Crossroads of Fate (Cadicle #5): An Epic Space Opera Series by Amy DuBoff Page B

ship—a design he had toyed with and then dismissed due to concerns over its potential destructive power. “You built it?”
    Taelis nodded. “I recognize that you had passed over the design, but I knew you would need something beyond our current fleet. I put Laecy to work. It took a lot of trial and error, but the engineering team eventually figured out how to make it come together.”
    Saera initially lit up in response to the High Commander’s excitement, but she looked to Wil for an explanation when he didn’t share their enthusiasm.
    They went behind my back. Don’t they know what this ship can do? “I had no idea you continued to work on it. You should have told me.”
    Taelis swallowed. “I didn’t want to press the issue and distract you from training your officers. We realized that it could be a game-changer if we could make it work. The engineering team picked away at it until they finally had a breakthrough about a year ago. We only finished preliminary testing last week.”
    It’s done now. I guess it’s up to me how it gets used. “All right. Let’s see the inside.”
    “Of course.” Taelis held out his arm to let Wil be the first up the gangway.
    Wil felt an immediate resonance with the ship when he passed through the entry port. The soothing energy washed over him, setting him at ease. It’s like the Aesir ship—it must have a similar biofeedback system .
    Saera’s tense expression faded as soon as she stepped off the gangway next to Wil. “It feels different here.”
    “Amazing, isn’t it?” Wil closed his eyes and released himself to the vessel, feeling it pulse in response to him. When he opened his eyes, he noticed the TSS emblem opposite the entry portal. The TSS Conquest . “A fitting name as any.”
    Saera nodded. “It is.”
    “Come on, let’s go to the Command Center.” Wil walked with Saera down the corridor.
    The hallway was more utilitarian than most of the TSS ships Wil was used to, but the design was still inviting enough to make the vessel comfortable for an extended voyage. Warm hued lights inset in the ceiling and side panels cast a pleasant glow across the viewscreens mounted at logical intervals along the length of the corridor. The screens currently displayed neutral images of starscapes, but Wil touched one of the panels as he passed by and it brought up a menu for the Mainframe.
    The Command Center was precisely where Wil hoped it would be. His breath caught as he glimpsed the design through the open doorway. He flashed an excited grin to Saera behind him, his initial reservations about the ship fading.
    A transparent platform extended from the entry door into the center of the spherical room. Five standing-height, minimalist black chairs were arranged in the middle of the room on the main platform, with four around the perimeter and one at the center. Each one was mounted on a swivel base, with an adjustable handhold in front mounted to the same rotating platform. Based on seams and some mechanics in the transparent floor panel, it appeared that the chairs could fold down into the floor for the operators to stand at the handholds as a podium. A step down from the main platform, two consoles faced outward toward the front. Likely, the consoles controlled navigation, weapons, and communications like standard TSS ships.
    As Wil entered the Command Center, the dimmed lights rose to full brightness. He looked around in wonder. “This is just like I imagined.”
    He strolled to the center chair and ran his hand along the top arch of the back, then brushed his fingertips on the podium in front of the chair. The telescoping base was bent slightly toward the chair for easier access, with a cylindrical grip to either side at the top of the arm. When Wil’s fingers touched the handhold grip, the viewscreen wrapping the walls and ceiling illuminated in vivid color, displaying the surroundings of the Conquest with holographic depth unlike anything Wil had seen in a Command