The Phoenix Project by Kris Powers Page B

underway. I’m afraid we don’t have much
for you to do.”
         “I won’t complain, Ronnie,”
Maria said.
         “No, I suppose you wouldn’t,
but I do have something available for you.”
         “Oh really?” Maria asked, half—heartedly.
         “Admiral Riddick is retiring
this month and the Second Battle Group needs a new commander. It’s yours if you
want it.”
         “Command of a battle group?” Maria’s
ears perked up and the headache began to vanish.
         “Choose any flagship you
want.”
         “You know, I served on the Excalibur when I was a Lieutenant—Commander,”
Maria said and leaned back in her seat. “I remember that ship as being the
best.”
         “She is a little older now.
The cruiser Delphi is the latest off the line.”
         “It’s my command. I choose the
ship I want.”
         “That it is. What do you say?”
         “When do I start?”
         “Right away. I relieved
Admiral Riddick an hour ago.”
         “Thank—you, Sir,” Maria said.
         “I’ll check in on you later
and see how you’re holding up.”
         Maria stood as did he and
waited for him to leave the room. She then grabbed a briefcase and began to
pack.

 
 
 
         Lathiel stood on the bridge of
his ship absent a captain’s chair. Ferine had always believed in a
decentralized command for their organizational structure. If Lathiel needed to sit
down, there was a couch available on either side of the round bridge. The
command center’s walls glowed with a sea blue that was nearly organic in its
texture. The front of the center was comprised of one large screen with an image
of a tiny dying star at its center.
         “That’s the wormhole?” Lathiel
inquired, turning his cat—like eyes to his cousin at a nearby station. Each of
its panels looked like the surface of a cloud of intersecting amber bubbles.
         One of those surfaces changed
to an image of incomprehensible data. Ranik looked back at Lathiel once he
finished examining it.
         “Definitely. In the last
twenty—two hours it has collapsed to that size.”
         “Could we send a probe
through?” Lathiel asked.
         Ranik checked through the
advanced sensor data. “We can do it.”
         “Then launch the probe.”
         Ranik turned back to Lathiel
again. He knew he wasn’t going to like what he was about to hear by the lowered
eyebrow above Ranik’s slit yellow eyes.
         “Lathiel, I’m worried about
what’s on the other side of that.” He motioned with his head to the glimmer of
light on the view screen.
         “What do you mean?”
         “Have you ever thought of what
or who might be out there?” Ranik asked.
         “A fin probe is small enough
to be equipped with stealth.”
         Ranik’s eyes worked at the
possibility.
         “Yes, yes! But we’re assuming
whoever may be out there is not advanced enough to detect it.”
         “It’s worth the risk to find
out what damage our weapon might have done. Let’s get started.”

 
 
 
        “I can’t see this happening in
time,” Madison
said.
         “Why not?” Joshua demanded.
         “In three months? The
engineering branch said three months Josh.”
         The large table Madison and
Joshua were bent over was a bright island in a dim shadow of a room.
         Elliot half listened to the
exchange while he watched the news on INN.
With only a day to go, ten million people were still left in the red zone of
the United
States.
         “We don’t have six months to
finish the particle warhead. The project has to start in a month,” Madison said.
         “Madi, I have talked to the
Engineering Division three times. Two months is the absolute minimum to build a
facility of that size.”
         “Maybe not,” Elliot said. He switched
off the monitor and sat up on the leather couch.