The Phoenix Rising

by Richard L. Sanders

  The Phoenix Rising

  Book Two in the Phoenix Conspiracy Series

  Richard L. Sanders

  Smashwords Edition

  Copyright 2012 Richard L. Sanders

  Smashwords Edition, License Notes:

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment. It may not be re-sold for profit, however I (the author) don’t really care if you share it with others. Just keep in mind that at the time of publication I am an indebted student and every purchase is greatly appreciated. Thank you for your support and understanding.

  Note to the reader: this is Book Two in an ongoing series. If you have not read the first book The Phoenix Conspiracy it may be found elsewhere in the download store and on other devices including Kindle.

  Chapter 1

  “The threat is growing, Raidan. And I can barely make heads or tails of these new rumors. We need you here. I need you here. Renora can wait. The people there don’t need you as much as we do right now.”

  “Mira, this isn’t about the people of Renora. This is much, much bigger than that. Can’t you see? They want King Akira to fail. They want the Akiran throne to fall. And out of the chaos, as our government re-shuffles itself, something new and terrible will emerge. The safety and security of the Empire will be no more. And humanity will once again be the weak, struggling, disunited colonies of yester century. I can’t just sit by idly, doing nothing, when I know what their target is. The next notes of this dark symphony will be played at Renora. Whatever their design is, whatever their next move is, it will happen there. Today. My spy is certain of that. I only hope the Harbinger won’t arrive too late.”

  “Even if you do get there in time, do you really think you can stop them?”

  “I... don’t know. But I have to try.”

  “And what of this young intelligence captain you’ve brought me? What am I to do with him?”

  “Mister Cross is an asset of mine. Treat him as a friend. Give him all the materials I have listed and any other resources or personnel he may require. As soon as he’s able, we need him to hunt down the Arcane Storm.”

  “The Arcane Storm? That means you believe the rumors, then?”

  “I do not know. But if anyone can get to the bottom of the matter, and find out for sure what happened, it’s Mister Cross. I trust no one more to do the job.”

  “Are you sure it’s wise to trust him so completely?”

  “For now, yes. He’s put much on the line to uncover the truth, and he’s made many powerful enemies in the process—enemies we share. Besides, Tristan is going with him.”

  “And is he to know about the—?”

  “No. Not yet. That knowledge would do him, and our cause, more harm than good. If we’re lucky, we won’t have to resort to such extreme measures.”

  “And if we’re unlucky?”

  “Then may our children forgive us.”

  ***

  Pieter sat in his office aboard Control One and stared out the window. He traced a lazy finger around the rim of his coffee mug and felt depressed. Something was missing.

  When he’d first been stationed here, the view had seemed majestic. The blue and white magnificence of planet Renora just below was breathtaking. But now, after ten thousand orbits and five years of being stuck in one place, it was a tired novelty. Almost an eyesore. A reminder that he should be tasting fresh air and feeling grass between his toes, and he wasn’t.

  “What’s the matter?” asked Adrienne. Slightly overweight with curly brown hair and wide blue eyes, she was one of the more pleasant controllers on the station. “You seem even more glum than usual today.”

  He rolled his eyes, only a little annoyed at her slighting remark. She didn’t know better. She’d only been on the station a few months; he couldn’t expect her to understand the misery of five prison-like years.

  “This is my last year,” he said. “I’m transferring. Retiring. Anything. I can’t take it anymore.”

  “You say that every day. So why don’t you just, y’know, leave already?”

  It was a fair question. The truth was, he didn’t have anywhere else to go. He had no stomach for alteredspace travel and the thought of living on Renora again—the birthplace of all his bad memories—wasn’t exactly appealing. Sure, it was a big place. An urban sprawl that boasted a population of over nine billion people, but still, despite all its continents and square miles, there wasn’t any place for him.

  “Do you know why I came here in the first place?” he asked.

  Adrienne didn’t reply. She simply took her seat and put on her headset. It only covered one ear so she could still hear him, even if she didn’t want to. “Because,” he continued, “this is the only place in the system that is peaceful. Here, in the heavens, above all the noise, and the corruption, and the confusion...” He gazed again out the window at the planet below. It glowed in the light of the local sun, almost seeming to sparkle. And yet, to him, it seemed empty. Even here, in this sanctuary in the sky, Renora had lost its majesty. It was…

  His thoughts were interrupted by an indicator light on his panel. He flipped a switch and began tracking an alteredspace exit point that had just appeared in the system. Based on spatial displacement, a very large ship had arrived.

  “Tracking an alpha-class ship that has just entered the system,” said Adrienne. “Looks like an unscheduled jump.”

  “Alpha-class?” asked Pieter. “What would an alpha-class be doing way out here?” There were fewer than twenty alpha-class ships in all of the Empire.

  “No idea, I can’t find anything here in the traffic schedule…”

  “Can you I.D. that ship?”

  “Not yet. The ship is coming closer and I’ll be able to get a scan of it in a few seconds.”

  “Better call upstairs about this,” Pieter sent a message to the rest of the station and got his superior on the line. “Commander,” he said, “we have an alpha-class ship entering the system. Haven’t gotten an I.D. on it yet.”

  “Is it one of ours?” The commander’s question didn’t surprise Pieter. The Polarians had a generally peaceful relationship with the Empire, but being this close to their border made one a little nervous.

  “Unable to tell.”

  “Scan complete,” said Adrienne. “It’s the ISS Black Swan. Princess Kalila Akira’s ship.”

  Pieter relayed the information to his commander, who ordered him to handle the situation until he arrived.

  “What’s the ship doing now?” asked Pieter.

  “Fast approaching Renoran space. Direct heading with the planet. It’s starting to make a mess of intra-system traffic. A lot of the transports and freighters seem spooked by it and are altering course to stay out of its way. The Black Swan is now cutting through the shipping lanes—disrupting them.”

  “Probably an innocent mistake, contact the ship and order them to divert course and await their turn to dock.”

  Adrienne spoke into her headset. “ISS Black Swan, this is Control One, you are ordered to change heading and begin a long orbit until cleared for docking. I repeat, you are ordered to alter course and begin a long orbit around the planet. You have drifted into active shipping lanes. Please acknowledge.”

  Pieter watched the Black Swan, now visible on his grid, as the 3d image of it continued to approach the planet unfazed.

  “ISS Black Swan, this is Control One, please respond.”

  No response came. The ship held its course.

  “ISS Black Swan, this is Control One, you are ordered to respond.”

  Pieter started to get a very bad feeling. “Something is definitely wrong. Order the patrol ships to pick up the Black Swan.” Even if they launched every fighter and patrol ship they had, it wouldn’t be a sufficient
force to disable or destroy an alpha-class ship. But the pretense of force, at least, might force the Black Swan to acknowledge them.

  Adrienne complied and Pieter used his own headset to address the shipping traffic. The board was now lit up—two ships had collided. No casualties reported. “This is Control One to all shuttles, transports, and other traffic within the system, you are ordered to power down your engines and hold position until further instructions are given.”

  “Control One to Black Swan,” Adrienne’s voice revealed a level of panic. “You are ordered to follow the flight-path given to you by sentry group Bravo. I repeat, you are required to accept escort away from the planet, over.”

  No reaction.

  She repeated the order. Still nothing. The Black Swan continued toward the planet, no change in speed or course.

  “Black Swan, you are not cleared to approach. I repeat, power down your engines, you are not cleared to approach. If you do not comply, you will be fired upon.” Adrienne looked up at Pieter, obviously unsure what to do.

  “Clear the sentry ships to intercept the Black Swan, something’s not right here.”

  “Sentry group Bravo,” Adrienne spoke into her headset. “You are cleared to intercept the Black Swan. I repeat, you are cleared to intercept the Black Swan.”

  Pieter watched on the display as the group of sentry ships tightened their formation around the Black Swan. One of the small sentry ships moved directly into the Black Swan’s path, trying to force it to alter course.

  “The Black Swan is closing in on the sentry ship, bearing one zero one point two mark three. No change in course or speed,” said Adrienne.

  “Sentry Three to Control One,” a voice crackled over the radio, “we intend to hold position. ISS Black Swan will have to alter course.”

  “Roger that, Sentry Three, Control One is monitoring the situation,” said Pieter. “Be advised, holding position is not recommended should Black Swan maintain current heading.”

  “Acknowledged, Control One. But we’re not going anywhere. The Black Swan will move.”

  It was an unnecessary—and deadly—game of chicken as the sentry ship held position and the Black Swan continued toward it, unabated. It was like watching an unstoppable force meet an immovable object.

  The Black Swan fast approached the sentry ship.

  “Black Swan, this is Control One, please respond,” Pieter spoke in vain. No reply came. “Is it possible the ship is unmanned or out of control?”

  “All scans are normal,” said Adrienne. “The ship is fully powered, even the running lights are on. No outward damage to the hull or systems. Also I don’t think they could have executed an alteredspace jump without someone on—” Adrienne paused suddenly.

  “What is it?”

  “The Black Swan has powered its weapons and shields!”

  Pieter felt a wave of panic rush through him.

  “Sentry Three to Black Swan,” they heard over the comm, “divert course or—”

  Pieter watched in horror as the mighty vessel plowed through the sentry ship, as if it wasn’t there. One moment a blinking light on the display and then… nothing.

  “Sentry Three has been destroyed,” said an alarmed Adrienne. “No survivors...”

  The other sentry ships opened fire on the Black Swan. Releasing a barrage of missiles and an intense storm of fire from their mounted guns.

  Pieter hit the switch bringing the entire station to condition one. A loud klaxon sounded. The elevator opened and the commander raced out onto the command deck. “What the hell is going on?” he demanded.

  Pieter jumped up, happy to relinquish his position. “The Black Swan is not communicating with us. And it just destroyed Sentry Three!” He looked down at the projector to see the small sentry ships were fast disappearing as the Black Swan vanquished them one by one. The powerful warship was very near the planet now—and the station—so near, in fact, that the station’s defense batteries auto-engaged.

  “Planetary forces have locked onto the Black Swan and are powering up to fire,” reported Adrienne. “Should I disable them?”

  “Absolutely not,” said the commander. “If the Black Swan comes any closer we could lose the station. Begin—”

  “The station’s shields have just gone offline. Defense batteries are no longer responding. We’re unable to fire.”

  “What?”

  “I don’t understand it,” Adrienne fought her controls. “It’s like they were there one minute and now… they’re just gone.”

  “Sabotage!”

  A new alarm sounded. Pieter ran to an auxiliary station and got a report from it. “Hull breaches on decks three, six, and nine. We’re losing air. Fast.”

  “All sentry ships destroyed,” said Adrienne.

  “Oh, God...” said the commander. “There were hundreds of people on those ships.”

  “And now the Black Swan is firing on the planet!” said Adrienne.

  Out the window they could see the death-black ship raining down missiles and rockets at the most urban hub of the planet’s surface.

  “That’s the Government Center!”

  Like an unyielding storm, countless heavy ordnance poured down toward the planet’s surface. Impacting with such severe destruction, the signs of it could even be seen from orbit.

  “Do we have anything that can intercept those weapons?” asked the commander.

  “No, sir,” said Pieter. “Not anymore.”

  “Adrienne, send out a general distress call to Fleet Command. Tell them we’re under attack. Pieter, sound the evacuation. Then let’s get the hell out of here!”

  “The Black Swan has targeted the station!” yelled Adrienne.

  An instant later the station lost power. Everything went black. Pieter was thrown over his console as something collided with the station and gravity went offline. In the dim light shining through the window, he could make out the commander’s figure. He was floating motionless—passed out or dead. As for Adrienne, she managed to hold onto her desk, sort of half afloat, knuckles white.

  Out the window the Black Swan had turned its attention to the station and faced it, like the harbinger of doom, blank and expressionless. It was like staring into the soulless eyes of the grim reaper. And, in that moment, as tiny missiles and rockets could be seen fast approaching the station, a calm came over him. “Goodbye, Adrienne,” he said.

  He let out a deep breath and embraced the inevitable.

  Chapter 2

  Gemini was an interesting place. As a member of Intel Wing, Calvin had travelled all over the empire and done missions in both Polarian and Rotham space—usually without the knowledge of the other sovereign states. But he’d never been to Gemini, despite its proximity to the Imperial border, nor had he seen any place quite like it.

  It was a red star system with only five planets, most of which were gas giants. The only planet that had been able to support life, Gemini Two, no longer could. Its once precious resources had been so severely mined that the planet had been rendered uninhabitable during the extraction process. Its atmosphere was almost totally gone now and, with the exception of microbial life, everything biological had died off, leaving behind a barren husk of what had once been a spectacular world.

  It hadn’t been lost in vain, though. The resources taken from the depths of Gemini Two had helped enrich an otherwise poor Polarian nation. Now, in a display that seemed to Calvin as clever as it had been unnecessary, the inhabitants of Gemini Two had built huge, interconnecting space platforms, forming thousands of cities in close orbit. The web of structures, which could be detached individually and moved around via propulsion systems, couldn’t support the same population the planet once had, in the billions, but it nevertheless was home to some three million people. Making it the most sophisticated array of orbiting structures in the galaxy. Not even the empire, with its superior wealth and technological prowess, had ever assembled something even remotely similar to the Gemini conglomerate. Reminding Calvin
that even though the Polarians were often dismissed as a superstitious, quarrelsome, backwards people, they were still the architects behind some of the galaxy’s most impressive innovations. And should not be dismissed lightly. Their war fleets were some of the fiercest and, even though they mostly kept to their own kind, when they chose to enter a conflict they did so with passion and commitment that neither humans nor Rotham seemed to understand.

  To whatever extent the Polarians had become involved in the Phoenix Ring, or Raidan’s mysterious Organization, was a cause for concern. And certainly something Calvin owed to himself, and the empire, to investigate thoroughly. But, since he was a guest at Gemini, and Polarian resources were being spent for his benefit—on the tab of The Organization—Calvin had no choice but to place a cautious trust in the Polarians of Gemini. And hope that such trust, which was ultimately in Raidan, had not been misplaced. Calvin wasn’t sure how far he could trust Raidan, but one thing was abundantly clear—there was something foul and corrupt that had taken hold in the empire, and Raidan, at least, seemed to be on the side fighting it. With few other allies to turn to, Calvin had little choice but to throw in his lot with Raidan and his organization. At least for now.

  “Repairs are continuing without a hitch,” said Sarah from behind him. Calvin turned away from the window overlooking the red star to face her. The young woman, who was both Calvin’s friend and the senior pilot of the Nighthawk, seemed out of place delivering him this news. Normally such a report would have come from Shen, Calvin’s chief of operations, but Shen was still undergoing treatment for burn injuries and hadn’t returned to active duty. Since Calvin had procrastinated selecting a replacement for Shen at ops, the duty of overseeing repairs had fallen to Sarah. One of a handful of people Calvin trusted with his life.