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

Chase jumped up and extinguished the fire with a swift movement of his right hand. The cargo bay of the
Valken
had filled with smoke. Keera collapsed on the ground and Chase ran to her side. Blood gushed from a nasty wound in her scalp. He lost no time healing her and soon she was as good as new.

“Is everyone alright?” shouted Chase to be heard over the annoying alarms.

Sarah nodded.

“Well, we’re in one piece so can’t complain. What happened?” inquired Daniel.

“We’ve blindly jumped into hyperspace. Pretty much in the middle of the
Iron Fire
’s exploding.”

“Can you shut down these alarms?” asked Daniel

“Let me give it a try.” Chase closed his eyes and concentrated on the
Valken
’s computer, but the wailing alarms made it difficult. He pushed through, managed to tune them down in his own thoughts, and accessed the onboard computer. The alarms stopped.

“Thaaaaaaank you,” said Tar’Lock, who had curled into a ball because of the pain strong noises caused him.

Keera opened her eyes slowly and tried to get up. “What happened? I thought I heard my ship’s alarms going crazy, or was it just a nightmare?”

“I’m afraid not,” answered Chase, his eyes filled with concern.

“What is it?”

“I turned them off with my thoughts but while I was inside the
Valken
’s computer I glanced at our status.”

“Which is?” interjected Sarah.

“Not good. We’ve lost the jump engines, there’s multiple damage all over the ship and life support is barely at fifteen percent.”

“So you can also control computers mentally?” said Keera, raising an eyebrow.

Chase shrugged and attempted a smile.

“Any good news at all?” asked Fillio.

“Well, the communications array seems to be working so I’ve programmed the computer to broadcast a distress call, but we didn’t jump nearly far enough from Erevos.”

“That’s just great. This day keeps getting better and better,” said Tar’Lock with a series of fast-paced clicks.

Keera walked away from the group. “I’m gonna see if there’s a planet nearby. At fifteen percent life support we won’t last long in space.”

Sarah followed her. “Wait up, I’m coming with you.”

As the cargo doors closed behind her, Chase looked at his friends.

“There aren’t any planets in range. I’ve checked.”

Fillio held her neck and groaned. “Why didn’t you tell them that?”

“Sarah’s pretty shaken up. It will help keep her occupied for a while.”

“What do we do now?” asked Daniel.

“I don’t know. Let’s see what we can repair on the ship.”

“I’m on it”, said Ryonna, already entering commands from the nearest terminal. Fillio and Tar’Lock joined her.

Daniel clearly had something on his mind. “What is it, my friend?”

“Are we gonna talk about what just happened?”

“You’re gonna have to be more specific. A lot happened today.”

“The part about the Fury world appearing out of nowhere and the implications.”

Chase broke eye contact. He was still unsure how to deal with that at the moment. The sheer weight of the consequences that this new development could have for everyone in the universe was simply too much to contemplate. He’d already had his share of Armageddon-like close calls to deal with lately, and right now all he was worried about was getting his friends back home safely. He couldn’t think about or address the bigger picture at the moment.

“I don’t know what to tell you. Right now I don’t really want to debate this, so the short version is: it’s all my fault. But, like I promised Aphroditis, I’ll do my best to fix this.”

“I don’t think is your fault.”

“We both know it is.”

“How so?”

“Well, if I hadn’t agreed to help Argos the Furies would still be trapped in another dimension. We have no idea what the fallout of this will be.”

“Well if history is any indicator, we’re looking at an extinction event, at least for any race other than the Furies currently living in this universe.”

Chase clenched his teeth for a second. He was fully aware of this and it didn’t help to hear it out loud. But defeating his fears and darkness in his vision had given him hope that there must be a way to deal with all that.

“We won’t let it happen.”

Daniel beamed a wide smile.

“What did I say?”

“You said ‘we.’”

“So?”

“Well, it’s about time you realized you’re not alone in this.”

“I guess I deserve that. I’m sorry for leaving the way I did back on Earth. I didn’t want any of you to get hurt.”

“That’s a noble sentiment, but I think you’ve learned your lesson.”

“I have. Without you guys we wouldn’t have survived the fight against the Titan, but . . .”

“But if you hadn’t, things might have turned out different. That’s what you’re thinking?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s nonsense. You had no idea what the price would be for getting Sarah back.”

“I’m not sure I would have done anything differently had I known. Not if it meant sacrificing Sarah . . . again.”

“This is all conjecture anyway. You didn’t know, and what is happening now is done. So like you said, we’ll find a way to get Aphroditis back and send the Furies back to where they just came from. Together.”

“No.”

Daniel’s eyes widened. “What do you mean ‘no’?”

“I mean trapping them in another dimension is not a viable option. This time we deal with them once and for all. The Furies must be wiped out, or they’ll keep coming back. Let’s make sure this is the last Fury war.”

“Easy, tiger. We’re talking about the Furies here. Up until now we thought you and Argos were the only two remaining Furies, and that had already caused serious havoc. We’re talking about an entire planet of them bent on . . .” He let the words hang for a moment. “Well, I don’t know what they’re bent on, but I suppose being trapped for ten thousand years in another dimension hasn’t softened their resolve for universal domination and destruction.”

“It hasn’t.”

“Mind explaining how you know that? I was just assuming here.”

“When the planet arrived I had another vision.”

“Oh I see. Pray tell?”

*   *   *

Sarah sat next to Keera in the cockpit.

“We haven’t been formerly introduced. My name is Sarah.” She extended her hand to Keera.

“I know,” she said, beaming her a smile. “You’re all Chase talked about.”

“He talked about me? Why?”

“When I met him he was dead set on finding his brother Argos and killing him. I don’t know how much you know. Things went pretty fast in the last few hours. But Chase thought he had been forced to kill you.”

“I . . . I have these memories. In fact, it’s really troubling. I know they’re not really mine, but I remember them as if they were. I know everything my clone has done.” Sarah’s expression darkened.

“Boy that must feel weird.”

“It does. I’m sorry, you have better things to do. I just needed some time away . . .”

“It’s okay. You can help me figure out our next move.”

Sarah looked straight ahead at the stars while Keera fiddled with her controls for a while.

After a long silence, she looked back at Sarah. “It’s none of my business, but I’ve never seen someone so much in love as Chase.”

Sarah attempted to smile but her expression changed almost instantly and tears flowed from her eyes.

“I’m sorry. You may not want to discuss this. Please excuse my big mouth.”

Sarah put a hand on Keera’s. “That’s okay, you don’t need to apologize. I’m just lost. I have trouble reconciling what happened, you know? There are a thousand thoughts overwhelming me at the moment. I . . . I don’t really know how to deal with them.”

“That’s understandable. I know I’m a stranger, but if you need to talk, don’t hesitate, okay?”

“That’s very sweet of you, thanks. How . . .?” she stopped.

“How do I know Chase?”

Sarah nodded.

“We partnered to try and catch Argos. I’m a bounty hunter.”

“I see.”

“Look, I don’t want you to get any ideas. I’m not interested in Chase.”

“That’s alright. Like I said, I’m very confused right now.”

“Still, if you don’t mind me saying, why aren’t you back there with Chase? I’d think you’d want to be in his arms right now. In your position that’s all I would think about.”

“I have a really hard time forgiving him for what he did.”

Keera’s eye widened. “Forgiving? What does he have to be forgiven for?”

“Putting my wellbeing before that of every living being in the universe, for one.”

“Chase had no idea that helping Argos would bring back the Furies. How could he? We all thought they were long gone.”

“Still, he had to know that whatever Argos wanted him for would be nefarious.”

“Look. Perhaps you should put yourself in his shoes for a little while. I’ve spent a good portion of time with him these last few days. When we met he was just a shell, his mind and heart broken. For just a second try to imagine if you were the one firing on his ship and killing him for the greater good. How would you feel?”

Sarah thought about it for quite a long time. “I guess . . .” was all she could answer.

“Look, it’s none of my business but I’m gonna tell you what I think anyway.”

“You seem like that type of person.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, you’re direct, that’s what I mean.”

“Oh, yeah, I guess I am. Understand this. When I met Chase, he was just a way for me to cash in on the gigantic bounty that was on Argos’ head. But before I knew it we became friends. He’s an amazing guy, and I’m not just saying that because he saved me from being raped.”

Sarah swallowed hard. “What?”

“Shortly after we met I had a—how to put it mildly—an unfortunate encounter with an old business partner. He tried to abuse me sexually. Thank the Olympian gods Chase arrived in the nick of time.”

She smiled. “He does that a lot.”

“What do you mean?”

“Save people at the eleventh hour.”

“So doesn’t that say a lot about him?”

“It does. And you’ve given me a lot to think about. Thank you Keera.”

“Anytime. Just remember, he did what he did because he loves you. I’m not sure anything else really matters at the end of the day.”

“It will if the universe pays the price for that love.”

Keera stayed silent. Sarah was uncomfortable being the indirect reason why they were in their current situation.

“Any luck finding us a planet in range?”

“Nope. The
Valken
’s sensors are not working at their peak efficiency, but there doesn’t seem to be anywhere in range we can land my ship.”

“Can we repair it?”

“As far as I can tell, whatever can be done is being taken care of by your friends.”

“As far as you can tell?”

“One of them is interfacing with the
Valken
’s system from the cargo bay’s console. They’re attempting to restore more power to life support and to restore the jump engines.”

“Should we help?”

“Whoever is attempting repairs seems pretty skilled. Perhaps we could boost the sensors sensit—” She didn’t finish her sentence before a rapid, repetitive alarm sounded from her console. “Oh crap.”

“What is it?”

She activated the internal communications. “Chase, get up here stat!”

“What is it, Keera?” repeated Sarah.

“We’ve got company.”

“Friend or foe?”

Keera’s look towards Sarah said it better than any words could.

*   *   *

In the rear of the
Valken
, Chase had finished explaining his vision to his friends. Fillio didn’t seem to be feeling well and he took her to one side for a chat.

“You’re alright?”

“I’m not sure. I feel really tired of it all.”

Chase recognized that mood. “Wanna talk about it?”

“Sure. I don’t really know where to start, though.”

“Perhaps you could tell me what has you worried.”

“What doesn’t these days? You know?”

Chase nodded.

“We’ve been fending off one attack after another since as long as I can remember now.”

“I can relate to that.”

“Yet the Furies getting back means it will be even more fighting, more death and destruction. When will it end, Chase?”