Fury to the Stars (Universe in Flames Book 2) by Christian Kallias

here
today,” Chase replied.
    “That’s more like it. Let’s help them make sure that
doesn’t happen, alright?”
    “Roger that. Engaging.”
    Chase went into a fury of acrobatic maneuvers,
dispatching enemy vessels one after the other. His mind was fully dedicated to
winning this fight and it showed. After only a couple of minutes he had eradicated
an entire enemy wing almost by himself.
    He was directing his wing to the next incoming wave
of fighters when he heard something in his mind.
     Chase, help, Hellstar...
    It was Sarah’s voice. He would know it anywhere. At
first he froze, believing he was hallucinating. His ship took a blast of laser
fire to his port shield, but he barely reacted until the onboard computer
resonated another alarm: “Warning! Collision alert, warning!”
    He barely managed to veer off course at the last
moment, his shield brightening up from the close encounter with a Zarlack
fighter.
    “In the name of...” Daniel shouted via the comm.
“Are you alright, Chase?”
    “Yeah, sorry, got distracted for a moment.”
    “Chase, there’s no way of knowing if Sarah is here,
but you can’t think about that for now. We need you.”
    “Roger that. Plus, I know now she isn’t here.” Chase
was almost delirious with relief that she was alive, although terrified at her
destination.
    “Huh? Mind explaining that?”
    “Later—let’s finish this and fast! I know where I
have to go next.”
    “That’s the spirit. Watch your six! You have
multiple enemy craft approaching.”
    Chase looked at his HUD. Three enemy craft had taken
advantage of his little reverie and were aligned perfectly on his six. They
started firing the moment they were in range.
    Chase took evasive action by rotating the ship on
its axis, avoiding most hits but still taking some damage to his shields.
    “Hang on, Chase, I’m coming.”
    “No need, Dan, I’ve got this.” He couldn’t help but
grin. “Computer, execute command Omega One.”
    The ship’s engine’s cut off and he made a
one-hundred-and-eighty-degree rotation to face his foes. With the engine off,
the ship carried its initial momentum and Chase lined up a shower of laser fire
upon their frontal shields, diverting the engine power to his own shields and
boosting the power of his lasers. He painted all three targets and fired three
missiles simultaneously. Two of the missiles tore their targets apart in a
fiery blaze, while the third impacted the ship but the ship didn’t explode; it
lost all shields instead.
    Chase rebalanced power, went full on the engines,
and headed on a collision course. He waited until the last second and fired a
single burst of concentrated laser fire. The enemy ship exploded like a piñata,
and Chase flew through the debris.
    “Are you okay, pal?” inquired Daniel.
    “I’m fine. Don’t worry about me.”
    “Dude, you seem to be flying even more recklessly
than usual.”
    Chase smirked. “And how does that reflect on my kill
stats so far?”
    After a couple of seconds Daniel answered. “As long
as you’re in control of your emotions.”
    “I wouldn’t go that far.”
    “Why don’t I like the sound of that?”
    “I’m fine, bro, don’t worry.”
    “Roger. Good hunting.”
    “You too.”
    *   *   *
     
    On the bridge of the SAD Destiny , Captain
Saroudis watched the battle with great focus. Their arrival seemed to have
tipped the balance in favor of the Alliance now, with multiple squadrons of
fighters being eradicated by the joint forces of the Destiny battle
group and their Droxian escorts.
    Chase’s ability to engage enemies using
non-conventional and ever-changing fighting techniques never ceased to amaze
the captain. Of course, his recklessness was enough to give the captain a
series of small heart attacks. Chase was an ace pilot and natural strategist,
one they could not afford to lose. Not to mention his relations with the
Olympians.
    The Obsidian Empire and their Zarlack allies seemed
to agree. They