The Phoenix Rising (52 page)

He tapped the line to the bridge. “Jay, tell
Summers to report to my office right away.”

Chapter 30

In the cold silence of alteredspace flight,
the Harbinger ripped through the galaxy at ninety percent
potential. Moving swiftly to make the rendezvous as scheduled. Soon
they would encounter the Nighthawk and the Arcane Storm. Hopefully,
when they did, Raidan would find the answer to his question.

He sat alone in his office with orders not
to be disturbed. A bottle of whiskey sat idle on his cedar desk.
Barely more than a sip taken from it.

Calvin, when we get to Lyra Minor, you’d
damn sure better be there...

Raidan tapped his fingers on the desk’s
surface as he pondered. Trying to keep the very complex situation
together in his head. There was no black and white anymore. It was
all one giant, murky cloud of grey. The Empire was bleeding and it
seemed the only way to save it now was through extreme measures.
Measures he’d hoped to avoid.

Unfortunately the situation was more dire
than even the bleakest predictions made by the Organization six
months ago. The replicants were increasing in number, some now
positively identified on Capital World—meaning nowhere and no one
was safe from the reach of the Phoenix Ring anymore—and now there
was an even deadlier threat. The ability to destroy entire star
systems. He was grateful for Calvin’s efforts, that so many of the
isotome weapons were destroyed, but it made him extremely uneasy
knowing that more could be out there. No doubt in the wrong
hands...

To make matters worse, the distracting
situation on Renora held the complete attention of every citizen of
the Empire. The civil chaos had led to mass uprisings on the planet
and large-scale violence. Now starvation was a major threat looming
over the disordered place. It was just the situation the Phoenix
Ring had wanted. As all eyes looked to King Akira to solve the
crisis, the monarch was faced with a no-win scenario. Leaving the
people to fend for themselves would be an act of heartlessness and
neglect, but sending in soldiers to enforce order would be seen as
heavy-handed and brutish, and would only lead to more violence in
the short term. More bodies in bags. It was only a matter of time
before one of the Akira’s rival families would successfully
challenge the Akiras for the throne. Potentially forcing the king
to abdicate and creating an opportunity for the Phoenix Ring to
seize the government. Or, should he refuse to abdicate, he risked
leading the Empire into civil war.

Raidan didn’t want to use the ace up his
sleeve. He knew the consequences of such an action. And it wasn’t a
decision he made lightly. But he felt there was no longer any
choice. A show of opposing force was necessary. It was the only way
to stem the tide.

Meanwhile he knew that an armada of troop
transports guarded by the Eighth Fleet was quietly gathering
somewhere in the Regalis Cluster. Many thousands of ships that
would ferry a tremendous force of forty-five million troops to
Renora to re-establish the government. A prefect, appointed by the
king, was going with them and would act as temporary dictator until
the chaos was put down. Not many knew that the king had decided to
send troops after all, but that was sure to change as reports of a
massive invasion and increased violence spread like wildfire over
kataspace in the coming weeks.

Raidan agreed with the decision. It was
better to take some kind of action than to do nothing. Something
had to be done to stabilize Renora. But he feared that this would
prove to be the final nail in the coffin of the Akiran Dynasty, the
family that had led and protected the Empire faithfully since its
inception.

With a sigh of regret, he handwrote an order
to be transmitted immediately over secure channels.

“
Ready the weapon. There is
no longer a choice. A.R.
”

(End of Book Two)

Dear Reader, thank you for
reading The Phoenix Rising, I sincerely hope you enjoyed it. Please
know that your support is greatly appreciated and I hope to bring
you several new titles in the coming years. Including book three of
The Phoenix Conspiracy Series:
The Phoenix
Crisis

If you have time, please leave a review in
the ebookstore. I would greatly appreciate it (even if it is not a
positive review) I benefit from your honest feedback and am
continually trying to improve and give you a better reading
experience.

Also be sure to check
out
Secrets of Silverwind
now available in the download store and on other
devices, including Kindle.

More information about me
and my work may be found at my personal webpage
www.richardlsanders.com
. I
may also be reached at
[email protected].

Acknowledgements

This book is dedicated to my sister Kate. A
kindred spirit whose stubbornness and fierce independence I greatly
admire. I’m proud of you, Kate.

I would also like to thank the many people
who have enabled and encouraged me. My beta readers who provided me
with detailed advice, honest feedback, and unflinching
criticism—which led to great improvements in the manuscript (trust
me, the original draft had some problems). Especially Brandon and
Ruth who’ve stalwartly made time in their busy schedules to read,
and re-read, my work. Thanks also to Matt for his early reading of
the manuscript and detailed review. Lastly I want to thank everyone
who sent me e-mails, wrote reviews, and generally made efforts to
support and encourage me. It is a pleasure to write stories for an
audience like you.