The Phoenix Rising (26 page)

“
No,” said Rafael. “Though
it may be too early to tell. Other than the bizarre attack on
Renora by the Black Swan—which may or may not have been
orchestrated by the Phoenix Ring—no one associated with the Akiran
administration has seemed to behave out of character, or support
any of the strange initiatives being pushed through the Assembly.
However, there is a growing anti-Akiran sentiment in the Assembly
and, if things continue as they are, it is possible that one of the
rival houses will challenge King Akira directly for the throne.
That house may well be in the pocket of the Phoenix Ring. But I
can’t be sure. Right now I’m trying to sort out which of these
corporations—who have ties to the Assembly members and military
elites—are real, and which are fictitious. The military angle is
especially difficult to investigate without giving myself
away.”

“
Use due diligence and
caution,” said Calvin.

“
I assure you, I will,” said
Rafael. “And I’m getting close. I just need time.”

“
Thanks for the warning
about Nimoux’s ambush, by the way,” said Calvin. “Have you got any
new information on him? Was he able to trace our exit signature
from the Vulture Nebula?”

“
I don’t have that
information,” said Rafael. “I think Nimoux must have figured out
that someone leaked intelligence to you, so now his communications
with the Fleet and Intel Wing are more secure and limited. My guess
is that I won’t be able to get you any more information regarding
his whereabouts and plans. I hate to say it but... you’re on your
own.”

Calvin nodded, feeling lucky that he’d been
able to get as much as he had. “I understand.”

“
I’m almost out of time,”
said Rafael. “But know this, there are big things happening here on
Capital World. Huge amounts of money are changing hands—mostly in
the dark, the military is re-organizing, and the Assembly is
considering challenging Akira openly. And all eyes are on Renora.
Everyone wants to see how the king chooses to handle it, and
everyone has a different opinion on what he should do. It looks
like a no win scenario for the king.”

“
Has the Assembly held a
vote and made its official recommendation?”

“
Yes. The Assembly voted not
to send troops, even though the violence and chaos on Renora has
reached an all-time high. They claim it would be too aggressive and
heavy handed an action, but meanwhile a few activist organizations
and a coalition of citizens with family and friends on Renora have
publicly condemned the Assembly’s recommendation. They urge the
king to take action, despite the consequences.”

“
Has the king hinted about
what he will choose to do?”

“
No. If the king has made
his decision already, his administration has kept it
hushed.”

Calvin scratched his chin. The developing
situation was very intriguing, but also tragic. Not only because
countless people were dying and suffering, but also because it
seemed like a calculated, manufactured crisis. Designed
specifically to discredit the king no matter how he handled it.
Calvin respected the king, and the Akira House had controlled the
Empire since its inception. If there was a change in power at such
a high level, it would only create opportunities for the Phoenix
Ring and foreign operatives to gain a stronger foothold, and might
spell doom for the Empire.

“
I have to go,” said
Rafael.

“
Thank you. And be
careful!”

“
I will. I’ll contact you
again in twenty-four hours.”

***

An hour after speaking with Rafael, Calvin
called Summers, Alex, Tristan, and Pellew together for an intel
meeting in his office. They started by reviewing their collective
intelligence regarding Tybur and the Alliance, but as they spoke in
turn, Calvin used it as a chance to assess the likelihood that any
one of them was the mole working for Intel Wing.

He’d already ruled out Summers. That left
Pellew, Alex, and Tristan.

Pellew was the likeliest to know the secure
frequencies associated with Intel Wing, though he would have had to
go out of his way to figure them out. He also seemed the least
committed to Calvin’s cause; he’d been very forthcoming about the
fact that he was being paid by the Organization. However, since he
had physically fought against special forces, Intel Wing, and the
Fleet’s orders by helping Calvin’s mutiny, it was unlikely that
Pellew was still in the good graces of Intel Wing. It was equally
unlikely that Intel Wing would be paying Pellew for information, so
he really had no motive to betray Calvin. Additionally, his sister
was a ranking member of the Organization and, if he had any loyalty
to her, working against Calvin would make no sense.

Calvin was a little suspicious of Tristan.
Firstly because he was a Remorii, and Calvin knew better than to
trust any Remorii, regardless of type. Secondly, Tristan had led
them right into bad intelligence and had seemed extremely
interested in having them enter the Vulture Nebula; if he’d had his
way they would have charged right into the trap. However, Tristan
had saved Calvin’s life in the past, and Tristan was probably
Raidan’s most trusted subordinate. And Raidan, obviously, had an
interest in keeping Calvin free. Especially if the missing Arcane
Storm—and its association with the isotome weapons—was a priority
for the Organization. Tristan had seemed furiously interested in
catching the Arcane Storm and, Calvin supposed, the Remorii
probably did trust his chieftain and was simply, out of loyalty,
refusing to believe his clan leader had betrayed him. Ultimately,
Calvin doubted Tristan was the mole. And could think of no way
Tristan could have possibly deduced what the Intel Wing frequencies
were.

That left Alex. Calvin knew him the least,
having only met him in Abia. Alex was Rotham himself—a species that
had proven crafty, manipulative, and deceptive in past dealings.
Alex shouldn’t know the Intel Wing frequencies, but, as a member of
the Advent, he was probably clever enough to figure out what they
were. So Calvin couldn’t put anything past him. But, despite all of
those factors weighing against Alex, what acquitted him in Calvin’s
mind was the lack of motive. If Alex was working against Calvin and
his crew, why had he been a prisoner on a Rotham ship that was
clearly in league with the Phoenix Ring? Additionally, why would he
choose to leak information to Intel Wing when he could more easily
leak it to the Rotham Republic, especially the Advent itself?

No one seemed guilty. Perhaps one of them
had accidentally leaked knowledge of their destination to someone
else on the ship? The whole frustrating situation gave him a
headache the more he pondered it, and made him more tired than he
would have admitted openly. There was one thing that could make
everything feel better—at least for awhile—but he was finished with
that path…

He felt strong cravings for much more than
the scaled-back amount of equarius he’d been prescribed by Rain.
His desire for it burned with a ferocity he didn’t expect, and
would be embarrassed to admit. It made him feel a little weak and
light-headed. He tried not to show any sign of his
vulnerability.

“
No that will never work,”
said Alex. “Even under the cover of a false flag, the Alliance will
know that the Nighthawk is not consistent with any of the designs
of their ships. They’ll see through the ruse
immediately.”

Summers had suggested they dock with the
primary station on Tybur claiming to be legitimate members of the
Alliance. “Then what do you suggest?” She folded her arms. “It’s
not like we can dock with the station while under cover of stealth.
And the Nighthawk, like any starship, can’t exactly fly down onto
the planet.”

“
We’ll need to dock with the
station using an Alliance ship,” said Alex.

“
And where do you suggest we
get one of those?” asked Summers.

“
We have to take one by
force,” said Alex.

“
How and where?” asked
Summers.

“
We could board and capture
one of the mining ships leaving TR 307. As it brings its cargo to
Tybur, we dock and board a shuttle down to the planet. No one would
be the wiser,” said Alex.

“
We don’t have time for
that,” said Tristan. “TR 307 is out of the way. The longer we wait,
the more likely our information on Tybur will have gone stale.
Assuming it was ever any good to begin with.”

“
And the more likely Intel
Wing will catch up to us,” said Calvin, thinking of Nimoux fast on
their heels. “This is what we need to do,” said Calvin.

He explained that the Nighthawk could enter
Tybur System under cover of stealth. Alliance technology lagged
behind Imperial, so the Nighthawk would go undetected. As long as
the Nighthawk kept its distance. They’d wait for an ideal ship to
enter the system—shouldn’t take long, Tybur saw heavy amounts of
traffic—then they’d quietly intercept the ship, jam its
communications, disable its weapons, dock, and perform a moving
capture. Its thrusters would remain intact and it would continue on
course to Tybur’s primary station, seemingly unimpeded. They’d take
the crew captive onto the Nighthawk, replacing it with the shore
party, and the Nighthawk would withdraw to a safe distance.
Remaining stealthed the entire time.

“
Sounds like science fiction
to me,” said Summers.

“
No it’s definitely
possible,” said Calvin. “So long as we do this fast and prevent the
other ship from getting a distress call out, this is totally
doable.” It was the kind of operation the Nighthawk had been
designed for.

“
And if we screw up and they
get a message out?” asked Summers.

“
Then we all die,” said
Alex. “The system will be swarming with military ships, that’s how
they fend off pirate raiders. Make no mistake, what you propose is
a do or die operation.”

“
So we don’t screw up,” said
Calvin. “What do you say, Pellew? Are your men up for
it?”

“
If your pilot is good
enough to align the airlocks and seals and latch us onto another
moving ship, then there won’t be a problem. My men will capture the
ship swiftly.”

“
Sarah is definitely good
enough,” said Calvin. “You and your soldiers should use non-lethal
weapons if possible, and you can’t leave behind any evidence that
there was a firefight.”

“
Oh it won’t be a fight,”
said Pellew. “That civilian crew will be incapacitated and in
custody before they know we’re even aboard.”

The comm panel beeped. Calvin pushed the
button. “Yes?”

“
Cal, we’re getting some
disturbing reports up here from SF HQ,” said Sarah.

Pellew’s eyes widened with alarm. He bolted
out of the room, presumably to go check on the situation in
person.

“
What is it, Sarah?” asked
Calvin.

“
Tensions between some of
the Polarians and humans are really high.”

“
I’m not surprised by that,”
said Calvin. That was nothing new.

“
Yeah but...” she paused,
“there’s been a fight.”

“
What
?”

“
Yeah, apparently a Polarian
and two humans are in the infirmary under heavy guard. Special
Forces had to contain the situation.”

Just what he needed... “Thanks, Sarah.” He
let go of the switch and turned to Summers. “Please explain the
plan to Sarah and Miles. We’re proceeding with the mission as
scheduled. In the meantime, I’d better go below and make sure this
gets sorted out.”

“
Aye, sir.”

***

When Calvin reached the infirmary, he found
that—fortunately—the injuries were not very severe. The Polarian
had a bandage across his head and, though the humans sported quite
a few bruises, they were otherwise unscathed.

“
Mind explaining to me why I
have three people in my infirmary for no good reason?” asked Rain
as Calvin entered.

“
I wish I could answer
that,” said Calvin. “How are they doing? They don’t look too
bad.”

“
Polarian physiology is very
resilient, that one could return to duty today. As for the two
humans, I think they could use a day or two to mend. I gave them
something for the pain.”

None of the patients were being discharged,
and each was under the close watch of a human soldier. All would be
held for disciplinary action. Because the two humans were soldiers,
and obviously so was the Polarian, the task of deciding their
punishments fell to Pellew and Rez’nac. Both of whom, Rain informed
him, were on their way.

Pellew arrived first. No doubt coming
straight from HQ after issuing new standing orders to contain the
situation. He approached his men and gave them a thorough berating.
Both the humans and the Polarian claimed the other side had been
the instigator in what had erupted from an argument in the mess
hall. Calvin wondered if this would be an isolated incident, or if
he’d have to segregate the humans from the Polarians when taking
meals.

“
I’m sorry to drag you into
this,” said Calvin to Rain.

She let out a quiet sigh. “I know this isn’t
your fault. But it does make me sad to see it,” she looked at her
patients. “I like helping people. But... this is just plain
senseless and unnecessary.”

“
You’re preaching to the
converted.”