Universe in Flames 3: Destination Oblivion Read Online Free

de-cloak.”
    “I know. Don’t
worry. I’ll take them for a wild ride.”
    “Roger that, boss.
Cloaking now. See you on the other side.”
    “Be careful.”
    “Says the man who
decided to go face to face with two squadrons without his wingman.”
    “Right.”
    Daniel adjusted
his vector towards the two incoming squadrons of Zarlack fighters. He engaged
them and targeted the first three fighters with laser fire and missiles, and
dispatched them quickly before veering to the right. He deployed his drones and
they pounded laser fire on the aft shields of his pursuers. They locked onto
his craft and fired missiles. Daniel deployed countermeasures and, as soon as
the missiles impacted with them, he boosted his shields, cut engines and
activated reverse thrusters at maximum power. The rest of the first squadron
passed in front of him and he assumed the position of hunter instead of prey.
He locked onto his next kill and quickly depleted its shields. He locked onto
the next ship while he let his drones finish off the previous target, which
didn’t take long. It exploded with a bright and satisfying bang.
    The drones
rejoined formation with Daniel’s F-147 and quickly dispatched the next Zarlack
fighter, blowing it out of the sky. It took some pretty fancy flying, but soon
Daniel had eradicated an entire squadron with little or no damage to his own
ship. But was now being pursued by no less than six fighters.
    “Where are you,
Fillio?”
    The other F-147
de-cloaked behind the enemy fighters and Fillio started picking them off one by
one. By the time they realized what had happened, she had destroyed four of
them. She veered off course to let her shields charge.
    “Mind taking care
of these last two?”
    “On it,” replied
Daniel as he engaged with the nearest enemy craft.
    He locked onto one
enemy and sent two missiles, the first draining most of its shields, while the
second tore off its wing, leaving the craft spinning uncontrollably into the
darkness of space. The last Zarlack starfighter had since broken off and tried
to run for it at max burn.
    “Not so fast, you
son of a bitch.”
    Daniel
microjumped and in a millisecond was right on top of the ship. He pounded it
with laser fire. The ship tried to go evasive but there was no escaping
Daniel’s lock. Not willing to waste yet another missile, he kept at it with
lasers. Soon the enemy craft’s shields were down, and each successful hit sent
debris and smoke in its wake. After thirty seconds, Daniel redirected almost
all power to his weapons and fired two supercharged lasers, which tore the ship
in half upon impact, followed by a fiery explosion.
    “Having fun?”
inquired Fillio.
    “Wouldn’t go that
far, but at least it distracts me.”
    “I understand how
you feel. He’s my friend too, you know. I was really surprised he left us.”
    “I can’t blame
him for that. I just wish I knew he was okay.”
    “Perhaps we
should try and locate him?”
    “I don’t think he
wants to be found.”
    “Screw what he
wants. What about what we want?”
    “Point taken. Perhaps
we can ask Ryonna and Tar’Lock to go look for him.”
    “Yeah, if there’s
anyone who knows how to get things done outside of Earth Alliance territory, it
sure is those two. But you should go as well.”
    “Alright. I’ll ask
the commodore once we get back.”
    “Speaking of
. . .”
    “Yeah, let’s
regroup with the transport and finish this boring run.”
    “Boring, huh? Roger
that.”
     
    *   *   *
     
    Chase descended
to the lower levels of the Ponos station. The lift doors opened to reveal a
very dark hall lit with very few lights, in low-power setting; just enough to
see a few feet in front of him.
    He walked
straight down the hall. After a minute a shadow passed in front of one of the
lights and stood there. It was humanoid. It held a knife in one hand, which was
shaking slightly.
    “Out of my way if
you value your life,” said Chase casually.
    “No way, man. You
need to