The Beginning of the End (Universe in Flames Book 4) by Christian Kallias Page B

destroyer is already drifting towards the black hole, even though it’s farther from it than we are.”
    “Options anyone?” asked the commodore.
    Chase’s mind raced to find a solution. He was too weak to use his powers to push the ship away. Not to mention that that could create a second anomaly. He approached the co-pilot seat.
    “Do you mind?” he asked Daniel.
    “Sure, go head, buddy.” Daniel gave him his chair.
    “Gimme a sec, Commodore.” He entered calculations on his console at lightning speed. “Alright. I’m sending you jumping coordinates now. That’s a few thousand clicks from the Destiny ’s point of no return. Whatever you do, don’t advance beyond that point, and make sure the jump engines are ready to engage at a second’s notice. However, there’s no way we can reach these coordinates on our own at our current velocity. Soon the gravitational force will be too strong for the Valken ’s engines.”
    “Then what good will it do? How do we get all of you home, son?”
    “I’ve got an idea about that, but one thing at a time. Have a dozen StarFuries ready to launch. I’ll remote control them.”
    “Roger that, Lieutenant Commander. Destiny jumping now. ETA is two minutes.”
    “Thank you, Commodore.”
    The communication ended.
    Sarah looked worried. “Chase, is that wise? Your energy levels are low.”
    “I’ll be fine. Chris gave me more than enough juice to do this.”
    “To do what exactly?” asked Ryonna.
    “You’ll have to trust me. It would take too much time to explain.”
     
    *   *   *
     
    Aboard the damaged Zarlack destroyer, Miseo looked at the growing black hole as everyone from the bridge floated in the vacuum of space and was slowly sucked out of the bridge. Miseo had erected a force field around himself and stayed there, pensive, looking and reflecting upon what had just happened.
    Impressive. This is no ordinary Fury.
    He felt the gravitational pull exerted by the black hole slowly taking hold of the disabled destroyer. After a few moments observing the bodies of countless dead Zarlack’s being slowly sucked towards the black hole, he turned around and flew towards the launching bays. He had to fly through the levels that had been obliterated by the plasma fireball. The damage was extensive, decks upon decks exposed to space, bodies and debris everywhere around him. The sheer scale of the damage was enough to send a shiver down his spine.
    We’re going to have to tread carefully when we next attack this particular foe.
    He landed on one of the decks that was exposed to space on the other side of the ship. He entered his Fury starfighter and launched it into space. The sub-light engines moaned and his ship had trouble breaking free of the gravitational pull. He punched them at maximum and soon the pull lowered in intensity. When he was far enough from the black hole he keyed in the coordinates for Erevos and jumped into hyperspace.
     
    *   *   *
     
    When the Destiny jumped out of hyperspace, Chase closed his eyes and took mental control of the dozen StarFuries. The first StarFury tractor beamed the nearest fighter which in turn tractored the next, until each StarFury was a link in a chain. Chase extended their formation towards the Valken , approaching from the side in a pendulum trajectory, while the ships farthest away from the lead ship all faced backwards at different angles, pushing their sub-light engines at the maximum in a coordinated effort to counter the gravitational pull of the black hole.
    “I see what he’s doing,” said Keera.
    “We all see,” added Daniel, “and it’s insane to think he can remote control all these ships with the required precision to carry out such a complicated and ingenious maneuver with only his mind.”
    “How do you feel, Chase?” inquired Sarah, putting her hand on his shoulder.
    He flashed her a thumbs up as an answer.
    Soon the nearest and last StarFury in the chain approached from the Valken ’s aft