enemies. I sure hope this scenario never presents itself.”

“And yet, that’s why you want to go to Droxia.”

“Yes, to prevent it if we’re not too late.”

“Since the Helios and the Asgardian ships aren’t affected from the hyperspace field distortion, or whatever you want to call it⁠—”

“We haven’t called it anything just yet, so hyperspace field distortion is as accurate as I understand it.”

“Well, then shouldn’t I try to get Thor to join his ships to the Helios and jump to Droxia?”

Chase thought about it.

“It’s already been a few hours, so I would imagine that Siegfried has had enough of a head start, no matter what. Fortunately, Droxia is a much shorter travel time for us from our position; you’d basically be meeting with us there if you left this instant, which we both know is not going to happen. Furthermore, we need a stronghold to receive and secure the pentalium, and I think, right now, that place should be Asgard. They are the experts when it comes to that stuff.”

“What about Alkyon One?”

“I think that will be a good secondary place where we need to consider stockpiling pentalium, that’s a good idea, Talon. We should also consider moving our ship assembly docks in the vicinity of the station.”

“Or build new ones there, since Gorgar are such fast workers. Dismantling and moving shipyards surely will take more time than building new ones where we need them.”

“That’s another good point, Talon. I’ll arrange that with Daniel, directly, with the help of the Gorgar— Dammit, we also need to protect the Gorgar. If Siegfried wants to rebuild a fleet fast, that’s his best bet.”

“So which is it, Droxia or Gorgar?”

“We’ll go to Droxia first, but let’s repurpose your idea a little bit. See if Thor is willing to give you a ship or two to patrol the Gorgar border. I’m sure Tar’Lock won’t have any objections in the matter.”

“I’m sure he’ll appreciate being back home, even for a bit.”

“I have to go work on a strategy in case we do meet Siegfried in battle soon. But Kvasir requested if there were any disabled Droxian ships in orbit on Asgard. Or…and I’m aware of what I’m asking here, if we can find any Droxian corpse he could get access to, directly or through some deep sensor scans he could use. He wants to try to figure out what happened with them and if we can come up with a countermeasure.”

“I’ll get a team working on that task ASAP.”

“Good, keep me posted. Thank you, Talon.”

“Anytime, Chase. Talk to you soon, and good luck on Droxia.”

* * *

Talon entered the bridge and walked to his chair. Tar’Lock got up from the captain’s seat and gestured toward it.

“Chair is yours,” said Tar’Lock as he moved away.

“Number One?”

Tar’Lock stopped and turned.

“I believe your place is by my side,” said Talon, pointing to the first officer’s chair.

“What about tactical?”

“When ships start firing at us, I may ask you to go there, but right now, it’s fine if you take care of tactical from here.”

Tar’Lock smiled and gladly sat next to Talon.

“Comms,” said Talon. “I understand we have New Kyria on the line?”

“Yes, Captain,” said his comms officer, “they tried getting a hold of you earlier, but you were already on the line.”

“Understood. On screen, please.”

The holo-screen filled with an Earth Alliance officer’s face.

“I’m Captain Sakouras, from the Earth Alliance ship Starlancer.”

“Hello, Captain,” said Talon. “First, let me apologize for not taking your call any earlier, I was already engaged with the admiral.”

“That’s all right, Captain Epizon, I appreciate you getting back to me as soon as you did, I understand it’s been a busy day for the Earth Alliance.”

“That’s putting it mildly. What can we do for you?”

“I have a message from Ares, they’ve found pentalium in the unknown regions. We’ve sent two ships to meet with them for escort. He wanted you to know that in a few days, we’ll be able to ship large quantities to the Alliance.”

“Can I speak with Ares?”

“Initially, that’s what was planned, but he said he couldn’t stay, something about having left his ship in autopilot, so I’m afraid he already left. We had to halve our presence around New Kyria, so if you could spare any reinforcements, we sure could use them, since two Dragonmen came to your area of space, we hoped you could send a few ships back with them.”

“We’re also stretched pretty thin, the rest of the Alliance is far away, I’m afraid. Though I suppose I could always ask Thor to dispatch a ship or two.”

“That would be much appreciated, we don’t know if the Hellion Empire will return, they seemed to have stopped their raids lately, but I don’t think it’s going to last forever.”

“Understood, Captain, I will see if Thor can dispatch a ship or two to help defend New Kyria.”

“Thank you, Captain Epizon. Sakouras out.”

“That’s really good news about the pentalium,” said Tar’Lock.

“That it is, my friend. And I’m glad I asked Ka’Rij to stay in the vicinity. Can you get him on the line?”

“Channel opened.”

“What can I do for you?” asked Ka’Rij.

“We’ve got news from New Kyria, they’re requesting we send some ships.”

“What? Why? Is my planet under attack?”

“No, don’t worry, nothing of the sort, but they had to send some of the ships in orbit to escort Ares and the rest of the team back to New Kyria, and Captain Sakouras worries that if the Hellion decided to return now, they’d be stretched thin to mount a proper defense.”

“That’s unfortunate, I take it we should return at once.”

“That’s not what I meant, I actually wanted to ask you something first.”

“I’m listening.”

“That space whale thingy that brought you here.”

Ka’Rij smiled. “The Zorgot, yes. What about her?”

“Do you think it—she could also transport Asgardian ships back with you? I take it is a faster way of traveling than even the Asgardian hyperspace systems, or you’d never have made it here when you did.”

“It’s going to be tricky, as this particular life form takes a while to trust the people it transports, but I think we can give it a try. I’ve developed a particular rapport with her, so it may be doable. As for your second question, you’re correct, Captain, it’s about twice as fast as the fastest hyperspace drive.”

“Then, can I please ask that you wait a little longer while I converse with Thor to request if he could send a ship or two back with you?”

“Understood. We’ll be waiting to hear from you, but I’d feel better if we made the return trip soon, seeing as New Kyria is currently vulnerable.”

“Absolutely, I’ll get back to you ASAP. Thank you, Ka’Rij.”

The holo-channel turned off.

“Get me Thor on the line,” ordered Talon.

* * *

“Are you certain?” asked Poseidon.

“I am,” said Thor. “Whatever was left of our stockpile of pentalium has been stolen. I guess Grunhild used her attack of the palace as a diversion. Our logs show a single transport during the battle, from the surface to the Balder. They have the last of our pentalium.”

“What are we going to do?”

“I don’t know, but going forward, it’s entirely possible that we’ll have to adopt weaker Earth Alliance technology for our needs.”

“I’m sorry to hear that, Thor. You’ll have the resources of the Olympians at your disposal for anything you need.”

“I appreciate that, my friend. But I worry that now what’s left of my fleet has become a lot more precious. For all intents and purposes, it’s all that stands between Siegfried and my world.”

“I’m afraid it’s more complicated than that. There are now full-blown Spectre motherships in our dimension.”

“Yes…and Furies too,” said Thor pensively.

“Yes, though they only have a handful of ships. At least for the time being.”

“It feels like we’ve never been stretched so thin as we are now.”

“Fighting a multi-fronted war in these conditions, I don’t like it, Thor.”

“I don’t either, but what other choices do we have? We need to reduce the number of enemies, and fast.”

“Logic would dictate we go after the Furies, but we’re not sure they’re our enemies just yet. Chase thinks they could be a valuable ally in our fight against the Spectres.”

“We both know they would only be a temporary one. Then we’d have to fight them all over again; I say we exterminate them if the chance presents itself.”

“I don’t see Chase giving that order.”

“In any case, if it’s put to a vote, you know where I stand.”

“Yes, and even though I somewhat share Chase’s enthusiasm in the matter, letting the Furies regrow is not something to be taken lightly.”

An Asgardian officer ran to the throne. “My king, we’ve received a message from the Helios, it’s Captain Epizon requesting to speak with you urgently.”

“Ask him to beam down here, lower the shields so he can do that safely.”

“Very well, my king,” said the officer, as he ran back from where he’d come a minute earlier.

“What’s wrong with using your wrist device?” asked Poseidon.

“It’s broken, and until I review every security measure we have in place, I won’t trust any other line of communications but face-to-face, at least whenever possible.”

“I’d say you’re a little paranoid, but after what happened here, one can’t be too careful.”

“Yes, as far as we know, Siegfried might be listening to every Asgard communications, even though I had the security codes replaced the moment we jumped back here. Grunhild could have updated her hack of our systems while she fought Loki and then us. I just think being extra cautious can’t be a bad thing right now.”

“I concur. But you could have used mine, it’s not based on your tech.”

“That’s true, I didn’t think of that. Oh, well, at least it will give me the opportunity to meet this Captain Epizon in person.”

18

Talon beamed onto Asgard, in what was left of the throne room.

“Wow,” he exclaimed. “That must have been one hell of a battle.”

“Captain Epizon,” said Thor from his throne.

“Hello, Captain,” said Poseidon, who was standing behind the throne.

Talon nodded. “Hello…”

“Poseidon,” said the Olympian.

“Right, hello, Poseidon, Thor.”

“First, let me thank you for coming to Asgard, I understand you played a pivotal role in saving my world. You have my thanks and those of my people.”

“Of course, I’m just glad we were able to, unlike the rest of the fleet.”

Thor nodded. “You needed to talk to me? Sorry to have asked you down here, I just didn’t feel like leaving my city at the moment, and well, there’s no working holo-screen in the area. In a time like this, I also would like for my people to know where to find me, after all, we have Loki’s funeral to plan.”

“My condolences on the passing of your brother.”

“Thank you. What can I do for you, Captain?”

“I had a couple of calls, one from Chase, one from the unknown regions, and I would like to know if you could spare some ships.”

Thor grimaced. “Ships? What for?”

“We need a couple to secure New Kyria, just in case the Hellion Empire shows up. We could also use them for escorting the pentalium.”

Thor’s eyes grew wide. “What did you just say? Have you found pentalium? How much?”

“Yes, sir. Ryonna and her crew are bringing thousands of metric tons to the Alliance as we speak.”

“Thousands of metric tons?”

“Yes, is that a lot?”

“That’s more than the reserves that were stolen from us, we were down to only dozens of tons. This is truly great news, Captain. Under the circumstances, I’ll be more than happy to provide you with two of my destroyers.”

“Chase asked me to relay another request. He’d also like you to send a few ships to Gorgar with us so we can secure the planet. The last thing we need is for Siegfried to get access to a workforce of this magnitude.”

“I see. Him or the Furies, really. I have to agree we need to make sure that doesn’t happen. However, that wouldn’t leave many ships to defend Asgard. Where have you decided to bring the pentalium?”

“Chase suggested we first bring it here, since Asgardians are the experts in the matter, and since Asgardian hyperdrives are the only working ones, we’ll need to build many of these, and fast. He also suggested we then move a secondary stockpile to Alkyon One.”

“Makes sense,” commented Poseidon. “Not to keep all our stock in one place.”

“Indeed,” said Thor. “But that makes protecting Asgard more important than protecting Gorgar, wouldn’t you agree?”

“With all due respect, Thor,” said Talon. “Chase thinks Asgard is unlikely to get attacked again anytime soon, and I tend to agree with his assessment. If we bring some of your engineers with us, we could ask the Gorgar people to create all the navigational systems we need to update the fleet as fast as possible, that way we won’t be tied down with slow hyperspace travel like we are now via the gate network.”

“Very well, I’ll send two ships with you, but unfortunately, since we no longer have pentalium, we’ll have to wait until the new stock arrives to send some back with you to the Gorgar home world on a third ship, would that be satisfactory?”

“Yes, I believe it would, thank you,” said Talon.

Poseidon whispered something in Thor’s ear. Thor gave Poseidon a puzzled look in return.

“It makes sense, time isn’t on our side,” said Poseidon.

“Very well,” said Thor. “Captain Epizon, we’ll send three ships now with our scientists. They’ll direct the Gorgar people on how to cannibalize the pentalium from one of my ships so you can start retrofitting new navigational systems for the fleet even before the stockpile reaches Asgard, which would be…when exactly?”

“In a matter of days.”

“Good,” said Thor. “That gives me the time I need to attend to the funeral arrangements.”

“It could be faster if the space whale on the other side of Asgard accepts to transport your ships back here faster, which Ka’Rij thinks he can convince the creature to do.”

“I beg your pardon, Captain? What space whale?”

“Apparently, it’s called a Zorgot. It came here to bring in the dragons that helped us repel the Balder and its escort, I thought you knew.”

“Sorry, Captain, I’ve been a little bit out of touch for the last few hours. But that’s okay, we already have the fastest hyperspace engines of the entire fleet, we won’t need that…Zorgot.”

“As I understand it, it’s actually capable of traveling through hyperspace twice as fast as the Asgardian destroyers.”

“Is it, now? Very well then, I leave the details in your capable hands, Captain. Thank you for this great news, we can certainly use some of that right now.”

“Thank you for receiving me, Thor, as well as for agreeing to help us. And again, let me reiterate my deepest condolences about your brother.”

“Thank you, Captain.”

Talon activated his transporter and beamed away.

“Do you believe what he said?” asked Thor. “A space whale faster than my own ships?”

“I do…I believe there are many creatures older than both our races in the unknown regions. Perhaps they’ll even provide us with an edge in the coming wars.”

“Wars? Plural?”

“Well, we at least are waging two of them right now, aren’t we?”

“I suppose you’re right. Still, I think we’d be better off dissecting that whale, see what makes it tick faster than my hyperdrives.”

Poseidon chuckled. “I’m going to pretend you didn’t say that.”

* * *

Chase was back in his quarters and finally managed to fall asleep.

He dreamt of a family outing where everyone was present, Argos, Sarah, Chris, and even Kharon. Chris and Kharon joined forces to train with Argos, while Chase spent some quality time with Sarah by a beautiful waterfall back on Earth.

Chase felt happier than he ever had. After passionately kissing his wife, he let himself fall back first in the tall grass. His gaze fell to the waterfall, filling the area with a refreshing breeze.

Before Chase could enjoy the moment, the clear blue water turned as red as blood, and the sky turned black.

Chase sighed. Why couldn’t he just get a single nice dream for once? But he’d been through the motions before and expected what would come next.

His aunt Aphroditis was all dressed in black as she walked toward him and sat in the grass next to him, her legs crossed.

“Here we go again,” said Chase.

“I’m sorry to spoil such a lovely dream,” she said, “but you should really try to hang on to these moments and envision them more often, you’d have a better chance to make them become a reality if you do.”

“You do see the irony in this, don’t you?” asked Chase. “How am I supposed to hold onto these even lovely dreams if I’m never allowed to finish them.”

“I’m sorry, but someone needs to talk to you.”

“What do you mean, someone?”

Sarah, Argos, and Chris had all vanished from the dream, but Kharon remained and she walked toward them.

“Is she the one that initiated this?”

“Indirectly, she tried reaching out, but you’re too far away. I happened to be in range, so I’m simply amplifying the signal, so to speak.”

“I see,” said Chase. “In that case, disregard what I said, and thank you.”

Aphroditis smiled as she vanished from the vision.

Kharon stood there as Chase got up and took her in his arms. She burst into tears.

“Hey,” said Chase, “it’s going to be okay, I’m going to save you, you know that.”

“I know that it’s what you intend to do, dad, but I’m afraid I don’t believe anything can be done anymore.”

Chase grabbed his adolescent daughter by the shoulders and looked horrified as he saw the beautiful red in her hair turn black at an alarming rate.

“What’s going on, Kharon?”

“I’m not sure, but I can sense it’s nothing good. I’ve lost contact with mom.”

“What do you mean? What happened?”

“I sensed Ashra was weak, near death even, and so I asked mom if I could finish her off.”

“But you’re not born yet.”

“You have to understand that Ashra was really weak, and I had more than enough life force to at least give it a try.”

“Why would you even consider this? If you had succeeded, it would have killed both you and your mom.”

“Mom agreed it was worth a shot, so I tried.”

“I take it it failed; otherwise, you wouldn’t be here, talking to me.”

“Yes, and I lost contact with mom. Everything around me is a veil of darkness. I’m utterly alone.”

“Never alone, Kharon, Chris and I will always be there for you.”

“That’s why I came, to say goodbye, daddy.”

The horizon was replaced with a dark void, and it was retracting around them.

“No, no…no! What’s going on, Kharon?”

“I’m losing all my energy, I don’t know why, but dad…I think I’m dying.”

Tears filled Chase’s eyes, and his heartbeat accelerated. His mind raced, not knowing what to do. What could he do from within a vision? If only he could teleport to his daughter’s location. He tried with all his might, but nothing happened.

“We don’t have long, I wish Chris were here,” said Kharon. “I wish I had met my brother and spent some time with him, even in this way.”

Chase closed his eyes and reached for his son’s mind.

Chris materialized in the vision.

“Dad? Kharon? Am I dreaming?” asked Chris.

“I brought you into the vision,” said Chase.

Chris looked around and pointed at the approaching void. “What the hell is this thing?”

“Brother,” said Kharon. “I came to say goodbye.”

“What?” exclaimed Chris. “No!”

“My soul is being crushed without my ability to do anything about it, but I’m really happy I can be with the both of you in this last moment,” she said, crying rivers.

“Dad! We have to do something,” shouted Chris.

“I know, but what can we do? We don’t even know where your sister is at the moment.”

“Then let’s split the fleet to all corners of the universe,” protested Chris. “Siegfried can wait!”

“We can’t do that, son, and you know it. Look at it, it will consume her in a matter of minutes.”

“She’s family, dad!”

“Don’t you think I know that?”

“Please,” pleaded Kharon. “Don’t argue on my behalf, that’s not the last memory I want to take with me. Chase is right, Chris, you can’t sacrifice the lives of millions to try to save one soul, even if I’m family. If you look deep inside your heart, you know it to be true. It’s too late, anyway.”

Chris’s green aura exploded all around him as he unleashed the rage inside his soul.

Lighting bolts shot from the growing aura, sending his hair dancing wildly in the air. The lightning bolts hit the void and slowed down their progression.

“What are you doing?” asked Kharon.

“I don’t know, but it seems to be working,” said Chris. “Dad, I could use some help.”

Chase didn’t hesitate and closed his eyes. He pushed his own purple aura to its maximum, and soon both of their auras turned orange as they reached Ultra Fury levels of power.

Kharon’s eyes were drowning in tears.

“Thank you, both of you, but you can’t possibly do this forever.”

“Perhaps we don’t have to,” said Chris.

“What’s on your mind, son?”

“We have to reach that Hyper Fury level you told me about, maybe it will allow us to repel the void, protect Kharon.”

“Son, I’ve told you, I only reached that out of desperation, I don’t master this power.”

“These are desperate times, dad, we can’t let Kharon die! If Thor, Poseidon, and Artemis managed to harmonize their power to kill Grunhild, we have to be able to do the same. Let’s focus on each other’s energies. Instead of trying to grow individually, let’s try to grow them together, in sync.”

Kharon stayed silent as her father and brother roared, trying to push themselves to the ultimate levels either of them had ever reached.

Then something miraculous happened, the auras started to join via orange filaments of energy. Then both their auras grew exponentially, reaching the void and pushing it back.

Two distinct roars resonated around them as both Chris’s and Chase’s hair turned a glowing red. The auras morphed into a dragon and a tiger, fighting against the void with all their might, pushing it back further.

“I can’t believe what I’m feeling,” said Kharon. “My energy…it’s returning to me. I—I feel stronger than ever before.”

“Good,” said Chris.

“But you can’t keep this up forever,” protested Kharon, “eventually, you’ll both run out of energy.”

“Not if you link with us,” said Chris. “Try to harmonize your own power with our own.”

Kharon nodded and closed her eyes. Her golden aura grew fast, and after a few minutes, her hair regained its natural black and crimson tones. She kept pushing her inner power to its maximum, and then her hair turned glowing red as well. Her aura morphed into a magnificent golden phoenix. Its screams unleashed shockwaves that pushed the void even further.

“It’s working,” said Chase.

“But how long can we keep this up,” said Kharon through clenched teeth.

“Dad,” said Chris, “we need to transfer some of our energy to Kharon so she can have it when she needs it.”

“How?” answered Chase. “We’re thousands of light-years away?”

“And yet we’re connected here and now. I don’t think this is just a vision, we’ve connected on an energetic level even through the distances that separate us,” said Chris.

“Chris is right,” added Kharon. “I can sense your power, it’s not just an illusion. But you need this power to fight your enemies, why give some of it to me?”

“I would think it’s obvious,” said Chris.

“Your brother is correct,” said Chase. “We love you more than anything in this world. We won’t let the darkness swallow you. No matter what.”

Tears flowed from Kharon’s eyes like waterfalls.

“Let’s give her our power,” said Chris.

Chase nodded, and the phoenix screamed even louder, pulsating shockwave after shockwave, keeping the void at bay. The tiger and dragon both changed course and jumped into the screaming phoenix.

“I love you both,” said Kharon as the phoenix exploded, and a golden barrier of energy permanently installed around them and stopped the void from advancing even a single inch like shields would stop incoming fire during a space battle.

Chase woke in his quarters, screaming and lost consciousness.

19

Ashra arrived at engineering, bursting through the doors, like all the others in the rest of the ship, all refusing to open to her.

Three armed guards opened fire upon her the moment she stepped in, she reached out with her hand and stopped the blaster fire in midair. She then ripped all three guards’ souls through a siphon in her palm. They weren’t very strong souls, but it gave her an idea, nonetheless. To make sure she was ready for the meeting with Spectre Prime, she needed to power up, but first, she had to regain control of her own ship.

She looked at the terrified half dozen scientists and chose one at random and ripped her soul as well. She took her time to get it through her mouth this time, all the while the soul screeched, which played well for dramatic effect.

“If I don’t get control of this ship in two minutes, you’ll all suffer the same fate,” she said. “What are you waiting for? Give me control of my ship, now!”

The scientists all went to work on their respective terminals as Ashra looked at them, her arms crossed against her chest. Time was running out, and she knew she couldn’t allow her ship to rejoin Prime’s mothership until she first figured out a way to gain more power.

“It is done,” said one of the arachnoids.

He went toward a matter generator and entered commands on the organic interface. A column of red light shot upward for a few seconds and died out. A device hovered over the emitter. The arachnoid delicately grabbed it.

“What is this?” she asked.

“An implant that will allow you to bypass manual controls.”

The implant, which was shaped like a spider, moved its legs as if it protested being handled. The scientist approached Ashra.

“I need one of your forearms,” he said.

“This better not be a trick or every member of your family will suffer a fate way worse than death.”

“I assure you, Mistress, I’m not trying to deceive you, this will give you mental control of the entire ship. We’ve also encrypted all the controls for you via this neurolink, you’ll be the only one who can make it work once this implant fuses with your skin.”

Ashra presented her left arm, and the scientist dropped the spider onto it. The legged-implant walked all around Ashra’s forearm, stopping in certain places longer than others, and eventually returned to the top, center forearm and dug itself into Ashra’s skin.

The pain was intense, but Ashra didn’t vocalize it. It didn’t last long, and soon, most of the contraption was fused inside her dark skin, only the top of the head protruded. It glowed red through her thick skin, displaying even its legs through. It looked like a pulsating luminous tattoo.

A flurry of information invaded Ashra’s mind, and she could sense all the systems inside the ship from the corner of her consciousness. With very little effort on her part, she could mentally access subsystems and enter commands with her mind.

She tested it by flickering the light in engineering.

“Good, good work, you shall be rewarded,” said Ashra.

The scientists all kneeled before her.

She then reached the hyperspace controls with her mind and took the ship back to sub-light speeds. Through the sensors across the entire ship, she could sense the panic of the crew, not understanding why the controls of the ship wouldn’t respond to their commands anymore.

She grinned from ear to ear.

She then brought up a star map inside her mind, analyzed a bunch of worlds in the vicinity and located one with billions of souls. She plotted the coordinates into the ship and it jumped back into hyperspace.

* * *

Chase and Chris both arrived at the regen tanks together.

“I’ve never felt so tired,” said Chris.

“Me neither. I guess we’re spending more time in these after all.”

They both removed their clothes and stepped into adjacent tanks. The blue fluid filled their lungs, and they closed their eyes.

I think it worked, said Chris.

I think so too, or we wouldn’t be in here with barely enough energy to walk.

Do you think we’ll recover enough energy to fight Siegfried before we arrive at Droxia?

Let’s not worry about that for now.

What else is there to think about?

Chris…you and I just reached Hyper Fury together, and something tells me we’ll be able to do it again.

* * *

“Exiting hyperspace,” said Fenrir.

Siegfried gazed at Droxia from his favorite spot, in front of the cracked viewport, with intermittent green waves of energy traveling through the force field now separating the Guard from the void of space.

“Have the Gorgar install the mental wave modification to our emitter dish. I’d like you to supervise their work personally. I know Grunhild reprogrammed every single one of their tiny minds, but we can never be too sure.”

“Understood, Brother, I’ll take care of it.”

Fenrir entered a couple of commands on his holo-terminal and beamed away from the bridge.

Siegfried’s heart still ached from the loss of his soul mate. Even though they had never really consumed the ties that bound them, he felt like he had lost a piece of himself.

The result of that loss filled Siegfried’s heart with even more hatred than he thought possible. His mind was now entirely focused on revenge. He would make his enemies pay. While he still calculated thousands upon thousands of strategies inside his mind on how to proceed next, all of which were guided by one thought. Kill Thor.

“I’ll avenge you, my dear, even if it’s the last thing I do.”

He thought he heard her answer in his mind.

You need to remember your mission.

I must be hallucinating, thought Siegfried, from the grief.

Grunhild walked next to him, turned to look at him, and smiled. She was there without being there, like a translucent hologram or perhaps even a ghost.

And now I’m even seeing her through a full-blown hallucination.

The hologram spoke.

“No, you’re not, I’m here, in your heart, in your mind. I’ve left a piece of my soul with you, so you’re never alone. I’ll always be by your side.”

Siegfried didn’t know if he could believe her or if his mind was creating a hallucination that he needed to keep going. But it didn’t matter as either way, her presence helped calm his soul, and he felt love inside his heart. And in this perfect moment, that’s all he cared about.

For the first time since her passing, he allowed himself to smile.

* * *

As Ashra’s ship, the Oblivion, exited hyperspace, it was hailed. She ignored it.

Soon, a few weakly armed ships rose from the atmosphere as they tried to hail her more.

She smiled and reached with an open palm forward. Hundreds of small blue lights escaped the multiple ships and traversed the Oblivion’s walls and bulkheads and were siphoned through her palm.

The ships outside stopped working and just floated aimlessly in space. A couple of them bounced into one another.

She licked her lips, smiling.

“That’s barely a snack, now it’s time for the real feast.”

She used her implant to beam to the surface of the planet, and she began devouring souls by the thousands, moving from one area to the next, her thirst for more energy growing with each new soul she assimilated.

Cities fell in a matter of minutes, continents hours, and it took less than a day and billions of screams until she had devoured every single soul on this now-dead world.

Even if each of these souls weren’t powerful on their own, together, they allowed her power to grow exponentially. She could feel it in every fiber of her being; she now wielded more power than anyone ever had before. Not even a Prime.

As she returned to the Oblivion, she received an emergency call from the mothership. She tried to block it, but it overrode the computer and appeared inside her mind. Ashra had no doubt that it was currently broadcasting through every single holo-screen on the ship.

It was Spectre Prime.

“Why isn’t the Oblivion at the rendezvous point? We’ve been waiting for hours. Ashra’Lur, you better have a good reason.”

She opened her eyes and grabbed the nearest holo-screen, centering it in front of her.

“Hello, Master, we had some technical issues, but they’ve just been fixed.”

“What kind of issues?”

“I’m no engineer, I’m afraid, but know that I executed the culprits responsible for this unacceptable delay. Rest assured, we’ll be there shortly. I’m looking forward to seeing you again, Master.”

Spectre Prime growled deeply. He was the most formidable of all the Spectres, and his stature alone would plunge the strongest warrior’s heart into a state of terror. But today, she didn’t fear him. Not even a bit. Ashra was aware that she needed to keep appearances and did her best through both her manners and gestures to appear like any of the Prime’s groveling weaklings.

“I apologize again for the delay, Master, I’m looking forward to presenting more formal apologies in person soon,” she said, adding a respectful bow.

“Make sure you do just that. Prime out.”

The holo-screen turned off.

Oh, trust me, Prime, you won’t be disappointed by my apology.

Ashra started laughing, and her increasingly frenzied laughter could soon be heard throughout the ship.

* * *

“Shouldn’t they have arrived by now?” complained Yanis. “I’m famished.”

Ryonna’s stomach made strong noises. “You’re not the only one in that position. It will take the time it takes, and I’m getting tired of your incessant fussing.”

“There has to be food in this ship, though,” argued Yanis.

“There is,” said Ares, who had stayed silent almost ever since he had returned to the cargo ship. “But somehow, I don’t think it’s going to be to your taste.”

“I don’t care,” protested Yanis, holding his stomach. “I’ll eat anything at this point.”

“Very well,” said Ares.

A black organic tube lowered from the ceiling of the semi-organic bridge and stopped in front of Yanis. He tentatively arched his hand to form a bowl, and the tube spewed a brownish-green gooey paste into them.

It didn’t take long for the putrid smell to reach Yanis’s nostrils. He turned whiter than he had been this whole trip and hurled bile on top of the paste before shaking his hands in disgust.

“I told you that you wouldn’t like it,” said Ares.

“I need to take a shower,” said Yanis as he tried in vain to get rid of the goo, wiping it on everything he could get his hands on. “Oh, and next time we go on any mission, we have to make sure we take ample rations with us.”

“Duly noted,” said Ryonna.

“Ryonna?” asked Ares. “I don’t suppose you want to give the local cuisine a try, either.”

“I’ll pass, I can smell it from here,” she answered. “Droxian warriors are trained to go without food for six weeks from an early age. The first week is always the worst, then we adapt.”

“Talk for yourself,” said Yanis.

“You’ll live. Just try to envision the feast you’ll get in a few hours.”

“Or days,” corrected Ares through the bridge speakers.

“Why?” complained Yanis. “Why would you tell me that? I’m even more hungry now.”

The ship exited hyperspace.

“Why did we get out of hyperspace?” asked Ryonna.

“Unknown,” said Ares.

Yanis plunged his still soiled hands of organic goo pools on his terminal.

“Some sort of field interfered with our jump engines. I’m trying to reroute power.”

“I’m detecting something large heading toward us,” added Ares.

Yanis tweaked his hands some more and a holo-screen came to life. A large floating whale was approaching. Its mouth was opening slowly.

“Uh-oh,” said Yanis. “Looks like someone is about to get fed, but we’re the ones on the menu.”

“Can we fire at it?” asked Ryonna.

“Hang on,” said Ares. “We’re being hailed by something inside the space whale.”

The image of the large whale was replaced by an Asgardian captain’s face.

“I’m Captain Kor. Thor sent me to assist. Do not fire at the Zorgot, it’s going to help us travel faster and protect us from the other large biological life forms roaming this area.”

“It’s good to see a friendly face, Captain Kor,” said Ryonna.

“Glad to be of assistance, just let the space whale swallow your ship, then it will take us back to New Kyria in a matter of hours.”

“Thank you, Captain,” said Yanis. “Is there any chance you could beam us some food before we return to hyperspace?”

“I’ll make sure my men beam you some military rations. Kor out.”

The holo-screen turned off, and a minute later, cylindrical bars of discolored food appeared on a plate.

Yanis grabbed one, put it in his mouth, and grimaced. “Yum, some Asgardian play-doh,” he said, unable to contain his sarcasm.

“At least you seem to be keeping it down,” said Ryonna as she grabbed a piece and sampled it. “I’ve had worse, these will do.”

Yanis had a hard time chewing and swallowing the rations. “Speak for yourself.”

20

“Sorry to bother you, Chase,” said Kvasir.

Chase mentally activated the tank’s communicators.

“Not a problem, what’s up?” asked Chase.

“I’ve just got off the link with Poseidon. I told him about your weakened state and he proposed we make a stop at New Olympus so the both of you can recover all your strength.”

“How?”

“Something about the gland of an animal that apparently is supercharged with energy on New Olympus. There are only a few available, but he thinks it’s safer for you to consume those than go unprepared and lack the necessary power to face the Guards. Apparently, one of these saved Thor’s life during the fight with Grunhild.”

“How much of a detour will that make?” asked Chase.

“About two hours, give or take.”

Chase didn’t like the idea of adding two hours on their trip, but he knew full well that no regen tank could restore them even to a third of their energy levels until they reached Droxia.

“Chris?” asked Chase. “What does your instinct tell you? Can we afford the detour?”

“I think we have to,” said Chris. “We won’t be good to anyone in our current state.”

“I concur. Very well, Kvasir, take us to New Olympus. Anything else?”

“Yes, I received a deep scan of a dead Droxian, and I think I understand what happened to them. But it’s not all good news.”

“Tell us, anyway.”

“It’s nanites technology, just as we suspected, and it fused the Droxian’s neurons a certain way. Without boring you with the details, it’s basically bypassing their ability to access their critical thinking, and instead, links their warrior impulses to the part of their brain wired for survival.”

“Why don’t I like the sound of this?”

“Because doing that to any brain would be pretty bad, Chase. From my preliminary investigation, I haven’t found a way to reverse the procedure in my simulations. In that state, the Droxian brains will react to a simple order it receives through the nanites. And act accordingly, without questioning the orders whatsoever, and what’s even worse…they will do it as if their very lives depended on it.”

“Do we know what the order that compromised the Droxians around Asgard was?”

“Protect Siegfried at all costs.”

“That’s a simple order, indeed,” said Chris.

“What about Ronan?” asked Chase.

“He’s getting better, but he’s still in a regen tank.”

“How come he wasn’t impacted by the technology?”

“His scans show that he suffered an injury, probably early in his life, that lodged a little piece of rock inside his brain, it’s preventing the nanites from creating the bypass.”

“Can’t we use that to our advantage?”

“The thing is, the reason the rock was left alone and not surgically removed is that it’s near vital brain functions, his doctors must have deemed the procedure too risky even to attempt it.”

“I see. Still, we may want to figure out a way to use what we’re learned from Ronan to try to mount a sort of defense for the rest of the Droxian population, even if that means beaming rocks inside their skulls.”

“I’ll work on that, but Chase, you need to understand that even if we could somehow figure out a way to replicate this, many of the Droxians could die from us even attempting it, and that’s not all.”

“I’m listening.”

“It won’t reverse the already infected Droxians, perhaps it will disturb the order, but they’d still be in fight or flight mode, and I don’t have to tell you what that would make a Droxian do.”

“Pretty much act like a rabid animal, I would imagine.”

“Exactly.”

“Do the best you can.”

“I will, Kvasir out.”

I can’t imagine how Ryonna will react to this news, said Chris.

I can, said Chase, and I’m not looking forward to it.

* * *

Ashra cracked her knuckles and neck as the Oblivion headed toward a large bay on the side of the mothership. Her implant detected that the mothership was scanning every cubic inch of her ship.

She did the same, trying to get acquainted with all the parts of the massive Spectre mothership. She located the Prime’s altar hall, from where he gave all his orders, a massive temple-like structure inside the ship.

The Spectres had never spared such frivolous display of class and power, that only impressed the higher caste of an already highly fragmented Spectre hierarchy. A three system class. The council leaders, twelve self-proclaimed gods. Next was the warrior caste, which enforced the council’s laws with an iron fist. And finally, the working class last, basically an unlimited slave force, which built the Spectre empire.

An empire which cared very little about its people and member nations, as long as they obeyed, mindlessly, to the orders of the god-elect who took turns in sharing that power, making sure nothing ever changed in the political climate, and that the powerful stayed powerful for all eternity. Even if that meant stepping on trillions of slaves, who had grown too stupid even to realize they had more than enough numbers to affect a revolution, should they decide to unite.

However, a revolution was coming, and her name was Ashra. A Spectre not born with pure blood, and an indirect spawn of the man the leaders despised for his failure to deliver this dimension to them on a silver platter.

Obviously, Ashra had managed to reach higher echelons of power by keeping the secret regarding her origin. Everyone who ever threatened that position had been eliminated swiftly, and now only Chase and the rest of her enemies knew who she really was and where she came from. She was just supposed to be Asrak’Vor’s second in command and was never supposed to be put in command.

Even the current Prime wasn’t new to this system of governance, it was, in fact, his third term, the first Prime ever to reach such endurance and lifespan over the eons, as they each agreed to rule for two thousand years before releasing power to the next Prime in line.

That made Spectre Prime at the very least forty thousand years old, though he was probably older since it took quite the millennia to elevate to a Prime position. Spectres rights, however, down the echelons, had eroded over the millennia, it wasn’t a big surprise that such an event when a Prime would yield power for a third time took place.

Ashra was an outsider, and as such, had only managed to get to where she was by delivering fast results and seizing power from Asrak’Vor, an even bigger fool than his brother Tanak. Ashra’s biological father of sorts. Even though he had been one of the most respected of the warrior caste, he had been declared a treacherous loser by his own kind. As a result of his failure, his direct family had been wiped out to remind the others of his caste, as well as the lower castes, of the cost of failure in the Spectres ranks.

Ashra had no doubt that by now, Prime had learned that she had proclaimed herself the leader of the Spectres in this dimension, following the fall of Asrak. She had eliminated those who knew how exactly he had fallen.

None of that mattered for Ashra, though. No female would ever be allowed to rule, and this meeting, she suspected, was either an execution for her failure to let all the ships safely through the super gate or, at the very least, her demotion from any kind of significant power.

Neither option was acceptable to her, so she’d have to create a third one.

Her implant allowed for the hacking of any Spectre systems, which she decided to use in order to check internal communication at the highest levels. As she sifted through the logs, something caught her eye.

The stars really must be aligned in my favor, she thought.

Prime, as was his habit, had traveled with his personal bodyguards, the most elite of all Spectre warriors, which usually weren’t chosen for their intelligence, in order to avoid them becoming the tip of the spear of any potential revolution. Instead, they were mindless muscles with a tremendous amount of strength, having assimilated tens of millions of souls over the course of their existence.

Better yet, they weren’t currently located in the altar hall, save for one, and that gave Ashra a unique chance to grow her power even more.

The moment the Oblivion hit the launch bay, she mentally entered a set of coordinates at the other side of the mothership and beamed away.

* * *

“What do you mean Droxians are being manipulated by nanites?” asked Ryonna.

“We don’t know much beyond that,” said Poseidon, “just that all of your peoples’ ships have fallen prey to that Guard’s tactic and are now under the influence of Siegfried.”

“What is the Alliance doing about it? What about my son?”

“Ronan has been transferred to a medical facility here, on Asgard, as Talon and the Helios are on their way to secure Gorgar.”

“I want to see him now, and why didn’t the Helios go to Droxia instead?”

“Chase and the rest of the fleet are on their way to Droxia, but they don’t think they’ll beat Siegfried there due to the fact that they’re using the hyperspace gate network and there’s no direct route from their position to Droxia. They’re forced to travel longer, unfortunately.”

“So much for the gate system if it’s that slow.”

“While I can understand your frustration, without the network, there simply would not be any way for Chase and the fleet to get to your world but with sub-light speeds, which would take centuries.

“Yes, the gate system isn’t perfect, new gates are still being deployed by the Alliance, and while it’s far from perfect, at least it’s an alternative we’re lucky to have at the moment.”

Ryonna was fuming with anger and rage. To think that her world was left defenseless and at the mercy of Siegfried made her head spin and threatened her sanity. At least Ronan was alive, and that was probably the only reason she managed to keep a semblance of calm and decorum.

“Can you beam me to the medical facility?”

“Of course,” said Poseidon as he gestured to one of Thor’s people.

“Please transport Ambassador Isch’ys to the medical center where her son is being treated.”

“Thank you, Poseidon,” said Ryonna. “Please keep me posted as soon as you hear any news from Droxia.”

“Of course.”

The Asgardian officer gestured for Ryonna to follow him, and soon, she was transported to the Asgardian hospital.

When Ryonna arrived in the room where her son was being treated in a regen tank, her heart skipped a beat. Ronan looked really weak, floating in the regeneration liquid.

“How is my son doing?” she asked a nearby doctor.

“He’s lucky to be alive but no longer in critical condition. Another few days and he’ll be as good as new.”

That’s the kind of news Ryonna needed right now, and it somehow helped bring her stress level down.

“Thank you, doctor.”

“Of course.”

“Can he talk?”

“He may be sleeping, but you can try, even if you wake him, it won’t impair his recovery.”

Ryonna nodded and walked closer to the glass. Her fingers stopped an inch away from the glass as she considered if it was worth waking him or not.

Eventually, she decided against it, but Ronan opened his eyes on his own.

She smiled at him, and he smiled back. He reached for a control inside the tank.

“Hey,” he said, his voice very weak.

“Hey, to you too,” said Ryonna. “You’ve got to stop putting yourself in these positions, son, or you’ll be the death of me.”

“I’m sorry, but this is war, I can’t just stay on the sidelines. I’m the ship’s captain, and as such, I’ll always be confronted with imminent danger, at least as long as we’re at war.”

“I know, and I’m proud of you, son. I just wish you were a painter, or writer, anything that doesn’t involve the military.”

Ronan chuckled, which resulted in bubbles forming. “Sure, now you want me to paint.”

She smiled. She was well aware of the irony, as Ronan never really took to warrior training as a child and was more of a gentle soul. Because he had been sick so early in his life, Ryonna had worried about his ability to defend himself and had trained him personally. And more likely harder than other kids.

In hindsight, she wondered if that had been the right call, but she was proud of the warrior he became, whether or not it was the path he would have chosen on his own.

“Perhaps I should have let you choose your own path,” she said.

“I don’t know, mom, if it weren’t for your insistence on me taking on the family tradition, I don’t think I would have survived HellStar, or anything after it. I guess nothing happens by accident, and we learn the things we need to know in this incarnation.”

Ryonna didn’t believe in the eternal soul concept, even though Chase had traveled to the underworld himself and talked with the dead on several occasions. She and Jax had argued over the concept countless times, where he argued with no shortage of certainty that the soul perpetually reincarnated into a new body, Droxian or otherwise, and she thought life had a beginning at birth, a life lived through hardship and war, and a permanent end came once one died.

But she wasn’t about to argue with her son while he was in this state and, if anything, being exposed to so many different cultures ever since allying herself with Chase and Sarah, she had tamed her radical views quite a bit. Even if she didn’t believe in something, at the very least now, she respected everyone’s right to their own beliefs.

“It doesn’t matter now, all that matters is that you made it.”

“I still don’t understand why, though.”

“They haven’t told you?”

Ronan shook his head.

“Some small piece of rock that lodged into your brain. Do you remember that time you fell from the waterfall and cracked your head open?”

“Yeah, that rings a bell.”

“Well, apparently, that fall saved your life today.”

“Like I said, I don’t think anything happens by accident.”

“Maybe you’re right, son. For now, try to rest. I’ll be here when you get out.”

“Are you sure? Don’t you have to return to the unknown regions?”

“They can go without me.”

“Don’t do this, mom. You’re their team leader, they need you.”

“And you need me as well.”

“Don’t take this the wrong way, but I’m out of danger, I just need to stay put for a few days. You, on the other hand, can help the Alliance find technology to help us win this war. If our positions were reversed, I would be going back to my position.”

Half of Ryonna’s heart felt sad hearing her son’s words, and the other half beamed with pride. Her son was a man, with empathy, integrity, and no shortage of courage.

“Okay, but I’d like to stay by your side for a few more hours if that’s okay?”

“Of course, I’d really like that.”

21

Siegfried looked as the psychic wave fired toward the planet. He looked at Grunhild and smiled.

“Thank you for taking care of it personally,” said Siegfried.

“You’re welcome, brother,” said Fenrir.

“The Gorgar have already been loaded to the transport ships for phase two of the plan. It’s incredible how fast they work.”

“Yes, they are an invaluable resource. Soon, they’ll help us build more ships too.”

“Won’t we need a lot more?”

“They happen to breed like locust. In a few weeks, those we already have will have tripled their population. After that, it won’t take but months to be to a million strong. Thanks to Grunhild making sure they use every chance they get to reproduce.”

“So, that explains some of the things I wished I hadn’t seen down in the cargo bay.”

“Yes, normally they wait for an entire cycle of their planet to reproduce; otherwise, their world couldn’t sustain them, and even then, they have strict quotas on pairing, not all of them can do it every cycle. Thanks to our sister that is about to change. She erased this imperative from their brain function.”

“Why didn’t we take more of them in the first place, though?”

“I didn’t want the Alliance to know we had any at all, so it was important that we took only a few and only those who didn’t have family bonds. The rejects, the outcasts of their society.”

“Another ingenious move there.”

“I’m glad you agree. Thanks to them and what they’ll help us achieve today, we’ll have a gigantic army of warriors to do our bidding and a strong workforce to build us more ships.”

“And we’re sure the Droxians won’t turn on us?”

“No, the change is permanent, and they’ll die to protect us. Better yet, they’ll run into danger without question and without fear. The perfect army for us to do as we wish.”

“Still, it’s going to be difficult to take many of them with us, we don’t have enough ships.”

“You’re correct, but once the Gorgar are done distributing the implants, which should only take a few hours, they’ll all be turned within a few days. That’s the ingenuity of Grunhild’s vision. Each Gorgar only has to change a few of them and leave more implants to the turned soldier, which in turn will be the first to wake up before the rest, leaving them ample time to infect more of their kind.”

“Won’t some of them, say in remote areas, wake up before being implanted?”

“Yes, maybe ten, fifteen percent.”

“What about them?”

“Who cares. They’ll either be killed if they resist or submit in order to live. Some might escape, but they’ll be insignificant. For all intents and purposes, the Droxian civilization is now ours.”

“How long are we staying here, I suppose the Alliance will send more ships?”

“They can’t jump out of their own devices, thanks to the Spectres intervention, which I’m happy to take advantage of. So, I would imagine they’ll get here eventually, but hopefully, we’ll be done by then.”

“What if they arrive before we have loaded enough Droxians to suit the next phase of your plan?”

“Then, we’ll fight if we can, retreat if we must. I’m not worried about either scenario, and neither should you be.”

* * *

Ashra hacked the mothership’s main computer to gain administrative access and located a room where five of the six Prime bodyguards were. Which happened to be a training room. She activated the holo-cams and saw that they were indeed sparing and exchanging blows.

Perfect.

There were two ways of going about it, one was brute force, which ran the risk of one of them sending a distress call to the other bodyguard currently in the altar room. She couldn’t take that chance, even though defeating them in single combat would have been a sweet bonus.

Since she had computer access, it was better to go for the stealth option, even though she didn’t like the sneakiness of the manoeuver and even though she didn’t doubt she could take them on without breaking a sweat.

She turned off any holo-cam monitoring in the room, then released a sleeping gas, progressively, hoping they wouldn’t notice until they were already too weakened since they were already exerting physical energy sparing with great focus. When the first bodyguard fell to the ground, she beamed in and sprung into action, making sure she came from behind all but one of them.

She snatched that bodyguard’s soul so fast, he probably never saw her coming. Before she could finish off the others, they needed to be incapacitated fast, so she moved with the agility of a feline and the precision of a bird.

She cut all three remaining bodyguards’ vocal cords before they even saw her and then unleashed a mega soul-siphon from her hands. She couldn’t use her mouth as she wasn’t breathing for the entire operation.

The two bodyguards she focused on put up more of a fight than she expected, but eventually, their souls snapped and she assimilated them, their enormous power adding even more strength to her own.

The last remaining bodyguard ran toward a device on a nearby bench, trying to trigger an alarm, but she moved in front of him, ripped his head as well as his spine in one fluid ripping motion, making sure she caught his soul before it escaped.

The amount of power boost that gave her was intoxicating, but she couldn’t waste time for risk of being detected.

She used her implant to recycle the air and get rid of the contaminant, and when that process was done, she took a deep breath of satisfaction. She walked toward the first bodyguard who had succumbed to the gas, he was slowly coming out of it. She snatched his soul before he even realized it.

Ashra then grew her aura and burnt any trace of the bodyguards at the molecular level, making sure not even a single drop of blood could be found.

She couldn’t contain her excitement and grinned. To think over a day ago she was at death’s door, she simply couldn’t believe how immense a power she had acquired in so little time.

I guess it’s time to pay Prime a visit, then. I believe my presence is anticipated.

* * *

When Ryonna beamed to the surface of New Kyria, Yanis and Ares, who was still inhabiting the alien, were in the mess hall. Lots of plates with still large amounts of food were scattered all over the table. The smells of the different flavors reminded her that she hadn’t eaten anything since the tasteless Asgardian rations.

“Hey, Ryonna,” said a cheerful Yanis, “welcome back, take a seat.”

She sat down. “You seem in a better mood.”

“Sorry if I was cranky back on the ship, I was really hungry.”

She smiled. “I hadn’t noticed. What smells so good?”

“Take your pick, pizza, Chinese, marinated lamb, the works. I thought I’d be able to finish it all, but if you’re hungry, at least some of it won’t go to waste.”

“I take it you had a food synthesizer installed, then?”

“Yeah, after what we went through food-wise, I wanted a feast. And I think it could become a cool debrief ritual we go through after each successful mission.”

“I see,” said Ryonna as she grabbed a slice of pizza and took a big bite. “Interesting flavors.”

“That’s one of Chase’s favorites and slowly winning me over as well,” said Yanis.

“What about you, Ares? Have you fed your host?”

“Yes, but from the pain I’m feeling in his lower bowels, something tells me his digestive system isn’t agreeing with all the spice.”

“Well, at least your host’s stomach noises stopped,” commented Yanis.

“Ares,” asked Ryonna, “any more issues with those weird convulsions you had before? And when do you intend to let that poor man go?”

“No, no more of those…yet. And I let him go earlier. He just didn’t like how it made him feel, so until we bring him back home, he requested that I keep suppressing his consciousness.”

“That’s peculiar,” said Ryonna.

“I thought so too, but he was very agitated, so perhaps it’s best to heed his request.”

“Fair enough, I guess.”

“Where do we go next, boss?” asked Yanis.

“Well, unless Ares’s matrix bursts into a new revelation, I guess we have to kind of pick randomly. Not that I want you to have another breakdown, Ares.”

Ares nodded.

“Maybe not,” said Yanis. “I could try to run a deep scan on Ares’s energy matrix, see if the message amplified enough in the last few days. Perhaps I could at least figure out a clue before his side effects show up again.”

“I thought you said the amount of energy was too small and undetectable?”

“It was, but my theory is that it will keep growing over time until it needs to be extracted. If we could leverage a way to read it before it reaches that point, like an energy magnifying glass, if you will, we could maybe even prevent the strokes.”

“I would be really like that,” said Ares, “if it’s possible.”

“I think,” said Yanis, “it’s worth working on it to try to figure this out, since otherwise, we’d just be roaming randomly, anyway. What do you say, boss?”

“I concur,” said Ryonna. “That will also give me some time to connect with Ronan and think about some operating procedures for us and the next teams. That is if we get the approval for that going forward. I think a manual and some mission protocols need to be established.”

“Like taking sufficient rations with us,” said Yanis with a chuckle.

“Yes, Yanis, just like that.”

Ryonna grabbed another plate and tasted more of the Earth dishes. Unlike Ares’s host, she actually thought that the meals didn’t have enough spice for her taste.

* * *

“We’re detecting incoming hyperspace vessels,” said Fenrir.

“Probably the Alliance,” said Siegfried. “How long until they get here?”

“Under an hour. Do you think that will be enough time?”

“Probably not, but the Gorgar did a pretty good job at fixing some of the damage on our ships, we could hold them off for a while.”

“Is it really necessary to engage the enemy? Wouldn’t it be more effective to load our ships with as many dronified Droxians as we can?”

“Dronified?”

“Unless you have a better name for them, we basically turned them into warrior drones, haven’t we?”

“I suppose…As for leaving, I don’t want to give them the wrong idea.”

“And what idea would that be?”

“That we’re afraid of them.”

“I don’t think ego should factor into your decisions, but I also know it’s your plan and you get to decide how best to unfold it.”

Siegfried sighed, and Fenrir could tell he was thinking about possibilities.

“I could spring a trap and get rid of Chase and some of his allies. I’m pretty sure I can take them all on at once.”

“What about me? I can fight too; in fact, that’s kind of my main skill.”

“That’s true, would you want to take care of Chase and his friends?”

“I’m game if you are.”

“We could lure them in under false pretenses, once they’re onboard the Balder, you can fight them, and if it looks like you need help, I’ll be your backup.”

“I won’t need help, but at the very least, we’re sure not to get any bad surprises. What kind of false pretense would you use?”

“That we’re open to talking with them about an alliance to defeat the Spectres. After all, that’s their thing, trying to negotiate with their enemies. In my experience, they’ll always try it before fighting becomes an option.”

“Might be different this time, after all, Grunhild eliminated Loki.”

“Any Asgardian signatures in the approaching ships?”

“None.”

“Then I think it’s safe to assume that Chase won’t carry vengeance-baggage like Thor would.”

“Am I correct in assuming he’s not the only one with such feelings?”

“Absolutely, and I’m not denying it. I’m mad, I’m angry, and I will rip Thor’s heart out given the chance. He must pay for Grunhild. But today isn’t about Thor, that doesn’t mean we can’t kill his friends, though.”

“I know, I just think revenge is a dangerous emotion to have and can sometimes cloud one’s judgment.”

“If you have something to say, brother, why don’t you say it.”

“I don’t. Like you said, I’m just glad this isn’t something that we need to deal with today, that’s all.”

22

“We should be arriving shortly,” said Chase. “How do you feel?”

“Never felt better,” said Chris. “These glands tasted like ass, but man, are they effective.”

Chase laughed. “They were pretty disgusting, I’ll grant you that.”

“What did that Olympian say about how long they take to be ready?”

“Decades. And they don’t have too many of these. They found this new life form on their new home world and only managed to find a few from which the gland could be harvested.”

“I’m not sure I like the idea of removing parts of an animal, though.”

“I had similar concerns, but apparently, it doesn’t play a vital role and they regrow it. The Olympians are studying the species with more interest to see if there’s a way to either get the glands to mature faster or synthesize a similar compound.”

“If we could get these in volume, it would certainly help us. Still, I’m glad we have a couple more just in case.”

“So do I, but let’s try to save them if we can. They did tell us it will be a while until new ones can be harvested. So right now, they’re a very rare resource, one we shouldn’t squander.”

“Wait a minute…I just thought of a way to get more faster.”

“What are you talking about? How?”

“If we could provide the Olympians with a time chamber.”

“That’s actually not a bad idea at all.”

“Thanks, I do have some from time to time.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

Chris chuckled. “I know, I’m just teasing you.”

Seeing his relationship with his son mended really warmed Chase’s heart. He could only imagine how he’d feel otherwise. Especially with Sarah and Argos gone, even if he would do anything in his power to save them, having Chris by his side really helped him stay grounded.

“If we do have to fight the Guards, I really want you to be careful. I can’t imagine losing you, Chris. If you weren’t here, I’m not sure how I would keep my sanity.”

“Don’t worry, I have no intention to die until Argos, mom, and Kharon come back to us.”

“Preferably even after that, son.”

Chris laughed. “Right, I didn’t mean it that way. I just can’t afford not to be there to save our family.”

“I understand how you feel, though, we’re the last line of defense, and now that Nyx is gone, our ranks are thinning.”

“I really hoped she’d stay with us.”

“So did I, son. Unfortunately, it looks like we can’t count on her help going forward. Which really is unfortunate as it would have been nice to have her on our side fighting the Guards. She may be the most abrasive personality I ever met, but she’s still one of the most fearless warriors I have ever met.”

* * *

Ashra entered the massive altar hall. Hundreds of Spectres and arachnoids were waiting, neatly lined up on both sides, forming a clear path to the throne. They all looked at her with a mixture of disdain and sadistic content in their eyes.

Don’t you worry, I’ll be more than happy to deal with you as well.

Ashra purposefully walked until she reached the massive throne made of the skulls of hundreds of different alien races with a black finish paint job unless it was Spectre’s leather, she couldn’t tell for sure. The Primes had never been very subtle with their display of power, always sending one simple yet effective message: fear.

Ashra took a knee and bowed her head down.

“Spectre Prime,” she said simply.

“Rise,” said Prime.

Ashra got back to her feet as she discreetly scanned around the throne and located the last bodyguard.

“Would you mind explaining,” said Prime, his voice deep and as cold as ice, ”why I couldn’t contact anyone on the Oblivion?”

“The ship must still be experiencing technical issues, I’m sorry about that, I’ll see to it that my crew fixes them ASAP.”

“You wouldn’t be lying to your master, now would you, Ashra?”

Ashra had to suppress a smile. “I wouldn’t dream of it, my Master. I am, however, surprised to see you here in person.”

“And I’m surprised having to summon you instead of Asrak’Vor. Would you mind telling me how he was defeated?”

“I’m afraid we’ve underestimated our foes. The Ultra Furies are way more formidable than Asrak thought they would be, and just like his brother before him, figuring it out cost him his life. It may not have helped that his main motivation was revenge, in my experience, that tends to cloud a warrior’s mind.”

“I see. Then perhaps it’s a good thing I came after all. Unless you’re telling me that these Furies are a threat to me?”

“No one is a threat to you, Spectre Prime. As I’m sure you already know.”

“And yet I don’t sense even a semblance of fear from you, why’s that?”

Perhaps because I have more balls than all of you...Combined.

“There comes a time to a warrior’s life, where you meet death so many times that it no longer scares you. As I’m sure you have as well, Master,” said Ashra accentuating her manners with a polite bow.

“Is that so? Are you comparing yourself, a warrior from a bloodline without any Prime legacy, as my equal?”

No, I’m saying that I’m better than you, plain and simple. Perhaps fucking within your own family for eons has softened the bloodlines you seem so proud of. The time for new blood in power is now.

“I wouldn’t dream of it, Prime.”

“Now, as for the reason I summoned you here.”

Here we go.

“Yes, Master.”

“Since Asrak isn’t present to receive his punishment, I’m afraid it falls onto you. And I’m sure you’ll agree you also share the blame of failure.”

“Failure, my Master?”

“Yes, you’ve failed, epically, I might add, your mission to successfully open a doorway between both our dimensions.”

“With all due respect, I disagree, you’re here, aren’t you? If I hadn’t come up with ingenious ways of repelling the enemy, none of you would have made it through. Obviously, the loss of a few ships is regrettable, but it is, if I may, be better than the alternative.”

Prime’s eyes flashed red, and his dark red aura expended over the hundreds of alien skulls around and above his head. It was, however, the opposite of a luminous aura, instead of shining outward, it engulfed everything around it in a dark void that seemed to swallow all other light sources. Ashra felt a tremendous amount of power emanating from him.

Perhaps this won’t be as easy as I thought, but it doesn’t matter, I like challenges.

“Silence!” screamed Prime. “Because of you, I have less than a tenth of my fleet. What would have happened if my ship had been destroyed? You better explain yourself!?

Ashra bowed before answering. “We weren’t informed you intended to come along yourself. If we had, another strategy would have been chosen. And even if your ship had been destroyed, we both know that wouldn’t have stopped a God of your caliber from stepping through this dimension and swallowing it whole.”

Prime stared deep into Ashra’s eyes.

“I can’t tell if you’re sincere or if you’re masterfully using flattery to try to get out of your sentence.”

Neither…I do want to kill you, however.

“I’ve done everything I could to fulfill my mission, Master, but if you think that I deserve a punishment for my efforts, then I accept it gracefully.”

A panting arachnoid burst from the shadows behind the throne and whispered something into the Prime’s ears.

Prime’s facial traits darkened more than Ashra had thought possible. He turned to his bodyguard and uttered a two-word order.

“Kill her!”

* * *

“Now I wish I hadn’t left,” said Ryonna.

On the holo-screen in front of her, her son smiled.

“It’s okay,” said Ronan. “I spent most of my time sleeping in the regen tank until now.”

“How are you feeling?”

“Pretty good and looking forward to returning home. I hope Droxian High Command will give me a new ship, though.”

“I wouldn’t worry about that.”

“I did lose my ship, mom, it’s usually a big deal for a captain.”

“There was nothing you could do, and if the High Command doesn’t see that, I’m sure Chase or Altair will. You’ll get a new command either way.”

“Perhaps, but I don’t want it to be a favor, and I’d like my performance at my job to be judged by my own kind. Preferably, that is. Then again, I have to admit that getting command of one of the new ships off the Alliance assembly line would be a welcome change.”

“What’s wrong with good old Droxian ships?”

“I think you’ve answered your own question, mom. They’re old. To put it bluntly, they’re starting to feel more like flying museums, compared to ships like the Hope or the Helios.”

“The Alliance has been facing resource issues that prevented them from giving every race the latest ships. Not to mention that High Command, in their usual display of Droxian pride, said they didn’t need any help in building new ships.”

“I see. Droxian ego at its best.”

“Exactly. Our leaders need to accept that we’re part of a bigger entity now. I’m afraid that all the pride in the world won’t make our technology fare any better on the battlefield.”

“Well, I still don’t want any preferential treatment, but if the opportunity arises, I wouldn’t mind captaining a brand new Earth Alliance ship.”

“And I know you will, if not right away, then in good time.”

“Somehow, I doubt they’d give the responsibility to someone so young. A captain is, after all, defined by his experience.”

“As well as courage and gallantry in the face of certain death. Qualities you’ve shown in troves even before being elevated to the rank of captain. It took incredible courage to crash that ship onto a Fury.”

“Little good came out of that since Miseo survived.”

“That’s not what matters, you were willing to risk your life to try to bring the enemy down. In fact, it’s probably the reason you were given your first command so soon.”

“I guess. Did we hear from Chase and Droxia?”

“I’m afraid not, we haven’t received any updates since I left.”

“Doesn’t that worry you?”

“More than you can imagine, but I’m afraid there’s nothing we can do about it. If the enemy went to Droxia, all we can do is hope that Chase will do whatever it takes to save our people.”

“Like there’s any doubt about that. You know he’ll go above and beyond to try to save our people.”

“That I know he will, Ronan, I just have a bad feeling about this one.”

“What kind of bad feeling?”

“That by the time Chase arrives, there may be nothing left to save.”

* * *

Siegfried kept staring at Grunhild, still wondering if part of her was real or if she was a figment of his imagination.

“It’s time to decide what we’ll do,” said Fenrir. “The Alliance fleet just exited the hyperspace gate. They’ll be here in ten minutes.”

“How many Droxians have been converted?”

“Ninety percent of our target. Transporters are working at full capacity, and we should reach ninety-six percent by the time the Earth Alliance fleet gets here.”

“Any way to get to one hundred percent in that time?”

“I don’t think so, we’re already pushing every system to their limits. Not to mention we’d have to drop shields to transport the last batch of troops, which we can’t risk.”

“If you don’t mind, I’ll decide what we can or cannot risk.”

“And that’s your prerogative, but many of these Alliance ships are equipped with Damocles Cannons as well, with more than enough ships to take turns and obliterate us one by one. While we are currently outgunned, we know they can’t follow us into hyperspace. I know you’d rather make a stand and not show weakness, just as I know that I don’t have a say in the matter either way. I just think we have what we came for.”

“Look,” said Siegfried before stopping himself.

Grunhild joined Siegfried, but Fenrir’s attitude didn’t betray any hints of him detecting her presence.

He can’t see me, only you can, she whispered in his mind.

Or I’m going mad.

“Look what?” asked Fenrir. “Why did you stop mid-sentence? And why are you staring to your side?”

Clearly, Fenrir couldn’t see her.

“Never mind that. Please give me a moment to think.”

“Ooo-kay.”

So what do you think I should do? asked Siegfried telepathically.

Fenrir is right, answered Grunhild, and it wouldn’t hurt for him to hear you say that from time to time. You have what you came for, and risking everything in an open conflict with the Alliance is reckless, even for you. Right now, you’re holding all the cards, and the enemy is playing catch-up. But if your ego puts you and the mission at risk, then what? Take it from me, once you’re dead, it’s too late to change your mind.

Was Siegfried letting his ego and thirst for revenge alter his usual instincts in the matter. Even if she wasn’t real, he needed to listen to her this one time. At the very least, he owed her that much.

“You’re right, Fenrir, we have what we need. Wait until the last Droxians have been transported back on board, and get us the hell out of this place. Let the Alliance deal with the downfall of what we’ve accomplished here today.”

Siegfried could tell just by looking in Fenrir’s eyes that his decision surprised him.

“Very well, I think that’s the right call, obviously,” said Fenrir. “Where to next?”

“I’ve already uploaded the coordinates into the ship’s computer, when ready, all we need to do is jump.”

23

“You wanted to see me?” asked Ares.

“Yes,” said Yanis. “I need to run a scan of your energy matrix, see if we can figure out the next clue.”

“I should have listened to that damn Atlantian and gotten out of his pod when he told me to.”

“I don’t know, Ares, and we have no way of knowing if he transmitted this data into you near the end of your conversation or the moment you invaded his body.”

“I suppose that’s right. But it took a while to get him talking.”

“Perhaps because he was busy encoding his answers on a subatomic level. Not bad for a dying old fart. Wouldn’t you agree? Not to mention that without it, we wouldn’t have found the pentalium.”

“That’s true, but I just don’t like how it makes me feel when it happens.”

“That’s why you’re here, to see if we can do something about fixing that. I’ve reworked the Atlantians systems in this facility to try to boost the precision of the scans. If my calculations are correct, we should be able to extract the next clues way before they become painful to you or disturb your energy levels. Of course, the real question is, do you even feel pain? Logic would dictate you’d need nerves for that.”

“In this particular instance, I do, strangely enough. It’s not similar to the physical pain I endured when Argos cut my limbs before killing me, though…but it’s still something I’d have to call pain, yes.”

“That’s more of a mental vision than I needed, but, okay.”

“What do I need to do?” asked Ares.

“Just sit on that chair over here.”

The contraption looked like something Jerry-Rigged in a hurry.

“That doesn’t look like Atlantian technology, at all.”

“It’s still using their core tech, with some of my modifications.“

“Crude ones at that.”

“Ares, do you want me to help you get the data out or not?”

Ares raised the alien hands apologetically. “Angry much, are we?”

Yanis chuckled. “Sorry, it’s been a very long day, I guess I’m a little on edge.”

“Why are you the one on edge is all I’m saying here.”

“Cause I’m not really sure of what I’m doing will work, and that tends to stress me.”

“Then shouldn’t I be the one on edge?” asked Ares as he sat down. “Anyway, the sooner we get through this the better. Should we do this without my host?”

“I’ve isolated your energy matrix the first time I extracted the first message, I don’t think his presence will interfere with the process in any way. But let me run a couple of tests just to make sure.”

Yanis interacted with his holo-interface for a while.

“Boy, I can barely detect any mental activity from him, you’re sure he’s not dead?”

“Yes, I think that’s because he really didn’t want to be awake or retain too much memories from this…experience. At least until it’s time I leave him for good. Taking back his mind this time was instantaneous, and I didn’t feel any resistance.”

“Maybe you should keep him,” said Yanis with a chuckle.

“That wouldn’t be right, and you know it. What if it was you I invaded, you wouldn’t want me to keep your body, now would you?”

“True, but you’ve been able to do a lot more than usual on our last mission. Maybe you can ask him what he thinks of it when we’re done.”

Ares sighed. “Why don’t we focus on what I came here for?”

“Right…hang on, I just need to make sure all systems are a…go. Ready when you are.”

* * *

I guess they’ve figured out about the missing bodyguards, thought Ashra.

The last bodyguard stepped from his position next to Prime’s throne and darted toward Ashra without hesitation. He unleashed a series of combos at her, which she dodged with ease. She caught and blocked his last punch toward her and broke his wrist easily.

He growled as he took two steps back and fired a powerful black fireball at her. She let the attack hit her in the face, but it didn’t budge.

“That tickled,” said Ashra. “Can I tickle you too?”

Ashra aimed an open palm at the bodyguard’s chest, and a column of crimson energy burst through it, spewing crisp blood and black flesh on its way out. The bodyguard stood there, with smoke escaping the massive gooey wound as Ashra stepped calmly toward the Spectre and delicately swiped his soul from him with her hand and showed it to Spectre Prime.

The translucent soul flailed about, trying to return to its body, but Ashra opened her mouth wide and siphoned it whole before licking her upper lip.

“Traitor!” screamed Prime as he jumped from his throne.

As he did, the entire room got on their knees.

“You’ll pay for this. On your knees, Ashra!” he ordered.

She laughed out loud. “I don’t think so, you fool.”

The amount of hatred invading Prime’s face was a pure delight for Ashra’s eyes to feast on.

“Who do you think you are?” he screamed. “You’re nothing!”

“Nah…he,” said Ashra pointing at the bodyguard’s corpse, “was nothing. And I think it’s time to discuss a change of leadership around here.”

“You’re as insane as you are stupid,” said Prime. “Attention everyone! Kill that traitor, but leave me her souls. I’ll promote the one who brings her down.”

The hundreds of arachnoids and Spectres present in the large hall hesitated, looking at each other as if to confirm that they had heard their master’s order well.

“NOW!!” screamed the Spectre.

That did it, and everyone rushed toward Ashra like a pack of rabid wolves. Ashra moved faster than any of their eyes could see, and went for the weaklings of the pack first, simply flying through them as if they weren’t here, stealing their souls in one swift move.

A good hundred arachnoids fell lifeless to the ground almost simultaneously, which made the others of their kind stop short in their tracks. Soon, they fled the altar hall, running away like the insects they truly were. The three-dozen Spectres still present weren’t swayed, and they moved in groups, encircling Ashra.

Ashra’s feet disconnected from the cold black floor as she levitated, her crimson aura growing stronger with every passing second.

“You can’t hope to defeat that many Spectres at once with your parlor tricks,” taunted Prime.

She turned her head to him and smiled. “Watch me.”

What followed was the most horrifying display of cruelty that anyone in either dimension had ever witnessed. Ashra dismembered, disembodied, impaled, and straight forward decapitated one enemy after another with incredible ease, making sure to grab as many souls as she could in the process, but there were so many enemies to kill in such a short amount of time that she missed a few.

Moments later, the room was turned into a pile of corpses and limbs. Ashra casually cracked her neck. She was fully unscathed from the battle.

She turned toward Prime. “About that change in leadership.”

She threw a Spectre’s head toward Prime, and it rolled until it hit his massive foot.

“NEVER!” screamed Prime before punching both of his fists together. “I’ll just have to kill you myself.”

Ashra smiled as she taunted him, gesturing him to come close with two of her fingers.

“You’re welcome to try, Prime.”

* * *

Chris was on the bridge with his father, acting as his first officer.

“I’m detecting an energy spike,” said Chris. “The enemy is spooling their hyperspace engines.”

“Can we micro-jump to Droxia?” asked Chase.

“The chances we actually jump where we’d want to are very low.”

“Yeah, the last thing we want is to rematerialize inside a planet or a star.”

“Exactly. As long as our navigational systems are compromised, I’m afraid we can’t take that risk.”

“ETA to the firing range with the Damocles Cannon?”

“Two minutes. I don’t think we’ll reach them on time.”

“But perhaps it’s not the worst of outcomes. At least they’ll be leaving Droxia alone. Can we scan their ships?”

“Let me check. Holy crap!”

“What it is, Chris?”

“There are hundreds of thousands of Droxians on board the Balder and Droxian ships under his control, they’re still transporting more from the surface of the planet.”

“What? Get me Kvasir on the line.”

Kvasir appeared on the holo-screen.

“Kvasir, can you extend the range of the Damocles Cannon? Even if we lose some of it’s efficiency. The tricky bit is that it would need to be done within sixty seconds, max. And before you ask, I don’t care what happens to the ship, short of blowing up, obviously. But you can bypass anything else to achieve a good shot.”

“I’ll get back to you within the minute.”

The holo-screen turned off.

“What are you doing, dad?”

“We can’t let them go with so many Droxians, we need to stop them.”

“Yeah, but the Droxians are on board, firing the Damocles Cannon could kill them, how would that be any better?”

“I’m well aware of that, Chris, but we both know they’re already as good as dead. Can we agree on that?”

Chris took a second or two to think it over. “Yeah, I guess with what we know, how they manipulated them earlier and turned them against us, but I still don’t think we can justify killing so many of our allies.”

“Any other day I would agree with you, son, but Siegfried really needs these Droxians. For what nefarious purpose, I don’t know, except that I can pretty much guarantee that we’ll regret it later when we find out. Right now they’re transporting more of them off planet still, simply because they know we can’t risk a jump, and they know we’re out of range. I don’t have to like it, Chris, but the window of opportunity to derail Siegfried’s plan is about to close.”

“I have no tangible proof besides what my instincts tell me, but I also think Siegfried wanted us to see this. Like he’s taunting us and letting us know he’s not afraid of us.”

“Since your instincts have been extremely on point lately, I’m inclined to agree with you.”

Kvasir returned to the holo-screen. “Modifications done, you can fire on the Balder, but at this distance, I’m unsure you can destroy them or even touch them for that matter, we could easily miss them and hit Droxia instead.”

Chase swore. “Chris?”

“Under the circumstances, I think you’re right. My instincts tell me we have to take that shot.”

“Gut feelings aside,” said Kvasir, “I recommend you fire manually with your mental abilities. I’d also like to point out their rate of transport has diminished considerably in the last few seconds, which means they’re about to raise their shield any moment now.”

Chase closed his eyes, linked with the computer, and targeted the Balder manually. He opened fire with the Hope’s Damocles Cannon.

The ship rumbled and shook heavily as the column of supercharged yellow plasma shot from the ship’s nose. All lights on the bridge turned off, consoles exploded all around them, and more explosions inside the ship could be felt as the ship rocked heavily.

* * *

“They’re firing on us!” exclaimed Fenrir.

Micro-jump a couple of the Droxian ships to diffuse the blast and protect the Balder, said Grunhild.

Siegfried flew to a console and entered the commands quickly, bypassing the captains of the ships he selected. The manoeuver would cost him tens of thousands of Droxian slaves, and for just but a fleeting moment, Siegfried regretted not listening to Fenrir and just go a minute earlier.

The escort ships both micro-jumped in front of the column of plasma. They both exploded as the column of plasma pushed through their hulls, but they diffused enough of the energy from the Damocles Cannon that the Balder’s armor managed to diffuse most of the impact.

A couple of small explosions appeared on the Balder’s surface, and a couple of decks were exposed to space for a few seconds until the computer automatically raised emergency force fields. But not before the decompression sent many Droxian drones to their deaths, floating away from the ship.

“Both transporters and weapons are down!!” exclaimed Fenrir.

Siegfried growled. “Get us the hell out of here, now.”

“Jumping now.”

Siegfried’s small fleet jumped away.

* * *

Chase and Chris healed the wounded bridge crew from their heavy burns due to the terminals exploding in their faces. The rest of the crew scrambled all around them, trying to extinguish multiple fires.

“Did we get them?” asked Chris.

“I don’t know,” said Chase, glancing through the cracking viewport.

“But we have another problem,” added Chase. “Everyone out of the bridge, NOW!”

The crew ran out, some of the wounded dragged as best as they could by their crewmates. Soon, Chase and Chris were the only ones left, and the moment the bridge’s blast doors closed, the viewport cracked more.

“It’s gonna blow before the computer reboots,” said Chris.

“I know,” said Chase as he created a force field around himself.

Chris did the same, barely a second before the viewport’s reinforced glass gave in, and the bridge depressurized violently. Equipment all around them was sucked out in space, but both Chris and Chase stood fast, unaffected by the explosive decompression.

“Let’s just hope this didn’t happen in too many places throughout the ship,” said Chris.

“Not sure there’s anything we can do about it now, we may have casualties, and I’ll take full responsibility for them.”

“Either way, go easy on yourself. You took a split-second decision that needed to be taken. Whatever happens, don’t second guess yourself. Sometimes, it’s those types of decisions that make the difference between victory or defeat in wars.”

Chase knew what his son was doing, and he appreciated it. Still, he hoped his decision, whether it ended up being the right one or not, would not have disastrous consequences.

The bridge’s lights flickered back on, shining a light on the massive damage all around them. The bridge was nearly entirely destroyed

“Structural integrity lost on deck one,” said the computer, “activating emergency force field.”

A blue wave of energy flashed in front of them and acted as a new viewport. Air blew in large quantities from the life support systems as the computer repressurized the bridge.

“Bridge life support restored,” said a glitchy computer voice.

Chris and Chase both dropped their personal force field at the same time.

Chase mentally linked with the computer and hailed engineering.

“Holo-screen offline,” added the distorted computer voice, “establishing audio connection only.”

“Everyone alive up there?” asked Kvasir.

“Yes, we evacuated the bridge in time, Chris and I are fine. We are, however, worried other parts of the ship might have been depressurized, though.”

“No, only the bridge from what I can tell.”

Chase released a sigh of relief. “At least there’s that. Did we hit our target?”

Chris shook his head, which told Chase that he linked with the computer to find the information for himself.

“I’m afraid the Balder was only marginally damaged before they jumped away,” said Kvasir. “They micro-jumped two of their Droxian ships and sacrificed them to make sure the Damocles Cannon lost enough power for them to survive.”

“Was there any Droxian on board their ships?”

“About twenty-five thousand, give or take..”

Chase momentarily buried his face into his hands.

“You said it yourself, dad, they were lost anyway,” commented Chris. “If the Balder had been destroyed, the body count would be in the hundreds of thousands.”

“I concur,” said Kvasir. “Whatever Siegfried needed those Droxians for, at the very least, he won’t have access to all of them for his evil doings.”

Chase knew both Chris and Kvasir were right, but it didn’t mean that his heart didn’t ache at the knowledge that his actions had extinguished their souls.

24

Chase walked to what was left of engineering. The damage suffered in this section of the ship was even worse than on the bridge.

“What part of don’t let the ship blow up, didn’t you get?” asked Chase with a smile.

“To my credit, it didn’t blow up,” countered Kvasir, “though it did suffer more damage than I had initially anticipated. Let’s not forget, I was only given a sixty-second window to implement my solution.”

“I know, Kvasir, I’m just teasing. In fact, it’s amazing you managed to do this at all.”

“Well…technically, I kinda cheated.”

Chase slightly cocked his head to the side. He was intrigued.

“How so?”

“Let’s just say I’ve become accustomed to your captaining style by now. While we were traveling through the gate system, I asked myself what crazy thing you may ask me to do in a pinch, and I had some work done in advance, bypassing systems safety to distribute power faster to critical systems, knowing full well the ship would incur massive power relay damage. The sixty seconds was barely enough time for me to put some secondary protocols in place on the relays I knew I couldn’t allow blowing for fear of catastrophic failure.”

“Cheeky move there, Kvasir, but I’m glad you did.”

“Are you now? You didn’t seem so sure right after we fired.”

“I know. But Chris reminded me this is a war, and there will be casualties. No matter what. We couldn’t have won the Fury War without making similar decisions. We’re just trying to do the best we can with the cards we’ve been dealt. Even though I doubt Ryonna will see it that way.”

“Speaking of Droxians, we really need to beam to the Courage ASAP.”

“Why?”

“Our sensor array is mostly fried, as are seventy percent of the relays on board. This ship isn’t moving anytime soon, I’m afraid. I wonder if it’s even worth salvaging now that Ryonna brought back some pentalium.”

“It’s that bad, huh?”

“For the Hope, yes. We may be better served salvaging what systems we can and upgrade older ships with the spare parts while we start building ourselves a new ship. With more pentalium, we’ll be able to include better systems from the ground up, including more resilient Asgardian power relays. Something that was never on the table in the past as Asgard simply couldn’t spare it.”

“Well. I guess something good came out of it.”

“Yes, but right now, I’m afraid we can’t think about that. I’ve just reviewed the preliminary sensor data from the Courage. Chase, the situation on Droxia is dire. And that is putting it mildly.”

“What’s happening on Droxia? I thought Siegfried left with the soldiers he needed. Isn’t it over on that front?”

“Far from over, I’m afraid. He literally poison-pilled the entire planet.”

“Why don’t I like the sound of that? What did he do?”

“I’ve managed to help the Courage’s chief engineer to beam a Droxian subject for study into a secure enclave onboard their ships. I think it would be best if we went to visit that fellow.”

“All right, let’s do that now, then.”

Kvasir hailed the Courage. “Two to transport to the Courage. Cargo bay six, please.”

Streaks of blue light engulfed them both, and they appeared in a large cargo bay, similar in design to the Hope’s.

“What am I looking at?” asked Chase.

Kvasir turned, and Chase did the same, and when his mind actually registered what he was looking at, his heart felt like it stopped for a moment.

In a large pod, probably five times the size of a regen tank, floated what seemed to be a Droxian, but he had been so altered with tubes and implants all over his body that Chase barely recognized it as a Droxian if it weren’t for the blue tint of their skins, which was a lot grayer now then it used to be. A massive array of force field generators kept the subject levitating and prevented him from moving.

“What the hell is this, Kvasir? What am I looking at?”

“This is what Siegfried did to the Droxians, and it’s still happening on the surface of the planet as we speak. He turned Droxians into some sort of cybernetic drones. Trust me when I say they are vicious and will fire on sight. Unless your name is Siegfried, I would imagine, though, I need to run more tests on him and deeper scans on the surface of the planet.”

“Are you telling me there are more of these things on the surface of the planet?”

“Hundreds of thousands and more are being changed with every passing minute.”

“By the Gods of Olympus, Kvasir. How is this even possible?”

“I’ve managed to hack into a heavily fortified Droxian military structure and obtain sensor logs. They allowed me to get a clearer picture of what’s happening down there. You’re not going to like this, Chase.”

Chase grimaced. “Tell me, anyway.”

“Siegfried got his hands on Gorgars, and they were the ones that developed the self-replicating implants. They infected as many Droxians as they could before we arrived, and I don’t have to tell you how efficient Gorgars are at any given task.

“But there is more, the rest of the Droxian drones, for the lack of a better term, are now replicating on their own. From what I have managed to piece together from their transmutation once infected, aggressive nanites quickly flood their bloodstreams, and then harvest organic parts as well as whatever non-organic elements in their surroundings to feed them the necessary materials to grow more implants at the atomic level. One of the first implants created during the process is a detachable autonomous drone capable of flight. It runs on a very simple program.”

“Infect the next victim.”

“Exactly, and it only takes about thirty minutes or so on average, depending on local conditions, for a new infected subject to create that drone. What’s worse, it seems, is that in overpopulated areas, the entire autonomous system seems to create more than one drone per subject before finishing its own transformation and enhancements via more implants..”

“This is a nightmare. How long do we have until the entire population is infected?”

“A day, maybe two.”

“We have to stop it, Kvasir.”

“I know we do, but this technology is just not something I fully understand yet, and while this particular subject will help me figure it out, I fear that by the time I do…” Kvasir let the words trail.

“All of Droxia would have been entirely transformed…Can we beam those uninfected to the fleet?”

“We’ve started that already, but it’s a slow process, we can’t just beam them willy-nelly as the humans say, or we risk introducing newly infected people into our own population. I don’t have to tell you what would happen then.”

“Can we also be turned into these things?”

“I don’t know yet, I just know it’s a chance we can’t afford to take. What if the tech is adaptive?”

“I’m starting to understand a little better why you’ve put so many safety systems in place to hold that one subject.”

“It’s even more than it looks like. It’s actually taking a lot of power to keep that one under control. I can’t understate how powerful these Droxian drones become once infected. Part of the system powering this pod is spread on two decks below this level, we didn’t have time to build the necessary power requirements from scratch, and we rerouted power from redundant circuitry.

“And, so, I’ve instructed every ship to do the same and screen the subjects one-by-one before quarantining them into a secondary location on their respective ships, but Chase, we’re only processing twenty Droxians an hour. And it’s getting harder and longer to find these people with our scanners.”

“Why’s that? And what can we do to speed up the process?”

“We need Gorgars ourselves to create larger processing facilities, and fast. I’ve asked the Helios to haul-ass back here and bring us as many as they can. I’ve instructed their engineers on how to redirect power from every single system to boost their hyperspace drive to one hundred forty percent. But they’d better not encounter any enemy ships on the way as my mods have basically turned them into a helpless hyperspace bullet. I know I should have asked you first, but with time against us…For the sake of the Droxian people, I thought it better to give that order quickly.”

“You were right in doing so. When are they expected to arrive?”

“In five hours, give or take, hoping my rough mods have been implemented correctly.”

“What else can we do? Can we slow down the…”

“Dronification,” said Kvasir. “I know it’s not a word, but at least it’s self-explanatory. I’ve been working on a modification of Asgard transporter tech to boost its efficiency.”

“What good will it do if the bottleneck is here on our ships and processing the Droxians to make sure they’re implant free?”

“We’re not using the transporter for that purpose, instead, we’re beaming the infected from one populated area to deserts and other barely livable locations on Droxia.”

“That’s pretty smart, Kvasir. How is it working?”

“It’s a stop-gap solution at best. And a temporary one at that. These drones are ten times faster and stronger than a normal Droxian, so they run fast. And when they reach obstacles, they adapt, some of them have grown rocket-like implants allowing them to fly over difficult terrain.”

“Should Chris and I beam to the surface and try to stop or at least slow them down?”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea, Chase, if a Fury gets infected, imagine what would happen?”

“We have to do something.”

“Trust me, short of Yanis currently busy with Ares at the moment, every single engineer in the Alliance is now working on helping solve this problem. We’re having hourly holo-meetings, brainstorming new ideas, and trying to optimize current solutions. In fact, that’s how we came up with the stop-gap of beaming the infected Droxians in the far-away solution.”

“Spiros?”

“Yeah, he came up with that idea. And he’s working on the implants at the moment.”

“What about Cedric?”

“I tried getting in touch with him, but he’s not answering, considering the urgency, I didn’t insist.”

“That’s a good call. Any other ideas on to slow down the process? We can’t afford to let the entire Droxian civilization be turned into a warrior slave race. If they ever expanded beyond Droxia, they could become even more dangerous than our other enemies.”

“I know and that’s exactly why you’re not gonna like the ideas being thrown around in our meetings.”

“What ideas?”

“Well…there’s a growing consensus among the engineers that this is a race we can’t win and a risk even greater than Gaia 2 was to us back then. They’re considering, pushing even, toward destroying Droxia while we still can.”

“Out of the question!” exclaimed Chase.

“I know, and I feel the same, Chase. And not only because Ryonna is our friend. I’m using the argument that hundreds of thousands of these warriors are on board Siegfried’s fleet already. So destroying Droxia wouldn’t stop the threat anyway, just slow it down. Not to mention it would cut us off from studying the infected, their patterns, their rate of technological advance. It would plunge us into even more darkness, not to mention the ethic optics of all of this.”

“We can’t destroy their world in the hopes it’s going to buy us some time. If we do, we’re no better than the Spectres or Siegfried.”

“I agree.”

“That being said, I’m aware that we do have to figure out a way to slow the process down even more so that you can have enough time to figure out a way to heal these people.”

“Chase, I need to be honest with you here, from what I’ve learned so far, the implants are so deeply fused into the biological functions of the Droxian anatomy that I’m not sure that’s even an option. Obviously, I’ll try not to rest until we find solutions, but it’s more a race to save as many as we can at this point in time.”

“Dammit! This can’t be happening!”

But then Chase remembered something Chris said, and it gave him an idea.

“What about slowing time? Like what we’ve done for the Time Chamber.”

“That’s an interesting idea, but how are we going to figure out a way to put an entire planet into temporal quarantine? I don’t see how this is possible with what we know.”

“That’s because we’ve never asked ourselves the question, perhaps you should discuss this in your next holo-meeting. Maybe someone will figure out something. Or I could…no that would be insane.”

“What were you about to say, Chase. I’m afraid at this point in time, we can’t afford to dismiss any idea, no matter how far-fetched it sounds.”

“I can create a black hole nearby. But that would result in the destruction of the system over time.”

“Then we’ll call that the worst-case scenario, but I think it’s a solution we can’t just dismiss.”

“Perhaps you can’t, but killing not only Droxians but also entire worlds is not something I’m prepared to take on.”

“I understand that, Chase, but we need to figure out some sort of solution, and fast.”

25

Ashra and Prime had been fighting for what seemed like hours without anyone really taking the advantage over their adversary.

“You can’t win,” said Prime.

“Seems to me,” answered Ashra, “that you can’t either. Except for one little detail.”

“And what would that be?”

“I haven’t really deployed more than ten percent of my power. I was curious as to how much weaker you are compared to me, and now you’ve answered that question. What a shocker, the mighty Prime is actually nothing more than a weakling.”

Prime roared. “You insufferable insect! You’re lying!”

“If that makes you feel better about your own inadequacies, please feel free to keep thinking that way. But as far as I’m concerned: you’re already dead.”

Prime roared and boosted his light-swallowing aura to the maximum.

“I am a God!” screamed Prime. “And I will crush you like the bug that you are.”

Ashra brought her own aura to bear and eclipsed Prime’s by a large factor.

“This is forty percent of my power, and it will be more than enough for me to shut you up, forever.”

Before Prime could argue, multiple impacts devastated his armor, but he never saw them coming. From his perspective, Ashra hadn’t moved a finger and still stood where she had been before. The massive impacts on his armor, however, told another story. He felt the internal bleeding inside his own body, which left no space for doubts.

“You were saying?” gloated Ashra, an evil smirk now permanently drawn on her face.

Prime unleashed three-dozen fireballs toward Ashra, who still didn’t move. Her eyes shone bright red, and the fireballs stopped in midair and returned toward Prime three times faster, preventing him from dodging them.

They finished up consuming what was left of his armor and dealt significant damage with a trio of the fireballs even ripping off one of Prime’s arms.

“By now,” said Ashra, “you must feel this inside your very being, it’s over for you.”

Hundreds of tiny dark tentacles shot from Prime’s shoulder and quickly reconstructed the missing limb.

“You can’t kill me.”

“Oh, yes, I can, and I can read the fear in your eyes. In fact, I can smell the putrid fear from your own pores. It tells me what I already knew. Your reign ends today.”

“The Spectre council will hunt you down!”

“Right now, they’re in another dimension where time runs significantly slower, which means it would take years here until they figured out a way to reopen a rift on their own. Which bodes really badly for you as I have no intention of building another super gate. That is, until I’m ready to hunt and kill every one of them as well.”

“You’re assuming we didn’t have a backup plan.”

“No, I’m not. If you stepped on one of the motherships to come here, I think it’s more than just an assumption. In fact, it’s simple deduction. If you had another way to get your sorry ass here, you would have used it already.”

“You think you are so smart.”

“Not really, no, just smarter than you.”

“What is it you want?”

“I’m getting what I want, your death, and in doing so, getting your souls.”

“Are you aware that it takes a certain physiology for your body and mind to assimilate trillions of souls? It will consume you if you try. So even if you kill me, it will bring you to your knees and will be your end as well. It may be better for us to come to some sort of an arrangement.”

“And now you’re using lies to try to save your hide. I’m afraid that won’t work.”

“I’m not lying. If you attempt to assimilate that many souls, it will be your undoing.”

“I’ll take my chances, thank you for your concern, though.”

Two dark spikes shot from under Ashra and burst through the floor. They penetrated through her stomach and chest. They continued rising and growing until they enveloped Ashra and started squeezing her.

“You’re mine now!” said Prime with an evil grin.

He aimed his palm forward and dozens of more spiky tentacles shot forward from his hand toward Ashra.

Ashra disintegrated them with lasers firing from her eyes, consuming them faster than Prime was creating new ones. She then flexed every one of her muscles and broke the tentacles that were squeezing her into bits of large smelly flesh. She reached and ripped the remainder of the tentacles inside her stomach and chest and threw them dismissively on the ground.

Her wounds healed themselves in just a handful of seconds.

“This has been fun,” said Ashra, “and I thank you for providing me with the distraction, but I have things to do now. So, it’s time to say goodbye.”

* * *

Yanis was working the terminal holo-controls, keeping an eye on Ares from time to time.

“I’m feeling something,” said Ares.

“That’s strange,” said Yanis. “I didn’t expect you to feel anything at this point. I’m only scanning you. I suppose the modifications I’ve made to enhance precision could provide some sort of discomfort, though.”

“Hopefully, that’s what it is. But I’ll feel better when you’re done finding what you’re looking for. Any luck yet?”

“The magnifying process is still running, it shouldn’t take much longer. A couple of minutes, maybe.”

“The sooner the better, I don’t like how I’m feeling at all.”

“I’m sorry, but it’s probably better we figure out this now rather than living as a walking time bomb.”

“I suppose. Just hurry, please.”

Yanis worked his controls, trying to accelerate the process when his terminal short-circuited.

“What the hell?” he exclaimed. “Ares, you’re all right?”

Ares jumped out of the chair, screaming and holding his host’s head as his energy matrix ejected from the alien body. The alien ran out of the lab screaming.

“Uh-oh,” said Yanis. “Ares? Are you all right? Can you hear me?”

But Ares didn’t answer, his golden energy form fluctuating severely.

Yanis ran to another terminal and tried to turn it on, but it had short-circuited as well. The lights flickered madly all around as Ryonna darted into the lab.

“What the hell is going on?” she asked. “All systems in the base are going mad. I was almost ripped in two by a malfunctioning door.”

“That’s not good,” said Yanis.

“No shit!” she shouted. “What the hell did you do to Ares?”

Ares was on the floor, screaming.

“Help him!” she ordered.

“I—I don’t know what’s wrong with him, and I’ve lost access to the base’s systems. There—there’s nothing I can do.”

Ares’s body levitated and electric bolts shot from equipment all around the lab and held him in place. He opened his mouth, which stopped his screams, and a beam shot from it. It projected a holographic map in the room. Triangles popped up on certain planets and systems.

“What the hell is this?” asked Ryonna

“The portal network map, I think.”

“Is that what was inside of Ares? Another map?”

“I don’t know, I suppose. I don’t even understand how this is even possible.”

“Never mind that now, we need to turn it off and help Ares.”

“I think whatever it is, it needs to get out of him. It could explain why it only came to the surface of his matrix slowly because this time it’s just not a set of coordinates, it’s a full map.”

“What good is a star map to us? Unless we know where to find the Atlantian installations.”

Red dots started popping up throughout the map.

“I think we just got an answer to your question”

“What? If that’s true, tell me you’re recording this?”

“I can’t, the systems are fri⁠—”

However, Yanis stopped talking and turned to his own holo-device and was relieved it was still working. He started recording.

“We’re looking for technologies that can help us fight the Spectres,” said Yanis.

The holo-map zoomed into a planet at the farthest edge of the map, it pinged and glowed stronger than the other red dots.

“I don’t understand, why is this thing answering our vocal commands?

“At this point, it’s just conjecture on my part,” answered Yanis, “but I think whatever was in Ares is a program allowing his matrix to be used as an interface between the data and his body’s ability to manifest it into something we can decrypt. In this case, an interactive holo-map.”

“What if it’s killing him? Have you thought about that?”

“Then we may need to ask questions quickly, but I’m drawing a blank here. You?”

“Just turn the damn thing⁠—”

But Yanis leaped and muffled Ryonna’s mouth with his hand.

“Where can we find a blink drive?” said Yanis, remembering Gaia had used that tech to save Earth in the last hours of the Fury War.

Purple dots popped onto more planets.

Ryonna bit Yanis’s hand.

“Hey!” he protested. “You didn’t have to bite me.”

“I don’t like being muzzled, I’m not a farm animal.”

“Fair enough.”

“Why are the new points purple. And are you done asking questions?”

Ares’s energy matrix flickered madly.

“Because I think,” said Ryonna, “Ares is running out of time.”

Yanis felt frustrated, on the one hand he had access to exactly what they needed, Atlantian information, which could prove invaluable, but on the other hand, his friend Ares could very well be killed. His mind raced to form the most efficient question he could think of.

“Show us the Atlantian planets that hold the most advanced technological advancement of their civilization as well as the best resources to use with said technology, then wait 3 seconds and shut down,” said Yanis.

More planets and systems lit up, and three seconds later, the holo-star map turned off.

Ares fell to the floor. He wasn’t moving.

“Ares!” asked Ryonna. “Are you all right?”

Lights stopped flickering around them, and the holo-terminals shot back to life.

“Ares?” asked Yanis, timidly.

Had he just killed his friend in order to get that last bit of information? A massive wave of guilt filled his heart.

“Ares?” insisted Ryonna. “Please say something!”

Ares’s energetic form moved slightly. “Would—would the two of…you…please stop screaming?”

26

“Any news?” asked Chase.

“Your temporal quarantine ideas had babies, it was a good call.”

“So you have a solution?”

“A better stop-gap one, at least. But it will cost us.”

“Cost us how?”

“Well, the moment the Gorgar arrive, I believe we found a way to create a temporal net using a grid of ships around the planet. That way it’s a non-destructive way of implementing your idea, unlike the use of a black hole, which could devour half the galaxy in these parts, and gods know what other side effects that would bring in the eons to come.”

“How many ships are we talking about here?”

“Twenty-six.”

“What? That’s most of what we have left.”

“I know, but it won’t work with fewer ships than this, and trust me, we all worked on the math three times.”

Chase had a hard time digesting the news, they were already outgunned in taking out the Spectres and going after Siegfried; this solution would prevent the Alliance even further from having a significant impact in trying to slow down their enemies. But Chase wasn’t ready to condemn an entire civilization of people.

“I’m sure you did the best you could. When are the Gorgar arriving?”

“Any minute now, every ship is preparing their systems ahead of time, trying to spare some precious minutes. Once the Gorgar beam throughout the fleet, it should take another hour to build the necessary tech.”

“Okay, we’ll have to bring in more Gorgars to create ships at speeds we never before achieved, it’s our only hope, assuming it’s not too late already.”

“If I’ve learned anything serving by your side, Chase, is that it’s never too late. Where there is hope, there is always a way.”

“Very well, do what you need to do to help the Droxians, we’ll have to figure out our next steps.”

“I didn’t want to say anything, seeing how dire our position is, but I think you should board the Helios and go to Alkyon One?”

“Why?”

“The way I understand it, the council categorically refused even to consider an alliance with the Furies, even a temporary one. There’s a very good chance they’ll refuse the use of more Gorgars as well.”

“Politics. That’s all we need.”

“Altair and Daniel share your sentiment, and I believe they are working hard, implementing a work-around as we speak. Before you came by, Daniel requested that I let you know that he’d like your presence there, whenever you can get away from things here, I briefed them on our predicament.”

“I see. Then I guess I should start running toward the next fire.”

* * *

Ashra smiled, her hand aimed at Spectre Prime.

“Any last words?” she asked.

“You’re signing your own death sentence, Ashra,” said Prime.

“Look at it this way, Prime, if you had it your way, I’d already be dead. You probably woke up this morning thinking you’d rid this dimension of little-ol’-me. I hope you can appreciate the irony.”

Before Spectre Prime could answer, Ashra unleashed a massive column of red energy from her palm. Upon impact, it consumed Prime’s tissues, muscles, and bones at a rapid pace.

He screamed as thousands of his souls leaked into the air. Ashra siphoned most of them with her mouth, adjusting the attack’s strength in power to make sure she didn’t waste too many souls.

The more souls she assimilated, the easier it became to continue the process. It lasted a good ten minutes, and by then, there was little more than black goo atop Prime’s skeleton.

When no more souls escaped from what was left of him, Ashra stopped firing at the Spectre. The skeleton fell to its knees, and all his bones fractured into thousands of small shards, which then turned to ashes.

A small pool of bubbling black goo remained where he once stood. She vaporized it with a fireball for good measure.

She grinned widely. “Thank you, Prime, for my new kingdom.”

The ship rocked heavily, and Ashra got knocked off balance. She steadied her feet and ran to the throne. She contemplated for a moment until the ship rocked more. She took a seat and looked at the embedded control.

First, she needed to announce to all the ships that she was back in command. So she sent a holo-recording of her killing Prime on every holo-screen simultaneously.

“I’m now in command of the fleet. And you shall address me as Spectress Prime.”

She then hailed the bridge of the mothership.

A scared arachnoid’s face filled the gigantic holo-screen in the altar room.

“Report? Why is the mothership rocking? Are we under attack?”

“We are, Mis—Spectress Prime,” corrected her new officer. “Fury ships have engaged us, and they’ve dealt significant damage to deck thirty-seven to forty-four.”

That didn’t mean anything for her just yet as she wasn’t aware of the schematics of her new home, but she would use her implant later to figure out what sort of damages the Furies had inflicted on her new toy. She also wasn’t interested in dealing with the Furies right now, she had more pressing issues.

“Get us out of here, now! We’ll deal with the Furies another day.”

The Spectre fleet jumped away.

* * *

“I never thought I’d have to worry about dying a second time,” said Ares. “But that’s exactly what I experienced.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know this was going to happen,” said Yanis apologetically.

“Did we at least get what we were looking for?”

“And then some. You don’t remember anything from the experience?”

“No, my last memory is of sitting in the chair, then everything after that is just a blur.”

“Well, I can’t say that I’m all that surprised. You were basically turned into an interactive holo-interface,” said Yanis, unable to hide his excitement.

“I’m glad you find that fascinating, but Yanis, that was not what I signed up for.”

“I know,” said Yanis, presenting his hands in an apologetic way. “I’m really, really sorry about that, but we’ve hit the jackpot.”

“How so?”

“We now have the location of every Atlantian lab of interest. It will require us to implement multiple teams to check them all out, and this will undoubtedly take some time, but I think we’ll be able to harvest their technologies and make a leap forward ourselves.”

“Well, if this is what you say it is, then I guess it was worth the trouble.”

“You have no idea.”

“I guess that explains why the old dying Atlantian had so much trouble speaking. Cheeky bastard.”

“Yes, I figured that he was using a lot of his own energy to embed all that information in you.”

“And can we use the data going forward? That is if you find a less painful way to harvest it?”

“No, but I don’t think it matters, we’ve recorded all the locations to explore. I’m no longer detecting any residual stream of data in your matrix. From now on, we have to hope we got all we needed to discover new technologies. But I’m confident now that we know where to look that we’ll figure out new avenues to enhance our own tech with the Atlantian’s knowledge.”

EPILOGUE

When Chase stepped out of the shuttle and inside Alkyon One, he immediately saw massive changes. There were thousands of people, from various races, working and interacting all around.

Daniel approached. “Welcome to Alkyon One, the Alliance’s new headquarters.”

Chase took his friend into his arms and squeezed him hard.

“It’s good to see you,” said Chase.

“Likewise, brother.”

Chase looked around him one more time and waved toward the busy room and corridors.

“What’s all this?”

“Well, since it became clear that the council would not cooperate, I proposed to Altair that we do without them.”

“A coup?”

“That’s such an ugly word. Look, they’ve done nothing but block us at every turn. And it’s my understanding that right now, more than ever, we can’t afford to have bureaucratic paper-mongers decide what’s best to help win this war.”

“Wait until they hear what’s going on with Droxia. Especially the Droxian representative on the council.”

“I’ve been very busy, and while I realize there is a planetary emergency on Droxia, I didn’t have time to get all the details. Kvasir said it was bad, though. But he was in a hurry as well.”

“You have no idea, Daniel. This could be the biggest thorn in our side, at least short-term. But looking at what you guys have managed to do here, at least it gives me hope. Tell me more about this place.”

“Well, Alkyon One is now fully armed with the best R&D defense systems, with a few more upgrades to be added soon now that we have a viable and rich source of pentalium. We should be able to upgrade our defense grid to the point where we could repel even a Spectre mothership if we have to.”

“Let’s hope that day doesn’t come too soon as they have more than one of those out there. We lost the Furies too, which is really bad timing if you ask me. And now eighty percent of the fleet is blocked on Droxia for gods know how long.”

“I see. I think the new council session, which will happen shortly, should be open to our ideas on how to allow us to move forward and rebuild our forces. Altair did an incredible job getting open-minded ambassadors on board. They are people who understand how close we came to extinction during the Fury War, and they’re not about to look at their own petty agendas going forward. They were all handpicked for their understanding that the multiple threats we currently face makes the Fury War child’s play in comparison.”

“If they do indeed understand that, then maybe we stand a chance. Albeit a small one.”

“There’s more, they want a supreme leader to speak for the entire restructured Alliance. That person wouldn’t be an emperor per se but would guide the Alliance through difficult times with executive powers of decision.”

“Wouldn’t that be a return to an empire model? Rather than democracy. Daniel, it wasn’t so long ago you and I were fighting on board the Destiny to prevent just that from happening on a large scale.”

“We’ve structured it in a way that the new council will vote on pretty much everything, but the person in charge can overrule the council if it’s needed and during those times where we waste time through committee. Altair and I agree that’s the only way we can act fast enough in these troubled times. With more enemies popping up than we can count, if we’re taking days or even weeks to argue on every decision, it’s not the Spectres or the Guards that will be the end of us. It will be the politics.”

“I do have to admit that the current system is flawed. Still, we’re walking into dangerous territory, setting a rather major precedent.”

“Altair feared that as well, but I think we can all agree that there is one person who can take on this role.”

“I’m surprised he accepted the position, seeing as he was the one who didn’t want the Alliance to be run as an empire in the first place.”

“He’s not going to take the position. In fact, he doesn’t even want to hear about it. But he’s agreed on the candidate.”

“Then who would be crazy enough to take on such a massive responsibility and willingly?”

“I’m so glad you phrased it that way, Chase,” said Daniel with a playful smile.

“No…you’ve got to be shitting me!”

* * *

Thor watched with a heavy heart as the late-night ceremony was about to begin.

Even under the state of heavy destruction all around the planet, as well as the damage inflicted upon Asgard Prime, his people had come through to honor Loki’s heroic death.

Thor’s brother may have had his faults, but Thor had had a while to process both part of his grief as well as the resentment he felt when the Asgardian spirits confirmed to him what he had learned from the female Guard.

Poseidon came and stayed behind on the last standing tower of the palace.

“You can come closer?” said Thor.

“Are you sure? I wouldn’t want to offend an entire planet.”

“And I allow who I want on the King’s balcony. Not to mention I could use your presence and friendship right now.”

Poseidon walked from the shadows and stepped next to Thor.

The millions of souls below and throughout the city clapped and cheered when they saw Poseidon.

“See. They already know the face of the Olympian who saved their lives, you’re as much a hero as Loki and me here, and your name will be remembered for eons to come.”

“Not exactly why I did it, but I have to admit it feels good to receive such an ovation.”

“You deserve it.”

Thor turned to face Poseidon and stared deeply into his eyes.

“I may have lost a brother,” said Thor. “But today, I also feel like I’ve gained one.”

Thor and Poseidon locked their forearms together, and the ovation grew.

“I am honored by your words, Thor. I think you know already that I feel that same way about you.”

“I do. Thank you again for saving my life, and my world.”

“We did that together.”

“Perhaps, but without you, it never would have happened. Asgard will never forget that. I’ll never forget that.”

Poseidon tapped both their interlocked forearms with his bionic arm and nodded solemnly.

“It’s about to begin,” said Thor. “Let’s give Loki the farewell he deserves.”

They both turned their attention forward. Large spotlights aimed their beams on a holographic river passing by the tower, on it traveled Loki’s body inside a wooden barge with intricate hand-carved runes on eons-old barks of premium wood.

Loki’s eyes were closed and both his hands rested on his chest as the barge reached the top of the holographic river, plunging into a magnificent holo-waterfall, all the way down toward the city levels. But the barge continued its path forward, flying in the sky.

Poseidon put a hand on his newfound brother Thor with affection. Thor, in turn, put his palm on his friend’s hand.

The barge continued advancing in the sky, floating gracefully for all to see below, as well as retransmitted via subspace for those Asgardians who couldn’t be present for the ceremony.

“Come forward,” said Thor, his voice amplified throughout all of Asgard. Light steps could be heard at their backs as Artemis stepped and took place next to Thor, on the opposite side of where Poseidon stood.

The public below gave her a similar standing ovation until Thor lifted his hand to request the silence needed for the next part of the funeral. He turned his gaze toward Artemis, smiled at her, and gave her a nod.

Artemis brought her golden energy bow into life and aimed toward the barge with a golden flaming arrow. There was now absolute silence throughout the entire planet while Artemis took her shot.

The energetic arrow hit the side of the barge and started the funeral fire. As the barge burned, millions upon millions of thin rays of light shot from the city below and upward, sending Loki’s ashes flying toward the heavens in a ballet of multi-colored lights.

Soon, Loki and the barge were no more, and he was one with the stars.

The funeral concluded in a beautiful and massive fireworks display that recounted Loki’s deeds until his ultimate demise. The fireworks ended with a long and magnificent final bouquet of green and gold colors that took the shape of Loki’s smiling effigy.

* * *

Daniel was showing Chase around the station when he received an alert from the command and control officer in charge.

“Captain to the bridge, we have approaching ships.”

“Oh, man,” said Daniel, “I didn’t expect to have visitors today, you?”

Chase shook his head in response.

Daniel activated his comms. “Two to beam directly to C&C (command and control).”

Streaks of blue light engulfed Chase and Daniel, and they stood in the newly finished command center for the entire station. It looked like nothing Chase remembered.

Daniel walked to the center of the room. “Report?”

“We’re detecting hyperspace windows.”

“That’s peculiar,” said Chase, “since our navigational systems are currently disabled.”

“Unless it’s Asgardians…or Spectres,” said Daniel. “Are we waiting for any Asgardian ships?” he asked his communications officer.

“Not for hours,” said the young female officer.

“That doesn’t bode well, does it?” said Chase.

“Yellow alert, raise shields, ready all weapons,” said Daniel. “Scramble all StarFury pilots as well.”

“Raising shields, weapons charged,” answered the C&C tactical officer. “Five ships on approach, they’re signatures match Fury destroyers. The lead ship is hailing us.”

“On screen,” said both Daniel and Chase.

“Sorry,” added Chase, “force of habit.”

“That’s all right,” said Daniel, “don’t worry about it.”

The holo-screen filled with a familiar face.

“Hello, I hope we haven’t startled you,” said Nyx. “Oh, you’re here Chase, good, that’s an unexpected surprise.”

“Are we to assume your intentions are peaceful,” asked Daniel.

“Yes, Daniel, you can stop targeting our ships. In fact, if you check your instruments, you’ll see we haven’t powered neither our weapons nor our shields.”

Daniel quickly glanced at his tactical officer, who nodded back to him.

“Stand down, yellow alert,” said Daniel.

“Nyx,” said Chase. “How did you manage to jump here? I thought the Fury ships were also affected by whatever prevents us from going into hyperspace.”

“They were until we located the source of the disruption and took it out.”

“What? Are you telling me?”

“Yes, Chase, as of two hours ago, your ships can now resume jumping normally.”

“Are we certain the technology is fully destroyed?” asked Daniel.

“It’s history, I can guarantee it. In fact, I supervised the mission to take it out myself. Our fleet engaged with the Spectre mothership that was responsible for the jamming. We took out their installation, and shortly after we did, they decided to run.”

“The Spectres ran from a fight?” asked Chase. “That doesn’t sound like them.”

“That’s because they had other things on their minds.”

“Such as?” asked Daniel.

“As we made our way through the ship with my team, locating our target,” said Nyx, “my team had to split up into two groups. The first one went to locate and tag the technology we came to destroy, but we had to make sure we sabotaged their shields so that when the fleet attacked, they’d have a clear path at the installation. Meanwhile, a second group was to secure the area, and one of our Furies witnessed something I think you’ll find of interest.”

“And what would that be?” asked Chase.

“This mothership was under the command of Spectre Prime himself.”

“Was?”

“Yes, Spectre Prime has been killed by the one called Ashra. She’s now in command of the Spectres.”

Chase’s blood flash froze upon hearing Nyx’s revelations.

* * *

Spiros was sleeping when an incoming transmission blared through the speakers and ripped him from a pleasant dream.

He shook his head to speed up the waking process and looked at his holo-clock. It was five in the morning. Who would bother him at such an ungodly hour?

“All right, all right,” exclaimed Spiros, highly frustrated. “What is it?” he said as he activated the audio channel.

“Hey, Spiros,” said Cedric.

“Are you out of your damn mind? Why would you call me so late, Cedric? The one time I actually managed to find some sleep, you had to pick that night.”

“I’m so sorry, Spiros, then again, since you said you were hardly sleeping, I didn’t think the odds of waking you up were all that high. I apologize.”

Fair enough, I guess.

“That’s okay. What is it I can do for you, Cedric?”

“I think you better come down to the lab, there’s someone who really wants to see you.”

“At this hour? Who is it?”

“It’s probably best if you come and see for yourself. Trust me on this one, my friend.”

Spiros sighed. “Very well…give me five minutes to get dressed; I’ll be right there. Spiros out.”

Spiros got out of bed as best he could, even though he wanted nothing more than to go back under the covers and sleep some more. He dressed quickly, grabbed a triple shot of strong coffee from the synthesizer, and walked to the lab. He probably could have beamed in, but he decided the short walk would allow him to drink his coffee, which he hoped would help his mind to wake up fully.

When he stepped into the lab, he dropped his coffee cup, which broke upon impact. He first thought he had a vision. He rubbed his eyes a couple of times, but there she still stood, smiling at him.

“Hello, Spiros,” said Gaia.

His heart filled with warmth, but his mind had trouble computing what his eyes were showing him. As he held his head with both hands, he turned to Cedric.

“Cedric! What the hell did you just do?”

TO BE CONTINUED. . .

(Keep reading Book 15: Fireborn right now)

BOOK 15: FIREBORN

____________________

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Cover artwork by Christian Kallias - kallias.com

christian@kallias.com

www.christiankallias.com

www.patreon.com/ChristianKallias

www.facebook.com/ChristianKallias

www.twitter.com/kalliasx

Production Editor & Alpha/ARC Team Lead

Paula Lavattiata Lopez (myeditcheck.com)

Editors

Paula Lavattiata Lopez (myeditcheck.com)

Proofreaders

Paula Lavattiata Lopez (myeditcheck.com)

Special thanks to ARC members Mark Charlton, Eugenia K. & Stephen Barrow.

COPYRIGHT

Copyright © 2021 by Christian Kallias

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

First Printing of original book, 2021

Version 1.21

DRAMATIS PERSONÆ

Earth Alliance

Admiral Chase Athanatos – Earth Alliance Fury Olympian hybrid - Hero of the Fury War

Captain Sarah Kepler Athanatos – Earth Human with Fury powers (body-snatched by Ashra’Lur )

Chris Athanatos – Fury Human hybrid

Emperor Altair – Head of the Earth Alliance (formerly Obsidian Empire Emperor)

Captain Daniel Tharraleos (dan-yel tha-rah-leh-os) – Earth Alliance Human (formerly Star Alliance)

Chief Engineer Yanis Tixichos (yah-nis tee-hee-hos) – Earth Alliance Human (formerly Star Alliance)

R&D Engineer Spiros Malayianis (spee-ros ma-lah-yah-nis) – Earth Alliance Human (formerly Star Alliance)

Argos Thanatos – Fury Olympian hybrid and Chase’s twin brother (formerly head of the Zarlacks)

Ryonna Isch’ys – Droxian Ambassador (formerly a fugitive Droxian smuggler)

Talon Epizon – Earth Alliance captain

Tar’Lock (tahr-lock) – EAD Helios’s First Officer - Gorgar (Insectoid and formerly a Hellstar prisoner)

Cedric - Human engineer

Gaia - Artificial Intelligence inside a human clone body

Olympians

Ares (ah-rees) – known to humans as the god of war (deceased, living as pure energy form)

Poseidon - known to the humans as the god of the seas

Artemis - known to the humans as the goddess of the hunt

Zeus - Former Leader of Olympus (deceased, now overseeing the Underworld)

Aphroditis (a-fro-dee-tee) - known to the humans as the goddess of love (pronounced afro-di-ti, the s is silent)

Spectres

Ahsra’Lur – Female Spectre Leader

Parak’Mi - Male Spectre Elite Warrior

Furies

Nyx – Fury Warrior

Menelas - Fury Warrior (Chase and Argos’s father)

Oryn - Fury Olympian Hybrid (Zeus’ Daughter)

Kharon Athanatos - Fury/Human/Olympian Hybrid (Chase’s daughter)

Asgardians

Thor – King of Asgard, Fleet Commander & son of Odin (former King of Asgard / deceased)

Kvasir (kvah-seer) – Asgardian scientist

Loki - Thor’s brother (deceased)

Siegfried - Divine Asgardian Guard

Fenrir - Divine Asgardian Guard

Other characters

Keera - (Former) Bounty Hunter

Diaspira - Unknown Region Scientist

PREVIOUSLY ON UNIVERSE IN FLAMES - DARK LEGACY

Previously in Season One (Books 1–10):

In the wake of a genocidal tragedy, the Star Alliance fled their corner of the universe to survive the onslaught from the Obsidian Empire. In doing so, the Alliance found both an ally and a sanctuary on a faraway planet called Earth. With their new ally, the Star Alliance formed the Earth Alliance and fought alongside other races (Droxians, Olympians, and Asgardians) in the new Fury War (known as the second Fury War). Furies—human-looking creatures with incredibly powerful fighting abilities and the scourge of the universe. were once thought extinct for ten thousand years. But against all the odds, they returned. Originally, a coalition of worlds led by the Olympians, Asgardians, and many other older civilizations defeated the Furies during the first Fury War. But the Furies home world, Erevos, wasn’t destroyed at the end of the first Fury War and was instead trapped in an alternate dimension where time advanced slower than in their original dimension (the same dimension where Earth resides). Upon their return in this dimension ten thousand years later, the Furies waged a terrible war against the Earth Alliance and the rest of the universe in an effort to cleanse the galaxy of the races that once defied and locked them into their temporal prison. Chase Athanatos (a Fury Olympian hybrid), along with his friends and loved ones, fought the Furies at every turn and eventually won the war. But that victory came at a terrible personal cost to Chase. He lost many people he cared for, and the final battle saw his wife, Sarah, mortally wounded by an enemy that had been steering the Furies campaign behind the scenes: The Spectres. Eventually, Chase defeated Tanak’Vor, the only Spectre known to have crossed over to this universe’s dimension.

BOOK 11: Nemesis

Chase decides to go to the unknown regions where he hopes to find a cure for Sarah. While planning to go alone on this mission, he’s joined by many of his friends, as well as his estranged son (Chris). A small number of Spectre ships made it through to this dimension when Chase and the Alliance sent Erevos back to the Spectre’s dimension before the soul ships blew up the planet. The leader of these Spectres is none other than Tanak’Vor’s brother, Asrak’Vor. He’s bound on seeking revenge for the murder of his brother and will do anything to kill the one called Chase Athanatos. Meanwhile, in the other dimension, shortly after Erevos is destroyed, Ares regains consciousness. He is baffled that he survived the explosion of the Fury planet. He boards a Spectre ship, and while trying to acquire intel about the Spectres from within, he stumbles upon a female Fury survivor—Nyx. Nyx is being hunted by the Spectres and the two are forced, against their better judgment, to join forces and escape the Spectres. The unlikely alliance yields a treasure trove of information, and Nyx learns that the arachnoids, a slave race working for the Spectres, are experimenting on her, and using her DNA to create something else, something sinister. Ares learns the ship they’re on also contains a prototype engine the Spectres intend to use to send an invasion armada to attack the Earth Alliance. Nyx and Ares manage to use the ship to return to their dimension, but they make sure the ship doesn’t survive the trip. Chase and his friends encounter new dangers in the unknown regions and are saved by a Dragonman of Kyria called Ka’Rij. He recognized Chase as the one he calls “Dragonheart” and asks the Alliance for help in saving his world and the last survivors of his race on New Kyria. Chase, Argos, and Chris help Ka’Rij repel the Hellion Empire from New Kyria and Ka’Rij gives Chase some of his tears, which he believes will cure Sarah of her ailment. Chase and his friends return and use the dragon tears on both Aphroditis and Sarah. The Goddess of Love recovers, but Sarah does not, to both Chase’s and Chris’s dismay. Ares returns and meets with Chase, only to deliver the news that the Spectres are working on a way to invade the Earth Alliance.

* * *

BOOK 12: Unleashed

When a Spectre attacks an ancient Asgardian ship, the Aegir One, a prisoner, Siegfried, who has been in cryo-sleep for thousands of years, is released by the ship’s captain, hoping he can help save the ship. The Spectre kills everyone on board. Even the ship’s captain is himself defeated by Siegfried, who didn’t have to deploy much of his power to terminate any threat.

Thor learns of the event and asks Poseidon to help him recapture Siegfried, a Divine Asgardian Guard (super soldier) genetically created by Odin and Zeus at the end of the first Fury War. The Guards were designed to clean up the last few thousands of Furies scattered throughout the universe at the end of the war. Thor explains that once the Asgardian Guards finished what they were created for, they turned against their creators and were hunted down one by one. From the original seven, four were killed, and the other three were captured and put into cryo-sleep for all eternity.

Meanwhile, Chris and Argos help Ka’Rij deal with multiple attacks from the Hellion Empire, apparently trying to find a specific location on New Kyria, which forces Chris and Argos to investigate what’s so special about the place. Menelas wakes up not knowing who he is or why he is imprisoned. With the help of another inmate, a female named Diaspira, he recovers some of his memories and they manage to escape their prison. But Diaspira double-crosses him in order to run experiments on his Fury DNA. Chris and Argos find the place the Hellion Empire were after and locate a facility with ancient technology protected by an Atlantian AI who gives Chris access to the technology before the AI is erased from existence. The facility contains an Atlantian cosmo gateway, or a gate allowing its users to travel to other worlds in the blink of an eye. While testing the technology, Chris detects Menelas’s life sign through an open gateway, and Chris and Argos go to rescue him.

Ashra’Lur, a female Spectre, is sent to divert the Earth Alliance from the gateway the Spectres are creating in order to open a door between dimensions. Ashra’Lur attacks Alkyon One, the space station still being built that Daniel captains. Chase intervenes and saves the station, but during the attack, Ashra’Lur boards his ship, and they end up fighting. Ashra’Lur is about to snatch Chase’s soul when Nyx saves his life.

Ryonna goes to help her husband, who she thought was long dead, only to learn that her son is now in the hands of the Spectres. Ryonna and Jax team up to rescue their son, while Talon and Tar’Lock are dispatched to find Ryonna. With the help of Talon and Tar’Lock, Ryonna and Jax manage to save their son and return to Earth Alliance space.

Poseidon, Ares, and Thor try to recapture Siegfried but fail in their mission. They decide to try to secure the other two Asgardian Guards, but Thor’s obsession to keep his father’s wishes in not murdering the guards, allows one mistake after another until the worst possible scenario happens—all three Guards are released.

Talon informs Chase that the Spectres are creating a giant space gateway that could potentially allow their enemy to bring reinforcements into their dimension.

* * *

BOOK 13: Reckoning

The Alliance assembles the largest fleet to take down the dimensional super gate currently being assembled by the Spectres.

Asrak’Vor is determined to get his revenge on Chase for killing his brother Tanak. With the help of Ashra’Lur, they set a trap for Chase. Before Chase is forcefully beamed out of the Hope, Argos grabs him, and together, they fight Asrak’Vor in an epic confrontation. During the battle, Ashra takes advantage of her superior and decides to kill Asrak on her own, assimilating his souls and powering up in the process.

Argos is knocked out, and Chase has to face Ashra on his own. As the fight progresses, Chase realizes he won’t be able to defeat the Spectre female, and when she’s about to grab his soul, Argos awakens and sacrifices himself to save his brother. Chase does everything he can to save Argos’s soul and accidentally splits it in half.

In his rage over losing his brother, Chase transforms and elevates his power. With this newfound power, he nearly obliterates Ashra, who is forced to reveal that she is, in fact, a Spectre inside his wife’s body. This revelation throws Chase off guard and prevents him from killing her. Taking advantage of his lowered guard, Ashra attempts to rip out Chase’s soul once more. This time, Nyx intervenes and sends Ashra running for her life.

Meanwhile, the Alliance fleet struggles and fails to destroy the super gate before multiple Spectre ships can fly through. In an attempt to improve Alliance weapons, Kvasir creates a machine that requires Chris to take life-or-death risks in order to destroy the gate and close the rift between both dimensions. But just when the Alliance is about to destroy the gate, Thor learns the Asgardian Guards are attacking his planet, Asgard. He leaves the fleet, putting the Alliance in the direst of situations.

As the Alliance is about to be defeated, a small Fury fleet jumps in, and against all odds, they join forces with the Alliance to destroy the super gate and close the rift.

Argos wakes up in the Underworld, but quickly realize he’s not all there.

* * *

BOOK 14: Dominion

The Guards are on the offensive and attack Asgard, their home world planet. Loki finds himself on his own to protect his world from the mighty Guard Grunhild, whose mental powers are off the charts. It will take all of Loki’s might to hold off the attack until Thor can return with what’s left of his fleet to save the planet.

Meanwhile, Ashra’Lur discovers that there are forces within her own ranks trying to work against her, and it forces her into a corner at the same time as Chase’s daughter Kharon tries to destroy her from within her womb. Ashra is forced to have the Athanatos baby forcibly removed so she can focus her attention of thwarting the plot against her life. She goes onto the offensive and and decides to hunt Spectre Prime himself.

Loki ends up sacrificing his life to save Asgard but manages to delay the attacking fleet long enough for Thor and Poseidon to come and defeat Grunhild. In orbit, a large space battle rages, and thanks to the help of the Dragonmen of Kyria and the rest of the Earth Alliance fleet, they manage to repel the Guards from Asgard’s orbit.

In the unknown regions, Ares, Ryonna, and the rest of the team manage to find a reliable source of pentalium, which both the Alliance and the Asgardians desperately need to build new ships and equip older Earth Alliance destroyers with faster hyperspace engines based on Asgardian technology.

The two remaining Guards, Siegfried and Fenrir, go on a daring mission to infect Droxia with a cybernetic plague that turns its population into suggestible cyber-warrior forces. The Earth Alliance manages to put the Guards on the run but not before filling their ships with thousands of converted Droxian. In the meantime, the rest of the plague takes its course on the surface of Droxia, forcing Chase and the Alliance to put the entire world into a temporal quarantine, slowing the flow of time on the surface while they work on finding a way to cure the planet’s population.

Ashra engages with and defeats Spectre Prime himself after eradicating his personal guards one by one and becomes the strongest being in the universe, but as they fight, Spectre Prime informs her that she’s going too far and there will be dire consequences for assimilating so many powerful souls at once, which could lead to her undoing. In a desperate attempt to save his hide, he proposes to instead ally their forces for the greater good of the Spectres, but Ashra refuses and executes him in cold blood. In the process, she assimilates the millions of souls he once possessed.

Ares suffers an energetic breakdown after being exposed to Atlantian technology and temporarily acts as a data conduit and interactive map that eventually leads to discovering new portals addresses in the unknown regions for the Alliance to explore. At last, the promise of finding ancient and forgotten Atlantian technology might be within the Alliance’s reach.

During Chase’s absence, Daniel and Altair made a move on the Earth Alliance council and removed them from power in a move designed to catapult Chase as the head of the Alliance, a decision in which he strongly disagrees. But with the fleet so diminished, Daniel justifies his actions by telling Chase that he felt he had no choice in order to cement their already frail alliance with the remainder of the Fury forces.

Thor returns to Asgard to give Loki the hero’s funeral his brother deserves with the help of the warriors (Poseidon & Artemis) who helped him defeat Grunhild.

Spiros is woken in the middle of the night by Cedric and summoned to the research lab. There he discovers that Cedric did the unthinkable and restored Gaia’s backup into a new clone body.

And now the continuation...

PROLOGUE

“Aren’t you happy to see me, Spiros?” asked Gaia, with a frown.

Spiros still couldn’t believe his eyes, and at the same time, he couldn’t forget what Gaia had told him just before dying. She had been unequivocally clear about it too. Obviously, the backup version Cedric must have found in Spiros’s lab had not experienced her thoughts, so she wasn’t aware of them.

“Of course, I am,” said Spiros, his voice trembling.

“Well, you sure have a funny way of showing it.”

Spiros sighed but timidly walked toward her.

She ran the rest of the way and propelled herself into his arms. It filled his heart with warmth, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that this wasn’t supposed to be.

“Look,” said Spiros, delicately pushing her back with as much tact as possible. “I don’t know how to say this to you.”

“You can tell me anything, you know that.”

“I’m not so sure you’ll feel the same way once you hear what I have to say.”

She looked deep into his eyes.

“I can tell from your eyes that it’s serious, and maybe you’re right, but you have to tell me the truth, no matter what.”

“Very well. You don’t understand this; in fact, you can’t since you’ve been restored from an earlier backup that hasn’t been through the last days of the Fury War, but you made me swear never to bring you back under any circumstances.”

Gaia turned her head and shot daggers at Cedric. “Is this true?”

“Well…” said Cedric. “Kinda, but⁠—”

She didn’t let him finish. “There’s no but, Cedric! If I had requested not to be brought back, you had no right to circumvent what I can only surmise was my dying wish,” she turned her attention back to Spiros. “Right?”

Spiros nodded. “Yes, and as hard as it was for me to hear it back then, these were indeed your dying wishes.”

“I’m sorry,” said Cedric.

Gaia extended a palm toward him. “I don’t want to hear it, just please leave, I’ll deal with you later.”

Cedric left the lab, his head hanging low.

“I take it we won the Fury War, then?” asked Gaia. “Or we wouldn’t be here. How long has it been?”

“Don’t you have access to every digital system and know that already?”

“No, for some reason, I’m not networked. My internal clock is the one from my last backup. So I have no idea what the current date is.”

Cedric must have made sure not to network her as a security measure. If Spiros had cracked and brought her back himself, a scenario he had played out thousands of times inside his head, he would have taken the same precaution.

“It’s been well over a year now since we defeated the Fury, and you sacrificed yourself to save planet Earth at the eleventh hour. Without you, it would have fallen, and nearly eight billion souls would have perished.”

“So… we’re at peace now?”

“I wish I could say yes. But as a matter of fact, nothing could be farther from the truth.”

“What’s going on? What happened?”

“In a nutshell, and please bear with me as this will be a little bit of a shock. The Spectres have now decided to invade this dimension, and they’re led by Sarah. Meanwhile, some genetically enhanced super-freak Asgardian soldiers have also been unleashed, and if that weren’t enough bad news, Droxia has been attacked again, and their population is being transformed into warmongering cybernetic drones as we speak. Kvasir is doing his best to try to save as many as humanly possible.”

Gaia’s face changed completely, and whatever happiness that could be read on her face a minute ago was now replaced by profound sorrow.

She sighed.

“When Cedric restored me into this clone body, I was happy. The only thought in my mind was to see you. Obviously, that part hasn’t changed, but knowing all of this now, a larger part of me wished Cedric hadn’t done it.”

“I can empathize with how you feel, and for what it’s worth, I’m sorry. I never expected this to happen. Cedric didn’t even talk to me about it, and I had been focused on helping the Alliance with the Droxian crisis, so he must have taken it upon himself to restore you while I was distracted.

“I have wished and daydreamed that you’d come back to me every single day since you died… in fact, every hour and every minute since you’ve been gone, but since I had given you my word, there was no way I was going to break that promise, no matter how much I longed to hold you in my arms.”

Gaia’s eyes filled with tears, she put her warm hands on his cheeks and kissed him.

* * *

“Let me get this straight,” said Chase. “You guys decided I should be the authority for the entire Alliance without even asking me?”

“I know,” said Daniel defensively, “and Altair anticipated that you wouldn’t be happy about it. But deep down, I’m sure you know it’s the right thing to do, today more than ever. Every time a major decision needed to be made during the last push of the Fury War, either you or Altair took it, whether or not everyone agreed back then. Heck, the same thing happened with the commodore when he was still among us. Am I right?”

“I suppose so, but there’s a reason I didn’t want to keep my rank, so you can imagine how I feel about being catapulted to the emperor position.”

“We won’t call it that.”

“Don’t try to distract me with semantics, Daniel, you know that won’t work.”

“Yeah, I guess that it is sort of an emperor position, no matter what we call it.”

“Your damn right it is! What about the council? What will happen to them?”

“Well, how do I put this…”

“Straight up and quick would be a good start.”

“Right. For the time being, they’ve been put in isolation until we decide what to do with them.”

“They’re prisoners? Have the two of you lost your marbles while I was away?”

“Granted, that wasn’t our finest idea, and rest assured, we’ll release them, we just need to explain to them that they’ve lost their power over making decisions for the Alliance.”

“So it is a coup… One made under my name, but without my knowledge, let alone my consent. Which, by the way, I would never have given,” said Chase, making fists before continuing. “I must admit I’m truly disappointed with the both of you, not only for plotting this but even more so for moving forward with such reckless power play. What the hell were you both thinking?”

“Don’t be mad at Altair. In fact, he echoed every single concern you just voiced.”

“And yet you did it anyway. Perhaps you should run the Alliance, then? How would you like that?”

“Don’t be daft,” said Daniel, his eyes looking up for a moment. He chuckled. “No, that would be a terrible idea. I can barely run this station, as I keep firing my chief engineers.”

“You do see the irony in the situation, don’t you? Seeing as this was all your idea in the first place.”

“I know, and I’m sorry, and please don’t be mad. Look at it this way, I took a chance, based on my gut feeling that the Furies would turn around and that when they did, we’d need to ally ourselves with them. We both know that would never have been given a green light by the council. Just like we know how paramount it is that this alliance needs to happen. We don’t even have a fleet anymore.”

“Let me ask you this. What if they hadn’t returned? Or worse yet, if they had straight up attacked us? What if they’re scheming this very moment anyway and this temporary alliance is just a ploy to have us lower our guard? What then, Daniel, huh?”

Daniel swallowed hard. “All right, I can see you’re mad, and you have every right to be. It’s a lot to take in, with fires raging throughout multiple galaxies, so you’re on edge,” Daniel’s voice got a little squeaky. “That’s understandable. Why don’t we adjourn for now and perhaps revisit all of this later, when cooler heads prevail?”

Chase sighed heavily. But he had to admit that he had other things on his mind than the politics of it all right now. Even though it seemed that he would have to deal with said politics more heavily going forward.

“All right, but I stand by what I said, I’m very disappointed by all this.”

“And you have every right to be, seeing as you’re the boss of everything now, if you want my resignation, you can have it.”

Chase saw what Daniel was doing, and he also knew him better than anyone else. He was trying to diffuse the tension. Though, he did not doubt that if he indeed requested his best friend’s resignation, he would get it. Daniel wasn’t the sort of man to bluff in moments like these. Well, actually, he was, but he would go through and accept the consequences like a man at the very least.

“I have half a mind to ask for it, Daniel. But no, for the time being, there have been enough brutal changes in the last few days as it is. That doesn’t mean there won’t come a time when all of us will have to face the consequences of what you’ve initiated here. Not to mention a proper ass-kicking.”

“You’d probably catapult me to another galaxy if that ever happened.”

They both stared at each other for a second before laughing out loud, which made Chase realize how much he had needed it right now.

Daniel wiped some tears from his eyes. “On a more serious note, I’ve told Altair what I’m about to tell you: I’m ready to face the music, I was fully aware of that going in.”

“Well, at least one of us is.”

* * *

“That’s really good news, Yanis,” said Chris over his wrist holo-device.

“It sure is, but we need to talk about the portal system.”

“What about it?”

“The amount of data we got from Ares just confirmed something we had already suspected. We need more than one portal team if we are to get access to new techs in a timely fashion. And we’ll need someone to run the whole operation, too.”

“I don’t know how I feel about letting anyone else step through the portal system, though. I gave the Atlantian AI my word that I would vet every single person allowed to step through. And there’s no way I can return to the unknown regions at a time like this.”

Menelas walked next to Yanis, moving into the holo-cam field of view for Chris to see.

“Hey, grandpa.”

“I don’t think I’ll ever get used to being called that,” said Menelas.

“Sorry,” said Chris, smiling.

“There’s nothing to be sorry about, Chris, it’s just it makes me feel... old, that’s all. Don’t worry about it. However, I have an idea about all of this.”

“You do? I’m listening.”

“What if you transferred to me the responsibility of the vetting process. I’ll go on the assumption that you trust me, after all, we’re family.”

Chris thought about it, and while Menelas had a good point, Chris had given his word, and he didn’t like to break it on a technicality. On the other hand, the Alliance was at its weakest state ever, with multiple threats growing, now was not the time to reject compromises when they made sense.

“Okay, I think I can live with that, but I still want to see and validate any team member’s file before they step through the portal. I’ll just have to do that from this side of the universe. Deal?”

“I can live with that,” said Menelas.

“Me too. In fact, I think it’s a very good idea, as you’re very intuitive, I’m sure you’ll spot any member that you think needs a more thorough background check.”

“Sounds good,” said Menelas.

“I guess you should start assembling teams, then.”

“We still need someone to run the whole operation,” said Menelas. “Someone from the military would make sense. Ideally, someone who can make quick life or death decisions. After all, Diaspira is still out there, and we need to deal with her. Though, between you and me, the next time I meet her will probably be the last.”

“Right, for that reason alone, I think you need to lead the main team.”

“Just to make one thing clear,” said Menelas, “I wasn’t volunteering myself for this position, I’d rather fight a space hydra with both my hands tied behind my back than push papers or be responsible for running such an operation.”

Chris failed to silence a chuckle at the resulting mental image.

“That’s not funny!” complained Menelas.

“You have to admit that it kind of is. But more seriously, I think I know who we could ask, but I need to talk with…” Chris hesitated, “this person first.”

“Fair enough.”

1

“What?!” exclaimed Chase. “You’ve got to be shitting me!”

“I know how you feel, Chase,” said Spiros.

“I don’t think you do. In the last five hours alone, I’ve been catapulted to the head of the Alliance without my knowledge, never mind my consent, and now you’re telling me that Gaia, who we swore we would never bring back, is living and breathing in a new clone body? I don’t think you have any idea how I feel.”

“With all due respect, Chase, I think you seem to forget what she means to me. Not to mention that, like everything that has happened to you, I also didn’t have any say in this either.”

Chase tried to calm down by taking long, drawn-out breaths. Spiros was correct, even though Chase empathized with how he felt, in the heat of the moment, he hadn’t considered his friend’s romantic feelings in the matter.

And since there was no one better suited than Spiros to know how Chase felt about Sarah’s absence, since she had been transformed into their mortal enemy, the situation they both faced shared a lot of similarities.

Chase was now engaged in a war with the woman he loved, even though that thing wasn’t Sarah, her body having been possessed by a Spectre. Killing Ashra could mean killing the real Sarah in the process. Meanwhile, Chase had to concede that Spiros had already been in that position, with Gaia 2 having brutally executed him.

On days like these, Chase wished he had never enrolled into the Star Alliance and instead had kept farming Kronala root with his adoptive parents.

“Chase?” asked Spiros after a while. “Are you still there?”

“I am. Sorry, old friend. I suppose I’ve been insensitive toward you on this one.”

“Look, I get it. It’s a surprise and one more emergency to address. I know full well that right now it’s the last thing we needed to deal with, but I’m afraid we don’t have a choice in the matter.”

“What does Gaia think of the situation?”

“That we should proceed how we deem best, and she insisted that I talk to you on the double. She won’t stay alive one more minute unless you’re okay with it. Her exact words, in fact.”

Chase could sense some sadness from Spiros.

“I see... What are your thoughts on the matter?”

“Look, Chase, I won’t lie. I dreamt of this moment every minute since she’s been gone, but I would never have acted on it. As for Cedric, I think he just tried being a good friend and in no way meant to do any harm. But now that she’s here, I don’t think I could pull the plug. If we arrive at the conclusion that she can’t be allowed to live, I don’t want anything to do about it, and I’m not sure I can even live through losing her again. I’m not trying to blackmail you or influence your decision in any way, but losing her was the most difficult experience of my entire life. I don’t think I can go through it again.”

And while he knew these emotions shouldn’t enter into the decision-making, not with the risk of unleashing another life-ending threat to an already unstable universe, Chase couldn’t help but feel empathy toward Spiros and Gaia. After all, his friend was simply echoing how he felt about Sarah, and Chase would move mountains or travel to the end of the universe to try to save her.

“I fear I’m not the right person to make this decision. However, you’ve been thrown into a situation you haven’t asked for, and now, emotions aside, we need to deal with it. As for why you still had a backup of Gaia, that part of it I may hold you accountable for.”

“I know, and I’m really sorry I kept it. From time to time, I would just look at her code when I missed her presence too much. But you have to believe me, I never brought her online, and I would never have.”

Chase thought that was both romantic and creepy but in a geeky way.

“I can empathize with how you felt. As for whether or not you would have done it, it doesn’t matter now. She’s here, and well, we might as well use her help in a time where let’s face it, we need all the allies we can get. I’m more worried that her long-term fate will have to be subject to a bigger panel of decision-makers, and most likely, through a vote. I can’t make that decision on my own, even though I was given exactly that power hours ago. This is the type of decision that can affect every living being in this dimension, and I don’t want it to be resting on my shoulders alone. Not to mention this one hits too close to home on a personal level. I don’t think I could be impartial in any way.”

“I can respect that, and while I can empathize with how it makes you feel, Chase, I think it’s a good thing that you’re in charge now. Whether or not you end up participating in that particular decision, I mean.”

“We’ll see about that. Before you grant her network access, please make sure you install a kill switch. I’m sure she’ll agree that we need a way to avoid an ending-all-life-as-we-know-it Gaia 3 scenario here. Also, see if the two of you can come up with as many redundancies as you can both think of on how to best implement that inside her.”

“I agree, and I have no doubt she will see the need for such a device. Can I ask her to help me with decrypting the data chip Ryonna’s husband risked his life to bring back to us? I could really use her help.”

“Okay, but you take all the necessary steps to firewall her in a way that she can only work on that project, at least until you have the kill switch ready and online.”

“Fair enough, Oh, before I forget, she wanted me to say hi.”

Chase smiled and took a deep breath. “Say hello for me as well, and I hope we can all see each other soon.”

* * *

“Hey,” said Nyx.

“Hey to you, too,” answered Chris. “I must admit I didn’t expect to see you again so soon.”

“And part of me didn’t want to return, but after discussing with Admiral Neeva as well as trying to take my ego out of the equation, I arrived at the same conclusion he had.”

“And what would that be?”

“That no matter how strong and conflicting feelings we have toward one another, we need each other right now. The Furies need the Alliance to survive, and you need us for the same reasons. In fact, from what I hear, you need us even more so than I first anticipated, with the Droxian emergency and all.”

“You heard well. We’re spread thinner than we ever have been. I was worried we’d have to deal with the Furies, too, on top of everything else. I’m glad that’s not the case anymore.”

“You do realize it may still be the case one day, right?”

“Yeah, well, I’m willing to cross that bridge when we get to it. And if that day ever comes, I think I’ll be sad to have to defeat you.”

She laughed. “I see you’re still as overconfident as the night we first met.”

“That’s the Fury in my DNA, I guess. Even if it’s diluted, as you love reminding me... repeatedly, I might add. Diluted or not, I believe it runs deep.”

“And while I should be offended that you think you’d stand even a shadow of a chance of defeating me, even in your wildest dreams, I’m happy to see you embracing your Fury heritage at last.”

Nyx bit her lower lip before speaking again. “I find it kind of sexy, even.”

“Do you now?” said Chris with a smile and the raise of his eyebrows.

“Are we going to stand here all day and exchange pleasantries, or are you going to show me to your quarters already?”

* * *

“Cedric, how could you?” asked Gaia.

“Well,” said Cedric, “I just put myself in my friend’s shoes and tried to figure out how I would feel if I were him. Then when I realized there was a backup⁠—”

“You mean when you snooped around to find one without Spiros’s knowledge?”

“I don’t suppose you’ll believe me if told you I stumbled into it by accident.”

“I would most certainly not.”

Cedric chuckled. “Fair enough, neither would I.”

Gaia’s facial traits darkened. “It’s not a laughing matter, Cedric. This is serious.”

“I know, and for what it’s worth, I’m sorry I did it this way. But I’m not sorry you and Spiros are back together.”

“That remains to be seen, and if I get deactivated again, the emotional torture he will have to go through again will be on you, not to say anything about how it will affect me to know I had played a part in his suffering. Though, I suppose I’d just feel what the other me felt when it happened at the end of the Fury War. From what I understand, though, it’s not something I’m looking forward to.”

“Okay, in hindsight, I must admit I didn’t weigh all the pros and cons when I found your backup.”

“No shit! That’s the understatement of the year. And for future reference, you should have.”

“Duly noted. There’s no changing the fact that you’re here now, and truth be told, the Alliance can use you, now more than ever.”

“That’s beside the point, and I would appreciate it if you didn’t try to put a nice spin on what you did in order to feel better about it. I want you to understand how disappointed I am with you, Cedric. I have half a mind never to speak to you again.”

Cedric reached for a cigarette and lit it up.

“What the hell are you doing?” she asked. “What’s with you and intoxicating yourself at every chance?”

“In case you didn’t know that about me, I don’t handle stress all that well. And while it would suck if you never spoke to me again, if it’s the price to pay for helping my friend, then I’ll pay it.”

* * *

“I must admit I didn’t expect to see you back so soon,” said Chase.

“I didn’t expect it either,” said Nyx, “I guess we’re both surprised. I had no intention of returning until Admiral Neeva and I had a long talk about the future of our race.”

“Anything you’d like to share?”

“Nothing beyond what you already know. Between the Spectres and your other problems, which don’t really concern us, the admiral believes that we either unite or we’ll all be wiped out in the end.”

“I take it you agree, then?”

“After a fashion. But it is true that we don’t currently possess enough forces on our own to take on the Spectres. And if we did, we would have dealt with this war already. I am worried, however, that between your issues with Droxia and the Asgardian Guards, you may be too weakened for this alliance even to be worth the time and resources.”

“I know it looks that way, but things have changed, and in the midst of all the bad news, we had some good news as well. Even though I’m not happy about all of them.”

“And what is this good news of yours?”

“Well, for one, we have a reliable source of pentalium now, coupled with the Gorgar incredible workforce, we can rebuild fast, only the next few days will be critical. It’s a time when we can’t afford to go to war on any other front, I’m afraid. Not that we could anyway, between your forces and ours, we barely have a couple of dozen ships. A single Spectre mothership may very well finish us off if it came right now.”

“I see. So you’re telling me that in a few weeks, we’ll have more ships. I take it that includes Furies?”

“Days not weeks. In fact, every hour that passes brings the construction of a new destroyer closer to reality.”

“How’s that even possible?”

“That’s how fast and efficient the Gorgars are. Their speed, coupled with their numbers, make for a potent building force. As for the Furies gaining new destroyers, that has to be determined, but since I’ve been catapulted to the head of the Alliance, against my knowledge, I might add... well, I guess it will fall onto me to decide if that needs to happen.”

“Then I suggest you make your decision now.”

“Ah, patience, the one virtue I don’t think you’ll ever learn.”

“Patience doesn’t win wars.”

“Actually, I think sometimes it can... but that’s beside the point. So, yeah... Most likely, you’ll be able to have more ships soon. That is if you’re willing to provide us with the blueprints and full specifications for your super destroyers.”

“You can’t be serious? That would leave us open in the future should you decide to wipe us out after we saved your asses.”

I was wondering when that Nyx would show up. We almost had five minutes of decent conversation, though, I suppose that’s still progress, somehow.

“It’s just a matter of logistics, since you’ll need to use our shipyards to construct your vessels, the workforce needs the specifications with which to build your new ships.”

“Not unless you just give us a Gorgar force of our own.”

“I’m already having a hard time forcing our allies to be the worker force of our alliance, I’m not about to lend them to you to do with as you please, no offense. There has to be some sort of oversight, and right now, that would be me.”

“And perhaps you’re wrong in thinking that you have a choice in the matter.”

Chase sighed. “Is that a threat? Are we seriously already back to disagreeing on everything? Hours after agreeing to join forces, I might add.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Wow... Denial. At least that’s a new one for you. Why don’t we simply agree to be just allies? Since apparently, it’s not possible for us to be friends.”

“Or fuckbuddies.”

“Yeah, that one too,” said Chase with a grimace. “Is that what this is? Because if it is, I expected more from you. So what? In case you have forgotten, I’m married.”

“Is that a rhetorical question? How could I forget? Since you’re married to the supreme leader of our worst enemy.”

“You know as well as I do that my wife Sarah has nothing to do with any of this, she’s just a victim here.”

“Yes, it’s clear your wife’s consciousness has been either silenced or erased altogether. But then, if that’s the case, you may want to consider moving on with your life. And mark my words, Chase, one day, in the not-too-far-off future, you will have to kill her… or she’ll kill you.”

That wasn’t the kind of conundrum Chase wanted to deal with right now, but he’d be lying if he said it wasn’t nagging at him in the back of his mind.

“Look, I’m aware of all that, I just think there’s still a chance to get her back, not that I expect you to understand that.”

“I suppose I’m looking at it from a strategical point of view, whereas you are viewing it from a purely emotional one. So it’s normal that we see things differently. Just make sure you don’t end up sacrificing the entire universe for a person whose chances of survival are as near to zero as they can get. That’s all I’m saying.”

Chase had to control a rising rage within him, but he managed to keep it under control.

“Duly noted.”

* * *

Spiros still had a hard time believing his eyes as he watched Gaia work on the one terminal he had given her access in order to create a kill switch. She was just like he remembered her, and for the first time since she had died, Spiros felt a warm and comforting feeling grow deep inside him.

“Are you going to just stand there and stare at me all day? Or do you intend to actually give me a hand with this?” she asked with a playful smile.

“Sorry, sorry... Part of me still can’t believe you’re really here. It all feels like a dream.”

“I can only imagine how you must be feeling. My memories don’t match yours on the subject, and even though I’ve caught up on the events that happened after I… well, died, I guess—that’s a weird thing to say… so let’s just say I have no way of knowing how weird this is for you, and as such, I can only imagine.”

“Wanna hear a secret?”

She smiled at him. “Always.”

“It may be weird, but it’s a good weird. Really, really good.”

“I’m glad, Spiros, but while I’d love nothing more than to talk more about us, right now is not the time. So would you please give me a hand with this? The sooner we’re done, the sooner I can help the Alliance with its other problems.”

“Speaking of, Kvasir sent me a data file he’d like you to look at.”

“Is it about the situation on Droxia?”

“Yes, he’d like you to look at the math and see what we can improve in slowing down the temporal quarantine even further.”

“I see. I thought Chase didn’t want me to do such work until we’re done with our kill switch assignment first.”

“That was his initial order, yes, but he agreed that since this could end up a life or death situation for an entire world, priorities need to be shifted a little, at least this time.”

“Well, if Chase is okay with this, then who am I to say no?”

Spiros approached the terminal and loaded the file.

“That’s a very interesting design,” she said, looking at the holo-schematics. “But there is a flaw in power distribution over there,” she said, pointing at the hologram.

“Is there now? How did I miss that?”

“Don’t get me wrong, maybe calling it a flaw is an exaggeration on my part, I’m just seeing an easy way to optimize this by at least twenty-four percent, maybe even thirty, with your help.”

“Would that allow us to maintain the field with fewer ships?”

“Yes and no. You either boost its efficiency with the same number of ships, or you reclaim a handful of ships and keep the temporal quarantine at the same levels.”

“At the very least, I’m sure Kvasir and Chase are both gonna be thrilled even to have that option.”

“Except it’s not really an option, now is it?”

“What do you mean?”

“I know what I would choose in this case, slow time even more, and I’m sure Chase will too. That’s the logical choice.”

“That’s true, and so would I. But if we suffer an attack, at least lowering the number of ships to hold the temporal quarantine is something that can be done. How long would it take for your modifications to be done? Knowing we’re not sparing any Gorgar in the endeavor. Hours? Days?”

“With nearly unlimited resources, I’m pretty confident I can design a quick patch that can be applied in under an hour. It wouldn’t be a final optimized implementation, but that would boost the time field by an initial fifteen percent. Then to get to twenty-four, maybe another three hours, give or take. I’m transferring my proposed changes to the data crystal now. I recommend you send it back to Kvasir, then also take a look at it, see if either you or Kvasir can find ways to optimize it further.”

Spiros grabbed the data crystal and inserted it into his wrist holo-device. “Sent. Thank you.”

“Anytime. However, what part of take a look it over yourself didn’t you get?”

“Oh, you meant right now? I thought I should stay focused on the kill switch.”

“I think we can both agree that the lives of billions of Droxians are a little more important right now. Besides, I’m already working on a prototype I think will work.”

“Then why did you ask me for my help?”

“Because I want to spend time with you, silly,” she answered with a wink. “And because I can tell you need to distract your mind from all the feelings battling in there. Or am I assuming wrong?”

“You’re not, and I appreciate the gesture.”

“So let’s agree that right now, it’s best we focus our efforts on fixing the many problems the Alliance is facing first.”

2

Ashra stepped in front of the growth pod. Inside the cylindrical tube and purple liquid it contained floated a young adult girl. She had a long black and crimson braid of hair floating all the way down to her thighs. Kharon looked a lot like her mother, which disgusted Ashra to the core. Even though she knew full well that it mattered not what she thought. Only the end results mattered.

“When will she be ready?” asked Ashra.

“In a matter of hours, Mistress,” answered a scientist nearby.

“What about the mind rewrite?”

“Everything is going well. She’s been calibrated to your telepathic device, she will obey you without questions.”

Ashra smiled. Good.

The Spectre had a hard time containing her jubilation over the thought of using Chase’s unborn child against him. Through her access to Sarah’s memories and feelings, she knew exactly how she could manipulate him and use her as an effective bargaining chip every time she would need to. Kharon was perhaps Ashra’s most deadly weapon against the Furies.

In fact, Ashra was so satisfied with her latest idea that she decided to release some of her mental grasp on her other prisoner.

How could you do this? You’re a monster, said Sarah inside her mind.

I do what I have to. That’s why I’ll win.

You’ll never win. Chase will stop you.

Ashra’s sudden burst into laughter frightened every scientist around her.

Your faith in your husband is pathetic. He couldn’t kill me then, even when you begged him to, what makes you think he will ever be able to take both yours and your now grown-up daughters lives?

What did you do to her?

She tried to kill me when I was at my weakest. She almost nearly succeeded. She’s lucky I find her more valuable as a bargaining chip, or I would have snuffed her tiny life force out.

She will never comply with you!

Won’t she now? Would you like to bet all your family’s lives on it?

If she’s anything like me, she’ll fight your hold over her until she breaks free.

Like you’re failing to do at the moment, you mean. But you know what, don’t take my word for it, a little demonstration will alleviate all your fantasies.

What are you going to do?

You’ll see.

Ashra taped on the pod, and Kharon opened her eyes. They were all black, like Spectres’ eyes.

This isn’t my daughter.

That was the idea, but I assure you, except for some of my Spectre DNA that bled through to hers, she’s mostly an Olympian-Fury hybrid, and she even has some of that pathetic human DNA of yours.

“Kharon,” said Ashra.

Bubbles escaped Kharon’s mouth as she answered.

“Yes, Mother,” said Kharon.

“Will you kill Chase for me when I ask you to?”

Kharon’s eyes morphed back to normal, and she looked like a human. “Yes, Mother, I will.”

She could be deceiving you, taunted Sarah.

Oh, really? Let’s put that theory to the test, shall we?

“Kharon,” said Ashra, “rip your left eye out.”

No! Don’t do this! screamed Sarah inside Ashra’s mind.

Kharon grabbed her pretty eyeball and ripped it off her skull without hesitation. Blood spilled all around Kharon inside the tank, traveling through the growth liquid-like crimson smoke.

What the hell did you do? shouted Sarah.

Just watch.

Dark tendrils shot in the empty socket, and Kharon’s eye reformed in a few seconds. Soon, it looked as good as new.

Haaa... Spectre DNA, it’s wonderful, isn’t it? Even the tiniest of it will give her incredible regeneration powers, said Ashra.

Was that really necessary?

It was for you to understand that Kharon is no longer yours but, in fact, all mine.

Using an innocent child to do your biding, there are no words to describe how much you disgust me, not to mention despise.

That’s the difference between you insects and a goddess. I will stop at nothing to achieve my goals. Not that I couldn’t win this war without the help of Kharon. I don’t need anyone, but I’m sure she’ll make things much simpler for me. Like killing Chase without lifting a finger.

You’re lying to yourself. If you were so confident you didn’t need Kharon, you wouldn’t be using her. Deep down, you know we’re more resilient than you’re willing to accept. And that we’re willing to fight you till our last breaths.

You couldn’t be more wrong. I use people, worlds, entire civilizations if I have to. That’s what I do, and that’s why I’ll win.

Keep gloating and justifying your arrogance all you want, in the end, your overconfidence will be your undoing.

Is that so?

Yes. I’ve been in this position before, trapped in my own body, which was controlled by someone else’s mind. He, too, was gloating that he would kill Chase and everyone else, for that matter.

Ah, the mighty Argos, yes… killing him was fun.

Ashra heard sobs inside her mind.

Aww... you didn’t know, did you? It’s so sad. Well, I wish I could say he’ll be soon reunited with his family, and since I’ll own every one of your souls, I guess on some level it may be the case.

When Sarah decided not to answer, Ashra disconnected her mental link with Sarah’s consciousness.

Nothing will stop me now, nothing.

* * *

When Athena stepped through the door, Menelas first thought he was hallucinating. He rose from his chair with a puzzled look on his face.

“Are you really here?” he asked.

“Of course, I’m here, silly,” she said.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were coming?”

“That’s how surprises work, you’re not supposed to know in advance. Are you going to keep grilling me about this, or are you going to greet me the proper way?”

Menelas walked toward Athena and kissed her passionately before hugging her tightly against him.

“It’s really good to see you,” said Menelas.

“As it is you, my love,” said Athena. “Even though I may have exaggerated a little bit on the surprise part.”

As they ended their hug, Menelas cast a dubious look toward her.

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“Well, let’s just say Chris thought you could use my help... running this place.”

Athena could tell from Menelas’s body language that his ego had been bruised for a moment before the critical thinking of his brain overrode it.

“That would free me from going on more missions, yes.”

“That’s kind of the idea. But I don’t mind us splitting the mission duty either if you’d prefer. Chris believes having the best warrior on the team stuck behind a desk is sure to lead to complications.”

“He’s a bright kid that must be taking after you.”

“I think he takes after both his mother and father first and foremost, but I appreciate the compliment. I’m sure he’s also got his granddad’s courage and determination, though.”

Menelas smiled. “Wanna take a walk? I could show you around the base.”

Athena chuckled. “Didn’t seem like there was much about it to see, ain’t exactly very big.”

“Size doesn’t always matter.”

“And sometimes it does, but I suppose in this case, it doesn’t. Do you even have your own quarters?”

“Yes. We’ve been digging more into the mountain around the base, making much-needed extensions, thanks to the Gorgar team the Alliance sent us. And I believe they just about finished them a few hours ago.”

Athena winked. “Well, then let’s make sure they’re part of the tour.”

* * *

“I think we’re ready,” said Gaia.

“I’m nervous, perhaps we should run more simulations,” said Spiros.

“That’s all we’ve been doing for the past few hours, the kill switch is ready to be installed. And I’m ready to leave this room, connect to the network, and not feel like a prisoner.”

“I’m sorry... I know it must not be easy for you, not being trusted by those you love.”

“I’m not taking it personally. What has happened in the past with my doppelganger can never be allowed to happen again. If Thor didn’t arrive when he did, the entire human race could have fallen to my evil twin. This is a price I’ll gladly pay to make sure that such an eventuality never presents itself.”

“I guess that makes sense, but I want you to know that I trust you, with or without the kill switch.”

She caressed his cheek. “I know you do, Spiros. And because I love you more than anything else in this world that I actually insist on doing this. I need to make sure I’m never compromised in a way that could result in your death, or anyone else’s for that matter.”

“You may have to kill Spectres or Guards.”

“I know, and it’s not something I’m looking forward to, either. But should the eventuality present itself, I’ll do what needs to be done. It’s in moments like these that I miss the times before I became self-aware, you know?”

“I suppose it’s a cross we all must bear. Being, thinking, and having to deal with one’s actions and their consequences. At the end of the day, that’s what life is all about. Sometimes it’s wonderful, and sometimes it sucks balls.”

She chuckled. “What colorful language.”

“Sorry, I could have handled that one with a little bit more tact.”

“Don’t apologize for making me laugh, love. But let’s get back to activating that kill switch so we can move onto the next emergency.”

She could tell that her last statement made Spiros’s mind wander, which was the opposite of where she needed him to be. So she walked to the operating chair they had built for the tech transfer and sat in it.

“Ready when you are,” said Gaia.

“Right,” said a distracted Spiros. “Here we go.”

He walked to the terminal near the operating chair and brought up its holo-display. After keying a few commands, the robotic arm that would perform the delicate surgery came to life.

* * *

“What can I do for you, Chase?” asked Ares.

“I need you to have Yanis work on something for me,” said Chase.

“That’s a peculiar request. Do you mind if I ask why you’re not simply asking an engineer that’s close to you already, like Spiros or Kvasir?”

“Because they’re busy trying to prevent the annihilation of Droxia at the moment, and I’d rather not divert their focus.”

“Fair enough, mind if I ask how it’s going?”

“Slowly, but thanks to Gaia, we’ve slowed down the process and bought ourselves some much-needed time.”

“Did you just say Gaia?”

“Long story, Ares, let’s just say she’s back.”

“I sure hope you know what you’re doing.”

“Oh, that wasn’t my decision, but truth be told, I’m glad she’s back, seeing how many times she saved us in the past. I think she’s earned the right that we put our paranoia about AI’s on the back burner for now. Not to mention she’s getting a kill switch installed as we speak.”

“She did single-handedly save Earth at the cost of her own life, that’s true. It’s kind of sad we’re rewarding her by installing a device into her that’s broadcasting a lack of trust on our part. What does that say about us?”

“I’ve talked to her about it; in fact, she insisted on having the kill switch, I think she understands universal love for every living being far more than we do. And as such, she simply can’t fathom the idea of being responsible for snuffing life out. She’s no longer the judgmental AI she once was, and I think she just wants us to live and help anyone she can. If every being in the universe had such compassion, we wouldn’t be where we are now.”

“How ironic that an artificial intelligence understands these values better than we ever could, don’t you think?”

“Well, if you want my honest opinion on that subject, I think Gaia stopped being artificial a very long time ago. But she doesn’t have an ego, and maybe that’s why she can let her compassion shine through the universe without a filter.”

“I hadn’t thought about it that way, but that makes a lot of sense. Do you mind if I ask you what it is you need Yanis to do for you?”

“I want him to figure out a way to bring Oryn back. With Argos stuck in the Underworld, I need backup, and I can’t think of a better fighter to help us take down the Guards once and for all.”

“Not to mention the Spectres.”

“Them too, but we need to thin out the herd of enemies now, if the events of the last few days taught us anything, it’s that we can’t keep fighting wars on multiple fronts. The Spectres are too powerful right now. So our next target should be the Guards.”

“I’m going to have to play the devil’s advocate here, but could part of this decision stem from the fact that the person leading the Spectres is embodied in the person you love the most in this world?”

“While true, that had no bearing on my decision.”

“I’m sorry, but I find that hard to believe.”

Chase’s voice raised in intensity and sharpness. “And I don’t care for your council on these matters, that’s not what you’re—” But Chase stopped himself and took a deep, long breath. “I’m sorry, Ares, I don’t know what the hell that was. Please forgive me.”

“No apology needed. I think I know what is troubling you.”

“Do you, now? Pray tell, I think I could use some extra clarity on the matter.”

“You’ve yet again put the entire fate of the universe on your shoulders, and while that’s not something new for you, you’re now faced with too many enemies to deal with, not to mention fewer people to help you fight them than before. I bet part of your psyche doesn’t even want to face the fact that you may have to fight, and worse still, kill, the one you love the most. I gotta admit that I wouldn’t want to be in your head right now. However, know that I’m here for you if you need my help.”

“I appreciate that more than words can say. And I guess as much as I don’t want to face the fact that Sarah could be lost to me, my mind can’t help, on occasion, going there.”

“It’s only natural.”

“But you have no idea how guilty these thoughts make me feel.”

“While I can’t pretend to know exactly how you feel, I can at least imagine. But Chase, I think it’s healthy to be at least willing to accept the possibility of such an outcome. Not accepting that this could happen would send you on a trajectory that could be perilous... not only for you but everyone else.”

“What do you mean?”

“Say you plain refuse to accept a scenario where she can’t be saved. In such a mindset, you may make decisions that aren’t driven for the greater good but instead to achieve that singular goal of saving her. And you know what you’d turn into then, right?”

“I would turn into Argos, the old one, that is.”

“Exactly.”

“The irony is so thick that you could cut it from the air around us.”

“I’m not sure I follow, Chase.”

“Argos told me that our rivalry all started when I accidentally killed a woman he loved, that it’s what set him on that warpath for revenge in the first place. Because he erased my memories, as he still felt unable to kill his own brother, no matter how much rage and fury was burning inside his soul. I, on the other hand, don’t remember that part of my life. If it made Argos go to such a dark place, I worry it could do the same to me... after all, we’re twins.”

“And I think you’re too much inside your head right now, and you need to just focus on listening to your heart. You’re the most honorable sentient being I’ve ever had the pleasure to meet in tens of thousands of years, Chase. Hopefully, that counts for something.”

“It does, thank you. And while I’d love just to trust my instincts and kill that incessant inner chatter, it’s easier said than done.”

“I know that all too well. I've had a colored past myself, and I can tell you that one’s conscience is a hard voice to ignore, but you know what I’ve learned throughout the eons?”

“What’s that?”

“That you can only go forward by trying to better yourself, to forgive your mistakes, and only use the past as a teaching tool in order not to repeat your mistakes. Not dwell and self-inflict hell upon your own soul. Not only does it lower your motivation in the present moment, but it also doesn’t matter how many times you decide on visiting your past failings, because no matter how much you wished you could do things differently, you can never fix them… ever.”

“That’s good advice. Thank you.”

“As I said, Chase, I’m here for you.”

Chase remained silent long enough that Ares decided to steer the conversation back to its main topic.

“How exactly are we going to bring back Oryn, though? Her body was destroyed.”

“Like we brought back Spiros.”

“Chase, the last time you attempted to bring a soul back into a clone, you may not have felt it, but you put yourself in mortal danger.”

“Oh, I remember, but we need the backup.”

“What about Nyx? Isn’t she more powerful than Oryn?”

“I’m not really looking for just sheer power, Ares, but for loyalty, and I’m afraid on that front, Nyx is a no-go.”

“She is self-centered, I’ll grant you that.”

“She’ll only do what serves her or her people, and I’m afraid we can’t count on allies that have their own agendas.”

“That’s true. So Yanis is to prepare an Oryn clone, is that it?”

“And figure out a way to help me canalize the energy without putting that much strain on myself this time around, if at all possible. I hear he had to work on similar energy-related problems with your Atlantian predicament.”

“As weird as this is going to sound, it felt like I was going to die... again.”

“It’s strange to think that no matter one’s state of living, be it flesh and blood or in your case energetic, the same fear of death still afflicts us all.”

“Except when you’re as old as I am, I’m not sure it’s death I’m really afraid of.”

“If not death, then what?”

“Truthfully? That it may never come. And being immortal yourself, I’m sure you’ll have these same thoughts one day.”

Being afraid of never dying? Now that’s something I never thought about.

3

Argos dodged the column of freezing energy at the last second and landed a combo that sent Oryn flying in the sky. He jumped in pursuit and fired a crimson fireball.

Oryn recovered in midair and deflected the fireball to the side.

Argos stopped in front of her.

“Why didn’t you counterattack me?” asked Oryn.

“We’ve been training for days. When do we stop?”

“Why? Are you tired?”

Argos wondered about the question and realized he hadn’t slept nor felt hungry since his arrival in the Underworld.

“No. In fact, it feels like I’m never getting tired.”

“That’s what happens when you don’t have a body. You’re all energy, and in this form, we don’t need rest... or sustenance.”

“So basically, we could be fighting for months, years, or even more without stopping.”

“Yes.”

“That’s gonna get boring, real fast.”

She smiled. “Not after gardening for over a year. At least for me. Plus, fighting with you helps me improve, at least, I think I am.”

“You are. You’re improving faster than you ought to.”

“What do you mean?”

“When we first started sparing, I had to hold off on my powers. But in the last couple of hours, it feels like I had to give everything I have to keep up.”

“You’re shitting me, right?”

“I’m not, but I have to admit I’m jealous, to make as much progress as you have, I had to spent months inside the time chamber.”

“There’s nothing to be jealous of, Argos, at least Chase has your body, you can be returned to life the moment he recovers your soul, I’m afraid my body is gone forever.”

“That’s easily fixed.”

“What are you talking about?”

“You could return into a clone body.”

They both flew back to the ground.

“Are you telling me that one day I could leave the Underworld?”

“All I’m saying is that it’s not out of the realm of possibilities. Chase managed to take Spiros’s soul and resurrect him into a clone.”

“But don’t you need genetic material to do so?”

“I suppose at the very least, yes.”

Oryn frowned. “Well, there you have it, my body was fully disintegrated. I’m afraid there’s nothing left.”

“I’m sure you left some DNA somewhere. Even one of your hairs would do.”

“Please, don’t do that.”

“Do what?”

“Give me false hope Argos, with all the time that’s passed, there’s no way someone could find anything of mine anymore.”

“I’m sure Chase can figure something out.”

“If that happened, that would be something... to actually go back to the land of the living.”

“And if you ask me, you may actually get there before I do.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Because for Chase to recover the missing part of my soul, he would have to kill Ashra, well, Sarah.”

“She’s not Sarah from the looks of it.”

“No, she’s just gestated and took over her body, but as far as Chase is concerned, it’s the same difference. And I can’t say I blame him.”

“I’m surprised, I thought you’d be the voice of reason here.”

“Look, I’ve lost someone dear to me as well, and actually, it involved Chase, and I would do anything to get her back. But she’s gone. If I were in his shoes, I know the idea of having to kill the person I love would be wreaking havoc with my soul.”

“While I can empathize, I think one day someone will have to tell him that she may be beyond saving.”

“Good luck with that.”

“I’ll tell him where I stand on the subject if anything.”

Argos smiled. “If you want my advice, wait until he gets you back into a body first.”

“Who’s getting a body?” asked Zeus from behind them.

“Oh, Dad,” said Oryn. “Argos and I were talking about the possibility of me getting a clone body so I could get back out there and help with the Spectre war.”

Little bolts of lightning sizzled between Zeus’s eyes.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“Why the hell not?” complained Oryn.

“Because there is an order to things, people are born, they live, and they die. We are lucky to be able to stay here and enjoy each other’s presence, as you know, you should have moved to Elysium and live a spiritual life beyond all corporeal attachment, that is, if I hadn’t been so selfish.”

“There’s nothing selfish about wanting to spend time together, it was as much my choice to remain here with you as it was yours.”

“Perhaps, but then why contemplate the opportunity of leaving?”

“Because Chase may need my help.”

Zeus growled. “Argos, I’d be grateful if you didn’t put ridiculous ideas into my daughter’s mind,” said Zeus. “While I’m sure you are looking forward to returning to battle, that’s not the life I want for her.”

“Understood,” said Argos. “I do, however, want to point out that it’s her decision to make, not yours. And this could all be conjecture anyway since we have no idea if we can make her a clone body.”

“You’d be wise to stay out of it is all I’m saying.”

Argos didn’t like the sound of that, and even though he doubted Zeus could do him any harm in this place, he resented his grandfather’s condescending tone.

“Dad!” shouted Oryn. “That’s enough. If you have a problem with me leaving, that’s fine, and we can talk about it, but don’t take your anger out on him.”

Zeus walked away, shaking his head.

“I’m sorry for my father’s anger, he can get very possessive,” said Oryn.

“Yeah, I’ve had to deal with his temper before but…”

“What? Why are you making a face?”

“I just realized something... since he’s my grandfather, what does that make you in relation to me?”

She smiled. “I’ve learned that when it comes to Olympian family trees, it’s best not to even think about such things for your own sanity.”

“Yeah, that’s probably good advice.”

* * *

“This is a nice place,” said Fenrir as he looked around.

“It will serve our needs for now,” said Siegfried. “I certainly didn’t choose it for its appearance.”

“Be that as it may, you’ve got to admit it’s a welcoming environment, luscious vegetation, plenty of animal life, it’s a change of pace after living inside a spaceship or a cryo-pod for that matter.”

“I don’t care for such things, all I care about is for us to build the necessary infrastructure so that we can crush our enemies, but I’m glad you like this place.”

“Speaking of, the Gorgar have started building our command center, they’re really fast.”

“They are, and it’s a shame Grunhild couldn’t bring more of them. Though perhaps once we have the resources we need, we could remedy this problem.”

“I think the Alliance will have their world well guarded by now.”

“Trust me, brother, once we’re ready, nobody, not even the Alliance will be able to stop us.”

“It should take a while to get settled, though, and during that time, we’re vulnerable.”

“I think we left enough of a crisis back on Droxia to buy ourselves plenty of time to be ready before we next cross paths with the Alliance.”

“I hope you’re right, brother. I’ve learned not to second-guess you on these things.”

Siegfried smiled. “I’m glad to hear it. What’s the status on the Droxians?”

“They’re being kept in artificial comas as per your request…”

“I sense you have questions about this decision.”

“It’s just I was wondering why they couldn’t help the Gorgar build our facilities.”

“That’s because while the implant makes them formidable warriors to throw at our enemies, their aggression can be hard to tame. They could very well exterminate the Gorgar instead of working for them.”

“I thought you said they’d obey you.”

“And they will, but I’m not as proficient as Grunhild was using mind control. So, in this case, I prefer not to take any chances. They’ll play their role when the time comes, and soon, they’ll be awakened to take part in defending this planet from our enemies.”

“Are we expecting company any time soon?”

“I don’t know, but if I were the Alliance, I wouldn’t want to give us too much time to grow our forces, it’s also possible they detected the Gorgar inside our ships.”

“Then perhaps we should have left earlier. No offense.”

Siegfried sighed. “None taken, and in hindsight, I believe you’re correct.”

That’s a first, thought Fenrir. I don’t know if it’s the loss of Grunhild, or something else, but at the very least, he seems open to listening to outside voices now.

“What are we to do in the meantime?” asked Fenrir.

“We wait and rest, I need to focus on the next phase of the plan and readjust for the losses we sustained.”

“Far be it for me to contradict you, but I’ve never been good at sitting on my ass. You’re the thinker, and as such, you’re always working. I’ll go nuts if too much time passes without anything to do.”

As if in answer from the universe, a large creature emerged from the tall blue trees in the distance and roared. It looked like a cross between a Tyrannosaurus Rex and a giant scarab.

“What the hell is this thing?” asked Fenrir.

“Looks like dinner to me.”

“Not just for us either, for all the Gorgars too.”

“Indeed, if you’d be so kind as to take care of it... I like my meat well done.”

Fenrir smiled and gave his brother a two-finger salute before flying toward the creature.

* * *

“How do you feel?” asked Spiros.

“Besides having a ticking bomb in the back of my neck, you mean?” said Gaia, with a smile.

Spiros felt guilty about going to such lengths to install a kill switch into the person he loved more than life itself. His entire face darkened.

“Hey,” added Gaia. “I was just trying to lighten the mood. I want this as much as Chase.”

“It’s not fair to ask this of you. You saved Earth by sacrificing yourself.”

“Spiros, you’re sweet, but we’ve talked about this. This measure has nothing to do with a lack of trust on either yours or Chase’s part. It’s just an insurance policy so that mistakes of the past aren’t repeated.”

“I know… Doesn’t mean I have to like it, and I don’t understand why you don’t take it more personally.”

“If you were connected with an entire world, the way I once was connected to Earth, feeling each blade of grass, every animal, every human connected to me, you wouldn’t take it personally either. Life is a precious gift. Earth is the most beautiful thing in the universe, at least as far as I’m concerned, and I’d die ten times over if it meant it endured.”

“Please don’t say that.”

“And yet it is how I feel about it. I know it’s hard to understand, but I can’t help it. It’s this connection to all life and love that makes me who I am. And I don’t have to remind you what can happen to a version of myself devoid of these connections.”

The sheer mention of Gaia’s words gave Spiros a flashback of his gruesome execution at the hand of Gaia 2. And, indeed, these two had been as different as night and day.

“Right… I suppose now we can move on to other projects. One in particular needs our immediate attention.”

“The encrypted data that Ryonna acquired.”

Spiros brought up a holo-image from his wrist device, then flicked it to a room-sized one.

“That’s a neat upgrade,” said Gaia.

“That’s pentalium for you. With a third of the amount required when these devices were running on quadrinium, I get ten times the efficiency, power-wise.

Gaia studied the data displayed on the large holo-screen. The data was displayed in a foreign language but kept rearranging itself every few milliseconds.”

“That’s some serious encryption,” she said.

“I’ve tried everything I could think of, we simply don’t have the processing power to get anywhere near the encryption key by the time it resets and changes. To make matters worse, it changes not only its key but also the algorithm used to generate itself.”

“Multi-phasing encryption with randomly generated algorithms, I can see why you couldn’t crack it. Mind if I network with it?”

“Isn’t it risky?”

“It probably is. If the code contains invasive sub-routines, which I’m sure it does, that is why while we were working on the kill switch, I upgraded my firewalls as well. I also reviewed the logs from the last battle the other me waged and the Atlantian tech she used to boost our ships and give them blink drives.”

“But she undid that before passing away.”

“She did, but I’ve managed to reconstruct some of it only by assimilating petabytes worth of logs from the fleet sensors during her last battle in Earth’s orbit.”

“Impressive. Do you think you could reverse engineer a blink drive from what you have?”

She sighed. “I’m not sure, probably not until we find more Atlantian tech. But truth be told, I’m not sure anyone should have that much power. Not even us.”

“While I agree on principle, we could use it right now.”

“That’s a slippery slope, and if the other me thought it was important not to provide that tech to the Alliance, I would be inclined to think she had a very good reason for doing so.”

“I guess if it fell under the wrong hands...”

“Exactly. The Spectres are formidable foes, give them a blink drive and…” she let the words trail.

“Game over.”

“Indeed.”

“Then forget I asked.”

“It’s okay, I know right now we could use it, and if I feel this war reaches a point where this tech could make a difference between life and death for all of us, then perhaps I’ll dedicate more cycles into solving this riddle. Right now, though, as I understand it, we need to get into this encrypted data.”

“As long as you don’t take unnecessary risks, that is.”

“Right. Let me do a survey of the tech first.”

“Okay, but please be careful.”

Gaia had already closed her eyes, and Spiros could tell she needed all her focus. Every few minutes, he’d asked her if she were okay while monitoring her vitals like a hawk. She would flash a thumbs-up to let him know she was fine.

Minutes turned to hours. But, eventually, she opened her eyes.

“So?” asked Spiros.

“So, this is technology beyond our own.”

“I could have told you that.”

She smiled. “Do you happen to have logs of the portal systems?”

“Yes, Chris allowed Yanis to send me a log and whatever he recorded with Ares when that Atlantian being infected him and imbedded data within his energy matrix as well.”

“Where can I access that data?”

Spiros interfaced with his holo-wrist and flicked another holo-screen next to her. She linked to it over the network.

“Yes... this is helpful, especially Ares’s data, but Yanis’s logs on the base tech gives me a better understanding of Atlantian tech.”

“So this is Atlantian?”

“It is, no doubt about it.”

“I wonder how Droxians got their hand on it.”

“Doesn’t really matter, all we need to focus on is⁠—”

“What? What’s happening.”

When Gaia didn’t answer and seemed fixed in place, Spiros’s heart rate galloped quickly.

“Gaia!” he cried. “Please say something.”

When she failed to respond, he tried cutting the wireless link connecting her to the network. Her vitals fluctuated past their normal values. Spiros frantically looked around for a heavy tool and grabbed a wrench on his way to the nearest network node. He needed to break the link.

He raised the wrench, ready to smash the network node.

“Wait,” she said. “Don’t, I think I found a backdoor.”

Spiros let out a long sigh of relief.

“You scared the CRAP outta me, you know that?”

“I’m sorry, this thing has more booby traps than I expected, it took all my processing power and most of the systems around for me not to get infected by its multiple viruses.”

“That’s it, then! This is exactly the sort of things we can’t let happen to you.”

“Relax, Spiros, that’s why the kill switch is in place.”

“I don’t want to have to use this thing!” screamed Spiros, unable to contain his tears.

She opened her eyes for just a bit and gave him as affectionate a look as she could muster under the intense focus she was redirecting into the hack. “I know, and you won’t have to. I know what I’m doing. I’ve already eradicated every single virus and trap the code threw at me, that’s why it took so long. Now, it’s just a matter of finding a way in. Through the encryption, there simply was no way for me to get it. In fact, I thought I’d never get in. Thanks to the logs, though, I’ve figured out a way to look at the problem on a hardware level, low-level access to the power source. It was nowhere near as protected as the encryption layer. My logs of... the other me were invaluable too, like every one of these events, the portal network, the final battle on Earth, and even Ares’s infection all held their own piece of the puzzle for me to access the backdoor. I just need to⁠—”

But then she stopped again.

“Don’t do this to me again!” exclaimed Spiros.

She flashed him two thumbs-up, telling him that she needed the CPU cycles to get the job done.

She opened her eyes and grinned. “I’m in.”

The room size holo-screen random characters switched too fast for the human eye to see and were replaced with a set of coordinates.

Spiros studied the holo-data. “That’s in the unknown region, isn’t it?”

“Yes, and accessible only through the portal, that is, if we want a team to get there with months of space travel. In fact…” she let the words trail as she displayed other data as an overlay.

The portal network map overlaid itself onto the star map currently projected, and the coordinates she had extracted from the encrypted drive showed that this address wasn’t contained in the portal network map from New Kyria. Several new addresses popped up beside the ones in the database.

“Hidden portals?” asked Spiros.

“Hidden from our base on New Kyria at least, but since they were encrypted so strongly, something tells me the Atlantians didn’t want anyone to find out about them.”

“Then why even store the data in the first place?”

“That’s a good question, maybe they thought it might be needed one day by a race as technologically advanced as they were. Which explains why it was so hard to get access to it.”

“Okay, but we aren’t nearly as advanced as they are.”

“No, and without the other me connecting with the Atlantian AI in the first place, we would never have managed to get in, not in a thousand years.”

“Why don’t I like the sound of that?”

“Mind you, I only accessed a tiny portion of the encrypted data. It may take me a while to get to the rest. Hopefully, it will shed light on more of the Atlantians reasons behind all of this.”

“I don’t like it, not one bit.”

“I understand how you feel, Spiros, but right now, we have bigger fish to fry. Chase and the Alliance are waging a losing war on multiple fronts, and I think I just figured out a way to deal with at least one of our problems.”

“What? Which one?”

“The Droxians.”

“What does any of that have to do with them? Besides them being in possession of the artifact, that is.”

“I compared the dataflow of this device, the parts I managed to get into anyway, to the readings from infected Droxians. I think I’ve discovered a way to reprogram their implants.”

Gaia’s skin tone turned white all of a sudden, and she collapsed on the floor.

“Gaia!” screamed Spiros, running by her side. He activated his comms. “Medical emergency in science lab three!”

4

Chase answered his holo-device.

“How’s Gaia doing?” he asked.

“She’s okay, I think…” said Spiros.

“You think?”

“She’ll be fine, she had to push herself really bad, but she thinks she has found a way to help Droxia.”

“That’s the first bit of good news I’ve heard in days, good job, you two. Where is she now?”

“In med-bay, resting.”

“I’m sorry to ask, but… the kill switch?”

Spiros grimaced. “It’s up and running. Even though I need to give you sole access to it.”

“Why’s that?”

“I could never push that button, Chase, and you know it. So it’s best you get sole access.”

Chase sighed and stared at Spiros for what felt like the longest time. “Request denied.”

“Fuck that!” shouted Spiros.

“Take it easy, Spiros. I know how you feel.”

“The hell you do!”

Chase’s tone became glacial like Spiros had never heard before.

“I KNOW! I had to make that same decision, or have you forgotten? I had to pull the trigger on my wife and my unborn child once. So don’t tell me it’s not the same.”

“They were clones.”

“Don’t you dare give me that load of bullshit, of all people. I didn’t know they were clones, so I had to make that decision you want nothing to do with. And as hard as it is for you to imagine a scenario where you’d have to pull that trigger, the fact of the matter is, you’re close to her, if something happens, you may be the only one able to see if that situation arises, while I may be on the other side of the universe dealing with our enemies. I may not be in a position to deal with that particular emergency, Spiros, and you know it. If you want me to share the responsibility, that’s fine! That much I can grant you, as a friend, but you keep the kill switch controls as well. The fact of the matter is, she may be the one begging you to use it.”

“She wouldn’t…”

“Are you sure you know her as well as you think you do? Because, right now, it seems to me that you’re letting your feelings cloud your judgment. Just like I would give my life for my friends or even total strangers, the woman you love is made of that same fiber. I suspect that her will to protect others might be stronger than mine. Gaia would give her life for Earth or her loved ones in a heartbeat and without hesitation. She has done it before, in fact. If she hadn’t, we wouldn’t be having this argument.”

Spiros sighed. Chase could tell from his expression that he had given him food for thought.

“Look,” resumed Chase, “I know what I’m asking of you, don’t think for one second that I don’t. But look on the bright side here, at least she’s back in your life.”

“Yeah, and hours after being unplugged from her virtual prison, she was already risking her life.”

“I can understand how frustrating that must be, but it’s her life to risk, Spiros. For what it’s worth, I empathize with how hard this must be for you. The only advice I can give you on the subject is to cherish every moment you have with her as if it was your last.”

“That’s no way to live, Chase.”

“It’s the only way to live right now, and trust me on this one, it’s better than the alternative.”

Spiros turned his back on the screen and interacted with a holo-terminal. Soon Chase’s terminal bleeped as he received a subspace data transmission. When Spiros turned back toward the screen, Chase could tell his friend was angry.

“Look—”

But Spiros cut him off. “That’s everything you’ll need to deal with the crisis on Droxia. Spiros out.”

The holo-transmission cut off, and Chase sighed heavily.

* * *

“So this is my office, then?” asked Athena playfully.

Menelas smiled. “I guess it is… now.”

“And you’re sure you’re okay with me taking over your position as base commander?”

“At first, I wasn’t, but now that I’ve had a bit of time to mull it over, I’m actually relieved. You know me? I never liked desk positions.”

Athena grabbed the multiple glass datapads scattered all over the desk and made a neat stack on the corner of the desk.

“I can see that,” she chuckled.

“I’m a warrior, not a pencil pusher, as the humans say.”

“I get that, and while I don’t relish the position myself, at least I won’t be too far away from you in case you get into trouble again. I’ve lost you twice, and I’ll be damned if I’m thousands of light-years away the next time you need me. If there’s one thing I can’t stand, it’s feeling helpless when the ones I love are in danger.”

“I can understand that, but I’ll have you know that I’m perfectly able to take care of myself.”

Athena could feel she had bruised her soul mate’s ego. Furies were, after all, proud people.

“I didn’t mean to say it like that.”

“I know, love, it’s okay.”

“I’m just worried about Diaspira, since she escaped after nearly killing you, we gotta be on our toes. She’s using the portal network and may have an advantage over us, as we’re new to it. We could potentially fall into an ambush every time we step through the network.”

“Trust me, the next time we cross paths, it will be the last.”

“I understand how you feel, heck, in fact, I share your sentiment. However, I’d rather you don’t let your thirst for revenge blind you into taking unnecessary risks.”

“With Ares around, I shouldn’t find myself in that position again, not that I would let myself be tricked in the first place. She only managed to manipulate me because she used my amnesia against me in order to gain my trust. That’s the only reason I fell for it. Next time I see her, I’ll shoot first and ask questions later… that is, if she survives.”

Athena worried about the underlining anger she could sense in Menelas as he recalled the traumatic events that had happened to him a while back. She worried his anger could cloud his judgment. But she owed Menelas the dignity to deal with this foe on his own terms, no matter how worried she was about the threat Diaspira posed. Not to mention she wouldn’t mind being given an opportunity to rip her a new one herself.

“Fair enough.”

There was an uncomfortable silence for a rather long time until Chris’s image came through the holo-screen. The image wasn’t of the best quality, the Alliance still had issues establishing clean subspace connections between Alkyon One and New Kyria. The heavy shielding inside the mountain base didn’t help matters either.

“Good, you’re both here,” said Chris.

“What is it?” asked Athena and Menelas in unison.

Chris smiled. “We have your next mission.”

Athena walked around the desk and sat on what would now be her chair.

“What’s the mission?” she inquired.

“Yanis is installing a new set of coordinates to the portal network as we speak. Gaia managed to get us half a dozen new addresses absent from the database. The one I’m sending over has special markings. While she wasn’t able to decode what they meant since it’s the only one that adds this extra bit of information, we’re going with the assumption that it has special meaning, and as such, it should be our first priority.”

“I see,” said Athena. “Any idea what to expect there?”

“I’m afraid not. So I don’t need to tell you to be cautious. The Atlantians went to incredible lengths to protect this data, which means it has to be important, and we hope it will lead us to new technology… who knows, maybe even something to help us fight the Spectres.”

“Or the Guards,” interjected Menelas.

“Them too… Athena, you’re in reserve on this mission. While I initially thought about coming myself to help you on that one, I think the sooner you send PT-1 (Portal Team One) through the portal, the better, but be ready to leave the base and rejoin the team at a moment’s notice. Just keep me in the loop so we can send reinforcements your way if needed.”

“Understood.”

“Good luck to the both of you.”

“Thank you, Chris.”

The communication ended.

“I don’t like the sound of that,” said Menelas.

“Doesn’t matter what we like, love. We’re losing this war, be it with the Spectres or the Guards, we’re outgunned on both fronts, and we need to find a way to remove one of these threats quickly. I don’t have to tell you how precarious it is to fight a war on multiple fronts.”

“No, you don’t, I just hope in our hurry to find solutions, we don’t awaken another dragon, so to speak. Which brings us back to what I was saying: I don’t like this one bit.”

“Duly noted.”

Menelas chuckled.

“What’s so funny?”

Menelas waved his hand. “Nothing you said, dear, I just realized we’re taking orders from our grandson. A boy that’s barely adult and only because he modified his own DNA whilst still inside the womb of his mother in order to achieve the necessary accelerated growth.”

“It sure feels strange getting orders from anyone but Zeus, but the world of yesteryear is gone. This is a brand new age, and with it comes its own set of problems. As for Chris, he’s one hell of a young man if you ask me.”

“He sure is…”

“Not to be pushy, but you’d better go suit up and brief Ryonna.”

“Aye, aye, boss,” said Menelas playfully before leaving her office.

* * *

Chris was swimming in a lagoon with a beautiful waterfall nearby. The rustling of the water around him had a calming effect, and he felt at peace. A feeling he hadn’t experienced for so long that he had almost forgotten how good it felt to swim in the water, his mind clear and empty of life-threatening problems to deal with.

Birds were chirping all around when a deer came by the side of the lagoon to quench its thirst.

Earth really is a beautiful planet, he thought.

Strong gusts of wind blew his hair to the side, and the ambient temperature quickly dropped. The blissful noises of nature’s wildlife were abruptly silenced, and the deer had vanished. Nightfall came upon him almost instantly, which made no sense, and soon, swimming became harder, as if the water had become thicker. With no light source around, Chris was plunged into utter darkness. He took one hand out of the water, feeling a thick and oily liquid run down his arm.

He cast a sphere of energy in his hand in order to shine some much-needed light around him. The water had turned to blood, and a vision of horror replaced the calming sight of the waterfall—a river of blood was smashing into the crimson lagoon.

A nightmare? he wondered. Or is this another vision?

“Chris!” said a familiar echo-y voice in the distance.

“Kharon?” cried Chris. “Is that you?”

“Please help me, Chris.”

Her words resonated and were somewhat muffled. They seemed to come from behind the waterfall. Chris reluctantly stepped through it, but not before erecting a force field around him to deflect the blood. He eventually emerged into a large cavern.

“Chris!” cried the voice once more, with more insistence and dread.

“Where are you?” he asked.

In the distance, he could hear large growls and decided to run toward them. Shortly after, he arrived in a massive chamber, and that’s when he saw her. Kharon was crawling, clearly wounded, as two large red eyes glowed behind her in the shadows.

Chris sprinted toward his sister and stopped short as a creature emerged from the darkness. A monstrosity bigger than almost anything he had ever witnessed. It had six legs, multiple rows of rusty teeth, and three pairs of pulsating nostrils.

“Get away from her if you don’t want to become dinner.”

The monster roared, and the entire cavern rocked so hard Chris lost his balance and nearly fell flat on his back, but at the last moment, he used telekinetic energy to recover.

The creature took another step toward the still crawling Kharon. That’s when Chris noticed she was leaving a trail of thick blood on the ground behind her.

Dammit!

Chris shot a fireball at the creature, but a large tail swiftly emerged from the darkness and deflected it back at him. Chris dodged his own attack and turned into Ultra Fury form.

He flew toward Kharon, but before he could put his hands on her to heal her, another swing of tail sent him flying through the cave, and he impaled himself onto a spiky rock formation, and blood spilled from his mouth.

“Ouch,” he muttered, his teeth oily from the blood.

Kharon struggled to get back to her feet, holding a large open wound in her belly, and she had a hard time taking even a few steps. The monster was following her, matching every one of her steps, like a hunter not in a hurry to devour its prey. Chris pushed himself forward in an attempt to dis-impale himself from the large rocky spike protruding from his abdomen. The pain was excruciating. When he was nearly free, he felt hands on each of his shoulders pull him back, re-impaling him against the wall.

Chris let escape a roaring moan as the pain radiated throughout his entire being. The level of agony was second to none, and he almost lost consciousness.

It took a while for him to have the strength to re-open his eyes, only to see who had pushed him back. When he did, his blood froze. On one side of him stood Chase, his eyes completely black and devoid of any emotion.

“What the fuck, dad!”

But the empty-faced Chase didn’t answer.

Chris looked to the other side only to see Argos, with the same blank stare and fully black eyes.

“What the hell is wrong with the two of you? Let me go! She needs my help.”

Both of them shook their heads from side to side almost robotically. It sent a cascade of shivers down Chris’s spine.

Kharon shrieked upon stumbling and falling back to the ground while the beast opened its mouth wide, readying itself to swallow her whole.

Chris tried to struggle himself free, but Chase and Argos’s hold on him was too strong in his current condition. He had to change tactics and fast. He focused all his energy into his eyes and fired two intense beams of green energy at the beast’s head.

It promptly exploded, sending large amounts of brown flesh and green blood all around it, covering parts of Kharon with the oily liquid.

She managed to get back to her feet and nodded in thanks toward him, but as the rest of the beast fell to its side with a cavern-shaking thud, a column of red light shot from its entrails and connected with the cavern’s high ceiling. Everything trembled around them, making Chris’s wound worse.

Kharon was screaming with pain with every step she took, so Chris fired a healing fireball her way. Upon received the white sphere of super-concentrated energy, her wounds quickly healed.

“Thank you, Chris,” she said with tear-filled eyes.

She began running toward him.

“No! Get out of here, now!” he ordered.

“Let me help you,” she pleaded.

The red column of energy expanded and consumed the creature’s remains, and soon the crimson energy morphed into a humanoid shape.

“No, Kharon, look over there, something else is coming for you, so you must run!”

Kharon stopped in her tracks and looked back at the pulsating energy blob taking humanoid shape.

“Oh no… it’s her, she found me!”

“What are you talking about? Who are you talking about?”

“Ashra!”

“That doesn’t make any sense. Aren’t you still in her womb?”

“I’m not, Chris, she forcefully extracted me and grew me into an adult inside a machine that accelerated my growth. The moment I got strong enough, I broke my pod and escaped, thanks to the energy Dad and you gave me the last time I saw you.”

Chris’ heartbeat went galloping into a war-drum rhythm inside his wounded chest. If he hadn’t himself accelerated his own growth during the Fury war, he probably wouldn’t have believed her.

“Get the hell out of there, then, and run!”

“I’m already off her ship, Chris.”

That’s when Chris realized that the vision was just a mental projection, a conduit of some kind to explain her situation, and as if on cue, the crimson energy turned into Ashra in the flesh, a maddening smile deforming what was once the sweet face of Chris’s mother.

“There you are,” said Ashra. “Did you really think I’d let you run away from me? You’re mine!”

“Noooo!” screamed Chris, not realizing he had unleashed a strong shockwave that sent Chase and Argos crashing backward.

With a single thought, he obliterated the rock impaling him at the subatomic level and instantly healed the large hole in his abdomen.

“I won’t let you touch a hair on her head, you hear me?!”

Ashra turned her attention toward Chris, who hadn’t realized he was radiating Hyper Fury energy. She cocked her head to the side, looking intrigued.

“Oh… it’s just you... My other worthless child.”

“You’re not Sarah, and you’re not my mother!”

“When will any of you finally accept it? I’m all that’s left of her, boy, and I’ll take much pleasure in gutting you, as I will that traitress. Surely you can sense it by now… she may have temporarily escaped my grasp, but her respite will be short-lived. I’m right on her tail, so close that I can almost smell the stench of her betrayal. Soon, she’ll be mine again, and when that happens, I will unleash all my wrath upon your puny sister. But fear not, as I won’t stop there... not a single member of the Athanatos family shall survive me. I will erase every single one of you from existence, once and for all.”

Chris could sense the incredible amount of raw power emanating from Ashra. It was overwhelming and unlike anything he ever sensed before. In comparison, Asrak’Vor’s aura Chris had sensed during their final battle with the Spectre felt like a mere blip of worthless energy. But what worried Chris more than the sheer amount of power emanating from Ashra was the darkness and hatred he could sense in every fiber of her being. She was made of pure darkness, and Chris feared nothing of his mother remained.

Ashra turned her attention back toward Kharon.

“Run, Kharon,” screamed Chris. “Run for your life!”

Kharon sprinted toward the cave’s exit while Ashra aimed an open palm at her with a sadistic smile on her face.

“Oh, no, you don’t!” said Chris, moving so fast he could have been teleporting.

He grabbed her fireball engulfed hand and deflected it upward. The fireball shot and pierced a large hole into the ceiling. Thousands of flying locusts invaded the cavern and moved in a whirlwind motion around Chris. With each pass, their razor-sharp wings inflicted Chris with a cut.

On their own, these were just scratches, but soon, it felt like Chris was succumbing to millions of them.

“Chris!” shouted Kharon in the distance.

When Chris tried to tell her to keep running, he felt Ashra’s hand on his throat. She was squashing the life out of him. Her squeeze on his throat increased relentlessly, and little by little, Chris’s neck weakened under the pressure.

Chris used telepathy to contact Kharon while he still could.

Run, and keep running until you get to Alkyon One, Kharon. There we’ll be able to protect you.

Shortly after, Chris felt his neck snap, and everything turned black.

5

“What do you mean she’s coming?” asked Chase.

“I had another vision,” said Chris. “Ashra was hunting her, but Kharon escaped. I think they’re both coming to Alkyon One as we speak.”

“If that’s the case, the Spectres will soon be at our doorstep.”

“We better hope PT-1 finds something for us to defend ourselves with soon, as I fear the number of ships we’ll have ready before they arrive won’t be enough to repel even one of these motherships that made it through the gate.”

“Whatever comes, we must be ready to face them. Once the crisis on Droxia is over, I think we should recall all the ships to protect the station.”

Chase reflected on his son’s words for a bit. While he agreed on principle, his gut feeling told him something didn’t feel right.

“I don’t know, I have a bad feeling about this. What if this is all an elaborate trap?”

“While I respect your instincts in these matters, what other choice do we have?”

Chase winced and sighed. “I don’t like this, Chris.”

“Neither do I, but we can’t abandon Kharon.”

Chase put his hand on his son’s shoulder.

“And we won’t. She’s family, and I promise we’ll do everything to save her... just like we will for your mother.”

Chris’s face dropped and that sent a shiver down Chase’s spine.

“What’s going on? What aren’t you telling me?”

“It’s probably nothing.”

“Well, if it’s nothing, there’s no harm in telling me. And your face is telling me an entirely different story right now, so spit it out, whatever it is.”

“In the vision, I faced Ashra. Dad… her current power levels are like nothing we could ever imagine.”

“We’ve faced her before, and while she’s very strong, she can be defeated. Together, all of us, we can take her down, I’m sure of it.”

“I’m not so sure... what she’s now become is so far beyond what she was when we last met her on the battlefield.”

“Then we’ll train harder and make sure that whatever is left of the Furies are willing to join the fight when the time comes. We could even train them to reach our levels of power. We may have no other choice but to do so.”

Chris shook his head. “It won’t be enough, even if we trained them in time chambers, I can’t shake the feeling that she’s on a level none of us can hope to ever reach.”

“So what are you suggesting, then? We give up? Let her suck the souls of trillions of beings, ours included?”

“You know I’d die before I let her do that. I… I just fear it won’t matter what we do.”

“I have no doubt she’s the biggest threat to life as we know it, but I won’t accept she’s unbeatable. I just wished I had…”

But Chase let the words trail as his face looked down.

“I know, but if you had, Kharon wouldn’t have been born. You can’t blame yourself for not finishing her off. In doing so, you at least gave Kharon a fighting chance.”

“And yet that decision might hurt us all.”

Chris lifted Chase’s chin with his finger.

“Don’t do this again, I beg you. Don’t get haunted by your past failures and in should haves and would haves. It brings nothing but misery, and you know it. What’s done is done, all that matters now is how we deal with this… together.”

“When did you get so wise?”

“I had good role models,” said Chris with a smile. “Whatever comes our way, we’ll deal with it, one way or another. Right now, Kharon is running for her life, and we can’t let her down.”

Chase nodded. “You’re right, and we won’t.”

“Good, so let’s make sure we’re as ready as we can be when Ashra comes in her wake.”

“There’s still something you haven’t told me. I can sense it.”

Chris sighed. “Right… mind-boggling power aside, I… I couldn’t sense anything left of mom in Ashra anymore.”

“If I’ve learned anything, Chris, is that these visions are there for a reason, they give you just enough information to course correct or help you decide what actions to take, but I wouldn’t put too much credence to every single detail you’ve seen or sensed in them. Trust me, just take them as guides, but don’t get bogged down by every detail. The future isn’t written in stone. The future is what we make of it… never forget that.”

* * *

“Do you really think it’s wise to proceed this way?” asked Altair.

“I don’t know, but that’s what we’re going to do anyway,” said Chase.

“I guess we’ve asked you to take command of the Alliance, and it would be quite hypocritical to now tell you to reconsider listening to others.”

“I always listen to what you have to say, Altair, you know that. I just think if there’s a good chance that Ashra is coming with her armada toward Alkyon One, we’d better be prepared with a show of force. We can’t let her destroy this station. Even though it’s quite new, it’s our new headquarters, and I don’t think it would help morale to have it destroyed so quickly after completion.”

“The optics would be bad indeed.”

“Screw the optics, it’s the morale of the troops that worries me more. We’ve installed the latest generation tech here, if it falls during its first attack, it could send a message of terror throughout the universe. And right now, that’s the last thing we need.”

“Agreed. Very well, I’ll recall every abled ship to Alkyon One. I’d rather not recall the ones protecting Gorgar, though.”

“We’ve learned from the Fury War that we can’t let that world fall to the enemy, so I’m in agreement here, the fleet in orbit is to stay put and report any movement they observe from their long-range sensors. The last thing we want is for either the Spectre or the Guards to use our redeployment to seize that world. If that were to happen…”

“It would take some doing, but once the current threat has passed, we may need to consider moving Alkyon One in that planet’s orbit.”

Chase sighed. “I’ve thought about that too. I hate that we’re hours away at maximum hyperspeed. Strategically it makes no sense for us to ship Gorgar workers all around to all the different places, be it here or our shipyards. But then again, I’m not sure us focusing all our attention on a single area of space is a great solution either... that also would make us more vulnerable to attack. Take that system out, and you take out the entire Alliance.”

“True. But the amount of time wasted transporting their worker population to systems so far away from their planet is also valuable, now more than ever.”

“Then perhaps it’s time we build a second space station and link them with a jumpgate. I’ll task Gaia and Spiros to work on a way to link these two places with the shortest possible travel time.”

“Is that even possible? I thought jumpgates were literally the limit at which hyperspace travel can be stretched.”

“From our understanding of hyperspace, that is correct.”

“I’m not sure I follow.”

“Every race has their own limited understanding of physics based on their observation of it. Just like the Asgardians have managed to build faster hyperspace engines thanks to pentalium, they’ve always had an edge in terms of speed because they figured out a workaround on the limitations of space travel that other races couldn’t crack with their technology at the time. Therefore it’s safe to assume there are other ways to go beyond the Asgardian’s already faster engines, we simply haven’t discovered them yet. After all, the Atlantians had blink drives, instantaneous travel anywhere, and they have the portals, which accomplishes basically the same thing.

“So at the very least, we know it’s within the realm of possibility, we just lack the understanding on how to implement these technologies at the moment. Now that we've acquired limited access to Atlantian tech, and the only being in existence that managed to interface with such tech, perhaps we can figure out a way to learn more of their ancient knowledge.”

Altair rubbed his chin. “There’s the ethics of it to be taken under consideration.”

“I’m not sure I follow.”

“When Gaia used the Atlantian upgrades to save Earth, she was told that we’re not ready for such technology, that it had to be used once to save the planet and then be destroyed. For our own good. What if that’s true? What if, by gaining this new knowledge, we unleash even a worse fate for ourselves? And, in fact, what if it’s that technology that was the Atlantian’s own downfall?”

“That’s the risk any civilization faces when tinkering with new and advanced technology, and trust me, if going back into a simpler time with simpler rules was an option to deal with our predicament: I would embrace it right away. That is with my family, which at the moment is quite fractured. My wife is inside the body of our nemesis, a race of beings so vile they’re not just content with wiping us out; instead, they go to great length stealing our souls, the very essence of life. Argos is trapped in the Underworld, in a weird situation in between life and death, one I’ve experienced myself, I might add, except my soul hadn’t been split in two.

“No… we’re no longer in a position to wonder if Atlantian tech can do more harm than good, I’m afraid. We’re outnumbered, outgunned, and been on the defensive for too long. We need to figure out a way in order for us to take the fight to our enemies, not retreat and hope we can deal with the next crisis by the skin of our teeth. If we keep focusing on survival alone, one day, we’ll just end up losing that fight. It’s time to start focusing on how to achieve victory.”

“And the cost of that be damned? Is that what you’re telling me?”

“That’s an oversimplification, and you know it. Then again, if you have a better idea, I’m all ears.”

“I’m afraid not, but that doesn’t mean this course of action doesn’t give me pause.”

“Then I say we do what we have to and deal with the fallout of potential mistakes when they arise. Ever since the Spectres’ return, we’ve been beaten at almost every turn. If that wasn’t bad enough, we also have the Guards to contend with.”

“I know you don’t want to hear it, Chase, and you’ve made your position perfectly clear, but the Guards are the perfect example of how not fully understood technology can have terrible repercussions, not only for its creators but for all life in our dimension.”

“Trust me when I say this, Altair: I’m very well aware of that.”

* * *

“It’s good to see you,” said Tar’Lock, “even if it’s just on a holo-feed.”

“It’s good to see you too,” answered Ryonna. “When will the Helios reach Droxia?”

“Within the hour.”

“And your certain Gaia’s solution will work?”

“It has to, Chase has recalled most of the ships back to Alkyon One. He’s counting on us to deal with the Droxian crisis swiftly so we can release the ships in orbit, slowing down the plague on your world.”

“I hate not being there at such a crucial moment... one where my entire civilization faces its greatest crisis.”

“I know how you feel, I’ve been in your shoes before when we almost lost Gorgar to the Furies. And back then, I trusted you to do anything to save my world. And you did, risking your very life in order to do so. In hindsight, though, I just wish I had reacted better to the final outcome… I’m…”

“Don’t give it another thought Tar’Lock. This is all in the past. Now we must focus current problems on today’s war.”

“That goes without saying, and I give you my word that we’ll do whatever it takes to save your world, even if we must lay down our lives in the process.”

“That’s very honorable of you, and I thank you. But hopefully, it won’t come down to that. This plague is technological in nature, and if Gaia is correct, you now hold the digital cure. I have faith in you, I know you won’t let my people down.”

“We won’t. I promise.”

Ryonna sighed.

“What’s going on? What was that for?”

“Nothing, don’t worry, my friend... unfortunately, I need to gear up and get moving; we’re deploying in a few minutes.”

“No unnecessary risks, okay?”

“I wish I could make that promise, but the unknown regions are called unknown for a reason. Be it the remnant technologies of the Atlantians, or their past enemies, we never know what we’ll be up against when we step through the portals.”

“I guess that makes sense, and I understand you can’t promise not taking risks, but then at least try and be careful.”

“You too, Tar’Lock. Talk to you soon.”

6

“I’m not sure that’s a good idea,” said Gaia.

“I know,” said Spiros. “But these are our orders.”

“By your admission, I made sure the Atlantian tech that saved the Earth was destroyed the moment it had served its purpose.”

“Losing your life in the process, I might add.”

“You and I both know I'm not worried about that. If I must lay down my life for Earth and all the other sentient beings, I’ll do it again in a heartbeat. I know you hate hearing this, but this is who I am.”

“I know, and that’s also why I love you so much, so it would be hypocritical of me to complain about what makes you who you are. I won’t lie to you, though, hearing you say you’d lay down your life at the first opportunity to help others is never easy to hear. Not because I disagree with your choice, but because I can’t possibly imagine losing you again.”

“I would rather that didn’t happen either. Which is why I’m not sure Chase is making the right decision here.”

“I don’t follow.”

“Look... technology is a wonderful thing when used the right way. But any tech, even the seemingly innocuous one, can be used for evil purposes, and while I don’t hold the memories of my alter ego before she sacrificed her life, I know it within my heart that whatever Chase is hoping I’ll be able to unearth most likely would have the potential to destroy us all.”

“Even so, is it better to just give up and let ourselves be destroyed anyway? Don’t get me wrong, I empathize with your position, gods know my own inventions have been corrupted beyond what I intentionally designed them for, but that’s the nature of life. There will always be darkness lurking in the galaxy, but by the same token, we can’t let the only beacon of light be extinguished on purely moral principles.”

“I know what you’re trying to say, Spiros, and I thank you, but no amount of kind words will change my view on the issue. We’ve been ordered to go down that path, and I will respect Chase’s wish in the matter because if it wasn’t for him, that light you’re speaking of would have been extinguished a long time ago. At the very least, we owe him our allegiance and our trust. I just happen to think that whatever we find inside that next Pandora’s box may come with a price that we’re not willing to pay.”

“But if we don’t open the box, the price may end up being higher.”

“It always seems that way when we’re cornered, and I guess if history teaches us anything, is that there come times during conflicts when the ethics of our decision must take a step down because of the urgency of the situation. All I’m saying is that I’m getting a nagging feeling this time, and it’s telling me that we risk going too far.”

“And if we had another choice, I’d gladly consider it.”

“As would I, Spiros, as would I. I guess we should prepare for our trip to the unknown regions then.”

“What? Why? Can’t you do this from here?”

“Not a chance, Spiros, I need to interface with Atlantian tech directly, and we may need to step into portals ourselves if that’s what it takes. I can’t just review logs and scans and magically find a memory that I never held in the first place. I know I often seem to find out-of-the-box solutions quickly, like I just did with the Droxian brain infection by the nanite virus, but in that case, my reasoning came from a solid understanding of such technological concepts. This time it’s a shot in the dark, and I need direct access to the source material, so to speak.”

“We’d better let Chris know, then.”

“You do that. I’ll start packing everything I think we’ll need when we get there.”

Spiros nodded before giving Gaia a quick peck on the cheek.

This won’t end well, thought Gaia.

* * *

“I don’t exactly have time right now,” said Chase dismissively.

“I’m sorry,” countered Yanis, “but I think you’ll want to hear this.”

Chase sighed. “Very well, but please make it quick.”

“That is the one thing I can’t promise.”

“Yanis!”

“Okay, okay. I’ll do my best to be quicker than usual.”

“Start by telling me what was so important that I had to cut my briefing with the admirals short. You, of all people, should know the sort of military threat we’re facing.”

“I do, and that’s why we’re having this discussion.”

“Very well, Yanis, what do you want to talk about?”

“The StarFury Mark IV.”

“You gotta be kidding me. You think upgrading the starfighters now, in the middle of everything else, has a chance in hell to tip the balance?”

“Hey! It’s me.”

Chase tried as best he could to smile at his friend. It wasn’t a blatant success.

“I’m listening.”

“I went over Gaia’s modification of the nanites as well as the time-warping field used to temporally quarantine the Droxian during the emergency, and it gave me an idea. Not only do I think we can adapt her logic to our weaponry, but I think we can upgrade all current fighters with minimal effort. Obviously, rebuilding new fighters right now would be too time consuming.”

“You do realize that it’s been three minutes already, and you still haven’t told me what it is you’re really proposing here.”

“I know, I know, I’m getting there.”

Chase brushed his temple with his fingers. “Sure you are.”

“I think I found a way to slow down the enemy at every engagement. It’s a temporary fix, but I believe it’s one that should give them pause.”

“Yanis?”

“Yes?”

“Would you please get to the freaking point?”

“A timelapse cannon.”

“A what now?”

“A timelapse cannon. I believe by changing the way we apply frequency to our laser and plasma cannons, we can deliver a temporal charge.”

“What exactly is a temporal charge?”

“It’s a localized distortion of space and time, allowing us to freeze the enemy in time for just a second or two.”

Chase wasn’t sure what his friend was getting at, but the mention of freezing the enemy in time, even for a short time, seemed intriguing enough to convince himself that he could indeed take a bit of time out of his busy schedule to get the lowdown on this new if unorthodox idea.

“Are we talking freezing the enemy long enough so that we can shoot them down?”

“That’s exactly what I’m proposing. And if my calculations are correct, we’ll gain an advantage so significant that we’ll never lose dogfights anymore. Well, mostly.”

“You have my full attention.”

“All right, this is how it works.”

Yanis’s face on the holo-screen was replaced by a holo-image of two fighters engaged in a dogfight.

“Right now, the Spectre’s ship is pretty solid, and even with drones and all power upgrades we’ve added to the StarFuries’ Mark III, we’re still not able to go toe-to-toe with them on equal footing. My proposal will change all that. When the upgraded cannon hits its target, it will engulf the ship into a time bubble, just for a little while, but hopefully long enough for us to one-shot kill them down during that short window of time.”

“That doesn’t sound right, are they losing armor or shields when trapped in the bubble?”

“They don’t.”

“So while I can see why pausing them even a fraction of a second would give us a tactical advantage, it may also end up creating a lot of confusion, especially if that doesn’t finish them off quickly.”

“But it will finish them off.”

“Then you’d better start explaining that part before I lose patience. By your own admission, their armor and shields would remain up.”

“Yes, but since they’re trapped in a time bubble, time inside the field goes at a much slower rate, basically how their universe currently is compared to ours. In fact, I think that’s the only reason why this technology can work on them and only on them.”

“What are you saying? Why?”

“That has to do with the energy signature of their ships. Because they come from a dimension where time isn’t flowing at the same flow as ours, there’s a multidimensional parameter I never thought to look at. That is, until Gaia used a time-warp solution to help us buy the time we needed to fix Droxia’s predicament. It just popped in there,” said Yanis, hitting his skull twice with his finger.

“One day, you and I will have a discussion about the meaning of the words ‘make it quick,’ but continue.”

“You see, any projectile fired into the bubble will shift into another temporal flux, and I have figured out a way to communicate between the inside and outside of the bubble in real-time. So you see what this means?”

“Besides the fact that this entire conversation is sure to give me a headache? No, Yanis, while I usually take pride in the fact that I can follow your techno-diatribes, this time, I don’t see what all this means.”

“What’s the main problem we have to deal with in terms of shields?”

Chase buried his face in his hands. “He’s playing twenty questions, now, of all times.”

“Come on, Chase, this is important. Ok, ok, the answer is frequency. That’s why we, as well as our enemies, are using multi-phasing shielding to protect our ships, it doesn’t leave the weapon time to figure out the right frequency to penetrate our defenses since we’re cycling the frequencies and algorithms generating the random chances. And in the end, only the sheer number of impacts on them is what’s draining them. If the projectile could sync to the right frequency, it could go through the shields and impact its target unobstructed.”

“Holy shit.”

“Finally, he’s getting it.”

“Are you telling me that once the ship is frozen in the time bubble, our weaponry can be informed of the frequency for us to use in order to bypass them on the next shot?”

“Bingo! Upon impact of the timelapse cannon, it broadcasts the frequency to our ships so that the next shot will pass through the shields as if they weren’t there. They still are obviously, but since time is slowed down, it gives our ships enough of a window to get the next shot through before it rotates frequency.”

“Will that work on capital ships?”

“Only in theory, I’m afraid.”

“Power requirements?”

“Exactly, and using the timelapse cannon on StarFuries will also have its drawbacks power-wise. But if I can calibrate the tech and optimize it with our newfound pentalium supplies, I believe I can get us a one, perhaps even two-second freeze, which should be enough for instant kills.”

“Why can’t the technology be used to bring down, say Asgardian ships like the Guards are currently in control of, as well as whatever hybrid armada they’ve assembled along the way from other races?”

“Because our tech doesn’t vibrate in this multidimensional timeshift thingy.”

“You just made that term up, didn’t you?”

Yanis scratched his head with a smile. “Kinda, yeah.”

“Well, in terms of military, the Spectres are our biggest threat, so even if it only works on them, that’s still great news. How fast can you deploy this, and what would be needed to figure this out so it would work on the motherships?”

“There’s no way it can work on the motherships.”

“Why not? I understand we don’t have the power requirements to make a large enough bubble to engulf such massive ships, but can’t we just deploy the time bubble in a localized position on their shields and use that as our entry point?”

“I like the way you think, and as a matter of fact, I explored that angle too, but unfortunately, it won’t work. The moment the bubble disrupts the shields, it’s pretty much instantly destroyed by the surrounding force of the rest of the shields, and there’s no time to use the breech that basically never forms.

“I’m sure you’ll figure something out,” said Chase with an uncanny smile.

“Chase, I can make this work for smaller ships, and that alone should give us a tactical edge that could help us tip the balance in this war, but I’m telling you now, I can’t apply this to bigger ships, no matter how much I wish I could. Even with an infinite supply of pentalium, I might add.”

“And yet yesterday’s Yanis couldn’t figure what you figured out today, so I have faith that, in time, you’ll figure something out.”

“Short of finding an element incredibly more power-efficient than pentalium that is… which I doubt even exists, I don’t think so.”

“Good, I’ll leave you to it, then.”

“You’re freaking kidding me, right?”

“Not at all, but last I checked, I was put in command of the Alliance, and I do need to get back to the defense strategy of this station, so we don’t get blown up in a few hours or days when the Spectre armada comes knocking. Your job is to get the tech tested and deployed to all StarFuries wings as soon as you can.”

“Oooookay.”

“Will that be all, Yanis?”

“Huh… I guess... You don’t seem too impressed, though.”

“Good. So… why the heck are you still on my holo-screen.”

Yanis blinked a few times with an empty stare. “Understood… Talk to you later, then?”

“Yup. Oh, and Yanis?”

The disappointment on Yanis’s face was replaced with unbridled anxiety.

“Yeees?”

Chase smiled widely. “Good job, man. And welcome back.”

“Welcome back? What is that supposed to mean? And… well, thank you, I suppose.”

“It means that it had been a while since you surpassed yourself in such a fashion, but you sure did it this time. If your theory works, that is.”

“It will work, I’ll make it work, trust me.”

“That I can do. And sorry for pulling your leg just now, I’m actually really proud of you. This will help us in a time we need it the most.”

Yanis was in the middle of releasing a long sigh of relief when Chase turned the comms off with a chuckle.

Was that really necessary? said a voice inside Chase’s head.

No, but it was fun, and from what I gather, there won’t be many opportunities for that going forward.

You sure have a strange way of picking your moments.

7

“Ready, everyone?” asked Ryonna.

Menelas twitched as he realized that Ryonna probably didn’t understand the new chain of command.

Let it be, love, said Athena in his mind. She’s here while she could have left for Droxia to be with her own people, and considering the state of emergency there, no one would blame her. You don’t need everyone to know you’re in charge, do you?

I suppose not. Thanks.

Please be careful out there.

Will do.

“Ready as one can be,” said Ares. “Where’s Yanis?”

“He’s being sent back to Alkyon One, something to do with a new StarFury,” said Ryonna.

“And we’re supposed to go get new technology without an engineer?” asked Menelas.

Ryonna swiped her wrist holo-device and looked at the time.

“He’s late.”

“Who’s late?” asked Ares.

“Yanis’s replacement.”

“And that would be?” asked Menelas.

Before Ryonna could answer, loud footsteps echoed in the adjacent corridor, and a panting Cedric emerged, trying to catch his breath.

“Sorry, I miscalculated the distance between my quarters and the portal room. Cedric, reporting for… duty.”

He then silenced a chuckle.

Ares’s head tilted near Menelas’s.

“I never thought I’d say this, but I think I’m actually going to miss Yanis,” murmured Ares.

You do know we can speak telepathically, right? answered Ares.

So?

So your new teammate wouldn’t feel alienated with you whispering in my ear. But for the sake of argument, seeing how a short run from literally one hundred yards seemed to affect him physically, I’ll say you’re making a good point.

Oh, cool, it works, don’t worry guys, I won’t slow you down, said Cedric in both their heads.

“What the hell?” said Menelas out loud.

“What’s the problem?” asked Ryonna.

Ares turned toward Cedric. “Can you speak telepathically?”

“Yes and no, I’ve been working on a prototype, and well, hang on…”

Cedric took a smoking device from his ear and threw it to the ground, where it whistled and turned bright white before exploding.

He laughed uncomfortably. “As I said, that’s just a prototype.”

“So this is Yanis’s replacement?” asked Ares.

“I don’t know about you, but I’m already filled with confidence,” added Menelas.

“Hey!” shouted Ryonna. “When it comes to technology, he’s just as qualified as Yanis. Cedric has saved Earth more times than I can count!”

She must not be able to count very far, then, said Ares inside Menelas’s mind, who couldn’t suppress a chuckle.

“What’s so funny about what I said?” asked Ryonna.

“Now you know why I wanted to have a direct line to people who can speak telepathically,” said Cedric. “Let us in on the jokes, or do you think we can’t take them?”

“Enough! We don’t have time for this useless banter,” insisted Ryonna. “We have a job to do, and I have complete confidence in Cedric’s ability to replace Yanis temporarily. And unless you‘ve all forgotten that we’re losing this war, it’s up to us to bring the Alliance new weaponry to help the fight against an enemy that wants nothing short of the total eradication of every living being in our universe. Now that we’re all here, Cedric, if you could please initiate the portal and enter the coordinates Chase wants us to go to first.”

Cedric nodded and went to one side of the room and looked around, confused.

“The controls are that way,” said Menelas, pointing to the other side of the room while holding his forehead with his other hand.

* * *

Poseidon dodged the attack of the drones by rolling to the side and fired three fireballs with his bionic arm. Two of the drones were hit dead center and exploded, while the third one dodged the attack and fired a plasma rocket back at the Olympian.

The drone switched to rapid plasma fire and unleashed hell upon Poseidon. The Olympian grabbed his trident on its center of gravity and made it rotate so fast that it looked like a shield. Upon impact with the trident, the plasma rocket and successive fire ricocheted randomly inside the room. Multiple explosions scorched the reinforced green marble walls.

When the fire stopped, Poseidon impaled the drone with his trident. It exploded, and shortly after, cleaning bots beamed in the arena and started cleaning up.

The training room door morphed into an opening, and Thor walked through it.

“I thought we’d agreed to train today,” said Poseidon. “Mind telling me why I’ve been destroying brainless drones for hours?”

“I apologize, I had to take care of the distribution logistics of the latest shipment of pentalium.”

Poseidon cocked his head to the side upon seeing the long box under one of Thor’s arms. He pointed at it.

“What’s in the box?”

“That’s another reason why I’m late. Let me show you.”

Thor positioned the elongated box in front of him and released it. It hovered in place while Thor entered a code on a holo-screen on top of the box. The top split in two and opened up to reveal an arm.

“It’s an upgrade?” asked Poseidon.

“And not a minor one, either. Thanks to the steady influx in pentalium, I had the arm completely redesigned by Kvasir, which was kind enough to have it shipped to us. Wanna give it a try?”

“Like you have to ask,” said Poseidon as he reached for his shoulder and turned the mechanism to remove his current augment, handing the old one to Thor before grabbing the shiny new arm and installing it with a satisfying click and growing hum.

Suddenly, Poseidon felt his entire body influx with more energy than he ever sensed in his entire life. Body-wide tingling doubled with a sensation of euphoria filled his entire being.

“This is incredible! What’s going on with me? Why is that arm affecting my entire body? Or at least that’s how it feels.”

“You’re not imagining it. I’m not exactly sure how it works, as technology was more the domain of my late brother. But according to Kvasir, the power supply of your arm will now allow you at least one thousand more charges than previously, and apparently the arm itself contains nanites that allow some of that energy to mix up with your own biological lifeforce.”

“I’ll say. I’m almost scared to try it out.”

“Seeing how formidable our enemies are, it can’t hurt to try to find any tactical edge we possibly can. Try and hit me, perhaps with your biological arm first, see how much it has improved your natural strength first.”

Poseidon flexed his real hands’ fingers and stared at Thor.

“What if I hurt you?”

“With this arm, I seriously doubt it. Plus, I’m wearing my armor, so don’t worry too much about it and just hit me already.”

“As you wish,” said Poseidon before punching Thor in the chest.

The result was devastating, Thor flew away as if he had been impacted by a ship in hyperspace. He crashed on the other side of the training room, cracking the wall upon impact.

“Holy shit!” screamed Poseidon as he ran toward his injured friend. “Are you all right?”

“Ok…” said Thor tentatively, checking his chest for armor damage, which he quickly found. “I did not expect that.”

“Neither did I. I’m sorry, a good thing we didn’t try the bionic arm first. Makes you wonder if we shouldn’t all get such augments. I know I have mine because I lost my arm, but makes you think.”

“I don’t know about other races, but in Asgard, it’s prohibited to modify your own body unless it’s to replace a missing limb or organ. It’s a slippery slope once you go down the path of augmentation. It may create an entirely new generation of addicts that will try to robotize their entire body just so they get faster, stronger, or smarter. Before you know it, what biological attributes that made a certain race the way it is gets replaced by machinery.”

“Not to mention that technology is hackable, and you could turn an entire unsuspecting population into doing your bidding. Now that I’m thinking about it, I’m not so sure I am so happy about having been augmented myself, well… in our current situation, I understand that it’s a necessary evil, but with cloning technology, I probably could get an arm regrown and reattached. I guess when the day comes, that’s what I might do.”

“Right now, you kicking ass is more important, I agree, speaking of, we probably should continue the tests.”

Thor tried getting back up, but the pain was too strong, and he slid back down.

“I think we’d better get you to the med bay,” said Poseidon, “You could have internal bleeding.”

“Mind helping me back up?”

Poseidon grabbed Thor’s forearm with his hand and helped his friend. He then put his arm around his neck and walked him out of the training room.

“I didn’t know that you were considering undoing the bionic arm,” said Thor on their way to the medical bay.

“It’s just something I’ve been thinking about lately, but obviously, I quickly reached the conclusion that it would have to wait until after the war if I make it through, that is.”

“You will make it through. I’ve already lost a brother, and I can’t imagine losing you too. In fact, I’d do anything to make sure of that.”

* * *

Onboard the Helios, Captain Talon Epizon sat on his chair in the middle of the bridge.

“Status?”

“We’ve deployed the new code to the rest of the fleet here,” said Tar’Lock, “and are finishing beaming the therapeutic nanites onboard their cargo holds. Deployment should start any minute now.”

“Good. Let’s hope this works because the last thing we need right now is to have to deal with crazed augmented Droxian zombies on top of everything else.”

“I wonder if they’ll remember what they’ve done while under the influence of this plague. I certainly wouldn’t like to be in their shoes.”

“Thankfully, for us, we won’t have to find out. But we need to proceed with caution and not get on the surface of the planet until we’re sure the entire threat has been neutralized. If any of the Alliance ships were to be infected, it could spread the plague through numerous galaxies, and right now, we don’t have the resources to deal with that.”

“What if that’s already the case?”

It took a while for Talon to answer Tar’Lock’s question. And it was something that Talon had spent days thinking about too. In fact, he had just been debriefed on their next mission regarding this potential threat. But he wasn’t ready to share that with the rest of the crew until they completed their current one.

“One problem at a time. But yes, we need to track down the Guards and make sure we neutralize their army of zombified Droxians before they spread it to other races. But right now, the biggest fire is raging on Droxia, so we need to deal with the center of this plague first.”

“All ships report ready to execute,” said Tar’Lock.

“Very well, deploy at will.”

And let’s pray this works.

“Strange,” said Tar’Lock.

“What’s that?”

“I have all ships but one beaming down nanites to the surface of the planet… but the Omicron isn’t beaming anything.”

“What? Get me their captain on the line.”

“I already tried, he’s not answering.”

“Could their communication’s array be faulty?”

Tar’Lock’s entered commands on his console at his usual lightspeed, which to human eyes made him look like he had three-dozen arms.

“I’ve managed to login onto their onboard computer, no signs of damage or faults as far as their communication systems are concerned.”

“Open a channel.”

“Opened.”

“Captain Markos, this is Captain Epizon, please respond.”

“I’m detecting a buildup of energy coming from the Omicron,” cried Tar’Lock.

“Locate its source.”

“Their hyperspace engine is spooling up.”

“What the hell are they doing? Can you access their bridge security systems? Let us peak inside what’s going on their bridge.”

Tar’Lock keyed in the necessary commands and projected a holo-feed from their bridge on the main holo-screen. It took Talon’s mind a couple of seconds for his brain to register what he was witnessing.

Most of the crew of the Omicron were unconscious, but one officer walked toward each of the bodies and kneeled next to them for a second before moving to the next one. In this case, Captain Markos.

“Beam Captain Markos off the ship right now!”

“I’m afraid I can’t do that,” said Tar’Lock.

“Why the hell not?”

“The Omicron computer just revoked my authorization. It has engaged a lockdown procedure of all the ship’s systems. I’m surprised we still have a holo-feed of the bridge.”

“Can you override it?”

Tar’Lock frantically entered command after command, only low-bass error chimes echoed from his console as a result of his multiple attempts.

“The encryption is too strong.”

On the holo-screen, some of the Omicron’s crew that were infected by the only standing crewman earlier were coming out of their slumber, including Captain Markos. Soon, all the bridge crew was up; they all looked toward the holo-cam, which feed was being streamed to the Helios. They all raised their hands toward the cam, and the feed died instantly, accompanied by an ear-piercing burst of static.

“Fuck me!” exclaimed Talon. “Tar’Lock, target their hyperspace engines right away. Give them everything we’ve got and open fire!”

8

“Are we ready?” asked Ryonna.

“Almost,” answered Cedric. “I’m getting feedback through the portal, and I think we’re ready to beam out the shuttle from the other side.”

“Remind me again,” asked Menelas, “why we can’t just fly the shuttles through the portals themselves?”

“It’s a size thing,” replied Cedric preemptively. “I am working on a fix, though… well, I’ll continue working on a way to make the portal event horizon bigger so that we can pass shuttles entirely, and over time, hopefully, full starships, but that one may take a little longer.”

“I’m surprised it can even be done to that scale. Not to mention how can you beam an object that far in the first place?”

“We’re not technically beaming the ship there, just beaming part of it through the event horizon of the portal, and it does the rest.”

“That doesn’t seem very safe,”

“And yet it is. I’d love to explain how it works by splitting the shuttle into multiple smaller parts in the buffer that teleports objects and people through the network, but we’d be here for hours. As for bigger portals, it’s mostly a power requirement problem, something we solved by finding so much pentalium. It’s just a question of modifying the tech and, well, we can’t risk damaging our portal, because if we made a mistake, it would cut us off from the entire network.”

“That would be bad, and as per how it works, I’ll just trust that you know what you’re doing, I have no interest in knowing every single detail of it, at least not today,” said Ares.

“Right... as for losing our portal, it would be bad indeed since the nearest portal in the network is located many hours away at Asgardian hyperspace speeds from New Kyria,” said Cedric. “So I’d rather make all the necessary tests to make sure nothing happens to that portal before we attempt to enlarge them enough so we can travel through with the shuttles in the future. We also don’t know for sure if relocating a portal is as simple as moving it from one planet to another; we’ve only scratched the surface as per our understanding of this tech.”

“That’s all well and good,” said Ryonna, “but I propose we focus on the mission for the time being.”

“Right,” replied Cedric. “Hang on just a moment… here we go.”

A shuttle beamed in front of the team. It was a rather compact ship but just about large enough for the entire team to board.

“That’s cozy,” said Menelas as he sat in the pilot’s chair.

He interacted with the holo-controls, and a map of their surrounding area was projected on a holo-screen.

“Where to?” asked Menelas.

Cedric sat in the copilot’s seat, took a slab of glass from his pocket and put it in front of him. A large set of 3 holo-screens arranged in a curve came to life. He interacted with them and swiped the destination from one of his screens to the shuttle’s main screen. The map scrolled quickly over the planetary terrain and locked a point in the form a rotating red triangle icon.

“There,” said Cedric. “At max speeds, we should get there in under an hour.”

Without another word, Menelas lifted the shuttle off the ground as the engine spooled to max power, and the ship screamed away in the distance.

* * *

“How are we supposed to test the timelapse cannons?” asked Kvasir.

“Already on it,” said Yanis. “I have a team working on restoring one of the fighters we shot down in the last engagement. By the time they arrive, it should be near completion.”

“And when will that be?”

“Twenty minutes, give or take.”

“Don’t we risk broadcasting signals that can be picked up by Spectres if we power up one of their derelict shuttles?”

“In any other situation, I would say you are correct. But in this case, they already know where Alkyon One is, and if Chase’s intel is correct, they’re probably on their way there already.”

“Seems to me that it will have to be a quick series of tests then and an even quicker deployment to the StarFuries. If the enemy is on their way, aren’t we already running against the clock?”

“We are indeed, and clearly, we won’t be able to equip that many StarFuries. In fact, my engineers are already installing the modifications needed for an entire squadron. Because we need to be ready with just a software update if the tests prove that the tech is viable.”

“And if it can’t?”

“Then little harm is done, we’ll have a squadron of fighters with a diminished power reserve by twenty percent and only if they use the timelapse cannon.”

“I guess that’s a good trade-off, seeing how constrained we currently are.”

“Any news on how the situation on Droxia is evolving?”

“Nothing I’ve heard so far, the Helios has been dispatched to implement Gaia’s solution. Would you like me to get more information for you?”

“Nah, that’s all right, I still have to make a couple of calls before I arrive anyway, I’ll inquire at that time. Thank you, Kvasir, and see you soon.”

“Very well. See you soon.”

* * *

“Firing now!” said Tar’Lock

A salvo of plasma shots aimed at the Omicron screamed away from the viewport of the Helios. But before they could hit the Alliance destroyer, they impacted with its shields.

“Dammit,” exclaimed Talon. “Switch to primary firing solution. Have the EAD Minotaur lock onto the Oblivion with their tractor beam, we can’t afford to let them escape.”

Tar’Lock entered the commands before giving a quick questioning look at his captain. “We take the risk of destroying the ship with the primary Heracles cannon, though.”

“That’s a risk we have to take, lock and fire as soon as it’s ready. Change our vector to make sure a missed shot doesn’t impact Droxia.”

Tar’Lock adjusted the Helios’s position as the bridge hummed during the Heracles canon charging cycle. Some lights flickering happened all around the bridge consoles and light sources.

“Charge is at ninety-two percent,” said Tar’Lock. “Engineering reports a delay of two minutes for a full charge, apparently one of our power relays overloaded.”

“Then fire now, we don’t have two minutes.”

Let alone twenty seconds.

“Firing.”

The entire bridge was plunged into darkness as the massive golden column of supercharged plasma shot from the bow of the Helios. For what felt like more time than had actually elapsed, Talon held his breath.

He knew full well that the Omicron had been compromised and couldn’t be allowed to enter hyperspace. While Talon had no doubt that they would already have to deal with the repercussions of this bionic plague due to the number of infected Droxian the Guards had harvested before fleeing orbit, they couldn’t risk another rogue ship to spread it to nearby galaxies faster still.

“What the hell?” said Talon as he rose from his captain’s chair.

Talon’s facial expression turned livid. In a move he never witnessed before, the Omicron engaged their tractor beam as well and pushed their sub-light engines to the maximum, way past safety limits. As a result, they managed to drag the unprepared Minotaur out of its orbit to take the place of the nearby Omicron at the exact moment when the Heracles cannon reached its target.

The result was devastating, the golden stream of energy cut the smaller EAD Minotaur in two and exploded in a bright flash that filled the darkened bridge with light momentarily.

Before Talon could say another word, the Omicron jumped into hyperspace.

“Set a pursuit course right away and follow it.”

Tar’Lock clicked a set of high pitches noises. “I’m afraid the nearby explosion of the Minotaur blinded our sensors, and we don’t even have a partial vector for their jump.”

This isn’t happening, thought Talon.

“Locate their subspace beacon then.”

Tar’Lock entered the next set of commands on the console, turned his head back toward Talon, and shook it from side to side.

* * *

When Thor stepped out of the regen tank, Poseidon was waiting for him to hand him his clothes.

“I’m really sorry, brother,” said Poseidon. “We never should have tested my new powers that way.”

“No apology needed, I’m the one who insisted you do it. I don’t think either of us could have predicted the power upgrade this tech has granted you, I can only imagine how powerful your bionic arm is now.”

“We don’t have to imagine; however, we’ll need to rebuild the entire training room... and adjacent quarters, which fortunately were empty at the time I performed a quick test. We also need to boost the shielding of the training room by at least four hundred percent, that or I need to find a deserted planet on which I could train safely.”

“That explains the amount of internal bleeding I’ve suffered from, even though I wore my best armor. In the end, it’s good news, though, it means you’re now probably on par with Chase and the rest of his family in terms of firepower, and that can only be a good thing.”

“I don’t know about going toe-to-toe with Chase just yet, but I sure feel more powerful than ever. I am, however, worried about the notion of nanites running through my bloodstream. What if I’m hacked and my power is turned around and used against us?”

“Up until we killed Grunhild, we faced that eventuality anyway. But I can see why you’d have reservations. Know that the arm has a failsafe installed into it, so if that scenario ever presents itself, disconnecting it from your shoulder socket port will also neutralize the nanites in your bloodstream.”

“That’s good thinking.”

“I gotta admit I’m quite relieved Chase convinced me not to execute Kvasir back then. He’s been invaluable in helping both Asgard and the rest of the Alliance.”

“Everyone is entitled to a second chance, I guess.”

A sharp sting inside Thor’s heart made him grimace. The Guards were beyond redemption, and he would make sure they perished no matter what, even if that was the last thing he did.

“Not everyone, I’m afraid.”

* * *

“I’m detecting an unknown energy signature at our destination coordinates,” said Menelas. “In fact, I’m also feeling it within my bones,” he added through gritted teeth.

“Mind elaborating on that a little, especially on that last one, for us non-energy-sensitives?” asked Ryonna.

“The shuttle sensors are detecting a build-up in energy levels within a subterranean structure located miles under the surface of where we’re heading. As for the second one, I would recognize this aura anywhere. Diaspira beat us to this location, wherever this is.”

“Should we call for backup, then?” asked Cedric nervously.

“That’s why I come along in these missions as a Fury,” countered Menelas. “Don’t worry about it, and leave the fighting part to me.”

“No arguments there,” said Cedric.

“Cedric might have a point, though,” added Ares, “we should at least inform Athena that we believe we’re in for some heavy resistance on this mission.”

Menelas thought about it. He knew very well what Athena’s reaction would be, she’d step through the portal immediately, and since she could fly faster than the shuttle, she may even arrive before them, and there was no way Menelas would want her to fight whatever awaited them on her own. Then again, they could agree on meeting there before approaching the structure.

What bothered him most was the idea of calling for help on their first mission with her as the commander of the base. He didn’t want to have to call for backup every time PT-1 encountered resistance. Was it his ego speaking? He wondered.

“I don’t think we should call for backup unless we need to, all we know right now is that Diaspira will be there. She doesn’t stand a shadow of a chance in a fight with me and only got the upper hand last time because she tricked me. This time she doesn’t even have the element of surprise on her side. So maybe it’s just me, and since Ryonna is in command, it should ultimately be her call.”

Ryonna sighed. “While I appreciate your deferring to me, we both know that technically you’re the ranking officer. And don’t think only Furies can sense people’s emotional states. In command or not, I’m very well aware that I’m not the most powerful warrior on this team. So while I agree that Cedric should be protected and not have him put in the line of fire when there will be fighting involved, you’re not facing Diaspira alone, I’ll be by your side all the way.”

“At the end of the day,” interjected Ares, “it doesn’t matter who leads PT-1, though I suppose it would make things simpler if we decided on a team leader, at least for this mission. Which I thought was Ryonna as with the previous mission.”

Menelas had to swallow his pride. “I agree, you’ve been a great leader up until now, I’m good deferring to your judgment for this mission... and the next ones.”

Ryonna nodded. “Good. Now that that’s been cleared, since we don’t know what awaits us there, there’s no need to call for backup just yet, but don’t wait for my order Cedric, if the shit hits the propeller as the humans say, any of you just call for backup. Understood?”

“Understood,” said Cedric. “I’d just like to point out that the expression actually is ‘when the shit hits the fan’ and hopefully decides to stay away from my underwear, but that’s another story,” he added, whispering to himself.

9

“Please come in,” said Chase with a smile on his face. “It’s good to see you, it’s been a while.”

Keera stepped into Chase’s office onboard Alkyon One.

“Hi, Chase, it’s been too long if you ask me.”

She looked around, and her gaze locked onto the nice view of the planet below Alkyon’s orbit.

“That’s a nice view,” said Keera, “though I expected the Alliance’s top brass to have a much bigger room.”

Chase nodded. “Daniel is still in command of the station, they just turned me into a bureaucrat, and I must say, I hate it even more than I thought I would. Sitting behind a desk is not something I’m good at. But for the time being, with all the emergencies bursting all over the place, and until I get my daughter back, I guess this is where I must be.”

Keera’s eyebrows jumped. “Your daughter? I feel like I’ve missed a large part of that tale.”

Chase caught Keera up to speed with the latest events while they had a drink for old time’s sake.

“That’s heavy. I’m sorry you have to go through this again and have your family splintered even more. It seems you can’t catch a breath.”

“It is what it is, at the end of the day, none of us chose this conflict.”

Keera dropped the empty Ju’ran blackhole onto the glass desk in front of her.

“I have a confession to make,” said Keera.

“Oh, really… What would that be?”

“I wanted to tell you this for a long time, but I never had the guts.”

“I gotta admit I’m intrigued now. Must be something important.”

“On the contrary, it couldn’t be sillier.”

“Okay…”

“I hate Ju’ran blackholes.”

Chase blinked twice before they both burst into laughter.

“You warned me, and you were right: it’s silly. You should have told me earlier.”

“Well, you seemed to enjoy this beverage so much, I didn’t want to dissuade you from drinking it.”

“Liking them is a bit of a leap, it just happens to be one of the rare alcohol drinks that seems to impact me, ever so slightly, that is.”

“I think you’re forgetting the Zentak whisky, Chase.”

Chase chuckled. “No, I remember that bottle we drank the first time we traveled together onboard your ship.”

“Yes, the Valken. It was a nice little ship... while it lasted.”

“As for the priesthood’s whisky, I have to admit the hangover wasn’t all that fun.”

“While that lasted too since you cheated by healing us both.”

“That I did. Not that I don’t enjoy reminiscing on the good old days, though I’m not sure good applies to our predicament back then, but I take it that if you’re here, you’ve got news on the assignment I’ve given you?”

“Yes. I managed to acquire the DNA you asked me to. Let me tell you, it wasn’t easy.”

“I can imagine. And you’re sure it’s Oryn’s?”

“I believe so, but we’ll only know for sure once we get the material into a cloning pod. I take it you’re thinking of bringing Oryn back to life the same way you saved Spiros?”

“That’s the idea, yes. Since her soul never traveled to Elysium, and she’s still in the Underworld as we speak, it should be possible.”

“Do you ever ask yourself about the ethics of such actions? I mean, playing with life and death? If I were in your place, I’d be terrified to even think about bringing back someone to the land of the living under any circumstances. Seems like playing with forces that mortal beings shouldn’t be playing with, you know?”

“I know, but let me reassure you that it was not a spur-of-the-moment thing... it’s something I’ve given a lot of thought to, but seeing as Argos is also in the Underworld, even though his soul has been halved… well, let’s just say I still hope I can bring him back as well.”

Keera’s eyes lowered for a moment. “Chase, I know how much your brother means to you today, which is ironic since we met in a time when you wanted nothing short of killing him in the most gruesome ways you could think of.”

“I don’t know about gruesome, but yeah, back then, I wanted him to suffer at least. How things have changed.”

“But to recover his soul, won’t you need to kill Ashra first? And in doing so, wouldn’t you end your wife’s life?”

“I’m hoping we figure out a way for me to achieve bringing back Argos without killing Sarah.”

“Far be it for me to crush your hopes here, if anything, I’d probably risk my life to help you achieve your goals, like most of your friends, but don’t you think that’s wishful thinking?”

Chase didn’t answer right away. Part of him knew that Keera only wanted to make sure he didn’t get his hopes up, to later end up disappointed or even fall into a depression as he had after the end of the Fury War.

“I know that what I want and what will end up happening may differ. I’ve made a conscious decision to entertain still the idea that there is the hope of saving both Argos and Sarah if that makes any sense.”

“It does, Chase. And I hope with all my heart that you can be reunited with both your wife and your brother.”

* * *

“So let me get this straight, you want me to clone an Oryn from this DNA sample?” asked Kvasir.

“That’s correct,” said Chase. “Normally, I would have asked my brother, but obviously, that’s not an option. In his absence, I would have gone to Spiros, but he and Gaia left a few hours back to the unknown regions.”

“Which leaves me.”

“Kinda...”

“What do you mean kinda?”

“Look, I initially called Yanis back to help me with this project, but he’s got more important work to do at the moment.”

“The timelapse cannon, an ingenious idea. So what you’re telling me is that I was the last on your list,” said Kvasir with a smile.

“That wasn’t intentional, and I hope you can help me with this. Unless Asgardians have a moral objection to cloning.”

“Technically speaking, we Asgardians are in the current mess because we’ve played gods trying to create beings with enhanced DNA. As a result, we created the Guards that have now turned against us. So as far as Asgardian law goes, and if we were on Asgard, then my answer to you would be no. Since you’re just asking me to take existing DNA, unmodified, and grow an empty vessel with it, not only do I not have any objections, but I’ll probably be able to grow the empty vessel much faster than either Argos or Yanis would have managed to, seeing as I have extensive experience in this field.”

“That’s good news… I guess.”

Kvasir’s tattoos flashed a couple of times more rapidly than their usual slow pulsating rhythm.

“You don’t seem very sure of yourself? Or am I interpreting your current emotional state wrong?”

“No, you aren’t. It’s just something a friend told me a few hours ago about playing gods. You’ve just happened to remind me that cloning is partially responsible for the Guards threat and, well... that just gave me pause for a moment.”

“So, what would you like me to do?”

“How quickly can you grow a fully adult vessel for Oryn?”

“If the DNA sample is viable, I suppose you could have it ready in a few hours.”

“Wow, that fast?”

“As I said, I have substantially more experience in this field than your friends. It also helps that energy production isn’t an issue for us anymore.”

“Certainly seems so. Okay, then… I guess you know what to do.”

But then it was Chase who sensed hesitation in Kvasir for a fleeting moment.

“Unless,” continued Chase, “you have an objection to the matter.”

“No, not at all, it brought back a painful memory for just a moment, but it has nothing to do with you or your request, so don’t worry.”

“Fair enough. Thank you, Kvasir.”

“You’re welcome, Chase. I’ll get back to you as soon as I’m done with my task.”

* * *

“Status report!” asked Talon.

“We still can’t detect any trace of hyperspace vectors,” answered Tar’Lock.

“What's the status on the surface? Are the nanites working?”

“Preliminary reports are positive, the bionic augments inside Droxian bodies are disabled and, in some cases, even expelled by the body. The rare uninfected factions that bunkered in safe places report that they are no longer under attack from the rest of the population.”

Talon released a sigh of relief.

At least there’s that. Now we need to figure out how to catch up with the Omicron.

“What do we do now?” asked a female officer on the other side of Tar’Lock.

“Our top priority is now to find the Omicron,” said Talon, “by any means necessary. Does anyone have a suggestion?”

The bridge stayed silent, but eventually, Tar’Lock stepped in.

“What about solutions that aren’t exactly by the book?” proposed Tar’Lock.

“We’re past regulations in situations like these, if the Omicron isn’t stopped, we’re facing a third direct threat, and the timing couldn’t be worse. We have to make sure as many Alliance destroyers can regroup to Alkyon One in order to face a potential attack. Obviously, with this new development that doesn’t include us, but since we won’t have any backup to achieve this goal, tell me what you’re thinking Tar’Lock.”

“We should ask Keera Hawking. If there’s anyone who can figure out where that ship went, I think she can. She knows every black market smuggler throughout the Alliance as well as extensive contacts from her bounty hunter network.”

Talon thought about it for a handful of seconds.

“Make it so. Get her on the line.”

Tar’Lock opened a channel and, after a minute, the main holo-screen filled with the green-haired female.

“Hello?” she said tentatively.

“Hi, I’m Captain Talon Epizon from the EAD Helios. My first officer tells me you can help us track a renegade destroyer.”

“Hello... and who would that first officer be, Captain?”

Tar’Lock walked in front of the holo-cam.

“Tar’Lock!” she exclaimed. “It’s good to see you.”

“Good to see you too, Keera, unfortunately, we don’t have time to catch up. The EAD Omicron has been infected with what has befallen the rest of Droxia, and we need to figure out where it went and fast.”

“I see. I take it you contacted me because of my questionable relations, though I must warn you, I’m no longer held in high esteem by most of my old workmates. They may not want to help unless they’ve got something to gain from it, I’m afraid.”

Talon sighed heavily but decided not to voice his frustration.

“Whatever it takes, Miss Hawking, quadrinium is still very valuable, and you have my permission to trade with your contact in any way you see fit, as long as we get actionable intel that is, and fast.”

“You can call me Keera, Captain, and understood. If there’s no limit on how much quadrinium I can trade, I should be able to get back to you within the hour. Keera out.”

The holo-screen turned off.

“How well do you know her, and more importantly, do you trust her?” asked Talon.

“With my life,” said Tar’Lock without hesitation.

“Good enough for me.”

* * *

Chase’s office doorbell chimed.

“Come in.”

Daniel stepped into the room.

“Hey, brother,” said Chase.

“Hey, back. Mind if we have a little chat?”

“Of course not. What can I do for you?”

“Truth be told, I don’t have much of a reason to be here. It’s just that ever since you returned to Alkyon One as the leader of the Alliance, we haven’t even grabbed a drink together.”

Chase froze before answering.

“Right, I’m sorry about that, Dan.”

“I didn’t come for an apology, don’t get me wrong. I just miss spending time together and shooting the shit.”

“I know, and trust me, I miss those times where I would just kick your ass in the simulator and then rewrite the world around a drink or two.”

“Yeah, well, perhaps I was letting you win, have you ever thought of that?”

“No, I haven’t. You’re competitive enough not to do that. And not the most gracious loser, either.”

Daniel smiled. “Right... was worth an ego-boosting shot, I suppose. What about now, though? Do you have a few minutes to grab a drink? Or are you too busy?”

“You know what, let’s just pretend my schedule doesn’t matter… what will you have?”

“I could go for a beer.”

“A beer it is then.”

Chase entered commands on his desk, and a couple of cold ones beamed onto the desk. He then used a small telekinesis push to decapsulate them in sync.

“That’s practical,” said Daniel.

Daniel grabbed a beer, and so did Chase. They clanged them together.

“To friendship,” said Daniel.

“To friendship,” echoed Chase.

Daniel put his half-full beer on Chase’s desk.

“Thank you.”

“For what? Not finding the time to spend with my best friend?”

“We both know you didn’t do it consciously, the situation calls for us to prepare for our enemies. Mind you, I barely have any free time either. This station may be operational, but I don’t remember the last time I had a less than eighteen-hour day.”

“I know the feeling. Do you ever feel like this will never end?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean that we’ve been here before, Daniel... with the Fury War. And here we are again... fighting for our lives. And if it was just our lives, I think our stress levels would be more manageable. The stakes of this war are basically the future of every living being with a soul. And during days like these, I have a hard time letting that sink in. That’s what I meant about when will this end.”

“Once we get rid of the Spectres and the Guards, I guess.”

“I think one of the reasons why I’m having a heavy outlook on the subject today is that I don’t think it will.”

“What are you saying, Chase?”

“Don’t you feel it, at least just a little bit?”

“Feel what?”

“That wars never seem to end. This one is raging now, and we’ll do everything we can to win, but then what? Who’s coming for us next?”

“Boy, am I glad I came for a visit. You need to disconnect a little, bro.”

“And you know I can’t. Kharon is on her way here, or so Chris thinks.”

“I’ve read the report, and I have to say that I had to reread it twice to make sure I read that right. So your daughter is born and already an adult?”

“That’s what Chris believes, and I have no reason to doubt him. If anything, his instincts and perception of visions seem just as powerful as mine.”

“Then take it as a good omen. That at least your family will contain another member soon.”

“If it’s not a trap.”

Daniel chuckled. “What was I thinking trying to lift your spirits? Jokes aside, I think we’ve been duped and tricked enough to at least approach any unknown situation with the proper care. Don’t you think?”

“I suppose that’s true. I just hate what these wars turned me into... a jaded guy, you know? Here my daughter appeared to have escaped Ashra’s grasp, and even though I never met her outside of visions, the first thing that came to my mind was to try to figure out what sort of Trojan horse this situation will bring.”

“You’re not jaded, Chase, you’re just battle worn, like most of us, I might add. I think I told you this before, more than once, in fact, that you don’t have to go through all of this alone. I’m here, as are the rest of your friends.”

“I know, thank you. And I’m sorry to have to do this right now, but I think we’d better review the tactics for what may be coming in the wake of Kharon.”

“No problem, we can’t put the war on hold, no matter how much we wish we could. The station is on high alert, I keep squadrons on rotation and running drills. The grease monkeys are working as fast as they can to install Yanis’s modification on Alpha team squadron, while the eggheads in R&D are burning the midnight oil trying to MacGyver a working Spectre fighter so we can test the new weapon.”

“Mac who?”

“It’s a fictional character from a TV show, it means jerry-rigging a solution.”

“Fair enough. How’s that going?”

“Before coming to see you, I ended a meeting on the matter, we should be ready to test the solution in just about⁠—”

Daniel’s wrist device beeped, and he checked his portable holo-screen.

“Speak of the devil,” he added, “looks like Yanis’s shuttle just boarded.”

“You gotta go?”

Daniel sighed. “I guess so...”

“Before you do, though, and since you mentioned the grease monkeys, did you ever make a move with Allanah?”

“You mean Chief Khori?”

“You know exactly what I mean, Daniel.”

Daniel smiled. “Right... but the answer is no. At least not yet.”

“Life is short, Daniel, if you think the two of you could hit it off, you owe it to yourself to give it a try.”

“Chase, I don’t think you grasp the level at which I suck at flirting.”

“So what? You’ll stumble, she’ll laugh, and you pick it up from there. What’s the worst that can happen?”

“I can embarrass myself.”

“And? What you should really be fearful of is missing an opportunity for something great and then look back at it with regret and kicking yourself six ways to Sunday about not having the guts to at least try.”

Daniel sighed heavily. “I know… I’ll think about it.”

“Don’t think, my friend, just go for it. The worst that can happen is that she says no.”

“Right. I’d better go meet Yanis and show him to his lab.

Daniel grabbed the rest of his beer and downed it in two large gulps. “I’ll see you soon, we should do this more often.”

“Thanks for coming by Daniel… and yes, we should.”

10

“She’s near, I can sense it,” said Chris.

“So can I,” said Chase.

“I can’t believe we’re going to meet Kharon in the flesh.”

“About that…”

“Yeeeeeah?” said Chris hesitantly.

“I just want us to be on our toes in case Ashra herself has organized this. As much as I hate even going there, we can’t discount the possibility.”

“I know, truth be told, I’ve thought about it as well.”

“You have?”

“Of course. Obviously. I’m hoping that everything Kharon told me is true, but we can’t know for sure. Then again, we can’t turn our backs on family, or we’re no better than the Spectres.”

Chase put a hand on his son’s shoulder.

“Whatever happens in the coming days, I want you to know how proud I am of the man you’ve become. Never in my wildest dreams could I have hoped for someone as courageous and honorable as you are, son.”

Chris exhaled loudly through pursed lips. “Okay, that’s the last thing I expected you to say right now, but... thank you, dad. I’m proud of you too, I hope you know that.”

Chase nodded. “Do we know who’s gonna pilot the derelict Spectre ship for the testing of the Mark IV?”

“Aw shit!”

“What?”

“You’re looking at the pilot, I was so excited about meeting Kharon it slipped my mind.”

The speakers in the training room boomed to life.

“Chris Athanatos is requested in Science Lab Three,” said the unmistakably annoyed voice of Yanis.

Chase smiled. “I take it you’ll be remote flying the fighter?”

“Correct.”

“Be careful when you link with it, we don’t know anything about the Spectres’ computers and the effects they could have on our minds.”

“Yeah, Yanis already gave me that pep talk. Don’t worry, dad, I don’t intend to take any unnecessary risks.”

“Good, you’d better get going then.”

* * *

“Incoming fire!” exclaimed Menelas. “Hang on to something, I’m going evasive.”

Menelas banked hard left in order to avoid the incoming fire.

“We must be getting close,” said Ryonna, “but I don’t have a clear visual on any structures on the ground. Where the hell is the fire coming from?”

“I don’t know,” said Menelas between gritted teeth. “It looked like it materialized out of thin air just a few miles ahead.”

Two bleeps came from the radar console.

“I have two bandits, they’re moving to our six, you all may want to strap yourselves in.”

Ryonna sat to the first chair she could find and a belt deployed around her chest. Cedric sat next to her, but nothing happened.

“I don’t have a belt!” he exclaimed.

The ship rocked as Menelas was forced to dodge more enemy fire, propelling Cedric forward. Ryonna’s reflexes were on point, and she used her arm to smash his chest against the back of his chair forcefully.

“You have now,” she said.

“Ouch…” Cedric moaned, “...but thank... you.”

Menelas dodged another fire salvos before hitting the aerial breaks and positioned himself on both the enemy craft sixes.

“I cannot sense any life signs onboard these little craft,” said Ares.

“Neither can I,” said Menelas, with fires of determination burning inside his eyes.

He locked onto both craft and sent two missiles to each target. They went evasive and dodged them with ease.

“This is starting to piss me off. I’m gonna need your help, Ryonna, can you take the stick?”

With her free hand, she undid her belt, grabbed Cedric’s clothes, and lifted him a good three feet off the ground as she rose from her chair and slammed Cedric in hers in a swift and fluid movement. He gulped as the safety belt extended and secured him in.

“What the frak just happened?” he said.

But Ryonna was already on the other side of the room and switching places with Menelas. The moment she was installed, Ares teleported Menelas outside, and it didn’t take very long before he sliced the first drone in half with a fast motion of his arm, swiveled in the air, and obliterated the second bogey with a small but supersonic fireball.

Cedric frantically searched his pockets until he found a joint and a lighter, but as he tried to lit it, the ship rocked heavily, and the joint fell from his mouth.

Ten more bleeps resounded from the radar console in quick succession.

“We’ve got more company,” said Ryonna.

“Don’t want to be a party pooper, but is it too late to ask for re-assignment?” asked a panting Cedric.

“Don’t make me regret coming to your defense earlier,” mumbled Ryonna.

“I heard that!”

“Good, now shut up and let me focus on flying and making sure your ass doesn’t get blown out of the sky.”

“You—you do that,” said Cedric with a trembling voice.

“And don’t you dare crap yourself!”

Cedric sighed. “Hey, I take offense to that! Jeez… the service on board planes really has taken a dive lately, if you’ll excuse the pun.”

“Would you prefer taking the controls instead?”

“I’m good, thank you. I’ll shut up now.”

* * *

“Please tell me you have good news….” Talon hesitated, “Keera.”

“It’s not gonna be cheap, and I basically had to promise a smuggler’s captain that you’d give him a later tour of the Helios, but yeah, I got good news.”

“I’m just going to pretend I didn’t hear that. Where’s the Omicron?”

“I’m sending you its last coordinates now. You may want to hurry, though. My contact said that he detected damage upon scanning the Omicron, but he also said they’d probably be able to jump back to hyperspace within the hour.”

“I got the coordinates,” said Tar’Lock.

“Set a course,” ordered Talon, “divert all power to the engines, everything you can shove at them, and get us there.”

“Aye, Captain.”

“I can’t thank you enough, Keera.”

She smiled. “Oh, I’m sure you’ll find a way,” she said with a wink. “If that will be all?”

The Helios entered hyperspace.

“Not quite, I must admit I’m impressed with how fast you managed to locate this ship, and it so happens that we’re looking for an Asgardian ship with a renegade convoy as well. If we send you energy signatures, do you think you could try to locate them?”

“That’s gonna cost extra, but sure, send away. Keera out.”

Talon got up from his chair and jaunted to Tar’Lock’s console.

“Was she flirting with me just before?” whispered Talon to his friend.

“Not a chance, no offense, boss, but… how do I put this lightly? You’re not her type.”

“And what exactly is her type? Big bad Furies or snarky insectoids?”

Tar’Lock’s laugh was interspersed with clicks only his race’s vocal cords could deliver.

“Let’s just say you lack the amount of estrogen she looks for in a partner.”

“Oooh, I see… well played.”

Tar’Lock waved with two fingers to his captain to approach until Talon got closer.

“She’s very cute, though,” whispered Tar’Lock. “I’ll grant you that.”

That she is, thought Talon, that… she… is.

“And that green hair,” added Tar’Lock with a series of cooing clicks, “I don’t know why, but every time I see her, I feel hungry for salad.”

“Tar’Lock?”

“Yes, Cap?”

“Please stop talking.”

“It’s funny you would say that, I almost sensed this time that I should have⁠—”

“And that’s when I shot him, your honor.”

* * *

Daniel took a deep breath, swallowed hard, and walked toward the launch bay. With every step taken toward the chief, his heartbeat accelerated to the point where it felt like it was doing a speed metal rendition of the Star-Spangled Banner.

When Allanah turned around and smiled, his heart skipped a beat, but at its current stride, it only confused him even more.

“Hello, Captain, it’s been a while.”

Daniel nervously scratched the back of his head. “Yes, yes it has.”

“What can I do for you?”

Daniel was no stranger to difficult situations, at least inside a cockpit. Taking in-atmosphere hard breaks with his fighters to the point of losing consciousness, but he never thought a simple situation like this one would feel more complicated to engage with than a fight against six enemy fighters.

“Oh…. You know… just checking on the troops.”

Checking on the troops? That’s the best you could come up with? Checking on the troops?

Daniel could read the confusion on Allanah’s face, and he couldn’t blame her considering what he had just pathetically blurted out due to his last-minute cowardice.

“I don’t know about ‘the troops’, but we’re quite busy with all the rush job to upgrade an entire squadron of StarFuries to Mark IV status. You wouldn’t know anything about it, would you?”

“Uh… Well…”

She chuckled, and her cheeks got a rosy hue that made her even cuter, which Daniel hadn’t thought possible.

“I’m pulling your leg, the order we received was signed by you. You seem distracted, is everything all right?”

“Oh, yeah, I… Yeah.”

“If you say so.”

Chase’s voice filled his mind.

When I said go for it, I didn’t mean to blurt out random nonsense, Dan.

I don’t know what to say!

That is the understatement of the century. Now just repeat after me. I just wanted to come down here and ask you if you’d like to grab a drink when all the stress is over, that’s all.

I can’t.

You can, and you will. Just say it.

“I…”

“Yes?”

“Wanted to come down here and ask you… if you’d like to maybe…”

I didn’t say maybe, said Chase.

Oh, shut up. I’m doing it.

If you say so.

“You’d like,” Daniel continued, “to grab a drink⁠—”

“I’d love to, how’s 2200 sound? If we’re not under attack, that is.”

“Sounds… sounds good.”

“You don’t do that very often, do you?”

“Do what?” asked Daniel with a gulp.

“Ask a gal out.”

“Is it that obvious?”

“Depends, you want the nice answer or the truth?”

The nice answer, said Chase.

Why are you still here? She said yes, now go away.

No can do, I’m just having too much fun, buddy, sorry.

“The truth, obviously, always the truth.”

“I could tell from the moment I saw you walk in here. But hey, I think it’s cute when big shot fighter pilots lose all their composure in front of a grease monkey. I do hear it’s a turnoff for most women, though. I guess I’m not your typical woman, I kind of like sensitive people.”

Told you to go for the nice answer.

Daniel had a hard time ignoring his best friend laughing in his thoughts. But eventually, he managed to tune him out.

“That’s good to know. I—I’d better go now, we both have our part to play in the upcoming test of the Mark IV.”

“Aye, Captain, see you later at Starbrite.”

“Starbrite?”

“The name of the station’s bar… unless you had something more intimate in mind,” she said playfully, her entire face glowing.

“Right… no, I mean yes… Starbrite it is.”

Smooth, said Chase.

Shut up, I’ve locked on target.

11

Chris didn’t think interfacing with the Spectre starfighter would be anything like he was feeling. Dark thoughts and unease threatened his sanity at every turn. But eventually, after a few minutes, he managed to get used to it.

Probably the toughest part of the exercise was that he somehow got a small glimpse of what his mother probably was going through, trapped inside her own body, subjected to probably a hundredfold more darkness and evil. That thought alone terrified him, but at the same time, it motivated him to do whatever they could to try to rescue her from this nightmare.

Chris brought the ship far enough from the station so that the testing could begin.

“Ready for me to fire on the ship?” asked a familiar voice.

“Daniel? Weren’t you supposed to be in Command & Control for the test?”

“Yeah, I changed my mind, might as well test the Mark IV myself.”

“I’m surprised you volunteered after what happened during the last test.”

“Yeah, well, this isn’t the same, we’re not yet under attack, and I can eject at any time. Though, I must admit I wouldn’t mind if you kept an eye on my ship while we do this, you know, just in case.”

“Sure thing. All right, so what’s the plan then? You shoot the timelapse cannon and then destroy the fighter?”

“Not quite, let’s see how the Spectre craft reacts to the new weapon first, ideally a few times to get as much usable sensor data as we can before we blow up our only testing toy.”

“Since I’m having my mind merged with the ship’s bio-computer at the moment, I can tell you that toy is the last word I would have chosen to describe it.”

“Oh, right... Sorry, you know what I meant, though.”

“No worries, let’s just try to do this thing quickly, the sooner I disconnect from this infernal machine, the better.”

“Roger that, locking the timelapse cannon now…. and... firing.”

Daniel’s StarFury unleashed the new weapon that looked like a multicolored energy sphere. Upon impact, the Spectre ship froze in place for barely a second from the appearance in the outside world, but what Chris experienced was quite different and painful. His mind was subjected to the time warp as well, with his conscious mind outside of the bubble, and the part inside the ship had slowed time to a crawl. It took a strain on his focus that he wasn’t prepared for.

“Holy crap, that wasn’t pleasant,” said Chris.

“Are you all right? If it’s too much, you can release your grasp on the ship, and we go with sensor readings alone. Your dad will kick my ass if you get brain damage.”

“I’ll be fine, don’t worry, if it’s too much, I’ll disconnect on my own accord.”

“Please do so, and don’t overdo it.”

“Roger that. The sensation is weird, as two parts of my brain run differently at different time speeds, and that is part disorienting and part painful because of the extra focus I need to apply.”

“Then perhaps you should not attempt it again.”

“I’m fine, I’m self-healing on the fly, don’t worry. Let’s just get these tests over with.”

Daniel repeated the test a few times until Spiros told him he had all the scans he needed to perfect the tech, so it was time for the kill shot part of the test.

Chris, meanwhile, had to exert more and more mental energy just to stay focused enough while healing himself nearly constantly in order to keep up.

“Last one,” said Daniel. “I recommend you disconnect just before the timelapse cannon hits the shields, I don’t think you should risk having your mind connected when the ship explodes.”

“Seeing how mushy my brain already is, I’m not gonna argue with your suggestion.”

“Good. Ready?”

“Go for it.”

Daniel shot with the new weapon and switched to plasma cannons and fired again. The Spectre ship froze in place, and the first plasma shot to penetrate the shields blew the ship inside the bubble. The resulting explosion leaked into the normal flow of time and looked like it was suppressed greatly from what had first appeared from inside the time warp bubble.

“And we have a kill,” said Daniel. “Great job. All good on your side, Chris?”

There was no answer.

“Chris, come in?”

The next voice over the comms was Spiros. “Medical emergency in Science Lab Three, two to beam directly to med-bay.”

* * *

Menelas tore through the next wave of drone ships with extreme prejudice, and it barely took a minute to reduce the enemy craft to dust.

He could feel his rage being fueled by the presence of Diaspira in the area. Once the sky was clear, he looked around, trying to figure out where they had come from.

“I think the entire area in front of us must be cloaked,” he said over the comms.

“That would explain why they appeared out of nowhere and were upon us instantly,” said Ryonna.

“It also means that whatever technology this place has to offer, Diaspira found it first and is already in control of it.”

“I’m not so sure.”

“Why would you say that?”

“Well, these weren’t exactly extraordinary craft by any stretch of the imagination.”

“For a Fury perhaps, but our shuttle wasn’t exactly a match for them, and seeing how small they are, I could easily imagine an Atlantian destroyer with the capacity to carry tens of thousands of them, if not more.”

“Death by a thousand cuts, as the humans say.”

“Exactly. When sheer power doesn’t work, it’s usually compensated by swarming numbers. In fact, that’s how the Ferogot once foolishly attacked my world.”

“Atlantian or not, we have to find the source and deal with that Diaspira character before she finds out more deadly things to throw at us.”

Menelas and Ares rematerialized inside the shuttle, scaring the crap out of Cedric in the process.

“You could say something before just appearing out of thin air,” he protested.

“Sorry,” said Ares. “Yanis never seemed to mind all that much.”

“Oh, if Yanis didn’t mind…” said Cedric with a derogatory tone.

“Aren’t the two of you friends?” asked Ares.

“Of course, we are, what kind of question is that?”

“You could have fooled me... Would you mind scanning the area and telling us where to go next since it seems apparent that we can’t trust our eyes?”

“I second that,” said Ryonna, “and who knows what booby traps we could trigger in the process.”

Cedric mumbled something incomprehensible in his beard while he brought a set of holo-controls in front of him and went to work. After a few minutes, he had something to report.

Cedric brushed the chin part of his beard. “There seems to be an intense force field, one that doubles as a cloak, and you were right worrying about booby traps. The field seems to go on for miles. If we had just flown straight toward the coordinates, then the shuttle would have been obliterated. There is, however, a small path within the field that’s navigable.”

“That doesn’t make any sense,” said Menelas. “Why attack us and save our lives in the process?”

“Perhaps it’s not Diaspira who launched the drones?” Ares proposed.

“It doesn’t matter right now, what does is for us to accomplish our mission and find out what is located at the target coordinates,” said Ryonna. “So where do I fly?”

“I’m afraid you don’t,” said Cedric. “The passage is quite windy, and the turns are too narrow for us to risk flying through manually. Let me program the flight path into the shuttle’s autopilot instead.”

* * *

“Long-range sensors are now able to scan the destination coordinates,” said Tar’Lock.

“Is the Omicron still there?” asked Talon.

“It is, but it looks like their hyperspace engines could be repaired before we reach their position. If they use jammers before their next jump, we’ll lose them again.”

“We can’t allow that to happen.”

“I’m not sure we have any choice in the matter.”

“Unless…”

Talon brought up his chair’s holo-screen and checked the star map.

“Get me Thor on the line.”

“Channel opened.”

“Thor, this is Captain Epizon of the EAD Helios, we need your help.”

“Hello, Captain, how can Asgard help you?”

“We have a renegade ship at the far edge of your territory, and they’re minutes away from being able to jump away. That cannot be allowed to happen. They’ve been infected with the Droxian bio-cybernetic plague.”

“I thought this had been contained, are you telling me differently?”

“As far as Droxia is concerned, your intel is correct. They’re out of the woods, but this rogue ship and Siegfried’s ships have the technology onboard. We need to find them both and destroy any remains of this outbreak.”

Thor’s facial tattoos flashed intensely at the mention of his Guard nemesis.

“Indeed, we do. Please hang on the line while I verify something…”

The bridge was silent in anticipation for a little over a minute.

“As you probably know already, we don’t have a destroyer in the area. However, I’ve intensified our scanning range to make sure that we could track the ship’s hyperspace vector should it leave before your arrival. Unless…”

“Unless what?” asked Talon.

“I’ve only recently been made aware of a secret base in a nearby asteroid field. Perhaps there’s something on this base that could be of use to try to stop the threat.”

“Why don’t we have that base on our star maps?”

“What part of secret wasn’t clear, Captain?”

“With all due respect, Thor, I don’t think the Asgardians should have any secrets from the rest of the Alliance.”

“Seeing how we’re all united against the same goal, I agree with you, but this was a side project from my late brother, and he didn’t exactly play by the rules when he was alive.”

“In that case, whatever you can do to prevent that ship from getting away would be highly appreciated. I don’t think I need to tell you that this ship must be destroyed at all costs.”

“No, you don’t, Captain. I’ll take care of this right away. Thor out.”

The holo-screen turned off.

“He’ll take care of it?” asked Tar’Lock. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“Let’s hope it means exactly what he said. Though, I’m willing to grant you that he could have been a little more forthcoming as far as sharing the data with us is concerned. Then again, it’s kind of the Asgardians way to deal with things.”

“So what do we do? Should we let them deal with the problem and rejoin the rest of the ships in the protection of Alkyon One?”

“Not a chance, have the engineers push the engines by another twenty percent if they have to, but we’re not dropping the mission until I can personally identify the smoldering debris of the Omicron.”

“If the Asgardians manage to disable the ship, perhaps we should try to rescue the crew.”

“Normally, that would be the ideal scenario, Tar’Lock, but Gaia’s nanite cure was programmed to work on Droxian physiology, and as much as it pains me to admit it, I don’t think we can afford to take the chance that it wouldn’t work on other races.”

I’m afraid the crew of the Omicron has to be considered as collateral damage.

* * *

Chase had to use a lot of healing energy to heal parts of Chris’s brain.

Chris slowly regained consciousness on the floor of med-bay.

“What happened?” said a groggy Chris.

“You tell us... I thought you said you’d disconnect before the ship blew up?”

“And I thought I did. I guess I miscalculated the time it took for my link to be fully severed from that... computer thingy. Though truth be told, it felt more organic than like a machine.”

Chase helped Chris off the cold hard floor.

“What makes you say that?”

“Just the emotional feedback I sensed while connecting to it. It felt more like a presence and less like our computers. I’ve also linked with AIs, and that also felt quite different. For lack of a better word, it felt malevolent.”

“I guess there goes the option of us trying to stop any of Ashra’s ships with our mind powers then.”

“I can confirm that would be a fool’s errand, seeing the effect such a small ship had on my mind. I’m afraid any attempt to do something similar on a ship the size of their motherships would be the equivalent of brain suicide.”

“At least now we know it’s not an option.”

“I don’t think it ever was, seeing as their shields wouldn’t let a mental link through. I only managed to remote control the ship because I initially did it while its shields were down. The moment I raised them is when my brain started frying at an accelerated pace.”

“Perhaps you should consider making a short cycle in the regen tank then, just to be sure?”

“If this was any other day, I’d say that’s not a bad idea, but I can sense Kharon more and more, I think she’s near.”

“I concur, she should be here soon.”

* * *

Thor punched the console in front of him out of frustration.

“I’ve been told this troubleshooting method rarely works,” said Poseidon. “What’s up, Thor, why are you so mad?”

“I managed to establish a subspace link with one of my brother’s secret labs, but I can’t get the computer there to comply with my requests.”

“Is that the base located near the rogue ship the Alliance is after?”

“Yes. And I’ve tried all hacking tricks I can think of, but I still can’t get access to the research on board the station.”

“Why don’t we go there directly, then? Your ships are the fastest things in the universe, are they not?”

“Second to those space whales in the unknown regions at least.”

“I gotta say I’m still not sure what’s with these things.”

“I guess we still have a lot to learn about how certain things work. Looks like the Atlantians had a much better understanding than we do about the rules that govern the universe. As for going there, I’m afraid we wouldn’t make it on time.”

“And you think the answer to stopping that ship lies on board that research station?”

“If Loki worked on it behind my back, chances are good that there’s something we can use there. At the very least to prevent them from leaving before the Helios gets there.”

“Didn’t you tell them you’d take care of it?”

“He’s an Alliance captain, that answer won’t satisfy him, I read it in his eyes.”

“You read it in his eyes?” said Poseidon with a raised eyebrow.

“That and our sensors are still reading the Helios on course to that system.”

“Wouldn’t it have been easier to tell them to stay on course in the first place, you know, avoid a misunderstanding?”

But Thor didn’t answer and kept entering commands and touching rune-shaped icons on his holo-screen.

“I really need to brush up on my Asgardian,” said Poseidon. “I’ve got no idea what you’re doing.”

“Hang on… what’s that?”

The holo-screen turned radiant green except for a shape in the center of the screen.

“I don’t believe it,” said Thor.

“You know what that means?”

Thor grabbed a necklace from under his armor and ripped the golden chain from around his neck. The pendant was an exact match for the shape on the screen.

“What is that?” asked Poseidon.

“The only thing I have left from Loki. I just couldn’t bear not saving a keepsake to remember him by. He was wearing it when he was killed.”

Thor carefully placed the pendant on the holo-screen.

“Is it wise to try this withou⁠—“

But Poseidon never finished his question. Blue lighting bolts emerged from the holo-screen and snagged the pendant in a flash. Glowing green light covered Thor, and Poseidon barely had time to touch his friend’s shoulder before they both disappeared into thin air.

12

Chase and Chris both stared through the glass of the C&C’s large viewport. They were standing a few meters in front of the main elevated platform where Daniel was commanding the room.

“We’re detecting a ship exiting hyperspace,” said a senior officer.

“Do we have a signature yet?” asked Daniel.

“We don’t need one,” said Chris. “It’s my sister, I can sense her.”

“So do I,” said Chase.

“Signature is a match for Spectre’s spider ship,” replied the officer. “Interceptor class.”

“The smallest of their ships, aside from their fighters, that is,” said Chris.

“Makes sense she would steal that class of a ship,” continued Chase, “as far as we know, their fighters can’t jump to hyperspace.”

“That’s all well and good,” said Daniel, “but what about any ships in pursuit?”

“Detecting another hyperspace window forming,” said the officer.

“Here they come, set condition red,” said Daniel. “Launch Alpha Squadron and have them switch their primary weapons to timelapse cannon. They know the drill, people. Raise shields and activate the Heracles automated defense turrets.”

The command and control room was plunged into a soft crimson light all around them.

Alpha squadron launched from Alkyon One and headed toward the non-cloaked spider ship. A larger hyperspace window formed a few thousand kilometers in the smaller ship’s wake from which emerged the massive Spectre mothership.

“Shields are up, turrets online,” said the tactical officer. “The mothership has dispatched a squadron of fighters, they’re locking on the spider ship.”

“Alpha Squadron,” said Daniel. “This is your captain speaking, engage the enemy starfighters at once.”

“We’re being hailed,” said the comms officer.

“On screen.”

The face of a young woman, probably at the dawn of adulthood, with black and red hair appeared on the screen.

“Please don’t shoot, I mean you no harm. Please help, I’m being pursued.”

Chris stepped in front of the holo-cam.

“We know, Kharon, head toward launch bay three, we’re sending you the coordinates now. We’ll drop the shields just long enough for you to board the station. Don’t worry about the mothership, we’ll deal with it.”

“Chris, thank the gods you’re here. Are you sure you can repel it? Its firepower is beyond anything you can imagine. I’ve seen it take out entire planets once Ashra had assimilated all of their souls.”

“Don’t worry about it, there’s nothing you can do. All that matters is that you escaped her and you’re back home. We’ll deal with her.”

“I could at least try to help your fighters dispatch the squadron on my tail.”

“That’s a negative. Our squadron has a new weapon that will take care of their forces, and they’ll make sure Ashra doesn’t shoot you down before you board the station. This station is also equipped with stronger guns to deal with the mothership if it comes to that.”

Let’s hope it’s enough, though, said Chase inside Chris’s mind.

It has to.

Alpha Squadron engaged the enemy Spectre fighters with their new weapons. It took the pilots a few tries to manage to kill some of them, as it was a new tactic they weren’t used to deploying, but with the timelapse cannon, they eventually made short change of the first wave. The second wave never came.

“I’m detecting the mothership is powering up their main weapons,” said the tactical officer. “The readings I’m getting are off the scale, I’m not sure the shields will be able to sustain it for very long.”

“Hopefully, they won’t have to,” said Daniel before turning to his comms officer. “Make the call.”

The comms officer nodded and entered a command on her holo-screen.

Thirty-plus hyperspace windows formed all around the station with a mix of Earth Alliance, Fury, and Asgardian destroyers and dreadnoughts flashing into existence.

“Alliance fleet is locking weapons onto the mothership,” said the tactical officer.

“Now, let’s hope they get the message,” said Daniel.

The mothership turned around and reopened a hyperspace window. Shortly after, the window swallowed the massive ship.

Daniel let a long sigh of relief escape him.

“They ran,” said Chris. “I didn’t expect them to turn tail and run away so quickly.”

“Neither did I,” said Daniel, “but we did provide a show of force, as well as demonstrating a new tech that could give them food for thought before returning. Because even if we know that we can’t deploy that same weapon to target the mothership, they certainly don’t.”

Chase rubbed his chin. “Either that or this was always their plan.”

“How so? What kind of plan would that be?” asked Daniel.

“I don’t know, I just have a strange feeling about it, that’s all.”

“Oh, crap… every time you have one of these, the shit tends to hit the fan… hard.”

* * *

“We’re out of the safe path,” said Cedric. “You can resume manual control now if you want to, Ryonna.”

“Roger that, but where do we go now⁠—“

As Ryonna was finishing her question, a structure appeared in the distance.

“Is that what I think it is?” asked Menelas.

“Looks like a pyramid to me,” said Cedric. “But the real question here is what the hell is a pyramid doing in the unknown regions? Unless the right question is: why do we have some of these on Earth? Perhaps by visiting this one, it will help us answer that age-old question about their true origins.”

“Whatever it is, it’s at the exact coordinates we had fed the navigational computer,” said Menelas, who had since then sat beside Ryonna as her copilot. “Something doesn’t track, though.”

“What do you mean?” asked Ryonna.

“I’m not sensing Diaspira inside this structure, yet I can still feel her presence. That’s the most peculiar sensation. It’s like she’s there, but at the same time, she’s not. Ares, what about you?”

“I concur, and I couldn’t have put it better myself. She’s somewhere around, but not inside the pyramid, at least not right now. Any way we can do a deep scan around the structure?”

Ryonna ran a set of commands. “I’m not getting any readings outside of the pyramid, but they don’t make any sense, the power readings we had earlier were off the scale compared to what we’re detecting now. I don’t understand how this is possible.”

“Perhaps we detected the cloak-slash-force field we traveled through,” proposed Menelas.

“I don’t think so,” said Cedric. “If I’m reading my instruments right, our sensors are being jammed… somehow.”

“Wouldn’t that prevent us from detecting the pyramid in the first place if they were being jammed?” asked Ryonna.

“That’s why I said somehow. It may be a localized jamming field to hide a larger structure.”

“If there is a larger structure, I sure can’t see it.”

“Unless it’s located under the pyramid itself,” added Menelas.

“Only one way to find out,” said Cedric. “We should investigate the pyramid, it may contain clues to elucidate these mysterious readings.”

“Sounds like a plan, I’ll set the shuttle down next to its entrance.”

A minute later, the team exited the shuttle and walked toward an entrance on one side of the massive pyramid. It looked much smaller from the sky, and its sheer scale only became apparent when the team landed next to it. Dusk was setting on this world, and beams of blue light shot from triangular carvings and into the sky. The entrance looked like a simple doorway but was shining blue light onto the approaching party from its visible, semi-transparent force field.

“Stay on your toes,” said Ryonna. “We have no idea what defenses we’re about to encounter.”

Before the team reached about twenty feet from the doorway, they were scanned by a fast wave of blue laser light, the doorway force field flashed red, and an intense shockwave sent everyone but Ares crashing dozens of feet away.

* * *

Nyx stepped in front of Chase and Chris, forcing them to stop in their tracks.

“Are you both out of your damn minds?” she exclaimed.

“What the hell are you talking about?” asked Chris.

“You’re letting a Spectre board this station… willingly? And why the hell wasn’t I informed of this?”

“Perhaps because we knew this was exactly how you’d react,” said Chase, “and that we wouldn’t expect you to understand the concept of family.”

Her eyes glowed a bright red. “You two are the reason I don’t have a family anymore.”

“Look,” said Chris, “we know we have to proceed carefully, but we also need to make the decision we believe is right. Now please, Nyx, let us pass.”

She raised an accusing finger. “If you ever keep me out of the loop on something as major as this, you can forget about your alliance with my people.”

“We don’t have time for this,” said Chase. “This alliance, however temporary it ends up holding, benefits your people just as much as it does ours, so stop wasting our time with empty threats and move aside, now is not the time.”

You should know by now that there’s nothing empty about my threats.

“This ain’t over,” said Nyx with a growl before eventually moving aside.

“It never is with you,” said Chase as they ran past the Fury warrior.

* * *

Thor looked around to see Poseidon holding his shoulder.

“What the hell just happened?” asked Poseidon.

“I think we teleported inside my brother’s secret lab.”

“How is that even possible? Isn’t it too far out of range?”

“I have no idea, and yes, it should have been.”

“Which begs the question: couldn’t we have used this tech to help him save both Asgard and his life when the Guards attacked? That is... if he had told you about this technology?”

“I know my brother, if he could have used this station to beam us in Asgard when Grunhild attacked, he would have done so. Either it wasn’t feasible in the current situation we all were in, or there is something special about this place that allowed this transport to take place. Either way, we’d better find out since this technology could be very useful in the fight against our enemies. But for the time being, we need to figure out what other surprise Loki’s secret projects hold and how we can use them to destroy that rogue ship.”

“Hello, brother,” said a familiar voice.

Thor swallowed hard as he turned around. His heart skipped a beat, and for a faint moment, he thought he would see his brother in the flesh. But his hopes were short-lived. A semi-translucent hologram of his brother stood there, with a smile on his face.”

“If you’re here,” said Loki, “it probably means I’m dead.”

Thor nodded solemnly. “I’m afraid so. And on that subject, I’m sorry we couldn’t save you.”

“We?”

“I was there too,” said Poseidon.

“Well, well,” said Loki, “whatever the situation was, I thank you for trying, Olympian.”

“You can call me by my name, which is Poseidon. I’ve always found addressing people by their race or creed to be cringe-worthy.”

“My apologies, I’ve updated my holo-matrix with this new piece of information, Poseidon. What can I do for... well, the both of you? I take it that if you must be here for a reason. May I assume that has anything to do with the ship within my sensor range?”

“Yes, we need to either disable or destroy it, and fast,” said Thor.

“Destroying it might be an issue, but I think there’s something that can be done to make sure it doesn’t leave the area. It’s not without risks, however.”

“What kind of risks?”

“I’ve built this particular research station due to the high concentration of exotic particles contained within this asteroid field. As far as I know, it’s truly unique to this area of space and from all the charted systems we know about. It allows me to do things that go way beyond the limitation of pentalium-based technology.”

“That would explain why you managed to teleport us here all the way from Asgard,” said Poseidon.

“Correct.”

“Can you send us anywhere in the galaxy from here?” asked Thor.

“No, the limit is about the distance you’ve just traveled now, give or take a few light-years. Beyond that, we risk a cascade failure of the algorithm controlling the power fluctuation of these exotic particles, which could have dire consequences.”

“In Asgardian, please, Loki.”

“He means,” said Poseidon, “that if we try to go farther than this, either this station could blow up, or we could lose our lives. Perhaps both.”

“Poseidon is correct, not to mention we would risk opening a tear in the very fabric of space-time for this entire region of space.”

“All right, let’s table the technobabble for the time being and tell me how to stop that ship. Let’s start by listing the risks you mentioned earlier.”

“I’ve been working on a super powerful tractor beam, taking advantage of the same power boost I’ve managed to infuse in this particular transporter technology. The risks are simple: if the enemy finds any countermeasure to the tractor beam, it may overload the power flow generator⁠—”

“Boom,” said Poseidon.

“Precisely.”

13

“Aaarg,” said Cedric as he tried to get up.

“What the hell was that?” asked Ryonna, already on her feet, dusting the sand off her armor.

Menelas helped Cedric back to his feet.

“You gonna be all right?”

“I guess I’ll live,” said Cedric, grimacing.

Cedric brought up a screen on his wrist holo-device, but the image flickered.

“Great, I damaged my gear.”

“Do you need mine?” asked Menelas, “I can’t remember the last time I used it.”

Cedric worked on his for a moment, managing to stabilize the flickering to a minimum. “Not right now, but thanks. Mine is a customized version with tools the standard editions don’t have.”

Menelas flicked his holo-screen. “Perhaps, but mine resisted the impact.”

Ares appeared in front of them. “Everybody okay?”

“It was just unexpected,” said Menelas.

“Cedric,” asked Ryonna, “we need you to find and disable whatever defense system prevented us from even walking through the door.”

“What do you think I’ve been doing all this time, ordering a pizza? I’m already on it, but I’ll need a few…”

“Seconds, minutes, days?” continued Menelas.

Cedric couldn’t hide his frustration and expressed it by exhaling deeply as he kept working on his holo-terminals. A couple of minutes later, a loud humming noise echoed around them.

“What’s that noise?” asked Ares.

“That would be the force field I’ve erected around us. I calibrated its frequency to mimic the same signature as the drones that attacked us earlier. If my theory is correct and the drones are of Atlantian design, then the next time we are scanned, it shouldn’t trigger any countermeasures.”

“Good thinking,” said Menelas.

“Let’s celebrate after we have tested it,” countered Ares.

“Well,” said Ryonna, “there’s only one way to find out.”

The team tentatively walked toward the doorway again. As before, a crystal over the doorway sent a scanning ray toward the team. Unlike the first time, the scan lasted longer, scanning them twice, then three times, before the force field turned red.

“Aw sh—“ said Cedric before the shockwave sent him and Ryonna flying again.

Menelas fared better by staying upright, but the force of the impact still made him skid back a few yards.

“Okay,” he said, “I’ve just about had it with that door.”

He fired a powerful fireball toward the crystal, but a small spherical shield deflected the attack. He grew his aura more and sent a much bigger fireball at the crystal. This attack made it through the shields, and the crystal exploded. The blue force field flickered for a second or two before dropping.

Ryonna was already returning with a limping Cedric at her side. Cedric’s face was covered in dust.

Menelas healed his wounds before turning to Ryonna, who objected.

“No need, I’m good.”

“Thanks,” said Cedric, his voice already stronger. “For future reference, I vote that we adopt Menelas’s approach directly next time.”

“Since we’re dealing with unknown technology,” said Ares, “it may be prudent to try a soft touch first. There’s a good chance that all of these automated defense systems are run by an AI, and the more we blow shit up, the more chances it will see us as a threat and amp its measures.”

“That ship probably sailed already,” said Cedric.

“Unless it’s not an AI in control,” said Ares.

* * *

Chase and Chris arrived in the launch bay just in time to see Kharon step out of her ship.

“Kharon!” said Chris running toward her.

Careful, son, warned Chase in his mind.

But Chris didn’t listen and took his sister in his arms.

“It’s so good to see and hold you finally,” he said.

Kharon’s eyes were watery. “It’s good to see you too, brother.”

Chase approached at a more relaxed pace and joined in the embrace.

“Dad,” she said, “thank you both for saving my life. If you hadn’t sent me your energy when I was still in the womb, I don’t think I could have survived, let alone find the strength to escape later on. Though I must admit, I didn’t expect Ashra to turn tail and run.”

“I fear that particular respite won’t last very long,” said Chase.

“At least we didn’t have to engage an entire fleet into a massive battle today.” said Chris, “so let’s count our blessings.”

“Ashra may have a trio of fully functional motherships,” said Kharon, “but she doesn’t have the capability to build any more of them.”

“For now,” said Chase. “We have to make sure we destroy what she has before she figures out a way to grow her fleet.”

Chase sensed his son was about to mention the Gorgar and mentally stopped him.

No, let’s not... we can’t discuss such things with her until we know we can trust her.

I trust her.

I know, but please, son, let’s not take any necessary risks, okay?

Fair enough.

“You must be exhausted,” said Chase as he caressed his daughter’s hair gently, “let us show you to your quarters.”

Kharon nodded. “Thanks. However, before I rest, if it’s okay, I’m really starving, I’ve basically never eaten anything, at least not the way you consider food.”

“Pizza for three, then?” Chris proposed.

Kharon cocked her head to the side, intrigued. “What’s pizza?”

“You’ll love it,” said Chase.

* * *

“I’m detecting a power build-up in the Omicron’s hyperspace engine,” said the holographic Loki. “The power is fluctuating, indicating that their repairs are still incomplete, but I don’t think they care about that.”

“How soon can you grab them with the tractor beam?” asked Thor.

“As a matter of fact, I’m ready now.”

“Then what are you waiting for?”

“I just want to reiterate my previous warning. Because this technology will push the power generation to its limits, I won’t be able to beam you back to Asgard if something goes wrong.”

“You won’t have to, we can survive in space, at least for a little while. Where’s the nearest planet from here?”

“With a breathable atmosphere? Ten light-years away.”

“That could be a problem,” said Poseidon.

“Then we just have to make sure nothing happens to this facility,” countered Thor. “It doesn’t matter if there are risks, we need to prevent them from leaving, so let’s grab that ship.”

A loud humming noise made the asteroid inside which Loki’s lab was located tremble heavily. Thor and Poseidon witnessed a large green beam of energy hit Omicron full force.

“And we’re sure they can’t jump and rip the tractor beam in the process?” asked Poseidon.

Loki’s hologram brought up a series of holo-screens around him and studied them for a short moment before answering.

“I would just like to say that it’s a little late to ask that question. Fortunately, the beam is interfering with their quadrinium chamber, just as I had predicted it would, so no, they’re not going anywhere.”

“Huh… what are those?” asked Poseidon, pointing a finger toward the main holo-screen, acting as a viewport inside the lab.

“Twenty-seven torpedoes are on their way to our coordinates, they’ll reach us in under three minutes,” said Loki.

“Can the shields sustain that many?” asked Thor.

“If we weren’t using all that power on the tractor beam, yes. Right now, not a chance.”

“I’m afraid to ask. How many can they take?”

“Zero, I’m afraid.”

“What?? You can’t be serious! What do we do now?”

“It would seem,” said Loki, “that our best option would be to release the tractor beam and redirect all power to the shields before they reach the station. The lab will probably suffer heavy damage, but at full power, the shields should be able to protect us, somehow.”

“There’s no us,” complained Poseidon, “you’re just made of photons!”

“It’s a little more complicated than that, and I’d like to point out that I take small offense to your comment, but I suppose there is some truth to what you are saying.”

“This was a bad idea,” snarled Poseidon.

“Good or bad, we have to do something about it,” countered Thor. “Loki, can you beam us out?”

“As I explained before, the energy requirements are too massive for me to do both. My scans also indicate that even if I were to drop the tractor beam for a few seconds, it would be more than enough time for the Omicron to jump away.”

“We’re not dropping the tractor beam,” said Thor calmly.

“We’re not?” said Poseidon with a bit of a trembling voice.

Thor didn’t bother replying, “Loki, I’m not talking about beaming us to Asgard, but what about sending us halfway from here to the torpedoes?”

“If I remodulate the intensity of the beam,” said Loki, “I could divert enough energy to do so, yes.”

“Then don’t waste any more time explaining to us how it works, and just do it. Poseidon, I suggest you erect a large enough force field around you now.”

“I’m not a Fury or an Asgardian, for that matter!”

“Just think about it, and your new arm will make it happen.”

To Poseidon’s surprise, a force field did envelop him the moment he thought about it. A split second later, they both disappeared from the lab.

* * *

“The Omicron’s jump engines have stalled,” said Tar’Lock.

“That’s not good,” said Talon. “Do we have any idea why?”

“I just received a subspace transmission from Thor saying that while they managed to prevent the ship from escaping, they still need our help to take it out.”

“A good thing we didn’t change our plans,” said Talon.

“Certainly looks that way.”

“ETA to our destination?”

“We’re five minutes away, but engineering reports we’ve sustained more damage than they’d hoped as a result for pushing the ship’s hyperspace engines so far past specifications.”

“As long as weapons and shields are working at peak capacity, I don’t care if we have to stop for repairs in the aftermath of the engagement, make sure the engineering team understands that.”

“Roger that, Captain.”

* * *

When Daniel entered the Starbrite bar, it didn’t take long for his eyes to lock into Allanah’s table. She was wearing a beautiful black dress that gave her a completely different presence than the usual attire Daniel was used to seeing her in.

All of a sudden, Daniel felt underdressed in his standard-issue uniform.

Should he have changed into more casual wear? He wondered.

“Hi,” is all he managed to come up with for his first words.

“Captain, please sit down.”

“We’re off duty, you don’t have to call me captain. Daniel will do. And may I say, you look stunning in that dress.”

“As opposed to?”

Daniel’s complexion changed, and he lost most of his color.

Allanah chuckled and frantically waved both hands at him.

“I’m sorry… I’m just pulling your leg, you are such an easy target.”

“Pheew, for a moment I thought I had made a faux pas of some kind.”

“Ironic, isn’t it? That you’d think being a perfect gentleman could be perceived as something wrong? As for the compliment: Thank you.”

“You’re perfectly welcome, what will you have?”

She waved a conically shaped glass in front of her smile.

“Already got mine.”

Daniel tried activating holo-controls on the glass table, but nothing happened.

“This ain’t this sort of bar. Janet!” shouted Alannah.

A stylish brunette with thin-framed glasses and long hair came to their table.

“Hi, Captain, I’m Janet, and I will be your waitress tonight. What can I get you?”

With the overall stress of a first date, Daniel had no idea what he wanted to drink, and so the time seemed to stretch to eternity until he made up his mind.

“A beer, please.”

“We have thirty-five different kinds, any preference?”

“Pick one at random for me, please.”

“One random beer, coming up.”

Daniel swallowed hard. He almost regretted not having Chase ride along in his mind as his wingman, even with the thick layer of sarcasm that came with it the last time he helped him in securing this date. But Chase had a first meeting of sorts as well, with his daughter.

“Speaking of clothing attire,” said Allanah, “I seem to recall seeing you in that outfit of yours, once or twice.”

“Sorry, I probably should have put on something less formal. It’s the first time I have come to this place, and I didn’t know how to dress.”

Daniel looked around and saw a lot of crew members and visitors enjoying themselves. In fact, the bar was pretty packed.

“That’s a little strange for the commander of this station, don’t you think?”

“Let’s just say I’m not much for social gatherings in general, and well, lately, it’s been a little busy on the station.”

“So I’ve heard.”

“Why is this place called Starbrite? I’m unfamiliar with the name.”

“It comes from a popular Earth movie, The Last Starfighter. Actually, I know the person who runs this place well, and since it’s one of my favorite movies, I suggested the name to him.”

“I have watched quite a few movies after the end of the Fury Wars, but that one doesn’t ring a bell. Then again, it’s incredible how many there are to choose from.”

“I’ll grant you that, we humans like our entertainment. Perhaps I can show that particular one to you one day if you like stories that happen in space with the little guy winning against all odds.”

“I’d love to, thank you.”

Janet returned with a color-shifting and bubbling liquid that had Daniel surprised.

“You did ask me to choose one for you,” said Janet. “Enjoy.”

Daniel took the glass in his hand and studied his drink.

“I guess next time, I will come with the name of the exact beer I want to drink.”

“Don’t let appearances fool you, that’s one hell of a brew.”

14

“That pizza thing was delicious, thank you,” said Kharon.

“You’re welcome,” said Chase. “Would it be okay if I left the two of you for the rest of the evening? I gotta touch base with Kvasir on something time-sensitive.”

“Absolutely,” said Chris. “I’ll show Kharon to her quarters, don’t worry, dad.”

Chase smiled at Kharon. “Welcome home. I’ll catch up with you tomorrow, okay?”

“Absolutely, good night, dad.”

“Good night, Kharon. I’m so glad you’re back with us.”

Chase drank the last of his soda and left the table.

“Is he all right?” asked Kharon.

“Yeah, why do you ask?”

“I don’t know. You seem pretty comfortable with my presence, but I’m not sure dad is. It feels like he’s not entirely natural around me. Hopefully, I’m just imagining it.”

“You have to put yourself in his shoes. You’re his second child, and in both cases, he never saw them be born or grow from baby to adulthood. By the time he first saw me, I already looked like an adolescent. And today, there you are, and it’s happening to him again.”

“I must admit I hadn’t thought about that... I guess that must be quite strange. But then again, imagine how I feel?”

“I’m probably the only person in the universe that can.”

“Right, silly me. But are you sure that’s the only reason he’s slightly distant with me?”

Chris frowned. “It’s hard to say. You’re probably reminding him of Sarah too. You do look a lot like mom.”

“That would make sense. I’m sorry if my presence is bringing both of you some sad feelings. This is all quite new to me, you know?”

“Don’t you worry about us, we’re just happy the family is growing and that you could escape Ashra’s grasp. It must have been quite the ordeal.”

Her gaze fell on the table.

“I didn’t know if I would make it out of there alive. If it wasn’t for the both of you, I don’t think I would have. I’d probably be tortured or brainwashed right now.”

Chris put his hand on her shoulder. “You don’t need to fear this fate anymore. We would never let anything happen to you for as long as we draw breath. That’s a promise, little sister.”

Kharon did her best to smile, but Chris could feel she wasn’t feeling reassured by his words.

* * *

Thor threw Mjölnir at the incoming torpedoes and smashed five of them in one well-calculated arching throw.

Poseidon struggled to aim and shoot down more than a single torpedo at a time.

“This is insane!” he protested.

“Just stay focused, we still have more than a dozen to take out and not much time left to do it.”

“Why do you think I said it was insane in the first place? I’m not used to zero-G combat, I would hate to think I’m slowing you down.”

“Nonsense, keep at it, and stop worrying about how many you destroy, this ain’t a competition.”

Thor grabbed his returning hammer and flew in the path of half a dozen torpedoes and spun himself and Mjölnir around, taking all six torpedoes out.

That gave Poseidon an idea, and so he grabbed his trident, which was magnetically attached to the back of his armor and made it spin in place. It didn’t take long for it to spin incredibly fast. Poseidon backed away from the trident, aimed his cybernetic arm at the outskirts of the spinning trident now turned propeller, and fired a column of plasma energy.

When the plasma hit with the trident spinning at such high velocity, it split the large stream into dozens of smaller ones that shot seemingly random past the event horizon. The smaller streams took out all but one of the remaining torpedoes.

“Well done,” said Thor as he catapulted Mjölnir toward the last torpedo.

It exploded in a bright flash, and the legendary hammer flew back in Thor’s hand. Poseidon used telekinetic force to slow down his trident and have it fly back to his hand as well.

“Are we supposed to keep doing this if they fire more salvos?” asked Poseidon.

“I don’t know for you, but I certainly find the air inside my force field running thin.”

“Same here.”

“Then I think that for the time being, we’ve extended our welcome outside. Loki, can you beam us back in?”

There was no answer.

“Loki? Come in?”

“Doesn’t it bother you to have to call that thing by your brother’s name?”

“It was weird at first, but I’m getting used to it. What bothers me more is that he’s not answering. Something must be wrong, why isn’t he answering?”

“That,” said Poseidon, pointing at the tractor beam a few hundred yards over their heads, “may have something to do with it.”

The beam was flickering at first glance, but upon closer inspection, dark spots seemed to travel through the beam and were heading toward its source.”

“I guess we’d better return to the base of our own volition and quick.”

* * *

Daniel was mesmerized by how Allanah looked outside of her greasy work slacks.

“That new weapon on the Mark IV was quite impressive to see,” said Allanah.

“That it was, if anything, Yanis is relentless when it comes to finding new ways of protecting the Alliance against our enemies. I can’t imagine what would happen if we didn’t have him on our side.”

“So he’s the one I have to lodge a complaint against, then?”

“What complaint? I’m not sure I follow.”

“Just a figure of speech, Daniel, I just think engineers sometimes tend to forget the amount of rush work they’re asking of us when they develop these new technologies and expect us to have them implemented on our birds within hours.”

“It’s the nature of war, and I’m afraid in moments like these, timing can be the difference between life and death.”

“That’s exactly my point. Our implementation of the solutions also means we have the responsibility to ensure that the ships don’t blow up in space. Do you have any idea how my crew would feel if one of the Starfuries had blown up during that last mission?”

Daniel nodded. “I have to admit the thought didn’t cross my mind.”

“Look, I understand that we’re at war and that, as such, we all have a part to play. But I think sometimes those giving the orders don’t realize that we all have responsibilities they are unaware of. Not to mention the stress that goes with it.”

“That’s true, we’re all in this together. And I’m glad that you’ve told me about your experience and those of your team.”

“And between you and me, and please don’t think I’m telling you this to get any favor, that’s not at all why we’re talking about this right now, but it sometimes feels to me that certain professions and their effort to the war are dismissed as trivial. Or at the very least, the amount of effort provided isn’t acknowledged.”

“Is that how you feel about your duties?”

Allanah shrugged. “Sometimes, I guess. Days like today are a good example when we have no time to triple-check everything and hope we don’t make mistakes that end up costing someone their lives.”

“Then I’m terribly sorry. You’re right, everyone is contributing equally to the war effort, and while I can’t promise you that everyone realizes it, you certainly have opened my eyes to something I took for granted.”

“I appreciate that, Captain.”

“Daniel.”

“Right… Daniel.”

“As for the timelapse cannon, I’m sorry it put so much stress on you and your team’s shoulders. What I’m not sorry about, however, is that we finally have a working weapon to counter the damn Spectres on the battlefield,” said Daniel. “I just hope they don’t find a countermeasure any time soon.”

“Stop apologizing, Daniel, I wasn’t trying to blame you or anyone else for that matter. It’s just I don’t get that many opportunities to bounce ideas off and to share my thoughts with someone I actually care to share them with.”

Does that mean she’s into me? thought Daniel.

“I can empathize with that. In fact, yesterday before the test, I hadn’t managed to spend any time with my best friend. He’s just too busy leading the Alliance and trying to hold it together. So, while I realize that he’s not doing it on purpose, it’s hard sometimes not to be able to share my thoughts with him.”

“Chase Athanatos is your best friend?”

“He is... even though he’s more like a brother if you ask me. We’ve been through so much together, but ever since his wife…” Daniel stopped mid-sentence.

“What happened to her? Is she dead?”

“No, not exactly.”

“That’s a peculiar answer.”

“That’s because it’s a very weird and quite tragic situation.”

Daniel nervously drummed his fingers on the corner of the table.

“It’s okay if you don’t want to talk about it.”

“No, it’s not that. It just reminded me of one of my own memories, one I’m not exactly fond of. As for Sarah, Chase’s wife, she’s inside the body of the leader of the Spectres bound on exterminating us all.”

“What? You can’t be serious? How is that even possible?”

“During the final hours of the Fury War, she became infected with Spectre blood, or some other damn thing, and we had no other choice but to put her in suspended animation until we found a cure.”

“I take it that never happened?”

“No, it hasn’t, and the Spectres recovered her body, swapped it with an empty clone, and with her outside of the suspended animation pod, it let the poison running in her veins take its course. That turned Sarah into a killing machine with a god complex. And now Chase not only has to try to save us all as best as he can, but he also has to fight with what was once the love of his life, as well as the mother of both his children.”

“That’s the most difficult conundrum I’ve ever heard in my life. I take back everything I’ve said earlier about our working conditions. I don’t think I would have the moral fortitude to deal with something like your friend has to endure. And I hope you don’t mind me saying, but you should make sure you’re there for him. Sounds to me like he could use your friendship, now more than ever.”

“I always am, or I try to be. There are simply too many fires to deal with lately, and as much as I’d like to be there for him every day, the reality of the situation means that we barely see each other here and there, and more often than not, it’s only about dealing with one crisis or another.”

“I can only imagine what he’s going through, and just trying to do so hurts my brain. With everything that’s happening at the moment, I can understand why the two of you don’t spend as much time together as you’d like, but my advice to the both of you would be to try anyway, no matter what. Your friend must feel terribly lonely, and he may also bury himself into his work to try to deal with it all. Perhaps you should consider making the time.”

“He has his family too. In fact, his daughter is back now, which until a few days ago, we thought she was still unborn.”

“Wait, how did he manage to get the baby from Sarah? That doesn’t make any sense.”

“Technically from Ashra, the Spectre incarnate, so to speak, of Sarah. And we didn’t. What we know is that she got extracted, for the lack of a better word by Ashra, and grown at an accelerated pace to reach maturity in a matter of days. Then she managed to escape and come here.”

“I didn’t even know such things were possible.”

“Oh, it certainly is, Chase’s other son also reached adulthood fast during the Fury War.”

“Can you imagine how painful it can be for a father? Having two kids but having been robbed of the experience of seeing them grow. I don’t know if I could deal with something that fucked up. I’m amazed Chase still manages to keep his sanity.”

“You and me both… And truth be told, I’m terrified of what could happen if he ever loses it.”

15

The interior of the pyramid was rather simple and devoid of architectural complexity, which was a bit of a contrast as the outside of it seemed quite complex compared to Earth pyramids. Mostly large corridors that led to a massive, high-ceilinged room. The walls were made of bluish marble that gave the entire structure a very polished look.

In the center of that chamber stood two large statues of humanoids, one holding a sword and another wielding a lance. At first glance, there was nowhere to go past the main chamber.

“Now what?” asked Ryonna.

Cedric scanned the area. “There’s no way the energy readings we got initially came from this room. I would say the path forward is hidden to us, just like the access to the pyramid was, or there is something we have yet to find and activate in order to reveal it.”

Before Menelas could comment, the ground trembled heavily, and the two massive statues began moving.

“I think I’ve got a pretty good idea what that could be,” said Menelas. “Cedric, take cover now!”

Menelas threw a trio of fireballs at the nearest moving statue, but they bounced before impact. Ryonna’s advanced armor deployed the helmet around her face as she took aim at the other statue and opened fire with similar results as Menelas. Her plasma fire bounced off the statues.

“The damn things are shielded,” she exclaimed.

“Keep them occupied, I’m reading new power fluctuations,” shouted Cedric, who had taken cover behind a nearby column. “I’ll try and deactivate their shields.”

“Ares, see if they register you,” said Menelas. “Hopefully, you can act as the decoy if they do.”

Ares darted forward and got the attention of both enemies; they swung their weapons at him, and in order to keep the illusion going, he did his best to make sure their marble weapons didn’t pass through him, which would most certainly make them rethink their targeting priorities.

Menelas grew his aura exponentially and created a large fireball over his head, one he needed both hands to generate. When it grew to twice his own body’s size, he gestured to Ryonna with his head to take cover. As soon as she was behind a column of her own, Menelas unleashed the massive attack toward the sworded statue.

“Let’s see how strong these shields are. Ryonna, get ready to fire everything you have.”

The fireball impacted the back of the statue and illuminated its entire silhouette with a radiant blue force field, but nothing happened. The massive fireball burned itself off on the shields after a few seconds, at which point the force field disappeared. Ryonna unleashed rapid fire from her plasma rifle, but as it did before, every shot bounced away.

“That’s not good,” said Menelas. “If this attack doesn’t make a dent in these shields, I don’t know how we’ll bring these statues down.”

“Cedric?” asked Ryonna. “Any ETA on finding and neutralizing these damn shields?”

“I’m working as fast as I can, this ain’t exactly known territory here, I have no idea where the power source is even located, and let me tell you that if it’s inside the statues themselves, we’re screwed. But I doubt that’s the case.”

“Great, so the moment Ares is hit, they’ll realize they can’t hurt him, and they’ll smash us instead,” said Menelas.

As if on cue, Ares miscalculated his last stunt, and the lance hit him full force. Instead of going through him like all matter should, he was catapulted and crashed between Menelas and Ryonna.

“Or not,” said Ryonna.

* * *

Kharon felt herself waking up in the middle of the night and getting out of her bed.

She left her quarters and walked through the mostly empty corridors of Alkyon One until she reached Chase’s quarters. A voice inside her screamed out loud.

What are you doing?!

What needs to be done, what I was created for.

Don’t you dare hurt my father!

It’s no longer up to you, I’m afraid. I’m in control now.

I won’t let you do it, even if I have to destroy myself to take you out.

You’re assuming you have enough power to take mastery over your body, which would be cute if it wasn’t pathetic.

I’m stronger than you think, I won’t let you do this.

Then let me ask you this: why haven’t you stopped me already?

You’ve used the fact that my conscious went to sleep after days of tiring me, forcing me to stay awake.

The voice inside her mind laughed.

You keep telling yourself all the lies that allow you to accept what’s coming. It won’t change your destiny, and tonight, whether you want it or not, Chase dies.

Over my dead body. I won’t⁠—

But Kharon felt a strong mental push forcefully disconnecting her from her own thoughts.

Her body waved a hand next to the door controls, and a faint pneumatic noise happened as the door release engaged, presenting a small opening that she used to slide the door silently open the rest of the way.

Kharon tried to scream from the top of her lungs, but no sound escaped her mouth.

She walked in the darkness of Chase’s quarters, stopping for just a moment, catching her reflection in the living room’s large viewport as a couple of StarFuries made a flyby.

Kharon looked to her left, then to her right. She located the bedroom and walked toward it. In the large bed, Chase was sleeping in his underwear. The room was a mess, and his uniform was on the floor while his Fury armor laid in the corner of the room.

Kharon walked silently by the bed and aimed an open palm at Chase’s torso. Her hand trembled, and she had to use her other one to stabilize it before a small spark gave life to a small fireball. The purple fireball silently grew to a large fist size with crimson lightning bolts sizzling all around it.

The corner of her mouth morphed into a smirk.

I can hear you scream and fight with all your energy, but by now, you must know that there’s nothing you can do about it except watch him die.

Her face grimaced as tremors traveled through her entire arm.

Chase blinked his eyes open as Kharon ground her teeth.

“Kharon,” said a sleepy Chase. “What are you doing here, what’s going on?”

* * *

Chase blinked a few more times as more of his senses awoke.

“Kharon, what are you doing?” asked Chase.

“You have to die,” said Kharon, her voice trembling.

Her eyes were fully black, with no pupils.

“Is this why you really came to Alkyon One? You never truly escaped Ashra, did you?”

Chase could sense massive muscular tension as well as emotional turmoil inside his daughter. It felt as if two distinct personalities clashed and fought a war of wills in order to get control over the young woman’s body.

Chase sat on the bed but didn’t move out of the way. Kharon’s hand was still trembling, a powerful fireball in front of her palm.

“I can sense the conflict inside of you. I don’t think my daughter wants you to kill me.”

Kharon had a hard time speaking more than a couple of words at a time.

“What... she wants... is irrelevant.”

“And yet you haven’t fired your attack, so I would say it’s very relevant.”

Chase focused on locating his daughter’s consciousness. When he found it, he spoke directly to her.

Are you all right, Kharon?

She’s very strong! But I can’t let her kill you… but, dad, I’m growing weaker with every passing minute.

How can I help?

You need to kill me, her… us.

I can’t do that, Kharon.

Kharon’s eyes alternated between fully black and normal green human eyes.

You have to! There’s too much at stake.

I’d rather die than have to attack you, Kharon.

Why would you say that? She’s the enemy, and she needs to die.

Not if you die with her. I could never forgive myself, no matter the consequences of my death being the end result.

My short life isn’t worth every other living being out there, and you know it. The needs of the many weigh in the balance, and you can’t afford not to stop this threat.

One day, you may understand why I can’t when you have children of your own. You’ll realize that you can’t put the life of your children in the balance, no matter the consequences. A parent will do everything for his children, including losing their life.

Quick footsteps could be heard coming from behind her.

“Kharon!” shouted Chris. “Stop!”

Chase felt that Chris’s voice had a massive impact on Kharon, and her eyes returned to full black instantly with such force that multiple dark veins extended around them. Before Chase could react, she turned and fired her attack at an unsuspecting Chris.

The fireball traveled through his stomach, burning multiple organs on the way. A look of surprise permeated from his eyes as he fell to his knees.

“CHRIS!!!!” shouted Chase as he jumped out of bed.

“Noooooooooo!” screamed a panicked Kharon before sprinting out of the room.

Chase put his hands on his son’s wound and started healing him. It was more difficult than usual and reminded Chase of the time he had tried saving Fillio... in vain.

“Stay with me,” screamed Chase as Chris’s pupil moved upward, leaving only the whites of his eyes visible.

“Come on!” insisted Chase as he turned Hyper Fury, amping up his healing energy to the maximum.

* * *

When Thor and Poseidon returned to the station, they immediately came under fire. Earth Alliance crew with cybernetic implants protruding from their skin unleashed plasma fire from their hand implants.

“For crying out loud,” barked Poseidon. “What the hell are these things?”

“I believe that’s the Droxian plague, which obviously can transmit to other species,” said Thor.

“Correct,” said Loki.

“I thought they had disabled you,” said Thor. “We kept asking you to beam us back in.”

“Nope, I’m still here, but our communications are down. And we have another problem.”

“It’s gonna have to wait until we deal with these things first,” said Poseidon.

Thor took out three of the enemies with his hammer, but they only stayed down for a few seconds before more augments popped over the wounds and allowed them to get back on their feet. They quickly resumed fire.

“That’s gonna get old really fast,” said Poseidon before incinerating the resurrected cyborgs with a massive flame wave of his new cybernetic arm.

All flesh burned off the cyborgs, revealing thin metallic skeletons, but they kept advancing.

“What the hell does it take to kill these things?” Poseidon complained.

“I got an idea,” said Thor. “Hit them with cold.”

Poseidon hit them with a cold ray, freezing them in place, and Thor threw Mjölnir at two of the cyborgs which happened to be aligned on the path of the hammer. Their metal skeleton exploded into a million pieces.

“Good thinking,” said Poseidon, switching back to flame thrower right after slicing the last frozen cyborg to dust with his trident.

They rinsed and repeated the tactic until all the enemies were defeated.

“They’ll send more soon,” said Loki, “but as I said before, we have another problem, one that we can’t ignore for much longer, seeing as I’m detecting the Helios is about to exit hyperspace any minute now.”

“We’re listening,” said Thor.

“If the Helios destroys the Omicron while our tractor beam is still locked onto the ship, the power feedback wave of the explosion will travel through the beam and take us out in the process.”

“Not to sound ungrateful here, but that’s one hell of a design flaw right there,” said Poseidon.

“Well, this weapon was never designed to hold something that big from that far away.”

More cyborgs beamed inside and started firing at them.

“What do you need us to do?” asked Thor. “Because the last I checked, we need to team up to take these guys out.”

“I think I can take care of them on my own,” said Poseidon, “so whatever else is needed to be done so we don’t blow up, you’re gonna have to take care of it with Loki.”

“Fair enough. Loki, what’s the plan?”

“We need the communications restored so that I can sync with the Helios’s computer in order to disconnect a few milliseconds before they take out the ship.”

“Lead the way.”

The Loki hologram ran through a couple of cyborgs who tried to hit him, but they slashed through nothing but holographic photons.

Thor looked at Poseidon before joining Loki. “Be careful.”

“Get out of here, I’ve got this.”

16

Ares got back up and shook his head. “How the hell did that happen?”

“I guess Atlantians aren’t strangers to semi-dead entities,” said Cedric.

Menelas flew toward the statues and took Ares’s place in distracting them.

Ryonna ran next to Cedric.

“How are we doing? We need their shields down, now!”

“Do you seriously think I don’t know that?” said Cedric, his hands blurred from interacting with his holo-screens so quickly.

“Can you do this or not? You need to let us know.”

Ares joined them.

“I think now would be a good time to call for backup,” said Ryonna.

“Already done twenty minutes ago,” said Ares.

Ares could tell from Ryonna’s expression that she was part surprised and part annoyed, but it didn’t last for long.

“All right, good thinking not waiting for my order, though I doubt it will be very helpful if we can’t get these things unshielded first. Cedric, make sure the backup has the travel path through the cloaking shield.”

“There might be a slight problem with that. Ever since we entered the pyramid, I can’t seem to open a subspace channel to the outside.”

“In what universe is that a slight problem?” echoed Ares.

“Okay, big problem.”

“Ares,” said Ryonna, “you’d better let Athena know.”

“On it.”

Menelas flew in between Ryonna and Cedric and crashed hard against the blue marble wall, cracking it in the process.

“Cedric, I swear, if you don’t get this fixed now, we’re toast.”

Cedric closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “I excel under pressure,” he convinced himself before reopening his eyes.

* * *

Chris eventually regained consciousness and added his own healing powers to those of his father’s, and his wound finally healed itself.

Chase released a long, drawn-out sigh of relief.

“I thought I lost you there for a minute there.”

“I didn’t expect such a powerful attack, kinda took me by surprise too. I’m much better now, so we should go after her.”

“That’s all well and good, but where do you think she went?”

Chris closed his eyes. “She’s agitated and in a dark place. I don’t think the Spectre part is in control anymore.”

Chase extended his consciousness as well and confirmed his son’s analysis. “Please tell me she’s not thinking about doing what I think she is?”

“She is, dad, go… now!”

Chase nodded and flew out of his quarters so fast and in such a straight line that he exploded half of the living room wall in his path.

When he arrived in the quadrinium fusion reactor, three engineers laid on the floor, unconscious but still breathing. Kharon was in front of the safety glass just behind the reactor’s plasma stream.

She was sobbing.

“Hey, Kharon, just take it easy. We can fix this.”

“No, we can’t, I’m compromised and too much of a threat to you and Chris. How… how is he?” she said, her voice trembling.

“He’s fine, don’t worry. We don’t blame you for what happened.”

“You really should, and you know it… I wasn’t strong enough to prevent this, and I need to be neutralized.”

“You breaking that glass and force field jumping into the fusion reactor won’t achieve that, and it could destroy the whole station, including Chris and myself. That wouldn’t help with anything except perhaps make Ashra’s hold on this dimension even stronger. So you’d be effectively helping her to conquer this dimension.”

She’s gonna teleport inside, dad, said Chris telepathically, I can sense it. Hold her until I arrive, I’ll be there shortly.

Teleport? Can she even do that?

You could do it when she was conceived, so I don’t think it’s much of a stretch to assume she might have inherited that power from you.

“Don’t do it, Kharon, I beg you,” Chase insisted.

She turned around and looked straight into Chase’s eyes, and for the first time since she stepped onto Alkyon One, Chase could tell he was talking to his daughter, unfiltered. Waterfalls of tears fell from her big green eyes.

“I know how to end myself without destroying the station. And that’s what I’m going to do. Please tell Chris I’m sorry for hurting him. Goodbye.”

Chase didn’t hesitate, sensing she was about to teleport, and so he snagged her with telekinetic energy, throwing her to the side just as Chris landed next to him and turned into an Ultra Fury. Chase did the same.

“Healing energy, everything we’ve got, now!” said Chris.

“What’s that going to do?” asked Chase.

“Just trust me.”

Both Chase and Chris fired columns of white healing energy toward Kharon as she was getting back to her feet. Upon impact, a demonic scream escaped her mouth as her eyes switched back to full darkness, and dark smoke leaked away from them.

The ear-piercing screams echoed throughout the station, which started trembling.

“I hope you know what you’re doing,” said Chase.

“I do, and it’s the only way we can break her free.”

Kharon’s body contorted in strange ways, snapping some of her bones in the process, which resulted in increased shrieks escaping from her. A dark aura made of living smoke escaped from her pores and burned all around her.

“If we lose containment, over twenty thousand souls will die,” said Chris.

Kvasir, said Chase telepathically, can you boost the containment field by five hundred percent right now?

I can try, but we risk burning many of our main systems. We could lose shields for hours, if not days.

Chase didn’t like that scenario, but they didn’t have a choice.

Just do it!

A pulsating humming sound increased and partially covered Kharon’s painful shrieks. Every piece of equipment and light flickered around them, and sparks flew as distant explosions could be heard.

“I’m not sure the station can take this treatment,” said Chase. “How long are we supposed to do this?”

“As long as it takes,” said Chris between gritted teeth. If we stop now, she’ll manage to teleport and kill herself.”

The thought of losing his daughter mere hours after meeting her increased Chase’s focus tenfold, and he turned Hyper Fury, increasing the amount of healing energy he was firing at her in the process.

As a result, Kharon’s shrieks increased, creating small fissures in the massive glass wall in front of the reactor.

I don’t know how long I can keep the energy input at these rates, said Kvasir inside Chase’s mind.

We don’t have a choice, if you don’t, we’re all history, sacrifice whatever part of the station you have to, beam crew around if needed, but do whatever it takes to keep the core contained.

Understood.

“This isn’t working!” exclaimed Chase.

“I—I don’t know what else to do,” said Chris, tears forming in his eyes.

“I fucking do,” said a familiar voice behind them.

Nyx stepped in, already in Ultra Fury form and aimed a palm at Kharon.

“Nooooo!” screamed Chris, “don’t shoot her!”

“Give me a reason not to?” said Nyx.

“Please,” pleaded Chase, “just help us win by adding your healing powers to ours.”

“You want to save that thing?”

“She’s my sister, and I know we can do it. Nyx, please! If you’re ever going to trust us, please trust us now.”

Nyx growled loudly but eventually complied and fired her own large column of white healing energy toward Kharon.

The black smoke aura around Kahron went mad and morphed from random flames to a humanoid shape, it hovered over Kharon’s head, holding its smoky head.

“It’s working,” said Chris, blood running from his eyes, ears, and the corner of his mouth. “K—keep at it.”

Nyx’s answer was another growl as she amped her healing beam even more. “It better be because I can’t keep this level of power for much longer.”

“Just a few… more… seconds…” said Chase with a weak and trembling voice.

“If this doesn’t work, I’ll kill you myself!” complained Nyx.

If this doesn’t work, we’re all dead anyway, answered Chase telepathically, there’s no way the fusion reactor can sustain her beaming inside of it now. The station has already suffered too much damage.

You’re both insane, this thing ain’t worth all of our lives!

That’s my daughter, so I don’t expect you to understand. We’re all in now, so unless you want us all to die, just give it everything you have for as long as you can, and we’ll make it.

If we survive this madness, you’ll owe me, big time!

The black smoke aura started vibrating and losing cohesion before morphing from a humanoid silhouette to a devilish face that belonged in a realm that existed beyond what the more horrendous nightmares could conjure up. Its screams became so loud it pierced everyone’s eardrums in the room before the smoky face exploded into nothingness.

Kharon was the first to hit the ground, unconscious, followed by three loud synchronized thuds.

The blast doors of the reactor room opened with a loud creak, and Daniel ran into the room, blaster in hand.

“What the fuck!?”

He swiped his communicator and set it to station-wide. “Medical emergency in the reactor room. Five to beam out directly to med-bay one.”

* * *

“Exiting hyperspace now,” said Tar’Lock.

Talon got up from his chair at the sight of the Omicron being held by a massive green beam of light.

“Bring the Heracles cannon online and target their quadrinium chambers.”

“That will destroy their ship,” said Tar’Lock.

“We’ve been over this, Tar’Lock, it needs to be done.”

Tar’Lock nodded with a sigh. “Charging the Heracles now. Preparing to fire.”

“We’re being hailed,” said the communication’s officer.

“Hold your fire, but keep the target locked. On screen,” said Talon.

Tar’Lock didn’t bother answering, but he keyed in his captain’s order while the communication’s officer activated the bridge’s large holo-screen. Thor’s face filled it. His tattoos were blinking in the most chaotic fashion Talon had ever witnessed on an Asgardian’s face.

“Don’t shoot just yet, Captain, if we can’t disable the tractor beam before the Omicron explodes, we’ll be vaporized along the way.”

“Captain,” said Tar’Lock, “the ship is trying to enter hyperspace.”

“Can they?”

“No, but that’s not stopping them from diverting all their power to the engines. We either take them out soon, or they’ll end up taking themselves out on their own.”

“That would be bad,” said Thor.

“Yeah, I got that,” answered Talon. “What can we do?”

“Drop your shield,” said Loki, coming into view.

“I thought your brother was dead,” said Talon.

“Long story—” said Thor.

“And right now isn’t the best time to tell that story,” added Loki.

Talon gestured to Tar’Lock with a small nod toward his direction, and the shields of the Helios dropped.

“Don’t be alarmed,” said Loki, “but I need to hack your ship’s computer now.”

“You’re gonna do what?” said Talon.

All lights inside the bridge turned off for a handful of seconds before coming back to life again.

The Heracles cannon fired on its own.

“What in the seventh hell?” said Talon.

The moment the golden beam of supercharged plasma energy hit the Omicron, the green beam disappeared, and the Earth Alliance destroyer was vaporized.

Loki appeared on the bridge of the Helios, prompting the tactical officer to grab his sidearm and aim it at the Asgardian.

“Holster that gun, Lieutenant Commander,” ordered Talon before turning to Loki. “How did you get here?”

But then Talon caught a glimpse of a confused Tar’Lock, and he followed his friend’s befuddled gaze toward the holo-screen, where Loki still stood next to Thor.

“I pride myself on usually being a patient man, but somebody better start explaining what the hell is going on here.”

17

“How are they doing?” asked Altair.

“They’ll live,” said Daniel.

“Any idea what happened?”

“You mean besides half of my station melting down and us coming to about an inch of blowing up?”

“Yeah, that’s what I mean.”

“I have no idea, they’re all in regen tanks at the moment. But from the looks of it, maybe they were battling or something. I can’t tell. I’m just glad nobody died, which seeing as how many parts of the station have been exposed to space is not a minor miracle.”

“I guess we can at least take solace in that fact. How long do you think it will take to repair the primary systems?”

“Kvasir thinks it will be an hour to regain some sort of shields, but barely running at twenty percent. Probably ten times as much to partially restore the defense grid back online. Right now, we can’t fire a single shot.”

“At least you have most of the fleet in orbit to protect you.”

“Thanks to Chase, I actually wanted to send them on their way, at least half of them.”

“Well, right now, the best place they can be is protecting Alkyon One. If the Spectres detected what happened on Alkyon One, they could return and try taking advantage of the situation.”

“And without the defense grid to back them up, I’m not sure they can actually take out that monstrosity of a mothership.”

“Imagine if more than one decided to take on the station.”

“I’d rather not, Altair. If they return now, we’re totally screwed.”

“Well, keep me posted the moment Chase regains consciousness. I’d like to know what the hell happened.”

“So would I, Daniel out.”

* * *

“I think I got it,” said Cedric.

“You think?” asked Ares.

“I got it, their shields are down.”

Menelas was still healing himself when he darted forward and blocked the massive marble sword about to crush the rest of his team with a powerful telekinetic push.

“Ry—onna,” he said through gritted teeth.

Ryonna didn’t hesitate and jumped high in the air thanks to her battle armor’s super-strength and landed on the forehand of the marble titan. She ran upward with her plasma rifle in hand and opened fire at its head. Little pieces of marble detached with every hit, but the damage was minimal. She was still running forward when she caught something out of the corner of her eye.

The other statue moved around and prepared to launch its lance at her. Ryonna reacted instinctively and set the plasma rifle to overload just before the other titan threw its lance at her. She threw the overloading rifle toward the approaching marble titan and jumped high in the air to dodge the lance, which impacted with the first titan’s arm still held in place by Menelas.

Ryonna activated her light-blade in midair and threw it spinning at the overloading rifle that by then had traveled near the second titan’s head.

The lance impacted the first titan’s forearm and shattered it at the same time as Ryonna’s light-blade sliced through the rifle, forcing it to explode and taking out half of the second titan’s head in the process. The concussive blast pushed the titan to the side, and it lost balance. As it crashed to the side, the entire pyramid shook.

Ryonna used debris from one of the pieces of the incoming forearm heading her way to catapult herself even higher, while Menelas waved both his hands to the side using a telekinetic blast to protect Cedric from the falling debris. Ryonna undid her grenade belt and threw it at the first titan’s head just before using another piece of marble debris flying in the air to adjust her heading and dive toward the ground. On her descent, she grabbed her blaster, swiveled around, and shot at her belt.

The explosion took out more than half of the torso and totally obliterated the head of the titan into fine blue dust. By the time she landed on the ground, Menelas had finished incinerating the second titan.

Cedric looked at the destruction with wide-open eyes. “Wow!”

“Everyone okay?” asked Ares.

Menelas dusted blue particles off of him while Ryonna disengaged her battle armor helmet. The nanomaterial morphed backward.

“That was a close call,” said Ryonna, “maybe we should call off the miss⁠—“

Ryonna never finished her sentence as a focused beam of bright red energy pierced her through the abdomen and sent her crashing backward, leaving a trail of purple blood on the messy floor.

“Ryonna!” screamed Menelas.

A loud laugh echoed throughout the large chamber as a silhouette appeared out of thin air. Menelas locked his gaze on a set of familiar eyes.

Diaspira was still laughing out loud.

“You!” barked Menelas.

“Long time no see, Fury. You shouldn’t have come here… This is my planet! And everyone stupid enough to set foot here will suffer the same fate as your friend.”

* * *

Is everyone okay? asked Chase telepathically.

Chase didn’t need to ask who growled in his mind in the guise of an answer.

I think I’m okay, said Chris.

There was a long silence.

As am I… said Kharon.

Is that thing gone from inside you? asked Chase.

Yes. I can’t sense the presence that was controlling me earlier.

We did it, then, said Chris. Thank you, Nyx.

You two are certifiably insane, barked Nyx in their collective minds. But I suppose you’re welcome. Let me make one thing perfectly clear, however, don’t you ever get me entangled in something so ludicrous ever again.

Duly noted, said Chase. Thank you.

Keep your thanks, half-breed, and keep me off your mental chatter, the less I hear from you right now, the better.

I’m so glad you’re safe, Kharon, said Chris.

We both are, added Chase.

I wish I could share your enthusiasm, said Kharon, but we’re sitting ducks now. If Ashra comes, she can kill every single one of us, and there’s nothing we can do about it.

What if it was her plan all along? asked Chris.

Can any of you sense her presence? asked Chase.

I can’t, said Kharon.

Neither can— wait... oh, no, said Chris.

Before Chase could ask his son why he said that, he could sense the presence as well. It wasn’t Ashra, that much was certain, but he could definitely sense a powerful Spectre presence approaching the station.

We don’t have long until it reaches the station, and it will be hours before we’re ready to fight a warrior of that caliber, said Chase, unable to mask the agitation from his mental voice.

Nobody on the station but one of us at full power would be strong enough to deal with a warrior of this caliber, said Chris. So what do we do now? Because it could take everyone out, ourselves included.

There has to be something we can do, said Kharon.

We’re all running on empty, answered Chase, even if we were to exit the regen tanks before it got here and fight the Spectre four against one, we wouldn’t stand a chance in our current state.

Do we still have those awful Olympian glands? asked Chris.

The last one is in my quarters; let me ask Daniel to bring it to us, said Chase.

After a few seconds Chase swore on the telepathic link.

I’ll take that as a no, said Chris.

My quarters have been destroyed in one of the explosions.

We’re in trouble, then.

Kharon, any idea what this Spectre wants?

Aside from taking us all out? I’m not sure. Unless…

Unless what?

I stole something from Ashra when she forcefully extracted me from her womb, I thought she didn’t realize it, but perhaps she has.

What are you talking about, what did you steal from her?

The other half of Argos’s soul.

Chase’s heartbeat skipped a beat.

Are you serious?

Yes, half of his soul now resides within me.

That’s amazing Kharon, thank you so much for doing this, said Chris, ...except we don’t have a way to bring him back here at the moment. We would need Ares to teleport dad to the underworld and bring the other half. Can we try and contact him?

I already tried… I’m too weak to connect with his mind while he’s in the unknown regions.

Can’t we just shoot the Spectre ship down? asked Chris. There are more than enough ships protecting Alkyon One.

It will be a cloaked ship, said Kharon.

Kvasir might be able to detect it, said Chase, after all, we did figure out a way to detect them a while back. If we could take the Spectre out before it steps into the station, it would be ideal.

I’m afraid you won’t be able to detect this ship, said Kharon.

Why not?

The ship you detected earlier had its cloak weakened on purpose by Ashra to make you think she couldn’t drop on you undetected anymore. It also allowed her to scan the method you used and made the cloak even more impenetrable as a result.

This is starting to look like a really bad day. There has to be something we can do, and we need to figure a way out of this situation. If only I hadn’t lost the ability to teleport, I could try and get Argos or Oryn here to help us. Or better yet, both.

I can teleport… if I had enough energy, that is.

Even so, unless you already visited the Underworld, you wouldn’t know how to get there. And you’d need to know how to reintegrate a soul into a body. That’s not something easy to do, I’m afraid, and requires a lot of power.

I think there is a way around it, dad, I can learn from you by linking directly with your mind.

That’s all well and good, but that doesn’t solve our energy problem, said Chris. We probably have a little less than an hour before the Spectre gets here, perhaps if we all shared our energy with Kharon, she could then go to the Underworld and bring Argos back.

I still don’t think we have enough energy for this plan to work, said Kharon.

Why’s that? asked Chris.

Because holding on to a soul as powerful as Argos requires a lot of energy, it’s a sheer miracle I didn’t release him while you exorcised the Spectre out of me.

We better figure out a way to bring Oryn back, then, said Chase, or we won’t survive the day.

How quickly can the Olympian send another one of these healing glands? asked Chris. Assuming they have another one ready.

Not fast enough, I’m afraid. They also said it would take a while for new ones to be fully matured. I’ll see if I can connect with an Olympian and ask, I doubt I’ll be able to make such a long-distance mental call in my current state.

Don’t waste your energy for nothing, have Daniel make the call.

Right, I can’t believe I didn’t think of that.

Give yourself a break, dad, we’re all exhausted.

* * *

Menelas shot three fireballs at Diaspira, but she blocked all three of them with ease, which he didn’t expect to happen.

She was wearing an intricate platinum-colored armor with glowing bluish ornaments, most likely something she had scavenged from her access to ancient Atlantian technology.

Menelas expanded his consciousness to check on Ryonna, her wound was life-threatening, but she wasn’t in immediate danger.

Ares, do you think you can teleport Ryonna away from here and back to the base?

I have no idea if we can survive the trip through that cloak. If the statues impacted even me, it’s only logical to assume that I’ll probably be affected by the force field as well, to say nothing of Ryonna. Perhaps it probably would be a better idea for you to heal her so she can join the fight.

I know she’d want that as well, but she’ll end up being a liability, Diaspira could keep hurting her to distract me from engaging.

I suppose that makes sense. Any way you can heal Ryonna somewhat before I try to get us out of here?

I think if you help me while I distract her for just a bit, we could manage that.

I’m listening.

While I attack her next, take control of Ryonna’s body and come close so I can fire a healing fireball at her, then you’d better be off.

Understood.

Menelas grew his aura to the maximum, sending a glowing pool of crimson energy all around him.

He stepped forward, both palms open, aimed at Diaspira, and opened fire with a multitude of fireballs that she either blocked, deflected, or sent back at him. Whatever technology was inside the armor she wore, it clearly brought her to a level that was able to keep up with an elite Fury warrior, which meant that it was paramount to gain access to the pyramid and defeat Menelas’s nemesis once and for all before she became even more powerful.

Menelas sensed Ares invade and struggle to control Ryonna’s unconscious body, which Menelas should have anticipated. As great a warrior and leader as the Droxian was, she was a control freak, and those were the most difficult types of personalities for Ares to try and take over their bodies.

Eventually, he got up and walked as best he could to cover behind one of the last standing columns able to provide some cover. Menelas grew a much bigger fireball and threw it at Diaspira at slow speed, hoping the sheer diameter of the attack would provide enough visual cover for him to stay undetected while blasting healing energy toward Ryonna’s body.

When his attack had traveled halfway through, Menelas fired a white healing fireball at Ryonna, making sure to hit her wound. The tissues healed, and Ares sat down on the floor before exiting her body.

Here goes nothing, said Ares. Good luck.

You too.

18

“We have a Spectre on its way to the station, and Chase, Chris and basically everyone else that could have taken on the threat is in a regen tank, unable to defend us,” said Daniel.

“That’s unfortunate, how can we help?” asked Poseidon.

“We need one of those healing glands. Please tell me you have one?”

“I’m afraid not. But I think I have an idea of how to help you. I’ll just need a minute to make another call.”

Daniel nervously tapped the top of his desk with his fingers while waiting for the holo-signal to return. After a few minutes that felt like an eternity, Poseidon’s face reappeared on Daniel’s holo-screen.

“Olympus doesn’t have any fully matured glands yet, but they believe they can accelerate its growth to reach at least a sixty to seventy percent healing efficiency.”

“That will have to do. How long will it take to send it to Alkyon One?”

“How much time do you have?”

“Less than an hour, if that.”

“No ship can travel that fast from New Olympus. Loki, get in here,” said Poseidon.

Loki?

“Isn’t Loki dead?”

“I wish people would stop asking that question today, it’s not really him, just a hologram of Thor’s brother. Long story short, we’re on one of his secret labs, and I need to check with him if we could teleport to Alkyon One and try to fight that Spectre for you.”

“Teleporting from how far exactly? That doesn’t make any sense.”

“The area of space where the base is located is unique in a way that would hurt my brain just to try to explain it to you, but suffice it to say, it beamed both Thor and myself from thousands of light-years away.”

“Could it beam the gland directly here?”

“New Olympus is way past this transporter’s range, I’m afraid.”

“While that is true,” said the holographic Loki entering the holo-camera’s field of view. “A gland is a small thing, so it would require much less power than sending an entire humanoid. According to my calculations, though, I won’t be able to extend the range far enough to reach New Olympus, but if a ship left with the gland now at maximum hyperspace heading toward Alkyon One, and if they broadcast a subspace transmission allowing me to lock onto the gland to help me pinpoint it, then in about an hour and ten minutes, give or take, I think I could beam it to the station.”

“That sounds about fifteen minutes too late, and I seriously doubt this Spectre would need even half that time to execute Chase, the others, not to mention blowing us all up to hell while it’s at it.”

“Loki, can you beam us to Alkyon One?” asked Poseidon.

“Even if I could tweak the transporter to increase its range by the twenty percent needed to get you to Alkyon, which may be doable, it would only work for one of you. We’ve simply used up too much power earlier holding the rogue Alliance destroyer with the tractor beam, and the base’s pentalium chamber doesn’t have nearly enough juice to allow for that transport to take place.”

“Then it’s a good thing the Helios is still here,” said Poseidon. “Daniel, hang on, but I should be there in half an hour max to protect the station until Loki can beam the gland to Chase. It’s going to be close, but…”

“I’ll take it, thank you, Poseidon.”

* * *

Chase activated the speaker inside his regen tank.

“That’s good, let’s hope Poseidon can hold the Spectre long enough.”

“We don’t really have much choice, though I can tell you he seemed confident in taking on that task. That has to count for something.”

“I have no doubt he’ll do his best, I just worry that may not be enough. Both Chris and I now sense the threat more, and while it’s not anywhere near as powerful as Ashra herself, the Spectre we’re sensing would be on par with Asrak’Vor in terms of strength.”

“Shit, that’s bad news. I’ll put all ships on scanning duties to try and detect the ship’s arrival. If we could blow it out of the sky, I’d rather have that option,” said Daniel.

“Unfortunately, Kharon says that whatever sensor info we thought we had on detecting their cloak is bogus, and we won’t see it coming. Not to mention blowing the ship would most certainly not kill this Spectre.”

“This is a bad time not to have shields, then.”

“I’m sorry about that.”

“Don’t you dare, you did what you had to do to protect your family, just like you risked your life countless times to save all our collective asses before. We owe you that one and then some. For once, you need to let us protect you.”

Chase allowed himself a small smile.

“But in trying to do the right thing, I’ve painted a target on our defenseless asses.”

“Weird mental image aside, Poseidon now is the only one that can deal with the Spectre, for better or for worse.”

“He needs to succeed too, because we’ve never been so close to getting back some much-needed reinforcement. Kharon connected with my mind to learn how to teleport into the Underworld. She has now learned what she needs to bring back both Oryn and Argos to help us in the war. We just have to make sure she can regain enough energy to bring them back to us. If Poseidon can, at the very least, slow down the Spectre long enough for her to do that, then we have a chance.”

“I have to admit, I can’t believe we are in a position to bring either of them back.”

“Neither can I… especially Argos.”

“What do you mean?”

“I had already tasked Keera to search and locate a viable DNA sample of Oryn to bring her back. In fact, if the incident hadn’t happened when it did, it would have been the first thing on my list to do in the morning.”

“See, that’s why we need to spend more time together, I hate being out of the loop. Feels like since I became the commander of this station, I’m the last to know these things.”

“Well, if it makes you feel any better, not many people knew what I was up to with Oryn. And with Kharon’s return, well, everything happened too fast.”

“Don’t worry about it, I just hate that we’re not spending as much time as we did before, but I’m not blaming you for it. Speaking of Kharon, you’re absolutely sure she’s no longer under Ashra’s control?”

“As sure as one can be, why?”

“Because if that was all part of Ashra’s plan from the get-go, she could make sure both Argos and Oryn never stand a chance ever to come back.”

“Chris managed to sense Argos’s soul in her, so if she’s bluffing, she’s at least telling the truth about holding his soul. But my instinct tells me that now that we’ve rid her of the Spectre’s influence, she’s genuinely trying to help us. If it turns out not to be the case, then I don’t think it would be something she’s conscious about.”

“That’s kind of what I was hinting at. After all, she spent part of the pregnancy inside a Spectre... I mean, sorry, I know that’s insensitive of me to say that.”

“That’s okay Daniel, it’s the truth.”

“Still, I just hate this situation, so I can only imagine what you’re going through. What I mean is that even if you managed to remove a Spectre presence, does that mean that she’s entirely Spectre free in terms of DNA?”

“That’s a good question, I guess we run some tests once the crisis is over, for the time being, I trust her.”

“That’s good enough for me.”

* * *

Chase’s comms inside the regen tank cracked to life.

“You can’t possibly trust all our lives to someone as weak as Poseidon,” complained Nyx.

“I thought you didn’t want to be part of anything for a while. At least while you rested. As for Poseidon, we don’t have a choice, I’m afraid, our lives are literally in his hands now.”

“That’s bullshit, and I’m holding you personally responsible. I’ll never trust you again. However, I disagree with the tactic here, there’s another way out of this. Let’s just unite whatever energy we have and give all of that to me, I’ll execute the Spectre myself. I certainly have way more chances of annihilating that thing than Poseidon.”

“Putting your attitude aside, I probably would agree that under normal circumstances, I’d rather bet on you than Poseidon to protect us, but we barely recouped five percent of our power each... so even if we put all of it together, that’s just only twenty percent power. As powerful as you are, I don’t think that will cut it against that Spectre.”

“And I’m telling you it will!”

“Look, I understand you’re pissed. And you have every right to be, none of us expected things to turn out this way when I asked you to trust me and save my daughter. Thanks to you, she’s now well and finally on our side⁠—“

“Or so she says.”

Chase wanted to refute Nyx’s argument, but he knew better than to antagonize her more when she had anger-fuelled fits like this one. Though, lately, it seemed like her default attitude.

“That’s beside the point now, what’s done is done, and I don’t regret our actions.”

“I certainly do.”

“Duly noted, but as far as I’m concerned, that doesn’t change the situation, and we should be grateful that Poseidon is able to cover us while we get one of us healed, at least partially.”

“That person should be me, especially since this entire situation doesn’t concern me. If I had incinerated your daughter as my instinct told me to, we wouldn’t be stuck in these damn regen tanks!”

“Let me make one thing clear, if you had incinerated my daughter, you’re correct, you wouldn’t be here, but instead, you’d be regretting your final choice in this incarnation at the gates of hell.”

“That’s so sweet that you still think you can defeat me.”

“Let’s hope we never have to find out because, unlike you, I still believe we have more to gain in being on the same side. We are, after all, supposed to be allies.”

“Then tell me why every time I step toward this friendship, I end up regretting my decision?”

“Not every time, Nyx. Look, once this crisis is over, if you want out of the Alliance, so be it. At the end of the day, we either find a way to cohabitate and try to work together toward the same goal, or this war we’ve all been fighting is destined to fail. Not to mention that the last I checked, I was in command of the Alliance.”

Chase regretted his last words the moment they left his mouth.

Nyx sneered. “Now he’s pulling rank.”

“That’s right, and let’s make one thing clear, I’m not risking my brother’s life on whether or not you think you can take out the Spectre.”

“And yet you’re trusting Poseidon with his life, that’s rich!”

“Poseidon is family, and more importantly, I trust him to put his life on the line to do the right thing.”

“That’s rich after all the times I saved your asses with risking mine.”

Of course, Chase couldn’t deny that Nyx had indeed saved them on multiple occasions, and it wasn’t her fighting skills nor her courage that Chase was worried about, but that when push came to shove, would she risk everything to save people she seemed to despise with every fiber of her being? After all, in terms of power, he knew very well that she was on par with him, perhaps even more powerful. It was her repetitive stringent attitude and venomous tongue that made it hard to trust her.

“And we’re grateful for that⁠—“

“The hell you are. You’re constantly letting your emotions and family ties blind you at every turn. To think they elected you to be the voice of reason when you and I both know very well that when that day comes, and even with the entire fate of the universe hanging in the balance, you’ll flinch at the finish line if it means you have to kill your precious Sarah.”

Would he? Chase preferred not to think of such a moment and hoped they would find another solution to save his beloved. One which didn’t involve a kill-or-be-killed binary scenario.

“Your silence speaks volumes,” continued Nyx.

And you should learn to use silence from time to time, thought Chase, perhaps we’d be more inclined to consider you a part of the team if you didn’t let your snake tongue run amok every chance you get.

“You’re the last person I would have selected to lead the fight against the Spectres,” she continued, “you’re too emotionally compromised to be objective or level-headed.”

That last accusation hit Chase straight in the heart, probably because he knew she was right on some level. With the exception that he hadn’t chosen to lead this fight.

“I may have been elected, but I didn’t ask for this responsibility in the first place.”

“Then do what a good leader would do when they know they’re not the right person for the job they’ve been entrusted with. Today was a perfect example of how you’re willing to put your family’s well-being ahead of the rest of us.”

“What are you saying?”

“You know exactly what I’m saying. You should quit. This war needs true leadership, and unlike your spineless friends, I have no problem telling you that you’ve been found lacking the backbone needed to win this war.”

Chase mentally switched off the internal speakers inside his regen tank.

You’re just proving my point, half-breed, said Nyx inside his mind.

19

Diaspira blocked Menelas’s bigger attack, and the large fireball shrunk in size in between her hands until it died out.

“Forget it, Fury,” said Diaspira. “You may have been a real threat once upon a time, but today, you’re no match for me.”

“So you keep saying,” said Menelas. “And except firing on an unsuspecting Droxian, you haven’t shown me anything to prove that claim.”

Diaspira looked at the trail of blood left by Ryonna earlier. “Speaking of your friend, where did she run to?”

“None of your business, I’m the one you’ll need to fight and most likely lose your life against.”

Menelas grew his aura and took a fighting stance. Before he could grow his energy more, an invisible force knocked him off his feet.

Diaspira laughed. “You don’t stand a chance. You should have killed me when you had the chance.”

Menelas got back to his feet, holding his chest, where a crack showed on his Fury armor. He spat blood to the side before burning his aura white and healing himself.

“You’re full of surprises, I’ll grant you that, but that won’t save you. I may have missed my opportunity to kill you before, but I won’t today.”

Menelas noticed movement from the corner of his eye. It was Cedric gesturing him from behind cover and pointing to his cranium.

What is it you want, Cedric? asked Menelas. I’m rather busy.

The amount of energy I’m detecting from her is off the scale. Whatever power source is responsible for giving her this power must be included in her armor.

And that helps me how?

I don’t know yet, but it’s probably good if you manage to keep a mental link with me so that I can help you if my sensor scans of your battle reveal a weakness we could exploit.

Menelas didn’t really like the idea of having to rely on technology to defeat the woman that had duped him and nearly brought his demise. His Fury pride wanted to defeat her in a fair fight. Even though he knew full well that there she would display no fairness whatsoever in return. She wasn’t a warrior but instead a mad scientist using stolen technology to achieve her twisted goals.

Understood.

Menelas decided against throwing another fireball at Diaspira and instead went for a more hands-on approach. He flew toward his enemy with a powerful circling kick to the face, only for his leg to freeze a couple of inches away from its target.

Diaspira smiled as her eyes flashed yellow, and a powerful shockwave sent Menelas fly throughout the entire room and encase his body deep into the marble.

Large quantities of blood dripped from his lips as he struggled to stay conscious.

How the hell is she doing this?

* * *

“Thank you for your help,” said Thor.

“Glad to be of assistance,” said Talon. “It’s the least we could do after you’ve helped us deal with the Omicron.”

“Those cybernetic warriors aren’t the most powerful threat on their own, but if Siegfried has control over thousands of them, we need to make sure to destroy them as well.”

“That’s exactly what I was thinking, and I’m working on locating him and the cyborg army he took from Droxia.”

“How’s the situation on the planet?”

“Gaia’s countermeasure seems to work well; in most cases, the subjects heal well on their own, thanks to the nanites being reprogrammed to undo what they’ve done. We’ve gotten reports that some of their population wasn’t so lucky, though fortunately, there seems only to be rare side effects when the damage done by the infection couldn’t be reversed. In those rare cases, it amplified.”

“How so?”

“Some nanite cascade failure as I understand it. I’m no specialist, but basically, instead of healing their host, they go onto more cannibalization than the initial onslaught following the initial infection and devour everything until there is no longer any organic matter to consume, at which point the nanites seem to attack other nanites until nothing but graphene and silicon dust remains.”

“That’s unfortunate.”

“What’s more worrying is why this happened in the first place. If Grunhild’s creation is unstable with some of the population, there’s absolutely no way to predict what could happen when it spreads to other races.”

“I don’t think it’s a matter of when anymore.”

“What are you saying, Thor?”

“I know Siegfried well, he’s a megalomaniac tyrant, and I seriously doubt that he’s only keeping whatever cyborg force he stole from Droxia. He could have already spread this to countless systems.”

“If that’s the case, we may be in serious trouble.”

Thor knew that all too well. And while his father was no longer there to bear the blame for trying to play gods with forces they didn’t understand, Thor still felt a strong sense of responsibility regarding the dark legacy the Asgardians unleashed into the universe.

He had to stop Siegfried, no matter the cost. And if Chase and his friends were’nt in trouble, he would already be running after Siegfried. However, the last time Thor ignored his allies, it made things worse, and he would not repeat that mistake.

“Today, we’ve proven that together, we are stronger. I’m sure we’ll prevail because the alternative is just not something we can afford to contemplate… I’m just not sure what the cost of victory will be, but I know we must be prepared to pay the price, no matter how steep it turns out to be.

* * *

“Power levels are now sufficient to beam you over,” said Loki.

“Then let’s do it,” said Poseidon.

The lab doors split open as Thor walked through.

“Hang on just a minute, Loki,” said Poseidon.

The hologram nodded before vanishing into thin air.

“You weren’t gonna leave without saying goodbye, were you?” asked Thor.

“Time is running out, so I kinda admit I was. Sorry.”

“No need to apologize, my talk with Talon lasted longer than I anticipated.”

“No worries, I didn’t want to intrude, but I gotta get going.”

“Remind me why you’re the one going to Alkyon One and not me?” asked Thor.

“Because I think we both know that the advantage my new arm provides me gives me a better chance of delaying a Spectre than you and Mjölnir would. No offense.”

Thor smiled. “None taken, brother. Just…”

“What?”

Thor winced. “Don’t get killed.”

“I have no intention of dying today.”

“We both know that reality and intentions rarely decide to find common ground, especially lately.”

“True. And I won’t lie, it’s one battle I wish I didn’t have to fight alone. If it were an option, I’d rather have you on my side.”

“Perhaps if we waited a bit longer, Loki could figure out a way to beam us both there at the same time. I know I’d feel better about that.”

“So would I, Thor, but we both know that if it were possible, Loki’s hologram would have figured it out. We can’t afford to wait, and I gotta go protect my family.”

“I understand. You’re pretty much all that’s left of mine, even if we’re not blood-related.”

“I feel the same way. In fact, I don’t think I ever was as close to my own brothers as I am with you.”

“Perhaps the family we choose has stronger bonds than the one that binds us by blood.”

“I think it’s just a matter of intentions. Some people are good, and some are…”

“Bad?”

“It’s too corny, I couldn’t bring myself to say it out loud. But you know what I mean.”

Thor nodded. “I do,” he said as he grabbed Poseidon’s forearm.

“Be careful,” added Thor.

“I will.”

“Loki?” asked Thor.

The hologram came back to life as Thor patted his friend’s forearm a couple of times before letting go.

“Poseidon is ready to transport now,” said Thor.

Poseidon nodded before a beam of green light dematerialized him.

“What’s wrong?” asked Loki. “You have a strange look.”

“I worry this will be the last time we see each other, and I don’t like this feeling at all.”

“He’s a great warrior, I’m sure he’ll prevail.”

“Nevertheless, figure out a way to beam me over.”

“That won’t be an option, I’m afraid, even with all of the Omicron’s pentalium, there are physical limits to our energy reserve, and you joining Poseidon on Alkyon One is not a viable option.”

“I don’t want to hear about viable, just try to figure out a way to make it happen.”

* * *

“What the hell happened?” asked Spiros.

Smoke rose from both Ares and a burned Ryonna, lying on the ground.

“Please tell me Athena didn’t leave yet?” asked Ares.

“I’m afraid I can’t do that. She’s been gone for a while.”

“This is bad, we barely survived transport through the Atlantian barrier, I’m not sure what will happen to Athena if she tries to fly through it. She could get killed.”

“I’m sure she’ll manage, but for now, let’s get Ryonna into a regen tank.”

“And pray that it’s not too late, I know she’s tough, but these burns look really bad.”

Gaia, who had stayed silent until now, helped Spiros to get Ryonna off the floor, but Droxians were already too heavy as it were, but with her battle armor on, it was an impossible task.

Gaia went to a terminal and interfaced with it wirelessly.

“You’re supposed to tell me when you do things like that,” complained Spiros.

“I’m sorry, but unless we hurry, she doesn’t have long to live, I’m just trying to save her life.”

“Fair enough,” said Spiros.

He hated himself for it, but Spiros checked his pant’s pocket to make sure the kill switch was at hand. Though he doubted he’d have the courage needed to activate it, should the situation ever arise.

Ryonna’s body beamed away.

“She’s on board Andromeda’s med-bay, they’ll put her in a regen tank right away and keep us informed of her status.”

“Should…” but Spiros hesitated.

“What?” asked Gaia.

“Should we go help our friends?”

“I wouldn’t recommend it,” said Ares. “If Menelas and Athena can’t take care of Diaspira, what chances will the two of you have? I, on the other hand, should try to return and see what help I can provide.”

“Is that safe to for you to do that?” asked Gaia. “After all, you’ve just told us that you barely made it back.”

“What’s the worse that can happen? Die again?”

“Very funny,” said Spiros, “you’ve been invaluable to the Alliance, even in pure energy form, so I happen to think Gaia’s making a good point.”

“Except I can perhaps beat Athena back there and help her through the cloaking field, I do remember some of the paths we took, even if I make some slight mistakes, it will be better than trying to fly straight through it.”

“She wouldn’t do that, would she?” asked Spiros.

“Ask yourself this question? If Gaia’s life depended on it, wouldn’t you?”

“Without hesitation.”

“There you go. As for the two of you, the sooner you get back to work trying to crack the secrets of Atlantian technology, the better. If what we’ve faced today is any indication, we could use that sort of advantage.”

Spiros nodded.

“Do I have your permission to interact wirelessly with the equipment on this base?” asked Gaia.

“Yes, something tells me we need to hurry.”

“Just remember,” she said, “Atlantians were masters at artificial intelligence, if I get overrun, don’t hesitate and trigger the override. I would never forgive you if we unleashed another Gaia 2.”

“Let’s just make sure it never comes to that, shall we?”

“Either way Spiros, I still need to hear you say it.”

Spiros sighed. “All right, all right! I promise.”

Gaia closed her eyes and went to work.

“I’d better go back,” said Ares.

“I still think you should wait a bit until you feel better.”

“I don’t think prudence is a virtue we can afford right now. I’ll see you soon, gods willing.”

“Says the god of war.”

Ares smiled as he became translucent for a split second but regained his full energy form before falling on the floor.

“What’s going on? Are you all right, Ares?”

“I—I can’t teleport back.”

Ares painfully struggled to rise to his feet, Spiros instinctively tried to help him up, but his hands went through the Olympian.

20

“You’re sure you’re going to be okay?” asked Spiros.

“I don’t know,” said Ares. “Some of my energy is coming back to me, that much I can sense… but it’s doing so very slowly. Like a drip.”

“Could be a side effect from teleporting through that Atlantian force field you described.”

“And it most likely is, I just hate being stuck here while my friends are risking their lives.”

A bleep got their attention.

“There’s an incoming call for you, Ares,” said Gaia, her eyes still closed. “I’m patching it through.”

A holo-screen burst to life in front of Ares, it filled with Altair’s face.

“I heard you were back at the New Kyria base,” said Altair.

“Hello to you too.”

“Sorry, Ares, but we don’t have time for pleasantries, Chase and his entire family are in trouble.”

“What happened?”

“They’ve used up all their energy to help Kharon, not to mention nearly blowing up Alkyon One in the process. Poseidon is on his way, but he’s been tasked with holding off a powerful Spectre until Chase can receive a healing gland from Olympus.”

“That will take hours to ship from Olympus.”

“We know, so long story short, we have found a way to get it to them quickly, but now that I got a hold of you, perhaps you could do it right now. We tried contacting you earlier, but Athena couldn’t get through to you.”

“Which would mean that even telepathic communications are unable to get to the pyramid. That would explain why I’m not able to connect with Menelas’s mind. It must be some sort of jamming due to Diaspira’s presence in the pyramid since I was able to contact Athena earlier.”

“What pyramid?”

“Also a long story… unfortunately, I can’t seem to teleport at the moment. A side effect from using my power through a powerful Atlantian defensive force field. I’m lucky I made it out alive.”

“What about Ryonna? Is she still there on that pyramid.”

Ares shook his head from side to side. “She’s onboard Andromeda. But, Altair…”

“What is it?”

The anxiety in Altair’s voice was palpable.

“She’s been wounded... badly. She’s currently healing in a regen tank, but the doctors can’t guarantee she’ll make it. I’m sorry.”

An uncomfortable silence permeated the room.

“She’s a fighter, she’ll make it... she has to,” said Altair.

Ares could tell Altair needed to convince himself with his statement, and that’s when Ares realized that the bond between Altair and Ryonna went beyond one of friendship.

“She’s not going down without a fight, that much is certain.”

“Could Ka’Rij help her? Maybe provide some of their Dragonmen tears?”

“That’s actually a good idea.”

“That’s not how they work,” said Spiros, “from what I understood, they’re mostly to fight illness, but it’s worth a try.”

“I’m afraid Ka’Rij isn’t here,” said Gaia.

“What?” asked Ares. “Where the hell is he?”

“I have no idea, but I can’t detect him on or around the base.”

“What about the other Dragonmen?”

“They left a few days ago on a mission to attack a Helion Empire shipyard that is outside the portal network’s reach. It may be a week or more until they return. Fortunately for Ryonna, that’s why the Andromeda hadn’t left when all ships were recalled. I’m sorry, Altair, I’m sure that’s not what you wanted to hear.”

“That’s all right, I know Ryonna, she’ll make it through. What about Menelas and Cedric?”

“We simply don’t know,” said Ares, “since no communications are working, be it technological or telepathic. We can only hope Menelas defeats Diaspira, but if the wound Ryonna was inflicted with is any indication, whatever Atlantian tech she got her hands onto has clearly leveled the playing field, or worse, tipped the odds back in her favor.”

* * *

Poseidon stood in front of Chase’s regen tank.

“You’ve looked better,” he said.

“It’s good to see you too,” said a smiling Chase. “Exorcising Kharon, for the lack of a better word, took way more energy than we all thought it would.”

“How’s Chris doing?”

“He’s meditating in order to try to boost the healing process.”

“Perhaps you should do the same.”

“Don’t think I haven’t tried, but my brain won’t let me. It’s been stuck playing an infinite loop of scenarios. Not to mention I’m frustrated being stuck in there, unable to do anything to help our situation.”

“Looks like you’ll have to trust someone else for once.”

“For once?”

“That didn’t come out well.”

“No, I think it did. There’s no point in lying to myself. I’ve always been kind of a control freak. And I would be remiss if I didn’t remind you how important your role is today.”

“There’s no need to, I know what the stakes are, and I know exactly what needs to be done. Under no circumstances can the Spectre be allowed to get in this room until the healing gland arrives. No matter the cost, including my own life. Or have I missed something?”

“I hope you know that I hate putting you in this position.”

“I’m here of my own volition, Chase, and I am fully prepared to give up my life if I have to.”

“I’d rather that did not happen.”

Poseidon smiled. “I wouldn’t be too fond of such an outcome either. But I won’t let you nor anyone else down is what I’m trying to say.”

“I expected nothing less from you. But remember, time is what we’re fighting against in this particular battle, the longer you can delay the Spectre, the more chances for new options to present themselves. As such, I suggest you don’t try to end the fight quickly by overspending yourself.”

“Is that your experience talking?”

“As a matter of fact, it is. When I engaged Harkoolis back on Droxia, I knew full well I shouldn’t have expended as much energy as I had in order to take only a third of my enemies down. I almost paid this mistake with my life.”

“The difference being there was nobody on their way to save you back then. You did the best you could, and if it makes you feel better, I’ll keep your advice in mind, but, Chase, if I see a way of ending the fight, I most certainly will take it.”

“And I’m all for such an outcome, I just want you to remember that even if you lose the battle but survive long enough, Oryn and Argos can still win this for us.”

Poseidon nodded.

“I can sense the Spectre,” said Chase, “it’s almost here.”

“Then I guess I’d better go prepare the welcoming committee… so to speak.”

“May the go—“ but Chase stopped with a chuckle. “Good luck, and be careful.”

* * *

Menelas healed himself, knowing full well that he wouldn’t be able to do this over and over again for fear of running out of juice. Not having been able to land a single blow upon his nemesis didn’t help his morale either.

And not only because of his strong Fury pride. He was first and foremost a soldier, and he knew very well what his failure to deliver on the battlefield meant.

As much as he hated to admit it, he was outclassed. And if he was, even if Athena somewhat managed to get here soon, she could very well take his place in the line of fire.

For a split second, he thought he had a flash vision of Athena. She looked hurt and unconscious, possibly dead.

The vision sparked something in him, and before he even realized what had happened, his aura turned orange, and he felt more power course throughout his body than he ever had before. Without realizing it, he flew toward Diaspira at speeds he didn’t know he could reach and unleashed a deadly series of punches and kicks.

A strong force field allowed Diaspira to block and deflect most of the attacks, but she was on the defensive for the first time since they had started fighting, even though she didn’t seem to suffer any substantial damage. Menelas pressed his newfound advantage and continued landing more powerful blows until he decided to switch things up and fired a massive column of orange energy her way.

Diaspira was unprepared for it and was catapulted backward, leaving a trail of broken marble on the floor as she skidded for yards.

Menelas panted heavily. He had deployed more energy in the last few minutes than he had thought possible.

Diaspira got back up, and for the first time since she had emerged in that Atlantian armor, doubt was clearly readable inside her eyes, even though she appeared undamaged.

Menelas reached Cedric with his mind.

Tell me you found something because I pretty much unleashed my maximum onto her.

I have, but I’ll need a bit of time. And I have to make a choice.

What choice would that be?

The reason she’s so powerful is that whatever is powering her armor is the same source of energy powering up the force fields around this place.

Can you take that power supply down?

I’m not sure, it may be possible, but I fear it would take too long. If I focus my attention on bringing down just the one around the entrance of the pyramid, it should go faster.

I destroyed that one already.

I’m afraid when she appeared, she erected a new one.

Okay, but what good would that do to bring that one down again?

Well, for one, I could reconnect with the shuttle and hopefully get to Athena before she gets here.

Menelas thought about it. He knew her, she would try to forcefully fly through the field, even if it killed her. The reason he knew was that if the roles were reversed, that’s what he would do. He tried warning her mentally to wait until Cedric gave her the right path to use, but he couldn’t connect with her mind.

Do it.

But that means you’ll have to take care of her on your own, are you sure?

I’m certain, go, Cedric.

Okay… good luck. Try not to get yourself killed.

I’ll do my best.

“Impressive,” said Diaspira, “even if completely useless. Furies no longer are a match for me now.”

She fired a dozen fireballs at Menelas, who was surprised he managed to move out of the way of all twelve without too much trouble. Menelas went back on the offensive and concentrated all his energy at the tip of a fireball-engulfed fist that he swung at her.

The hit was massive and made her skid backward for a few feet, but she managed to stay upward and undamaged this time.

What will it take to kill that bitch?

Menelas sensed Cedric managing to lower the force field at the entrance and running toward the shuttle, which didn’t miss attracting the attention of Diaspira. Her eyes went mad, they turned a bright yellow as she unleashed a column of energy toward Cedric, forcing Menelas to act fast.

He moved in front of the attack, crossed his forearms in front of him to block the incoming energy. It forced him to skid backward for the longest time until the entirety of the attack’s energy diffused around him, leaving the forearm plates of his Fury armor burning hot and fused with his skin.

21

The Spectre walked out of his ship, still cloaked inside the launch bay, making him look like he stepped out of nowhere.

Nearby troops took cover and opened fire on him, energy blasts bounced off his strong hide. He raised a palm toward the squad and snatched every one of their souls with ease.

“Puny insects,” he said, with a low bass-heavy tone.

A couple of StarFuries flew through the landing bay force field, providing an atmosphere to the large room, and opened fire with time-lapsed cannon. The Spectre froze in time for just a split second but nowhere near long enough for the following plasma fire to hit their target. He moved out of the way, going at speeds impossible to follow by normal human eyes, and he snatched both pilots’ souls out of their cockpits.

The Spectre growled before using a strong telekinetic push to throw the StarFuries back into space, where they bounced off one another and drifted away. He looked at the depth of empty space for a few seconds before turning back. That’s when he saw the tall, armored man holding a trident. One of his arms was made of metal.

“And who would you be?” asked the Spectre.

“I’m called Poseidon, and I’m the last person you will ever fight.”

The Spectre smiled, and he cocked his head to the side. “Is that so?”

“I’ll give you one chance, step back into your craft and leave this place, or die here today. This offer expires in one minute, so I suggest you make up your mind quickly.”

The Spectre launched his hand forward, and a soul-sucking hole opened in the center of his palm. Poseidon reacted fast and unleashed hellfire through his cybernetic arm, plunging the Spectre into a blazing inferno. Poseidon then mentally switched his cybernetic arm into firing mode to absolute zero cold and unleashed a freeze ray aimed at the center of the flames.

They died off, revealing the Spectre frozen inside an ice coffin, a look of shock locked on his face. Poseidon made his trident spin as fast as possible and used it to slice the Spectre into dozens of smaller chunks of ice.

He walked toward the chunks lying on the floor of the bay and spat in their direction. He used telekinetic energy to get a hold of them to send them through space, making sure they wouldn’t thaw. They got off the ground but stopped their ascension shortly after and stayed hovering in midair.

“What the hell?” said Poseidon.

He increased his telekinetic hold on the flash-frozen Spectre chunks, but the more energy Poseidon spent trying to move them, the more an invisibly proportional force countered his efforts.

“That’s... not... possible,” he let escape through gritted teeth.

Hundreds of tiny black tentacles shot from the sides of the chunks that Poseidon’s trident had sliced. The tentacles interconnected with one another in the air and grew.

Poseidon fired his freeze ray at the tentacles again, engulfing them in ice, and smashed them into pieces using his trusty trident.

More tentacles formed and linked all the Spectre’s pieces together, and before Poseidon could fire his freeze ray again, a massive shockwave knocked him off his feet, and a second telekinetic push ten times as strong as the first one sent him crashing into a landed StarFury. Upon impact, the starfighter ignited and exploded, engulfing the Olympian in flames.

* * *

“The fight has begun,” said Chase inside his regen tank.

“I know,” said Chris. “Ashra didn’t send just any Spectre, his regenerative powers are off the scale.”

“That doesn’t bode well for Poseidon.”

“No, it most certainly doesn’t.”

“How long until we receive the healing gland?”

“Ten, maybe fifteen minutes.”

“Do you think Poseidon can hold off that long?”

“Why don’t you follow the fight as well?”

“Because we’d be using double the energy, and gods knows if we may have to end up fighting that thing in our current states.”

“I don’t think that would make the slightest of differences, but I can respect your decision. As for Poseidon, I think he started the fight too strong. He went for the instant kill.”

“Dammit, I told him to pace himself.”

“I suppose he changed his mind, seeing an opportunity to end the fight early, I’m not sure I would have done things differently in his shoes. His tactic was sound.”

“What happened?”

Chase received mental images directly from Chris’s thoughts.

“I see… I guess you’re right, it was definitely worth a try.”

“Unfortunately, it failed. Let’s hope he tires the Spectre enough by forcing him to reconstruct so early in the fight…”

“What does your instinct tell you?”

“That Poseidon wasted more than a quarter of his energy reserves already, and that took only a handful of minutes. Let’s just hope he can hold his own long enough, after all, he was the one who defeated Grunhild.”

“With the help of Thor and Artemis.”

“Yeah, and while her mental powers were impressive, in terms of sheer power, this Spectre is way stronger.”

“It’s his regenerative power that will be the biggest issue for Poseidon, it takes an incredible amount of power to disintegrate these things at the molecular level.”

“Which we both know Poseidon will never manage to do, no matter how powerful his new arm is. But, then again, he doesn’t need to destroy the Spectre, just slow him down long enough.”

“I hate not being able to do anything about this.”

“I know, and I echo your frustration, but that’s the cards we’ve been dealt with. To be more precise, it’s the hand we dealt ourselves, I’m afraid... so whatever the consequences, all we can do now is to accept that and pray that Poseidon can hold off this formidable enemy a tad longer.”

Chase was proud of how mature and levelheaded his son was growing into. While he wished he could see things like Chris did and just accept things the way they were, his mind refused to let go.

“Are you regretting our decision?” asked Chase.

There was a long pause.

“No… I knew we were risking our lives trying to save Kharon, and I accepted that. Obviously, I didn’t think that far ahead, and I definitely didn’t expect that it would leave us in such a precarious position.”

“And I, for one, don’t think that was an accident. Ashra knew exactly what she was doing.”

“What makes you say that?”

“Well, the conflict inside Kharon was always going to be a problem for her; after all, she tried to kill Ashra from within the womb. So ask yourself this. What’s the most valuable in terms of strategy? Try to mind control someone that wants to kill you at any chance they’ll get, or use her as a Trojan horse to bring down your other enemies, without much effort on her part.”

“So Kharon never really escaped?”

“Our Kharon probably thought she did, but it seems that was always Ashra’s plan, that much I’m certain.”

“That would explain why she turned tail without even attempting to engage with the fleet.”

“Exactly, even if she risked damaging her mothership, that is assuming she was on it in the first place, she could have taken out half of ours before deciding to give up. But, instead, she didn’t even try. The only miscalculation on Ashra’s part was to think her hold on Kharon couldn’t be undone. Hopefully, that mistake ends up costing her the war.”

“That’s assuming Poseidon can hold his own; otherwise, I fear it won’t take very long for this Spectre to kill us all.”

Chase obviously agreed but didn’t answer. Putting all his hopes into the deeds of others, even if it was someone as trustworthy as Poseidon, wasn’t Chase’s strong suit. And while there was nothing he could do but wait and see what happened, that didn’t mean he could simply resign himself to hope for the best.

If there was one thing that Chase hated more than losing on the battlefield, it was the feeling of not being in control of his own destiny.

* * *

Intense pain radiated through both of Menelas’s arms. He healed most of his burnt tissues, but separating the fused armor from his skin would have to wait until after the fight.

“He’s not going to go far,” said a smirking Diaspira. “I’ll take care of him after I’ve dealt with you.”

“Over my dead body.”

She cocked her head slightly to the side and smirked. “You took the words right out of my mouth.”

Menelas took a defensive stance, and he pushed his aura as far as he could.

The amount of power flowing through Menelas’s body was both surprising and intoxicating, but if the Ultra Fury powers weren’t enough to inflict serious damage to his enemy, he wondered what would?

What worried Menelas even more was that Athena could arrive any minute now, and he couldn’t bear the thought of her getting hurt or worse. Menelas would rather give his own life rather than have Athena sacrifice hers in order to save him.

“What’s boiling inside that small brain of yours?” taunted Diaspira. “Go on, then? Show me what you’ve got.”

Her taunting didn’t help matters. Though it succeeded in pissing off Menelas, which he had no doubt was what she wanted. But why? Her armor seemed impenetrable, so why resort to psychological fear tactics?

“I was just thinking how good it would feel to spit on your corpse, that’s all.”

“Keep holding onto this fantasy of yours when you reach the gates of hell.”

“If I’m to die here today, I’m at least taking you there with me.”

“I’m sure you’ll try. But deep down, you already know you can’t win. In fact, I can almost read it in your eyes.”

Was she right? Had Menelas resigned himself that he couldn’t win? And if that was the case, then why wasn’t he thinking of other ways to end this fight? After all, the entrance to the pyramid was no longer protected by a force field, he could flee, even if his ego would scream at him for even considering this option, it still remained a viable one.

They could return another day with Chase and finish the job. That is if Diaspira allowed him to escape.

No! said Athena’s voice inside his mind.

What if we die here today? I can’t bear the thought of losing you.

Neither can I, but we can’t turn tail and run. That’s exactly what she wants, it will give her even more time to grow more powerful. We can’t allow that to happen.

We don’t know that, perhaps that’s the best she’ll ever be.

And perhaps we caught the monster at the very beginning of its ascension, and that’s why we can’t even consider this course of action. Hold on just a tiny little bit more, and we’ll rid the world of her, together.

And if we fail?

Then that too is something we’ll do as one.

22

When Poseidon jumped out of the flames, the Spectre was already upon him. He kicked Poseidon in the face and sent him crashing to the nearest quadrinium-reinforced wall. It bent on impact.

Poseidon had to move out of the way quickly as three fireballs aimed at his chest approached quickly. He rolled to the side and fired three fireballs of his own with his cybernetic arm.

The Spectre didn’t even bother dodging or deflecting the attacks. They just dissipated on his thick black hide and without even so much as a flinch on the creature’s face.

“Is that all you can do?” said the Spectre. “I’ve heard so many stories about the deeds of the Alliance warriors, but I have to say, I’m quite disappointed.”

“Who the fuck are you? And why are you here?”

The Spectre’s eyes glowed a deep dark red.

“They call me Parak’Mi, and I thought the reason for my presence was clear. By the time I’m done here, nothing will remain. You, your friends, this station… I’m going to burn it all down.”

“Not if I have anything to say about it.”

“Doesn’t matter what you have to say, it’s beyond your powers to stop me. You’re no match to take me down. I think on some level, you already know that. Don’t you?”

I’d love nothing more than to make you swallow your words, you piece of spectral shit. But for now, I need to keep you talking.

“It’s a little too soon to make those sorts of predictions, perhaps you’ll regret that overconfidence of yours in a few minutes.”

Parak’Mi smiled. “I hardly think so. And while I’ve enjoyed this little chat, killing all of your friends and blowing up this pathetic station still awaits me. So let’s finish this, shall we?”

“Why?”

“What do you mean why?”

“I was just wondering why your kind is here? Why couldn’t you just stay in your dimension?”

“Not that I owe you an answer, but you brought this fate upon yourselves. We didn’t ask for this war. You were the ones that infringed upon our territory when you sent those puny Furies in exile to our universe.”

“My brother didn’t know what the weapon did, he had no idea there would be other beings on the other side.”

“I see, then am I right in assuming that you’re Zeus’s kin.”

“I am, though I don’t see why that matters to you.”

“Owning Zeus’s brother’s soul will most certainly elevate my status among the ranks. I will be regarded as one of our most elite warriors once I defeat you.”

“I have no intention of losing my soul today. You may try to kill me, but my soul is off-limits.”

“It always amazes me when the puny creatures that populate this dimension think that anything they do is actually a matter of choice.”

“What can I say, we like free will as well as freedom in these parts. You could say it’s ingrained deep in our spirits.”

“Pointless concepts of weak civilizations who think they matter in the grand scheme of things. Make no mistake, Olympian, I will rip your soul from your body, and a part of you will suffer inside of me for all eternity. Whether you like it… or not.

“But, hey, for the sake of argument, and to make this fun, the exit is right there,” said Parak’Mi as he pointed behind him. “See if you can make it out with your soul. I’m even feeling generous today, so I’ll give you a five-second head start, starting... now.”

Any other day, Poseidon might have considered the Spectre’s offer, as deep down, he seriously doubted his ability to defeat such a warrior, but that was not his mission for the day. His mission was to buy himself and the other twenty thousand souls onboard Alkyon One some time, and in engaging in dialogue with Parak’Mi, he had managed to do just that.

* * *

Menelas dodged Diaspira’s latest attack, jumped to the side, and fired one massive fireball. It successfully hit her in the chest, exploded, and engulfed her in flames.

After the dust settled, she was still unscathed.

“There’s nothing you can do,” said Diaspira. “Atlantian technology has turned me into a god of unimaginable power, and my wrath will be legendary.”

“To think I thought you were insane before.”

“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different outcomes. Your pathetic attacks are useless, there’s no way to penetrate this mixture of alloy and shielding my armor is made of.”

“Nothing is impenetrable.”

“As far as your puny powers are concerned, this armor is.”

Menelas sensed that Diaspira didn’t really believe what she was saying. What did that mean? Was she bluffing? Was there a way to get through the Atlantian armor? Whatever it was, Menelas’s instinct told him that something was fishy, and her overconfidence hid something else.

“You’re lying, I don’t know what about yet, but I can tell you don’t believe you’re indestructible, and that’s something you should have tried hiding better from me.”

“Nonsense! I’m all-powerful and unstoppable,” she screamed.

“If that was true, you wouldn’t lose your temper. So really, what are you afraid of?”

She screamed as a response and unleashed a massive wave of fireballs toward Menelas. He flew out of the way, but most of the attacks changed trajectory and followed him upward. Menelas turned in mid-air and blew many of the attacks with well-aimed, smaller fireballs, making sure he didn’t overspend too much of his energy reserves.

He then gained speed and headed toward his enemy. When he noticed her take two steps back, it confirmed his suspicion.

What the hell is she worried about? I can’t seem to hurt her, no matter how much power I unleash. There has to be a weakness to her armor she’s aware of, and I need to figure out what it is.

She extended both palms forward and fired more attacks at him. Menelas course-corrected upward, and the attacks following him did the same, unlike the fresh new ones that cut through the air in a straight line and missed him.

She sent those in a hurry… is that why they didn’t try to follow me? Or can she only control a limited number of them?

You’re overanalyzing things, the answer is much simpler than that, said a voice inside his mind.

The voice sounded familiar, but in the middle of the action, Menelas couldn’t remember where he’d heard it before.

Having tried every type of attack he knew in vain, he decided that a change of tactic was needed, and so he resumed his flight toward Diaspira, diverting all his energy into his increasing speed at which he flew.

She took off and tried to flee, but Menelas was too fast. He caught up with her. Menelas decided to trust his instincts, and he grabbed her from behind, locking her shoulders against his chest with his arms before he pivoted them both. He came to an abrupt stop.

“Let me gooooo!” she screamed, unable to hide the fear in her voice.

I get it now… You’re just as vulnerable to the same powerful attacks you’re throwing at me.

She tried getting free of Menelas, but he increased his hold on her and added a ton of telekinetic energy in order to make sure she couldn’t flail her limbs and slip away.

No less than twenty fireballs impacted her fully, and she screamed in pain. Some of the fireballs that grazed and missed her burned Menelas, whose stature was larger than Diaspira’s, and these near misses burned through part of his shoulders and thighs.

The handful of fireballs that passed through exploded behind them, and when the resulting fire from the ones that had impacted with on her chest burned too strongly, Menelas had to let go and fly away.

Diaspira fell from thirty feet as a result. Most of the flames engulfing the upper part of her body died out by the time her head impacted with the bluish marble.

* * *

“Four… three… two… one… time’s up. Mind telling me why you didn’t move?”

“For one, because I don’t trust the word of a Spectre.”

Parak’Mi smiled. “Good… I’ll let you in on a little secret since you’ll soon be dead. You should never trust the word of a Spectre. Words, promises, and such useless concepts mean nothing to us. So when we give them, we do not feel bound by them. Honor only holds value from one Spectre to another. Since other races are inferior, we don’t feel the need to respect those pesky rules with other civilizations. As such, we’ll do whatever we need to conquer other races. I couldn’t help but notice you said for one… so now I’m curious as to what the other reason could be?”

“The other is that I’d like to be present when your existence ends and when you swallow your delusions of grandeur. That tirade you’ve just performed for me confirms the opinion I already had of your kind. So when the time comes, I’d like to stand over what’s left of you and wave as you’re reduced to a pile of sub-atomic space dust.”

“That’s quite the optimistic outlook. However, I’m afraid that’s not part of my plans for the day.”

“That’s what your kind fails to understand. We don’t give a rat’s ass about your plans, and we’ll stop you, no matter the cost.”

“You can’t stop us… other civilizations in other dimensions thought exactly like you, and let me tell you, their warriors were way more powerful than you and your merry band of so-called heroes. And yet... they all fell. We added their souls and powers to our own, and you’ll be no different, that much I can assure you.”

“As a rule, you shouldn’t make promises you can’t keep. But then again, you have no use for words, let alone their meaning… right?”

“Correct. And on that note, I’d like to resume my mission. Thank you, Poseidon. Surprisingly I’ve quite enjoyed this talk. But now the time has come for you to die.”

“I couldn’t agree more on the dying part, I just happen to have another opinion as to who will actually fall today.”

Parak’Mi chuckled. “I like you, I truly do. You know you have no chance in hell to defeat me, and yet you gloat as if you have already won. I find that utterly fascinating… even if quite foolish.”

“One man’s fool is another man’s hero.”

“Is that what you think will happen today? You’ll emerge as a hero?”

“It doesn’t matter what I think, what does matter is that I’m willing to give my life to make sure you don’t leave this room.”

One of Parak’Mi’s eyes slightly twitched.

Crap, I shouldn’t have said that…

“You’re buying time, aren’t you? You’re expecting reinforcements.”

“I don’t need help to take you down.”

“Now you’re straight-up lying. It’s all making sense now; you are hoping for someone else to come and defeat me, but you know that will take time.”

“Now who’s living in a fantasy world?”

Parak’Mi’s eyes glowed stronger, and his voice lowered deeper. “You are, and that fantasy will now end.”

23

A yawning Spiros walked through the portal room. Gaia was still standing exactly where he had left her hours ago when he tried to grab some sleep. Her eyes were still closed.

“What can I do for you?” said Spiros, followed by yet another large yawn.

“I’m sorry to have woken you.”

“That’s alright, I’m sure you had a good reason.”

“I believe so.”

“It’s a little weird talking with you when you have your eyes closed.”

She opened her eyes, revealing her beautiful blue irises.

“I’m sorry, I just find it easier to mind project with my eyes closed.”

“No need to apologize, and hey.”

She smiled. “Hey, back.”

“So, what have you discovered?”

“Well, for one, that pentalium isn’t the best alloy in the universe.”

“What? What makes you say that?”

“It took a while for me to get to this conclusion, but I think there’s another element, a much stronger one, one that may not even vibrate within the same confines as the rest of the elements we use in our dimension.”

“I’m not sure I follow.”

“The key is in the portals. Nothing in the blueprints for this place explains how they work. While the technology of this base is mostly quadrinium-based, the power required for the portal is too high for this technology to even scratch the surface of what would be required to open them in the first place.”

“That doesn’t make any sense, then what is powering them?”

“Exactly, so I kept digging until I found a sub-network of communications. And that’s not the craziest part.”

“I don’t know if it’s because I just woke up, and my mind hasn’t fully booted, but I’m having a hard time following you.”

“This network of data and energy is operating beyond subspace. And I suspect so is the power delivery for the portals themselves. But that’s not the worrying part.”

Spiros shook his head, trying to wake his brain faster.

“Wait, you’ve managed to detect power emissions and data communication working outside of subspace... at which point I’d like to mention that you’ve already kind of lost me, but there’s something more worrying than that?”

“Infinitely more, yes.”

“Go on, then, what is it?”

She took a deep breath. “The vibrating frequency at which this sub-tech works, for lack of a better word, is almost identical to the readings our fleet took from the event horizon of the Spectre’s supergate.”

“What are you saying, Gaia?”

“I’m not really sure just yet, but either this is Spectre tech, or the reason why the Spectres are in that weird dimension of theirs might have been a side effect from being in contact with this kind of technology.”

“Are you saying that the Atlantians may have fought the Spectres and trapped them into the other dimension?”

“It’s too early for that conclusion, so for now, that’s just a theory, but… maybe. I’ll need access to other Atlantian places to confirm what I’ve discovered and get a bigger picture, all I can say is that I believe there seems to be a link in between Atlantians and Spectres.”

“We don’t know much about the Atlantians and their history. All we know is that they were infinitely more advanced in terms of technology than all the younger and even the older races like the Furies, the Asgardians, or the Olympians. Combined.”

“Which brings up the question as per who could have possibly defeated such an advanced civilization in the first place.”

“But if the Spectres had won, we wouldn’t be here debating this, they would have sucked the soul of every living being on this side instead of being stuck in that time-dilated dimension of theirs.”

“You’re assuming that their current form is what they were like millions of years ago. What if their soul-sucking thirst came as a side effect from being trapped in a dimension that doesn’t vibrate at a frequency allowing them to survive in the current form in which they entered that dimension? And why would they have stayed in such a hostile environment in the first place?”

“They were forced there? Like the Furies?”

“As I said, it’s too early for me to propose any definitive answers, I need to do additional research and dig deeper into the Atlantians to find out more. But for now, I’ve hit a wall, technological in nature.”

“What sort of wall?”

“While I managed to make use of this base’s technology, thanks to the portal event horizon’s energy vibrations, it allowed me to access part of that invisible energy network. But to get full access to it, and all evidence points toward a massive repository of knowledge hidden in the data part of that network, I could only perceive what I think are the building blocks of its existence, not the actual knowledge it may end up containing.”

“Like seeing only the open ports on the outside interfaces of a firewall?”

“That’s a crude but acceptable analogy, yes.”

“What do you need to get through and be granted access to more of the network?”

“For one, a piece of technology powered entirely by that vibrational frequency.”

* * *

Parak’Mi moved so fast that Poseidon didn’t even see him coming. The Spectre launched a powerful shockwave that knocked Poseidon back, but what his eyes showed him made no sense.

The Olympian god of the seas was propelled backward, but he could still see his body right in front of him as if he hadn’t been affected by the Spectre’s attack, and only his vantage point had changed. That’s when Poseidon realized he was no longer seeing with his body’s eyes but with his soul, which had been partially kicked out of his body.

He sensed a strong urge and pull to return to his body, and his momentum froze in the air briefly before being reattached inside his body by a force resembling that of a black hole.

Upon reintegrating with his flesh, Poseidon felt disoriented, and it was enough of a distraction for Parak’Mi to have moved toward him, ready to cut him in half with a slash of one of his arms that was engulfed in black flames. All Poseidon could do was block with his cybernetic arm. The shock was beyond anything he thought was possible, but the arm held.

The resulting vibrations extended through his entire body in a series of painful waves.

Before Poseidon could recover from the aftermath of the shock, Parak’Mi placed an open palm in front of the Olympian’s lower abdomen and opened fire.

Poseidon’s flesh burned as his organs and bones were consumed by a power beyond belief. He was forced to take steps back as he covered the wound with both his hands, blood spilling through his fingers. It took Poseidon all his strength to remain conscious as his mind tried to reconcile with what had just happened.

He tried to speak, but the sound of words was garbled by the large amount of blood that spilled instead of the air that his vocal cords failed to push out of his mouth.

Poseidon’s sight blurred, and he saw two Parak’Mi’s in front of him while trying his best to remain standing.

Parak’Mi laughed out loud. “Still looking forward to my demise? If that day ever comes, my dear Poseidon, I don’t think you’ll be among the living to experience it. But fear not, if I ever die, you’ll feel it too since you will be a small part of me.”

“That’s…” Poseidon tried saying, “that’s why you aimed for my stomach.”

“I could have obliterated you at the molecular level with a snap of my fingers, but then I would have damaged your soul in the process, and while you’re weaker than I expected, you’ll still make a valuable addition to my collection. The great Poseidon, brother of Zeus.”

Parak’Mi slowly walked forward.

Poseidon aimed his cybernetic arm at the Spectre as best as he could, but his entire body was trembling. He fired a freeze ray at his enemy.

Parak’Mi blocked the ray with one palm, but his skin didn’t freeze.

“That’s— that’s not possible,” said Poseidon.

“May that be your final lesson about my people, not many attacks will ever work twice against a Spectre of my level. While we talked, my DNA was adapting to resisting this temperature, so you see, you weren’t the only one buying time.”

I can’t believe it, while I thought I was slowing him down, he was letting his own body adapt to my most powerful weapon. He really is a formidable enemy.

“And now,” said Parak’Mi, “it’s time for me to get my reward.”

The Spectre aimed his open palm at Poseidon. A small hole darker than the event horizon of a black hole opened in the center of Parak’Mi’s palm, and Poseidon felt his soul trying to extirpate itself from his body.

Noooo! It can’t end like this... I can’t lose my soul.

Lightning flashed in front of Poseidon’s eyes, and suddenly the pull on his soul stopped.

A man stood with both arms on their side in front of him, but Poseidon’s vision was too blurry to make out who it was. However, when the man spoke, he recognized his voice.

“Take good care of my people, Poseidon, I’m entrusting their safety to you now.”

It was Thor’s voice,

“Nooooooo!” screamed Poseidon before losing his balance and falling onto his back.

* * *

“Is that?” asked Chase.

“Thor,” said Chris solemnly.

“What the hell is he doing?”

“Sacrificing his life for his friend to buy us the time we need to defeat the Spectre.”

Chase extended his consciousness to observe the fight with his own mind’s eyes.

Thor had positioned himself between Poseidon and Parak’Mi, and his soul was slowly being siphoned out from his body. It sent shivers down Chase’s spine. He was not a stranger to such a sensation.

Thor was resisting with all his Asgardian might, forcing the Spectre to deploy an incredible amount of energy just to make Thor’s soul move forward a tenth of an inch at a time.

Thor looked at his trusty weapon, his entire face distorted in pain. “You… you know what to do, old friend.”

As the King of Asgard opened his fingers, Mjölnir flew from Thor’s hand and aimed toward Poseidon’s cybernetic hand. It flew itself inside Poseidon’s open hand. Once in place, Mjölnir hummed, and Poseidon’s metallic fingers snapped onto the handle on their own and flew a screaming Poseidon away from the launch bay.

* * *

Don’t do this! said Poseidon telepathically.

I have to, answered Thor. I couldn’t let you die.

Why have you come?? This was my fight! And I was ready to give my life.

I know you were. But we both know I owed you one.

Tell your hammer to bring me back right this instant! Let me be the one who makes this ultimate sacrifice.

It’s too late now, it cannot be undone. All your request would achieve is making sure we both die, and I count on you to survive and lead my people to victory. Today is the day I’ll rejoin Odin and Loki in Valhalla. Thank you for your friendship. I only wished we had spent more time upon this realm. I’ll miss you.

“Noooooooo!!” screamed Poseidon.

I… will miss you too, said Poseidon, with tears burning his eyes as a veil of darkness fell upon his consciousness.

Goodbye, brother, were the last words Poseidon would ever hear from Thor.

24

Kharon opened her eyes when Chris’s thoughts brushed her awake.

In the middle of the room stood two bodies, levitating, Argos’s and Oryn’s cloned bodies. They were contained inside a blue force field. The people who had brought them from their pods were already exiting the room with empty pods.

“Aren’t you spending too much energy doing this?” asked Kharon.

“Don’t worry about me,” said Chris. “I’ll be fine.”

The healing gland appeared in the middle of the regen room, and Chris held it in place with his mind.

“Kharon, you’re up,” said Chase.

She teleported out of the regen tank and vomited regeneration liquid on the floor, followed by a couple of coughs. She grabbed the healing gland and swallowed it.

An intense amount of energy filled her entire body, bringing her back from the brink of life-threatening exhaustion.

Chase opened his eyes. His voice resounded from his regen tank’s external speaker.

“You know what to do, we’re all counting on you now.”

Kharon’s eyes watered as she nodded before teleporting away.

“Do you think she can do it?” asked Chris.

“She’s the only one who can. She’s learned everything she needed from linking with my mind. And since she teleported away, I take it that she’s in the Underworld.”

“Then the real question is whether or not she’ll return in time.”

“We’ll find out soon enough.”

* * *

Oryn and Argos were exchanging blows when a young lady appeared nearby.

“Who the hell is this?” asked Oryn.

“I have no idea, but she kind of looks like a younger Sarah to me,” said Argos.

“I’m Kharon,” she said. “Argos, please hold still!”

Kharon put both her hands to her side, and a purple soul flew and hit Argos; as it entered from his torso, he went from semitransparent to fully solid.

“Holy shit, you’ve brought me back the rest of my soul,” said Argos, flexing both his hands.

“Now, the both of you, take my hands, quickly!”

“No offense, young lady,” said Oryn, “but we don’t know you.”

“I’m Chase’s daughter, Chris’s sister. A powerful Spectre is attacking Alkyon One. Chase, Chris, and Nyx are all in pretty bad shape and inside regen tanks at the moment. They’re defenseless, and there’s nothing they can do to fight off the enemy. Thor just sacrificed his life to save Poseidon, and if you don’t come back to Alkyon One with me right now, everyone will die, and today will be the day we lost the war.”

Argos stepped forward and gave Kharon his hand. “You had me at defenseless.”

“Argos!” complained Oryn. “Think about this, it could be a trap.”

“We’re already dead, Oryn, what exactly do we have to lose? But if she’s telling the truth, everyone I love will die. Do what you want, but I’m going with her. She brought the other half of my soul to me, that alone is enough reason for me to trust what she’s saying.”

Oryn hesitated as Argos’s words echoed through her mind.

“Last chance,” said Kharon. “We have to go, with or without you.”

Oryn took a deep breath and took Kharon’s other hand just as Zeus came running. Oryn’s body turned into a bright white energy form, and Argos’s body turned into a mixture of red and purple energy. Both souls were siphoned inside Kharon’s body.

“Wait!” screamed Zeus in the distance, “Where are you taking my daughter?”

“Back to the land of the living, great-grandpa,” she said before teleporting away.

Zeus fell on his knees and grabbed his head with both hands.

* * *

“He’s almost here,” said Chris.

“I know, I can sense him too… I just hope we didn’t miscalculate.”

Multiple sets of heavy footsteps echoed past the outside of the regen room, and multiple blaster fire sounds were replaced by agonizing screams, followed by the multiple thuds of bodies hitting the floor.

Kharon appeared between both bodies, a look of utter pain radiating from her entire face. Her body movement was jerky, and she had difficulty extending her arms to touch both Argos’s cold and Oryn’s warm body. One of her eyes shone white, while the other was glowing bright red.

“Hurry, Kharon,” pleaded Chase. “He’s right behind the door.”

“I need more time!” she exclaimed. “It’s the first time I’ve done this.”

“Then you have to take them with you somewhere else in the station.”

Kharon nodded, and she teleported herself and both Argos’s and Oryn’s bodies with her just before the door of the regen room exploded.

Parak’Mi stepped through what was left of the metallic door, sparks flying and bouncing on his dark hide.

“What do we have here?” he said as he scanned the room from left to right.

He laughed out loud.

“Three helpless Furies, today truly is a glorious day for me. Now, who will I devour first, the kid, the female, or Ashra’s biggest nemesis, the almighty Chase.”

“Take me,” said Chase.

“I hate you!” screamed Nyx through her speaker. “Look at what you’ve done! I knew you’d be the death of me, Chase Athanatos.”

“That one’s feisty,” said Parak’Mi as he walked in front of Nyx’s tank. “Perhaps I should start with her.”

“Fuck you!” screamed Nyx. “I’ll kill you from the inside if that’s what it takes!”

“I’d like to see that, I like this one, but I think I’ll go with the kid first.”

Parak’Mi walked in front of Chris’s tank. “Chris, is it?”

“Why do you care, asshole?”

“Are you afraid, boy?”

Chris’s eyes glowed green from inside the regen tank.

“I’m afraid of no Spectre. Give me your best shot.”

“Noooooo!” screamed Chase as he broke the glass of his tank. “Leave my son alone!”

Chase could barely stand and tried turning into Hyper Fury. Golden waves of energy sparked all around him but quickly died off, and he fell to the floor, his body twitching.

“Ahahahah, you’re all utterly pathetic. Look at you! You can’t even stay up on your feet, and you think you can defend your son. Normally I would grant you your wish and start with your soul, but I think you’ll suffer more if you witness me devouring your son’s soul first.”

I—I’m so sorry, said Chase telepathically.

No, I’m the one who’s sorry, said Chris. I brought this fate upon the three of us, it’s only justice that I’m the first one to go. I love you, dad.

I love you too, son. You’ve made me prouder than I ever thought possible.

Parak’Mi extended his palm toward Chris’s torso, it took little to no effort for Chris’s soul to slide halfway out of his body when a fireball burned half of the Spectre’s face, forcing him to redirect his attention, which brought Chris’s soul back inside his body. Upon reintegrating his body, Chris blew up multiple bubbles inside the tank.

The Spectre turned around to see who had fired at him. In front of him stood a panting Nyx, her eyes were on fire. “Don’t you dare touch him!”

Her knees were buckling under the weight of her own body, but she fired a second fireball that the Spectre caught with ease in his hand. He looked at it and effortlessly smashed it into nothingness.

Parak’Mi darted forward and landed a powerful punch in her stomach. Her eyes grew wide before she collapsed on the ground, losing consciousness. A single tear dropped from the corner of her eye as she looked at Chris one last time.

“You’re going to have to wait, feisty one, I and only I decide whose soul I devour first.”

“And how about you don’t devour any of them,” said a female voice behind him.

When Parak’Mi turned around, four golden energetic arrows impaled his chest, forcing him to stumble back a few steps. Black blood shot from his mouth.

“Who the fuck are you?” he spat.

Artemis fired another four arrows at the Spectre’s chest.

Parak’Mi screeched loudly.

“My name is Artemis, and I won’t let you kill my friends!”

She brought her energetic bow to bear one more time, created a massive golden arrow of energy, and fired it at Parak’Mi’s head.

The Spectre moved his neck out of the way so fast that he broke it. He then tightened every one of his muscles in one strong spasm that sent the four energetic arrows flying around the room. One of them landed inside Artemis’s thigh while a second one impaled Chase’s shoulder. She lost her balance and fell on the floor, her thigh bleeding heavily.

“That was unexpected,” said Parak’Mi, “but it ain’t no thing… the more souls, the bigger the party.”

The Spectre used telekinetic energy to bring Artemis’s body levitating in front of him. She tried firing another arrow, but he broke both her arms with telekinetic blasts, and her screams echoed throughout the station.

“That won’t work again, I’m afraid. But I respect your courage Artemis, enough so to add you to my collection of souls.”

Artemis spat on his face. “Go to hell, you piece of shit!”

Parak’Mi wiped his face and smiled. “One day, perhaps, but not today.”

He started siphoning her soul from her body when a large metal hammer hit him full force in the face, sending him crashing to the wall behind, dropping his telekinetic hold on Artemis. Her soul snatched back inside her body as she unceremoniously crashed to the floor.

“What—what are you… doing here,” said a bloody and barely standing Poseidon.

“The same as you,” answered Artemis, “fighting till the end.”

“Ahahahaha,” laughed Parak’Mi as he got back to his feet and cracked his neck back into place. “You’re all so pathetic. You can barely stand, and yet you still fight. Is it courage? Or desperation?”

25

Menelas landed next to Diaspira and grabbed her by the neck. She appeared unconscious.

He put all his strength in his hand and started squeezing the life out of her.

Just when he thought her neck would snap, she opened her eyes, and he was catapulted away by a massive shockwave, but he never fell to the floor. A telekinetic force held him in place.

Diaspira’s eyes were mad beyond anything Menelas had ever seen. Her eyes were bloodshot and her pupils barely a dot in their center. Her hair flew up in the air like a struggling flame in the wind.

Her armor had multiple craters on her chest that quickly morphed back into place as a couple of small rivers of blood ran down her chin.

“Enough!” she screamed as she snapped her hand toward her chest.

Menelas flew forward, unable to counter the massive telekinetic pull. When he reached her, she impaled him through the stomach with a fiery fist. He gagged on a large quantity of blood on her face when she forcefully removed her forearm from his abdomen and discarded him to the floor with a telekinetic push.

“You can’t kill a god!” she shouted. “Don’t you get that?!”

Menelas tried to speak, but there was too much blood in his mouth. Instead, he spilled the thick red liquid on the cold hard marble floor, unable to stop his body from convulsing.

“You’re no god,” said a female voice behind her.

Before Diaspira could turn around, Athena grabbed her from under the arms and locked her tight against her chest before swiveling them both one hundred and eighty degrees.

“You’re never hurting another soul ever again,” said Athena, the fires of determination burning inside her eyes. “Ka’Rij! NOW!”

Ka’Rij flew through the pyramid and landed thirty yards away from them. He morphed himself from a dragon man to a full-blown dragon in a matter of seconds while Diaspira struggled in vain, trying to break free from Athena’s lock.

Ka’Rij was massive in full dragon form, his head now barely a couple of yards away from a trembling Diaspira. When he spoke, both women’s hair madly flew all around their heads.

“Are you sure, Athena?”

“Do it!” said Athena. “Do it now!”

The dragon nodded as fire appeared through his nostrils.

“Are you insane?” said Diaspira. “You’ll burn with me!”

“As long as you burn once and for all… I don’t give a shit.”

“Noooooooo!” screamed Diaspira.

Ka’Rij opened his mouth and unleashed the fires of hell onto the two women. It burned with the force of an exploding star. Athena’s arms were the first to turn dark, but soon after, Diaspira’s face melted.

Menelas jumped into the inferno, grabbed Athena, turned his back to protect her before flying out of the flames, and they crash-landed on the side, smoke arising both their bodies.

Ka’Rij increased his flame tenfold and burned Diaspira to a crisp. Her armor remained unscathed, but she boiled and charred inside it until there was nothing left, and the platinum pieces of armor fell on the floor with multiple metallic clangs.

“Urrrrgh,” said Menelas, “you—you’re insane, love.”

But Athena had lost consciousness and couldn’t reply. He delicately rolled her over and began healing her. She soon opened her eyes and blinked at him.

“Thank you, but please keep some energy for yourself,” she said with a smile on her still half-burnt face.

Menelas painfully nodded and put his other hand on the large bleeding hole in his abdomen. He healed his wound as much as he could before letting himself collapse next to his soul mate. He searched and found her hand and interlocked his fingers with hers.

“You’re one crazy lady,” he said. “You know that, right?”

“It takes one to know one,” answered Athena as she struggled to move on top of him.

“That being said... I’m sure glad to see you,” said Menelas.

“Shut up and kiss me.”

Menelas smiled as he gently grabbed her still burned neck with his free hand and brought her face close to his before kissing her passionately.

* * *

“I’ve had it with the lot of you,” said Parak’Mi as he made claws with both his hands. “No more picking firsts, give me all your souls, now!”

Everyone in the room convulsed as they struggled to keep their escaping souls from escaping their bodies.

“I don’t think so!” said Argos as he stepped into the room, teleported in front of Parak’Mi, and decapitated the Spectre with one hand while turning Ultra Fury.

He kicked the headless body to the ground.

“That won’t do it,” said a wounded Chase on the floor.

Argos kneeled next to his brother.

“I know, don’t worry. What have you gotten yourself into in my absence?” added Argos as he gave some energy back to Chase.

“You should keep your energy, this fight isn’t over.”

Black tendrils shot from the headless body and tried to reconnect with the severed head.

“Oh, yes, it is,” said Oryn walking into the room and impaling the Spectre with hundreds of large and pointy icicles. She closed her fists, and the icicles exploded into thousands of shards that blew the Spectre into hundreds of fleshy bits.

Argos got up and opened Chris’s tank. He had lost consciousness, and Argos delicately put him on the ground, infusing him with energy. He soon opened his eyes.

“Uncle!” said Chris as he took Argos in his arms. “You’re back,” he added, his eyes filling with tears.

Chase got up and fired a small energy ball at Nyx, who slowly regained consciousness.

Kharon ran into the room with a smile on her face and jumped at Chase’s neck.

“We need to finish him,” said Chase.

“Yes, we do,” said Argos, as he helped Chris get to his feet, his arms still firmly attached to Argos’s neck until they both were standing upright.

Hundreds of tentacles shot from the hundreds of Spectre’s fleshy bits on the ground, hurrying toward reforming a body.

“These things don’t like to die that easily, do they?” asked Oryn.

“No, they don’t, but where she’s going, there’s no coming back,” said Argos. “But we could use a bit of packaging if you don’t mind.”

Oryn smiled. “Your wish is my command.”

Oryn unleashed a bright white beam of absolute-zero energy and encased the Spectre reforming blob into a large icy coffin.

Argos walked toward Kharon and smiled at her. “What do you say we do this one together?”

Kharon’s eyes sparkled with joy, and she nodded.

“Give me a second to help these two,” she said as she put a hand on both Poseidon’s back and Artemis’s chest and healed them both.

“Where are you bringing that thing?” asked Chase.

“There’s a star with his name on it not too far from here,” said Argos.

“Sounds like a fun trip, but make sure Kharon gets back home before midnight.”

Argos smiled. “Oh, trust me, brother, we’ll be right back.”

Kharon erected a force field around herself, the coffin, and Argos. She touched the massive ice coffin filled with large chunks of black Spectre bits and held her other hand toward Argos. He grabbed her hand before they blinked out of existence.

Oryn helped Poseidon and Artemis back to their feet.

“Thank you,” said Poseidon.

Oryn nodded. “You probably should spend a bit of time in a regen tank to heal all your wounds properly.”

She looked around the destruction inside the room before continuing, “In another one of these rooms, that is.”

“Thank you for saving our lives,” said Artemis.

“Looks to me it’s you who saved the day. If you hadn’t been here fighting this thing before we returned, I’d hate to imagine what this room would look like now.”

Artemis put her hand under Poseidon’s shoulder, and they walked out of the room.

* * *

Kharon, Argos, and the large chunk of ice appeared near a bright star.

The ice melted quickly, and Argos didn’t take any chances and unleashed a massive telekinetic push toward it. It split into multiple parts that were catapulted into the sun’s corona, quickly melting their icy prison before the dark flesh was consumed by the flames of the sun.

“Wait!” said Kharon extending her hand and grabbing some blue energy out of the pieces before they were entirely consumed.

“What’s that?” asked Argos.

“A gift for someone very courageous.”

Argos smiled. “You’re your father’s daughter, all right.”

“Did you have any doubts about that?”

“None whatsoever, I saw my brother inside your eyes the moment you came to the Underworld.”

Kharon grabbed Argos’s hand and rested her head on his shoulder before teleporting them back to the regen room.

“One order of over-barbecued Spectre delivered, as promised,” said Argos.

Kharon laughed as she let go of Argos. Chase took his brother in his arms and squeezed him hard, hitting his back twice with his fist.

“It’s so good to have you back, brother… you have no idea.”

“Oh, I do know. Trust me… and it’s good to be back, bro.”

Chris tried to help Nyx off the floor, but she rejected him and pushed him back.

“I’m glad you’re all having such a wonderful family reunion,” she said, “but I will never be a part of what happened here today! You almost got us all killed.”

“The operative word here is almost,” said Oryn.

“And who the fuck are you supposed to be?” spat Nyx.

“Obviously not someone looking forward to making your acquaintance. A little gratitude wouldn’t hurt.”

“Gratitude? If I hadn’t helped these losers save that other loser,” barked Nyx as she pointed at Kharon, “you’d still be dead.”

Nyx stormed out of the room.

“Charming gal,” said Oryn.

Chris shrugged. “She takes a while to get used to.”

“You can say that again,” said Chase as he approached Oryn with a smile on his face.

He grabbed her by the shoulders before giving her a big hug.

“I never thought I’d be able to do this again,” said Chase.

She patted his back a couple of times. “It’s good to see you too, Chase.”

“Who’s up for some food?” asked Kharon.

Everyone in the room raised their hands.

EPILOGUE

Ka’Rij retook humanoid form and walked toward the shiny armor. It was covered with ash, but something inside the chest piece shone through and got his attention. He put his hand through the pile of ash and grabbed a necklace.

“What’s this?” he asked.

Menelas and Athena helped one another walk toward him just when Cedric ran into the room with a blaster in hand, jumping from side to side.

“Everyone okay?” he asked. “Oh... what’s that,” he said as his eyes landed on the bright orange glowing stone at the end of the golden necklace.

“She must have been wearing it,” said Menelas. “I never saw anything like it, you?” he asked Athena.

She shook her head.

Cedric holstered his blaster and brought a holo-screen to life. He entered a few commands.

“Wow, I think that’s the power source.”

“You mean that’s what she drew power from?” asked Menelas.

“Yes, its power signature matches my previous scans, but I never imagined something so small could provide her amazing amounts of power.”

“Then perhaps we should destroy it,” proposed Athena.

“Hell no!” said Cedric. “I mean… I think that would be a mistake.”

“Why?” asked Ka’Rij.

“This could hold the key to decrypting other Atlantian secrets. I’m sure Gaia and Spiros will want to examine it first, at the very least.”

“Fair enough,” said Athena, “but is it safe to do so?”

“I agree, that thing sure seemed to drive Diaspira mad,” said Menelas.

“I think she was mad before, honey.”

“Point taken,” he said with a chuckle, “but I could sense it drove her even crazier. Which wasn’t something I thought was possible.”

“Then we make sure nobody puts it around their neck,” said Cedric, “but we can’t discount the possibility that we may need this thing to win the war.”

“The real question,” said Ka’Rij, “is whether or not any of us would even have the power needed to destroy this thing. That and the armor are all that are left. And truth be told, I didn’t expect anything to survive my attack, I literally gave everything I had into that one dragon breath. Last time I did that, I blew up a moon.

* * *

Kharon knocked on Poseidon’s door.

“Come in,” he said as the door split open. “Oh, Kharon, I didn’t expect it to be you. Please come in.”

Kharon walked inside the Olympian’s quarters.

“I know, but I have something for you.”

“Really? What would that be?” said Poseidon intrigued.

Kharon put both her hands together, forming the shape of a bowl, and a blue flame came to life over it.

“I understand that’s your best friend’s soul, well...what’s left of it anyway.”

“Can Chase put it back into Thor’s body?”

Kharon’s face dropped. “I’m afraid not. The Spectre didn’t leave a body, and Asgardians have rules not to be cloned. Something to do with their beliefs of the afterlife. I’m truly sorry.”

“Then what am I supposed to do with this? And shouldn’t we let him go to Valhalla?”

“I think he’s already there; after all, it’s not his entire soul, just the part that vibrates for you.”

“I don’t understand.”

She approached him holding Thor’s soul in one hand and put her other hand on Poseidon’s shoulder. “You will soon enough… May I?”

Poseidon’s eyes watered as he nodded.

Kharon closed her eyes and transferred Thor’s soul inside of Poseidon.

He took a long, drawn-out breath of surprise as glowing tattoos appeared on Poseidon’s face.

“He’s home now,” said Kharon as she tapped the Olympian’s shoulder twice before walking toward the door. “And happy.”

Poseidon could feel a part of his friend inside of him, like a distant voice and a presence watching over him.

“Wait,” said Poseidon.

Kharon turned her head toward him.

“Thank you for this.”

“You’re welcome, and thank you for saving us all,” said Kharon with a slight nod before leaving the room.

* * *

“I’m so sorry to hear that,” said the holographic Loki.

“How did you manage to send Thor through in the first place?” asked Poseidon. “I thought you said that after sending me, there wouldn’t be enough energy to send anyone else.”

“There wasn’t.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Thor became agitated as he felt you were in danger, he insisted that I send him, knowing full well that the transport would kill him.”

“What do you mean?”

“Because there was not enough energy for a successful transfer, sending him to Alkyon One under these conditions meant that there was no way he could have survived the transport for more than a few minutes. I’m not even sure all of him made it through.”

“Some of him sure did.”

“I think that was the idea—to interrupt the soul transfer process. But even if the Spectre hadn’t killed him, he would have died anyway. I know that’s not going to make you feel better...”

“You’re right—it doesn’t.”

“He also left a holographic message for you while I was preparing the transport. Should I send it to you now?”

Poseidon closed his eyes to prevent tears from escaping, but he only delayed them.

“Sure, thank you, Loki. Even after your death, you’ve managed to save the day.”

“Can I ask you something, Poseidon?”

“Anything.”

“In the midst of all the action today, I wanted to ask Thor something, and I never got the chance. Perhaps you can answer my question for him.”

“I certainly can try… What would you like to know?”

“I—my matrix is made of a scan of Loki’s brain, so I do have a lot of his experiences and memories, but it’s not really such a recent copy. And… let’s just say that well... I’m aware that the real me did some questionable things in the past. Things I’m not proud of, even if I’m not the one who did them, but I still feel like I did, you know?”

“Understandable. But I’m not sure what you want me to tell you here.”

“I wanted to know how I—how the real me... died. Was my death an honorable one at least?”

“You died saving Asgard, Loki. You fought until your last breath and died a true hero.”

“You’re not just saying that?”

“I assure you that is the truth. But why didn’t you just check the Asgardians network yourself?”

The Loki hologram rubbed his eyes. “I was afraid of what I would read.”

“Well, rest assured there was no shame in how you gave your life for your people. Just like your older brother, you’ll forever be remembered as a savior.”

“Thank you, Poseidon. I’ll send the holo-message your way.”

Poseidon nodded as the holo-communication terminated. His console beeped to inform him that the message downloaded.

Poseidon’s finger hovered over the play control and froze. It stayed there for the longest time as Poseidon played the day back in his head in what felt like a thousand times before eventually removing his fingers and swiping the holo-screen away.

Why don’t you want to hear it? asked Thor in his mind.

I do want to hear it, brother, just not today.

* * *

“How is she doing?” asked Chase.

“She’s better now, thanks to your daughter,” said Altair. “I owe you one.”

“Nonsense, I’m just glad Kharon could help. I understand it was touch and go for a while.”

“If Kharon hadn’t come to get her and bring her back here and heal her wounds…”

Chase clapped Altair on the shoulder twice.

“All that matters is that Ryonna is fine now.”

Altair nodded. “How does it feel having your daughter home?”

“Now that she’s truly here and that she’s no longer a minion of Ashra, it feels really good… but….”

“What is it, Chase?”

“I wish I could have held her in my arms as a baby, you know? Both of them, in fact. I feel like these wars have robbed my life of an experience I may never have the chance for again, in this case, watching my children grow, care for, and protect them over the years until they become adults.”

“You can still do some of that. And who knows, that might still happen with the next one.”

“Between you and me, I’m not sure there will ever be a next one.”

“What do you mean?”

“We almost lost everything today, Altair. This station and tens of thousands of lives could have been lost. Brave men and women died to try and protect us. Because my son and I, as well as Nyx, I guess, gave everything we had in terms of power to drive the Spectre out from Kharon. The exorcism, for the lack of a better word, was the most difficult thing we ever did; in fact, we all came to the brink of death in order to achieve that miracle.”

“What matters is that you succeeded, and in doing so, you brought your brother and Oryn back.”

“Others have paid the price, though…”

“I heard about Thor. I’m sorry.”

“But that’s the thing, Altair. We came this close to losing it all… and removing the Spectre out of Kharon was one thing. Doing it for Sarah now seems…”

“Impossible?”

Chase nodded. “And hopeless too. She’s infinitely more powerful than... well, anyone else. Having devoured millions of souls, I can only imagine the kind of power she’s wielding. How are we supposed to bring Sarah back?”

“You’ll find a way.”

“I’m not so sure anymore…Today Thor has fallen because of our actions, which begs the question: how many more must die for me to let go of this fantasy about bringing back Sarah?”

“I wish I had an answer for you.”

“And I’m not asking you for one, but you knew Sarah as well, she wouldn’t want anyone else’s life to be risked to save her. That much I’m sure of.”

“What are you saying, Chase?”

“I’m saying that the priority in this war should first and foremost be to kill Ashra and defeat every single one of the damn Spectres, not to save my wife… if she can even be saved at this point.”

There was a long uncomfortable pause before Chase continued. “If we lose sight of what the end goal is, many more will die, and I don’t think I could deal with that. Nor do I think that she would ever forgive me for risking innocent lives in that pursuit of that fool’s quest. If she was here right now, she’d tell me to let her go.”

“That’s heavy, and for what it’s worth, Chase… I’m truly sorry.”

“So am I… I’m sorry I couldn’t save her then, and I’m sorry I have to let her go now.”

“What does Chris think about all this?”

Chase shook his head and covered the top of his face with his hand. “I—I haven’t spoken to him about it. We brushed the subject earlier, but…”

“You should rest, Chase… and sleep on it. Before you make any decision of this magnitude, though, you need to have this talk with the rest of your family and make sure you’re all on the same page.”

* * *

Chris, Argos, Chase, and Kharon appeared on the holo-screen. In the back of the room, Oryn entered and joined them.

“Good, you’re all here,” said Gaia.

“What is it, Gaia?” asked Chase.

“I’ve analyzed the necklace Menelas brought back to base.”

“And?” asked Chris.

“It’s Atlantian tech all right, and it was the piece of the puzzle I needed to assemble it further.”

“What puzzle?” asked Argos.

“To find the next place for us to go in the hopes of finding more answers about what happened to their civilization. And also in the process discover new technologies we can exploit to defeat the Spectres.”

“What are you saying, Gaia?” asked Chase.

“That after working non-stop since I got my hands on the necklace, I’ve figured out where we have to go next, and for this one, I think we should all go there... and soon.”

“Where are we going, exactly?” asked Chris.

“To Atlantis,” said Gaia.

To be continued…

(Keep reading Book 16: Atlantis right now)

THANKS TO ALL MY PATRONS

Special thanks to the following people (Destroyer Captain & higher tiers) for supporting my work on Patreon:

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—== Join me on PATREON ==—

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BOOK 16: ATLANTIS

____________________

COPYRIGHT

Copyright © 2023 by Christian Kallias

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

First Printing of original book, 2023

Version 1.00

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Cover artwork by Christian Kallias

christian@kallias.com

www.christiankallias.com

Website for book covers: kallias.com

www.facebook.com/ChristianKallias

www.twitter.com/kalliasx

Editors

Tyler Colins

Proofreaders

ARC Team (thanks everyone!)

Special thanks to Stephen Barrow & David Licata

For my Father & my Brother :(

Dimitri Kallias

1937-2022

Jordan Kallias

1966 - 2022

May you both Rest In Peace.

I love you, both, with all my heart.

DRAMATIS PERSONÆ

Earth Alliance

Admiral Chase Athanatos – Earth Alliance Fury Olympian hybrid - Hero of the Fury War

Captain Sarah Kepler Athanatos – Earth Human with Fury powers (body-snatched by Ashra’Lur )

Chris Athanatos – Fury/Olympian/Human hybrid (Chase’s son)

Menelas - Fury Warrior (Chase and Argos’s father)

Oryn - Fury Olympian Hybrid (Zeus’ Daughter)

Kharon Athanatos - Fury/Olympian/Human hybrid (Chase’s daughter)

Emperor Altair – Head of the Earth Alliance (formerly Obsidian Empire Emperor)

Captain Daniel Tharraleos – Earth Alliance Human (formerly Star Alliance) - Commander of Alkyon One Space Station

Chief Engineer Yanis Tixichos – Earth Alliance Human (formerly Star Alliance)

R&D Lead Engineer Spiros Malayianis – Earth Alliance Human (formerly Star Alliance)

Argos Thanatos – Fury Olympian hybrid and Chase’s twin brother (formerly head of the Zarlacks)

Ryonna Isch’ys – Droxian Ambassador (formerly a fugitive Droxian smuggler)

Talon Epizon – Earth Alliance captain: EAD Victory

Tar’Lock (tahr-lock) – EAD Victory’s First Officer - Gorgar (Insectoid and formerly a Hellstar prisoner)

Cedric - Human engineer

Gaia - Artificial Intelligence inside a human clone body

Allanah - Starfighters Chief Engineer on board Alkyon One

Keera - (Former) Bounty Hunter - Earth Alliance Intelligence Agent

Olympians

Ares (ah-rees) – known to humans as the god of war (deceased, living as pure energy form)

Poseidon - known to the humans as the god of the seas, now King of Asgard

Hades - known to humans as the god of the Underworld

Artemis - known to the humans as the goddess of the hunt

Zeus - Former Leader of Olympus (deceased, now overseeing the Underworld)

Aphroditis (a-fro-dee-tee) - known to the humans as the goddess of love (pronounced afro-di-ti, the s is silent)

Spectres

Ashra’Lur – Female Spectre Leader / New Spectre Prime

Spectre Prime - Former Spectre leader (deceased)

Kisin - Female Spectre Scientist

Furies

Nyx – Pure-blood Fury Warrior

Asgardians

Thor - King of Asgard, Fleet Commander & son of Odin (deceased)

Kvasir (kvah-seer) – Asgardian scientist

Loki - Thor’s brother (deceased)

Siegfried - Divine Asgardian Guard

Fenrir - Divine Asgardian Guard

Grunhild - Divine Asgardian Guard (deceased)

Other characters

Hyperion - Atlantean*

*I know I’ve used Atlantians in previous books but since it’s a typo, I’ve replaced it with Atlanteans in books 16 & 17 and will eventually fix that in previous books as well.

PREVIOUSLY ON UNIVERSE IN FLAMES

Previously in Season One (Books 1–10):

In the wake of a genocidal tragedy, the Star Alliance fled their corner of the universe to survive the onslaught from the Obsidian Empire. In doing so, the Alliance found both an ally and a sanctuary on a faraway planet called Earth. With their new ally, the Star Alliance formed the Earth Alliance and fought alongside other races (Droxians, Olympians, and Asgardians) in the new Fury War (known as the second Fury War). Furies—human-looking creatures with incredibly powerful fighting abilities and the scourge of the universe. were once thought extinct for ten thousand years. But against all the odds, they returned. Originally, a coalition of worlds led by the Olympians, Asgardians, and many other older civilizations defeated the Furies during the first Fury War. But the Furies home world, Erevos, wasn’t destroyed at the end of the first Fury War and was instead trapped in an alternate dimension where time advanced slower than in their original dimension (the same dimension where Earth resides). Upon their return in this dimension ten thousand years later, the Furies waged a terrible war against the Earth Alliance and the rest of the universe in an effort to cleanse the galaxy of the races that once defied and locked them into their temporal prison. Chase Athanatos (a Fury Olympian hybrid), along with his friends and loved ones, fought the Furies at every turn and eventually won the war. But that victory came at a terrible personal cost to Chase. He lost many people he cared for, and the final battle saw his wife, Sarah, mortally wounded by an enemy that had been steering the Furies campaign behind the scenes: The Spectres. Eventually, Chase defeated Tanak’Vor, the only Spectre known to have crossed over to this universe’s dimension.

* * *

SEASON 2 (Dark Legacy)

BOOK 11: Nemesis

Chase decides to go to the unknown regions where he hopes to find a cure for Sarah. While planning to go alone on this mission, he’s joined by many of his friends, as well as his estranged son (Chris). A small number of Spectre ships made it through to this dimension when Chase and the Alliance sent Erevos back to the Spectre’s dimension before the soul ships blew up the planet. The leader of these Spectres is none other than Tanak’Vor’s brother, Asrak’Vor. He’s bound on seeking revenge for the murder of his brother and will do anything to kill the one called Chase Athanatos. Meanwhile, in the other dimension, shortly after Erevos is destroyed, Ares regains consciousness. He is baffled that he survived the explosion of the Fury planet. He boards a Spectre ship, and while trying to acquire intel about the Spectres from within, he stumbles upon a female Fury survivor—Nyx. Nyx is being hunted by the Spectres and the two are forced, against their better judgment, to join forces and escape the Spectres. The unlikely alliance yields a treasure trove of information, and Nyx learns that the arachnoids, a slave race working for the Spectres, are experimenting on her, and using her DNA to create something else, something sinister. Ares learns the ship they’re on also contains a prototype engine the Spectres intend to use to send an invasion armada to attack the Earth Alliance. Nyx and Ares manage to use the ship to return to their dimension, but they make sure the ship doesn’t survive the trip. Chase and his friends encounter new dangers in the unknown regions and are saved by a Dragonman of Kyria called Ka’Rij. He recognized Chase as the one he calls “Dragonheart” and asks the Alliance for help in saving his world and the last survivors of his race on New Kyria. Chase, Argos, and Chris help Ka’Rij repel the Hellion Empire from New Kyria and Ka’Rij gives Chase some of his tears, which he believes will cure Sarah of her ailment. Chase and his friends return and use the dragon tears on both Aphroditis and Sarah. The Goddess of Love recovers, but Sarah does not, to both Chase’s and Chris’s dismay. Ares returns and meets with Chase, only to deliver the news that the Spectres are working on a way to invade the Earth Alliance.

* * *

BOOK 12: Unleashed

When a Spectre attacks an ancient Asgardian ship, the Aegir One, a prisoner, Siegfried, who has been in cryo-sleep for thousands of years, is released by the ship’s captain, hoping he can help save the ship. The Spectre kills everyone on board. Even the ship’s captain is himself defeated by Siegfried, who didn’t have to deploy much of his power to terminate any threat.

Thor learns of the event and asks Poseidon to help him recapture Siegfried, a Divine Asgardian Guard (super soldier) genetically created by Odin and Zeus at the end of the first Fury War. The Guards were designed to clean up the last few thousands of Furies scattered throughout the universe at the end of the war. Thor explains that once the Asgardian Guards finished what they were created for, they turned against their creators and were hunted down one by one. From the original seven, four were killed, and the other three were captured and put into cryo-sleep for all eternity.

Meanwhile, Chris and Argos help Ka’Rij deal with multiple attacks from the Hellion Empire, apparently trying to find a specific location on New Kyria, which forces Chris and Argos to investigate what’s so special about the place. Menelas wakes up not knowing who he is or why he is imprisoned. With the help of another inmate, a female named Diaspira, he recovers some of his memories and they manage to escape their prison. But Diaspira double-crosses him in order to run experiments on his Fury DNA. Chris and Argos find the place the Hellion Empire were after and locate a facility with ancient technology protected by an Atlantean AI who gives Chris access to the technology before the AI is erased from existence. The facility contains an Atlantean cosmo gateway, or a gate allowing its users to travel to other worlds in the blink of an eye. While testing the technology, Chris detects Menelas’s life sign through an open gateway, and Chris and Argos go to rescue him.

Ashra’Lur, a female Spectre, is sent to divert the Earth Alliance from the gateway the Spectres are creating in order to open a door between dimensions. Ashra’Lur attacks Alkyon One, the space station still being built that Daniel captains. Chase intervenes and saves the station, but during the attack, Ashra’Lur boards his ship, and they end up fighting. Ashra’Lur is about to snatch Chase’s soul when Nyx saves his life.

Ryonna goes to help her husband, who she thought was long dead, only to learn that her son is now in the hands of the Spectres. Ryonna and Jax team up to rescue their son, while Talon and Tar’Lock are dispatched to find Ryonna. With the help of Talon and Tar’Lock, Ryonna and Jax manage to save their son and return to Earth Alliance space.

Poseidon, Ares, and Thor try to recapture Siegfried but fail in their mission. They decide to try to secure the other two Asgardian Guards, but Thor’s obsession to keep his father’s wishes in not murdering the guards, allows one mistake after another until the worst possible scenario happens—all three Guards are released.

Talon informs Chase that the Spectres are creating a giant space gateway that could potentially allow their enemy to bring reinforcements into their dimension.

* * *

BOOK 13: Reckoning

The Alliance assembles the largest fleet to take down the dimensional super gate currently being assembled by the Spectres.

Asrak’Vor is determined to get his revenge on Chase for killing his brother Tanak. With the help of Ashra’Lur, they set a trap for Chase. Before Chase is forcefully beamed out of the Hope, Argos grabs him, and together, they fight Asrak’Vor in an epic confrontation. During the battle, Ashra takes advantage of her superior and decides to kill Asrak on her own, assimilating his souls and powering up in the process.

Argos is knocked out, and Chase has to face Ashra on his own. As the fight progresses, Chase realizes he won’t be able to defeat the Spectre female, and when she’s about to grab his soul, Argos awakens and sacrifices himself to save his brother. Chase does everything he can to save Argos’s soul and accidentally splits it in half.

In his rage over losing his brother, Chase transforms and elevates his power. With this newfound power, he nearly obliterates Ashra, who is forced to reveal that she is, in fact, a Spectre inside his wife’s body. This revelation throws Chase off guard and prevents him from killing her. Taking advantage of his lowered guard, Ashra attempts to rip out Chase’s soul once more. This time, Nyx intervenes and sends Ashra running for her life.

Meanwhile, the Alliance fleet struggles and fails to destroy the super gate before multiple Spectre ships can fly through. In an attempt to improve Alliance weapons, Kvasir creates a machine that requires Chris to take life-or-death risks in order to destroy the gate and close the rift between both dimensions. But just when the Alliance is about to destroy the gate, Thor learns the Asgardian Guards are attacking his planet, Asgard. He leaves the fleet, putting the Alliance in the direst of situations.

As the Alliance is about to be defeated, a small Fury fleet jumps in, and against all odds, they join forces with the Alliance to destroy the super gate and close the rift.

Argos wakes up in the Underworld, but quickly realizes he’s not all there.

* * *

BOOK 14: Dominion

The Guards are on the offensive and attack Asgard, their home world planet. Loki finds himself on his own to protect his world from the mighty Guard Grunhild, whose mental powers are off the charts. It will take all of Loki’s might to hold off the attack until Thor can return with what’s left of his fleet to save the planet.

Meanwhile, Ashra’Lur discovers that there are forces within her own ranks trying to work against her, and it forces her into a corner at the same time as Chase’s daughter Kharon tries to destroy her from within her womb. Ashra is forced to have the Athanatos baby forcibly removed so she can focus her attention of thwarting the plot against her life. She goes onto the offensive and and decides to hunt Spectre Prime himself.

Loki ends up sacrificing his life to save Asgard but manages to delay the attacking fleet long enough for Thor and Poseidon to come and defeat Grunhild. In orbit, a large space battle rages, and thanks to the help of the Dragonmen of Kyria and the rest of the Earth Alliance fleet, they manage to repel the Guards from Asgard’s orbit.

In the unknown regions, Ares, Ryonna, and the rest of the team manage to find a reliable source of pentalium, which both the Alliance and the Asgardians desperately need to build new ships and equip older Earth Alliance destroyers with faster hyperspace engines based on Asgardian technology.

The two remaining Guards, Siegfried and Fenrir, go on a daring mission to infect Droxia with a cybernetic plague that turns its population into suggestible cyber-warrior forces. The Earth Alliance manages to put the Guards on the run but not before filling their ships with thousands of converted Droxian. In the meantime, the rest of the plague takes its course on the surface of Droxia, forcing Chase and the Alliance to put the entire world into a temporal quarantine, slowing the flow of time on the surface while they work on finding a way to cure the planet’s population.

Ashra engages with and defeats Spectre Prime himself after eradicating his personal guards one by one and becomes the strongest being in the universe, but as they fight, Spectre Prime informs her that she’s going too far and there will be dire consequences for assimilating so many powerful souls at once, which could lead to her undoing. In a desperate attempt to save his hide, he proposes to instead ally their forces for the greater good of the Spectres, but Ashra refuses and executes him in cold blood. In the process, she assimilates the millions of souls he once possessed.

Ares suffers an energetic breakdown after being exposed to Atlantean technology and temporarily acts as a data conduit and interactive map that eventually leads to discovering new portal addresses in the unknown regions for the Alliance to explore. At last, the promise of finding ancient and forgotten Atlantean technology might be within the Alliance’s reach.

During Chase’s absence, Daniel and Altair made a move on the Earth Alliance council and removed them from power in a move designed to catapult Chase as the head of the Alliance, a decision with which he strongly disagrees. But with the fleet so diminished, Daniel justifies his actions by telling Chase that he felt he had no choice in order to cement their already frail alliance with the remainder of the Fury forces.

Thor returns to Asgard to give Loki the hero’s funeral his brother deserves with the help of the warriors (Poseidon & Artemis) who helped him defeat Grunhild.

Spiros is woken in the middle of the night by Cedric and summoned to the research lab. There he discovers that Cedric did the unthinkable and restored Gaia’s backup into a new clone body.

* * *

BOOK 15: Fireborn

With Gaia back from the dead, she gets to back to work in order to find a way to save the infected population of Droxia in an effort to revert those turned into an army of cybernetic killing drones, and bring them back to their fully organic selves.

Meanwhile, Ashra cooks up a diabolical plot to use Chase’s daughter Kharon to bring down the Athanatos family, as well as the entire Alliance. Sent as a trojan horse to kill Chase and his friends, Kharon is welcomed to the Alkyon One space station under the false pretense of having escaped her mother, only for her to try to kill her father the first chance she gets. Chase, Chris, and Nyx have to deploy all their energy to stop Kharon and to save her from the Spectre blood inside her, her mother's blood having infected her in a way that allows her to be mentally manipulated.

In risking all their lives, they manage to not only deprogram Nyx from Ashra's agenda and prime directives, but in doing so they also manage to turn her to their side. Unfortunately, to achieve that goal, Chase, Chris, and Nyx had to expand all their energy, and they are forced to enter a regen tank to heal. Meanwhile, Ashra sends a special Spectre operative with instructions to finish the job, in case Kharon fails to accomplish her mission. It’s up to a very few warriors to try and stop that new powerful threat, and since Chase and the others aren't in any shape to fight, Poseidon is tasked to be their last line of defense.

Just when Poseidon is about to be defeated by the powerful Ergon’Kar, and have his soul snatched up by the Spectre, Thor decides to make the ultimate sacrifice to save his friend with the help of the holographic version of Loki.

When the assassin Ergon’Kar reaches Chase, Chris, and Nyx, they're still regenerating and make for easy targets. It’s only through the bravery of their friends, including that of Daniel and Artemis, that there is enough time for Kharon to enter the underworld and return Argos and Oryn to the world of the living.

Upon arriving, Oryn, Kharon and Argos manage to kill Ergon’Kar and save their friends and family. Before sending the Spectre into the corona of a star in order to disintegrate him, Kharon manages to grab a small part of Thor’s soul and gives it to Poseidon. Poseidon can now both see and talk to his fallen brother's ghost.

Meanwhile, Portal Team One locates an ancient pyramid on their next mission when an old enemy, Diaspira, emerges back to the fold and tries to kill the intruders. Menelas fights bravely but he's overpowered by whatever Atlantean technology Diaspira has enhanced herself with. With the help of Athena and Ka'Rij, they defeat Diaspira, and recover an Atlantean artifact from her remains.

As the group recovers from this last Spectre attack, and Portal Team One returns home, Gaia find a major piece of information analyzing the artifact: Atlantis is still standing and she believes she knows how to get there.

… And now the conclusion of the Universe in Flames saga.

PROLOGUE

“Atlantis still exists?” asked Chase.

“Yes,” said Gaia, “and I firmly believe that the entrance to it, or at least a portal to access Atlantis, is located inside the pyramid where Diaspira went to get the technology she used to buff herself up. It’s the only way she could hold her own against Menelas in Ultra Fury form.”

“Atlantean technology must be quite advanced to turn a non-warrior into a battle-beast fighting machine, allowing them to not only hold their own, but even surpassing any Fury, Ultra or otherwise,” said Chris.

“Makes you wonder what else we could find there that could help us level up our own powers,” said Oryn.

“And the way things have been going lately in terms of powerful foes,” said Argos, “we can definitely use any advantage we can get right now.”

“That’s why I think you should all come along on our trip to find Atlantis,” said Gaia.

“Isn’t that reckless? Leaving Alkyon One unprotected? Especially in its current damaged state?” inquired Chase.

“Not necessarily,” said Kharon. “Now that I can teleport you anywhere, if things heat up here, I can always bring us back quickly. I may also be able to give you your teleportation powers back.”

“What? How?” asked Chris.

“Using the same technique Dad used to teach me how to reintegrate souls into physical bodies, which was obviously a power I had within my genes, but I still needed to be shown how to access it.”

“The difference being,” said Chase, “is that Tanak’Vor ripped that power away from mine."

“I don’t think that’s true, Dad,” said Chris. “At least not entirely. Perhaps its presence has been greatly weakened within your genes—that much is obvious, since you're no longer able to consciously access that power. However, you did teleport to save me once before when I was in trouble. So, I’m inclined to believe that the power is still buried deep within you, and that with Kharon’s help, you could access it again.”

“Hmm,” said Chase. “It’s certainly an avenue worth exploring.”

“So … we’re all going to Atlantis, then?” asked Kharon.

“Certainly looks that way,” responded Chase.

* * *

“What the hell do you want?” asked Nyx.

“Well, hello to you too, Nyx” said Chase.” I wanted to brief you about our next move. I know you get mad when you’re left out of plans.”

“There is no longer any ‘us’ as far as your farfetched delusions are concerned. I’m no longer willing to stick my neck out for your idiotic ideas, in case I hadn’t made that clear earlier. Trouble always gravitates around you like flies on a pile of excrement.”

“Thanks for the charming mental picture. And yes, you have been crystal clear before, but something tells me that, in this case, you’ll want to reconsider.”

“And why would I ever do that?”

“Because we believe we’ve found the location of Atlantis.”

“Let me get this straight. You found the last refuge of a dead civilization, and you think that’s somehow relevant to me? If their powers were so great in the first place, then why are they now extinct? If they couldn’t save themselves, I don’t see what’s to learn from such a pathetic bunch of losers.”

Impressive, her abrasiveness almost makes me miss Argos’ rhetoric from the time we were enemies.

“Be that as it may, there must have been an extinction-level event thousands of years ago that made them fall as a civilization. Still, that doesn’t negate the fact that they were technologically very advanced. In fact, I suspect that when they fell, they were still greatly ahead of us in that regard. Meaning that we could find new weapons to aid us defeat both the Spectres and the Divine Asgardian Guards. And since we kind of owe you all of our lives … I thought that I should, at the very least, offer you the opportunity to be part of this mission.”

“You’re damn right you owe me your lives. And on that matter, I’d like to once more emphasize that I’m getting tired of risking mine in order to save the sorry asses of the people responsible for the Furies’ demise.”

“That’s one way of looking at it, I suppose, but I can respect that.”

“What other way is there, exactly?”

“Well, for one, if the Furies hadn’t been driven by their thirst for conquest and trying to destroy everything in their path, they wouldn’t have met the resistance of the other races. If it weren't for the Furies, the Olympians, and the Asgardians would have remained mortal enemies, and they wouldn’t have struck an alliance to trap your kind in the alternate dimension. So, the way I see it, the Furies reaped what they sowed.”

“So, you’re trying to say that we got what we deserved as a species, is that it? Is this supposed to make me feel better and reconsider my reluctance to work with the lot of you?”

Chase sighed heavily. “Nyx, please understand this, I’m grateful to you for saving my life, my son’s life, and pretty much everyone I care about for that matter. I realize however, that you and I will never see eye to eye on everything—heck, possibly on anything whatsoever. And I'm willing to live with that, but right now the fact is that we share common enemies. I have no delusions that once we’ve rid our dimension of the current threats to our existence, you and I may end up enemies on yet another battlefield.”

“What are you saying?”

“I suppose, in some way, I just want to repay you for your help. Now that Argos and Oryn are back, we probably could go forward without you, and I’m confident that we’ll manage to deal with these threats on our own. I just think it would be selfish of us to not invite you toward this mission, especially considering everything you did risk for us lately.”

“First of all, let’s get one thing straight: none of you is a warrior of my caliber.”

“For the sake of argument, let’s just say that right in this moment I agree with that assessmen⁠—”

Nyx cut him short. “When will you learn that I don’t need your validation? And more importantly, I don’t care for your pity. In fact, I rather despise that side of you.”

“I know that, but it’s not pity. I just happen to believe that we’re stronger together.”

“You know what I think?”

“I think I have a pretty good idea, but enlighten me.”

“I think you've come to realize that I’m the most powerful Fury that ever existed, and that’s a resource too valuable for you to waste. As such, you’re willing to bend a few rules as long as it helps your cause.”

“Our cause … the threats are real, and they impact all of us. Alliance and Furies alike.”

“Perhaps … but perhaps I’ll just go find your ex-wife on my own and finish this war right now and once and for all … because we both know you don’t have the balls to do what needs to be done as far as she’s concerned.”

Chase didn’t bother trying to argue that point. In fact, he didn’t see how he could. As much as he hated admitting it, she was right. He couldn’t see a scenario where he would have to throw the finishing blow that would kill Sarah, even though she might no longer even exist anymore inside of Ashra. He knew painfully well that carrying this doubt inside him could prevent him from finishing her off.

Exorcizing the Spectre out of Kharon had been incredibly difficult, and she was just a young adult Spectre without the billions of souls assimilated inside the monster now inhabiting the body that once was Sarah's.

If it had taken three of the most powerful Furies in existence to remove the Spectre DNA out of a willing host, how much power would be required to remove Sarah from a being that was not only infinitely more powerful, but also clearly unwilling to part with her host?

“Perhaps you’re right, maybe that’s why I want you along on this mission.”

“Are you saying what I think you’re saying?”

“I’m not in your head, Nyx. Frankly ... nor do I care to be. I just wanted to extend you an invite to join us on our trip to Atlantis. If you need me to tell you that you’re the strongest warrior and we need you, then fine, so be it. Just know that we’ll be leaving tomorrow, with or without you. The rest is up to you.”

* * *

Poseidon was lost in thought in his quarters when someone rang the doorbell.

“Come in,” said Poseidon.

The doors split open and Kvasir entered the room.

“Hello, Kvasir.”

“Poseidon,” said Kvasir with a subtle head nod.

“What can I do for you?”

“I wanted to see how you were doing. I realize you were close with Thor, and I’ve just been informed of his passing. So, I wanted to express my condolences.”

“Thank you. Though I suppose I should give you mine as well, seeing as you lost your King.”

Kvasir nodded and his facial tattoos revealed barely any illumination at all.

“Thor once wanted me dead, so you’d think I wouldn’t be feeling for his passing but the truth is, over the last few months, we had been involved more than ever before, and I felt that we had finally put the demons of our past behind us.”

“There are things in this life that transcend old bickering and fighting a war for the very survival of our immortal souls clearly is one of them.”

“Makes you wonder how this will all end, doesn’t it?”

A tattoo glowed on Poseidon’s face, which made Kvasir freeze, his eye wide open.

“How do you come to now have Asgardian tattoos?”

“Do I?” asked Poseidon, probing his face. “Kharon managed to find and give me a small piece of Thor’s soul. Perhaps that’s a side effect.”

“Couldn’t be that small of a piece of his soul if you now harbor some his tattoos.”

“I guess. At least I have a piece of him, though that’s not much of a comfort.”

“You do realize what that means, though?”

“I can't say I do. What you’re getting at, Kvasir?”

“You’re the new King of Asgard.”

“Maybe that’s what Thor meant when he asked me to take care of his people.”

“This would also be the first time a non-Asgardian ascends to the throne. Hopefully this doesn’t create tension within the current government.”

“I can safely say that I have no wish to rule Asgard, but …”

“I can empathize with that, and I’m sure Thor would understand if you decided not to.”

Poseidon raised an eyebrow. “Is that why you’re here? To see if the King's position is up for grabs?”

“Who, me? Hell no. I’m scientist, not a leader. As I said before, I only came to offer my condolences. Ruling Asgard is literally the last thing I’d want to do with my life.”

“We have that in common then. But how I can refuse my best friend’s dying wish? Especially since he gave his life for mine. I truly wished he hadn’t done that. At the end of the day, I guess it doesn’t matter how I feel about it, and whether or not I'm happy about it. I have to accept the throne, because Thor asked me to.”

“Which begs the question.”

“Who’s gonna lead New Olympus?”

Kvasir nodded.

“No two ways around it now, is there? I’ll have to choose someone to rule in my stead.”

“If you don’t mind me asking, have you given any thoughts as to who would succeed you?”

“There’s really only one person who has the backbone to take on such a role that I can think of.”

“Let me guess. Athena?”

Poseidon gave a solemn nod. “Yes … but the real question is, will she want to?”

* * *

“I’d like you to meet my best friend,” said Chase.

“Hello, Kharon,” greeted Daniel. “It’s so good to finally meet you.”

“Thank you,” said Kharon. “It’s nice meeting you too.”

“You look a lot like you mother, you know that?”

Kharon did her best not to sour her smile. “I’ve been told that a lot since coming here, yes.”

“We all miss her so much. Your mother was the voice of reason around here and, in fact, there isn’t a day that passes where we wish we could use her council.”

“We sure do,” agreed Chase. “Daniel, I got news. Tomorrow, we’ll be leaving for Atlantis.”

“Atlantis, huh? I wasn’t even aware it still existed. Legends have it that it was either destroyed or … well, lost.”

“We’re not exactly sure either, but Gaia is certain that she has found enough references in her research of the portal subsystems to pinpoint its location. And she believes Menelas brought us back the key to get there.”

“I wish I could come with you. I knew I should have refused this pencil-pushing position on board this station. I hate staying still when my friends are risking their lives!”

“I can empathize with how you feel, Daniel, but I need someone I can trust to keep things running smoothly on the station in case Ashra or the Guards decide to attack Alkyon One while we’re away.”

“I see. How come you’re waiting until tomorrow to leave?”

“Athena and Menelas should be back on the station soon. Once they’re here, we’ll all head to Atlantis together.”

“What about Poseidon?”

“He needs to take care of Thor’s funeral—that, and becoming the new King of Asgard apparently.”

“You’re shitting me?”

“I’m not. I was surprised too, but apparently it was Thor’s dying wish that he takes over.”

“I knew they were close, but I wasn't aware they were that close.”

“I guess their friendship was more of a brotherly bond than it appeared.”

“Like you and I, you mean?”

“Yes, like that.”

1

Chase fell to his knees; all energy had been drained from his body as he looked in horror at Ashra, who was walking toward his family. He tried mustering the energy to transform into a Hyper Fury, but he didn’t even have enough strength to get back to his feet.

Ashra laughed out loud, her maddening cackle echoed in the dark valley around them. Dark purple clouds circled above her in the blackened sky. The ground, as well as surrounding mountains, flashed in red hues every time a crimson lightning bolt hit the ground all around them.

“This isn’t happening,” thought Chase. “We can’t lose, not like this.”

“Who will it be?” asked Ashra. “Who will die first?” She pointed a finger toward three motionless bodies a few yards away from Chase. “The wife, the son, or the treacherous daughter?”

She raised her finger, pointing hand upward and made a fist, and pools of dark goo appeared under Sarah, Chris, and Kharon. Before Chase could speak, the pools turned solid, and shot upward into organic columns resembling Spectre flesh. They morphed into the shape of dark, bubbling tree bark ending with flat tops on which the bodies of Chase’s family lay. Around the circumference of the organic platforms, thin black tentacles waved like leaves in the wind.

“Let—let them go,” Chase begged.

“Not a chance! Today is the day that this war ends and the Athanatos family will finally cease to exist. Once and for all. The only remaining variable now is the order in which they will perish.”

“You’re a monster!”

“Takes one to know one, doesn’t it?”

Chase coughed some blood. “I am nothing like you!”

“Keep telling yourself that all you want. I see the blood on your hands, even if you don’t. You can try and rationalize that you did what had to be done to save the many, but you can’t fool me. I sense the darkness within your soul. No matter how deep you try to bury this part of you. Your friends and family may not be able to sense it, but I surely do.”

“You’re crazy! All my life I’ve strived to help others; you, on the other hand, are a cruel murderer, one who takes pleasure in ripping apart souls that don't belong to you. A crime more horrendous than murder itself, if you ask me. If anyone should be on trial here, it should be you!”

“Trial you say? What a wonderful idea!”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“Let's address your crime as if you were on trial. As such, maybe we should ask a few witnesses what they truly think of your so-called heroic actions? How does that sound?”

“Screw you. I’m in no mood for your childish games.”

“Then perhaps I should simply skip the trial and fast-forward to the sentencing part of these proceedings? And just kill my first victim then.”

Chase desperately tried to get back on his feet but couldn’t muster the energy. He sighed in despair. “You said earlier you’d let me choose.”

Ashra’s eyes glowed red and she grinned. “I did, didn't I? Who do you choose then?”

“Myself.”

“I’m sorry, but that's the wrong answer. I’ve already decided that you need to go last. I want to see your soul suffer before I add it to my ever-growing collection. But fear not, I’ve prepared a special place for it. I may even isolate you within me and keep you near enough to the surface so I can always sense your eternal torment. I’m thinking just within Sarah’s reach, and yet far enough so that you can never ever feel each other’s presence”—she smirked—“trapped together but worlds apart for all eternity.”

“Go fuck yourself! As I told you before, you and I are nothing alike and I want no part of this!”

Ashra sighed and shook her head. “You’d think abject defeat would have taught you a lesson, but I see that it’s not the case. Very well ... since you’re not being cooperative, you leave me with no other choice but to take the lead and decide which witness we should first call to the stand. Let's have them comment on what they think of your mighty heroic actions. Hmm ... I wonder who should go first. Maybe your old pal, Saroudis.”

“I have a better idea. Why don't you go to hell?! And while you're at it, leave my friends out of your mind games.”

Ashra growled and black tentacles extended from under Chris and violently grabbed him by the throat, raising him until his feet didn’t contact the organic ground he was lying on. He woke up and flailed his feet as he helplessly tried to escape from the tentacles choking him.

“D—Dad, help me!”

“Hang on, Chris, I’m coming!”

“No you’re not,” echoed Ashra’s voice inside Chase’s head. “Why lie to your kid? You can’t even stand, let alone fight me.”

Chase felt a glimmer of energy rise within himself and he got back up, bolstering his purple aura as much as he could—but the energy coursing within him was too weak to let him transform. He created a fireball and aimed his open palm at Ashra.

She smiled.

Before he could launch his attack, black tentacles burst around him, grabbed both his hands, and slammed him back to the ground, forcing him down on one knee.

Chris’s legs were still flailing, and Chase could sense his son's lifeforce withering.

“Please, I beg you, let him go.”

“Why should I?”

“Because if you let him go, I'm willing to reconsider your requests.”

The tentacles released their grasp around Chris’s neck just enough so he could gasp and take in a huge breath—before squeezing him again.

“Just so we’re clear, before I release your son and let him rest, you have to accept visitors from your past. And be willing to let them judge you.”

If there was one thing that Chase hated the most in this insane moment, it was the feeling of helplessness to protect his family. Since he couldn’t muster enough energy to fight back, he reluctantly gave Ashra a nod.

The tentacles brought Chris back on the top of the dark column and they released his throat. Chris lost consciousness shortly thereafter.

“So, I believe,” said a grinning Ashra, “before you foolishly tried your last act of defiance, we were about to bring back people close to you and see what they truly think of you, and what impact your so-called heroic actions had on their lives. Let’s bring Commodore Saroudis first, shall we?”

Why is she doing this? She’s won; she can clearly kill us at any time she chooses, so why play games with me?

When Adonis Saroudis materialized out of thin air, Chase felt a sting inside his heart. Of all the officers he had served under, none had been as inspiring and as close to him than Saroudis had. Part of him had moved on and grieved for his old captain, but deep inside Chase’s heart, Saroudis still held a special place. If it weren't for Ashra's twisted mind games, Chase never thought he’d see him again.

Saroudis scanned the area, trying to get his bearings. He looked disoriented, as if he’d been snatched from another place or time, and wasn’t sure how he'd landed where he was now.

“What is this? What am I doing here? And who the hell are you?” asked Saroudis.

“Never mind who I am for now," said Ashra. "I've brought you here to tell us what you think of this man,” she pointed an accusing finger toward Chase.

Chase swallowed hard as Saroudis’ eyes locked with his.

“Adonis,” said Chase.

“Chase, what is this? What’s going on?”

“I wish I could I tell you, sir. Apparently, this is some sort of cosmic trial and you’ve been called to testify as a witness.”

“Enough with the pleasantries,” Ashra spat. “Tell us what you think of Chase Athanatos. Nothing but the cold, hard truth please.”

Saroudis turned around and his gaze sent daggers at Ashra.

“I don’t know you, and I have no intention of playing this game. Send me back to my time. I have a Fury War to wage.”

“What?” thought Chase. “What war is Adonis referring to?” Had his consciousness been snatched at a time before he passed, he wondered.

“No,” said a vaguely familiar voice inside Chase’s head. “Saroudis didn’t die on the Destiny, he’s fighting in the first Fury War, before you were even born.”

Who is this? What are you talking about?

But there was no answer.

Tentacles rose from under Sarah and grabbed her throat, and like they did with Chris earlier, they raised her high enough to prevent her feet from connecting with the ground, all the while squeezing her throat.

“Sarah! What are you doing!?” exclaimed Saroudis.

“Answer the question, or she dies right here, right now!”

Saroudis’ gaze returned to Chase and he could sense his old commanding officer asking him for permission.

“It’s okay Adonis,” said Chase, “please, just do as she says.”

Saroudis raised both hands in a non-threatening manner. “Okay, okay, just don’t hurt her please … I’ll cooperate.”

The tentacles released their grasp on her throat, and Sarah gasped for air before losing consciousness when she was delicately placed on the flat surface atop the strange looking altar.

“I’m waiting,” insisted Ashra. “And Chase can attest that patience isn’t exactly one of my better virtues.”

You have no virtues whatsoever, you monster.

“Very well,” said Saroudis. “Chase Athanatos is the most courageous person I’ve ever met. His loyalties to his friends and loved ones go beyond love, and he would sacrifice his life at a moment’s notice to save others. I … I’ve lost both my sons in the war, and I guess on some level, I’ve considered Chase as a son …”

Saroudis let the words hang a little more before continuing as his eyes met with Chase’s. “I hope he knows how proud of him I am.”

Hearing Saroudis say these words out loud brought tears to Chase’s eyes. One of Chase’s biggest regrets had been to not be able to save his commanding officer and dear friend’s life on the day Saroudis sacrificed his life to save Earth. Even if Saroudis had been the one to ask him to be allowed to do this sacrifice for both the sake of the Alliance and for his family, Chase still felt guilty for the Commodore’s passing as well as his inability to save him that day. Hearing what Saroudis had just said made his feelings of guilt in the matter even worse.

“Nobody cares about that,” said Ashra with a large grin on her monstrous face. “What we want to know is what you hate about him.”

“Hate is a strong word; this emotion doesn’t apply to anything in regard to Chase,” said Saroudis.

“Alright, alright,” said Ashra,” I’ll settle for dislike then, but if you’re not one hundred percent honest, I’ll slice Sarah in half. Do I make myself clear?”

Chase could sense conflict inside Saroudis’ psyche, as well as growing anxiety for being responsible for Sarah’s life.

“It’s okay, old friend, just tell her what she wants to hear,” said Chase telepathically. “The sooner we get this over with, the better.”

Saroudis greeted his teeth. “Chase is a hothead and while under my command, he had a real problem with respecting authority, either mine or any of his commanding officers. He constantly defied commands and had a hard time following orders when they didn't align with his goals.”

Can’t exactly fault the Commodore on that one, I was never a good little soldier.

“And?” asked Ashra.

“And what? Isn’t that enough?”

“Don’t play coy, Commodore. Surely there has to be darker emotions inside your heart when it comes to Chase, like blaming him for your own death perhaps?”

“What the hell are you talking abou—” But then Saroudis stopped talking.

Ashra’s eyes glowed stronger than before, bathing everything around her in red. Chase saw Saroudis’ facial expression change from the kind man he knew and respected to someone completely different. A being possessed with only anger and hatred. Traits and attributes that the Commodore had never displayed toward Chase before.

“Yes!” said Saroudis with a cold voice that didn’t even sound like him anymore. “He sacrificed me like I was nothing. In fact, he did that with many others too. The closer one gets to Chase, the higher the chances of them being in danger, or even ending up as a corpse.”

Chase could tell that Ashra was manipulating Saroudis to say what she wanted him to say, but even so, Chase couldn’t help but feel hurt at hearing the harsh words.

“He separated me from my family,” Saroudis continued, “and for that alone I hate him with all my heart!”

Chase swallowed hard and had to focus all of his mental energy to remind himself that none of this charade had any basis in reality. It was just Ashra on a power trip, trying to either torture or destroy Chase’s soul from within.

“Truer words were never spoken,” said a laughing Ashra. “Thank you, Commodore. Is there anything else you’d like to add before I send you back where you came from?”

Saroudis walked toward Chase and looked down on him before punching him in the face. “I wish I never met you,” said Saroudis before spitting on his face.

“I know you don’t mean this old friend,” thought Chase. “I forgive you.”

“I don’t need your forgiveness,” replied Saroudis in his mind. “The real questions is, can you forgive yourself?

That mental answer threw doubts inside Chase’s psyche, even though he knew those weren’t his friend’s words.

“Thank you, Commodore,” said Ashra. “That will be all.”

Saroudis vanished into thin air as quickly as he had materialized moments earlier.

“This is pointless,” said Chase. “It's obvious you’re manipulating him. This was not my friend, at least not the last part.”

“Believe what you want, Fury, but last I checked, I’m not the one on trial here.”

“Trial? Who the hell do you think you are to believe you, of all people, have the right to judge me? You’re nothing more than a monster that wants to devour every living soul there is. If anybody should be on trial today, it’s you!”

“And yet, we have more witnesses of your crimes that wish to intervene. In fact, let’s call the next one, shall we?”

A female silhouette emerged from the darkness. It was Fillio.

“Oh for crying out loud!” thought Chase.

“Please state your name,” requested Ashra.

“My name is Fillio.”

“Can you please tell us your feelings about Chase Athanatos?”

“Well for one, no man ever hurt me like he did.”

Chase sighed heavily.

“He’s led me to believe,” continued Fillio, “that we were a couple, and that the love between us was real. But then later, he just blew me off and abandoned me like one discards an old pair of socks.”

“Did …did I really do that?” Chase wondered.

“Tell us about the day you died,” requested Ashra.

Chase shook his head in dismay, accompanied with a long dragged-out sigh.

“I sensed a conflict in Chase," Fillio continued. "He believed he was trying to save me, but in fact he was pushing me onto the underworld instead. I never wanted to die. Chase murdered me in cold blood.”

“That’s a lie!” screamed Chase.

Ashra raised up her index finger. “Witnesses, unlike yourself, don’t lie.”

Chase felt anger rise from a deep chasm within his soul.

“I’ve had enough of this,” protested Chase. “These are my friends you’re toying with and using against me. You’re twisting their words and making up false horror stories to try and seed doubt within my own psyche. I've got news for you: it won’t work. I’ve done everything I could trying to save both Fillio and Adonis. In fact, it was the Commodore himself that asked me to save the fleet at the cost of his own life. I didn’t want to let him die!”

Ashra’s eyes glowed with more intensity just before Fillio vanished into nothingness.

“And do you remember what he asked you to do near the end?”

“To take care of his family.”

Ashra grinned as she caressed her rough chin. “And have you done that?”

A large pit formed within Chase’s stomach.

“I—I checked on them … from time to time.”

“Not exactly what I would call taking care for them, now is it? The family of someone that treated you like a son. Do you truly think ‘contacting them’ was enough effort on your part, when you compare it to your commanding officer’s sacrifice?”

Chase swallowed hard. There was no denying that his interaction with Saroudis’ wife and daughter had been very few. In between his own grief at the end of the Fury War, and then dealing with the next major threat, he had to admit that they hadn’t been much in his thoughts. That much he couldn’t deny.

“I guess not. So, I'll admit I’m guilty in that regard. I should have been there for them more often.”

“Still thinking I’ve been lying and fabricating facts then?”

“Yes, and I won’t have it anymore …”

“As you wish. I think I have more than enough evidence of your guilt anyway.”

Chase shook his head from side to side. “That’s rich, coming from a monster who ripped apart countless souls in the prime of their lives.”

“You eat food that was alive at some point to sustain yourself, don’t you? At least, humans on Earth do. Correct?”

“I don’t see what that has to do with anything! We need food to stay alive.”

“As we Spectres need souls to exist; so tell me, where’s the difference? You’re casting judgment on me because my food source happens to be your kind. Have you ever stopped one second to ask yourself whether Spectres have the same biological needs as you do? Does that mean we don’t have the right to exist because our food is you?”

“You don’t see it, do you? You’re the one lying to yourself. There’s a difference between taking what you need to survive, which I might add you should only be doing inside your own dimension rather than coming to ours and stuffing yourself as if you were having your last meal on a daily basis. If souls truly are your sustenance, I’m surprised you didn’t explode from overeating.”

“Except I didn’t ask you or your friends to come rampage my worlds!” screamed Ashra. “It’s your kind that started this war! Not mine.”

Had they? Obviously, the explosion that the soul ships had unleashed upon the Spectre’s dimension could have been perceived as an act of war. Still, it had been Tanak’Vor who made the first move by instrumentalizing the Furies and unleashing them upon the Alliance as his own pet army of rabid wolves.

“Let’s agree to disagree. I’m not gonna deny that my ancestors and the Asgardians made a mistake by trapping the Fury within your realm, but their sins have nothing to do with me.”

“Disagree we shall … they have everything to do with it, and since they’re gone, I’ll take my revenge on you.”

Before Chase could answer, tentacles shot from every one of the three altars and lifted up Sarah, Chris, and Kharon; they all screamed and Chase felt all their pain within him.

“Let them go! I’ve played your stupid games, just as you asked,” screamed Chase.

“I don’t receive orders from the likes of you … and now the time has come for your loved ones to die.”

Before Chase could power up newfound energy his anger had brought to the surface, the tentacles squeezed all three bodies into bloody pulps.

Chase went ballistic and unleashed a roar that sounded more like a dragon war cry than any sound a humanoid could ever make. Everything around him exploded; the ground shook and shattered into pieces as Chase’s roar intensified even more.

Golden flames formed all around him and quickly took the shape of a dancing energy dragon. Chase threw the attack at Ashra and the flaming dragon devoured the Spectre. As Ashra was destroyed, everything around Chase turned black.

2

Chase screamed himself out of his nightmare and was soaking wet and panting heavily.

As his consciousness slowly returned to the present and he was getting his bearings back, he took a few deep breaths to calm himself down.

What the hell was that? A nightmare, or another vision?

As he kept taking long deep breaths, he felt a presence. He jumped out of his bed and assumed a fighting stance. “Who’s there? Show yourself!”

“You know who,” said a familiar voice.

“Show yourself anyway.”

A silhouette emerged from the darkness and walked toward Chase.

“Hello Chase,” said Hades.

Chase didn’t expect to see his old mentor. Hades had been the one who’d taught him how to surpass his limits and transform to Ultra Fury form.

“What are you doing here?”

“That’s an interesting form of greeting, I'll give you that.”

“I’m not a fan of people dropping by unannounced in my chambers … still I suppose you’re right, so … apologies and hello Hades.”

“Hello to you too.”

“You said that already.”

Hades stood in silence, stoically.

“Why are you here? … Wait … did you have anything to do with that strange nightmare or sick vision I just went through?”

“Visions aren’t my thing; you may want to ask Aphroditis for such matters.”

Maybe I will.

“Fair enough. Now that this is out of the way, and at the risk of repeating myself: what are you doing here, Hades?”

“You owe me a favor, or have you forgotten? In fact, you probably owe me more than just one, right?”

“I haven’t forgotten, no. And I take that it was you who’s been helping me on the battlefield lately. I wasn’t just imagining it ...”

“I must say that I’m surprised you even have to ask yourself that. I thought our training had taught you more self-esteem and confidence than that.”

Chase wished he could refute Hades’ arguments. His training with Hades had indeed bolstered Chase's confidence to such new heights that he had managed to turn into an Ultra Fury, allowing him to defeat the Fury assassin. But that was then, and Chase knew very well that his confidence levels had indeed seen better days.

“Look, we’ve faced enough enemies that could play havoc with our thoughts. And I’ve been through enough trauma that sometimes the lines between reality and imagination blur. Aphroditis’ visions, for that matter, didn’t always help in these matters.”

“There is a case to be made, however, that it's not your enemies’ role to help you when you need it the most. It would defeat their purposes.”

“I suppose, unless there’s a longer term goal, which somehow I feel is the case with you right now, I'll go one step farther and assume that I’m about to find out what that purpose is.”

“Yes, you are.”

“How many times will I have to ask you this? What is it you came for, Hades? Let's stop beating around the bush and tell me what the favor is that you need me to do.”

“I need you to promise me you’ll kill Ashra when next you meet her.”

“I’m sorry to see you’ve made such a long trip for this, since that’s already the plan.”

“I’m not sure you understand me, Chase. I need you to kill her no matter what. Even if you have to kill your own wife in the process.”

Chase’s heart sank.

“Who do you think you are to ask this of me?”

“The God of the Underworld, last I checked. And the one person that saved you, your family, and most of the universe by helping you unlock your true potential as a warrior. Not to mention I gave you a way out of the underworld so you could resuscitate.”

“Technically … I was never dead.”

“Are you seriously going to play the semantics card, really? Facts are facts, Chase; you’re alive and breathing now because I trained you and sent you back to the world of the living. Put as much semantics on top of that as you want, but it still remains a fact.”

“And I say that it doesn't give you the right to ask me to sacrifice Sarah.”

“That’s where you’re wrong, Chase. You gave me your word that you’d accept my request without questioning.”

“I didn’t know you’d be asking me this!”

“That’s kind how this works, isn't it? It's easy to accept a future favor if you know what it will be.”

“I’m sorry, but I can’t promise anything on that front. All I can tell you is that I will kill Ashra, or die trying.”

Hades’ scream was the coldest that he had heard from his mentor. “Not good enough, Chase!”

“Tough luck then, take it or leave it.”

Hades growled before fading away. “And here I was thinking you were a man of your word.”

* * *

“Who the hell are you?” asked Chris as he jumped from his bed, his guard up.

“Easy there, tiger,” said Hades. “I’m an old friend of your father’s. My name is Hades.”

“Don’t you Gods ever knock?”

Hades pointed his index finger at Chris. “That’s funny; I like you already.”

“I wish I could say the same, but being woken up in the middle of the night by a total stranger isn’t my idea of a proper introduction.”

On the bed, Nyx moaned and turned her body toward the viewport.

“You have no idea how lucky you are that she didn’t wake up; she’d have killed you where you stand!”

“Then I suggest we don’t tempt fate, and perhaps you and I go for a walk. We need to talk.”

Chris sighed and walked toward the door.

“You may want to put on some clothes, boy,” said Hades. “Just a suggestion.”

Chris used telekinesis to bring a pair of fatigues and a t-shirt to him, and dressed before they both walked out of his quarters.

“What do you want from me?” asked Chris.

“Glad to see you’ve inherited your father’s charm.”

“That’s what you get for dropping unannounced into someone’s quarters.”

“Fair enough. This particular move doesn't seem to have been a popular one tonight. I guess all these eons spent in the underworld must have chipped away at my manners. I apologize.”

“I would think the months of freedom you’ve enjoyed since then would have been more than enough to teach you some manners.”

Hades smiled, but it didn’t last long.

“Freedom is a fickle concept when you spend it alone. I’m not exactly welcomed by my kind, or anyone else really.”

“And why is that exactly?”

“Because when they think of a loved one they lost, it’s hard not to associate that loss with me.”

“Strange ... you’re not exactly death itself, but I suppose it makes sense, in a twisted kind of way. You aren't the ones who took their lives, just the person dealing with their souls in the afterlife.”

“Hmm. You’re quite mature for someone your age, aren’t you?”

“I’ve been told that, yes. Somehow, I don’t think you came all this way to check upon my personality.”

“I haven’t. I have a problem with your father.”

“Then take it up with him. He’s his own man. And so am I.”

“I can see that. But the problem is, you see, that your father is stubborn.”

“You may find I share that trait with him. For the sake of returning to bed soon, what is it my dad refused to do for you?”

“You see, when he was nearly dead, I taught him to become an Ultra Fury, and I allowed him to leave the underworld so he could save you all and consequently, win the Fury War.”

“I don't need a history lesson. I was there.”

“But did you know there was a condition attached to his release?”

“I wasn’t, no. What was the condition?”

“The deal we made was that one day I’d come back, ask for a favor that he couldn’t refuse, no matter what.”

“I’m surprised he'd agree to that in the first place. That doesn’t sound like him.”

“Then again you were all being butchered by an elite Fury assassin. That tends to lower one’s ability to think long-term under those circumstances.”

“You do realize that you’re admitting to me that you used my father in a moment of weakness to ensure that one day you could come back and ask anything of him? Not exactly a chivalrous or honorable way of doing things.”

“I’ve never pretended to be either of those things. Think of me as a practical type of God.”

“Some God. I’m pretty sure I could kill you where you stand, and there's nothing you could do about it.”

“You really are your father's son. And while I did see an opportunity back then, I didn’t take it out of greed or self-interest. Believe it or not, but I care about what happens to living beings in this realm.”

“Let’s say I’m willing to believe that … which right now is a bit of a stretch. What did you ask of my father?”

“To kill your mother when the time comes.”

Chris stopped short in the corridor, his aura gray as he eyes flashed green.

“Easy there, Tigerheart.”

Chris’s aura receded. “What did you call me?”

“Tigerheart. It’s your soul spirit animal, isn’t it? That’s why the soul ship of the Tiger chose you at the end of the Fury War.”

“And that makes my father Dragonheart.”

“Correct.”

Chris couldn’t help raising his voice. “Still, there’s no fucking way neither me or my dad would kill my mother! We’re trying to save her!”

“How has that goal of yours been going up until now?”

Chris growled.

“I can empathize with your frustration, Chris, but have you asked yourself this: what if she can’t be saved?”

“You don’t know that.”

“True, no one knows the future for certain, though Aphroditis seems to have ways of peeking in the most probable timelines, as I’m sure you’ve been made aware.”

Chris nodded.

“Then hear me out. Since your father isn’t keeping his word to me, it falls on you—as his next of kin—to honor the deal that we made. That is, unless you want all your family to be banished from ever entering Elysium. And that for the rest of time.”

“Aren’t these stories of Elysium and the afterlife told to believers of the old ways just so they stay in line? In fact, is Elysium even real?”

“What does your heart say on the matter?”

Chris felt a strong pressure around his heart. “Are you doing this?”

“Doing what?”

“That pain around my heart? Stop it!”

“I’m not doing anything. You’ve asked your soul if my threat was a lie, and you just got your answer. The doors to Elysium will be closed to the Athanatos family … if the terms of the soul deal I made with your father aren’t respected.”

“Soul deal?”

“When your father made that deal, he made it with his soul. His meat suit, or body if you prefer, was still in a suspended animation tank. Therefore, the pact was made from soul to soul. These aren’t contracts that can be broken the same way living beings give their word. More often than not, they have no intention to keep it. These are easily broken promises and part of the corporal life cycle. A soul deal has more dire implications, especially when broken.”

“I see … though I only have your word for it.”

“As well as the confirmation from your heart, which as you may or may not know, is the temple for your soul.”

Chris sighed. “Right. So, what exactly do you expect of me?”

“I want you to ask your great aunt Aphroditis what will happen if neither of you has what it takes to take out Sarah—that is, if your attempts to save her fail. If you don’t like what she tells you, then you’ll agree to do as I say, and when the time comes, you’ll kill your mother to save the rest of this dimension. If she tells you otherwise, I’ll gladly release you from this bond.”

“Fair enough, I guess. Can this wait until after our trip to Atlantis?”

“I’m afraid not. You need to do this now, boy. I’ll be back in an hour.”

Chris’s face tensed and it took his best effort to give Hades an affirmative nod.

* * *

Poseidon returned to his quarters following the funerals. His heart was heavy and while the people of Asgard had accepted him, and even embraced him as their new leader, he still had doubts.

A translucent Thor appeared next to him.

“I must be really tired if I can see you even now,” said Poseidon.

“No,” answered Thor, “it’s just our soul bond that is growing stronger, so I can appear to you in this form.”

“I see. Well, it’s nice to see you, even though I wished it was under better circumstances.”

“It’s okay. Death is part of life, you know.”

“You’d think I’d be keenly aware of that, but …”

“But what?”

“I miss you.”

“I miss you too but hey, technically, I'm still here with you.”

“I guess that’s better than nothing, yes.”

“I can sense the doubt in you, brother.”

“Can you now?”

Thor’s apparition nodded.

“Anything else you can sense?” asked Poseidon.

“Your misguided guilt as per my passing.”

“I don’t think it is misguided. Not one bit.”

“I did what I had to do to save those I love. You should respect my choice instead of having my passing serve as a weight that drags down your soul.”

“I shouldn’t have let you do this!”

“It wasn’t your choice to make, and you know it. Ask yourself this: would you have given your life for me or for Chase? If the roles were reversed?”

“In a heartbeat.”

“Then you see … it wasn’t your fault and you need to release this guilt now. It won’t serve you, nor will it serve the Asgardian people.”

Poseidon sighed.

* * *

“You can’t be serious!” protested Chris.

“I’m sorry this isn’t the news you were expecting, Chris,” said Aphroditis.

“This isn’t happening.”

“I feel for you. Sarah was such a kind soul.”

Chris’ green aura exploded and his eyes shone. “She’s not dead yet!”

“Being mad at me won’t change what I saw, and you know it.”

Chris had to focus his mind in order to lower his inner anger. It took a while but slowly, his aura receded.

“So, now I have to kill my own mother. Is that it?”

“I’m afraid so. And I’m so very sorry this burden has landed at your feet. In none of the potential futures I was shown can she be saved. Every attempt to do so will result in the extinction of every living being in this dimension, and the Spectres won’t stop there.”

“What do you mean, they won’t stop there?”

“Without your family to safeguard the ancient Atlantean technologies, she’ll get access to technology that will allow her to jump to every other dimension, as she pleases. She’ll not only devour all life from this realm, but eventually … from all the existing dimensions. The stakes are too high, and her life, as innocent and as wonderful as your mother is, can’t be put in the balance.”

“You’re talking about my mother, not an ounce of gold here.”

“In your heart, you know very well that’s not how I see your mother. She is the victim here and we both know it. But ask yourself this: what would she do right now if she had been the one who’d heard what I saw …?”

Chris grated his teeth. “I can’t bring myself to say it.”

“Say it anyway. Your heart already gave you the answer. I can sense it.”

“She would …” But Chris paused.

“Say it, Chris. Your soul requires this of you.”

“She’d kill herself, most likely.”

“Yes … your mom is one of the kindest souls I have had the honor to meet. When Chase made a deal with Argos to save her, she almost didn’t forgive him for his action.”

“I remember.”

“Now, take this and multiply by a trillion. That’s how she’d feel if she knew that you would put the survival of everyone, in every dimension, at risk to save her. No one life is worth that much.”

Chris punched the nearby chair so hard, it vaporized. “It’s not fair!”

“No, it’s not, but life rarely is.”

Tears flowed down Chris’ cheeks as if he had already started to mourn for his mother.

“Let it all out. You’ll have to process this grief before you next meet Ashra. When that time comes, you must be ready to do what needs to be done.”

“One …” Chris took a few seconds to regain some composure. “One more question. Was Hades’ threat true?”

“I’m afraid so. Making a soul deal with the guardian of the Underworld and breaking it would mean that your entire lineage, present and future, would be denied entry to Elysium.”

“But he’s no longer the guardian of the underworld; Zeus is.”

“That’s just semantics and you know it. Hades is still the God of the Underworld. Whether or not he’s the one occupying the post at the moment changes nothing.”

“Some help you are.”

“I’ll attribute this harsh reaction of yours to the bad news you just received, because I don’t believe that’s how you truly feel. I forgive you as well because I know how much you’re hurting right now. Trust me, I know a thing or two about carrying heavy burdens.”

“I—I’m sorry. You’re right … none of this is your fault.”

“I wouldn’t go that far, but I appreciate that you recognize that this particular situation is not of my doing.”

“Am I to understand that previous ones may have been?”

“I don’t know … maybe. I fear decisions I took before both Chase and Argos were born may have lead us here. Unfortunately, there’s nothing we can do about it now.”

Chris expanded his consciousness throughout the holo-communication, linking them through dozens of lightyears. He could feel a deep sadness and guilt inside of Aphroditis' heart.

“I see. That’s indeed pretty heavy weight you are carrying there.”

“Did you just reach inside me?”

“I did, I’m sorry. I probably should have asked for your permission.”

“No, that’s okay. Chris, I just didn’t think you had this ability, especially with such large distances.”

“I’ve always been very empathic, distance or not.”

“Right. In fact, you were helping your father by sending him energy lightyears away, and all that from the womb of … “ Aphroditis couldn’t bring herself to finish the sentence.

“That’s okay, you can say it: of my mother. That’s how hard it is for me to contemplate what needs to be done. Mom and I have a link that transcends the normal mother-son relationship. We became aware of each other before I was born, and while many other species do that on a subconscious level, we had a bond that allowed us to see and talk to each other. She’s the most important person in my life … or at least … she was.”

Aphroditis nodded solemnly. “I’m really sorry you have to go through this, Chris; like you said earlier, it’s not fair.”

No it isn’t … I just don’t know if I’ll have the will to live with myself after all of this is said and done.

3

“That’s a wise decision,” said Hades.

“Let’s make one thing clear,” stated Chris. “I’m not doing this for you.”

“Fair enough.”

“I’ll also hold you to your word as per my own request for doing this.”

“I give you my word.”

“Sorry, but seeing how my life was impacted by meeting you, that means diddly-squat to me. And as a matter of fact, once the deal is done, if you ever try to use the same excuse to coerce me or anyone in my family into doing your bidding, I’ll kill you where you stand!”

“It’s amusing that you think you’d have what it takes to kill a God.”

“I’ve slain creatures way more dangerous than Gods and you know it.”

“I assure you that won’t be necessary. As for your threats, looks to me that your girlfriend is rubbing off on you.”

“If that were even slightly true, you’d already be dead and back in the Underworld via the express lane.”

What makes you think this isn’t already the case, boy?

* * *

When Chris returned to his quarters, Nyx woke up.

She yawned. “Where were you? I woke up a bit earlier and noticed you weren’t in bed.”

“It’s a long story.”

She came over and caressed his chest, and let her fingers travel downward. “Do you think it can wait until after another round?”

Chris grabbed her hand as delicately as he could in his current state of mind, and he could tell she probably sensed his hesitation.

“I … I’m really sorry, but right now, this is the last thing on my mind. I hope you don’t mind.”

Nyx stared at him for what felt like an eternity. “No, it’s … okay. Want to talk about what’s got you so rattled?”

“I doubt you’ll care.”

“Then perhaps you don’t understand me as well as you thought. Which tends to run in your family, I might add.”

“Don't get this wrong, but you had me agree that our relationship was just a carnal one—which is something that’s hard for me to accept, since I have true feelings for you. I just assumed you don't want to hear about what weighs my heart down.”

“I could see why you would think the way you do, but let me ask you this: did you happen to notice anything different about tonight?”

Chris thought for a moment. The answer came fairly quickly. “You stayed over after we were done.”

“And do you think this was by accident?”

“At the time, I didn’t think much of it. We’re usually pretty drained after, you know …”

“You can call it by its name: sex.”

“Yes, well, up until you asked the question, I simply believed that you were too tired to return to your quarters this time.”

“I’ve fought and defeated spawns of hellfire more times than I can count—some of the times you were there too, I might add. Do you really think I couldn’t muster enough energy to walk myself down the hall?”

Chris smiled. “Right, that’s a good point.”

She caressed his face with affection he didn’t expect from someone as cold and as incisive as she was with her choice of words.

Is this turning into something serious?

“You should tell me what bothers you,” said Nyx.

“Alright then …” Chris told her about everything he’d been through in the last couple of hours.

“I see. You may have noticed this about me, but diplomacy isn’t my forte.”

Chris chuckled. “That’s one way of putting it.”

“Nevertheless, in this case, I’m trying to see things from your perspective.”

“That’s uncharacteristically surprising of you, but I truly appreciate the effort. Thank you.”

“Look, it’s no secret that which Hades has asked of you. I’ve already argued over it with your father … again and again, in fact.”

“So, I guess you’re happy about his request.”

“Yesterday, I would probably have answered yes.”

“What about today?”

“Now that I’m seeing it from your perspective, it actually makes me sad.”

“I don’t understand. Why?”

She brought her lips close to his and stopped for a second before kissing him passionately. After what felt like hours, their lips parted, and she resumed. “Today, I can sense how much this affects you, and for that I’m sad. I’m truly sorry you’ve been put into this awful position.”

Chris felt more waves of warm energy travel through him and even if only for a little while, it helped him feel better. He'd expected her to gloat; in fact, he’d already imagined a fight breaking out between them on the subject, but she had approached the situation from the complete opposite direction that Chris had anticipated.

“I … I must be dreaming.”

“No, you’re not dreaming, and you’re in pain, understandably so. Deep down though, you know that what Hades asked of you is logical, or you wouldn’t be sharing your deepest fears with me, of all people. Am I correct?”

Chris swallowed hard and only managed a slight nod in place of a verbal answer.

“Look,” continued Nyx, “you know what needs to be done, but that doesn’t mean that it’s not gonna break your heart into a thousand pieces. I can pretty much sense that from you already. But know that I’ll be here to help you through this. And if you need me to help you achieve your part of the deal when the time comes …”

Chris thought about it. He didn’t have to think for long. “No! That is one thing that I definitely need to do on my own. I don’t know that I could look at you the same if you were the one … you know? Not to mention Chase would more than likely kill you where you stand.”

Nyx nodded. “I understand. As for Chase, he’d be welcome to try.”

“You and he need to take a chill pill.”

“What’s a chill pill?”

“It’s a human expression. It means you need to stop being at each other’s throats.”

“Oh, then I don’t see that happening. But my offer stands, nonetheless—only if you feel you can’t do it yourself, that is.”

“Again … no. And don’t underestimate him. My dad can and will kill you if he’s mad enough, trust me. Rage multiplies his powers tenfold. I’ve seen it happen again and again.”

“That’s a Fury trait, not just Chase’”.

“Nevertheless … oh, and one more thing …”

“What’s that?”

“My dad can never know I made this deal with Hades.”

“Why not?”

“Because he’d do everything in his power to try and stop me if he knew. The only thing that got him out of his self-destructive downward spiral after the Fury War was that he found a glimmer of hope in saving Sarah. And while he seems to have—at least partially—recovered from this ordeal, I worry that if this hope is smashed, he could relapse.”

“Unless he’s trying to do this more for you than for himself. Did you ever think about that?”

“I don’t understand. Why would he?”

“Well, you told me how angry you were at him back then. I think that on some level Chase knows that Sarah might be beyond saving. I can’t be fully sure, but I kinda sensed that in him. Not to mention that more than enough people told him that much already. Myself included.”

“I hadn’t of thought of that. Either way, I’d rather we keep this from him, at least for the time being.”

“My lips are sealed.”

Chris smiled. “Well, let’s unseal them for an hour or two.”

Nyx smiled and raised an eyebrow. “Two, huh? Someone’s feeling confident.”

* * *

“What do you mean, I can’t go?” asked Poseidon.

“You can’t,” replied Thor.

Not only could Poseidon talk to his friend, but he could now see him as if he were in the room. The God of the Seas wondered if he had lost his mind, even if Thor had told him it was normal.

“The latter,” said Thor. “Of course you’re not crazy.”

“That’s reassuring. Though I wonder how you can be here with me and in Valhalla at the same time.”

“Well, that’s complicated. Not all of me is there, and by association⁠—”

“Not all of you is here with me either,” Poseidon finished his friend’s sentence.

Thor nodded. “Something like that, yes.”

“Why exactly can’t I join the mission to Atlantis?”

“Because you’re now the guardian of Asgard. Without you, my people have no king.”

“I’m still not sure I will ever be truly accepted as their king.”

“And yet nobody challenged your ascension to the throne. Since the ceremony went unchallenged, whether you believe it or not, you are now King of Asgard.”

“It could just be their common grief over losing their true leader. They may change their minds down the line.”

“I can see it’s gonna take some time for you to get used to the idea, but you have to start somewhere. You are now their true leader. Unless you’d like to renege on your word. Is that what you’re saying, my brother?”

Poseidon sighed. “Of course not. It’s just I’m supposed to be the leader of the Olympians as well, you know. How can I lead two civilizations at the same time?”

“You can’t, and I think that deep in your heart you know you need to pass that torch to Athena now.”

Poseidon had already thought about that. In truth, he didn’t relish the idea of being the leader of either his people or the Asgardians. He had never been hungry for power like Zeus once was. That wasn’t in his DNA. However, he felt that Athena was tailor-made made for a position of leadership, whether or not she knew it.

Her heart burned with the same fiery determination as her father’s and she’d always put the good of her people before her own, qualities that made her perfect for leadership. Not only that, but someone with such qualities only came once every several thousand years. Power had the tendency to corrupt the hearts of men and Gods alike, but Poseidon felt it wouldn't corrupt Athena's.

“What if she says no?”

“You won’t know that until you ask her, don't you think?”

“And what if they need me on Atlantis? What if there is a battle?”

“Do you really think Chase and the other Furies are too weak to win in your absence? I know your powers have grown tenfold lately, but I still think that, deep within, you know full well that you’re no match for Chase, Argos, or even Chris.”

“Power isn’t everything; technique and strategy matter just as much.”

“I agree, but these are also the skills that could one day help you save Asgard.”

“And how do you know Asgard will ever need saving?”

“Call it a hunch.”

“I call it bullshit, no offense.”

“Offense taken, my friend. Still, let me explain it in a way that leaves no place for doubts then. Siegfried’s revenge for my people knows no bounds. Now that we killed one of his closest friends, the only logical step for him is to unleash his vengeance on this world, where she perished. Not to mention that Asgard is where this all started in the first place, with the births of the Guards.”

“Alright, alright, I get it. I just hate the idea of not being on the frontlines with the rest of my family when the time comes. If we do find Atlantis, this could mean this war is drawing to a close, and I feel strongly that I could help.”

“Or it could be only the beginning of another journey, assuming anything at this point is pointless. And you know it. Deep down, I think you know what needs to be done.”

“Oh yeah? And what would that be?”

“You need to find Hephaestus and forge a new, better weapon.”

“So, your plan for me is to find a dead God, is that it?”

“He’s not dead.”

“And you know that how?”

“Let’s call it Valhalla's insight.”

“Is that so? By any chance, has your newfound afterlife sense also given you some galactic coordinates of where we can find Hephaestus?”

Thor answered with a smile.

* * *

Poseidon walked into the lab and scanned the room.

“Loki? Are you there?”

The Loki hologram sprung to life.

“Poseidon, hey! What can I do for you?”

“I need to talk to you about Mjölnir, as well as about my own weapon.”

“Sure thing, what about them? Do you need me to work on some more upgrades?”

“In a matter of speaking. I’d like to know how we could go about merging both weapons.”

“Why in the blazes would you want to do that for?”

“It’s a long story, one I don’t exactly have time to get into right now. Do you think it can be done?”

“Not by me. My area of expertise is technological upgrades, illusions, deceptions, that kind of stuff. You need a weapon forger, and quite the expert one too if you hope to fuse technologies from two different races. That disqualifies any Asgardian alive that I know of.”

“I gathered as much. What about Hephaestus?”

“An Olympian?”

“Not just any Olympian.”

“True, he was the one sent to Asgard to help work on the Pandora device back when the first Fury war was raging through the galaxies. That would probably make him the right choice, but wasn’t Olympus destroyed by Arakan?”

“It was, but I have it on good authority that he’s still out there.”

“And the plot thickens.”

Poseidon expressed his annoyance at Loki’s demeanor by clearing his throat. “Loki.”

“Sorry. Then yes, but if you already know who to get to, why are you here?”

“I’m assuming Mjölnir is built with safety anti-tampering protocols in order for the enemy to never be able to either wield it or reverse-engineer its powers.”

“Correct. So, you need me to circumvent those so that Hephaestus can do his work.”

Poseidon nodded. “Will that be an issue?”

“A few days back it would have been, but not anymore since you’re the new King of Asgard. I just hope you know what you’re doing. Mjölnir has always been seen as the symbol of protection for its people—at least when yielded by Thor.”

“I understand that, and I wouldn’t ask for this unless both Thor and myself felt it was necessary.”

“Thor obviously trusted you with his life, so I see no reason not to trust you in turn. I’ll have Mjölnir modified for you by the end of the day.”

“Thank you, Loki.”

“Of course, my King.”

“Oh, and one more thing?”

“Yes?”

“Don’t call me that.”

Loki’s hologram shrugged.

* * *

“Thank you for coming so quickly,” said Poseidon.

“Of course," responded Artemis. "Though I’m curious as to why you wanted to see me with such short notice.”

“That’s because I need you to do something for me. Something important.”

“Of course, anything. What do you need me to do?”

“I'd like to send you on a mission to forge a new weapon out of my trident.”

“I—I don’t understand. Isn’t the Trident of the Seas already the most powerful Olympian weapon in existence?”

“You’d think so, wouldn’t you? Thor tells me we need to merge it with Mjolnir to make an even more powerful weapon.”

“That’s an interesting though peculiar idea, but if that yields a weapon that has the properties of both, I could see how that would be a major upgrade.”

“Thor also seems to think so.”

“Hmm, Master⁠—”

“Let me stop you right there. You’re no longer my pupil, and I never liked it when you called me that anyway.”

“Okay … Poseidon, then. You keep saying Thor tells you these things, but … isn’t he dead?”

“Kharon was kind enough to save me a piece of his soul, so I’m carrying him within me now.”

“And you can talk with this … piece of him?”

“I know how this sounds, but yes; he’s here right now, as a matter of fact.”

Artemis looked around the throne room. “Where?”

“Only you can see me, brother” said Thor.

“I’m the only one who can see him, apparently” said Poseidon.

“I see,” murmured Artemis.

“I assure you I’m not imagining it. I haven’t lost my mind.”

“I didn’t mean to doubt you, Mas—Poseidon,” Artemis corrected herself. “After all, we still see Ares all the time.”

“That’s a little different, but not that much in the end. Anyway, can I count on you to go find Hephaestus and forge this new weapon for me?”

“Of course …”

“Yet I can sense you still have questions.”

“Yes, sorry … I don’t understand why you would task me for a mission of this importance instead of going yourself.”

“Thor thinks I need to stay here and defend Asgard against Siegfried.”

“He just got his ass kicked out of orbit not long ago. Is Thor sure he would return so soon?”

“Let’s just say his logic behind it is hard to argue with.”

“Very well then. I’ll go on this mission for you. It’s an honor to serve you and my people. Always.”

Poseidon got up from the throne, ambled down the few steps, and approached his niece. “Thank you, Artemis. You’ll find everything you need to complete the mission on this crystal.”

Artemis grabbed the crystal and before she knew it, Poseidon was hugging her.

“Please be careful,” said Poseidon and ended the embrace.

Artemis, slightly stifled by what had happened, answered with a small nod.

“I’ll get back here as soon as I can.”

“I know you will, but aren’t you forgetting something?”

Poseidon walked to an altar nearby, grabbed both weapons, and handed Artemis both the Trident of the Seas and Mjolnir.

She chuckled. “Right, I would need those, wouldn’t I? But what if Siegfried comes back before I’m done forging the new weapon?”

“Then I’ll have to fight him on my own devices. I still have my upgraded arm. I will manage.”

Poseidon could tell Artemis was as unconvinced by his statement as he was. He also sensed that she wouldn’t push the issue.

As Artemis disappeared in the distance, Thor walked up next to Poseidon.

“I will see her again, right?” asked Poseidon.

“I sure hope so. We need that weapon.”

“You hope so? What kind of answer is that? I’m gonna need better than ‘I hope so’, brother, because it’s my niece’s life we’re talking about here.”

“Look, you know better than anyone the sort of defenses Zeus puts around the people he doesn’t want found.”

“You mean like Titans? Did I just send her to defeat a Titan on her own? Are you out of your mind?”

“Stop worrying, will you … or you’ll turn what’s left of your gray hair white.”

4

“And what if I don’t want to rule New Olympus?” asked Athena.

“Then I’ll need to find someone else to take my place,” answered Poseidon. “But I’d rather not do that. No one is better equipped than you to take on that role, and you know it.”

“I thought after all these eons, you’d learned that flattery doesn’t work on me.”

“Except it’s not flattery when it’s true now, is it?”

Athena sighed. “I have new responsibilities here, and we’re supposed to leave for Atlantis in the morning. I can’t possibly be everywhere at once.”

“I empathize with that sentiment, but it may be best that you skip that trip.”

“I’m not letting Menelas go without me. He’s got a knack for getting himself into trouble when I’m not around.”

“I had no idea you were so protective of him. But won’t your kids and grandkids be there?”

“So what?”

“You know very well that you’re no match to them in terms of sheer power, so I’ll make the argument that while you want to go to Atlantis, your presence isn’t mandatory. At least not as much as taking over as the leader of what’s left of our people. I think that takes precedence in this situation.”

Poseidon could see Athena’s frustration burning inside her beautiful blue eyes.

“Damn you! Why the hell did you have to go and do something as stupid as accept the throne of Asgard in the first place?”

“That is neither here nor there, and if you must know, I made a promise to Thor.”

“Who’s not even blood-related.”

“That doesn’t mean anything to me. He was and always will be my brother. Though I don’t expect you to understand.”

Something changed in Athena’s eyes. “I’m sorry. That was insensitive of me, and I can’t pretend to understand how close the two of you were. Please accept my apologies.”

“No apology needed, but I appreciate the sentiment. Can I count on you, then?”

Athena nodded. “Yes. If you truly think that’s what’s best for our people, then I’ll take over New Olympus in your stead.”

“And Atlantis?”

“I haven’t made up my mind just yet, and as hard as it is for you to hear that, I’d like you to leave it at that for now.”

Poseidon nodded. “Fair enough.”

* * *

“Where’s Athena?” asked Chase.

“She’s not coming,” answered Menelas.

Chris was the first to raise an eyebrow. “How did you achieve that? And should we send a medic to care for her?”

Menelas smiled. “That won’t be necessary. I was as surprised as you, but apparently Poseidon requested that she take over as the leader of New Olympus.”

“Makes sense,” said Argos, “now that he took over for Thor on Asgard. Do we swing by there to pick him up on our way to Atlantis?”

“Negative,” said Chase. “He’s got his hands full, and my understanding was that he’s still dreading an attack by the Guards. He did kill Siegfried’s lover after all, so sooner or later, he’ll come to take revenge.”

“How do you know it was his lover?” asked Kharon.

“I don’t know. It’s just something I felt.”

“I concur,” said Chris. “My instinct also tells me she was more than just another comrade for him.”

“Then shouldn’t we send ships to protect Asgard?” asked Ares.

“I’ve considered it,” replied Chase, “but we have Ashra to worry about too. Even though the new defense grid on Alkyon One is now fully operational, it still won’t be enough to take down one of those massive Spectre motherships, let alone two or more. It’s too risky, but just in case, I’ve left standing orders for the fleet Commander to jump at best speed if that happens.”

“Since Athena is otherwise occupied, who’s commanding the fleet?” asked Menelas.

“That would be Commodore Epizon,” Chase stated.

“Commodore, huh?” said Oryn, “That’s quite the rise in rank for someone who wasn’t even in the Alliance a year ago.”

“I know a little something about that myself, but it’s deserved. He’s been an exemplary officer. And between you and me, I see a little of Saroudis in him. Trust me, the fleet is in good hands.”

“Agreed. Good for Talon,” nodded Chris.

“So, what or who exactly are we waiting for?” asked Argos. “Is Ryonna coming? Should I keep my distance while we're on the ship?”

“That won’t be necessary; she’s staying put,” answered Chase. “We need good warriors here as well, in case the station is under attack while we're away. As for who, it looks like nobody, so let’s get on board the Hope.”

“With all due respect,” said Oryn, “if the station is boarded by Spectres, I don’t think she’ll cut it.”

“You’d be surprised,” declared Chase. “She’s not that easy to kill, and I believe Spiros and Gaia have upgraded her super-suit. She's no a match for a Fury or an Olympian, but she’s not that far behind us, thanks to these upgrades.”

“Maybe they should make us super-suits too, then,” suggested Kharon.

“It doesn’t work that way,” explained Chris. “We can already focus our lifeforce to turn it into energy attacks—the super suit uses external power to emulate some of our powers, but it doesn't do it at the cost of her lifeforce. So, for us, it would just be like having a tiny bit of battery-powered energy added to our powers … so little in fact that it would be more of a hindrance, as the weight of the super-suit would make us slower and less agile.”

“Interesting,” said Kharon. “Speaking of Spiros and Gaia, where are they?”

“They’re on the ship already,” Chase told Kharon. “Let’s go join them.”

The group walked toward the corridor that would get them to their ship.

“I really thought she’d come,” said Chris telepathically.

“I know,” answered Chase, “but she is her own person, and we have to respect her decision.”

* * *

“We shouldn’t do this!” exclaimed Fenrir.

“He has to pay for killing her!” barked Siegfried.

“Surely Asgard is well protected by now. We’ll incur significant losses. The Alliance also developed a way to cure our drone warriors; they’ll stop any contagion we unleashed upon Asgard. If you’d hoped we’d triple our army in going back, it ain’t gonna work.”

“Listen to me brother and listen well, ‘cause I’m not gonna repeat myself on this. I don’t care about the mindless drones. They have served their purpose. As long as Poseidon dies, they can all perish with him for all I care.”

Fenrir shook his head in dismay. “And then what? It’s you and me against the entire Alliance?”

“If need be, yes.”

“We’ll lose, and you know it.”

“Then we lose. This existence has to end one day …”

“Then I’ll be with her,” thought Siegfried.

“What’s gotten into you lately? I never took you for the blinded-by-revenge type. Your actions up til now have always been calculated. Why the change of heart?”

“Because it’s my calculations that got her …”

Siegfried let the words hang in the air. He walked away from the bridge of the Asgardian ship and went into the captain’s ready room without saying another word.

Once the doors slid closed behind him, she appeared to him.

“You know he’s right; this is foolish,” said Grunhild’s translucent ghost.

“I need to avenge your death.”

“You need to get your mind straight is what you need to do, or you’re going to get yourself killed.”

“A warrior that’s strong enough to kill me hasn’t been born yet.”

“And that statement is nothing more than arrogance and stupidity rolled into one. You know Furies get stronger with every fight—if not Chase, then that Nyx pure-blood may already be on par with you.”

Siegfried snorted. “Don’t be ridiculous. She’s no match for me. I have yet to deploy all my powers. No one has ever pushed me to that limit yet.”

“You don’t know that and, in fact, I think you don’t stand a chance against her or Chase in your current state of mind. If you act purely on emotions, you’ll bypass everything that made you the most cunning warrior there is. You always used your intellect to defeat foes—foes stronger than you.”

“So, that’s what I’ll do.”

“No, Siegfried, listen to me⁠—”

“Enough!” screamed Siegfried.

Grunhild sighed and tears filled her eyes before her ghost vanished.

* * *

Ashra held her stomach as a massive cramp struck her out of the blue. She had suffered through many of these as of late. What the hell is going on? The pain was so excruciating that she collapsed on the floor of her dark-lit quarters onboard her mothership.

“That brat, she betrayed me, and it seems like she left me with a parting gift.”

“You know it’s not that,” said a voice in her head.

At first she was startled. “Who’s there? Show yourself!”

There was no answer.

It took her a while to identify the tone of the voice that had spoken to her. It was the voice of Spectre Prime.

How the hell are you able to talk to me in this fashion?

A translucent silhouette of Spectre Prime appeared nearby. “You seem to be in quite a lot of pain,” said Prime.

“I’m hallucinating from the pain, and you’re a figment of my imagination, so go away!”

“Perhaps, perhaps not. Maybe I’m just strong enough inside you to appear to you. Have you considered that?”

“Nonsense, no soul can talk to me unless I decide it shall. And I don’t make it a habit to talk to my food!”

“That’s why you will make a terrible Prime. There’s wisdom from learning from your victims, and you should know this if you weren’t so obstinate to reject our ways.”

“I’m nothing like you. I’m the next generation, and you’re correct, I want nothing to do with your old ways. You saw how easily I killed you. The old ways are pathetic!”

Prime shook his head from side to side. “Yes and in doing so, you chose not to heed my warning.”

“What warning?”

“You’ve accumulated too many souls; your young and feeble body can’t take it. Why do you think you’re in pain right now?”

“That has nothing to do with it!”

“Keep telling yourself that, but deep inside you, you know I’m right.”

Ashra growled and launched a fireball at Prime. It went through him and exploded on the wall behind. An alarm blared.

“Really? You think you can make me go away with a fireball? My body is gone, remember? Or perhaps it’s not just physical pain that's afflicting you, but mental exhaustion as well. How the hell do you intend to defeat Chase and his Alliance in this pitiful state of yours?”

“Like everything else, this will pass.”

“Oh, the ignore-the-pain-and-keep-going strategy … in the history of the universe, that always worked very well.”

“Shut the hell up!” screamed Ashra before the pain in her belly increased so much that she couldn’t contain an agonized cry.

“You’d think these crises of yours were there to tell you something, wouldn’t you?”

Ashra growled, fought against the pain to get herself back on her feet. It wasn’t an easy feat in her current state and gooey sweat pearls travelled down on her face.

“You don’t look good, but I don’t have to tell you this, now do I?” Prime doubled down.

She closed her eyes and focused. At first, the pain was too strong for her to achieve the calm she needed inside her mind, but soon her pain and the blaring alarm went away. She located Prime’s soul and buried him deeper within her psyche.

When se re-opened her eyes. He was gone.

Good riddance.

Another bout of sharp pain forced her to one knee. She gritted her teeth so hard that black blood dripped from the corner of her mouth.

The door to her quarters opened and a Spectre warrior jumped in.

“Are you all right, Spectre Prime?” asked the warrior.

The thought that one of the men under her command could witness her in this state triggered so much hatred inside her that she got back onto her feet, ignoring the pain. She raised a hand forward and, without warning, snapped the warrior’s soul and added it to her collection. The lifeless body of the warrior stood in place, like a statue. Ashra's eyes shone bright red for just an instant and with a single thought, she disintegrated it.

“That should teach you to enter my quarters unannounced,” she said before collapsing back on the ground.

5

When Chase and the rest of the team entered the bridge, Nyx was standing in the middle, her arms crossed against her chest. She snorted. “About time. I was considering leaving without you,” she said coldly.

“Nyx!” exclaimed Chris, who quickly adjusted his voice to a less enthusiastic tone. “I … we didn’t think you were coming.”

“Against my better judgement, I reconsidered. That doesn’t mean we’re all friends though, and don’t count on me to sacrifice my life to save your sorry asses if we get in trouble. From now on, as your human friends say, I’ll be looking out for number one.”

“I’ve missed that charming personality of yours,” said Argos with a smile.

Chase gently elbowed his brother. “Look who’s talking.”

Argos beamed a wide smile. “Touché.”

“Glad to have you with us,” said Chase.

“There’s no us,” spat Nyx.

“Charming indeed,” Chase telepathically sent to Argos.

“I think what my son is trying to say,” corrected Menelas, “is that we’re glad you’re on board.”

“Better,” said Nyx, her voice still ice cold.

“I don’t see what your son sees in her,” said Oryn in Chase’s mind.

“Jealous, are we?” answered Chase with a smile.

“You guys know you can’t encrypt your telepathic messages from me, right?” Chris pointed out.

“Oopsie,” said Oryn. “Apologies, Chris, I didn’t mean any offense.”

“None taken, but trust me, she’s more than she appears.”

Nyx growled and left the bridge.

“Looks like she can hear you too,” added Argos.

“Damn … I’m gonna pay for this later,” sighed Chris.

Chase couldn’t contain his laughter. “Of that, son, I have no doubt.”

* * *

Talon held his hands behind his back as he stared at the viewport from his new ship, fresh off the docks. The EAB Victory.

With the war in full force, destroyers and dreadnoughts weren’t cutting it anymore. So, the Alliance developed a new class of ships: the Hercules-class battleships that were three times the size of destroyers, and even larger than some dreadnoughts. They were more agile than current dreadnoughts and armed with more weapons than any ships created by the Alliance—with a mix of Alliance, Olympian, and Asgardian technologies working together to deliver the most powerful warships to see the light of day, specifically designed to battle the Spectres.

Tar’Lock walked to his side.

“Like your new ship, Commodore?”

Talon smiled. “Our ship, Lieutenant Commander. News travels fast, I see. And yes, it’s quite the upgrade in terms of firepower.”

“Well, congratulations on the rank bump, as well as the new ship. I could say that I’m impatient to see what she can do, but then I’d be lying.”

“I know what you mean, Tar’Lock. While I’m also curious to see how she handles in a fight, I echo your feelings, and I'm in no hurry to put her and our crew in harm’s way. But the way things are going in this war, I’m sure it won’t be long until our curiosity is quenched.”

Tar’Lock released a series of clicks that only his race could deliver.

“What’s on your mind, Tar’Lock?”

“I don’t know, not exactly, just a bad feeling, that’s all.”

“I’m not sure I like the sound of that.”

“You and me both. I feel like something wicked is on its way, and that whatever happens next will be …”

“Be what?”

“I’m not sure … brutal, maybe.”

“Since when do Gorgar have premonitions like this?”

“We don’t; that’s why I’m so worried about it. It's a first for me.”

“Can’t argue with that logic, I suppose. But whatever comes our way, we’ll face it together. Right?”

“Absolutely, Commodore.”

“You don’t need to address me by my rank, and you know that.”

“Well, if I want my own ship one day, I think I’d better train on respecting the right in-ship decorum. You know my species’ limitation regarding memory, so I’d better drill this into myself.”

“Fair enough.”

In the distance, a ship undocked from Alkyon One.

“Looks like they’re on their way,” said Talon, pointing.

“Is that the Hope?”

“It is.”

“So, they’re really going to Atlantis, huh?”

“That’s the plan, yes. If that place even exists, that is.”

“Oh it exists. If Gaia says it’s there, it’s there.”

“I have to admit everyone seems to blindly trust this Gaia. I find it a little disconcerting that people are willing to trust an Artificial Intelligence in such matters.”

“That’s because you weren’t there to see her sacrifice her life to save Earth.”

“I heard the story. I also heard her counterpart nearly wiped out the planet and everyone on it.”

Tar’Lock sighed. “Yes, there’s that too. But I trust Spiros. He’ll have put the right contingencies in place to make sure this never happens again.”

“I sure hope so, because dividing our attention and forces into fighting both Spectres and the Asgardian Guards is more than enough. Fighting war on two fronts, no matter the circumstances, is never a good idea.”

“Don’t worry. If anything, I think Gaia will help us win on both these fronts.”

The Hope opened a hyperspace window and jumped.

“I’m surprised Chase didn’t get this new ship for himself,” said Tar’Lock.

“I wouldn’t have minded, but I think he sees the strategical value of having the most advanced ship in the fleet protecting the Alliance’s strategical assets, and right now that's Alkyon One. In his shoes, I would have done the same. Plus, it’s not like the Hope hasn’t received the latest weaponry upgrades as well. It may be smaller in size than the Victory and can take less of a beating, but it’s nimbler and still packs quite a punch.”

“I heard they upgraded the Heracles Cannon, correct?”

“Yes, the downtime to recover from a full shot has been lowered by a third, thanks to Asgardian upgrades … now that we have enough pentalium to feed more of the Asgardian subsystems.”

“I take it we received the same upgrades?”

“Yes, but because our ship is massive, we pretty much have the same downtime the Hope used to have. Still, in a pinch, it can save our asses. Our version of the cannon also packs thirty-five percent more power, due to our larger energy capacitors.”

“Wouldn’t that allow our ship to blow up a planet, or even a small star?”

Talon chuckled.

“What’s so funny?”

“Nothing, and you’re probably right, but it’s not standard procedure for the Alliance to even try our firepower on such targets.”

“At least there’s that.”

* * *

Chris stepped into the mess hall. “Are you alright?” he asked.

When Nyx answered with a growl, he knew he was in trouble.

“Look, I’m sorry. I should have⁠—”

“Kept your mouth shut? Hell, yeah,” declared Nyx. “It’s one thing for me to open up and show you affection, it’s quite another to broadcast it to strangers.”

“They’re not exactly strangers, they’re my family.”

“They’re yours, not mine.”

“Maybe one day …”

The look she shot him gave Chris all the answers he needed.

“I wouldn’t count on it. No offense.”

“Well, it’s hard not to get offended, but okay … I guess.”

“Look, you and I work well and I hope when this is over you’ll consider coming with me and the surviving Furies.”

“I’m not sure I get what you’re saying … let me rephrase this. You expect me, a non pure-blood Fury to side with the Furies? After fighting them to the death in the last war? What if you guys suddenly decide the Alliance needs to go? Then what?”

“You’re a great warrior. I’m sure our Commander will make an exception for you.”

Chris’ smile quickly turned sour. “I don’t think you get my meaning. I could never side against my family and friends, not for you, not for anyone. And I mean that in the nicest possible way, so … no offense?”

“I see,” said Nyx, turning around.

Chris could cut the tension in the room with a knife … though perhaps it had permeated the atmosphere of the mess hall so much that he’d need something more akin to Mjölnir to make a dent. He hesitated to just leave the way he’d come; his instinct told him to stay. He walked closer and put his hands on the sides of Nyx’s shoulders.

She rejected him and got free, but he tried again, and this time she allowed his hands on her. He kissed her on the neck.

“I got a better idea,” said Chris. “Why do we work together to make sure Furies stay the great allies they’ve been lately, and instead of having us choosing sides, our union could serve as a bridge between both our people, and serve as a reminder that we’re stronger together than we ever would be if we were apart.”

“If I didn’t recognize your aura, I’d swear it’s your father talking.”

“My father is right sometimes, you do know that, right?”

“Hmm … if you say so.”

“Look, the two of you locked horns long enough, and I know you’ll never admit it, but he’s a great warrior. In fact, he’s probably the only one that can keep up with you.”

“In his dreams.”

Chris smiled. “Well, dreams or not, it will take a while to arrive at New Kyria. So, are we going to spend that time arguing hypothetical future war scenarios, or should we do something else?”

He knew it was a tricky proposition coming on to her while she was mad, but his instinct told him that she’d welcome the opportunity to blow off some steam. “What do you say?” added Chris.

“I suppose there’s no harm, and it certainly will help us pass the time.”

“I love it when you talk dirty.”

“Oh, shut up! Or I may decide I'd rather use your pretty little face as target practice instead.”

“Your quarters or mine?”

She smirked. “Why wait?” She grabbed him and yanked him against her in a strong fashion.

Chris's eyes grew wide. “We’re doing that here then?”

She answered with her lips and tongue.

Argos stopped in front of the mess hall. “Sorry! Wrong mess hall ... I'm not even that hungry.”

Chris and Nyx watched Argos leave the place like a strong gust of wind before they both laughed out loud.

6

Artemis dodged a blaster shot and impaled the merc that had tried to kill her with Poseidon’s trident. She raised him off the ground. “That was very, very stupid of you,” grumbled Artemis.

The merc tried to speak but he spat a small amount of blood instead.

“I did my best to not deliver you with a fatal blow, but you’re going to need immediate medical attention if you desire to live. So, the way I see it, you have two choices. You either tell me where to find Ephaestus right now, or you bleed to death on my trident. Choose, but if I were you, I'd choose fast.”

It took a while for the merc to manage to mutter the words. “F-f-first option.”

Artemis lowered him to the ground. “Talk.”

“What about the … trident?”

“Well, if I remove it now, you’ll be bleeding in full force and risk dying before we have time for me to get the information I need. That also goes for you taking too much time to provide me with the information I paid you for, I might add. Either way, time is of the essence.”

The merc sighed and a bubble of blood burst from his nose in the process.

“Alright, alright … he’s in the Beta Zargon system.”

“I’m afraid I'm going to need a little more than that,” said Artemis, applying pressure slightly onto the handle of the trident.

“Urg, stop! Okay, okay,” said the merc, panting heavily. “He’s on the third planet, north hemisphere … that’s all I know, I swear.”

Artemis entered the coordinates on her wrist device and a holo-star map appeared. She zoomed into the planet and checked on the detailed information her ship's computer provided on that planet. “Peculiar choice,” she thought, “for a blacksmith, to live in such a sub-zero desolate place.”

“You’d better not be lying, or I’ll make sure to pay you a visit on my way back, finish what I started, if you catch my drift. And I won't stop just with you.”

The merc nodded frantically. “I swear this is where he is located. Now, please help me.”

“First, I think I am entitled to a refund, considering you just tried to kill me. Wouldn’t you agree?”

The merc took out the credit bars he had pocketed before trying to double-cross her and handed her the blood-ridden currency.

She wiped the bars on his shirt and pocketed the bars before pressing a few commands on her wrist holo-device.

“What are you doing?” asked the merc.

“Getting you the help you need.”

Shortly after, an officer beamed down nearby and ran toward her. He unholstered his weapon and aimed it at the merc.

“Hey!” he protested.

“Lower your weapon, Lieutenant.”

The officer obeyed and handed her a small box. She opened it and took a glowing bandage out before slowly removing Poseidon’s trident from the merc’s guts.

“Don’t move,” she ordered as she applied the bandage on the wound.

“It’s cold.”

“Yes, and it will keep you from bleeding out, at least for a couple of hours. That should be enough time for you to get additional medical attention.”

“Are you shitting me? We’re in the middle of nowhere! I’ll never make it.”

“You should have thought about that before you tried to kill me.”

“Look, I’m sorry. It was a dumb mistake but please, at least beam me into the nearest city.”

“I’d love to help— well, let me rephrase that. It’s not my problem and I’m in a hurry to accomplish my mission.”

“You can’t do this!” protested the merc.

Artemis grabbed the blaster pistol from the ground. “Or I could just put you out of your misery right now, if that’s what you prefer.”

The merc raised both hands. “No, no, it’s okay. Can I at least keep my blaster? There are ferocious beasts roaming this desert.”

“I think not. You’ve demonstrated you can’t be trusted with it. Have a nice day.”

“Wait! You can’t leave me to die here!”

But Artemis was already walking away. “Watch me,” she said before crushing the blaster in her hand.

* * *

Daniel looked in the mirror, and tried adjusting his evening wear as best he could, but the more he fidgeted with it, the less desirable the result became. He sighed heavily.

Dating isn’t for me. I suck at it.

He did the best he could with his clothes and headed out of his quarters.

“It’s just dinner with a colleague,” Daniel repeated in his thoughts, as if the mantra were going to help him better cope with his anxiety.

It didn’t. If anything, his anxiety rose with every reiteration, so he decided to stop repeating altogether. After all, it was just a third date, even though Daniel was terrible at keeping track of this peculiar human ritual of counting the times two people met to spend time together.

Why keep track in the first place? It doesn’t make sense.

Still, as Daniel approached the Starbrite bar-restaurant he felt an equal mixture of anticipation and anxiety. As he entered, he looked around the place but couldn’t spot Allanah.

Janet, the waitress, came toward him. “Captain, good to see you again. The table Allanah reserved for the two of you is ready.”

“Is she here already? Can’t seem to find her.”

“She sent me a holo-message a few minutes ago to tell me she’ll be a tad late, and asked me to apologize on her behalf. I'll show you to your table so you can wait for her there.”

“No apology needed, but I appreciate the gesture. Lead the way.”

Daniel followed Janet to his table and sat down.

“Can I get you anything to drink while you wait? Another random beer perhaps?”

“That color-shifting one from that other time was a pleasant surprise. What was it called again?”

“Oh, the Droxian Flux Brew. Yes, it’s a very original and tasty beer … if we can call it that.”

“Yeah, when I had the drink I wanted to ask why it was considered a beer, because it had more bubbles than a diet soda.”

“True. It barely qualifies, I guess, but taste-wise it's closer to beer than it is to a soda. I'll get you one and be right back.”

“Thanks, Janet.”

An hour and two Droxian Flux brews later, Daniel began to worry. Though he wasn’t sure what he was the most worried about: the fact that Allanah was more than fashionably late, or if he had been stood up. Was Allanah alright? Or had she just forgotten about the date? In fact, was she even considering this a date? The two of them had only talked up until now and while the time they spent together so far had been stimulating, Daniel hadn’t really seen any opening as to advance the relationship further than two colleagues working on the same space station, exchanging stories and anecdotes over drinks.

Is that so terrible?

It wasn’t. In fact, having someone to share how he felt about the war and being in command of the station had had a positive influence on his stress levels. But, as of right now, he couldn’t say the same without lying to himself.

As Janet passed by his table, he took the opportunity to ask her. “Have you heard from Allanah?”

She frowned. “I’m sorry, no. Did you try calling her?”

“I assumed she was just running late at work. I didn’t want to bother her.”

“That’s a gentlemen attitude, but it’s been over an hour, Captain. I would call her if I were you.”

“Right … thanks.”

Daniel used his holo-device to place the call.

She answered. “Oh my god!” she exclaimed.

“Are you alright? I was starting to worry.”

“Yeah, I could see why you would. I ran late finishing up a Mark IV, and after a fourteen-hour shift, I came home to change, and kinda fell asleep before I managed to remove my uniform. I’m so sorry, Daniel. Let me throw something on quickly and join you.”

“Naw, don't worry about it. We can reschedule; that’s okay.”

“No, it’s not. I feel horrible standing you up and letting you wait for so long by yourself. Oh, boy—I’m embarrassed.”

“Don’t be. That’s okay. These things happen.”

“You’re so sweet. You should be mad. I know I would if I thought I was being stood up, but instead you’re being so relaxed about it. Tell you what. Order us a couple of Cosmic Burgers to go and come to my quarters. I don’t feel like being seen in public right now, and it wouldn’t be fair to make you wait even longer for me to prepare for such a task. Is that okay with you?”

Daniel swallowed. “Sure. What are Cosmic Burgers, though?”

“The best things on the Starbrite menu as far as I’m concerned.”

“Sounds good. I’ll order them to go and I'll be there in a few minutes.”

“See you soon and again, I’m so sorry.”

* * *

When Daniel rang at Allanah’s quarters, the doors split open. No one was in sight though.

“Allanah?”

“Come in,” said a distant and muffled voice. “I’ll be right out.”

Daniel entered her quarters and immediately noticed that they were very well ordered. Nothing was out of place and from the looks of it, she liked to keep things tidy and organized, which made sense for someone used to working on starfighters and delicate machinery in general.

Daniel could hear the shower running. “Maybe I should come by later?” he proposed, not sure his voice was loud enough to carry through the wall.

“Don’t be ridiculous! I’ll just be a minute. Ever since you got me that real water shower upgrade, I gotta say, it’s hard to take short ones.”

“I can relate to that. Nothing beats hot water. Sonic showers are okay, when there’s nothing else, but …”

Daniel heard the water turn off behind the bathroom door.

“Water is a resource as valuable as gold. That’s why I thought that made for such a sweet gesture on your part,” she stated from the other side of door. “Somehow, I doubt that’s in alignment with regulations though.”

“Yeah well, I never found it fair that only the Captain and command staff are allowed these privileges, even though I can’t exactly install water showers for every member of the crew either.”

The door opened and she walked out of the bathroom, her hair still wet, a towel around her body.

Daniel swallowed hard and almost dropped the takeout food. He turned away and looked elsewhere.

“You’re shy, aren't you? That’s so sweet.”

Thank God Chase isn’t in my head to tease me about this.

She stepped inches away from him and used a single finger to turn his head back so he could look into her eyes. She took a deep breath. “Something smells really good in here.”

“That would be you,” said Daniel.

She chuckled. “Nah, silly. It’s the burgers.”

Daniel had been so mesmerized by seeing so much of Allanah's skin, even though she was half-covered, that he had almost forgotten about the food he held in one hand. “So … should I set this on your table? And I suppose you’ll want some time to dress before we eat.”

Beaming, she gave him a huge smile.

“What?” asked Daniel.

“You don’t take a hint, do you?” Before Daniel could answer, she planted her lips delicately against his and soon their tongues were intertwined.

“If you don’t mind," she said, "let’s start this meal with dessert first, shall we?”

She grabbed the takeout bag from him as she kissed him a second time and blindly dropped it on the table behind her; as she did, her towel fell to the floor.

Instinctively, Daniel again turned his head away.

She grabbed him by the waist and pressed herself against him. “You don’t intend to look away the entire night, do you? I'd prefer it if you looked at me while we make love.”

Daniel’s heartbeat went into overdrive, but as she directed them to her bed, a sense of blissful peace filled his entire being.

7

“What do you mean, ships are approaching Asgard?” asked Poseindon. “What ships?”

“An Asgardian destroyer and Droxian escorts,” replied the Loki hologram.

“Siegfried!”

“I’m afraid so.”

“Defenses?”

“The fleet around Asgard, plus our defensive satellite grid, should be able to deal with them, well … their ships anyway.”

“Yeah, even if we blow them up, that won’t stop him or Fenrir.”

“Horrible timing too, since you don’t have any of your weapons.”

Artemis, if you can hear me, please hurry back home.

“It is what it is. If I have to kill Sigfried with my bare hands, so be it.”

“Well, at least you have your cybernetic arm. I wanted to test more of the latest firmware before deployment, but it looks like this fight will have to work as the beta test session.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I’ve been working non-stop since Artemis left, and improved every single one of your systems—in simulation, at least.”

“What? I didn’t ask you to do this.”

“I know you didn’t, but I feared this exact scenario would come to pass, and ever since you told me how the real me died, I thought I should keep my counterpart's legacy of doing everything possible to save Asgard. Since I can’t do much without a real body, it was only logical for me to try and figure out a way to upgrade your cybernetic arm further. And far be it for me to brag, but I think it’s my best work ever.”

“I see. I don’t feel any different though.”

“That’s because this particular arm is obsolete already,” said Loki as he beamed in a new arm that levitated nearby. “That’s the one you’ll use going forward, as soon as the firmware updates, which should be just around⁠—”

Three bleeps echoed and green runes along the gun metal pentalium-reinforced arm flashed three times.

“Now,” said Loki.

“But we changed my arm not long ago, didn’t we?”

“Why do I get the feeling that you’re not thrilled at the idea of a weapon upgrade?”

“It’s not that …”

“Then what is it?”

Poseidon sighed. “It’s the arm I was wearing when⁠—”

“Oh, I see … when my brother gave his life to save yours.”

“Yeah. I don’t suppose you can just upgrade that one instead?”

“I’m afraid not. Bone Crusher has triple the power source, and much better armor and shields.”

Poseidon lifted an eyebrow. “Bone Crusher?”

“Trust me, you’ll understand soon enough why it’s a fitting name once you try it. But hey, nothing is preventing you from keeping the older one, and wearing it when you’re not fighting.”

Poseidon nodded. “Fair enough.”

The King of Asgard removed his older cybernetic limb and replaced it with Bone Crusher. As the contacts were made with his shoulder socket, Poseidon felt a rush of energy course through his entire body. It was like nothing he’d ever experienced, and the rush of adrenaline made his facial tattoos glow brightly for a few seconds before they lessened in intensity and found a soothing, pulsating rate.

Without warning, liquid metal ran through Poseidon’s body and covered him with platinum-and-gold finish armor. At the center of his chest, a bright green trident head glowed vibrantly.

“Holy crap,” muttered Poseidon. “You could have warned me.”

“I thought I’d keep that part a surprise,” smirked Loki.

“And by that part you mean ...”

“Bone Crusher. Yes.”

Poseidon’s grimace evolved into an accepting smile. “Is Bone Crusher as powerful as it feels? I … I never felt that much power in me before.”

“Probably more. Right now, it’s just in standby combat mode. Once you start a fight, you’ll feel even more power. It’s kind of like what a Fury must feel when they transform into Ultra or Hyper Fury form. At least, I would imagine so.”

Poseidon looked at his hands and flexed them into fists. As he applied pressure, green lightning bolts sizzled around his fists. “Even from beyond the grave, you may just have saved Asgard once more, Loki.”

“We won’t really know until you put it to the test, and let’s not forget it’s Guards you’ll be fighting ... plural. I’m very proud of crafting Bone Crusher, but let’s not forget the level of the threat we are about to face. However, I will say that I truly appreciate your vote of confidence in my invention. Thank you, Poseidon.”

Poseidon threw a couple of punches in the air and everything that wasn’t securely attached in the room was blasted away by the resulting shockwaves the punches generated. A bottle of Asgardian brandy broke onto the floor several yards away.

“Wow … nope, Loki. I’m clearly the one who should be thanking you for making me feel like an Ultra Olympian right now.”

“Ultra Olympian or Ultra Asgardian?”

“Same difference.”

* * *

Athena walked down her shuttle and was greeted by half a dozen Olympians.

They all took a knee. “All hail the Queen of Olympus.”

Athena sighed. She had not expected such formal address, even though she could understand the need for the people of New Olympus to properly greet their new leader. On her way here, she had heard rumors that when Poseidon had announced he was taking the crown on Asgard, it had caused quite a stir in the already disorganized political structure of New Olympus.

“Rise, and …” She bit her lip. “Thank you.”

The Olympian delegates gave her the tour of the facility they had named the Mount, a giant building in the middle of a still in-construction capital city, Olympus One. The building's name, Athena decided, had been aptly chosen as it grew thinner the higher it got, resembling the shape of a mountain—one made of metal, that was.

New Olympus was a planet teeming with life, even though it was a rather small planet, barely twice the size of Earth’s moon. In fact, as far as she was concerned, it was more a moon than a planet, with the exception of not orbiting another larger world.

The quad-star system the planet was located in gave this world the peculiarity of very short nights. They lasted barely an hour or two, depending on alignment at any given time. Days were breath-taking, with a view that almost always resulted in three suns shining in the heavens. Two golden, like on Earth, and a blue one that gave light on New Olympus a very particular look as it casted blue hues when that sun was high enough in the sky. The four and last star only appeared in the sky every few days and offered the sky a pretty purple tinge for a short while.

After a while, the turbolift brought Athena and a couple of Olympians still accompanying her to a large room, with lots of empty seats, at the top of the Mount; no doubt a senate, by the looks of it.

“This is the heart of the New Olympian democracy,” said one of her aides, whose name she hadn’t yet memorized.

“I see. You do realize that while I have no issue with democracy, if I’m taking this job, I may have to make unilateral decisions from time to time.”

Athena could both sense and see from the look on her aide’s face, that she had struck a sensitive chord.

“If?” asked the aide.

“Wrong choice of words … I have accepted the position. I just mean that if I feel I must make a decision to save our world, I may not always have time to run it by the senate. After all, we’re at war.”

“And under the current state of emergency, you are within your rights to do so as the leader of our people.”

“What’s left of us, anyway,” thought Athena.

“However,” continued the aide, “once the war is over, all decision must be ratified by the senate.”

Yeah, we’ll have to see about that.

“I don’t remember my father abiding by such rules.”

“And it cost our civilization millions of lives, as well as the fall of Olympus.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. What cost my father’s life and the fall of our home world were the Spectres, Tanak’Vor to be precise. While I can’t condone some of my father’s decisions while he was still alive, it had nothing to do with what happened on that day.”

“Some people think that if Zeus had respected a more democratic system, that day might never have come, since the senate might have refused to help Chase after his visit to our world. In doing so, Arakan might never have come to Olympus to seek revenge.”

Athena released a low-volume growl. “If I were you, I’d be careful what I said around me. Also, I would use more critical thinking in what you chose to believe. My sons have saved us all, and Arakan would have come to Olympus one day or another, since his beef was with Zeus and Zeus alone.”

The aide bowed. “I apologize my queen. I didn’t mean any offense. Just repeating what others have said.”

“And here lies the problem. In so-called democracies, people often easily turn into parrots of the propaganda instead of using critical thinking to form opinions for themselves. There's nothing more dangerous for a civilization than to delegate their thinking to third parties. Always investigate the information you hear, and always make up your opinion based on facts you can verify. You'd be wise to trust me on this … uh ...”

“Arrabella, my queen.”

“Trust me, Arrabella. It’s better to think for oneself in this world, rather than follow the madness of any crowd. You’re still too young to understand but one day, you will. The difference between a sovereign being and a slave is exactly that: the slave follows the majority blindly, even if the majority has been sent to jump off a cliff. A sovereign being, however, analyzes a situation with critical thinking, and makes a decision that is in alignment with his or her own beliefs, and no one else’s.”

“But what about orders? There must be structure for society to prosper, should it not?”

“In the military, yes. It’s good to follow the chain of command, but I’d be the first one to say this: never follow a wrong order. If it clashes with your inner morality barometer, then you’re better off following your own instincts. Every single time.”

Athena could tell Arrabella was shocked by her words. She had the decorum not to voice her concerns, but Athena’s empathic abilities were strong and she could sense the conflict inside the young lady. She could sense her reverence toward someone of Athena's position, but she could also sense her rejection to the concepts she was trying to teach her.

“Who’s been giving orders in absence of true leadership?”

“A regent was appointed at the head of the senate, my queen, why?”

I need to see what other nonsense these politicians have fed what’s left of my people, that’s why.

Athena’s tone changed from casual to ice cold. “Have him meet me at his earliest convenience.”

And he’d better have a good excuse as to why he didn’t come to greet me himself.

* * *

“How did it go?” asked Menelas over the holo-channel.

“I’m not sure,” answered Athena.

“That doesn’t sound good.”

“No, it doesn’t. Something’s up on New Olympus. I can’t put my finger on it just yet, but it seems to me that our people have forgotten who they truly are.”

“And what would that be?” asked Menelas with a smile.

“Warriors and shepherds of the lower races.”

“Lower, huh?”

Athena bit her lip. “If you’ll excuse my poor choice of words, I did have a long day after all. I meant less technologically advanced races. After the first Fury war, we took it upon ourselves to guide their evolution, make sure they didn’t kill one another for petty reasons. As you may know.”

“Haven’t had much time to brush up on my history, so no, I wasn’t aware. As you know, I spent most of my time inside a cell in another dimension, being taunted by Arakan every chance he got.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to bring back painful memories.”

“Don’t worry about it. What matters is that I’m no longer rotting in that cell, and that you and I found each other again.”

“About that, do you remember that day?”

“You’re going to have to be a little more specific, love.”

“In the clearing, when you and Aphroditis were running for your lives and away from my squad.”

“Oh … that day. That was something. There was a part of me that thought you might actually execute us both.”

“Those were my orders.”

“Well, I’m glad you disobeyed them …”

Athena let her words hang in the air for a moment and then she smiled.

“And I’m glad you can look at this part of such a day with a smile on your face.”

“No, it’s not that, Menelas. It’s just that I tried to teach a very similar lesson to my young aide earlier today—that one should never blindly follow orders if they feel in their heart that the orders are wrong. If you had, I’d be dead, Chase and Argos would never have been born, and I’m not sure the universe would have survived the second Fury onslaught.”

“It was the defining moment of my entire life, you know. I’m surprised we never discussed this earlier, to tell you the truth. But if I’m being totally honest, just thinking about having this conversation scared the hell out of me.”

“The mighty Fury Menelas, scared of something? Like a conversation? I find that hard to believe.”

“Love … while I decided to kill my squad to save our unborn children that day, you have to understand …”

“Understand what?”

“It wasn’t a clearcut decision at the time. I was a good, brainwashed Fury … a ranked officer. Part of the elite and too proud for my own good. I was blinded by Arakan’s father’s aura of persuasion. He had a way with words and imposing his will through sheer will of thought—like his thoughts shaped the whole universe around him.”

“You know, it’s not just his. All our thoughts shape the universe one way or another. Obviously, to varying degrees, but you should give yourself a break, even if you hesitated. What matters in the end is that your thoughts, your decision to spare us and kill your own men, was the right call. In becoming a traitor to your people along the way, it is the reason we’re talking now, and it’s the reason why our children will win this war, like they did the previous one. So, I don’t care that you almost didn’t change your mind on that day. I’m just grateful you did.”

Menelas smiled. “So am I.”

8

“They’ve detected our approach,” said Fenrir.

“It doesn’t matter,” answered Siegfried.

“We’ll get blown out of the sky the minute we exit hyperspace, and you know it!” Fenrir protested.

“All that matters is that Asgard falls today, even if we must lose all of our forces in the process.”

Fenrir shook his head in dismay.

“This isn’t you,” said Grundhilde as she appeared in her translucent form. “It’s not too late to change your mind.”

Change my mind about what?

Your quest for misguided revenge, one that if you don't reconsider, may turn into a suicidal death wish.

I don’t have a death wish.

Now, are you lying to me, to yourself, or to the both of us?

Siegfried sighed. I’m not lying. I just want to blow up this planet and be done with Asgard once and for all.

Why?

You better than anyone else should know why!

No, I don’t! And that’s the problem. When we planned to take our revenge on our creators, I thought that’s what we would do. Find Thor and Loki, and kill them, and perhaps kill the descendants of Zeus as well. Everyone else in this is innocent. The crimes we were victims of belonged to Zeus and Odin. But in the end, we were given a second chance at life in a world where both people responsible for our imprisonment were dead already. They paid for their bad karma with their lives. We should have just left this part of space instead of trying to go after their descendents.

You can’t be serious? Also, I don’t recall you having a problem killing innocents before, so why the change of heart?

Because back when I was still alive, I saw them as collateral damage in a war I once considered holy. Now that I lost my life in the pursuit of that futile goal, I realize we were wrong. And if you truly want to hear the cold hard truth, I was too blindly loyal to the man I loved.

This is nonsense. I’m still not sure that you’re not just a figment of my imagination and as such, I should dismiss what you’re telling me and follow my instincts. And my gut tells me it’s time for Asgard to pay for all their crimes. They had it coming.

You're going to play the hallucination card … I see. It’s me, Sieg, and in your heart you know it to be true; otherwise, you wouldn’t see my ghost the way you do. I just wish I could convince you to stop this madness. I thought you had finally decided to include Fenrir in your decision-making process, and yet, he’s been pleading with you to reconsider for days, and you haven't once given his suggestions any thought.

Fenrir is a coward!

No he’s not. How can you even say that? Right now, he’s the only Guard alive that sees the bigger picture—much more clearly than you ever did.

And what big picture would that be?

That it’s time to forget about blind revenge. It won’t bring our fallen comrades back! It won’t solve anything. But there’s an opportunity here, one you haven’t considered before, one that your current thirst for misguided revenge is preventing you to even see.

There’s nothing misguided about my actions.

Says the man who wants to burn a planet to the core as an act of revenge because he lost the woman he loves. That same woman that is begging him not to do it. In what universe is that not misguided?

Siegfried waved a hand in the air so swiftly that a console on the bridge exploded from the shockwave. But it did achieve the desired result of making Grunhild’s ghost disappear.

“What the hell,” exclaimed Fenrir, “what was that for?”

“Nothing of importance. Just dealing with ghosts.”

“Ghosts? Are you serious? Who is it you’re seeing exactly?”

Siegfried ignored his brother but at that moment he saw ghosts of the rest of his fallen comrades, including Ragnar's.

When Ragnar was alive, he was Siegfried’s closest friend. Nearly as powerful as him and twice as cunning. They did everything together. During the hunt for escapee Furies at the end of the war, they would never lose sight of each other. In fact, it was because of Ragnar that Siegfried had been the last to be captured once their creators had decided they were too dangerous to roam the stars freely, once their mission of finishing the Fury genocide was over.

Siegfried missed him deeply and at this moment, it made him doubt his sanity. Looking at the ghosts of his fallen brothers and sisters would do that. Siegfried also wondered what Ragnar would think of his current plans.

I'm also doing this for you, brother.

* * *

“We’re receiving a distress call from Asgard,” announced Tar’Lock.

“On screen,” said Talon.

Poseidon’s face appeared on the main holo-screen of the Victory.

“What is it, Poseidon?” asked Talon.

“The Guards are on their way to Asgard. I thought I’d let you know. I don’t think they have enough forces with them to inflict much damage … with their ships anyway.”

“Chase feared this scenario could happen. That’s why he left me with standing orders. I’ll be jumping half of the fleet your way.”

“I don’t think that’s wise. Siegfried must have a plan, but I think he’s coming for me and for Asgard, not to win a space battle he knows he can't win.”

“Nevertheless, I have my orders.”

“Bringing half the fleet here will leave Alkyon One open for attack from the Spectres. I can only urge you to reconsider your decision, Commodore.”

“While I agree with your assessment, perhaps we can help you defeat the Guards from orbit as well, should it come to that.”

“All the space firepower in the world won’t bring down a Guard, but it will kill innocent Asgardians on the surface. I won’t sanction that unless there is absolutely no other choice.”

“Understood. We’ll use the new jump gates to get to you as soon as we can.”

“Yes, holographic Loki informed me of their deployment. In fact, I’m encoding a transmission he asked me to relay to you, something about doubling the speed of travel in between gates. It’s too technical for me to understand, but feel free to hit him over subspace, should you need help implementing the changes he's proposing. Poseidon out.”

As soon as the holo-screen turned off, Tar’Lock released a veritable symphony of nervous clicks.

“Mind sharing your thoughts, my friend?” asked Talon.

“I don’t like this, and I agree with Poseidon’s analysis of the situation.”

“So do I, but Chase left me standing orders.”

“Perhaps we should inform him.”

Talon thought about it, and while he could try and reach the Hope, they could already be out of range and in the unknown regions. There was also the matter of distracting Chase away from his mission. That alone bothered Talon. Chase could decide to turn back and add their forces to the fight. Then again, maybe they needed Chase and the others to defeat Guards.

“Alright, open a channel to the Hope.”

Tar’Lock gestured the comms’ officer. After a few seconds, he shook his head.

“We can’t seem to raise them.”

“The unknown regions are filled with pockets of space where subspace transmission is highly unreliable. So, I guess we’ll have to go with Chase’s standing orders. Get Daniel on the line and inform him we’ll be jumping half of the fleet to Asgard.”

* * *

“They’ll jump out of hyperspace any minute now,” said Loki.

“ETA on the Earth Alliance fleet?” asked Poseidon.

“If they implemented my changes, within the next thirty minutes.”

“And if they didn’t?”

“Let’s assume they did. Otherwise, they would have contacted me via subspace.”

“Unless Siegfried is jamming us.”

“In that case, I'd estimate that they’d be at least three hours away.”

“A lot can happen during that time.”

“If by a lot you mean the entire fate of our world, I tend to agree.”

Poseidon sighed. “A good thing we won’t need them then. At least, I don’t think we will. Our defenses should easily hold against these ships. It’s Siegfried and his friend I’m really worried about.”

“While Fenrir is nowhere near as powerful as his bigger brother, he’s not to be underestimated either. He represents the Asgardian Constellation of the Wolf, and while wolves are more efficient in packs, a wounded wolf can be very dangerous.”

“I don’t intend to underestimate either of them. I just wish Artemis had returned with my new weapon, even though I must say I’m looking forward to taking Bone Crusher for a test ride.”

“You don’t have to say this just to please me. I do understand that a Hephaestus-forged weapon would be not only preferable in this situation, but if he can forge one that has both the power of your trident and Thor’s hammer, well … that would make it one hell of a weapon.”

“I’m not just saying this to flatter you, believe me. I just think that I would feel more confident fighting them with Bone Crusher than without it.”

Multiple bleeps resonated near Loki’s console.

“They’re here,” said Loki.

“Let’s see what they do before we open fire.”

"Is this wise?"

“No, but I thought I ought to check if by chance they had a change of mind.”

“You can’t be serious,” said Thor inside Poseidon’s thoughts.

Why not?

Siegfried won’t listen. Believe me, I’ve tried reasoning with him, more than once in fact.

Let’s try one more time anyway.

“I must say," said Loki, "that it’s a peculiar hypothesis.”

“Be that as it may, please hail them.”

“They’re not responding, and they have opened fire on our fleet.”

“I understand why you had to try,” said Thor, “but as you can see, he’s not interested in talking. He never was, and I fear he never will be.”

Poseidon sighed. “So much for diplomacy. Return fire and destroy the targets.”

The battle around Asgard didn’t last very long, but before most enemy ships were destroyed, Loki detected multiple life signs beaming down onto the planet.

“They never intended to keep those ships,” said Loki. “All they were doing was buying enough time to find a crack through our jamming fields and beam themselves and many dozens of infected Droxian drones to the planet. I don’t have to tell you⁠—”

“No, you don’t,” interrupted Poseidon. “They hope to infect enough Asgardians so that they can take over. Except there’s a major flaw in this plan. We have the cure. Surely he knows that by now?”

“Perhaps they intend to use the chaos as a diversion; while we can cure our people, it still takes a tremendous amount of effort in doing so. Unfortunately, infection is nearly instantaneous upon contact with the Droxian drones. So, even if we can revert the surviving ones down the line, they'll still have plenty of time to wreak havoc around Asgard.”

“Siegfried is cunning. Maybe there’s something we’re not seeing. Let’s minimize the chance of that scenario coming true then. Instruct the elite guards and every Asgardian fighter to keep their distance from the enemy and only engage them at a safe distance. They can’t be infected if they’re nowhere near the enemy.”

“Orders relayed.”

“Time’s up,” said Thor’s voice inside Poseidon’s head.

The throne room’s door at the other side of the room exploded. Two tall men in full armor walked through the burning debris.

Poseidon rose from the throne and with a single thought, Bone Crusher’s liquid metal armor deployed from his arm to the rest of his body.

9

Chris smiled when Argos tiptoed his way inside the mess hall and discreetly looked around.

“You’re in the clear,” chuckled Chris.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” said Argos nonchalantly.

“I saw you last night, and don’t worry about it.”

Argos scratched the back of his head. “I wasn’t worried, but I gotta admit that was bad timing on my part. Glad to see you’re feeling comfortable enough with Nyx to …”

“Do it in the kitchen?”

Argos smiled. “That’s one way of putting it, yes.”

“It was a spur of the moment thing.”

“In my experience, ‘do it’ as you say, in public places always is.”

“When was the last time that happened to you?”

“You don’t want to know.”

“If I didn’t, I wouldn’t have asked.”

“If you must know, it was thousands of years ago—well, technically much less, as we spent most of that time in stasis.”

“We, as in Chase and you?”

Argos nodded. “He was called Laiyos back then.”

“That’s a nice name.”

“I don’t think Chase likes it very much. But then again, I can’t blame him. I wasn’t exactly brother of the century back then.”

“About that … will you ever tell us what happened?”

“There’s not much to tell, and it’s not exactly a memory I like bringing back to the surface.”

“Deflecting the subject as you would a fireball. Gotcha.”

“Look, Chris. I don’t think now is the right time to discuss this, and I think if we ever do, I owe it to your father to give him these details first.”

“What about just the gist of it then?”

“That I suppose I can do, since it’s information I gave him already. Okay … here goes. We argued about the future of our destinies, basically about rescuing the rest of our kind from the dimensional prison.”

“I can see why he wouldn’t be thrilled about that.”

“Let me tell you one thing, Chris: your father wasn’t always the straight arrow he is now.”

“That’s hard to imagine.”

“Yet that’s the truth. At one point in time, we were working together to get to the Olympians so we could rescue the Furies. But eventually, he had a change of mind—which is safe to assume I didn’t take kindly to.”

“And you two fought and you erased his memory? Is that it?”

“In a nutshell, but not before he accidentally killed the woman I loved.”

“Wow, back up a second, will you? My dad killed an innocent woman?”

“She was not innocent—at least today, I don’t think she was. I’ve been thinking about it a lot since joining Chase's quest to defeat our people. Back when I was getting high that is … the more I remember of that time, the more I get the feeling that she was just using us, as if …”

“As if what?”

“I’ve already said too much.”

“Well, you can’t stop now.”

“Alright, as if she had been planted there to brainwash us to become the enemy.”

“Planted?”

“Like an agent, yes, making sure your father and I accomplished our mission.”

“That would make sense; after all, Athena and Menelas would never have wanted the two of you on that path to begin with.”

“Yes, that’s why I think we didn’t know about the identity of our parents, or that we weren’t even Furies pure-bloods. We must have been abducted very young by the enemy. I somehow fell in love with our caretaker, the woman that brought us up from childhood to adulthood.”

Chris frowned.

“I know. She was older than me, so what?”

“I didn’t say anything.”

Argos smiled. “Tell that to your face. Nyx is also quite a lot older than you are.”

“That's true. And then what happened? How did she die?”

“I really think I should talk about this with your father first.”

“Just summarize it for me. I won’t say a word until the two of you talk. I promise”

“What if we don’t ever talk about it, though? Chase expressly said, on several occasions, that he might prefer not knowing his past.”

“Then it will stay between the two of us. I give you my word.”

Argos took a deep breath. “Okay. Well one day we argued, like many times we had before the incident, and on that day, I was the one who threw the first punch. Things went from bad to worse real fast. Before we realized it, we were fighting each other with deadly attacks and, at one point, Chase deflected one of my attacks back to me, but he miscalculated the angle by a few degrees, and Hera was killed by the attack.”

“You couldn’t heal her?”

“Maybe I could have, but I was too mad at your father, and well …”

“You wanted to kill him ...”

“Chris, you need to understand I was someone else back then.”

“I know who you were. You don’t have to worry about what you did back then; it won't impact the relationship we have now.”

“Well, it’s good to hear you say this because I don’t think I would be able to deal with it if you thought less of me now.”

“Ain’t gonna happen, I swear.”

Argos took a few deep breaths before continuing. “I nearly killed Chase. I got so mad at that moment that the fact that we were brothers mattered not.”

“What stopped you?”

“I don’t know. I either don’t remember, or my psyche doesn’t want me to. All I know is that—as he lay inches away from leaving this world—I couldn't go through with it, and instead I erased his memory and healed him. Then I dropped him on Alpha prime.”

“That’s heavy. But can I ask you something?”

“Sure, anything.”

“You’ve killed many people. Why not end it there?”

“I honestly don’t know. Maybe I felt I couldn’t take out a member of my family. Maybe a little voice inside me already knew that in a distant future, we wouldn’t be enemies forever. Take your pick, but your guess is as good as mine at this point.”

“Fair enough. Thanks for sharing this with me. I can see why you wouldn’t have wanted to. But since that time, where we were enemies, you’ve saved us so many times, and while I’m sure there are countless people in the galaxy that won’t ever be able to forgive some of your actions⁠—”

“And they shouldn’t. I’m beyond forgiveness, Chris. That much I know.”

“Well, for what's it's worth, both Dad and I forgave you.”

“To tell you the truth, I still don’t understand why. I've killed so many people, Chris.”

“Because my dear uncle, you’ve done what very few people can.”

“And that is?”

“You’ve awakened to a higher level of consciousness, and decided to repent for your past actions. I don’t think you realize how huge that is. To go through such a transformation is mind-blowing. At least it is to me.”

Chris could sense Argos was at a loss for words, but it was alright; they never needed words to understand each other.

* * *

“You’re sure I can’t come with you?” asked Ka’Rij.

“I am,” replied Chase. “I need someone powerful guarding this side of the portal system.”

“From whom exactly?”

“The Spectres, Ashra, The Hellion Empire … take your pick.”

“We both know the only adversary I’d potentially fight would be the Empire, though ever since we taught them a lesson, they seem to have forgotten about us.”

“They may just be regrouping.”

“For that long?”

“Perhaps they decided we’re more trouble than we’re worth.”

“Anyway, if you want me here, I’ll stay here. I just thought you could use the backup.”

“I don’t remember the last time I walked into a mission with as much firepower as we do today. Trust me when I say that with this team, we’ll be fine.”

“Strange.”

“What is?”

“Overconfidence doesn’t seem like one of your traits. Do I have to remind you that a single humanoid wearing a single piece of Atlantean tech almost killed your father? If Athena, Cedric, and I hadn’t figured out a plan to take her out⁠—”

“Right. And perhaps you’re right. No matter how powerful this team is, I should not assume we’re invincible. Thank you for reminding me of that.”

“You’re welcome, Dragonheart.”

“You know, I would really like you to call me Chase, if at all possible.”

“That’s gonna take some effort on my part, but I can try.”

“Thanks. Oh, since you mentioned the pyramid, how come you managed to turn into a dragon there? I thought you could only do so in space.”

“As far as New Kyria is concerned, yes, there are some worlds on which we can turn into full-sized dragons. Mind you, they’re rare. But as soon as I was past the portal, I sensed the same tingle I get when I fly in space, and I knew that this planet was one of them.”

“It’s strange though, that you can get the most of your powers in space. We Furies are the opposite; we can’t deploy our powers in space for fear of creating singularities that could destroy entire galaxies.”

“It’s almost as if we were meant to be allies then,” said Ka’Rij with a smile.

Chase chuckled. “I see what you did there.”

* * *

As Chase and the rest of the team stepped through the portal, it was nighttime on the planet.

“It’s not even cold,” said Chris.

“I can fix that for you if it bothers you,” said Oryn.

“That won’t be necessary, but thank you … I guess.”

“Which way?” asked Argos.

“I’ll fly us there,” offered Menelas. “Just follow me.”

“Not everyone in this party can fly,” protested Spiros. “Just saying.”

“True, but you have someone’s hands to hold who can,” said Gaia with a wink.

“Are we gonna stand here and chitchat?” interjected Nyx, “or are we going to go find Atlantis?”

Chris chuckled as he extended a hand to Spiros, and Oryn beat Chase in offering his to Gaia.

A while later, they landed in front of the pyramid's entrance.

“It’s even more beautiful to look at than during daylight,” said Menelas.

Chris sensed Nyx was about to say something derogatory and preemptively squeezed her hand, signaling her not to do it. She sighed in frustration but her lips stayed sealed.

“Where to now?” asked Argos.

Chase turned to Gaia. “You’re our resident Atlantean specialist.”

“I wouldn’t go that far,” said Gaia as she fiddled with her wrist device. “Give me a few minutes to scan the area.”

“Not to be the voice of negativity here,” said Chris, “but didn’t Cedric already run detailed scans of this place?”

“He did, but he hadn’t modified our scanners with the tech powering the necklace Diaspira was wearing.”

“Is that wise, though?” asked Menelas. “This thing drove her beyond madness.”

“Well, for one, I’m not wearing it,” said Gaia. “And I’ve taken necessary precautions. I believe humans have an expression that works well in this situation: you can’t make an omelette without breaking a few eggs. Hmm.”

“Hmm, what?” asked Kharon.

“I’m detecting a subterranean structure deep under the pyramid that Cedric’s scans were unable to break through, and I can see why. It’s quite deep underground, in fact.”

“How deep?” asked Oryn.

“As deep as possible. The structure is very close to the planet’s core.”

“How do we get there?” asked Argos. “I don’t think digging is an option for such a depth.”

“I could help with that,” declared Oryn. She raised her hand and soon she had a rotating drill made of ice levitating in the air.

“I like her,” smiled Kharon.

“Well, thank you … now, all I need is someone to tell me in which general direction to start the drilling⁠—”

“Wait,” urged Gaia. “We can’t drill our way to the core. We’d have to go through tectonic plates and other volcanic networks, and that could result in the planet’s destruction.”

“So, how do we get there?” asked Chase.

“Perhaps there’s something … a device of some kind inside the pyramid.”

“Or I could just teleport us there,” proposed Kharon.

“Not all of us at the same time, and we don’t know what could be awaiting us down there. On their recon mission, Portal Team One triggered a few countermeasures of their own.”

“Yeah, but they dealt with them without too much trouble,” Spiros pointed out.

“I don’t like the idea of just teleporting willy-nilly down there,” said Chase, “and what if the Atlanteans thought of it, and whomever tries, ends up teleporting inside the core instead? It’s too risky.”

Nyx growled.

“Let’s just set up camp outside since it’s such a nice evening,” suggested Chris pre-emptively, trying to keep Nyx in check, “while we let the eggheads figure out a safe way for us to get to that underground structure.”

Spiros raised an eyebrow. “Eggheads? Really?”

“Sorry, I guess I’ve had a craving for eggs since Gaia mentioned the omelette analogy earlier. My bad.”

“Dunno about eggs,” said Nyx, “but I sure could eat some flesh. Let’s go hunt something for diner.”

“Not a bad idea,” said Chase. “Chris, why don’t you go with her? And Oryn, if you don’t mind looking over Spiros and Gaia …?”

“Sure thing, boss,” said Oryn.

The three of them entered the pyramid as Nyx and Chris flew away to seek dinner.

“We do have rations,” said Kharon, “don’t we?”

“You clearly haven’t tasted them,” replied Argos. “Not only that, but I think it was a good idea for Nyx to have something to do. I don’t think patience is her strong suit.”

“You can say that again,” said Chase.

10

Siegfried walked toward the throne, fire burning in his eyes.

“I don’t remember inviting you here,” said Poseidon.

Siegfried smiled. “In what universe do you think I give a shit?”

“Right. I almost forgot who I was dealing with. So, let me rephrase it. Before the killing starts, that is. The way I see it, you have two clear choices here. One, you leave this world with your lives now, and I’ll forgo the unnecessary damage done to my temple. Two, you come to your senses and see that instead of fighting one another we could join forces to defeat the Spectres.”

Siegfried laughed.

“He’s not wrong, maybe we should kill the Spectres first,” said Fenrir inside Siegfried’s mind.

Do you really think I would ally myself with my worst enemy?

“I implore you to listen to your brother,” pleaded Grunhild. “If you truly love me, then please stop this.”

Siegfried clenched his jaw in frustration.

“I’ll tell you what,” said Siegfried. “I have a third choice for you. I kill you and everyone on this sorry excuse for a planet. How’s that for options?”

Poseidon sighed.

“Well, it was worth a try … as per your dreams of misguided delusions of grandeur, I have no intention of letting you execute your plans.”

“See? Wasn’t it simpler to just get on with it? Now, about killing you. Do you prefer it quickly or slowly?”

Poseidon smiled. “Why don’t you just give me your best shot, Sigi.”

To say pure madness infused Sigfried’s already hateful eyes was an understatement. He fired a large blue fireball at Poseidon. It impacted with a green shield erected by Poseidon’s armor, Bone Crusher.

“My turn,” said Poseidon. The King of Asgard threw an open palm forward and the resulting shockwave sent Siegfried flying and tumbling through more than half the throne room, leaving a trail of broken marble behind him.

Poseidon cracked his neck and easily blocked Fenrir’s attack. He pivoted around the Guard and used his bionic arm to flash-freeze half of Fenrir’s body.

“What the hell!” screamed Fenrir between clenched teeth.

Poseidon jumped and kicked Fenrir in the face, and sent him crashing through a nearby wall, and then another, and another.

* * *

When the Victory jumped out of hyperspace, most of the battle was over. The Asgardian fleet around Asgard had taken care of the small attack force.

“Open a channel to the Asgardian fleet,” requested Talon.

“Channel opened,” said Tar’Lock.

“This is Commodore Talon Epizon of the Earth Alliance flagship Victory. How can we help?”

“This is Fleet Commander Vidar of the Asgardian Defense Force. We appreciate your help but we have things well under control. Have some of your ships jumped after you?”

“No Commander, we only took half the fleet and they’re all accounted for. Why?”

“We’re detecting another ship about to exit hyperspace.”

Talon looked at Tar’Lock, who didn’t wait and instantly ran to the nearest console to check it out.

“He’s right, Commodore. It’s a massive energy signature too.”

“Can you pinpoint their exit vector?”

“Oh, hell no!”

“What is it?”

“They’re about to jump out right in the middle of the jump gate.”

“Helm, slave all hyperspace engines within the fleet and micro-jump us behind Asgard’s second moon. Do it now!”

The Victory battlegroup jumped and at almost exactly the same time, the jump gate exploded. Through the flames and debris, a massive Spectre mothership emerged and opened fire on every ship within range.

“Condition Red, all hands to battle stations,” said Talon. “Try hailing Chase. Things have changed, and we need to let him know about this coordinated attack.”

“I'm trying, but I can’t establish a channel. I’m sending a message on the Omega frequency instead.”

“Good thinking, Tar’Lock,” thought Talon.

Omega channel had been developed to transmit small-sized text messages so they would be able to go through most jamming fields and also have a longer subspace range (thanks to its highly redundant encoding). It was a new tech that was installed onboard the Victory and all the ships had been retrofitted with the latest upgrade, including the Hope.

Before the Victory battlegroup could enter the battlefield, the Spectre mothership had destroyed one Asgardian destroyer.

“Get me Commander Vidar on the line.”

The viewscreen filled with the face of the Asgardian Commander; his tattoos were flashing.

“I may have been premature earlier. Looks like we’ll need your help after all, Commodore.”

“Certainly looks that way, Commander, but I’m afraid we may still come up short in terms of firepower. These ships are very hard to take down.”

“I’ve read the Alliance reports on earlier battles and I concur.”

“We’ll have to work together and in concert to try and make a small hole through their shields, so we can fire our latest version of our main weapon on board my ship. That should at least create enough damage to make them think twice, and have them reconsider what they perceive as near-invincibility.”

“Understood.”

* * *

Chase took a tentative bite from what Nyx and Chris had brought back for the improvised fire-barbecue.

“I’m not sure we needed that much meat,” said Argos.

“We didn’t have much choice,” said Chris, “and trust me that was the smallest animal we found. They’re the size of large dinosaurs, like those I saw in illustrations on Earth, and kinda look a bit like them too.”

Nyx took a big bite of the roasted meat. “I like it. It’s tasty.”

Gaia came running toward the fire.

“Chase! We have a problem. I just received an Omega channel transmission. Half of our fleet and the Asgardian planetary defenses are being attacked by a Spectre mothership.”

“Dammit! We’re too far away to do anything about it, though. Can we get in touch with Ka’Rij? He could quickly travel there with his friends and give our fleet additional firepower.”

Gaia nodded. “Yes, I believe I can boost the signal to reach Ka'Rij. I’ll send him a transmission right now.”

“What about the mission, though?” asked Kharon. “Should we consider canceling our mission and go help them instead? Ashra could be on board that ship.”

Chase thought about it but he sensed a strong feeling in his gut, one that told him that they should complete their mission first. “I have a strong feeling that we need to see this through first.”

“I second that,” said Chris.

“I concur,” said Argos. “Don’t ask me why. I usually don’t get these kinds of hunches like the two of you, but I’m getting one now.”

“What are those?” asked Menelas, pointing at the sky.

A dozen red lights with trails could be seen very far in the night sky.

Gaia entered a few commands on her wrist device. “Well, that settles it. These are asteroids, quite large ones in fact, and their trajectory indicates that they're on their way to hit the planet. To be more precise, they're coming toward us.”

“That can’t be a coincidence,” said Menelas.

“No, it can’t, and I'm sure it isn't. Perhaps I triggered a countermeasure when I scanned and discovered the subterranean structure.”

“That’s quite the failsafe,” said Chris, “if they’re willing to destroy the planet for it.”

“Which means whatever we might find near the core,” said Chase, “has to be very important to be that well protected. We can’t afford to lose whatever that is.”

“I agree, but what about our friends?” asked Chris.

“It would take hours to get back there and help anyway, whatever the result of the battle will be. Besides sending the dragon men for support, there’s little to nothing we can do about it now.”

“I could teleport a couple of you there,” said Kharon.

“That’s assuming you can teleport between galaxies, and trust me when I say this: that’s not an easy thing to do. But let’s assume you could. Then what? We use our power in space and inadvertently open a blackhole in orbit of Asgard?”

“There’s that too,” said Argos. “I agree with Chase. We did all we could realistically do for them and right now we need to hurry and find a way to get whatever this planet is hiding before it gets destroyed.”

“Gaia,” asked Chase, “how long do we have?”

“About an hour, give or take a few minutes,” replied Gaia.

“And where are you and Spiros in terms of finding access to that place?”

“I'm afraid we’ve barely scratched the surface in that regard.”

“Then I suggest you hurry up. We need to come up with a Plan B, as we may need one.”

“We could take out the asteroids,” proposed Menelas.

“Yes,” said Chase, “but only after they enter the atmosphere. Which will make it trickier.”

“That could still cause massive damage to the planet, and even the pyramid,” Gaia pointed out.

“No doubt about it, but we may not have a choice. If we try to take them out in space, we could trigger an even bigger planet-destroying event. At least with a full team of Furies, we should be enough to organize ourselves and be able to deal with the fallout in order to protect the area.”

* * *

Siegfried wiped blood from the corner of his mouth and looked at it on his fingers. He wasn’t accustomed to seeing his own blood. And he’d never anticipated that a low-level warrior such as Poseidon could even land a hit, let alone such a powerful one.

“See,” said Grunhild, “you were wrong, and you’re clearly not thinking straight. You thought he couldn’t even touch you, and look what happened. You’re no longer able to be present in the moment, feel your opponents, and anticipate their every move like you usually do.”

Silence! You’re just a figment of my imagination.

Okay, let’s play your game. I’m only in your imagination, even though you see me in ghostly form. So, can you be one hundred percent sure this is the case?

Siegfried stayed silent.

I’ll take that as a no. So, if there is even a one percent chance I’m really talking to you from the beyond, what would be my incentive for deceiving you?

You could try to sabotage me.

Why would I do that?

I don’t know … revenge.

Seriously? You’re gonna lecture me about revenge of all things? Revenge for what, my love? You didn’t send me to my death on purpose. I chose to go fight Loki. Granted it was your plan, but I was in agreement with it or I would have refused that order and you know it! Look, I miss you too, and I never expected we’d be separated so soon, but it happened and that is something that cannot be undone. What you are doing now, however, is something that can be stopped; I’m begging you to reconsider.

Which is why I don’t think you’re real. The real you would never try to suggest I ally myself with those responsible for your death.

Unfortunately, in this case, love is the most powerful force in the universe, and I was blinded by my love for you. I should have questioned your motives and I should have been the voice of reason instead of agreeing with everything to please your ego. Unfortunately, it took my death to realize that I was doing you a disservice.

Siegfried growled and focused on casting away the voice inside his mind.

Once he was satisfied he had succeeded in his task, he looked around the room trying to locate Fenrir, but he couldn’t see his brother. “Where is Fenrir? What did you do with him?”

Poseidon pointed to the side. “About now, I’d say he's a good dozen miles in that direction. Give or take a few miles.”

“That can’t be. You’re just a pathetic Olympian. Granted, you took me by surprise, but you can never dream to defeat a Guard! Let alone two.”

“All evidence to the contrary. That may have been true in the past, but unlike you guys, we do our best to improve after every fight. You on the other hand, wake up every day thinking you’re invincible and, as such, you act as if you don’t need to improve your skills or powers. As such, it’s always been a matter of time for your opponents to catch up to you. It looks to me that today is that day.”

“I may want to kill you with every fiber of my being, but even if that weren’t the case, this is the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard. You landed a lucky blow, and the last one you'll land today … and you think that’s what it takes to defeat me?”

“Why don’t we find out, shall we?”

Siegfried darted toward Poseidon with all his might and launched a powerful jab at his face. Poseidon blocked the punch with his cybernetic arm. The impact made everything around them tremble, and dozens of marble floor plates cracked.

Before Siegfried had the time to remove his fist from Poseidon’s grasp, the Olympian's forearm glowed and a thick layer of ice advanced, freezing most of Siegfried's arm.

11

The Victory took massive damage when a full volley of Spectre torpedoes broadsided it.

“Damage report!” shouted Talon.

“Starboard shields failing, damages from to deck ten to eighteen,” stated Tar’Lock.

“We can’t take this for much longer, and we haven’t managed to make a dent on their shields.”

“We need to retreat from the battle and recharge our shields first.”

“Not going to happen. We have to stay with the fleet.”

Then something happened that Talon never expected: Tar’Lock disagreed with him.

“I’m sorry sir, I think that's a mistake. We’re the only ship in the fleet that's capable of inflicting significant damage to that mothership—if we can get through their shields. We can’t afford to lose the Victory, or this battle will be lost before it has even started.”

Talon clenched his teeth but deep down he knew his first officer was right.

“Micro-jump us away from the center of the battle and inform Commander Vidar of our status and the need to recharge our shields.”

“Aye, sir. Transmission away … and jumping now.”

When the ship exited the micro-jump, three consoles exploded on the bridge, killing the helmsman and injuring two other officers.

“Medical emergency on the bridge. What’s our status?” asked Talon.

“We’ve temporarily lost hyperspace engines.”

“How the hell did that happen?”

“I believe a torpedo impacted with our hull at the exact moment we jumped. It overloaded three of our power relays, disabling the drive.”

“Status of the Heracles Cannon?”

“Inoperable at the moment. I’m sorry.”

“Why are you sorry?”

Tar’Lock clicked nervously. “In trying to protect our main asset and by suggesting a tactical retreat, I got us to lose the one weapon we need in this fight.”

“You couldn’t have known, Lieutenant Commander. In fact, your logic was sound; otherwise, I wouldn't have followed your advice. So, don’t think anything of it and check with Engineering as to how much time they require to affect the proper repairs. Tell them to concentrate on the cannon first. Once that's done, they'll need to restore the hyperspace engines as soon as possible.”

* * *

Siegfried could feel his inner body temperature drop at a dangerous rate. He tried punching Poseidon with his free arm but the Olympian easily dodged it, which left Siegfried open to attack. If the Olympian hit his nearly entirely frozen arm, he could shatter it.

Siegfried couldn’t believe he’d gotten himself into such a predicament. He watched Poseidon’s fist aim for his frozen arm but just before it connected, Fenrir kicked Poseidon in the face, forcing him to release the grasp he had on Siegfried’s arm.

Siegfried burned his aura as much as he could to bring his temperature back up and melt his frozen arm. Meanwhile, back on his feet, Poseidon unleashed a combo of devastating attacks at Fenrir, followed by a powerful fire blast from his cybernetic arm. Fenrir blocked the attack by crossing his forearms in front of his face, but the blast made him skid along several yards of marble.

Anger filled Siegfried’s soul and his aura nearly doubled in size. He unleashed a flurry of fireballs toward Poseidon, who dodged most of them, and the ones that connected were either deflected or absorbed by his armor’s shield.

Poseidon fired four large lava bolts from his cybernetic arm toward Fenrir and then shifted in place and darted toward Siegfried. Before he could reach him, a dark red fireball came out of nowhere and hit the Olympian on the shoulder, and sent him crashing into his throne, destroying half of it as he flew through it, and then lost consciousness.

Footsteps coming from behind got Siegfried’s attention and he turned around. A dark figure emanating a crimson aura advanced toward him with a smile on her face.

“Who the hell are you?” asked Siegfried.

“I’m Ashra, the Spectre Prime, and as of right now, all your souls are forfeit.”

“The last of your kind who made that threat lost his life, and I see no reason why you shouldn't suffer the exact same fate.”

“Obviously, you don’t know who I am or you would be running for your life instead of taunting me.”

“I run from no one.”

“Make sure they put that on your gravestone—even if you don’t know it yet, you’re already dead.”

Siegfried laughed. “Right. The way I see it is that I have a planet to destroy, and you’re in my way.”

The Guard unleashed a flurry of powerful fireballs at Ashra, who decided not to move. They all impacted her chest and disappeared within her thick dark skin. She appeared undamaged.

“That tickles,” she said with a smirk. “Now, let me show you real power.” She aimed an open palm toward him and a miniature blackhole formed at its center.

Before he realized what was happening, Siegfried felt his soul being dragged out of his body. He focused on the force siphoning his soul with all his might and tried to counteract it. The part of his soul that was already out of his body stopped advancing.

“Impressive,” said Ashra. “But you’re only delaying the inevitable.”

“I don’t think so,” said Siegfried through gritted teeth. He increased his focus tenfold and his soul snapped back inside body with such force that it disoriented him for a moment, but that was enough for Ashra to make her move, and she jumped at him and smashed his face with her elbow, sending him crashing to the floor.

* * *

“Far be it from me to rush you guys, but we’re running out of time,” declared Oryn.

“Believe me,” said Spiros, “we’re aware. I’m almost through the Atlantean encryption.”

“And I believe I found the piece of technology to get us where we need to go once we get access to the Altantian computer,” said Gaia.

“And that would be?” asked Oryn.

Gaia pointed to an obelisk in the back of the large room.

“That appears to be a transporter. The working theory is that since it’s not detecting Atlantean genes in us, it won't activate. So, we have to hack our way in order to use it.”

“Is there a way to speed things up, though? In ten minutes, this place could get obliterated.”

“You and the others can make sure that doesn’t happen,” said Gaia, “unless we could slow down the computer core somehow.”

“I could try freezing it, if you think that would help.”

“Most technology emits heat,” said Spiros. “Exposing it to cold only allows it cool down more efficiently. Unless …”

“Unless what?”

“Can you bring the temperature very close to absolute zero?”

“I can even reach it if you need me to.”

“Hmm.”

“That’s too dangerous,” said Gaia.

“I know,” agreed Spiros, “but we both know we’re not sure we can make it work on time otherwise, so perhaps it’s worth a try.”

“If we destroy the computer core in the process, we’ll lose all chance to get to where we need to go.”

“The question is,” said Oryn, “can we afford not to take that chance?”

Spiros stared intently at Gaia and she bit her lip. “Very well,” she said. “Follow me.”

Gaia directed Oryn to a place on the other side of the room.

“I believe the computer core is behind this panel. Make sure you don’t flash-freeze it though; that could damage it. If you can bring the temperature to near absolute zero in say twenty seconds, that would be ideal.”

“Not a problem. How close to absolute zero do you want me to go?”

“A tenth or two of a degree over absolute zero, if you think you can be that precise.”

“I can, yes. Alright, let me get back to my console before we start. Can you also call Chase or Chris telepathically. I think we can use their help with interacting with the computer core.”

“Done. They’re on their way.”

“Wait for my signal and be ready to raise the temperature back up if this fails.”

“Understood.”

Gaia returned to the console she was working on earlier as Chase and Chris came running into the room.

“What’s up? What do you need us for?” asked Chase.

“You two can connect to machines with your minds. Spiros is almost done with the layer of encryption and as soon as that’s done, I need either of you to try and interface yourself with the computer core, and either trigger or hack the teleporter contained within the obelisk over there.”

“Which is it?” asked Chris. “Trigger or hack?”

“I suggest one of you tries to trigger it,” explained Spiros, “while the other tries to hack it. If we can hack it, we have a chance to use it more than once; however, if the only option is to trigger it, make sure to beam every one of us down there.”

“Is that wise?” shouted Oryn from the other side of the room. “Who will be left to destroy the incoming asteroids then?”

“That's a good a point,” said Chris.

“If we don’t all go, we risk splitting the group in two … with no way of regrouping.”

Kharon teleported into the room. “There’s another option. I could stay behind with one of you, and teleport us to your location once we dealt with the asteroids.”

“That’s too dangerous,” stated Chase.

“I agree,” said Chris, “but it’s still our best option. I’ll stay back with her.”

“No way!” insisted Chase. “I’m not taking the chance with both my children. I’d rather not take the chance with any of you, in fact.”

“I understand how you feel, Father,” said Kharon, “but at the very least I have to stay since I’m the only one who can teleport.”

“She’s right,” said Chris.

“I can stay with her,” shouted Oryn.

“No need,” said an approaching Argos. “I'll take on that task and I’ll make sure nothing happens to her.”

“We should have brought Ares along,” said Chase.

“Perhaps,” said Chris, “but we agreed that it was the right move to leave him on Alkyon One, should there be a need to evacuate Daniel and the others.”

“I don’t like this,” said Chase in Chris’s mind.

I know, but we didn’t come this far to turn back because of a little risk, and you know that.

* * *

Ashra hit Siegfried with a single punch to the stomach, but the impact was beyond anything he’d thought possible. He took several steps backward as blood dripped from his mouth and splattered on the broken marble, even though he managed to stand on his feet.

What the hell is this thing?!

“Like I've been trying to drill into your thick skull for hours, this is the common enemy we must fight,” said Grunhild in his mind. “And, right now, the most powerful one in the galaxy.”

How would you know?

I’m dead, remember? … It’s not too late, Siegfried. Swallow your pride and join forces with your current enemy, at least until this crisis is over.

He increased his focus to banish Grunhild from his thoughts once more.

Ashar slowly walked toward him with a smile on her face. She stopped and grabbed her stomach.

“No! Not … fucking … now!” she exclaimed.

Her eyes flickered red and she was forced to drop on one knee.

Siegfried didn’t understand what was going on but didn’t wait to find out. He kicked her in the jaw with all his might and sent her flying and crashing through half the throne room.

She’s not invulnerable then. Good.

Before she could get back on her feet, Siegfried unleashed two dozen fireballs at her. Unlike the last time he’d tried, they all connected and inflicted major damage this time around.

Fenrir got back to his feet and joined his brother.

“We need to finish her,” said Fenrir.

“Yes, and the quicker the better too. Let’s attack her together.”

Both Guards darted toward Ashra and unleashed a flurry of attack combos. Fenrir extended his energetic claws and ripped off chunks of flesh with every attack, but black tendrils immediately extended from her wounds to heal them; in some instances, they grabbed large pieces of flesh in mid-air and snatched them back in place, as if they had never been removed in the first place.

“What the hell is that thing?” asked Fenrir as he kept hacking at her.

“Something that doesn’t belong in this world, so let’s make sure it leaves it today.”

Ashra’s eyes glowed brilliant red as she unleashed a deafening roar, resulting in a massive telekinetic shockwave that sent both Guards crashing against the throne room’s large glass wall. It cracked upon impact. Fenrir lost consciousness and Siegfried cracked his head open but managed to keep his balance as he felt to the ground.

A large amount of blood gushed from the crack in his head. As he looked toward Ashra, what he saw froze his blood.

She was still screaming, except that her roar had turned into an ultra high-pitched shriek. Blue souls escaped from many of her wounds, and they added their shrieks to hers. It disoriented Siegfried to the point where it threatened to cause him to lose balance. He covered his ears with his hands, aimed his stare at Ashra, and unleashed two powerful blue laser-thin beams of energy from his eyes.

The beams hit Ashra in the chest and sent her crashing to the ground, and the echoing shrieks stopped.

12

“Engineering is reporting that the Heracles Cannon is back online,” said Tar’Lock.

“What the about hyperspace engines?” asked Talon.

“Not yet, but they’re working on it.”

“Very well, and what about our shields?”

“Back to eighty percent.”

“That’s gotta be enough. We need to get back into this fight.”

Two Asgardian destroyers exploded and filled the bridge with brief flashes of light through the viewport.

“As in now,” added Talon. “Bring us about.”

The moment the Victory entered within firing range of the enemy, the Spectre mothership re-tasked most of their plasma batteries to fire upon the Victory.

“They really have a beef with us,” said Tar’Lock.

“I think they have one with the entire universe, but in this particular case, I have to agree with you, my friend.”

“It is strange though.”

“Not really. They probably have analyzed ships. They know we pose the biggest threat amongst the fleet.”

The ship rocked when a torpedo impacted the shields. The lights on the bridge blinked and flickered.

“And me proposing to retreat to protect our main weapon just confirmed their assumption.”

“I thought I told you to let that go. It was the right call, Tar’Lock. I don’t want to hear another word of regret about this. I made the call, and it was the right one.”

Tar’Lock nodded but still made a few discrete tongue clicks.

Talon took three steps toward the viewport and his eyes grew wide. “Is that what I think it is?”

“There are sixty torpedoes coming our way,” said Tar’Lock, his voice trembling.

Talon’s jaw tightened. “Evasive action. What about our jump engines?”

“Still a few minutes out.”

“Even for a micro-jump? We don’t need them working at one hundred percent.”

Tar’Lock entered commands on his holo-terminal at lightning speed. He looked at Talon and shook his head.

“Then redirect all starfighter wings to try and intercept the torpedoes—and make it a priority one order!”

“Done, but most of them are out of range of the tangos; at best, they’ll get ten off our backs. That won’t make enough of a difference. We still can’t sustain a fifty-torpedoes volley.”

“Our jump engines may be down, but the StarFuries have their own. Order them to micro-jump back here and destroy as many torpedoes as they can.”

Tar’Lock clicked nervously and hit his head quickly, hoping Talon wouldn’t catch it, but he did.

“Why didn’t I think of that? Transmitting order … dammit!”

“What’s going on? The enemy erected a Jump Interdiction Field. Our birds can’t jump.”

“Of course they did.”

“We’re being hailed by Commander Vidar.”

“On screen.”

“Commodore Epizon, we’ve redirected all our starfighters to try and catch the torpedoes that are on their way but by our estimation, we’ll be coming way short to make enough of a difference. I’ve tried to jump several of my ships to come to your aide, but that tactic has failed. Unfortunately, none of my ships are close enough to yours to interpose and take the damage for you.”

They would do that?

“Thank you, Commander, and yes, the enemy has erected a JIF for what I believe is that very reason. Since it’s on their mothership, there isn’t much we can do until we can lower their shields. As for sacrificing a ship and crew to save us, I would never have asked that of you.”

“It doesn’t need to be asked, Commodore. We both know that we need your main weapon to win this fight. Therefore, it would have been a strategical decision. And if we survive that day, we need to install this weapon of yours onboard our ships as well.”

“Understood. And yes, retrofitting the Asgardian fleet with Heracles Cannons sounds like a good idea.”

“I’m sorry we couldn’t do more, Commodore. I hope our fighters manage to take out enough torpedoes to allow the Victory to survive. I’ve already had all of my fleet lock onto your life signs. Should your shields become fully drained, we’ll beam as many of your crew as we can off the ship. But I hope it won’t come to that.”

“It’s appreciated, thank you. Talon out.” Talon took a deep breath. “Time to impact?”

“Forty seconds.”

“How many tangos are still locked onto us?”

“Thirty-six.”

We’re not gonna make it.

* * *

“Everyone ready?” asked Gaia.

“Ready,” screamed Oryn.

“So are we,” said Chase.

“Now!” shouted Spiros.

Oryn’s hands glowed bright white as she progressively froze the Atlantean computer core.

“The computer core frequency and power are becoming more efficient,” said Spiros.

“We knew this could happen,” said Gaia. “Keep going, Oryn.”

“Dad, anything?” asked Chris. “I can’t get through.”

“Neither can I, but let’s be patient.”

“Approaching absolute zero,” advised Oryn.

“Computer core is slowing way down,” said Spiros. “I’m able to finish decrypting the firewall. Chris and Chase, stand ready to get us through this. We don’t know how long it will take for such low temps to completely destroy the core, so the sooner you have results, the better. For all of us.”

“Understood,” said Chase.

“Firewall down. Go.”

Chase focused on accessing the computer. It was harder than dealing with Alliance tech. Much harder in fact. He wondered if it had anything to do with this tech, or the fact that the computer core was frozen to near absolute-zero temperatures.

“I’m not getting through,” said Chris telepathically. “What about you?”

No luck either. Maybe instead of us both trying to access it separately, we should link our minds and try to work together on a hack.

That’s not the plan.

Screw the plan. I feel the computer core won’t last much longer at these temperatures.

I have the same feeling. Okay, let’s do this together.

I’m letting Oryn know not to get any colder … perhaps even raise the temp by a couple of decimal points.

Chase sensed an opening to the computer core and with Chris dealing as a failsafe for him, he managed to sense the systems. It took quite a bit of mental effort to navigate through the very alien computer structure, but eventually Chase found what he was looking for. “I’ve got it,” he said through greeted teeth.

“Give me ten seconds to install a backdoor,” said Spiros.

Chase’s voice sounded choppy. “H—hurry u—up … it’s not going to be … easy to hold for that long.”

Even though only a few seconds passed, it felt like an eternity for Chase.

“How are you holding up?” he asked Chris.

I feel like my brain has been passed through lawnmower. You?

Yeah, that about sums it up.

“Malware installed,” announced Spiros.

Multiple beams of blue light shot from the obelisk, some of them through the walls of the pyramid, and everyone in the room or outside, except Kharon and Argos were gone.

* * *

Ashra was still unconscious when Siegfried approached her. He slashed his hand in the air so quickly that it decapitated Ashra. “So long, bitch.”

The Guard kicked the head of the Spectre across the room.

Noise coming from behind got his attention and he whirled. A bloodied hand grabbed what was left of the throne and soon a blood-drenched Poseidon was back on his feet, using the debris from throne to keep himself upright.

“That won’t do it,” said Poseidon.

“What are you talking about?”

“These things are very hard to kill. In fact, you need to incinerate every cell of its body or it will reconstruct.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. I decapitated her. She’s gone.”

“Trust me on this.”

“Trust you? That will the day.”

Poseidon’s eye grew wide. “Siegfried, behind you!”

“I’m not falling for that o⁠—”

Siegfried couldn’t finish his sentence. He looked down his stomach—a dark fist had punched through it. He gazed around and there stood the decapitated body of Ashra, and it had just impaled him.

Fuck me. Seems like that damn Olympian was telling the truth.

Before Ashra’s headless body could decapitate him with her free hand, Siegfried blocked the attack with one hand and cut through her impaling arm at shoulder’s length with beams of light from his eyes.

He then kicked the rest of her body to the ground, removed the arm from his stomach, which was incredibly painful. He disintegrated the limb he held and aimed a palm at the rest of the body.

It was at this moment that his head started spinning and his vision blurred, and before he could fire an incinerating attack, Siegfried stumbled and fell face-first to the ground.

* * *

Fenrir came about and looked at the damaged room.

“What the hell happened?”

“I’m too weak to finish her,” said Poseidon. “You have to do it. Your brother tried to, but he’s just lost consciousness.”

“And why should I trust you?”

“Because if you don’t, we’re all dead, so hurry up. She’s already rebuilding. Look!”

Fenrir looked at the downed body of Ashra—except she was already up, missing a head and an arm. Frantic tendrils of black goo were already reconstructing her missing arm as she walked toward her severed head.

The head on the ground spoke. “You’re dead, all of you. I’m going to enjoy eating your pathetic souls.”

“What the fuck is this thing?” exclaimed a shocked Fenrir.

“Evil incarnate, but right now we are running out of time, so incinerate her now, or we’re all dead.”

Fenrir hesitated but then he glanced at the unconscious Siegfried. For now, he’d have to trust Poseidon. Fenrir deployed his energy claws and darted toward the headless body. When he was upon her, he slashed through her again and again, slicing her into smaller and smaller pieces.

Tendrils of black goo shot at faster speed to try and reconstruct and re-fuse Ashra's body. Eventually, a couple of large tendrils shot forward instead of trying to catch onto loose pieces of her body and pierced through both Fenrir’s shoulders, effectively preventing him from continuing to slash Ashra.

A ball of energy evolved in front of the reconstructing Ashra blob, and Fenrir couldn’t move a muscle to get free of her grasp.

A fireball hit the blob and Fenrir struggled to see where it had come from. But from the corner of his vision, he managed to see a weak Siegfried, still on the ground with a palm aiming forward, before he lost consciousness again.

Unfortunately, the attack had little to no effect, and Ashra’s body was almost fully reformed when the head rolled on its own toward her body.

“This is a nightmare!” exclaimed Fenrir. “Why won’t you die? Bitch!”

Ashra’s body kicked Fenrir but she left the two large tendrils in his shoulders by severing them from her body. As Fenrir fell to the ground, the tendrils shape-shifted and made their way around Fenrir, preventing him from moving his arms.

The fireball Ashra was growing in front of her chest was now the size of a soccer ball and it shot toward Fenrir. There was nothing he could do to dodge it.

A shadow moved in front of the fireball. It was Poseidon, and he unleashed a massive energy wave from his cybernetic arm that countered the fireball that would have killed Fenrir.

“Why?” asked Fenrir. “Why are you helping me?”

“For one, I firmly believe we don’t have to be enemies but more importantly, we stand a much better chance of defeating her if we join forces … as I’m sure you’ve also concluded.”

Fenrir nodded. “Any way you can do something about these damn tendrils?”

Poseidon looked at Ashra. Her head had rolled back to the bottom of her body, but since he had already deployed a lot of energy to save Fenrir, he decided to help the Guard first.

He rushed to his side, grabbed the tendrils with his hands and froze them. Fenrir did the rest by expending his aura and flexing his muscles, effectively shattering the frozen and now frail tendrils to bits.

Poseidon helped Fenrir get back to his feet.

“Thank you,” said Fenrir.

Poseidon flinched. “Don’t mention it.”

* * *

Talon looked at the approaching torpedoes with dread inside his soul.

“It’s been an honor having you as my first officer, Tar’Lock.”

Tar’Lock couldn’t hold his sphincter closed and he released a long, drawn-out, high-pitched fart.

“Sorry about that … and the honor was mine, Talon.”

The torpedoes were almost upon them when a large mass of flames took them all out at once; the resulting multi-pronged explosion shook the Victory hard, and lights flickered around the ship.

Ka’Rij, in full-fledged space dragon form, flew by the viewport.

“Now that’s what I call timing!” exclaimed Talon.

For once, Tar’Lock’s clicks had a joyful symphony ring to them.

Two more space dragons were attacking the mothership, their fiery breath igniting their shields for the longest time, no doubt draining them at a much faster pace than the rest of the fleet’s energy weaponry ever could.

“Bring us about and prepare to fire our main weapon. Can we get our Kyrian friends on the line?”

“I’ve never hailed a dragon before,” said Tar’Lock, but I can try saturating all the bandwidths with our message. It won’t be encrypted though.”

“Do it just to establish communication, then perhaps we can encrypt the following communications.”

“What do I say?”

“Ka’Rij, ‘come in’ will do.”

Tar’Lock frantically entered commands on his holo-terminal. “Done.”

“We’re getting a response.”

“I’ve taken the liberty to use one of your channels. That way we won’t be spied upon,” said Ka’Rij. “Looks like we arrived just in the nick of time.”

“Yes indeed. Impeccable timing, thank you. We’ve analyzed the run your colleagues made on the mothership, and it looks like your fire breath is very efficient at draining their shields. We can use that. Do you think you could have them focus on a specific spot of the shields to open them up, even for just a few seconds?”

“Indeed, we can certainly try. Any particular place you want us to hit?”

“I’ll have the fleet concentrate fire on a specific point, and I’ll let you add your firepower to that.”

“That sounds like a plan.”

“And Ka’Rij?”

“Yes?”

“Thanks again for saving our collective asses.”

“Anytime. Just note that our oxygen reserves are limited so after a few minutes, we’ll have to replenish them by flying in high orbit of the planet’s atmosphere.”

“Understood. I’ll let the Asgardian know.”

Talon returned to the captain’s chair and brought up a holo-display with the mothership. Its shields were recharging faster than they were being drained. Since little was known about weak spots for the motherships, Talon followed his instincts and logic, and tagged an area near the aft of the starboard shields, and had the fleet coordinate their efforts on hitting that specific point.

“Any reason you selected that target?” asked Tar’Lock.

“No. It’s mostly a gut feeling, but there’s also the fact that the surface around this point contains more batteries than anywhere else on their ship.”

“Which means they’re trying to defend this place in case of a surface attack.”

“That was my thinking as well, yes.”

The trio of dragons was on its way to make the attack pass, so Talon focused on the control of the main weapons on his console and locked onto the target, and waited. Ka’rij and his kin fired their breaths at the same time, creating a veritable inferno on the surface of the enemy's shields. They shone brightly and then flickered after a short while.

“It’s now or never … firing,” said Talon.

The entire Victory hummed as every bit of power it had was being siphoned from all the systems but basic life support, before firing a massive golden beam of plasma energy.

At first, the beam impacted with the shields but soon a hole was created and the beam impaled the Spectre mothership in both the entry point and a newly formed exit point on the port side. A cascade of multiple explosions appeared on the surface of the ship; its lights flickered and its sub-light engines flickered too. But the ship didn’t explode.

“Damage report?” asked Talon.

“Reporting massive damage. They’ve lost half of their power signature, batteries … and torpedoes have all stopped firing. Shields are recharging already but they seem to have been seriously damaged in the process.”

“Instruct the fleet to keep firing at it. That will force them to divert all their power to the shields, which will slow down their repair efforts and, in time, we could even bring the entire ship down.”

“I’ve relayed the orders to the fleet.”

13

“You really think we can pull this off?” asked Kharon.

Argos looked at the approaching asteroids. They were massive but he knew they could destroy them—doing so safely, without blowing up the pyramid below, was what would require some well-coordinated effort.

“It’s a little late to have second thoughts about your plan, don’t you think?”

“I’m just a kid. I didn’t know if you’d even listen to my proposal, let alone give any credence to my plan..”

“Oh, that’s the card you’re playing then?”

Kharon smiled. “What’s the plan now, though?”

“I go high into the atmosphere and blow these things up into smaller chunks. You just use your teleportation power to blow up the larger of those chunks that fall toward the surface.”

“How will I know which ones to target?”

“Just take out the bigger chunks and let your instincts guide you. That’s something the Athanatos family has going for itself. We share great instincts, especially when push comes to shove and our lives depend on it.”

“Good to know. But just so I understand this, do I destroy all massive chunks or just those that come into our general vicinity?”

“Vicinity is the priority. However, try to destroy as many as you can. We don’t know what a massive impact could trigger, even one that’s hundreds of miles away. Such an event could spike earthquakes or cause volcanoes to erupt. I must go now. Good luck, Kharon”

“To you as well, uncle.”

Argos flew into the sky and Kharon followed him halfway through and eventually stayed and levitated at a lower altitude, waiting for the debris. It didn’t take long for most of it to appear. She vaporized the bigger chunks with ease but after a few minutes, they became too many to track at once and she felt quickly overwhelmed.

“How can I track those I can’t even see?” she asked telepathically.

Feel them. Close your eyes if you have to, though I wouldn’t suggest you keep them closed too long. But perhaps once or twice, to acquire that sense or feel you’ll need to teleport towards the bigger pieces.

She destroyed two large chunks heading down toward the area of the pyramid and closed her eyes for just a moment. She felt a disturbance hundreds of miles away and teleported there instinctively.

Upon arriving, the asteroid was just about to hit the surface—to the point where she feared blowing it up so close to the surface could be dangerous. Promptly, she flew under it and used all her power to slow it down. She then catapulted the asteroid back into the sky with a massive shockwave, and blew it out of the sky with a powerful fireball.

Another sense of urgency drew her attention and she teleported again. This time a large chunk was heading straight toward the pyramid.

“Crap!” she exclaimed, though no one would hear.

She focused on flying there as fast as possible and flew toward the center of the massive chunk of rock, barely half a kilometer over the pyramid, which meant she had no time to slow it down. She pierced through the rock dead center, turned around in the air, and vaporized five of the bigger chunks with fireballs.

Unfortunately, there was no time to deal with the sixth smaller chunk and it crashed three miles from the pyramid, and left a long trail of flames upon impact.

Kharon couldn’t sense any disturbances from that impact and hoped she wouldn’t regret it later, but there was nothing she could do about it now. She flew toward more asteroid chunks falling from the sky.

She dispatched chunks for another few minutes, teleporting to and fro, and eventually they stopped.

Argos flew next to her. “Great job, I think we did it.”

* * *

When the party arrived at their new destination, the lights turned on around them on their own. The place looked a lot more technological than within the walls of the pyramid.

“Looks like we made it,” said Chris. “Everyone alright?”

“We seem to be all here and accounted for,” said Oryn.

“Except our dinner,” Nyx protested.

“Sorry, I didn’t think beaming a live fire into an unknown location was a safe thing to do,” said Chase.

“Bummer. I kinda liked that meat.”

“Now what?” asked Menelas.

“Give us a few minutes to get our bearings,” said Spiros.

Both he and Gaia scanned the area and tried interfacing with the tech in the room they had beamed into. A large room with no doors in sight.

After a few minutes, Argos and Kharon teleported inside.

“We’ve dealt with the asteroids,” said Argos.

Chase gave Kharon a hug. “Good work, the two of you.”

“Thanks.” Kharon beamed with pride.

A hologram appeared.

“Did you do this?” asked Gaia.

“Not that I’m aware of,” said Spiros.

The hologram was of an elderly humanoid in a white robe. He had a long beard and piercing blue eyes.

“Intruders detected, activating self-destruct.”

“Wait!” urged Chris. “Don’t do it.”

The alarm blaring all around them indicated he’d not listened to Chase's plea.

“We’re not your enemies,” said Chase.

The hologram scanned everyone in the room with blue beams of light.

“You’re mostly Furies and last I checked, Furies are the enemy of all living things in this dimension.”

“Once upon a time, perhaps, but we aren’t,” said Chris.

“Speak for yourself,” said Nyx telepathically.

“Please honey, not now,” answered Chris.

Honey?

“Please explain,” requested the hologram.

“We’re here to forge an alliance with the people of Atlantis,” Chris continued. “We’re currently under attack from a formidable enemy that calls itself the Spectres.”

The hologram rubbed its long beard, which Chris thought was peculiar, but hoped it meant the hologram was reconsidering his position of blowing them up.

“This is not possible. The Spectres are trapped inside another dimension.”

“Not anymore. They’ve found a way to breach their dimensional prison and are trying to destroy every living being in this one. We could use the help of the Atlanteans to fight them off.”

The self-destruct alarm turned off.

“If you were hoping my people could fight with you, I'm afraid I have some bad news for you. My people are gone, so to speak. I’m the last of the Atlanteans, and I’m not exactly in a position to help you … much.”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s best we discuss this on Atlantis itself. I may be able to provide some help, if what you say is true and the Spectres are indeed here. There’s a very good chance this dimension may be in dire need of help. My people never would have wanted this future for the beings inhabiting this dimension.”

“How do we get to Atlantis?” asked Chase.

“Step into the circle,” said the hologram.

A large blue circle of light drew itself in the middle of the room.

“Don’t worry,” said the hologram, “this is just an intergalactic transporter, similar to the portal system I’m assuming you used to get here in the first place.”

“It could be a trap,” said Nyx telepathically.

“We don’t exactly have a choice,” said Chris.

“I agree,” said Chase and Argos in telepathic unison.

“Kharon,” added Chase, “can you teleport us out of here and back inside the pyramid if things turn sour?”

I can try, but I've never teleported that many people at once, but … yes, I think so.

“That won’t be necessary,” said the hologram. “I give you my word that I mean you no harm.”

“What just happened? Can he hear our thoughts?” asked Menelas.

“Certainly looks that way,” said Oryn.

“Your word means nothing to me,” barked Nyx.

“Hey, easy there!” urged Chris. "Looks like he's on our side."

“I’m not betting my life on a hologram that just minutes ago was ready to blow us all to kingdom come.”

“And yet he stopped the self-destruct sequence, which means 'was' still remains the operative word in your statement.”

“The boy is correct,” said the hologram.

“My name is Chris. What’s yours?”

“My name is Hyperion, the high one. If what you say is true, and the Spectres have invaded this realm, I’ll do everything in my power to help you stop them.”

“That good enough for me,” said Argos, and he was the first to step into the circle.

Soon, everyone else followed—everyone but Nyx.

“Come on, Nyx,” pleaded Chris.

She growled but eventually stepped into the circle. A bright cyan light engulfed them all and they disappeared.

* * *

Poseidon and Fenrir heard clapping and they turned around. Ashra had finished regenerating and was clapping her hands slowly.

“I gotta admit,” she said, “for cockroaches, you’re quite resourceful. I’m looking forward to soon be digesting your souls.”

“Over my dead body,” said Poseidon.

“That’s usually the idea behind my actions.”

“Now what?” whispered Fenrir.

“We attack her together,” said Poseidon telepathically.

“Ready when you are,” answered Fenrir.

Poseidon fired a beam of icy energy toward Ashra, who easily deflected the beam with her hand. Meanwhile, Fenrir jumped at her, slashing his energy claws toward her face.

She blocked him by grabbing both his wrists before proceeding to break them with ease. The Guard screamed just long enough before Ashra sent him flying with a powerful kick to the sternum. The kick took the wind out of Fenrir—and from the bone-cracking sound that accompanied the attack—it had probably broken one or two of his ribs in the process.

Fenrir rolled on the mostly destroyed marble and tried to get himself back up on his feet, but instead he collapsed back onto the floor.

“Great, just great,” thought Poseidon.

Poseidon feigned an attack, which got Ashra’s attention and immediately prompted her to go on the counterattack. He dodged her slashing arm, grabbed it, and crushed every bone in it with ease, and then ripped her entire arm off. He used it to bash in her head and force her down on one knee, at which point he kneed her under the chin, sending her smashing into the ceiling of the palace, and cracking more marble in the process.

Poseidon threw away her arm, and aimed his cybernetic hand at her and engulfed her into a column of red-hot flames. She flew through the fire as if it weren’t affecting her, and landed such a powerful punch to his stomach that he lost balance and fell on his back.

“Impressive strength you’ve demonstrated,” she taunted, “but did you really think that your pathetic implants would be a match against a Spectre Goddess?”

“Looks like someone is having delusions of grandeur,” spat Poseidon along with a bit of blood.

A beep resounded within her vicinity and she put a couple fingers on her temple. “What is it?” she said, “I’m rather busy at the moment.”

Poseidon couldn’t hear the other side of the conversation but he quickly gathered, from the various facial grimaces, that it wasn’t good news.

“Useless imbeciles!” she screamed, and then roared loudly to vent her frustration.

Poseidon dusted himself off as he rose to his feet and took a defensive battle stance. “What is it? Is your plan not going as you hoped?”

She shot daggers at him. “No, and that’s very bad news for all of you as well, as I have to be on my way earlier than I’d hoped for.”

“Don’t let the door hit you on your way out.”

“Funny. But I’m not leaving here without every single one of your souls. So, as fun as this little diversion has been …”

Poseidon planted his feet deeply in the ground, but it didn’t help. She reached forward with both hands and levitated all three bodies in the air. Fenrir and Siegfried woke up in flight and tried breaking free of the telekinetic hold by flailing about, but Ashra simply increased her hold on them, and soon all three of them were levitating a few yards away from her, their arms tightly pressed to their sides.

“What the hell is going on?” asked Siegfried through gritted teeth.

“We’ve been trying to defeat her together,” said Fenrir. “In fact, Poseidon saved my life.”

“I find that hard to believe.”

“Believe it,” said Poseidon. “We either unite our forces or we’re dead.”

“Seems to me we’re just seconds away from this second option of yours,” murmured Siegfried.

“Not exactly my fault.”

“He’s right. We need to unite to defeat her” added Fenrir. “But I can’t move. What about the two of you?”

“Same here,” replied Siegfried.

“Me too,” said Poseidon through clenched teeth.

“Well … for what it’s worth," said Siegfried, "thank you for trying to save my brother. If we make it, I’ll owe you one.”

“I don’t think we’re going to make it,” Poseidon stated.

Ashra whistled. “Are you cockroaches done with your goodbyes? Good, ‘cause your time is up, and I have somewhere else to be.” She made large circle movements with her arms and created a much larger soul-sucking vortex than usual.

The amount of force the vortex was exerting on their souls was too strong for them to resist. Fenrir’s soul was almost fully out of his body, and both body and soul were screaming. Poseidon’s soul was almost halfway out, and Siegfried—who’d resisted the longest—found his soul was also getting siphoned.

“Struggling won’t help. Your souls are mi⁠—”

Ashra didn’t finish her sentence. Ten golden energy arrows emerged from her body, most of them from her chest, but also one in each limb. She screamed out loud.

“Die, you bitch!” said Artemis as she closed her fist from several yards behind the Spectre, and her arrows exploded.

The Spectre shattered, sending multiple parts of Ashra flying throughout the room.

“Help … vortex,” said Poseidon.

Artemis’ reaction was instantaneous and she aimed a large energy arrow at the vortex and fired. It was swallowed by the vortex and the resulting explosion dissolved its soul-sucking power.

All three souls snatched back into their respective bodies and they crashed on the floor.

She ran to Poseidon’s side. “Are you all right?” she asked.

“Thanks to you, I am now. But we have to hurry. She’ll recover soon.”

“Agreed,” said Siegried.

Artemis reacted instinctively and aimed three golden arrows at the Guard.

“Wait,” said Poseidon. “I think they’re no more threat, at least for now. Am I right?”

Siegfried nodded. “Yes, as painful as it is for me to admit it, we need each other, it seems.”

A massive roar echoed behind them and everything around them shook; large chunks of the marble ceiling of the royal palace fell and crashed around them.

Ashra had not only reconstructed her body, but she was now in a state of pure vengeful madness. “Screw your souls, I’m going to kill you all!”

Artemis fired the three arrows she had created for Siegfried at Ashra and they stopped in mid-air, turned around, and shot back toward them. Poseidon kicked Artemis out of the way, but in doing so, both he and the Guards were hit. Siegfried took one in the shoulder, and both Poseidon and Fenrir took one in their legs.

As Artemis crashed yards away, something dislodged from her back and made a clanging noise as it slid away.

“Is that what I think it is?” asked Poseidon.

“Yes,” replied a moaning Artemis.

Poseidon used a strong telekinetic hold to bring the weapon to him while Ashra created a giant fireball on top of her. It was a black fireball, with hundreds of crimson lightning bolts sizzling on its surface.

“Time for Asgard and its pathetic people to die!” screamed Ashra.

The moment the weapon reached Poseidon, he felt an amazing influx of energy course through him, even bigger than when he wore Bone Crusher for the first time. The weapon was a two-sided lance. On one side, it had a pulsating golden trident with a blue gem glowing at its center, and on the other end of the weapon, a double-sided axe, also golden, with a pulsating green gem.

Poseidon felt the powers of his old trident as well as the power of Mjölnir in the new weapon—and also something else. He rotated the weapon in his hand at such great speed that it quickly turned into a vortex and siphoned the energy out of Ashra's mass. In just a few moments, the magnificent weapon had siphoned all of Ashra’s attack inside itself, and the lance glowed black.

Poseidon slashed forward the weapon, at Ashra, and a column of black energy impaled her in the chest, punching a large hole on its way through her ribcage.

She shrieked loudly as hundreds upon of hundreds of blue souls escaped from her gaping wound.

* * *

“Nooooooooooo!” she roared. She tried covering the wound with her hands but souls escaped through her fingers and from her back. “What is happening to me?”

“I tried to warn you,” said Spectre Prime inside her head. “Your young body was never designed to hold that many souls. But you had to eat even more of them on your way to the battlefield. So now that your body has been compromised by this new weapon, you can't hold them anymore. I told you this would happen, but you didn't heed my warning.”

That’s not possible. You're lying!

And yet, you’re bleeding souls like there is no tomorrow. In a matter of days, you’ll lose every single one of them, and then you’ll die.

No! I won’t let that happen.

For that you'd have to survive Poseidon first, and not to be pessimistic here, but he's got you beat with that new weapon of his.

She looked up and saw Poseidon was already swiveling the weapon for a second attack.

She pressed her temple with two fingers. “Get me out of here … now!”

Poseidon fired a second shot at her. This time by a blue-green energy beam. Just before the beam would hit Ashra, she beamed from the throne room.

* * *

“We’ve detected a transport signature reaching the mothership,” said Tar’Lock.

“Can we detect how many beamed back, onto their ship?” asked Talon.

“It's hard to say, but my best guess is just one lifeform. And that’s not all of it. I’m detecting a major build-up of energy inside the ship.”

“I'm going to need more than this, Tar’Lock.”

“I’ve never seen anything like it, and the computer isn’t able to propose a hypothesis.”

“I don’t like it. Open a channel to the fleet.”

Tar’Lock gave Talon a thumb’s up.

“This is Commodore Epizon. Something’s happening to the mothership. I recommend caution. We’d better distance ourselves from it, and fast. Tar’Lock, get us away at maximum sub-light speeds.”

“Aye, Commodore. Executing … getting us away maneuver at maximum thruster power.”

The mothership glowed and began pulsating.

“Faster,” encouraged Talon. “What the hell are they doing? Is this a self-destruct? Are they trying to blow themselves up to destroy Asgard?”

“Unknown, sir.”

The mothership disappeared and a massive wave of crimson energy expanded all around the mothership. It travelled through all the ships that were in range. Their lights flickered and their engines died.

“Divert all power to the shields, now!” screamed Talon.

Tar’Lock obeyed and just before the wave impacted the Victory, the shields lit up for a long time, but the Victory didn’t lose power.

“Status report?” asked Talon

“Our shields held,” said Tar'Lock. “Don’t ask me how, but they did. However, every other ship in the fleet has been disabled.”

“What about the mothership?”

Tar’Lock clicked frantically. “They’re nowhere to be seen … they’re gone.”

“At least there’s that. For a moment, I thought they were willing to blow us up all to hell in a grand sacrificial gesture.”

14

“Mind telling me what the hell that was?” asked the Spectre officer.

Ashra was burning her flesh in an attempt to slow down the flow of escaping souls, but it wasn’t having much of an effect. “I don’t think I like your tone, Commander.”

“Screw my tone. We’ve obeyed every one of your orders but you always keep us in the dark as per your goals.”

“Dark, you say? Let me show you dark.”

Ashra’s eyes flashed with a bright red glow and the Spectre’s head exploded. As hundreds of souls escaped his body, Ashra tried devouring them but was unable to do.

“This is really bad.”

“You should have listened to me,’ said Spectre Prime.

You said that already. Now, what do I do?

Why in the twelve constellations would I help you? Or do I need to remind you that you murdered me? I’m just happy to have the best seat in the house to witness your own demise.

I’ll remember that when I get back to your home world and slaughter your entire family.

You wouldn’t dare!

Right, ‘cause murdering millions is not something I enjoy doing already. But fret not. I’ll make them suffer first. Like no one has ever suffered before. Let's see how you enjoy having the best seat in the house then.

You’re a monster, and a disgrace to our kind.

Last chance, Prime.

There was a long silence before the soul of the Prime answered. “There’s one person that could help you on our world.”

I’m listening.

She’s a doctor, of sorts.

I’ll need more than that.

She lives in the Geminon district of Spectre Central; her name is Kisin. She can help you make sure you don’t die from your predicament … if you reach her on time. That is, if you can open a rift to the other side.

I already have. That’s what happened when we jumped. I should reach the Spectre home world within two hours.

Remember your promise regarding my family.

Ashra growled and used the still gushing hole in her chest to reach inside of her.

“What are you doing?” shouted Spectre Prime.

“You’ll see … ah, there you are.” She wrenched her hand from the wound, allowing even more souls to escape. Holding a very dark soul in her hand, she looked at it.

“Let me go!” pleaded the soul. “I gave you the information that you needed to survive!”

“Yes, you did, and that will be your last mistake. But I’m not a total monster, so I’ll leave you with a parting gift. Know that I’ll make sure to give my regards to your family in a couple of hours.”

“Noooooooo!” screamed the soul of Spectre Prime.

Ashra grabbed the soul with both hands and crushed it to nothingness.

“Them, and everyone else on that wretched planet, that is.”

* * *

When the team arrived on Atlantis, they couldn’t believe their eyes. The room they had teleported into seemed to be made of pure gold. Golden reflections shimmered all around them, giving the place a feel like one would get from a dream.

“This place feels surreal,” said Argos.

“That it does,” agreed Chase.

“Where’s our new friend?”

The Hyperion hologram re-appeared. “I’m still here, but my lifeforce is almost completely depleted.”

“I didn’t think holograms had a lifeforce,” said Oryn.

“This hologram is just a projection of my consciousness. My physical body lies inside a stasis pod that's trying as best it can to extend my lifespan.”

“Perhaps we could heal you,” proposed Menelas. “Furies are good at that.”

“I know you are but I don’t think there’s anything that can be done for me in that regard. Projecting my avatar as a hologram has already put too much strain on my frail old body. I’ve long since reached the point of no return, but hopefully I have enough time left to help you in your endeavor to kill … the Spectres.”

“Why did you pause there?” questioned Nyx.

“Seriously?” asked Chris. “Do you have to antagonize him at every turn?”

“You can’t possibly tell me you didn’t find that pause suspicious?”

“I did,” admitted Chase. “No offense.”

“None taken,” said Hyperion. “The pure-blood Fury, as impetuous as she is, is correct.”

Nyx smirked.

“What are you smiling about?” asked Chris.

“Told you,” she countered.

“Let’s put a pin in that for the time being,” proposed Oryn. “Mind telling us why you hesitated in pronouncing the name of our enemy?”

Hyperion sighed. “It’s not like I had any intention of keeping this from you in the first place. But you must promise me that you’ll keep an open mind, and don’t judge my people once all is revealed.”

“We can’t do that,” said Nyx.

“Yes, we can,” countered Chris.

Nyx growled.

“Very well,” said Hyperion. “You'll need to know the truth to defeat them anyway. I just hope you’ll try and help my people, if any of them can still be saved, that is.”

“What are you trying to say?” asked Gaia.

Hyperion rubbed his long white beard. “The beings you are calling Spectres are …”

“Are what?” requested Nyx impatiently.

Hyperion took a deep breath. “Atlanteans.”

“What?” almost everyone in the room said in unison.

“Initially, at least,” continued Hyperion. “A long, long time ago, this dimension had been attacked by a dimension-hopping enemy called the Itzama. They invaded this dimension and destroyed countless of civilizations until my people drove them away. But in order to make sure they were dealt with for good, my people also created interdimensional travel, and they hunted them through multiple dimensions.

“Along the way, they passed through a dimension that infected their DNA on such a level that it started transforming them. Before we could realize what was going on, most of us began to have a hunger grow within us. One we couldn’t sate. Eventually, we figured out that we not only required a new food source, but that this craving it gave us was so strong that we had no choice but to succumb to it.”

“Oh, my god,” said Gaia. “You needed to devour souls, didn’t you?”

“Yes,” replied Hyperion. “The pathogen that infected Atlanteans transformed my people into a sort of vampiric species, and soon we forgot our role as the protectors of our dimension. It was our duty to guide and protect the younger races, like yourselves.”

Spiros grabbed his head with both hands. “This is madness.”

“No, sir,” Hyperion said, “the true madness is that unrelenting force which grew inside of us, and that turned my people from a life-loving species to a dimension-hunting race that was driven by a single purpose: to eat as many souls as they could get their hands on.”

“What about you?” asked Kharon. “How come it didn’t affect you?”

“Oh it did, but after a while, I came to be the only one who realized what was happening—that, or the only one willing to accept that something was changing not only my body, but also my way of thinking. I tried curing my people … but they didn’t want to be cured. Eventually, as I became more insistent, they saw me as their enemy, and even tried to hunt me down. I was forced to invent a device to trap them in the current dimension they resided.”

“The dimension Zeus and the old Alliance sent the Furies at the end of the first war,” said Menelas.

“Exactly.”

“That’s heavy,” said Oryn.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah” said Nyx. “You became monsters, and you’re sorry, blah-blah-blah.”

“I can’t believe you just said this,” said Chris in her mind.

“Well, believe it,” responded Nyx vocally. “This is ancient history; tragic or not doesn’t matter. All that matters is the reason we came here, which is to find weapons to defeat the Spectres.”

“I apologize for our friend’s lack of manners,” said Chase, “but she’s not wrong, even though there was probably a thousand better ways to phrase it.”

“There’s no need to apologize,” said Hyperion. “Whatever my people did, whatever they have become, is unforgivable. I know that better than anyone, and parts of me hate both my people and myself for playing a part in their unfortunate … devolution.”

“Not to sound insensitive,” said Argos, “but can you really help us defeat your people?”

“Yes. Once I returned to this dimension as the last of my kind, I worked for hundreds of years to cure my own DNA, and make sure I didn’t turn into a Spectre myself. Once I achieved that goal, I then worked on weapons to defeat them, should they ever find a way to escape their dimensional prison.

“I created a machine that sustained my life for centuries more than my corporeal body could ever do on its own.”

“I would imagine the Atlanteans to be immortal, like we are,” said Chris.

“Initially, we were, but once our DNA shifted to only be sustainable if we ate souls, we lost our immortality. I was not spared by this change, and I only managed to reverse most of the Spectre DNA changes. I never recovered my own immortality.”

“What about that other enemy?” asked Kharon, “The Itzama? Were they defeated?”

“Yes, but in defeating them, my people became even worse than the enemy they once hunted down. That’s why I had to trap them. To stop them from travelling to other dimensions and killing every soul pretty much everywhere.

“Once I returned to Atlantis, I relentlessly worked on ways to defeat them while keeping an eye on the different conflicts that were happening in this dimension. The Titan war, the first Fury war … I even witnessed your second and more recent war with them. In fact, I helped in the only way I knew how.”

“You’re the one who built the soul ships,” said Chase.

Hyperion nodded. “Yes.”

“And you say you have been working on other weapons?” asked Chris.

“Yes, a technology quite similar in fact.”

“Similar, how?”

“Just like the soul ships. It links itself to the current incarnation of your soul on a deeper level, and reveals your spirit animal, and brings that hidden part of your soul to the surface, allowing you to channel your power more efficiently.”

“That’s all well and good,” said Argos, “but our biggest problem right now is not getting our souls snatched by Ashra.”

“The armor comes with a countermeasure to that specific power, but it’s not one hundred percent protection. It will deflect most of the pull, but if your armor gets damaged, his or her soul can still be devoured, I’m afraid.”

“Did you say armor?” asked Kharon.

“Yes, I’ve always known that one day someone would have to fight and defeat the Spectre Primes. That can’t be done from space, as their regenerative powers are too strong, and even destroying a ship or a planet they live on doesn’t mean their bodies would be fully destroyed, at least not on a molecular level. Hence the armor, so that a Prime Spectre can be defeated in physical combat.”

“We still need a weapon to defeat their massive motherships,” stated Spiros.

“I’ve been working on those as well, but I'm afraid they’re not complete. Perhaps with your help we can finalize their designs. I take it you’re scientists, you and … whatever she is,” said Hyperion, pointing to Gaia.

“She’s an AI, though none of us considers her as such,” said Spiros. “She’s a person, like us.”

“That would explain why I can sense a soul in her, but I couldn’t recognize its vibration.”

“I have a soul?” asked Gaia.

“A rather big one, in fact, yes. And I’m sorry for addressing you the way I did earlier. I just wasn’t sure what you were. I’ve never met a species like yours.”

“Apology accepted,” said Gaia, “and I’m not really part of a species. I’m the only one of my kind that I’m aware of. Well, there used to be another one of me … that turned evil and almost destroyed us all.”

“I could see that. Artificial Intelligence, especially sentient ones like yourself, can be very dangerous. I’m glad to see you are stable and on the side of good, but I suspect you have fears about your own existence and worry you may one day do something you’ll regret; am I correct?”

Gaia looked down before answering. “How did you know?”

“The answer to this question is quite simple. That is what makes us who we are and doesn't just apply to yourself. Any living being with a conscience has these thoughts at one time or another. If anything, that makes you more human.”

Hyperion’s hologram flickered.

“What was that?” asked Spiros.

“As I mentioned before, I’m reaching the end of my life, and the pod that keeps my physical body alive, if we can even call it that, has been having technical issues lately.”

“Tell us where you are,” asked Gaia, “maybe Spiros and I can help fix your pod.”

Hyperion split in two identical versions, each one as bright as the original.

“Follow me,” said the first Hyperion hologram to Spiros and Gaia. “The rest of you, follow him. He’ll show you to the soul armor.”

* * *

Poseidon walked to the brig. A strong forcefield kept the prisoners inside. “I’m sorry about this, but you’ve not exactly been cooperative in the past.”

“We’re used to this treatment,” said Siegfried, “but it’s unnecessary, and know that if we wanted to escape, we would.”

“Easily,” added Fenrir.

“I know,” said Poseidon as he turned off the forcefield.

“I don’t understand,” said Siegfried.

“Then let me explain. You’ve vowed to help us defeat Ashra, but I needed to know what you’d do if you were put in a situation I know you hate. And for that I’m sorry. But spending time inside one of these cells and not trying to escape is a good sign. It means you’re not letting your negative emotions take over and divert you from your new main goal.”

“So … what? We’re free to go now?”

“After a fashion. I’d like you to stay until the Earth Alliance has been briefed about your change of mind. Will that be a problem?”

“We no longer have ships, an army, nor a single friend in the whole universe,” said Fenrir. “Where would we go anyway?”

Poseidon walked toward Fenrir and presented his hand. He could tell Fenrir was confused. “For what it’s worth,” said Poseidon, “I don’t hate you, and I’d like to be able to call both of you friends in the future, or at the very least allies. Like everything that matters in life, friendship is earned over time, usually through one’'s actions. But let’s just say your actions today were a step in the right direction.”

Fenrir shook Poseidon’s hand, and so did Siegfried shortly thereafter.

15

When Ashra located Doctor Kisin, her state had degraded beyond anything she’d thought possible. She kept leaking souls, no matter how she tried to prevent it. She estimated that she must have lost more than half of them already. She felt weak, and was getting weaker with every passing moment.

I need this to stop, or I’ll be dead soon. I don’t think I could take on all the Furies with my current power levels, and the more time that passes, the less likely it would be for me to defeat even a single one of them.

“I need your help,” said Ashra.

“I can see that. I’m just curious how you knew to come to me,” said Kisin.

“Spectre Prime.”

“Makes sense. How is my old friend doing?”

Probably better not to tell her that I killed him and destroyed his soul. After all, this dimension is pretty much oblivious to what’s happening on the other side.

“With my help, he’s leading our people to victory. It’s only a matter of weeks now, and then we can bridge both dimensions. There are so many souls on the other side for us to feed on.”

“That’s excellent news. But tell me, how did this happen to you?”

“During combat with powerful foes, one of their attacks allowed my souls to slip out of my body. I was surprised by it, since this is the first time this has happened to me.”

“I’ve never heard of a combat wound doing this. Did you have any symptoms beforehand?”

“Yes, sort of. I felt weak and felt I had to struggle and expend a lot of energy to keep my souls within my body. Also, Prime said that I could be suffering from soul overload, whatever that means.”

“Ah, that makes sense then. Yes, your battle wound isn’t the real reason for your current leak. It just happened to have accelerated your predicament. I suppose he informed you that you’d leak souls to death in your current condition.”

“Death?”

“Yes, and I surmise that’s why Prime sent you to me, since he once faced the same predicament. I saved his life back then, just like I will save yours today.”

“Thanks, doc. Can we hurry up and fix me before I lose all my souls, though?”

“Unfortunately, losing all of them is part of the process. That can no longer be prevented.”

“What? But I’ll lose all my powers.”

“For a time, yes.”

“I can’t afford that. I have too many responsibilities on the battlefield.”

“There’s no other choice for you at this point; it’s either that, or you just die. However, since this has happened more than once over the years, Spectre Prime gave me unlimited resources to run my operation. Part of these resources is a team of hunters gathering new souls that we keep on ice at this very facility. That allows any Spectre who has to through this procedure to replenish themselves with these souls. They’re not the most powerful ones, but we have thousands of them, at least. So, once you're recovered, you’ll be able to feed upon them to regain some of your powers.”

Thousands? That’s a drop in the ocean compared to the millions I have inside me now. I need to get hundreds of thousands more or I won’t be able to defeat my enemies, either in this dimension or the other.

“If losing my souls can’t be helped, then I guess we’d better get started with the procedure.”

* * *

“Oh my,” exclaimed Gaia, looking at the extremely old, barely living body of Hyperion inside his stasis pod. His physical appearance was in such a bad state that the only thing that informed her that Hyperion was still alive was the holo-panel on the side of the pod that provided very weak, very erratic vitals.

Spiros rushed to scan the pod and surrounding equipment.

“There’s a problem with the pod's power management. I’ll start working on it ASAP. See if you can get the stasis pod stabilized on your end.”

“Thank you for your help,” said the Hyperion hologram.

“That’s the least we can do, since we also need your help to defeat the damn …” Gaia stopped to rephrase. “I’m sorry, I meant the Spectre. I have not yet fully integrated that we’re basically fighting and killing Atlanteans.”

“No need to apologize,” said Hyperion. “We’re the aggressors here, well technically … what my people have become, that is. Atlanteans, before they turned into Spectres, would never have hurt another soul on purpose.”

“We know,” said Spiros, “and I can empathize with how you must feel.”

“Truth be told, I feel very tired, and I’m looking forward to taking my leave from this realm of existence once I’ve played my role in helping you win your war.”

“I’m sorry to hear you feel this way.”

“Don’t be. I’ve lived a full life, even if extending it artificially for so many years hasn’t been the best of experiences. It was needed, however, so that one day, courageous souls like yours would find your way to Atlantis and help me put an end to the Spectre threat.”

“Pardon me for asking you this, but if you wanted to be found,” asked Gaia, “why all the fail safes?”

“To make sure only the right people found me.”

“I can see why you’d like that to be the case. We hope we’re worthy of your trust.”

“So do I. But from the short interactions we’ve had, I’d say I made the right choice. I was running of time anyway, so I gotta say your arrival was a timely one as well.”

* * *

As they followed Hyperion, Chase and the others passed near a viewport that prompted him to stop and stare outside.

“We’re in space?” he asked.

“Certainly looks that way,” replied Chris. “Maybe we’re on a space station.”

“Atlantis is a ship,” said Hyperion, “at least nowadays it is.”

“How big is it?” asked Argos.

“It’s what we call a generation ship, so city-sized, able to provide multiple generations with everything they need—if they needed to flee their world and stay in space for hundreds of years.”

“Impressive. That would match the Spectre motherships in size, wouldn’t it?” asked Nyx.

“Correct,” said Hyperion.

“Makes sense if we’re considering Atlanteans and Spectre were once the same people,” said Menelas. “Can it take on a Spectre mothership, though?”

“They should be about equal in terms of power if Atlantis were working at full capacity, which it isn't right now. Also, I’d rather you didn’t just destroy the Spectre motherships.”

“With all due respect,” pointed out Nyx, “we may not have a choice.”

“With all due respect?” echoed Chase and Chris in unison.

Nyx sighed. “Never mind.”

“I am very well aware of that,” Hyperion continued, “but I’ll be providing you with weapons allowing you to hopefully revert them back to their Atlantean form. Whenever possible.”

“Would that work for any other species that has been turned into Spectre as well?” asked Chris

“You beat me to it,” said Chase in his mind.

“I’m afraid not. Any Spectre that didn’t originally have Atlantean DNA will die, I’m afraid.”

“That’s too bad,” murmured Chris.

“Why do you say that?”

“My mother has been turned into the Spectre Prime.”

“What was her initial species?”

“Human,” said Chase.

“With some Fury DNA from pregnancy,” added Chris.

“Oh, that DNA is probably why she survived the transformation process then; humans can’t turn into Spectres, and even if they did by some freak accident, they’d die shortly thereafter.”

“Is there a way to modify the technology to get her back to what she was before she got infected?” asked Argos.

“I’ll have to look into a sample of her DNA before I can answer that or, at the very least, yours,” said Hyperion, pointing at Chris.

“And maybe mine too,” suggested Kharon. “She also gave birth to me, but in her Spectre form.”

“Then yours would be good samples for me to run my tests on, having comparison points from the original and the modified DNAs. But I don’t want you to get your hopes up, as the chances of me finding a way to help her are slim to none.”

“That’s okay,” said Chase, “any chance is better than none. Thank you, Hyperion.”

“For now, let me show you what I can do to help you fight your enemy when they are too powerful to be reverted to their original form.”

“What does that even mean?” asked Oryn, puzzled.

“Once a Spectre has fed on too many souls,” explained Hyperion, “they’re too strong for the reverting process to work on them.”

“In other words, we’ll still have a to kill their best fighters,” said Nyx.

* * *

Ashra felt incredibly weak after the procedure.

“It’s not a nice feeling, isn’t it?” said a voice inside her head.

Who’s there?

You know who.

Sarah … I guess it would make sense for you to be able to access my thoughts in my current state.

Too bad that’s all I can do.

I’m not interested in having a discussion with you, so just go away.

How’s fuck you for an answer? I’ve been trapped in here, a witness to the most vile crimes I wish I’d never seen. You’re a monster, but now you’re a weak monster, and my family will have no problem taking you out.

We’ll just have to see about that.

Give it up, Ashra. I can feel what you feel, and you’re beyond weak right now. The old me would defeat you with ease, so how do you expect to take on Chase in your current state?

I won’t stay that way forever. I have a plan.

I’m sure you do, but it’s going to be interesting to see how you muster the strength to execute it with so little power.

I guess I’ll just have to use my cunning instead of pure force, for once.

The doors of the room she was recovering in slid open.

“How do you feel?” asked Kisin.

“Weak … too weak in fact.”

“That's perfectly normal in your condition, so don't worry. At least you’re breathing.”

“What about these souls you have in reserve for me. When can I feed on those?”

“Soon ... I still need to run some tests, but from your initial scans, I’d say we can probably start the feeding tomorrow.”

“Thanks, doc. I owe you one.”

“No, you don’t. I only live to server Spectre Prime.”

“You mentioned he went through a similar process once upon a time?”

“Yes, he did, but I thought you knew that already.”

I should be more careful what I say around her. She’s clearly a Prime groupie, and if she learns of his demise, I don’t think she’ll react well to the news.

“Of course, I’m sorry. My head has been spinning so fast and my energy levels have been so low, I’m having a hard time thinking clearly.”

Kisin narrowed her eyes for a second before answering. “Right, that would be completely natural in your current state. Your cognitive functions probably feel like they're very low at the moment. Don't worry. Your wits and your mental abilities will come back.”

“That's good to know, thank you. What I meant to ask though, is how did Prime recover so much power if you also drained him of all his souls? Besides feeding him with … well, can I call them stray souls?”

“Sure, after all that’s pretty much what they are, though I have a team of highly trained bounty hunters grabbing more powerful targets. Perhaps if you can get Prime on the line, he could give me the go-ahead to allow you access to some of these more powerful souls. Feeding on those would definitely help you regain your powers faster.”

You'll never be able to talk to Prime ever again, I'm afraid.

“Unfortunately, interdimensional communication is very tricky, and not possible at the moment.”

“Then I’m sorry, but these high-level souls are off-limits to you. Spectre Prime left standing orders. These stronger souls are reserved for members of the council, should they require them.”

“Understandable. But perhaps you could loan me a couple of these bounty hunters, so I can help them locate suitable targets for me to power up more quickly.”

“That’s an intriguing proposal, one I’ll have to think about, but I suppose it could be arranged. For now though, it’s best if you just rest until tomorrow. If I’m happy with your scans in the morning, you’ll already be able to feed on over three thousand souls for your first meal; that should quickly help bring your powers back up.”

Not even close to what I'd need my powers to be, but I'll take it.

“Thank you. I can’t emphasize how much it means to me to get back in shape, so I can resume my duties for Prime and help our people.”

“And so you shall, quickly. I’m also happy to see you’re motivated to heal so you can serve our cause.”

“Of course. I live only to serve.”

“As we all do. I’ll see you in the morning, Ashra. Get some rest.”

* * *

“That’s a pleasant surprise,” said Ryonna.

“I thought after all the excitement of the last few months, you could use a nice evening out,” said Altair.

Ryonna looked around the room, appreciating the attention to details that must have gone into reproducing the look and feel of an upscale Droxian restaurant—albeit a holographic one.

“That’s very sweet, and a bit unexpected as well.”

“It’s not an entirely selfless act on my part; we haven’t spent much time together lately.”

“I know. And to tell you the truth, I almost canceled tonight.”

“I see. Can I ask why?”

“Because I’m still not sure where I stand, you know, between us.”

“That’s understandable and if you’d rather we avoid that subject, that’s totally fine, too. We can simply enjoy sharing a nice meal tonight.”

“Let’s play it by ear, as the humans say.”

“Sounds good.”

Altair raised his hand and a waiter came with their first course.

“That looks delicious,” said Ryonna, “What is it?”

“It’s a Greek mezze, which is their word for appetizers, called dolma. It’s rice stuffed inside grape leaf. It’s the version with an egg-lemon sauce. I discovered this in the many food synthesizer recipes Chase recommended I try.”

“So, it’s synthesized food?”

“No, but it’s based on the same recipe. I cooked most of it myself, with the help of a holo-chef.”

“Impressive. You certainly went through a lot of trouble.”

“No trouble whatsoever. In these crazy stressful times, I’ve discovered that cooking actually calms me. It’s almost become a meditative activity, in fact. But before you say impressive, you may want to taste it.”

Ryonna smiled and took a bite. Her entire face lit up. “This is delicious, and since cooking isn’t my forte, I’ll definitely synthesize this again in the future.”

“I’m glad you like it.”

They talked and laughed as the dinner moved to the second course, where they enjoyed another Greek dish called moussaka, made with eggplants and tomatoes, as well as a bechamel sauce. They finished their meals with a lovely thin apple pie burnt with Calvados and topped with cinnamon ice cream.

“Everything was just delicious.”

Altair smiled and bowed. “I’m happy you enjoyed the meal.”

“I did. But let me ask you this: where are we going with this?”

“That really depends on you. You know what my feelings for you are.”

“I do, but to tell you the truth, I’m still confused about what to do now that Jax is back.”

“Let me ask you this then. If he hadn’t resurfaced, would you have accepted my marriage proposal?”

She took a bit of time to think before answering. “I think so, yes. But he’s back now.”

“I understand.”

“I don’t think you do. While I do love the both of you, I have to consider that on the one hand he’s still Ronan’s dad. Even before Jax came back, and when I thought he was dead, I never really thought I’d ever move on, let alone remarry. But I almost did. I’m sorry, but I guess now that all of that has changed, I don’t really know what to do.”

“What does your heart tell you?”

“My and heart and I aren’t exactly on speaking terms ever since Jax returned.”

“That’s peculiar. I would think that your heart is the only one that can help you choose.”

“I know, and maybe that’s the problem … maybe I’m using too much of my brain instead, trying to approach this mostly logically.”

“Except love has nothing to do with logic.”

She tried smiling but her expression soured. “I know. Still, if I chose you, I’d hurt Jax, and if I went back with Jax, I’d hurt you … as well.”

“Tar’Lock.”

“Yes. Either way, Tar'Lock probably ends up hurt.”

“I see. So, he’s also a contender then?”

She sighed. “No, not really, at least I don’t think so, but I have a lot of affection for him. I hope you don’t mind me sharing this, though.”

“No, I actually prefer it when cards are on the table, so to speak.”

“Isn’t it funny how the humans have rubbed all over us, we even use their idioms on a daily basis now?”

“Their language certainly has some very interesting ones, you must admit.”

Altair nodded. His eyes watered a bit and he discreetly blinked a few times, hoping to dry his eyes.

“Speaking of Jax, how is he doing?”

“Physically, I understand he should make a complete recovery. Mentally, that may take more time. As for how he's doing these days, I wish I knew. The last time we spoke wasn’t exactly pretty and I have not found the motivation, nor the desire, to try and patch things up.”

“I'm really sorry to hear that. I sure hope I’m not responsible for this fallout between the two of you.”

“I could say you aren’t, but we both know I’d be lying. But don’t worry. Even before I thought I’d lost him, we argued all the time. That’s just part of who we are, I guess.”

“Still, I’m sorry you’re not talking at the moment.”

“I appreciate that, Altair. I had a lovely evening, and I should probably return to my quarters and get some sleep.”

Altair got up and helped Ryonna off her chair, not that she needed it, but he could tell she appreciated the gentlemanly move.

He walked her to the door. “That was a lovely evening, thank you.”

She gave him a quick kiss on the lips and left without saying another word.

16

Ashra and Kisin walked into another part of the facility and soon entered a very large room that contained thousands of stasis pods.

“Let me know if you’re strong enough to snatch their souls through the stasis pods,” said Kisin. “If not, I can unfreeze them and sedate them for you. For now, and until you feel stronger, I wouldn’t try siphoning more than one soul at a time. I don't think you're strong enough for that.”

“Let’s see,” said Ashra.

Ashra aimed at the first pod nearby and tried siphoning the soul. It took a good two minutes for her to find enough strength to seize one single soul.

I can’t believe I have become so weak so quickly. I need to siphon hundreds of thousands of souls, and the sooner the better.

Once the soul was fully assimilated, she felt her strength double.

“This is going to take a while,” she said.

“Yes, and I’ll leave you to it. Feel free to siphon them all. I’ve already sent my bounty hunters out to replenish this stock, so you’ll have more souls to feed on tomorrow.”

“Understood. Thanks again for all your help.”

“Glad to help a friend of the Prime.”

If you only knew.

Kisin left the room and Ashra resumed her soul-snatching activities. Within an hour, she had powered-up enough to snatch more souls in bulk, and was doing so five at a time.

* * *

When Chase and the rest of the group entered the large white room, the first thing they noticed were levitating spheres of energies of different colors atop thin white altars resembling columns, made of a stone that resembled marble but had blue, glowing veins.

Chase couldn’t help but notice that the number of columns equalled the number of the members in the party that had entered the room: seven columns for seven warriors.

“These don’t really look like armor,” said Chase.

“Let’s just say that in this case, looks can be deceiving,” said Hyperion. “Why don’t you do the honors and approach the altars?”

Chase looked at his friends. Their eyes all shared a similar look of anticipation. He took a few steps forward and the purple sphere of energy in the middle started spinning on its axis. That gave him pause for a moment, but he eventually resumed his walk.

A roar echoed from inside the energy sphere and resonated throughout the room. Then the sphere shot upward, expanded in size, and morphed into an energy dragon that flew straight down at Chase, its roar increasing in volume.

“What the hell?” Chase instinctively lifted his fists, readying himself for battle.

“Don’t fight it,” said Hyperion, “you’d lose, and that would be the worst possible way for you to merge with your soul armor.”

Chase lowered his guard but swallowed hard nonetheless.

The energy dragon flew in front of Chase, as if it was sizing him up. It roared again, sending Chase’s hair dancing around his face. Chase's eyes glowed on their own, and so did the energy in the dragon's eyes. A beam of light connected their gazes.

The energy dragon flapped its large wings two more times before exploding in multiple pieces as it flew in a whirlwind around him before taking a specific place on Chase’s body and fusing with his current armor. The armor shone very brightly, forcing everyone in the room to shield their eyes with their hands.

When the purple light lessened, Chase was wearing a majestically-crafted, full-body armor of intricate purple. Light glimmered and reflected upon the now solid metal armor pieces. The armor released pulses of sound and light that triggered Chase’s aura and brought it to life.

“Holy Moley!” declared Chase. “I feel like I’m three times as powerful just by wearing this.”

“It’s been a while, Dragonheart,” said a voice inside his mind.

A shiver ran down Chase’s spine. He knew that voice—it was the same voice as his soul ship.

Are you the same soul that was paired with my starfighter?

I missed you too … would have done just fine.

Chase smiled. He turned into Ultra-Fury mode, and his armor turned golden. His aura was so strong that it reflected orange and gold hues all around him.

“This took no effort whatsoever. How is that even possible?”

“The armor helps you channel your power with a single thought,” said Hyperion. “It also increases your energy pool.”

Chase hadn’t noticed, but upon checking his energy levels, he confirmed what Hyperion said. He threw a couple of punches into the air and powerful shockwave and flames shot from his fists.

“What else can you do?” asked Chase.

Unlock powers you thought you lost.

You can’t be serious?

Why don’t you try?

Chase teleported behind his friends.

“I don’t believe it,” he said, which seemed to startle a couple of his friends who hadn’t sensed his presence.

“You can teleport again!” exclaimed Chris.

* * *

Ashra felt much better after assimilating the few thousand souls that Kisin had most generously offered her. Most of them weren’t warriors to begin with, so even if she felt hundreds of times stronger than when she had awakened after the procedure that saved her life, she still felt like an ant compared to the power she’d once yielded.

I wouldn’t be able to beat a low-level Droxian at these power levels. I’m gonna need more souls—a lot more in fact.

Heavy footsteps caught her attention on the other side of the door. She extended her consciousness and brought her focus to the maximum, trying to make up the words a couple of men exchanged just outside her room. Eventually, she managed to hear them.

“I can take it from here, return to the ship, and beam the soulless body from Cargo Bay One to Three for recycling, and beam today’s bounty into the pods instead. I’ll personally add these two high-level souls to the vault,” said one of the Spectres.

“Shouldn’t you go to the infirmary first?” asked another Spectre.

“Don’t worry about me. It will only take a few minutes. These were hard targets to neutralize but considering how powerful they were, I think we did well.”

“If by hard you mean they almost killed us both.”

“‘Almost’ being the operative word here.”

“Be that as it may, next time we bring backup to catch similar targets.”

“I hate to admit it, but I think you’re right. The fighters at the Blackhole Club can be dangerous foes. Anyway, let’s finish up our day before Kisin returns and gives us an earful. We’re already a couple of hours late for our daily delivery. We better not push our luck.”

“Interesting,” thought Ashra. “I guess I ought to visit that fight club, once I’m more powerful that is. These two bounty hunters are clearly out of my reach at the moment.”

She waited until the footsteps faded, exited discreetly, and followed the first Spectre on his way to the vault.

That must be where Kisin hides those top souls she mentioned. If there are enough of them in the vault, I can probably power up enough to keep going on a much-needed soul devouring spree to recover my powers.

She followed the Spectre to the vault, making sure she wouldn’t be seen. It wasn’t an easy task, especially since the bounty hunter was about to punch in a code at the door. Fortunately for Ashra, he was also lifting the bodies of two large men, one an arachnoid and the other a species Ashra had never seen before.

Since the bounty hunter had been injured, he had a hard time proceeding with his task, and that allowed Ashra to approach stealthily and hide behind a column nearby, giving her a perfect angle to peek at the warrior entering the code. Her mental abilities had been the first to return so she made sure to also use them to see if she could establish a telepathic match as the code was punched.

6-4-4-2-3-6-7.

The thoughts she managed to catch matched what she saw with her own eyes, and she burned these numbers inside her mind. She also caught a good glimpse of the vault itself, which seemed to be just as big as the one from which she had just fed.

Beautiful … thousands of powerful souls. That’s exactly what I need to get back on track.

* * *

Chris was next and was pleasantly surprised that his soul armor was—just like for his father before him—the same soul that he had bounded with onboard his soul ship. His armor granted him quicker speed, which meant he was now the fastest of the group.

The Tiger soul also unlocked a very powerful slicing power where Chris could send an avalanche of thin golden rays of energy that could slice through anything—or anyone. The green and golden armor of the Tiger made Chris look badass. He especially loved the shoulder pads shaped like tiger paws, as well as the chest plate made of an intricate and ornate embossing of a tiger face made of gold. The tiger’s eyes glowed green whenever Chris used his powers.

“My turn,” said Nyx.

The grey energy sphere shot in the air and morphed into an energy Wolf that growled before darting toward her and merging with her. Once the flash of blinding light receded, it revealed the armor of the wolf in all its glory.

As it had with Chase and Chris before her, it granted its wearer some impressive powers. She duplicated herself with ease and could attack as a pack.

“This feels like sorcery,” said Nyx with a smile, “but I’ll take it.”

“If I may make a suggestion,” said Hyperion. “Each armor has its own soul, and thus decided to bond with you. You may want to refrain from questioning or even talking down to them, or the armor may decide to un-bond from you at any time if it senses resentment from its wearer.”

Nyx growled. “Duly noted. Who’s next?”

Argos took a step forward and was soon wearing the armor of the Cobra. He couldn’t test his armor’s abilities, but he informed the group that for enemies of certain power levels, his armor granted him one-hit kills.

“Are you okay wielding such power?” asked Chase.

“I don’t know. We face enemies that deserve to be defeated this way, but obviously it’s the wearer’s choice to decide whether to activate the power or not. I’m sure it will come in handy on certain occasion. This power has limitations, and it won't kill someone as powerful as Ashra in that fashion.”

"That was to be expected," Chris pointed out.

“Can I go next?” asked Kharon.

“Of course,” answered Hyperion. “You’re all getting one, no matter who goes next, and the right soul armor will chose the right wearer, so there's no need to worry about going last.”

“Neat,” said Kharon as she walked forward.

* * *

When the golden armor of the Phoenix merged with Kharon, she heard a voice inside her mind.

“I knew your mother well,” said the soul of the Phoenix.

Tears filled Kharon’s eyes. “Then I’m jealous,” she responded, “since I have never really known my mother … I mean my real mother. Not the monster that took her place and from which I barely escaped with my life.

I know this … by linking our souls, I know everything you know. I’m sorry, little one, but I’m here to make sure that what happened to your mother never happens to anyone again. As long as you wear me, you have immortality.

I thought everyone in my family was already immortal …?

After a fashion. You can still fall sick and die from certain pathogens or be defeated and killed in battle. You, on the other hand, can’t. The immortality genes in your genetic make-up are also weaker than the ones in your father and brother. That’s because you had been touched by Spectres during the pregnancy.

Does that mean I could eventually turn back into one?

No, the interventions of your family and friends have successfully reversed that dire fate.

Thank the gods.

Not only the gods.

I don't understand.

Whenever you can, or more like whenever she is inclined to listen, I’d start by personally thanking Nyx. She was the deciding factor in removing the last imprint of Spectre from your DNA; without her, it would never have worked, even if both Chase and Chris had given their lives to save you. Without Nyx, they would have failed.

That’s both heavy and disconcerting, but good to know, nonetheless. Any other powers?

You can cast powerful illusions and this armor will grant you a single resurrection.

You’re not serious? A true resurrection?

As long as you wear me, and if you heart still beats, I’ll always bring you back to a more manageable pool of energy. It’s not an infinite pool, mind you, but it effectively makes you the more resilient fighter amongst the group now. If your heart stops however, this power will resurrect you and recharge your pool of energy to its maximum, but that power is a one-off. Once you’ve used it, it will be lost.

I see. Thank you. I’ll make sure I’m worthy of these gifts, you have my word.

I already know you are, but I appreciate your candor nonetheless, little one. Before I forget, because you’ve already used this power in the past, your ability to interact with souls has also been increased.

What does that mean?

That you can, if you focus strong enough, selectively snatch souls from an enemy like Ashra. It won’t be easy, and it may require multiple attempts, but if you master this ability, it could help you greatly.

How is snatching a soul, which is not something I think I’m comfortable doing, going to help me in any way—other than making me feel like a Spectre myself?

Snatching certain souls, those giving Ashra specific powers, could have a strategic use.

Could I free my mother this way?

It’s hard to say, but not impossible. Just know that you wouldn’t be able to hold on to that soul. Eventually, its lifeforce would be consumed and that soul would be released and would travel to the next plane of existence.

* * *

An alarm resounded in the facility and Ashra jumped out of bed.

Dammit, I was hoping to make my move tonight. I wonder what’s going on.

She heard multiple footsteps approaching her room. Extending her consciousness, she heard Kisin.

“Don’t kill her right away. I want her to suffer first,” stated Kisin flatly.

Fuck, did they see me earlier on? No, that doesn’t make any sense; me roaming around shouldn’t bring that kind of reaction, but then why does she want to kill me?

Could they have discovered that she’d killed Prime? She didn’t see how that was possible, but right now she needed to get ready for them. With her current power levels, if she were defeated, it would mean permanent death, and she couldn’t afford that.

She hid against the wall next to the sliding doors. When they split open, one of the bounty hunters from earlier stepped in. Fortunately for Ashra, it was the wounded one, but she could sense he had recovered fully.

She didn’t wait and mustered all her power to punch a hole through his chest. He never saw it coming and Ashra snatched his soul as she removed her hand from the man's chest. She then kicked his body out of the way and smashed shut the door controls, and permanently fused its circuitry with a fireball.

“What is this? Why are you attacking me?” demanded Ashra.

“You’re a liar, and we don’t tolerate liars in our midst,” replied Kisin.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about!”

“Don't even try to play the victim; it won't work. I was running a scan on your souls. It took quite some time because you’d devoured so many.”

“I thought I had lost my souls!”

“You had, but they can be recycled in other ways, like being given to the Spectre council and their acolytes.”

“And you didn’t think of telling me this earlier?”

“I don’t owe you any explanations … not to mention I saved your life. I should have kept you unconscious until the scan was over. And finished you off right then and there. But it’s alright. I guess we’ll just have to correct that mistake tonight. This door won’t hold for long.”

Ashra was painfully aware of that fact and so she frantically scanned the room, hoping to find something she could use to her advantage. A plan quickly formed in her mind.

She ripped out panels around the room with her mind, exposed electric wiring and positioned everything in a meticulous way with telekinesis.

Moments later, the doors were forcibly opened by two new Spectres. She waited until they had pried them open enough to impale them both with large pieces of torn metal she had ripped from the wall. Using both hands, she snatched and consumed their souls.

Their corpses fell to the ground.

“Resistance is futile,” hissed Kisin, “you’re not walking out of here alive.”

“Show yourself, coward! And face me directly. Don’t send your goons to do your bidding. Or are you afraid I might be powerful enough to defeat you?”

A manic laugh echoed from behind the door and continued as Kisin confidently stepped through the mostly open doors. “I may not hold a tenth of the souls you came to me with, but I still possess a magnitude more power than you today. You don’t stand a shadow of a chance of surviving this fight.”

Kisin’s eyes shone red. “At first, I wanted to make you suffer, but you’ve already cost me too many assets. I guess I’ll just have to kill you myself, and do it quickly. You may be weak, but you're quite the snake.”

Her crimson aura extended around her like an exploding supernova, making the entire facility shake.

And by killing you first, I’ll become just as powerful as I need to be right now.

17

Menelas was the next one to be merged with a soul armor. Multiple energy snakes danced around him before assembling themselves into the armor of Medusa.

After communing with the Medusa soul, he learned that he could turn enemies to stone.

Will that work against Ashra, though?

“As with every soul armor,” explained Medusa, “their powers are most effective on lower-level foes, so probably not… but you should be able to slow her. Parts of her can still be turned into stone, but since a Spectre of her caliber can regenerate fully from a single cell, it’s highly unlikely you’ll have the time and energy to turn her entirely to stone, unless she's already very diminished in power or unconscious.”

But it’s possible, right?

Perhaps, yes.

I’ll take it. Anything else I can do?

You can create stone walls and turn other things into stone as well.

Menelas informed everyone of his power.

“Oryn, looks like you’re the last one to go,” said Hyperion. “Please step forward.”

Oryn took a deep breath and walked until the last sphere of energy, a white one, spun and shot upward. It cast blinding lightning bolts at Oryn and with each impact, a part of the armor revealed itself as it formed on Oryn's body.

* * *

Ashra tried to snatch Kisin's soul but nothing happened.

Kisin smiled from ear to ear. “You seriously expected to be able to steal my soul, just like that? I’m nearly as powerful as Prime was.”

“What do you mean was?”

“Don’t play coy with me. The scans I ran on your souls and DNA samples revealed that you murdered many of his personal guards and crew. In running deeper scans on some of your sample tissues, I found traces of DNA that are a match for Spectre Prime himself. So, I can safely assume that you simply lost that soul before getting here to save your treacherous hide.”

“I prefer to look at it as he played a major contribution to our victory over the other dimension with his sacrifice. And he'll be forever remembered for that.”

Kisin growled. “Somehow, I doubt he saw it that way.”

“No, you’re right. In fact, he cried like a little bitch, if you must know.”

Kisin’s look switched from anger to utter insanity. She fired a powerful fireball at Ashra, who barely managed to dodge it. Using all her might, she employed all her telekinetic powers to alter its trajectory and send it back to Kisin.

But the move didn’t have the effect that Ashra had hoped for because Kisin stopped the fireball and re-integrated its energy.

Crap. I should have known that wouldn’t work. She did exactly what I would have done in her place.

“Good try, especially at your current power levels, but by now you must realize that this was utterly pathetic,” said Kisin. “I guess it’s time to say your goodbyes to the world now. Any last words?”

“As a matter of fact, yes. I’m going to enjoy killing you as much as I did Prime.”

Kisin smiled. “Oh, really?”

Ashra sent two dozen fireballs at her enemy, and altered the trajectory of three of them at the last moment. She knew she probably wouldn’t score any damage, but her intention was to distract, not to hurt.

Kisin blocked all but two fireballs that exploded on her hide, engulfing her in dark red flames.

While Kisin was briefly distracted, Ashra reached for the large power conduit cables in the walls on each side of the room and sent them flying toward Kisin. To make sure her enemy didn't see them coming, she immediately resumed firing several more attacks.

Kisin dodged, deflected, and sent many of them back to Ashra.

“Your attacks are wea⁠—”

But Kisin's sentence was interrupted as hundreds of thousands of volts coursed through her body.

Ashra didn’t wait to see how long her ruse would last and sprinted past her. She kept sprinting toward the vault and punched in the code she had memorized. The large door rolled open and she rushed inside to snatch powerful souls five at a time.

In the distance, she could hear Kisin screaming louder and louder.

In a matter of seconds, Ashra had multiplied her power levels tenfold, but she knew it still wasn’t enough. At these power levels, she could snatch souls faster and so she did—by the dozens. She was aware it was risky, and some of them managed to escape her weak vortexes and fly away, toward freedom and into the next plane.

She hated wasting souls this way, but time was of the essence. Once she was a hundred times more powerful than she had been a minute ago, her senses multiplied. This allowed Ashra to sense and pinpoint the most powerful souls with great accuracy … which made her grin.

With just ten of these super-powerful souls, she’d again increased her power tenfold, if not more. She made sure to siphon them one by one, but before she could snatch away the last one, she felt her own soul being pulled backward.

She resisted with all her might, and struggled to turn around and stare into Kisin's eyes. They were bloodshot and harbored pure hatred. Kisin's palm was aimed at Ashra; she was successfully managing to extract a small part of Ashra’s soul from her chest.

No! I won’t let you have my soul!

* * *

Hello, Oryn,” said a voice in her head. “I’m Cyclops, and I’m happy to make your acquaintance.”

The Cyclops armor was majestic and appeared to be comprised of a metal which bore a strong resemblance to platinum, but with a coating that made it reflect light like pearls would. The intricacy of the details throughout the armor was second to none, and it culminated in a large pulsating red eye on the chest plate.

The pleasure’s all mine, Cyclops. I take it this is the part where you tell me what powers you add to my own.

Indeed. Your mastery of cold has now been fused with the power of lightning.

That could be interesting.

Indeed. You can unleash all sorts of combinations with both powers. Since you’ve witnessed these powers when your father used them, it should give you an edge in mastering them quickly by mixing and matching them with your own cold powers.

I can’t wait. Could you mention a couple though, to see if my imagination matches your skills?

I already know it does, since we’ve linked our souls to achieve greater power. But sure: you can freeze-flash lightning, of course, sending lightning bolts that turn to ice, or unleash frost novae that create massive explosions of frozen air, similar to shockwaves but you can chain those like chain lightning.

That sounds awesome.

One of my powers is also to enhance your innate abilities, so you can do more things with cold now—like erect an Arctic shield that should absorb most attacks and even convert some of the energy to fill your own power pool. You can also erect a blizzard barrier that can deflect rapid-projectile attacks like fireballs.

That sure could come in handy.

There’s one more thing.

I’m breathless with anticipation.

You can travel at the speed of lightning, so you can teleport, or even chain teleport in fact, through a chain lightning attack.

I can teleport? Like Chase and Kharon?

Not exactly. Your power is more localized. You could only travel as far as your lightning bolts allows you to, but you can repeat it over and over without much in terms of spent energy.

Great!

I look forward to fighting with you on the battlefield soon. But remember, even with all your new powers, try not to get overwhelmed, or worse, overconfident. Ashra is a formidable enemy and we have no way of knowing if she’s not enhancing her skills by devouring more souls.

That makes sense. I do have a question in that regard.

I’m listening.

How do you know all of this? I mean I get it that you know everything I know, but I’ve never witnessed her fight, only heard of it through Chase and the others. Are you basing your conclusions on that?

No. And that’s a good question. I have a telepathic link to every other soul armor, so each of us knows everything you all know. This knowledge should help us improve our own efficiency when it is time to fight her.

That’s a lot to take in. I guess I wish I also possessed that knowledge about Ashra. It would allow me to evaluate her more as an enemy.

If that’s your wish, it is one that I can easily grant.

Rapid images of fight sequences flashed inside Oryn’s mind and soul. It froze her blood for a second, which she thought was quite ironic.

There was no denying that Ashra was the most vile and powerful enemy she’d ever have to face. She did her best to contain the sentiment of fear growing within.

“It’s okay to be afraid,” said Cyclops. “In fact, I would be worried if you weren’t.”

* * *

Ashra had a hard time preventing her soul from escaping her body, even with the major power boost she had just acquired. Seeing her soul being extracted an inch at a time was a slow and agonizing process, but it gave her an idea.

She mustered all her strength and darted toward Kisin.

“You fool!” she exclaimed, “You’ll only lose your soul faster this way.”

That’s what I want you to believe.

Ashra ran right up to Kisin, so close in fact that she could smell her. More than half of Ashra’s soul escaped her body, just enough so that her soul could make physical contact with Kisin. And contact she made. Ashra's soul plunged both her hands inside her chest.

Kisin’s eyes grew wide with utter shock.

Time seemed to stop for both of them, and Ashra used all her energy to seek the most powerful souls inside Kisin. That move was a risky proposition and Ashra knew it, but she didn't feel her enemy had left her any other choice.

If Ashra's soul was entirely swallowed while she made her move, she would end up part of Kisin and die. She couldn't allow that to happen. Ashra wasn’t interested in any random souls either, just the ones that made Kisin more powerful than she was at the moment. All she needed was to reverse the balance of power.

She quickly sensed eight souls deeply buried in Kisin that would achieve exactly what Ashra was after. Now almost three quarters into Kisin, Ashra managed to gather herself, as well as her newly acquired trophies.

As Ashra's soul returned to her own chest, a shockwave burst forth that sent both of them crashing backwards.

Ashra's heart rate slowed as she let out a long breath. A wave of relief washed over her as she realized she had made it through alive. She got to her feet at the same second Kisin did. Ashra smiled.

“No! That’s impossible!” she shouted.

“Not a word that belongs in my vocabulary, I’m afraid.”

“I’ve never seen anyone do that before.”

“You have now, just in time too, ‘cause that’s the last thing you’ll ever see.”

Kisin panicked and unleashed dozens upon dozens of powerful fireballs at Ashra. What Kisin didn't realize, however, was that Ashra reveled at the opportunity to absorb them and replenish her depleted energy levels.

“My turn,” said Ashra as she opened the palm of her hand and aimed it toward Kisin’s chest. She created a massive soul-sucking vortex.

“Nooooooooo!” screamed Kisin as her soul slowly detached from her body.

“Ye—es,” said Ashra as one eye twitched and increased the vortex power even more.

Kisin’s soul flew over and joined Ashra new collection.

The soulless body of Kisin collapsed on the floor unceremoniously, and Ashra allowed herself to unleash a victory war cry.

She then proceeded to select a few more souls from the thousands still in suspended animation all around her.

You taught me such an important lesson Kisin, and for that I must thank you. In fact, you may have unknowingly handed me the Alliance on a silver platter. It’s not the numbers of souls I devour that matter, it’s which souls I select.

Thousands upon thousands of weak souls promptly escaped Ashra’s body and entered the next plane of existence.

No more shitty souls. From now on, it’s quality over quantity.

She cracked her neck from side to side.

I’m nearly as powerful as I once was, but I feel so much lighter. I have plenty of soul-storing capacity inside my body now. And I can grow stronger still. Chase Athanatos, soon I’ll add yours and those of your family to my carefully curated collection.

“You’re wrong,” said Sarah in her mind.

Oh, it's you again. I thought I'd released you with that pathetic bunch a moment ago.

You can’t lose or release the soul whose body it belongs to … you haven’t siphoned my soul, remember? You merely hijacked it.

And what exactly do you think I am wrong about then?

In thinking that you’ll defeat Chase, of course. Your arrogance will be your downfall. You may manage to burn half the universe before that moment happens, but as certain as the sun rises every day, he will kill you.

Now that I know how to get stronger, I should simply hunt the right souls. When I step in front of Chase, I’ll be one hundred times as powerful as he is. He and the rest of your family won’t stand a chance in hell.

Defeating the odds is characteristic of the Athanatos family, and not matter how strong you become, they’ll meet this challenge and they will win.

Keep telling yourself that all you want, but I know my victory is at hand.

“Speaking of victory, I guess it’s time for me to go pay my regards to the Spectre council. After all, they need to know that they have a new Prime. But before I do that, I think I'll first make a little detour to that Blackhole Fight Club.”

18

“I should have gone with them,” said Ares.

“Don’t worry. I’m sure Chase is fine,” said Daniel.

“Yet we haven’t heard from them in quite a while.”

“They may simply be out of range, especially if they found Atlantis. Who knows how deep into the unknown region it’s located?”

“I guess. I just hate not knowing.”

“I can relate to that but I'm sure Chase can take care of himself. Any news from Aphroditis?”

“She hasn’t had more visions lately, and she’s still weak, and …”

“And what?”

“Well, she's quite reclusive lately. I fear that the time she spent in that infernal machine has created long-term damage to her psyche.”

“I’m sorry to hear that. Even though it would be understandable. Chase once described to me one of his visions with her, while she was still inside the pandora device … and well, just hearing about it gave me nightmares for a week.”

“That's exactly my point. We should have gotten her out sooner than we did.”

“I know, but we did our best, just like we’re doing our best right now, fighting the Spectres.”

“Let me ask you something, Daniel.”

“Sure, go ahead.”

“Do you really think we can win this time?”

“I have to believe that. Otherwise, why bother getting up in the morning?”

“But you lost a lot in the last war, didn't you?”

“Not as much as Chase, but yes, I suppose. And I stand to lose just as much in this one too. To me, it doesn’t matter what’s at stake regarding a personal matter. I know this may sound insensitive, and maybe I could phrase it better. At the end of the day, though, we’re all under attack by a race of things that want to devour all our souls. That’s a fate worse than dying. At least when you die, your soul returns to the source, and you can reincarnate later.”

“That’s an Earth belief, isn’t it?”

“Well, seeing as there is an underworld, and that souls have returned to us, mind you with the help of Chase and Kharon ... still, it means a soul can indeed be in different bodies or vessels, which to me only increases the possibility that the human belief about reincarnation is possible.”

“If that’s the case, by staying behind in this form, I may have sealed any chance of reincarnating later.”

“Not necessarily, Ares. Your staying behind was by choice, not to mention it was very noble of you to stay and help us win not one but two wars. I would imagine that if you truly wanted to, you could move onto the next plane of existence any time you choose. If you’re staying behind, doesn't that simply mean that you feel that your work here isn’t done?”

“I suppose ...”

* * *

“Are you coming back to Alkyon One soon?” asked Ryonna.

“I wish,” replied Keera. “But I’ve got more assignments to finish up for the Alliance Intelligence headquarters.”

“Such as?”

“I wouldn’t be doing a good job as an intelligence agent if I were to discuss my missions with my friends now, would I? I’m sure you can understand that.”

“Of course I can. I just thought being part of Chase’s entourage would grant me a certain leeway in these matters. I guess not.”

“Don’t take it personally, Ryonna. It’s just the nature of my new assignment; it requires the utmost secrecy.”

“I guess I’m just missing your presence of late. We’ve had some good times in the field, you and I.”

“That’s sweet, and I miss you too. As for good times, correct me if I’m wrong, but most of the times our lives were in jeopardy, we often escaped by the skin of our teeth.”

“It’s in dire moments like these that the strongest friendships are forged, at least that’s what us Droxians believe.”

“That’s an interesting way of looking at it. Then again, now that I think about it, all the new friends I’ve made over the last couple of years were made under similar circumstances, so I'll have to agree with that particular Droxian philosophy.”

“It makes me glad to hear you say this.”

“How’s Ronan doing?”

“He’s captaining a ship around Droxia, helping coordinate the effort to reconstruct what’s left of our world. Once more. We keep in touch from time to time, but lately we’ve rarely been in the same galaxy for long enough to spend any time together.”

“You must miss him dearly.”

“I do, even though I worry more about him than I miss him.”

“He’s his own man now and thanks to you, he’s one hell of a Droxian.”

Ryonna smiled. “Thank you.”

“What about Altair? Have you thought about his marriage proposal some more?”

“He’s very patient, sweet even, and I appreciate that. But I’m still married to Jax. At least technically.”

“Forget technicalities. Just follow what your heart.”

“Not exactly my forte.”

Keera chuckled. “You don’t say? I hadn’t noticed.”

“It’s complicated, either way. No to mention I got used to being on my own after I thought my husband had been killed, you know. Perhaps I like this status quo.”

“And that’s your right. Where is it written that every man and woman must always find their other half? Some people are made to travel the path of life with someone by their side, and some simply aren’t. Do what’s best for you ... always. In my experience, doing things for others is a recipe for disaster. At least, when love is concerned.”

* * *

Ashra’s visit to the Blackhole Club had been more fruitful than she’d hoped. Not only had she acquired a few good souls in the ring, but she had learned that a council member had been present in the club that night.

And so, as the evening drew to a close, she followed the Capricorn council member, Ananta, back to her home, a very luxurious property on the outskirts of the city.

Security around the mansion was tight, but now that Ashra had recovered most of her powers, she could sense no real danger from the guards. She also could sense that from the dozen guards on patrol, only one of them had a soul worth keeping.

It didn’t take her more than a few minutes to dispatch the guards and devour the one soul she deemed worthy of being added to her new collection. With the guards out of the way, she got inside the mansion and headed toward the council member. Ashra could sense she was almost as powerful as her, but that didn’t faze her. Ashra was determined to become stronger than ever, rid herself of the Earth Alliance, and finally achieve total domination over their dimension.

Ashra sensed an attack and dodged it at the last second. It exploded behind her and took out half the wall in the process.

“Who are you?” demanded Ananta, the female Spectre council member.

“My name is of no importance to you,” stated Ashra.

“Do you know what the penalty is for what you’ve done?”

“I have a pretty good idea, yes.”

“I don’t think you do. As a Spectre, you are committing treason, a crime for which there is only one punishment: death.”

“Well then, I might as well not worry and do what I came for anyway.”

“And what would that be? Are you after money?”

“Money?” Ashra burst into a manic laughter. “No, I don’t want it, nor do I have use for your money. I simply came to take your soul.”

Ananta jumped from the first floor and landed in front of Ashra, damaging the wood flooring as she did so. She attacked her with a powerful fireball that Ashra had no problem deflecting back to her. It impacted Ananta's chest and she smashed through half the stairwell, and crash-landed in another room.

Ashra walked through the hole her opponent had made and blocked the next three Ananta fired at her. Ashra played a game of cat and mouse with her for a few minutes, evaluating her prey. Eventually, she had learned enough to lure Ananta into a trap to finish her off.

The amount of devastation Ashra inflicted onto Ananta with a combo of powerful blows was impressive—even to Ashra herself. It seemed having quality souls not only made her stronger, but also granted her increased focus while fighting.

When Ashra decided she had spent enough time teasing and playing with her prey, she snatched her target’s soul. She made sure to discard every one of the most low-levelled souls Ananta had assimilated, and only went to siphoning the best ones.

* * *

“Let’s talk weapons,” said Spiros.

“Yes, I would imagine you’re having a hard time getting through the Spectre’s shields,” said Hyperion.

“And then some,” added Gaia.

“They’re based partly on Atlantean tech, as you’d imagine, but when my people drove the enemy back to their dimension, they didn’t only annihilate them, they integrated some of their technology to ours, making it even stronger.

“You see, Atlantean tech was mostly defensive until my people turned into Spectres. Our shields in particular were the strongest in existence. At least back then. By fusing it with other species they encountered, they not only increased the efficiency of our shielding technology, but also developed much more offensive weaponry.”

“We’ve been the recipient of these advancements,” said Spiros, “and it’s been hard to keep up and find countermeasures, though we have managed to increase our own weaponry in the process.”

“I’ll give you all the info you require; and the materials needed to forge better countermeasures are on Atlantis. I suspect it may take a while for you to adapt these new weapons to your fleet of ships. And while it’s not exactly in tiptop shape, you can also take Atlantis into battle with you.”

“How do we take a city into battle?”

“Atlantis may be a city, but it’s also a ship.”

“What?” asked Gaia. “How far from the pyramid are we now?”

“You don’t want to know, but let’s say farther than you can even imagine.”

“And how long will it take to take us back to the Earth Alliance?” asked Spiros.

“The jump engines contained in this ship will allow you to return in little to no time … compared to what it would have taken to do this trip with your own, that is.”

“We could use such jump engines then,” said Gaia.

“And maybe in time, you will,” said Hyperion.

“I’m not sure I understand.”

“You possess blink technology, don't you?” asked Spiros.

“Yes. I’m surprised you know about that.”

“We had met an Olympian AI at the end of the Fury war. He granted one of our ships those particular upgrades, but then the tech self-destructed.”

“That was wise for the AI to do that. It’s too dangerous for one species to hold something so major over other species. Mind you, Atlantis's blink drive has been inoperable for a while now, but the secondary jump engines are still faster than anything you possess.”

“I see. Does that mean that all the technological advantages we’re about to learn from you will also be temporary? Do you intend to install fail safes into them so that we won't use what we learned once the war is over?”

“I haven’t made my mind about that just yet, but know that Atlantis has been programmed to either self-destruct if it falls into the wrong hands, or leave and go farther than anyone can travel in pursuit of it. This ship survived for eons, and it will continue to do so, on its own if necessary.”

“Even without you at the helm?” asked Gaia.

“That’s correct. I’ve written an AI to manage Atlantis in the case of my demise. Unless I find a new guardian to take my place, that is.”

* * *

While the rest of the team was eating in the mess hall, Chase decided to talk one on one with Hyperion.

“Thank you for the armor. I think it’s exactly what we needed to go on the offensive for once.”

“You’re welcome, Chase,” said Hyperion. “I’m glad I could help. Finally.”

“What do you mean ‘finally’?”

“It’s been really hard for me all these years, hoping the right people would come along, so I could help undo some of the terrible deeds my people did.”

“I understand how you must feel.”

“I don’t think you truly can, no offense. I’ve been waiting for so many centuries that I have stopped counting them. In fact, I had pretty much resigned myself to the idea that I would pass away before that day ever came. Before they turned into Spectres, my people were the epitome of everything that was good and true in this universe. To see them become the very things they once fought was worse than a nightmare.”

“I don’t have an exact point of comparison since I lost all of my memories from the first twenty-plus years of my life. But I can't imagine I was fond of the Furies to start with, or my brother wouldn’t have erased my memories. But my father, Menelas, I would imagine must have felt something similar to what you do, since he ended up going against his own people.”

“We Atlanteans have destroyed enemies more dangerous than the Furies, though that was a long time ago. Compared to these enemies, Furies were simply a nuisance.”

“So, I take it that Atlanteans turned to Spectres before the first Fury war?”

“Quite a while before, yes.”

“You did mention us trying to save some of your people. Do you really think it’s possible?”

“Probably not, but of all the Spectres in the universe, perhaps a few can revert to their original bodies with the help of a weapon I’ve developed. Though I suspect their bodies simply won’t survive the DNA reversal process. It’s worth a try though—if you can, that is. If there's no opportunity to deploy that weapon, I'll understand. Deep down, I'm pretty much sure they're beyond saving at this point. It's been too long.”

“We’ll do what we can. Even if only a handful can be saved, they could play a tremendous role in establishing a lasting peace once this war is won … well, if it can be won.”

“Don’t talk like that, Chase. You have to win this war or the Spectres will keep jumping to new dimensions and destroy all lifeforms throughout space and time.”

“So, why haven’t they jumped to other dimensions yet?”

“I thought I had explained this already. I trapped them in their current dimension, but when you recovered the soul ships and blew up Erevos, a tear in the fabric of that prison was opened. It’s a small tear for now but over time, they’d find a way to expand the tear and move freely from one dimension to the next.”

“I see. I’m not sure how I feel being responsible for not only the survival of every being in our dimension, but also all the others.”

“Yes, I can see that in your eyes. A lot has been asked of you already, even before we met. Hopefully, after this war, you can finally find the peace you’re seeking.”

“That would truly be something. But …”

“But you wish you could share that peace with your wife.”

Chase gave a solemn nod.

“Believe it or not, but I know how you feel.”

“No offense, but I don’t think you do.”

“None taken, but believe me, I do. I had to kill my own wife and children to escape back to this dimension. They were after me because they’d discovered what I had planned. They turned on me, and fighting and defeating them was the most excruciatingly painful thing I had to do in my life. I even considered taking my own life right after that.”

“I’m sorry, I had no idea. I’m glad you didn’t though.”

“It wouldn’t have achieved anything by taking the easy way out. And I couldn’t, in good conscience, leave this world without at least trying to fix the situation.”

“I guess you also feel like you’re wearing the whole universe on your shoulders …?”

“Indeed. But you know what? These are things we tell ourselves. I may have been alone for so long, but now I have you to help me finish what I started, just like you have your friends and family to do the same for you. We’re never really alone. We all are one, even through different species. There is that wrong sense of finding and building communities and identifying as different. This is wrong. In fact, I truly believe that we are the universe made manifest … and trying to figure itself out through these trillions of different parts we call lifeforms. It doesn't matter where we're from, who we love, and who we fight. At the end of the day, we're all parts of the same universe, and even if many of us never realize this, we are one.”

“Some people think that this is what God is.”

“God, the universe … is there really a difference?”

“You tell me.”

“I’m a tiny piece of that giant puzzle, Chase. Yes, I have eons worth of knowledge and experience in these matters, but at the end of the day, we can only see a tiny part of the whole thing from our very limited point of view. Not to mention that mystery and not having all the answers are why living is such an interesting experience.”

“Interesting … I guess I never thought of it that way.”

19

Allanah got out of bed and went directly for her clothes.

“Leaving already?” asked Daniel.

“It’s 0800 hours. I’m already late. Aren’t you?”

“Technically, I don’t exactly have to report to anyone. Chase, if he asks, sometimes Altair, but I doubt anyone will have the balls to complain if I’m not at my post at a specific hour.”

“Lucky you, but your squadrons of StarFuries don’t exactly maintain themselves, you know?”

“Of course, I know that. But being the commander of this place, if you need an excuse to be late, I certainly can provide one.”

She perched on the bed, still half-naked, and kissed him.

“That’s very sweet of you, but I’d rather not give the impression to my team that I’m slacking off—even though I’d love nothing more than stay with you in bed all day. I hope you know that.”

“I know, and don't worry. I understand.”

“We’re still on for tonight, right?”

“And the day after that, and that one after that one too.”

“Careful, Captain, you could get used to this.”

“I already am.”

She blushed before turning. “Likewise.” She finished dressing in a hurry and gave Daniel one last kiss. “Thanks for the lovely night. I’ll see you later.”

* * *

“It’s been a while since we had any contact with the Alliance,” said Chris.

“I know, but we’re so far out of range,” responded Chase.

“Then perhaps we should ask Hyperion to get us back in range. Just to be on the safe side, in case Ashra decides to attack during our absence.”

“Right, we've been so taken by Atlantis that I guess, for a little while, I managed to not think about this. But you’re right. It’s a been a few days, so we should plan to get back home. I think Gaia and Spiros are done helping Hyperion stabilize his stasis pod. I’ll go ask Hyperion to set a course for Asgard.”

Before Chris could ask why Asgard, Chase had teleported.

“Somebody is happy to have recovered their powers … show off.”

* * *

“Hyperion, do you a have a moment?” asked Chase.

“Of course. What can I help you with, Chase?”

“We should get going back to the Alliance. When we left, Asgard was under attack by a powerful foe.”

“Yes, the Guards, but that siege is over. I would have informed you otherwise.”

“How do you know this?”

“Once I realized your intentions were good and your plans aligned with my goal, which is to eliminate the Spectre threat, I re-activated the link to my probes throughout the universe.”

“What ships are around Asgard at the moment? Can your probes give you this data?”

“They can. Several Asgardian and Alliance ship are in orbit, most of them affecting repairs, and my probes sensors also detected quite a lot of debris from the recent battle. At least three Alliance ships have been destroyed, and some Asgardian ones. I’m also detecting debris from a hyperspace gate.”

“Damn, the jump gate has already been destroyed. It was brand new.”

“I’m afraid so. But now that you have Atlantis, you can travel back to Alkyon One at much faster speeds than you ever could with the gate.”

“That won’t help the other ships return home faster, though.”

“On the contrary. Atlantis is perfectly capable of opening large enough windows to accommodate a large fleet.”

“You’re really quite ahead of us, technology-wise. But can I ask you this? How come we never detected these probes of yours if you have them scattered throughout our worlds?”

“Well, for one, as you know space is vast, and each of these probes can cover hundreds of thousands of light years on its own. Additionally, they’re cloaked and unless you know exactly what you’re looking for, even a detailed scan from your sensors wouldn’t reveal them.”

“Question answered, I guess. What about about Alkyon One space station?”

“It’s still there. No signs of enemy ships in the area for the time being.”

“Good. But then, where are the Spectre motherships?”

“At the moment, they’re out of range of my network. It doesn't necessarily mean they're very far away … there are a few gaps in coverage, so it’s possible they’re presently located in one of those.”

“Are any of these gaps located near Alkyon One?”

“There are a couple of these sensor gaps located in the area … given the speeds of the Spectres' mothership jump engines, I'd say these gaps are located a few hours away from the station.”

“Then, if you don’t mind, I’d like us to make our way to Asgard. See what the situation is there, and we should probably regroup around Alkyon One shortly thereafter. And if it's not too much trouble, I’d like to get my ship back too.”

“The most efficient way to do this is to ask them to travel to Asgard, so we can meet it there.”

“There’s no way I can establish a link with my ship if we’re as far deep into the unknown regions as you said we were.”

“With your technology, correct. With the communication's array onboard Atlantis, it won't be an issue. Let me open a link to your ship.”

A holo-display with the face of Lieutenant Commander Skargard, the Hope’s Asgardian weapons's officer on the bridge, hovered in front of Chase.

“Admiral! Are you all right? We haven’t been able to establish contact with you for some time now.”

“We’re good Lieutenant Commander. We’re on Atlantis. Please take the Hope back to Asgard at best speed, and we’ll join you there. Once arrived, report to Commodore Epizon for further instructions, but please ask him to wait for us there as well.”

“Aye, Admiral. Will do. But do you mind if I ask how you’ll get there yourself?”

“With Atlantis; it's a ship.”

“I see. We’ll set course to Asgard right away. Should we ask Ka’Rij and the other dragons to join us? They returned a few hours ago.”

Chase looked at Hyperion, who shook his head.

“That won’t be necessary. It’s probably safer that they keep guard around New Kyria.”

“Understood. Skargard out.”

* * *

Talon and Tar’Lock were in the mess hall, finishing up their breakfast.

“It’s been days now since we heard from Chase,” said Tar’Lock.

“I know. What do you want us to do about it?” asked Talon.

“Shouldn’t we head out to the unknown regions to check up on them?”

“While I share your worries, those aren’t our standing orders. Since I’m not really comfortable with the fact that there are still two Guards alive down on the planet surface, I think the best move is to stay in orbit here. Plus, Chase was the one who sent Ka’Rij to help us, so it’s more than likely that he’ll come back this way soon on board the Hope.”

“Do you think they found Atlantis?”

“I don’t know, but knowing him ... probably. You know better than anyone how determined Chase can be when he sets his sight on accomplishing a goal.”

“Oh, yeah. Like the humans say: he’s like a dog with a bone.”

“And yet, you still worry.”

“He’s the one that got me out of prison in the first place; without him, I’d probably still be there. Or worse.”

“I understand, and even applaud your loyalty to your friend, but last I checked, he’s the most powerful warrior there is, so I’m sure he can take care of himself.”

* * *

“You wanted to see me?” asked Kvasir.

“Yes,” replied Poseidon. “Thank you for coming.”

“Of course. What can I do for you?”

Poseidon rubbed his beard before answering. “I’d like you and Loki to work on a failsafe for me.”

“What kind of failsafe?”

“For the Guards. While they seem sincere in their wish to help us defeat the Spectres, they’ve put this world and everyone on it in jeopardy—twice now.”

“What do you have a in mind?”

“I don’t know. Some device that can stop them if they switch sides again.”

“And how do you propose we convince them to wear such a device?”

“That’s why I want the both of you to work on this. Ideally, it would be something they’re unaware they’re carrying.”

“That means something miniature, and positioned in a strategic place inside their body.”

“Whatever it takes, but yes—ideally something that you can beam into them while they sleep.”

“That’s both tricky and dangerous, I hope you realize that. And a little surprising, coming from you.”

“I know. But Thor has been insisting that we do this. I can understand why he would.”

“I take it you’re still hearing him.”

“A part of his soul is now in mine. I suspect that will be the case until the day I die.”

“And you’re okay with this?”

“He was my best friend. In fact, he was like a brother to me, so of course I’m okay. I don’t think you grasp how much of a gift this is. Most people would relish the idea of still being able to speak with their departed loved ones. I’m incredibly grateful that Kharon gave me this opportunity.”

“Yes, I could see why one would like to still converse with the dead, but as a scientist, I have to wonder if that emotional crutch doesn’t carry risks.”

“I don’t follow.”

“Well, you’re assigning me a project I doubt you’d have sanctioned on your own, correct?”

“I guess so. So what?”

“Nothing. Let's just forget I raised the issue.”

“Hang on, Kvasir. Please, speak your mind.”

“It’s probably nothing, but the way I see it, you’re already making decisions that aren’t your own. And I understand why you’re making them, and in your place I’m pretty sure I would do the same thing. All I’m trying to say is that you may have gained the ability to still see and talk to a part of your friend or brother but, in the process, you may also be trading part of who you are.”

“That’s a reach, and you know it.”

“Perhaps … but perhaps you’ll feel obligated to do things you wouldn’t have considered for the rest of your life.”

“And what would the reasons be?”

“I’m surprised I have to spell it out, but okay. Guilt for one, and a sense of loyalty or brotherhood for another. None of which are bad per se, and while I'm fairly certain that Thor wouldn’t lead you astray ...”

“Let me stop you right there. If it wasn’t for Thor, I wouldn’t even be alive right now. So, if he feels I need to watch not only my back, but all of our backs—even if I wouldn’t have taken a similar approach myself—I think I owe him that much, don’t I?”

“That’s exactly my point. You may spend the rest of your life feeling like you owe him every favor. That's all I'm saying.”

* * *

When Kvasir left, Thor appeared in front of Poseidon.

“Is he right?” asked Poseidon.

“About you owing me?” asked Thor. “No, of course not.”

“I know you wouldn’t impose your will on me, but he’s correct in the fact that I wouldn’t ever have thought—nor wished—to install a failsafe inside the Guards’ bodies. I’m only doing it because you asked me to.”

“And you are free to decide otherwise.”

“And you won’t be mad or disappointed if I do?”

“Why would I? My intentions are just to try and protect you, that’s all. They came to Asgard twice already, with the intention of killing us all. I’m just whispering a tale of caution into your ears, but at the end of the day, you make your own decisions. And if I ever become an annoyance, or if you feel my presence is detrimental to you in any way, feel free to ask Kharon to remove the part of my soul that now resides in you.”

Poseidon thought about it, but he had grown accustomed to having Thor in his thoughts and conversing with him. In fact, it had made his passing much easier to deal with. But then again, perhaps it also meant that he hadn’t really grieved.

“No, I don’t think that will ever be necessary, but I appreciate you voicing it nonetheless. Thanks, brother.”

“Anytime.”

* * *

“What’s going on?” inquired Daniel.

“Well,” answered Cedric, “it’s a good thing I became your science engineer.”

Daniel smiled. “Well, technically, Alkyon's science engineer. But you got my attention, so why is that a good thing?”

“Let’s just say half of your station’s systems weren’t calibrated as well as they could have been.”

“I find that hard to believe—after all, Yanis assisted my previous engineer.”

“Yes, and I believe that’s why it’s only half your systems and not all of them.

“I take it that you’ve corrected the calibrations?”

“Yes, and if I hadn’t, and you had been forced to fire the newly installed Heracles Cannon in the future, well, let’s just say we may have had this discussion in the afterlife.”

“You can't be serious?”

“I never joke about death so, yes, I am. I’ve just confirmed my findings with Yanis now that the Hope is back in sensor range. A range I nearly tripled by the way. They’re currently returning to Asgard.”

“I'm aware of that already. I received a call from Chase not long ago. They found Atlantis, and something tells me that it’s going to generate a whole lot more work for Spiros, Yanis, Kvasir, and well ... yourself.”

“This is the way,” said Cedric stoically.

“What? What does this even mean?”

“Never mind … simply that I watch too much TV on my spare time. And between you and me, the quality of the programs has taken a steep dive in the last decade.”

20

Ashra walked inside the council chamber. Guards on both sides of the large doors fired at her without warning, but their plasma energy weapons froze in mid-air, humming before shooting backward and blowing off the guards’ heads.

A council member pressed a control nearby. “Security to the chambers. We have an intruder.”

The Pisces Prime got up and cracked her neck. “No one enters these chambers uninvited and lives to tell the tale,” she said.

Ashra didn’t bother answering. She moved at the speed of light and when she re-appeared behind the Pisces Prime, she had her soul in her hand, which she slowly ate in front of the others.

A ferocious battle ensued with the remaining Primes, but the battle was both swift and unidirectional. Ashra filled up with the most powerful souls in the room and let the billions of others go free.

As she was about to leave the chambers, hundreds of security guards, some Spectres and some Arachnoids rushed in and tried to take her down. It only took a snapping of Ashra’s finger for all their heads to explode.

I’m more powerful than I ever was and no one, not even Chase, can stop me now.

She was about to instruct her ship to beam her up when one of the Primes moaned next to her.

The deep-black skin on him was turning gray, and within moments his body reverted to a humanoid form that looked human.

“What is this?” asked Ashra, surprised. “Why aren’t you dead yet? And why do you look like one of them?”

The man was clearly disoriented, and he held his head between his hands and screamed.

“Silence!” shouted Ashra.

But that didn’t stop the man from screaming. Ashra raised his body to face her, allowing him to hover at arm level, close to her own face. With a single thought, she constricted the muscles he was using to scream to cease the annoying sound.

“What are you? Why haven’t you died like the others?”

It took a while for the man to find his words, as if the body he were in was foreign to him, and he struggled to speak. “I’m Atlantean … we… we’re all Altanteans.”

“What do you mean, all?”

“Spectres … most of us … we were never born into this form. Thank you for releasing me from this nightmare I had become against my will.”

“I didn’t do this for you.”

“I don’t care why you did it. I’m just grateful you did.”

Ashra made a fist and the man disintegrated where he hovered, with nary a sound.

Interesting. So that's where my race comes from, from Atlantis.

“No,” said Sarah in her head, “maybe these Spectres did, but your body, which is in fact my body, was once human before you stole it and turned me into the monster you are.”

No offense, but that pathetic lifeform I’ve just released from his torment looked human too.

Atlanteans and humans clearly share similar DNA.

What I can’t understand is why would he be happy to return to such a frail form, however briefly?

That’s because you've lost all perspective, and there isn't an ounce of goodness left in you. I’d give everything—in fact, I already did—to return to my old self, and be rid of you.

But you’d be powerless, and you could die so easily.

Death is part of the cycle of life. It's the fact that life is finite that gives it its value.

Not for me, and unfortunately not for you either since you’re physically bound to my flesh now.

I am aware. However, I can also tell you that what you're doing to me is a fate worse than death itself.

For you, perhaps. For me, I have every intention of living forever.

And when you’ll have conquered every race, every soul, then what? What will you do when you’re the last living being in existence?

The fact that Ashra growled and pushed Sarah away from her mind told her that she had hit a chord with her question, but as always, the Spectre preferred to push away anything that required her to think about the consequences of her actions.

With Sarah out of her thoughts, Ashra inspected some of the new souls she had acquired, and one of them in particular drew her attention.

What have we here?

Before she realized it, she’d split in two Ashras, each of equal power, but with half her total pool of energy. That still made each copy incredibly powerful. She repeated the operation and then there were four Ashras.

“Interesting,” they said in unison.

She focused on merging back to a single Spectre, and the other three reintegrated her with ease.

“This could prove a very useful ability,” she said to no one in particular.

* * *

“What are you talking about?” asked Chase.

“There is a major problem with Atlantis’ power distribution,” said Spiros.

“You’re sure of it? How come Hyperion didn’t mention anything about it?”

“I don’t know why. Perhaps because he’s been too busy helping us with everything else. But yes, I’m certain of it. Although I think we can use the ship to jump, the ship isn’t ready to go into the sort of battle we hoped to use Atlantis for.”

“Damn, that could be a problem.”

“I know, but it’s fixable; it’s just that it’s such a large ship that Gaia and I won’t be sufficient. We’ll need Cedric, Yanis, and Kvasir to work on it as soon as we return, to try and stabilize the power flow, or the ship could blow up if we tax it too much during an engagement.”

“That would be bad. Perhaps the holographic Loki can help you as well. I hear he’s quite ingenious.”

“For sure. The more skilled engineers we can get to tackle this issue, the better.”

“And if we encounter a mothership before we’re ready, then what?”

“Then we’d better have a massive escort of Alliance ships, or we’ll lose.”

That wasn’t the kind of news Chase hoped to hear, but he decided that panicking about it wouldn’t solve anything. For once, he decided to focus on the positive. They had acquired new weapons and technology, and they had new powers granted by their soul armor that would help them deal with the Spectres in combat. For all intents and purposes, all of this was more than he expected to find during the mission.

“Very well, we’ll just have to make sure that Atlantis doesn’t move around without a sizeable fleet of ships as escorts, at least until Atlantis is ready to take on the Spectre on its own. Hopefully, we can affect the necessary repairs to the ship before we have to fight the Spectres next. Truth be told, I had no intention of approaching a battle with them any other way, no matter how powerful this ship is.”

“That's a wise course of action.”

“I'm glad you agree. Can we jump soon? We need to swing by Asgard. I want to see Poseidon and hear out these Guards.”

“Yes, Gaia is just about finished with her doublechecks on the power relays. As for the Guards, do you think they could be lying?”

“They’ve been nothing but trouble up until now, and while I know we could use their help to take down Ashra, they could be plotting another scheme.”

“That would be bad.”

“You can say that again. If they decided to switch sides again at the wrong time, it could be the end of us.”

“Is that what your instincts are telling you?”

“No, not really, but I'd rather have a have a face-to-face with them before we move forward.”

* * *

“I never did it on board an Atlantean ship before.” Chris rolled off Nyx.

“No one has before today … well, except Atlanteans, once upon a time,” said Nyx.

“Soon, we’ll have to fight …” Chris let the words hang in the air.

“Your mother? How do you feel about that?”

“We both know that thing is no longer my mother and at least now we have the soul armor to fight her with. I'm sure it will help but ... I hope it’s enough.”

“It has to be. Ashra needs to be stopped, not only for this dimension but also for the future of your lineage.”

“I remember. Trust me, it’s all I’ve been thinking about since Hades’ visit.”

“Well, I hope not all the time, and certainly not during the past hour.”

Chris knew what Nyx was trying to do, and he smiled. In fact, he was surprised she could so easily diffuse tension with humor. Nyx had always kept her icy cold demeanor toward the rest of the team and the outside world, but lately Chris had noticed that—at least, with him—she had been sweeter.

“I love you, you know that, right?” asked Chris.

“I suspected so, yes.”

Not exactly the answer Chris hoped for, but he knew that it was very unlikely she would reciprocate upon hearing those words.

“My feelings for you are growing beyond what I thought possible,” she added.

“That’s almost just as good,” thought Chris. “Especially considering the source.”

Chris put an arm under her neck and brought her head next to his. He kissed her on the temple.

“I do have something to ask you,” asked Chris.

“Sure, what do you need?”

“We’ll soon face the most powerful enemy anyone has ever faced. And I don’t want to lose you.”

“You won’t, and I don’t want to lose you either, Chris. Now that this is out of the way, what’s troubling you?”

“When you fight, you get into this rage, you know. It’s a state of mind I can also get into during battle.”

“Makes sense, that’s a Fury trait after all. Not much any of us can do about it.”

“Well, perhaps. I noticed my father has managed to keep his in check, most of the time.”

“Why would anyone want to keep it in check? Rage makes us more powerful; that’s how Furies are.”

“I know, but I've been thinking lately. What if it can also blind us?”

“What are you getting at?”

“I don’t know, I just …”

“It's okay. Just say what’s on your mind.”

“I don’t want you to die because of me. Or worse, trying to save me.”

“That’s very sweet of you, but let's not forget that I’m a warrior. One that's quite stronger than you, no offense.”

“None taken. I know you are stronger than me. In fact, I think on some level you’re stronger than my dad too.”

She gave him a look. “On some level?”

“It’s not a competition, Nyx.”

“For me it is.”

“Okay, right, for you it is. But the thing is, when that Spectre tried to kill us, you were willing to sacrifice yourself for me.”

“I guess I was, yes. What about it?”

“Well, I don’t know how I could have lived with myself if you had. And I don't want you to take that chance again. So, please, for me, don’t trade your life for mine, okay?”

“You know ... I’ve been thinking about this moment. In fact, I replayed it in my mind dozens of times already. And every time I do, I can’t see myself doing anything different. It’s like my feelings for you in that moment overwrote my warrior’s brain. And you repeat it, I will hurt you … but it’s something I never felt before.”

She loves me too. She just can’t utter the exact words. But that's okay, I like the way she explains it better.

Chris smiled.

“What are you smiling about?”

“Nothing. I’m just happy, and it’s rare enough these days.”

“As for your fear, I don’t want you to do anything stupid for me either in the coming battle. Okay?”

No promises.

* * *

Chase couldn’t sleep and took a walk around Atlantis. The place was huge, bigger than any ship he’d ever stepped foot on. He saw a shadow in the distance and as he approached, he was surprised to see it was his daughter, Kharon.

She was crying.

“Hey,” he said softly.

Startled, she hurriedly wiped her tears.

“It’s okay,” said Chase. “I’m the last person in this world you have to hide your tears from. I hope you know that.”

More tears flowed and she jumped into his arms.

“Are you all right? What’s making you so sad?”

She didn’t answer right away, and Chase felt she was hugging him more strongly.

“I’m afraid.”

“What are you afraid of?”

“Of losing you, and losing everyone I love.” She released her grip on him and took a step back. Her eyes were still moist.

“That’s a perfectly natural fear to have, and not one you need to hide from others, the least of all, your family. We’ll always be here for you.”

“I know, and it helps a lot to know that. I guess I’m also sad because I realized something else.”

“And what was that?”

“That I’m going to lose my mother, and I never even met her.”

That hit Chase to his core. That fear resonated with his own, so much so that it was almost as if their respective fears entered in harmonic vibration.

“Ever since your mom was taken away from me, I’ve spent all my energy and strength trying to get her back.”

“I know. I could sense it from the womb while you were fighting her and so did I when you cried by Mom’s stasis pod after the Fury war.”

“Your mom is the most courageous person I know. And we’ll do whatever we can to free her from Ashra.”

“But you heard what Hyperion said. We won’t be able to turn her back to the way she was before, like you managed to do for me.”

“As a rule of thumb, I tend to refute the concept of impossibility. If I didn’t, I'm pretty sure we would have lost the Fury war. The universe will provide ways to get us moving forward. Even if they are unknown to us right now. That much I’m certain of.”

“And if we end up losing her?”

Chase lowered his gaze for a second.

“Then we’ll have to learn to live without her, but no matter what happens, she’ll always be alive in here,” said Chase as he put him palm on Kharon’s heart. “Never forget that.”

Kharon nodded. “I’m so thankful that we merged our minds before, though. I learned so much about our family during that time.”

“I’m glad to hear it, and you know I’ll do everything in my power to save your mother. Just as I'll do anything to protect you and your brother.”

“Speaking of Chris, I sense he’s troubled.”

“Really? How so?”

“I can’t really put my finger on it, but I can tell something is worrying him. Something he doesn't want to talk to us about.”

“That's doesn't sound like Chris. If anything, he speaks his mind, sometimes without thinking about it. Perhaps it's just the stress we all carry with us these days. After all, we’re going to have to fight and defeat Ashra, no matter what. Your mom would never have agreed that we take the risk of losing billions of souls just to try and save her. In fact, she’d be mad as hell if she knew we're even considering it.”

“Like she was when you saved her from Argos’ grasp and opened the door for the Fury to return to this dimension?”

“Exactly like that, yes. In fact, I thought I’d lost her right then and there. For a time, I never thought she’d be able to forgive me.”

“That must have been hard. You were only trying to do what your heart asked of you. And if it’s any consolation, I would have done the same in your place.”

Chase hadn’t realized until then that he was still carrying the weight of that decision with him. Hearing Kharon’s words helped lighten some of that load.

“Thank you. In the end, we prevailed, but she taught me an important lesson back then—that no matter how much we love someone, sometimes we have to consider the big picture. Empathy isn’t just for family or friends; it applies to all living beings, and that's something that your mother understood very well.”

“It also scares me that we’re already talking about her in the past tense.”

Chase hadn’t consciously realized he was doing that.

“I didn’t do that on purpose, and I wouldn’t focus on this too much. However, I have to tell you that in the past few weeks, I have considered the fact that it's possible I may never again hold her in my arms. Defeating the Spectres and the scourge they unleashed in our dimensions is something that must be dealt with, no matter the cost.”

“I know, and I understand what you’re saying. And you're right. If it's a choice between killing Ashra and saving Mom, the former has to come first. I just wish we could find a way to help her.”

“As do I, Kharon, with all my heart.”

21

Atlantis exited hyperspace in orbit of Asgard, and Chase teleported down to the surface.

“Good to see you. Did you just teleport yourself down here? I didn’t see any beam streaks around you as you appeared.” said Poseidon.

“Good to see you too," said Chase, "and yes, I’ve recovered my power.”

“Nice, I’m glad to hear it.”

“As was I when I heard that you managed to repel Ashra on your own.”

“Well, not exactly on my own. I had help, even though it took a while for the Guards to realize that we stood a much better chance of surviving the encounter if we worked together.”

“Whether or not it came in naturally, I guess what counts is that they made the right choice in the end. That’s why I came to the surface, and also to ask you if we can borrow Kvasir and holographic Loki.”

“Sure, I’ll have them sent to … whatever that was that brought you into orbit.”

“Oh, you mean the ship? It’s Atlantis itself.”

“Impressive.”

“You don’t know the half of it, but I’ll catch you up on that later. For now, I’d like to talk with the Guards. I take it that I can find them on the brig?”

“Not anymore. I’ve assigned them quarters.”

“You trust them that much already, huh?”

“I wouldn’t go that far, but I’m confident that killing me and the rest of the people on Asgard is no longer their main drive. At least, for the time being.”

“It's that last part I worry about. I’ll go and talk to them first, and we can chat some more later.”

Before Poseidon could answer, Chase teleported away.

“I guess he knows where to find them, then.”

“He can sense their presence, yes,” said Thor in his mind. “Now that Chase has his teleportation power back, that's all he needs.”

* * *

“Hope I’m not coming at a bad time,” said Chase.

Siegfried didn’t move a muscle as Chase teleported into the quarters both he and Fenrir shared. Fenrir, however, was startled by the sudden appearance.

“Not at all,” said Siegfried. “In fact, we’ve been waiting for you.”

“I heard that you helped Poseidon fight Ashra off the planet.”

“If she hadn't escaped, maybe we could have killed her together. As for helping ... I just wish we did it earlier, since my stubbornness almost cost everyone their souls.”

“The humans have an expression that sums this feeling of yours quite well: better late than never.”

“That being said, we still aren’t sure what our fate is going to be going forward,” said Fenrir.

Chase turned his attention to Fenrir.

“That remains to be seen, but for the time being, I’m glad you had a change of mind. But don’t think for one minute that it absolves your many crimes, both present and past.”

“We don’t. We know what we did can never be forgiven,” said Siegfried.

“I don't know about never; my brother was in a similar situation years ago and as far as I'm concerned, I've forgiven him."

"It's one thing to receive someone's forgiveness, it's another to forgive oneself."

"Right ... I can tell my brother hasn't."

"Neither should he."

Was Siegfried correct? After all, Argos had been responsible for millions of deaths on Earth. And even if he had helped trillions live, in redeeming himself the best he could, that stain on his soul would never really go away.

"Right. So, I hear that you are willing to fight with us in order to defeat Ashra.”

“Fenrir is his own man, so I won’t pretend to answer on his behalf but yes, I’m willing to add my skills to yours to bring her down. Whatever it takes. This thing is too dangerous to be kept alive. In fact, there's a sort of poetic irony at play here.”

"Oh? How so?" asked Chase.

"We were genetically engineered to kill monsters. Back then, that was your kind. The Furies. And today, we're back where we started. It seems our only use in this world is to help you get rid of yet another kind of monster, albeit a more terrifying one. "

"I guess I can see the irony of your position. What about you?" asked Chase, turning to Fenrir.

“I wanted for this to happen earlier,” answered Fenrir, “even though I’m weary of all this fighting. So, I'm in too.”

“Good to hear,” said Chase. “Very well. We’ll soon head out to Alkyon One. From there, we’ll hunt Ashra together and, gods willing, rid the universe of the Spectre scourge.”

“Say we manage to do that … then what?” asked Siegfried.

“I don’t know yet, but we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.”

* * *

“I guess it’s time for us to leave Asgard,” Chase said.

“I wish I could come with you,” said Poseidon.

“I know you do, and we certainly could use your powers, as well as your new weapon.”

“It’s called Soulstorm, and you can take it with you.”

“What if you need it? I’m already taking holo-Loki with me. You’d have little to nothing to defend yourself with if Ashra came back here first.”

“You and I both know she isn’t coming back. At least not until she’s faced you.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Because I sensed she was terrified of Soulstorm. It seemed to make holes in her from which souls managed to escape. If nothing else, that has to give her pause.”

“That could be incredibly powerful against her. But then, if you’re sure she won’t return, why not just come and fight with us?”

“On the off chance that my presence is needed here to fend off another attack. For one, it's possible she may split her forces and try to attack us on two fronts. For another, in times of war, there are always smaller factions ready to seize any opportunity to grasp whatever they can from the resulting power vacuum and chaos it creates. And because I promised Thor I would protect his world. Otherwise, I’d come with you in a heartbeat.”

“A promise is a sacred thing. I understand.”

“But Chase, take the weapon with you.”

Chase thought about it and something in him told him that he shouldn’t. “You know what? I don’t think we’ll need it.”

“Don’t underestimate the enemy, Chase. What if Soulstorm is the key to victory?”

“This weapon was forged to protect Asgard, so it should stay with you. I’m not sure I’d have time to learn how to master it well before we fight her anyway. After all, Hephaestus forged it for you to wield. I wouldn’t be surprised if it lost most of its power if anyone else wielded it.”

“It’s true that no one could wield Mjölnir but Thor, and in the hands of another, the Trident of the Seas is merely a piece of metal without additional powers.”

“Then it's settled. You keep Soulstorm; perhaps you'll need it to kill Ashra.”

“I'm not sure I like the sound of this, Chase.”

“I know you don't, but if we fail, the responsibility of killing her might fall onto you.”

“I sure hope that doesn’t happen.”

“Neither do I, but if it does, you’ll need Soulstorm to defeat her.”

“At least, take what's left of my fleet with you.”

“You should keep some around the planet, Poseidon. Just in case, like you said, some third party decided that now was a good time to try and attack Asgard.”

“Sure, I can keep a pair of destroyers, but it's more important that you win the upcoming battle, so please take the rest of the fleet with you.”

“Understood, thank you, Poseidon, and I hope to see you soon.”

“As do I, my friend. Good luck.”

* * *

Atlantis opened up a large hyperspace window, allowing half of the fleet, including the Victory, the Hope and most of the Alliance and Asgardian ships, to jump with it and travel faster than their own engines ever could. Chase, Chris, Kharon, and Argos were on the bridge of Atlantis when the fleet jumped to ultraspace.

“Do we know where Ashra is at the moment?” asked Chris.

“No,” replied Chase, “and from what I gathered from Poseidon, when she fled Asgard, she wasn’t looking well. She was leaking souls, hurting and, more importantly, she was scared.”

“Good, perhaps we can exploit that.”

“I doubt she’d seek a fight with us until she gets better. But we never know. Hopefully, that could buy us some time to fix Atlantis before she returns. I really don't like the idea of bringing it into the fight in its current state.”

“No matter what happens,” stated Argos, “we have to be careful and approach this fight with cool heads. I’m loving our new powers, but let’s make sure this doesn’t give us a false sense of over-confidence either.”

“I agree. The armor upgrades are great news, but we must not take their added powers for granted,” nodded Chase.

“As do I,” added Chris. “We have to be careful and we will probably need all our combined powers to defeat her once and for all. Which brings me to the elephant in the room: what do we do about Mom?”

“We’ll do what we can for her, but …” Chase let the words trail.

“But saving her isn’t the primary objective,” Argos said. “It can’t be, or we’re certain to lose this fight.”

Chris sighed. “I know that. But still, we ought to try something, right?”

Kharon didn’t speak and Chase could sense sorrow in her heart.

“I also wanted for the four of us to have this family meeting before the fight,” said Chase.

“What did you want us to talk about?” asked Kharon.

Chase swallowed hard. “You two, as a matter of fact.” He gazed at his children. “You and Chris are the future. So, it's paramount that the two of you survive this fight, no matter what.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” asked Chris.

“That if it comes to that, and either your uncle or myself needs to sacrifice our lives to win this fight, you’ll need to accept that and go along with it.”

“No!” screamed Chris. “We’re all coming back from the fight with Ashra, even if Mom doesn’t.”

“I know I’m new to this family, so perhaps my opinion doesn't count,” said Kharon, “but I agree with Chris and as far as I'm concerned, we should not even think this way.”

“You should listen to your father,” said Argos gravely. “Of course we all want to come back alive from this fight, and we’ll do whatever it takes to achieve that. But we also know who we’re fighting, how powerful she is, and we are all putting our lives in danger just by being in the fight.”

“I discussed this with Argos beforehand,” said Chase, “and he’s convinced me that we can’t afford to leave the two of you out of this fight, as much as it pains me to admit it.”

“Yeah, that would never have happened. I can’t believe you even considered this,” frowned Chris.

“Look, son, one day you’ll have kids of your own, and then you’ll understand the need for a parent to do everything they can to protect their children, even if it means they must perish to accomplish that goal.”

“I understand,” said Kharon, “but we’re fighting alongside the two of you.”

“Yes, you are, and we're not disputing that,” said Argos. “All that we ask is that you don’t do anything stupid to try and save your elders. Chase and I are prepared to give our lives to win this fight, but neither of us is prepared to forfeit yours.”

Chris made a fist. “It doesn't matter what the two of you want! It’s our decision to make, and I don’t want any of this bullshit roaming inside my head in the middle of the fight. We’ll have to make split-second decisions that could mean victory or defeat. We don’t need to think about anything else during those moments. You know what? You three do what you want, but I’ll fight until I die if I have to. So, screw this!”

Chris ran outside the bridge and Chase wanted to go after him, but Argos grabbed his arm and shook his head.

“Let him go. I’ll talk to him later.”

They both turned to Kharon.

“Then I guess it falls onto you,” said Chase.

“I beg you, please don’t put me in a position where I have to go against my brother.”

“We’re not asking you to,” said Argos.

“Then what are you asking me exactly?”

“Look,” said Chase, “the reason you were born inside a Spectre and not your mother—not to mention that you almost died in the first place—is because I didn’t manage to convince Sarah to step down from the fight against Tanak’Vor. There isn’t a day where I don’t replay this fight inside my head. If only I had prevented her from taking part in that battle, like Menelas did with Athena, maybe things would have been different, and she’d be here with us now.”

“And perhaps without her you would have lost the fight,” countered Kharon. “You have no way of knowing, and you shouldn’t think this way or you’ll always be a slave to your past. It's not healthy to question every decision you've ever made. In fact, as far as I'm concerned, that’s no way to live.”

“She’s making a valid point,” said Argos.

“For someone only a few weeks old,” said Chase, “I have to admit you’re quite mature and very wise. And Kharon, I hear what you’re saying, and I understand, but I can’t imagine losing you or your brother, which is why I'm asking you to be our failsafe.”

“What kind of failsafe?”

“If we give you the signal, or if you feel either you or your brother are near death, you need to teleport both of you away from the fight, and don’t look back.”

Kharon appeared pensive for what seemed a short forever. “No!”

“Kharon, please,” pleaded Chase.

“I now better understand why Chris stormed out. Let me tell you something though: if I do this and we lose, I’ll forever bare the weight of failure. Not only for failing my family but the entire universe. So, I'm sorry, but my answer is no.” Kharon walked out of the bridge.

“That went well,” said Argos with a sigh.

“Tell me about it.”

“She made some really good points though. Perhaps their presence in the scenario we proposed, or their lack thereof, is what could determine the outcome of this fight. So, let's assume they aren’t there at a critical moment of the fight, and we lose. Put yourself in their shoes.”

“I know, and please don't lecture me about this. I’ve been living in their shoes since Sarah’s been gone, brother.”

“I know, and I know how difficult it's been for you. However, we both know that the chances of saving her are …”

“Speak your mind, Argos. It’s not like you to hold out on anything.”

“Perhaps, but you’re the last person I want to hurt in the whole universe.”

“I know, and I appreciate it, but say it anyway.”

“They’re slim to none.”

Chase looked at the beautiful green and blue streaks of ultraspace outside the viewport.

“You don't think I know that?”

It’s been killing me for a while, brother, but trust me I know.

* * *

Menelas’ face filled the holo-screen.

“Hey,” said Athena, “it’s good to see you.”

“It’s good to see you too, love,” said Menelas. “How are things going on New Olympus?”

“I’m not sure yet. My appointment to the position hasn’t been welcomed by everyone on the planet.”

“That’s peculiar. Any reason why?”

“I don’t know—a stupid power game, I guess. There are a few people on the council that I should keep an eye on.”

“I don’t like this. Perhaps you should ask Poseidon to send Artemis to help you deal with them. I hear she got really powerful lately.”

“In what universe is Artemis more powerful than I am? But more importantly, is my husband insinuating that I can’t defend myself?”

Menelas chuckled. “There she is. No, of course not. You can kick anyone’s ass and I know it. Forget I said anything.”

“Good save. Between you and me, I’d rather just come home and help you fight Ashra, really.”

“I know, but if you suspect that there are disloyal members of the council, leaving now would only allow them to fortify their power base, and you'd be helping their agenda, whatever that is.”

Athena sighed. “You’re probably right, but I don’t like the idea of you going against Ashra without me. And before you say anything, remember what happened the last time I wasn't there.”

“I wasn’t gonna go there. I should never have made the decision for you to skip the fight with Tanak’Vor. You know how much I regret that.”

“I do. And now I feel like I’m again forced to stay on the side lines. Granted, this time it's for a whole different set of reasons but believe me, I hate it just as much. You tend to get yourself in trouble when I’m not there. No offense.”

“None taken, but I can take of myself. Even if you saved my Fury ass the last time I went to battle on my own. I guess we just have to trust that our destinies require us to be apart at a time like this.”

“Screw destiny. I don’t want to lose you.”

“And you won’t. Right now, I’m more worried about the situation on New Olympus. I hate to even suggest this, but perhaps you should take a page from your father’s book.”

Her eyes grew wide. “What? What do you mean?”

“Well, maybe there was a reason why Zeus ruled with an iron fist in the first place. As a leader, when you impose dominance, it tends to send a clear message to all those who want to take advantage of what they perceive as weakness.”

“Perhaps, but I’m not my father.”

“I know and that’s one of the reasons why I love you, but in this instance, maybe a little show of force, just to intimidate, could help resolve tensions, at least for now.”

“I’ll take it under advisement, thank you. How is the morale on your side of the universe?”

“It’s a strange feeling, really. Like we're in the calm before the storm, so to speak, at least that’s how it feels. There’s clearly palpable tension and everyone is on edge, even if they try not to show it.”

“It’s understandable, considering. I remember how we all felt before the last battle during the Fury war.”

“Exactly.”

22

“Do you think I was wrong?” asked Chase.

“No, I understand why you want to protect your children,” replied Argos. “It’s only natural as their father.”

“And yet I’ve alienated them both.”

“Nah, Chris was mad, sure, but that’s not out of character for him. He’s a forgiving son.”

“I sure hope so.”

“Trust me. We’ve only tried to protect them and they'll understand, eventually. And as much as we find it frustrating sometimes, we’re talking about their lives and their destinies, and we have to abide by their choices, even when we don't agree with them.”

“I know that, brother, but if something happens to them, I’ll never be able to forgive myself.”

“Then let’s make sure nothing happens to them, no matter what. And thank you.”

“For what?”

“For trusting me after all the things I’ve done to you in the past. For calling me brother … and perhaps one day for forgiving me.”

“I’ve already forgiven you, Argos. And I’m proud to call you my brother. I want you to know that, in case, you know …”

Tears filled Argos’ eyes as he nodded.

* * *

“How are you feeling?” asked Argos.

“Mad as hell is how I feel!” exclaimed Chris.

Argos chuckled. “We hadn’t noticed.”

“This is no time for jokes.”

“Look, I get it; you’re mad ‘cause you father tried to protect you.”

“He always does this!”

“Yes, because like me, he loves you.”

“I’m surprised you agreed with him in the first place.”

“I know, and if it helps, you can be mad at me too.”

“Part of me is, but it usually doesn’t last very long.”

“Then I suggest you apply that same leniency to your father, because neither of us might come back from where we’re going. And trust me, the last thing you want is to leave things unsaid, should anything happen.”

“No! This is not an option, and I don't want to hear it. I’m not gonna lose another member of my family! Do you hear me?”

“I don't want this either and we’ll do whatever it takes to avoid it, but the reality is we don't know what will happen. All we can do is try and win this together, as a family.”

“Tell that to my father.”

“I already did, and he agrees. All I ask of you is to try and put yourself in his shoes, and please don’t blame him for trying to protect you. He was right about one thing, you know?”

“Oh yeah? And what would that be?”

“One day, when you have your own children, you’ll understand what he was trying to do today.”

* * *

“We’re detecting massive energy signatures on hyperspace sensors,” said one of Daniel’s officers, Lieutenant Commander Hawthorn.

“Could be Chase and the fleet,” said Daniel.

“I don’t think so, sir.”

“ETA to Alkyon One?”

“Thirty minutes.”

“That puts these ships in orbit of the station a good twenty minutes ahead of Atlantis and the rest of the fleet. Have the ships around the station put on high alert, and ready to fight. If the Spectres arrive before Chase does, we could have a problem.”

“Aye, Captain.”

Daniel knew it wasn’t a good time, but considering that in half an hour, all hell could break loose, he felt the need to see Allanah.

“Lieutenant Commander, please assume command until my return.”

“Yes, sir!” Hawthorn responded.

“I won’t be long.”

Daniel walked out of C&C. The moment the doors closed, he sprinted to the nearest turbolift.

“Starfighter Bay One!”

* * *

“What are you doing here?” asked Allanah.

“I needed to see you.”

“In the middle of a high alert?”

“You know what they say. There’s no time like the present.”

“Look, Daniel, don’t take this the wrong way, but I’m the middle of prepping our birds for battle.”

“I know, and I won’t take long.”

Daniel took Allanah by the hand, walked her behind some crates and passionately kissed her.

“Well, all things considered,” said Allanah, “I guess I needed that. Thank you.”

“I love you,” said Daniel.

Her eyes grew wide.

“You don’t need to say anything,” he added firmly. “I just wanted you to know in case …”

“In case we don’t make it.”

“Well, let's just say that I have a bad feeling about this.”

“Good job! Now you’re making me nervous. I thought your friend Chase was coming back here with reinforcements?”

“He is, but all signs seem to point to the fact that he’s going to arrive a little late.”

“How late?”

“Twenty minutes, give or take.”

“We'll make it. I know you can hold the fort for twenty minutes, and so do you.”

“I sure hope so.”

“Then don’t hope; just do it, Daniel. This could very well be the final battle of the war. If there ever was time to give it all we’ve got, then today is that day.”

“And I intend to. I don’t want to lose this. I mean, I don't want to lose you.”

She smiled and kissed him. “You won’t.”

“Please be careful.”

“Right back at you, Captain.”

Daniel smiled. “I guess I’d better go back to C&C.”

“You should definitely do that.”

Daniel walked a few steps before hearing his name.

“Daniel?”

He turned. “Yes?”

“I love you too.”

* * *

“They’re almost here,” said Lieutenant Commander Hawthorn.

“How many ships?”

“Three large motherships and their escorts.”

“Set targeting priorities on the smaller ships. We probably can’t take on one of these motherships until the rest of the fleet gets here anyway, but at least we can thin the herd.”

“Targets priorities set, sir. Hyperspace window opening in two zero seconds.”

Daniel took a deep breath.

“Instruct the fleet to engage the enemy as soon as they exit hyperspace. And set the defense grid to maximum power. Deploy all starfighters wings.”

“I just wished I was flying one of them,” thought Daniel.

“Aye, Captain. Orders transmitted, defense grid active and launching StarFury wings now.”

The air in the Command & Control center was so thick, it would have taken a machete to slice through. Daniel could sense fear all around him, and he couldn’t blame his crew for being afraid. Truth be told, he was scared too.

The Spectres were a formidable enemy and their motherships were nearly unbeatable, even if Daniel didn’t believe that. After all, they had faced similar situations with the Zarlacks monstrosities when they had first arrived on Earth. After defeating those, there had been the Furies Superdestroyers to contend with, as well as evil Gaia's ship . All of these ships had been larger and more powerful than anything they had faced before. Back then, the belief had been that those were nearly invincible too and yet they had been brought down. For the Alliance to win this war, bringing down the motherships wasn't an option; it was a necessity.

Hyperspace windows flashed and temporary blinded everyone in the room. A barrier of Alliance laser fire and torpedoes advanced as a unified wave toward the enemy ships. Alkyon One’s defense grid engaged the smaller targets that were within its firing range as well.

The enemy fleet lost no time deploying fighters by the hundreds, giving the StarFury pilot a numerical disadvantage from the get-go.

It has begun.

“Report!” Daniel ordered.

“Enemy ships are ignoring the fleet so far. They’ve deployed and engaged our StarFuries.”

“Why? What are they up to?”

“Unknown, sir,” answered Hawthorn. “We are, however, detecting a massive power build-up on board all three of the motherships.”

That can’t be good.

“Divert all the power you can to our shields, and take some from the defense grid too if you have to. If they’re ignoring our ships, it probably means we’re the target they’re after.”

“Aye Captain, diverting power now.”

Seconds later, a massive ball of crimson plasma appeared in front of each of the motherships. They all fired constant beams of plasma on a precise point on Alkyon's shield. The entire station shook and lights flickered.

“Status on the shields?” asked Daniel.

“Holding strong at ninety percent … for now,” said Hawthorn grimly.

Daniel knew exactly what his first officer meant by that. The beams had been active for a few seconds only, with no sign of weakening. Daniel understood how a constant beam of energy could quickly become a problem though.

“How long will our shields hold at these power levels?”

“A few minutes, give or take.”

That wasn’t what Daniel had hoped to hear since it wouldn’t be enough time for Chase to join the fight.

“Have the fleet adjust their targeting priorities and see if they can focus their fire on disabling one of these plasma beams instead of dealing with smaller ships.”

* * *

“I’m a little busy right now,” said Cedric.

“No shit,” said Daniel over the comms. “I suppose you think we’re having a party up here?”

“Alright, alright, no need to get snappy. What do you need?”

“More power to the shields.”

“And where exactly am I supposed to find that power?”

“You’re the chief engineer, so you tell me.”

“Look, I’ll divert as much juice as I can from other nonessential systems and see if I can boost the efficiency of our power relays. But I'm not a magician.”

“Wouldn't that be dangerous?”

“Highly, but that’s the only way I can think of to give you more power to the shields. But that’s not what’s bothering me.”

“It's not? Then what is?”

“I don’t think this beam is trying to destroy us.”

“That’s nonsense. Why have they fired it at us then?”

“Don’t misunderstand me. I’m sure they’re here to destroy us eventually. All I’m saying is that the modulation of their beam is not matching any of the sensor data we have accumulated on these ships. It’s like the beam has another function.”

“Seems to me right now its function is to drain our shields, and while the newly upgraded pentalium-powered shield generators are holding for now, they’re still being drained faster than the reinforcements can arrive.”

“I don't know what to tell you, Daniel, but I still can't shake this feeling I’m having.”

“I’m gonna need more than that, Cedric.”

“I’m working on it.”

“Then work faster, please.”

Cedric mumbled something into his beard.

“What was that?”

“Nothing, and yes, sir. I’m working on⁠—”

“Cedric! I didn’t catch what you said. What’s going on?”

“Oh, hell no… I think I know what they’re doing.”

“Then by all means, enlighten me.”

“They’re not trying to bring the shields down. They’re trying to open a hole in them.”

“So they can finish us up faster with their torpedoes.”

“Maybe … maybe not”

“What other purpose could there be for this strategy?”

“Well, from the top of my head, they could try and board us. Why destroy a perfectly working station if you can gain control of it and use its advanced weapons to attack your enemy?”

“I’d better let Chase know about this.”

“You do that, and Daniel? I don’t have to tell you that if these things board us, we’re screwed. We are not equipped to deal with a Spectre invasion force.”

“No, you don’t have to.”

* * *

“How much longer until we get to Alkyon One?” asked Chase.

“Not long now. Fifteen minutes, give or take,” replied Hyperion.

“What do you mean, give or take? Can we get there any faster or not?”

“We could, but I don’t recommend we push the system past their current limits, not until your team of scientists has found a way to fix our power-relay issues. If anything went wrong, at best we'd drop out of ultraspace and at worst, get blown up.”

“Duly noted. We're not going any faster. Alkyon One is under attack as we speak, I’ve been informed their objective is most likely to board the station. We must get there before that happens or Alkyon One will fall into the hands of the enemy in a matter of minutes. They’re not equipped to fight Spectres, and they could be wiped out from within, and with ease, if that happens.”

“I am aware. I’m replicating a massive amount of anti-Spectre weapons as we speak. As soon as they're ready, we can deliver them.”

“But if we can’t get there on time, there won’t be anything to deliver to anyone.”

“I’m working on that problem as well. In the meantime, I suggest some of you go to the station and make sure you fend off any possible attacks.”

“You mean teleport there? Is it safe to do so from ultraspace?”

“Granted, it’s never really been tested, but I think your soul armor should be able to handle it.”

“You think?”

“I’m sorry, Chase. I wish I could have a more definitive answer for you.”

“I can’t risk the entire team if this doesn’t work out.”

“No, you can’t, and you shouldn't. We'll need another few minutes before you can teleport anyway.”

“Why’s that? I’m ready to go now.”

“My telemetry of the battle revealed some strange readings. It's possible the enemy has erected countermeasures that could prevent you from teleporting in … or worse … kill you if you tried.”

“That’s just great,” said Chase through gritted teeth. “Do you have any more good news for me?”

“As a matter of fact, I might, even though I realize you were being sarcastic. I should soon have a device counteracting that field ready. In the meantime, you should decide who else goes with you. I recommend you take only one person. Your daughter shouldn’t be that person, since we’ll need another warrior to help teleport the weapons I’m building for the crew of Alkyon One.”

* * *

“Listen up, soldiers. You’ve been selected for a mission of paramount importance,” said Ashra. “I’m counting on each and every one of you.”

A platoon made of several dozen Spectres saluted her and spoke in unison. “Yes, Spectre Prime!”

“You are to infiltrate the station, kill anyone on your way, except for the command crew. Try and capture as many as you can, as they could prove useful as bargaining chips. These humans are weak and easily manipulable when you threaten to execute their loved ones. Once they’ve been neutralized, your mission is to redirect their powerful defense grid to destroy their own puny ships. That should send the Alliance into disarray, and provoke chaos they won’t be able to recover from.”

“Yes, Spectre Prime! As you command!” shouted the platoon.

“Stand ready, soldiers. As soon as we’ve opened up a hole through their shields, you’ll be beamed onboard the station.”

* * *

“Has the fleet managed to destroy one of the weapons firing those beams at our shields?” asked Daniel.

“That’s a negative,” answered Hawthorn, “even though the motherships aren’t firing on the fleet, most likely to maintain constant power being fed to these beams. Their starfighters are intercepting all torpedoes, and even sacrificing themselves, to make sure we don’t hit the systems.”

“Dammit! How long do we have until they manage to open a hole through our shields?”

“Engineering is reporting a breach is imminent.”

Keeps getting better and better.

“Give me a station-wide channel.”

“Channel opened, sir.”

“This is your captain. Any moment now, Spectres will board this station. This is not a drill. Nonessential personnel without combat experience, lock yourselves inside your quarters until the alert is lifted. Everyone else, go to the nearest armory and equip yourself to the teeth. I’d love to tell you it’s going to be enough to defend yourselves against Spectres, but I’d be lying.

“We only need to hold the enemy for a few minutes until reinforcements arrive, so don’t take any unnecessary risks. In an unlikely scenario where we fail to repel the enemy, I’ll sound a general evacuation order. If that happens, make sure to reach a transporter room. If you’re cut off, try to make your way to an escape pod instead. Ares will also assist in case of an evacuation, and he will help crew members that can’t get to the transporters fast enough. Don’t resist him. You can’t miss him. He’s made of golden energy and is on our side. Whenever possible, try to form groups. You’ll have more chances to damage the Spectres that way, and your chances of survival will also increase.

“And lastly, officers with extensive ground battle experience, make yourselves known in your groups and assume command. Your experience on the battlefield could mean the difference between life and death. Good luck, everyone! Captain Tharraleos out.”

“We’re receiving a signal from Ryonna,” advised Hawthorn.

“Patch her through.”

“Daniel, I’m heading to my quarters to grab my supersuit. The moment you have coordinates of enemies inside the station, forward their location to me. I stand a better chance than anyone else on this station when it comes to fighting them.”

“Understood, but Ryonna?”

“Yes?”

“Be careful. Even with your supersuit, you're no match for Spectre warriors.”

“We’ll see about that. Ryonna out.”

“Hawthorn, as soon as we’re being boarded, sync our lifesigns sensor map to Ryonna’s supersuit.”

“Aye, Captain.”

The entire station shook, and it didn’t take long before screams could be heard in the distance.

“We’ve been boarded, Captain,” said Hawthorn gravely.

“How many?”

“A dozen until now, but more are beaming in.”

“We need to disable these damn beams! Now!”

To be continued...

(Keep reading to the series’s finale: Book 17: Asunder)

THANKS TO ALL MY PATRONS

Special thanks to the following people (Destroyer Captain & higher tiers) for supporting my work on Patreon:

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BOOK 17: ASUNDER

____________________

SERIES FINALE

COPYRIGHT

Copyright © 2023 by Christian Kallias

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

First Printing of original book, 2023

Version 1.00

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Cover artwork by Christian Kallias

christian@kallias.com

www.christiankallias.com

Website for book covers: kallias.com

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www.twitter.com/kalliasx

Editors

Tyler Colins

Proofreaders

ARC Team (thanks everyone!)

Special thanks to Stephen Barrow & David Licata

For my Father & my Brother :(

Dimitri Kallias

1937-2022

Jordan Kallias

1966 - 2022

May you both Rest In Peace.

I love you, both, with all my heart.

DRAMATIS PERSONÆ

Earth Alliance

Admiral Chase Athanatos – Earth Alliance Fury Olympian hybrid - Hero of the Fury War

Captain Sarah Kepler Athanatos – Earth Human with Fury powers (body-snatched by Ashra’Lur )

Chris Athanatos – Fury/Olympian/Human hybrid (Chase’s son)

Menelas - Fury Warrior (Chase and Argos’s father)

Oryn - Fury Olympian Hybrid (Zeus’ Daughter)

Kharon Athanatos - Fury/Olympian/Human hybrid (Chase’s daughter)

Emperor Altair – Head of the Earth Alliance (formerly Obsidian Empire Emperor)

Captain Daniel Tharraleos – Earth Alliance Human (formerly Star Alliance) - Commander of Alkyon One Space Station

Chief Engineer Yanis Tixichos – Earth Alliance Human (formerly Star Alliance)

R&D Lead Engineer Spiros Malayianis – Earth Alliance Human (formerly Star Alliance)

Argos Thanatos – Fury Olympian hybrid and Chase’s twin brother (formerly head of the Zarlacks)

Ryonna Isch’ys – Droxian Ambassador (formerly a fugitive Droxian smuggler)

Talon Epizon – Earth Alliance captain: EAD Victory

Tar’Lock (tahr-lock) – EAD Victory’s First Officer - Gorgar (Insectoid and formerly a Hellstar prisoner)

Cedric - Human engineer

Gaia - Artificial Intelligence inside a human clone body

Allanah - Starfighters Chief Engineer on board Alkyon One

Keera - (Former) Bounty Hunter - Earth Alliance Intelligence Agent

Olympians

Ares (ah-rees) – known to humans as the god of war (deceased, living as pure energy form)

Poseidon - known to the humans as the god of the seas, now King of Asgard

Hades - known to humans as the god of the Underworld

Artemis - known to the humans as the goddess of the hunt

Zeus - Former Leader of Olympus (deceased, now overseeing the Underworld)

Aphroditis (a-fro-dee-tee) - known to the humans as the goddess of love (pronounced afro-di-ti, the s is silent)

Spectres

Ashra’Lur – Female Spectre Leader / New Spectre Prime

Spectre Prime - Former Spectre leader (deceased)

Furies

Nyx – Pure-blood Fury Warrior

Asgardians

Thor - King of Asgard, Fleet Commander & son of Odin (deceased)

Kvasir (kvah-seer) – Asgardian scientist

Loki - Thor’s brother (deceased)

Siegfried - Divine Asgardian Guard

Fenrir - Divine Asgardian Guard

Grunhild - Divine Asgardian Guard (deceased)

Other characters

Hyperion - Atlantean*

*I know I’ve used Atlantians in previous books but since it’s a typo, I’ve replaced it with Atlanteans in books 16 & 17 and will eventually fix that in previous books as well.

1

When Ryonna exited her quarters, she heard screaming coming from the next corridor junction. She engaged both the stealth and superspeed features of her suit and ran toward the screams.

A Spectre was punching and grabbing personnel, which Ryonna found peculiar. Spectres usually disposed of their enemies by devouring their souls. Taking prisoners wasn't part of their usual MO, but that could play to her advantage. She made a mental note to let Daniel know about this change of tactic on the enemy's part as soon as she dispatched her first kill of the day.

Silently, she approached a Spectre roughing up a young man, grabbed her light-blade, turned it on, and swung it at the Spectre’s neck. He didn’t see it coming and his head flew into the air.

Tendrils of black goo shot upward from the Spectre’s headless neck.

Right, these things can regenerate like there's no tomorrow. Let’s see what it takes to kill one for good.

“All of you, be somewhere else, quickly!”

Men and women grabbed their unconscious crewmates and left without looking back.

Ryonna grabbed her blaster rifle and set it to maximum power before destroying the rolling head on the floor. When she turned, the tendrils had almost reformed a new head on the body of the Spectre.

It gave her an idea. She supercharged one shot of her rifle and punched a hole through the Spectre’s chest. As it did earlier when she’d decapitated the soldier, tendrils extended from the circumference of the wound and began to grow inward to reconstruct the missing flesh, bones, and organs.

Ryonna grabbed a concussion grenade, set it on a long timer, and lodged it inside the closing wound. But not before the Spectre punched her to the ground.

With his head fully reformed, glowing red eyes locked on her, and the Spectre tried to crush her head with his foot. Ryonna rolled away, got back up, and reignited her light-blade.

The Spectre fired a fireball at her and she slashed the light-blade to counter, which to her surprise, worked. The fireball exploded and her suit’s shields deflected the remainder of the energy.

“These must not be elite Spectres,” she thought.

At least nothing like Ashra or even Ergon’Kar, that Chase and the others had defeated the last time one stepped on the station. Ryonna decided that this was fortunate; she knew full well that if that had been an elite Spectre warrior attack, she couldn’t have countered his attack like that and lived to tell the tale.

She darted forward and with her next slashes, cut both the warrior’s arms—before using her suit super-strength to somersault on top of him and kick him in the back of the head.

The Spectre fell forward and the moment he hit the ground his body exploded from the inside out. The pool of flesh, as well as the body parts that were dispersed in the explosion, all still moved and tendrils extended from them, trying to reconnect the different pieces, but Ryonna could tell it was having a much harder time doing so than before.

She turned off her blade, grabbed her blaster, and incinerated all the Spectre body parts one by one. Eventually, there was nothing left.

“One down,” she said to herself.

She heard more screams in the distance and set her suit to superspeed as she rushed away. As she ran, she brought up a map of all enemy contacts that she had received from C&C during her fight and overlaid it to her HUD.

* * *

“Ryonna is reporting her first kill,” said Hawthorn.

“Good. Let’s hope others have the same luck. Casualties?”

“There have been a few but Ryonna reports that they’re not interested in siphoning every soul in their way, at least not yet. They are trying to keep some of us alive. From the looks of it, mostly officers.”

“That’s strange. I wonder why. Perhaps they need hostages for their endgame.”

“That could be the reason, yes.”

Daniel thought about it, and he could see why they’d want hostages they could use to make Chase stand down when he arrived. Daniel would have to make sure such a scenario didn’t come to pass.

“Captain!” shouted Hawthorn. “A Spectre has been detected entering our StarFury bays!”

Daniel's heart skipped a beat, then raced faster with every passing second. “Oh, hell no,” he said as he went to grab a heavy-duty rifle and a grenade belt from a nearby bulkhead. “Hawthorn, you’re in command until I return.”

“I have to object, sir. Your place is on C&C. Send me in your place.”

“That’s a negative, Lieutenant Commander! You have your orders.”

Daniel punched a couple of commands at his station and he was beamed away.

* * *

Allanah fired her blaster at the approaching Spectre but it wasn’t having the desired effect. Eventually, she was forced to retreat and hid behind some crates. Her heartbeat was knocking like a tambourine against her chest.

She scanned things in the vicinity that she could use to inflict more damage than with her blaster, and she located a charged power-coil nearby. When she heard heavy footsteps behind her, she sprinted toward the coil, grabbed it, and turned around only to find the Spectre running in her direction. She threw the coil in his direction, set her blaster to maximum, and shot the coil just before the Spectre punched it out of the way.

The explosion took out the upper body of the Spectre, but he stood, nonetheless. Black tendrils shot from his waist and began reconstructing the upper part of his body.

“What the hell are you made of?” she exclaimed, stunned. She aimed her blaster at the tendrils and fired again and again, destroying them. Unfortunately, every time she destroyed one, two more appeared, and she realized she was in a losing battle against time.

Eventually, the blaster overheated and wouldn’t shoot fast enough, nor with efficacious firepower. She looked around the room for more things she could use to jerry-rig another bomb, but this time she came up empty.

When her blaster simply refused to fire anymore, she took three steps back and hit something with her back. Or someone. She felt breaths on her hair, and her entire filled with dread. She turned around in time to see a dark hand grab her by the throat and lift her off the floor.

The second Spectre squeezed her throat until she couldn’t breathe anymore. She tried kicking it with her legs but it had no effect other than weaken her and deplete her already low oxygen levels.

As a dark veil fell in front of her eyes, she heard a muffled sound, and glimpsed a bright flash of light. She felt gravity take hold on her again and she fell to the ground.

As air filled her lungs and re-oxygenated her brain, her senses came back at once, as well as no shortage of adrenaline.

“Run!” shouted Daniel as he kept firing supercharged blasts at the Spectre.

Daniel kept firing again and again, piercing large holes at strategic places on the Spectre's body, ripping off arms, breaking knees, and blowing up its head.

Even though he had asked her to, Allanah couldn’t move; she was too terrified. “I can’t,” was all she managed to say.

Daniel drew closer, took out two grenades, and threw them at the already downed Spectre warrior who was in the process of reconstructing his body.

Daniel grabbed Allanah from the floor, delicately threw her over his shoulder, and ran as far as he could before the grenades exploded. The concussive shockwaves sent them crashing unceremoniously onto the cold hard floor of the fighter bay.

“Are you all right?” asked Daniel.

“I—I think s—so, thank you,” said Allanah breathlessly.

“We got to get out of here and back to C&C”.

Allanah wanted to voice agreement but ended up screaming instead.

The second Spectre had fully reconstructed and was sprinting toward them. Daniel aimed his rifle at the warrior and shot his kneecaps, trying to slow him down, but he only managed to graze him.

Daniel pressed his communicator on his wrist device. “Two to beam directly to C&C.”

The lack of answer was accompanied by sparks from his wrist device.

"Fuck!"

Daniel helped Allanah up and pushed her out of the way as the Spectre headed in their direction. Allanah fell back on the floor a couple of yards away as Daniel took the full blunt of the Spectre’s punch, sending him flying backward. On his way down, Daniel hit his head hard and had to fight with all his might to remain conscious. It was by a sheer miracle that he didn’t lose his grip on his blaster, and when the Spectre turned to head toward Allanah, he mustered all the energy he could find to get back on his feet, set his rifle to supercharged shots, and fired.

The first hit blew off one of the warrior’s legs, forcing him to crawl toward Allanah, who did her best to crawl away from the Spectre.

Daniel’s next shot blew the Spectre’s head clean off, and he kept walking toward the already reconstructing Spectre body. He fired another supercharged shot at the Spectre’s back, creating a sizeable crater in his chest. Then, his weapon warned him that it was overheating.

That gave him an idea and he put the rifle on overload mode and smashed the weapon into the Spectre’s back. The hum emanating from the rifle quickly increased in intensity. Daniel rushed over to help Allanah get up.

“We gotta run or we’ll be incinerated as well.”

She nodded and they ran but before he knew it, Daniel fell flat on the ground, face first.

An extended tendril had grabbed his foot. Allanah grasped a tool from her belt, activated a laser on it, and cut Daniel free just in time. They hid behind a column and Daniel’s rifle exploded.

“These things are hard to kill!” she exclaimed.

“You have no idea! And these are just some dumb foot soldiers. The ones Chase faced before were infinitely more powerful.”

Daniel peeked from behind cover and swore.

“What is it?” asked Allanah.

“These damn things are regenerating already. Both of them.”

“There's no way we can win this fight. We gotta make a run for it.”

They helped each other up and ran toward the exit. Just when they were mere yards from it, the two Spectres caught up and blocked their exit. One aimed a fireball at them.

“They said we have to spare the officers,” argued the other Spectre.

“We're captured more than enough of them already. These are proving too tenacious to be taken as prisoners.”

Daniel squeezed Allanah’s hand. “I’m so sorry. I love you.”

A bright light flashed and blinded everyone in the room for a second. When Daniel lowered his hand from his eyes, he saw a golden silhouette touch both Spectres, and they disappeared from sight.

Daniel let out a long sigh of relief.

“What the hell was that?” asked Allanah.

“I'm pretty sure that was Ares. He must have teleported them away.”

Allanah sighed heavily “That was close.”

Before Daniel could answer, Ares re-appeared.

“Are the two of you all right?”

“We are now, thanks to you.”

“I need to get you out of here and back where to C&C.”

“You read my mind.”

Ares touched them both and teleported them back to C&C.

* * *

Ryonna had dispatched three more Spectres when she came upon another trio. She checked her suit's power level as well as a damage report. The levels were low, which probably meant that the stealth augment was no longer an option. There was no good news in the damage report section of her HUD either. She took a deep breath before engaging them.

She fought like a true warrior of Droxia and managed to disintegrate two of them before running out of grenades. She kept hacking at the last warrior with her blade, but somehow that Spectre was stronger than the ones she had previously dispatched, and its tendrils reconstructed body parts much faster. They grabbed severed limbs in mid-air and immediately reattached them.

She slashed at both the Spectre’s knees in one sweeping motion and ran away, only to be faced with another Spectre blocking her escape route. She could hear the other Spectre behind her walking toward her.

Her mind raced, trying to determine a way to get out of this predicament. She activated the stealth augment of her suit, only to be rewarded with a blinking red message on her HUD. “Primary and backup power fluctuating .... power relay damaged, All systems are shutting down.”

“It can’t end like this,” she thought.

The Spectre facing her aimed a palm toward her and a miniature blackhole came to life. It exerted a strange pull on her. Before Ryonna understood what was going on, part of her soul began to be forcefully ripped from her body.

I guess they’re done taking prisoners.

She fought against the pull with all her might, but her soul was being ripped away from her body one inch at a time.

Suddenly, a sizeable hole burst through the Spectre’s chest.

She felt her soul snatched back into her body and she lost her balance and fell on her back. The Spectre approaching her from behind was so near she could almost sense him. Ryonna grabbed her blaster, set it to lasso mode, turned back, and fired five times at the approaching enemy.

Five bands of blue energy hit him, three on the upper body and two on the legs, forcing the Spectre to lose balance and crash in front of her. She turned back around to see a blade decapitate the other Spectre—as well as seeing the person who had saved her.

Altair grabbed three grenades and shoved them in the already closing hole in the Spectre’s chest before grabbing the warrior by one arm and spinning him as hard as he could to throw him as far as possible. Altair managed to catapult the Spectre a good fifteen yards away from them before he exploded in mid-air.

“That’s twice now that you’ve saved my life,” said Ryonna.

"No need to keep a running tally, you know.”

Ryonna smiled.

“Watch out behind you!” he yelled.

* * *

“Are you done, Hyperion? I can sense that my friends are in danger,” asked Chase impatiently.

“Almost. Another minute or two and the field preventing you from teleporting should be nullified,” said Hyperon.

“That's all well and good, but I’m not sure Ryonna has a minute left.”

“I assure you I’m working as fast as I possibly can. The weapons are ready. With them, your forces on Alkyon One should be able to defeat their foes with ease.”

“What do the weapons do, exactly? And can we use them against Ashra?”

“They’re effect is twofold. They paralyze them and then revert their DNA.”

“I thought you said they wouldn’t survive the reversion process.”

“They won’t. That’s kind of the point. They'll neutralize these Spectres either way.”

Chase could sense that Ryonna was in mortal danger, just as he had sensed Daniel in a similar predicament earlier. However, that sense of urgency had diminished, so Chase assumed that Daniel had managed to deal with that particular threat.

“Come on, hurry up!” thought Chase.

2

When four warriors stepped into her office unannounced, Athena knew something was up.

“Please don’t resist and accompany us,” said one of them.

“I’m afraid I’m going to have to disappoint you,” responded Athena. “And last I checked, you don’t give orders to the ruler of Olympus.”

“Our master doesn’t recognize the legitimacy of your rule,” said another.

“That sucks for him. The way I see it, he’s already dead. The question that remains now is whether you’re willing to join his fate.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. You don’t stand a chance at one against four.”

Athena got up from her desk and her golden aura increased to fill half of the office.

“Last chance,” she warned.

All four warriors jumped at her at once. She blocked their attacks with ease and it didn’t take long before the last of the warrior fell on the floor of her now bloodied office. She dusted herself off and cleaned the blood that had splattered on her face.

The last warrior was still alive, barely. It didn’t take much convincing for her to extract the name of their so-called master. Neither was it a surprise to learn that the regent had been the one conspiring against her.

“I guess Menelas was right. Time may have come for some Zeus-style retribution to put a stop to this uprising.”

* * *

“Thank you, Ares,” said Daniel.

“You’re perfectly welcome, Daniel,” Ares responded.

“Where did you teleport these two Spectres?”

Ares turned and pointed at the energy beams that had opened a hole and were currently keeping said hole open.

“Barbecued Spectres, huh?” said Allanah with a smirk. “I like it. Can we order some more?”

“Not a bad idea,” said Daniel. “Can you teleport more of them out there?”

Before Ares could answer, his golden energy flickered, and he fell to his knees.

“Ares!” shouted Daniel, “what’s happening?”

The Olympian had a hard time speaking. “I … I don’t know. I feel … an external energy is ... affecting me.”

“I take it back,” said Allanah. “Perhaps this wasn’t such a good idea in the first place.”

“What can we do for you?” asked Daniel.

More flashes of bright energy burst within Ares’ golden humanoid energy form and he screamed.

“We need to help him!” exclaimed Allanah.

“I’m afraid he lives on a different plane of existence than we do. Perhaps Chase would know what to do, but I certainly don't.”

Ares flashed a couple of more times and disappeared altogether.

“What just happened. Is he …?” asked Allanah.

“I sure hope not.”

Hawthorn approached them.

“What is it, Lieutenant Commander?”

“We’ve got reports of two-dozen dispatched enemy combatants so far, but forty more Spectres have beamed on the station.”

“If we can’t stop this influx of Spectres soon, we’ll lose the station. And where is the damn Fury destroyer fleet?”

"Still no sign, I'm afraid."

"It's one bad piece of news after another. If there ever was a time we could use their contingent of Fury warriors, it's today. We're not equipped to repel Spectres on our own, but they certainly could."

"I know, sir, but we've been hailing them for a while now and haven't gotten anything back."

"Damn them. We should never have trusted them in the first place!"

Hurry up, Chase, we need you now more than ever.

* * *

Ryonna turned and watched in horror as the remaining Spectre broke free of his energy bonds. Instinctively, she fired additional lasso shots, but this time, the enemy dispelled the shots by slashing through them.

She recalibrated her blaster for maximum power shots when Altair sped past her and slashed his sword at the Spectre. It went through but had little effect. As soon as the blade cut his thick dark hide, the wound repaired itself on the spot.

The Spectre blocked Altair’s next attempt at slashing the warrior in two by trapping the blade with both palms. The warrior flexed his impressive muscles and the blade snapped into pieces. He then kicked Altair so hard that he crashed into the wall. As Altair’s body slid to the ground, he lost consciousness.

Ryonna repeatedly fired her blaster at the Spectre, punching small holes into his hide, but they almost instantly filled back up with black goo, repairing the damage on the fly. For the first time in her life, Ryonna didn’t know what else she could do. With her suit out of power and her weapons ineffective, she couldn’t see a way out.

Chase, if you hear me, I could use your help right about now.

She thought she heard an answer, but she didn’t know if she had imagined it.

I’m coming. Find a way to hang on for just a little while longer.

The Spectre’s eyes flashed and he fired two laser-thin rays of energy from them that cut through Ryonna’s knees, forcing her to fall onto them with excruciating pain. If she were to die today, she would die as a proud Droxian warrior, and so she ignored the pain and stared straight up into her enemy’s eyes.

“You’re an impressive warrior,” he said. “It will be an honor to add your soul to my collection.”

“Fuck you! Your words mean nothing to me,” spat Ryonna.

The Spectre laughed as he aimed his palm toward her, and soon Ryonna’s soul was extracted from her body. She used all the energy she could muster to keep her soul inside her body. She managed to counteract the pull with the sheer will of her determination.

“Impressive, very impressive ... but this is futile,” said the Spectre.

The pull strengthened and her soul continued to slip out of her body, one inch at a time.

Ronan, I love you. I’m sorry I won’t be there to see you grow old.

A shadow filled her field of view, and the pull on her soul abruptly stopped. For a second, Ryonna thought that Chase had arrived, but what her eyes showed her was a far more horrific scene.

Altair had placed himself in between her and the Spectre, and now his soul was being siphoned instead of hers.

“Noooooo!” she screamed. "Don't do this!" Her heart filled with dread and sadness as she helplessly witnessed Altair's soul being consumed by the enemy.

His lips opened and Altair spoke his last words. “I love ...”

Before he could finish, his soulless body fell into Ryonna’s arms. His skin had lost all color, and his tears dripped onto her hands.

Her hands trembled as she held onto Altair’s corpse, and tears of her own travelled down her cheeks and fell on Altair’s gray and lifeless face. “Why? Why did you do this!?” she screamed.

“He received a warrior’s death,” said the Spectre.

“Shut the fuck up! I’m going to kill you with my bare hands!” she shrieked.

“No, you won’t. You can’t even stand. But fear not, you won't suffer for much longer, and I'll help you join your friend.”

The Spectre aimed his hand to grab Ryonna’s soul next, but before she could stop the pull, his hand exploded. He screamed as the rest of his body was consumed bit by bit by an invisible force.

Ryonna heard footsteps behind her and didn’t need to turn around to know who it was. Chase walked past her and finished off the Spectre. It was only when he turned around that she witnessed the look of shock in his eyes.

“No … oh, gods no!” He fell onto his knees.

Ryonna tried to speak, but she was having a hard time “If only … you had arrived a minute earlier.”

Chase made fists and his aura kept growing. He squeezed his fists with such force that blood dripped through his fingers like waterfalls. He rose back to his feet, tears of rage forming in his eyes.

He unleashed an animalistic roar that made the entire station shake before he vanished into thin air.

* * *

When Chase reappeared, he was in front of Ashra, and before she could react, he punched through her ribcage, grabbed her black heart, and ripped it out of her.

Shocked by what had just happened, she took two steps back while Chase closed his fist around her heart and consumed it on a molecular level.

Chase had lost control over his emotions, and there was rage in eyes and hatred in his heart. He extended his palm forward and burned a basketball-sized hole through her chest with a beam of orange energy.

“I’m coming back for you, bitch. This ends today! I won’t let you kill any more of my friends! You hear me?”

Ashra tried to speak but a large quantity of black blood oozed from her mouth and dripped down her chin. Eventually, she managed to laugh and recover the ability to speak.

“You’re right about one thing, Chase. It will end today, just not the way you think.”

“We’ll have to see about that.”

“Oh yes ... we will.”

“I’ll be back,” promised Chase before teleporting away.

“I’m counting on it,” said Ashra as the hole in her chest quickly mended itself.

* * *

Chase teleported back into C&C.

“Chase!” exclaimed Daniel. “Thank the gods you’re here.”

Chase took a deep breath but didn’t answer. He didn't even look at Daniel.

“What’s going on, Chase?” asked Daniel. “What happened?”

“It’s … it's Altair. They … they got to him before I could get here.”

“Oh no. I’m so sorry, Chase. I know it's the last thing you want to hear right now, but more Spectres are beaming in, and I fear that if we don’t stop them, we’ll lose a lot more good men and women.”

Ares re-appeared and toppled over.

“Ares!” shouted Chase. "What's happening?"

Ares was in no shape to answer.

“What’s with him?” demanded Chase.

“We don’t know,” said Allanah. “He beamed two of the Spectres that were trying to kill us into those energy beams outside, and he’s been like this ever since.”

Chase fired multiple white fireballs at Ares. Little by little, his energy form stopped flickering and Ares managed to get back on his feet.

“Did that help?” asked Chase.

“Yes ... it did,” said Ares quietly. “Thank you, Chase.”

“I'm sorry I didn't get here earlier, but Hyperion warned me that if I teleported, there was a high probability that I could die. Perhaps the field that prevented me from getting back on Alkyon faster is also responsible for your current state, since you teleported while the field was still in place.”

“And yet they beamed themselves up onto the station,” said Hawthorn.

“Beaming and teleporting aren’t two different things,” said Chase. “They both achieve the same result, yes, but the method is different. Since it's their tech as well, even if teleporters were used, surely they made sure the tech wouldn't affect them.”

“So, what you're saying is that I may have been compromised by this field of theirs?” asked Ares.

“That would be my guess, yes,” replied Chase. “And my help is only a temporary fix. I hope your current state is reversible, but unfortunately we can’t worry about that right now.”

Ares nodded. “Agreed ... for now. I feel much better, so I guess I should help you by beaming these bastards into space.”

“I’m not sure that’s such a good idea.”

“Why the hell not?”

“Because the more energy you deploy, the faster what little energy I gave you will dissipate. Unless I specifically call upon you, you should stay here and use your teleportation ability only as a last resort.”

“But Chase⁠—”

"Don't force me to make that an order, Ares. You're in no shape to help me right now and you know it."

"Very well.”

“Speaking of last resort," said Daniel, "maybe you should hurry and go kill as many Spectres as you can. It’s not that I’m not happy to see you, but …”

“Right. I’ll go deal with them, and quickly take out as many as I can. Kharon should be here shortly. She's bringing weapons specifically designed to kill Spectres. Once she gets here, have her distribute the weapons to as many of the crew as you can.”

“Will do.”

Chase stared briefly at Daniel, and he gave him a nod before teleporting away.

“He’s the most powerful warrior we know, right?” asked Allanah.

“That he is, why?” asked Daniel.

“I just wonder if maybe he could blow up these motherships out there. Or at very least blow up the parts that are responsible for those damn beams.”

“It’s too dangerous,” said Ares. “In doing so, he could create a tear in space and time.”

“Under the circumstances, maybe it’s worth the risk?” suggested Allanah.

“Trust me,” responded Daniel, “it’s not. If it creates a blackhole right outside the station, we’d be toast faster than it would take the Spectres to take the station. Not to mention it would destroy our fleet as well. Now that Chase is here, and the rest of our friends will join us shortly, the Spectres’ plan to take over the station is compromised.”

“Still, we need to figure out a way to stop these beams,” said Hawthorn, “‘cause they sure must know Chase is here.”

“Why? What makes you say that?”

“Because they’re sending Spectres by the hundreds.”

“Oh shit!”

* * *

Kharon teleported in Command and Control with two large crates of weapons.

“Hi, Kharon," said Daniel, "it's sure good to see you.”

“Likewise. So, Daniel, please show me a map of this place.”

He used a holo-screen to display a map of Alkyon One. “Why do you need this? I can already tell you where to go distribute the weapons.”

“There are more weapons on the way but for now, this is just to fend off as many of the enemy as your personnel can.”

“I see.”

“There. Please transmit these coordinates to Atlantis the moment it gets here, and they’ll beam more weapons into this cargo bay. You may want to inform your troops the moment the weapons arrive. I’d love to stay and chat, but I’d better go distribute these batches here and there,” said Kharon, pointing on the holo-map. "Let the right people know where to find them, and tell them to hurry. These will now change the balance of power of their engagements."

“Will do.”

Kharon put her hands on the crates and teleported away.

* * *

Chase had dispatched several dozens of Spectres around the station and once Kharon had delivered the weapon crates, she joined in the fight.

“Daniel,” said Chase over the comms, “what's our situation?”

“Atlantis is five minutes away, but we’re still killing Spectres slower than they can send them.”

“Dammit!”

“But in five minutes, when Atlantis arrives, they can blow out these beams, right?”

“I’m not so sure.”

“What? I thought you said it’s a very powerful ship.”

“When working at full power it is. Unfortunately, right now it's having a ton of issues with its power relays. So, for the time being, I don't think Atlantis can join the fight. In fact, I suspect that we’ll have to provide it with cover.”

“That’s less than ideal, considering our current predicament.”

“I'm well aware of that, Daniel. However, these are the cards we've been dealt with. Fortunately, Poseidon gave me most of the Asgardian ships he had in reserve so, hopefully, that will be enough firepower to deal with the beams, as well as protect Atlantis. We can’t afford to lose that if we want to destroy these motherships.”

“Understood.”

* * *

The ultraspace window opened atop Alkyon One and Atlantis was the first to emerge. It rivaled a Spectre mothership is size, but emitted a much stronger power signature. Dozens upon dozens of destroyers, dreadnaughts, and escorts followed it out of the ultraspace window—including the battleship Victory.

“Open a channel,” ordered Talon. “Give me fleet wide.”

“Channel opened,” said Tar’Lock.

“This is Commodore Talon Epizon. I’m taking command of the fleet. I’ve monitored your situation on our way to the battle. Our first priority is to turn off these beams, no matter the cost. We believe we know where to hit the ships to make that happen, but first we must lower their shields, or perhaps take a page from their books and open up a hole in theirs. Once that's done, maybe we can beam tactical nukes through to take out their systems.

“I’m sending you targeting assignments, and re-tasking the ships that have exhausted a lot of their ordnance in defensive positions around Atlantis. I can’t overstate how vital it is that Atlantis is protected at all costs. If it falls, it could cost us the war, which isn't an option. I know that’s a lot to ask of all of you, but if need be, don’t hesitate to sacrifice your ship and your crew to protect Atlantis. Epizon out.” Talon looked to the side. “Tar’Lock, you know what to do.”

Tar’Lock entered a flurry of commands at speeds defying the imagination, dispatching Talon’s orders to the fleet.

“Give me Daniel on Alkyon One,” requested Talon.

Tar’Lock signaled him with a nod that the channel had been opened.

Daniel’s face filled the Victory’s main holo-screen.

“Good to see you, Talon, and not a minute too soon. We sure could use your help.”

“Hello, Daniel. That's funny. I was about to say the same thing to you.”

Daniel’s eyes widened. “You were? I’m listening.”

“I'm thinking we need to fire both our Heracles Cannons in concert. Try and lower one of these mothership’s shields, take one of these beams out of commission, and hopefully that will break its cumulative effect on Alkyon's shields.”

“If we fire the Heracles Cannon, we’ll consume an enormous amount of power. Since we boast the latest Asgardian pentalium upgrades, it won't turn off all systems like it does on our ships, but it will reduce the shield’s strength for about thirty seconds.”

“I am aware of that, but unless you have a better idea, we have to try it. As I'm sure you're aware, right now they keep pouring more soldiers into your station. They’re not attacking the rest of the fleet, though, and I suspect that's because all their power is tied up maintaining the beams.”

“That, or they could just be tricking us into thinking so, and laying a trap for us.”

Talon hadn’t thought of that, and while Daniel’s logic was sound, he still thought it was their best bet.

“I think we’re gonna have to take that chance.”

“I’m adding Cedric to the call.”

“Hello everyone,” said Cedric. “I think I can give you some extra juice so that it minimizes the risks either way.”

“We’re listening,” said Daniel.

“It’s quite technical and right now I don’t think either of you cares how I manage to do this, as long as I do it, right?”

Talon smiled. “I like you, new chief engineer … and he’s right. The only thing that matters is lowering the risk of collapsing Alkyon’s shields. I say we target one of these ships together. I’ll task another two of my ships to use their own cannons and the rest of the fleet can provide them cover while their system is temporarily brought down after firing. Even if their version of the cannon is less powerful than ours, adding them to the overall firepower of this maneuver should ensure we succeed in lowering the enemy shields long enough to nuke that beam power relay.”

“It’s starting to sound like a plan,” said Daniel with a weary smile.

“I’m glad you agree.”

* * *

Talon was pacing on board the bridge of the Victory.

“Are we ready to fire?” asked Talon.

“Yes, Captain,” said Tar’Lock, “all systems are in the green, and all accompanying ships’ firing systems have been slaved to ours. Alkyon One is also reporting that they’re ready to fire.”

Talon took a deep breath. “On my mark … fire!”

The Victory, as well as the other two Alliance ships, fired their Heracles Cannon on a single Spectre mothership. Almost immediately, Alkyon One fired as well. Four distinct golden plasma beams of energy hit their shields and they flickered madly.

“Is it working?” asked Talon.

“Shields down to twenty percent … seventeen … we’re not gonna make it in time.”

“Dammit!”

“I’m detecting a hyperspace window forming near the motherships.”

“What? Are there more Spectre reinforcements?”

“I can’t tell because the cannons are creating too much sensor interference.”

Talon walked to the viewport and opted to make visual identification as the ships emerged. Ten Droxian destroyers, in tight formation, emerged from the large hyperspace window. They had their tractor beams locked on something behind them.

“What the hell are they towing?”

A massive, highly battle-damaged Fury superdestroyer emerged behind them.

“Now, that’s timing,” said Talon. “Time to Heracles Cannon shutdown?”

“Eighteen seconds,” said Tar’Lock.

“Let’s hope it’s going to be enough time.”

“Time for what, Captain?”

“I think we’re about to find out.”

The Droxian ships maneuvered in precise concert to slingshot the Fury shipwreck toward the mothership. Every Spectre starfighter wing in the area broke off their engagement with Alliance forces and fired all their missiles at the Fury superdestroyer being hurled toward one of their motherships. But their efforts would be in vain, as there was no stopping the wrecked ship’s volition.

The Fury superdestroyer crashed into the enemy's shields, bringing them down. As it smashed and splintered through the hull of the mothership, large multiple explosions detonated throughout the hull of the mothership. Their beams glimmered and died, and while the mothership didn’t blow up, all lights on the massive ship flickered for a moment, then died.

The other two motherships turned off their beams and a few seconds later, all hell broke loose. The two remaining motherships entered the fight with full force, targeting the nearest destroyers and pounding them with their superior firepower.

“We did it,” declared Tar’Lock.

“Yes, we did. But in doing so, we may have awakened the dragon. Now that they’re no longer using all their power to open a hole through Alkyon’s shield, they are forced to change tactics, and they’ll divert all that power into exterminating our ships. We knew that would be the case though; let's hope we didn't miscalculate.”

“How long until Atlantis can enter this fight?”

A flurry of torpedoes flew through the Victory's defensive barrage fire and impacted with its shields. The ship rocked heavily, and lights blinked on the bridge. Sparks bursts from a few nearby power conduits.

“I have no idea, Tar’Lock, but the sooner the better.”

“We’re getting hailed by … Ronan.”

“On screen.”

Ronan’s face filled the main viewscreen.

“I have to say, Captain Is’chys,” said Talon, “that was some seriously good timing on your part. In fact, we didn’t expect you at all.”

“That’s exactly why we decided to come, and why I waited for the right sensor readings to exit hyperspace when I did.”

“And we appreciate that, Captain. I’m just surprised your government would sanction this course of action after the many tragedies that have befallen your world. Looks like you took most if not all your contingent of ships.”

“It took some convincing, but I’ve inherited my mother’s innate sense of persuasion.”

“I’m glad to hear it, Captain, and thanks again for coming.”

“You’re welcome, Commodore. Glad to be of assistance. The Droxian people, as always, stand side by side with the Alliance.”

3

“Status report?” asked Talon.

“Shields down to forty percent and holding,” said Tar’Lock. “But we’ve lost five ships already.”

“Where are the damn Furies? I thought they had agreed to help us win this war.”

“I don't know. They should have returned from their patrol hours ago.”

Talon swore. Never again should we count on unreliable allies.

“We have another more pressing issue, though,” advised Tar’Lock.

“And what would that be?”

“Ever since we took out one mothership, the other two have completely changed their targeting priorities.”

“Let me guess … Atlantis.”

“That’s correct. The fleet is protecting them as best as they can, but they won’t be able to hold forever. How long are we supposed to put the entire fleet at stake to defend a single ship?”

“It’s not just any ship, Tar'Lock. According to Chase, once it’s ready, it should be able to finish this fight, mostly on its own.”

“Not if our fleet and Alkyon One are both destroyed. By diverting the fleet to protect Atlantis, we’re putting everything on the line. I’ve known Chase longer than you, and I usually trust his instincts. But I don't know … this time around … I'm feeling like we're making a mistake.”

Talon was very well aware of the assessment of the situation, but he had learned to trust Chase in these matters. And until he saw a reason to question this strategy, he intended to keep following his orders.

“I’ll be right back,” said Talon as he walked into his ready room. He opened a channel to Chase on his desk holo-screen.

“What is it, Talon?”

“It seems that the enemy is determined to bring Atlantis down, now that they can't beam more troops on the station. I don’t know how long we can keep them off Atlantis' back.”

“For as long as it takes, Talon.”

“That may not be an option. Eventually, they’ll hack through our fleet, and when that time comes, if Atlantis isn’t ready, we could lose this war.”

“I’m aware of that, and I fully intend to have cut off the head of the snake by then.”

“And if you fail?”

Chase didn’t answer right away. “Failure isn't an option, not today.”

Talon sighed. “Well, I hope you know what you’re doing.”

“As do I. I’ll do my best to buy our engineering team more time to get Atlantis ready to finish his fight. Your orders remain unchanged, but you're the fleet commander and I trust you. As soon as we engage Ashra, we'll probably be out of touch, so go with your instincts.”

"Understood. Good luck with facing Ashra, Chase. You're gonna need it."

"As will you with this battle. Chase out."

* * *

“What is it? Mother, I thought you'd be pleased to see me,” asked Ronan through the holo-channel.

“I am but, something terrible happened."

"What is it? Are you all right?"

"It’s Altair. He … he’s gone.”

“I’m so sorry to hear that. I know he meant a lot to you.”

Ryonna wasn't sure how comfortable she was discussing her feelings for Altair with her son—especially with his father back in the picture. So, Ryonna decided to steer the conversation away from that topic. “Enough about me. What are you doing here? It’s the last place I thought you’d be.”

“I’m no longer a kid, Mom, and my place is on my ship, fighting for my people and the Alliance.”

Ryonna sighed. “I know, Ronan, and I'm very proud of you. It's just that I already lost someone important to me today. I—I don’t want to lose my son as well.”

“I understand how you feel, but need I remind you that you saved me multiple times in the past? Perhaps today, you should let me save you.”

The grief of losing Altair had been harder to deal with than Ryonna thought. She loved him, there was no question about it, but it had taken his death for her to realize how much she actually did.

“Very well, Ronan, but please be careful. No unnecessary risks, okay?”

“I can’t promise that, and you know it.”

“Fair enough. I heard what you did. That was both an impressive and ingenious move.”

“When it comes to thinking outside the box, as the humans say, I’ve learned from the best. Can I …”

“Yes, Ronan, what is it?”

“Can I ask how Altair died?”

“Sacrificing himself to save my soul. I never would have asked him to do that.”

“I know you, but it was his choice, and I realize it's selfish of me of me to say this, but I’m glad he was there for you.”

I’m not.

“When this all over,” added Ronan, “I’d like to help you out with the funeral arrangements, if that's okay. Altair died a hero, and that’s how we should remember and honor him.”

Ryonna did her best to prevent tears from forming in her eyes, but she failed miserably. “I’d like that. Thank you, son.”

The holo-feed flickered and the image of her son grew unstable.

“I’m sorry, Mother, but I gotta go. This battle is only beginning.”

The holo-channel turned off.

With tears streaming down her face, Ryonna turned back to the lifeless body of Altair lying in the morgue. As she reached out to touch his stone-cold face, memories flooded her mind—memories of their time together, their laughter, their love. She knew that Altair had sacrificed his life to save her, and even though she would have done the same for him without thinking about it, she couldn't help but let grief and regret fill her heart.

“I know it’s too late now … and I’m sorry, Altair. For what it’s worth, the answer to your proposal is yes.”

* * *

Now that the Spectres hadn't managed to beam any more troops on board the ship, Chase and Kharon managed to kill most of the Spectre warriors in a short period of time. The crew of Alkyon One did the rest with their new anti-Spectre weapons, of which there were more than enough to locate and kill the last of them.

Chase decided to teleport back on Atlantis. “Let’s hail Ashra. It’s time we finish this fight,” he said.

Hyperion opened a holo-channel.

“What do you want, Fury?” demanded a mad Ashra.

“You know what I want: to kill you.”

“Then we have that in common. You and your friends can beam onto my personal ship any time you please. I’m detaching it from my mothership, so we won’t be interrupted by that petty battle outside.”

“It’s a trap,” warned Hyperion. “She wants to cut you off from the rest of the fleet so that you can't interfere or help with the space battle.”

Ashra smiled. “How astute, and who may you be, old man?”

“His name is of no importance to you,” said Chase.

“Or we could fight on Alkyon One, if you prefer?” asked Ashra with a smirk.

Obviously, that was the last place Chase wanted this battle to take place. Too many possibilities for casualties, even though Ashra had already brought chaos and death upon the station.

“I was thinking more along the lines of the planet below,” said Chase.

“I don’t think so. It’s my ship or nothing. You choose.”

Chase looked at Hyperion, who shook his head vehemently. Chase took a deep breath. “Your ship it is, but I have one condition.”

“I’m listening.”

“I want a cease fire while we fight. You and I both know this is between you and me.”

“You flatter yourself, Fury.”

“This is my condition to come onboard your ship for the fight, so take it or leave it. We can always destroy each other’s ships out there, and then fight in the void of space until there’s nothing left.”

“You’re bluffing.”

“You know what? I'm seriously considering blowing up your ship with my bare hands, even if that creates a blackhole. I can even live with the consequences, as long as I'm certain that you’re swallowed into it for all eternity.”

“You’d never sacrifice that many lives, so why don't you stop making empty threats?”

“That’s where you’re wrong. The alternative is you roaming free in a multiverse of dimensions, where you'll kill every living being. I’ve decided that if we must all die to take you out, then so be it.”

Ashra growled and gave Chase a very long cold glare.

Chase wondered if telling her he was ready to sacrifice everything and everyone was such a good idea, but he needed to buy his friends the time they needed to get Atlantis back to its former glory.

Chase truly wasn’t prepared to sacrifice everyone, at least not unless it was the only way to win. But if it came to losing the war or taking her out alongside them, it was something he’d consider, however reluctantly.

“Very well, I’ll order the cease fire and send you a set of coordinates for us to have our fight. But if I were you, I’d say goodbye to your loved ones now—oh wait. They’re coming to die with you, I presume. Never mind then.”

Chase didn’t let Ashra’s taunting faze him and simply turned off the holo-transmission.

“Have you completely lost your mind?” asked Hyperion. “She most certainly found a way to trap you there. Fighting on her terms is a terrible idea. She could have a flurry of surprises waiting for you and the others once you get there.”

“I know, and in fact I’m pretty sure that’s why she insisted that much, but I also know she tends to be overconfident, and maybe that's something we can exploit to our advantage.”

“How so?”

“I don’t know yet, but I'll try and figure out a way to teleport her to the planet below.”

“She would have thought of that, surely, and is prepared for it,” said Hyperion.

“Perhaps, but I don’t see that we have any other choice. Both the fleet and Atlantis are taking too much of a beating at the moment, and you need time to fix the ship so that you can bring this space battle to an end. We're in the endgame now, this war ends today, one way or another.”

* * *

“How close are you to restoring power to Atlantis?” asked Chase.

“Not close enough, I’m afraid,” replied Spiros. “With Yanis and the others now on board though, it should go faster. But even splitting in groups, this is still a massive ship, with tons of subsystems to recalibrate.”

“Well, hopefully, I managed to give you a little more time to complete repairs, though I don’t know how long that will last.”

“Right, that would explain why the ships have stopped firing. The respite will definitely help. And we’ll take every minute we get, even if it doesn’t last.”

“This is just posturing on Ashra’s part. The moment she sees an opening—while we're occupied fighting her—she’ll try and use that to her advantage. Of that, I’m certain. That’s why I instructed the fleet to stay on high alert, keeping their shields up, and their standing orders remain the same. They have to protect this ship no matter what, until you guys have it ready to finish this fight.”

“Chase, this is technology so far ahead of ours, and while Gaia seems to have a good grasp interacting with it, I still can't tell whether we’re hours or days away from finding a solution.”

Chase smile. “Well, I’ll take the first estimate then.”

“That’s not how it works and you know it.”

“I know, but we don’t have another choice right now, and I have faith in all of you. I know you'll prevail and figure out a way to make it work. We either win this engagement … or it won’t matter anymore. If she wins this fight, nothing and no one will be able to stop her, at least not in this dimension.”

Spiros took a deep breath. “Very well. Good luck with the fight then. Something tells me that you’ll need it.”

* * *

Chase and every one else, including Siegfried and Fenrir, teleported inside a Spectre structure.

“Welcome,” greeted Ashra. “I’ve been waiting for this moment ever since our last fight.”

The team looked around. Chase noticed through the giant viewport that they were moving away from the motherships, and confirmed that they had beamed onto Ashra's personal ship, which was now distancing itself from the motherships.

“What’s going on?” asked Chase. “Why are we distancing ourselves from the fleet?”

“I thought it best,” replied Ashra, “to have a private place dedicated solely for our fight—not that I don’t trust you to sabotage my flagship from within but …”

“You don’t trust us,” said Chris. “Nor do we trust you.”

“As mentioned earlier, this is my private ship, and I evacuated all its personnel. Before you attempt to hack it with your wacky mind powers, know that it only responds to manual commands that have been authenticated with my DNA—in case you get ideas in the unlikely event you manage to incapacitate me.”

Siegfried took a step forward. “We’re not here to sabotage your puny ships. We’ve come on board with only one goal: to kill you.”

Ashra clapped her hands together a couple of times.

“I must say that I’m surprised to see you here, Asgardian. But then again, that will make things easier since I had already decided to add your soul to my collection. That will save me the trouble of hunting you down later. Thank you.”

Siegfried growled.

“In fact,” Ashra continued, “I’m surprised to see you all came in to fight me. I would think you’d be smarter than that, Chase, and that you’d make sure to keep your kids as far away from me as you could.”

“They’re no longer kids, as you’ll discover for yourself.”

She pointed a finger at Kharon. “That one surely is, and she’s a treacherous daughter at that.”

“I’m not your daughter, bitch! I never was,” exclaimed Kharon.

“She’s just trying to get under your skin,” said Argos in her mind, “in the hope of making you angry and breaking your focus. Don’t give her the satisfaction, Kharon.”

“You keep telling yourself that, child,” said Ashra.

“Enough of this bullshit,” screamed Nyx before darting forward.

Ashra smiled and easily parried her attack and blocked the next punch by using telekinetic energy.

“This,” said Nyx through clenched teeth, “is ... not … possible.”

“Oh but it is,” said Ashra before sending Nyx crashing through a wall with just a flick of her fingers.

Upon impact, Nyx lost consciousness.

“Hmm," said Ashra with a frown. "I gotta say that this was very anticlimactic. So ... who’s next?”

* * *

“I think we’re looking at this the wrong way,” said Yanis.

“What do you mean?” asked Gaia.

“We’re trying to repair too many of these power relays and subsystems, and we clearly don’t have enough time to do that. Even with the cease fire, it could be days until we're through with all the repairs.”

“And I take it that you have a better idea?”

“I do, but it’s an unconventional one, not to mention it isn't devoid of risks.”

“Tell us anyway.”

“What if, instead of focusing on all these power systems, we created a unified one? And just reroute the damaged relays to bypass them and centralized all of that power into a single ultra powerful power core?”

“That’s an intriguing proposal, but you were right when you said it could be dangerous. If that massive core is compromised in any way, all systems would lose power at once. That cascade event could event end up destroying Atlantis.”

“And if we can’t make the repairs on time, because there’s simply too many systems to deal with at the moment, we’ll never get Atlantis to where it needs to be in terms of power to deal with these motherships.”

“Have you asked Hyperion about it?”

“I have and he said you were to take the lead as far as decisions goes.”

“I wonder why he said that. It doesn’t make any sense. It's his city—I mean, ship.”

“Yes it is, but after Hyperion, you’re the foremost expert we have on his technology.”

“That’s definitely not true. I understand it better, yes, but that doesn't make me an expert.”

“Okay, then let me rephrase this: of all of us, with the exception of Hyperion, you’re the one with the better grasp on Atlantean tech. If it weren’t for you, we would never have found it in the first place.”

“I’m still surprised he’d let me decide where we go with this, since this is his ship. He knows it better than all of us combined.”

“I have a hypothesis, but you’re not gonna like it.”

“Tell me anyway.”

“I think he realized that he’s been compromised too much already. His physical body is near death, and while we managed to stabilize his stasis pod, we may have done it too late as far as his cognitive functions are concerned.”

“Are you saying he’s senile?”

“I wouldn’t put it quite that way, but I think he realizes that his abilities have been greatly affected in that department and as such, the safest course of action to avoid a catastrophic mistake is to defer to the one person he thinks could do the best job, and that’s certainly you.”

“I see. No pressure then. As for the power core, how long do you think until we can put this plan in place?”

“An hour, maybe two. And that's with throwing caution to the wind.”

“That still may be too late if the cease fire doesn’t last. And I can guarantee that Ashra will break it the second she realizes she can take advantage over us in doing so. In fact, I'm surprised it hasn't happened yet.”

“I could try and devise a way to disable more safety protocols than I'd be comfortable with, but if I mess up …”

“We blow up along Atlantis.”

“Exactly.”

“Then let’s try to avoid that whenever possible, and keep it in reserve if we run out of time.”

“You’re the boss, boss.”

“Please don’t call me that.”

* * *

“Nyx!” shouted Chris.

Chris ran toward Nyx when Ashra made her next move. Chase anticipated it and positioned himself in her path. She fired a fireball at him that he had no problems blocking, but it gave her ample time to adjust her trajectory and she reached Chris before he could heal Nyx. She kneed him in the face, sending him flying and tumbling along the ground for several yards. She doubled down and fired a powerful fireball at him, but Argos countered it with one of his own.

Siegfried was the next one to reach Ashra and he unleashed a series of combos that she blocked and dodged with ease. Even when Fenrir added his own attacks, using energy claws and slashing at the Spectre, none connected with her. She was simply too fast for the Guards.

She grabbed both their heads and smashed them together with such force than she managed to knock them unconscious in one swift move.

Taking advantage of the unfortunate situation, Argos managed to land a powerful kick to her face and immediately after, Chase swooped in and with an uppercut, sent her flying upward. Kharon teleported into the air behind her and landed a powerful kick to her back before she could recover.

Chase teleported near Chris, who was struggling to keep conscious, and he gave him back some energy.

Menelas fired multiple fireballs at the still flying Ashra but they didn’t seem to have any effect. Oryn shot a lightning frost attack toward Ashra in the hope she could capture her in ice, but Ashra disappeared into thin air a mere millisecond before the lightning frost bolt connected with her.

“I’m very disappointed,” said Ashra.

Everyone turned toward her and before they could resume their attacks, she snapped her fingers and columns of red energy imprisoned most of the Fury warriors in the room, save for Chase, Chris, and Argos. The Guards didn't receive the same treatment and Chase assumed that Ashra probably didn't see them as a real threat.

The columns of energy acted as a force field, holding the warriors in place and preventing them from moving any muscles.

“You call that fighting fairly?” shouted Chase. “Let them go, you coward!”

“You’d like that, wouldn’t you? And don’t you dare lecture me about fighting fairly when you came to face me nine against one.”

Chase tried to mentally connect with Ashra’s ship computer but he wasn't able to. Not that he expected her previous warning to be a ruse, but he had to try, just to be sure. He then tried sending a telepathic message to Yanis, but he wasn’t able to reach his mind either.

Hyperion was right. She had thought of all contingencies so that Chase and his friends would be cut off from the rest of the Alliance. That's why she had been so adamant in selecting this particular arena. She knew it would give her a great advantage in allowing her to control the outcome through tricks and deception.

Chase tried teleporting behind her and was surprised to discover that his newly regained teleportation power no longer worked.

“You didn’t think I’d let you call for outside help or teleport as you wish in here? How disappointing of you,” smirked Ashra.

“You can cheat all you want, but we’re still going to kill you.”

Ashra laughed. “Keep telling yourself lies all you want, but you’ll soon discover that this ship will become your final resting place. In fact, I’ve become so powerful now that I don’t even need to swallow your pathetic souls any longer. Then again, it would be a waste not to, so I’m sure some of them will end up making a fine addition to my collection. What do you say we start with your son’s?”

Ashra aimed at Chris as he struggled to get back on his feet and Chase darted toward Ashra to counter her. To his surprise, she prevented him from moving with a powerful telekinetic hold.

“No!” thought Chase determinedly. “I need to stop her!”

Chris got back up and caught a glimpse of Ashra grimacing as he tried to intensify her soul-sucking blackhole with no effect.

“What is this devilry?!” she screamed.

“What’s going on?” thought Chase.

The soul dragon spoke inside his mind.

Your armor links your souls with ours, and we’re impervious to such attacks, so as long as the armor isn’t too badly damaged, she won't be able to siphon your souls.

Right, force of habit, I guess. I had forgotten that the soul armor can do this. It should level the playing field a bit.

It would but I’ve noticed that you and your friends have not changed your fighting styles since the fight began. It's like you're treating us as pieces of protective armor and nothing else. Remember to use your new abilities; she won’t expect that.

Except the main power you granted me is teleportation, and she’s just cancelled it.

She’s blocking your power at the moment, true, but that doesn’t mean she will be able to do this during the entire fight. Also, that’s not all the dragon soul armor grants you. You’ve been gifted with the power of fire, so you should use it when it counts. It’s a shame none of you had time to train your individual powers before this confrontation. It would have helped all of you if you had, but the more you use your armor, the easier it will get for you to get a good sense of what they do and how they can help you fight. It's like possessing a second instinct. When you sense this during the battle, make sure you don’t fight it. Just embrace the sensation and let it flow through you, and I’m sure you’ll be amazed by the results.

Understood, thank you.

Frustrated she couldn't snatch Chris' soul, Ashra tried aiming at Chase and snatching his soul instead, but nothing happened. She screamed in frustration.

“I’m sorry, but we have to disappoint you on this matter,” said Chase with a smile. “Basically, your soul-snatching days are over.” His look changed to one that could turn an enemy to stone. “In fact, your days are over. This war ends here, and it ends today!”

“We’ll see about that. I have no intention of losing today, or any other day.”

4

“What has you so frustrated, little one?” asked the soul of the Phoenix.

“You're kidding, right? I can’t move,” said Kharon. “And I can’t even reach my family with my thoughts!”

I understand, but this is just the beginning of this fight. Remember your armor can grant you many powers.

I remember what you told me, but I don’t see how it can help me right now, and I can’t just stay paralyzed and be a witness to this monster trying to kill my family. I have to do something about it!

As our souls progressively merge with yours, which will certainly happen during the fight, you’ll find new ways to use your powers beyond the short overview we gave you. Through sheer instinct, you’ll learn how to truly master these gifts.

Not if I’m executed while being trapped inside this forcefield!

Patience, little one. This fight has only just begun.

Patience isn’t my forte, but you probably know that already.

Indeed, I do. In the meantime, is there someone you want to talk to? Your telepathic powers may have been blocked, but mine are intact and I can act as a conduit to reach anyone who is also a wearer.

Can you, really?

I would not have told you so if it weren’t true.

Kharon thought about it and she was surprised by the first person that popped into her mind. Can I speak to Nyx? Even though she’s unconscious?

You can, but it will take the form of a dream.

I don’t care. I’d like to talk to her anyway.

Kharon’s point of view changed and she was no longer surrounded by a red force field, unable to move; instead, she was on a desolate planet with strong winds blasting razor sharp sand into Kharon’s face. From time to time, sharp grains of sand would make small incisions on her skin, but her regenerative powers allowed her to heal almost instantly.

Nyx stood a few yards in front of her, her back facing Kharon.

“What is this place?” asked Kharon.

Nyx turned. “We’re on my home world, Erevos,” Nyx told her. “Which means that I’m dreaming.”

“Not exactly. Ashra took you out of commission with a single blow ... sorry.”

“As a rule, I tend not to trust uninvited guests inside my dreams. What do you want?”

“I assure you that I’m not lying, but I’m sure you’ll regain consciousness soon enough. I hope that happens soon, because we clearly need you to win this fight.”

“That I can believe. Still, assuming you’re somehow managing to address me telepathically in my current state, why are you here and what is it you want?”

“I just wanted to thank you. I should have done that earlier.”

Nyx twitched. “Thank me? What the hell for?”

“For saving my life, at the risk of losing yours. If it weren’t for you, the Spectre DNA extraction would have failed.”

“And you know this how?”

“The soul of the Phoenix told me.”

Nyx sighed. “I’m not sure I like the idea of having a second soul interfering with me, let alone talking back to me. I find it highly disconcerting, and it's going to take some getting used to. As for your thanks, well, you can keep it. I don’t know what took over me, risking my life for a stranger. Trust me when I say that it’s a mistake I never intend to repeat as long as I'm alive.”

“There is good in you, Nyx, I can sense it, and so can my brother, or he wouldn’t have fallen in love with you.”

“None of your business, and you’re wrong; I always think of myself first.”

“Feel free to lie to yourself all you want, Nyx. I wanted to make sure, in case one of us leaves this world prematurely, to make my peace and thank you for saving me life back on Alkyon.”

Nyx turned and crossed her arms against her chest.

“Whatever, child ... and now, if you don’t mind, I’d like to be alone, until I wake up on the battlefield, that is.”

Kharon smiled before vanishing into thin air.

Nyx snorted. "Such a peculiar family."

* * *

Chase tried moving but he was paralyzed by Ashra’s unrelenting telekinetic hold. With a single thought, he turned Hyper Fury, and that gave him enough energy to break free from that hold.

He fired a powerful fireball at her. To his surprise, as he fired it, he heard a dragon roar echo inside his mind. The fireball grew in size and when Ashra tried to block it, it exploded upon impact with her hand. Massive flames engulfed her.

She screamed, then used a shockwave to extinguish the fire around her. By then, Chris was upon her, moving so fast that Chase had a hard time following him. What bothered Chase more than that, however, was the fact that Ashra had managed to match his speed in countering and parrying most of his blows.

Chase didn’t dare fire another fireball while his son was engaged in close combat with Ashra.

Chris must have been picking up on his hesitation since he decided to address his concerns via telepathy. Go heal Nyx instead. Please.

How come you use telepathy? I couldn’t establish a link with either Yanis or Ares earlier on.

We can’t, not directly, but our armor can establish these links between themselves. Now, hurry and heal Nyx please; we need the backup.

Seeing as two-thirds of the group had been incapacitated already, it was hard to argue with Chris’ logic. Chase darted toward Nyx, but before he could reach her, a powerful shockwave catapulted him yards away.

“I don’t think so!” shouted Ashra as she kicked Chris in the face, taking him down as well.

Dammit, how did she get so powerful? With our new powers, I really thought we’d be better prepared to take on her. But it feels like she's at least ten times stronger than the last time we fought.

Chase jumped back on his feet and fired a healing fireball toward Nyx, but Ashra intervened again and countered it with a fast-moving attack of her own.

“No means no!” she shouted as she darted toward him.

Chase closed his eyes and took a deep breath as he expanded his consciousness and felt Ashra advancing toward him. Flames came to life and appeared on both his arms, and as he reopened his eyes, he instinctively threw a deadly uppercut that landed under Ashra’s chin. The roar of the dragon resounded all around them and a flaming dragon escaped his punch and burned through Ashra’s skull.

As she forcefully impacted on the floor, she stopped moving. Chase didn’t wait for her to recover and sent a healing fireball toward Nyx. She moaned.

“Dad! Move aside!” screamed Chris as he levitated over Ashra.

Chase did as instructed and his son’s golden aura quickly grew in size. Chris' eyes shone with the same vibrant green that adorned parts of his armor. He unleashed an animal-like roar as he launched his attack toward the Spectre.

Multiple laser-thin lines of energy shot from his fist and sliced through Ashra and cut her into several small body parts. Chase fired three dragon-infused fireballs at her, engulfing the body parts in a bright-hot inferno.

To their surprise, the burning parts levitated off the floor and reconstructed her body much faster than Chase had ever witnessed a Spectre do. She took a deep breath, siphoning the flames through her nostrils, and effectively extinguishing the fire that had consumed her a moment ago. As she opened her eyes, a crazed look overtook her features.

“Seems like you cockroaches have learned new tricks ... but that ain't no big thing. So have I,” she said.

“What the hell is going on?” demanded Nyx as she regained her footing and stood once more.

“The gloves are off is what it is,” stated Ashra as she split into three exact copies of herself.

Before they could react, a copy of Ashra was upon each of them.

* * *

Atlantis jolted violently.

“What was that?” asked Spiros.

“I’m afraid,” said the Loki hologram, “that is the sound of the Spectres breaking the cease fire.”

“Of course they have,” said Yanis flatly. “We knew they couldn't be trusted. Now that Chase and the rest of the warriors are on board Ashra's ship, she doesn’t feel the need to keep her word.”

“I agree, but I’m surprised Chase hasn’t tried to get in touch with us,” said Spiros.

Hyperion appeared near the group. “I don’t think he can. I warned Chase it was foolish to accept her invitation on board her ship. She must have deployed countermeasures to prevent them from teleporting away, or even contacting us.”

“What does that mean?” asked Loki. “Have they been defeated already?”

“Highly unlikely. My armor won't let them down,” said Hyperion. “But I’m sure she’s giving them a harder time than Chase anticipated. And since they can’t seem to get in touch with us, she probably ordered her troops to resume the fight. And it seems we are the sole target at the moment. She must know Atlantis can bring her fleet down.”

“We need to inform Talon,” said Gaia.

“I’ve done that already. He’s already positioning the fleet around us to act as our shield.”

“I don’t like putting so many lives on the line just to protect a handful of us,” said Gaia. "It doesn't seem fair."

“I can empathize with your reluctance,” said Hyperion, “but if Atlantis is destroyed, I’m not sure the fleet and Alkyon One can survive this engagement.”

“There has to be something we can do to help, though.”

“As soon as we are at half power flow, I should be able to extend Atlantis’ shield around the fleet and inverse the current trend by shielding them instead of the other way around.”

“Where are we at?” asked Spiros.

“Approaching forty percent,” said Gaia.

“Then there’s no time to waste,” said Yanis. “We must get the flow to fifty percent as soon as humanly possible.”

* * *

Chris couldn’t tell if splitting the way she had really impacted Ashra’s powers but as far as he could determine, she seemed to move just as quickly as she had before, and her attacks were just as deadly. It took all his focus to block and dodge her combos and fireballs.

Worse still, the other two Ashras were engaging Chase and Nyx with similar battle proficiency.

This new twist would definitely complicate things for them. Not that the fight had been easy up until now; in fact, she appeared way more powerful than the last time they had faced her, and what worried Chris the most was the fact that even though their armor had improved their powers, they still seemed to fall leaps and bounds behind hers.

Chris thought he saw an opening and went for it, but his punch only slashed air. A split second later, he felt something sharp penetrate his back, crushing a couple bones in the process. The pain was excruciating, but he fought through it, and launched a circling kick as he turned, only to see a shadow disappear where Ashra should have been.

Dammit! I hate this cat-and-mouse game she’s playing.

“Focus, Tigerheart,” instructed the soul armor in his mind.

Easier said than done!

Ashra re-appeared nearby and Chris fired another slicing attack at her, but she was long gone by the time it reached her. It wreaked havoc with whatever was on its path, and it traveled through the walls, slashing wiring and metal as if they were made of paper.

You may want to dispel these attacks when you miss your target, or this ship won’t last long.

Would that be such a bad thing? Perhaps it will disable the damn force field that's trapping my friends.

It’s up to you, but if the ship were to explode while some of your friends are unconscious or incapacitated, I doubt they’d survive.

Chris’ frustration increased but he did his best to try and keep his emotions in check. They had known this would be a difficult fight, but he’d never expected that it would be such a difficult one, and it was only just beginning, that much he could sense.

Duly noted. How do I do that?

With everything else when wearing your armor. Just will it, and it will happen.

Can I just will to kick her ass? That would be simpler.

You should be able to, but at the moment I fear you lack practice in that department. Hopefully, it will soon become second nature the more you fight while you wear me.

Chris caught himself regretting that they hadn’t had time to train inside a time-dilating room like they had at the end of the Fury war. Their new armor had clearly given them more energy and power, but he could sense that he didn’t really know how to exploit them and make the most of it.

As Ashra lunged toward him, Chris realized he was reacting too slowly, and put both his hands in front of him, hoping to unleash something to come to his defense. To his surprise, a green energy tiger leapt forward and sideswiped Ashra and sent her flying.

Did I just do that?

“Yes,” said the Tiger soul. “When you act instinctively, you can unleash way more power.”

Chris didn’t waste time and aimed at the catapulted Ashra; as he was about to launch another wave of slicing rays, a fireball impacted his side. He turned to see where the attack had come from, and caught a glimpse of a grinning Ashra—another one—that was currently fighting with his father.

Don’t get distract⁠—

But Chris didn’t hear the rest of the advice. His Ashra, who had recovered from his powerful defensive attack, planted her elbow through his sternum, knocking the wind from him.

* * *

Chase tried landing blows again and again but was hitting nothing but air. He was getting increasingly frustrated.

How can she have become so much more powerful than the last time I faced her?

“I think I can answer that question,” said the Dragon soul while Chase focused on dodging Ashra’s fierce counterattacks.

By all means then.

I’m not sensing the same number of souls inside her as the memory I have of your last fight with her.

How do you know this, since I wasn’t able to sense how many souls she possessed in the first place?

You kinda could, but you just weren’t consciously able to assign a number.

So, she ate a few million more souls than before; is that it?

Quite the contrary. I sense not even ten percent of the amount she had the last time you fought her.

That makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.

Unless she traded numbers for an exclusive selection of more powerful souls.

Chase dodged three more rapid combos and finally landed a kick to Ashra’s face, but her neck held on impact and she simply grinned at him.

Crap, how the hell did she get these souls? Aren’t we the sort of adversaries she’d need to get more powerful souls?

Yes and no. There is another place where she could have gotten powerful souls.

The other dimension.

Exactly.

That’s just great!

There’s no tactical use whatsoever to wallow in self-pity. You powered up, and so did she.

I’m aware of that, but I didn’t expect her to become so much fiercer than she had been the last time we fought. No offense, but she's way more powerful now than we are.

Look at the bright side; she probably felt the same all these times you managed to make her retreat.

How do you figure?

From your memories that I now have access to, she had always been a vile warrior but in a previous engagement, she faced you head on. Today, she is being more careful. That’s why she quickly incapacitated those she could and locked the others in a telekinetic force field. She is no longer certain she can achieve victory unless she controls the battlefield.

While it was hard to brainstorm with his soul armor and fight at the same time, Chase had to admit that it made sense. Using cowardly tactics hadn’t exactly been something she had displayed before. Ruthless, yes, but this felt different.

What has changed then?

You should be able to sense it on your own.

Chase expanded his consciousness and felt something in her, something buried deep within her that she did her best to try and hide. Fear.

I’ll be damned.

I sure hope not, Dragonheart.

Figure of speech.

If she’s afraid of us, we can use that against her.

And so you should.

There has to be a way to get my friends out of their predicament.

There always is a solution, no matter how dire the situation appears to be, and knowing your friends, I’m sure they’re figuring one out as we speak.

Ashra managed to land two blows in a row and forced Chase to increase his focus in order to keep up.

He took a risk on her next attack and pivoted out of the way, allowing him to grab her from behind. As he pressed her against him, Chase turned his entire body into a blazing inferno without incurring any damage himself since his armor protected him from fire. Ashra burst into flames, screaming and struggling to get free of his hold, but Chase didn't budge.

He knew this tactic wasn’t the answer to defeating her since he seriously doubted that he could burn enough of her to achieve victory, but it gave him a short respite to figure out a way to release his friends from their telekinetic force field.

* * *

As the battle waged on, Nyx went from frustrated to utterly pissed off. She had deployed all her power in Hyper Fury mode, and still a third of Ashra was able to keep up with her. She threw complex combos and powerful attacks at her, but the Spectre kept finding the best ways to counter or dodge them.

“You may want to remember that you have new powers,” said a voice in her head.

It was the soul of the Wolf.

I haven’t trained them … it’s too risky. Right now, I’m at least matched with her in terms of power. If I start using techniques I have no experience with, the balance of power may shift back to her advantage.

And who between the two of you will get tired sooner than the other, in your opinion? You have more to lose by not trying. Trust me.

If there was one thing Nyx hated more than anything, it was being told what to do. While she could follow a chain of command within the Fury hierarchy, she distrusted strangers with a vengeance, and that applied to that Wolf soul armor as well.

When Ashra managed to land a series of combos and knock her to the ground, she was forced to re-evaluate.

Dammit! Okay, how do I do this?

Just see yourself as a pack of wolves attacking in concert, and the armor will do the rest.

Nyx was dubious about the advice but she tried it anyway. She envisioned herself splitting into three—and it happened instantly. She was amazed at how flawlessly she managed to control the three copies of herself.

She quickly gained a tactical advantage and managed to land a series of powerful blows and attacks on Ashra.

It’s working!

You seem surprised.

She used one of her copies to distract a wounded Ashra, giving time for the other copy to lock her into place with telekinetic energy. Nyx then unleashed a veritable flurry of fireballs at the Spectre, resulting in a massive explosion.

When the fire died off and the dust settled, only a puddle of melted Spectre goo remained on the floor. Knowing the regenerative powers of the Spectres, Nyx raised her hands in the air and prepared a massive fireball to finish her off. When the puddle of goo started bubbling, she knew that time was running out, and she fired the truck-sized fireball at her enemy.

Being such a large attack, it was slow moving, but Nyx was confident that it would reach her enemy quickly enough. Just before Nyx's attack was about to impact, the goo split into three, shot in the air, and instantly reformed into three copies of Ashra. They all had smiles on their faces—and each aimed a palm at the fireball and siphoned off its energy between themselves.

“Thanks for the power up,” they said in unison.

Crap! How did I not see that coming?

Before Nyx could react, all three Ashras attacked the three Nyxes with such violence and speed that it forced Nyx to merge back into one. Ashra did the same.

"I have to admit that it was an interesting tactic, but you can’t win,” said Ashra.

“Keep telling yourself that.”

“You've already lost, and as amusing as this distraction has been, it’s time to test a more challenging foe.”

“There is none. I’m the most powerful Fury there is!” screamed Nyx.

“If you speak the truth, then I'm afraid this battle is already over. Let me demonstrate.”

Ashra moved so quickly, Nyx couldn’t keep a visual lock on her, and when she finally re-appeared behind her, it was too late. A thick beam of energy burst through Nyx’s stomach, even bursting through the Wolf armor.

How the hell did she get me with such ease?

Nyx put a hand on her wound and started healing herself when she felt a massive pain at the back of her neck, and everything went black.

* * *

“Nyx!” screamed Chris.

Seeing an unconscious Nyx dive toward the ground, and large quantities of blood spilling around her, drove him mad. His aura instantly tripled in energy and with a well-placed slicing attack at point blank range, he sliced his copy of Ashra to sushi-sized pieces and spread them all around the battle arena with a powerful shockwave.

He whirled and flew toward the other Ashra, who was aiming a fireball at Nyx’s back, trying to finish her off. Using the slicing attack again to dispatch that particular Ashra was out of the question at this distance. He couldn't risk inadvertently cutting Nyx to pieces. Unlike Spectres, they couldn't regenerate.

Instead, he fired a green fireball that deflected Ashra’s attack, allowing him to reach her, upon which he beat her senseless. Every one of his punches was accompanied by a roar and his fireballs morphed into tiger heads, biting the flesh off his enemy. His power kept increasing by the minute.

Then he heard a voice inside his mind. “Good, my son. Keep on going and don’t worry about me,” said Sarah.

The distraction seeded doubt in his mind and for a split second, Chris stopped attacking. That was all Ashra needed to react, since the other one Ashra that Chris had sliced and scattered was back in the fray.

Until this moment, Chris had fought the battle without thinking of his mother, but hearing her voice inside his mind had thrown him off. That second of doubt made him lose his advantage and before he knew it, one of the Ashras had grabbed him while the other unleashed fireball after fireball against his chest. His Tiger armor protected him at first, but eventually the pain of the repeated attacks took their toll.

“Chris!” shouted Chase. “Hold on, son. I’m coming.”

Chase sent his Ashra, now almost burnt to a crisp, against the nearest wall, upon which she exploded into a cloud of dust, allowing him to fly to Chris' rescue.

The Ashra that was holding Chris pushed him to the floor and quickly moved to counter Chase’s attack by smashing his face with a powerful kick. The fierce counterattack sent Chase tumbling and rolling on the floor, where he lost consciousness.

Chris tried to push himself off the floor, but he was too weak, and he collapsed.

“You’re all so pathetic. You came dressed up in new shiny armor and somehow thought that this would be enough to kill me? You only have yourselves to blame.”

Chris tried answering Ashra but words wouldn’t form in his mouth. He could sense he was bleeding internally. He tried healing himself as best he could, but he was running low on energy.

Ashra levitated him off the ground with her mind and morphed her right arm into a pointy, black spear. “Time to say goodbye,” she told him.

She lunged forward to impale Chris when a shadow flashed before their eyes and sliced Ashra’s spear-shaped arm into pieces.

Chris looked to the side to see who had saved him.

There, stood Fenrir with his energy claws fully deployed; he was panting heavily. The last thing Chris saw before losing consciousness was the Asgardian Guard darting toward the Spectre.

5

“You little vermin!” exclaimed Ashra. “You’ll pay for your arrogance with your soul.”

Fenrir didn’t bother answering and hacked at the Spectre more and more, to the point where he had managed to slice off most of her two arms … before another Ashra caught him off guard and locked him in place.

Fenrir headbutted the other Ashra with full force but it wasn't enough for her to let go of him. He watched in horror as the Ashra in front of him regenerated both her limbs with ease and aimed an open palm at him. He knew what was coming next and used all his power to try to break free, but he was unsuccessful.

Fenrir felt a strong pull from within as his soul progressed outside of his body, and no matter how much he tried to pull himself back into his body, his soul kept slipping away.

The pull stopped when Siegfried decapitated Ashra. He wasted no time incinerating the headless body and proceeded to help Fenrir break free. The other Ashra released Fenrir and force-pushed him toward Siegfried with a shockwave. Ashra then fired dozens of fireballs at them, engulfing them inside a bright inferno.

Siegfried screamed and unleashed a powerful shockwave that dispelled the fire around them, which also deflected the remaining fireballs still heading their way.

* * *

Siegfried tried locating Ashra but she was nowhere to be seen. When he saw Fenrir’s soul trying to escape his body from his head, he understood where she was—levitating at the top of the high-ceiling battle arena.

He jumped over Fenrir and pushed his brother’s soul back into his body with a strong shockwave, not knowing if the technique would work. In doing so, he unintentionally smashed Fenrir into the floor in the process.

Siegfried flew up to the ceiling to attack Ashra, but she had already disappeared. “You can’t have our souls!” he screamed out of frustration.

“We’ll see,” said Ashra, her voice dispersed all around him.

“Show yourself, you coward. Or are you too scared to fight fairly?”

Ashra appeared in front of Siegfried and lowered herself back to the floor. Siegfried did the same.

“Enough of this bullshit,” said Siegfried. “Fight me honorably, if you dare.”

Ashra laughed. “I have little doubt that you once were a mighty enemy,” she said, “but let’s face it, shall we? Nowadays, you’re just a B-team player, and if you look around, I’ve already incapacitated the A-team. So really, what sort of chances do you think you have against me?”

“I have not yet deployed my full force.”

“Oh, really? Then what are you waiting on? Unless you’re all talk and no action. It seemed to me that you did deploy all you’re capable on during our fight on Asgard, and even then I easily defeated you … even though I was nowhere near the warrior I am now.”

“You talk too much. Has anyone ever told you that?”

Ashra answered with a growl.

“Very well, then; you asked for it.”

Fenrir got back up and positioned himself next to Siegfried.

“You’re sure this is a good idea, brother? The last time you did this, well, you lost all your senses and almost killed me too.”

“I know about the risks, but I don’t think we have a choice here. Try and free the others while I face her. At the very least, she’ll need all her focus to keep up with my true form. Perhaps that will reduce some of the mental powers she’s exerting on these force fields.”

“Understood. Be careful.”

“You too, brother.”

* * *

“Report!” shouted Talon.

“Shields down to fifteen percent,” answered Tar’Lock. “Hyperspace engines damaged, and we’ve lost half of our torpedo launchers in that last wave of attacks.”

Talon sighed heavily. “And the rest of the fleet?”

“They’ve sustained substantial damages as well; we can’t take this for much longer.”

“Any news from Atlantis’ progress?”

“Yes, but you’re not gonna like it.”

“Tell me anyway,” said Talon between gritted teeth.

“They need more time.”

“Time is the one currency we’re quickly running out of. Did they provide with us an ETA?”

“Ten, maybe fifteen minutes to be able to extend the shields around the rest of the fleet.”

“The way things are going, I don’t think there will be much left of our fleet within that timeframe. Not unless we manage to rid ourselves of at least one of these ships.”

“But how? Their shields are just too strong.”

Talon’s mind raced, trying to remember tactics others had used on the battlefield to defeat ships in similar situations. The only examples he could come up with were when Chase sacrificed ships by micro-jumping them onto the enemy or when the Destiny slammed into that AI monstrosity that Gaia 2 had been using to attack Earth.

None of these options seemed viable, unless …

Talon checked his tactical holo-screen and looked at what was left of the fleet. Two dreadnoughts had lost their weapons but something told him that he would need a third ship for this crazy idea of his to work.

“Have the captains of the Titan and the Icarus beam their crew to Alkyon One, and have them transfer their command codes to the Victory.”

“Why?”

Talon looked at Tar’Lock. “Please, just do as I say.”

Tar’Lock clicked nervously but carried out his orders as instructed.

“Let me know,” continued Talon, “when transport is complete and remote command mode on these ships is activated.”

“Can you at least tell me what this is all about, Captain?”

“Both ships have lost the ability to fight since their weapons are down, but we can still try and throw them at one of these motherships. We’ll need Alkyon’s main weapon too for this to work, so I’ll need you to coordinate the strike with Daniel.”

“These ships could still be useful in protecting Atlantis.”

“I fear that if we don’t get rid of at least one of these motherships, there won’t be an Atlantis left to protect. It’s hard enough battling one of them, but as long as two remain fully functional, we’re fighting a battle we can’t win, and you know it.”

“Very well. I’ll get Daniel on the line.”

“You do that, I need a minute to think. I’ll be in my ready room. You have the con.”

* * *

Siegfried roared and the entire ship trembled. His eyes shone red and his blue aura exploded like a star going supernova. His muscle mass increased and so did his height. As he grew taller and stronger, his skin turned blue and scales appeared on it.

“What … in the seventh hell… is this?” asked Ashra.

Siegfried was still roaring as he transformed into a large beast. He gained five feet and now towered over Ashra. His blue scales reflected the light from the room, as if they were made of metal. His face had morphed into a humanoid dragon, somewhat similar to the dragonmen of Kyria, but he was way more imposing than they were in their humanoid form.

His Asgardian armor had also extended to accommodate his new form.

“This is what I really look like,” said Siegfried, his echo-like voice both raspy and deep.

“Nice parlor trick,” said Ashra, “but it won’t change a thing. I’m still going to kill you and devour your soul. In fact, by doing this, you’ve only increased my incentive to do so.”

Siegfried smiled. “Sure, keep telling yourself that if it helps control the fear I can smell on you.”

“I’m afraid of no man!”

“As you’ll soon discover, I’m no longer just a man.”

Siegfried darted at Ashra with such a velocity that she never saw him coming. With a single punch, he sent her hurling back at the speed of a bullet. Before she could hit the arena wall, Siegfried was waiting for her, and he catapulted her upward by planting a strong knee kick to her back.

The force of the attack sent her spiraling through the air like a whirlwind.

Before Ashra could recover her senses, Siegfried grabbed her face with his huge, clawed hands and hurled her back down where he slammed her head into the floor. Both her skull and the floor gave in upon impact.

* * *

Tar’Lock entered the Captain’s ready room. “Can I come in?” he asked.

“Looks to me like you already did,” said Talon. “Who’s got the con?”

“Lieutenant Commander Stavros.”

“I see. What’s the pulse of the crew?”

“They’re worried; I think we all are. This battle isn’t going well but I’m sure you’ve noticed that. We’ve all been waiting for Atlantis in the hope of reinforcements to win this battle, and so far all we did is lose more ships than we could afford in trying to protect it.”

“I know. But we have to trust Chase on this one. If he says Atlantis can help us win, what other choice do we have?”

“I’m all for trusting Chase. I’ve been doing it for a lot longer than you have, I might add.”

“And yet, you seem to disagree with my choice of tactics, don’t you?”

“Not exactly disagreeing, no, but I am worried. I don’t like the look you’ve had since you tasked me to order the evacuation of those ships.”

“The look I bear is of no consequences. Are the evacuations complete?”

“Just about. For now, I positioned both ships behind us so that they don’t incur more damage. Even though we barely have the shields to take on that task.”

“I know, but thank you.”

“What’s on your mind, Talon?”

“Now that we disabled one of the ships, I think if we can use the Titan and the Icarus and micro-jump them onto the enemy to inflict massive damage. It’s going to require a very precise chain of events, and it needs to go well, but I think this tactic has a high probability of bringing down one of the motherships.”

“Why do I get the feeling you’re not telling me an important part of your plan?”

Talon coughed softly to clear his throat. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Tar’Lock.”

“I say bullshit to this one, sir.”

“Commander!”

“Don’t ‘Commander’ me. I know you too well. There’s something you’re not telling me.”

“You’re like a dog with bone, you know that?”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“Take it any way you like it.”

“Now, are you going to share with me the full extent of your full plan? Or do I have to resign as your first officer?”

“You wouldn’t dare.”

“If you’re intending on hiding your tactics from me at a moment like this, you bet I would.”

Talon sighed heavily. “That won’t be necessary. Take a seat.”

Tar’Lock sat.

“I think for my plan to work, we also need to sacrifice the Victory.”

“You can’t be serious. That’s suicide! We can’t demand that of our crew.”

“I’ll order the evacuation of the ship when the time comes. There won’t be any casualties … well, maybe just the one.”

“And you’ll go down with your ship, is that it?”

“Someone has to stay on the bridge to make sure the ship gets to where it’s going.”

“You could use autopilot or remote control, like you’re doing with the Titan and the Icarus.”

“We can’t take that chance, and you know it. There could be a need to adjust a vital setting at the last second for the tactic to succeed. Remote control will introduce a delay, and there’s always the chance that jamming or interference might affect the link. If we had Chase or Chris, we could ask them to do this with an empty ship, but in their absence, I don’t see any other solution but to stay on the bridge.”

“No, there has to be another way.”

“No?”

“You can’t give up your life for something you’re not even sure is going to work.”

“It’s my ship and my command and I’ll do as I see fit to increase the odds of success.”

“Then you’ll let me take in the ship and you evacuate with the crew. The fleet still needs you for the rest of this fight. I, on the other hand, am expandable.”

“Not to me.”

“That’s an emotional decision, not worthy of a Commodore of the Earth Alliance, not to mention the current commander of the fleet. Chase put you in charge so you could lead us, not so you could sacrifice yourself at the first chance you get.”

Damn you.

“I’m sorry, Tar’Lock, but I can’t ask you to do this.”

“The hell you can’t. You just don’t want to.”

“Do you have a death wish, my friend?”

“No, but it sure seems that you do.”

“I don’t either, trust me. I wish there was another way, but I can’t see one, and time is running out. As for who needs to give his life to give us a fighting chance, I just can’t ask anyone else, let alone my best friend.”

“Again, this is an emotional decision, and I’d be well within my rights to relieve you of command.”

Talon stared into his insectoid friend’s eyes for what felt like a short forever.

“I suppose you could. The real question, however, is: will you?”

Tar’Lock clicked in a rather melancholic fashion. “No.”

“Then please go prepare the crew for an emergency beam-out procedure. When I give you the signal, beam the crew, yourself included, to Alkyon One.”

“Is that an order?”

Talon nodded. “Yes, Commander, it’s an order.”

Tar’Lock saluted. “Aye, Captain.”

* * *

For some time, Fenrir had been trying to slash through the force field holding Kharon but with little success, but when Siegfried crushed her head into the floor, the force fields flickered and Fenrir redoubled his effort at hacking them; the only thing that achieved, however, was an increase in the flickering.

Fenrir heard a voice inside his head. “Try mine. I think it’s weaker,” said Oryn.

Fenrir ran near her and resumed hacking and slashing. The flickering intensified but the force field still held. “It’s not working!” he exclaimed in frustration.

Yes it is, but you’ll need to jump out of the way the moment I tell you.

Why? What are you going to do?

You’ll see … on three … two … one … now!

Fenrir jumped out of the way and lightning bolts engulfed the flickering cylinder of energy holding her. The temperature around the force field dropped twenty degrees as the lightning bolts sizzling all around her turned to ice, provoking an ice-storm explosion that finally took out the force field.

When the icy dust settled, Fenrir dusted himself off. “What the hell was that?” he asked.

“The power of lightning and ice working together,” said Oryn. “Thank you for your help. Now, I’d better help Siegfried win this fight.”

“Uh … I don’t think that’s such a good idea.”

“Why the hell not?”

“In this form, he’s not really himself, and there’s a high probability that he’ll perceive you as an enemy.”

“He seemed coherent enough a minute ago.”

“Perhaps, but trust me. He’s not thinking right now. More like trying to kill everything that moves. I’ve seen him in this state before. It can get really ugly.”

Oryn looked at the fight; Siegfried was kicking the shit out of Ashra.

“Still, we need to make sure we win this fight, so risky or not, I’m going in.”

Oryn flew toward the battle and as she did, the air got colder; she left a trail of ice crystals in her wake.

* * *

Siegfried headbutted Ashra over and over again, and black blood spilled everywhere around them. Eventually, he stopped and roared at her. Large flames propelled from his mouth and burned Ashra’s screaming, melting face.

When she was barbecued to his satisfaction, he discarded her motionless body onto the floor and took a couple of steps back. He grabbed his head and shrieked, which resulted in shaking the entire ship. He fell to his knees, holding his head even tighter.

“Rest, Siegfried, I’ll take over for you,” said Oryn as she flew past him.

Or so she thought.

Out of nowhere Siegfried sucker-punched her and sent her crashing against the wall.

“Brother! What are you doing?” shouted Fenrir in the distance.

“Sorry. Stay … stay the hell away from me, all of you!”

Oryn’s ears were ringing and she took a while to get back on her feet. “Ouch,” she said as a thin line of blood dripped from the corner of her mouth. “What the hell was that? We’re on the same side!”

“I told you this would happen,” shouted Fenrir. “He’s not safe to be around in this form.”

“Be that as it may, he doesn’t seem to be doing all too well at the moment. It’s best I take over.”

“He’s not gonna let you.”

“The hell he isn’t.”

Oryn lifted up a hand. It started glowing bright white and rays of icy white light fired at Siegfried.

“Stop it! What are you doing?” argued Fenrir.

“Don’t worry, I won’t hurt him … just trap him temporarily so I can fight Ashra as well.”

Ice formed around Siegfried and it rapidly thickened, engulfing the Guard in a massive ice structure.

“If he escapes this, he’ll definitely perceive you as an enemy.”

“Then let’s hope this near-absolute zero prison holds him for long enough.”

Ashra got to her feet, and Oryn winced when she witnessed how quickly her enemy’s burns were mending themselves.

“Oh no you don’t, you bitch!” exclaimed Oryn. She unleashed a lightning frost nova at Ashra.

Lighting bolts travelled in the air and connected with the Spectre, and then turned into ice inside Ashra’s body. Oryn then closed her fist, which prompted the ice to explode, successfully cutting Ashra in two at stomach level.

Oryn then created two large ice spike barrages—on which Ashra’s halves were impaled.

6

“This is taking too much time!” Yanis complained. “The fleet is getting pounded out there.”

“Trust me, I know,” said Kvasir. “Spiros and Gaia are almost done with their modifications, and so is Loki.”

“So, we’re the ones that are late, is what you’re telling me?”

“In a matter of speaking. Our tasks simply require more work their theirs.”

“We need to get the shield bubble ready soon, or there won’t be ships to extend the shields to.”

“I am aware, thank you. I’m working as fast as I can.”

“As am I.”

“Just a suggestion, but perhaps you’d work even faster if you didn’t talk as much.”

“Did you just tell me to shut up? Don’t answer that because my question was rhetorical. I can’t believe you just told me to shut up!”

Kvasir’s tattoos flashed at an increasing rate. “And yet you’re still yapping!”

* * *

Oryn knew that in order to get rid of Ashra, she would need more than impaling bits of her onto ice spikes, so she fired explosive icy fireballs at the body parts, but when they reached their targets, they hit nothing but air and destroyed her spiky ice barrages instead.

“Where the hell has she gone?” asked Oryn, gazing around.

“Behind you!” warned Fenrir.

Oryn turned just in time to see a dark fist impact with her face, sending her flying and crashing yards away.

That bitch sure can throw one hell of a punch.

Fenrir launched himself at the fully regenerated Ashra in an attempt to slash her to pieces, but she had anticipated his attack and blasted a very powerful beam of energy at him, sending him flying in the air and crashing against the force field that held Menelas. He broke his back upon impact and collapsed on the floor, where he remained motionless.

“That will teach you to wait your turn, pest,” hissed Ashra.

In fact, you’ll all have to wait for your turns from now on.

She aimed at Menelas’s force field and fired a massive black and purple fireball. As the attack was about to hit the force field, she dropped it. Menelas was unable to do anything but take the full brunt of her attack and was also taken out of commission.

Ashra then aimed the same attack at Kharon when she felt her legs growing cold. She looked down to see ice snaking up her body. She increased her aura to quickly bring up her body temperature, allowing her to melt the ice at a faster rate than it was advancing. But then she felt intense pain as a large icy spike burst through her ribcage.

She growled as she grabbed the spike and quickly melted it with flaming hands. “I’ve just about had enough of you all!”

Oryn darted forward while Ashra whipped around. Oryn unleashed another frost nova that hit nothing but air. Five Ashra encircled Oryn and they meticulously punched and kicked her at speeds too fast for Oryn to do anything.

As she was being pounded to oblivion, feeling utterly disoriented, she did the only thing she could think of and unleashed a blizzard shockwave that knocked all five Ashras to the floor.

They didn't stay down for long, though, and soon merged back into a single Ashra. She strolled toward a panting Oryn with murder in her eyes. “I said I had enough of you!” she screamed as she aimed a palm at Oryn.

“The feeling is mutual,” snarled Oryn as she took a defensive stance.

Ashra fired a massive black and purple fireball at Oryn, which she blocked by deploying a glowing ice shield in front of her. The shield exploded into a million shards of ice, but successfully blocked the attack.

“Impressive,” said Ashra, “but ultimately futile.” She aimed at Oryn again but this time, five black spikes escaped from her palm and darted forward.

Oryn created another ice shield to block the attack.

Ashra displayed a malicious grin and her eyes flashed red.

One of the spikes accelerated and reached the shield before the other four. It shattered the ice shield to pieces, allowing the four spikes to impale Oryn through both arms and legs. Carried by the projectiles’ momentum, she flew into the nearest bulkhead and was crucified.

Ashra pointed a finger at Oryn, her face filled with hatred. “Fucking stay there!”

She gazed around the arena. Nearly everyone had been incapacitated, except Kharon, who was still trapped inside her force field. Ashra meandered toward her. “Looks like it’s time for you to pay for your betrayal. I’m really gonna enjoy this. I just wish the rest of your pathetic family were awake to witness this.”

* * *

Ares passed by the morgue and felt compelled to go inside. As he entered, he glanced around the room and saw Ryonna.

He approached her and noticed that she was crying on top of Altair’s body.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t there for him when this happened,” he said.

Even though Ares didn’t think it was possible, he’d startled Ryonna. She promptly wiped her tears and did her best to regain her composure.

“You don’t need to do that, you know,” said Ares.

“Do what?”

“Try to hide your sorrow from others. It’s only natural for us to express our grief for the people we lose.”

“Any other day, I might have tried to kill you for sneaking up on me like that.”

“I’m already dead, so that wouldn’t have achieved anything.”

“I know. What do you want, Ares?”

“Nothing in particular. I just felt like I needed to come here for some reason.”

“You came, you saw. Now, if you don’t mind, I’d rather be alone.”

“Of course. I’m sorry for intruding on this private moment, and I’m truly sorry for your loss.”

Ryonna sighed. “Thank you.”

“I’ll leave you to it then.”

Ares turned back and his energy form flickered and he lost balance, which caught Ryonna’s attention.

“What was that?”

“I don’t know, but something is clearly very wrong with me. I have a strange feeling inside my gut. Well, the equivalent of my gut, if I still had a physical body.”

“What sort of feeling?”

“Like I will be joining Altair where he’s gone … and soon.”

“But haven’t you been there already?”

“Not exactly. After Argos killed me, I should have been sent to the underground, and from there travelled through the Styx to reach the gates of Elysium. Since I felt compelled to stay and help Chase win the Fury war, I decided to fight this process and stay around in this form. I’m starting to think that I’ve been on this plane of existence for much too long and that even though I’d like to stay longer, it may no longer be my choice.”

“Do you think that is why you’re feeling this way?”

“I don’t know for sure. Chase thinks it could be because I teleported through a Spectre anti-beaming field.” Ares’s aura flickered madly again and this time the pain was so severe that he screamed.

Instinctively, Ryonna tried to grab Ares as he fell, but he passed through her.

“Isn’t there anything anyone can do for you?” she asked.

Ares rolled on the floor and did his best to get back on his feet. “Chase helped me a little earlier, but he’s not here to do it again.”

“And what do you think will happen if he doesn’t come back in time?”

“Then I guess I’ll finally go to Elysium.”

“I’m confused. You don’t seem happy about that. The way I understand it, Elysium is paradise, isn’t it?”

“I know … it’s strange, you’d think I’d be happy to move on.”

“So, what’s keeping you here? Have you asked yourself that?”

“I don’t know. I’ve got another hunch … I guess. Somehow, I feel that I still have one more thing to do before I go.”

“And what would that be?”

“I'll be damned if I know, but I can't shake the feeling.”

“You’re a strange god; did you know that?”

Ares smiled. “I’ll take your word for it.”

“Still, would you please do me a favor when you get to the underworld?”

“Sure, what do you need me to do?”

“Tell Altair I love him.”

Ares nodded. “I think he knows that already, but sure. I’ll make certain to let him know.”

“Thank you, Ares.”

“You’re welcome. Thank you as well for listening.”

Ares walked away, but Ryonna called out to him. "Wait!"

Ares turned back to her. "Yes?"

Ryonna hesitated before speaking. "Should you really be spending your last moments here?"

"I'm not sure I understand. What do you mean?"

"Well, from where I stand, if I were in your shoes, there's nothing I'd like more than to join Chase and the others in their fight against Ashra. Especially if it’s the last thing I do.”

“That could easily be arranged. Do you want me to get you there?” Ares offered.

“No …you misunderstood me. I'm just using that as an example," Ryonna replied. "Trust me, I'm well aware that I would be a hindrance, at best. Or worse, a liability. I could cost someone their life because they feel the need to protect me. I've already been through that exact same hell once today, and I have no intention of letting it happen again."

"I have to say, I'm surprised to hear this coming from you," Ares commented. "But you're probably right. There's little to nothing you could do to help them. No offense."

"None taken," Ryonna said. "But what I was trying to say, in an indirect way, is that I'm sure there might be something you could do to help them."

“Except that Chase asked me to stay here in case there was a need for evacuation, so that I can help teleport people away.”

“I see. That must be frustrating.”

“It is, but I’m not sure how I can help them either.”

“Well, you seem to have good instincts, so if they tell you to go, just follow them.”

* * *

Talon sat on his captain’s chair and gave Tar’Lock a nod. His first officer nodded back to confirm that everything they had discussed was in place.

He took two round devices and attached them to his temples. They would allow him to remote-control the other two Alliance ships. While Furies like Chase could do this with their minds, this technology allowed people without powers to do the same, albeit with less precision due to the delay generated by the devices to transcode human thoughts into computer commands.

StarFury pilots were also no stranger to the tech, as it had been integrated into their helmets, and allowed them to pilot their ships with faster response time just by thinking how they wanted to pilot their ships.

The difficulty for Talon, who had only used the tech in simulation before today, would be to keep track of three ships at once. It would no doubt put an incredible amount of strain on his brain but he had decided that it didn’t matter since the objective was to destroy a Spectre mothership, even at the cost of his own life.

It wasn’t that Talon didn’t fear death or wished to leave this world early. Quite the contrary, in fact. It was that he thought that his sacrifice was a small price to pay if it allowed him to destroy one of the enemy’s motherships.

“Tar’Lock, please execute plan Omega,” said Talon.

Tar’Lock entered a few commands and the ship’s lighting turned red.

“Emergency evacuation order is now in effect,” said Tar’Lock throughout the ship, “This is not a drill. Please stand by for immediate beam-out.”

As agreed with Daniel on Alkyon One, the station would cover the Victory while its shields dropped at random intervals, so as to not take too many chances in being destroyed while the transports occurred.

The crew on the bridge was the first among ten and part of a pre-programmed beam-out sequence. They were beamed away from the ship before any of them had time to voice their opinions.

It took three minutes in total for all the crew to be beamed to the station.

“Emergency beam-out complete,” announced Tar’Lock.

“And yet you’re still here.”

“I’ll beam out at the last moment, if you don’t mind.”

“As a matter of fact I do, even though we don’t have time to argue about it right now.”

Talon closed his eyes and put all his focus on the complex maneuver he had to execute in order to destroy the mothership. He selected the mothership closer to the one that had been disabled as a target in the hope that taking out that particular one could also finish off the other one in the process.

While StarFuries had tried to bring it down in the last hour, it still remained in space. Its multiple decks had been exposed to space and its power generation was still offline, but the fleet couldn’t waste valuable ordnance in trying to finish it off, not if they wanted to have reserves for later in the fight.

An Asgardian battleship exploded nearby, filling the bridge with a flash of bright light. The battle wasn’t going well for the Alliance, which only reinforced Talon about his decision to take out a mothership, no matter the cost.

As soon as he redirected both crewless destroyers to vector toward the target mothership, the enemy changed its targeting priorities and redirected fifty percent of its cannons’ batteries and torpedo-launchers at the Victory.

“They’re targeting us now,” said Tar’Lock.

“I’m aware. I was expecting this, the shields will hold now that all power has been redirected to them, including life support.”

“I sure hope so, or this entire endeavor could end up costing us three ships for nothing.”

“Not now, Tar’Lock,” said Talon between gritted teeth. “We’re doing this.”

The strain it took to remote-control all three ships with the required precision that was needed was stronger than Talon had expected, and it gave him a massive headache like nothing he’d experienced before in his life. He felt something wet dripping from his nose.

“Talon? Your nose … you’re bleeding,” said Tar’Lock.

“Ignore it. I’ll be fine.”

“We both know that’s a lie. You’ll die soon, whether from straining your brain piloting three capital ships or by micro-jumping onto a mothership. Either way, you’re a goner.”

“Which is exactly why it’s fine, Tar’Lock. And also why I need you to get ready to beam out on my command.”

“Sorry, but I’m staying, and that’s non-negotiable.”

“Dammit, Tar’Lock! Now is not the time.”

“I’m sorry, Talon. If you’re going down with the ship, so am I. If our positions were reversed, you know all too well that you’d be doing the same.”

Damn you Tar’Lock, I should have known you’d pull something like this.

His insectoid best friend was right about one thing, though. If their roles had been reversed, Talon wouldn’t go either. He would stay and die with him.

“Think of Ryonna, Tar’Lock.”

“I am thinking of her, but since we can never be an item, I’m sure she’ll understand.”

“No she won’t, and are you truly certain that your chances are gone now that Altair is …”

Talon let the words hang in the air. Did I tell him he was gone in the middle of the battle? … I’m no longer sure.

“Altair is what?” asked Tar’Lock, punctuating the question with a series of anxious clicks.

“I’m sorry. I guess I forgot to mention it earlier. Altair is dead.”

“What? Now he tells me.”

Perhaps that information came at the right time, after all.

“She’ll need you now more than ever. You have to go.”

Tar'Lock made noises that were strange even to Talon. A mixture of clicks, throat noises, rasps and gasps, and a strange low-whistling hum.

“That doesn’t change anything. She still has a husband and he’ll help her go through this hard time. In fact, it may even simplify her life if I’m out of the picture.”

“Tar’Lock, I love you like a brother, but your persistence is really getting on my nerves.”

“I’ll make sure to include your protest in my logs.”

Even though the situation was both dire and serious, Talon couldn’t help but laugh at that.

“What kind of brother would I be,” continued Tar’Lock, “if I saved my own life and let you die alone?”

Alkyon One fired its main weapon at the coordinates Talon had provided, which meant that there was no turning back, and in a little while, Talon would have no other choice but to initiate the micro-jump sequence. The Icarus would be the first to jump, closely followed by the Titan, and then less than ten seconds later, the Victory would follow.

I gotta get you out of here, my friend, whether you want to or not. I’m sorry.

“Not to mention that it makes strategical sense for me to stay and you know it,” said Tar’Lock. “In case you’re incapacitated, someone has to finish the maneuver.”

Tar’Lock was making a good point, but Talon wouldn’t have it either way, so he accessed the Victory’s transporters and locked onto Tar’Lock.

“Goodbye, Tar’Lock. I’m going to miss you.”

As the beam of green-blue light engulfed Tar’Lock and beamed him away, the last words Talon heard from his best friend echoed in his mind.

“Don’t you dare!”

7

Ashra stopped in front of Kharon, still trapped inside a powerful force field, and kept in pace with the strong telekinetic hold she had been keeping on her during the fight, ensuring that no one could escape the cylindric prison.

She aimed a palm at Kharon, dropped the force field with her mind, and increased her telekinetic hold on Kharon. A crackling fireball came to life and she fired it at Kharon’s gut.

Unable to move, the fireball burnt her deeply, even though her armor had deflected most of it.

“Let me go, and fight me!” screamed Kharon.

“So, you can also display a flurry of new surprises like your friends did before you? No thanks. I’ve been diced, dismembered, decapitated, and barbecued enough today to last me for an entire lifetime.”

“You coward!”

“Say the people who came to fight me nine against one.”

“I should have killed you from within the womb when I had the chance.”

“Right back at you, even though I must admit that it amuses me that you’d think you could ever have held such power over me in the first place.”

Ashra fired three more fireballs at Kharon, burning her at different locations on her body.

“Should I go for your pretty face next?”

Ashra aimed a massive fireball at Kharon’s face. “Though if I’m being honest, I think this particular attack will rip your head clean off. That could be fun, though, don’t you think?” Ashra didn’t wait for Kharon to answer and fired her attack.

A shadowy figure moved and positioned itself in front of Kharon with both arms extended. It was Argos.

“Nooooo!” screamed Kharon.

He took the full brunt of the attack on his chest and his armor cracked upon impact. He was catapulted yards away, and unceremoniously crashed onto his back, smoke rising from his chest.

Rage filled Kharon’s eyes and she turned into Hyper Fury form for the first time.

“I’m impressed,” said Ashra, “so much power in such a frail, tiny package. Too bad you can’t move, though.”

Kharon teleported and re-appeared in front of Ashra, kicking several teeth out with a very powerful circling kick. The Spectre stumbled back a few steps but managed to keep her balance. As she turned back to face Kharon, a massive beam of purple energy burned through the Spectre’s chest.

Kharon walked toward her as her golden aura morphed and two phoenix wings extended over her. There was hatred in her eyes, and her pupils shone like two miniature suns. “I’m going to kill you!” she said.

Before Ashra could answer rhetorically, hundreds of fireballs headed her way, too many to dodge. She was incinerated and was engulfed in a veritable barrage of flames and multiple explosions that occurred in quick succession.

Kharon teleported to Argos’ side. His heartbeat was dangerously low, so she devoted a large amount of energy into healing her uncle. As he opened his eyes, he pushed his niece out of the way of a powerful attack.

Argos barely managed to jump out of the way himself by rolling to the side.

* * *

Argos got back on his feet and checked to see that Kharon was already back on hers.

“You should have kept your energy, Kharon, but thanks anyway.”

“You saved my life,” said Kharon, “by risking yours. That’s the least I could do.”

A shadow emerged from the still burning furnace where Kharon had incinerated Ashra only a moment earlier. The burnt shadow clapped its hands, sending amber ashes flying around with every clap.

“Such heart breaking family values,” said Ashra as her body finished recomposing before their eyes. “If I had a heart, it would almost bleed. ‘Almost’ being the operative word here.”

“Kharon,” said Argos, “you try and wake up your father while I face her.”

“No, we have more chances of defeating her if we join forces.”

“Kharon, please do as I say.”

Argos could sense Kharon wasn’t happy about it, but she ended nodding in agreement nonetheless.

“We’ve got unfinished business, you and I,” said Argos to Ashra.

“Is that so? Right … how was it having only half your soul for all this time?”

“I managed, and in fact it motivated me to train harder every day, dreaming of the day I could repay the favor.”

“Then keep dreaming, Argos, because this time around, it’s not just the half of your soul that I’m after.”

Argos took a fighting stance and expanded his aura to the maximum, turning Hyper Fury.

“Ah. Furies and their pitiful parlor tricks, wavy hair, auras changing colors … is that supposed to make me quake in my boots?” taunted Ashra.

Argos moved at the speed of light, unleashing thousands upon thousands of powerful blows on the Spectre. He finished his complex combo by burning Ashra’s head clean off and kicked her headless body on the ground.

“How’s that for a parlor trick?” spat Argos.

Ashra’s body moved and kicked Argos between the legs before her headless body jumped itself back to its feet, and knocked Argos down by launching itself at him.

“Uncle!” cried Kharon.

“Keep going,” ordered Argos, his grave tone leaving no room for interpretation. He looked up to see a fully healed Ashra towering him. Before he could move, she used a blackhole to try and siphon his soul. Argos was surprised to see some of his soul escape through a crack in the armor, but he managed to catapult himself into the air and launch a whirlwind kick at Ashra.

She blocked it but the move forced her to dispel her soul-sucking blackhole. Her counterattack was massive and Argos clearly wasn’t ready for it. Just as she had done all day long, she unleashed a flurry of insanely fast combos, and it didn’t take long for her to regain the upper hand.

By the time she was finished with him, Argos fell on his knees and hit the floor face-first.

“I’ve wasted enough time with you. Now, it’s time to die, Argos.” She aimed a fireball at his back and it grew quickly in both size and intensity.

Kharon had to interrupt healing her father so she could kick Ashra in time to deflect the trajectory of the fireball that would otherwise have finished Argos off.

Ashra quickly recovered from the aftermath of her kick and she grabbed Kharon while still in mid-air, and threw her away with such force that when Kharon impacted the wall, she was fully encased in it. To make sure she couldn’t move any further, Ashra unleashed an extremely powerful shockwave that plunged Kharon even deeper into the wall. Sparks flew all around her and broken wiring dangled in front of Kharon.

“Wait your turn!” screamed Ashra.

She aimed another powerful fireball at the already unconscious Kharon and fired at her torso.

Kharon’s armor cracked and her heart stopped beating.

* * *

“Forgive me, Tar’Lock,” said Talon to no one in particular. “I couldn’t let you die today.”

Alkon One had managed to lower the Spectre mothership’s shields to thirty percent, which was not nearly enough for Talon’s sacrifice, never mind taking down the ship. That was where the Titan and the Icarus came to play.

The Icarus jumped first. It crashed itself into the enemy’s shields and brought them all the way down to ten percent.

It’s working, I will take out that ship!

Talon felt a sense of relief. If his plan failed, he would be sacrificing his life for nothing. And while he was prepared to take the risk anyway, it still bothered him … even though he had no doubt that the rest of the fleet would find a way to finish the mothership, given such an eventuality.

And today, more than ever, the Alliance needed to emerge victorious from this battle.

The Icarus micro-jumped and took the rest of the enemy’s shields down, and as it exploded, it inflicted serious damage to the front of the mothership’s hull.

All that was left was to micro-jump the Victory and take the enemy down for good.

Ten seconds and it’s all over. Thank you, Tar’Lock, and thank you Chase for helping me bring meaning back into my life. Something that, before I met you both, I thought I had lost forever.

Three … two … one.

The Victory jumped into the hull of the mothership, and everything around Talon went to hell. For some reason, Talon perceived everything happening around him in slow motion. The viewport was the first to crack. Successive explosions shook the ship hard, and flames engulfed Talon entirely.

Before everything turned black, he thought he saw a golden light flash before his eyes.

* * *

I can’t believe I’ve let him do this, thought Daniel. Chase is going to be mad.

The command and control bridge was still plunged into darkness as Daniel had ordered Cedric to divert every ounce of power he could into the Heracles Cannon.

While Daniel was sad that Talon had to forfeit his life for the cause, he had to at least admit that the Commodore’s plan was ingenious and that it had worked.

The second mothership split in two before exploding, unleashing the mother of all shockwaves all around it, and taking down the nearby disabled mothership in its wake.

Lights flickered on the bridge, informing Daniel and the rest of the crew that power was being restored throughout the station.

“Status?” asked Daniel.

“Bullseye,” said one of his officers. “Two motherships destroyed!”

“Yes, but at what price?” asked Daniel no one in particular.

“Captain, I’m detecting a massive power build-up on the last mothership.”

“Can you get a better reading? What are they up to?”

“I don’t know how to interpret what I’m reading, but I think we’re about to find out, sir.”

A massive beam of plasma shot from the mothership and destroyed three ships that were in its path on its way to Atlantis.

“I think they’re pissed. What’s the status of Atlantis’ shields? We can’t allow them to repeat this or we’ll lose the entire fleet in a matter of minutes.”

“We have a bigger problem. This last shot created enough of a hole in the defense pattern around Atlantis for them to be able to plot a direct shot at it.”

“ETA on when they can fire such a supercharged shot again?”

“Hard to say, but my estimation is ninety seconds or less.”

“Get me Yanis on board Atlantis now!”

“Channel opened, sir.”

“Yanis, you have sixty seconds, possibly less, to get Atlantis’ shield back online.”

“We know, and I’m afraid we’re not gonna make it.”

“Now that Talon is gone, I’ll redeploy as many ships as possible to take the brunt of the shot in your place, but there’s nothing stopping them to do this again in another minute and a half. Please tell me you’ll be ready by then?”

“Honestly … I don’t know that we will be.”

* * *

When Kharon opened her eyes, she was inside a large cave. Lava flowed all around her, with large geysers of flames shooting into the ceiling of the cave.

A flaming bird flew in front of her and screamed.

“What’s going on? Where am I?”

“You’re in a place inside your mind, in between life and death,” said the soul of the Phoenix inside her mind.

I’m dead?

Normally, you would be, but this is what your mind experiences before you resurrect.

How long will this take? I need to get back to the fight!

I have to applaud your willingness to return to the fight, seeing how easily your enemy killed you. Unfortunately, there is a problem.

What’s the problem?

The armor was badly damaged, so while it can still grant your resurrection, you can pretty much forget about using the rest of your powers. And you may be susceptible to Ashra’s soul-snatching ability now. Though she seems less focused on achieving that goal lately.

I’m sure she’s thinking she can devour our souls later. For now, she’s making damn sure we can’t fight her as a group.

Which is unfortunate, yes, but it was to be expected in accepting the fight on her terms. Coming to her ship was a mistake.

Tell me something I don’t know.

I believe, at this rate, you and your family are going to lose this fight.

Some comfort you are.

You need to protect yourselves more. You can’t expect to take her on one by one. Only if you work as a team will you manage to achieve the kind of power that is needed to take her down.

What team? They’re all down!

For the moment, but when you finally regain consciousness, I urge you to proceed with more caution.

And when will that be?

It will take a while. You need to be patient, little one.

Patience is not one of my virtues. Especially now!

And yet there’s nothing you can do about it so if I were you, I’d meditate on how to best attack Ashra when you do rejoin the land of the living.

* * *

“It’s done,” said Ares.

“Where are you now?” asked Tar’Lock.

“Medbay Six.”

“I’m on my way.”

A few seconds later, Tar’Lock ran so quickly into the medbay that medical instruments on a nearby tray clattered to the floor. Tar’Lock stopped in front of a regen tank.

“My gods,” said Tar’Lock as he looked at a badly burnt Talon. “Will he make it?”

“His chances of survival have increased slightly now that he is in a regen tank cycle, but his injuries were quite severe. If I had teleported him just a fraction of a second later, he’d probably be dead.”

“Thank you.”

“Don’t thank just me yet. As it stands it’s highly unlikely he’ll survive unless Chase or someone else heals him further. And I should stress that this needs to happen fast.”

“Still, at least there’s hope.”

“I suppose so.”

Ares’s energy matrix flickered madly and he collapsed on the ground.

“Ares! What’s going on with you?”

“I wish people would stop asking me that. But if you must know, I think I’m dying too.”

“Too?”

“Sorry, poor choice of words. But the pain is quite severe.”

“You’d think living as an energy-based lifeform, you’d be impervious from pain.”

“Yes, you’d think so, wouldn’t you?”

“Isn’t there someone that can help you? Or at the very least, tell you what’s going on with you?”

That gave Ares an idea, though he didn’t know if it was a wise one in his condition.

“I need to go. I hope your friend survives.”

Ares vanished out of thin air before Tar’Lock could answer.

* * *

“Please, tell me we’re ready to deploy the shields?” asked Spiros.

“I’m afraid not,” replied Gaia. “The power modifications are complete, but now we need more time to charge the main core.”

“How long will that take?”

“Two, maybe three minutes.”

“We’ll all be dead in three minutes. How many of these deflagration shots can Atlantis survive in its current state?”

“At full power,” said Hyperion, “it probably could sustain a half dozen of these shots before it drains our shield … but that was before your modifications … and assuming peak performance. I’m afraid a single full-powered shot could very well take out the power core, and us with it …”

“That’s just great!” muttered Spiros.

“So, what do we do, now?” asked Gaia.

“I know this isn’t what either of you wants to hear, but it’s up to your fleet now,” said Hyperion. “Either they buy us the time we need, or Atlantis will fall.”

8

Daniel didn’t realize how hard he was squeezing both his hands together in the hope that something would happen before the mothership fired at Atlantis once more.

“The mothership is firing,” said one of his officers.

Daniel watched in horror as the powerful beam of plasma energy found a hole through the defenses of the ships, in a brave attempt to sacrifice themselves in order to save Atlantis. Unfortunately, none of them were in range.

The entire command and control bridge flashed as a hyperspace window opened in the distance, mere miles away from Atlantis.

Three Fury superdestroyers exited in tight formation and moved in front of the incoming plasma ray. Their shields flashed madly but by some miracle they managed to diffuse the Spectres’ attack without incurring too much damage.

“Where did they come from?” asked Daniel, not expecting an answer.

“Unknown, sir. We have tried hailing them for hours. I guess they finally got our message.”

“Well, better late than ever, I say. They just bought Atlantis another ninety seconds.”

* * *

When Chase opened his eyes, he saw Ashra walking toward him. That gave him a rush of adrenaline, and he jumped back to his feet.

“Good, you’re up,” said Ashra. “Now that I killed your daughter, it’s time for you to die.”

What??? Chase frantically scanned the room and located Kharon buried deep inside a wall. He extended his consciousness toward her but couldn’t feel her heart beating.

No, it can’t be! Please gods, no.

Rage and anger filled his entire being as a veil of darkness threatened to swallow his heart whole. He turned into Hyper Fury form. The entire ship trembled and it felt as if the ship wouldn’t be able to contain his energy.

“Sure,” said Ashra, “go ahead. Destroy my ship with your rage, but that’s just gonna make my job easier since you’ll kill all of your friends and remaining family members along the way.”

Chase had to restrain himself with every ounce of willpower he could muster. He scanned the room again, only to see that everyone else had been neutralized as well.

This isn’t happening! Chase’s mind raced to find a solution, when he sensed movement nearby.

Fenrir got back to his feet and launched himself at Ashra from behind.

I gotta give him a shot at her with a diversion. Chase fired two dozen fireballs at Ashra.

She deflected the attack with ease with the back of her hands. “You’re gonna have to do better than th⁠—”

She never finished the taunt as Fenrir decapitated her with a slash from his energy claws.

Their satisfaction, however, was short-lived.

Ashra grabbed her flying head by extending one of her hands and snatched it back on her head. She turned and grabbed Fenrir by the neck, and fired a large beam of crimson energy through his ribcage. His eyes rolled to the back of his skull and she discarded him on the side.

Chase fired a healing fireball at him but Ashra intercepted it before it could reach the Guard. The spinning white ball of energy spun wildly on her palm before vanishing.

“I won’t let you revive your friends. While I would have preferred you to be conscious as I kill the rest of your family, I’ve lost all desire to play with you.”

Chase wanted to let his energy grow but as he did, the ship trembled more and more.

“Do it! Come on, Chase, I dare you!”

She wanted Chase to destroy the ship and in doing so, kill everyone he loved. But he sensed something else emanating from the Spectre. Fear.

She was afraid. She was good at hiding it, but deep inside her, Chase could sense her fear. Which meant that she no longer was certain about the issue of this fight. That realization, however, didn’t help Chase in his current situation. After all, he couldn’t teleport out of there.

Chase looked around the place and memorized where everyone was. He tried teleporting to Kharon but it didn’t work; however, he did manage to teleport a couple of yards away.

What does that mean? Is Ashra’s anti-teleporting field weakening?

Right at that moment, Chase wanted nothing more than to grab his family and friends and run. They clearly needed to regroup. His focus was interrupted when he heard a roar from behind him. He spun to see what looked like a dragonman screaming, as hundreds of ice shards of all sizes burst forth from the giant ice coffin that had imprisoned him.

The scream was so intense that both Chase and Ashra were forced to cover their ears. Until Chase took a closer look at the dragonman’s armor, he didn’t know who it was, but then it clicked.

Is that Siegfried? What have I missed?

Siegfried lunched himself at Ashra, who tried to stop him with a powerful shockwave that had no effect whatsoever. Her eyes grew wide and before she could do anything else, Siegfried grabbed her from behind and locked her into place.

“Chase!” said Siegfried, his guttural voice barely recognisable. “I’m going to take her out. Get everyone out of here while you still can.”

Ashra laughed. “He can’t teleport, you fool. If you try to take us both out, all you’re going to achieve is to grant me victory by killing everyone else.”

Siegfried tightened his grip on Ashra, applying as much crushing force as he could. It worked and she screamed.

“Shut the hell up,” ordered Siegfried.

“She’s right, though,” said Chase. “I just tried teleporting but I can’t.”

“That’s okay, Dad. I can,” said a female voice in the distance.

Chase turned to where the voice came from, barely believing what he saw. Kharon was extracting herself from the wall.

Tears of relief flowed from Chase’s eyes. “You … you’re alive.”

“Thanks to my armor, yes, but we need to get the hell out of here. Help me bring them all into one place.”

Chase wasted no time grabbing the unconscious bodies on his side of the room, while Kharon teleported the rest away. He checked Fenrir; he seemed dead but Chase began healing him anyway.

“Can you save him?” asked Siegfried.

“I don’t know, but I’ll try.”

“Thank you. Now, go!”

“Where to?” asked Kharon.

“Alkyon One. We all need regen tanks. Do you really think you can teleport all of us at once?”

“We don’t exactly have a choice now, do we?”

Chase nodded as Kharon teleported everyone away.

* * *

“They’re about to fire again,” said Spiros, “but the Furies arrival has plugged the hole preventing the Spectre to find a direct targeting solution. Seems that this gave them pause since they haven’t fired for at least three minutes.”

“I wouldn’t count on the Furies to take chances with their lives to protect Atlantis, though,” said Gaia.

“Well, technically, that’s exactly what they did a moment ago. But even if you’re right, fortunately, the Spectres don’t know that. Which could be the very reason why we’re still in one piece.”

“They’ll figure out a firing solution, eventually.”

“I know. What are Kvasir and Yanis doing? We need to extend the shields now; we may not get another chance at this.”

“Speak of the devil,” said Spiros as he pointed to a sprinting Yanis.

He was panting heavily and trying to catch his breath.

“You do know this ship has transporters, right?” asked Gaia.

Yanis eyes grew wide. “Now she tells me. Never mind that. We’re ready to power up the core.”

“About time,” said Spiros as Kvasir beamed next to them.

“Son of a⁠—”

“Well, look at the bright side, Yanis,” said Kvasir, making absolutely no effort to try and hide his amusement, “you did make it here faster than it took for me to figure out the transporter controls.”

“That … that’s funny.”

Kvasir smiled before turning to Gaia. “Let’s bring the new power core online.”

Gaia entered a few commands on her holo-terminal and the lights around them flickered.

“Is that supposed to happen?” asked Yanis.

“We’re about to find out,” said Gaia.

* * *

“It’s just you and me now,” said Siegfried.

“And soon it will be just me,” said Ashra.

“I don’t think so! You killed my brother, you bitch, and for this, I’m going make you pay with your life!”

“I’ll survive this. You’ve seen how strong my regeneration powers are.”

“Even so, in space at the very least, it should slow you down.”

“Or I could let you live if you let me go. How does that sound?”

Siegfried’s sniffed in rapid succession. “Is that fear I smell on you? Yes … you reek of it.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, I fear no one!”

“You fear dying, that much is certain.”

Four spikes of hardened skin pierced through Siegfried’s lungs, forcing him to vomit blood. It made him even madder than he already was, and he crushed every one of Ashra’s bones before biting off her head and swallowing it.

Siegfried grew his aura exponentially and the ship trembled and cracked all around them. In front of him stood the ghost of Grunhild with tears in her eyes.

“I’m sorry,” he said.

“Don’t be. I’m so proud of you. Now, accomplish your destiny and rid the universe of of its biggest monster. I’ll be waiting for you in the afterlife, my love.”

Burning tears evaporated from Siegfried’s dragon eyes as he pushed himself beyond every one of his limits.

Shortly thereafter, Ashra’s ship exploded in a vibrant blue flash of light.

* * *

Ares appeared in front of Zeus and almost immediately fell to his knees and screamed.

“What’s up with you?” asked Zeus.

Ares had a hard time talking. “Was hoping … you … could tell.”

“From the looks of it, you’ve pushed yourself too far and now you don’t have enough energy to keep this form anymore.”

“C—can you help me?”

“I’m afraid there’s not much I can do, as you know. I’m also dead.”

“Damn … I don’t want to go out like this.”

“You’ve delayed Elysium too long and you know it. This was bound to happen one day. Looks like today is that day for you.”

Ares struggled to get back on his feet. “I know. I just feel like there’s something I’m still meant to do while I’m here.”

“And what would that be?”

“I … I wish I knew. It’s just something I’m feeling in the depth of my soul.” Ares’ energy matrix flashed madly again.

“I see. Then perhaps like you say, you need to stay around a little longer, but whatever you’ve got to do, Ares, you’d better figure it out quickly. I don’t think you have much time left.”

“How much?” asked Ares through gritted teeth.

“If I knew, I would tell you. For all intents and purposes, you should no longer be able to maintain this form, but it seems your will is strong enough for you to delay the inevitable. If I had to make a guess, I’d say hours, at best. Or you could just let go, right here, right now, and walk along that way.” Zeus pointed in the direction of the Styx River.

“No … not yet. I don’t know what it is I stayed behind for, but my gut tells me it’s very important.”

“You do realize you don’t actually have a gut, right?”

“That particular joke … has been done to death already.”

Zeus smiled. “Alright then, even though we’ve had our differences in the past, I can’t say I’m happy to see you suffer like this. So, I’m going to try something, but I don’t know if it’s going to help. It could make things worse.”

Ares’ face was deformed from the pain, but he still managed to nod.

Zeus reached inside his chest and took a small golden ball of energy from it. “Stay as still as you can.” He then dropped the golden sphere of energy where Ares’ heart would be if he had one. Tendrils of golden energy extended inside Ares’s energy form, resembling a circulating system spreading through his entire body.

Ares took a long deep breath.

“You don’t have lungs either, but I’ll take that as a good sign.”

Ares’s energy matrix stopped flashing and flickering and he made fists with his hands.

“Much, better, thank you. What did you do?”

“I gave you a piece of my soul. I don’t think it’s going to stop what’s happening to you, but maybe it will allow you to live your last hours pain-free. If my assumption is correct, that is.”

Ares nodded. “Yes, I barely feel any pain anymore. Thank you.”

“I suppose you’d like to go say your goodbyes to Aphroditis now. Perhaps that’s what’s keeping you around.”

“I don’t think that’s what it is, but yes, I’d better visit her while I still can.”

“Before you do, can I ask you something?”

“Of course.”

“How is Oryn doing?”

“I wish I could tell you. She went to fight Ashra with Chase and the others. We haven’t heard from them since.”

“Of course she did.”

“Well, look at the bright side. The fact that she isn’t here with us means she’s still alive. At least there’s that, right?”

“I suppose, yes.”

“What’s bothering you then?”

“Nothing. Well, that’s not entirely true. I just … I miss her.”

“I understand, Zeus, but she’s back in the land of the living, and while it means you may have to stay here alone, even you must admit that it’s a better fate for her.”

“Yes, of course it is. It’s just I didn’t even have time to say goodbye, that’s all.”

“I’m sure Chase can bring her around when this is all over.”

Zeus nodded. “You’re right, I’m being very selfish.”

“Don’t beat yourself up. If anything, it only shows how much you love her.”

“That’s kind of you to say.”

“Of course … well, I’d better be going. Thanks again for your help.”

“You’re welcome. Goodbye, Ares. And good luck.”

“Goodbye.”

Ares teleported away.

* * *

“It can’t be!” exclaimed Daniel as he let himself fall to his knees. “Was that …?”

“The ship where Chase and the others went to fight Ashra,” his officer told him. “It is … well … it was.”

Daniel’s heart felt like it had stopped and his eyes filled with tears when his comms activated.

“Daniel,” said Chase, “we’re back on board.”

Daniel took a deep breath of relief. “You almost gave me heart attack! Is everyone all right?”

“No, besides Kharon and I, everyone is in pretty bad shape. We’re deciding who to heal and who to put into regen tanks. Please keep an eye on the coordinates where Ashra’s ship blew up. Make sure you run deep continuous scans.”

“You think she can survive such a blast?”

“I hope not, but something tells me this isn’t over.”

“I hate it when you get these omens, you know that?”

“I know. You and me both.”

* * *

Chase decided to put Oryn, Menelas, Nyx, and Fenrir into regen tanks. He had managed to heal the Asgardian Guard just enough to bring him back to life, even though he didn’t know if that would suffice to save his life. His damage was extensive, and Chase couldn’t spare more energy trying to help his former enemy get into better shape.

Tar’Lock came running into Medbay Five. “Chase! Talon has been gravely wounded. You need to help him!”

Chase looked down to the floor where Chris and Argos lay, and he checked his own energy pool. “I’m already quite spent, Tar’Lock, and I need to heal them too.”

“I’ll heal them,” said Kharon. “You go heal your friend.”

“One of us needs to keep his energy. You also fought Ashra, and so you must be spent.”

“Actually, no. The resurrection power my armor grants me has fully recharged me. I can heal both of them and still have enough juice to keep fighting, if we must.”

“What about him?” said Chase, pointing to Fenrir. “I’m not sure he’ll make it, even with the regen tank.”

“And we care … why?” asked Tar’Lock with a frown.

Chase ignored Tar’Lock question.

“I can try and heal him some more,” said Kharon. “Give the regen tank a fighting chance to keep him alive at least.”

“Okay, but don’t spend too much of your energy. Chris and Argos are the priority. Even though they fought on our side, and I know that Siegfried gave his life to try and help us. Still … if we want to survive this day, we need to be very careful how we expend our energy. But I promised him we’d at least try.”

Kharon nodded. “I understand, Dad, go help your friend, I’ll take care of the rest.”

Chase took Kharon in his arms and squeezed her hard. “I thought I’d lost you for a minute there. I don’t ever want to feel this way, you hear me?”

“I hear you, Dad, and I love you too.”

Chase chuckled as he let go of Kharon. “I’ll be right back.”

* * *

Chase decided to heal Talon through the glass of the regen tank.

“I didn’t know you could do that?” said Tar’Lock.

“Well, I wasn’t sure either, but I fear that if we take him out of his current cycle, we may lose him. I’m surprised he’s still breathing.”

Chase’s hand glowed white and the entire regen liquid glowed. He gave as much energy as he felt comfortable with, which wasn’t much to begin with, but it managed to repair about half of Talon’s burns.

“Why did you stop?” asked Tar’Lock. “It’s clearly working.”

“I can’t give him any more of my energy, Tar’Lock. I need to keep what little I have to fight Ashra. If she survived, that is. If we confirm she’s dead, I’ll gladly give him more, and Kharon can help as well.”

Tar’Lock released a series of melancholic clicks. “Will he survive?”

“I can’t tell for sure, but for what it’s worth, he’s now got a fighting chance at least; the rest is up to him.”

Tar’Lock released a silent, but deadly, fart. “Sorry. You know how I get when I’m stressed.”

Chase covered his nose. “I know … that’s alright, Tar’Lock. Stay by his side. I’m sure your presence will help.”

And for the sake of Talon’s nostrils, hopefully his regent has a tank with a tight seal.

* * *

“How can you still be alive after this?” asked Sarah

“I’m not that easy to kill,” said Ashra

Yes but that explosion should have taken you out.

You’d think so, wouldn’t you? But my regenerative powers have also increased tenfold ever since I’ve been more selective with the souls I devour. I was wrong before, and favoring quantity over quality was a rookie mistake. Now that I select only the best souls, I may truly become immortal.

Chase will find a way to kill you, I know he will.

And if he does, he’ll kill you too. I don’t think he has it in him to do that.

At this juncture, dying would be a release for me. I think he’ll realize that to be true. I’m weary of being a trapped prisoner inside this body, witnessing all the horrors you commit.

You’d better get used to it, ‘cause I’m only getting started, and I intend to live forever.

That would be a fate infinitely worse than death itself.

I know, right? Isn’t it fun?

You’re the worst monster there ever was … to think I thought the Furies were bad.

Furies are mindless warriors that let their pride get in the way.

As opposed to what exactly? The infinite wisdom of killing everyone?

When I’m done with this dimension, I’ll be a true goddess.

Goddess of what exactly? Desolation? Death? Destruction?

Yeees, the Goddess of Destruction. That has a nice ring to it, don’t you think?

You’re truly mad.

Please, you flatter me.

9

When Chase returned to Medbay Four, Argos and Chris were already back on their feet.

“Looks like round one didn’t go as planned,” said Argos.

“You can say that again,” said Chris. “There’s no reason to call this fiasco for what it was: we got our asses kicked and handed to us.”

“I really thought with our new armor, and with strength in numbers, we’d get the better of her,” stated Chase.

“She clearly levelled the hell up since last we fought her,” said Chris.

“It’s like she’s a new warrior altogether, yes.”

“Do we know if she survived?” asked Chris

“Daniel couldn’t get a proper sensor reading with the battle raging outside, too much interference, but I can sense it. She’s still there. I’m sure of it.”

“What’s next then?”

“Kharon, when you merged with my mind,” said Chase, “you acquired most of my memories, correct?”

“Yes, more or less. Why?”

“Do you think you could help the fleet by captaining a new flagship? And maybe remote-pilot some empty StarFuries? Or even the full fleet, if you feel up to it.”

“I could, but where are you going with this? I should go with you to fight Ashra.”

“I understand that, but you already used your resurrection power, and now that Talon is down, we need a new commander to lead the fleet, and it can’t be me.”

“Surely there are more experienced captains that can take on that mantle? They’re not going to listen to a sixteen-year-old give them orders.”

“They will if the order comes from Chase,” said Argos. “And to answer your other concern, nope. Since you have Chase’s space-battle experience, no one is more qualified for the task.”

“You’re just trying to protect me from harm.”

Chase gave Chris a quick glance before answering. “I assure you that I’m not.”

“And you can always teleport back to us if we need you,” added Argos.

“They’re right,” said Chris. “Right now, it’s the safest course of action. With you in command, armed with Dad’s tactics in fleet warfare, you are the best choice to achieve victory. Dad, Argos and I can deal with Ashra, once and for all.”

Kharon sighed. “Very well, but at the first sign of trouble, you bet your asses I’ll teleport and join the fight.”

“Fair enough,” said Chase.

“This time,” said Argos, “we need to fight her on neutral ground. She really did a number on us after we teleported onto her ship.”

“I bare the entire responsibility for that decision. I should have listened to Hyperion and refused to teleport on her ship. Somehow, I thought that …” Chase couldn’t bring himself to finish his sentence.

“You thought we could offset that with our new armor,” said Chris. “To tell you the truth, I thought the same. After I wore the Tiger armor for the first time, I thought I’d be unbeatable and almost expected to be able to take on Ashra on my own.”

“Clearly, we were wrong about that,” said Argos. “But now that we know this, we’ll have to proceed with caution. Hopefully, even though she’s still more powerful than us, she must have spent a lot of energy to rebuild herself so many times. Even if Siegfried failed to destroy her, recovering from only a few cells must have cost her a ton of energy. We’d better exploit that.”

“True,” said Kharon, “but you may want to take more energy from me then. Too bad we don’t have access to regen tanks inside time rooms.”

“That would be a definitive advantage and would allow us to rebuild our strength quickly,” nodded Chase. “Unfortunately, there’s no time room we can use, right now.”

Chase could sense that Chris had seen a spark inside his father’s eyes when Kharon mentioned the idea.

* * *

When the Spectre mothership fired again, its powerful plasma ray was stopped by Atlantis’ now fully operational shields, which had been extended to protect the fleet around it.

As a result, it gave the enemy a large new target to turn its attention to: Alkyon One.

The stations shook heavily as two dozen torpedoes managed to get through the heavy barrage of defensive fire.

“That’s not good!” muttered Daniel.

“No, sir. We won’t be able to take this for much longer, but our shields are holding steady at fifty five percent for now.”

“Status on our StarFuries wings?”

“We’ve lost over fifty percent of them. As a matter of fact, there’s a wing coming in to refuel and rearm.”

“Tell these pilots they’ll need to report to turret firing stations instead of going back out.”

“Sir?”

“I’ve talked with Admiral Athanatos; Kharon is to take command of the fleet, and like her father, she can remote-pilot ships with her mind. That allows her to sacrifice them in micro-jump maneuvers, which should open up new strategies for her to exploit.”

“Our pilots won’t be happy about this.”

“I understand that, but egos are not what win wars; out-of-the-box strategy does.”

“Understood, Captain. Atlantis just sent us a message. They’re repositioning themselves and what’s left of the fleet to take some of the damage off us, allowing us to recharge our shields. They’re confident their shields will hold a lot longer than ours, now that their power distribution problems have been addressed.”

“Good, we certainly can use all the help we can get.”

* * *

“You want to do what?” asked Yanis over the comms.

“See if Atlantis has something similar to the time room we built during the Fury wars, and see if we can regen there,” explained Chase.

“I’ll ask Hyperion.”

A moment later, the communication switched from audio only to a holo-video feed. Hyperion appeared on screen.

“Hyperion,” greeted Chase.

“Chase, your rather nervous engineer asked me if I have a time-dilation chamber on board.”

“And do you?”

“Yes and no.”

“You’re going to have to give me a little more than that.”

“I’ve developed a time-dilation system to slow down the passing of years around my stasis pod, but I don’t have a chamber the way Yanis described to me. Basically, you’re hoping to use regeneration chambers while time is slowed down on the outside, making you heal faster.”

“Yes, that was the gist of my idea. That’s too bad. We could have used faster regeneration cycles. We’ve lost quite a huge amount of energy fighting Ashra. I worry we won’t have enough to replenish before we need to finish this fight.”

“I believe I can help with that. Atlantis regeneration chambers are way more advanced than yours, I suspect.”

“How much faster? How long does it take for a full cycle?”

“Depending on the damage, it can take from ten to thirty minutes.”

Chase’s eyes grew wide. “That’s the best news I heard all day. We’re on our way now!”

* * *

“We shouldn’t all go in at once,” said Chris.

“I don’t see that we have a choice in the matter,” said Argos.

“I think we do. We transfer what energy we have over to Chase, bring him back to one hundred percent, and then we go and recharge.”

“I see where you’re going with this,” said Chase.

“Okay, that’s a good idea,” said Argos, “but it means Chase may have to fight Ashra on his own for a while. Are we really willing to risk that?”

“I can hold her off until the two of you are ready to join the fight.”

“Still, you’ll have to spend a lot of energy doing so. I don’t like it.”

“I don’t think we have a choice.”

Argos sighed. “Very well.”

Argos and Chris put their hands on Chase’s shoulder and transferred him their energy.

“You better not need our help right away,” said Argos, “I’m spent.”

“Same here,” said Chris.

“Just one question, though?” asked Argos. “Where are the damn chambers?”

Hyperion materialized his hologram nearby. “You just need to step into the blue circles.”

Chris didn’t hesitate and a column of blue energy lifted him from the ground and levitated him.

“That’s it?” asked Argos.

“Indeed,” replied Hyperion.

Argos did the same and soon he was hovering next to Chris.

As Chris closed his eyes, he heard Hades’ voice in his mind. This fight is coming to a close soon … so, remember your vow.

* * *

Once Ashra had grown into a blob of black matter and was detectable by the mothership’s sensors, she was beamed on board the bridge of the last remaining ship. No longer exposed to the cold and harsh void of space, she quickly regained her humanoid form. With a new addition to her physical traits. Ashra looked at her skin and noticed that black scales covered her entire body.

What the hell is this? Could my DNA have fused with Siegfried’s?

The commanding officer, Admiral Camus, bowed in front of her.

“Welcome back, mistress.”

“You took your sweet time beaming me in. You had specific orders to bring me back as fast as possible in case my ship was destroyed.”

“I apologize, mistress. We couldn’t get a lock on you until now. Too much interference from the battle.”

Ashra walked past the crew and stood in front of the massive viewport. She looked at the battle outside. “I don’t want to hear your pathetic excuses. Where are my other motherships?”

When there was no answer, she whirled, murder in her glowing eyes. “I believe I asked you a question, Admiral!”

The Admiral’s knees buckled and he swallowed hard. “They’ve been destroyed by the enemy, Spectre Prime.”

The moment the Admiral saw Ashra grit her teeth, she could tell he knew that his life was over. Fortunately for him, he didn’t have time to suffer. Ashra made a fist and the Admiral exploded in the middle of the bridge, spilling guts and body parts on the rest of the crew.

Ashra scanned the room and randomly pointed to an officer. “You, come here.”

The female Spectre ran in front of Ashra and saluted her with a shiver.

“Your name, soldier?”

The woman took a deep breath before answering. “Ash’Koon, mistress. My name is Commander Ash’Koon.”

“Very well, Admiral Ash’Koon. For your sake, you’d better turn the tides of this battle. Understood”

The newly promoted Spectre Admiral saluted and bowed. “Yes, Spectre Prime, and I will!”

Ashra’s eyes glowed more fiercely and her tone was ice cold. “Make sure that you do.”

* * *

Chris was amazed how quickly he had regained thirty percent of his energy pool.

“Chris?” asked Argos mentally.

Yes, uncle?

Shouldn’t we have transferred the others on board Atlantis as well so they could heal faster too?

I’ve thought about it, but I think that it was a deliberate choice from your father.

If it is, it’s quite a risky one, seeing how we got our asses handed to us earlier.

I know, but attacking her with a smaller group has its advantages.

Such as?

You see, we have ties with them too. The more people get hurt, the more we’ll divert our attention to try and save them. This could expose weaknesses in our resolve. I think Chase is right—us three should be the ones who finish this fight. The only thing I worry about is that Nyx may never forgive me for this.

Yeah … she does hold a grudge, doesn’t she?

And then some.

Argos smiled.

If it’s her destiny to participate in this fight, I’m sure she’ll make it happen one way or another. The two of you have a strong bond, after all.

She’s more powerful than my father; did you know that?

At least, that’s what she claims, yes.

It’s not just Fury ego in this case. I truly believe she has more powers. And she controls her emotions much better than we do.

Or lack thereof, in her case. But you’re right. For the same reasons Chase has decided not to inform Menelas and Oryn, she could be a liability for you, and you for her.

And you and my father aren’t?

Of course we are, but we’re family, so it’s different.

I’m not sure it is, at least not today.

It’s up to you. It’s not too late to go get her if that’s what you want. Just ask yourself this: if she dies in the coming battle, will you forgive yourself?

I don’t think I would, no.

Then let fate decide what must happen. If she’s meant to join us on that battlefield, then she’ll find a way to do so.

* * *

Ares appeared in a dark-lit room and walked toward the bed. Aphroditis was sleeping peacefully, which had not always been the case. The Olympian goddess was often haunted by dreams and visions of apocalyptic events in her sleep.

Even though her gifts had saved the universe more than once, Aphroditis looked at them as a curse.

Ares wondered if he should wake her up or if he should just silently voice his goodbyes. For now, he just stood there, casting gold hues on Aphroditis’ beautiful long and voluminous hair.

Ares sighed as he thought about his own mortality and his life finally coming to an end. Having lived for tens of thousands of years now seemed like a short time in the face of the approaching end. Which made him wonder how humans did it. Being incarnated for only such a short amount of time seemed inconceivable for the Olympian.

And even if he was only made of energy now, he called back the memories of the time he was flesh and blood. Staying alongside Chase and the Alliance after he lost his body had really softened the blow.

“I don’t know if I should wake you up or not,” whispered Ares.

Aphroditis moaned and turned on the other side of the bed, without waking up.

Maybe not …

Ares could always record a holo-message to leave to her, but he put himself in her place, and if the roles were reversed, he’d rather miss sleep for the opportunity to say goodbye to the most important person in his life.

Ares and Aphroditis had been through thick and thin together. He remembered when she came to him and the rest of the Olympians. To warn them of the impeding doom that the return of the Furies would bring, and the chaos it would plunge the universe into. He had been the only one of their kind that had given her warning attention, as well as the other one who’d provided her help.

They had been banished from Olympus, and Zeus didn’t want to have anything to do with either of them. Ares had already been in disgrace with the throne back then, so he didn’t really care about that. Aphroditis, however, took the banishment quite hard.

To think one had seen the future so accurately, and was banished for trying to warn and save trillions of lives must not have been an easy weight to carry on one’s shoulders. There was that time when she was tortured every second of every day when she agreed to give her life to save Sarah’s. Aphroditis had agreed to that exchange in the hope of securing Chase’s vow to fight and defeat the Furies. Which he ended up doing, just as she predicted.

Ares would have given anything to take her place, but he had already been killed by Argos by that time. In fact, a part of Ares hated Chase for putting Aphroditis in that position. The rest of him had fought tooth and nail to make sure her sacrifice wasn’t in vain, by helping guide Chase to victory.

Near the end of the Fury war, Ares managed to swap his place with hers inside the Pandora device, and that’s how he ended on the wrong side of the dimensional rift. The irony that it was a Fury, of all people, that allowed him to get back to this dimension was not lost on him either.

And yet, Ares would soon be gone. He could feel that from within, like a siren’s call from the beyond. One from which there was no escape.

Ares regarded the peaceful face of Aphroditis and gently approached her to kiss her on the cheek. He couldn’t make physical contact in this form, but that didn’t matter to him. The symbolism behind his gesture would have to do.

Energy tears formed in his eyes.

And even though he had decided to wake her up just a minute ago, as he stared at her, he felt that he wouldn’t find adequate words to express how he felt at this moment.

“Goodbye my love,” whispered Ares before teleporting away.

Aphroditis woke up, opened her eyes, and looked around her.

“Ares?” she said. “Is that you?”

Tears streamed down her eyes as she understood what had just happened. It was as if Ares had left an imprint of his presence, as well as his emotions, in the room before teleporting away.

“Goodbye, Ares. I shall miss you so very much. I wish you a safe journey through the Styx. I know you’ll be waiting for me in Elysium, where we shall one day be reunited again.”

10

“Let’s finish this,” said Ashra inside Chase’s mind.

“So, you did survive after all,” said Chase.

Did you have any doubts about that?

No, I guess not.

You can beam on my remaining mothership any time so we can continue where we left off.

Never going to happen. You tricked us once. Now, you’ll have to fight on my terms.

Let’s assume for one minute that I give a damn about your terms … what would they be?

We fight on the planet below. Away from ships and innocent bystanders.

No one is innocent, and you know it.

Says the monster devouring millions of souls as snacks.

Once upon a time maybe … but not anymore.

Chase was surprised by the response, but it confirmed something he’d felt during the fight, and also something his soul armor had told him. Ashra was more powerful now, yes, but she felt different somehow. Perhaps her newfound powers weren’t coming from millions of new souls, but by a curated selection of stronger ones.

I’ll transmit a set of coordinates on the planet so we can finish this once and for all.

Finally, something we can agree on.

* * *

“Come with me,” requested Ashra.

Admiral Ash’Koon followed her Prime to the ready room.

“Do you have a status on what I’ve requested you to look for?” asked Ashra.

“Yes, Prime.”

“And?”

“We’ve established communications with the ship you’ve asked me to locate. They’re on their way now.”

“Good. What’s their ETA?”

“It won’t be long now. Am I to assume that her commanding officer is going to relieve me upon arrival?”

“No, Admiral. You’re still in command. But make no mistake. Failure in winning this battle won’t be tolerated.”

Ash’Koon straightened and saluted. “Understood, Prime.”

“You’ll need this, though,” said Ashra as she handed the Admiral a small device.

“What is it?”

“Something I’ve stolen from our enemies. This device will allow you to command both ships with your mind.”

“I was unaware that our enemy possessed such technology.”

“That’s because that information was way beyond your pay grade, that is until now.”

Ash’koon inspected the round device in her palm for a moment. “How does it work?”

“Stick it in the center of your forehead, and your mind will be linked with every system on both this ship as well as the Carnage.”

“I see. And I can speak with the crew of the Carnage, then?”

“In a manner of speaking. This bypasses the need for you to dispatch orders in such a fashion. What you think automatically translates into orders that your officers carry out. For some systems, where orders are slowing down the reaction time, it bypasses them directly, and transmits your commands to the ship’s computer. As for the Carnage, it’s devoid of a living crew.”

“How can such a humongous ship function without a crew?”

“Oh, it has a crew, just not a living one. Bots, drones, and automatons perform the roles our crew members perform on this ship—with better efficiency.”

Ashra could tell that information troubled her new Admiral. “Is something the matter, Admiral?”

“No, I just never heard of any of our ships functioning this way.”

“And yet, it’s the future, so you’d better get used to it.”

“Very well, Prime. Your wish is my command.”

Obviously, Ashra skipped the part of why it would be the future. As more souls were devoured, their species might face a food shortage, so to speak. Even though Ashra intended to figure out a way to open a rift to other dimensions once the present one had been fully conquered, there could come a time when Spectres might be forced to feed upon themselves, as well as their slave race, the arachnoids.

* * *

Kharon arrived on the bridge of the Paragon, where she was to take over control of what was left of the fleet.

Captain Marlow, the current captain, approached and sized her up and snorted in disbelief. “You’re a just a kid. What in the blazes was Admiral Athanatos thinking?”

“Hello to you too. And I’m wiser than I look, Captain. Not to mention that I’m not happy with this assignment either.”

“Then why accept it?”

“Because the Admiral thinks that since I possess all his tactical knowledge, I’m the best suited candidate to approach this battle with out-of-the box tactics, sir. His words, not mine.”

“I see. May it be noted in my logs that I object to this change of leadership.”

Kharon nodded. “It’s your prerogative, Captain.”

“Captain Athanatos, I hereby relinquish command of this ship to you.”

“I relieve you, sir. I now assume command of the Paragon, as well as the fleet.”

“I stand relieved. The ship is yours, Captain Athanatos.”

They both saluted and Marlow headed toward the bridge’s exit.

“Captain Marlow, a moment please,” requested Kharon.

Marlow stopped and turned.

“Would you please consider staying on board and serving as my first officer? In case I’m incapacitated, I’d rather an experienced Captain such as yourself took over.”

Marlow sighed.

Kharon could tell he wasn’t keen on the idea of staying around, but after taking a look around the bridge and his crew, he walked back next to Kharon.

“Why the hell not? It’s not like I have anything better to do.”

That’s the spirit.

Kharon sat on the captain’s chair, and Marlow next to her.

“Comms,” said Kharon, “open a channel to Atlantis, please.”

Gaia’s face filled the main holo-viewer. “Kharon, sorry, I mean Captain. How can I be of assistance?”

“Can Atlantis help us take out that last ship?” asked Kharon.

“Yes … eventually.”

“What do you mean ‘eventually’?”

“We’ll need a bit of time.”

“Why’s that? I thought the new power core was up and ready to go?”

“It is, but since we’ve positioned ourselves in between the mothership and the station, all power at the moment is being redirected to the shield bubble in order to protect the rest of the fleet. These ships have sustained heavy damage and are in bad shape, so before we can make an attack run, the fleet needs time to affect repairs and recharge their shields.”

“I see. How long will that take?”

“For all ships to make the necessary repairs and fully recharge their shields, it could take as much as an hour, or more.”

“And can Atlantis sustain the bubble for that long?”

“Probably, but I suspect the Spectres are not going to wait for us. They’re sure to try new tactics. In fact, I don’t see them maintaining this standoff for that much longer.”

“Neither should we. Even if the fleet is damaged, once Atlantis goes on the offensive, we need to devise a plan of attack that puts it at the center of the fight. The fleet can always find refuge by hiding behind Atlantis’ shields.”

“That’s possible, I suppose, but risky. We may lose more ships.”

“I understand that, Gaia, but if we give the Spectres more time, they could bring in reinforcements, couldn’t they?”

“As far as we know, these three motherships were all they had in our dimension.”

“And yet, we can’t be certain of that. I’d rather destroy this ship as soon as humanly possible, rather than give the Spectres an opportunity to retake the upper hand. Right now, we have the advantage, but this window of opportunity could close.”

“I don’t know what you expect me to say, Captain. You’re in command so … the choice is yours.”

“Very well, Gaia. We’ll inform the fleet that they need to focus on shields and weapons as far as the repairs go.”

“Understood. Gaia out.”

“Captain,” said Marlow. “Would you like me to inform the fleet?”

Kharon closed her eyes and focused on establishing a link with every ship in the fleet. “Thank you, Captain, but that won’t be necessary.”

* * *

Chase teleported down to the planet. He had selected an arid region with little wildlife around. If at all possible, he hoped to minimize casualties as far as the indigenous lifeforms of this world were concerned.

Chase looked around at the terrain. The place reminded him of a place he and Sarah had once visited on Earth called the Grand Canyon. This area was very similar, with the exception of the sky, which was green.

“It will do,” Chase said to the stillness around him.

Mentally, he contacted Argos. “How are you two doing?”

We’re at eighty percent of our regen cycles. Has Ashra survived?

She has. I’m about to send her my location.

Can’t you just wait a few more minutes, until we’re ready to join you?

I’m not sure she’s the patient kind.

A ball of fire in the sky attracted Chase’s attention. “Never mind that idea. She’s coming down now.”

I thought you hadn’t sent the coordinates yet?

I hadn’t. We can sense strong warriors at very large distances, so I’m sure she can do the same. Not to mention that Sarah also had Fury DNA, as well as that ability. Maybe that’s where she got it from. I guess the time has come to continue and hopefully end this fight.

Don’t overexert yourself for now, Chase. Try and keep her at bay while using as little energy as you can until we can join you.

Roger that.

Chase wasn’t too keen on lying to his brother, but part of him hoped he could alone rid the universe of Ashra, even though he knew that would be harder said than done.

Ashra landed dozens of feet from Chase and gazed around. “This is an ugly place.”

“Then it’s a good thing we didn’t come down here to sightsee.”

“True. But I would think you’d have selected a lusher location … you know, since it will become your tomb.”

“I have no intention of dying here today.”

Ashra smiled. “Neither have I.”

* * *

“Forty percent of the fleet report they have restored their weapons and a large portion of their shields,” said Marlow.

“That will have to do,” said Kharon.

She envisioned her strategy in her mind and the fleet ships moved to the back of Atlantis as it advanced toward the mothership, which kept firing at Atlantis, though the enemy’s salvos of torpedoes had reduced in number.

Kharon assumed that they were either running out of them, or that some of their launchers had overheated. Whatever the reason, it was good news in her book.

Gaia had installed the necessary subsystems on board Atlantis so that Kharon could also remote-pilot the formidable ship. By default, Atlantis had security systems in place to prevent such a use of its systems, but with the help of Hyperion, they had succeeded in bypassing them.

Atlantis deployed all its weapons in an impressive fashion. It clearly had more firepower than the rest of the fleet combined. During the attack run, Atlantis deployed multiple beams of plasma to lower the enemy’s shields, then launched an impressive number of quantum-flux torpedoes.

Upon impact, they opened a small breach in the mothership’s shields. The weapons-capable ships of the fleet hiding behind Atlantis micro-jumped into position around Atlantis, and fired their own payload into the breach before veering back to take cover behind Atlantis.

The move didn’t allow the Spectres to target them fast enough and even though only fifty percent of the fired Alliance torpedoes managed to make it through the shields, multiple explosions detonated on the hull of the enemy ship.

“Interesting strategy, to say the least,” said Marlow.

“I’m glad you agree,” said Kharon.

“Not what I said, but it sure seems to be working.”

Kharon decided to ignore the former captain’s objections, understanding fully how she would feel if their positions were reversed, and if she had been the one to be relieved of duty by someone she considered a kid.

“Status regarding their shields?” she asked.

“They’ve already recharged to forty percent, which is a faster recharge cycle than we’ve seen up until now.”

Kharon had noticed that. She didn’t really need to ask for stats since she was seeing them inside her mind, but did so as a courtesy to Captain Marlow. She wanted him to feel useful. She acknowledged that if things heated up, though, she’d probably have to forgo such niceties.

“They’re redirecting more power to shield generation, which we can safely assume is why their firing rate has been impacted.”

“I concur.”

Kharon repeated the maneuver and since the enemy’s shields hadn’t recovered to full strength, more than seventy percent of the fleets torpedoes and a third of Atlantis quantum-flux ones made it through the hole in the shields.

More explosions detonated in quick succession on the surface of the massive mothership’s hull. Kharon checked the enemy ship’s vitals and was surprised to see that even though they had been hit so many times, the overall damage wasn’t as significant as she’d hoped.

For her third attack wave, to open the hole in the enemy’s shields, she mixed things up and only fired Atlantis plasma beams, as well as the fleet’s torpedoes, whose stock she knew wouldn’t last forever. This way, Atlantis was able to shoot more quantum-flux torpedoes during the wave, which resulted in triple the damage of the previous runs.

“Now we’re talking,” thought Kharon.

* * *

Chase blocked Ashra’s first blows before turning into Hyper Fury. He could sense that Ashra’s energy pool was much lower than it had been when they’d fought earlier. That gave him hope that perhaps he could deal with her himself, after all. At the very least, with the help of Argos and Chris, it increased their chances of defeating her.

“Don’t try and save me,” he heard in his mind.

“Can it be?” thought Chase.

That was Sarah’s voice. Could she have found the energy to send this message to him?

The distraction gave Ashra an opportunity to land a powerful combo and send Chase to the ground.

He quickly jumped back up and fired a powerful fireball to counter Ashra’s next attack. She parried with ease and kept attacking him. Chase increased his focus and managed to keep up with her. To dodge another powerful blow she launched at him, Chase flew into the air, but the Spectre followed.

They kept throwing powerful blows in the air but each impact, block, or counter resulted in massive shockwaves blasting away from the points of impact. In quick succession and a matter of seconds, the shockwaves dissipated the gray clouds in the sky.

Chase couldn’t get Sarah out of his mind, though. He knew the chances of saving her were slim to none, but there was a part of him that didn’t want to consider a world where he could never hold her in his arms again.

“Focus on the fight, Dragonheart,” said the soul of the Dragon.

You’re still there? I was wondering where you’ve been.

We are.

I’m glad to hear it, but our armor is damaged. How will this impact our new powers?

Up until now, none of you, except perhaps for Oryn, mastered your armor. You need to stop thinking about the powers your armor grants you, and just fight instinctively. Let the power of our souls run through yours. That way, you’ll discover that you can move faster, inflict more damage, and even increase your focus.

That’s all very well and good, but I have no idea how to do this.

Of course you do. When you were onboard soul ships at the end of the Fury war, you did that naturally.

That was different. They were ships.

And herein lies the problem. It’s only different in your mind. Try recalling how you felt back then.

“Could it be that simple?” wondered Chase. He tried bringing up the memory of the space engagement with the soul ship, and to his surprise, his aura tripled in size and took the shape of a flaming dragon.

All his senses became more acute. Barely managing to hold off Ashra’s attacks previously, he now felt as if she had slowed down considerably, opening new counterattack possibilities.

Chase could sense her attacks before she even initiated them. Without realizing it, he threw a perfectly timed flaming uppercut, and sent Ashra flying toward the stratosphere.

Holy crap!

11

Ashra dropped from the sky and stopped and levitated in front of Chase. She didn’t look happy. “You’re gonna pay for this!” she screamed.

“We’ll see,” said Chase with a smile. “You have way more to answer for, though, and I’ll do everything in my power to stop you today.”

Ashra laughed out loud.

“What’s so funny?”

“You haven’t figured it out yet, have you? I’m unstoppable. The sooner you realize that, the easier it will be.”

“Your overconfidence will be your downfall.”

“And your trust in your friends will be yours. Speaking of, where are they?”

“None of your business.”

“I see. I hope I didn’t kill most of them … well, wait. Let me rephrase that: I hope I did.”

“You haven’t killed any of them, and I won’t let you kill anymore today.”

“I’m afraid that’s out of your control. And you’re wrong. I killed Siegfried.”

“No, you didn’t. He bravely sacrificed himself to save his brother. I wish he had succeeded.”

“You are lying to yourself. You still hope you can save your wife. I can smell it on you.”

Was she correct, Chase wondered. Sure, a part of him wished he could save his dear Sarah, but the killing had gone too far. Too many lives had already been lost. Ashra had grown too powerful and Chase knew she had to be stopped, even if that meant sacrificing Sarah to achieve that goal.

“She knows we need to rid the world of you.”

“You’d think so, wouldn’t you?”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“That right now, I’m the only one who can talk directly to her, and knows what she thinks.”

“Even if that were true, I wouldn’t trust a single word coming out of your mouth.”

“Then I’ll have to let my actions speaks louder than my words.”

Ashra’s crimson aura exploded like a supernova. She screamed and started morphing, which startled Chase as she had never displayed such ability before—except perhaps when she’d shaped her limbs into weapons to use against them. The entire planet trembled as she grew in size.

What the hell is this?

When her transformation was completed, her face had changed shape and looked like a dragon-Spectre hybrid. Two large black wings were positioned on her back and she was now much taller than Chase.

“That’s new,” commented Chase.

“Think of it as a parting gift from Siegfried.”

That was when Chase noticed her thick black skin was covered in scales. “I doubt he ever intended to gift you anything, besides the gift of death.”

Ashra smiled. “Look at me, Chase. He gifted me with way more. Somehow, part of his DNA fused with mine as he valiantly, and pointlessly I might add, sacrificed himself. In trying to kill me, he made me even more powerful.”

You may be more powerful, but you can’t hide your pool of energy from me. It’s definitely lower than when we fought on your ship.

“If you think your transformation parlor tricks are going to intimidate me, you’re sorely mistaken.”

“Tricks, you say?” Ashra flapped her wings and the resulting shockwave sent Chase flying back for miles before he could recover.

That’s not good!

* * *

Ryonna took a deep breath.

Tar’Lock was pacing nervously in front of Talon’s regen tank when something caught his attention from the far right.

He turned as Ryonna walked toward him. His heartbeat increased and he swallowed hard.

Ryonna glanced at the regen tank before returning her gaze toward him. “Hello, Tar’Lock.”

“Hello, Ryonna. I’ve heard the bad news about Altair … you have my deepest condolences.”

She bit her lip before answering. “Thank you. How’s your friend doing?”

“He’s been badly burned, and even with Chase healing him, it’s not yet certain whether he’ll recover.”

“I’m sorry to hear that. I hope he makes it.”

Tar’Lock launched himself into Ryonna’s arms. She didn’t expect it and was startled, but she didn’t mind it, so she reciprocated.

“When will this war finally end?” asked Tar’Lock.

“Today would be good. Chase needs to kill that bitch.”

Tar’Lock released a series of tongue clicks that only he had the secret. “But can he?”

“If anyone can, it’s Chase.”

“I know that, but he’d have to kill his wife to defeat her. If I were put in a similar position and had to kill you⁠—”

But Tar’Lock stopped short. “I’m sorry,” he added, “I’ve said too much.”

They ended their embrace and Ryonna put her large hands on his tiny shoulders. “No, that’s alright, Tar’Lock, go ahead … finish your sentence.”

“I could never bring myself to kill you, even if that meant winning a war. I know that’s very selfish of me to say.”

“Or it’s just who you are, a hopeless romantic,” thought Ryonna.

“I find that very sweet, my friend. But if that situation ever happens, you should kill me. No one life is worth the fate of millions, or quadrillions in this case. And Chase knows this in his heart.”

“I’m sure he knows what’s at stake. But I don’t envy him. I would not wish this on my worst enemy.”

“Yes, it seems fate has not been kind with Chase. After all, he has been put in this position before.”

“Right, when he destroyed her ship. Doing so threw him into a loop of hatred and despair.”

“I hope with all my heart that it won’t happen again. He’s suffered enough as it is.”

“What about Ronan? Where is he now?”

Ryonna sighed. “Out there, fighting with the fleet.”

“It must be frustrating for you.”

“It is, but he’s no longer a child. He’s a man and I’m proud of the path he took. Being willing to sacrifice oneself for others is the highest calling for my people. And I wish with every fiber of my being that he makes it back home safely.”

* * *

Kharon had been trying to take down the last mothership for what felt like an eternity, even though she knew it hadn’t been that long since she’d taken command of the fleet.

The enemy ship’s ability to rapidly repair itself and regenerate its shields made her question whether or not her strategy was sound. Until now, her strategy had been to send multiple waves of attacks. Trying to take the enemy down little by little was proving challenging and progressing too slowly for her taste. At least she had bought time for more ships to affect repairs under the protection of Atlantis’ mighty ships.

A sense of urgency was nagging at her though. She didn’t know how or why, but having strong instincts was the trademark of her family. And so, she didn’t like how she felt. Not one bit, in fact.

I need to get rid of this ship while I still can.

She ordered half the squadron of StarFuries, especially those running on fumes, to get back to Alkyon, and refuel and recharge their payloads. Even though she hated wasting them to inflict more damage, she didn’t see a better way to speed things up. She also asked their pilots to leave the ships since she had already used every empty starfighter at her disposal during earlier attack runs. And since torpedoes, even those advanced ones from Atlantis, weren’t inflicting damage fast enough, she was forced to sacrifice more StarFuries. The pit forming inside her stomach increased in intensity.

She also requested that a few of the pilotless StarFuries be loaded with nukes too, since the enemy had erected a field that prevented the beaming of nukes inside the motherships.

She couldn’t put her finger on why she felt it was so pressing to destroy the last mothership either. After all, its destruction should ensure victory over the Spectres, at least as long this space battle was concerned. Taking out Ashra, she feared, would be a much harder task.

So, why was she feeling otherwise?

She decided to trust her instincts and, once the pilotless StarFuries were back in the fight, and determined that her next attack run would have to take out the final mothership.

She took a deep breath and focused like she never had before, keenly aware of the irony that came with such thoughts since, technically, she hadn’t been born that long ago.

This has to be a perfect attack run. I have to make sure nothing goes wrong.

While in a state of intense focus, basically remote-piloting an entire fleet, as well as multiple squadrons of StarFuries with the power of her mind alone, she would be unable to vocally communicate with her crew. They’d have to trust her and focus their efforts on executing their standing orders, which at the moment was to affect repairs and make sure all ship systems ran at peak performance.

* * *

Ashra was moving with an agility that defied logic, and perhaps even the laws of physics as Chase knew them. She was heavier and larger than ever before, and yet she moved more fluidly that she ever had.

Chase managed to limit the amount of damage incurred during the first wave of attacks in her new form—even though that meant that he had to expend more energy than he was comfortable with.

The powers his soul armor was granting him, however, seemed to grow the more he fought. He was anticipating his enemy’s attacks with more ease now, compared to when he’d first faced her onboard her ship. Chase was also surprised by how much more powerful some of his fire-based attacks had been, especially in the middle of the combos that took Ashra by surprise and forced her to alter her tactics.

The problem was that he had not managed to inflict her with any significant damage through these attacks but then again, with an enemy able to regenerate like she did, damage was pointless. She would just regenerate unless she was destroyed on the molecular level.

Chase was also aware of the irony here. After all, he also had the ability to heal himself after being injured. Obviously, he wouldn’t be able to heal from being splintered into pieces of flesh, or decapitated, but that monster would.

Every time they exchanged punches, kicks, or countered each other’s attacks, massive shockwaves detonated around them, to the point where there were no clouds to be seen for hundreds of miles.

The terrain had not been spared from the cataclysmic battle happening miles in the air either. The repeated shockwaves, sometimes dozens upon dozens linking one to the next, had cracked the ground. Now and again, even canyons and surrounding mountains had collapsed.

The odd flying wildlife that had been seen at the beginning of the battle had quickly migrated to less dangerous locations.

Chase wondered what it would take to manage to unleash a strong enough attack to stop Ashra in her tracks at this point, but he knew that he’d probably need to wait for Argos and Chris to join him to win this fight.

“Draw strength from all your pain,” advised the Dragon Soul.

Shortly after, as the words echoed before him, Chase saw flashes of past memories, including one of the most painful ones: the day he was forced to shoot Sarah’s starfighter, thinking in that moment that he had murdered both his wife and unborn child.

Rage flowed through Chase’s veins like venom, and with every beat of his heart, his anger and strength increased. Before he realized what was going on, Chase was landing every punch, every kick, and every fireball, scoring major damage on an unsuspecting Ashra.

He roared like a dragon as he soared through the sky, his entire body engulfed in flames like a human torch. Chase felt like he was no longer in control, at least not by the sane part of his psyche. He grabbed one of Ashra’s wings on his last attack run and ripped it off with a swift motion. He flew around her and slashed her other wing, using his arm as a fire-blade.

As he flew around her at unimaginable speeds—reminiscent of protons and electrons orbiting an atom—he saw fear in the eyes of his enemy.

That’s it! I’ve got her dead to rights now. Time for the final blow.

Chase unleashed a deadly combo of fire punches onto Ashra's face and torso, the force of each attack leaving craters in her scaled skin.

“Damn you!” she screamed.

“Don’t worry. You’ll be in hell soon enough,” said Chase before increasing his aura even more.

His golden aura morphed into a dragon that flew and danced in and out of him. Chase launched his final attack, and a flaming dragon attack roared loudly as it devoured Ashra. Her skin melted and her entire body quickly lost molecular cohesion when Chase heard Sarah’s voice in his head. Goodbye my love. I forgive you.

Chase felt like he had been hit by a thunderbolt and that shock broke him out of his rage-infused trance. “Nooooo!” he screamed. The dragon attack dispelled mere seconds before it would have completely consumed Ashra.

Bits of flesh and a ton of ash were all that was left of the Spectre. Ashra’s remains fell toward the ground.

Chase felt his heart beating strongly inside his chest. He felt dizzy, and his vision blurred. His head spun wildly, and he felt the wind under him as he spiraled toward the ground, unable to move.

“Why did you stop!?” shouted the Dragon Soul.

I can’t … I can’t kill my wife, not again.

You have to! Or she’ll kill you and everyone you and Sarah love!

But Chase had already fallen into a deep dark chasm within his own soul, and while he heard the words his soul armor uttered, he didn’t register them.

After impacting the ground, Chase was swallowed whole by a veil of darkness.

* * *

Kharon initiated what she’d hoped would be her last attack run. She used more of the fleet to lower the shields on the mothership to inflict the maximum amount of damage.

She tasked the Hope and two additional Alliance ships to use their Heracles Cannon. That helped her burst a hole through the enemy’s shields.

She unleashed a veritable barrage of fire and torpedoes onto the hull of the mothership, leaving Atlantis free to deliver the kill shot. At the same time, Kharon mentally programmed dozens of StarFuries to micro-jump in rapid succession, with the four nuke-equipped ones set to jump last and ensure the total obliteration of her target.

Kharon fired three dozen quantum-flux torpedoes toward the enemy when a bright flash of light appeared behind the mothership. A larger ship emerged from a massive hyperspace window and locked a tractor beam on the last mothership before veering hard, successfully dragging it out of the way.

Only half her torpedoes found their targets, and the StarFuries jumped into empty space instead of impacting with their target’s hull like Kharon had planned.

“No!” thought Kharon. “This can’t be.” She quickly expanded her mind in an attempt to stop the nukes from detonating, but she wasn’t fast enough and a single StarFury exploded, taking out the entire wing in its wake.

The new ship that had jumped into the battlefield was at least three times the size of the mothership it had just saved, and at least double the mass of Atlantis.

Where did that ship come from?

Kharon now understood why she’d felt a strong urge to dispatch the last mothership. She also realized that the fact that she had failed to accomplish her goal could cost the Alliance the entire battle. It threw her psyche into a wild and dangerous spin.

Things went from bad to worse when the new ships sent no less than two hundred torpedoes toward Atlantis and the rest of the fleet. She used her link with Atlantis’ computer to calculate the yield of that volley. The attack had the power to overload the new power core and if that happened, it could very well mean game over for the Alliance.

Kharon opened her eyes to witness the entire crew of the Paragon in a state of panic and stupor. She tried reaching Chase with her mind but there was no response; this threw her already fragile mental state into more panic.

Time seemed to slow down to a crawl as a giant crater formed inside her guts.

Chris! Are you there?

When Chris failed to answer as well, she reached for Argos.

What is it, Kharon?

I failed! A new, larger ship arrived and it’s about to destroy us all … uncle, I don’t know what to do.

Trust your instincts, Kharon. Just do whatever comes to your mind.

She wanted to ask Argos why Chris and Chase weren’t answering but there was no time. In a few seconds, the entire Alliance force could be obliterated.

Without looking around the bridge of the Paragon, Kharon could sense people were terrified at the sight of the incoming ordnance.

Trust my instincts …

Kharon rose from her chair and aimed a palm forward. “Nooooooo!” she shouted, startling everyone around her, including Captain Marlow.

All the torpedoes veered away from the fleet and took aim on the final mothership. When a third of the torpedoes impacted the mothership, it blew up and could no longer be seen in the sky.

Blood flowed into Kharon’s eyes and everything turned black.

* * *

“How the hell did that happen?” asked Yanis.

“I have no idea,” said Kvasir, “but something, or someone, managed to divert the trajectory of those torpedoes. And not a moment too soon, as I don’t think we’d be having this discussion otherwise.”

“You don’t think a Fury used their powers to do this, do you?”

“If they did, shouldn’t there be a blackhole forming already?”

“Yes, in theory at least.”

“You’re gonna have to be more specific than that.”

“When Chase stopped the onslaught the Furies fired at the Iron Fire, it created a blackhole, and Arakan used that same effect, but he weaponized it in order to take out Olympus.”

“So, why aren’t Atlantis’ instruments detecting any singularity?”

“I wish I could give you an answer, but I’m glad none can be detected.”

“Then let’s try theorizing one, perhaps. Who is on the ships with the ability to do that?”

“I can only think of Kharon. All other Furies are in regen tanks right now.”

“What makes her different then? Because if she managed to do this once, then maybe she could do it again.”

“I’m not so sure it would be a great idea. But it certainly explains why the enemy seems to have paused its attack and hasn’t fired another salvo.”

“Makes sense. If they did, they would risk getting hit by their own weapons. As for why, if Kharon did this without creating a singularity … then maybe it’s because of her soul armor.”

“Do you really think the armor could do that?”

“It stands to reason that it affects its wearer in a similar way than the soul ships did. When those were used to defeat the Furies, they allowed Chase and the others to channel their power in space and transmute them through the soul ships. So, it’s possible for a soul armor wearer to nullify the risk of using powers in space.”

“We’d better be sure about this because if this monstrosity opens fire on us again, I don’t think we’ll last long, unless the same trick is used. While Atlantis could deal with the mothership weaponry, the readings we’re getting from that new ship indicate that their weapons are far superior.”

“Which begs another question.”

“Where did this ship come from?”

“Yes. And also if there are more on their way.”

“That’s a terrifying thought.”

Yanis was aware that he was trembling, but there was nothing he could do about it. “That … is the understatement of the century.”

12

When Chase opened his eyes, he heard laughter echo in the distance. His gaze was fixed onto the green sky as he tried to regain all his senses and remember why he was on his back, and how it happened.

He heard clapping, followed by Ashra’s voice.

“Impressive … you’ve come very close to killing me on your own. But in stopping when you did, you sealed your fate, as well as that of this dimension. You’re clearly too weak to replicate what you did. I initially wanted to keep you alive so you could witness me murder the rest of your family. But it’s clearly too dangerous to keep you alive.”

A shadow stepped in Chase’s field of view, covering sunlight and plunging Chase into darkness.

Because of the back light, Chase could only make out Ashra’s silhouette looking down at him. He felt her hand grab him by the forehead and lift his head slightly off the ground.

“You’ve been a thorn in my side for too long, Chase Athanatos. But no longer.”

A massive flash of light appeared in the sky and Ashra looked up. “Dammit!” she screamed. “Incompetent fools!”

“Problems in paradise?” asked Chase as the corners of his mouth curled into a smile.

“Looks like your pathetic friends managed to destroy my last mothership.”

“Not so pathetic after all then.”

Forcefully, she smashed his head into the ground, straightened, and aimed a palm at Chase’s chest. “I can’t take the risk that another member of your family reaches this new level of power you’ve just displayed. But if I steal your soul, I should be in a position to defeat them. I can play the same trick I used against you to save my hide … whisper into their heads with Sarah’s voice.”

What?! It wasn’t Sarah speaking?

Chase realized how much of a fool he had been. If he hadn’t let his emotions for Sarah overwhelm him when he’d heard her voice, this war would now be over. And now, because of this fatal mistake, they could lose everything.

“I’ll just play with their minds,” continued Ashra, “just like I played with yours. Your emotions render you weak and easy influenceable. At the end of the day, you were never equipped to defeat me. No one defeats a goddess, after all.”

“You’re no goddess,” said Chase. “You’re just a pesky parasite with an ego the size of a galaxy.”

“Semantics. Any last words?”

“Just four: I will kill you.”

“I think you got it backwards, Fury.”

Chase felt strong pressure inside his chest, and he recognized it well. Ashra was trying to extract his soul. The armor helped Chase fight against it but it had been heavily cracked and, therefore, its ability to prevent the Spectre from using that specific power had been diminished.

Chase’s blue soul was being stretched through the cracks and Ashra kept increasing her pull. Chase fought with all his might to counter the force but every time he thought he had succeeded, the pull increased.

“Give it up. It’s only a matter of time,” declared Ashra. “I wish I could say I have all the time in the world but I expect the rest of your pathetic family to come down any minute now to give you a hand.”

She raised her other hand upward and it shaped itself into a glowing, obsidian blade. “Let’s see how you intend to fight my pull without your head, shall we?”

Is this it? Is this the end? I’m so sorry everyone. I failed you.

“Game over, Chase.” Ashra swung her blade-arm toward his neck.

A shadow moved in front of Chase’s eyes and blocked the blade with both palms, a mere inch before it would have decapitated Chase.

“I don’t think so,” said Chris between gritted teeth, and turned Hyper Fury.

He broke the blade with the sheer strength of his will and immediately unleashed a beam of golden energy through Ashra’s chest, sending her rolling. She left a large dust cloud in her wake as she stumbled and skidded, face down, several hundred yards.

* * *

Kharon felt someone gently slap her cheeks as she came back to consciousness. She blinked her eyes multiple times until her vision cleared. “What happened? Where am I?” she whispered.

“On the bridge of your ship,” Captain Marlow told her. “The Paragon.”

Kharon moaned and the captain helped her back on her feet.

“We both know that the Paragon is your ship,” said Kharon.

“Not today it isn’t, and if it had been, she and her crew would have been wiped out.”

“What happened? I can’t remember much after I got up from the chair.”

“You aimed your hand at the torpedoes, and they changed course.”

“I did what? That’s insane. Has any singularity been detected afterwards?”

“What kind of singularity?”

“The blackhole kind.”

“Nothing on our sensors, and I think if a blackhole had somehow burst into existence, we’d already be feeling its pull.”

“Why?” wondered Kharon. “Unless …”

“Yes,” said the soul of the Phoenix. “You wished with all your heart for the torpedoes to change course, and so they did. You didn’t need to use your Fury powers to do so; instead, you instinctively used your mental abilities to reprogram each warhead with a new target. Quite impressive, I must say.”

You say that, but I have no recollection of doing this.

Consciously perhaps, but that’s because you reacted without thinking. That’s how you should use your true powers, not by overthinking strategies or weighing and mulling choices over.

Only the end results matters.

Exactly, so try focusing on that instead of how to get there.

“What about the other ship?” asked Kharon.

“It’s sitting here,” said Marlow, “but I think you gave them pause. Of course, they don’t know you did this. I guess they’re worried about firing more of their payload at us for fear such an attack could be turned back to its sender.”

“Yeah, well … I am in no shape to do that again.”

“Fortunately for us, they don’t know that.”

“Captain!” exclaimed the weapon’s officer. “They’re resuming fire, cannons only.”

The viewport filled with thousands of streaks of red laser-like energy discharges. Each impact illuminated the extended shields around Atlantis.

If Kharon and the rest of the Alliance’s fate weren’t hanging in the balance, the glowing fire-rain and resulting blue rippling of the shields would be a beautiful spectacle to behold.

Kharon checked the status of Atlantis’ shields with her mind and was relieved to see they were holding strong at ninety-six percent.

“What are your orders?” asked Marlow.

“Let’s push on with the attack on that massive new ship. We need to see what its defenses are made of before we can assess a new attack strategy.”

“Can’t you do this with your mind, like you have been doing until now?”

“I wish I could, but I’m going to need a bit of time to rest so, if you could, please take over for me for a few minutes.”

“Of course,” said Marlow. “You can use my, uh … I mean, your ready room.”

Marlow helped Kharon walk to the ready room.

“Thanks.”

* * *

“Can you please come here and check this, please?” requested Gaia.

“What am I looking at?” asked Yanis.

Gaia pointed to a holo-screen displaying Atlantis and the fleet returning fire on the newly arrived Spectre monstrosity.

“What are we going to call this ship? I don’t know what comes after a mothership.”

“That’s ‘cause there’s never been a need to name such ships. For now, we decided to call it a titan-class warship.”

“That will do … but …”

Yanis looked at the sensor telemetry and his eyes grew wide. “Am I seeing this right?”

“I’m afraid so,” replied Gaia.

“It’s like we’re the only ship able to make a dent on their shields. How is that even possible?”

“I’ve got a theory.”

“I’m all ears.”

“Somehow, the enemy must have gathered enough data from our previous battles with them and created a super adaptive shield technology. It nullifies every type of weapon fired by an Alliance ship. Since it’s the first time anyone has witnessed Atlantis in thousands of years, its weaponry is unknown to the enemy. Let me show you.”

She slowed down the footage. The color of the diffused weapon fire impacts on the enemy’s shields from the Earth Alliance ships was solitary, but the diffused impacts of the Asgardian or Droxians were multiple colors. The same thing applied for the Fury superdestroyers.

“That’s impossible,” said Yanis.

“Clearly not … but I’ll give you ‘improbable’.”

“Do you have any idea how complex a system would be required to reconfigure shields this way … and throughout every area of its emitters?”

“I’m an AI, Yanis, so I’ll assume that your question was rhetorical. Of course, I have an idea. In fact, I suspect a very powerful, compute-heavy AI is what’s controlling these shields.”

“An AI more powerful than you?”

“Computation-wise, I would think so, yes.”

“Hmm … AI shields. Why didn’t I think of that?”

“Maybe because using AI in this fashion has been banned ever since my evil twin almost annihilated the Alliance?”

“Right. We wouldn’t want that to happen again.”

“What do we do? I don’t think Atlantis is capable of taking on this ship on its own. Thanks to Kharon's intervention, the enemy is hesitant to target us with another volley of torpedoes, and thankfully our shields are holding well against their energy-based batteries."

“At least there’s that, but how long is that standoff going to last?”

“I don't know, but they're bound to eventually throw more than plasma turrets at us.”

“What does Hyperion think about all of this?”

“I haven’t seen him in a while. But since he’s linked to the ship's computer, I’m sure he’s aware of the situation.”

“When did he leave? Don't you think it's peculiar to leave in the middle of such a battle?”

“Now that you mention it ... I'd say he left ten minutes or so ago. I do remember him mumbling about needing to work on something.”

“Hyperion, are you there?” asked Yanis. He looked around him, but the hologram was nowhere to be seen.

Gaia rolled her eyes. “It's a good thing you're here, Yanis, because I would have thought of trying that.”

"What's with everyone taking cheap shots at me today? First Kvasir, now you. Was it something in the food?"

"Let's stay on task, shall we?"

* * *

Chris leaned down next to Chase. “Dad, are you all right?”

Chase moaned. “I’ve been better. How come you’re here early, and where’s Argos?”

“I sensed something was wrong, so he gave me his power so I could get here faster.”

“Good thinking, I thought my time was up.”

“You're welcome. Let me heal you.”

“No,” said Chase. “Don’t give me too much of your energy; you’ll need it to fight her.”

“I thought we agreed that we stand a better chance to defeat her together, even at half power.”

“I think it’s best you fight her on your own …”

“What are you talking about?”

“I had her, Chris. I could have finished her off. In fact, I was about to, but at the last moment, I couldn’t go through with it—because she’d played a trick on my mind and made me think Sarah was talking to me.”

“Sneaky, but par for the course for such a monster. At least you forced her into using a lot of energy.”

“Yes, but I’ve spent nearly all of mine during that last attack. If I had kept it going for just another few seconds, this war would be over.”

“There’s no point in beating yourself up for something you can’t change. Instead, we need to look forward and figure out how we’ll win this fight.”

“You're right, and I hope so …”

Chris could sense his father’s doubt and it reminded him of when Hades had visited him in the middle of the night. Had the Olympian been right all along? Would his father be a liability by not doing whatever it took to defeat Ashra? But then again, he had already agreed with Hades to become his father’s failsafe in such an eventuality. In his heart, he’d hoped that together they’d figure out a way to destroy her, so that he wouldn’t feel solely responsible for shouldering the responsibility. Since that seemed to have failed, it was Chris' time to step up.

“Very well, I’ll take care over until Argos arrives.”

“I’m sorry, son. I should have known better.”

A fireball hit Chase’s face and knocked him out cold.

“Da-aaaad!” screamed Chris. He expanded his consciousness to check his father's vital signs. The shock of the impact had rendered him unconscious, but Chris didn't sense anything beyond that.

Chris rose to his feet and his aura grew quickly. He turned around and sent Ashra a murderous look. “You fucking coward,” he spat. “I’m going to kill you.”

“Déjà vu. If your father couldn’t manage to kill the woman he loves, I don’t think his whiny little brat of a kid can find the strength to kill his own mother.”

“You’re about to find out. But unlike my father, I don’t see you as my mother. I see you as a monster that is torturing her with every breath you take. So, by killing you, I’m going to save her from that fate.”

“You're brighter than you look. But talk is cheap, so let's figure out if you have the balls to back it up.”

Ashra never saw Chris coming. With his first punch, he sent her down for another taste of dust. Before she could get back up, he kicked her in the chest and sent her flying high in the sky.

Chris flew in pursuit with such speed that he left a crater behind him.

* * *

“Oh-oh,” murmured Yanis.

“What do you mean ‘oh-oh’? What’s up?” sked Gaia.

“They’re switching targets. Since our shields are so efficient at deflecting their plasma turrets, they decided to attack Alkyon One instead.”

“That was bound to happen eventually, but it's an easy fix. Let’s just move Atlantis in front of their path.”

“That’s what I’m doing, since Kharon doesn’t seem to be controlling the ship for the time being.”

Atlantis moved to cover Alkyon One but to Yanis’ surprise, they fired a volley of torpedoes. Fortunately, they didn't dare send hundreds at a time, so Atlantis' shields should be able to deflect them. Unfortunately, they changed trajectory and dodged Atlantis on their way to Alkyon One.

“That’s new. So much for that idea!” exclaimed Yanis.

“Let’s task the ships we protect to exit the shield bubble and have them deal with as many inbound bogeys as they can.”

Yanis entered a set of commands on his terminal. “Done. Now what?”

“I don’t know, but we don’t have enough power to extend the shield bubble to encompass the station, so we're back to square one. We have to figure out a way to take out that ship.”

“With the fleet all but useless against their shields, I don’t see how we are going to manage that. Firing all batteries and quantum torpedoes at them isn't enough to bring down their shield; at best, we're only forcing them down to fifty percent.”

“I am aware of that.”

“By the way, where is Spiros?”

“With Kvasir. They’re trying to squeeze more power out of the power core.”

“How come Kvasir didn’t ask my help with that?”

“Something about needing a less chatty engineer.”

“I take offense to that.”

“I’m sure you do, Yanis, but for the time being, let’s see if we can bolster the power delivery of our own weapons.”

“What do you have in mind?”

“I’m not sure yet, but we need to figure out something—and fast.”

13

Chris unleashed a series of brutal combos, that sent Ashra bouncing all over the place before she could recover and block Chris’ last punch. She squeezed her fist with great force and broke his. The pain was intense, but Chris fought through it and sliced her hand at the wrist and used his good hand to disintegrate the attached appendage. He deployed enough energy to fully destroy it and make sure she couldn’t reintegrate it.

“That won’t stop me,” said Ashra as she regrew a new hand, and showed it off by wiggling its fingers in a wave.

“Perhaps not,” said Chris, “but if I have to disintegrate you little by little, then so be it.”

“That’s not going to do you any good.”

“The fact that you’re telling me this only tells me it will.”

“Seems you inherited your father’s stubbornness.”

“I take that as a compliment, since it’s what allowed him to defeat your kind before.”

“Tanak’Vor was a weak Spectre by any standard.” Ashra extended her hands on her sides. “I, on the other hand, am a Spectre Goddess.”

“Great. I’ve never killed a god before, so you'll be a nice trophy.”

Ashra flapped her wings and the resulting super-shockwave caught Chris off-guard, but she managed to recover quickly. He, however, had lost visual contact with his foe. Acute pain in his back told him where she was, and he swung his elbow backward but hit only air.

“You’re too slow, boy,” said Ashra in his mind.

Chris decided to ignore her taunting and closed his eyes in an attempt to increase his other senses. It took another three rather brutal blasts for him to sense and locate Ashra. Once he got a good lock on her life force inside his mind, he re-opened his eyes.

He took a deep breath and fired a devastating, slicing ray attack to his right.

Ashra re-appeared just in time to be carved into sashimi-size pieces, but the speed at which the pieces reconnected to reshape her body took Chris by surprise, and she managed to land a powerful punch to his cheek.

Chris saw stars on his way to the ground, and he ungraciously impacted it, face-first.

“You’re strong,” said Ashra on her way down from the sky. “I’ll give you that.”

Her regeneration powers are even better than before. How the hell are we supposed to destroy her?

“You need to use the heart of the tiger,” advised the Tiger soul.

And what's that, exactly? You want me to roar at her?

No, of course not, but use the tiger’s speed, power, and agility, as well as its fearlessness against her. As for the roar, if you could manage to make your soul roar, you’ll be on the right path.

That’s rather cryptic, no offense.

I can only guide you. It’s up to you to draw from my power deep within your soul, youngling.

“Let me guess," said Chris, "but not strong enough to defeat you, is that it?”

“Your words, boy, not mine.”

Chris smiled. “Good, keep thinking that.”

I’ll take you down, even if I have to give away my life to achieve that goal.

Chris and Ashra were locked in a titanic battle for what seemed hours, even though only minutes passed. With each impact, block, or counter, the immediate ground trembled—and, sometimes, even the entire planet. Large cracks and crevasses kept opening around them as they fought.

Chris’s energy pool was draining, but he could sense that so was Ashra’s. Chris knew that Argos still had a way to go until he'd be able to join him on the battlefield, since he had shared most of his energy with him only minutes before.

At the very least, I need to tire her down. It’s the only way. Maybe with Argos' help, we can finally send her to hell.

Chris kept attacking the Spectre with all his might, trying to empower the Tiger within him, but almost every attack resulted in a stalemate.

He decided to take more risks, but that meant opening himself to counterattack. He only realized how wrong the change in tactics was when it was too late. As he tried the risky combo, Ashra saw an opening and managed to grab one of Chris arm’s and—to his surprise—brutally ripped it from him. She discarded the arm by hurling it hundreds of yards away.

She laughed maniacally. “That was such a rookie mistake, boy. Let’s see how you fare against me with just one arm now.”

Chris ignored the pain and covered his bleeding shoulder with his remaining hand and used energy to cauterize the wound, then heal it. Dammit, I’m in serious trouble now.

Chris’ soul succumbed to darkness while his mind raced to counter the panic building within. He did his best to convince himself that that it was just an arm. However, Chris was no Spectre, so it was more than probable that he’d spend the rest of his life with this impairment.

Before he could manage to calm his mind, Ashra was on top of him, and Chris quickly discovered just how much worse the situation truly was. With one less limb to counter, she now had a field day beating him senseless.

It only took her a few seconds to overpower him.

Chris did his best to block as many attacks as he could, but his attempts were in vain, and soon his entire body ached and refused to move.

Again, Ashra grabbed him by the forehead and crushed his head against the ground—over and over again. The first impact resulted in a five-yard-wide crater around them, and every successive impact made the crater larger and deeper.

Eventually, Chris lay on the ground, his body bruised and bloodied, while a smiling, gloating Ashra towered above.

I failed … I failed so miserably. I’m sorry everyone. Hades was wrong to put his trust in me.

“I wish your father was conscious for this, but I guess I’ll have to be content with simply showing him your head. At least I can take comfort in the fact that your mother will have the best seat in the house to enjoy what comes next.”

* * *

Nyx’s eyes opened, filled with shock. She imploded the regen tank she was in with a thought and looked around and saw Menelas and Oryn in nearby pods. She could sense Chris was in mortal danger and she acted on instinct.

She extended both hands to her fellow Fury warriors and beams of energy escaped the pods and entered her body through her palms.

“Sorry, guys, I need the power-up, and neither of you are strong enough to get the job done.”

“You could just have asked,” said Oryn, in her mind. “We would have gladly shared our energy with you.”

No time. Something terribly wrong is about to happen and I need to stop it!

Before Oryn could respond, Nyx had burst holes through every wall on her way out of the station.

* * *

An alarm blared inside Alkyon’s C&C and the rest of the station.

“Hull integrity compromised on Decks Five, Six and Seven!” exclaimed an officer. "It's like a chain reaction!"

“What?” asked Daniel. “How is that possible? We didn’t even get hit on those levels.”

“Unknown, but something has caused a breach. Fortunately, the emergency force field has deployed and is holding strong.”

"Could we have missed a few Spectre warriors during our clean-up?"

"If that's the case, these life signs don't show on our sensors."

“What the hell is that?” Daniel pointed outside the viewport. “Zoom in and enhance.”

A holo-image filled the main holo-screen in place of the viewport; it showed Nyx veering through space and descending to the planet.

“Was that a person?” asked the officer, stunned.

“That would be Nyx … and calling her a person would be a stretch. She's a Fury and from the looks of it, she couldn’t wait to get herself through a proper airlock either.”

“Why the hell not?”

“I can only assume that the fight on the planet isn’t going well,” said Daniel flatly.

And that Chris must be in trouble.

* * *

“It’s really pathetic when you think about it,” said Ashra.

Chris was so battered, he couldn’t answer.

“You are all just a bunch of hopeful insects,” she continued, “but at the end of the day, you’ll suffer the same fate as them, and I’ll crush you all under my foot.”

“I can’t believe I was so stupid,” thought Chris.

“I’d love to add your soul to my collection, but every time I try to do that, another cockroach shows up, so I guess I’ll have to be content with your head.”

A fireball exploded on Ashra’s face but inflicted no damage. “See, what did I tell you?” She looked to the side to see where the attack had come from.

A trembling Chase, barely able to stand, had his palm facing forward.

Ashra laughed. “Seriously? You think you could save your son’s life with such a pathetic attack? Then again, I’m really glad you’re awake, so that you can witness me beheading your son.”

Chris tried to move, but Ashra put her feet on his chest and slammed him back to the ground. She pointed a finger next to Chris’ head and fired a laser beam toward the ground, inches away from his neck. She laughed as she slowly moved her finger toward his throat.

With her other hand, she grabbed Chase with her mind and lifted his body, so he could have a better view of what she was doing. “I wouldn’t want you to miss this,” she smirked. “I want this scene burnt into your heart and mind before you die. Don't worry though; it won't take long.”

The laser beam burned the side of Chris’ throat.

“Noooooo!” screamed Chase. “Don’t do this! I beg you.”

The laser beam stopped in place, burning a hole but not advancing any further.

“Beg, huh?” said Ashra with a crazed smile. “What exactly do you think it will achieve? Are you really that naive? Do you seriously think you can somehow appeal to my better side in the hope I'll spare your son? Unbelievable. Tell you what. I’ll let you depart this world with something you should have learned by now. I don't have a better side, nor a shred of that disease you call empathy. Therefore, you can’t appeal to my better nature. That part of me died with your wife a long time ago.”

Tears filled both men’s eyes.

“I’m sorry, Dad,” said Chris. “I failed you and everyone else.”

No son, I’m the one who failed us all. This is all my fault.

Ashra slowly resumed moving her finger to the right. She had cut a third of Chris’ throat when a fist burst through her ribcage, and then her body was split in half.

“Get off him, you fucking bitch. I’ll kill you … and then, I'm going to kill you again,” screamed a mad Nyx. She grabbed the nearly symmetrical Spectre halves and smashed them together before thrusting them away and incinerating the area where they landed with hundreds of powerful crimson fireballs.

She then fired a healing fireball at Chase ,who had since crashed to the ground, not far from Chris.

“Make yourself useful and heal your son. Then take him out of here. I’ll finish this fight.”

“Thank you, Nyx,” murmured Chase.

Nyx shook her head before pointing an accusing finger at him. “You should never have tried to defeat her without me. This”—she pointed at Chris’ missing arm—“is all on you.” She spat at Chase before turning and running toward the smoldering location she had fired upon mere moments ago.

* * *

Chase used the energy Nyx shared with him to heal Chris’ wounds, and collapsed on his son’s chest.

“Dad, stop!”

But Chase had already lost consciousness.

Chris was still battered and heavily wounded, but he could move now. He sighed. “I knew we should have let Nyx come and fight with us. Now, let’s just hope she fares better than we both did.”

* * *

As Nyx walked through the flames, Ashra regenerated and cracked her neck from side to side.

“Here comes yet another one,” said Ashra with a long sigh. “I should have known.”

Nyx’s eyes glowed crimson red as she turned into Hyper Fury form and unleashed a series of brutal combos, inflicting tennis ball craters on Ashra’s scaled skin with every blow she landed.

Ashra managed to dodge the last of Nyx’s attacks and escaped into the air.

Nyx followed, cut the Spectre's path, and levitated in front of her enemy. “Death will be too nice a fate for you,” declared Nyx, “but I’ve had enough of you. You keep coming back, over and over again. It's getting old and I won't have it anymore.”

“I cannot die. When are you insects going to put that through your thick skulls?”

Ashra flapped her wings, but only Nyx's hair was swept back.

“Was that supposed to hurt me?” asked Nyx with a smile. “It did tickle a little, I’ll give you that.”

“You’re not like the others, are you?”

“No, I’m not. I’m a pure-blood Fury, and today I'm also your worst nightmare.”

“If anyone deserves a place in my pantheon of souls, you certainly are that someone.”

Nyx tilted her head slightly. “Never going to happen, and before I kill you, I’d like to mention that you’re uglier than I remembered. Which is something I didn’t think possible.”

Before Ashra could answer, Nyx planted her forehead into Ashra’s face with such force that more than half of the Spectre's face collapsed onto itself.

Nyx then burned a massive hole through Ashra’s chest with a powerful attack and viciously hacked at the Spectre with such speed, that she felt as if she were attacking her enemy with more limbs than she possessed.

To human eyes, it would have seemed as if dozens of arms were attacking simultaneously, hacking bits of flesh and bone, quickly reducing the Spectre into a blob of flesh. Of course, Ashra tried to regenerate but she was being cut to pieces faster than she could re-assemble—and, for the first time, she struggled to retake her humanoid dragon shape.

Nyx made sure she stayed a step ahead of the process, making it harder and slower for the Spectre to regenerate. She added shockwaves to her punches and dispersed bits of Ashra throughout the sky with great proficiency, which allowed her time to prepare a massive fireball. As the fireball expanded, bits of Ashra flew toward one another to reform her body, and that was when Nyx launched her attack.

It consumed Ashra through and through.

A panting Nyx flew back to the ground, where Chris was struggling to lift his father.

“It’s done,” announced Nyx. “She’s no more. I know you didn’t want me to finish her off for you, but you were in no shape to take care of her yourself. I’m sorry about your mother.”

With tears in his eyes, Chris did his best to nod. “It had to be done, thank you. Can you give me a hand?”

Nyx sighed heavily, not even trying to hide her discontent for Chase, but she put one of his arms around her shoulder anyway.

“Too bad the only one who can teleport us away isn't even conscious.”

“You could do something about that, you know.”

Nyx sighed. “Very well …”

She put her hand on Chase’ chest and healed him.

Shortly after, he opened his eyes and had enough energy to stand on his own. “What happened?”

“It’s over is what happened,” replied Nyx.

Argos beamed next to them and looked around.

“Where is Ashra? Oh my god!” Argos noticed that Chris was missing an arm. “Are you all right?”

“I’ll live,” said Chris, looking at the ground.

“No thanks to that one,” said Nyx, gesturing Chase with her head.

“I don’t understand,” said Argos. “I … I felt I needed to interrupt my regen cycle early and hurry down here.”

“I guess your Fury instincts aren’t all what they’re cracked up to—” Instead of finishing her sentence, Nyx spat large amounts of blood to the ground.

“No,” she said, stunned. “It can’t be.” As she looked down, she saw a large hole in her chest and collapsed to the ground.

“Nyx!” shouted Chris.

A massive fireball aimed at Chris and Chase was stopped when Argos jumped in front of them, taking the brunt of the attack in their stead.

14

Kharon returned to the bridge. She was still weak but determined to be there for the rest of the fight. What bothered her more than her exhaustion was that she felt that her family was in danger, but she was in no shape to help. She didn’t even think she could teleport in her current state.

“Captain on the bridge,” said Marlow.

Kharon nodded at him before taking back her chair. “Status?”

“This big new ship seems impervious to anything we fire at them. Only Atlantean weaponry seems to have any effect, but not enough to bring their shields down.”

Kharon tried thinking of a strategy to help with that situation, but she came up short.

There’s nothing in my father’s memories to suggest how to extricate ourselves from this.

To make matters worse, hundreds upon hundreds of enemy starfighters left their landing bays and headed toward the Alliance squadron. They looked like a swarm of locusts. Their own StarFury squadrons wouldn't last very long with such a numerical disadvantage.

Kharon inspected her tactical holo-screen in the hope that a flash of inspiration would come to her so that she might turn the tides of the battle, but no such flash occurred.

The Titan-class Spectre warship activated its forward engines.

“What are they doing?” she asked.

“Since Atlantis is protecting the station, and their shields are holding, perhaps they want to ram it and maybe even Alkyon One in the process,” said Marlow.

“That would be bad. Time to impact?”

“At present velocity, a couple of minutes, maybe less.”

Kharon’s mind raced, trying to figure out a way to prevent the Spectres from proceeding with their plans.

“I’m out of options,” she thought.

“Then think outside of the box,” said the Phoenix’s soul.

What do you think I’ve been trying to do all this time?

You’re looking at the problem the wrong way.

Then please enlighten me.

When an enemy’s carapace is too strong, then perhaps the answer lies from within.

Take the ship out from within?

Why not?

Well, for one, we can’t beam anything on board through the shields; they’re too strong.

What if you could beam up there?

I barely have the energy to stand.

I can help with that. I can boost you for a little while, but I believe it should be enough for you to take out that warship from the inside.

Is that wise? Won’t I risk creating a singularity?

Not as long as you wear me as armor. At least, in theory.

What do you mean ‘in theory’?

Well, I’m damaged, but I believe the chances are high enough that you can use your powers in that fashion and avoid the creation of a blackhole. Considering the situation. Unless, of course, you have a better idea how to deal with that monstrosity.

You know I don’t.

Then let’s go with my plan.

We don’t even know if I can beam onto that ship with its shield up.

Let's maximize our chances then. It’s probably best to make a tiny opening in them.

We're back to how …?

Perhaps your friends on Atlantis can help. You’d better hurry up and find out.

“Get me a channel to Atlantis. I need to speak with Yanis.”

* * *

“Kharon, this plan of yours sounds insane,” Yanis declared.

“I know, but we have to try.”

“Even so, I don’t see how we can make an opening, no matter how tiny. This warship is too powerful—even pushing Atlantis’ power core past safe limits, I might add.”

“But I do,” said another voice on the line.

“Hyperion,” said Yanis, “where have you been? We've been looking all over for you.”

Hyperion appeared on the holo-transmission.

“Working on a weapon that I believe could be the answer to your problems. I think I can get Kharon a tiny opening through the shield, but it will only be for a fraction of a second.”

“That's all I need,” said Kharon.

“My shielded torpedo should provide you that.”

“Mind explaining how adding shields around a torpedo would achieve such a goal?” asked Yanis.

“Oh ye of little faith. These aren’t just any shields; they’re quantum-flux shields. And I’ve enhanced the warhead with pentalium. If my calculations are correct, upon impact it will force the enemy’s adaptive shield technology to divert all its energy to protect its structural integrity. During a fraction of a second, there should more than enough tiny fissures on the surface of their shields for Kharon to teleport through.”

“It will have to do,” said Kharon. “Get ready to fire your weapon. I’ll do what I can from the inside.”

“For the record,” said Yanis, “I think this plan is nuts.”

“Duly noted.”

Kharon felt the armor infuse her back with energy and bring her power levels back up.

Ares appeared on the bridge with someone next to him. It was Fenrir.

“What are you two doing here?” asked Kharon.

Fenrir didn’t look well at all; he appeared wounded and weak. “Ares has informed me,” he said, “of your plan. You’ll need as much energy as you can to take out that ship.”

“And?” asked Kharon. “You don't exactly look like you have much to give.”

“Appearances can be deceiving. I look worse than I feel.”

“And I know a lie when I hear one. In your condition, if you give me any of your life force, you could die.”

“Maybe, but it’s my choice to make.”

“Why would you give your life to help us? Not long ago, we were enemies.”

“I am alone in the universe now. My brother gave away his life so we could win this war. If I don’t try to help you win, his sacrifice would have been in vain. I cannot allow that. Please, let me help you.”

“Listen to him,” said the soul of the Phoenix.

This is madness!

More madness than losing both Atlantis and Alkyon One in sixty seconds?

“Alright, then,” Kharon conceded with a long sigh. “If that’s what you really want, I guess we have no other choice but to accept your help.”

“Thank you, Kharon,” said Fenrir. “Please make it count.”

“Oh, I'll make it count alright. I give you my word.”

Fenrir put both hands on Kharon’s shoulders and transferred all the energy he could until he passed out. The resulting boost in energy that Kharon felt was significantly higher than she’d expected. She wasn’t at full power by any stretch, but she felt that she at least had a fighting chance to accomplish her goal.

“Ares, please bring Fenrir back inside a regen tank.”

Ares shook his head. “I’m afraid it’s too late for that.”

Kharon searched for a life sign on Fenrir and couldn’t detect a heartbeat. The Asgardian Guard had given all his life force to her. Kharon rushed to his side.

“Don’t do it!” said Ares. “He knew what he was doing … and by trying to resurrect him, you could waste the very energy needed to accomplish your mission. Fenrir knew that; that’s why he sacrificed himself.”

Kharon’s eyes filled with tears.

How many more have to die for us to win? Will I be one of them?

* * *

“Firing now,” said Hyperion. “Kharon, stand by. We’re only going to have one shot at this.”

“I’m ready,” Kharon told him. “Time to target?”

“Twenty seconds.”

Kharon looked at Marlow.

“Well, Captain, looks like the Paragon needs her captain back. In case I don’t return, I just wanted to say it’s been an honor serving with you and your crew.”

“The honor was mine, and I’m sorry for the way I welcomed you onboard. You’re the most tenacious and courageous child I’ve ever seen. Good luck, and if it’s not too much trouble to request this …”

“Yes?”

“Please try and come back. Okay?”

Kharon felt the torpedo was about to hit. She smiled at Marlow without saying another word and a moment later, she was gone.

* * *

Chase and Chris rushed to Argos' side. Smoke rose from a hole in his armor.

“Uncle, are you okay?” asked Chris.

“I feel better than I look … I think,” replied Argos, his voice trembling. “Behind you.”

Chris and Chase turned. A limping Ashra was slowly advancing toward them. She was still very far away, and it would take her a while to reach them in her condition.

“What do we do now?” asked Chase. “We’re too weak to take her out.”

“Look at her,” said Chris. “She’s not exactly in good shape either.”

“Perhaps, but to make sure she dies, we’ll need more energy than we can muster.”

“Just take what you both need from me,” said Argos. “I have more energy at the moment than the both of you combined. Hopefully, it will be enough.”

“We can’t,” said Chase.

Argos grabbed his brother’s forearm tightly. “You have to or we’ll all die! I know I have no right to ask anything of you after what I’ve put you through, brother. But I'm asking anyway.”

Tears filled Argos’ eyes and flowed down his face before he continued. “Let me redeem myself the only way I know how. You and Chris need to finish this once and for all.”

“Don’t say that, Argos!” protested Chris. “I don’t want to lose you.”

“If you don’t finish this fight, none of that will matter. We'll all be lost.”

“I’m with my son on this one,” said Chase. “We can’t take all of your energy.”

“You’re both so stubborn, you know that? In fact, the two of you have more in common than you’re willing to admit. Now is the time to save this family. Take all you can, I implore you.”

Chris and Chase exchanged looks.

“We leave him enough energy to live,” said Chase telepathically.

And then some. We just make sure we finish her off this time, even if we have to go past our own limits.

Agreed.

Chase and Chris took as much energy from Argos as they felt comfortable doing.

“Thank you,” said Argos. “I love you both, and I can’t thank the gods enough for having given me a second chance at life.”

“Keep your strength, brother. You’re not going anywhere.”

“Yes, uncle,” said Chris, “it is us who thank you for always being there for us. Just rest while we take care of the rest.”

Argos slipped slowly out of consciousness with an uncharacteristic smile and sense of peace on his face.

“That’s enough. He should have enough energy to be healed later,” Chase stated.

“Yes, but now we have to fight and kill her. There can be no mistakes or doubts this time around. From either of us.”

“I know, son.”

“Make sure that you do,” said a third voice inside their heads.

“Mom?” asked Chris

“Sarah? Is that really you?” asked Chase.

“It’s me,” replied Sarah. “Ashra is very weak, but she can still regenerate over time. If only a single cell of her body survives, she will come back. It may take years, but you can’t allow this to happen.”

* * *

Kharon teleported near the Spectre warship power core and focused like she never had before. She extended her consciousness to infiltrate the computer on board the ship in order to confirm that her taking out this section of the ship was the right move.

Once she had made a mental link with the computer, which took more time than she thought it would, she turned the engines offline and fired the reverse thrusters to slow the ship’s advance toward Atlantis and Alkyon One.

An alarm blared all around her. “Intruder alert, dispatch all battle Bots to the power core.”

She needed to act fast. There was no way she’d be able to fight enemies and deploy all her powers to take the ship out at the same time. She instructed the ship’s computer to disable transporters and erect a force field across the entire deck that she was on. That would slow reinforcements long enough for her to do what needed to be done.

“I may die here with the ship, right?” Kharon asked the soul of the Phoenix.

Not if I have anything to say about it, but I won’t lie. It’s a possibility. Know that I’ll protect you for as long as possible and to the very end.

Thank you.

Now hurry, and make sure to set all power conduits to overload so that when you take out the power core, the rest of the ship goes with it.

Kharon used her mind to affect every system on board the warship, but she had to push past her mental limits. She could feel blood dripping from her eyes and ears. She pushed through the pain and when she was ready, she opened her eyes.

“Here goes nothing.” She turned Hyper Fury, and her aura took the shape of a flaming and screaming phoenix. Her golden aura grew exponentially.

Now, Kharon!

She unleashed the biggest shockwave she could muster. The concussive power of her attack bent metal and broke everything on its path. When the shockwave reached the power core, it broke through its containment field and the power core exploded.

Flames engulfed her in a matter of seconds, but the Phoenix armor erected a powerful force field around her and Kharon was able to witness parts of the ship disintegrate all around her.

Molten metal and flames flew all over the place. If she weren’t in fear for her life, Kharon would have spent more time thinking how there was such unmistakable beauty in the chaotic act of destruction.

* * *

Multiple explosions detonated in quick succession on the surface of the Spectre warship as thousands of fiery veins expanded all over its massive hull.

“Transporters,” requested Marlow, “please tell me you can you get a lock on Kharon?”

“That's a negative, Captain. I’m afraid there’s too much interference,” said the science officer.

“Dammit!”

“It’s alright. I'll go and get out there myself,” said a smiling Ares.

“Why are you smiling the way you are?”

“Don't worry Captain. I just realized what it is I’ve stayed around to accomplish before my time is up.”

Ares could tell that the captain of the Paragon was confused with his statement, but now was not the time to provide him with the necessary context on what he was going through.

“And I take it that getting Kharon out of that ship is the reason?”

“Not exactly, but it’s part of it. Goodbye, Captain. We won’t see each other again.”

Before Marlow could reciprocate with a farewell or offer his thanks, Ares had vanished from his bridge.

Marlow took a deep breath. “It’s working. Their shields are down. Instruct the fleet and station to throw everything they've got at the warship. We need to make sure we rid ourselves of this threat once and for all … and let’s hope Ares and Kharon can make it out of the inferno in time.”

“Aye, aye, Captain,” said one of his officers.

Every ship that could open fire on the enemy ship did so and, for a while, more explosions detonated on the surface of the warship—until a major flash of light temporarily blinded everyone who was looking at it.

* * *

The amount of light unleashed when the warship exploded blinded Kharon and she tried to teleport away from where she was, which was now basically levitating in space but inside the explosion. It had been a while since she’d witnessed the destruction of the ship from within and lacked any floor to step on.

“I can’t get away on my own,” said Kharon.

I know. I’m doing all I can to deflect the energy away from you for as long as I can.

Will you have enough energy for either of us to survive?

I'm not sure.

Take a guess then.

I don’t think so. I’m sorry, Kharon.

Don’t be. I could never have done this without you. I should have fought better earlier. If I had, I would still have my resurrection.

Be kind with yourself. You did the best you could. If we must leave this world and travel to the next plane of existence, we’d better do it with a clear conscience.

Perhaps, but right now, and more than anything else, I wish I could have seen my family one more time.

“You will,” said a third voice.

Ares appeared in front of her, grabbed Kharon with both hands, and teleported her away.

* * *

Zeus turned and his eyes widened. “Hades! What are you doing here?”

“I’ve come to say goodbye.”

“I don’t understand.”

“I have to help Chase and his family defeat this Ashra monster.”

“Since when do you care about others?”

“Beats me. But it’s the call of my soul, and I can’t ignore it.”

“I … I don’t know what to say.”

“There’s nothing to say, brother. I’m sorry I’ve trapped you here. With any luck, I’ll soon be back, and you can then move to Elysium, where you belong.”

“I’m just worried about my daughter and truth be told, I have found a sort of peace in your realm that I didn’t know existed. Out there, I was too blinded by my insatiable thirst for power. Not to mention my ego. All that mattered to me while I still had my flesh was to be the King of Olympus.”

“We all make mistakes, don’t we?”

Zeus nodded.

“I don’t know what you’re about to do, but I thank you nonetheless.”

“Let’s just say it’s something Chase would have done in my shoes.”

“Then it’s bound to be both reckless and dangerous.”

“Something like that, yes. It’s incredible how this one soul managed to change the way I see life.”

“On that we can agree. He’s always been an arrogant one, but it's hard to argue that he possesses a heart of gold.”

“And the purest of souls." Ares took a deep breath. “It’s time. Goodbye Zeus.”

“Goodbye, Hades.”

15

“I know you wanted to save me, Chase,” said Sarah.

“To tell you the truth, part of me still wants to,” he responded.

You can’t save me the way you imagined it, but in releasing me from this nightmare, you are saving me. Believe me!

Chase’s and Chris’ eyes filled with tears.

“I am so proud of the both of you,” said Sarah. “You never wavered in your determination, and you both fought against all odds.”

“I love you Sarah, with all my heart. I’m sorry I couldn’t do more,” Chase told her. “Whatever happens, I’ll forever keep you close in my heart.”

I love you too, Chase. I know how hard it is for you to let go, but I want you to know that there was never any other choice you could have made, nor could there have been any other outcome. Well ... that’s not entirely true.

What do you mean?

I’m responsible for this, Chase. You insisted that I didn’t fight Tanak’Vor, and I wouldn’t listen to reason. If I had listened to you, maybe none of this would have happened. For that, I’d like to ask for your forgiveness.

There is nothing to forgive, my love.

“Mom,” said Chris. “I love you so very much.”

I love you too my son, more than you can ever imagine. And please tell your sister I love her as well. I’m so sorry you lost your arm today. Watching this happen, and what followed after, that was the worst of this experience. I was screaming so loud for her to stop. She’s regaining some of her strength, so you must not hesitate. Know in your hearts that the time I spent with the two of you far outweighs the nightmare I’ve been through. If anything, make sure to end this. I can't imagine going through this for all eternity.

Chase and Chris both nodded and answered in unison, “We will.”

“Goodbye,” said Sarah. “Do what you both know must be done. I know you’ll find the strength to release me from this torment. I’m ready to let go of this life. I want it to be over now that we have said our goodbyes … I feel lighter than I thought possible.

* * *

Ashra drew closer, still limping. Her look could only be described as pure madness.

“You filthy creatures,” she spat. “I can’t believe you gave me so much trouble. It’s like you don’t want to die, and have multiple lives, the whole lot of you.”

“That's irony for you,” said Chase. "But we still need to kill you."

“Please, you don’t have the energy needed to destroy me now, and you know it.”

“Be that as it may,” responded Chris, “we'll make it happen.”

“And you’ll fail. I have too many strong souls inside me for you to manage to destroy me on a molecular level.”

“Then let’s see if we can do something about that then,” said someone from behind Chase and Chris.

It was Poseidon, and he wasted no time pointing SoulStorm at Ashra. The mighty weapon shot multiple salvos. With each hit, a hole was punched through Ashra’s flesh. Through them, bundles of souls were released. They escaped out of her reach and vanished onto the next plane of existence.

“Noooooooooo!” screamed Ashra. “My souls! Come back to me! You belong to me!”

“Good timing,” said Chase.

“You can thank Hades for that.”

“Hades is here?”

“He soon will be. Listen to him and for once in your life, Chase, try not to argue.”

Chase nodded. “Understood.”

“Thank you, Poseidon,” said Chris.

“Sure thing, boy, but your job isn’t over. You two still have to deliver the final blow. Make sure you don’t miss.”

Poseidon kept firing Soulstorm at Ashra, depriving her of more souls with every hit he scored. Ashra screamed and a massive shockwave flattened everything and everyone as a result. When Chase and Chris got back on their feet, four powerful black fireballs soared past them. One of them knocked Soulstorm out of Poseidon’s hands and the other three hit him full force on the torso. He fell to the ground, blood running from his mouth.

“Poseidon!” yelled Chase.

Poseidon smiled. “Don’t worry about me, just do what must be done. I’ll be fine.”

Hades appeared next to Chase and Chris. “Mind if I join this party?” he asked.

“Hades!” said Chase, surprised.

“No time for reunion speeches, Chase. I’m going to get her under control and provide you with a kill shot, so make sure you incinerate us both once I got her, understood?”

“But—”

“There’s no ‘but’, Chase! This is it! This is the moment of truth. We do this my way, or we all die. Is that understood?”

“Yes, Hades, I understand,” nodded Chase.

Hades darted toward Ashra and dodged every one of her attacks. When he was upon her, he unleashed a series of powerful punches, enough to attract her attention and put her on the offensive.

Unfortunately for the Spectre, she was too tired to land a single blow, and Hades managed to move behind her and lock her into place, preventing her from moving.

The Olympian used all his might and focused all his energy to keep her in place with sheer strength of will, as well as an intense amount of telekinetic energy.

Ashra’s screams echoed around the planet. “Let me go! You filthy Olympian scum. I’ll have your head for this.”

“Yes, you will, but not in the way you think. Look.”

Ashra, who up until then had only been focused on trying to get Hades off her back, looked up and saw the auras of Chris and Chase explode like supernovas. They turned into Hyper Furies and their hair shot upward. One of the auras was a purple dragon, the other a green tiger. A third aura escaped Argos’ body and joined the dance around the both of them. It was a crimson Cobra. Nyx's wolf aura shortly followed suit.

“What is this?” she exclaimed. “They're not even standing. How can their auras join them?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” said Hades with a smile. “And they're not the only ones sending them the power needed to rid the dimension of the scourge you are.”

More auras descended from the sky and joined in their dance around Chase and Chris, whose merging auras kept growing and growing. The Phoenix, Medusa, and the aura of the Cyclops soul joined and merged with the ever-mounting powers of Chase and Chris.

“It’s incredible,” said Chris. “I feel more power flowing through me than ever before.”

“As do I,” said Chase. “Are you ready to end this, son?”

“I am, Dad. Let’s do this!”

Chase looked at Chris and smiled. “For your mother.”

Chris nodded.

“Now!” shouted Chase.

Chris used his only hand to shoot forward all the energy contained within him and Chase threw both hands forward to unleash his power. A massive beam of golden energy advanced and was immediately followed by all the soul armor auras, intertwining themselves around the beam of energy heading toward Ashra.

As the infinite beam impacted Ashra, she unleashed the mother of all painful screams.

Ares and Kharon appeared next to Chase. And Kharon darted forward.

“Wait!” exclaimed Chase. “What is she doing?”

Ares smiled. “Trust her, Chase. We came to do the one last thing that must be done. Goodbye, my friend. Going through this journey with you has been the honor of my life, son.”

Tears filled Chase’s eyes as Kharon fired a beam of blue energy at Ashra and pulled a soul from her. Before Chase could say goodbye to his mentor, Ares flew straight into the soul Kharon had ripped from Ashra, and a massive flash of energy illuminated the entire valley.

Racing around the beam of energy, the aura of Medusa, comprised of hundreds of snakes—was the first to reach Ashra through the beam, and the Spectre body started turning into stone.

“Nooooooooooooo!” screeched Ashra. “This … is not … possi⁠—”

Before she could utter her last word, Ashra became a statue—along with Hades, still holding on to her for dear life. His smile was immortalized on his face, now made of stone.

Chase felt the strangest of feelings as he kept unleashing everything he had into the beam. It was as if he could feel every single one of his friends standing behind him, adding their power and encouragement to his and his son’s. Both the living and the departed felt like they were here with them, to witness this moment.

The beam of energy burst through the statues and turned them to ash. Chris and Chase intensified the beam even more to ensure not a single cell could survive their attack.

“Goodbye, Sarah, I love you more than life itself,” thought Chase.

Once Ashra and Hades had been consumed at the molecular level, the attack withered and dissipated.

Both Chase and Chris fell onto their knees.

Kharon ran toward them. “Are you all right?” she asked.

They were both panting heavily and had trouble speaking.

“This drained me like nothing else ever has,” murmured Chase.

“Same here. But we’re okay. I think.”

“Yes, you are,” said another familiar voice.

Both Chris and Chase’s eyes grew wide, and tears flowed down their cheeks.

Sarah, in energy form, walked toward them with a smile on her face.

“H—how is this possible?” stuttered Chase.

Kharon smiled. “It wouldn't have been possible without Ares' help. I used the power of the Phoenix armor to snatch mother’s soul from Ashra, like I did for part of Thor’s, but since Ashra was so weak, I managed to get all of her out before your attack hit her. Ares, who was minutes away from moving to the next plain of existence, locked his energy matrix into her soul before leaving.”

Chris hastened toward his mother. He passed through her and crashed to the ground.

Kharon and Chase laughed.

Chris got back up and nervously scratched the back of his head. “Right, you’re made of energy now.”

Sarah smiled. “Yes, son, but your display of affection warms my heart just the same.”

“I can’t believe you’re here with us,” said Chase. “Can you stay in this form long?”

“I have no idea. I did not expect this. But even if this form grants me a few days with my family, then it would already be more than I could ever have hoped for.”

Chase looked to the sky. “Thank you, Ares, and thank you, Hades. I have gravely misjudged you and I'm sorry.”

“You did what you thought was right,” said Poseidon as he got back up to his feet and dusted himself off. “My brother and nephew both knew that when the time came, you’d be able to end this war once and for all.”

“Except we couldn’t have done it without their help.”

“That’s not what matters, Chase. All that matters is that Ashra is finally gone, and that the Spectres won’t ravage this dimension, or any other for that matter.”

Chase took a deep breath. “It’s finally over … and, somehow, I'm having a hard time believing it.”

“Believe it,” said a smiling Kharon. “And we got Mom back!”

“Well,” said Sarah, “kind of, I suppose.”

Argos moaned and Chris helped him back to his feet.

“This is more than we could have hoped for,” said Argos. “Good to see you, Sarah. Did anyone tell you yet that you’re glowing?”

Sarah laughed. “Good one, Argos. It’s good to see you too.”

Poseidon walked over to Chris and put a hand on his shoulder. “I’m sorry you lost something in the process. I know how it feels. But fret not. Loki will build you a new arm soon enough.”

“Perhaps there’s a way to re-attach Chris’s arm,” suggested a limping Nyx, holding the severed limb.

Chris jumped into her arms. “Thank the gods you’re alive.”

She embraced him with one arm. “Normally, I would scoff at such nonsensical expressions of gratitude, but since two Gods did give up their lives for us to win ... and I’m glad to see you too. Though I have to admit, I’m a little disappointed I didn’t participate in this last mighty attack. It was quite something.”

"You did participate though," Chris told her. "At least, the soul of the Wolf did."

“How did you see it? I thought you were out,” said Chase.

“We all saw it,” explained Argos. “Our soul armor, somehow, allowed us to witness this moment. In fact, we felt like we were alongside you, helping you fire that powerful beam.”

“Yup,” agreed Oryn telepathically. “Menelas and I did too.”

“What about the battle around Alkyon One?” asked Chase.

“That’s been dealt with too, thanks to Kharon,” said Poseidon.

“Sis?” asked Chris. “What did you do?”

“I demolished their ship from within.”

Chris smiled. “Impressive.”

“What do you guys say we all go home now?” asked Argos.

“With pleasure,” replied Chase, “if Kharon can take us there all at once.”

“I’ll help her,” said Sarah as she extended her hand. “Chris, Chase, and Argos, grab my hand. The rest of you go with Kharon.”

Everyone vanished into thin air.

16

A few hours later …

“I still can’t believe you’re here,” said Chase.

“I have to admit,” Sarah told him, “that I’m also surprised. You have no idea how hard these past few months have been. Not to mention watching your sanity wither away and seeing you cry the way you did when I was in the statis pod.”

“I didn’t know you were able to sense me from the stasis pod. But I kinda hoped you could at least hear me.”

“I did, Chase. I’m sorry you had to go through all this.”

“As am I that you had to be trapped inside that monster’s body and witness all the horrors she executed.”

“There’s nothing more frustrating than being trapped inside one’s body, and seeing that same body hurt all the people you love and care for. And not being able to do anything about it, that's the worst part. The helplessness. Honestly, death would have been the sweetest release after such torment, but I'm glad Ares had other plans. Now, I can see you, and while I can’t really touch you, not the way we’d both desire, that is, I’m happy beyond my ability to express it.”

“I’m so glad to hear that. I thought maybe part of you would hate me.”

“Why would you think that?”

“I risked everything and everyone again to try and save you. And for a time, all that mattered to me was that goal. The last time I did that, I thought you’d never forgive me.”

“I understand. In hindsight, I may have been a little tough on you the first time around.”

“A little?”

She chuckled. “Okay, a lot. I just couldn’t deal with how many people had been put on the line to try and save me.”

“What’s so different this time around?”

“Well … I knew I couldn’t be saved, at least in the way you envisioned it, so I trusted that you’d arrive at the same conclusion sooner or later. Since you weren’t aware of Ares and Kharon planning to bring me back, you finally made the decision to release me from my torment. I’m proud of you for this, Chase. I know how hard it must have been for you to cross that threshold.”

“You give me too much credit, I'm afraid. I just wished I hadn’t hesitated earlier when I almost had her. Hades might still be here if I hadn’t.”

“You don’t know that. Seeing what it took to finally rid the world of Ashra, it’s possible you would have failed. After all, Nyx thought she had won in a similar fashion, but there were still enough cells left for Ashra to regenerate.”

“Perhaps. It doesn’t exactly make me feel good about myself, you know, having hesitated in that moment.”

“I understand. I was cheering for you to kill her when you tried. Even if that meant we wouldn’t be where we are now.”

“Speaking of now, I sure hope you can stay with us for a long time.”

“If it’s within my power in this new form, which I still need to get used to, then of course I’ll stay with my family. Speaking of family, that Nyx Fury, she seems to be very fond of our son.”

“She is, and very protective too.”

“Reminds me of someone.”

“Touché.”

* * *

Daniel took Chase in his arms and squeezed him hard. “Well done, brother, you did it,” he said.

When the embrace ended, Chase smiled. “We all did. But it came at a cost. One I’m not sure I would have been willing to pay at the very beginning of this war.”

“That's the nature of war, Chase. We fight for those we love, for freedom, but not everyone makes it. It’s not on you, Chase.”

“Kinda feels like it is.”

“I can see why you’d feel that way, but even if you hadn’t decided to try and save Sarah, Ashra would have been born anyway, and we would have had to fight this war. You didn’t start it, but thanks to you, we finally ended it.”

“Thanks, Daniel. You always find the right words to console me.”

“Anytime, Chase. You and I go back a long way.”

“All the way through as far as I’m concerned.”

“What about the time before you lost your memories? Wouldn’t you want to learn who you were back then?”

“It doesn’t matter. The man I was back then no longer exists; he died the day Argos erased his memories. This is who I am today and, as such, that makes you my oldest friend, my brother, really. As for that other guy, he has no place in my life. I suspect he never had.”

“That’s an interesting way of looking at it. I’m glad you seem at peace with it.”

“I am. Peace also happens to be all I crave going forward. I feel like I’ve fought for ten lifetimes already, and if I never see another battlefield, I’ll be the happiest man alive.”

“You and me both.”

“So, do you intend to stay onboard Alkyon One as its commander?”

“Nah, I’ve already drafted my letter of resignation, which I intended to give to Altair, but …”

“I miss him too. If I only got there a moment earlier, he would still be with us.”

“Not your fault, Chase. Let it go.”

Chase nodded. “I'm going to have to live with it, at the very least.”

“Look at the bright side. You got Sarah back. I mean, it may not be long term, and it’s not the same as being able to hold her in your arms, but …”

“But it’s more that I could have hoped for, yes. Speaking of the women we love, how are things going with Allanah?”

“Great, better than great in fact. She’s agreed to follow me to my next assignment.”

“Oh. You’re not going to retire?”

“I thought about it but these past few months, I realized that my place is amongst the stars. It's always been.”

“Your own command, then?”

“If you’ll grant it, yes. Now that Altair is gone, and before you hand back the power to the council, I’d like you to grant me my wish to captain my own ship, yes.”

Chase smiled. “Consider it done, but then I’ll be resigning, this time for good.”

“Really? You’re not tempted to stay with the Alliance as an admiral?”

“Not even a little, Daniel. We’ve been through so much, too much in fact. That’s it for me, the military, the wars … I just want to be with my family and enjoy the life I wanted to have with them from the start.”

“We're going to miss you then, but I understand. What do you say we go grab ourselves a couple of beers at the Starlite bar?”

“I'll race you there.”

"Nah, you'll cheat and teleport."

"I would never do that."

"Still, racing a Fury is not exactly a fair contest."

"Fair enough."

* * *

“When I thought I arrived too late to save you, I thought my mind would explode,” said Nyx.

“But you did arrive on time,” said Chris. “And I can’t thank you enough for it.”

“You would have done the same for me.”

“Of course I would have.”

“Chris, can I ask you something?”

“Of course, anything, love.”

“How did you feel when she was cutting through your …”

“You can say it: my neck.”

“Yeah …”

“Well, I felt sorry for failing all my friends, and I felt very sad at the idea of never holding you in my arms again. But I suppose what I wanted more than anything was another chance to be able to kiss you one more time.”

“The hopeless romantic. Then again, if you hadn’t felt this way, perhaps I wouldn’t have woken up from the regen cycle. Which reminds me. I should kick your ass about that decision.”

“Uh—oh.”

“You thought I’d give you a pass, considering … didn’t you?”

Chris grimaced. “I was kind of hoping you had, yes”

“Well, I suppose the ass-kicking can wait until you fully recover. How’s your arm feeling?”

Chris touched it. “I don’t know, I’m glad we were able to re-attach it but in the process I’ve lost a lot of feeling, not to mention strength. I may still need to consider implants, or maybe go the Poseidon route.”

“Nah, you won’t need a fully bionic arm. Give yourself the time you need to heal. You’re a Fury after all. I’m sure you’ll regain all your sensations and strength in due time.”

“I thought I was a filthy half-breed?”

She kissed him passionately. “Yes, but you’re my filthy half-breed.”

“Well played. What about the future, though?”

“What about it?”

“Well, now that the war is over, do you intend to go with the rest of the Furies? I understand only one of the three superdestroyers were destroyed. Wasn’t your commanding officer on board?”

“Yes, he was.”

“I’m sorry.”

“War always comes with a price. People die so others can live. It’s the nature of the beast.”

“Do you know who will succeed him?”

“If you must know, they’re considering me as their new leader.”

“Oh, wow … congratulations, then ... I guess.”

She smiled. “You guess?”

“Sorry to be selfish, but anything that could drive you away from me is not something I'll be cheering about. I mean, I’m happy for you if you get the promotion. I just wish you’d reconsider joining me and my family instead ... now that this war is over.”

“I see. What about you coming with me if I get the job?”

“I’d love to, but now that my mom is back—well, not to mention we don't know how long for. Also, I’ve barely had time to form a bond with my sister. It would be rude of me to leave with you. At least not right away. For the time being, my place is with them.”

“But you’d consider it? After a time?”

“Yes, I would. I love you, and if it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t be alive.”

“Not the first time I had to save your hide. If at all possible, I’d like you to make sure it’s the last time it needs saving.”

“So, what you're saying is that you're tired of saving my butt?”

“Not really, no. Just tired of having to worry about it. You do have a cute butt after all, not to mention it would be a waste of perfectly good genetics.”

Chris’s eyes widened. “I can’t believe you just said that.”

“You know what? Neither do I.”

They kissed and turned off the bedroom lights. There wouldn’t be much sleep for either that night.

* * *

“I don’t understand,” said Chase.

“I still need to seal that breach between our dimensions before I die,” said Hyperion.

“And you can’t do that from this side?”

“I’m afraid not. It is clear the Spectres have found a way to develop the technology to stretch that breach and travel through it. I need to take Atlantis on the other side, close that breach, and make sure whatever research they’ve developed is found and destroyed. I’ll sanitize every Spectre I encounter there too, since we were never given the option to try and revert those on board the motherships.”

“Well, we have a few of them inside Alkyon One’s morgue. Just like you expected, firing those weapons at them did revert their DNA, but none survived the transformation back to Atlantean DNA.”

“It’s nothing short of a miracle that I survived this reversion in the first place. I think that’s because I realized early enough what was happening. That, and I had the technological know-how, as well as the tools, to do it in a progressive way, making sure my physiology had time to adapt to the change. These weapons were made to neutralize the Spectres; they have little to nothing to do with the careful process I applied on myself.”

“I see. I take it that this will be a one-way trip then? It’s strange. We just found Atlantis and it’s helped us win this war, and now you must leave.”

“It’s the way of things, Chase. But even though the soul armor gave their lives to help you achieve victory, I think you’d have managed with or without my help.”

“That’s kind of you to say, and who knows? Maybe we would have, but I suspect it would have cost us way more in the long run. So, I’m really glad our paths crossed when they did.”

“As am I. I’m especially thankful for Gaia and Spiros. They’ve found a way to extend my life by a few years, which should be more than enough for me to do what needs to be done on the other side.”

“Do you need us to send some people with you, in case you run into trouble?”

“I can’t ask you to do that. They would be stuck there with me, with no hope of ever returning home. I can’t ask anyone to make such a sacrifice.”

“I understand, and neither have I the right, but there might volunteers if we ask. You’ve helped us save countless civilizations. I’m sure some people in the Alliance might want to repay you. There’s also been a lot of casualties. Some people who lost everything during the war may see this as an opportunity … giving them a goal to aim for.”

“If any volunteers truly are mad enough to be willing to join me on my journey, then who am I to say no?”

“I’ll have the Alliance pass the message along. When will you be leaving?”

“In a few days. I want to make sure Atlantis is back at full power first.”

“If we don’t meet again until that happens, I’d like to thank you for everything you’ve done for us.”

“And I thank you for helping me correct the horrible mistakes my kind did so long ago. I'd also like to apologize once more for the pain and suffering they’ve brought into your lives.”

“You can’t blame yourself for that. It was your entire civilization that went mad; as such, you don’t need to shoulder all of that blame on your own. What matters is that you did everything you could to try and correct their mistakes, and considering you did that in the state you were in, you need to give yourself a break. You’re a hero.”

“I don’t know about that, Chase, but I appreciate your kind words. I’m glad I trusted you. I gotta say, when I saw the group that arrived at my outpost had Fury DNA, I didn’t know what to think.”

“My family and I were never raised as Furies—well, except Argos, and maybe I was too before my brother erased my memories.”

“I’m an expert in that area. I could help you regain your memory before I leave, if that’s what you want?”

“You know what? I’ve thought about that for a long time, and I like who I am. I’d rather not discover that at any point in time. I did things that aren’t in alignment with who I am today. Let the past stay where it belongs… I may have been born Laiyos, some ten thousand years ago, but today I am Chase Athanatos.”

“You don’t look ten thousand years old, no offense.”

“None taken. I understand my brother and I spent most of that time in stasis though.”

“Oh, I see. That makes more sense then.”

“Thanks again, Hyperion, and good luck.”

“Thank you as well, Chase, I hope you find the peace your soul has been craving for so long.”

“So do I,” thought Chase somberly, “but my gut tells me nothing lasts forever.”

17

When Talon opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was Tar’Lock sleeping on a chair by his bed. His nostrils whistled as he inhaled, and his tongue made a funny click as he exhaled.

Talon had the worst headache he had ever had, but part of him was wondering how he could still be alive. It took a few minutes for his brain to escape the fog and start working properly, allowing him to recall the last memory he had of the events.

By all accounts, he should be dead and he knew it. The last thing he remembered was his skin—and everything else around him—burning.

Talon tried to move and moaned. Which woke Tar’Lock up.

“You’re awake!” Tar’Lock exclaimed with a series of super joyful clicks. “Thank the gods.”

“Hey, Tar’Lock, it’s good to see you. As for the gods, I take it one of them must have had my back, or am I still here thanks to you?”

“A little of both, I guess. After you forcibly beamed me away, I found Ares and asked his help. He’s the one that got you out of the Victory before it was destroyed.”

Talon rubbed his forehead and grimaced. “That would explain the golden light I thought I saw before I passed out.”

“Ares said that if he had gotten to you a fraction of a second later, you’d be dead. Chase also helped you recover by healing you on top of the regen tank. And his daughter Kharon took your place as the fleet commander.”

Talon’s eyes widened. “Really? A kid led the fleet? That’s an interesting choice.”

“She has all of Chase’s battle strategy memory, so she did okay.”

Talon had a hard time swallowing, but eventually he managed. “Did we win? Is it over?”

“We won,” said a beaming Tar’Lock, but the smile on his face quickly receded. “We did lose a lot of people though.”

“I bet. What about Chase? Did he and his family survive?”

“They did. Chris was badly injured but like you, he’s making a recovery. Sarah is also back in energy form, like Ares was before her. In fact, it’s thanks to him that she could take that form.”

“So, Ares is gone?”

“Yes, but he would have been anyway. Ares’ ability to keep his energy form was coming to an end. It just happened that for his last act amongst us, he chose to save Sarah’s soul by giving her his energy matrix.”

“Looks like I missed a lot. Who else died?”

“Hades, as well as the Asgardian guards.”

“Both of them? What happened? They switched sides again?”

“No. Quite the contrary in fact. They both gave up their lives to save us. Which I must say wasn’t something I would have excepted them to do.”

“I’m with you on this. Let's just say that if I were a betting man, I would have lost my money.”

“Now what? What’s going to happen next?”

“Nothing, we finally have peace. The Alliance is going to reorganize its government, and Chase is thinking of stepping down from the temporary emperor position. Which I'm sure he's happy about, since he never wanted it in the first place.”

“And you? Any plans now that the war is over? Do you still want to stay in the military?”

“That depends.”

“On what exactly?”

“On whether or not you do. If you take another command, I’d still like to be your first officer.”

“Right. Who wouldn’t want a stubborn and disobedient first officer by their side?”

Tar’Lock looked down. “I’m sorry.”

“I’m just giving you a hard time, my friend. I know I put you in a very tough spot back on the ship. I’m the one who should be apologizing. Really.”

That seemed to return Tar’Lock’s usual joyfulness.

“After all,” added Talon, “I’m only alive because of your stubbornness, so I’d be honored to have you as my first officer, my friend. That is, if I stay in the military. If there’s peace, then perhaps there will be a better way to spend my time than onboard war machines.”

“Such as?”

“I’ve always wanted to learn to paint, for one.”

Tar’Lock laughed.

“Why are you laughing for?”

“Oh, you’re serious. Never mind then.”

Talon smiled. “I don’t think you should rush thinking about keeping your military career either. Maybe you need to think about Ryonna. Perhaps there’s a future there.”

“I don’t think there is. I mean, obviously I like her⁠—”

“Let me stop you right there, my friend! You love her with every fiber of your being. Why else would you have cleared most of your memory to only keep room for the time the two of you spent together?”

“Yes, you’re right. But I know we’re too different to make it work. We’re not even compatible, you know …”

“Sexually?”

“Yes. She could never bear my children.”

“Seeing as your species produce hundreds of offspring with every pregnancy, I believe that’s not a bad thing.”

“Right, and without a Gorgar mom to take care of them, it would be utter chaos.”

“You could always adopt a child with Ryonna. Or just decide to spend a part of your lifespan together. Barring injury or sickness, you’d outlive her anyway, right?”

“By thousands of years, yes.”

“I don’t envy you in that regard. I think that what makes life so precious is that it has a finite amount of time. We are born, we live, and we die.”

“I will die too, just maybe much later than you.”

“Yeah, it’s the later part I’m not sure about, but hey, your species has managed to live this way for eons, so who am I to judge?”

“We’ve mostly been exploited though, even by the Alliance.”

“I know, but you have to admit that your kind is really efficient at building things, and that has come in handy for us. And in helping us win, the Gorgar people have also saved themselves. I’m sure, now that the war is over, the pressure that was put on your people will be lessened.”

Talon yawned and moaned at the same time. He still ached pretty much everywhere.

“I suppose you're right … you seem tired, and I’d better let you rest. You’ve been through a lot.”

“We both have. And Tar’Lock?”

“Yes, Talon?”

“Thanks again for everything.”

Tar’Lock gave his friend a playful salute before leaving the room.

* * *

When Menelas went to see who was at the door of his quarters, he was surprised to see Athena.

“Oh my, I didn’t expect you back so soon,” said Menelas.

They kissed.

“Did you miss me?” she asked.

“Like, you have to ask. But didn’t you say you have to deal with a rebel movement on Olympus?”

“It's been taken care of.”

“Did you arrest them, or were there executions?”

“I had to have the regent executed. Not something I’m proud of, but like we had discussed, perhaps showing that I can rule with an iron fist was a statement that was needed to be made after all. I just hope it doesn’t encourage other displeased Olympians to try and mount another coup. There’s very few of us as it is; the last thing I want for my people is civil war.”

“Yes, even though I'm sure you didn't want to, the fact that there was a plan to remove you via a coup was something that needed to be dealt with, so I understand.”

“I thought you think so, because I also thought you might be able to help me get things back under control at home.”

“Of course, though I can’t imagine them being happy with a Fury walking amongst them.”

“Then imagine if that Fury was their king.”

“You can’t be serious?”

“Look, we eloped during the first Fury war, so technically we’re still married. I think Olympus would benefit from having a king and not just a queen.”

“I think you’re asking for trouble by having a non-Olympian king though, especially a Fury. This will not help calm your people; it could further increase the chances of a future rebellion.”

“Maybe not. Maybe it’s time for the universe to accept that we’re more alike than we are different. And that we need to unite, even in positions of powers. After all, my uncle is the King of Asgard, and they have accepted it.”

“Only because it was Thor’s dying wish.”

“I don’t think so. Poseidon fought side by side with him to save Asgard, and you’ve fought to save the universe, and by extension, New Olympus.”

“I’ll do what you think is best, of course, even though our opinions differ as to what could happen.”

“Thank you, dear. And look at the bright side, we can finally get married in style. It’s something I wished we could have done ten thousand years ago.”

“Right, better late than never then.”

* * *

Chase was taking a late-night walk around the station when he decided to stop by a large viewport and stare at the stars. Bots of all kinds were still trying to clear up the area of debris around Alkyon One, so it wasn't exactly the view he had hoped for.

So many ships had been destroyed in the last few hours. So many people had sacrificed their lives to restore freedom in this galaxy, as well as in so many others.

Nearby, Nyx cleared her throat.

Chase turned around. “Oh, hi Nyx. Having trouble sleeping as well?”

“No, I sleep like a baby, but I wanted to talk to you, if that’s okay with you.”

If that’s okay with me? What’s gotten into her? “I don’t remember you ever asking permission for anything before.”

“That’s kind of why I want to talk to you. Well, that’s a part of it anyway.”

“Sure thing, I'm listening.”

Nyx took a deep breath, and Chase braced himself as a result.

“I wanted to start by apologizing for my behavior. I’ve said some mean things to you in the past, and while I meant them at the time, I’ve come to realize that I’ve let my hot-headed nature get the better of me.”

Chase was shocked, and he had no doubt his current facial expression conveyed as much. “I … I don’t know what to say.”

“That may make this easier for me, if you just listen. With your permission, that is?”

I can’t be awake, this has to be a dream—either that, or I caught a bug and the fever is making me hallucinate. “Sure, go ahead.”

“First of all, I’d like to thank you for pushing me away when I made, let’s say, physical advances towards you when we first met. I had already been with your son, though back then I didn’t realize it would turn into something more than carnal sex.”

Charming. “I don’t think any of us saw that coming. But sorry, you said I should let you speak. And you’re welcome … I suppose.”

“In truth, Chris was the only one who either thought, or at the very least hoped, our relationship would one day evolve into something more serious. Looks like his persistence paid off. But I want to convey how sorry I am for my behavior, as well as how grateful I am today that you turned me down. If you hadn’t, I don’t think Chris would have forgiven me.”

“I have to say, I’m surprised seeing you that calm and, even more so, hearing words like ‘grateful’ and ‘sorry’ come out of your mouth. No offense.”

“None taken, and I deserve that. Even though I still think I’m the strongest warrior,” she said with a wink.

Chase chuckled. “Phew, there she is. You scared me. For a moment, I thought maybe someone abducted you and replaced you with a clone or something.”

Nyx smiled.

“Speaking of things you deserve," said Chase, "I hear congratulations are in order. Looks like you’ll be leading the Furies going forward …”

“Thank you. I have been offered the position, yes, but I haven’t given my answer just yet.”

“Oh? Why’s that? I would think you’d jump at the opportunity to have the fate of your people in your hands. Though now that I say it out loud …”

“Don’t worry, I have no intention of trying to rebuild the Fury Empire and lead it against the Alliance.”

“That, I have to admit, is quite a relief. But only if you accept the position.”

“Why?”

“If another Fury doesn’t see things the way you now do, there could still be war in our future. I’d rather that didn’t happen. It would be nice to enjoy peace for as long as we can make it last. Don’t you think?”

“Yes. Even I am weary of war these days. But for me to take this position, it would mean leaving and going to be with my people.”

“I take it than Chris isn’t really thrilled by that.”

“No, and I would rather deal with you in matters of Fury Alliance relationships, should I decide to accept the role, that is.”

Me? Seriously? “I plan on retiring.”

“I’ve heard. I’d like you to reconsider or, at the very least, stay as a consultant, perhaps as a sort of ambassador specialized in Fury Alliance relations.”

“That’s a surprising but interesting proposition. If you do take the position, then perhaps I can make your request happen, while I still hold that kind of power. In fact, you could do the same.”

“I don’t follow?”

“Well, get elected the ruler of your people, choose people you trust to run things for you, and spend time with us on Earth. That way, you and Chris can still be together and, from time to time, you guys take a trip to wherever the Furies decide to establish a new colony, to make sure all is well with the rebuilding of your civilization.”

Nyx’s eyes widened, and then they watered. “You’d invite me, of all people, to live with your family on Earth?”

“Of course. As far as I’m concerned, you’re already part of our family. I’ll go even one step further. Without your help, I don’t think this family would still be breathing. And for that, I’m beyond grateful.”

Nyx threw herself into Chase’s arms, which at first he mistook for an attack, but once he realized that she just wanted a hug, he was more than glad to give her one.

She whispered to into his ear, “If you ever tell anyone about this, I’ll have to kill you; you understand?”

Chase smiled from ear to ear. “Of course.”

18

Chase didn’t immediately register the bell ringing at the door. The second time, it took him out of his mental reverie. “Please come in.”

Captain Marlow entered and saluted. “Admiral, you wanted to see me?”

“Oh, Captain Marlow, good,” said Chase. “Yes, please come in and take a seat.”

Marlow entered Chase’s Alkyon One office and sat down.

“I wanted to commend you on your work during the attack,” said Chase.

“That’s kind of you. I just did my duty.”

“That’s not what my daughter said. In fact, she speaks highly of you.”

“I’m surprised to hear that. I hadn’t been kind to her when she first stepped on board my ship. But I soon realized that her presence was what saved us all. That, and the sacrifice of courageous men and women, even those we once considered enemies.”

“She told me about her experience onboard the Paragon and don’t worry. It’s only natural to react the way you did. My daughter being so young must have been quite disconcerting.”

“Yes. At first, I thought it was a bad joke to put an adolescent in command. I mean, there’s no way she could have learned military strategy in her short years.”

Chase smiled. “It’s even more crazy to think she’s been alive for only a few weeks, in fact.”

Marlow’s face dropped. “What? How is that even possible?”

“It’s a long and not especially interesting story. But in a nutshell, let’s just say our enemy used technology to accelerate her growth so that she could be used as a Trojan horse, in an ill-conceived attempt to kill me, my son, and destroy the whole Alliance.”

“I had no idea.”

“Not exactly the kind of report I felt like sharing publicly on Alliance bulletins, as you can imagine. And I’d rather you keep that information to yourself as well.”

“Of course, Admiral, it goes without saying. Thank you for trusting me with such sensitive information. I won’t let you down.”

“At ease, Captain. This is mostly an informal meeting. I just wanted to put a face to the name, so to speak. That, and give you both a commendation and a promotion, Commodore.”

Captain Marlow rose from his chair and saluted. “I … I did not expect this. Thank you, Admiral.”

“Please, sit down. And you’re welcome. Looking at your record, I can safely say this is well deserved and a long time coming. In fact, you should have been Admiral by now. But I have no doubt that it will happen soon enough.”

Marlow sat back in his chair. “Thank you, sir.”

“Before that happens, though, I do have another job for you.”

“Of course, I’ll do whatever the Alliance needs me to do.”

“Great. As you may know, Admiral Epizon is still recovering, and I’d like you to command the fleet until he’s fully recovered.”

“It would be my honor, but I hadn't been informed about his promotion.”

“Technically, he hasn’t been made aware of it either, but I’ll be seeing him after you.”

“Understood, sir. Until then, I’ll treat that information on a need-to-know basis.”

Chase got up, and Marlow followed suit. They shook hands.

“Good. Thanks again for taking care of my daughter. I appreciate that, Commodore.”

“Of course, Admiral. It was an honor fighting alongside Kharon.”

Chase smiled.

“Why the smile, sir?”

“You remind me of a dear friend who is no longer with us.”

“Oh, would that by any chance be Commodore Saroudis?”

“Yes. Did you know him?”

“Yes, Admiral. I had the privilege to serve under him in the early days of the war on the Destiny, before I was given my own command.”

“Incredible. So, you and I served on the same ship?”

“For just a short time, sir, yes. I was transferred back and forth between different ships before I was given command of the Paragon. As for Adonis, if you’ll excuse my lack of protocol, he was a great man, and he’s sorely missed.”

Chase saluted. “Yes, he was and indeed he is.”

* * *

Daniel and Allanah were enjoying a romantic dinner inside his quarters.

“You sure you don’t want to stay onboard the station?” asked Allanah.

“I’m more of a ship guy, you know?” said Daniel.

“Yes, but captaining your ship means you're going away. As a result, we’ll barely see each other if you go.”

“Not necessarily.”

“What do you mean?”

“For one, my ship hasn’t been built yet, so there’s time until that happens. And I was thinking ... hoping even… that perhaps you could come with me, and become the new chief on board that vessel. Your job will stay the same, but we can keep seeing each other.”

“That’s an intriguing proposition. But you do realize that we’re not supposed to fraternize in the first place, right?”

“That policy stopped holding water from the moment that Chase and Sarah started dating openly.”

“A love story that—even though highly romantic—was also at the center of some of the darkest hours of the Alliance.”

“That’s one way of looking at it, I suppose.”

“What’s yours then?”

“That their love is what gave all of us, on some level, the strength to fight for what we believe in.”

“I didn’t know you were such an optimist, Daniel. But that’s a facet of your personality I quite like.”

“Is that a yes regarding the possibility of coming with me?”

She smiled. “It’s a strong maybe.”

“Now that we’ve established that I’m an optimist, I’ll take it.”

* * *

Tar’Lock pushed Talon’s wheelchair inside Chase’s office.

“It’s good to see you, guys,” greeted Chase.

“Always great to see you, Chase,” said Tar’Lock joyfully.

“Admiral,” said Talon. He saluted. It looked like he would have gotten up from his chair if he were able.

“Talon, when will you please drop protocol and call me by my first name already? If only just this once?”

“I’m not sure I can, sir.”

“Please.”

“It’s good to see you … Chase.”

“See, that wasn’t so hard.”

“If you say so, sir.”

Chase smiled and looked at Tar’Lock. “Thank you for bringing him in, Tar'Lock. If you could please wait outside for a few minutes?”

Tar’Lock emitted low-volume tongue clicks before answering. “Of course, I’ll see you both later.”

Chase gave his insectoid friend a casual two-finger salute.

Once the doors of Chase’s office slid shut, he continued. “Talon, I wish you would have allowed me to come and see you in the medbay instead. You really didn’t have to get all dressed up in uniform for this.”

“I beg to differ. And while I thank you for your solicitude, I have an admission to make.”

“Really? What would that be?”

“Between you and me … Chase … I relished the idea of changing my surroundings a little today. It’s been a little depressing staying in bed. I felt trapped.”

“That I can understand.”

“Not to mention that Tar’Lock is always there.”

“Oh? Is that a bad thing?”

“No, of course not. He’s become my best friend; I think of him as a brother. I know it doesn’t make sense but …”

“It makes perfect sense, Talon. I have a friend just like that, so I know how you feel.”

“Right. That would be Daniel.”

“Correct.”

“So, while I appreciate, even cherish Tar’Lock’s presence by my bedside … how should I put this …?”

“Straight up usually works best for me.”

“He farts a lot.”

Chase laughed loudly. “Say no more; I’ve been there. Stinky bombs, aren’t they?”

“I’ve never smelled anything so foul my entire life.”

“The way I remember it though; he mostly loses sphincter control when he’s worried or scared.”

“That is true when he’s conscious. When he sleeps however ...”

“I take it he’s been keeping you up at nights. That’s one loyal friend right there.”

“The most loyal I’ve ever known. But like you've concluded already, yes, it makes sleeping difficult.”

“Because of the smell. Got it. Would you like me to inform your doctor that now that you’re out of the woods, his night privileges need to be revoked?”

“Unless you find it too petty of me, sir, that would be great.”

“Who?”

“I mean Chase.”

“Alright, consider it done.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re perfectly welcome. Did he recount that time he was hanging on to dear life from the top of my StarFury's canopy as we escaped the HellStar prison? He literally gassed us, and in such confined space the ratio of air to insectoid fart was rather potent.”

“He has told that tale many times. It was just after meeting you and Ryonna. For some reason, though, that specific detail never made it into the storytelling.”

“Gorgars do have to be selective with what they store in their memories.”

Talon chuckled. “Right. Let’s go with that as the reason for this omission.”

Chase smiled.

“Mind if I ask why you wanted to see me, though?” asked Talon.

“Right, with all that reminiscing, I almost forgot. I wanted to thank you for your bravery during the battle. Part of me should reprimand you for the recklessness of your last act, but on the other hand, I understand that said act was decisive in destroying not just one, but two of the motherships.”

“Thank you, Chase, and if I may speak freely.”

“Always.”

“You’re one to talk. Seems to me, if you don’t want your officers to take reckless actions, you may want to lead by example.”

“Touché, Admiral.”

“Admiral, sir?”

“Yes, that’s the other reason I wanted to see you. To inform you of your promotion in person.” Chase slid a beautifully crafted box in front of him. “Your new stripes.”

“I see.” He eyed the box for several seconds. “I don’t know what to say, I had just been promoted to Commodore. And barely had the time to get used to that. But thank you, sir … I mean, Chase.”

Chase smiled. “Details, Talon. You’ve earned it. The Alliance needs more people like you.”

“I was kind of hoping they didn’t, now that the war is over.”

“We will still need to keep a military presence on alert for the time being. Hopefully, it’s just a formality, and it is my wish and hope as well that none of the current commanding officers, like yourself, will ever have to see combat in the future. At least, not on the scale we’ve been through these past few years.”

“That would be my wish as well. But I was more thinking along the lines of retirement.”

“And I’ll be glad to grant you retirement, if that’s your wish. You’ll simply have to retire with your new rank, if that’s what you wish.”

“Thanks. I guess I haven’t made my decision just yet. Tar’Lock wants to stay on as my first officer.”

“And how do you feel about that?”

“I don’t know. Obviously, I’d like the opportunity to spend more time with him if I stay in the military, but …”

“You’d rather not ever put him in a situation where his life is in jeopardy.”

“Exactly.”

“Looks like you’ve got some thinking to do then.” Chase pushed the box containing the admiral stripes a little further down his desk.

Talon took it and looked at it. “I guess I do.”

“Thank you for coming, Talon, and thanks again for your devotion on the battlefield. We all owe you one.”

“No, you don’t, Chase, but I appreciate the sentiment nonetheless.”

* * *

Chris was taking a walk around the station with his mother.

“This is a nice place the Alliance built,” said Sarah.

“It sure is," agreed Chris, "but I’m looking forward to moving somewhere else.”

“Have you decided where yet?”

“Not yet. It will depend on what Nyx decides to do. I was so surprised to hear that Chase invited her to join us on Earth.”

“The way he described how she was before you saved me, I can see why you would be surprised. But like me, your father loves you deeply. We want what’s best for you, and if that means you going where Nyx goes, we totally understand.”

“I hope she decides to come with us on Earth. That would be my favorite outcome. But I do love her, and I don’t want us to only see each other when her duties allow.”

“At your age, that’s perfectly normal. This is also your first love. The first one is always special.”

“So, I’ve heard, but I truly hope we walk through life together for the rest of time.”

“That’s also my wish for you, Chris, but love is a complicated affair, and sometimes it doesn’t end up the way we’d hoped.”

“Says the woman’s whose love has transcended even death.”

“I guess so, but Chase is my soulmate. No doubts about that. Maybe Nyx is yours as well.”

“I think she is.”

Sarah smiled. “That would make me a very lucky and happy mother. Because true soulmates are hard to find.”

* * *

“When are you returning to Asgard?” asked Thor.

“After the ceremony. I would return today, but since Fenrir and Siegfried both gave up their lives courageously and helped us turn the tides at the eleventh hour, the least I can do is stay to honor their sacrifices.”

“Are you forgetting anyone?” he prompted.

“You mean Hades and Ares?”

“Yeah, they were your family.”

“Yes, and I’m going to miss them even though we were never really close.”

“Why is that?”

“Ares has never held any favors with the Olympian court, and he’s always been a troublemaker … when he was living, at least. As for Hades, well, he was stuck in the underworld until the day Zeus died, so I barely knew him at all.”

“Seems to me that Ares more than redeemed himself, don’t you think?”

“For sure. After all, he was the only one willing to listen to Aphroditis’ warning about the return of the Furies. In fact, she had been right all along.”

“That’s often the path the truth takes in life. At first, the truth is always denied, then it’s often ridiculed until time proves it correct … to the point where said truth becomes undeniable. History is paved with examples of this.”

“That’s deep.”

“You see, the problem is this. Living beings prefer that things stay the same. When something challenges the status quo, the first reflex is to deny any change. That’s what humans call their comfort zone. But the only way for us to become one is to recognize limitations and push past them. Only when one risks himself outside of his comfort zone, can one discover what he is truly made of, and find meaning to life.”

“And what was the meaning of yours?”

“To fight for those I love, and to know true friendship in the end.”

Poseidon’s eyes watered. He raised the glass of wine he’d been fiddling with for a while and took a sip. “To friendship, in life and even beyond death.”

“If I could still drink to that, I would. Thankfully, you can do that for the both of us. You may also want to drink in the memories of Hades and Ares, though.”

“I will. Their sacrifices were courageous and noble. Hades’ especially.”

“Why Hades’ more than Ares’?”

“Because, for the first time in eons, he was free of my brother’s influence and punishment. Hades never wanted to be trapped in the underworld. To surrender that to save us all, that took an amount of courage and selflessness that I’ve seldom witnessed.”

“You would have done the same if it came down to it.”

“As you did for me.”

“Exactly.”

* * *

“Back so soon?” asked Zeus.

“Yes. Would you look at that?” said Hades.

“You knew, didn’t you?”

“What?”

“Don’t play coy with me. When you said your goodbyes earlier, you knew you’d be right back. I can almost see it in your eyes.”

“Let’s just say, I highly suspected it, yes. I had no idea if dying the way I did would mean that I would return to the underworld. Perhaps there wouldn’t be anything left of my soul to go anywhere. So, in that eventuality, I thought it best to voice my goodbye. You know, just in case.”

“I appreciate that.”

“You must be relieved that your daughter didn’t return.”

“I’m happy for her, yes, but I’m going to miss her company.”

“Well, you’ll have mine.”

“We both know that’s not true. One of us can travel the Styx and go to Elysium, and I think that someone should be you.”

“How do you figure?”

“I’ve trapped you down here for most of your life; that’s no way to deal with one’s brother. And for that, I apologize.”

“The mighty Zeus apologizing. If I wasn’t dead already, I’d ask you to pinch me so I could wake up.”

Zeus smiled, but not for long. “I’ve been so selfish,” he said. “It took my death to open my eyes and look back on everything I did wrong throughout the ages.”

“Better late than never, like the humans say.”

“They are a strange species, aren’t they?”

“Or we’re the strange ones; we just didn’t realize it until it was too late.”

“Another good point. Either way, I think you should go to Elysium. You deserve the comforts of the afterlife. It took a lot of courage to do what you did.”

“Perhaps, and maybe at some point I will. But what kind of brother would I be to abandon you here? I must say, though, I’m not sure why you thought growing plants, trees, and flowers was relevant for this place.”

“You don’t like it?”

“It’s not a question of liking, brother, but this place is supposed to be the underworld, not Olympus’ palace.”

“Well, if you stay, perhaps you can help me redecorate.”

“Sure, I hope you like the colors black and ash.”

“I suppose if you’re sticking around, the least I can do is keep an open mind about your ideas.”

“Fair enough. But can I ask you something?”

“Of course.”

“Have you seen Ares?”

“No. I’d like to think that his soul went straight to Elysium.”

“If one of us deserves some rest there, it’s him. So, I think you’re right.”

19

“He thought of you as a son, you know,” stated Sarah.

“Who did?” asked Chase.

“Well, Ares of course.”

“Even if that's true, how do you know this?”

“I don’t know … it’s just a feeling I have. I think by giving me his energy matrix, he may have accidentally left behind some of his memories or feelings.”

“That’s an interesting theory.”

Sarah tried to give Chase an affectionate punch, but her hand traveled through his shoulder. “I still need to get used to this,” she said.

“You’re doing fine. And I’m teasing you, of course. If that’s how you feel, then that must be the reason. Even after I learned that my father was still alive, I looked up to Ares as a father figure. Maybe not as much as I did with …”

“Adonis. That's understandable.”

“I miss him.”

“And I’m sure he misses you too. Hmm, strange.”

“What?”

“I’m feeling something else when I think of Saroudis.”

“Really? What do you feel?”

“It’s hard to put into words, but it’s … like the time we spent with him until the end, when he sacrificed himself on the Destiny … is only part of his story … like there’s a whole other life he’s lived that we have no knowledge of.”

Hearing the words sent a shiver down Chase’s spine. They resonated with him with such intensity that what Sarah had said felt true. Images flashed before Chase’s eyes: Saroudis was younger, fighting a terrible war, and running away with two young children to save them from danger.

Chase shivered again. “I don’t know how this is possible, but I think I just got flashes from that other life you mentioned.”

“You’re shitting me, right?”

“No … and I think my brother and I were there to, as babies.”

“That makes no sense whatsoever. You and Argos were born ten thousand years ago. How could Saroudis even be there?”

“I don’t pretend to understand it either, dear. But that’s what I just saw.”

“Then perhaps Saroudis did live another life after all.”

Chase hesitated to share what his vision meant to him. But if he couldn't open up to Sarah, of all people, who else was there? “It goes one step beyond this. I think he could be the reason why Argos and I made it through the first Fury war alive.”

Sarah shivered too. “Wow.”

* * *

“Come in,” said a half-sleepy Argos.

Chase burst into his bedroom and startled his brother.

“What’s going on? Are we under attack?” asked Argos as he jumped out of bed naked.

Chase covered his eyes. “Would you please out something on?”

Argos smiled. “I doubt you saw anything you haven't before; we’re twins after all.”

“Still,” said Chase talking more with his hands than words. “Clothes, now.”

Argos put on underwear. “You can lower your hand now. I didn’t know you were such a prude.”

“You took me by surprise, that’s all.”

“What’s going that you had to knock so urgently on my door at three in the morning?”

“I need your help remembering something.”

Argos swallowed hard. “You do? I thought you were done with your past after I erased your memory.”

“Yeah, yeah, I don’t want to revisit my past with you, me, us … but I want you to look inside my mind and tell me if you remember someone I just saw in a vision, or a flash. I don’t know what that was, but I saw a man. I think he was holding us as babies.”

“Probably Menelas …?”

“No. It was someone else.”

“Alright. I guess I can look at this someone for you if you’d like.”

“Yes, please.”

“And this couldn’t wait until morning?”

“I’m just worried I could forget by then.”

“Fair enough.”

Argos put his hand gently on Chase’s head and closed his eyes. “Can you try and bring that thought back into the foreground for me?”

The image of the man flashed before Argos’ mind eye, and he instinctively removed his hand from Chase’s head.

“You saw it?” asked Chase.

“Yes.”

“And?”

“And in that vision, I clearly saw us as babies. That’s for sure.”

“And do you have any recollection of seeing that man before?”

“I’m not sure, maybe.”

“Please, try to remember.”

“Okay, let me grab a coffee to get my brain started, but let me ask you this: why is it so important to you?”

“I think it was Saroudis.”

“Really? That doesn’t make any sense.”

“I know,” said Chase as he walked to the food processor and materialized two cups of coffee. He handed one to Argos.

“Thanks,” said Argos before taking a sip.

“So?”

“You’re like a dog with a bone, you know that?”

“Argos, I need to know. I haven’t been able to sleep since this happened last night.”

“Then drinking coffee is kind of counterproductive, don’t you think?”

“Mine is decaf.”

“I see.”

“Argos?”

“Yes, give me a second. I’m trying to remember. Let's not forget I was just a toddler back then. Furies have incredible memory but …”

“When they’re not wiped out, you mean?”

“Yes, unlike humans, though I hear some of them are able to recall memories from their infancy, like we do. Sometimes, we can even remember memories from our time developing in our mothers’ wombs.”

“That’s quite the memory, indeed. So, do you remember seeing him?”

Argos closed his eyes and focused for a minute or two.

“Yes … I have found a memory of mine, where Menelas is handing us to this man. He's saying something about protecting us at all costs.”

Argos shuddered.

“If that’s Saroudis⁠—”

“Yes," confirmed Chase, "he could be the reason you and I made it back then. He may have saved us from immediate danger.”

“He must have played quite a role for Menelas to trust him with both our lives. But that doesn’t make sense. Saroudis was an old man when he sacrificed himself and the Destiny. Unless he was a Fury all along?”

“No, that can’t be. After we discovered my Fury genes we changed the procedure when it comes to detecting life signs on board all Alliance ships. If Saroudis had any Fury blood inside him, we would have known about it.”

“Unless of course he took measures to prevent that. He was the captain of his ship, after all.”

Chase rubbed his chin.

“You do realize that if it’s him protecting us in the past, the only semi-logical explanation, at least to me, is that these events happened in his future. But how could that even be possible?”

“I guess we’re assuming that because if he had had foreknowledge of us in his future, he’d have said something. But perhaps he couldn’t for fear of creating a paradox. But if his future is set in our past, then something extraordinary must have happened to him.”

“Chronos, maybe?”

“I don’t think so. While Chronos could technically send him into the past, he wouldn’t be able to make him younger in the process.”

“Then something or someone else.”

“I don't think we'll ever have the answer to that one. Normally, I would say that we’re grasping at straws here, but when I sensed that memory of yours, I felt what you also felt, this sense of recognizing him. It resonated true to me. But perhaps it's best that we leave this alone.”

“Why?”

“Because whether or not what you saw was Saroudis’ future, it’s still our past. I mean, we can acknowledge that the man may have played a major role early in our lives, but even if during his ‘second life’, for lack of a better phrase, would still be over by now. Don’t you think?”

“Right, unless he became something else in the process.”

“We simply have no way of knowing that. All we can do is theorize at this point.”

“Still, I like the idea that he may not have perished onboard the Destiny, like we all thought.”

“Part of him certainly did, and that’s how history will remember and revere him, but I see what you mean.”

“Either way, I’m glad to know that perhaps he lived a second life. I’ve been feeling so responsible for his death.”

“I didn’t know him as closely as you, but I can tell you that it’s not what he would have wanted. It was his choice, not yours.”

“I know. I also need to make good on my promise of looking after his family. After the ceremony, I intend to visit them.”

“I’m sure he’d appreciate that. But it’s getting late, Chase. If we don’t want to look the zombie twins at the ceremony, what do you say we both catch some shut eye?”

“I guess we should. Thanks for your help, brother.”

“You’re welcome, Chase. Good night.”

* * *

“I don’t understand why I can no longer stay here at night,” said Tar’Lock.

“Because I’m no longer in critical condition,” Talon told him. “Not to mention that you’d be more comfortable in your bed.”

“The mattresses on the station are too soft.”

“Then sleep on the floor. What can I tell you?”

"Do you not want me around?"

“It’s not that, Tar’Lock, but I sleep better if I know you’re not watching me.”

“Oh … okay then. By the way, congratulations on your promotion.”

“Thank you, Tar’Lock.”

“Does that mean you’ll stay in the military after all? Are we getting a new ship soon?”

“I’m not sure, yet. Perhaps. Did you talk with Ryonna?”

“Not since the battle ended.”

“Why the heck not?”

“I don’t know. She’s grieving and I wouldn't know how to console her.”

“Perhaps your mere presence might help her deal with the grief during this difficult time.”

“She’s got Ronan as well. She doesn’t need me.”

“You’ll never know unless you try.”

“I should just accept that we’ll never be anything more than friends.”

“Probably, but meaningful friendship is important too. Not everything has to be about romantic love, you know.”

“Except I’ve been deleting memories from my past so that I store only those times I’ve spent with you and her. I can't even remember my parents and most of my siblings now. But there might come a time when I need to delete some of these memories as well so I can store new ones.”

“I thought Argos provided you with augmentation that allows you to store more memories?”

“He did, and for a time it helped. But it’s not nearly as efficient as real memory, as you know it.”

“I don’t know what to tell you, my friend. It’s up to you to decide which memories you'd like to keep and which you feel you have to delete. I'll tell you something though. On some level, I envy you.”

“Envy me? You can’t be serious? Why would anyone envy this cosmic joke the universe played on our brains?”

“I am serious, my friend. There are tons of memories I’d love to erase from my mind. I recognize that having to be selective with what you can store and what needs to go must be frustrating. But on the other hand, you can decide to forget parts of your life too. It’s an ability I’m pretty sure all of us would like to have. And even if our memories tend to fade away with time, the emotional trauma attached to them sometimes feels like it will forever stay with us.”

“I’d never thought of it like that. Perhaps I should simply erase Ryonna from my memory altogether.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“I know it’s not, but if I did, I wouldn’t think about her all the time, and I wouldn't be frustrated … or sad. She’d just be a stranger and so my feelings for her would disappear.”

“I wouldn’t do that. Even if I had your ability. These feelings are an important part of who you are.”

“I suppose that's true. Still, sometimes it seems that it would be easier, you know?”

“I understand. But most things worth doing in life aren’t the result of taking the easy way out.”

* * *

Chase took a deep breath before addressing the hundreds of attendants inside the cargo bay.

“These past few months have been very difficult. We stand here today at the end of a long and difficult war. We have all faced incredible challenges, endured countless hardships, and had to make tough choices and sacrifices. But through it all, we have remained united in our resolve to preserve the values that the Earth Alliance holds dear.

“We’re here today to remember the tremendous sacrifices made by so many of our colleagues and loved ones. We honor the brave men and women who gave their lives on the battlefield, and who selflessly sacrificed their futures for the sake of our freedom. We will never forget their acts of bravery in the service of the Earth Alliance, and we must continue to honor them in our thoughts and actions.

“A monument with their names will be erected back on Earth, even though no amount of stone and carved plaques can truly provide justice or fully honor the courage of these men and women. Now, I’d like to take a moment to name a few persons … those courageous souls who gave their lives during this last battle and in doing so, ensured the future of all our species.”

Chase walked down the podium and approached five space coffins covered with the Earth Alliance flag. Some of the coffins were empty, and their presence was purely symbolic.

Chase ran his fingers on the surface of the first one. “I’d like to name Emperor Altair first. He was once the enemy of the Alliance, while we were at war with the Obsidian Empire and before they became allies. The emperor gave his life to save others and we will never forget his sacrifice. I wish him a safe journey in the afterlife, and hope he finally finds the peace he so deserves.”

Chase moved to the next two coffins and paused. He took a deep breath. “Ares and Hades. We thank you for your sacrifices. You were both my mentors, and I wouldn’t be the man I am today if it weren’t for everything I learned from the two of you. Olympus is losing two good men today, and so are we. We’ll keep you in our hearts and thoughts, in remembrance of your heroic actions.”

He walked to the last two space coffins. “I’d also like to mention two former enemies of ours as well, whose redemption at the eleventh hour was instrumental in helping us win this war. Siegfried and Fenrir may have been genetically created to defeat Furies in a time long before us, but the bond they shared as brothers was very strong. They gave up their lives to make sure we can have a future. It doesn’t absolve them of their previous crimes, and they knew that, but the actions they took in their final hours were brave, selfless, and honorable. And it is those actions that I’d like us to recognize today.”

He looked at the coffins and smiled sadly. “We commit your bodies to the void. Wishing you safe travels to the afterlife.”

He saluted, as did all the military officers in the cargo bay. The coffins lifted and exited the force field before continuing their travel into space.

“In closing, let us remember that our duty is not just to ourselves, but to our fellow citizens of the Earth Alliance, as well as the generations that will follow in our footsteps. Let us honor the sacrifices of those who have come before us, and let’s continue to fight for the freedom and values we hold dear. Together, we can build a better future for all members of the Alliance. Thank you.”

Thunderous applause echoed throughout the cargo bay. Chase’s heart ached as his thoughts brought back all the people they had lost in the Fury and Spectre wars. He longed for peace, and he knew that everyone present today, as well as the billions who’d probably caught an holo-vid transmission of his speech, felt something similar.

The Alliance might have finally achieved peace, but the price that had been paid to achieve it was extremely high.

20

“That was a lovely speech, wasn’t it?” Ryonna asked Tar’Lock.

“Yes, and hopefully the last one of its kind for him.”

“For as long as I can remember, war has always been a part of the Droxian way of life. Usually, though, these were neighboring wars fought for petty reasons. These two wars we've been through back-to-back involved most of the species roaming the stars and as such, it managed to bring them together to unite through the Earth Alliance.”

“Who would have thought that a primitive planet like Earth would be at the core of creating such an alliance?”

“Certainly not the Droxian people, especially considering how we entered the Fury war in the first place.”

“I remember Daniel telling me about that. Chase had the Droxians follow him back to Earth and he pretty much forced their hand to take part in the conflict against the Obsidian Empire.”

“Yes, you were in Hellstar when that happened, and I made sure to be sent there shortly after.”

“We met soon thereafter, then.”

“Yes. I can’t believe how much has happened since then.”

“Neither can I. Then again, I can’t store that much information, as you know.”

“And yet you’ve kept your memories of me.”

“That’s different.”

“Why? I mean, I know why but I’d really like to hear you share that.”

Tar’Lock did his best to keep control of his sphincter, but failed miserably. He fanned a hand behind his back as fast as he could, which for a Gorgar was both fast and efficient enough to transport the smell elsewhere.

Tar’Lock heard a distant “ew” and hoped Ryonna hadn’t paid attention to it.

Tell her, he thought, just tell her. “What do you mean?” he asked. Not that, you dumbass!

Ryonna sighed. “Never mind. Maybe I’m imagining things.”

“No, you’re not.”

“Then why don’t you tell me what’s in your heart?”

Tar’Lock clicked nervously. “Because I’m afraid. Courage is a trait not encoded inside my DNA.”

“I beg to differ. You saved us on countless occasions. Or do I have to remind you about the time you prevented a nuclear holocaust back on Earth? What’s different about it now?”

“It’s just that this part of me is afraid I could make a mess of things and lose your friendship.”

“If that's what you’re worried about, fear not; that would never happen.”

“Really?”

“Really, Tar’Lock.”

He was about to tell Ryonna he loved her when Keera jumped into Ryonna’s arms.

“I’m sorry I’m late,” she said. “And I’m sorry about Altair too. My condolences.”

Ryonna returned Keera’s embrace as a tear traveled down her cheek. She quickly wiped it away. “It’s good to see you, Keera. I didn’t know you were coming.”

As they ended their hug, Keera turned around and waved at Tar’Lock. “Hey Tar’Lock. How have you been?”

The insectoid scratched his head. “I’m okay, considering the war is finally over. I … I just remembered I have something I need to do, but it’s been great seeing you.” Tar’Lock fled the area in hurry.

“That was strange. Did I interrupt anything?” asked Keera.

Ryonna smiled. “Kind of, but if I’m being honest, it was probably best for Tar'Lock that you did.”

* * *

“This food is amazing,” said Nyx. “What are those called again?”

“Rock Shrimps,” answered Chris. “And yeah, the food is definitely great.”

“And yet you’re not eating any.”

“I’m sad Ares is gone.”

“Only Ares?”

“Well, I'd only spent a few minutes with Hades, and that discussion hadn’t exactly been a good one.”

“Even so, he gave his life to help us win the war.”

“I know, and from what little I knew of him, that was quite a surprise and not at all in alignment with his past actions. Why did he tell me I had to kill my mother if he knew all along that he’d have to give up his life in order to achieve victory over Ashra? If he had told me what he’d intended to do, I would have been less abrasive with him.”

“Perhaps he didn’t know he would have to intervene the way he did. Though maybe, on some level, he knew, and that’s why he was nearby when the time came. Either way, I think we should take a page from your father’s speech and just honor his sacrifice.”

“You’re sure you’re feeling alright?”

“Why would you say that?”

“It’s like you’re a different person lately. Don’t get me wrong. I love the new you, but I wonder where that hot and impulsive Fury has gone.”

“I’m still me. I just realized that unleashing my inner anger at every turn isn’t fair to you, or to your family.”

“I’m speechless. But thank you. Just make sure you do share what’s in your heart; you wouldn’t want that anger to get all bottled up and explode at an inopportune time.”

“That’s good advice,” she said as she gave Chris a kiss.

“So, what’s next for us? Have you made a decision?”

“I think, for the time being, I’ll come back to Earth with you, if your family’s invitation still holds …?”

“Of course, it does, and I’m very happy to hear it. What about your duties with your people, though?”

“I’ll accept the job, but I’ve requested that a regent be appointed for the time being. He and I will make political decisions together. Eventually, I’ll have to take a more active role but for now, I think I’ll enjoy the downtime. That way, you can show me your planet. Is the food there as good as what we ate here tonight?”

“Oh yeah. There’s even better stuff back on Earth. You’ll love it.”

* * *

Daniel noticed Chase had walked away from the crowd and was standing in front of the force field, looking at the stars. He handed Chase a beer. “I brought you a drink.”

Chase took the bottle and drank from it. “Thank you.”

“Let me know if you’d like to be alone … well, alone with your thoughts, that is. There must be hundreds of people on deck.”

“No, please stay. I just wanted to stare at the stars and reflect upon all we’ve been through, but that’s something I can do with my best friend too.”

Daniel smiled and took a sip of beer. “We’ve come a long way, haven’t we?”

“We sure have.”

“Even though I can’t wait to have my own command, I have to admit that part of me will miss this place.”

“I can see why you would. This is a nice station. I hope they keep it around.”

“Oh, that’s the plan, In fact, there are talks of turning it into ‘Diplomacy Central’ for the whole Alliance.”

“That’s kind of why we built it in the first place.”

“Yes, but it quickly morphed itself into a military base instead. Now that the war is over, diplomats from all corners of the universe can finally meet and trade on neutral ground. There are still numerous worlds that haven’t joined the Alliance, so the representative of these worlds could be invited to Alkyon One to establish new treaties and alliances.”

“And you’re sure you don’t want to be part of that? After all, this will be the place where new pages of history will be written.”

“I am sure, yes. I'm no politician and I have no patience for the tons of paperwork that will land on the desk of whoever ends up running this place.”

“Fair enough. Do you know who will take on your position?”

“No, but there is talk of a civilian candidate. I’m sure anyone they chose to replace me will be doing a better job than I ever did.”

Chase gave Daniel a gentle tap on his back. “Don’t do that, you did a terrific job here. Whoever takes over will have big shoes to fill.”

Daniel smiled. “Thanks.”

“When do you leave?”

“Officially, that will depend on how soon my future ship can be constructed, so it may take a while. Unofficially, I was thinking maybe I could take that huge amount of leave I stockpiled over the years and maybe visit you on Earth, if you’ll have me. I think my second in command can take care of the station in my absence.”

“Of course, you’re welcome to come back with us on Earth. In fact, I’d really love that.”

“Can I bring a guest with me?”

Chase smiled. “Like you have to ask.”

* * *

“What will become of me now?” asked Gaia.

“What do you mean?” said Spiros.

“I was never supposed to come back and … well … I’m still an AI. Now that the war is over, my presence and help are no longer needed.”

“That’s not true. And I need your presence.”

“Spiros, you know what I mean.”

“No, I don’t want to hear it. You’re back and I’m not losing you a second time.”

“I don’t want to lose you either, but let’s face it, my very existence goes against the rules.”

“Fuck the rules.”

“That’s not your decision to make, and you know it.”

“I do. But Chase is with me on this.”

“You talked with Chase already?”

“I did.”

Gaia sighed. “Didn’t you think I should have been privy to that conversation?”

“Well, it was a short one.”

“That’s not the point, Spiros, and you know it.”

“I know, but don’t worry about it. Chase trusts you as much as I do.”

“Trust is great, Spiros, but my continued existence could one day pose a threat to peace. I could never forgive myself if even one life was put in jeopardy because of that.”

“And Chase agrees with me. Without you, we probably wouldn’t have won the war.”

“Well, at least you still have the kill-switch in place. You must promise me that you'll use it at the first sign of trouble.”

“About that ...”

Her facial expression tightened. “What is it, Spiros? What did you do?”

“That’s what Chase and I discussed, and we both agreed that you don't need a kill-switch anymore.”

“You can’t be serious? This is insane. I wanted it in the first place, to make sure I never ever again hurt anyone I love.”

“Technically, you never did. A fork of your code did, and if it weren't for you, we could never have stopped Gaia 2. We both think that the fact you're feeling this way is enough for us. You're not the only being that has had to stop themselves, or worries what they might be capable of if a certain situation arose. That's what it means to be human.”

“I doubt the new government will see it that way.”

“That’s why they won’t be informed that you exist. That way, you can live the rest of your life as freely as any of us.”

“I don’t know how I feel about that, Spiros.”

Spiros gently grabbed Gaia’s chin and gave her a passionate kiss. “But I do.”

* * *

"You wanted to see me?" asked Menelas.

"Yes, Dad, thank you for coming," replied Chase.

"Nice speech, by the way. And I know I haven't told you this enough but ... I'm really proud of you."

"Thank you. That means a lot."

"What is it you wanted to see me about?"

"I'd like you to help me with a memory I've recently discovered."

"Oh, what kind of memory?"

"It's probably easier if I show it to you."

"Very well."

Chase put his hand on Menelas' forehead and showed him the vision he had shared with Argos.

"That's me," said Menelas.

"And me and my brother as babies," said Chase.

"Yes. About that day ..."

"I'm listening."

"I had no other choice but to hand you both to someone I trusted. My mission was to infiltrate the Fury headquarters and assassinate Arakan."

"I take it that it didn't go well."

"No, it didn't. He was waiting for me and it was a trap. I ended up in a cell, and he tortured me for hundreds of years."

"I'm sorry you had to go through all that."

"I'm not. All that mattered to me was to know you and your brother, as well as your mother, were safe and sound."

"Who was the man you handed us to?"

"Son, you need to understand that I went through so much torture back then, that the only names I cared to remember were yours and Athena's. In fact, that's what kept me going all these years. The hope that maybe one day, I'd see at least one of you again. So, I'm sorry, but I can't recall."

"I understand. Do you think that this name was Adonis, by any chance?"

"Perhaps. I don't know. Why is it so important?"

"Because Adonis Saroudis was my commanding officer on the Destiny, and because I always thought he died near the end of the Fury war. But my guts tell me that this is him, a younger him, taking Argos and myself to safety inside that memory."

"How is that possible?"

"I don't have an answer to that, and I hope you may have some information about him, since you put us both in his care. You must have trusted him to do so."

"I may not remember his name, but I do remember that, yes. I trusted him with my life. Even though he was neither Fury nor Olympian, he fought with us during the Fury war. As a matter of fact, he was instrumental in helping us win many engagements. That much I can tell you."

"Sounds like Saroudis."

"I'm sorry I can't give you more answers."

"No worries, Dad. I know in my gut that it’s him. At the end of the day, that's enough for me."

* * *

When Tar’Lock returned to his quarters, a holo-message was waiting for him. “Computer, play.”

Ryonna’s face filled the holo-screen.

Tar'Lock swallowed hard.

“Hey Tar’Lock. Sorry we were interrupted by Keera. And sorry I pushed you. Part of me just wanted to know your true feelings for me but then again, I already knew them. It wasn’t nice of me to put you on the spot the way I did and for that, I apologize.”

“No, that’s alright,” said Tar’Lock, even though he knew he was talking to a recording.

“You see,” she continued, “now that the war is over, I think I need a break from everything, and that includes the Alliance. I’d like to travel for a bit, see new places, discover new civilizations, and just leave my past behind, even if just for a little while. Now that Altair is gone, I don’t want to keep my position as an ambassador for Droxia.” She drew a long breath. “Who was I kidding anyway? I’m a warrior, I prefer to do my talking with my fists.”

Tar’Lock smiled.

“Part of me wants to go far away,” continued Ryonna, “and be alone until I find myself again. The other part of me, however, doesn’t want to be alone. I think that’s why I put you on the spot tonight. Maybe I wanted to know if I might have a partner to travel with. Have someone that matters to me while I process the way I feel. I realize it's not fair of me to ask you this. Especially knowing how you feel about me. Still … we’ve been through so much together and so … I thought I owed it to you to let you know I was going away for a while.

“I know you’ve found meaning in the military, as well as a new friendship with Talon. So, I totally understand if you’d rather stay by his side. But if you feel like aimlessly travelling the stars with me for a while, know that I can think of no better friend to accompany me through my journey. In fact, I could certainly use your friendship, that is, if you’re okay with me only being able to reciprocate with mine in return.

“I don’t think my heart can take on more than that, at least for the time being. Maybe in the future, I may feel different, but right now, that’s all I can offer. I hope you understand.”

Tar’Lock looked at the holo-screen for a long time after Ryonna’s solemn face had vanished from it.

Since he couldn’t go to the medbay late at night to talk to Talon, he instead went to bed … but he knew he wouldn’t be able to sleep.

* * *

“I’m so proud of you, boys,” said Athena.

“Thanks, Mom,” said Chase.

“Thank you, Mother,” said Argos.

“I’m sorry about Hades and Ares,” Chase said softly.

“Don’t be. It was their choice, not that I was particularly close with Hades.”

“That seems to be the general sentiment,” said Argos. “I wonder why.”

“Hades has always been a loner, if not by choice, then by the circumstances of his forced position as the keeper of the underworld.”

“Not exactly fair,” murmured Chase.

“No,” agreed Athena. “I suppose it wasn't.”

“What is this we’re hearing,” Argos asked, “about you hosting a state marriage back home?”

“News travels fast. Who told you?” asked Athena with a wry smile.

“Menelas, who else?” Chase responded.

“He becomes quite chatty once he’s inebriated,” said Argos. “You may want to keep him on a shorter leash.”

Athena hit Argos affectionately on the shoulder. “Respect your elders, son. Jokes asides—and to be on the safe side—I may need to ensure that the ceremony on New Olympus only carries alcohol-free beverages.”

“That wouldn’t be a party, then,” winked Chase.

“That’s true. I hope you can both attend the wedding.”

“Of course, we’ll be there,” said Chase. “We wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

* * *

“You’ll be returning to Asgard then?” asked Yanis.

“Yes, my place is with my people,” said Kvasir.

“Doesn't saying that defeat Chase’s speech about unity?”

“Let me rephrase then: I’m happy our people are allies, but for thousands of years, I've spent most of my time away from Asgard. Now that we seem to have achieved peace, I think the time is right for me to return.”

“Seem to?”

Kvasir’s tattoos flashed. “Peace is a fragile state of existence. Hopefully, this one lasts for hundreds—or even thousands—of years, but eventually, war always creeps back into the hearts of men.”

“You’re depressing; you know that?”

“Look at it this way. You’ll probably be long gone by the time the next war sets this universe on fire again.”

“I’m not sure if I should be happy about that, or offended.”

Kvasir smiled. “You are an annoying little being, but I’ve learned to enjoy your company … most of the time.”

“Wow, even your compliments have more thorns than petals.”

“I’m sorry, Yanis. I’m just trying to work on my sense of humor. I hear it’s a good thing to have.”

“Well, in that case”—Yanis grabbed a champagne flute—“that deserves a toast.” Yanis downed the champagne. “Keep working at it, Kvasir. Seems to me that you still have a ways to go.”

* * *

“Thank you for not listening to me,” said Chase.

“You’re welcome,” said Poseidon.

“I hate to think what would have happened if you hadn’t shown up with SoulStorm.”

“I’m sure you’d have found another way. You always do.”

“Why does everyone keep saying that?”

Poseidon smiled.

“Did I say something funny?”

“Not exactly, Chase, but Thor agrees with me. He said you never give up, and never surrender.”

“That would make for a nice bumper sticker.”

“What’s that?”

“Oh, uh, never mind. You’d have to have spent some time on Earth to get that one.”

“If you say so."

“Say hi and thanks to Thor for me while you’re at it.”

“No need, Chase. He just heard you. He's transmitting his greetings as well.”

“Thanks. You miss him, don’t you?”

“Even though he's always with me, yes … I miss his physical presence more than anyone can know.”

“Well, look at the bright side. At least you can speak with him for as long as you live. I think everyone who ever lost a loved one would relish such an opportunity.”

* * *

"Are you sure you want to do this?" asked Ronan.

"I am, yes," replied Ryonna.

"And how long do you think you will be gone?"

"For as long as it takes to find myself again … however long that may be."

"I must say, that's the last thing I thought I'd hear you say. You're usually so grounded."

“That's because I fight for what I believe in. When you were in trouble, all my focus was on rescuing you. The same applied to my friends in the Alliance."

“Fortunately, I don't think I'll be needing any more rescuing."

"I know, Ronan, and I'm very proud of the man you've grown into. If anything, I may be the one to call you for help in the future."

"Thanks, Mother. And feel free to place that call anytime. I'll be there for you. Always."

"I know you will, son."

* * *

“It’s strange, isn’t it?” asked Oryn.

“What is?” Chase responded.

“Seeing people drink and laugh the way they do. I’m not used to this.”

“Let me guess. Zeus’ tea parties in the underground weren't as festive, huh?”

“Not exactly, no, but he was still fun to be around. I’m sorry he must be alone now.”

“I understand, but you’ve been given a second chance at life, and now that the war is over, you can literarily do anything you want.”

“Except I don’t know what to do with myself. I’ve known warfare for most of my life.”

“Then look at this opportunity as a welcome change of pace.”

“What about you? Won’t you get bored just living day-to-day, without a world-ending threat to deal with?”

“You’re kidding, right? It’s all I've always dreamt about since I met Sarah: to live a normal, quiet life. I finally get the chance to do just that. Well, somehow.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be a buzzkill. I know how difficult it must be for the two of you to not be on the same plane of existence.”

“Thanks. All things considered, though, it could have been worse. Way worse. I don’t know how long she can stay and yes, we can’t exactly enjoy the physical pleasures of a relationship. She’s still here, though, and that’s all that matters to me.”

“That’s very sweet, and she’s a lucky gal.”

“I’m the one who’s lucky. What about you? See anyone you liked in the crowd tonight?”

“Now who’s kidding whom?”

“Fair enough. There are plenty of Furies left alive, though, as well as some Olympians, so you could find someone to spend your time with.”

“Maybe I will, eventually. For now, I was thinking of giving your friends in the unknown region the help they need to rid themselves of the Hellion Empire.”

“Right, another war. Give Ka'Rij my regards, I wish he could have been here for this; he and his friends also played a major role in this war.”

“I'll make sure to let him know that. As for calling it a war, with me in the fray, it will feel more like a skirmish. And a short one at that.”

Chase chuckled. “Sounds about right.”

EPILOGUE

A few days later ...

Chase, Chris, and Daniel were looking at Atlantis from the C&C of Alkyon One.

“I can’t believe we have to say goodbye to Atlantis already,” said Chris.

“It’s the way of things,” Chase shrugged. “And maybe it’s for the better. Hyperion has completed his mission here. He helped us defeat … well, what his people had become.”

“It must not have been an easy thing for him to do.”

“I imagine not, but it was something he needed to do, so that he could die in peace. Got to respect that.”

“True. And I do.”

“We’re receiving a transmission from Hyperion,” advised Daniel.

“I guess it’s time,” sighed Chase. “On screen.”

Hyperion’s holographic face filled the large holo-screen. “Hello everyone, I’m ready to depart.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to stay around for just a little longer?” asked Chase.

“Very sure, yes. I’ve said my goodbyes to all those who came onboard Atlantis, and your great engineers have been very kind in helping me double- and triple-check every system. Thanks to their efforts, I'm now certain I can achieve my very last mission. I will seal the dimensional breach, forever making sure that if any Spectre survived on the other side, they could never return here.”

“We appreciate that, though I can’t help but feel sorry that we couldn’t spend more time with you. We could have learned a lot from Atlantis.”

“You already have, and as I'm sure you're aware, it’s never a good idea for a civilization to make technological quantum-leap jumps. Trust me, you're better off developing your technology at your own pace.”

“I understand. I guess this is goodbye then.”

“Wait!” shouted a panting Cedric as he burst into C&C.

“Cedric?” asked Daniel, surprised. “What are you doing here?”

“I’d like to go with Hyperion.”

“Really? Why?”

“He may need the help of an engineer if something goes wrong.”

“That’s very honorable of you, but you do realize that this is a one-way trip, right? If you step on Atlantis, you’ll never be able to come back. Won’t you be lonely?”

“I’m sure I’ll meet new people there, and I can’t pass up the opportunity to see another dimension, as well as work with technology as advanced as Atlantis’.”

Chase walked over to Cedric and grabbed his shoulders. “Are you absolutely sure that’s what you want?”

Cedric nodded. “Yes, I want to go. I will miss you guys, but I feel very strongly about this. I think this is the call of my soul.”

“Very well. Far be it from me to stop anyone following the call of their soul. You’re doing a very courageous thing. I don’t think you realize it.”

Chase looked at the large duffel bag Cedric was holding. “I see you’re all packed.”

“Oh, that. Well, I’m sure Atlantis can provide me with all I need.”

“It can indeed,” said Hyperion.

“But I don’t know how good the weed is on the other side. So, better safe than sorry, I say.”

Chase blinked several times. “This is all weed?” He pointed at the bag.

“Yup, every bud I could get my hands on. Athena was kind enough to even give me an Olympian variety. I hear that stuff is quite potent.”

Chris, Daniel, and Chase all burst into laughter.

“Then I guess you’re well packed and prepared. We’re sure going to miss you around these parts.”

“I'll miss you guys too.”

“Hyperion, are you okay with taking a traveler with you?” Chase asked.

“I don’t see why not.”

“Then one to beam up, I guess.”

Streaks of white light engulfed Cedric’s body as he waved goodbye.

“Goodbye, Hyperion, and thanks again for everything.”

“Goodbye my friends.”

Atlantis glowed brightly before vanishing into space.

* * *

Ryonna was waiting by the side of the dock. In a few moments, she’d board her ship. “I didn’t expect you to be coming,” she said.

“I’m not gonna lie,” said Tar’Lock, “it wasn’t an easy decision to make.”

“I bet it wasn't. What about Talon?”

“Talon understands. In fact, he was the decisive factor.”

“Really? How so?”

“When I presented him with my conundrum, he found the right words to convince me that my place, at least for the time being, was to travel the stars with you.”

Ryonna smiled. “I’m very lucky to have you as a friend. And luckier still that you’re willing to embark with me on this new adventure.”

“Wait!” called a familiar voice in the distance.

Ryonna turned. “Keera, what are you doing here?”

“If that’s okay with the two of you, I’d like to tag along.”

“How do you know where we’re going?”

“I wouldn’t be a very good intelligence officer if I didn’t, now would I? Well, ex-officer now.”

“Sneaky,” said Tar’Lock. “I like it.”

“So do I,” agreed Ryonna. “And yes, we'd be thrilled to have you join us.”

“Great, then what are we waiting for? New adventures, here we come.”

* * *

Chase stopped into the corridor that would bring him and the rest of his family to their ship.

“Everything all right, dear?” asked Sarah.

“Yes, just taking one last look. Part of me hopes we never have to come here.”

“Really? Why?”

“Because it could mean more problems in the universe, and I’d really like this retirement to stick.”

“But you didn’t retire,” Chris pointed out.

“I know. I have kept my role as a reserve Admiral, son, but I hope I never again have to be called back to duty.”

“But we would answer that call if our help was ever needed, right?” asked Argos.

“If a new threat arises, then yes, how could we not?”

“That’s what we do,” said Kharon joyfully.

“Indeed,” said Chase.

“Of course, you’ll run toward danger at the first sign of trouble,” commented Nyx.

“I couldn’t help but notice the Hope’s new paint job,” said Argos.

“Yes, I think it’s only fitting that we return to Earth where it all began … with the right name on the side of our ship. We’d better be going, though; we’re already running late.”

Everyone nodded and they kept walking down the corridor that would lead them to the newly christened EAD Destiny.

Shortly after, the destroyer undocked from Alkyon One and jumped into hyperspace.

—== THE END ==—

While I do hope I can return one day for Season 3 of Universe in Flames, this has not been planned for the foreseeable future. As you may know, there will be new prequel books to release "soon", and they will serve as a new starting point for the series.

As far as the future of these characters go, it will be up to your own imagination to dream up adventures for them. Thank you for taking this journey with me; I couldn’t have done it without you.

It’s with a heavy heart that I bid farewell to Chase and the rest of the cast of Universe in Flames, my one and true passion project.

"Don’t fight your destiny but instead, try to embrace it and live your life to the fullest."

-Christian Kallias

Have you tried my other series From Far Beyond?

If you read the series in the past, when it was called Far Beyond, there are been changes: Book 1 has been extended from its short story form into a full novel, and Book 5 (Empire Mine) & Book 6 (Civil War) have been added to the series as well. The seres is now complete.

From Far Beyond - Spaceship Down

THANKS TO ALL MY PATRONS

Special thanks to the following people (Destroyer Captain & higher tiers) for supporting my work on Patreon:

Daniel Perret, Lain Laing, Cedric Perret, Michael Slezak, Kevin Moore, Alexander Dodge, Thomas Sipin, M.J. Smith, Richard Hotham, David Stewardson, John Gill, Kell Vagtholm, Nicholas Lepisto, Marc Maillard, Thomas Sipin, Kevin Moore, Sandro Cherubini.

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ALSO BY CHRISTIAN KALLIAS

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The Universe in Flames Series

Book 0: Wings of Destiny* (more prequels in the works)

Book 1: Earth - Last Sanctuary (Definitive Edition)

Book 2: Fury to the Stars

Book 3: Destination Oblivion

Book 4: The Beginning of the End

Book 5: Rise of the Ultra Fury

Book 6: Shadows of Olympus

Book 7: Armageddon Unleashed

Book 8: Twilight of the Gods

Book 9: Requiem of Souls

Book 10: To End All Wars (Final Chapter)

Book 11: Nemesis

Book 12: Unleashed

Book 13: Reckoning

Book 14: Dominion

Book 15: Fireborn

Book 16: Atlantis

Book 17: Asunder

Books 1-17 also available in trilogies format.

Books 1 to 7 available on Audible (Book 8 in recording)

Extra: Damocles Fall (Definitive Edition)

Extra: Course Correction

* Wings of Destiny & Way of the Warrior are also available in the Universe in Flames - Origins series or through some box sets. The Box Sets contain other extra stories like Descent, Course Correction, Damocles Fall and others.

* * *

Universe in Flames in MUSIC Form

Albums with songs from the Book Series are now available, they’re the perfect companion to take Chase’s adventures with you on the go!

Album 1: Battlecry of the Galaxy

Album 2: Unleashing the Storm - Part I

Single Blood Brothers

Unleashing the Storm - Part II (coming this Winter / 2025)

More on STEELETERNAL.COM

Early access to new songs on Steel Eternal’s Patreon page.

You can also find my music on most streaming services (Spotify, YouTube Music, Apple Music, and more)

* * *

From Far Beyond Series

Book 1: Spaceship Down

Book 2: The Stranded Fleet

Book 3: Dark Empire

Book 4: The Battle for Earth

Book 5: Empire Mine

Book 6: Civil War

* * *

Rewind Series (get the entire series for free here)

Book 0: Out of Time

Book 1: Freedom’s End

Book 2: Pandemonium

Book 3: Nightfall

* * *

Galactic Tales (10 Epic Stories from Earth & Beyond) - soon to be unpublished, with more single “short” stories coming in 2025.

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THANKS TO ALL MY PATRONS

Special thanks to the following people (Destroyer Captain & higher tiers) for supporting my work on Patreon:

Jefferson Nunn, Daniel Perret, Lain Laing, Cedric Perret, Michael Slezak, Kevin Moore, Alexander Dodge, Thomas Sipin, M.J. Smith, Richard Hotham, David Stewardson, John Gill, Kell Vagtholm, Nicholas Lepisto, Marc Maillard, Thomas Sipin, Kevin Moore, Sandro Cherubini.

https://www.patreon.com/ChristianKallias

The new Patreon page for my UiF Metal Albums:

https://patreon.com/SteelEternal

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Christian Kallias is a multiple (and All-Star) Bestselling, Award-winning Science Fiction author. He writes Science Fiction Space Opera with a Mythology twist and Fantasy influences.

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