The Phoenix Rising (19 page)

“
I see,” said Calvin,
getting a very dark feeling. He didn’t like that the ship would
have gone to such efforts to conceal the fact that it was here in
the system so recently. A move Calvin would only expect someone to
do if they believed another ship would be arriving soon. And, as
far as they could tell, the next ship to arrive had been the
Nighthawk. But surely the fleeing ship hadn’t known they were
coming…

“
We’ve arrived at the
asteroid belt,” said Sarah. “Adjusting to variable course and speed
now.” Out the window, Calvin caught glimpses of some of the space
rocks; there was a tremendous amount of dust. The ship pitched,
steering clear of one of the larger hazards, and proceeded on
course. Their flightpath was easier to see on the 3d projector
which showed the Nighthawk and all the rock and ice debris around
it for kilometers.

“
Stay the course,” said
Calvin, more to himself than to Sarah. “We’re going to dock with
Echo Three and get whatever information we can. But, as soon as we
have our next lead, we’re getting the hell out of here. This place
gives me the creeps.”

“
Come now, Captain, I assure
you my people are not
that
unpleasant,” said Tristan.

Calvin decided not to reply. “Miles, set
condition one and keep our weapons armed. Sarah, at the first sign
of trouble, detach the ship and raise the shields—even if I’m not
back aboard. If necessary, you have my permission to flee the
system.”

“
We could never leave you
behind,” said Sarah.

“
That’s an order. Do
whatever it takes to protect the ship.”

“
In that case I’m sure as
hell going with you,” said Miles. His eyes drifted from Calvin to
Tristan. “And... for good measure we should bring along all of
special forces.”

Calvin smirked. “None of that will be
necessary. I’ll take Pellew, Tristan, Alex, and a small Polarian
detachment.” He didn’t like the idea of taking only human soldiers
and potentially leaving a strong Polarian force behind on the ship
unopposed. “Probably no more than four. Sarah, when you’re able,
please inform the others to meet me at airlock six. Summers, you
have the deck.”

***

The Echo Three facility was an impressive
structure. It had been mined inside the asteroid, had a shuttle
platform, was able to have two ships dock with it simultaneously,
and could probably house over ten thousand people. Despite all of
that, it had been so cleverly blended into its environment that,
had they not known what they were looking for, Calvin doubted they
would have ever detected it.

Tristan had assured them all that they
wouldn’t need climate suits. “You will find Echo Three not only
habitable but perfectly ideal.”

In truth, as Calvin walked through the
station—which was nothing like any other station he’d been to—he
found it a little warmer and more humid than he was accustomed to.
The scrubbed air tasted surprisingly fresh for an artificial
habitat, and there was a startling amount of life to be found.
Masses of people gathering in patches throughout the enormous room,
and even livestock grazed in pastures flowing with actual grass.
Plant-life thrived in the controlled environment, and the
greenness—aided by special lights—contrasted starkly with the metal
and synthetic materials that formed the walls, supports, and
foundation of the mighty structure. It was one of strangest places
Calvin had ever ventured.

Unsurprisingly, their group drew a great
deal of attention as they walked. Two humans, four Polarians, and a
Rotham was certainly an unusual sight. Though the Remorii they
passed, like Tristan, seemed in perfect human form—no glowing red
eyes or inflamed, bulging muscles—Calvin was sure they could sense
he and Pellew were not Remorii.

“
Not much farther,” said
Tristan, as they wandered past camps and small fields. Calvin was
amazed by the agrarian utopia these space dwellers maintained. If
not for a lack of sun and blue sky, he would have sworn he was on a
planetary surface. There were even streams of water that coursed
and flowed, filling wells and irrigating crops.

No one seemed interested in coming within
twenty feet of them. They were dressed in simple clothes that they
undoubtedly made themselves, and used a variety of basic tools to
attend to their duties, which sustained life in this peculiar
place. The ratio of females to males was about one to one, and
there were absolutely no children to be seen. This made sense,
since Remorii could not reproduce sexually.

Calvin and Pellew walked in the center of
the group, with Alex just a little ahead of them—Calvin trusted
Alex enough to give him quarters on the Nighthawk, but not enough
to expose his back to the Rotham. Tristan led the group from the
very front, and the four Polarians walked together at the rear.
Their weapons were holstered or strapped to their backs—but in such
a way that they could easily be drawn. Tristan had advised them not
to look menacing. Pellew too had a carbine on his back and a
handgun holstered on his side, Calvin was armed the same.

A Remorii male, about ten years older than
Calvin, approached them at a brisk pace. “You?” he snarled. “Don’t
move!”

Calvin and the others stopped, wondering
what he wanted.

“
I was afraid of this,” said
Tristan. He darted into the approaching Remorii’s way, forcing him
to stop. The newcomer tried to get around Tristan, but Tristan
wouldn’t let him past.

“
Out of my way
fool
,” he said, glaring at
Tristan with red glowing eyes.

“
No
,” Tristan replied forcefully.

“
Do you not see who that is?
Can you not smell him?” The newcomer’s eyes moved from Tristan to
Calvin. “That is the spawn of the betrayer!”

The betrayer?
Calvin recalled something Tristan had once told
him. That Calvin was lucky Tristan didn’t care about petty blood
feuds. And he’d seemed to know a little about Calvin’s father. Had
Samil been here? He was certainly the type to have underhanded
dealings with groups like this—or any group, really—but even he
wouldn’t have been stupid enough to double-cross these deadly
Remorii, would he?

The Polarians took up a defensive formation
around Calvin and drew their weapons. Even though he knew none of
them personally, and normally found them mysterious and somewhat
intimidating, having their much taller, more thickly muscled frames
by his side, weapons drawn, did make him feel significantly
safer.

“
Let it
alone
,” said Tristan with menace in his
voice.

The other Remorii bared his teeth, his eyes
glowed bright red, and his muscles began to be inflamed. He
crouched, as if to leap for the kill. Calvin drew his rifle and
thought of how vicious Tristan had been back on Aleator—when the
type three Remorii had savagely torn apart several CERKO soldiers.
Calvin doubted he was any kind of match.

Tristan’s reflexes were not
rusty. He blocked the other Remorii before he could pounce, staying
firmly in his way, and, as he spoke, his own muscles became
inflamed and it was clear he was the more ferocious of the two
Remorii. “
Be gone
.
Cross already paid the price for what he did. Do not let the sins
of the father fall upon the head of the son. You know that
is
not
our
way.”

Cross already paid the
price?
Calvin was stunned. He hadn’t seen
his father in years. Hadn’t been close to him since he was a boy.
He’d even convinced himself that he hated the man, wherever he was.
But it was still a shock to hear he might be dead. He felt a wave
of spite and remorse, and reminded himself that, to him, the old
man was dead already.

For a moment it looked as though a fight was
inevitable, that the two Remorii would tear each other apart in a
fierce, lightning battle the others couldn’t hope to keep pace
with. But, after a few seconds, the aggressor backed down. His
muscles relaxed, the glow in his eyes faded, and he bowed his head
in submission.

“
Forgive me.”

“
I forgive you,” said
Tristan. “Now leave.”

And, just like that, the other Remorii
departed. Never looking back.

“
Sorry about that,” said
Tristan. “But you resemble a very unpopular man here.”

“
You mean my father,” said
Calvin as they resumed walking towards the center of the
facility.

“
Yes. You’re the spitting
image of him. And your scent is similar, though not exactly the
same. Having you here brings up old memories in some of the
others.”

“
My father doesn’t exactly
bring up the best memories for me either,” said Calvin. “What did
he do to you?”

“
Ever since the first of us
began on Remus Nine, we have always desired a home. Deep within us
we crave the freedom of open fields, the greenness of rich life,
and the chance to live and be left alone.”

Calvin could see the evidence of those
desires in the strange, yet impressive, facility here.

“
Your father helped us find
a place once,” continued Tristan. “He called himself our friend.
But like the strigoi we helped to escape Remus Nine, monsters we
called brothers, he betrayed us for his own selfish interest. We
lost the planet. It was taken from us by those bloodthirsty
strigoi. And they in turn gave it to the Rotham for certain favors.
Those who survived were forced to become wanderers. We have since
made this place our home. But many of us still wander. And some
always will.”

Calvin tried to imagine what such a battle
would have looked like. Had it taken place on the planet surface?
Or in space, ship to ship? There was so much he didn’t know about
the Remorii, and though he still viewed them as unnatural monsters,
he was willing to admit it was the strigoi who bore the brunt of
his hate. They’d been the ones who slaughtered the crew of the
Trinity. And most damning of all, they were the bastards who’d
taken Christine from him, and deprived the galaxy of the most
wonderful soul within it.

“
I can see it on your face
that you are not proud of your father for what he did to us,” said
Tristan, clearly noticing the anguish Calvin felt as he thought of
Christine and the Trinity.

“
I am not proud of my father
at all,” said Calvin honestly, though he didn’t know if Tristan’s
story was even true. It didn’t have to be. Samil Cross had done
some terrible things. Not the least of which was abandoning his
wife and son.

“
That is wise.”

“
Tell me,” said Calvin,
hesitating for a moment. He found it surprisingly difficult to get
out the next words. “How did he ‘pay the price’? Is he
dead?”

Tristan didn’t answer.

“
I deserve to
know.”

“
It is believed he’s
dead.”

“
Believed he’s dead? Or
he
is
dead?”

“
A ship he was supposedly on
was destroyed. It’s not like there was a body left to identify. My
people have chosen to believe he was on that ship and have since
moved on with their lives. Though they will never know for
sure.”

“
I see,” said Calvin. He
knew that the Roscos, who’d had more dealings with his father than
probably anyone, also believed he was dead. Which was why they
periodically harassed Calvin, wanting to honor of some kind of debt
they owed his father. Calvin wanted as little to do with them as
possible. They’d been more important to Samil than Calvin and his
mother had been, and for that he could never forgive
them.

“
We did not destroy the
ship,” said Tristan, “in case you are wondering. Though he owed us
his blood, that deed was not performed by us.”

Calvin pretended not to care. But he had
been wondering.

“
It was done by the
Strigoi,” continued Tristan. “They can only deceive and betray, it
is in their veins, it flows through them more thickly than blood.
They can never be trusted. No matter what.”

“
That is something we can
both agree on.”

***

They reached the center of the facility.

Calvin wasn’t sure what he’d expected to
find—something elegant? At the very least, a building. Something
that stood out and above the rest, denoting authority. But they
found only more of the same. The tent they stopped at seemed no
different than any of the others.

“
Afton lives here,” said
Tristan. There were no guards, or even attendants, just a small
burning fire tended to by a female and a few animals grazing within
a small fenced yard.

Tristan approached the tent. “Chieftain, I
have returned.”

“
I know you have.
Enter.”

Tristan pulled back the flaps of the
entrance, revealing a cramped inside with scant décor. An older
looking Remorii male sat cross-legged on the floor. His face had
minor creases and the temples of his hair had turned silver.

“
I’ll go with Tristan, the
rest of you wait here,” said Calvin. Pellew nodded. Alex and the
Polarians voiced no objection. They all realized that space in the
tent was limited.

Once they were inside, Tristan closed the
flaps behind them. A solitary candle was their only source of light
and the older Remorii’s eyes glowed in the semi-darkness.