The Phoenix Requiem (The Phoenix Conspiracy Series Book 7) (11 page)

“Thank you, Dr. Andrews, that will be all,” Calvin said, terminating the connection. “Well, Rez’nac, it looks like you win this one.” The Polarian nodded respectfully. Calvin twisted his chair around to face the helm. “Jay, bring us back around. Our target destination, the Forbidden Planet, standard approach. As for you, Miles,” Calvin twisted left, “Your job is to keep us stealthed.”

“Aye, sir,” said Jay.

“You got it,” said Miles.

“And what if they do see us?” asked Summers, as she sat in the XO’s chair directly to his left.

“Then I suppose we’ll be forced to defend ourselves,” said Calvin, not eager for such a scenario to occur.

“Or else retreat,” offered Summers.

Calvin looked at her. “We didn’t come all this way just to retreat. Like it or not, at this point, we have doubled-down. We’re all in. Either this plan of Nimoux’s,” he waved the folder in the air, “Works, or it fails. But there is no turning back.”

“I only meant, retreat and try another approach,” said Summers.

“There won’t be any second chances if our first effort fails,” said Calvin. Strictly speaking, he didn’t know if that was true, but something tugging inside him, a very strong feeling, convinced him that it was. It was either success or failure. Here and now. No more waiting.

They approached the parent star and the lavender lighting returned. Again, Rez’nac kneeled, chanting quietly and prayer-like. Calvin eyed him curiously, wondering just what the Polarian thought he was accomplishing, but ultimately decided it was harmless, whatever it was, to allow the Polarian warrior to cling to his superstition.

They passed few ships and fewer defenses. Rez’nac commented that most everyone had been summoned to join the Dread Fleet on its
mission
—he’d used a term that Calvin did not recognize, but he gathered its meaning from context. Although Rez’nac, upon further explanation, said it roughly translated to
Light War
. To which Miles quipped “Good, I’m not really in the mood for a heavy war.”

No one laughed. Partly because everyone had grown to expect such comments from Miles, but mostly because, at that moment, they caught their first glimpse of the Forbidden Planet out the window. It appeared on the 3D display in high detail, even though, out the window, it seemed merely to look, at first, like a bright star. As their approach continued, the shape of it began to look much more planet-like, although, as Calvin studied it on the 3D display, he noted a tremendous lack of civilization. As far as he could tell, the entire planet was quite nearly bare.

It made sense, in a way, he supposed. If the planet was so sacred that it was actually considered Forbidden, then it would be impossible to raise colonies there. Still, he had expected something to match the awesome glamour of Capital World and, truthfully, as an apparently untouched virgin planet, it seemed Capital World’s opposite in nearly every way.

“Cassidy, I want a brief summary comparing this planet to Capital World; what are we dealing with once our teams touch the surface?”

“Aye, aye,” she said. Then, after a moment of typing, “The air is breathable, atmospheric conditions favorable. The size is roughly one-point-two that of Capital World, but the planet is a bit less dense; you can expect comfortable gravity when you arrive.”

“Wait, excuse me,” interrupted Summers. “I believe you said when
you
arrive.
You
, meaning who?”

“Mister Cross,” said Cassidy.

Calvin looked at Summers with a smirk. “You think I would stay here and miss out on all the fun?”

“It was my understanding that the overall command of the mission was to be by Captain Nimoux, both operating in his capacity as second officer and the leader of special forces.”

“Well, your understanding was mistaken,” said Calvin. “Nimoux is far too injured to command the away mission—he’s still recovering from Pellew’s nasty gunshot wound. Besides, the plan allowed for me to take on the command role at my option. As the commander of this ship, I have chosen to exercise that option,” said Calvin.

Summers folded her arms and looked disapprovingly at him. No, it was more than mere disapproval. If Calvin didn’t know better, he would have sworn he saw genuine concern in her eyes.
Be safe
they almost seemed to say, those big green irises.

“Oh, God,” said Miles, “If Calvin is going, that means I’m probably going too.”

“That’s right,” said Calvin. He then stood up and approached Cassidy’s terminals to get a better look at what she had scanned. “We need to pinpoint a proper LZ,” said Calvin, “One near where the High Prelain lives. Scan for structures; I’m guessing he is in the most elaborate, best-guarded one.”

“There is only one,” said Rez’nac, approaching from behind. Cassidy looked nervous with both Calvin and Rez’nac looming over her. “And it is on the other side of the planet; you must orbit and move to the correct position. Then you may launch your pods.”

“Do as he says,” said Calvin, remaining at the Ops station, standing over Cassidy. Once they saw the home of the High Prelain, and for that matter, the gathering place of the Prelain Council, Calvin wanted to be the first to see it.

“Aye, sir, entering orbit and moving the ship,” said Jay.

“Move quickly, but don’t bring us so close that our stealth is compromised by the naked eye,” Calvin instructed.

“Not a problem,” said Jay.

After the better part of three minutes went by, Calvin could see it. According to the scanners, the planet consisted of mostly water, and had tremendous aquatic biodiversity, but, despite that, there were large green landmasses covered in trees—many of which were obscured by fog. However, un-obscured, and seemingly in the middle of nowhere, was a tiny island.

“There,” he pointed. “Magnify.”

“You mean deepen scan?” Cassidy asked rhetorically. She, much like Shen, who had occupied this post before her, seemed annoyed at the idea that a maximum resolution image could be magically magnified without a better image being taken. To Calvin, it all meant the same thing.

What appeared on the tiny island was a stone tower, reinforced by some kind of black metal. There was also a dome structure, and the two seemed to be connected by some kind of passageway. The entire thing was brilliant white. And not a defense turret in sight.

Another thing Calvin noticed was that, this close to the Forbidden Planet, the purple radiation was gone. His eyes were grateful to be seeing the bridge without the sensation that he was wearing tinted glasses.

“That,” Rez’nac pointed at the enhanced image. “Is the Alcazar.”

Calvin recognized the name from his prior discussions and briefings with Rez’nac, but, in truth, could not remember much about it except that it was the residence of the High Prelain, who, Calvin at least, suspected had been replaced by a replicant. By a
dark one
. And he intended to prove it. Assuming he was right. Which, he knew, his very life depended on.

Even with the enhanced image, the Alcazar could more plainly be seen on the 3D display, where each of its few details were enhanced. Overall, the structure seemed smooth and ancient, and had only two entrances, if one did not count the tunnel to the dome.

For some reason, this took Calvin a bit off his guard. He had expected to find some kind of fortress, laden with heavy defenses and operating with state-of-the-art technology. But, no, this place looked positively medieval.

A closer inspection using the 3D display revealed that the seemingly blank walls of the tower were covered in carvings. Very intricate carvings, but seemingly, to Calvin’s eyes, patternless and random. Though he had no doubt Rez’nac could explain their exact significance; however, Calvin did not care enough to ask. Rather, he wished to focus on the mission at hand.

“Jay, give the order for the away team to assemble,” said Calvin. It was time.

“Aye, aye,” said Jay, as he began to relay the command.

“Um…sir, I’ve got something,” said Cassidy, sounding alarmed.

Calvin spun around so he could face the Ops console. Nothing about it stood out to him, but, then again, he had been trained to fly, not to scan. “What is it?” he asked, thinking it was too good to be true that they could simply approach the Alcazar of the Forbidden Planet without so much as a fighter intercepting them.

“It’s…it’s hard to say,” said Cassidy, her brow furrowed as she tried to make sense of it. “It seems to be some sort of high-energy cluster. I’ve—I’ve never seen anything like it. I don’t know how it even remains stable.”

“What is it? A wave? A beam? A field?”

“More like a…vortex, if that makes any sense.”

“Interesting, but not necessarily threatening,” said Calvin. “Or am I wrong?”

“You’re wrong,” said Rez’nac.

“It’s coming this way,” said Cassidy. “The vortex is headed right for us.”

“At our position or on an intercept course?” asked Calvin.

“Intercept course,” said Cassidy.

“Time to intercept?” asked Calvin.

“Two minutes, probably less,” came her reply. That gave Calvin more time than he expected, but he still wasn’t sure what the vortex was or how to deal with it—especially while maintaining the
Nighthawk
’s stealth. Unless, of course, the vortex was homing in on them precisely because stealth had been lost. Which, Calvin reasoned, seemed the most logical inference.

“Rez’nac,” he turned to face the Polarian. “What is that thing?” he pointed to the 3D display, which now showed what appeared to be a gaseous cloud, but had no description other than, “Unknown energy.”

“
That
is the Sentinel,” said Rez’nac. “And it
will
destroy us.”

CHAPTER 05

Raidan watched as the blackness out the window became a swirl of starlight, and he knew they’d arrived, even before his chief pilot, Mr. Watson, announced it.

“We have arrived at Capital System, along with a third of the squadron,” said Mr. Watson.

“And the other ships?” asked Raidan.

“The rest of our forces, and those of the Remorii, are still inbound. They should be arriving any moment—although a few of them beat us here, by a few seconds,” said Mr. Ivanov.

Raidan’s eyes flicked from the window to the 3D display, which showed many hundreds of ships, like tiny specks, spread throughout the system, as if slowly managing to form some sort of organization.
It’s a good thing we’re not the Dread Fleet
, thought Raidan,
or else we would have caught them unawares
.

Still, he was pleased to see that the Capital System appeared intact, especially Capital World—aside from the damage he had personally ordered inflicted upon it—and the vast number of human warships present did give him a measure of comfort—albeit a fleeting one.

“Sir there is a mass of starships in wedge formation—they are coming right at us, sir, intercepting our position,” reported Mr. Ivanov.

“They are not happy to see us,” said Raidan, as he took note of the spear-like wedge heading directly for him—all told his forces were outnumbered at least three to one.
Overwhelming force
, he thought. Not that he had any intention of resisting.

“I recommend we raise the shields?” asked Mr. Demir. “I also suggest we warn the rest of the squadron that there are bogies coming in hot.”

“I confirm their weapons are live and we are the intended targets,” said Mr. Ivanov.

“Raise the shields,” said Commander Mason.

“Belay that order,” Raidan replied immediately.

“Sir?” asked Commander Mason, he looked stunned; most of them did.

“Without the shields, we won’t survive very long,” said Mr. Demir.

“We didn’t come here to fight,” Raidan reminded them. “We came here to make peace. Then to fight. Together. Brothers against a common foe—the Dread Fleet.”

“Aye, aye, sir,” they acknowledged.

“Still, we can’t allow ourselves to be destroyed before that happens,” said Raidan. “Mr. Watson, prepare to retreat the ship if necessary—not back into alteredspace, but give us some distance from those attacking ships, should they get within two minutes weapons range.”

“Aye, sir.”

“And, Mr. Gates, have your staff alert the rest of the squadron to do the same. Make sure the order is clear to those damned Strigoi that, no matter what, even if they take fire, they are to keep their shields down. If they won’t abide by that, tell them they are free to go, but they must
not
fire on any Imperial starships.”

“Sir, yes, sir.”

“And, as for you personally, Mr. Gates, send a message over all channels and frequencies announcing our intentions.”

“Tell them what, sir?” asked Mr. Gates.

Raidan walked over and ripped the headset from his head and placed it on his own. “Give me the thumbs up when I’m transmitting—remember, I want all frequencies, all channels, I want everybody within three clicks to get this message. Is that clear?”

“Clear as crystal, sir!” He then pressed some buttons and gave Raidan the thumbs up.

“To the noble Queen Kalila and all Her Majesty’s forces, I am Asari Raidan. I come here, in force, not with the intention to threaten or harm any Imperial anywhere, but rather the opposite. I have come, bringing all power available to me, in order to help defend Capital System against our common enemy, The Dread Fleet. I know that I and my ships will not be enough alone to turn the tide, but I wish to stand with my brothers and sisters, my fellow Imperials, and help to throw the Dread Fleet back into the darkness from whence it came. Whether we can do it one time, or it takes us a thousand times, I have come to stand with you, in the solidarity of battle, for the common defense of our people. After the battle is won, I will gladly surrender myself to the authorities. You have my word. But, for now, I ask you. No, I beg of you, stand down. Do not intercept me or my ships. Do not attack us, for bloodshed among brothers will avail us nothing. A fight amongst ourselves would only waste precious Imperial resources that we can scarce afford. So let us set aside whatever conflict we may have and focus instead on the big picture. On the defense and safety of Capital World and her many billions of citizens. For in this dire hour…we are one.”

Raidan took off the headset and ordered the message to repeat until they got a response from the queen.

“And if she never responds?” asked Mr. Gates.

“She’ll respond,” said Raidan, knowingly. “She’ll respond. In the meantime, keep those shields down and weapons unarmed. The rest of the squadron is to do the same.”

“Aye, aye, sir,” said Commander Mason.

***

“What the hell is a sentinel?” asked Calvin.

“Not
a
sentinel,” Rez’nac corrected. “The Sentinel.”

“Same question,” said Calvin, as he looked at the image on the 3D display—which seemed unable to make sense of it. Its shape kept changing and the readout continued to display
Unknown Energy
.

“The Sentinel is the Essence of
Custos
,” said Rez’nac, in a tone more befitting a calm summer’s day than a moment of peril. Calvin could now see a large glimmer of light out the forward window; from this distance, it looked about the size of his fist, but he knew it was rapidly closing in.

“
Custos
is the watchman of our world,” explained Rez’nac. “When those of the Essence of
Custos
join with the Essence upon death, their energies are combined and they converge into one glorious eminence, one that takes physical form.”

Calvin made a mental side note to investigate the Polarian religion further; clearly there were mysteries of science tightly locked away within its mythos, but for now, he had to save his ship, and himself.

“So, it is a danger to the ship?” Calvin clarified.

“
Custos
is a danger to any and all who would dare approach the Forbidden Planet, without being summoned here by the High Prelain.”

“But it
is
possible to get past,” Calvin noted. “If the Dark Ones managed to do it, then so can we.”

“The Sentinel will be a danger to this vessel and any pods you launch from it,” said Rez’nac. “I have attempted to perform the K’ahranu. However, I believe my rite was not accepted; otherwise
Custos
would let us pass peaceably. It is, no doubt, because I am a Fallen One myself…” his voice trailed off.

Calvin didn’t have time to think about Rez’nac or his ongoing internal struggle with his place inside his own religion. What he did have to worry about was a very real, very tangible vortex of energy headed directly for the
Nighthawk
.

“We’ll have to move the ship extremely close to the planet, and then launch the pod,” said Calvin, thinking of no other way to get his teams safely to the surface. It helped that the Forbidden Planet didn’t seem to have any ground-to-space weaponry. “That way the pods can get through the atmosphere before this damned Sentinel can get them.”

“That will work,” admitted Rez’nac, “For any who go inside the pods. Once they have passed onto the planet, then
Custos
will take no interest in them, so long as it has this vessel as prey. Therefore, it is they who remain aboard this vessel who are in peril. They will be found, followed, and hunted. Escape will prove difficult, when the time arrives.”

Calvin had to make a snap decision. Any delay on his part would make it that much harder for those aboard the
Nighthawk
to manage to survive. “Jay, bring us into close orbit. Then order the teams to the pods.”

“Aye, sir.”

Calvin next tapped his direct line to HQ. “Nimoux, are you there? Can you read me?”

“Loudly and clearly, sir.”

“Get the hell up to the bridge; you’re to take command while I am away.” Calvin glanced at Summers, expecting her to look wounded, but, if she was, she did not show it. If anything, she looked relieved to remain in the XO’s capacity and allow Nimoux the duties of Acting CO.

“On my way.”

“On the double,” Calvin added, so Nimoux knew that time was of the essence. “Summers,” he looked back at his beautiful XO, thinking—just for the briefest of instants—exactly how beautiful she was and wondering if he would ever see her again.

“Yes, Calvin?” she said. Breaking her own rules and calling him by his first name. This fact was not lost on him, but unfortunately he had no time to relish it.

“I need you to get Nimoux up to speed.”

“I’ll make sure he keeps the
Nighthawk
in one piece for you until you get back; I promise,” she said.

Calvin nodded. Good enough. “Keep the ship intact and the crew alive and safe; if necessary, abandon the rest of us. There’s a good chance none of us are returning.”

“Oh great,
that’s
what you want to hear,” said Miles, overhearing him. Calvin ignored him.

“Calvin, you’re coming back, you’re all—”

Calvin silenced her by pressing a single finger against her perfect lips.

“Calvin is correct,” said Rez’nac, piping in from seemingly nowhere. “This mission may well mean the death of us all. You and Captain Nimoux must be prepared to leave us. If you do not, then I fear
Custos
will destroy your ship.”

“If you jump into alteredspace, you should be able to escape,” said Calvin.

“I do not know if
Custos
knows of alteredspace,” admitted Rez’nac.

“We won’t have to. We’ll be here, ready and waiting. The
Nighthawk
is the fastest ship in the fleet, remember?” Summers looked at him. Calvin had told her that once. It was
almost
true.

“This vessel is indeed fast,” said Rez’nac, “But I fear the Sentinel is faster. You would be wise not to linger. It shall pursue you relentlessly. All I can tell you is that
Custos
is vindictive against any who would pollute our most sacred of worlds with their tainted presence—no offense meant, of course. For I am as tainted as you are now.”

“None taken,” said Calvin. “Cassidy, what can you make of that energy vortex?”

“I can’t get any good readings on it,” said Cassidy. “The computer thinks it’s a tremendous source of heat.”

“Makes sense,” said Calvin.

“But the computer also thinks it’s a tremendous source of gravity, enough to cause wild fluctuations in the tides on the planet, and more than enough to trap a starship at even maximum sublight speed.”

“So, you’ll definitely want to avoid it,” said Calvin.

“It also appears to have some of the same properties of the dampening field we encountered earlier," said Cassidy. “So if you get trapped by it, it’ll scorch you, rip you apart, and you won’t be able to escape by sublight or alteredspace. If these readings are to be believed.”

“I told you,
Custos
is a vengeful Essence,” said Rez’nac.

“Can it see us through our stealth system?” asked Calvin, reasonably sure that it could. “I don’t know,” said both Cassidy and Rez’nac in tandem, the latter adding “But it will, if only momentarily, when you launch your pods.”

“Summers, once those pods are launched, I want you to stealth the ship and move, quickly, as far away as you reasonably can. Move toward the parent star.”

“Don’t forget we’ll have to retrieve the pods,” said Summers.

“That’s true also. So move again at the appointed time to recover us—assuming any of us make it back alive.”

“Of course you will,” Summers insisted once more. Calvin wished he shared her optimism.

“In the meantime, it’s hide and go seek against the Sentinel; hopefully the stealth and speed of the
Nighthawk
will give you enough of an advantage, and I can’t imagine the Sentinel vortex will want to travel too far away from the homeworld it protects, so getting enough distance should keep you in one piece.”

“My thoughts too, Calvin.”

“And then, if push comes to shove, and the ship is attacked, with apologies to Rez’nac, raise the shields and fire everything you can at it that might disperse, destroy, or otherwise deal with the Sentinel vortex.”

“Understood. That will be a last option, though,” said Summers.

“You may use whatever weapons you like,” said Rez’nac. “They will avail you nothing. Although your shields may buy you a few precious minutes.”

“Then be prepared to divert secondary and tertiary power from any and all systems into the shields, and protect the generators,” said Calvin. Just then, Nimoux arrived.