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

words aloud.
    They embraced once more and Sarah shivered at his
touch. She had pictured this moment happening so many times, now that she was
finally in Chase’s arms, half of her was worried it wasn’t real.
    “I can’t… I can’t believe you’re actually here.”
    “Why is that?” Chase murmured against her hair. “You
had to know I’d come for you.”
    “Yes, but Argos—”
    “Shh,” he soothed her, “that’s all over now. You’re
safe.”
    She stifled a shudder. “Chase… is he really your
brother?”
    Chase shifted uncomfortably. “I’m… not sure. We do
have a few things in common—”
    “Yes, but he has incredible powers,” Sarah cut him
off in rush. “He’s absolutely ruthless and he’s gunning for you, Chase, and—”
    “Actually… we fought just a few moments back and I
think I got him pretty good.” He couldn’t help but feel proud. Proud and deeply satisfied. “That being said, I wouldn’t want to risk our lives if I’m wrong. I
think we need to get out of here. Somehow I seriously doubt killing him would
be that easy…”
    “Where is he?” Sarah looked around in fright. “Are
we still in Hellstar?”
    “Yes we are,” Ryonna interjected. “I’m sorry to
interrupt this private moments of yours, but I believe if we ever want to get
away from here, now’s the time.”
    “Right you are,” Chase agreed. With incredibly
gentle arms, he lifted Sarah up then delicately tilted her body so she could
stand. “Can you walk?”
    She tested her weight gingerly and was surprised.
“Yes, I feel perfectly fine. Better than ever, in fact.”
    “Thank the gods. Hang on a second.” Chase took a
small device from one of his pockets and pressed it. “Chase to Iron Fire ,
we’re coming in soon, but I’m not sure if we will still be cloaked. Be ready to
lay cover fire if needed and make sure you avoid getting in too close. Those
ion turrets could rip the ship in two.”
    Lieutenant Rathos onboard the Iron Fire answered.
“Glad to hear from you, sir; we were starting to get worried here. We’ll be
staying just out of range of the ion turrets and will provide cover fire if
needed.”
    “Also, the minute we’re onboard, execute a jump to
Earth.”
    “Understood. See you soon, Lieutenant Commander
Athanatos. Rathos out.”
    Sarah looked at Chase with a surreal smile, still
unable to completely believe that the ordeal was over. “Chase, what cloak? What
type of vessel did you come here with?”
    “I’ll have to tell you more about it, but some new
kind of Alliance starfighter.”
    “Will we all fit in it?”
    He hesitated. “I admit I didn’t intend on having
that many passengers.” His eyes flickered to Tar’Lock. “I hope we can fit
everyone in the cargo hold.”
    Tar’Lock took a step towards Chase. “I understand if
you need to leave me behind. Maybe I can find my own way out.”
    “No way.” Chase shook his head quickly, keeping a
constant hand on Sarah the whole time. “Without your help we would most likely
all be dead. I am not leaving you behind.”
    “That’s very honorable of you. My physiology allows
me to bend much more than yours, so maybe with some creativity, we’ll find
something that works.”
    Chase nodded and motioned to the ship. “Alright,
let’s not lose another second here. I’m sure more sentries and whatever guards
they have will come back soon.”
    They went through the hole in the gate and started
their run towards the landing bays. A few meters before reaching the wide
double doors, some laser fire came from down the hall. Chase reacted
instinctively, pushing both Sarah and Ryonna out of the way at the last moment,
then started running towards the incoming fire, deflecting each new laser
streak towards the walls with his hands as he did so.
    As he approached the source of the attack, he saw a
humanoid inside a huge, armored machine, two powerful rifles at the tip of its
arms. Probably a crowd-control type of defense system in case the