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Authors: Richard L. Sanders
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by Intel Wing
was vindicated by actual science, but… in this case he would prefer
to have been proven wrong. The implications of a technology that
could wipeout entire star systems were terrifying —almost unimaginably
so.
“ So what you’re saying,”
said Pellew, “is that the Rotham have weapons that can destroy
stars?”
“ We’re saying that is a
likely possibility, yes.”
“ That changes everything,”
said Pellew. “Ships, fleets, none of it matters. With the ability
to destroy stars, the Rotham could wipe out the entire human race.
They could destroy everyone. And no one could stop
them.”
“ Let’s keep it together,”
said Calvin, forcing himself to remain calm and focused. “We don’t
know how many of these weapons exist. And we don’t know how
difficult they are to deploy. By all rights, TR-301 was not a
strategic target. There was nothing there.”
“ Then it was a test target,”
said Pellew.
“ Which means their weapon
might not be ready for use.”
“ Looks pretty damned ready
to me,” said Pellew, he pointed to one of the displays which showed
a simulated, sped-up version of the TR-301 super-collapse. One
moment a healthy-looking star and the next a singularity fierce
enough to tear apart the very fabric of space.
Pellew was right. This was a game changer.
All other threats paled by comparison: replicants, covert fleets,
corrupt leaders, rogue warships, none of it held the tiniest
candle. Worst of all, Calvin was sure that all of these components
were all part of the same dark portrait.
“ Thank you for bringing this
to my attention,” he said. “Send all of this data to the
Nighthawk’s computer.”
“ Yes, sir.”
He left the room, Pellew fast on his
heels.
“ So what do we do?” asked
Pellew.
“ It’s time for a meeting on
the Nighthawk’s bridge. The Arcane Storm just got a lot more
interesting.”
***
“ So there you have it,” said
Calvin. They were on the Nighthawk, it was still tucked away in the
Gemini drydocks but at least power had been restored.
He stood at the bow of the bridge and looked
over the small group he’d handpicked for this meeting. Tristan,
Alex, and Summers each sat at various positions on the bridge and
examined the data that’d been sent to each of their displays.
Pellew, who was already in the know, didn’t occupy one of the
posts. Instead he stood next to Calvin.
They reacted to the
information differently. Alex’s Rotham face was unreadable and
alien. Tristan seemed intrigued, almost anxious, and Summers looked
cold and stern. Calvin couldn’t quite tell what she was thinking,
and in fact he’d seen very little of her the whole time they’d been
on Gemini. She’d kept herself away from everybody and Calvin hadn’t
quite had the nerve to try to pull her out of her self-imposed
isolation. Until now . She’d come without argument and sat before him, her eyes
scrutinizing the data. Her face like a stone.
Despite her unsympathetic appearance, she
was still the most beautiful woman Calvin had ever seen. Even now
her golden hair, stunning eyes, delicately carved figure, and raw
exquisiteness were impossible to ignore. He hated that she had that
advantage on him. And if he was honest with himself, he hadn’t
quite forgiven her for what she’d done to him. How she’d used his
emotions against him. How he’d let himself see a bit of Christine
in her. It filled him with all sorts of mixed emotions—mostly
negative, and made him feel vulnerable. Something he deeply
hated.
“ You’ve made a great deal of
assumptions,” said Summers at last. “I hope, for all our sakes,
you’re wrong about this.”
“ So do I,” said Calvin. “But
I’m sure you all agree that this is an urgent priority. Something
we need to deal with immediately. Hopefully, along the way, we’ll
learn this threat has no teeth. But until I know that for
sure...”
“ We would be gambling the
lives of every person in the galaxy to ignore
was vindicated by actual science, but… in this case he would prefer
to have been proven wrong. The implications of a technology that
could wipeout entire star systems were terrifying —almost unimaginably
so.
“ So what you’re saying,”
said Pellew, “is that the Rotham have weapons that can destroy
stars?”
“ We’re saying that is a
likely possibility, yes.”
“ That changes everything,”
said Pellew. “Ships, fleets, none of it matters. With the ability
to destroy stars, the Rotham could wipe out the entire human race.
They could destroy everyone. And no one could stop
them.”
“ Let’s keep it together,”
said Calvin, forcing himself to remain calm and focused. “We don’t
know how many of these weapons exist. And we don’t know how
difficult they are to deploy. By all rights, TR-301 was not a
strategic target. There was nothing there.”
“ Then it was a test target,”
said Pellew.
“ Which means their weapon
might not be ready for use.”
“ Looks pretty damned ready
to me,” said Pellew, he pointed to one of the displays which showed
a simulated, sped-up version of the TR-301 super-collapse. One
moment a healthy-looking star and the next a singularity fierce
enough to tear apart the very fabric of space.
Pellew was right. This was a game changer.
All other threats paled by comparison: replicants, covert fleets,
corrupt leaders, rogue warships, none of it held the tiniest
candle. Worst of all, Calvin was sure that all of these components
were all part of the same dark portrait.
“ Thank you for bringing this
to my attention,” he said. “Send all of this data to the
Nighthawk’s computer.”
“ Yes, sir.”
He left the room, Pellew fast on his
heels.
“ So what do we do?” asked
Pellew.
“ It’s time for a meeting on
the Nighthawk’s bridge. The Arcane Storm just got a lot more
interesting.”
***
“ So there you have it,” said
Calvin. They were on the Nighthawk, it was still tucked away in the
Gemini drydocks but at least power had been restored.
He stood at the bow of the bridge and looked
over the small group he’d handpicked for this meeting. Tristan,
Alex, and Summers each sat at various positions on the bridge and
examined the data that’d been sent to each of their displays.
Pellew, who was already in the know, didn’t occupy one of the
posts. Instead he stood next to Calvin.
They reacted to the
information differently. Alex’s Rotham face was unreadable and
alien. Tristan seemed intrigued, almost anxious, and Summers looked
cold and stern. Calvin couldn’t quite tell what she was thinking,
and in fact he’d seen very little of her the whole time they’d been
on Gemini. She’d kept herself away from everybody and Calvin hadn’t
quite had the nerve to try to pull her out of her self-imposed
isolation. Until now . She’d come without argument and sat before him, her eyes
scrutinizing the data. Her face like a stone.
Despite her unsympathetic appearance, she
was still the most beautiful woman Calvin had ever seen. Even now
her golden hair, stunning eyes, delicately carved figure, and raw
exquisiteness were impossible to ignore. He hated that she had that
advantage on him. And if he was honest with himself, he hadn’t
quite forgiven her for what she’d done to him. How she’d used his
emotions against him. How he’d let himself see a bit of Christine
in her. It filled him with all sorts of mixed emotions—mostly
negative, and made him feel vulnerable. Something he deeply
hated.
“ You’ve made a great deal of
assumptions,” said Summers at last. “I hope, for all our sakes,
you’re wrong about this.”
“ So do I,” said Calvin. “But
I’m sure you all agree that this is an urgent priority. Something
we need to deal with immediately. Hopefully, along the way, we’ll
learn this threat has no teeth. But until I know that for
sure...”
“ We would be gambling the
lives of every person in the galaxy to ignore
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