The Phoenix Rising (22 page)

“
We don’t have time for
this,” said Tristan. “The Arcane Storm
cannot
be allowed to
escape!”

Calvin locked eyes with him.
“Then we’ll make time.” He turned back to the helm. “Sarah, route
it to my office. I’ll take it immediately. Summers, you have the
deck. Do
not
enter
the nebula until I return.”

***

“
The Nighthawk has stopped
its approach. It is now holding position seventy-thousand mc’s from
the mouth of the nebula,” said the ops officer.

“
Is it possible they’ve
detected us?” asked Nimoux. He stared out into the swirling cloud
of ionized gases surrounding them, not much could penetrate it. But
perhaps the Nighthawk had upgraded its sensor technology as
well?

“
No, I don’t think so,” said
the ops officer.

“
What are they doing?” asked
the defense officer.

Nimoux didn’t have an answer. If the
Nighthawk couldn’t see them, and therefore didn’t know there was an
ambush, why did the ship hesitate?

“
The Stormfront and Rhea are
hailing us, requesting instructions. They want to know if they
should converge on the Nighthawk.”

“
Tactical assessment,” said
Nimoux. “If the Desert Eagle were in the Nighthawk’s position, and
three ships charged out of the nebula and tried to disable it,
would we be able to escape?”

The defense officer thought about it for a
moment. “Yes,” he said at last. “We could fend off all attacks long
enough to get to a jump point and escape. The attacking ships
wouldn’t have enough time to disable us—unless the attacking ships
were alpha-class.”

Nimoux nodded. “Then assume the Nighthawk
would be able to escape as well. Tell the other ships to hold
position.”

“
Aye, sir.”

“
I suspect Calvin is merely
looking over the scene and being cautious. Testing the water with
his toe before diving in. But if he wants the Arcane Storm that
badly, he won’t pass up this opportunity. There is far too big a
prize at stake. Assuming the mole’s information is correct,
patience should serve us well.”

***

“
I have to keep this short,
but
thank God
I
reached you in time,” said Rafael. His distraught face appeared on
the display in Calvin’s office.

“
What is it?” asked Calvin.
Because Rafael had chosen to contact him outside their
pre-determined schedule, Calvin knew it was urgent. Rafael was also
taking an unusually large risk in trying to reach him by using a
much wider band of frequencies. Anything that was more likely to be
picked up by the Nighthawk was also more likely to be noticed by
another Intel Wing controller. A desperate move.

“
What is your current
position?” pressed Rafael.

Calvin raised a curious eyebrow. “Just
outside the Vulture Nebula. I have intelligence that the Arcane
Storm—”

“
Do
not
go in that nebula, Captain. It’s a
setup!”

“
How do you
know?”

“
Captain Nimoux organized a
plan through Intel Wing channels to interdict your ship. They
baited you with false intelligence. The Desert Eagle and other
ships are waiting for you in there. They will fire on you—maybe
even destroy you.”

Calvin felt his throat
constrict.
So Afton had been lying… That
deceiving sellout!
“Thank you, Rafael,”
said Calvin. He was sorry to see his lead go cold but was grateful
not to have charged blindly into an ambush. Hopefully it wasn’t
already too late.

“
I must go now,” said
Rafael. “And so should you—you’re in great danger.”

“
First tell me one thing,”
said Calvin, his eyes searching. “Did Nimoux’s plan include
anything about Tybur?”

“
Tybur?” Rafael looked
puzzled. “No. He would lure you to the Vulture Nebula and ambush
you there. That was the plan. I really have to disconnect
now.”

“
Understood.” But before
Calvin could get out the word, Rafael was gone. Calvin hoped Rafael
hadn’t risked too much in warning them.

Calvin stormed back onto the bridge. Now
knowing that, only a few thousand meager mc’s away, warships waited
for him. Teeth bared and claws at the ready.

“
What was that about?” asked
Miles.

“
Listen up! I have new
orders!”

***

In the silent anticipation, Nimoux closed
his eyes and tried to empty his mind. As always, his center eluded
him, and he had difficulty quieting his thoughts. Emotions pestered
him, elusive and uncontrolled, and images flickered in his mind.
Wooden coffins. Three of them. And an outdoor funeral in the sun—he
remembered it crisping the parts of his head his receding hair no
longer protected.

The service had been respectful. The dead
were showered with praises for dying in the line of duty. But no
one elaborated on how or why they’d been slain. The details were
sealed tightly in the confidential files of Intel Wing. But Nimoux
could never forget how the three officers ended up in those boxes.
He’d put them there himself. A choice that continued to haunt him,
even years later. Keeping him from the peace he so desperately
sought.

“
Sir, the Nighthawk is
moving again,” said the ops officer. “It has resumed its
approach.”

Nimoux opened his eyes and smiled. “Very
good.” As predicted, Calvin had been unable to resist the bait.
Nimoux wondered what was so important about the Arcane Storm that
made Calvin pursue it so earnestly.

“
Forty mc’s and closing,”
said the ops officer.

“
Order the other ships to
keep holding fire until the Nighthawk is completely inside the
nebula.”

“
Yes, sir,” said the
pilot.

“
Thirty mc’s and
closing.”

“
Defense status?”

“
All weapons
ready.”

“
Good. Remind the fleet to
confine fire to the Nighthawk’s propulsion systems and jump drive.
We’re going to disable them, not destroy.”

“
Aye, sir. Relaying
message.”

“
Twenty-two mc’s and
closing...”

“
All ships acknowledge your
orders, sir,” said the pilot.

“
Eighteen mc’s and
closing...”

Nimoux felt himself growing tense—the
critical moment was fast approaching. He began a breathing exercise
to maintain perfect calm. “That’s right, steady as she goes,
Cross.”

“
Ten mc’s. Nine. Eigh—hold
on. The Nighthawk has halted its approach once again. Holding
position at eight point two mc’s from the mouth of the
nebula.”

“
Now the ship’s close enough
to interdict,” said the defense officer.

Nimoux would have preferred to take the
Nighthawk inside the nebula, but sometimes a bird in the hand was
worth two in the bush. He didn’t want to give Calvin the chance to
change his mind and leave. If Nimoux had a reasonable chance to
capture the ship, he’d take it. “Order the fleet to converge on the
Nighthawk, full speed. Weapons free. And bring our own weapons to
bear.”

“
The Nighthawk is
turning—yaw starboard,” said the ops officer.

“
They’re turning around?”
asked Nimoux. “Can they see us?”

“
Not yet—not until we exit
the nebula.”

“
Weapons lock,” said the
defense officer.

“
Fire
.”

“
It’s too late,” said the
ops officer. “The ship’s gone. Alteredspace jump
complete.”

“
Scan their last known
position,” said Nimoux. “Find out where they’re going.”

“
It’s next to impossible to
determine for sure,” said the ops officer. “They jumped as close to
the nebula as they possibly could.
Brilliantly executed
… Their jump
signature is being distorted by the ionized gas. I can’t get a good
reading on it.”

“
Not even with our upgraded
sensors?”

“
I can get a general fix,
but nothing specific.”

“
Send what you can to the
lab and the other ships,” said Nimoux. “Between our resources and
those of the Rhea, we should be able to figure out where the
Nighthawk is likely going. Calculate its most probable destination
and then report back to me.”

Chapter 14

The empty darkness through the window told
them all they were safely in alteredspace again. Calvin felt a wave
of relief that no one else really understood. “Any indication that
we’re being followed?”

“
Not that I can see,” said
Shen. “They shouldn’t be able to pick up our trail, thanks to
nebular distortion. Sarah executed a perfect jump.”

“
Why thank you, Shen,” said
Sarah.

“
Status and ETA?” asked
Calvin.

“
All systems normal,” said
Shen.

“
Jump depth of eighty
percent potential,” said Sarah. “We’ll reach Tybur system in...
just under twenty-six hours.”

“
Good.” Calvin leaned back
in his chair. “Hopefully this lead proves better than the last
one.”

“
I still don’t understand
what you’re doing,” said Tristan. He didn’t look angry, but he was
displeased. “How can you be sure the Arcane Storm was not within
our grasp and now we are fleeing from it?”

“
I already told you,” said
Calvin. “I got new intelligence that an ambush awaited us in the
Vulture Nebula.”

“
And yet, you will not tell
us the source of this intelligence?” Tristan raised an
eyebrow.

“
That’s right,” said Calvin.
“And don’t bother trying to get it out of me. My source is doing
everything he or she can to protect this ship, and I will do
everything I can to protect my source. Including keeping my lips
sealed regarding his or her identity.”

Tristan shook his head. “This is your ship.
This is your fool’s errand,” he said. “But Raidan trusts you and so
I will too. We will go to Tybur as you wish.”

“
Of course we will,” said
Calvin. “I’m the captain.”

“
Yeah,” said Miles,
needlessly backing him up. “
He’s the
captain
.”

Tristan ignored the defense officer and
instead walked right up to Calvin. Unsure whether or not to feel
threatened, Calvin stood up and looked Tristan in the eyes.

“
Just understand,” said
Tristan. “That I believe Tybur will prove a waste of time. Afton
gave us his word. Next to him, Calum is nothing. Less than nothing.
A drunken fool who spins stories that wouldn’t fool children. If
anyone were to betray us, it would be Calum.”

Calvin disagreed. And he thought Afton had
not only given them bad information, he’d deceived them on purpose.
And whether he’d been bribed or coerced into helping Intel Wing,
Afton had played his part. The only question that remained was: how
had Nimoux known Calvin was heading to Echo Three enough in
advanced to manipulate Afton?

Calvin had kept their destination, Echo
Three, a closely guarded secret. The unauthorized communication
Shen had noticed earlier must have been an insider feeding Nimoux
information, the question was, of the few who knew their
destination: Summers, Tristan, Alex and Pellew, which of them had
betrayed his trust and tipped off Intel Wing? Or else told somebody
who then told Nimoux?

Despite his suspicions, Calvin knew it
wouldn’t be prudent to begin a public witch hunt. Not now anyway.
The best he could do was keep an even tighter lid on important
information from now on, if possible, and one-by-one investigate
the possibility that one of his closest associates betrayed him. At
least he could acquit Shen, Miles, and Sarah—since none of them had
known their destination in advance.

Calvin chose not to condemn Afton too
harshly in front of Tristan, who obviously still clung to some kind
of loyalty to his clan’s leader. It was better to simply let it go
for now. So Calvin said nothing.

“
No matter what you heard,
no matter what you were told,” said Tristan. “You will never know
for certain what was inside that nebula.”

That was true. Even as he’d ordered the ship
to turn and jump away—and he’d watched the majestic view of the
nebula disappear—he’d wondered whether or not the Desert Eagle was
actually inside that cloud. Perhaps it was Rafael who had been
given bad information. Or perhaps Rafael had been convinced to work
against them. Unlikely but not impossible. Calvin would have to
keep his guard up.

“
And I for one stand by
Afton’s honor,” said Tristan. “Leaving the Vulture Nebula was a
mistake.”

“
Objection noted,” said
Calvin. “Now...
are you
done
?”

“
Yes,” said Tristan, turning
away. “As ever, I accept your leadership. And pray you are not
leading us to our deaths.”

***

They were able to determine fairly easily
that the Nighthawk was heading deep into the DMZ, but specific
candidate locations were still too numerous to choose from and thus
had to be narrowed down. Nimoux ordered his ship to jump to a deep
position inside the DMZ, but he wouldn’t be satisfied that he was
truly back on the trail until they’d determined the Nighthawk’s
likeliest two or three destinations.