The Phoenix Rising (8 page)

“
And the isotome caused
that?” asked Calvin.

“
We believe the TR-301 star
was collapsed deliberately. We can’t be sure that our conclusion is
right but if you look at this data and our subsequent simulations,
it seems fairly likely that isotome injected directly into the core
of the star could result in the death of the star within hours. If
someone could keep the isotome stable for transport, and devise a
way to get it into the center of the star without it being
destroyed, they could conceivably engineer a collapse.”

Calvin was blown away by
this. He’d feared the possibility of a deliberate star collapse,
and now his “crazy” theory which had been dismissed by Intel Wing
was vindicated by actual science, but… in this case he would prefer
to have been proven wrong. The implications of a technology that
could wipeout entire star systems were
terrifying
—almost unimaginably
so.

“
So what you’re saying,”
said Pellew, “is that the Rotham have weapons that can destroy
stars?”

“
We’re saying that is a
likely possibility, yes.”

“
That changes everything,”
said Pellew. “Ships, fleets, none of it matters. With the ability
to destroy stars, the Rotham could wipe out the entire human race.
They could destroy everyone. And no one could stop
them.”

“
Let’s keep it together,”
said Calvin, forcing himself to remain calm and focused. “We don’t
know how many of these weapons exist. And we don’t know how
difficult they are to deploy. By all rights, TR-301 was not a
strategic target. There was nothing there.”

“
Then it was a test target,”
said Pellew.

“
Which means their weapon
might not be ready for use.”

“
Looks pretty damned ready
to me,” said Pellew, he pointed to one of the displays which showed
a simulated, sped-up version of the TR-301 super-collapse. One
moment a healthy-looking star and the next a singularity fierce
enough to tear apart the very fabric of space.

Pellew was right. This was a game changer.
All other threats paled by comparison: replicants, covert fleets,
corrupt leaders, rogue warships, none of it held the tiniest
candle. Worst of all, Calvin was sure that all of these components
were all part of the same dark portrait.

“
Thank you for bringing this
to my attention,” he said. “Send all of this data to the
Nighthawk’s computer.”

“
Yes, sir.”

He left the room, Pellew fast on his
heels.

“
So what do we do?” asked
Pellew.

“
It’s time for a meeting on
the Nighthawk’s bridge. The Arcane Storm just got a lot more
interesting.”

***

“
So there you have it,” said
Calvin. They were on the Nighthawk, it was still tucked away in the
Gemini drydocks but at least power had been restored.

He stood at the bow of the bridge and looked
over the small group he’d handpicked for this meeting. Tristan,
Alex, and Summers each sat at various positions on the bridge and
examined the data that’d been sent to each of their displays.
Pellew, who was already in the know, didn’t occupy one of the
posts. Instead he stood next to Calvin.

They reacted to the
information differently. Alex’s Rotham face was unreadable and
alien. Tristan seemed intrigued, almost anxious, and Summers looked
cold and stern. Calvin couldn’t quite tell what she was thinking,
and in fact he’d seen very little of her the whole time they’d been
on Gemini. She’d kept herself away from everybody and Calvin hadn’t
quite had the nerve to try to pull her out of her self-imposed
isolation.
Until now
. She’d come without argument and sat before him, her eyes
scrutinizing the data. Her face like a stone.

Despite her unsympathetic appearance, she
was still the most beautiful woman Calvin had ever seen. Even now
her golden hair, stunning eyes, delicately carved figure, and raw
exquisiteness were impossible to ignore. He hated that she had that
advantage on him. And if he was honest with himself, he hadn’t
quite forgiven her for what she’d done to him. How she’d used his
emotions against him. How he’d let himself see a bit of Christine
in her. It filled him with all sorts of mixed emotions—mostly
negative, and made him feel vulnerable. Something he deeply
hated.

“
You’ve made a great deal of
assumptions,” said Summers at last. “I hope, for all our sakes,
you’re wrong about this.”

“
So do I,” said Calvin. “But
I’m sure you all agree that this is an urgent priority. Something
we need to deal with immediately. Hopefully, along the way, we’ll
learn this threat has no teeth. But until I know that for
sure...”

“
We would be gambling the
lives of every person in the galaxy to ignore this,” said
Tristan.

“
Precisely.”

“
I resent this allegation,”
said Alex. His strange eyes looked up from his display and met
Calvin’s. “I assure you that the Rotham Republic has no intentions
of committing genocide. Even if such a weapon did exist, only
paranoia would make you jump to such a depraved
conclusion.”

Calvin walked up to him, maintaining eye
contact. “Does such a weapon exist?”

Alex said nothing for a few seconds.

“
You know something, don’t
you?” Calvin leaned in closer, looming over the short Rotham who
suddenly looked very uncomfortable in his seat.

Calvin heard the distinct
click of a handgun chambering a bullet. “Spill your guts,
lizard
, or I’ll do it for
you,” said Pellew.

Alex’s eyes darted from Calvin to Pellew,
then back to Calvin.

“
I don’t know much,” said
Alex. “But yes, I’ve heard rumors of such a weapon. I never
believed them.
I still
don’t
. We would never develop such a thing.
But,” he paused for a moment. And the next words out of his mouth
came reluctantly. “It
is
possible. And there are those among us who would
seek to possess it.”

“
Go on,” said
Calvin.

“
I think it’s all a lie, as
I said. But, if such a weapon does exist, I agree with you that it
shouldn’t. I will help you find it—if it is real—so long as you
promise me that we will destroy it. It would be as much a threat to
my people in your hands as it would be to yours in our
hands.”

“
You have my word,” said
Calvin. “Such a weapon has no right to exist.” He took a step back
and looked at the others for any signs of dissent. This was a very
important strategic goal they all needed to agree on. The Fleet,
the Phoenix Ring, the Organization, none of those entities should
have a weapon like this any more than the Rotham Republic should,
or anyone else. “Does anyone disagree?” he finally
asked.

No one spoke. Calvin took that as
assent.

“
The people you are looking
for are called the Rahajiim,” said Alex. “They want to end human
dominance in the galaxy. They seek any weapons or means to shift
the balance of power.”

“
Where are they?”

“
Everywhere and
nowhere.”

Calvin wasn’t impressed by this response.
“Not good enough.”

“
I don’t know where they
are. They are elusive. Their brotherhood speaks in secret phrases
and whispers. No one knows their members. They move in the
darkness. The Advent knows of them, but cannot find them. Perhaps
some of the Advent are part of the Rahajiim. I do not
know.”

“
Is that how you fit into
this?” asked Calvin, realizing that Alex knew too much not to be
involved. “Are you part of the Advent?” The Advent was the elite
intelligence gathering network of the Rotham Republic.

Alex looked unhappy to give up this secret.
Calvin locked eyes with him intensely, making it clear he had no
choice. “Yes,” said Alex. “I am an Advent operative. The squadron
that was in Abia, it was Rahajiim. I had infiltrated and was
gathering intelligence. Someone recognized me and they locked me
up. Then you found me.”

He seemed to be telling the truth, though
Calvin found Alex’s Rotham face more difficult to read than a
human’s would have been.

“
As to what the squadron was
doing in Abia. I don’t know. I didn’t figure that out in time,”
Alex admitted, shame trickling into his voice. “I failed my
mission. But if such a weapon does exist, it’s the Rahajiim who
would be seeking it.”

“
So the Rahajiim do not
represent the interests of the Rotham government?” Calvin had
worried that the Rotham involved with the conspiracy had the
blessing and resources of the Rotham state.

“
Believe it or not, human
Commander, not all Rotham are interested in ambition and trickery.”
His eyes made it clear he didn’t like this widely believed
stereotype. “Some of us just want to be left alone. Many of us are
non-interventionists. We don’t want another war.”

Calvin thought back on what Raidan had told
him, about the Phoenix Ring, a clandestine group of humans bent on
breaking and reforming the Empire. He knew they were cooperating
with Rotham forces. Presumably, that meant the Rahajiim. “Tell me,”
said Calvin. “Are the Rahajiim working with humans to achieve their
goals?”

“
Yes, though the Advent has
not uncovered who yet. But we know the Rahajiim have dealings with
a covert human organization.”

Calvin nodded. It had to be the Phoenix
Ring. “Thank you. Now where can I find these Rahajiim?”

“
I told you, I do not know.
No one knows.”

“
Then tell me something
else. Where have they been? What are they doing? What are they
looking for? I need a lead of some kind.”

“
I know the name of a ship
they were trying to find. I’m not sure why it’s important. It might
have something to do with this weapon, I don’t know.”

“
Give me the
name.”

“
It is a human ship. The
Arcane Storm.”

That was all the confirmation Calvin needed.
He and his crew were definitely going after the Arcane Storm. But,
if the Rahajiim hadn’t stolen the ship—who had?

“
Calvin,” Tristan spoke up
suddenly and shot him a frank look. “May we speak in
private?”

Calvin found this request odd but decided to
grant it. After all, Tristan had the freshest leads on the Arcane
Storm’s whereabouts.

***

“
We
have
to go after that ship,” the lycan
said as soon as the door closed.

Calvin took a seat behind his desk and
looked up at the Remorii with conflicted feelings. In many ways
Tristan represented the trust he had in Raidan—cautious but
genuine—and he’d saved Calvin’s life back on Aleator. But he was
still Remorii. One of the most dangerous creatures in the galaxy.
“I know,” he said.

“
And I know where we should
start looking,” said Tristan. “Echo Three.”

“
Where is that?”

“
It’s inside the DMZ,”
Tristan said and his eyes widened. “But we have to keep information
about our search extremely quiet.”

Calvin raised an eyebrow. “How quiet?” He
hadn’t planned to broadcast to the universe what he was up to, but
he had no reason to distrust the crew. Men and women who’d chosen
to remain behind. Many of whom had literally mutinied on his
behalf.

“
Tell no one else. Keep
everything on a need to know basis only.”

“
And my bridge officers?” he
thought of Miles, Sarah, and Shen. There was no one in the galaxy
he trusted more.

“
Tell them nothing.” Tristan
folded his arms.

Calvin thought this an odd request. “Three
of my analysts already know what we’re looking for, plus anyone
they’ve told. And I must inform Summers, Pellew, and Alex where
we’re going, especially if it’s inside the DMZ.”

“
Why?”

“
Because they’ll expect to
be told, but more importantly…” Calvin wasn’t sure how to sugarcoat
it so he just said what he felt. “I don’t fully trust you, Tristan,
and I want their perspectives, along with any information they may
have regarding our destination.” He also hoped Alex would know
something more about Echo Three—thinking perhaps the Advent had a
file on the mysterious location—and Calvin wanted Summers and
Pellew there to help him judge whether or not Alex was telling the
truth, when pressed with further questions. That and he doubted he
could elicit their cooperation if he kept them in the dark,
especially Summers. He did not want to fight her at every turn
again.

“
Fine. But after that, we
put a lid on this.”

“
Why does our destination
have to be a secret?”

“
Raidan may trust you, but
the Organization doesn’t trust your whole ship. Please grant me
this one request.”

Calvin thought about it for a moment. “If I
do, I want something in return.”

“
Name it.”

“
I want your guarantee that
you will share all your best intelligence with me. And any time I
have a question for Raidan, or the Organization, you will send it,
and keep sending it, until I get an answer.”

“
Agreed.”

“
In that case I’ll keep this
information need-to-know,” said Calvin. “But I won’t keep the rest
of my crew in the dark forever.”