The Phoenix Requiem (The Phoenix Conspiracy Series Book 7) (61 page)

BOOK: The Phoenix Requiem (The Phoenix Conspiracy Series Book 7)
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As for what the future held, Kalila was optimistic, but only because she was forward thinking and prophylactic. Her fleet reported the total annihilation of the remaining Rotham ships, which she had since reported as lost during the Battle for Capital System—to which no one seemed the wiser.

On top of that, Calvin had dropped a Hunter ship onto her doorstep. Currently, her people were reverse-engineering the advanced starship, learning all they could, and they would apply that knowledge to a new class of starship, the Radian Class Frigate, which would utilize the same stealth capability, be extremely fast, and further ensure the security and interests of the Empire. She had ordered a prototype to be made as swiftly as time would allow.

The Apollo Yards were being reconstructed also, with plans calling for them to be grander and more efficient than ever before.
There will be more war
, she thought.
Not today. Probably not even tomorrow. But it is coming. It always does. And when it arrives, we’ll be ready
.

Kalila leaned back in her throne, the very throne she had worked so very hard to obtain, her birthright and her destiny, and, although her heart is heavy with the sacrifices that had been made to get her here, she knew that, ultimately, everything had been made right. And at last, after everything they had suffered, humanity was ultimately safe.

Because, finally,
she
could protect them.

CHAPTER 26

 

Calvin chose to tour the IWS
Phantom
before heading to the bridge to begin his next mission. In nearly every respect, the ship felt exactly like the
Nighthawk
. There were subtle differences; it was less scuffed and not so worn in places, for example, but ultimately everything about it felt hauntingly similar. The only thing that felt truly out of place was the fact that all the faces were so unfamiliar—it felt wrong. And it would be something that, he knew, would take him some time to get accustomed to.

He spent only a small amount of time in Main Engineering, everything about it seemed the same; he spent a little longer in the infirmary, even though everything about it looked the same too. It was hard for him to see the door leading to the Chief Physician’s apartment and not imagine Monte, or Rain, sleeping on the other side.

By far, where he spent the most time, however, proved to be the observation deck. When he had first entered, it too looked approximately the same. A relatively empty space with a great, massive window for seeing out. The current view was that of the stardock, and so not particularly interesting. When he turned, though, that was when he saw that the main wall was entirely different. Rather than flat, black metal bulkhead, there was a memorial wall with several names engraved in it, along with a picture next to every name, and a few sentences about who each individual had been.

Above it all were engraved the words
WALL OF HEROES
and below that, also engraved, it read:
When the Bell Tolled, We Held our Ground, Firm and Forever for our Empire. May our Sacrifice Never Be Forgotten!

Calvin walked from one side of the wall to the other, tracing several of the names with his fingers. Among the slain heroes were: Miles, Nimoux, Rain, but it was not limited just to those who had fallen in the final action, it included everyone who had died in service of the
Nighthawk
, including Mister Rose and Monte Blair, among others. Calvin found each of the tributes tasteful and, in a way, as he looked at Miles’s picture one last time, it felt as though his friend was coming with him on his next great adventure after all.

Very nice touch
, thought Calvin. It seemed the queen meant to make good on her promises, and then some. Not that Calvin was going to
ever
let his guard down with her again.

Eventually, Calvin found himself on the bridge of the IWS
Phantom
—it was all he could do not to refer to the ship as the
Nighthawk
by mistake. The crew stood ready, all in a line, all saluting once he arrived. There was even a yeoman blowing that damned whistle to announce the arrival of the captain to the bridge.

I can see we have some retraining to do, thought Calvin.

“At ease,” ordered Calvin, as his people took their stations. As he looked at each one of them, wondering what their stories were and what had brought them here, he tried to get over the fact that they seemed to be the wrong people occupying those chairs. Miles was not reclined at the Defense Post. Shen was not at Ops…neither was Sarah, in her cropped uniform, sitting confidently at the pilot’s station.

Calvin had been pleased to learn that Shen and Sarah had survived the Battle for Capital System—he hadn’t even known they had participated in it, but evidently they had rendered their services to one of the support ships, which kept them away from most of the direct combat.

Naturally, Calvin had offered both Shen and Sarah their old jobs back, and had hoped they would accept. It would have been nice, he thought, to have some familiar faces on the ship with him. But both Sarah and Shen had declined; instead, they had both resigned their military commissions and were excited about civilian life—and for the opportunity to continue exploring their feelings for one another, unsure where that might take them, but hopeful. Calvin was glad to see that at least some of his friends had gotten a happy ending out of everything—or so things looked anyway.

Unfortunately, without them, that left Calvin alone on the IWS
Phantom
. His XO was no longer the ever-faithful yet obsessed-with-protocol Summers Presley; the nearest thing Calvin had to a friend on the ship was really just an acquaintance, and that was the assignment of former First Lieutenant Ferreiro—now Captain Ferreiro—as the commander of the special forces unit on the IWS
Phantom
—at Calvin’s request. He had also retained as many of the
Nighthawk
’s survivors as possible, any who were willing, and, although he knew very few of them, he considered it his way, almost like a second chance, to really get to know them, the way he wished he had gotten to know every single crewman that had lost his or her life when
Custos
destroyed the
Nighthawk
.

Still, the ship was full of strange faces, especially the bridge. Each officer had come highly recommended, and Calvin had pored through countless personnel files in helping to select the crew of the
Phantom
. But still, it would be difficult for him to accept these new faces, and these new people, occupying positions that, to Calvin, did not belong to them.

But Calvin refused to let that get him down.
Survivors adapt
, he thought. And, if that meant getting to know an entirely new crew, he decided he would choose to view the experience as an opportunity to make new friends, and discover new backstories, rather than lament, mourn, and miss old ones. As much as he might hate it, change was part of life, and he accepted that. The past would always be part of him, and he wouldn’t change that, though painful it might be at times; however, that didn’t have to take anything away from the new crew and new opportunities right in front of him.

Calvin had already taken the liberty of memorizing the names of each of his new White Shift officers, and whatever bits and pieces about them he could manage to remember from their personnel files.

“Miss Green,” he said, deciding to introduce his given-names-only policy a bit later, not wanting to set too lackadaisical a standard from the very onset—
God, Summers has gotten to me, hasn’t she?
he thought. “If you would kindly detach us from the stardock and maneuver us out into open space, please.”

“Aye, aye, sir,” replied the young pilot. She was an ensign and fresh from the Academy but, by all reports, an excellent pilot and talented investigator. Calvin doubted she was any match for Sarah’s piloting skills—then again, who was? Even Calvin himself knew Sarah had him bested. But, perhaps, in time, if he gave Miss Green a chance, she could reach that tier.

“Status of all systems,” said Calvin, finally taking his seat at the command position.

“All systems green,” said Mister Namasri from the Ops post. “Sir!”

“All defense systems are functioning within expected parameters, Captain,” said Miss Kendrick from the Defense post.

“Very good,” said Calvin.

“We have maneuvered out of the stardock and into open space,” said Miss Green.

“Please set the given coordinates and prepare for alteredspace jump,” said Calvin.

“Aye, sir,” said Miss Green. “Setting coordinates and prepping for jump, sir.”

Rafael had given Calvin a tip on the missing ISS
Phoenix
’s last known whereabouts. Calvin’s current mission—at his own request—was to track down Anand Datar and find out just what had happened to him. Had he gone insane? Had he been replaced by a replicant? Was there some other explanation for his odd behavior, including his obsessive attempts to destroy the
Nighthawk
? It was the final mystery and Calvin
had
to have the answers. Fortunately, the tip Intel Wing had received, that Rafael had been quick to pass along, was only two days old. A millennium in intelligence work, but it was
something
to go on.

“Course laid in, sir,” said Miss Green. “We are prepared to jump on your signal.”

Calvin turned his chair to face his new XO. “Mister Hobbes, would you do the honors, please.”

“Gladly, sir,” his new XO said with a smile. Then he became all business. “All hands prepare to jump, Ensign Green, commence alteredspace jump as soon as possible, and bring us to a depth of ninety-percent potential.” He then shot a look Calvin’s direction, as if to check with him and make certain that was okay. Calvin nodded. “Yes, ninety-percent potential, and then report once we have stabilized within alteredspace.”

“Aye, sir, commencing jump now,” said Miss Green.

And, with that, the
Phantom
leapt into alteredspace, bringing Calvin, Hobbes, Namasri, Kendrick, Green, and the rest of the crew on course for where they hoped to begin tracking down the ISS
Phoenix
, laying the final mystery to rest, once and for all.

As for Calvin, although this wasn’t the
Nighthawk
and these people didn’t feel like his friends, or even his crew—
yet
—he breathed a sigh of relief, and for the first time in a long time, finally felt like he was home again. And that everything, as best as possible, had finally been made right with the Empire.

 

THE END

END OF THE PHOENIX REQUIEM &

THE PHOENIX CONSPIRACY SERIES

 

Dear Reader, I want to express my deepest gratitude to you for coming along with me on this 7 book adventure. I hope you enjoyed it even half so much as I enjoyed writing it. Please be on the lookout for my next series
The Gods Who Bleed
.

 

For more information please visit
www.richardlsanders.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BOOK: The Phoenix Requiem (The Phoenix Conspiracy Series Book 7)
7.19Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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