The Phoenix Crisis (50 page)

***

Summers sat in the command position of the
Nighthawk’s bridge as the ship sailed for the Kynar Asteroid Field.
She was beginning to feel comfortable sitting in that chair, even
on this ship with all of its misfits and a general lack of
discipline. And now that they’d parted ways with Raidan and the
Harbinger, she felt as though a great weight had been lifted.

As she looked at the
familiar faces around her—people she would never consider friends,
but… perhaps
colleagues
—she noted their smiles and a kind of new brightness in their
eyes. Crew morale among the senior staff was the highest it’d been
since she’d taken command. The ship was repaired, the weapons were
restocked, the reserves had been filled with food and fuel, but
none of that was responsible for the uplifted air that permeated
the bridge. Everyone was happy because Iwate Shen had awoken. And
the chief physician believed he was going to make a strong
recovery. He wasn’t here now, Cassidy Dupont still occupied his
traditional place on the bridge, but everyone knew that in short
enough time Shen would be back. Back where he belonged.

Summers had never felt like she knew Shen.
He’d always been distant around her and seemed like a very private
person. Since he wasn’t the most perfectly hygienic member of the
crew—and had always had the hint of some sort of odd smell about
him, at least to Summers—she hadn’t felt particularly interested in
getting to know him. Then, when they’d all been certain he would
die, she’d felt pity for him but that had been all. Now that there
had been a minor medical miracle, and Shen was expected to recover,
Summers wasn’t sure what to make of it.

Of course she was pleased that the ops chief
was going to live, and that he would eventually return to duty—he
had much to offer—but at the same time, a tiny part of her was
suspicious. She’d seen the man when he’d awoken in the infirmary,
and she recalled distinctly thinking that something had changed
about him. That something was different. She wondered if it was
still possible for Shen to transform into one of the Remorii
creatures. And if he still represented a danger to the ship. She
couldn’t keep constant security on him, not now that he seemed to
be recovering and returning back to his old self. But Summers
intended to keep an eye on him. She wasn’t certain everything would
ever be exactly like it had been before.

“
ETA?” she asked, deciding
to break the silence on the bridge.

“
Nineteen hours,” said
Sarah. The young helmsman wore her uniform—cropped as usual—and,
though Summers had half a mind to berate her and force her to wear
appropriate clothing, she decided not to. The woman had been torn
up with grief over what’d happened to Shen and, now that he was
going to survive, Sarah seemed unable to emotionally comprehend
what that meant. She seemed filled with relief and joy, and her
eyes were no longer in a constant state of red, damp, puffiness,
but she wasn’t all there either. Summers could tell. She looked the
helmsman over shrewdly and could tell the woman was deep in thought
about something. Probably still trying to process everything that
had happened. So long as it didn’t affect her performance of her
duties, Summers was content to leave well enough alone and allow
Sarah to cope with her personal issues in her own preferred way.
Whatever that was.

“
I still don’t see why we’re
not on our way to pick up Calvin,” said Miles. He sat hunched over
in the XO’s chair, staring blankly out the window. Now that the
ship was again sufficiently staffed, they didn’t need him to
perform double duty and sit the defense position while
simultaneously acting in the XO’s role. Summers made a mental note
to have the XO’s chair disinfected before she used it
again.

“
Calvin has not asked us to
meet up with him yet,” Summers explained. “And we don’t have time
to sit around at Capital World waiting for him to finish his duties
as Executor. We have duties of our own.” In truth, Summers believed
that the ship’s current mission was among the most important
priorities in the galaxy. Perhaps
the
most important.

“
You just don’t want to give
him his ship back,” muttered Miles.

Summers resisted the urge to sigh. She was
slowly learning that Miles seemed only provoked and encouraged by
attention, and that the best way to deal with him was to ignore him
and otherwise treat him like a spoiled six-year old.

“
There’s no telling what
we’ll find when we get there,” said Cassidy. She spun the ops chair
so she could face the center of the bridge.

“
You’re right,” said
Summers. “So we’ll need to be ready for anything.”

“
We’re just gonna find a
bunch of rocks,” said Miles. “
Big
deal
.”

In order to keep things on point, Summers
had not invited Miles to the intelligence meeting she’d had earlier
with Cassidy, Sarah, Andre, and—annoyingly—Alex, who Summers hadn’t
thought of a compelling reason to exclude, since Calvin had taken
the Rotham into his confidence. Miles, however, was still in the
dark. And hadn’t the faintest idea why they were going to the Kynar
Asteroid Field with such speed. At the very least he should have
been concerned why the ship was leaving Imperial space and once
more ducking into the DMZ, but Miles seemed apathetic. All he
seemed to care about was that Summers had command, which he didn’t
approve of, and that Calvin wasn’t on the ship.

Summers didn’t have time to have patience
with Miles and his apparent man-crush however. She understood that
Calvin was doing important work on Capital World, even if Miles
couldn’t grasp that. And, secretly, deep inside her heart, she
worried for Calvin. She knew how dangerous the situation was there,
deep in the very heart of the conspiracy itself, and she also knew
how rash and impulsive and careless Calvin could sometimes be.

Be all
right
, she thought, as if thinking the
words would will them to come true.
Stay
safe
.

“
Why in hell are we going to
Kynar anyway?” asked Miles.

“
The remaining isotome
weapons are there,” said Summers. “Or so our best intelligence
indicates. We are going there to remove them from the
galaxy.”

The information had come from Raidan so it
was anyone’s guess as to whether or not it had even the remotest
shred of truth to it. Apparently the Arcane Storm had returned to
the deadspace zone where they’d found the Arcane Storm, and there
the ship had positively ID’d a series of jump paths that ultimately
coalesced in the Kynar Asteroid Field. Raidan had suggested to her
that the Nighthawk follow up on that lead, because of its stealth
technology. Summers agreed and had jumped immediately. A part of
her suspected that Raidan had given her this information in order
to maneuver her and the Nighthawk away from something else,
something important. But another part of her—the part that thought
she knew him—believed he was telling the truth. Truth or not, the
isotome threat was too severe to ignore, so Summers had jumped the
ship. Happy to be rid of Raidan and his devious face.

Now all she could do was wait. Wait and hope
for the best. She tried not to think of Calvin. Making herself
believe that he was safe. That he knew what he was doing. That his
efforts would be successful. And then, finally, the Empire would be
restored to its true self. Summers would turn herself in, accepting
whatever punishments awaited her, but at least there would be peace
and order once again. And everything would finally be in its proper
place. There would be no more isotome weapons. And no more dark
conspiracies. And no more deaths from betrayal and friendly fire.
She shut out the haunting image of the Fifth Fleet incinerating
itself from her mind. It tormented her, even now. She tried not to
think of the people on those ships…

“
You don’t look too good,”
said Miles. “Which is weird for you. Are you sick or
something?”

“
Shut up,” snapped Summers,
reacting to him absentmindedly. “Sarah, if at all possible,
increase our jump depth.”

Chapter 34

“
The Executor’s forces are
at the door,” said the mercenary captain.

“
They acted sooner than I’d
anticipated,” said Zane. “But no matter. They will not get us in
here.” His eyes drifted across the chamber to where Blackmoth
stood, leaning against the wall. Silent and reserved, watching as
Zane’s forces scrambled to secure the door and prepare for
invasion.

He seemed detached. Perhaps praying to his
god. Blackmoth was a difficult man to read, always had been. But
Zane knew there was no match for him anywhere in the universe. Even
now he stood, armed to the teeth, with more weapons on his person
than even a soldier needed in a lifetime. Many of the instruments
of death Zane didn’t even recognize, nor did he care to. So long as
they were efficient at killing, and killed the right people, what
difference did it make to him?

“
We’re not safe here!”
shouted Rita Donovan from the conference table, where she and the
rest of the Phoenix Ring council were. Most were still in their
seats but a few had risen, looking intensely panicked. Their eyes
combed the chamber for some kind of escape, or some place to hide,
but they found nothing. The chamber was the most secure place on
Capital World. With only one way in, and one way out.

“
We’re perfectly safe!” said
Zane. “The Executor might be on the other side of
that
door,” he pointed to
the hardened-metal access point with its many locks and layers of
security, “but he can’t get us here. Not even if he has a hundred
thousand men,” his steel eyes looked at the other top members of
the Phoenix Ring. Trying to reassure them. “His time is running
out. Ascension is happening. And when it does, the Executor’s
authority will be evaporate like drops of water on scorching
metal.”

“
What if you’re wrong?”
asked Rita, a screech of fear in her voice. “What if
he—”

Zane cut her off.
“
I’m not wrong
.
Wait and see.” Again he looked at Blackmoth, and the galaxy’s most
fearsome assassin met his gaze. So long as Blackmoth’s destiny was
tied to his, Zane knew, there wasn’t a force in the universe that
could harm him.

The sound of muffled gunfire could be heard,
leaking into the chamber. Followed by the rumble of a small,
tactical explosion. Zane knew what it meant. The Executor’s forces
had breached the outer layer of the bunker. Soon they’d carve their
way through his defenses and find their way here to the inner
sanctum. But he was not afraid. He looked at Blackmoth and saw no
fear in him. So Zane had no fear.

Ascension was nigh. Soon all of this would
be over. And then the true Empire would begin.

***

“
He has slaughtered our own
people,
citizens he is sworn to
protect
,” said Caerwyn, standing before the
entire Assembly. Kalila watched him with suspicious eyes, awaiting
her turn to speak.

“
The King sent troops to
Renora, against our recommendation, and against the will of the
people,” Caerwyn continued. His face was bright red and his words
forceful and clearly spoken. “Those men, under the banner of the
King, slaughtered countless innocents. The King tried to force a
kind of order that cannot be forced, raising the populace into a
heightened state of rebellion. Displacing millions. And even now
those citizens starve and die. I remind this honorably body that
the King is also responsible for a vicious and brutal bombardment
of the planet, the result of which was not the restoration of peace
and prosperity to Renora.
No
, the result was the deaths of
women, and children, the destruction of hospitals and homes, and
the ultimately the declaration by the people of Renora to secede
from our Empire and join the Rotham Republic.

“
Never before has the
Empire, or organized government for that matter, witnessed such
gross incompetence, rampant mismanagement, and wretched leadership.
Is this what we want for our citizens? Is this the story that we
will take home to those we represent?” he asked, pausing for a
moment. “I know that many of you were appointed by the King, or by
Knights and Lords loyal to the King, and that many of you feel a
particular loyalty to the Akira House. It is only natural, the
Akiras have served this Empire tremendously ever since its very
beginning. But let us not confuse loyalty to the Akira name with
loyalty to the Empire. Hisato Akira is not the mighty Jinpachi
Akira of old. This king we have today is not that great man, he is
not the first king who led our colonies to unite into the grand
Empire we have today. He is merely a descendent. And only entitled
to the throne so long as we allow him.

“
I ask you all now, for the
sake of the people of Capital World, and all of the citizens of the
Empire, to cast your vote today for new leadership. Our Empire is
bleeding, Renora is lost to us, and now there is the ever-present
threat of war looming over us. We must have a monarch who can steer
us through these troublesome waters. And Hisato Akira has proven to
us that he is not that man. He is incapable of being the leader we
need in this dark hour. And now you and I, and every one of us
here, has the opportunity to make the most meaningful difference.”
Again he paused. “If we do not act now, today, to save our Empire,
there will soon be no more Empire to save.”